tc., and the men cut fire wood, or worked in the
garden, and special truck crops. Christmas? Christmas was a holiday, but
the fourth of July meant very little to the slave people. Dances? There
was lots of dancing. It was the pastime of the slave race. The children
played shimmy and other games, imitating the white children, sometimes
with the white folks.

"The master and mistress were very particular about the slave girls. For
instance, they would be driving along and pass a girl walking with a
boy. When she came to the house she would be sent for and questioned
something like this: 'Who was that young man? How come you with him?
Don't you ever let me see you with that ape again. If you cannot pick a
mate better than that I'll do the picking for you.' The explanation: The
girl must breed good strong serviceable children.

"No, I never saw a ghost, but there was a general belief among the race
in ghosts, spirits, haunts and conjuration. Many believe in them yet. I
can never forget the fright of the time my young master, William was
going off to the war. The evening before he went, a whippoorwill lighted
on the window sill and uttered the plaintive 'whip-poor-will.' All the
slaves on the place were frightened and awed and predicted bad luck to
Master Will. He took sick in war and died, just wasted away. He was
brought back in rags toward the end of the struggle.

"Mistress always gave the slaves a big dinner on New Year's Day and
talked to us out of the catechism. She impressed on us after dinner that
time, that we were free. Some were sorry, some hurt, but a few were
silent and glad. I and many of the others had been well treated. When we
were sick she visited us and summoned a doctor the first thing, but the
remedies those days were castor oil, quinine, turpentine, mustard
plaster and bleeding."

=Project 1885 -1-=
=District #4=
=Spartanburg, S.C.=
=May 29, 1937=

=FOLK-LORE: EX-SLAVE=

"I was born about 1846, 'cause I was in de war and was 19 years old when
de war was over. I went to Charleston with my master, Ros Atwood, my
mistress's brother. My mistress was Mrs. Laura Rutherford and my master
at home was Dr. Thomas Rutherford. We was on Morris Island.

"My father was Allen Rutherford and my mother Barbara Rutherford. My
daddy had come from Chili to this country, was a harness maker, and
belonged awhile to Nichols. We had a good house or hut to live in, and
my work was to drive cows till I was