3-1/2 lbs. meat Holidays--July 4th and Christmas
fresh meat.
Peas, pepper grass, polk salad were plentiful in the fields. Milk and
"pot likker" could be had from the big house when desired, although
every family cooked for itself. Saturday afternoon was the general
fishing time and each person might catch as many as he needed for his
personal use.
The slaves did most of the weaving on the plantation, but after the
cloth was woven the problem of giving it color presented itself. As they
had no commercial dye, certain plants were boiled to give color. A plant
called indigo, found in the cotton patch, was the chief type of dye,
although thare was another called copperas. The dresses made from this
material were very plain.
Walton believes in most of the old signs and superstitions because he
has "watched them and found that they are true." The continuous singing
of a whipporwill near a house is a sign of death, but if an iron is
placed in the fire and allowed to remain there, the bird will fly away.
When the news of the war finally reached the plantation, the slaves
followed the progress with keen interest and when battles were fought
near Columbus, and firing of guns was heard, they cried joyfully--"It
ain't gonna be long now." Two of their master's sons fought in the
Confederate Army, but both returned home before the close of the war.
One day news came that the Yankee soldiers were soon to come, and Walton
began to hide all valuables. The slaves were sent to the cemetery to dig
very deep graves where all manner of food was stored. They were covered
like real graves and wooden slabs placed at either end. For three days
before the soldiers were expected, all the house servants were kept busy
preparing delicacies with which to tempt the Yankees and thus avoid
having their place destroyed. In spite of all this preparation, they
were caught unawares and when the "blue coats" were seen approaching,
the master and his two sons ran. The elder made his way to the woods;
the younger made away on "Black Eagle" a horse reputed to run almost a
mile a minute. Nearly everything on the place was destroyed by these
invaders. One bit of information has been given in every interview where
Northern soldiers visited a plantation, they found, before coming,
whether the Master was mean or kind and always treated him as he had
treated his slaves. Thus Mr. Walton was "given the works" as our modern
soldiers would say.
When the war ended the slaves were notified that they were free. Just
before Rhodus' family prepared to move, his mother was struck on the
head by a drunken guest visiting at the "big house." As soon as she
regained consciousness, the family ran off without communicating with an
elder sister who had been sold to a neighbor the previous year. A year
later, news of this sister reached them through a wagoner who recognized
the small boys as he passed them. He carried the news to the family's
new residence back to the lost sister and in a few weeks she arrived at
Cuthbert to make her home with her relatives.
For the past 9 years Rhodus has been unable to work as he is a victim of
a stroke on his left side; both sides have been ruptured, and his nerves
are bad. He attributes his long life to his faith in God.
[HW: Dist. 5
Ex-slave #111
(Ross)]
AN ACCOUNT Of SLAVERY RELATED BY WILLIAM WARD--EX-SLAVE
[Date Stamp: 10-8-1937]
In a small one-room apartment located on one of Atlanta's back streets
lives William Ward, an ex-slave, whose physical appearance in no way
justifies his claim to being 105 years of age. He is about five ft. in
height with a rather smooth brown complexion. What hair he has is gray.
He moves about like a much younger person. For a person of his age his
thoughts and speech are remarkably clear.
On a bright sunny afternoon in September this writer had an opportunity
of talking with Mr. Ward and in the course of the conversation some very
interesting things were learned regarding the institution of slavery and
its customs. Ward took a dip of snuff from his little tin box and began
his story by saying that he is the son of Bill and Leana Ward who were
brought to this country from Jamaica, B.W.I. The first thing he
remembers was the falling of the stars in 1833. From that time until he
was 9 years old he played around the yard with other slave children.
Then his parents were sent back to Jamaica by their master, the former
Governor Joseph E. Brown. While he was in bondage he carried the name of
his masters instead of Ward, his parents' name.
From the age of 9 until he was old enough to do heavy work, he kept the
master's yard clean.
