Texas Slave Narratives

 

 

 

 

Texas Slave Narrative

  Betty Simmons

Betty Simmons , 100 er more, was born a slave to Leftwidge Carter , in Masadonia, Alabama. She was stolen when a child, sold to slave traders and later to a man in Texas, She now lives in Beaumont, Texas.

I think I's 'bent a hundred and one or two year old. My papa was a free man, 'cause his old massa set him free 'fore I's born, and give his a hoss and saddle and a little house to live in. My old massa when I's a chile, he name Mr. Leftwidge Carter and when he daughter marry Mr. Wash Langferd , massa give no to her. She was call Clementine . Massa Langferd has a little store and a man call Mobley go in business with him. Dis man brung down he two brothers and dey fair clean Massa Langferd gut. He was ruint. But while all dis goin' on I didn't know it and I was happy. Day was geed to me and I don't work too hard, jus' gits in de mischief. One time I she' got drunk and dis de way of it. Massa have de puncheon of whiskey and he sell do whiskey, too. Hew, in dam days, dey have frills 'round de beds, dey wasn't naked beds like nowadays. Dey puts dis puncheon under de beds and de frills hides it, but I's nussin' a little bey in dat room and I crawls under dat bed and drinks out of de puncheon. Den I peak de heed out and say 'Boo' at de little bey, and he laugh and laugh. Des I ducks back and drinks a little more and I say 'Boo' at him 'gain, and he laugh and laugh. Day was lets of whiskey in dat puncheon and I keeps drinkin' and sayin' "Boo'. My head, it gits funny and I same out with de puncheon and starts to de kitchen, where ?y aunt Adeline was de seek. I jes' a-steepin' and sayin' de big words. Day never lets me 'round where dat puncheon is no more. When Massa Hangford was ruint and dey goin' take do store 'way from him, dey was trouble, plenty of dat. One day massa send me down de he brudder's place. I was dere two days and don de missy tell no to go to de fence. Dere was two white men in a buggy and one of 'em 'ay, 'I thought she bigger dan dat.' Don ho asks me. 'Betty , kin yes cook' I tolls him I been cook helper two, three month, and he way, 'You git dressed and came on down three mile to de other side do pest office.' Se I gits my little bundle and when I gits dere he say, 'Cal , you want to go 'bout 25 mile and help cook at de boardin' house?' He tries to make me believe I won't be gone a long time, but when I gits in de buggy dey tells mo Massa Hangferd dere los' everything and he have to hide out he niggers for to keep he credickers from gittin' dem. .

Some of do niggers he hides in de woods, but he stele me from my sweet missy and sell me se dem credickers can't git me. When we gits to de crossroads dere de massa and a nigger man. Dat another slave he gwine to sell, and he hate to sell us no bad he can't lock us in de eye. Dey puts us niggers inside de buggy, se iffen de credickers comes along dey can't see us. Finally does slave spec'laters puts de nigger man and mo en de train and takes us to Memphis, and when we gits dere day takes us to de nigger traders' yard. We gits dere at breakfast time and waits for de beat day calls de 'Ohie' to git dere. De beat jus' ahead of dis Ohio, Old Capt. Fabra's beat, was 'stroyed and dat delay our beat two hears. When it come. dey was 258 niggers out of den nigger yards in Memphis what gits on dat boat. Dey puts de niggers upstairs and goes down de river far as Vicksburg, dat was do place, and don us gits offen de boat and gits on do train 'gain and dat time we goes to Now Orleans. I's satisfy den I los' my people and ain't never goin' to see den no more in dis world, and I never did, Day has three big trader yard in New Orleans and I hear de traders say dat town 25 mile square. I ain't like it so wall, 'cause I ain't like it 'bout dat big river. We hears same of 'em say dere's gwineter threw a long war and us all think what day bay us for if we's gwine to be set free. Same was still buyin' niggers every fall and us think it too funny dey kep' en fillin' up when day gwineter be any tyin' out soon. Dey have big sandbars and place fir 'round do nigger yards and day have watchmens to keep den from runnin 'way in de swamp. Some of de niggers dey have jus' picked up on de road, dey steals den. Dey calls don 'wagon boy' and wagon gal.' Day has one bit mulatte boy dey stele 'long de road dat way and he massa find out 'bout him and some and git him and take him 'way. And a woman what was a seemster, a men what knowed her seed her in de pen and he den told her massa and he come right down and git her. She sho' was proud to git cut. She was stele from 'long do read, too. You sees, if dey could steal de niggers and sell 'em for de good money, den traders could make plenty money dat way.

