An interview with Jacob Thomas, 97 years of age, of 1300 South
Bloodworth Street, Raleigh, North Carolina.
"I wus borned in Elberton County, Georgia, on de plantation of Marse
Tom Bell. My mammy, Isobel, uster live in North Carolina, but she wus
sold from her husban' an' baby an' carried ter Marse Tom's place in
Georgia. Atter she got dar she wus married agin an' had me. Dat is I
reckin dat she wus married. I never did know my pappy.
"Mammy wus sold in Smithfield on de slave block an' carried off,
chained 'hind a wagin. She turn' roun' an' looks back at her husban'
who cries an' de oberseer's lash cuts his back, 'case dey ain't 'lowed
ter cry at a sale.
"From de time I can fust 'member I wucked on de farm. We planted cane,
cotton, corn, an' rice in de low groun's. We ain't had ter wuck so
powerful hard an' we am 'lowed a heap of pleasures, but some of us boys
wus mean an' we had ter be whupped, lak de time we tied tin cans on de
tail of Jinks, marster's fine huntin' dog. De dog near run hisself ter
death an' Marse Tom had us whupped fer hit.
"He raised fine hosses too, an' he ain't 'lowed us boys ter git clost
ter dem, but one Sunday when Uncle Amos went ter sleep in de shade of
de trees roun' de pasture I gits on Lady, one of de fines' young mares,
an' I flies away on her.
"She ain't used ter nobody ridin' her bareback so she kicks up quite a
rucus but I sets on. Down cross de pasture she goes an' I enjoys hit
fine till she steps in a hole an' falls.
"De mare am crippled but I leads her back an' tries ter git away widout
anybody seein' me. Ole Amos has woked up dis time an' of course he
tells Marse Tom.
"Dat's de wust whuppin' I'se eber had, I'se tellin' yo'. Dey streaked
me all ober den dey makes me lay down, chained han' an' foot all de day
long. Dat ain't done no good do 'case I rid dem hosses eber'time I got
de chance.
"I got married ter Pheobe de year dat de war begun. She wus a slim
little brown-skinned gal what look so puny dat yo' jist natu'ally wants
ter take care of her. I ain't courted her fer long 'case de marster
gives his permission 'fore I axes fer hit. We is married 'fore de
magistrate in June 'fore de war begun.
"Near 'bout at de start of de war I wus took ter Atlanta ter he'p buil'
de fort an' dar I stays till de Yankees comes a-rippin' an' a-tarin'.
Dey shoots de fort ter pieces an' den marches in an' hangs up de ole
Stars an' Stripes.
"We had four chilluns den Pheobe died an' lef' me. Atter dis I moves
ter Star, South Carolina, an' I marries Rebecca White who also died
five years ago an' so I comed ter live wid Roberta.
"I doan know whether slavery am better er not. Most of de niggers
claims dat all of de slaves wus good, but I knows better. I done a heap
of meanness. An' once atter I done so mean an' got a whuppin' I runned
away. Comes night an' I comes back home an' de nex' day I done
somethin' er other ter git another whuppin' fer.
"Dar's dis much we ain't worried 'bout livin' den lak we does now, an'
dar's dis much fer bein' free, I has got thirteen great-gran'chilluns
an' I knows whar dey everyone am. In slavery times dey'd have been on
de block long time ago.
"I always thought a lot of Lincoln 'cause he had a heap of faith in de
nigger ter think dat he could live on nothin' at all."