Henry Lewis
Coming slowly out of the house, Henry Lewis took a seat on the
front porch. His garb was a blue shirt and tan trousers, supported
by suspenders. His feet were encased in good shoes. His rather
small head was thinly covered with iron gray hair, while a like
mustache and beard were on his face. A soiled felt hat was beside
him. His voice was low and somewhat indistinct and at times it
was perhaps something of a strain on his vocal chords and memory
to narrate the story of his long and active life.
State: Texas Interviewee: Lewis,
Henry
"Old Bob Cada, he my massa, and Annie Cade, she my missus.
Dey had a big plantation over in Louisiana and 'nother in Jefferson
County, out at Pine Island. I's born a hunnerd and one year ago,
on Christmas Day, out at Pine Island. If I lives to see next Christmas
day 'gain, I'll be a hunerd two year old.
State: Texas Interviewee: Lewis, Henry
"My mammy she come from Mis'sippi and she name' Judy Lewis.
Washington Lewis, one de slaves on Massa Bob's Louisiana plantation,
he my daddy. I can't 'member nobody else 'cept my greatgramma,
Patsy. She's 130 when she die. She look awful, but den she my
folks. My own dear mammy was 112 year old when she die. She have
ten chillen and de bigges' portion dem born in slavery time. Dey
two sister older'n me, Mandy and Louise. I name' after my daddy
brudder, Henry Lewis.
State: Texas Interviewee: Lewis, Henry
"My white folks have a plantation in Louisiana. at Caginly,
and stay over dere mos' de time. I 'member when old Mass Bob used
to come to Pine Island to stay a month or two, all us li'l chillen
gather round him and he used to throw out two bitses and big one
cent pieces 'mongst us, jis' to see us scrammel for dam. When
Christmas time come round dey give us Christmas gift and a whole
week for holiday.
State: Texas Interviewee: Lewis, Henry
"I never been no nearer east dan Lake Charles and dat been
lately, so
State: Texas Interviewee: Lewis, Henry
I ain't never see de old plantation. At Pine Island us have de
big woods place with a hunerd workin' hands, without de underlin's
(children). All he niggers say Cade de good man. He hire he overseers
and say. 'You can correct dem for day own good and make dem work
right, but you ain't better cut dey hide or draw no blood.' He
git a-holt some mean overseers but dey don't tarry long. He find
out dey beatin' he niggers and den he beat dem and say, 'How dat
suit you?'
State: Texas Interviewee: Lewis, Henry
"Old massa he a big, stocky Irishman with sandy hair and
he ain't had no beard or mustache. When he grow old he have de
gout and he put de long mattress out on de gallery and lay down
on it. He say, 'Come here, my li'l niggers,' and don he make us
rub he foots so he kin git to sleep.
State: Texas Interviewee: Lewis, Henry
"Dey used to have old slavery-day jedge and jury of white
folks and dey hear de case and 'cide how many lashes to give de
darky. Dey put de lash on dem, but dey never put no jail on dem.
I seed some slaves in chains and I heared of one massa what had
de place in de fence with de hole cut out for de nigger's neck.
Dey hist up de board and de nigger put he head through de hole
and den dey beat him with a lash with holes bored in it and every
hole raise de blister. Den he bus' dem blisters with de handsaw
and dey put salt and pepper in de bucket water and 'noint dem
blisters with de mop dip in de water. Dey do dat when dey in 'ticular
bad humor, iffen de nigger ain't chop 'nough cotton or corn. Sometime
a overseer kilt a nigger, and dey don't do nothin' to him 'cept
make him pay for de nigger. But our massa good.
State: Texas Interviewee: Lewis, Henry
"Old massa 'low us praise Gawd but lots of massas didn't
'low dem to git on de knees. Us have church-house and de white
folks go in de mornin' and us go after dinner. Us used to sing!
State: Texas Interviewee: Lewis, Henry
"'My knee bones achin', My body's rackin' with pain, I calls
myself de chile of Gawd, Heaven am my sin.
State: Texas Interviewee: Lewis, Henry
"'If you don't 'lieve I's a chile of Gawd, Jis' meet me on
dat other shore, Heaven is my home. I calls myself a chile of
Gawd, I's a long time on my way, But Heaven am my home.'
State: Texas Interviewee: Lewis, Henry
"Old massa have de house make our hand-sawed planks in slavery
time. It put together with homemade nails, dem spike, square nails
dey make deyselfs. It have de long gallery on it. De slaves have
li'l log cabin house with mud-cat chimney on de side and de furn'ture
mostly Georgia hosses for beds and mattress make out tow sacks,
Dey no floor in dem house, 'cept what Gawd put in dem.
State: Texas Interviewee: Lewis, Henry
"When I six or seven year old dey 'cides I's big 'nough to
start ridin' hosses. Dey have de big cattle ranch and I ride all
over dis territory. I's too li'l to git on de hoss and dey lift
me up, and dey have de real saddle for me, too. I couldn't git
up, but I sho' could stay up when I git dere. I's jis' like a
hoss-fly.
State: Texas Interviewee: Lewis, Henry
"Beaumont was jis' a briarpatch in dem time. Jis' one li'l
store and one blacksmith shop, and Massa John Herring he own dat.
Dat de way I first see my wife, ridin' de range. De Cade brand
was a lazy BC ( ) dat done register 'fore I's born. Us brand from
de first of March to de 15th of December.
State: Texas Interviewee: Lewis, Henry
"Old massa have de big field 'vided in trac's and each slave
could have a part and raise what he want, and old massa buy de
crop from de slave. He's purty good to he slaves, and us have
good clothes, too, wool for winter and cotton for summer. Us have
six suit de year, unnerwear and all, Dey a trunk like in de cabin
for Sunday clothes and de res' hang on a peg.
