Ellen: "Dat's it! Pile 'em! Gone in dirt camp to hide we from Yankee.
Have a Street Row of house. Yankee coming. Gone in dirt camp.
"I been weave. My loom at door. Six loom on dat side! Six loom on dis
side! I see 'em coming. Hat crown high as this." (She measured off
almost half of her walking stick--which had a great, tarnished plated
silver knob.) "And I tell 'em 'Yankee coming!' I talk with Abram Lincoln
own son Johnny and, bless your heart I glad for Freedom till I fool!"
(Singing)
'Freedom forever!
Freedom everymore!
Want to see the Debbil run
Let the Yankee fling a ball
The Democrack will take the swamp!'
"Massa been hide. Been in swamp." (This is history. All the old men, too
old for the army, hid in Marlboro swamps and were fed by faithful slaves
until Yankees passed on. My grandmother and mother gave vivid accounts
of this--my mother telling of the sufferings of the
women--mental--worrying about her feeble old grandfather down there with
the mocassins)
Ellen: "Yankee officer come. 'Where Mahams Ward and John J. Woodward?
Come to tell 'em take dese people out the dirt camp! Put we in flat.
Carry back!' (In first story Aunt Ellen told the Yankee Captain said,
'Tell 'em be Georgetown to salute the flag!')
"Put food and chillun in flat. We been walk." (Walking back to Waccamaw)
We gone. (See 'um! See their feet like the children of Israel in Green
Pastures!) In man's house. Man say, 'Come out! You steal my turnip!'
Brush arbor. Night come. Make camp. Way down the road somewhere! Make a
big bush camp. All squeeze under there. Left Marlboro Monday. Come
Conway Friday sun down! Hit Bucksville, hit a friend. Say 'People
hungry!' Middle night. Snow on ground. Get up. Cook. Cook all night!
Rice. Bake tater. Collard. Cook. Give a quilt over you head. I sleep. I
sleep in the cotton. I roost up the cotton gone in there." (Burrowed
down in the cotton--'rooted' it up) "December. Winter time. Cook all
night. Corn-bread, baked tater, collard. Git to Bucksport, people gin to
whoop and holler! Three flat gone round wid all the vittles." (And with
the very young and very old) Easier coming home. Current helped. Going
up against the current, only poles and cant hooks--tedious going. "Git
'Tip Top' (Plantation) all right. Come home den! Git to double trunk
(rice-field trunk) at 'Tip Top' Whoop! Come bring flat! Mother Molly
dead on flat! Bury she right to Longwood grave-yard. Nuss. (nurse) Sam'l
Hemingway bury there. Horse kill 'em in thrashing mill. Child name
Egiburt bury there too. Horse gwine round in thrashing. He lick the
horse. Horse kick 'em. Whole gang white jury come!
"Sing and pray all the time. Pray your house. Pray all the time. (I wish
to God I could get some of you clam!)
"Salem Baptist? I helped build Salem! I a choir in Salem!"
Aunt Ellen Godfrey
Age 99 years 10 months
Conway, S.C.
Project 1655
Genevieve W. Chandler
Georgetown County, S.C.