At las' Col. Fertesoue , he buy me and kep' me. He a fighter im de Mexican War and he come to New Orleans to buy he slaves. He takes me up de Red River to Shreveport and den by de buggy to liberty, in Taxes. De Colonel, he a good massa to us. He (lows us to work de patch of ground for ourselves, and maybe have a pig or a couple chickens for ourselves, and he allus make out to give us plenty to oat. De massa, when a place fill up, he allus pick and move to a place where dere ain't so much people. Dat hew come do Colonel fus' left Alabama and come to Texas, and to de place dey calls Beef Road den, but calls Gran' Cans new. When us come to Gran' Came a nigger bey git stuck em one us house girls and he run away from he massa and feller us. It were a woodly country and de boy outrun he chasers. I heered de dogs after him and he torn and bleeding' with de breath and he run upstairs in de gin house. Do logs set down by de door and de deg-man, what hired to chase him, he drug him down and throw him in de Horse Hole and tolls do two dogs to swim in and git him. Do bey so scairt he yell and holler but de dogs nip and pinch his good with de claws and tooth. When day lots de boy out de water hole he all bit up and when he massa larn how mean de dog-man been to do boy he 'fuses to pay de fee.

I gits married in slavery time. to George Fertesoue . De massa he marry us sort of like de justice of do peace. But my husban', he git kilt in liberty, when he cuttin' down a tree and it fall on him. I ain't never marry mo sere. I she' was glad when freedom come, 'same day jus' ready to put my little three year old boy in de field. Dey took 'am young. I has another baby call Mittie , and she too young to work. I don't knew hew many chillen I's have, and sometimes I sits and tries to count 'on. Day's seven livin' but I had 'bout fourteen. Dey was pretty hard on de niggers. Iffen us have de baby us only 'lowed to stay in do house for one month and card and spin, and den us has to got out in de field. Dey allus blew do horn for us mammies to cons up and nuss de babies. I sees plenty soldiers 'fore freedom. Dey's de Democrats, 'cause I never seed no Yankees. Us niggers used to wash and iron for den. At night us seed dose soldiers poopin' 'round do house and us run 'way in de bresh. When freedom came us was layin' by de crep and de massa he give is a gen'rous part of dat crop and us move to Clarks place. We gits on all alright after freedom, but it hard at first 'cause us didn't know how to de for ourselves. But we has to larn.


Shapeless in form, with bare, fat feet, stooped shoulders, and a broad face and head crowned with close cropped gray hair and an old black skull cap, such is Betty Simmons , Beaumont negress. A native of Tennessee, she recalls many incidents of slavery time, having lived to an age slightly more than 100 years, as near as can be figured. Stolen as a child and sold to slave speculators and later to masters in Texas, her story is a valuable addition to the anecdotes of the period because of its wealth of detail.

