*Interview with Richard Bruner,*
*Negro preacher, Nelson, Missouri.*
The subject of this sketch, Richard Bruner, is one of the oldest negroes
in Saline County. He claims to be ninety-seven years old and lives in
the little town of Nelson.
His humble dwelling, a gray and weathered frame building of about four
rooms and two porches, sets in a square of yard thick with blue grass,
old fashioned flowers like holly hocks, flowering pinks and marigolds
making bright spots of color. Heavily laden fruit trees, apples,
peaches, plums and pears shade every part of the plot. A splendid walnut
tree towers over the smaller fruit trees, the house and the porch, while
at the side of the house a garden spot contains a fine variety of
vegetables.
As the writer approached, the old man was seated on a cot on the little
porch. The wall back of him was hung with all kinds of tools, a saw, a
hammer, bits of wire, a piece of rope, part of a bridle, and a wing,
apparently from a big gray goose. His long curling, gray hair is neatly
parted and brushed and he wears a mustache and short beard or chin
whiskers, an unusual thing among negroes in this part of the country.
His skin is a light brown color and his eyes bright with his second
eyesight which enables him to look on the world without glasses.
Back of the house and down the hill, is a well equipped slaughter house,
where for many years this old man has taken care of the butchering of
the meat for his white friends and neighbors. He is too old now to take
charge of this work, but the house and equipment is still in good
repair.
This aged Negro has been for many years a highly respected preacher of
the gospel. His own account of his life and adventures follows:
"Yes'm I remembers before de war, I remember being a water-boy to de
field hands before I were big enough to work in de fields. I hoed
tobaccer when I was about so high, (measuring with his hands about three
and one half feet from the floor).
"Yes'm dey thrashed me once, made me hug a tree and whip me, I had a
terrible temper, I'm part Choctaw Indian. We went to de white folks
church on Sundays, when we went to camp meeting we all went to de
mourners' bench together. De mourners' bench stretch clear across de
front of de Arbor; de whites and de blacks, we all just fell down at de
mourners' bench and got religion at de same place. Ole Marsa let us
joine whichever church we wanted, either de Methodist or Baptist.
"No, I never went to no school, de colonel's daughter larnt me to write
my name, that was after de wah. No'm, dey didn't care if we had dances
and frolics. We had de dances down at de quarters and de white folks
would come down and look on. Whenever us niggas on one plantation got
obstreperous, white folks hawns dey blowed. When de neighbors heard dat
hawn here dey come to help make dat obstreperous nigga behave. Dey
blowed de hawn to call de neighbors if anybody died or were sick."
In response to the question as to where he joined the Federal Army,
Bruner replied:
"Well you see I was a runaway nigga; I run away when I was about grown
and went to Kansas. When de war broke out I joined de 18th United States
Colored Infantry, under Capt. Lucas. I fit three years in de army. My
old Marsa's two boys just older than me fit for de south. Dey was mighty
good boys, I liked dem fine."