right near Woodville and make de plantation. It a big place and dey
raise corn and cotton and cane. We makes our own sugar and has many as
six kettle on de furnace at one time. Dey raise dey tobacco, too. I's
sick and a old man he say he make me tobacco medicine and dey dry de
leafs and make dem sweet like sugar and feed me like candy.
"I 'member old marster say war broke out and Capt. Collier's men was
a-drillin' right dere south of Woodville. All de wives and chillen watch
dem drill. Dey was lots of dem, but I couldn't count. De whole shebang
from de town go watch dem.
"Four of the Goolsby boys goes to dat war and dey call John and Ziby and
Zabud and Addison. Zabud, he git wounded, no he git kilt, and Addison he
git wounded. I worry den, 'cause I ain't see no reason for dem to have
to die.
"After us free dey turn us loose in de woods and dat de bad time, 'cause
most us didn't know where to turn. I wasn't raise to do nothin' and I
didn't know how. Dey didn't even give us a hoecake or a slice of bacon.
"I's a June bride 59 year ago when I git married. De old white Baptist
preacher name Blacksheer put me and dat nigger over dere, Edgar Bendy,
togedder and us been togedder ever since. Us never have chick or chile.
I's such a good nuss I guess de Lawd didn't want me to have none of my
own, so's I could nuss all de others and I 'spect I's nussed most de
white chillen and cullud, too, here in Woodville.
420177
SARAH BENJAMIN, 82, was born a slave of the Gilbert family, in
Clavin Parish, Louisiana. In 1867 she married Cal Benjamin and they
settled in Corsicana, Texas, where Sarah now lives.
"I is Sarah Benjamin and is 82 year old, 'cause my mammy told me I's
born in 1855 in Clavin Parish in Louisiana. Her name was Fannie and my
pappy's name Jack Callahan. There was jus' three of us chillen and I's
de oldest.
"Marse Gilbert was tol'able good to we'uns, and give us plenty to eat.
He had a smokehouse big as a church and it was full, and in de big
kitchen we all et, chillen and all. De grown folks et first and den de
chillen. Did we have plenty of possums and fish by de barrels full! All
dis was cooked in de racks over de fireplace and it were good.
"Our clothes was all homespun and de shoes made by de shoemaker. Old
marse wanted all us to go to church and if dey didn't have shoes dey
have something like de moccasin.
"I don't know how many slaves there was, but it was a lot, maybe 60 or
70. Dey worked hard every day 'cept Sunday. Iffen they was bad they
might git whuppin's, but not too hard, not to de blood. Iffen dey was
still bad, dey puts chains on dem and puts dem in de stocks, 'cause
there wasn't no jail there.
"Once when I's little, marse stripped me stark modern naked and puts me
on de block, but he wouldn't sell me, 'cause he was bid only $350.00 and
he say no, 'cause I was good and fat.
"Dey didn't larn us nothin' and iffen you did larn to write, you better
keep it to yourse'f, 'cause some slaves got de thumb or finger cut off
for larnin' to write. When de slaves come in from de fields dey didn't
larn nothin', they jus' go to bed, 'lessen de moonshine nights come and
dey could work in de tobacco patch. De marster give each one de little
tobacco patch and iffen he raised more'n he could use he could sell it.
"On Christmas we all has de week vacation and maybe de dance. We allus
have de gran' dinner on dat day, and no whuppin's. But dey couldn't
leave de plantation without de pass, even on Christmas.
"De women had to run de gin in de daytime and de man at night. Dey fed
de old gin from baskets and my mammy fed from dose baskets all day with
de high fever and died dat night. She wouldn't tell de marster she sick,
fer fear she have to take de quinine.
"De day we was freed, de slaves jus' scattered, 'cepting me. Missy
Gilbert says I wasn't no slave no more but I had to stay and he'p her
for my board 'till I's grown. I stayed 'till I was 'bout 16, den I runs
away and marries Cal Benjamin, and we comes to Texas. Cal and me has six
chillen, but he died 'fore dey was grown.
