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Age________
Yo' say yo' is in'rested in the lives of the slaves? Well, Miss, I is one of 'em. Was born in 1849 but I don' know jus'
when. My birthday comes in fodder pullin' time cause my ma said she was pullin up till bout a hour 'fores I was
born. Was born in North Carolina and was a young lady at the time of surrender.
I don' 'member ol' master's name; all I 'member is that we call 'em ol' master an ol' mistress. They had bout a
hundred niggers and they was rich. Master always tended the men and mistress tended to us.
Ev'y mornin' bout fo' 'clock ol' master would ring de bell for us to git up by an yo could hear dat bell ringin all over
de plantation. I can hear hit now. Hit would go ting-a-ling, ting-a-ling and I can see 'em now stirrin in Carolina. I git
so lonesome when I thinks bout times we used to have. Twas better livin back yonder than now.
I stayed with my ma every night but my mistress raised me. My me had to work hard so ev'y time ol' mistress
thought we little black chilluns was hungry 'tween meals she would call us up to the house to eat. Sometime she
would give us johnny cake an plenty of buttermilk to drink wid it. They had a long trough fo' us dat dey would keep
so clean. They would fill dis trough wid buttermilk and all us chillun would git roun' th' trough an drink wid our
mouths an hol' our johnny cake wid our han's.
I can jus' see myself drinkin' now. Hit was so good. There was so many black fo'ks to cook fuh that the cookin was
done outdoors. Greens was cooked in a big black wadhpot jus' like yo' boils clothes in now. An' sometime they
would crumble bread in the potlicker an give us spoons an we would stan' roun' the pot an' eat. When we et our
regular meals the table was set under a chinaberry tree wid a oil cloth table cloth an when dey called us to th' table
they would ring the bell. But we didn' eat out'n plates. We et out of gourds an had ho'made wood spoons. An' we
had plenty t'eat. Whooo-eee! Jus' plenty t'eat. Ol' master's folks raised plenty o' meat an dey raise day sugar, rice,
peas, chickens, eggs, cows an' jus' ev'ything good t'eat.
Ev'y ev'nin' at three 'clock ol' mistress would call all us litsy bitsy chillun in an we would lay down on pallets an
have to go to sleep. I can hear her now singin' to us piccaninnies:
"Hush-a-bye, bye-yo'-bye, mammy's piccaninnies
Way beneath the silver shining moon
Hush-a-bye, bye-yo'-bye, mammy's piccaninnies
Daddy's little Carolina coons
Now go to sleep yo' little piccaninnies."
When I got big 'nough I nursed my mistress's baby. When de baby go to sleep in de evenin' I woul' put hit in de
cradle an' lay down by de cradle an go to sleep. I played a heap when I was little. We played Susannah Gal, jump
rope, callin' cows, runnin', jumpin', skippin', an jus' ev'ythin' we could think of. When I got big 'nough to cook, I
cooked den.
The kitchen of the big house was built way off f'em the house and we cooked on a great big ol' fi' place. We had
swing pots an would swing 'em over the fire an cook an had a big ol' skillet wi' legs on hit. We call hit a ubben an
cooked bread an cakes in it.
We had the bes' mistress an master in the worl' and they was Christian fo'ks an they taught us to be Christianlike
too. Ev'y Sunday mornin' ol' master would have all us niggers to the house while he would sing an pray an read de
Bible to us all. Ol' master taught us not to be bad; he taught us to be good; he tol' us to never steal nor to tell false
tales an not to do anythin' that was bad. He said: Yo' will reap what yo' sow, that you sow it single an' reap double. I
learnt that when I was a little chile an I ain't fo'got it yet. When I got grown I went de Baptist way. God called my
pa to preach an ol' master let him preach in de kitchen an in the back yard under th' trees. On preachin' day ol'
master took his whole family an all th' slaves to church wid him.
We had log school houses in them days en fo'ks learnt more than they does in the bricks t'day.
Down in the quarters ev'y black family had a one or two room log cabin. We didn' have no floors in them cabins.
Nice dirt floors was de style then an we used sage brooms. Took a string an tied the sage together an had a nice
broom out'n that. We would gather broom sage fo' our winter brooms jus' like we gathered our other winter stuff.
We kep' our dirt floors swep' as clean an' white. An our bed was big an tall an had little beds to push under there.
