Daily independent. [volume] (Elko, Nev.) 188?-1915, 1895-08-12
pEOPLED BY EX-sLAvEs.
The Sea Islands Of the South Now
In Possession Of Negroes.
White Planters of Former Days Have Al
most Entirely Dlsappeared-Shift-
lessness and Squalor of the
Present Inhabitants.

present
There ia no more delightful spot
along the whole Atlantic coast than the
little fringe Of islands that thickly en-
broider the line from Charleston to
Savannah. Here the stately, pictur-
esque palmetto flourishes III all it's
glory. Ferns of wondrous varieties
and countless species thrive immensely
in the alluvium of hollow and ravine.
These sea islands cover n large terri
tory. They lie very near together,
separated only by narrow lagoons.
Those lying between Savannah and
Port Royal are not so large nor seem
ingly so fertile as those between Port
Royal and Charleston. The land here
rccuperates itself wonderfully from
year to year, and produces the finest
cotton and the highest priced in the
world. The plant is rich and silken,
being used only for the finest kind of
cotton goods, and when carefully gath
cred brings fifty to sixty cents per
pound, and when carelessly gathered
never less than twenty-five cents.
These are very high prices for cotton,
and the thrifty planter who owns from
very well to do, but thrift is not one of
the shining characteristics of the island
crs, and many of them are very poor in
deed.
In by-gone times, says the Philadel-
phia Times, stately mansions, the homes
of planters, who were in their small
way feudal lords, dotted these islands.
But the families have almost disap-
peared, and most of the lordly man
sions stand dismantled and ruined,
wrecked and torn by the frequent
storms that sweep with such pitiless
fury ut times over this charming spot.
And in consequence negroes form the
bulk of the population. and they are
negroes Of Il very peculiar kind-of the
true slave type of African, the unadul-
tcratcd descendants of ancestors
brought from the dark continent years
ago, but still retaining their many
forms Of speech or lingo used by the
half-civilizcd ancestors.
They are also SupcrStitious to an alb
surd degree. The devilish art of
witchcraft is believed to he possessed
by old croncs who have fingered out
their days to an incredible length of
time. The holy dance, too, is ra3,iocd
III al its Widest and most grotcaque
abandon. They arc gentle, unObtruGivc
and friendly, patient and uncOnplain-
ing when storms como with little warn
ing and t1rn the smiling paradisical
|. field and gardens INTO Windswcpt,
wavc-waShcd opens of desolati0ns.
With the exception of here and there
q dsmantlcd mansion the houses have
small prctcntions to architectural dis
similarity. They are the one-room,
primitive log aITaIrs common through
out the south, overshadowed by luXuri-
Gus growths of trailing vines and
masses of palmettos. Pigs, children
and chickens swarm over the puncheon
floors alike unrcbukcd, the children as
innocent of conventional clothing as
the young Of the lower animals, with
whom they squabblc for possession of
stray bits of corn cake or other edibles.
1t is a common sight to . g small
| piclianinny wallowing in The soft
white sand beneath the SEQ hing. rays
| Of a tropical sun, totally levoid of
clothing of any sort except necklace
| of nole's feet, lizards claw nd cats
| teeth, for the newborn ba may not
| have cotton cloth cnou to be
swaddled in, but it will hH IN readi-
ness this most necessary nc ice as q
preventive against spells O. II sorts,
including witchcraft, the c.! eye or a
hoodoo of any sort. The . 200, the
mole claws are supposed , impart
some bcneficent influence, y. Il causes
the teeth of the infant to wv with.
out pain or danger to the = re. Ere.
quently the ebony little ;pids are
adorned with a necklace, l. lets and
anl1lets of these repulsive ales. and
were il not for such article civiliza.
ton as are always seen abb. n negro
cabin one might well fame, mes sell
in the very heart of the Wis of the
dark continent. One meet, very few
white faces among the se& islanders
and, what is rarer still, fellow OF
mulatto negro is not very common
sight, as in other places where the
black race abounds.