know nothin' 'bout.

"I know dat Mis' Mitchel done wrong when she ain't give us enough ter
eat, an' when she whup Aunt Pidea 'bout bein' crazy, but I 'members
somethin' else dat make me tender towards her an' other white folkses.

"I 'members dat Mis' Mitchel used ter take me visitin' ter white
folkses houses an' some o' dem hates niggers an' won't give me no place
ter sleep, 'cept on de floor by missus bed. Sometimes I can feel her
now, kiverin' me up wid her own clothes durin' de night or feelin' me
to see if I'm chilly or too hot."

AC

N.C. District: No. 2
Worker: T. Pat Matthews
No. Words: 1108
Subject: ALEX WOODS
Story teller: Alex Woods
Editor: Daisy Bailey Waitt

ALEX WOODS
Ex-Slave Story

8 Ford Alley--end of Martin Street, Raleigh, N.C.

"My name is Alex Woods. I wus born May 15, 1858. In slavery time, I
belonged to Jim Woods o' Orange County. De plantation wus between
Durham and Hillsboro near de edge o' Granville County. My missus name
wus Polly Woods. Dey treated us tolerable fair, tolerable fair to a
fellow. Our food wus well cooked. We were fed from de kitchen o' the
great house.

"We called marster's house de 'great house' in dem times. We called de
porch de piazza. We were fed from de kitchen o' his house during de
week. We cooked and et at our homes Saturday nights and Sundays. We
wove our clothes; children had only one piece, a long shirt. We went
barefooted, an' in our shirt tails; we youngins' did.

"We did not have any shoes winter nor summer, but mother and father had
shoes with wooden bottoms an' leather tops. Dr. Tupper, de man who was
principal of de Shaw School, de man who started de school and de church
on Blount St., gave me my first pair o' shoes. Dis wus the second year
after de surrender. I wus nine years ole den. Dey were boots wid brass
on de toes, solid leather shoes, made in Raleigh on Fayetteville
Street in de basement o' Tucker's Dry Goods Store, 'bove de Masonic
Temple as you go up. Ole man Jim Jones, a colored shoe maker, worked in
dis shop.

"I can read, but I cannot write, 'cause I've been run over three times
by automobiles. Once my buggy wus torn to pieces, an' I wus knocked
high in de air. De first time dey run into me dey killed my hoss. De
third time dey paralized my arm and busted the linin' o' my stomach.

"I learned to read an' write since de surrender by studying in spare
time. Dey wouldn't let any sl