was terrible, putting dat in de pot wid de birds.
Dey had blow-guns and dey'd slip around, and first thing dey'd blow, and
down come a bird. Dey'd kill a squirrel and ketch fish wid deir blow
guns. Dem guns was made out of canes 'bout eight feet long, burned out
at de j'ints for de barrel. Dey put in a arrow what had thistles on one
end to make it go through quick and de other end sharp.

"Yes honey, I believes in hants. I was going 'long, at nine o'clock one
night 'bout the Denham fill and I heard a chain a rattling 'long de
cross-ties. I couldn't see a thing and dat chain just a rattling as
plain as if it was on dis floor. Back, since the war, dere was a
railroad gang working 'long by dis fill, and de boss, Captain Wing,
whipped a convict. It killed him, and de boss throwed him in de fill. I
couldn't see a thing, and dat chain was just rattling right agai' de
fill where dat convict had been buried. I believes de Lord took keer of
me dat night and I hope he keeps on doing so."

[HW: Dist. 6
Ex-Slave #75]

Folklore
Alberta Minor
Re-search Worker

MOLLIE MITCHELL, Ex Negro Slave
507 East Chappell Street
Griffin, Georgia

August 31, 1936
[Date Stamp: MAY 8 1937]

Mollie Mitchell, a white haired old darkey, 85 years old was born on the
Newt Woodard plantation. It is the old Jackson Road near Beulah Church.
Until she was 7 years old she helped about the house running errands for
her "Missus", "tendin' babies", "sweeping the yard", and "sich." At 7
she was put in the fields. The first day at work she was given certain
rows to hoe but she could not keep in the row. The Master came around
twice a day to look at what they had done and when it was not done
right, he whipped them. "Seems like I got whipped all day long," she
said. One time when Mollie was about 13 years old, she was real sick,
the master and missus took her to the bathing house where there was
"plenty of hot water." They put her in a tub of hot water then took her
out, wrapped her in blankets and sheets and put her in cold water. They
kept her there 4 or 5 days doing that until they broke her fever.
Whenever the negroes were sick, they always looked after them and had a
doctor if necessary. At Christmas they had a whole week holiday and
everything they wanted to eat. The negroes lived a happy carefree life
unless they "broke the rules." If one lied or stole or did not work or
did not do his work right or stayed out over the time of their pass,