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(Lee County, AL. Preston Klein, Jack Kytle)
"Aunt" Hattie Clayton said, "I's gittin' aroun' de ninety honey, an' I reckon de Kingdom ain't fur away."
She lives in a tiny cabin not far from Opelika. Her shoulders are bent; her hair gray, but she still does a large amount of house-work. She likes to sit on the tumbledown front porch on summer after playing her knitting needles and stretching her aged legs in the sunlight.
"'Twas a long time ago, honey," she observed when talk of slavery was brought up, "but I 'members as ef 'twas yestidy. My ol' was de Widder Day. She owned a plantation clos't to LaFayette an she was mighty good to us niggers.
"Ol' Mistus boughten me when I was jus' a little tyke, so I don't member 'bout my pappy an' mammy.
"Honey, I 'members dat us little chilluns didn't go to de fiel's 'til us was big 'nuff to keep up a row. De overseer, Marse Joe Harris, made us work, but he was good to us. Ol' Mistus, she wouldn't let us wuk when it was rainin' an' cold."
Asked about pleasures of old plantation life, she chuckled and recalled: "I kin heah de banjers yit. Law me, us had a good time in dem. Us danced most ev'ry Sattidy night an' us made de rafters shake wid de foots. Lots o' times Ole missus would come to de dances an' look on. An' when 'er brash nigger boy cut a cute bunch of steps, de menfolks would give 'im a dime or so.
"Honey, us went t' de church on a Sundays. I allus did lak and I loved de ol' songs lak, 'Ol' Ship of Zion, an' 'Happy
Land.' Ol' Mistus useter take all de little scamps dat was too little for church an' read de Book to dem under de big oak tree in de front yahd."
"Aunt Hattie," she was asked, "do you remember anything about de War between the States?"
"You mean de Yankees, honey?"
"Yes, the Yankees."
Her coal-black face clouded. "Dey skeered us nearly to death," she began. "Dey drop right outen de sky. Ol' Mistus Keep hearin' dey was comin', but dey didn't never show up. Den, all ter once, dey was swarmin' all over de place wid deir blue coats a shinin' an deir horses a-rarin'.
"Us chilluns run en hid in de fence corners en' behin' quilts dat was hangin' on de line. An' honey, dem Yankees rid deir horses rat onto Ol' Mistus flower beds. Dey hunted de silver, too, but us done hid dat.
"I 'members dey was mad. Dey set de house a-fire an' tuk all de vittals dey could fin.' I run away an' got los', an' when I come back all de folks was gone."
Aunt Hattie said she went down de big road an' come to a lady's house where she remained until she married. "Us moved to LaFayette an' den to Opelika," she concluded, "an' I bin' here ever since."
She lives with one of her numerous granddaughters now. She finds her great happiness in "de promise" and the moments when she can sit in the shade and dip her mind back into memory.
(Wash. Copy, 5/25/37, L. H.)
[Note: The following excerpts were taken from another interview conducted with the preceding person. All repeated information has been omitted.]
"Yassum, Missy, I knows all erbout fo de war, cause I was right dar en seed hit all. My Ole Mistis was de Widder Day, en I neber seed Ole Marster, kase he was dead fo Ole Mistis bought me. Ole Mistis bought me when I was eight year old, en she said de folks she bot me fum, come fum Georgy; but I don't member nobody, cep Ole Mistis; ef I had er mammy en er pappy, I don't member dem. Us little chilluns didn't go to de fiel, tell we was big nuff ter keep up er row, en de oberseer, Joe Harris, made us wuk hard; but he wan't mean ter us, ef we wuked. We started ter work at daylight, en dey brung our brekfus ter de fiel en we et hit at sun up. We et dinner in de fiel too, but we quit at sundown en et supper at de house. Ole Mistis was good ter her niggers; she didn't let de oberseer work us in de rain nor when hit was too cold, en I nebber went ter bed hongry whilst I was er slave."
"Aunt Hattie, didn't you do anything but work, didn't you have any pleasure"?
"Law, Missy, we had mo good times dan dey has now. Ef de fiel wuk was up, us didn't wuk Saddy ebenin, en we could hab er banjo dance nearly ebery Saddy night. Lots er times, Ole Mistis en her company come ter our dances en looked on, en when er brash nigger boy cut some cu'is steps, de men would trow him dimes, en dey would all laugh fit ter kill."
"De grown niggers could get passes en go to church Sundy en Sundy night, en sometimes dey tuk us little ones ef we been behave all de pas week, en I sho like dat; cause I allus did lak singin en I knowed all de church songs, lak 'Ole Ship er Zion' en 'Happy Land', but I knowed dem songs long fo I eber went to church. Ole Mistis tuk all little chilluns what wan't big ernough to go to church, en read de Bible ter um out in de back yard under er big tree - I members some ob de readin yet, what Ole Mistis read to us chillun. I learnt de songs fum de udders what sung em when dey got back frum church, en de fiel hands allus singin whist dey was wukin."
"We neber had no trouble tell de yankees come, en dey skeered us nearly to death, We'd been hearing dey was comin, en dey didn't come; so we quit bein skeered. Den, all ter once, dey drapped down right outen de sky en was all ober de place fo we seed um. Us little chilluns run en hid in de fence corners, en behine some quilts bangin on de fence, en dem yankees rid dey hosses right up in Ole Mistis yard, whar she didn't low no hosses to come, en dey was mad cause Ole Mistis done hid all de meat, en all de flour, en all de meal down in de swamp, en hid de silver summuz, I dunno whar, en dey cussed right for Ole Mistis, en ride dey hosses all ober her flower-yard. Dey tied Unker Luke, Ole Mistis head nigger, to er tree en whipped him wid er bridle cause he wuddent tell whar Ole Mistiss hid tings; but Unker Luke didn't open he mout - jes let em whip. Ole Mistis, en all of us cried whilst de yankees whippin Unker Luke, en she sho did bless em out. Dey was so mad, dey sot de barn erfire, en dey set de crib erfire en burnt hit up wid evey ting Ole Mistiss had in de world - when she fotch enyting outen de house, dey flung hit back, eben her little chilluns pictures what was dead. Us chilluns was skeered so, we runned clear off, en I got lost all night en didn't get back tell nex day, en dere wan't nobody dar, en I was hongry. Dem yankees cons burnt up all de cabins en all de niggers was gone."
"Well, what became of you, Aunt Hattie? How did you make out?"
"I went on down de big road tell I come to a oman's house what de yankees didn't burn, en she gin me sumpn ter eat en let me liv wid her. She knowed Ole Mistis, en sent her word whar I was, but I reckon Ole Mistis neber got de word. I lived wid dat lady tell I got maied to my husbun, en us moved to Fayette en den ter Opelika en I'se been here eber sence.
"I neber did see Ole Mistis no mo, but I went back dar one time atter I was ma'ied ter see her, en de place was all growed up wid weeds en bushes, en de shade trees cut down en de fences all gone. I didn't know de place en de folks what libin in de little house dey built close ter de spring, dey didn't know nuthin erbout Ole Mistis, ner whar she gone; den I come back erway fum dere en I don't want ter go dere no mo. I'se er gittin erlong vey well here; but dese triflin chillun, lazy chilluns worries me er lot. Dey don't want me ter do nuthin but sit down in er cheer all day, en I wan't brung up ter do nothin dat er way."
