“Freedom—­Aunt Mariah Jackson was freed at Dublin, Mississippi.  She said she was out in the field working.  A great big white man come, jumped up on a log and shouted, ‘Freedom!  Freedom!’ They let the log they was toting down; six, three on a side, had holt of a hand stick toting a long heavy log.  They was clearing up new ground.  He told them they was free.  They went to the house.  They cooked and et and thanked God.  Some got down and prayed, some sung.  They had a time that day.  They got the banjo and fiddle and set out playing.  Some got in the big road just walking.  She said they had a time that day.”

Texarkana District
folklore subjects
Name of Interviewer:  Cecil Copeland
Subject:  Ex-Slave

This information given by:  Frederick Shelton
Place of Residence:  Dump Section, Texarkana, Arkansas
Occupation:  None
Age:  81
[TR:  Information moved from bottom of first page.]

In an humble cabin on the outskirts of the city lives a venerable old negro ex-slave.  Although bent with rheumatism and age, he still retains his mental faculties to a remarkable degree.

An inquiry as to his health elicited the following reply:  “I’se a willful mind but a weak body.  Just like an old tree—­de limbs are withered and almost dead.  I’se been here a long tins, ovah 81 years, and am ready to go any time de good Lawd says de word.  Dat’s de trouble wid de people nowadays—­dey ain’t prepared.  Back when I wuz a young man, dey wuzn ’t so much meaness, and such goings on as dey are nowadays.  De young-peple know as much as de old folks.  Yas, suh, de worl’ am goin’ to de dogs.”

Asked about life in pioneer days, the old negro replied; “We had lots ob good times in dem days.  Log rollings wuz lots ob fun to me as I wuz strong den, an’ I could “show off” befo’ de odder niggers.  Dey wuzn’t much rollin’ to it, mostly carrying.  I mind de time when I lifted de end ob a log, an’ four men tried at different times to lift de odder, but dey couldn’t do it.  Three of dese men went to an early grave from trying to lift dis log—­all tore up inside.  Maybe dat’s whut ails me.

“You had to be careful den, when traveling through de woods, or de varmints would git you, especially at night.  I mind de time when a negro wuz comin’ through de woods one nite, when he seed a panther about to spring on him.

“Dis nigger dropped in his tracks lack he wuz dead.  De panther came up to him and smelled ob him, but de nigger held his breath, and de panther thought he wuz dead.  De panther covered him wid leaves an’ went about one hundred yards into de woods to call his friends to de feast.  No sooner had he left when de nigger jumped up and climbed a tree, first rutting an old chunk of wood in de place where he wuz buried.  De nigger could hear de panther out in de woods as he called for his friends, and pretty soon, here dey come, about five of ’em.  Slowly circling aroun’ de place where de nigger had been, all of a sudden dey all jumped.  Findin’ nothin’ but de old chunk of wood, dem panthers got real mad.  Wid angry growls, dey jumped on de one whut had called dem, and ate him up.”