*Sallie Wroe, 81, was born a slave on Mike Burdette's plantation near
Austin. Her parents were field workers. In 1874 Sallie married John Wroe
and they raised eleven children. Sallie owns a small farm on the
outskirts of Austin. One of her daughters lives with her.*
"Befo' I's married, I's Sallie Burdette. De white folks tell me I's born
eighty-one years ago. I reckon I's dat old. I know I's born on Massa
Mike Burdette's cotton plantation at Burdette Prairie, right close to
Austin, and mammy's name was Het Burdette. She chopped and picked cotton
and been dead long time. John Burdette was my pappy and he was jes' a
reg'lar fieldman, too. Pappy been dead, mercy, so long!
"Massa Burdette had a overseer and he sho' rough. I think his name must
be Debbil, he so rough. My sister, Mollie, was weaver at de loom, and
iffen she didn't git out 'nough for de day she am tied up in sittin'
form and whipped hard. She had stripes all over de shoulders.
"Dere was a whole row of log cabins close to de big house and de roofs
was made of clapboards. It didn't rain in none. De only openin' was de
door, no windows. Dere was mud and stick chimnies and a dirt floor. It
wasn't no better dan a corncrib but purty warm in winter, 'cause de
holes chinked with mud.
"Massa Burdette 'low us nigger chillen come to de big house at night and
his chillen larn us to read. Dey had blue-back spellers, but I didn't
cotch on much and can't read or write now.
"Pappy a purty good man, 'siderin' he a slave man. One day pappy and
Uncle Paul and Uncle Andy and Uncle Joe was takin' bales of cotton on ox
wagons down to de Rio Grande. Each man was drivin' a ox wagon down to
Brownsville, where dey was to wait to meet Massa Burdette. But pappy and
de others left de wagons 'long de river bank and rolled a bale of cotton
in de river and all four of dem gits on dat bale and rows with sticks
'cross over into Mexico. Dis was durin' de war. Pappy come back to us
after freedom and say he done git 'long fine with Mexico. He larnt to
talk jes' like dem.
[Illustration: _Sallie Wroe_]
"Me and mammy stays on at Massa Burdette's place de whole time pappy am
gone. It was on June 19 we was made free and Massa Burdette say iffen we
stays on his place and gather de crops, he give each of us a free
eggnog. We ain't never got no eggnog befo' so it sound purty good and we
stays and gathers de crops. But dat eggnog made me sick.
"My cousin Mitchell come and got us and brung us to Chapel Hill. He done
rent him a farm dere and looks out for us till pappy comes back. He
brung some money back from Mexico and taken us all to Brenham and buyed
us some clothes. Den he moved us up to Austin and done any work he could
git. I stayed home till 1874 and den married John Wroe, and he rented
land and farmed and died in 1927.
"We raises eleven chillen and dey all good and 'haved. All my
grandchillen calls me 'Big Mama,' but I's so li'l now dey ought to call
me 'Li'l Mama.' I owns dis li'l farm. John saved 'nough money to buy it
befo' he died. I gits a li'l pension and my daughter works and when
she's workin' my grandchil' takes care of me."