| Summary: | Folder contains 13 pages of former slave narratives compiled for the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in the late 1930s.Allce L. Barton,
Jack Kytle
I lCK OAT BOX
George Dillard, born In Richmond, Va., in
1<';12, now Idles about his Ilttle home at Eutaw and recalls days
when he was a slave. Tne memorles bring smlles to hls wrinkled,
black face.
I "Honey, dar was a dance every
~e chuckled, "an' all ae niggers nigh' bout. broke
dancin. '"
tidy night,"
legs a-
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"And didn't you dance just as hard as the others,
Uncle George?"
•
"71ell, istus, I was right spry; but I was at my
best in de job of pickin' de banjer. I shorely did love to pick
dat box while de other niggers danced away."
Georbe said his family came from Vir·inia to
:.!issisll1ppi, and that he came to Greene County about 60 years ago.
His two casters were a Lr. Dillard and Bob Steele.
George explained that he was a field hand and
ad to work hard most. of the time.
"But us had plenty to eat," he said. "De food was
cooked in 01 !1 stus' kitchen an' sont to de fiel' on a big cart. I
I~ecber dat a bell would ring for us to git ~p, an' we would ~ork
as long as it was daylight."
George said that 'r. Steel~ owned about 200
slaves and that he always had Plent~;rPlantation, he said,
2
consisted of about 2,000 acres.
'01' ·assa had a church right on de plantation for us
niggers,- he continued. " any's de time I danced late in de
night an' den had to git up an' go to church wid de rest. All of
us had to go. A white man would preach, but I allus enjoyed de
singin' most of all.-
George believes earnestly that g.10Sts exist, but admits
they have never bothered him.
"Dey is all aroun'," he maintains, "but dey don't follow
De. No'm, I'& not '1fraid o~em; but. I knows plenty of niggers J.o.t:.te
run if a ghost so much as breshes ~;m."
.....
The old dark.K said that "atter freedoD come to de worl'"
he continued to live with his master and worked a share crop. Hs
said that • Steele was always fair and good to him; always giving
him the best of everything.
George married Celia Shelton, and to them were born
24 children.
"It was a bunch of dem,' he said, -bu~tt: loved ebry one.
I had a nice weddin' an' de white folks ~elped m~41!..
~'O~
myself a 'oman an' married to her.
Ii
tiff
•
go.
of da~
Alice S. Barton
John Korgan Smith
•
assa en' sot iD de back.
never goin' to. ~
ssa he gib out en' let de
to git up early white rolks; at de break
he died f'um a-ehasiD' dat low
till rinally de
iD Anoxville, AlabarnsJiD Greene Couhty, an' I belonged to
-
run.."-' e.t~ .....- -de.
"White rolks,~said ~1Ddy patton4A"I was iD lB41 an' it's
50 '\
taken me M years to git to de po' house" Mow I +t Jus ro' mo'
s. .--
years to make it an even rirty dat I been dere. I hopes I makes de
I
grade, caze dat would be some sorta rec~d wouldn't it? Firty years
iD deAPo' house.
"I ~'in de riel's an' I worked hard all day long.
-U.1...
useta gimme de clothes of de ~ waite chilluns •
I was
De white rolks
our place~ither~ we Jus' went along wid
~
I .... aiD't never ma'ied, en' I ~'t
•
enI all de kss •• t-l!!JI4!mslaves on our place had a certain chore to
do eve'y day.
" awsub, de white rolks didn~t teach us to read or write. White
rolks, I can't hardly count none at all. We didn't have no church on
a mile or mo'
~~
Two days.,de
"We shcl
-assa ~ill Patton. I remembers a slave on our plantation dat was always
a-runniD' away. ~e -assa try beatiD' hi but dat didn't do no good.
'- ~ ,
Dat nigger would run away iD spite of noth1h they could do.
