Pomeroy weekly telegraph. [volume] (Pomeroy, Meigs County, Ohio) 1860-1866, 1860-12-28
A P,cTURE OF HOME Ar THE soUrH

PICTURE OF HOME AT THE SOUTH.
A young lady in South Carolina thus
writes to relative in this city:
K, s. C., Saturday Dec. l, 1860
Ny DEAR UNCLE; 1t is with different
feelings that | set myself to pen these
lines to you, from those which actuated
me When l wrote you last Then all
Looked bright and cheeriIy in the future
now how gloomy and portentous, still
| ferrently "pray God that this cup may
pass away from US. The country here
is all aglow with the fires Of revolution.
and such is the intensity of excitement
that we can scarcely find time or incli-
nation to talk or think of anything else
than the political topics of the day, and
the moral and social consequences di-
rectly pertaining to secession. fear
that secession and revolution are, with
our people. foregone conclusions; that
We have gone so far, retraction and re-
cession are impossible, and that civil
war, with all its consequent horrors, is
already upon US. I shudder for the
wives and mothers, sisters and babes of
South Carolina, as contemplate the i'm
mediate future of the State. You need
not be surprised at any time to see me
and the children in your midst, for no
argument could induce. me Ito remain
here an hour longer than [ should be
compelled to, if the worst should come
to the worst.
You may imagine, dear uncle, our sit
uatfon, but you never can realize it in
its fullness. Already we tremble in our
homes in anticipation and expectancy of
what is liable to burst forth at any mo-
ment, a negro insurrection. Could You
see the care and precaution displayed
here by the proprietors of the negroes,
not only planters, but others, you would
not for moment envy us our posses
sions. Not night passes that we do
not securely lock our field servants in
their quarters; but our most loved and
valued house servants, who in ordinary
times We would trust to any extent, are
Watched and guarded against with all
the scrutiny and care that we possess
Our planters and owners Of slave prop
erty do not allow their servants to have
any intercourse with each other, and the
negroes are confined strictly to the prem
ises whore they belong. We are all
obliged to increase our force of oyerseers
to prevent too free intercourse even
among our own servants. The negroes
feel and notice these new restraints, and
naturally ask why is this2' But it is
unnecessary for them to ask the ques-
ton, for they all comprehend the cause
as well as we who own them. They
have already learned enough to give
them an idea of what is going on in the
State and nation, aud this knowledge
they have not gained from Abolitionists,
as some suppose. but from the conversa-
tion of their owners Indirectly held in
their presence. They have already
heard of Lincoln's election, and have
heard also that he is for giving them
their liberty, and you may imagine the
result.
You have heard that our servants all
love their masters, and their masters
families, and would lay down their lives
for them-that the colored race in the
South prefers Slavery to Freedom-that
they would not be free if they could
&c. That is but the poetry of the case,
the reality consists in sleeping upon our
arms at night-in doubly bolting and
barring onr doors-in establishing and
maintaining an efficient patrol force
buying watch dogs, and in taking turns
in watching our sleeping children, to
guard them and ourselves from the ven
geance of these same glowing servants
"a vengeance which, though now
smouldering, is liable to burst out at any
moment, to overwhelm the State in spite
ofthe Palmetto flags or State precautions
You at the North are not the only
ones who are suffering financially by this
new panic. The planters among us are
really suffering from the depreciation
in their property Already negroes are
not worth half price No one dares to
buy servant, fearing st-he, in doing
SO, should be introducing upon his plan
tation one tinctured with the idea of free
dom.
My husband has but few servants
| believe but thirty -one all told-still [
feel (and so does he) that they are
thirty one too many in such times as
these. He would sell them Immediately,
if it were possible, but the truth is he
could realize nothing for them at pres
ent, or at most not over half their real
value. Slaves are drug in the market,
my husband says, and you know him
well enough to judge of his judgment in
such matters.
Now, one word as to the military force
of the State, to protect us against an in
surrection. I presume, with the excep-
ton of Charleston, and perhaps~a few
large towns, that the remainder Of the
State is situated very much as we are
here, and l will give you an idea of how
we'll prepared we are to resist mob
Upon our place of about l 200 acres we
have: of whites, males-husband, two
overseers, and my son of 18 years; total,
four; females-self and cousin, little
Lucy and an overseer's wife-four; of
whom only four at the most are capable
of bearing arms-to Offset which we have
at least seventeen field hands-sturdy
young negroes-beside the female SER
wants. And this is fair representation
of the force upon our, plantation. Con-
sidering such state of facts, do you
blame me for desiring to absent myself,
my husband and children from the
Stately, Y Tribune.