Двенадцать лет рабства

           Whenthepropertimearrives,theyaretakenup,trimmedandcartedtothesugar-house. 

           InthemonthofJanuarytheslavesenterthefieldagaintoprepareforanothercrop. Thegroundisnowstrewnwiththetops,andflagscutfromthepastyear’scane. Onadrydayfireissettothiscombustiblerefuse,whichsweepsoverthefield,leavingitbareandclean,andreadyforthehoes. Theearthisloosenedabouttherootsoftheoldstubble,andinprocessoftimeanothercropspringsupfromthelastyear’sseed. Itisthesametheyearfollowing;butthethirdyeartheseedhasexhausteditsstrength,andthefieldmustbeploughedandplantedagain. Thesecondyearthecaneissweeterandyieldsmorethanthefirst,andthethirdyearmorethanthesecond. 

           DuringthethreeseasonsIlaboredonHawkins’plantation,Iwasemployedaconsiderableportionofthetimeinthesugar-house. Heiscelebratedastheproducerofthefinestvarietyofwhitesugar. Thefollowingisageneraldescriptionofhissugar-houseandtheprocessofmanufacture: 

           Themillisanimmensebrickbuilding,standingontheshoreofthebayou. Runningoutfromthebuildingisanopenshed,atleastanhundredfeetinlengthandfortyorfiftyfeetinwidth. Theboilerinwhichthesteamisgeneratedissituatedoutsidethemainbuilding;themachineryandenginerestonabrickpier,fifteenfeetabovethefloor,withinthebodyofthebuilding. Themachineryturnstwogreatironrollers,betweentwoandthreefeetindiameterandsixoreightfeetinlength.