Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1860-07-13
THE SANDHILLERS.


What S'aray does for the poor White Nam.
A correspondent of Life Illustrated,
travelling in South Carolina, thus describes
the condition of that miserable class of
whites, called Sandhillers, whom the en-
ployment of slave labor, by the wealthier
class, has driven into vagabondage 5d
Between the "low country y as it is
called, and the ''upper country y of South
Carolina, lies the middle or sandhill region
A large portion of this tract, which varies
from ten to thirty miles, is covered with
forests of pine, interspersed here and there
with different kinds Of trees. Where it is
under cultivation, the principal crop is cot
ton. But the land is not generally fertile,
and much of it is likely to remain for a
long time, a partial wilderness. ,fs-- ri rE
The country itself presents few inter
esting features, but it is the home of sim
gular race of people, to whom l may pro-
itably devote few paragraphs of descrip-
tion.
In travelling through the "middle coun-
try" 1 often passed the rude, squalid cab
ins of the Sandhillers All the inmates
usually fncked at the door of their window
less domicile to stare at me- And such a
lank. scrawny. filthy set of beings / never
beheld elsewhere-not even within the pur-
leurs of the Five Points. z.er zas s4lras
The complexion is ghastly yellowish
white, without the faintest tinge of whole
some red. The hair Of the adults is gen.
orally sandy and that of the children is
nearly as white as cotton. The children
are even paler, if possible, than the adults
and often painfully haggard and sickly
looking. ai ss6 ,f-- E.7a s5t5ia
They are entirely uneducated, and semi
barbarous in all their habits, very dull and
stupid, and, in general position, far be-
low the slave population around them
In fact, the negroes look down upon them
with mingled feelings of pity and con-
tempt. They are .ssquatters on lands
belonging to others, either with or with
out their consent. They sometimes culti-
vate, or rather plant, a small patch of
ground near their cabins, raising little
corn, a few cabbages, melons and sweet
potatoes. Their agricultural operations
never extend beyond this. a. 5as ri
Corn bread, pork, and cabbage, (fried
in lard) seem to be their principal articles
of diet. To procure the latter, and what
ever clothes they require, they make shin
giles or baskets, or gather pine knots or
wild berries, which they sell in the villages,
but beyond what is required to supply
their very limited actual necessities they
will not work. ,zHi-7s 5zel al5ll atf Ei EaCl
Their principal employments are hunting
and fishing, and their standard amusements
drinking whiskey and fighting. arss a.
Their dress is as primitive as their hab-
its. The women and children invariably
go bare-headed and bare-footed and bare
legged, their only garments apparently be-
ing coarse calico dress The men wear
a cotton shirt, and trowsers of the coarse,
homespun cloth of the country, with the
addition sometimes Of an upper garment
too rude and shapeless to be named'or de-
scribed. 5a5 Oh .si5gr s# i2iaH -I1-. ss5
I one day met migrating family of
these miserable people. On most sorry,
lank, and almost feshless substitute for a
horse, were packed the entire household
effects of the family, consisting of bed
and few cooking utensils, Two, small
children occupied the top of the back
Two larger ones, each loaded with a bum
die, trudged behind their mother, who ap-
peared not more thon seventeen years of
age. The father, wild, sinister looking
fellow, walked in advance of the rest, with
his long rife on his shoulder, and his hunt
ing pouch by his side $3.50 s-a-
A correspondent of one Of the city dai-
lies thus describes an encounter with a
siandhill family sd sa q =
Here. on the road, we met family who
have been in town. A little girl of ten
years old with coarse fragment of dress
on, is sitting on the back bone of moving
skeleton of horse, which has the addition
al task of trailing along rickety specimen
of wagon, in which is seated mana
real outside squalid barbarian, maudlin and
obfuscated with bald faced whiskey, with a
child four or FIVE years old by his side
Behind this, hagga-d looking boy upon
another skeleton of horse is coming.
What an old, outlandisb, low wheeled
cart the horse is pulling! There sits the
old woman and her grown up daughter,
with, nothing on, except very dirty bonnet.
coarse and dirty gown. The daughter
has basket by her side, and the old wom-
an holds fast to a suspicious looking stone
jug, of half gallon measure corked with a
corn cob. Your life ON it that is jug of
whiskey. The family have been to the
village with couple of one horse loads Of
pine knots used for light wood They have
probably sold them for dollar, half OF
which has doubtless gone for whiskey, and