A Freeman's Story

Interview With A Freeman

         “The name’s Chester Devereaux. I’m with the Freedman's Aid Society. I’m a writer for the Society’s monthly publication and I’m here to do an interview with a colored man or woman that was freed from slavery. We’re concerned about finding out how the colored people are faring after the war ended. Would you be interested in doing the interview with me?”

         “So you wanna know how the Negro’s been livin’ aftuh President Abraham Lincoln said all us slaves can go an’ be free? Well, I s’pose you’s can sit a spell an’ I’ll tell you evruhthin' I knows.

         Bein’ a free man ain’t as easy as I figured it was goin’ be. When we was slaves, we was always havin’ them white folks tellin’ us what to do and makin’ sho we was doin’ it like they wanted us to. Now we’s free people, and they ain’t nobody to tell us nothin’, no moh. We’s got to figure out what we’s gonna do ever day and how we’s gonna do it. That ain’t easy when you ain’t had nobody tell you how to git along in life witout they’s help all the time.

         Now, don’t you be gettin’ the wrong ideahs, ya heah. I ain’t wishin’ to be no slave agin. No suh. I’s just sayin’ bein’ free fo the fust time makes a person think about things harduh, cause he ain’t doin’ things fo nobody but hissef no mo.

         Oh, good gracious! Pahdun me. Wheh’s my mannuhs. I ain’t given no propuh introduction! My name is Junie Cornelius Williams. People tells me I was bohn on February 18, 1835. Ain’t no way fo’ me to know fo’ sho, but I reckon that’s as good a day as any.

         My massuh was Captain George Thomas Williams of the Confederate Army. Well, I guess he used to be in the Confederate Army. I don’t rightly know what he’s doin‘ now. Most times, he was a good massuh. He didn’t take to hurtin’ no slaves and he didn’t stand fo nobody else hurtin’ his slaves, neithuh. Most times, anyhow. Befo’ the wah, us men slaves would be out pickin’ the cotton and the bacca and the women slaves would be doin’ the launderin' and tendin’ to the massuh’s chilluns and nobody wouldn’t say nothin’ ill to no one. Massuh Williams didn’t even let ol’ Jaspuh the slave drivuh carry a whip. If’n a slave was gettin’ outta hand, Massuh Williams would take away his food fo’ the day. If’n the fool slave done mess around agin, Massuh Williams would tell him he would sell him and wouldn’t let ‘em see they’s family agin. That learned ‘em, ever time.

         Aftuh the wah started, Massuh Williams went off fightin’ with the Rebs and we slaves hardly see’d him fo‘ goin‘ on two yeahs. They’s bad times fo’ us slaves on that farm, I tell you fo‘ sho. They wasn’t nobody to tell ol’ Jaspuh not to be hurtin’ no slaves whenevuh he wanted to. If’n you just stood up to wipe the sweat off yo face, ol’ Jaspuh would staht a whippin’ yo back like you wouldn’t b’lieve. See them stripes I’s got on my back? They’s from when I asked Jaspuh fo some watuh, and he didn’t take too kindly to me askin’. He went and got me the watuh, sho ‘nuff, but he set it on a log in the yahd and make me come get it. Just when I’s thinkin’ that maybe ol’ Jaspuh ain't so bad and that I’d go get me the watuh, I walked ovuh to the log and that mean ol’ man stuck his foot out and knocked me clean to the ground. Well, that set him off to laughin’ and laughin’. I ain’t nevuh heard no man cacklin’ like I heard Jaspuh right then. Befo’ I could get mysef up off’n the ground, he was whippin’ my backside like the Devil hissef. Musta whipped me dahn neah twenty times right then. Then, the ol’ coot knocked over the watuh so’s I couldn’t have none anyway. That ol’ Jaspuh was one mean son of a gun, I tells you. I heah he went an’ got hissef killed in a bah fight after the wah. Cain’t say as I feel bad ‘bout it, though.

         Massuh Williams came back from the wah in 1863 an’ we’s all thought we was gonna get back to the way things was befo’ he left. Ain’t happen that way, though, that’s fo sho. Seems he got shot in the leg in one of them battles up nohth and doctuhs had to take the leg off. Losin’ yo leg like that kin make a man angry at the whole world, and sho ‘nuff, Massuh Williams was angry most ever day after he come back to the fahm. He start takin’ that whip to the backs of dem slaves hissef, an’ ain’t think twice ‘bout it. Den, one day, the Yanks came onto the fahm and says we colored folks can up an’ go. We all just stands theh an’ I’s says to one of them Yanks ‘Wheh we gonna go?’ Them Yanks says they don’t care wheh we go, we can just go. Just like that, we was free. I ain’t nevuh looked back since, no suh.

         I tell you what. I don’t know why no white man from up nohth wants to know how some Negro he nevuh met is doin’ after the wah. I tells ya how I’s goin’ be doin’, though. I ain’t too strong in learnin’ these days, but I aims to get me some real soon. I been workin’ on my letters and my spellin', too. See, I’s can write my name on this heah paper. See dat? Dat says Junie Cornelius Williams. Pretty smaht, ain’t I?

         I don’t rightly recall, did I tells ya that people says I was born on February the 18th, 1835? My addin’ ain’t so good, neithuh, but I reckon that probly makes me goin’ on 40 yeahs old. Yes suh, you’s can count it up yosef an’ sees that I’s right. I s’pose it don’t matter no how, though. Ain’t nobody gonna care if no Negro can tell you how old he is, anyway.”