Vinnie Brunson

I was born in Freestone County, Texas, near the town of Centerville, I was four years old when freedom cum, my mother was named Sylvia Pruitt . We lived on a plantation owned by an old white woman who was a widow, she owned other slaves and had her farming done by them.
 She lived in a big house dat was built of logs an was plastered inside and weatherboarded outside. She had four boys an dey was des in de 'teens, and no girls. So she kept me in de house wid her mos' of de time when I was big enough fer company. "We lived in a cabin made of logs, chinked the cracks with clay an' straw mixed togedder, instead of bricks de chimbly was built of logs built like a pigpen an daubed up wid clay. Inside we des had a bed, hit was homemade, an' a cornshuck mattress, covered wid a patchwork quilt dat my mother made, den we had a big cedar chest made from de boards of de cedar trees, an some cheers, dis was all 'sides de kitchen, we had an old cook stove an a table an some cheers. "Dis is de house dat I members whar we lived on de old plantashun' befo' freedom an' several years afterwards, dis is whar we lived wen soljers cum by an stopped an told my old mother dat "she a free nigger." Long time maybe three or four years after dis we moved to de town of Buffalo, Texas with my sister an' helped her ole man to make a crop fer de white folks on de halves. "De old Mistis dat we lived with befo' freedom had two boys dat would not go to de war, an de men would try to ketch dem an make dem go, dey was sixteen an' eighteen years old, but dey never did go, wen de men would cum to git dem we would think dey was after us chillun, so we would run an hide. "Was she good to us? Yes, she would call us to her house an give us bread an fresh milk fer out supper every evenin' 'bout sunset. When my mother left her she begged fer me to live with her but my mother would not give me away an so I went with my folks to de town of Buffalo whar we lived wid my sister an helped to make her ole man make de crops fer de white folks. "We did not have any Doctors hardly at all in dem days, but we had de remedies dat was handed down to us from de folks way back befo' we was born. Tell you some of dem? Well, I will try to member them all if I kin. Hot sassafras tea cools de blood in de spring, redpepper tea cures heavy colds dat make de bones ache, red-oak bark tea drives out inward fevers an helps bad appetites an' night sweats, healing leaves seal up deep cuts, tea from violet leaves or Yacca heals foot sores, an hot cooked turnips cure chilblains, wet collard leaf tied on an aching head or skin sore will run de pain off, an two buck eyes carried in de pockets will cure de misery in old jints, Snake root tea cures de belly-ache, an de linin' from a chickens gizzard cures indigestion, put two lightnin bugs in a bottle dat has held whiskey dat is de bes painkiller of all, an hickery switch roasted in hot ashes is good medicine fer young hides dat need to be loosed. "When times are good and seasons make corn and rice bears heavy crops an everbody in de house fattens up, but when de drouth cum an burn up de crops den de chillun git thin an poor, but we had learned to have faith dat our God has always provided enough to keep us alive, but we feels like dat we had heavy trials sometime You wants me to tell you more 'bout how we lived in de days when I was little, what kind of school did we furst have? Well de fust free school dat I member was when I was gittin to be big girl long time after freedom, de free school would start after de crops was gathered in de fall and last 'till in de spring w'en we had to quit an go to de fiel's de ole folks did not want us to go much but de white folks 'suaded dem to let us go, our ole folks was 'fraid dat book larnin' might put big notion into our heads an we be too good to work, an our eyes was needed to learn 'bout de wild animals dat had to be watched to keep from biting an stingin' us, like snakes, wolves, bears an sich, we had to learn to read dar' tracks an know de signs on de groun' so we could git out of dar way. De poisonious snakes lie in de brush ready to strike wicked fangs into bare heels, danger hides everywhere in de streams too so we must know how to escape from hit."De wild animals have nimble feet an wings to save dem from de ones dat kill dem but de nigger had to save hisself. How did our mothers punish us? Well dey believed in de ole saying "Spare de rod an spoil de chile" an wen dey did not whip us dey wash our mouth out wid soap, e'fn we used bad words, an ef'n we give back talk to dem dat is older, den we have to chew de pods of red pepper."What did de girls an de boys do fer dey work wen dey not workin' in de fiel's? De girls learn to sew an cook, wash an iron, sweep an scour de floors and dey boy's learn