*Sam Jones Washington, 88, was born a slave of Sam Young, who owned a
ranch along the Colorado River, in Wharton Co., Texas. Sam was trained
to be a cowhand, and worked for his master until 1868, receiving wages
after he was freed. He farmed until 1905, then moved to Fort Worth and
worked in the packing plants until 1931. He lives at 3520 Columbus Ave.,
Fort Worth, and is supported by an $11.00 per month old age pension,
supplemented by what Sam raises in his garden and makes out of a few
hogs.*
"How old I is? I's 16 year when surrender come. I knows dat, 'cause of
massa's statement. All us niggers gits de statement when surrender come.
I's seed plenty slave days.
"Massa Young run de small farm 'long de Colorado River and him don't own
many slaves. Dere my mammy and her six chillen, and Majoria and her four
chillens. My pappy am not on de place. I don't know my pappy. Him am
what dey calls de travelin' nigger. Dey have him come for service and
when dey gits what dey wants, he go back to he massa. De womens on Massa
Young place not married.
"Massa raise jes' a little cotton, dat two womens and de chillen could
tend to, and some veg'tables and sich. Us have lots of good food. Us
sleep in de sleepin' room, nex' to massa's house, but I sleeps in
massa's room.
"One night massa say, 'Don't tie my hoss to de stake tonight.' But I's
sleepy and gits de nodfies and draps off to sleep. Mammy shake me and
say, 'Did you stake de hoss?' Massa sees dat hoss in de mornin' and say,
'You done stake dat hoss and I told you not to.' He gives me couple
licks and I larns to do what I's told. He never whip nobody, not de hard
whippin' like other niggers gits. He am de good massa.
"I fust runs errands and den massa larn me to ride, soon's I could sit
de hoss. Den I stays out with de cattle mos' de time and I's tickled. I
sho' likes to ride and rope dem cattle and massa allus fix me up with
good clothes and good hoss and good saddle. I stays dere till long after
surrender.
"Us have stampedes from de cattle. Dat am cust'mary with dem critters.
Dat mean ride de hoss to turn de cattle. Us ride to side de leader and
crowd him and force him to turn, and keep forcin' him, and by and by dem
critters am runnin' in de circle. Dat keep dem from scatterment. Dat
sho' dangerous ridin'. If de hoss throw you off dem cattle stamp you to
death. Gabriel sho' blow he horn for you den!
"I sho' 'joys dat business, 'cause we'uns have de good time. Us go to
town and have fun. One time I comes near gittin' in trouble, but it
ain't my fault. I's in town and massa, too, and a white man come to me
and him show de drink. 'Who you 'long to, nigger?' he say. 'I's Massa
Young's nigger,' I says, polite-like. 'You looks like de smart nigger
and I's de notion smack you one,' he say. 'You better not smack me any,'
I says. You unnerstand, dat de way massa raise me. I don't unnerstand
some cruel white mens gits de arg'ment, jus' for de chance to shoot de
nigger. Massa am standin' near by and him come up and say, 'If you
touches dat nigger, I'll put de bullet through you.' Dat man see massa
have no foolishment in he words and gits gwine. But if massa am not
dere, Gabriel blow he horn for dis nigger's Jubilee, right den, yes,
sar.
[Illustration: _Sam Jones Washington_]
"I comes near gittin' cotched by de patterrollers once. I's jus' 12 den
and 'nother nigger and me, us want some cane stalk. It good to eat raw,
you knows. Jus' peel de bark off and chew dat inside. Well, we'uns in de
man's cane patch, breakin' dem stalks and dey makes de poppin' noise. A
patterroller come by and hear dat poppin', and holler, 'Who's dere in de
cane patch?' Us didn't answer him, no, sar. I 'cides right quick dat I
don't like cane and I comes 'way from dat patch. I outsmarts and outruns
dat patterroller. I keeps to de cane fields and de woods and I runs dis
way and dat way. I twists 'round so he couldn't follow my tracks. Like
de snake's track, you can't tell if it am gwine north or comin' back.
Lawd a'mighty! How fast I runs. I stays 'head of my shadow. I tells you,
I's a-gwine!
"De war? White man, we'uns didn't know dere am de war. We seed some
sojers at de start, but dat all. One day massa say to me, 'After dis,
you gits $15.00 de month wages. I works for him three more years and den
he sold out. Den I goes farmin' till 1905. I works in de packin' plants
here in Fort Worth den, till I's wore out, 'bout six year ago. Now I
raises de hawgs, not very many, and does what work I can git. Dat
pension from de State sho' holps me. With dat and de hawgs and de little
garden I gits by, and so I lives.
"Was I ever marry? Man, man, three time. Fust time, 'bout 1869 and
we'uns gits de seperment in 1871. Dat woman sho' deal me mis'ry! She am
de troublin' woman. Den 'bout 1873 I marries 'gain and she die 'fore
long. Den in 1905 I marries 'gain and she's dead, too. I never has de
chillen. I's jus' 'lone and old now, and stay here till my time comes. I
'spect it quite a spell yit, 'cause I's got lots of substance left, yes,
sar."