Thomas Cole

Thomas Cole was born in Jackson Co., Alabama, on the 8th of August, 1845, a slave of Robert Cole . He ran away in 1861 to join the Union Army. He fought at Chickamauga, under Gen. Rosecran and at Chattanooga, Look Out Mt. and Orchard Knob, under Gen. Thomas . After the war he worked as switchman in Chattanooga until his health failed due to old age. He then Came to Texas and lives with his daughter, in Corsicana. Thomas is blind.

I might as well begin far back as I remember and tell you all about myself. I was born over in Jackson County, in Alabama, on August 8, 1845. My mother was Elizabeth Cole , her bein' a slave of Robert Cole , and my father was Alex Gerrand , 'cause he was John Gerrand's slave. I was sposed to take my father's name, but he was sech a bad, ornery, no count sech a human, I jes' taken my old massa's name. My mother was brung from Virginny by Massa Dr. Cole , and she nussed all his six chillen. My sister's name was Sarah and my brother's name was Ben and we lived in one room of the big house, and allus had a good bed to sleep in and good things to eat at the same table, after de white folks gits through. "I played with Massa Cole's chillen all de time, and when I got older he started me workin' by totin' wood and sech odd jobs, and feedin' de hawgs. Us chillen had to pick cotton every fall. De big baskets weigh about seventy-five to a hundred pounds, but us chillen put our pickin's in some growed slave's basket. De growed slaves was jes' like a mule. He work for grub and clothes, and some of dem didn't have as easier a time as a mule, for mules was fed good and slaves was sometimes half starved. But Massa Cole was a smart man and a good man with it. He had 'spect for the slaves' feelin's and didn't treat dem like dumb brutes, and 'lowed dem more privileges dan any other slaveholder round dere. He was one of de best men I ever knows in my whole life and his wife was jes' like him. Dey had a bit, four-room log house with a big hall down the center up and down. De loge was all peeled and de chinkin' a diff'rent color from de logs and covered with beads. De kitchen am 3 one-room house behin' de big house with de big chimney to cook on. Dat where all de meals cooked and carry to de house. In winter massa allus kill from three to four hundred hawgs, de two killin's he done in November and January. Some kill and stick, some scald and scrape, and some dress dem and cut dem up and render de lard. Dey haul plenty hick'ry wood to de smokehouse and de men works in shifts to keep de smoke fire goin' sev'ral days, den hangs de meat in de meathouse. First us eat all de chitlin's, den massa begin issuin' cut-back bones to each fam'ly, and den 'long come de spareribs, den de middlin' or a shoulder, and by dat time he kill de second time and dis was to go all over 'gain. Each fam'ly git de same kind of meat each week. Iffen one git a ham, dey all git a ham. All de ears and feet was pickle and we eats dem, too. If de meat run out 'fore killin' time, us git wild turkeys or kill a beef or a goat, or git a deer. "Massa let us plant pumpkins and have a acre or two for watermelons, iffen us work dem on Saturday evenin's. Dere a orchard of 'bout five or six acres peaches and apples and he 'low us to have biscuits once a week. Yes, we had good eatin' and plenty of it den. "Massa had one big, stout, healthy lookin' slave 'bout six foot, four inches tall, what he pay $3,000 for. He bought six slaves I knows of and give from $400 up for dem. He never sold a slave 'less he git unruly. "Massa allus give us cotton clothes for summer and wool for winter, 'cause he raised cotton and sheep. Den each fam'ly have some chickens and sell dem and de eggs and maybe go huntin' and sell de hides and git some money. Den us buy what am Sunday clothes with dat money, sech as hats and pants and shoes and dresses.

"We'd git up early every day in de year, rain or shine, hot or cold. A slave blowed de horn and dere no danger of you not wakin' up when dat blowed long and loud. He climb up on a platform 'bout ten feet tall to blow dat bugle. We'd work till noon and eat in de shade and rest 'bout a hour or a little more iffen it hot, but only a hour if it cold. You is allus tired when you makes de day like dat on de plantation and you can't play all night like de young folks does now. But us lucky, 'cause Massa Cole don't whip us. De man what have a place next ours, he sho' whip he slaves. He have de cato-nine tails of rawhide leather platted round a piece of wood for a handle. De wood 'bout ten inches long and de leather braided on past de stock quite a piece, and 'bout a foot from dat all de strips tied in a knot and sprangle out, and makes de tassel. Dis am call de cracker and it am what split de hide. Some folks call dem bullwhips, 'stead of cat-o-nine tails. De first thing dat man do when he buy a slave, am give him de whippin'. He call it puttin' de fear of Gawd in him. "Massa Cole 'low us read de Bible. He awful good 'bout dat. Most de slave owners wouldn't 'low no sech. Uncle Dan he read to us and on Sunday we could go to church. De preacher baptize de slaves in de river. Dat de good, old-time 'ligion, and us all go to shoutin' and has a good time. Dis gen'ration too dig'fied to have de old-time 'ligion. "When baptizin' comes off, it almost like goin' to de circus. People come from all over and dey all singin' songs and everybody take dere lunch and have de good time. Massa Cole went one time and den he git sick, and next summer he die. Missy Cole, she moves to Buntsville, in Alabama. But she leave me on de plantation, 'cause I'm big and stout den. She takes my mother to cook and dat de lest time I ever seed my mother. Missy Cole buys de fine house in Huntsville my mother tells me to be good and do all de overseer tells me. I told her goodbye and she never did git to come back to see me, and I never seed her and my brother and sister 'gain. I don't know whether dey an sold or not. "I thinks to myself, dat Mr. Anderson , de overseer, he'll give me dat cat-o-nine tails de first chance he gits, but makes up my mind he won't git de chance, 'cause I's gwine run off de first chance I gits. I didn't know how to git out of dere, but I's gwine north where dere ain't no slaveowners. In a year or so dere am 'nother overseer, Mr. Sandson , and he give me de log house and de gal to do my cookin' and sich. Dere am war talk and we 'gins gwine to de field earlier and stayin' later. Corn am haul off, cotton am haul off, hawgs and cattle am rounded up and haul off and things 'gins lookin' bad. De war am on, but us don't see none of it. But 'stead of eatin' cornbread, us eats bread out of kaffir corn and maize. "e raises lots of okra and dey say it gwine be parch and grind to make coffee for white folks. Dat didn't look good either. Dat winter, 'stead of killin' three or four hundred hawgs like we allus done befo', we only done one killin' of a hundred seventy-five, and dey not all big ones, neither. When de meat supply runs low, Mr. Sandson sends some slaves to kill a deer or wild hawgs or jes' any kind of game. He never sends me in any dem bunches but I hoped he would and one day he calls me to go and says not to go off de plantation too far, but be sho' bring home some meat. Dis de chance I been wantin', so when we gits to de huntin' ground de leader says to scatter out, and I tells him me and 'nother man goes north and make de circle round de river and meet 'bout sundown. I crosses de river and goes north. I's gwine to de free country, where dey ain't no slaves. I travels all dat day and night up de river and follows de north star. Sev'ral times I thunk de blood houn's am trailin' me and I gits in de big hurry. I's so tired I couldn't hardly move, but I gits in a trot.

