The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1868-08-06
and I know them. Them same scalawags

and I know them. Them same scalawags
that raised the fuss at the Mechanics In
stitute when | got over the river. The
southern man now don't blame the colored
man, but the scalawags, and now every one
of them is in office. But it was hard time
for them at that time. One of 'em was
found up the chimney, another was found
on the roof, another was found-drowned-
in the back yard, and he cried, Help me
eout" %; and if he had clean gone drowned,
what terrible thing that would have been.
[Roaring cheers.l Long as the carpet
baggers get their feet down here we will
have just the same kind of trouble and
commotion for they will breed trouble
wherever they go, and know it.
had q small discourse with one of them
fellers " on the mail-boat National. don't
know his name, but it sounds something
like Campbell. [Laughter.l Anyhow, he
belonged to the Legislature. said to him
"Ho, white man, what in the name of God
you're goin' to do Z" He stood between
me and the Cap'n, and he had big pair of
ears. He said to me: If you can make
Democrats out Of our people for ! told
him that was what we were goin' to do
"well pass law in the Legislature that
no one shall VOTE" In the name of God,
I said, can you, with your pitiful law, step
in between the people and their rights He
said more-that he was stakeholder be-
fore the war. Well, said l, why didn't you
set all your people free if you believed so
much in them as you do now? He told me
he couldn't do 1.-THE ID rebels wouldn't
let him. told him that was lie-for |
got mad-and I said, if you don't like it
don't take it. But he did take it. Now,
suppose | had got into fuss with him,
what would have become with me? |
would have had every lawyer to plead my
case, for the sympathy of all our people is
against such men as lie, and they knew that
he abused them and slandered them
he and all others like him-but with me
| belong here, l live here, and | always
will stick to my own people, and not to
those who are jerking the country out from
under our feet for that's what the carpet
baggers are adoin' as fast as they can. He
went on to say that General Grant had did
all the fghtin in the war, and had fit it
out. / told him yes !; but General Grant
killed and wounded more men than was in
the whole fighting army of General Lee.
And while am speakin' bout layers and
pleadin' cases, may as well tell you bout
my old town. The carpet-baggers have
drummed in new fxin' of the laws-a
new kind of jury, and where they try a
case, you think l don't know, that if they
give ten dollars to some of "them men
they would try it any way-yes, sir, they
would, and | know it; but this is the way
the carpet-baggers do with everythingg-it's
all bribery, and mixed up with corrup-
| ton. What have the carpet-baggers to do
| with you, my friends-nothing at all.
Why, those fellows havn't got a shingle
to cover their heads, not q board to
sit down to, no place where they can
tie up. | say, let 'em run. Them
fellers are usin' us as q tool. They say
you ought to vote, because they want you to
vote for them, when if it were amonkey,
and he had sense enough to go up to the
ballot-box and put in his ballot, they'd want
all monkeys to vote the world over. Laugh
| ter and cheers. I've worked for 'em, and
| know who they are better n most people
these religious thieves. | worked for Colo
| mel Gooding, in Baton Rouge, and 80 help
me goodness didn't get for whole years s
work more'n fifteen cents. l tell you ]
have worked for several of 'em since, and ]
couldn't get anything from 'em, not Sc
much as the rappings of my finger all use
YOU lust to vote for 'em-that is oil they
want, and when they've got that you can 60.
Now, if you want to put in ballot, vote for
| it, for the men who owns the country, who
own acres and acres Of good land, houses,
and barns for men whose cribs are burst
ing with corn, whose storehouse is just
breaking down with bacon, whose mules
are slick and fat as seals-not be fools
enough to cast away your vote for man
who hasn't so much as tin-panfor kitchen
and if they work plantation, my don't
things suffer and everything starves. Two
of their mules it takes to make shadow.
We were Radical pups the other day, be-
cause we hadn't our eyes open, and now, We
are Democratic pups because our eyes are
opencd-wide. [Great applause.l But they
want to make us all stop stiH in their hands,
so that they can get oil they can out OF Us
They came once to an old woman pin my
part of the country, and they said that her
old man was found dead in the creek, and
his body was full of -eels. "Well," said
the old woman, "you just bring up the
cells, and We'll cook 'em and have nice
mess, and you can take the body back and
let it set, and then you can get some more
eels.n And this is the way the carpet-b
gers are goin' to treat us. They've already
rot one batch of cells, and now they let us
20 and set still, and they think they'll get
another batch but tell you they won't
no, sit. IA voice Nary time l saw
a clean-gone poor old woman the other day,
and she asked me for something and she
said s.: ssWhen was with my good old mas'r
/ never wanted anything to eat, but now
1've gone for days without SO much a as
breaking my fast" And / told her it was
better if she had now q good old master to
care for her, and I believe it. -. b.
/ tell you again, these carpet-baggers and
scalawags never did set US. free, but it was
our southern men. I've been here twenty
one years they always treated me well,
and I'm going to live for them and die with
them. Great cheering That is the rea-
son why I can't give the scalawags any
thanks for our freedom. Besides, our own
young men were so good to me in old times.
They would fling hye-dollar bill at me
without so much as looking where it went
these young men who went courtin' spe-
cially; but what difference with the car
pet -baggers. Why, OF Baton Rouge some
times five, sometimes six, would ride over
the river in skitf, and when they'd get
across, when rowed 'em, one Of them
would stop on the bank and dive slowly.
down in his pocket and fish up ten-cent
bill, and he'd slowly turn it over and over,
as if he was lookin' to see if it wouldn't
turn into two tep-cent bills .befo' he would
give it to me then he would say, 3" Waul,
we'll come over agin, maybe" p