I was birthed on the Rimes Plantation, now called Harrisburg. My great-grand-daddy's name was Bowser Rimes and he was brung to Texas from Louisiana and die at 138 year old. He's buried on the old Ben Powell place close to Jasper. My grand-daddy, that's John , he lives to be 103 year old and he buried on the Eddy plantation at Jasper. My daddy, Mose Rimes , he die young at 86 and he buried in Jasper County, too. My mammy's name was Phoebe and she was birthed a Rimes nigger and brung to Texas from back in Louisiana. The year slaves was freed I was inherit by a man named Sells , what marry into the Rimes family and that's why my name's Sells , 'cause it change 'long with the marriage. Us was jes' ready to be ship back to Louisiana to the new massa's plantation when the end of the war break up the trip. You see, we all had purty good time on Massa Rimes's plantation. None of them carin' 'bout being sot free. They has to work hard all time, but that don' mean so much, 'cause they have to work iffen they was on they own, too. The old folks was 'lowed Saturday evenin' off or when they's sick, and us little ones, us not do much but bring in the wood and kindle the fires and tote water and he'p wash clothes and feed the little pigs and chickens. Us chillen hang round close to the big house and us have a old man that went round with us and look after us, white chillen and black chillen, and that old man was my great grand-daddy. Us sho' have to mind him, 'cause iffen we didn't, us sho' have bad luck. He allus have the pocket full of things to conjure with. That rabbit root, he took it out and he work that on you till you take the creeps and git shakin' all over. Then there's a pocket full of fish scales and he kind of squeak and rattle them in the hand and right then you wish you was dead and promise to do anything. Another thing he allus have in the pocket was a li'l old dry-up turtle, jes' a mud turtle 'bout the size of a man's thumb, the whole thing jes' dry up and dead. With that thing he say he could do mos' anything, but he never use it iffen he ain't have to. A few times I seed him git all tangle up and boddered and he go off by hisself and sot down in a quiet place, take out this very turtle and put it in the palm of the hand and turn it round and round and say somethin' all the time. After while he git everything untwisted and he come back with a smile on he face and maybe whistlin'. They fed all us nigger chillen in a big trough make out'a wood, maybe more a wood tray, dug out'n soft timber like magnolia or cypress. They put it under a tree in the shade in summer time and give each chile a wood spoon, then mix all the food up in the trough and us goes to eatin'. Mos' the food was potlicker, jes' common old potlicker; turnip green and the juice, Irish 'taters and the juice, cabbages and peas and untwisted' anything what make potlicker. All us git round like so many li'l pigs and then us dish in with our wood spoon till it all gone. We has lots of meat at times. Old grand-daddy allus ketchin' rabbit in some kind of trap, mostly make out'n a holler log. He sot 'em round in the garden and sho' kotch the rabbits. And possums, us have a good possum dog, sometimes two or three, and every night you heered them dogs barkin' in the field down by the branch. Sho' 'nuf, they git possum treed and us go git him and parbile him and put him in the oven and bake him plumb tender. Then we stacks sweet 'taters round him and po' the juice over the whole thing. Now, there is somethin' good 'nuf for a king.

