The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1866-04-20
White Trash-Who are They?

"poor whites" when speaking of the reo
pie Of the South. As some may have ne
curiosity to want to know who the " bite
trash or "poor whites" are, we will ,r,
and convey to them succinc, description
Of this class of people although it would
require many books, and of good size, to
fully describe their peculiarities.
The white trash occupies middle sta
lion between a beggsr and laboIer-s
little more industrious than the first but
not of 80 much use to himself or hiscoun-
try as The latter. lie sprung, perhaps
from some of the old families of the coun-
try. His ancestors, having been lazy or,
from the want of good land, having been
unlucky in the low lands. removed with
his family to the mountains, where roads
are few, the soil poor, the country OF
course mountainous and no inducemeDt
for the building of towns the establish
ment Of scho ols and churches. or other in
situations that go to make up he essentials
Of civilized community. Bringing up
HE children in the SOLITUDE Of the noun
tains, where. they never see or hear of
what is transpiring throughout the civil
lied world, they grow up to add to the
number Of Ignorant white trash This
is the mountain clasa Th.re is another
class inbabiling the IowIands. This latter
class has generally sprung from the lazy
and thri!lless portion of the first and old
settlers. They are despised by their more
lucky neighbors who are Cor were) able TO
own negroes They are also despised by
the negro himself, who, being wei! fed and
well cared for in seasons of scarcity as
we'll as seasohs Of plenty, looks down on
the poor and shif,less White who often has
to suffer from bis supneness.
His prototype is found in the New Eng
land States, and there goes By the name
of genuine yankee" In Indiana and
the Western States generally he is known
as " hoosier the latter, however a, e
his direct offspring, who have emigrated
from the South Atlantic States; and the
word g hoosier is moreover an abrevia-
ton of whose here:' an enquiry made
oy " strangers - in the mountains on ap>
preaching habita,ion. In Virginia and
North Carolina, be is known by the ap>
pellation of mountain boomer in
South Carolina, "dlrt-eater in Georgia,
" corn>cracker;" in Arkansas, "racken>
sacker;' in Texas and Mexico they have
his prototype in the "greasers.'
In all that goes to make up an enter
prisiDg, we'll ordered aud civilized com
munity. his yankee cousin is far superior
10 him; but from the foundation Of our
present system Of government up 10 TIL,
very hour bis Influence has been both seen
and felt; for, as before said, sometimes be
is descended from some Of the first fami.
lies. or Is tho progeni,or Of men we'll known
to fame. Among them are TO be found
those Of the patroEymic of Davis. Lee
Clay, Calhoun, Lincoln, Jackson, Jefferson.
Johnson, Henry. Benton, Houston, Blu
chanan, Boon, Carson, Crockett, McCul-
loch, and host of others known to local
fame, and who have likewise made
their mark The first named men, until
we reach the name of Boon, land including
Abe Lincoln and Andy Johnson) are
known TO history as the most enlightened
statesmen and soldiers Of this continent
while the mountalneer class, represented
by Daniel Boon, Davy Crockett HI, Car
son and Ben McCulloch, are known as
mighty hunters and warriors-such as the
world has not produced elsewhere for cen
turtles past. Much is said of the "Purta,
Fathers "-Siandish, Winthrop, Alden
and ethers-but New England, with the
single exception of Daniel Webster, never
prod uced a man or set of men who could
compare, either in the council or the
camp, with those who stand forth as the
representatives, or who have sprung FROM
or are allied to. the hlte trash"
He builds his house, or rather rude cabin
far off from the public roads, in some re
tired little nook, and near a sl,ins ol
Iiinp;d running brook it is reached on.
by paths, and is so hidden ths, sometime,
the novice 10 mountain lie IL apt 10 be on
top Of i, before he is aware OF irs where
.bou,s. Here he cuI,ivates a small, p
very small, patch CT ground. which he
plants in corn and is rewarded by suffi
Gent number Of "nubbirs (small ears
of corn to last his family until the mex,
harvest. This be takes to q little mountain
mill, perhaps forty or fifty miles dis,an, on
the back of what he Is a nag. or ma, be
on bis own back-but he has very little
need Of bread, for he is mighty hunter
and trapper. He goes 20 some far of tow q
10 trade his furs or chestnu,s or mast-fed
pork to the grocer for molasses for hi,
children and snuff for his wife-,nuch else
-