day break and dem wen we got
dar why all de rest of the daughters en sons of dar chilluns was alredy
that, den weun's hev a big time wid watermullins and ebything good to
eat. Some times Uncle Ben brot hid bajo and us chilluns would dance.
Ques: Annie did you ever have a dream to come true? Or do you believe in
dreams?
Ans: Sho does, sho does, why chile all my dream come true. I recollect
one wen my son was sick, I felt he wont gwine to git well. I asked him,
"Was he right with God", he says, "Dar is nuthin between me and de
Lawd". Den afterwards, I begin to worry gin about dis boy, I prays "De
Lawd" and ax him ter let me drem a drem bout him an nite time I did, I
could see dis boy jist as plaincrossing "Judgment Stream" and I says to
him in my drem, I say, "You come my son, he's crossin Judgment Stream, I
says ter ole man go in and hep him" and my son says to me, "I'm crossing
Judgment Stream, Mammy, and I got to cross it myself". I says "I no you
are cold now". I dreamed I spread a rug round him den he disappeared,
inter de building, by dat time I woke up so happy. Oh, Lawd, ter no my
boy was in Heben. I am sho I would not dremed dat drem unless "De Lawd"
tended me ter no my boy was saved. I sho nos dis boy is in Heben.
"Wen me an my man was married all de colored folks in the neighborhood
come to ma's and weums my husband and me jumped o'er the broom stick an
we was been married, ebery since. In dese days hit were too far ter go
git a preacher an most colored folks married dat way."
Story of Cora Torian: (217 W. 2nd St., Hopkinsville, Ky.--Age 71.)
Bell Childress, Cora's Mother, was a slave of Andrew Owen. He purchased
Belle Childress in the Purchase and brought her to Christian County.
Cora was born in Christian County on Mr. Owen's farm and considered
herself three years old at the end of the Civil War. She told me as
follows:
"I has dreamed of fish and dat is a sure sign dat I would git a piece of
money, an I always did. Dreamed of buggy and horse an it was a sign of
death in family and I no's hits tru. Dream of de ded hit always rains.
My Mistus and Marster fed and clothed us good and we lived in a little
log cabin of one room and cooked on an open fire. Some Marsters wud
whoop ther slaves til the blood would run down daw backs dese slaves
would run away sometimes den sum would come to Ise Marse and would have
to send dem back to dar own marsters and how my ole marster hated to see
dem go.
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