Elisha Doc Garey
From:
Georgia Narratives, Part 2
PLANTATION LIFE as viewed by ex-slave
ELISHA DOC GAREY
258 Lyndon Avenue
Athens, Georgia
Written by: Sadie B. Hornsby
Athens --
Edited by: Sarah H. Hall
Athens --
and
John N. Booth
District Supervisor
Federal Writers' Project
Res. 6 & 7
Augusta, Ga.
Asked for the story of his early life and his recollections of slavery,
Elisha replied: "Yes Ma'am, 'deed I'll tell you all I knows 'bout dem
days." His next words startled the interviewer. "I knowed you was comin'
to write dis jedgment," he said. "I seed your hand writin' and long
'fore you got here I seed you jus' as plain as you is now. I told dese
folks what I lives wid, a white 'oman was comin' to do a heap of
writin'.
"I was born on de upper edge of Hart County, near Shoal Crick. Sarah
Anne Garey was my Ma and I was one of dem shady babies. Dere was plenty
of dat kind in dem times. My own sister was Rachel, and I had a half
sister named Sallie what was white as anybody. John, Lindsay, David, and
Joseph was my four brothers.
"What did us chillun do? Us wukked lak hosses. Didn't nobody eat dar
'less dey wukked. I'se been wukkin' ever since I come in dis world.
"Us lived in log huts. Evvy hut had a entry in de middle, and a mud
chimbly at each end. Us slep' in beds what was 'tached to de side of de
hut, and dey was boxed up lak wagon bodies to hold de corn shucks and de
babies in. Home-made rugs was put on top of de shucks for sheets, and de
kivver was de same thing.
"I still 'members my grandma Rachel. De traders fotched her here f'um
Virginny, and she never did learn to talk plain. Grandma Sallie Gaines
was too old for field wuk, so she looked atter de slave babies whilst
deir Ma's was wukkin' in de field. Grandpa Jack Gaines was de
shoemaker.
"Most of de time I was up at de big house waitin' on our white folks,
huntin' eggs, pickin' up chips, makin' fires, and little jobs lak dat.
De onliest way I could find to make any money in dem days was to sell
part'idges what I cotched in traps to dem Yankees what was allus passin'
'round. Dey paid me ten cents apiece for part'idges and I might have
saved more of my money if I hadn't loved dat store boughten pep'mint
candy so good.
"What I et? Anything I could git. Peas, green corn, 'tatoes, cornbread,
meat and lye hominy was what dey give us more dan anything else. Bakin'
was done in big old ovens what helt three pones of bread and in skillets
what helt two. Big pots for bilin' was swung over de coals in de
fireplace. Dey was hung on hooks fastened to de chimbly or on cranes
what could be swung off de fire when dey wanted to dish up de victuals.
Hit warn't nothin' for us to ketch five or six 'possums in one night's
huntin'. De best way to tote 'possums is to split a stick and run deir
tails thoo' de crack--den fling de stick crost your shoulders and tote
de 'possums 'long safe and sound. Dat way dey can't bite you. Dey's bad
'bout gnawin' out of sacks. When us went giggin' at night, us most allus
fotched back a heap of fishes and frogs. Dere was allus plenty of fishes
and rabbits. Our good old hound dog was jus' 'bout as good at trailin'
rabbits in de daytime as he was at treein' 'possums at night. I was
young and spry, and it didn't seem to make no diff'unce what I et dem
days. Big gyardens was scattered over de place whar-some-ever Marster
happened to pick out a good gyarden spot. Dem gyardens all b'longed to
our Marster, but he fed us all us wanted out of 'em.
"All dat us chillun wore in summer was jus' one little shirt. It was a
long time 'fore us knowed dere was folks anywhar dat put more dan one
piece of clothes on chillun in summer. Grandpa Jack made de red shoes us
wore widout no socks in winter. Our other winter clothes was cotton
shirts and pants, and coats what had a little wool in 'em. Summer times
us went bar headed, but Unker Ned made bullrush hats for us to wear in
winter. Dere warn't no diff'unt clothes for Sunday. Us toted our shoes
'long in our hands goin' to church. Us put 'em on jus' 'fore us got dar
and tuk 'em off again soon as us got out of sight of de meetin' house on
de way back home.
"Marse Joe Glover was a good man and he never whupped his Niggers much.
His wife, our Miss Julia, was all right too--dat she was. Deir three
chilluns was Miss Sue, Miss Puss, and Marster Will. Marse Joe done all
his own overseein'. He used to tuck his long white beard inside his
shirt and button it up.
