SOLOMON P. PATTILLO 1311-ARK/#048 031 MY FATHER'S NAME WAS THOMAS SMITH, BUT THE PATTILLOS BOUGHT HIM AND HE TOOK THE NAME OF PATTILLO. I DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH HE SOLD FOR. THAT WAS THE ONLY TIME HE WAS EVER SOLD. I BELIEVE THAT MY FATHER WAS BORN IN NORTH CAROLINA. IT S EEMS LIKE TO ME I RECOLLECT THAT IS WHERE HE SAID HE WAS BORN. MY MOTHER WAS BORN IN VIRGINIA. I DON'T KNOW HOW SHE GOT HERE UNLESS SH E WAS SOLD LIKE MY FATHER WAS. I DON'T KNOW HER NAME BEFORE SHE GOT MARRIED. YES , I DO; HER NAME WAS FANNIE SMITH, I BELIEVE. WE LIVED IN OLD LOG CABINS. WE HAD BEDSTEADS NArLED tO THE6fjL .3 HnN6W E HAD THEM OLD FASHIONED CORDBOARD SPRINGS. THEY HAD ROPES MADE INTO SPRINGS. TH AT WAS A HIGH CLASS BED. PEOPLE WHO HAD THOSE CORD SPRINGS FELT THEMSELVES. THEY MADE GOOD SLEEPING. MY FATHER HAD ONE. ROPES WERE WOVnN BAlK jND oORTH AlROSS T HE BED FRAME. I WAS BORN NOVEMBER 1862. I WAS THREE YEjRS-OLD&AT cHE crmEOF THE SURR ENDER. I WAS BORN RIGHT HERE IN ARKANSAS -- RIGHT DOWN HERE IN TULIP, DALLAS COU NTY, ASKANSAS. I HAVE NEVER BEEN OUT OF THE STATE BUT TWICE. MY DADDY CARRIED ME OUT ONCE WHEN THEY TOOK HIM TO TEXAS DURING THE WAR TO KEEP THE YANKS FROM SETTING HIM FREE. THEN I WENT OUT ONCE LONG AFTER SLAVERY TO GET A LOAD OF SAND. ON THE W AY BACK, MY BOAT NEARLY SANK. THOSE ARE THE ONLY TWO TIMES I EVER LEFT THE STATE . WE HAD THOSE OLD SPINNING WHEELS. THREE CURS WAS A DAY'S WORK. A CUT WA S SO MANY THREADS. IT WAS QUITE A DAY TO MAKE THEM. THEY HAD HANKS TOO. THE THRE ADS WERE ALL LINKED TOGETHER. MY MOTHER WAS A SPINNER. MY FATHER WAS A FARMER. BOTH OF THEM WORKED FO R R THEIR MASTER, -- OLD MASSA, THEY CALLED HIM, OR MASSA, MASS TOM, MASS JOHN O R MASSTA. I REMEMBER DURING THE WAR WHEN I WAS IN TEXAS WITH A FAMILY OF MOODY'S HOW OLD MISTISS HAD ME PACKING ROCKS OUT OF THE YARD IN A BASKET AND CLEANING TH E YARD. I DIDN'T KNOW IT THEN, BUT MY DADDY TOLD ME LATER THAT THAT WAS WHEN I W AS IN TEXAS, -- DURING THE WAR. I REMEMBER THAT I USED TO WORK IN MY SHIRT TAIL. THE SOLDIERS USED TO COME IN THE HOUSE SOMEWHERE AND TAKE ANYTHrNG THEY COULD GET OR WANTED TO TAKE. WHEN I WAS A BOY THEY HAD A SONG, "RUN, NIGGER, RUN; THE PATEROLES WILL GET YOU." THEY WOULD RUN YOU IN AND I HAVE BEEN TOLD THEY WOULD WHrP yOU.