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

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Slave Narratives: a Folk History of Slavery by Various 62clothes and a rubber pipe leadin' to a bucket o' water. The water bag helt the water they did not drink it. Guessyou have heard people tell 'bout they drinking so much water.Marster didn't have no overseers to look after his slaves. He done that hisself with the help o' some o' his menslaves. Sometimes he made 'em foreman and my mother and father said they all got along mighty fine. Thecolored folks went to the white folk's church and had prayer meeting in their homes.Mother lived in the edge o' marster's yard. When the surrender come after the war they stayed on theplantation right on and lived on marster's land. They built log houses after de war cause marster let all hisslaves stay right on his plantation. My mother had twenty-one chillun. She had twins five times. I was a twinand Emaline wus my sister. She died 'bout thirty years ago. She left 11 chillun when she died. I never had butfour chillun. All my people are dead, I is de only one left.Marster's plantation was 'bout six miles from Merry Oaks in Chatham County. We moved to Merry Oakswhen I wus fourteen years old. I married at seventeen. I have lived in North Carolina all my life. We moved toRaleigh from Merry Oaks long time ago. My husband died here seventeen years ago. I worked after myhusband died, washin' and ironin' for white folks till I am not able to work no more. Hain't worked any in fo'years. Charity don't help me none. My chillun gives me what I gits.Slavery wus a bad thing, cause from what mother and father tole me all slaves didn't fare alike. Some faredgood an' some bad. I don't know enough 'bout Abraham Lincoln an' Mr. Roosevelt to talk about 'em. No, Idon't know just what to say. I sho' hopes you will quit axin' me so many things cause I forgot a lot mother andfather tole me.N. C. District: No. 2 [320232] Worker: Mary A. Hicks No. Words: 844 Subject: BILL CRUMP PersonInterviewed: Bill Crump Editor: Daisy Bailey Waitt[TR: No Date Stamp][HW: "photo"]BILL CRUMP Ex-Slave StoryAn interview with Bill Crump, 82 of State prison, Raleigh North Carolina.I reckon dat I wus borned in Davidson County on de plantation of Mr. Whitman Smith, my mammy's marster.My daddy wus named Tom an' he 'longed ter Mr. Ben Murry fust an' later ter Mr. Jimmy Crump. Daddy wusnamed atter his young marster. Dey lived in Randolph, de county next ter Davidson whar me mammy an' derest of de chilluns, Alt, George, Harriet, Sarah, Mary an' de baby libed.Both of de marsters wus good ter us, an' dar wus plenty ter eat an' w'ar, an' right many jubilees. We ain't noneof de dozen er so of us eber got a whuppin', case we ain't desarved no whuppin'; why, dar wusn't eben acowhide whup anywhar on de place. We wucked in de fie'ls from sunup ter sundown mos' o' de time, but wehad a couple of hours at dinner time ter swim or lay on de banks uv de little crick an' sleep. Ober 'boutsundown marster let us go swim ag'in iff'en we wanted ter do it.De marster let us have some chickens, a shoat an' a gyarden, an' 'tater patch, an' we had time off ter wuck 'em.In season we preserved our own fruits fer de winter an' so we larned not ter be so heaby on de marster's han's.My daddy wus a fiddler, an' he sometimes played fer de dances at de Cross Roads, a little village near demarster's place. All what ain't been mean could go, but de mean ones can't, an' de rest o' us has ter habe a pass
Slave Narratives: a Folk History of Slavery by Various 63ter keep de patterollers from gittin us.Yes mam, we had our fun at de dances, co'n chuckin's, candy pullin's, an' de gatherin's an' we sarbed demarster better by habin' our fun.I'se seed a bunch o' slaves sold a heap of times an' I neber seed no chains on nobody. Dey jist stood dem on detable front of de post office at Cross Roads an' sol' 'em ter de one what bids de highes'.We hyard a whisper 'bout some slaves bein' beat ter death, but I ain't neber seed a slave git a lick of no kin',course atter de war I seed de Ku Klux runnin' mean niggers.Dar wus no marryin' on de plantation, iffen a nigger wants a 'oman he has got ter buy her or git her marster'spermit, den dey am married.When one o' de slaves wus sick he had a doctor fast as lightnin', an' when de died he wus set up wid one night.De marster would gibe de mourners a drink o' wine mebbe, an' dey'd mo'n, an' shout, an' sing all de night long,while de cop'se laid out on de coolin' board, which 'minds me of a tale.Onct we wus settin' up wid a nigger, 'fore de war an' hit bein' a hot night de wine wus drunk an' de mo'nerswus settin' front o' de do' eatin' watermillons while de daid man laid on de coolin' board. Suddenly one of deniggers looks back in at de do', an' de daid man am settin' up on de coolin' board lookin right at him. De manwhat sees hit hollers, an' all de rest what has been wishin 'dat de daid man can enjoy de wine an' dewatermillons am sorry dat he has comed back.Dey doan take time ter say hit do', case dey am gone ter de big house. De marster am brave so he comes tersee, an' he says dat hit am only restrictions o' de muscles.De nex' mornin', as am de way, dey puts de man in a pine box made by 'nother slave an' dey totes him from decabin ter de marster's buryin' groun' at de cedars; an' de slaves bury's him while de marster an' his famblylooks on.I doan know much 'bout de Yankees case de warn't none 'cept de skirtin' parties comed our way.Atter de war we stays on fer four or five years mebbe, an' I goes ter school two weeks. De teacher wus Mr.Edmund Knights from de No'th.I'se sarbed four years an' ten months of a eight ter twelve stretch fer killin' a man. Dis man an' a whole gang o'us wus at his house gamblin'. I had done quit drinkin' er mont' er so 'fore dat, but dey 'sists on hit, but I 'fuses.Atter 'while he pours some on me an' I cusses him, den he cusses me, an' he says dat he am gwine ter kill me,an' he follers me down de road. I turns roun' an' shoots him.Dat am all of my story 'cept dat I has seen a powerful heap of ghostes an' I knows dat dey comes in white an'black, an' dat dey am in de shape er dogs, mens, an' eber'thing dat you can have a mind to.LEN. C. District: No. 2. [320148] Worker: Mary A. Hicks No. Words: 652 Subject: CHARLIE CRUMP PersonInterviewed: Charlie Crump Editor: Daisy Bailey Waitt[TR: Date Stamp "--- 11 1937"]CHARLIE CRUMP Ex-Slave Story
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Slave Narratives: a Folk History of Slavery in the United States

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