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diff --git a/206-h/206-h.htm b/206-h/206-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..7ad01c5 --- /dev/null +++ b/206-h/206-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,14851 @@ +<?xml version="1.0" encoding="us-ascii"?> + +<!DOCTYPE html + PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd" > + +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" lang="en"> + <head> + <meta content="pg2html (binary v0.17)" name="linkgenerator" /> + <title> + The Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, 1995, Memorial Issue by Various + </title> + <style type="text/css" xml:space="preserve"> + + body { margin:5%; background:#faebd0; text-align:justify} + P { text-indent: 1em; margin-top: .25em; margin-bottom: .25em; } + H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; margin-left: 15%; margin-right: 15%; } + hr { width: 50%; text-align: center;} + .foot { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; text-indent: -3em; font-size: 90%; } + blockquote {font-size: 97%; font-style: italic; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;} + .mynote {background-color: #DDE; color: #000; padding: .5em; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 95%;} + .toc { margin-left: 10%; margin-bottom: .75em;} + .toc2 { margin-left: 20%;} + div.fig { display:block; margin:0 auto; text-align:center; } + div.middle { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; } + .figleft {float: left; margin-left: 0%; margin-right: 1%;} + .figright {float: right; margin-right: 0%; margin-left: 1%;} + .pagenum {display:inline; font-size: 70%; font-style:normal; + margin: 0; padding: 0; position: absolute; right: 1%; + text-align: right;} + pre { font-style: italic; font-size: 90%; margin-left: 10%;} + +</style> + </head> + <body> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, 1995, +Memorial Issue, by Various + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, 1995, Memorial Issue + +Author: Various + +Release Date: June 29, 2008 [EBook #206] +Last Updated: January 8, 2013 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. *** + + + + +Produced by Judith Boss, John Hamm and David Widger + + + + + +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <h1> + THE MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. DAY, 1995, MEMORIAL ISSUE. + </h1> + <h2> + By Various + </h2> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <h3> + Edited and Assembled by Judith Boss and John Hamm <br /><br /> HTML File by + David Widger + </h3> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <blockquote> + <p class="toc"> + <big><b>CONTENTS</b></big> + </p> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0001"> SOJOURNER TRUTH, THE LIBYAN SIBYL by Harriet + Beecher Stowe </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0002"> RECONSTRUCTION by Frederick Douglass </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0003"> AN APPEAL TO CONGRESS FOR IMPARTIAL SUFFRAGE + by Frederick Douglas </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0004"> THE NEGRO EXODUS by James B. Runnion </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0005"> MY ESCAPE FROM SLAVERY by Frederick Douglass + </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0006"> THE GOOPHERED GRAPEVINE by Charles W. Chesnutt + </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0007"> PO' SANDY by Charles W. Chesnutt </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0008"> DAVE'S NECKLISS by Charles W. Chesnutt </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0009"> THE AWAKENING OF THE NEGRO by Booker T. + Washington </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0010"> THE STORY OF UNCLE TOM'S CABIN by Charles + Dudley Warner </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0011"> STRIVINGS OF THE NEGRO PEOPLE by W. E. + Burghardt Du Bois </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0012"> THE WIFE OF HIS YOUTH by Charles W. Chesnutt + </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0013"> THE BOUQUET by Charles W. Chesnutt </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0014"> THE CASE OF THE NEGRO by Booker T. Washington + </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0015"> HOT-FOOT HANNIBAL by Charles W. Chesnutt </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0016"> A NEGRO SCHOOLMASTER IN THE NEW SOUTH by W. E. + Burghardt Du Bois </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0017"> THE CAPTURE OF A SLAVER by J. Taylor Wood </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0018"> MR. CHARLES W. CHESNUTT'S STORIES by W. D. + Howells </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0019"> PATHS OF HOPE FOR THE NEGRO by Jerome Dowd + </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0020"> SIGNS OF PROGRESS AMONG THE NEGROES by Booker + T. Washington </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0021"> THE MARCH OF PROGRESS by Charles W. Chesnutt + </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0022"> THE FREEDMEN'S BUREAU by W. E. Burghardt Du + Bois </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0023"> OF THE TRAINING OF BLACK MEN by W. E. + Burghardt Du Bois </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0024"> THE FRUITS OF INDUSTRIAL TRAINING by Booker T. + Washington </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0025"> THE NEGRO IN THE REGULAR ARMY by Oswald + Garrison Villard </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0026"> BAXTER'S PROCRUSTES by Charles W. Chesnutt + </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0027"> THE HEART OF THE RACE PROBLEM by Quincy Ewing + </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0028"> NEGRO SUFFRAGE IN A DEMOCRACY by Ray Stannard + Baker </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_BIBL"> BIBLIOGRAPHY OF SOURCES ———————————- + </a> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> <a name="link2H_4_0001" id="link2H_4_0001"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <h2> + SOJOURNER TRUTH, THE LIBYAN SIBYL by Harriet Beecher Stowe + </h2> + <p> + Many years ago, the few readers of radical Abolitionist papers must often + have seen the singular name of Sojourner Truth, announced as a frequent + speaker at Anti-Slavery meetings, and as travelling on a sort of + self-appointed agency through the country. I had myself often remarked the + name, but never met the individual. On one occasion, when our house was + filled with company, several eminent clergymen being our guests, notice + was brought up to me that Sojourner Truth was below, and requested an + interview. Knowing nothing of her but her singular name, I went down, + prepared to make the interview short, as the pressure of many other + engagements demanded. + </p> + <p> + When I went into the room, a tall, spare form arose to meet me. She was + evidently a full-blooded African, and though now aged and worn with many + hardships, still gave the impression of a physical development which in + early youth must have been as fine a specimen of the torrid zone as + Cumberworth's celebrated statuette of the Negro Woman at the Fountain. + Indeed, she so strongly reminded me of that figure, that, when I recall + the events of her life, as she narrated them to me, I imagine her as a + living, breathing impersonation of that work of art. + </p> + <p> + I do not recollect ever to have been conversant with any one who had more + of that silent and subtle power which we call personal presence than this + woman. In the modern Spiritualistic phraseology, she would be described as + having a strong sphere. Her tall form, as she rose up before me, is still + vivid to my mind. She was dressed in some stout, grayish stuff, neat and + clean, though dusty from travel. On her head, she wore a bright Madras + handkerchief, arranged as a turban, after the manner of her race. She + seemed perfectly self-possessed and at her ease,—in fact, there was + almost an unconscious superiority, not unmixed with a solemn twinkle of + humor, in the odd, composed manner in which she looked down on me. Her + whole air had at times a gloomy sort of drollery which impressed one + strangely. + </p> + <p> + "So this is YOU," she said. + </p> + <p> + "Yes," I answered. + </p> + <p> + "Well, honey, de Lord bless ye! I jes' thought I'd like to come an' have a + look at ye. You's heerd o' me, I reckon?" she added. + </p> + <p> + "Yes, I think I have. You go about lecturing, do you not?" + </p> + <p> + "Yes, honey, that's what I do. The Lord has made me a sign unto this + nation, an' I go round a'testifyin', an' showin' on 'em their sins agin my + people." + </p> + <p> + So saying, she took a seat, and, stooping over and crossing her arms on + her knees, she looked down on the floor, and appeared to fall into a sort + of reverie. Her great gloomy eyes and her dark face seemed to work with + some undercurrent of feeling; she sighed deeply, and occasionally broke + out,— + </p> + <p> + "O Lord! O Lord! Oh, the tears, an' the groans, an' the moans! O Lord!" + </p> + <p> + I should have said that she was accompanied by a little grandson of ten + years,—the fattest, jolliest woolly-headed little specimen of Africa + that one can imagine. He was grinning and showing his glistening white + teeth in a state of perpetual merriment, and at this moment broke out into + an audible giggle, which disturbed the reverie into which his relative was + falling. + </p> + <p> + She looked at him with an indulgent sadness, and then at me. + </p> + <p> + "Laws, Ma'am, HE don't know nothin' about it—HE don't. Why, I've + seen them poor critters, beat an' 'bused an' hunted, brought in all torn,—ears + hangin' all in rags, where the dogs been a'bitin' of 'em!" + </p> + <p> + This set off our little African Puck into another giggle, in which he + seemed perfectly convulsed. + </p> + <p> + She surveyed him soberly, without the slightest irritation. + </p> + <p> + "Well, you may bless the Lord you CAN laugh; but I tell you, 't wa'n't no + laughin' matter." + </p> + <p> + By this time I thought her manner so original that it might be worth while + to call down my friends; and she seemed perfectly well pleased with the + idea. An audience was what she wanted,—it mattered not whether high + or low, learned or ignorant. She had things to say, and was ready to say + them at all times, and to any one. + </p> + <p> + I called down Dr. Beecher, Professor Allen, and two or three other + clergymen, who, together with my husband and family, made a roomful. No + princess could have received a drawing-room with more composed dignity + than Sojourner her audience. She stood among them, calm and erect, as one + of her own native palm-trees waving alone in the desert. I presented one + after another to her, and at last said,— + </p> + <p> + "Sojourner, this is Dr. Beecher. He is a very celebrated preacher." + </p> + <p> + "IS he?" she said, offering her hand in a condescending manner, and + looking down on his white head. "Ye dear lamb, I'm glad to see ye! De Lord + bless ye! I loves preachers. I'm a kind o' preacher myself." + </p> + <p> + "You are?" said Dr. Beecher. "Do you preach from the Bible?" + </p> + <p> + "No, honey, can't preach from de Bible,—can't read a letter." + </p> + <p> + "Why, Sojourner, what do you preach from, then?" + </p> + <p> + Her answer was given with a solemn power of voice, peculiar to herself, + that hushed every one in the room. + </p> + <p> + "When I preaches, I has jest one text to preach from, an' I always + preaches from this one. MY text is, 'WHEN I FOUND JESUS.'" + </p> + <p> + "Well, you couldn't have a better one," said one of the ministers. + </p> + <p> + She paid no attention to him, but stood and seemed swelling with her own + thoughts, and then began this narration:— + </p> + <p> + "Well, now, I'll jest have to go back, an' tell ye all about it. Ye see, + we was all brought over from Africa, father an' mother an' I, an' a lot + more of us; an' we was sold up an' down, an' hither an' yon; an' I can + 'member, when I was a little thing, not bigger than this 'ere," pointing + to her grandson, "how my ole mammy would sit out o' doors in the evenin', + an' look up at the stars an' groan. She'd groan an' groan, an' says I to + her,— + </p> + <p> + "'Mammy, what makes you groan so?' + </p> + <p> + "an' she'd say,— + </p> + <p> + "'Matter enough, chile! I'm groanin' to think o' my poor children: they + don't know where I be, an' I don't know where they be; they looks up at + the stars, an' I looks up at the stars, but I can't tell where they be. + </p> + <p> + "'Now,' she said, 'chile, when you're grown up, you may be sold away from + your mother an' all your ole friends, an' have great troubles come on ye; + an' when you has these troubles come on ye, ye jes' go to God, an' He'll + help ye.' + </p> + <p> + "An' says I to her,— + </p> + <p> + "'Who is God, anyhow, mammy?' + </p> + <p> + "An' says she,— + </p> + <p> + "'Why, chile, you jes' look up DAR! It's Him that made all DEM!" + </p> + <p> + "Well, I didn't mind much 'bout God in them days. I grew up pretty lively + an' strong, an' could row a boat, or ride a horse, or work round, an' do + 'most anything. + </p> + <p> + "At last I got sold away to a real hard massa an' missis. Oh, I tell you, + they WAS hard! 'Peared like I couldn't please 'em, nohow. An' then I + thought o' what my old mammy told me about God; an' I thought I'd got into + trouble, sure enough, an' I wanted to find God, an' I heerd some one tell + a story about a man that met God on a threshin'-floor, an' I thought, + 'Well an' good, I'll have a threshin'-floor, too.' So I went down in the + lot, an' I threshed down a place real hard, an' I used to go down there + every day, an' pray an' cry with all my might, a-prayin' to the Lord to + make my massa an' missis better, but it didn't seem to do no good; an' so + says I, one day,— + </p> + <p> + "'O God, I been a-askin' ye, an' askin' ye, an' askin' ye, for all this + long time, to make my massa an' missis better, an' you don't do it, an' + what CAN be the reason? Why, maybe you CAN'T. Well, I shouldn't wonder ef + you couldn't. Well, now, I tell you, I'll make a bargain with you. Ef + you'll help me to git away from my massa an' missis, I'll agree to be + good; but ef you don't help me, I really don't think I can be. Now,' says + I, 'I want to git away; but the trouble's jest here: ef I try to git away + in the night, I can't see; an' ef I try to git away in the daytime, + they'll see me, an' be after me.' + </p> + <p> + "Then the Lord said to me, 'Git up two or three hours afore daylight, an' + start off.' + </p> + <p> + "An' says I, 'Thank 'ee, Lord! that's a good thought.' + </p> + <p> + "So up I got, about three o'clock in the mornin', an' I started an' + travelled pretty fast, till, when the sun rose, I was clear away from our + place an' our folks, an' out o' sight. An' then I begun to think I didn't + know nothin' where to go. So I kneeled down, and says I,— + </p> + <p> + "'Well, Lord, you've started me out, an' now please to show me where to + go.' + </p> + <p> + "Then the Lord made a house appear to me, an' He said to me that I was to + walk on till I saw that house, an' then go in an' ask the people to take + me. An' I travelled all day, an' didn't come to the house till late at + night; but when I saw it, sure enough, I went in, an' I told the folks + that the Lord sent me; an' they was Quakers, an' real kind they was to me. + They jes' took me in, an' did for me as kind as ef I'd been one of 'em; + an' after they'd giv me supper, they took me into a room where there was a + great, tall, white bed; an' they told me to sleep there. Well, honey, I + was kind o' skeered when they left me alone with that great white bed; + 'cause I never had been in a bed in my life. It never came into my mind + they could mean me to sleep in it. An' so I jes' camped down under it, on + the floor, an' then I slep' pretty well. In the mornin', when they came + in, they asked me ef I hadn't been asleep; an' I said, 'Yes, I never slep' + better.' An' they said, 'Why, you haven't been in the bed!' An' says I, + 'Laws, you didn't think o' such a thing as my sleepin' in dat 'ar' BED, + did you? I never heerd o' such a thing in my life.' + </p> + <p> + "Well, ye see, honey, I stayed an' lived with 'em. An' now jes' look here: + instead o' keepin' my promise an' bein' good, as I told the Lord I would, + jest as soon as everything got a'goin' easy, I FORGOT ALL ABOUT GOD. + </p> + <p> + "Pretty well don't need no help; an' I gin up prayin.' I lived there two + or three years, an' then the slaves in New York were all set free, an' ole + massa came to our home to make a visit, an' he asked me ef I didn't want + to go back an' see the folks on the ole place. An' I told him I did. So he + said, ef I'd jes' git into the wagon with him, he'd carry me over. Well, + jest as I was goin' out to git into the wagon, I MET GOD! an' says I, 'O + God, I didn't know as you was so great!' An' I turned right round an' come + into the house, an' set down in my room; for 't was God all around me. I + could feel it burnin', burnin', burnin' all around me, an' goin' through + me; an' I saw I was so wicked, it seemed as ef it would burn me up. An' I + said, 'O somebody, somebody, stand between God an' me! for it burns me!' + Then, honey, when I said so, I felt as it were somethin' like an amberill + [umbrella] that came between me an' the light, an' I felt it was SOMEBODY,—somebody + that stood between me an' God; an' it felt cool, like a shade; an' says I, + 'Who's this that stands between me an' God? Is it old Cato?' He was a + pious old preacher; but then I seemed to see Cato in the light, an' he was + all polluted an' vile, like me; an' I said, 'Is it old Sally?' an' then I + saw her, an' she seemed jes' so. An' then says I, 'WHO is this?' An' then, + honey, for a while it was like the sun shinin' in a pail o' water, when it + moves up an' down; for I begun to feel 't was somebody that loved me; an' + I tried to know him. An' I said, 'I know you! I know you! I know you!'—an' + then I said, 'I don't know you! I don't know you! I don't know you!' An' + when I said, 'I know you, I know you,' the light came; an' when I said, 'I + don't know you, I don't know you,' it went, jes' like the sun in a pail o' + water. An' finally somethin' spoke out in me an' said, 'THIS IS JESUS!' + An' I spoke out with all my might, an' says I, 'THIS IS JESUS! Glory be to + God!' An' then the whole world grew bright, an' the trees they waved an' + waved in glory, an' every little bit o' stone on the ground shone like + glass; an' I shouted an' said, 'Praise, praise, praise to the Lord!' An' I + begun to feel such a love in my soul as I never felt before,—love to + all creatures. An' then, all of a sudden, it stopped, an' I said, 'Dar's + de white folks, that have abused you an' beat you an' abused your people,—think + o' them!' But then there came another rush of love through my soul, an' I + cried out loud,—'Lord, Lord, I can love EVEN DE WHITE FOLKS!' + </p> + <p> + "Honey, I jes' walked round an' round in a dream. Jesus loved me! I knowed + it,—I felt it. Jesus was my Jesus. Jesus would love me always. I + didn't dare tell nobody; 't was a great secret. Everything had been got + away from me that I ever had; an' I thought that ef I let white folks know + about this, maybe they'd get HIM away,—so I said, 'I'll keep this + close. I won't let any one know.'" + </p> + <p> + "But, Sojourner, had you never been told about Jesus Christ?" + </p> + <p> + "No, honey. I hadn't heerd no preachin',—been to no meetin'. Nobody + hadn't told me. I'd kind o' heerd of Jesus, but thought he was like + Gineral Lafayette, or some o' them. But one night there was a Methodist + meetin' somewhere in our parts, an' I went; an' they got up an' begun for + to tell der 'speriences; an' de fust one begun to speak. I started, 'cause + he told about Jesus. 'Why,' says I to myself, 'dat man's found him, too!' + An' another got up an' spoke, an I said, 'He's found him, too!' An' + finally I said, 'Why, they all know him!' I was so happy! An' then they + sung this hymn": (Here Sojourner sang, in a strange, cracked voice, but + evidently with all her soul and might, mispronouncing the English, but + seeming to derive as much elevation and comfort from bad English as from + good):— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'There is a holy city, + A world of light above, + Above the stairs and regions,* + Built by the God of Love. + + "An Everlasting temple, + And saints arrayed in white + There serve their great Redeemer + And dwell with him in light. + + "The meanest child of glory + Outshines the radiant sun; + But who can speak the splendor + Of Jesus on his throne? + + "Is this the man of sorrows + Who stood at Pilate's bar, + Condemned by haughty Herod + And by his men of war? + + "He seems a mighty conqueror, + Who spoiled the powers below, + And ransomed many captives + From everlasting woe. + + "The hosts of saints around him + Proclaim his work of grace, + The patriarchs and prophets, + And all the godly race, + + "Who speak of fiery trials + And tortures on their way; + They came from tribulation + To everlasting day. + + "And what shall be my journey, + How long I'll stay below, + Or what shall be my trials, + Are not for me to know. + + "In every day of trouble + I'll raise my thoughts on high, + I'll think of that bright temple + And crowns above the sky." + + * Starry regions. +</pre> + <p> + I put in this whole hymn, because Sojourner, carried away with her own + feeling, sang it from beginning to end with a triumphant energy that held + the whole circle around her intently listening. She sang with the strong + barbaric accent of the native African, and with those indescribable upward + turns and those deep gutturals which give such a wild, peculiar power to + the negro singing,—but above all, with such an overwhelming energy + of personal appropriation that the hymn seemed to be fused in the furnace + of her feelings and come out recrystallized as a production of her own. + </p> + <p> + It is said that Rachel was wont to chant the "Marseillaise" in a manner + that made her seem, for the time, the very spirit and impersonation of the + gaunt, wild, hungry, avenging mob which rose against aristocratic + oppression; and in like manner, Sojourner, singing this hymn, seemed to + impersonate the fervor of Ethiopia, wild, savage, hunted of all nations, + but burning after God in her tropic heart, and stretching her scarred + hands towards the glory to be revealed. + </p> + <p> + "Well, den ye see, after a while, I thought I'd go back an' see de folks + on de ole place. Well, you know, de law had passed dat de culled folks was + all free; an' my old missis, she had a daughter married about dis time who + went to live in Alabama,—an' what did she do but give her my son, a + boy about de age of dis yer, for her to take down to Alabama? When I got + back to de ole place, they told me about it, an' I went right up to see + ole missis, an' says I,— + </p> + <p> + "'Missis, have you been an' sent my son away down to Alabama?' + </p> + <p> + "'Yes, I have,' says she; 'he's gone to live with your young missis.' + </p> + <p> + "'Oh, Missis,' says I, 'how could you do it?' + </p> + <p> + "'Poh!' says she, 'what a fuss you make about a little nigger! Got more of + 'em now than you know what to do with.' + </p> + <p> + "I tell you, I stretched up. I felt as tall as the world! + </p> + <p> + "'Missis,' says I, 'I'LL HAVE MY SON BACK AGIN!' + </p> + <p> + "She laughed. + </p> + <p> + "'YOU will, you nigger? How you goin' to do it? You ha'n't got no money." + </p> + <p> + "'No, Missis,—but GOD has,—an' you'll see He'll help me!'—an' + I turned round an' went out. + </p> + <p> + "Oh, but I WAS angry to have her speak to me so haughty an' so scornful, + as ef my chile wasn't worth anything. I said to God, 'O Lord, render unto + her double!' It was a dreadful prayer, an' I didn't know how true it would + come. + </p> + <p> + "Well, I didn't rightly know which way to turn; but I went to the Lord, + an' I said to Him, 'O Lord, ef I was as rich as you be, an' you was as + poor as I be, I'd help you,—you KNOW I would; and, oh, do help me!' + An' I felt sure then that He would. + </p> + <p> + "Well, I talked with people, an' they said I must git the case before a + grand jury. So I went into the town when they was holdin' a court, to see + ef I could find any grand jury. An' I stood round the court-house, an' + when they was a-comin' out, I walked right up to the grandest-lookin' one + I could see, an' says I to him,— + </p> + <p> + "'Sir, be you a grand jury?' + </p> + <p> + "An' then he wanted to know why I asked, an' I told him all about it; an' + he asked me all sorts of questions, an' finally he says to me,— + </p> + <p> + "'I think, ef you pay me ten dollars, that I'd agree to git your son for + you.' An' says he, pointin' to a house over the way, 'You go 'long an' + tell your story to the folks in that house, an' I guess they'll give you + the money.' + </p> + <p> + "Well, I went, an' I told them, an' they gave me twenty dollars; an' then + I thought to myself, 'Ef ten dollars will git him, twenty dollars will git + him SARTIN.' So I carried it to the man all out, an' said,— + </p> + <p> + "'Take it all,—only be sure an' git him.' + </p> + <p> + "Well, finally they got the boy brought back; an' then they tried to + frighten him, an' to make him say that I wasn't his mammy, an' that he + didn't know me; but they couldn't make it out. They gave him to me, an' I + took him an' carried him home; an' when I came to take off his clothes, + there was his poor little back all covered with scars an' hard lumps, + where they'd flogged him. + </p> + <p> + "Well, you see, honey, I told you how I prayed the Lord to render unto her + double. Well, it came true; for I was up at ole missis' house not long + after, an' I heerd 'em readin' a letter to her how her daughter's husband + had murdered her,—how he'd thrown her down an' stamped the life out + of her, when he was in liquor; an' my ole missis, she giv a screech, an' + fell flat on the floor. Then says I, 'O Lord, I didn't mean all that! You + took me up too quick.' + </p> + <p> + "Well, I went in an' tended that poor critter all night. She was out of + her mind,—a-cryin', an' callin' for her daughter; an' I held her + poor ole head on my arm, an' watched for her as ef she'd been my babby. + An' I watched by her, an' took care on her all through her sickness after + that, an' she died in my arms, poor thing!" + </p> + <p> + "Well, Sojourner, did you always go by this name?" + </p> + <p> + "No, 'deed! My name was Isabella; but when I left the house of bondage, I + left everything behind. I wa'n't goin' to keep nothin' of Egypt on me, an' + so I went to the Lord an' asked Him to give me a new name. And the Lord + gave me Sojourner, because I was to travel up an' down the land, showin' + the people their sins, an' bein' a sign unto them. Afterwards I told the + Lord I wanted another name, 'cause everybody else had two names; and the + Lord gave me Truth, because I was to declare the truth to the people. + </p> + <p> + "Ye see some ladies have given me a white satin banner," she said, pulling + out of her pocket and unfolding a white banner, printed with many texts, + such as, "Proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the + inhabitants thereof," and others of like nature. "Well," she said, "I + journeys round to camp-meetins, an' wherever folks is, an' I sets up my + banner, an' then I sings, an' then folks always comes up round me, an' + then I preaches to 'em. I tells 'em about Jesus, an' I tells 'em about the + sins of this people. A great many always comes to hear me; an' they're + right good to me, too, an' say they want to hear me agin." + </p> + <p> + We all thought it likely; and as the company left her, they shook hands + with her, and thanked her for her very original sermon; and one of the + ministers was overheard to say to another, "There's more of the gospel in + that story than in most sermons." + </p> + <p> + Sojourner stayed several days with us, a welcome guest. Her conversation + was so strong, simple, shrewd, and with such a droll flavoring of humor, + that the Professor was wont to say of an evening, "Come, I am dull, can't + you get Sojourner up here to talk a little?" She would come up into the + parlor, and sit among pictures and ornaments, in her simple stuff gown, + with her heavy travelling-shoes, the central object of attention both to + parents and children, always ready to talk or to sing, and putting into + the common flow of conversation the keen edge of some shrewd remark. + </p> + <p> + "Sojourner, what do you think of Women's Rights?" + </p> + <p> + "Well, honey, I's ben to der meetins, an' harked a good deal. Dey wanted + me for to speak. So I got up. Says I,—'Sisters, I a'n't clear what + you'd be after. Ef women want any rights more 'n dey's got, why don't dey + jes' TAKE 'EM, an' not be talkin' about it?' Some on 'em came round me, + an' asked why I didn't wear Bloomers. An' I told 'em I had Bloomers enough + when I was in bondage. You see," she said, "dey used to weave what dey + called nigger-cloth, an' each one of us got jes' sech a strip, an' had to + wear it width-wise. Them that was short got along pretty well, but as for + me"—She gave an indescribably droll glance at her long limbs and + then at us, and added,—"Tell YOU, I had enough of Bloomers in them + days." + </p> + <p> + Sojourner then proceeded to give her views of the relative capacity of the + sexes, in her own way. + </p> + <p> + "S'pose a man's mind holds a quart, an' a woman's don't hold but a pint; + ef her pint is FULL, it's as good as his quart." + </p> + <p> + Sojourner was fond of singing an extraordinary lyric, commencing,— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + "I'm on my way to Canada, + That cold, but happy land; + The dire effects of Slavery + I can no longer stand. + O righteous Father, + Do look down on me, + And help me on to Canada, + Where colored folks are free!" +</pre> + <p> + The lyric ran on to state, that, when the fugitive crosses the Canada + line, + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + "The Queen comes down unto the shore, + With arms extended wide, + To welcome the poor fugitive + Safe onto Freedom's side." +</pre> + <p> + In the truth thus set forth she seemed to have the most simple faith. + </p> + <p> + But her chief delight was to talk of "glory," and to sing hymns whose + burden was,— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + "O glory, glory, glory, + Won't you come along with me?" +</pre> + <p> + and when left to herself, she would often hum these with great delight, + nodding her head. + </p> + <p> + On one occasion, I remember her sitting at a window singing and fervently + keeping time with her head, the little black Puck of a grandson meanwhile + amusing himself with ornamenting her red-and-yellow turban with green + dandelion-curls, which shook and trembled with her emotions, causing him + perfect convulsions of delight. + </p> + <p> + "Sojourner," said the Professor to her, one day, when he heard her + singing, "you seem to be very sure about heaven." + </p> + <p> + "Well, I be," she answered, triumphantly. + </p> + <p> + "What makes you so sure there is any heaven?" + </p> + <p> + "Well, 'cause I got such a hankerin' arter it in here," she said,—giving + a thump on her breast with her usual energy. + </p> + <p> + There was at the time an invalid in the house, and Sojourner, on learning + it, felt a mission to go and comfort her. It was curious to see the tall, + gaunt, dusky figure stalk up to the bed with such an air of conscious + authority, and take on herself the office of consoler with such a mixture + of authority and tenderness. She talked as from above,—and at the + same time, if a pillow needed changing or any office to be rendered, she + did it with a strength and handiness that inspired trust. One felt as if + the dark, strange woman were quite able to take up the invalid in her + bosom, and bear her as a lamb, both physically and spiritually. There was + both power and sweetness in that great warm soul and that vigorous frame. + </p> + <p> + At length, Sojourner, true to her name, departed. She had her mission + elsewhere. Where now she is I know not; but she left deep memories behind + her. + </p> + <p> + To these recollections of my own I will add one more anecdote, related by + Wendell Phillips. + </p> + <p> + Speaking of the power of Rachel to move and bear down a whole audience by + a few simple words, he said he never knew but one other human being that + had that power, and that other was Sojourner Truth. He related a scene of + which he was witness. It was at a crowded public meeting in Faneuil Hall, + where Frederick Douglas was one of the chief speakers. Douglas had been + describing the wrongs of the black race, and as he proceeded, he grew more + and more excited, and finally ended by saying that they had no hope of + justice from the whites, no possible hope except in their own right arms. + It must come to blood; they must fight for themselves, and redeem + themselves, or it would never be done. + </p> + <p> + Sojourner was sitting, tall and dark, on the very front seat, facing the + platform; and in the hush of deep feeling, after Douglas sat down, she + spoke out in her deep, peculiar voice, heard all over the house,— + </p> + <p> + "Frederick, IS GOD DEAD?" + </p> + <p> + The effect was perfectly electrical, and thrilled through the whole house, + changing as by a flash the whole feeling of the audience. Not another word + she said or needed to say; it was enough. + </p> + <p> + It is with a sad feeling that one contemplates noble minds and bodies, + nobly and grandly formed human beings, that have come to us cramped, + scarred, maimed, out of the prison-house of bondage. One longs to know + what such beings might have become, if suffered to unfold and expand under + the kindly developing influences of education. + </p> + <p> + It is the theory of some writers, that to the African is reserved, in the + later and palmier days of the earth, the full and harmonious development + of the religious element in man. The African seems to seize on the + tropical fervor and luxuriance of Scripture imagery as something native; + he appears to feel himself to be of the same blood with those old burning, + simple souls, the patriarchs, prophets, and seers, whose impassioned words + seem only grafted as foreign plants on the cooler stock of the Occidental + mind. + </p> + <p> + I cannot but think that Sojourner with the same culture might have spoken + words as eloquent and undying as those of the African Saint Augustine or + Tertullian. How grand and queenly a woman she might have been, with her + wonderful physical vigor, her great heaving sea of emotion, her power of + spiritual conception, her quick penetration, and her boundless energy! We + might conceive an African type of woman so largely made and moulded, so + much fuller in all the elements of life, physical and spiritual, that the + dark hue of the skin should seem only to add an appropriate charm,—as + Milton says of his Penseroso, whom he imagines + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + "Black, but such as in esteem + Prince Memnon's sister might beseem, + Or that starred Ethiop queen that strove + To set her beauty's praise above + The sea-nymph's." +</pre> + <p> + But though Sojourner Truth has passed away from among us as a wave of the + sea, her memory still lives in one of the loftiest and most original works + of modern art, the Libyan Sibyl, by Mr. Story, which attracted so much + attention in the late World's Exhibition. Some years ago, when visiting + Rome, I related Sojourner's history to Mr. Story at a breakfast at his + house. Already had his mind begun to turn to Egypt in search of a type of + art which should represent a larger and more vigorous development of + nature than the cold elegance of Greek lines. His glorious Cleopatra was + then in process of evolution, and his mind was working out the problem of + her broadly developed nature, of all that slumbering weight and fulness of + passion with which this statue seems charged, as a heavy thunder-cloud is + charged with electricity. + </p> + <p> + The history of Sojourner Truth worked in his mind and led him into the + deeper recesses of the African nature,—those unexplored depths of + being and feeling, mighty and dark as the gigantic depths of tropical + forests, mysterious as the hidden rivers and mines of that burning + continent whose life-history is yet to be. A few days after, he told me + that he had conceived the idea of a statue which he should call the Libyan + Sibyl. Two years subsequently, I revisited Rome, and found the gorgeous + Cleopatra finished, a thing to marvel at, as the creation of a new style + of beauty, a new manner of art. Mr. Story requested me to come and repeat + to him the history of Sojourner Truth, saying that the conception had + never left him. I did so; and a day or two after, he showed me the clay + model of the Libyan Sibyl. I have never seen the marble statue; but am + told by those who have, that it was by far the most impressive work of art + at the Exhibition. + </p> + <p> + A notice of the two statues from the London "Athenaeum" must supply a + description which I cannot give. + </p> + <p> + "The Cleopatra and the Sibyl are seated, partly draped, with the + characteristic Egyptian gown, that gathers about the torso and falls + freely around the limbs; the first is covered to the bosom, the second + bare to the hips. Queenly Cleopatra rests back against her chair in + meditative ease, leaning her cheek against one hand, whose elbow the rail + of the seat sustains; the other is outstretched upon her knee, nipping its + forefinger upon the thumb thoughtfully, as though some firm, wilful + purpose filled her brain, as it seems to set those luxurious features to a + smile as if the whole woman 'would.' Upon her head is the coif, bearing in + front the mystic uraeus, or twining basilisk of sovereignty, while from + its sides depend the wide Egyptian lappels, or wings, that fall upon her + shoulders. The Sibilla Libica has crossed her knees,—an action + universally held amongst the ancients as indicative of reticence or + secrecy, and of power to bind. A secret-keeping looking dame she is, in + the full-bloom proportions of ripe womanhood, wherein choosing to place + his figure the sculptor has deftly gone between the disputed point whether + these women were blooming and wise in youth, or deeply furrowed with age + and burdened with the knowledge of centuries, as Virgil, Livy, and Gellius + say. Good artistic example might be quoted on both sides. Her forward + elbow is propped upon one knee; and to keep her secrets close, for this + Libyan woman is the closest of all the Sibyls, she rests her shut mouth + upon one closed palm, as if holding the African mystery deep in the + brooding brain that looks out through mournful, warning eyes, seen under + the wide shade of the strange horned (ammonite) crest, that bears the + mystery of the Tetragrammaton upon its upturned front. Over her full + bosom, mother of myriads as she was, hangs the same symbol. Her face has a + Nubian cast, her hair wavy and plaited, as is meet." + </p> + <p> + We hope to see the day when copies both of the Cleopatra and the Libyan + Sibyl shall adorn the Capitol at Washington. