ng of the Civil War all the slaves talked among themselves
concerning the possible outcome of the war. However, they never let the
master or the overseer hear them because it meant a whipping.

When Sherman and his army marched through they burned all the gin houses
on the Ormond plantation and took all the available live stock. Mr.
Ormond took a few prized possessions and a few slaves (one of whom was
Mr. Eason) and fled to Augusta, Ga.

After freedom was declared he was still held in bondage and hired out by
the day. Once he ran away but was found and brought back. In 1867 the
remaining members of the Ormond family moved to Atlanta, bringing him
along with them. After most of them had died he was finally permitted to
go or stay as he pleased.

Immediately after freedom had been declared he had the good fortune to
find his father. However, he never got a chance to spend any time with
him as the Ormonds refused to release him.

Says Mr. Eason: "Slavery had a good point in that we slaves always felt
that somebody was going to take care of us." He says that he has heard
some wish for the good old days but as for himself he prefers things to
remain as they are at present.

PLANTATION LIFE AS VIEWED BY EX-SLAVE

CALLIE ELDER, Age 78
640 W. Hancock Avenue
Athens, Georgia

Written by:
Sadie B. Hornsby
Athens

Edited by:
Sarah H. Hall
Athens

Leila Harris
Augusta

and
John N. Booth
District Supervisor
Federal Writers' Project
Residencies 6 & 7
[JUN 6 1938]

Callie lives with her daughter, Cornelia, in a 6-room house near the
crest of a hill. Their abode is a short distance from the street and is
reached by steep stone steps. In response to the call for Callie, a tall
mulatto woman appeared. Her crudely fashioned blue dress was of a coarse
cotton fabric and her dingy head rag had long lost its original color.
Straight black hair, streaked with gray, and high cheek bones gave the
impression that in her ancestry of mixed races, Indian characteristics
predominate. Her constant use of snuff causes frequent expectoration and
her favorite pastime seems to be the endeavor to attain an incredible
degree of accuracy in landing each mouthful of the amber fluid at the
greatest possible distance. As she was about to begin conversation, a
little yellow boy about five years old ran into the room and Callie
said: "'Scuse me please, I can't talk 'til I gits my grandboy off so he
won't be late to school at Little