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Work Projects Administration

"Arkansas Narratives, Part 2"


"It look lack we couldn't make a scratch on the ground nowhere the
soldiers couldn't find it. We had a ash hopper settin' all time. We made
our soap and lye hominy. They took all our salt. We couldn't buy none.
We put the dirt in the hopper and simmered the water down to salt. We
hid that. No they didn't find it. Our smoke house was logs dobbed wid
mud and straw. It was good size bout as big as our cabins. It had
somepin in it too. All the time I tell you.
"You ever eat dried beef? It is fine.
"I say I been to corn shuckins. They do that at night. We hurry and git
through then we have a dance in front of Mars White's house. We had a
good time. Mars White pass round ginger bread and hard cider. We wore a
thing on our hands keep shucks from hurtin' our hands. One darkie sit up
on the pile and lead the singin'. Old Dan Tucker was one song we lernt.
I made some music instruments. We had music. Folks danced then more they
do now. Most darkies blowed quills and Jew's harps. I took cane cut four
or six made whistles then I tuned em together and knit em together in a
row like a mouth harp you see.
[TR: there is a drawing of the whistles, something like this:
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[HW: blow]
Two lines across all the whistles may indicate strings.


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