The Hillsdale standard. [volume] (Hillsdale, Mich.) 1851-1909, 1865-10-03
Reconstruction I'm Mississippi.

i left Jackson on the morning OF the
26th, at nine o'clock, a. m, and at -four
iithe afternoon stopped at the resi-
dence of planter, about three miles
from Brandon. / knocked at the door
and an old negress came out, and in.
quired for the gentleman of the house,
when she returned to his sitting room
and conveyed my message,
els he id Yankee?" asked
the planter, gruffiy.
"No sab; deed he's not; he got nc
blue coat on" replied the negress.
Thus assured, he approached the
door, and /, without giving him the
slightest hint that had heard the briei
dialogue, put on the style of regular
Southerner, which my dress indicated
and in an instant the most perfect con.
fidence was established between u.s.
He was a Southerner all over, not only
in opinion, but in character. He was
extremely social in his intercourse with
those he deemed his equals, but inso
lently supercilious to his inferiors-and
such he regarded all laboring men,
His name was Calhoun, and he claimed
to be distant relative of the father
of notification. lie owned q large
plantation, but all his slaves, except
some half a dozen who were too old tc
go, had run off and left him.
All this time my horse was hitched
n short distance from the house but
finally he asked if L would have it put
up-he had rail pen stable-and | re
piled that | would, as | had several
days journey before me.
"Where are you agoing?" he in
quired.
q scarcely know" said I, "but
want to get out Of the country, some
how; perhaps | may 90 through to
the coast; perhaps, will so North in
disguise"
OF course, he now thought me q reb-
el of some consequence, and anxious
to leave the hated rule Of the Yankees
and the confidence he showed from the
first grew greater.
GLOW do the people here take it,
when they are liable To be put in pris-
on, on niggcr's testimony, for, perhaps,
only attempting to make their slaves
mind 7" asked.
"Well, the fact is, we have to be
very careful here" he said, "we are
SO near the Yankee troops; but j tell
you what it is, there's a good many
worthless niggers found hanging to
trees, around here, just now"
" Has there" said /, "bcen any ca
ses of people being arrested here, OH
the complaint of slave 2"
eyes," was the response; "there's
three now in the guard house at Jack
son, charged by niggers with assault
ing them; and / don't know what will
be the immediate result; but | know
this, if ever one of the niggers shows
himself here, he'll hang to tree"
"What is the nature of the charge p
I inquired.
"Why nothing, only the niggers
wouldn't work, and these men under
took to make them, and they just gave
them thirty or forty lashes apiece; and
if any of the niggers come back here
they'll hang-c :rtain."
"But don't any Of the niggers re-
main at home, in his section ?' l que
ried, in tone that indicated that they
did where / came from.
"Not one, unless their master hires
them; that a good many are doing |;
but guess ohen the niggers get their pay
they'll kaow a. But wouldn't humor
mine that much I'll let them go, be-
fore I'll recognize them; / am afraid
this recognition will work mischief, for
it will be harder to make them work
again than it will to make them work
after they have been half starving all
this WHILE"
"Where are your slaves gomez" l
asked.
Some are in Jackson, working for
the Government; and some are in them
woods, doing nothing" he replied.
" Were they impudent to you before
leaving?" / next asked.
"Yes, one of them came to me and
said they would all go to work if l
would pay them; but if didn't they
would go off to the Yankees, and the
first thing 1 knew, I'd be driven off,
and some Yankee would take my house
and plantation, and hire them and pay
them 800 a month";" was the answer
and / think it needs no comment.
Mr.. Calhoun had about the most ter
rible horror of Yankees that could
dwell in the breast of mortals. There
was no misfortune which ever attended
the country but that he attributed it to
the vile race. They were the authors
of all public and private grievances
he had lost favorits dog the day be-
fore, and he had no doubt but some
Yankee poisoned it, though /, doubt
less, was the only Northern man who
had been within ten miles of his place
for week; and he somehow mysteri-
ously connected the Yankees with the
loss Of COW, by murrain, the week
before. Those who know nothing OF
Northern men would very readily con-
cludc, after hearing him talk, that the
Yankees were as ubiquitous as Mao
beth's witches, and as the spirits which
90 round in modern times, cutting up
all kinds of didos on tables, among
chairs and in dark passages.
MIscELLANEoUs-A Memphis paperre-
lates the case of Southern female re-
L. 4. =. \. - Z n n