The Republican journal., 1902-05-01
THE SOUTHERN NEGRO.
T Correspondence of The Journal.

III my lelleIS nave, DIS yeI Sdlu lltlle
regarding the negro and his daily life,
but will mention him briefly in this
sketch. We must concede at the
start that the genuine ante-bellum
negro is known no more in the South.
lie has now reached a ripe old age,
and his DAYS are spent, in most cases,
in rather a fast life. On your ar
rival in Georgia you will at once be in
terested IN the many negro huts which
line the country traversed by the rail
roads, and at each station there will be
found great gathering of these shacks,
in all stages of decomposition, if the
term is allowable, for there are few of
them il good shape, unless they have
been just erected.
the negro is very lazy being and
cares very little for labor as general
rule, although there are exceptions.
His greatest ambition is to get food
enough for the present meal and let the
next take care of itself, and when he is
lucky enough to have roof to crawl
under it is sufficient They work very
little: doing almost anything for few
pennies. and that is the cause of the
great cheapness OF labor in the South
To the negro a nickel is as large as
dollar to white man and think they
can live fully as long Oh it, when it
comes to the food they would buy. The
cabins range i'll size from fifteen to
twenty 1eet square and as rule are di-
vided into two apartments for two fam
lies. There are only two rooms, if it
se a two room cabin, and each family
lives iii the room allotted to them.
Nearly all their cooking is done out of
doors ON crane, or in a kettle over the
fire Some few have stoves. but only
the better class. In these small rooms
fhey raise their families, sleep and live.
and apparently have us much comfort
as the Inhabitants of mansions,
only little Plot OF land surrounds
the cabins and in this are few rose
bushes perhaps, but more probable
whining cuI and half dozen naked
children WHO play in the dirt and
sand as do the chickens in the north.
The negroes are great people to wash,
and il they are not seen washing clothes
1or the whites they have large amount
Of THEN OWN. and the usual picket fence
which surrounds nearly every cabin is
covered with the washing hung out to
Try. as they have no clothes-lmes.
rney are very religious, are nearly all
either Baptists or Methodists, and
are very devout church goers, going
all day Sunday and several times dur
ing the week. The majority of the
women get religion" when quite
young.
As a rule they dress rather shabbily
on week days, but sunday brings a de
vided change, and there are 20 sweller
sports III the south than the colored
men and women on those days. Only
the very brightest colors are acceptable
and they viii buy almost anything in
dress providing it Las striking color
in figure and tone. This does not ap
Oily to the women alone, for the men are
just the same, and the writer saw, a
few sundays ago, a sport out With 4
full suit of very light blue clothes. :
They are great people for straw hats
and nearly every one sports an up-to-
date one at this season
Very few negroes are in business
heIe although there are some, but they
cater to their own people and the few
Who are retained H. some Of tie white
stores are there because they work
eheapIy and draw trade il their own
circles, and as they have no credit here
thcf trade is good. Negro women
NolE very cheaply. and i'll the large
number we have had in the house in the
last lew months very few OF them get !
pYel FIVE dollars month. When elec-
tiun time comes around they are sWayed
II voting Ill almost every case by the can
didate who offers the most inducements,
and AS their vote is large it requires
often considerable work OH the part OF
tLe candidates and their followers to
bring them into line" The great ma
i0rity Of the colored race in this State
are Republicans, but if is decidedly
hard TO hold them to anything.
lhe absence Of windows in tile huts
is very noticeable, and it seems so queer
to Shut themselves up in their cabins on
stormy days with 10 light, for unless
the door be open none comes in. True
they have wooden shutters for their
windows bat to get light it is necessary
20 have the whole shutter open. Each
cabin is supplied with a spacious fire
place, which affords comfort, warmth.
Light, and fire for cooking The big
are built on the outside In
She woodland there is a gathering of Ne
groes who come there from North Caro-
lima and OTHER States where they had !
committed some depreciation or had
some trouble, and they work in the lum
oer regions the turpentine stills. They
are a bad lot and easily provoked to
trouble. The greater number go armed,