&IF yO U OVERSTAYED YOUR TIME WHEN YOUR MASTER HAD LET YOU GO OUT, HE WOULD NOTIFY THE PATEROLES AND THEY WOULD HUNT YOU UP AND TURN YOU OVER TO HIM. WAY LONG THEN, MY FATHER AND MOTHER USED TO SAY THAT-MjN mO sN'T2bnReE THE LORD -- THE TRUE AND LIVING GOD AND LET IT BE KNOWN. A BUNCH OF THEM GOT TOG ETHER AND RESOLVED TO SERVE HIM ANY WAY. FIRST THEY SANG IN A WHISPER, "COME YE THAT LOVE THE LORD." FINALLY, THEY GOT BOLD AND BEGAN TO SING IN TONES THAT COUL D BE HEARD EVERYWHERE, "OH FOR A THOUSAND TONGUES TO SING MY GREAT REDEEMER'S PR AISE. AFTER THE WAR MY FATHER FARMED -- AND MADE SHARE CROPS. I REMEMBER ONCE HOW SOME ONE TOOK HIS HORSE AND LEFT AN OLD TIRED HORSE rN THE2Sc kl(.SHE LOOK ED LIKE A NAG. WHEN SHE GOT RESTED UP SHE WAS BETTER THAN THE ONE THAT WAS TOOK. HIS FIRST FARM WAS DOWN HERE IN DALLAS COUNTY. HE MADE A SHARE CROP WIT H HIS FORMER MASTER, PATTILLO. HE NEVER HAD NO TROUBLE WITH HIM. I HEARD A GOOD DEAL OF TALK ABOUT THE KU KLUX KLAN, BUT I DON'T KNOW AN YTHING MUCH ABOUT IT. THEY NEVER BOTHERED MY FATHER AND MOTHER. MY FATHER WAS GI VEN THE NAME OF BEING AN OBEDIENT SERVANT -- AMONG THE BEST HELP THEY HAD. MY FATHER FARMED ALL HIS LIFE. HE DIED AT THE AGE OF SEVENTY-TWO IN TUL IP, NEAR THE YEAR 1885, JUST BEFORE CLEVELAND'S INAUGURATION. HE DIED OF TYPHOID PNEUMONIA. MY MOTHER WAS NINETY-SIX YEARS OLD WHEN SHE DIED IN 1909. I CAME TO LITTLE ROCK IN 1894. I CAME UP HERE TO TEACH IN FOURCHE DAM. THEN I MOVED HERE. I TAUGHT MY FIRST SCHOOL IN THIS COUNTY AT CATE. I QUIT TEACH ING BECAUSE MY SALARY WASSO POOR AND THEN I WENT INTO THE BUTCHER'S BUSINESS, AN D IN THE WOOD BUSINESS. I FARMED ALL THE WHILE. I TAUGHT SCHOOL FOR TWENTY-ONE YEARS. I ALWAYS WAS A SUCCESSFUL TEACHER . I DID MY BEST. IF YOU CONTRACT TO DO A JOB FOR TEN DOLLARS, DO AS MUCH AS THOU GH YOU WERE GETTING A HUNDRED. THAT WILL ALWAYS HELP YOU TO GET A BETTER JOB. I HAVE FARMED ALL MY LIFE IN CONNECTION WITH-MY TEACHrNG. I WnNT rNtOO THER BUSINESSES LIKE I SAID A MOMENT AGO. I WAS A CARETAKER AT THE HAVEN OF REST CEMETERY FOR SOMETIME. I WAS POSTMASTER FROM 1904 TO 1911 AT SWEET qOME. AT-ONE TrME I WAS&nMP LOYED ON THE UNITED STATES CENSUS. I GET A LITTLE BLIND PENSION NOW. I HAVE-NO-OTHnR-MEjNSOF SUPPORT. THE DOCTOR SAYS I LOST MY EYESIGHT ON ACCOUNT OF CATARACTS. I HAD AN OP ERATION AND WHEN I CAME HOME, I GOT TO STIRRING AROUND AND IT CAUSED ME TO HAVE A HEMORRHAGE OF THE EYE. YOU SEE I COULDN'T STAY AT THE HOSPITAL BECAUSE IT WAS COSTING ME #3 A DAY AND I DIDN'T HAVE IT. THEY HAD