*Interview with James Monroe Abbot,*
*Cape Girardeau, Missouri.*
"I's born on December 25, 1854. My muthuh wuz Allie Ann Lane. Aftuh
'mancipation I tuk my daddies name Abbot--he wuz Anthony Abbot, an'
belonged to Ole' Joe Abbot, a neighbor. Our Mastuh wuz Joe Lane an' our
Missus wuz Jane Knox Lane. Dey had a girl, Barbara Ellen, an' two boys,
Tom en' Ed. Latuh years dey had more boys but I nevuh knowd dem.
"De white folks house wuz big, wid porches, an flowers all aroun', an
sweet locust trees in de do' yard. Dis wuz up in Perry County, a few
miles fum Seventy Six Landing.
"When Ole Mastuh died, dat wuz de fathuh ob young Mastuh Joe--he war
sick a long time. Dar he lay fum openin' o' spring, 'bout de time flies
cum, 'til wheat-sowin' time in de fall. An' it's de God's trufe, all dat
time he made me stan' side o' his bed--keepin' de flies offen him, I wuz
jes seben year ole but dere I had tuh stan, day en night, night en day.
Co'se I'd sleep sumtimes wen he wuz sleepin'. Sumtimes when I'd doze, my
bresh ud fall on he's face, den he'd take he's stick an' whack me a few
across de haid an' he'd say, 'Now I dare you to cry.' I cried, but he
didden see me do it.
"But at las' he died. Jane came in an' said, 'He's daid. You can go out
to play now James.' She ustah come in to Ole Mastuh an say, 'Why don'
you let him go out tuh play an' let someone else stan' here?' But Ole
Mastuh say, 'No! I want James.' So now I runs outside--I meets ma sister
an I says: 'By God, he's daid.' I didden know I wus cussin', she say 'I
gonna tell Muthuh on you,' but I's so glad to be out, I runs till I meet
Uncle Rube an' I says, 'By God, he's daid,' den I runs an meets ma
Muthuh, an' I tells her 'By God, he's daid.' She jes kinda turned her
back tuh me an' I cud see her shakin'. She war laffin'!
"Aftuh de buryin' was over, Young Joe an' Jane stood dar on de porch an'
dey call de darkies up one at a time. Fust dey calls ma Grampa an' young
Joe says, 'Yo ole Mastuh's daid. Now I's you' Mastuh, an' Miss Jane here
is your Missus. Do you unnerstand dat?' Grampa say 'Yessir' an pass on.
Nex' he call Lucy, den Aunt Hanna. To each one he says de same, 'I's
yore Mastuh and Miss' Jane here is yore New Missus'--sum ob' em says
'Yessir', sum ob' em jes kinda bows dey haid an' pass on. Wen he call
mah Muthuh up an' say de same tuh her--she look at him a minit den she
say, 'I know'd yuh all dese year as Joe an' her as Jane, an' I ain't
gonna start now callin' you Mastuh or Missus. I'll call you Joe an' Jane
like I allus done,' an' she walked away.
"One time 'fore dat she puddin near kill young Joe. She wuh hoeing corn
in de field an he cum ridin'--I spect he war jes tryin' to be smaht but
he tells her to swallow dat tobbaccy she got in huh mouth. She don' pay
him no mind an' he tell her agin. Den she say, 'You chewing tobaccy?
Whyn't yuh swaller dat?' Dat make him mad and he take a double rope en
whack her cross de sholders. Den she grab huh fingers roun' his throat,
an his face wuh all black es my own 'fore dey pulls her offen him. Den
Ole Mastuh try tuh whup her, but he couldn' by hisself, so he sends fo'
three nigger-buyers dat's close by. When one o' em tells muthuh to put
her han's togedder so he tie em, she grab him by de collar an' de seat
o' he's pants an knock's his haid agin a post like a battern' ram. Den
Ole Mastuh say, 'Men, yo' better go on home. I don' want my cullud folks
to git hurt.' He said it like dat.
"My Muthuh wuz big an' strong. She nevuh worked in de house none but dey
warn't nothin' on de place dat she couldn' do. She cud cut down a big
tree en chop off a rail length an' use a wedge an' maul an' make rails
as good as anybody. Pore Muthuh, she shore did have a hard time. Dey
warn't never nuthin' for her but work hard all de time, she neveh came
in fum de fiel' 'til dark, den had to feed wid a lantern.
"George Swan, a neighbor used tuh whup ole Felix with a
cat-o'-nine-tails til we'd hear him holler over at our place.
"I 'member one time de snow wuz a foot deep an I had tuh gathuh corn. I
wuz barefooted an' barehanded. Mah feet hurt so bad an' mah hands got so
stiff I couldn' work mah fingers, but ah had tuh keep on breakin' off de
corn. Dat night mah feet crack open an' nex' mahnin' when I had tuh make
de fires I lef' a track o' blood across de' flo.' Dey shore wuz mean to
us but God Bless you, dey's all daid an' gone an' de Lawd has spared me.
"Wen de war cum, lots o' cullud men went off to fight fo de Government.
Young Mastuh Joe nevuh went but whenever de sojers cum aroun' Mastuh Joe
couldn' nevuh be foun.'
"One time a passel a' sojers cum to de place, dey didden go to de big
house, but dat night dey spread straw fum de straw pile on de flo ob our
cabin--an' slep dar. We slep in de loft. Nex' mornin' dey went to de
barn an' took de bran' new wagon an' de bes' team o' mules an' dey went
to de smoke house an' hep deysefs. Dar wuz one man standin' on de wagon
cuttin' down de hams an' side meat an' de udder packin' it in de wagon.
Jane cum out on de porch an' start raisin' a ruccus 'bout 'em takin' her
meat. De sojer whut wuz cuttin' down de meat pull out he's gun an' say
'Whut dat she say?' Jane run in de house quick--but he got mad de way
she talk an' den' he take _all_ a de meat an' cans o' lard, an a barrel
of molasses. We ain't nevuh seed dat wagon agin an' it wuz bran' new.
"Dey wuz a battle a few mile away an' dey said you couldn' walk on de
groun' wifout steppin on daid men.
"Wen de war wuz over dey didden want us to know 'bout it. Dey want to
keep us es long es dey could. But it cum out in de papers dat de Guvment
men wuz gonna cum round an' see so dey had tuh turn us loose.
"Abe Lincoln wuz de honestest President we evuh had. Ef it warn't fo'
him we'd still be in bondage.
"If you puts two hoss-shoes above youh door--one up an' one down--it'll
shore catch de wiches if dey tries tuh come through.
"One time it wuz in de evenin' I wuz puttin hay in de pen fo de hosses
at night, an I see a big white light a-cummin' up de lane jes a little
above de top o' de fence. It wuz big an' shiny white. I wuzn' rightly
skeered but I stood dere watchin' it. It cum up an followed de' fence to
de road. I watched to see did it go to de graveyard, an' shure nuf it
did. It meant sumpin' but I don' know whut. An den one day, 'bout noon I
seed sumpin. I wuz out side dar an a little dog cum towards me. It wo' a
bright collar, shinin' like, an' pretty. I ain't nevuh seed nuthin' like
it. I goes to it an calls, 'Heah puppy, heah puppy.' It stan dere n'
look at me fir a minit den turn an' jump ovuh dat ten rail fence an' is
lost in de tall weeds. Now you know no natchel puppy could jump ovuh a
ten-rail fence. I goes in an tells Hanna de cook 'bout it an' she say,
'Lawd ha' mercy! dat's a token fo' sumpin. I don' know whut--mebby
somebody gonna die, but it sho' is a token.'"