Texas Slave Narratives

Texas Slave Narrative

  Andrew Pullen

Andrew Pullen lives at 1760 Powell St., Beaumont, Tex., in a nicely kept four room cottage. His childhood and early manhood just after the Confederate War received considerable impressions of the circumstances of slavery so shortly removed from his young life. Tall and spare, with a mellow voice and kindly expression he told of the events of the past, which are still clear in his mind. I was bred and born in Tyler County 'bout sixty miles from here. Old Marster did his trading chiefly at Woodville. Dat was de county seat. My last Marster was Rafe Swearingen . He deceased and gone on long 'go. I think de Marster had one boy but I dis'member his name. Cording to what my father said old Marster was a all right Marster. He never hit his darkeys a lick. He tried to get my daddy to stay on with him after freedom come. None of the niggers on Marster place run 'way from him but I heerd 'em talk of some slaves on other plantations runnin 'way. Dey had a mean Marster what treat 'em bad. Dat's what caused it. I heerd 'em talk 'bout some of de marsters keeping dogs on some of dere plantations. Sometime when a nigger run 'way dey set de dogs on him. I used to call my mother 'mother' and my father 'pap'. He was sold in No'th Ca'olin'. He used to belong to de Pullens but dey sold him to spec'lator. Dat how come he come to Texas. He used to tell us 'bout crossing de river. I 'members he told me what a long way it was. It must've took 'em at least six weeks or more. He used to say that on de journey dey have camp out along de way. His name was Green Pullen and he was born in 1827. My mother name was Harriet Pullen and she born in 1833. I had three brother and three sister. One was George . He dead. 'Nother was John . He living now and he seventy year old. My sisters was Anna and Martha what done deceased, and Lidy . She still living.

All de slaves live in log houses. Some have two room, some three. I was born in a log house and I live in it 'til I big 'nough to 'member 'bout it. I don't think old Marster had more than three or four slaves. That is de growed up ones. Dey was my mother and pap and a uncle. I 'members de rooms in de house. De front room was twenty by twenty foot and de kitchen was eighteen by eighteen. Back in dem times dey slept on a old home-made bed built up 'gainst de side of de cabin. Dey have a hay mattress on it for de slaves to sleep on. Dey do all dere cooking in de fire place. Marse Rafe , he been a farmer. I hear 'em say he have plenty of cattle. Jist a few hogs though. My mother and pap dey work in de field. I too little for work. I jist play 'round. Dey had a slave woman to look after de little kids when dey too little to work. She have to do de cooking for Marster and de slaves too. Us used to had plenty to eat. Dey give us cornbread and milk and hog meat whenever dey kill a hog. Everybody raise dere own hogs, I hear de old folks say. Dey give us rice to eat, too. De way dey fix de rice dey beat it with pellices' (pestles). De slaves didn't have no gardens of dere own but Marster have a big garden big 'nough to raise veg'tables for he fam'ly and de slaves, too. Pap and mother say dey always have lots of sweet 'taters from 'tater time to 'tater time come 'round 'gain. Dey take straws and put it on de ground. Den dey put in de 'taters and put straw 'round de sides. Den dey kiver dat with pine bark or corn stalks and sich. Dey pile de 'taters 'round a stake down in de middle. When it get all done dey pull out de stake. Dat let de air circ'late and keep de 'taters fresh. I jes' rec'lect dem talking 'bout patter-rollers but I don't 'member nothing of 'em myself. I don't 'member no marriage or fun'al back in slav'ry, but when dey git marry dey didn't have no 'vo'ces (divorces). Dey stay together 'til one or de other of 'em die. I don't think dey had cullud preachers back in slavery. Parson Phelps , he was a white preacher. He done preaching and baptizing for white folks and slaves, too. He baptized mother and pap. White and cullud folks, dey both go to de same church and have de same preacher. Mother and pap told me old Marster give de slaves 'nough to wear. De boys wore a long shirt, and de little gals had gingham dresses. All de cloth was weave on de place. My mother, she make all my clothes. Dey used to make dere own dye, and some of de cloth dey make was right pretty. Dey had castor oil and quinine and sich, but most de time anybody get sick dey make dere own medicine. Dey go git haw root, and dog wood bark and put it in a gallon jug. Den dey fill up de jug with de whiskey. Whenever anybody feelin' po'ly dey go drink a dose of dat. Dat what dey take most of de time. I was born and reared and start out on de farm. I farm 'til I a young man. Den I left off farming and went to doing public work. I done lots of work gitting logs to de sawmill.