Although Mr. Brown owned between 50 and 75 slaves, he had no plantation
but hired his slaves out to other men who needed more help but were not
able to own as many slaves as their work required.
Mr. Ward and his fellow slaves lived in one-room houses in the rear of
the master's home. The furnishings consisted of a bed which was known as
a "Grand Rascal" due to its peculiar construction. The mattress made in
the form of a large bag was stuffed with hat and dried grass.
At daybreak each morning they were called from these crude beds to
prepare for the day's work. Breakfast, which consisted of white bacon,
corn bread, and imitation coffee, was served before they left for the
scene of their day's work. Incidentally the slaves under Mr. Brown's
ownership never had any other form of bread than corn bread.
This imitation coffee was made by putting corn meal in a pan, parching
it until it reached a deep golden brown and steeping it in boiling
water. At noon, dinner was brought to them in the field in wash tubs
placed on carts drawn by oxen. Dinner consisted of fat meat, peas and
corn bread. Often all laundry was done in these same tubs.
The only time that this diet ever varied was at Christmas time when the
master had all slaves gathered in one large field. Then several hogs
were killed and barbecued. Everyone was permitted to eat as much as he
could, but was forbidden to take anything home. When some one was
fortunate enough to catch a possum or a coon, he had a change of food.
On Sundays the slaves were permitted to have a religious meeting of
their own. This usually took place in the back yard or in a building
dedicated for this purpose. They sang spirituals which gave vent to
their true feelings. Many of these songs are sung today. There was one
person who did the preaching. His sermon was always built according to
the master's instructions which were that slaves must always remember
that they belonged to their masters and were intended to lead a life of
loyal servitude. None of the slaves believed this, although they
pretended to believe because of the presence of the white overseer. If
this overseer was absent sometimes and the preacher varied in the text
of his sermon, that is, if he preached exactly what he thought and felt,
he was given a sound whipping.
Mr. Brown was a kind person and never mistreated his slaves, although he
did furnish them with the whip for infractions of rules such as
fighting, stealing, visiting other plantations without a "pass", etc.
Ward vividly recalls that one of the soundest thrashings he ever got was
for stealing Mr. Brown's whisky. His most numerous offenses were
fighting. Another form of punishment used in those days was the stocks,
such as those used in early times in England. Serious offenses like
killing another person was also handled by the master who might hang him
to a tree by the feet or by the neck, as he saw fit.
Few slaves ever attempted to escape from Mr. Brown, partially because of
his kindliness and partically because of the fear inspired by the pack
of blood hounds which he kept. When an escaped slave was caught he was
returned to his master and a sound beating was administered.
As far as marriage was concerned on the Brown estate, Mr. Brown, himself
placed every two individuals together that he saw fit to. There was no
other wedding ceremony. If any children were born from the union, Mr.
Brown named them. One peculiarity on the Brown estate was the fact that
the slaves were allowed no preference or choice as to who his or her
mate would be. Another peculiarity was these married couples were not
permitted to sleep together except when the husband received permission
to spend the night with his wife. Ward is the father of 17 children
whose whereabouts he does not know.
At this point Ward began to smile, and when he was asked the cause of
his mirth, he replied that he was thinking about his fellow slaves
beliefs in conjuring one another. This was done by putting some sort of
wild berries in the person's food. What he can't understand is why some
of this black magic was not tried on the white people since they were
holding the Negroes as slaves.
