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Aged 76
Home Palmetto ( lives with daughter who owns a comfortable, well furnished home)
As told by: Mrs. Fanny Johnson
"Yes ma'am. I remembers the days of slavery. I was turned five years old when the war started rushing. No ma'am, I
didn't see much of the Yankees. They didn't come thru but twice. Was I afraid ? No ma'am. I was too busy to be
scared. I was too busy looking at the buttons they wore. Until they went in Master's smoke house. Then I quit
looking and started hollering.But, I'll tell you all about that later.
My folks all come from Maryland. They was sold to a man named Woodfork and brought to Nashville. The
Woodfork colored folks was always trusted good. Master used to buy up lots of plantations. Once he bought one in
Virginia with all the slaves on the place. He didn't believe in separating families. He didn't believe in dividing
mother from her baby.
But they did take them away from their babies. I remember my grandmother telling about it. The wagon would drive
down into the field and pick up a woman. Then somebody would meet her at the gate and she would nurse her baby
for the last time. Then she'd have to go on. Leastwise, if they hadn't sold her baby too.
It was pretty awful. But I don't hold no grudge against anybody. White or black, there's good folks in all kinds. I
don't hold nothing against nobody. The good Lord knows what he is about. Most of the time it was just fine on any
Woodfork place. Master had so many places he couldn't be at 'em all. We lived down on the border , on the
Arkensas-Louisiana line sort of joining to Grand Lake. Master was up at Nashville, Tennessee. Most of the time the
overseers was good to us.
But it wasn't that way on all the plantations. On the next one they was mean. Why you could hear the sound of the
strap for two blocks. No there wasn't any blocks. But you could hear it that far. The "niggah drivah" would stand
and hit them with a wide strap. The overseer would stand off and split the blisters with a bull whip. Some they
whipped so hard they had to carry them in. Just once did anybody on the Woodfork place get whipped that way.
We never knew quite what happened. But my grandmother thought that the colored man what took down the ages
of the children so they'd know when to send them to the field must have wrote Master. Anybody else couldn't have
done it. Anyhow, Master wrote back a letter and said, 'I bought my black folks to work, not to be killed.' And the
overseer didn't dare do so any more.
No ma'am, I never worked in the field. I wasn't old enough. You see I helped my grandmother. She is the one who
took care of the babies. All the women from the lower end would bring their babies to the upper end for her to look
after while they was in the field. When I got old enough, I used to help rock the cradles. We used to have lots of
babies to tend. The women used to slip in and nurse their babies. If the overseer thought they stayed too long he
used to come in and whip them out-----out to the fields. But they was good to us, just the same. We had plenty to
wear and lots to eat and good cabins to live in. All of them wasn't that way though.
I remember the women on the next plantation used to slip over and get somthing to eat from us. The Woodfork
colored folks was always well took care of. Our white folks was good to us. During the week there was somebody
to cook for us. On Sunday all of them cooked in their cabins and they had plenty. The women on the next
plantation, even when they was getting ready to have babies didn't seem to get enough to eat. They used to slip off
at night and come over to our place. The Woodfork people never had to go nowhere for food. Our white folks
treated us real good.
Didn't make much difference when the war started rushing. We didn't see any fighting. I told you the Yankees come
thru twice----let me go back a spell.
We had lots of barrels of Louisiana molasses. We could eat all we wanted. Then the barrels was empty, we children
was let scrape them. Lawsey, I used to get inside the barrel and scrape and scrape and scrape until there wasn't any
sweetness left.
We was allowed to do all sorts of other things too. Like there was lots of pecans down in the swamps. The boyy,
and girls too for that matter, was allowed to pick them and sell them to the river boats what come along. The men
was let cut cord wood and sell it to the boats. Flat boats they was. There was regular stores on them. You could buy
gloves and hats and lots of things. They would burn the wood on the boat and carry the nuts up North to sell. But
me, I liked the suggr barrel best.
When the Yankees come thru, I wasn't scared. I was too busy looking at the bright buttons on their coats. I edged
closer and closer. All they did was laugh. But I kept looking at them. Until they went into the smoke house. Then I
turned loose and hollered. I hollored because I thought they was going to take all Master's sirup. I didn't want that to
happen. No ma'am they didn't take nothing. Neither time they came.
After the war was over they took us down the river to The Bend. It was near Vicksburg-----ah all day's ride. Ther
they put us on a plantation and took care of us. It was the most beautifulest place I ever see. All the cabins was
whitewashed good. The trees was big and the whole place was just lovely. It was old man Jeff Davis' place.
They fed us good, gave us lots to eat. They sent up north, the Yankees did, and got young white lady to come down
and teach us. I didn't learn nothing. They had our school near what was the grave yard. I didn't learn cause I was too
busy looking around at the tombstones. They was beautiful. They looked just like folks to me. Looks like I ought
have learned. They was mighty good to send somebody down to learn us that waY. I ought have learned, it looks
ungrateful, but I didn't.
My mother died on that place. It was a mighty nice place. Later on we come to Arkansas. We farred. Looked like it
was all we knowed how to do. We worked at lots of places. One time we worked for a man named Thomas H.
Allen. He was at Rob Roy on the Arkansas near Pine Bluff. Then we worked for a man named Mimbroo. He had a
big plantation in Jefferson county. For forty years we worked first one place, then another.
After that I went out to Oklahoma. I went as a cook. Then I got the idea of following the resort towns about. In the
summer I'd go to Eureka.* In the winter I'd come down to Hot Springs.* That was the way to make the best money.
Folks what had money moved about like that. I done cooking at other resorts too. I cooked at the hotel at Vinslow *.
I done that several suwers.
Somehow I always come back to Hot Springs. Good people in Eureka. Finest men I ever worked for--for a rich man
was Mr. Rigley, you know. He was the man who made chewing gum. We didn't have no gas in Eureka. Had too
cook by wood. I remember lots of times Mr. Wrigley would come out in the yard where I was splitting kindling.
He'd laugh and he'd take the ax away from me and split it hisself. Finest man-----for a rich man I ever see.
Cooking at the hotel at Winslow was nice. There was lots of fine ladies what wanted to take me home with them
when they went home. But I told them, 'No thank you, Hot Springs is my home. I'm going there this winter.'
I 'm getting sort of old now. My feet ain't so sure as they used to be. But I can get about. I can get around to cook
and I can still see to thread a needle. My daughter has a good home for me " ( I was conducted into a large living
room, comfortably furnished and with a degree of taste--caught glimpses of a well furnished dining room and a
kitchen equipment which appeared thoroughly modern--Interviewer)
"People in Hot Springs is good people. They seem sort of friendly. Folks in Eureka did too, even more so. But
maybe it was cause I was younger then and got to see more of them. But the Lord has blessed me with a good
daughter. I got nothing to complain about, I don't hold grudges against nobody. The good Lord knows what he is
doing."
Interviewer Samuel S. Taylor"
