my first life in Virginia wus better den it is now. I
never did have any mean white folks. De Lord made me lucky in dat way.
De Yankees took, stole, an' carried off a lot of things an' dere wus a
lot of talk 'bout 'em, but I never saw 'em 'cept when dey wus paradin'.
I never seed any of 'em down dere at my marster's plantation.

"My grandfather died in Raleigh. Grandmother wus de mother of thirteen
chilluns but none of 'em 'cept two ever seed Raleigh. Dey wus so
scattered 'bout 'cept de two younges', a boy an' a girl. Dey come to
Raleigh atter de surrender when grandmother an' me come. We lived
worser in Raleigh den we did in Virginia, an' if I wus back home wid my
white folks I would git plenty to eat but I don't git it here. Dey
sends me a little money now an' den. Here is some of dere letters where
dey sent me money. You can see by dese letters dat my Virginia white
folks loves me an' I love dem.

"I wus 'bout ten years ole when de war wus goin' on. I think slavery
wus not such a bad thing 'pared wid de hard times now."

EH

N.C. District: No. 2
Worker: Mary A. Hicks
No. Words: 794
Subject: SLAVERY DAYS IN FRANKLIN COUNTY
Story teller: Lily Perry
Editor: Geo. L. Andrews

[TR: Date stamp: JUL 24 1937]

SLAVERY DAYS IN FRANKLIN COUNTY

An interview with Lily Perry, 84 years old, of 9 McKee Street, Raleigh,
N.C.

"I wus borned on de plantation of Mister Jerry Perry near Louisburg,
about eighty-four years ago. My daddy, Riddick, 'longed ter him an' so
did my mammy, do she 'longed ter a Mis' Litchford 'fore she married
daddy.

"De fust things dat I can remember wus bein' a house gal, pickin' up
chips, mindin' de table an' feedin' de hogs. De slop buckets wus heavy
an' I had a heap of wuck dat wus hard ter do. I done de very best dat I
could but often I got whupped jist de same.

"When dey'd start ter whup me I'd bite lak a run-mad dog so dey'd chain
my han's. See hyar, hyars de scars made by de chains. Dey'd also pick
me up by de years an' fling me foun',[TR: roun'] see hyar, I can wiggle
my years up an' down jist lak a mule can, an' I can wiggle' em roun'
an' roun' lak dat, see!

"One day I ain't feelin' so good an' de slops am so heavy dat I stops
an' pours out some of it. De oberseer, Zack Terrell, sees me an' when I
gits back ter de house he grabs me ter whup me.

"De minute he grabs me I seize on ter his thumb an' I bites hit ter de
bone, den he g