Harriet Barrett
From:
Texas
HARRIET BARRETT, 86, was born in Walker Co., Texas, in 1851, a
slave of Steve Glass. She now lives in Palestine, Texas.
"Massa Steve Glass, he own my pappy and mammy and me, until the war
freed us. Pappy's borned in Africy and mammy in Virginy, and brung to
Texas 'fore de war, and I's borned in Texas in 1851. I's heered my
grandpa was wild and dey didn't know 'bout marryin' in Africy. My
brother name Steve Glass and I dunno iffen I had sisters or not.
"Dey put me to cookin' when I's a li'l kid and people says now dat Aunt
Harriet am de bes' cook in Madisonville. Massa have great big garden and
plenty to eat. I's cook big skillet plumb full corn at de time and us
all have plenty meat. Massa, he step out and kill big deer and put in de
great big pot and cook it. Then us have cornbread and syrup.
"Us have log quarters with stick posts for bed and deerskin stretch over
it. Den us pull moss and throw over dat. I have de good massa, bless he
soul. Missy, she plumb good. She sick all de time and dey never have
white chillen. Dey live in big, log house, four rooms in it and de great
hall both ways through it.
"Massa, he have big bunch slaves and work dem long as dey could see and
den lock 'em up in de quarters at night to keep 'em from runnin' off. De
patterrollers come and go through de quarters to see if all de niggers
dere. Dey walk right over us when us sleeps.
"Some slave run off, gwine to de north, and massa he cotch him and give
him thirty-nine licks with rawhide and lock dem up at night, too, and
keep chain on him in daytime.
"I have de good massa, bless he soul, and missy she plumb good. I'll
never forgit dem. Massa 'low us have holiday Saturday night and go to
nigger dance if it on 'nother plantation. Boy, oh boy, de tin pan
beatin' and de banjo pickin' and de dance all night long.
"When de war start, white missy die, and massa have de preacher. She was
white angel. Den massa marry Missy Alice Long and she de bad woman with
us niggers. She hard on us, not like old missy.
"I larned lots of remedies for sick people. Charcoal and onions and
honey for de li'l baby am good, and camphor for de chills and fever and
teeth cuttin'. I's boil red oak bark and make tea for fever and make
cactus weed root tea for fever and chills and colic. De best remedy for
chills and fever am to git rabbit foot tie on string 'round de neck.
"Massa, he carry me to war with him, 'cause I's de good cook. In dat New
Orleans battle he wounded and guns roarin' everywhere. Dey brung massa
in and I's jus' as white as he am den. Dem Yankees done shoot de roof
off de house. I nuss de sick and wounded clean through de war and seed
dem dyin' on every side of me.
"I's most scared to death when de war end. Us still in New Orleans and
all de shoutin' dat took place 'cause us free! Dey crowds on de streets
and was in a stir jus' as thick as flies on de dog. Massa say I's free
as him, but iffen I wants to cook for him and missy I gits $2.50 de
month, so I cooks for him till I marries Armstead Barrett, and then us
farm for de livin'. Us have big church weddin' and I has white loyal
dress and black brogan shoes. Us been married 51 years now.
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John Bates
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Armstead Barrett
