I really does live in Beaumont, but when dey start dat talk 'bout makin' sich good money in de oil fields I done move out here to git some of dat. It ain't work so good, though, and I been tearin' down part my house dis week and plannin' to move back. I ain't 'lect much 'bout slavery time, 'cause I jes' too li'l out I can tell some things my mama and gramma done told me. I's born in St. Martinville, over in Louisiana. I done go back to de old plantation onct but it start to change den. Dave Magill he was de old massa and Miss Frances de missy. My mama name Rachel Smith and she born and raise right dere, and my daddy I ain't never seed, but mama say he name Bruford Pruitt . Dey brudders and sisters but only one livin' and dat Clementine James in Beaumont. Jes' 'fore freedom us done move to Snowball. Texas, what was somewheres clost to Cold Springs. Dey told us dey tryin' keep us slaves 'way from de Yankees. Dey everywhere, jes' like dem li'l black ants what gits in de sugar, only dey blue. I's jes' de li'l chile den, runnin' 'round in my split shirt tail. Dem was sho' fancy shirt tails dey make us wore in dem days. Dey make 'em on de loom, jes' in two pieces, with a hole to put de head through and 'nother hole at de bottom to put de legs through. Den dey split 'em up de side, so's us cold run and play without dem tyin' us 'round de knees and throw us down. Even at dat, dey sho' wasn't no good to do no tree climbin'. less'n you pull dem mos' up over you head. Us chillen run down to de rail gate when us see dus' clouds comin' and watch de sojers ridin' and marchin' by. Dey ain't never do no fightin' 'round us, out dey's gunboats down de bayous a ways and us could hear de big guns from de other fights. Us li'l niggers sho' like to wave to dem sojers, and when de men on hosses go by, dey seem like dey more enjoyin' deyselves can de others. I have de old gramma what co e from Virginny. Her name Mandy Brown .

Dey 'low her hire her own time out. She wasn't freeborn but dey give her dat much freedom. She could go git her a job anywhere jes' as long as she brung de old missy half what she done make. Iffen she make $5.00, she give Miss Frances $2.50 and like dat. De old massa he plumb good to he slaves. He have a good many but I ain't knowed of out one dem mens what he ever whip. He have a church right on de place and cullud preachers. Dey old Peter Green and every evenin' us chillen have to go to he cabin and he teach us prayers. He teach us to count. too. He de shoemaker on de plantation. My mama done told me 'bout de dances day have in de quarters. Dey take de big sugar hogshead and stretch rawhide over de top. Den de man straddle de barrel and beat on de top for de drum. dat de onlies' music dey have. Us allus have good things to eat, cabbage greens and cornbread and bacon. Jes' good, plain food. Dey have a sugarhouse and a old man call de sugar boiler. He give us de cane juice out de kittles and low us tote off lots dem cane jints to eat. Dat in June. De field hands stay up in de big barn and shuck corn on rainy days. Dey shuck corn and sing. Us chillen keep de yard clean and tie weeds together to make brooms for de sweepin'. Us sep'rate de seed from de cotton and a old woman do de cardin'. Dey have 'nother old woman what do nothin' on de scene but weave on de loom. One old, old lady what am mos' too old to git 'round, she take care de chillen and cook dere food sep'rate. She take big, black iron washpots and cook dem plumb full of victuals. Come five in de evenin' us have de bigges' meal, dat sho' seem long time 'cause dey ain't feed us but two meal a day, not countin' de eatin' us do endurin' de day.

After freedom come us leave Snowball and go back to Louisiana. Old massa ain't give us nothin'. I marry purty soon. I never go to school but one month in my life and dat in New Iberia. I can sign my name and read it, but dat all. I works fust for Mr. William Weeks as de yardboy and he pay me $7.00 de month. De fust money I gits I's so glad I runned and take it to my mama. I have de steppa and he nearly die of de yellow fever. I's hardly able wait till I's 21 and can vote. Dat my idea of somethin', mos' as good as de fust time I wears pants. I tries farmin awhile but dat ain't suit me so good. Den I gits me de job firin' a steamboat on de Miss'sip River, de steamer Mattie. She go from New Orleans through Morgan City. I fire in de sawmills, too. My fust wife name Liny and us marry and live together 43 year and den she die. In 1932 I marry a gal call Zellee what live in Beaumont and she still dere. I ain't never have no chile in dis world. I larns all dese things 'bout slavery from my mama and gramma, 'cause I allus ask questions and dey talks to me lots. Dat's 'cause day's nobody but me and I allus under dey feets.

