The southern states are not densely populated. Alabama has an average of
35 per square mile; Georgia, 37; South Carolina, 44. These may be
compared with Iowa, 40; Indiana, 70, taking two of the typical northern
farming states, while Connecticut has 187. In the prairie section of
Alabama the Negro population ranges from 30 to 50 per square mile, and
this is about the densest outside of the city counties. There is thus an
abundance of land. As a matter of fact there is not the least difficulty
for the Negro farmer to get plenty of land, and he has but to show
himself a good tenant to have the whites offering him inducements.
=A CABIN INTERIOR.=
Negroes on the farms may be divided into four classes: Owners, cash
tenants, share tenants, laborers. Share tenants differ from the same
class in the North in that work animals and tools are usually provided
by the landlord. Among the laborers must also be included the families
living on the rice and cane plantations, who work for cash wages but
receive houses and such perquisites as do other tenants and whose
permanence is more assured than an ordinary day hand. They are paid in
cash, usually through a plantation store, that debts for provisions,
etc., may be deducted. Both owners and tenants find it generally
necessary to arrange for advances of food and clothing until harvest.
The advances begin in the early Spring and continue until August or
sometimes until the cotton is picked. In the regions east of the
alluvial lands advances usually stop by the first of August, and in the
interim until the cotton is sold odd jobs or some extra labor, picking
blackberries and the like, must furnish the support for the family. The
landlord may do the advancing or some merchant. Money is seldom
furnished directly, although in recent years banks are beginning to loan
on crop-liens. The food supplied is often based on the number of working
hands, irrespective of the number of children in the family. This is
occasionally a hardship. The customary ration is a peck of corn meal and
three pounds of pork per week. Usually a crop-lien together with a bill
of sale of any personal property is given as security, but in some
states landlords have a first lien upon all crops for rent and advances.
In all districts the tenant is allowed to cut wood for his fire, and
frequently has free pasture for his stock. There is much complaint that
when there are fences about the house they are sometimes burned, being
more accessible than the timber, which may be at a distance and which
has to be cut. The landlords and the advancers have found it necessary
to spend a large part of their time personally, or through agents called
"riders," going about the plantations to see that the crops are
cultivated. The Negro knows how to raise cotton, but he may forget to
plow, chop, or some other such trifle, unless reminded of the necessity.
Thus a considerable part of the excessive interest charged the Negro
should really be charged as wages of superintendence. If the
instructions of the riders are not followed, rations are cut off, and
thus the recalcitrant brought to terms.
For a long time rations have been dealt out on Saturday. So Saturday has
come to be considered a holiday, or half-holiday at least. Early in the
morning the roads are covered with blacks on foot, horse back, mule back
and in various vehicles, on their way to the store or village, there to
spend the day loafing about in friendly discussion with neighbors. The
condition of the crops has little preventive influence, and the handicap
to successful husbandry formed by the habit is easily perceived. Many
efforts are being made to break up the custom, but it is up-hill work.
Another habit of the Negro which militates against his progress is his
prowling about in all sorts of revels by night, thereby unfitting
himself for labor the next day. This trait also shows forth the general
thoughtlessness of the Negro. His mule works by day, but is expected to
carry his owner any number of miles at night. Sunday is seldom a day of
rest for the work animals. It is a curious fact that wherever the
Negroes are most numerous there mules usually outnumber horses. There
are several reasons for this. It has often been supposed that mules
endure the heat better than horses. This is questionable. The mule,
however, will do a certain amount and then quit, all inducements to the
contrary notwithstanding. The horse will go till he drops; moreover,
will not stand the abuse which the mule endures. The Negro does not bear
a good reputation for care of his animals. He neglects to feed and
provide for them. Their looks justify the criticism. The mule, valuable
as he is for many purposes, is necessarily more expensive in the long
run than a self-perpetuating animal.
In all parts it is the custom for the Negroes to save a little garden
patch about the house, which, if properly tended, would supply the
family with vegetables throughout the year. This is seldom the case. A
recent Tuskegee catalog commenting on this says:
"If they have any garden at all, it is apt to be choked with weeds
and other noxious growths. With every advantage of soil and
climate, and with a steady market if they live near any city or
large town, few of the colored farmers get any benefit from this,
one of the most profitable of all industries."
As a matter of fact they care little for vegetables and seldom know how
to prepare them for the table. The garden is regularly started in the
Spring, but seldom amounts to much. I have ridden for a day with but a
glimpse of a couple of attempts. As a result there will be a few
collards, turnips, gourds, sweet potatoes and beans, but the mass of the
people buy the little they need from the stores. A dealer in a little
country store told me last summer that he would make about $75 an acre
on three acres of watermelons, although almost every purchaser could
raise them if he would. In many regions wild fruits are abundant, and
blackberries during the season are quite a staple, but they are seldom
canned. Some cattle are kept, but little butter is made, and milk is
seldom on the bill of fare, the stock being sold when fat (?). Many
families keep chickens, usually of the variety known as "dunghill
fowls," which forage for themselves. But the market supplied with
chickens by the small farmers, as it might easily be. Whenever
opportunity offers, hunting and fishing become more than diversions, and
the fondness for coon and 'possum is proverbial.
In a study of dietaries of Negroes made under Tuskegee Institute and
reported in Bulletin No. 38, Office of Experimental Stations, U. S.
Dept. of Agriculture, it is stated:
"Comparing these negro dietaries with other dietaries and dietary
standards, it will be seen that--
"(1) The quantities of protein are small. Roughly speaking, the
food of these negroes furnished one-third to three-fourths as much
protein as are called for in the current physiological standards
and as are actually found in the dietaries of well fed whites in
the United States and well fed people in Europe. They were, indeed,
no larger than have been found in the dietaries of the very poor
factory operatives and laborers in Germany and the laborers and
beggars in Italy.
"(2) In fuel value the Negro dietaries compare quite favorably with
those of well-to-do people of the laboring classes in Europe and
the United States."
This indicates the ignorance of the Negro regarding the food he needs,
so that in a region of plenty he is underfed as regards the muscle and
bone forming elements and overfed so far as fuel value is concerned. One
cannot help asking what effect a normal diet would have upon the sexual
passions. It is worthy of notice that in the schools maintained by the
whites there is relatively little trouble on this account. Possibly the
changed life and food are in no small measure responsible for the
difference.
Under diversified farming there would be steady employment most of the
year, with a corresponding increase of production. As it is there are
two busy seasons. In the Spring, planting and cultivating cotton, say
from March to July, and in the Fall, cotton picking, September to
December. The balance of the time the average farmer does little work.
The present system entails a great loss of time.
The absence of good pastures and of meadows is noticeable. This is also
too true of white farmers. Yet the grasses grow luxuriantly and nothing
but custom or something else accounts for their absence; the something
else is cotton. The adaptability of cotton to the Negro is almost
providential. It has a long tap root and is able to stand neglect and
yet produce a reasonable crop. The grains, corn and cane, with their
surface roots, will not thrive under careless handling.
The average farmer knows, or at least utilizes few of the little
economies which make agriculture so profitable elsewhere. The Negro is
thus under a heavy handicap and does not get the most that he might from
present opportunities. I am fully conscious that there are many farmers
who take advantage of these things and are correspondingly successful,
but they are not the average man of whom I am speaking. With this
general statement I pass to a consideration of the situation in the
various districts before mentioned.
TIDE WATER VIRGINIA.
The Virginia sea shore consists of a number of peninsulas separated by
narrow rivers (salt water). The country along the shore and the rivers
is flat, with low hills in the interior. North of Old Point Comfort the
district is scarcely touched by railroads and is accessible only by
steamers.
Gloucester County, lying between York River and Mob Jack Bay, is an
interesting region. The hilly soil of the central part sells at from $5
to $10 per acre, while the flat coast land, which is richer although
harder to drain, is worth from $25 to $50. The immediate water front has
risen in price in recent years and brings fancy prices for residence
purposes. Curiously enough some of the best land of the county is that
beneath the waters of the rivers--the oyster beds. Land for this use may
be worth from nothing to many hundreds of dollars an acre, according to
its nature. The county contains 250 square miles, 6,224 whites and 6,608
blacks, the latter forming 51 per cent of the population.
This sea coast region offers peculiar facilities for gaining an easy
livelihood. There are few negro families of which some member does not
spend part of the year fishing or oystering. There has been a great
development of the oyster industry. The season lasts from September 1 to
May 1, and good workmen not infrequently make $2 a day or more when they
can work on the public beds. This last clause is significant. It is
stated that the men expect to work most of September, October and
November; one-half of December and January; one-third of February; any
time in March is clear gain and all of April. According to a careful
study[8] of the oyster industry it was found that the oystermen, _i. e._,
those who dig the oysters from the rocks, make about $8 a month, while
families occupied in shucking oysters earn up to $400 a year,
three-fourths of them gaining less than $250. The public beds yield less
than formerly and the business is gradually going into the hands of
firms maintaining their own beds, with a corresponding reduction in
possible earnings for the oystermen.
