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I was born September 1, 1842, in Bestrop, Texas, on Colorado River. My pappy was named Harvey Wheeler and my mammy was named Carolina Sims. My brothers and sisters was named Alex, Taylor, Mary, Cicero, Tennessee, Sarah, Jeff, Ella and Mora. We lived in cedar log houses with dirt floors and double chimneys, and doors hung on wooden hinges. One side of our beds was bored in the walls and had one leg on the other. Then white folks give each nigger family a blanket in winter.
I mussed 3 white chillun, Lulu, Helen Augusta, and Lola Sims. I done this before that War that set us free. We kids use to make extra money by toting gravel in our aprons. They'd give us dimes and silver nickles.
Our clothes was wool and cotton mixed. We had red rustic shoes, soles one-half inch thick. They'd go a-whick a-whack. The mens had pants wid one seam and a right-hand pocket. Boys wore shirts.
We ate hominy, mush, grits and pone bread for the most part. Meny of them ate out of one tray with wooden spoons. All vittles for field hands was fixed together.
Women broke in mules throwed 'em down and roped 'em. They'd do it better'n men. While mammy made some hominy one day both my foots was scalded and when they clipped them blisters, they jest put some cotton round them and catched all dat yellow water and made me a yellow dress out of it. This was 'way back yonder in slavery, before the War.
Whenever white folks had a baby born den all de old niggers had to come thoo the room and the master would be over 'hind the bed and he'd say,
"Here's a new little mistress or master you got to work for." You had to say, "Yessuh Master" and bow real low or the overseer would crack you. Then was slavery days, dog days.
I remember in slavery time we had stages. Then devilish things had jest as many wrecks as cars do today. Only thing, we jest didn't have as many.
My mammy belonged to Master Colonel Sam Sins and his old mean wife Julia. My pappy belonged to Master Make Smith and his good wife Harriett. She was sho' a good woman. I was named after her. Master Sam and Master Meke was partners. Ever year then rich men would send so many wagons to New Mexico for different things. It took 6 months to go and come.
Slaves was punished by whip and starving. Decker was sho' a mean slave-holder. He lived close to us. Master San didn't never whip me, but Miss Julia whipped me every day in the sawing. During the war she best us so terrible. She say, "Your master's out fighting and losing blood trying to save you from them Yankees, so you kin git your'n here." Miss Julia would take me by my ears and butt my head against the wall. She wanted to whip my mother, but old Master told her, new sir. When his father done give my mammy to Master San, he told him not to beat her. and iffen he get to whar he jest had to, jest bring her back and place her in his yard from whar he got her.
White folks didn't 'low you to read or write. Then what did know come from Virginny. Mistress Julia used to drill her chillun in spelling any words. At every word them chillun missed, she gived me a lick 'cross the head for it. Meanest woman I ever seen in my whole life.
This skin I got now, it ain't my first skin. That was burnt off when I was a little child. Mistress used to have a fire made on the fireplace and she made me scour the brass round it and my skin jest blistered. I jest had to keep yulling it off'n me.
We didn't had no church, though my pappy was a preacher. He preached in the quarters. Our baptizing song was "On Jordan's Storry Bank I stand" and "Hark From The Bonb." Now all dat was before the War. We had all our funerals at the graveyard. Everybody. chillun and all picked up a clod of dirt and throwed in on top the coffin to help fill up the grave.
Taling 'bout niggers running away. didn't my step-peppy run away! Didn't my uncle Gabe run away? The frost would jest bite they toes most nigh off too, whiles they was gone. They put Uncle Isou (my step-pappy) in jail and while's he was in there he killed a white guardman. Then they put in the paper. "A nigger to kill.", and our Master seen it and bought him. He was a double-strongthed man, he was so strong. He'd run off so help you God. They had the blood hounds after him once and he caught the hound what was leading and beat the rest of the dogs. The white folks run up on him before he knowed it and made them dogs eat his ear plumb out. But don't you know he got away anyhow. One morning I was sweeping out the hell in the big house and somebody come a-knocking on the front door and I goes to the door. There was Uncle Ison wid rags all on his head. He said, "Tell ole master heah I am." I goes to Master's door and says, "Master Colonel San, Uncle Ison said heah he an." He say, "Go 'round to the kitchen and tell black mammy to give you breakfast." When he was thoo' eating they give him 300 lashes and, bless my soul, he run off again.