One J a.. day de Kassa decided he was goiD' to take Ie nigger to &obile an'
swap him ror enudder ~~e isstis tol' him to leave de ole 1001
alone, saDd it warn't ~ the trouble. Well, de .assa started out
to )lobile wid de niggez;, en' when de got dere en' de traiD stop, de nigger)
he lit out en' de assa rnnned raght behine him. Dell musta rnnned
• •
, ,,
,
G. '>amek r ,\A. <,,,,, .. ct:l4
Aunt [j/.Ilcy Vauglm, was born in slav" times, her mother h<.d belonged
to Col 'nel Irving in Gr"ens bor o. "unt 1Janry liv~e "aiff"rtmt" from
th t.L\"r negroe s 0 She Hived in land of her vwn, sh_ heard voices,
and to ld aoo ut them, but no one b"lieved her 0
P nally she stopped spe6king of the voicts, l.:ut they continued
d "'hen Aunt &rey was a gr wn WOlllbIl fib knew it was the Lara's voice
snt had oeen t.earing. ne aay the wrd came to rtunt .... r~y ana tolc1 Lr
"Dres~ yo-se in a • hite rube, I'll t"ll you how to IDPke it, an:.. go
ttl 1 th" 0 e, I say, his t' :!. s nigh" 0 i
"Yes wWd, I'll [. , l.ut that Pope is 'long ways frum heah, you
knows I J st gets a 11 ttle washir ' nOl!l and t e fum de white "hite folKS,
sub ain't got mon y to go ",U dat way. Th. Lor'a tol" hunt l,~ncy to
pious Church me mb!.I' , so 'lUlcy dressed in a robe
made uf a bed sheet ...nd went to Sistcl' JW1e. "Sis Jane, I dOll€ hb.d a
messag f
=1'res ed.
e.e ",wd". "Y~u is, wt".t. •. e SE\f". Sale. ",lS Jane ptO erly
"'.e Ba'y, ancy m e yors If, white robe, am gotell de :'ope I
sEW hi s tim" IS nigh' I Sfq, Lawd How kin I go tel::' de Pope, he titlle
nigh', lain' got no money, oat Pope longi/&ys fum J::utaw. he sa" "Go
tell ~is Jane, abo t ellto" So hesh I is.
".iell,said ister J e," f the ......wu say so, CIUS h" say so. is
hesh my house <lOd knd eta. com" k' barry th e m ne fum as Ih te foll.s.
Us gotta see aan Pop ~ol!lehow•
...ister u .e got six hundred dol ars for her place, made erscl.-t a
cy to to
- e. I'
•
•,
, ..
••
• -2-
I
G. Somek.
white robe and she ma ulCy wmt to •.orne. Th~y tODk a steamooat
•
from ...ooile a nd then a tr&.l.ll .
•
inally r"aching Rome two bewildered
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dr.r;ci ~s in &. stra ,ge 18' d, sp.;aking a lAnguage nei ther of them under-stood.
".Ie got a man S what taus like us ta lks a IIi two ]a ke ae Pope tal " •
••e toOi( us
•
in. I riz
to de ope's hou:;e. FIls, us kne"ls down and de Pope come
right1~ir"t ae La.d s m llJe?
": sez to 'em ope y~u ain't ecll .·ul~n' right and yo time es nig ".
Th.; "8ns .hat ta4:X's boff kk lIIe and saroo uS e Pope tell him 'hat
I say.
he Pope say somethin' in his tongue which I never did know whet
it was he say. Then us ,,"-0 away fum del e &.n' touk a steamboat &IlJ. ceme
home. By the time us gits b&.ck to ~utuw, I heahs de Pope done daid".
either unt N6I1CY nor Sist~r J&.ne ev"r told many thing about the:'J'
trip so far liS I k:,u 't 'rh~s is tru: "tor:J f th~ ir journey uS they h&.ve
told it over and over .
." hath, hich occured wl.en she w "nearir.g . ghty was as strange
as her 1. fe. The white robe, symbol of h~r devotea li1'e, was wina·.g sheet
It caught eft '" agaiBst her stone one night and unt rancy Vw ghn _eft
th world in a pillar of flame.
Cct. 7, 19..>6.
•
- Alice S.Bllrton
John Morgal Smith
LOCINDIA ~&SHI GrON
A lave's <tory
Little black Cindy skipped along the harrow path that led to the
Spring House. In her hand she empty cedar pail that she was
soon to fill with cool, fresh milk. She entered the small glade overhung
ith illow trees and spread with soft grass, and gazed at the sparkling
water of the spring as it caught the beams of sunlight coMing through the
trees m»reflected them in myriads of little points. Shadows of the laving
leaves danced over the ground and~the side of the stone Spring tlouse.
