uble
Bayou, Texas. Jacob helps his son, Enrichs, farm, and is unusually
agile for his age. They live in the Double Bayou settlement, near
Beaumont, Texas.

"I's bought and fotched here to Double Bayou when I's jes' three year
old. I and my half-brother, Eleck, he de baby, was both born in
Louisiana on de Van Loos place, but I go by de name of Branch, 'cause my
daddy name Branch. My mama name Renee. Dey split up us family and Elisha
Stevenson buy my mama and de two chillen. I ain't never see my daddy no
more and don't 'member him at all.

"Old 'Lisha Stevenson he a great one for to raise pigs. He sell sometime
500 hawgs at one time. He take he dogs and drive dem hawgs 'cross de
Neches River all by hisself, to sell dem. Dat how he git money to buy de
niggers, sellin' hawgs and cowhides.

"Old massa he sho' a good old man, but de old missy, she a tornado! Her
name Miss 'Liza. She could be terrible mean. But sometime she take her
old morrel--dat a sack make for to carry things in--and go out and come
back with plenty joints of sugar cane. She take a knife and sit on de
gallary and peel dat cane and give a joint to every one de li'l chillen.

"Mama, she work up in de big house, doin' cookin' and washin'. Old massa
go buy a cullud man name Uncle Charley Fenner. He a good old cullud man.
Massa brung him to de quarters and say, 'Renee, here you husband,' and
den he turn to Uncle and say, 'Charley, dis you woman.' Den dey
consider marry. Dat de way dey marry den, by de massa's word. Uncle
Charley, he good step-pa to us.

"De white folks have de good house with a brick chimney. Us quarters de
good, snug li'l house with flue and oven. Dey didn't bother to have much
furn'chure, 'cause us in dere only to sleep. Us have homemake bench and
'Georgia Hoss' bed with hay mattress. All us cookin' and eatin' done in
de kitchen de big house. Us have plenty to eat, too. De smokehouse allus
full white 'taters and cracklin's hangin' on de wall. Us git dem mos'
any time us want, jes' so long us didn't waste nothin'. Dey have big jar
with buttermilk and 'low us drink all us want.

"Old lady 'Liza, she have three women to spin when she git ready make de
clothes for everybody. Dey spin and weave and make all us clothes. Us
all wear shirt tail till us 'bout twelve or fourteen, boys and gals,
too. You couldn't tell us apart.

"Us chillen start to work soon's us could toddle. First us gather
firewood. Iffen it freezin' or hot