The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1867-05-29
mlsIil.ll as

,chiefy-the wonderful good sense Of the
negroes in quietly adapting themselves
to Rhe new order Of things, working al
most everywhere as steady as any 9TH
er laborers, and educating themselves
for citizenship-wondertul, really, in
the niggers." .y3 =. o.. TI1r5s
"ThIs good sense you hardly antici-
pated would accompany their emanci-
patiOn."f& Et-..4 .f = -
"AnticlpatedI never. To be candid
with you, did not believe in the pos
sibility OF what I now see; and I'm
daIned If believe that white men kept
in bondage as long as the negroes were,
and thus suddenly thrown on their own
resources, would have done half as well.
No, sir; many more OF 1em would beg,
steal and loaf than you'll find OF the
niPRerS uJTaa 5'sslfA fsi- rfsH d tis1al
-"Have you any black men in your
employment" :" -
Three families, sir; we all work to-
gether as peaceable as can be. They have
comfortable quarters oftheir own to
live in. give them one-third OF the
products OF my farm for their labor.
They make clothing for the most part
out Of wool furnish them, and have
little patches Of potatoes and vegetables
for domestic wants. . 49, -
money Is scarce L presume n
sttNone at all hardly in our section;
we live by barter" 7-tg'- zoe.
yReInarking to him the small nun. Der
OF passengers In the cars, he observed !;
"Our people don't travel for pleasure
nowi before the war many time / went
one hundred miles to picnic, camp
meeting or circus, and twice the dis
tance to pass an evening with friend.
We lRvished5 our money then, sir; but
now II Is only the most pressing buSi.
ness necessity that takes us travelling
onthe cars We are compelled to treas
ure every cent we can spareT can't even
afford to buy newspapers. The New
York Herald, the only Northern daily
that comes to Cedar Grove, price ten
cents, Is more than can afford. Obi
our people are very poor, sir;" this was
said with a sad and earnest conviction
of the fact. Like thousands OF others,
this once wealthy captain is now driven
to the distastefn1 necessity of practising
the most petty and rigid economy in
order to make both ends meet. It is
the same all over the State. There is
no visible squalor and semi i-starvation,
but an absence of capital ,of trade, OF
improvements, even Of comfortable
domestic living, is painfully evident.
The captain bad no doubt as to what
W hl ACbANCo ~ #NObGs
They'll vote with u.s." he emphati-
cally remarked; "the radicals have done
a heap Of work talking to 'em, organ
iZing and forming what they call a
black mans party; but though the mig
ger may cheer the speeches, join the So
Cieties and appear to estrange himself
altogether from political afiliation with
his, white, neighbor, when the day for
voting comes Just see If he don't go the
way I'll CO." .-tzs-
"That's conservative, you mean,
Captain 7i,at sysE 7ss4 air=uIil.G
Eyes, conservative; there is no other
party among us. The war made us all
one, but a few miserable, mean-souled
whites here and there are trying to
produce dissension in our midst. Now
1 am not the least intoleraut of free
speech, but If all these incendiarfes,
whether secesh or radical, who are OBJ
structing our best efforts to get back in
the Union where hanging In a row 1
shouldn't shed tear.''
"WAynesboro," shouted the conduct
or, and the Captain disappeared.