"I's hopin' and prayin' all de time I meets up with dat Harriet Tubman woman. She de cullud women what takes slaves to Canada. She allus travels de underground railroad, dey calls it, travels at night and hides out in de day. She sho' sneaks dem out de South and I thinks she's de brave woman. I eats all de nuts and kills a few swamp rabbits and cotches a few fish. I builds de fire and goes off 'bout half a mile and hides in de thicket till it burns down to de coals, den bakes me some fish and rabbit. I's shakin' all de time, 'fraid I'd git cotched, but I's nearly starve to death. I puts de rest de fish in my cap and travels on dat night by de north star and hides in a big thicket de nex' day and along evenin' I hears guns shootin'. I sho' am scart dis time, sho' 'nough I's scart to come in and scart to go out, and while I's standin' dere, I hears two men say, 'Stick you hands up, boy. What you doin?' I says, 'Uh-uh-uh. I dunno. You ain't gwine take me back to de plantation, is you?' Dey says, 'No. Does you want to fight for de North?' I says I will. 'cause dey talks like northern men. Us walk night and day and gits in Gen. Rosecran's camp and dey thunk I's de spy from de South. Dey asks me all sorts of questions and says dey'll whip me if I didn't tell dem what I's spyin' 'tout. Fin'ly dey 'lieves me and puts me to work helpin' with de cannons. I feels 'portant den, but I didn't know what was in front of me, or I 'spects I'd run off 'gain.

I helps sot dem cannons on dis Chickamauga Mountain, in hidin' places, I has to go with a man and wait on him and dat cannon. First thing I knows, bang, bang, boom, things has started, and guns am shootin' fester dan you can think, and I looks round for de way to run. But dem guns am shootin' down de hill in front of me and shootin' at me, and over me and on both sides of me. I tries to dig me a hole and git in it. All dis happen right now, and first thing I knows, de man am kickin' me and wantin' me to help him keep dat cannon loaded. Man, I didn't want no cannon, but I has to help anyway. We fit till dark and de Rebels got more men dan us, so Gen. Rosecran sends de message to Gen. Woods to come help us out. When de messenger slips off, I sho' wish it am me slippin' off, but I didn't want to see no Gen. Woods. I jes' wants to git back to dat old plantation and pick more cotton. I'd been willin' to do mos' anything to git out that mess, but I done told Gen. Rosecran I wants to fight de Rebels and he sho' was lettin' me do it. He wasn't jes' lettin' me do it, he was makin' me do it. I done got in dere and he wouldn't let me out.White folks, dere was men layin' wantin' help, wantin' water, with blood runnin' out dem and de top or sides dere heads gone, great big holes in dem. I jes' promises de good Lawd if he jes' let me git out dat mess, I wouldn't run off no more, but I didn't know den he wasn't gwine let me out with jes' dat battle. He gwine give me plenty more, but dat battle ain't over yet, for nex' mornin' de Rebels 'gins shootin' and killin' lots of our men, and Gen. Woods ain't come. so Gen. Rosecran orders us to 'treat, and didn't have to tell me what he said, neither. De Rebels comes after us, shootin', and we runs off and leaves dat cannon what I was with settin' on de hill, and I didn't want dat thing nohow

