Some of the women picked ninety pounds, and Jean picked forty and Kitty thirty-six.
October 4.
Job knew what he was talking about when he said: "Man is born to trouble as the sparks fly upward." I went to Cherokee in quite an excitement this morning because the cotton-field was snowy yesterday and I expected to make a big picking, but last night, on a plantation three miles away, an old woman died and not a creature has come out to work.
Eva is the "Presidence of the Dessiety," her son tells me, to which Linette belonged, and so, of course, she could not be expected to work to-day, but the other women have no such eminence nor can they claim kin nor even friendship: meanwhile should the weather change and a rain come down, my precious cotton will be ruined.
October 5.
Another brilliant morning, but no hands in the cotton-field but Eva. She, having accomplished the duties falling on her as "presidence" of the burial society and pinked out yards and yards of frilling for the dressing of the coffin and shroud and sat up all last night, did not feel bound to remain to the funeral, as they had not been friends; indeed the departed Linette had been the cause of great domestic infelicity to Eva, so she came and picked her usual thirty-five pounds alone.
I sent Dab to pick for a short time, and he did very well, picking eleven pounds in about an hour. Then I went in and picked for about fifteen minutes myself.
I wanted to find out what the difficulty was. I picked a pound and a half and found it very easy and interesting, even exciting work, and I am no wiser than I was before. If I was not afraid of the sun, I would have gone on all day, or rather until 2 o'clock, for it clouded up after that, and I came home in a pouring rain, which continues at bedtime.
October 6.
A beautiful bright Sunday after a night of heavy rain. The thought of the wasting cotton had to be sternly put aside. I had to visit the wonderful invalid before I could get rid of the nagging thought, "If only the cotton had been picked!" After that the glorious sunshine and singing birds had their full value, and the seventh-day peace reigned within as well as without.