Slave Narratives, Oklahoma

V >> Various >> Slave Narratives, Oklahoma

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I never got no learning; dey kept us from dat, but you know some of
dem darkies learnt anyhow. We had church in the heart of town or in
the basement of some old building. I went to the 'piscopal church most
all the time, till I got to be a Baptist.

The slaves run away to the North 'cause dey wanted to be free. Some of
my family run away sometime and dey didn't catch 'em neither. The
patrollers sho' watched the streets. But when dey caught any of
master's niggers without passes, dey jest locked him up in the guard
house and master come down in the mawnin' and git 'em out, but dem
patrollers better not whip one.

I know when the War commenced and ended. Master Manley sent me from
the Big House to the office about a mile away. Jest as I got to the
office door, three men rid up in blue uniforms and said, "Dinah, do
you have any milk in there?" I was sent down to the office for some
beans for to cook dinner, but dem men most nigh scared me to death.
They never did go in dat office, but jest rid off on horseback about a
quarter a mile and seem lak right now, Yankees fell out of the very
sky, 'cause hundeds and hundeds was everywhere you could look to save
your life. Old Mistress sent one of her grandchillun to tell me to
come on, and one of the Yankees told dat child, "You tell your
grandmother she ain't coming now and never will come back there as a
slave." Master was setting on the mansion porch. Dem Yankees come up
on de porch, go down in cellar and didn't tech one blessed thing. Old
Mistress took heart trouble, 'cause dem Yankees whipped white folks
going and coming.

I laid in my bed a many night scared to death of Klu Klux Klan. Dey
would come to your house and ask for a drink and no more want a drink
than nothing.

After the War, I went to mammy and my step-pappy. She done married
again, so I left and went to Warrington and Halifax, North Carolina,
jest for a little while nursing some white chillun. I stayed in
Raleigh, where I was born till 7 years ago, when I come to Oklahoma to
live with my only living child. I am the mother of 4 chillun and 11
grandchillun.

When I got married I jumped a broomstick. To git unmarried, all you
had to do was to jump backwards over the same broomstick.

Lincoln and Booker T. Washington was two of the finest men ever lived.
Don't think nothing of Jeff Davis, 'cause he was a traitor. Freedom
for us was the best thing ever happened. Prayer is best thing in the
world. Everybody ought to pray, 'cause prayer got us out of slavery.

Oklahoma Writer's Project
Ex-Slaves

POLLY COLBERT
Age 83 yrs.
Colbert, Oklahoma

I am now living on de forty-acre farm dat de Government give me and it
is just about three miles from my old home on Master Holmes Colbert's
plantation where I lived when I was a slave.

Lawsy me, times sure has changed since slavery times! Maybe I notice
it more since I been living here all de time, but dere's farms 'round
here dat I've seen grown timber cleared off of twice during my
lifetime. Dis land was first cleared up and worked by niggers when dey
was slaves. After de War nobody worked it and it just naturally growed
up again wid all sorts of trees. Later, white folks cleared it up
again and took grown trees off'n it and now dey are still cultivating
it but it is most wore out now. Some of it won't even sprout peas. Dis
same land used to grow corn without hardly any work but it sure won't
do it now.

I reckon it was on account of de rich land dat us niggers dat was
owned by Indians didn't have to work so hard as dey did in de old
states, but I think dat Indian masters was just naturally kinder any
way, leastways mine was.

My mother, Liza, was owned by de Colbert family and my father, Tony,
was owned by de Love family. When Master Holmes and Miss Betty Love
was married dey fathers give my father and mother to dem for a wedding
gift. I was born at Tishomingo and we moved to de farm on Red River
soon after dat and I been here ever since. I had a sister and a
brother, but I ain't seen dem since den.

My mother died when I was real small, and about a year after dat my
father died. Master Holmes told us children not to cry, dat he and
Miss Betsy would take good care of us. Dey did, too. Dey took us in de
house wid dem and look after us jest as good as dey could colored
children. We slept in a little room close to them and she allus seen
dat we was covered up good before she went to bed. I guess she got a
sight of satisfaction from taking care of us 'cause she didn't have no
babies to care for.

Master Holmes and Miss Betsy was real young folks but dey was purty
well fixed. He owned about 100 acres of land dat was cleared and ready
for de plow and a lot dat was not in cultivation. He had de woods full
of hogs and cows and he owned seven or eight grown slaves and several
children. I remember Uncle Shed, Uncle Lige, Aunt Chaney, Aunt Lizzie,
and Aunt Susy just as well as if it was yesterday. Master Holmes and
Miss Betsy was both half-breed Choctaw Indians. Dey had both been away
to school somewhere in de states and was well educated. Dey had two
children but dey died when dey was little. Another little girl was
born to dem after de War and she lived to be a grown woman.

