“Here was the smokehouse and there was a turkey in a coop.  And when I throwed it the feed I heard somethin’ sounded just like you was draggin’ a brush over leaves.  It come around the corner of the smokehouse and look like a tall woman.  It kept on goin’ toward the house till it got to the hickory nut tree and still sound like draggin’ a brush.  When it got to the hickory nut tree it changed and look like a man.  I looked and I said, ‘It’s old master.’  And the next day he got killed.  I run to the house and told mama, ‘Look at that man.’  She said, ’Shut your mouth, you don’t see no man.’  Old miss heard and said, ’Who do you s’pose it could be?’ But mama wouldn’t let me talk.

“But I know it was a sign that old master was goin’ to die.”

Superstitions

“I was born with a caul over my face.  Old miss said it hung from the top of my head half way to my waist.

“She kept it and when I got big enough she said, ’Now that’s your veil, you play with it.’

“But I lost it out in the orchard one day.

“They said it would keep you from seein’ ha’nts.”

Birthmarks

“William Jimmerson’s wife had a daughter was born blind, and she said it was her husband’s fault.  She was delicate, you know, and one afternoon she was layin’ down and I was sittin’ there fannin’ her with a peafowl fan.  Her husband was layin’ there too and I guess I must a nodded and let the fan drop down in his face.  He jumped up and pressed his thumbs on my eyes till they was all bloodshot and when he let loose I fell down on the floor.  Miss Phenie said, ‘Oh, William, don’t do that.’  I can remember it just as well.

“My eyes like to went out and do you know, when her baby was born it was blind.  It’s eyes just looked like two balls of blood.  It died though, just lived ’bout two weeks.”

Interviewer:  Mrs. Bernice Bowden
Person interviewed:  Fannie Parker
                    1908 W. Sixth Street, Pine Bluff, Arkansas
Age:  90?

“Yes, honey, this is old Fannie.  I’se just a poor old nigger waitin’ for Jesus to come and take me to Heaven.

“I was just a young strip of a girl when the war come.  Dr. M.C.  Comer was my owner.  His wife was Elizabeth Comer.  I said Marse and Mistis in them days and when old mistress called me I went runnin’ like a turkey.  They called her Miss Betsy.  Yes Lord, I was in slavery days.  Master and mistress was bossin’ me then.  We all come under the rules.  We lived in Monticello—­right in the city of Monticello.

“All I can tell you is just what I remember.  I seed the Yankees.  I remember a whole host of ’em come to our house and wanted something to eat.  They got it too!  They cooked it them selves and then they burned everything they could get their hands on.  They said plenty to me.  They said so much I don’t know what they said.  I know one thing they said I belonged to the Yankees.  Yes Lord, they wanted me to tell ’em if I was free.  I told ’em I was free indeed and that I belonged to Miss Betsy.  I didn’t know what else to say.  We had plenty to eat, plenty of hog meat and buttermilk and cornbread.  Yes ma’m—­don’t talk about that now.