Slave Narratives: a Folk History of Slavery in the United States From Interviews with Former Slaves, Volume XI, North Carolina Narratives, Part 2

<p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[Pg 192]</SPAN></span></p> <div class='left'> <table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="renaraines"> <tr><td align='left'>N.C. District:</td><td align='left'>No. 2</td></tr> <tr><td align='left'>Worker:</td><td align='left'>T. Pat Matthews</td></tr> <tr><td align='left'>No. Words:</td><td align='left'>779</td></tr> <tr><td align='left'>Subject:</td><td align='left'>RENA RAINES</td></tr> <tr><td align='left'>Person Interviewed:</td><td align='left'>Rena Raines</td></tr> <tr><td align='left'>Editor:</td><td align='left'>G.L. Andrews</td></tr> </table></div> <p>[TR: Date stamp: AUG 17 1937]<br/></p> <hr style="width: 25%;" /> <p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[Pg 193]</SPAN></span></p> <h2>RENA RAINES</h2> <p>"I wus three years ole when de Yankees come through. I do not 'member much 'bout slavery, but I knows a lot my mother tole me.</p> <p>"My mother wus named Vicey Rogers an' my father wus named Bob Hunter. He 'longed ter de Hunters of Wake County an' mother longed ter Marster John Rogers. Her missus' name wus Ann Rogers. I 'members my grandfather on my mother's side but do not 'member any more of my grandparents.</p> <p>"Marse John Rogers wus a ole batchelor before he wus married an' he had 'bout twelve slaves when he married Mis' Ann Hunter. She owned one slave, a colored boy, when she wus married. Her father gave her the slave. The plantation wus between Apex an' Holly Springs in Wake County. All my people lived in Wake County an' I wus born on de plantation. Marster wus good ter his niggers before he wus married, but when she came in it got mighty rough. It got wusser an' wusser till 'bout de time of de surrender. De place wus a Hell on earth, mother said, if dere could ever be one. Missus had slaves whupped fur most any little thing an' den she wud not allow 'em to have much ter eat. My mother tole me all about it, atter de surrender. Mother said Missus runned the plantation an' made it hard fur all de slaves. She jist liked ter see slaves beat almost ter death. Dere wus a lot of niggers whupped in dat neighborhood by the overseers, owners an' patterollers.<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[Pg 194]</SPAN></span></p> <p>"Slaves wus sold 'round from one to a nother 'mongst de white folks. Mother said you jist couldn't tell when you would git whupped. De wurk wus hard from sun to sun. Poor food ter eat, poor clothes, barefooted most of de time, an' a general hard time, till freedom put an end to it. My mother tole me ole man Pasqual Bert who lived near 'em in Wake County had his niggers whupped all day sometimes. He beat 'em unmercifully an sometimes made away wid 'em an' dey wus not seed no more. She said de way he whupped his slaves wus ter lay 'em up an' down on a log wid de bark off. He made 'em lie flat down on dere stomachs an' den buckled 'em on den de overseers beat 'em unmercifully. One time a overseer's wife heard a pat, pat, pat, down at de whuppin' log an' she ax him what it wus an' why he beat niggers from sun to sun an he tole her ole man Bert made 'im do it or else leave. So his wife says 'We will leave, you must not beat any more niggers if we perish to death,' an de overseer left. Mother said ole man Bert fed his little niggers out of a trough like hogs. Ole man Bert also had niggers tied to barrels an whupped.</p> <p>"De grown slaves got one pair shoes a year. Dey wus give ter dem at Xmas. an de chillun didn't have no shoes at all. De clothes wus homemade. De houses wus made out of logs an had stick an dirt chimleys to 'em. De sleepin' places wus bunks fer de grown niggers an de chillun slept on de floor on pallets. A pallet wus made by spreadin' a quilt made of towbaggin' or rags<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[Pg 195]</SPAN></span> on de floor, dat's where de chillun slept in our neighborhood before de surrender.</p> <p>"Mother and father married by jumpin' de broom. Dey put de broom down on de floor den day helt one another's hands an den dey jumped de broom, den day went ter de slave house an' went ter bed. Mother an' father come ter Raleigh atter de surrender an wus married right. Mother an' father lef' ole man Rogers as soon as dey wus free. Dey lived on hardtack an' pickled meat de Yankees give for sometimes den dey went an' stayed wid Mr. Gray Jones an' when I wus a great big girl we lef' an moved ter Chatham County. Pa bought a place, paid for it, built a little house on it an' lived dere until he died.</p> <p>"I married in Chatham County an' lived dere till my husband died den I kept stayin' till all my chillun married off an' I come ter Raleigh ter live wid my son. I had four chilluns. Dey are all dead but de one I live wid.</p> <p>"I have been unable to git out of de house widout help fur a long time. I have heart trouble an' high blood pressure. Slavery wus a right bad thing. I thank God it is over."</p> <p>LE</p> <hr style="width: 95%;" /> <div style="break-after:column;"></div><br />