Zack Herndon
From:
South Carolina
Project 1885-1
FOLKLORE
Spartanburg Dist. 4
June 1, 1937
Edited by:
Elmer Turnage
STORIES FROM EX-SLAVES
"Yas Sir, my ole Marster had lots o' land, a big plantation down at
Lockhart whar I was born, called de Herndon Plantation. Den he live in a
big house jes' outside o' Union, called 'Herndon Terrace', and 'sides
dat, he was de biggest lawyer dat was in Union.
"Furs' 'membrance was at de age o' three when as yet I couldn't walk
none. My mother cooked some gingerbread. She told de chilluns to go down
a hill and git her some oak bark. De furs' one back wid de bark 'ud git
de furs' gingerbread cake dat was done. My sister sot me down, a sliding
down de side o' her laag, atter she had carried me wid her down de side
o' de hill. Dem big chaps started to fooling time away. I grab up some
bark in my hand and went toddling and a crawling up to de house. My
mother seed me a crawling and toddling, and she took de bark out'n my
hand and let me pull up to de do'. She cook de gingerbread, and when de
other chilluns got back, I was a setting up eating de furs' cake.
"She put gingerbread dough in a round oven dat had laags on hit. It
looked like a skillet, but it never had no handle. It had a lid to go on
de top wid a groove to hold live coals. Live coals went under it, too.
Mother wanted oak chips and bark, 'cause dey made sech good hot coals
and clean ashes.
"Pots biled in de back o' de chimney, a hanging from a pot rack over de
blazing fire. It had pot hooks to git it down.
"Bread was cooked in a baker like de ginger cake was. Dey roasted both
kinds o' 'taters in de ashes and made corn bread in de ashes and called
it ash cake, den.
"Us lived in a one-room log house. Fer de larger families, dey had two
rooms wid de fire place in de middle o' de room. Our'n was at de end by
de winder. It had white or red oak, or pine shingles to kivver de roof
wid. O' course de shingles was hand made, never know'd how to make no
other'n.
"All beds was corded. Along side de railings, dar was holes bored to
draw de ropes through, as dese was what dey used in dem days instead o'
slats. Ropes could be stretched to make de bed lay good. Us never had a
chair in de house. My paw made benches fer us to set by de fire on.
Marse Zack let de overseer git planks fer us. My paw was called Lyles
Herndon. We had a large plank table dat paw made. Never had no mirrows.
Went to de spring to see ourselfs on a Sunday morning. Never had no sech
things as dressers in dem days. All us had, was a table, benches and
beds. And my paw made dem. Had plenty wood fer fire and pine knots fer
lights when de fire git low or stop blazing.
"Us had tallow candles. Why ev'ybody know'd how to make taller candles
in dem days, dat wudd'n nothing out de ordinary. All you had to do, was
to kill a beef and take de taller from his tripe and kidneys. See, it de
fat you gits and boil it out. Stew it down jes' as folks does hog lard
dese days. De candle moulds was made out'n tin. Fer de wicks, all de
wrapping string was saved up, and dar wasn't much wrapping string in dem
times. Put de string right down de middle o' de mould and pour de hot
taller all around it. De string will be de wick fer de candle. Den de
moulds was laid in raal cold water so dat de taller shrink when it
harden, and dis 'low de candle to drap easy from de mould and not break
up. Why, it's jes' as easy to make taller candles as it is to fall off'n
a log.
"Firs' lamp dat I ever seed was a tin lamp. Dat was at Dr. Bates' place
in Santuc. Him and his brother, Fair, lived together. It was a little
table lamp wid a handle and a flat wick. He had it in his house. I was
Dr. Bates' house-boy.
"My son tuck me back to Union last year, 1936, I 'members. Nothing
didn't look natual 'cept de jail. Ev'ything else look strange. Didn't
see nobody I knowed, not narry living soul. Marse big white house, wid
dem kallems (columns) still setting dar; but de front all growed up in
pine trees. When I slave time darkey, dat front had flowers and figgers
(statues), setting all along de drive from de road to de big house.
T'aint like dat now.
