Green Cumby
From:
Texas
GREEN CUMBY, 86, was born a slave of the Robert H. Cumby family, in
Henderson, Texas. He was about 14 at the close of the Civil War. He
stayed with his old master four years after he was freed, then
married and settled in Tyler, Texas, where he worked for the
compress 30 years. He lives with his daughter at 749 Mesquite St.,
Abilene, Texas.
"Durin' slavery I had purty rough times. My grandfather, Tater Cumby,
was cullud overseer for forty slaves and he called us at four in de
mornin' and we worked from sun to sun. Most of de time we worked on
Sunday, too.
"De white overseers whupped us with straps when we didn't do right. I
seed niggers in chains lots of times, 'cause there wasn't no jails and
they jus' chained 'em to trees.
"Spec'lators on hosses drove big bunches of slaves past our place from
one place to another, to auction 'em at de market places. De women would
be carryin' l'il ones in dere arms and at night dey bed 'em down jus'
like cattle right on de ground 'side of de road. Lots of l'il chillun
was sold 'way from de mammy when dey seven or eight, or even smaller.
Dat's why us cullud folks don't know our kinfolks to dis day.
"De best times was when de corn shuckin' was at hand. Den you didn't
have to bother with no pass to leave de plantation, and de patter rolls
didn't bother you. If de patter rolls cotch you without de pass any
other time, you better wish you dead, 'cause you would have yourself
some trouble.
"But de corn shuckin', dat was de gran' times. All de marsters and dere
black boys from plantations from miles 'round would be dere. Den when we
got de corn pile high as dis house, de table was spread out under de
shade. All de boys dat 'long to old marster would take him on de
packsaddle 'round de house, den dey bring him to de table and sit by he
side; den all de boys dat 'long to Marster Bevan from another plantation
take him on de packsaddle 'round and 'round de house, allus singin' and
dancin', den dey puts him at de other side de table, and dey all do de
same till everybody at de table, den dey have de feast.
"To see de runaway slaves in de woods scared me to death. They'd try to
snatch you and hold you, so you couldn't go tell. Sometimes dey cotched
dem runaway niggers and dey be like wild animals and have to be tamed
over 'gain. Dere was a white man call Henderson had 60 bloodhounds and
rents 'em out to run slaves. I well rec'lect de hounds run through our
place one night, chasin' de slave what kilt his wife by runnin' de
harness needle through her heart. Dey cotch him and de patter rolls took
him to Henderson and hangs him.
"De patter rolls dey chases me plenty times, but I's lucky, 'cause dey
never cotched me. I slips off to see de gal on de nex' plantation and I
has no pass and they chases me and was I scairt! You should have seed me
run through dat bresh, 'cause I didn't dare go out on de road or de
path. It near tore de clothes off me, but I goes on and gits home and
slides under de house. But I'd go to see dat gal every time, patter
rolls or no patter rolls, and I gits trained so's I could run 'most as
fast as a rabbit.
"De white chillun larned us to read and write at night, but I never paid
much 'tention, but I kin read de testament now. Other times at night de
slaves gathers round de cabins in little bunches and talks till bedtime.
Sometimes we'd dance and someone would knock out time for us by snappin'
de fingers and slappin' de knee. We didn't have nothin' to make de music
on.
"We mos'ly lived on corn pone and salt bacon de marster give us. We
didn't have no gardens ourselves, 'cause we wouldn't have time to work
in dem. We worked all day in de fields and den was so tired we couldn't
do nothin' more.
"My mammy doctored us when we was feelin' bad and she'd take dog-fenley,
a yaller lookin' weed, and brew tea, and it driv de chills and de fever
out of us. Sometimes she put horse mint on de pallet with us to make us
sweat and driv de fever 'way. For breakfast she'd make us sass' fras
tea, to clear our blood.
"My marstar and his two step-sons goes to de war. De marster was a big
gen'ral on de southern side. I didn't know what dey fightin' 'bout for a
long time, den I heered it 'bout freedom and I felt like it be Heaven
here on earth to git freedom, 'spite de fac' I allus had de good
marster. He sho' was good to us, but you knows dat ain't de same as
bein' free.
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Tempie Cummins
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John Crawford
