*Peter Mitchell, in the late seventies, was born in Jasper, Texas, a
slave of Thad Lanier. He has lived in or near Jasper all his life.*
"Yes'm, I's Peter Mitchell and I was born right near here and my father
and mother wasn't lawful married. De niggers wasn't in dem days. My
pappy's name was Richard Lanier and my mammy's was Martha Mitchell, but
us all taken mammy's name. She taken her name from de Mitchells, what
owned her befo' de Laniers git her. My brothers named Lewis Johnson and
Dennis Fisher, and William and Mose and Peter Mitchell. My sisters was
Sukie and Louisa and Effie.
"Mammy was de house gal. She say de Mitchells done treat her hard but
Massa Lanier purty good to us. In summer she kep' us chillen near de big
house in de yard, but we couldn't go in de house. In winter we stays
round de shack where we lives while mammy work.
"We gits plenty cornbread and soup and peas. On Sunday dey gives us jus'
one biscuit apiece and we totes it round in de pocket half de day and
shows it to de others, and says, 'See what we has for breakfast.'
"We wears duckin' dyed with indigo, and hickory shirts, and we has no
shoes till we gits old 'nough to work. Den dey brogans with de brass
toe. Mammy knitted de socks at night and weaves coats in winter. Many a
night I sits up and spins and cards for mammy.
"Massa Lanier live in de fine, big house and have hundreds of acres in
de plantation and has twenty-five houses for de slaves and dere
families. He kep' jus' 'nough of de niggers to work de land and de extry
he sells like hosses.
"Missy larned mammy to read and dey have de cullud preacher, named Sam
Lundy. Dey have de big bayou in de field where dey baptises. De white
people has de big pool 'bout 50 yard from de house, where dey baptise.
"Sometimes dey runs 'way but didn't git far, 'cause de patter rollers
watches night and day. Some de men slaves makes hoe handles and cotton
sacks at night and de women slaves washes and irons and sews and knits.
We had to work so many hours every night, and no holidays but Christmas.
"Us plantation so big, dey kep' de doctor right on de place, and taken
purty good care of de sick niggers, 'cause dey worth money. We was not
so bad off, but we never has de fun, we jus' works and sleeps.
"When freedom come dey turn us loose and say to look out for ourselves.
Mos' of de slaves jus' works round for de white folks den and gits pay
in food and de clothes, but after while de slaves larns to take care
demselves. I marries and was dress up in black and my wife wore de
purple dress. De Rev. Sam Hadnot marry us.
"I farms all my life and it ain't been so bad. I's too old to work much
now, but I makes a little here and there on de odd jobs."