The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1879-09-26
in this world a constituent or condition

OF respect; and we may say OF cannon
foundries and ship-yards that, although
these may not lay the world under
tribute as does cotton, they compel that
tribute of respect, without which cot
ton, money or anything else may be
comparatively valueless.
/ have said that the hill region is the
white mans country; and this because,
while he must in the very nature OF the
case leave cotton and rice and sugar
culture to the colored race, he himself
could he but realize it-can do with
these mineral treasures what the other
race can never do--can develop polcer /!
And, although what am going to ad-
duce may be deemed but trite or
hackneyed illustration, yet what other
country on the face of the whole earth,
save England, has been able, upon al
most the basis alone of the two simple
elements of development indicated
iron and coal-to make almost every
other civilized, or even half civilized,
nation pays money tribute to her to the
extent annually of more than $4,000
100000? Whatever nation wants money
goes to her; and the obligations, conse-
quently, that appear at che London
Stock Exchange comprise, perhaps,
four or five hundred millions of dollars,
on which we alone as one nation pay inter
est; and this, along with the bonds of
Egypt, Turkey, the South American
states, all far-off nations, indeed, be-
sides those, including to greater or
less extent all the nations of Europe.
Intelligent labor, let it be noted, does
not, as general thing, seize upon a
hoe, and, under the blazing sun of the
Gulf States, undertake to develop the
cotton plant; neither will it wade in the
rice swamps for a meager wage. But
intelligent labor builds cotton mills,
and, taking the raw material supplied
by different grade of labor, spins it,
weaves it, colors it, adds an hundred
fold value to it, and reaps a proper
tionate reward. In like manner, il
seizes upon the crude material of the
mines, and out of it fashions engines to
pump, to grind, to hammer and saw; il
constructs locomotives to. carry to re-
munerative markets the raw material
supplied by its less-intelligentc o-worker
of the fields and forests; and, demon
strating as all this does the place for
the white man of the South to occupy,
if he desires progress, wealth, power,
and with these the worlds profound re-
spect, what hinders him from yet seiz-
ing upon it to begin in earnest that
true advancement too long postponed,
and yet not too late to realize?
And, in taking this view OF the case,
why should not the two races work on
ward in entire and cordial harmony p
more especially when never before in
the history of any nation were two
lines of occupation both essential to
general progress more distinctly marked
out, or such as could be more consist
emily made to refrain from interfering
one with the other. Progress for the
whole means progress for every indi-
vidual, if the latter be earnest and in
dustrious; and, for once leaving more
to itself that barren field of politics
where thousands quarrel for months
that one may get some paltry office, turn
to an earnest development of resources
which, ultimately meaning substantial
power, will in the end enable them to
command what hitherto they may have
been satisfied to wrangle for or solicit.
To quit these questions of political
economy, with which / trust 1 nave not
wearied the reader, 1 would note that,
in the past, the chief product of many
of these mountain districts were gaunt,
razor. backed" hogs, which, seldom
fattened there, were collected in droves
every fall, and with infinite patience
driven to the corn-felds of the East
Tennessee valleys. the Hiawassee and
others; and, turned loose in them to
riot and destroy at will, would in the
end take on fat enough to make them
acceptable and salable to the planters,
lower down, of the Carolinas and Geor-
gia, when driven thither finally. The
method in vogue was to pur-
chase the field of standing corn
at an agreed price, the hogs
to gather as much of it as they could
And, perhaps, harder set of chaps for
any sort of fun that offered could scarcely
be found anywhere than these same hog
drovers. On the cars coming from the
COdSt w hIlduLd Clby Ou Oue OccdSlOu,
gang of them had-as it were-taken
possession of the Car of which 1 was an
occupant; and all night long they kept
up constant uproar of coarse witt
cisms and stunning outlaws, hideous to
listen to, yet impossible not to laugh at
One of their dramatic performances was
travestying Methodist anxious meet
ing;" and carried out in the most reckless
and even impious manner, with prayers
and hymns, one could but know that
their opportunities had been complete
to have educated themselves to every
thing that was better. Interrupted in
their sport by the announcement OF
supper, one of them, great six-footer,
on his return to the car uttered most
characteristic declaration: Boys, that
was splendid supper; L was eating for
fifty cents, but they only charged me a
quarter!"
Besides the considerable amount OF
hogs that the mountain districts of
Kentucky furnished to the lowland con-
sumers, great numbers of beef cattle
found market thence, on foot; while
Central Kentucky and Upper-Middle
Tennessee furnished in the same man.