The effect of this industry is twofold; a considerable sum of money is
brought into the county and much of this has been invested in homes and
small farms. This is the bright side; but there is a dark side. The boys
are drawn out of the schools by the age of 12 to work at shucking
oysters, and during the winter months near the rivers the boys will
attend only on stormy days. The men are also taken away from the farms
too early in the fall to gather crops, and return too late in the spring
to get the best results from the farm work. The irregular character of
the employment reacts on the men and they tend to drift to the cities
during the summer, although many find employment in berry picking about
Norfolk. Another result has been to make farm labor very scarce. This
naturally causes some complaint. I do not say that the bad results
outweigh the good, but believe they must be considered.
The population is scattered over the county, there being no towns of any
size, and is denser along the rivers than inland. The relations between
the two races are most friendly, although less satisfactory between the
younger generation. The Negroes make no complaints of ill treatment. In
the last ten years there have been only four Negroes sentenced to the
state prison, while in the twelve months prior to May 1, 1903, I was
told that there was but one trial for misdemeanor. It may be that the
absence of many of the young men for several months a year accounts in
part for the small amount of crime. The jail stands empty most of the
time. The chief offenses are against the fish and oyster laws of the
state. Whites and blacks both claim that illegitimate children are much
rarer than formerly. I was told of a case in which a young white man was
fined for attempting to seduce a colored girl. The races have kept in
touch. White ministers still preach in negro churches, address
Sunday-schools, etc.
In all save a few of the poorer districts the old one-roomed cabin has
given place to a comfortable house of several rooms. The houses are
often white-washed, although their completion may take a good many
years. Stoves have supplanted fireplaces. The fences about the yards are
often neat and in good repair. So far as housing conditions are
concerned, I have seen no rural district of the South to compare with
this. The old cabin is decidedly out of fashion.
Turning to the farm proper, there are other evidences of change. There
are no women working in the fields, their time being spent about the
house and the garden. The system of crop liens is unknown. Each farmer
raises his own supplies, smokes his own meat or buys at the store for
cash or on credit. Wheat and corn are ground in local mills. The heavy
interest charges of other districts are thus avoided. It is stated that
a great number of the Negroes are buying little places, and this bears
out the census figures, which show that of the Negro farmers 90.9 per
cent in this county are owners or managers; the average for the negroes
as a whole is 27.1 per cent.
Although so many earn money in the oyster business, there are others who
have gotten ahead by sticking to the farm. T---- now owns part of the
place on which he was a slave, and his slave-time cabin is now used as a
shed. He began buying land in 1873, paying from $10 to $11.50 per acre,
and by hard work and economy now owns sixty acres which are worth much
more than their first cost. With the help of his boys, whom he has
managed to keep at home, he derives a comfortable income from his land.
His daughter, now his housekeeper, teaches school near by during the
winter. What he has done others can do, he says.
Y---- is another who has succeeded. His first payments were made from
the sale of wood cut in clearing the land. In 1903 his acres were
planted as follows:
Orchard 2 acres.
Woodland 8 acres.
Pasture 10 acres.
Corn 8 acres.
Rye 3/4 acres.
Potato patch
Garden and yard.
His children are being trained at Hampton, and he laughingly says that
one boy is already telling him how to get more produce from his land.
B---- is an oysterman during the winter. He has purchased a small place
of four acres, for which he paid $18 per acre. This ground he cultivates
and has a few apple, plum and peach trees in his yard. His case is
typical.
Wages in the county are not high. House servants get from $3 to $8 per
month. Day laborers are paid from 50 to 75 cents a day. Farm hands get
about $10 a month and two meals daily (breakfast and dinner). I have
already mentioned that farm laborers were getting fewer, and those left
are naturally the less reliable. Many white farmers are having
considerable difficulty in carrying on their places. The result is that
many are only partially cultivating the farms, and many of the younger
men are abandoning agriculture. What the final result will be is hard to
tell.
In summarizing it may be said that agriculture is being somewhat
neglected and that the opportunity to earn money in the oyster industry
acts as a constant deterrent to agricultural progress, if it is not
directly injurious. Here, as elsewhere, there is room for improvement in
methods of tilling the soil and in rotation of crops, use of animal
manures, etc.
The general social and moral improvement has been noted. It is a
pleasure to find that one of the strongest factors in this improvement
is due to the presence in the county of a number of graduates of Hampton
who, in their homes, their schools and daily life, have stood for better
things.
CENTRAL VIRGINIA.
The difficulty of making general statements true in all districts has
elsewhere been mentioned. The reader will not be surprised, therefore,
to find many things said in the immediately preceding pages inapplicable
to conditions in the tobacco districts. The little town of Farmville,
Va., is the market for some 12,000,000 pounds of tobacco yearly. The
county Prince Edward contained in 1890 9,924 Negroes and in 1900 but
9,769, a decrease of 155. The county does not give one the impression of
agricultural prosperity. The surface is very rolling, the soil sandy and
thin in many places. Along the bottoms there is good land, of less value
than formerly because of freshets. Practically all of the land has been
under cultivation at some time, and in heavily wooded fields the corn
rows may often be traced. On every side are worn-out fields on which
sassafras soon gets a hold, followed by pine and other trees.
Labor conditions have been growing worse, according to common report. It
is harder to get farm hands than formerly, and this difficulty is most
felt by those who exact the most. The day laborer gets from 40 to 50
cents and his meals, while for special work, such as cutting wheat, the
wage may rise to $1.50. Women no longer work in the fields, and about
the house get 35 cents per day. Formerly women worked in the fields, and
wages for both sexes were lower. Hands by the month get $7 to $8 and
board. In this county are many small white farmers who work in the
fields with the men, and the white housewife not infrequently cooks the
food for the Negroes--quite a contrast to typical southern practice.
The movement from the farm is not an unmixed evil in that it is
compelling the introduction of improved machinery, such as mowing
machines, binders. On many a farm only scythes and cradles are known.
Another element in the problem is the fact that many negroes have been
getting little places of their own and therefore do less work for
others. There are many whites who think this development a step forward
and believe that the land owners are better citizens. There are others
who claim that the net result is a loss, in that they are satisfied
merely to eke out some sort of an existence and are not spurred on to
increased production. It is quite commonly reported that there were some
organizations among the Negroes whose members agreed not to work for the
whites, but I cannot vouch for their existence.
Although agriculture here is much more diversified than in the cotton
belt, the Negro finds it necessary to get advances. These are usually
supplied by commission merchants, who furnish the fertilizers and
necessary food, taking crop liens as security. Advances begin in the
spring and last until the following December, when the tobacco is
marketed. The interest charged is 6 per cent, but the goods sold on this
plan are much enhanced in price; interest is usually charged for a year,
and the merchant receives a commission of 2-1/2 per cent for selling the
tobacco, so the business appears fairly profitable.
It is difficult to estimate the average value of an acre of tobacco, as
it varies so much in quality as well as quantity. It is probably safe to
say that the Negroes do not average over $20 per acre, ranging from $15
to $25, and have perhaps three or four acres in tobacco. It is generally
expected that the tobacco will about pay for the advances. This would
indicate, and the commission men confirm it, that the average advance is
between $50 and $75 per year. The rations given out are no longer merely
pork and meal, with which it is stated that the Negroes are not now
content, but include a more varied diet.
The customary rent is one-fourth of all that is produced, the landlord
paying one-fourth of the fertilizer (universally called guano in this
district). Tobacco makes heavy demands on the soil and at least 400
pounds, a value of about $4.50 per acre, should be used. When the
landlord furnishes the horse or mule he pays also one-half of the
fertilizer and gets one-half of the produce. The rent on tobacco land is
thus large, but the average cash rental is between $2 and $3.
The standard rotation of crops is tobacco, wheat, clover, tobacco. The
clover is not infrequently skipped, the field lying fallow or
uncultivated until exhausted. The average farmer thus has about as many
acres in wheat as in tobacco and raises perhaps twelve bushels of wheat
per acre. Some corn is also raised, and I have seen fields so exhausted
that the stalk at the ground was scarcely larger than my middle finger.
The corn crop may possibly average 10 to 15 bushels per acre, or, in
Virginia terminology, 2 to 3 barrels.
