"Onct dar wus a free nigger what ownes a mill an' he am makin' a heap
o' money. He married a han'some nigger wench an' hit 'peared lak his
luck all went bad. De folkses quit bringin' dere co'n ter be groun' an'
he 'gan ter git pore.
"'Long in dem times de slaves sometimes runned away from deir cruel
marsters an' dey'd go ter dis nigger at de mill. He'ud put 'em ter
sleep in de mill, but dey can't sleep on de 'count of fusses an'
scratchin'.
"'Last one night a nigger what has runned away comed ter spen' de
night, an' he sez dat he am not skeerd o' nothin' De owner can put him
ter sleep in de house if he wants ter, case his wife am spendin' de
night wid a friend of hern, but he 'sides ter put him in de mill.
"He tells de runaway nigger 'bout de witch, but atter de nigger gits
hisself a butcher knife he ain't skeered no mo' an' he goes on ter de
mill.
"'Way in de night de nigger sees somethin', an' de whites o' his eyes
shines lak lamps. De things comes nearer an' nearer an' he sees dat hit
am a big black cat wid de savage notion o' eatin' him.
"De nigger swings his knife an' off comes one of de ole cat's feets.
She gives a awful screech an' goes outen de winder.
"De nex' mornin' de owner's wife am sick in de bed an' she' fuses ter
git up. De man tells her ter git up an' cook his breakfas', but she
'fuses ter stir.
"'You better git up, you lazy trollop', de man shouts an' wid dat he
drags de 'oman outen de bed. He am 'mazed when he sees dat her han' am
cut off, an' he yells fer de neighbors.
"When de neighbors gits dar dey makes a big bresh pile an' dey ties her
on hit an' burns her up. Atter dat de man had good luck, eben atter he
married ag'in."
Note: This witch story is a variant of _The Old Brownrigg
Mill_ by Doctor Richard Dillard.
N.C. District: No. 2
Worker: Mary A. Hicks
No. Words: 689
Subject: JULIUS NELSON
Story teller: Julius Nelson
Editor: Daisy Bailey Waitt
[Illustration: Julius Nelson]
JULIUS NELSON
Ex-Slave Story
An interview with Julius Nelson, 77 of State Prison,
Raleigh, N.C.
"I doan 'member no slavery, of course, so 'taint no use ter ax me no
questions. I does know dat my mammy wus named Ann an' my pappy wus
named Alex. Dey 'longed ter a Mr. Nelson in Anson County. Dere wus
'leben o' us youngins but dey am all daid now 'cept me.
"I doan reckon dat I is but roun' sebenty, case I wus jist five years
old at de close o' de war. What's dat, I'se sebenty seben? Lan' how de
time do fly!
"Anyhow I jist barely does 'member how de ho'n blowed 'fore de light o'
de day an' how we got up an' had our breakfast an' when de ho'n blowed
at sunrise we went ter de fiel's in a gallop. At dinner time de
plantation bell rung an' we'd fly fer home.
"One big fat nigger 'oman cooked de dinner fer us fifty er sixty slaves
an' in er hour or so we'd go back ter de fiel's fer mo' wuck. I sez us,
but I means dem what could wuck. I did pull weeds an' pick up apples,
an' dem things.
"Dese dinners hyar 'min's me o' de plantation dinners somehow. Maybe
case it am 'bout de same quantity. Great big pots o' turnip salet,
collards, peas, beans, cabbages, potatoes or other vege'ables, an' a
oben full o' sweet' taters in de winter. Dar wus a heap o' pies in de
summertime, an' honey, an' 'lasses, an' lasses cake in de winter time.
Dar wus big pones o' co'n bread all de year roun' an' whole sides o'
meat, an' on New Years' Day hogshead an' peas.
"Fur supper we gine'ly had pot licker, lef' from dinner, 'taters maybe
an' some sweetnin'. Dar wus ash cakes fur supper an' breakfas' most o'
de time an' hominy, which de marster had grown hisself. De smart nigger
et a heap o' possums an' coons, dar bein' plenty o' dem an' rabbits an'
squirrels in abundance.
"Did yo' eber eat any kush? Well dat wus made outin meal, onions, salt,
pepper, grease an' water. Hit made a good supper dish. Sometimes in de
heat o' de day marster let us pick blackberries on de hedgerow fer our
supper. We little' uns often picks de berries, an' den we have a big
pan pie fer supper.
"On holidays we sometimes had chicken pie an' ham an' a lot o' other
food. Dem wus de happy times, 'specially on Christmas mornin' when we
all goes ter de big house ter celebrate an' ter git our gif's. Dey give
us clothes, food, an' fruit. One Christmas we had a big tub of candy, I
reckolicts. 'Bout twict a year we had a sociable when de niggers from
de neighborin' plantations 'ud be invited an' dey'd come wid deir
banjoes an' fiddles an' we'd dance, all o' us, an' have a swell time.
"We little'uns 'ud play fox-on-de-wall, tag, mulberry bush, drap
handerchief, stealin' sticks an' a whole heap of others dat I
disremembers right now.
"We shucked our co'n on rainy days mostly, but de marster lets us have
one big co'n shuckin' eber' year an' de person what fin's a red year
can kiss who dey pleases. Hit wus gran' times dat we had den.
"We also had regular weddin's wid a preacher an' all de fixin's an' de
marster usually give us a big supper case he knowed dat he wuz gwine
ter soon habe more slaves from de union.
"Iffen de Yankees comed ter our part o' de country I don't 'member
seein' dem but I does know dat de Ku Kluxes done give us a heap of
trouble.
"I'se libed a long time, 'specially de fifteen years dat I'se spent
hyar, but I knows how ter treat white folkses, an' I knows dat de wuck
an' de healthy rations dat de niggers got 'fore de war am why dey am
stronger dan de young niggers o' dis day."
N.C. District: No. 2
Worker: Mary A. Hicks
No. Words: 679
Subject: PLANTATION LIFE
Teller: Lila Nichols
Editor: Daisy Bailey Waitt
[TR: Date stamp: JUN 1 1937]
[Illustration: Lila Nichols]