The floo’s in the big house was so pretty an white.  We always kep’ them scoured good.  We didn’ know what it was to use soap.  We jus’ took oak ashes out of the fi’place and sprinkled them on the floo’ and scoured with a corn shuck mop.  Then we would sweep the ashes off an rinse two times an let it dry.  When it dried it was the cleanes’ floo’ they was.  To make it white, clean sand was sprinkled on the floo’ an we let it stay a couple of days then the floo’ would be too clean to walk on.  The way we dried the floo’ was with a sack an a rag.  We would get down on our knees an dry it so dry.

I ‘member one night one of ol’ master’s girls was goin’ to get married.  That was after I was big ‘nough to cook an we was sho’ doin’ some cookin.  Some of the niggers on the place jus’ natchally would steal so we cook a big cake of co’n-bread an iced it all pretty an put it out to cool an some of ’em stole it.  This way old master found out who was doin the stealin cause it was such a joke on ’em they had to tell.

All ol’ master’s niggers was married by the white preacher but he had a neighbor who would marry his niggers hisself.  He would say to the man:  “Do yo’ want this woman?” and to the girl, “Do yo’ want this boy?” Then he would call the ol’ mistress to fetch the broom an ol’ master would hold one end an ol’ mistress the other an tell the boy and girl to jump dis broom and he would say:  “Dat’s yo’ wife.”  Dey called marryin’ like that jumpin the broom.

Now chile I can’t ‘member everything I done in them days but we didn’ have ter worry bout nothin.  Ol’ mistress was the one to worry.  Twasn’t then like it is now, no twasn’t.  We had such a good time an ev’ybody cried when the Yankees cried out:  “Free.”  Tother niggers say dey had a hard time ‘fo’ dey was free but twas then like tis now.  If you had a hard time we don it ourselves.

Ol’ master didn’ want to part with his niggers an the niggers didn’ wan’ to part with ol’ master so they thought by comin to Arkansas they would have a chance to keep ’em.  So they got on their way.  We loaded up our wagons an put up our wagon sheet an we had plenty to eat an plenty of horse feed.  We traveled bout 15 or 20 miles a day an would stop an camp at night.  We would cook enough in the morning to las’ all day.  The cows was drove t’gether.  Some was gentle an some was not an did dey have a time.  I mean, dey had a time.  While we was on our way ol’ master died an three of the slaves died too.  We buried the slaves there but we camped while ol’ master was carried back to North Carolina.  When ol’ mistress come back we started on to Arkansas an reached here safe but when we got here we foun’ freedom here too.  Ol’ mistress begged us to stay wid her an we stayed till she died then they took her back to Carolina.  There wasn’ nobody lef’ but Miss Nancy an she soon married an lef’ an I los’ track of her an Mr. Tom.

El Dorado District
FOLKLORE SUBJECTS
Name of Interviewer:  Pernella Anderson
Subjects:  Customs related to Slavery Time [HW:  Ex Slave Story]
Subject:  Food—­Particular foods typical and characteristic of certain
localities and certain people (negroes)
[Nov 6 1936]
[TR:  Additional topic moved from subsequent page.]