Gus Johnson
From:
Texas
GUS JOHNSON, 90 years or more, was born a slave of Mrs. Betty
Glover, in Marengo Co., Alabama. Most of his memories are of his
later boyhood in Sunnyside, Texas. He lives in an unkempt, little
lean-to house, in the north end of Beaumont, Texas. There is no
furniture but a broken-down bed and an equally dilapidated trunk
and stove. Gus spends most of his time in the yard, working in his
vegetable garden.
"Dey brung thirty-six of us here in a box car from Alabama. Yes, suh,
dat's where I come from--Marengo County, not so far from 'Mopolis. Us
belong to old missy Betty Glover and my daddy name August Glover and my
mammy Lucinda. Old missy, she sho' treat us good and I never git whip
for anything 'cept lyin'. Old missy, she do de whippin'.
"Old missy she sho' a good woman and all her white folks, dey used to go
to church at White Chapel at 'leven in de mornin'. Us cullud folks goes
in de evenin'. Us never do no work on Sunday, and on Saturday after
twelve o'clock us can go fishin' or huntin'.
"Dey give de rations on Saturday and dat's 'bout five pound salt bacon
and a peck of meal and some sorghum syrup. Dey make dat syrup on de
plantation. Dey's ten or twelve big clay kettles in a row, sot in de
furnace.
"We have lots to eat, and if de rations run short we goes huntin' or
fishin'. Some de old men kills rattlesnake and cook 'em like fish and
say dey fish. I eat dat many a time and never knowed it. 'Twas good,
too.
"Dey used to have a big house where dey kep' de chillen, 'cause de
wolves and panthers was bad. Some de mammies what suckle de chillen
takes care of all de chillen durin' de daytime and at night dey own
mammies come in from de field and take dem. Sometime old missy she help
nuss and all de li'l niggers well care for. When dey gits sick dey makes
de med'cine of herbs and well 'em dat way.
"When us left Alabama us come through Meridian to Houston and den to
Hockley and den to Sunnyside, 'bout 18 mile west of Houston. Dat a
country with lots of woods and us sot in to clean up de ground and clean
up 150 acres to farm on. Dere 'bout forty-seven hands and more
'cumulates. Dey go back to Meridian for more and brung 'em in a ox cart.
"My brother, Bonzane Johnson, was one dey brung on dat trip. I had
'nother brother, Keen, what die when he 102 year old. Us was all
long-life people, 'cause I have a gran' uncle what die when he 136 year
old. He and my grandma and grandpa come from South Carolina and dey was
all Africa people. I heered dem tell how dey brung from Africa in de
ship. My daddy he die at 99 and 'nother brother at 104.
"Us see lots of sojers when us come through from Meridian and dey de
cavalry. Dey come ridin' up with high hats like beavers on dey head and
us 'fraid of 'em, 'cause dey told us dey gwine take us to Cuba and sell
us dere.
"When us first git to Texas it was cold--not sort a cold, but I mean
cold. I shovel de snow many a day. Dey have de big, common house and de
white folks live upstairs and de niggers sleep on de first floor. Dat to
'tect de white folks at night, but us have our own houses for to live in
in de daytime, builded out of logs and daubed with mud and nail rive
out boards over dat mud. Dey make de chimney out of sticks and mud, too
but us have no windows, and in summer us kind of live out in de bresh
arbor, what was cool.
"Us have all kind of crops and more'n 100 acres in fruit, 'cause dey
brung all kind trees and seeds from Alabama. Dey was undergroun' springs
and de water was sho' good to drink, 'cause in Mobile de water wasn't
fitten to drink. It taste like it have de lump of salt melted in it. Us
keep de butter and milk in de spring house in dem days, 'cause us ain't
have no ice in dem time.
"Old massa, he name Adam and he brother name John, and dey was way up
yonder tall people. Old massa die soon and us have missy to say what we
do. All her overseers have to be good. She punish de slaves iffen day
bad, but not whip 'em. She have de jail builded undergroun' like de
stormcave and it have a drop door with de weight on it, so dey couldn't
git up from de bottom. It sho' was dark in dat place.
"In slavery time us better be in by eight o'clock, better be in dat
house, better stick to dat rule. I 'member after freedom, missy have de
big celebration on Juneteenth every year. [Handwritten Note: '?']
"When war come to Texas every plantation was conscrip' for de war and my
daddy was 'pinted to selec' de able body men offen us place for to be
sojers. My brother Keen was one of dem. He come back all right, though.
"When freedom come missy give all de men niggers $500 each, but dat
'federate money and have pictures of hosses on it. Dat de onlies' money
missy have den. Old missy Betty, she die in Sunnyside, Texas, when she
115 year old.
"When I's 18 year old I marry a gal by name Lucy Johnson. She dead now
long ago. I got five livin' chillen somewhere, but I done lost track of
'em. One of dem boys serve in de last war.
"I used to hear somethin' 'bout rabbit foot. De old folks used to say
dat iffen de rabbit have time to stop and lick he foot de dog can't
track him no more and I allus wears de rabbit foot for good luck. I
don't know if it brung me dat luck, though.
"I been here 36 year and I work mos' de time as house mover, what I work
at 26 year. I'll be honnes' with you, I don't know how old I is, but it
mus' be plenty, 'cause I 'members lots 'bout de war. I didn't see no
fightin' but I knowed what was goin' on den.
"I belong to de U. B. F. Lodge, what I pays into in case I gits sick.
But I never can git sick and I ain't have no ailment 'cept my feets jus'
swoll up, and I can't git nothin' for that.
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Harry Johnson
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Auntie Thomas Johns
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