OUR FREE-LABOR ENTERPRISE IN PROGRESS.
The Negroes at Work.--Difficulties in the Way.--A Public Meeting.--A
Speech.--A Negro's Idea of Freedom.--A Difficult Question to
Determine.--Influence of Northern and Southern Men Contrasted.--An
Increase of Numbers.--"Ginning" Cotton.--In the Lint-Room.--Mills and
Machinery of a Plantation.--A Profitable Enterprise.
On each of the plantations the negroes were at work in the
cotton-field. I rode from one to the other, as circumstances made it
necessary, and observed the progress that was made. I could easily
perceive they had been accustomed to performing their labor under
fear of the lash. Some of them took advantage of the opportunity for
carelessness and loitering under the new arrangement. I could not be
in the field at all times, to give them my personal supervision. Even
if I were constantly present, there was now no lash to be feared.
I saw that an explanation of the new state of affairs would be an
advantage to all concerned. On the first Sunday of my stay on the
plantation, I called all the negroes together, in order to give them
an understanding of their position.
I made a speech that I adapted as nearly as possible to the
comprehension of my hearers. My audience was attentive throughout.
I made no allusions to Homer, Dante, or Milton; I did not quote from
Gibbon or Macaulay, and I neglected to call their attention to the
spectacle they were presenting to the crowned heads of Europe. I
explained to them the change the war had made in their condition,
and the way in which it had been effected. I told them that all cruel
modes of punishment had been abolished. The negroes were free, but
they must understand that freedom did not imply idleness. I read to
them the regulations established by the commissioners, and explained
each point as clearly as I was able. After I had concluded, I offered
to answer any questions they might ask.
There were many who could not understand why, if they were free, they
should be restricted from going where they pleased at all times. I
explained that it was necessary, for the successful management of the
plantation, that I should always be able to rely upon them. I asked
them to imagine my predicament if they should lose half their time, or
go away altogether, in the busiest part of the season. They "saw
the point" at once, and readily acknowledged the necessity of
subordination.
I found no one who imagined that his freedom conferred the right of
idleness and vagrancy. All expected to labor in their new condition,
but they expected compensation for their labor, and did not look for
punishment. They expected, further, that their families would not
be separated, and that they could be allowed to acquire property for
themselves. I know there were many negroes in the South who expected
they would neither toil nor spin after being set free, but the belief
was by no means universal. The story of the negro at Vicksburg, who
expected his race to assemble in New York after the war, "and have
white men for niggers," is doubtless true, but it would find little
credence with the great majority of the freedmen of the South.
The schedule of wages, as established by the commissioners, was read
and explained. The negroes were to be furnished with house-rent,
rations, fuel, and medical attendance, free of charge. Able-bodied
males were to receive eight dollars a month. Other classes of laborers
would be paid according to the proportionate value of their services.
We were required to keep on hand a supply of clothing, shoes, and
other needed articles, which would be issued as required and
charged on account. All balances would be paid as soon as the first
installment of the cotton crop was sent to market.
This was generally satisfactory, though some of the negroes desired
weekly or monthly payments. One of them thought it would be better if
they could be paid at the end of each day, and suggested that silver
would be preferable to greenbacks or Confederate money. Most of them
thought the wages good enough, but this belief was not universal. One
man, seventy years old, who acted as assistant to the "hog-minder,"
thought he deserved twenty-five dollars per month, in addition to
his clothing and rations. Another, of the same age, who carried the
breakfast and dinner to the field, was of similar opinion. These were
almost the only exceptions. Those whose services were really valuable
acquiesced in the arrangement.
On our plantation there was an old negress named "Rose," who attended
the women during confinement. She was somewhat celebrated in her
profession, and received occasional calls to visit white ladies in the
neighborhood. After I had dismissed the negroes and sent them to their
quarters, I was called upon by Rose, to ascertain the rate at which
she would be paid. As she was regularly employed as one of the
house-servants, I allowed her the same wages that the other women
received. This was satisfactory, so far, but it was not entirely so.
She wished to understand the matter of perquisites.
"When I used to go out to 'tend upon white ladies," said Rose, "they
gave me ten dollars. Mistress always took half and let me keep the
other half."
"Well, hereafter, you may keep the ten dollars yourself."
"Thank you."
After a pause, she spoke again:
"Didn't you say the black people are free?"
"Yes."
"White people are free, too, ain't they?"
"Yes."
"Then why shouldn't you pay me ten dollars every time I 'tend upon the
black folks on the plantation?"
The question was evidently designed as a "corner." I evaded it by
assuring Rose that though free, the negroes had not attained all the
privileges that pertained to the whites, and I should insist on her
professional services being free to all on the plantation.
The negroes were frequently desirous of imitating the customs of white
people in a manner that should evince their freedom. Especially did
they desire to have no distinction in the payment of money, on account
of the color of the recipient.
After this Sunday talk with the negroes, I found a material
improvement. Occasionally I overheard some of them explaining to
others their views upon various points. There were several who
manifested a natural indolence, and found it difficult to get over
their old habits. These received admonitions from their comrades, but
could not wholly forget the laziness which was their inheritance. With
these exceptions, there was no immediate cause for complaint.
During the earlier part of my stay in that region, I was surprised at
the readiness with which the negroes obeyed men from the North, and
believed they would fulfill their promises, while they looked with
distrust on all Southern white men. Many owners endeavored in vain to
induce their negroes to perform certain labor. The first request made
by a Northern man to the same effect would be instantly complied with.