They was all little er nough to go under de other an in th' daytime we would push 'em all under the big one an make
heaps of room. Our beds was stuffed wid hay an straw an shucks an b'lieve me chile they sho' slep' good.
When the boys would start to the quarters from th' fiel' they would get a turn of lider knots. I specks yo' knows 'em
as pine knots. That was what we use' fo' light. When our fire went out we had no fire. Didn' know nothin' bout no
matches. To start a fire we would take a skillet lid an a piece of cotton an a flint rock. Lay de cotton on th' skillet lid
an take a piece of iron an beat the flint rock till the fire would come. Sometime we would beat fo' thirty minutes
before the fire would come an start the cotton then we woul' light cur pine.
Up at th' big house we didn use lider knots but used tallow candles for lights. We made tha cardles f'em tallow that
we took f'em cows. We had moulds and would put string in there an leave the en' stickin' out to light an melt the
tallow an pour it down aroun' th' string in the mould.
We use to play at night by moonlight and I can recollec' singin wid the fiddle. Oh, Lord, dat fiddle could almos' talk
an I can hear it ringin now. Sometime we would dance in the moonlight too.
Ol' master raised lots of cotton and the women fo'ks carded an spun an wove cloth, then they dyed hit an made
clothes. An we knit all the stockin's we wo'. They made their dye too, f'em diffe'nt kin's of bark an leaves an things.
Dey would take the bark an boil it an strain it up an let it stan' a day then wet the 'terial in col' water an shake hit out
an drop in the boilin' dye an let it set bout twenty minutes then take it out an hang it up an let it dry right out of that
dye. Then rinse it in col' water an let it dry then it woul' be ready to make.
I'll tell yo' how to dye. A little beech bark dyes slate color set with copperas. Hickory bark and bay leaves dye
yellow set with chamber lye; bamboo dyes turkey red, set color wid copperas. Pine straw dyes purple, set color with
chamber lye. To dye cloth brown we would take de cloth an put it in the water where leather had been tanned an let
it soak then set the color with apple vinegar. An we dyed blue wid indigo an set the color wid atumn.
We wo' draws made out of termestic that come down longer than our dresses an we wo' seven petticoats in the
winter wid sleeves in dem petticoats in the winter an the boys wo' big ol' long shirts. They didn' know nothin bout
no britches till they was great big, jus' wen' roun' in dey shirttails. An we all wo' shoes cause my pa made shoes.
Master taught pa to make shoes an the way he done, they killed a cow an took the hide an tanned it. The way they
tanned it was to take red oak bark and put in vats made somethin' like troughs that held water. Firs' he would put in
a layer of leather an a layer of oak ashes an a layer of leather an a layer of oak ashes till he got it all in an cover with
water. After that he let it soak till the hair come off the hide. Then he would take the hide out an it was ready for
tannin'. Then the hide was put to soak in with the red oak bark. It stayed in the water till the hide turned tan then pa
took the hide out of the red oak dye an it was a purty tan. It didn' have to soak long. Then he would get his pattern
an cut an make tan shoes out'n the tanned hides. We called 'em brogans.
They planted indigo an it growed jus' like wheat. When it got ripe they gathered it an we would put it in a barrel an
let it soak bout a week then we woul' take the indigo stems out an squeeze all the juice out of 'em an put the juice
back in the barrel an let it stan' bout nother week, then we jus' stirred an stirred one whole day.
We let it set three or four days then drained the water off an left the settlings and the settlings was blueing jus' like
we have these days. We cut ours in little blocks an we dyed clothes wid it too.
We made vinegar out of apples. Took over ripe apples an ground 'em up an put 'em in a sack an let drip. Didn' add
no water an when it got through drippin we let it sour an strained en let it stan for six months an had some of the bes
vinegar ever made.
We had homemade tubs and didn' have no wash boa'ds. We had a block an bettlin' stick. We put our clo'es in soak
then took 'em out of soak an lay them on the block an take the battling stick an battle the dirt out of 'em. We mos'ly
used rotten vines for clotheslines an they made the bes clo'es lines they was.
Ol' master raised big patches of tobeccy an when dey gather it they let it dry an then put it in lasses. After the lasses
dripped off then they roll hit up an twisted it an let it dry in the sun 10 or 12 days. It sho' was ready for some and
chewin an hit was sweet an stuck together so yo' could chew an spit an 'joy hit.
