on de sacks. I don' 'member how much land Massa John had but it was a
big place and he had lots of slaves. We chillun had supper early in de
evenin' and mostly cornbread and hawg meat and milk. We all ate from a
big pot. I larned to spin and weave and knit and made lots of socks.
"Massa John had two step-daughters, Miss Mollie and Miss Laura, and they
wen' to school at Rusk. It was my job to take 'em thar ev'ry Monday
mornin' on horses and go back after 'em Friday afternoon.
"I never earnt no money 'fore freedom come, but once my brother-in-law
give me five dollars. I was so proud of it I showed it to de ladies and
one of 'em said, 'You don' need dat,' and she give me two sticks of
candy and tuk de money. But I didn' know any better then.
"I seed slaves for sale on de auction block. They sol' 'em 'cordin' to
strengt' and muscles. They was stripped to de wais'. I seed the women
and little chillun cryin' and beggin' not to be separated, but it didn'
do no good. They had to go.
"The only chu'ch I knowed 'bout was when we'd git together in de night
and have prayer meetin' and singin.' We use' to go way out in de woods
so de white folks wouldn' hear nothin'. Sometimes we'd stay nearly all
night on Saturday, 'cause we didn' have to work Sunday.
"'Bout the only thing we could play was stick hosses. I made miles and
miles on the stick hosses. After the War Massa John have his chillun a
big roll of Confederate money and they give us some of it to trade and
buy stick hosses with.
"When Massa John tol' us we was free, he didn' seem to min', but Miss
Em, she bawled and squalled, say her prop'ty taken 'way from her. After
dat, my mammy gathers us togedder and tuk us to the Dr. Middleton place,
out from Jacksonville. From thar to de Ragsdale place whar I's been ever
since.
"I wore my first pants when I was fourteen years ole, and they stung
'till I was mis'ble. The cloth was store bought but mammy made the pants
at home. It was what we called dog-hair cloth. Mammy made my first
shoes, we called 'em 'red rippers'.
420075
[Illustration: Sarah Ashley]
SARAH ASHLEY, 93, was born in Mississippi. She recalls her
experiences when sold on the block in New Orleans, and on a cotton
plantation in Texas. She now lives at Goodrich, Texas.
"I ain't able to do nothin' no more. I's jus' plumb give out and I stays
here by myself. My daughter, Georgia Grime, she used to live with me but
she's been dead four year.
"I was born in Miss'ippi and Massa Henry Thomas buy us and bring us
here. He a spec'lator and buys up lots of niggers and sells 'em. Us
family was sep'rated. My two sisters and my papa was sold to a man in
Georgia. Den dey put me on a block and bid me off. Dat in New Orleans
and I scairt and cry, but dey put me up dere anyway. First dey takes me
to Georgia and dey didn't sell me for a long spell. Massa Thomas he
travel round and buy and sell niggers. Us stay in de spec'lators drove
de long time.
"After 'while Massa Mose Davis come from Cold Spring, in Texas, and buys
us. He was buyin' up little chillen for he chillen. Dat 'bout four year
befo' da first war. I was 19 year old when de burst of freedom come in
June and I git turn loose.
"I was workin' in de field den. Jus' befo' dat de old Massa he go off
and buy more niggers. He go east. He on a boat what git stove up and he
die and never come back no more. Us never see him no more.
"I used to have to pick cotton and sometime I pick 300 pound and tote it
a mile to de cotton house. Some pick 300 to 800 pound cotton and have to
tote de bag de whole mile to de gin. Iffen dey didn't do dey work dey
git whip till dey have blister on 'em. Den iffen dey didn't do it, de
man on a hoss goes down de rows and whip with a paddle make with holes
in it and bus' de blisters. I never git whip, 'cause I allus git my 300
pound. Us have to go early to do dat, when de horn goes early, befo'
daylight. Us have to take de victuals in de bucket to de field.
