Name: Pope, Alec

Address: 1345 Rockspring Street Athans, Georgia

Age: 84

Written by: Sadie B. Hornsby (Federal Writers' Project Athens, Ga)

Edited by: Sarah H. Hall (Athens) and John N. Booth (District Supervisor Federal Writers' Project Residencies 6 & 7)

Citation: Federal Writers' Project: Slave Narrative Project, Vol. 4, Part 3, Kendricks-Styles (1936), Library of Congress, Manuscript/Mixed Material. https://www.loc.gov/item/mesn043/

Interview

Alec lives with his daughter, Ann Whitworth. When asked if he liked to talk about
his childhood days, he answered: "Yes Ma'am, but is you one of dem pension ladies?"
The negative reply was an evident disappointment to Alec, but it did not hinder his
narrative:

"Well, I was born on de line of Clarke and Oglethorpe Counties, way down de
country. Celia and Willis Pope was my ma and pa. Lawdy! Mist'ess, I don't know whar
dey come f'um; 'peers lak pa's fust Marster was named Pope. Dat's de onlies' last name I
ever ricollec' us havin'.

"Dere was a passel of us chillun. My sisters was Callie, Phebie Ann, Nelia, and
Millie. My brudders was Anderson, Osborn, George, Robert, Squire, Jack, and Willis.
Willis was named for pa and us nicknamed 'im Tuck.

"De slave quarters was little log houses scattered here and dar. Some of 'em had
two rooms on de fust flo' and a loft up 'bove whar de boys most gen'ally slep' and de gals
slep' downstairs. I don't 'member nothin' t'all 'bout what us done 'cept scrap lak chilluns
will do.

"Oh! I ain't forgot 'bout dem beds. Dey used cords for springs, and de cords run
f'um head to foot; den dey wove 'em 'cross de bed 'til dey looked lak checks. Wheat straw
was sewed up in ticks for mattresses. When you rolled 'round on one of dem straw
mattresses, de straw crackled and sounded lak rain. No Ma'am, I don't know nothin' t'all
'bout my gran'pa and gran'ma.

"I was de reg'lar water boy, and I plowed some too. 'Course dere was so many on
dat plantation it tuk more'n one boy to tote de water. Money? dis Nigger couldn't git no
money in dem days.

"Us sho' had plenty somepin' t'eat, sich as meat, and cornoread, and good old
wheat bread what was made out of seconds. Dere was lots of peas, corn, cabbage, Irish
'tatoes, sweet 'tatoes, and chickens, sometimes. Yes Ma'am, sometimes. I laks coffee, but
as Niggers didn't have much coffee. Dat was for de white folkses at de big house. Cookin'
was done in de fireplace in great big spiders. some of de biggest of de spiders was called
ovens. Dey put coals of fire underneath and more coals on top of de lid. Ma baked bread
and 'taters in de ashes. In winter she put de dough in a collard leaf so it wouldn't burn. In
summer green corn shucks was wrapped 'round de dough 'stid of collard leaves. All de
fish and 'possums and rabbits us had was cotch right dar on Old Marster's place, 'cause if
one of our Niggers got cotch offen our place hit was jes' too bad. I sho' does love
'possum, and us had lots of 'em, 'cause my brudder used to ketch 'em by de wholesale wid
a dog he had, and dat same dog was a powerful good rabbit hound too.

"Us had pretty good clothes most all de year 'round. In summer, shirts, and pants
was made out of coarse cotton cloth. Sometimes de pants was dyed gray. Winter time us
had better clothes made out of yarn and us allus had good Sunday clothes. 'Course I was
jes' a plow boy den and now I done forgot lots 'bout how things looked. Our shoes was
jes' common brogans, no diff'unt on Sunday, 'ceppin' de Nigger boys what was shinin' up
to de gals cleaned up deir shoes dat day.

"Our Marster was Mr. Mordecai Ed'ards. Well, he was pretty good - not too good.
He tried to make you do right, but if you didn't he would give you a good brushin'. Miss
Martha, Old Marster's old 'oman, warn't good as Old Marster, but she done all right. Dey
had a heap of chillun: Miss Susan, Miss Mary, Miss Callie, Miss Alice, and it 'peers to
me lak dere was two mo' gals, but I can't 'call 'em now. Den dere was some boys: Marse
Billy, Marse Jim, Marse John, Marse Frank, and Marse Howard. Marse Frank Ed'ards
lives on Milledge Avenue now.

"Old Marster and Old Mist'ess lived in a great big fine house what looked to me
lak one of dese big hotels does now. Marse Jack Ed'ards was de fust overseer I can
ricollec'. He was kin to Old Marster. Marster had two or three mo' overseers at diff'unt
times, but I don't ricollec' dey names. Dere was two car'iage drivers. Henry driv de gals
'round and Albert was Old Mist'ess' driver. Old Marster had his own hoss and buggy, and
most of de time he driv for hisself, but he allus tuk a little Nigger boy named Jordan 'long
to help him drive and to hold de hoss.

