The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1875-04-22

III.
that some OF his former slaves were still on
his plsntstion as renters. Several managed
40 or 90 acres each. He found no difficulty
in collecting his dues from them, and
liked them rs renters. But be remarked to
me that the young colored people do not
farm so well as their fathers, and more OF
them seek some other employment. The
favorite method, ] think, is to rent cotton
land for fixed price per acre, usually from
So 10 $40, the owner ginning the cotton in
the latter case. The negroes usually use
the labor OF their women and children in
the fields, and man takes more or less
land according to the number OF his f8mily
II "a renter takes fifty acres at IS, his account
in an average year would stand somewhat
thus:
THIRTY ACRES IN COTTON
would gin % bales, worth 1900. OF this he
would pay out 800 rent, and problhly $3.50
for extra labor in picking, ETC., and would
have left $3.50 cash and 20 acres OF corn as
food for his family aud stock. Such results
not only satisfy the negro, but they even
tempt white men to como from the less fer
tile uplands, and on some plantation there
are Swiss and Germans, who, as a rule, BE-
come prosperous, l am told. The
planter keeps on the place a store ut which
renters may buy their supplies and where
they ger a moderate credit. He also Keeps a
gln and grist mill, for the use OF which re
makes the regular charge; and he takes care
TO get bis years rent out of the first OF tie
crop: in practice, furthermore the PLANTER
finds IL necessary to ride daily through the
fields to see that the renters are az work
and to aid them with his advice. During
the winter he hires them to chop wood for
his own use, and to split rails
and keep up tie fences. All
the plantations have quantity of unused
woodland, in which stock roans at large,
and this is free TO the rentsrs. 1t il waste
full and wretched way to keep stock, AMI
one result of it you can see in the steers
which are used to draw wood into Little
Rock, some OF which are not niue bigger
that a good sized Newfoundland dog. 1t
makes trouble too about hogs. The bog is
in Arkansas what the umbrella is in New
York-the prey of the first man who needs
it. Pork is called "meat, !" and when Your
planter friend explains to you that ne has TO
buy all his meat, he will add that
THE NEGROES WILL STEAL. HOGS,
you can't keep hog on the place. The
cabins of she renters, white as well as black,
are usually pretty cherries afrairs, and
there are few signs of desire for tasteful or
even orderly surroundings. But in this re.
spect the planters own hons surroundings
are usually but little in advance Of his ten
ants. Here and there you find msn VINO
keeps a kitchen gsrdsn, but most OF the
people have chickens; forehanded negro
will own some cows, and they
all buy coffee, sugar molasses
and wheaton flour, which last they pre-
Ter to corn meal. A plantation store which
| examined was pretty Thoroughly supplied
not only with dry goods and groceries bG,
with furniture, saddles. cooking stoves ard
all kinds of kitchen and stable ware, of he
palmer sort, o. course. A placard announced
scotch snuff" and to my inquiry tbs store
keeper told me that many of the women
white as well as black, use It in the way
called dipping" L was cory to discover
that at some of the plantation stores
whisky is sold to the renters. On one
OF the plantations / was told that negro
renters are preferred because they are
easier to get on with, and less apt 20 grum
Ole aud find fault than native whites; and
Judge, from all l heard, that the negroes
are quite as economical and as apt to buy
land out OF their savings as the poorer class
OF whites who bscOme renters. Cotton
picking, W. icb, it used to be said. could
never be satisfactorily done with free labor,
because it requires the concentration of so
much labor at certain time, is, il seems,
better done now than ever under the slave
system. In the picking season, women and
children
GATHER UPON THE PLANTATIONS
from towns and villages, and from all the
surrounding uplands; aud as they are well
paid, and oy the hundred weight, the work
is quickly and well done. During slave
times we never got through picking so early,
or saved The whole crop In such good order
as now." said a planter to me; sometimes
the cotton was not all gathered before
March and now the fields are usually stripped
clean before frost comes" Every negn-
borhood has a church and school for the coll
Ored people, and usually, also, a school tor
the white childrep. On Sunday the women
20 to church ia bright dresses, and this is
great occasion. The colored preachers are
usually renters and / imagine they have
some political influence among their people.
Political met tiDgs are held in the churches.
To conclu ie. Wherever 1 mat colored
people they seemed comfortable and
at ease, and / neither saw nor
heard the least evidence that they are
regarded by the whites otherwise than
as an integral and important pant of the
population. They appear to me TO have
wit hstood very creditably the de.noralzng |
Influences OF political iunketiDg barbecues
ADD excitement incident 10 the earlier years |
Of reconstruction. On the plat atoms |
white and colored renters seem to hold like !
relations to the owners of ths land. Cotton |
land il still so abundant that there is no
difficulty in buying it in such quantities as
lsbOriDg men, white or black, want. In
Little Rock negro policemen are seen as
frequently as white, and in the state house
and elsewhere ia government offices saw
them employed. Arkansas is at peace.
THE CONDITION CT PARTIES
lkes prescription Tor opinions sake i'm
rssible, for neither party can afford to
sScrifice adhersnts. There is the best evil
dence that industry has revived all over the
state, that The people of both parties strongly
desire peace aud order, and that the cessa-
ton of federal interference has removed the
only cause of disorder by throwing the poll
ticisns on their own responsibility and
leaving the people to control their OWE
local affairs, and to remedy abuses at the
polls, which before they were unable to
cure or remove by lawful means,
and were therefore tempted to resort to the