The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1869-02-27
Correspondence.
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months Of yanuray and Fehrusry, south 81 the
Ohio river, have been the most rainy OF any ever
known to the Oldest inhabitsAt, aud consequent
ly locor,otion, except By r.il. hss bssa next 70
an imp ,ssibility. L had Thought thAa nliasis
was the maidiest of ali statsss bass since my
trip into Texas am compelled TO yield III fslA
to that state Texas, beyond al doubt, hiss more
mad, deeper mud, and mud all over nowhere
to-be found to equal it Its Deep rich coil, mixed
with mari and clay. together with the great
rains Of the present season, has placed "a enbsr-
go upon all looomotion and business. The trains
upon the railroads oaly run ct uncertain tin~.
and with their highest speed usr exceeding tn
miles an hour. The stage lines are at present
myths, aud whoever expects 70 travel ever the
country by them will find TO his cost that he had
better started on foot. converted with gen.
tleman who had just arrived from Austin, after
weeks journey.--the distance from that place
to4Brenham being about one hundred miles. He
had been compelled to walk over seventy.Ave
miles OF that distance 1t is during the present
season in this section that the farmer 10 moat
busy in marketing his crops. preparing his
lands and planting; but the great fall Of rains
has compelled an almost entire suspension Of
every kind of labor.
The peach and plum trees were in bloom ton
days ago in Texts, and japoncas and wild
flowers are gathered in the low grounds in pro-
fusion. The magnolia, which farther north
dwindlea TO mere shrub, here grows a. stately
as the oak, and as large, ever covered with the
most beautiful foliage. By its side ia seen the
ive-oak and the laurel, covered with mover
fading verdure.
For three days past it has been pleasant, with
no rain. The ground is dressed in the bright
green Of June, aud everything around me 10 like
summer; the soft, balmy air is delightful. 1.-THE
Sunny SOUTH Who will forget it when having
once realized its beauty?
In travelling over the rich bottom lands Of
Louisiana, where formerly were to be seen those
Immense sugar plantations, the pride aud the
tangible, visible prosperity of the delta Of the
great valley Of the Mississippi, -all along your
way yon will pass by field after field overgrown
with rlnk weeds whilst the voter courses and
an'ls made for IFS drainage and successful cul.
tiyation are CHECKED up with rank Weeds and
Wild water fowls are 10 almost undisturbsd pos.
session The huge chimney stacks of the now
deserted sugar mills are seen everywhere stand
iaas aesolsto and alone, wish not a hut or single
evidencc of human habitation, -desolate and
mournful monuments Of the desolation and
havoc Of the fratricidal war.
do wish that our radical friends in Illinois
and other parts Of the North could witness the
air OF utter desslation that hangs over these
former places OF thrift and industry. Around
many places that formerly produced annually
from 100000 to 100000 lbs. Of sugar no sign Of
life is to be seen. the filthy buzzard, sitting
upon silent chimneys Of destroyed and abandon.
cd plantations, or perchanoe some poor, half
clad, half starved negro, with gun owe, his
shoulder. followed BY his like half starved dogs.
wandering and pecring among tho bushes and
weeds, or maybe fishing in the half shoked nm
canals traversing the rich plantations Of the
past-a sad picture vf newly emanoipatsd, on
franchised and rapidly diminishing race
Say what you will about liberty and the rights
Of man. liberty as conferred upon the nsgrs in
the great sugar producing and cotton growing
states is refined cruelty. In Georgia, Alabama
AID Mississippi as slave he wss . niae Of
wealth. and generally was well treated and hap
py. Now and since the revolution Of labor hs
has fled from his master 70 enjoy his liberty and
tho society of towns and villages; labor is only
followed when hunger drives him to it to save
him from actual stsrvation even the gain BY
stealing must fail him before he will labor.
Families are broken up; women and girls sru
rsnniHy over the country at large. The care
and attention to her offspring is almost totally
neglected When in state of slavery they were
kind and attentive to their children; now they
deem them burdens and allow them to suffer,
sicKen and die l am told by physicians and
others that now not one in four of all that are
bora live one year. Indeed, have seen but one
celored (black) infant in all my journey, whilst
the white children are more frequently met with
than in Illinois The black man is rapidly fading
away. At the commencement Of the war there
were nearly 4,5OO.OoO. In ten years hence, at
the present alarming rate Of decrease, there will
be scarce 100000. On the large sugar plantA-
tions in Louisiana, that formerly worked from
1000 to 5000 negroes, you cannot find fifty, aud
on many even not living being is TO be found.
Lands that in 1860 were worth from $40 to $50
per acre are offered for $40 down to 80 cents per
acre. Plantations that are susceptible Of yield
ing from 100000 to 100000 annually with