Slave Narratives: A Folk History of Slavery in the United States From Interviews with Former Slaves | Page 4

"I'se 83 Y'ars ole en wuz bawn a slave. Mah mammy b'longed ter de
Bosley's en mah daddy b'longed ter de Scales."
"W'en Miss Jane Boxley ma'ried Marster Jerry Scales, me en mah
mammy, br'er en sistah wuz gib ter Miss Jane."
"Durin' de war mah Missis tuk mah mammy en us chilluns wid her ter
de mount'ins 'till de war wuz gon'. Did'nt see no soldiers. Don't member
now nuthin' 'bout dem Klu Klux men en don't member de ole songs er
'bout slaves votin'."
"Dunno 'bout de young persons, white er black, dey ez all so wild
now."
"W'en we all wuz freed we had nuthin en no place ter go, so dat mah
mammy lived wid our Missis five y'ars longer."
"De only story dat I member mah people tole me 'bout wuz on Fedd, a
slave on de next plantation. He wuz a big man en wuz de strongest man
neah dat part ob de kuntry. He wouldin' 'low nobody ter whup 'in. De
Marster framed 'im by tellin' 'im ter bring his saddle hoss en w'en he
kum wid de hoss several men 'peahrd en tole Fedd dat dey wuz gonna
whup 'im. He struck one ob de mans so hahd dey had ter hab de doctuh.
De Marster said let 'im 'lone he's too strong ter be whup'd. I'll hab ter
shoot 'im. One time Fedd run 'way en de white men whar he stopped
know'd he wuz a good fighter en made a $250.00 bet dat nobody could
lick 'im. A nigger fum de iron wuks fought Fedd en Fedd won. De iron
wuks nigger wuz kilt right dere."
"'fore Freedum de slaves wuz promused forty acres ob land w'en freed
but none eber got hit, en I 'year'd ob no one gittin' any money. I dunno
nuthin' ob de slave 'risin's, ghostus er dreams, but I member mah folks

talkin' 'bout fallin' sta'rs en a comet but I don' member now w'at dey
said."
"I'se wuk'd at a lot ob diff'ent jobs since mah freedum. I wuk'd at de
Maxwell House 15 years as store room porter, en hit wuz de only
wo'th-while hotel in Nashville at dat time. I wuk'd fuh de City fuh
menny y'ars en den I wuk'd fuh Foster & Creighton 'till dey wore me
out. I off'n think ob deze diff'nt men dat I wuk'd fuh but dey ez all de'd.
De las' job I had wuz buildin' fiers en odd jobs fuh a lady up de street.
She would gib me food en coal. She ez de'd now."
"I'se not able ter wuk now en all I has ez a small groc'ey order dat de
relief gibs me. Dey keep promisin' ter gib me de Old Age Pension en I
wish dey would hurry hit up."

SUBJECT SLAVE STORIES
ROBERT FALLS 608 South Broadway Knoxville, Tennessee
Interviewed by
Della Yoe, Foreman Federal Writers' Project, First District, WPA
Room # 215 Old YMCA Building State and Commerce Streets.
Knoxville, Tennessee
Robert Falls was born on December 14, 1840, in the rambling
one-story shack that accomodated the fifteen slaves of his Old Marster,
[HW: Harry] Beattie Goforth, on a farm in Claiborne County, North
Carolina. His tall frame is slightly stooped, but he is not subjected to
the customary infirmities of the aged, other than poor vision and
hearing. Fairly comfortable, he is spending his declining years in
contentment, for he is now the first consideration of his daughter, Mrs.
Lola Reed, with whom he lives at #608 S. Broadway, Knoxville,
Tennessee. His cushioned rocking chair is the honor seat of the
household. His apology for not offering it to visitors, is that he is "not
so fast on his feet as he used to be."

Despite Uncle Robert's protest that his "mind comes and goes", his
memory is keen, and his sense of humor unimpaired. His reminiscences
of slave days are enriched by his ability to recreate scenes and incidents
in few words, and by his powers of mimicry. "If I had my life to live
over," he declares, "I would die fighting rather than be a slave again. I
want no man's yoke on my shoulders no more. But in them days, us
niggers didn't know no better. All we knowed was work, and hard work.
We was learned to say, 'Yes Sir!' and scrape down and bow, and to do
just exactly what we was told to do, make no difference if we wanted to
or not. Old Marster and Old Mistress would say, 'Do this!' and we don'
it. And they say, 'Come here!' and if we didn't come to them, they come
to us. And they brought the bunch of switches with them."
"They didn't half feed us either. They fed the animals better.