Texas Slave Narratives

Texas Slave Narrative

  Joe Oliver

I was born in Hill County, Texas in de year 1847. My Master was named James Gatlin , he cum from Missippi befo' de Civil War an' brung his slaves wid him, he had a plantation of five hundred acres of land an' 'bout two hundred slaves. Dey cum to Texas befo' de war for freedom, de bes' I remember dey was here w'en dey had de war wid Mexico. Dey is so many things dat happened in all dis time dat I does not hardly know how to begin to tell you. In Hill County, my Master had his own gin an' corn mill w'en I was growin' up my daddy had charge of dem an' I helped to run dem. He send de cotton an' de corn an' all dat he raise for de market to sell to Houston by wagon trains. Den after de Houston an' de Texas Central Rail Road is built, he ship hit over de railroad.

After de Civil War is over dey start a school for de w'ite chillun an' one for de nigger's slaves chillun, dis is de first school dat I went to, de teachers name was Yeager , I was a good big boy den, we did not go to school but 'bout three months at a time, dis was in de winter w'en we did'nt work in de fields. We had a little log school house wid de benches made from a plank of lumber hewed from a big log, de boys had to take dey turns at what dey would call guard duty now, for de Indians an' de stray niggers was passin' all de time. Times was in de reconstruction days an' no one could tell what might happen, nobody felt safe. De first church dat I 'members going to was de one held in de brush arbor, close by de little log school house. I well remember one of de camp meetin's, de preacher was named Anderson , an' he preach to de sinner de gospel of fire an' brimstone for dey sins, den dey called demselves de Protestan Methodist, an' dey singin' an' shoutin' till de break of day, some goin' into trances an' some speakin' in what dey called strange tongues, dis was a good chance for de slaves to run away, for w'en dey would rise up from dey trance some would run like de debbil was after him, an' jes keep runnin' untill he run clear off. So de w'ite folks den put's de trusty niggers to guard de door or de way dey leaves if hit in de arbor, but hit is hard to make de trusty ketch dem for dey think hit de Holy Ghost dat is makin' dem run, so dey is afraid to stop dem, claimin' dey can't stop de Holy Ghost.

De w'ite folks Fourth of July dinners was de biggest thing dat de nigger got to go to in dem days, if he was one of de helpers he was de lucky nigger. If hit was de year for de candidates, den dey would have de speakin' jes befo' an' right after de barbecues. De merchants in Hillsboro would give de groceries, de farmers would give roastin' ears, watermelons, canteloupes, an' de vegetables. De hunters would bring in de deer, wild turkey, beef an' hogs to be barbecued. De wimmen would bake de pound cakes, dewberry, grape an' wild plum pies. Our old Master an' his folks would go an' help to fix de tables dey would have hit in de brush arbor, under dis dey has de seats an' de speakers stand, after awhile dey has de sawdust to spread on de ground but at first hit was jes on de grass. De w'ite folks cum from all over de country nearly to Fort Worth, Dallas, Waco, an' all 'roun', especially de year dey has de race for de Governor. I 'members de year dat Richard Coke , an' governor Ross run for dis office, bof' times de Waco folks had dey crowds to cum an' spread de papers for dem 'roun', dey would call hit de boosters now, but in dese times dey did'nt have dese big words. After dey has de speakin's for de candidates, den dey has de barbecue dey has de long tables, an' dey eats untill hit is mos' gone, den while de niggers eat an' de wimmen gather up de leavin' of de barbecue, dey fires off de canon an' de bands play Yankee Doodle, an' Dixie an' Hail Columbia, den if dey has a place for de crowd to dance, de ole fiddler begin to play de dance tunes.

