*Reverend Lafayette Price, ancient and venerable minister of a small,
dilapidated church on the outskirts of Beaumont, received his education
under his old master, a plantation owner of the South. He was born a
slave of the Higginbotham family, in Wilcox County, Alabama, but after
the death of his original master, he became known as "orphan children
property" and went to Louisiana to live with Robert and Jim Carroll,
brothers-in-law of Sam Higginbotham. During the Civil War, LaFayette,
then about 12 years old (he does not know his exact age) served as water
boy for young Robert Carroll at the battle of Mansfield. When the slaves
were freed he came to Texas and has been a minister since that time. He
lives with his one daughter in a small, ramshackle house near the church
and conducts Baptist services each Sunday. LaFayette is small and very
dark, and with his crop of almost white hair and his Van Dyke beard, he
has facial characteristics much like those of the patriarch who played
the part of "De Lawd" in the "Green Pastures" picture. His conversation
is that of a devout person, well informed in the Scriptures.*
"I had a statement when I was bo'n, but I don' 'member jus' now. When de
war fus' start I was water toter for my marster. Well, now den, I wan'
to say dat my marster whar I was bo'n in Wilcox County, Alabama, his
name was Higginbotham. When Mr. Higginbotham die, his son, Mr. Sam
Higginbotham, was my young marster. When he married, he marry in de
Carroll family. My father and mother belong to Mr. Higginbotham. Mr.
Sam, he move to Louisiana. When he went back to Alabama, he tuk sick wid
de cholera and die dere. Mr. Sam, he marry Miss Ca'line Carroll. Later
on after Mr. Sam die Miss Ca'line marry Mr. Winn. I become orphan
chillen property. Mr. Winn was de overseer. When I was a small boy I had
playtime. I allus had good owners. When I get bigger I had some time off
after work in de evenin's and on Sundays. Den I want to say I was hired
out an' dey claimed dey was goin' to be a war. The north and de south
was goin' to split apart. In 1861 war commence and my mistress die. I
was den stayin' wid de Carroll family. De Carrolls were brothers of my
owner. Mr. Jim and Mr. Robert was soldiers in de war. Mr. Robert was in
de infantry and Mr. Jim they took him along to drive. When dey was goin'
to Barn Chest (evidently the name of a place) Mr. Robert he say to me,
'Fay, you go back home and tell ma she need not be oneasy 'bout me,
'cause de Yankees is retreatin' to Nachitoches.' So I driv back but I
didn' put up de team. When I was tellin' her, it was 'bout three mile
over to Mosses Fiel' (Mosses' Field was the local name for the tract of
land on which the battle of Mansfield was fought, in part). When I was
tellin' her, a big cannon shot overhead--'Boom'. She jus' shook and say,
'Oh, Fay, git some co'n and throw it to de hogs and go to Chicet.' I got
some co'n and start to git out de crib. Dey shot another cannon. She say
to me, 'Go back and give de co'n to de pigs.' When I put my feets
through de crib do', dey shoot another shot, and I pull my feets back.
She tell me to go back and feed de pigs, but I don' know if I ever did
git de co'n to de pigs.
"Mr. Carroll say dat at Mansfiel' where dey was shootin' de big guns de
ladies was cryin'. He told 'em dey needn' to cry now, when dey was
shootin' de big guns dey wasn't killin' men, but when dey hear de little
guns shoot, den dey could start cryin', 'cause dat mean dat men was
gittin' kill. I dunno if you ever parch popco'n. Dat de way de little
guns soun'. He say dat den dey could begin cryin'. Our w'ite people (the
Confederates) was comin' from Shreveport to meet de Yankees from
Nachitoches, aimin' to go to Shreveport. If anything was a wunnerful
consideration it was den. Mr. Robert Carroll was stood up by a big tree
there at Mansfiel' and de captain, he said, "Is anybody here dat know de
neighborhood?" Here's de ting dey want to know: When de soldiers start
out dey didn' want 'em to launch out and git mix up. Dey sent for Mr.
