Indiana State sentinel. (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1861-1865, 1862-10-13
our Army Correspondence--Ta
Tariff, and the ssNigger."

our Army Correspondence
Tariff, and the ssNfgger."
CAIRO, Oct. 8. 1862
am willing that your readers should consider
it master stroke of strategy by which | SO sud
denly and quietly changed my base from the
army in Kentucky to the army in Arkansas, or
thus far toward it, for il may be the only instance
of activity they may have for some time to ad
mire. In passing, / may say that it is matter
of economy to buy your ticket at Louisville, for
while a ticket from indianapolis is ten dollars
to Cairo, one from Louisville via indianapolis is
only nine seventy five, the seventy five being re
Gently added to cover Government taxes prac-
teal illustration of the question, who pays the
tariff, the manufacturer or the consumer If
these letters were not letters from the army. l
would just here say another word or of the
beautiful tax system which taxes everything a
poor man has to use and which is added to the
final cost of the article. i only promise that at
a future time, in times past. i shall labor 10
correct the mate wrong of the system. adding
here only that the humbuggery of those who argue
that the West is comparatively favored, the
tariff is chiefly on manufactured articles, becomes
sensibly apparent when any manufactured article
is to be paid for by a Western consumer.
The monotony of a usual ride over the inter-
minabe praries was relieved last night by an
amusing incident at Centraia A train of cars
had Just passed, laden with some three hundred
c0ntrabands bound for the vicinity of Chicago,
including men. women and children-from men
about my color to the unadulterated African.
One old codger had gone around the house Just
long enough to be back when a spirited race after
the recedng had to end in defeat His
grimaces and weepings were amusing notwith.
standing the evident grief of the man His ques-
tons TO the probable destination of the tram.
the probability of his getting on without money,
and finally, what il some free niger should ap-
propriate his wife unto himself 2-all these made
the poor fellow nearly crazy. His chances OF
finding his wife were indeed slim, as the colony
seemed to have no special destinations but was to
be scattered off the neighborhood demanded.
While waiting this morning for boat con-
cluded to 90 to the menagerie-a real show; the
animals of which partly Gagged and partly Iy-
ing around loose in and about the old barracks
over on the bank of the Mississippi. Such a
sightl old men and older women, heads white
as wool and more kinky--babies from a week
old, all the way up till too big to be babies, all
half clad and distressingly dirty-it is the ele-
plant we got in the rattle, and now what 10 do
with it is the question. More than two thousand
of these wretched beings have been sent here by
military authority to prevent starvation. They
are 'captives of war. most OF them having been
abandoned by their former masters, i'm and about
| Corinth, Iuka and Bolivar. Some are from Cur
tis's Op rations. They have fallen into our
hands in spite Of our military policy to preserve
| the status of slavery, and their number rs daily
increasing. There is great demand in this State
for the men to gather the corn and cut the winter
wood. great that Northern Illinois is complain
ing that the farmers in Southern Illinois gobble
up all the best as fast as they come. Men are
here every day for hands.
Wishing to get INTO the notions of the darkies,
| passed around among them as an Illinois farmer.
my army hat answering capital purpose in the
| game proposed to hire man. dun no, sahl
WHARF you want me to go1 What you GIN 'ee'i
| Going up to the dirtiest woman | saw proposed
to her Cant 90, sab, rs got four babiesi''
"Well, i'll take your babies" "But Is got a
husband" "Well I'll take your husband too u
"But dar's old granny, can't leave her. "Why
can't YOU go too. granny 90 master, rs in
hopes some day it will please the good Lord TO
| give me back to old master" | tried dozen OF
more and found underlying the hopes OF most OF
them was an ultimate return to their native land
The one refrain was
30, carry me back -
! Their local attachment is unconquerable and
they seem utterly unreconciled TO separating the
families. AN over sanguine friend of mine. a
physician, spoke to me the other day to procure
suitable boy for him, who, after serving reason
able time rs hOstler, could be put to the science
of physicking | concluded to get the boy here
but you ought to have seen the white OF their
ewes and their ivory when | suggested studying
to be doctor The bursting of bomb-shel
would hardly have produced greater consterna-
| ton.
The facts here and the facts everywhere bid us
to look the question fairly in the face. Until the
| time comes when these return to their homes
in peace and freedom they must be managed here
and to do this some system of app. enticeship must
be adopted. These creatures have neither the
intelligence nor the integrity necessary to con
tracing wisely for their own labor. One man
asked SIS per month the year round, another 500
another S.
But will leave these questions for you politi
ticians to settle. AT present | out of politics
/ want to deal only in facts they transpire
around me
| shlll be off in a few days for Helena and
probably thence to Little Rock. unless General
Curtis should choose to favor me by remaining
quiet n week ar so until the paymasters get
through with the men. I. A. e.