Slave Narratives: A Folk History of Slavery in the United States From Interviews with Former Slaves | Page 8

niggers wid a bull whup. Ef'n dey met a niggah on de road
dey'd say, "Whar ez you gwin dis time ob mawnin'?" De slaves would
say, "We ez gwine ovuh 'yer ter stay aw'ile," en den dey would start
beatin' dem. I'se stod in our do'er en 'yeard de hahd licks, en screams ob
de ones dat wuz bein' whup'd, en I'd tell mah Missis, "Listen ter dat!"
She would say, "See, dat ez w'at will happen ter you ef'n you try ter
leave." I member one nite a Ku Klux Klan rode up ter our do'er. I tole
mah Missis sum body wuz at de do'er wantin' ter know whar mah
Marster wuz. She tole 'im he wuz d'ed en her son had gon' 'way dat
mawnin'. He hunted all thro de house, en up in de loft, en said whar ez
de niggers? Mah Missis tole i'm [TR: 'im] dey wuz down in de lettle
house. He went down dere, woke dem up, axed dem 'bout dere Marster
en den whup'd all ob dem. Ef de had de Ku Klux Klan now dere
wouldin' be so menny peeples on de kounty road en in de pen.
I useter drive up de cows en mah feet would be so cole en mah toes
cracked open en bleedin', en I'd be cryin' 'til I got almos' ter de house
den I'd wipe mah eyes on de bottom ob mah dress, so de Marster
wouldin' know dat I had bin cryin'. He'd say, "Frankie ain't you cryin'?"
I'd say, "No suh." "Ez you cole?" "Yes, sir." He would say kum on en
warm.
W'en de niggers wuz freed, all ob mah Missis slaves slipped 'way, 'cept
me. One mawnin' she tole me ter go down en wake dem up, I went
down en knocked, no body said nuthin'. I pushed on de do'er--hit kum
op'n--en I fell in de room en hurt mah chin. I went back ter Missis--en
she sezs, "W'at ez de matter wid you?" I sezs, "Uncle John en all ob
dem ez gon'; I pushed on de do'er en fell in." She sezs you know dey ez
not gone, go back en git dem up. I had ter go back, but dey wur'ent
dere.
No, I don't member de sta'rs fallin'.
Mah Missis didunt gib me nuthin, cept mah clothes, en she put dem in a
carpet bag. Atter freedom mah mammy kum fum Lebanon en got me.

Ah'll neber fergit dat day--Oh Lawdy! I kin see her now. Mah ole
Missis' daughter-in-law had got a bunch ob switches ter whup me, I
wuz standin' in de do'er shakin' all ovuh, en de young Missis wuz tellin'
me ter git mah clothes off. I sezs, "I se'd a 'oman kum'g thro de gate."
Mah Missis sezs, "Dat ez Lucindia" en de young Missis hid de switches.
Mah mammy sezs I'se kum ter git mah chile. Mah Missis tole her ter let
me spend de nite wid her, den she'd send me ter de Court House at 9
o'clock next mawnin'. So I stayed wid de Missis dat nite, en she tole me
ter alluz be a good girl, en don't let a man er boy trip me. I didunt know
w'at she mean but I allus membered w'at she sai. I guess I wuz 'bout 12
y'ars ole w'en I lef' mah Missis en mah mammy brought me ter
Nashville en put me ter wuk. De mawnin' I lef' mah Missis, I went ter
de Court House en met mah mammy; de Court room wuz jammed wid
peeple. De Jedge tole me ter hold my right hand up, I wuz so skeered I
stuck both hands up. Jedge sezs, "Frankie ez dat yo mammy?" I sezs, "I
dunno, she sezs she ez." (W'at did I know ob a mammy dat wuz tuk
fum me at six weeks ole). He sezs, "Wuz yo Marster good ter you?" I
sezs, "Mah Missis wuz, but mah Marster wasn't--he whup'd me." De
Jedge said, "Whar did he whup you?" I tole him on mah back. He sezs,
"Frankie, ez you laughin'?" I sezs, "No, sir." He said ter mah mammy,
"Lucindia tek dis chile en be good ter her fer she has b'en mistreated.
Sum day she can mek a livin' fer you." (En thank de Lawd I did keep
her in her ole days en wuz able ter bury her.) At dat time money wuz
called chin plaster en w'en I lef' out ob de court room diff'ent peeple gib
me money en I had mah hat almos' full. Dat was de only money I had
gib ter me.
I nussed Miss Sadie Pope Fall; she ma'ried Mat Gardner. I also nussed
Miss Sue Porter Houston. I den wuk'd at