Texas Slave Narratives

 

 

 

 

Texas Slave Narrative

  Clarissa Scales

Clarissa Scales , 79, was born a slave of William Vaughan , on his plantation at Plum Creek, Texas. Clarissa married when she was fifteen. She owns a small farm near Austin, but lives with her son, Arthur , at 1812 Cedar Ave., Austin.  Mammy's name was Mary Vaughan and she was brung from Baton Rouge. what em over in Louisiana, by our master. He went and located on Plum Creek, down in Hays County.  Mammy was a tall, heavy-set women, more'n six foot tall. She was a maid-doctor after freedom. Dat mean she nussed women at childbirth. She allus told me de last thing she saw when she left Baton Rouge was her mammy standin' on a big, wood block to be sold for a slave. Dat de last time she ever saw her mammy. Mammy died 'bout fifty years ago. She was livin' on a farm on Big Walnut Creek, in Travis County. Daddy done die a year befo' and she jes' grieves herself to death. Daddy was sho' funny lookin', 'cause he wore long whiskers and what you calls a goatee. He was field worker on de Vaughan plantation.  Master Vaughan was good and treated us all right. He was a great white man and didn't have no over seer. Missy's name was Margaret , and she was good, too.  My job was tendin' fires and herdin' hawgs. I kep' fire goin' when de washin' be in' done. Dey had plenty wood, but used corn cobs for de fire. Dere a big hill corn cobs near de wash kettle. In de evenin' I had to bring in de hawgs. I had a li'l whoop I druv dem with a eight--plaited rawhide whoop on de long stick. It a purty sight to see dem hawgs go under de slip-gap, what was a rail took down from de bottom de fence, so de hawgs could run under.  Injuns used to pass our cabin in big bunches. One time dey give mammy some earrings. but when they's through eatin' they wants dem earrings back. Dat de way de Injuns done. After feedin' dem, mammy allus say, 'Be good and kind to everybody.'  One day Master Vaugham come and say we's all free and could go and do what we wants. Daddy and mammy rents a place and I stays until I's fifteen. I wanted to be a teacher, but daddy kep' me hoein' cotton most de time. Dat's all he knowed. He allus told me it was 'nough larnin' could I jes' read and write. He never even had dat much. But he was de good farmer and good to me and mammy.  Dere was a school after freedom. Old Man Tilden was de teacher. One time a bunch of men dey calls de Klu Klux come in de room and say, 'You git out of here and git 'way from dem niggers. Don' let us cotch you here when we comes back.' Old Man Rilden sho' was scart, but he say, 'You all come back tomorrow.' He finishes dat year and we never hears of him 'gain. Dat a log schoolhouse on Williamson Creek, five mile south of Austin.   

Den a cullud teacher named Eamlet Campbell come down from de north. He rents a room in a big house and makes a school. De trustees hires and pays him and us chillen didn't have to pay. I got to go some, and I allus tells my grand-daughter how I's head of de class when I does go. She am good in her studies, too.  When I's fifteen I marries Benjamin Calhoun Scales and he was a farmer. We had five chillen and three boys is livin'. One am a preacher and Arthur am a cement laborer and Chester works in a printin' shop. Benjie dies on February 15th, dis year.(1937). I lives with Arthur and de gov'ment gives me $10.00 de month. I has de li'l farm of nineteen acres out near Oak Hill and Floyd, de preacher, lives on dat. All my boys is good to me. Dey done good, and better'n we could, 'cause we couldn't git much larnin' dem days. I's had de good life. But we 'preciated our chance more'n de young folks does nowadays. Dey has so much dey don't have to try so hard. If we'd had what dey got, we'd thunk we was done died and gone to Glory Land. Maybe dey'll be all right when deys growed.


