SLAVE NARRATIVES - Library of Congress

to celebrate* They all coxae hack* They was all ready fer their breakfastes*
It was twelve miles from Greensboro* Then the next day Massa Jim or Tom
Chapman, one called the grown folks to the house and told them, f You can stay
and I will pay you or you can go* I pay no more doctor bills* I don't feed
you no more nor give you no more clothes. f Some moved and some hired to him*
Some went to his father-in-law 1 s place and some to his brothers* place and
around. His wife was rich. She was Dave Butler's gal* No, I mean Massa-
Jim's wife—Miss Mariah* That big place was what her pa give her* Massa
Jim had five hundred little niggers on that place and lots more on the big
plantation. He had about two thousand little niggers* We went in droves is
right»
"I never went to a table in slavery time* We had our plates and cup
and took it to the pot and they put some victuals in 'em, then we went and
et where we pleased* We had all the meat we could eat and all the milk we
could drink all the time* Aunt Teena sewed and grandma would weave cloth*
They made white aprons* My hair was nice and old mistress would tell Aunt
Judy to curl my hair. They rolled it up on cloth and on little light cobs*
If they wet it, it would stay curledt
"Massa Jim sold his niggers when he wanted toil* He sold my grandpa
and Uncle Steve * Grandma wanted him to sell her and he wouldn't do it* I
don't know what become of grandpa* After freedom Uncle Steve come back to
us all* Grandpa was crying* He come to our house and said he had to go#
fo never seen him no more*
"Some of the slaves wouldn't be whooped by Tom Chapman*. I heard them
say since I got grown he backed f em* It caused trouble* He couldn't whoop
em then* Old master whooped some of 'em* Some would say, 'I take ten
Ucks of fen you and that is all. 1 Then he would sell them the first chance*
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