State: Texas Interviewee: Lewis, Henry
"Us have plenty good food to eat, too. Beef and hawgs and
bacon and syrup and sugar and flour was plenty. All de possums
and rabbits and fish and sich was jis' dat much more. He give
us de barrel whiskey every year, too.
State: Texas Interviewee: Lewis, Henry
"Dey 'low de li'l chillen lots of playtime and no hard task.
Us play stick hoss and seven-up marble game with marbles us make
and de 'well game.' De gal or boy sot in de chair and lean way
back and 'tend like dey in de well. Dey say day so many feet down
and say, 'Who you want pull you out?' And do one you want pull
you out, dey sposed to kiss you.
State: Texas Interviewee: Lewis, Henry
"Dey used to be nigger traders what come through de country
with de hard of niggers, jis' like cattlemen with de herd of cattle.
Dey fix camp and de pen on de ridge of town and people what want
to buy more slaves go dere. Dey have a block and make de slaves
git up on dat. Maybe one man say, 'I give you, $200.00, and when
dey's through de slave sold to de highes' bidder. Old massa warn
us look out and not let de trader cotch us. 'cause a trader jis'
soon steal a nigger and sell him.
State: Texas Interviewee: Lewis, Henry
"De patterrollers come round befo' de war to see iffen de
massas treat dere slaves good. My wife's gramma say dey come round
to her massa's place, but befo' dey git dere he take a meat skin
and make dem rub it round dey mouth and git dey face all greasy
so it look like dey have plenty to eat and he tell dem day better
tell de patterrollers dey gittin' plenty to eat. But dere one
big nigger and he say, 'Hell, no, he ain't give us 'nough to eat.'
Den dat nigger say, 'Please take me with you. 'cause if you don't
massa gwineter kill me when you git gone.
State: Texas Interviewee: Lewis, Henry
"Old massa he die befo' de war and den he son, John Cade,
take over de place, and he brudders help. Dey name' Overton and
Taylor and Bob. Junior. Us all want to git free and talk 'bout
it in de quarters 'mongst ourselfs, but we ain't say nothin' where
de white folks heared us.
State: Texas Interviewee: Lewis, Henry
"When war come on I seed sojers every day. Dey have de camp
in Liberty and I watches dem. I heared de guns, too, maybe at
Sabine Pass, but I didn't see no actual fightin'. Dat a long year
to wait, de las' year de war. Dey sent de papers down on March
5th, I done heared, but day didn't turn us loose den. Dis de last
state to turn de slaves free. When dey didn't let dem go in March,
de Yankee sojers come in June and make dem let us go. Next mornin'
after de sojer a come, de overseer reads de papers out and say
we's free as he is and we can go. Some stay on de old place a
long time and some go off. You know dey jis' slaves and wasn't
civilize'. Some ain't never git civilize' jet. Old massa never
give us nothin', but he told us we would stay on iffen we want,
but I left.
State: Texas Interviewee: Lewis, Henry
"I goes down close to Anahuac and builds a li'l log cabin
at Monroe City. and dat's where dey puttin' in oil wells now.
Washington Lewis, dat my daddy, he have 129 acres dere. De white
folks say to sign de paper to let dem put de well on it and dey
give us $50.00 and us sign dat paper and dey have de land.
State: Texas Interviewee: Lewis, Henry
"I marries in slavery time, when I's 'bout 22 year old. My
first wife name' Rachel an she live on Double Bayou. She belong
to de Mayes place. I see her when I ridin' de range for Massa
Bob. I tells massa I wants to git marry and he makes me ask Massa
Mayes and us have de big weddin'. She dress all in white. I have
de nice hat and suit of black clothes and daddy a shoemaker and
make me de good pair of shoes to git marry in. Us stand front
Massa Mayes and he read out de Bible. Us had a real big supper
and some de white folks give us money.
State: Texas Interviewee: Lewis, Henry
"De first money I makes am workin' for de gov'ment in Galveston.
After le war de gov'ment hire folks to clean up de trash what
de fightin' make and
State: Texas Interviewee: Lewis, Henry
I am hired. Dey lots of wood and stones and brick and trees and
sich dem big guns knock down.
State: Texas Interviewee: Lewis, Henry
"I goes back to ridin' de prairie and rides till I's 94 year
old. I stops de same year Mr. Joe Hebert dies. When I quits I's
out workin', tendin' Mr. Langham's chickens and I forgits it Christmas
and my birthday till Mr. Langham comes ridin' out with my money.
Dat's de last work I done and dat in 1931 and I's 94 year old,
like I say. I bet dese nineteen hunerd niggers ain't gwine live
dat long.
State: Texas Interviewee: Lewis, Henry
"I didn't had no chillen by my first wife and she been dead
'bout 70 year now. My last wife name' Charlotte and she been dead
22 year and us have 16 chillen. Dey six gals and ten boys and
ten em livin' now. Mos' of dem am too old to work now. I stays
with Ada, here, and she got a gif', She know what kind of herb
am good for medicine for diff'rent ailments. She born with a veil
over de face and am wise to dem things. Dey's de fever weed and
de debil's shoestring, and fleaweed cures neuralgy and toothache.
Spanish mulberry root, dat good for kidneys. When anybody git
swolled feets give dem wild grapevine. Prickly ash bark good for
dat, too. Red oak bark good for women's troubles and pumpkin head
for de heart. Camphor and asafetida in de bag round de neck good
for de heart. When de chile git convulsion make dem drink li'l
bluin'. Dat good for growed-up folks, too. It good for burns,
too.
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