Morris Hillyer
From:
Oklahoma
Oklahoma Writers' Project
Ex-Slaves
MORRIS HILLYER
Age 84 yrs.
Alderson, Okla.
My father was Gabe Hillyer and my mother was Clarisay Hillyer, and our
home was in Rome, Georgia. Our owner was Judge Hillyer. He was de last
United States senator to Washington, D. C., before de War.
My mother died when I was only a few days old and the only mother I
ever knew was Judge Hillyer's wife, Miss Jane. Her nine children were
all older than I was and when mother died Miss Jane said mother had
raised her children and she would raise hers. So she took us into her
house and we never lived at de quarters any more. I had two sisters,
Sally and Sylvia, and we had a room in de Big House and sister Sally
didn't do nothing else but look after me. I used to stand with my
thumb in my mouth and hold to Miss Jane's apron while she knitted.
When Judge Hillyer was elected he sold out his farm and gave his
slaves to his children. He owned about twelve or fourteen slaves at
this time. He gave me and my sister Sylvia to his son, Dr. Hillyer,
and my father to another one of his sons who was studying law. Father
stayed with him and took care of him until he graduated. Father
learned to be a good carpenter while he lived with George Hillyer.
George never married until after de War.
Dr. Hillyer lived on a big plantation but he practiced medicine all de
time. He didn't have much time to look after de farm but he had good
overseers and they sure didn't beat his slaves or mistreat 'em in any
way. Dr. Hillyer married a rich girl, Miss Mary Cooley, and her father
gave her fifteen slaves when she married and Judge Hillyer gave him
five so he had a purty good start from de first and he knowed how to
make money so he was a wealthy man when de Rebellion started.
My sister and I didn't know how to act when we was sent out there
among strangers. We had to live in de quarters just like de other
niggers, and we didn't especially like it. I guess I was a sort of bad
boy.
There was several more boys about my age and we didn't have any work
to do but just busy ourselves by getting into mischief. We'd ride de
calves, chase de pigs, kill de chickens, break up hens nests, and in
fact do most everything we hadn't ought to do. Finally they put us to
toting water to de field hands, minding de gaps, taking de cows to
pasture and as dat kept us purty busy we wasn't so bad after dat.
My happiest days was when I was with de old Judge and Miss Jane. I can
sit here and think of them old times and it seems like it was just
yesterday dat it all happened. He was a great hand to go to town every
day and lounge around wid his cronies. I used to go with him, and my
how they would argue. Sometimes they would get mad and shake their
canes in each other's faces. I guess they was talking politics.
Our old Master liked cats better than any man I ever saw, and he
always had five or six that followed him about de place like dogs.
When he went to eat they was always close to him and just as soon as
he finished he would always feed them. When he was gone us boys used
to throw at his cats or set de dogs on 'em. We was always careful dat
no one saw us for if he had known about it he would a-whipped us and
no mistake. I wouldn't a-blamed him either, for I like cats now. I
think they are lots of company.
He was a typical Southern gentleman, medium sized, and wore a Van Dyke
beard. He never whipped his slaves, and he didn't have a one dat
wouldn't a-died for him.
Judge Hillyer had one son, William, dat wouldn't go to college. He
made fun of his brothers for going to school so long, and said that he
would be ashamed to go and stay five or six years. After de War he
settled down and studied law in Judge Akin's office and opened a
office in Athens, Georgia, and he made de best lawyer of them all.
Us boys used to go hunting with Master William. He hunted rabbits,
quails, squirrels, and sometimes he would kill a deer. He hunted
mostly with dogs. He never used a gun but very little. Lead was so
scarce and cost so much dat he couldn't afford to waste a bullet on
rabbits or snakes. He made his own bullets. The dogs would chase a
rabbit into a hollow tree and we'd take a stick and twist him out.
Sometimes we'd have nearly all de hide twisted off him when we'd git
him out.
Old Judge Hillyer smoked a pipe with a long stem. He used to give me
ten cents a day to fill it for him. He told me I had to have $36 at
the end of the year, but I never made it. There was a store right
close to us and I'd go down there and spend my money for lemon stick
candy, ginger cakes, peanuts, and firecrackers. Old Master knowed I
wouldn't save it, and he didn't care if I did spent it for it was mine
to do with just as I pleased.
Every time a circus come to town I'd run off and they wouldn't see me
again all day. Seemed like I just couldn't help it. I wouldn't take
time to git permission to go. One time to punish me for running off he
tied me up by my thumbs, and I had to stay home while de rest went. I
didn't dare try to git loose and run off for I knowed I'd git my
jacket tanned if I did. Old Master never laid his hand on me, but I
knowed he would if I didn't do as he told me. He never told us twice
to do anything either.
Coins had curious names in them days. A dime was called a thrip.
Fourpen was about the same value as three cents or maybe a little
more. It took three of 'em to make a thrip. There was all sorts of
paper money.
