*Interview with Sally Murphy*
--_Preston Klein, Lee County, Alabama_
_SLAVERY WAS ALL RIGHT IN ITS PLACE_
When I was looking for Sally Murphy, I went into a clean, four room
cabin and found a small, neat Negro woman.
"Are you Sally Murphy?" I asked.
"I'm sho' is, honey, and who is you? Lawdy chile, you knows I know Mr.
Pompy (my father). She laughed. "I'll tell you anything I knows.
"I was jes' 'bout ten years come slavery done. I was borned down on de
Clayton place at Smith's Corners. My pappy he come from South Car'lina,
where his pappy was sold. He name was Calop and my mammy was Hannah
Clayton. There was eight of us chillun. Fred, Silas, Calop, Mary,
Dolphus, Dora, Lula and me. Us all lived down in de quarters, which was
five log houses, daubed wid mud. Dem logs was big ones, hand-hewed, and
de fireplaces was big, too. Us went to de fiel's early in de morning and
picked us a mess of young hick'ry and oak leaves to scald and cook in de
pot wid meat. Dey made good greens and us had poke salad, too. (Made
from the leaves of the pokeberry).
"When dey dried de fruit us would cook our kind of fruit cake. I don't
recollect what went in it. Dere was plenty though. Mistis had de fruit
dried on tins in de yard, and at twelve o'clock every day all hands went
to de house and turned de fruit.
"Our beds was homemade, scaffold bedsteads wid ropes wove acrost de top
what could tighten up. Sometimes us had homewove bedspreads on de beds
most every day, but in gen'ally dat was for Sunday only.
"Our menfolks used to hunt possums and wild turkeys, but dey didn't mess
'roun' none wid rabbits. They didn't waste time on fishing either.
"Ev'y morning in May Mistis would call us little niggers to de house and
ev'y other morning give us oil and turpentine. We made our own cloth for
clothes. Our mammies wove us long drawers outen cotton. Dey bought wool
and flannelet to make us pantalets. Us wore homemade homespun dresses.
Some of hit was dyed and some checked. Us had shoes reg'lar in winter.
"Ole Marster Joe and Miss Rosa Clayton was good as gold. Dey had Sara,
Jane, Henry, and Joe. De live in a big, two story house wid six rooms to
hit and had a brick kitchen off from de house out in de yard. Ole
Marster had a big plantation and his two aunties live dere, too. Dey was
Miss Easter and Miss Charlotte.
"De slave women folks what had chilluns was 'lowed to go home half hour
by de sun to wash ev'y day, and ev'y Sunday morning all de little
chillun had to be washed and carried to de Big House for de Mistis to
inspect 'em.
"Us mostly stayed at home and didn't go 'bout none, and effen us went to
Mt. Jefferson Church us had to have a pass or de paterollers would sho'
git you. I did think dat 'Hark from the tomb in doleful sound, how
careful, how careful den ought I to live, wid what religious fear' was
de prettiest thing, and I sho' did love to hear dem sing hit. I never
seed de baptising, 'ca'se I used to go to de 'Piscopal Church wid Mistis
and open gates and hold de hosses. I sot in de foot of her carriage.
"Christmas dey'd give us provisions and de chillun some trash (meaning
toys). Dey sho' had good times on moonlight nights at de cornshuckings.
Dey would haul de corn from de fields and put it in a big ring, and as
dey shucked dey would throw it in ring and den into de crib. Sometimes
dey was so much corn it would stay on de ground 'twell it rotted.
"Mr. Dickey Williams' mother, Miss Emily, ma'ied while us was dere and
my grandma cooked de cake. My daddy made de cake stand. Hit had three
tiers, each one full of little cakes wid de big cake on top. Hit sho'
was pretty.
"Dey let de little niggers have all de fun dey wanted. Us played jump
rope and swung in de grapevine swings mostly. Den us had rag dolls. When
any of us got sick, we was give hoarhound tea and rock candy. Sometimes
effen dey wasn't looking and us got a chance us spit it out. Dey got de
doctor effen us needed it.
"One of our Marsters was killed in de war and brought home and buried.
He was Mr. Joe. All de silver was hid out enduring de war but de sojers
never did come to our house.
"One day my daddy says, 'Hannah, Marster said us is free now to do what
we want to do.' But us stayed on two years mo'. In a few years I ma'ied
Milton Heard and had a calico wedding dress and Judge Reed ma'ied us in
Opelika in de ole plank court house. I didn't have no chillun and I
lives now wid my niece, Sally Thomas.
"I don't know what I think 'bout Abraham Lincoln. I don't know nothing
'bout him. Slavery was all right in its place, I guess, 'ca'se some
needed it to make 'em work.
"Folks get so sinful I thought I was safest in de church. I believe God
intended for us all to be religious."