*Lou Turner, 89, was born at Rosedale, near Beaumont, Texas, on the
Richard West plantation. She has spent her entire life within three
miles of Beaumont, and now lives in her own little home, with her
daughter, Sarah.*
"I hears you been 'round to see me befo', but you ain't never gwine find
me to home. I sho' love to go 'round visitin'. You know dey say iffen
you treats the cat too good, you ain't never know where the cat is.
"I's gwine on seventeen year old when freedom come. I's born right here
near Beaumont, on the big road what they calls the Concord Road, in the
place what they calls Rosedale. I's a growed-up young lady befo' I ever
sees Beaumont. I's gwine on 89 year old now.
"Richard West, he's my massa and Mary Guidry she my missy. Dey used to
call her the 'Cattle King.' Dey have a big plantation and jes' a few
slaves. Dey raises my mammy since she eleven year old. Her name Maria
and she marry Sam Marble. He come from Miss'ippi.
"I stay up at the big house and missy fix my plate when she fix hers.
God bless her heart, she kind to me, I know now I's sassy to her but she
didn't pay me no 'tention 'cause I's li'l. I slep' on a trundle bed by
missy's side and I git so smart I allus smell my bed to see iffen dey
puts nice, clean sheets on mine like dey did on hers. Sometime I play
sick, but old missy a good doctor and she gimme beefoot oil and it so
nasty I quit playing off. She French and she so good doctor they send
for her to other folks houses.
"Old missy was real rich. I's taken her money out of de wardrobe ane
make tall playhouse out of gold and silver money. Iffen she have to buy
somethin' she have to come and borrow it from me. Us allus has to figger
how to take dat money out of de corners so de house won't fall down. I
cried and cried iffen she tored it up.
"She'd take me with her when she go to see her grandchillen in de French
settlement. Us come in buggy or hack and bring jelly and money and
things. I thought I's gwine to Heaven, 'cause I gits to play with li'l
chillen. Us play 'ring place', dat's draw a ring and hop 'round in it.
Us jump rope and swing. Dey have a hair rope swing with a smooth board
in it so it ain't scratch us behin'.
"Old missy so kind but what got 'way with me, I couldn't go to school. I
beg and beg, but she kep' sayin', 'Some day, some day,' and I ain't
never sit in a school in my life.
"Old massa didn't work 'em hard. He make 'en come in when the sun got
bad, 'cause he feared dey git sunstroke. He mighty good in early days,
but when he figger dey gwine loose he slaves he start bein' mean. He
split 'em and sold 'em, tryin' to make he money out of 'em.
"De house what the white folks live in was make out of logs and moss and
so was the quarters houses. Better'n New Orleans, dem quarters was. Us
slaves have de garden patch. The white folks raises hogs and kilt 'em by
the twenties. Dey smoke hams and shoulders and chittlin's and sich and
hang 'em up in the smokehouse. Us allus have plenty to eat and us have
good, strong clothes. Missy buy my dresses separate, though. She buy me
pretty stripe cotton dress.
"Bout the only work I ever done was help watch the geese and turkeys and
fill the quilts. I larn to card, too. Old missy never whip me much, she
jes' like to scare me. She whip me with big, tall straw she git out the
field or wet a towel and whip my legs. My old massa done a trick I never
forgit while I's warm. I's big gal 'bout sixteen year old and us all
'lone on the place. He tells me to crawl under the corncrib and git the
eggs. I knowed dey ain't nothin' dere but the nest egg, but I have to
go. When I can't find nothin' he pull me out backwards by the feet and
whip me. When old missy come home I ain't know no better'n to tell her
and she say she ought to kill him, but she sho' fix him, anyway. He say
she spile me and dat why he whip me.
"Old missy taken to preachin'. She was real good preacher. Dey have de
big hall down the center of the house where they have services. A
circuit rider come once a month and everybody stop workin' even if it
wasn't Sunday.
[Illustration: _Lou Turner_]
"When war was on us there wasn't no sojers 'round where I was, but dat
battle on Atchafalia shook all the dishes off the dresser and broke 'em
up. Jes' broke up all the fine Sunday and company dishes.
"After de trouble my mammy have gettin' me 'way from there when freedom
come, she gits me after all. Old missy have seven li'l nigger chillen
what belong to her slaves, but dey mammies and daddys come git 'em. I
didn't own my own mammy. I own my old missy and call her 'mama'. Us cry
and cry when us have to go with us mammy. I 'members how old missy rock
me in her arms and sing to me. She sing dat 'O, Susanna' and telt me a
story:
"'Dere a big, old brown bear what live in de woods and she have lots of
li'l cub bears and dey still nussin' at de breast. Old mama bear she out
huntin' one day and she come by de field where lots of darkies workin'
and dere on a pallet she see fat, li'l pickaninny baby. Mama bear she up
and stole dat li'l pickaninny baby and takes it home. It hongry but
after she git all de cub bears fed, dere ain't no milk left for de
nigger baby. Mama bear git so 'sasperated she say to her babies, 'Go
long, you go way and play.' Dan she feed de li'l pickaninny baby and dat
how she raise dat nigger baby.'
"Now, every time old missy come to dat place in de story, she start
laughin', 'cause I allus used to ask her.
"'How come dey didn't no hair grow on dat baby.'"