The Hillsdale standard. [volume] (Hillsdale, Mich.) 1851-1909, 1862-01-28
LETTER FROM A SOLDIER.

Notes on the Iaterior of Missouri - Tenden.
c'ss of Slavery to Ba,Jarism - Traits of a
S'aVehoidiay Aristoeyacy- anecdotes of
Slavfs, eCt.
Editors Missouri Democrat:
In travelling through Miss uri as soldier |
found many chhraclersti = III tn" people which
| had not been accustomed 10 find in my ma
tive Illinois.
The dwellings ara Of RIDE class; and tn"
penplr. although in a country ahounding in
rich soil, forests. mines, and n good climate,
give evide't signs Of poverty. Oily occasion.
ally is 10 b" met the well furnished mansion
/ fth" rich planter.
TncrA are evid 'n,ly two classes in Missouri
the aristocrat, with his veal h; (; and the poor
man, With his p'vrrty.
Throughout the State schoolhouse is not
I" be found, the people, suppose, icing too
poor to hull and support them, and the plan
ter pref"rring. on account Of his portion, to
80 d his children To the cities 10 be educated.
| have not seen a schnolhouse in Missouri, al.
though have marched hundreds Of miles
over Its soil. But in places where they might
ba expected are houses with the suspicious
superscription, "Grog," "Grogsery.' These
are lameniahle facts.
1t Is natural for tho people, raised from
generation To generation 10 ignorance, to be
looked npon 10y the planter, surrounded by his
slaves and p,ntatious, as the lower class of
society. 1t is natural, too, for them to he
made the tools of their ambitious schemes, to
he contentedy ignorant and unprecedented
This class of people, from education, is male,
unwittingly, to support, ard even euacpuslv,
TOO, tie very institutions which bring them to
the earth. How we'll qualified are they to
carry on the guerrilla war in this State, and
how eagerly sought for and obtained.
Every CABIN that was passed contained only
women and children, the men having gone TO
fight the battles Of their m,sters. But every
planter is loud in the protest ations of his 10y
a'u and OF MS willingness to make grert Sac
rfices for he support "f the government.-
They ara ST. anxih3s To inpr 'ss this upon our
marching armies, that they instruct their slaves
to ell the soldiers that they are "good Union
men, But these sable chi!lren ars not so
ANXIOUS to prove their masters loyalty. They
feel the great injustice an! wrongs that have
been hcaped upon them, and do mt feel COM
pel,d to swrrve from the truth to shelter
query, al. your master COOL Union man I"
is, "Massa says If anybody asks you if am
good Union man, tell 'ern yes, Massa is a
fus rate Unoa man;' but believe he's a
downright secesI,er." Or, again, "Massa is a
good Union man since you sogers come; but
he wasn't so fore dat time."
1t has been said that "what is in a man
when he's sober will come out when he's
drunk" One day, as one Of these good
Union men W., riding over his plantation, con
81 lerably intoxicated. he found. an empty room
Of one Of his negro houses taken possession Of
for company hospital. He Immediately Or
drred the sick TO b- removed, aud saii Ill hu-
mo,elly :"Ive been in the habit of diap'sng
Of my property as | ,l-ased, and here you've
taken my fields for fprts. cut down my trees,
aud taken my house for hospital, without
ever saying a word To me about ii. L cant
an | won't stand it," But he did stand II.
aud was nnd- 10 unterst /, d that h. couldn't
run oven q ,ldsr he cpu,a his slaves
The sam man owns II family of slaves TINT
i've ~ another room of the same house the hos.
pltal is in, consisting of nm old whlte-hcadei
grandmother. her son and grandchildren. |
remarked one day To- he old woman that she
WA, getting old. Yes" said she, "Ise purity
old; l'se owe, hundred years; pss seen Gcn.
Wa>hIngtpn's army goin, past our house IN
Lpw~ Nv county ou their way to Richmond
was liltle girl then, but P.e purity old
now | asked her h Nv long she lad been
tree. surprising, Of course, her age would
guarantee her liberty. She looked up aud
earnestly said: "'se got no ir-edorn yet, but
what the Lord glib me-" care you well rat.
ed g"I aske If her daughter, tho mother Of
a large family. 20, yes, wc's well nutf
treated nov, since vnu's all cum. Ma~Sa new
beats us n'w witt bi bg w ip but cur bac s
are fail nf scars, whore he's brat US. | guess
h"'a afraid of YOU sogers. Tn f,mily WAS
suon removed to another plantation, lest tn y
mght be instructed by the Abolition Yankee
to ruin away.
found 10 Nanny or Mccormick reapers
in the harv.s, f'lis, but the swarlhy slave.
lid Their work. was amused one day, also.
At seeing "srOund thresher' at work, leaving
wheat, chaff and raw all in tho same pile
The work nen were about doz a slaves the
IN, ster booking on witt. his whip u der his
arm. This, too. was a planter, owning sew
eral rich plantations aud hundred slaves.
Everything is thus far behind the tines;
and, worse than all , the people are t. aiiors.-
Why is 1t? Why keeps Improvement down,
the chm'non people ignorant, ard the arsio'
cratic planter treacherous To hIs counuyy-
Such are but the lrgimnte fruits of that mis-
.rabla curse, slavery. 1t ha> kept the faireSt
hall If or beautiful country degraded impeded
its progress, produced sectional strfes, and
finally plunged us into civil war For the future
welfare Of the country, this war should end
with the abolition Of slavery aud the 'msn.
cipation Of tho slaves. Its 5lIghting effcls
should no longer be allowed to curse our
county. The peoples indigestion is justly
aroused against it, and le, it fall and with 1t
will tall all its rain of evils. Then will be
ushered 10 period of peace aud brother ,ood.
J. W. w.
ToB,cco AND LoSGEvirY.-A writer in /
the Chr,stian ambassador says: ~