The average farmer under present conditions just about meets his
advances with the tobacco raised. He has about enough wheat to supply
him with flour; perhaps enough corn and hay for his ox or horse;
possibly enough meat for the family. The individual family may fall
short on any of these. The hay crop is unsatisfactory, largely through
neglect. In May, 1903, on a Saturday, I saw wagon after wagon leaving
Farmville carrying bales of western hay. This is scarcely an indication
of thrift.
The impression one gets from traveling about is that the extensive
cultivation of tobacco, in spite of the fact that it is the cash crop
and perhaps also the most profitable, is really a drawback in that other
possibilities are obscured. It may be that the line of progress will not
be to abandon tobacco, but to introduce more intensive cultivation, for
the average man, white or black, does not get a proper return from an
acre. To-day there is always a likelihood that more tobacco will be
planted than can be properly cultivated, for it is a plant which demands
constant and careful attention until it is marketed.
B---- has a big family of children and lives in a large cabin, one room
with a loft. He owns a pair of oxen and manages to raise enough to feed
them. He also raises about enough meat for his family. During the season
of 1902 he raised $175 worth of tobacco; corn valued at $37.50 and 16
bushels of wheat, a total of about $221. Deducting one-fourth for rent
and estimating his expenses for fertilizer at $25, he had about $140 out
of which to pay all other expenses. B---- is considered a very good man,
who tends carefully and faithfully to his work. It is evident, however,
that his margin is small.
The farmer has opportunities to supplement his earnings. Cordwood finds
ready sale in the towns at $2 per cord, and I have seen many loads of
not over one-fourth of a cord hauled to market by a small steer. Butter,
eggs and chickens yield some returns and the country produces
blackberries in profusion.
There are some Negroes who are making a comfortable living on the farms
and whose houses and yards are well kept. As has been said, this is not
the general impression made by the district. Considerable sums of money
are sent in by children working in the northern cities. This is offset,
however, by those who come back in the winter to live off their parents,
having squandered all their own earnings elsewhere.
The situation in a word is: A generation or more of reliance on one
crop, neglect of other crops and of stock, resulting in deteriorated
land. The labor force attracted to the towns and the North by higher
wages. Natural result: Decadence of agricultural conditions, affording
at the same time a chance for many Negroes to become land owners. When
the process will stop or the way out I know not. Perhaps the German
immigrants who are beginning to buy up some of the farms may lead the
way to a better husbandry.
For an interesting account of conditions in the town of Farmville see
"The Negroes of Farmville," by W. E. B. DuBois, Bulletin Department of
Labor, January, 1898.
THE SEA COAST.
=A SEA-ISLAND CABIN.=
The low-lying coast of South Carolina and Georgia, with its fringe of
islands, has long been the seat of a heavy Negro population. Of the
counties perhaps none is more interesting than Beaufort, the
southernmost of South Carolina. The eastern half of the county is cut up
by many salt rivers into numerous islands. Broad River separates these
from the mainland. The Plant System has a line on the western edge of
the county, while the Georgia Railroad runs east to Port Royal.
According to the census, the county contains 943 square miles of land
and a population of 32,137 blacks and 3,349 whites, the Negroes thus
forming 90 per cent of the total. There are 37 persons to the square
mile. With the exception of Beaufort and Port Royal, the whites are
found on the western side of the county. The islands are almost solid
black. Just after the war many of the plantations were sold for taxes
and fell into the hands of the Negroes, the funds realized being set
apart for the education of the blacks, the interest now amounting to
some $2,000 a year. In the seventies there was a great development of
the phosphate industry, which at its height employed hundreds of
Negroes, taken from the farms. Enormous fertilizer plants were erected.
Most of this is now a thing of the past and the dredges lie rotting at
the wharves. It is the general opinion that the influence of this
industry was not entirely beneficial, although it set much money in
circulation. It drew the men from the farms, and now they tend to drift
to the cities rather than return.
A livelihood is easily gained. The creeks abound with fish, crabs and
oysters. There is plenty of work on the farms for those who prefer more
steady labor. Land valued at about $10 per acre may be rented for $1.
More than ten acres to the tenant is not usual, and I was told that it
is very common for a family to rent all the land it wants for $10 per
year, the presumption being that not over ten acres would be utilized.
The staple crop for the small farmer is the sea island cotton. Under the
present culture land devoted to this lies fallow every other year. The
islands are low and flat, subject to severe storms, that of 1893 having
destroyed many lives and much property. The county was originally
heavily wooded and there is still an abundance for local purposes,
though the supply is low in places. On the islands the blacks have been
almost alone for a generation and by many it is claimed that there has
been a decided retrogression. By common consent St. Helena Island, which
lies near Beaufort, is considered the most prosperous of the Negro
districts. On this island are over 8,000 blacks and some 200 whites. The
cabins usually have two rooms, many having been partitioned to make the
second. They are of rough lumber, sometimes whitewashed, but seldom
painted. There are few fences and some damage is done by stock.
Outbuildings are few; privies are almost unknown--even at the schools
there are no closets of any kind. The wells are shallow, six feet or so
in depth with a few driven to 12 or 17 feet. A few have pumps, the rest
are open. At present there is no dispensary on the island but there are
a number of "blind tigers." The nearest physician is at Beaufort and the
cost of a single visit is from five to ten dollars. The distance from
the doctors is said not to be an unmixed evil as it saves much foolish
expenditure of money in fancied ills.
In slavery times there were 61 plantations on the island and their
names, as Fripps Corner, Oaks, still survive to designate localities.
There was in olden times little contact with the whites as Negro drivers
were common. Each plantation still has its "prayer house" at which
religious services are held. Meetings occur on different nights on the
various plantations to enable the people to get all the religion they
need. These meetings are often what are known as "shouts," when with
much shouting and wild rhythmic dancing the participants keep on till
exhausted. The suggestion of Africa is not vague. The Virginia Negro
views these gatherings with as much astonishment as does any white. Many
of the blacks speak a strange dialect hard to understand. "Shum," for
instance, being the equivalent for "see them."
The land is sandy and should have skillful handling to get the best
results. Yet the farming is very unscientific. The first plowing is
shallow and subsequent cultivation is done almost entirely with hoes.
When a Hampton graduate began some new methods last year the people came
for miles to see his big plow. It is said that there was more plowing
than usual as a result. The daily life of the farmer is about as
follows: Rising between four and five he goes directly to the field,
eating nothing until eight or nine, when he has some "grits," a sort of
fine hominy cooked like oat meal. Many eat nothing until they leave the
field at eleven for dinner, which also consists of grits with some crabs
in summer and fish in winter. Some have only these two meals a day. Corn
bread and molasses are almost unknown and when they have molasses it is
eaten with a spoon. Knives and forks are seldom used. One girl of
eighteen did not know how to handle a knife. There are numbers of cows
on the island, but milk is seldom served, the cattle being sold for
beef. The draft animals are usually small oxen or ponies, called "salt
marsh tackies," as they are left to pick their living from the marshes.
Some chickens and turkeys are raised, but no great dependence is placed
on them. There are no geese and few ducks. Little commercial fertilizer
is used, the marsh grass, which grows in great abundance, being an
excellent substitute of which the more progressive take advantage. The
following statement will illustrate the situation of three typical
families, an unusual, a good, and an average farmer. The figures are for
1902:
No. 1. No. 2. No. 3.
Number in family 8 13 4
Number rooms 6 5 2
Number outbuildings 5 3 0
Number horses 4 1 0
Number cows 9 5 1
Number hogs 10 3 0
Number other animals 1 dog 2 goats 1 dog
1 dog
Number fowls 90 30 10
Acres of land owned 55 21 0
Acres of land rented 0 0 10-5/8
Acres in cotton 10 3.5 5
Acres in corn 8 5 5
Acres in sweet potatoes 3 3.5 3/8
Acres in white potatoes 1/4 0 0
Acres in peas (cow) 5.5 1.5 1/4
Acres in rice 1.5 0 0
Garden Very small Poor None
The rice is grown without flooding and known as "Providence Rice."
With the great ease of getting a livelihood the advances necessarily are
small. From January 1, 1902, to July 15 (which is near the close of the
advancing season) several average families had gotten advances averaging
$15.00. The firm which does most of the advancing on the island writes:
"We have some that get more. A few get $50.00 or about that amount, but
we make it a point not to let the colored people or our customers get
too much in debt. We have to determine about what they need and we have
always given them what was necessary to help them make a crop according
to their conditions and circumstances as they present themselves to us."
The firm reports that they collect each year about 90 per cent of their
outstanding accounts.
Below are given the customary forms of the Bill of Sale and the Crop
Lien given to secure advances:
THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA,
COUNTY OF BEAUFORT.
