“Me and John got hired on a Mississippi flatboat and
floated down to New Orleans,” Samuel Martin Flournoy reminisced about his first
adventure away from home. “We was headed back to Kentucky when John got drunk
and fell in the river,” he continued.
2 “I knew my ma and pa would take it hard, and I … I
didn’t go home,” he explained to his children. He looked away, and there was a
long pause. “That’s how you ended up in Mississippi, Daddy?” Warner asked.
Samuel nodded, and his eyes focused once again on his children’s eager faces.
3 He resumed telling his story. “In 1831, I was
elected sheriff and married your Momma,” he told them. “A few years later, I
sent old Jack to Texas with about half of my niggers to build me a new house
there, and the fool got lost!” he continued.
4 “I had to go and show them where my land was,” he
explained when he saw the puzzled looks on their faces. “Anyway, the house in
Chireno is finished, and I’ve come back to fetch you and your mother to live
there,” Samuel concluded.
5 “That’s enough stories,” Minerva told her children.
“Go and finish gettin your things together for the trip,” she ordered. Then she
turned to her husband and said, “Those boys are loadin the last of my chests
onto the wagon now.” “Good, we can get started for Texas in the mornin,” he
replied.
6 The next morning, three wagons full of furniture,
tools and people pulled out into the dusty road that ran in front of his
plantation. They were followed by a large number of slaves who were walking
along with a few livestock.
7 The ruts in the road slowed their progress and made
the ride a bumpy one, but Samuel was determined to see this thing through. The
wheels on the wagons creaked and groaned, but they kept turning.
8 Then, suddenly, there was a loud popping sound, and
one of the wagons lurched to the right. The column of wagons, people and
animals came to an abrupt standstill. One of the wheels had hit a rock and
would have to be replaced.
9 While four of the slaves attended to the wagon,
Minerva and her children sought the shade of a large, old white oak tree
standing by the roadside. There wasn’t much of a breeze at that time of the
day, and the sun was merciless.
10 “Massa, we is done with the wagon,” Jim reported.
“Let’s get going!” Samuel roared. Minerva and the children hurried from their
shady refuge and climbed back onto one of the other wagons.
11 When they finally reached the Mississippi River,
they had to take a ferry to reach the other side. Samuel was a bundle of nerves
as he supervised the loading of the wagons, people and animals onto the ferry,
but the children were excited by the prospect of a new adventure. “The river is
so big!” Warner exclaimed. “It is so muddy!” Nancy observed with obvious
distaste.
12 By the time they had unloaded on the other side,
the sun was beginning to set before them. “We’ll make a camp for the night
under those cottonwoods,” Samuel pointed.
13 That night, Warner and his siblings would sleep on
a pallet his mother had constructed out of some old quilts and a few feather
pillows. At first, the excitement of the day and the anticipation of seeing
more tomorrow, kept them all from going to sleep. However, as Warner stared at
the crackling fire and listened to a slave woman singing a lullaby to one of
her children, he eventually drifted off to sleep.
14 The following morning, they had a quick breakfast
of some cold hard biscuits and resumed their journey to their new home.
Nevertheless, they had to carefully pick their way through the swamps and
forests of Louisiana. As a consequence, progress was slow, and everyone
rejoiced when they finally reached the border with Texas.
15 They made good time after that and rolled into
Chireno two days later. The children were the first ones out of the wagon.
16 The house was a simple log structure that had been
constructed in the traditional dogtrot fashion. There was a central hallway
with a large room on each side, both upstairs and downstairs. Stone chimneys
stood like bookends at both ends of the house. There was, of course, also a
kitchen which had been constructed away from the main house to reduce the risk
that a fire posed to the entire edifice.
17 After Minerva and the children had inspected the
rooms, Samuel asked them what they thought of their new home. “It will do,”
Minerva smiled. “Where will we sleep?” Nancy asked. “Upstairs,” her mother told
her.
18 “Let’s get all of these things into the house,”
Samuel ordered. So, the slaves began unloading the furnishings and carrying
them into the house. “Put that over there,” Minerva directed. “Be very careful
with that!” she snapped when one of the women almost dropped a crate of dishes.
19 Within a few days, Minerva had made the place into
an attractive home. Although it was a comfortable and utilitarian house, it
reflected the prosperity and good taste of a Southern planter. There were also
practical reasons for transforming the home into a showplace.
20 Samuel had planted the house directly on the San
Antonio and Nacogdoches Road. In fact, it was strategically located between San
Augustine and Nacogdoches and would serve as the perfect place for weary
travelers to stop along the way. Moreover, the stagecoach which regularly
traversed that highway would ensure that there would be a steady supply of
guests to supplement the family’s income.
21 In fact, one of their first guests at the inn was
James Pinckney Henderson (one of the leading statesmen of the Republic of
Texas). “I have my law office in San Augustine,” he explained to Samuel. “Your
home is a welcome stop when I’m on the road,” he told them after one of his
visits. “And I can assure you that I am going to recommend it to President
Houston when I see him.”
22 Mr.
Henderson apparently followed through on his promise, because Sam Houston
arrived at their doorstep about a week after that. “Mr. President it’s an honor
to have you stay with us,” Minerva told him. “Thank you, Mrs. Flournoy, but
these formalities are quite unnecessary,” he replied with a broad smile.
23 “Please, have a seat at the table,” Samuel offered.
“Thank you, I believe I will!” Houston responded. He took two steps and then he
winced.
24 Minerva hadn’t taken her eyes off of their
distinguished guest. “What’s wrong, sir?” she asked. “Oh, it’s nothing,”
Houston told her. “Just a reminder of an old injury I received at San Jacinto,”
he explained. “One of Old Santa Anna’s bullets found my ankle,” he chuckled.
“But I think we got the better end of that deal!”
25 “Do you think that we are going to be admitted to
the United States?” Samuel asked. “I believe we will, but it will probably mean
war with Mexico,” Houston told him. “Well, we’ll have to show ‘em again!”
Samuel exclaimed.
26 “And I’m sure we will,” Houston agreed. “But let’s
not neglect this delicious looking meal your wife has prepared for us,” the
President proclaimed as he turned his attention towards the food on the table
before him.
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