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

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Slave Narratives: a Folk History of Slavery by Various 6I wuz bawn befo' de war. I wuz about eight years ole when de Yankee mens come through.My mammy an' pappy, Hattie an' Jim Jeffries belonged to Marse Frank Jeffries. Marse Frank come fromMississippi, but when I wuz bawn he an' Mis' Mary Jane wuz livin' down herr near Louisburg in NorthCarolina whare dey had er big plantation an' [HW addition: I] don' know how many niggers. Marse Frank wuzgood to his niggers, 'cept [HW addition: that] he never give dem ernough to eat. He worked dem hard on halfrations, but he didn' believe in all de time beatin' an' sellin' dem.My pappy worked at de stables, he wuz er good horseman, but my mammy worked at de big house helpin'Mis' Mary Jane. Mammy worked in de weavin' room. I can see her now settin' at de weavin' machine an' hearde pedals goin' plop, plop, as she treaded dem wid her feets. She wuz a good weaver. I stayed 'roun' de bighouse too, pickin' up chips, sweepin' de yard an' such as dat. Mis' Mary Jane wuz quick as er whippo'-will.She had black eyes dat snapped, an' dey seed everythin'. She could turn her head so quick dat she'd ketch youevery time you tried to steal a lump of sugar. I liked Marse Frank better den I did Mis' Mary Jane. All us littlechillun called him Big Pappy. Every time he went [HW correction: come back] to Raleigh he brung us niggersback some candy. He went to Raleigh erbout twice er year. Raleigh wuz er far ways from de plantations--near'bout sixty miles. [HW notation: check--appears to be about 40 miles only.] It always took Marse Frank threedays to make de trip. A day to go, er' day to stay in town, an' a day to come back. Den he always got home inde night. Ceptn' [HW addition: when] he rode ho'se back 'stead of de carriage, [HW addition: an'] densometimes he got home by sun down.Marse Frank didn' go to de war. He wuz too ole. So when de Yankees come through dey foun' him at home.When Marse Frank seed de blue coats comin' down de road he run an' got his gun. De Yankees was on horses.I ain't never seed so many men. Dey was thick as hornets comin' down de road in a cloud of dus' [HW:correction "dust"]. Dey come up to de house an' tied de horses to de palin's; [HW correction: dey was so manydey was stan] 'roun' de yard [HW addition: fence]. When dey seed Marse Frank standin' on de po'ch [HWcorrection: porch] wid de gun leveled on dem, dey got mad. Time Marse Frank done shot one time [HWcorrection: "once a"] a bully Yankee snatched de gun away an' tole Marse Frank to hold up his hand. Den deytied his hands an' pushed him down on de floor 'side de house an' tole him dat if he moved [HW addition: ainch] dey would shoot him. Den dey went in de house.I wuz skeered near 'bout to death, but I run in de kitchen an' got a butcher knife, an' when de Yankees wasn'lookin', I tried to cut de rope an' set Marse Frank free. But one of dem blue debils seed me an' come runnin'.He say:'Whut you doin', you black brat! you stinkin' little alligator bait!' He snatched de knife from my hand an' toldme to stick out my tongue, dat he wuz gwine to cut it off. I let out a yell an' run behin' de house.Some of de Yankees was in de smoke house gettin' de meat, some of dem wuz at de stables gettin' de ho'ses,an' some of dem wuz in de house gettin' de silver an' things. I seed dem put de big silver pitcher an' tea pot ina bag. Den dey took de knives an' fo'ks an' all de candle sticks an' platters off de side board. Dey went in deparlor an' got de gol' clock dat wuz Mis' Mary Jane's gran'mammy's. Den dey got all de jewelry out of Mis'Mary Jane's box.Dey went up to Mis' Mary Jane, an' while she looked at dem wid her black eyes snappin', dey took de rings offher fingers; den dey took her gol' bracelet; dey even took de ruby ear rings out of her ears an' de gol' comb outof her hair.I done quit peepin' in de window an' wuz standin' 'side de house when de Yankees come out in de yard wid allde stuff dey wuz totin' off. Marse Frank wuz still settin' on de po'ch [HW correction: porch] floor wid hishan's tied an' couldn' do nothin'. 'Bout dat time I seed de bee gums in de side yard. Dey wuz a whole line ofgums. Little as I wuz I had a notion. I run an' got me a long stick an' tu'ned over every one of dem gums. Den
Slave Narratives: a Folk History of Slavery by Various 7I stirred dem bees up wid dat stick 'twell [HW correction: 'till] dey wuz so mad I could smell de pizen. An'bees! you ain't never seed de like of bees. Dey wuz swarmin' all over de place. Dey sailed into dem Yankeeslike bullets, each one madder den de other. Dey lit on dem ho'ses 'twell [HW correction: till] dey looked likedey wuz live [HW correction: alive] wid varmints. De ho'ses broke dey bridles an' tore down de palin's an' litout down de road. But dey [HW correction: dar] runnin' wuzn' nothin' to what dem Yankees done. Dey bustout cussin', but what did a bee keer about cuss words! Dey lit on dem blue coats an' every time dey lit deystuck in a pizen sting. De Yankee's forgot all about de meat an' things dey done stole; dey took off down deroad on er [HW correction: a] run, passin' de horses. De bees was right after dem in a long line. Dey'd zooman' zip, an' zoom an' zip, an' every time dey'd zip a Yankee would yell.When dey'd gone Mis' Mary Jane untied Marse Frank. Den dey took all de silver, meat an' things de Yankeeslef' behin' an' buried it so if dey come back dey couldn' fin' it.Den day called ma an' said:'Ida Lee, if you hadn't tu'ned [HW correction: turned] over dem bee gums dem Yankees would have toted offnear 'bout everythin' fine we got. We want to give you somethin' you can keep so' you'll always remember disday, an' how you run de Yankees away.'Den Mis' Mary Jane took a plain gold ring off her finger an' put it on mine. An' I been wearin' it ever since.N. C. District: No. 2 [320276] Worker: Mary A. Hicks No. Words: 402 Subject: Ex-Slave Story PersonInterviewed: Martha Allen Editor: Daisy Bailey Waitt[TR: Date Stamp "JUN 7 1937"][HW: good short sketch]EX-SLAVE STORYAn interview with Martha Allen, 78, of 1318 South Person Street, Raleigh.I wuz borned in Craven County seventy eight years ago. My pappa wuz named Andrew Bryant an' mymammy wuz named Harriet. My brothers wuz John Franklin, Alfred, an' Andrew. I ain't had no sisters. Ireckon dat we is what yo' call a general mixture case I am part Injun, part white, an' part nigger.My mammy belonged ter Tom Edward Gaskin an' she wuzn't half fed. De cook nussed de babies while shecooked, so dat de mammies could wuck in de fiel's, an' all de mammies done wuz stick de babies in at dekitchen do' on dere way ter de fiel's. I'se hyard mammy say dat dey went ter wuck widout breakfast, an' datwhen she put her baby in de kitchen she'd go by de slop bucket an' drink de slops from a long handled gourd.De slave driver wuz bad as he could be, an' de slaves got awful beatin's.De young marster sorta wanted my mammy, but she tells him no, so he chunks a lightwood knot an' hits heron de haid wid it. Dese white mens what had babies by nigger wimmens wuz called 'Carpet Gitters'. Myfather's father wuz one o' dem.Yes mam, I'se mixed plenty case my mammy's grandmaw wuz Cherokee Injun.I doan know nothin' 'bout no war, case marster carried us ter Cedar Falls, near Durham an' dar's whar we comefree.
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Slave Narratives: a Folk History of Slavery in the United States

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