*Ella Washington, 82, was born a slave of Dave Mann, in St. Mary's
Parish, Louisiana. When the slaves were freed in Louisiana Ella was
taken to Calvert, Texas, and put on the Barton plantation. Soon after
the civil war she came to Galveston, and lives with her daughter, who
supports herself and her mother by taking in washing.*
"You got to 'scuse how I looks, 'cause I been out in de back yard
helpin' my daughter with de washin'. She allus fuss at me 'cause I work
like dat, but I tells her jes' 'cause I is a old woman ain't no reason
why I got to act like one.
"I don't know for sho' jes' when I'm birthed, but my sister allus say
I's one year and six months older'n her and she say she's birthed 'bout
1857. Dey didn't make no record den like now. I thinks old massa, Dave
Mann, keep some kind record on us, but he been dead de long time.
"My mammy and pappy was name Meine, Car'line and Charles Meine. De
slaves used to take de massa's name and sometimes when dey sold dey drap
de old name and take de new massa's name. Dat how come it so hard to
keep up with dem.
"Massa Mann sho' nice but him and he missy die and Massa Jim Ross step
into dere shoes on de plantation. Us gits swamp den. When you git swamp
dat mean you got to live with a mean man. He sho' was mean, too.
"De plantation was big and 'bout a hundred slaves on it. Dey work dem
hard, too, sometimes till nine o'clock at night. A lot of dem run away
but dey sic de nigger dogs on dere trail and cotch dem. When dey cotch
dem dey whup dem. Dey put sticks in de ground and tie dere hands and
feet to dem. Some places dey strip dem naked and whip dem.
"Sometimes Massa Jim 'low us go to de Catholic Church at Marion. Dey
wouldn't 'low us to pray by ourself. But we sneaks off and have pot
prayin'. Two men carry de great big hog pot dey uses to scald hogs and
take it out in de woods and us stick de head in it and pray. All de
noise go in de pot and you couldn't hear it outside.
"Old massa fed us good, meal and syrup and meat 'nough to last. He give
us watermelons every Sunday. But Massa Jim didn't 'lieve in pamperin'
niggers, he say. He didn't give us much to eat and de houses leak 'cause
de walls rotten.
"One time he take de notion to sell us. He put my mother and me and
sister on de block up in Marion. Us all cryin' hard, 'cause us thunk us
gwine git sep'rate. Den I looks up sudden and right at my young miss,
Miss Mary. She so mad she pale like de ghost. She say, 'Ella, you git
'way from dat block and come over to me, and you too, Della.' Me and my
sister runs over dere to her and wrop ourself round her dress and hold
on with all our might. De massa come after us and Miss Mary say, 'What
you mean sellin' my slaves?' He say us slaves his and she say, do he
want to have to prove what he say. Den she start in and raise so much
sand he have to call mammy down off de block and take us back home.
"I heared everybody say a war goin' on and my uncle and cousin run 'way
to de head bureau, where de Yankees at. My mammy say it at Milligan,
Texas. Time dey ready for freedom in Louisiana, dey refugees us to
Texas, in de wagons. Us travel all day and half de night and sleep on de
ground. It ain't take us so long to git to Calvert, out dere in de
bottom of Texas, and dey puts us on de Barton plantation. We's diggin'
potatoes dere when de Yankees come up with two big wagons and make us
come out of de fields and free us. Dere wasn't no cel'bration 'bout it.
Massa say us can stay couple days till us 'cide what to do.
"Well, den somethin' funny happen dere. De slaves all drinks out an old
well. Dey'd drink water in de mornin' and dey'd have de cramps awful bad
'bout dinner time and in de evenin' dey's dead. Dey dies like flies, so
fast dey couldn't make de coffins for dem. Dey jes' sew dem up in sacks
and bury dem dat way. Some de slaves say massa put de poison in de well.
I don't know what kill dem but it sho' look funny.
"Mammy and me goes to Calvert and hires out, but 'fore long us come to
Galveston and pappy go back to Louisiana. If he ain't dead he still live
dere in St. Mary's Parish. I never seen him no more.
"I marries 'bout 1886, and stays right here in Galveston. I seen Wright
Cuney lots of times but I ain't never knowed him to talk to. I 'member
when dey say he be governor some day, but dey ain't gwine have no cullud
man governor. Course, he did git to congress."