African Americans at Hobcaw

A Hunting Guide for Belle Baruch

With regard to filmmaking, this is the most sophisticated of the home movies. Although we don't know who shot this segment, we can appreciate that it has been staged, with carefully planned angles and reverse shots. At the beginning, two unidentified African-American men approach the landing with Belle and help to get the bateau in the water. One of them paddles the boat through the marsh grass while Belle sits in the front with her shotgun. He retrieves the dead ducks and removes them from the boat at the landing. This film appears to be from the late 1930s or early 1940s judging by Belle's apparent age.

Bateau Skills

In this segment, likely from the late 1930s or early 1940s, two black men and a white man are loading supplies into boats while Belle Baruch supervises from shore. The taller of the African Americans may be George Shubrick, although the others are unidentified. After loading, the two black men set off in one of the boats. Called a bateau, this is the traditional wooden vessel of the Lowcountry, and the two men demonstrate great skill in maneuvering it. They start off standing, which is difficult in itself, as bateaus are notoriously unstable. Once they exit the rice canal into open water, they paddle seated, moving at great speed. As usual with these films, the identity of the filmmaker is a mystery, but it is clear that he or she is shooting from another boat that is keeping up with the bateau.

Easter at Bellefield

In this segment, probably from the late 1930s, two groups of people - one black and one white - have gathered at Bellefield for an Easter celebration. The African Americans, mostly children, stand on one side. The girls are all wearing white dresses and hair-bows and perform a dance for the camera, while the boys are dressed in suits and ties. Belle Baruch and Lois Massey hand out Easter baskets to the children while, as the camera pans to the right, a group of white people watches something off-camera. This clip says quite a lot about class and race at Hobcaw, and the paternalism of the Baruchs. It appears that Belle has invited the children to a special party, and perhaps bought them new clothes, as a display of generosity - yet we know that African Americans living at Hobcaw never had electricity or running water.

Bellefield Gator

This clip begins with a title slide similar to the ones in the footage of Belle and Barbara Donohoe flying to California. In it, Barbara holds a shotgun while an African American man holds a small, apparently dead alligator and another man stands next to him with a rake. They appear apprehensive about the gator, and wisely keep their distance. Alligators are common in freshwater Lowcountry ponds such as the one at Bellefield, which can be seen in the background. Since the Bellefield pond is completed, we can assume this film is from the late 1930s or early 1940s.