Tom Hawkins
From:
Georgia Narratives, Part 2
PLANTATION LIFE as viewed by Ex-Slave
TOM HAWKINS
163 Bremen Street
Athens, Georgia.
Written by: Sadie B. Hornsby
Athens --
Edited by: Sarah H. Hall
Athens --
Leila Harris
Augusta, Ga.
TOM HAWKINS
Ex-Slave--Age 75.
Tom was nowhere to be seen when the interviewer mounted the steps of his
cabin. Daisy, his wife, was ironing on the back porch and when she
learned the object of the proposed interview, she readily agreed to
induce Tom to talk. She approached a basement door and called: "Tom,
here's one of dem giver'ment ladies what's come to hear you talk 'bout
slavery days." Tom replied: "All right, Miss Daisy, I'se a-comin'." The
old man soon appeared feeling his way with his cane carefully before
each hesitant step. Tom is blind. Established comfortably in his
favorite chair, he talked freely.
"I was borned on Marse Johnny Poore's plantation 'bout four miles f'um
Belton, South Callina. Marse Johnny owned my Ma, Mornin' Poore, and all
three of her chillun. Dey was me and Johnny, and Mollie. My Pa was Tom
Hawkins and he was named for his owner. De Hawkins plantation was 'bout
a mile f'um de Poore place. Atter Ma married Pap, dey each one had to
stay on wid deir own Marster. Dey couldn't stay on de same plantation
together. I don't 'member much 'bout Gran'ma Jennie Poore 'cept dat she
was de cook at de big house. Gran'pa Wade Poore was de blacksmith and
Marse Johnny got a big price when he sold him to Dr. Chandler. Some of
de slaves made demselfs corded beds and others jus' had makeshifts. De
beds and cabins was good 'nough for de Niggers den, 'cause dey never had
knowed no better. Gangs of slaves slept together lak hogs in dem
dirt-floored log cabins.
"Chilluns what was big 'nough to do anything had to wuk. I was a moughty
little chap when dey started me in as houseboy. I slept on a trun'le
(trundle) bed in Miss Annie's room. In de daytime my little trun'le bed
was rolled back out of sight under Miss Annie's big old four poster
teester bed. I kep' a fire burnin' in her room winter and summer. Night
times she would call me. 'Tom! Tom!' Sometimes I was so soun' asleep I
didn't answer. Den pop, she would hit me on de head wid her long stick.
Den I knowed hit was time to fire up her pipe. She smoked dat pipe a
pow'ful lot atter Marse Johnny died.
"Grown slaves made a little money, but I never got none 'til atter de
war. I didn't have no cause to want no money. Miss Annie, she give me
evvything I needed.
"Oh, but us had plenty of good things to eat on de Poore
plantation--meat and bread wid lots of turnips and 'tatoes. 'Bout once a
month dey give us lallyhoe. Dey calls dat 'lasses now. Us et our
breakfast and dinner out of wooden bowls. Under a long shed built next
to de kitchen was a long trough. At night dey crumbled cornbread in it,
and poured it full of buttermilk. Grown folks and chilluns all gathered
'roun' dat old trough and et out of it wid deir wooden spoons. No Ma'am,
dere warn't no fightin' 'roun' dat trough. Dey all knowed better'n dat.
"Us got 'possums and rabbits de best ways us could--cotch 'em in traps,
hit 'em wid rocks, and trailed 'em wid dogs. Us lakked 'possums baked
wid 'tatoes, but most of de rabbits was stewed wid dumplin's. All our
cookin' was done on big open fireplaces. Dey didn't fry nothin' dem
days; leastwise dey never give de slaves no fried victuals. Grown folks
seined for fish in Big Crick and Saluda River at night, 'cause dey
couldn't git away f'um field wuk in de day. Chillun cotch a heap of fish
wid hook and line. De river and crick bofe run thoo' Miss Annie's
plantation so us didn't have to ax for a pass evvy time us went a
fishin'. Us allus had to have a pass if us left de plantation for
anything or de patterollers was apt to git you and look out den, for you
was sho' to git a larrupin' if dey cotch you off f'um home widout no
pass.
"Dere warn't but one gyarden on de Poore plantation, and it was big
enough to feed all de white folks and slaves too. Two whole acres of dat
gyarden was sowed down in turnips.
"Chilluns didn't wear but one piece of clothes in summer; dat was a
shirt. In winter dey doubled up on us wid two shirts. I 'members how dem
shirt tails used to pop in de wind when us runned fast. Us chillun used
to tie up de 'bacco, what us stole f'um Miss Annie, in de under-arm part
of de long loose sleeves of our shirts. Us didn't git no shoes for our
foots, winter or summer, 'til us was ten years old.
