A Life Story
I WAS A SLAVE: Book 1
Descriptions of Plantation Life
BETTY POWERS
included in
I WAS A SLAVE, Book 1
Now, to tell de truth ’bout my age, Ise don’t know ’zactly. Ise ’membahs de war [the Civil War] time, an’ de surrendah time. Ise old ’nough to fan flies off de white fo’ks an’ off de tables w’en dey eats w’en surrendah comes. Ise ’membahs ’cause ’tis de fust whuppin’ Ise gits. ’Twas once w’en Ise failed to see some flies on de table an’ de marster had comp’ny fo’ dinnah. De daughter tooks me upstairs an’ use de whup [whip] on me. Mary am her name.
Yas, sar, Ise do de bestest I can to ’membahs fo’ yous. If yous come ’bout five yeahs ago, Ise could tell lots mo’, but de last five yeahs, Ise had de head misery. My brain goes to wautah [water], so dat ’fects de mind.
Ise bo’n in Harrison County, Texas. ’Twas ’bout 25 miles f’om Marshall. Ise ’membahs dat ’cause de marster says ’twas dat, an’, co’se, Ise lives in dat country ’til Ise grows up. Weuns warn’t far f’om Weziana.
Marster’s name am Doctah [Doctor] Howard Perry. He am a doctah, so his wife an’ de overseer looks after de place, an’ sees ’bout de wo’k while he am ’way. Next to de marster’s house am a small buildin’ dat am used fo’ de office. De missy am in thar mostest of de time.
De cullud fo’ks warn’t ’lowed to go to de house. If weuns wants to see de marster or his wife, weuns have to go to de office. De plantation am awful big one. How many acres? Gosh fo’ Mighty! Why, ’twas mo’ dan Ise could count. If yous ask how many miles ’twas long, den m’ybe miles could be told, but Ise fo’gits de miles. De wautah on my brain spoils my ’collection. De numbah of slaves am somethin’ ’gains Ise fo’gits. Ise never ’membahs heahin’ [hearing]. M’ybe no one knows. ’Twas a whole lot, I knows ’twas mo’ den 200.
De cullud fo’ks lives in de cabins. ’Twas called de quatahs [quarters]. Now, in each cabin lives one fam’ly. ’Twas de father, mother an’ de chilluns. Thar am ’bout as many chilluns as thar am grown-ups. Ise can shut my eyes now an’ see dem rows of cabins. Thar am three rows, an’ de rows am ’bout ha’f a mile long. Ever’ fam’ly does its own cookin’. Mammy, pappy, an’ deir 12 chilluns lives in our cabin, so mammy have to cook fo’ 14 people, ’sides her field work. She am up ’way befo’ daylight in de mo’nin’ an’ fixin’ de breakfast, an’ de suppah am fixed after dark. Dey have to use de pine-knot torch fo’ to make de light so dey can see. De cookin’ am done in de fireplace in de wintahtime, an’ in de yard mostest of de summahtime.
All de rations am measured out on Sunday mo’nin’. What am given have to do ’til next Sunday. Thar am plenty diffe’nt rations, but ’twarn’t ’nough fo’ de heavy eaters. Weuns all have to be real careful, an’ den some of de fo’ks goes hongry sometimes. De marster gives weuns meat, co’n [corn] meal, ’lasses, p’taters, peas, beans, milk, an’ weuns gits white flouah on Sunday mo’nin’. Jus’ ’nough fo’ to make one batch of biscuits.
De short [small quantities of] rations caused lots of trouble ’cause de niggers have to steal food. ’Twas a whuppin’ if dey gits catched. De cullud fo’ks am in a hell of a fix if dey can’t do de wo’k ’cause dey am weak, even if dey am hongry. ’Twas a whuppin’ den fo’ sho’ [for sure]. If dey steals de food so dey stays strong an’ can do de task, ’twas a whuppin’. So thar ’twas. [So, there it was.] Mostest of dem steals an’ tooks a whuppin’ if dey am catched, an’ on a full stomach. My fo’ks don’t have to steal food, but weuns am careful. Yous can jus’ bet ’twarn’t nothin’ wasted.
