The furor among the negroes here just now is to have a Union Store, and they are contributing their funds for this purpose. They propose to put up a building for the store near Smallwood's Bakery (at the corner where village road branches from main road), and to make Mr. Smallwood President of their Corporation! This project will probably have one good effect in the end, namely, to open their eyes to see some things which nobody can make them see now. F. H. TO C. P. W. _Coffin's Point, Sept. 18._ Cotton is opening well now, but we have rather unfavorable weather for picking and drying. The caterpillars have finally run over a good deal of ground, doing some damage, hard to tell how much. R. thinks he don't care to try the experiment of cotton-raising again--the risks and vexations are so great. I find that feeling quite general here this year among planters. William Alden says it is his last year. I doubt whether he pays expenses this season. His cotton is late, and now the caterpillars are destroying it. F. H. TO C. P. W. _Sept. 24._ Much of my time has been occupied of late in service on Plantation Commission. The most important case is still on trial,--that of the stealing of twelve hundred pounds of seed cotton from Mr. De Golyer. There is a "cloud of witnesses"--a very dark one--and it is hard, as yet, to discern in it any glimmering of truth. T. E. R. TO C. P. W. _St. Helena Island, Sept. 25._ With the dry weather of July and the wet weather now, with the worm, we shall lose a third sure of our crop, if not more. The negroes on the island are very quiet--all absorbed in a scheme of establishing a "St. Helena Protective Union Store," J. Smallwood, President. They have got the frame out and on the ground. I have a great deal of curiosity to see the working of the thing, for they never did succeed in the North among intelligent white people. If they can read and write, or _keep a Union Store, I think they ought to have the right of suffrage_. Nearly all the Secesh are back in Beaufort, confidently expecting that they will get their land back in season to plant next year.