The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1864-09-27
Life On Leasea Plantation. IN
Dixie.
GoopRrcH's LANDING,

toOpRIcH's LANDING,
/ Sept. Is, 1864. {
DEAR GATE: Since my last letter there
has been no unusual occurrence in this
vicinity, except that the picking season
has come ana We are busily engaged in
gathering what cotton the worms have lef,
US. My impression is, that not more
than the sixth Of an average crop will be
picked this season along the river. Up
to the latter part of July the prospect was
very hattering-a full crop was indi-
Gated. But the worms came in Eeyptian
locust swarms, and literally "cleaned us
outn
However gratifying i. may be to the
'oreheads and copperheads at home that
We should thus fail to ''make 10 dependent
fortunes off OF the lands and labor of
their friends down here, truth requires
that | admit the fact that. with tha best
OF luck. We shall scarcely make tnis sea-
son more than our expenses.
1t there is any sense in the Or oclams.
ton OF freedom TO the slaves, its practi.
cal demonstration depends upon the solu-
t'on OF the question Of utility in a free
condition of this. heretofore, useful-popu-
lation.
1t has been said, "the free negro will
not work; cotton can't be succes.fully
raised with free labor" etc; and by often
repeating lie, one comes to believe it the
truth. These people tell you or did,
before the contrary was demonstt rated
that the negro was treacherous and could
not be trusted was cowardly, and would
not make a soldier; was law. and would
hos Work without compuislon. Ask our
boys IN blue which they would rather
trast, negro or his former master2 Ask
the Confederates who survive the MANY
chalges and counter charges made by and
on negro ba,'aions, of the pluck dii iplayed
by the negro as soldier? And last, but
eqn naiiy Important, ask the lessee V bo has
psia and cared Tor the wants of the freed
negro in q proper way, whether BE has
dot been found willing 20 work for wsges9
On all these points | think, in shit- Of
the human prejudices and superhuman
difficulties Ia the way, there has been
general dem onstrailon in favor of thc ne
gro.
But all must remember that the double
experiment OF emancIpaling an ignorant,
race OF slaves and setting them to cult
vaie the lands Of their former master RS un.
der The direction of strangers, whb. fer
the gres'er part, must learn the he rro as
we'll as the peculiar culture Of a crlp un-
known to them before, aud all ,hi, IN n :
vlclnsge of conteuding armie.-who made
the. change Of condition OF the people and
occupation OF the land, their riucipal
bone of contention, where the life OF
lessee, or the liberty Of a negro, lasts only
50 long as they can evads the vigilance Of
the relentless guerrilla bandits Of the
Confederacy?
defy the less enterprising coadjutors
Of these pluudering miscreants, who stay
North out Of harms way and wish them
well, TO show in history anything to COM
pare with what has been done during Is
months time to demonstrate the prac,i-
cability Of emancipation and home en-
Iloyment of the slave. They may con-
gratulate themselves over the failare of
the crop, from natural causes. as they do
| over rebel victories but the fact is prom.
inent, that when the Mortimer" plant
their banner Of progress. either in military
or civil enterprises, they maintain their
ground.
A noticeable fact, bearing on the ques-
ton of emancipation, and one OF vast i'm
portancs in humanitarian point of view,
Is, that the negroes on leased plantations
last year, who had been "tossed from pi.
low to post" along the river, and kept in
conlraband camps, suffered loss of about
two fif,hs of their number by death during
the season. This was attributed to the
fac. of their having been "set free'', and
staggered many friends of the policy, who
for the most part consoled themselves
with the thought that death Was prefer
able to slavery. But happily, this year
the health Of the freedmen that have re-
nained on the same plantations sin ce last
year compares iavorably with that Of the
same families in state OF slavery.
| Last season had, 10 commence with,
some $50 people and buried go this year
We have 200 of last seasons hands, and
so far We have buried only two of them
This | think is about the experience Of
others, while those baviag negroes taken
from correl winter quarters at the COM
mencement Of the season, are losing near
| ly if not quite the proportion Of LAST sea-
son.
The negroes are happy and cohtanted,
much more so than whites could be, stu.
ated as they are. There are many vices
in the wake Of armies, and it cannot be
wondered at if tho negro should be con-
taminated with them But, considering
their former state OF mental daakness, and
the sudden burst of light and liberty both
at once, the wonder is that their ex cesses
are controllable at all. Time, for aduca-
tioD, is all that ia requisite to make Of
them an industrious. happy and moral
people.
/ Since the raids OF which spoke In my
last letter we have no war here or here
abouts. "All is quiet on Tensas, and
We hope General Steele will end botiness
TO engross the attention of our bach door
neis hbors until the cotton is gathered
when most Of as wilFchange our base. un
less the future prospects are much brtehte,