The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1854-12-23

The vessel went off the stocks amid the shouts OF
she assembled crowd; she had bright psnuants fg.
csIen DRY OF b. eskiug bottle OF vine over be:
This vessel was built and owSed by James Ha milton
and john Cowrer, and 10 after the former tn u
the son Of Mr.. COwpe- WAS named. They owned q
store Ut Gask,ns Buff where La &c trase was car
rsd on with the main land. Tney were enterprisiag
Scotehmen finn Gree1ock and were early pioneers
in 6tun ern trace and speculation, many OF tnelr
fellow couDtymen we're in other parts Of the South
ern country in the earlier portions OF It's history,
wbcse names are perpetuased either ir the silent
mar Die OF the churchyard or in the surviving gen
eratioD OF manly SONS who fill their places
NEED hardly say that there are no evidences that
the live oak planting project on the island was ever
prosecuted. | imagine that the reverse was the
case, ard that probably the painting Of the black
seed cotton eDgenceTed q mania as desperate as the
morns nulticauhs rage, fortunately much more
permanent and profitable and overshsdo wing even
the towering Imagination and antcip atoms o.
brageous live oaks In fact, the cotton stalk super
SEQ. the oak tree, and therefore claims becoming
notice of the incidents OF the introduction Of long
cotton, with which shall con ude this the first Of
my communications, 70 bs followed BY others If it
shC Md prove acct ptable to you.
person named Bisset d st introduced the black
seed cotton, snc planted 1t at the lower end of
Gashin's Bluf, in 1895. My impression is tlat its
cultivation WAS for several years Of very limited
extern. should say here, rather by way Of plren
thesis, that shen In ne Vsp Aper par agrapR watch
was going the rounds few years since, the same
clam was advance for the Georgia islands as be-
ing tho DIST seat OF the long coLtsn culture in
vessed aud prominent native gentleman Of East
FlorlCa. This gentleman informed me thai the
black seed was planted at an earlier date in
the portion Of tho country s,uth OF st. Augustine
Fla, the Aasnt'c coast, by several settlers, fom
the Bahamas The whole account VI tn early
Florida setteme,t ID within my ach, WITH all th.
particulars Of the early cotton planting there; bat
these Sil reserve Tor another chap er.
In Svovfp tn Ma Mas
Providence, and bought nine hundred African
grOes, shat lsland then being depoG where con-
slider able importa ions we're made from the African
coast Thomas Spaldi g, who died in lS49, at a
venerable age, and VINO for long career in later
portion Of hls lfs became honoraby and prominea ~
" identified with tubhc affairs, he being also an
early settler on the Georgia coast pm chased a. the
same time seven hundred ON Nassau. The design
OF this was to enlarge the planting OF Sea Ijland
cotton. Messrs. Cowper and Spaldi0g opened plan
tabons on ST. Simoss, and extended the long
cotton culture by hetfling other places on the main
land, and by disposng OF portions Of their negroes
to other sestlsrs, over wide range OF c0uatry.
Connected with the culture in this country, Hamil
ton was united with M Beshune, in England, 10 q
firm engaged in the mai ufacture Of the rav ma
to la, and 70 them the cotton grown was shipped.
1t is probable that other impOrtati0ns Of negroes
were made, ~ the people Of Liberty county (the
d. scendsnts Of New England pilgtn set lers,) and
OF other counties OF Georgia, Approximate to the
coast made purchases OF the negroes for their
told forty shorsly died Of dyseEtery; and the NOR
tally was stayed By using dec ,ction of the root
growing wild in this region, kno Wn ss Florida coffee
weed. But more touching incident IL related, and
verified by NY Informant, in the voluntary death Of;
twenty otter Of the Iative Africans shortly after
their arrival. TDesa twenty rushed together deli
bei ately OF the bluff ut Can0ns Point, st. 5imons
and we're at once drowned The despair which
mentioned that . prevailing impression existed
among the negroes, derived from their teaching in
Africa, that The white man brought them q way to
the new country 10 iced them fat:en them, and eat
them. Vora .ious cannbals that We are!