We kep' hotfootin' till we gits to Chattanooga and dere is where we stops. Here comes one dem Rebel generals with de big bunch of men and gits right on top of Look Out Mountain, right close to Chattanooga, and wouldn't let us out. I don't know jes' how long, but a long time. Lots our hosses and mules starves to death and we eats some de hosses. We all like to starve to death ourselves. Chattanooga is in de bend de Tennessee River and on Look Out Mountain, on de east, am dem Rebels and could keep up with everything we done. After a long time a Gen. Thomas gits in some way. He finds de rough trail or wagon road round de mountain 'long de river and supplies and men com s by boat up de river to dis place and comes on into Chattanooga. More Union men kep' comin' and I guess maybe six or eight generals and dey gits ready to fight. It am long late in Fall or early winter. "Dey starts climbin' dis steep mountain and when us gits three-fourths de way up it am foggy and you couldn't see no place. Everything wet and de rocks am slick and dey 'gins fightin'. I 'spect some shoots dere own men, 'cause you couldn't see nothin', jes' men runnin' and de guns roarin'. Fin'ly dem Rebels fled and we gits on Look Out Mountain and takes it. Dere a long range of hills leadin' 'way from Look Out Mountain, nearly to Missionary Ridge. Dis ridge 'longside de Chickamauga river, what am de Indian name, meanin' River of Death. Dey lights de Rebels on Orchard Knob hill and I wasn't in dat, but I's in de Missionary Ridge battle. We has to come out de timber and run 'cross a strip or openin' up de hill. Dey sho' kilt lots our men when we runs 'cross dat openin'. We runs for all we's worth and uses guns or anything we could. De Rebels turns and runs off and our soldiers turns de cannons round what we's capture. and kilt some de Rebels with dere own guns.I never did git to where I wasn't scart when we goes into de battle. Dis de last one I's in and I's sho' glad, for I never seed de like of dead and wounded men. We picks dem up, de Rebels like de Unions, and doctors dem de bes' we could. When I seed all dat sufferin', I hopes I never lives to see 'nother war. Dey say de World War am worse but I's too old to go. "I sho' wishes lots of times I never run off from de plantation. I begs de General not to send me on any more battles, and he says I's de coward and sympathizes with de South. But I tells him I jes' couldn't stand to see all dem men layin' dere dyin' and hollerin' and beggin' for help and a drink of water, and blood everywhere you looks. Killin' hawgs back on de plantation didn't bother me none, but dis am diff'rent. "Fin'ly de General tells me I can go back to Chattanooga and guard de supplies in camp dere end take care de wounded soldiers and prisoners. A bunch of men is with me and we has all we can do. We gits de orders to send supplies to some general and it my job to help load de wagons or box cars or boats. A train of wagons leaves sometimes. We gits all dem supplies by boat, and Chattanooga am de 'stributing center. When winter comes, everybody rests awhile and waits for Spring to open. De Union general sends in some more cullud soldiers. Dere ain't been many cullud men but de las' year de war dere am lots. De North and de South am takin' anything dey can git to win de war. When Spring breaks and all de snow am gone, and de trees 'gins puttin' out and everything 'gins to look purty and peaceable-like, makin' you think you ought to be plowin' and plantin' a crop, dat when de fightin' starts all over 'gain, killin' men and burnin' homes and stealin' stock and food. Den dey sends me out to help clear roads and build temp'rary bridges. We walks miles on muddy ground, 'cross rivers, wadin' water up to cur chins. We builds rafts and pole bridges to git de mules and hosses and cannons 'cross, and up and down hills, and cuts roads through timber. But when dey wants to battle Gen. Thomas allus leaves me in come to tend de supplies. He calls me a coward, and I sho' glad he thunk I was. I wasn't no coward, I jes' couldn't stand to see all dem people tore to pieces. I hears 'bout de battle in a thick forest and de trees big as my body jes' shot down. I seed dat in de Missionary Ridge battle, too. "I shifts from one camp to 'nother and fin'ly gits back to Chattanooga. I bet durin' my time I handles 'nough ammunition to kill everybody in de whole United States. I seed mos' de meanest generals in de Union Army and some in de Rebel Army. "After de war am over we's turned loose, nowhere to go and nobody to help us. I couldn't go South, for dey calls me de traitor and sho' kill me iffen dey knows I fit for de North. I does any little job I can git for 'bout a year and fin'ly gits work on de railroad, in Stevenson, in Alabama. I gits transfer to Chattanooga and works layin' new tracks and turn tables and sich. "In 'bout two weeks I had saw a gal next door, but I's bashful. But after payday I dresses up and takes her to a dance. We sparks 'bout two months and den we's married at her uncles. Her name am Nancy . We buys a piece of land and I has a two-room house built on it. We has two chillen and I's livin' with de baby gal now. "I 'lieve de slaves I knowed as a whole was happier and better off after 'mancipation dan befo'. Of course, de first few years it was awful hard to git 'justed to de new life. All de slaves knowed how to do hard work, and dat de old slaves life, but dey didn't know nothin' 'bout how to 'pend on demselves for de livin'. My first year was hard, but dere was plenty wild game in dem days. De south was broke and I didn't hear of no slaves gittin' anything but to crop on de halves. Dey too glad to be free and didn't want nothin'.

Things 'gin to git bad for me in Chattanooga as de white men finds out I run off from de South and jined de North. Some de brakemen try to git my job. I fin'ly quits when one of dem opens a switch I jus' closed. I seed him and goes back and fixes de switch, but I quits de job. I goes up north but dey ain't int'rested, so I comes back and sells my home and buys me a team and wagon. I loads it with my wife and chillen and a few things and starts for Texas. We's on de road 'bout six weeks or two months. We fishes and hunts every day and de trip didn't cost much. I buys ninety acres in timber in Cast County and cuts logs for a house and builds a two-room house and log crib. My wife built a stomp lot for de team and cow and a rail fence. "We got 'nough land cleared for de small crop. 'bout thirty acres, and builds de barn and sheds ourselves. We lived there till de chillen am growed. My wife died of chills and fever and den my boy and I built a four-room house of planks from our timber. Den I gits lonesome, 'cause de chillen gone. and sells de place. I bought it for fifty cents de acre and sold it for $12.00 de acre. "I buys sixty acres in Henderson County for $15.00 a acre and marries de second time. I didn't care for her like Nancy . All she think 'bout as raisin' de devil and never wants to work or save anything. She like to have broke me down befo' I gits rid of her. I stayed and farmed sev'ral years. "My son-in-law rents land in Chambers Creek bottom, and he usually gits he crop 'fore de flood gits it. We has some hawgs to kill ev'ry winter and we has our cornmeal and milk and eggs and chickens, so de 'pression ain't starved us yit. We all got might' nigh naked durin' de 'pression. I feeds de hawgs and chickens night and mornin'. I can't see dem, but I likes to listen to dem eatin' and cackle. People don't know how dey's blessed with good eyes, till dey loses dem. Everybody ought to be more thankful dan they is. "I ain't never voted in my life. I leans to de 'publicans. I don't know much 'bout politics, though. "Today I is broke, 'cause I spent all my money for med'cine and doctors, but I gits a small pension and I spends it mos' careful.

