Video
Interview with a Descendant of the Dog People
Transcript
[Female ranger in uniform and iconic flat hat uses ASL to talk with a man in shorts, t-shirt, and a camoflauged hat. They sit on rocking chairs in front of a log building. A short table sits between them with a cup, clipboard, and a displayed book, titled "King of the Dog..."]
Ranger: Hi. My name is Tera Lynn Gray. I’m here with Steven Douglas Hart. We’re interviewing for the Deaf History Month project. Today is April 13, 2022. He signed the waiver form.
Ranger: Hi! Thank you for coming. What is your name?
Guest: Hi! My name is Steven, but my nickname is Doug. My name sign is a “D on the temple.”
Ranger: Nice to meet you.
Doug: Nice to meet you.
Ranger: Thank you for coming. Your family history is amazing! Can you tell us about your family?
Doug: Yes. People used to call my family part of the Dog People. The King of the Dog People – that’s my grand uncle, my grandfather’s brother. My grandfather’s name is Deacon. My uncle, his brother, is I.C. Eason. He was older than my grandfather. [One time] the two of them were exploring and hunting things and they noticed a hurt dog. They brought it back, sutured it, and saved its life. It was I.C. Eason’s dog from then on. My grandfather also had a dog. They walked in the woods together. That’s where the lumber, oil, and other companies tried to take their land. Those companies noticed there were a lot of dogs wandering around with the people. That’s why they called them Dog People.
Ranger: Amazing history! Your granduncle was involved in the fight to protect this area!
Doug: Yes, my uncle fought to protect this land for the animals. The people were poor. They were hungry. They hunted throughout the seasons to get food. They didn’t want the land taken; they wanted them [developers] out of the way. They couldn’t buy food from the store. Instead, they hunted. That’s why they decided to fight. They cherished the woods, the animals, the area.
Ranger: I love the story where your uncle, I.C. Eason, and your grandfather saved the dog. It’s called a Cur, right?
Doug: Yes.
[Displayed Picture: Side portrait of dark brown dog with very short hair, long ears, and a long snout. Credit: Blair Pittman]
Ranger: Why were dogs so important to and cherished by the Dog People?
Doug: Dogs always guided us to get food. They hear the animal, and people hear them. We follow their sound and find the boars. We chase, kill, and bring back the boars. We skin the boars and eat them. The dogs eat anything they can find. Wow, the people were very, very hungry. Some people say they shouldn’t eat mussels, but they cooked them and it seemed fine. There were many stories like that.
Ranger: They didn’t have or didn’t need stores. Did nature become the store through fishing and other activities?
Doug: We still went to the store for some things. We earned money for rice, flour, corn flour, beans - dried beans- large barrels that we brought back and used for our food. If we needed items, we made money by killing and selling animals to rich people. Then, we used the money to buy socks, bullets, and other things we needed – gas. We would hunt and exchange goods.
Ranger: They figured out ways to survive.
Doug: Right.
Ranger: Cool. What memories do you have of being at your grandparents’ house?
Doug: My mom took care of me for a time when I was born, then she had to go back to work and do other things. So, she dropped me off at my grandparents’ house and they took care of me all the time. I went to elementary school where I learned sign language. Then, I would go home and teach them [my family] home signs. I’d learn more sign from school and teach more home signs to my grandparents and cousins. The 5 or 6 boys would get together and ask me signs for things like “smooshed nose and digs.” I recognized they were asking about the animals that dig up the dirt. Those pigs love worms and bugs, so they dig with their nose in the dirt. That’s “flat hand – fingers together-palm down-move tips of fingers up repeatedly.” In ASL, we sign “index and pinkie fingers extended-palm toward face-fist touch chin.” B-O-A-R. At home, we sign “flat hand – fingers together-palm down-move tips of fingers up repeatedly” because the nose continually digs in the dirt looking for bugs and worms in the disturbed dirt. So, that means boar here and everyone got used to that sign. Second, squirrel was signed “squished c-handshape with pinkies touching – fingers touching mouth.” Third, beaver was signed “flat hand – fingers together-palm down-move wrist up and down repeatedly.” B-E-A-V-E-R. “flat hand – fingers together-palm in- slap bent elbow repeatedly” is ASL. The home sign was “flat hand – fingers together-palm down-move wrist up and down repeatedly.” Fourth, rabbit was signed “index and middle fingers on both hands extend and flatten together on both sides of forehead – palms face forward.” ASL is “index and middle fingers on both hands extend and flatten together with crossed wrists – palms face chest.” Our home sign for rabbit is “index and middle fingers on both hands extend and flatten together on both sides of forehead – palms face forward.” Catfish is another one. ASL sign “index and thumb touch with other fingers extended – touching fingers run horizontally along cheek. Then, flat hand – fingers together-palm in - move wrist side to side while arm moves forward.” We sign “same as above but use both hands for cat and extend well past cheeks.” As I learned from school, I taught my family our own home signs. It went back and forth.
