Answer:
When Alonzo Delano found items that could no longer be used, the line, "observe here that we subsequently found the road lined with cast-off articles, piles of bacon, flour, wagons, groceries, clothing, and various other articles, which had been left, and the waste and destruction of property was enormous. In this the selfish nature of man was plainly exhibited." and "....sugar on which turpentine had been poured, flour in which salt and dirt had been thrown, and wagons broken to pieces, or partially burned, clothes torn to pieces, so that they could not be worn, and a wanton waste made of valuable property, simply because the owners could not use it themselves, and were determined that nobody else should." shows that Alonzo Delano thought it was selfish for the owners who left items on the side of the road, but had broken or burned them in some way, making it so that no one else would be able to use them.
For the items that were left unharmed by the side of the road, Alonzo Delano clearly thought is as a honorable action, as proven in the sentence, "There were occasionally honorable exceptions. The wagons were left unharmed by the road side; the bacon, flour, and sugar were nicely heaped up, with a car, directed to anyone who stood in need, to use freely in welcome."
