Thirty Years a Slave | Page 9

he might reap the greatest possible
harvest. The planters talked about their prospects, discussed the cotton
markets, just as the farmers of the north discuss the markets for their
products. I often saw Boss so excited and nervous during the season he
scarcely ate. The daily task of each able-bodied slave during the cotton
picking season war 250 pounds or more, and all those who did not
come up to the required amount would get a whipping. When the
planter wanted more cotton picked than usual, the overseer would
arrange a race. The slaves would be divided into two parties, with, a
leader for each party. The first leader would choose a slave for his side,
then the second leader one for his, and so on alternately until all were
chosen. Each leader tried to get the best on his side. They would all
work like good fellows for the prize, which was a tin cup of sugar for
each slave on the winning side. The contest was kept up for three days
whenever the planter desired an extra amount picked. The slaves were
just as interested in the races as if they were going to get a five dollar
bill.
* * * * *
PREPARING COTTON FOR MARKET.

The gin-house was situated about four hundred yards from "the great
house" on the main road. It was a large shed built upon square timbers,
and was similar to a barn, only it stood some six feet from the ground,
and underneath was located the machinery for running the gin. The
cotton was put into the loft after it was dried, ready for ginning. In this
process the cotton was dropped from the loft to the man who fed the
machine. As it was ginned the lint would go into the lint room, and the
seed would drop at the feeder's feet. The baskets used for holding lint
were twice as large as those used in the picking process, and they were
never taken from the gin house. These lint baskets were used in
removing the lint from the lint room to the place where the cotton was
baled. A bale contained 250 pounds, and the man who did the treading
of the cotton into the bales would not vary ten pounds in the bale, so
accustomed was he to the packing. Generally from fourteen to fifteen
bales of cotton were in the lint room at a time.
* * * * *
OTHER FARM PRODUCTS.
Cotton was the chief product of the Mississippi farms and nothing else
was raised to sell. Wheat, oats and rye were raised in limited quantities,
but only for the slaves and the stock. All the fine flour for the master's
family was bought in St. Louis. Corn was raised in abundance, as it was
a staple article of food for the slaves. It was planted about the 1st of
March, or about a month earlier than the cotton. It was, therefore, up
and partially worked before the cotton was planted and fully tilled
before the cotton was ready for cultivation. Peas were planted between
the rows of corn, and hundreds of bushels were raised. These peas after
being harvested, dried and beaten out of the shell, were of a reddish
brown tint, not like those raised for the master's family, but they were
considered a wholesome and nutritious food for the slaves. Cabbage
and yams, a large sweet potato, coarser than the kind generally used by
the whites and not so delicate in flavor, were also raised for the
servants in liberal quantities. No hay was raised, but the leaves of the
corn, stripped from the stalks while yet green, cured and bound in
bundles, were used as a substitute for it in feeding horses.

* * * * *
FARM IMPLEMENTS.
Almost all the implements used on the plantation were made by the
slaves. Very few things were bought. Boss had a skilled blacksmith,
uncle Ben, for whom he paid $1,800, and there were slaves who were
carpenters and workers in wood who could turn their hands to almost
anything. Wagons, plows, harrows, grubbing hoes, hames, collars,
baskets, bridle bits and hoe handles were all made on the farm and from
the material which it produced, except the iron. The timber used in
these implements was generally white or red oak, and was cut and
thoroughly seasoned long before it was needed. The articles thus
manufactured were not fine in form or finish, but they were durable,
and answered the purposes of a rude method of agriculture. Horse
collars were made from corn husks and from poplar bark which was
stripped from the tree, in the spring, when the sap was up and it was
soft and pliable, and separated into narrow strips which were