were too young to work in the field were cared for by
some old slave woman who was too old to go to the field. She did all of
their cooking, etc. The diet of these children usually consisted of pot
liquor, milk, vegetables and in rare cases, meat. Mr. Wright laughed
here as he stated that these children were given long handled spoons and
were seated on a long bench before a trough out of which they all ate
like little pigs. Not a slave ever suffered the pangs of hunger on the
plantation of Mr. George House.

The houses or cabins of the slaves were located a short distance in the
rear of "Old Marster's" house. These houses were usually made from
logs--the chinks being closed with mud. In some cases boards were used
on the inside of the cabin to keep the weather out, but according to Mr.
Wright, mud was always the more effective. The floor was usually covered
with boards and there were two or three windows to each cabin, shutters
being used in place of glass. The chimney and fireplace were made of
mud, sticks and stones. All cooking was done on the fireplace in iron
utensils, which Mr. Wright declares were a lot better than those used
today. For boiling, the pots hung from a long hook directly above the
fire. Such furniture as each cabin contained was all made by the slaves.
This furniture usually consisted of a wooden bench, instead of a chair,
and a crude bed made from heavy wood. Slats were used in the place of
springs. The mattress was made stuffing a large bag with wheat straw.
"This slept as good as any feather bed" says Mr. Wright. Candles were
used to furnish light at night.

On this plantation each family did not have an individual cabin.
Sometimes as many as three families shared a cabin, which of course was
rather a large one. In this case it was partitioned off by the use of
curtains.

Besides having to take care of the young children, these older slaves
were required to care for those slaves who were ill. Mr. House employed
a doctor to attend his slaves when their cases seemed to warrant it. If
the illness was of a minor nature he gave them castor oil, salts or
pills himself. Then, too, the slaves had their own home remedies. Among
these were different tonics made from "yarbs" (herbs), plasters made
from mustard, and whisky, etc. Most illnesses were caused by colds and
fevers. Mr. Wright says that his two brothers and his sister, all of
whom were younger than he, died as a result of typhoid fever.

Even w