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Bastrop County, TX |
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Jessie Pauls, 79, now residing at 1611 Crump St., Fort Worth,
Tex., was born a slave to Tom Sneed, who owned
Jessie's mother with approximately 100 other slaves and a 2,000 acre plantation
located 4 mi. S. of Austin, Tex. Jessie was the illigitimate
son of the plantation's overseer, who was a Comanche Indian
and paid for his work. He was threatened with dismissal if he molested the
slave women again. When Jessie was strong enough to be
dismissed from the nursery, he was sent to the Sneed home to be a companion to Tom Sneed's only child, Walter
Sneed, who was a year younger than Jessie. Mrs. Sneed taught
Jessie to drive the carriage so he could drive her to town. When Walter was old enough to go
to school, and Jessie wasn't driving the carriage, he had to work in the fields. Four days after their
freedom, Jessie's mother took him to Austin, where a fight between the parents occurred over who was to
take Jessie. His mother won the fight and his father left for
the Indian Territory (now Okla.), where he settled in what is now known as Pauls
Valley. A short time after his father left, he and his mother went to Engin, in Bastrop co., where
they farmed for Dan Jackson. His story: "Sure, me slave
an' cowboy too, in my time. Me bo'n slave on Tom Sneed's plantation, four miles south f'om
Austin. Mammy am a slave, but daddy am a Comanche Indian, free bo'n. He am an ovahseer
on de plantation, an' when me am a man mammy tells me big trouble ovah me 'cause Marster Sneed want the niggers to mate an' not daddy wid de niggers. Mammy say dat
Marster Sneed tell daddy him can leave. Daddy say 'No! No! Me no leave! Me
stay heah.' "Marster Sneed say, 'Nex' time
you mess wid de womens,
you leave wid buck-shot chasin' you'. "Twant no mo' babies bo'n f'om him f'om den on, so daddy stays de ovahseer
'til freedom. "Mammy say me purtiest baby evah bo'n, an' all de folks makin' ovah me an' all. Co'se, big diffe'nce 'twix den
an' now, what wid me bowlegs, scarred face, an'
all, dat am caused by me hard life an' all. W'en me am baby, my mammy wo'ks
in de field durin' de day, an' gits me f'om de
nursery at night w'en she comes in aftah suppah. "All de niggers
have cabins to live in, but all eats in de same one an' de cooks does all de cookin'. 'Twas good food,
an' plenty of it. Meat an' bread, milk an' coffee, syrup, an' so on. Co'se, 'was mos'ly all raised right dere.
De co'n fo' de co'n bread, de hawgs in de big hawg pasture fo' de hams an' bacons, de cattle in de big cattle
pasture fo' de milk an' beef, an' so on an' on. 'Twas
plenty fo' de eat 'cause Marster Sneed say de niggers can't do much on empty
belly. "Aftah me big 'nough fo' to feed widout my mammy, me
eats wid de res' of de kids. Weuns have wood plates, but tin spoons an' cups fo' de coffee. Co'se, de coffee
am coffee flavo'ed milk wid sugah, but 'twas good, an' weuns
lapped it right up. 'Twas a fight 'twix weuns kids evah time
nurse Judy Sneed turn her back. Her name am Sneed 'cause
she am bo'n on de plantation b'longin'
to de Sneeds. All de nigger slaves dat am bo'n on de plantation tooks de name of de ownah. Well, Judy am in hahd place, 'cause she love weuns, an' don't want weuns hurt, but she have de o'dahs
to 'port to Mistez Rindy w'en de troublements comes up 'twix weuns. Mistez Rindy do de lickin' herself. Most de time w'en de
kids gits a lickin', she heahs de racket an' comes a-flyin'. She don't wait around but grabs me first, an' pounds de whey outer me, den grabs tudder kids. Dat's de way
'twas. Me first, den de res'. She say w'en she gits me, she know she
done got part of de troublement. "Most de troublements comes w'en we gits to de age gran'ma Sneed figgers 'twas time to teach me de ABC's. She am
white, an' am Marster Sneed's mammy. She teaches
all de kids, black an' white, de ABC's, an' tudder small larnin'. Me can't larn, an' me tell old Mistez Rindy,
'Missy Rindy, me can't larn,
me head's too thick'. "Old Mistez Rindy, she say, 'Jessie,
you going larn your
ABC's'. "Me say, 'Missy, me can't larn'. "She say,
'Jessie, you larn your ABC's, me give you two
cakes'. "Me say, 'Missy, me can't larn.
