Penny Williams
From:
North Carolina
N.C. District: No. 2
Worker: Mary A. Hicks
No. Words: 801
Subject: PENNY WILLIAMS
Story teller: Penny Williams
Editor: Daisy Bailey Waitt
PENNY WILLIAMS
Ex-Slave Story
An interview with Penny Williams 76, of 716 S. East Street, Raleigh,
N.C.
"I wus borned at de Hinton place 'bout three miles south of Raleigh,
an' course we 'longed ter Mr. Lawrence Hinton.
"My mammy wus named Harriet Moore an' my pappy wus named Mack Moore,
dat wus cause dey 'longed fust ter a Mr. Moore I 'specks. I had ten
bruders an' sisters, an' we all done putty good.
"De marster owned 'round two hundert slaves an' 'bout four hundert
acres o' lan' an' dey had ter wuck peart, dey sez.
"We had 'nough ter eat, sich as it wus, but dat ain't braggin', I
reckins. An' we wus punished putty bad iffen we complains, sasses or
'fuses ter wuck lak we should. Nat Whitaker wus de oberseer an'
patteroller an' he wus strick, I'se tellin' you. I'se seed him beat
slaves till de blood run.
"Dar wus some nigger mens what 'ud go coutin' spite of de debil, an' as
de marster ain't gibin' dem no passes dey goes widout 'em. Mr.
Whitaker, he whups, an' whups, but dat ain't stop 'em. At las' Marster
Lawrence 'cides ter hang cowbells on dere necks so's he can hyar dem
if'en dey leabes de place atter night.
"I'se tellin' you chile, dem niggers am gwin' anyway. Dey ain't got
sense nuff ter put dere han's in de bell ter keep de clapper from
ringin', but dey does stuff de bell wid leaves an' it doan ring none,
'sides dat dey tears deir shirts, or steals sheets from missus clothes
line an' fold dem ter make a scarf. Dey ties dese 'roun' deir necks ter
hide de bell an' goes on a-courtin'.
"Dey ain't got no pins ter pin de scarf on, but dey uses thornes from
de locust tree or de crabapple; an' dey hol's fine.
"Dey warn't no spoons, knives, an' forks dem days, but de smart slave
cut him some outen hickory an' dey wus jist as good as de other kin'.
"Dey also ain't go no matches dem days so flint rocks wus rubbed
tergether.
"I 'members mostly 'bout de rear en' o' de war, 'specially 'bout de
Yankees comin'. I 'members dat marster an' his fambly done moved ter
town, case dey can't git no 'tection dar. Dar wusn't a soul on de place
but de slaves dar when de Yankees comed a-takin' an' a-killin'.
"I 'members dat I wus drawin' water at de well, when de Yankees comed.
I looks up de road an' dar am a gang o' 'em comin'. I draps de bucket
back in de well an' I flies in de big house.
"Well sir, dey kills de chickens, hogs, geese, an' eber' thing as dey
comes, eben ter marster's collie, an' when dey gits ter de big house
dey swears dat dey'll burn hit down. Dey stan's dar fur a minute, an'
den one o' 'em sez dat hit am too putty ter burn, another one sez dat
hit am too putty ter belong ter a damm Reb, but dey doan burn it. I
hyars hit all from de winder in de big house, an' I shore is glad dat
dey ain't burn hit.
"Dey tears up all dey wants to, den dey robs de smokehouse; an' dey
goes on 'bout dere business.
"Atter de surrender our white folkses comes back an' we stays on five
or six years I reckon, den we moves ter Mis' Emma Greens' place five
miles furder in de country. We shore ain't got 'long good atter de war.
De Yankees what 'ud die ter free us ain't carin' iffen we starves
nother."
Suddenly Aunt Penny was attracted by a hummingbird flitting around the
pomegranate bush near the doorstep.
"Does you know which am de bes' way ter ketch a hummin' bird chile?"
After a negative answer she smiled. "When you sees him 'roun' de
flowers den you soaks two er three in whiskey, dey bird will suck till
he gits drunk an' can't fly 'way, dat's how you ketch him.
"I hates de town sparrers an' de cowbirds what ain't got nuff sense ter
leave de floods. You read 'bout hit in de papers I reckon. You knows
dey am bout de size of a peckerwood.
"Yesum, one witch tried ter ride me onct. I wus in de bed, an' she
thought dat I wus 'sleep. I feels her when she crawls up on my lef' leg
an' stops de circulation. I knows how ter fix her do' so I gits up an'
puts a knife under my pillow.
"I has slep' wid dat knife dar ever' since dat time an' I ain't had no
mo' trouble wid witches ner circulation nother. So I reckons dat I
fixed her good an' plenty."
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Plaz Williams
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John Thomas Williams
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