If de w'ite folks fiddler did not cum den dey has de ole black fiddler whose name was Caleb, he plays de fiddle, 'nother plays de jews harp, an' still 'nother one plays de hoe by scrapin' on hit wid a case knife, dey like to play songs like Oh, git up gals in de mawnin', Oh git up gals in de mawnin, Oh, git up gals in de mawnin', jes at de break ob day." At de end of de dance, de players give a extra loud blow to dey instruments an' de dancers dance wid dey heel an' toe, a rat-tat-tat. Den 'nother tune de w'ite folks like was de "Gal I Left Behind Me", kase dey was all from de old States mostly an' dis song was about de gal in dey old home, an' many a one left a behin' dem, dey jes did'nt go back after w'en dey starts dey own home in Texas. I kin hear dem singin' hit as dey listen to de band a playin' an' de dancin'. De old men leans back wid dey eyes closed an' dey sing to de fiddlers tunes, "I'll cross Red River one more time, If de tears don't fall an' drown me, A-weepin' for dat pretty little gal, De gal I left behind me. Oh, dem was de days befo' de hard times cum, but I must think up some thing about what happened, dey was de Ku-Klux, dat got to whippin' de niggers so bad after freedom dat my daddy moved nearer to Hillsboro, an' lived wid Dr. Craig . He was a practicin' medicine' at Hillsboro an' he would not let de Ku-Klux whip his niggers dat was workin' for him after de war is over an' de slaves is free. After freedom my daddy went to political conventions at Austin in de days of reconstruction, an' helped to pass de laws, but de Yankees sent so many rascals down here to run things dat de Texas men would not stand for dis. Dey was called de carpet baggers, dey took de vote away from de very men dat had freed Texas from Mexico, kase dey had fought for de rebels, den dey put de nigger troops over at Tyler, kase hit was de headquarters for de Yankees. Dey put two niggers troops here, an' so dey did'nt have any better sence den to think dey could run de town, de men an women bof' was not safe to go anywhar at night for fear of dese soldiers, w'en all of a sudden dey was de Ku-Klux a ridin' up an' down de streets at night, dey was robed in w'ite, an' not a sound did dey make but dey horse hoofs a poundin' de pavements, an' in de road dat led into de city. De next mornin' dey would be de bodies of de soljers a hangin' to de trees, sometimes dey would be out in de cemeteries. Dey put de soljers guards from de nigger troops to guard de roads dat led into de town but de guards body would be found hangin' jes de same as de soljers. De soljers called dem "de w'ite devils", but pretty soon dey commenced to behave demselves, an' let de w'ite folks go 'bout dey business, an' so de troops had enough of de Ku-Klux an' was soon sent some other place. Jes befo' de war broke out dey was a lot of trouble in some places in Texas, 'bout de slaves. Dey was what dey called de Black Republican party an' de Democratic party, an' I does not know how many others, but dey keep up de agitation among de w'ite folks dat de nigger is goin' to rise up agin de w'ite folks, an' dat de nigger is goin' to rise up agin de w'ite folks, an' dat de nigger is burnin' de houses an' doin' all kinds of devilment, but to dis day I thinks hit was de work of de Abolition preachers dat cum to work up de nigger's against de w'ite folks. Dey had big fires from Waxacahie, on up to Dalls an' other town an' dese abolition preachers put hit on de slaves.

I 'member at de town of Henderson dey had one of de bigges' fires an' several niggers was hung for hit. So dey organizes what dey call de viligance committees whose business hit was to arrest dese folks dat is tryin' to git de slaves to rise up agin' de w'ite folks, an' to keep a watch for de ones who is burnin' up de towns. Dis was w'en Houston was de Governor. Den de war cum, an' dey forgit all 'bout dese troubles, for de slaves did'nt rise up agin' de w'ite folks like dey had been told to do by dese abolition preachers, or whoever dey was. W'en de war cum den dey did'nt bother us any more, dey had gained dey purpose to work up de feelin's 'bout de war, but dey did not succeed in makin' de slaves turn agin' dey Master's except de ones dat went to de war, an' mos' of dese cum back de first chance dey git. You has heard tell 'bout de Texas Rangers all you life, I knows, but to de ones dat was livin' w'en dey was needed, dey was de bes' soljers dey was. Dey was de bes' protection from de Indians an' de Mexicans dat Texas had. Dey had to be good riders to be able to fight de Indians, an' mos' especially de Comanches. Dey was good riflemen, an' dey used de six-shooters as well as de soljers in de army, maybe better. Dey knew de trails thro' de timber, an' could track de Indians as well as de Indian scouts could. For dey arms, dey carried de revolver, de pistol a rope an' a bowie knife. I 'member how dey look w'en dey ridin' by, dey used to wear de old buckskin leggins, an' de big hats, leather boots, an' dey spurs dey always wore. At first dey was jes to keep de Indians an' de Mexicans from dey raids on de settlers, but after de war was over dey was called on agin', de Indians was troublesome agin', de carpet-baggers from de North cum to give trouble, an' to take what dey could away from de country, an' den dey was fightin' an' den dey desperadoes, an' all dese things, so dey jes had to cum back an' help to git Texas straightened out, an' dis is jes what dey did. Some of dese rangers dat I kin 'member hearin' de w'ite folks talk 'bout was Colonel Ford , John Hays , Ben McCulloch an' de two Ross's . De Rosses was from Waco, I think's, an' dis McCulloch was from Tennessee, an' was a friend to Davy Crockett , dat was killed in de Alamo. Hit seems to me dat McCulloch was killed in de Civil War, but I does not know for sure. I kin 'member too, de way de Rangers took dey water wid dem, dey used de gourds for dey water bottles, dey used de long neck gourds, an' tied dem to de horn of dey saddles. De way dey cleaned de gourds was to fill dem wid water an' let stan' over night wid a little sugar in hit, de next mornin' dey would pour de water out, an' dry hit for few hours, den dey would put hit over a red ant-hill, an' de ants would eat all de insides of it de gourd but de shell, to git de sugar, den hit would be ready to wash an' use. De folks does not know how many useful things dat de gourd was used for in de early days, dey made good dippers, spoons an' dishes, I has seen de big ones used to keep sugar, lard an' coffee. Dey would last a lot longer dan de chin an' de glass dishes. De Indians was de ones I expect dat showed de w'ite folks how to use de gourd. Yes, I kin 'member seein' de Indians w'en I was a boy, some of dem was friendly Indians, an' would cum to de old Torrey Tradin' House on de Tehuacana Creek, which some of de folks called de Tradin' House Creek, dis was below Hillsboro, but dey pass by our homes w'en dey goin' to hit.

