Eastern times. [volume] (Bath, Me.) 1846-1857, 1854-04-27

Louisiana in 1853.

In my last, gave you some random sketches
Of Bayou La Fourche. The Gulf coast about
the outlets of the Bayou have been the scene OF
some strange mutations. Some Americans
look upon the Spanish and French inhabitants
as MOI exactly a conquered people. but as
bought and included in the purchase Of LOUISE
ana in 1903 The Creoles look upon the
Americans as restless innOvatOrs who have
taught the negroes to eat too much meat, and
have brought in too many big ploughs and
other Yankee notions. La Fnte and others
made the Gulf coast with its shallow bayous
aud agoons, rendezvous for smugglers and
pirates. Negroes were undoubtedly brought
into the country by way of La Fourche and
AtchafalaYa long after 1908. Persons from
Mississippi went TO that region to purchase
cheap negroes.
A story is told Of gentleman from one of
our piney woods counties, who went through
the swamps and cane brakes, until he found
some cheap negroes and paid his money for
them, but before he got fairly out Of the swamp,
he was met by some Of the gang from whom
he had purchased, and compelled TO surrender
his negroes and be thankful, like George ILL.,,
that things were no worse.
Now American enterprise has drained the
land, leveed the bayous and built cottin-gins
and sngar-houses. Until we get Cuba, this
region and Florida, and perhaps some Of Tex
as must remain the sugar-producing portion Of
the confederscy. Some however, think it
better to encourage the growth of sugar cane in
the West Indies, than on that degraded part Of
the country where negroes do most part Of the
work. Well, lei them buy the negroes, send
them 10 the ponds to cut ice in the winter, TO
TIE farms TO hoe corn in the summer, and
teach them christianity all the time. Who
would or could object! This is free coun-
try. / have no doubt but that any decent
Northern man can buy negroes twenty-five per
cent. cheaper than a Southern planter, in any
Of the States where slaves are sold for the
Southern market. Oh no, that would not do !;
no political capital could be made out of that !;
it would cost too much, and the Northern
white people would see too much Of the ne
groes and would not much longer be hum
bugged by abolition lectures.
Negroes now,-whether naturally or arti-
fcially is immateriaI,-are and always have
been inferior 10 the whites. If the freesoilers
really aim to raise them to an equality with
the whites, they take the wrong course entire
ly. 1t seems to me the proper way would be
TO scatter them as widely as possible among
the whites, that is, the slaves, and send the
free ones 10 Liberia. The number of negroes
cannot now increase by emigration, while every
Stale and territory are receiving constant ac-
cessions of white foreigners. If Nebraska
were open to negro emigration, three white
people would go there TO one negro; slave
holders would have small forces there com
pared to The cotton and sugar forces, and thus
negroes would have the advantage Of living in
4 country where they might improve by inter-
course with the whites. Where three or four
hundred negroes are congregaled on one place,
half of them see no white man TO have any
with him from one years end to
another, except the Overseer, the physician,
aud the preacher. On all good land in the
Southern country. there Is constant tendency
to large places anG large numbers Of negroes
TO place. After man invests two thousand
dollars in cotton gin, or thirty thousand in
sugar house, few more hands are always
considered desirable acquisition.
l do not pretend TO say that negroes ever
can be made equal with whites. but | really
believe that negroes in state of slavery scat
tered among the whites on small places, as
we see them here in the piney woods, present
the best specimens of negro manhood TO be
found the world over.
Jackson, Miss. April 10.