*Van Moore, now living at 2119 St. Charles St., Houston, Tex., was born
on a plantation owned by the Cunningham family, near Lynchburg,
Virginia. While Van was still a baby, his owner moved to a plantation
near Crosby, Tex. Van is about 80 years old.*
"Like I say, I's born on de first day of September, near Lynchburg, in
Virginy, but I's reared up here in Texas. My mammy's name was Mary Moore
and my pappy's name was Tom Moore. Mammy 'longed to de Cunninghams but
Pappy 'longed to de McKinneys, what was Missy Cunningham's sister and
her husban'. That's how my mammy and pappy come together. In dem days a
slave man see a slave gal what he wants and he asks his old massa, kin
he see her. Iffen she owned by someone else, de massa ask de gal's massa
iffen it all right to put 'em together, and iffen he say so, dey jus'
did. Twa'nt no Bible weddin', like now.
"Mammy had 19 chillen, 10 boys and 9 gals, but all of 'em dead 'cept me.
Dey was call' Matthew and Joe and Harris and Horace and Charley and Sam
and Dave and Millie and Viney and Mary and Phyllis, and I forgit de
others.
"While I jus' a baby Massa Cunningham and he family and he slaves, and
Massa McKinney and he slaves comes to Texas. I never did 'member old
Massa Cunningham, 'cause dey tells me he kilt by a rarin' beef, right
after we gits to Texas. Dey say he didn't take up 'nough slack on dat
rope when he tryin' brand de beef and de critter rared over and broke
massa's back.
"But I 'members Missy Mary Ellen Cunningham, he wife, from de time I's a
little feller till she die. She sho' was de good woman and treated de
slaves good.
"Mammy told me it dis-a-way how come de Cunninghams and de McKinneys to
come to Texas. When war begin most folks back in Virginny what owns
slaves moved further south, and lots to Louisiana and Texas, 'cause dey
say de Yankees won't never git dat far and dey won't have to free de
slaves iffen dey come way over here. 'Sides, dey so many slaves runnin'
'way to de north, back dere. Mammy say when dey starts for here in de
wagons, de white folks tells de po' niggers, what was so ig'rant dey
'lieve all de white folks tell 'em, dat where dey is goin' de lakes full
of syrup and covered with batter cakes, and dey won't have to work so
hard. Dey tells 'em dis so dey don't run away.
"Well, mammy say dey comes to de lake what has round things on top de
water. Course, dey jus' leaves, but de niggers thinks here is de lake
with de syrup and one runs to de edge and takes de big swallow, and
spits it out, and say 'Whuf!' I reckon he thinks dat funny syrup.
"De plantation at Crosby was a great big place, and after old Massa
Cunningham kilt by dat beef Missy Cunningham couldn't keep it up and we
goes to Galveston. Dere she has de great big house with de beautiful
things in it, de mirrors and de silk chairs and de rugs what soft 'nough
to sleep on. Missy Cunningham mighty good to us niggers and on Sunday
she'd fill up de big wood tray with flour and grease and hawg meat, so
we could have de biscuit and white bread. Mammy say back in Virginny dey
called biscuits 'knots' and white bread 'tangle-dough.'
"Iffen old Missy Cunningham ain't in heaven right now, den dere ain't
none, 'cause she so good to us we all loved her. She never took de whip
to us, but I heered my mammy say she knowed a slave woman what owned by
Massa Rickets, and she workin' in de field, and she heavy with de chile
what not born yet, and she has to set down in de row to rest. She was
havin' de misery and couldn't work good, and de boss man had a nigger
dig a pit where her stomach fit in, and lay her down and tie her so she
can't squirm 'round none, and flog her till she lose her mind. Yes, suh,
dat de truf, my mammy say she knowed dat woman a long time after dat,
and she never right in de head 'gain.
"When de war broke, de Union soldiers has a camp not so far from we'uns
and I slips down dere when old missy not lookin', 'cause de soldiers
give me black coffee and sugar what I takes to my mammy. I had to walk
in de sand up to de knees to git to dat camp. Lots more chillen went,
too, but I never seed no cruelness by de soldiers. Dey gives you de
sugar in de big bucket and when you puts de hand in it you could pinch
de water out it, 'cause it not refined sugar like you gits now, but it
sure tasted good.
"Mammy wrops me in both de Yankee and de 'federate flags when I goes to
dat camp, and de soldiers takes off de 'federate flag, but I allus wears
it 'round de house, cause old missy tell me to.
"When freedom come, old missy tell my mammy, 'You is free now, and you
all jus' have to do de best you kin.' But mammy she never been 'way from
old missy in her life, and she didn't want no more freedom dan what she
had, so we jus' stays with old missy till she moved back to Crosby.
[Illustration: _Van Moore_]
"When pappy's set free by Massa Albert McKinney, he didn't have
nothin'--not even a shirt, so Massa Albert 'lowed him stay and work
'round de plantation. One day 'fore we goes back to Crosby, pappy come
down to Galveston to see mammy and us chillen, 'cause he wants to take
us back with him. He rid all de way on a mule, carryin' a wallet what
was thrown over de back of de mule like de pack saddle, and he gives it
to mammy. You know what was in dat wallet? He brung a coon and possum
and some corn dodger, 'cause he thinks we don't have 'nough to eat down
there. Mammy she give one look at de stuff and say, 'You, Tom, I's
stayin' right here with old Missy Cunningham, and we has white folks
eats,' and she throw de whole mess 'way. I sho' 'member dat happenin'.
"But old missy gittin' poorly and, like I told you, we move back to
Crosby and mammy and pappy lives together 'gain. I gits me some small
work here and there till I grows up, and I's worked hard all my life.
"All de old folks is gone now. Old missy, she die in Crosby, and mammy
and pappy die, too, and is buried there. Doctor say I got dis and dat
wrong and can't work no more, so I guess I go, too, 'fore long. But I
still has love for my old missy, 'cause she loved us and sho' was good
to us, and it make me feel kinda good to talk 'bout her and de old
times."