<strong>Slave</strong> <strong>Narratives</strong>: a <strong>Folk</strong> <strong>History</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Slave</strong>ry 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 liv<strong>in</strong>' down herr near Louisburg <strong>in</strong> NorthCarol<strong>in</strong>a 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 <strong>in</strong> all de time beat<strong>in</strong>' an' sell<strong>in</strong>' dem.My pappy worked at de stables, he wuz er good horseman, but my mammy worked at de big house help<strong>in</strong>'Mis' Mary Jane. Mammy worked <strong>in</strong> de weav<strong>in</strong>' room. I can see her now sett<strong>in</strong>' at de weav<strong>in</strong>' mach<strong>in</strong>e an' hearde pedals go<strong>in</strong>' plop, plop, as she treaded dem wid her feets. She wuz a good weaver. I stayed 'roun' de bighouse too, pick<strong>in</strong>' up chips, sweep<strong>in</strong>' de yard an' such as dat. Mis' Mary Jane wuz quick as er whippo'-will.She had black eyes dat snapped, an' dey seed everyth<strong>in</strong>'. She could turn her head so quick dat she'd ketch youevery time you tried to steal a lump <strong>of</strong> 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 <strong>in</strong> town, an' a day to come back. Den he always got home <strong>in</strong>de night. Ceptn' [HW addition: when] he rode ho'se back 'stead <strong>of</strong> 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 com<strong>in</strong>' down de road he run an' got his gun. De Yankees was on horses.I a<strong>in</strong>'t never seed so many men. Dey was thick as hornets com<strong>in</strong>' down de road <strong>in</strong> a cloud <strong>of</strong> dus' [HW:correction "dust"]. Dey come up to de house an' tied de horses to de pal<strong>in</strong>'s; [HW correction: dey was so manydey was stan] 'roun' de yard [HW addition: fence]. When dey seed Marse Frank stand<strong>in</strong>' 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: a<strong>in</strong>ch] dey would shoot him. Den dey went <strong>in</strong> de house.I wuz skeered near 'bout to death, but I run <strong>in</strong> de kitchen an' got a butcher knife, an' when de Yankees wasn'look<strong>in</strong>', I tried to cut de rope an' set Marse Frank free. But one <strong>of</strong> dem blue debils seed me an' come runn<strong>in</strong>'.He say:'Whut you do<strong>in</strong>', you black brat! you st<strong>in</strong>k<strong>in</strong>' little alligator bait!' He snatched de knife from my hand an' toldme to stick out my tongue, dat he wuz gw<strong>in</strong>e to cut it <strong>of</strong>f. I let out a yell an' run beh<strong>in</strong>' de house.Some <strong>of</strong> de Yankees was <strong>in</strong> de smoke house gett<strong>in</strong>' de meat, some <strong>of</strong> dem wuz at de stables gett<strong>in</strong>' de ho'ses,an' some <strong>of</strong> dem wuz <strong>in</strong> de house gett<strong>in</strong>' de silver an' th<strong>in</strong>gs. I seed dem put de big silver pitcher an' tea pot <strong>in</strong>a bag. Den dey took de knives an' fo'ks an' all de candle sticks an' platters <strong>of</strong>f de side board. Dey went <strong>in</strong> deparlor an' got de gol' clock dat wuz Mis' Mary Jane's gran'mammy's. Den dey got all de jewelry out <strong>of</strong> Mis'Mary Jane's box.Dey went up to Mis' Mary Jane, an' while she looked at dem wid her black eyes snapp<strong>in</strong>', dey took de r<strong>in</strong>gs <strong>of</strong>fher f<strong>in</strong>gers; den dey took her gol' bracelet; dey even took de ruby ear r<strong>in</strong>gs out <strong>of</strong> her ears an' de gol' comb out<strong>of</strong> her hair.I done quit peep<strong>in</strong>' <strong>in</strong> de w<strong>in</strong>dow an' wuz stand<strong>in</strong>' 'side de house when de Yankees come out <strong>in</strong> de yard wid allde stuff dey wuz tot<strong>in</strong>' <strong>of</strong>f. Marse Frank wuz still sett<strong>in</strong>' on de po'ch [HW correction: porch] floor wid hishan's tied an' couldn' do noth<strong>in</strong>'. 'Bout dat time I seed de bee gums <strong>in</strong> de side yard. Dey wuz a whole l<strong>in</strong>e <strong>of</strong>gums. Little as I wuz I had a notion. I run an' got me a long stick an' tu'ned over every one <strong>of</strong> dem gums. Den