None of de infants suffers fo’ de want of food, ’cause dey am fed twice a day in de nursery. Dat am de place whar de younguns am left by de mothers while dey am at wo’k. De infants gits plenty of food. ’Twas mostly milk wid co’nbread crumbled up in it, an’ potliquor [liquid from cooked greens] wid co’nbread fixed de same way. Den ’twas little honey an’ lots ’lasses on bread. ’Twas good rations ’cause all de kids am fat lak little pigs. Ise can shut my eyes now an’ see all dem younguns a-sattin’ ’round de big pans wid de wooden spoons, eatin’ potliquor an’ co’nbread.
De cullud fo’ks on de marster’s place had it hard. Dey have to wo’k early an’ late. Ever’body has de task laid out fo’ dem, an’ dat deys have to do if it tooks dem all day an’ night. Many’s de time de fo’ks have to wo’k all night. ’Twas de whuppin’s if dey fails.
De marster am a sweet, fine man. ’Twas his wife an’ de overseer dat am tough. Dat womens had no mercy. She am a devil. Gosh fo’ Mighty!, how Ise hates her. Youse see dem long ears Ise have? Well, dat’s f’om de pullin’ deys gits f’om her. Ise am wo’kin’ ’round de house, keepin’ flies off de fo’ks, gittin’ wautah [water] and sich [such]. Fo’ ever’thin’ she don’t lak [like], ’twas a ear-pullin’ Ise gits. ’Twas pull, pull, an’ some mo’ pull ever’time she comes neah me.
She gives de ordah to de overseer dat so much must be done. She says, “Ise want so-an’-so many pairs of shoes made by sich-an’-sich time.” It bettah be made if de wo’kers wants to keep f’om gittin’ whupped. Yas, sar, dey makes all de shoes right dere. ’Twas my pappy’s wo’k. Mammy wo’ked in de weavin’ room. Many nights, yous could heah de bump, bump of de loom w’en mammy am wo’kin’ to finish de task.
Sho’, ’twas a busy place. ’Twas lak a town wid de diffe’nt businesses. Thar am de blacksmith shop, shoe shop, carpenter shop, de milk house, de marster had ’bout 100 milk cows, de weavin’ room, de gin, an’ de feed mill. Did yous ever see a hoss-powah [horse-powered] machine? Well, ’tis fixed wid long sweeps, an’ dey goes ’round an’ ’round. Dat-a-way [In that way], de powah fo’ to run de gin an’ grind de grist am made.
De missy knows ever’thing dat am gwine [going] on. She have de spies ’mong de cullud fo’ks. She tries to git me to report to her, but she finds Ise not ’pendable fo’ sich, den stops. Once, she sends me to de sewin’ room to see if de womens am wo’kin’. Some of dem am, an’ some of dem ain’t. W’en Ise returns, Ise says, “Deys all wo’kin’.” Yous see, Ise raised by my mammy to tell nothin’ Ise sees. Dat means to mind my own business.
Now, ’bout de whuppin’s. Dey sometimes ties de nigger to a log an’ den lash wid de whup. If de lash cuts de skin, den salt am put in de cut. De marster says de salt am fo’ to p’otect de cut, but Ise see de squirmin’ dat it causes. If deys have human feelin’, ’twould be something else dat am use fo’ to p’otect de cuts.
If someone asks ’bout de good times weuns have, jus’ tell dem dat ’twarn’t much. Weuns not ’lowed to go to church. Once in awhile during’ de wintah, de marster would ’lows de party. Weuns had couple fiddles fo’ de music.
Do weuns have de weddin’s? White man, yous knows bettah dan dat. Dem times, de cullud fo’ks am jus’ put together. ’Twas as de marster says. Him says, “Jim an’ Nancy, yous go live together”, and w’en de ordah am given, it bettah be done lak given. Dey thinks nothin’ on de plantation ’bout de feelin’s of de womens. No, sar, thar warn’t no ’spect fo’ de womens. De overseer an’ tudder white mens tooks ’vantage of de womens lak dey wants to. De women bettah not make any fuss ’bout sich. If she does, ’twas a whuppin’ fo’ her. Ise sho’ thank de Lawd surrendah [with freedom at the end of the Civil War] comes befo’ Ise old ’nough to have to stand fo’ sich. Yas, sar, surrendah saves dis nigger f’om sich.
Ise don’t ’membahs much ’bout de wah days. De wautah on my brain hurts my ’membrance. Befo’ Ise have de wautah, Ise could ’membahs mo’. Ise ’membahs Earl an’ Jim, dat am de marster’s sons. Dey goes to wah, an’ never comes back ’cause both am killed.
