The soldiers took command of the spring that was used for a water supply for the plantation, giving Lindsey another opportunity to make money.  He would be sent from the plantation to the spring for water, and on the way back would pass through the camp of the soldiers.  These would be happy to pay a few pennies for a cup of water rather than take the long hike to the Spring themselves; Lindsey would empty bucket after bucket before finally returning to the plantation.  Out of his profits he bought his first pair of shoes—­though nearly a grown man.

The soldiers finally departed, with all but five of the Overtree slaves joyously trooping behind them.  Before leaving, however, they tore up the railroad and its station, burning the ties and heating the rails until red then twisting them around tree-trunks.  Wheat fields were trampled by their horses, and devastation left on all sides.

Lindsey and his mother were among those who stayed at the plantation.  When freedom became general his father began farming on a tract that was later turned over to Lindsey.  Lindsey operated the farm for a while, but later desired to learn horseshoeing, and apprenticed himself to a blacksmith.  At the end of three years he had become so proficient that his former master rewarded him with a five-dollar bonus for shoeing one horse.

Possessing now the trades of blacksmithing, tanning and weaving-and-spinning, Lindsey was tempted to follow some of his former associates to the North, but was discouraged from doing so by a few who returned, complaining bitterly about the unaccustomed cold and the difficulty of making a living.  He moved South instead and settled in the area around Palatka.

He is still in the section, being recognized as an excellent blacksmith despite his more than four-score years.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Interview with subject, Lindsey Moore, 1114 Madison Street, Palatka, Fla.

FEDERAL WRITERS’ PROJECT American Guide, (Negro Writers’ Unit)

J.M.  Johnson, Field Worker
John A. Simms, Editor
Jacksonville, Florida
September 18, 1936

MACK MULLEN

Mack Mullen, a former slave who now lives at 521 W. First Street, Jacksonville, Florida, was born in Americus, Georgia in 1857, eight years before Emancipation, on a plantation which covered an area of approximately five miles.  Upon this expansive plantation about 200 slaves lived and labored.  At its main entrance stood a large white colonial mansion.

In this abode lived Dick Snellings, the master, and his family.  The Snellings plantation produced cotton, corn, oats, wheat, peanuts, potatoes, cane and other commodities.  The live stock consisted primarily of hogs and cattle.  There was on the plantation what was known as a “crib,” where oats, corn and wheat were stored, and a “smoke house” for pork and beef.  The slaves received their rations weekly, it was apportioned according to the number in the family.