ighting anyone with whom he
could "pick" a quarrel. "Big Charlie" an uncle of the narrator was
present and when the red man challenged him to a fight made a quick end
of him by breaking his neck at one blow.

For two years he was hounded by revengeful Indians, who had an uncanny
way of ferreting out his whereabouts no matter where he went. Often he
sighted them while working in the fields and would be forced to flee to
some other place. This continued with many hairbreadth escapes, until he
was forced to move several states away.

Berry recalls the old days of black aristocracy when Negroes held high
political offices in the state of Florida, when Negro tradesmen and
professionals competed successfully and unmolested with the whites. Many
fortunes were made by men who are now little more than beggars. To this
group belongs the man who in spite of reduced circumstances manages
still to make one think of top hats and state affairs. Although small of
stature and almost disabled by rheumatism, he has the fiery dignity and
straight back that we associate with men who have ruled others. At the
same time he might also be characterized as a sweet old person, with all
the tender reminiscences of the old days and the and childish
prejudices against all things new. As might be expected, he lives in the
past and always is delighted whenever he is asked to tell about the only
life that he has ever really lived. Together with his aged wife he lives
with his children and is known to local relief agencies who supplement
the very small income he now derives from what is left of what was at
one time a considerable fortune.

REFERENCE

Personal interview with subject, Frank Berry, 1614 West Twenty-Second
Street, Jacksonville, Florida

FLORIDA FOLKLORE
SLAVE CUSTOMS AND ANECDOTES

MARY MINUS BIDDIE

Mary Minus Biddie, age one hundred five was born in Pensacola, Florida,
1833, and raised in Columbia County. She is married, and has several
children. For her age she is exceptionally active, being able to wash
and do her house work. With optimism she looks forward to many more
years of life. Her health is excellent.

Having spent thirty-two years of her life as a slave she relates vividly
some of her experiences.

Her master Lancaster Jamison was a very kind man and never mistreated
his slaves. He was a man of mediocre means, and instead of having a
large plantation as was usual in those days, he ran a boarding house,
th