slaves, while it could not be expected that they could entertain the
highest degree of it, on account of their condition. A portion of the
time the young men slept in the apartment known as the kitchen, and the
young women slept in the room with their mother and father. The two
families had to use one fireplace. One who was accustomed to the way in
which the slaves lived in their cabins could tell as soon as they
entered whether they were friendly or not, for when they did not agree
the fires of the two families did not meet on the hearth, but there was
a vacancy between them, that was a sign of disagreement. In a case of
this kind, when either of the families stole a hog, cow or sheep from
the master, he had to carry it to some of his friends, for fear of being
betrayed by the other family. On one occasion a man, who lived with one
unfriendly, stole a hog, killed it, and carried some of the meat home.
He was seen by some one of the other family, who reported him to the
overseer, and he gave the man a severe whipping. Sometime afterward this
man who had been betrayed thought he would get even with his enemy; so
about two months later he killed another hog, and, after eating a part
of it, stole into the apartment of the other family and hid a portion of
the meat among the old clothes. Then he told the overseer that he had
seen the man go out late that night and that he had not come home until
the next morning; when he did come he had called his wife to the window
and she had taken something in. He did not know what it was, but if the
overseer would go there right away he would find it. The overseer went
and searched and found the meat, so the man was whipped. He told the
overseer that the other man put it in his apartment while the family
were away, but the overseer told him that every man must be responsible
for his own apartment.

No doubt you would like to know how the slaves could sleep in their
cabins in summer, when it was so very warm. When it was too warm for