St. Landry democrat., 1879-05-31

UPON THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE ALA
BAMA AND CHATTANOOGA RAILROAD
1Brid@cport (Cunn.) Farmer.l

An impartial history OF the cOnStruc-
tion Of the Alabama and Chattanooga
Railroad, from Chattanooga, Tenn, to
Meridian, Miss.-three hundred miles
from january, 1869, to June, 1871, with
which | was connected from first to last,
would read like a drama. Many a thrill
ing tragedy, many an amusing comedy
light which the ubiquitous press cor
respondent never reached, and which
probably never will be published. New
facts concerning Southern life and SEN
timent since the surrender" would be
revealed, which might do much toward
refuting some foolish ideas popular i'll
the North, and cherished AS Gospel truth.
Northern men managed the road and
their capital began the work. The
citizens of that section, though still
smarting under the wounds OF war and
defeat, received us with open arms and
asfrankness and liberality that did them
honor for we went among them not as
carpet baggers, but to develope their
rich resources and bring them into dl-
rect contact with the world. And du-
ring the two and Il half years, | never
knew of one OF us being molcsted or
insulted by a Southern man, until his
own folly had invited attack. l made
lifelong friendships with men whose
hands were anon" the first to raise the
fought for it, and gave their all for it III
vain; they believed they were right,
and they believe so yet. They respected
me for my consistent loyalty to the
sentiments of my section. | admired
their herOism and respected their sin
cerity and devotion, and always shall !;
and there was 10 chaSm of any KIND
to shake hands over. | cannot partlcu-
Iarly admire Southern character. | see
in it more to depreciate than to COM
mend: but in simple justice | am bound
to state that the masses OF the people,
with all their pitable ignorance and
thriftlessncsS and vain pride, are fully
fifty per cent ahead of us concerted
Yankees in honesty, hospl tallty, SIN
cerity and genuine every day consls-
tency of character and conduct.
Negro labor was, given the preference
upon the Alabama and Chattanooga,
because it was the labor of that section.
There were thousands Of poor whites
suffering for the necesSalies of life, but
having the misfortune to be white they
were above mammal abor-eXcepti in rare
instances Our Southern friends re-
menstratGd: The nigger is OF no ac-
count, You can't depend on him, he
won't work; besides, it is unsafe policy
to mass two or three thousand OF them
to pillage and prey upon the sparsely
settled sections along the line. 1t Will
better suit us and you'll find it more
profitable to import white labor from
the North" To this was responded,
ave believe the negro will act like a
mansif beis treated like Il man; he IS
the laborel Of this section we Will give
him a fair trial, and hold ourselves res,
ponsible for all damage to person ana
property Wages upon public WORKS
in the South were 4" ona dollar from sun
tosun"# The.Alabama and Chattanooga
paid at the start, one dollar ant Il quar-
ter for eleven hours work, and month
by month the price was raised to one
dollar aud seventy-livc, and there it
stood to the end. Furnished free trans
portation from Chattanooga, the negroes
poured in-a ragged, dirty, GOlsy rabbie,
for the most part caDp-fotloWeis Oh the
two armies and vagabnnds since the
surrender. There are, OF were, dlstlnc-
tive differences between the public
works negro, and the plantation and
town negro.
"Cap'n," hailed q voice behind me,
one noon, as | stood looking down into
a "cut,n abe you de boss OBJ dis yer
crowd of niggers? Well, ME and dis
yer tudder gentleman is come down to
work for yer" turned and beheld in
"me and dis yer tudder gen'lman" a
pair of latter -demallan specimens,
whose get-upn would have been q
prize to the properties OF Minstrel
company.
But they worked. Their number was
gradually increased to nearly TWO thou-
sand. They worked with desperation
of will and energy that could not pc
surpassed. Mile after mile OF em9ank-
rnents were rolled up, and hills "cIiam-
bered " as if bv magic. 1t seemed to be
the long anticipated year ob JubllO"
The citizens stared i'll amazement; they
had never seen it after that fashion.
GOOD Lord, what heaps @ nlggers,
and how they do work !" exclaimed an
elderly dame, as she gazed In open
mouthed wonder at the roaring, yelling
gangs, stretching as far as the eye could
reach in either direction. More nj e
gers than ever | seed in all my life" she
Continued. "You lick 'em nights, l
reckon?"
"No, madam, we don't lick 'em at tall,n
/ answered. ave use them well, and
pay them well, and il they don't suit we
send them away
"Don't lick 'em ? Now, major, you
needn't tell me that, / lInaw better, |
was raised amongst niggers, | was, L
know no niggers ever work like that
without right smart cuttins, up; and
they git it often, too. You Yankees is
right smart; bat you can't tell we uns
nothing bout niggers.
But after awhile their gait Jagged.
Mr.. Negro failed to appreciate his rare
trla
Indispensable Importance. He began
to believe (probably it was suggested
to him by interested parties) that he
was building railroad too rapidly for
his own interests. He was beset by
many temptations. Pay day once a
month was one of them, and a great
mistake it was On the part OF the com
Dany. With money in bis pocket he
became a gentlemaf-above labor. lie
must gamble and squander his money
among the groceries" and jew stores
by which his camps were infested, be-
fore he could resume the shovel and
wheelbarrow. This was not true of all,
but of the large majority. Considering
his situation, in the sparsely settled
Northern Alabama, beyond the reach OF
civil tribunals, with every facility for
drunkenness and RIGHTEOUSNESS, tlleGegro
behaved much better than any. other
race but Chinese, would in his eircum-
stances. The same number OF white
Iaborers would have required troops to
protect property and maintain discipline.
All the bridge and trestle work and
some heavy earth work in Tuscaloosa
county were done by contract and white
labor, among whom drunks, strikes and
riots were frequent. Citizens were as
saulted,s women outraged, property
pillagsd, and but for the wholesome
fear inspired by the prompt bullets aud