"Marse Johnny Poore, he was kilt in de war and den Old Mist'ess, she was
our Miss Annie, looked atter de plantation 'til her only child, young
Miss Ann, married Marse Tom Dean. Den he helped Miss Ann 'tend to her
business. Dey was moughty good to us. Miss Annie done her own
overseein'. She rid over dat plantation onct or twict a day on her hoss.
"Our white folks lived in a big old two-story house what sot off f'um de
road up on a high hill in a big oak grove. Miss Annie's own room was a
shed room on dat house. De upstairs room was kept for comp'ny. Unkle
Wade Norris Poore was Miss Annie's car'iage driver. De car'iage was
called a surrey den.
"Dar was 'bout four or five hunderd acres in our plantation. Miss Annie
kept 'bout a hunderd slaves. She was all time sellin' 'em for big prices
atter she done trained 'em for to be cooks, housegals, houseboys,
carriage drivers, and good wash 'omans. She wukked 75 slaves in her
fields. Her Niggers was waked by four o'clock and had to be in de field
by sunup. Dey come in 'bout dark. Atter supper, de mens made up shoes,
horse collars, and anything else lak dat what was needed; de 'omans spun
thread and wove cloth.
"Miss Annie was her own whuppin' boss. She beat on 'em for most
anything. She had a barrel wid a pole run thoo' it, and she would have a
slave stretched out on dat barrel wid his clothes off and his hands and
foots tied to de pole. Den Miss Annie would fire up her pipe and set
down and whup a Nigger for a hour at a time. Miss Annie would pull my
ears and hair when I didn't do to suit her, but she never whupped me.
Miss Annie didn't need no jail for her slaves. She could manage 'em
widout nothin' lak dat, and I never did hear of no jails in de country
'roun' whar us lived.
"Yes Ma'am, I seed Old Miss sell de slaves what she trained. She made
'em stand up on a block, she kept in de back yard, whilst she was
a-auctionin' 'em off. I seed plenty of traders go by our place in wagons
what dey had deir somepin' t'eat and beddin' in, and deir slaves was
walkin' 'long behind de wagon, gwine on to be sold, but dere warn't none
of 'em in chains.
"Dere warn't no schools whar slaves could git book larnin' in dem days.
Dey warn't even 'lowed to larn to read and write. When Dr. Cannon found
out dat his carriage driver had larned to read and write whilst he was
takin' de doctor's chillun to and f'um school, he had dat Niggers thumbs
cut off and put another boy to doin' de drivin' in his place.
"Washin'ton Church was de name of de meetin' house whar us Niggers on de
Poore plantation went to church wid our white folks. Couldn't none of us
read no Bible and dere warn't none of de Niggers on our plantation ever
converted and so us never had no baptizin's. De preacher preached to de
white folks fust and den when he preached to de Niggers all he ever said
was: 'It's a sin to steal; don't steal Marster's and Mist'ess' chickens
and hogs;' and sech lak. How could anybody be converted on dat kind of
preachin'? And 'sides it never helped none to listen to dat sort of
preachin' 'cause de stealin' kept goin' right on evvy night. I never did
see no fun'rals in dem days.
"Niggers didn't run to no North. Dey run to de South, 'cause dem white
folks up North was so mean to 'em. One Nigger, named Willis Earle, run
off to de woods and made hisself a den in a cave. He lived hid out in
dat cave 'bout 15 years.
"Old Miss give dem dat wanted one a cotton patch and she didn't make her
slaves wuk in her fields atter de dinner bell rung on Saddays. De mens
wukked in dem patches of deir own an Sadday evenin' whilst de 'omans
washed de clothes and cleaned up de cabins for de next week. Sadday
nights dey all got together and frolicked; picked de banjo, and drunk
whiskey. Didn't none of 'em git drunk, 'cause dey was used to it. Dar
was barrels of it whar dey stilled it on de place. On Sundays us went
f'um cabin to cabin holdin' prayer meetin's. Miss Annie 'pointed
diff'unt ones to look atter da stock evvy Sunday.
"Big times was had by all at Chris'mas time. De eats warn't no diff'unt
'cept dey give us sweet bread and plenty of lallyhoe (molasses) what was
made on de plantation. Us had two weeks vacation from field wuk and dey
let us go rabbit and 'possum huntin'. Us had a gran' time clear up to
New Year's Day.
"Oh, us did have one more big time at dem cornshuckin's. De corn was
hauled to de crib and de folks was 'vited in de atternoon 'fore de
cornshukin' started dat night. When de mans got to shuckin' dat corn, de
'omans started cookin' and dey got thoo' 'bout de same time. Den us et,
and dat was de best part of de cornshuckin' fun. Cotton pickin's was
held on moonshiny nights. Dey picked cotton 'til midnight, and den dey
had a little shakin' of de footses 'til day.