Thomas Cole was born in Jackson County, Alabama, Aug. 8, 1845, a slave of Dr. Robert Cole . His mother, Elizabeth Cole , was a nurse for the Cole family nursing the doctor through his long illness until his death. At which time the Cole family moved from the plantation to Huntsville, Alabama, taking his mother with them, leaving him on the plantation where he worked until the beginning of the Civil War at which time he ran away to the north. Before crossing the Mason Dixon line, he came in contact with two northern spies and was helped to a northern military camp where he was immediately put in training with the Union forces. He fought in the battle of Chickamauga under General Rosecran, and in the battle of Chatanooga, Look Out Mountain, and Orchard Knob under General Thomas. He also fought in the battle of Missionary Ridge. He was sent back to Chattanooga to help guard provisions there instead of being ordered to Lost Forest where another bloody battle was fought. Following the war he worked for the railroad in Chattnooga for some time. He worked as a switchman. He came to Texas after being layed off by the railroad company. Here he farmed as long as health permitted, now he is blind and lives with his daughter in northern Corsicana.

I might as well begin back as far as I can remember and tell you all bout mah self. I was bo'n in Jackson County Alabama, August 8, 1845. Mah mother was Elizabeth Cole , her bein a slave of Dr. Robert Cole . Mah father was Alex Gorrand , he was a slave of John Gorrand , I was of course sposed ter take mah fathers name, but he was a sech a bad honery no count sech a human, bein til I jest taken mah ole marsters name. Mah first name bein Thomas Cole , dats me. Mah father was bo'n and raised in Alabama, Jackson County on de plantation of John Gorrant . Mah mother was bo'n in Virginia, Dr. Cole brought her and her parents from there ter Alabama wid him when he moved from dar. She was a family nurse. She nursed all de six chilluns of marster Cole .Not long after mah mother came ter Alabama, she met and married mah father. Dey met at a church one Sunday, mah father was a good lookin man and de woman folks all laked him, but he jest wannt no good, so dey marries. I only had one brother and one sister dat I knows of, I bein de oldest one. Mah sisters name was Sarah and mah brother name was Ben . I was bout three or four years older den mah sister and Ben was still younger den dat. We lived in de house in one room wid marster Coles as mah mother was de nurse and housekeeper. We always had a good bed ter sleep in and good things ter eat. We would eats at de same table as marster Cole , and his family eats at, only after dey gits through eatin first. I was raised up wid de Cole chilluns and played wid dem all de time. We was all de time climbin trees in de yard and as I gits older dey jest gradually puts more work and heavy work on me, marster Cole started us out workin by totin in wood and kindlin and totin water and jest sech odd jobs, den later on as we got older we had ter feed de hogs, we jest fed dem enough ter keep dem close ter home, cause dey was all marked and den when de hogs increased he wanted ter keep dem comin up sos we could mark de young pigs. And feedin de cows, horses, and goats and chickens all dis kind of work was work fer boys too young fer heavy work, of course we had ter pick cotton every fall as soon as we got big enough ter pick and puts de cotton in baskets, dese baskets would hold bout seventy five ter one hundred pounds. De little chilluns would pick and puts in a basket wid some older person so de older person could move de basket longs. Den when a slave gets grown, he is jest lak a mule, dey works for der grub and a few clothes and works jest as hard as a mule. Some of de slaves on de plantation jining ourn, didnt have as easier time as de mules, fer de mules was fed good and de slaves laks ter have starved ter death he jest gives dem nuff ter eat ter keep dem alive. When I was a young boy, some other boys and I would go possum huntin and coon huntin in de day time and de men and us boys would go huntin sometimes at night and we would skin dem and stretch de hids and de white folks would sell de hides amd give us de money. I allus gives mah money ter mah mother and she would save it fer me til I get nuff den she would go ter town wid de mistress at Huntsville Alabama, and buy me a pair of shoes, hat and a pair of Sunday britches. Missus Cole allus helped mah mother do de buyin cause mah mother couldnt count money good. All dese we called Sunday clothes, and we did not wear dem unless we went ter church. As I done tole you, mah mother was de family nurse fer Dr. Coles family and we eat at der table and we had plenty ter eat too. Cakes, pies and biscuits and all kinds of meat sech as pork, beef, fish, venison, and goats and chickens and wild turkeys. We had lots ter eat dat de other slaves didnt have as mah mother was a nurse and respectable different from de other negroes. All our food was cooked over a large open fire place and each meal was allus hot, but de other slaves had ter don der cookin fer de day, de night before makin dem eats a cold dinnah, if some of de man was single dey was furnished a girl ter do der cookin jest lak de man dat was married. There was allus plenty of possums and rabbits and us young boys would allus take de dogs and git plenty of possum ter cook wid sweet pertaters and we brought in plenty of rabbits too. Us chilluns bout eight years ole went fishin lots after our chores was done and we allus brought back plenty of fish and fishin was good back in dem ole streams. We nearly kept dem in fish all de time and sometimes we would all go fishin on Satidy evenin and Satidy nights ceptin marster and his wife and mah mother. De drivah and de marster boys would go wid us and stay all night and Sunday we would bring all the fish back, and de marsters boys would go and then we would have a wagon load of fish and Sunday we shore would have a big fish fry, all de plantation would have a good time eatin fish. We didnt haves ter git off de plantation ter ketch all dese fish either, der was a good rivah dat runs right through dis place.

