*Interview with Minksie (Minksy) Walker,*
*Poplar Bluff, Missouri.*
The following interview pertaining to former slaves and the conditions
under which they lived was obtained from Minksie (or Minksy) Walker,
seventy-eight years old who lives at the end of Davis Street in a
subdivision called New World, Poplar Bluff, Missouri.
"I was one year old when de war broke out and six years old when it
closed. I don't remember the day or month I was born, but you can figure
out how old I am. My mammy's name was Blanch Walker, de name Walker come
from her belonging to Cannon Walker. He had two brothers, Sam and
Jimmie, and all their ground run together. I well remembers dem boys and
so does every one else. Dey was de best masters in all de south. Put all
their slaves together, dey owned about two or three hundred. I don't
know how much land dey had but it took a lot to keep all dat many
niggers busy.
"I don't know where my parents was born, Old Virginia, I guess, but I
was born in seven miles of Dyersburg, Tennessee. My father was Nat
Parker and his master was 'Little Dan' Parker. He was kept on de Parker
place but mammy got to see him every Sunday morning. Dey lived about
five miles from us. Dey didn't get to talk in de evening 'cause de white
folks preached for us then. We was called together in de brush arbor by
a big bell dey rung. De arbor was as big as a square block here in town,
but dey was so many of us dat we filled it up pretty quick. De meeting
was about like it is now 'cept we didn't know half de time what dey was
talking about, we couldn't read and learn; had to listen to learn.
"I well remember after meeting mammy would stop and talk with women and
she said, 'Minksy, dis is your aunt, my sister. You can walk along home
with her'. I was little and I would catch hold her dress tail to keep
up. She would meet other women and dey would start talking about de
meetin'. First thing I would know dey would be jumpin' up and dancin'
around and pattin' their hands until all de grass was wore off slick.
"I didn't have no chance to go to school, but I was a little tad and did
not have to work very hard either. I wasn't big enough to hitch up de
team of oxen but some big person would and then I sure could drive them,
drove all day, and I can remember hauling tobacco to de barns all day.
We had several barns tall as dat tree, yonder (tree about 75 feet high.)
About all we raised was tobacco. Dat sure 'nough was tobacco country, a
little corn for de stock and we raised what we eat.
"De only fighting I remember of during the war was on de farm of Dan
Parker. De soldiers met right in de middle of his corn and tobacco field
and when dey got through de tobacco was tramped in de ground and you
couldn't find a double handful of de corn.
"I have always said I was like a shingle, not like a barrel of snakes.
You never saw a crooked shingle and you will never see a straight snake.
I have always practiced one thing and dat is telling de truth about all
things. Dat is why I can say I don't know much about de slavery times, I
wasn't old enough. I was just a slave and dat is all. I said when I was
a small boy, 'Lord, just give me de power to read de Bible, old blue
back speller and the hymn book'. He done dis and I know de Bible by
heart. I could preach for six years, and never tell all I know. I can't
write a word or read anything but dese books. For a while I did preach.
I traveled by mission. Didn't own a church of my own and didn't belong
to any special one. I guess I must have preached about five years.
"I have been married twice, both my wives are dead. I don't know how old
I was when I first married but I had been free many a day. I went to
Dyersburg and bought de license. I got drunk and didn' get to Newbern,
Tennessee, where my girl lived until de next day. We had two children, a
boy and a girl. Dere names was George Earl and George Ella. Dere mother
lived nine years and when she died I give them to their grandmother. I
told her she could have dem and I would never bother around and I have
never seen dem since. Guess they are grown by dis time if dey lived and
are still alive, dey are the only kinfolks I have.
"I went to Clinton, Kentucky, and married again. Dat wife just lived a
short time and then I moved to Arkansas and lived until thirty years ago
when I moved to Butler County and Poplar Bluff. I have lived on dis hill
all dat time and sometimes it gets lonesome but when it does I just gets
my Bible and reads. I spend lots of time since my mule died, under the
shade of dis tree, because I haven't anything to do anymore. I was just
thinking de other day in slave times you never seed an old nigger man or
woman allowed to rest in the shade. There was some work for dem. De old
women took care of de kids and de old men kept clean around the master's
door and barn yard.
"Where I was we fared extra fine during slave times. Our master, Cannon
Walker, was a Union man. We had plenty pork meat to eat and fared fine.
He bought us good clothes and paid all the doctor bills when we got
sick. We had good houses too. We had to get up preety soon in de morning
but we didn't know nothing then. Our old mistress wanted me to call her
boy dat was de same age as me, Marster Tillie. I said, 'No, Mam, when he
call me Marster Minksy then I call him Marster Tillie'. Master Cannon
Walker did not allow any patrollers to boss his slaves when any of dem
was stopped on de pike and ask who dey belonged to all dey had to say
was Cannon, Sam or Jim Walker and dey never bothered them.
"My father and oldest brother run away with de Yankees during de war and
we never heard of dem anymore. Our master give all de older men a place
to raise chickens. He give others poplar trees to make charcoal and dey
was allowed to make a little money on de side dis way. I remember
hearing mammy tell dat one year he give all his men twenty bushels of
corn a piece and dey took it to de still and had whiskey made out of it.
They put de barrel in de field and she said there wasn't very much
raised that year.
"De slaves did not have to fight in de war but sometimes one would go in
to look after his young master. After de war and we was free, mammy
hired out to our old master and we stayed on there two years. Den she
married and we started moving from place to place. My step-father was a
mean man. I couldn't have been more den ten years old when he started
hiring me out by de day. I was hungry all de time because I had been
used to plenty of pork meat and all he would let me eat was parched
corn. One day I was working for Archie Dickerson, I was sick and he ask
me what the matter with me. I told him I had been used to meat and my
step-father would not let me have any. He called his wife and told her
to feed me meat every day, I never will forget him.
"I didn't get any education but I don't care. Lawsy, dis is a free
country now, you can either wear shoes or go barefooted. Slave times was
alright before de war because we didn't know nothin' better, but I sho'
wouldn't like it now. I am an old man now and I get de old age pension,
so all I have to do is rest here under the tree and read my Bible."