job for him.  He promised me a beaver hat and as good a suit of clothes as could be bought in the city, if I would accomplish so much for him before I returned to the north; giving me the entire control over his slaves.  Thus you may see the temptations overseers sometimes have, to get all the work they can out of the poor slaves.  The above is an exception to the general rule of feeding.  For in all other places where I worked and visited; the slaves had nothing from their masters but the corn, or its equivalent in potatoes or rice, and to this, they were not permitted to come but once a day.  The custom was to blow the horn early in the morning, as a signal for the hands to rise and go to work, when commenced; they continued work until about eleven o’clock, A.M., when, at the signal, all hands left off and went into their huts, made their fires, made their corn-meal into hommony or cake, ate it, and went to work again at the signal of the horn, and worked until night, or until their tasks were done.  Some cooked their breakfast in the field while at work.  Each slave must grind his own corn in a hand-mill after he has done his work at night.  There is generally one hand-mill on every plantation for the use of the slaves.

Some of the planters have no corn, others often get out.  The substitute for it is, the equivalent of one peek of corn either in rice or sweet potatoes; neither of which is as good for the slaves as corn.  They complain more of being faint, when fed on rice or potatoes, than when fed on corn.  I was with one man a few weeks who gave me his hands to do a job of work, and to save time one cooked for all the rest.  The following course was taken,—­Two crotched sticks were driven down at one end of the yard, and a small pole being laid on the crotches, they swung a large iron kettle on the middle of the pole; then made up a fire under the kettle and boiled the hommony; when ready, the hands were called around this kettle with their wooden plates and spoons.  They dipped out and ate standing around the kettle, or sitting upon the ground, as best suited their convenience.  When they had potatoes they took them out with their hands, and ate them.  As soon as it was thought they had had sufficient time to swallow their food they were called to their work again. This was the only meal they ate through the day. now think of the little, almost naked and half starved children, nibbling upon a piece of cold Indian cake, or a potato!  Think of the poor female, just ready to be confined, without any thing that can be called convenient or comfortable!  Think of the old toil-worn father and mother, without anything to eat but the coarsest of food, and not half enough of that! then think of home.  When sick, their physicians are their masters and overseers, in most cases, whose skill consists in bleeding and in administering large potions of Epsom salts, when the whip and cursing will not start them from their cabins.