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0002" id="link2H_4_0002"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + RECONSTRUCTION by Frederick Douglass + </h2> + <p> + The assembling of the Second Session of the Thirty-ninth Congress may very + properly be made the occasion of a few earnest words on the already + much-worn topic of reconstruction. + </p> + <p> + Seldom has any legislative body been the subject of a solicitude more + intense, or of aspirations more sincere and ardent. There are the best of + reasons for this profound interest. Questions of vast moment, left + undecided by the last session of Congress, must be manfully grappled with + by this. No political skirmishing will avail. The occasion demands + statesmanship. + </p> + <p> + Whether the tremendous war so heroically fought and so victoriously ended + shall pass into history a miserable failure, barren of permanent results,—a + scandalous and shocking waste of blood and treasure,—a strife for + empire, as Earl Russell characterized it, of no value to liberty or + civilization,—an attempt to re-establish a Union by force, which + must be the merest mockery of a Union,—an effort to bring under + Federal authority States into which no loyal man from the North may safely + enter, and to bring men into the national councils who deliberate with + daggers and vote with revolvers, and who do not even conceal their deadly + hate of the country that conquered them; or whether, on the other hand, we + shall, as the rightful reward of victory over treason, have a solid + nation, entirely delivered from all contradictions and social antagonisms, + based upon loyalty, liberty, and equality, must be determined one way or + the other by the present session of Congress. The last session really did + nothing which can be considered final as to these questions. The Civil + Rights Bill and the Freedmen's Bureau Bill and the proposed constitutional + amendments, with the amendment already adopted and recognized as the law + of the land, do not reach the difficulty, and cannot, unless the whole + structure of the government is changed from a government by States to + something like a despotic central government, with power to control even + the municipal regulations of States, and to make them conform to its own + despotic will. While there remains such an idea as the right of each State + to control its own local affairs,—an idea, by the way, more deeply + rooted in the minds of men of all sections of the country than perhaps any + one other political idea,—no general assertion of human rights can + be of any practical value. To change the character of the government at + this point is neither possible nor desirable. All that is necessary to be + done is to make the government consistent with itself, and render the + rights of the States compatible with the sacred rights of human nature. + </p> + <p> + The arm of the Federal government is long, but it is far too short to + protect the rights of individuals in the interior of distant States. They + must have the power to protect themselves, or they will go unprotected, + spite of all the laws the Federal government can put upon the national + statute-book. + </p> + <p> + Slavery, like all other great systems of wrong, founded in the depths of + human selfishness, and existing for ages, has not neglected its own + conservation. It has steadily exerted an influence upon all around it + favorable to its own continuance. And to-day it is so strong that it could + exist, not only without law, but even against law. Custom, manners, + morals, religion, are all on its side everywhere in the South; and when + you add the ignorance and servility of the ex-slave to the intelligence + and accustomed authority of the master, you have the conditions, not out + of which slavery will again grow, but under which it is impossible for the + Federal government to wholly destroy it, unless the Federal government be + armed with despotic power, to blot out State authority, and to station a + Federal officer at every cross-road. This, of course, cannot be done, and + ought not even if it could. The true way and the easiest way is to make + our government entirely consistent with itself, and give to every loyal + citizen the elective franchise,—a right and power which will be ever + present, and will form a wall of fire for his protection. + </p> + <p> + One of the invaluable compensations of the late Rebellion is the highly + instructive disclosure it made of the true source of danger to republican + government. Whatever may be tolerated in monarchical and despotic + governments, no republic is safe that tolerates a privileged class, or + denies to any of its citizens equal rights and equal means to maintain + them. What was theory before the war has been made fact by the war. + </p> + <p> + There is cause to be thankful even for rebellion. It is an impressive + teacher, though a stern and terrible one. In both characters it has come + to us, and it was perhaps needed in both. It is an instructor never a day + before its time, for it comes only when all other means of progress and + enlightenment have failed. Whether the oppressed and despairing bondman, + no longer able to repress his deep yearnings for manhood, or the tyrant, + in his pride and impatience, takes the initiative, and strikes the blow + for a firmer hold and a longer lease of oppression, the result is the + same,—society is instructed, or may be. + </p> + <p> + Such are the limitations of the common mind, and so thoroughly engrossing + are the cares of common life, that only the few among men can discern + through the glitter and dazzle of present prosperity the dark outlines of + approaching disasters, even though they may have come up to our very + gates, and are already within striking distance. The yawning seam and + corroded bolt conceal their defects from the mariner until the storm calls + all hands to the pumps. Prophets, indeed, were abundant before the war; + but who cares for prophets while their predictions remain unfulfilled, and + the calamities of which they tell are masked behind a blinding blaze of + national prosperity? + </p> + <p> + It is asked, said Henry Clay, on a memorable occasion, Will slavery never + come to an end? That question, said he, was asked fifty years ago, and it + has been answered by fifty years of unprecedented prosperity. Spite of the + eloquence of the earnest Abolitionists,—poured out against slavery + during thirty years,—even they must confess, that, in all the + probabilities of the case, that system of barbarism would have continued + its horrors far beyond the limits of the nineteenth century but for the + Rebellion, and perhaps only have disappeared at last in a fiery conflict, + even more fierce and bloody than that which has now been suppressed. + </p> + <p> + It is no disparagement to truth, that it can only prevail where reason + prevails. War begins where reason ends. The thing worse than rebellion is + the thing that causes rebellion. What that thing is, we have been taught + to our cost. It remains now to be seen whether we have the needed courage + to have that cause entirely removed from the Republic. At any rate, to + this grand work of national regeneration and entire purification Congress + must now address Itself, with full purpose that the work shall this time + be thoroughly done. The deadly upas, root and branch, leaf and fibre, body + and sap, must be utterly destroyed. The country is evidently not in a + condition to listen patiently to pleas for postponement, however + plausible, nor will it permit the responsibility to be shifted to other + shoulders. Authority and power are here commensurate with the duty + imposed. There are no cloud-flung shadows to obscure the way. Truth shines + with brighter light and intenser heat at every moment, and a country torn + and rent and bleeding implores relief from its distress and agony. + </p> + <p> + If time was at first needed, Congress has now had time. All the requisite + materials from which to form an intelligent judgment are now before it. + Whether its members look at the origin, the progress, the termination of + the war, or at the mockery of a peace now existing, they will find only + one unbroken chain of argument in favor of a radical policy of + reconstruction. For the omissions of the last session, some excuses may be + allowed. A treacherous President stood in the way; and it can be easily + seen how reluctant good men might be to admit an apostasy which involved + so much of baseness and ingratitude. It was natural that they should seek + to save him by bending to him even when he leaned to the side of error. + But all is changed now. Congress knows now that it must go on without his + aid, and even against his machinations. The advantage of the present + session over the last is immense. Where that investigated, this has the + facts. Where that walked by faith, this may walk by sight. Where that + halted, this must go forward, and where that failed, this must succeed, + giving the country whole measures where that gave us half-measures, merely + as a means of saving the elections in a few doubtful districts. That + Congress saw what was right, but distrusted the enlightenment of the loyal + masses; but what was forborne in distrust of the people must now be done + with a full knowledge that the people expect and require it. The members + go to Washington fresh from the inspiring presence of the people. In every + considerable public meeting, and in almost every conceivable way, whether + at court-house, school-house, or cross-roads, in doors and out, the + subject has been discussed, and the people have emphatically pronounced in + favor of a radical policy. Listening to the doctrines of expediency and + compromise with pity, impatience, and disgust, they have everywhere broken + into demonstrations of the wildest enthusiasm when a brave word has been + spoken in favor of equal rights and impartial suffrage. Radicalism, so far + from being odious, is not the popular passport to power. The men most + bitterly charged with it go to Congress with the largest majorities, while + the timid and doubtful are sent by lean majorities, or else left at home. + The strange controversy between the President and the Congress, at one + time so threatening, is disposed of by the people. The high reconstructive + powers which he so confidently, ostentatiously, and haughtily claimed, + have been disallowed, denounced, and utterly repudiated; while those + claimed by Congress have been confirmed. + </p> + <p> + Of the spirit and magnitude of the canvass nothing need be said. The + appeal was to the people, and the verdict was worthy of the tribunal. Upon + an occasion of his own selection, with the advice and approval of his + astute Secretary, soon after the members of the Congress had returned to + their constituents, the President quitted the executive mansion, + sandwiched himself between two recognized heroes,—men whom the whole + country delighted to honor,—and, with all the advantage which such + company could give him, stumped the country from the Atlantic to the + Mississippi, advocating everywhere his policy as against that of Congress. + It was a strange sight, and perhaps the most disgraceful exhibition ever + made by any President; but, as no evil is entirely unmixed, good has come + of this, as from many others. Ambitious, unscrupulous, energetic, + indefatigable, voluble, and plausible,—a political gladiator, ready + for a "set-to" in any crowd,—he is beaten in his own chosen field, + and stands to-day before the country as a convicted usurper, a political + criminal, guilty of a bold and persistent attempt to possess himself of + the legislative powers solemnly secured to Congress by the Constitution. + No vindication could be more complete, no condemnation could be more + absolute and humiliating. Unless reopened by the sword, as recklessly + threatened in some circles, this question is now closed for all time. + </p> + <p> + Without attempting to settle here the metaphysical and somewhat + theological question (about which so much has already been said and + written), whether once in the Union means always in the Union,—agreeably + to the formula, Once in grace always in grace,—it is obvious to + common sense that the rebellious States stand to-day, in point of law, + precisely where they stood when, exhausted, beaten, conquered, they fell + powerless at the feet of Federal authority. Their State governments were + overthrown, and the lives and property of the leaders of the Rebellion + were forfeited. In reconstructing the institutions of these shattered and + overthrown States, Congress should begin with a clean slate, and make + clean work of it. Let there be no hesitation. It would be a cowardly + deference to a defeated and treacherous President, if any account were + made of the illegitimate, one-sided, sham governments hurried into + existence for a malign purpose in the absence of Congress. These pretended + governments, which were never submitted to the people, and from + participation in which four millions of the loyal people were excluded by + Presidential order, should now be treated according to their true + character, as shams and impositions, and supplanted by true and legitimate + governments, in the formation of which loyal men, black and white, shall + participate. + </p> + <p> + It is not, however, within the scope of this paper to point out the + precise steps to be taken, and the means to be employed. The people are + less concerned about these than the grand end to be attained. They demand + such a reconstruction as shall put an end to the present anarchical state + of things in the late rebellious States,—where frightful murders and + wholesale massacres are perpetrated in the very presence of Federal + soldiers. This horrible business they require shall cease. They want a + reconstruction such as will protect loyal men, black and white, in their + persons and property; such a one as will cause Northern industry, Northern + capital, and Northern civilization to flow into the South, and make a man + from New England as much at home in Carolina as elsewhere in the Republic. + No Chinese wall can now be tolerated. The South must be opened to the + light of law and liberty, and this session of Congress is relied upon to + accomplish this important work. + </p> + <p> + The plain, common-sense way of doing this work, as intimated at the + beginning, is simply to establish in the South one law, one government, + one administration of justice, one condition to the exercise of the + elective franchise, for men of all races and colors alike. This great + measure is sought as earnestly by loyal white men as by loyal blacks, and + is needed alike by both. Let sound political prescience but take the place + of an unreasoning prejudice, and this will be done. + </p> + <p> + Men denounce the negro for his prominence in this discussion; but it is no + fault of his that in peace as in war, that in conquering Rebel armies as + in reconstructing the rebellious States, the right of the negro is the + true solution of our national troubles. The stern logic of events, which + goes directly to the point, disdaining all concern for the color or + features of men, has determined the interests of the country as identical + with and inseparable from those of the negro. + </p> + <p> + The policy that emancipated and armed the negro—now seen to have + been wise and proper by the dullest—was not certainly more sternly + demanded than is now the policy of enfranchisement. If with the negro was + success in war, and without him failure, so in peace it will be found that + the nation must fall or flourish with the negro. + </p> + <p> + Fortunately, the Constitution of the United States knows no distinction + between citizens on account of color. Neither does it know any difference + between a citizen of a State and a citizen of the United States. + Citizenship evidently includes all the rights of citizens, whether State + or national. If the Constitution knows none, it is clearly no part of the + duty of a Republican Congress now to institute one. The mistake of the + last session was the attempt to do this very thing, by a renunciation of + its power to secure political rights to any class of citizens, with the + obvious purpose to allow the rebellious States to disfranchise, if they + should see fit, their colored citizens. This unfortunate blunder must now + be retrieved, and the emasculated citizenship given to the negro + supplanted by that contemplated in the Constitution of the United States, + which declares that the citizens of each State shall enjoy all the rights + and immunities of citizens of the several States,—so that a legal + voter in any State shall be a legal voter in all the States. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0003" id="link2H_4_0003"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + AN APPEAL TO CONGRESS FOR IMPARTIAL SUFFRAGE by Frederick Douglas + </h2> + <p> + A very limited statement of the argument for impartial suffrage, and for + including the negro in the body politic, would require more space than can + be reasonably asked here. It is supported by reasons as broad as the + nature of man, and as numerous as the wants of society. Man is the only + government-making animal in the world. His right to a participation in the + production and operation of government is an inference from his nature, as + direct and self-evident as is his right to acquire property or education. + It is no less a crime against the manhood of a man, to declare that he + shall not share in the making and directing of the government under which + he lives, than to say that he shall not acquire property and education. + The fundamental and unanswerable argument in favor of the enfranchisement + of the negro is found in the undisputed fact of his manhood. He is a man, + and by every fact and argument by which any man can sustain his right to + vote, the negro can sustain his right equally. It is plain that, if the + right belongs to any, it belongs to all. The doctrine that some men have + no rights that others are bound to respect, is a doctrine which we must + banish as we have banished slavery, from which it emanated. If black men + have no rights in the eyes of white men, of course the whites can have + none in the eyes of the blacks. The result is a war of races, and the + annihilation of all proper human relations. + </p> + <p> + But suffrage for the negro, while easily sustained upon abstract + principles, demands consideration upon what are recognized as the urgent + necessities of the case. It is a measure of relief,—a shield to + break the force of a blow already descending with violence, and render it + harmless. The work of destruction has already been set in motion all over + the South. Peace to the country has literally meant war to the loyal men + of the South, white and black; and negro suffrage is the measure to arrest + and put an end to that dreadful strife. + </p> + <p> + Something then, not by way of argument, (for that has been done by Charles + Sumner, Thaddeus Stevens, Wendell Phillips, Gerrit Smith, and other able + men,) but rather of statement and appeal. + </p> + <p> + For better or for worse, (as in some of the old marriage ceremonies,) the + negroes are evidently a permanent part of the American population. They + are too numerous and useful to be colonized, and too enduring and + self-perpetuating to disappear by natural causes. Here they are, four + millions of them, and, for weal or for woe, here they must remain. Their + history is parallel to that of the country; but while the history of the + latter has been cheerful and bright with blessings, theirs has been heavy + and dark with agonies and curses. What O'Connell said of the history of + Ireland may with greater truth be said of the negro's. It may be "traced + like a wounded man through a crowd, by the blood." Yet the negroes have + marvellously survived all the exterminating forces of slavery, and have + emerged at the end of two hundred and fifty years of bondage, not morose, + misanthropic, and revengeful, but cheerful, hopeful, and forgiving. They + now stand before Congress and the country, not complaining of the past, + but simply asking for a better future. The spectacle of these dusky + millions thus imploring, not demanding, is touching; and if American + statesmen could be moved by a simple appeal to the nobler elements of + human nature, if they had not fallen, seemingly, into the incurable habit + of weighing and measuring every proposition of reform by some standard of + profit and loss, doing wrong from choice, and right only from necessity or + some urgent demand of human selfishness, it would be enough to plead for + the negroes on the score of past services and sufferings. But no such + appeal shall be relied on here. Hardships, services, sufferings, and + sacrifices are all waived. It is true that they came to the relief of the + country at the hour of its extremest need. It is true that, in many of the + rebellious States, they were almost the only reliable friends the nation + had throughout the whole tremendous war. It is true that, notwithstanding + their alleged ignorance, they were wiser than their masters, and knew + enough to be loyal, while those masters only knew enough to be rebels and + traitors. It is true that they fought side by side in the loyal cause with + our gallant and patriotic white soldiers, and that, but for their help,—divided + as the loyal States were,—the Rebels might have succeeded in + breaking up the Union, thereby entailing border wars and troubles of + unknown duration and incalculable calamity. All this and more is true of + these loyal negroes. Many daring exploits will be told to their credit. + Impartial history will paint them as men who deserved well of their + country. It will tell how they forded and swam rivers, with what + consummate address they evaded the sharp-eyed Rebel pickets, how they + toiled in the darkness of night through the tangled marshes of briers and + thorns, barefooted and weary, running the risk of losing their lives, to + warn our generals of Rebel schemes to surprise and destroy our loyal army. + It will tell how these poor people, whose rights we still despised, + behaved to our wounded soldiers, when found cold, hungry, and bleeding on + the deserted battle-field; how they assisted our escaping prisoners from + Andersonville, Belle Isle, Castle Thunder, and elsewhere, sharing with + them their wretched crusts, and otherwise affording them aid and comfort; + how they promptly responded to the trumpet call for their services, + fighting against a foe that denied them the rights of civilized warfare, + and for a government which was without the courage to assert those rights + and avenge their violation in their behalf; with what gallantry they flung + themselves upon Rebel fortifications, meeting death as fearlessly as any + other troops in the service. But upon none of these things is reliance + placed. These facts speak to the better dispositions of the human heart; + but they seem of little weight with the opponents of impartial suffrage. + </p> + <p> + It is true that a strong plea for equal suffrage might be addressed to the + national sense of honor. Something, too, might be said of national + gratitude. A nation might well hesitate before the temptation to betray + its allies. There is something immeasurably mean, to say nothing of the + cruelty, in placing the loyal negroes of the South under the political + power of their Rebel masters. To make peace with our enemies is all well + enough; but to prefer our enemies and sacrifice our friends,—to + exalt our enemies and cast down our friends,—to clothe our enemies, + who sought the destruction of the government, with all political power, + and leave our friends powerless in their hands,—is an act which need + not be characterized here. We asked the negroes to espouse our cause, to + be our friends, to fight for us, and against their masters; and now, after + they have done all that we asked them to do,—helped us to conquer + their masters, and thereby directed toward themselves the furious hate of + the vanquished,—it is proposed in some quarters to turn them over to + the political control of the common enemy of the government and of the + negro. But of this let nothing be said in this place. Waiving humanity, + national honor, the claims of gratitude, the precious satisfaction arising + from deeds of charity and justice to the weak and defenceless,—the + appeal for impartial suffrage addresses itself with great pertinency to + the darkest, coldest, and flintiest side of the human heart, and would + wring righteousness from the unfeeling calculations of human selfishness. + </p> + <p> + For in respect to this grand measure it is the good fortune of the negro + that enlightened selfishness, not less than justice, fights on his side. + National interest and national duty, if elsewhere separated, are firmly + united here. The American people can, perhaps, afford to brave the censure + of surrounding nations for the manifest injustice and meanness of + excluding its faithful black soldiers from the ballot-box, but it cannot + afford to allow the moral and mental energies of rapidly increasing + millions to be consigned to hopeless degradation. + </p> + <p> + Strong as we are, we need the energy that slumbers in the black man's arm + to make us stronger. We want no longer any heavy-footed, melancholy + service from the negro. We want the cheerful activity of the quickened + manhood of these sable millions. Nor can we afford to endure the moral + blight which the existence of a degraded and hated class must necessarily + inflict upon any people among whom such a class may exist. Exclude the + negroes as a class from political rights,—teach them that the high + and manly privilege of suffrage is to be enjoyed by white citizens only,—that + they may bear the burdens of the state, but that they are to have no part + in its direction or its honors,—and you at once deprive them of one + of the main incentives to manly character and patriotic devotion to the + interests of the government; in a word, you stamp them as a degraded + caste,—you teach them to despise themselves, and all others to + despise them. Men are so constituted that they largely derive their ideas + of their abilities and their possibilities from the settled judgments of + their fellow-men, and especially from such as they read in the + institutions under which they live. If these bless them, they are blest + indeed; but if these blast them, they are blasted indeed. Give the negro + the elective franchise, and you give him at once a powerful motive for all + noble exertion, and make him a man among men. A character is demanded of + him, and here as elsewhere demand favors supply. It is nothing against + this reasoning that all men who vote are not good men or good citizens. It + is enough that the possession and exercise of the elective franchise is in + itself an appeal to the nobler elements of manhood, and imposes education + as essential to the safety of society. + </p> + <p> + To appreciate the full force of this argument, it must be observed, that + disfranchisement in a republican government based upon the idea of human + equality and universal suffrage, is a very different thing from + disfranchisement in governments based upon the idea of the divine right of + kings, or the entire subjugation of the masses. Masses of men can take + care of themselves. Besides, the disabilities imposed upon all are + necessarily without that bitter and stinging element of invidiousness + which attaches to disfranchisement in a republic. What is common to all + works no special sense of degradation to any. But in a country like ours, + where men of all nations, kindred, and tongues are freely enfranchised, + and allowed to vote, to say to the negro, You shall not vote, is to deal + his manhood a staggering blow, and to burn into his soul a bitter and + goading sense of wrong, or else work in him a stupid indifference to all + the elements of a manly character. As a nation, we cannot afford to have + amongst us either this indifference and stupidity, or that burning sense + of wrong. These sable millions are too powerful to be allowed to remain + either indifferent or discontented. Enfranchise them, and they become + self-respecting and country-loving citizens. Disfranchise them, and the + mark of Cain is set upon them less mercifully than upon the first + murderer, for no man was to hurt him. But this mark of inferiority—all + the more palpable because of a difference of color—not only dooms + the negro to be a vagabond, but makes him the prey of insult and outrage + everywhere. While nothing may be urged here as to the past services of the + negro, it is quite within the line of this appeal to remind the nation of + the possibility that a time may come when the services of the negro may be + a second time required. History is said to repeat itself, and, if so, + having wanted the negro once, we may want him again. Can that + statesmanship be wise which would leave the negro good ground to hesitate, + when the exigencies of the country required his prompt assistance? Can + that be sound statesmanship which leaves millions of men in gloomy + discontent, and possibly in a state of alienation in the day of national + trouble? Was not the nation stronger when two hundred thousand sable + soldiers were hurled against the Rebel fortifications, than it would have + been without them? Arming the negro was an urgent military necessity three + years ago,—are we sure that another quite as pressing may not await + us? Casting aside all thought of justice and magnanimity, is it wise to + impose upon the negro all the burdens involved in sustaining government + against foes within and foes without, to make him equal sharer in all + sacrifices for the public good, to tax him in peace and conscript him in + war, and then coldly exclude him from the ballot-box? + </p> + <p> + Look across the sea. Is Ireland, in her present condition, fretful, + discontented, compelled to support an establishment in which she does not + believe, and which the vast majority of her people abhor, a source of + power or of weakness to Great Britain? Is not Austria wise in removing all + ground of complaint against her on the part of Hungary? And does not the + Emperor of Russia act wisely, as well as generously, when he not only + breaks up the bondage of the serf, but extends him all the advantages of + Russian citizenship? Is the present movement in England in favor of + manhood suffrage—for the purpose of bringing four millions of + British subjects into full sympathy and co-operation with the British + government—a wise and humane movement, or otherwise? Is the + existence of a rebellious element in our borders—which New Orleans, + Memphis, and Texas show to be only disarmed, but at heart as malignant as + ever, only waiting for an opportunity to reassert itself with fire and + sword—a reason for leaving four millions of the nation's truest + friends with just cause of complaint against the Federal government? If + the doctrine that taxation should go hand in hand with representation can + be appealed to in behalf of recent traitors and rebels, may it not + properly be asserted in behalf of a people who have ever been loyal and + faithful to the government? The answers to these questions are too obvious + to require statement. Disguise it as we may, we are still a divided + nation. The Rebel States have still an anti-national policy. Massachusetts + and South Carolina may draw tears from the eyes of our tender-hearted + President by walking arm in arm into his Philadelphia Convention, but a + citizen of Massachusetts is still an alien in the Palmetto State. There is + that, all over the South, which frightens Yankee industry, capital, and + skill from its borders. We have crushed the Rebellion, but not its hopes + or its malign purposes. The South fought for perfect and permanent control + over the Southern laborer. It was a war of the rich against the poor. They + who waged it had no objection to the government, while they could use it + as a means of confirming their power over the laborer. They fought the + government, not because they hated the government as such, but because + they found it, as they thought, in the way between them and their one + grand purpose of rendering permanent and indestructible their authority + and power over the Southern laborer. Though the battle is for the present + lost, the hope of gaining this object still exists, and pervades the whole + South with a feverish excitement. We have thus far only gained a Union + without unity, marriage without love, victory without peace. The hope of + gaining by politics what they lost by the sword, is the secret of all this + Southern unrest; and that hope must be extinguished before national ideas + and objects can take full possession of the Southern mind. There is but + one safe and constitutional way to banish that mischievous hope from the + South, and that is by lifting the laborer beyond the unfriendly political + designs of his former master. Give the negro the elective franchise, and + you at once destroy the purely sectional policy, and wheel the Southern + States into line with national interests and national objects. The last + and shrewdest turn of Southern politics is a recognition of the necessity + of getting into Congress immediately, and at any price. The South will + comply with any conditions but suffrage for the negro. It will swallow all + the unconstitutional test oaths, repeal all the ordinances of Secession, + repudiate the Rebel debt, promise to pay the debt incurred in conquering + its people, pass all the constitutional amendments, if only it can have + the negro left under its political control. The proposition is as modest + as that made on the mountain: "All these things will I give unto thee if + thou wilt fall down and worship me." + </p> + <p> + But why are the Southerners so willing to make these sacrifices? The + answer plainly is, they see in this policy the only hope of saving + something of their old sectional peculiarities and power. Once firmly + seated in Congress, their alliance with Northern Democrats re-established, + their States restored to their former position inside the Union, they can + easily find means of keeping the Federal government entirely too busy with + other important matters to pay much attention to the local affairs of the + Southern States. Under the potent shield of State Rights, the game would + be in their own hands. Does any sane man doubt for a moment that the men + who followed Jefferson Davis through the late terrible Rebellion, often + marching barefooted and hungry, naked and penniless, and who now only + profess an enforced loyalty, would plunge this country into a foreign war + to-day, if they could thereby gain their coveted independence, and their + still more coveted mastery over the negroes? Plainly enough, the peace not + less than the prosperity of this country is involved in the great measure + of impartial suffrage. King Cotton is deposed, but only deposed, and is + ready to-day to reassert all his ancient pretensions upon the first + favorable opportunity. Foreign countries abound with his agents. They are + able, vigilant, devoted. The young men of the South burn with the desire + to regain what they call the lost cause; the women are noisily malignant + towards the Federal government. In fact, all the elements of treason and + rebellion are there under the thinnest disguise which necessity can + impose. + </p> + <p> + What, then, is the work before Congress? It is to save the people of the + South from themselves, and the nation from detriment on their account. + Congress must supplant the evident sectional tendencies of the South by + national dispositions and tendencies. It must cause national ideas and + objects to take the lead and control the politics of those States. It must + cease to recognize the old slave-masters as the only competent persons to + rule the South. In a word, it must enfranchise the negro, and by means of + the loyal negroes and the loyal white men of the South build up a national + party there, and in time bridge the chasm between North and South, so that + our country may have a common liberty and a common civilization. The new + wine must be put into new bottles. The lamb may not be trusted with the + wolf. Loyalty is hardly safe with traitors. + </p> + <p> + Statesmen of America! beware what you do. The ploughshare of rebellion has + gone through the land beam-deep. The soil is in readiness, and the + seed-time has come. Nations, not less than individuals, reap as they sow. + The dreadful calamities of the past few years came not by accident, nor + unbidden, from the ground. You shudder to-day at the harvest of blood sown + in the spring-time of the Republic by your patriot fathers. The principle + of slavery, which they tolerated under the erroneous impression that it + would soon die out, became at last the dominant principle and power at the + South. It early mastered the Constitution, became superior to the Union, + and enthroned itself above the law. + </p> + <p> + Freedom of speech and of the press it slowly but successfully banished + from the South, dictated its own code of honor and manners to the nation, + brandished the bludgeon and the bowie-knife over Congressional debate, + sapped the foundations of loyalty, dried up the springs of patriotism, + blotted out the testimonies of the fathers against oppression, padlocked + the pulpit, expelled liberty from its literature, invented nonsensical + theories about master-races and slave-races of men, and in due season + produced a Rebellion fierce, foul, and bloody. + </p> + <p> + This evil principle again seeks admission into our body politic. It comes + now in shape of a denial of political rights to four million loyal colored + people. The South does not now ask for slavery. It only asks for a large + degraded caste, which shall have no political rights. This ends the case. + Statesmen, beware what you do. The destiny of unborn and unnumbered + generations is in your hands. Will you repeat the mistake of your fathers, + who sinned ignorantly? or will you profit by the blood-bought wisdom all + round you, and forever expel every vestige of the old abomination from our + national borders? As you members of the Thirty-ninth Congress decide, will + the country be peaceful, united, and happy, or troubled, divided, and + miserable. