and survival. Finally, at a late hour, they reach the quarters, sleepy and overcome with the long day’s toil. Then a fire must be kindled in the cabin, the corn ground in the small hand-mill, and supper, and dinner for the next day in the field prepared (Northrup 12). The slaves got very little sleep because, “an hour before day light the horn is blown,” and it was “an offense invariably followed by flogging, to be found at the quarters after daybreak” (Northrup 14). “Then the fears and labors of another day begin; and until its close there is no such thing as rest…” (Northrup 14). After an extremely difficult day of labor, the cruelty continued when the slaves returned to housing that could be described as “inadequate” at best. Jacob Stroyer, one of fifteen children, was born on a plantation in South Carolina in 1849. He relates the conditions that his family lived in: Most of the cabins in the time of slavery were built so as to contain two families; some had partitions, while others had none. When there were no partitions each family would fit up its own part as it could; sometimes they got old boards and nailed them up, stuffing the cracks with rags; when they could not get boards they hung up old clothes (Stroyer 14). Families were forced to live under less than ideal conditions, and sleeping was a challenge: When the family increased the children all slept together, both boys and girls, until one got married; then a part of another cabin was assigned to that one, but the rest would have to remain with their mother and father, as in childhood, unless they could get with some of their relatives or friends who had small families, or unless they were sold (Stroyer 14). The hot summer months made it impossible to sleep indoors so, “when it was too warm for them to sleep comfortably, they all slept under trees until it grew too cold” (Stroyer 16). Francis Henderson...
