*Interview with Louis Hill,*
*age 78, Farmington, Missouri.*
"I's borned on October 13, 1858 on the southeast side of Farmington,
Missouri. My muthuh, Rose Hill, was borned in Virginia. She kum ta
Missouri as a girl an frum dat time on she wuz a slabe fur John Hill,
our boss. She worked thar till our freedom. Our family had three boys,
Peter, William, and me an two girls, Sallie and Malinda. We bunked up in
a cabin with one room. All us kids ate on da flo frum da same plate an
da biggest dog got da mos. We generally wore a straight slip like a
nightgown an hit fastened round the neck. (In the old South boys were
dressed in this fashion until about ten years old and were called
"shirttail boys".) Tak dis off an we war naked.
"The ole lady, the wife ob da Boss was da devil's sister. Her name was
'Whip'. She beat da ole folks mor'n tha kids. She used tha cowhide an we
got a lickin' whether we did anythin' or not. We had ta git up early an
after given supper we war put ta bed an did not 'pilfer' round. We had
ta go on Sunday ta the Boss' Church, tha Carmelite or Christian Church.
Ma muthuh wuz no han ta tell big yarns an so I know no ghost stories. We
wuz raised very sensible. Tha white folks did not help us ta read an
write. I learned that after we war free. I never did go ta school. Our
games was 'Wolf on tha Bridge', an 'King-Kong-Ko.' We always had ta be
doin' somethin', even if it war pickin' up kindlin'.
"I member when Price's army kum thro here in '64 or '65 on their way ta
Pilot Knob. I wuz 'bout six or seben years ole. I an ma sister had bin
down ta the white childr'n school ta take them dinner. We had ta bring
tha basket bak an we sat down in tha corner ob da graveyard ta eat whut
wuz left in da basket. Da graveyard was nex to da Fredericktown road and
jus across frum our house. All at onc't I heard the mos' turrible noise
an saw soldiers kum up da road. We war sure scared. We jumped up, ran
cross da road, jumped over da fence an begun ta tak out fur da house. Da
soldiers laughed an said somethin. One soldier on a horse kum up ta de
fence, tore off da top rail, an with his horse jumped ober da fence, an
took out after us, but he nebber cud catch us. We wuz sho runnin'. I wuz
carryin' da basket and if I had a throwed it down we would a showed that
soldier some runnin'. Da soldier turned his horse round but we went
straight to da house to da Missus. She say dat dey was only havin' a
good time an would not hurt us. We stood at da house an looked, an it
took 'bout all afternoon fur da soldiers to pass. Thar war horses,
wagons and cannons. Da soldiers durin' da war took all da Boss' horses
away an he had only a yoke ob oxen lef.
"After da freedom we all had ta get out an work. We had a big family. I
work'd at da lead smelter at Mine La Motte in 1872 an work'd thar fur
six years. I made $2.50 a day an dat was good wages then. I batched
thar. I larned ta read at Mine La Motte when a white man taught me in
evenin's at da mine between shifts. Afterwards I work'd in Bonne Terre
at da smelter but got lead colic an quit thar.
"I think slavery wuz a curse on human nature. I believe in nobody bein'
in bondage ob no kind. Da Almighty wuz not a goin' ta let slavery las'
much longer. You know whut He did about da people in Egypt."
(Note--Louis Hill lives in a very nice home. He is a quiet negro, and
except for a short time, has spent his entire life in Farmington. He
receives an Old Age Pension. I did not inquire about his marriage, for,
from knowledge I have gained, he lives with a colored woman to whom he
is not married.)
*Interview with Louis Hill,*
*Farmington, Missouri.*
_He Swapped Liquor For Lessons_
How he traded liquor for lessons in reading, writing, and arithmetic is
one of the interesting facts of his younger life recalled in an
interview recently obtained from Louis Hill, an ex-slave, now living in
Farmington, Missouri.
Louis believes that the government should have made some provision for
the aid of the Negroes during the early struggle following their
emancipation.
Regarding the part which he takes in politics, Louis declares that his
invariable rule is to "look over de field and vote for what he thinks is
de best timber."
