oad smile and an almost imperceptible shake of his old gray head Mr.
Wright told how he had worked in the field without shoes when it was so
cold until the skin cracked and the blood flowed from these wounds. He
also told how he used to save his shoes by placing them under his arm
and walking barefooted when he had a long distance to go. In order to
polish these shoes a mixture of soot and syrup was used.

The young slave children wore a one-piece garment with holes cut for the
head and arms to go through. In appearance it resembled a slightly long
shirt. As Mr. House did not give blankets, the slaves were required to
make the necessary cover by piecing together left over goods. After this
process was completed, it was padded with cotton and then dyed in much
the same way as homespun. After the dyeing was completed the slave was
the owner of a new quilt.

The food that the slaves ate [**TR: was] all raised on the plantation. At
the end of each week each slave was given 3 lbs. of meat (usually pork),
1 peck of meal and some syrup. Breakfast and dinner usually consisted of
fried meat, corn bread and syrup. Vegetables were usually given at
dinner time. Sometimes milk was given at supper. It was necessary to
send the meals to the field slaves as they were usually too far away
from the house to make the trip themselves. For this purpose there was a
woman who did all the cooking for the field hands in a cook house
located among the slave cabins.

Mr. House permitted his slaves to have a garden and chickens of their
own. In fact, he gave each of them land, a small plot of ground for this
purpose. The benefit of this was twofold as far as the slave was
concerned. In the first place he could vary his diet. In the second
place he was able to earn money by selling his produce either in town or
to "Old Marster." Sometimes Old Marster took the produce to town and
sold it for them. When he returned from town the money for the sale of
this produce was given to the slave. Mr. Wright says that he and all the
other slaves felt that they were being cheated when the master sold
their goods. Mr. House also permitted his slaves to hunt and fish both
of which were done at night for the most part.

Coffee was made by parching meal and then placing it in boiling water.
To sweeten this coffee, syrup was used. One delicacy that he and the
other slaves used to have on Sunday was biscuit bread which they called
"cake bread."

All children who