Harriet Collins
From:
Texas
HARRIET COLLINS was born in Houston, Texas, in 1870. Her family had
been slaves of Richard Coke, and remained with him many years after
they were freed. Harriet recalls some incidents of Reconstruction
days, and believes in the superstitions handed down to her from
slave days.
"My birthday done come in January, on de tenth. I's birthed in Houston,
in 1870, and Gov. Richard Coke allus had owned my daddy and mammy, and
dey stayed with him after freedom. Mammy, what was Julia Collins, didn't
die till 1910, and she was most a hundred year old.
"She done told me many a time 'bout how folkses git all worked up over
Marse Coke's 'lection. Mammy took lunch to de Capitol House to Marse
Richard, and dere he am on de top floor with all he congressmen and dat
Davis man and he men on de bottom floor, tryin' to say Marse Richard
ain't got no right to be governor dis here State. Old Miss and de
folkses didn't sleep a wink dat night, 'cause dey thunk it sho' be a
fight. Dat in 1873, Mammy allus say.
"De old place at Houston was like most all old places. Dere was little,
small dormer windows, dey call 'em, in upstairs, and big porches
everywhere. Dere was 'hogany furniture and rosewood bedsteads, and big,
black walnut dressers with big mirrors and little ones down de side. Old
Miss allus have us keep de drapes white as drifted snow, and polish de
furniture till it shine. Dere was sofies with dem claw foots, and lots
of purty chiny and silver.
"On de farm out from town dere was de log house, with quarters and de
smokehouse and washhouse and big barns and carriage house. De quarters
was little, whitewashed, log houses, one for de family, and a fence of
de split palin's round most of dem.
"De white and cullud chillen played together, all over de place. Dey
went fishin' and rode de plough hosses and run de calves and colts and
sech devilment. De little white gals all had to wear sunbonnets, and Old
Miss, she sew dem bonnets on every day, so dey not git sunburnt. Us
niggers weared de long, duckin' shirts till us git 'bout growed, and den
us weared long, dark blue dresses. Dey had spinnin' and weavin' rooms,
where de cullud women makes de clothes.
"Old Miss, she sho' a powerful manager. She knowed jes' how much meal
and meat and sorghum it gwine take to run de plantation a year. She know
jes' how much thread it take for spinnin', and she bossed de settin'
hens and turkeys and fixin' of 'serves and soap. She was sho' good to
you iffen you work and do like she tell you. Many a night she go round
to see dat all was right. She a powerful good nuss, too, and so was
mammy.
"De white folks had good times. Dey'd go hossback ridin' and on picnics,
and fishin' and have big dinners and balls. Come Christmas, dey have us
slaves cut a big lot of wood and keep fires all night for a week or two.
De house be lit with candles from top to toe, and lots of company come.
For dinner us have turkey and beef roast and a big 'ginny ham and big
bowls of eggnog and a pitcher of apple cider and apple toddy. All us git
somethin' on Christmas and plenty eggnog, but no gittin' drunk.
"I can jes' see Marse Dick, tall and kinder stooped like, with de big
flop hat and longtail coat and allus carryin' a big, old walkin' stick.
He was sho' a brave man and de big men say dey likes dat flop hat,
'cause dey done follow it on de battlefield. He had a big voice and dey
do tell how, in de war, he'd holler, 'Come on, boys,' and de bullets be
like hail and men fallin' all round, but dat don't stop Marse Dick. He'd
take off dat flop hat and plunge right on and dey'd foller he bald head
where de fight was hottes'. He was sho' a man!
"When I gits married it was eight folkses dere, I jus' walks off and
goes to housekeepin'. I had a calico dress and a Baptist preacher
marries us.
"Dere been some queer things white folks can't understand. Dere am
folkses can see de spirits, but I can't. My mammy larned me a lots of
doctorin', what she larnt from old folkses from Africy, and some de
Indians larnt her. If you has rheumatism, jes' take white sassafras root
and bile it and drink de tea. You makes lin'ment by bilin' mullein
flowers and poke roots and alum and salt. Put red pepper in you shoes
and keep de chills off, or string briars round de neck. Make red or
black snakeroot tea to cure fever and malaria, but git de roots in de
spring when de sap am high.
"When chillen teethin' put rattlesnake rattles round de neck, and
alligator teeth am good, too. Show de new moon money and you'll have
money all month. Throw her five kisses and show her money and make five
wishes and you'll git dem. Eat black-eyed peas on New Year and have luck
all dat year:
"'Dose black-eyed peas is lucky,
When et on New Year's Day;
You'll allus have sweet 'taters
And possum come you way.'
"When anybody git cut I allus burns woolen rags and smokes de wound or
burns a piece fat pine and drops tar from it on scorched wool and bind
it on de wound. For headache put a horseradish poultice on de head, or
wear a nutmeg on a string round you neck.
If you kills de first snake you sees in spring, you enemies ain't gwine
git de best of you dat year. For a sprain, git a dirt dauber's nest and
put de clay with vinegar and bind round de sprain. De dime on de string
round my ankle keeps cramps out my leg, and tea from red coon-root good,
too. All dese doctorin' things come clear from Africy, and dey allus
worked for mammy and for me, too.
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Andrew Columbus
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Preely Coleman
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