The Portland daily press., 1895-10-28
THE SWAMP NEGROES OF GEORGIA.
They Work Hard on Small Pay But A re
Mostly Fat and Happy.
Georgia Letter in Philadelphia Times }


is, at its best, not a very happy or en-
viable one, judging from the amount of
pleasure he enjoys and the amount OF
labor he must get through before the day
of "lay-by, or recreation, arrives.
These river swamp farm hands are the
country darkeys, born and bred; they
are strangers to the city and the city
darkey's ways, and as out Of place as a
rabbit would be on public thorough
fare.
They do at odd times visit the city,
and then, as it is generally about Christ
mas or New Year, they carry with them
the remnant of the year, wages and form
an excellent picking for tho finn fam
mers and sharks OF both races that
abound in such numbers in wait for just
such prey. The hand and his money are
soon parted, and he returns to the swamp
to hire for another year. whe-. the same
old story is repeated over again. He is
the portion of the colored race that rep
resents the densest ignorance, coupled
with the greatest simplicity, as well as
superstition and religious fervor. 1t is
among this portion Of the race that the
last lingering remnants of barbarism that
has been handed down by word of mouth
from the earliest days of slavery exists.
They know of Voodoo, and tell strange
tales of Conjor, and stories, presumably.
of folklore that could have had their orI-
gin only in a barbarous country and
| among semi-barbarians
In the month of January the southern
| planter hires his forces for the year, cal
culating three men and three mules to at
| least 80 acres Of land that has been preyl-
ously farmed. Newer land requires more
labor. The men and their families are
given house room-that is, a log hut of
one room, the chimney of mud and logs
-rent free. and also ration of one peck
of corn meal and three pounds of bacon
to the man, and IN some cases quart or
molasses. a week. Occasionally a little
money is advanced out of a sum that is
supposed to average from Sc to So a
month, but the bulk of the pay remains
until the crop is gathered in the planter S
hands. Plenty of wood is allowed the
farm hands free for the gathering, and a
small space of ground goes with each
cabin.
Small though the wages may seem,
it seems to be ample for the needs of the
people, and they have no idea at al of
the science of saving and the necessity
for preparation for that rainy day
When settling time comes he receives his
money, visits the city, and returns, hav-
but minus any other result from his hard
earned cash. He has bought nothing to
represent his years work, and he starts
in another year in exactly the same state
of picturesque Topped and windowed rag
gedness as at any time previous.
Little work is done the first month of
the year, save in preparation for what is
! to come. The heavy rains of February
soak the earth, and the bleak wintry
weather makes outdoor work impossible
| but with the ushering in of March the
| busy day dawns and the farm hand is
slave indeed until the 18th month in
| the year. when all the pleasure and en-
| joyInent of his lot are experienced. In
| March the ground is broken for corn, and
all the women and children are pressed
| into service, the children dropping the
grains in the hills behind the pillow of the
men and the women coming behind to
cover it with their hoes. Work is begun
with the first burst of the morning sun
and continued until the last ray of the
| only an intermission of one hour for the
cooking and eating of the dinner at
noon.
| The cooking of the farm hands is ac-
complished in the most primitive man
ner. A fire is kindled on the ground I'M
| der some convenient tree, the spider is
| heated over the blaze and the strips of
| from small portion Of meal, pinch of
salt and dash of water, is poured into
| the soaking fat, Drowned on one side,
| then turned, and when Drowned ON both
sides is ready to be served. A small por-
| ton of molasses stirred into water is
relished with the bacon and bread, and
| though it takes a strong man with a
keen appetite to relish the spread, the
people wish for no better and thrive ex-
cellently on it, becoming very "fat and
sassy" While the teeth of the farm bred
negro are beautifully white and perfect
| the city bred black man, as well as the
white brother, is a martyr to the dentist
| and loses his teeth early.
| One hour of rest and repast, and then
| to work again Till sundown-a ceaseless
round of toll. with but few days of pleas
| ure a living from day to day i'll monOto-
nous waste of corn and cotton that over
| shadow the little cabins and conceal them
entirely from view. Indeed SO rank is
| the growth of all vegetation in these
| alluvial swamp lands that the cotton
| pickers have not to stoop for the f1eecy
bolls, SO high are the stalks, and the corn
| is gathered by man standing in the
| body of wagon.
When the fierce July sun beams upon
| the earth and clay by" time is at hand.
| then the river swamp negroes know a
| time of pleasure and relaxation. Camp
1Q06UluRS ctuu IOflNd1S etLO IlCluj
and for the time he revels in an abandon
of religious ecstacy.
Another season that is looked forward
| to is that of the barbecue. The barbecue
of the colored man is primitive affair,
and dees not always end peaceably They
are generally timed to take place when the
corn is in the milk, so that the roasting
ears ma ybe enjoyed to their full. And
roasted ears they truly are. A portion
OF the green husk is stripped from the
ear and they are laid on the Goals and
turned again and again until roasted in
their own juices. 1t is one of the pleas
ures of visit TO the river swamp planta-
| ton to enjoy corn cooked in this way. In
the higher parts of the swamp lands hog
killing is pleasure the dweller enjoys
that is denied him of the rice country.
Hogs do not thrive on rice and sugar
cane, and consequently the rice country
negro is comparative stranger to bacon
He himself differs from the corn and
bacon fed darSey Instead Of the ration
of bacon and meal a measure of rice and
molasses is given, and meat is Christ
mas luxury. Instead of being sleek and
shiny, bold and brawny, like the man
from the corn lands, he of the rice fields
is gaunt and stringy. and his skin has an
ashy dusty hue. Neither does he arrive