Bob Maynard
From:
Oklahoma
Oklahoma Writers' Project
Ex-Slaves
BOB MAYNARD, AGE 79
23 East Choctaw
Weleetka, Oklahoma.
I was born near what is now Marlin, Texas, Falls County. My father was
Robert Maynard and my mother was Chanie Maynard, both born slaves. Our
Master, Gerard Branum, was a very old man and wore long white
whiskers. He sho' was a fine built man, and walked straight and tall
like a young man.
I was too little to do much work so my job was to carry the key basket
for old Mistress. I sho' was proud of that job. The basket held the
keys to the pantry, the kitchen, the linen closet, and extra keys to
the rooms and smokehouse. When old Mistress started out on her rounds
every morning she'd call to me to get de basket and away we'd go. I'd
run errands for all the house help too, so I was kept purty busy.
The "big house" was a fine one. It was a big two-story white house
made of pine lumber. There was a big porch or veranda across the front
and wings on the east and west. The house faced south. There was big
round white posts that went clean up to the roof and there was a big
porch upstairs too. I believe the house was what you'd call colonial
style. There was twelve or fifteen rooms and a big wide stairway. It
was a purty place, with a yard and big trees and the house that set in
a walnut and pecan grove. They was graveled walks and driveways and
all along by the driveway was cedars. There was a hedge close to the
house and a flower garden with purty roses, holly hocks and a lot of
others I don't know the name of.
Back to the right of the house was the smokehouse, kept full of meat,
and further back was the big barns. Old Master kept a spanking pair of
carriage horses and several fine riding horses. He kept several pairs
of mules, too, to pull the plow. He had some ox teams too.
To the left and back of the "big house" was the quarters. He owned
about two thousand acres of land and three hundred slaves. He kept a
white overseer and the colored overlooker was my uncle. He sho' saw
that the gang worked. He saw to it that the cotton was took to the
gin. They used oxen to pull the wagons full of cotton. There was two
gins on the plantation. Had to have two for it was slow work to gin a
bale of cotton as it was run by horse power.
Old Master raised hundreds of hogs; he raised practically all the food
we et. He gave the food out to each family and they done their own
cooking except during harvest. The farm hands was fed at the "big
house." They was called in from the farm by a big bell.
Sunday was our only day for recreation. We went to church at our own
church, and we could sing and shout jest as loud as we pleased and it
didn't disturb nobody.
During the week after supper we would all set round the doors outside
and sing or play music. The only musical instruments we had was a jug
or big bottle, a skillet lid or frying pan that they'd hit with a
stick or a bone. We had a flute too, made out of reed cane and it'd
make good music. Sometimes we'd sing and dance so long and loud old
Master'd have to make us stop and go to bed.
The Patrollers, Ku Kluxers or night riders come by sometimes at night
to scare the niggers and make 'em behave. Sometimes the slaves would
run off and the Patroller would catch 'em and have 'em whipped. I've
seen that done lots of times. They was some wooden stocks (a sort of
trough) and they'd put the darky in this and strap him down, take off
his clothers and give him 25 to 50 licks, 'cording to what he had
done.
I reckon old Master had everything his heart could wish for at this
time. Old Mistress was a fine lady and she always went dressed up. She
wore long trains on her skirts and I'd walk behind her and hold her
train up when she made de rounds. She was awful good to me. I slept on
the floor in her little boy's room, and she give me apples and candy
just like she did him. Old Master gave ever chick and child good warm
clothes for winter. We had store boughten shoes but the women made our
clothes. For underwear we all wore 'lowers' but no shirts.
After the war started old Master took a lot of his slaves and went to
Natchez, Mississippi. He thought he'd have a better chance of keeping
us there I guess, and he was afraid we'd be greed [TR: freed?] and he
started running with us. I remember when General Grant blowed up
Vicksburg. I had a free born Uncle and Aunt who sometimes visited in
the North and they'd till us how easy it was up there and it sho' made
us all want to be free.
I think Abe Lincoln was next to de Lawd. He done all he could for de
slaves; he set 'em free. People in the South knowed they'd lose their
slaves when he was elected president. 'Fore the election he traveled
all over the South and he come to our house and slept in old Mistress'
bed. Didn't nobody know who he was. It was a custom to take strangers
in and put them up for one night or longer, so he come to our house
and he watched close. He seen how the niggers come in on Saturday and
drawed four pounds of meat and a peck of meal for a week's rations. He
also saw 'em whipped and sold. When he got back up north he writ old
Master a letter and told him he was going to have to free his slaves,
that everybody was going to have to, that the North was going to see
to it. He also told him that he had visited at his house and if he
doubted it to go in the room he slept in and look on the bedstead at
the head and he'd see where he'd writ his name. Sho' nuff, there was
his name: A. Lincoln.
Didn't none of us like Jeff Davis. We all liked Robert E. Lee, but we
was glad that Grant whipped him.
When the War was over, old Master called all the darkies in and lined
'em up in a row. He told 'em they was free to go and do as they
pleased. It was six months before any of us left him.
Darkies could vote in Mississippi. Fred Douglas, a colored man, came
to Natchez and made political speeches for General Grant.
After the war they was a big steam boat line on the Mississippi River
known as the Robert E. Lee Line. They sho' was fine boats too.
We used to have lots of Confederate money. Five cent pieces, two bit
pieces, half dollar bills and half dimes. During the war old Master
dug a long trench and buried all de silver ware, fine clothes, jewelry
and a lot of money. I guess he dug it up, but I don't remember.
Master died three years after the War. He took it purty good, losing
his niggers and all. Lots of men killed theirselves. Old Master was a
good old man.
I'm getting old, I reckon. I've been married twice and am the father
of 19 chillun. The oldest if 57 and my youngest is two boys, ten and
twelve. I has great grandchillun older than them two boys.
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