The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1862-02-14
From London Magazine.
The Real and the Conventional Niger

The Real and the Conventional Niger
My impressions of the American negro
derived from recent tour in the slave
States, differ, | must premise, considsrably '
from those of the amiabIs and well inten-
tiooed Mrs. Stowe. That lady's fictitious
| Uncle Tom l found to be quite the ant
podss of the real ragged Uncle Ned of the
Louisiana cotton grounds and the Caroli>
ma rice fields Edwards skull is much
thicker than Thomas his nerves are Of a
ropisr texture. But also must needs, in
common honesty, confess that found the
aforenamed aged Uncle Ned, with the
scanty wool on the occiput. and the ever.
ready tambourine and banjo GO ho") by
no means, either, like the stage negro !;
fo. the cotton hoer aud Iics winpowsr on
the banks Of the Savannah and Mississippi
rivera is depicted. | foIind, in II very un-
satisfactory way by the negro serenaders
Of our own English music halls and street.
| made many search in the valley Of
the Lower Mississippi for my venerable
Uncle Ned but suppose he has gone,
| long since, where the good niggers 60, for
| found him not. learned the ways Of
the blacks, and studied their habits, as far
as my time and opportunities would 20
and soon found what had half expected,
| that in our zeal for abolition we had very
much overrated the excellence and intel
lec,ual capabilities Of tha. unlucky uncle
of ours on whom the curse of Cain sill falls
so heavily.
| have seen the slaves of the plantations
more than a hundred at .ime) at all
hours, at the plough and in the cotton
house, toiling from sunrise to sunset; seen
them come in at horn blow, and 60 off to
dig their gardens; seen them smart and
fussy on their Saturday or Sundy holidays
or yawning at camp meetings seen them
at their noon day rest; seen them. in fact,
in all capacitiss--as deck hands on steam-
ers, walters at hotels, hog tenders, stage
coach drivers, railway brakesmen. planla>
tion cooks, grooms. carpenters, or nurses
and in all these modes of service | found
evidences Of one and the same race. All
The heroes and herones of our negro songs
met, far away from the iootligh;s. Yes
Dinah and Dandy Jim from Carolina, Did
Uncle Ned, and Old Bob Ridley yes
even Dosden Doc. Julia Jane, and my old
friends Titus and Seneca.
On the general question of slavery l am
not going 20 enter. No ono regrets its
existence more than myself. Yet l think
we should always remember that it is
Americas misfortune, not her fault; that
she lives by it now, but that she did not
originate it. 1t is not the mere money
sunk in slaves that the Southerners dread
giving up; they fear free negroes round
them, thoir idleness, their thieving, and
their revolt in places where they already
far outnumber the whites.
The negro is not chivsrous, religious
being, with hgh aspirations and al eleya
ted moral nature. The slaves are not all
Uncle Toms in forgiveness | can testify, by
the token that, even while I was III New
ORLEANS, there were several cases of blacks
on the cotton plantations turning on fog
gng overseers and cutting them to pieces
with their cane knives; for in spite of ne
gro catching dogs, whips, and chains.
where the slave is treated severely these
cases of wild revenge will sometimes take
place Generally speaking, l did not see
or hear Of cruelty to negroes indeed
when We consider that black is worth
some three hundred pounds. and if skill~
ed body servant or mechanic, five hundred
pounds; that if let out, he can bring to
his master at least thirty dollars a month
clear Of all sxpenses-it is easy to under
stand that even planter Of the most IRE
strsinable passions will not often venture
to mutllate or inju property so valuable
TO him, any more than q cruel English
farmer would shoot his hunter fer throwing
him. or fer shying at mile stone. Leeree
| am inclined to think, is mere night
mare, impossible at the present day.
The negro found to be everywhere
with few exceptions) a nero grown up
chill-the very essence of good humor,
faithful where be was attached, sometimes
religious, but more often sensual, gutton
Gus, thievish and hopelesslv lazy. Gener-
ally speaking, the American black has a
profound contempt for "Dem nasty darnd
Aboitionists," aud has no more wish for
either social or moral elevation than the
ourang outang, or our ugly kinsman the
gorilla.
The Southern negro is usually fat, oily
laughing, thong ghtless semi savage. Give
him each week his prescribed three pounds
Of pork, his peck of meal, quart of molas
ses (win,er). his pound of salt, when hs
has swamp work his nightly glass Of whis-
key, and he is happy. His fun is bufoon.
cry and practical joking; his religion ge>
neraliy methodsn, degraded almost to
fetichism. He is naturally low order of
being, and slavery keeps him So l do
not think with all it. faults, tha, slavery
lowers the American negro; but it GER
talnly prevents bin ever wishing to be
nobler creature. Let the plantation black
set bis deer trap, snare raccoons or wild
turkeys, keep his fowls and hogs (half fed
on stolen goods) to sell to Mas,a at the big
house. kill game for the sane purposs,
work moderately, and in spare tune grow
enough cotton to make up bale year.
let him look after his garden, and be will
Be (if the evsrsssr is kind)Tone Of the most
careless and happy creatures in the wide
world. Give the blacks 10 addition, on
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