There was lots of deer and turkey and squirrel in the wil' wood and somebody out huntin' nearly every day. Course Massa Rime's folks couldn't eat up all this meat befo' it spoil and the niggers allus git a great big part of it. Then we kilt lots of hawgs and then talk 'bout eatin'! O, them chitlin's, mouse meat and the haslets, that's the liver and the lights all biled up together. Us li'l niggers fill up on sich as that and go to bed and mos' dream us is li'l pigs. Us allus have plenty to eat but didn't pay much 'tention to clothes. Boys and gals all dress jes' alike, one long shirt or dress. They call it a shirt iffen a boy wear it and call it a dress iffen the gal wear it. There wasn't no difference. 'cause they's all made out'n somethin' like duck and all white. That is, they's white when you fus' put them on, but after you wears them a while they git kind of pig-cullud, kind of gray, but still they's all the same color. Us all go barefoot in summer, li'l ones and big ones, but in winter us have homemake shoes. They tan the leather at home and make the shoe at home, allus some old nigger that kin make shoe. They was more like moc'sin, with lace made of deerskin. The soles was peg on with wood pegs out'n maple and sharpen down with a shoe knife. Us have hats make out'n pine straw, long leaf pine straw, tied together in li'l bunches and platted round and round till it make a kinder hat. That pine straw great stuff in them days and us use it in lots of ways. Us kivered sweet 'taters with it to keep them from git freeze and hogs made beds out'n it and folks too. Yes, sir, us slep' on it. The beds had jes' one leg. They bored two hole in the wall up in the corner and stuck two pole in them holes and lay plank on that like slats and pile lots of pine straw on that. Then they spread a homemake blanket or quilt on that and sometime four or five li'l niggers slep' in there to keep us warm. The li'l folks slep' mos' as long as they want to in daylight, but the big niggers have to come out'n that bed 'bout fo' o'clock when the big horn blow. The overseer have one nigger, he wake up early for to blow the horn and when he blow this horn he make sich a holler them all the res' of the niggers better git out'n that bed and 'pear at the barn 'bout daylight. He might not whip him for being late the fus' time, but that nigger better not forgit the secon' time and be late! Massa Rimes didn't whip them much, but iffen they was bad niggers he jes' sold them offen the place and let somebody else do the whippin'. Never have no church house or school, but Massa Rimes, he call them in and read the Bible to them. Then he turn the service over to some good, old, 'ligious niggers and let them finish with the singin' and prayin' and 'sorting. After peach cleared, a school was 'stablish and a white man come from the north to teach the cullud chillen, out befo' that dey didn' take no pains to teach the niggers nothin' 'ceptin' to work, and the white chillen didn't have much school neither. That was one plantation what was run 'sclusively by itself. Massa Rimes have a commissary or sto' house, what he kep' whatnot things - then what make on the plantation and things the slaves couldn' make for themselfs. That wasn't much, 'cause we make us own clothes and shoes and plow and all farm tools and us even make our own plow line out'n cotton and iffen us run short of cotton sometime make them out'n bear grass and we make buttons for us clothes out'n li'l round pieces of gourds and kiver them with cloth. That wasn't sich a big plantation, 'bout a t'ousand acre and only 'bout forty niggers.

There was'n no jail and they didn't need none. Us have no real doctor, but of course there was a doctor man at Jasper and one at Newton, but a nigger have to be purty sick 'fore they call a doctor. There's allus some old time nigger what knowed lots of remedies and knowed all dif'rent kinds of yarbs and roots. My grand-daddy, he could stop blood, and he could conjure off the fever and rub his fingers over warts and they'd git away. He make oil out'n rattlesnake for the rheumatis'. For the cramp he git a kind of bark offen a tree and it done the job, too. Some niggers wo' brass rings to keep off the rheumatis' and punch hole in a penny or dime and wear that on the ankle to keep off sickness. Member the war? Coarse I does. I 'member how some of them march off in their uniforms, lookin' so grand, and how some of them hide out in the wood to keep from lookin' so grand. They was lots of talkin' 'bout fighting, and rubbing and scrubbing the old shotgun. The oldes' niggers was settin' round the fire light in the night, stirrin' the ashes with the poker and rakin' out the roas' 'taters. They's smokin' the old corn cob pipe and homemake tobacco and whisperin' right low and quiet like what they's gwineter do and whar they's gwineter to when Mister Lincoln , he turn them free. The more they talk, the more I git scared that the niggers is going to git sot free and wondering what I's gwine to do if they is. No, I guess I don't want to live back in them times no mo', but I sho' seed lots of niggers not doin' so well as they did when they was slaves and not havin' nigh as much to eat.

