water. At noon, dinner was brought to them in the field in wash tubs
placed on carts drawn by oxen. Dinner consisted of fat meat, peas and
corn bread. Often all laundry was done in these same tubs.

The only time that this diet ever varied was at Christmas time when the
master had all slaves gathered in one large field. Then several hogs
were killed and barbecued. Everyone was permitted to eat as much as he
could, but was forbidden to take anything home. When some one was
fortunate enough to catch a possum or a coon, he had a change of food.

On Sundays the slaves were permitted to have a religious meeting of
their own. This usually took place in the back yard or in a building
dedicated for this purpose. They sang spirituals which gave vent to
their true feelings. Many of these songs are sung today. There was one
person who did the preaching. His sermon was always built according to
the master's instructions which were that slaves must always remember
that they belonged to their masters and were intended to lead a life of
loyal servitude. None of the slaves believed this, although they
pretended to believe because of the presence of the white overseer. If
this overseer was absent sometimes and the preacher varied in the text
of his sermon, that is, if he preached exactly what he thought and felt,
he was given a sound whipping.

Mr. Brown was a kind person and never mistreated his slaves, although he
did furnish them with the whip for infractions of rules such as
fighting, stealing, visiting other plantations without a "pass", etc.
Ward vividly recalls that one of the soundest thrashings he ever got was
for stealing Mr. Brown's whisky. His most numerous offenses were
fighting. Another form of punishment used in those days was the stocks,
such as those used in early times in England. Serious offenses like