_July 12th_. Took Aleck out of Vidalia jail. Paid $4.50 for jail fees. Put him in the stocks when we got home.
_July 30th_. Moses died this morning. Charles and Henry buried him. His wife was allowed to keep out of the field until noon.
_August 10th_. Sent six mules and four negroes down to the lower plantation. They will come back to-morrow.
_September 9th_. John said he was sick this morning, but I made him go to the field. They brought him in before noon. He has a bad fever. Am afraid he won't be able to go out again soon.
_September 20th_. Whipped Susan, because she didn't pick as much cotton as she did yesterday.
_September 29th_. Put William in the stocks and kept him till sunset, for telling Charles he wanted to run away.
_October 8th_. William and Susan want to be married. Told them I should not allow it, but they might live together if they wanted to.
(The above memorandum was explained to me by one of the negroes. The owner of the plantation did not approve of marriages, because they were inconvenient in case it was desired to sell a portion of the working force.)
_October 1st_. Took an inventory of the negroes and stock. Their value is about the same as when the last inventory was taken.
_December 3d_. Finished picking. Gave the negroes half a holiday.
Nearly every day's entry shows the character and amount of work performed. Thus we have:--
_February 10th_. Fifteen plows running, five hands piling logs, four hands ditching, six hands in trash-gang.
In the planting, hoeing, and picking seasons, the result of the labor was recorded in the same manner. Whippings were more or less frequent, according to the character of the overseer. Under one overseer I found that whippings were rare. Under other overseers they were of common occurrence.
The individual who prepared the "_Plantation Record_" for the publishers, gave, in addition to directions for its use, instructions for the overseer's general conduct.
I copy them below, preserving the author's language throughout.
It is here supposed that the overseer is not immediately under his employer's eye, but is left for days or weeks, perhaps months, to the exercise of his own judgment in the management of the plantation. To him we would say--