ty of
'em!

"I kin tell you where two of de old Robert homes used to be. One was
back dis way toward Scotia from Robertville. Dat was de Mr. John H.
Robert' place. Had a whole string of cedar trees going up to his place.
Now den, 'bout two miles out from Robertville going from de white folk'
church out toward Black Swamp was another Robert place. Dat where old
Major Robert lived. He had a whole tun (turn) of slaves. Dere was no
Robert live right in de village of Robertville. De Lawtons was de only
people live right in Robertville--and one family of Jaudons. I don't
know of no other Robert home.

"Dat's all I kin tell you 'bout de old times, Missus. I don't want to
tell you what ain't true."

=Source:= Willis Gillison, 75 years old, (Ex-slave) Luray,
S.C.--R.F.D.

Project 1885-1
FOLKLORE
Spartanburg Dist. 4
June 10, 1937

Edited by:
Elmer Turnage

STORIES FROM EX-SLAVES

"We lived in a log house during the Ku Klux days. Dey would watch you
just like a chicken rooster watching fer a worm. At night, we was
skeered to have a light. Dey would come around wid de 'dough faces' on
and peer in de winders and open de do'. Iffen you didn't look out, dey
would skeer you half to death. John Good, a darkey blacksmith, used to
shoe de horses fer de Ku Klux. He would mark de horse shoes with a bent
nail or something like that; then atter a raid, he could go out in the
road and see if a certain horse had been rode; so he began to tell on de
Ku Klux. As soon as de Ku Klux found out dey was being give away, dey
suspicioned John. Dey went to him and made him tell how he knew who dey
was. Dey kept him in hiding, and when he told his tricks, dey killed
him.

"When I was a boy on de 'Gilmore place', de Ku Klux would come along at
night a riding de niggers like dey was goats. Yes sir, dey had 'em down
on all-fours a crawling, and dey would be on dere backs. Dey would carry
de niggers to Turk Creek bridge and make dem set up on de bannisters of
de bridge; den dey would shoot 'em offen de bannisters into de water. I
'clare dem was de awfulest days I ever is seed. A darky name Sam Scaife
drifted a hundred yards in de water down stream. His folks took and got
him outen dat bloody water and buried him on de bank of de creek. De Ku
Klux would not let dem take him to no graveyard. Fact is, dey would not
let many of de niggers take de dead bodies of de folks no whars. Dey
just throwed dem in a big hole