Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861, 1850-04-20
Notes Of Travel at the South. No. Ill
.4po,ogy-.Naiural .4dudntGges-Ignordnc Of
the North and Of .Aboiitionisis Hoi0 North
ern travellers are tredted-Southern Morals
neutrality-suspicious..

Il DEAR FRIRSD, y. JOHNSON Some apoo
gy is due for the non-appearance of my sec
# ond letter until this late date, which will
+ make by stating that The Bugle containing
n my first did not come TO hand until two OF
4 three days ago; until | sent it did not know
4 whether my "sketches" would be interest.
I ing. My only motive in giving them is to
stir up anti-slavery people to more nctive ef'
{ fort in behalf of the wretchcd, helpless
I slave.
: Nature, in her proiision, has done much
to render the country through which pass.
ed beautiful. Its various scenery aud il:
, balmy atmosphere make it blessed land
: its natural resources have tendency to
make the citizens wealthy, but they derive a
very small part of the wealth they do ac.
. quire from the sources limited at. In some
puces in Ala. iron ore aud coal occur in
such vast quantities that the wants of the
t entire South could not exhaust them in an
age, perhaps not in ages, yet they remain
comparatively undisturbed.
The generality of Southern people en-
men. They think all who reside north OF
Mason and Dixon's line to be abotionsts.
and when such pass through their country
they view them with great deal of scrutiny.
] may remark, that not one man in twenty
among them knows really what an abolition
list is, or what kind of an opinion and prac-
tice It requires to constitute an ant-suvery
man. i found some who seemed 10 think
that the abolitionsts were associated togcth-
er for the purpose Of "sieaing negroes "
through agents supposed by them to be kept
dodging about through tile South for that
purpose.
Apprehendng their property in danger, it
is not strange that they should have yigi-
lance Committees" clothed with an authori-
~ transcending all ,rriten law. While in
the State of Alabama one of these honorable
committees did us the honor to examine our
letters, with the benevolent motive no doubt |
of seeing whether their contents were such |
as would be suited to our capacities. Not |
knowing what casually some of our friends |
might be as well to leave our letters in the |
hands of these ,cOthy gentlemen, aud accor-
dinghy did so. Immediately after our return, |
we made some inquiry of wealthy and in
telligent friend ofours residing in that neigh
borhood relative to the fate Of our uniortu-
nate letters, and what kind of sensation |
their contents produced upon the minds of
those who read them. His reply has just
come TO hand, and as it throws light ON this
part Of the subject, / will give il in his own
language. $50 soon as the contents of the
letters were known, all excitement subsidized.
My citizens are jealous of their rights and
will maintain them. They claim nothing
which belongs TO another, and they will not
submit to an interference OH the part of 9TH
ers with their rights and interests when un-
constitutionaly encroached on... Under
the present excitement pervading our coun-
try, you must not blame, nor complain of
my citizens for being wGtchiill and even
jealous of rights which we have good reason
to know there has been an almost untring
effort to trespass upon by some of the bretIl-
rem of our Republic" While speaking of
the latter part of the subject, it is but Justice
that should state, that they sometimes had
the kindness TO let us see those which had
been directed TO us after they had read them,
but we did not uniformly find them SO kind.
When undertake to speek of the morals
or rather immorals prevailing among the
majority of the people among whom we
were mninly, am constrained TO number
proiane swearing, intempcrance and concu-
binagc among the leading features of public ,
and private character. Card-playing, horse I
racing and cock-fighting are honorable pas
times and innocent amusements 1t was not
an uncommon thing to hear dozen or twen-
ty oaths from man in spending an evening
with him, uttered, not under any excitement,
but from habit; and yet this same individu-
al would sustain, among his religious neigh
bors, the character Of being an honorable,
highninded gentleman. heard the sent-
Inent uttered more than once that there was
no getting along with negroes and mules
without swearing.
should think three -iourths of the people
with whom we lodged We're in the daily
practice of drinking spirituous liquors.
They generally look upon teetotalism as 1
species of insanity, and "cannot see how |
any man can keep house without the good I
ritter" We were informed that their cleo '
lions in some localities turn upon ,ohiskey '
IarreL Each candidate must have his IL /
luor on the ground, and he whose " red eye" {
holds ont longest gets the most votes. Many
lfirays and murders grow out of this vice :
iese are ofso common occurrence that they
produce very little excitement; at the worst