There
was a widespread hilarity, and a free use of guns, pistols, and
gunpowder generally. The sacredness of the season seemed to have
been almost wholly lost sight of.
During this first Christmas vacation I went some distance from
the town to visit the people on one of the large plantations. In
their poverty and ignorance it was pathetic to see their attempts
to get joy out of the season that in most parts of the country is
so sacred and so dear to the heart. In one cabin I notice that
all that the five children had to remind them of the coming of
Christ was a single bunch of firecrackers, which they had divided
among them. In another cabin, where there were at least a
half-dozen persons, they had only ten cents' worth of
ginger-cakes, which had been bought in the store the day before.
In another family they had only a few pieces of sugarcane. In
still another cabin I found nothing but a new jug of cheap, mean
whiskey, which the husband and wife were making free use of,
notwithstanding the fact that the husband was one of the local
ministers. In a few instances I found that the people had gotten
hold of some bright-coloured cards that had been designed for
advertising purposes, and were making the most of these. In other
homes some member of the family had bought a new pistol.
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