The story of his experiences as given to the interviewer is told as
closely as possible in his own words which follow:
"I was too young to know what to expect from freedom. My mother picked
up and left de white folks in de night and took us kids with her. Dat
was after we was free but dey wouldn't let her get away in de daytime
very handy. Dey did not pay my mother anything after she was free. In
dem days kids didn't question de old folks like they does now, so I
didn't find out much. Dere was two sisters, two brothers and myself what
left dat night with my mother. We all had some bundles, and when we left
de old mistress in de dark we went to some neighbors several blocks
away. We didn't have to go far away 'cause dey could not force you to go
back after we was free. But my mother did go back and work for de
mistress a good while but she got paid den. We stayed here for quite
awhile and den went up to Valle Mines.
"I piddled around and hired out for first one and den another and did
what a kid could do. When you earned any money dem days you had to give
it to your mother and didn't know what she done with it. About de first
work I done was for Mr. Boyer, a Frenchman, up in Valle Mines in de
diggin's. I dug mineral, zinc, etc. I got 50 cents a day. He did all de
diggin and I 'coached' it from de head of the drift to de shaft. I had a
little car on wheels dat run on a wooden track. I reckon I worked for
him 'bout two years. My mother would go out to de big dirt pile called
'scrappin' and would pick out de zinc and lead chunks and little pieces.
"Purt near every Saturday we would take de ore down to Furnace Town and
get it weighed and get a check for it. Den we come back to Farmington
after several years and lived with my sister's husband and worked around
at a little bit of everything. I was gettin' to be a pretty good sized
boy and went to Mine La Motte and worked on de furnace. My first work at
dat place was at $2 a day and later on I became a 'charger' and got
$2.50 a day. I stayed with dem six or seven years. After I left dere I
went to Bonne Terre and got married and got mine sickness or lead colic
from workin' in de furnace and had to quit. I come back to Farmington
and is been here ever since. Den I worked at sawing wood, chopping wood,
and at a soda factory and beer depot and peddled ice and delivered soda
and beer to Knob Lick, Syenite, Graniteville and Bonne Terre. I worked
here for a long time.
"I'se had four children and two is livin. De boy is in Los Angeles,
California and the girl is in Seattle, Washington. My boy is a chauffeur
for an old, rich feller by de name of Clark and he has been in de same
job for 16 years. He gets $100 a month, room and board. He's been
wanting to quit but de old man won't let him. My son's daughter does de
cooking for dis rich guy. My son is 56 years old now.
"My daughter is 54 and is married. What she does is more dan I can tell
you. Her husband was a soldier in de regular army, in de 10th Cavalry,
and was in de Philippines, and Cuba and so my daughter is been around
some. She been away from here for about 23 or 24 years.
"I think de young Negroes need settling down and have more education and
not so much good time. I didn't have much of a chance. We was turned
loose barefooted and had no schools den and when dey had schools I had
to work. But in Mine La Motte a Mr. McFarland would come over to our
cabin and teach me readin', writin' and 'rithmetic. He was an awful
drinker but was smart. I would give him a little something to drink for
teachin' me. I took lessons for 'bout a year. I sure do like to read de
newspapers now and can write letters. The young generation thinks too
much about goin' and having a good time. A little 'task master' wouldn't
hurt de young people. I wasn't in de slavery long enough for it to hurt
me none. I was free when I was 5 years old. My mother, however, was
worked like an old horse and de best part of her life was spent in
bondage.
"I believe de government should have made some provision for de slaves
when dey turned dem loose. De government could have compelled
slaveholders to give slaves a little track of land, a cow and a horse
and give 'em a start. De slave had made what de white man had. I
actually believe de Negroes would be better off today if they had done
dis. My old mistress just had oodles of land. Of course de white folks
was not used to work and dere was plenty for de Negroes to do if dey
wanted to work.
"I voted as soon as I got a chance. De first time I voted was in 1880.
I'se had 'em try to pay me to vote but I told dem my vote was not for
sale. You know you ain't dictated to unless you is 'wishy washy'. Once,
a feller asked me how I voted. I said, 'Just to suit myself.' I
generally look over de field and vote for what I think is de best
timber. Dey is goin' to have a hot time in 1940, for dem that lives to
see it. It's a free country and a man should not have to own property in
order to vote. Dey ought not to oppress anyone."