Know all men by these presents, that ............ of the said
County, in consideration of the sum of ............ dollars, to be
advanced in merchandise by ............, of Beaufort County and
State, have bargained and sold unto the said ............ the
following personal property, ............, now in my possession,
and which I promise to deliver on demand of the said ............
(Signed) .....................
$............
On the .... day of 19.., I promise to pay to the order of
............ ..........., at Beaufort, South Carolina, ............
dollars for money and supplies to be advanced and furnished me by
the said ............, merchants, Beaufort, South Carolina, for use
in the cultivation of crops on the plantation or farm cultivated by
me in Beaufort County, South Carolina, known as the ............
plantation, and containing about ............ acres, during the
year 190...
And in consideration of the said advance made me I hereby give,
make and grant to the said ............ a lien to the extent of
said advance on all the crops which may be grown on the said
plantation or farm during the year 190.., wherever said crops or
parts of them are found.
This lien hereby given is executed and to be enforced in accordance
with the laws of the State of South Carolina.
I, the said ............, in consideration of the foregoing, do
hereby agree to advance to the said ........... ..... dollars, as
above stated.
Witness the hands and seals of both parties.
In the presence of ............, L. S.
............ ............, L. S.
This is then recorded in the County Court as is an ordinary mortgage.
On this island considerable money has been saved and is now deposited
with a firm of merchants in whom the people have confidence. In July,
1902, there were about 100 individual depositors having some $4,000 to
their credit. The money can be withdrawn at any time, all debts to the
firm being first settled. Interest at five per cent. is allowed. Some of
this money comes from pensions. There are round about Beaufort a
considerable number of U. S. pensioners, as the city was headquarters
for Union soldiers for a long time. The effect of the pensions is
claimed both by whites and blacks to be bad.
A great deal of the credit for the good conditions, relatively speaking,
which prevail on St. Helena is given to the Penn School which for years
has come into close touch with the lives of the people. The Negroes have
also been in touch with a good class of whites, who have encouraged all
efforts at improvement. Wherever the credit lies, the visitor is struck
by the difference between conditions here and on some other islands, for
instance, Lady's Island, which lies between St. Helena and Beaufort.
Even here it is claimed that the older generation is more industrious.
In the trucking industry, which is very profitable along the coast, the
Negroes have only been engaged as ordinary laborers. On the main land,
wherever fresh water can be obtained, is the seat of a considerable rice
industry. In recent years, owing to the cutting of the forests in the
hills, the planters are troubled by freshets in the spring and droughts
in the summer. The work is done by Negroes under direction of white
foremen. The men work harder on contract jobs, but work by the day is
better done. Women are in better repute as laborers than the men and it
is stated that more women support their husbands than formerly was the
case. Wages range from $.35 to $.50 per day, varying somewhat according
to the work done. They are paid in cash and the planters have given up
the plantation store in many cases. All work must be constantly
supervised and it is said to be harder and harder to get work done. A
planter found it almost impossible in the winter of 1901 to get fifty
cords of wood cut, the work being considered too heavy. When I left the
train at Beaufort and found twelve hacks waiting for about three
passengers it was evident where some of the labor force had gone.
In this county there is a great development of burial and sick benefit
societies. The "Morning Star", "Star of Hope", "Star of Bethlehem" are
typical names. The dues are from five to ten cents a week. Many of the
societies have good sized halls, rivaling ofttimes the churches, on the
various islands, which are used for lodge and social purposes.
Beaufort and the other towns offer the country people an opportunity to
dispose of fish and any garden produce they may raise, while it is not
uncommon to see a little ox dragging a two-wheeled cart and perhaps a
quarter of a cord of wood to be hawked about town. During part of the
summer a good many gather a species of plant which is used in
adulterating cigarettes and cigars.
This little account indicates that, so far as the farmers are concerned,
there are few evidences of any decided progress save in the district
which has been under the influence of one school. The ease of getting a
livelihood acts as a deterrent to ambition. Yet the old families say
that they have the "best niggers of the South" and certain it is that
race troubles are unknown.
CENTRAL DISTRICT.
=THE OLD CABIN.=
In the central district life is a little more strenuous than on the sea
coast. The cabins are about the same. The average tenant has a "one mule
farm," some thirty or thirty-five acres. Occasionally the tenant has
more land, but only about this amount is cultivated and no rent is paid
for the balance. The area of the land is usually estimated and only
rarely is it surveyed. This land ranges in value from $5.00 to $15.00
per acre on the average. The customary rental for a "one mule farm" is
about two bales of cotton, whose value in recent years would be in the
neighborhood of $75.00, thus making the rental about $3.00 per acre. On
this farm from four to six bales of cotton are raised. The soil has been
injured by improper tillage and requires an expenditure of $1.75 to
$2.00 per acre for fertilizers if the best results are to be obtained.
As yet the Negroes do not fully appreciate this. The farmer secures
advances based on 1 peck of meal and 3 pounds of "side meat," fat salt
pork, per week for each working hand. About six dollars a month is the
limit for advances and as these are continued for only seven months or
so the average advance received is probably not far from $50.00 per
year. An advance of $10.00 per month is allowed for a two horse farm.
The advancer obligates himself to furnish only necessities and any
incidentals must be supplied from sale of poultry, berries and the like.
Clothing may often be reckoned as an incidental. The luxuries are bought
with cash or on the installment plan and are seldom indicated by the
books of the merchant. The cost of the average weekly advances for a
family in 1902 was:
10 pounds meat (salt port sides) @ 13-1/2c $1.35
1 bushel corn meal .90
1 plug tobacco (reckoned a necessity) .10
------
$2.35
=THE NEW HOUSE.=
Conditions throughout this district are believed to be fairly uniform,
but the following information was gathered in Lowndes County, Alabama,
so has closest connection with the prairie region of that state:
Lowndes County lies just southwest of Montgomery and there are 47
persons to the square mile. The Negroes form 86 per cent. of the
population. East and West throughout the county runs the Chennenugga
Ridge, a narrow belt of hills which separate the prairie from the pine
hills to the South. The ridge is quite broken and in places can not be
tilled profitably. The county is of average fertility, however.
There are not an unusual number of one-room cabins. Out of 74 families,
comprising 416 people, the average was 7 to the room, the greatest
number living in one room was 11. The families were housed as follows:
No. No. Largest No. Average No.
Families. Rooms. Persons. Persons.
17 1 11 6
31 2 12 (3 fam.) 6
16 3 9 5
7 4 14 6
3 5 9 5
The cabins are built of both boards and logs as indicated by cuts on
pages 43 and 44 while the interior economy is well shown by the
photograph on page 29.
Field work is from sun to sun with two hours or so rest at noon. The man
usually eats breakfast in the field, the wife staying behind to prepare
it. It consists of pork and corn bread. The family come from the field
about noon and have dinner consisting of pork and corn bread, with
collards, turnip greens, roasting ears, etc. At sundown work stops and
supper is eaten, the menu being as at breakfast. The pork eaten by the
Negroes, it may be said, is almost solid fat, two or three inches thick,
lean meat not being liked. The housewife has few dishes, the food being
cooked in pots or in small ovens set among the ashes. Stoves are a
rarity. Lamps are occasionally used, but if the chimney be broken it is
rarely replaced, the remainder being quite good enough for ordinary
purposes. The cabins seldom have glass windows, but instead wooden
shutters, which swing outward on hinges. These are shut at night and
even during the hottest summer weather there is practically no
ventilation. How it is endured I know not, but the custom prevails even
in Porto Rico I am told. In winter the cabins are cold. To meet this the
thrifty housewife makes bed quilts and as many as 25 or 30 of these are
not infrequently found in a small cabin. The floors are rough and not
always of matched lumber, while the cabins are poorly built. The usual
means of heating, and cooking, is the big fireplace. Sometimes the
chimney is built of sticks daubed over with mud, the top of the chimney
often failing to reach the ridge of the roof. Fires sometimes result.
Tables and chairs are rough and rude. Sheets are few, the mattresses are
of cotton, corn shucks or pine straw, and the pillows of home grown
feathers.
The following regarding the cooking of the Alabama Negro is taken from a
letter published in Bulletin No. 38, U. S. Department of Agriculture,
Office of the Experiment Stations:
"The daily fare is prepared in very simple ways. Corn meal is mixed
with water and baked on the flat surface of a hoe or griddle. The
salt pork is sliced thin and fried until very brown and much of the
grease tried out. Molasses from cane or sorghum is added to the
fat, making what is known as 'sap,' which is eaten with the corn
bread. Hot water sweetened with molasses is used as a beverage.