Every first Tuesday slaves were brought in from Virginia and sold on
de block. De auctioneer was Cap'n Dorsey. E. M. Cobb was de slave
bringer. They would stand de slaves up on de block and talk about what
a fine looking specimen of black manhood or womanhood dey was, tell
how healthy dey was, look in their mouth and examine their teeth just
like they was a horse, and talk about de kind of work they would be
fit for and could do. Young healthy boys and girls brought the best
prices. I guess they figured dat they would grow to be valuable. I
used to stand around and watch de sales take place but it never
entered my mind to be afraid for I knowed old Judge wasn't going to
sell me. I thought I was an important member of his family.
Old Judge bought every roguish nigger in the country. He'd take him
home and give him the key to everything on de place and say to help
hisself. Soon as he got all he wanted to eat he'd quit being a rogue.
Old Judge said that was what made niggers steal--they was hungry.
They used to scare us kids by telling us dat a runaway nigger would
git us. De timber was awful heavy in de river bottoms, and dey was one
nigger dat run off from his master and lived for years in these
bottoms. He was there all during de War and come out after de
surrender. Every man in dat country owned him at some time or other.
His owner sold him to a man who was sure he could catch him--he never
did, so he sold him to another slave owner and so on till nearly
everybody had him. He changed hands about six or seven times. They
would come in droves with blood hounds and hunt for him but dey
couldn't catch him for he knowed them woods too well. He'd feed de
dogs and make friends with 'em and they wouldn't bother him. He lived
on nuts, fruit, and wild game, and niggers would slip food to him.
He'd slip into town and get whiskey and trade it to de niggers for
food.
Judge Hillyer never 'lowanced his niggers and dey could always have
anything on de place to eat. We had so much freedom dat other slave
owners in our neighborhood didn't like for us to come among their
slaves for they said we was free niggers and would make their slaves
discontented.
After I went to live with Judge Hillyer's son, Dr. Hillyer, one of my
jobs was to tote the girls books to school every morning. All the
plantation owners had a colored boy dat did that. After we had toted
de books to de school house we'd go back down de road a piece and line
up and have the "gone-bying-est" fight you ever see. We'd have regular
battles. If I got licked in de morning I'd go home and rest up and I'd
give somebody a good licking dat evening. I reckon I caught up with my
fighting for in all my working life I have always worked with gangs of
men of from one to two-hundred and I never struck a man and no man
ever struck me.
Jim Williams was a patroller, and how he did like to catch a nigger
off de farm without a permit so he could whip him. Jim thought he was
de best man in de country and could whip de best of 'em. One night
John Hardin, a big husky feller, was out late. He met Jim and knowed
he was in for it. Jim said, "John I'm gonna give you a white man's
chance. I'm gonna let you fight me and if you are de best man, well
and good."
John say, "Master Jim, I can't fight wid you. Come on and give me my
licking, and let me go on home."
But Jim wouldn't do it, and he slapped John and called him some names
and told him he is a coward to fight him. All dis made John awful mad
and he flew into him and give him the terriblest licking a man ever
toted. He went on home but knew he would git into trouble over it.
Jim talked around over the country about what he was going to do to
John but everybody told him dat he brought it all on hisself. He
never did try to git another nigger to fight with him.
Yes, I guess charms keep off bad luck. I have wore 'em but money
always was my best lucky piece. I've made lots of money but I never
made good use of it.
I was always afraid of ghosts but I never saw one. There was a
graveyard beside de road from our house to town and I always was
afraid to go by it. I'd shut my eyes and run for dear life till I was
past de grave yard. I had heard dat there was a headless man dat
stayed there on cold rainy days or foggy nights he'd hide by de fence
and throw his head at you. Once a man got hit and he fell right down
dead. I believed dat tale and you can imagine how I felt whenever I
had to go past there by myself and on foot.
I saw lots of Ku Kluxers but I wasn't afraid of them. I knowed I
hadn't done nothing and they wasn't after me. One time I met a bunch
of 'em and one of 'em said, "Who is dis feller?" Another one said,
"Oh, dat's Gabe's foolish boy, come on, don't bother him." I always
did think dat voice sounded natural but I never did say anything about
it. It sounded powerful like one of old Judge's boys. Dey rode on and
didn't bother me and I never was a bit afraid of 'em any more.
I went to school one month after de War. I never learned much but I
learned to read some where along de road dat I come over. My father
come from Athens, Georgia, and took us away with him. I learned the
carpenter's trade from him. He was so mean to me dat I run away when I
was nineteen. I went back to Rome, Georgia, and got a job with a
bridge gang and spent two years with 'em. I went then to Henderson,
Kentucky, and worked for ten years. There was hundreds of colored
people coming to de mines at Krebs and Alderson and I decided to come
along, too. I never worked in de mines but I did all sorts of
carpentering for them.
I married in Atoka, Oklahoma, thirty-three years ago. I never had no
children.
I've made lots of money but somehow it always got away from me. But me
and my wife have our little home here and we are both still able to
work a little, so I guess we are making it all right.
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