420023
JACK BESS was born near Goliad, Texas in 1854, a slave of Steve
Bess who was a rancher. He worked with stock as a very young boy
and this was his duty during and after the Civil War, as he
remained with his boss for three years after emancipation. He then
came to old Ben Ficklin four miles south of the present San Angelo,
Texas, when it was the county seat of Tom Green County and before
there was a San Angelo. He continued his work on ranches here and
has never done any other kind of work. For the past several years
he has been very feeble and has made his home with a daughter in
San Angelo, Texas.
Jack who was assisted out of bed and dressed by his grandson, hobbled in
on his cane and said, "I was jes' a small boy workin' on de ranch when I
hear talk 'bout conscription' de men for de war what was agoin' to set
de slaves free. We didn' know hardly what dey was a talkin' 'bout 'cause
we knowed dat would be too good to be true. I jes' keeps on workin' wid
my hosses and my cattle (dere wasn't no sheep den) jes' like dere wasn't
no war, 'cause dat was all I ever knowed how to do.
"Our ole marster, he wasn't so very mean to us, course he whips us once
and awhile but dat wasn't like de slave holders what had dem colored
drivers. Dey sho' was rough on de slaves. I's been told lots 'bout de
chains and de diffe'nt punishments but our treatment wasn't so bad. Our
beds was pretty good when we uses dem. Lots of de time we jes' sleeps on
de groun', 'specially in summer.
"Our log huts was comfortable and we had some kind of floors in all of
dem. Some was plank and some was poles but dat was better den de dirt
floors some cabins have.
"De eats we have was jes' good eats, lots of meats and vegetables and de
like; 'possum and coon and beef and pork all cooked good. Our clothes
was jes' home spun like all de others.
"We didn' have such a big ranch and not many slaves but we all gits
along. We learns a little 'bout readin' and writin'.
"I don't 'member any camp meetin's 'til after de war. We had a few den
and on Christmas times we jes' tears up de country. Lawdy! Lawd! Dat
fiddlin' went on all night, and we dance awhile den lay down and sleeps,
den gits up and dances some mo'e. We would have big cakes and
everything good to eat.
"When we gits sick dey jes' gives us some kind of tea, mostly made from
weeds. Mos' of de time we gits well.
"When de news comes dat we was free our boss, he say, 'You free now.'
Course we was glad but we didn' know nothin' to do but jes' stay on
dere, and we did 'bout three years and de boss pays us a little by de
month for our work.
"I's lef' dere den and comes to old Ben Ficklin to work on a ranch. Dat
was before dere was any San Angelo, Texas. I's been here ever since,
jes' a workin' from one ranch to another long as I was able. Now I's
jes' stayin' 'round wid my chillun and dey takes good care of me."
420170
ELLEN BETTS, 118 N. Live Oak St., Houston, Texas, is 84. All of her
people and their masters came from Virginia and settled in
Louisiana about 1853. Her grandparents belonged to the Green family
and her parents, Charity and William Green, belonged to Tolas
Parsons. Ellen lives with friends who support her. Her sole
belonging is an old trunk and she carries the key on a string
around her neck.
"I got borned on de Bayou Teche, clost to Opelousas. Dat in St. Mary's
Parish, in Louisiana, and I belonged to Tolas Parsons, what had 'bout
500 slaves, countin' de big ones and de little ones, and he had God know
what else. When my eyes jes' barely fresh open, Marse Tolas die and will
de hull lot of us to he brother, William Tolas. And I tells you dat
Marse William am de greates' man what ever walk dis earth. Dat's de
truth. I can't lie on him when de pore man's in he grave.
"When a whuppin' got to be done, old Marse do it heself. He don't 'low
no overseer to throw he gals down and pull up dere dress and whup on
dere bottoms like I hear tell some of 'em do. Was he still livin' I
'spect one part of he hands be with him today. I knows I would.
"When us niggers go down de road folks say, 'Dem's Parson's niggers.
Don't hit one dem niggers for God's sake, or Parsons sho' eat your
jacket up.'