"Lawdy! Mist'ess, I couldn't rightly say how many acres was in dat plantation. I
knowed he had two plantations wid fine houses on 'em. He jes' had droves and droves of
Niggers and when dey got scattered out over de fields, dey looked lak blackbirds dere
was so many. You see I was jes' a plow boy and didn't know nothin' 'bout figgers and
countin'.

"De overseer got us up 'bout four o'clock in de mornin' to feed de stock. Den us et.
Us allus stopped off by dark. Mist'ess dere's a old sayin' dat you had to brush a Nigger in
dem days to make 'em do right. Dey brushed us if us lagged in de field or cut up de
cotton. Dey could allus find some fault wid us. Marster brushed us sometime, but de
overseer most gen'ally done it. I 'members dey used to make de 'omans pull up deir skirts
and brushed 'em wid a horse whup or a hickory; dey done de mens de same way 'cept dey
had to take off deir shirts and pull deir pants down. Niggers sho' would holler when dey
got brushed.

"Jails! Yes Ma'am, dey had 'em way down in Lexin'ton. You know some Niggers
gwine steal anyhow, and dey put 'em in dere for dat mostly. I didn't never see nobody
sold or in chains. De only chains I ever seed was on hosses and plows.

"Mist'ess, Niggers didn't have no time to larn to read in no Bible or nothin' lak dat
in slav'ry time. Us went to church wid de white folkses if us wanted to, but us warn't
'bleeged to go. De white folkses went to church at Cherokee Corner. Dere warn't no
special church for Niggers 'til long atter de War when dey built one out nigh de big road.

"Some of de Niggers run away to de Nawth - some dey got back, some dey didn't.
Dem patterollers had lots of fun if dey cotch a Nigger, so dey could brush 'im to hear 'im
holler. De onlies' trouble I ever heard 'bout twixt de whites and blacks was when a Nigger
sassed a white man and de white man shot 'im. H'it served dat Nigger right, 'cause he
oughta knowed better dan to sass a white man. De trouble ended wid dat shot.

"De most Niggers ever done for a good time was to have little parties wid heaps
of fidlin' and dancin'. On Sunday nights dey would have prayer meetin's. Dem
patterollers would come and break our prayer meetin's up and brush us if dey cotch us.

"Chris'mas was somepin' else. Us had awful good times den, 'cause de white
folkses at de big house give us plenty of goodies for Chris'mas week and us had fidlin'
and dancin'. Us would ring up de gals and run all 'round 'em playin' dem ring-'round-derosie
games. Us had more good times at corn shuckin's, and Old Marster allus had a little
toddy to give us den to make us wuk faster.

"Oh! No Ma'am, I don't 'member nothin' 'bout what us played when I was a little
chap, and if I ever knowed anything 'bout Rawhead and Bloody Bones and sich lak I
done plumb forgot it now. but I do know Old Marster and Old Mist'ess sho' was powerful
good when dey Niggers got sick. Dey put a messenger boy on a mule and sont 'im for Dr.
Hudson quick, 'cause to lose a Nigger was losin' a good piece of property. Some Niggers
wore some sort of beads 'round deir necks to keep sickness away and dat's all I calls to
mind 'bout dat charm business.

"I was jes' a plow boy so I didn't take in 'bout de surrender. De only thing I
ricollects 'bout it was when Old Marster told my pa and ma us was free and didn't belong
to him no more. He said he couldn't brush de grown folks no more, but if dey wanted to
stay wid 'im dey could, and dat he would brush dey chilluns if dey didn't do right. Ma
told 'in he warn't gwine brush none of her chilluns no more.

"Us lived wid Old Marster 'bout a year, den pa moved up on de big road. Buy
land? No Ma'am, Niggers didn't have no money to buy no land wid 'til dey made it. I
didn't take in 'bout Mr. Lincoln, only dat thoo' him us was sot free. I heard 'em say Mr.
Davis was de President of de South, and 'bout Booker Washin'ton some of de Niggers tuk
him in, but I didn't bodder 'bout him.

"Lawdy! Mist'ess, I didn't marry de fust time 'til long atter de War, and now I
done been married three times. I had a awful big weddin' de fust time. De white man
what lived on de big road not far f'um us said he never seed sich a weddin' in his life. Us
drunk and et, and danced and cut de buck most all night long. Most all my chilluns is
dead. I b'lieve my fust wife had 10 or 11 chilluns. I know I had a passel fust and last; and
jes' to tell you de trufe, dere jes' ain't no need to stop and try to count de grand chilluns.
All three of my wives done daid and I'm lookin' for anudder one to take kear of me now.

"Why did I jine de church? 'Cause I jes' think evvybody oughta jine if dey wanna
do right so'se dey can go to Heben. I feels lak a diff'unt man since I done jined and I
knows de Lord has done forgive me for all my sins.

"Mist'ess ain't you thoo' axin' me questions yit? Anyhow I was thinkin' you was
one of dem pension ladies." When he was told that the interview was completed, Alec
said: "I sho' is glad, 'cause I feels lak takin' a little nap atter I eat dese pecans what I got in
my pocket. Goodbye Mist'ess."

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