|
|
(Lee County, Alabama, Preston Klein, Jack Kytle, Editor)
Carrie Davis said "Honey, dere was a lot of cruel things done in slavery times."
She was washing when I arrived at her shanty near Smith's Station, Alabama. She asked, as so many of the old Negroes do, "Has you come to whip me?" I said, "No, Carrie; I want you to tell me about slavery."
She shook her gray head, recalled: "Dem was good an' bad times, mistus; good an' bad. I had a purty good marster; but de marster on de plantation dat j'ined our'n was mighty mean. He was a bad man, no matter if de slaves behaved or not.
"Honey, I 'members dat he had regular days to whup all de slaves wid strops. De strops had holes in 'em so dat dey raised big blisters. Den dey took a hand saw, cut de blisters and washed 'em in salt water. Ol' Mistus has put salve on sheap of backs so dey could git deir shirts off. De shirts'd stick, you see. De slaves would come to our house for water an' Mistus would see 'em.
Asked about her life as a slave, she said: "I was borned in Harris County, Georgia, an' was 'bout ten or twelve when freedom come. My mammmy an' pappy was Martha an' Nathan Perry and had seven chillun. Besides me, dere was Amy, Ida, Knoxie, Jim, Abraham, an' Franklin.
"Us lived in de Perry quarters. De cabins was made of split logs, put up edgeways and daubed wid mud inside an' out. Dey was 'bout hundred yards from de big house, whar marster Billy an' Mistus Nancy lived. Deir chillun was Clara Marie, Melinda, Sara, Alec, Jim, an' Joe. Dey was real good to us, too. Us et at de big house. Course food was cooked on de fireplace, but us had meat and greens but not much biscuits. Us had collards an' cabbage, too.
"Sometimes us would have wild game, 'cuz de men hunted lots, catched rabbits, 'possums and coons. Dey also ketched a lot of fish.
"No'm, our beds warn't so good. Dey was homemade and de sides was scantlings wid legs nailed on. Den slats was nailed on top of it to put our shuck-and-straw mattresses on.
"My grand-parents was from Virginny. When I was a slave I was a house-girl and to help keep de yards clean and bring in water. Us wore mostly slips, wove in homemade looms; an' dey was orsanburg an' homespun. We wore 'em Sunday and Monday de same. Us shoes was made at Bantard and dey was brogans as hard as rocks.
"I 'members dat some of our white neighbors was poor and didn't have no slaves. Dey would help us work. De overseer couldn't whip dem, but would made dem work hard and late. I 'members, too, dat de overseer waked us up wid a trumpet.
"Dey useta tell us dat if us didn't work dey was going to sell us to feed de rest; and bless yo' soul, us niggers'd go to work, too. Master wasn't mean; he would jest lock de slaves in de crit fer punishment. When slaves was sold, I seed many a nigger put on de block for five and hundred dollars.
"Us couldn't leave de plantation widout a pass; and you better not let dem ketch you wid a book. Us walked to de white church an' set in back. Mr. Davey Snell preach and baptize, and dey had foot-washin's. Sometimes de niggers'd git so happy dey would shout. Den dey would keep singin' in de fields next day and git a whipping.
"If a nigger got out widout a pass, dey set de hounds on you; and patrollers'd tear you up, too, if you stayed out too late.
"Us had sech good times on Sattidy nights; frolic, dance an' cornshuckin's. Lost of 'en would be drinkin' and singand holler:
'Sheep's in de cotton patch;Got 'im out Monday.Had it been a white man;Got 'im out Sunday.'
"Kid Kimbrough was our leader, and he could sing 'Dixie,' too.
"Christmas mornin' us'd have a better breakfast and dey would give rations at de big house. When any of de slavesgot married dey went up to de white folks' house an' jumped over de broom. Dat was de ceremony at de weddin'.{And if marster wanted to mix his stock wid a strong stock on 'nother plantation, dey would do de tradin' womenjest like horses. I 'members dat when two niggers married, dey got a big supper.}
"All us chilluns had a big time; played 'Pretty Pauline,' 'Turn, Pie,' an' suh-lak.
"No'm I never did see nor believe in ghosts. When us got sick Mistus' give horse-wint, life-everlasting, an' hollytea, yessum. And us wore asafoetide and poppy seed.
"When de Yankees come, dey handcuffed our folks and took 'em off. Master had his meat, corn, fodder, and eachhauled in de swamp near de plantation. Dem Yankees went as straight to it as if dey had seed it dere. Dey burned itall up and took some niggers from de farm.
"When freedom come, I 'members dat marster told us dat us was free, and we could stay on if we lacked. Most of usstayed on wid him a spell. Now and den de Ku Klux Klan'd come around and beat on a nigger.
"I married Charlie Gibson and had two chillun, twelve grandchillun and nine great-grandchilluns. "Honey, I's heardAbraham Lincoln's name, but don't know nothin' about him. I got tired livin' 'mong wicked peoples; and I wanted tobe free. Dat's why I j'ined de church and still tries to de right."
(They're always willing to tell what they know and tickled at having their "pitcher tuck.")
(Washington Copy, L. H.)