The way we got our perfume we took rose leaves, cape jasmines an sweet bazil an laid dem wid our clo'es an let 'em
stay three or fo' days then we had good smellin' clo'es that would las' too.
When there was distressful news master would ring the bell. When the niggers in the fiel' would hear the bell
everyone would lis'en an wonder what the trouble was. You'd see 'em stirrin' too. They would always ring the bell at
twelve 'clock. Sometime then they would think it was somethin' serious an they would stan up straight but if they
could see they shadow right under 'em they would know it was time for dinner.
The reason so many white folks was rich was they made money an didn' have nothin' to do but save it. They made
money an raised ev'ything they used, an jus' didn' have no use fo' money. Didn' have no banks in them days an
master buried his money.
The floo's in the big house was so pretty an white. We always kep' them scoured good. We didn' know what it was
to use soap. We jus' took oak ashes out of the fi'place and sprinkled them on the floo' and scoured with a corn shuck
mop. Then we would sweep the ashes off en rinse two times an let it dry. When it dried it was the cleanes' floo' they
was. To make it white, clean sand was sprinkled on the floo' en we let it stay a couple of days then the floo' would
be too clean to walk on. The way we dried the floo' was with a sack an a rag. We would get down on our knees an
dry it so dry.
I 'member one night one of ol' master's girls was goin' to get married. That was after I was big 'nough to cook an we
was sho' doin' some cookin. Some of the niggers on the place jus' natchally would steal so we cook a big cake of
co'n-bread an iced it all pretty an put it out to cool an some of 'em stole it. This way old master found out who was
doin the stealin cause it was such a joke on 'em they had to tell.
All ol' master's niggers was married by the white preacher but he had a neighbor who would marry his niggers
hisself. He would say to the man: "Do yo' want this woman?" and to the girl, "Do yo' want this boy?" Then he
would call the ol' mistress to fetch the broom an ol' master would hold one end an ol' mistress the other an tell the
boy and girl to jump dis broom and he would say: "Dat's yo' wife." Dey called marryin' like that jumpin the broom.
Now chile I can't 'member everything I done in them days but we didn' have ter worry bout nothin. Ol' mistress was
the one to worry. Wasn't then like it is now, no twasn't. We had such a good time an ev'ybody cried when the
Yankees cried out: "Free." Tother niggers say dey had a hard time 'fo' dey was free but twas then like tis now. If you
had a hard time we don it ourselves.
Ol' master didn' want to part with his niggers an the niggers didn' wan' to part with ol' master so they thought by
comin to Arkansas they would have a chance to keep 'em. So they got on their way. We loaded up our wagons an
put up our wagon sheet en we had plenty to eat an plenty of horse feed. We traveled bout 15 or 20 miles a day an
would stop an camp at night. We would cook enough in the morning to las' all day. The cows was drove t'gether.
Some was gentle an some was not an did dey have a time. I mean, dey had a time. While we was on our way ol'
master died an three of the slaves died too. We buried the slaves there but we camped while ol' master was carried
back to North Carolina. When ol' mistress come back we started on to Arkansas an reached here safe but when we
got here we foun' freedom here too. Ol' mistress begged us to stay wid her an we stayed till she died then they took
her back to Carolina. There wasn' nobody lef' but Miss Nancy an she soon married an lef' an I los' track of her an
Mr. Tom.
(El Dorado District)
NAME of Interviewer PERICELLA KDERSON
SUBJECTS Customs related to Slavery Time
I was a young lady in the time of surrender. I am a slave chile. I am one of them. I had a gran' time in slavery time. I
was born wid de white foks. I stayed wid mah muthah at night but mah mistress raised me. I nussed meh muthas
gran'chile. I churned and sot de table. When de baby go to sleep in oe evenin' I put hit in de cradle. An' I'd lay down
by the cradle and go to sleep. Every evenin' I'd go git lida knots. I played a lots. I was born 1849. We played
Susanna Gels, and we just played jump rope. Jes' we gals did. We played calling' cows. Dey'd come to us and we
run from um. My mistess was a millionaire. I went to school a while. I can count only lit bit. One uz de girl made
fun uz me. She kotch me nodding and we fit dare in de school house. Old log school house. Dey had two big rooms.
Ah went to de ole fokes church. Young un too. We'd cry if we didn't git ter go ter church wid me and pa.
