Preston Kyles
From:
Arkansas
FOLKLORE SUBJECTS
[HW: Ex-slave, Texarkans Dist.]
Name of Interviewer: Mrs. W. M. Ball
Subject: Folk Tales.
Information given by: Preston Kyles
Place of Residence: 800 Block. Laurel St., Texarkana, Ark.
Occupation: Minister. (Age) 81
[TR: Personal information moved from bottom of form.]
One of the favorite folk songs sung to the children of a half century
ago was "Run Nigger Run, or the Patty Roll Will Get You." Few of the
children of today have ever heard this humorous ditty, and would,
perhaps, be ignorant of its meaning. To the errant negro youths of
slave times, however, this tune had a significant, and sometimes
tragic, meaning. The "patty rolls" were guards hired by the
plantations to keep the slaves from running away. The following story
is told by an ex-slave:
"When I wuz a boy, dere wuz lotsa Indians livin' about six miles frum
de plantation on which I wuz a slave. De Indians allus held a big
dance ever' few months, an' all de niggers would try to attend. On one
ob dese osten'tious occasions about 50 of us niggers conceived de idea
of goin', without gettin' permits frum de Mahster. As soon as it gets
dark, we quietly slips outen de quarters, one by one, so as not to
disturb de guards. Arrivin' at de dance, we jined de festivities wid a
will. Late dat nite one ob de boys wuz goin' down to de spring fo' to
get a drink ob water when he notice somethin' movin' in de bushes.
Gettin' up closah, he look' again when--Lawd hab mersy! Patty rollers!
A whole bunch ob 'em! Breathless, de nigger comes rushin' back, and
broke de sad news. Dem niggers wuz scared 'mos' to death, 'cause dey
knew it would mean 100 lashes for evah las' one ob dem effen dey got
caught. After a hasty consultation, Sammy, de leader, suggested a plan
which wuz agreed on. Goin' into de woods, we cuts several pieces of
grape vine, and stretches it across de pathway, where we knowed de
patty rollers would hab to come, tien' it to trees on both sides. One
ob de niggers den starts down de trail whistlin' so as to 'tract de
patty rollers 'tention, which he sho did, fo' here dey all cum,
runnin' jus' as hard as dey could to keep dem niggers frum gettin'
away. As de patty rollers hit de grape vine, stretched across de
trail, dey jus' piles up in one big heap. While all dis commotion wuz
goin' on, us niggers makes fo' de cotton fiel' nearby, and wends our
way home. We hadn' no more'n got in bed, when de mahster begin
knockin' on de door. "Jim", he yell, "Jim, open up de doah!" Jim gets
up, and opens de doah, an de mahster, wid several more men, comes in
de house. "Wheres all de niggers?" he asks. "Dey's all heah," Jim
says. De boss walks slowly through de house, countin' de niggers, an'
sho' nuf dey wuz all dere. "Mus' hab been Jim Dixon's negroes," he
says finally.
"Yes, suh, Cap'n, dey wuz a lot happen in dem times dat de mahsters
didn't know nuthin' about."
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Cecil Copeland
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Betty Krump
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