Eleanor Mitchell interview with Mattie L. Mitchell

The John Burrison Georgia Folklore Archive recordings contains unedited versions of all interviews. Some material may contain descriptions of violence, offensive language, or negative stereotypes reflecting the culture or language of a particular period or place. There are instances of racist language and description, particularly in regards to African Americans. These items are presented as part of the historical record. This project is a repository for the stories, accounts, and memories of those who chose to share their experiences for educational purposes. The viewpoints expressed in this project do not necessarily represent the viewpoints of the Atlanta History Center or any of its officers, agents, employees, or volunteers. The Atlanta History Center makes no warranty as to the accuracy or completeness of any information contained in the interviews and expressly disclaims any liability therefore. If you believe you are the copyright holder of any of the content published in this collection and do not want it publicly available, please contact the Kenan Research Center at the Atlanta History Center at 404-814-4040 or reference@atlantahistorycenter.com. In this recording Mattie Mitchell narrates a story in which two thieves steal ten bushels of corn from a farmer. After the farmer catches the thieves, he follows them to a nearby cemetery where he hides and scares them into leaving the corn behind. Mattie Lou Mitchell (nee. Slade) (1894-1995) was born in Zebulon, Georgia. She married Reuben Mitchell (1886-1956). No additional biographical information has been determined. Folk Tale Collection Project American Negro Folktales by Eleanor Mitchell May/1974 K)L.K 3"~ I Name, Mrs, Mattie L, Mitchell Age, 79 Place of birth, Zebulon,Georgia - Pike County Time of collecting April 27,1974 This informant is my grandmother best characterized as one with a'sharp tongue,' Photographs are included of her appearance and place of residence, While growing up my grandmother describes her life as that of the'old-timey' type being concerned mostly with religious oriented activities. She mentioned the fact that she loved to read books as a child as well as being fond of flowers, In some instances the stories appear to be older variants of familiar tales which could have been influenced by her past readings, However., she mentions that these tales were told to her as a child from relatives, teachers, and friends, * A Description of Zebulon and Historical information about it A Historical Marker states the beginnings of Pike County as follows, PIKE COUNTY Created by Act of Dec,9,1822, From Monroe County, Pike County originally contained part of Spalding,Upson and Lamar Counties, It was named for Zeblon Montgomery Pike (1779-1813), a leader, in 1805, of an expedition to trace the Mississippi River to its source, Later he explored the interior of Louisiana, Made a Brig, Gen, in 1813, he was killed at Toronto, Canada, While commanding American forced there, First officers of Pike County, commissioned Feb, 25, 1823, were, Willis Whateley, Sheriff, John H, Broadnax,Clk, Inf, Ct,, Joel Moore Garoner, James Lowery, Surveyor, was commissioned Jan. 9, 1824, * the description is of a map enclosed r I, I I \'.. ; I 11011.!lNVll.1.1: ( l l'I Ill 111\/11.J.I: C!lNCOllll J\J:-/\1 '1 J '1 I;' . i c: MI. Ci I I.I /Ill 'I Nl:VV I :rnL iM ,, .. , /l:IHJ I .UN ' ,''' '' ' \ :, IVIU\N:;VI I.I,' I: '' r ' ,.,I I"' ' ' ' ( l. Vt \ ,/\' l I ./ I I I i I Photographs of my Grandmother and her residence in Zebulon, Georgia, The Tales I, Animal Tales 1. The story of a rabbit and a fox p, 1- 2 2,A story about the cunning Rabbit and a sly Fox 4 3 3, The story of a Hungry and Thirsty Crow 4. The story of a humble Lamb and a angry Wolf 5 It, Ghost Tales 1. A ghost Tale 2. A Haunt or Ghost House 3, A ghost tale III, Miscellaneous Tales 1, The Old Watermelon Thief 2. The story of a little girl JI, Simon 6 7 8 9 10 11 An Old Folks Tale The story of a rabbit and a fox, Once upon a time, there was a story about a fox and a rabbit, They become close friends,and worked together, They was hired to clean off a ditch that the banks was grown up in grass and weeds,and so the first day they began to work in the morning,it was nice an cool-they carried their hoe an rake an shovel, They carried their lunch in a bucket where they could hang it up on a bush limb to keep fit for them to eat- The fox could think out proble~s quicker an easier than old Brer Rabbit- They began to dig an talk while they worked together,having fun-Soon after they started to work, the Pox said to Brer Rabbit aint you hungry ,no ... , , , J, , , 1 said Brer Rabbit, I a int been too long eat breakfast, () h />1' le !Ir' ' 1,/ " I am going and eat a little bite, ,/,,~,,.'