Document text
Accession no.
WPA L. C. ''ROJECT
Form -3
Writer;' UNIT
IV 3534
Date received
10/10/40
Consignment no.
1
Shipped front
I sash. Office
Label
Amount
8p
1.9.1k1ors Collection (or Type)
'ritlediga;111.31 Thi5. fat ibitIl111.11L .26_ ;pars.
Place of origin
Project worker betty Burke
Project editor
Remarks
Ills Date "Mae
(r.D.C.)
S22A): o4
i0/0/
Page 1
AMERICAN FOLK STUFF
ENIAth Burke
This ol' man wuz 96 year olt en his name wuz Manish
Jones en which his wife wuz named Bella. Well uh, he
come erlong in slav'ry time en when slav'ry were very
strong, in Georger, en he useter tell us how they do
then.
Well uh, he tol' us how they manage t' git foot durii,
slav'ry time, which durin' this time 'twin e only the land-
owner en slaveowner ben top dog. Said well uh, ever'thin'
th' slaves raised, in course, 'twent t' they owner's
sto'house en they owner's smokehouse. So sometimes, you
see, they'd, be very hongry 'count er gittin' mos'ly nuthim'
but co'n pone en hog baclin's, en well uh, somehow er
nuther someboty have t' manage t' steal out t' th' smokehouse
er th' sto'house ever' once in er while en git out er
couple er hams er a li'l flour er lard en such.
Dian' nobody durst see 'em. Say listen you know some
slav'ry folk they'd run tell th' slaveowner ef'n they sse!t
'em. Said well uh some folk allus afeared, you know. A
feared er this en afeared er that, en specially gittin'
whipped, that skeered 'em. En they jos' th' ones whut mos'
manage t' git de strong man in trouble en like ez not they
own sett too.
Manish, tho, he were a kin' uv er strong fellow en he
looked at things differen' en a many slaves. TTe weren't
bad, Manish weren't. En he weren't er coward. Yet en
still seem like he spirit jes' wouldn"low 'im t' take er
lickin' turn nobody. Which he were whipped quite er few,
times. Strip naked en they laid it on hard en heavy, yet
en still he never stayed whipped.
W 3684
Page two Elizabeth Burke
A"ERICAN rCLK STurV
Said one time he wuz in d' fiel' aworkin, away en he
cut up er couple er stalks keerless en he done mint 'em.
Well uh, th' overseer he spy 'em. He git mad, says he git
hot en he say for t' sen"imt' whippin' place right soon 's
he thu work far day.
Said well uh Manish he kept on aworkin' yet en still he
make up his min' he weren' gain' be whipped that day. En when
he git to d' back row he onhitohed dat mule fum de plow en
de mule he went on home like they do en Manish he made it on
in t' th' woods.
Well uh no time nur place fer him t eat then en he am'
studyin' bout it. He knew they'd come ahuntin"ii wid de
bloodhoun's. Eh he make his way deep in th' woods where
tkey's mosiy creeks en swamp, you. know. Yet en still he
don' dc; nuthin' but he wait.
He say th' secon' night he wuz er layin'down on er ol'
rotted log en he hear th' houn's en hear come thy overseers
threskin' eroun' thu de woods. Said he run down t'er croft
fas' ez lightnin' en he take er piece er soap dat he allus
carry wid lim fo' time like dis, en he wash 'is feet very
clean in de wate'. He make de creek where he stan' very
soapy en murky like 'cause he churn en splash en whurl de
wate'. Then said he cross t' d'other side er th' creek ea
he am' leave narry ol' scent fo' th' dogs toountin he
done gone en washed his feet en give 'em er new scent. En
th' dogs they sniff up en down en that soapy wate' don'
to 'em no good. 'Sway mixes 'em so's they ()ain't git
any scent. Manish he'd be eroross th' creek en he'd git
up in er tree en watch th' overseers. They be aflashint
eLVPI
Page three Flizabell Burke
AMERICAN FOLK STTTFF
lanterns all eroun' en oussin' out th' dogs 'cause they done
los' track, en they stomp 'roun' fer long while erwhackinl
at bushes en such but fin'ly they got to give up en go on
home.
Well said uh Manish he clum'down that tree en he knew
he were safe come mornin'. Yet en still he hadn't nuthin'
t' eat that night nur night before.
Well uh said he'd got to kill him er hog. The way he to
he break down er small saplin' en go down to thy mud holes.
In fact, hogs feed at night soon es they do Sy day en they
motO like to feed en root in gullies en Vogs. He sneak up
behin' er hog en he come right down on er hog loins fit t'
kill. Saplin' kin easy break er hog back that way 'counter
it's er weakes' spot hog have.
