Lewistown gazette. [volume] (Lewistown, Pa.) 1843-1944, 1862-01-29
When was at home was Of the opip;on n i.


these Negroes should be immediatelv fraad
but since came here / have been tsugh, by
experience that to free them in the state tbsy
are IN now would be the greatest curse that
ever tefei them. IF left to themselves thu
would not work, but would eat up all To- d,y
and starve to morrow. | think thew h.va
been better used by their masters than thsx
Will be. by Northern men. Thov must hay.
their Negro driver. who is Glways n eoJorad
individual, and be their master. rs they nu.t
De driven to their labor, and like q horse fed
ana watered; and as they have no shame or
ambition about them their only punishment
must be the lash. If | was Uncle Sam |
would advertise this property, and if net
claimed within short time. would lease the
land, Niggers and all, to the highest bidder
make the lessee feed, clothe and take caro-
of them, pay them little money to encour
age them to work, establish schools for the
young, and try and educate them. II tbi.
can ever be accomplished, then it will be time
enough to liberate them. You must mot
think that by the manner in which | wriis
that am ia favor of slavery as an institution
or the buying or selling of human beinrs
No, only hold them in bondage long enough
to educate the rising generation. 50 that their
| example may improve the next" For the
sins of the fathers are visited on the children
ven to the third and fourth generations" |
think this applies to ignorance also, and we
must now try and see if education is to be
classed under the same head. These Oar
keys show no desire to learn, nor any ingc
| nuity, aud it is almost i'm possible 10 drive AN
idea through their thick skulls. The man
ner in which they have been brought I'D has
tended to make them strong and heAlthv.-
| They are The most robust. and physically
speaking, the finest class of people | have
| ever seel-the muscle fully developed-and
as for age they are like mule, never ready
| to die. There are many great grandfathern
and great grandmctherS on these Islands, all
happy, fat, dirty and saucy, and now say they
are glad the Yankees are here, and if their
masters would come hack know they would
say the same thing; some begin t1 say so
already. They have their nigger balls on
some of the plantations almost every night,
with fiddle, and the way they will make
their heels and toes work is a caution to all
sickly white ladies and gentlemen. They
| will dance longer and with as much spirit as
some Of our town bellies and with more grace
| | had thought their dances were only some
| kind of hide0us figures but was much sur
! prissd to see one evening at ball | attended,
all the fancy dances introduced, and the ease
| with which they went through the cotillion,
! &c. was surprising. They also sing all the
most popular negro melodies, have good
voices and ears fer music, and = number Of
| them are good musicians. Sundays they
| have their church meetings, when the old
/ plantation minister administers spiritual ad.
| vice to the entire congregation, all Of whom
| sing, and excel any white congregation |
| have ever heard, Il mean where the congre.
CATION of whites all sing.) / do not com pare
them to one Of cur church choirs that are
| composed ouly of musicians. Then they pray,
shout and pray egsin, then shout and feel
goo generally, and when all arc tired, go On
their way rejoicing. The negroes are very
fond Of display, and some of them, on extra
occasions, dress in the most approved man
ner. They stick on every g9udy thing they
can find. Many Of them, if they told the
truth, would say that the clothes represented
MaEsa and MissHs, Judging from appear
anceS, some ladY's wardrobe Las suffered
TAese Islands are as level as Hoir. and of
all sizes and shapes; the soil is sandy easy
worked aHd we.s adapted frr the cultivation
II a,m9st every thing that vii. graw fr n
seed or root. and hy natare the Paradise for
co.tun, which is uf the finest quality, aaI #
manured will yield An adun liant harvest.
Culton and niggers arc tie staple products.
The g-0uad IS fist pl1ug1ed AMI NJ .nured
little then tie seed planted tnen the negroes
come in with their noes and keep the ground
loose, keep out all weeds. and before tho bush
blds they have the hills w5rkei up but
twelve inches high. the rows Of hills being
about thirty six inches from the centres, SO
as t. allow path To walk through. Some
Of the buds ripen aid burst sooner than 9th
ers, and these first ones are finer and what is
called the icst pickiags. The rest is little
coarser, and ali that is stained is picked out
ami constitutes what Is called the yellow.
have often heard tell of the balmy South,
but did not think It was such line place
The climate is delightful, resembling the lat
ter part Of September or first Of October with
US in the middle of the day the fiSs will
bother you as bad az they do in midsummer
NUrth. The trees are green, and cattle are
out at pasture ali winter. There is no grass
of any account, the ground being used for the
cultivation Of cotton a1d corn, the latter only
for home consumption this corn is white,
hard and sweet, and is called aint corn,
makes good bread. and is very nourishing.
The only potatos that | have seen is the
sweet or Carolina. Our potatoes, the dark s
say, they sometimes plant, but they viii not
keep The cattle and horses are fed on peas,
corn, cotton seed, and corn blades, picked
while green before the ear is fully ripened,
dried, then put in small bundles the stalk
and husk are left in the field and the ear put
in the crib for use The cattle are generally
smaller than our Northern stock. The hor-
Ses are most all small. of the mAstang breed,
tough, and will endure great amount of fa-
tigue. They are never shod, the soil being
so sandy as to need no shoes. Nest of the
horses are broken to the saddle only None
of them are trotters, but will run like deer,
The drives are most splendid Sometimes
you will be riding through the pine groves,
then an open space. then the cedar, then the
palmetto (South Cardinals pride and the
avenue shaded with the tree tops meeting,
and festoonsd in all shapes imaginable
Some of our northern country gentlemen. if
they could only get some of these drives on