Part 16

"Well, she didn't never leave and massa bought her a fine, new span of surrey hosses. But she don't never have no more chillun and she ain't so cordial with the massa. Margaret, that yallow gal, has more white young'uns, but they don't never go down the hill no more to the big house.

"Aunt Cheyney was jus' out of bed with a sucklin' baby one time, and she run away. Some say that was 'nother baby of massa's breedin'. She don't come to the house to nurse her baby, so they misses her and old Solomon gits the nigger hounds and takes her trail. They gits near her and she grabs a limb and tries to hist herself in a tree, but them dogs grab her and pull her down. The men hollers them onto her, and the dogs tore her naked and et the breasts plumb off her body. She got well and lived to be a old woman, but 'nother woman has to suck her baby and she ain't got no sign of breasts no more.

"They give all the niggers fresh meat on Christmas and a plug tobacco all round. The highes' cotton picker gits a suit of clothes and all the women what had twins that year gits a outfittin' of clothes for the twins and a double, warm blanket.

"Seems like after I got bigger, I 'member more'n more niggers run away. They's most allus cotched. Massa used to hire out his niggers for wage hands. One time he hired me and a nigger boy, Turner, to work for some ornery white trash name of Kidd. One day Turner goes off and don't come back. Old man Kidd say I knowed 'bout it, and he tied my wrists together and stripped me. He hanged me by the wrists from a limb on a tree and spraddled my legs round the trunk and tied my feet together. Then he beat me. He beat me worser than I ever been beat before and I faints dead away. When I come to I'm in bed. I didn't care so much iffen I died.

"I didn't know 'bout the passin' of time, but Miss Sara come to me. Some white folks done git word to her. Mr. Kidd tries to talk hisself out of it, but Miss Sara fotches me home when I'm well 'nough to move. She took me in a cart and my maw takes care of me. Massa looks me over good and says I'll git well, but I'm ruint for breedin' chillun.

"After while I taken a notion to marry and massa and missy marries us same as all the niggers. They stands inside the house with a broom held crosswise of the door and we stands outside. Missy puts a li'l wreath on my head they kept there and we steps over the broom into the house. Now, that's all they was to the marryin'. After freedom I gits married and has it put in the book by a preacher.

"One day we was workin' in the fields and hears the conch shell blow, so we all goes to the back gate of the big house. Massa am there. He say, 'Call the roll for every nigger big 'nough to walk, and I wants them to go to the river and wait there. They's gwine be a show and I wants you to see it.' They was a big boat down there, done built up on the sides with boards and holes in the boards and a big gun barrel stickin' through every hole. We ain't never seed nothin' like that. Massa goes up the plank onto the boat and comes out on the boat porch. He say, 'This am a Yankee boat.' He goes inside and the water wheels starts movin' and that boat goes movin' up the river and they says it goes to Natches.

"The boat wasn't more'n out of sight when a big drove of sojers comes into town. They say they's Fed'rals. More'n half the niggers goes off with them sojers, but I goes on back home 'cause of my old mammy.

"Next day them Yankees is swarmin' the place. Some the niggers wants to show them somethin'. I follows to the woods. The niggers shows them sojers a big pit in the ground, bigger'n a big house. It is got wooden doors that lifts up, but the top am sodded and grass growin' on it, so you couldn't tell it. In that pit is stock, hosses and cows and mules and money and chinaware and silver and a mess of stuff them sojers takes.

"We jus' sot on the place doin' nothin' till the white folks comes home. Miss Sara come out to the cabin and say she wants to read a letter to my mammy. It come from Louis Carter, which is brother to my mammy, and he done follow the Fed'rals to Galveston. A white man done write the letter for him. It am tored in half and massa done that. The letter say Louis am workin' in Galveston and wants mammy to come with us, and he'll pay our way. Miss Sara say massa swear, 'Damn Louis Carter. I ain't gwine tell Sallie nothin',' and he starts to tear the letter up. But she won't let him, and she reads it to mammy.

"After a time massa takes all his niggers what wants to Texas with him and mammy gits to Galveston and dies there. I goes with massa to the Tennessee Colony and then to Navasota. Miss Sara marries Mr. T. Coleman and goes to El Paso. She wrote and told me to come to her and I allus meant to go.

"My husband and me farmed round for times, and then I done housework and cookin' for many years. I come to Dallas and cooked seven year for one white family. My husband died years ago. I guess Miss Sara been dead these long years. I allus kep' my years by Miss Sara's years, 'count we is born so close.

