Yas’m right up dere is wha Aint Fannie live.  Yas’m.  Goodday Missy.”

FOLK CUSTOMS

We found Fannie Wheeler at home but not an ex-slave.  She was making a bedspread of tobacco sacks.

“Yas’m chillun ah’m piecing mahsef a bedspraid from dese heah backy sacks.  Yas’m dey sho does make er nice spraid.  See dat’n on mah baid.  Aint hit purty.  Hit wuz made fum backy sacks.  Don yo all think dat yaller bodah (border) set hit off purty?  Ah’m aimin to bodah dis’n wid pink er blue.

What am dat up dar in dat picture frame?  Why dat am plaits of har (hair).  Hits uv mah kin and frien’s.  When we would move way off dey would cut off a plait and give hit tuh us tuh membah dem by.  Mos’ uv dem is daid now but ah still membahs dem and ah kin name evah plait now.”

We were told that Sallie Sims was an old negress and went to see her she was not an ex-slave either but she told us an interesting little story about

HAINTS and BODY MARKS

“No’m, ah’m purty ole but ah wuz bo’n aftuh surrender.  Is ah evah seen a hant?  Now ah nevah did but once and mah ma said dat wuz a hant.  Ah wuz out in de woods waukin (walking) an ah saw sumpin dat looked lak a squirrel start up a tree and de fudder up hit got the bigger hit got an hit wuz big as a bear when hit got to de top and ma said dat hit was a haint.  Dat is de only time ah evah seed one.

Now mah granchillun can all see hants and mah little great gran’ chile too.  An evah one uv dem wuz bo’n wid a veil ovah dey face.  Now when a chile is bo’n wid a veil ovah his face—­if de veil is lifted up de sho can see hants and see evah thing but if’n de veil is pulled down stid up bein lifted up de won’t see em.  After de veil is pulled down an taken off, wrap hit up in a tissue paper and put hit in de trunk and let hit stay dar till hit disappear and de chile won’t nevah see hants.  Mah grandaughter what lives up north in Missouri come down heah to visit mah son’s fambly an me ah an brang huh li’l boy wid huh.  Dat chile is bout seben years ole an dat chile could see hants all in de house an he wouldn’ go tuh baid till his gran’pappy come home an went tuh baid wid him.”

Interviewer:  Miss Irene Robertson
Person Interviewed:  Charlie Williams
                    Brassfield; Ark. 
Age:  73

“I was born four miles from Holly Springs, Mississippi.  My parents was named Patsy and Tom Williams.  They had twenty children.  Nat Williams and Miss Carrie Williams owned them both.  They had four children.

“At freedom he was nice as could be—­wanted em to stay on with him and they did.  He didn’t whip em.  They liked that in him.  His wife was dead and he come out to Arkansas with us.  He died at Lonoke—­Mr. Tom Williams at Lonoke.

“I farmed nearly all my life.  I worked on a steamboat on White River five or six years—­The Ralph.