TX BIOS:  Sarah Ann Ross Pringle
   Selected and converted.American Memory, Library of Congress.
   
   Washington, 1994.
   
   Preceding element provides place and date of transcription only.
   
   This transcription intended to be 99.95% accurate.
   
   For more information about this text and this American Memory
   collection, refer to accompanying matter.
   
   U.S. Work Projects Administration, Federal Writers' Project (Folklore
   Project, Life Histories, 1936-39); Manuscript Division, Library of
   Congress.Copyright status not determined.
   
   00011
   
   Life History
   
   FOLKLORE:
   
   MISS EFFIE COWAN,
   
   McLennan County, Texas,
   
   District 8.
   
   NO Of Words 1750
   
   File NO. 240.
   
   Page NO. 1.
   
   REFERENCE.
   
   Interview with Sarah Ann Ross Pringle, (White Pioneer[)?] Marlin,
   Texas.
   
   "I was born ten miles east of Meridian Missippi on the 25th, day of
   September 1845. The first that I remember about my childhood was my
   mother and my old black mammy. She it was who helped to raise the
   large family of children on the old plantation[?] near the Tom Bigbee
   river which was the trading point for all the plantation near, they
   called the landing " Tomkins Bluff. "
   
   "Altho ' it is seventy three years since the war between the states
   ended, I can clearly remember when my brother went with the first
   volunteers. We all went to the trains to see them off. The first call
   was for all the single men, the second took the married men and the
   third took the old men and the young boys. The boys carried squirrel
   rifles and wore home-spun suits. My father went the last year. I had
   an uncle who also went and was wounded while on picket duty, had to be
   left on the battlefield but was captured by the Union soldiers and we
   never heard of him again. I also had a cousin who was captured by the
   Yankees, spent eighteen months in a Northern prison, but was finally
   released, and came part of the way home riding a mule. When he reached
   [DEL: hom :DEL] home his mother did not recognize him at first , as
   they believed him killed, but when it was known that he had returned ,
   the community held a [DEL: bration :DEL] celebration over his return
   and great was the rejoicing.
   
   "We shared the common lot with , the rest of the south for the want of
   
     NOTE: C12 - 2/11/41 - Texas
     
   00022the necessities of life. The slaves remianed faithful, but in the
   lack of the most common things like salt, coffee, etc, all suffered
   alike There [DEL: there :DEL] was the danger of a [DEL: rd :DEL] raid
   by the Yankees. We had a neighbor a [DEL: mrs newton :DEL] Mrs Newton,
   who had gone over to Colombus Miss. on a visit to her husband who was
   stationed there, and while she was away, the [DEL: Yanke :DEL] Yankee
   soldiers came thro' and burned her gin, took her cows, hogs and
   chickens and two of the slaves with all the provisions that she had.
   There was nothing the slaves could do about it, much as they too would
   feel the loss, they were forced to stand by and see the feather beds
   ripped open in the soldiers search for money and the provisions taken.
   
   "The Confederate government furnished provisions for war widows, and
   other women who had no one to help make their crops. The Yankee
   soldiers ruined our flour mills when they burned our gins and we had
   nothing left to grind our corn with, then we had to use stones to
   crush it like the Indians did. We had no coffee during the blockade of
   the Southern ports so we learned to parch potato peelings, okra and
   corn and use them for substitutes. We scraped the salt from the floor
   of the old smoke houses that were used in the days before the war when
   all those things were so plentiful. We sifted this salt and ran it
   thro' home made [ash?] hoppers, and this seperated the salt from the
   dirt.
   
   "My husband was at school at Marion Miss (this was before we
   [married?]), and his professor organized a company of [volunters?] on
   the campus, sixty members of the class signed up to go. This was the
   13th, Missippi Regiment Company E. Barksdale Brigade. He was
   [wounded?] five times during the war. 00033"My husband was wounded and
   captured at the battle of Nashville, serving eighteen months in a
   [DEL: orthern :DEL] Northern prison, but recovered and was finally
   sent home.
   
   "We started for Texas in the year 1865 , right after the war was over.
   I was twenty years old, We came in covered wagons driving oxen. There
   had [been?] a drouth in some parts of the country we travelled over
   and when we reached water-holes we were overjoyed. [DEL: W :DEL] We
   did not stop to see if they were sanitary, there they were to quench
   our thirst and the stock and so we would camp by these waterholes,
   springs or rivers and [mand?] and [beast?] would drink.
   
   "If you can picture the beautiful wild flowers of Texas in the spring
   the blue bonnet, the Indian blanket with its coat of red, the
   yellow-rose of Texas, the golden rod, with its yellow plumes waving in
   the air, the purple [thistles?], and the wild daisies, the scent of
   the pine trees of East Texas, and the beautiful magnolia trees which
   grow so tall in the [piney?] woods of Texas, you can imagine our
   parties rapture at this new country to which we had come.
   
   "After many weeks of travel we came to Madisonville Texas, where I
   stayed with my Aunt and Uncle , Mr and [DEL: mrs :DEL] Mrs Garland
   Ross (who were descendants of Betsy Ross, maker of the first American
   flag). I had [DEL: [?] :DEL] two brothers who had already come to
   Texas and settled at Koose, they were Albert and [DEL: Drantley :DEL]
   Brantley Ross. In 1870 they sent for me and I went over to Kosse to
   keep house for them. 00044"When we came to Texas following the close
   of the war, the state was going / thro' the reconstruction period. The
   state was under military rule and Pease was Governor. Congress passed
   a law that every white man in the South must take an oath whether he
   had held any state or Federal office before the war and if later he
   had aided the cause of the Confederacy. Those who had done these
   things were disqualified as voters in the election's. This naturally
   barred most of the leading white citizens of the state. This gave the
   negro the right to vote and hold office. So [as?] you know the effect
   was [to?] [place?] the government in the hand of what we called the
   "carpetbaggers" [white?] men from the North and the freed negroes.
   