"Massa have de log house and us live in little houses, strowed in long
rows. Dere wasn't no meetin's 'lowed in de quarters and iffen dey have
prayer meetin' de boss man whip dem. Sometime us run off at night and go
to camp meetin'. I takes de white chillen to church sometime, but dey
couldn't larn me to sing no songs 'cause I didn' have no spirit.
"Us never got 'nough to eat, so us keeps stealin' stuff. Us has to. Dey
give us de peck of meal to last de week and two, three pound bacon in
chunk. Us never have flour or sugar, jus' cornmeal and de meat and
'taters. De niggers has de big box under de fireplace, where dey kep'
all de pig and chickens what dey steal, down in salt.
"I seed a man run away and de white men got de dogs and dey kotch him
and put him in de front room and he jump through de big window and break
de glass all up. Dey sho' whips him when dey kotches him.
"De way dey whip de niggers was to strip 'em off naked and whip 'em till
dey make blisters and bus' de blisters. Den dey take de salt and red
pepper and put in de wounds. After dey wash and grease dem and put
somethin' on dem, to keep dem from bleed to death.
"When de boss man told us freedom was come he didn't like it, but he
give all us de bale of cotton and some corn. He ask us to stay and he'p
with de crop but we'uns so glad to git 'way dat nobody stays. I got
'bout fifty dollars for de cotton and den I lends it to a nigger what
never pays me back yit. Den I got no place to go, so I cooks for a white
man name' Dick Cole. He sposen give me $5.00 de month but he never paid
me no money. He'd give me eats and clothes, 'cause he has de little
store.
"Now, I's all alone and thinks of dem old times what was so bad, and I's
ready for de Lawd to call me."
420280
AGATHA BABINO, born a slave of Ogis Guidry, near Carenco,
Louisiana, now lives in a cottage on the property of the Blessed
Sacrament Church, in Beaumont, Texas. She says she is at least
eighty-seven and probably much older.
"Old Marse was Ogis Guidry. Old Miss was Laurentine. Dey had four
chillen, Placid, Alphonse and Mary and Alexandrine, and live in a big,
one-story house with a gallery and brick pillars. Dey had a big place. I
'spect a mile 'cross it, and fifty slaves.
"My mama name was Clarice Richard. She come from South Carolina. Papa
was Dick Richard. He come from North Carolina. He was slave of old
Placid Guilbeau. He live near Old Marse. My brothers was Joe and
Nicholas and Oui and Albert and Maurice, and sisters was Maud and
Celestine and Pauline.
"Us slaves lived in shabby houses. Dey builded of logs and have dirt
floor. We have a four foot bench. We pull it to a table and set on it.
De bed a platform with planks and moss.
"We had Sunday off. Christmas was off, too. Dey give us chicken and
flour den. But most holidays de white folks has company. Dat mean more
work for us.
"Old Marse bad. He beat us till we bleed. He rub salt and pepper in. One
time I sweep de yard. Young miss come home from college. She slap my
face. She want to beat me. Mama say to beat her, so dey did. She took de
beatin' for me.
"My aunt run off 'cause dey beat her so much. Dey brung her back and
beat her some more.
"We have dance outdoors sometime. Somebody play fiddle and banjo. We
dance de reel and quadrille and buck dance. De men dance dat. If we go
to dance on 'nother plantation we have to have pass. De patterrollers
come and make us show de slip. If dey ain't no slip, we git beat.
"I see plenty sojers. Dey fight at Pines and we hear ball go
'zing--zing.' Young marse have blue coat. He put it on and climb a tree
to see. De sojers come and think he a Yankee. Dey take his gun. Dey turn
him loose when dey find out he ain't no Yankee.
"When de real Yankees come dey take corn and gooses and hosses. Dey
don't ask for nothin'. Dey take what dey wants.
"Some masters have chillen by slaves. Some sold dere own chillen. Some
sot dem free.
"When freedom come we have to sign up to work for money for a year. We
couldn't go work for nobody else. After de year some stays, but not
long.
"De Ku Klux kill niggers. Dey come to take my uncle. He open de door.
Dey don't take him but tell him to vote Democrat next day or dey will.