Clarissa Scales , 79, was born a slave on January 6, 1858, on the Vaughan plantation, Plum Creek, Hays County. Clarissa's mother was Mary Vaughan , who was brought from Louisiana to Texas by William Vaughan . Mary was married when she was fifteen to Thomas W. Vaughan . Clarissa says that her master was kind to his slaves. Her job on the Vaughan plantation was to tend the fires for the wash pots, and to help herd the numerous hogs. Clarissa , as a girl, always wanted to be a teacher, and tried to go to school as often as possible; but her father, a man who always resented the fact that he never had a chance to get an education and kept her in the fields most of the time. Clarissa never realized her ambition but she always encourages her granddaughter to attend school regularly, and points with pride to her attainments. Clarissa was only fifteen years old when she married Benjamin S. Scales , a farmer. They had known each other during school days. They had five children, four boys and one girl, of whom only three boys still are living. She is proud of the fact that one of her boys, Floyd , is a preacher. Her husband died February 15, 1937. She owns a small farm of nineteen acres at Oak Hill, about seven miles southwest of Austin; and she receives a monthly pension of ten dollars from the State of Texas. Clarissa lives with her son, Arthur Scales , 1812 Cedar Avenue, Austin, Texas. Her story:

Mammy's name was Mary Vaughan , and she was brought f'om Baton Rouge. I don't know much about geography, down in Louisiana. I think its' in Louisiana. Anyhow, when mammy was only fifteen years old she was brought f'om Louisiana to Texas by her mawster, William Vaughan . He went and located on Plum Creek, down in Hays County. Mammy was a tall and heavy set woman. She was mo' dan six foot tall. She was a maid-doctah, dat means dat she was a woman dat waited on wimmen at childbirth. Mammy was only fifteen when she married my daddy, Thomas Westly Vaughan . "Mammy always told me dat de last thing she saw when she left Baton Rouge was her mammy standin' on a big wood block to be sold fo' a slave. Dat's de last time dat she ever saw her mammy.  She could even remembah de great fallin' ob de stars. She says dat a man knocked on dere door and said: Wake up O-O-Oh, yo-all oughta see all ob dem stars dat is fallin'. Git up--its jedgment day! Mawster Vaughan was good to his slaves. He treated mammy and daddy all right. He wouldn't allow a hair on her head to be harmed. All ob de white chillun called her mammy. Mammy died about fifty years ago. She was livin' on a fahm wid her husband, on Big Walnut Creek, Travis County. When she was sick we kept waitin' fo' her to rouse up. She was sleepy all ob de time. De doctah said to let her rest. Daddy had died 'bout a year befo' dis and mammy jes' grieved herself to death. We asked her, "How do yo-all feel mammy, me and Benjamin has come to see yo-all?  Uthth. What did yo' say?" G-good-bye. Den she fell asleep and died. Daddy was a tall and slim man, and he sure was funny-lookin', cause he wore long whiskers and a long beard, yo' called 'em goatees. Befo' freedom daddy was a field worker on de Vaughan plantation.

When I was a girl, de folks called me Clara , but my name is Clarissa Vaughan Scales , and I was bawn on January 6, 1858, on Mawster William Vaughan's cotton plantation, on Plum Creek, Hays County. My early days jobs was to tend fires and herd hogs. I had to keep de fires goin' while de washin' ob clothes was bein' done. Dey had plenty ob wood on de place, but dey used cawn cobs to make fire wid. Dere was a big hill ob cawn cobs near de wash kettle. Den durin' de afternoon I had to go and bring in de herds ob hogs. I had a little whoop dat I drove de hogs wid. Dis was a eight-plaited rawhide whoop on a long stick. A lot ob us chillun helped to drive dem hogs home. All ob us kids would pop our whoops, and yell.  Sue--ee! Sue--ee! It was a putty sight to see dem hogs all a-goin' under de slip-gap, which was only a rail took down f'om de lower part ob de fence, so de hogs could go under and den into de pens.  Injuns used to pass our cabin in bunches. Mammy would give 'em somethin' to eat. One time, dey give mammy some earrings, and somethin' dat yo' wore in yo' nose. Den when the Injuns was through eatin' dey wanted de earrings back. Dat's de way dem Injuns done when dey give yo' somethin, dey would soon want it back again. When mammy found out dat dey was not satisfied, she would give de presents back to 'em. De Injuns never did harm us. A lot ob dem Injun wimmen had babies strapped to dere backs. Even when we was kids, we knowed dat dat was de way dere babies was carried. Us kids always remembered in whut funny way de Injuns talked.  After feedin' de Injuns, mammy would always tell us, "Always be kind and good to every body. I sure try to practice dat.  Mawster Vaughan was a great white man. He never had no overseer on his place. De slaves on his place didn't have to have no passes to go places. But dem patrols sure would whoop folks dat was caught without a pass. Many was de time dat de patrols sure would whoop 'em too. De mistress name was Margaret . She wasn't lak a lot ob de other mistress', 'cause she was good to de slaves' chillun.  Den one day Mawster Vaughan come and told us dat we was all free, and dat we could go and do whut we wanted to.

