rom the mouth of the
well to the place where the butter was lowered for preservation. For
safety, and to shield it from the sun, reeds were planted all around the
well. And as they grew very tall, a stranger would not suspect a well
being there.

In addition to marketing, Della's father trapped beavers which were
plentiful in the swampy part of the plantation bordering the Oconee,
selling their pelts to traders in the nearby towns of Augusta and
Savannah, where Mr. Ross also marketed his cotton and large quantities
of corn. Oxen, instead of mules, were used to make the trips to market
and return, each trip consuming six or seven days.

The young children were assigned small tasks, such as piling brush in
"new grounds", carrying water to field hands, and driving the calves to
pasture.

Punishment was administered, though not as often as on some plantations.
The little girl, Della, was whipped only once--for breaking up a
turkey's nest she had found. Several were accused of this, and because
the master could not find the guilty party, he whipped each of the
children.

Crime was practically unknown and Mr. Ross' slaves never heard of a jail
until they were freed.

Men were sometimes placed in "bucks", which meant they were laid across
blocks with their hands and feet securely tied. An iron bar was run
between the blocks to prevent any movement; then, after being stripped,
they were whipped. Della said that she knew of but one case of this
type of punishment being administered a Ross slave. Sickness was
negligible--childbirth being practically the only form of a Negro
woman's "coming down".

As a precaution against disease, a tonic was given each slave every
spring. Three were also, every spring, taken from the field each day
until every one had been given a dose of calomel and salts. Mr. Ross
once bought two slaves who became ill with smallpox soon after their
arrival. They were isolated in a small house located in the center of a
field, while one other slave was sent there to nurse them. All three
were burned to death when their hut was destroyed by fire.

In case of death, even on a neighboring place, all work was suspended
until the dead was buried.

Sunday, the only day of rest, was often spent in attending religious
services, and because these were irregularly held, brush arbor meetings
were common. This arbor was constructed of a brush roof supported by
posts and crude joists. The seats were usually made o