Dey kilt some niggers what wouldn't vote Democrat.
"Dey kill my old uncle Davis. He won't vote Democrat. Dey shoot him. Den
dey stand him up and let him fall down. Dey tie him by de feet. Dey drag
him through de bresh. Dey dare his wife to cry.
"When I thirty I marry Tesisfor Babino. Pere Abadie marry us at Grand
Coteau. We have dinner with wine. Den come big dance. We have twelve
chillen. We works in de field in Opelousas. We come here twenty-five
year ago. He die in 1917. Dey let's me live here. It nice to be near de
church. I can go to prayers when I wants to.
420164
MRS. JOHN BARCLAY (nee Sarah Sanders) Brownwood, Texas was born in
Komo, Mississippi, September 1, 1853. She was born a slave at the
North Slades' place. Mr. and Mrs. North Slade were the only owners
she ever had. She served as nurse-maid for her marster's children
and did general housework. She, with her mother and father and
family stayed with the Slades until the end of the year after the
Civil War. They then moved to themselves, hiring out to "White
Folks."
"My marster and mistress was good to all de slaves dat worked for dem.
But our over-seer, Jimmy Shearer, was sho' mean. One day he done git mad
at me for some little somethin' and when I take de ashes to de garden he
catches me and churns me up and down on de groun'. One day he got mad
at my brother and kicked him end over end, jes' like a stick of wood. He
would whip us 'til we was raw and then put pepper and salt in de sores.
If he thought we was too slow in doin' anything he would kick us off de
groun' and churn us up and down. Our punishment depended on de mood of
de over-seer. I never did see no slaves sold. When we was sick dey give
us medicine out of drug stores. De over-seer would git some coarse
cotton cloth to make our work clothes out of and den he would make dem
so narrow we couldn' hardly' walk.
"There was 1800 acres in Marster Slade's plantation, we got up at 5:00
o'clock in de mornin' and de field workers would quit after sun-down. We
didn' have no jails for slaves. We went to church with de white folks
and there was a place in de back of de church for us to sit.
"I was jes' a child den and us chilluns would gather in de back yard and
sing songs and play games and dance jigs. Song I 'member most is 'The
Day is Past and Gone.'
"One time marster found out the over-seer was so mean to me, so he
discharged him and released me from duty for awhile.
"We never did wear shoes through de week but on Sunday we would dress up
in our white cotton dresses and put on shoes.
"We wasn't taught to read or write. Our owner didn't think anything
about it. We had to work if there was work to be done. When we got
caught up den we could have time off. If any of us got sick our mistress
would 'tend to us herself. If she thought we was sick enough she would
call de white doctor.
"When de marster done told us we was free we jumped up and down and
slapped our hands and shouted 'Glory to God!' Lord, child dat was one
happy bunch of niggers. Awhile after dat some of de slaves told marster
dey wanted to stay on with him like dey had been but he told 'em no dey
couldn't, 'cause dey was free. He said he could use some of 'em but dey
would have to buy what dey got and he would have to pay 'em like men.
"When I was 'bout 18 years old I married John Barclay. I's had ten
chillun and four gran'-chillun and now I lives by myself."
420128
JOHN BARKER, age 84, Houston.
5 photographs marked _Green Cumby_ have been assigned to this
manuscript--the 'Green Cumby' photos are attached to the proper
manuscript and the five referred to above are probably pictures of
_John Barker_.
JOHN BARKER, age 84, was born near Cincinnati, Ohio, the property
of the Barker family, who moved to Missouri and later to Texas. He
and his wife live in a neat cottage in Houston, Texas.
"I was born a slave. I'm a Malagasser (Madagascar) nigger. I 'member all
'bout dem times, even up in Ohio, though de Barkers brought me to Texas
later on. My mother and father was call Goodman, but dey died when I was
little and Missy Barker raised me on de plantation down near Houston.
Dey was plenty of work and plenty of room.
