ch of the ship as possible. This closeness resulted in many of the slaves and crew members getting sick from diseases such as ameobic dysentery, small pox, and the measles. Some slaves felt that they would rather die than to go through the pain and suffering that they faced and would continue to face for the rest of their lives. Feeling desperate and afraid, some of the slaves committed suicide.
             Slaves were forced to work vigorously, fearing the whip or whatever the horrible punishment may be, for nothing in return but what is necessary to keep them barely alive. Slaves would have to wake before sunrise, get a fifteen-minute break for lunch, and work again till the sun went down and darkness filled the sky. "They do not stop.......until the order to halt is given by the driver"(Northrup,71). Outside of the cotton fields, many of the slaves had other chores and responsibilities that they had to take care of as well.
             During the slave days, many families were split up and sent all over the country. It was not uncommon to have a child on a plantation that did not know where mother or father was, or who their mother and father was. Slave owners did this in order to provide the owners with a sense of power that the parents of children could not overcome. "When I found that father and mother could not save me from punishment, as they themselves had to submit to the same treatment"(Stroyer,89).
             In the next chapter entitled "Nobody Knows de Trouble I See" it involves stories about the slave's families. Slaves were often married and separated when they are sold to different owners. "Southern law did
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