I used to float logs down de Neches River to dem sawmills what dey used to have here in Beaumont. All de mills was on de river den dey warn't no railroad den 'cept de S. P. I heerd a whole lots 'bout de Klu Kluxes. I didn't know so much 'bout it myself. I know whar it begin,--right 'cross de river here in Orange County. Iffen I see any I didn't know 'cause dey used to disfigure demselves. Dey used to call 'em 'Mohawks'. Dat country over dere in Orange County was shore bad at dat. De niggers dey couldn't set out on de galley (gallery) after seven o'clock. Iffen you did dey throw a rock at you. You couldn't be out on de streets after eight o'clock a-tall. When I come to Beaumont I'd heerd the boys a-talkin' about de Klu Klux over in Orange. I used to go over dere on trips but after dat I didn't go over dere no more. Orange used to be hard l'il town. I heerd of de Klu Klux beating niggers 'til dey bleed, but I never heerd of 'em killing anybody.  When I brung a raft of logs down de river to Beaumont and 'liver (deliver) dem de boss'd pay us off. Den us walk back to Tyler and git more logs. One time I brung a raft of logs down here. Den I start back to Tyler. I git as fur as Mr. Jerry Wingate's store. I was a settin' down on de steps and a crowd of men come up. Dey ask me whar I from. I tell 'em I from Tyler County. Dey was two of dem dere talking to me and three of 'em a-standing a little further off. Den one of 'em say to me, 'Nigger, don't let de sun go down on you here'. De one what told me dat was a tall feller. De other was a low, chunky man. I was gwine to talk back to Tyler but I git right up and went over to de railroad station and buy my ticket and took de fus' train out. Dey wasn't disfigure, dey was jes' dress like anybody else. Dey was another little town dat was hard on niggers. Dat was Grand Saline, Texas. Dey had a big sign dere wid 'Nigger, don't let de sun go down on you here' on it. I been at several other places over in de State of Louisiana where dey didn't 'low niggers to light.

I git marry back in 1880. Her name was Mandy Lane . Us just had a quiet weddin'. Us had six chillun in all. Dey was Willie , and Frank , and Leo , and Wamsley , and Lucy , and Lucille . My wife been dead so long I jes' don't know 'zackly. I's got three gran's (grandchildren). I often heerd about cunjur men. I never had no faith in 'em. I never had no 'sper'unce (experience) with dem 'cept one time. I come home one time and ketch one of dem in de yard of my house. He was adoing sumpin' to de ground in de back yard. He had his saddle pockets with him. Well, I grab him by de collar and de back of his neck and beat dat nigger in de ground. De wimmin had to come 'round and take me off. When I git through with him he grab dem saddle pocket and lit out down de road. He and dem saddle pockets was just a-flying. I don't think he was much of a cunjur man, 'cause iffen he was he'd a-cunjur me right den and dere. I never had no faith in dat hoo doo business. Well, le'me tell you I believe I did see a ghos' once. It warn't in dis country. He name Jim Billigan . I never could go around his place 'thout he call me and gimme sumpin'. He live close to de railroad track. One time a white man take a britch-loading rifle and broke he neck. I pass down de railroad one night about eight o'clock. I see him coming across de road. I stop and he pass in six foot of me. He like he jes' dress in o'd'nary col's. Den he pass on. That was maybe three or four month after he dead and bury. I belongs to Kenny Avenue Baptist Church. I used to be a deacon but I ain't no more. I joined the York Rite (Masonic) back in Alexandria. I used to be a member of Silver Trowel Lodge No. 18. I used to live and work all 'round Alexandria. I was de only man in de county what could load logs with a single chain. Me and my little gran'daughter live here. She keep de house for me. All my chillun scatter. I does a little gard'ning 'round but I got high blood pressure and can't do much. Some days I feels good, some days bad.


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