"I been blind and mos' helpless for five year. I'm gittin' mighty enfeeblin' and I ain't walked outside the door for a long time back. I sets and 'members the times in the world. I 'members now clear as yesterday things I forgot for a long time. I 'members 'bout the days of slavery and I don't 'lieve they ever gwine have slaves no more on this earth. I think Gawd done took that burden offen his black chillun and I'm aimin' to praise him for it to his face in the days of Glory what ain't so far off."

Walter Rimm

*Walter Rimm, 80, was born a slave of Captain Hatch, in San Patricio County, Texas. After Walter was freed, he helped his father farm for several years, then worked as a cook for fifteen years on the King Ranch. He moved to Fort Worth and cooked for Mrs. Arthur Goetz for twenty-five years. He lives at 913 E. Second St., Fort Worth.*

"You wants to know 'bout slavery? Well, I's had a deal happen 'sides dat, but I's born on Captain Hatch's plantation, 'cross de bay from Corpus Christi. He had somewheres near fifty slaves, and mammy told me he buyed her in Tennessee and pappy in South Carolina. Massa Hatch buys and sells niggers some dem days, but he ain't a nigger trader.

"Dem sales am one thing what make de 'pression on me. I hears de old folks whisper 'bout gwine have de sale and 'bout noon dere am a crowd of white folks in de front yard and a nigger trader with he slaves. Dey sets up a platform in middle de yard and one white man gits on dat and 'nother white man comes up and has a white woman with him. She 'pears to be 'bout fifteen years old and has long, black hair down her back. Dey puts her on de platform and den I hears a scream, and a woman what look like de gal, cries out, 'I'll cut my throat if my daughter am sold.' De white man goes and talks to her, and fin'ly 'lows her to take de young gal away with her. Dat sho' stirs up some 'motion 'mongst de white folks, but dey say dat gal have jus' a li'l nigger blood and can be sold for a slave, but she look white as anybody I ever seed.

"I pulls weeds and runs errands while I's a child. We has some good eats but has to steal de best things from de white folks. Dey never give us none of them. We has roastin' ears better'n dey cooks dem now. We puts dem, shucks and all, in de hot ashes. Mammy makes good ashcake, with salt and corn meal and bacon grease and flats it out with de hands.

"Massa and missus took dey goodness by spells like. Sometimes dey was hard to git 'long with and sometimes dey was easy to git 'long with. I don't know de cause, but it am so. De mostest trouble am 'bout de work. Dey wants you to work if you can or can't. My pappy have de back mis'ry and many de time I seed him crawl to de grist mill. Him am buyed 'cause him am de good millhand. He tells us his pappy am white, and dat one reason he am de run-awayer. I's scairt all de time, 'cause he run away. I seed him git one whippin' and nothin' I can do 'cept stand dere and cry. Dey gits whippin's every time massa feels cross. One slave name Bob Love, when massa start to whip him he cuts his throat and dives into de river. He am dat scairt of a whippin' dat he kilt himself.

"My pappy wasn't 'fraid of nothin'. He am light cullud from de white blood, and he runs away sev'ral times. Dere am big woods all round and we sees lots of run-awayers. One old fellow name John been a run-awayer for four years and de patterrollers tries all dey tricks, but dey can't cotch him. Dey wants him bad, 'cause it 'spire other slaves to run away if he stays a-loose. Dey sots de trap for him. Dey knows he like good eats, so dey 'ranges for a quiltin' and gives chitlin's and lye hominey. John comes and am inside when de patterrollers rides up to de door. Everybody gits quiet and John stands near de door, and when dey starts to come in he grabs de shovel full of hot ashes and throws dem into de patterrollers' faces. He gits through and runs off, hollerin', 'Bird in de air!'

"One woman name Rhodie runs off for long spell. De hounds won't hunt her. She steals hot light bread when dey puts it in de window to cool, and lives on dat. She told my mammy how to keep de hounds from followin' you is to take black pepper and put it in you socks and run without you shoes. It make de hounds sneeze.

"One day I's in de woods and meets de nigger run-awayer. He comes to de cabin and mammy makes him a bacon and egg sandwich and we never seed him again. Maybe he done got clear to Mexico, where a lot of de slaves runs to.

"De first we knows 'bout war am when some Union ships comes into de Bay and shoots at Corpus Christi. When dat shootin' start, all de folks round us takes to de woods and sev'ral am still gone. Dey am shakin' all over.