Dey sure was fine young folks and provided well for us. He allus had a
smokehouse full of meat, lard, sausage, dried beans, peas, corn,
potatoes, turnips and collards banked up for winter. He had plenty of
milk and butter for all of us, too.

Master Holmes allus say, "A hungry man caint work." And he allus saw
to it that we had lots to eat.

We cooked all sorts of Indian dishes: Tom-fuller, pashofa, hickory-nut
grot, Tom-budha, ash-cakes, and pound cakes besides vegetables and
meat dishes. Corn or corn meal was used in all de Indian dishes. We
made hominy out'n de whole grains. Tom-fuller was made from beaten
corn and tasted sort of like hominy.

We would take corn and beat it like in a wooden mortar wid a wooden
pestle. We would husk it by fanning it and we would den put it on to
cook in a big pot. While it was cooking we'd pick out a lot of
hickory-nuts, tie 'em up in a cloth and beat 'em a little and drop 'em
in and cook for a long time. We called dis dish hickory-nut grot. When
we made pashofa we beat de corn and cook for a little while and den we
add fresh pork and cook until de meat was done. Tom-budha was green
corn and fresh meat cooked together and seasoned wid tongue or
pepper-grass.

We cooked on de fire place wid de pots hanging over de fire on racks
and den we baked bread and cakes in a oven-skillet. We didn't use soda
and baking powder. We'd put salt in de meal and scald it wid boiling
water and make it into pones and bake it. We'd roll de ash cakes in
wet cabbage leaves and put 'em in de hot ashes and bake 'em. We cooked
potatoes, and roasting ears dat way also. We sweetened our cakes wid
molasses, and dey was plenty sweet too.

Dey was lots of possums and coons and squirrels and we nearly always
had some one of these to eat. We'd parboil de possum or coon and put
it in a pan and bake him wid potatoes 'round him. We used de broth to
baste him and for gravy. Hit sure was fine eating dem days.

I never had much work to do. I helped 'round de house when I wanted to
and I run errands for Miss Betsy. I liked to do things for her. When I
got a little bigger my brother and I toted cool water to de field for
de hands.

Didn't none of Master Holmes' niggers work when dey was sick. He allus
saw dat dey had medicine and a doctor iffen dey needed one. 'Bout de
only sickness we had was chills and fever. In de old days we made lots
of our own medicine and I still does it yet. We used polecat grease
for croup and rheumatism. Dog-fennel, butterfly-root, and
life-everlasting boiled and mixed and made into a syrup will cure
pneumonia and pleurisy. Pursley-weed, called squirrel physic, boiled
into a syrup will cure chills and fever. Snake-root steeped for a long
time and mixed with whiskey will cure chills and fever also.

Our clothes was all made of homespun. De women done all de spinning
and de weaving but Miss Betsy cut out all de clothes and helped wid de
sewing. She learned to sew when she was away to school and she learnt
all her women to sew. She done all the sewing for de children. Master
Holmes bought our shoes and we all had 'em to wear in de winter. We
all went barefoot in de summer.

He kept mighty good teams and he had two fine saddle horses. He and
Miss Betsy rode 'em all de time. She would ride wid him all over de
farm and dey would go hunting a lot, too. She could shoot a gun as
good as any man.

Master Holmes sure did love his wife and children and he was so proud
of her. It nearly killed 'em both to give up de little boy and girl. I
never did hear of him taking a drink and he was kind to everybody,
both black and white, and everybody liked him. Dey had lots of company
and dey never turned anybody away. We lived about four miles from de
ferry on Red River on de Texas Road and lots of travelers stopped at
our house.

We was 'lowed to visit de colored folks on de Eastman and Carter
plantations dat joined our farm. Eastman and Carter was both white men
dat married Indian wives. Dey was good to dey slaves, too, and let 'em
visit us.

Old Uncle Kellup (Caleb) Colbert, Uncle Billy Hogan, Rev. John Carr,
Rev. Baker, Rev. Hogue, and old Father Murrow preached for de white
folks all de time and us colored folks went to church wid dem. Dey had
church under brush arbors and we set off to ourselves but we could
take part in de singing and sometimes a colored person would get happy
and pray and shout but nobody didn't think nothing 'bout dat.

De Patrollers was de law, kind of like de policeman now. Dey sure
never did whip one of Master Holmes' niggers for he didn't allow it.
He didn't whip 'em hisself and he sure didn't allow anybody else to
either. I was afraid of de Ku Kluxers too, and I 'spects dat Master
Holmes was one of de leaders iffen de truth was known. Dey sure was
scary looking.