This is the hill of fare of most of the cabins on the plantations
of the 'black belt' three times a day during the year. It is,
however, varied at times; thus collards and turnips are boiled with
the bacon, the latter being used with the vegetables to supply fat
'to make it rich.' The corn meal bread is sometimes made into
so-called 'cracklin bread,' and is prepared as follows: A piece of
fat bacon is fried until it is brittle; it is then crushed and
mixed with corn meal, water, soda and salt, and baked in an oven
over the fireplace.... One characteristic of the cooking is that
all meats are fried or otherwise cooked until they are crisp.
Observation among these people reveals the fact that very many of
them suffer from indigestion in some form."
As elsewhere the advances are supplied by the planter or some merchant.
The legal rate of interest is 8 per cent, but no Negro ever borrows
money at this rate. Ten per cent. per year is considered cheap, while on
short terms the rate is often 10 per cent. per week. The average tenant
pays from 12.5 per cent. to 15 per cent. for his advances, which are
sold at an average of 25 per cent. higher than cash prices on the
average. To avoid any possible trouble it is quite customary to reckon
the interest and then figure this into the face of the note so that none
can tell either the principal or the rate. Below is an actual copy of
such a note, the names being changed:
$22.00. Calhoun, Alabama, June 2, 1900.
On the first day of October, 1900, I promise to pay to the order of
A. B. See Twenty Two Dollars at ............
Value received.
And so far as this debt is concerned, and as part of the
consideration thereof, I do hereby waive all right which I or
either of us have under the Constitution and Laws of this or any
other State to claim or hold any personal property exempt to me
from levy and sale under execution. And should it become necessary
to employ an attorney in the collection of this debt I promise to
pay all reasonable attorney's fees charged therefor.
ATTEST: C. W. JAMES. his
A. T. JONES. JOHN X. SMITH.
mark.
The possibility of extortion which this method makes possible is
evident.
It is worth while also to reproduce a copy, actual with the exception of
the names, of one of the blanket mortgages often given. The italics are
mine.
THE STATE OF ALABAMA,
LOWNDES COUNTY.
On or before the first day of October next I promise to pay Jones
and Co., or order, the sum of $77.00 at their office in Fort
Deposit, Alabama. And I hereby waive all right of exemption secured
to me under and by the Laws and Constitution of the State of
Alabama as to the collection of this debt. And I agree to pay all
the costs of making, recording, probating or acknowledging this
instrument, together with a reasonable attorney's fee, and all
other expenses incident to the collection of this debt, whether by
suit or otherwise. And to secure the payment of the above note, as
well as all other indebtedness I may now owe the said Jones and Co.,
and all future advances I may purchase from the said Jones and Co.
during the year 1900, whether due and payable during the year 1900
or not, and for the further consideration of one Dollar to me in
hand paid by Jones and Co., the receipt whereof I do hereby
acknowledge, I do hereby grant, bargain, sell and convey unto said
Jones and Co. the _entire crops_ of corn, cotton, cotton seed,
fodder, potatoes, sugar cane and its products and _all other crops
of every kind and description_ which may be made and grown during
the year 1900 on lands owned, leased, rented or farmed on shares
for or by the undersigned in Lowndes County, Alabama, or elsewhere.
Also any crops to or in which the undersigned has or may have any
interest, right, claim or title in Lowndes County or elsewhere
_during and for each succeeding year until the indebtedness secured
by this instrument is fully paid_. Also all the corn, cotton,
cotton seed, fodder, peas, and all other farm produce now in the
possession of the undersigned. Also all the live stock, vehicles
and farming implements now owned by or furnished to the undersigned
by Jones and Co. during the year 1900. Also one red horse "Lee,"
one red neck cow "Priest," and her calf, one red bull yearling.
Said property is situated in Lowndes County, Alabama. If, after
maturity, any part of the unpaid indebtedness remains unpaid, Jones
and Co., or their agents or assigns, are authorized and empowered
to seize and sell all or any of the above described property, at
private sale or public auction, as they may elect, for cash. If at
public auction, before their store door or elsewhere, in Fort
Deposit, Alabama, after posting for five days written notice of
said sale on post office door in said town, and to apply the
proceeds of said sale to the payment, first of all costs and
expenses provided for in the above note and expense of seizing and
selling said property; second, to payment in full of debt or debts
secured by said mortgage, and the surplus, if any, pay to the
undersigned. And the said mortgagee or assigns is hereby authorized
to purchase at his own sale under this mortgage. I agree that no
member of my family, nor anyone living with me, nor any person
under my control, shall have an extra patch on the above described
lands, unless covered by this mortgage; and I also agree that this
mortgage shall cover all such patches. It is further agreed and
understood that any securities held by Jones and Co. as owner or
assignee on any of the above described property executed by me
prior to executing this mortgage shall be retained by them, and
shall remain in full force and effect until the above note and
future advances are paid in full, and shall be additional security
for this debt. There is no lien or encumbrance upon any property
conveyed by this instrument except that held by Jones and Co. and
the above specified rents. If, before the demands hereby secured
are payable, any of the property conveyed herein shall be in
_danger of (or from) waste, destruction or removal, said demands
shall be then payable and all the terms, rights and powers of this
instrument operative and enforceable, as if and under a past due
mortgage_.
Witness my hand and seal this 10th day of January, 1900.
ATTEST: B. C. COOK. SAM SMALL. L. S.
R. J. BENNETT.
It may be granted that experience has shown all this verbiage to be
necessary. In the hands of an honest landlord it is as meaningless as
that in the ordinary contract we sign in renting a house. In the hands
of a dishonest landlord or merchant it practically enables him to make a
serf of the Negro. The mortgage is supposed to be filed at once, but it
is sometimes held to see if there is any other security which might be
included. The rascally creditor watches the crop and if the Negro may
have a surplus he easily tempts him to buy more, or more simply still,
he charges to his account imaginary purchases, so that at the end of the
year the Negro is still in debt. The Negro has no redress. He can not
prove that he has not purchased the goods and his word will not stand
against the merchant's. Practically he is tied down to the land, for no
one else will advance him under these conditions. Sometimes he escapes
by getting another merchant to settle his account and by becoming the
tenant of the new man. When it is remembered that land is abundant and
good labor rare, the temptation to hold a man on the land by fair means
or foul is apparent. Moreover, the merchant by specious reasoning often
justifies his own conduct. He says that the Negro will spend his money
at the first opportunity and that he might just as well have it as some
other merchant. I would not be understood as saying that this action is
anything but the great exception but there are dishonest men everywhere
who are ready to take advantage of their weaker fellows and the Negro
suffers as a result, just as the ignorant foreigner does in the cities
of the North.
The interest may also be reckoned into the face of the mortgage. In any
case it begins the day the paper is signed, although the money or its
equivalent is only received at intervals and a full year's interest is
paid, often on the face of the mortgage, even if only two-thirds of it
has actually been advanced to the Negro, no matter when the account is
settled. The helplessness of the Negro who finds himself in the hands of
a sharper is obvious when that sharper has practical control of the
situation. In many and curious ways the landlord seeks to hold his
tenants. He is expected to stand by them in time of trouble, to protect
them against the aggressions of other blacks and of whites as well. This
paternalism is often carried to surprising lengths.
The size of a man's family is known and the riders see to it that he
keeps all the working hands in the field. If the riders have any trouble
with a Negro they are apt to take it out in physical punishment, to
"wear him out," as the phrase goes. Thus resentment is seldom harbored
against a Negro and there are many who claim that this physical
discipline is far better than any prison regime in its effects upon the
Negro. In spite of all that is done it is claimed that the Negroes are
getting less reliable and that the chief dependence is now in the older
men, the women and the children. One remark, made by a planter's wife,
which impressed me as having a good deal of significance, was, "the
Negroes do not sing as much now as formerly."
To get at anything like an accurate statement of the income and expenses
of a Negro family is a difficult matter. The following account of three
families will give a fair idea of their budget for part of the year at
least.
Family No. 1 consists of five adults (over 14) and one child. They live
in a two-roomed cabin and own one mule, two horses two cows. Their
account with the landlord for the years 1900 and 1901 was:
1900.
To balance 1899 $ 32.60
Cash ($25.00) for mule 36.00
Clothing 19.68
Feed 15.20
Provisions 23.00
Tools 2.03
Interest and Recording Fee 16.87
-------
$145.38
1901.