"'Bout de third year of de war massa moves up to Clinton, but he moves back, 'cause he can't make no money dere. Den he have all de quarters move up close to de big house, so if we tries to make de run for it in de night he can cotch us. Dat no use, 'cause de ones what am still with him won't run anyway.

"One day I seed massa settin' on de gal'ry and him face all screw up. He says, 'Go git you mammy and everybody.' I goes a-flyin'. My shirt tail don't hit my back till I tells everybody. Massa am cryin' and he reads de paper and says, 'You is free as I is. What you gwine do?' Mammy says, 'We am stayin' right here.' But next mornin' pappy borrows a ox-team to tote our stuff away. We goes 'bout sixty miles and stays 'bout six months, den takes a place where we can make a crop. Den massa tells us we can live on de old place without de rent and have what we can make. So we moves back and stays two years.

"Den we moves sev'ral places and sometimes old missus comes to see us and say, 'Ain't you shame? De Yankees is feedin' you.' But dey wasn't, 'cause we was makin' a crop.

"When I gits up big 'nough to hire out, I works for old man King on some drives, 'fore pappy and mammy dies of de fever. Den I marries Minnie Bennett, a light cullud gal, what am knowed as High Yaller. Her mammy am a white woman. She was kidnapped in Kentucky by some white men and dey dyed her hair and skin and brung her to Texas with some slaves for sale. Massa Means, in Corpus, buyed her. She was so small all she 'membered was her real name was Mary Schlous and her parents am white and she lived in Kentucky. Massa Means comes in de next mornin' and busts out cussin', for dere am black dye all over de pillow and his slave am gettin' blonde, but dem slave traders am gone, so he can't do nothin'.

"He 'cides to keep her and she grows up with de slaves jus' like she am a nigger. She gits used to bein' with dem and marries one. She has one child 'fore freedom, what am Minnie. She has to run away to git freedom, 'cause Massa Means won't let her have freedom. Lots of slaves has to do dat.

"Well, after I marries Minnie, we goes to de famous King Ranch. It was only in two sections den and I hires as cook on de San Gertrudis section, but am sent to de other section, de Fuerta Agua Dulce, and works dere fifteen years.

"Old man King has plenty trouble in dem days. One time some Mexicans comes to Brownsville and takes everything as dey goes. Old man King had two cannons and when dey has battle dey finishes with one cowboy dead and one Mexican dead. No cannons was fired, though. He has more troubles with rustlers and fellows who don't like de way he's gittin' all de land. Dey tries to kill him lots of times, but he fools dem and dies in bed.

"I comes to Fort Worth and cooks. Minnie dies 'fore long of de stomach mis'ry. I works for a Missus Goetz and marries Agnes Skelton, what works dere, too. We has five chillen and I works dere for twenty-five years, till I goes blind. I's allus de big, stout fellow, helpin' somebody, and after I's blind I has to 'pend on other people to help me. De white folks sho' been good to me since I been in dis shape, and de state sends me $13.00 a month to pay de bills with. Dat a big help, but I's 'bout three, four weeks 'hind now.

"One old man King's daughters am here and looks me up, and leaves me a couple dollars. I gits 'long some way.

"I sets here and thinks 'bout old times. One song we use to sing was 'Throw de Smokehouse Keys Down de Well.' Dat 'cause dere so many thieves in de country everybody have big locks on de smokehouse if dey 'spects to keep dey meat."

Mariah Robinson

*Mariah Robinson, born in Monroe, Georgia, does not know her age, but from certain facts and her appearance, is probably 90 or over. Her master was Judge Hill. He gave Mariah to his son-in-law, Bob Young, who brought her to Texas. She now lives in Meridian, Texas.*

"I's borned over in Georgia, in dat place call Monroe, and mammy was Lizzie Hill, 'cause her massa Jedge Hill. I's hones', I don't know de 'zact date I's borned. Missy Joe, my missy, put de record of all ages in de court house for safe keepin', to keep de Indians from burnin' dem up, and dey's burnt up when de court house burns. All I knows is my younges' sister, what live in Georgia, writ me 'bout a year ago and say, 'Last Thursday I's 81 year old.' Dere is five chillen 'twixt my and her age and dere is six chillen younger'n me. Dat de best I can give of my age.

