Slave Narratives: A Folk History of Slavery in the United States - From Interviews with Former Slaves - Arkansas Narratives, Part 2 by Work Projects Administration
page 196 of 341 (57%)
page 196 of 341 (57%)
![]() | ![]() |
|
her until Monday morning and if you were caught away any other time the
patrollers would catch you. That is where the song come from, 'Run nigger run, don't the patarolls will catch you.' Sometimes a nigger would run off and the nigger dogs would track them. In slavery white folks put you together. Just tell you to go on and go to bed with her or him. You had to stay with them whether you wanted them or not. "After freedom old master called all us slaves and told us we was free, opened a big gate and drove us all out. We didn't know what to do--not a penny, nowhere to go--so we went out there and set down. In about thirty minutes master came back and told us if we wanted to finish the crop for food and clothes we could, so we all went back and finished the crop and the next year they gave us half. So ever' since then we people been working for half. "Here is one of my boy songs: 'Sadday night and Sunday too, A pretty girl on my mind As soon as Monday morning come The white folks get me gwi-ng.'" [HW: Regrets End of Slavery] OLD SLAVE STORIES [TR: Sarah and Tom Douglas] |
|