*Peter Ryas, about 77 years old, was born a slave of Volsant Fournet, in
St. Martinville Parish, Louisiana. He speaks a French patois more
fluently than English. Peter worked at the refineries in Port Arthur for
sixteen years but ill health forced him to stop work and he lives on
what odd jobs he and his wife can pick up.*
"I's borned 'bout 1860, I guess, in a li'l cypress timber house in de
quarters section of de Fournet Plantation. Dat in St. Martinville
Parish, over in Louisiana. Dem li'l houses good and tight, with two big
rooms. Two families live in one house. Dey 'bout ten houses.
"M'sieu Volsant Fournet, he my old massa and he wife name Missus Porine.
Dey have eight chillen and de baby boy name Brian. Him and me, us grow
up togedder. Us allus play togedder. He been dead three year now and
here I is still.
"All dem in my family am field workers. I too li'l to work. My mama name
Annie and papa name Alfred. I have oldes' brudder, dat Gabriel, and
'nother brudder name Marice, and two sisters, Harriet and Amy.
"Old massa's house have big six or eight room. Galleries front and back.
Us cullud chillen never go in de big house much.
"Old massa he done feed good. Coosh-coosh with 'lasses. Dat my favorite
dem day. Dat make with meal and water and salt. Dey stir it in big pot.
Sometime dey kill beef. Us have beef head and neck and guts cook with
gravy and spread on top coosh-coosh. Dat good food.
"Down on Vermilion Bayou am alligators. Dey fish and snakes, too. Us eat
alligator tail steak. Taste like fish. Jes' skin hide off alligator
tail. Slice it into steak. Fry it in meal and hawg fat. Dat like gar
fish. Sometime git lamper eel. Dey hard to cotch. Perches and catfish
and mud-cat easy to cotch. Water bird, too. Duck and crane. Crane like
fish. Us take boat, go 'long bayou, find nesties in sedge grass.
"Old massa allus good. He 'low papa and some to have li'l patch round
dey door. Dey eat what dey raise. Some sells it. Papa raise pumpkin and
watermelon. He have plenty bee-gum with bees. After freedom he make
money awhile. He sell de honey from dem bees.
"Dat plantation full cotton and corn. Us chillen sleep in de
cotton-house. It be so soft. In de quarters houses chillen didn't have
no bed. Dey slept on tow sack on de floor. Dat why dem cotton piles felt
so soft.
"Massa have special place in woods where he have meanes' niggers whip.
He never whip much, but wartime comin' on. Some de growed ones runs away
to dem Yankees. He have to whip some den. He have stocks to put dey neck
in when he whip dem. Massa never chain he slaves. I seed talkin'
parrots. Massa didn't have one, but other massas did. Dat parrot talk.
He tell when de nigger run away or when he not work.
"Us white folks all Catholic. Us not go to church, but all chillen
christen. Dat in St. Martinville Catholic Church. All us christen dere.
After freedom I start go to church reg'lar. I still does.
"Dey ain't give us pants till us ten year old. In winter or summer us
wore long, split tail shirt. Us never even think of shoes. After I's
twelve papa buy my first pair shoes. Dey have diamond brass piece on
toe. I so 'fraid dey wear out I won't wear dem.
"De war goin' on. Us see sojers all de time. Us hide in bresh and play
snipe at dem. All de white folks in town gang up. Dey send dere slaves
out on Cypress Island. Dey do dat try keep Yankee sojers from find dem.
It ain't no use. Dem Yankee find dat bridge what lead from mainland to
island. Dey come 'cross dat bridge. Dey find us all. Dem white folks
call deyselves hidin' us but dey ain't do so good. Dey guard dat bridge.
But some de niggers dey slip off de Island. Dey jine de Yankees.
"Dey plenty alligators in dat bayou. Sometime I wonder if dem niggers
what try go through swamp ever git to Yankees. Dem alligators brutal. I
'member black gal call Ellen, she washin' clothes in bayou. Dey wash
clothes with big rocks den. Dey have wooden paddle with hole and beat
clothes on rocks. Dis gal down in de draw by herself. She washin'
clothes. Big alligator had dug hole in side de bank. He come out and
snap her arm off jes' 'bove elbow. She scream. Men folks run down and
killed alligator. Us chillen wouldn't watch out for alligator. Us play
in li'l flat, bateaux and swing on wild grapevine over water. I done see
snakes. Dey look big 'nough swallow two li'l niggers one bite. Dey
alligator turtles, too. If dey snap you, you can't git loose less you
cut dey neck slap off. I kill lots dem.
"Dey old mens on plantation what they think witch mens. Dey say could
put bad mouth on you. You dry up and die 'fore you time. Dey take your
strengt'. Make you walk on knees and hands. Some folks carry silver
money 'round neck. Keep off dat bad mouth.
"Old massa oldes' son, Gabriel, he Colonel in war. He and old massa both
Colonels. Lots sojers pass our place. Dey go to fight. Dem with green
caps was white folks. Dem with blue caps was Yankees. Us hear guns from
boats and cannons.
"After war over massa come home. Dey no law dem time. Things tore up.
Dey put marshal in to make laws. Some folks call him Progo(provost)
Marshal. He come 'round. See how us doin'. Make white folks 'low niggers
go free. But us stay with massa a year. Dey finish crop so everybody
have to eat.
"Den us papa move to Edmond LeBlanc farm. Work on shares. Second move to
Cade place, run by Edgar DeBlieu. Jes' railroad station, no town. I
shave cane for money.
"In 1867 or 1877 yellow fever strike. People die like dem flies. Dat
fever pay no 'tention to skin color. White folks go. Black folks go. Dey
die so fast dey pile dem in wagons. Dey pay mens $10.00 to go inside
house and carry dem out to wagon. Lots niggers makes $10.00. Dat fever
strike quick. Man come see me one mornin! He all right. Dat man dead
'fore dark. It bad sickness. It sev'ral years after dat dey have
smallpox sickness. It bad, too.
"All us stay 'round farm till I's 22 year. I never go to school. In 1882
I marry Viney Ballieo. She Baptist. I marry in Baptist church. Cullud
preacher. Never white preachers 'round dere. Allus white priests. Viney
die and all us four chillen dead now. I marry Edna LeBlanc in 1917.
"I git dissatisfy with farmin' in 1911. I come to Lake Charles. To Port
Arthur nex' year. I work at refinery sixteen year. I too old now. Us git
what work us can. Jes' from dere to here."