Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1882-12-13

ern look, known by iie large brick chin
neys starting from the ground and run
ming up the outside Of the house, so AS
to furnish safe place for the great open
fire, and by the large white colua1n,
reaching to the roof, and supporting two
and sometimes three great porches.
There is peculiar interest about some
of the houses here. One is called the
State House from the fact that it WAS oc-
cupied by Davis during the time Mont
gomery was the capital of the Confe1er.
acy; Others are pointed out as the places
occupied by Union officers at various
times during the war. Some Of the old
store pens are still standing, but though
on Market street, and only block from
the capitol, a curse seems to rest on them
and they look wrttched aud neglected
enough. The church and school build
lngs are poor, but, in the general pros
perity Of the city, many improvements
are being made upon them. The Swayne
school building, exclusively for colored
children, is by far the best school build
ing III the city. But few OF our northern
cities have anything superior to it. 1t
was built by Gen. Swayue, son of Asso-
clate Justice Swayne, Of the q. S. Su-
preme Court, and If money furnished by
the Freedmans Bureau. At times there
are IS many as four hundred children in
attendance there. All Of the teachers,
except two, are colored, and graduates of
the school
OF the seventeen thousand inhabitants
in Montgomery, between eight and nine
thousand are coIored. They are scattered
ail through the city, and are to be found
Oh almost every street. but the majority
OF Thorn are in groups upon additions
made to the city since their emancipation.
Two things surprise ms in regard to
these colored psJple; first, the number of
them vino own their houses; second. the
neatness and excellence of their ho.aes.
1t is true some of them are not much
more than a mere shalter, but on the az
erage they are remarkably good. I
doubt WHISTLER in many cities at the
north of the size of Montgomery, there is
as large per cent, of the laboring classes
wac have homes Of their own And vet
these men are only seventeen years from
slavery and absolute poverty. Let no
man lose heart over the future of the
cCIored race. Atsome other time shall
have more to say on this matter. Mont
gomery has many old and dilapidated
corners in it: yet on the whole an ap-
psarance Of thrift and prosperity per-
vadeS the city. At the north we are so
TAR away from the seat of the war that
We realize but little of its fearful effects.
Here, earthworks still standing, remind
us that we are on the veryi ground once
occupied by the opposing armies To-
wards the close of the war Montgomery
was raided over and over again. Her
great warehouses, with one hundred
thousand bales OF cotton. were burned;
her depots and railroad shops, her manu-
acturing establishments and public
buildings, shared the same fate Horses,
cattle and private property were CARR ed
off ill almost nothing but the bare earth
was left. The wonder to- me is that she
has been able, in 50 short time, to re-
cover from this great disaster,and so adj
Just herself to the new order of things as
to be even more prosperous now than
ever before in her history. My next I
shall devote to manufacturing interests,
especially to the cotton seed oil business.
r. G. BEDFORD.
q