Sunbury American. [volume] (Sunbury, Pa.) 1848-1879, 1863-07-18

| to the superior. There Is no hardship III
this. Every man submits cheerfully to it
the old give up their places to the young
the father dies and the son succeeds Inn,
and nobody grumbcs. Wchavc abstructcd
the operation of this law on the black race,
and now, in tears and blood, we arc paying
the penalty
"Iou bookish men can spin fine theories,
but we have to deal with facts, and hard
facts at that"
II have formed my theory on facts,
Colonel, hard and black facts, too" replied
| the doctor, laughing.
"But YOU never loved the slaves rs do
never had them love you, and look to you as
| mine do to me. When Grants army was at
! Memphis told them they would he free If
! they went toit, and not one of them LETT
me-
THAT only proves, what everybody knows
| that you are kind master; and that your
nCgrcCs would work Chccrlully for you, II
/ they were free"
"Wcll. there's no use talking to You ;
! you're an incolrigihlc Abolitionist; but
come, Squire addressing my right hand
/ nCighbor, exchange seats with me. | want
| to talk with this Northern gentleman, and
can't stand this any longer The cars
were iolting considerably, and his position
was not IN easy one The fat planter rose
and the other seated himself besides me. As
he did so, said to him:
/ ~ never discuss Slavery, Sir; it's waste
Ofwords'
81 don't wish to discuss it. Sir; | want to
ask you the real state of public feeling ut
the North. Where do you live, Sir 2
| This was spoken in Il tone which showed
! he was accustomed to good deal more de
! ference than is yielded to the ordinary run
Of planters. lquictly gave him my name
and residence, and asked him for his.
/ George ". Il, of IL Springs,
near Clarksvillc, Tennessee
You name is familiar to me, Sir; form
/ ly knew Gen. Il of South Carolna-he
whose son commands the Ii Legion"
/ "Ilc wasa near kinsman Of mine. We re
all of the old Virginia family"
/ The Clarksvilc gentleman then went ON
/ TO ask Inc a multitude OF questions about
/ the condition of things at the North. | ans
/ wcrcd frankly. and he listened attcntivcly,
but made no comment when | expressed the
opinion that the mass of our people would
never consent TO the rc-cstablishmcnt of Sla-
very.
I We were entering Il beautiful region.
where the thick grass was waving in the
meadows. the early flowers were blooming
by the road sides, and the Spring birds were
singing in the great old trees but where
the rich red soil lay unturneG by the pow !;
the stalks of the Autumn corn stood rOtting
on the ground, and ruin and dCsOlatiOn
stared ut Us from everything Broken fences,
wasted fields. deserted plantations, dismamt-
, led dwellings. and, now and then, burned
woods. or charrcd chimney, standing Il lone
~ sentinel over wCcdy garden or amid n
blaCkcncd grove, told that the demon of war
had passed that way, and left only ravagc
and devastation in his path \ ragged wo-
man, looking out from wrctChcd hovcl Il
solitary man, lingering around a heap of
ashes and crumbling bricks that might once
have been his home, or group of hali-cIad
negro children. gamboling on the porch, or
loling la7ily on the lawn of some deserted
homestead, that still looked down in faded
grandeur ON the Tuin around it, were the
only indications of human existence and the
only remnants of once peaceful and happy
population. II was one of the most lovely
regions of the earth, naked, but beautiful
even in its nukcdncsS | called the attcn-
tiOn of my new acquaintance to its apparent
/ fertility, and remarked: mo portion of this
wide country has so fine a climate, or so rich
and fertile a soil as this. Before we reached
! EliZabcthtown, we passed through what Is
called the bed of the Ohio'-a white clay
region heavily timEcrcd, but deficient in
/ iron and lime, and mainly devoted 10 graz
[ ing Now, we are ascending an elevated
/ plateau of red clay, rich in every thing except
/ ammonia, and producing, almost spontanc-
ously, enormous crops Of wheat, rye, corn,
| hemp. blue grass and tobacco At Bowling
] 4 hi i hN N Lar
ridges that spring out from the Cumberland
mountains and sink into the lower lands
/ bordering the Mississippi. They give more
| beautiful diversity to the surface, but the
character of the soil continues the same, as,
indeed, il does over nearly the whole of this
State lkcntucky) and Tennessee. Any
where in this region the suJsoil, turned up
/ by the pillow, and exposed short time to
/ the action OF the air, becomes Il manure al
most as valuable rs guano. These two States
! Sir. were meant by nature to he the garden
of this continent. Adam when he first woke
in Eden, did not look upon more heauti-
! ful landscape, or Il more luXuriant Ycgcta-
ton, than is everywhere spread around you;
but now, see what war has done. \ cursC
has fallen ON these once happy homcs-thC
abOmination of dcsolation sits in these plea,
SAINT places "
"But the day will soon come, Sir, when
free labor, free schools, and free men viii
people this region, and make it in reality
the paradise which God designed it should
be-
"Wc cannot forcscc the end, Sir, but my
heart sickcnS when think of what it may
bc-thcsc old homcstcads dismantled thcst
rich plantations cut into little plats ofa hal
dozen acres, and divided among the ncgrOc,
or squattcd on 10y Il vulgar herd of Irish ano
Germans. hope may not live To see il
Sir; bu, let even that come rather than dis
union and the perpetual war that would
follow
"And YOU are Union man Sirw | cN
claimed, in pleased surprise. II feared iron
what you said of Slavery, that you wer,
not"
Union, Sir, my tnionisn has been tried
Il has stood the tcst-eyery test but death
and am ready to meet even that for IL.
believe IN slavery ! think IL the norma
condition of the black race know my ne
groes are happier than they would he in free
dom nnd-I love them, SE. But | loy,
my children better. do not want Ia legy,
them heritage OF endless war and, there
fore, am willing that Slavery should b,
abolished, ii the tnion cannot be save,
without H."
"You must have suffered greatly, Sir, liy
D T. A a 4