pouring water over them. After standing for several days--until the
ashes had decayed--holes were drilled into the bottom of the barrell
and the liquid drained off. This liquid was the lye, and it was then
trickled into the pot into which the fat had been placed. The two were
then boiled, and after cooling cut into squares of soap.

Water for cooking and other purposes was obtained from a well, which
also served as a refrigerator at times. Matilda does not recall seeing
ice until many years later.

In the evenings Matilda's mother would weave cloth on her spinning-jenny
and an improvised loom. This cloth was sometimes dyed in various colors:
blue from the indigo plant; yellow from the crocus and brown from the
bark of the red oak. Other colors were obtained from berries and other
plants.

In seasons other than picking-time for the cotton the children were
usually allowed to play in the evenings, when cotton crops were large,
however, they spent their evenings picking out seeds from the cotton
bolls, in order that their parents might work uninterruptedly in the
fields during the day. The cotton, after being picked and separated,
would be weighed in balances and packed tightly in 'crocus' bags.

Chicken and goose feathers were jealously saved during these days. They
were used for the mattresses that rested on the beds of wooden slats
that were built in corners against the walls. Hoop skirts were worn at
the time, but for how long afterward Matilda does not remember. She only
recalls that they were disappearing 'about the time I saw a windmill for
the first time'.