Hester Hunter
From:
South Carolina
Code No.
Project, 1885-(1)
Prepared by Annie Ruth Davis
Place, Marion, S.C.
Date, October 26, 1937
No. ----
Reduced from ---- words
Rewritten by ----
MOM HESTER HUNTER
Ex-Slave, 85 Years
"Bless my soul, honey, I tell you I been here a time. Been here a day. I
tell dese chillun here de other week dere ain' no need for me to be
frettin bout nothin no more cause my time bout out. I got my ducks en my
chickens en my chair right dere in de yard en I stays out dere wid dem
all de day till sundown. You see, I have such a hurtin in my back en
such a drawin in my knees en seems like de sun does just help me along
to bear de pain, but honey, I been walkin a long time. I remember I been
a little child in de bed listenin on en I hear my aunt come in one day
en say, 'Ma, I hear boss talkin bout dey gwine free de niggers.' Ma say,
'I don' have no mind for nothin like dat. I gwine be gone en you gwine
be gone too fore den.' Child, I sho been here a time. Remember dey been
four years buildin dem embankments en dey been four years fightin. Yes,
mam, I been through a day since I come here."
"Honey, I was a hustlier when I was a young woman en dat de reason my
chillun had such good schoolin. If it had been left to my husband, dey
wouldn' been know A from B. I think bout how my old Massa used to try to
learn me to spell en dat how-come I had such a feelin for my chillun to
get some learnin. My daughter, she taught 20 years in dat school right
over dere en when she see dat I wasn' able to carry on no longer, she
throwed up her hands one day en say she wasn' gwine teach school no
more. Tell Bill en dem chillun dat she was gwine stay here home en keep
me from fallin in de pots. Den she put out de word dat she would do a
washin for dis one en a washin for dat one en honey, I see her dere
washin so hard sometimes, I have a feelin dat I would rather she be out
en gone from here. Seems like it does hurt me so to see her wastin away
like dat after I been worry so to give her such a good school learnin."
"I tell you when I come up, it de Lord's truth, I ain' know nothin but a
decent livin all de time. My old Missus was a dear old soul en I been
raise dat way. I hear talk bout how some of de white folks would bout
torture dey niggers to death sometimes, but never didn' see my white
folks allow nothin like dat. Dey would whip dey niggers dat runaway en
stay in de woods, but not so worser. No, mam, my Missus wouldn' allow no
slashin round bout whe' she was. I remember my boss had one of my old
Missus niggers up dere in de yard one mornin en say he was gwine whip
him en my Missus say, 'John O., you let my nigger alone.' You see, my
Missus had her niggers en den old Boss had his niggers cause when old
Missus been marry Massa John O. Bethea, she had brought here share of
niggers from whe' she was raise in de country. It been like dis, old
Missus father had scratch de pen for everyone of his chillun to have so
many niggers apiece for dey portion of his property so long as dey would
look after dem en treat dem good. Den if dere been talk dat dem chillun
never do what he say do, dey was to take dem niggers right back to dey
old Massa home. But, child, dey never didn' take no niggers away from
my old Missus cause she sho took care of dem. Stuck to her niggers till
she died."
"I remember just as good dere been two long row of nigger house up in de
quarter en de Bethea niggers been stay in de row on one side en de Davis
niggers been stay in de row on de other side. En, honey, dere been so
much difference in de row on dis side en de row on dat side. My God,
child, you could go through dere en spot de Sara Davis niggers from de
Bethea niggers time you see dem. Won' no trouble no time. All old Missus
niggers had dey bresh (brush) pile side dey house to sun dey beds on en
dry dey washin cause my Missus would see to it herself dat dey never
kept no nasty livin. We was raise decent, honey, en dat how-come me en
my chillun is dat way to dis very day. Dere dat child in de house now,
she does put fresh sheet on all us bed every week just like dey was
white people bed. You see, if you raise dat way, you ain' gwine never be
no ther way. Yes, mam, my old Missus sho took time to learn her niggers
right. Honey, both dese hands here was raise not to steal. I been cook
for heap of dese white folks bout here dat been left everything right
wide open wid me en ain' nobody never hear none of dem complain bout
losin nothin to dis day. No, mam, ain' nobody never didn' turn no key on
me. I remember, if my old Missus would hear talk dat we been bother
somethin dat didn' belong to us, she would whip us en say, 'I'm not mad,
but you chillun have got to grow up some day en you might have to suffer
worse den dis if you don' learn better while you young."