Along the road leading from Monroe City to Anahuac, is a squatter settlement of negroes. Their homes are some of the most dilapidated specimens to be found anywhere, made of flattened tin cans, odd pieces of corrugated iron, and scrap lumber, held together with rope, nails and tar paper. Living in one of these mushroom shanties is A. C. Pruitt , aged negro, a native of Louisiana but a resident of Texas since 1882. Pruitt counts his home as Beaumont but migrated to Monroe City when the oil boom came, and ekes out an existence doing odd jobs in the fields. He is a small, thin, muscular man, clad in faded work clothes and heavy brogans laced with string. He was a Magill slave in St. Martinville, Louisiana, and was born about 1861 or '62, to the best of his remembrance. I really does live in Beaumont, but when dey start dat talk 'bout makin' sich good money in de oil fiel's I done move out here to git some of dat. It ain' wuk out so good though, and I been tearin' down part my house dis week and plannin' to move back. I ain' reckilleck much 'bout slav'ry time 'cause I was jes' too li'l to pay much attention to t'ings. I kin tell some de li'l t'ings and some de t'ings my mama and gramma tol' me but dat 'bout all. I's bo'n in St. Martinville. Dat's in Lou'sana. Dey's a w'ile I could 'member de ol' plantation but I go'd back dere atter I's ol' and it done start to change den. I reckon it change so much now I couldn' even find it iffen I go dere now. Dave Magill he was de ol' marster and Frances was de mistus. I's bo'n 'bout '61 or '62, and my mama' name' Rachel Smith . She was bo'n and raise' right dere wid de same marster as us chillen. My daddy I ain' ever see dat I 'member. Mama say he name' Bruford Pruitt . Dey was some brudders and sisters, but dey's on'y one livin' now. Dat Clementine James and she live in Beaumont. Jes' befo' freedom us done move to Snowball, Texas. I don' know jes' where dat is on'y dat it was somewheres clost to Cole Springs. Dey tol' me dey's tryin' to keep de slaves 'way from de Yankees, but it wasn' no use tryin' to do dat. Dem Yankees was ev'rywhere jes' like dem li'l black ants w'at git in de sugar, on'y dey was blue. I kin jes' 'member de sojers. I's jes' a li'l chile den runnin' 'roun' in my split shu't tail. Dem was sho' fancy shu't tails dey mek us wo' in dem days. Dey mek dem on de loom, jes' in two pieces, wid a hole to put de head through, and anudder hole at de bottom to put de legs through. Den dey split dem up de side so's us could run and play widout dem tyin' us 'roun' de knees and throw' us down. Even at dat, dey sho' wasn' no good to do no treeclimbin' less'n you pull dem mos' up over yo' head. Us chillen run down to de rail gate when us see de dus' clouds comin' and watch de sojers ridin' and marchin' by. Dey ain' never do no fightin' 'roun' us, but dey's gunboats down de bayous a ways and us could hear de big guns from de other fights. Us didn' pay no 'tenshun to what sojers dey was, but us didn' mek so free wid dem at dat. Dey didn' do no lots of singin' 'roun' dere 'cause I guess dey too clost to de fightin'. Us li'l niggers sho' would like to wave to dem but sometimes dey skeer us so dat us wait 'till dey plumb outer sight to yell, 'Howdy' or wave or anyt'ing. When de men on de hosses go by, dem seem like dey more enjoyin' deyse'fs dan de others. My mama was de house gal for de ol' mistus. I's de ol'es' one of her chillen but still too young to do no wuk. Dey wasn' no w'ite chillen on de place so jes' us li'l cullud chillen play togedder. I ain' 'member none de others names or how many dey was on de place.

