*Interview with Wadley "Shorty" Clemons*
--_G.L. Clark_
He was bent over the lawn, carefully trimming the border into a neat
line. A small black figure in overalls, clean but worn blue chambray
shirt, the misshapen remains of shoes and a nondescript hat, from under
which protruded thin white sideburns.
"Good morning, Uncle," I said, "Mr. Lee was telling me about you. He
said you lived back in slavery times. Is that right?"
"Yes suh, I sho' did. I'll be 92 years old de second of August, and I
was a slave for 20 year. I had a good ole massa and mistis, de bes' dere
was. Ole massa was a great big man, an' he wa'n't scared of nothin' dey
was. He wouldn't go nowhere without me. He always took me wid him. My
grandma was a cook and my ma was a house girl.
"We lived in Pine Hill, a summer resort in Jefferson County, Georgia,
across the river from Louisville. From home we could look over and see
de people walkin' about in Louisville.
[Illustration: _Wadley (Shorty) Clemons, [TR: Village Springs?],
Alabama_]
"I remembers de day de Yankees come to Louisville. We could see them
goin' about from one house to anudder, settin' fire. Den dey come on to
de river and sot fire to de bridge. Dey wouldn't use our bridge. Dey
built dese here pontoon bridges and dey could build dem before you could
look away and look back. Den dey come across de river to Pine Hill.
"Ole massa had his hosses an' mules hid down in de swamp but my uncle
Tom went and got 'em an' brung 'em to de Yankees at de big gate. He
didn't had to do it. He was jes' mean. He hadn't been much good to massa
since de war commenced; lay off in de swamp mos' of de time. Arter he
brung massa's hosses an' mules to de Yankees he went wid dem into
massa's bedroom and dey jes' throwed massa and mistis close all outa' de
closet and wardrobe and he give em' mistis gold yearings and bracelets
and dey took de yearings and put dem on de hosses' years and put de
bracelets on de hosses' ankles.
"Ole massa was sittin' on de long porch smokin' one of dese Meerschaum
pipes wid a stem way so long and dat pipe was white as snow. He had a
big can of tobacco on de table in front of him. In dem days people made
dey own tobacco and I wisht I had some of it now.
"Massa had 'bout thutty fattening hogs and de Yankees jes' went in de
pen and cut dem hogs in two. He had jes' lots of turkeys and guineas an'
de Yankees shot dem down. He had thutty hives of bees in one long row
an' one Yankee run up to de firs' hive an jump in it head first, and de
bees stung him till he died. De udders pull him out and took him to de
well and poured water over him but he stayed dead so dey just dug a hole
down by the side of the road and bury him in it. Yessir, dat's de trufe!
"Dey stayed dere all night and camped out and cooked massa's good smoked
meat and burnt down de barns and done all de devilment dey could. I
couldn't see no use in dere doin' what dey did, but dat's what dey done.
"Massa had 71 slaves when dey was made free. De next county wasn't fit
for much farming and atter we was freed my Uncle Andy went dere an'
bought a place. De land sold for 50 cents de acre atter de timber was
cut off. Uncle Andy had a brudder Sam and Sam had a steer. Dey plowed
wid de steer.
"Uncle Andy worked at de sawmill in daytime an' at night he cut two
cords of wood before he go to bed. He make two bales of cotton de first
year and de next year he make four. Den he tuk up preachin'. He was a
Methodist preacher.
"Den ole massa die and ole mistis lose all her land. Uncle Andy was
right good fixed so he took keer of her a year or more 'fore she died.
Den when she died, he went to pay all de expenses of de funeral but de
white folks won't let him kase dey say he done his share already.
"My massa's name was William Clemons and dey name me Wadley for ole man
Wadley, de president of de Center Road.
"Dem days is gone a long time an' I still heah, but dey was good times
den. I had plenty to eat, plenty close to wear and when I gets sick, ole
massa come to give me some medicine and I don't need no doctor.
"People worship God in dem days and not bother wid church houses so
much. Ev'ry Sunday ole massa get out by de back do' and teach us Sunday
school. Den we cut tree limbs and make brush arbors for preaching. In de
summer atter crops been laid by, us all, black and white, go to camp
meetin' and stay a week. De white preacher preach on one side and de
nigger on de udder. We carry lots of vittles and feed everybody. Niggers
sho' was better off in slavery times."