<strong>Slave</strong> <strong>Narratives</strong>: a <strong>Folk</strong> <strong>History</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Slave</strong>ry 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 a<strong>in</strong>'t never seed de like <strong>of</strong> bees. Dey wuz swarm<strong>in</strong>' all over de place. Dey sailed <strong>in</strong>to dem Yankeeslike bullets, each one madder den de o<strong>the</strong>r. Dey lit on dem ho'ses 'twell [HW correction: till] dey looked likedey wuz live [HW correction: alive] wid varm<strong>in</strong>ts. De ho'ses broke dey bridles an' tore down de pal<strong>in</strong>'s an' litout down de road. But dey [HW correction: dar] runn<strong>in</strong>' wuzn' noth<strong>in</strong>' to what dem Yankees done. Dey bustout cuss<strong>in</strong>', but what did a bee keer about cuss words! Dey lit on dem blue coats an' every time dey lit deystuck <strong>in</strong> a pizen st<strong>in</strong>g. De Yankee's forgot all about de meat an' th<strong>in</strong>gs dey done stole; dey took <strong>of</strong>f down deroad on er [HW correction: a] run, pass<strong>in</strong>' de horses. De bees was right after dem <strong>in</strong> a long l<strong>in</strong>e. 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' th<strong>in</strong>gs de Yankeeslef' beh<strong>in</strong>' an' buried it so if dey come back dey couldn' f<strong>in</strong>' 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 <strong>of</strong>fnear 'bout everyth<strong>in</strong>' f<strong>in</strong>e we got. We want to give you someth<strong>in</strong>' you can keep so' you'll always remember disday, an' how you run de Yankees away.'Den Mis' Mary Jane took a pla<strong>in</strong> gold r<strong>in</strong>g <strong>of</strong>f her f<strong>in</strong>ger an' put it on m<strong>in</strong>e. An' I been wear<strong>in</strong>' it ever s<strong>in</strong>ce.N. C. District: No. 2 [320276] Worker: Mary A. Hicks No. Words: 402 Subject: Ex-<strong>Slave</strong> Story PersonInterviewed: Martha Allen Editor: Daisy Bailey Waitt[TR: Date Stamp "JUN 7 1937"][HW: good short sketch]EX-SLAVE STORYAn <strong>in</strong>terview with Martha Allen, 78, <strong>of</strong> 1318 South Person Street, Raleigh.I wuz borned <strong>in</strong> Craven County seventy eight years ago. My pappa wuz named Andrew Bryant an' mymammy wuz named Harriet. My bro<strong>the</strong>rs wuz John Frankl<strong>in</strong>, Alfred, an' Andrew. I a<strong>in</strong>'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 Gask<strong>in</strong> an' she wuzn't half fed. De cook nussed de babies while shecooked, so dat de mammies could wuck <strong>in</strong> de fiel's, an' all de mammies done wuz stick de babies <strong>in</strong> 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 <strong>in</strong> de kitchen she'd go by de slop bucket an' dr<strong>in</strong>k de slops from a long handled gourd.De slave driver wuz bad as he could be, an' de slaves got awful beat<strong>in</strong>'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'. Myfa<strong>the</strong>r's fa<strong>the</strong>r wuz one o' dem.Yes mam, I'se mixed plenty case my mammy's grandmaw wuz Cherokee Injun.I doan know noth<strong>in</strong>' 'bout no war, case marster carried us ter Cedar Falls, near Durham an' dar's whar we comefree.