Lewistown gazette. [volume] (Lewistown, Pa.) 1843-1944, 1862-04-09
MISCELLANEOUS,
A Southern Character.

An officer of Gen Hooker's division,
now on the Maryland side of the lower
Potomac, wrote on the 18th of February
to Hon. w. D. Kelly, NJ c. from Penn.
sylvania, letter, from which the following
is extracted:
Col. N, as he is called, in accor
dance with the general custom here of civ
ing every man some title and not. | be.
lIeve, from any military rank he may have
held Though | am not sure is man
about 10 years old, of considerable intelli.
gence and wealth, and as am informed
has travelled both in this and other coun-
tries. He is rather good looking man.
somewhat larger than the average size of
our people. He lives on what is called
Stump Neck, peninsula between the Mat
tawomen, ChlcamOxin, and Potomac rivers.
directly across to Cockpit Point, on the
Virginia side Of the latter river Stump
Neck contains something over 1000 acres of
good land, and is, as a farm, kept in better
condition than most of the farms about
here, though it will not compare with what
you would call good farm in Pennsylva-
MIA. He resides about the centre of the
farm, in small frame house, such as any of
our northern farmers who were at all in
thriving condition would be ashamed to
live in. BY the side of it are two log
houses, in which live his slaves, as | sup,
pose L must call them, according to the
laws Of Maryland. His barns are better than
his houses. This place is entirely away
from any road, and therefore seldom visi
ted. The Colonel is unmarried, but as the
divine declaration, that, { it is not good for
one to be alone holds good in relation to
him as we'll as others, he has four female
slaves who fulfil the duties of wives to him.
Now the Colonel in his patriarchal relation
likes variety, and SO he has them OF var
lous hues and shades, from a negro up to
light quadroon. BY these women he has
had twenty-five or thirty children, but as
the mothers differ in complexion, so do the
children, only with a most decided i'm
provement in the lightness of the shading
from muiattocs up to pass anywhere for
white-the children of the quadroon wo-
man, wife or slave, whichever you choose,
having light flaxen hair, and dark hazel
eyes. The Colonel is also somewhat CON
scientious in his attention to their dress,
the dark skinned having very coarse cloth
ing, without such luxurics as shoes or
stockings, while there is regular grada-
tion to the lightest color-they having both
shoes and stockings and very decent cloth
ing. On a visit to the place sometime
since, the children were asked as to their
paternity. They all said their mothers
lived there, pointing to the log Louise but
when asked who was their father, one of
the darkest boys said, got no father and
one Of the whitest children said, pointing
to the frame house, he lives there The
Colonel is also good farmer, aud knows
that it will not do to keep on hand too large
a stock Of cattle, &c, and SO he regularly
sells off the increase Of his farm as soon as
it is ready for market-horses, mules, cat
tie, pigs and-children. These last, how
ever, are the most profitable, or rather have
been so ; God grant it may be so no longer.
DR.. Woodruff, formerly the assistant Sur
geon of the 5th New Jersey Volunteers,
now Surgeon of the 9th New Jersey Vol
unteers, was called upon to attend the qua,
droon wife in her last confinement, and
learned many particulars in regard to them.
lie was very tavorably impressed with her
appearance, and considers her very intel
ligent woman Now I do not know that |
have in the least exaggerated in this descrip-
ton, but, on the contrary, have sottened
it very much. 1t is not an exceptional
case, but fair specimen of what can be
seen everywhere throughout the southern
States. 1t has made almost every man in
the brigade determined foe to slavery
That a man would sell his own children
they had thought one of the abolition lies,
until they had the fact thrust into their
face that it was impossible to doubt it
Japanese Curiosities.