"Jedge Hill's daughter, Miss Josephine, married Dr. Young's son, what lived in Cartersville, in Georgia, but had done moved to Texas. Den my missy give me to Miss Josephine to come to Texas with her to keep her from de lonely hours and bein' sad so far 'way from home. We come by rail from Monroe to Social Circle and dere boards de boat 'Sweet Home'. Dere was jus' two boats on de line, de 'Sweet Home' and de 'Katie Darling.'

"Us sails down de Atlantic Ocean to New Orleans, myself and my aunt Lonnie and uncle Johns, all with Miss Josephine. When us gits to New Orleans us 'rested and put in de trader's office. Us slaves, I mean. Dis de way of dat. Our massa, Massa Bob Young, he a cotton buyer and he done left Georgia without payin' a cotton debt and dey holds us for dat.

"Miss Josephine wires back to Georgia to Dr. Young and he come and git us out. He come walkin' down de street with he goldheaded walkin' cane. Us upstairs in de trader's office. I seed him comin' and cries out, 'O, yonder comes Massa Young.' He looks up and shooked he goldheaded walkin' stick at me and says, 'Never mind, old boss have you out in a few minutes.' Den he gits de hack soon as us out and sends us to de port, for to cotch de boat. Us gits on dat boat and leaves dat evenin'. Comin' down de Mississippi 'cross de Gulf us seed no land for days and days and us go through de Gulf of Mexico and lands at de port, Galveston, and us come to Waco on de stagecoach.

"Us lives four year on Austin St., in Waco, dat four years 'fore de war of 1861. Us boarded with Dr. Tinsley and he and Gen'ral Ross was good friends. I worked in a sewin' room doin' work sich as whippin' on laces and rufflin' and tuckin'. Den us come to Bosque County right near Meridian, 'cause Massa Bob have de ranch dere and de time of de freedom war us lives dere.

"Us be in de house at night, peepin' out de window or pigeon hole and see Indians comin'. De chief lead in front. Dey wild Comanches. Sometime dere 50 or 60 in a bunch and dey did raidin' at night. But I's purty brave and goes three mile to Walnut Spring every day to git veg'tables. I rid de donkey. Miss Josephine boards all de Bosque County school chillen and us have to git de food. I seed droves of wild turkey and buffaloes and antelopes and deers. I seed wild cats and coons and bunches of wolves and heered de panthers scream like de woman.

"Us lived in a log cabin with two chimneys and a long shed-room and cooked in de kitchen fireplace in de skillet, over it de pot racks. Us made meal on de steel mill and hominy and cheese. I got de prize for spinnin' and weavin'. I knitted de stockin's but Miss Joe had to drap de stitch for me to turn de heels and toes.

"Durin' de freedom war Massa Gen'ral Bob Young git kilt at de last battle. Dat de Bull Run battle and he fit under Gen'ral Lee. Dat left my missy de war widow and she mammy come live with her and she teached in de school. I stays with dem four year after freedom and I's one of de family for de board and de clothes. They's good to me and likes to make me de best lookin' and neatest slave in dat place. I had sich as purty starched dresses and dey holp me fix de hair nice.

"Us used de soft, dim candlelight and I make de candle sticks. Us have gourd dippers and oak buckets to dip water out de well and us make wooden tubs out of stumps and battlin' sticks to clean de clothes.

"I done already met up with Peter Robinson. He's de slave of Massa Ridley Robinson what was gwine to California from Alabama, with all he slaves. Massa Robinson git kilt by de Mexican and a white man name Gibb Smith gits to own Peter. He hires him out to a farmer clost by us ranch and I gits to meet him and us have de courtship and gits married. Dat 'fore freedom. Us marries by Ceasar Berry, de slave of Massa Buck Berry. Ceasar am de cullud preacher. Pete was 'telligent and 'liable and de good man. He played de fiddle all over de country and I rid horseback with him miles and miles to dem dances.

"Peter could write de plain hand and he gits to haul lumber from Waco to make de Bosque County court house. He larns more and gits to be de county's fust cullud trustee and de fust cullud teacher. He gits 'pinted to see after de widows in time of war and in de 'construction days. Fin'ly he is sent to Austin, de capital of Texas, to be rep'sentive.

"Pete and me begot ten chillen. My fust chile am borned two months 'fore freedom. After us slaves is freed us hired out for one year to git means to go free on. Us held by de committee call 'Free Committee Men.' De wages is ten dollars de month to de family. After us ready to go for ourselves, my missy am de poor widow and she have only three cows and three calves, but she give one of each of dem to Pete and me.