"I 'member my grandma and grandpa. In dem days de horned toads runs over
de world and my grandpa would gather 'em and lay 'em in de fireplace
till dey dried and roll 'em with bottles till dey like ashes and den rub
it on de shoe bottoms. You see, when dey wants to run away, dat stuff
don't stick all on de shoes, it stick to de track. Den dey carries some
of dat powder and throws it as far as dey could jump and den jump over
it, and do dat again till dey use all de powder. Dat throwed de common
hounds off de trail altogether. But dey have de bloodhounds, hell
hounds, we calls 'em, and dey could pick up dat trail. Dey run my
grandpa over 100 mile and three or four days and nights and found him
under a bridge. What dey put on him was enough! I seen 'em whip runaway
niggers till de blood run down dere backs and den put salt in de places.
"I 'spect dere was 'bout 40 or 50 acres in de plantation. Dey worked and
worked and didn't have no dances or church. Dances nothin!
"My massa and missus house was nice, but it was a log house. They had
big fireplaces what took great big chunks of wood and kep' fire all
night. We lives in de back in a little bitty house like a chicken house.
We makes beds out of posts and slats across 'em and fills tow sacks with
shucks in 'em for mattress and pillows.
"I seed slaves sold and they was yoked like steers and sold by pairs
sometimes. Dey wasn't 'lowed to marry, 'cause they could be sold and it
wasn't no use, but you could live with 'em.
"We used to eat possums and dese old-fashioned coons and ducks.
Sometimes we'd eat goats, too. We has plenty cornmeal and 'lasses and we
gets milk sometimes, but we has no fine food, 'cept on Christmas, we
gits some cake, maybe.
"My grandma says one day dat we all is free, but we stayed with Massa
Barker quite a while. Dey pays us for workin' but it ain't much pay,
'cause de war done took dere money and all. But they was good to us, so
we stayed.
"I was 'bout 20 when I marries de fust time. It was a big blow-out and I
was scared de whole time. First time I ever tackled marryin'. Dey had a
big paper sack of rice and throwed it all over her and I, enough rice to
last three or four days, throwed away jus' for nothin'. I had on a
black, alpaca suit with frock tail coat and, if I ain't mistaken, a
right white shirt. My wife have a great train on her dress and one dem
things you call a wreath. I wore de loudest shoes we could find, what
you call patent leather.
"Dis here my third wife. We marries in Eagle Pass and comes up to de
Seminole Reservation and works for de army till we goes to work for de
Pattersons, and we been here 23 years now.
"Ghosties? I was takin' care of a white man when he died and I seed
something 'bout three feet high and black. I reckon I must have fainted
'cause they has de doctor for me. And on dark nights I seed ghosties
what has no head. Dey looks like dey wild and dey is all in different
performance. When I goin' down de road and feel a hot steam and look
over my shoulder I can see 'em plain as you standin' dere. I seed 'em
when my wife was with me, but she can't see 'em, 'cause some people
ain't gifted to see 'em.
420133
JOE BARNES, 89, was born in Tyler Co., Texas, on Jim Sapp's
plantation. He is very feeble, but keeps his great grandchildren in
line while their mother works. They live in Beaumont. Joe is tall,
slight, and has gray hair and a stubby gray mustache. In his kind,
gentle voice he relates his experiences in slavery days.
"Dey calls me Paul Barnes, but my name ain't Paul, it am Joe. My massa
was Jim Sapp, up here in Tyler County, and missus' name was Ann. De Sapp
place was big and dey raise' a sight of cotton and corn. Old massa Jim
he have 'bout 25 or 30 slaves.
"My mammy's name was Artimisi, but dey call her Emily, and pa's name
Jerry Wooten, 'cause he live on de Wooten place. My steppa named Barnes
and I taken dat name. My parents, dey have de broomstick weddin'.
"When I's a chile us play marbles and run rabbits and ride de stick hoss
and de like. When I gits more bigger, us play ball, sort of like
baseball. One time my brudder go git de hosses and dey lots of rain and
de creek swoll up high. De water so fast it wash him off he hoss and I
ain't seed him since. Dey never find de body. He's 'bout ten year old
den.
