*Daphne Williams was born in Tallahassee, Florida, a slave to Mrs. Nancy
Herring. Daphne does not know her exact age, but must be close to or
over 100. She claims to have witnessed the fall of the stars in 1833.
She lives in Beaumont, Texas.*
"It won't be long 'fore I's sleeping the long sleep. I expect I's about
the mos' agreeables person in the county, 'cause I's so old. I's born in
Tallahassee, in Florida, but I don' know when. The Herrings used to own
me and I took their name. Missus' name was Nancy Herring and the marster
was still alive when I's born, but he die when I's a baby. I guess I's
about 10 or 12 year old when us come to Texas.
"Dat place where I's born was sho' a place! They have a three-story
house with a porch at the front and another at the back. They was
posties what stand from one porch floor to the nex' and brace it up. I
used to live in the big house, 'cause I's nuss for the white chillen. I
didn' stay round with cullud folks a-tall.
"The missus was a widow woman ever since I 'member her. She have two boy
and three gal, and that sho' was a lovely house. They have they ownself
painted in pictures on the wall, jus' as big as they is. They have them
in big frames like gold. And they have big mirrors from the floor to the
ceilin'. You could see you ownself walk in them.
"My mother was named Millie and my daddy named Daniel. I don' know how
many niggers missus have on the plantation. I was never 'lowed to play
with the cullud chillen, but I have two brothers named Abram and Handy
and I seed them sometimes. I took care of the white chillen and took 'em
to church. Iffen baby git to cryin' I walked round with him, but you
better be careful not to let the briar scratch him or he git a scar on
him and then they gwinter put a scar on you.
"They give me pretty clothes to wear and make me keep clean and
expectable. I wore homespun and gingham dresses, jus' cut straight down.
They didn' have no sewin' 'chine. They have a woman to cut out and sew
and she do that all day long.
"My white folks have mighty nice company. My missus up on the top. They
have nice, fine, intelligen' dishes and table cloth.
"They give us holiday on Christmas and sometimes a whole week. They
treat the white chillen and black chillen all good and give 'em whippin'
iffen they needs it. When there's disturbance, missus holler, 'You all
chillen, come in here to me,' and whip us all, then she know she whip
the right one.
"I seed the stars fall. God give me a good eyesight. The sun was shinin'
and it was plain daylight and the stars fall jus' like hail, only they
never fall all the way to the groun'. They fall so far and then they
stop and go out. They stay up in the element all the time. Missus sent
for the niggers to come up to the house and pray. All that time the
stars was a-comin' through the element. All the darkies, little and big,
was a-prayin' on their knees, 'cause they thing the jedgment sho' come
then.
"Before us move from Florida us git mos' us goods for clothes from North
and South Carolina. The war commence in North Caroline to the good of my
recollection. That was six month or a year after us lef' Florida. They
was a-tryin' to smuggle it down then. When the missus 'cided come to
Texas she sent the niggers on ahead and they done make two crops 'fore
us git there. The place was five mile from Woodville. We come to Texas
in a boat what's big as a house. When the boat git there I was so 'cited
when I seed all the pretty trees. I never mever used to trees, 'cause
from where us come was jus' prairie land far's you kin see. No tree
round Tallahassee and no hill.
"My mother was cook and when she like to die one time they starts
breakin' me in to do the cookin'. Then when she die I was cook and been
doing that two, three year when freedom come.
[Illustration: _Daphne Williams_]
"When they tol' us freedom come us thought they was foolin'. My uncle
say we's free and to go and look out for number one. They let us stay
awhile, but they 'lowanced us. Iffen us spen' the 'lowance us jus' had
to go rustle up something to eat or do without. My daddy was a widow man
by then and he stay, 'cause he say he want to see further into the
subjec'.
"One time I gwineter see my father and had my baby in my arms, 'cause I
done married. I was gwine through the wilderness and I heared something
squall like a woman cry. I 'gin walk faster. The squall come again.
Something say to me, 'You better run.' The hair commence stand on my
head and I walk pretty peart. That squall come again and I run fastes' I
knows how. I have that poor little baby carried any way.
When I get to the fence I jump over and sot down. The chillen come
running and say, 'Yonder Daphne.' They help me into the house but I's so
scart I couldn' tell 'em till near bedtime and then I say I hear squall
like woman cryin'. Mister Goolsbee say, 'Daphne, make soun' like you
hear,' and I makes a squall, and he say, 'That a panther and iffen he
kotched you that would have been the end of you and that baby of yourn
what you was totin'.' So 'bout four o' clock in that mornin' he gits
'bout fourteen neighbors and the dawgs and they hunts that rascal and
runs him in 'bout 8 or 10 o'clock. A span of mules couldn' pull that
rascal, I don' 'lieve. He have the biggest tushes I ever seed with these
two eyes. They put him in a pot and bile him and make soap out of the
grease. That panther didn' git me or my baby but they got him and made
soap out of him."