Madison Bruin
From:
Texas
MADISON BRUIN, 92, spent his early days as a slave on the Curtis
farm in the blue grass region of Kentucky, where he had some
experience with some of the fine horses for which the state is
famous. Here, too, he had certain contacts with soldiers of John
Morgan, of Confederate fame. His eyes are keen and his voice mellow
and low. His years have not taken a heavy toll of his vitality.
"I's a old Kentucky man. I's born in Fayette County, 'bout five miles
from Lexington, right where dere lots of fine hosses. My old massa was
name Jack Curtis and de old missus was Miss Addie. My mother name Mary
and she die in 1863 and never did see freedom. I don't 'member my daddy
a-tall.
"De place was jis' a farm, 'cause dey didn't know nothin' 'bout
plantations up dere in Kentucky. Dey raise corn and wheat and garlic and
fast hosses. Dey used to have big hoss races and dey had big tracks and
I's stood in de middle of dat big track in Lexington and watch dem
ex'cise de hosses. Sometimes I got to help dem groom some dem grand
hosses and dat was de big day for me. I don't 'member dem hosses names,
no, suh, but I knowed one big bay hoss what won de race nearly every
time.
"I had two sisters name Jeanette and Fanny and a brother, Henry, and
after my daddy die, my mother marries a man name Paris and I had one
half-brother call Alfred Paris.
"Old massa was good to us and give us plenty food. He never beat us
hard. He had a son what jis' one month older'n me and we run 'round and
play lots. Old massa, he whip me and he own son jis' de same when we
bad. He didn't whip us no more'n he ought to, though. Dey was good
massas and some mean ones, and some worthless cullud folks, too.
"Durin' de war de cholera broke out 'mongst de people and everybody
scairt dey gwine cotch it. Dey say it start with de hurtin' in de
stomach and every time us hurt in de stomach, missus make us come quick
to de big house. Dat suit us jis' right and when dey sends Will and me
to hoe or do somethin' us didn't want to do, pretty soon I say, 'Willie,
I think my stomach 'ginnin to hurt. I think dis mis'ry a sign I gittin'
de cholera.' Den him say, 'Us better go to de big house like ma say,'
and with dat, us quit workin'. Us git out lots of work dat way, but us
ain't ever took de cholera yit.
"Durin' de war John Morgan's men come and took all de hosses. Dey left
two and Willie and me took dem to hide in de plum thicket, but us jis'
git out de gate when de sojers come 'gain and dey head us off and take
de last two hosses.
"My mother she wore de Yankee flag under her dress like a petticoat when
de 'federates come raidin'. Other times she wore it top de dress. When
dey hears de 'federates comin' de white folks makes us bury all de gold
and de silver spoons out in de garden. Old massa, he in de Yankee army,
'cause dey 'script him, but he sons, John and Joe, dey volunteers.
"Old massa he never sold none of he slaves. I used to hear him and
missus fussin' 'bout de niggers, 'cause some 'long to her and some to
him and dey have de time keepin' dem straighten' out.
Us boys have good time playin'. Us draw de line and some git on one side
and some de other. Den one sing out
"'Chickama, Chickama, craney crow,
Went to de well to wash my toe;
When I git back my chicken was gone,
What time, old witch?'
"Den somebody holler out, 'One o'clock' or 'Two o'clock' or any time,
and dem on one side try to cotch dem on de other side.
"When I's young I didn't mind plowin', but I didn't like to ride at
fust, but dey make me larn anyhow. Course, dat white boy and me, us like
most anything what not too much work. Us go down to de watermelon patch
and plug dem melons, den us run hide in de woods and eat watermelon.
Course, dey lots of time dey 'low us to play jis' by ourselves. Us play
one game where us choose sides and den sing:
"'Can, can, candio,
Old man Dandio,
How many men you got?
More'n you're able to cotch.'
"Endurin' de war us git whip many a time for playin' with shells what us
find in de woods. Us heered de cannons shootin' in Lexington and lots of
dem shells drap in de woods.
"What did I think when I seed all dem sojers? I wants to be one, too. I
didn't care what side, I jis' wants a gun and a hoss and be a sojer.
John Morgan, he used to own de hemp factory in Lexington. When young
massa jine Woolford's 11th Kentucky Cavalry, dey come to de place and
halt befo' de big house in de turnpike. Dey have shotguns and blind
bridles on dere hosses, not open bridle like on de race hosses. Dey jis'
in reg'lar clothes but next time dey come through dey in blue uniforms.
All my white folks come back from de war and didn't git kilt. Nobody
ever telt me I's free. I's happy dere and never left dem till 1872. All
de others gone befo' dat, but I gits all I wants and I didn't need no
money. I didn't know what paper money was and one time massa's son give
me a paper dime to git some squab and I didn't know what money was and I
burned it up.
"Dey's jis' one thing I like to do most and dat's eat. Dey allus had
plenty of everything and dey had a big, wooden tray, or trough and dey
put potlicker and cornbread in dat trough and set it under de big locust
tree and all us li'l niggers jis' set 'round and eat and eat. Jis' eat
all us wants. Den when us git full us fall over and go to sleep. Us jis'
git fat and lazy. When us see dat bowl comin', dat bowl call us jis'
like hawgs runnin' to de trough.
"Dey was great on gingerbread and us go for dat. Dey couldn't leave it
in de kitchen or de pantry so old missus git a big tin box and hide de
gingerbread under her bed and kept de switch on us to keep us 'way from
it. But sometime us sneak up in de bedroom and git some, even den.
"When I 'bout 17 I left Kentucky and goes to Indiana and white folks
sends me to school to larn readin' and writin', but I got tired of dat
and run off and jine de army. Dat in 1876 and dey sends me to Arizona.
After dat I's at Fort Sill in what used to be Indian Territory and den
at Fort Clark and Fort Davis, dat in Garfield's 'ministration, den in
Fort Quitman on de Rio Grande. I's in skirmishes with de Indians on
Devil's River and in de Brazos Canyon, and in de Rattlesnake Range and
in de Guadalupe Mountains. De troops was de Eighth Cavalry and de Tenth
Infantry. De white and de cullud folks was altogether and I have three
hosses in de cavalry. De fust one plays out, de next one shot down on
campaign and one was condemn. On dat campaign us have de White Mountain
'paches with us for scouts.
"When I git discharge' from de Army I come to Texas and work on de S.P.
Railroad and I been in Texas ever since, and when I's in Dallas I got
'flicted and got de pension 'cause I been in de army. I ain't done much
work in ten year.
"I gits married in San Antonio on December 14, 1882 and I marries Dolly
Gross and dat her right dere. Us have de nice weddin', plenty to eat and
drink. Us have only one chile, a gal, and she dead, but us 'dopt sev'ral
chillen.
"Us come to Beaumont in 1903 and I works 'round Spindletop and I works
for de gas people and de waterworks people. I's been a carpenter and
done lots of common work wherever I could find it.
"It's been long time since slavery and I's old, but me and my old lady's
in good health and us manage to git 'long fairly well. Dat's 'bout all I
can 'member 'bout de old times.
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Martha Spence Bunton
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Zek Brown
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