Eliza Holman
From:
Texas
ELIZA HOLMAN, 82, was born a slave of the Rev. John Applewhite,
near Clinton, Mississippi. In 1861 they came to Texas, settling
near Decatur. Eliza now lives at 2507 Clinton Ave., Fort Worth,
Texas.
"Talk 'bout de past from de time I 'members till now, slave days and
all? Dat not so hard. I knows what de past am, but what to come, dat am
different. Dey says, 'Let de past be de guide for de future,' but if you
don't know de future road, hows you gwine guide? I's sho' glad to tell
you all I 'members, but dat am a long 'memberance.
"I know I's past 80, for sho', and maybe more, 'cause I's old 'nough to
'member befo' de war starts. I 'members when de massa move to Texas by
de ox team and dat am some trip! Dey loads de wagon till dere ain't no
more room and den sticks we'uns in, and we walks some of de time, too.
"My massa am a preacherman and have jus' three slaves, me and pappy and
mammy. She am cook and housekeeper and I helps her. Pappy am de field
hand and de coachman and everything else what am needed. We have a nice,
two-room log house to live in and it am better den what mos' slaves
have, with de wood floor and real windows with glass in dem.
"Massa am good but he am strict. He don't have to say much when he wants
you to do somethin'. Dere am no honey words round de house from him, but
when him am preachin' in de church, him am different. He am honey man
den. Massa could tell de right way in de church but it am hard for him
to act it at home. He makes us go to church every Sunday.
"But I's tellin' you how we'uns come to Texas. De meals am cook by de
campfire and after breakfast we starts and it am bump, bump, bump all
day long. It am rocks and holes and mudholes, and it am streams and
rivers to cross. We'uns cross one river, musta been de Mississippi, and
drives on a big bridge and dey floats dat bridge right 'cross dat river.
"Massa and missus argues all de way to Texas. She am skeert mos' de time
and he allus say de Lawd take care of us. He say, 'De Lawd am a-guidin'
us.' She say, 'It am fools guidin' and a fool move for to start.' Dat de
way dey talks all de way. And when we gits in de mudhole 'twas a
argument 'gain. She say, 'Dis am some more of your Lawd's calls.' He
say, 'Hush, hush, woman. Yous gittin' sac'ligious.' So we has to walk
two mile for a man to git his yoke of oxen to pull us out dat mudhole,
and when we out, massa say, 'Thank de Lawd.' And missus say, 'Thank de
mens and de oxen.'
"Den one day we'uns camps under a big tree and when we'uns woke in de
mornin' dere am worms and worms and worms. Millions of dem come off dat
tree. Man, man, dat am a mess. Massa say dey army worms and missus say,
'Why for dey not in de army den?'
"After we been in Texas 'bout a year, missy Mary gits married to John
Olham. Missy Mary am massa's daughter. After dat I lives with her and
Massa John and den hell start poppin' for dis nigger. Missy Mary am good
but Massa John am de devil. Dat man sho' am cruel, he works me to death
and whups me for de leas' thing. My pappy say to me, 'You should 'come a
runaway nigger.' He runs 'way hisself and dat de las' time we hears of
him.
"When surrender come I has to stay on with Massa Olham, 'cause I has no
place to go and I's too young to know how to do for myself. I stays
'bout till I's 16 year old and den I hunts some place to work and gits
it in Jacksboro and stays dere sev'ral years. I quits when I gits
married and dat 'bout nine year after de war end.
"I marries Dick Hines at Silver Creek and he am a farmer and a contrary
man. He worked jus' as hard at his contrariness as him did at his
farmin'. Mercy, how distressin' and worryment am life with dat nigger! I
couldn't stand it no longer dan five year till I tooks my getaway. De
nex' year I marries Sam Walker what worked for cattlement here in Fort
Worth and he died 'bout 20 year ago. Den 'twas 'bout 13 year ago I
marries Jack Holman and he died in 1930. I's sho' try dis marrin'
business but I ain't gwine try it no more, no, suh.
"'Twixt all dem husbands and workin' for de white folks I gits 'long,
but I's old and de last few years I can't work. Dey pays me $12.00 de
month from de State and dat's what I lives on. Shucks, I's not worth
nothin' no more. I jus' sets and sets and thinks of de old days and my
mammy. All dat make me sad. I'll tell you one dem songs what 'spresses
my feelin's 'zactly.
"I's am climbin' Jacob's ladder, ladder,
I's am climbin' Jacob's ladder, ladder,
Soldier of de cross; O-h-h-h! Rise and shine,
Give Gawd de glory, glory, glory,
In de year of Jubilee.
I wants to climb up Jacob's ladder, ladder,
Jacob's ladder, till I gits in de new Jerusalem.
"Dat jus' how I feels."
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Larnce Holt
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Tom Holland
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