I was scared of de Yankee soldiers. Dey come by and killed some of our
cattle for beef and took our meat and lard out'n de smokehouse and dey
took some corn, too. Us niggers was awful mad. We didn't know anything
'bout dem fighting to free us. We didn't specially want to be free dat
I knows of.

Right after de War I went over to Bloomfield Academy to take care of a
little girl, but I went back to Master Holmes and Miss Betsy at de end
of two years to take care of de little girl dat was born to dem and I
stayed with her until I was about fifteen. Master Holmes went to
Washington as a delegate, for something for de Indians, and he took
sick and died and dey buried him dere. Poor Miss Betsy nearly grieved
herself to death. She stayed on at de farm till her little girl was
grown and married. Her nigger men stayed on with her and rented land
from her and dey sure raised a sight of truck. Didn't none of her old
slaves ever move very far from her and most of them worked for her
till dey was too old to work.

I left Miss Betsy purty soon after Master Holmes died and went back
to de Academy and stayed three years. I married a man dat belonged to
Master Holmes' cousin. His name was Colbert, too. I had a big wedding.
Miss Betsy and a lot of white folks come and stayed for dinner. We
danced all evening and after supper we started again and danced all
night and de next day and de next night. We'd eat awhile and den we'd
dance awhile.

My husband and I had nine children and now I've got seven
grandchildren. My husband has been dead a long time.

My sister, Chaney, lives here close to me but her mind has got feeble
and she can't recollect as much as I can. I live with my son and he is
mighty good to me. I know I ain't long for dis world but I don't mind
for I has lived a long time and I'll have a lot of friends in de other
world and I won't be lonesome.

Oklahoma Writers' Project
Ex-Slaves
[Date stamp: NOV 5 1937]

GEORGE CONRAD, JR.,
Age 77 yrs.
Oklahoma City, Okla.

I was born February 23, 1860 at Connersville, Harrison County,
Kentucky. I was born and lived just 13 miles from Parish. My mother's
name is Rachel Conrad, born at Bourbon County, Kentucky. My father,
George Conrad, was born at Bourbon County Kentucky. My grandmother's
name is Sallie Amos, and grandfather's name is Peter Amos. My
grandfather, his old Master freed him and he bought my grandmother,
Aunt Liza and Uncle Cy. He made the money by freighting groceries from
Ohio to Maysville, Kentucky.

Our Master was named Master Joe Conrad. We sometimes called him "Mos"
Joe Conrad. Master Joe Conrad stayed in a big log house with weather
boarding on the outside.

I was born in a log cabin. We slept in wooden beds with rope cords for
slats, and the beds had curtains around them. You see my mother was
the cook for the Master, and she cooked everything--chicken, roasting
ears. She cooked mostly everything we have now. They didn't have
stoves; they cooked in big ovens. The skillets had three legs. I can
remember the first stove that we had. I guess I was about six years
old.

My old Master had 900 acres of land. My father was a stiller. He made
three barrels of whisky a day. Before the War whisky sold for 12-1/2c
and 13c a gallon. After the War it went up to $3 and $4 per gallon.
When War broke out he had 300 barrels hid under old Master's barn.

There was 14 colored men working for old Master Joe and 7 women. I
think it was on the 13th of May, all 14 of these colored men, and my
father, went to the Army. When old Master Joe come to wake 'em up the
next morning--I remember he called real loud, Miles, Esau, George,
Frank, Arch, on down the line, and my mother told him they'd all gone
to the army. Old Master went to Cynthia, Kentucky, where they had
gone to enlist and begged the officer in charge to let him see all of
his boys, but the officer said "No." Some way or 'nother he got a
chance to see Arch, and Arch came back with him to help raise the
crops.

My mother cooked and took care of the house. Aunt Sarah took care of
the children. I had two little baby brothers, Charlie and John. The
old Mistress would let my mother put them in her cradle and Aunt Sarah
got jealous, and killed both of the babies. When they cut one of the
babies open they took out two frogs. Some say she conjured the babies.
Them niggers could conjure each other but they couldn't do nothing to
the whitefolks, but I don't believe in it. There's an old woman living
back there now (pointing around the corner of the house where he was
sitting) they said her husband put a spell on her. They call 'em
two-headed Negroes.

Old Master never whipped any of his slaves, except two of my
uncles--Pete Conrad and Richard Sherman, now living at Falsmouth,
Kentucky.

