Rosanna Frazier
From:
Texas
ROSANNA FRAZIER was born a slave on the Frazier plantation in
Mississippi. She does not remember her masters given name, nor does
she know her age, although from her memories of various events
during the Civil War, she believes she is close to ninety, at
least. Rosanna is blind and bedridden, and is cared for by friends
in a little house in Pear Orchard Negro Settlement, in Beaumont,
Texas.
"My mammy was a freeborn woman named Viny Frazier and she come from a
free country. She was on her way to school when dey stoled her, when she
de young gal. De spec'lator gang stoled her and brung her and sold her
in Red River, in Mississippi. Missy Mary, she buy her. Missy Mary
married den to one man named Pool and she have two boys call Josh and
Bill. After dat man die, she marry Marse Frazier.
"My daddy name Jerry Durden and after I's born they brings us all to
Texas, but my daddy belong to de Neylands, so we loses him. My white
folks moves to a big plantation close to Woodville, in Tyler County, and
Marse Frazier have de store and plenty of stock. He come first from
Georgia.
"All us little chillen, black and white, play togedder and Marse
Frazier, he raise us. His chillen call Sis and Texana and Robert and
John. Marse Frazier he treat us nice and de other white folks calls us
'free niggers', and wouldn't 'low us on dere places. Dey 'fraid dere
niggers git dissatisfy with dey own treatment. Sho's you born, iffen one
of us git round dem plantations, dey jus' cut us to pieces with de whip.
Some of dem white folks sho' was mean, and dey work de niggers all day
in de sun and cut dem with de whip, and sho' done 'em up bad. Dat on
other places, not on ours.
"Marse Frazier, he didn't work us too hard and give Saturday and Sunday
off. He's all right and give good food. People sho' would rare off from
him, 'cause he too good. He was de Methodist preacher and furnish us
church. Sometimes he has camp meeting and dey cook out doors with de
skillicks. Sometimes he has corn shucking time and we has hawg meat and
meal bread and whiskey and eggnog and chicken.
"De books he brung us didn't do us no good, 'cause us wouldn't larn
nothin'. Us too busy playin' and huntin' good berries in de wood, de
huckleberry and grape and muscadine and chinquapins. All dis time de war
was fixin' and I seed two, three soldiers round spyin'. When peace
'clared missy's two boys come back from de war. We stays with Marse
Frazier two year and den I goes and gits married to de man call Baker.
"I done been blind like dis over 40 year. One Sunday I stay all night
with a man and he wife and I was workin' as woodchopper on de Santa Fe
route up Beaumont to Tyler County. After us git up and I starts 'way, I
ain't gone but 15, 16 yard when I hear somethin' say, 'Rose, you done
somethin' you ain't ought.' I say, 'No, Lawd, no.' Den de voice say,
'Somethin' gwine happen to you,' and de next mornin' I's blind as de bat
and I ain't never seed since.
"Some try tell me snow or sweat or smoke de reason. Dat ain't de reason.
Dey a old, old, slowfooted somethin' from Louisiana and dey say he de
conjure man, one dem old hoodoo niggers. He git mad at me de last
plum-ripenin' time and he make up powdered rattlesnake dust and pass dat
through my hair and I sho' ain't seed no more.
"Dat not de onliest thing dem old conjure men do. Dey powder up de
rattle offen de snake and tie it up in de little old rag bag and dey do
devilment with it. Day git old scorpion and make bad medicine. Dey git
dirt out de graveyard and dat dirt, after dey speak on it, would make
you go crazy.
"When dey wants conjure you, dey sneak round and git de hair combin' or
de finger or toenail, or anything natural 'bout your body, and works de
hoodoo on it.
"Dey make de straw man or de clay man and dey puts de pin in he leg and
you leg gwineter git hurt or sore jus' where dey puts de pin. Iffen dey
puts de pin through de heart you gwineter die and ain't nothin' kin save
you.
"Dey make de charm to wear round de neck or de ankle and dey make de
love powder, too, out de love vine, what grow in de woods. Dey biles de
leaves and powders 'em. Dey sho' works, I done try 'em.
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Priscilla Gibson
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Orelia Alexie Franks