Abram Sells is a tall, slim, brown-skinned negro, somewhere in his 80's, but is strong and able to work on the farm and sustain himself. He makes his home with a son in Jamestown, as both of his wives have been dead for several years. Abram's recollections of slavery days are keen and he can relate many trivial incidents of his boyhood on the old Rimes plantation, now known as the village of Harrisburg. He was the oldest of eight children, all boys, five of whom are still living. Member de war? Co'se I does. I 'member how some 'r' march off in dere uniforms, lookin' so gran' 'n' den how some 'r' dem hide out in de wood' to keep from lookin' so gran'. No, dey neber was no fightin' 'roun' de plantation in Jasper county. Dey was jes' talkin' 'bout fightin', 'n' rubbin' 'n' scrubbin' de ol' rifle' 'n' shotgun. De ol'es' niggers was settin' 'roun' de fire late in de night, stirrin' in de ashes wid de poker 'n' rakin' out de roas' 'taters. Dey's smokin' de ol' co'n cob pipe 'n' ho-mek t'baccer, 'n' whisperin' right low 'n' quiet like, w'at dey's gwineter do 'n' w'er dey's gwineter go w'en Mister Lincoln he tu'n (turn) dem free. I's jes' a li'l nigger den, runnin' all 'roun' dere in my sh'ut (shirt) tail. Nobudy pay no 'tenshun to me 'n' I hear lots 'r' t'ings dey say 'n' see whole lot mo'n (more than) dey t'ink I does. De mo' dey talk de mo' I git scare' dat de niggers is gwineter git sot free 'n' I 'gin to wonder w'at I's gwineter do iffen dey do tu'n de niggers free. I hear de ol' niggers say we all gwineter git sont back to Aferca. 'N' don' (don't) none 'r' dem niggers wanter go back to Aferca. Dat mek dem all talk 'bout runnin' 'way, but dey don' know w'er to go, dey jes' dat scare'. You see we all hab a purty good time on Massa Rimes ' plantation. Dey's none 'r' dem keerin' 'bout bein' sot free. 'R' co'se dey hab to wuk hard all de time but dat don' mean so much cause dey hab to wuk iffen dey was on dey own eder. De ol' folks was 'low dey Sattiday ebenin' off 'r' w'en dey's sick, but de li'l ones jes' run 'roun' dere 'n' holp fus' one 'n' den de uder. Us not do much 'r' anyt'ing 'cep'n' bring in de wood, kindle de fires, tote water, holp wash de clo's 'n' feed de li'l pigs 'n' chicken. Us chillen hang 'roun' close to de big house. Dat was w'at dey call Massa Rimes ' house. Us ol' missus usually hab sump'n fo' us to be doin' mos' all de time. 'Sides us hab a ol' man dat went 'roun' wid us 'n' look atter us, bofe de w'ite 'uns 'n' de black 'uns, 'n' dat ol' man was my great gran'daddy. He was too ol' to do any kin' 'r' wuk 'n' he was jes' 'pinted (appointed) to look atter all de li'l 'uns 'n' teach dem how to wuk. Us all jes' strung 'roun' atter him, w'ite 'n' black, watchin' him potter 'roun' 'n' listenin' to him tell how t'ings ort (ought) to be run 'roun' dat place. 