Aunt Rose in 1893

The Tuskaloosa Independent Monitor

THE OLD PLANTATION.

A Rosy Picture of Days Before the War,

 A Typical Antebellum MammyTells About Herself. 

The Bright Side of Slave Life 

The Dances in the Cabins, 

(Lena Bacon Dickson in the Greenville Mountaineer.)

 From childhood's earliest hours has my fancy been charmed, and I have listened with intense rapture to stories and reminiscences connected with the life the old plantation. Particularly is this romance interesting to me as my mother and father owned many slaves, and some few even remained years after "the Surrender." While many are still living scattered far and wide, there exist mutual ties of attachment between the master's family and the ex-slaves and when making occasional visits to "my white folks" they will say, "Mars Joe and Miss Harriet," with the same deference as in former days. Yes! how we love those faithful days. old servants who carried us in infancy in their strong arms, hushed our cries and soothed our pains, and even nourished us from their bosoms. Still humble, respectful and devoted, is it strange that we bestow upon them a deferential kindness, even affection? Under the old regime the nursery of a Southern household was under the particular dominion of some dusky mammy, whose faithfulness had stood the test of years, and in most cases merited the almost absolute jurisdiction given her. Of this once numerous class of servants, now fast passing away, remains Mammy Rose, who is in every respect a typical antebellum mammy, and prides herself on being a "White folks nigger." She is now advanced in years and complains of great "misery" in her limbs, and on rainy days especially does her "rheumatis" trouble her; but notwithstanding her many ills, there is no one like Aunt Rose when company is expected. She can set the nicest table, make the lightest biscuits, and bake a chicken pie fit for the queen's own eating.

It requires but little tact to get her started on her favorite theme, "Souf Carlina" and slavery time, of which she never tires. As I am amanuensis for Aunt Rose, and having finished a letter to one of her numerous relations in "Souf Carlina," I queried, "Where did you say you were raised, Aunt Rose?" 

"I wus born and bred in Anderson county, Souf Carlina, an' honey, I tell you dem's nice folks dat lib out dar; da is all rich. Dar ain't no poor white trash out dar, and sich thing as sellin' butter-milk and turnip-greens I neber heard of till I cum to dis country. You may laf, chile, but dat is God's truth. Honey, my ole marster didn't know his own niggers, he had so many; dare wus more'n two hundred able-bodied men and wimin at de quartah, 'sides de undergrowth." 

"Did you stay at the quarter, Aunt Rose?"

 "You shorly ain't gwine to AX me dat Lord, chile, I was at the head ob dat whole 'stablishment. I toted de keys and gib out de 'visions to dem niggers to cook. I was de mammy, de black mammy; dem chilen wuz de same as mine. I fed 'em out'en dis ole mouf, larn't 'em how to talk, washed and dressed 'em ebery day de Lord sint; and combed da putty little heads, and taught 'em to be nice an' mannerly. Da sho' wus nice chilen, an' honey, da neber gib mammy a word of sass in da libes; and al'us 'spectful an' nice."

 "Aunt Rose, were you the only one that stayed at the house"

 "Why, chile, you don't know nufin' 'bout dem times; dare wus de cook, 'sistant cook, chambermaid, master's body servant, a maid fur mistis, two or three gals 'round 'bout de house. an' no end ob little nigger boys runnin' 'round arter the white boys huntin' up mischief, an' den dare wus de gardener, stable men, woodsmen, an' karage driver an' two maids dat 'tended to de milk and butter. Da wus all horse niggers, much higher quality den de quartah nigger, but on Saturday night all de niggers had passes, an' went unmolested frum one plantation to tother. My young mistis rit many a pass, sayin', 'Let Rose pass and repass 'till 10 o'clock Saturday night,' but you let de patrole ketch dat nigger dout a pass, an' he wud ketch it shore." 

Aunt Rose sat with folded arms and swayed her grizzled head, and said, "them jubiless, honey, we had on Saturday night! I kin hear dat banjo tum, tum, tum, an' de bones in Sambo's hand, rickety-eltek, an' Uncle Dan, he drawed his bow cross dem fiddles strings, jintlemen! you neber seed sich shuflin' as dem niggers had; de prompter wud call, bow to de ladies, right hands 'cross, balance all, den sich cuttin' ob pigeon wings an' scratchin' grabble you neber seed."

 "Aunt Rose, did you not dance, too, when you was young?" 

