The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1867-01-19
THE S o U 7 H..
Gun AlAsAnA Correspondence.

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Gun AlAsAnA CORRESPONDENCE.
The Farms-The Csaditios Of the ssii-The
Creps-The Planeers-The Freed1en-The
Poor Whites, and = View Of the Generai AS
pect Of Affairs In the State.
MoSroonaf, Alabama, Jan IL, 1857
II was late In 1885 whom The State Of Alabama
succumbsx 70 shs power Of the Union. %
that lest year may be said TO be the nns that
the cultivation OF cotton BY FREQ labor was
attempted A general thing the farms had been but
indinsrently cultivated, and since the nrst or SECOND
year AZ the war many Of them mot q ALL Tho buildings
saving alone the residences Of tho plants had been
allowed 70 90 decay, the fences had been neglected.
and the appearance Of dsmorazation and dilapidaon
psrvaded the face Of the country In majority OF In
stances the negroes had been enced away under one
pretence or another, or gone to- 'hunt themselves
homes" and the stock bad been killed or sold on This
the aspect which presented itself 70 nine out OF ten
Of the Northern msn who went into Alabama 70 grow
cotton in the beginning Of 1885, and presume tho same
remarks would be equally true with respect 70 most
not Ill Of the gulf Stasea
The condition Of the soil under the system Of cutva-
ton which has always prevailed is not fatssrng 70 an
intelligent farmer In Its native state particularly ON
the river bottoms i Of unexamped fertility; but long
and persistent cropping has materially diminished ~
capacity OF production This however, when the cheap
meas OF the lands considered ID mot serious objection
10 any man who proposes 70 mako cotton planting
business for little expense and attention to fertilza-
ton would speedily restore them. Or, TO adopt the
Southern plan new fields could easily be cleared TO take
the place Of those il ws thought best to abandon.
p.r.icui.s encouraging 70 new sdysnsursra This was
owing partially 70 the nsciency OF the labor employed,
but mainly 70 the wet weather and high water during
the first half Of the year. which not only destroyed much
Of the seed previously planted but prevented timely
and sciens cultivation Of such portions Of the crop -
WAS reduced 10 about or what is ordinarily
expected There Is good reason for eupposing that
general rule. the cotton crop u not a. surs ~
But very small portion Of the class known at the
North shareholders before the warthe planters and
South-ars now 70 be found in the farming district&
Never than onetwenteth OF the white population,
they ere in greatly diminished proportion now. they
have sold rented their lands and In some instances
deserted Them perhaps for the present and have gone
TO the large towns North and South, TO Brazil and 70
to 20 and others arc simply resigned 70 the condition 70
which the has reduced that portion OF the country
without any settled purpose in ve. and evidently DIS
iroyersy which now ccnvulses the land They may DO
said to be in sort Of passive state manifesting little
activity interest either In their old time avocaons or
In politica Tho young mensons and brothers Of
spectacle planters-bangers-on OF wealthy families
r the turbulent ana css .,
have overaken their seniors the dissipation OF
their own hopes and their bitterness and malice are
vented upon the ignorant and harmless blacks the
unconscious cause Of all thor woes. To these precc.
Of Southern chivairy may Of
the ndigoitics and outrages, which pactced upon
negroes and Northern men who have undertaken the
raising Of cotton be justly be attributed They too
disappearing along with the families under whose roofs
they bavs found SHELTER and such still remain In
State are confined 70 ths VILLAGES and cities
OF the freedmen much has been said, both for and
against; and. from my own observation, inclined
70 the opinion that il s all substantially BY per.
sonal contact with them in the fields for months
political sympathies, can ind abundance Of samples 70
justify both the best and the worst that has been written
q them with gssud,css 80 called Of nature caicu;
the largest charity found them not only gnorant and
supidfor that TO Be expscedbnt indolent, SHIFT
ess thicvish and deceitful TO the last degree Th
clasa small percentage Of them can be induced 70
acQu themselves with olerable credit In the field BY
labor none Of them win perform i VOLUNTARILY scarcely
. single one Of them has any ambition % provide
against future emergencies OF 70 undertake the scSns
ton OF the simplest rudiments OF education and al will
steal without compuncon one from another and from
their best friends Their notions Of freedom 70 the
while their emf snpioysrs feed asd ciosSs them : 'S
And this b natural enough 'Whsts the uSe o. benz
free. say they, III we've got 70 works We did before
Although permitted 70 make their bargains with
whom they please and to and come whom they please
the discipline exacted by 0veseer s In many instances
the war Thus to their ignorant minds and Their narrow
comprehension no change VI condition b manifcet-
Lead none S s.s sass
kind their treatment, the majority Of Thorn BE-
come disccntented, aud either run away or remain .
Their highest aspirations are 70 60 30 Nobe Of soms
otner large town which they have heard Of but
not ). aSs . rss1s Ser freedom until cher arc Ssyona
sight and hearing Of plantation We.
Another cIass, 70 be pitsd because comparatively
Kind ofo.s Of phansbrops men, srs The .posr xhi,es
Of the South. These unfortunate people the most
miserable. Intelligent ana iadusticus man ever en-
ohed
upon with contempt, ssen b. tho negroes Il % din
cult 70 conceive how race % utterly devoid q inte
Che composition Of manhood. could MAINTAIN Idsnliiy
Tor no many successive sonerstons but these pore
tra;ions Of The fact. Many 81 them, under law or
Alabama which authorized The sale OF the public domain
70 SEXUAL settler: sr shilling ah csnts, an acre BE-.
for all tho purposes Of subsistence and pro1; but
utterly destitute u enterprise are they that but
instances. Is the most ndinersnt attempt made a.
cultivation II Ia, perhaps, circumstance from which
sSu aos o. e. = The: ss,s
Sompscency But their efforts 10 shis direction arc
calculating upon for long simsto Hunting and
He.pg arc the emily pusus n which they engage With
any assrss q sSssaiy sns snsy ere even ,sossa
necessity o. Procuring something 70 prclong their
~eTtnless lysy fscp esZ z A. K.
army .ss Ts so ~ = No., I'll
thai they woe s6says ''Union msn;' and when the
circumstances by which they were eurrsurded un-
derstood there. nothing isconssssnt IN this oou,rs-
dietosy position living, thoy did, upon the out
skire Of great plan.ssious upon which they
prcysd, and possessing neither The narve NOS
the spirit 70 resist any demand OF those
in wh0se power thsy vere-thsy were driven into
the army by The communities. e sheep arc driven
IL nocks 20 the slaughter pen the simcle fact that
these have potica cpinicus 81 their Own. and
neither know care what eonsstutes . government
su6cisnt assurance that there could In %
becn var for change Of government except Of the
snssigatnn Of the slaveboldsm save upoa Uniforms.