'N' us sho' hab to min' (mind) him, 'sides iffen we didn', we was sho' (sure) to hab bad luck. Sump'n bad was sho' to happen to us. He allus hab he pocket full 'r' t'ings to conjure wid; dat ribbit foot, he tek it out 'n' he wuk dat on you 'til you tek de creeps 'n' git to shakin' all ober. Den dere was a pocket full 'r' fish scales. He kinder squeak 'n' rattle dem in he han'; right den you wish you was dead 'n' promise to do anyt'ing. Anuder t'ing he allus hab in he pocket was a li'l ol' dry-up tuttle (turtle), jes' a mud tuttle 'bout de size 'r' a man's thumb, de whole t'ing jes' dry up 'n' dead. Wid dat t'ing he say he could do mos' anyt'ing but he neber use it iffen he ain' hab to. A few time I seed him git all tangle' up 'n' boddered. Den he go off by hisse'f 'n' sot down in a quiet place, tek out dis berry (very) tuttle, put it in de palm 'r' he han' 'n' tu'n it 'roun' 'n' 'roun' 'n' say sump'n all de time. Atter a w'ile he git eb'ryt'ing ontwis' (untwisted) 'n' straighten out, den he come back wid a smile on he face 'n' maybe whistlin'. Chillern den war'n' (were not) like dey is now, 'specially 'bout eatin'. Den we jes' eat t'ree time' a day. None 'tween time, lessn' us could slip inter de kitchen 'n' steal a 'tater 'r' a piece 'r' co'n bread. Biscuits? Lordy, us didn' know dere was any sich t'ing. Some 'r' de ol' black mammy mek up a kin' 'r' co'n bread-light bread. Dat was a great big 'roun' pone mek in a great big 'roun' ubben (oven), bit 'n' t'ick (thick) 'n' puff 'way up. Now dis was some bread 'n' it sho' mek you happy. Jes' t'ink 'bout eatin' dat wid ho-mek ribbon cane syrup. You see dey feed all us li'l nigger chillern in a big trough mek outn' wood. I say wood trough but it war'n' 'zackly a wood trough, it was mo' 'r' a wood tray, dug outn' some kin' 'r' sof' timber like magnolia 'r' cypress. Dey would set dis tray 'r' trough out under de shade 'r' a tree, dat is dey would do dat in de summer time. Den dey gib each li'l nigger a wood spoon, den mix it all up togeder in dere 'n' us go to eatin'. De mos' 'r' de food us et outn' de trough was potlicker, jes' common ol' potlicker. Turnip green 'n' de juice, Irish 'taters 'n' de juice, cabbages 'n' peas 'n' beans, jes' anyt'ing dat mek potlicker. All t'ings like dat wid lots 'r' juice dey jes' po' (pour) it in de big trough 'n' all 'r' us git 'roun' it like so many li'l pig', sometime' seben 'r' eight 'r' mo'. Den us dish in wid our wood spoon 'til it all gone. De same at dinner 'n' supper, bofe meal 'bout de same 'n' serb' (served) in de same way. O, yes, hab lots 'r' meat at times. My ol' gran'daddy was allus ketchin' rabbit in some kin' 'r' trap, mos'ly mek outn' a holler log. He sot dem 'roun' de garden 'n' de fiel' 'n' sho' kotch de rabbit. Mek him in a kin' 'r' stew wid a co'n meal t'ickenin' like mush 'n' sometime dey fry him. 