Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1878-12-27
SENATOR LAMAR's STORY.
Ho,c Northern Colony Got Along in NJ
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sissippt.
Washington Letter to Boston Herald
Not long ago company of people from
Indiana went to Mississippi and settled
there, taking their stock, wagons, etc., with
them. They were well received, and in one
instance at least they have held their own
against the methods of native. I will tell
you the story, as nearly as can, in Senator
Lamar's own words:
Showers was, before the war, an overseer
on Jake Thompson's plantation, 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 1864 he found himself wealthy man for
our parts. L suppose he had $4,000 or
100000. This money he invested in land
and stock. There IS no better Investment in
the world. Just before I left home for
Washington, year ago last October, I saw
Showers, and he was in the best of spirits.
ne Is an ignorant, profane man, and he said
to me q omit his oaths): "You ought to
come down and see my place. Got lot of
then, Indianaians working my
land Never saw anything like
them. They do twice as
much work as niggers. Saw one of them
here in town, and told them that l had a
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 cotton, | 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 piowed 1t one way and then the other;
they went over ii with harrow, and -
me If / don't believe that, when my back
was turned, they went over it with fine
tooth comb. 1t is as smooth as a floor.
They've been plonghing up my corn land,
too. | tell you they do twice as much work
in day as the ni2gers do, and do it sight
better, and thes 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,
| even let them plough with my old horse
Bob, whom no niger could get to look
through collar, and in this kind of weather
they get a heap O work out of him and
don't turn up 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 Showers was the happiest
man in the county.
s'Wel, when l went home last June,
found that the boys were laughing at Stow
ers about something that he was unwilling
to speak of, and it was only when l had an
opportunity to talk to him privately and
urged him, that could get an explanation.
Finally he broke out with: On the Indi-
anians,' and this is the story he told nue.. ]
give it nearly in his own words:
"'About the time them oats began to come
up the cussed lndianians came to me one
day and said they were about out of provis-
ions, and, according to our agreement, would
like an advance. Then one of 'em pulled
out of his pocket paper with writing on it
whats this?' | asked. It's list of the
things we need they said. It was rather
hard on the old man to read writing at all,
said Lamar; but after getting on his specta-
Giles and spelling out the words with much
labor, he finally began to comprehend the pa
per. The first item was barrel of flour, and
then there were spices and many Other
kinds Of groceries, beside some things that
Showers never heard of before. 'Why, sir,
two kinds Of sugar, and lots of fxins' for
the women. Well, one of 'em said they'd
like to have the goods as soon as possible
and I told him I'd see him so deep that the
whites of his eyes wouldn't show, before he
got them. They insisted that had agreed
to furnish provisions, and | asked them If
they wouldn't have horses and carriages and
drivers and footmen or anything else of that
l.
three-quarters of bacon and peck of corn
a piece, and that, with the sweet potatoes
and COW peas. they could get along as well
as the niggers did. Then they said they
wouldn't stay, and l told them to 90, and the
quicker the better, and that if I caught any
of them on my land again, I'd shoot the tor
of their heads off.
''Well, they packed up their things in
their wagons and, as they started off, they
called the old man, and said they'd come anc
harvest the oats when they were ripe.
told them I'd put a charge of lead into them
If they did. When the oats were about ripe
and was getting down my scythes ano
sharpening 'em up, one of my niggers came
running up to the house one day and SAID
that the Indianaians were down in the oats
field, and I got my pistol and started down.
and sure enough there they were, six of 'em
and they had nine guns in their wagons and
a big thing that looked as though it mi CHI
have camelopard in it. A threshing ma
chine. Well, we had high old row, bal
they didn't mind it, but kept cutting dowr
the grain and loading it up. / could have
whipped any one Of them, bat six were too
many for me, and besides, couldn't fight
a velocipede, you know.
After while they began to stack up my
share, and I'll swear that il was about as
much as the niggers would have raised on
the whole piece. When the stacks
were built they got some rails
and began to build fence
around them. asked them what they were
doing, and they said that they should pas
ture their stock in the field, and didn't want
it to depredate on my oats. ssPasture your
stock said I, 'then you'll have to stand
over it with your guns, for I'll shoot every
head Of it," ''I DAD up the wagons said
one of the Indianaians-''we'll take the oats
for the pasture and the work on the corn
land" And they didn't leave straw
'Well, old Showers went to town and got
out a writ of replevin, but the Indiana
ians gave bond and kept the oats, and the
boys were laughing at him because he had
been SO badly beaten. This fall the old man
was sick, and [ went to see him. I found
him in bed with an immense carbuncle boil
on his neck. He could hardly move he was
in such pain, but he was still fretting about
the Indianaians. Ibid you ever have a car
buncle?" he asked of me. 'sNo,'' was the
reply. "Well,' groaned the old man, 'sthere
is only one thing worse in the world, and
that is ia Indianaian.,'
lltem Watchtag Tom.
New York Herald