gutenberg.org/files/22976/22976-h/22976-h.htm SLAVE NARRATIVES A Folk History of Slavery in the United States From Interviews with Former Slaves TYPEWRITTEN RECORDS PREPARED BY THE FEDERAL WRITERS PROJECT 1936-1938 ASSEMBLED BY THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS PROJECT WORK PROJECTS ADMINISTRATION FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA SPONSORED BY THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS Illustrated with Photographs WASHINGTON 1941 VOLUME XI NORTH CAROLINA NARRATIVES PART I Prepared by the Federal Writers Project of the Works Progress Administration for the State of North Carolina Transcribers Note: To reflect the individual character of this document, inconsistencies in formatting have been retained. The interview headers presented here contain all information included in the original, but may have been rearranged for readability. Some interviews were date-stamped; these dates have been added to interview headers. Where part of date could not be determined a — has been substituted. In general, typographical errors have been left in place to match the original images. In the case where later editors have hand-written corrections, and simple typographical errors have been silently corrected. In addition, punctuation and formatting have been made consistent, particularly the use of quotation marks. Some corrections have been noted with a mouse hover. [HW: *] denotes a Handwritten Note. Added two lines to list of illustrations missing from original. N.C. District: No. 2 Worker: T. Pat Matthews No. Words: 1384 Subject: Louisa Adams Person Interviewed: Louisa Adams Editor: Daisy Bailey Waitt Date Stamp: JUL 7 1937 l_adams [To List] LOUISA ADAMS [Pg 2] My name is Louisa Adams. I wuz bawned in Rockingham, Richmond County, North Carolina. I wuz eight years old when the Yankees come through. I belonged to Marster Tom A. Covington, Sir. My mother wuz named Easter, and my father wuz named Jacob. We were all Covingtons. No Sir, I dont know whur my mother and father come from. Soloman wuz brother number one, then Luke, Josh, Stephen, Asbury. My sisters were Jane, Frances, Wincy, and I wuz nex. I members grandmother. She wuz named Lovie Wall. They brought her here from same place. My aunts were named, one wuz named Nicey, and one wuz named Jane. I picked feed for the white folks. They sent many of the chillun to work at the salt mines, where we went to git salt. My brother Soloman wuz sent to the salt mines. Luke looked atter the sheep. He knocked down china berries for em. Dad and mammie had their own gardens and hogs. We were compelled to walk about at night to live. We were so hongry we were bound to steal or parish. This trait seems to be handed down from slavery days. Sometimes I thinks dis might be so. Our food wuz bad. Marster worked us hard and gave us nuthin. We had to use what we made in the garden to eat. We also et our hogs. Our clothes were[Pg 3] bad, and beds were sorry. We went barefooted in a way. What I mean by that is, that we had shoes part of the time. We got one pair o shoes a year. When dey wored out we went barefooted. Sometimes we tied them up with strings, and they were so ragged de tracks looked like bird tracks, where we walked in the road. We lived in log houses daubed with mud. They called em the slaves houses. My old daddy partly raised his chilluns on game. He caught rabbits, coons, an possums. We would work all day and hunt at night. We had no holidays. They did not give us any fun as I know. I could eat anything I could git. I tell you de truth, slave time wuz slave time wid us. My brother wore his shoes out, and had none all thu winter. His feet cracked open and bled so bad you could track him by the blood. When the Yankees come through, he got shoes. I wuz married in Rockingham. I dont member when Mr. Jimmie Covington, a preacher, a white man, married us. I married James Adams who lived on a plantation near Rockingham. I had a nice blue wedding dress. My husband wuz dressed in kinder light clothes, best I rickerlect. Its been a good long time, since deen. I sho do member my Marster Tom Covington and his wife too, Emma. Da old man wuz the very Nick. He would take what we made and lowance us, dat is lowance it out to my[Pg 4] daddy after he had made it. My father went to Steven Covington, Marster Toms brother, and told him about it, and his brother Stephen made him gib father his meat back to us. My missus wuz