1t may hardly NEE. WITH credence, bat IL is posi-
lively stated 70 me. that Of these native Africans
the island, there we're several among them Sho prac
tsed writing, ~ my informant says, In Arabic.
These me- were e. alleged Soma OF distinguished
personages vanqnjshed in war, and as the fate OF
war" among their "a e, sold TO the purchasers on
the African COST. The possession by them Of such
capacity, If the statement be 0orre:t, is striking
and impressive to the mind. They wrote letters
backwards and forwards to each other on sne island
wrote with facility One named Jim tina. belong I'd
to an earlier importation, wrote letters Gown
to new corners on their later arrival, to learn
about them and shout matters and things at
home, and was answered in the same manner
Jim could keep accounts on q slate, in tally With
the overseer, Of the cotton weighe and would add
up his column WITH facility, invariably making II
correspond with the overseers deures-and al tnis
can school. Ny informant IL q man Of und0uoted
veracity and states these facts from his own per-
sonAl knowledge; he knew the negro j n well, has
and strange and touching ~ these incidents ara,
they are NO less 10 than the vouchers for the d.
bilhty Of their relation are undoubted. few othr
inc1dents connected with these negroes, and Wal
close. There we're representatives. among them Of
five nations. On one aston died from the bite
Of rat1leenake. The negroes asked ps rmission to
bury their brother according to the customs Of their
country, which was of course granted. Thereupon
the rites Of each Of the five respechve nations
performed over the BODY. TAey wsud charm rattle
snakes, and wave them around their hea is in their
cfnched bands they administered rattle snake tea
az cuie for pulmonary diseases. They we're supe'-
stitious and suspicious their oversser had learned
Amsttering Of their language, which they them
selves had been communicating in; but when they
considered the danger Of the Learning their
secfets, and the intelligence they we're writing and
receiving from their trends at bone, every
rapidly learned the English, and abandoned his own
tongue for common porpos-s.
The quarters Of the negroes on the plantation
were In palmetto tents or huts-and eacn one had
his piece OF Rrouno ON which to grow nus corn aud
vegetables When first settled, each one was given
a,pair of fowls and SOW pig. A voluntary offsr.
ing Of the women to tne 0verseer, once week. vas
an, egg BY each, brought and presented by ner own
hand.
They were permitted TO haze a jubilee snce every
year, after housing the crop, waen feast az a long
table in grove, wss provided; aud IN such occa-
sioDs, +" like master ike man." the negroes would
initiate the white mans order ut the taole, noy
bring me 30 and go" The desire TO imitafe the
. gemmsn" has sibce that been more fully develop
go in the numerous specimeng Of 10 ge Ius Phis-
delpby Niger" which are now TO b, seen. The
women, ia confinement, would not accep, toe Ms
slstancs Of midwife, but would retire toto the
"bush" when Ia labor, UNDERGO the pains OF parsl-
rtson alone, and succeed in safely compile ang their
OVID delivery.
The negro men on the island were well clo.be
With paoss, shirt and jacket, and the women equally
WE'LL
On every Saturday night the neg-oss pr.c.sad
their native religious rites in theircamps bat Coris
tan teaching, which Is generally iucnlcated Dy
Southern planters at the present ~ his pIauta
zion, was not at that time INST .uted among tou
inland blacka. kissixMfE.
Sinking nj the Propeller WestrnoreIand.
SEVENTEEN LIVES Lost
The Racine -dduocafe learns the folio sing psrti-
culars Of the loss OF the propeller WestmorelsDd,
from Mr.. G. Wright toe engicesr:--
The propeller lett Chicago on SATURDAY., the "a OF
Dec m GER; stopped At Milwaukee and took ou 50
barrels at fious, AID then started ior toe norm.
recting TO get VOID q, Port Washington. but lhs
sea WIZ SO heavy that they were obliged TO return