Ranger: Why were ASL and home signs different?
Doug: My family were not strong ASL learners. Gestures were easier to remember.
Ranger: Oh, to remember. Cool.
Doug: Hand gestures…fish…”hands gesture a length”… It was basic communication with my family. We never got into in-depth conversations. It was full ASL communication at the Deaf school though. I was very quiet. I just watched everyone. I didn’t know anything; I wasn’t grown yet. Then, I went home. I went back and forth.
Ranger: You weren’t quiet at home though. [laughs]
Doug: [ha] Yes.
Ranger: What stories do you enjoy from home?
Doug: I think it was around the 80s, yes. My grandpa called me and my 6 cousins together to hunt for armadillos. We went deep into the woods in a truck. He dropped us off and told us to look for sticks. We needed strong ones. We shaved off the sides so they would move smoothly in our hands. Grandpa left in the truck to find the armadillos. He came back and told us to whisper. My cousins listened for the armadillos and waited. Then, I saw one and it ran fast. I took off running right after it! My cousins followed me, but they soon gave up. They told my grandpa, “He’s still running!” Grandpa told them, “Keep going!” So, they tried to run after me. We whacked one after another with a stick. They fell over and we left it to run after more. One armadillo ran into a ground hole. I grabbed a stick from a tree and poked it into the hole. It was too short! I yanked a bigger stick off a tree and fed it into the hole. My cousins went on either side of the other end of the hole. Soon, the armadillo popped out. My cousins jumped on it and whacked it with their sticks. When we were finished, we went back and collected all the dead armadillos. We brought them home and skinned all of them. People bought them and we earned money to buy things we needed from the store like bread, food, and gas. Then, we went home.
Ranger: Wow. Amazing.
Doug: We also skinned boars. We saved them on ice. We used gallon milk jugs. We filled them up and stacked them until they froze. Then, sliced them. This would preserve the meat for a while. We could eat the boar day after day. When it was done, we might hunt rabbits. We saved the grease too. This went with the biscuits. You open them up and pour on the grease. That was my favorite – biscuits with rabbit grease – delicious!
Ranger: Did your grandma make those?
Doug: Yes, my grandma.
Ranger: Were they the best?
Doug: Yes. Regular biscuits are small, but she made them huge. They were thick and fluffy.
[Displayed Picture: 3 pans with food sit above a campfire outside. One square pan has 9 bread bisquits squished together. Credit: Blair Pittman]
Ranger: I love that.
Doug: Yes.
Ranger: Did you hear any stories of your granduncle and grandpa? [Doug slaps a mosquito on side of face.]
[Displayed Picture: White man with gray short hair wears a long-sleeved collared button-down shirt, blue jeans, and a gun belt. He stands in front of a pick-up truck with large wheels and a missing hood. He cuts a log with an ax. Credit: Blair Pittman]
Doug: I.C. Eason and my grandpa lived near each other. I walked around I.C. Eason’s house and noticed a bee hive. My cousins were all gathered around it and I wondered what was wrong. They gestured there was honey in there and it would bring a lot of money. They discussed who would throw something at it. One of my cousins volunteered. He covered up his arms, legs, and head, then was ready. Everyone backed up far. I stood there in awe. My cousin threw something and the hive exploded. There were bees swarming and they targeted my cousin who ran for the river. He jumped in and swam until the bees flew away. He got up, checked his clothes, and he was lucky as he wasn’t stung.
Ranger: Nothing?
Doug: The bees left. When the hive falls, the bees won’t be back. They followed the queen who would build a new hive. We checked the hive to assure the queen was gone. It was empty. If the queen was there, we would move it to another place to hope the colony would grow again. If the queen died, the colony would die.
