National Republican., 1883-06-14
THE WILDS OF MISSISSIPPI.
The Country and the People as They We're
Before the Wah" and Are Now.
One Of the Mansions Of the Olden Time
As It is To-Day
Old "Mawster" and His PeCpe-The Freedman and
His Mule-The Nonsense Of NOvelists.
Don't Compliment Pretty Girl TIL You
Know She Aint n "Niggor."
Speeial LeNers


Mississippi, Juno 8, 1851 do not give
my lettora birthplace because am writing
from what was once plantation, and which
is now simply place, or, better yet no place
Mt ALL
Before the war this country was almost
unknown to the busy north. Outsiders were
not wanted, and man hailing from Ohio or
Pennsylvania was regarded with a great deal
more of suspicion than was pleasant for him,
If, indeed, he was not invited outright TO
take walk northward before he was acoi-
dentally turned into q demnition cold moist
corpse. If he was allowed TO remain there
had to be very good understanding as TO
what he wanted, and somebody had TO vouch
for him that he would not tell the slaves they
were human.
BY q peculiar law of our mental m ake-up
people are apt to be dissatisfied with their
immediate surroundings, and imagine that in
other pursuits more happiness is TO be found,
and the more remote and inaccessible the en-
ployment the brighter the glitter. Thus it
comes that the stout youth from suburban
Washington selling greens in the market,
and having health, and a sure thing of it at
home, envies the departmental dude on the
avenue, not knowing that on his truck patch
he is a king compared with tho uncertainties
of petty oftcialism So ii came to pass that
before the war the north invested the south
with glamour of elegance, great wealth,
refinement, &C., &C., and the novelists We'd in
reproducing pictures OF the sunny south,
chivalry beauty, and the Lord only knows
what all else that never had an existence at
all.
In this section before the war the country
was very sparsely settled, and is so yet
Taking one of the wealthiest counties in tho
state and riding through it about every two
miles may be observed the big house of the
former owner. He occasionally lives there yet,
but oftener he has gone into other business,
and only the negroes hold possession. The
planter has gone into every conceivable busi-
ness. He edits a newspaper, practices law,
runs an insurance agency, or anything and
everything. In the streets of q southern
city last week l saw something to be
remembered A colored woman, 1 say
colored by courtesy for she was so
black you could almost make white
IN ark ON her with charcoal, was ped
ding made-up clothing that Shad been
soiled and scuifed in the store. She had her
wares in u big basket. By her, dickering
about the price Of some of her commodities,
was rather oldish looking man with a book
under his arm. He was book agent, and
the peculiar part of the tableau was in the
fact that twenty-five years ago the man was
a gentleman who owned the woman, then u
"nigger," body and soul. Tho talk was about
n matter Of few cents difference in the price
of an article he wanted to buy.
And it further happened that business led
your correspondent to the plantation from
which both man and woman went forth free,
both of them free, and in the big house 1
wrote this letter.
In tho far south the houses arc very much
alike. Usually they are of wood, one story
in height, with porches all around, and
pillars A southern house without pillared
porch is nothing. The more massive the
pillars the grander it was. 1t was like good
many other things more porch than house
behind it,
The houses are generally largo and oomy
The floors are uncarpeted and the doors and
windows arranged for free circulation of
air. There is always large hall, and in the
particular barn L write about this hall was
utilized by being turned into wagon shed,
and two carriages, second cousins to the ono
hoss shay, with all the harness and stable fl
lures, were housed.
On the walls are some oil paintings Just
what some of them represent l am unable Ia
say, as there is neither label nor catalogue.
Looking at one reminds me of an occurrence
happening n long time ago in the north
Two very young and verdant youths were
smitten with the artistic fever, and many
daubs were the result. One visiting the
Others studio" saw picture hanging on the
wall representing some sort of landscape
The original artist was absent, and the visi-
tor, seizing brush proceeded to lay on
wagon and horses on what he took to
be country road. Hardly had he
completed the seemingly needed addition
when the original walked in. With much
enthusiasm he called his friends attention ia
the finishing touches only to hear his ardoI
get a backset by tho exclamation from the
other: painted horse and wagon on that
road, did you2 Why, man, that amt road
that's riUer ~ So l will not venture to de,
scribe the paintings lest L betray my ignor.
ance. Like as not they were painted by
madamoselle before / was born, and were
great thing in their day.
For musical Instruments there is the cy.
thera and the harp. There was very little Of
what Hans Breitman calls pianna playin' in
the south, but will venture the assertion
that there are, or were, more such instruments
as violins, cytheras, and harps in the south
than in the north Leading down from the
house, through the yard, is an avenue o.
trees, grand live oaks, magnolias, and other
southern trees. These are almost absolutely
the only relics that withstoOd the earthquake
of war. Everything else went to pieces
Overhead you detect moclIing bird gone
crazy with song. Next you hear the shril
call of the northern blue jay, and, looking VI
to discover your friend, you find it was only
the polyglottes ON one of his variations.
Around eyery typical southern home was
wide yard through which the avenue of tree,
were planted. In many instances this yard il
cut across with a fence and utilized us a mule
yard. A southern home without mules is il
terrible fix. The mule and the negro are
inseparable. 1t is as good as n show to watch
the freedman ploughing with his mule. "Se,
heah, mewl Whar ye done gwine? Look
heah What feeds ye fur? Whoa, mewl
If ye doan kep yer feet oiTn dem collards
ties yer hind foot to yer lower jaw p
The negro quarters was generally a Ions
row of uniform houses with one room and thu
porch-you can't do anything here without
porch-aud sometimes there was quite vii
lage when several hundred were worked on
the place adjoining the one / write from the
owner was "mawster" of over 900, but they
were not all on one place. On some of thu
plantations the slaves were herded in one biz
building at night, and fed from provisions
cooked all together. There have been stronl
denials that these people were abused, and in
many cases perhaps they were not In others
If hard pushed the writer could produc'
women who can show the marks Of the dogs
teeth where they tore them while running
away from a lecherous master.
In the north there is an idea eXtant tina
down here there was much refinement anC
elegance. This was not the case TO any grea
extent; not nearly SO much as in the north
IL is the old story of investing everything
away from home with the glamour oil 70
nance. Postoiiices were twenty-five or NOR
miles apart. There were no daily papers, NJ
magazine, no lectures, no societies-nothin
but solitary prOprietorship, and everything
hn,Yk hut e,tf ton, l.,