En he drag it down to deepes' swamp 'fore he'd go for
t' clean it. Well uh, bout th' way he do he gather two
heapin' bunches er leaves en he wet one bunch rale soppin'
en set dat aside. Other bunch he leave dry en pile at th'
hog en set afire to it. Befo' th' fire burn down t' th'
hog he'd press the wet leaves on en that way git mos' th'
hair offin it. Say listen you know he had himse'f a knife
out'n er barrel hoop, groun' down til 'twere rale sharp, en
he skun th' hog well ez he could. Well uh said he cook some
er that hog, keerful like, in co'se, in er bottom, in which
couldn' nobody see light o' any fire. En he live like this
erwhile.
This in sweet pertato time, long bout then en the slaves
in co'se they knowed how come Manish t' be away en which also
they 'spectin"im. En they git ready fol t' help 'im much
Page four
AMERICAN FOLK STUFF
r
ElizabethEMrke
ez they could, you know. Come night some night some uh slaves
steal out to de edge o' th'woods en they dig er hole 'bout
eight er ten inches deep in er groun' en which also they make
it ten er twelve foot eroun'. Res', they manage to git 'em
sweet pertatos somehow, mostly they has t' steal 'em. Don't
but er few chosen tote 'em down to th' cache 'cause less'a
they be caught en they all be whipped en likely t' be sent
down th' river. Said they lays th' pertatos side by side en
pile 'em in layers top o' that en then spread a blanket 'bout
two inches thick a' piae straw en needles over them en then
cover 'em up good with dirt. En they make er little hole
far t' reach in en get at er pertatos easy but yet en still
it do be hard t' see, if'n no one knowed 'bout it. That sweet
pertato hill it better'n er ol' sto'house.
Then deep night some night Manish he come. Out o' hidin' en
sneak in t' th' huts where the slaves ersleepin'. He give 'em
part o' the hog, en they tell 'in how they done built er
pertato hill en filled it for t' stay 'in fum honger for time.
They mighty quiet- if'n they do 1161,.: than whisper th' guarts
'ud come down on 'em en didn' nobody eve' fe'git that. Well
uh say they do had a Peas' by night ercookin' hog en sweet
pertatos secret like that, on er oak wood fire, 'counter it
make hot ash en low fire. Et said come daylight flex' mornin'
Manish he wuz gone back to de woods.
En he live like dis two er three months, sometime, he say.
En you know, slaveowners well uh they git tired huntin' 'La.
Meetly they think he done starved in de swamps. Yet en still
they hates t' give up hope Fin'ly they'd pass th' word
eroun"mongst th' slaves that if Manish comes back he'd only
Page Six
Folk Stuff
Elizabeth Burke
right there, he never male a move.
Lefl dat courthouse in a moughty big rush, an'
knowed then ah'd have t' leave mah home.
Howsomever, did get word t' Willa May, thiough
mah cousin, an' she tooken mah axe an' make kindlin'
outer de bath tub whut ah made, to' she ler.
Yes, Lawd, been grievinl evuh since. 'FO' de
Lawd,ah have:
Finish
Page 01111
(Conversation)
AMERICAN FOLK STUFF
7177
Elizabew-1uh Burke
Lots er folks they don' b'lieve in sech ez speerits. Do
say they ail:0 rightly kin see 'em now'days. Say well uh, nit
north, oain' see null hear 'em noways. They ben laid. En do
say they cain' travel this a far ways. Do be s' oold en yoU
know they oain' git used t' that.
See'd erplenty on 'em in mah time. Down south, you know.
Me'n Jay M. en George en Lee Roy we'd be eroomin' home
wid er passel o' squirrels er mebbe rabbits 't might be en
jes' er whoopin' en erhollerin' en er raisinfloain. We am'
be studyin"bout nuthin en you know we'd be van' pas' er
point o' de woods en we hear somethin' eroallin' jes ez clear
ez er bell. Heard it many a time en called us each by name.
Sure wuz er purty soun' en it echo er long time. En which
we'd er rather ben bit by er snaggletooth rattelsnake than
answer call like that. Speerits eroallin' like that an
'twould mean we goin' die soon would we answer or pa, it
any min'. Yes indeed.
Sometimes we come home f'um visitin', sr church msetin',
you know, en it'd be er starry night an moon bright'n up de,
fiel's, en make 'em look like er shinin' river. Et it do
seem like a body oain't hear nuthin' oep'm still green corn
a rustlin'. Say well uh ifin we stan' en watch uh time like that
or pale white houn' it come out like er ghos' en cross d'
fiel's en disappear. 'Twere always far away cross de fiel's.
You know that er speerit nuthin' but er restless speerit.,
Page two
(Cor,..yers ‘9,4i 6k
AMERICAN FOLK STUFF
Flizabeih Burke
Mali dad he had a farm en jes' outside thy fence gate in
th' road the' wuz er sandy patch en which er big white rabbit
he come en sun 'imse'f in de middle o' de noon day sun. Sail
you know we kilt a many a rabbit en one day me 'n George we
Oft us our gunsien went fir that rabbit. You know gun
4.
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