45OO1~ .
	Interview of Wre. Minnie ~‘u1kes - 459 ~ Byrne Street		  ~
	PetersbUrg~ Virginia
	By ~ Byrd ~
	March 5, 1937	.	 ~ ~	(I,




	I wae born the twenty fifth of December and I am 77 years old. My mothsr : was a slave an. ehe belonged to Dick Beicher in Cheeterfield County. Old Dick
	‚2.	‚
sold US again to Gela8pe Graves, ~emb~r now fifteen of mother s chillun went with her having de same master.

	Honey, I don‘t like to talk ‘bout dem times, ‘cause my mother did suffer misert. You know dar an‘ overseer who use to tie mother up in 4. barri iith a rope aroun‘ her arme up over her head, while she stood on a block. Soon ae dey got her tied, dis block was moved an‘ her feet dangled, yo‘ know~,$~ldn‘t tech de Lb‘.

	Dis o~ man, now, would start beatin‘ her nekkid ‘til the blood r~az~i down her back to her heels. I took an‘ seed th‘ whelpe an‘ scars fer my own self wid dese here two ~ “was a whip like dey use to use on horse~ it ‘uz a peice of leather ‘bout as wide as my han‘ froxn little finger to thumb~After dey had beat my muma all dey wanted another overseer. Lord, Lord, I hate white people and de flood waters gym. drown some ~o. Weib honey dis man would bathe her in salt and water. Don‘t you kno‘ dem places ~ hurtin‘.

Um, uni.
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	I asked mother ‚ ~~iat she done fer ‘en to beat and do her so? She eaid, 3nothin‘~ tother than ehe refused to b. wife to dis man.“

~n‘ muma eay~(4~~ h. didn‘t tr•at her die iay a dozen times, it wasn‘t
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nary ufle.“

	Mind you, now inuma‘e niarster didn‘t know dis wuz going on. You know, if slaves would tell, why dem overseers would kill ‘em.

	An‘ she sod dat êey use to have m.etinge an‘ sing and pray an‘ th‘ ob‘ paddy rollers would hear dem, ào to keep th‘ sound from goin‘ out, slaves would