The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1867-09-14

away all prejudice against eating |
at the same table with negroes
black or yellow. Morality is at a
very low ebb in much of the coun-
try. Nothing like the same rever-
ence is paid to the marriage tie as
in our former States. Our people,
if they come here, must settle in
such way as to make society of
their own. Having fired away
promiscuously thus far, / will now
proceed to reply to your questions
as you put them:
"Discriminatethe valueof slaves,
men and women The value of
likely young negroesof both sexes
are about the same; little negroes
are worth more in proportion than
they were in the States, and old
ones much less. / have known a
stout negro man OF 40 or 10 years
old sell for 500. fsfls 4raeael +
a 'sCan you buy familiesp Aman
will sell out all he has got. una3
saHOf approximate value of a
years crop, it amount, Sc" Lean
only give you my opinion, the in
formation derived from the Brazil
ians is utterly worthless-none of
them in this region of the Empire
raise any particular crop, except
some coffee planters, but a little
cotton, corn, sugar, rum, rice,
coffee, mandiocre, tea, &C., which
makes it very hard to, get at the
value of the whole crop for sale.
| think 500. or $3.50 fair esti-
mate per hand, per year, though
some don't begin TO make that.
We have had honest straight for
| ward looking old fellows to tell us
most remarkable tales about their
crops-SO00 pounds sugar besides
10 pipes of rum, worth $3.50 to
the, acre, 1000 pounds cotton, "a
bushels of corn, 20 pounds coffee
to the tree, &c.,-and then turn
round and offer the whole concern,
with growing crops, at what would
be ridiculously low figures, if they
were telling the truth; that same
cane, in our opinion, would not
make more than 1000 pounds, the
cotton 600 pounds, the corn sc
bushels, &c, "a jnd :zatpiau vi
''Can coloreds people be intro
! dueedW Tt is against the law
IbutFsome few have come in, L be
Ilieve.n 5Fe ID a315o6 uaH9b 8ai
EI9" Should lands be purchased
without slaves, tcan they be had
there as here in former times p
Exactly. There are no asuaI terms
of purchase here, on the Rebeira
any time you want; at Campinas
cash; about Rio, either. Eight
per cent the usual rate of interest
fHssHow can 40 bushels of corn tC
the acre be raised without cult
vatioHs" In the first place, it il
mot often done. The mode is this
they cut down all the timber, le
lit dry, burn itoff and plant imme
diatelyA chop the bushes ant
weeds out once, and the thing il
done the first yearthe grass dom
grow to hurt, and perhaps they
! may, in that way plant for two
three or four years, when, it bein;
more troublesome to continue i
than to clear another piece o
Igreund, it is given up to 'th,
bushes and afresh field taken in
Ii the grass ever gets hold of /;
J piece ofland, to the exclusion o
J the bushes, they can do 0 nothin,
with itat all. They plant ever,
thing else as they do corn, excep
coffee, tea and cane. When groun,
is intended for these latter afti
cles, they pretend to burn up th,
logs aud poles and are more care
full in keeping down the sprouts
&C., until such time as the Ian,
| shall be well shaded by the crop
| when nothing more is necessary
/ v "What is the appearance O
Those places owned by people il
| good standing ?" The plantation
! looks like a free negro colony
little patches scattered all over il
Sometimes you find coffee, cotton
corn, rice and beans all plante,
! together, the coffee at intervals O
| ten or twelve feet, cotton from on
! Ito a. dozen stalks i'm % place, corr
from two to six, rice il punches
J and peas one at q place. Yol
:. will find the negroes workin.
about I'M two's and three,s at dill
!; ferent things, without any appa
rent system atlall. Onmost place
all hands live under the sam
I roof, in the Eastern fashion, wher
Ealso isfound the corn crib, coffe
house, rice bin, cotton gin, picl
room and screw, as well as stables
}. &C., &c. The negroes pass freel,
i fhrnI1orh .,ooek ,.u,,4e, - & AZ :