"Aunt Rachel what cook in de big house for Miss Cornelia had four
young'uns and dem chillen fat and slick as I ever seen. All de niggers
have to stoop to Aunt Rachel jes' like dey curtsy to Missy. I mind de
time her husband, Uncle Jim, git mad and hit her over de head with de
poker. A big knot raise up on Aunt Rachel's head and when Marse 'quire
'bout it, she say she done bump de head. She dassn't tell on Uncle Jim
or Marse sho' beat him. Marse sho' proud dem black, slick chillen of
Rachels. You couldn't find a yaller chile on he place. He sho' got no
use for mixin' black and white.
"Marse William have de pretties' place up and down dat bayou, with de
fine house and fine trees and sech. From where we live it's five mile to
Centerville one way and five mile to Patterson t'other. Dey hauls de
lumber from one place or t'other to make wood houses for de slaves.
Sometime Marse buy de furniture and sometime de carpenter make it.
"Miss Sidney was Marse's first wife and he had six boys by her. Den he
marry de widow Cornelius and she give him four boys. With ten chillen
springin' up quick like dat and all de cullud chillen comin' 'long fast
as pig litters, I don't do nothin' all my days, but nuss, nuss, nuss. I
nuss so many chillen it done went and stunted my growth and dat's why I
ain't nothin' but bones to dis day.
"When de cullud women has to cut cane all day till midnight come and
after, I has to nuss de babies for dem and tend de white chillen, too.
Some dem babies so fat and big I had to tote de feet while 'nother gal
tote de head. I was sech a li'l one, 'bout seven or eight year old. De
big folks leave some toddy for colic and cryin' and sech and I done
drink de toddy and let de chillen have de milk. I don't know no better.
Lawsy me, it a wonder I ain't de bigges' drunker in dis here country,
countin' all de toddy I done put in my young belly!
"When late of night come, iffen dem babies wake up and bawl, I set up a
screech and out-screech dem till dey shut dere mouth. De louder day bawl
de louder I bawl. Sometime when Marse hear de babies cry, he come down
and say, 'Why de chillen cry like dat, Ellen?' I say, 'Marse, I git so
hongry and tired I done drink de milk up.' When I talk sassy like dat,
Marse jes' shake he finger at me, 'cause he knowed I's a good one and
don't let no little mite starve.
"Nobody ever hit me a lick. Marse allus say bein' mean to de young'uns
make dem mean when dey grows up and nobody gwineter buy a mean nigger.
Marse don't even let de chillen go to de big cane patch. He plant little
bitty patches close to de house and each li'l nigger have a patch and he
work it till it got growed. Marse have de house girls make popcorn for
'em and candy.
"I nuss de sick folks too. Sometime I dose with Blue Mass pills and
sometime Dr. Fawcett leave rhubarb and ipicac and calomel and castor oil
and sech. Two year after de war, I git marry and git chillen of my own
and den I turn into de wet nuss. I wet nuss de white chillen and black
chillen, like dey all de same color. Sometime I have a white'un pullin'
de one side and a black one de other.
"I wanted to git de papers for midwifin' but, law, I don't never have no
time for larnin' in slave time. If Marse cotch a paper in you hand he
sho' whop you. He don't 'low no bright niggers 'round, he sell 'em
quick. He allus say, 'Book larnin' don't raise no good sugar cane.' De
only larnin' he 'low was when dey larn de cullud chillen de Methodist
catechism. De only writin' a nigger ever git, am when he git born or
marry or die, den Marse put de name in de big book.
Law, I 'lect de time Marse marry Miss Cornelia. He went on de mail boat
and brung her from New Orleans. She de pretties' woman in de world
almost, 'ceptin' she have de bigges' mouth I nearly ever seed. He brung
her up to de house and all de niggers and boys and girls and cats and
dogs and sech come and salute her. Dere she stand on de gallery, with a
purty white dress on with red stripes runnin' up and down. Marse say to
her, 'Honey, see all de black folks, dey 'longs to you now.' She wave to
us and smile on us and nex' day she give her weddin' dress to my ma. Dat
de fines' dress I ever seen. It was purple and green silk and all de
nigger gals wear dat dress when dey git marry. My sister Sidney wore it
and Sary and Mary.