In de wintah, de marster would allus kills from three hundred ter four hundred hogs. We would have two killings de first in November, and de last one in January. We would kills from one hundred and fifty ter two hundred each time. Bout two or three weeks fore killin time, we would all gits out and round up what we wanted ter kill each time and puts dem in a big rail pen and feds nuff corn ter dem ter sorter harden de flesh and den go ter killin. Some would be killin and stickin, some would be scalding and scraping and some would be dressin dem, some cuttin em up and de women folks would be fixin de meat fer lard and renderin de lard. And some of de women would be fixin chitlins, hog head sauce, sausage and everything, dey all had a job till hit was ovah and we shore did have plenty of chitlins ter eat fer awhile. Den when times comes ter smoke de meat, we would haul in plenty of hickory wood ter smoke de meat wid. We had a big log smoke house and we would hangs hit full of meat and den builds a smoke fire in de middle of hit and den de men folks would work in shifts ter keep dis wood fire goin fer several days, den dis meat was ready ter hang up in another building made specially fer meat and we would calls hit de meat house. Ane de meat wouldnt spile either. Dis was done twice every wintah, once each hog killin First we would eats all de chitlins den de marster would begins issuing out back bones ter each family til dey was gone and den along comes de spare ribs. Den he would usually issue each family a middlin or a shoulder a piece and by dat time hit was time ter kill de second time, and den dis was all ter go ovah again, but de overseah would issue meat each week ter each family as long as hit lasted. Each family got de same kind of meat each week. Iffen one got a ham dey all got a ham, iffen one got a middlin dey all got a middlin. All de ears and feet was pickled we eats dem too. Lard was issued out too, hit depended on de size of de family how much lard you got. Bigger families got more meat and lard. If dis meat runs out fore killin time, we would kill a beef or goats or some men would be sent out ter git some wild turkeys or deer and dey allus brings em back. We allus had plenty of meat ter eat. And marster Cole tried ter fix it so each person on de plantation got his share of de meat and lard. Once a week all de slaves had biscuits. Der was a orchard of bout five or six acres of peaches and apples on de plantation and we had all de fruit we wanted and in de fall we had all de pumpkin pies we wanted, we planted pumpkins and he would let us have bout one or two acres fer water melons if we would work dem on Satidy evenins. We couldnt take outen de crop ter work anything lak dat fer ourselves. We allus had plenty of vegetables ter eat too, and iffen any of dem didnt hit was der own fault.

Of all we had ter eat on dis plantation I laks de fruit de best. We was not allowed ter pull any of hit offen de trees, but iffen one fell off de trees we could eat hit. Sos we youngins bout eight years ole and on down would stay in de orchard after de fruit started gitin ripe ter gits what fell, and if der wasnt much fallin we would shake a tree a little if we was shore twarnt no body watchin us. When der wasnt more den one er two fell offen de tree hit was jest lak pitchin a quarter out for a bunch of kids ter git now days, but who ever gits de fruit had ter split it wid who ever shakes de tree, cause if dey saw him shakin de tree he shore would git a whippin. Everybody had all de vegetables he wanted cause Marster Coles gives each family one acre of ground ter be planted in garden and corn for roasting ears, dis groun was ter be worked on Satidy evenins and on Sundays, if dey gits behind wid de work. Each family workd der garden purty good fer if dey lets hit grop up dey has ter do wid out unless some one else would git sorry for dem and gives dem some of ders, but nobody else would hardly gives dem any. Nobody wants ter feed a lazy person but if dey gits sick de rest would pitch in and work hit out fer dem, and dey didnt any of dem play sich either. When dey said dey was sick dey was shore nuff sick cause dey all hates dat bitter medicine dat Marster Coles gives dem. When any of de slaves gits sick marster Coles would shore gits after dem and he would go and stay wid dem until a change was made, if he left dem he wouldnt be gone more'n thirty minutes. Dat was one thing bout marster Coles , he shore seed after his slaves when dey was sick and when he starts doctorin one of dem dey usually gits well too. He never lost but two and dey was ole people and ready ter die but he hated ter loose dem though jest as bad as he would a young stout man. He had one big stout healthy lookin slave bout six feet, four inches tall and weighed roun two hundred and ten pounds dat marster Coles gives three thousand dollars fer. Marster Cole seed dis negro man and wanted him so he started bidden on him, marster Cole and a man from Mississippi and one from Louisiana was all biddin on dis nigger, and marster Cole says he wanted ter own him so he bid him in at $3000. Dis slave shore was a powerful man and was easy ter control too, he shore was glad dat marster Cole bought him. Marster Cole thoughts lots of dis slave, but he hates ter lose dem ole ones jest as bad. Dey was a man and his wife when slaves gits ole dey gits cheap jest lak a ole mule sometimes you couldnt sell dem, dey wasnt fit fer nuthin. But when dis ole couple died he had coffins made and carried em out and buried em after one of de slave parsons preached de funeral, dey was buried on de plantation and rocks was put up fer tombstones. Marster Cole never sole a slave iffen dey acted half way right, but iffen dey gits unruly he always carries dem off ter sells dem, we never saw one of dem sold. How he always gits rid of dem I never knows how but he never brings one back. He bought six slaves dat I knows of and he gives from four hundred ter three thousand a piece fer them. De clothes dat we wore was made on de plantation, we all wore light cotton clothes in de summer and wool clothes in de wintah. And iffen a man didnt have no wife, marster Coles had de other women make some clothes fer him.

