“It is a very good country but they don’t pick cotton riding on mules, at least I ain’t seed none that way.”

El Dorado District
folklore subjects
Name of Interviewer:  Pernella Anderson
Subject:  Slavery Customs
Story:—­Information

Information given by:  Mose Minser—­Farmer—­Age—­78
Place of Residence:  5 miles from El Dorado—­Section 8
[TR:  Information moved from bottom of first page.]

Ah use ter could tawk an tell a thing plum well but ah been broke up by a cah.  Cah run ovah mah haid an ah couldn’ tawk fuh 30 days.  So now ah aint no good fuh nothin.  Ah recollect one night ah dream a dream.  De dream at ah dreamt, next morning dat dream come true.  Jes like ah dreamt hit.  Yes hit did.  Ah wuz heah in slavery time.  Ah membuh when dey freed us niggers.  Se here, ah wuz a purty good size kid when dey free us.  Ah kin membuh our house.  Sot dis way.  An ole Marster called all his niggers up.  Dey all come along roun in a squad on de porch.  Ah did not heah whut he said tuh em.  But mah step-pa wuz dere an tole us we wuz free.  Ah atter dey freed mah step-pa ah recollect he went on home and fried some aigs (eggs) in de ubben.  Know we didn have no stove we cooked on de fiuhplace.  As ah said cook dem aigs, gimme some uv hit, an he lef’ den.  Went east and ah aint nevah seed dat man since.  Ah membuhs once ah got a whoopin bout goin tuh de chinquepin tree.  Some uv um tole me ole master wuz gwianter let us quit at dinnuh an so in place uv me goin ter dinnuh ah went on by de chinquepin tree tuh git some chanks.  Ah had a brothuh wid me.  So ah come tuh fine out dat dey gin tuh callin us.  Dey hollered tuh come on dat we wuz gointer pick cotton.  So in place uv us goin on tuh de house we went on back tuh de fiel’.  Our fiel wuz bout a mile fum de house.  Ole Moster waited down dere at de gate.  He call me when ah got dere an wanted tuh know why ah didn come and git mah dinnah sos ah could pick cotton.  So he taken mah britches down dat day.  Mah chinks all run out on de groun’ an he tole mah brothah tuh pick um up.  Ah knocked mah brothuh ovah fuh pickin um up an aftuh ah done dat ole moster taken his red pocket han’cher out and tied hit ovah mah eyes tuh keep me fum seein mah brothuh pick um up.

So when he got through wid me and put mah britches back on me ah went on tuh de fiel and went tuh pickin cotton.  Dat evenin when us stop pickin cotton ah took mah brothah down and taken mah chinquapins.

Interviewer:  Miss Irene Robertson
Person interviewed:  Gip Minton, Des Arc, Arkansas
Age:  84

“I was born at Jackson, Alabama on the Tennessee River.  It was sho a putty river.  I never did know my grandfolks.  I think my father was a soldier.  My master was a soldier, I think.  He was in de war.  I do remember the Civil War.  I remember the last battle at Scottsboro.  There was several but one big battle and they got to Belfontain.  That is where it seemed they were trying to go.  I don’t recollect who won the battle.  I heard them fighting and saw the smoke and after they went on saw the bodies dead and all that was left was like a cyclone had swept by.  There was a big regiment stationed at Scottsboro.  It was just like any war fought with guns and they lived in tents.  They took everything they could find.  Looked like starvation was upon de land.