A Day To Pick Your Own Cotton Part 30

By late afternoon, Katie, Emma, and Aleta were exhausted. And after a whole day, the wagon wasn't even half full. I didn't know how much it would make when we pressed it down and made it into bales. I hoped what we had picked would make a whole bale. I knew a slave doing real good could pick three or four hundred pounds in a day. Master McSimmons used to give his man-slaves a dollar for every day they picked over four hundred fifty pounds. I figured if the three of us together could get so we could even pick a hundred pounds a day, then we would get a lot of hundred-pound bales picked in a month. Maybe we could could make the money Katie needed, although I had no idea how much you got paid for cotton. Maybe we wouldn't be able to get it all picked. Rosewood probably had forty or fifty acres in cultivated cotton, from what Katie had shown me. But we'd pick as much as we could, and it seemed it oughta help. make the money Katie needed, although I had no idea how much you got paid for cotton. Maybe we wouldn't be able to get it all picked. Rosewood probably had forty or fifty acres in cultivated cotton, from what Katie had shown me. But we'd pick as much as we could, and it seemed it oughta help.

The next morning we were all sore and tired. We went out again, but we couldn't put in as long a day. We only worked till early afternoon. Then we went back to the house and slept.

By the third day we started to get used to it, though it was also getting tedious. And we were barely starting on the field. We still had miles of rows to go!

Five days later the wagon was almost up to the top. We had four packed bales of picked cotton. We were all pretty excited to see the full wagon sitting beside the field.

"Shall we take it in to Mr. Watson's?" asked Katie excitedly.

"Let's try to get one more bale," I said. "We'll roll one of the bales on top of the others. That will give us room to pack one more and tie it, and dump it out of the baling box and take the box off the wagon. Then tomorrow or the next day you can take the five bales into town."

"This time I won't even be nervous to take it in to Mr. Watson's," said Katie.

"Do you want me to go with you?" I asked, "... or if you want to go in alone, I can stay and keep picking."

"I think I can take it alone," Katie said. "And I'm nervous about you being seen now, after what happened. What if any of those McSimmons men were there? I'd rather take it alone."

Two days later she was on her way into town while Aleta, Emma, and I got started on filling up a second wagon.

A few stares followed her along the streets of Greens Crossing, seeing as she hadn't been to town since the incident with Jeremiah. But she didn't return the stares, and purposefully avoided the livery stable as she made her way through town.

Katie pulled up to Watson's mill two and a half hours after leaving Rosewood, got down, and went inside to tell Mr. Watson she had a delivery. He came out and looked over the load.

"Hundred-pound bales, I see," he said. "Your mama should know I can't pay as much since I have to repack them into quarter tons before s.h.i.+pping them out."

"That's all right, Mr. Watson," said Katie. "She knows."

He jumped up onto the wagon and lifted one of the bales by the straps we'd tied.

"Those aren't a hundred pounds either," he said. "Your hired darkies aren't pressing them none too tight. This feels barely eighty-five."

"Yes, sir."

"Well, it'll all be weighed.-Does your mama want me to credit her account?"

"Yes, sir."

"I haven't seen her in months, maybe a year or more. She doing okay?"

"Yes, sir. But we're shorthanded, and she needs me to bring you the cotton."

"All right, then. I'll get this unloaded so you can get the wagon back to her."

DIRE N NOTICE.

47.

THE WEEKS WENT BY AND WE TOOK A WAGONLOAD into town every four or five days. Gradually as we picked we got faster. into town every four or five days. Gradually as we picked we got faster.

The man at the mill was a little curious why it seemed to be going so slow when he was getting deliveries from the other plantations by the thousands of pounds. But as long as the cotton came in and looked okay, he didn't ask too many questions.

One day Katie returned from town and came out to the field where I was working. Aleta had gotten tired and gone back in, and Emma had been with William all day because he had become a little sick and fussy for a day or two.

As Katie approached I saw that she was holding an envelope. From the look on her face, I'd have thought somebody was dead.