De cotton was raised on de plantation and marster Coles allus had a few sheep and dey was sheared and de wool made into clothes and a good pair of shoes was issued ter each person every fall and we hads ter take care of dem too. When we would catch possums and pole cats we would render up de grease or taller and grease our shoes in de wintah and spring. Each family of slaves was allowed ter raise chickens and white folks would sell de eggs and chickens fer dem and de men would hunt in de wintah and de white folks would sell de hids fer dem and bring de money back ter dem. We would allus take dis money and buy what we calls Sunday clothes wid it, sech as hats, trousers, shoes and maybe a shirt and de women folks would buy dresses. We never wore dese clothes onless we went ter church on Satidy night er Sunday  De first time I married I marries Nancy Eliza Reed in Chattanooga, Tennessee, right after de war. We lived ter gether fer thirty two years and she died wid malaria. We was married at her uncle and aunts. She was an orphan chile and dey raised her. I was workin fer de railroad den and I was makin good money and I bought me a good suit, hat, shoes and everything ter gits married in, we had a good time at de weddin and afters too. When mah first boy was bo'n, I had ter set em up ter a big cigar ter all de railroad boys. We only has two chillins, a boy and a girl. De boy is dead but dis is mah daughter I lives wid now. When mah wife dies, I marries again, but dis woman was one of dese hell cat kind and we didnt live ter gether long, sos I aint tried it no more. I didnt has no chilluns by mah last wife. All dis happened after freedom, but if I had married before Marster Cole died I would have had ter be married by de parson cause dat was one of marster Coles rules, he didnt low none of dis jest livin ter gether. When one of de slaves wants ter gits marries he takes dem ter a parson and dey gits married. I has thought bout dis lots since freedom and I believes marster Coles was so smart a man he could looks ahead and sees freedom, de reason he treated his slaves de way he did. Marster Cole was a smart man and he was a good man wid it. He was bout five feet ten inches tall, blue eyed and brown hair and weighed bout one hundred and sixty pounds. Dis man has respect fer other peoples feelins, he treated his slaves lak dey was human beins instead of dumb brutes. He lowed his slaves more privileges den any other slave holder round dat part of de country and he tried ter learn em how ter make money and how ter counts money, he tries ter learn em all what a person could sell. He was one of de best men I ever knows in mah whole life and his wife was jest laks him. Missus Cole was a little smaller den marster Cole , and she shore was nice ter all de woman slaves, she gives all dem a new dress every spring jest as shore as de spring rolls around. An she allus helpes all de slave women wid their buyin and sold all der chickens and eggs and gives dem every cent of de money dat was comin ter dem.