Hoc cool and nice it was here', she thougnt. Gentle breezes rustled the
limbs of small ~ saplings ~nd ~uietly stirred the long grass along the
upper part of the branch.
A young rabbit hopped from a little clump of bushes and Cindy watchea
him as th slliall creature drank thirstil~rom the crystal water.
Occasion lly, the bunny uul~ lift his~as if .&rned by
a sligl,t sound, but in moment she sav hi fold back his
elicate ears ana onc~ ore dip his sunIl mouth into the babbling ater.
After q enching his thirst, the rabbit hOP>ied a !'e•• " ....t a ay and
nib 1 a on a wisp of tender grass. Cindy was as still as a stature
as s e v.atched tue proce ure. "Dat's de cutest little bunny 1 ev r seed,"
she said to herseif. "1 I, ish I could But Cindy knew that
she could not catch a raboit, so sne was contented to stano in the shadoll
of & sycafuore and 5aze
Suddenly, ,ithout
eage ly at the aniua~~~ the ~rass.
warning, Cindy's eyes protruded from their so ~ets
dth an expression of Slipping noi el ss11 tl.rvug
toe green und,. 'grOl th she sa "gi~t rattler gliding slol.ly to ,ard tt. yoUJt
rabbit. She ,anted to cr out,
I _
but she was afraid; afraid of
,
~<~... ,/ < "-- 10"""£'71,
l.i~ -""HI ~
attracting the rattler's attention to ard her. She was deatnly afraid of
snakes. Since babyhooa, she na habored a growing fear of them. If Cindy
had been still be ore this time, she now became ~ frozen im&ge. It would
not have been appareut that su~ ~&s even breathing. 00 frightened las She
of the snake that er ~hole b dy troke out in a prufu e perspiration. Her
eyes were glued to toe tremendous brown monster that itho.t t. e sl~htest
sound oozed deftly towaru its victim. Cindy \.as hypnotised1Ihe
snake seew to hold he(tn a strange spell. lowly, inexorably he moved
entirely out of the undergro th and was now ~eaving on the clear ground •
•
He approached the rabbit ithin a distance of three feet and began to care-had
made in the sand.
Cindy saw every movement. She saw
of its bottom
scale of its cra",ling s,.in; each lash
lar..e
the .... track that it
1\
She "'atched its eyes gleam expressionless ana ominous.
brown back; each
and point of its tongue; the whi~ess
fully form
each diamond
She gazed at the deadly mouth as it siowly began to open. She was aware of
the first appearance of the tHO death-like fangs poinjing downward. She
saw tue ten-buttoned rattle stand erect. She saw it ~uiver; shake; sound.
•
bhe saw the rabbit turn with fear. She saw the strike; the sinking of the
fangs into the so~t, brown fur. She watched the rabbit give an ephemeral
struggle; witnessed the brief pitiful 10uk in the bunny's eyes and a~ast
saw the mouth sink into the small belly and draw the last breath of life
away.
ue experience .as more than the ittle gmr could stand. Cindy was
now in a state of frency. She coul not move, nor speak, nor turu her
eyes. She could only starel At IIIIlail ",hat?
The monstrous snake then girdea himself for further ons aug t.
A ter eing ure its victim was uead, he oJsed his grip and stretched at
full length upon the gruund; drew the rlibbit out until it too was
stretched careful y out lith mmm its hina l' et together liOa its head
pointing in the oPPosite airesction.
•
~hen fol~owed an experience that to
Cindy seemed entirely ~pos5ible. The snake tOOK the hind feet of the rabbit
in his mouth, until gradual y the~ had disappeared. Then came what seemed
to Cindy an agonized struggle. ~he snake's mouth stretchea almost to the
bre4k1ng point as it began slo ly to c~ose over the rest of the
rabbit's rear quarter. itn fits and starts and jerks and stretches, the
r~ttler reeled ana squir ed; contorted and wreathed and sucked until
the rabbit had half gone. \/ith the last great effort the serplint threll
himself ir.to another series of bo~ily cvntortions that seemed to Cindy
positively agmnizing to him, until at last the rabbit had entirely
disa~ eared from the earth. For several minutes Cindy ap arent
watched the tremenaous hump in the snake move slowly backward. ~ith
gradually diminishing intermiL ent erks, the snake finally got the ssall
ani al to hi3 digestive tract. The monster then crawled to a hot sandy
section and went fast to sleep .
