He was de Methodist preacher and furnish us church. Sometimes he has camp meeting and dey cook out doors with de skillicks. Sometimes he has-corn shucking time and we has hawg meat and meal bread and whiskey and eggnog and chicken. De books he brung us didn't do us no good, 'cause us wouldn't larn nothin'. Us too busy playin' and huntin' good berries in de wood, de huckleberry and grape and mescaline and chinquapins. All dis time de war was firin' and I seed two, three soldiers round spyin'. When peace 'clared missy's two boys come back from de war. We stays with Marse Frasier two year and den I goes and gits married to de man call Baker . Done been blind like dis over 40 year. One Sunday I stay all night with a man and he wife and I was workin' as woodchopper on de Santa fe route up Beaumont to Tyler County. After us git up and I starts 'way. I ain't gone but 15, 16 yard when I hear somethin' say. 'Rose , you done somethin' you ain't ought.' I say. 'No, Lawd, no.' Den de voice say, 'Somethin' gwine happen to you,' and de next mornin' I's blind as de bat and I ain't never seed since. Some try tell me snow or sweat or smoke de reason. Dat ain't de reason. Dey a old, old, slew footed somethin' from Louisiana and dey say he de conjure man, one dem old hoodoo niggers. He git mad at me de last plum-ripenin' time and he make up powdered rattlesnake dust and pass dat through my hair and I she' ain't seed no more. Dat not de onliest thing de old conjurs men do. Dey powder up de rattle offen de snake and tie it up in de little old rag bag and dey do devilment with it. Dey git old scorpion and make bad medicine. Dey git dirt out de graveyard and dat dirt, after dey speak on it, would make you go crazy. When dey wants conjure you, dey sneak round and git de hair combin' or de finger or toenail, or anything natural 'bout your body, and works de hoodoo on it. Dey make de straw man or de clay man and dey puts de pin in he leg and you leg gwinter git hurt or sore jus' where dey puts de pin. Iffen dey puts de pin through de heart you gwinter die and ain't nothin' kin save you. Dey make de charm to wear round de neck or de ankle and day make de love powder, too, out de love vine, what grow in de woods. Dey biles de leaves and powders 'em. Day she' works, I done try 'em.

She is a pathetic but ugly figure, with her sightless, glaring eyes, thick, twisted lips, and massive dark features. Blind since 1895 through causes which she attributes mainly to a 'conjure-man's curse',Rosanna Frazier , is utterly helpless now. She is bedridden in the home of a friend in Pear Orchard settlement, her husbands and seven children, all being dead. Rosanna , who was a Frazier slave in Tyler county, cannot remember her age, but believes she was about 10 or 12 years old when freedom came. One unusual feature of her story is that she worked on a railroad construction gang as a woodchopper, when the Sante Fe came south over 40 years ago. My mammy was a free-bo'n woman name' Viny Frazier . She come from a free country. De spec'later gang stole her w'en she a young gal. She was on her way to school w'en dey did dat. Dey brung her an' sol' her in Red Ribber, Miss'ippi. Mistus Mary , she buy her. De mistus she marry one man name Pool an' hab two boy name Josh an' Bill , an' den she marry Marse Frazier . Atter she been in Miss'ippi my mammy marry my Daddy. He name Jerry Durden . Atter I's bo'n an' dey move to Texas, he b'long to de Neylands . My w'ite folks move to a big plantation close to Woodville in Tyler county. De ol' marster hab a sto' an' plenty of stock an' man. He hab two places to my known'. He come from Georgy. De place dat I stay was one de Col' Springs Road. W'en I's li'l I play wid my two sisters an' one brudder (dey's all dead now). Ol' marster he jes' buy my mudder's younges' chillen, me an' mammy an' my sisters. A man name' Neyland buy my daddy. All us li'l chillen, black an' w'ite, play togedder. Marse Frazier he raise us. Dey was Sis , an' Texana , an' Robert an' John , de li'l ones 'sides de mistus' two big boys. Ol' marster he treat us nice.