The negroes explained that their masters had been in the habit of
making promises which they never kept, and cited numerous instances to
prove the truth of their assertion. It seemed to have been a custom in
that region to deceive the negroes in any practicable manner. To make
a promise to a negro, and fail to keep it, was no worse than to lure a
horse into a stable-yard, by offering him a choice feed of corn, which
would prove but a single mouthful. That the negroes had any human
rights was apparently rarely suspected by their owners and overseers.
The distrust which many of the negroes entertained for their former
masters enabled the lessees to gain, at once, the confidence of
their laborers. I regret to say that this confidence was abused in a
majority of cases.
I gave the negroes a larger ration of meat, meal, and potatoes than
had been previously issued. As soon as possible, I procured a quantity
of molasses, coffee, and tobacco. These articles had not been seen
on the plantation for many months, and were most gladly received. As
there was no market in that vicinity where surplus provisions could
be sold, I had no fear that the negroes would resort to stealing,
especially as their daily supply was amply sufficient for their
support. It was the complaint of many overseers and owners that
the negroes would steal provisions on frequent occasions. If they
committed any thefts during my time of management, they were made
so carefully that I never detected them. It is proper to say that I
followed the old custom of locking the store-houses at all times.
Very soon after commencing labor I found that our working force must
be increased. Accordingly, I employed some of the negroes who were
escaping from the interior of the State and making their way to
Natchez. As there were but few mules on the plantation, I was
particularly careful to employ those negroes who were riding, rather
than walking, from slavery. If I could not induce these mounted
travelers to stop with us, I generally persuaded them to sell their
saddle animals. Thus, hiring negroes and buying mules, I gradually put
the plantation in a presentable condition. While the cotton was being
picked the blacksmith was repairing the plows, the harness-maker
was fitting up the harnesses for the mules, and every thing was
progressing satisfactorily. The gin-house was cleaned and made ready
for the last work of preparing cotton for the market. Mr. Colburn
arrived from the North after I had been a planter of only ten days'
standing. He was enthusiastic at the prospect, and manifested an
energy that was the envy of his neighbors.
It required about three weeks to pick our cotton. Before it was all
gathered we commenced "ginning" the quantity on hand, in order to make
as little delay as possible in shipping our "crop" to market.
The process of ginning cotton is pretty to look upon, though not
agreeable to engage in. The seed-cotton (as the article is called
when it comes from the field) is fed in a sort of hopper, where it is
brought in contact with a series of small and very sharp saws. From
sixty to a hundred of these saws are set on a shaft, about half an
inch apart. The teeth of these saws tear the fiber from the seed, but
do not catch the seed itself. A brush which revolves against the saws
removes the fiber from them at every revolution. The position of the
gin is generally at the end of a large room, and into this room the
detached fiber is thrown from the revolving brush.
This apartment is technically known as the "lint-room," and presents
an interesting scene while the process of ginning is going on. The air
is full of the flying lint, and forcibly reminds a Northerner of a New
England snow-storm. The lint falls, like the snow-flakes, with most
wonderful lightness, but, unlike the snow-flakes, it does not melt.
When the cotton is picked late in the season, there is usually a dense
cloud of dust in the lint-room, which settles in and among the fiber.
The person who watches the lint-room has a position far from enviable.
His lungs become filled with dust, and, very often, the fine, floating
fiber is drawn into his nostrils. Two persons are generally permitted
to divide this labor. There were none of the men on our plantation who
craved it. Some of the mischievous boys would watch their opportunity
to steal into the lint-room, where they greatly enjoyed rolling upon
the soft cotton. Their amusement was only stopped by the use of a
small whip.
The machinery of a cotton-gin is driven by steam or horse power;
generally the former. There is no water-power in the State of
Louisiana, but I believe some of the lakes and bayous might be turned
to advantage in the same way that the tide is used on the sea-coast.
All the larger plantations are provided with steam-engines, the
chimneys of which are usually carried to a height sufficient to remove
all danger from sparks. There is always a corn-mill, and frequently a
saw-mill attached to the gin, and driven by the same power. On
every plantation, one day in the week is set apart for grinding a
seven-days' supply of corn. This regulation is never varied, except
under the most extraordinary circumstances. There is a universal rule
in Louisiana, forbidding any person, white or black, smoking in the
inclosure where the gin-house stands. I was told there was a legal
enactment to this effect, that affixed heavy penalties to its
infringement. For the truth of this latter statement I cannot vouch.
With its own corn-mill, saw-mill, and smithery, each plantation is
almost independent of the neighborhood around it. The chief dependence
upon the outside world is for farming tools and the necessary
paraphernalia for the various branches of field-work. I knew one
plantation, a short distance from ours, whose owner had striven
hard to make it self-sustaining. He raised all the corn and all the
vegetables needed. He kept an immense drove of hogs, and cured his
own pork. Of cattle he had a goodly quantity, and his sheep numbered
nearly three hundred. Wool and cotton supplied the raw material for
clothing. Spinning-wheels and looms produced cloth in excess of what
was needed. Even the thread for making the clothing for the negroes
was spun on the plantation. Hats were made of the palmetto, which grew
there in abundance. Shoes were the only articles of personal wear not
of home production. Plows, hoes, and similar implements were purchased
in the market, but the plantation was provided with a very complete
repair-shop, and the workmen were famous for their skill.
The plantation, thus managed, yielded a handsome profit to its owner.
The value of each year's cotton crop, when delivered on the bank of
the river, was not less than forty thousand dollars. Including wages
of the overseer, and all outlays for repairs and purchase of such
articles as were not produced at home, the expenses would not exceed
five or six thousand dollars. Cotton-planting was very profitable
under almost any management, and especially so under a prudent and
economical owner. Being thus profitable with slave labor, it was
natural for the planters to think it could prosper under no other
system. "You can't raise cotton without niggers, and you must own the
niggers to raise it," was the declaration in all parts of the South.