TO TAKE ONE EYE CLEAN OUT. NO THING CAN BE DONE FOR THEM, BUT SOMEHOW I FEEL THAT THE LORD'S GOING TO LET ME S EE AGAIN. THAT'S THE WAY I FEEL ABOUT IT. I HAVE LIVED HERE IN THIS WORLD THIS LONG jND-NEenR&HAD&AFF!.TIN MY L IFE. I HAVE NEVER BEEN MISTREATED BY A WHITE MAN IN MY LIFE. I ALWAYS KNEW MY PL ACE. SOME FELLOWS GET MISTREATED BECAUSE THEY GET OUT OF THEIR PLACE. I WAS TOLD I COULDN'T STAY IN BENTON BECAUSE THAT WAS A WHITE Mj)'S OW N. I WENT THERE AND THEY TREATED ME WHITE. I TRIED TO STAY WITH A COLORED FAMILY WAY OUT. THEY WERE SCARED TO TAKE ME. I HAD GONE THERE TO ATTEND tO sOME2B brnE SS. THEN I WENT TO THE SHERIFF AND HE TOLD ME THAT IF THEY WERE SCARED TO HAVE M E STAY AT THEIR HOME, I COULD STAY AT THE HOTEL AND PUT MY HORSE IN THE LIVERY S TABLE. I STAYED OUT IN THE WAGON YARD. BUT I WAS INVITED INTO THE HOTEL. THEY TO OK CARE OF MY HORSE AND FED IT AND THEY BROUGHT ME MY MEALS. THE NEXT MORNING, T HEY CLEANED AND CURRIED AND HITCHED MY HORSE FOR ME. I HAVE VOTED ALL MY LIFE. I NEVER HAD ANY TROUkLE AkOUT IT. THE KU KLUX NEVER BOTHERED ME. NOBODY ELSE EVER DID. IF WE LIVE SO THAT EVERYBODY WILL RESPECT US, THE BETTER CLASS WILL ALWAYS TRY TO HELP US. X XXX STP SOLOMON P. PATTILLO 1311-ARK/#048 031 MY FATHER'S NAME WAS THOMAS SMITH, BUT THE PATTILLOS BOUGHT HIM AND HE TOOK THE NAME OF PATTILLO. I DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH HE SOLD FOR. THAT WAS THE ONLY TIME HE WAS EVER SOLD. I BELIEVE THAT MY FATHER WAS BORN IN NORTH CAROLINA. IT S EEMS LIKE TO ME I RECOLLECT THAT IS WHERE HE SAID HE WAS BORN. MY MOTHER WAS BORN IN VIRGINIA. I DON'T KNOW HOW SHE GOT HERE UNLESS SH E WAS SOLD LIKE MY FATHER WAS. I DON'T KNOW HER NAME BEFORE SHE GOT MARRIED. YES , I DO; HER NAME WAS FANNIE SMITH, I BELIEVE. WE LIVED IN OLD LOG CABINS. WE HAD BEDSTEADS NAILED TO THE WALL. THEN W E HAD THEM OLD FASHIONED CORDBOARD SPRINGS. THEY HAD ROPES MADE INTO SPRINGS. TH AT WAS A HIGH CLASS BED. PEOPLE WHO HAD THOSE CORD SPRINGS FELT THEMSELVES. THEY MADE GOOD SLEEPING. MY FATHER HAD ONE. ROPES WERE WOVEN BACK AND FORTH ACROSS T HE BED FRAME. I WAS BORN NOVEMBER 1862. I WAS THREE YEARS OLD AT THE TIME OF THE SURR ENDER. I WAS BORN RIGHT HERE IN ARKANSAS -- RIGHT DOWN HERE IN TULIP, DALLAS COU NTY, ASKANSAS. I HAVE NEVER BEEN OUT OF THE STATE BUT TWICE. MY DADDY CARRIED ME OUT ONCE WHEN THEY TOOK HIM TO TEXAS DURING THE WAR TO KEEP THE YANKS