Dey call us 'free niggers.' Some of de marsters wouldn' 'low us to come 'roun' dey place cause dey too mean to dey niggers. Dey 'fraid dey git disatisy (disatisfy) wid dey own treatment. Sho's you bo'n, iffen one of us git 'roun' dem plantation dey jes' cut us to pieces wid de whip. Some of dem w'ite folks was sho' mean. Dey wuk de darkies eb'ry day, barefoot, in de sun, cut dem down wid de whip an' sho' done dem up bad. Dat on other place' though. Not 'roun' us. Marse Frazier he didn' wuk us hard an give Sattiday an' Sunday off. He's alright an' give good food, too. People sho' would rare off from him cause he too good. He was a Mef'dis preacher an' fu'nish us chu'ch. Sometime he hab basket dinners an' t'ree week' camp meetin'. Eb'rybudy come. Dey cook out do's wid skillicks. He nebber 'low no dance on he place but he give de niggers pass to go to dance on de other plantations. He hab a great big co'n crib an' hab co'n shukin' time. Dey kill hogmeat, hab meal bread, whiskey an' eggnog an' chicken. De ol' marster brung us all books, but Law, us wouldn' learn nuthin'. None of us, de w'ite or de black chillen, jes' wouldn' study. Us was too busy rollin' hoop, an' playin' hidin', an' runnin' two or t'ree mile up an' down in de woods. Dey was all kinds of good berry in dem woods us like to git an' eat, huckleberry, grape, muscadine, chincapins. All dis time de war was fixin'. I seed two or t'ree sojers spyin' 'roun' to see w'at dey could see. Dey's t'inkin' 'bout freein' dem den. I didn' nebber git my age but I was 'bout ten or twel' year ol' w'en freedom come. W'en peace 'clared my ol' mistus two boys come back from de war. I didn' knowed w'er dey been. Us allus thought so much of Bill we call him 'Buddy '. We run down an' seed him in de yard. I say, 'Buddy , Buddy , w'er you been all dis time?' He say, 'I been off.' I say, 'W'er off?' He say, 'I been to de war.' I say, 'W'at does dat mean? W'at dat?' He say, 'Us been fightin' 'bout free de niggers.' An' I say, 'Why you didn' hafter fight for to free me. I's done already free.' I didn' know no better. I think I already free. Us stay wid de ol' marster two year an' went to Woodville. He paid in crop an' a li'l money. He didn' hab so much money den. All de Con'fedrate money ain' no good. My fus' husban' name Baker an' de nex' Alex Wooten . I don' know de time on'y it were sometime atter freedom. My fo' boys an' t'ree gals all dead. Dey's been lotser talk 'bout w'at cause me to lose my eyes. I done been blin' like dis for ober 40 year'.

Some say dey sweat put my eye out, some say it cause dat big snow sto'm in 1895, an' some say cause I wash my hair an' ketch a bad col'. I knowed one t'ing. One Sunday I stay all night wid a culled man an' he wife. I was wukkin' as a woodchopper on de Sante Fe route up Beaumont to Tyler county. Atter us git up de nex' mawnin' en' I start 'way from de house, I ain' gone but 15 or 16 yard w'en I hear sump'n' say, 'Rose.' I look 'roun' an' dey ain' anyt'ing. 'Gin it say, 'Rose .' I say, 'Who dat callin' me?' Dat voice say, 'Rose , you done sump'n' you ain' ought?' An' I say, 'No, Lawd, no.' Den de voice say, 'Well, you knowed w'at been done to you?' An' I say, 'Yes." Den I go an' do dat washin' my head an' de nex' mawnin' I's blin' as a bat an' I ain' nebber seed since. Some dem try tell me 'bout snow, or sweat or smoke but dat ain' de reason. Dey was a ol', ol' swewfooted (slew-footed) sump'n' from Lou'sana. Dey say he a conjure man, one dem ol' hoodoo niggers. He git mad at me 'bout some plums de las' plum-ripenin' time. Den he mek some immoral talk w'at I ain' like an' dat mek him mo' madder. So you know w'at he do? Dat ol' man he mek up powder' rattlesnake dus' an' he pass dat through my head. W'en de sweat run down in my eyes dat witchcraf' wuk. An' I sho' ain' seed none no mo. Dat not de on'ies' t'ing dem ol' conjure men do. Dey powder up de rattle offn' de snake an' tie it up in a li'l ol' rag bag. Den w'en dey pass dey do dey debilment wid it. Dey go git ol' scorpion an' mek bad med'cine. Den dey go dig dirt outn' de grabeyard. Dey git dat dirt right outn' de middle of de grabes. Dat kinder dirt atter dey speak on it would mek you go crazy. W'en dey wanter conjure anybudy dey sneak 'roun' an' dey git de hair combin', or de finger an' toe nail, or anyt'ing nat'chal 'bout you body an' dey wuk a hoodoo on it. Dat w'at been done to me. W'en Rose yere comb my hair las' week, I been so sick for long time it ain' been done. I allus hab big heaby top of hair. Eb'ry time de comb go through it dat hair jes' come out in patch'. Dey was a wuk basket full. I mos' like a baby too I so he'pless. Dey say dey mek a straw man or a clay man, an' dey put a pin in he leg an' you leg gwineter git hurt or so' (sore) jes' w'er dey put de pin through de heart you gwineter die an' ain' nuthin' kin save you. Some de conjure men an' womans spen' dey time mekkin' charm' an' t'ings. Dey mek sich like to wear 'roun' de neck or de ankle. Dey mek w'at dey calls 'love powders' too. Dey go out in de wood an' git sump'n' dey call 'love vine'. Dey tek de leaf an' bile dem atter dey been mek into powder. Some like tea an' some like brown powder. Dese use to put in de food so dey ain' knowed dey tek dem. Niggers use dem w'en dey think dey man or dey woman ain' lub dem no mo'.