to ride, drive, plow de oxen an de mules, swim, shoot de birds, rabbits an squirrels wid de sling shots befo' dey try to learn to shoot a gun."Wen de moonlight nights has cum den de chillun play out on de grass an play ring aroun rosy an sing de songs, den sometimes we go huntin in de woods an sometime we ketch coons an possums, den wen we gits home we cooks dem out in de yard, while dey is cookin dey dance an sing songs like dis, as dey dance to music of de whistle,"Mix de meal, fry de batter, Nigger dance ter merlatter, Warm de cake in er platter, Fry em in de Cooney's fat. Grab er tater out de ash, Nigger dance ter merlatter, Possum meat in er platter, Sho he make de nigger fatter.After Freedom we had our own school house and we used hit fer de church too, de benches was jes' wooden benches wid de peg legs, at night wen de preachin was over we took de benches outside in de summer on de moonlight nights an sit dem in a circle an wen we sings den if de spirit moves dem dey jus up an dances to de tune of de song an sings an de crowd keeps de time pattin de feet an de hands. One of de songs dat we likes to sing was Dem Golden Slippers, O dem golden slippers am laid away, Kase I done 'speck to wear dem 'till my weddin' day.An am long tail coat dat I love so well, I will wear up in de chariot in de morn, An my long white robe dat I bought last June, I'm gwine git changed kast hit gits too soon, an ole gray hoss dat I use to drive, I will hitch to de chariot in de morn Oh, dem golden slippers! Oh, dem golden slippers! Golden Slippers I'm gwine to wear, bekase dey look so neat, Oh, dem golden slippers, Oh, dem golden slippers, Golden slippers Ise gwine to wear, To walk de golden street. "De Bible tells how de angels shouted in heaven, so dat is where dey get de scripture' fer de dance dat is called de "Shout". De ones dat do dis does not sing, dey jes dance, dey songs are sung by de congregashun. In most cases de "shout is done at de end of de services"In de shoutin' song de best singers git to gether an start de song, hit moves slow at fust den gits faster an louder, as dey sing dey jine hands an make a circle, den somebody git happy an jumps out in de middle of de circles an goes to dance to de time of de singing an de clappin' of hands and feet, others jine her as de spirit moves dem, till dey all make a ring dat circles roun' an roun', De folks in de congregashun jine de singin' an keepin' de time by pattin' de hands an feet an' hit makes a big noise an praise service."As one crowd git's tired an quits, another starts up 'till dey all has a chance to take part in de praise service of de dance shout De spiritual songs is sung in time to de kind of service hit is efn hit is a meetin song hit is sung fast an if hit is a funeral hit is sung slow. Dey sing "Swing Low Sweet Chariot" a heap at de praise song, an' at de funerals bof'. (Praise song Fast.)"Swing low, Sweet chariot, Comin' fer ter carry me home. Swing low, sweet chariot comin fer ter carry me home. I looked over Jordan an' what did I see, Comin' fer to carry me home? A band of angels comin after me. Comin fer to cary me home.
Swing-low sweet chariot, coming fer to carry me home,
 Swing l-o-w, s-w-e-e-t---char-iot, C-omin' fer to carry me home.
 "Yes'm de nigger used to sing to nearly everything he did, Hit was des de way he' spressed his feelin's an hit made him relieved, if he was happy, hit made him happy, if he was sad hit made him feel better, an so he des nacherlly sings his feelin's.De timber nigger he sings as he cuts de logs an keeps de time wid his axe. De wimmen sing as dey bend over de washtub, de cotton choppers sing as he chops de cotton, De mother sing as she rocks her baby to sleep. De cotton picker sing as he picks de cotton, an dey all sing in de meetin's an at de baptizin' an' at de funerals."Hit is de niggers mos' joy, an his mos comfort w'en he needs all these things. Dey sing 'bout de joys in de nex' world an de trouble in dis. Dey first jes sung de 'ligious songs, den dey commenced to sing 'bout de life here an w'en dey sang of bof' dey called dem de "Spirituals". De ole way to sing dem was to keep time wid de in of de han's an pattin' of de feet."Dey sing dem in different ways fur different occasions, at a meetin w'en dey shots dey sing hit joyful, an w'en dey sing de same song at a funeral dey sing it slow an moanful' w'en dey sing de same song in de fiel's hit is sung, if dey work fas', quick, if dey is tired hit is sung slow. If hit is sung at Chrismus, den hit is sung gay an happy."De days of slavery made de nigger live his life over in de spirituals", most of de real ole time slaves are gone, jes a few maybe who were boys den, but dar song lives on wif bof' de white an de black folks, we forgets de sorrows an remembers de happy days des in de songs.