The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1879-11-07
LETTER FROM EAST TENNESSEE.

EDITOR 1lEGIsTER:--As many of your
readers have never been in the South
personally, slight description of this
place and people may be of interest.
After swinging round the circle via
Cincinnati, Nashvile'and Chattanooga,
| am located at u town called Wolf
Creek, OH a stream of the same name,
tributary of the French Broad, some
sixty miles east of Knoxville. The
French Broad Is about six times the
size of Otter Greek, rapid, angry
stream, rising back in the mountains OF
Smoky range. On my arrival at this,
the termination of railroad travel, |
found that the river had risen about
six feet from two days previous rain,
and had washed the roads so badly
no stage had arrived to carry me
toward Ashville, N. g., some forty
five miles distant, farther north and
much higher among the mountains, and
| was obliged to remain over Sunday at
a plantation, which house is the only
hotel at this station. l found the peo-
pie SO kind, the air SO pure, the scenery
so beautiful, that when Tuesday and
the stage came | had decided not to
visit Ashville at present.
The bottom lands here vary from a
few rods to half mile in width. The
soil is light and easily worked, but will
not raise the crops that such lands i'll
Vermont will, yet they have the benefit
of about three months more weather
and much lighter winter season.
Work in the field is done principally
by the black man, who seems rs happy
as can be if he is well fed and has a
kind master.
Mr.. Green Allen, my landlord, had
thirty slaves before the war; many of
them had grown up on the plantation;
nearly all of them are with him now,
paid by the month for their labor, and
are black, fat and happy. you could
only have heard them yesterday, shuck-
ing corn, singing their religious as well
as comic PLANTATION melodies all day
long and till nine o'clock in the eve,
you would not doubt their happiness.
Perhaps one thing to cause it was the
anticipation of choice dinner to-day
of coon and possnm which one of the
boys secured the night before.
Where the negro has gone ior himself
and tried to farm, he has become very
poor and shittlcss. To make money by
agriculture one must be aolc 10 control
n farm worth at least $4,000, for YOU
find the rich very rich, and the poor
very poor. The poor native white here
looks AS if he had not had II square
meal for months, may be seen going to
mill with II bag of corn on his back,
carrying his half dozen chickens to
market which he sells at ten cents each,
buys his tobacco and little coffee, re-
turns to his log cabin among the noun
tains to let his hair grow, which already
comes down on his shoulders and over
his eyes. When he gets ont of meat he
takes his rife and secures few squir-
rels. He is a very shiltless person, and
looks discouraged. Good farmers live
almost within themselves; they raise
large quantities Of pork, corn and
wheat, aud all the various garden prod
ucts, fruit, and everything the climate
produces. They live like lords with
their tables covered with many kinds of
food new TO a northern man. The bet
ter class are very polite and civil to one
another as well as to strangers.
Politics is at a low ebb here as this
county is Republican by $500 majority.
Bayard would suit the Democrats well,
but they expect Grant will get the NOM
ination, and if SO, elected.
Have had n few white frosts. the past
week, and the temperature is about rs
in Vermont when | left, Oct. 1. z.