The weekly pioneer and Democrat. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1855-1865, 1862-10-24
Observatlons In Dixie.

A correspondent of the New York World
who has been with General Rosecrans'
army, was taken prisoner some weeks ago,
while on scouting excursion. He was
released after a detention of some days,
and gives very readable account of his
experience with the rebels We make ex-
tracts from his letter:
HOW THE SOUTHERN DEBT IS TO BE PAID.
We were dispatched by rail to Tupelo,
some twenty miles further South, on the
Mobile and Ohio Road. Twas met at the
cars by Captain of General Moore's staff,
who took me to breakfast, and played the
part of host for the better part Of the day.
What tall, round shouldered, amiable
Texan he was, to be sure! A graduate of
West Point, a secessionist from the begin
ming, devOtee of the doctrine of State
rights and southern wrongs, he was yet as
| gentle as a woman in his discourse. All
that bright September morning we sat in
the shade of broad piazza-the house
was deserted, as about half the houses in
Dixie seem to be-and talked of history
and politics. Of course, we laughed at
each others " extreme views" and came
to no agreement on any proposition. a
You of the North, said he, 'have in
vaded our country" 30 I'D as b. ..,.a-4.
No sir; Mississippi is part of or
country. Do the police of New York in
wade the Five Points when they go there
to quell riot9"
"You of the North have contracted an
enormous debt. How are you going to
pay it?"
"Fund it and pay the interest And you
of the south have little debt of several
hundred millions How do you intend to
pay that?''
ave do not intend to pay it. As soon
as the war is ended we shall repudiate il. ~
"Will that be honest?'
Certainly; we owe it only to our own
people, and they may as well lose the prin-
cipal outright as to be compelled, year af-
ter year, to pay eight per cent interest on
it,"
Shade Of RicardO-there was a new idea
in political economy. -@
'But," said I, ''would not that be an
outrage to the Individual? Suppose your
entire fortune consisted of Confederate
scrip, and your neighbours of land and ne
groes, would reputation effect you both
alike ?"
"Oh, we'll see that each man has his
proper share Of Confederate scrip"
Perhaps you will hardly believe this re-
port of our talk it is nevertheless true.
On what foundation of political and
economical falsities is this Confederacy
reared up!
ABOUT MONEY.
At Baldwin we first met the motley cur
rency of Dixie-Confederat notes, cotton
bills, due-blls, shinplasters and most Gu
rious of all, railroad money printed on
secondhand paper which had been used
for ledgers and day-boOks Think, We an
tiquarians, of pecuniary palimpsests!
] said to the officer of the guard:
''You seem to have plenty of money
hereabouts."
"Oh, yes-all you've got to do is to
print the head of a woman on a piece of
brown paper, and it will pass"
CONCERNING BOOTS.
From the moment became an involun-
tary visitor in Dixie found myself an OBJ
iect of interest. Observed with respected
curiosity, amounting in some cases to q
sort of reverence, felt a delightful vanity,
and said within myself, 80, Reliable Gen
tleman, You must be a man Of most dis
tinguished appearance-possibly your brow
is Napoleonic, your eye eagle, your NOUS
tache terrific" Alas for the vanity of
vanity ~
My boots were the attraction. No feat
of arms, or the evident superiority of men
tai endowment made me the cynesure of
rebel eyes.
Leather is not in the Confederacy The
paper blockade excludesit. My boots were
made by Fulton street Brooks, were of the
cavalry pattern-worth, perhaps, ten dol
lars Firstly, my guerilla friends desired
to steal them while was asleep on the first
night OF my captivity so says the wounded
soldier, who lay awake and heard them dis
cuss the plan. AT Baldwin, men and Off
GERS alike worshiped those boots, and were
loud in verbal alteration. At Tupelo,
was offered one hundred dollars in OOnfed-
crate scrip for those boots. On the Jour
ney from Tupelo to Jackson, tall young
! Texan stood on the platform some thirty
minutes and gazed at me with rapt atten-
ton. Then he took courage, came in, and
sat down by my side. His conversation
may he condensed to this:
Z" Fine day. Where are you from !? You
can never subjugate the South. We have
plenty Of arms, plenty of provisions, plenty
of everything Good Lord! what splendid
boots those are! F" '- '' Or @ ."i
care boots scarce in the Confederacy? +"
al paid twenty-five dollars for those
shoes" And he pointed to the pair of
himsy pumps he wore. r.-r51v -,a4g
"Why don't you make leather in the
Confederacy? l asked.
"Don't know how-but they are making
clay pipes in Alabama"
And this was said with an air of exulta-
ton, as if to make red clay tobacco-pipe
were a triumph of mechanical art 81 Z
1t seems that thus far the prosecution OF
the war has proved, to the South, a boot
less task Forgive the feeble joke.
l wore during my trip an old felt hat,
the ugliest on this continent, which had
been thrown aside by my Colonel. At