/''.}'~A (iv' )/, . a 1{,,'/) So the old Fox didn't have no good food to eat) he only had some corn bread an Black Molasses SYf1-!P and fried fat meat an gravy-an so he said to hise~f I believe I will see what old Brer Rabbit got t6h eat,, He Fastend the lid on his bucket and hung it up in the bush,an taken Brer Rabbit Bucket down, an taken the lid off, Oh Boy he cried, good old baked possum an sweet potatoe, He tasted some of it, how good it was., he hung the bucket up an went back to work, I feel so fuuch Better now,Brer Rabbit But my wife called me while's I was eating I don't know what she wanted with me, you know how worrisome women folks is, Yea, said Brer Rabbit, he was just working so hard, when cried out the Fox-What's the trouble Bro Fox, said Brer Rabbit, That eas my wife called me againI recon I Better go see what she wants I'll be right back Brer Rabbit, So the sly okd Fox wint back and eat about half of Brer Rabbit dinner up an went back to work, What did your wife want Bro Fox,she got a ner baby an she wanted me to name it and what did you name it, Half way-I recon she will let me alone now so I can work, All right.The old Fox began working so hard -just a little while before noon he the sly old Fox hollowed out again, Whew! What is it now Bro Fox, its my wife, I got to go see what is the trouble now- 1 I'll hurry back Brer Rabbit, all right Bro Fox-the old Fox went back an eat up all Brer Rabbit good dinner, When he went back-Brer .Rabbit asked what did your wife won t this time, she got a nother baby and wonted me to name it, what did you name him Sop The Bottom, That women worrie me so I can't hardly do nothing for her in a few minutes the bells went to ringing for dinner time, The Fox was just working so hard-Brer Rabbit said Brer Fox we must stop work now, it is noon ,time to eat dinner, So Brer Rabbit washed his face and said come Brer Fox, have some dinner with me, No thank you Brer Rabbit, I am going to lie down and take a nap.I am so sleepy-Brer Rabbit sit down and taken the lid off his lunch bucket all his food was gone- Ohl Brer Fox all my food is gone, I am so sorry ,cried the sly Fooc-, so the fox open his bucket most all his food wa there, Brer Rabbit have some dinner with me ,you welcome- Thank you Brer Fox said Brer Rabbit and- So Brer Rabbit and Brer Fox worked on together and was close friends, This is avariant of the Briar Patch tale however, there is no punishment involved for the trickster, 2 A story about the cunning Rabbit and a sly Fox- The story was told they would work together, and would plan how they could raise food,for the the cold winter days, They both liked sweet potatoes ,,so they decided to grow a sweet potatoe patch on half- the sly Fox said to the cunning RabbitVI tell you what let's us do, we will go to work and prepare the ground for our sweet potatoe patch\'"! will have all on top"he said,to the cunning Rabbit and you will have all under the bottom~"Good"aaid the cunning Rabbit, They began working,they worked so hard their potato patch grew,it was very fine-When the time come to harvest theirsweet potatoe patch,the cunning Rabbit said to the sly old Fox, "you gather your half first':"All right"said the Fox, so th~y worked together and dragged all the potatoe vines off and piled them in heaps,"Now you got your half saved for your winter food!IYes sir"said the sly Fox!,!Now we will work totether and dig up the bottom\' good"said the cunning Rabbit- They began digging up them Big sweet potatoes-Ohl how sad was the sly Fox- he had worked so hard and now at the end he had no sweet -potatoes to eat- Hal H1I laughed the cunning Rabbit -it is so good to be friends - Mr.Sad Foxsaid the glad cunning Rabbit, This appears to be a simple animal tale in which a trickster plays a minor trick on his friend, A Numskull Tale would fit this tale, J The story of a Hungry and Thirsty Crow There was once a old man,who liked to farm and raise his food, He enjoyed raising peanuts,he worked very hard1one day as he was pulling up peanuts,the weather was hot and dry1 he was tired and went and sit down under the shade of a tree to rest near by, He saw a lonely,hungry,an thirsty Crow flying around searching for food, It was easy for him to get full of peanuts that was left in the ground where the farmer had left in the ground after they was pulled up-So after he had eat and was full, he was thirsty ,no water could be found, The lonely Crow oontinulay Flying around by himself,at