"Miss Cornelia was de fines' woman in de world. Come Sunday mornin' she
done put a bucket of dimes on de front gallery and stand dere and throw
dimes to de nigger chillen jes' like feedin' chickens. I sho' right here
to test'fy, 'cause I's right dere helpin' grab. Sometime she done put da
washtub of buttermilk on de back gallery and us chillen bring us gourds
and dip up dat good, old buttermilk till it all git drunk up. Sometime
she fotch bread and butter to de back gallery and pass it out when it
don't even come mealtime.
"Miss Cornelia set my ma to cuttin' patterns and sewin' right away. She
give all de women a bolt or linsey to make clothes and ma cut de
pattern. Us all have de fine drawers down to de ankle, buttoned with
pretty white buttons on de bottom. Lawsy, ma sho' cut a mite of drawers,
with sewin' for her eleven gals and four boys, too. In de summertime we
all git a bolt of blue cloth and white tape for trimmin', to make Sunday
dresses. For de field, all de niggers git homespun what you make jumpers
out of. I 'lect how Marse say, 'Don't go into de field dirty Monday
mornin'. Scrub youself and put on de clean jumper.'
"Marse sho' good to dem gals and bucks what cuttin' de cane. When dey
git done makin' sugar, he give a drink call 'Peach 'n Honey' to de women
folk and whiskey and brandy to de men. And of all de dancin' and
caperin' you ever seen! My pa was fiddler and we'd cut de pigeon wing
and cut de buck and every other kind of dance. Sometime pa git tired and
say he ain't gwineter play no more and us gals git busy and pop him corn
and make candy, so to 'tice him to play more.
"Marse sho' turn over in he grave did he know 'bout some dat 'lasses.
Dem black boys don't care. I seen 'em pull rats out de sugar barrel and
dey taste de sugar and say, 'Ain't nothin' wrong with dat sugar. It
still sweet.' One day a pert one pull a dead scorpion out de syrup
kettle and he jes' laugh and say, 'Marse don't want waste none dis
syrup,' and he lick de syrup right off dat scorpion's body and legs.
"Lawsy me, I seen thousands and thousands sugar barrels and kettles of
syrup in my day. Lawd knows how much cane old Marse have. To dem cuttin'
de cane it don't seem so much, but to dem what work hour in, hour out,
dem sugar cane fields sho' stretch from one end de earth to de other.
Marse ship hogs and hogs of sugar down de bayou. I seen de river boats
go down with big signs what say, 'Buy dis here 'lasses' on de side. And
he raise a world of rice and 'taters and corn and peanuts, too.
"When de work slight, us black folks sho have de balls and dinners and
sech. We git all day to barbecue meat down on de bayou and de white
folks come down and eat long side de cullud.
"When a black gal marry, Marse marry her hisself in de big house. He
marry 'em Saturday, so dey git Sunday off, too. One time de river boat
come bearin' de license for niggers to git marry with. Marse chase 'em
off and say, 'Don't you come truckin' no no-count papers roun' my
niggers. When I marry 'em, dey marry as good as if de Lawd God hisself
marry 'em and it don't take no paper to bind de tie.' Marse don't stand
no messin' 'round, neither. A gal have to be of age and ask her pa and
ma and Marse and Missy, and if dey 'gree, dey go ahead and git marry.
Marse have de marry book to put de name down.
"One time Marse take me 'long to help tote some chillen. He done write
up to Virginny for to buy fresh hands. Dey a old man dat hobble 'long de
road and de chillen start to throw rocks and de old man turn 'round to
one prissy one and say, 'Go on, young'un, you'll be where dogs can't
bark at you tomorrow. Nex' mornin' us cookin' in de kitchen and all a
sudden dat li'l boy jes' crumple up dead on de floor. Law, we's scairt.
Nobody ever bother dat old man no more, for he sho' lay de evil finger
on you.
