Part 18 (1/2)
Reports are constantly brought to this office by the negroes from the interior that freedmen have been kidnapped and summarily disposed of.
These obtain circulation and credence among all cla.s.ses, and, whether true or not, operate disadvantageously to the interests of both the planters and the freedmen.
Again, the threat of shooting the laborers, so frequently made by the planters, is very unwise, and usually has the effect of causing a general stampede from the plantation where the threat was made. The fact that the body of a negro was seen hanging from a tree in Texas, near the Louisiana line; and of the murder in cold blood, in the northern part of the parish of Caddo, of Mary, a colored woman, by John Johnson, the son of the proprietor of the plantation where the woman worked; and that instances have repeatedly occurred similar to a case presented at my office, where an old man had received a blow over his head with a s.h.i.+llalah one inch in diameter, which was so severe as to snap the stick asunder; and also the fracturing of the skull and the breaking of the arm of a helpless, inoffensive colored woman by a vindictive planter in the parish of Natchitoches; and the statement of one of my agents, who says that ”upon half the plantations the freedmen are not well clothed and their rations are scanty;” and of another who has visited every plantation in ward No. --, parish of ----, who reports at the close of the month as follows: ”The freedmen in my ward are very poorly clothed and fed, although no particular complaints have been made as yet;” should all be taken into consideration in arriving at conclusions in regard to the disposition of the freedmen to work, and before judgment is rendered upon the complaints of the major portion of the planters; and it is also useless to disguise the fact that among the freedmen, as among all cla.s.ses of people, there are many ill-disposed as well as idle persons, and a few of these upon each plantation create dissatisfaction among the others.
Notwithstanding the complaints of the planters and the above-named facts, the existence of which would cause a disturbance among any cla.s.s of laborers in the world, the majority of the planters have been eager to contract with their former slaves, for the reason that after their plantations had been visited by an agent of the government, and an agreement had been made upon the prescribed forms, the freedmen worked better than before. This is a matter of significance, and its bearing is readily seen. Having noticed the disapprobation of the larger portion of the planting community, and the causes which led to their complaints, I desire to call your attention in this connexion to the report of one of my most experienced agents. It is as follows:
”In all cases have the employees given satisfaction where their former masters are at all reasonable. I would mention the case of Jacob Hoss as an example: he contracted with his former slaves in the latter part of May for one-fourth of all his crops; they have been steady and industrious, and have decidedly the finest cotton and corn in the district.” Mr. Hoss has 200 acres of cotton, 400 of corn, and 8 of potatoes. Your attention is also solicited to the testimony of the _liberal few_ who have taken the amnesty oath with the intention to keep it. One says: ”The freedmen in my neighborhood are laboring well where they are well paid.” Another, a large land proprietor, states that ”he could not ask his hands to work better.”
The same gentleman also states that ”he would not have the freedmen upon his plantation made slaves again if he could.”
The testimony is concurrent that, where liberal wages are paid and the freedmen are kindly treated, no difficulty is experienced with them, and that they labor honestly and industriously. The complaints which have been presented at the office for consideration are very nearly in a direct ratio of the two cla.s.ses, but the wrongs of the freedmen are by far the most aggravated, as they suffer in almost every conceivable way. It has been necessary to fine and a.s.sess damages upon several planters for beating their laborers, and also to punish several freedmen for violating their contracts and for other misdemeanors. The following is a literal copy of a doc.u.ment brought to this office by a colored man, which is conclusive evidence that there _are_ those who still claim the negro as their property:
”This boy Calvin has permit to hire to whome he please, but I shall hold him as my propperty untill set Free by Congress.
”July the 7, 1865. E.V. TULLY.”
The spirit of the above also made its appearance in another form in the action of the police jury of the parish of Bossier, which was an attempt to revive at once the old slave laws, and to prevent the freedmen from obtaining employment from the plantations of their former masters. The gist of the enactment alluded to is contained in the paragraph directing the officers on patrol duty ”to arrest and take up all idle and vagrant persons running at large without employment, and carry them before the proper authority, to be dealt with as the law directs.”