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0004" id="link2H_4_0004"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE NEGRO EXODUS by James B. Runnion + </h2> + <p> + A recent sojourn in the South for a few weeks, chiefly in Louisiana and + Mississippi, gave the writer an opportunity to inquire into what has been + so aptly called "the negro exodus." The emigration of blacks to Kansas + began early in the spring of this year. For a time there was a stampede + from two or three of the river parishes in Louisiana and as many counties + opposite in Mississippi. Several thousand negroes (certainly not fewer + than five thousand, and variously estimated as high as ten thousand) had + left their cabins before the rush could be stayed or the excitement + lulled. Early in May most of the negroes who had quit work for the purpose + of emigrating, but had not succeeded in getting off, were persuaded to + return to the plantations, and from that time on there have been only + straggling families and groups that have watched for and seized the first + opportunity for transportation to the North. There is no doubt, however, + that there is still a consuming desire among the negroes of the cotton + districts in these two States to seek new homes, and there are the best + reasons for believing that the exodus will take a new start next spring, + after the gathering and conversion of the growing crop. Hundreds of + negroes who returned from the river-banks for lack of transportation, and + thousands of others infected with the ruling discontent, are working + harder in the fields this summer, and practicing more economy and + self-denial than ever before, in order to have the means next winter and + spring to pay their way to the "promised land." + </p> + <p> + "We've been working for fourteen long years," said an intelligent negro, + in reply to a question as to the cause of the prevailing discontent, "and + we ain't no better off than we was when we commenced." This is the negro + version of the trouble, which is elaborated on occasion into a harrowing + story of oppression and plunder. + </p> + <p> + "I tell you it's all owing to the radical politicians at the North," + explained a representative of the type known as the Bourbons; "they've had + their emissaries down here, and deluded the 'niggers' into a very fever of + emigration, with the purpose of reducing our basis of representation in + Congress and increasing that of the Northern States." + </p> + <p> + These are the two extremes of opinion at the South. The first is certainly + the more reasonable and truthful, though it implies that all the blame + rests upon the whites, which is not the case; the second, preposterous as + it will appear to Northern readers, is religiously believed by large + numbers of the "unreconciled." Between these two extremes there is an + infinite variety of theories, all more or less governed by the political + faction to which the various theorizers belong; there are at least a dozen + of these factions, such as the Bourbons, the conservatives, the native + white republicans, the carpet-bag republicans, the negro republicans, etc. + There is a political tinge in almost everything in the extreme Southern + States. The fact seems to be that the emigration movement among the blacks + was spontaneous to the extent that they were ready and anxious to go. The + immediate notion of going may have been inculcated by such circulars, + issued by railroads and land companies, as are common enough at emigrant + centres in the North and West, and the exaggeration characteristic of such + literature may have stimulated the imagination of the negroes far beyond + anything they are likely to realize in their new homes. Kansas was + naturally the favorite goal of the negro emigre, for it was associated in + his mind with the names of Jim Lane and John Brown, which are hallowed to + him. The timid learned that they could escape what they have come to + regard as a second bondage, and they flocked together to gain the moral + support which comes from numbers. + </p> + <p> + Diligent inquiry among representative men, of all classes and from all + parts of Louisiana, who were in attendance at the constitutional + convention in New Orleans, and careful observation along the river among + the land owners and field hands in both Louisiana and Mississippi, left a + vivid impression of some material and political conditions which fully + account for the negro exodus. I have dropped the social conditions out of + the consideration, because I became convinced that the race troubles at + the South can be solved to the satisfaction of both whites and blacks + without cultivating any closer social relations than those which now + prevail. The material conditions which I have in mind are less familiar + than the political conditions; they are mainly the land-tenure and credit + systems, and mere modifications (scarcely for the better) of the peculiar + plantation system of slavery days. + </p> + <p> + The cotton lands at the South are owned now, as they were before the war, + in large tracts. The land was about all that most of the Southern whites + had left to them after the war, and they kept it when they could, at the + first, in the hope that it would yield them a living through the labor of + the blacks; of late years they have not been able to sell their + plantations at any fair price, if they desired to do so. The white men + with capital who went to the South from the North after the war seemed to + acquire the true Southern ambition to be large land owners and planters; + and when the ante-bellum owners lost their plantations the land usually + went in bulk to the city factors who had made them advances from year to + year, and had taken mortgages on their crops and broad acres. As a + consequence, the land has never been distributed among the people who + inhabit and cultivate it, and agricultural labor in the Southern States + approaches the condition of the factory labor in England and the Eastern + States more nearly than it does the farm labor of the North and West. + Nearly every agricultural laborer north of Mason and Dixon's line, if not + the actual possessor of the land he plows, looks forward to owning a farm + some time; at the South such an ambition is rare, and small ownership + still more an exception. The practice of paying day wages was first tried + after the war; this practice is still in vogue in the sugar and rice + districts, where laborers are paid from fifty to seventy cents per day, + with quarters furnished and living guaranteed them at nine or ten cents a + day. In sections where the wages system prevails, and where there have + been no political disturbances, the negroes seem to be perfectly + contented; at all events, the emigration fever has not spread among them. + But it was found impracticable to maintain the wage system in the cotton + districts. The negroes themselves fought against it, because it reminded + them too much of the slave-gang, driven out at daybreak and home at + sundown. In many cases the planters were forced to abandon it, because + they had not the means to carry on such huge farming, and they could not + secure the same liberal advances from capitalists as when they were able + to mortgage a growing "crop of niggers." Then the system of working on + shares was tried. This was reasonably fair, and the negro laborers were + satisfied as long as it lasted. The owners of the land, under this system, + would furnish the indispensable mule and the farming implements, and take + one half the product. The planters themselves relinquished this system. + Some of them contend that the laziness and indifference of the negro made + the partnership undesirable; many others admit that they were not able to + advance the negro tenant his supplies pending the growth of the year's + crop, as it was necessary they should do under the sharing system. Now the + renting system is almost universal. It yields the land owner a certainty, + endangered only by the death, sickness, or desertion of the negro tenant; + but it throws the latter upon his own responsibility, and frequently makes + him the victim of his own ignorance and the rapacity of the white man. The + rent of land, on a money basis, varies from six to ten dollars an acre per + year, while the same land can be bought in large quantities all the way + from fifteen to thirty dollars per acre, according to location, clearing, + improvement, richness, etc. When paid in product, the rent varies from + eighty to one hundred pounds of lint cotton per acre for land that + produces from two hundred to four hundred pounds of cotton per acre; the + tenant undertakes to pay from one quarter to one half—perhaps an + average of one third—of his crop for the use of the land, without + stock, tools, or assistance of any kind. The land owners usually claim + that they make no money even at these exorbitant figures. If they do not, + it is because only a portion of their vast possessions is under + cultivation, because they do no work themselves, and in some cases because + the negroes do not cultivate and gather as large a crop as they could and + ought to harvest. It is very certain that the negro tenants, as a class, + make no money; if they are out of debt at the end of a season, they have + reason to rejoice. + </p> + <p> + The credit system, which is as universal as the renting system, is even + more illogical and oppressive. The utter viciousness of both systems in + their mutual dependence is sufficiently illustrated by the single fact + that, after fourteen years of freedom and labor on their own account, the + great mass of the negroes depend for their living on an advance of + supplies (as they need food, clothing, or tools during the year) upon the + pledge of their growing crop. This is a generic imitation of the white + man's improvidence during the slavery times; then the planters mortgaged + their crops and negroes, and where one used the advances to extend his + plantation, ten squandered the money. The negro's necessities have + developed an offensive race, called merchants by courtesy, who keep supply + stores at the cross-roads and steamboat landings, and live upon extortion. + These people would be called sharks, harpies, and vampires in any + Northwestern agricultural community, and they would not survive more than + one season. The country merchant advances the negro tenant such supplies + as the negro wants up to a certain amount, previously fixed by contract, + and charges the negro at least double the value of every article sold to + him. There is no concealment about the extortion; every store-keeper has + his cash price and his credit price, and in nearly all cases the latter is + one hundred per cent. higher than the former. The extortion is justified + by those who practice it on the ground that their losses by bad debts, + though their advances are always secured by mortgage on the growing crop, + overbalance the profits; this assertion is scarcely borne out by the + comparative opulence of the "merchant" and the pitiful poverty of the + laborer. Some of the largest and wealthiest planters have sought to + protect their tenants from the merciless clutches of the contrary + merchant, who is more frequently than not an Israelite, by advancing + supplies of necessary articles at reasonable prices. But the necessities + of the planter, if not his greed, often betray him into plundering the + negro. The planter himself is generally a victim to usury. He still draws + on the city factor to the extent of ten dollars a bale upon his estimated + crop. He pays this factor two and one half per cent. commission for the + advance, eight per cent. interest for the money, two and one half per + cent. more for disposing of the crop when consigned to him, and sometimes + still another commission for the purchase of the supplies. The planter who + furnishes his tenants with supplies on credit is usually paying an + interest of fifteen to eighteen per cent. himself, and necessarily takes + some risk in advancing upon an uncertain crop and to a laborer whom he + believes to be neither scrupulous nor industrious; these conditions + necessitate more than the ordinary profit, and in many cases suggest + exorbitant and unreasonable charges. But whether the negro deals with the + merchant or the land owner, his extravagance almost invariably exhausts + his credit, even if it be large. The negro is a sensuous creature, and + luxurious in his way. The male is an enormous consumer of tobacco and + whisky; the female has an inordinate love for flummery; both are fond of + sardines, potted meats, and canned goods generally, and they indulge + themselves without any other restraint than the refusal of their merchant + to sell to them. The man who advances supplies watches his negro customers + constantly; if they are working well and their crop promises to be large, + he will permit and even encourage them to draw upon him liberally; it is + only a partial failure of the crop, or some intimation of the negro's + intention to shirk his obligations, that induces his country factor to + preach the virtue of self-restraint, or moralize upon the advantages of + economy. + </p> + <p> + The land owner's rent and the merchant's advances are both secured by a + chattel mortgage on the tenant's personal property, and by a pledge of the + growing crop. The hired laborer (for it is common for negroes to work for + wages for other negroes who rent lands) has also a lien upon the growing + crops second only to the land owner's; but as the law requires that the + liens shall be recorded, which the ignorant laborer usually neglects and + the shrewd merchant never fails to do, the former is generally cheated of + his security. Among those who usually work for hire are the women, who are + expert cotton pickers, and the loss of wages which so many of them have + suffered by reason of the prior lien gained by landlord and merchant has + helped to make them earnest and effective advocates of emigration. The + Western farmer considers it hard enough to struggle under one mortgage at + a reasonable interest; the negro tenant begins his season with three + mortgages, covering all he owns, his labor for the coming year, and all he + expects to acquire during that period. He pays one third his product for + the use of the land; he pays double the value of all he consumes; he pays + an exorbitant fee for recording the contract by which he pledges his pound + of flesh; he is charged two or three times as much as he ought to pay for + ginning his cotton; and, finally, he turns over his crop to be eaten up in + commissions, if anything still be left to him. It is easy to understand + why the negro rarely gets ahead in the world. This mortgaging of future + services, which is practically what a pledge of the growing crop amounts + to, is in the nature of bondage. It has a tendency to make the negro + extravagant, reckless, and unscrupulous; he has become convinced from + previous experience that nothing will be coming to him on the day of + settlement, and he is frequently actuated by the purpose of getting as + much as possible and working as little as possible. Cases are numerous in + which the negro abandons his own crop at picking time, because he knows + that he has already eaten up its full value; and so he goes to picking for + wages on some other plantation. In other cases, where negroes have + acquired mules and farming implements upon which a merchant has secured a + mortgage in the manner described, they are practically bound to that + merchant from year to year, in order to retain their property; if he + removes from one section to another, they must follow him, and rent and + cultivate lands in his neighborhood. It is only the ignorance, the + improvidence, and the happy disposition of the negro, under the influence + of the lazy, drowsy climate, to which he is so well adapted physically, + that have enabled him to endure these hardships so long. And, though the + negro is the loser, the white man is not often the gainer, from this false + plantation and mercantile system. The incidental risk may not be so large + as the planter and merchant pretend, but the condition of the people is an + evidence that the extortion they practice yields no better profit in the + long run than would be gained by competition in fair prices on a cash + system; and in leading up to a general emigration of the laboring + population the abuses described will eventually ruin and impoverish those + who have heretofore been the only beneficiaries thereof. The decay of + improvements inevitable under annual rentings, the lack of sufficient + labor to cultivate all the good land, and the universal idleness of the + rural whites have kept the land owners comparatively poor; the partial + failure of crops and the unscrupulousness of the negro debtor, engendered + by the infamous exactions of his creditor, have prevented the merchants, + as a class, from prospering as much as might be supposed; and, finally, + the uniform injustice to the laborers induces them to fly to ills they + know not of, rather than bear those they have. It is a blessing to the + negro that the laws do not yet provide for a detention of the person in + the case of debt, or escape would be shut off entirely; as it is, various + influences and circumstances appertaining to the system in vogue have been + used to prevent the easy flight of those who desire to go, and have + detained thousands of blacks for a time who are fretting to quit the + country. + </p> + <p> + Political oppression has contributed largely to the discontent which is + the prime cause of the exodus. "Bulldozing" is the term by which all forms + of this oppression are known. The native whites are generally indisposed + to confess that the negroes are quitting the country on account of + political injustice and persecution; even those who freely admit and fitly + characterize the abuses already described seek to deny, or at least + belittle, the political abuses. The fact that a large number of negroes + have emigrated from Madison Parish, Louisiana, where there has never been + any bulldozing, and where the negroes are in full and undisputed political + control, is cited as proof that political disturbances cut no figure in + the case. But the town of Delta, in Madison Parish, is at once on the + river and the terminus of a railroad that runs back through the interior + of the State; thus Madison Parish would furnish the natural exit for the + fugitives from the adjoining counties, where there have been political + disturbances. It would be just as reasonable to contend that the + plundering of the negroes has had no influence in driving them away, since + many of those who have emigrated were among the most prosperous of the + blacks, as to deny the agency of political persecution. Families that had + been able to accumulate a certain amount of personal property, in spite of + the extortionate practices, sold their mules, their implements, their + cows, their pigs, their sheep, and their household goods for anything they + would bring,—frequently as low as one sixth of their value,—in + order that they might improve an immediate opportunity to go away; it is + evident that there must have been some cause outside of extortion in their + case. There are candid native whites who do not deny, but justify, the + violent methods which have been employed to disfranchise the negroes, or + compel them to vote under white dictation, in many parts of Louisiana and + Mississippi, on the ground that the men who pay the taxes should vote them + and control the disbursement of the public moneys. The gentlemen who + advance this argument seem to ignore the fact that the very Northerner + whom they are seeking to convert to "the Mississippi plan" may himself be + a taxpayer in some Northern city, where public affairs are controlled by a + class of voters in every way as ignorant and irresponsible as the blacks, + but where bulldozing has never yet been suggested as a remedy. For the + rest, the evidences of political oppression are abundant and convincing. + The bulldozers as a class are more impecunious and irresponsible than the + negroes, and, unlike the negroes, they will not work. There has been more + of the "night-riding," the whippings, the mysterious disappearances, the + hangings, and the terrorism comprehended in the term bulldozing than has + been reported by those "abstracts and brief chronicles of the time," the + Southern newspapers, which are now all of one party, and defer to the + ruling sentiment among the whites. The exodus has wrung from two or three + of the more candid and independent journals, however, a virtual confession + of the fiendish practices of bulldozing in their insistance that these + practices must be abandoned. The non-resident land owners and the resident + planters, the city factors and the country merchants of means and + respectability, have taken no personal part in the terrorizing of the + negro, but they have tolerated it, and sometimes encouraged it, in order + to gratify their preference for "white government." The negroes have + suffered the more because they have not resisted and defended themselves; + now they have begun to convince those who have persecuted them that, if + they will not strike back, they can and will run away. No one who is at + all familiar with the freedman can doubt that the abridgment of his + political rights has been one of the main causes of the exodus. Voting is + widely regarded at the North as a disagreeable duty, but the negro looks + upon it as the highest privilege in life; to be frightened out of the + exercise of this privilege, or compelled to exercise it in conflict with + his convictions and preferences, is to suffer from a cruel injustice, + which the negro will now try to escape, since he has learned that escape + is possible. The women, though free from personal assaults, suffer from + the terrorism that prevails in certain districts as much as the men. "We + might as well starve or freeze to death in Kansas," they say, "as to be + shot-gunned here." If they talk to you in confidence, they declare that + the ruling purpose is to escape from the "slaughter-pens" of the South. + Political persecution, and not the extortion they suffer, is the refrain + of all the speakers at negro meetings that are held in encouragement and + aid of the emigration. It is idle to deny that the varied injustice which + the negroes have suffered as voters is accountable for a large part of + their universal yearning for new homes, and it will be folly for the + responsible classes at the South to ignore this fact. + </p> + <p> + As it is the negroes who are fleeing from the South, it is natural to look + among the dominant class for the injustice which is driving them away; but + it would be unfair to conclude that the blame rests entirely upon the + whites, and still more so to leave the impression that there is no + extenuation for the mistakes and abuses for which the whites are + responsible. Much of the intimidation of the blacks has been tolerated, if + not suggested, by a fear of negro uprisings. The apprehension is a legacy + from the days of slavery, and is more unreasonable now than it was then; + but still it exists. This is not an excuse, but an explanation. The + Pharaohs of the time of Moses were in constant dread lest the Hebrews + under their rule should go over to their enemies, and their dread + doubtless increased the cruelty of the Egyptians; but, while this dread + was an extenuation in the eyes of the persecutors, it did not prevent the + Hebrews from fleeing the persecution. So the blacks are going without + regard to the justification which the whites may set up for their + treatment; the only difference between the old and new exodus is that, as + the writer heard one negro speaker express it, "every black man is his own + Moses in this exodus." The negro may be lazy; it seems impossible to be + otherwise in the Southern climate. He may not be willing to work on + Saturdays, no matter how urgent the necessity; the indulgence in holidays + is said to be one of the chief drawbacks to the advancement of the + emancipated serfs of Russia. The blacks are certainly extravagant in their + way, though the word seems to be almost misused in connection with a race + who live largely on pork and molasses, and rarely wear more than half a + dollar's worth of clothes at one time. They have not the instinct of home + as it prevails among the whites, but incline to a crude and unsystematic + communism; the negro quarters of the old plantations are all huddled + together in the centre, and, except where the land owners have interfered + to encourage a different life, there is still too much promiscuousness in + the relation of the sexes. The negro, as a rule, has no ambition to become + a land owner; he prefers to invest his surplus money, when he has any, in + personal and movable property. In most cases where the blacks have been + given the opportunity of buying land on long time, and paying yearly + installments out of the proceeds of their annual crops, they have tired of + the bargain after a year or two, and abandoned the contract. The negro + politicians and preachers are not all that reformers and moralists would + have them; the imitative faculty of the African has betrayed the black + politician into many of the vicious ways of the white politician, and the + colored preacher is frequently not above "the pomps and vanity of this + wicked world." All this is the more unfortunate, as the blacks have a + child-like confidence in their chosen leaders, founded partly on their + primitive character, and partly on their distrust of the native whites. + Both their politicians and their preachers have given abundant evidence of + their insincerity during the excitement of emigration by blowing hot and + blowing cold; by talking to the negroes one way, and to the whites + another; and even to the extent, in some instances, of taking money to use + their influence for discouraging and impeding emigration. These are some + of the faults and misfortunes on the part of the blacks which enter into + the race troubles. The chief blame which attaches to the whites is the + failure to make a persistent effort, by education and kind treatment, to + overcome the distrust and cure the faults of the negroes. The whites + control, because they constitute the "property and intelligence" of the + South, to use the words of a democratic statesman; this power should have + been used to gain the confidence of the blacks. Had such a course been + taken, there would not have been the fear of reenslavement, which actually + prevails to a considerable extent among the negroes. So long as a portion + of the whites entertain the conviction that the war of the sections will + be renewed within a few years, as is the case, the negroes will suspect + and dread the class who would treat them as enemies in case the war should + come, and will seek to escape to a section of the country where they would + not be so treated. Perhaps, too, there would have been a voluntary + political division among the black voters, had the whites used more + pacific means to bring it about, and had they themselves set the example. + And last, but not least, in making up the sum of blame that the whites + must bear, is their own unwillingness to labor, which gives the rural + population too much time for mischief and too little sympathy with the + working classes. + </p> + <p> + As we have traced the causes that have led to the exodus, and described + the conditions which warrant the belief that there will be a renewal of + the emigration on a more extended scale next spring, and endeavored to + distribute the responsibility for the troubles equitably among whites and + blacks, remedies have naturally suggested themselves to the reader; in + fact, they are more easily to be thought out than accomplished. A few + general reflections may be added, however, in order to indicate the + probable solution of the race troubles that have brought about the exodus, + if, indeed, the whites and blacks of the South are ever going to live + together in peace. + </p> + <p> + (1.) It is certain that negro labor is the best the South can have, and + equally certain that the climate and natural conditions of the South are + better suited to the negro than any others on this continent. The alluvial + lands, which many persons believe the negroes alone can cultivate, on + account of climatic conditions, are so rich that it might literally be + said it is only necessary to tickle them with a hoe to make them laugh + back a harvest. The common prosperity of the country—the + agricultural interests of the South and the commercial interests of the + North—will be best served, therefore, by the continued residence and + labor of the blacks in the cotton States. + </p> + <p> + (2.) The fact stated in the foregoing paragraph is so well understood at + the North that the Southern people should dismiss the idea that there is + any scheming among the Northern people, political or otherwise, to draw + the black labor away from its natural home. The same fact should also + influence the people at the North not to be misled by any professional + philanthropists who may have some self-interest in soliciting aid to + facilitate negro emigration from the South. The duty of the North in this + matter is simply to extend protection and assure safe-conduct to the + negroes, if the Southern whites attempt to impede voluntary emigration by + either law or violence. Any other course might be cruel to the negro in + encouraging him to enter on a new life in a strange climate, as well as an + injustice to the white land owners of the South. + </p> + <p> + (3.) There is danger that the Southern whites will, as a rule, + misinterpret the meaning of the exodus. Many are inclined to underrate its + importance, and those who appreciate its significance are apt to look for + temporary and superficial remedies. The vague promises made at the + Vicksburg convention, which was controlled by the whites, and called to + consider the emigration movement, have had no influence with the negroes, + because they have heard such promises before. Had the convention adopted + some definite plan of action, such as ex-Governor Foote, of Mississippi, + submitted, its session might not have been in vain. This plan was to + establish a committee in every county, composed of men who have the + confidence of both whites and blacks, that should be auxiliary to the + public authorities, listen to complaints, and arbitrate, advise, + conciliate, or prosecute, as each case should demand. It is short-sighted + for the Southern people to make mere temporary concessions, such as have + been made in some cases this year, for that course would establish an + annual strike. It is folly for them to suppose they can stem the tide of + emigration by influencing the regular lines of steamboats not to carry the + refugees, for the people of the North will see that the blacks shall not + be detained in the South against their will. It is unwise for them to + devise schemes for importing Chinese, or encouraging the immigration of + white labor as a substitute for negro labor, when they may much better + bestir themselves to make the present effective labor content. + </p> + <p> + (4.) Education will be the most useful agent to employ in the permanent + harmonizing of the two races, and the redemption of both from the faults + and follies which constitute their troubles. It is not the education of + the negro alone, whose ambition for learning is increasing notably with + every new generation, but the education of the mass of the young whites, + that is needed to inculcate more tolerance of color and opinion, to give + them an aspiration beyond that of riding a horse and hanging a "nigger," + and to enable them to set a better example to the imitative blacks in the + way of work and frugality. The blacks need the education to protect them + from designing white men; the whites need it to teach them that their own + interests will be best served by abandoning bulldozing of all kinds. + </p> + <p> + (5.) Reform in the land tenure, by converting the plantation monopolies + into small holdings; abolition of the credit system, by abandoning the + laws which sustain it; a diversification of crops; and attention to new + manufacturing, maritime, and commercial enterprises,—these are the + material changes that are most needed. They can be secured only through + the active and earnest efforts of the whites. The blacks will be found + responsive. + </p> + <p> + (6.) The hope of the negro exodus at its present stage, or even if it + shall continue another season, is that the actual loss of the valuable + labor that has gone, and the prospective loss of more labor that is + anxious to go, will induce the intelligent and responsible classes at the + South to overcome their own prejudices, and to compel the extremists, + irreconcilables, and politicians generally, of all parties, to abandon + agitation, and give the South equal peace and equal chance for black and + white. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0005" id="link2H_4_0005"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + MY ESCAPE FROM SLAVERY by Frederick Douglass + </h2> + <p> + In the first narrative of my experience in slavery, written nearly forty + years ago, and in various writings since, I have given the public what I + considered very good reasons for withholding the manner of my escape. In + substance these reasons were, first, that such publication at any time + during the existence of slavery might be used by the master against the + slave, and prevent the future escape of any who might adopt the same means + that I did. The second reason was, if possible, still more binding to + silence: the publication of details would certainly have put in peril the + persons and property of those who assisted. Murder itself was not more + sternly and certainly punished in the State of Maryland than that of + aiding and abetting the escape of a slave. Many colored men, for no other + crime than that of giving aid to a fugitive slave, have, like Charles T. + Torrey, perished in prison. The abolition of slavery in my native State + and throughout the country, and the lapse of time, render the caution + hitherto observed no longer necessary. But even since the abolition of + slavery, I have sometimes thought it well enough to baffle curiosity by + saying that while slavery existed there were good reasons for not telling + the manner of my escape, and since slavery had ceased to exist, there was + no reason for telling it. I shall now, however, cease to avail myself of + this formula, and, as far as I can, endeavor to satisfy this very natural + curiosity. I should, perhaps, have yielded to that feeling sooner, had + there been anything very heroic or thrilling in the incidents connected + with my escape, for I am sorry to say I have nothing of that sort to tell; + and yet the courage that could risk betrayal and the bravery which was + ready to encounter death, if need be, in pursuit of freedom, were + essential features in the undertaking. My success was due to address + rather than courage, to good luck rather than bravery. My means of escape + were provided for me by the very men who were making laws to hold and bind + me more securely in slavery. + </p> + <p> + It was the custom in the State of Maryland to require the free colored + people to have what were called free papers. These instruments they were + required to renew very often, and by charging a fee for this writing, + considerable sums from time to time were collected by the State. In these + papers the name, age, color, height, and form of the freeman were + described, together with any scars or other marks upon his person which + could assist in his identification. This device in some measure defeated + itself—since more than one man could be found to answer the same + general description. Hence many slaves could escape by personating the + owner of one set of papers; and this was often done as follows: A slave, + nearly or sufficiently answering the description set forth in the papers, + would borrow or hire them till by means of them he could escape to a free + State, and then, by mail or otherwise, would return them to the owner. The + operation was a hazardous one for the lender as well as for the borrower. + A failure on the part of the fugitive to send back the papers would + imperil his benefactor, and the discovery of the papers in possession of + the wrong man would imperil both the fugitive and his friend. It was, + therefore, an act of supreme trust on the part of a freeman of color thus + to put in jeopardy his own liberty that another might be free. It was, + however, not unfrequently bravely done, and was seldom discovered. I was + not so fortunate as to resemble any of my free acquaintances sufficiently + to answer the description of their papers. But I had a friend—a + sailor—who owned a sailor's protection, which answered somewhat the + purpose of free papers—describing his person, and certifying to the + fact that he was a free American sailor. The instrument had at its head + the American eagle, which gave it the appearance at once of an authorized + document. This protection, when in my hands, did not describe its bearer + very accurately. Indeed, it called for a man much darker than myself, and + close examination of it would have caused my arrest at the start. + </p> + <p> + In order to avoid this fatal scrutiny on the part of railroad officials, I + arranged with Isaac Rolls, a Baltimore hackman, to bring my baggage to the + Philadelphia train just on the moment of starting, and jumped upon the car + myself when the train was in motion. Had I gone into the station and + offered to purchase a ticket, I should have been instantly and carefully + examined, and undoubtedly arrested. In choosing this plan I considered the + jostle of the train, and the natural haste of the conductor, in a train + crowded with passengers, and relied upon my skill and address in playing + the sailor, as described in my protection, to do the rest. One element in + my favor was the kind feeling which prevailed in Baltimore and other + sea-ports at the time, toward "those who go down to the sea in ships." + "Free trade and sailors' rights" just then expressed the sentiment of the + country. In my clothing I was rigged out in sailor style. I had on a red + shirt and a tarpaulin hat, and a black cravat tied in sailor fashion + carelessly and loosely about my neck. My knowledge of ships and sailor's + talk came much to my assistance, for I knew a ship from stem to stern, and + from keelson to cross-trees, and could talk sailor like an "old salt." I + was well on the way to Havre de Grace before the conductor came into the + negro car to collect tickets and examine the papers of his black + passengers. This was a critical moment in the drama. My whole future + depended upon the decision of this conductor. Agitated though I was while + this ceremony was proceeding, still, externally, at least, I was + apparently calm and self-possessed. He went on with his duty—examining + several colored passengers before reaching me. He was somewhat harsh in + tome and peremptory in manner until he reached me, when, strange enough, + and to my surprise and relief, his whole manner changed. Seeing that I did + not readily produce my free papers, as the other colored persons in the + car had done, he said to me, in friendly contrast with his bearing toward + the others: + </p> + <p> + "I suppose you have your free papers?" + </p> + <p> + To which I answered: + </p> + <p> + "No sir; I never carry my free papers to sea with me." + </p> + <p> + "But you have something to show that you are a freeman, haven't you?" + </p> + <p> + "Yes, sir," I answered; "I have a paper with the American Eagle on it, and + that will carry me around the world." + </p> + <p> + With this I drew from my deep sailor's pocket my seaman's protection, as + before described. The merest glance at the paper satisfied him, and he + took my fare and went on about his business. This moment of time was one + of the most anxious I ever experienced. Had the conductor looked closely + at the paper, he could not have failed to discover that it called for a + very different-looking person from myself, and in that case it would have + been his duty to arrest me on the instant, and send me back to Baltimore + from the first station. When he left me with the assurance that I was all + right, though much relieved, I realized that I was still in great danger: + I was still in Maryland, and subject to arrest at any moment. I saw on the + train several persons who would have known me in any other clothes, and I + feared they might recognize me, even in my sailor "rig," and report me to + the conductor, who would then subject me to a closer examination, which I + knew well would be fatal to me. + </p> + <p> + Though I was not a murderer fleeing from justice, I felt perhaps quite as + miserable as such a criminal. The train was moving at a very high