Alec Pope
From:
Georgia
EX-SLAVE INTERVIEW
ALEC POPE, Age 84
1345 Rockspring Street
Athens, Georgia
Written by:
Sadie B. Hornsby
Federal Writers' Project
Athens, Ga.
Edited by:
Sarah H. Hall
Athens
and
John N. Booth
District Supervisor
Federal Writers' Project
Augusta, Ga.
April 28, 1938
[Date Stamp: MAY 6 1938]
Alec lives with his daughter, Ann Whitworth. When asked if he liked to
talk about his childhood days, he answered: "Yes Ma'am, but is you one
of dem pension ladies?" The negative reply was an evident disappointment
to Alec, but it did not hinder his narrative:
"Well, I wuz born on de line of Clarke and Oglethorpe Counties, way down
de country. Celia and Willis Pope wuz my ma and pa. Lawdy! Mist'ess, I
don't know whar dey come f'um; 'peers lak pa's fust Marster wuz named
Pope. Dat's de onlies' last name I ever ricollec' us havin'.
"Dere wuz a passel of us chillun. My sisters wuz Sallie, Phebie Ann,
Nelia, and Millie. My brudders wuz Anderson, Osborn, George, Robert,
Squire, Jack, and Willis. Willis wuz named for pa and us nicknamed 'im
Tuck.
"De slave quarters wuz little log houses scattered here and dar. Some of
'em had two rooms on de fust flo' and a loft up 'bove whar de boys most
genially slep' and de gals slep' downstairs. I don't 'member nothin'
t'all 'bout what us done 'cept scrap lak chilluns will do.
"Oh! I ain't forgot 'bout dem beds. Dey used cords for springs, and de
cords run f'um head to foot; den dey wove 'em 'cross de bed 'til dey
looked lak checks. Wheat straw wuz sewed up in ticks for mattresses.
When you rolled 'round on one of dem straw mattresses, de straw crackled
and sounded lak rain. No Ma'am, I don't know nothin' t'all 'bout my
gran'pa and gran'ma.
"I wuz de reg'lar water boy, and I plowed some too. 'Course dere wuz so
many on dat plantation it tuk more'n one boy to tote de water. Money?
dis Nigger couldn't git no money in dem days.
"Us sho' had plenty somepin' t'eat, sich as meat, and cornbread, and
good old wheat bread what wuz made out of seconds. Dere wuz lots of
peas, corn, cabbage, Irish 'tatoes, sweet 'tatoes, and chickens,
sometimes. Yes Ma'am, sometimes. I laks coffee, but us Niggers didn't
have much coffee. Dat wuz for de white folkses at de big house. Cookin'
wuz done in de fireplace in great big spiders. Some of de biggest of de
spiders wuz called ovens. Dey put coals of fire underneath and more
coals on top of de lid. Ma baked bread and 'taters in de ashes. In
winter she put de dough in a collard leaf so it wouldn't burn. In summer
green corn shucks wuz wrapped 'round de dough 'stid of collard leaves.
All de fish and 'possums and rabbits us had wuz cotch right dar on Old
Marster's place, 'cause if one of our Niggers got cotch offen our place
hit wuz jes' too bad. I sho' does love 'possum, and us had lots of 'em,
'cause my brudder used to ketch 'em by de wholesale wid a dog he had,
and dat same dog wuz a powerful good rabbit hound too.
"Us had pretty good clothes most all de year 'round. In summer, shirts,
and pants wuz made out of coarse cotton cloth. Sometimes de pants wuz
dyed gray. Winter time us had better clothes made out of yarn and us
allus had good Sunday clothes. 'Course I wuz jes' a plow boy den and
now I done forgot lots 'bout how things looked. Our shoes wuz jes'
common brogans, no diff'unt on Sunday, 'ceppin' de Nigger boys what wuz
shinin' up to de gals cleaned up deir shoes dat day.
"Our Marster wuz Mr. Mordecai Ed'ards. Well, he wuz pretty good--not too
good. He tried to make you do right, but if you didn't he would give you
a good brushin'. Miss Martha, Old Marster's old 'oman, warn't good as
Old Marster, but she done all right. Dey had a heap of chillun: Miss
Susan, Miss Mary, Miss Callie, Miss Alice, and it 'peers to me lak dere
wuz two mo' gals, but I can't 'call 'em now. Den dere wuz some boys:
Marse Billy, Marse Jim, Marse John, Marse Frank, and Marse Howard. Marse
Frank Ed'ards lives on Milledge Avenue now.
"Old Marster and Old Mist'ess lived in a great big fine house what
looked to me lak one of dese big hotels does now. Marse Jack Ed'ards wuz
de fust overseer I can ricollec'. He wuz kin to Old Marster. Marster had
two or three mo' overseers at diff'unt times, but I don't ricollec' dey
names. Dere wuz two car'iage drivers. Henry driv de gals 'round and
Albert wuz Old Mist'ess' driver. Old Marster had his own hoss and buggy,
and most of de time he driv for hisself, but he allus tuk a little
Nigger boy namad Jordan 'long to help him drive and to hold de hoss.