Ward recalls vividly Sherman's march through Georgia. When Sherman
reached the present site of Hapeville, he bombarded Atlanta with cannon,
afterwards marching through and burning the city. The white residents
made all sorts of frantic attempts to hide their money and other
valuables. Some hiding places were under stumps of trees and in sides of
hills. Incidentally Sherman's army found quite a bit of the hidden
wealth. Slaves were never allowed to talk over events and so very few,
if any, knew about the war or its results for them before it actually
happened. At the time that Sherman marched through Atlanta, Ward and
other slaves were living in an old mansion at the present site of
Peachtree and Baker Streets. He says that Sherman took him and his
fellow slaves as far as Virginia to carry powder and shot to the
soldiers. He states that he himself did not know whether Sherman
intended to keep him in slavery or free him. At the close of the war,
his master, Mr. Brown, became ill and died later. Before His death he
informed the slaves that they could remain on his property or go where
they wanted to. Ward was taken to Mississippi where he remained in
another form of slavery (Peonage System) for 40 years. He remembers when
Atlanta was just a few hills without any buildings. Some of the
buildings he worked on are the Herman Building and the original Kimball
House, a picture of which is attached.
He attributes his old age to his belief in God and living a sane life.
Whenever he feels bad or in low spirits, a drink of coffee or a small
amount of whisky is enough to brace him. He believes that his remedy is
better than that used in slavery which consisted mainly of pills and
castor oil.
With a cheerful good-bye, Ward asked that the writer stop in to see him
again; said that he would rather live in the present age under existing
conditions than live in slavery.
Driskell
JWL 10-12-37
[MR. WILLIAM WARD]
Following is Mr. William Ward's description of the bed called "The Grand
Rascal."
"De beds dat all o' de slaves slept in wus called 'Grand Rascals'. Dey
wus made on de same order as a box. De way dey made 'em wus like dis:
dey took four strips of narrow wood, each one of 'em 'bout a foot wide,
an' den dey nailed 'em together so dat dey wus in de shape of a square.
Den dey nailed a bottom onto dis square shape. Dis bottom wus called de
slats. When dis wus finished dey set dis box on some legs to keep it
off'n de floor, an' den dey got busy wid de mattress. Dey took ol' oat
sacks an' filled 'em wid straw an' hay an' den dey put dis in de box an'
slept on it. Dere wusn't no springs on dese bunks an' everybody had a
hard time sleepin'.
"De real name of dese wus 'Sonova-Bitches' but de slaves called 'em
'Grand Rascals' 'cause dey didn't want people to hear 'em use a bad
word.
"After Sherman come through Atlanta he let de slaves go, an' when he
did, me an' some of de other slaves went back to our ol' masters. Ol'
man Gov. Brown wus my boss man. After de war wus over Ol' man Gordon
took me an' some of de others out to Mississippi. I stayed in peonage
out dere fer 'bout forty years. I wus located at jes' 'bout forty miles
south of Greenwood, an' I worked on de plantations of Ol' man Sara Jones
an' Ol' man Gordon.
"I couldn't git away 'cause dey watched us wid guns all de time. When de
levee busted dat kinda freed me. Man, dey was devils; dey wouldn't 'low
you to go nowhere--not even to church. You done good to git sumpin' to
eat. Dey wouldn't give you no clothes, an' if you got wet you jes' had
to lay down in whut you got wet in.
"An', man, dey would whup you in spite of de devil. You had to ask to
git water--if you didn't dey would stretch you 'cross a barrel an' wear
you out. If you didn't work in a hurry dey would whup you wid a strap
dat had five-six holes in it. I ain't talkin' 'bout whut I heard--I'm
talkin' 'bout whut I done see'd.
"One time dey sent me on Ol' man Mack Williams' farm here in Jasper
County, Georgia. Dat man would kill you sho. If dat little branch on his
plantation could talk it would tell many a tale 'bout folks bein'
knocked in de head. I done seen Mack Williams kill folks an' I done seen
'im have folks killed. One day he tol' me dat if my wife had been good
lookin', I never would sleep wid her again 'cause he'd kill me an' take
her an' raise chilluns off'n her. Dey uster take women away fum dere
husbands an' put wid some other man to breed jes' like dey would do
cattle. Dey always kept a man penned up an' dey used 'im like a stud
hoss.
"When you didn't do right Ol' Mack Williams would shoot you or tie a
chain 'roun your neck an' throw you in de river. He'd git dem other
niggers to carry dem to de river an' if dey didn't he'd shoot 'em down.