last he spied a water jug; The water too low in the jug for his bill to reach- The farmer sit quiet and watched the lonely Crow as he worked -and so the Crow began to pick up small pebbles dropping them one by one in the small jug until the water rose near the top then he could reach the water with his bill- Oh how glad was he- He drink water until his thirst was quenched, The hungry and thirsty Crow Flew aw;zy, refreshed and renewed- This helps us to know - That where ever there is a will - There is a way, This tale is that seemingly of a parable, The last line contains the lesson to be learned, 4 The story of a humble Lamb and a angry Wolf One day a wolf was walking around :iin a meadow looking for some kind of meat to eat, the wolf liked to eat game an sheep and cattle, He was drinking water up a stream that run through Meadow Brook, He looked down the stream and saw a little Lamb Drinking water, a long ways from where he was, so the wolf wanted to eat the little lamb,so he walked down beside the brook where the humble lamu was drinking water down the stream, All sudden, the wolf got angry with the humble lamb and said to him,"I dare you to muddy up the water where I am'drinki:ng~ The little lamb said to the wolf how can I muddy up the water where you was drinking, I am down the stream drinking-Then the angry wolf seized the poor little humble lamb and eat him up-so that was the last of the Poor little humble lamb, What a mean old wolf, This tale is more in the area of being a parable, It is a minor lesson being taught about being cautious, and can project many other lessons, 5 A Ghost Tale It was two men ,they was thieves and uh,they know'd a farmer that raised a lot of corn, They got together and they dedided they'd go there and steal some of that corn, An they went there an,and they stole ten bushels of the man's corn, And the man was watchin them when they stole the corn-he didn't let e,m know he was watchin,he just watched them and kina faced in front of them to see what they was gonna do with the corn, Welh, since they done stolethe corn they went to a cemetery to divide it,you know where nobody be soared to come there cause dead folks buried there, They toted the corn out of the man's barn till they got ten bushels and when they was got like they was gonna divide it - thata been five bushels for this man,five bushels for the other - two of um stealin corn together, Well it was dark anfoggy like,you know,dark scarry lookin weather, They counted the corn an when they run out there an didn't have but eight bushels an uh the man what was follin them, he know'd they was tryin to steal-they'd done left two at the gate where the man first left, The man said," What did you do with them two you left at the gate", an whooo---they left all the corn - they runnnnn,they runnn, they runnn an the man they run up on was wonderin what happened,what in the world, They said they was walkin through a path there by the cemetery and them ghosts was talkin, an one of em said "What did you do with them two you left at the gate an it like to scarred us to death," This is the only tale for which a tape is included, The rest were written down by my grandmother or written down by me as the story was told, She felt self-conscious about having a recorder around most of the time when she discoverd I was recording the tales, Therefore for the tales she didn't write I wrote them as she told them more in a relaxed manner, This tale seems to be related slightly to a motif of Ernest Baughman' s index as it appears in Richard Dorson' s ''.American Negro Folk Tales- E29J, _.. "Ghost appears to apple stealers,stares at them until they drop apples and flee" 6 A Haunt or Ghost House This story was told by a widow mother of long years ago,she was poor,and had lost her husband,and she was the mothew of a lots of children,and she had a hard way to go,she worked very hard,to feed and clothe her children and herself, Someone told her of a nice house that would be given to her or anyone if they was not afraid of ghosts,she replied I am not afraid of Haunts,she gladly accepted the beautifull house,she was all so told that no one could light a lamp in that house,something would blow it oui ,anyway she went on an hired some mens to move her and her little childrens in the house, She seemed to be feeling happy about the nice gift the men helped her put up her beds and they put up her c.obk stove where they could eat and sleep,and be comfortable The m.ens return to their homes in the evening, So the mother was busy getting her home fixed up,so later in the evening before time to for her to cook-she