Morning journal and courier., 1880-09-18
Price Four Cents.

nectieut man would here soon melt away. I found the Warsaw merchants open to trade and soon had couple of nice orders booked and hearty invitation to come again.
 Having had dinner with one of the old-tims settlers, and fed my team, we were soon again on the road, this time away from the river, and not into the fields. My driver Ben, had never been beyond Warsaw, and knew noth- ing about the roads we were to drive over I 1 aimed to go to Windham's store, few miles out into the plantations, then by 8 detour strike the river again at Fairfield, where ! intended to spend the night For four or E five miles we had no trouble to keep our road. Then getting a little uncertain we began to inquire or the negroes we would see the dlrectlon to Windham's. It happened that ! there were two Windhams, fact unknown | to me, and one darkey would send us of on this plantation road another a little later Of ! on another, until finally we became so much mixed up that told Ben: sInouire tbe xvav to Fairfield, and we will try and get there by dark. The roads through the plantations cross each other frequently, have no guide boards nor fences, and run between ditcbes on either side in which the weeds and under brush, higher than our team, would quite often hide the fields from our view, and. the ! country being quite flat, all observation was ' cut of. We found the road sto Fairfeld
 with tolerable ease by inquiring frequently of the negroes, and drove into the little townsat dusk, sshorses warm and tired, their cargo ditto and glad to find stopping place. 1ound had passed within mile of Wind hams store, and next morning rode back and found it. As we drove into Fairfield I saw white man, and asked him where the Wind l hams lived, with whom we expected to nut up for the night His reply rather amused and at the same time rather dis concerted me, for I have seen niphts when out on the road that I have been trou- bled to find place to stop. He said ''There is no widow here. We don't allow widows to stay around here.'' Asked to point out place where I could find shelter, he pointed back to good looking cluster of buildings. saying, "Dr. Jones lives thar He'll take care of you" found the doctor sitting on the verandah of his house, his lag propped up on pilIowed chair and crutches beside him. went in and introduced myself, i'm quired after his health and asked the favor of spending the night with him and getting accommodations for my driver and team He very courteously granted permission in- vited me to take seat and ordered my bag gage brought in. A little black girl, without word of instruction, handed me a cool drink in Connecticut made cocoanut dipper and poured water in a bowl with which to bathe my face and hands Inside I could hear the hustle of the cooks preparing supper, and while waiting for the same the Doctor explained, that while ridinga few days before through his plantation direct ing his laborers, his horse fell through & bridge and his foot was crushed Soon came supper, and seated at the Doctors right satisfied my hunger with ham, corn bread, chicken and biscuit, cup of coffee a glass of milk, etc. After supper, cigars and a chat on the verandah in the cool night air,
 seasoned with some really fine piano music
 ln the adjoining parlor by a young lady acting as governess to the Doctors children Every few minutes a call on the Doctor would be made by some white foreman re- porting on the days work or getting orders
 for the morrow, by some negro in from the fields after an order on the store for rations Of bacon and flour, tobacco or soap or sick
 one after medicine advice. One wanted pint of whiskey for a sick neighbor The
 Doctor spoke kindly to them all, inquired
 after the sick ones and always gave them
 what they wanted One darkey he gave or- ders to get off at midnight with two mule
 teams to go to Columbus, Miss, (the near est station) to bring in a new cotton press, at
 the same time giving directions to his oldest
 son to follow in couple of hours later on
 horseback to superintend the loading. I was
 quite pleased with all these things and ad-
 mlred the patriarcha1 style of the Doctor in
 talking to his laborers. I ascertained that he
 owned very large plantation employing a
 large number of hands, "and also ran a store
 from which he supplied their needs, and, whenever any were sick, doctored their ail- ments. At I was shown my room, which contained three beds, two of which were oc- cupied by four of the Doctors sons and clerks, and after fighting mosquitoes for an hour I was asleep
 The next day was to Q certain extent a repe- tition of the previous one, the inquiries as to the roads becoming monotonous Once driv- ing through forest alongside the river where
 the shade was dense and the live oak trees hung laden with the grey moss in festoons, reminding one of the drapery of death, we came to an unexpected fork in the road. It was all guess-work as to which we should take. A. mistake perhaps meant miles travelled before ascertaining our error and the retrac- ing of the same miles. Trusting to luck directed Ben to take the left, and after riding about four miles I found I was in the right course. After crossing the river the next morning my driver knew the country and we had no more trouble. I spent five days in Pickens county, meeting with no special ad- venture; broiled in the sun by day and sung to sleep at night by the festive mosquito;" riding all the day through the immense cot
 ton plantations, in some of which groups of picturesque black laborers of all sizes sexes and colors were gathering in the white cot ton, which means so much to this section, six million of bales being the possible crop this year, although worms and rust are now cutting it down in quantity, so that the South will do well to get in five million bales I meant to have given you in this letter de- scription of it's cultivation, picking ginning, etc., but must defer it to my next.
 have just received file of the JOURNAL AND COURIER from August 28 to oSeptember 4, and expect to have rare treat tomorrow reading up home news. Having been away from New Haven since July 2, am getting quite homesick, and batch Of papers is like being there almost. c. H. CLARKE.