"Marse's brother, Conrad, what was a widdyman, come to live on de
plantation and he had a li'l gal 'bout eight year old. One day she in de
plum orchard playin' with a rattlesnake and Marse Conrad have de fit. De
li'l gal won't let nobody hurt dat snake and she play with him. He won't
bite her. She keeps him 'bout three year, and she'd rub and grease him.
One day he got sick and dey give him some brandy, but he die and old Doc
pickle him in de bottle of brandy. Dat gal git so full of grief dey take
her to de infirm'ry in New Orleans and den one day she up and die.
"Dat snake ain't all what Doc Fawcett pickle. A slave woman give birth
to a baby gal what have two faces with a strip of hair runnin' 'tween.
Old Doc Fawcett pickle it in de jar of brandy. Old doc start to court
Miss Cornelia when Marse die, but she don't have none of him and he
done went straight 'way and kill hisself.
"One day a li'l man come ridin' by on a li'l dun hoss so fast you
couldn't see dat hoss tail a-switchin'. He whoopin' and hollerin'. Us
niggers 'gun whoop and holler, too. Den first thing you know de Yanks
and de Democrats 'gun to fight right dere. Dey a high old mountain front
Marse's house and de Yanks 'gun pepper cannon ball down from de top dat
hill. De war met right dere and dem Yanks and Democrats fit for
twenty-four hours straight runnin'.
"When de bullets starts rainin' down, Marse call us and slip us way back
into de woods, where it so black and deep. Next day, when de fight over,
Marse come out with great big wagons piles full of mess-poke for us to
eat. Dat what us call hog meat. Us sho' glad to 'scape from de Yankees.
"When us driv back to de plantation, sech a sight I never seen. Law, de
things I can tell. Dem Yanks have kilt men and women. I seed babies pick
up from de road with dere brains bust right out. One old man am drawin'
water and a cannon ball shoots him right in de well. Dey draws him up
with de fishin' line. Dey's a old sugar boat out on de bayou with blood
and sugar runnin' long side de busted barrels. 'Lasses run in de bayou
and blood run in de ditches. Marse have de great big orchard on de road
and it wipe clean as de whistle. Bullets wipe up everythin' and bust dat
sugar cane all to pieces. De house sot far back and 'scape de bullets,
but, law, de time dey have!
"Dey's awful, awful times after dat. A old cotton dress cost five
dollars and a pound of coffee cost five dollars and a pint cup flour
cost six bits. De Yanks 'round all de time and one day they comes right
in de house where Miss Cornelia eatin' her dinner. Dey march 'round de
table, jes' scoopin' up meat and 'taters and grabbin' cornpone right and
left. Miss Cornelia don't say a word, jes' smile sweet as honey-cake. I
reckon dem sojers might a took de silver and sech only she charm 'em by
bein' so quiet and ladylike. First thing you know dem sojers curtsy to
Missy and take dereself right out de door and don't come back.
"Den it seem like Marse have all de trouble in de world. He boy, Ned,
die in de war and William, what name for he pa, drink bad all de time.
And after de war dem Ku Kluxers what wear de false faces try to tinker
with Marse's niggers. One day Uncle Dave start to town and a Kluxer ask
him where am he pass. Dat Kluxer clout him but Uncle Dave outrun him in
de cane. Marse grab de hoss and go 'rest dat man and Marse a jedge and
he make dat man pay de fine for hittin' Uncle Dave. After dey hears of
dat, dem old poky faces sho' scairt of old Marse and dey git out from
Opelousas and stays out. When me and my husband, John, come to Texas de
folks say dat Louisiana masters de meanes' in de world and I say right
back at 'em dat dey is good and mean in every spot of de earth. What
more, de Louisiana masters free dere niggers a year befo' any Texas
nigger git free.
"When 'mancipation come, Marse git on de big block and say, 'You all is
as free as I is, standin' right here. Does you want to stay with me, you
can, and I'll pay you for de work.' All de niggers cheer and say dey
want to stay, but Marse die not long after and all us niggers scatter.
"I sho' 'lect dat day old Marse die. He won't die till ma gits there. He
keep sayin', "Where's Charity, tell Charity to come." Dey fotch ma from
de cane patch and she hold Marse's hand till he die. Us niggers went to
de graveyard and us sho' cry over old Marse.