Ise have de good ’collection w’en de wah am over, an’ de sojers [soldiers] comes home. ’Twas thousands passed weuns’s place. ’Twas as far as yous could see down de road. Dey am marchin’ home f’om de wah. Some of dem camps neah de marster’s place one night, an’ some gits sick. Marster brings two of dem to de house fo’ to doctah dem.
W’en weuns am put free [freed], de marster calls weuns to de quatahs. Ise never see so many cullud fo’ks in one crowd. De yard am full. Deys fixed a table. Marster stands on dat, an’ made a talk to weuns. He tells weuns dat weuns am free, an’ calls all de grown fo’ks, one by one, an’ gives dem de statement ’bout de age [tells them their ages] an’ sich. He tells dem dey could wo’k land on half [sharecrop], or wo’k fo’ wages if dey wants to stay. He ’vised dem to stay awhile so deys could git a foothold, an’ larn how to do.
Thar am lots dat stayed, an’ some dat goes ’way. My fo’ks stayed fo’ ’bout fouah yeahs [four years]. Father wo’ked land on shares ’til he gits a foothold, an’ den buys a piece of land ’bout five miles f’om thar.
De land father buys ain’t cleared, an’ ’twarn’t any buildin’s on it, so weuns all pitches in an’ fixed a cabin. Was weuns proud? Was weuns proud? Ise says weuns was w’en de cabin was done. Thar ’twas, our own home to do as weuns please after bein’ slaves. Dat am sho’ a good feelin’. After de cabin am built, weuns pitches in an’ clears de land. ’Twarn’t long ’til weuns am fixed to put in a crop. Weuns wo’ked lak beavers puttin’ de crop in, an’ ’tending to it. Weuns watched it grow lak ’twas a little chil’ ’cause it all b’longed to weuns. ’Twas ours.
Ise de youngest, ’bout 12 yeahs old den. Ise tooks care of de house while mammy wo’ks wid de udders doin’ de outside wo’k. My fo’ks stays thar ’til dey dies. Ise don’t know what comes of de place, ’cause Ise left after Ise mai’ied [married]. Ise mai’ied de next yeah after weuns moved.
Sho’, dat am right. Ise jus’ 13 yeahs old w’en Ise mai’ied de fust time. Ise mai’ied to Boss Powers. Weuns lives on rented land ’bout five miles f’om my fo’ks. Weuns lives together six yeahs, an’ had three chilluns befo’ he dies. ’Bout two yeahs later, Ise mai’ied Henry Ruffins. He died 26 yeahs ago. Ise have three chilluns by Ruffins. One am livin’ in California, an’ tudder two lives heah. Dey am de ones Ise lives wid now. Sho’, my name am Powers. Ise never tooks de name of Ruffins ’cause Ise dearly loved Powers. Co’se, Ise loved Ruffins, but Ise loved Powers so Ise can’t stand to give up de name. Powers made a will, an’ he has wrote on de paper “To my beloved wife, Ise gives all Ise have.” Warn’t dat sweet of him? Well, Ise loved him, oh, so much, Ise could not give up his name. Dat’s why Ise keeps it.
Ise come heah to Fort Worth to live after my second husband dies. Co’se, Ise wo’ked. Ise do housewo’k ’til few yeahs ago. Now, Ise gits $12.00 pension ever’ month. Dat helps me to git by, an’ Ise sho’ needs it. Wid dis brain wautah, Ise sho’ need it.
Now, ’bout de Klux [Ku Klux Klan], dem am devils. Ise don’t have any fuss wid dem myself, but Ise knows tudder fo’ks dat does. Weuns never sleeps in de house after de Klux gits so bad. [This occurs after freedom.] ’Twas so bad, all de cullud fo’ks ’round thar sleeps out in de woods, or in ditches an’ sich. Dey hides out ever’whar soon’s [as soon as] dark comes, ’cause de Klux always comes in de dark time. Dey whups de cullud fo’ks fo’ nothin’, jus’ fo’ de fun dey gits outer it. Dat’s de kind of fo’ks de Klux whar [were]. ’Twas fun fo’ dem to injure fo’ks. Dey burn some houses an’ destroyed property. Twice deys hung cullud fo’ks up by de thumbs. After awhile, de sojers [federal government soldiers] comes an’ puts a stop to it. Ise can’t think of anymo’ to tell. Dis wautah on my brain makes it hard fo’ me to think.
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Thousands of elderly former American slaves died while waiting for their true life stories to be told throughout the world.
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