Give me three, me larn'. "She say, 'No, me give you two'. "Me larn sometimes, an' sometimes no. She don't
give me three cakes, but two she did. Me nevah did larn nothin' good, so dey takes me
outer de school, an' puts me wid Walter, Marster Sneed's only kid. "Me am glad of dat 'cause me an' Walter plays
all de time, pitchin' ball, huntin'
squirrels an' rabbits wid Rule
an' Tige an' de puppy. Weuns
git cake all de time dat
way, too, 'cause me am wid Walter w'en he gits dem. "De cake makin' am funny thing, 'cause
Judy laks to give de kids cake, an' dey laks to git it, so dey's
de squabble goin' all de time 'bout cake. Judy
tries to make it sometimes, but Mistez Rindy say,
'No! No! You bring me de 'gredients, an' me make de cake. Weuns nevah gits de
cake 'till Tom Sneed, de nigger slave dat am named fo' de Marster, 'less he say de blessin'.
He say de blessin' ovah
ever' meal de niggers gits, babies an' grown. Weuns gits de blessin' but no preachin'. "Me no 'member
de time w'en, but old Mistez
Rindy larn me to drive de
carriage w'en Walter gits old 'nough to go to reg'lar school. She do dat so's me drive her to town aftah de mail, an' what else she wants in
town. Me gits it in de neck w'en
she don't want me to drive her an' Walter am in school 'cause den me have to wo'k in
de field. "Me strip de
cane fo' to put in de syrup mill, gits kindlin' fo' de fire fo' de syrup mill,
an' kindlin' fo' de house fire, ho and pick cotton, or
what else dey wants me to do. "W'en de sojers come to Austin,
de town am full of dem. Eve whar
weuns looks, 'twas sojers weuns sees. 'Bout two yeahs
aftah de fust ones come,
lots mo' comes, an' den de town am really full
Most de womens f'om tudder plantations quits comin'
to town but o mistez Rindy aint scaret of de devil, an' long's me am wid
her, ever' thing's alright. W'en de carriage am tied up in
town, me stays right wid her all de time 'cause me knows long's me am wid her nothin' going happen to dis kid. "One time w'en weuns am in town, weuns notice 'twarnt many sojers to see. Old Mistez Rindy ask 'bout dat,
an' some men tel her dat
de battle am 'bout to start. She ask what, an' aftah de tells her, weuns drives out to de place.
Jus' as weuns am leavi
town, de big guns start shootin'. 'Twas terrible noise, an' me at her fo'
de ordah to turn 'round. She don't ordah, so weuns drives on. 'Twas
'bout four miles sorta north of Austin whar d battle am goin' on, an' just as weuns
gits to whar weuns can see men movin'
'round, she tells me to stop. "Me keeps on a-lookin' at her fo' de odah to go back, but w sets dere. 'Twas
'bout de time weuns stops de team dat de big g shootin' stops. Purrty soon de
men in gray starts movin' North, weuns sees tudder men f'om way off, git up an' start movin' to'a de men in gray. All dis time now, small
guns been a-poppin', an' dey
keep on a-poppin', but de big guns am stopped. F'om dis
time on fo' awhile, 'twarnt
much to tell 'bout but both sides mixin' 'round lak mizin' dough in de pan. 'Twarnt so long 'til de tudder side, which am de Union men, gives way an' 'treats.
Old Mistez an' me stayed
right dere an' see de South win dat
fight. "Later on in de
evenin' w'en she an' me
am going back to de plantation f'om town, a bunch of men chased tudder
man on hossback. Weuns
sees de men shoot him, den ride back de way dey come f'om. W'en old Mistez and me gits to de
plantation, she sends some niggers fo' to tote de man to our place while he might be livin'.