"After leavin' Miss Joe us move here and yonder till I gits tired of sich. By den us have sev'ral chillen and I changes from de frivol'ty of life to de sincereness, to shape de dest'ny of de chillins' life. I tells Pete when he comes back from fiddlin' one night, to buy me de home or hitch up and carry me back to Missy Joe. Dat lead him to buy a strip of land in Meridian. He pays ten dollar de acre. We has a team of oxen, call Broad and Buck, and we done our farmin' with dem. Pete builds me a house, hauls de lumber from Waco. Twict us gits burnt out, but builds it 'gain. Us makes de orchard and sells de fruit. Us raises bees and sells de honey and gits cows and chickens and turkeys. Pete works good and I puts on my bonnet and walks behind him and draps de corn.

"He gits in organizin' de fust cullud church in Meridian, de cullud Cumberland Pres'terian Church. Us has ever lived de useful life. I works at cookin' and washin' and ironin'. I helps de doctors with de babies.

"But de dis'bility of age have to come and now I is 'most disabled and feels stunted and pov'ty stricken. I'd like to work now, but I isn't able."

Susan Ross

*Susan Ross was born at Magnolia Springs, Texas, about 1862, a slave of Chester Horn. Her features and the color of her skin, together with a secretive manner, would point to Indian blood. She lives with a daughter in the east part of North Quarters, a Negro settlement in Jasper, Texas, and is still active enough to help her daughter in their little cafe.*

"Susan Ross my name and I's born at Magnolia Springs durin' de war, sometime befo' freedom come, I guess 'bout 1862. Pappy's name Bob Horn and he come from Georgia, and mammy name Hallie Horn, and she think she part Indian, but she ain't sho'. Chester Horn our massa and he have big plantation at Magnolia Springs, and he kep' one big family connection of slaves. Sometime he sold some of dem and he sold my brother, Jack, and my aunt, too. My other brother name Jim and Sam and Aaron and Bill Horn, and my sisters name Mandy and Sarah and Emily.

"Massa have li'l houses all over de plantation for he slaves. Massa and he folks punish dey slaves awful hard, and he used to tie 'em up and whip 'em, too. Once he told my mammy do somethin' and she didn't and he tie and whip her, and I skeert and cry. Mammy cook and work in de field.

"I jes' 'member I used to see sojers dress in blue uniforms walkin' all over de country watchin' how things goin'. Massa want one my brothers go to war, but he wouldn't, so I seed him buckle my brother down on a log and whip him with whips, den with hand saws, till when he turn him loose you couldn't tell what he look like. My brother lef' but I don't know whether he went to war or not.

"I 'members when de men was goin' to war, somebody allus come git 'em. Lots of 'em didn't want to go, but dey has to.

"Me go to school after us free. When my oldes' brother hear us is free he give a whoop, run and jump a high fence, and told mammy goodbye. Den he grab me up and hug and kiss me and say, 'Brother gone, don't 'spect you ever see me no more.' I don't know where he go, but I never did see him 'gain.

"After freedom, pappy and mammy moves off to deyselfs and farms. I marry when I's fourteen and de Rev. George Hammonds, he perform de ceremony. We marry quiet at home and I wore blue dress and my husband gran' black suit. I have four chillen and five gran'chillen. My husban, he work here and yonder, on de farm and what he kin git.

"I's de widow now and gits $11.00 pension, but have only git it four times. I lives here with my daughter and us make a li'l in dis yere rest'ran'.

"I never did see but one ghost, but I sho' see one. I cookin' at de hotel in town and have to git up and go down de railroad track to my work befo' it git light. One mornin' a great, tall somethin', tall and slender as a porch post, come walkin' 'long. He step to one side, but he didn't have no feets. I reckon he have a head, but I couldn't see it. As I pass him I didn't say nothin' and he didn't either. He didn't have time to, befo' I broke and run for my life. Dat's de onliest ghost I ever see, but I often feel de spirits close by me."

Annie Row

*Annie Row, 86, was born a slave to Mr. Charles Finnely, who owned a plantation in Nacogdoches Co., near Rusk, Texas. She has lived at 920 Frank St., Fort Worth, since 1933.*

"I was sho' born in slavery and as near as I knows, I mus' be 'bout 86 year old, from what my mammy tells me. I figgers that, 'cause I was old enough to clean de wool when de War starts and dey didn't generally put de chilluns to work 'fore they's ten year old.