Green
Cumby
Ex-slave from Texas
About
Green Cumby:
Green
Cumby was born a slave of the Robert H. Cumby family, in Henderson, Texas. He
was about 14 at the close of the Civil War. He stayed with his old master four years
after he was freed, then married and settled in Tyler, Texas, where he worked
for the compress 30 years.
The Narrative of Green
Cumby:
Durin'
slavery I had purty rough times. My grandfather, Tater Cumby , was cullud overseer
for forty slaves and he called us at four in de mornin' and we worked from sun
to sun. Most of de time we worked on Sunday, too "De white overseers
whupped us with straps when we didn't do right. I seed niggers in chains lots
of times, 'cause there wasn't no jails and they jus' chained 'em to trees.
another, to suction 'em at de market places. De women would be carryin' l'il
ones in dere arms and at night dey bed 'em down jus' like cattle right on de
ground 'side of de road. Lots of l'il chillun was sold 'way from de mammy when
dey seven or eight, or even smaller. Dat's why us cullud folks don't know our
kinfolks to dis day. "De best times was when de corn shuckin' was at hand.
Den you didn't have to bother with no pass to leave de plantation, and de
patter rolls didn't bother you. If de patter rolls cotch you without de pass
any other time, you better wish you dead, 'cause you would have yourself some
trouble. "But de corn shuckin', dat was de gran' times. All de marsters
and dere black boys from plantations from miles 'round would be dere. Den when
we got de corn pile high as dis house, de table was spread out under de shade.
All de boys dat 'long to old marster would take him on de packsaddle 'round de
house, den dey bring him to de table and sit by he side; den all de boys dat
'long to Marster Bevan from another plantation take him on de packsaddle 'round
and 'round de house, allus singin' and dancin', den dey puts him at de other
side de table, and dey all do de same till everybody at de table, den dey have
de feast. "To see de runaway slaves in de woods scared me to death. They'd
try to snatch you and hold you, so you couldn't go tell. Sometimes dey cotched
dem runaway niggers and dey be like wild animals and have to be tamed over
'gain. Dere was a white man call Henderson had 60 bloodhounds and rents 'em out
to run slaves. I well rec'lect de hounds run through our place one night,
chasin' de slave what kilt his wife by runnin' de harness needle through her
heart. Dey cotch him and de patter rolls took him to Henderson and hangs him.
"De patter rolls dey chases me plenty times, but I's lucky, 'cause dey
never cotched me. I slips off to see de gal on de nex' plantation and I has no
pass and they chases me and was I scairt! You should have seed me run through
dat bresh, 'cause I didn't dare go out on de road or de path. It near tore de
clothes off me, but I goes on and gits home and slides under de house. But I'd
go to see dat gal every time, patter rolls or no patter rolls, and I gits
trained so's I could run 'most as fast as a rabbit. "De white chillun
larned us to read and write at night, but I never paid much 'tention, but I kin
read de testament now. Other times at night de slaves gathers round de cabins
in little bunches and talks till bedtime. Sometimes we'd dance and someone
would knock out time for us by snappin' de fingers and slappin' de knee. We
didn't have nothin' to make de music on. "We mos'ly lived on corn pone and
salt bacon de marster give us. We didn't have no gardens ourselves, 'cause we
wouldn't have time to work in dem. We worked all day in de fields and den was
so tired we couldn't do nothin' more. My mammy doctored us when we was feelin'
bad and she'd take dogfenley, a yaller lookin' weed, and brew tea, and it driv
de chills and de fever out of us. Sometimes she put horse mint on de pallet
with us to make us sweat and driv de fever 'way. For breakfast she'd make us
sass'fras tea, to clear our blood. "My marster and his two step-sons goes
to de war. De marster was a big gen'ral on de southern side. I didn't know what
dey fightin' 'bout for a long time, den I heered it 'bout freedom and I felt
like it be Heaven here on earth to git freedom, 'spite de fac' I allus had de
good marster. He was good to us, but you knows dat ain't de same as bein'
free.