. The cabins
were mostly made of logs, and there were large cracks in them so that a
person could see the light in them for miles in the night, and of course
the sun's rays would shine through them in the daytime, so on Sunday
morning when they were dancing and did not want to stop you would see
them filling up the cracks with old rags. The idea was that it would not
be Sunday inside if they kept the sun out, and thus they would not
desecrate the Sabbath; and these things continued until the freedom of
the slaves.

Perhaps my readers would like to know if most of the negroes were
inclined to violate the Sabbath. They were; as the masters would make
them do unnecessary work, they got into the habit of disregarding the
day as one for rest, and did many things Sunday that would not be
allowed in the North. At that time, if you should go through the South
on those large cotton and rice plantations, while you would find some
dancing on Sunday, others would be in the woods and fields hunting
rabbits and other game, and some would be killing pigs belonging to
their masters or neighbors. I remember when a small boy I went into the
woods one Sunday morning with one of my fellow negroes whose name was
Munson, but we called him Pash, and we killed one of master's pigs, hid
it under the leaves until night, then took it home and dressed it. That
was the only time I killed a pig, but I knew of thousands of cases like
this in the time of slavery. But thank God, the year of Jubilee has
come, and the negroes can return from dancing, from hunting, and from
the master's pig pens on Sundays and become observers of the Sabbath, of
good moral habits and men of equal rights before the law.

PUNISHMENTS INFLICTED ON DIFFERENT ONES.

One of my fellow negroes, who belonged to Col. M.R. Singleton, visited
the plantation of the Col.'s sister; the overseer of that plantation had
forbidden strangers to go there, but this man, whose name was Harry,
would go. The overseer heard of him but could not catch him, but the
overseer of master's place sent him to Mr. Jackson (the overseer of
master's sister's place). Mr. Jackson tied him and hit him three hundred
lashes and then said to him, "Harry, if you were not such a good nigger
I should have given you a first class whipping, but as you are a good
fellow, and I like you so well, I thought I would give you a light
flogging now; you must be a good nigger and behave yourself, for if I
ever have to take