|
|
Madison Street, Macon, Georgia.
Written by: Ruth H. Sanford Macon, Georgia-
Edited by: Annie A. Rose Macon, Georgia.
Susan Matthews is an intelligent old negress, very tall and weighing close to two hundred pounds. Her eyes were bright, her "store-bought" teeth flashed in a smile as she expressed her willingness to tell us all she remembered "bout ole times." In a tattered, faded print dress, a misshapen hat and ragged shoes, she sat enjoying the sunshine on the porch while she sewed on an underskirt she was making for herself from old sugar sacks. Her manner was cheerful; she seemed to get genuine enjoyment from the interview and gave us a hearty invitation to come to see her again.
"I was jes a chile" she began, when de white folks had slaves. My ma an her chillen was the onliest slaves my marster and mistis had. My pa belonged to some mo white folks that lived 'bout five miles from us. My marster and mistis were poor folks. They lived in a white frame house; it was jes a little house that had 'bout five rooms, I reckon. The house had a kitchen in the backyard and the house my ma lived was in the back yard too, but I was raised in my mistis' house. I slept in her room; slep' on the foot of her bed to keep her feets warn and everwhere my mistis went I went to. My marster and mistis was sho good to us an we leved 'em. My ma, she done the cooking and the washing fer the family and she could work in the fields jes lak a man. She could pick her three hundred pounds of cotton or pull as much fodder as any man. She was strong an she had a new baby mos' ev'y year. My marster and Mistis liked for to have a lot of chillen ' cause that helped ter make 'em richer."
I didn't have much time fer playin' when I was little cause I was all us busy wiltin' on my mistis er taking care on my little brothers and sisters. But I did have a doll to play with. It was a rag doll an my mistis made it for me. I was jes crazy 'bout that doll and I learned how to sew making clothes fer it. I'd make clothes fer it an wash an iron 'em, and it wasn't long 'fo I knowed how to sew real good, an I been sewing ever since.
My white folks wern't rich er tall but we always had plenty of somep'n to eat, and we had fire wood to keep us warm in winter too. We had plenty of syrup and corn bread, and when dey killed a hog we had fine sausage an chitlin's, an all sorts of good eating. My marster and the white an collored boys would go hunting, and we had squirrels an rabbits an possums jes lots of time. Yessum, we had plenty; we never did go hongry.
"does I remember 'bout the Yankees coming?, Yes ma'am, I sho does. The white chillen an us had been looking fer 'em and looking fer 'em. We wanted 'em to come. We knowed 'twould be fun to see 'em. And sho 'nuf one day I was out in de front yard to see and I seed a whole passel of men in blue coats coming down de road. I hollered "Here come de Yankees". I knowed twuz dex an my mistis an an my ma am ev'y body come out in the front yard to see 'em. The Yankees stopped an the leading man with the straps on his shoulders talked to us an de men got water outen de wall. No'n, they didn't take nothing an they hurt nothing. After a while they jes want on down the road; they sho looked hot an dusty an tired.
After de war was over my pa, he comed up to our house an got my ma an all us chillen an carries us down to his marster's place. I didn't want ter go cause I loved my mistis an she cried when we left. My pa's ole marster let him have some land to work on shares. My pa was a hard worker an we helped him an in a few years he bought a little piece of land an he owned it till he died. 'Bout once er twice a year we'd all go back ter see our mistis. She was always glad to see us an treated us fine.
"After de war a white woman started a school fer nigger chillen an my pa sent us. This white lady was a ole maid an was mighty poor. She an her ma lived by dereselves, I reckon her pa had done got kilt in de war. I don't know 'bout that but I knows they was mighty poor an my pa paid her fer teaching us in things to eat from his farm. We didn't never have no money. I loved to go to school; I had a blue back speller an I learned real quick but we didn't get ter go all the time. When there was work ter do on the farm we had ter stop an do it.
"Times warn't no better after de war was over an dey warnt no wuss. We was po before de war an we was po after de war. But we allus had somep'n to wear and plenty to eat an we never had no kick coming.
"I never did get married. I'se a old naid nigger, an they tells me you don't see old naid niggers. How come I ain't married I don't know. Seems like when I was young I seed somep'n wrong with all de mens that would come around. Then atter while I was kinder ole an they didn't come around no mo. Jes' last week a man come by here what used to co't me. He seed me settin here on the porch an I says ' Come on in an set a while', an he did. So maybe, I ain't through co'tin, maybe I'll get married yet." Here she laughed gleefully.
When asked which she preferred freedom or slavery she replied", Well, being free was all right while I was young but now I'm old an I wish I B'longed to somebody cause they would take keer of me an now I ain't got nobody to take keer of me. The government gives me eight dollars a month but that don't go fer enough. I has er hard time cause I can't git around an work like I used to."
(DIST. 6., 2705ASLAVE11, Alberta Minor, Re-search Worker)
