The Robesonian. [volume] (Lumberton, N.C.) 1870-current, 1909-09-16


and used no efforts to improve
their WORKOUT fields. Why, it's
only since the war that the great
manural value of the cow-pen has
been developed. In those days
there was no such thing known as
mortgages or agricultural liens.
Everything was based on the ne
gro as a money asset. Men grew
rich 10y raising negroes. A young
man starting out in life with a
negro or two, and marrying a
wife with one or two more, had
nothing to do but to loll away in
true old Southern fashion; and by
the time he became fifty years of
age he'd find himself a compare
lively rich man simply by the
natural increase of his slaves.
When emancipation came he was
rudely awakened from his dream.
What hurt the South more than
anything else was the sudden
ness of the change. Like the
lrlshman who fell from a scaffold.
and on being asked if his fall hurt
HIM, replied that the fall was
very pleasant, but it was stop
ping so sudden that hurt. Look
ing back now, | don't know
whether gradual emancipation
would have helped matters any.
The change from slave labor to
free had to lie met, and probably
it was best as it was.
Very few people in the North
understood the negro or the in
stitution. When Lincoln issued
his emancipation proclamation he
supposed that every negro in the
South would know of it. whereas
not one in a hundred had ever
heard of it; and he also expected
them to rise in rebellion, so as to
draw the Confederate forces from
the front in order to protect our
women and children from mass
acre, and thus end the war.
You see, he didn't understand
the negro's character. 1t is
wonderful what a change has
come over the spirit of the ne
groes' dreams since freedom.
Under the slave system our wo-
men were as safe under negro
protection as under the white, but
now a white woman is afraid of
leaving her home unprotected
for any distance. If a tiger was
known to be loose in a neighbor-
hood, every man would go around
and would be constantly in fear
of his life. In the South today,
a tiger is always loose in a wo-
mans mind. The feeling of COM
radeship that once existed be-
tween the races is lessening ev-
cry day as the older members OF
both races are dying out. and
when the last of the Mohicans
shall have departed the race ha-
tired will become serious ques-
ton. The doctrine preached to
the negroes during the days of
reconstruction by the army of
carpetbaggers and scalaWags
that swarmed down here during
that period will then have reach
ed it's full fruition. | am simply
writing of the things | know to
be so, and am not theoriZing.
| have wandered somewhat
from the subject matter of this
paper, which has to do with nat
tiers and things prior to the war.
| don't suppose there was ever a
more homogeneous people than
were the average Southern farm
ers. Whole neighborhoods work
ed in unison as if directed by
one head. They had the same
kind of farming implements, and
began the different operations of
the farm about the same time of
the year. You would find them
commencing to break up their
land at the same time, except the
clearing of new grounds and re-
pairing of fences, which business
was out of the regular pro.
gramme; but with this excep
ton there was very little varia.
ton. The time for the planting
, of the different crops was as
Interchangeable as the laws of the
I Modes and Persians.
1t is one of the great mistakes
Of the North to suppose tina
, general ignorance prevailed t,
!, any extent in the averag,
Southern community. Thei
+ teachers were required to be abb
to teach the Latin and Gree
languages generally, and SOM
y of our finest scholars devote
o their lives to the profession
. Very few of the farmer elias
+ travelled to any extent and ofte
q, ~ a man would finish his universit
= course, and settled down withou
., - probably ever leaving his nativ
- State.
% The negro was the sun aroun
= which the old Southern planet r.
;s volved and had its being, an
-. cotton the theme of general bus
t. ness conversation. A youn
~ lady's manageable prospec
III were conditioned upon the nur
20 Der Of her prospective slaves,
~ it is now in the North upon Il
70 amount Of her cupons. The fire
~ dom of the negro has release
- the woman from this thraldon
e and now she is estimated by he
- real worth. Remember, | a
writing of the average Southern
II er, and not of the few rich plan
~, , ers who aired their aristocrat