Victor Duhon
From:
Texas
VICTOR DUHON was born 97 years ago in Lafayette Parish, La., a
slave of the Duhon family. His blue eyes and almost white skin are
evidence of the white strain in his blood. Even after many years of
association with English speaking persons, he speaks a French
patois, and his story was interpreted by a Beaumont French teacher.
"My papa was Lucien Duhon and my mama Euripe Dupuis. I was born over in
Louisiana in Lafayette Parish, between Broussard and Warville. I'm 97
years old now.
"I didn't have brothers or sisters, except half ones. It is like this,
my mama was a house servant in the Duhon family. She was the
hairdresser. One day she barbered master's son, who was Lucien. He says
that he'll shave her head if she won't do what he likes. After that she
his woman till he marries a white lady.
"My grandmama was stolen from Africa and she lived to be 125 years old.
She died last year in April. I think I'll live long as she did. There
were fifteen slaves on the land what Duhon's had but I never ran around
with them. I had room at the back of the big house. You know, Madame
Duhon was my grandmama. She was good to me. The only thing I did was
look to my master's horse and be coachman for Madame. Master had four
sons. They were Ragant and Jaques and Lucien and Desire. Desire was shot
at the dance.
"Master had about 100 acres in cotton and the corn. He had a slave for
to hunt all the time. He didn't do other things. The partridge and the
rice birds he killed were cooked for the white folks. The owls and the
rabbits and the coons and the possums were cooked for us. They had a big
room for us to eat in. Where they cook they had a long oven with a piece
down the middle. They cooked the white folks things on one side. They
cooked their own things on the other. They had each ones pots and
skillets.
"I didn't play much with the black children. My time went waiting on my
white folks.
"Sometimes the priest came to say Mass. The slaves went to Mass. The
priest married and baptized the slaves. They gave a feast of baptizing.
We all had real beef meat that day.
"When my mama had 22 years she married a Polite Landry slave. Then she
went to the Landry plantation. There was often marrying between the two
plantations. When they married the wife went to her man's plantation.
That made no difference. It wouldn't be long before a girl from the
other place marry into the man's plantation. That kept things in
balance.
"My mama married Fairjuste Williams. They had two sons and a daughter. I
didn't know them so much. They were half brothers and sister.
"I had 22 years when war came. You know what war I mean. The war when
the slaves were set free. I wasn't bothered about freedom. Didn't leave
master till he died. Then I went to work for Mr. Polite Landry.
"I was always in good hands. Some slaves ware treated bad. Mr. Natale
Vallean beat up a slave for stealing. He beat him so hard he lay in
front of the gate a whole day and the night.
"I worked on farms all my life. Then I came to Beaumont. About 23 years
ago, it was. I worked at anything. Now I'm too old. I live with my
daughter.
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Willis Easter
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