*Hiram Mayes thinks he was born in 1862, a slave of Tom Edgar, who owned
a plantation in Double Bayou, Texas. Hiram lives with two daughters in a
rambling farmhouse near Beaumont, less than three miles from his
birthplace on the old Edgar homestead near the Iron Bridge. For thirty
years Hiram has served as Worshipful Master of the Masonic Lodge (Negro)
in the vicinity. Native intelligence gleams in his deep-set eyes, but
his speech shows that he received little schooling.*
"De fust thing I 'members back in slavery time was gittin' in de
master's strawberry patch. He's right proud of dat patch and git after
us plenty. Dey was li'l Tim Edgar, dat de white boy, and me. Tim, he
still livin' down in Wallisville. Old master he cut us both a couple
times for thiefin' he strawberries, jes' give us a bresh or two to skeer
us. Dat de onlies' time he ever did whip me and you couldn' hardly call
that a whippin'.
"Old man Tom Edgar was my master and de old Edgar place was down below
where Jackson's store is and 'bout two mile from where I lives now. Some
de brick from dat house still standin' dere in de woods.
"My mama name Mary and Dolf Mayes my papa, and I's borned 'bout 1862, I
guess, 'cause I wasn't very big when freedom come. I did most my playin'
with young master, Tim, him and me 'bout de same age.
"Old master was sho' good to he slaves and dey ain't never have no cruel
overseer nor no lot of whippin' like some masters did. Mama work in de
white folks' house and done de cookin' in de big kitchen. De big house
was a big, low place with galleries 'round it. Mama tie me to a chair
leg on de gallery to keep me from runnin' off to de bayou. Dey 'fraid of
alligators. Dem 'gators never did eat no cullud chillen 'round us place,
but dey allus 'fraid day would. Dey sich big snakes in de woods, too,
dey skeered of dem.
"De cullud folks all have li'l brick cabin quarters and dey have a
brickyard right near de place what a white man own and he make de bricks
what dey calls Cedar Bayou brick 'count of de mud being diff'rent. I's
born in one dem li'l brick houses. I don't 'member none my grandfolks
'cept my papa's mama, call Martha Godfry. She come from Virginny, and
'long to de Mayes where my papa born.
"I never did bother with Sunday School much, me. Dey one on de bayou and
a white lady, Miss Joseph, am de teacher. Dey wasn't no school but after
I git free I go to school on de edge of de woods. Dey have teacher name
Runnells and a old blue-back speller to larn out of.
"After us freed my papa move up de prairie a ways and hire out to ride
de range. Dey done larn me to ride when I 'bout five, six year old and I
rid with de old man. Dat ridin' business was jes' my job. My daddy never
did like to settle down and farm, but druther ride de range for four
bits or six bits de day. De old master done give us nothin', jes' turn
us adrift, but he didn't have much and everybody jes' have to shift for
demselves dem days. Us git 'long all right makin' money with de
cattlemen.
"De prairie lands a good place to git things to eat and us see plenty
deers, sometime eight or ten in de bunch. Dey lots of wolves roamin'
'round lookin' for stray cows. Dat when de whip come in handy, to knock
dem on de head. Never hear tell of but one bear, and us cotch him on Gum
Island and kill him. You know dem funny lookin', horny things dey calls
armadillos? Dey been immigrate here 'bout ten year ago. Dey come from
somewhere but us ain't knowed why. Dey never was none here in slavery
time but plenty horny frogs and 'gators.
"I marry 51 year ago to Wilina Day and I's still marry to her. Us marry
in her brudder's house with jes' homefolks. Dey's nine chillen and eight
still livin' and most dem farmers, 'cept two boys in de reg'lar army.
Dey am Dolf and Robert. Oscar runs de fillin' station at Double Bayou.
Oscar was in France in de World War. I has two my gals with me here and
two grandchillen.
"I rode de range till 'bout 20 year ago and den I start gittin' purty
old, so I settles down to farmin'. Dey charter a Masonic lodge here in
1906, I 'lieve it were number naught six, and dey put me up for
Worshipful Master of de bunch. After dey vouch for me I git de chair and
I been sittin' in de east for 30 year."