The Portland daily press., 1866-04-14
The South as il is.

Inc southern correspondent of the New
York Nation, who under the above title Is
contributing to that paper series of deeply
interesting and manifestly faithful pictures of
the condition of society, and the state of feel
ing and opinion in the recently rebelious
States, gives the following report of CONVEX
sation held with an intelligent Northerner
whom he met in Baton Rouge. This man
had been travelling from Ohio to louisiana
to seek for the remains of some friends of
his who had persisted in steamboat explo-
sion, and whose bodies, it was possible, might
be found at some point between Vicks-
burg and the Gulf His search had brought
him in contact with all sorts of persons in
several States, and he had endeavored to
find out as much as possible about the opin-
ions and feelings of the Southern people.
When asked the nature of his conclusions, he
replied: a,-4} srI ;El.' <+--.
You must understand that in 1860 was q
strong Douglas man. I didn't like Lincoln,
Z and the abolitiOnists hated but, OF course, /
was Union. As the war went on I began to
believe in Lincoln, and, by the time the Eman-
cipation Proclamation was issued, had been
OuuSatCu up w ~ duO cluOTSeu lL AS q WAT
measure, mean that was how Mr.. Lincoln
regarded it, and so did I. Well, since the war
ended I've been conservative; Pve consider
ed Stevens and Sumner dangerous men, who
didn't understand the South, wanted to hum
BILE 1t and so on, and were standing in the
way OF peace. / believed what we used to
hear, that the North didn't understand the
South. believe it yet, but in very differ
ent sense. This journey has been the great
est that ever experienced. came out with
the kindest feelings for these people down
here; wanted to see it made EASY; we had
whipped them, and / wanted it to rest there.
thought the South wanted it to end there.
But was tremendously mistaken. They hate
US and despise us and all belonging to u.s.
They call US cut-throats, liars, thieves, van
dals, towards, and the very scum of the earth.
They actually believe it. They won't even
allow that we won on own battles. 1--WE
weresoverpowered by numbers" they say, .of
course we could Mt fight all Europe" They've
said that to me more than fifty times within
the last few weeks. And they say that they
are the gentlemen; we are amalgamationists,
muds.lls, vandals, and so forth. And I have
seen more brag, and lying, and profanity, and
cruelty down here, than l ever saw or heard
before in all my life. The only people 1 find
that Northern man can make friend of,
the only ones that like the government and
believe in it, are the negroes Pm convinced
they can vote just as intelligently as the
poor whites, A Southerner would knock me
down If | said that to him; but it's true. I
tell you Pm going home to be radical. Fight
the devil with fire. I've learned to hate
Southerners as I find them, and they can hate
ME IF they want to. Pm Sumner man after
l get back, and shall write out my expert
ence for some of our papers. Every man
that's seen what I've seen ought to let it be
known. "The North don't understand the
South," you know, and Pm going to help our
people see two or three things: that the chiv-
airy hate and despise US; that "nigger" they
don't consider human; that whatever harm
they can do us without getting another whip
ping, they've got the will to do, and mean to
do, too. Iwish every county in the North
would send out two men, who have the conf
dence of their fellow citizens, and make them
travel through the South and report the true
condition Of things. They couldn't make
true report without changing every honest adj
ministration man into a radical. know
what I was when came out, but couldn't
resist the evidence of my own senses. e