Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1864-05-19


letter from Tennessee says, with a sacred
regard for the marriage relation smopp
slaves, is patent to every thinking person
No Law Of any slave State prescribes lsUs
TO be observed, or penalties for bieamv or
adultery committed by slaves, or throws
! any protection (some miserable sbars ara
fzIrnuvryTrrrefs VINO arc : :
| slave I7siii 7ssiHii1fHHs damage to csrgOes viii hnd II
would certainly undermine the Dscnijs-
institution, and Shareholders know IL 7
am aware that Southerners assert that
ismilles are rarely sold spart Even this
IS ttrue. Bankruptcy, partition of es
tstsi etc, necessarily, and anger, want Of
money, removal, etc, Voluntarily, often
cause slsve families to be sold spsrt and
separated forever. But slaves verv often
Intermsrry where husband and wife be.
iohg different owners. These are con.
stsntly liable to separation.
suppose the people Of this pejgbboy-
MOOD are as stationary, as Wealthy,as NOR
s., as humane IS any in tie South; but 1
assert that two thirds Of the ult negroos
Of this and the surrounding plantations
nave more than one living husband or
VIE. 1t never entered the head of mas
Ter, mistress, pastor, or legislator, to for.
Do, much less to punish these biesmies.
a negro wedding took place in the |
quarters few evenings since. Hear |
ing Of II, L went down to see the oere-
mony. Upon inquiry found that sam
tne happy groom, already had two other
wives living somewhere, and 'Ijza tba
smiling cannot say blushiug) bride was
equally rich in husbands. The ofioiatin0
joiner Of these
Nv wq souls with but single thought,
Two hearts thst beat as one,"
claimed TO act in virtue Of being "a
Methods deacon, or elder. or sum'tbiD
lat sort" He was fat, awkward. Law
oeking niger from an adjoining plsoe.
Z 20 - : EA5R5a' ';--snu 1 suspect his reputa.
ion for ssnctity as well as the demand for
his services upon such occasions as this
vas, were due in great degree to his
black coat, white vest, crsvst and gloVes.
Wishing to know whether his reverence
vas "pOssessed Of the facts" I enquired
By way of hint what had become Of Sans
other wives and EliEs's two husbsnds7"
i' Dunno, mars'er, 'speot dey's sOrter
parted like-and immediately proceeded
10 tell Sam and Liza TO 'jine dey're right
hands" and humble over some unintelli-
gible ito me) gibberish about "Abrs'm
and Sarah, Jacob and Rebeccs, end with
Sam and Liza man and wife,
and telling them to 60 bout your biz'ness,
sn of your"
Al this is ludicrous enough; yet 10 me,
and l trust to my readers it is pitiful and
painful also, IS would be the grinning
skull Of some poor dead YoTick, Of well
gibes and jests. VEG.
AND RECONSTRUCTION BELOW
vICKsBURG.
A letter from Nstchez says:
The appearance and condition Of things
change materially below Visksburg, up to
which point, I endeavored in my letter Of
the 4lh to give you faithful, though q
necessarily, cursory account, After the
boat passes the famous city on the hill,
the country is more broken, and there are
to be seen more evidences of an undis-
turbe1 condition. You have better op-
portunity Of seeing the rented plauta-
tioDe, carried on by enterprising Yankees,
the new system Of compensated, free
negro labor, which taken in the aggregate
operates like 8 charm. The negroes are
more cheerful and contented, that is, those
Of them who, under the old system Of
compelled labor, pined for liberty. The
lessees, content with the generous promise
Of reWard for their investment, need not
resort to the violence Of the slsve-driver
to make o few more bales by whipping |
the "hands" to death, and sll they ask is q
continuation of the favorable auspices
under which they began. But this immu
nifty is as difficult to secure as anything |
the most difficult in the progress Of the /
war, for notwithstanding the numerous
military posts established along the |
river, there is hardly one Of the new plan
tations but hiss been visited by predatory
bands, whose object isIthe. death Of all the
people, white and black, and the capture
Of the stock found on them. Seme lessees
have already realized fortunes, but ma
jority Of them have not only lost their
time, but sll the capital invested in the
essentials for carrying on the work. At
this time both Vicksburg and Nstchez are
crowded by cotton buyers and lessees, who |
have been obliged to fly fer their lives
from the persistent attacks Of guerrillss,
and it is aoW rumored that simultaneous
effort is being made to sell out interests in
the new enterprise.