New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1861-12-21
Position Of the OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES Em-
pioyed-where they came from-"hy
more do not come in-Flight Of White
wo,aen from saysnnaIi-Rebei Forces

more do not come in-FhHht Oh "Ni'
wouen from savsnnah-Rebei Forces
/ Correspondence Of The n. Y. Tribune
PoKT ROYAL S. C., Dec. H. 1901.
Since YOU have refused the money Of soldier 1oF
your paper, aud added my name to your hs' hee'
! will endeavor TO pay in some other way 'hah oy
,o., have little news to send, but may possibly
.orrsct some erroneous impressions on other matters
In Tur Tp,BryE, of the I'd, where you say, in a
,ooo,+ Little use could be made of the darks as
, ,ho, do not care much at present for unnecessary
,xs,ou" you do these poor fellows great injustice.
Northern reporters go to the Provost-Marsbal, and
AK the number Of negroes turned over to the
opar.ermaster for labor purposes; when they are
pd they Immediately, without further investigation,
run to their PORTFOLIO jot down the item, and wind
MI that the dark will not labor now that he Is not
compelled to- This is not only an ror, but gross
,rona to the POOR black. The error consists in its
urtrutb and the wrong in the fact that as soon as
.ons pro-Slayery sof-head in the North reads it he
runs away to his neighbor, shows him the item.
ending the confab with the ever-conyeDient, ~ told
you go"
II is true that not over 500 negroes are in the elm
NOV OF the Government At Hilton Head-lOo az Bay
Point 50 at Braddocl;s Point, 200 al Beaufort, aud
perhaps 300 who work for officers as servants that
have never been accounted for 10 the Proyost-Aaf-
shal. Out of those in Government employ, after ex-
Guiding old women decrepit men (made SO by years
of brutality and outrage, and young children, there
aye not over $50 at work ut this point. II one IN
CURED no further than this. they might be led 10 sup
pose that the negroes here disiked unnecessary
labor. Most men dislike " unnecessary labor. But
the negroes who do labor work faithfully and well,
il ould be well indeed if their example were
lated BY officers soldiers, and laborers, who claim to
be serving the Government from patriotic motives.
Apart from is, and the knowledge is essential to
an enlightened judgment on the phase OF the
negro question presented bere-it should be known
that over threefourtbs ofthe negroes here are reu
gees from the main land from Savannah, Charleston
Robertsville, Black Swamp, Vaudeville Graham
yale New-River Bridges and other places still held
and occupied by the rebels. More Than one-half the
balance have come from points that we are moi
formally in possession of. These have surmoTnte(
Obstacles that would have appalled, many a stou
heart TO reach us and the treatment give them il
such as to invite any who just as free without
coming.
On the plantation, though they were beaten snd
bruised, scourged and maimed-they were never
sulectedto the strict surveillance which they undergo
here With their limited light and knowledge of mill
tary necessities il is wonderful that they do not re-
gard this as bnt a change Of ownership-ther
shackes still upon them-I think it still more strange
when reflect uIon the kicks and cuffs these poor
children of servly receive at the hands and feet of
upstart officers.
The reports taken from those who are with US back
10 tho negroes on the surrounding islands, cannot
have been catering, hence their determination to re-
main where they are. independent of this, ALL the
rebels have fed from Hilton Head, Pinckney, Ed
diEg's, Choplins, Ouer Morgan, Dathau, Ladies,
Paris, s.. Helena, Spring and Port Royal Islands.
They have left behind their cattle, corn and hogs
their own dwellings and the negro huis-the latter
the negroes car occupy while they gather and store
the corn as they doing and subsst on it and the
cattle in their own little huts during tie nclemeucy
OF Winter, enjoying themselves much more, and with
greater freedom than if they tented within our
lines and daily Cursed by Government officials There
are IL 900 negroes on these Isands, who now have
more to eat, to drink to wear, and more freedom,
than they ever bad before, than they would have
with hence, there is inducement TO come TO u.s.
Not more than onefourth of the negroes who
fly from the - main land" come within
our lines-they hear Of friends or acquaintance be-
fore they reach u.s. and to them they 90. Those only
who have no such, or find 10 such, come here.
These meetings Of relatives under such circumstances
are frequent and affecting. One of them cav
few days since. A man named David, from Savan-
nah came into the camp Of the Provost Guard
where happened TO be at the time Hearing cob
bmg and noise among the negroes, / went out of the
tent to find David with his arms firmly casped
around the neck Of a bright colored woman, she
elasping him as firmly, little boy Of about eight
Winters never had Summers) hanging oil both. Ali
TREE we're sobbing-some twenty negro men and
women about were crying, shouting, laughing, and
elapping their hands. The reason of the compOtion
soon learned. David had found his wife, Lucinda,
and bis boy, Frank, who had been cold away from
him, and from whom he had not heard for eight long
years.
10 show what the negro is capable of in a hunt
after freedom give you an instance: The hus.
baud Of Judy, who held as a slave by a man
properly named Cruel, near Button, escaped with
hi children and came within our lines judy. close
ly watched, was carried two days journey toward
the mountains. On the night of the second day ghe
escaped; that night she swan branch Of New
River, and pressed to the creek dividing the "man
kad" from Pinckneys Island. This she swan also
and moved on 10 Skull Creek, dividing PiLckney
island from Hilton's Head. This, it must be remem-
bered, is over sne-.ourth Of mile wide, very deep
with rapid current; but nothing undaunted, this
black heroine plunged IT, and safely landing rudged
on here, where she met her husband. After hugging
eer the old man in his joy exclaimed, tole yer 50
Use 'oie yer she 'scape an cum"
Formerly thought knew something of Slavery,
but since arriving here enough has been presented
ptlOre he ol-. Il