*Ellen Polk, born in Gonzales County, Texas. Age, 83. Lives at 724
Virginia Blvd., San Antonio, Texas. Her hair is only slightly grey at
the temples and forehead and her eyesight is good.*
"I was a slave to Jim and Hannah Nations, Gonzales County, Texas. Marse
Jim was a fine looker, a heavy set man. He and Missis lived in a big
lumber house with a shingle roof. Dere was a nice yard with lots of
pecan trees and de plantation fields had rail fences aroun' dem. Dere
were fields of cotton and co'n and a purty river and all kind of wild
flowers.
"Marse Jim sho was good to his slaves, but his foremens twern't. He
bought my mudder and some other slaves in Mississippi and dey walked
frum Mississippi to de Nations plantation in Gonzales.
"Marse Jim had nigh a hundred slaves. De quarters was built of logs and
de roofs was river bottom boards. Some of de houses was built of logs
like de columns on dis house.
"It was a fine, big plantation. De young women slaves wukked in de
fields and de ole women slaves made de cloth on de spinnin' wheels and
de looms. Den de women would go in de woods and take de bark frum de
trees and pursley frum de groun' and mix dem wid copperas and put it all
in a big iron pot and boil it. Den dey would strain de water off and dye
de cloth. De color was brown and, O Lawd, all de slaves wore de same
color clothes. Dey even made our socks on de plantation.
"Ole Missy Hannah was sho good to me. I had to feed de children while
dere mudders was in de fields. Missy Hannah would have de cooks fix de
grub in a big pan and I would take it to de cullud quarters and feed
'em.
"De plantation was on de Guadalupe River and when dere was no meat de
slaves went to de river and killed wild hogs and turkeys and ketched
fish. We groun' de co'n for cornbread and made hominy. And, O Lawd, de
sugar cane, and what good 'lasses we used to make. De slaves had purty
good times and de ole boss was awful good to 'em. We drank well water.
In dry times we toted de water frum de river for washin'.
[Illustration: _Ellen Polk_]
"De houses was log cabins. De men slaves built 'em. Dey goes into de
woods and chops down de big trees and den dey make 'em square. Did dey
have tools? Sho, dey had a ax and a hatchet. Dey splits de trees in two
and dat makes de sides of de house and de roun' side is outside. How dey
make dem logs tight? Jus' wid mud. Den dey puts de boards over de mud so
it cain't fall out. When dey makes de boards dey splits de end of de log
and puts de hatchet in de place and it makes a nice, smooth board.
"Dey makes de beds like dat too. Dey takes four sticks and lays poles in
de crotches, den dey puts branches crossways. No suh, dey never had no
springs. For a mattress dey had hay and straw, sometimes corn shucks or
cobs. Dey slep' good, too.
"After de war we lived on de plantation a long time, den we moved to San
Marcos, den back to de plantation. I was married on de plantation and
moved here 24 years ago. I liked de slavery days de best."