Any time dey didn't do whut he said he would shoot 'em down. He'd tell
'em to "Ketch dat nigger", an' dey would do it. Den he would tell 'em to
put de chain 'roun dere neck an' throw 'em in de river. I ain't heard
dis--I done seen it.
"In 1927 I wus still in peonage but I wus back in Mississippi on
Gordon's farm. When de levee broke in May of dat same year I lost my
wife an' three chilluns. I climbed a tree an' stayed dere fer four days
an' four nights. Airplanes dropped food an' when I got ready to eat I
had to squeeze de water out of de bread. After four days I got out of de
tree an' floated on logs down de river 'till I got to Mobile, Alabama,
an' I wade fum dere to Palmetto, Georgia, where I got down sick. De boss
mans dere called Gov. Harden an' he sent de Grady Hospital examiners
down dere an' got me an' I been in Atlanta since dat time."
Willie H. Cole
10-8-37
THE STORY OF AN EX-SLAVE
[MRS. LULA WASHINGTON, Age 84]
Mrs. Lula Washington was born a slave. She claims to be eighty-four
years old.
Mrs. Washington was confined to bed because of a recent accident in
which she received a broken leg.
She is the mother of twenty-three children of which only two are living.
She lives in one room at 64 Butler St., N.E. with one of her daughters.
Since the death of her husband several years ago she has been making her
living as a dray-women, driving a mule and wagon.
Following are some of the events she remembers. "Ah wuz born in
Randolph, Alabama on de plantation of Marster John Terrell, de sixth
child of my mammy and pappy".
"When ah wuz six years old marster John sold me an' my sister, Lize and
brother, Ben to Marster Charlie Henson."
"Marster Charlie wuz good to his niggers.
"He never whipped dem 'less dey done somethin' awful bad, like stealin
chickens or slipping off de plantation without permission."
"It wuz funny, de white folks would whipped de niggers for stealin' but
if dey saw a hog in de woods, dey would make the niggers catch de hog an
kill him an hide him under dey bushes. Den at night de niggers would
hafta' go down to de spring, build a fire, heat water an skin de hog."
"De man on de plantation next to us' shore wuz mean to his niggers,
Marster Jim Roberts wus his name. He would take his niggers an strip
there clothes to dere waist an' lay dem 'cross a barrel an beat dem 'til
the blood run. Den he would pore salt water on de sore places."
"Oh 'member one time he tied two wimmen by dere thumbs to a limb of a
tree for blessin' out the missus."
"Us had plenty to eat and plenty to wear, calico dresses an' brogan
shoes. Sometimes dere misses would give the wimmen some of her old
clothes".
"All de niggers on Marster Charlie's plantation had to work in de field
'cept Malindy Lu, a Mulatto nigger gal. Marster Charlie kept her in de
house to take care of Missus Jane, dat wuz Marster Charlie wife."
"One thing 'bout de mulatto niggers, wuz, dey thought dey wuz better
than de black niggers. I guess it wuz 'cause dey was half white. Dere
wuz a bad feelin' 'tween the mulatto slaves an de black ones."
Asked, how did the slaves marry? She replied, "Ah jest don't 'member
seeing any marry 'cause ah wuz so small. Ah wuz jest eleven years old de
time of de war but ah' members hearing some of dem say dat when two
slaves wanted to git married dey would hafta get permission from dere
marster. Den dey would come 'fore de marster an' he would have dem to
jump over a broom an den 'nounce dem married."
"When de Yankees come thru" de white folks told us to go down to de
swamp an hide cause dey would git us. When de war wuz over de white
folks told us we wuz free."
"Marster Terrell gave my mammy an pappy a oxcart an mule an a bushel of
meal. Den my pappy an mammy come got me an my sister an' brother. Den we
come from Randolph, Alabama to Georgia."
"Sometimes I wish I wuz back in slavery, times is so hard."
Mrs. Washington's chief concern now is getting her old-age pension.