ain in their individual cabins where they too were
cared for by slaves too old for field work.

Only one family lived in a cabin. Mose's mother and father each had a
separate cabin. He did not explain the reason for this but said that he
was made to live in his father's cabin. Whenever he could, (usually when
his father was away with the Colonel for a day or two) he stayed in his
mothers cabin. "The only difference between the houses we lived in
during slavery and those that some of us live in now who said is that we
had more room there than we have now." He says that even the community
cook house was larger than some of the living quarters of today. All
cabins were white washed the same as the other buildings on the
plantation, and the occupants were required to keep the interiors and
the surrounding clean at all times. The overseer's cabin was located a
short distance away from the slave cabins, so that it would be easier
for him to keep check on his charges.

There was little if any sickness but Colonel Davis employed a doctor who
visited the plantation each week. On other occasions the overseer
administered such remedies as castor oil, turpentine, etc., and the
slaves had remedies of their own. For stomach ache they used a tea made
of Jimson weeds. Another medicine was heart leaf tea. Manual and
religious training were the only types allowed on the plantation. Trades
like carpentry, blacksmithing, etc. were learned from the white
mechanics sometimes employed by Colonel Davis. All slaves were required
to attend church and a special building was known as "Davis' Chapel." A
Negro preacher officiated and no white people were present. Uncle Mose
doesn't know what was preached as he and Manning always slipped into
town on Sundays to see the girls. Uncle Mose says he and Manning were
together so much that occasionally they even slept in the same
bed,--sometimes in Manning's house and sometimes at his own house.

A pool for baptism was filled with well water. The colored pastor
performed all baptisms and marriages.

Book learning was prohibited in any form. Sometimes Mose tried to
persuade Manning to teach him to read and write but Manning always
refused. Mose's cousin who was taught to read and write forged Colonel
Davis' name to a check and drew the money from the bank before the hand
writing was discovered. For this act he was given a sound whipping and
assigned to hard labor by the master, "And", said Uncle Mose, "he