"Mens had good times at de quiltin's too. Deir white folkses allus give
'em a little somepin' extra t'eat at dem special times. But de 'omans
what was cooks at de big house tied sacks 'roun' deir waisties under
deir skirts, and all thoo' de day would drap a little of dis, and some
of dat, in de sacks. When day poured it out at night, dare was plenty of
good somepin' t'eat. De mens kept de fire goin' and if dey got hold of a
tallow candle day lit dat to help de 'omans see how to quilt. Most of de
quiltin's was at night and nearly all of 'em was in winter time.
"De best game us had was marbles, and us played wid homemade clay
marbles most of de time. No witches or ghosties never bothered us,
'cause us kept a horseshoe over our cabin door.
"Miss Annie doctored us. In summer, she made us pull up certain roots
and dry special leafs for to make her teas out of. Horehoun', boneset,
and yellow root was de main things she used. She made a sort of sody out
of de white ashes f'um de top of a hick'ry fire and mixed it wid vinegar
for headaches. De black ashes, left on de bottom of de hick'ry fire, was
leached for lye, what was biled wid grease to make our soap.
"I never will forgit de day dey told us de war was over and us was free.
One of de 'omans what was down by de spring a washin' clothes started
shoutin': 'Thank God-a-Moughty I'se free at last!' Marse Tom heared her
and he come and knocked her down. It was 'bout October or November 'fore
he ever told us dat us was free sho' 'nough. Dat same 'oman fainted dead
away den 'cause she wanted to holler so bad and was skeered to make a
soun'. De yankees come thoo' soon atter dat and said us was free and
'vited all de Niggers dat wanted to, to go 'long wid dem. I never will
forgit how bad dem yankees treated Old Miss. Dey stole all her good
hosses, and her chickens and dey broke in de smokehouse and tuk her
meat. Dey went in de big house and tuk her nice quilts and blankets. She
stood all of dat wid a straight face but when dey foun' her gold, she
just broke down and cried and cried. I stayed on and was Miss Annie's
houseboy long as she lasted. I was 21 when she died.
"Dem night riders done plenty of whuppin' on our plantation. Hit was a
long time 'fore Niggers could git 'nough money to buy lan' wid and it
was a good 20 years 'fore no school was sot up for Niggers in our
settlement.
"I thinks Mr. Jefferson Davis and Mr. Lincoln was bofe of 'em doin' deir
best to be all right. Booker Washin'ton, he was all right too, but he
sho' was a 'maybe man.' He mought do right and den he moughtn't.
"Yes Ma'am, if Old Miss was livin' I'd ruther have slavery days back,
'cause den you knowed you was gwine to have plenty t'eat and wear, and a
good place to sleep even if Mist'ess did make you wuk moughty hard. Now
you can wuk your daylights plum out and never can be sho' 'bout gittin'
nothin'.
"De fust time I married me and Ad'line Rogers stood up by da side of de
big road whilst de preacher said his marryin' words over us, and den us
went on down de road. Me and Ad'line had six chillun: Mary, Lucy, Annie,
Bessie, John and Henry Thomas. Atter my Ad'line died, I married Daisy
Carlton. I didn't have no weddin' needer time. Me and Daisy just got a
hoss and buggy and driv' up to de house whar de Justice of de Peace
lived, and he jined us in mattermony. Den us got back in de buggy and
went back down de big road."
Tom began telling why he joined the church, when Daisy interrupted. "Now
Tom," she said, "you just tell dis white lady what you told me 'bout how
come you jined de church." "Now, Miss Daisy," pleaded Tom, "l don't want
to do dat." Daisy snapped: "I don't keer what you don't want to, you is
gwine to tell de trufe, Tom Hawkins." At that, Tom giggled and began:
"Well, Miss, hit was lak dis: I went to church one night a feelin'
moughty good. I went up and kneeled at de altar whar dey was prayin' for
converts, and a good lookin' yaller gal was kneelin' right in front of
me. I accident'ly tetched her on de laig. I sho' didn't mean to do it.
In dat 'cited crowd most anything was apt to happen. Dat gal, she kicked
me in de eye, and bruised up my face. My nose and eyes started drippin'
and I hollered out real loud: 'Oh, Lord have mussy.' Den I staged a
faint. De brother's of de church tuk me outside. Dey was sho' I had got
'ligion. By dat time I was so 'shamed of myself, I went back inside de
meetin' house and jined de church, 'cause I didn't want nobody to know
what had done happened. I 'cided den and dar to change my way of livin'.
Next time I seed dat yaller gal I axed her why she kicked me in de face
and she said: 'Next time you do what you done den, I'se gwine to kill
you, Nigger."
"Yes Ma'am, I thinks evvybody ought to be 'ligious."
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Bill Heard
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Shang Harris
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