say, I moved here
atter de yankees come."

Reference;

Uncle Dave White,
91 years old
Congaree, South Carolina.

=S-260-264-N=
=Project 1885=
=Laura L. Middleton=
=Charleston, S.C.=

=No. Words: 452=

=UNCLE DAVE WHITE=

=_An Old Time Negro_=

Uncle Dave White, one of the waning tribe lives in a simple homestead
down a dusty and wind-swept curved country lane on the out skirt of
McClenville, forty miles North of Charleston rests the simple shanty of
David White, aged Negro, affectionally known to the Negro and white
population for many miles around as "uncle Dave".

His quiet unadulterated mode of living and his never changing grateful
disposition typifies the true Southern Negro of pre-Civil War days; a
race that was commonplace and plentiful at one time, but is now almost
extinct, having dwindled in the face of more adequate educational
facilities.

His homestead, resembling a barn more than a place to live in. To
protect the house against the hazardous affects of imperilling winds,
long poles are made to prop the somewhat dilapidated shanty.

A visit to his home, one dark and dreary day in late December, found him
as usual in the best of spirits. He welcomed the visitors with a
cordiality that would rival the meeting of two long lost friends. The
front has no main entrance; the main door is around the back. There are
conspicuous displays of many ancient burlap bags, heavy laden, hanging
from high rafters, which contained corn and peanuts.

"But why not keep them in your barn, Uncle Dave!" one would ask.

"Well, suh, I keep mah co'n and grain nuts in yuh so mak eye can sta' on
'em," he replies.

A further inspection of the premises revealed other precautions he had
taken against the unwelcomed guests; a crude lock on each door and many
other precautionary measures convicted, that he was willing to take no
unnecessary chances at having his worldly goods stolen.

His age is truly a matter of conjecture. The more you look at him the
more uncertain you become. His droopy carriage and shriveled feature
betray you at first sight. The first impression will lead one to believe
that he is about one hundred years of age, and later it will appear that
he is not that old.

We had known "uncle Dave" for a long time; for years it had been a
familiar sight to see him trudging the streets of the town with burlap
bags thrown across his shoulders containing such household necessities
as g