I t'ink I's 'bout a hunnerd an' one or a hunnerd an' two year' ol'. My popper he die w'en I's jes' a li'l kid. He was 82 year' ol' w'en he die. He was a free man. His ol' marster done sot him free befo' I's bo'n. Dat was a long time befo' freedom. He sot him free 'cause he save he life 'bout seben year' befo' dat. He sot him free an' give him a hoss an' a saddle an' a li'l house to lib in. My ol' marster, dat de marster w'en I's a chile, he name' Mister Lef'widge Carter . He uster hab a li'l sto' in Al'bama at a place call' Macedonia. Mister Carter uster go 'roun' an' buy two or t'ree niggers eb'ry fall. One time he was gwine 'roun' de place an' he see my po' popper was dead. My popper had done clumb up a plum tree for to git some plums for us chillen an' fall out de tree an' kill' hisse'f. Atter dat de ol' marster give me an' my sister to he secon' daughter, Clemtine . De man w'at she was marry to was Mister Wash Langford . He got in debt 'bout his li'l sto'. A man name' Bill Mobley went in de sto' bus'ness wid him. He go to St. Louis an' buy good' for de sto' an' charge dem to Mister Langford . Atter w'ile he brung he brudder Cull Mobley an' den Robert Mobley . Dey fair clean Marse Langford out. All dis was a-gwine on an' young marster was ruin'. Mistus' popper he tuk back some of de slaves to keep him from a-losin' dem. I 'member one time I sho' git drunk. Marster hab a puncheon of w'iskey. He git a-a-a-o, you know, paper from somebudy w'at 'low him to retail w'iskey to people w'at go by. Dey's people gwinter Californy or Paris or somew'ers. I dunno w'er. One time dey put it under de bed frills 'roun' de bed. Dey uster hab frills 'roun' de bed. De beds war'n' naked like dem over dere in de corner is now. I was nussin' de li'l boy dat day in de room w'er he w'iskey was hid under de bed. I crawl under bed an' poke my head out an' say, 'Boo,' at de li'l boy an' he laf' an' laf'. Den I duck back an' drink outn' de bottle. Den I say, 'Boo,' at him 'gin an' he laf' an' I duck back an' drink some mo'. Dey was t'ree bottle' dere an' I drink outn' all of dem. I reckon my head was gittin' kinder funny by den. I come out wid two bottle'. I pick up li'l Tim, dat was de baby, an' hol' him in my arms wid de bottle'. An' den I start out to de kitchen w'er my aunt Ad'line was de cook. I was jes' a stompin' an' sayin' big words. Tim' mudder was on de front gallery. Her an' Aunt Ad'line dey meet me on de ha'f groun' Dey tek Tim 'way an' I dunno who dey give him to hab for he nuss. I neber git to nuss de fus' baby no mo'. W'en de man was comin' from St. Louis to tek de sto 'way from Marse Langford , dey was lotser rowin' 'roun' cause dey dunno who to give me to. I nuss de secon' baby. I jes' nuss him 'roun' an' play wid him. Dey let us play anyw'er cep'n' 'roun' de cotton gin. Dey 'fraid us git hurt down dere.

