The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1909-08-08
Slave Boy Down South Fled to Yankee Soldiers

eyes, SAIL was a slave. I was
bohn of a slave. My mother married a
Cherokee INDIAN said Joe Storey, a
fireman on a Diamond Joe steamer
My father worked on the plantation
for my master and got pay. The chillun
would be slaves, the property of the
owner of my mother. Yes, Sab! If my
father had been slave and my mother
free, the chillun would have been slaves
and the property of my master, just the
same
81 took after my mother 'ceptin in
color. Ny color is more Indian than
negro. My mother was coal black, but
full blood My hair, you see, is curly
like the negro and my nose is fat. But
my mustaehe is nearly straight.
sfMy sisters hair was straight like
my father s. Her nose was thin and
bent like an Indian S; lips thin like
yours and skin like an Indian. I was
bohn in Jefferson county, Ga. No, l
CANT read nor write. I am 81 years old.
I was Christmas gift to my mother
and she was glad.
My marster's name was Anthony
Storey. He had 800 slaves and never
whipped one nor sold a one.
"Just before the surrender, my mars
ter died Then there was change
the niggers run away and the missus
left the plantation to Tom Morrison,
L h. ~
All the men skun out and left the plan
tation for the boys and women to work.
81 was Is years old then. The boss
sent me to chop wood once. | struck
the axe into a pine knot, and broke a
piece out n the bit. I didn t mean to
and was sorry, but the boss said I done
it to get out n de work, den he struck
me. Then he sent me to beat tan bark.
and the boss boy, just my age, slapped
me-and den I whipped him good.
Whipped by New Boss.
''Then the boss told the missus that l
was bad, unruly niger and ought to
be sold out from the rest of them. So
I was sold on the block for $1,400 to
Tom Morrison, the boss. He told me
that he bought me so IS he could whip
two trees, nv arms stretched out. Den
he tied knots in the black-snake cracker
and showed it to me. He whipped me
, widout no clothes on. Yes, he did whip
me; see dem marks on my back, my
legs and hips? You can feel them with
your fingers.
"My Godl The Indian came up in
me, so I couldn t cry. And den | want
ed revenge.
"Den he sent me down to my mother
| and listened to her and run away. She
| dressed my sores and give me ointment
! and a bundle I kissed her and my
| sister goodbye and started for Marstel
Lincoln s soldiers.
Hunted Mars Lincoln's Men.
"Four days and nights l laid in tn,
thieket, sick. Then [ travelled nights
| met up with three or four other men
''Then | met up with rebel soldiers
and they said, 'Wah you goin', niggerf
| And ! said, Il IN looking for my mars
i ter's cow and boss, and I heard a bel
over in de woods!' I was 80 mile
/ from home then.) They said, well. V,
get home befo dark. or the Yankee sol
diers viii git YOU Lawd They did
II / ANtAON utN bdI L NdHlSu IQPnl II
get me. Then we found more men unit
there was - of u.s.
owe lived off cornfelds and swee
potato patches, raw. Couldn t have
fire nights, on count o. de light; no
, days for de smoke.
"Then we travelled night. When W
come to de High Tower or Chatta
hooekee river, some of de men couldn
swim. But me and another could, an
we swan across and tore down a mus
cadine vine and tied it to a log an
swan across and ferried 'em acros.
one by one.
"The next day we could hear til
, guns at Atlanta, all day long. We die
n t sleep, just listened and reioicte
quiet to ourselves Couldn I make n
noise, just sort o laughed to ourselves
cause we could hear the Yankee gum
Sound like Abe Lincoln was in d