*Allen Thomas, 97, was owned by several ranchers of Jefferson and Orange
Counties, Texas, but recalls Moise Broussard of Hamshire the best. Ill
health has affected his memory and his story is not coherent. He is a
familiar figure on the streets of Beaumont, Texas, a small man clad in
none too clean and somewhat ragged clothes, with a tow sack across his
shoulders, into which he puts such things as he finds in his wanderings
about the city. Rumor has it that Allen is fairly well to do and that
his begging attitude is assumed, for reasons of his own.*
"I figgers I's gwine be 97 year old on de fourth of August, I's borned
over in Duncan Woods, over in Orange County. My daddy's name was Lockin
Thomas. I never see my daddy. He git drown in de river here at Beaumont.
My mammy's Hetty Anderson.
"I 'longed to three masters. One John Adam and he was mean. One Stowers,
and he was mean but not so mean to me. Den dere Moise Broussard, he was
purty mean, but he never beat me. De las' man what finish raise me was
Amos Harrison and he purty good man. He wife name Mag and dey lives on
Turtle Bayou over in Chambers County. He buy me from Lewis Pinder. He
was good. My brudder was Kelly Idonia and I had a sister Lessie
Williams. Dey beat her with clubs. I's walk over many a dead person. Dey
beat 'em to death.
"Us had tins dishes dem times, master and slaves, too. Dey have wooden
paddles what us take de food out de dishes with. De white folks sot at
one table and de cullud folks have table to deyself, but 'bout what de
white folks has.
"Us have watermilion and sugar cane and milk and butter. Den us have de
possum. Us clean him and put him top de house and 'low de frost fall on
him. Den us fill him full salt and pepper and put him in de oven.
Sometime put sweet 'taters all 'round him. Us have de long, square oven
with de lid on it.
"Us wore knitted shirt make on dem looms and dey gives us boots with
brass toes on 'em. Me and mammy work on de spinnin' wheel many a night
up to one or two o'clock. I used to card de bats.
[Illustration: _Allen Thomas_]
"Dere plenty hawgs and hosses and dem cattle what am longhorn. Us have
plenty meat and raise veg'tables, too.
"I never seed no sojers but I heared de cannons. I disremember when
peace am corral'. I come up here to Beaumont when I thank I's a man and
I's been here every Gawd's since.
"I see some sperrits, but I see 'em only special times. You see 'em
twict a year, 'tween spring and summer and den 'gain 'twixt fall and
winter. Sometime dey comes right 'long and den sometime dey jis'
standin' still. When you looks at 'em dey looks kinder vagueish. I can
allus tell when sperrits 'round. Dey got a queer scent. When you walk
'bout 20 feet, steam gwineter hit you in de face. I can tell dey dere
iffen I can't see 'em. Dey look like men. Dey ain't white but dey got a
pale look."