I have a ol' gramma w'at come from Virginny. She live' on de same place wid us. Her name was Mandy Brown . Dey 'low her to hire her own time out. She wasn' free bo'n but dey give her dat much freedom. She could go git her a job anywhere jes' as long as she brung de ol' mistus ha'f w'at she done mek. Iffen she mek $5.00, dat meant she give Miss Frances $2.50 and like dat. De ol' marster was plumb good to de slaves. He have a good many but I ain' knowed of but one dem mens w'at he ever whip. Mama tol' me atterwards dat I jes' runned and hollered like it done been me he whippin'. Dey have a chu'ch right dere on de place. My mama and gramma carry me to de preachin'. Dey have cullud preachers. Dey was a ol' man name' Peter Green on de place. Ev'ry evenin' us chillen hatter go to he cabin and he spen' de evenin' teachin' us prayers. He git us all 'roun' him in a circle and teach us to count and say us prayers and t'ings like dat. Ol' Peter he ain' never been no preacher. He de shoemaker on de plantation. But he jes' tuk dat much interes' in de chillen to try to teach dem sump'n'. Dey ain' never celebrate no hol'days but my mama tol' me 'bout de dances w'at dey uster had in de quarters. Dey tek a big sugar hogshead and stretch rawhide over de top. Den de man straddle de barrel and beat on de top of de drum. Dat de on'ies' music dey had. Us allus have good food to eat. Cabbage greens and co'n bread and bacon. Jes' good plain food. Dey have a sugar house. Dey was a ol' w'ite man w'at was call' a sugar boiler. He was de man w'at mek de sugar in kittles. He uster give us de cane juice hot out de kittles. Den dey was plenty sugar cane and he 'low us to tote off lots dem j'ints to eat. Dey have w'at dey call tuffy (taffy?) w'at us could pull and mek a kinder candy out of. De ol' w'ite man do nuthin' but grin' cane and bile syrup in sugar rolling time. Dat in June. De fiel' han's stay up de big barn and shuck co'n on rainy days when dey couldn' wuk in de fiel'. Dey sit 'roun' and shuck de co'n and sing. Dey mek up dem songs to sing, some dem spirituals and some wasn'. But I's too young to place de words. Us chillen was put in a row in de yard and sweep de yard. Dat was us job to keep de yard clean. My gramma she was de boss over us to see dat us do right. She help us tie weeds togedder to mek brooms to do dat sweepin'. Den anudder task dey set us to was to pick de cotton off de seed. Dey set us 'roun' on de flo' and give us a big pile of cotton and a tow sack. Atter us git all de seed sep'rate' dey have a ol' woman w'at do de cardin'. When all de cotton carded dey have anudder ol' woman w'at do nuthin' on de scene but weave on de loom. Dey was a ol' ol' lady w'at was mos' to ol' to git 'roun' very good. Dat de one w'at tuk care de chillen. Dat is, she cook up all de food for de chillen sep'rate from de growed up folks. She tek big black i'on wash pots and cook it plumb full of wittles. Come 5 o'clock in de evenin' us have us bigges' meal. Dat sho' seem long time 'cause dey ain' feed us but two meal a day, not countin' de eatin' us do endurin' de day. I don' reckilleck seein' anybudy bury in slav'ry time. Dey ain' 'low de chillen to go to de graveyard. I seed dem loadin' up de dead pusson on a two wheel cart to carry dem down to de cemetery. Dey sit up de night befo'. A ol' cullud man preacher he done put on he bes' clo's and go wid de mourners down to de graveyard to preach de fun'rel sermon. Dey was allus lots of babies on dem ol' time plantations. Sometime' de mamas tek de babies to de fiel' wid dem and put dem on a pallick and sometime' dey leave dem wid de ol' nuss lady. Dey come up at certain time of de day to nuss de babies. Iffen dey git too hungry befo' dey mamas kin come dey give dem a piece of fat bacon to gnaw on or a sugar-tit mek wid w'ite clo'f to pacify dem. De w'ite folks have a good lookin' house mek wid planks and us houses was li'l plank houses too. Dey ain' had nuthin' but ho-mek furn'chure but it good and solid.

Atter freedom come us leave Snowball and go back to Lou'sana. De ol' marster ain' give us nuthin'. I marry 'reckly atter I stay dere. I never did go to school a mont' in my life and dat in New Iberia. I kin sign my name and read it where I see it, but I can't read much print. Jes' w'at I pick up here and dere.De fus' wuk I do was to wuk for de ol' marster's uncle, William Weeks . I was de yard boy and 'tend to ev'ryt'ing reg'lar. De ol' man he pay me $7.00 a mont' for doin' de wuk. De fus' money I git I's so glad of it dat I jes' runned and tek it to my mama. I allus was a mother's chile. I t'ink dey ain' nobudy like her. She and my gramma bofe die' atter I's a growed up man. My mama marry ag'in. My step-father was one dem down wid de yaller fever dat time. It so bad us ain' knowed yet huccome he ain' die' den, but he didn'. Wid all de talk I couldn' hardly wait 'till I's 21 so's I could go vote. Dat was my ideer of sump'n'. Dat was mos's good as de fus' time dey 'low me to wear pants. I muster been mos' 12 year' ol' when dey do dat. I jes' go right ahead and vote. Dey ain' no w'ite man ever tol' me I ain' better vote or nuthin'. De Klu Kluxers dey ain' never active in dat place. I cas' my fus' vallot in New Iberia. De nex' year I start wanderin' 'roun' from dis place to anudder. I try farmin' for a w'ile but dat ain' suit me so good. Den I go down and git me a job firin' a steamboat. Dat was on de Miss'ippi River. De fus' boat I ever was on was de steamer Mattie. She go from New Orleans through Morgan City. Dey freight and carry passengers, too. I never was in no big storms or nuthin', dat is, not to 'mount to nuthin'. I like dat firin' job. I fire' in sawmills, too. My fus' wife name' Liny , and I marry her in 1893. I live wid dat woman 43 years and den she die. Den in 1932 I marry a gal name' Zellee w'at live in Beaumont and she still dere. I ain' never have no chile in dis world, not as long as I been marry. Dat fus' wife of mine she ain' never have none needer. Iffen I have lots of time maybe I could reckilleck more de slav'ry time t'ings, but you done ketch me underwares (unaware). I's small but den I allus ax questions and mama and my gramma dey do mo' talkin' to me dan lots de nigger folks did wid dey chillen I guess. Dat's 'cause dey wasn' nobudy but me and I was allus under dey feet.