A slave who tried to starve him or herself was tortured. If torture didn't work, the slave was force fed with the help of a contraption called a speculum orum, which held the mouth open.Despite the captain's desire to keep as many slaves as possible alive, Middle Passage mortality rates were high.
Dr. Robert Sorenson, MD is a board certified ophthalmologist in Berkeley, California. He is currently licensed to practice medicine in California. He is affiliated with Alta Bates Summit Medical Center. Pacific Presbyterian Medical CenterResidency.
There was no question, however, that Mr. Bronson had known hard times. He was born on Nov. 3, 1921, in the Scooptown section of Ehrenfeld, Pa., a coal-mining town. His real name was Charles Buchinsky, and he was the 11th of 15 children born to Lithuanian immigrants. He knew little about his father, who died when Mr. Bronson was 10. He knew abject poverty throughout his early years: his family was so poor that when he was 6 he was sent to school in a dress, a hand-me-down from an older sister. By the time he was 16 he was working in the coal mines, earning about $1 for each ton of coal he clawed out of the earth.