The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1847-10-08
From the Louisville Examiner
The Sand-NilIers,

The Sand-Iiillers,
We find in the Winyaw IntelliCcncor
published at Georgetown, South Carolina
the following notice -
"1hc poor laborerS Oh Black river. and
in that ncighborhood, are in a state of star
walton, many OF them being without corn OF
meal, and none o; them having meat. The
occasion calls for the aid of the charitable.
aud efforts VIII be made to obtain relief fol-
them"
Who are these "poCr hborcrs."
There is class of poor whites in the
CarolinaS, and most Of the southern states.
peculiar in character, and unknown gcner-
ally TO tie country. They are called "Sand.
hlllcrS.' They are so called because they
cluster together in the poorest regions, and
there live by hunting, fishing, raising lit
Tie stock, making tar and charcoal, and at.
tending to poultry. They are very igno-
rant. Not one out of fifty can read or write
and what is worse, they change not as time
winnows down the old and supplies thcn
places with the young. As is the sire, so i,
the son.
And these sand-lillcrs are as peculiar il
dress and look as they are in character
You know them whenever you see them
They are marked III any crowd. Dressed
always in the plaineSt homcspun, home.
made and widely cut, often without shoes
but when using them wearing the coarses
kind, with slouched hats of cheapest tex.
turc, having no blood in their cheeks. thei,
eyes black and their hair lank, they are a.
distinct race as the Indian. In some res.
poets they are not unlike them. They love
TO roam the woods and to be free there Il
get together for irolic or fun; TO fish and
hunt; to chase wild cattle but here the
similarity ends; for they are wanting il
personal daring, and III that energy Of char.
acter which makes man. We do not know
one Of them who ever gained station in So
ciety. or became distinguished by his deeds
And it is this class to whom the George
town inteillGencer alludeS. when it speaks
OF the "poor laborcrS" on Black river, and
neighborhood.
How came they in their present condi-
tom
Their history is quickly told. 1t is sad
one, and we never think of it without sor-
row.
In the carly settlement Of the Carolinas.
every body pressed upon the water-conrscs
Poor as well as rich, made lodgment upon
or near their banks. There were, at first.
very few negroes; consequently, the latter
needed the labor Of the former, TO house
their crops and clear their lands. All 20,
along well them. But the slave traffic.
with is accursed ills. began soon after. and.
by and by, planters had their places Stoke ed
with slaves. Asthese. slaves increased, the
poor began to feel their degradation. A
bitter hatred grew mp between these class
cs. II led often to violence. The larger
planters. III consequence. began TO buy IN
the poor mems land, and The poor men. in
turn, became anxious TO sell. And they did
sell. But where were they 10 90? South
OF Carolina was wilderness: the good
lands, on the water courses, in the state.
were in possession Of rich planters. They
had no alternative left, as they thought. but
to herd together on the sand hills, and there
they and theirs still live.
Their choice Of placeis Significant enough
oil their feeling, and Of the cause of their re-
moval. They made their location i'm neigh
borhoods where neither large nor small
planters could modest them. They got
where they could live without being disturb
ed or worried by the continual sight o,
slaves. Now and then, You will find few
OF the more debascd sort gathered close by
towns; but generally, they are some ten. or
fifteen, or twenty miles back. VIVA. the
land would yield which they call their own
for often they "squat," as the phrase is,
on the states or others property--it is diff
cult to say. But the best of it, on the aver
age, would not return ten bushels of corn TO
the acre; the most of it not five. They
grow sweet potatoes, melons. little cotton
for home use, and now and then bag. or
half bag, formarket. But things arc where
they are, because slavery. with its blasting
social ills. beats them away from the richer
soil, and keeps them hopelessly down and
debased on the barren hills.
What are their peculiari.ies of mind?
The fact that they left the ncighborhood
OF large plantations, and sought sort of
wildwood liberty, shows that they hnve
some notions of personal freedom. They
have. But they are very crude. 1t was
their condition which induced us TO think
first on the subject of slavery, and cndcav-
orcd, in conjunction with the lamcncd
Grimke, to hit upon some plan by which
we could improve this. We endeavorcd TO
win their regard, and secure their conf.
dence: We succeeded in this, but we fail
ed, wholly, in every effort 10 induce them
to change their mode Of life. The ruling
idea uppermost in their minds seemed TO be
hatred Of labor, under the conviction that it
degraded them, because it put them on an
equality with the slaves. An anecdote will
illustrate this feeling.
One of their number had fine. intelli.
gent boy. He was one that would have
attracted notice in any boyhood gathering.
We proposed TO the father that he should be
educated. M.et him 60 with lis 10 town. .