kind to me, but Mars. Tom wuz the buger. It wuz a mighty bit plantation. I dont know how many slaves wuz on it, there were a lot of dem do. Dere were overseers two of em. One wuz named Bob Covington and the other Charles Covington. They were colored men. I rode with them. I rode wid em in the carriage sometimes. De carriage had seats dat folded up. Bob wuz overseer in de field, and Charles wuz carriage driver. All de plantation wuz fenced in, dat is all de fields, wid rails; de rails wuz ten feet long. We drawed water wid a sweep and pail. De well wuz in the yard. De mules for the slaves wuz in town, dere were none on the plantation. Dey had em in town; dey waked us time de chicken crowed, and we went to work just as soon as we could see how to make a lick wid a hoe. Lawd, you better not be caught wid a book in yor han. If you did, you were sold. Dey didnt low dat. I kin read a little, but I cant write. I went to school after slavery and learned to read. We didnt go to school but three or four week a year, and learned to read. Dere wuz no church on the plantation, and we were[Pg 5] not lowed to have prayer meetings. No parties, no candy pullings, nor dances, no sir, not a bit. I member goin one time to the white folkses church, no baptizing dat I member. Lawd have mercy, ha! ha! No. De pateroller were on de place at night. You couldnt travel without a pas. We got few possums. I have greased my daddys back after he had been whupped until his back wuz cut to pieces. He had to work jis the same. When we went to our houses at night, we cooked our suppers at night, et and then went to bed. If fire wuz out or any work needed doin around de house we had to work on Sundays. They did not gib us Christmas or any other holidays. We had corn shuckings. I herd em talkin of cuttin de corn pile right square in two. One wud git on one side, another on the other side and see which out beat. They had brandy at the corn shuckin and I herd Sam talkin about gittin drunk. I member one oman dying. Her name wuz Caroline Covington. I didnt go to the grave. But you know they had a little cart used with hosses to carry her to the grave, jist a one horse wagon, jist slipped her in there. Yes, I member a field song. It wuz Oh! come let us go where pleasure never dies. Great fountain gone over. Dats one uv em. We had a good doctor when we got sick. He come[Pg 6] to see us. The slaves took herbs dey found in de woods. Dats what I do now, Sir. I got some erbs right in my kitchen now. When the Yankees come through I did not know anything about em till they got there. Jist like they were poppin up out of de ground. One of the slaves wuz at his masters house you know, and he said, The Yankees are in Cheraw, S. C. and the Yankees are in town. It didnt sturb me at tall. I wuz not afraid of de Yankees. I member dey went to Miss Emmas house, and went in de smoke house and emptied every barrel of lasses right in de floor and scattered de cracklings on de floor. I went dere and got some of em. Miss Emma wuz my missus. Dey just killed de chickens, hogs too, and old Jeff the dog; they shot him through the thoat. I member how his mouth flew open when dey shot him. One uv em went into de tater bank, and we chillun wanted to go out dere. Mother wouldnt let us. She wuz fraid uv em. Abraham Lincoln freed us by the help of the Lawd, by his help. Slavery wuz owin to who you were with. If you were with some one who wuz good and had some feelins for you it did tolerable well; yea, tolerable well. We left the plantation soon as de surrender. We lef right off. We went to goin towards Fayetteville, North Carolina. We climbed over fences and were just broke down[Pg 7] chillun, feet sore. We had a little meat, corn meal, a tray, and mammy had a tin pan. One night we came to a old house; some one had put wheat straw in it. We staid there, next mornin, we come back home. Not to Marsters, but to a white oman named Peggy McClinton, on her plantation. We stayed there a long time. De Yankees took everything dey could, but dey didnt give us anything to eat. Dey give some of de omen shoes. I thinks Mr. Roosevelt is a fine man and he do all he can for us. [Pg 8]Top [320278] N.C. District: No. 3 Worker: Travis Jordan No. Words: 1500 Title: Ida Adkins Ex-slave Person Interviewed: Ida Adkins Editor: Daisy Bailey Waitt County Home, Durham, N.C. Date Stamp: JUN 1 1937 [Pg 9] IDA ADKINS Ex-slave 79 years. TR note: Numerous hand written notations and additions