Sometimes dey trade us some beads for corn or something to eat. I kin 'member as a boy, our Master takin' us to see de Indians w'en dey would be camped on de Brazos; sometimes dey would have hogs killed an' dressed an' trade a whole ham for jes a few yards of calico or something to eat or wear. After dey begun to dress more like de w'ite folks. I has heard de folks say dat de Indians, or de Comanches met wid dey head chiefs in de month of June at de time de new moon on de Salt Fork of de Colorado an' de Brazos rivers, to plan dey huntin' an' anything else dey planned for de year. Dis was a kind of picnic an' de Indians dat was not in de plannin' gathered de salt for dey use, an' run races on dey horses, had sham battles, foot races an' all de Indians do w'en dey is takin' dey vacation, we would call hit now. As I used to hear de talk 'bout de Indians, I learned how dey made de arrow heads, dey took large flint stones, broke dem into pieces an' den dey made dem any shape dey wanted wid de help of stone tools. Sometimes dey used de rib bones of deer an' buffalo as a chisel in makin' de arrows. De bones was cut de size dey wanted an' given a sharp point. After awhile dey used spikes made from hoop-iron, copper an' bone.

De Indians in dese days was de most we thought about befo' de war, for we was always afraid de Comanches or de tribes dat was not friendly would cum an' steal our Massa's oxen, cattle, if dey did'nt kill dem. Dey would take de bright moonlight nights for dey raids, I kin 'member how my daddy an' mammy would take dey time 'bout stayin' awake watching for de Indians. But if dey cum I does not 'member right now. In dis country aroun' Hillsboro hit was on de Prairie an' whar dey had been using de old time plows befo' de Civil War, dey had new ways of sowing an' harvestin' de crops. Dey begun to use de mowin' machine an' de reaper, de horse power thresher an' de fannin' mill, de kind of reaper some one made was called a self-rake reaper an' what dey called a broadcast reaper. Den he finally quits de use of oxen an' he commences to bring de horses to Texas from de old States, mostly Missouri, de mules an' horses bof' dey bring from de other States, of course dey has de Indian ponies, what dey call de mustangs, an' de Indians had started de horses bof' by catchin' de wild ones an' bringin' to de tradin' post called Torreys an' later dey bring dem from de old States. Den I kin 'member how after awhile dey commence to ship de lumber down de rivers an' by de wagon trains to Texas for de settlers to build dey houses instid of de log cabin's of de first settlers.

De settlers dat I knew was de prairie settlers, an' dey was some different to de ones dat first settled de timber country, dey was a huntin' for more land to break an' put in cultivation. After de Civil War de demand for flour was so much bigger dat de prairie farmer commenced to sow more wheat, an' de same way hit was for corn so dey had to invent more machinery to harvest hit, an' hit was de same way wid de meat, de demand was for so much more dat dey commenced to need pasture dey call de short grass, which was on de prairie. Dey commenced to raise de cattle for dis on de open range w'en dey had driven de Indians off. After awhile dey finds dat by jes feedin' de herds of cattle an' grazin' dem along de trails to de North dat by de time dey git to de end of dey trail, dey is ready to sell, an' I kin 'member back as far as de year 1865 w'en dey had started to grazin' de cattle up dese trails. I kin 'member how de cowboy's den was so common, as much as de farmer, dat took de place of de plantation owners befo' freedom, but de farmer soon begun to put all dis land in cultivation so bye an' bye de cowboy had to go further west, some of dem did'nt go away, dey jes stayed an' hung up his spurs an' went to plowin' de land an' turnin' his pasture into a cotton an' corn field, but while dey was here dey made hit worth dey time for dey was one of de best folks dat ever lived in dese parts. I kin 'member dey camp-fires an' how dey had de spring round up's befo' dey start on de drives up de trails, de songs of de cowboy was a whole lot better to hear on de prairies or aroun' de camp fires dan de ones you hear de city dudes singin' dese days. As I look back on de trail dat is already gittin' dim in my memory I kin still see de camp fires a sparklin on de prairies an' den I kin hear my old Master as dey ride up to de house an' call "Hello, de house"! I kin see de w'ite-topped prairies schooners slowly toiling up de trail or by de river bed as dey camp for de night, I hear de voices of dey chillun's dat is to be de men of today, an' I is glad dat I was born early enough to ketch de dying echoes of dey songs, an' to get a little glimpse of de light of dey fires.


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