We raised corn, wheat, oats, rye and barley, in the spring. In
January, February and March we'd go up to the Sugar Camp where he had
a grove of maple trees. We'd make maple syrup and put up sugar in
cakes. Sugar sold for $2.5O and $3 a cake. He had a regular sugar
house. My old Master was rich I tell you.

Whenever a member of the white family die all the slaves would turn
out, and whenever a slave would die, whitefolks and all the slaves
would go. My Master had a big vault. My Mistress was buried in an iron
coffin that they called a potanic coffin. I went back to see her after
I was 21 years old and she look jest like she did when they buried
her. All of the family was buried in them vaults, and I expect if
you'd go there today they'd look the same. The slaves was buried in
good handmade coffins.

I heard a lot of talk 'bout the patrollers. In them days if you went
away from home and didn't have a pass they'd whip you. Sometimes
they'd whip you with a long black cow whip, and then sometime they'd
roast elm switches in the fire. This was called "cat-o-nine-tails",
and they'd whip you with dat. We never had no jails; only punishment
was just to whip you.

Now, the way the slaves travel. If a slave had been good sometimes old
Master would let him ride his hoss; then, sometime they'd steal a hoss
out and ride 'em and slip him back before old Master ever found it
out. There was a man in them days by the name of John Brown. We called
him an underground railroad man, 'cause he'd steal the slaves and
carry 'em across the river in a boat. When you got on the other side
you was free, 'cause you was in a free State, Ohio.

We used to sing, and I guess young folks today does too:

"John Brown's Body Lies A 'moulding In the Clay."

and

"They Hung John Brown On a Sour Apple Tree."

Our slaves all got very good attention when they got sick. They'd send
and get a doctor for 'em. You see old Mistress Mary bought my mother,
father and two children throwed in for $1,100 and she told Master Joe
to always keep her slaves, not to sell 'em and always take good care
of 'em.

When my father went to the army old Master told us he was gone to
fight for us niggers freedom. My daddy was the only one that come back
out of the 13 men that enlisted, and when my daddy come back old
Master give him a buggy and hoss.

When the Yanks come, I never will forget one of 'em was named John
Morgan. We carried old Master down to the barn and hid him in the hay.
I felt so sorry for old Master they took all his hams, some of his
whiskey, and all dey could find, hogs, chickens, and jest treated him
something terrible.

The whitefolks learned my father how to read and write, but I didn't
learn how to read and write 'til I enlisted in the U. S. Army in
1883.

They sent us here (Oklahoma Territory) to keep the immigrants from
settling up Oklahoma. I went to Fort Riley the 1st day of October
1883, and stayed there three weeks. Left Fort Riley and went to Ft.
Worth, Texas, and landed in Henryetta, Texas, on the 14th day of
October 1883. Then, we had 65 miles to walk to Ft. Sill. We walked
there in three days. I was assigned to my Company, Troop G. 9th
Calvary, and we stayed and drilled in Ft. Sill six months, when we was
assigned to duty. We got orders to come to Ft. Reno, Okla., on the 6th
day of January 1885 where we was ordered to Stillwater, Okla., to move
five hundred immigrants under Capt. Couch. We landed there on the 23rd
day of January, Saturday evening, and Sunday was the 24th. We had
general inspection Monday, January 25, 1885. We fell in line of
battle, sixteen companies of soldiers, to move 500 immigrants to the
Arkansas City, Kansas line.

We formed a line at 9:00 o'clock Monday morning and Captain Couch run
up his white flag, and Colonel Hatch he sent the orderly up to see
what he meant by putting up the flag, so Captain Couch sent word back,
"If you don't fire on me, I'll leave tomorrow." Colonel Hatch turned
around to the Major and told him to turn his troops back to the camp,
and detailed three camps of soldiers of the 8th Cavalry to carry
Captain Couch's troop of 500 immigrants to Arkansas City, Kansas.
Troop L., Troop D., and Troop B. taken them back with 43 wagons and
put them over the line of Kansas. Then we were ordered back to our
supply camp at Camp Alice, 9 miles north of Guthrie in the Cimarron
horseshoe bottom. We stayed there about three months, and Capt. Couch
and his colony came back into the territory at Caldwell, Kansas June
1885.