Ranger: Huh.
Doug: They really serve the queen. Anyway, we checked the hive. Meanwhile, I had my hand on a tree. When I took it off, I noticed I was stung on my palm. It hurt and itched a lot. I showed it to my granduncle. He took something from his mouth and put it on my palm. I looked at him with disgust. He gestured to leave it there a little bit. Soon the pain was gone. My grandma put the combs in jars, added honey, and tightened the lids for dehydrating. Some we sold at the store.
Ranger: What did your granduncle put on your hand?
Doug: Chew
Ranger: Oh!
Doug: He took it right out of his mouth and put it on my hand.
Ranger: And that healed the bee sting?
Doug: Yes. You can also use tobacco for catfish stings. Mix it with water, put it on the sting, and it kills the bacteria. The black chemical nicotine kills the pain.
Ranger: Home remedies are best remedies?
Doug: Yes. One time, I got cut on my forehead. My cousins and I were throwing a lid back in forth like a frisbee. It bled a lot. My grandma cut a potato and stuck in on my forehead. That stopped the bleeding. The potato soaked up all the blood and my forehead healed.
Ranger: Completely healed? Oh. That’s cool.
Doug: My mom once studied to be a doctor, but she was fired because she vomited when she saw blood. She couldn’t handle all the blood. So, she lost that job.
Ranger: She had to stick with being a home doctor.
Doug: Yes.
Ranger: Your family lived in the now called Jack Gore Baygall Unit of the Preserve, right?
Doug: Yes, that area. It was in the northern section near Tyler County; just below it. I don’t remember exactly where. Long ago, I would go there often. Later, my uncle guided me out there and it didn’t look the same. It was different.
Ranger: It changed drastically?
Doug: Lumber cleared, hurricanes, floods, so many things happened.
Ranger: Did you learn a lot from your granduncle and grandpa?
Doug: Yes. They taught me how to fish, how to survive, and how to catch things. My mom absolutely hated when I brought snakes, frogs, anything home. She’d freak out and tell me to take it outside. I didn’t understand why. I would hold up the big, beautiful king frogs and she wouldn’t touch them.
Ranger: She’s not used to it.
Doug: She hated it when I brought anything.
Ranger: Anything else you want to share with us?
Ranger: Your grandpa is in the King of the Dog People book, right?
Doug: Yes, my grandpa, Deacon, is in the book. He is I.C. Eason’s younger brother. They hung out with each other all the time. When I.C. Eason and grandpa died, everything faded away.
Ranger: Sad.
Doug: Many of the family know me; but I don’t know them.
Ranger: Because of communication?
Doug: They socialized together while I was away in the Deaf world. When I came back, they were all hearing. I didn’t know them; but they knew me.
Ranger: Do you still have good memories growing up with grandma and grandpa though?
Doug: Yes. When the park was established, the trees and animals had to be left alone. The family decided to move to houseboats along the river. There was no law against being on the river. Hardin County permitted it. I would say about 20 houseboats stretched along the river. I went there a few times and spent the night on the houseboat. I hunted and fished. Three weeks ago, I caught a 47-pound catfish.
Ranger: 72?
Doug: 47.-We skinned it and fed twenty people.
Ranger: Wow, you were lucky! Cool. Was it heavy?
Doug: Yes. It was called a Flat Catfish. It had brown sides. We skinned it and passed it out to eat.
Ranger: I bet your family was happy that day to eat so well!
Doug: That day was my cousin’s daughter’s birthday. So, we cooked it for her birthday.
Ranger: Aaww – that’s perfect!
Doug: Yes. God gave us a nice dinner for her birthday.
Ranger: That’s wonderful! Thank you, Doug. I enjoyed the opportunity to chat with you and learn about your family’s history.
Doug: Thank you for inviting me to share my history.
Description
Doug Hart is a grandson of Deacon Eason and grandnephew of I.C. Eason, the King of the Dog People. He talks with a ranger outside the visitor center of Big Thicket National Preserve. He explains how the Dog People got their name and why dogs were so important to them. He shares childhood memories from the Eason's property. Note: This interview is conducted in ASL. It is a silent video with subtitles. The attached transcript has the same subtitles, as well as written descriptions of the displayed pictures.
Duration
18 minutes, 39 seconds
Credit
NPS / T.Gray
Date Created
04/27/2022
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