FROM SETTING HIM FREE. THEN I WENT OUT ONCE LONG AFTER SLAVERY TO GET A LOAD OF SAND. ON THE W AY BACK, MY BOAT NEARLY SANK. THOSE ARE THE ONLY TWO TIMES I EVER LEFT THE STATE . WE HAD THOSE OLD SPINNING WHEELS. THREE CURS WAS A DAY'S WORK. A CUT WA S SO MANY THREADS. IT WAS QUITE A DAY TO MAKE THEM. THEY HAD HANKS TOO. THE THRE ADS WERE ALL LINKED TOGETHER. MY MOTHER WAS A SPINNER. MY FATHER WAS A FARMER. BOTH OF THEM WORKED FO R R THEIR MASTER, -- OLD MASSA, THEY CALLED HIM, OR MASSA, MASS TOM, MASS JOHN O R MASSTA. I REMEMBER DURING THE WAR WHEN I WAS IN TEXAS WITH A FAMILY OF MOODY'S HOW OLD MISTISS HAD ME PACKING ROCKS OUT OF THE YARD IN A BASKET AND CLEANING TH E YARD. I DIDN'T KNOW IT THEN, BUT MY DADDY TOLD ME LATER THAT THAT WAS WHEN I W AS IN TEXAS, -- DURING THE WAR. I REMEMBER THAT I USED TO WORK IN MY SHIRT TAIL. THE SOLDIERS USED TO COME IN THE HOUSE SOMEWHERE AND TAKE ANYTHING THEY COULD GET OR WANTED TO TAKE. WHEN I WAS A BOY THEY HAD A SONG, "RUN, NIGGER, RUN; THE PATEROLES WILL GET YOU." THEY WOULD RUN YOU IN AND I HAVE BEEN TOLD THEY WOULD WHIP YOU. IF YO U OVERSTAYED YOUR TIME WHEN YOUR MASTER HAD LET YOU GO OUT, HE WOULD NOTIFY THE PATEROLES AND THEY WOULD HUNT YOU UP AND TURN YOU OVER TO HIM. WAY LONG THEN, MY FATHER AND MOTHER USED TO SAY THAT MAN DOESN'T SERVE THE LORD -- THE TRUE AND LIVING GOD AND LET IT BE KNOWN. A BUNCH OF THEM GOT TOG ETHER AND RESOLVED TO SERVE HIM ANY WAY. FIRST THEY SANG IN A WHISPER, "COME YE THAT LOVE THE LORD." FINALLY, THEY GOT BOLD AND BEGAN TO SING IN TONES THAT COUL D BE HEARD EVERYWHERE, "OH FOR A THOUSAND TONGUES TO SING MY GREAT REDEEMER'S PR AISE. AFTER THE WAR MY FATHER FARMED -- AND MADE SHARE CROPS. I REMEMBER ONCE HOW SOME ONE TOOK HIS HORSE AND LEFT AN OLD TIRED HORSE IN THE STABLE. SHE LOOK ED LIKE A NAG. WHEN SHE GOT RESTED UP SHE WAS BETTER THAN THE ONE THAT WAS TOOK. HIS FIRST FARM WAS DOWN HERE IN DALLAS COUNTY. HE MADE A SHARE CROP WIT H HIS FORMER MASTER, PATTILLO. HE NEVER HAD NO TROUBLE WITH HIM. I HEARD A GOOD DEAL OF TALK ABOUT THE KU KLUX KLAN, BUT I DON'T KNOW AN YTHING MUCH ABOUT IT. THEY NEVER BOTHERED MY FATHER AND MOTHER. MY FATHER WAS GI VEN THE NAME OF BEING AN OBEDIENT SERVANT -- AMONG THE BEST HELP THEY HAD. MY FATHER FARMED ALL HIS LIFE. HE DIED AT THE AGE OF SEVENTY-TWO IN TUL IP, NEAR THE YEAR 1885, JUST BEFORE CLEVELAND'S INAUGURATION. HE DIED OF TYPHOID PNEUMONIA. MY