As soon as this matter came under the observation of the bureau, the facts in the case were represented to Brevet Major General J.P. Hawkins, commanding western district of Louisiana, and at the same time a request was made that the restrictions imposed upon the freedmen in this section by General Orders No. 24, headquarters northern division of Louisiana, be revoked; and the general issued an order, dated July 31, which removes the said restrictions, and prohibits the parish police juries, established by the civil authorities, from arresting freedmen unless for positive offence against the law. This breaks down the last barrier to the enjoyment of liberty by the freedmen in western Louisiana, and I feel highly gratified that it has been accomplished without referring it to higher authorities, as our mail facilities are so irregular that at least two months would have been consumed by the operation.
Upon the 10th of July the freedmen's hospital was opened for the reception of patients, and enclosed please find a copy of the hospital report for July, marked 1. This is a necessary as well as a charitable inst.i.tution, as the city authorities have as yet taken no measures to provide for the indigent sick.
Since the establishment of the bureau here, it has been found necessary to issue rations to freedmen, as follows:
To citizen employees 46 To helpless and infirm 236 To sick and hospital attendants 1,169 ----- Total issued 1,451 =====
The number fed by the government to-day is as follows:
Men 7 Women 6 Children 10 -- Total number infirm and helpless rationed 23
Number sick at hospital 40 Number hospital attendants 24 Number citizen employees rationed 1 -- Total number supplied with rations 88 ==
None but the helpless and infirm and sick have been fed at the expense of the government, and these only in cases of absolute necessity. Many planters who abandoned their homes on the Mississippi and carried away their slaves to Texas have returned to this city, and with a coolness amounting to audacity have demanded transportation for their former slaves to various points from the mouth of the Red river to Lake Providence. Finding that the officers of the government would not oblige them in this particular, they left behind the aged and infirm to provide for themselves as best they could. This and the abuses on plantations have caused the princ.i.p.al suffering among the freedmen, and have brought many to the city who otherwise would have remained upon the plantation, but, all things being considered, comparatively few have congregated about town. There has been such a demand for day labor in the city that I have deemed it a false philanthropy to feed those who temporarily sought refuge from oppression.
The permanent residents are orderly and industrious, and desire very much to have schools established for their children. I cannot here refrain from mentioning the fact that the presence of negroes in town possessing free papers is extremely disagreeable to the citizens.
The tax collected of planters has thus far been sufficient to defray office and printing expenses. The hire of a surgeon and nurses for the hospital, amounting in July to $204.46, is the only bill which it is necessary to refer to you for payment. All the property and money which has come into my hands on account of the bureau has been accounted for to the proper departments, according to regulations.
By Special Orders No. 140, dated at headquarters northern division of Louisiana, June 21, 1865, Chaplain Thomas Callahan, 48th United States colored infantry, was a.s.signed to duty with me as my a.s.sistant, and he has had charge of the department of complaints. He is a very capable and efficient officer, and his services are very valuable to the bureau.
Again, I have occasion to return acknowledgments to Brigadier General J.C. Veatch for his cordial a.s.sistance in aiding me to carry out the measures of the bureau, and also to Colonel Crandal and Lieutenant Colonel McLaughlin, post commandants, for valuable aid; and to Brevet Major General J.P. Hawkins we are indebted for that which makes the colored man in reality a _free_ man.
Believing that with proper management and kind treatment the freedmen in western Louisiana will be found to be as industrious as laborers in other sections of the country,
I have the honor to be, with much respect, your obedient servant,
W.B. STICKNEY, _Lieutenant and a.s.sistant Superintendent Freedmen_.
THOMAS W. CONWAY, _a.s.sistant Commissioner Bureau of Freedmen. &c._
No. 33.