heard something comming down the stairs in the house,it was some one in a- fubber tire Buggy driving a big horse, The horse was just movir15 slow an thew women was siting in the middle of the seat in the buggy and she was looking straight at me said the widow mother, and she said to me, you better be gone before I get back and she p uilled the lines up on the big horse and away they went as fast as the horse could trot, So that poor widow women got all her little child: and run for to tr y,ing to save their lives before the ghosts got back, The last of the widow mother,and her children was not known, she had ,left everything fbr t \le ghosts, The tale is related to Stith Thompson's motif in a general way- H1411,1 "Fear test, staying in haunted house where corpse drops piece meal down chimney,,,," My grandmother says this story was real, happening not far from Barnesville Georgia, 7 A ghost tale Brother John was told many times that the old house nearby was a ghost house, No one could stay there. Well, :Brother John said':!' m gonna stay there~ One day he moved in - he cut wood for fire and it was big fireplace, He sat down, begin to get warm, smokin his pipe. A big cat came in and sat beside him to get warm too, The big cat said to the man "Don't look like nobody here tonight but me and you~and--------- afterwhile another cat came in an they just kept comin in, Brother John said~I wonder where all these cats comin from~- the cat said~I'm wonderin too~ Brother John said~If another cat come in here I' 11 be gone ~ the cat said',' I will too\' So Brother John cut out-he left with his hair straight up and his clothes flaggin back, This tale was told by my father while I was collecting from my grandmother, I wrote it down for my conveinoe instead of disturbing a calm situation. 8 The Old Watermelon Thief An old man named Floyd Casey, he loved melons, always had a big old patch of watermelons, Other people had watermelons, He'd go to other folks patches an get their melons they had saved, Finally the peopleegot mad of people stealing their melons, A white man said to his wife he'd catch up.wid who's stealing the melons, He put . the nicest ones in his patch, Way in the night Floyd came in the patch, saw the nicest melon in the patch, pulled one big one and go get another, he filled his sack and toted to his house, while the man watched till he got the last one, White man asked him what he was gonna do with those melons,then folled him to his house, The man made Floyd eat all the watermelo~s and rhines (all he stole), Floyd you are hungry - go to my house so my wife can fix you supper, Boss man I can't eat no mo or I'll die, Then you die, The man had his shot gun on Floyd an made him eat buttermilk, The white man called the doctor, Floyd went home, fell up on his porch groainin. His wife didn't know what to do, so nobody ate anybody else's melons, This tale was told to my grandmother by her Antie in Pike County, 65 years ago, A few aspwects of this tale couldn't be recalled by her but, the basic points of the tale are there, This particular tale was written down by me as my grandmother told it, 9 A s,tory of a busy li t.tle girl-who always liked to help her mother do her house works she lived to wash dishes and sweepthe floors and dust the furniture most everyday, And she liked for her play mates to visit her, Early one morning she was singing and very busy washing dishes, one of her play mates come in to see her, good morning Mary, she exclaimed, "how can you be so happy while washing dishes, I do hate to wash dishes~Ohl Ann, replied Mary to her as she was washing the inside.of a cup, you see Ann, the reason I sing and.be merry while I am washing dishes, is because Jesus wants our inside clean,as this cup I am washing inside that is why I be so happy and gay while I worksaid Mary, Ann said that sound so good to me, I must hurry home and tell my mother I am sorry that I hate to wash dishes for I wants to be cleansed so Jesus will love me and help me to keep clean, inside so I can be happy, This is a simple story answering some (Uestion related to personal beliefs as to how one can best function-specifically on a religious background, Some parts of this seem to have been memorized by heart, especially some of the pauses related, 10 This is a old slavry time story tha~ was told to my grandmother by her grandmother, told that happen soon after slavery was ended and the poor o ld Negros was free to go about to different places by themselves-some would like to go where they could sing and pray together, There was a old man that would go to fishing most every Sunday,they could