MOTHER WAS NINETY-SIX YEARS OLD WHEN SHE DIED IN 1909. I CAME TO LITTLE ROCK IN 1894. I CAME UP HERE TO TEACH IN FOURCHE DAM. THEN I MOVED HERE. I TAUGHT MY FIRST SCHOOL IN THIS COUNTY AT CATE. I QUIT TEACH ING BECAUSE MY SALARY WASSO POOR AND THEN I WENT INTO THE BUTCHER'S BUSINESS, AN D IN THE WOOD BUSINESS. I FARMED ALL THE WHILE. I TAUGHT SCHOOL FOR TWENTY-ONE YEARS. I ALWAYS WAS A SUCCESSFUL TEACHER . I DID MY BEST. IF YOU CONTRACT TO DO A JOB FOR TEN DOLARS, DO AS MUCH AS THOU GH YOU WERE GETTING A HUNDRED. THAT WILL ALWAYS HELP YOU TO GET A BETTER JOB. 9I8HAVE FARMED ALL MY LIFE IN CONNECTION WITH MY TEACHING. I WENT INTO O THER BUSINESSES LIKE I SAID A MOMENT AGO. I WAS A CARETAKER AT THE HAVEN OF REST CEMETERY FOR SOMETIME. I WAS POSTMASTER FROM 1904 TO 1911 AT SWEET HOME. AT ONE TIME I WAS EMP LOYED ON THE UNITED STATES CENSUS. I GET A LITTLE BLIND PENSION NOW. I HAVE NO OTHER MEANS OF SUPPORT. THE DOCTOR SAYS I LOST MY EYESIGHT ON ACCOUNT OF CATARACTS. I HAD AN OP ERATION AND WHEN I CAME HOME, I GOT TO STIRRING AROUND AND IT CAUSED ME TO HAVE A HEMORRHAGE OF THE EYE. YOU SEE I COULDN'T STAY AT THE HOSPITAL BECAUSE IT WAS COSTING ME #3 A DAY AND I DIDN'T HAVE IT. THEY HAD TO TAKE ONE EYE CLEAN OUT. NO THING CAN BE DONE FOR THEM, BUT SOMEHOW I FEEL THAT THE LORD'S GOING TO LET ME S EE AGAIN. THAT'S THE WAY I FEEL ABOUT IT. I HAVE LIVED HERE IN THIS WORLD THIS LONG AND NEVER HAD A FIGHT IN MY-L IFE. I HAVE NEVER BEEN MISTREATED BY A WHITE MAN IN MY LIFE. I ALWAYS KNEW MY PL ACE. SOME FELLOWS GET MISTREATED BECAUSE THEY GET OUT OF THEIR PLACE. I WAS TOLD I COULDN'T STAY IN BENTON BECAUSE THAT WAS A WHITE MAN'S TOW N. I WENT THERE AND THEY TREATED ME WHITE. I TRIED TO STAY WITH A COLORED FAMILY WAY OUT. THEY WERE SCARED TO TAKE ME. I HAD GONE THERE TO ATTEND TO SOME BUSINE SS. THEN I WENT TO THE SHERIFF AND HE TOLD ME THAT IF THEY WERE SCARED TO HAVE M E STAY AT THEIR HOME, I COULD STAY AT THE HOTEL AND PUT MY HORSE IN THE LIVERY S TABLE. I STAYED OUT IN THE WAGON YARD. BUT I WAS INVITED INTO THE HOTEL. THEY TO OK CARE OF MY HORSE AND FED IT AND THEY BROUGHT ME MY MEALS. THE NEXT MORNING, T HEY CLEANED AND CURRIED AND HITCHED MY HORSE FOR ME. I HAVE VOTED ALL MY LIFE. I NEVER HAD ANY TROUBLE ABOUT IT. THE KU KLUX NEVER BOTHERED ME. NOBODY ELSE EVER DID. IF WE LIVE SO THAT EVERYBODY WILL RESPECT US, THE BETTER CLASS WILL ALWAYS TRY TO HELP US. X XXX STP