Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1855-10-28
UNION AND AMERICAN.
Negrnes in Virginia.

| ying into it? II you have, perchance, sojourne,
/ in this hospitable region, you have made acqua;n
tance with the negroes of the country.
Some of the farms, in the grain growing portion.
OF Eastern Virginia, are very large, and work q
great number Of hands. These are principally
slaves indeed on the larger farms, all the regular
farm hands are slaves, although in very busy sea.
sons, free negroes, OF whom there are considera-
BILE namber in this country, are sometimes hi:ed as
day laborers, to assist the regular hands. On all
large farms an overseer is employed, whose bust
ness it is to see that the negroes perform their du-
ties, to see that they are comfortably provided for,
and to attend generally, to the cultivation of the
land
Upon every plantation, large and small, each
servant who has reached adult age, provided with
cabin, small house built generally OF logs, with
athatched or shinged roof This cabin has ground
floor, which the negroes always prefer. 1t is some
times built near the dwelling house, but generally,
especially on farms situated at some diatance from
the masters house, it is put up on location most
convenient to the field in which tie occupant la
bors. Around each cabin, piece of ground, suf-
from which the occupant, If be is all industrious,
can always produce vegetables enough 10 serve him
during the year, it is prevalent custom to give
TO each individual sufficient time daring tae wees,
to work his garden. Most servants raise, toe,
large numbers OF fowls, wbica they can always
very readily SELL either to their masters, at TIE
neighboring villages, or at some OF tde stores which
are scattered throughout this country. From these
fowls, large quantities ofeggs are procured, which
also meet very ready sale. On some farms, each
maa and woman with caJin, is allowed to rase
beg, for which they Can always 6nd enough to
eat 1t would scarcely be believed, that from these
apparently very slender resources the negroes are
enabled to obtain as much money as they usually
heye in their possession, for they fail to ind
enough to purchase sgi6cieut supply OF cotfse,
gar, Hhiskey, and tobacco, the four iuxuries which
trey prize above all Others and few are long with
out change in their POCKETS. There are many who
might, if they knew how to take care Of what they
make, purchase their freedom in a lew yeaIs.
We remember having been told of "a maa who
had been for many years known among his fellow
Iaborers, as q mighty stingy" fellow, who, at
time when he was sick, sent for bis master come
and see him, as he wanted to make his Will Ne
groes are generally very much alarmed when lit
tie sick and as he came in, his master said, pleas
antIy
"Why Sam, how is thisH They tell me you
want to make a will! You are not so far gone as
thai, hope? ?'
"Ah, yes, master my time an come, ] bTieves.
Well bless God, Use not afraid TO go; but what
"Ohl viii do so, certainly, Sam; but 1 expect
to see you out next week, as well as ever. What
eau do for you
"In dat Of chist in de corner, dere, master, you
win fin what Use been savin' desc ten years here
is de key. l want you to give half to my niece,
and de other hall, master, for you has been good,
kind master to ne, l want yOu to keep yOu'self."
Sam did not recover; and on searching b,s old
chest his master, to his great surprise found near
ly six hundred dollars, which he appropriated as
the old man desired.
We will return from this episode to the cabins,
with which we were occupied. From the garden
We will look into interior Here you will gen
orally find, especially with the older servants,
good feather bed, table, half dozen hanging
shelves, and in cold weather, bright fire blazing
on the cupacious bearta You will fud, too, if you
will go, as have sometimes done, with the physi-
cian employed to attend to them thai thy never
want for sugar to enable the doctor TO make his
pills, or to make his medicles less unpalatable;
and they are often provided with little deicacies,
sent them on such occasions from the ladies of the
house, delicacies such rarely pass tie thresholds
Of the INDECENT of our cities except from the Occa-
sional hand OF the charitable. This little cabin,
too is as much the castle OF the slave, at least as
regards those on his own level, as is the house Of
any man in the country; and some old fellows are
very exclusive as to whom they allow to enter its
precincts. An old man no was for many years
q lsvorte to his master-who related to me some
of his pecll;ari ies-when he retired to his quar-
ters to pass his old age, would never let even his
own children come into mis- little house. On pleas
ant Sunday afternoons, he might be seen sitting in
the doorway, with group rOunl him, to the mem
bers Of which he woRd talk pleasant y; ont not
ore except his wife, if she happened to be pres
ent was allowed to pass the threshold.
"Why, Billy, don't you invite your children into
your cabin?7
"No, master, don't niggers ant to BE- trusted;
dat kUoHs"
The slaves here are required 10 work; but the p
labor is light; 50 light that it is generally aekRosl-
edged that white la3oriRg niuI at the north viii
accomplish almost. if rot quite, as much wo K in 2
day, as two southern negroes. At sunrise they go
ou; into the Geld; at suoset they return to their
houses; Sunday, two days at W'htsuatde, Easter,
and week at Christmas, is their own time They
are then free; 80 free that they DO not even work
for their masters; without qiid pro qao Geuer
ally, they 90 TO work eheerfuy, and labor, wiling
Is. Striking instances sometimes occur, OF their
anxiety 10 perform faithfully their dut;es and some
times this is done from religions sense Of wat
they believe they owe 70 their nasters Tie mass
Of negroes, it must be Acknowledged, are ignorant
very ignorant Gs well morally as intellectually, and
think little d acting from aay sense of right; they
labor willingly and chesrluily from habit. But
many have gool moral sense, and seem to act IL
many respects from religious principles,
A worthy Old man, of whom never think with
out feeling Of respect and esteem, was once asked
what be would do if he was ordered by him to work
on the Sabbath, as he professed to be a religious
man and regarded the Sabbath as q day set apart
a one on which to labor would be violation of a