Texas Slave Narratives

Texas Slave Narrative

  Jim Franklin

Jim Franklin is a shabbily dressed old negro, "down in de back," who feels that the world has about got the best of him. He has large, protruding upper teeth, and is inclined to be very loquacious. He draws a small pension but has a large family, and the people of Jasper help him some, for which he seems duly grateful.

My name's Jim Franklin , and I's name' for my young marster. I'se sebenty-five year' ol' and come fum Bruton, Alabama. I's the daddy of twel' chillen. I reckon dey's all min', leastways, dey say dey is. My fust wife's name' Kansas . Dey git her in Floridy and brung 'er to Alabama. W'en she die, I's jes' crazy, and lef' and follow' the tuppentime wuks on Wes'. I lef' the six chillen wid us folks. Dey aunt Maria Leonard , she raise' some of dem, and Phil Leonard , my mudder brudder', he raise' the baby chile. Den my mudder, my ol'es' sister and some others, dey go Norf and all tek pneumony and die'. The climate kill' 'em. My daddy name was Dary Franklin . He was a sco' hacker. Atter the wuk in the timber was done for the year, he come home in the winter time and he'p mudder sew and patch. Some run mills in the winter and fa'm in the summer. I quit the tuppentime wuk ten year' ago, and now jes' fa'm and mek cross-tie'. Us libs close to the cullud Orphans' Home, and I's done the fust wuk on dis Home to open it up. W'en I's wukkin' in the timber, a big slab fall on me and injure my lif' kidney, so I jes' ain't able to wuk no mo'. I bought two acre' of lan' fum Mista' Will Lynn , close by the cullud Orphans' Home, and I's paid for all but jes 'leben dollar'. Mista Few , he buil' the house for me, and I's paid 'im back the whole hunnerd dollar'. W'en fadder come Wes', he buy a place 'tween Myrtle Creek and Cedar Creek for fo'teen hunnerd dollar' and pay for it all. But in t'ree mont' time my fadder, sister, mudder-in-law and other kin folks dey die'. I was 'Big Jim ' and dey was all lookin' up to me, so I git dissatisfy' and lef' home. Den I git hurt and hab to lie on my back in one 'sition (position) for nine long days. De doctor was 'fraid to tu'n me over, I was dat low, and I was mind-rupted and worryin' 'bout my big doctor bill dat I couldn' pay. Den w'en I git up, the doctor he jes' cha'ge (charge) me seben dollar'.

In slav'ry day' we didn' hab nuttin' to eat t'roo the week but cawn bread and sweet 'taters. On Sunday, we git one biscuit apiece, and I tells you, it taste better'n' cake do now. My las' marster' name was W.W. Downer . He hab son us call' Little Lijah . Den dere was Julia and Alice . My stepmudder, Sally Franklin , was dey house-servant. Little Lijah save' my life onct. I's out playin' at the mill pon' wid a slab in the water, and I fall in. I try to git on the slab but couldn' and I was drownin'. Little Lijah happen' to be walkin' 'long the bluff 'bove the pon' and seed I mos' drown. He slide down dat steep bluff the fas'es' you ever see. He grab me and drag' me out, and tol' me he whip me good if he ever kotch me 'roun' dat mill pon' 'gin. Marse Downer , he try to teach us good manners. W'en I do sumpin' wrong, he say, 'Now don' you go to the other w'ite folks houses and act like you does yere; you must be nice and p'lite.' Ain't able to wuk much on 'count of my back; if it warn't for my ol'es' boy, who's my main 'pendence now, I don' know w'at I do. You see, I got six chillen by my secon' wife. I ain't never seed any of my fust set of six chillen since I lfe' 'em and come Wes', but I's had word fum 'em a time or two, t'roo (through) other people.


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