The weekly pioneer and Democrat. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1855-1865, 1864-07-22
A Southern View Of Cavalry Raids,
FIR m the Richmord E aminer, July /.

FIR m the Richmord E aminer July l.
Cavalry raids destructive as they are never
conquer untrv. Rather, indeed, they help
to make it uncol querable; and that in several
ways In the first place they greatly tend to
destroy that sneak ny "Unionism," not We.
quite .xtinct in some regions OF our county
which II willing to take the oath Ito save its
property" Creatures OF this crawling sort
meet with no favors from the Yankee raider:
his business is to rob and devaslate, to carry
away what is portable and destroy what he can.
not carry. in order to starve out the 'rebel-
lion;" aud he has no notion of being cheated
by these Union" poor devils with their free
and easy oaths.
When they protest that they have always
been Union men," that they will take the
oath and ali that aiders reply Indignantly
Gas described by letter from Roanoke county,
that they are - liars" and thereupon pro-
coed 10 rob their premises. 1t would be go;d
idea. truly, if a wealthy farmer of Western
Virginia. with his barns and meat houses full.
gold in his de>k and silver in his pantry. could
turn away a regiment of furnishing horses and
their hungry and greedy riders, by me ely pro-
CanFederal soldiers eat and drink oaths? Are
Oaths good in horses rack and manger?
The Yankee gallant who has vowed to carry
to Massachusetts some trophy GALL stolen artl-
ces they call trophies y of his Southern
campaign, can bring home to the miscegenetrix
he loves planters OATH when he expects his
daughters jewels or his wifes forks and spoons
| 1t is therefore with sincere pleasure, almost
| with q sense of obligation to the very raiders
| that one hears of their cOntemptuous inatten-
| ton to professions of base "lOyalty" and the
| impartiality with which they rob all around.
| Thus, every district of country which has heen
| carried BY o Yankee raid or two becomes more
staunch Confederate country thereafter.
There is another way, too, in which raids
bring with them certain compensation. at
least in Western Virginia; they discover and
bring to light unpXpt cted granaries. and stores
of provisions hidden in caves, literally in caves
| Of the earth, with which that limestone cOun-
| try abounds The prudent farmers had hidden
| away those stores to save them not from Yam
| kee marauders, but from their own Gov.
| eminent and their own fellOw-citizens. These
| arc the suffering farmers who never had
| ANYTHING when the Confederate Qnartermas-
tiers, impressing officers or purchasers on
| Government account came around they had
nothing to cell for Confederate money ;
50 far from that, they were always in distress /;
| almost starving. and anxious delegations used
to come down to Richmond on their part, to
| plead that -four should be sent mp the valley to
sustain life; and especially that ii the govern
| ment should require from them loan of their
surplus labor, or indee make any claim or de-
maud whatever upon them IN the common
cause then all was lost. This sort of persons
| nave prOOaOly ucipcu ulOIc W OeprccElL6 our
| Treasury bills than all other causes together ;
TO sustain the credit of that paper was to sus-
tain the COVER -ment and che cause. aud the
freedom and honor of their own children. But
touch Confederate money they wOu not ON.
ly the glitter Of gold and silver could draw
for some of their hordes from the caverns
and behold many OF those secret granaries
have now been opened and their contents car
ried off without money and without price.
Yankees have good noses, they are also &C
cOmplished geOlOgiSts and know " hat depos-
its may Ne expected to crop out in calcareous
formations; indeed, the very negroes who had
helped store away the produce went to the
raiders and told them where to find it.
And 80 the prudent farmer found that he had
been too cunning for hlmse,f; after all he has
cheated himself lamentaby /; fluids that he
might as we'll have taken the government price
and helped TO feed his friends as fed his enc
mics tor no price at all wishes that his last
year crop had been put, not into q cave. bu,
it Is worth while to make some sacrifices Ia
keep those Yankees out of The country, and
when the raid has passed away, it leaves ouI
farmer u eadder and wiser man. and we ,rust j
much better Confederate ci,izcn.
In short, the various raids of Yankee bri,
gands this year will have done some good &c
make up tor the severe Losses and the in,Ol4ra
be outrages they inf Ct along their line o
march. They will have proved that the Ya,,
kss cavalry IRE simply mounted bandit,i ia
whom restoring the Union is p,etense fo
pilluge: that 4ither Oaths nor caves are an,
protection whatever against such gangs; anc
| That the best thing our people can do is u
make all needful sacrifices III money as well q
in blood, to sustain the army in which rest
our only hope to tree our soil from those band
of thieves.