'N' 'possums, o, yes, us allus hab a good 'possum dog, sometime' two 'r' t'ree. Eb'ry few night' you hear dem dogs barkin' in de fiel' 'r' down by de branch. Sho' 'nuf dey git a 'possum treed. Us go gittim, parbile him, den put him in de ubben (oven) 'n' bake him plumb tender. Den you stack de bake sweet 'taters 'roun' him 'n' po' de juice all ober de whole t'ing. Now dere is sump'n good 'nuf fo' a king. Dere was lots 'r' deer 'n' tukkey 'n' squirrel in de wil' (wild) wood' 'n' somebudy out huntin' nearly eb'ry day 'n' brung in a big sack full 'r' squirrel, maybe big tukkey 'r' two 'n' lots 'r' time many's two deer. Co'se Massa Rimes ' folks couldn' eat up all dis meat befo' it spile 'n' de niggers allus git a great big part 'r' it. Us'd (we could) allus kill lots 'r' hogs. Dey jes' tek a two-wheel cart 'n' go down in de wood' 'n' somebudy go to shootin' down de hogs 'n' pile dem up in de cart. W'en it mos' full den dey go back home 'n' go to scaldin' 'n' scrapin'. Den talk 'bout eatin'. O, dem chitlin's, souse meat 'n' de 'haslets', dats de liver 'n' de lights all bile up togeder. Us li'l niggers fill up on sich's dat 'n' go to bed 'n' mos' dream us 's li'l pigs. Us allus hab plenty to eat but didn' pay much 'tenshun to clo's. Dat was 'specially in de summer time w'en us didn' need any. Boys 'n' gals all dress jes' 'like, one long sh'ut (shirt) 'r' dress. Dey call it a sh'ut iffen a boy wear it 'n' call it a dress iffen de gal wear it. Dere war'n' no dif'rence in dem. Dey's all mek outn' sump'n like duck, 'n' all w'ite. Dat is dey's w'ite w'en you fus' put dem on but atter you wears dem a w'ile dey git kinder pig-culled, kinder grey, but still dey's all de same color. Us all go barefoot in de summer, li'l 'uns 'n' big 'uns, but in de winter us hab ho-mek shoe. Dey tan' de ledder at home 'n' mek de shoe at home, allus some ol' nigger dat kin' mek shoe. Dey war'n' real shoe, mo' like moc'sin, 'n' lace wid deer skin lace. De soles was peg on wid wood pegs mek outn' maple 'n' sharpen down wid a shoe knife. Us hab hats mek out 'r' pine straw, long leaf pine straw, tie' togeder in li'l bunches 'n' platted 'roun' 'n' 'roun' 'til it mek a kinder hat 'n' keep de sun off 'n' dats all any 'r' dem will do. Dis pine straw was a great stuff in dem day. Us use it in lots 'r' dif'rent way'. Kivered de sweet 'taters wid it to keep dem from git' freeze; hogs mek beds outn it 'n' folks mek beds outn' it too. Yes, sir, us slep on it. You see us hab dif'rent kin's 'r' beds from w'at dey is now. Lots'r' beds in dat time jes' hab one leg. I means jes' one leg. Dey bo' (bored) two hole' in de wall 'r' de house up in de corner 'n' stuck two pole' in dese hole' so dey would come togeder, out op 'sit' de house corner. 'N' den dey lay plank 'r' faltten' pole' on dat like slat' 'n' pile lots 'r' pine straw on dat. Den dey spread a ho-mek blanket 'r' quilt on dat 'n' sometime fo' (four) 'r' five li'l niggers sleep in dere 'n' kiver up wid anuder ho-mek quilt. Yes, us sho' slep' warm so many in de bed. Us keep us uder warm. 'Sides dat our mammy was allus comin' back to see iffen us warm 'n' tu'n (turn) us in de bed so's us grow straight 'n' strong. I know lots 'r' folks now dat orter been tu'n mo' in dey bed w'en dey was li'l. Li'l folks slep' mos's' long as dey want to in day light but de big niggers hab to come outn' dat bed 'bout fo' (four) o'clock w'en de big ho'n blow.

