Cincinnati daily press. [volume] (Cincinnati [Ohio]) 1860-1862, 1860-09-11
A SOuthern PlantatiOn-SInve Management
on an Extensive ScaIe.
A recent traveller in the South gives the
following in a volume of his observations:

situated on a tributary of the Mississippi
and accessible only by occasional steamboats,;
even this mode of communication being fire.
quently interrupted at low stages Of the
rivers. The slaves upon it formed about one
twentieth Of the whole population of the
county, in which the blacks considerably
outnumber the whites. At the time of my
visit, the owner was sojourning upon it, with
his family and several invited guests, but his
usual residence was upon a small plantation,
Of little productive value, situated in a
neighborhood somewhat noted for the luxury
and hospitality of its citizens, and hayinga
daily mail, and direct railroad and telegraphic
communication with New York. This was,
il | am not mistaken, his second visit in
five years.
The property consisted of four adjoining
plantations, each with its own negro-cabins,
stables and overseer, and each worked to
great extent independently of the other, but
all contributing their crop to one Clubhouse
and warehouse, and all under the general
superintendent of bailiff or manager, who
constantly resided upon the estate, and in
the absence of the owner had vice-regal
power over the overseers, controlling, so far
as he thought fit, the economy of all the
plantations.
The manager was himself gentleman of
good education, generous and poetic in tenn
perament, and possessing capacity for the
enjoyment of nature and happiness in the
bucolic life, unfortunately rare with Ameri-
cans. found him delightful companion,
and have known no man with whose nat
| ural tastes and feelings / have felt, on so
short acquaintance, a more hearty sympathy.
| The gang of toiling negroes to him however,
was as essential an element of the poetry of
nature as focks of peaceful sheep aud herds
of lewing kline, and he would no more ap.
preciate the aspect in which an Abolititionist
would see them than would Virgilhave hon
ored the feelings of a vegetarian, who could
only sigh at the sight of focks and herds
destined to feed the depraved appetite of the
| carnivorous savage of modern civilization.
The overseers were superior to most of their
class, and with one exception, frank, honest,
| temperate and Industrious, but their feelings
toward negroes were such as naturally re-
suit from their occupation. They were all
married, and lived with their families, each
in a cabin or cottage, in the hamlet Of the
slaves of which he had especial charge.
Their wages varied from $500 to $1,000 a
year each E. r-s..
These FIVE men, each living more than a
mile distant from either of the others, were
the only white men on the estate, and the
only others within several miles of them were
few skulking vagabonds. OF course, to
secure their own personal safety and to eff
ficiently directt the labor of such a large number
ofignerant, indolent and vicious negroes,
pline were necessary, which would in some
cases operate unjustly and cruelty, 1t is ap-
parent also, as the testimony of negroes
against them would not be received as evil
dence in court, that there was very little
probability that any excessive severity would
be restrained by fear of the law. A pro-
vision of the law intended to secure a certain
privilege to slaves, was indeed disregarded
under my own observation, and such infrac-
ton of the law was cenfessedly customary
with one of the overseers, and was permitted
by the manager, for thereason that it seemed
to him to be, in certain degree, justi6abe
and expedient under the circumstances, and
because he did not like to interfere unneces-
sarily in such matters.
In the main, the negroes appeared to be
well taken care of and abundantly supplied
with the necessaries of vigorous physical
existence. A large part of them lived in
commodious and well-built cottages, with
broad galleries in front, so that each family
of five had two rooms on the lower tioor and
a loft. The remainder lived in log-huts,
small and mean in appearance, but those OF
their overseers were little better, and prep.
arations were being made to replace all Of
these by neat boarded cottages. Each fam
lily had fowl-house and hog-sty, con-
structed by the negroes themselves, and
kept fowls and swine, feeding the latter
during the summer on weeds, and fattening
them in the autumn on corn stolen (this was
mentioned to me by the overseers as II it
were matter of course) from their masters
corn-felds. / several times saw gangs Of
them eating the dinner which they had
brought, each for himself, to the field, and
observed that they generally had plenty
often more than they could eat OF bacon
corn-bread, and molasses. The allowance o.
food is weighed and measured under the eye
of the manager by the drivers and distrio,
, uted to the head Of each family weekly; con-
sisting of, for each person, three pounds OF
pork, one peck Of meal, and from January
J to July, one quart of molasses. Monthly
] | in addition, one pound of tobacco, and foul
J | pints of salt. No drink is ever served bu
water, except after unusual exposure, or II
/ ditchers working in water, who get glas
| | Of whisky at night All hands cook TO
themselves after work at night, or wheneve
they please between nightfall and daybreak
: each family in its own cabin. Each famil.
Q had a garden, the products of which, togethe
: with eggs, fowls and bacon, they ffequentl,
/ | sold, or used in addition TO their regula
/ | allowance of food. Most of the familie
s bought a barrel of -four every year. Th
manager endeavored to encourage this prac
' tice, and that they might spend their none
5 for -four instead of liquor, he furnished it {
b them at rather less than what it cost him O
a wholesale. There were many poor white
within few miles who would always SCI
v liquor to the negroes, and encourage theI
e to steal, to obtain the means to buy it {
them. These poor whites were alwaJ
spoken of with anger by the overseers, an
A they each had a standing offer of much mol
: than the intrinsic value of their land, frOI
IS the manager, to induce them to move away
!. The negroes also obtain a good deal (
le game. They set traps for raccoons, rabbi
/ and turkeys and l once heard the stocl
le tender complaining that he had detected on
q. of the vagabond whites stealing a turke
u which had been caught in his pen. / sever
4. times partook of game while on the plant;
er tion, that had been purchased OF the negroe
II. The stock-tender, an old negro, whose bus
ness it was to ride about in the woods ar
keep an eye on the stock cattle that We
IN pastured in them, and who was thus like
al to know where the deer ran, had an ingeniol
no. way of supplying himself with venison. I
ns lashed a scythe blade or butchers knife
III the end Of pole so that it formed lane
at this he set near fence or fallen tree viii
o. obstructed a path in which the deer habit
he ally ran, and the deer in leaPing over I
n obstacle would leap directly on the kni
ne In this manner he had killed two deer t
er. week before my visit.
The manager sent TO him for some Of Il
IN Venison for bis own use, and justified hi
is self to me for not paying for It on the grou
az that the stOck-tender had undoubtedly tax
~ | time which really belonged 10 his owner