"Massa live in de big box house and de quarters am in a row in de back.
Some of dem box and some of dem log. Dey have two rooms. Every day de
big, old cowhorn blow for dinner and us have de little tin cup what us
git potlicker in and meat and cornbread and salt bacon. Us gits greens,
too. De chimneys 'bout four feet wide and dey cooks everything in de
fireplace. Dey have pots and ovens and put fire below and 'bove 'em.
"I used to wear what I calls a one-button cutaway. It was jis' a shirt
make out of homespun with pleats down front. Dey make dey own cloth dem
time.
"Massa marry de folks in de broomstick style. Us don' have de party but
sometime us sing and play games, like de round dance.
"Dey give de little ones bacon to suck and tie de string to de bacon and
de other round dey wrists, so dey won't swallow or lose de bacon. For de
little bits of ones dey rings de bell for dey mommers to come from de
field and nuss 'em.
"After freedom come us stay a year and den move to Beaumont and us work
in de sawmill for Mr. Jim Long. De fust money I git I give to my mammy.
Me and mammy and stepdaddy stays in Beaumont two years den moves to
Tyler and plants de crop. But de next year us move back to Beaumont on
de Langham place and mammy work for de Longs till she die.
"When I git marry I marry Dicey Allen and she die and I never marry no
more. I worked in sawmillin' and on de log pond and allus gits by pretty
good. I ain't done no work much de last ten year, I's too old.
"I sort a looks after my grandchillen and I sho' loves dem. I sits
'round and hurts all de time. It am rheumatism in de feets, I reckon. I
got six grandchillen and three great-grandchillen and dat one you hears
cryin', dat de baby I's raisin' in dere.
"I's feared I didn't tell you so much 'bout things way back, but da
truth am, I can't 'member like I used to.
420166
ARMSTEAD BARRETT, born in 1847, was a slave of Stafford Barrett,
who lived in Huntsville, Texas. He is the husband of Harriett
Barrett. Armstead has a very poor memory and can tell little about
early days. He and Harriet receive old age pensions.
"I's really owned by Massa Stafford Barrett, but my mammy 'longed to
Massa Ben Walker and was 'lowed to keep me with her. So after we'uns got
free, I lives with my daddy and mammy and goes by de name of Barrett.
Daddy's name was Henry Barrett and he's brung to Texas from Richmond, in
Virginny, and mammy come from Kentucky. Us all lived in Huntsville. I
waited on Miss Ann and mammy was cook.
"Old massa have doctor for us when us sick. We's too val'ble. Jus' like
to de fat beef, massa am good to us. Massa go to other states and git
men and women and chile slaves and bring dem back to sell, 'cause he
spec'lator. He make dem wash up good and den sell dem.
"Mos' time we'uns went naked. Jus' have on one shirt or no shirt a-tall.
"I know when peace 'clared dey all shoutin'. One woman hollerin' and a
white man with de high-steppin' hoss ride clost to her and I see him git
out and open he knife and cut her wide 'cross de stomach. Den he put he
hat inside he shirt and rid off like lightnin'. De woman put in wagon
and I never heered no more 'bout her.
"I didn't git nothin' when us freed. Only some cast-off clothes. Long
time after I rents de place on halves and farms most my life. Now I's
too old to work and gits a pension to live on.
"I seems to think us have more freedom when us slaves, 'cause we have no
'sponsibility for sickness den. We have to take care all dat now and de
white man, he beats de nigger out what he makes. Back in de old days, de
white men am hones'. All the nigger knowed was hard work. I think de
cullud folks ought to be 'lowed more privileges in votin' now, 'cause
dey have de same 'sponsibility as white men and day more and more
educated and brighter and brighter.
"I think our young folks pretty sorry. They wont do right, but I 'lieve
iffen dey could git fair wages dey'd do better. Dey git beat out of what
dey does, anyway.