To balance 1900 $ 15.21
Cash 26.57
Clothing 9.55
Feed and seed 44.19
Provisions 26.29
Tools .55
Interest and Recording Fee 16.34
-------
$138.70
Their credit for 1901 was $10392, thus leaving a deficit for the
beginning of the next year. As the advances stop in August or September,
and the balance of the purchases are for cash and may be at other
stores, there is no way of getting at them. In 1900 the family paid $201
toward the 85 acres they are purchasing, part of this sum probably
coming from the crop of 1899, and in 1901 they made a further payment of
$34. This family is doing much better than the average. It may be
interesting to see a copy of his account for the year 1901 taken from
the ledger of the planter.
Jan. 1. Balance 1900 $ 15.21
Jan. 12. 10 bu. corn, $5.00; fodder, $1.20; cash, $8.00 14.20
Jan. 19. Cash for tax, $1.43; recording fee, $1.00; cash, $13.25 15.68
Feb. 2. Plowshoes, $1.40; gents' hose, 10c; 20 yds. check, $1.00;
2 straw hats, $1.20 3.70
Feb. 2. 23.5 bu. corn, $14.94; cash, 79c; shoes, $1.50; plow
lines, 20c 17.43
Mar. 15. 15 yds. drilling, $1.20; 15 yds. check, 75c; 4.5 lbs.
bacon, 48c 2.43
Apr. 6. 10 bu. corn, $7.00; 5 bu. cotton seed, $1.75; 4.5 lbs.
bacon, 53c 9.28
Apr. 12. Bu. meal, 65c; spool cotton, 5c; tobacco, 10c; 7 lbs.
bacon, 81c; 5 bu. corn. $3.50 5.11
May 1. Cash, $1.00; 30 lbs. bacon, $3.45; work shoes, $1.10;
gents' shoes, $1.25; half bu. meal, 35c 7.15
May 1. 30 lbs. bacon, $3.45; (25) 30 lbs. bacon, $3.30; sack
meal, $1.35 8.10
June 8. 2-3 bu. oats, 35c; 1-3 bu. corn, 25c; bu. meal, 70c; sack
feed, $2.50 3.80
June 14. Sack meal, $1.35; 12 lbs. bacon, $1.32; cash, $1.00; (22)
12 lbs. bacon, $1.38 5.05
June 22. Sack meal, $1.35; sack feed, $2.50; plow sweep, 35c 4.20
July 1. 6 lbs. bacon, 69c; (5) sack feed, $2.60; half bu. meal,
35c; (9) bu. meal, 75c; 10 lbs. bacon, $1.15 5.54
July 18. 8 lbs. bacon, 92c; (19) sack feed, $2.60; (25) bu. meal,
90c 4.42
Aug. 6. Half bu. meal, 50c; 4 lbs. bacon, 46c; cash, 35c 1.31
Aug. 6. Interest 15.34
Oct. 6. Cash, 75c .75
-------
$138.70
The second family consists of three adults and three children. They have
three one-roomed cabins, own one mule and two cows, and are leasing
fifty acres of land, the effort to buy it having proven too much. Their
account for 1900 and 1901 was as follows:
1900.
Balance Jan. 1 $ .50
Cash 9.00
Clothing 9.79
Feed 11.50
Provisions 13.48
Tobacco .80
Tools, etc. .40
Interest and recording fee 5.77
------
$52.24
1901.
Balance Jan. 1 $ 4.15
Cash 2.82
Clothing 7.55
Feed 21.22
Provisions 17.69
Tobacco .55
Tools, etc. .70
Interest and fee 7.90
------
$62.48
The debit for 1900 was all paid by November first and by November first,
1901, $58.40 of the charge for that year had been paid. In 1900 the man
paid $94.61 towards his land but has since been leasing.
The third family consists of two adults and three children. They live in
a board cabin of two rooms, have one mule, one cow and one horse. They
are purchasing 50 acres of land. Their accounts for 1900 and 1901 stand
between the two already given.
1900.
Balance 1899 $17.24
Cash 23.20
Clothing 4.73
Provisions 19.80
Tools 4.40
Interest and fee 8.04
------
$77.41
1901.
Balance 1900 $13.93
Cash 21.28
Clothing 6.30
Feed 26.50
Provisions 21.36
Tools 3.50
Interest and fee 12.40
-------
$109.28
By November 30, 1901, they had paid $79.13 of their account. In 1900
they paid $180 towards their land and $29.60 in 1901.
All of these families are a little above the average. The income is
supplemented by the sale of chickens, eggs and occasionally butter. In
hard years when the crops are poor the men and older boys seek service
in the mines of North Alabama or on the railroads during the summer
before cotton picking begins, and again during the winter.
The outfit of the average farmer is very inexpensive and is somewhat as
follows:
Harness, $1.50; pony plow, $3.00; extra point, 25c $4.75
Sweepstock (a), 75c; 3 sweeps, 90c; scooter (b), 10c 1.75
2 hoes, 80c; blacksmith (yearly average), 50c 1.30
-----
Total $7.80
(a) A sweep is a form of cultivator used in cleaning grass and weeds from
the rows of cotton.
(b) A scooter or "bull-tongue" is a strip of iron used in opening the
furrow for the cotton seed.
A cow costs $25, pigs $2 to $2.50, wagon (seldom owned) $45. A mule now
costs from $100 to $150, but may be rented by the year for $20 or $25.
Owners claim there is no profit in letting them at this price and the
Negroes assert that if one dies the owner often claims that it had been
sold and proceeds to collect the value thereof. From either point of
view the plan seems to meet with but little favor.
The following table will give some idea of the condition and personal
property of a number of families in Lowndes County:
----------+----+----+----+----+----+---+-----+---+---+----+---+----+
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L |
----------+----+----+----+----+----+---+-----+---+---+----+---+----+
Family 1 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |[9]0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
" 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
" 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
" 4 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
" 5 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
" 6 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
" 7 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
" 8 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
" 9 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
" 10 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
----------+----+----+----+----+----+---+-----+---+---+----+---+----+
10 | 35 | 16 | 11 | 8 | 25 | 1 | 8 | 6 | 1 | 14 | 2 | 10 |
----------+----+----+----+----+----+---+-----+---+---+----+---+----+
Key to columns:
A Adults
B Children under 14
C Log Cabins
D B'd Cabins
E No. Rooms
F Sewing Machines
G Mules
H Horses
I Oxen
J Cows
K Pigs
L Dogs
It will be seen that the number of oxen is small. I should not be
surprised if some of the hogs escaped observation.
An account of this district would not be complete without reference to
the herb doctors who do a thriving business, charging from twenty-five
cents per visit up. They make all sorts of noxious compounds which are
retailed as good for various ailments. The medicines are perhaps no more
harmful than the patent compounds of other places. There are also witch
doctors, of whom the Negroes stand in great awe and many a poor sufferer
has died because it was believed that he or she was bewitched by some
evil person, hence physicians could have no power.
The budgets given indicate, and this is my own belief, that the farmers
in this district are just about holding their own. They are not trained
to take advantage of their environment to the full so they do not
prosper as they might, while occasional designing persons take great
advantage of them, thereby rendering them discouraged. The introduction
of a more diversified farming, the greater utilization of local
resources in fruits and vegetables, thereby giving variety in the diet,
the development of pastures and stock raising would enable them to break
away from the mortgage system, which retards them in many ways.
This view that the farmers here are about able to make a living is
supported by the investigations of Professor Du Bois.[10] He gives the
following report of 271 families in Georgia:
Year, 1898. Price of cotton low.
Bankrupt and sold out 3
$100 or over in debt 61
$25 to $100 in debt 54
$1 to $25 in debt 47
Cleared nothing 53
Cleared $1 to $25 27
Cleared $25 to $100 21
Cleared $100 and over 5
----
271
Regarding the general situation he says: "A good season with good prices
regularly sent a number out of debt and made them peasant proprietors; a
bad season, either in weather or prices, still means the ruin of a
thousand black homes." Under existing conditions the outlook does not
seem to me especially hopeful.
ALLUVIAL DISTRICT.
=A DOUBLE CABIN IN THE DELTA.=
The Mississippi river, deflected westward by the hills of Tennessee, at
Memphis sweeps in a long arc to the hills at Natchez. The oval between
the river and the hills to the East is known as the "Delta." The land is
very flat, being higher on the border of the river so that when the
river overflows the entire bottom land is flooded. The waters are not
restrained by a good system of levees and the danger of floods is
reduced. There are similar areas in Arkansas and Louisiana and along the
lower courses of the Red and other rivers, but what is said here will
have special reference to Mississippi conditions. The land is extremely
fertile, probably there is none better in the world, and is covered with
a dense growth of fine woods, oak, ash, gum and cypress. The early
settlements, as already stated, were along the navigable streams, but
the great development of railroads is opening up the entire district.
