182 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



TNo. 3 



other periods, bcsids a little time to work their 

 patches, or, if very busy, 1 sometime prefer to 

 work them myself ' Most of tiio ancient pastimes 

 have been lost in this neigliborhood, and reliifion, 

 mock or real, has succeeded them. Tl>e banjo, 

 their national instrument, is known but in name, or 

 in a tew ol" the tunes udiich have survived. Some 

 of the younjer net^roes sinjx and dance, but the 

 evenings and holydays are usually occupied in 

 working, in visiting, and in prayinir and singing 

 hymns. The prinntive customs and sports are, I 

 believe, better |)reserved farther south, where 

 Blaves were brought from Alr-ica long alter they 

 ceased to come here. 



6th. "The provision usually made for their 

 food and clothing; lor those who are too young or 

 too old to labor." iMy men receive twelve quarts 

 ot Indian meal (tlie abundant and universal allow- 

 ance in this state,) 7 salted herrings, and 2 lbs. 

 emoked bacon, or 3 lbs* of pork a v/eek; the other 

 hands proportionally less. But, generally speaking, 

 their ibod is issued daily, with the exception ot' 

 meal, and consists of fish or bacon lor breakfast, 

 and meat, fresh or sailed, with vegetables, when- 

 ever we can provide them, for dinner; or, for a 

 month or two in the spring, fresh fish cooked with 

 a little bacon. This mode is rather more expen- 

 sive to me than that of weekly rations, but more 

 comfortable to servants. Superannuated or in- 

 valid slaves draw ther provisions regularly once a 

 week; and the moment a child ceases to he nour- 

 ished by its mother, it receives 8 quarts of meal 

 (more than it can consume,) and A lb. of lard. Be- 

 sides the food furnished by me, nearly all the ser- 

 vants are able to maUe some addition from their 

 private stores; and there is, among the adults, 

 hardly an instance of one so improvident as not to 

 do it. He must be an unthrifty fellow indeed who 

 cannot realize the wish of the lamous Henry IVth 

 in regard to the French peasantry, and enjoy his 

 fowl on Sunday. I always keep on hand, lor the 

 use of the negroes, sugar, molasses, &c., which, 

 though not regulaaly issued, are applied for on the 

 elighfest pretexts, and frequently no pretext at all, 

 and are never refused except in cases of miscon- 

 duct. In regard to clothing: the men and boys 

 receive a winter coat and trowsers of strong cloth, 

 3 shirts, a stout pair ol' shoes and socks, and a pair 

 of summer pantaloons, every year; a hat about 

 ever}' second year, and a great-coat and blanket 

 every third year. Instead of great-coats and hats, 

 tlie women have large capes to protect the bust in 

 bad weather, and hankerchiefs for the head. The 

 articles furnished are good and serviceable; and, 

 Avith their own acquisitions, make their appearance 

 decent and respectable. On Sunday they are even 

 fine. The aged and invalid are clad as regularly 

 as the rest, but less substantially. Mothers re- 

 ceive a little raw cotton, in proportion to the num- 

 ber of children, with the privilege of having the 

 }"arn. when spun, woven at my expense. I pro- 

 vide them with blankets. Orphans are put with 

 careful women, and treated vviih tenderness. I am 

 attached to tin; little slaves, and encourage liimi- 

 liiirity among them. Sometimes, when I ride near 

 the quru-ters, they come running after me with the 

 most whimsical requests, and are rendered happy 

 by the distribution of some little donation. The 

 clothing described is that which is given to the 

 crop hands. Home servants, a numerous class in 

 Virginia, are of course clad in a different and very 



superior manner. I neglected to mention, in the 

 proper place, that there are on each of my planta- 

 tions a kitchen, an oven, and one or more cooks; 

 and that each har>d is furnished with a tin bucket 

 for his food, which is carried into the field by little 

 negroes, who also sujply the laborers with water. 



7. "Their treatment when sick." My negroes 

 go or are carried, as soon as they arc attacked, to 

 a spacious and well-ventilated hospital, near the 

 mansion-house. They are there received by an 

 attentive nurse, who has an assortment of medi- 

 cine, additional bed-clothing, and the command of 

 as much liixht food as she may require, either from 

 the table or the store-room of the proprietor. Wine, 

 sago, rice, and other little comforts appertaining to 

 such an establishment, are always kept on hand. 

 The condition of the sick is much better than that, 

 of the poor whites, or free colored people, in the 

 neighborhood. 



8. "Their rewards and punishments.' I occa- 

 sionally bestow little gratuities (or good conduct, 

 and particularly after harvest; and hardly ever re- 

 fuse a favor asked by those who faithfully perform 

 their duty. Vicious and idle servants are punished 

 with stripes, moderately inflicted; to which in the 

 case of theft, is added privation of meat, a severe 

 punishment to those who are never suffered to be 

 without it on any other account. From my limited 

 observation, I think that servaints to the north 

 work nmch harder than our slaves. I was educafad 

 at a college in one of the free states, and, on my 

 return to Virginia, was struck with the contrast. 

 I was astonished at the number of idle domestics, 

 and actually worried my mother, much to my con- 

 trition since, to reduce the establishment. I say 

 to my contrition, because, after eighteen years 

 residence in the good Old Dominion, I find myself 

 surrounded by a troop of servants about as nume- 

 rous as that against which I formerly so loudly ex- 

 claimed. While on this subject it may not be 

 amiss to state a case of manumission, which oc- 

 curred about three years since. My nearest 

 neighbor, a man of immense wealth, owned a 

 favorite servant, a fine fellow, with polished man- 

 ners and excellent disposition, who reads and 

 writes, and is thoroughly versed in the duties of a 

 buffer and housekeeper, in the performance of 

 which he was trusted without limit. This man 

 was, on the death of his master, emancipated, with 

 a legacy of SG,000, besides about §2,000 more 

 which he had been permitted to accumulate, and 

 had deposited with his master, who had given him 

 credit for it. The use that this man, apparently 

 so well qualiged for freedom, and who has had an 

 opportunity of Iravelling and of judging for him- 

 self, makes of his money and his Time, is some- 

 what remarkable. In consequence of his exem- 

 plary conduct, he has been permitted to reside in 

 the state, and tor very moderate wages occupies 

 the saaie situation he did in the old establishment; 

 and will probably continue to occupy it as long as 

 he lives. He has no children of his own, but has 

 put a little ijiil, a relation of his, to school. Ex- 

 cept in this instance, and in the purchase of a few 

 pliiin articles of furniture, his freedom and his 

 money seem not much to have benefited him. A 

 servant of mine, wlio is intimate with him, thinks 

 he is not as happy as he was before liis liberation. 

 Several other servants were fi'ccd at fhe same 

 time, with smaller legacies, but I do not know 

 what has become of them. 



