South Carolina – African-Americans – Brutal Work Regimen

Every slave have task to do, sometime one task, sometime two, and sometime three. You have for work till task through. When cotton done make, you have other task. Have to cut cord of marsh grass maybe. Task of marsh been eight feet long and four feet high. Then, sometime you have to roll cord of mud in cowpen. Woman have to rake leaf from wood into cowpen .... If slave don't do task, they get licking with lash on naked back.

There was three kinds of day's work on the plantation. One is the whole task, meaning a whole hand, or a person in his prime. He was given two task for his day's work. A task carried from twenty-four to twenty-five rows, which was thirty-five feet long and twenty-five feet wide. The three-fourth hand was given one whole task, which consists of twelve rows. All the young chillun was included in this group. Us half-hand was the old slaves who did a half task for their day's work. When it was time to pick cotton, the three-fourth hand had to pick thirty pound and the half-hand twenty for their day's work. Those who attended to the gin only include the three-fourth hand.