第41章 Chapter XII.(2)

　　Each one is tasked， therefore， according to his pickingabilities， none， however， to come short of two hundredweight. I， being unskillful always in that business，would have satisfied my master by bringing in the latterquantity， while on the other hand， Patsey would surelyhave been beaten if she failed to produce twice as much.

　　The cotton grows from five to seven feet high， eachstalk having a great many branches， shooting out inall directions， and lapping each other above the waterfurrow.

　　There are few sights more pleasant to the eye， than awide cotton field when it is in the bloom. It presents anappearance of purity， like an immaculate expanse of light，new-fallen snow.

　　Sometimes the slave picks down one side of a row，and back upon the other， but more usually， there is oneon either side， gathering all that has blossomed， leavingthe unopened bolls for a succeeding picking. When thesack is filled， it is emptied into the basket and troddendown. It is necessary to be extremely careful the firsttime going through the field， in order not to breakthe branches off the stalks. The cotton will not bloomupon a broken branch. Epps never failed to inflict theseverest chastisement on the unlucky servant who， eithercarelessly or unavoidably， was guilty in the least degree inthis respect.

　　The hands are required to be in the cotton field assoon as it is light in the morning， and， with the exceptionof ten or fifteen minutes， which is given them at noonto swallow their allowance of cold bacon， they are notpermitted to be a moment idle until it is too dark to see，and when the moon is full， they often times labor tillthe middle of the night. They do not dare to stop even atdinner time， nor return to the quarters， however late itbe， until the order to halt is given by the driver.

　　The day’s work over in the field， the baskets are “toted，”

　　or in other words， carried to the gin-house， where thecotton is weighed. No matter how fatigued and wearyhe may be—no matter how much he longs for sleep andrest—a slave never approaches the gin-house with hisbasket of cotton but with fear. If it falls short in weight—ifhe has not performed the full task appointed him， heknows that he must suffer. And if he has exceeded it byten or twenty pounds， in all probability his master willmeasure the next day’s task accordingly. So， whether hehas too little or too much， his approach to the gin-houseis always with fear and trembling. Most frequently theyhave too little， and therefore it is they are not anxious toleave the field. After weighing， follow the whippings； andthen the baskets are carried to the cotton house， and theircontents stored away like hay， all hands being sent in totramp it down. If the cotton is not dry， instead of takingit to the gin-house at once， it is laid upon platforms， twofeet high， and some three times as wide， covered withboards or plank， with narrow walks running betweenthem.

　　This done， the labor of the day is not yet ended， byany means. Each one must then attend to his respectivechores. One feeds the mules， another the swine—anothercuts the wood， and so forth； besides， the packing is alldone by candle light. Finally， at a late hour， they reach thequarters， sleepy and overcome with the long day’s toil.

　　Then a fire must be kindled in the cabin， the corn groundin the small hand-mill， and supper， and dinner for thenext day in the field， prepared. All that is allowed themis corn and bacon， which is given out at the corncrib andsmoke-house every Sunday morning. Each one receives，as his weekly allowance， three and a half pounds ofbacon， and corn enough to make a peck of meal. That isall—no tea， coffee， sugar， and with the exception of a veryscanty sprinkling now and then， no salt. I can say， froma ten years’ residence with Master Epps， that no slave ofhis is ever likely to suffer from the gout， superinducedby excessive high living. Master Epps’ hogs were fed onshelled corn—it was thrown out to his “niggers” in the ear.

　　The former， he thought， would fatten faster by shelling，and soaking it in the water—the latter， perhaps， if treatedin the same manner， might grow too fat to labor. MasterEpps was a shrewd calculator， and knew how to managehis own animals， drunk or sober.

　　The corn mill stands in the yard beneath a shelter. Itis like a common coffee mill， the hopper holding aboutsix quarts. There was one privilege which Master Eppsgranted freely to every slave he had. They might grindtheir corn nightly， in such small quantities as their dailywants required， or they might grind the whole week’sallowance at one time， on Sundays， just as they preferred.

　　A very generous man was Master Epps！

　　I kept my corn in a small wooden box， the meal ina gourd； and， by the way， the gourd is one of the mostconvenient and necessary utensils on a plantation.

　　Besides supplying the place of all kinds of crockery ina slave cabin， it is used for carrying water to the fields.

　　Another， also， contains the dinner. It dispenses withthe necessity of pails， dippers， basins， and such tin andwooden superfluities altogether.

　　When the corn is ground， and fire is made， the baconis taken down from the nail on which it hangs， a slice cutoff and thrown upon the coals to broil. The majority ofslaves have no knife， much less a fork. They cut their baconwith the axe at the woodpile. The corn meal is mixed with alittle water， placed in the fire， and baked. When it is “donebrown，” the ashes are scraped off， and being placed upona chip， which answers for a table， the tenant of the slavehut is ready to sit down upon the ground to supper. By thistime it is usually midnight. The same fear of punishmentwith which they approach the gin-house， possesses themagain on lying down to get a snatch of rest. It is the fearof oversleeping in the morning. Such an offence wouldcertainly be attended with not less than twenty lashes. Witha prayer that he may be on his feet and wide awake at thefirst sound of the horn， he sinks to his slumbers nightly.