Daddy and mammy left and rented a place ob dere own. I stayed wid my parents until I was fifteen. My ambition was to be a teacher, but daddy always kept me busy in de fields. Daddy was a good fahmer, and dat's all dat he knowed. He always told me dat it was enough learnin' fo' me if I could jes' read and write. He never even had dat much. Dat's mo' dan I ever got," he said. "Yo' kain't go to school today. I kain't spare yo'. Go out and chop dat cotton But daddy, let me go to school. I wants to get my lessons good and be a teacher. Clara , it look lak rain and we got to git dat cotton chopped. Now go on out to de field. I'd go into de fields and chop de cotton. Sometimes I'd git to thinkin' in de field, and wonder if I'd ever become a teacher. I never did git to be a real teacher.  Daddy rented a fahm f'om a Mrs. Black , a widder woman, and she had a big nine-room, two-story house. Mrs. Black was a good, old rich lady, and she was very kind. We didn't live in de house but we had a cabin ob our own.  Den a colored teacher, Hamlet Campbell , come down f'om de nawth. He rented a room in dat big house and made a school out ob it. De trustees hired him and paid him. De chillun didn't have to pay to go to school. I always tell my granddaughter how I used to be at de head ob my class. My granddaughter, Oran Janet , is good in her studies too.  Hamlet was a good teacher. He learned me how to spell, and how to accent words. Oh, I didn't learn much but it's great fo' chillun to go to school. One day old Hamlet got drowned when a flood hit a creek nearby. He wanted to show-off and show a lot ob de boys dat he could swim 'cause he had always told 'em dat he had swum in a big ocean. But he was drowned near our place on de Big Onion Creek, near Austin. Dey found his body de next day. His hair was pulled out in hanks and it had been long and bushy. His body was all scratched up, and his clothes was all tore off. Dey found his body between two big logs. Old Hamlet , he sure oughta never went into dat water to show off. He was always good at showin' off. 

When I was fifteen, I got married to Benjamin Calhoun Scales . He was a fahmer. Me and him went to school together. Benjamin was twenty-two when we married. We had five chillun, four boys and one girl. Dere is only three boys livin'. Floyd is a preachah. He preaches out in de Oak Hill community, southwest ob Austin. Floyd preaches on Sundays, and he lives on my nineteen acre fahm out dere. Arthur is a laborer, and carries cement at work. He is de oldest, and he is fifty-nine years old. Chester , de baby boy, works in a printin' shop.  My husband died on February 15, 1937. I remembah how he looked out ob de winder, and said, "De peach trees is already bloomin'. I knowed dat he was bad off and I got to thinkin' dat he wouldn't see de peaches grow on dem trees. I was right. Jes' befo' he died he called to me, "Clarissa , I want to git up so my feet can touch de floor .  One ob our boys set him up and let his feet touch de floor until he got tired. Den he died dat night. He had paralysis in one leg.  Dere was de time after freedom when we went to another school. A bunch ob men dat called themsefs Ku Klux, come into de room and told de white teacher, "yo' git out ob here, and git away f'om dem niggers. Don't let us catch yo' here when we come back. Old man Tilden was de teacher's name.  Yo' all be gone and leave us alone," he told the men.  Well yo' had better not let us catch yo' here when we come back.  Old man Tilden finished out de year and we never heard ob him again. Dat was de only time I saw de Ku Klux Klan. Dis was a log-school house on Williamson Creek, about five miles south ob Austin. Williamson Creek went on many a rise and we'd go and watch it. Den one day when we wasn't in school our building was washed away by a flood.


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