The country may still be called new and thousands of acres may be
purchased at a cost of less than $10 per acre, wild land, of course.
Cultivated land brings from $25 up.
Considering its possibilities the region is not yet densely populated,
but a line of immigration is setting in and the indications are that the
Delta will soon be the seat of the heaviest Negro population in the
country. Already it rivals the black prairie of Alabama. There have been
many influences to retard immigration, the fear of fevers, malaria and
typhoid, commonly associated with low countries, and the dread of
overflows. Because of the lack of the labor force to develop the country
planters have been led to offer higher wages, better houses, etc. There
is about the farming district an air of prosperity which is not
noticeable to the East. The country is particularly adapted to cotton,
the yield is heavier, about a bale to the acre if well cultivated,
though the average is a little less, the staple is longer, and the price
is about a cent a pound higher, than in the hills. Fertilizers are
seldom used and are not carried in the stores. Some of the lands which
have been longest in use have been harmed by improper tillage, but the
injury may easily be repaired by intelligent management.
In the Delta the average size of the plantations is large, but the
amount of land under the care of the tenant is smaller than in other
sections. About 20 acres is probably the average to one work animal. The
soil is heavier, requiring longer and more constant cultivation. For
this land a rental of from $6 to $8 per acre is paid, while plantations
will rent for a term of years at an acre. A good deal of new land is
brought in cultivation by offering it rent free to a Negro for three
years, the tenant agreeing to clear off the timber and bring the soil
under cultivation. On some plantations no interest is charged on goods
advanced by the Negro usually pays 25 per cent. for all money he
borrows. The white planter has to pay at least 8 per cent and agree to
sell his cotton through the factor of whom the money is obtained and pay
him a commission of 2.5 per cent. for handling the cotton.
The plantation accounts of three families follow for the year 1901. They
live in Washington County, Mississippi, in which the Negroes form 89 per
cent. of the total population.
The first family consists of three adults and one child under 14. They
own two mules, two cows, ten pigs and some chickens. They also have a
wagon and the necessary farm implements.
Their expenses were enlarged, as were those of the other families, by an
epidemic of smallpox.
Debit. Credit.
Doctor $39.50 Cotton $826.80
Blacksmith 1.85 Cotton seed 147.00
Implements 15.05 -------
Clothes 102.55 $973.80
Provisions 42.10 856.95
Rent 175.07 -------
Extra labor 53.50 Balance $116.85
Seed 31.30
Ginning Cotton 61.30
Cash drawn 334.73
-------
$856.95
Their account at the close of the year showed thus a balance of $116.85.
The family raised 2 bales of cotton and had besides 180 bushels of corn
from six acres.
The second family came to the plantation in 1900 with nothing, not even
with decent clothing. Now they have two mules, keep some pigs, own a
wagon and farming tools. There are five adults in the family and two
children. They live in a three-roomed cabin and till 30 acres of land,
four acres being wood land taken for clearing, for which there is no
rent.
Debit. Credit.
Doctor $ 35.35 Cotton $1,091.28
Feed 5.00 Cotton seed 196.00
Mule (balance) 77.00 ---------
Rations and clothes 284.10 $1,287.28
Rent 175.50 1,035.82
Extra labor 67.60 ---------
Ginning 101.25 Balance $ 251.46
Cash drawn 290.02
---------
$1,035.82
The third family is of different type. They are always behind, although
the wife is a good worker and the man is willing and seems to try. They
are considered one of the poorest families on the plantation. There are
two adults and one child. They own farming implements, one mule and some
pigs. They have a two-roomed cabin and farm 18 acres for which they pay
a crop rent of 1,800 pounds of cotton.
Debit. Credit.
Doctor $ 24.45 Cotton $498.57
Mule 33.00 Cotton seed 91.00
Clothing 53.40 -------
Rations 60.00 $589.57
Feed 11.25 576.55
Rent 130.50 -------
Extra labor 179.45 Balance $ 13.02
Seed 11.90
Ginning 43.50
Cash down 53.50
-------
$576.55
An examination of the accounts reveals that there is a charge for extra
labor, which for the third family was very heavy. This results from the
fact that the average family _could_, but _does not_ pick all the cotton
it makes, so when it is seen that enough is on hand to pay all the bills
and leave a balance it is very careless about the remainder. Planters
have great difficulty in getting all the cotton picked and a
considerable portion is often lost. Extra labor must be imported. This
is hard to get and forms, when obtained, a serious burden on the income
of the tenant.
On the plantation from whose books the above records were taken the
system of bookkeeping is more than usually careful and the gin account
thus forms a separate item so that although all planters charge for the
ginning the charge does not always appear on the books.
These three families are believed to be average and indicate what it is
possible for the typical family to do under ordinary conditions. It is
but fair to state that the owners of this plantation make many efforts
to get their tenants to improve their condition and will not long keep
those whose accounts do not show a credit balance at the end of the
year. A copy of the lease in use will be of interest and its
stipulations form quite a contrast to the one quoted from Alabama. The
cash and share leases are identical save for necessary changes in form.
The names are fictitious.
"This Contract, made this date and terminating December 31, 1902,
between Smith and Brown, and John Doe, hereinafter called tenant,
Witnesses: That Smith and Brown have this day rented and set apart
to John Doe for the year 1902 certain twenty acres of land on James
Plantation, Washington County, Mississippi, at a rental price per
acre of seven dollars and fifty cents. Smith and Brown hereby agree
to furnish, with said land, a comfortable house and good pump, and
to grant to the said tenant the free use of such wood as may be
necessary for his domestic purposes and to advance such supplies,
in such quantity and manner as may be mutually agreed upon as being
necessary to maintain him in the cultivation of said land; it being
now mutually understood that by the term "supplies" is meant meat,
meal, molasses, tobacco, snuff, medicine and medical attention,
good working shoes and clothes, farming implements and corn. It is
also hereby mutually agreed and understood that anything other than
the articles herein enumerated is to be advanced to the said tenant
only as the condition of his crops and account and the manner of
his work shall, in the judgment of Smith and Brown, be deemed to
entitle him. They also agree to keep said house and pump in good
repair and to keep said land well ditched and drained.
Being desirous of having said tenant raise sufficient corn to
supply his needs during the ensuing year, in consideration of his
planting such land in corn as they may designate, they hereby agree
to purchase from said tenant all corn over and above such as may be
necessary for his needs, and to pay therefor the market price; and
to purchase all corn raised by him in the event be wishes to remove
from James plantation at the termination of this contract. In
consideration of the above undertaking on Smith and Brown's part,
the said tenant hereby agrees to sell to them all surplus corn
raised by him and in the event of his leaving James' plantation at
the termination of this contract to sell to them all corn he may
have on hand: in each case at the market price.
The said Smith and Brown hereby reserve to themselves all liens
for rent and supplies on all cotton, cotton seed, corn and other
agricultural products, grown upon said land during the year 1902,
granted under Sections 2495 and 2496 of the Code of 1892. They
hereby agree to handle and sell for the said tenant all cotton and
other crops raised by him for sale, to the best of their ability,
and to account to him for the proceeds of the same when sold. They
also reserve to themselves the right to at all times exercise such
supervision as they may deem necessary over the planting and
cultivating of all crops to be raised by him during the year 1902.
The said John Doe hereby rents from Smith and Brown the above
mentioned land for the year 1902 and promises to pay therefor seven
dollars and a half per acre on or before November the first, 1902,
and hereby agrees to all the terms and stipulations herein
mentioned.
He furthermore represents to Smith and Brown that he has sufficient
force to properly plant and cultivate same, and agrees that if at
any time in their judgment his crops may be in need of cultivation,
they may have the necessary work done and charge same to his
account.
He furthermore agrees to at all times properly control his family
and hands, both as to work and conduct, and obligates himself to
prevent any one of them from causing any trouble whatsoever, either
to his neighbors or to Smith and Brown.
He also agrees to plant and cultivate all land allotted to him,
including the edges of the roads, turn rows, and ditch banks, and
to keep the latter at all times clean and to plant no garden or
truck patches in his field.
He also agrees to gather and deliver all agricultural products
which he may raise for sale to said Smith and Brown, as they may
designate to be handled and sold by them, for his account.
He also agrees not to abandon, neglect, turn back or leave his
crops or any part of them, nor to allow his family or hands to do
so, until entirely gathered and delivered.
