The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1862-06-04
"CONTRABAND" INTELLIGENCE.
The Negro as He Is i'm Duff
Green's Row.
FROM OUR OWN "C0NTRABAND" CORRESPONDENT.
&C., Sc, &c.

WASHINGTON. May 80, 1862.
great deal has been written about the headquarters
Tor and the heoreof but in general
the information has been biased by party influence
political interest, or Individual prejudice Stepping aside
from all these considerations your correspondent pro
poses to advance ow real facts not faeis" bent 70
purpose and interest," "facts" OF tho imagination
poetry and fiction, well enough for light reading on
dark subject but far far away from tho arena Of truth
or the suburbs thereof whore newspaper correspondents
wont to indulge in banquet Of innocent attery and
pleasant ACKNOWLEDGING darkenss rather than "nght,"
and tho theme rather than tho "subject.n
Last night there located at the aforesaid quarters
i've hundred and twenty-nine genuine contrabands''
the ugest largest and sssest set of nggers that over
came within the range Of individual observation at
ticuar time or this number two hundred were children
from the weest of the to the opposite the On
m average the males predominated in numbers thu
females. Among those latter are somo truly excel
lent household servants. Tho men who have
fed from the wrath to come, as gene
rality, farm hands, mostly dacrepit old men.
II 1t not for the ndeatigaple efforts Of superin
tendent Wood and other officers, this depot would be
overrun with them. To avoid this large numbers arc
detailed to the camps every day, to be employed IL
some way beneficial to the health Of Washington and
tho vicinity. Yesterday thirty forty arrived il
This city, and average, with the exception Of two
or three days. there has been large this
limit. At the present time the total number Of
contrabands under the charge OF Superintendent Wood
Is near seven hundred, while the total number
nnder his charge from time to time has been between
four and FIVE thousand. They have escaped principally
from Virginia masters. A large number have come
from Maryland, and from other Southern States
The latter have been OF service to the government
IN conveying important information, many of them
having escaped in battle while employed
robel officers servants OF tho women over
two hundred have been hired out to service in
private families They receive generally from five
10 six dollars per month. With conf aratively few
ceptions they work we-tho fact OF their receiving
stated amount Of wages in money to DO delivered into
their own hands, being strong incentive. Freedom
with them now is novelty, and how long the broom
will sweep clean Is something entirely beyond the power
Of conception, in this ra and speculative agc
and city Those who take charge ''overseers Of the
contrabands aborng for the government report that the
daikeys work with will and we'll. Unquestonaby
they have been Of vast service this community They
have built new roads, repaired old ones. built new and
done an astonishing amount OF other labor which it
not necessary that should specify they have buried
dead horsos and cleaned away filth from vacated camps
winch labor soldiers disdainsd and absolutely refused to
perform.
going through the ccnraband establishment II was
observable that forces wcro ompoyed Ia renovatng
the place and sung it for the occupancy Of immense
number OF indiv iduascoored persons, CODgressonay
.ns s, w ,SS
locking for fugitive. No sooner had shc arrived the
door Of the onic6 than a gentemanly manager politely
could not attend TO her But the lady insisted
her lofty y q g demanded The
shs mode Of procedure her wants to and
her rights respected, in accordance with the orders,
Offices and the powers Of civil law. To this che would not
listen, but abused the officers and said many things
woman ought not to understand II she has entirely
departed from sanity. morality and all those finer attr
buss of feeling aud sentiment which tho female rae,
Is generally heir. As last resort or the officers
said:-"My dear madam, the smallpox 10 raging here
some Of Your family you had better go right away"
away she did 90, and in hurry. Cases Of this kind
occur every day In some INSTANCES tie 'massas, be
with; but where Inconsistencies prove Of
avail they are far from mildly eected from
soldiers have reported this establishment being in
fested with smallpox ana various infectious Diseases ali
the Infatuated ssmassas and ssmssses and give the
officers time to look after their procges and do sometime
else than answer questions relative to runaway, who is
Every day there are many visitors to this depot
Among them arc noticeable far skinned femnines who
ntrast well with the deep brunettes that "foi them
every side. r#.r
The ru.e is that when contraband" reports himself
AZ rev arrival he sent to the Provost Mashas TO be
examined and thence transferred to the superntendency
OF W. p Wood. He dsposes of him according nstruc
tous from government officials.
Tie daskeys exceedingly well disposed to tho colo
nization scheme. On vote BEING ken day before yes
terday strongly in favor OF emigration. They ap
pear to be satisfied that legislation make them
theelua 0; the white man in this country. They
20 60 20 "dat country whar do darkey is man. aud not
niger whar he has rights" and swhar," prob bly,,
he be member OF Congress, and Join the wonderful
'N CO. ~ his name, without is meaning 'merely
trab nd" Many OF them have made preparations to g.
" Liberia, Hayti and other places.
Tho modus oTeraadi of the underground railroad
liberty 70 state because that Is contraband in
deed under the One Of the officers of the
Enlistment had atoy seventeen warrants served OIL
him before breakfast.
Tho Sunday school and night school established for the
benefit OF the negroes IN told progressing finely
But how II Is possible to drive valuable intellectually
through much repugnanoy, skull bone and grease Is
hardly within grtsp Of the reasoning faculties OF
casual observer. Some Of them, standing, learn
we'll lock well-and suppose have got far enough to
extract from the reader the exclamation OF "Wsu, wc
and to discontinue this correspondence.