   "I am telling you just what I remember, when we had to go to town
   during this time we [never?] went without some of our men with us, the
   negroes were [stationed?] at all the cross roads and bridges when
   there was any thing of importance taking place. If they spoke or [DEL:
   [?] :DEL] said insulting things to us we went our way and ignored
   them, but dared [not?] let our men whip them. Finally it got so bad
   when E.J. Davis was govorner that the Ku-Klux-Klan was organized. It
   was told by the carpet baggers that it was to intimidate the negroes
   and take away their voting privilige.
   
   "But I can tell you this that it certianly did help to make it safer
   for the white women. When a negro had been insulting they soon learned
   that he was to give an account to the Klan. It is also true that they
   had their meetings in secret mostly in secluded places, and they
   discussed the things that were unjust and that the Klan only , could
   right by their 00055acts of righting these wrongs. I never knew of the
   Klan doing unjust things until long after the reconstruction times,
   when unprincipled people hid behind the name of the Klan. I do know
   that the way was made much better for us after the Klan began to
   operate. It is a well known matter of historical record that the rule
   of Governor E.J. Davis was unjust and he became very unpopular.
   
   "In the campaign of 1873 when Richard Coke of Waco ran against Davis
   we had some real exciting times. I remember when my brothers went to
   Marlin to vote. The white men from all over the voting box were
   instructed to come armed and to vote, if necessary, at the point of
   the gun's. The Judge of the election was a white man he calls the
   "carpet-bagger Judge", he had been ' lectioneering to the negroes all
   up and down the Brazos bottom and they came in droves on election day.
   
   "The white men also came in droves and if any of them came unarmed
   they were furnished something to [DEL: sh :DEL] shoot with and were
   told if they were refuse the privilige of voting, to commence
   shooting. Some man decided to try shooting to scare the negroes off
   and so he started shooting, I think, on the Court House lawn. When the
   negroes heard this they piled into their wagons and buggies and left
   town. Then the white men went ahead and had their vote. I remember
   that we were so uneasy about my brothers when they did not return that
   night, we were afraid there had been some trouble, but when day break
   came they returned and said they had to stay to celebrate the victory
   at the polls.
   
   "I can remember well how the suspense was over Davis giving Coke [th?]
   00066trouble of contesting the result of the election and refusing to
   give up the governors chair. Now he brought soldiers to the capitol
   and telegraphed Grant for aid, how Grant refused to have anything to
   do with it, and how Coke also had his friends to go armed or rather
   from every county and community in Texas it was said that there were
   committes of his friends who went prepared to fight for Coke to take
   the office. For two days we were held in suspense for fear of some
   serious trouble [DEL: when :DEL] with Davis, when he saw the
   determination back of these friends of Cokes and gave up hope of aid
   from the president reluctantly gave up the fight.
   
   "I remember an amusing anecdote about Gov. Cokes campaign. Once when
   he was making a speech I heard him tell this story. He compared the
   days of reconstruction and the war between the states to a fight
   between two goats, [one?] was a big goat and the other a little one.
   "The big goat kept eating the little one up until there was nothing
   left but the little goats tail, but the little goats tail just kept
   right on wagging. So it was with the South, it kept right on fighting
   as long as there was anything to fight with and now in the days of
   reconstruction, [pease?] God, they would still fight on for their
   rights?"
   
   "From the time Governor Richard Coke took the office of Governor, and
   the rangers were doing their part under Captain Ross, things began to
   change and gradually times became normal. The negro soldiers and
   guards were done away with, and once more when the white men who had
   fought for their state rights, as they [s?] it, were given back their
   citizenship peace decended upon us. 00077"When we came to Texas there
   were large ranches as well as plantations The timbered country around
   Madisonville was fine for the protection of stock in the winter and
   there were many big ranches. To me the ranch life was more fascinating
   then the plantation life.
   
   "When the spring [?] [?] rodeo's were on, the men would often be
   [away?] from home helping to round-up the cattle. When we had our
   fourth of July celebrations the best riders would give exhibitions of
   their skillin in riding the wild horses and bucking broncho's. There
   were cattle thieves later on, but in those early days people [were?]
   more honest before so many came from other states, following the
   ending of the war between the state.
   
   "As I look back over the past and see the big ranches all turned into
   [f?] farms, I long for the days gone by when.
   
   "I could see the cattle grazing, O'er the hills at early dawn,
   
   I could see the campfires smoking, at the breaking of the morn, I can
   hear the bronchoes neighing, I can hear the cowboys sing, I'd like to
   be in Texas, When they round-up in the spring.
   
   "I was married in 1873 at [osse?] Texas to Isaac Pringle, an old
   friend from the same state of missippi. He came to Texas in 1865. We
   moved to Marlin in 1880 where we reared our family. Mr [Pringle?] was
   postmaster under Cleveland's administration. He was also a school
   teacher and in business at various times. I have the following living
   children, Jeffie who married Judge [ardlow?] of fort Worth. Fannie who
   teaches in the Dallas Public schools, Parker of Oklahom City, Kate who
   married a minister by the name of Mathison and lives in Denver, and
   Mrs [at?] Lewellyn with whom I make my home.

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