rate of + speed for that epoch of railroad travel, but to my anxious mind it was + moving far too slowly. Minutes were hours, and hours were days during this + part of my flight. After Maryland, I was to pass through Delaware—another + slave State, where slave-catchers generally awaited their prey, for it was + not in the interior of the State, but on its borders, that these human + hounds were most vigilant and active. The border lines between slavery and + freedom were the dangerous ones for the fugitives. The heart of no fox or + deer, with hungry hounds on his trail in full chase, could have beaten + more anxiously or noisily than did mine from the time I left Baltimore + till I reached Philadelphia. The passage of the Susquehanna River at Havre + de Grace was at that time made by ferry-boat, on board of which I met a + young colored man by the name of Nichols, who came very near betraying me. + He was a "hand" on the boat, but, instead of minding his business, he + insisted upon knowing me, and asking me dangerous questions as to where I + was going, when I was coming back, etc. I got away from my old and + inconvenient acquaintance as soon as I could decently do so, and went to + another part of the boat. Once across the river, I encountered a new + danger. Only a few days before, I had been at work on a revenue cutter, in + Mr. Price's ship-yard in Baltimore, under the care of Captain McGowan. On + the meeting at this point of the two trains, the one going south stopped + on the track just opposite to the one going north, and it so happened that + this Captain McGowan sat at a window where he could see me very + distinctly, and would certainly have recognized me had he looked at me but + for a second. Fortunately, in the hurry of the moment, he did not see me; + and the trains soon passed each other on their respective ways. But this + was not my only hair-breadth escape. A German blacksmith whom I knew well + was on the train with me, and looked at me very intently, as if he thought + he had seen me somewhere before in his travels. I really believe he knew + me, but had no heart to betray me. At any rate, he saw me escaping and + held his peace. + </p> + <p> + The last point of imminent danger, and the one I dreaded most, was + Wilmington. Here we left the train and took the steam-boat for + Philadelphia. In making the change here I again apprehended arrest, but no + one disturbed me, and I was soon on the broad and beautiful Delaware, + speeding away to the Quaker City. On reaching Philadelphia in the + afternoon, I inquired of a colored man how I could get on to New York. He + directed me to the William-street depot, and thither I went, taking the + train that night. I reached New York Tuesday morning, having completed the + journey in less than twenty-four hours. + </p> + <p> + My free life began on the third of September, 1838. On the morning of the + fourth of that month, after an anxious and most perilous but safe journey, + I found myself in the big city of New York, a FREE MAN—one more + added to the mighty throng which, like the confused waves of the troubled + sea, surged to and fro between the lofty walls of Broadway. Though dazzled + with the wonders which met me on every hand, my thoughts could not be much + withdrawn from my strange situation. For the moment, the dreams of my + youth and the hopes of my manhood were completely fulfilled. The bonds + that had held me to "old master" were broken. No man now had a right to + call me his slave or assert mastery over me. I was in the rough and tumble + of an outdoor world, to take my chance with the rest of its busy number. I + have often been asked how I felt when first I found myself on free soil. + There is scarcely anything in my experience about which I could not give a + more satisfactory answer. A new world had opened upon me. If life is more + than breath and the "quick round of blood," I lived more in that one day + than in a year of my slave life. It was a time of joyous excitement which + words can but tamely describe. In a letter written to a friend soon after + reaching New York, I said: "I felt as one might feel upon escape from a + den of hungry lions." Anguish and grief, like darkness and rain, may be + depicted; but gladness and joy, like the rainbow, defy the skill of pen or + pencil. During ten or fifteen years I had been, as it were, dragging a + heavy chain which no strength of mine could break; I was not only a slave, + but a slave for life. I might become a husband, a father, an aged man, but + through all, from birth to death, from the cradle to the grave, I had felt + myself doomed. All efforts I had previously made to secure my freedom had + not only failed, but had seemed only to rivet my fetters the more firmly, + and to render my escape more difficult. Baffled, entangled, and + discouraged, I had at times asked myself the question, May not my + condition after all be God's work, and ordered for a wise purpose, and if + so, Is not submission my duty? A contest had in fact been going on in my + mind for a long time, between the clear consciousness of right and the + plausible make-shifts of theology and superstition. The one held me an + abject slave—a prisoner for life, punished for some transgression in + which I had no lot nor part; and the other counseled me to manly endeavor + to secure my freedom. This contest was now ended; my chains were broken, + and the victory brought me unspeakable joy. + </p> + <p> + But my gladness was short-lived, for I was not yet out of the reach and + power of the slave-holders. I soon found that New York was not quite so + free or so safe a refuge as I had supposed, and a sense of loneliness and + insecurity again oppressed me most sadly. I chanced to meet on the street, + a few hours after my landing, a fugitive slave whom I had once known well + in slavery. The information received from him alarmed me. The fugitive in + question was known in Baltimore as "Allender's Jake," but in New York he + wore the more respectable name of "William Dixon." Jake, in law, was the + property of Doctor Allender, and Tolly Allender, the son of the doctor, + had once made an effort to recapture MR. DIXON, but had failed for want of + evidence to support his claim. Jake told me the circumstances of this + attempt, and how narrowly he escaped being sent back to slavery and + torture. He told me that New York was then full of Southerners returning + from the Northern watering-places; that the colored people of New York + were not to be trusted; that there were hired men of my own color who + would betray me for a few dollars; that there were hired men ever on the + lookout for fugitives; that I must trust no man with my secret; that I + must not think of going either upon the wharves or into any colored + boarding-house, for all such places were closely watched; that he was + himself unable to help me; and, in fact, he seemed while speaking to me to + fear lest I myself might be a spy and a betrayer. Under this apprehension, + as I suppose, he showed signs of wishing to be rid of me, and with + whitewash brush in hand, in search of work, he soon disappeared. + </p> + <p> + This picture, given by poor "Jake," of New York, was a damper to my + enthusiasm. My little store of money would soon be exhausted, and since it + would be unsafe for me to go on the wharves for work, and I had no + introductions elsewhere, the prospect for me was far from cheerful. I saw + the wisdom of keeping away from the ship-yards, for, if pursued, as I felt + certain I should be, Mr. Auld, my "master," would naturally seek me there + among the calkers. Every door seemed closed against me. I was in the midst + of an ocean of my fellow-men, and yet a perfect stranger to every one. I + was without home, without acquaintance, without money, without credit, + without work, and without any definite knowledge as to what course to + take, or where to look for succor. In such an extremity, a man had + something besides his new-born freedom to think of. While wandering about + the streets of New York, and lodging at least one night among the barrels + on one of the wharves, I was indeed free—from slavery, but free from + food and shelter as well. I kept my secret to myself as long as I could, + but I was compelled at last to seek some one who would befriend me without + taking advantage of my destitution to betray me. Such a person I found in + a sailor named Stuart, a warm-hearted and generous fellow, who, from his + humble home on Centre street, saw me standing on the opposite sidewalk, + near the Tombs prison. As he approached me, I ventured a remark to him + which at once enlisted his interest in me. He took me to his home to spend + the night, and in the morning went with me to Mr. David Ruggles, the + secretary of the New York Vigilance Committee, a co-worker with Isaac T. + Hopper, Lewis and Arthur Tappan, Theodore S. Wright, Samuel Cornish, + Thomas Downing, Philip A. Bell, and other true men of their time. All + these (save Mr. Bell, who still lives, and is editor and publisher of a + paper called the "Elevator," in San Francisco) have finished their work on + earth. Once in the hands of these brave and wise men, I felt comparatively + safe. With Mr. Ruggles, on the corner of Lispenard and Church streets, I + was hidden several days, during which time my intended wife came on from + Baltimore at my call, to share the burdens of life with me. She was a free + woman, and came at once on getting the good news of my safety. We were + married by Rev. J. W. C. Pennington, then a well-known and respected + Presbyterian minister. I had no money with which to pay the marriage fee, + but he seemed well pleased with our thanks. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Ruggles was the first officer on the "Underground Railroad" whom I met + after coming North, and was, indeed, the only one with whom I had anything + to do till I became such an officer myself. Learning that my trade was + that of a calker, he promptly decided that the best place for me was in + New Bedford, Mass. He told me that many ships for whaling voyages were + fitted out there, and that I might there find work at my trade and make a + good living. So, on the day of the marriage ceremony, we took our little + luggage to the steamer JOHN W. RICHMOND, which, at that time, was one of + the line running between New York and Newport, R. I. Forty-three years ago + colored travelers were not permitted in the cabin, nor allowed abaft the + paddle-wheels of a steam vessel. They were compelled, whatever the weather + might be,—whether cold or hot, wet or dry,—to spend the night + on deck. Unjust as this regulation was, it did not trouble us much; we had + fared much harder before. We arrived at Newport the next morning, and soon + after an old fashioned stage-coach, with "New Bedford" in large yellow + letters on its sides, came down to the wharf. I had not money enough to + pay our fare, and stood hesitating what to do. Fortunately for us, there + were two Quaker gentlemen who were about to take passage on the stage,—Friends + William C. Taber and Joseph Ricketson,—who at once discerned our + true situation, and, in a peculiarly quiet way, addressing me, Mr. Taber + said: "Thee get in." I never obeyed an order with more alacrity, and we + were soon on our way to our new home. When we reached "Stone Bridge" the + passengers alighted for breakfast, and paid their fares to the driver. We + took no breakfast, and, when asked for our fares, I told the driver I + would make it right with him when we reached New Bedford. I expected some + objection to this on his part, but he made none. When, however, we reached + New Bedford, he took our baggage, including three music-books,—two + of them collections by Dyer, and one by Shaw,—and held them until I + was able to redeem them by paying to him the amount due for our rides. + This was soon done, for Mr. Nathan Johnson not only received me kindly and + hospitably, but, on being informed about our baggage, at once loaned me + the two dollars with which to square accounts with the stage-driver. Mr. + and Mrs. Nathan Johnson reached a good old age, and now rest from their + labors. I am under many grateful obligations to them. They not only "took + me in when a stranger" and "fed me when hungry," but taught me how to make + an honest living. Thus, in a fortnight after my flight from Maryland, I + was safe in New Bedford, a citizen of the grand old commonwealth of + Massachusetts. + </p> + <p> + Once initiated into my new life of freedom and assured by Mr. Johnson that + I need not fear recapture in that city, a comparatively unimportant + question arose as to the name by which I should be known thereafter in my + new relation as a free man. The name given me by my dear mother was no + less pretentious and long than Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey. I + had, however, while living in Maryland, dispensed with the Augustus + Washington, and retained only Frederick Bailey. Between Baltimore and New + Bedford, the better to conceal myself from the slave-hunters, I had parted + with Bailey and called myself Johnson; but in New Bedford I found that the + Johnson family was already so numerous as to cause some confusion in + distinguishing them, hence a change in this name seemed desirable. Nathan + Johnson, mine host, placed great emphasis upon this necessity, and wished + me to allow him to select a name for me. I consented, and he called me by + my present name—the one by which I have been known for three and + forty years—Frederick Douglass. Mr. Johnson had just been reading + the "Lady of the Lake," and so pleased was he with its great character + that he wished me to bear his name. Since reading that charming poem + myself, I have often thought that, considering the noble hospitality and + manly character of Nathan Johnson—black man though he was—he, + far more than I, illustrated the virtues of the Douglas of Scotland. Sure + am I that, if any slave-catcher had entered his domicile with a view to my + recapture, Johnson would have shown himself like him of the "stalwart + hand." + </p> + <p> + The reader may be surprised at the impressions I had in some way conceived + of the social and material condition of the people at the North. I had no + proper idea of the wealth, refinement, enterprise, and high civilization + of this section of the country. My "Columbian Orator," almost my only + book, had done nothing to enlighten me concerning Northern society. I had + been taught that slavery was the bottom fact of all wealth. With this + foundation idea, I came naturally to the conclusion that poverty must be + the general condition of the people of the free States. In the country + from which I came, a white man holding no slaves was usually an ignorant + and poverty-stricken man, and men of this class were contemptuously called + "poor white trash." Hence I supposed that, since the non-slave-holders at + the South were ignorant, poor, and degraded as a class, the + non-slave-holders at the North must be in a similar condition. I could + have landed in no part of the United States where I should have found a + more striking and gratifying contrast, not only to life generally in the + South, but in the condition of the colored people there, than in New + Bedford. I was amazed when Mr. Johnson told me that there was nothing in + the laws or constitution of Massachusetts that would prevent a colored man + from being governor of the State, if the people should see fit to elect + him. There, too, the black man's children attended the public schools with + the white man's children, and apparently without objection from any + quarter. To impress me with my security from recapture and return to + slavery, Mr. Johnson assured me that no slave-holder could take a slave + out of New Bedford; that there were men there who would lay down their + lives to save me from such a fate. + </p> + <p> + The fifth day after my arrival, I put on the clothes of a common laborer, + and went upon the wharves in search of work. On my way down Union street I + saw a large pile of coal in front of the house of Rev. Ephraim Peabody, + the Unitarian minister. I went to the kitchen door and asked the privilege + of bringing in and putting away this coal. "What will you charge?" said + the lady. "I will leave that to you, madam." "You may put it away," she + said. I was not long in accomplishing the job, when the dear lady put into + my hand TWO SILVER HALF-DOLLARS. To understand the emotion which swelled + my heart as I clasped this money, realizing that I had no master who could + take it from me,—THAT IT WAS MINE—THAT MY HANDS WERE MY OWN, + and could earn more of the precious coin,—one must have been in some + sense himself a slave. My next job was stowing a sloop at Uncle Gid. + Howland's wharf with a cargo of oil for New York. I was not only a + freeman, but a free working-man, and no "master" stood ready at the end of + the week to seize my hard earnings. + </p> + <p> + The season was growing late and work was plenty. Ships were being fitted + out for whaling, and much wood was used in storing them. The sawing this + wood was considered a good job. With the help of old Friend Johnson + (blessings on his memory) I got a saw and "buck," and went at it. When I + went into a store to buy a cord with which to brace up my saw in the + frame, I asked for a "fip's" worth of cord. The man behind the counter + looked rather sharply at me, and said with equal sharpness, "You don't + belong about here." I was alarmed, and thought I had betrayed myself. A + fip in Maryland was six and a quarter cents, called fourpence in + Massachusetts. But no harm came from the "fi'penny-bit" blunder, and I + confidently and cheerfully went to work with my saw and buck. It was new + business to me, but I never did better work, or more of it, in the same + space of time on the plantation for Covey, the negro-breaker, than I did + for myself in these earliest years of my freedom. + </p> + <p> + Notwithstanding the just and humane sentiment of New Bedford three and + forty years ago, the place was not entirely free from race and color + prejudice. The good influence of the Roaches, Rodmans, Arnolds, Grinnells, + and Robesons did not pervade all classes of its people. The test of the + real civilization of the community came when I applied for work at my + trade, and then my repulse was emphatic and decisive. It so happened that + Mr. Rodney French, a wealthy and enterprising citizen, distinguished as an + anti-slavery man, was fitting out a vessel for a whaling voyage, upon + which there was a heavy job of calking and coppering to be done. I had + some skill in both branches, and applied to Mr. French for work. He, + generous man that he was, told me he would employ me, and I might go at + once to the vessel. I obeyed him, but upon reaching the float-stage, where + others [sic] calkers were at work, I was told that every white man would + leave the ship, in her unfinished condition, if I struck a blow at my + trade upon her. This uncivil, inhuman, and selfish treatment was not so + shocking and scandalous in my eyes at the time as it now appears to me. + Slavery had inured me to hardships that made ordinary trouble sit lightly + upon me. Could I have worked at my trade I could have earned two dollars a + day, but as a common laborer I received but one dollar. The difference was + of great importance to me, but if I could not get two dollars, I was glad + to get one; and so I went to work for Mr. French as a common laborer. The + consciousness that I was free—no longer a slave—kept me + cheerful under this, and many similar proscriptions, which I was destined + to meet in New Bedford and elsewhere on the free soil of Massachusetts. + For instance, though colored children attended the schools, and were + treated kindly by their teachers, the New Bedford Lyceum refused, till + several years after my residence in that city, to allow any colored person + to attend the lectures delivered in its hall. Not until such men as + Charles Sumner, Theodore Parker, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Horace Mann + refused to lecture in their course while there was such a restriction, was + it abandoned. + </p> + <p> + Becoming satisfied that I could not rely on my trade in New Bedford to + give me a living, I prepared myself to do any kind of work that came to + hand. I sawed wood, shoveled coal, dug cellars, moved rubbish from back + yards, worked on the wharves, loaded and unloaded vessels, and scoured + their cabins. + </p> + <p> + I afterward got steady work at the brass-foundry owned by Mr. Richmond. My + duty here was to blow the bellows, swing the crane, and empty the flasks + in which castings were made; and at times this was hot and heavy work. The + articles produced here were mostly for ship work, and in the busy season + the foundry was in operation night and day. I have often worked two nights + and every working day of the week. My foreman, Mr. Cobb, was a good man, + and more than once protected me from abuse that one or more of the hands + was disposed to throw upon me. While in this situation I had little time + for mental improvement. Hard work, night and day, over a furnace hot + enough to keep the metal running like water, was more favorable to action + than thought; yet here I often nailed a newspaper to the post near my + bellows, and read while I was performing the up and down motion of the + heavy beam by which the bellows was inflated and discharged. It was the + pursuit of knowledge under difficulties, and I look back to it now, after + so many years, with some complacency and a little wonder that I could have + been so earnest and persevering in any pursuit other than for my daily + bread. I certainly saw nothing in the conduct of those around to inspire + me with such interest: they were all devoted exclusively to what their + hands found to do. I am glad to be able to say that, during my engagement + in this foundry, no complaint was ever made against me that I did not do + my work, and do it well. The bellows which I worked by main strength was, + after I left, moved by a steam-engine. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0006" id="link2H_4_0006"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE GOOPHERED GRAPEVINE by Charles W. Chesnutt + </h2> + <p> + About ten years ago my wife was in poor health, and our family doctor, in + whose skill and honesty I had implicit confidence, advised a change of + climate. I was engaged in grape-culture in northern Ohio, and decided to + look for a locality suitable for carrying on the same business in some + Southern State. I wrote to a cousin who had gone into the turpentine + business in central North Carolina, and he assured me that no better place + could be found in the South than the State and neighborhood in which he + lived: climate and soil were all that could be asked for, and land could + be bought for a mere song. A cordial invitation to visit him while I + looked into the matter was accepted. We found the weather delightful at + that season, the end of the summer, and were most hospitably entertained. + Our host placed a horse and buggy at our disposal, and himself acted as + guide until I got somewhat familiar with the country. + </p> + <p> + I went several times to look at a place which I thought might suit me. It + had been at one time a thriving plantation, but shiftless cultivation had + well-night exhausted the soil. There had been a vineyard of some extent on + the place, but it had not been attended to since the war, and had fallen + into utter neglect. The vines—here partly supported by decayed and + broken-down arbors, there twining themselves among the branches of the + slender saplings which had sprung up among them—grew in wild and + unpruned luxuriance, and the few scanty grapes which they bore were the + undisputed prey of the first comer. The site was admirably adapted to + grape-raising; the soil, with a little attention, could not have been + better; and with the native grape, the luscious scuppernong, mainly to + rely upon, I felt sure that I could introduce and cultivate successfully a + number of other varieties. + </p> + <p> + One day I went over with my wife, to show her the place. We drove between + the decayed gate-posts—the gate itself had long since disappeared—and + up the straight, sandy lane to the open space where a dwelling-house had + once stood. But the house had fallen a victim to the fortunes of war, and + nothing remained of it except the brick pillars upon which the sills had + rested. We alighted, and walked about the place for a while; but on + Annie's complaining of weariness I led the way back to the yard, where a + pine log, lying under a spreading elm, formed a shady though somewhat hard + seat. One end of the log was already occupied by a venerable-looking + colored man. He held on his knees a hat full of grapes, over which he was + smacking his lips with great gusto, and a pile of grape-skins near him + indicated that the performance was no new thing. He respectfully rose as + we approached, and was moving away, when I begged him to keep his seat. + </p> + <p> + "Don't let us disturb you," I said. "There's plenty of room for us all." + </p> + <p> + He resumed his seat with somewhat of embarrassment. + </p> + <p> + "Do you live around here?" I asked, anxious to put him at his ease. + </p> + <p> + "Yas, suh. I lives des ober yander, behine de nex' san'-hill, on de + Lumberton plank-road." + </p> + <p> + "Do you know anything about the time when this vineyard was cultivated?" + </p> + <p> + "Lawd bless yer, suh, I knows all about it. Dey ain' na'er a man in dis + settlement w'at won' tell yer ole Julius McAdoo 'uz bawn an' raise' on dis + yer same plantation. Is you de Norv'n gemman w'at's gwine ter buy de ole + vimya'd?" + </p> + <p> + "I am looking at it," I replied; "but I don't know that I shall care to + buy unless I can be reasonably sure of making something out of it." + </p> + <p> + "Well, suh, you is a stranger ter me, en I is a stranger ter you, en we is + bofe strangers ter one anudder, but 'f I 'uz in yo' place, I wouldn' buy + dis vimya'd." + </p> + <p> + "Why not?" I asked. + </p> + <p> + "Well, I dunner whe'r you b'lieves in cunj'in er not,—some er de + w'ite folks don't, er says dey don't,—but de truf er de matter is + dat dis yer ole vimya'd is goophered." + </p> + <p> + "Is what?" I asked, not grasping the meaning of this unfamiliar word. + </p> + <p> + "Is goophered, cunju'd, bewitch'." + </p> + <p> + He imparted this information with such solemn earnestness, and with such + an air of confidential mystery, that I felt somewhat interested, while + Annie was evidently much impressed, and drew closer to me. + </p> + <p> + "How do you know it is bewitched?" I asked. + </p> + <p> + "I wouldn' spec' fer you ter b'lieve me 'less you know all 'bout de fac's. + But ef you en young miss dere doan' min' lis'n'in' ter a ole nigger run on + a minute er two w'ile you er restin', I kin 'splain to yer how it all + happen'." + </p> + <p> + We assured him that we would be glad to hear how it all happened, and he + began to tell us. At first the current of his memory—or imagination—seemed + somewhat sluggish; but as his embarrassment wore off, his language flowed + more freely, and the story acquired perspective and coherence. As he + became more and more absorbed in the narrative, his eyes assumed a dreamy + expression, and he seemed to lose sight of his auditors, and to be living + over again in monologue his life on the old plantation. + </p> + <p> + "Ole Mars Dugal' McAdoo bought dis place long many years befo' de wah, en + I 'member well w'en he sot out all dis yer part er de plantation in + scuppernon's. De vimes growed monst'us fas', en Mars Dugal' made a + thousan' gallon er scuppernon' wine eve'y year. + </p> + <p> + "Now, ef dey's an'thing a nigger lub, nex' ter 'possum, en chick'n, en + watermillyums, it's scuppernon's. Dey ain' nuffin dat kin stan' up side'n + de scuppernon' fer sweetness; sugar ain't a suckumstance ter scuppernon'. + W'en de season is nigh 'bout ober, en de grapes begin ter swivel up des a + little wid de wrinkles er ole age,—w'en de skin git sof' en brown,—den + de scuppernon' make you smack yo' lip en roll yo' eye en wush fer mo'; so + I reckon it ain' very 'stonishin' dat niggers lub scuppernon'. + </p> + <p> + "Dey wuz a sight er niggers in de naberhood er de vimya'd. Dere wuz ole + Mars Henry Brayboy's niggers, en ole Mars Dunkin McLean's niggers, en Mars + Dugal's own niggers; den dey wuz a settlement er free niggers en po' + buckrahs down by de Wim'l'ton Road, en Mars Dugal' had de only vimya'd in + de naberhood. I reckon it ain' so much so nowadays, but befo' de wah, in + slab'ry times, er nigger didn' mine goin' fi' er ten mile in a night, w'en + dey wuz sump'n good ter eat at de yuther een. + </p> + <p> + "So atter a w'ile Mars Dugal' begin ter miss his scuppernon's. Co'se he + 'cuse' de niggers er it, but dey all 'nied it ter de las'. Mars Dugal' sot + spring guns en steel traps, en he en de oberseah sot up nights once't er + twice't, tel one night Mars Dugal'—he 'uz a monst'us keerless man—got + his leg shot full er cow-peas. But somehow er nudder dey couldn' nebber + ketch none er de niggers. I dunner how it happen, but it happen des like I + tell yer, en de grapes kep' on a-goin des de same. + </p> + <p> + "But bimeby ole Mars Dugal' fix' up a plan ter stop it. Dey 'uz a cunjuh + 'ooman livin' down mongs' de free niggers on de Wim'l'ton Road, en all de + darkies fum Rockfish ter Beaver Crick wuz feared uv her. She could wuk de + mos' powerfulles' kind er goopher,—could make people hab fits er + rheumatiz, er make 'em des dwinel away en die; en dey say she went out + ridin' de niggers at night, for she wuz a witch 'sides bein' a cunjuh + 'ooman. Mars Dugal' hearn 'bout Aun' Peggy's doin's, en begun ter 'flect + whe'r er no he couldn' git her ter he'p him keep de niggers off'n de + grapevimes. One day in de spring er de year, ole miss pack' up a basket er + chick'n en poun'-cake, en a bottle er scuppernon' wine, en Mars Dugal' tuk + it in his buggy en driv ober ter Aun' Peggy's cabin. He tuk de basket in, + en had a long talk wid Aun' Peggy. De nex' day Aun' Peggy come up ter de + vimya'd. De niggers seed her slippin' 'roun', en dey soon foun' out what + she 'uz doin' dere. Mars Dugal' had hi'ed her ter goopher de grapevimes. + She sa'ntered 'roun' mongs' de vimes, en tuk a leaf fum dis one, en a + grape-hull fum dat one, en a grape-seed fum anudder one; en den a little + twig fum here, en a little pinch er dirt fum dere,—en put it all in + a big black bottle, wid a snake's toof en a speckle' hen's gall en some + ha'rs fum a black cat's tail, en den fill' de bottle wid scuppernon' wine. + W'en she got de goopher all ready en fix', she tuk 'n went out in de woods + en buried it under de root uv a red oak tree, en den come back en tole one + er de niggers she done goopher de grapevimes, en a'er a nigger w'at eat + dem grapes 'ud be sho ter die inside'n twel' mont's. + </p> + <p> + "Atter dat de niggers let de scuppernon's 'lone, en Mars Dugal' didn' hab + no 'casion ter fine no mo' fault; en de season wuz mos' gone, w'en a + strange gemman stop at de plantation one night ter see Mars Dugal' on some + business; en his coachman, seein' de scuppernon's growin' so nice en + sweet, slip 'roun' behine de smoke-house, en et all de scuppernon's he + could hole. Nobody didn' notice it at de time, but dat night, on de way + home, de gemman's hoss runned away en kill' de coachman. W'en we hearn de + noos, Aun' Lucy, de cook, she up 'n say she seed de strange nigger eat'n' + er de scuppernon's behine de smoke-house; en den we knowed de goopher had + b'en er wukkin. Den one er de nigger chilluns runned away fum de quarters + one day, en got in de scuppernon's, en died de nex' week. W'ite folks say + he die' er de fevuh, but de niggers knowed it wuz de goopher. So you k'n + be sho de darkies didn' hab much ter do wid dem scuppernon' vimes. + </p> + <p> + "W'en de scuppernon' season 'uz ober fer dat year, Mars Dugal' foun' he + had made fifteen hund'ed gallon er wine; en one er de niggers hearn him + laffin' wid de oberseah fit ter kill, en sayin' dem fifteen hund'ed gallon + er wine wuz monst'us good intrus' on de ten dollars he laid out on de + vimya'd. So I 'low ez he paid Aun' Peggy ten dollars fer to goopher de + grapevimes. + </p> + <p> + "De goopher didn' wuk no mo' tel de nex' summer, w'en 'long to'ds de + middle er de season one er de fiel' han's died; en ez dat lef' Mars Dugal' + sho't er han's, he went off ter town fer ter buy anudder. He fotch de noo + nigger home wid 'im. He wuz er ole nigger, er de color er a gingy-cake, en + ball ez a hoss-apple on de top er his head. He wuz a peart ole nigger, + do', en could do a big day's wuk. + </p> + <p> + "Now it happen dat one er de niggers on de nex' plantation, one er ole + Mars Henry Brayboy's niggers, had runned away de day befo', en tuk ter de + swamp, en ole Mars Dugal' en some er de yuther nabor w'ite folks had gone + out wid dere guns en dere dogs fer ter he'p 'em hunt fer de nigger; en de + han's on our own plantation wuz all so flusterated dat we fuhgot ter tell + de noo han' 'bout de goopher on de scuppernon' vimes. Co'se he smell de + grapes en see de vimes, an atter dahk de fus' thing he done wuz ter slip + off ter de grapevimes 'dout sayin' nuffin ter nobody. Nex' mawnin' he tole + some er de niggers 'bout de fine bait er scuppernon' he et de night befo'. + </p> + <p> + "W'en dey tole 'im 'bout de goopher on de grapevimes, he 'uz dat tarrified + dat he turn pale, en look des like he gwine ter die right in his tracks. + De oberseah come up en axed w'at 'uz de matter; en w'en dey tole 'im Henry + be'n eatin' er de scuppernon's, en got de goopher on 'im, he gin Henry a + big drink er w'iskey, en 'low dat de nex' rainy day he take 'im ober ter + Aun' Peggy's, en see ef she wouldn' take de goopher off'n him, seein' ez + he didn' know nuffin erbout it tel he done et de grapes. + </p> + <p> + "Sho nuff, it rain de nex' day, en de oberseah went ober ter Aun' Peggy's + wid Henry. En Aun' Peggy say dat bein' ez Henry didn' know 'bout de + goopher, en et de grapes in ign'ance er de quinseconces, she reckon she + mought be able fer ter take de goopher off'n him. So she fotch out er + bottle wid some cunjuh medicine in it, en po'd some out in a go'd fer + Henry ter drink. He manage ter git it down; he say it tas'e like whiskey + wid sump'n bitter in it. She 'lowed dat 'ud keep de goopher off'n him tel + de spring; but w'en de sap begin ter rise in de grapevimes he ha' ter come + en see her agin, en she tell him w'at e's ter do. + </p> + <p> + "Nex' spring, w'en de sap commence' ter rise in de scuppernon' vime, Henry + tuk a ham one night. Whar'd he git de ham? I doan know; dey wa'nt no hams + on de plantation 'cep'n' w'at 'uz in de smoke-house, but I never see Henry + 'bout de smoke-house. But ez I wuz a-sayin', he tuk de ham ober ter Aun' + Peggy's; en Aun' Peggy tole 'im dat w'en Mars Dugal' begin ter prume de + grapevimes, he mus' go en take 'n scrape off de sap whar it ooze out'n de + cut een's er de vimes, en 'n'int his ball head wid it; en ef he do dat + once't a year de goopher wouldn' wuk agin 'im long ez he done it. En bein' + ez he fotch her de ham, she fix' it so he kin eat all de scuppernon' he + want. + </p> + <p> + "So Henry 'n'int his head wid de sap out'n de big grapevime des ha'f way + 'twix' de quarters en de big house, en de goopher nebber wuk agin him dat + summer. But de beatenes' thing you eber see happen ter Henry. Up ter dat + time he wuz ez ball ez a sweeten' 'tater, but des ez soon ez de young + leaves begun ter come out on de grapevimes de ha'r begun ter grow out on + Henry's head, en by de middle er de summer he had de bigges' head er ha'r + on de plantation. Befo' dat, Henry had tol'able good ha'r 'roun de aidges, + but soon ez de young grapes begun ter come Henry's ha'r begun ter quirl + all up in little balls, des like dis yer reg'lar grapy ha'r, en by de time + de grapes got ripe his head look des like a bunch er grapes. Combin' it + didn' do no good; he wuk at it ha'f de night wid er Jim Crow <a + href="#linknote-1" name="linknoteref-1" id="linknoteref-1"><small>1</small></a>, + en think he git it straighten' out, but in de mawnin' de grapes 'ud be + dere des de same. So he gin it up, en tried ter keep de grapes down by + havin' his ha'r cut sho't." + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-1" id="linknote-1"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 1 (<a href="#linknoteref-1">return</a>)<br /> [ A small card, resembling a + curry-comb in construction, and used by negroes in the rural districts + instead of a comb.] + </p> + <p> + "But dat wa'nt de quares' thing 'bout de goopher. When Henry come ter de + plantation, he wuz gittin' a little ole an stiff in de j'ints. But dat + summer he got des ez spry en libely ez any young nigger on de plantation; + fac' he got so biggity dat Mars Jackson, de oberseah, ha' ter th'eaten ter + whip 'im, ef he didn' stop cuttin' up his didos en behave hisse'f. But de + mos' cur'ouses' thing happen' in de fall, when de sap begin ter go down in + de grapevimes. Fus', when de grapes 'uz gethered, de knots begun ter + straighten out'n Henry's h'ar; en w'en de leaves begin ter fall, Henry's + ha'r begin ter drap out; en w'en de vimes 'uz b'ar, Henry's head wuz + baller 'n it wuz in de spring, en he begin ter git ole en stiff in de + j'ints ag'in, en paid no mo' tention ter de gals dyoin' er de whole + winter. En nex' spring, w'en he rub de sap on ag'in, he got young ag'in, + en so soopl en libely dat none er de young niggers on de plantation + couldn' jump, ner dance, ner hoe ez much cotton ez Henry. But in de fall + er de year his grapes begun ter straighten out, en his j'ints ter git + stiff, en his ha'r drap off, en de rheumatiz begin ter wrastle wid 'im. + </p> + <p> + "Now, ef you'd a knowed ole Mars Dugal' McAdoo, you'd a knowed dat it ha' + ter be a mighty rainy day when he couldn' fine sump'n fer his niggers ter + do, en it ha' ter be a mighty little hole he couldn' crawl thoo, en ha' + ter be a monst'us cloudy night w'en a dollar git by him in de dahkness; en + w'en he see how Henry git young in de spring en ole in de fall, he 'lowed + ter hisse'f ez how he could make mo' money outen Henry dan by wukkin' him + in de cotton fiel'. 