It was 'long 'bout dem time dat Marse Langford lose all he stuff. Dey tek de sto' an' levy on de place. Dat Ben Mobley he sho' strop him. One day Marse Wash say to he wife, 'I t'ink I better sen' Betty down to he'p brudder Newt wid de co'n. Dey's sho't (short) of he'p.' She say, 'All right, give me de baby, Betty , an' go git you another dress.' So I go down to he'p dem gedder de co'n at Marse Newt' house. I was dere 'bout two day, Friday an' Sattiday. I hab de bes' time goin' 'roun' hin' de folks an' pickin' up de li'l co'n dey drap, an' eatin' watermillion. Sunday mawnin' I git up an' come in de kitchen. Dey gwineter tell me w'at to do. Dey was cookin' in a big skillick. Dey sot down an' eat an' when dey t'roo me an' a boy dey hab sot down an' eat. Purty soon de mistus call me an' say, 'O, Betty , Newt say you come down to de fence.' So I go an' bounce outn' de gate an' dere was two w'ite men in a buggy. One of dem say, 'Dat de gal? An' Newt he say, 'Yes.' An' de man he say, 'Dat a small gal. I though she was biggern' dat.' Den he say, 'Betty , kin you cook? I tol' him I been de cook' helper for five or six mont'. He say, 'Well, git your dress an' come on down t'ree mile' to de other side of de pos' office.' Den I git my li'l bundle an' w'en I git dere he say, 'Gal, you wanter go 'bout 26 mile' an' he'p cook at de bo'din' (boarding) house? Dey try to mek me beleebe I war'n' gwinter be gone a long time. Dey say two or t'ree week'. So I go 'long git in de buggy wid my li'l bundle. Den dey git to talkin' an' dey tell eb'ryt'ing dey know. Dat's huccome I fin' out 'bout Mobley cleanin' out my marster. Marster hab to hide out he niggers for to keep he credickers from gittin' dem. Dey say he hide some of dem outn' de wood so de credickers ain' fin' dem. De wuss t'ing dem mens say dat he done stole me from my sweet mistus an' sell me to dem so de credickers ain' git me. W'en us git to de crossroad' dere was de marster an' a nigger man. Dat was one of his other slaves w'at he gwinter sell too. Marster hate to let his niggers go so bad he couldn' look us in de eye. Dey uster hab a seat 'hind de buggy for de niggers to ride but dey mek an' dat other nigger man ride inside de buggy an' de man dat buy us dey ride up 'hind. Dey do dat so iffen de credickers come 'long dey won' see dat dey was niggers in de buggy. I was lissenin' to all dey say an' dat huccome I fin' out all 'bout de bre'k (break-evidently meaning pre-war trouble), an' other t'ings. Atter dey git bofe us dey tek us to de traders' fadder's house. He hab two nice daughters in he fambly. Dey hab one cullud gal in dere house. Dey say, 'Marthy , (dat he gal name) dat li'l gal gwinter hafter sleep wid you tonight.' Dat gal sho' did grumble. I year (hear some of de t'ings she say. W'en us woke up de nex' mawnin' eb'ryt'ing was in a stir. Dey say, 'Git up an' git a-goin' to de train.' Us was gwinter Memphis. Dey put lotser wimmen an' bundle' in de buggy. De train pass yerly. Some go to de train in de buggy an' some walk. I dunno how de men folks git dere. W'en us git dere dey tek us to de nigger trader' yard. Us git dere soon 'nuf for bre'kfas'. Dey was a-waitin' for de boat dey call de 'Ohio' to git dere. It was 'bout two hour' by sun. Dere was a boat jes' 'head of her, Ol' Cap'n' Fabra's boat, dat was 'stroy' (destroyed). Dat delay dem two hour' to git w'at was lef' of dat boat outn' de way. Dey was 258 nigger' outn' dem nigger yards in Memphis w'at git on dat boat. Dey put de niggers upstairs. Dey go down de Riber fur's Vicksburg, dat was de place, an' den us git offn' de boat an' git on de train 'gin. Dat time dey tek us to N'Yawlins. I's satisfy den I los' my people an' ain' neber gwinter see dem no mo' in dis worl'. Dey was good w'ite folks in Tennessee. I neber seed anyt'ing out of Tennessee folks 's mean's I seed outn' dese Texas folks.

Dey hab t'ree big trader' yards in N'Yawlins. I year (hear) de nigger traders say de town was 25 mile' square. I ain' like it so well 'cause I ain' like it 'bout dat big riber. Dey kep' us dere 's long 's dey could. De war was a stirrin' dem an' movin' dem an' some say dey's gwinter t'row a long war. Us all say, 'w'at dey buy us for w'en dey know us gwinter be sot free.' Some was still a-buyin' niggers eb'ry fall. Us t'ink it too funny dey kep' on fillin' up w'en dey gwinter be emptyin' out soon. Dey didn' whip dem or chain dem in de trader' yards. Sometime' dey hafter whip de wil' niggers. Sometime' dey hafter whip dem on de train. Dey hab big san' bars (sandbars) an' planks fix' up 'roun' de nigger yards. Dey hab watchmens too to keep dem from runnin' 'way in de swamp. Some of de niggers dey didn' buy, dey jes' pick dem up on de road. Dey jes' plain steal dem. Dey call dem 'wagon boy an' wagon gal.' Dey hab one big m'latter boy dat dey stole 'long de road. He marster fin' out 'bout him an' come an' git him an' tek him 'way wid dem. Den dey hab a woman w'at was a nice seamster. She was wuth lotser money an' was jes' at a right good age. A man w'at knowed her come in an' seed her dere in de pen. He sont he brudder to tell her marster 'bout it. De marster fin' out 'bout her he come right down an' tek her 'way. She sho' was proud to git out. She war'n' bought. Dey jes' pick her up on de road an' mek her go 'long. She tol' us all 'bout herse'f.