"Marse's brother, Goldham, carries all he hands back to de free country
to turn 'em loose. He say de free country am de ones what's yellin'
'bout slave times, so dey could jes' take care of de niggers. Marse
Goldham so big dat when he stand in de door you couldn't git by him,
'thout he stand sideways.
"Law, times ain't like dey was in slave days. All my ten chillen is dead
and my old man gone, and now I reckon my time 'bout 'rive. All I got to
do now am pray de Lawd to keep me straight, den when de great day come,
I can march de road to glory.
420125
[Illustration: Charlotte Beverley]
CHARLOTTE BEVERLY was born a slave to Captain Pankey's wife, in
Montgomery County, Texas. She has lived most of her life within a
radius of 60 miles from Houston, and now lives with one of her
children in a little house on the highway between Cleveland and
Shepherd, Texas. She does not know her age, but appears to be about
ninety.
"I's born in Montgomery County and I's the mudder of eleven chillen,
four gals and seven boys. My grandma come from Alabama and my daddy was
Strawder Green and he belong to Col. Hughes. My maw named Phyllis and
she belong to Capt. Pankey.
"There was 'bout forty niggers, big and little, on the plantation. Lawd,
they was good to us. Us didn' know nothin' 'bout bad times and cutting
and whipping and slashing. I had to work in the house and I 'member one
thing I has to do was scrub Mistus' gol' snuffbox twict a week. She kep'
sweet, Scotch snuff and sometimes I takes a pinch out.
"We used to go to the white folks church and if us couldn' git in we'd
stand round by the door and sing. Mistus wouldn' 'low us dance on the
place but they give us pass to go to dance on nex' plantation, where my
daddy live.
"Every year they have big Christmas dinner and ham and turkey
and allus feed us good. Us have Christmas party and sing songs. That was
sweet music.
"Marster have a lovely house, all ceiled and plastered. It was a log
house but it was make all beautiful inside with mirrors and on the board
was lots of silver and china and silver spoons with the gol' linin's and
part of my job was to keep 'em sparklin'.
"Folks in them times cooks in the fireplace and my auntie, she cook. She
make 'simmon bread and 'tater pone and the like. She mash up 'simmons
with butter and pour sweet milk and flour in it. That make good 'simmon
bread. We has skillets what was flat and deep and set on three legs.
"The slaves lived in little log houses and sleep on wood beds. The beds
was make three-legged. They make augur hole in side of the house and put
in pieces of wood to make the bed frame, and they put straw and cotton
mattress on them bed.
"Old marster used to let he slaves have a extry cotton patch to
theyselves and they work it by the moonlight. They could sell that
cotton and have the money for theyselves.
"My white mistus was a Christian and she'd own her God anywhere. She
used to shout, jus' sit and clap her hands and say, 'Hallalujah.' Once I
seed her shout in church and I thinks something ail her and I run down
the aisle and goes to fannin' her.
"One of the slaves was a sort-a preacher and sometimes marster 'lowed
him to preach to the niggers, but he have to preach with a tub over his
head, 'cause he git so happy he talk too loud. Somebody from the big
house liable to come down and make him quit 'cause he makin' 'sturbance.
"I brings water from the well and they have what they call piggins, and
they was little tubs with two handles. Mistus wouldn' 'low me to do any
heavy work.
"I see sojers and knits socks for 'em by moonshine. Me and my husban'
was married by a Yankee sojer. I was dress in white Tarleyton weddin'
dress and I didn' wear no hoop skirt. I had a pretty wreath of little
white flowers, little bitty, little dainty ones, the pretties' little
things. When I marry, my sister marry too and our husban's was brudders.
My husban' dress in suit of white linen. He sho' look handsome. He give
me a gol' ring and a cup and saucer for weddin' gif'. We git married in
Huntsville and us didn' go no weddin' journey trip. We was so poor we
couldn' go round the house! I's 'bout twenty some year when I marries,
but I don' know jus' how old. We has a big dance that night and the
white folks come, 'cause they likes to see the niggers dance.