in contact with it.  Others, when other modes of punishment will not subdue them, cat-haul them—­that is, take a cat by the nape of the neck and tail, or by the hind legs, and drag the claws across the back until satisfied.  This kind of punishment poisons the flesh much worse than the whip, and is more dreaded by the slave.  Some are branded by a hot iron, others have their flesh cut out in large gashes, to mark them.  Some who are prone to run away, have iron fetters riveted around their ancles, sometimes they are put only on one foot, and are dragged on the ground.  Others have on large iron collars or yokes upon their necks, or clogs riveted upon their wrists or ancles.  Some have bells put upon them, hung upon a sort of frame to an iron collar.  Some masters fly into a rage at trifles and knock down their negroes with their fists, or with the first thing that they can get hold of.  The whiplash-knots, or rawhide, have sometimes by a reckless stroke reached round to the front of the body and cut through to the bowels.  One slaveholder with whom I lived, whipped one of his slaves one day, as many, I should think, as one hundred lashes, and then turned the butt-end and went to beating him over the head and ears, and truly I was amazed that the slave was not killed on the spot.  Not a few slaveholders whip their slaves to death, and then say that they died under a “moderate correction.”  I wonder that ten are not killed where one is!  Were they not much hardier than the whites many more of them must die than do.  One young mulatto man, with whom I was well acquainted, was killed by his master in his yard with impunity.  I boarded at the same time near the place where this glaring murder was committed, and knew the master well.  He had a plantation, on which he enacted, almost daily, cruel barbarities, some of them, I was informed, more terrific, if possible, than death itself.  Little notice was taken of this murder, and it all passed off without any action being taken against the murderer.  The masters used to try to make me whip their negroes.  They said I could not get along with them without flogging them—­but I found I could get along better with them by coaxing and encouraging them than by beating and flogging them.  I had not a heart to beat and kick about those beings; although I had not grace in my heart the three first years I was there, yet I sympathised with the slaves.  I never was guilty of having but one whipped, and he was whipped but eight or nine blows.  The circumstances were as follows:  Several negroes were put under my care, one spring, who were fresh from Congo and Guinea.  I could not understand them, neither could they me, in one word I spoke.  I therefore pointed to them to go to work; all obeyed me willingly but one—­he refused.  I told the driver that he must tie him up and whip him.  After he had tied him, by the help of some others, we struck him eight or nine blows, and he yielded.  I told