Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1878-07-11
WHOLENO.lsae..
POOR WHITES OF THE SOUTH.
Their Peeularisies and Characteristics later
estingiy sketchedf
10. ". smallery in Phi iladelpnIa Times,

se4t III f tsss
10, w.smallery in Philadelphia r.mss,ls
To form any proper conception OF
the condition Of the, poor white trash
one should SEQ them as, they are. II
il true that the war, emancipation
and the es; ahlishmenl Of free schools
have helped their candi ion acme.
what. bnt they Jet retain many OF
those characteristics' which dls.in.
guiThed hem in slavery. umes, The
poor white trash are about the only
paup rs in the southern states, and
they arc very rarely supported by
either tho stale or, community in
which thcy reride, rheysare found
nowhere bpt in the country, in billy
and monntainons regions generally,
in cammnn,lies BY themselves, and
far removed from the more refined
settlements. Whyit is. they always
select the billy aud consequently un-
productive districts for their homes,
is unknown. In the settlement
wherein they chiefly reside tho poor
whites rarely live more than a mile
or two apart. Each .housohoidor or
head OF q family builds himself lit.
tie hut of round logs o., pine, poles,
chinks the spaces between, those
with clay mixed With wheaton straw, ,
builds At one end . big wooden chim-
ney with tapering top. oil the in
tcrstices hsiag 'dobbed' as abnva,
puts down puncheon floor and q
loft Of ordinary boards. overhead !;
fills the inside Of Jude dwelling
with a few rickety chairs, long
bench, dirsy bed or two.a spinning
wheel (the loom if any outside nm.
der shed) a skillet, an oven, a fJy-,
ing pan, a triangular cupboard in one,
corner, and rack over the door in
which to hang old sspilfire,' the fam
lily rife: and both the cabin and
furniture are considered as complete.
The happy owner hen clears soma
five acres or SO of land immetiiately
surrounding his domic;.e, and these
he prctends cultivate. planting on
Iy corn. pumpkins and'a little gar.
den truck. He next builds o rude
kennel for his dog or dogs; a primi-
tive booking s,ail for his nag, ditto
for Beck, his COW and pole hen
house fur his poultry. This last he
covers over with dirt and weeds and
erects on one side oft d long slim
pole, from the upper branches If
which dangle gourds for the martins
to build their nests in-martins be-
ing generally regarded as useful to
drive eff all bloody-minded hawks
that look with too hungry an eye
upon the rising generation of dung
hills. Being thus prepared for house
keeping, now comes the tug of war.
Whatever may be said of the power
ty of the poor white, of his igno-
rance and general spiritual degreda-
ton, he rarely suffers from hunger
or cold. As class, indeed, they
are much better off than the peasant
~ of Europe, and many a poor
mechanic in your city-to say moths
ing of the thousands without trade
or occupation wandering through
the North and West-would be most
happy at any time from December
to March TO share the cheerful
warmth Of the blazing pine-knots,
which glow upon every poor man g
hearth in the south us we'll as to
help devour he fat hauncaes of the
noble old buck, whose carcass har %
suspended from one of the beams Of
the loft overhead ready at all tim es
to have slice cut from it's sinewv
bones and boiled to delicious juciness
on the glowing coal. Indeed, the
only source of trouble TO the poor
white is the preservation Of his year
ly crops of corn owing to the sterile.
ness of his lands and deficient cult
walton that sometimes fail him, run
ming all 10 weeds and grass. But he
has no lack of meats. Wild hogs,
deer, wild turkeys, squirrels raccoo cs
opposums-these and many more are
at his very doors, and he has only to
pick up old spitfire, walk q few miles
out into the forest and return home
laden with meat enough TO last him
a week And should he desire to
purchase little wool for spinning.
or cotton ditto. or little swee,'ni
to put in his coffso orssassefrack' tea
or few cups and saucers, or pow
der and shot, falt, meal, or other
household necessities, a wesk's sue
.cessful hunting invariably suppIiee
him with enough game to procure
the withai for luxnries which be soon
possesses himself of from the near
est village or cross roads store. Hav-
ing obtained what he wants, he has
tens back to his barron solitude his
wife and daughters spin and weave
the wool or cotton into such descrip-
ton OF cloth as is most in vogue tor
the time being while the husband,
father, sons and brothers betake
themselves 10 their former idle hab
its-hunting, beef shooting, gander
pulling, marble playing, card play.
ing, and getting drunk. Panica, f.
nancial pressure, and the like, are
unknown among them, and about
the only crisis Of which they know
anything, is when poor fellow is
called upon to shuttle off his mortal
COLL Money in fact. is almost an
unknown commodity in their midst,
and whether our currency is gold
greenbacks or the dollar of the dad.
dies, concerns them not. Nearly al
of their traficking is carried on by
barter alone. In their currency q
cow is considered worth 80 much. q
horse SO much, dog so much, ia,
turkey 80 much, q coon skin so much
etc., and by these values almost ev.
cry thing else is rated. Dollars and
dimes they never bother their brains
about. sss...s@.
The chief characteristic, the crown
ing emblem of the poor white, how.
ever, is laziness. He ia the LATEST two
legged animal that walks erect or
the face Of the earth. Even his mo.
tions are slow, aud his epeech sick
ening drawl, worse great deal thar
the most downeastern of all the
downeasters; while his thoughts and