The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1863-06-03
Cutting Houses.

Cutting Houses
| According to Worcester tho word "eut. ;,
verb active, is defined: 81. To take out tie
bowels Of; to eviscerate; to draw to exente.
rate as to gut tieh.' ?. To plunder of its
| contents.
a troop Of eut.th.os. guards we're sezt to seize
fte rich mems goods, ard sut tLs'r pslsccs'
f"Drydsn"
This definition applies forcibly to the Yam
kee practice in this war, in the matter of
houses. Toney Lumpkip. a Well known shrewd
observer, was of opinion that the ain.
side OF letter was the cream" of il. The
Yankee, equally shrewd as to the main point
OF the value of thing, is clearly of opinion
that the inside Of house ia the most inpor.
tant part, the very cream Of that also. So he
takes possession Of that part of it the moment
he reaches it. he takes ont tie bowels of it :;
eviscerstes, draws, and exenterstes it he
plumbers it, and generally, after Dryden's &C.
count, with band of "cutthrca,s."
There is no part of the war which is 90
agreeable to the Yankee az the cutting of
houses. 1t is exciting it lie gratifying to his
curiosity, his prying disposition. Hsving no
deilcacy, no reverence for sacred things, he
revels in the chambers of innocence and re-
iinement, aud riots with delight amidst the
ruin and plunder OF the household gods -
Above all, he loads himself with spoils, and
ineurs no peril! What phase of the war so
grateful to his bru'ality-his cupidity-his
covardice Wha. cares he for the remon.
strancee Of an old nsn, or few women and
children Their distresses only whet his ap.
petite for the spoils The tiger enjoys his feeat
but the more for fsw struggles and piteous
moans Of the fawn.
Cutting OF houses is a terrible trade, and
those who follow 1t sre dangerous. Like all
Fascinating occupations, it must be hard to
abandon. Tho pirate must die pirate. The
freebooter can never be content to live hon.
estiy and earn an honest living. The man who
has practiced the art Of cutting houses and
appro pristiug their contents to his own beue-
tit, can never look at decent house without
feeling desire to rife Ito turn it inside out
and possess thems elves of the cream of it. So
that it is not improbable that the Yankees who
are now cutting Southern houses viii! carry
their occupations home with them, and at come
day to come show to their own people their
wonderful skill in this line! We are not sur
prised to see that eome returned soldiers
| few days eince, practiced their art upon the
poor negroes of Harrisburg, Pennsy lvania !!
The accounts given in the Yankee papers say
that they "guttede houses for squares in the
negro quarter T. and "nearly all the negro
huts were demolished and their furniture
taken awayt' Enlightened woolly heads"
aud ''roiiing eye balls uemblingy directed TO
wards the soldiers" appear to tave been very
good marks for attack, and to have had no Ct.
fact in mitigating their fury against the "poor
negro
The indulgence Of the passion and the yoca
ton in this Ase, as we learn, wss very econom
ical to the white people of Harrisburg; for We
are informed that "no white mans house was
injured" !" and we are further informed that
the ".Msyor has ordered no arrests oh, 10,
it was only the poor negro! "Nobody's
hurtf'
But the house gutter will to hunting for
more houses lie longs to see somebody
come commnnify-put under the ban, and their
houses left to him! The Southern field will
have been in due time fully explored and work
ed, and there will not be enough left to pay
him for his trouble. The negro hut is not com.
pensating-it is not rich In rpoils Save to vent
his hate TO the negro the cutting Of his house
ID not worth the trouble. But II the ruling
powen will only put under the ban some party
OF "Copperheads," or party with any sort OF
name, then there would be prosperous work.
The richer and more refined the community
left to their tender mercies the bstter-cupidity
and malignity would have all the better feast
TIL day may be not far eff when the ''house.
gutter in the hand of Providence may thus
become an instrument of wrath to visit retri
button upon those who sent him to desolsse
happy homes at the South When out Of the
cauldron now bubbliDg with ell the hortid In
gradients pitched into 1t by the fana. .cs and de
mons Of the North-when ont of that sLal,
rise the monster that is TO emerge from it, then
the gutter of houses will be ready to play his
part in the drama Of Nosthern rstribution and
carry desolation and horror to powers now
filed with those who gloat with satisfaction
over the accounts Of his brutal Achievements
in the South!