Vignette about an impoverished Gullah woman
Dabbs offers a vignette describing an impoverished, Gullah-speaking woman on St. Helena Island. Her story provides an intersting look into that distinctive culture and region. Dabbs does not give a specific date or date range for her anecdote, although it likely occurred sometime during the mid-twentieth century. Dabbs later wrote two books about the people of St. Helena Island in 1970 and in 1983.
Citing this Excerpt
Oral History Interview with Edith Mitchell Dabbs, October 4, 1975. Interview G-0022. Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007) in the Southern Oral History Program Collection, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Full Text of the Excerpt
Now, you know that is not just any kind of
people. As I said, I hadn't realized in terms of time, until
the other day. It is just one of the little examples of what it is about
those people that you see in other ways. The way they kept going after
the big natural disasters just has to arouse your admiration.
- ELIZABETH JACOWAY BURNS:
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The way that they have always aspired to better themselves.
- EDITH MITCHELL DABBS:
-
Yes, and they have a certain kind of humility, that only the strong can
have. They can take suggestion and instruction and be helped. Not
everybody can do that. They know that is what is happening, but they are
glad to have it and they don't resent the people who give it
to them. That is more than I can say for some of the present day staff
they have down there even with all their advantages. But the people of
the island, it seems to me, are very remarkable people. I have seen such
terrible poverty there that it just tears you to look at
it—tragic needs, but the people somehow can be hospitable,
they do little gracious things without having anything to do it with. I
remember one woman particularly who walked like a princess. She
wasn't ragged and she wasn't dirty, but she
couldn't have been more simply dressed. Late one afternoon, I
was riding along by myself looking for someplace that I
hadn't been able to find yet … it may have been
when I was looking for Tombee 4.
* Tom B. Chaplin plantation
But anyhow, I was riding along very slowly and I slowed down
some more when I saw approaching me along the shoulder of the road, a
woman carrying a big white enamel dishpan under her arm kind of on one
hip. Behind her was a boy of about eight or so. It was hard to tell, he
wasn't very big and I had the feeling that he was quite small
for his age, but he was still a young boy. They had been fishing,
this mother and her little boy and they were
coming along just about supper time. I thought of something to ask her
and stopped and asked her. I couldn't understand two words
she said because it was pure Gullah, but as musical as it could be. And
she stood there with that pan poised on her hip, with her back as
straight as an arrow, but relaxed, very gracious and giving me the
information that I wanted. It wasn't her fault that I
couldn't understand it. I let her talk a little bit just to
hear it. I thanked her, asked something about the fish, something that I
didn't have to ask her, what kind it was or where she got it
or something. She had caught a great big old fish, it was too big for
any bass … I don't know, it could have been, but
it was one huge fish and it filled up that dishpan or whatever it was.
It had been skinned apparently and was gleaming white. It had been
dressed and washed at the water and it was ready for supper. She was
going home to cook supper for her family. She had done this thing
herself and had had some pleasure while she was doing it. She had
rested, she had lived with her little boy. You just felt that she was
handling her life as though she had chosen her life style and she was
doing exactly what she wanted to do. I felt sure that in that situation
she would naturally want things a little easier, but maybe she
didn't. She knew the richness of what she did have like I
couldn't understand it at all. I thought maybe you were a
princess one time. On that island were princes. I mean, people whose
ancestors who came there were princes. I've come across a
couple of very interesting stories about that.