Carroll, 'cause he live 'bout a mile away. He was order to stan' by de
tree and de captain went by wavin' a sword, and purty soon de captain
was kill. Dey kep' on fightin' and after awhile a soldier come by and ax
what he doin' there. He said he had orders to stan' dere. De soldier say
dat de captain was kill and for him to go and help wid de wounded
soldiers. When de big General come from Shreveport and holler, 'Charge,'
de Yankees git in de corner of a rail fence. Dey broke right through dat
fiel' o' prairie and 60 men git kill dead befo' dey git across. Nex'
day, comin' home, I want to tell you de hosses didn' lay on dis side nor
on dat side, dey jus' squat down, dey was dead. I think it was a
wunnerful consideration to bring up in mem'ry.
"One night right w'ere de battle was fought we had to camp. It was
rainin' and sleetin' and snowin! I said, 'What you goin' to do tonight?'
Mr. James Carroll said, 'We jus' hafta stan' w'ere we camp. Jus' stack
de guns and put out what you call de watchman.' I said, 'Sentinel,' and
he said, 'Yes.' Dey had what you call de relief. Dey wasn't in bed, dey
was out under a tree in de col'. Ev'ry hour dey'd walk 'em out 'long a
runway to walk guard. It was a wunnerful distressin' time. De soldiers
had a little song dey sung:
"'Eat when you're hungry,
Drink when you're dry,
Iffen a tree don' kill you,
You'll live 'til you die.'
"Dis was 'cause dey had to stan' under trees and when de Yankees shoot
cannon dey'd knock off limbs and tops of trees and them under de trees
might git kill from de fallin' branches. Another song was:
"'Hit was on de eighth of April,
Dey all 'member well,
When fifes and drums were beatin'
For us all to march away.'
"In slavery times de slaves went to church wid dere w'ite folks and
heard de w'ite preacher. I never knew of cullud baptisms. Dey'd have
camp meetin' and when cullud people wanted to jine de church dey'd take
'em in den. I didn' quite git through 'bout de Mansfiel' battle. Dem 60
men dat was kill, dey jus' dig a big hole and put 'em in and threw dirt
on 'em. I went back after two or three days and de bodies done swell and
crack de groun'. Marster's plantation comin' from Shreveport was on de
eas' side of Mosses Fiel'. We was 'bout one and a half or two mile' from
Mosses Fiel'. I wasn't acquaint' wid many w'ites 'cause I was wid de
Carrolls and dey was allus kind. I heard dey was people dis way and dat,
but I don' know 'bout dat. My w'ite folks see dat I was not abused. When
news of de surrender come lots of cullud folks seem to be rejoicin' and
sing, "I's free, I's free as a frog" 'cause a frog had freedom to git on
a log and jump off when he please. Some jus' stayed on wid dere w'ite
folks. One time dey say dey sen' all de niggers back to Africa. I say
dey never git me. I bin yere, and my w'ite folks bin yere, and yere I
goin' to stay. My young marster say he want me for a nigger driver, so
he teach me how to read and spell so I could ten' to business. In time
of de war Miss Ca'line say de soldiers been dere and take de bes' hoss.
Dey sent me off wid Ball, a little hoss. When I come back I meet some
soldiers. Dey say dey goin' take de hoss, if dey don' de Yankees come
take 'em. I tell 'em dey done got Marster Carroll other hoss, to leave
dis one. Dey say, "Git down, I goin' give you a few licks anyhow." I
fall down but dey never hit me and dey say, "Maybe dat Mr. Carroll whose
hoss we tuk, let dis boy go on wid de hoss." Miss Ca'line say she wish
she'd let me take Dandy, dey was de bes' hoss.
"I wan' to tell you one story 'bout de rabbit. De rabbit and de tortus
had a race. De tortus git a lot of tortuses and put 'em long de way.
Ever now and den a tortus crawl 'long de way, and de rabbit say, "How
you now, Br'er Tortus?" And he say, "Slo' and sho', but my legs very
short." When dey git tired, de tortus win 'cause he dere, but he never
run de race, 'cause he had tortuses strawed out all 'long de way. De
tortus had other tortuses help him."