Charlie Cooper

Charlie Cooper was born in Monroe, Louisiana in 1847. His Father's name was Alex Cooper and Mother's name was Norma Mae Shelton . He had one brother, Samuel .
According to a bill of sale Charlie was traded for horses, then for cattle, and finally traded back to his former Master. He was owned last by Judge Cooper . Charlie's Father would often tell him about how he was captured in Africa when he was almost grown and sold as a slave. His Father had 30 wives and 90 children. Charlie's last Master Tom and Mistress Alice had 5 children. They had about 100 acres in their plantation and 50 slaves. They lived in a 5 room house 4 big rooms down stairs and 1 up stairs. Their house was the first plank house built in the County. Charlie Cooper was born in Monroe, Louisiana, in 1847. According to a bill of sale he was traded for horses, then cattle, and finally traded back to my former Maser. Was owned last by Judge Cooper when freed. My Father's name was Alex Cooper and Mother, Norma Mae Shelton . Had one brother name, Samuel Shelton . Brother and I never knew what home life was as I was owned by one Maser and brother another. Son, that come about in this way. My Maser and his brother, they agreed to raise some more slaves and every other one went to Maser and the other one went to Masers brother.

We had good quarters built out of pine logs, and shed like covered over with split rails. Our bed was built in one corner of our quarters and used forked stick or post and put some rails in them forks and the other end run in the wall of our quarters. Then we stretched cow hides over them rails and built our beds on that. We used corn shucks, grass and moss to make our beds out of. They told me lots about my parent's and grandparent's. They were so free and happy until the white man came to this country and captured and sold them into slavery. Father he was captured and sold them into slavery. They said he was a race of the most care free and happiest people that ever was on the face of the Globe. Nothing to bother, no debts, always had plenty to eat which they gathered from the fields and woods. They said Father had 30 wives and somewhere near 90 children, and that he was direct descendant of a Prophet of the Bible. We never was taught or believed in the kind of Bible that we had today. We worshipped the sun, moon and stars like the Indians when I was brought to this country and I still believes in that way lots to this day. Of course they is different now a day from what they was in them days. I have done all kinds of work, chopping cotton, corn, plowing and splitting rails, milking cows and washed, and so on son back in slavery days. Yes sir, Maser would give us a dime each every month. He said we earned that much by being good, and not giving him any trouble. We would buy candy, tobacco and first one thing and then the other. We always had plenty to eat, cornbread cooked in the ashes. Son you never did see any bread cooked that way? The corn was grated by hand. That was our Saturday morning job, grating and making meal for the next week. Yes we had fish, and plenty of them. We lived close to the river and could catch all we wanted when we felt like it. And we had rabbits and possum too. I'se sho do like my possum. Take big old fat possum with them potatoes and lay all around him cooked good and brown. Go way from here man, you make my mouth water right now this minute. Maser he had large garden and always give the slave what he wanted them to have. Of course he always fed his slaves good cause he wanted them to work.

We had royal shirts, no pants. All of our shirts opened all the way down the front. Them what we wore in warm weather. In cold weather we had woolen clothes. In the hot weather we went barefooted, and cold weather had them brogan shoes. On Sunday we had white royal shirts to wear, and wedding clothes they were royal shirts. By the time I'se married we had begun to wear trousers, and they were white. I had great big red handkerchief tied around my neck. My Maser was large fellow and weighed about 190 lbs. Never did talk much, but when he did talk, folks knew to move cause he meant what he said. Mistress Sally she was a pleasant woman, talked lot. Guess she talked enough for Maser and he didn't have to talk much. Lord! child Mistress was sure good to her black folks. She could shoot that gun better than any man I ever saw. She would get out in the yard to shoot a chicken when she wanted one and would shoot his head off just as smooth as if you cut if off. Maser and Mistress had two jolly fine lady like and manlike children. They lived in great big house with 4 rooms upstairs and one big room downstairs. It was the first plank house built in that whole country, but never had but one door to the room. All the windows it had was them open and shutter windows. Plenty of shade trees all around the house too. Maser had overse'er named John Stacey . He was the meanest man I nearly ever saw. When Maser was gone he was sho mean, but when Maser was there he was plum good. He would whip slaves nearly every day when Maser was gone, just ride by slave and hit them across the shoulders with that cat-o-nine tails. Maser he had nearly 100 acres in his plantation and something over 50 slaves. That overse'er he would wake the slaves up every morning 'bout 3:30 o'clock and make us tend the stock so we could be in the field waiting for daylight to come. Maser worked us just as long as we could see then we come in and have to tend to all the stock. It would be near 10 o'clock every night before we could go to our quarters. Our overse'er would whip us slaves just because he could. I'se seen him just ride by when a bunch of slaves was working and he would slap them across the shoulders for nothing. All the slaves just hated that man. One time he rode by a slave and hit him with that cat-o-nine tails and that slave turned around and hit that overse'er over the head with his hoe handle and broke it all to pieces. Then the overse'er grabs for the slave but he was too late, the overse'er jumped out of reach of that slave and jerked his gun out and shot at that slave and broke his arm. When Marser got there, the slaves were all after that overse'er and Maser had to quiet them down. Then Maser sent overse'er home after he got the slaves settled back to work. He told that overse'er he never had anymore work for him. Them slaves was the happiest bunch of slaves you ever saw after that because they all loved Maser and Mistress.