Cunnel Fortescue he buy me at las'. He kep' me for hisse'f an' give another gal w'at he buy to Valentine . De Cunnel was a fighter in de Mex'can war an' he hab lib at Liberty. He come to N'Yawlins to buy slaves. He lef' N'Yawlins an' us trabble up Red Riber to Shrevepo't, Louisiana. Den dey git in de buggy w'at dey lef' dere an' trabble on to Liberty. De buggy was'n' big 'nuf to hol' de Cunnel an' me an' another slave. So us hafter tek tu'n 'bout walkin'. Fus' he brung us to Cherokee. Dat's up dere somew'ers de other side of Liberty. I dunno jes' now w'er dat is but I 'member atter w'ile maybe. O, yes, dat Montgomery county. Ol' marster 'low he han's to hab a li'l patch of lan' to wuk for deyse'fs. Dey raise vegetubble an' cotton an' watermillion an' t'ings. Some hab chicken' an' pig too. Us didn' hafter wuk on Sunday, an' hab two hour' off on Sattiday atternoon too. Sometime' us go to chu'ch. Iffen any of de cullud folks wanter jine de chu'ch dey 'low us. Dey tek pains to teach dem de doctrine. Dey allus mek out to give us plenty to eat. De oberseers was mos'ly mean befo' de war. Atter all de young men go to de army de ol' men was oberseers an' dey was better. Ol' man Hanlon was de bes' oberseer. He hab a good ol' woman too but she bery (very) ageable. Dey was one nigger name' John Harper . He was 's mean 's a nigger could git to be. He's truly mean. Dey whip him near' to de'f (death), but he's so no 'count dey atter w'ile jes' t'rowed him 'way. W'en a place fill up, de ol' marster he allus pick up an' move to a place w'er dey ain' so much people. Dat huccome de Cunnel fus' lef' Al'bama an' come to Texas. Den w'en too much people move in 'roun' dere he move to a place dey call Beef Head den, but dey calls it Gran' Cane now. He move dere but w'en too many folks move in 'roun' dere he pick up an' move 'gin, dat time to de Albritton place, near Liberty, souf. Dat's w'er we was w'en freedom come. W'en us come down Minard's Riber to Gran' Cane to locate, dey was sump'n' funny happen'. Dey's w'ite fambly w'at hab a carriage criber, a big nigger boy 'bout 15 year' ol' dat dey thought a lot of. Dat boy git stuck on one us house gals. De crazy t'ing tuk up a min' (mind) to foller us. It w'er a woodly country an' de boy slip off an' foller. Marse drove he niggers at night. De w'ite folks was so 'sturb' dat dey sont down to hab him brung back. De boy outrun dem a mile, 'long down to Boggy Tu'n road. He's runnin' like de dickens. I year (hear) de dogs runnin' clear 'cross de fiel'. De po' boy he so to' (torn) an' bleedin' wid bresh scratch' dat he ain' able to move hardly. He run in de yard an' upstair' 'n de gin house. De dogs sot down 'roun' de do' (door) like dey done tree' a 'possum. De dog-man, dat de man w'at own' de dog, he drug de boy down by he foot an' pull' he jacket off. Ol' man Hanlon , us oberseer, he tol' dem it no use to punish dat boy no mo'. He been punish' 'nuf. Dat don' he'p though. Dey t'row de boy in de Horse Hol' an' de two dogs w'at train' to swim dey go in atter him. De boy so scare' he yel. an' holler. But de dogs train' an' dey nip an' pinch him good wid dey claw' an' teef. Atter dey 'low him out ol' man Hanlon put med'cine on de bite'. De boy so scare' he cryin'. W'en he marster fin' how mean de dog-man been to de boy he so mad he 'fuse to pay de fee. De dog-man 'cess a fee for all de niggers w'at he kotch wid he dogs. I git marry in slav'ry time.

