<p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</SPAN></span></p>
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<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="annamitchel">
<tr><td align='left'>N.C. District:</td><td align='left'>No. 2</td></tr>
<tr><td align='left'>Worker:</td><td align='left'>Mary Hicks</td></tr>
<tr><td align='left'>No. Words:</td><td align='left'>344</td></tr>
<tr><td align='left'>Subject:</td><td align='left'>Ex-Slave Story</td></tr>
<tr><td align='left'>Teller:</td><td align='left'>Anna Mitchel</td></tr>
<tr><td align='left'>Editor:</td><td align='left'>Daisy Bailey Waitt</td></tr>
</table></div>
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<p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</SPAN></span></p>
<h2> ANNA MITCHEL<br/> Ex-slave story. </h2>
<h4>An interview with Anna Mitchel, 76 of 712 S. Person
Street, Raleigh, North Carolina.
</h4>
<p>"I wus borned in Vance County an' I 'longed ter Mr.
Joseph Hargrove, de same man what owned Emily an' Rufus Hargrove,
my mammy an' pappy. He also owned Joseph an' Cora, my bruder
an' sister. My mammy uster 'long ter 'nother man what lived
in Virginia, but Mr. Hargrove buyed her when she wus sold on
de choppin' block at Richmon'. He already had my pappy so
dey got married dar on his plantation.</p>
<p>"Marster ain't neber whup nobody, case he am too
much de gentleman, but de oberseer done nuff fer 'em all.</p>
<p>"Dar wasn't no Sadday evenin's off 'cept fer de
wimen what had eight or ten chilluns an' dey got off ter wash
'em up. In de rush time, dat is, when de fodder wus burnin' up
in de fiel's or de grass wus eatin' up de cotton dey had ter
wuck on Sunday same as on Monday.</p>
<p>"My mammy wus a seamstress, an' I'se knowed her ter
wuck all night an' half de day ter make clothes fer de slaves.</p>
<p>"We ain't had but two meals a day an' dey wus scant.
We had a few frolicks, dances an' sich lak onct in a while<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</SPAN></span>
an' onct a year we all went ter a show, sorter lak a circus.</p>
<p>"I 'members dat we sung 'Swing Low Sweet Chariot,'
'De Promised Lan',' 'Ole Time Religion,' an' one dat goes:</p>
<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">"'Dark wus de night an' col' de groun'<br/></span>
<span class="i0">On which my Saviour lay,<br/></span>
<span class="i0">An' sweat lak drops of blood run down<br/></span>
<span class="i0">While ter de God he pray.'<br/></span></div>
</div>
<p>"Dar wus a few mo' but I done fergit.</p>
<p>"Does you know dat I can't 'member much 'bout de
slave days? I doan recoleck when de Yankees comed, mebbe
dey ain't come ter our part o' de country. I 'members when
Marse Joseph comed out ter de slave cabins an' tells us dat
we can leave case we am free. I think dat dat wus de las'
of August, case de fodder wus in.</p>
<p>"I still knows a lady an' gentleman do'. A lady or
gentleman speaks nice ter you, case dey wus borned wid a
silver spoon in dey mouth, but de other kin' what talks
biggety shows plain dat de spoons which dey am borned wid
am brass."</p>
<p>EH</p>
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