up in sto' fer us in de future neither.

"I is a Baptist, and at Padgett's Creek we does not believe in no
back-sliding. 'Once in de Spirit, allus in de Spirit'. A child of your'n
is allus a child of your'n. Dat de way de Baptist teach--once a child of
God, allus God's child. T'ain't no sech thing as drapping back. If you
draps back, you ain't never been no child of de Lawd, and you never had
no business being baptized. Christ was baptized in de waters of Jordan,
won't (weren't) He? Well, He never drapped back, did He? He say we must
follow in His footsteps, didn't He? Well, dar you is, and dat's all dar
is to it.

"God gits in de heads of men to help de aged and de po' also. I never
axes fer nothing, but when I sets around de courthouse and informs men
as I been doing dis evening, de Lawd has dem to drap a nickle or a dime
or a quarter in my hand but He never gits dem to a half of a dollar."

Source: George Briggs, (88) Rt. 2, Union, S. C.
Interviewer: Caldwell Sims, Union, S. C. (7/12/37)

Project 1885-1
FOLKLORE
Spartanburg Dist. 4
July 12, 1937
Edited by:
Elmer Turnage

STORIES FROM EX-SLAVES

"What-so-ever I can find! I traveling dat way over 73 years. If he ax de
Lawd and have faith, he ken do; and iffen he don't have no faith, by den
he can't. When a man comes along dat wants his own way, and he won't pay
no attention to de Lawd, by den de Lawd don't pay him no mind; and so
dat man jest keeps a-gwine on wid his way and he don't never reach de
Cross. Jesus say, 'deny yourself, pick up de Cross and follow Me.'

"I see a man in de courthouse dis morning, and he was like Nicodemus.
Why dat man want to be resto'd back like he was when he was jest 21
years old. I seed him setting down dar in Mr. Perrin's office, and I
knowed his troubles when he 'low dat he done been to every doctor in
town. De trouble was, he never had no faith in de doctors and nobody
else. How could he have faith in Jesus when he never had none in nothing
else? Brother, you has to have faith in your fellowman befo' you has
faith in de Lawd. I don't know how come, but dat's de way it is. My plan
is working by faith. Jesus say, 'Work widout faith ain't nothing; but
work wid faith'll move mountains'.

"Dat man told me he gwine give me a hundred dollars if I rid him of
misery. Dat show he never know nothing 'bout faith.

"If Mr. Emslie Nicholson ax me to rid him of a misery, I couldn't take
no money from