*Interview with Martha Bradley*
--_Mabel Farrior, Montgomery, Alabama_
_IN SLAVERY TIME_
Aunt Martha--as she is known to all her "white folks"--claims to be 100
years old. She was a slave to Dr. Lucas of Mt. Meigs neighborhood long
before the War between the States. Dr. Lucas is one of the well known
Lucas family, with whom General LaFayette spent some time while touring
the United States in 1824.
"Our Marster wuz sho good to all his 'niggers'," she said. "Us allus had
plenty to eat and plenty to wear, but de days now is hard, if white
folks gin you a nickel or dime to git you sumpin' t' eat you has to
write everything down in a book before you can git it. I allus worked in
the field, had to carry big logs, had strops on my arms and them logs
was put in de strop and hauled to a pile where they all was. One morning
hit was rainin' ad I didn' wanna go to the field, but de oversee' he
come and got me and started whooping me. I jumped on him and bit and
kicked him 'til he lemme go. I didn't know no better then. I didn't know
he was de one to do dat.
"But Marster Lucas gin us big times on Christmas and July. Us 'ud have
big dinners and all the lemonade us could drink. The dinner'd be spread
out on de ground an' all the niggers would stand roun' and eat all dey
wanted. What was lef' us'd take it to our cabins. Nancy Lucas was de
cook fer eber' body. Well, she'd sho cook good cake and had plenty of
'em but she wouldn't lak to cut dem cakes often. She keep 'em in a safe.
One day I go to dat safe and I seed some and I wanted it so bad till I
jes' had to have some. Nancy say to me, 'Martha, did you cut dat cake?'
I say, 'No sir! dat knife just flew 'roun by itself and cut dat cake.'
"One day I was workin' in de field and de overseer he come 'roun and say
sumpin' to me he had no bizness say. I took my hoe and knocked him plum
down. I knowed I'se done sumpin' bad so I run to de bushes. Marster
Lucas come and got me and started whoopin' me. I say to Marster Lucas
whut dat overseer sez to me and Marster Lucas didn' hit me no more.
Marse Lucas was allus good to us and he wouldn' let nobody run over his
niggers.
"There was plenty white folks dat was sho bad to de niggers, and
specially dem overseers. A nigger whut lived on the plantation jinin'
ours shot and killed an overseer; den he run 'way. He come to de river
and seed a white man on udder side and say, 'Come and git me.' Well,
when dey got him dey found out whut he'd done, and was gwine to burn him
'live. Jedge Clements, the man dat keep law and order, say he wouldn't
burn a dog 'live, so he lef'. But dey sho burn dat nigger 'live for I
seed him atter he was burned up.
[Illustration: _Martha Bradley, Montgomery, Alabama_]
"Us'd go to meetin' to de Antioch Church some Sundays. Us'd go to de
house and git a pass. When us'd pass by the patterole, us jes' hold up
our pass and den us'd go on. Dar was a 'vidin' 'twixt de niggers and de
white folks. De white preacher'd preach; den de colored man. Us'd stay
at church most all day. When we didn' go to church, us'd git together in
the quarters and have preachin' and singin' amongst ourselves.
"In cotton pickin' time us'd stay in de field till way atter dark and
us'd pick by candle light and den carry hit and put hit on de scaffold.
In de winter time us'd quilt; jes' go from one house to anudder in de
quarter. Us'd weave all our ever' day clothes but Marster Lucas'd go to
Mobile ever' July and Christmas and git our Sunday clothes, git us
dresses and shoes and we'd sho be proud of 'em.
"In slavery time dey doctored de sick folks dif'funt frum what dey does
now. I seed a man so sick dey had to put medicine down his tho'at lak he
was a horse. Dat man got well and sho lived to turn a key in de jail. Ef
it was in dese days dat man would be cay'd to de hospital and cut open
lak a hawg.
"Dere was a slave whut lived in Macon county. He run 'way and when he
was catched dey dug a hole in de ground and put him crost it and beat
him nigh to death."