De oberseer hab one nigger he wake up early fo' to blow de ho'n 'n' w'en he blow dis ho'n 'n' mek sich a holler den all de res' 'r' de niggers better git outn' dat bed 'n' 'pear (appear) at de barn, 'bout day light. He might not whip him fo' bein' late de fus' time but dat nigger better not fo'git de secon' time 'n' be late. Dey didn' whip dem offen (often) on Massa Rimes ' plantation. Iffen dey was too bad niggers he jes' sol' dem off de place 'n' let somebudy else do de whippin'. Massa Rimes neber hab no trubble wid he niggers runnin' off. He was dis dat good to dem. Neber hab no chu'ch house 'r' school on de place but Massa Rimes he call dem togeder 'n' read de Bible to dem. Den he tu'n de service ober to some good ol' 'ligious niggers 'n' let dem finish wid de singin' 'n' de prayin' 'n' 'zortin' (exhorting). Us hab dis kin' 'r' service two 'r' t'ree time' a mont'. Neber hab no school. Niggers didn' seem to t'ink 'r' care nuthin' 'bout larnin' to read 'r' write. Atter peace was 'clared, a school was 'stablish' dere 'n' a w'ite man come in from de no'th 'n' teach de culled chillren. Befo' dat dey didn' tek no pains to teach de niggers nuthin' 'cep'n to wuk, 'n' de w'ite chillern didn' hab much school neder. Dis was one plantation dat was run 'sclusively by itse'f. Massa Rimes hab a commissary 'r' sto' house, we'r he kep' w'atnot t'ings, dose w'at mek on de farm, 'n' de t'ings de slaves could not mek fo' deyse'fs. Dat war'n' much cause us mek us own clo's, shoe', plow', 'n' all de farm tool. Why us eben mek our own plow line' outn' cotton, 'n' iffen us didn' hab de cotton us sometime' mek dem outn' bear grass, 'n' mek buttons fo' us clo's outn' li'l 'roun' pieces 'r' go'ds (gourds) 'n' kiver dem wid clof (cloth). No, dis was'n' sich a big plantation, 'bout a t'ousan' acre' 'n' 'bout fo'ty (40) niggers, countin' de li'l ones 'n' all. Dere war'n' no jail. Dey didn' need none. De quarters houses was all close togeder' on de aidge (edge) 'r' de fiel', 'n' de big house 'r' Massa Rimes ' house was 'way up on de side 'r' de hill at de aidge 'r' de fiel'. Us hab no real doctor at de plantation but 'r' co'se dere was a doctor man at Jasper 'n' one at Newton. A nigger hab to be purty sick befo' dey call de doctor do' (though). Dere was allus some ol' time' nigger dat knowed lots 'r' rem'dies 'n' knowed all de dif'rent kin's 'r' yarbs 'n' roots 'n' dif'rent t'ings to do w'en any 'r' de chillren git sick. My gran'daddy, John, he could stop blood w'en de noses git to bleedin'. 'N' he could conjure off de fever, tek off de warts in some way, jes' rub he fingers ober dem 'n' dey would go 'way. He mek ile (oil) outn' rattlesnake fo' de rheumatiz. Fo' de cramp he git a kin' 'r' bark offn' a tree 'n' stop dem. Lots 'r' dif'rent yarbs was use but I don' 'member all of de dif'rent t'ings he done use, cause he couldn' tell he rem'dies. Some 'r' de niggers wo' (wore) brass rings to keep off de rheumatiz, 'n' some 'r' dem punch hole' in a penny 'r' dime 'n' wear dis on dey ankle to keep off dif'rent kin's 'r' diseases. I guess it kep' it off all right cause dey neber was sick much in dem day. Dem ol' men dey lib a long time in dem day, too.

My great-gran'daddy name' was Bowser Rimes 'n' he was brung yere to Texas from Louisiana 'n' die at 138 year' ol'. He's bury on de ol' Ben Powell place close to Jasper. My gran'daddy, dat John, he lib to be 103 year' ol' 'n' he bury on de Eddy plantation at Jasper. My daddy Mose Rimes , die young at 86 'n' he bury in Jasper county too. My mammy' name was Phoebe . She was bo'n a Rimes nigger 'n' was brung to Texas from back in Louisiana. I's bo'n on de Rimes plantation, now call Harrisburg. Dat 'bout 16 'r' 18 mile' sou'f'eas' 'r' de present town 'r' Newton. D' year de slaves was freed I was inherit' by a man name' Sells w'at marry into de Rimes fambly. Dat why my name Sells cause it change' long wid de marriage. Us was jes' ready to be ship' back to Louis'ana to de new marster' plantation w'en de en' (end) 'r' de war bre'k up de trip. W'en us free I go out fo' myse'f 'n' atter w'ile I lef' Jasper 'n' come yere to Jamestown, close to Newton. I been marry twict but bofe wifes done been dead 'long time. No, I guess I don' want to lib back in dem times no mo' but I sho' seed lots 'r' niggers not doin' 's' well as dey did w'en dey was slaves 'n' not habin' nigh's' much to eat.