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Rachel was feeding her chickens in the lot back of her house."Dis here is my husband's house,"she said, "and de 29 acres he lef' belongs to his chillun and me. I ain't had no
chillun, but I raised eight of his. I been living 49 years in dis one house, and divides de crop with his chillun. Imakes my own cash money sewing for Augusta ladies."Rachel's husband ran the ferry and her life was a happy one."I kin work hard, even I is 74 years old," she explained, "because I had a good husband and didn't have to work so
hard when I was young.""Do you know any stories, Rachel?" she was asked."Yassum, I has to tell 'em to de little chillun in Augusta every time I go dere."Rachel talked rapidly, through thickened lips and toothless gums. She gave an amusing variation of the famous
"Skinny" story."A woman had a habit of going out every night. Her husband couldn't guess where she was gone. One night hemade out like he was asleep and he saw her get up, reach under de bed and get a gourd." (Mere Rachel gave a
demonstration of the "shimmy" dance, eyes rolling, hands on hips.) "She shook her hips until her skin got loose andhe heard her singin' 'Over and under, through thick and thin, tech nowhere.'"Then her skin shook off, and she put it in de gourd and flew out de window.""De man got up and looked in de gourd, and sure enough dere was de skin all curled up. He knew den his wife was
a witch, so he took salt and pepper and sprinkled it over her skin. When she come back she shook herself and said: 'Skinny, Skinny, don't you know me?' De skin jumped up and bit her. Den dat misses fout with her skin. She shook herself in and out of it, and den she got into bed without de skin."
"Her husband woke up and said: 'Old lady, what was that you talk so? 'Over and under, through thick and thin, technowhere?'""'I never talk dat-a-way,' she answered.""'Yes, twas,' he said and den he hist up de sides of de bed cover."'What you say, Skinny?'"
"'I ain't said no Skinny.'""'Well,' he said, 'I'm de one what put salt and pepper on dat skin and here it is.' And dere de skin was, still curled upin de gourd."
"Den de woman got up and fly away with the old witch and never come back again."Rachel remembered still another version of the skin story."Dere was some girls, dey was witches. At night dey would go out and steal. Dey would pull off dey skin and put it
in a closet when dey clothes was and dey had some little caps dey put on when dey shook off dey skin so dey could
go out th'ough de keyhole.""A man was courtin' one of the girls. He peep in de keyhole and seen 'em put on de caps, and shake deyselves, andsay:
"'Over and under, thro' thick and thin, tech nowhere.'""'He put on a cap, tied it under his chin and said:
'Over and under, Through thick and thin, Tech everywhere.'
"You see he got de words wrong, and he went outtin' into everythin', hittin' his head, crackin' his joints, knockin'into trees and fences, until de power of de cap wear off. He was so tired he went back to de house and lay down.""At daylight de girls flew back.""'Well, ladies, I must go,' he said.""'Don't go yit,' dey said, 'we'll give you some breakfast.""'No thank you,' he said, 'I don't want no breakfast. All I want to know is what kind of a trick you play on me? I put
on one of de caps and I tech everywhere!'"
"'Did you do dat?' de girls ask. 'Well now you got to be a witch or go away. If you want to stay with us you got todo de witch-way and follow us on our rides.'""So de man 'cided to stay with 'em and agreed to be a man witch."Rachel said she had one "token" or death warning:"My husband's chile had whooping cough. He run de ferry, and come home in a buggy sometimes, sometimes on de
horse. We had two horses den.""De little girl was gittin' better of de whoopin' cough and dey was sittin' round de fire parchin' peanuts. I wasworkin' on buttonholes for a lady's dress. (I always did sew for white folks.) My husban' was a great one to clear up
his throat. Well he heard de old horse come clumpin' clear up to de gate and in across de yard. We heard my husban'clear up his throat and call out loud: 'Here you are, having a good time!'""De horse cross on into de lot. De noise of de horse's feet went dat-a-way. After awhile de oldest girl said: "Auntie,
lemme go see what popper's doing.'"
"She and de little girl what had whoopin' cough went into de yard. Dey didn't see nobody. Dey went back to debarn, but no horse dere.""Twelve o'clock come and my husban' didn' come home. He never did come home all dat night, 'cause white folks
had a big dance over at de Institution and he had to set all night at de ferry. So when morning come I cook hisbreakfast. Den I hitched another horse and went down to de ferry."
"'Why did you come home, and didn't come in de house last night?' I said.""De man what help him laugh out loud. 'Ain't no going home last night. Neither one of us lef' de flat. Didn't gohome at all. When de white folks quit crossin' we lay down and made out de night on de flat.'"
"De nex' Sunday de little girl what had de whoopin' cough die sudden-like, and all de neighbors say I had a token,dat hearin' my husband like dat was a death-warning."Rachel remembered a few children's games, but not the exact pattern of play.FISH
"I'll be de head.You be de back.You be de side.You be de fin.
You be de eye."
"Old head wants to go. Old side wants to go. Old eye wants to go. Repeat everything. When it run out to de las' one, de old tail. Do it three times. De one what is tail las' time must pay a pawn. Den all ring up and go round and if old tail don't remember who he is, he have to pay another pawn. Den de pawn is sell, and you pay with a kiss whosoever de pawn belongst to."
COONSY
"One, old woman; one, old man; ring up. I'll say I'm old woman, another old man, one old Coonsy. You count up to ten dat-a-way. I'll turn old Coonsy, Old Coonsy turn next one, do it three times, de las' one pay a pawn."
MANDS UP AND GO ROUND, OLD GEORGIA RABBIT WHO?
"I steal a partner, you steal another, then I'll steal your partner and you steal another."
Asked about herbs and power plants, Rachel said she had heard that John-the-Conqueror would help people hold jobs, and that the Adam-and-Eve root had some power, but that she had no superstitions herself concerning "yarbs" and did not have any growing in her yard. She had heard of the "birthroet" which brought on easy childbirth.
Rachel remembered the stories about the field "where a white man's ghost walks" --- she said it was beside Dead River Church (the former site of Springfield Baptist church) and was called "Niggerhead Lane." The ghost of a white man wearing a long linen duster walked the field where he was hanged many years ago, Rachel said, but she could not remember why the man was hanged. (See the story told by Rachel Dorsey).
"Come back and see me next week," said Rachel, "and I will remember some mo' stories to tell you."
A Male Ex-Slave of Senator J. H. Hill"