When we went to a party the nigger fiddlers would play a cinme dat went lak this:
I fooled Ole Master 7 years
Fooled the overseer three;
Hand me down my banjo
And I'll tickle your bel-lee.
We had the same doctors the white folks had and we wore asafetida and garlic and onions to keep from taking all them ailments.
I 'member the battle being fit. The white folks buried all the jewelry and silver and all the gold in the Blue Ridge Mountains, in Orange. Tenns. Master made all us niggers come together and git ready to leave 'cause the Yankees was coming. We took a steaner. How this was in slavery time, sho' 'nuff slavery. Then we got on a steamship and pulled out to Galveston. Then he told the captain to feed we niggers. We was on the bay. not the ocean. We left Galveston and went on trains for Houston.
One, my sister Liza, was mulatto and Master Colonel Sims' son had 3 chillun by her. We never seen her no more after her last child was born. I found out though that she was in Cannda.
After the War, Master Colonel Sims went to git the mail and so he call Daniel Ivory, the overseer, and say to him, "Go round to all the quarters and tell all the niggers to come up, I got a paper to read to 'em. They're free now, so you kin git you another job, 'cause I ain't got no more niggers which is my own." Niggers come up from the cabins nappy-headed, jest lak they gwine to the field. Master Colonel Sims say, "Caroline (that's my mammy), you is free as me. Pa said bring you back and I'se gwine do jest that. So you go on and work and I'll pay you and your three oldest chillun $10.00 a month a head and $4.00 fer Harriet," that's me, and then he turned to the rest and say "Now all you'uns will receive $10.00 a head till the crops is laid by." Don't you know before he got half way thoo', over half them niggers was gone.
Them Klu Klux Klans come and ask for water with the false stomachs and make lak they was drinking three bucketsful. They done some terrible things, but God seen it all and marked it down.
We didn't had no law, we had "bureau." Why, in them days iffen somebody stole anything from you, they had to pay you and not the Law.
How they done turned that round and you don't git nothing.
One day whiles master was gone hunting. Mistress Julia told her brother to give Miss Harriett (me) a free whipping. She was a nigger killer. Master Colonel Sam come home and he said, "You infernal sons o' bitches don't you know there is 300 Yankees camped out here and iffen they knowed you'd whipped this nigger the way you done done, they'd kill all us. Iffen they find it out, I'll kill all you all." Old rich devils, I'm here, but they is gone.
God choosed Abraham Lincoln to free us. It took one of them to free us so's they couldn't say nothing.
Doing one 'lection they songs
Clark et the watermelon
J. D. Giddings et the vinel Clark gone to Congress An' J. D. Giddings left behind.
They hung Jeff Davis up a sour apple tree. They say he was a president, but he wasn't, he was a big senator man.
Booker T. Washington was all right in his way. I guess, but Bruce and Fred Douglass, or big mens jest sold us back to the white folks.
I married Haywood Telford and had 13 head of chillun by him. My oldest daughter is the name of 14. All my chillun but four done gone to heaven before me.
I jined the church in Chapel Hill, Texas. I am born of the Spirit of God sho' nuff. I played with him seven years and would go right on dencing at Christmas time. How I got religion. Everybody oughta live right, though you won't have no friends iffen you do.
Our overseer was a poor man. Had us up before day and lak-a-that. He was paid to be the head of punishment. I jest didn't like to think of them old slavery days, dogs' days.
(Oklahoma Writers' Project, Ex-Slaves)
