I left the meetin house convinst that the South, who worked the niggers, leavin us Northern Dimokrats to defend the system, hed the best end uv the bargain.
Petroleum V. Nasby,
Lait Paster uv the Church of the Noo Dispensashun.
XXIII.
The Workings of the Freedmen’s Bureau.—A Report.
Confedrit × Roads
(wich is in the Stait uv Kentucky).
May 27, 1866.
To His Eggslency the Dispenser uv Post Orifices, Androo Johnson, President uv the United States:
In akordance with yoor esteemed request, dated the 25th, and received this morning, I to-wunst proceeded to make doo enquiry ez to the workin uv the Freedmen’s Burow, and the condishun uv the Afrikin citizens uv Amerikin descent in this vicinity. The fact that a Ablishnist still holds the Post Orifice at the Corners (wich place, by the way, I hev been solicited to accept), interfered materially with the bizines I hed in hand. I to-wunst tooted the horn, ez is the custom when we hev religious servis, and called my congregashun together. They kum runnin in from the different groceries; and here another difficulty ensood. The grosery keepers wanted to know what we wuz a going to hev meetin on week days for? They wuz willin to shut up doorin meetin time on Sundays, ez they respected the church, and it give em time to sweep out the terbacker, et settery; but they’d be d——d ef they wuz a goin to hev the people pulled away from their nourishment on week days. I succeeded in pacifyin em, and went in at wunst examinin the leadin citizens. Their testimony is ez follows:—
Captin Skelper
Wuz a nigger owner afore the war, and durin the late fratrisidle struggle wuz a captan in the confedrit servis. Wuz with Ginral Forest at Fort Pillow. Hez hed much experence with niggers. Bleeves em to be adapted to the climit uv Kentucky, and much more able to stand the hot sun than the whites. When they wuz slaves, never knowd em to refooze to work; know they alluz did work, becoz he generally stood over em with a nigger whip. Since they hev bin free, hez notist a change; not much uv a change, ontil the Nigger Burow wuz establisht. Before that they’d take sich wages ez yoo chose to give em; since then the d——d heathen will stand out bout ez the white men do, and won’t work at all onless yoo meet their views, wich made a heap up trouble, and materially retarded the develment uv the country. The Burow hed corrupted the female niggers; ez they hed all bin legally married by the Chaplins to the men they’d lived with, and wuz so sot on livin with em, that there’s no yoose uv yoor tryin to get a house wench unless yoo took her husband also. His wife wuz now doin degradin work at home for want uv help. Strongly urged the abrogashen uv the Burow, and the removal uv the Abolishun Postmaster at the Corners.