Mississippi Federal Writers

       Slave Autobiographies

       Jim Allen, Clay Co.

       FEC

       Mrs. Ed Joiner

       [JIM ALLEN

       West Point, Mississippi]

       Table of Contents

      Jim Allen, West Point, age 87, lives in a shack furnished by the city. With him lives his second wife, a much older woman. Both he and his wife have a reputation for being "queer" and do not welcome outside visitors. However, he readily gave an interview and seemed most willing to relate the story of his life.

      "Yas, ma'm, I 'members lots about slav'ry time, 'cause I was old 'nough.

      "I was born in Russell County, Alabamy, an' can tell you 'bout my own mammy an' pappy an' sisters an' brudders.

      "Mammy's name was Darkis an' her Marster was John Bussey, a reg'lar old drunkard, an' my pappy's name was John Robertson an' b'longed to Dr. Robertson, a big farmer on Tombigbee river, five miles east of Columbus. De doctor hisself lived in Columbus.

      "My sister Harriett and brudder John was fine fiel' hands an' Marster kep' 'em in de fiel' most of de time, tryin' to dodge other white folks.

      "Den dere was Sister Vice an' brudder George. Befo' I could 'member much, I 'members Lee King had a saloon close to Bob Allen's store in Russell County, Alabama, and Marse John Bussey drunk my mammy up. I means by dat, Lee King tuk her an' my brudder George fer a whiskey debt. Yes, old Marster drinked dem up. Den dey was car'ied to Florida by Sam Oneal, an' George was jes a baby. You know, de white folks wouldn't often sep'rate de mammy an' baby. I ain't seen' em since.

      "Did I work? Yes ma'm, me an' a girl worked in de fiel', carryin' one row; you know, it tuk two chullun to mek one han'.

      "Did we have good eatins? Yes ma'm, old Marster fed me so good, fer I was his pet. He never 'lowed no one to pester me neither. Now dis Marster was Bob Allen who had tuk me for a whiskey debt, too. Marse Bussey couldn't pay, an' so Marse Allen tuk me, a little boy, out'n de yard whar I was playin' marbles. De law 'lowed de fust thing de man saw, he could take.

      "I served Marse Bob Allen 'til Gen'al Grant come 'long and had me an' some others to follow him to Miss'sippi. We was in de woods hidin' de mules an' a fine mare. Dis was after Emanc'pation, an' Gen'al Grant was comin' to Miss'sippi to tell de niggers dey was free.

      "As I done tol' you, I was Marse Allen's pet nigger boy. I was called a stray. I slep' on de flo' by old Miss an' Marse Bob. I could'a slep' on de trun'le bed, but it was so easy jes to roll over an' blow dem ashes an' mek dat fire burn.

      "Ole Miss was so good, I'd do anything fer her. She was so good an' weighed' round 200 poun's. She was Marse Bob's secon' wife. Nobody 'posed on me, No, Sir! I car'ied water to Marse Bob's sto' close by an' he would allus give me candy by de double han'full, an' as many juice harps as I wanted. De bes' thing I ever did eat was dat candy. Marster was good to his only stray nigger.

      "Slave niggers didn't fare wid no gardens 'cept de big garden up at de Big House, when fiel' han's was called to wuk out hers (old Miss). All de niggers had a sight of good things to eat from dat garden an' smoke house.

      "I kin see old Lady Sally now, cookin' for us niggers, an' Ruth cooked in de white folk's kitchen. Ruth an' old Man Pleas' an' old Lady Susan was give to Marse Bob when he mar'ied an' come to Sandford, Alabamy.

      "No, dere wa'nt no jails, but a guard house. When niggers did wrong, dey was oft'n sent dere, but mos' allus dey was jes whupped when too lazy to wuk, an' when dey would steal.

      "Our clo'es was all wove and made on de plan'ation. Our ever'day ones, we called 'hick'ry strips.' We had a' plen'y er good uns. We was fitted out an' out each season, an' had two pairs of shoes, an' all de snuff an' 'bacco we wanted every month.

      "No, not any weddin's. It was kinder dis way. Dere was a good nigger man an' a good nigger woman, an' the Marster would say, 'I knows you both good niggers an' I wants you to be man an' wife dis year an' raise little niggers; den I won't have to buy' em.'

      "Marse Bob lived in a big white house wid six rooms. He had a cou't house an' a block whar he hired out niggers, jes like mules an' cows.

      "How many slaves did us have? Les' see. Dere was old Lady Sally an' her six chullun an' old Jake, her husban', de ox driver, fer de boss. Den dere was old Starlin', Rose, his wife an' fo' chullun. Some of dem was mixed blood by de oberseer. I sees 'em right now. I knowed de oberseer was nothin' but po' white trash, jes a tramp. Den dere was me an' Katherin. Old Lady Sally cooked for de oberseers, seven miles 'way frum de Big House.

      "Ever'body was woke up at fo' o'clock by a bugle blowed mos'ly by a nigger, an' was at dey work by sun-up. Den dey quits at sunset. I sho' seed bad niggers whupped as many times as dere is leaves on dat groun'. Not Marse Bob's niggers, but our neighbors. We was called 'free,' 'cause Marse Bob treated us so good. The whuppin' was done by de oberseer or driver, who would say as he put de whup to de back, 'Pray sir, pray sir!'

      "I seed slaves sol' oft'ener dan you got fingers an' toes. You know I tol' you dere was a sellin' block close to our sto'. Den plen'y niggers had to be chained to a tree or post 'cause he would run 'way an' wouldn' wuk.

      "Dey would track de runways wid dogs an' sometimes a white scal'wag or slacker wud be kotched dodgin' duty. I seed as many deserters as I see corn stalks ober in dat fiel'. Dey would hide out in day time an' steal at night.

      "No'm I didn' learn to read an' write but my folks teached me to be honest an' min' Old Miss an' Granny. Dey didn' want us to learn how to go to de free country.

      "We had a neighborhood chu'ch an bofe black an' white went to it. Dere was a white preacher an' sometimes a nigger preacher would sit in de pulpit wid him. De slaves set on one side of de aisle an' white folks on de other. I allus liked preacher Williams Odem, an' his brudder Daniel, de 'Slidin' Elder'.[FN: back slider] Dey come frum Ohio. Marse Bob Allen was head steward. I' members lots of my fav'rite songs. Some of dem was, Am I born to Die, Alas and Did my Savior Bleed, an' Must I to de Judgment be Brought. The preacher would say 'Pull down de line and let de spirit be a witnes,