"Lawdy! Mist'ess, I couldn't rightly say how many acres wuz in dat
plantation. I knowed he had two plantations wid fine houses on 'em. He
jes' had droves and droves of Niggers and when dey got scattered out
over de fields, dey looked lak blackbirds dere wuz so many. You see I
wuz jes' a plow boy and didn't know nothin' 'bout figgers and countin'.
"De overseer got us up 'bout four o'clock in de mornin' to feed de
stock. Den us et. Us allus stopped off by dark. Mist'ess dere's a old
sayin' dat you had to brush a Nigger in dem days to make 'em do right.
Dey brushed us if us lagged in de field or cut up de cotton. Dey could
allus find some fault wid us. Marster brushed us some time, but de
overseer most gen'ally done it. I 'members dey used to make de 'omans
pull up deir skirts and brushed 'em wid a horse whup or a hickory; dey
done de mens de same way 'cept dey had to take off deir shirts and pull
deir pants down. Niggers sho' would holler when dey got brushed.
"Jails! Yes Ma'am, dey had 'em way down in Lexin'ton. You know some
Niggers gwine steal anyhow, and dey put 'em in dere for dat mostly. I
didn't never see nobody sold or in chains. De only chains I ever seed
wuz on hosses and plows.
"Mist'ess, Niggers didn't have no time to larn to read in no Bible or
nothin' lak dat in slav'ry time. Us went to church wid de white folkses
if us wanted to, but us warn't 'bleeged to go. De white folkses went to
church at Cherokee Corner. Dere warn't no special church for Niggers
'til long atter de War when dey built one out nigh de big road.
"Some of de Niggers run away to de Nawth--some dey got back, some dey
didn't. Dem patterollers had lots of fun if dey cotch a Nigger, so dey
could brush 'im to hear 'im holler. De onlies' trouble I ever heard
'bout twixt de whites and blacks wuz when a Nigger sassed a white man
and de white man shot 'im. H'it served dat Nigger right, 'cause he
oughta knowed better dan to sass a white man. De trouble ended wid dat
shot.
"De most Niggers ever done for a good time wuz to have little parties
wid heaps of fidlin' and dancin'. On Sunday nights dey would have prayer
meetin's. Dem patterollers would come and break our prayer meetin's up
and brush us if dey cotch us.
"Chris'mas wuz somepin' else. Us had awful good times den, 'cause de
white folkses at de big house give us plenty of goodies for Chris'mas
week and us had fidlin' and dancin'. Us would ring up de gals and run
all 'round 'em playin' dem ring-'round-de-rosie games. Us had more good
times at corn shuckin's, and Old Marster allus had a little toddy to
give us den to make us wuk faster.
"Oh! No Ma'am, I don't 'member nothin' 'bout what us played when I wuz a
little chap, and if I ever knowed anything 'bout Rawhead and Bloody
Bones and sich lak I done plumb forgot it now. But I do know Old Marster
and Old Mist'ess sho' wuz powerful good when dey Niggers got sick. Dey
put a messenger boy on a mule and sont 'im for Dr. Hudson quick, 'cause
to lose a Nigger wuz losin' a good piece of property. Some Niggers wore
some sort of beads 'round deir necks to keep sickness away and dat's all
I calls to mind 'bout dat charm business.
"I wuz jes' a plow boy so I didn't take in 'bout de surrender. De only
thing I ricollects 'bout it wuz when Old Marster told my pa and ma us
wuz free and didn't belong to him no more. He said he couldn't brush de
grown folks no more, but if dey wanted to stay wid 'im dey could, and
dat he would brush dey chilluns if dey didn't do right. Ma told 'im he
warn't gwine brush none of her chilluns no more.
"Us lived wid Old Marster 'bout a year, den pa moved up on de big road.
Buy land? No Ma'am, Niggers didn't have no money to buy no land wid 'til
dey made it. I didn't take in 'bout Mr. Lincoln, only dat thoo' him us
wuz sot free. I heard 'em say Mr. Davis wuz de President of de South,
and 'bout Booker Washin'ton some of de Niggers tuk him in, but I didn't
bodder 'bout him.
"Lawdy! Mist'ess, I didn't marry de fust time 'til long atter de War,
and now I done been married three times. I had a awful big weddin' de
fust time. De white man what lived on de big road not far f'um us said
he never seed sich a weddin' in his life. Us drunk and et, and danced
and cut de buck most all night long. Most all my chilluns is dead. I
b'lieve my fust wife had 10 or 11 chilluns. I know I had a passel fust
and last; and jes' to tell you de trufe, dere jes' ain't no need to stop
and try to count de grand chilluns. All three of my wives done daid and
I'm lookin' for anudder one to take keer of me now.
"Why did I jine de church? 'Cause I jes' think evvybody oughta jine if
dey wanna do right so'se dey can go to Heben. I feels lak a diff'unt man
since I done jined and I knows de Lord has done forgive me for all my
sins.
"Mist'ess ain't you thoo' axin' me questions yit? Anyhow I wuz thinkin'
you wuz one of dem pension ladies." When he was told that the interview
was completed, Alec said: "I sho' is glad, 'cause I feels lak takin' a
little nap atter I eat dese pecans what I got in my pocket. Goodbye
Mist'ess."
Next:
Annie Price
Previous:
Gw Pattillo
Informational