Our table was sot under a china berry tree and ooo-eee chile I can see hit now. We et on a loel (oil) table cloth.
When dey called us to de table dey would ring a bell. We didn' eat out uz plates. We et outn gourds. We all et outn
gourds. When I got big nuff ter cook I cooked den. We had plenty to eat. We raised who-eee plenty meat. We raised
our sugar, rice, peas, chikens, eggs, cows. Who-eee chile we had plenty to eat. Our mistess had ovah a hunert (100)
niggers. Ole moster nevah did whip none uv us niggers. He tended de men and mistess always tended to us. I
wudden(wasn't) quite grown when I was married. We cooked out in de yard an' on fireplaces too in dose big
ubbens(ovens). We cooked greens in a wash pot jes like you boil clothes, dats de way we cook greens. We cooked
ash cakes too an we cooked parsimon braid(bread). An evah thing we had was good too. Je made our churns in dem
days. Made dem outn cypress.
Evahbody cried when dam yankees cried out: "ree." We cried too; we hated hit so bed. We had such a good time. I
is gittin so ole I can't member so ever' thin' I done. Now chile ah cain't member evah' thin' I done but in dam days
we didn' have ter worry 'bout nothin'. Ole mistress was de one ter worry. Twasn't den like hit is now. No Twasn't.
Tother niggers say dey had er hard time foe dem Yankee dried "Free" but it quz den jes like hit is now if you had a
hard time we done hit ourselves.
This information given by Millie Evens (Negroes pronounce it (Irvins)
Place of Residence By Missouri Pacific Track near 150P Shops
Occupation None Age 87
(El Dorado District)
Name of Interviewer PERGELLA ANDERSON
localities and certain people (negroes)
Subject FOOD- Paticular foods typical and characteristic of certin
PERSDMON PIE Make a crust like you would any other pie crust and take your persimmons and wash them. Let
them be good and ripe. Get the seed out of them. Don't cook them. Mash them and put cinnamon and spice in and
butter. Sugar to taste. Then roll your dough and put in custard pen, and then add the filling. Then put a top crust on
it, sprinkle a little sugar on top and bake.
PERSPSON CORNBREAD Sift meal and add your ingredients then your persimons that have been washed and the
seeds taken out end mash them and put in and stir well together. Gresae pan well and pour in and bake. Eat with
fresh meat.
PERSDMON BEER Gather your persimmons, wash and put in a keg, cover well with water and add about two cups
of meal to it and let sour about three days. That makes a nice drink.
Boil persimmons just as you do prunes now day and they will answer for the same purpose.
ASH CAKE Two cups of meal and one teaspoon of salt end just enough hot water to make it stick together. Boll out
in pones and drop in a corn shuck or collard leaves or paper. Lay on hot ashes and cover with hot ashes and let cook
about ten minutes.
COMBEND JONRY C'KE Two cups of meal, one half cup of flour about a teaspoon of soda, one cup of syrup,
one-half teaspoon salt, beat well. Add teaspoon of lard. Pour in greased pan and bake.
Watern milk added?
(Old Mistress wud give us this corn bread johnny cake about four o'clock in de evening and give us plenty of
buttermilk to drink wid it. Dey had a long trough. Dey kep' hit so clean fur us. Ev'xy evening about four dey would
fill de trough full up milk and wus abut 100 of us chilluns. We'd all get round de trough and drink wid our mouth
and hold our johnny cake in our han's. I can jes see mahself drinkin now. It wus so good.)
BEEF DUMPLING Take the brough (meaning broth) from boiled beef and season with salt, paper and add you
dumplins jus as you would chicken dumplins.
Pick and wash beet tops just as you would turnip greens and cook with meat to sesson. Season to suit taste. This
makes the best vegetable dish.
POTATO BISCUIT Two cups flour. Two teaspoons of baking powder, pinch of soda, teaspoon of salt, tablespoon
of lard, two cups of cooked, well mashed sweet potatoes and milk to make a nice dough.
IRISH POTATO PIE Boil potatoes, set off and let cool, then mash well and add one cup sugar, two eggs, butter size
of an egg, milk, spice to suit taste, bake in pie crust. Irish potatoes make a better pie than sweet potatoes.
This information given by MILLIE EV-NS (Negro gall it Ivins)
Place of Residence By Missouri Pacific Track near M O P Shops.
Occupation Home Age 87
Interviewer Mary D. Higgins