Yes, I'se seen good many slaves auctioned off and sold. It was awful when 10 to 15 year old boy or girl was put on the auction block to be sold and to be taken away from their mother and family. When they put them on the auction block you never heard such bawling and going on in your life. For 3 or 4 days they would bawl like a cow does when she is in a strange place. Then the slaves begin to get to where they would not give birth to children cause they knew they would be taken away from them and sold. No sir, the white people would not teach the negro anything more except that they had to work. If slaves learned how to read and write they knew they could not keep them under good control like they wanted to. We were not allowed to read the Bible. Maser and Mistress would always read us what they wanted us to know. Of course they had church on the plantation for both the white and negro slaves. Maser fixed a place for the slaves to worship and he would see that we went to church regular each month. He would teach us to tell the truth more than anything else, and would whip us quicker for not telling the truth than anything we would do. No sir, there never was a slave tried to run away from the plantation cause they knew that would never do cause Maser was too strict with them yet he hardly ever whipped one himself or scolded one and they all loved and respected him to the last day of slavery and long after freedom. What he told them he was going to do, that is just what he would do. Maser gave us a pass from one plantation to another when we wanted to go on pleasure or business. Sometime when he wanted us to work he would refuse us, but that was always to our interest. We would generally just fall in at the door of our quarters cause we would be so tired we could not move hardly. On Saturday morning we grated corn for our corn bread and on Saturday evening we would be off until Monday morning before we had to work again. On Saturday evening we could clean up and take a bath cause that night the negroes always had a dance. That was about all the pleasure we had of getting together. We would dance all night by banjo picking, and tin pan beating. Yes sir, and the slave sure did enjoy them days, yes sir, they did. On Sunday some would get a pass so he could go and see his sweetheart or wife, and some would lay around and sleep. Boss, on Christmas would give all the negroes some kind of present, and would give them a great feast on that day. That was the greatest day of all. He would turn them loose and let them go wherever they wanted---just so they were home by bed time, which was 9 o'clock. Most all other holidays was same as Sunday. We could not tell the difference, no sir. Maser had to take care of his mother and she lived with Maser until her death. All the slaves loved that sweet old soul. When she died Maser let all the negroes dig her grave. The white people carried her to her grave, but the negroes formed a group up there at the head of her grave where they could view that sweet old soul for the last time. Then all the negroes gathered around and joined in a farewell song for that beloved white friend. You asked me what song we sang? I'se plum forgot that song. Yes, when slave died they let the negroes have the day off to bury him. We generally dug grave out somewhere then we takes split poles and built pen, like hog pen, and lay that negro in it. Then we would cover over the grave and all bow their heads and pray for that negro slave who had gone on to that great reward. Then we leave him so the Great Spirit would come and take care of that negro soul. Maser would hate it just as bad as we would to lose lots of money as when one died it would mean he lost $800.00 or $1000.00 for him.

We had great times playing them childrens games when we was children. We played Hide and Seek, and Wolf Over the River. Then we played another game called Drop the Handkerchief, old and young caught hands and formed ring and then drop hands. Then one would go around and drop the handkerchief, and if the prisoner could beat the one the handkerchief was dropped behind he got out of prison and the one lost the handkerchief, he had to go in prison. I'se seen several ghost 'specially after the war between the States. I'se had to help bury them dead soldiers. Boss, I'se never did sleep any much while that war was going on. One night while I was plum sound asleep one of them soldiers they just walked right in the room and called Charlie , Charlie . Then the last time, he hollered Charlie real loud and wake me up and there he stood in the door. I set up in bed and ask him what he wanted, and you know he would not answer me no more. Just stood right there in that door. All of a sudden like he just completely disappeared and I could not see how he left like that. Suzie she wake all the time, and she never did see that ghost. Boss, one time I'se just riding along horseback and all at once my horse he got scared and started to run. Something jumped out of a tree and nearly got me and the horse too. The next morning I looked to see if he struck my horse and there on his hips were some cut places where that thing clawed or hit that horse. The people around there said it must have been one of them panthers, but I never did know what it was. I know one thing, that horse just plum outrun whatever it was. Maser he took good care of his slaves when they got sick. He had an old mama to doctor us. She used herbs she gathered in the woods such as cami weed, redoak bark and peach tree leaves and made a tea of this and give us for malaria, chills and fever. She made prickly pear tea for the cholera. She always had good luck doctoring among the slaves cause they would get well soon. She used this kind of medicine until she died 10 or 12 year's ago.