"This was in the mail, Mayme," she said, showing it to me.

"What does it say?"

" 'To Rosalind Clairborne, Rosewood,' " Katie read. " 'This is to inform you that your loan of $150 is due and payable on September 29, 1865. If not paid in full, foreclosure proceedings will begin immediately.' "

She looked up at me with a forlorn expression on her face. "That's three days from now, Mayme! What are we going to do?"

"We've got to pick as much cotton as we can before then!" I said.

The rest of that day we picked faster than we'd picked the whole time. Katie explained to Aleta and Emma how dire the situation had become.

"I know you're tired, Aleta," she said, "but we've got to keep working together. And, Emma, do you think William could come back out?"

"Yes'm, Miz Katie. I'll bring him out an' den I'll help too. We gotter save Rosewood fer you, Miz Katie, we jes' gotter."

We picked till we were exhausted, then took time out to milk the cows and eat something. After that Katie and I went back out ourselves and were still picking when it was finally so dark we couldn't see the white of the cotton anymore.

"We've got to quit, Katie," I said. "We can start up again tomorrow. It's no use going any more now."

She didn't say a word. We walked back to the house together in silence, completely worn out. Aleta was already asleep. Emma and William had fallen asleep together on the couch in the parlor. We went inside, dragged ourselves up the stairs, and flopped into bed without even was.h.i.+ng or getting undressed.

When I woke up the next morning the sun was barely up. I poked my head into Katie's room, but she wasn't there. I went downstairs but couldn't find her anywhere.

I went outside and walked toward the field where we'd been working. There was Katie in the distance, bending down and working her way along a row like she'd never gone to bed at all. I went back into the house and quickly ate something, then packed up some bread and milk for her and went out to join her.

She glanced up as I came. From the pale look on her face, I could tell she hadn't eaten or had anything to drink yet. I gave her the bread and jug of milk. She smiled wearily and ate it, though I think by now her complete exhaustion had made it so she didn't feel hungry anymore.

An hour later Aleta wandered out, hair messy and sleep still in her eyes. Then a little while after that Emma walked out, holding William.

"Katie," I said, "you've been working hard. Why don't you go in with Aleta and Emma, and the three of you have some breakfast?"

"What about you, Mayme?" she said wearily.

"I'm fine," I said. "I'm feeling good. Then you three can come join me after you've had something to eat."

She didn't argue but just turned and started walking toward the house. Aleta and Emma followed her. An hour later we were all four working again in the field.

About the middle of the morning, I glanced up and saw a tall black figure walking toward us. We'd been so occupied that none of us had noticed him.

I paused and stood up, stretching my back. About the same time Katie noticed him too and walked over to meet him near where I was standing.

"You ladies is workin' mighty hard," said Jeremiah. "I been watchin' the goin's on at Mr. Watson's mill," he went on. "It seems t' me dat you could use another couple er han's at dis cotton o' yers."

Katie smiled a weary smile.

"I'm not going to pretend that we don't need help, Jeremiah," she said. "But what about your father? Does Henry-?"

"He don' know where I went. I ain't sayin' he ain't been askin' lots er questions. But I ain't tol' him nuthin' 'bout what I seen here."

"Thank you, Jeremiah. We are all very appreciative of your help."

Katie went back to the row she was working on. I started in picking again too, and Jeremiah fell in beside me, putting his pickings in my bag. He was even faster than me, and we could notice a difference right away in how fast the wagon filled. We found another bag in the barn and now started moving even faster. As we went we talked a little, mostly about how life used to be when we were both slaves. I suppose picking cotton couldn't help but remind us.

We were dumping our pickings into two wagons on each side of the field. By the end of that day, with Jeremiah's help, we had one of them nearly full. I don't know what he was telling Henry, but he came back the next day, and the day after that. We were up every day at dawn. On the twenty-ninth, we worked till about noon, then finally stopped to get ready to take both wagons into town. However much we'd picked in these three weeks, we'd run out of time. But we'd done better than I'd expected. Whether it came to anything close to the one hundred fifty dollars Katie needed, neither of us knew.

