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Show 58 DF.SPOTTSi\1 liable. The children till they reaeh the age of twelve or fourteen run abon't almOst n:1kcd, being covered, if at all, onlY by an 1i'nwashcd :-;llirt of tattcrc<;l osnaburgs. Their sufferings from cold must somct1mes be excessive. Firewood is still so abundant throughout all the southern states, as in most parts of the country to have no exchanaable valne; or to owe that value entirely to the labor expended in preparing it. 'l'he slaves are at liberty to take from the woods on Snndays, or by night, such SUJ?plies as t.hcy choose. Fm the most part, they carry tl on the1r heads ; though sometimes on Snnday, they are allowed the use of a pair of oxen and a cart. To sa~c steps and trouble, if they can do it without detectiOn, they generally prefer to lay their hands upon the first fence they come to. Very diO'erent opinions prevail in different portions of the southern states, as to the quantity of food which it is necessary or expedient to allow a slave. Jn Kentucky, 1\fissouri, an~ Tennessee, where corn and bacon are produced m great abundance, and where their value is small, the slaves are allowed as much coarse food as they desire; and the plump condition and buoyant vivacity of the children arc an evidence that they seldom suffer from hunger. , In Virginia, l'\laryland, and North Carolina, where corn is seldom worth al>ove fifty cents the bushel, some sixteen bushels of it is considered a competent yearly supply for a slave, to whicll is generally added, a weekly allowance la r,.,er or smaller, of fish or meat. In the states further ~outh, which may be propcdy designated as the cotton growing states, where corn1s generally worth a dollar ,or upwards tlle bushel, and where provisions of all sorts are comparatlvely scarce and high twelve bushels of dry corn by the year, without dny allowance of meat or Jish, or any tlung beside, is esteemed a large enough supply o_f food for a working hand. SwePt potatoes, are somct!mes served out during the fall and. wiutcr months, mstead of IN AMERICA. 59 C?rn i an.d on the rice. plantations, broken or damaged ~lC? furn1 shes the chJCf supply of food i but whether 1t IJe corn, potatoes, or rice, the allowauce is often sr.an~Y: enough; an.d the starved, shriveled, peaked condlt~on of the children upon many plantations, arc too eyident proofs how cruelly they are sti11ted. . \VI~h respect to this subject, the following observatiOn IS worthy of attcntio.n. A certain quantity of food may sufhcc to sustam life, and even strength, yet not be enough to appease the cravings of appetite, nor l? stay or prevent the torments of hnngcr. Mos t labonng men at the North, might probably live and enJOY health, though theH dad)' foocl were diminished 11.1 quantity one half, or even more ; yet this is a sacn~ ce they .would very reluctantly make; and the certaJ~ lty of l1fe and health wontd be no sufficient consolatwn for the gnawings of hunger, and the disquietudes of an unsatisfied appetite. It happens very unlnckily, that the slaves in that part of the country where they arc. worst supplied With food and clothing, are yet subjected to the severest ru~d mo~t unremitting labors. In Missoun, Kcntu.cky, No~th. Carolina, Virginia and Maryland, except m those limited tracts in which ~he cultur~ of tobacco is pnrsued, there arc considerable !nt~rvals m every year, when the labor of the slaves 15 ~lttle nc?dcd, and when the tasks imposed arc s ufficiently hght. Bnt tliC cultivation of tobacco and still more, that of rice, sugar and cotton, is an inccss~ nt round of labor, from one year's end to the other ~1~csc plants arc a .long time in coming to pcrfCction: Ie .labor of seeunpg' the crop, and preparing it for ~arkct, IS very ~re~t; and one year's work is hardly t nded, ~efore It IS lime. to begin upon the next. Winer or Summer, there 1s no .(Cst nor relaxation from constant, steady toil. OJ' the whole, it may be stated that the physical ~0~ 1t.IOn ~f ti.JC slaves throughout the southern states, :atr mfenor In every respect, to that of the unfortue men, confined for the punishment of their crimes |