In order that Smith and Brown may be advised of the number of
tenants which they may have to secure for the ensuing year, in
ample time to enable them to provide for the same, the said tenant
hereby agrees to notify them positively by December 10, 1902,
whether or not he desires to remain on James' Plantation for the
ensuing year. Should he not desire to remain, then he agrees to
deliver to Smith and Brown possession of the house now allotted to
him by January 1st, 1903. In order that said tenant may have ample
time in which to provide for himself a place for the ensuing year,
Smith and Brown hereby agree to notify him by December 10, 1902,
should they not want him as a tenant during the ensuing year.
Witness our signatures, this the 15th day of December, 1901.
SMITH AND BROWN.
JOHN DOE.
Witness: J. W. JAMES.
The owners have been unable to carry out their efforts in full, but the
result has been very creditable. The lease is much preferable to the one
given on page 46.
If, as I believe, the families above reported are average and are living
under ordinary conditions, it seems evident that a considerable surplus
results from their labors each year. I wish I could add that the money
were being either wisely spent or saved and invested. This does not seem
to be the case and it is generally stated that the amount of money
wasted in the fall of the year by the blacks of the Delta is enormous.
In the cabins the great catalogs of the mail order houses of Montgomery
Ward & Co., and Sears, Roebuck & Co., of Chicago are often found, and
the express agents say that large shipments of goods are made to the
Negroes. Patent medicines form no inconsiderable proportion of these
purchases, while "Stutson" hats, as the Negro says, are required by the
young bloods. The general improvidence of the people is well illustrated
by the following story related by a friend of the writer. At the close
of one season an old Negro woman came to his wife for advice as to the
use to be made of her savings, some $125. She was advised to buy some
household necessities and to put the remainder in a bank, above all she
was cautioned to beware of any who sought to get her to squander the
money. The woman left but in about two weeks' time returned to borrow
some money. It developed that as she went down the street a Jewess
invited her to come in and have a cup of coffee. The invitation was
accepted and during the conversation she was advised to spend the money.
This she did, and when the transactions were over the woman had one
barrel of flour, one hundred pounds of meat, ten dollars or so worth of
cheap jewelry, some candy and other incidentals and no money. Foolish
expenditures alone, according to the belief of the planters, prevent the
Negroes from owning the entire land in a generation. I would not give
the impression that there are no Negro land owners in this region.
Thousands of acres have been purchased and are held by them, but we are
speaking of average families.
Some curious customs prevail. The planters generally pay the Negroes in
cash for their cotton seed and this money the blacks consider as
something peculiarly theirs, not to be used for any debts they may have.
Although the prices for goods advanced are higher than cash prices, the
Negroes will often, when spring comes, insist that they be advanced, so
have the goods charged even at the higher prices, even though they have
the cash on hand. This great over-appreciation of present goods is a
drawback to their progress.
In this district I found little dissatisfaction among the Negro farmers.
They felt that their opportunities were good. Those who come from the
hills can scarce believe their eyes at the crops produced and constantly
ask when the cotton plants are going to turn yellow and droop. That
there is little migration back to the hills is good evidence of the
relative standing of the two districts in their eyes.
Wages for day labor range from 60 to 75 cents, but the extra labor
imported for cotton picking makes over double this.
THE SUGAR REGION.
South of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the alluvial district is largely given
over to the growing of sugar cane with occasional fields of rice. The
district under cultivation stretches back from the river a couple of
miles or so to the edge of the woods beyond which at present there is no
tillable ground, though drainage will gradually push back the line of
the forest. These sugar lands are valued highly, $100 or so an acre, and
the capital invested in the great sugar houses is enormous. Probably
nowhere in agricultural pursuits is there a more thorough system of
bookkeeping than on these plantations. This land is cultivated by hired
hands, who work immediately under the eye of overseers. Nowhere is the
land let out in small lots to tenants. Conditions are radically
different from those prevailing in the cotton regions. The work season,
it is claimed, begins on the first day of January and ends on the 31st
of December, and every day between when the weather permits work in the
fields there is work to be done.
=CABINS ON SUGAR PLANTATION.=
These plantations present an attractive appearance. The cabins are not
scattered as in the cotton country, but are usually ranged on either
side of a broad street, with rows of trees in front. The cabins are
often for two families and each has a plot of ground for a garden. The
planters say the Negroes will not live in the houses unless the garden
plots are provided, even if they make no use of them. To each family is
allotted a house so long as they are employed on the place. Wood is free
and teams are provided for hauling it from the forest. Free pasture for
stock is often provided.
From the fact that the men would seldom work more than five and a half
days a week arose the custom of paying off every eleven days. Each
workman has a time book and as soon as he has completed his eleven days
his pay is due. This avoids a general pay day and the demoralization
that would likely follow. Work is credited by quarters of a day: Sunrise
to breakfast, breakfast to dinner, dinner to about 3:00 p. m., 3:00 p. m.
to sunset. Wages vary according to the season, being much larger during
autumn when the cane is being ground. For field work men get 70 cents
per day, women 55 to 60 cents. During the grinding season the men earn
from $1 to $1.25, the women about 85 cents, children from 25 cents up.
Wages are usually paid through a store which may or may not be under the
direct ownership of the plantation. All accounts against the store are
deducted, but the balance must be paid in cash if it is so desired.
Nominally the men are free to trade where they will, but it is easy to
see that pressure might be brought to bear to make it advantageous to
trade at the local store.
During the year 1901 two families were able to earn the following
amounts. The first family consists of three adults and two children, but
the wife did not work in the field.
$10.50 7.00 13.80 12.60 10.85 12.60 11.55
10.85 6.65 13.80 12.95 15.40 14.50 11.20
2.62 1.25 2.25 4.35
------------------------------------------
$23.97 14.90 27.60 25.55 26.25 29.35 27.10
11.55 8.40 9.80 20.60 25.75 28.75 Man
11.20 7.35 9.80 7.95 16.00 10.15 Son
4.35 3.05 1.20 6.40 18.15 15.75 Boy
1.85 10.12 6.75 Boy
--------------------------------------------
27.10 18.80 20.80 36.80 70.02 61.40--$382.54
During the grinding season the men's wages were increased to $1 a day
and the boys' to 40 cents and the father had chances to make extra time
as nightwatchman, etc. This family own a horse and buggy, keep poultry
and have a fair garden. They are rather thrifty and have money stowed
away somewhere.
The second family consists of the parents and eight children. Their
income is fair, but they are always "hard up." They spend their money
extravagantly. The man is head teamster on the plantation and makes 80
cents per day, which is increased to $1.30 during the grinding season.
The wife in this family also did no work save in the fall.
$16.00 14.40 17.60 15.40 18.40 16.80 17.80
7.87 6.85 10.10 9.25 9.65 10.10 11.00
12.60 8.75 12.60 13.30 15.55 14.50 11.90
2.90 1.50 4.50
1.25 1.80 .65
------------------------------------------
$40.62 33.30 45.45 37.95 43.60 41.40 40.70
17.80 18.00 16.60 23.30 44.95 43.05 Man
11.00 10.25 4.00 6.00 19.30 18.00 Boy
11.90 12.40 11.70 19.25 25.75 23.00 Son
6.75 17.25 14.75 Girl
1.60 Boy
2.10 8.00 5.25 Boy
3.00 15.15 13.50 Woman
----------------------------------------------
40.70 40.65 32.30 60.40 130.30 119.15--665.82
These families are typical so far as known. In comparing their incomes
with those in other districts it must be borne in mind that they have no
rent to pay and their only necessary expenses are for food and clothes
and incidentals. Certainly both of the families should have money to
their credit at the end of the year. The total wages depends not only on
the willingness to work, but also on weather conditions. One gets the
impression that in some places conditions are pretty bad and even by
some white residents of the state it is claimed that a state of
servitude almost prevails on many plantations. In any case the Negroes
do not seem satisfied. The labor is rather heavy. For this or other
reasons there has been quite an exodus to the cotton country in recent
years, which has caused the cane planters much trouble and they will
make many concessions to keep their tenants. To meet this emigration for
some time efforts have been made to import Italian labor but the results
have not been wholly satisfactory. The Italians are more reliable and
this is a great argument in their favor, but with this exception they
are not considered much better workers than the blacks. The storekeepers
much prefer the Negroes, who spend their money more freely.
The planters claim that the labor is unreliable and say they never know
on Saturday how many workers they will have on Monday. They also say it
is hard to get extra labor done. In 1900 on one plantation the women
were offered ten cents a day extra for some hoeing, but only four held
out. Higher wages were offered if some cane were cut by the ton instead
of by the day, but after a week the hands asked to return to the gang at
the lower wage.
In the rice fields along the river about the same wages prevail as for
the field hands in the cane plantations. The rice crop, however, is but
a six months crop, so other employment must be found for part of the
year if nothing but rice is raised. It is usual in this region to raise
rice as a side crop.