de slave bosses. Jeff Davis was one o' de
forerunners of de war. Don't know much about him. Booker T. Washington
is a good man. Think he is in office fer a good purpose. I been married
four times, Was young man when I married first time. Gussie Gallman, my
last wife, is living wid me."

Source: Sam Rawls (84), Newberry, S.C.
Interviewer: G.L. Summer, Newberry, S.C. (6/9/37)

=Project 1885-1=
=Folklore=
=Spartanburg, Dist. 4=
=Oct. 13, 1937=

=Edited by:=
=Elmer Turnage=

=STORIES FROM EX-SLAVES=

"I live wid my fourth wife and she is much younger dan me. I am unable
to work and have to stay in bed lots of de time. My wife works at odd
jobs, like washing, ironing and cooking. We rent a two-room house from
Miss Ann Ruff.

"I belonged to John Hiller. He was a good master but he worked his
slaves hard. Dat was in Lexington County.

"I heard dat Gen. Grant said de slaves ought to get 40 acres of land and
a mule so dey could go to work; but dey never got any dat I knows of.
Atter Freedom dey worked as wage earners and share-croppers. Some went
to other farms to get jobs. Dat's about what dey do now, but some of dem
saved a little money and bought farms and some started little businesses
of deir own.

"De Ku Klux didn't have much influence wid de slaves or ex-slaves. As
soon as de war broke, dey went riding up and down de public roads to
catch and beat niggers. My brother run off when dey got atter him. He
went to Orangeburg County and stayed down dere.

"I voted twice den, once at Prosperity and again at Newberry. I was a
Republican, of course. Some of de Niggers of dis state was elected to
office, but dey was not my kinfolks nor special friends. I think niggers
ought to vote so dey could vote fer good white folks; and dey ought to
run fer office if dey could be elected by good white folks.

"I was sixteen years old when de Yankees come through dis country. Dey
caught me in de road and made me go wid dem to Broad River where dey
camped one night. Den dey turned me loose and told me to git. I run as
fast as I could. I followed de setting sun, de road running towards de
sun all de time, and got home about night.

"Since freedom is come de niggers have worked mostly on farms as
share-croppers; some as renters wid deir own crops to raise.

"De present generation of niggers ain't got much sense. Dey work when
dey want to, and have deir own way about it. De old niggers was learned
to work when