, 1864-07-14
Ai11et1go Mril,nme:
THURSDAY, JULY IA, 1861
FROM TICKSBURG.
Ce1eb1ati9n Of the Fourth Of July at
the House Of Jeff. Davis,
The Freedmen's Paradise.
From the Herald Of July 81
FROM TICKSBURG.

the House Of Jeff. Davis,
Ehe Freedmen's Paradise.
From the Herald Of July5
| TIE TRIP.
By Invitation Of the aCommIttee Of Ar.
fangements" party Of teachers and their
embarked on board the stDlligent'' on the
morning Of the 4th inst, The Dllieent left
the 1eEee at EickRburg soon utter I o'clock
q. m and made a pleasant trip In about three
nonrs, down the river, stopriug al the land
ans A. 9aEls' Bend, whence the party were
other vehicles, to the late residence OF JEFF
cfson Davis, about two miles from said land
ing.
DAv1s' BEND,
This is one OF the most extraordinary bends
OF the wonderful Mississippi River, and has
received It's name from the fact Of tue settle
ment on the peninsula formed By the bend Of
two members of the Davis ,fa1nily kno wn as
"Jef" and "Joe." This PENN jula is some
tRelve miles in length, and at The point where
us attached to the main land of the State OF
Mississ1ppi It Is SO narrow that the cnterpris-
lng planters have ding caull ACROSS not un-
like the celebrated Butler canal Of Yicksburr
fame, although not near SO long. This canal
is called the "cut-oH," and In high water the
peninsula becomes, in fact, an island This
tract Of land IL Of great fertility, being entire
| u deposit Of the rich soil washed from the
ptai1les OF The great West. On this tract are
each. Two Of the largest and best OF these
t were owned by JEFF aud joe Davis, and are
known now as the "Jef. and Joe places,,'
| Tie form Of this peninsula is such that few
| companies Of soldiers with one or two stock
ades can Keep out IN army of rebels, and the
Inhabitants, although frequently surrounded
by. the hordes Of Southern murde1ers and
thieves On the opposite banks Of the river
and canal, dwell in peace and comparative
security. In fact this site, from being the
10! homs od traitors IND I'd opp;sssors of the Poof
ored refugees. There they flock in large
numbers, aud, like Lazarus Of old, are per-
mit'ed, IS It Were, to t'1epose In Father
Abraham's bosom" The rich men of the
.southeIn Coniederacy," now homeless wan
dersrs, occasionally cry across for the Laza-
rus whom they have oppressed and desplsed,
but lie is not sent unto them, because be-
tween the two parties there is great gulf
fixed; SO that they which would pass from
hence cannot" On this freedmen's paradise
under the superintendence Of missionaries,
each party c7ltivating from 10 to 100 acres,
with a fair prospect Of rekliziDg handsomely.
These efforts are aided BY the Government.
rationf, teame, ETC., being supplied and
fbegea ee saeR @ be s o%
cultivated, and some very handsome *tstands''
appear.
TIE "1oE Place.
The "Joe place. lis nearest the landing,
The fne brick house, however. is nearly de-
Molished, but tue cottage nsed as sort Of
Nv library and office, is remaining unin]ured.
The negro quarters nlso remain.
TIE "JErF. Place.
The "JeH place" Is also very fine plan
5nftn 1nrn hno
except the door locks md one OF two marble
manteis broken up, apparently for trophies
Ihe JcH furniture has been removed. but
the rooms are still furnished with furniture
brought here.
THE HOUSE THAT JEFF. HUuT,
Ihe house is, IL its Eron md plan, in the
lofm OF cross-but one floor with large
front is supported with pillars, and these
form the only ornamental features of the
ho1se, except such Us were added for this oc-
casion by the artistic touches of our North
ern sisters. Of tbsse wera festoons, wresths,
stars and earlsnt& m,steriously woven In
entrance outside, were the>1ollowing incrip-
tfons. the letters being formed BY cedar
foliage:
"THE uoCsH THAT JEFF. BUILT"
WELCOME"
The latter motto was arched and, with
the festoons, made very beautiful appear
ance.
Inside were beautiful stars and eat1ands of
MOWERS, and, over the exlt at the back door,
the following inscription, surmount.d By q
star:
"Ex1r TRAITOR"
:, It vas fecetiously remarked By IN observer
that the moral was
''Down with the traitor
Aud up with the star"
!, On the grounds IN front Of the residence
the gunboat crew suspended string OF sig
nal colore, on each eide Of the +'stafry bau.
neI," Presenting an effect amid the dense 10.
liage Of the liye-oaks, and the grey moss,
"aitogether beanteous to look upon," while |
On the tables under the trees were spread |
things not only pleasant to the sight, but !
good for food. And when We SOW these |
pleasing objects, the work Of their hands, |
and the merry, sappg faces OF tie guests and |
their "eecorts," aua reelected that the sable |
sons, " guard Of whom ne we're surround
cd, were no longer slaves; that they had, |
with Thousands OF their brethren, beep |!
brought out from the House of Bondage, by |
the "God Of Ahraham;" that the very house
now occppied BY missionaries and teachers,
had, but year ago, been In the service OF
very by the:EEeat chief who preferred to rule |
In miserable petty dcspotism, to eerSegin q |
great and nagnanlmous Republic, We could |
but think that Heaven looked approyingly |
upon the scene; that GOD saw Everything t
that be had made, md behold 1t was very
good"
THE ExRRc1sEs.
Rev. Or. Warren conducted the exercises |
rs President OF the occasion. and be did it |
rights and Interests OF all, which usually
characterize his public and social conduct.
He opened tue proceedings under grove of |
trees In front Of the house, with an appfo-
priate prayer, and then called upon those up
pointed to tnke part.
Dir. Rounotree read the "Decluation of
IIdependence'' in clear, emphatic and i'm.
preesiyc manner. It was listened to with
becoming reverence for the great truths it
contains, By both the white and colored races,
It 1s quite improbable that these "selt-evl-
deht' truths we're erer expressed before
publicly in this locality, and within hearing |
built-"
Rev Ar, Liyermore, Of Wis.,, delivered an
appropriate oratlon.
TIE meeting tber adjourned for dinner.
a gentle shower at this time rendered the |
air cool and pleasant, but rendered It necea-
sh1y to remove the dining tables to the house.
TIE DINNER
a snmptu0us dinner wa6 served on the ye- |
randa, at The back Of the mansion. There
vas m abundance Of all that eould be desir-
ed.
Sentiments were presented and responded
to IN an Ilnpromptu, butappropriate manner
By the various speakers.
The following song, composed for the oc-
casion, was Il ad BY h1r. Mcconnell:
TIE HOUSE THAT JEFF. BUILT.
Am-"Au1d Lang Syas:'
How oft within these airy halls
The traitor Of the day
Has heard ambitions trumpet calls, ~
Or dreamed OF wars arrayt
Or Of an Empire dreamed, whose base
Millions OF blacss should be;
Aha before this day's BHeet face
Where can his yiEions be2
Those Empire dreams ehall be fulfilled,
But not as 1thels thought
Lie Hater at the cistern spilled.
their boasts shall conc to noa.ht,
From gulf to lake, IRON sea to kea
Behold our country grand!
The very home Of Liberty
And guarded By her band.
We rcvel IN his halls today:
Next gear where will he be.
4 dread account he has to pay;
bay we he there to eel
And now for country truth and right
Our heritage all ffeh,
Well live and dle we'll sing and Acht:
The Union three times three.
The party, after selecting few simple tro-
phlcs, such Us tlg branches for walking canes,