"Now you is talkin':  dat I did, honey, many an' many is de time I danced wid a glass ob water on my head an' neber spilt a drap. I wus as likely young gal as you eber sot eyes on, an' nun of dem niggers could hold a light to Rose in dem days, an' I couldn't begin to tole you de number dat wus sparkin' arter Rose. I wus de bell ob dat whole plantation, an' toted a high head, an' honey, when mammy married hit wus jist as nice as any white folks wedin', Ole mistis gib me one ob her ole silk dresses, an' fix me up in her ole an' we'uns married right in mistis finery, parlor, an' had as finer wedin' supper as you eber sot down to. You ax my white folks, an' da will tell you." 

*On rainy days, Aunt Rose, how were the men and women employed?"

 "Dare wus plenty to do, honey, an' dare wus'ent no lazy, triflin' niggers in dem days, like da is now. Da all worked, an' had plenty tete an' good warm clo's to war. On rainy days some ob de men wud go to de corn cribs an' chuck an' shell hundreds of bushels ob corn, an' some wud make split baskets fur cottin pickin' time, an' some botum chers, an' make shuck collars an' all sich handy work like dat, an' some ob de wimin folks wud pick de kurkleburs out'en de wool, an" wash hit putty an' white to send hit to de woollen factory to git hit carded into rolls, some wus cardin' bats an' spinnin' thread, an' tother wimin wus weavin' clof an' coverlids, dyin' thread, mendin' an' pachin' dar wus three lums runnin' night and day, fur, honey, hit took sights of wurk to keep dat plantation ob niggers in close."

 "Aunt Rose, was it really true that the niggers were treated so cruelly by the overseers?"

 "Dat oberseer better not beat marster's niggers. Dat wus master's property, an' ebery one ob dem nigger men wus more'n any thousand dollars to marster, an' he wus keerful wid his niggers, down to dem children, yit, an' if dare wus any beatin' to do, marster done hit hisself. Dare wus some folks dat 'bused the niggers, but dat wus onkommon, dess like hit is now; dare wus some mean niggers an' some mean white folks, an' 'stead of puttin' niggers in jail like da do now, da used de lash, but if the niggers dun like marster tole him he never got no lashin'. Marster neber kilt his niggers up wurkin' dem nuther. He gib many a holiday, an' al'us Saturday arter dinner, an' den da went to de kommissary, all standin' in.a row, while mistis set in her cher. an' two wimin delt out rashins, so much flour, meal, bacon an' 'lasses, like to Aunt Cloe's family, and Uncle Dan's family, an' to de ole ones. an' wimin wid children. so much sugar, an' coffee, an' dem niggers knowed better'n to be 'stravagant wid da 'visions, fur knowed da wudn't git no more till Saturday cum again."

 "Aunt Rose, how did the women manage that had babies and small children?" 

"Why, darlin' dar wus'ent no manige to do. Ebery morning de wimin  feched de babies and chilen to de nursery, a long house made fur dat purpose, an' de grannies what was too ole to work fed 'em an' tended to 'em, da wud fill dem big yallow bowls full ob pot-licker an' clabber, an' crumble corn bred in hit, an' dem chil'en wud eat wus dan any pigs, an' tween ten and "leven de wimin wud cum to de house suckle de babies an' again in de an' evenin'. Ole marster laid great store by his wimin dat fetched him a heap of chilen, an' al'us when she had ten and twelve chilen, ole marster set her free, neber quired no more work ob her. But, honey, de biggest time on de old plantation wus when dey made dem trips to Hamburg an' Augusta  to carry dem three an' four hundred bales ob cotton: da wus stir in 'round fur days, cookin' up rashins and gettin' ready to start on de road, honey, in dem days dare wus'ent no railroads like da is now, Da wud be two or three weeks on de road. Da would have ten an' twelve wagins loaded wid cotton bales, and some wid visions an' bed cloes, an' feed for de horses, an' 'fore da got to market dar wud be a string ob wagins a half mile long, wagin after wagin drapped in; but bless your heart , honey, when old your marster come back home, it wus a sight to see what he foch back wid him. Silk dresses and finery fur mistis an' de gals, an' brung ebery one ob us a nice calico dress fur Sunday, an' never foch one woman a dress alike. Great sacks of coffee, sugar, kits of mackerel, an' ebery thing dat was god to eat ole marster foch back on dem trips, an' dat komissary wus filled to de top wid visions dat lasted frum one year to tother." 

Aunt Rose gathered up the corner of her apron and wiped the tears from her withered cheeks as she recalled the affluence and wealth of slavery time, and her voice grew tremulous as she said: 

"Dem wer good ole times, an' mammy neber wanted fur nufin, but now many time mammy ain't got nufin to eat, an' dun no where de next moufful is gwine to cum frum, but I prays an' 'gist keeps on prayin'.

Well, darlin', Ise a thousand times obleeged. You sho' is a good white gal, an' when you want. any thing done, gist hollow cross pailing an' mammy will come." 

Tupelo, Miss., August, 1893..