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"I was born in Newberry County, S. C. My daddy was Fielding Bond and my mammy was Elsie Bond. Dey belonged to John Richey and Nathan Johnson. We lived with Nathan Johnson until my mammy and daddy died, den Marse Johnson took me and raised me. When Marse Johnson was elected sheriff at Newberry, he took me with dem to de jail to live. I was just a small child. He was good to me.
"On de plantation in de upper part of de county, my marse had lots of slaves and hands. He raised everything to eat dar, and had plenty goats, sheep, hogs, cows, and big gardens. We had it good.
"Sometimes de grown folks would have corn-shuckings at night, and dey would have something good to eat. When dey got through with de corn, dey would go catch de marse and tote him on deir shoulders three times around de house.
"We made all our clothes at home with de spinning wheel, cards and looms.
"I remember de patrollers. Once some of us chaps run away from home and went to hunt muscadines. Some of de patrollers saw us and run atter us but we out run dem and got to our homes befo' dey caught us. Dey couldn't come in our place to git us because de marse wouldn't allow it. But our overseer was as mean as de devil. He wanted us to work all day when we had been up de night befo' rocking babies, but de marse wanted to know why or how de hell de chaps could work all day and stay up all night. He always said he didn't want any of his niggers to come befo' him for stealing or robbing, but to always come to him and he would give dem something to eat.
"I remember once dey had a auction and sold some niggers on de block. Old General Kinard sometimes when making de sale would take his little hammer and tap a slave on de head to prove he was good property; but one nigger called him down and told him not to do it and he quit.
"De niggers had a funeral when one died, and dey would sit up all night with de body singing, some would shout in a easy way. Dey carried de body in wagons to de graveyard, and de coffins was made at home out of wood, and de bottom was lined often with leather.
"De Ku Klux once got wild in our neighborhood. Dey dressed in white sheets and had de heads covered, but I know'd one of de leaders. He was old Wallace Riser. I know'd him because I waited on deir table too long not to know him. I don't know if he was in dis crowd dat caught a white man at night and took him down to de creek and beat him up awfully, for some reason. De fellow proved to be Dr. Pinkney Johnson, son of old Nathan Hohnson; and when dey brought him, he was mussed up mighty bad; and his mother wailed when she saw him, and said, "Oh, my child, how dey beat him."
"It was said dat when dey was beating him on de bank of de creek, one tried to stab him but he cried, "Are you gwine to kill de only doctor here?" Den dey said, "No, no, why didn't you let us know who you was."
"A Ku Klux song which sometimes de white and niggers sung was: 'Hide out nigger, hide out, Militia come for you..." And another one was: 'You may never press me to your heart again, mother; Oh, I'll never forget you my mother.'
"Dar was a old Abraham Lincoln song dat went like dis: 'Oh, Abe Lincoln, I'm gwine away; I'm gwine to Virginia, for to turn de Yankees back."
"Some of de old niggers and some of de young ones went with deir marsters to de army. Dey acted as deir bodyguards and helped dem. Dey thought de Southern cause was right.
"I joined de church when I was living at Goldville. I was a grown young woman. I joined because I felt like I ought to join and do better.
"Goldville was once called Martins Depot, atter de old man Martin who lived dar."
(Wright, Mary, Spartanburg, South Carolina, Hattie Mobley, Richland, County, S.C.)