De niggers comes back wid him, but he am dead w'en
he gits dere, an' he am
also de high sheriff of Austin, Mistah Pindley. "Dat am 'bout all me can 'member 'bout de war. De next
thing am 'bout freedom. Me can well 'member w'en one day old Mistez Rindy calls me to her an' says: 'Well, Jessie, how you lak be free
man an' go fo' youself?' "Me say, 'Me no
man, an' me no lak leave de chicken an dump.' Tears come in her eyes, an' she go tell Judy make me all de
dumps an' chicken me can eat. Later on dat aftahnoon, Marster come in f'om
town an' ring de bell hisself. Daddy s'posed to ring dat bell, an'
'twas part of his job. He s'posed
to ring de bell once fo' de niggers to git up, wash de face, an' de second time fo' to
come an' eat. W'en dey am
in de field, de first bell am fo' to come in an' wash if close 'nough,
if not, den de wagon am sent out wid de food. Well,
Marster ring de bell oncet, an'
all de niggers comes in. He tells me to tell dem
all to come out to de f'ont po'ch whar he can talk to dem. "W'en me tells dem dat, dey
all looks at de tudder ones, den asks me 'bout what
he wants. Me don't know, so dey
goes on to de f'ont po'ch.
He am settin' dere, but
don't say nothin' 'till deys all dere. Aftah deys all dere, he gits up, an' reads f'om de papah. On 'count gran'ma Sneed have teach de school, all de
niggers undahstands de talk, an' am all worried 'bout it. "'Twas dat deys
all free, an' am s'posed to leave de place an' make
dere own livin' widout help f'om de
plantation. Widout land to plow, or no tudder way to make a livin',
most of dem am worried fo' sure. Some way or tudder, Marster am givin' up de old plantation 'cause he don't want to mess wid it no mo'. "Mammy and me
stays on de place fo' four days aftah,
den leaves fo' Austin. 'Twas troublesome days fo' weuns niggers 'cause 'twarnt nothin' fo' to make de livin' wid. Marster Sneed gives all of weuns little money fo' to last
few days, but 'twas only few days 'til de money run out. 'Twarnt
no washin' weuns gits to do, 'cause so many doin' it dat 'twarnt 'nough fo' to go 'round. "Mammy an' me
am stayin' in a room togedder,
she don't have tudder chilluns,
an' daddy finds whar weuns am livin'. He comes to weuns' place, an' tells mammy dat
he am takin' me to Indian country wid
him 'cause me an Indian, an' his son. Dat he can p'ovide fo' me better dan she
can. 'Twas whar he am
mistook 'cause mammy flies into him, fightin' wid tooth and toenail 'til he run lak a scaret rabbit. My mammy
am heap strong womens 'cause she wo'k in de
fields all de time, an' have de muscle lake de mule. "Weuns nevah sees daddy any mo' aftah dat,
'cept w'en me take de
trip to Oklahoma heah 'bout 10 yeahs ago, an' he am still livin'
right den. He tells me dat he goes to de Territory, an' starts farmin'
in what am now called 'Pauls Valley'. While me am dere, he takes me to his mammy. He died 'bout six yeahs ago, but she am still livin',
an' am 'round 118 yeahs old. She am s'posed to be de oldest womens
in Oklahoma today. Dat's right, you go see fo' youself 'bout dat. "Well, mammy
an' me am in Austin, an' can't make de go, so weuns
leaves an' walks 'round f'om place to place, 'till weuns gits to Bastrop county. Weuns
have to beg for food 'till weuns gits dere, den Dan
Jackson puts us on at Elgin, in Bastrop county. Weuns
farms on his place, an' me am put to tendin' cattle fo' him. F'om dere on, me am a cowboy,
an' me wo'ks for Tom Waggoner an' tudder big fellows 'til
me gits paralyzed five yeahs
ago. F'om dat time 'till now, me can hardly walk,
an' am old man, but me can still ride dem hosses any time me can git
on dem. |
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