Texas Slave Narratives

Texas Slave Narrative

  Curley McGade

The City Hall and Market Square in Houston is rich in human types, especially derelicts and the unemployed. They gather in little groups on all sides of the square. On the northwest corner, at Milan and Preston Avenue, a group of Negroes can be found immediately in front of the City Water Department. The front of the square faces Travis Street, and it is bordered by a low stone fence, that is always occupied by these people. They are Negro, Mexican and white, old, young, gay, sad and dejected. They talk about relief, old age pensions, jobs, religion and every other imaginable subject. Ministers of uncertain qualifications, gather little groups together and exhort to them on the Bible and other topics that they are not prepared to discuss. One little bareheaded Negro preacher can be seen around the square or at Hunke and Pillots all day selling religious ballads to the gullible. Particularly is the square a gathering place for those who are broken down in health and are without a place to go. Occassionally the police will attempt to move them, but to no avail, they come back again and the officers' sympathies get the best of them. So there they remain. Because they are in bad health, the square is an excellent place to seek cures for any kind of a malady. Observations indicate that more than half of the suffers are paying for sowing their "wild oats." They limp, complain of backaches, some have swollen feet, and some are full of sores. Quack doctors and quack medicines get their testimonials among these people. A part of this general market scene are the root doctors or herb venders, who are exclusively old Negro men. They claim to know certain roots or herbs that will cure any disease. "Curley " McGade , is perhaps the better known of these root doctors who peddle their wares on the Square. "Curley " is a little copper colored man with coarse Indian hair. He is about five feet four, with a hooked nose, and he is stoop shouldered from age. He says, his father was a Frenchman and his mother was part Indian and part Negro. Whatever, he is, he seems to be well versed in herbs which he carries in a basket like box that can be set down anywhere as a minature counter. His regular stock consist of sassafrass roots, that are sold for tea, which is used as a beverage and as a medicine to purge the blood. He has a steady stream of trade all the day, when he is around the Square. "Curly " won't tell his secrets unless you can get into his good graces. Here is something he finally yielded, after the purchace of a bundle of sassafrass roots.

Yessuh, wile cherry bark is good for "asma," and Black Hall Root is de bes thing in de world for High Blood Pressuh and female truble. Hyah's another thing dats mighty powahfully good, (as he reached down in his sack and produced a pithy looking white root) Bull nettle root. Sho cure kidney trubles on de clapps. Tell yer anudder thing das good for de Clapps, Ah never did fool wid de doctor or a get a dose, ah allus get me some Iodide of patash and put et into a quart er whiskey er gin and dat des dried it up., Tain no use fooling wid de doctors dey jes take yer money. Now when de wimmin gits ter talking bout de "whites," ah jes goes and gits some eggshells and parches dem an' makes a tea of em. Datl'll sho stop 'em. Burned bread in watah gone stop yer from heavin' write now. Black, pepper and hot watah's mighty good relief for a woman that suffers from monthy headache and pains. May not soun' so good, but tis de bes' thing in de world for chillun's or anyone who's got de measles - tea made from dog manore (manure). Cow manore tea will sho' stop 'cute indigestion. Jes one mo' thing and I's through, ef you ever is a bit by anodder pusson, you kin make dere teeth rot out of yer take de manore from a black hen and put it on de place where dey bit yer.


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