SLAVE NARRATIVES - Library of Congress

30387
FOLKLORE SCTBJECTS
Name of interviewer Watt McKlnney
Subject Bx-SLave and Confederate Soldiers
Story ~ Information (If not enough space on this page, add page)
I*m gettin* old and feeble now and cannot walk no more
And I f ve laid the rusty-bladed hoe to rest*
Ole marster and ole missus are sleeping side by side
And their spirits are a-roamin 1 with the blest*
The above lines, had they been composed today, might well have been written
with reference to *Unele* Henry Turner, ninety-three years of age, of Turner,
Arkansas, in Phillips County, and among the very few remaining ex-slaves,
especially of those who were old enough at the time of their emancipation to
have now a clear recollection of conditions, customs, events, and life during
those days long past immediately proceeding and following the Civil War*
"Uncle* Henry 1 a eyes have now grown dim and he totters slightly as, supported
by his cane, he slowly shuffles along the path over a short distance between
the clean, white-washed cabin where he lives with a daughter and the small,
combination store and post office, on the porch of which he is accustomed to
sit in an old cane-bottomed chair for a few hours each day and the white folks
in passing stop to speak a few words and to buy for him candy, cold drinks,
and tobacco*
Though "Uncle* Henry is approaching the century mark in age,
his mind is remarkably clear and his recollection is unusually keen*
This information given by *Uncle» Henry Turner ( C )
Place of residence Turner, Phillips County. Arkansas
Occupation Plantation hand Age 98
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