We ate some lunch, then hitched a team of two horses to each wagon. To get all the cotton to town, I'd have to drive one of the wagons myself. It couldn't be helped. Katie led her team off along on the road, and I climbed into the second wagon. Jeremiah jumped up beside me. We would take him partway into town, and he would walk the rest of the way by himself. Then I called to my two horses and followed Katie onto the road.

"Y'all hurry back!" said Emma as she and Aleta waved to us.

"And you be careful and watchful," said Katie back to her.

"I will, Miz Katie. Aleta an' me'll stay inside da whole time."

PAYOFF.

48.

WE RODE INTO GREENS CROSSING SITTING ON the two wagons, bouncing along the street toward Watson's Mill, Katie leading, me following. Jeremiah had jumped off about a mile from town and disappeared across a field. the two wagons, bouncing along the street toward Watson's Mill, Katie leading, me following. Jeremiah had jumped off about a mile from town and disappeared across a field.

These were our fifth and sixth wagonloads since we'd started on the cotton field.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Henry as we pa.s.sed the livery stable. I could tell he was watching us a little more carefully than I liked.

"Please, Mr. Watson," said Katie when we got to the mill and his men were unloading the two wagons, "my, uh ... could you pay us today for all the cotton we've brought so far? My ... my mama wants me to deposit it in the bank."

"Certainly, Kathleen," he said. "I'll go inside and tally up your account, then we will add today's weight to it. Do you want it in cash or a bank draft?"

Katie seemed confused for just a second. But then she answered, "Cash please, Mr. Watson."

We kept waiting. I tried to sit there looking down as if I wasn't paying much attention. But every once in a while I saw Henry down the street eyeing us.

Ten or fifteen minutes later, Mr. Watson came out of his office.

"Here you are, Kathleen," he said, handing her a small bag. "You'd better take this straight to the bank. Tell your mama I wish it were more, but hopefully she'll get the rest of the crop harvested in a little faster. And here are the scale sheets," he said, handing her a paper, "-two thousand one hundred and ten pounds at sixteen and a half cents a pound, which makes the three hundred forty-eight dollars that's in the bag."

Katie took both the paper and the bag, staring at him like she hadn't heard right.

"Did you say ... three hundred hundred dollars?" she said. dollars?" she said.

"Yes, three hundred forty-eight."

"Thank you ... thank you, Mr. Watson!"

Katie turned and ran back to where I was sitting, her eyes huge and a big smile on her face. Then she stopped and turned back.

"May we please leave the wagons and horses here for a few minutes, Mr. Watson," she asked, "while we walk down to the bank?"

"Of course, Kathleen," laughed Mr. Watson. "And don't spend it all in one place!"

I got down. Katie was obviously excited. I tried not to act like I'd understood, but I was dying of curiosity.

"Did he say what I think he said?" I whispered as we walked down the street toward the bank.

"Yes ... yes!" said Katie. "There's over three hundred dollars here. It's enough ... it's enough, Mayme!"

"I had no idea cotton cost so much," I said. "No wonder plantation owners are rich."

Katie laughed. "Maybe we are rich too," she said, "for a few minutes at least."

We walked into the bank and I stopped. "I'll wait for you out here," I said.

"This time you're coming in with me, Mayme," said Katie.

"I can't, Katie. People will stare."

"I don't care. You helped me save Rosewood. You earned most of this money, and so you're coming in with me. We're going to pay off that loan, and with what's left over, I'm going to give you twenty dollars and you're going to open your own bank account."

"Twenty dollars! Katie, I couldn't-"

"I don't want to hear another word, Mayme. If you don't do it ... I will open an account myself with your name on it."

Katie marched toward the door, with me following.

We walked into the bank, two dirty, scruffy girls, one white and one black. We hadn't even stopped to clean up after our morning's work.

I could see people glance up immediately all through the place looking at us. But Katie didn't seem to mind. She went straight to Mr. Taylor's desk.