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
-lWll /
OM hours ater it .as twiligr,t. An oveEseer was W&.ll<illg along tIle
path to tne Spring douse. Be paused for a mo ent beneath syclUliore
tree to rest and coo himself. AS .U5 eyes roamed the shado~y litLle
glade they came to rest on the body of a little Negro girl, lying inert
u~on tHe soft grass witn the hanale 0 a ceuar bucket clutched in a death
grip. e lifted the slliall black form into his arms an carried her to
the house. ne sa in her face an expression of mUlg ed agony and fear •
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
"Yassuh, white folks, dat was III "Aunt1 Cindy smi~ed "s she told me
(\
of the experience 80 years later. Dat was de big est snake ~ ever seed.
Be musta been seven feet 10ng.~
"A.!.l dis happen in County "nar I was bawn. Us had a pretty
place dere. I'll never fO'gits how tie nig ers worked dere gardens in de
m00nlignt. Dere warn't no tiwe in ue day. De nbite folKS work tuk dat
time. ~ Ve oberseer rung a big bell for us to git up by in de mawnin'
at fo' o'clock, an' ae fus' thing Ie dvne was to eed de
"You axe was '" e puni s
most of al_ or stealin'.
?" Yassuh, v,e was punished for ~ thiIlll;
t1
,'" Yassuh, ,e ,as taugnt to read an" write, but mos' of de slaves
didn't ant to ~earn. o little niggers ",ould hide our books under de
steps to keep havin' to study. Os' go to church wid de bite folkS
on Sunday and sit in de back, an' den we go home an' eat a big Sunday
meal. Jlhen Vie got sic fum eatin' too much or somp'n, assa .Jim
,
Godfrey was a doctor .... an' he'd te~o us. Den "'hen new
nigger babies came ,nine little black bugs as tied up in rags 'roun<!l
dere necks for to make de babies teethe easy.
,ashington, my husband
" ihen I was ma1ied, ,hite folks, at de age of thirteen, Alex
an me had a forty dOll~eddin" My
mistis baked me a cake, an' a I,hite schoolmaster named Henry Rindron
e an' dat ole husbantht twenty_ bo chilluns.
I sho does believe in ~s~es. Ie's got one good spirit
One goes to heaben an' de Ud er stays on earth.
Iflen you po' it
dey'll fol.!.o
spoke de ceremony.
you iflen you got
of e 'oad, white folkS,
you" ough, dey'll lose track
han' side
on de groun' beside
lak I.hiskey, caze
Al ays give a gos' de
nYas ma'm.
of you••
an' one bad un.
;.. ..,
Gostes sho does
~
any.
• an he
.Jesus a
won't never bother you.
7
hanging fum de cross .
y chile, I is got religion. I ~eed
give h1S blood so dat us could live.
I knO~ is goin' to heaben:'
-J
Sebia Wl1J.j e.a
5ebia Williama an ex-dave of Green County looka on the daya
of a!aYery aa being the happiest daya of her life.
1Il". Ben Willi..a, her maater, lived in the northern part of
Green County.
sebia doe. not know her age. She s~. ahe remembera when
ktaw was a forest and when negroes were put upon a block 8M aold
to the higheat bidder. She a1.ao remeat>era when the first horea
were built. FrOlll what ahe teUa she muat be about one-hundred
yeara old. She is very feeble and her hair is alJIIost white.
"Did yuu liIte to be a dave?- She aaid, "Yea, )I1aa, it I
got aick my master got DIe 1lUlde1JL; it I needed clothea he show got
tb... - "D1d you have plenty to eat? I asked. toyea )I1aa, my
rester was show good to _ we had plenty to eat.; we did not have
&ishea t.o eat out ot we had ..oodan bow1.a """ apoona and eat. til'
_ got tu1.1..-
setia did not work in the field. She helped nuree the
tiUiams children end helped with the weaving. She lived with
her mester aa long aa he lived.
Th1a old ex-alave doe. not. have a hMW. She lives with her
relatives. At. present she i. living with her niece on Jlr. John
ebb's place about three miles west ot Eutaw, Alab_.
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