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Working in the fields
Rufaro is working in the fields in the state of South Carolina. The overseer (on horse) watches him like a hawk. As he does his work the overseer makes sure that Rufaro doesn't slack on his work. Rufaro constantly works from 3 A.M. to 9 P.M. -
Recieves weekly allowance of food
4:30 AM, Rufaro recieves his weekly allowance of food: a peck of cornmeal, 2 and a half pounds of pork, and 16 herrings. -
11 PM: Sleeps for 4 hours.
11 PM, after work, he goes off to bed, sleeping on the ground,]on top of thin, dirty, and torn blankets. It is scantly furnished, with few chairs, a fire place, and buckets for washing. There are between 5 and 7 slaves per slave quarters, including Rufaro. -
Rufaro Learns he is free
Rufaro learns that he is now a free man. He changes his name to Benjamin. He gathers his meager belongings and an American Paint Horse, a blue dun named Jack, and rides away towards California. -
5:30 wake up and get ready for work
After Benjamin was freed he moved to California with a large group of freed men and women were he became a farmer were he planted carrots, alfalfa, onions, and tomatoes -
6:00 go out and check on crops
After Benjamin had his breakfast he would go out and check on his crops to and see if everything was going okay, then he started harvesting a couple of his best crops -
7:00 head into town
When Benjamin finished harvesting his crops he would head into town to see if he could sell any, since there was a street market in the town he lived in to see if he could sell anything. -
8:00 Head back home
After making a sizable profit of $1.00 Benjamin heads on back home to see what has to be done for the rest of the day -
12:30 Start taking nap to recharge after big morning
Everyday Benjamin was a very busy man so he would take a nap everyday to regain his energy.. -
8:30 AM - 11:30 AM Working on the Farm
Benjamin farms alfalfa, onion, carrots, and tomatoes. He makes sure they are growing properly and if they are ready to be picked, he goes out and picks the ones that are ready. This can be a long process because he has a somewhat large farm. -
11:30 AM - 12:30 PM Lunch
After all that hard work Benjamin has to take a small 1 hour break to eat lunch and rest until he had to work in the fields again. He ate some bread, water, and a tomato for his lunch. -
1:30 PM - 5:00 PM Benjamin Gets Schooled
After his nap, Benjamin gets up and goes to the Wren Church, where teachers came to teach freed slaves so they can have a basic education. He learns how to read and write, do math, and learn a little bit about history. After school, he goes back to the farm. -
5:00- 7:00 PM: Go to a hardware store to find tools to work on his house
The house Benjamin lives in was incredibly inexpensive, but it was not very well maintained. So in order to keep his house nice and sturdy he worked on it for 2 hours every single night. -
7:30 PM check on crops then head off to bed
Benjamin would check on his crops one last time before he went to bed and then head off to bed after a long day.
