"Git it an' Run!"

While the food that the slaves ate seensseems to have been about the same on most plantations, the conditions under which it was eaten differed greatly. Some former slaves state that when the work signal sounded they had to "Gitget it an' run," "—that is, snatch up a sandwich or chunk of bread they had pre–pared the night before and eat it on the way to the field or after arriving there.See Charles Coates Narrative (1 of 2): "He tells with laughter how the slaves would 'grab a piece of meat and bread and run to the field' as no time was allowed to sit and eat breakfast" (66). That statement echoes an allusion in the Charles Coates Interview Notes: "Blew at 5:30 for slaves to rise. Blew at twelve for dinner. Blow two long blows for, "Go, take your food and eat as you work." (8-9)

Others were given adequate time for breakfast. Lunch on some plantations was eaten in the field, too, and in the greatest possible haste;. onOn others, lunchtime meant a rest period of varying length in which the slave who could Page. 28 eat quickly could also rest for some little time before returning to his labors.

Supper, on most plantations, was the slave's only important meal. This was always eaten in his cabin, with whatever family he nightmight be fortunate enough to have. It was cooked by his wife or mother, after her own duties were finish–ed in the field or at the Misses'misses' house;. theThe children, tended during the day by a Negro woman, shared supper with their parents. Supper usually consisted of corn mealcornmeal in some form, meat--—white salt pork--—on some occasions, coffee of parched corn,Willis Williams mentions the use of parched corn as a coffee substitute. See Willis Williams Interview Notes, Willis Williams Narrative (1 of 2), and Willis Williams Narrative (2 of 2). and sometimes potatoes or some green vegetable.

The corn mealcornmeal might be mush or bread. In the former case it would be boiled, with whatever scraps of meat or vegetable might be available, in a large iron pot out of which the whole family was served. If corn breadcornbread, it would have been baked in the top of an iron spider,See spider. Willis Williams and Lindsay Moore both mention this implement. a large pan with a compartment over it in which coal could be heaped.

Potatoes, when available, were wrapped in the large leaves of the tannion plant,The mentioned tannion plant has not been identified. or sometimes in green corn shucks, and roasted in live coals. Corn in season, was sometimes given to the slaves in its green form;. theyThey used it for. both vegetable and beverage.

While these were the rations that the master saw and knew about, there were others that did not so readily come to his attention. Among these was the wild squash once found growing in the woods of west Florida. Since it was a prolific growth, slave owners might have had little objection to its use by slaves, except that it required a trip to the woods to procure it, and this was often a risky matter.

Pilfered eggs were another common dish. Where stumps and underbrush were Page. 29 burned to clear or fertilize the land, the ground beneath the fire would turn a clear, clean white, holding an intense heat. When this point was reached, eggs from stolen nests would be surreptitiously buried near the fire;. aA few minutes later a loud crack would inform the slave that his baked egg was ready to eat. Potatoes, also, when not included in the regular fare, would be stolen and cooked in this manner.

There were several substitutes for coffee. Most common was corn or corn meal, parched until dark brown, then boiled. When this was not avilable, okra seeds and even parched potatoes were used.

Sundays and special occasions would bring dessert as an addition to the slaves's meal. This would sometimes be potato bread, made of sweet potatoes, boiled till soft, then mashed and combined with grease and corn mealcornmeal, and baked till brown.

None of the Florida ex–slaves report the use of sugar in their cabins;. whenWhen sweetening of any kind was afforded, it was sugar–canesugarcane molasses.

The amount of meat eaten depended entirely upon the master;. itIt was not an accepted necessity in the slave diet. Some plantations provided it at least once a day,, and kept well– filled storehouses. Others parceled it out very sel–dom, and then only the unused parts of the hogs or cows killed for the master's use. Frequent disappearance of hogs was a consequence in the latter case.