Connecticut western news., 1878-12-25
A COLONY IN MISSISSIPPI.
TIvE-ONE OF SENATOR LAMAR S STORIES.


 Not long ago company of people from Indiana went to Mississippi aud settled there, taking their stock, wagons, etc., with them. They were well re- ceived, and in one instance at least they have held their own against the methods of native. will tell you the story, as nearly as I can, in Senator Lamar's own words :-Stowers was, before the war, an overseer on Jake Thompson's planta- tion, and, having no family and @ good salary, saved nearly all that he earned. Thompson was his banker, and advised him about investments, so that in 1865 he found himself wealthy man for our parts. I suppose he had $4O,OOO or $50, 1000. This money he invested in land and stock. There is no better in vestment in the world. Just before I left home for Washington, year ago last October, saw Stowers, and he was in the best of spirits. He is an ignor- ant man, and he said to me: "You ought to come down and see my place. l Got lot O them Indianians working on my land. Never saw nything like them. They do twice as much work as niggers. Saw some O them here in town, and told them that I had heap O land, and that if they would come down and work it would put in the field and the mules, and they might do the work and give me one-fourth of the corn crop. As for cot ton, I agreed to give them fifteen acres of land for every bale of cotton they would raise and give me.
 Well, sir, they came down with their mules and wagons, and they've been putting in some oats. You ought to see that field. They plowed it one way and then the other; they went over it with Q harrow, and hang me if don't believe that, when my back was turned, they went over it with fine-tooth comb. It is as smooth as floor. They've been blowing up my corn land, too. I tell you they do twice as much work in a day as the niggers do, and do it sight better, and they get more work out of the mules. They don't bang them about, and they feed and water them regularly. The stock actually grows fat under it. Why, sir, I even let them blow with my old horse Bob, whom no nigger could get to look through a col lar, and in this kind of weather they get heap O work out of him and don't turn 8 hair. And the fences they've put up ! They're horse-high, bull strong and pig thick. They'd build the fences fifteen rails high but that they would keep out the stock" And old Stowers was the happiest man in the county.
 We'll, when I went home last June, I found that the boys were laughing at Stowers about something that he was unwilling to speak of, and it was only when I had an opportunity to talk with him privately and urged him, that I could get an explanation. And this is the story he told me.
 "About the time them oats began to come up, the Indianians came to me one day and said they were about out of pro- visions and according to our agreement, would like an advance Then one of 'em 1 pulled out of his pocket paper with writing on it. What's this ? I asked. Its list of the things we need,' they said. It was rather hard on the old man to ask him to read writing at all," said Lamar "but after getting on his spec tacles and spelling out the words with much labor, he finally began to con- prehend the paper. The first item was barrel of flour, and then there were spices and many other kinds of groceries, besides some things that Stowers never heard of before. Why, sir,' said he you won't believe it, but there was two kinds of sugar, and lots of fixins' for the women. We'll one, of 'em said they'd like to have the goods as soon as possi. ble, and told him I'd see him so deer that the whites of his eyes wouldn't show before he got them. They insisted that I had agreed to furnish provisions, an6 I asked them if they wouldn't have horses and carriages and drivers anG footmen or anything else of that kind. said I'd give them pound and three
 quarters of bacon and a peck of corr apiece, and that, with the sweet potatoes and cow-peas, they could get along as we'll as the niggers did. Then they said they wouldn't stay, and told them tc go, and the quicker the better, and tha
 if caught any of them on my lant again, I'd shoot the top of their heads off !. We'll, they packed up their thing'
 in their wagons, and as they started of Z they called mo old man, and said they't come and harvest the oats when the, , were ripe. Itold them I'd put charg,
 of lead into them if they did. When tn, oats were about ripe and I was getting down my scythes and sharpening 'em up one of my niggers came running up t. E the house one day and said that the In , dianians were down in the oat-feld. got my pistol and started down, and sur , enough there they were, six of lem, ane 3 they had nine guns in their wagons ant } big thing that looked as though i : might have camelopard in it. Tl l threshing machine. We'll, we had a higl 9 old TOW, but they didn't mind it, bu l kept cutting down the grain and loading s it up. could have whipped any one o them, but six were too many for me
 and, beside, I couldn't fight veloci 3 pede, you know.
 = "After 8 while they began to stac s up my share, and I'll swear that it wa e about as much as the niggers would hay