'Long de nex' spring, atter de sap commence' ter rise, + en Henry 'n'int 'is head en commence fer ter git young en soopl, Mars + Dugal' up 'n tuk Henry ter town, en sole 'im fer fifteen hunder' dollars. + Co'se de man w'at bought Henry didn' know nuffin 'bout de goopher, en Mars + Dugal' didn' see no 'casion fer ter tell 'im. Long to'ds de fall, w'en de + sap went down, Henry begin ter git ole again same ez yuzhal, en his noo + marster begin ter git skeered les'n he gwine ter lose his + fifteen-hunder'-dollar nigger. He sent fer a mighty fine doctor, but de + med'cine didn' 'pear ter do no good; de goopher had a good holt. Henry + tole de doctor 'bout de goopher, but de doctor des laff at 'im. + </p> + <p> + "One day in de winter Mars Dugal' went ter town, en wuz santerin' 'long de + Main Street, when who should he meet but Henry's noo marster. Dey said + 'Hoddy,' en Mars Dugal' ax 'im ter hab a seegyar; en atter dey run on + awhile 'bout de craps en de weather, Mars Dugal' ax 'im, sorter keerless, + like ez ef he des thought of it,— + </p> + <p> + "'How you like de nigger I sole you las' spring?' + </p> + <p> + "Henry's marster shuck his head en knock de ashes off'n his seegyar. + </p> + <p> + "'Spec' I made a bad bahgin when I bought dat nigger. Henry done good wuk + all de summer, but sence de fall set in he 'pears ter be sorter pinin' + away. Dey ain' nuffin pertickler de matter wid 'im—leastways de + doctor say so—'cep'n' a tech er de rheumatiz; but his ha'r is all + fell out, en ef he don't pick up his strenk mighty soon, I spec' I'm gwine + ter lose 'im." + </p> + <p> + "Dey smoked on awhile, en bimeby ole mars say, 'Well, a bahgin's a bahgin, + but you en me is good fren's, en I doan wan' ter see you lose all de money + you paid fer dat digger [sic]; en ef w'at you say is so, en I ain't + 'sputin' it, he ain't wuf much now. I spec's you wukked him too ha'd dis + summer, er e'se de swamps down here don't agree wid de san'-hill nigger. + So you des lemme know, en ef he gits any wusser I'll be willin' ter gib + yer five hund'ed dollars fer 'im, en take my chances on his livin'.' + </p> + <p> + "Sho nuff, when Henry begun ter draw up wid de rheumatiz en it look like + he gwine ter die fer sho, his noo marster sen' fer Mars Dugal', en Mars + Dugal' gin him what he promus, en brung Henry home ag'in. He tuk good keer + uv 'im dyoin' er de winter,—give 'im w'iskey ter rub his rheumatiz, + en terbacker ter smoke, en all he want ter eat,—'caze a nigger w'at + he could make a thousan' dollars a year off'n didn' grow on eve'y + huckleberry bush. + </p> + <p> + "Nex' spring, w'en de sap ris en Henry's ha'r commence' ter sprout, Mars + Dugal' sole 'im ag'in, down in Robeson County dis time; en he kep' dat + sellin' business up fer five year er mo'. Henry nebber say nuffin 'bout de + goopher ter his noo marsters, 'caze he know he gwine ter be tuk good keer + uv de nex' winter, w'en Mars Dugal' buy him back. En Mars Dugal' made + 'nuff money off'n Henry ter buy anudder plantation ober on Beaver Crick. + </p> + <p> + "But long 'bout de een' er dat five year dey come a stranger ter stop at + de plantation. De fus' day he 'uz dere he went out wid Mars Dugal' en + spent all de mawnin' lookin' ober de vimya'd, en atter dinner dey spent + all de evenin' playin' kya'ds. De niggers soon 'skiver' dat he wuz a + Yankee, en dat he come down ter Norf C'lina fer ter learn de w'ite folks + how to raise grapes en make wine. He promus Mars Dugal' he cud make de + grapevimes b'ar twice't ez many grapes, en dat de noo wine-press he wuz + a-sellin' would make mo' d'n twice't ez many gallons er wine. En ole Mars + Dugal' des drunk it all in, des 'peared ter be bewitched wit dat Yankee. + W'en de darkies see dat Yankee runnin' 'roun de vimya'd en diggin' under + de grapevimes, dey shuk dere heads, en 'lowed dat dey feared Mars Dugal' + losin' his min'. Mars Dugal' had all de dirt dug away fum under de roots + er all de scuppernon' vimes, an' let 'em stan' dat away fer a week er mo'. + Den dat Yankee made de niggers fix up a mixtry er lime en ashes en manyo, + en po' it roun' de roots er de grapevimes. Den he 'vise' Mars Dugal' fer + ter trim de vimes close't, en Mars Dugal' tuck 'n done eve'ything de + Yankee tole him ter do. Dyoin' all er dis time, mind yer, 'e wuz libbin' + off'n de fat er de lan', at de big house, en playin' kyards wid Mars + Dugal' eve'y night; en dey say Mars Dugal' los' mo'n a thousan' dollars + dyoin' er de week dat Yankee wuz a runnin' de grapevimes. + </p> + <p> + "W'en de sap ris nex' spring, ole Henry 'n'inted his head ez yuzhal, en + his ha'r commence' ter grow des de same ez it done eve'y year. De + scuppernon' vimes growed monst's fas', en de leaves wuz greener en thicker + dan dey eber be'n dyowin my rememb'ance; en Henry's ha'r growed out + thicker dan eber, en he 'peared ter git younger 'n younger, en soopler 'n + soopler; en seein' ez he wuz sho't er han's dat spring, havin' tuk in + consid'able noo groun', Mars Dugal' 'cluded he wouldn' sell Henry 'tel he + git de crap in en de cotton chop'. So he kep' Henry on de plantation. + </p> + <p> + "But 'long 'bout time fer de grapes ter come on de scuppernon' vimes, dey + 'peared ter come a change ober dem; de leaves wivered en swivel' up, en de + young grapes turn' yaller, en bimeby eve'ybody on de plantation could see + dat de whole vimya'd wuz dyin'. Mars Dugal' tuck 'n water de vimes en done + all he could, but 't wan' no use: dat Yankee done bus' de watermillyum. + One time de vimes picked up a bit, en Mars Dugal' thought dey wuz gwine + ter come out ag'in; but dat Yankee done dug too close unde' de roots, en + prune de branches too close ter de vime, en all dat lime en ashes done + burn' de life outen de vimes, en dey des kep' a with'in' en a swivelin'. + </p> + <p> + "All dis time de goopher wuz a-wukkin'. W'en de vimes commence' ter + wither, Henry commence' ter complain er his rheumatiz, en when de leaves + begin ter dry up his ha'r commence' ter drap out. When de vimes fresh up a + bit Henry 'ud git peart agin, en when de vimes wither agin Henry 'ud git + ole agin, en des kep' gittin' mo' en mo' fitten fer nuffin; he des pined + away, en fine'ly tuk ter his cabin; en when de big vime whar he got de sap + ter 'n'int his head withered en turned yaller en died, Henry died too,—des + went out sorter like a cannel. Dey didn't 'pear ter be nuffin de matter + wid 'im, 'cep'n de rheumatiz, but his strenk des dwinel' away 'tel he + didn' hab ernuff lef' ter draw his bref. De goopher had got de under holt, + en th'owed Henry fer good en all dat time. + </p> + <p> + "Mars Dugal' tuk on might'ly 'bout losin' his vimes en his nigger in de + same year; en he swo' dat ef he could git hold er dat Yankee he'd wear 'im + ter a frazzle, en den chaw up de frazzle; en he'd done it, too, for Mars + Dugal' 'uz a monst'us brash man w'en he once git started. He sot de + vimya'd out ober agin, but it wuz th'ee er fo' year befo' de vimes got ter + b'arin' any scuppernon's. + </p> + <p> + "W'en de wah broke out, Mars Dugal' raise' a comp'ny, en went off ter + fight de Yankees. He saw he wuz mighty glad dat wah come, en he des want + ter kill a Yankee fer eve'y dollar he los' 'long er dat grape-raisin' + Yankee. En I 'spec' he would a done it, too, ef de Yankees hadn' + s'picioned sump'n, en killed him fus'. Atter de s'render ole miss move' + ter town, de niggers all scattered 'way fum de plantation, en de vimya'd + ain' be'n cultervated sence." + </p> + <p> + "Is that story true?" asked Annie, doubtfully, but seriously, as the old + man concluded his narrative. + </p> + <p> + "It's des ez true ez I'm a-settin' here, miss. Dey's a easy way ter prove + it: I kin lead de way right ter Henry's grave ober yander in de plantation + buryin'-groun'. En I tell yer w'at, marster, I wouldn' 'vise yer to buy + dis yer ole vimya'd, 'caze de goopher's on it yit, en dey ain' no tellin' + w'en it's gwine ter crap out." + </p> + <p> + "But I thought you said all the old vines died." + </p> + <p> + "Dey did 'pear ter die, but a few ov 'em come out ag'in, en is mixed in + mongs' de yuthers. I ain' skeered ter eat de grapes, 'caze I knows de old + vimes fum de noo ones; but wid strangers dey ain' no tellin' w'at might + happen. I wouldn' 'vise yer ter buy dis vimya'd." + </p> + <p> + I bought the vineyard, nevertheless, and it has been for a long time in a + thriving condition, and is referred to by the local press as a striking + illustration of the opportunities open to Northern capital in the + development of Southern industries. The luscious scuppernong holds first + rank among our grapes, though we cultivate a great many other varieties, + and our income from grapes packed and shipped to the Northern markets is + quite considerable. I have not noticed any developments of the goopher in + the vineyard, although I have a mild suspicion that our colored assistants + do not suffer from want of grapes during the season. + </p> + <p> + I found, when I bought the vineyard, that Uncle Julius had occupied a + cabin on the place for many years, and derived a respectable revenue from + the neglected grapevines. This, doubtless, accounted for his advice to me + not to buy the vineyard, though whether it inspired the goopher story I am + unable to state. I believe, however, that the wages I pay him for his + services are more than an equivalent for anything he lost by the sale of + the vineyard. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0007" id="link2H_4_0007"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + PO' SANDY by Charles W. Chesnutt + </h2> + <p> + On the northeast corner of my vineyard in central North Carolina, and + fronting on the Lumberton plank-road, there stood a small frame house, of + the simplest construction. It was built of pine lumber, and contained but + one room, to which one window gave light and one door admission. Its + weather-beaten sides revealed a virgin innocence of paint. Against one end + of the house, and occupying half its width, there stood a huge brick + chimney: the crumbling mortar had left large cracks between the bricks; + the bricks themselves had begun to scale off in large flakes, leaving the + chimney sprinkled with unsightly blotches. These evidences of decay were + but partially concealed by a creeping vine, which extended its slender + branches hither and thither in an ambitious but futile attempt to cover + the whole chimney. The wooden shutter, which had once protected the + unglazed window, had fallen from its hinges, and lay rotting in the rank + grass and jimson-weeds beneath. This building, I learned when I bought the + place, had been used as a school-house for several years prior to the + breaking out of the war, since which time it had remained unoccupied, save + when some stray cow or vagrant hog had sought shelter within its walls + from the chill rains and nipping winds of winter. + </p> + <p> + One day my wife requested me to build her a new kitchen. The house erected + by us, when we first came to live upon the vineyard, contained a very + conveniently arranged kitchen; but for some occult reason my wife wanted a + kitchen in the back yard, apart from the dwelling-house, after the usual + Southern fashion. Of course I had to build it. + </p> + <p> + To save expense, I decided to tear down the old school-house, and use the + lumber, which was in a good state of preservation, in the construction of + the new kitchen. Before demolishing the old house, however, I made an + estimate of the amount of material contained in it, and found that I would + have to buy several hundred feet of new lumber in order to build the new + kitchen according to my wife's plan. + </p> + <p> + One morning old Julius McAdoo, our colored coachman, harnessed the gray + mare to the rockaway, and drove my wife and me over to the saw-mill from + which I meant to order the new lumber. We drove down the long lane which + led from our house to the plank-road; following the plank-road for about a + mile, we turned into a road running through the forest and across the + swamp to the sawmill beyond. Our carriage jolted over the half-rotted + corduroy road which traversed the swamp, and then climbed the long hill + leading to the saw-mill. When we reached the mill, the foreman had gone + over to a neighboring farm-house, probably to smoke or gossip, and we were + compelled to await his return before we could transact our business. We + remained seated in the carriage, a few rods from the mill, and watched the + leisurely movements of the mill-hands. We had not waited long before a + huge pine log was placed in position, the machinery of the mill was set in + motion, and the circular saw began to eat its way through the log, with a + loud whirr which resounded throughout the vicinity of the mill. The sound + rose and fell in a sort of rhythmic cadence, which, heard from where we + sat, was not unpleasing, and not loud enough to prevent conversation. When + the saw started on its second journey through the log, Julius observed, in + a lugubrious tone, and with a perceptible shudder:— + </p> + <p> + "Ugh! but dat des do cuddle my blood!" + </p> + <p> + "What's the matter, Uncle Julius?" inquired my wife, who is of a very + sympathetic turn of mind. "Does the noise affect your nerves?" + </p> + <p> + "No, Miss Annie," replied the old man, with emotion, "I ain' narvous; but + dat saw, a-cuttin' en grindin' thoo dat stick er timber, en moanin', en + groanin', en sweekin', kyars my 'memb'ance back ter ole times, en 'min's + me er po' Sandy." The pathetic intonation with which he lengthened out the + "po' Sandy" touched a responsive chord in our own hearts. + </p> + <p> + "And who was poor Sandy?" asked my wife, who takes a deep interest in the + stories of plantation life which she hears from the lips of the older + colored people. Some of these stories are quaintly humorous; others wildly + extravagant, revealing the Oriental cast of the negro's imagination; while + others, poured freely into the sympathetic ear of a Northern-bred woman, + disclose many a tragic incident of the darker side of slavery. + </p> + <p> + "Sandy," said Julius, in reply to my wife's question, "was a nigger w'at + useter b'long ter ole Mars Marrabo McSwayne. Mars Marrabo's place wuz on + de yuther side'n de swamp, right nex' ter yo' place. Sandy wuz a monst'us + good nigger, en could do so many things erbout a plantation, en alluz 'ten + ter his wuk so well, dat w'en Mars Marrabo's chilluns growed up en married + off, dey all un 'em wanted dey daddy fer ter gin 'em Sandy fer a weddin' + present. But Mars Marrabo knowed de res' wouldn' be satisfied ef he gin + Sandy ter a'er one un 'em; so w'en dey wuz all done married, he fix it by + 'lowin' one er his chilluns ter take Sandy fer a mont' er so, en den + ernudder for a mont' er so, en so on dat erway tel dey had all had 'im de + same lenk er time; en den dey would all take him roun' ag'in, 'cep'n oncet + in a w'ile w'en Mars Marrabo would len' 'im ter some er his yuther + kinfolks 'roun' de country, w'en dey wuz short er han's; tel bimeby it go + so Sandy didn' hardly knowed whar he wuz gwine ter stay fum one week's een + ter de yuther. + </p> + <p> + "One time w'en Sandy wuz lent out ez yushal, a spekilater come erlong wid + a lot er niggers, en Mars Marrabo swap' Sandy's wife off fer a noo 'oman. + W'en Sandy come back, Mars Marrabo gin 'im a dollar, en 'lowed he wuz + monst'us sorry fer ter break up de fambly, but de spekilater had gin 'im + big boot, en times wuz hard en money skase, en so he wuz bleedst ter make + de trade. Sandy tuk on some 'bout losin' his wife, but he soon seed dey + want no use cryin' ober spilt merlasses; en bein' ez he lacked de looks er + de noo 'ooman, he tuk up wid her atter she b'n on de plantation a mont' er + so. + </p> + <p> + "Sandy en his noo wife got on mighty well tergedder, en de niggers all + 'mence' ter talk about how lovin' dey wuz. W'en Tenie wuz tuk sick oncet, + Sandy useter set up all night wid 'er, en den go ter wuk in de mawnin' des + lack he had his reg'lar sleep; en Tenie would 'a done anythin' in de worl' + for her Sandy. + </p> + <p> + "Sandy en Tenie hadn' b'en libbin' tergedder fer mo' d'n two mont's befo' + Mars Marrabo's old uncle, w'at libbed down in Robeson County, sent up ter + fine out ef Mars Marrabo couldn' len' 'im er hire 'im a good han' fer a + mont' er so. Sandy's marster wuz one er dese yer easy-gwine folks w'at + wanter please eve'ybody, en he says yas, he could len' 'im Sandy. En Mars + Marrabo tole Sandy fer ter git ready ter go down ter Robeson nex' day, fer + ter stay a mont' er so. + </p> + <p> + "Hit wuz monst'us hard on Sandy fer ter take 'im 'way fum Tenie. Hit wuz + so fur down ter Robeson dat he didn' hab no chance er comin' back ter see + her tel de time wuz up; he wouldn' a' mine comin' ten er fifteen mile at + night ter see Tenie, but Mars Marrabo's uncle's plantation wuz mo' d'n + forty mile off. Sandy wuz mighty sad en cas' down atter w'at Mars Marrabo + tole 'im, en he says ter Tenie, sezee:— + </p> + <p> + "'I'm gittin monstus ti'ed er dish yer gwine roun' so much. Here I is lent + ter Mars Jeems dis mont', en I got ter do so-en-so; en ter Mars Archie de + nex' mont', en I got ter do so-en-so; den I got ter go ter Miss Jinnie's: + en hit's Sandy dis en Sandy dat, en Sandy yer en Sandy dere, tel it 'pears + ter me I ain' got no home, ner no marster, ner no mistiss, ner no nuffin'. + I can't eben keep a wife: my yuther ole 'oman wuz sole away widout my + gittin' a chance fer ter tell her good-by; en now I got ter go off en leab + you, Tenie, en I dunno whe'r I'm eber gwine ter see yer ag'in er no. I + wisht I wuz a tree, er a stump, er a rock, er sump'n w'at could stay on de + plantation fer a w'ile.' + </p> + <p> + "Atter Sandy got thoo talkin', Tenie didn' say naer word, but des sot dere + by de fier, studyin' en studyin'. Bimeby she up'n says:— + </p> + <p> + "'Sandy, is I eber tole you I wuz a cunjuh-'ooman?' + </p> + <p> + "Co'se Sandy hadn' nebber dremp' er nuffin lack dat, en he made a great + miration w'en he hear w'at Tenie say. Bimeby Tenie went on:— + </p> + <p> + "'I ain' goophered nobody, ner done no cunjuh-wuk fer fifteen yer er mo; + en w'en I got religion I made up my mine I wouldn' wuk no mo' goopher. But + dey is some things I doan b'lieve it's no sin fer ter do; en ef you doan + wanter be sent roun' fum pillar ter pos', en ef you doan wanter go down + ter Robeson, I kin fix things so yer won't haf ter. Ef you'll des say de + word, I kin turn yer ter w'ateber yer wanter be, en yer kin stay right + whar yer wanter, ez long ez yer mineter.' + </p> + <p> + "Sandy say he doan keer; he's willin' fer ter do anythin' fer ter stay + close ter Tenie. Den Tenie ax 'im ef he doan wanter be turnt inter a + rabbit. + </p> + <p> + "Sandy say, 'No, de dogs mout git atter me.' + </p> + <p> + "'Shill I turn yer ter a wolf?' sez Tenie. + </p> + <p> + "'No, eve'ybody's skeered er a wolf, en I doan want nobody ter be skeered + er me.' + </p> + <p> + "'Shill I turn yer ter a mawkin'-bird?' + </p> + <p> + "'No, a hawk mout ketch me. I wanter be turnt inter sump'n w'at'll stay in + one place.' + </p> + <p> + "'I kin turn yer ter a tree,' sez Tenie. 'You won't hab no mouf ner years, + but I kin turn yer back oncet in a w'ile, so yer kin git sump'n ter eat, + en hear w'at's gwine on.' + </p> + <p> + "Well, Sandy say dat'll do. En so Tenie tuk 'im down by de aidge er de + swamp, not fur fum de quarters, en turnt 'im inter a big pine-tree, en sot + 'im out mongs' some yuther trees. En de nex' mawnin', ez some er de fiel' + han's wuz gwine long dere, dey seed a tree w'at dey didn' 'member er + habbin' seed befo; it wuz monst'us quare, en dey wuz bleedst ter 'low dat + dey hadn' 'membered right, er e'se one er de saplin's had be'n growin' + monst'us fas'. + </p> + <p> + "W'en Mars Marrabo 'skiver' dat Sandy wuz gone, he 'lowed Sandy had runned + away. He got de dogs out, but de las' place dey could track Sandy ter wuz + de foot er dat pine-tree. En dere de dogs stood en barked, en bayed, en + pawed at de tree, en tried ter climb up on it; en w'en dey wuz tuk roun' + thoo de swamp ter look fer de scent, dey broke loose en made fer dat tree + ag'in. It wuz de beatenis' thing de w'ite folks eber hearn of, en Mars + Marrabo 'lowed dat Sandy must a' clim' up on de tree en jump' off on a + mule er sump'n, en rid fur 'nuff fer ter spile de scent. Mars Marrabo + wanted ter 'cuse some er de yuther niggers er heppin Sandy off, but dey + all 'nied it ter de las'; en eve'ybody knowed Tenie sot too much by Sandy + fer ter he'p 'im run away whar she couldn' nebber see 'im no mo'. + </p> + <p> + "W'en Sandy had be'n gone long 'nuff fer folks ter think he done got clean + away, Tenie useter go down ter de woods at night en turn 'im back, en den + dey'd slip up ter de cabin en set by de fire en talk. But dey ha' ter be + monst'us keerful, er e'se somebody would a seed 'em, en dat would a spile + de whole thing; so Tenie alluz turnt Sandy back in de mawnin' early, befo' + anybody wuz a'stirrin'. + </p> + <p> + "But Sandy didn' git erlong widout his trials en tribberlations. One day a + woodpecker come erlong en 'mence' ter peck at de tree; en de nex' time + Sandy wuz turnt back he had a little roun' hole in his arm, des lack a + sharp stick be'n stuck in it. Atter dat Tenie sot a sparrer-hawk fer ter + watch de tree; en w'en de woodpecker come erlong nex' mawnin' fer ter + finish his nes', he got gobble' up mos' fo' he stuck his bill in de bark. + </p> + <p> + "Nudder time, Mars Marrabo sent a nigger out in de woods fer ter chop + tuppentime boxes. De man chop a box in dish yer tree, en hack' de bark up + two er th'ee feet, fer ter let de tuppentime run. De nex' time Sandy wuz + turnt back he had a big skyar on his lef' leg, des lack it be'n skunt; en + it tuk Tenie nigh 'bout all night fer ter fix a mixtry ter kyo it up. + Atter dat, Tenie sot a hawnet fer ter watch de tree; en w'en de nigger + come back ag'in fer ter cut ernudder box on de yuther side'n de tree, de + hawnet stung 'im so hard dat de ax slip en cut his foot nigh 'bout off. + </p> + <p> + "W'en Tenie see so many things happenin' ter de tree, she 'cluded she'd + ha' ter turn Sandy ter sump'n e'se; en atter studyin' de matter ober, en + talkin' wid Sandy one ebenin', she made up her mine fer ter fix up a + goopher mixtry w'at would turn herse'f en Sandy ter foxes, er sump'n, so + dey could run away en go some'rs whar dey could be free en lib lack w'ite + folks. + </p> + <p> + "But dey ain' no tellin' w'at's gwine ter happen in dis worl'. Tenie had + got de night sot fer her en Sandy ter run away, w'en dat ve'y day one er + Mars Marrabo's sons rid up ter de big house in his buggy, en say his wife + wuz monst'us sick, en he want his mammy ter len' 'im a 'ooman fer ter nuss + his wife. Tenie's mistiss say sen Tenie; she wuz a good nuss. Young mars + wuz in a tarrible hurry fer ter git back home. Tenie wuz washin' at de big + house dat day, en her mistiss say she should go right 'long wid her young + marster. Tenie tried ter make some 'scuse fer ter git away en hide tel + night, w'en she would have eve'ything fix' up fer her en Sandy; she say + she wanter go ter her cabin fer ter git her bonnet. Her mistiss say it + doan matter 'bout de bonnet; her head-hankcher wuz good 'nuff. Den Tenie + say she wanter git her bes' frock; her mistiss say no, she doan need no + mo' frock, en w'en dat one got dirty she could git a clean one whar she + wuz gwine. So Tenie had ter git in de buggy en go 'long wid young Mars + Dunkin ter his plantation, w'ich wuz mo' d'n twenty mile away; en dey want + no chance er her seein' Sandy no mo' tel she come back home. De po' gal + felt monst'us bad erbout de way things wuz gwine on, en she knowed Sandy + mus' be a wond'rin' why she didn' come en turn 'im back no mo'. + </p> + <p> + "W'iles Tenie wuz away nussin' young Mars Dunkin's wife, Mars Marrabo tuk + a notion fer ter buil' 'im a noo kitchen; en bein' ez he had lots er + timber on his place, he begun ter look 'roun' fer a tree ter hab de lumber + sawed out'n. En I dunno how it come to be so, but he happen fer ter hit on + de ve'y tree w'at Sandy wuz turnt inter. Tenie wuz gone, en dey wa'n't + nobody ner nuffin' fer ter watch de tree. + </p> + <p> + "De two men w'at cut de tree down say dey nebber had sech a time wid a + tree befo': dey axes would glansh off, en didn' 'pear ter make no progress + thoo de wood; en of all de creakin', en shakin', en wobblin' you eber see, + dat tree done it w'en it commence' ter fall. It wuz de beatenis' thing! + </p> + <p> + "W'en dey got de tree all trim' up, dey chain it up ter a timber waggin, + en start fer de saw-mill. But dey had a hard time gittin' de log dere: + fus' dey got stuck in de mud w'en dey wuz gwine crosst de swamp, en it wuz + two er th'ee hours befo' dey could git out. W'en dey start' on ag'in, de + chain kep' a-comin' loose, en dey had ter keep a-stoppin' en a-stoppin' + fer ter hitch de log up ag'in. W'en dey commence' ter climb de hill ter de + saw-mill, de log broke loose, en roll down de hill en in mongs' de trees, + en hit tuk nigh 'bout half a day mo' ter git it haul' up ter de saw-mill. + </p> + <p> + "De nex' mawnin' atter de day de tree wuz haul' ter de saw-mill, Tenie + come home. W'en she got back ter her cabin, de fus' thing she done wuz ter + run down ter de woods en see how Sandy wuz gittin' on. W'en she seed de + stump standin' dere, wid de sap runnin' out'n it, en de limbs layin' + scattered roun', she nigh 'bout went out'n her mine. She run ter her + cabin, en got her goopher mixtry, en den foller de track er de timber + waggin ter de saw-mill. She knowed Sandy couldn' lib mo' d'n a minute er + so ef she turn' him back, fer he wuz all chop' up so he'd a be'n bleedst + ter die. But she wanted ter turn 'im back long ernuff fer ter 'splain ter + 'im dat she hadn' went off a-purpose, en lef' 'im ter be chop' down en + sawed up. She didn' want Sandy ter die wid no hard feelin's to'ds her. + </p> + <p> + "De han's at de saw-mill had des got de big log on de kerridge, en wuz + startin' up de saw, w'en dey seed a 'oman runnin up de hill, all out er + bref, cryin' en gwine on des lack she wuz plumb 'stracted. It wuz Tenie; + she come right inter de mill, en th'owed herse'f on de log, right in front + er de saw, a-hollerin' en cryin' ter her Sandy ter fergib her, en not ter + think hard er her, fer it wa'n't no fault er hern. Den Tenie 'membered de + tree didn' hab no years, en she wuz gittin' ready fer ter wuk her goopher + mixtry so ez ter turn Sandy back, w'en de mill-hands kotch holt er her en + tied her arms wid a rope, en fasten' her to one er de posts in de + saw-mill; en den dey started de saw up ag'in, en cut de log up inter bo'ds + en scantlin's right befo' her eyes. But it wuz mighty hard wuk; fer of all + de sweekin', en moanin', en groanin', dat log done it w'iles de saw wuz + a-cuttin' thoo it. De saw wuz one er dese yer ole-timey, up-en-down saws, + en hit tuk longer dem days ter saw a log 'en it do now. Dey greased de + saw, but dat didn' stop de fuss; hit kep' right on, tel finely dey got de + log all sawed up. + </p> + <p> + "W'en de oberseah w'at run de saw-mill come fum brekfas', de han's up en + tell him 'bout de crazy 'ooman—ez dey s'posed she wuz—w'at had + come runnin' in de saw-mill, a-hollerin' en gwine on, en tried ter th'ow + herse'f befo' de saw. En de oberseah sent two er th'ee er de han's fer ter + take Tenie back ter her marster's plantation. + </p> + <p> + "Tenie 'peared ter be out'n her mine fer a long time, en her marster ha' + ter lock her up in de smoke-'ouse tel she got ober her spells. Mars + Marrabo wuz monst'us mad, en hit would a made yo' flesh crawl fer ter hear + him cuss, caze he say de spekilater w'at he got Tenie fum had fooled 'im + by wukkin' a crazy 'oman off on him. Wiles Tenie wuz lock up in de + smoke-'ouse, Mars Marrabo tuk'n' haul de lumber fum de saw-mill, en put up + his noo kitchen. + </p> + <p> + "W'en Tenie got quiet' down, so she could be 'lowed ter go 'roun' de + plantation, she up'n tole her marster all erbout Sandy en de pine-tree; en + w'en Mars Marrabo hearn it, he 'lowed she wuz de wuss 'stracted nigger he + eber hearn of. He didn' know w'at ter do wid Tenie: fus' he thought he'd + put her in de po'-house; but finely, seein' ez she didn' do no harm ter + nobody ner nuffin', but des went roun' moanin', en groanin', en shakin' + her head, he 'cluded ter let her stay on de plantation en nuss de little + nigger chilluns w'en dey mammies wuz ter wuk in de cotton-fiel'. + </p> + <p> + "De noo kitchen Mars Marrabo buil' wuzn' much use, fer it hadn' be'n put + up long befo' de niggers 'mence' ter notice quare things erbout it. Dey + could hear sump'n moanin' en groanin' 'bout de kitchen in de night-time, + en w'en de win' would blow dey could hear sump'n a-hollerin' en sweekin' + lack hit wuz in great pain en sufferin'. En hit got so atter a w'ile dat + hit wuz all Mars Marrabo's wife could do ter git a 'ooman ter stay in de + kitchen in de daytime long ernuff ter do de cookin'; en dey wa'n't naer + nigger on de plantation w'at wouldn' rudder take forty dan ter go 'bout + dat kitchen atter dark,—dat is, 'cep'n Tenie; she didn' pear ter + mine de ha'nts. She useter slip 'roun' at night, en set on de kitchen + steps, en lean up agin de do'-jamb, en run on ter herse'f wid some kine er + foolishness w'at nobody couldn' make out; fer Mars Marrabo had th'eaten' + ter sen' her off'n de plantation ef she say anything ter any er de yuther + niggers 'bout de pine-tree. But somehow er nudder de niggers foun' out all + 'bout it, en dey knowed de kitchen wuz ha'anted by Sandy's sperrit. En + bimeby hit got so Mars Marrabo's wife herse'f wuz skeered ter go out in de + yard atter dark. + </p> + <p> + "W'en it come ter dat, Mars Marrabo tuk 'n' to' de kitchen down, en use' + de lumber fer ter buil' dat ole school-'ouse w'at youer talkin' 'bout + pullin' down. De school-'ouse wuzn' use' 'cep'n' in de daytime, en on dark + nights folks gwine 'long de road would hear quare soun's en see quare + things. Po' ole Tenie useter go down dere at night, en wander 'roun' de + school-'ouse; en de niggers all 'lowed she went fer ter talk wid Sandy's + sperrit. En one winter mawnin', w'en one er de boys went ter school early + fer ter start de fire, w'at should he fine but po' ole Tenie, layin' on de + flo', stiff, en cole, en dead. Dere didn' 'pear ter be nuffin' pertickler + de matter wid her,—she had des grieve' herse'f ter def fer her + Sandy. Mars Marrabo didn' shed no tears. He thought Tenie wuz crazy, en + dey wa'n't no tellin' w'at she mout do nex'; en dey ain' much room in dis + worl' fer crazy w'ite folks, let 'lone a crazy nigger. + </p> + <p> + "Hit wa'n't long atter dat befo' Mars Marrabo sole a piece er his track er + lan' ter Mars Dugal' McAdoo,—MY ole marster,—en dat's how de + ole school-house happen to be on yo' place. W'en de wah broke out, de + school stop', en de ole school-'ouse be'n stannin' empty ever sence,—dat + is, 'cep'n' fer de ha'nts. En folks sez dat de ole school-'ouse, er any + yuther house w'at got any er dat lumber in it w'at wuz sawed out'n de tree + w'at Sandy wuz turnt inter, is gwine ter be ha'nted tel de las' piece er + plank is rotted en crumble' inter dus'." + </p> + <p> + Annie had listened to this gruesome narrative with strained attention. + </p> + <p> + "What a system it was," she exclaimed, when Julius had finished, "under + which such things were possible!" + </p> + <p> + "What things?" I asked, in amazement. "Are you seriously considering the + possibility of a man's being turned into a tree?" + </p> + <p> + "Oh, no," she replied quickly, "not that;" and then she added absently, + and with a dim look in her fine eyes, "Poor Tenie!" + </p> + <p> + We ordered the lumber, and returned home. That night, after we had gone to + bed, and my wife had to all appearances been sound asleep for half an + hour, she startled me out of an incipient doze by exclaiming suddenly,— + </p> + <p> + "John, I don't believe I want my new kitchen built out of the lumber in + that old school-house." + </p> + <p> + "You wouldn't for a moment allow yourself," I replied, with some asperity, + "to be influenced by that absurdly impossible yarn which Julius was + spinning to-day?" + </p> + <p> + "I know the story is absurd," she replied dreamily, "and I am not so silly + as to believe it. But I don't think I should ever be able to take any + pleasure in that kitchen if it were built out of that lumber. Besides, I + think the kitchen would look better and last longer if the lumber were all + new." + </p> + <p> + Of course she had her way. I bought the new lumber, though not without + grumbling. A week or two later I was called away from home on business. On + my return, after an absence of several days, my wife remarked to me,— + </p> + <p> + "John, there has been a split in the Sandy Run Colored Baptist Church, on + the temperance question. About half the members have come out from the + main body, and set up for themselves. Uncle Julius is one of the seceders, + and he came to me yesterday and asked if they might not hold their + meetings in the old school-house for the present." + </p> + <p> + "I hope you didn't let the old rascal have it," I returned, with some + warmth. I had just received a bill for the new lumber I had bought. + </p> + <p> + "Well," she replied, "I could not refuse him the use of the house for so + good a purpose." + </p> + <p> + "And I'll venture to say," I continued, "that you subscribed something + toward the support of the new church?" + </p> + <p> + She did not attempt to deny it. + </p> + <p> + "What are they going to do about the ghost?" I asked, somewhat curious to + know how Julius would get around this obstacle. + </p> + <p> + "Oh," replied Annie, "Uncle Julius says that ghosts never disturb + religious worship, but that if Sandy's spirit SHOULD happen to stray into + meeting by mistake, no doubt the preaching would do it good." + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0008" id="link2H_4_0008"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + DAVE'S NECKLISS by Charles W. Chesnutt + </h2> + <p> + "Have some dinner, Uncle Julius?" said my wife. + </p> + <p> + It was a Sunday afternoon in early autumn. Our two women-servants had gone + to a camp-meeting some miles away, and would not return until evening. My + wife had served the dinner, and we were just rising from the table, when + Julius came up the lane, and, taking off his hat, seated himself on the + piazza. + </p> + <p> + The old man glanced through the open door at the dinner-table, and his + eyes rested lovingly upon a large sugar-cured ham, from which several + slices had been cut, exposing a rich pink expanse that would have appealed + strongly to the appetite of any hungry Christian. + </p> + <p> + "Thanky, Miss Annie," he said, after a momentary hesitation, "I dunno ez I + keers ef I does tas'e a piece er dat ham, ef yer'll cut me off a slice un + it." + </p> + <p> + "No," said Annie, "I won't. Just sit down to the table and help yourself; + eat all you want, and don't be bashful." + </p> + <p> + Julius drew a chair up to the table, while my wife and I went out on the + piazza. Julius was in my employment; he took his meals with his own + family, but when he happened to be about our house at meal-times, my wife + never let him go away hungry. + </p> + <p> + I threw myself into a hammock, from which I could see Julius through an + open window. He ate with evident relish, devoting his attention chiefly to + the ham, slice after slice of which disappeared in the spacious cavity of + his mouth. At first the old man ate rapidly, but after the edge of his + appetite had been taken off he proceeded in a more leisurely manner. When + he had cut the sixth slice of ham (I kept count of them from a lazy + curiosity to see how much he COULD eat) I saw him lay it on his plate; as + he adjusted the knife and fork to cut it into smaller pieces, he paused, + as if struck by a sudden thought, and a tear rolled down his rugged cheek + and fell upon the slice of ham before him. But the emotion, whatever the + thought that caused it, was transitory, and in a moment he continued his + dinner. When he was through eating, he came out on the porch, and resumed + his seat with the satisfied expression of countenance that usually follows + a good dinner. + </p> + <p> + "Julius," I said, "you seemed to be affected by something, a moment ago. + Was the mustard so strong that it moved you to tears?" + </p> + <p> + "No, suh, it wa'n't de mustard; I wuz studyin' 'bout Dave." + </p> + <p> + "Who was Dave, and what about him?" I asked. + </p> + <p> + The conditions were all favorable to story-telling. There was an autumnal + languor in the air, and a dreamy haze softened the dark green of the + distant pines and the deep blue of the Southern sky. The generous meal he + had made had put the old man in a very good humor. He was not always so, + for his curiously undeveloped nature was subject to moods which were + almost childish in their variableness. It was only now and then that we + were able to study, through the medium of his recollection, the simple but + intensely human inner life of slavery. His way of looking at the past + seemed very strange to us; his view of certain sides of life was + essentially different from ours. He never indulged in any regrets for the + Arcadian joyousness and irresponsibility which was a somewhat popular + conception of slavery; his had not been the lot of the petted + house-servant, but that of the toiling field-hand. While he mentioned with + a warm appreciation the acts of kindness which those in authority had + shown to him and his people, he would speak of a cruel deed, not with the + indignation of one accustomed to quick feeling and spontaneous expression, + but with a furtive disapproval which suggested to us a doubt in his own + mind as to whether he had a right to think or to feel, and presented to us + the curious psychological spectacle of a mind enslaved long after the + shackles had been struck off from the limbs of its possessor. Whether the + sacred name of liberty ever set his soul aglow with a generous fire; + whether he had more than the most elementary ideas of love, friendship, + patriotism, religion,—things which are half, and the better half, of + life to us; whether he even realized, except in a vague, uncertain way, + his own degradation, I do not know. I fear not; and if not, then centuries + of repression had borne their legitimate fruit. But in the simple human + feeling, and still more in the undertone of sadness, which pervaded his + stories, I thought I could see a spark which, fanned by favoring breezes + and fed by the memories of the past, might become in his children's + children a glowing flame of sensibility, alive to every thrill of human + happiness or human woe. + </p> + <p> + "Dave use' ter b'long ter my ole marster," said Julius; "he wuz raise' on + dis yer plantation, en I kin 'member all erbout 'im, fer I wuz ole 'nuff + ter chop cotton w'en it all happen'. Dave wuz a tall man, en monst'us + strong: he could do mo' wuk in a day dan any yuther two niggers on de + plantation. He wuz one er dese yer solemn kine er men, en nebber run on + wid much foolishness, like de yuther darkies. He use' ter go out in de + woods en pray; en w'en he hear de han's on de plantation cussin' en gwine + on wid dere dancin' en foolishness, he use' ter tell 'em 'bout religion en + jedgmen'-day, w'en dey would haf ter gin account fer eve'y idle word en + all dey yuther sinful kyarin's-on. + </p> + <p> + "Dave had l'arn' how ter read de Bible. Dey wuz a free nigger boy in de + settlement w'at wuz monst'us smart, en could write en cipher, en wuz alluz + readin' books er papers. En Dave had hi'ed dis free boy fer ter l'arn 'im + how ter read. Hit wuz 'g'in de law, but co'se none er de niggers didn' say + nuffin ter de w'ite folks 'bout it. Howsomedever, one day Mars Walker—he + wuz de oberseah—foun' out Dave could read. Mars Walker wa'n't nuffin + but a po' bockrah, en folks said he couldn' read ner write hisse'f, en + co'se he didn' lack ter see a nigger w'at knowed mo' d'n he did; so he + went en tole Mars Dugal'. Mars Dugal' sont fer Dave, en ax' 'im 'bout it. + </p> + <p> + "Dave didn't hardly knowed w'at ter do; but he couldn' tell no lie, so he + 'fessed he could read de Bible a little by spellin' out de words. Mars + Dugal' look' mighty solemn. + </p> + <p> + "'Dis yer is a se'ious matter,' sezee; 'it's 'g'in de law ter l'arn + niggers how ter read, er 'low 'em ter hab books. But w'at yer l'arn out'n + dat Bible, Dave?' + </p> + <p> + "Dave wa'n't no fool, ef he wuz a nigger, en sezee:— + </p> + <p> + "'Marster, I l'arns dat it's a sin fer ter steal, er ter lie, er fer ter + want w'at doan b'long ter yer; en I l'arns fer ter love de Lawd en ter + 'bey my marster.' + </p> + <p> + "Mars Dugal' sorter smile' en laf' ter hisse'f, like he 'uz might'ly + tickle' 'bout sump'n, en sezee:— + </p> + <p> + "'Doan 'pear ter me lack readin' de Bible done yer much harm, Dave. Dat's + w'at I wants all my niggers fer ter know. Yer keep right on readin', en + tell de yuther han's w'at yer be'n tellin' me. How would yer lack