Agatha Babino

Agatha Babino, born and raised as a slave of Ogis Guidry near Carencro, La., now lives in a well-kept cottage on the property of the Blessed Sacrament R. C. Church, 799 Porter St. She is rather stout, of medium height, and wore a black and white print calico bonnet from which her face was hardly visible. Seated on a chair from which the back had broken off, she told the story of her life. She says she is at least 87 years old and probably older. When freedom came she was probably 15 or 16 years old, as she spoke several times of picking cotton for her old master.

My old Marster was name Ogis Guidry . Old Mistress name was Laurentine . Dey had four chillen, Placid , Alphonse , Mary and Alexandrine , and dey live in a big one-story house with a porch and brick foundation pillars. Dey put wood under de house."Dey had a big place, I 'spec' it was 'bout a mile 'cross it, and Marster had 'bout fifty slaves."My ma name was Clarice Richard . I think she come from South Ca'lina. My pa was Dick Richard , and he come from North Ca'lina. Dey was marry after dey come to Louisiana."Pa was a slave of old Placid Guilbeau . He live on 'nother place not far from our home. My brothers was Joe , and Nicholas , and Wee , and Albert , and Maurice , and my sisters was Maud , and Celestine and Pauline . "De slaves live in shabby houses. Dey was build out of logs and de floor was dirt. Dey give 'em a four-footed bench what dey could pull up to de table and set on. De bed was a platform with planks on it. Dey slept on moss. Some sleep on moss put down on de floor."Marster give de niggers plenty of milk. De men what work in de field had meat. Marster kill hogs and had plenty of sausage but de slaves got none. He give 'em hominy and meal and coosh-coosh and milk."De slaves had Sunday off. Sometime de slaves work on Sunday and make a little money. Dey had Christmas, too. Dey give us chicken and grease to make gravy and flour den. But most de time on holidays dere was company and dat mean more cooking and sich. When dey had company and time come for 'em to go, de slaves all have to stand up and make a bow to 'em when dey was leaving. Dey have to tell 'em 'goodbye' dat way."Old Marster was bad. He beat his slaves till dey bleed. Sometime he rub salt and pepper and grease where dey been beat. Sometime he tie dey feet and dey hands. One time I was sweeping de yard and young mistus jist come back from college. She slap my face and dat make me mad. She want to beat me but my ma say for her not to beat me, she take de beating. So dey beat my ma."I had one aunt what run 'way 'cause dey whip her so much. Dey found her and brung her back and beat her. We didn't have no dogs but dere was some in de neighborhood what had 'em and dey lend 'em to other men what didn't have none."When dey want to get marry dey ax Marster. Dey make 'em jump over de broom before de judge. Charlie Guidry was de judge. Dat de way my pa and ma get marry.

Marster's old brother-in-law let his slaves have dance outdoors on Sunday sometime. Somebody play de violin and de banjo, and dey dance scotto, and reels and waltzes and codry. Sometime dey have a buck dance. Dat where jist one dance by himself. Sometime dey call dat jig dance. De tune dey play most 'Run Nigger, run, de patter-rollers ketch you'."Slaves from Marsters' place have to get a slip if dey go. If dey don't have a slip dey get beat. De patter rollers go to de place where de dance was and make de folks show dere slips. If dey ain't had no slip - oo-oo-ooh, dat was too bad. Dey git beat. Dey didn't have nothing to eat at dem dances and dey had to be back to de quarters by sundown."De priest he never come 'round de quarters, but he go to de big house and tell Old Mistus to teach de older ones dere prayers. I ax my aunt and she teach me. But we didn't go to church in slavery."When anybody die dey bury 'em in de graveyard. Part of it was for de whites and part for de cullud. Dey didn't do no work den. De slaves would gather 'round in a crowd and spend de night sitting up with de corpses. Dey had prayers and sung Baptist songs. Dey give 'em coffee to drink but dey didn't have nothing to eat. Dey take de body to Grand Coteau and de priest bury 'em."I see plenty of sojers. Dey fight at a place called 'Pines' and we hear dem ball going 'zing, zing'. De Yankees comes from Bayou Vermillion and LaFayette. My young Marster had a blue coat. He put it on and climb up in a tree to see what he could see. Some sojers come 'long and dey think he a Yankee. Dey make him come down and take his gun and make him shine dere spurs. When dey find out he ain't a Yankee dey turn him loose and give him his gun back. Dat was old Marster's son-in-law. De Yankees, when dey come, dey take corn, and goose, and horses. Dey don't ax for nothing, jist take what dey want. Old Marster didn't go to de War but his boy did."Some of de marsters had chillen by dey slaves. Some of 'em sold dere own chillen, and some sot 'em free. Some wouldn't whip dere slaves. De other planters call dem slaves 'Free Niggers'. "When freedom come Dr. Guidry what was kinfolk of Old Marster come 'roun and tell 'em de slaves free. But dey have to sign up to work for money with dey marster for a year, and if dey want to go to work for somebody else, he couldn't take 'em in 'til he find out dey was sent off by de Old Marster. After de year up some stay on with Old Marster, but not long. "De Klu Klux sho' kill people. Dey come one night to take my uncle. Me and my aunt try to get him to run out in de yard and go to de woods. He say if dey kill him dey gwineter kill him in our door, and he go open de door. When he do dat dey go off and left him. Dey told him de next day to put a blue ribbon on his coat and vote de Democrat Ticket. Some of de niggers so scared dey sleep out in de wood. One time one of 'em was going 'long singing a Baptist song. One night dey kill him 'cause he didn't want to vote de Democrat ticket. "Dey kill old uncle Davis 'cause he don't vote de Democrat ticket. Dey shoot him den dey stand him up and let him fall down and den dey tie him by de feet and drag him through de bresh and care he wife to cry. "When I 'bout thirty year old I marry Tesisfor Babino . Father Abadie marry us at Grand Coteau. We went to de church to get marry, and after we git marry we have a big dinner with wine and chicken. Den come a big dance. We's had twelve chillen. Dey was Edmond , and Rudolph , and Ignatius , and Clarice , and Adam , and Rogers and Eva , and Bennie , and Willie , and Albert , and Simon and Mary . I got a hundred and twenty grand-chillen.

"Befo' I come to Beaumont I live at Carencro most de time. I cook for old Mistess awhile and I cook for Dr. Guilbeau a year after I git marry. But me and my husband work in de field most."We move to Opelousas and live dere awhile. Den we come here 'bout twenty-five year ago. My husband die in 1917. I live in Pear Orchard awhile, den I move here. "I's a member of Blessed Sacrament Church right here and it nice to be able to go to prayers whenever I want to."