Part 8 (1/2)
Then, after a busy day in the field, other work remained to be done
The cotton pickers sat upon the ground in a circle
From the midst of the cotton they took the black seeds
These seeds were very troublesome
They are covered with hairs
They cling fast to the cotton
These naughty children of the plant love their mother
So fast do they cling to her, that a person could clean but one pound of cotton in a whole day
So you may understand why so little was raised
In 1784, eight bags of cotton were taken froland
These were seized by the custom officers
These officers are those who look after goods sent in or out of a country
If oods, it is called a duty
The custom officers must see that the duty is paid
These men said that this cotton could not have come from America
During the next two years less than one hundred-twenty bags were sent there from our country
The treaty of peace with England was made in 1794
None of the treaty-makers then knew that any cotton was raised in America
Would you like to knohy, fifty years later, a million bales were sent from America?
This is the story:
In the ith England, Aenerals
One of these was General Nathaniel Greene
He had helped to win victories in the South
The State of Georgia gave him a tract of land
General Greene lived with his family upon this land