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Texas Slave Narrative
Elvira Basard
A huge woman of decidedly convex proportions, Elvira Basard
, seems to be in rather poor health, and shuffles from chair to chair with difficulty. She speaks vaguely of her exact age and wanders considerably in her account, although to the best of remembrance, she was born in Vermilion Parish, Louisiana, the slave of Bab Cade
, but was later sold to the Moss
family of Avery Island and Abbeville. "My marster, Mr. Bob Cade
, he was my fus' marster. After he die dey sol' us t' d' Mosses
. We went t' Vis Varee (plantation). Mr. Aleck Moss
was p'utty hard on cullud folks. Dey uster whip 'em. D' main part (of the slaves) had t' git out an' go t' work an' if dey didn' do like dey said, dey put 'em down to a stake an' beat 'em." "Dey had ol' wimmin at d' w'ite folks home t' cook. I had t' help keer for d'
little ones. Us didn' know anyt'ing 'bout chu'ch an' Sunday school. I don' 'member 'bout sittin' in school 'til I be'n yere in Beaumont." "D' war was almos' 'bout finish w'en I could 'member. I was 'bout five year ol' den. D' 'publicans dey was d' soljers you see. Dey had
on blue jackets an' brass buttons. I jus' see 'em come up in a rush. I see 'em breakin' in an' takin' things t' eat an' killin' cattle an' all like dat." "W'en freedom come my father an' ol' man Duncan
try t' run 'way from marster. Dey stay out all night an' day an' git loss. Dey was tryin' t' git t' d' Yankees. W'en dey fin' 'em dey was jis' 'bout w'ere dey start. Dey take 'em an' whip 'em in front of all d' ol' folks. From dere we come t' Aleck Mosa
on Bayou Vermilion. From dere we git us 'rations, so much to las' a week." "At Vis Varee dey wasn' so many cullud folks, an' not so many w'ites. I 'member some of d' slaves. Dey was Joe Dudley
, Bill Duncan
, Frank Willmo
(dat was my father), three families. A'nt Charity
, she Uncl' Dudley's
wife, she had two children, dey was 'bout nine or ten on d' plantation. Mr. Aleck Moss
he live in Abbeville. At d' place at Vis Varee (unable to distinguish whether the term was Vis or Bis Baree) dey had d' slaves." "'Bout a year went by befo' dey (the slaves) knowed anyt'ing 'bout it (freedom)."
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