Marster and missus Cole had six chilluns, three of dem was boys and three of dem was girls. De boys names was John , de oldest, den Isaac , and de youngest was Robert . De girls was Katie , de oldest, den Jennie , and de youngest was Isa Lee . De oldest chile was a boy, den a girl and den de other two boys. I was bout de age of de oldest girl. I played wid de boys all de time, dey was mah young marsters, when we was playin I has ter do mos anything dey wants me to. One day we was playin roun de barn and we gits on de rail fence and climbs on top of de barn and dey teles me ter jump offen de barn and dey would follows me sos I jumps off and it laks ter kill me, der was sand down der to jump in but de barn was high and I was jest a little kid. I was layin der hollerin and de two oldest boys was jes standin up der lookin at me and de youngest marster Robert was cryin and hollerin fer his mamma ter come and gits me dat I was kilt. Missus Cole and mah mother come runnin out der and picks me up and carries me ter de house and doctors me up wid medicine and Missus Cole doctors de oldest two boys wid a switch. I shore did hates ter sees her whip dem lak she did, but der wasnt any of us boys jumped offen de barn any more. Mah marster had a nice house, it was a big four room log house, wid two rooms up stairs and it had a big hall through de center both down stairs and up stairs. De logs was all peeled and de chinkin was a different color from de logs and was covered wid beads. De kitchen was a one room log house behind de big house wid a big chimney in it ter cooks on. Dis was whar all de meals was cooked and carried in ter de house ter be done ter gits a meal. Mah marster house shore did have lots of pretty furniture in it at dat time. I guess bout de best you could buy at dat time. But when I gits ter be a big boy, marster Coles dies and his family moved ter Huntsville Alabama. Dat was about twenty miles from de plantation, and dey said dat his house was made outten lumber and it was bigger and purtier den de one on de farm and dat dey buys lots more purty furniture, dey tole me dat it was good nuff fer de president ter live in. I never did sees it, dey left me on de plantation cause I was young, big and stout and takes one of de ole slaves in ter do all de out side work, and dey takes mah mother in wid dem ter do de cookin and it was de last time I ever seed her. De overseer lived in a little two room house up til marster Cole died den all de overseers lived in his house after missus Cole moved ter town. Marster Cole hardly ever keeps an overseer over two years only he keeps one fer three years. Dose overseers would take his structions from marster Cole when he was hired and den marster Cole would turns him loose and when de overseer gits a little outten line, marster Coles would tells him what ter do, marster Coles would tells him a few times and finally he would fire him and hires a new one. Marster Cole fires one overseer cause he gits mad at an ole slave man and whips him wid a long green switch bout half as big around as a broom handle. I was a great big boy when dis happens, marster Coles shore was mad. De overseer whips him cause he could not keep up wid de rest of de slaves one spring when dey was weedin cotton. De plantation of Marster Coles was de second largest plantation in dat part of de country. Governor Clarys plantation was de biggest one I knows of, he had bout two hundred work hands and marster Coles only had eight dat was big enough ter works all de time and der was a gang of chilluns dat was too little ter work. Marster Coles hads bout one thousand acres or more in his plantation and I dont know how much governor had in his. De land was hilly and sandy soil and de leveler parts was put in fiels and de fiels runs down offen a low hill side and down inter de bottom and it shore would raise cotton, corn or anything else a person wants ter plant on it. All you hads ter do was plant it and work it jest once in a while and it would makes de stuff. De cotton shore did makes good got Texas beat bad for a cotton crop, but I guess its bout wore out by dis time. It shore was a good fruit country too could raise de biggest juicest peaches and apples. De fruit was what I laks best, I eats all dey would lets me eat. Marster Coles had lots in pasture fer de cattle, and sheeps and goats. Be had de slaves ter cut rails and build a fence round de fields and fence off a pasture fer de stock, and turns de hogs out after markin em sos each man would knows his hogs. Sometimes crooked people would kills somebody else hog, der is crooked people every what you goes. De grass in de pasture was plentiful fer de cattle and der was always plenty fer de hogs ter eats de year round and when de nuts and de acorns begins ter fall in de fall of de year and in de wintah you could go out anytime and kills a big fat hog and his meat shore was good eatin too, but marster Coles allus taks his bogs and fattens em and feeds a little corn ter dem, he said it cleans de meat sos dat it is fittin to eat. After de crops was caught up good in de summah all de slaves would start cuttin wood and gittin it up ter de houses fer de wintah. Dis wood would be dead by wintah and in de wintah we would gits up some green wood ter go wid dis wood we would mix dead wood and green wood ter gether. All marster Coles and de overseers wood was straight wood with outten any knots and cut up ter fit der fire place, and all de knots was put off on de slaves course de slaves got lots of good wood too. But all dem chimneys was big nuff ter take all de knots a man was big enuff ter put on. Some of de chimneys was made of sticks and dirt mos all de chimmey in de slaves houses was but marster Cole and de overseer had chimneys made of rocks and was big enuff ter put a stick of cord wood in nearly. We has ter git up early every day in de year, rain or shine, hot or cold. De slaves was woke up every mornin at four thirty by a slave blowin a horn it was his job ter gits up and blow a bugle and den he would go ter work in de fiels wid de rest of de slaves. Dar was no danger of you not wakin up when de bugle blowed cause he blows it long and loud. He allus gits up of a mornin and gits his bugle down and comes out and climbs up on a platform wintah and summah and blows his bugle. Dis platform was bout eight or ten feet tall. All de slaves gits up at four thirty, breakfast is eat and de men folks goes on ter fiels and as soon as de women finished up de house work and takes care of de babies, dey comes ter work. All de slaves carried der dinnah ter de fiel wid dem and iffen you'se puts it whar de ants or a varmint can git it dat is your hard luck. We all works til noon den we eats our dinnah in de shade and res bout an hour or hour and half iffen it is very hot and iffen it is cold we res bout and hour, den we goes back ter work and stays up wid de lead man all evenin jest lak we did in de mornin, and de tween sun down and night we takes out, goes ter de quarters and eats supper and by dat time we is already ter goes ter bed and sleep. You is always tired when you makes a day lak dat on de plantation. You cant git ter go ter a party or dance lak de young folks do now a days and play all night. De young folks now speels all de next day, but we couldnt. When de slaves leaves de quarters every mornin goin ter work, it was jest lak a bunch of youngsters now a days goin ter a ball game. Dey was all hollerin and tage in each other and runnin but dey didnt come in dat way, when we comes in it was jest lak drivin and ole give out mule.

