*John Price, nearing 80, was born a slave of Charles Bryan, in Morgan
City, Louisiana. The Bryans brought him to Texas about 1861, and he now
lives in Liberty. Mirandy, his wife, was also a slave, but has had a
paralytic stroke and speaks with such difficulty that she cannot tell
the story of her life. Their little home and yard are well cared for.*
"I's five year old when de Lincoln war broke up and my papa was name
George Bryan in slavery time and he come from St. Louis, what am in
Missouri. After freedom de old boss he call up de hands and say, 'Iffen
you wants to wear my name you can, but take 'nother one iffen you wants
to.' So my daddy he change he name to George Price and dat why my name
John Price.
"My old massa name George Bryan and he wife name Felice. Dey buy my papa
when he 18 year old boy and dey take him and raise him and put all dey
trust in him and he run de place when de old man gone. Dat in Morgan
City, in Louisiana on de Berwick side.
"De year I's one year old us come to Texas and settle in Liberty. I wes
a-layin' in my mammy's arms and her name Lizette but dey call her
Lisbeth. She mos'ly French. I got three sister, Sally Hughes and Liza
Jonas and Celina, and two brothers, Pat Whitehouse and Jim Price.
"De white folks have a tol'able fair house one mile down south of
Raywood and it were a long, frame house and a pretty good farm. Us
quarters was log houses built out of li'l pine poles pile one top de
other. Dey have nail up log, country beds and home-made tables and
rawhide bottom chairs and benches. Dem chair have de better weight dan
de chair today. Iffen you rare back now, de chair gone, but de rawhide
stay with you.
"De old massa pretty fair to us all. Iffen my papa whip me I slips out
de house and runs to de big house and crawls under de old massa's bed.
Sometime he wake up in de middle de night and say, 'Boy,' and I not
answer. Den he say 'gain, 'Boy, I know you under dat bed. You done been
afoul your papa 'gain,' and he act awful mad. Den he throw he old sojer
coat under de bed for to make me a pallet and I sleep dere all night.
"Us chillen have lots of time to play and not much time to work. Us
allus ridin' old stick hosses and tie a rope to de stick and call it a
martingale. Us make marbles out of clay and dry 'em and play with 'em.
De old boss wouldn't 'low us have no knife, for fear us cut each other.
Us never sick much dem days, but us have de toothache. Dey take white
tree bark what taste like peppermint and stew it up with honey and cure
de toothache.
"Us never go to church. Some my wife's people say dey used to have a
church in de hollow and dey have runners for to watch for de old boss
man and tell 'em de massa comin'.
"Us old massa say Christmas Day am he day to treat and he tell us 'bout
Santy Claus. Us taken us socks up to he house and hang dem 'round de big
fireplace and den in de mornin' us find candy and cake and fruit and
have de big time. New Year Day was old missy time. She fix de big dinner
on dat day and nobody have to work.
"When de war is breakin' old massa come by ship to Galveston up de
Trinity River to Liberty by boat to try to save he niggers, but it
wasn't no use. Us see lots of tents out by Liberty and dey say it
sojers. I tag long with de big boys, dey sneaks out de spades and digs
holes in de prairie in de knolls. Us plannin' to live in dem holes in de
knolls. When dey say de Yankees is comin' I sho' is 'fraid and I hear de
cannon say, 'Boom, boom,' from Galveston to Louisiana. De young white
missy, she allus sing de song dat go:
"We are a band of brothers, native to de soil,
Fightin' for our liberty with treasure, blood and toil,
And when us rights was threaten', de cry rise far and near,
Hurrah for the Bonnie Blue Flag what bears a single star.
"After freedom my papa move away but de old massa come after him and
worry him till he 'most have to come back. When my li'l sister have de
whoopin' cough, old massa come down in a hurry and say, 'You gwineter
kill dem chillen,' and he puts my sister and brother on de hoss in front
of him and takes 'em home and cures 'em hisself. It were years after dat
'fore my papa leave him 'gain.
"Dey driv beefs and have two rivers to cross to git dere, de Sabine and
de Neches. Dey 'liver 'em by so many head and iffen dey ain't have
'nough, other mens on de prairie help 'em fill out de number what dey
needs. I's rid many a wild hoss in my day and dat's where I make my
first money for myself.
[Illustration: _John Price and wife Mirandy_]
"I's workin' in Hyatt when I 'cide to git marry and I marry dis gal,
Mirandy, 'bout 52 year ago and us still been together. Us marry in Moss
Bluff and Sam Harris, he a cullud man, he de preacher what marry us. I
have on pretty fair suit of clothes but one thing I 'member, de gal I
marry, she have $5.00 pair of shoes on her feet what I buys for her.
"Us done have five sons and three daughters and I been a pretty
'fluential man 'round Liberty. One time dey a man name Ed Pickett what
was runnin' for Clerk of de Court in Liberty County and he come 'round
my place 'lectioneering, 'cause he say whatever way I votes, dey votes.
"Did you ever hear a old coon dog? Old coon dog, he got a big, deep
voice what go, 'A-woo-o-o, a-woo-o-o.' You can hear him a mile. Well,
dat Ed Pickett he say to me, 'John Price, you know what I wants you to
do? I wants you put dat other feller up a tree. I wants you put him so
fur up a tree he can't even hear dat coon dog beller.' And I does it,
'cause I's pretty 'fluential 'round here."