"Dat was a fine lookin' turn-out of Marse Joe's--dat rock-a-way car'iage
wid bead fringe all 'round de canopy, a pair of spankin' black hosses
hitched to it, and my brother, David, settin' so proud lak up on de high
seat dey put on de top for de driver.
"Dere warn't no slave, man or 'oman, livin' on dat plantation what
knowed how many acres was in it. I 'spects dere was many as 500 slaves
in all. Marster 'pinted a cullud boy to git de slaves up 'fore day, and
dey wukked f'um sunup to sundown.
"Jails? Yes Ma'am, dere was sev'ral little houses dat helt 'bout two or
three folks what dey called jails. White folks used to git locked up in
'em but I never did see no Niggers in one of dem little jailhouses. I
never seed no Niggers sold, but I did see 'em in wagons gwine to
Mississippi to be sold. I never seed no slave in chains.
"Some few slaves could read and write, and dem what could read was most
allus called on by de others for preachin'. Charlie McCollie was de fust
cullud preacher I ever seed. White folks 'lowed slaves to make brush
arbors for churches on de plantations, and Nigger boys and gals done
some tall courtin' at dem brush arbors. Dat was de onliest place whar
you could git to see de gals you lakked de best. Dey used to start off
services singin', 'Come Ye Dat Loves De Lawd.' Warn't no pools in de
churches to baptize folks in den, so dey tuk 'em down to de crick. Fust
a deacon went in and measured de water wid a stick to find a safe and
suitable place--den dey was ready for de preacher and de canidates.
Evvybody else stood on de banks of de crick and jined in de singin'.
Some of dem songs was: 'Lead Me to de Water for to be Baptized,' 'Oh,
How I love Jesus,' and 'Oh, Happy Day dat Fixed my Choice.'
"I hates to even think 'bout funerals now, old as I is. 'Course I'se
ready to go, but I'se a thinkin' 'bout dem what ain't. Funerals dem days
was pretty much lak dey is now. Evvybody in de country would be dar. All
de coffins for slaves was home-made. Dey was painted black wid smut off
of de wash pot mixed wid grease and water. De onliest funeral song I
'members f'um dem days is:
'Oh, livin' man
Come view de ground
Whar you must shortly lay.'
"How in de name of de Lawd could slaves run away to de North wid dem
Nigger dogs on deir heels? I never knowed nary one to run away.
Patterollers never runned me none, but dey did git atter some of de
other slaves a whole lot. Marse Joe Allus had one pet slave what he sont
news by.
"When slaves come in f'um de fields at night, dey was glad to jus' go to
bed and rest deir bones. Dey stopped off f'um field wuk at dinner time
Saddays. Sadday nights us had stomp down good times pickin' de banjo,
blowin' on quills, drinkin' liquor, and dancin'. I was sho' one fast
Nigger den. Sunday was meetin' day for grown folks and gals. Boys
th'owed rocks and hunted birds' nests dat day.
"Chris'mas mornin's us chillun was up 'fore squirrels, lookin' up de
chimbly for Santa Claus. Dere was plenty to eat den--syrup, cake, and
evvything.
"New Year's Day de slaves all went back to wuk wid most of 'em clearin'
new ground dat day. Dere was allus plenty to do. De only other holidays
us had was when us was rained out or if sleet and snow drove us out of
de fields. Evvybody had a good time den a frolickin'. When us was
trackin' rabbits in de snow, it was heaps of fun.
"Marse Joe had piles and piles of corn lined up in a ring for de corn
shuckin's. De gen'ral pitched de songs and de Niggers would follow,
keepin' time a-singin' and shuckin' corn. Atter all de corn was shucked,
dey was give a big feast wid lots of whiskey to drink and de slaves was
'lowed to dance and frolic 'til mornin'.
"If a neighbor got behind in geth'rin' his cotton, Marse Joe sont his
slaves to help pick it out by moonlight. Times lak dem days, us ain't
never gwine see no more.
"I ain't never seed no sich time in my life as dey had when Marse Will
Glover married Miss Moorehead. She had on a white satin dress wid a veil
over her face, and I 'clare to goodness I never seed sich a pretty white
lady. Next day atter de weddin' day, Marse Will had de infare at his
house and I knows I ain't never been whar so much good to eat was sot
out in one place as dey had dat day. Dey even had dried cow, lak what
dey calls chipped beef now. Dat was somepin' brand new in de way of
eatin's den. I et so much I was skeered I warn't gwine to be able to go
'long back to Marse Joe's plantation wid de rest of 'em.