Dar never was but one slave whipped on marster Coles plantation ceptin one ole slave and de overseer whips him cause he could not keep up wid de drivah. De drivah was a big slave he could do foah times as much work as de ole slave, but marster Cole fired de overseer. He says de overseer did not have no foah sight. I don't knows what dat is but I heard him tell de overseer dat. Some ob de other plantation owners shore was bad on de poor slaves. Dar was one slave owner next ter us dat didnt have but bout fifteen workin hands and he tries ter work nuff land ter need twenty five workin hands and he was beatin on some of his slaves all de time.I never did sees dem tie any of dem up ter whip dem but some of his slaves tole us dat sometimes he would have dem tied hand and foot and bends dem ovah and runs a pole tween de bend in de arms at de elbot and under de legs at de knees, atter stripin em off plum naked and whip dem wid a cat-o-nine tails till he bust de hide in lots of places cross der backs and blood would run offen dem on de ground, den he would put salt in dose raw places specially iffen dey makes out lak dey wants ter fight or sasses him. A cat-o-nine tails is raw hide leather platted or woven round a stock or piece of wood for a handle, dis piece is short bout eight ter ten inches long, dis leather is braided on past de stock for quite a piece, and about eight or twelve inches from de end of de whip all dese strips are tied in a knot, and dey all sprangle out from dis makin a tassle. Dis is called de cracker and it is what splits de hide. Dose cat-o-nine tails can be made as long as you want dem. Some people calls dem bull whips and dat is right for dem, dey wasnt made ter whip people wid. Dis mans fiel jined ourn in one place and I has seed him ride up and down de rows in de fiel behind his slaves wid dis bull whip across his saddle or in his hand, and iffen one of de slaves gits on a bad row, he'd ride long behind him and holler at him ter ketch up, and iffen he didnt pretty soon he would hit him wid dis bull whip a couple of times. When dis man sole a slave dey was allus glad ter git away, but when he bought one, de first things he done was brought de slave home and gives it a whippin, he calls him self puttin de fear of God in him. Sometimes de speckulaters would come around but dey never did stop Coles for he never did paternize any of dem. De speckulaters was white men dat sometimes and sometimes comes around buyin, sellin or trading slaves jest lak dey do cattle now. Dey would buy, sell or trade a baby dat was ole enuff ter wean and up ter de ole slaves. Of course, babies and ole folks did not bring much. Babies was too young ter work and ole folks couldnt do much besides dey was liable to die any time. Dey was mostly considered worthless property after dey gits feeble. Dem speckulaters would put de chilluns in a wagon usually pulled by oxens and de older folks was chained or tied ter gether sos dey could not run off and dey would go from one plantation ter another all ovah de country. Dis was very common specially in de fall of de year or spring. Some of de slaves was pretty smart fer de chance dey had ter gits any education, iffen some of de white folks laks a slave, or dey had some chilluns dat laks a slave dey would larn you how ter read and write and dat slave would larn another one ter read and write and iffen he could some of dem shore was thick headed, you jest couldnt larn dem nuthin. I has an awful time larnin myself. Marster Coles learned me ter read an write, but I is slow wid it yet but jest gives me time and I will gits it done. Marster Coles boys tole me more times dan I got fingers and toes dat I was too thick headed to larn anything but I jest kept on tryin and finally got on ter it, jest gettin a little at a time.

De way mos of us larns ter read is de Bible. One of de slaves would larn ter read and he would reads de Bible ter de rest of dem or as many as wants ter lissen ter him, and finally another one would wants ter larn ter read and he would larn him a little. Marster Cole was awful good about dis. But some of de slave owners would not allow any of de slaves ter own a Bible or have one roun de plantation and iffen dey ketched em wid a Bible he would takes it away from him. Iffen dey ketched dem wid a Bible he would takes it away from dem and either keeps it or burns it up. Mos every Satidy night and Sunday after dinner Uncle Dan would read de Bible ter de rest of us and tell de meanin of it. Uncle Dan was awful ole, he didnt know how ole he was and marser didnt know how ole he was either, but he was grey headed and his whiskers was jest as white as his hair. But Uncle Dan could read good and he could write good too, and he knew de Bible about as good as anybody as I ever saw. He could sats down wid his Bible and reads a verse in dar any what and tells you jest what it means.

We allus goes ter church mos every Sunday. Sometimes we would walk bout five miles ter church, but when dey had church in de church close ter us we would go there, but when de weather was bad dey didnt have no church, and in de wintah dey wouldnt allow de slaves ter comes as de log house was small and couldnt many gits in it and we all had ter stay out side and lissen ter de preachah. Marster Coles allus gives all his slaves a pass ter go ter church and every body knew it and dey wouldnt bother us. De white folks would let de slaves jine same church as dey was in and dey got lots of jiners among de slaves and I has seed as many as fifty slaves and I say half dat many white people baptized at one time. De would find a pond or hole in de rivah shallow enuff fer baptizing and where de rest could stan roun and look on. All de slaves would stan out side and hears de parson preach till he calls for jiners and den dey would goes in side ter jine and when one goes in another would follow jest lak a flock of goats and when dey would go ter prayin yer sins away dey would all go ter shoutin and dey would has a good time. Dis young generation is too dignified ter has de good ole time religion, dey all wants ter hide der meaness behind der religion. One time der was a parson Wilson , dat comes in ter de country and hads a meetin in de little church calls Adair Church, it was a little log church bout a mile from de plantation. Parson Wilson shore was a good preachah of de gospel and he preaches de Bible jest lak it is and he gits more jiners dan any one else dat ever comes in dat part of de country. Whar de baptizings comes off it was almos lak goin ter a circus. People comes from ever whar, dat was de biggest crowd I ever seed. De baptizings was at a big tank and people was all aroun it, dey was all singin songs and de preachah preached and prayed and everybody takes dinnah and has a big time. Dat baptizing was de last one marster Cole went to as he took sick right after dat and he was sick for a long time. Sumpin was wrong wid his stomah, I believe dey said gall bladder or sumpin laks dat. Any way marster Coles was sick fer a long, long time. Mah mother nursed him night and day as long as he was sick. Dey had doctors from all ovah de country ter comes and dey all gives dem medicine and doctored him, but de Lord had called him I guess and dose doctors couldnt do him any good fer de next summah he dies. Dey hads a big funeral serman fer him at de plantation and all de slaves was at de house. We all lined up and marched by de coffin and looks in at him, he jest looks lak he was asleep. I guess his soul was in de great heaven talkin wid de angels for he looks lak he had a peaceful smile on his face jest lak he did when he was alive and everything pleasin him. All de slaves cried jest lak it was one of der own family dyin. We all knew our good times was gone or maybe we would all be sold. We didnt know what was goin ter happen ter us, but we all knew dat we wasnt goin ter have as peaceable time and have as much freedom as we had when marser Coles was alive, cause all de overseers would be good de first year den dey would gits a little meaner all along and wid marser Coles dead we knew dat we would have a mean