Sarah Ford
From:
Texas
SARAH FORD, whose age is problematical, but who says, "I's been
here for a long time," lives in a small cottage at 3151 Clay St.,
Houston, Texas. Born on the Kit Patton plantation near West
Columbia, Texas, Aunt Sarah was probably about fifteen years old
when emancipated. She had eleven children, the first born during
the storm of 1875, at East Columbia, in which Sarah's mother and
father both perished.
"Law me, you wants me to talk 'bout slave times, and you is cotched me
'fore I's had my coffee dis mornin', but when you gits old as I is, talk
is 'bout all you can do, so 'scuse me whilst I puts de coffee pot on de
fire and tell you what I can.
"Now, what I tells you is de truth, 'cause I only told one little lie in
my whole life and I got cotched in it and got whipped both ways. Oh,
Lawd, I sho' never won't forget dat, mama sho' was mad. Mama sends me
over to Sally Ann, the cow woman, to get some milk and onions. I never
did like to borrow, so I comes back with the milk and tell mama Sally
Ann say she ain't got no onions for no Africans. Dat make mamma mad and
she goes tell dat Sally Ann Somethin'. She brung back de onions and say,
'You, Sarah, I'll larn you not to tell no lie.' She sho' give me a
hidin'.
"Now, I tells you 'bout de plantation what I's born on. You all knows
where West Columbia is at? Well, dat's right where I's born, on Massa
Kit Patton's Plantation, dey calls it de Hogg place now." (Owned by
children of Gov. Will Hogg.)
"Mamma and papa belongs to Massa Kit and mama born there, too. Folks
called her 'Little Jane,' 'cause she's no bigger'n nothing.
"Papa's name was Mike and he's a tanner and he come from Tennessee and
sold to Massa Kit by a nigger trader. He wasn't all black, he was part
Indian. I heared him say what tribe, but I can't 'lect now. When I's
growed mama tells me lots of things. She say de white folks don't let de
slaves what works in de field marry none, dey jus' puts a man and
breedin' woman together like mules. Iffen the women don't like the man
it don't make no diff'rence, she better go or dey gives her a hidin'.
"Massa Kit has two brothers, Massa Charles and Massa Matt, what lives at
West Columbia. Massa Kit on one side Varney's Creek and Massa Charles on
de other side. Massa Kit have a African woman from Kentucky for he wife,
and dat's de truth. I ain't sayin' iffen she a real wife or not, but all
de slaves has to call her 'Miss Rachel.' But iffen a bird fly up in de
sky it mus' come down sometime, and Rachel jus' like dat bird, 'cause
Massa Kit go crazy and die and Massa Charles take over de plantation and
he takes Rachel and puts her to work in de field. But she don't stay in
de field long, 'cause Massa Charles puts her in a house by herself and
she don't work no more.
"If us gits sick us call Mammy Judy. She de cook and iffen you puts a
sugar barrel 'long side her and puts a face on dat barrel, you sho'
can't tell it from her, she so round and fat. Iffen us git real sick dey
calls de doctor, but iffen it a misery in de stomach or jus' de flux,
Mammy Judy fix up some burr vine tea or horsemint tea. Dey de male burr
vine and de female burr vine and does a woman or gal git de misery, dey
gives 'em de female tea, and does a man, or boy chile git it, dey gives
him de male vine tea.
"Scuse me while I pours me some coffee. It sho' do fortify me. You know
what us drink for coffee in slave times? Parched meal, and it purty good
iffen you know's how.
"Us don't have much singin' on our place, 'cepting at church on Sunday.
Law me, de folks what works in de fields feels more like cryin' at
night. Us chillen used to sing dis:
"'Where you goin', buzzard,
Where you gwine to go?
I's goin' down to new ground,
For to hunt Jim Crow.'
"I guess Massa Charles, what taken us when Massa Kit die, was 'bout de
same as all white folks what owned slaves, some good and some bad. We
has plenty to eat--more'n I has now--and plenty clothes and shoes. But
de overseer was Uncle Big Jake, what's black like de rest of us, but he
so mean I 'spect de devil done make him overseer down below long time
ago. Dat de bad part of Massa Charles, 'cause he lets Uncle Jake whip de
slaves so much dat some like my papa what had spirit was all de time
runnin' 'way. And even does your stomach be full, and does you have
plenty clothes, dat bullwhip on your bare hide make you forgit de good
part, and dat's de truth.
"Uncle Big Jake sho' work de slaves from early mornin' till night. When
you is in de field you better not lag none. When its fallin' weather de
hands is put to work fixin' dis and dat. De woman what has li'l chillen
don't have to work so hard. Dey works 'round de sugar house and come 11
o'clock dey quits and cares for de babies till 1 o'clock, and den works
till 3 o'clock and quits.
"Massa Charles have a arbor and dat's where we has preachin'. One day
old Uncle Law preachin' and he say, 'De Lawd make everyone to come in
unity and on de level, both white and black.' When Massa Charles hears
'bout it, he don't like it none, and de next mornin' old Uncle Jake git
Uncle Law and put him out in de field with de rest.