"I 'member a owner had some slaves and de overseer had it in for two of
dem. He'd whip dem near every day and dey does all could be did to
please him. So one day he come to de field and calls one dem slaves and
dat slave draps he hoe and goes over and grabs dat overseer. Den de
other slave cut dat overseer's head right slap off and throwed it down
one of de rows. De owner he fools 'round and sells dem two slaves for
$800.00 each and dat all de punishment dem two slaves ever got.
420167
HARRIET BARRETT, 86, was born in Walker Co., Texas, in 1851, a
slave of Steve Glass. She now lives in Palestine, Texas.
"Massa Steve Glass, he own my pappy and mammy and me, until the war
freed us. Pappy's borned in Africy and mammy in Virginy, and brung to
Texas 'fore de war, and I's borned in Texas in 1851. I's heered my
grandpa was wild and dey didn't know 'bout marryin' in Africy. My
brother name Steve Glass and I dunno iffen I had sisters or not.
"Dey put me to cookin' when I's a li'l kid and people says now dat Aunt
Harriet am de bes' cook in Madisonville. Massa have great big garden and
plenty to eat. I's cook big skillet plumb full corn at de time and us
all have plenty meat. Massa, he step out and kill big deer and put in de
great big pot and cook it. Then us have cornbread and syrup.
"Us have log quarters with stick posts for bed and deerskin stretch over
it. Den us pull moss and throw over dat. I have de good massa, bless he
soul. Missy, she plumb good. She sick all de time and dey never have
white chillen. Dey live in big, log house, four rooms in it and de great
hall both ways through it.
"Massa, he have big bunch slaves and work dem long as dey could see and
den lock 'em up in de quarters at night to keep 'em from runnin' off. De
patterrollers come and go through de quarters to see if all de niggers
dere. Dey walk right over us when us sleeps.
"Some slave run off, gwine to de north, and massa he cotch him and give
him thirty-nine licks with rawhide and lock dem up at night, too, and
keep chain on him in daytime.
"I have de good massa, bless he soul, and missy she plumb good. I'll
never forgit dem. Massa 'low us have holiday Saturday night and go to
nigger dance if it on 'nother plantation. Boy, oh boy, de tin pan
beatin' and de banjo pickin' and de dance all night long.
"When de war start, white missy die, and massa have de preacher. She was
white angel. Den massa marry Missy Alice Long and she de bad woman with
us niggers. She hard on us, not like old missy.
"I larned lots of remedies for sick people. Charcoal and onions and
honey for de li'l baby am good, and camphor for de chills and fever and
teeth cuttin'. I's boil red oak bark and make tea for fever and make
cactus weed root tea for fever and chills and colic. De best remedy for
chills and fever am to git rabbit foot tie on string 'round de neck.
"Massa, he carry me to war with him, 'cause I's de good cook. In dat New
Orleans battle he wounded and guns roarin' everywhere. Dey brung massa
in and I's jus' as white as he am den. Dem Yankees done shoot de roof
off de house. I nuss de sick and wounded clean through de war and seed
dem dyin' on every side of me.
"I's most scared to death when de war end. Us still in New Orleans and
all de shoutin' dat took place 'cause us free! Dey crowds on de streets
and was in a stir jus' as thick as flies on de dog. Massa say I's free
as him, but iffen I wants to cook for him and missy I gits $2.50 de
month, so I cooks for him till I marries Armstead Barrett, and then us
farm for de livin'. Us have big church weddin' and I has white loyal
dress and black brogan shoes. Us been married 51 years now.
420150
JOHN BATES, 84, was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, a slave of Mock
Bateman. When still very young, John moved with his mother, a slave
of Harry Hogan, to Limestone Co., Texas. John now lives in
Corsicana, supported by his children and an old age pension.
"My pappy was Ike Bateman, 'cause his massa's name am Mock Bateman, and
mammy's name was Francis. They come from Tennessee and I had four
brothers and six sisters. We jes' left de last part of de name off and
call it Bates and dat's how I got my name. Mammy 'longed to Massa Harry
Hogan and while I's small us move to Texas, to Limestone County, and I
don't 'member much 'bout pappy, 'cause I ain't never seed him since.