Baton Rouge tri-weekly gazette & comet. [volume] (Baton Rouge, La.) 1865-18??, 1866-10-30
OUR YOUNG MEN.

placed at our disposal a couple Of
letters received from two of his sons
who are planting in the parish of
Rapides. He points with just
sense of pride to those sons who
have started out into the world with
little other capital than that derived
from an honest name and native
will and ambition to overcome diff
culties and carve out their own road
to fortune. Their efforts, as will be
seen from extracts taken from their
letters, which we publish below.
have been attended with proud sue
cess. They have set an example,
which, it is to be hoped, will be ex-
tensively emulated by many others
Of their day and generation. The
young gentlemen referred to, We
may as well state, are the sons Of Mr..
Moses L. Meeker, Of this parish.
They went to Rapides last fall and
set about getting a place, which
they succeeded in doing, and at once
commenced cultivating cotton, corn
and sugar. Sickness and other OBJ
stacles being overcome, they have
managed to realize pretty fair crops
and to establish more promising
basis for their next years operations.
Says one of them, (Joseph), writing
under date of October 18th:
eve are very busy now preparatory to
grinding, are pulling corn and picking
cotton-will finish both to- m orrow Will
commence putting down seed cane on
Monday aud expect to put down enough
to plant two hundred and fifty acres. |
think we will start the mill on Monday
week. Mr.. Compton has been grinding
all this week. Cane is very green, but is
yielding more sugar than was anticipated.
think Sam will make about one hundred
and twenty or forty hogsheads, and
twenty-seven or twenty eight bales of
cotton; but expenses are quite high. Major
G. started for the city yesterday to make
arrangements for Sam, with a merchant
who is willing to advance for US. We
is about settled. 1t is quite an under
taking. Our debts will amount to about
twenty-five thousand dollars before the
year is over, but we will work on a
margin of about twenty thousand dol
lars, should the next year prove q toll
erably good crop year. The Major is very
kind and uses his influence in our favor
and sells us all the stock on credit,
Us mules).'
The other son (Samuel), writes in
substance pretty much the same as
his brother, adding the statement
that they will also make about $500
bushels of corn, and that they would
have made seventy or eighty bales
Of cotton but for the ravages Of the
worm also, that the cane is rather
short because of the drought there
in August. The brothers have made
their entire crop with twenty-seven
working hands. eve are all work
ing very hard" says Samuel, "and
intend to make something, if close
attention will effect it."
We can point, happily, to numer-
GUS such instances of enterprise and
industry among the young men Of
the South, who, thrown upon their
individual resources, are becoming
the architects of their own fortunes
and good name. Would that we
could single out many more, how
ever. There are yet too many hang
ing around our towns and villages,
who seem to be either too lazy or too
proud to learn trade or to pursue
some manual occupation whereby
they might lead more honorable and
useful lives, than such as drag them
down to level of mere animal sloth,
or something worse. They consume
without producing anything benef-
cial to themselves or society, and
thus become burdens to the commu- |
mites wherein they are found.
The necessities of the times more |
than ever demand that the young
men of the land should rise above all |