dat. Him lak dat but when
they got to callin' him, lyin' John McCrorey him git red in de face and
want to fight.

"Poor Marse Johnnie! Wonder if him still livin'. Him marry a rich woman
in Florida but her soon 'vorce him. What her 'vorce him for?
'Pattybility and temper, they say. What I means by pattybility? I 'spect
dat mean de time they was gittin' up in de mornin' and her lam him
'cross de head wid de hairbrush and him take dat same hairbrush, push
her down 'cross de bed and give her a good spankin'. Now you're laughin'
agin but it was no laughin' wid her dat mornin', de way I hear them tell
it."

Project 1885-1
FOLKLORE
Spartanburg Dist 4
July 15, 1937

Edited by:
Elmer Turnage

STORIES FROM EX-SLAVES

"I was born in Newberry County, South Carolina. Near Indian Creek above
Jalapa. My mammy and pa was Charlie and Frances Gilliam. We belonged to
Marse Pettus and Harriet Gilliam who had a big plantation. I married
George Glasgow in the yard of Reid place, by a nigger preacher. My
husband died about 15 years ago.

"I was a young child when de war stopped, and don't remember so much
about slavery times. Marse Pettus and Miss Harriet was good to us. I
never got a whipping, except Misses whipped me once wid just one lick.
Dey give us a small patch of 'bout half acre fer us to raise cotton or
anything we wanted to on it. De master had a big garden and give his
slaves plenty vegetables. We had plenty to eat all de time. My pa,
Charlie, was de foreman of a crowd of slaves, and dere was a white
overseer, too.

"Master Gilliam had a boy dey called 'Bud'. He still lives in Arkansas.
Dey all moved to state of Arkansas sometime atter de war. My master was
a good man, a church man, and he was steward in Tranquil Methodist
Church. Around de place at home he was always singing and in good humor.
I 'member one song he sung dat was like dis:

"Lord, Lord, Heaven--Sweet Heaven,
Lord, Lord, Heaven--Sweet Heaven,
How long will it be?
(repeated three times)

"De first time I come to town was when I was a little child, and when we
got to College Hill, about ten miles from home, I started to run back
home because I heard de train whistle blow.

"Miss Harriet always give us chilluns 'mackaroot tea' fer worms. It's
made from roots of a plant dat grow in de woods. We had to drink it
before breakfast, and it shore had a bitter taste.

"Slavery wasn't good much, I reckon, but I had a good time