The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1902-03-19

I brought from the North every winte,
20 supploment the uncertain work d
the negroes during the busy season,
Iheaa Italians are fierce, wicked
locking set Of mon, the refuse, gener.
orally, Of their effete country: ehey
herd together like rats, and live moi
much better than the rodents tha,
they eat; these, with snakes, bussarde
and macaroni; form the staple Of thei,
meagre fare.
The train runs down to o field OF
busy diggers, where the empty cars
are lees &c bs flied With rock; then
With change Of switch the little engine
pulls OF aione to another field, where
fifteen loaded cars are awaiting trans.
portation to the "washers.'
A short delay here, while hitchins
on the cars, gives us o view Of the
workers in tho rock field; these are
negro boys and men Of oil ages, rag
ged, insufieiently clothed and surly
in manner. They dig in pits whose
dimensions are usually six to sixteen
to eighteen feet, with depth OF from
four TO ten feet, according TO .the
depth the strata Of rock lies. The
mud and rock are dug out together,
and hard work il is, desperately SO, in
cold and rainy weather. The men
stsnd in the Doggy pits, often With 9
foot Of water in the bottom. Two Of
them usually work q pit together with
piok and shovel. This muddy lcak ID
thrown in heaps near the mouth Of
the pit, afterwards il is placed in
vheelbarrows, rolled on. planks to the
railroad track, where it is dumped
ready to be pitched into the empty
oa.s.
The negroes work only when they
please, and that is not often, unless
driven to it by munger or debt. In
very cold weather they make small
fires near the pits, as their scant
clothing does not protect them from
the wintry blasts. Many Of these
people are coatless, hatless and shoe
less, but even presents Of these arti-
oles have proved of no avail to help
them, as they are gambled away be-
fpre the next san rises. A white man
is foreman for each field and stakes
the time for each negro's work.
These rock diegers are even lower in
the scale Of humanity than the worst
Of che ex-slaves; they are. nearer akin
to- the brutes in habits and morals;
all their idle time is spent in gamb-
ling and thieving from each other, be
it their fowls OF their wives. Among
themselves they are lawless to de-
gree, not stopping short Of fmurder, per-
haps. for the possession Of few cents.
They neglect their sick, who have
neither medical attendance nor medi-
cine, unless furnished By the whites,
80 they often die alone like the ami
mails. Their kind hearts seam to have
disappeared with slavery and only the
instincts Of the savage remain.
/ The exceptions 60 the above eondi.
tions are the older people, former
slaves, who are rather hold in CON.
tempt by the present generation FOR
being favorable to the white race. IA
cory picture Of things existent, but
true nevertheless, an all kne.===A..S ==A..S
have had any dealings with this par
ticular class Of negroes.
Acertain rich Northerner, q .sphos-
phate man." thought the Southerners
too inert and did not make sufficient
efforts to help these poor, thriftlesa
people. So he showed the sincerity
Eof his convictions by building com.
Portable cottages, with glass window
sashes, besides the shutters, neat
strong doors and steps. In each cot
tage he had beds OF hunks made, and
in them he placed gNod mattresses,
besides other little convenienoes; he
then gave them permission to use as
much dead-wood as they pleased to
gather in his forests for their fuel,
and his only proviso was that they
should not touch ths GENE in his pre-
.Egeryes, and TO try and keep allrseai
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