American citizen. [volume] (Butler, Butler County, Pa.) 1863-1872, 1864-10-12

they nave cost the HFSt OOfH OF every
household and will you not be content
until we are all swallowed up in the Red
Sea of Gods just punishment, A hun
dred years hence when you and are for
gotten, the student Of history will read
Of slavery, of the slave trade, of the bar
barities of both, of compromises, and
broken compromises, of the national sin of
slavery, and when he opens the last book
and reads Of the cruelty and suffering of
the many years of war through which
this nation had to pass-he will not curse
Abraham Lincoln, nor the Republican
party but he will lift up his eyes to heav-
aud, say o, God Thou art just
THE NEGRO.
There are those among us, who pre-
tend to justify their course toward the
Negro by saying, or more generally by
insnuating, that the Negro has no soul.
That he is a species of the Monkey tribe,
&c. Now arguing this question political
ly, it makes no difference whether he has
Il soul or not we know he has big foot,
which has cursed every soil upon which
he has trodden, especially when that foot
wore chain; to keep our fair territories
from being tins cursed, was the. purpose
of the Republican party, and how sue
cessful has she been? Kansas free, all our
territories free, Maryland free, Missouri
free, and slavery only living in the for
tunes Of the Democratic party. But to
those who, when they can defend their
curse by no other argument, begin to in
sinuate that the Negro has no soul, |
would say, there are thousands Of Ne
groe5 more intelligent, more virtuous, and
more religious than yourself, then your
soul must exist exclusively in your white
skin. and such | believe to be the case,
for such men seldom have common sense.
But man is the only religious ami
NAL, and the Negro is very religious, ma
turolly more 50 than Copperheads. Not
withstanding the opposition to the negro
ou this score, find these men think that
the negro will do as a substitute for all
the soul they hare, when the draH comes
off, and | believe they have full more soul
for their country than Copperheads have.
have seen the negro fight, | have seen
him wounded in battle, but never heard
him cry for a cessation of hostilities, but
for "Fort Pillow" often. The negro has
soul enough to fight for his liberties, aud
soul enough to know that God maze him
to be free. find some here so ignorant
that they think we take the masters ne
groes Just as we take his horses, this is not
so. have seen several thousand contra
bands taken, but never did see one ci-
ther compel ed or influenced to leave his
master, when We go on Cavalry raid, we
spread great CONSERVATION through the
country The master and his family have
always taught the negro that we had
horns, and that we lived on black
meat, and if we got them, we would eat
them. They get the news of our ap-
proach a short time before We arrive.
Sometimes the master (if not in the ar
my) takes his gun and goes to join some
guerilla party. The overseer takes the
most valuable of the slaves toward some
place of safety; others are sent to hide
the horses, mules &c. in the woods, often
he has hid the horses, in curiosity he
crawls to the edge of the woods to watch
the approach of the Yankees-as the first
goes by he lies low, he says, they don't
look like our people, but | see they have
no horns, and | don't believe they live on
black meat. | had dream, that we is
all going to be free, and | believe the
time hab com; 'iod bless me III risk it
anyhow, and out he comes. The Yam
KEGS ask HIM if there are any Johnies
about there (and it is from the negro in
such cases we get all our reliable infor-
nation, and often | have seen him ride
with our Generals, and guide them on the
road but the negro who hid the horses,
has guided some of our men to the place,
some of the negroes taken away by the
oveiseer, have got away and are now COM
ing in, they all are talking and shouting,
and blessing God the day Of their delib-
erance hab come All Of massas horses
and mules are hunted up, the jubilee
clothes are puton, they have no valuables
to pick up, but in less than half an hour
from the time they saw the first Yankee,
every one that can get anything to ride is
mounted. l have seen three on one horse
some are so old that they can't walk, but
all that are able, resolve to follow, and of
they start. Ask them where they are
going, and they will tell you, 'going to be
/ - Il Ill ~ ggDlau, Inl