corners, and any other work of like character. About nine o'clock in the
forenoon, at noon, and three o'clock in the afternoon, these women,
known on the farms as "the sucklers," could be seen going from work to
nurse their babies. Many were the heart-sighs of these sorrowing mothers
as they went to minister to their infants. Sometimes the little things
would seem starved, for the mothers could only stop their toil three
times a day to care for them. When old enough to receive it, the babies
had milk, the liquor from boiled cabbage, and bread and milk together. A
woman who was too old to do much of anything was assigned to the charge
of these babies in the absence of their mothers. It was rare that she
had any one to help her. The cries of these little ones, who were cut
off almost entirely from motherly care and protection, were
heart-rending.

The cabin used for the infants during the day was a double one, that is,
double the usual size, and was located near the great house. The cradles
used were made of boards, and were not more than two by three feet in
size. The women carried their babies in the cradles to the baby cabin in
the morning, taking them to their own cabins at night. The children
ranging in age from one to seven years were numerous, and the old woman
had them to look after as well as the babies. This was indeed a task,
and might well have taxed the strength of a younger woman. They were
always from eight to a dozen infants in the cabin. The summer season was
trying on the babies and young children. Often they would drink too much
liquor from cabbage, or too much buttermilk, and would be taken with a
severe colic. I was always called on these occasions to go with Boss to
administer medicine. I remember on one occasion a little boy had eaten
too much cabbage, and was taken with cramp colic. In a few minutes his
stomach was swollen as tight and hard as a balloon, and his teeth
clenched. He was given an emetic, put in a mustard bath and was soon