I laid there 'til August 8, then we changed regiments with the 5th
Calvary to go to Nebraska. There was a breakout with the Indians at
Ft. Reno the 1st of July 1885. The Indian Agency tried to make the
Indians wear citizens' clothes. They had to call General Sheridan
from Washington, D. C., to quiet the Indians down. Now, we had to make
a line in three divisions, fifteen miles a part, one non-commissioned
officer to each squad, and these men was to go to Caldwell, Kansas and
bring him to Ft. Reno that night. He came that night, so the next
morning Colonel Brisbane and General Hatch reported to General
Sheridan what the trouble was. General Sheridan called all the Indian
Chiefs together and asked them why they rebelled against the agency,
and they told them they weren't going to wear citizen's clothes.
General Sheridan called his corporals and sergeants together and told
them to go behind the guard house and dig a grave for this Indian
agent in order to fool the Indian Chiefs. Then, he sent a detachment
of soldiers to order the Indian Chiefs away from the guard house and
to put this Indian agent in the ambulance that brought him to Ft. Reno
and take him back to Washington, D. C., to remain there 'til he
returned. The next morning he called all the Indian Chiefs to the
guard house and pointed down to the grave and said that, "I have
killed the agent and buried him there." The Indians tore the feathers
out of their hats rejoicing that they killed the agent.

On the 12th of the same July, we had general inspection with General
Foresides from Washington, then we was ordered back to our supply camp
to stay there 'til we got orders of our change. On August 8, we got
orders to change to go to Nebraska, to Ft. Robinson, Ft. Nibrary, and
Ft. McKinney, and we left on the 8th of August.

This is my Oklahoma history. I gave this story to the Daily Oklahoman
and Times at one time and they are supposed to publish it but they
haven't.

Now you see that tree up there in front of my house? That tree is 50
years old. It is called the potopic tree. That was the only tree
around here in 1882. This was a bald prairie. I enlisted over there
where the City Market sets now. That was our starting camp under Capt.
Payne, but he died.

I joined the A. M. E. Methodist Church in 1874. I love this song
better than all the rest:

"Am I a Soldier of the Cross?"

Abraham Lincoln was a smart man, but he would have done more if he was
not killed. I don't think his work was finished. I'll tell you the
truth about Booker T. Washington. He argued our people to stay out of
town and stay in the country. He was a Democrat. He was a smart man,
but I think a man should live wherever he choose regardless. I never
stopped work whenever I'd hear he was coming to town to speak. You
know they wasn't fighting for freeing the slaves; they was fighting to
keep Kansas from being a slave State; so when they had the North
whipped, I mean the South had 'em whipped, they called for the Negroes
to go out and fight for his freedom. Don't know nothing 'bout Jeff
Davis. I've handled a lots of his money. It was counterfeited after
the War.

I've been married four times. I had one wife and three women. I mean
the three wasn't no good. My first wife's name: Amanda Nelson. 2nd:
Pocahuntas Jackson. 3rd: Nannie Shumpard. We lived together 9 years.
She tried to beat me out of my home.

Oklahoma Writers' Project
Ex-Slaves

MARTHA CUNNINGHAM
(white) Age 81 yrs.
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

My father's name was A. J. Brown, and my mother's name was Hattie
Brown. I was born in the East, in Saveer County, Tennessee. I had
twelve sisters and brothers, all are dead but two. W. S. Brown lives
at 327 W. California, and Maudie Reynolds, my sister lives at
Minrovie, California.

We lived in different kinds of houses just like we do now. Some was of
log, some frame and some rock. I remember when we didn't have stoves
to cook on, no lamps, and not even any candles until I was about six
years old. We would take a rag and sop it in lard to make lights.

All of our furniture was home made, but it was nice. We had just
plenty of every thing. It wasn't like it is in these days where you
have to pick and scrape for something to eat.

My grandfather and grandmother gave my mother and father two slaves,
an old woman and man, when they married. My grandfather owned a large
plantation, and had a large number of slaves, and my father and mother
owned several farms at different places. Our mother and father treated
our slaves good. They ate what we ate, and they stayed with us a long
time after the War. I remember though all of the slave owners weren't
good to their slaves. I have seen 'em take those young fine looking
negroes, put them in a pen when they got ready to whip them, strip
them and lay them face down, and beat them until white whelps arose on
their bodies. Yes, some of them was treated awful mean.

I saw mothers sold from their babies, and babies sold from their
mothers. They would strip them, put them on the auction block and sell
them--bid them off just like you would cattle. Some would sell for
lots of money.

They wouldn't take the slaves to church. I don't remember when the
negroes had their first schools, but it was a long time after the War.

Why, I remember when they'd have those big corn shuckings, flax
pullings, and quilting parties. They would sow acres after acres of
flax, then they would meet at some house or plantation and pull flax
until they had finished, then give a big party. There'd be the same
thing at the next plantation and so on until they'd all in that
neighborhood get their crops gathered. I remember they'd have all
kinds of good eats--pies, cakes, chicken, fish, fresh pork,
beef,--just plenty of good eats.

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