Year: 1867




Crop PrOspects---Priccs Of Pro.
visions and St0ck---The Freed.


men---Thc Railroad Fever, ETC..


etc.


Houston Cor. Louisville Courier, Mar. g..


Since came into this State, / have
wandered about extensively from the
Sabine to the Gaudaloupe. find the
population has increased considerably
within the past year; from Europe as
well rs from the Southern and West
ern States. These are mostly Of the
laboring classes, and will add vastly to
the agricultural products Of the State,
They are in comfortable, though not
generally afflucnt circumstances. lob
serve most Of the plan ;ations in good
preparation to plant. The season. so
far, is very promising. Rains have of
late been very abundant, so that another
good rain in April will make the crop.
Nearly all the corn is plantcd-much
Of it up four or six inches high. The
crop will be much larger this year than
usual, in order to feed the vast emigra-
ton looked for this fall and winter.


The hog crop will be large and
cheap. Cattle are in excess and very
low-S2,50 to 81 for a fair stock
round. The best sweet potatoes and
sugar yams at 80 to so cents bushc.
The cotton crop of this will not be so
great as that Of last year--at least this
is apprehended.


The freedmen did not, rs o general
thing, work faithfully last year. Many
quit the field and crop just when it
must BE- saved or lost; thus. quite a
number of planters became discouraged
and have abandoned crop, rented
their lands, ifthey could, and if not,
let them lie idle, and regret to know,
many Of the very best in the State will
be idle The labor of the freedmen is
not reliable now. They, seek towns
and villages and prefer to Job round"
as they say, to steady labor.


Last year they worked on the share
this year they prefer stipulated sum
in silver. Some rent and work to them
selves, If they fail in this, they say,
they don't know what they viii! do
next. Hundreds have told me they
were worse OFT than when slaves
Many have asked old master to take
them home again but know Of no one
who will do so. They say when they
were sick old master came and attended
to them but now nobody comes, no
doctor, no old master or mistress.


I am no advocate for slavery, never
was, but the present condition Of the
negro is truly pitiable. They die by
scores, old and young, men, women
and children, for want of attention
At the close Of the war one hundred
healthy negroes left a farm in one OF
the lower counties; within two years
twenty six Of these arc known to have
died, and more may have died. Another
case l heard of, where six infants were
born on one farm and all died. What
is to be the fate Of the poor African I!


Unless God in his goodness has
something better in reser"e for him
than the signs Of the times now indi-
cate, thirty years or less will make man,
ifest his destiny, which may, and prob
ably will be, the gradual and almost
total extinction Of the race in Texas;
and that which is true of this, is so Of
all the States


The railroad fever which was so
high before, but was cytinguishcd by
the war, is reviving again. New char
ters have been granted, and the roads
begun, and old roads are being recon
and extended further into the
State, and it will be but few years be-
fore you can step into Car and be i'll
this city in the space of 70 hours.


Capital is sadly needed to aid these
enterprises and the investment would
pay.