The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1916-02-09

what q great many fcSofleC W, W ou'
tain salt. This salt was placed in 9
huge hopper, and water run through
until the strength was extracted. Il
was then boiled sufficiently until the
remainder was once mor converted
Into salt. .
Soap was made pretty much
in the same manner. We had nc
coal as now, but used principally
green oak and hickory, the ashes
of which were placed in a hopper anc
the I've extracted as in the case Of
the salt, boiled with any kind ot
old grease and we then had the soap.
something few of the present young
generation ever sew. All the old
dead animals were stripped of fat for
this purpose, without which we would
have Jared badly at that time.
Such q thing as coffee was an un-
known luxury to most people. !
have drunk many times, substitutes
made from rye, okra seed, corn,
wheat, dried irish potatoes, parched
and ground for the purpose. The
only teas were made from sage and
sassafras root, which we had in abun-
dance. We had no sugar and those
depending upon such, sweetened cof-
fees and teas with sorghum syrup.
1t was a very poor substitute, but
better than nothing. The taste was
much improved by boiling the syrup
with the coffee.
We had very few matches-and
what few we procured, were in wood
en- boxes, worth ten cents each. A
box properly used might have lasted
the four years of the WARRIOR the
last thing done before retiring was
to put a green stick of oak or hlck-
DRY wood upon the fire and cover
with ashes, next morning you had
a nice bed of Goals to begin with. If
for any reason the fire went out, you
could 90 to a neighbor and get it.
Such a thing as an iron axle wagon
was never seen until some years af-
ter the war. The only thing used
was an old wooden one, creased with
tar. This tar was made from rich
pine of which there was a sufficiency.
A basin was made on the edge of a
gulley or hill-so an outlet could be
had from the bottom of the basin,
and the pitch extracted, could be
caught in something for the purpose.
This hole or basin was filled with
rich pine, set on fire and smothered
with dirt. 1t would burn for a day
or two until all the pitch had been
extracted. This was used as stated
instead of grease. l have made tar
for this purpose as late as 1876. We
had tanyards and made our own
leather. The hides were taken to
the tannery and exchanged for leath-
er or tanned on shares, for there
was little money with which to pay
for it. 1t took about six months to
convert q hide into leather, while it
can be done now by an improved
process in six days. Red oak bark
was used exclusively for tanning.
This bark, when dried, was ground
fine in a. machine for the purpose and
the ooze extracted from this sub
stance used for removing hair from
the hide. Slaves generally had a
weekly allowance of one peck of meal
three pounds of bacon and a pint OF
molasses, issued every Monday morn
ing with salt. In addition they
could get turnips, salads, and sweet
potatoes.
They did their own cooking. The
children were mostly fed on mush
and milk for breakfast and supper,
with bread, peas, turnips and salads
for dinner. There was an old wo-
man usually who looked after these:
At meal time she would 60 out and
beat a tin pan, the children respond
ed in droves. From the time they
could walk until 10 to IL years of
age they were fed in this way. There
was a large basin for the purpose,
and the old woman with a switch IN
hand would march them by this basin
to wash. When all hands were
clean they were strung out on each
side of a wooden trough where the
mush and milk had been poured and
cooled. With hands they Tapped and
sopped until nothing was left, and
the little things would 60 off full and
happy, like you have seen puppies.
Upon the whole they Jared better
than now, for they were fat and
sleek, though the meals now are
partaken in a more decent manner;
They were all clothed alike, boys and
girls, until they were old enough to
20 to work-say IL to IA years OF
age. All dressed in a long, heavy
colored gown to the feet, shoes were
unknown to children until work age.
Sole leather became so scarce that a
resort to wood bottoms was had.
They were not so comfortable as
leather but better than nothing.
Men and women, with few exceptions,
went bare-footed during the summer
If they had socks I cannot now recall,
but know they would wrap their feet
in rabbit hides and old rags to pro-
tect them from the cold and wooden
bottoms. .,
They were usually called to work
|by the foreman or driver about day,
light. and worked until too late to
see. Most plantations had a white
overseer and a negro driver. have
seen the driver with a long handled
whip stand at the entrance, and the
slaves tardy were picked with TINS
L.. f,or, +ba +;poo tbav pot in reach