"Massa Charles run dat plantation jus' like a factory. Uncle Cip was
sugar man, my papa tanner and Uncle John Austin, what have a wooden leg,
am shoemaker and make de shoes with de brass toes. Law me, dey heaps of
things go on in slave time what won't go on no more, 'cause de bright
light come and it ain't dark no more for us black folks. Iffen a nigger
run away and dey cotch him, or does he come back 'cause he hongry, I
seed Uncle Jake stretch him out on de ground and tie he hands and feet
to posts so he can't move none. Den he git de piece of iron what he call
de 'slut' and what is like a block of wood with little holes in it, and
fill de holes up with tallow and put dat iron in de fire till de grease
sizzlin' hot and hold it over de pore nigger's back and let dat hot
grease drap on he hide. Den he take de bullwhip and whip up and down,
and after all dat throw de pore nigger in de stockhouse and chain him up
a couple days with nothin' to eat. My papa carry de grease scars on he
back till he die.
"Massa Charles and Uncle Jake don't like papa, 'cause he ain't so black,
and he had spirit, 'cause he part Indian. Do somethin' go wrong and
Uncle Big Jake say he gwine to give papa de whippin', he runs off. One
time he gone a whole year and he sho' look like a monkey when he gits
back, with de hair standin' straight on he head and he face. Papa was
mighty good to mama and me and dat de only reason he ever come back
from runnin' 'way, to see us. He knowed he'd git a whippin' but he come
anyway. Dey never could cotch papa when he run 'way, 'cause he part
Indian. Massa Charles even gits old Nigger Kelly what lives over to
Sandy Point to track papa with he dogs, but papa wade in water and dey
can't track him.
"Dey knows papa is de best tanner 'round dat part de country, so dey
doesn't sell him off de place. I 'lect papa sayin' dere one place
special where he hide, some German folks, de name Ebbling, I think.
While he hides dere, he tans hides on de sly like and dey feeds him, and
lots of mornin's when us open de cabin door on a shelf jus' 'bove is
food for mama and me, and sometime store clothes. No one ain't see papa,
but dere it is. One time he brung us dresses, and Uncle Big Jake heered
'bout it and he sho' mad 'cause he can't cotch papa, and he say to mama
he gwine to whip her 'less she tell him where papa is. Mama say, 'Fore
God, Uncle Jake, I don't know, 'cause I ain't seed him since he run
'way,' and jus' den papa come 'round de corner of de house. He save mama
from de whippin' but papa got de hot grease drapped on him like I told
you Uncle Big Jake did, and got put in de stockhouse with shackles on
him, and kep' dere three days, and while he in dere mama has de goin'
down pains and my sister, Rachel, is born.
"When freedom come, I didn't know what dat was. I 'lect Uncle Charley
Burns what drive de buggy for Massa Charles, come runnin' out in de yard
and holler, 'Everybody free, everybody free,' and purty soon sojers
comes and de captain reads a 'mation. And, Law me, dat one time Massa
Charley can't open he mouth, 'cause de captain tell him to shut up, dat
he'd do de talkin'. Den de captain say, 'I come to tell you de slaves is
free and you don't have to call nobody master no more.' Well, us jus'
mill 'round like cattle do. Massa Charley say iffen us wants to stay
he'll pay us, all 'cepting my papa. He say, 'You can't stay here, 'cause
you is a bad 'fluence.'
"Papa left but come back with a wagon and mules what he borrows and
loads mama and my sister and me in and us go to East Columbia on de
Brazos river and settles down. Dey hires me out and us have our own
patch, too, and dat de fust time I ever seed any money. Papa builds a
cabin and a corn crib and us sho' happy, 'cause de bright light done
come and dey no more whippin's.
"One night us jus' finish eatin supper and someone holler 'Hello.' You
know who it was holler? Old Uncle Big Jake. De black folks all hated him
so dey wouldn't have no truck with him and he ask my papa could he stay.
Papa didn't like him none, 'cause he done treat papa so bad, but de old
devil jus' beg so hard papa takes him out to de corn crib and fix a
place for him and he stay most a month till he taken sick and died.
"I stays with papa and mama till I marries Wes Ford and I shows you how
de Lawd done give and take away. Wes and I has a cabin by ourselves near
papa's and I is jus' 'bout to have my first baby. De wind start blowin'
and it git harder and harder and right when its de worst de baby comes.
Dat in '75 and whilst I havin' my baby, de wind tear de cabin where mama
and papa is to pieces and kilt 'em. My sister Rachel was with me so she
wasn't kilt.
"Well, I can't complain, 'cause de Lawd sho' been good to me. Wes and
all 'cept four my chillen is dead now. I has six boys and five gals. But
de ones what is alive is pore like dey mammy. But I praises de Lawd
'cause de bright light am turned on.
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Millie Forward
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John Finnely
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