Josie Jordan
From:
Oklahoma
Oklahoma Writers' Project
Ex-Slaves
[Date stamp: AUG 16 1937]
MS. JOSIE JORDAN
Age 75 yrs.
840 East King St.,
Tulsa, Oklahoma.
I was born right in the middle of the War on the Mark Lowery
plantation at Sparta, in White County, Tennessee, so I don't know
anything much about them slave days except what my mammy told me long
years ago. 'Course I mean the Civil War, for to us colored folks they
just wasn't no other war as meanful as that one.
My mother she come from Virginia when a little girl, but never nobody
tells me where at my pappy is from. His name was David Lowery when I
was born, but I guess he had plenty other names, for like my mammy he
was sold lots of times.
Salina was my mammy's name, and she belonged to a Mister Clark, who
sold her and pappy to Mark Lowery 'cause she was a fighting,
mule-headed woman.
It wasn't her fault 'cause she was a fighter. The master who owned her
before Mister Clark was one of them white mens who was always whipping
and beating his slaves and mammy couldn't stand it no more.
That's the way she tells me about it. She just figgured she would be
better off dead and out of her misery as to be whipped all the time,
so one day the master claimed they was something wrong with her work
and started to raise his whip, but mammy fought back and when the
ruckus was over the Master was laying still on the ground and folks
thought he was dead, he got such a heavy beating.
Mammy says he don't die and right after that she was sold to Mister
Clark I been telling you about. And mammy was full of misery for a
long time after she was carried to Mark Lowery's plantation where at
I was born during of the War.
She had two children while belonging to Mister Clark and he wouldn't
let them go with mammy and pappy. That's what caused her misery. Pappy
tried to ease her mind but she jest kept a'crying for her babies, Ann
and Reuban, till Mister Lowery got Clark to leave them visit with her
once a month.
Mammy always says that Mark Lowery was a good master. But he'd heard
things about mammy before he got her and I reckon was curious to know
if they was all true. Mammy says he found out mighty quick they was.
It was mammy's second day on the plantation and Mark Lowery acted like
he was going to whip her for something she'd done or hadn't, but mammy
knocked him plumb through the open cellar door. He wasn't hurt, not
even mad for mammy says he climbed out the cellar a'laughing, saying
he was only fooling to see if she would fight.
But mammy's troubles wasn't over then, for Mark Lowery he got himself
a new young wife (his first wife was dead), and mammy was round of the
house most of the time after that.
Right away they had trouble. The Mistress was trying to make mammy
hurry up with the work and she hit mammy with the broom stick. Mammy's
mule temper boiled up all over the kitchen and the Master had to stop
the fighting.
He wouldn't whip mammy for her part in the trouble, so the Mistress
she sent word to her father and brothers and they come to Mister
Lowery's place.
They was going to whip mammy, they was good and mad. Master was good
and mad, too, and he warned 'em home.
"Whip your own slaves." He told them. "Mine have to work and if
they're beat up they can't do a days work. Get on home--I'll take care
of this." And they left.
My folks didn't have no food troubles at Mark Lowery's like they did
somewheres else. I remember mammy told me about one master who almost
starved his slaves. Mighty stingy I reckon he was.
Some of them slaves was so poorly thin they ribs would kinder rustle
against each other like corn stalks a-drying in the hot winds. But
they gets even one hog-killing time, and it was funny too, mammy said.
They was seven hogs, fat and ready for fall hog-killing time. Just the
day before old master told off they was to be killed something
happened to all them porkers. One of the field boys found them and
come a-telling the master: "The hogs is all died, now they won't be
any meats for the winter."
When the master gets to where at the hogs is laying, they's a lot of
Negroes standing round looking sorrow-eyed at the wasted meat. The
master asks: "What's the illness with 'em?"
"Malitis." They tell him, and they acts like they don't want to touch
the hogs. Master says to dress them anyway for they ain't no more meat
on the place.
He says to keep all the meat for the slave families, but that's
because he's afraid to eat it hisself account of the hogs' got
malitis.
"Don't you-all know what is malitis?" Mammy would ask the children
when she was telling of the seven fat hogs and seventy lean slaves.
And she would laugh, remembering how they fooled the old master so's
to get all them good meats.
"One of the strongest Negroes got up early in the morning," Mammy
would explain, "long 'fore the rising horn called the slaves from
their cabins. He skitted to the hog pen with a heavy mallet in his
hand. When he tapped Mister Hog 'tween the eyes with that mallet
'malitis' set in mighty quick, but it was a uncommon 'disease', even
with hungry Negroes around all the time."
Mammy had me three sisters and a brother while on the Lowery
plantation. They was Lisa, Addie, Alice and Lincoln. It was a long
time after the War and we was all freed before we left old Master
Lowery.
Stayed right there where we was at home, working in the fields, living
in the same old cabins, just like before the War. Never did have no
big troubles after the War, except one time the Ku Klux Klan broke up
a church meeting and whipped some of the Negroes.
The preacher was telling about the Bible days when the Klan rode up.
They was all masked up and everybody crawled under the benches when
they shouted: "We'll make you damn niggers wish you wasn't free!"
And they just about did. The preacher got the worst whipping, blood
was running from his nose and mouth and ears, and they left him laying
on the floor.
They whipped the women just like the men, but Mammy and the girls
wasn't touched none and we run all the way back to the cabin. Layed
down with all our clothes on and tried to sleep, but we's too scairt
to close our eyes.
Mammy reckoned old Master Lowery was a-riding with the Klan that
night, else we'd got a flogging too.
We first moved about a mile from Master Lowery's place and ever week
we'd ask mammy if we children could go see old Master and she'd say:
"Yes, if you-all are good niggers."
The old Master was always glad to see us children and he would give us
candy and apples and treat us mighty fine.
The old plantations gone, the old Masters gone, the old slaves is
gone, and I'll be a going some of these days, too, for I been here a
mighty long time and they ain't nobody needs me now 'cause I is too
old for any good.
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George G King
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Nellie Johnson
