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Texas Slave Narrative
Louis Smith
I was bawn Louis Pfluger
and, after slavery time, I became Louis Smith
. I was bawn on February 7, 1856, at Brushy Knob, Travis County. My mothaw was Martha Rainey
, and belonged to Colonel Rainey
of Memphis, Tennessee. She was bought from Colonel Rainey
by the Pfluger
fambly. Mothaw married Frank Smith
, but I never did see my fathaw. I jes' heard my mothaw tell about him. The ole original Pfluger
fambly owned a farm and ranch. When the Pflugers
owned my mothaw, I was bawn on their fahm. That's why I was called Pfluger
. We was allowed to take the name of our mawster. But, later I took my fathaw's name. I was jes' a kid then, and had a easy time of it. But, I would help round up cattle with Pfluger's
son, August
. Pfluger
had cattle all over the country, and was putty well-to-do, even at that time. Pflugerville, Texas, was named fo' this fus' Pfluger
fambly. At one time, dey put me to watchin' my mothaw, who had to work and plow in the field with a yoke of oxen. One day, I kin remembah, I was settin' on a fence watchin' mothaw, when she was ready to come home. The oxen was hot, and a creek run right through the field and at the fence. When de oxen git
hot, dey sure will go to water. When dey saw that water, dey broke and run, tore down the fence I was settin' on throwed me into the creek, and almost drowned me. Mothaw had to pull me out. I never did watch or spy on my mothaw again. Dey couldn't make me. I kin say that the Pflugers
was putty good to us. They never did whoop mothaw, and I know they never whooped me. They kinder fussed at us at times. De Pflugers
was German, and my mothaw and me could talk German as good as our mawster. Why, when we lef' there, we could only talk German. I remembah how mawster and Mistress Pfluger
come to us one day and said that we was as free as they was, and that we could leave, if we wanted to. Mawster Pfluger
paid Colonel Rainey
about fo'teen hunnert dollahs fo' my mothaw. Now she was free.
Mother went on down to Webberville, Travis County, but I stayed with the Pflugers
fo' about eight years. I tol' 'em I wouldn't leave Grossmutter (grandmothaw) Pfluger
. My main job now was to fool with cattle, and I was bein' paid fo' my work. At one time, I got fifty dollahs a month, room and board. There wasn't a fence in that whole country; and I remembah how the Pflugers
tol' me to buy and invest in land. The land could of been bought fo' as little as twenty-five cents a acre. Mothaw was workin' down in Webberville. She cooked, cut wood and did anything. She'd go down into the bottom, and could cut her two cords of wood a day. Somewhere about 1895 I got married to Sophie
Henderson
. We jes' had a simple weddin'. We had eleven chillun, and all but two is dead. Beatrice
is here in Austin, and I live with her; Ethel
lives in San Antonio. I have only two grandchillun--Sammie Lee
and Vivian
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