Daily State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1861-1865, 1863-12-08
From the National lnfeliigeDoerl
suffersur> nj I'm a Coutra hands.

Vicksourg 10 ascertain the uu noer and wants os
the conErAbands in the Department Of the Ten
nsssee, there are on the banks Of the Mississippi.
from Helena TO hatcher. not less than thirty 1--WE
thousand. Ofthese. about ten thJusind are near
Vicksburg. 6ve hundred Of whom only are men
excep, those In the army. There are nine thous-
and LeaF Goodrieh's Landing in L0usiana. 9th
ers are scattered about in smaller collections A
fes work upon the leased plantations for them
selves. bur most are dependent upon the Govern
ment Tor support Their condition is very des
titutc and almost hopeleSs one The rep0rtsays.
a. TO health, That tSeFe has been fearful NOR
tally among the freedmen. both the enlisted sol
diers and The CAMPS Of the infrIn. We have ago
niZinglv felt Their prospects for the winter are
OF the most gloomy character
The New Orleans correspondent Of New
York paper thus speaks of the condition of al
fairs on some OF the Government plantations in
L0uisiant:"
while referring TO III, subject Of plantations.
nv attention his been called To the apparently
impartial report Of Mr. W II Wilder, the nspec-
tor OF plantations. VINO rerently vsitej the plan
tations under the control of Col Hanks, supenn
tenient OF contrabsnds He says in his report
10 the proper authorities More particularly
would call your attention To the old Hickory
plantation The mortality that has and is occurr
ing there is truly appalling On White Castle
plantation. out OF one hundred and forty nine ne
groes. eighty i've have diel and twenty-two have
run " thus leaving but forty two of the origi
nal number. AT the Old Hickory plantation
there we're four hundred and thirteen negroes; Of
these two hundred aud two have died since June
llst On my visit there found thirty EIGHT ne
grOe- sick. without proper nurses or medical at
tendance. The hospital is building eighteen by
twenty three feet in SIZE in which the sick re
ter, Ell 20 packed In The midst of this Lag ,r
httuzo " the a ,d hnIv nj MI haH
die.l on "Wednesday at three O'Clock A NJ. At
five O'Clock NJ the following i.y no measures
hal been taken tor her sepulture.
The New York Times has long letter writ
ten this mouth OF Goodrich's Landing in LOusi-
ana, IN which the writer states that the operations
the plantations within that district are more
successful than in the vicinity OF New Orleans.
He states that between Lake Providence and
Milliken's Bend. distance of about fifty miles
forty five plantations have been lease'i-some to
resident whites some TO Northern men, and if
teeu negroes. Elsewhere there is little doing.
The negroes, We are told, are more successful in
raising cotton than the whites. Yet of
the DlantitiOns operated by two negroes, employ
Ing about hlty hands. only forty bales OF cotton
will he raised And this. the best. is only about
one tenth of crop OF the condition OF the ne
groe- At this point the letter says:
There Is and has been great deal of discon
tent and grumbng among all classes, and there
has also been great deal of suffering Scarcely
any of the negroes on the plantations hereaoOu's
were raised in the immediate part oi the country.
All have from Mississippi and IRON the
back country. Perhaps the most marked trait in
the negro character is his love of home and of
the localities to which he IL accustomed. They
all pine for their homes They long for the old
gu rrters they have lived in, for the old woods
they haveroamed in, and the old fields they have
titled. The surgeons in charge OF contraband
camps tell me that great many OF them actu-
ally die from home sickness, or in scientific Ian
guage. most lgia. They yet thinking of their old
homes. and il they have lett their families or any
part OF them behind they long to them. and
so they become depressed in spirits and yield
readily 10 the first attack Of disease or succumb
10 the depression alone. The negroes here are
at work and earning wages and they are not so
liable 10 sickness. but MANY of them when they
first came were cancelled To lie for several days
Oh the !evee in the cold rain. There was no
shelter Tor them They came bv hundreds to
seek the protection of our troops. Many ofthem
necessarily died from exposure. and the memLry
oil those days OF suffering and death still fingers
among them. Under these circumstances. it is
inevitable that there should be great deal of
discomfort aud complaint among the negroes"
But, coming nearer home. we find in the
Windsor (Vermont Journal of the l4th inst. a
letter from Mr. James p. Stone. missionary at
Hampton. near Fortress Monroe, which shows
that the condition OF the "contrb, nds" in South
eastern Virginia IS but little better i'm some re-
spects than that of the same race OF the banks OF
the Mississippi Mr.. Stone. after re erriug to the
reception and distribution OF a quantity OF old
clothing forwarded To hun In answer To "A Prev
Gus appeal, proceeded as follows:
but what is the little which has already
reached Us among such multitude OF eager APP
plicantsg YESTERDAY some two hundred we're at
our door. only part of whom, of course could
receive any thing. To those whom We regarded
"a the most needy were given wat we could,
but not by any means what they needed. or what
we desired To give. Ii we had three hundred
barrels ot good AMI warm clothing aud bedding
We could soon dispose of il ALL either in this or
the neighborlng missions, without giving any
body article too much. Let none apprehend
that if they can send US all they can spare our
market will soon DC gutied We have no fears
of getting more goods than dispose of: but
we do fear and expect that many sill greatly sui-
fer. and that will die before spring for want
OI what are endeavorng Co obtain from friends
at the North Tor them. Even coloted people
cannot endure every thing They. well a.
others, must die when they cannot live; aud live
they cannot, when through exposure and hard
ships. cold and hunger, mortal disc &c j. EN-
dufel and the principle OF vitality exunguished
Allow Us, then, again 70 say the good people
of Vermont. Do not forget the colored people of
Southeastern Virginia Send u your cast of
clothing; send all that you can spare: send. espe
cially AT this season OF the yeir. that which will
help To keep the people warm. by day or nv night.
| speak of second hand OF cast of clothing be-
cause We have more hope of ODtlining that soon.
But OF course new garments will not be ohjec-
tel "a. and the more that are new the better
The foregoing statements. II will be seen, CO
+ nciie with those from other sources-and sour
ces not unirieudly u the blscks-which We have
/ heretofore had occ ,sion from time o. time TO
/ place on record in our columns Rem ,rking
/ upon these tales OF misery. and especially upon
the Disclosures lately made at a public meeting
! in New York by the Rev Mr. Fiske. the Boston
Post asks:
| is there a single element in this cup of hor
! rors OF Immediate emancipation that thoughtful
minds have not prejicei2 Have not all the
/ evils been enumeratedl WIS there one left ou'l
i | is the whole wurl ; experience that rtces
long dependent. lOng eheryatei toy oppression
must be educated up 90 a state in which 10 enjoy
! the blessings Of freedom. and thpse who would
invite them into state where starvation Is
befure them are responsible for the harvest oil
death
The great problem before the country u q
deal with four millions IT negroes. aud deter
mine the relations which six eight millions o
whites n III bear To them. And nov who IA "a
keis 20 do this The radicals who say the Fed
a