On my arrival at Master Epps’， in obedience to hisorder， the first business upon which I entered was themaking of an axe-halve. The handles in use there aresimply a round， straight stick. I made a crooked one，shaped like those to which I had been accustomed at theNorth. When finished， and presented to Epps， he lookedat it with astonishment， unable to determine exactly whatit was. He had never before seen such a handle， and whenI explained its conveniences， he was forcibly struck withthe novelty of the idea. He kept it in the house a longtime， and when his friends called， was wont to exhibit itas a curiosity.
It was now the season of hoeing. I was first sent intothe corn-field， and afterwards set to scraping cotton.
In this employment I remained until hoeing time wasnearly passed， when I began to experience the symptomsof approaching illness. I was attacked with chills， whichwere succeeded by a burning fever. I became weak andemaciated， and frequently so dizzy that it caused meto reel and stagger like a drunken man. Nevertheless，I was compelled to keep up my row. When in health Ifound little difficulty in keeping pace with my fellowlaborers，but now it seemed to be an utter impossibility.
Often I fell behind， when the driver’s lash was sure togreet my back， infusing into my sick and drooping bodya little temporary energy. I continued to decline until atlength the whip became entirely ineffectual. The sharpeststing of the rawhide could not arouse me. Finally， inSeptember， when the busy season of cotton picking wasat hand， I was unable to leave my cabin. Up to this timeI had received no medicine， nor any attention from mymaster or mistress. The old cook visited me occasionally，preparing me corn-coffee， and sometimes boiling a bitof bacon， when I had grown too feeble to accomplish itmyself.
When it was said that I would die， Master Epps，unwilling to bear the loss， which the death of an animalworth a thousand dollars would bring upon him，concluded to incur the expense of sending to Holmesvillefor Dr. Wines. He announced to Epps that it was theeffect of the climate， and there was a probability of hislosing me. He directed me to eat no meat， and to partakeof no more food than was absolutely necessary to sustainlife. Several weeks elapsed， during which time， underthe scanty diet to which I was subjected， I had partiallyrecovered. One morning， long before I was in a propercondition to labor， Epps appeared at the cabin door， and，presenting me a sack， ordered me to the cotton field. Atthis time I had had no experience whatever in cottonpicking. It was an awkward business indeed. While othersused both hands， snatching the cotton and depositing itin the mouth of the sack， with a precision and dexteritythat was incomprehensible to me， I had to seize the bollwith one hand， and deliberately draw out the white，gushing blossom with the other.
Depositing the cotton in the sack， moreover， was adifficulty that demanded the exercise of both hands andeyes. I was compelled to pick it from the ground whereit would fall， nearly as often as from the stalk where ithad grown. I made havoc also with the branches， loadedwith the yet unbroken bolls， the long， cumbersome sackswinging from side to side in a manner not allowable inthe cotton field. After a most laborious day I arrived atthe gin-house with my load. When the scale determinedits weight to be only ninety-five pounds， not half thequantity required of the poorest picker， Epps threatenedthe severest flogging， but in consideration of my being a“raw hand，” concluded to pardon me on that occasion.
The following day， and many days succeeding， I returnedat night with no better success—I was evidently notdesigned for that kind of labor. I had not the gift—thedexterous fingers and quick motion of Patsey， who couldfly along one side of a row of cotton， stripping it of itsundefiled and fleecy whiteness miraculously fast. Practiceand whipping were alike unavailing， and Epps， satisfiedof it at last， swore I was a disgrace—that I was not fit toassociate with a cotton-picking “nigger”—that I could notpick enough in a day to pay the trouble of weighing it， andthat I should go into the cotton field no more. I was now employed in cutting and hauling wood， drawing cottonfrom the field to the gin-house， and performed whateverother service was required. Suffice to say， I was neverpermitted to be idle.
It was rarely that a day passed by without one ormore whippings. This occurred at the time the cottonwas weighed. The delinquent， whose weight had fallenshort， was taken out， stripped， made to lie upon theground， face downwards， when he received a punishmentproportioned to his offence. It is the literal， unvarnishedtruth， that the crack of the lash， and the shrieking of theslaves， can be heard from dark till bed time， on Epps’plantation， any day almost during the entire period of thecotton-picking season.
The number of lashes is graduated according to thenature of the case. Twenty-five are deemed a mere brush，inflicted， for instance， when a dry leaf or piece of boll isfound in the cotton， or when a branch is broken in the field；fifty is the ordinary penalty following all delinquenciesof the next higher grade； one hundred is called severe：
it is the punishment inflicted for the serious offence ofstanding idle in the field； from one hundred and fifty totwo hundred is bestowed upon him who quarrels with hiscabin-mates， and five hundred， well laid on， besides themangling of the dogs， perhaps， is certain to consign thepoor， unpitied runaway to weeks of pain and agony.
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