The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1868-09-10
COLUMBIA. il, /. B
Thursday, Morning, Sept. 10. 1858.
. The oarpet-Bagger.


Some of the radical; papers that
come to us from the North are dis
posed to find o great deal Of fault
with the name given to those worth
less adyenturers who are known as
.carpet;baggers. Now we confess
some surprise at this. The name,
itself, is Of Northern and not of
Southern coinage. No people have
been SO apt and prolific Of party
usmes as these same Northern radi-
calls. We have the aCoco.foco, ;" the
<fcopperhead," the stplug-uglies,"
the 'buckreye," and now the ''carpet-
ibagger" "-and a thousand other names
used in party and political,slang-all
appropriate, we suppose, and all very.
useful to bring the party or person to
which they are applied into ridicule,
1f not into contempt. Among them
all we prefer the carpet -bagger," as
being atience homely, expressive and
truthful, These radical editors. how
ever, go further, and declare that this
odsons name is applied to all Northern
men who come South, and who would
bring with them their means and
stheift thFift,, were they not thus treated
sVith iridicule and contempt. This
ASSERTION, Ike almost every thing com
ing froha the radical party, in refer
ence to the South, is anhony deuoid Of.
t,'@th. We despise the carpet-bagger,
it is true, but the carpet-bagger is
creature well understood, and the
habits of the animal are as we'll de-
fined as any other subject in natural
history. Can the naturalist tell you
all about the*t' skunk" the ''pole-
cat" the "night-hawk" or the s'ca-
rion-crow," so can the Southern
people tell you all about the ''carpet-
bagger." They know him by his rig
just as the sailor knows the foreign
craft; and most crafty is the 'carpet-
Dagger" In sea phrase, he has
long, lean pirdtical look about him.
In plainer terms, he is one who, hay
ing. no standing or character in his
own country has left his country for
his country's good; and arrives
amongst us to be what he was at
home, an unmitigated curse to society.
You may know him externally by his
faded green cotton umbrella; his
dirty brown linen duster; and, very
often, by his white cambria choker;
and, above all, by the inevitable car
pet-bag, with one shirt therein and
one upon his back. YouI Twill gene
rally know him by his long arms and
thin legs, pushed into pair of black
trousers, rather slick and sheery about
the knees. Hear him talk and, ten
chances to one, you will hear him soy
DE is just from the "Narth" and is
Hooking around" just before he goes
t'to hum" again. And ah that
looking around" has fearful i'm
port. It means work. He is hun
cry looking customer, and is ready
for anything-from stealing the pub
4ic funds, under color of law, down to
stealing your private purse, without
color of law. That's the carpet bag
ger. He comes here to hunt for Office
and to cheat the poor deluded black
man. He brings nothing, but comes
to carry a~ay all that he can find.
A loud-mouthed, brawling, whining
'demagogue, he talks Of rights and
looks for plunder. That is the carpet
Dagger. No Office is too high for this
lanky, prowling adyenturer. He will
take anything, from the place of a
United States Senator down to con.
stable, ,rrovided IL pays. He talks of
constitutions and laws as recklessly as
a child does of its toys. He will
lay his fish-hook fingers upon
the most sacred things in the