PLANTATION LIFE AS VIEWED BY EX-SLAVE
CALLIE ELDER, Age 78
640 W. Hancock Avenue
Athens, Georgia
Written by:
Sadie B. Hornsby
Athens
Edited by:
Sarah H. Hall
Athens
Leila Harris
Augusta
and
John N. Booth
District Supervisor
Federal Writers' Project
Residencies 6 & 7
[JUN 6 1938]
Callie lives with her daughter, Cornelia, in a 6-room house near the crest of a hill. Their abode is a short distance from the street and is reached by steep stone steps. In response to the call for Callie, a tall mulatto woman appeared. Her crudely fashioned blue dress was of a coarse cotton fabric and her dingy head rag had long lost its original color. Straight black hair, streaked with gray, and high cheek bones gave the impression that in her ancestry of mixed races, Indian characteristics predominate. Her constant use of snuff causes frequent expectoration and her favorite pastime seems to be the endeavor to attain an incredible degree of accuracy in landing each mouthful of the amber fluid at the greatest possible distance. As she was about to begin conversation, a little yellow boy about five years old ran into the room and Callie said: "'Scuse me please, I can't talk 'til I gits my grandboy off so he won't be late to school at Little Knox. Set down in dat dar cheer and I'll be right back."
Soon Callie returned and it was evident that her curiosity was aroused. When the interviewer explained the purpose of the visit, she exclaimed: "Lordy! Miss, what is de government gwine do next? For de God's truth, I never knowed I would have to tell nobody what happened back in dem days, so its jus' done slipped out of my mind.
"Anyhow, I warn't even born in Clarke County. I was born in Floyd County, up nigh Rome, Georgia, on Marse Billy Neal's plantation. Ann and Washin'ton Neal was my Mammy and Pappy. No Ma'am, no preacher never married 'em. Marse Billy Neal, he owned bofe of 'em and atter my Pappy axed him could he marry Mammy, Marse Billy made 'em go up to de hall of de big house and jump backwards over a broom.
"Dere was six of us chillun: me and Frances, Beulah, Thomas, Felix, and Scott. Dere was mighty little wuk done by chillun in slav'ry days. I jus' played 'round and kicked up my heels wid de rest of de chillun. When us played our hidin' game, us sung somepin' lak dis:
'Mollie, Mollie Bright
Three score and ten,
Can I git dere by candlelight?
Yes, if your laigs is long enough!'
"Sometimes us played what us called de 'Crow' game. Us spread our fingers out, side by side and counted 'em out wid a rhyme. De one de last word of de rhyme fell on had to be de crow. I didn't love to be counted out and made de crow, but it was a heap of fun to count de others out. Since I been knee high to a grasshopper, I ain't never done nothin' but wuk 'round white folks' houses.
"Our log cabins what us lived in was daubed inside and out wid mud to keep out bad weather. Our beds was held together by cords what was twisted evvy which way. You had to be mighty careful tightenin' dem cords or de beds was liable to fall down. Us slept on wheat straw mattresses and had plenty of good warm quilts for kiver.
"Grown folks was fed cornbread and meat wid plenty of vegetables in de week days and on Sunday mornin's dey give 'em wheat bread, what was somethin' slaves didn't see no more 'til de next Sunday mornin'. 'Bout four o'clock on summer atternoons, dey sot a big old wooden bowl full of cornbread crumbs out in de yard and poured in buttermilk or potliquor 'til de crumbs was kivered. Den dey let de chillun gather 'round it and eat 'til de bowl was empty. In winter chillun was fed inside de house.
"'Possums, Oh, mussy me! My grandpa hunted 'possums at night and fetched in two and three at a time. Don't say nothin' 'bout dem rabbits for dere warn't no end to 'em. Rabbits stewed, rabbits fried, and rabbits dried, smoked, and cured lak hog meat! I et so many rabbits when I was young I can't stand to look at 'em now but I could eat 'possums and gnaw de bones all day long. Marse Billy let grandpa go fishin' and he was all time bringin' back a passel of minnows and other fishes. Us rubbed 'em down wid lard and salt and pepper, den rolled 'em in cornmeal and baked 'em. I never seed no fried meat 'til I was a big strappin' gal. Dere was one big gyarden whar dey raised 'nough vegetables for all de white folks and slaves too. All de bilin' was done in pots swung on cranes over coals in de fireplace.