Charles City intelligencer. [volume] (Charles City, Floyd County, Iowa) 1864-1866, 1865-06-29

please the eye and charm the sense
1t is their resort in the warm evenings
their ramble when they wish to rctrea
from the warm rays of the sun.
This garden of Jef'.'s contains near
!, ly ten acres, and abounds with al
! kinds of shade trees, shrubbery ant
flowers. Here is the sugar mapl,
from the North, tree not common tt
the South. JEFF had several. Their
there are several varieties of oak
One or two trees of the celebrated
live oak. In the centre of the garden
is a beautiful summer-house, built
| like an Oriental Kiosk. In the cen.
tire of this is young Palmetto, pre-
sented by the citizens of South Carroll.
ma four years ago. This young tree,
like the cause it represents is nearly
dead. Flowers of all kinds arranged
in every shape. with fine shell walks
extend in winding length through
out the entire garden. Still further
back is the orchard, with trees well
laden with fruit--quinces, apricots,
pears, apples. Peaches are in abun-
dance. There are also four fine straw
berry beds, which this year yield large
ly. Wild grapes, muscadines and per-
simmons are plenty all over the Bend.
There are upon the Bend some six
thousand negroes. They are divided
into colonies and placed under the su-
pervision of white man, who has ne
gro assistants. These colonies are
all managed alike, so that de-
scription Of their management up
on this plantation will show their
usual condition. Here they have thir-
ty plow hands, mostly women. These
hands get eight dollars per month.
The rest, denominated hoe hands, get
no pay only their rations, abont half
a soldiers ration being allowed them
per day. Ii they won't work they get
no rations. Of course, the aged, sick
aud children are excepted from this
rule. At 6 O'Clock A. NJ the bell
sounds, and from that time until half
past seven, the tools are given out.
After that time no one can work that
day. They work until half past elev-
en-, when the bell rings for dinner.
They are then allowed until 9 o'clock
p. NJ, when they again go to work and
labor until sundown. Then tickets
are given all the hands that have been
in the field, and they proceed to the
commissary and draw their days ra-
tions. Saturday afternoons they now
have. as darkies always did, to them
selves.
There is a store here where all those
who have got wages are allowed to
trade. The rest are pretended to be
clothed BY the Sanitary Commission.
Most of these have no clothes, and are
not very particular about showing
their anatomical beauties. The women
have old worn out soldiers blouses,
pants and old cotton sacks made into
a aouimg robe. l have seen many
little darky clad in the costume of
Adam and Eve before their fall. Eve
cry night they have both preaching
and dancing. Not unfrequently. they
will go to church, stay until they
have told their "sperienoe, and then go
and "come down like a thousand Of
brick in real old fashioned Virginia
reel or breakdown" Every Satur-
day night they have general set
to" from the different plantations. and
If any person wishes to see genuine
Negro wit and the tallest kind Of dane
ing, let him make some arrangements
with his olfactory organs and attend.
Always being used to have their mas
ter or overseer open the bal, they will
never go on the floor until some white
man first leads the opening set. Af.
ter that the fiddler will "rosin up y
start some lively tune, all the time
swaying his body to and fro, chanting
one of those tunes SO peculiar to their
race. Then two or three good men
will stand aloag side and pat the tune
with their hands, helping in the cho
rus Of the song. 4f rHs
Should they prove refractory while
at work they Immediately go into the
lookup and stay without rations until
they promise to behave. They have
good school house on this place, az
there is one on all the plantations,
There are two teachers here, females
both from Pennsylvania. They teach
four hours day aud receive salary
l of four hundred dollars a year. These
! teachers aud missionaries are all Uni
> ted Presbyterians. The darkies art
. universally Methodists. Their wor
: ship is very peculiar, seemingly try
ing to see who can pray the longes
and the loudest. ! timed one old fel
: low last Sunday who was praying on
l in the open field. Heprayed t.ro hour
i and t,reaty minutes by watch. | after
0 wards asked him what made him pra.
8 50 long. Said he; Young Massa.
Q wrestle nightly with the devil.
d Meaning. I suppose, that he hat
y fought back evil thoughts, or ha