fer ter + preach ter de niggers on Sunday?' + </p> + <p> + "Dave say he'd be glad fer ter do w'at he could. So Mars Dugal' tole de + oberseah fer ter let Dave preach ter de niggers, en tell 'em w'at wuz in + de Bible, en it would he'p ter keep 'em fum stealin' er runnin' erway. + </p> + <p> + "So Dave 'mence' ter preach, en done de han's on de plantation a heap er + good, en most un 'em lef' off dey wicked ways, en 'mence' ter love ter + hear 'bout God, en religion, en de Bible; en dey done dey wuk better, en + didn' gib de oberseah but mighty little trouble fer ter manage 'em. + </p> + <p> + "Dave wuz one er dese yer men w'at didn' keer much fer de gals,—leastways + he didn' tel Dilsey come ter de plantation. Dilsey wuz a monst'us peart, + good-lookin', gingybread-colored gal,—one er dese yer high-steppin' + gals w'at hol's dey heads up, en won' stan' no foolishness fum no man. She + had b'long' ter a gemman over on Rockfish, w'at died, en whose 'state ha' + ter be sol' fer ter pay his debts. En Mars Dugal' had b'en ter de oction, + en w'en he seed dis gal a-cryin' en gwine on 'bout bein' sol' erway fum + her ole mammy, Aun' Mahaly, Mars Dugal' bid 'em bofe in, en fotch 'em ober + ter our plantation. + </p> + <p> + "De young nigger men on de plantation wuz des wil' atter Dilsey, but it + didn' do no good, en none un 'em couldn' git Dilsey fer dey junesey,<a + href="#linknote-2" name="linknoteref-2" id="linknoteref-2"><small>2</small></a> + 'tel Dave 'mence' fer ter go roun' Aun' Mahaly's cabin. Dey wuz a + fine-lookin' couple, Dave en Dilsey wuz, bofe tall, en well-shape', en + soopl'. En dey sot a heap by one ernudder. Mars Dugal' seed 'em tergedder + one Sunday, en de nex' time he seed Dave atter dat, sezee:— + </p> + <p> + "Dave, w'en yer en Dilsey gits ready fer ter git married, I ain' got no + rejections. Dey's a poun' er so er chawin'-terbacker up at de house, en I + reckon yo' mist'iss kin fine a frock en a ribbin er two fer Dilsey. Youer + bofe good niggers, en yer neenter be feared er bein' sol' 'way fum one + ernudder long ez I owns dis plantation; en I 'spec's ter own it fer a long + time yit.'" + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-2" id="linknote-2"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 2 (<a href="#linknoteref-2">return</a>)<br /> [ Sweetheart.] + </p> + <p> + "But dere wuz one man on de plantation w'at didn' lack ter see Dave en + Dilsey tergedder ez much ez ole marster did. W'en Mars Dugal' went ter de + sale whar he got Dilsey en Mahaly, he bought ernudder han', by de name er + Wiley. Wiley wuz one er dese yer shiny-eyed, double-headed little niggers, + sha'p ez a steel trap, en sly ez de fox w'at keep out'n it. Dis yer Wiley + had be'n pesterin' Dilsey 'fo' she come ter our plantation, en had nigh + 'bout worried de life out'n her. She didn' keer nuffin fer 'im, but he + pestered her so she ha' ter th'eaten ter tell her marster fer ter make + Wiley let her 'lone. W'en he come ober to our place it wuz des ez bad, + 'tel bimeby Wiley seed dat Dilsey had got ter thinkin' a heap 'bout Dave, + en den he sorter hilt off aw'ile, en purten' lack he gin Dilsey up. But he + wuz one er dese yer 'ceitful niggers, en w'ile he wuz laffin' en jokin' + wid de yuther han's 'bout Dave en Dilsey, he wuz settin' a trap fer ter + ketch Dave en git Dilsey back fer hisse'f. + </p> + <p> + "Dave en Dilsey made up dere min's fer ter git married long 'bout + Christmas time, w'en dey'd hab mo' time fer a weddin'. But 'long 'bout two + weeks befo' dat time ole mars 'mence' ter lose a heap er bacon. Eve'y + night er so somebody 'ud steal a side er bacon, er a ham, er a shoulder, + er sump'n, fum one er de smoke-'ouses. De smoke-'ouses wuz lock', but + somebody had a key, en manage' ter git in some way er 'nudder. Dey's mo' + ways 'n one ter skin a cat, en dey's mo' d'n one way ter git in a + smoke-'ouse,—leastways dat's w'at I hearn say. Folks w'at had bacon + fer ter sell didn' hab no trouble 'bout gittin' rid un it. Hit wuz 'g'in' + de law fer ter buy things fum slabes; but Lawd! dat law didn' 'mount ter a + hill er peas. Eve'y week er so one er dese yer big covered waggins would + come 'long de road, peddlin' terbacker en w'iskey. Dey wuz a sight er room + in one er dem big waggins, en it wuz monst'us easy fer ter swop off bacon + fer sump'n ter chaw er ter wa'm yer up in de winter-time. I s'pose de + peddlers didn' knowed dey wuz breakin' de law, caze de niggers alluz went + at night, en stayed on de dark side er de waggin; en it wuz mighty hard + fer ter tell W'AT kine er folks dey wuz. + </p> + <p> + "Atter two er th'ee hund'ed er meat had be'n stole', Mars Walker call all + de niggers up one ebenin', en tol' 'em dat de fus' nigger he cot stealin' + bacon on dat plantation would git sump'n fer ter 'member it by long ez he + lib'. En he say he'd gin fi' dollars ter de nigger w'at 'skiver' de rogue. + Mars Walker say he s'picion' one er two er de niggers, but he couldn' tell + fer sho, en co'se dey all 'nied it w'en he 'cuse em un it. + </p> + <p> + "Dey wa'n't no bacon stole' fer a week er so, 'tel one dark night w'en + somebody tuk a ham fum one er de smoke-'ouses. Mars Walker des cusst awful + w'en he foun' out de ham wuz gone, en say he gwine ter sarch all de + niggers' cabins; w'en dis yer Wiley I wuz tellin' yer 'bout up'n say he + s'picion' who tuk de ham, fer he seed Dave comin' 'cross de plantation fum + to'ds de smoke-'ouse de night befo'. W'en Mars Walker hearn dis fum Wiley, + he went en sarch' Dave's cabin, en foun' de ham hid under de flo'. + </p> + <p> + "Eve'ybody wuz 'stonish'; but dere wuz de ham. Co'se Dave 'nied it ter de + las', but dere wuz de ham. Mars Walker say it wuz des ez he 'spected: he + didn' b'lieve in dese yer readin' en prayin' niggers; it wuz all 'pocrisy, + en sarve' Mars Dugal' right fer 'lowin' Dave ter be readin' books w'en it + wuz 'g'in de law. + </p> + <p> + "W'en Mars Dugal' hearn 'bout de ham, he say he wuz might'ly 'ceived en + disapp'inted in Dave. He say he wouldn' nebber hab no mo' conferdence in + no nigger, en Mars Walker could do des ez he wuz a mineter wid Dave er any + er de res' er de niggers. So Mars Walker tuk'n tied Dave up en gin 'im + forty; en den he got some er dis yer wire clof w'at dey uses fer ter make + sifters out'n, en tuk'n wrap' it roun' de ham en fasten it tergedder at de + little een'. Den he tuk Dave down ter de blacksmif-shop, en had Unker + Silas, de plantation black-smif, fasten a chain ter de ham, en den fasten + de yuther een' er de chain roun' Dave's neck. En den he says ter Dave, + sezee:— + </p> + <p> + "'Now, suh, yer'll wear dat neckliss fer de nex' six mont's; en I 'spec's + yer ner none er de yuther niggers on dis plantation won' steal no mo' + bacon dyoin' er dat time.' + </p> + <p> + "Well, it des 'peared ez if fum dat time Dave didn' hab nuffin but + trouble. De niggers all turnt ag'in' 'im, caze he be'n de 'casion er Mars + Dugal' turnin' 'em all ober ter Mars Walker. Mars Dugal' wa'n't a bad + marster hisse'f, but Mars Walker wuz hard ez a rock. Dave kep' on sayin' + he didn' take de ham, but none un 'em didn' b'lieve 'im. + </p> + <p> + "Dilsey wa'n't on de plantation w'en Dave wuz 'cused er stealin' de bacon. + Ole mist'iss had sont her ter town fer a week er so fer ter wait on one er + her darters w'at had a young baby, en she didn' fine out nuffin 'bout + Dave's trouble 'tel she got back ter de plantation. Dave had patien'ly + endyoed de finger er scawn, en all de hard words w'at de niggers pile' on + 'im, caze he wuz sho' Dilsey would stan' by 'im, en wouldn' b'lieve he wuz + a rogue, ner none er de yuther tales de darkies wuz tellin' 'bout 'im. + </p> + <p> + "W'en Dilsey come back fum town, en got down fum behine de buggy whar she + be'n ridin' wid ole mars, de fus' nigger 'ooman she met says ter her,— + </p> + <p> + "'Is yer seed Dave, Dilsey?' + </p> + <p> + "No, I ain' seed Dave,' says Dilsey. + </p> + <p> + "'Yer des oughter look at dat nigger; reckon yer wouldn' want 'im fer yo' + junesey no mo'. Mars Walker cotch 'im stealin' bacon, en gone en fasten' a + ham roun' his neck, so he can't git it off'n hisse'f. He sut'nly do look + quare.' En den de 'ooman bus' out laffin' fit ter kill herse'f. W'en she + got thoo laffin' she up'n tole Dilsey all 'bout de ham, en all de yuther + lies w'at de niggers be'n tellin' on Dave. + </p> + <p> + "W'en Dilsey started down ter de quarters, who should she meet but Dave, + comin' in fum de cotton-fiel'. She turnt her head ter one side, en purten' + lack she didn' seed Dave. + </p> + <p> + "'Dilsey!' sezee. + </p> + <p> + "Dilsey walk' right on, en didn' notice 'im. + </p> + <p> + "'OH, Dilsey!' + </p> + <p> + "Dilsey didn' paid no 'tention ter 'im, en den Dave knowed some er de + niggers be'n tellin' her 'bout de ham. He felt monst'us bad, but he 'lowed + ef he could des git Dilsey fer ter listen ter 'im fer a minute er so, he + could make her b'lieve he didn' stole de bacon. It wuz a week er two befo' + he could git a chance ter speak ter her ag'in; but fine'ly he cotch her + down by de spring one day, en sezee:— + </p> + <p> + "'Dilsey, w'at fer yer won' speak ter me, en purten' lack yer doan see me? + Dilsey, yer knows me too well fer ter b'lieve I'd steal, er do dis yuther + wick'ness de niggers is all layin' ter me,—yer KNOWS I wouldn' do + dat, Dilsey. Yer ain' gwine back on yo' Dave, is yer?' + </p> + <p> + "But w'at Dave say didn' hab no 'fec' on Dilsey. Dem lies folks b'en + tellin' her had p'isen' her min' 'g'in' Dave. + </p> + <p> + "'I doan wanter talk ter no nigger,' says she, 'w'at be'n whip' fer + stealin', en w'at gwine roun' wid sich a lookin' thing ez dat hung roun' + his neck. I's a 'spectable gal, I is. W'at yer call dat, Dave? Is dat a + cha'm fer ter keep off witches, er is it a noo kine er neckliss yer got?' + </p> + <p> + "Po' Dave didn' knowed w'at ter do. De las' one he had 'pended on fer ter + stan' by 'im had gone back on 'im, en dey didn' 'pear ter be nuffin mo' + wuf libbin' fer. He couldn' hol' no mo' pra'r-meetin's, fer Mars Walker + wouldn' 'low 'im ter preach, en de darkies wouldn' 'a' listen' ter 'im ef + he had preach'. He didn' eben hab his Bible fer ter comfort hisse'f wid, + fer Mars Walker had tuk it erway fum 'im en burnt it up, en say ef he + ketch any mo' niggers wid Bibles on de plantation he'd do 'em wuss'n he + done Dave. + </p> + <p> + "En ter make it still harder fer Dave, Dilsey tuk up wid Wiley. Dave could + see him gwine up ter Aun' Mahaly's cabin, en settin' out on de bench in de + moonlight wid Dilsey, en singin' sinful songs en playin' de banjer. Dave + use' ter scrouch down behine de bushes, en wonder w'at de Lawd sen' 'im + all dem tribberlations fer. + </p> + <p> + "But all er Dave's yuther troubles wa'n't nuffin side er dat ham. He had + wrap' de chain roun' wid a rag, so it didn' hurt his neck; but w'eneber he + went ter wuk, dat ham would be in his way; he had ter do his task, + howsomedever, des de same ez ef he didn' hab de ham. W'eneber he went ter + lay down, dat ham would be in de way. Ef he turn ober in his sleep, dat + ham would be tuggin' at his neck. It wuz de las' thing he seed at night, + en de fus' thing he seed in de mawnin'. W'eneber he met a stranger, de ham + would be de fus' thing de stranger would see. Most un 'em would 'mence' + ter laf, en whareber Dave went he could see folks p'intin' at him, en year + 'em sayin:— + </p> + <p> + "'W'at kine er collar dat nigger got roun' his neck?' er, ef dey knowed + 'im, 'Is yer stole any mo' hams lately?' er 'W'at yer take fer yo' + neckliss, Dave?' er some joke er 'nuther 'bout dat ham. + </p> + <p> + "Fus' Dave didn' mine it so much, caze he knowed he hadn' done nuffin. But + bimeby he got so he couldn' stan' it no longer, en he'd hide hisse'f in de + bushes w'eneber he seed anybody comin', en alluz kep' hisse'f shet up in + his cabin atter he come in fum wuk. + </p> + <p> + "It wuz monst'us hard on Dave, en bimeby, w'at wid dat ham eberlastin' en + etarnally draggin' roun' his neck, he 'mence' fer ter do en say quare + things, en make de niggers wonder ef he wa'n't gittin' out'n his mine. He + got ter gwine roun' talkin' ter hisse'f, en singin' corn-shuckin' songs, + en laffin' fit ter kill 'bout nuffin. En one day he tole one er de niggers + he had 'skivered a noo way fer ter raise hams,—gwine ter pick 'em + off'n trees, en save de expense er smoke-'ouses by kyoin' 'em in de sun. + En one day he up'n tole Mars Walker he got sump'n pertickler fer ter say + ter 'im; en he tuk Mars Walker off ter one side, en tole 'im he wuz gwine + ter show 'im a place in de swamp whar dey wuz a whole trac' er lan' + covered wid ham-trees. + </p> + <p> + "W'en Mars Walker hearn Dave talkin' dis kine er fool-talk, en w'en he + seed how Dave wuz 'mencin' ter git behine in his wuk, en w'en he ax' de + niggers en dey tole 'im how Dave be'n gwine on, he 'lowed he reckon' he'd + punish' Dave ernuff, en it mou't do mo' harm dan good fer ter keep de ham + on his neck any longer. So he sont Dave down ter de blacksmif-shop en had + de ham tak off. Dey wa'n't much er de ham lef' by dat time, fer de sun had + melt all de fat, en de lean had all swivel' up, so dey wa'n't but th'ee er + fo' poun's lef'. + </p> + <p> + "W'en de ham had be'n tuk off'n Dave, folks kinder stopped talkin' 'bout + 'im so much. But de ham had be'n on his neck so long dat Dave had sorter + got use' ter it. He look des lack he'd los' sump'n fer a day er so atter + de ham wuz tuk off, en didn' 'pear ter know w'at ter do wid hisse'f; en + fine'ly he up'n tuk'n tied a lightered-knot ter a string, en hid it under + de flo' er his cabin, en w'en nobody wuzn' lookin' he'd take it out en + hang it roun' his neck, en go off in de woods en holler en sing; en he + allus tied it roun' his neck w'en he went ter sleep. Fac', it 'peared lack + Dave done gone clean out'n his mine. En atter a w'ile he got one er de + quarest notions you eber hearn tell un. It wuz 'bout dat time dat I come + back ter de plantation fer ter wuk,—I had be'n out ter Mars Dugal's + yuther place on Beaver Crick for a mont' er so. I had hearn 'bout Dave en + de bacon, en 'bout w'at wuz gwine on on de plantation; but I didn' b'lieve + w'at dey all say 'bout Dave, fer I knowed Dave wa'n't dat kine er man. One + day atter I come back, me'n Dave wuz choppin' cotton tergedder, w'en Dave + lean' on his hoe, en motion' fer me ter come ober close ter 'im; en den he + retch' ober en w'ispered ter me. + </p> + <p> + "'Julius', [sic] sezee, 'did yer knowed yer wuz wukkin' long yer wid a + ham?' + </p> + <p> + "I couldn 'magine w'at he meant. 'G'way fum yer, Dave,' says I. 'Yer ain' + wearin' no ham no mo'; try en fergit 'bout dat; 't ain' gwine ter do yer + no good fer ter 'member it.' + </p> + <p> + "Look a-yer, Julius,' sezee, 'kin yer keep a secret?' + </p> + <p> + "'Co'se I kin, Dave,' says I. 'I doan go roun' tellin' people w'at yuther + folks says ter me.' + </p> + <p> + "'Kin I trus' yer, Julius? Will yer cross yo' heart?' + </p> + <p> + "I cross' my heart. 'Wush I may die ef I tells a soul,' says I. + </p> + <p> + "Dave look' at me des lack he wuz lookin' thoo me en 'way on de yuther + side er me, en sezee:— + </p> + <p> + "'Did yer knowed I wuz turnin' ter a ham, Julius?' + </p> + <p> + "I tried ter 'suade Dave dat dat wuz all foolishness, en dat he oughtn't + ter be talkin' dat-a-way,—hit wa'n't right. En I tole 'im ef he'd + des be patien', de time would sho'ly come w'en eve'ything would be + straighten' out, en folks would fine out who de rale rogue wuz w'at stole + de bacon. Dave 'peared ter listen ter w'at I say, en promise' ter do + better, en stop gwine on dat-a-way; en it seem lack he pick' up a bit w'en + he seed dey wuz one pusson didn' b'lieve dem tales 'bout 'im. + </p> + <p> + "Hit wa'n't long atter dat befo' Mars Archie McIntyre, ober on de + Wimbleton road, 'mence' ter complain 'bout somebody stealin' chickens fum + his hen-'ouse. De chickens kip' on gwine, en at las' Mars Archie tole de + han's on his plantation dat he gwine ter shoot de fus' man he ketch in his + hen-'ouse. In less'n a week atter he gin dis warnin', he cotch a nigger in + de hen-'ouse, en fill' 'im full er squir'l-shot. W'en he got a light, he + 'skivered it wuz a strange nigger; en w'en he call' one er his own + sarven's, de nigger tole 'im it wuz our Wiley. W'en Mars Archie foun' dat + out, he sont ober ter our plantation fer ter tell Mars Dugal' he had shot + one er his niggers, en dat he could sen' ober dere en git w'at wuz lef' un + 'im. + </p> + <p> + "Mars Dugal' wuz mad at fus'; but w'en he got ober dere en hearn how it + all happen', he didn' hab much ter say. Wiley wuz shot so bad he wuz sho' + he wuz gwine ter die, so he up'n says ter ole marster:— + </p> + <p> + "'Mars Dugal',' sezee, 'I knows I's be'n a monst'us bad nigger, but befo' + I go I wanter git sump'n off'n my mine. Dave didn' steal dat bacon w'at + wuz tuk out'n de smoke-'ouse. I stole it all, en I hid de ham under Dave's + cabin fer ter th'ow de blame on him—en may de good Lawd fergib me + fer it.' + </p> + <p> + "Mars Dugal' had Wiley tuk back ter de plantation, en sont fer a doctor + fer ter pick de shot out'n 'im. En de ve'y nex' mawnin' Mars Dugal' sont + fer Dave ter come up ter de big house; he felt kinder sorry fer de way + Dave had be'n treated. Co'se it wa'n't no fault er Mars Dugal's, but he + wuz gwine ter do w'at he could fer ter make up fer it. So he sont word + down ter de quarters fer Dave en all de yuther han's ter 'semble up in de + yard befo' de big house at sun-up nex' mawnin'. + </p> + <p> + "Yearly in de mawnin' de niggers all swarm' up in de yard. Mars Dugal' wuz + feelin' so kine dat he had brung up a bairl er cider, en tole de niggers + all fer ter he'p deyselves. + </p> + <p> + "All dey han's on de plantation come but Dave; en bimeby, w'en it seem + lack he wa'n't comin', Mars Dugal' sont a nigger down ter de quarters ter + look fer 'im. De sun wuz gittin' up, en dey wuz a heap er wuk ter be done, + en Mars Dugal' sorter got ti'ed waitin'; so he up'n says:— + </p> + <p> + "'Well, boys en gals, I sont fer yer all up yer fer ter tell yer dat all + dat 'bout Dave's stealin' er de bacon wuz a mistake, ez I s'pose yer all + done hearn befo' now, en I's mighty sorry it happen'. I wants ter treat + all my niggers right, en I wants yer all ter know dat I sets a heap by all + er my han's w'at is hones' en smart. En I want yer all ter treat Dave des + lack yer did befo' dis thing happen', en mine w'at he preach ter yer; fer + Dave is a good nigger, en has had a hard row ter hoe. En de fus' one I + ketch sayin' anythin' 'g'in Dave, I'll tell Mister Walker ter gin 'im + forty. Now take ernudder drink er cider all roun', en den git at dat + cotton, fer I wanter git dat Persimmon Hill trac' all pick' ober ter-day.' + </p> + <p> + "W'en de niggers wuz gwine 'way, Mars Dugal' tole me fer ter go en hunt up + Dave, en bring 'im up ter de house. I went down ter Dave's cabin, but + couldn' fine 'im dere. Den I look' roun' de plantation, en in de aidge er + de woods, en 'long de road; but I couldn' fine no sign er Dave. I wuz + 'bout ter gin up de sarch, w'en I happen' fer ter run 'cross a foot-track + w'at look' lack Dave's. I had wukked 'long wid Dave so much dat I knowed + his tracks: he had a monst'us long foot, wid a holler instep, w'ich wuz + sump'n skase 'mongs' black folks. So I follered dat track 'cross de fiel' + fum de quarters 'tel I got ter de smoke-'ouse. De fus' thing I notice' wuz + smoke comin' out'n de cracks: it wuz cu'ous, caze dey hadn' be'n no hogs + kill' on de plantation fer six mont' er so, en all de bacon in de + smoke-'ouse wuz done kyoed. I couldn' 'magine fer ter sabe my life w'at + Dave wuz doin' in dat smoke-'ouse. I went up ter de do' en hollered:— + </p> + <p> + "'Dave!' + </p> + <p> + "Dey didn' nobody answer. I didn' wanter open de do', fer w'ite folks is + monst'us pertickler 'bout dey smoke-'ouses; en ef de oberseah had a-come + up en cotch me in dere, he mou't not wanter b'lieve I wuz des lookin' fer + Dave. So I sorter knock at de do' en call' out ag'in:— + </p> + <p> + "'O Dave, hit's me—Julius! Doan be skeered. Mars Dugal' wants yer + ter come up ter de big house,—he done 'skivered who stole de ham.' + </p> + <p> + "But Dave didn' answer. En w'en I look' roun' ag'in en didn' seed none er + his tracks gwine way fum de smoke-'ouse, I knowed he wuz in dere yit, en I + wuz 'termine' fer ter fetch 'im out; so I push de do' open en look in. + </p> + <p> + "Dey wuz a pile er bark burnin' in de middle er de flo', en right ober de + fier, hangin' fum one er de rafters, wuz Dave; dey wuz a rope roun' his + neck, en I didn' haf ter look at his face mo' d'n once fer ter see he wuz + dead. + </p> + <p> + "Den I knowed how it all happen'. Dave had kep' on gittin' wusser en + wusser in his mine, 'tel he des got ter b'lievin' he wuz all done turnt + ter a ham; en den he had gone en built a fier, en tied a rope roun' his + neck, des lack de hams wuz tied, en had hung hisse'f up in de smoke-'ouse + fer ter kyo. + </p> + <p> + "Dave wuz buried down by de swamp, in de plantation buryin'-groun'. Wiley + didn' died fum de woun' he got in Mars McIntyre's hen-'ouse; he got well + atter a w'ile, but Dilsey wouldn' hab nuffin mo' ter do wid 'im, en 't + wa'n't long 'fo' Mars Dugal' sol' 'im ter a spekilater on his way souf,—he + say he didn' want no sich a nigger on de plantation, ner in de county, ef + he could he'p it. En w'en de een' er de year come, Mars Dugal' turnt Mars + Walker off, en run de plantation hisse'f atter dat. + </p> + <p> + "Eber sence den," said Julius in conclusion, "w'eneber I eats ham, it + min's me er Dave. I lacks ham, but I nebber kin eat mo' d'n two er th'ee + poun's befo' I gits ter studyin' 'bout Dave, en den I has ter stop en leab + de res' fer ernudder time." + </p> + <p> + There was a short silence after the old man had finished his story, and + then my wife began to talk to him about the weather, on which subject he + was an authority. I went into the house. When I came out, half an hour + later, I saw Julius disappearing down the lane, with a basket on his arm. + </p> + <p> + At breakfast, next morning, it occurred to me that I should like a slice + of ham. I said as much to my wife. + </p> + <p> + "Oh, no, John," she responded, "you shouldn't eat anything so heavy for + breakfast." + </p> + <p> + I insisted. + </p> + <p> + "The fact is," she said, pensively, "I couldn't have eaten any more of + that ham, and so I gave it to Julius." + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0009" id="link2H_4_0009"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE AWAKENING OF THE NEGRO by Booker T. Washington + </h2> + <p> + When a mere boy, I saw a young colored man, who had spent several years in + school, sitting in a common cabin in the South, studying a French grammar. + I noted the poverty, the untidiness, the want of system and thrift, that + existed about the cabin, notwithstanding his knowledge of French and other + academic subjects. Another time, when riding on the outer edges of a town + in the South, I heard the sound of a piano coming from a cabin of the same + kind. Contriving some excuse, I entered, and began a conversation with the + young colored woman who was playing, and who had recently returned from a + boarding-school, where she had been studying instrumental music among + other things. Despite the fact that her parents were living in a rented + cabin, eating poorly cooked food, surrounded with poverty, and having + almost none of the conveniences of life, she had persuaded them to rent a + piano for four or five dollars per month. Many such instances as these, in + connection with my own struggles, impressed upon me the importance of + making a study of our needs as a race, and applying the remedy + accordingly. + </p> + <p> + Some one may be tempted to ask, Has not the negro boy or girl as good a + right to study a French grammar and instrumental music as the white youth? + I answer, Yes, but in the present condition of the negro race in this + country there is need of something more. Perhaps I may be forgiven for the + seeming egotism if I mention the expansion of my own life partly as an + example of what I mean. My earliest recollection is of a small one-room + log hut on a large slave plantation in Virginia. After the close of the + war, while working in the coal-mines of West Virginia for the support of + my mother, I heart in some accidental way of the Hampton Institute. When I + learned that it was an institution where a black boy could study, could + have a chance to work for his board, and at the same time be taught how to + work and to realize the dignity of labor, I resolved to go there. Bidding + my mother good-by, I started out one morning to find my way to Hampton, + though I was almost penniless and had no definite idea where Hampton was. + By walking, begging rides, and paying for a portion of the journey on the + steam-cars, I finally succeeded in reaching the city of Richmond, + Virginia. I was without money or friends. I slept under a sidewalk, and by + working on a vessel next day I earned money to continue my way to the + institute, where I arrived with a surplus of fifty cents. At Hampton I + found the opportunity—in the way of buildings, teachers, and + industries provided by the generous—to get training in the + class-room and by practical touch with industrial life, to learn thrift, + economy, and push. I was surrounded by an atmosphere of business, + Christian influence, and a spirit of self-help that seemed to have + awakened every faculty in me, and caused me for the first time to realize + what it meant to be a man instead of a piece of property. + </p> + <p> + While there I resolved that when I had finished the course of training I + would go into the far South, into the Black Belt of the South, and give my + life to providing the same kind of opportunity for self-reliance and + self-awakening that I had found provided for me at Hampton. My work began + at Tuskegee, Alabama, in 1881, in a small shanty and church, with one + teacher and thirty students, without a dollar's worth of property. The + spirit of work and of industrial thrift, with aid from the State and + generosity from the North, has enabled us to develop an institution of + eight hundred students gathered from nineteen States, with seventy-nine + instructors, fourteen hundred acres of land, and thirty buildings, + including large and small; in all, property valued at $280,000. + Twenty-five industries have been organized, and the whole work is carried + on at an annual cost of about $80,000 in cash; two fifths of the annual + expense so far has gone into permanent plant. + </p> + <p> + What is the object of all this outlay? First, it must be borne in mind + that we have in the South a peculiar and unprecedented state of things. It + is of the utmost importance that our energy be given to meeting conditions + that exist right about us rather than conditions that existed centuries + ago or that exist in countries a thousand miles away. What are the + cardinal needs among the seven millions of colored people in the South, + most of whom are to be found on the plantations? Roughly, these needs may + be stated as food, clothing, shelter, education, proper habits, and a settlement + of race relations. The seven millions of colored people of the South + cannot be reached directly by any missionary agency, but they can be + reached by sending out among them strong selected young men and women, + with the proper training of head, hand, and heart, who will live among + these masses and show them how to lift themselves up. + </p> + <p> + The problem that the Tuskegee Institute keeps before itself constantly is + how to prepare these leaders. From the outset, in connection with + religious and academic training, it has emphasized industrial or hand + training as a means of finding the way out of present conditions. First, + we have found the industrial teaching useful in giving the student a + chance to work out a portion of his expenses while in school. Second, the + school furnishes labor that has an economic value, and at the same time + gives the student a chance to acquire knowledge and skill while performing + the labor. Most of all, we find the industrial system valuable in teaching + economy, thrift, and the dignity of labor, and in giving moral backbone to + students. The fact that a student goes out into the world conscious of his + power to build a house or a wagon, or to make a harness, gives him a + certain confidence and moral independence that he would not possess + without such training. + </p> + <p> + A more detailed example of our methods at Tuskegee may be of interest. For + example, we cultivate by student labor six hundred and fifty acres of + land. The object is not only to cultivate the land in a way to make it pay + our boarding department, but at the same time to teach the students, in + addition to the practical work, something of the chemistry of the soil, + the best methods of drainage, dairying, the cultivation of fruit, the care + of livestock and tools, and scores of other lessons needed by a people + whose main dependence is on agriculture. Notwithstanding that eighty-five + per cent of the colored people in the South live by agriculture in some + form, aside from what has been done by Hampton, Tuskegee, and one or two + other institutions practically nothing has been attempted in the direction + of teaching them about the very industry from which the masses of our + people must get their subsistence. Friends have recently provided means + for the erection of a large new chapel at Tuskegee. Our students have made + the bricks for this chapel. A large part of the timber is sawed by + students at our own sawmill, the plans are drawn by our teacher of + architecture and mechanical drawing, and students do the brick-masonry, + plastering, painting, carpentry work, tinning, slating, and make most of + the furniture. Practically, the whole chapel will be built and furnished + by student labor; in the end the school will have the building for + permanent use, and the students will have a knowledge of the trades + employed in its construction. In this way all but three of the thirty + buildings on the grounds have been erected. While the young men do the + kinds of work I have mentioned, the young women to a large extent make, + mend, and launder the clothing of the young men, and thus are taught + important industries. + </p> + <p> + One of the objections sometimes urged against industrial education for the + negro is that it aims merely to teach him to work on the same plan that he + was made to follow when in slavery. This is far from being the object at + Tuskegee. At the head of each of the twenty-five industrial departments we + have an intelligent and competent instructor, just as we have in our + history classes, so that the student is taught not only practical + brick-masonry, for example, but also the underlying principles of that + industry, the mathematics and the mechanical and architectural drawing. Or + he is taught how to become master of the forces of nature so that, instead + of cultivating corn in the old way, he can use a corn cultivator, that + lays off the furrows, drops the corn into them, and covers it, and in this + way he can do more work than three men by the old process of + corn-planting; at the same time much of the toil is eliminated and labor + is dignified. In a word, the constant aim is to show the student how to + put brains into every process of labor; how to bring his knowledge of + mathematics and the sciences into farming, carpentry, forging, foundry + work; how to dispense as soon as possible with the old form of ante-bellum + labor. In the erection of the chapel just referred to, instead of letting + the money which was given us go into outside hands, we make it accomplish + three objects: first, it provides the chapel; second, it gives the + students a chance to get a practical knowledge of the trades connected + with building; and third, it enables them to earn something toward the + payment of board while receiving academic and industrial training. + </p> + <p> + Having been fortified at Tuskegee by education of mind, skill of hand, + Christian character, ideas of thrift, economy, and push, and a spirit of + independence, the student is sent out to become a centre of influence and + light in showing the masses of our people in the Black Belt of the South + how to lift themselves up. How can this be done? I give but one or two + examples. Ten years ago a young colored man came to the institute from one + of the large plantation districts; he studied in the class-room a portion + of the time, and received practical and theoretical training on the farm + the remainder of the time. Having finished his course at Tuskegee, he + returned to his plantation home, which was in a county where the colored + people outnumber the whites six to one, as is true of many of the counties + in the Black Belt of the South. He found the negroes in debt. Ever since + the war they had been mortgaging their crops for the food on which to live + while the crops were growing. The majority of them were living from hand + to mouth on rented land, in small, one-room log cabins, and attempting to + pay a rate of interest on their advances that ranged from fifteen to forty + per cent per annum. The school had been taught in a wreck of a log cabin, + with no apparatus, and had never been in session longer than three months + out of twelve. With as many as eight or ten persons of all ages and + conditions and of both sexes huddled together in one cabin year after + year, and with a minister whose only aim was to work upon the emotions of + the people, one can imagine something of the moral and religious state of + the community. + </p> + <p> + But the remedy. In spite of the evil, the negro got the habit of work from + slavery. The rank and file of the race, especially those on the Southern + plantations, work hard, but the trouble is, what they earn gets away from + them in high rents, crop mortgages, whiskey, snuff, cheap jewelry, and the + like. The young man just referred to had been trained at Tuskegee, as most + of our graduates are, to meet just this condition of things. He took the + three months' public school as a nucleus for his work. Then he organized + the older people into a club, or conference, that held meetings every + week. In these meetings he taught the people in a plain, simple manner how + to save their money, how to farm in a better way, how to sacrifice,—to + live on bread and potatoes, if need be, till they could get out of debt, + and begin the buying of lands. + </p> + <p> + Soon a large proportion of the people were in condition to make contracts + for the buying of homes (land is very cheap in the South), and to live + without mortgaging their crops. Not only this: under the guidance and + leadership of this teacher, the first year that he was among them they + learned how, by contributions in money and labor, to build a neat, + comfortable schoolhouse that replaced the wreck of a log cabin formerly + used. The following year the weekly meetings were continued, and two + months were added to the original three months of school. The next year + two more months were added. The improvement has gone on, until now these + people have every year an eight months' school. + </p> + <p> + I wish my readers could have the chance that I have had of going into this + community. I wish they could look into the faces of the people and see + them beaming with hope and delight. I wish they could see the two or three + room cottages that have taken the place of the usual one-room cabin, the + well-cultivated farms, and the religious life of the people that now means + something more than the name. The teacher has a good cottage and a + well-kept farm that serve as models. In a word, a complete revolution has + been wrought in the industrial, educational, and religious life of this + whole community by reason of the fact that they have had this leader, this + guide and object-lesson, to show them how to take the money and effort + that had hitherto been scattered to the wind in mortgages and high rents, + in whiskey and gewgaws, and concentrate them in the direction of their own + uplifting. One community on its feet presents an object-lesson for the + adjoining communities, and soon improvements show themselves in other + places. + </p> + <p> + Another student who received academic and industrial training at Tuskegee + established himself, three years ago, as a blacksmith and wheelwright in a + community, and, in addition to the influence of his successful business + enterprise, he is fast making the same kind of changes in the life of the + people about him that I have just recounted. It would be easy for me to + fill many pages describing the influence of the Tuskegee graduates in + every part of the South. We keep it constantly in the minds of our + students and graduates that the industrial or material condition of the + masses of our people must be improved, as well as the intellectual, before + there can be any permanent change in their moral and religious life. We + find it a pretty hard thing to make a good Christian of a hungry man. No + matter how much our people "get happy" and "shout" in church, if they go + home at night from church hungry, they are tempted to find something + before morning. This is a principle of human nature, and is not confined + to the negro. + </p> + <p> + The negro has within him immense power for self-uplifting, but for years + it will be necessary to guide and stimulate him. The recognition of this + power led us to organize, five years ago, what is now known as the + Tuskegee Negro Conference,—a gathering that meets every February, + and is composed of about eight hundred representative colored men and + women from all sections of the Black Belt. They come in ox-carts, + mule-carts, buggies, on muleback and horseback, on foot, by railroad: some + traveling all night in order to be present. The matters considered at the + conferences are those that the colored people have it within their own + power to control: such as the evils of the mortgage system, the one-room + cabin, buying on credit, the importance of owning a home and of putting + money in the bank, how to build schoolhouses and prolong the school term, + and how to improve their moral and religious condition. + </p> + <p> + As a single example of the results, one delegate reported that since the + conferences were started five years ago eleven people in his neighborhood + had bought homes, fourteen had got out of debt, and a number had stopped + mortgaging their crops. Moreover, a schoolhouse had been built by the + people themselves, and the school term had been extended from three to six + months; and with a look of triumph he exclaimed, "We is done stopped + libin' in de ashes!" + </p> + <p> + Besides this Negro Conference for the masses of the people, we now have a + gathering at the same time known as the Workers' Conference, composed of + the officers and instructors in the leading colored schools of the South. + After listening to the story of the conditions and needs from the people + themselves, the Workers' Conference finds much food for thought and + discussion. + </p> + <p> + Nothing else so soon brings about right relations between the two races in + the South as the industrial progress of the negro. Friction between the + races will pass away in proportion as the black man, by reason of his + skill, intelligence, and character, can produce something that the white + man wants or respects in the commercial world. This is another reason why + at Tuskegee we push the industrial training. We find that as every year we + put into a Southern community colored men who can start a brick-yard, a + sawmill, a tin-shop, or a printing-office,—men who produce something + that makes the white man partly dependent upon the negro, instead of all + the dependence being on the other side,—a change takes place in the + relations of the races. + </p> + <p> + Let us go on for a few more years knitting our business and industrial + relations into those of the white man, till a black man gets a mortgage on + a white man's house that he can foreclose at will. The white man on whose + house the mortgage rests will not try to prevent that negro from voting + when he goes to the polls. It is through the dairy farm, the truck garden, + the trades, and commercial life, largely, that the negro is to find his + way to the enjoyment of all his rights. Whether he will or not, a white + man respects a negro who owns a two-story brick house. + </p> + <p> + What is the permanent value of the Tuskegee system of training to the + South in a broader sense? In connection with this, it is well to bear in + mind that slavery taught the white man that labor with the hands was + something fit for the negro only, and something for the white man to come + into contact with just as little as possible. It is true that there was a + large class of poor white people who labored with the hands, but they did + it because they were not able to secure negroes to work for them; and + these poor whites were constantly trying to imitate the slave-holding + class in escaping labor, and they too regarded it as anything but + elevating. The negro in turn looked down upon the poor whites with a + certain contempt because they had to work. The negro, it is to be borne in + mind, worked under constant protest, because he felt that his labor was + being unjustly required, and he spent almost as much effort in planning + how to escape work as in learning how to work. Labor with him was a badge + of degradation. The white man was held up before him as the highest type + of civilization, but the negro noted that this highest type of + civilization himself did no labor; hence he argued that the less work he + did, the more nearly he would be like a white man. Then, in addition to + these influences, the slave system discouraged labor-saving machinery. To + use labor-saving machinery intelligence was required, and intelligence and + slavery were not on friendly terms; hence the negro always associated + labor with toil, drudgery, something to be escaped. When the negro first + became free, his idea of education was that it was something that would + soon put him in the same position as regards work that his recent master + had occupied. Out of these conditions grew the Southern habit of putting + off till to-morrow and the day after the duty that should be done promptly + to-day. The leaky house was not repaired while the sun shone, for then the + rain did not come through. While the rain was falling, no one cared to + expose himself to stop the leak. The plough, on the same principle, was + left where the last furrow was run, to rot and rust in the field during + the winter. There was no need to repair the wooden chimney that was + exposed to the fire, because water could be thrown on it when it was on + fire. There was no need to trouble about the payment of a debt to-day, for + it could just as well be paid next week or next year. Besides these + conditions, the whole South, at the close of the war, was without proper + food, clothing, and shelter,—was in need of habits of thrift and + economy and of something laid up for a rainy day. + </p> + <p> + To me it seemed perfectly plain that here was a condition of things that + could not be met by the ordinary process of education. At Tuskegee we + became convinced that the thing to do was to make a careful systematic + study of the condition and needs of the South, especially the Black Belt, + and to bend our efforts in the direction of meeting these needs, whether + we were following a well-beaten track, or were hewing out a new path to + meet conditions probably without a parallel in the world. After fourteen + years of experience and observation, what is the result? Gradually but + surely, we find that all through the South the disposition to look upon + labor as a disgrace is on the wane, and the parents who themselves sought + to escape work are so anxious to give their children training in + intelligent labor that every institution which gives training in the + handicrafts is crowded, and many (among them Tuskegee) have to refuse + admission to hundreds of applicants. The influence of the Tuskegee system + is shown again by the fact that almost every little school at the remotest + cross-roads is anxious to be known as an industrial school, or, as some of + the colored people call it, an "industrus" school. + </p> + <p> + The social lines that were once sharply drawn between those who labored + with the hand and those who did not are disappearing. Those who formerly + sought to escape labor, now when they see that brains and skill rob labor + of the toil and drudgery once associated with it, instead of trying to + avoid it are willing to pay to be taught how to engage in it. The South is + beginning to see labor raised up, dignified and beautified, and in this + sees its salvation. In proportion as the love of labor grows, the large + idle class which has long been one of the curses of the South disappears. + As its members become absorbed in occupations, they have less time to + attend to everybody else's business, and more time for their own. + </p> + <p> + The South is still an undeveloped and unsettled country, and for the next + half century and more the greater part of the energy of the masses will be + needed to develop its material opportunities. Any force that brings the + rank and file of the people to a greater love of industry is therefore + especially valuable. This result industrial education is surely bringing + about. It stimulates production and increases trade,—trade between + the races,—and in this new and engrossing relation both forget the + past. The white man respects the vote of the colored man who does $10,000 + worth of business, and the more business the colored man has, the more + careful he is how he votes. + </p> + <p> + Immediately after the war, there was a large class of Southern people who + feared that the opening of the free schools to the freedmen and the poor + whites—the education of the head alone—would result merely in + increasing the class who sought to escape labor, and that the South would + soon be overrun by the idle and vicious. But as the results of industrial + combined with academic training begin to show themselves in hundreds of + communities that have been lifted up through the medium of the Tuskegee + system, these former prejudices against education are being removed. Many + of those who a few years ago opposed general education are now among its + warmest advocates. + </p> + <p> + This industrial training, emphasizing as it does the idea of economic + production, is gradually bringing the South to the point where it is + feeding itself. Before the war, and long after it, the South made what + little profit was received from the cotton crop, and sent its earnings out + of the South to purchase food supplies,—meat, bread, canned + vegetables, and the like; but the improved methods of agriculture are fast + changing this habit. With the newer methods of labor, which teach + promptness and system, and emphasize the worth of the beautiful,—the + moral value of the well-painted house, and the fence with every paling and + nail in its place,—we are bringing to bear upon the South an + influence that is making it a new country in industry, education, and + religion. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0010" id="link2H_4_0010"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE STORY OF UNCLE TOM'S CABIN by Charles Dudley Warner + </h2> + <p> + On the 29th of June, 1852, Henry Clay died. In that month the two great + political parties, in their national conventions, had accepted as a + finality all the compromise measures of 1850, and the last hours of the + Kentucky statesman were brightened by the thought that his efforts had + secured the perpetuity of the Union. + </p> + <p> + But on the 20th of March, 1852, there had been an event, the significance + of which was not taken into account by the political conventions or by + Clay, which was to test the conscience of the nation. This was the + publication of Uncle Tom's Cabin. Was this only an "event," the advent of + a new force in politics; was the book merely an abolition pamphlet, or was + it a novel, one of the few great masterpieces of fiction that the world + has produced? After the lapse of forty-four years and the disappearance of + African slavery on this continent, it is perhaps possible to consider this + question dispassionately. + </p> + <p> + The compromise of 1850 satisfied neither the North nor the South. The + admission of California as a free State was regarded by Calhoun as fatal + to the balance between the free and the slave States, and thereafter a + fierce agitation sprang up for the recovery of this loss of balance, and + ultimately for Southern preponderance, which resulted in the repeal of the + Missouri Compromise, the Kansas-Nebraska war, and the civil war. The + fugitive slave law was hateful to the North not only because it was cruel + and degrading, but because it was seen to be a move formed for + nationalizing slavery. It was unsatisfactory to the South because it was + deemed inadequate in its provisions, and because the South did not believe + the North would execute it in good faith. So unstable did the compromise + seem that in less than a year after the passage of all its measures, Henry + Clay and forty-four Senators and Representatives united in a manifesto + declaring that they would support no man for office who was not known to + be opposed to any disturbance of the settlements of the compromise. When, + in February, 1851, the recaptured fugitive slave, Burns, was rescued from + the United States officers in Boston, Clay urged the investment of the + President with extraordinary power to enforce the law. + </p> + <p> + Henry Clay was a patriot, a typical American. The republic and its + preservation were the passions of his life. Like Lincoln, who was born in + the State of his adoption, he was willing to make almost any sacrifice for + the maintenance of the Union. He had no sympathy with the system of + slavery. There is no doubt that he would have been happy in the belief + that it was in the way of gradual and peaceful extinction. With him, it + was always the Union before state rights and before slavery. Unlike + Lincoln, he had not the clear vision to see that the republic could not + endure half slave and half free. He believed that the South, appealing to + the compromises of the Constitution, would sacrifice the Union before it + would give up slavery, and in fear of this menace he begged the North to + conquer its prejudices. We are not liable to overrate his influence as a + compromising pacificator from 1832 to 1852. History will no doubt say that + it was largely due to him that the war on the Union was postponed to a + date when its success was impossible. + </p> + <p> + It was the fugitive slave law that brought the North face to face with + slavery nationalized, and it was the fugitive slave law that produced + Uncle Tom's Cabin. The effect of this story was immediate and electric. It + went straight to the hearts of tens of thousands of people who had never + before considered slavery except as a political institution for which they + had no personal responsibility. What was this book, and how did it happen + to produce such an effect? It is true that it struck into a time of great + irritation and agitation, but in one sense there was nothing new in it. + The facts had all been published. For twenty years abolition tracts, + pamphlets, newspapers, and books had left little to be revealed, to those + who cared to read, as to the nature of slavery or its economic aspects. + The evidence was practically all in,—supplied largely by the + advertisements of Southern newspapers and by the legislation of the + slaveholding States,—but it did not carry conviction; that is, the + sort of conviction that results in action. The subject had to be carried + home to the conscience. Pamphleteering, convention-holding, sermons, had + failed to do this. Even the degrading requirements of the fugitive slave + law, which brought shame and humiliation, had not sufficed to fuse the + public conscience, emphasize the necessity of obedience to the moral law, + and compel recognition of the responsibility of the North for slavery. + Evidence had not done this, passionate appeals had not done it, + vituperation had not done it. What sort of presentation of the case would + gain the public ear and go to the heart? If Mrs. Stowe, in all her fervor, + had put forth first the facts in The Key to Uncle Tom's Cabin, which so + buttressed her romance, the book would have had no more effect than had + followed the like compilations and arraignments. What was needed? If we + can discover this, we shall have the secret of this epoch-making novel. + </p> + <p> + The story of this book has often been told. It is in the nature of a + dramatic incident of which the reader never tires any more than the son of + Massachusetts does of the minutest details of that famous scene in the + Senate Chamber when Webster replied to Hayne. + </p> + <p> + At the age of twenty-four the author was married and went to live in + Cincinnati, where her husband held a chair in the Lane Theological + Seminary. There for the first time she was brought into relations with the + African race and saw the effects of slavery. She visited slaveholders in + Kentucky and had friends among them. In some homes she saw the + "patriarchal" institution at its best. The Beecher family were + anti-slavery, but they had not been identified with the abolitionists, + except perhaps Edward, who was associated with the murdered Lovejoy. It + was long a reproach brought by the abolitionists against Henry Ward + Beecher that he held entirely aloof from their movement. At Cincinnati, + however, the personal aspects of the case were brought home to Mrs. Stowe. + She learned the capacities and peculiarities of the negro race. They were + her servants; she taught some of them; hunted fugitives applied to her; + she ransomed some by her own efforts; every day there came to her + knowledge stories of the hunger for freedom, of the ruthless separation of + man and wife and mother and child, and of the heroic sufferings of those + who ran away from the fearful doom of those "sold down South." These + things crowded upon her mind and awoke her deepest compassion. But what + could she do against all the laws, the political and commercial interests, + the great public apathy? Relieve a case here and there, yes. But to dwell + upon the gigantic evil, with no means of making head against it, was to + invite insanity. + </p> + <p> + As late as 1850, when Professor Stowe was called to Bowdoin College, and + the family removed to Brunswick, Maine, Mrs. Stowe had not felt impelled + to the duty she afterwards undertook. "In fact, it was a sort of general + impression upon her mind, as upon that of many humane people in those + days, that the subject was so dark and painful a one, so involved in + difficulty and obscurity, so utterly beyond human hope or help, that it + was of no use to read, or think, or distress one's self about it." But + when she reached New England the excitement over the fugitive slave law + was at its height. There was a panic in Boston among the colored people + settled there, who were daily fleeing to Canada. Every mail brought her + pitiful letters from Boston, from Illinois, and elsewhere, of the terror + and despair caused by the law. Still more was the impressed by the apathy + of the Christian world at the North, and surely, she said, the people did + not understand what the "system" was. Appeals were made to her, who had + some personal knowledge of the subject, to take up her pen. The task + seemed beyond her in every way. She was not strong, she was in the midst + of heavy domestic cares, with a young infant, with pupils to whom she was + giving daily lessons, and the limited income of the family required the + strictest economy. The dependence was upon the small salary of Professor + Stowe, and the few dollars she could earn by an occasional newspaper or + magazine article. But the theme burned in her mind, and finally took this + shape: at least she would write some sketches and show the Christian world + what slavery really was, and what the system was that they were defending. + She wanted to do this with entire fairness, showing all the mitigations of + the "patriarchal" system, and all that individuals concerned in it could + do to alleviate its misery. While pondering this she came by chance, in a + volume of an anti-slavery magazine, upon the authenticated account of the + escape of a woman with her child on the ice across the Ohio River from + Kentucky. She began to meditate. The faithful slave husband in Kentucky, + who had refused to escape from a master who trusted him, when he was about + to be sold "down river," came to her as a pattern of Uncle Tom, and the + scenes of the story began to form themselves in her mind. "The first part + of the book ever committed to writing [this is the statement of Mrs. + Stowe] was the death of Uncle Tom. This scene presented itself almost as a + tangible vision to her mind while sitting at the communion-table in the + little church in Brunswick. She was perfectly overcome by it, and could + scarcely restrain the convulsion of tears and sobbings that shook her + frame. She hastened home and wrote it, and her husband being away, read it + to her two sons of ten and twelve years of age. The little fellows broke + out into convulsions of weeping, one of them saying through his sobs, 'Oh, + mamma, slavery is the most cursed thing in the world!' From that time the + story can less be said to have been composed by her than imposed upon her. + Scenes, incidents, conversations rushed upon her with a vividness and + importunity that would not be denied. The book insisted upon getting + itself into being, and would take no denial." + </p> + <p> + When two or three chapters were written she wrote to her friend, Dr. + Bailey, of Washington, the editor of The National Era, to which she had + contributed, that she was planning a story that might run through several + numbers of the Era. The story was at once applied for, and thereafter + weekly installments were sent on regularly, in spite of all cares and + distractions. The installments were mostly written during the morning, on + a little desk in a corner of the dining-room of the cottage in Brunswick, + subject to all the interruptions of house-keeping, her children bursting + into the room continually with the importunity of childhood. But they did + not break the spell or destroy her abstraction. With a smile and a word + and a motion of the hand she would wave them off, and keep on in her + magician's work. Long afterwards they recalled this, dimly understood at + the time, and wondered at her power of concentration. Usually at night the + chapters were read to the family, who followed the story with intense + feeling. The narrative ran on for nine months, exciting great interest + among the limited readers of the Era, and gaining sympathetic words from + the anti-slavery people, but without making any wide impression on the + public. + </p> + <p> + We may pause here in the narrative to note two things: the story was not + the work of a novice, and it was written out of abundant experience and + from an immense mass of accumulated thought and material. Mrs. Stowe was + in her fortieth year. She had been using her pen since she was twelve + years old, in extensive correspondence, in occasional essays, in short + stories and sketches, some of which appeared in a volume called The + Mayflower, published in 1843, and for many years her writing for + newspapers and periodicals had added appreciably to the small family + income. She was in the maturity of her intellectual powers, she was + trained in the art of writing, and she had, as Walter Scott had when he + began the Waverley Novels at the age of forty-three, abundant store of + materials on which to draw. To be sure, she was on fire with a moral + purpose, but she had the dramatic instinct, and she felt that her object + would not be reached by writing an abolition tract. + </p> + <p> + "In shaping her material the author had but one purpose, to show the + institution of slavery truly, just as it existed. She had visited in + Kentucky; had formed the acquaintance of people who were just, upright, + and generous, and yet slave-holders. She had heard their views, and + appreciated their situation; she felt that justice required that their + difficulties should be recognized and their virtues acknowledged. It was + her object to show that the evils of slavery were the inherent evils of a + bad system, and not always the fault of those who had become involved in + it and were its actual administrators. Then she was convinced that the + presentation of slavery alone, in its most dreadful forms, would be a + picture of such unrelieved horror and darkness as nobody could be induced + to look at. Of set purpose, she sought to light up the darkness by + humorous and grotesque episodes, and the presentation of the milder and + more amusing phases of slavery, for which her recollection of the + never-failing wit and drollery of her former colored friends in Ohio gave + her abundant material." + </p> + <p> + This is her own account of the process, years after. But it is evident + that, whether consciously or unconsciously, she did but follow the + inevitable law of all great dramatic creators and true story-tellers since + literature began. + </p> + <p> + For this story Mrs. Stowe received from the Era the sum of three hundred + dollars. Before it was finished it attracted the attention of Mr. J. P. + Jewett, of Boston, a young and then unknown publisher, who offered to + issue it in book form. His offer was accepted, but as the tale ran on he + became alarmed at its length, and wrote to the author that she was making + the story too long for a one-volume novel; that the subject was unpopular; + that people would not willingly hear much about it; that one short volume + might possibly sell, but that if it grew to two that might prove a fatal + obstacle to its success. Mrs. Stowe replied that she did not make the + story, that the story made itself, and that she could not stop it till it + was done. The publisher hesitated. It is said that a competent literary + critic to whom he submitted it sat up all night with the novel, and then + reported, "The story has life in it; it will sell." Mr. Jewett proposed to + Professor Stowe to publish it on half profits if he would share the + expenses. This offer was declined, for the Stowes had no money to advance, + and the common royalty of ten per cent on the sales was accepted. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Stowe was not interested in this business transaction. She was + thinking only of having the book circulated for the effect she had at + heart. The intense absorption in the story held her until the virtual end + in the death of Uncle Tom, and then it seemed as if the whole vital force + had left her. She sank into a profound discouragement. Would this appeal, + which she had written with her heart's blood, go for nothing, as all the + prayers and tears and strivings had already gone? When the last proof + sheets left her hands, "it seemed to her that there was no hope; that + nobody would read, nobody would pity; that this frightful system, which + had already pursued its victims into the free States, might at last even + threaten them in Canada." Resolved to leave nothing undone to attract + attention to her cause, she wrote letters and ordered copies of her novel + sent to men of prominence who had been known for their anti-slavery + sympathies,—to Prince Albert, Macaulay, Charles Dickens, Charles + Kingsley, and Lord Carlisle. Then she waited for the result. + </p> + <p> + She had not long to wait. The success of the book was immediate. Three + thousand copies were sold the first day, within a few days ten thousand + copies had gone, on the 1st of April a second edition went to press, and + thereafter eight presses running day and night were barely able to keep + pace with the demand for it. Within a year three hundred thousand copies + were sold. No work of fiction ever spread more quickly throughout the + reading community or awakened a greater amount of public feeling. It was + read by everybody, learned and unlearned, high and low, for it was an + appeal to universal human sympathy, and the kindling of this spread the + book like wildfire. At first it seemed to go by acclamation. But this was + not altogether owing to sympathy with the theme. I believe that it was its + power as a novel that carried it largely. The community was generally + apathetic when it was not hostile to any real effort to be rid of slavery. + This presently appeared. At first there were few dissenting voices from + the chorus of praise. But when the effect of the book began to be evident + it met with an opposition fiercer and more personal than the great wave of + affectionate thankfulness which greeted it at first. The South and the + defenders and apologists of slavery everywhere were up in arms. It was + denounced in pulpit and in press, and some of the severest things were + said of it at the North. The leading religious newspaper of the country, + published in New York, declared that it was "anti-Christian." + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Stowe was twice astonished: first by its extraordinary sale, and + second by the quarter from which the assault on it came. She herself says + that her expectations were strikingly different from the facts. "She had + painted slaveholders as amiable, generous, and just. She had shown + examples among them of the noblest and most beautiful traits of character; + had admitted fully their temptations, their perplexities, and their + difficulties, so that a friend of hers who had many relatives in the South + wrote to her: 'Your book is going to be the great pacificator; it will + unite both North and South.' Her expectation was that the professed + abolitionists would denounce it as altogether too mild in its dealings + with slaveholders. To her astonishment, it was the extreme abolitionists + who received, and the entire South who rose up against it." + </p> + <p> + There is something almost amusing in Mrs. Stowe's honest expectation that + the deadliest blow the system ever suffered should have been received + thankfully by those whose traditions, education, and interests were all + bound up in it. And yet from her point of view it was not altogether + unreasonable. Her blackest villain and most loathsome agent of the system, + Legree, was a native of Vermont. All her wrath falls upon the + slave-traders, the auctioneers, the public whippers, and the overseers, + and all these persons and classes were detested by the Southerners to the + point of loathing, and were social outcasts. The slave-traders and the + overseers were tolerated as perhaps necessary in the system, but they were + never admitted into respectable society. This feeling Mrs. Stowe regarded + as a condemnation of the system. + </p> + <p> + Pecuniary reward was the last thing that Mrs. Stowe expected for her + disinterested labor, but it suits the world's notion of the fitness of + things that this was not altogether wanting. For the millions of copies of + Uncle Tom scattered over the world the author could expect nothing, but in + her own country her copyright yielded her a moderate return that lifted + her out of poverty and enabled her to pursue her philanthropic and + literary career. Four months after the publication of the book Professor + Stowe was in the publisher's office, and Mr. Jewett asked him how much he + expected to receive. "I hope," said Professor Stowe, with a whimsical + smile, "that it will be enough to buy my wife a silk dress." The publisher + handed him a check for ten thousand dollars. + </p> + <p> + Before Mrs. Stowe had a response to the letters accompanying the books + privately sent to England, the novel was getting known there. Its career + in Great Britain paralleled its success in America. In April a copy + reached London in the hands of a gentleman who had taken it on the steamer + to read. He gave it to Mr. Henry Vizetelly, who submitted it to Mr. David + Bogue, a man known for his shrewdness and enterprise. He took a night to + consider it, and then declined it, although it was offered to him for five + pounds. A Mr. Gilpin also declined it. It was then submitted to Mr. + Salisbury, a printer. This taster for the public sat up with the book till + four o'clock in the morning, alternately weeping and laughing. Fearing, + however, that this result was due to his own weakness, he woke up his + wife, whom he describes as a rather strong-minded woman, and finding that + the story kept her awake and made her also laugh and cry, he thought it + might safely be printed. It seems, therefore, that Mr. Vizetelly ventured + to risk five pounds, and the volume was brought out through the nominal + agency of Clarke & Company. In the first week an edition of seven + thousand was worked off. It made no great stir until the middle of June, + but during July it sold at the rate of one thousand a week. By the 20th of + August the demand for it was overwhelming. The printing firm was then + employing four hundred people in getting it out, and seventeen + printing-machines, besides hand-presses. Already one hundred and fifty + thousand copies were sold. Mr. Vizetelly disposed of his interest, and a + new printing firm began to issue monster editions. About this time the + publishers awoke to the fact that any one was at liberty to reprint the + book, and the era of cheap literature was initiated, founded on American + reprints which cost the publisher no royalty. A shilling edition followed + the one-and-sixpence, and then one complete for sixpence. As to the total + sale, Mr. Sampson Low reports: "From April to December, 1852, twelve + different editions (not reissues) were published, and within the twelve + months of its first appearance eighteen different London publishing houses + were engaged in supplying the great demand that had set in, the total + number of editions being forty, varying from fine illustrated editions at + 15s., 10s., and 7s. 6d. to the cheap popular editions of 1s. 9d. and 6d. + After carefully analyzing these editions and weighing probabilities with + ascertained facts, I am able pretty confidently to say that the aggregate + number of copies circulated in Great Britain and the colonies exceeds one + and a half millions." Later, abridgments were published. + </p> + <p> + Almost simultaneously with this furor in England the book made its way on + the Continent. Several translations appeared in Germany and France, and + for the authorized French edition Mrs. Stowe wrote a new preface, which + served thereafter for most of the European editions. I find no record of + the order of the translations of the book into foreign languages, but + those into some of the Oriental tongues did not appear till several years + after the great excitement. The ascertained translations are into + twenty-three tongues, namely: Arabic, Armenian, Chinese, Danish, Dutch, + Finnish, Flemish, French, German, Hungarian, Illyrian, Italian, Japanese, + Polish, Portuguese, modern Greek, Russian, Servian, Siamese, Spanish, + Swedish, Wallachian, and Welsh. Into some of these languages several + translations were made. In 1878 the British Museum contained thirty-five + editions of the original text, and eight editions of abridgments or + adaptations. + </p> + <p> + The story was dramatized in the United States in August, 1852, without the + consent or knowledge of the author, and was played most successfully in + the leading cities, and subsequently was acted in every capital in Europe. + Mrs. Stowe had neglected to secure the dramatic rights, and she derived no + benefit from the great popularity of a drama which still holds the stage. + From the phenomenal sale of a book which was literally read by the whole + world, the author received only the ten per cent on the American editions, + and by the laws of her own country her copyright expired before her death. + </p> + <p> + The narrative of the rise and fortunes of this book would be incomplete + without some reference to the response that the author received from + England and the Continent, and of her triumphant progress through the + British Isles. Her letters accompanying the special copies were almost + immediately replied to, generally in terms of enthusiastic and fervent + thankfulness for the book, and before midsummer her mail contained letters + from all classes of English society. In some of them appeared a curious + evidence of the English sensitiveness to criticism. Lord Carlisle and Sir + Arthur Helps supplemented their admiration by a protest against the remark + in the mouth of one of the characters that "slaves are better off than a + large class of the population of England." This occurred in the defense of + the institution by St. Clare, but it was treated by the British + correspondents as the opinion of Mrs. Stowe. The charge was disposed of in + Mrs. Stowe's reply: "The remark on that subject occurs in the dramatic + part of the book, in the mouth of an intelligent Southerner. As a + fair-minded person, bound to state for both sides all that could be said, + in the person of St. Clare, the best that could be said on that point, and + what I know IS in fact constantly reiterated, namely, that the laboring + class of the South are in many respects, as to physical comfort, in a + better condition than the poor in England. This is the slaveholder's + stereo-typed apology; a defense it cannot be, unless two wrongs make one + right." + </p> + <p> + In April, 1853, Mr. and Mrs. Stowe and the latter's brother, Charles + Beecher, sailed for Europe. Her reception there was like a royal progress. + She was met everywhere by deputations and addresses, and the enthusiasm + her presence called forth was thoroughly democratic, extending from the + highest in rank to the lowest. At Edinburgh there was presented to her a + national penny offering, consisting of a thousand golden sovereigns on a + magnificent silver salver, an unsolicited contribution in small sums by + the people. + </p> + <p> + At a reception in Stafford House, London, the Duchess of Sutherland + presented her with a massive gold bracelet, which has an interesting + history. It is made of ten oval links in imitation of slave fetters. On + two of the links were the inscriptions "March 25, 1807," the date of the + abolition of the slave-trade, and "August 1, 1838," the date of the + abolition of slavery in all British territory. The third inscription is + "562,848—March 19, 1853," the date of the address of the women of + England to the women of America on slavery, and the number of the women + who signed. It was Mrs. Stowe's privilege to add to these inscriptions the + following: "Emancipation D. C. Apl. 16, '62;" "President's Proclamation + Jan. 1, '63;" "Maryland free Oct. 13, '64;" "Missouri free Jan. 11, '65;" + and on the clasp link, "Constitution amended by Congress Jan. 31, '65. + Constitutional Amendment ratified." Two of the links are vacant. What will + the progress of civilization in America offer for the links nine and ten? + </p> + <p> + One of the most remarkable documents which resulted from Uncle Tom was an + address from the women of England to the women of America, acknowledging + the complicity in slavery of England, but praying aid in removing from the + world "our common crimes and common dishonor," which was presented to Mrs. + Stowe in 1853. It was the result of a meeting at Stafford House, and the + address, composed by Lord Shaftesbury, was put into the hands of + canvassers in England and on the Continent, and as far as Jerusalem. The + signatures of 562,848 women were obtained, with their occupations and + residences, from the nobility on the steps of the throne down to maids in + the kitchen. The address is handsomely engrossed on vellum. The names are + contained in twenty-six massive volumes, each fourteen inches high by nine + in breadth and three inches thick, inclosed in an oak case. It is believed + that this is the most numerously signed address in existence. The value of + the address, with so many names collected in haphazard fashion, was much + questioned, but its use was apparent in the height of the civil war, when + Mrs. Stowe replied to it in one of the most vigorous and noble appeals + that ever came from her pen. This powerful reply made a profound + impression in England. + </p> + <p> + This is in brief the story of the book. It is still read, and read the + world over, with tears and with laughter; it is still played to excited + audiences. Is it a great novel, or was it only an event of an era of + agitation and passion? Has it the real dramatic quality—the poet's + visualizing of human life—that makes works of fiction, of + imagination, live? Till recently, I had not read the book since 1852. I + feared to renew acquaintance with it lest I should find only the shell of + an exploded cartridge. I took it up at the beginning of a three-hours' + railway journey. To my surprise the journey did not seem to last half an + hour, and half the time I could not keep back the tears from my eyes. A + London critic, full of sympathy with Mrs. Stowe and her work, recently + said, "Yet she was not an artist, she was not a great woman." What is + greatness? What is art? In 1862 probably no one who knew General Grant + would have called him a great man. But he took Vicksburg. This woman did + something with her pen,—on the whole, the most remarkable and + effective book in her generation. How did she do it? Without art? George + Sand said, "In matters of art there is but one rule, to paint and to move. + And where shall we find conditions more complete, types more vivid, + situations more touching, more original, than in Uncle Tom?" If there is + not room in our art for such a book, I think we shall have to stretch our + art a little. "Women, too, are here judged and painted with a master + hand." This subtle critic, in her overpoweringly tender and enthusiastic + review, had already inquired about the capacity of this writer. "Mrs. + Stowe is all instinct; it is the very reason that she appears to some not + to have talent. Has she not talent? What is talent? Nothing, doubtless, + compared to genius; but has she genius? I cannot say that she has talent + as one understands it in the world of letters, but she has genius as + humanity feels the need of genius,—the genius of goodness, not that + of the man of letters, but of the saint." It is admitted that Mrs. Stowe + was not a woman of letters in the common acceptation of that term, and it + is plain that in the French tribunal, where form is of the substance of + the achievement, and which reluctantly overlooked the crudeness of Walter + Scott, in France where the best English novel seems a violation of + established canons, Uncle Tom would seem to belong where some modern + critics place it, with works of the heart, and not of the head. The + reviewer is, however, candid: "For a long time we have striven in France + against the prolix explanations of Walter Scott. We have cried out against + those of Balzac, but