"Old Marster put evvy foot forward to take care of his slaves when dey
tuk sick, 'cause dey was his own property. Dey poured asafiddy
(asafetida) and pinetop tea down us, and made us take tea of some sort
or another for 'most all of de ailments dere was dem days. Slaves wore a
nickel or a copper on strings 'round deir necks to keep off sickness.
Some few of 'em wore a dime; but dimes was hard to git.
"One game us chillun played was 'doodle.' Us would find us a doodle hole
and start callin' de doodle bug to come out. You might talk and talk but
if you didn't promise him a jug of 'lasses he wouldn't come up to save
your life. One of de songs us sung playin' chilluns games was sorter lak
dis:
"Whose been here
Since I been gone?
A pretty little gal
Wid a blue dress on."
"Joy was on de way when us heared 'bout freedom, if us did have to
whisper. Marse Joe had done been kilt in de war by a bomb. Mist'ess, she
jus' cried and cried. She didn't want us to leave her, so us stayed on
wid her a long time, den us went off to Mississippi to wuk on de
railroad.
"Dem Yankees stole evvything in sight when dey come along atter de
surrender. Dey was bad 'bout takin' our good hosses and corn, what was
$16 a bushel den. Dey even stole our beehives and tuk 'em off wropt up
in quilts.
"My freedom was brought 'bout by a fight dat was fit 'twixt two men, and
I didn't fight nary a lick myself. Mr. Jefferson Davis thought he was
gwine beat, but Mr. Lincoln he done de winnin'. When Mr. Abraham Lincoln
come to dis passage in de Bible: 'My son, therefore shall ye be free
indeed,' he went to wuk to sot us free. He was a great man--Mr. Lincoln
was. Booker Washin'ton come 'long later. He was a great man too.
"De fust school I went to was de Miller O. Field place. Cam King, de
teacher, was a Injun and evvywhar he went he tuk his flute 'long wid
him.
"Me and my fust wife, Essie Lou Sutton, had a grand weddin', but de
white folks tuk her off wid 'em, and I got me a second wife. She was
Julia Goulder of Putman County. Us didn't have no big doin's at my
second marriage. Our onliest two chillun died whilst dey was still
babies."
Asked about charms, ghosts and other superstitions, he patted himself on
the chest, and boasted: "De charm is in here. I just dare any witches
and ghosties to git atter me. I can see ghosties any time I want to.
"Want me to tell you what happened to me in Gainesville, Georgia? I was
out in de woods choppin' cordwood and I felt somepin' flap at me 'bout
my foots. Atter while I looked down, and dere was one of dem deadly
snakes, a highland moccasin. I was so weak I prayed to de Lawd to gimme
power to kill dat snake, but he didn't. De snake jus' disappeared. I
thought it was de Lawd's doin', but I warn't sho'. Den I tuk up my axe
and moved over to a sandy place whar I jus' knowed dere warn't no
snakes. I started to raise my axe to cut de wood and somepin' told me to
look down. I did, and dere was de same snake right twixt my foots again.
Den and dere I kilt him, and de Sperrit passed th'oo me sayin': 'You is
meaner dan dat snake; you kilt him and he hadn't even bit you.' I knowed
for sho' den dat de Lawd was speakin'.
"I was preachin' in Gainesville, whar I lived den, on de Sunday 'fore de
tornado in April 1936. Whilst I was in dat pulpit de Sperrit spoke to me
and said: 'Dis town is gwine to be 'stroyed tomorrow; 'pare your folks.'
I told my congregation what de Sperrit done told me, and dem Niggers
thought I was crazy. Bright and early next mornin' I went down to de
depot to see de most of my folks go off on de train to Atlanta on a
picnic. Dey begged me to go along wid 'em, but I said: 'No, I'se gwine
to stay right here. And 'fore I got back home dat tornado broke loose. I
was knocked down flat and broke to pieces. Dat storm was de cause of me
bein' hitched up in dis here harness what makes me look lak de devil's
hoss.
"Tuther night I was a-singin' dis tune: 'Mother how Long 'fore I'se
Gwine?' A 'oman riz up and said: 'You done raised de daid.' Den I
laughed and 'lowed: 'I knows you is a Sperrit. I'se one too.' At dat she
faded out of sight.
"I think folks had ought to be 'ligious 'cause dat is God's plan, and so
I jined de church atter Christ done presented Hisself to me. I'se fixin'
now to demand my Sperrit in de Lawd.
"Yes Ma'am, Miss, I knowed you was a-comin'. I had done seed you,
writin' wid dat pencil on dat paper, in de Sperrit."
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Leah Garrett
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Ruby Lorraine Radford
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