Slave Narratives: a Folk History of Slavery in the United States

Slave Narratives: a Folk History of Slavery by Various 58One of our master's daughters wuz cruel. Sometimes she would go out and rare on us, but old marster didn'twant us whupped.Our great grand mother wuz named granny Flora. Dey stole her frum Africa wid a red pocket handkerchief.Old man John William got my great grandmother. De people in New England got scured of we niggers. Deywere afrid me would rise aginst em and dey pushed us on down South. Lawd, why didn't dey let us stay whurwe wuz, dey nebber wouldn't a been so menny half white niggers, but the old marster wuz to blame for that.We never saw any slaves sold. They carried them off to sell 'em. The slaves travelled in droves. Fathers andmothers were sold from their chilluns. Chilluns wuz sold from their parents on de plantations close to us.Where we went to church, we sat in a place away from de white folks. The slaves never did run away frommarster, because he wuz good to 'em; but they run away from other plantations.Yes, we seed the patterollers, we called 'em pore white trash, we also called patterollers pore white pecks.They had ropes around their necks. They came to our house one night when we were singin' and prayin'. Itwuz jist before the surrender. Dey were hired by de slave owner. My daddy told us to show 'em de brandy ourmarster gib us, den dey went on a way, kase dey knowed John Walton wuz a funny man about his slaves. Deygave us Christmas and other holidays. Den dey, de men, would go to see dere wives. Some of the men's wivesbelong to other marsters on other plantations. We had corn shuckin's at night, and candy pullin's. Sometimeswe had quiltings and dances.One of the slaves, my aint, she wuz a royal slave. She could dance all over de place wid a tumbler of water onher head, widout spilling it. She sho could tote herself. I always luved to see her come to church. She shocould tote herself.My oldest sister Violet died in slavery time. She wuz ten years old when she died. Her uncles were her pallbearers. Uncle Hyman and Uncle Handy carried her to the grave yard. If I makes no mistake my daddy madeher coffin. Dere wuz no singin'. There were seven of the family dere, dat wuz all. Dey had no funeral. Derewere no white folks dere.Dey baptized people in creeks and ponds.We rode corn stalks, bent down small pine trees and rode' em for horses. We also played prison base. Coloredand white played, yes sir, whites and colored. We played at night but we had a certain time to go to bed. Datwuz nine o'clock. [HW: New paragraph indicated]De boss man looked atter us when we wuz sick. He got doctors. I had the typhoid fever. All my hair came out.Dey called it de "mittent fever." Dr. Thomas Banks doctored me. He been dead a long time. Oh! I don't knowhow long he been dead. Near all my white folks were found dead. Mr. John died outside.Walton died in bed. Marster Joe Walton died sitting under a tree side de path. Miss Hancey died in bed.I 'member the day de war commenced. My marster called my father and my two uncles Handy and Hyman,our marster called 'em. Dey had started back to the field to work in the afternoon. He said, 'Cum here boys,'that wuz our young marster, Ben Walton, says 'cum here boys. I got sumptin' to tell you.' Uncle Hyman said, 'Ican't. I got to go to work.' He said 'Come here and set down, I got sumptin' to tell you.'The niggers went to him and set down. He told them; 'There is a war commenced between the North and theSouth. If the North whups you will be as free a man as I is. If the South whups you will be a slave all yourdays.'Mr. Joe Walton said when he went to war dat dey could eat breakfast at home, go and whup the North, and be