in the following interview (i.e. wuz to was; er to a; adding t to the contractions.) Made changes where obvious without comment. Additions and comments were left as notation only. I 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 from Mississippi, but when I wuz bawn he an Mis Mary Jane wuz livin down herr near Louisburg in North Carolina whare dey had er big plantation an don know how many niggers. Marse Frank wuz good to his niggers, cept he never give dem ernough to eat. He worked dem hard on half rations, 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 hear de pedals goin plop, plop, as she treaded dem wid her feets. She wuz a good weaver. I stayed roun de big house 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 shed ketch you every time you tried to steal a lump of sugar. I liked Marse Frank better den I did Mis Mary Jane. All us little chillun called him Big Pappy. Every time he went to Raleigh he brung us niggers back some candy. He went to Raleigh erbout twice er year. Raleigh wuz er far ways from de plantations—near bout sixty miles. It always took Marse Frank three days to make de trip. A day to go,[Pg 10] er day to stay in town, an a day to come back. Den he always got home in de night. Ceptn he rode hose back stead of de carriage, den sometimes 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 aint never seed so many men. Dey was thick as hornets comin down de road in a cloud of dus. Dey come up to de house an tied de horses to de palins; roun de yard . When dey seed Marse Frank standin on de poch wid de gun leveled on dem, dey got mad. Time Marse Frank done shot one time a bully Yankee snatched de gun away an tole Marse Frank to hold up his hand. Den dey tied his hands an pushed him down on de floor side de house an tole him dat if he moved 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 told me 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[Pg 11] of dem wuz at de stables gettin de hoses, an some of dem wuz in de house gettin de silver an things. I seed dem put de big silver pitcher an tea pot in a bag. Den dey took de knives an foks an all de candle sticks an platters off de side board. Dey went in de parlor an got de gol clock dat wuz Mis Mary Janes granmammys. Den dey got all de jewelry out of Mis Mary Janes box. Dey went up to Mis Mary Jane, an while she looked at dem wid her black eyes snappin, dey took de rings off her fingers; den dey took her gol bracelet; dey even took de ruby ear rings out of her ears an de gol comb out of her hair. I done quit peepin in de window an wuz standin side de house when de Yankees come out in de yard wid all de stuff dey wuz totin off. Marse Frank wuz still settin on de poch floor wid his hans tied an couldn do nothin. Bout dat time I seed de bee gums in de side yard. Dey wuz a whole line of gums. Little as I wuz I had a notion. I run an got me a long stick an tuned over every one of dem gums. Den I stirred dem bees up wid dat stick twell dey wuz so mad I could smell de pizen. An bees! you aint never seed de like of bees. Dey wuz swarmin all over de place. Dey sailed into dem Yankees like bullets, each one madder den de other. Dey lit on dem hoses twell dey looked like dey wuz live wid varmints. De hoses broke dey bridles an tore down de palins an lit out down de road. But dey runnin wuzn nothin to what dem Yankees done. Dey bust out cussin, but what did a bee keer about cuss words! Dey[Pg 12] lit on dem blue coats an every time dey lit dey stuck in a pizen sting. De Yankees forgot all about de meat an things dey done stole; dey took off down de road on er run, passin de horses. De bees was right after dem in a long line. Deyd zoom an zip, an zoom an zip, an every time deyd zip a Yankee would yell. When deyd gone Mis Mary Jane untied Marse Frank. Den dey took all de silver, meat an things de Yankees lef behin an buried it so if dey come back dey couldn fin it. Den day called ma an said: Ida Lee, if you hadnt tuned over dem bee gums dem Yankees would have toted off near bout everythin fine we got. We want to give you somethin you can keep so youll always remember dis day, 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. [320276]Top[Pg 13] N.C. District: No. 2 Worker: Mary A. Hicks No. Words: 402 Subject: Ex-Slave Story Person Interviewed: Martha Allen Editor: Daisy Bailey Waitt Date Stamp: JUN 7 1937 HW: good short sketch [Pg 14] EX-SLAVE STORY
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