day the paper is signed, although the money or its
equivalent is only received at intervals and a full year's interest is
paid, often on the face of the mortgage, even if only two-thirds of it
has actually been advanced to the Negro, no matter when the account is
settled. The helplessness of the Negro who finds himself in the hands of
a sharper is obvious when that sharper has practical control of the
situation. In many and curious ways the landlord seeks to hold his
tenants. He is expected to stand by them in time of trouble, to protect
them against the aggressions of other blacks and of whites as well. This
paternalism is often carried to surprising lengths.

The size of a man's family is known and the riders see to it that he
keeps all the working hands in the field. If the riders have any trouble
with a Negro they are apt to take it out in physical punishment, to
"wear him out," as the phrase goes. Thus resentment is seldom harbored
against a Negro and there are many who claim that this physical
discipline is far better than any prison regime in its effects upon the
Negro. In spite of all that is done it is claimed that the Negroes are
getting less reliable and that the chief dependence is now in the older
men, the women and the children. One remark, made by a planter's wife,
which impressed me as having a good deal of significance, was, "the
Negroes do not sing as much now as formerly."

To get at anything like an accurate statement of the income and expenses
of a Negro family is a difficult matter. The following account of three
families will give a fair idea of their budget for part of the year at
least.

Family No. 1 consists of five adults (over 14) and one child. They live
in a two-roomed cabin and own one mule, two horses two cows. Their
account with the landlord for the years 1900 and 1901 was:

1900.
To balance 1899 $ 32.60
Cash ($25.00) for mule 36.00
Clothing 19.68
Feed 15.20
Provisions 23.00
Tools 2.03
Interest and Recording Fee 16.87
-------
$145.38

1901.
To balance 1900 $ 15.21
Cash 26.57
Clothing 9.55
Feed and seed 44.1