Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1859-06-07
THE
NOTES"
MORNING, JUNE Z, 1859.

"'RICIlMOND NOTES.
Mr. Henry X. Tracy, Of the Boston Her
aid, whoaccompanied the De Molays ON their
late visi, to Richmond publishes the following
article, under the above head in the Her
aid" Of Friday last: :
"The late visit of the Knights Iemplar OF
Boston and Providence to Richmond has
been productive Of much information In re
gard 70 the last named city, to the visiting
strangers. The beauty of the locality and
surrounding scenery filled every one with
admiration. When art has made all the
improvements desirable upon nature in the
CITY and suburbs, it will be one of the most
beautiful towns in the world. ShockOe Hill
aboupds in beautiful residences, the abodes
of men of wealth and refinement, surrounded
with flowers, shrubbery and trees, and adorn-
ed with every thing necessary to render
them delightful homes. The air OF Rich
mond is eminently salubrious and healthy,
During the epidemic at Norfolk not q case OF
yellow fever existed in Richmond, except
those brought from the former place, among
which were several physicians who had gone
down there and devoted their lives, heroically,
10 the cause of humanity in the infected dis
trict. There is hardly a healthier town In
the States than is Richmond.
1t is a very orderly city. With q popnla.
ton Of forty thousand, twelve thousand OF
whom are slaves andtwenty-ive hundred are
free negroes, they have only .foar day police
men and twenty-four night watchmen. Du'
ing our visit, We saw no brawllng or drunken
ness. Everybody seems to attend to his own
affairs most religiously, and we learned that
large fortunes and much happiness have been
gained there by men who have minded
their W business devoutly. AS it is u
part ofthe business of the citizens TO enter
tain strangers within their gates, We found
some of them forsaking their ordinary avoca-
tons to minister to the comfort of their
eastern friends and vindicate the fame of
Virginia for her hospitality. But no mar
there interferes with his neighbor.
The slaves seemed to be the freeSt labor
ing population one can find any where
Slavery in general, in Richmond, isa 'Nir-
ginia abstraction" Practically the slaves
are free. In the great tobacco manufactures,
where hundreds are employed. we were sur
prised by the ~alacrity. energy and skill of
their ~manipulations of the fragrant weed
Standing at the rows of benches, or along
the ranges Of iron presses their fingers flew
with lightning rapidity, and occasionally
they broke out in q song and chorus which
was good to hear. These hands choose their
own boarding places, their clothes and board
are paid for by the master, and for all their
labor beyond the daily allotted task, they re-
ceive cash every Saturday night. Their own
earnings amount to from fifty cents to a
dollar per day, each; and az they have no fu-
ture wants to provide for, the money is usu-
ally spent in ornaments or luxuries each
week during Saturday night and Sunday
On the Sabbath they gather a congregation
offour thousand in the large African church,
where they appear in fine clothes and listen
to the stated preaching of the gospel. The
singing by a numerous native choir mt the
African church, is one of the things that the
Richmonders boast OF, and many regrets
were expressed that we could not remain and
listen to it on the Sabbath. The principal
operator in the delivery department OF one
of the leading journals in Richmond Is a
slave, owned by the proprietor OF the paper
who only requires him to perform that SER
vice each morning. He is a very intelligent
fellow, and we found he had invented a new
method of mailing papers which Is a decided
Improvement. This slave earns a good deal
of money for himself, as he is n famous
knight OF TIE tOuuS btiCh az
daily in the bar of the Ballard House, con-
cocting mintjuleps for the thirsty ones
Cesar" has conquered as many with his
iuleps as did over one ofhis Roman namesakes
with war-like weapons.
The horse is deemed in Virginia too noble
an animal to be driven by negroes, III teams
and draws, and mules are almost universally
used for hard work. The truth is that the
negro is too ~tyrannical, too cruel an oppres-
sor to anything placed in his power to be
entrusted with u horse team. The mulels
tough and can bear beating, and therefore
all the teaming in Richmond Is done with
mules. The huge tobacco hogsheads are
drawn from the country to the warehouses
by teams of four mules each, with anegro
driver mounted on the near wheeler. The
black position glories in the possession OF a
large whip, which cracks loud and cuts deep
and he probably imagines that he is aveng'
ing himself for al the thirty lashes save
nine" which his own race have received, BY
giving his mules occasionally q batting OF
"long oats" Both the negroes and the
mules appear to work patiently and indus
t~riously, and the former are certainly n hap
py class in Richmond"