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R.F.D., east of town, Brinkley, Arkansas
Age 71
"My mother was sold five times. She was sold when she was too little to remember her mother. Her mother was
Charity Linnerman. They favored. She was dark and granny was light colored. My mother didn't love her mother
like I loved her.
"Granny lived in a house behind the white church (?) in Helena. After freedom we kept writing till we got in tetch
with her. We finally got granny with us on the Jefferies place at Clarendon.
"A man (Negro) come by and conjured my mother. She was with Miss Betty Reed (or Reid) up north of Lonoke.
They was my mother's last owners. That old man made out like she stole things when he stole them his own black
self. He'd make her hide out like she stole things. She had a sweetheart and him and his wife. She had to live with
them. They stole her off from her last winter, Miss Betty Reed. They didn't like her sweetheart. They was going to
marry. He bought all her wedding clothes. When she didn't marry him she gave him have back all the weddin'
clothes and he buried his sister in them. His old man was a conjurer. He give my mother a cup of some kind of
herbs and made her drink it. He tole her all her love would go to Henry Deal. He named him. He was my papa. Her
love sure did leave her sweetheart and go to my papa. He bought her some nice clothes. She married in the clothes
he gave her. She was so glad to let go that old man and woman what conjured her away from her white folks to wait
on them.
"Granny's head was all split open. I lived to see all that. White folks said her husband done it but she said one of her
old master's struck her on the head with a shoe last.
"My papa said he'd hit boards and stood on them all day one after another working cold days.
"Master Wade Deal at freedom give papa a pair of chickens, goats, sheep, turkeys, a cow; and papa cleared ten acres
of ground to pay for his first mule. He bought the mule from Master Wade Deal.
"Old Master Deal used to run us from behind him plowing. We tease him, say what he'd say to the horse or mule.
He'd lock us up in the smokehouse. We'd eat dried beef and go to sleep. He was a good old man.
"Grandpa Henry Pool went to war. Papa was sold from the Pools to the Deals. Grandpa played with us. He'd put us
all up on a horse we called Old Bill. He said he got so used to sleeping on his blanket on the ground in war times till
he couldn't sleep on a bed. He couldn't get off asleep.
"Grandpa found a pitcher of gold money been buried in old Master Pool's stable. He give it to them. They knowed it
was out there.
"Mother was with Miss Betty Reed in most of war times. Miss Betty hid their jewelry and money. She spoke of the
Yankees coming and kill pretty chickens and drink up a churn of fresh milk turned ready for churning. It be in the
chimney corner to keep warm. They'd take fat horses and turn their poor ones in the lot. They never could pass up a
fat hog. They cleaned out the corn crib.
"All my kin folks was field hands. I ploughed all day long.
"Papa said his old Mistress Deal was out under an apple tree peeling apples to dry. A white crane flew over the tree
and fluttered about over her. Next day she died. Then the old man married a younger woman.
"It is so about the pigeons at Pigeon Roost (Wattensaw, Arkansas). They weighted trees down till they actually
broke limbs and swayed plenty of them. That was the richest land you ever seen in your life when it was cleared off.
Folks couldn't rest for killing pigeons and wasted them all up. I was born at Pigeon Roost on Jim High's place. I
seen a whole washpot full of stewed pigeon. It was fine eating. It was a shame to waste up all the pigeons and clear
out the place."
Interviewer Mrs. Bernice Bowden"
