Wichita eagle., 1888-09-27
NEGROES OF THE COAST.
A GRAPHIC SKETCH OF LIFE AMONG
THE SOUTHERN FREEDMEN.

gruity-Customs and Manners-The Hap
piest People on the Earth.
Chapters have been written about thu
negro of the coast. Today we propose tc
sketch briefly his general mode of life,
without dwelling upon any one of his
characteristics. Let us take the island OF
Hilton Head, which is not many miles
from Savannah and nearer still to Beau
fort, dozen miles or more Of whose mag
nificent beach is washed by Calaboge
sound and the Atlantic itself. OF the
| island itself, it may be said that it is
| about seventeen miles in length by about
| five in width; that it is barren enough to
grow pea vines and nut grass indifferently,
and that, with the exception of perhaps
500 acres of cleared land, it is densely
covered with pine, cedar and palmetto, in
whose thickets deer, turkey and smaller
game, notably the raccoon, abound. OF
the people who inhabit it, much more may
be said. Several weeks ago the writer,
while temporarily seafaring, encountered
terrific gale off Hilton Head and was
driven upon its arid shores, where he was
forced, whether or not, to remain for a
| week. 1t may be well, in order the more
faithfully to describe the manners and
customs Of the natives, to sketch briefly
our enforced sojourn among them, and
this we will endeavor to %.
''NATIvEs'' ON THE BEACH.
1t was late in August when the sqlall
struck u.s. Our boat was unwieldy and
| anything but seaworthy, but with all
sails set we managed to keep her before
the wind, and clumsy as she was we flew
| through the boiling breakers at a mad
| rate. We crossed Broad river furiOusly,
and our landing, a most dangerous feat
under such circumstances, was accom-
pliShed with marvellous good luck Hav-
/ ing drawn our craft into creek, where
/ she found partial protection from the
/ gale, we turned our attention to the
/ natives" They had gathered upon the
/ beach in great numbers-men, women
and misunderstanding us with gaping
curiosity. Not that the sight of boat
was a novelty, but that the strange faces
in it awoke establishment, if not wonder.
The men were brawny, muscular fellows,
dressed in every variety of patched gar
ments; the women wore short frOcks,
with no head or foot dress; the larger
children of either sex boosted q single
garment, Mother Hubbard in appearance,
and the younger children, probably from
10 and under, wore only-their skins.
Amid this collection Of human incOn-
gruity we made our bow and begged to
be shown to the nearest hotel. An in
credulouS guffaw, that rose in chorus
above the bowling of the wind, answered
us, and we were pointed to the ''Islant,"
/ whose barrenness was decidedly intensi
fled by the wOebegOneness of the numer-
GUS log hutS that pNnctuated and en-
phaSized it.
Except that they were adorned with
clapboard roofs, these habitatiOns were
models of pigpens with hole in one end
for a door and clay chimney in the other.
They had once been clayed over-that is,
the inch or so of space between the logs
had been stopped up with clay-but the
clay had long since been attracted by
gravitation, and the cracks had never been
refilled. There were no floors; mother
earth was plenty good enough. There
were some benches and pine table, but
no chairs Everything was smoke be-
grimed, not excepting The Police Gazette
pictures that were pasted about IN i'm
possible places. The furniture, other than
that already described, consisted for the
most part of tin pans and cans, pots and
pails dogs land what dogs, cats land oh,
what cats, and an occasional chicken
worth quarter. There were also odors
of dried fish, and crab like odors, and sug-
gestions of mud. There were occasional
optical illusions of watermelon rinds, and
quite often glimpse of raceoon skin
stretched proudly against some favored
square foot of smOothness. There were
fish scales, oyster shells, and crab backs
a5undantly strewn about and plentifufly
interspersed with the bones of forgotten
sharks.
CUSTOMS AND MANNERS.
All this wholesome sight we saw with
less Of wonder than may be supposed, for
we had been among this people before,
who are peculiar people, and who dwell
exclusively upon the islands of the Caro-
lima coast. But what of their customs and
manners? Well, they live on fish, oysters,
crabs and other productions of the salt
water. They plant potatoes, corn and
cotton and they make enough by this
means to clothe themselves, or more &C
curately to half clothe themselves, but
they seldom make anything over Their
corn and some of their potatoes are put
aside to be eaten through the season Tor as
long as it lasts rather with the fish in
prospect, but the fish in prospect is uni
versally depended upon to keep the wolf
from the door. The cotton and the pota-
toes, except the remnant mentioned, to-
gether with a slim supply of chickens and
eggs, are taken TO Savannah or Beaufort
in broken lots and exchanged for clothing
and 'spart cash" This is a hasty out
line of their customs. As to their man
ners, they have none. They do exactly
as they please in all things. They dress as
they please, go where they please, and say
what they please after their manner of say
ing it. Their children, male and female,
are taught to row and fish from infancy,
and many boat load of darky damselS
have we seen battling manfully % with
the waves. And their language. great
Caesar. 1t is ear splitting-simply mon
strous. We shall not attempt to describe
it, since we have attempted it before and
failed.
To conclude, this people, we verify be-
Geve, is the happiest people upon earth.
What have they to worry or distress themf
What to concern them at all, save the
finding of bait and the finding of fish, and
the occasional catching of a coon, all Of
which is a separate delight and concerns
them only in so much as ii gives them
pleasure. And the man Of the world-of
the different, the widely different world
who is given to see and reflect upon this
exclusive and peculiar people, can but say
TO himself afterward. ''here ignorance is
bliss. Augusta (Ga.l Gazette.
At Watering Place.
Now, there are many curious and re-
- OF fa