not talk to him and get him to take time to worship with them any time-his name was Simon, One beautifull Sunday while all his friends and love ones was having a good time at the place they would their 1 meeting,which they called their church, it was a Bush Arbor. They would keep it clean ,the mens cut small trees of wood and made benches to sit down on and the women would carry cloth1 and spread it over their seat to make them look clean an nice-an they would have a good time together,giving thanks and praises to God an Jesus Christ our Saviour,for Freedom- And so it happen on one Sunday,as the old man name Simon was fishing as he all ways had been doing most every Sunday, all of a sudden a big fish swallowed his hook, The fish was so heavy and strong he could not hardly pull the fish out of the water,b~t he finaly got the fish to the bank then the fish said ,carry me to the house now Simon,''rhe poor man was so afraid,he carried the fish to his home; then the fish said to Simon~Clean me an put me in your frying pan Simon I aint quite dead yet"oh Simon was so afraid, he went on,and clean the fish,and fried it brown;then the fish said, "take me out of the pan Simon and eat me up.&'Poor old man Simon,l:le went on, and eat the fish up, As soon as he had eat the fish up,the fish said belch me up Simon, I aint quite dead yeti Yankee Dilly you,Simon,I cant Oh I cannot belch you up, By By said the fish to Simon, Yankee Dilly, yankee Dilly,poor old man Simon burst wide open, There laid Simon an the fish together,on the ground- 1 My grandmother describes a BushArbor as meeting places for church like activities in open gtvves,where praying,singing, and preaching are held, I I -RELEASEIly letting us collect your traclitions--stories, sonr,s, music, remeruberences, or beliefs of earlier days--you have made a valuable contribution to preservin8 and understandi t[c Southern history, and especially the uay of life of your covununi.ty, Because you have p,iven unselfishly of your time to do this, the Georgia Folklore Archives, 11hose representatives are dedicated to preservinr, these traditions, wants to protect your rights to this matedai by 8Uflranteeing that it will not be used for unscrupulous con1merci.al profits, Ily sir,ning this sheet, you are giving us permission to use this material for educational purposes so that peop1 uho are interested can understand how life 1-1as in the old days, If you do!i' t want your name to be used, say so--we respect your right to privacy, Thank you for the time you have given to help us record a heritage that ia an important part of Ameri.can life, "In consideration of my intent in helpine to preserve my folk heritar,e, I hereby grant permission to the Georgia Folk Archives and its Director, John Burrison, to publish, ot otherwise make use of, the material recorded from me by the agent of the Geore;ia Folklore Archives whose na111e appears on this sheet. Agent of Georcia Folklore Archives_Al!J'.._v:-?i. C/l~1c11-.0.a.Q ', Additional Witness 0/UCJJ.~/) \ , s_:_/rllii'Jf ,/!f:> Georr;ia Folklore A~s c/o Pro~essor John Burrison Georgia State University 33 Gilmer Street Southeast Atlanta, Georcia 30303 A PDF transcript exists for this recording. Please contact an archivist for access. Professor John Burrison founded the Atlanta Folklore Archive Project in 1967 at Georgia State University. He trained undergraduates and graduate students enrolled in his folklore curriculum to conduct oral history interviews. Students interviewed men, women, and children of various demographics in Georgia and across the southeast on crafts, storytelling, music, religion, rural life, and traditions. As archivists, we acknowledge our role as stewards of information, which places us inaposition to choose how individuals and organizations are represented and described in our archives. We are not neutral, andbias isreflected in our descriptions, whichmay not convey the racist or offensive aspects of collection materialsaccurately.Archivists make mistakes and might use poor judgment.We often re-use language used by the former owners and creators, which provides context but also includes bias and prejudices of the time it was created.Additionally,our work to use reparative languagewhereLibrary of Congress subject termsareinaccurate and obsolete isongoing. Kenan Research Center welcomes feedback and questions regarding our archival descriptions. If you encounter harmful, offensive, or insensitive terminology or description please let us know by emailingreference@atlantahistorycenter.com. Your comments are essential to our work to create inclusive and thoughtful description.