ty of corn licker for ever'body, both white an'
black. Ever'body helped himself. Dr. Tom Busbee, one good ole white man,
looked after us when we got sick, an' he could make you well purty
quick, 'cause he wus good an' 'cause he wus sorry fer you. He wus a
feelin' man. Course we took erbs. I tell you what I took. Scurrey grass,
chana balls dey wus for worms. Scurrey grass worked you out. Dey give us
winter green to clense our blood. We slaves an' a lot of de white folks
drank sassafras tea in de place of coffee. We sweetened it wid brown
sugar, honey, or molasses, just what we had in dat line. I think slavery
wus a right good thing. Plenty to eat an' wear.

When you gits a tooth pulled now it costs two dollars, don't it? Well
in slavery time I had a tooth botherin' me. My mother say, Emma, take
dis egg an' go down to Doctor Busbee an' give it to him an' git your
tooth pulled. I give him one egg. He took it an' pulled my tooth. Try
dat now, if you wants to an' see what happens. Yes, slavery wus a purty
good thing.

N. C. District: No. 2 [320165]
Worker: Mary A. Hicks
No. Words: 1430
Subject: Days on the Plantation
Person Interviewed: Uncle David Blount
Editor: Daisy Bailey Waitt

[TR: Date Stamp "JUN 1 1937"]

[HW: N. C. Good general story--]

[HW: Good story
Hates the Yankees
boy beaten by overseer who is later discharged;
slaves make pact with Yankees]

DAYS ON THE PLANTATION

As told by Uncle David Blount, formerly of Beaufort County, who did not
know his age. "De Marster" he refers to was Major Wm. A. Blount, who
owned plantations in several parts of North Carolina.

Yes mam, de days on de plantation wuz de happy days. De marster made us
wuck through de week but on Sadays we uster go swimmin' in de riber an'
do a lot of other things dat we lak ter do.

We didn't mind de wuck so much case de ground wuz soft as ashes an' de
marster let us stop and rest when we got tired. We planted 'taters in de
uplan's and co'n in de lowgroun's nex' de riber. It wuz on de Cape Fear
an' on hot days when we wuz a-pullin' de fodder we'd all stop wuck 'bout
three o'clock in de ebenin' an' go swimmin'. Atter we come out'n de
water we would wuck harder dan eber an' de marster wuz good to us, case
we did wuck an' we done what he ast us.

I 'members onct de marster had a oberseer dar dat wuz meaner dan a mean
nigger. He always hired good oberseers an' a whole