"Yes, mam, dat been a day. Dem niggers what been bred on Massa John C.
Bethea's plantation never know nothin but big livin in dat day en time.
Remember all bout dem days. Recollect dat dey would give all dey colored
people so much of flour for dey Sunday eatin en den dey had a certain
woman on de place to cook all de other ration for de niggers in one big
pot out in old Massa's yard. All de niggers would go dere to de pot on
Sunday en get dey eatin like turnips en collards en meat en carry it to
dey house en make dey own bread. Den in de week time, dey would come out
de field at 12 o'clock en stand round de pot en eat dey pan of ration en
den dey would go back in de field en work. When dey would come home at
night, dere would be enough cook up for dem to carry home to last till
de next day dinner. Didn' eat no breakfast no time. Had meat en greens
en corn bread en dumplings to eat mostly en won' no end to milk. Got
plenty of dat en dey was sho glad to get it. Cose dem what been stay to
de white folks house would eat to de Missus kitchen. En, my Lord, child,
my white folks had de prettiest kind of rice dat dey made right dere on
dey own plantation. Had plenty rice to last dem from one year to de
other just like dey had dey hominy. Den old Massa had a big fish pond en
in de summer time when it would get too hot to work, he would allow all
his plantation niggers to catch all de pikes en jacks dey wanted en salt
dem down in barrels for de winter. Didn' allow nobody to go nowhe' bout
dat fish pond but us niggers. En another thing, dey wouldn' cure dey
meat wid nothin but dis here green hickory wood en I speak bout what I
been know, dere ain' never been nothin could touch de taste of dem hams
en shoulder meat. Oo--oo--oo, honey, dey would make de finest kind of
sausages in dem days. I tell my chillun I just bout turn against dese
sausage de people make bout here dese days."
"Yes, mam, I been hearin bout dat thing call conjurin all my days, ever
since I been in dis world, but I ain' never put no faith in nothin like
dat. I say, I don' want no hand but what God give me. I remember I got
de sore eyes one time en a woman come to me en say, 'Miss Hester, dere a
woman in dis town poison you.' Tell me dey put somethin on de rag I had
wipe my eyes wid. I tell her she was wastin her speech cause I know I
never had nothin to worry bout. It de blessed truth I'm tellin you, dere
some of dese people right bout here now got dese transfer driver gwine
down in de country to get people to do somethin for dem all de time.
Honey, if some people in dis town had dis rheumatism I got, dey would
swear somebody do somethin to dem. Oh, my God, dere so much devilment
gwine on in de world dese days. I sho has faith in God en I reckon dat
how-come I gets along so good."
"Oh, de people, dey is awful worser den what dey used to be. I know by
my comin on dat dey awful worser. De little tots bout here dese days
know things de older people used to be de only ones dat know bout. Yes,
mam, I sets down en prays when others sleep en I say, 'Lord, what gwine
happen? Look like de young people on de straight road to hell gettin in
so much devilment. When I was comin up, I didn' have nothin to grieve
over, but seem like dere somethin all de time dese days. I does worry
bout it so much sometimes, child, I goes along just a whistlin, 'Lord, I
wish I had went fore I had so much to grieve over.'
=Source:= Hester Hunter, age 85, Marion, S.C.
Personal interview by Annie Ruth Davis, October, 1937.
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