The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-04-27
7VB SOUTH KNOWS THEARGRo.
.,rHERN MEN DO NOT, As A
rURsORY STUDY SHOWS.
.sset,on for the Darby shown By
-. ssutnern whites-Their Wondcrful
r.,,eoce With the Pecu,iartttes q
-. usee-some Northern Testimony.

p.tseuce with the Personalities o.
-. rsce-some Northern Testimony.
n.,, HUDSON, La, April ga few
.so. when a steamer just In from
CAV work tied up at her landing In New
M as there came down the gang plank
o's.rticularly handsome and styhshly
srsssed girl about IS or 20 years old.
oaoo vas a group Of friends waiting for
-, an the dock-her mother and brothers
nd listers, apparently-and among them
~. a typical old negro 'mammy, nightly
". nm for the occasion and her ebony face
.mipe With happiness at the sight Of
-. laughing girl, who waved merry greet
,s.. aver the heads Of those slowly niing
xsvn 10 the landing In front OF her.
Although the girls mother was there,
I'D brothers and sisters. 1t was straight
:. The old nanny that she new the
..omsnt she was disentangled from the
..ovd and the old nanny 1t was who
sot the first hug and the first kiss Of all
Ia, were distributed generously among
the waiting group.
.There,' said a man who was standing
near. is phase OF the negro question for
vou, That old nanny In her humble
xay is Just as much . part Of that family.
inst as firmly rooted In the affections OF all
N them, as though she were really Of their
nth and kin. The race Of negro 'mammies'
Is dying out. maybe; there are fewer and
fewer Of them as time works changes In
the South. But the attitude Of that hand
some white girl toward the old negroes.
whom first Of all she greeted. is fairly typical
Of the attitude Of the Southern whites
tho dn,,tharr, paornaa-ap atfttrAn
that runs through all the gradations OF
patient tolerance for their weaknesses to
downright warm Affection
Here in the neighborhood Of Port Hudson
may be seen q very good instance Of the
PATIENT liberation phase Of the Southern
whites In relation TO the Southern blacks.
II Is ten miles to the nearest railroad. Scat
tered over the plantations with tho homes
Of the planters over . mile distant. the ono
from the other. are probably between
800 and 400 negroes-sleek. fat, lazy and
happy, with that genuine, basic happiness
which has not a care or thought for the
morrow. The one group Of people In this
country who are not bothered about the
negro question are tho negroes. By this
is meant the genuine negroes, not the
negroes with q large admixture Of the
white blood-those unhappy victims Of tho
crime Of miscegenation, doomed to chafe
through their handicapped lives with,
maybe, . white mans intelligence and .
white man's aspirations. They are . group
apart--a collateral branch Of the negro
question.
But these Port Hudson negroes are not
Of that typo. They are the genuine PLAN
tation darkies-the real white mans bur.
den. He bears bis burden patiently and
with Q good-humored philosophy that b
the marvel Of Northern men who como
here and stay long enough to see what
the burden IL.
He and his family Before him lived here
for generations before the war. His acres
extend all about the breastworks, still
standing, behtnd which he fought against
the army Of Gen. Banks when Port Hudson.
tns at n. n.ano. sns on Il: ps5s
S sS WITH 81 family for yssrs. Hs lnovs
every ono Of Thorn and what particular
escn q AZ sn Soa nsS sne ~ tbs% on
swsy basis Of pay that b known. Il he
psyI them BY the day, he pays them at the
fsts Of from % 70 rs cents for twelve hours
Of what the negro calls Abor-hbor that
q NcTthsEn man here said !. yss osr Al! no
II force Of twsnty-nve. good msn p neces-
eary to do certain work on Q plantation.
that means that from nfty to sixty negroes
must Be employed. The negro has habit
Of taking holiday just when The spirit
row be goes fishing. II the work IL TO be
done, there must b relays to take the places
OF the holiday makers.
All this IL accepted as . matter Of course
by the Southern planter. he also accepts
support os % from atty AZ to 100 negroes the year
round just In proportion TO the negro popu.
lstion on and around his plantation, II
he wishes to have a garden, he must plant
enough vegetables Tor half q hundred
negroes 70 steal in addition 70 What his Y
lucky enough to have any at all left after
the stealing il done. All this be accepts
a. a matter Of course. Sometimes he
svears q little In case OF . particularly
asgravsting clean-out, but generally he
'Nigsers viii steal you know he e1-
they can't help it. It's born in them
All the abundance OF vegetables and
}ultry that are the delight Of the Northern
The R.yp apb s my e at ht sSs
settle Of layishly supplying large darby
sSst rs the accepted thing. just as 1t y
,ha a' LIE .ne soment the corn ears are formed
hw ne hs{ro are In tho field carrying u on
80 s on They even dig up the plant
stalks that are laid In the
HS;uno 70 sPAut into cane brakes . bout
ans mua ums OF yea for the negro Ia a. fond OF
Closely salc1ls fs1mer Would a Ssrc
negroes viii chew tna ~ csss ' o,ttina
; season = no small 10 in the profit and
Mr.. Grifatn this year hxorlin, hi. p,an-
negroes He says that on Ae averare In
this way be thinks they d. better Vt
anybody comes to them an0ofYeru them
20 cents day to work somewheK else they
leave their own farms and are d llss q
covey OF partridges until they have\ nnsssed
Two dollars or 20 and then they lead We Of
elegant leisure with craps as an acconpani-
ment until their capital is equapdSred.
About each Of their comfortable shahSes
there IL an acre or more Of rich grouAd
that With this climate would open up yisioA
ofdazzling wealth to Q German truck farmer
IN the North. He would support . largo
family on It. Tho darby will not cultivate
II. Not he. What's the use, n the planter
going TO have . big garden patch 70 60
and help himself in and have the fun Of
sealing into the bargain7
The Northern farmer who strays down
here blazes with wrath at the bare recital
OF what the Southern man laughingly 40
eept a. q matter Of course from the darkies,