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Allen Parker's Worcester
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BY ALLEN PARKER (Worcester, Mass.: Chas. W. Burbank & Co., 1895, 96 pp) CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER VI.BEING out of doors a great deal of the time, and having no books, they learned many things from the book of Nature, which were unknown to white people, notwithstanding their knowledge of books. And it often happened that the master would be guided by the slave as to the proper time to plant his corn, sow his grain, or harvest his crops, and many things of this kind, which were to the master a source of care and anxiety, seemed to come to the slave as it were by instinct and not often did they made mistake in their prophecies. MERRY-MAKING.Christmas was the greatest holiday time that the slaves had; for coming as it did at a season when there was not as much to do as at other seasons, they were allowed some time to enjoy themselves On many plantations the slaves were allowed to have a full week to themselves. The holiday season began with Christmas eve, when the slaves generally had some sort of a meeting. Some of the people, especially the young factor, would have a dance in one of the cabins of the plantation. One of the slaves would plan for a dance several weeks before the time and word would be sent, not only to the hands on the plantation, but also to the other plantations near by, and when the time came, quite a number would gather at the appointed time, which would be about eight o'clock as told by the eveniug star, for the slaves had no watches or clocks, and consequently were obliged to depend upon the sun, moon, and stars and other things in nature to tell the time, except of course, that the hours of labor and meal times were regulated by the watch or clock of the master. Sometimes there would be a supper at the gathering, in which case it would be eaten in the first part of the evening. This supper would consist of hominy, hoe cakes, sweet potatoes, bacon, lamb coon or 'possum, or any other kind of meat that could be obtained. Sometimes the meat would be given by the masters who might add also flour and molasses. Sometimes the small twigs and young needles of the hard pine tree were used for tea. Coffee was made of corn or wheat burnt and pounded in a mortar if one was to be had, otherwise the corn would be put in a cloth and pounded with an axe or iron wedge We also had apple juice (cider brand), old rye whiskey, sometimes called "old red eye," and peach brandy. These liquors were allowed by the master if the slaves could buy them themselves from the money they earned by over work. Nearly every plantation had its own still, so that these liquors were both common and cheap. After supper the room was cleared and made ready for the dance. If some slave could be found who had an old fiddle and could play it at all, he was called on to furnish music; if not, some one would take an old tin pan and use it like a tambourine. Two or three others "pat Jubo," that is, would keep time by patting their knees with their hands, and to this primitive music the dance would go on hour after hour till nearly, if not quite, broad daylight. This would, however, be more or less singing of words that were often made on the spot.
"I love my darlin', dat I do; These words would be sung over and over ago.
Some slaves were good dancers, especially the young girls, some of whom could dance so steadily that if a glass of water were placed on their heads none of the water would be spilt. I have often seen a girl dance for ten minutes with a glass cup filled with water on her head without any of it being spilt. If the next day was Sunday or was a holiday, the dance would contiuue all night. The young men would dance all night till broad daylight, and then go home with the girls in the morning. In some other cabin, perhaps on the same plantation, while the young people were dancing, the old ones would be holding a prayer "meetin'", notice having been sent out as in the case of the dance. As none of the slaves could read, there were no books at these meetings. When the folks got together some one would begin with a prayer, or perhaps with a hymn, in which he or she would be followed by all in the room, unless it happened that they did not know the piece, which was perhaps being made up as the singer went along. Of course there were no musical conductors, but the slaves in part made up for this lack by keeping time with their feet and hands. These meetings would sometimes last all night, and the slaves, ignorant as they were, always enjoyed them. The following hymn was one of the most popular, and was sure to be sung at these meetings:
You see ole Massa Jesus a-coming,
As I have said before, slaves were very musical in their way, which, if not up to the modern ideas of music, was such that they derived very much enjoyment from it. At nearly all times one would hear the slaves singing snatches of old plantation songs, which for want of space I cannot print, but the following is a part of one of the best known songs:
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