one Monday morning, having been delayed in fixing the bridle of his mule, which the animal, for lack of something better, perhaps, had been vigorously chewing and rendered nearly useless.  He was, therefore, considerably behind time, when he reached the field.  Without waiting to learn what was the reason for the delay, the overseer sprang upon him with his bull whip, which was about seven feet long, lashing him with all his strength, every stroke leaving its mark upon the poor man’s body, and finally the knot at the end of the whip buried itself in the fleshy part of the arm, and there came around it a festering sore.  He suffered greatly with it, until one night his brother took out the knot, when the poor fellow was asleep, for he could not bear any one to touch it when he was awake.  It was awful to hear the cracking of that whip as it was laid about Riley—­one would have thought that an ox team had gotten into the mire, and was being whipped out, so loud and sharp was the noise!

I usually slept in the dining room on the floor.  Early one morning an old slave, by name of “Uncle Jim,” came and knocked at the window, and upon my jumping up and going to him, he told me to tell Boss that Uncle Jim was there.  He had run away, some time before, and, for some reason, had returned.  Boss, upon hearing the news, got up and sent me to tell the overseer to come at once.  He came, and, taking the bull whip, a cowhide and a lot of peach-tree switches, he and Boss led Uncle Jim back into the cow lot, on the side of the hill, where they drove four stakes in the ground, and, laying him flat on his face, tied his hands and feet to these stakes.  After whipping him, in this position, all they wanted to, a pail of strong salt and water was brought, and the poor fellow was “washed down.”  This washing was customary, after whippings, as the planters claimed it drew out all the soreness, and healed the lacerated flesh.

Upon one occasion, the family being away, I was left extra work to do, being set to help three fellow slaves lay off the rows for planting corn.  We did not get them quite straight.  The deviation we made from the line was very little, and could scarcely be seen, even by an expert; but the least thing wrong about the work would cause any slave to be whipped, and so all four of us were flogged.

* * * * *

The slave cabin.

There was a section of the plantation known as “the quarters,” where were situated the cabins of the slaves.  These cabins were built of rough logs, and daubed with the red clay or mud of the region.  No attempt was made to give them a neat appearance—­they were not even whitewashed.  Each cabin was about fourteen feet square, containing but one room, and was covered with oak boards, three feet in length, split out of logs by hand.  These boards were not nailed on, but held in their places by what were termed weight-poles laid across them at right angles.