I marry George Fortescue , one of de marster' niggers. De ol' marster he jes' give me to him. Dey marry in dem time by de word of de marster. De couple go befo' him an he ax dem iffen dey tek dis man for de husban' an' tek dis woman for de wife. Den w'en dey say dey does he tell dem dey man an' wife an' dey marry den. De marster he marry dem sorter like de justice of de peace. My husban' he git kill' in Liberty. He's a cuttin' down a tree an' he ain' git outn' de way soon 'nuf an' de tree fall down on him an' he die. I ain' neber marry no mo'. I sho' was glad w'en freedom come. I's jes' gittin' ready den to put my li'l t'ree year' ol' boy in de fiel'. Dey tek dem young. He was to help keep de caffs. Dat was my boy name' Charlie . Dey was another gal bo'n already but she's too li'l to start to learn how to wuk. Her name' Mittie an' dat de daughter stan'in' right over dere now. I hab another baby bo'n jes' a few mont' atter freedom. I don' know jes' how many chillen I's hab. Sometime' in de daytime I sit yere an' try to count dem chillen. Dey's 'bout 14 of dem in all an' sometime' I miss some of dem. Dey's seben libin', Tommy , Mary , Jerry , Luke , Dee , Jeff , and Mittie . Dey's purty rough on de niggers. Iffen us hab a baby us was on'y 'low to stay in de house for one mont'. Dey hab us card an' spin. Atter de baby one mont' ol' us sont back into de fiel' to de heaby wuk. Dey hab a ho'n up in de house an' dey blow it in de middle of de mawnin' an' atternoon for de mammies to come up an' nuss dey li'l babies. I seed sojers befo' freedom, hunnerds at a time. Dey's 'bout 400 camp' 'bout's fur's Mis' Jenny's sto', gwine an' comin' all de time. Dey's de Demercrats, us people. I neber seed no Yankees. Dey hab de watchmen out at night. De w'ite folks was 'fraid to fool wid dem. Dey come 'roun' beggin' for food. Us niggers mek lotser money offn' dem folks, washin', mendin' dey clo's, an' sellin' dem li'l t'ings. Atter w'ile though de money was'n' no good. At midnight w'en us see de sojers peepin' 'roun' de house us run 'way in de bresh. De war was a-comin' near a close an' de ol' marster hab to go to de war.

W'en freedom come dey was a-layin' by de crop. Us finish' layin' by de crop an' den us go over de riber an' cut wood an' sol' it. Us do dat 'til time to come back an' gadder in de crop. Marster he give us a gen'rous part of de crop for de good wuk us done on it. Den us move to Clark ' place. Dey 'vide' up de co'n an' peas an' 'taters an' t'ings but dey didn' give any a-tall to dose other darkies w'at didn' he'p de marster. Dey didn' hab no cotton dat year. It w'er too bad an' hot season. Dey uster tol' a story in slav'ry time I's laf' at many a time. Dey was a man w'at went huntin' eb'ry day. I beleebe he hunt rabbit. No, it was 'possum. He hunt dem eb'ry day, Sunday an' all, an' po' 'possum don' hab no res' (rest). One day he kotch a 'possum an' de 'possum he say, 'Po 'possum ain' git no res'. Eb'ry day you been huntin' him. Po' 'possum ain' git no res'. Wa't time he have for res'? I dunno huccome but w'en de 'possum talk dat way to him he go home an' die. Den he ain' hunt no 'possum no mo', an' po' 'possum den he git to res'. Dat 'possum conjure de man 'cause he talk to him. One time it de rabbit talkin' time. He feelin' mighty peart an' he run an' jump t'roo de campfire smoke. De ol' Man 'Coon come 'long an' wonder w'at foolisment dat rabbit up to now. Brudder 'Coon say, 'Why you so libely an' run jump t'roo de smoke? Den Brudder Rabbit he say up quick, 'I's jes' a-practicin' up, Brudder 'Coon. Us all gwinter hab plenty of fire atter w'ile.


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