Texas Slave Narratives

Texas Slave Narrative

  Joe Rawls

Born in Jasper county near old Bevilport, on the farm of Andrew Smith , Joe Rawls , now past 90, is a familiar figure about the streets of Newton. He is a short, stooped man, with squint eyes and a stubby grey moustache. Joe always carries a sack, sometimes two, strapped across his back, and in them puts various articles which are given to him, or which he may chance to pick up on his daily itinerary. He has a 15-acre farm just off US highway #190, four miles west of Newton, and there he and his fourth wife live alone.

My daddy was d' on'lies' slave 'r' Mister George Rawls 'n' he come t'roo wid Mister Rawls w'en he come t' Texas, 'way back right atter d' Mex'can war. My mammy she d' on'lies' slave 'r' Mister Andrew Smith , who been lib right close t' Mister Rawls . I say close, it was close in dem day, but it 'bout t'ree 'r' fo' (four) mile' from Mister Rawl ' place t' d' Smith farm. Dey say my daddy allus gittin' permits t' go ober 'n' see d' cook on d' Smith place. W'at does I mean gittin' permits? Sho' a nigger had t' hab a permit from he massa w'en he 'way from he home atter night, 'r' d' patterrolers git him. 'N' t' be kotch by d' patterrollers was jis' 'bout d' wuss's' t'ing dat could happen t' a nigger, cuase dey whip des 'n' dey sho' did whip dem hard. So t' be safe he allus git a permit w's he go strollin' off t' see d' cook on d' Smith place. 'N' dis visitin's' gittin' so eb'ry week han' runnin' 'n' in 'tween time too, dat at las' Mister Rawls he say, 'Look yere, Ned, ain' you wanter marry dat gal ober at Mister Smith place?' 'n' w'en my daddy say he do, Mister Rawls he say he try t' 'range it. An' dey did - yes, dey fix it all up purty soon so dey could step ober d' broom, ' dats w'at dey uster call it w'en niggers git marry. Well, dey jis' lay d' broom down, 'n' dem w'ats gwineter git marry walks out 'n' steps ober dat broom bofe togeder, 'n' d' ol' massa he say, 'I now renounce you man 'n' wife,' 'n' den dey was marry. Dat was all dey was t' it, no ce'mmony, no license, no nuthin', jis' marryin'. Well, my daddy he couldn' tek her back t' Mister Rawls wid him, cause she b'long t' Cap'n Smith , 'n' Mister Smith he wouldn' sell he cook. So dey 'gree dat Mister Smith hire my daddy from Mister Rawls 'n' fix up fo' bofe 'r' dem t' lib togeder at Mister Smith , 'n' dat d' way dey wuk d' t'ing. Den fo' years 'n' years my daddy he wuk' right on fo' Mister Smith by d' mont' re'lar 'n' him a-payin' Mister Rawls fo' my daddy jis' like he's a hoss. Dere w'ere I's bo'n on Mister Smith farm, 'n' dey was twenty one mo' brudders 'n' sisters. I's tellin' you d' truf' (truth), twenty-two chillen in al. Us lib in a slave house, close up t' d' big house, cause my mammy she been d' cook. Fus' dey say it was a li'l one room log house but dey kep on buil'in' mo' 'n' mo' t' dat li'l log house, on d' en's (ends), 'n' on d' sides 'n' on d' corners, 'til us hab a great big house all buil' outn' logs. Us hab plenty 'r' room, but dey was jis' bil' up mos' any way, jis' like pole hog pen all push up togeder 'n' kiver' wid bo'ds (boards) 'n' planks. W'en dey fus' marry dey was sot up in house-keepin' by bofe 'r' d' famblies, but dey didn' fix dem up fo' sich a big fambly. So atter w'ile dey hatter kinder mek bedsteads at home. Dey jis' nail up a kinder scaffol' in d' corner 'r' d' house. Beds mek outn' shucks 'n' straw, 'n' sometime' leafs 'n' pine straw. Sometime' dey pack two 'r' t'ree (three 'r' eben mo' chillen in a bed, 'n' kiver dem up wid a ho-mek quilt 'r' mattress. Yessir, eb'ryt'ing ho'mek, ho-mek chair, ho-mek table, 'n' lots 'r' time' t'ree leg' stool' fo' chairs. Dey uster saw a wheel-like offn' a good-size tree, 'n' bo' (bore) holes in it, 'n' stick some pegs 'bout a foot long fo' d' legs 'n' dat was a chair. Us clo's was mek at home too, 'n' us shoe, w'en us hab shoe, but mos' 'r' d' time us go barefoot.