"Atter Mr. Herndon died, I was sold at de sale at Lockhart, to Dr. Tom
Bates from Santuc. He bought me fer $1800 so as dey allus told me. Marse
Zack had a hund'ed slaves on dat plantation. Stout, healthy ones, brung
from $1,000 on up to $2,000 a head. When I was a young kid, I heard dat
he was offered $800 fer me, but he never tuck it. Dis de onliest time
dat I was ever sold. Marse Zack never bred no slaves, but us heard o'
sech afar off. He let his darkies marry when dey wanted to. He was a
good man and he allus 'lowed de slaves to marry as dey pleased, 'cause
he lowed dat God never intent fer no souls to be bred as if dey was
cattle, and he never practice no sech.
"I is old and I does not realize who Marse Zack's overseer was, kaise
dat been a long while. I was Dr. Bates' house-boy. I allus heard dat
Dr. Bates bought my maw fer $1,500, at de same time he bought me. He
give $2,000 fer my paw. My brother, Jim, was bought fer $1,800.
Adolphus, 'bout fifteen years old, sold fer 'bout $1,400; and my onliest
sister, Matilda, was bought fer a maid gal, but I cannot recollect fer
what price. She was purty good size gal den. All o' dem is dead now but
me, even all my white folks is done gone. I sees a lonely time now, but
my daughter treat me kind. I live wid her now.
"Dr. Bates' brother, Fair, was single man dat live in de house wid Dr.
Bates fer thirteen years. I lived in slavery fer over twenty-one years.
Yas, I's twenty-one when Freedom come; and den Dr. Bates up and marry
Mr. Henry Sartor's daughter, Miss Ma'y. Don't know how long she live,
but she up and tuck and died; den he pop up and marry her sister, Anne.
It was already done Freedom when he marry de furs' time. When he married
de second time, Mr. Fair, up and went over to de Keenan place to live.
He never did marry, hisself, 'though.
"As house-boy dar, I mind de flies from de table and tote dishes to and
fro from de kitchen. Kitchen fer ways off from de house. James Bates,
his cook. Sometime I help wash de dishes. Marse never had no big house,
kaise he was late marrying. Dar wasn't no company in dem days, neither.
"Rations was give out ev'y week from de smokehouse. Twenty-five or
thirty hogs was killed at de time. Lots o' sheep and goats was also
killed. All our meat was raised, and us wore wooden-bottom shoes. Raised
all de wheat and corn. Hogs, cows, goats and sheep jes' run wild on
Tinker and Brushy Fork Creeks. On Sat'day us git one peck meal; three
pounds o' meat and one-half gallon black molasses fer a person; and
dat's lot mo' dan dey gits in dese days and times. Sunday morning, us
git two, or maybe three pounds o' flour. Didn't know nothing 'bout no
fat-back in dem times. Had sassafras and sage teas and 'dinty' tea
(dinty tea is made from a wild S.C. weed).
"Marse's coachman called Tom 'Cuff', kaise he bought from old Dr. Culp.
He driv two black hosses to de carriage. Marse's saddle hoss was kinder
reddish. Gen'ally he do his practice on hossback. He good doctor, and
carry his medicine in saddle bags. It was leather and fall on each side
o' de hoss's side. When you put something in it, you have to keep it
balanced. Don't never see no saddle bags; neither does you see no
doctors gwine round on no hosses dese days.
"Never seed no ice in dem days 'cep in winter. Summer time, things was
kept in de milk-house. Well water was changed ev'y day to keep things
cool. Ev'ybody drink milk in de summer, and leave off hot tea, and de
white folks only drink coffee fer dere breakfast. T'other times dey also
drink milk. It bees better fer your health all de time.
"At de mouth o' Brushy Fork and Tinker Creek whar dey goes together dar
is a large pond o' water. Us n'used to fish in dat pond. One day, me and
Matilda tuck off a-fishing. I fell in dat pond, and when I riz up, a
raft o' brush held my head under dat water and I couldn't git out no
ways. 'Tilda sees my dangerment, and she jump in dat deep water and pull
me from under dat raff. She couldn't swim but us both got out. Can't
think no mo' today."
=Source:= Zack Herndon, Grenard St., Gaffney, S.C. (col. 93)
Interviewer: Caldwell Sims, Union, S.C. 5/11/37
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Jim Henry
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