Page 77 - a-history-of-columbia-county-florida-(1996)-edward-f-keuchel

A History of Columbia County Florida (1996) Edward F. Keuchel 66/340

An Expanding County in a New State

Dorsey remembers Mattair as a “typical wealthy southern
gentleman” who was “very kind to his slaves.” His wife however
was just the opposite and had the reputation of whipping slaves
with little or no provocation. Dorsey’s father was a carpenter on
the plantation, having learned the trade as a free black in Mary­
land. His mother was a housemaid. Young Douglas witnessed Mrs.
Mattair inflicting a serious cut with a butcher knife on his
mother’s arm during a period of rage. He considered poisoning his
mistress with strychnine, which was used for rat eradication, but
the war ended and he obtained his freedom before committing
such an act.10
Mrs. Mattair also flew into a rage at her own son Willie, a
child of eight, when she discovered he was teaching young Douglas
the numbers and letters of the alphabet that he was learning at
school. The mistress of the plantation had Mariah, her cook, tie the
two boys to posts on the porch where she stationed herself on a
chair between them and whipped them until their backs were
lacerated. On another occasion Mrs. Mattair forced the sale of a
baby boy born to Dorsey’s mother. The infant had a light com­
plexion and the mistress suspected the Colonel of fathering the
child. At the age of eight months the baby was sold to a slave owner
in Hamilton County, and it was not until some twenty years later
that the mother was reunited with her son.11
As to plantation life, Dorsey related that the slaves lived in
cabins built for them on the plantation. Work in the fields started
and ended with the sun, and their noon meal was taken in the field
consisting of food the slaves carried with them. Field chores in
raising the cotton, corn, cane and peas were directed by a slave
named January who was called a “driver.” January worked with
the other slaves, but had more privileges. When the slaves left the
fields they returned to their cabins where they prepared their
evening meal. Dorsey recalled that some of the songs which were
10Rawick, The. American Slave, pp. 94-95.
"Ibid., pp. 95-96.
63

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