Us dresses 'n' shu'ts all look 'like. You couldn' tell d' boys from d' gals from d' way dey dress, cause dey all dress jis' d' same, d' boys 'n' d' gals, all dey clo's mek outn' d' same stuff 'n' d' same color 'n' d' same way. Us didn' bodder 'r' t'ink near so much 'bout dem clo's den's people does now, cause dey wasn' no flappers 'n' dudes den. People all lib 'like 'n' dress' like 'n' lib at home, but dey was so many 'r' us in dat fambly dat it sho' kep' us a-scrimmagin' fo' sump'n' t' eat. Dat was d' bigges' question. Us allus raise lots 'r' stuff at home. Dey's plenty 'r' sweet 'taters 'n' ribbon cane t' mek syrup, co'n t' mek meal fo' d' bread. Neber see no biskits dem days, jis' co'n bread. I guess people all fergit how t' mek dat co'n-light bread now cause I neber see none no mo'. Us allus hab a big garden 'n' lot 'r' turnip' 'n' collard 'n' cabbage' 'n' sich 'ting dat grow in d' garden, 'n' 'sides us raise lots 'r' peas in d' fiel' 'n' dry dem fo' d' winter. Dey was lots 'r' meat dem times too. Dey kill d' hogs 'n' beefs outen d' woods. Seems like dey allus fat, 'n' dey grin' 'em up inter sausage 'n' mek souse 'n' chitlin's, an' in dem day dey dry lots 'er meat. 'N' sides all dis dey kill lots 'er wil' game in d' woods sich 's squirrel 'n' turkey 'n' deer 'n' possum, 'cause dey warn't no game law den 'n' no game warden snoopin' 'roun' t' try t' kotch yer f'r killin' a squirrel w'en you real hongry. I b'leeb us uster hab better time 'fo' d' war 'n' lots 'er dem does now. 'Co'se us nebber t'ink 'bout goin' t' town 'n' ridin' 'bout in a big autermobeel dat fit mos'ly t' kill people wid 'n' git drunk in, 'n' den git 'way so fas' d' law can't kotch up wid yer. Dey warn't no fine chu'ches den but nearly ebrybody go t' chu'ch, dribin' ox teams 'r' walkin'. People could walk t' chu'ch in dem days. Dey didn' hab no fine schools 'n' big fine busses f'r d' chillen go t' school. Us nebber uster hear so much 'bout dis gradgatin'. Dey jis' go t' school till dey git too big t' go. De nigger chillen didn' go t' school. Dey didn' had no cullud school like dey does now. Dey didn' 'low 'em t' larn nuttin' but wuk. Yessir, I 'gin t' wuk ebber since I could 'member. Dey's so many 'r' us us hatter wuk. Dey didn' had no oberseer on us place. Cap'n Smith he was d' oberseer w'en he was dere, 'n' w'en he gone like he was mos' 'r' d' time, 'ca'se he cap'n on de boat, w'y d' ol' missus was de boss. Dey so few han's t' do d' wuk dat us hafter git up soon in d' mawnin' 'n' wuk till late in d' night, 'n' lots 'r' time cut wood 'n' clear new groun' by d' light 'r' a big bresh fire. Den soon 's I big 'nuff Cap'n Smith tek me wid him on d' boat 'n' mek a deck han' outen me, 'n' I trabble all up 'n' down Ang'lina Ribber, 'n' d' Neches 'n' sometim' d' Sabine, fur 's Beaumont 'n' Orange.  All d' res' 'r' d' chillun dey stay at home 'n' wuk on d' farm. 'Twarn't no school f'r d' nigger chillen, 'n' no cullud chu'ch, 'n' my rammy 'n' daddy dey didn' know nuttin' 'bout readin' 'n' dere wasn' nobudy t' learn us how t' read. W'en d' war come on we jis' didn' know w'at t' do 'r' t' t'ink. Dey say we all gwine be tu'n free 'n' do like us please, but I didn' see how dat was gwinter he'p us 'ca'se us allus done like us please nohow. Ol' missus she say, 'You niggers all gwine starve t' deaf (death), 'n' w'en freedom was declare w'y we jis' stay on wid Cap'n Smith , 'n' rent d' lan' from him 'n' wuk jis' like us allus done. D' onlies' difference I could see was d' school was 'stablish f'r d' nigger chillern, but, shux, dey sho' didn' learn fas'. Dey couldn' learn dem kids nuttin'. Dey didn' know how t' ack in a school house. Dey jis' set dere 'n' stare 'roun', 'n' look at de books, 'n' stare 'roun' some mo', 'n' go home dat night, 'n' not know 's much 's dey did w'en dey lef' home dat mawnin'. Co'se I nebber go t' school. I was too big w'en freedom was 'clared', 'n' I didn' try t' learn t' read 'n' write. I kain't eben mek a single letter 'r' read nary a word. We jis' stay on dere 'n' d' fam'ly gittin' bigger 'n' bigger 'n' all wukkin' harder 'n' harder. My daddy mek all us shoe' w'en he git d' ledder, 'n' my mammy mek all d' clo's same 's dey done 'fo' d' war. My daddy he lib t' be 96 year' ol' w'en he die 'n' he bury at Village Mill', 'n' my mammy was 86 w'en she die 'n' she bury dere too. Yessir, I been marry fo' time', 'n' got fo'teen chillen. Dey all dead 'cep'n fo'. One 'r' d' boy in d' CCC camp 'n' t'ree daughter, dey's one 'r' dem in Jasper, 'n' two in Newton. I's got one stepson, too.


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