Olivier Blanchard
From:
Texas
OLIVIER BLANCHARD, 95 years old, was a slave of Clairville La San,
who owned a large plantation in Martinville Parish, Louisiana. His
father was a Frenchman and Olivier speaks rather haltingly, as
though it is difficult for him to express his thoughts in English,
for he has talked a species of French all his life. He lives in
Beaumont, Texas.
"I was plowing and hoeing before the freedom and I talk more of the
French 'cause I comes from St. Martinville Parish. I was born there in
Louisiana and my mama was Angeline Jean Pierre and she was slave born.
My papa was Olivier Blanchard and he white man carpenter on old
plantation. We belong to Clairville La San and all live on
that place. My papa just plain carpenter but could draw patterns for
houses. I don't know where he larn that work.
"I was count freeborn and still have one white half sister alive. When
freedom come my mama and papa split up and mama get marry.
"I pick cotton and mama cook. She make koosh-koosh and cyayah--that last
plain clabber. Mama cook lots of gaspergou and carp and the poisson ami
fish, with the long snout--what they call gar now. I think it eel fish
they strip the skin off and wrap round the hair and make it curly.
"The Bayou Teche, it run close by and the women do all the clothes with
a big paddle with holes in it to clean them in the bayou. They paddle
them clean on the rocks and then wash them in the water.
"One time one big bayou 'gator come up and bite a woman's arm off. She
my sister in law. But they keep on washing the clothes in the bayou just
the same.
"We have plenty to eat and peaches and muscadines and pecans, 'cause
there right smart woods and swamp there. We play in the woods and most
time in the bayou on boats with planks what would float. We had the good
time and had a little pet coon. You know, the coon like sweet things and
he steal our syrup and when we chase him with the switch he hide under
the bed.
"My old missus was good Catholic and she have us christened and make the
first communion. That not registered, 'cause it before the freedom, but
it were in old St. Martin's church, same old church what stand now.
There was a statue of Pere Jean, the old priest, in front the church and
one of St. Martin, too.
"Plenty men from St. Martinville go to the war and Archie DeBlieu, he go
to Virginia and fight. The first one to pass our place was John Well
Banks and he was a Yankee going up the Red River.
"The yellow fever came durin' that war and kill lots. All the big
plantation have the graveyard for the cullud people. That fever so bad
they get the coffin ready before they dead and they so scared that some
weren't dead but they think they are and bury them. There was a white
girl call Colene Sonnier what was to marry Sunday and she take sick
Friday before. She say not to bury her in the ground but they put her
there while they got the tomb ready. When they open the ground grave to
put her in the tomb they find she buried alive and she eat all her own
shoulder and hand away. Her sweetheart, Gart Berrild, he see that
corpse, and he go home and get took with yellow fever and die.
"They was the old lady what die. She was a terrible soul. One time after
she die I go to get water out of her rain barrel and I had a lamp in one
hand. That old lady's ghost blowed out the lamp and slapped the pitcher
out my hand. After she first die her husband put black dress on her and
tie up the jaw with a rag and my girl look in the room and there that
old lady, Liza Lee, sittin' by the fire. My girl tell her mama and after
three day she go back, and Liza Lee buried but my wife see her sittin'
by the fire. Then she sorry she whip the chile for sayin' she saw Liza
Lee. That old lady, Liza Lee, was a tart and she stay a tart for a long
time.
"I marry 72 year ago in the Catholic Church in St. Martinville. My wife
call Adeline Chretien and she dead 37 year. We have seven children but
four live now. Frank my only boy live now, in Iowa, in Louisiana, and my
two girls live, Enziede De Querive and Rose Baptiste.
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Francis Black