on consideration have perceived that the painter of + manners and character has never done too much, that every stroke of the + pencil was needed for the general effect. Let us learn then to appreciate + all kinds of treatment, where the effect is good, and where they bear the + seal of a master hand." + </p> + <p> + It must be admitted to the art critic that the book is defective according + to the rules of the modern French romance; that Mrs. Stowe was possessed + by her subject, and let her fervid interest in it be felt; that she had a + definite purpose. That purpose was to quicken the sense of responsibility + of the North by showing the real character of slavery, and to touch the + South by showing that the inevitable wrong of it lay in the system rather + than in those involved in it. Abundant material was in her hands, and the + author burned to make it serviceable. What should she do? She might have + done what she did afterwards in The Key, presented to the public a mass of + statistics, of legal documents. The evidence would have been unanswerable, + but the jury might not have been moved by it; they would have balanced it + by considerations of political and commercial expediency. I presume that + Mrs. Stowe made no calculation of this kind. She felt her course, and went + on in it. What would an artist have done, animated by her purpose and with + her material? He would have done what Cervantes did, what Tourgenieff did, + what Mrs. Stowe did. He would have dramatized his facts in living + personalities, in effective scenes, in vivid pictures of life. Mrs. Stowe + exhibited the system of slavery by a succession of dramatized pictures, + not always artistically welded together, but always effective as an + exhibition of the system. Cervantes also showed a fading feudal romantic + condition by a series of amusing and pathetic adventures, grouped rather + loosely about a singularly fascinating figure. + </p> + <p> + Tourgenieff, a more consummate artist, in his hunting scenes exhibited the + effect of serfdom upon society, in a series of scenes with no necessary + central figure, without comment, and with absolute concealment of any + motive. I believe the three writers followed their instincts, without an + analytic argument as to the method, as the great painter follows his when + he puts an idea upon canvas. He may invent a theory about it afterwards; + if he does not, some one else will invent it for him. There are degrees of + art. One painter will put in unnecessary accessories, another will exhibit + his sympathy too openly, the technique or the composition of another can + be criticised. But the question is, is the picture great and effective? + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Stowe had not Tourgenieff's artistic calmness. Her mind was fused + into a white heat with her message. Yet, how did she begin her story? Like + an artist, by a highly dramatized scene, in which the actors, by a few + strokes of the pen, appear as distinct and unmistakable personalities, + marked by individual peculiarities of manner, speech, motive, character, + living persons in natural attitudes. The reader becomes interested in a + shrewd study of human nature, of a section of life, with its various + refinement, coarseness, fastidiousness and vulgarity, its humor and + pathos. As he goes on he discovers that every character has been perfectly + visualized, accurately limned from the first; that a type has been created + which remains consistent, which is never deflected from its integrity by + any exigencies of plot. This clear conception of character (not of + earmarks and peculiarities adopted as labels), and faithful adhesion to it + in all vicissitudes, is one of the rarest and highest attributes of + genius. All the chief characters in the book follow this line of + absolutely consistent development, from Uncle Tom and Legree down to the + most aggravating and contemptible of all, Marie St. Clare. The selfish and + hysterical woman has never been so faithfully depicted by any other + author. + </p> + <p> + Distinguished as the novel is by its character-drawing and its pathos, I + doubt if it would have captivated the world without its humor. This is of + the old-fashioned kind, the large humor of Scott, and again of Cervantes, + not verbal pleasantry, not the felicities of Lamb, but the humor of + character in action, of situations elaborated with great freedom, and with + what may be called a hilarious conception. This quality is never wanting + in the book, either for the reader's entertainment by the way, or to + heighten the pathos of the narrative by contrast. The introduction of + Topsy into the New Orleans household saves us in the dangerous approach to + melodrama in the religious passages between Tom and St. Clare. Considering + the opportunities of the subject, the book has very little melodrama; one + is apt to hear low music on the entrance of little Eva, but we are + convinced of the wholesome sanity of the sweet child. And it is to be + remarked that some of the most exciting episodes, such as that of Eliza + crossing the Ohio River on the floating ice (of which Mr. Ruskin did not + approve), are based upon authentic occurrences. The want of unity in + construction of which the critics complain is partially explained by the + necessity of exhibiting the effect of slavery in its entirety. The + parallel plots, one running to Louisiana and the other to Canada, are tied + together by this consideration, and not by any real necessity to each + other. + </p> + <p> + There is no doubt that Mrs. Stowe was wholly possessed by her theme, rapt + away like a prophet in a vision, and that, in her feeling at the time, it + was written through her quite as much as by her. This idea grew upon her + mind in the retrospective light of the tremendous stir the story made in + the world, so that in her later years she came to regard herself as a + providential instrument, and frankly to declare that she did not write the + book; "God wrote it." In her own account, when she reached the death of + Uncle Tom, "the whole vital force left her." The inspiration there left + her, and the end of the story, the weaving together of all the loose ends + of the plot, in the joining together almost by miracle the long separated, + and the discovery of the relationships, is the conscious invention of the + novelist. + </p> + <p> + It would be perhaps going beyond the province of the critic to remark upon + what the author considered the central power of the story, and its power + to move the world, the faith of Uncle Tom in the Bible. This appeal to the + emotion of millions of readers cannot, however, be overlooked. Many regard + the book as effective in regions remote from our perplexities by reason of + this grace. When the work was translated into Siamese, the perusal of it + by one of the ladies of the court induced her to liberate all her slaves, + men, women, and children, one hundred and thirty in all. "Hidden Perfume," + for that was the English equivalent of her name, said she was wishful to + be good like Harriet Beecher Stowe. And as to the standpoint of Uncle Tom + and the Bible, nothing more significant can be cited than this passage + from one of the latest writings of Heinrich Heine:— + </p> + <p> + "The reawakening of my religious feelings I owe to that holy book the + Bible. Astonishing that after I have whirled about all my life over all + the dance-floors of philosophy, and yielded myself to all the orgies of + the intellect, and paid my addresses to all possible systems, without + satisfaction like Messalina after a licentious night, I now find myself on + the same standpoint where poor Uncle Tom stands,—on that of the + Bible! I kneel down by my black brother in the same prayer! What a + humiliation! With all my science I have come no further than the poor + ignorant negro who has scarce learned to spell. Poor Tom, indeed, seems to + have seen deeper things in the holy book than I.... Tom, perhaps, + understands them better than I, because more flogging occurs in them; that + is to say, those ceaseless blows of the whip which have aesthetically + disgusted me in reading the Gospels and the Acts. But a poor negro slave + reads with his back, and understands better than we do. But I, who used to + make citations from Homer, now begin to quote the Bible as Uncle Tom + does." + </p> + <p> + The one indispensable requisite of a great work of imaginative fiction is + its universality, its conception and construction so that it will appeal + to universal human nature in all races and situations and climates. Uncle + Tom's Cabin does that. Considering certain artistic deficiencies, which + the French writers perceived, we might say that it was the timeliness of + its theme that gave it currency in England and America. But that argument + falls before the world-wide interest in it as a mere story, in so many + languages, by races unaffected by our own relation to slavery. + </p> + <p> + It was the opinion of James Russell Lowell that the anti-slavery element + in Uncle Tom and Dred stood in the way of a full appreciation, at least in + her own country, of the remarkable genius of Mrs. Stowe. Writing in 1859, + he said, "From my habits and the tendency of my studies I cannot help + looking at things purely from an aesthetic point of view, and what I + valued in Uncle Tom was the genius, and not the moral." This had been his + impression when he read the book in Paris, long after the whirl of + excitement produced by its publication had subsided, and far removed by + distance from local influences. Subsequently, in a review, he wrote, "We + felt then, and we believe now, that the secret of Mrs. Stowe's power lay + in that same genius by which the great successes in creative literature + have always been achieved,—the genius that instinctively goes to the + organic elements of human nature, whether under a white skin or a black, + and which disregards as trivial the conventions and fictitious notions + which make so large a part both of our thinking and feeling.... The + creative faculty of Mrs. Stowe, like that of Cervantes in Don Quixote and + of Fielding in Joseph Andrews, overpowered the narrow specialty of her + design, and expanded a local and temporary theme with the cosmopolitanism + of genius." + </p> + <p> + A half-century is not much in the life of a people; it is in time an + inadequate test of the staying power of a book. Nothing is more futile + than prophecy on contemporary literary work. It is safe, however, to say + that Uncle Tom's Cabin has the fundamental qualities, the sure insight + into human nature, and the fidelity to the facts of its own time which + have from age to age preserved works of genius. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0011" id="link2H_4_0011"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + STRIVINGS OF THE NEGRO PEOPLE by W. E. Burghardt Du Bois + </h2> + <p> + Berween me and the other world there is ever an unasked question: unasked + by some through feelings of delicacy; by others through the difficulty of + rightly framing it. All, nevertheless, flutter round it. They approach me + in a half-hesitant sort of way, eye me curiously or compassionately, and + then, instead of saying directly, How does it feel to be a problem? they + say, I know an excellent colored man in my town; or, I fought at + Mechanicsville; or, Do not these Southern outrages make your blood boil? + At these I smile, or am interested, or reduce the boiling to a simmer, as + the occasion may require. To the real question, How does it feel to be a + problem? I answer seldom a word. + </p> + <p> + And yet, being a problem is a strange experience,—peculiar even for + one who has never been anything else, save perhaps in babyhood and in + Europe. It is in the early days of rollicking boyhood that the revelation + first bursts upon one, all in a day, as it were. I remember well when the + shadow swept across me. I was a little thing, away up in the hills of New + England, where the dark Housatonic winds between Hoosac and Taghanic to + the sea. In a wee wooden schoolhouse, something put it into the boys' and + girls' heads to buy gorgeous visiting-cards—ten cents a package—and + exchange. The exchange was merry, till one girl, a tall newcomer, refused + my card,—refused it peremptorily, with a glance. Then it dawned upon + me with a certain suddenness that I was different from the others; or + like, mayhap, in heart and life and longing, but shut out from their world + by a vast veil. I had thereafter no desire to tear down that veil, to + creep through; I held all beyond it in common contempt, and lived above it + in a region of blue sky and great wandering shadows. That sky was bluest + when I could beat my mates at examination-time, or beat them at a + foot-race, or even beat their stringy heads. Alas, with the years all this + fine contempt began to fade; for the world I longed for, and all its + dazzling opportunities, were theirs, not mine. But they should not keep + these prizes, I said; some, all, I would wrest from them. Just how I would + do it I could never decide: by reading law, by healing the sick, by + telling the wonderful tales that swam in my head,—some way. With + other black boys the strife was not so fiercely sunny: their youth shrunk + into tasteless sycophancy, or into silent hatred of the pale world about + them and mocking distrust of everything white; or wasted itself in a + bitter cry. Why did God make me an outcast and a stranger in mine own + house? The "shades of the prison-house" closed round about us all: walls + strait and stubborn to the whitest, but relentlessly narrow, tall, and + unscalable to sons of night who must plod darkly on in resignation, or + beat unavailing palms against the stone, or steadily, half hopelessly + watch the streak of blue above. + </p> + <p> + After the Egyptian and Indian, the Greek and Roman, the Teuton and + Mongolian, the Negro is a sort of seventh son, born with a veil, and + gifted with second-sight in this American world,—a world which + yields him no self-consciousness, but only lets him see himself through + the revelation of the other world. It is a peculiar sensation, this + double-consciousness, this sense of always looking at one's self through + the eyes of others, of measuring one's soul by the tape of a world that + looks on in amused contempt and pity. One ever feels his two-ness,—an + American, a Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings; + two warring ideals in one dark body, whose dogged strength alone keeps it + from being torn asunder. The history of the American Negro is the history + of this strife,—this longing to attain self-conscious manhood, to + merge his double self into a better and truer self. In this merging he + wishes neither of the older selves to be lost. He does not wish to + Africanize America, for America has too much to teach the world and + Africa; he does not wish to bleach his Negro blood in a flood of white + Americanism, for he believes—foolishly, perhaps, but fervently—that + Negro blood has yet a message for the world. He simply wishes to make it + possible for a man to be both a Negro and an American without being cursed + and spit upon by his fellows, without losing the opportunity of + self-development. + </p> + <p> + This is the end of his striving: to be a co-worker in the kingdom of + culture, to escape both death and isolation, and to husband and use his + best powers. These powers, of body and of mind, have in the past been so + wasted and dispersed as to lose all effectiveness, and to seem like + absence of all power, like weakness. The double-aimed struggle of the + black artisan, on the one hand to escape white contempt for a nation of + mere hewers of wood and drawers of water, and on the other hand to plough + and nail and dig for a poverty-stricken horde, could only result in making + him a poor craftsman, for he had but half a heart in either cause. By the + poverty and ignorance of his people the Negro lawyer or doctor was pushed + toward quackery and demagogism, and by the criticism of the other world + toward an elaborate preparation that overfitted him for his lowly tasks. + The would-be black savant was confronted by the paradox that the knowledge + his people needed was a twice-told tale to his white neighbors, while the + knowledge which would teach the white world was Greek to his own flesh and + blood. The innate love of harmony and beauty that set the ruder souls of + his people a-dancing, a-singing, and a-laughing raised but confusion and + doubt in the soul of the black artist; for the beauty revealed to him was + the soul-beauty of a race which his larger audience despised, and he could + not articulate the message of another people. + </p> + <p> + This waste of double aims, this seeking to satisfy two unreconciled + ideals, has wrought sad havoc with the courage and faith and deeds of + eight thousand thousand people, has sent them often wooing false gods and + invoking false means of salvation, and has even at times seemed destined + to make them ashamed of themselves. In the days of bondage they thought to + see in one divine event the end of all doubt and disappointment; + eighteenth-century Rousseauism never worshiped freedom with half the + unquestioning faith that the American Negro did for two centuries. To him + slavery was, indeed, the sum of all villainies, the cause of all sorrow, + the root of all prejudice; emancipation was the key to a promised land of + sweeter beauty than ever stretched before the eyes of wearied Israelites. + In his songs and exhortations swelled one refrain, liberty; in his tears + and curses the god he implored had freedom in his right hand. At last it + came,—suddenly, fearfully, like a dream. With one wild carnival of + blood and passion came the message in his own plaintive cadences:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + "Shout, O children! + Shout, you're free! + The Lord has bought your liberty!" +</pre> + <p> + Years have passed away, ten, twenty, thirty. Thirty years of national + life, thirty years of renewal and development, and yet the swarthy ghost + of Banquo sits in its old place at the national feast. In vain does the + nation cry to its vastest problem,— + </p> + <p> + "Take any shape but that, and my firm nerves Shall never tremble!" + </p> + <p> + The freedman has not yet found in freedom his promised land. Whatever of + lesser good may have come in these years of change, the shadow of a deep + disappointment rests upon the Negro people,—a disappointment all the + more bitter because the unattained ideal was unbounded save by the simple + ignorance of a lowly folk. + </p> + <p> + The first decade was merely a prolongation of the vain search for freedom, + the boom that seemed ever barely to elude their grasp,—like a + tantalizing will-o'-the-wisp, maddening and misleading the headless host. + The holocaust of war, the terrors of the Kuklux Klan, the lies of + carpet-baggers, the disorganization of industry, and the contradictory + advice of friends and foes left the bewildered serf with no new watchword + beyond the old cry for freedom. As the decade closed, however, he began to + grasp a new idea. The ideal of liberty demanded for its attainment + powerful means, and these the Fifteenth Amendment gave him. The ballot, + which before he had looked upon as a visible sign of freedom, he now + regarded as the chief means of gaining and perfecting the liberty with + which war had partially endowed him. And why not? Had not votes made war + and emancipated millions? Had not votes enfranchised the freedmen? Was + anything impossible to a power that had done all this? A million black men + started with renewed zeal to vote themselves into the kingdom. The decade + fled away,—a decade containing, to the freedman's mind, nothing but + suppressed votes, stuffed ballot-boxes, and election outrages that + nullified his vaunted right of suffrage. And yet that decade from 1875 to + 1885 held another powerful movement, the rise of another ideal to guide + the unguided, another pillar of fire by night after a clouded day. It was + the ideal of "book-learning;" the curiosity, born of compulsory ignorance, + to know and test the power of the cabalistic letters of the white man, the + longing to know. Mission and night schools began in the smoke of battle, + ran the gauntlet of reconstruction, and at last developed into permanent + foundations. Here at last seemed to have been discovered the mountain path + to Canaan; longer than the highway of emancipation and law, steep and + rugged, but straight, leading to heights high enough to overlook life. + </p> + <p> + Up the new path the advance guard toiled, slowly, heavily, doggedly; only + those who have watched and guided the faltering feet, the misty minds, the + dull understandings of the dark pupils of these schools know how + faithfully, how piteously, this people strove to learn. It was weary work. + The cold statistician wrote down the inches of progress here and there, + noted also where here and there a foot had slipped or some one had fallen. + To the tired climbers, the horizon was ever dark, the mists were often + cold, the Canaan was always dim and far away. If, however, the vistas + disclosed as yet no goal, no resting-place, little but flattery and + criticism, the journey at least gave leisure for reflection and + self-examination; it changed the child of emancipation to the youth with + dawning self-consciousness, self-realization, self-respect. In those + sombre forests of his striving his own soul rose before him, and he saw + himself,—darkly as through a veil; and yet he saw in himself some + faint revelation of his power, of his mission. He began to have a dim + feeling that, to attain his place in the world, he must be himself, and + not another. For the first time he sought to analyze the burden he bore + upon his back, that dead-weight of social degradation partially masked + behind a half-named Negro problem. He felt his poverty; without a cent, + without a home, without land, tools, or savings, he had entered into + competition with rich, landed, skilled neighbors. To be a poor man is + hard, but to be a poor race in a land of dollars is the very bottom of + hardships. He felt the weight of his ignorance,—not simply of + letters, but of life, of business, of the humanities; the accumulated + sloth and shirking and awkwardness of decades and centuries shackled his + hands and feet. Nor was his burden all poverty and ignorance. The red + stain of bastardy, which two centuries of systematic legal defilement of + Negro women had stamped upon his race, meant not only the loss of ancient + African chastity, but also the hereditary weight of a mass of filth from + white whoremongers and adulterers, threatening almost the obliteration of + the Negro home. + </p> + <p> + A people thus handicapped ought not to be asked to race with the world, + but rather allowed to give all its time and thought to its own social + problems. But alas! while sociologists gleefully count his bastards and + his prostitutes, the very soul of the toiling, sweating black man is + darkened by the shadow of a vast despair. Men call the shadow prejudice, + and learnedly explain it as the natural defense of culture against + barbarism, learning against ignorance, purity against crime, the "higher" + against the "lower" races. To which the Negro cries Amen! and swears that + to so much of this strange prejudice as is founded on just homage to + civilization, culture, righteousness, and progress he humbly bows and + meekly does obeisance. But before that nameless prejudice that leaps + beyond all this he stands helpless, dismayed, and well-nigh speechless; + before that personal disrespect and mockery, the ridicule and systematic + humiliation, the distortion of fact and wanton license of fancy, the + cynical ignoring of the better and boisterous welcoming of the worse, the + all-pervading desire to inculcate disdain for everything black, from + Toussaint to the devil,—before this there rises a sickening despair + that would disarm and discourage any nation save that black host to whom + "discouragement" is an unwritten word. + </p> + <p> + They still press on, they still nurse the dogged hope,—not a hope of + nauseating patronage, not a hope of reception into charmed social circles + of stock-jobbers, pork-packers, and earl-hunters, but the hope of a higher + synthesis of civilization and humanity, a true progress, with which the + chorus + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + "Peace, good will to men," + "May make one music as before, + But vaster." +</pre> + <p> + Thus the second decade of the American Negro's freedom was a period of + conflict, of inspiration and doubt, of faith and vain questionings, of + Sturm and Drang. The ideals of physical freedom, of political power, of + school training, as separate all-sufficient panaceas for social ills, + became in the third decade dim and overcast. They were the vain dreams of + credulous race childhood; not wrong, but incomplete and over-simple. The + training of the schools we need to-day more than ever,—the training + of deft hands, quick eyes and ears, and the broader, deeper, higher + culture of gifted minds. The power of the ballot we need in sheer + self-defense, and as a guarantee of good faith. We may misuse it, but we + can scarce do worse in this respect than our whilom masters. Freedom, too, + the long-sought, we still seek,—the freedom of life and limb, the + freedom to work and think. Work, culture, and liberty,—all these we + need, not singly, but together; for to-day these ideals among the Negro + people are gradually coalescing, and finding a higher meaning in the + unifying ideal of race,—the ideal of fostering the traits and + talents of the Negro, not in opposition to, but in conformity with, the + greater ideals of the American republic, in order that some day, on + American soil, two world races may give each to each those characteristics + which both so sadly lack. Already we come not altogether empty-handed: + there is to-day no true American music but the sweet wild melodies of the + Negro slave; the American fairy tales are Indian and African; we are the + sole oasis of simple faith and reverence in a dusty desert of dollars and + smartness. Will America be poorer if she replace her brutal, dyspeptic + blundering with the light-hearted but determined Negro humility; or her + coarse, cruel wit with loving, jovial good humor; or her Annie Rooney with + Steal Away? + </p> + <p> + Merely a stern concrete test of the underlying principles of the great + republic is the Negro problem, and the spiritual striving of the + freedmen's sons is the travail of souls whose burden is almost beyond the + measure of their strength, but who bear it in the name of an historic + race, in the name of this land of their fathers' fathers, and in the name + of human opportunity. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0012" id="link2H_4_0012"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE WIFE OF HIS YOUTH by Charles W. Chesnutt + </h2> + <p> + I. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Ryder was going to give a ball. There were several reasons why this + was an opportune time for such an event. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Ryder might aptly be called the dean of the Blue Veins. The original + Blue Veins were a little society of colored persons organized in a certain + Northern city shortly after the war. Its purpose was to establish and + maintain correct social standards among a people whose social condition + presented almost unlimited room for improvement. By accident, combined + perhaps with some natural affinity, the society consisted of individuals + who were, generally speaking, more white than black. Some envious outsider + made the suggestion that no one was eligible for membership who was not + white enough to show blue veins. The suggestion was readily adopted by + those who were not of the favored few, and since that time the society, + though possessing a longer and more pretentious name, had been known far + and wide as the "Blue Vein Society," and its members as the "Blue Veins." + </p> + <p> + The Blue Veins did not allow that any such requirement existed for + admission to their circle, but, on the contrary, declared that character + and culture were the only things considered; and that if most of their + members were light-colored, it was because such persons, as a rule, had + had better opportunities to qualify themselves for membership. Opinions + differed, too, as to the usefulness of the society. There were those who + had been known to assail it violently as a glaring example of the very + prejudice from which the colored race had suffered most; and later, when + such critics had succeeded in getting on the inside, they had been heard + to maintain with zeal and earnestness that the society was a life-boat, an + anchor, a bulwark and a shield, a pillar of cloud by day and of fire by + night, to guide their people through the social wilderness. Another + alleged prerequisite for Blue Vein membership was that of free birth; and + while there was really no such requirement, it is doubtless true that very + few of the members would have been unable to meet it if there had been. If + there were one or two of the older members who had come up from the South + and from slavery, their history presented enough romantic circumstances to + rob their servile origin of its grosser aspects. While there were no such + tests of eligibility, it is true that the Blue Veins had their notions on + these subjects, and that not all of them were equally liberal in regard to + the things they collectively disclaimed. Mr. Ryder was one of the most + conservative. Though he had not been among the founders of the society, + but had come in some years later, his genius for social leadership was + such that he had speedily become its recognized adviser and head, the + custodian of its standards, and the preserver of its traditions. He shaped + its social policy, was active in providing for its entertainment, and when + the interest fell off, as it sometimes did, he fanned the embers until + they burst again into a cheerful flame. There were still other reasons for + his popularity. While he was not as white as some of the Blue Veins, his + appearance was such as to confer distinction upon them. His features were + of a refined type, his hair was almost straight; he was always neatly + dressed; his manners were irreproachable, and his morals above suspicion. + He had come to Groveland a young man, and obtaining employment in the + office of a railroad company as messenger had in time worked himself up to + the position of stationery clerk, having charge of the distribution of the + office supplies for the whole company. Although the lack of early training + had hindered the orderly development of a naturally fine mind, it had not + prevented him from doing a great deal of reading or from forming decidedly + literary tastes. Poetry was his passion. He could repeat whole pages of + the great English poets; and if his pronunciation was sometimes faulty, + his eye, his voice, his gestures, would respond to the changing sentiment + with a precision that revealed a poetic soul, and disarm criticism. He was + economical, and had saved money; he owned and occupied a very comfortable + house on a respectable street. His residence was handsomely furnished, + containing among other things a good library, especially rich in poetry, a + piano, and some choice engravings. He generally shared his house with some + young couple, who looked after his wants and were company for him; for Mr. + Ryder was a single man. In the early days of his connection with the Blue + Veins he had been regarded as quite a catch, and ladies and their mothers + had manoeuvred with much ingenuity to capture him. Not, however, until + Mrs. Molly Dixon visited Groveland had any woman ever made him wish to + change his condition to that of a married man. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Dixon had come to Groveland from Washington in the spring, and before + the summer was over she had won Mr. Ryder's heart. She possessed many + attractive qualities. She was much younger than he; in fact, he was old + enough to have been her father, though no one knew exactly how old he was. + She was whiter than he, and better educated. She had moved in the best + colored society of the country, at Washington, and had taught in the + schools of that city. Such a superior person had been eagerly welcomed to + the Blue Vein Society, and had taken a leading part in its activities. Mr. + Ryder had at first been attracted by her charms of person, for she was + very good looking and not over twenty-five; then by her refined manners + and by the vivacity of her wit. Her husband had been a government clerk, + and at his death had left a considerable life insurance. She was visiting + friends in Groveland, and, finding the town and the people to her liking, + had prolonged her stay indefinitely. She had not seemed displeased at Mr. + Ryder's attentions, but on the contrary had given him every proper + encouragement; indeed, a younger and less cautious man would long since + have spoken. But he had made up his mind, and had only to determine the + time when he would ask her to be his wife. He decided to give a ball in + her honor, and at some time during the evening of the ball to offer her + his heart and hand. He had no special fears about the outcotme, but, with + a little touch of romance, he wanted the surroundings to be in harmony + with his own feelings when he should have received the answer he expected. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Ryder resolved that this ball should mark an epoch in the social + history of Groveland. He knew, of course,—no one could know better,—the + entertainments that had taken place in past years, and what must be done + to surpass them. His ball must be worthy of the lady in whose honor it was + to be given, and must, by the quality of its guests, set an example for + the future. He had observed of late a growing liberality, almost a laxity, + in social matters, even among members of his own set, and had several + times been forced to meet in a social way persons whose complexions and + callings in life were hardly up to the standard which he considered proper + for the society to maintain. He had a theory of his own. + </p> + <p> + "I have no race prejudice," he would say, "but we people of mixed blood + are ground between the upper and the nether millstone. Our fate lies + between absorption by the white race and extinction in the black. The one + doesn't want us yet, but may take us in time. The other would welcome us, + but it would be for us a backward step. 'With malice towards none, with + charity for all,' we must do the best we can for ourselves and those who + are to follow us. Self-preservation is the first law of nature." + </p> + <p> + His ball would serve by its exclusiveness to counteract leveling + tendencies, and his marriage with Mrs. Dixon would help to further the + upward process of absorption he had been wishing and waiting for. + </p> + <p> + II. + </p> + <p> + The ball was to take place on Friday night. The house had been put in + order, the carpets covered with canvas, the halls and stairs decorated + with palms and potted plants; and in the afternoon Mr. Ryder sat on his + front porch, which the shade of a vine running up over a wire netting made + a cool and pleasant lounging-place. He expected to respond to the toast + "The Ladies," at the supper, and from a volume of Tennyson—his + favorite poet—was fortifying himself with apt quotations. The volume + was open at A Dream of Fair Women. His eyes fell on these lines, and he + read them aloud to judge better of their effect:— + </p> + <p> + "At length I saw a lady within call. Stiller than chisell'd marble, + standing there; A daughter of the gods, divinely tall, And most divinely + fair." + </p> + <p> + He marked the verse, and turning the page read the stanza beginning,— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + "O sweet pale Margaret, + O rare pale Margaret." +</pre> + <p> + He weighed the passage a moment, and decided that it would not do. Mrs. + Dixon was the palest lady he expected at the ball, and she was of a rather + ruddy complexion, and of lively disposition and buxom build. So he ran + over the leaves until his eye rested on the description of Queen + Guinevere:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + "She seem'd a part of joyous Spring: + A gown of grass-green silk she wore, + Buckled with golden clasps before; + A light-green tuft of plumes she bore + Closed in a golden ring. + + . . . . . . . . . . + + "She look'd so lovely, as she sway'd + The rein with dainty finger-tips, + A man had given all other bliss, + And all his worldly worth for this, + To waste his whole heart in one kiss + Upon her perfect lips." +</pre> + <p> + As Mr. Ryder murmured these words audibly, with an appreciative thrill, he + heard the latch of his gate click, and a light footfall sounding on the + steps. He turned his head, and saw a woman standing before the door. + </p> + <p> + She was a little woman, not five feet tall, and proportioned to her + height. Although she stood erect, and looked around her with very bright + and restless eyes, she seemed quite old; for her face was crossed and + recrossed with a hundred wrinkles, and around the edges of her bonnet + could be seen protruding here and there a tuft of short gray wool. She + wore a blue calico gown of ancient cut, a little red shawl fastened around + her shoulders with an old-fashioned brass brooch, and a large bonnet + profusely ornamented with faded red and yellow artificial flowers. And she + was very black—so black that her toothless gums, revealed when she + opened her mouth to speak, were not red, but blue. She looked like a bit + of the old plantation life, summoned up from the past by the wave of a + magician's wand, as the poet's fancy had called into being the gracious + shapes of which Mr. Ryder had just been reading. + </p> + <p> + He rose from his chair and came over to where she stood. + </p> + <p> + "Good-afternoon, madam," he said. + </p> + <p> + "Good-evenin', suh," she answered, ducking suddenly with a quaint curtsy. + Her voice was shrill and piping, but softened somewhat by age. "Is dis + yere whar Mistuh Ryduh lib, suh?" she asked, looking around her + doubtfully, and glancing into the open windows, through which some of the + preparations for the evening were visible. + </p> + <p> + "Yes," he replied, with an air of kindly patronage, unconsciously + flattered by her manner, "I am Mr. Ryder. Did you want to see me?" + </p> + <p> + "Yas, suh, ef I ain't 'sturbin' of you too much." + </p> + <p> + "Not at all. Have a seat over here behind the vine, where it is cool. What + can I do for you?" + </p> + <p> + "'Scuse me, suh," she continued, when she had sat down on the edge of a + chair, "'scuse me, suh, I's lookin' for my husban'. I heerd you wuz a big + man an' had libbed heah a long time, an' I 'lowed you wouldn't min' ef I'd + come roun' an' ax you ef you'd eber heerd of a merlatter man by de name er + Sam Taylor 'quirin' roun' in de chu'ches ermongs' de people fer his wife + 'Liza Jane?" + </p> + <p> + Mr. Ryder seemed to think for a moment. + </p> + <p> + "There used to be many such cases right after the war," he said, "but it + has been so long that I have forgotten them. There are very few now. But + tell me your story, and it may refresh my memory." + </p> + <p> + She sat back farther in her chair so as to be more comfortable, and folded + her withered hands in her lap. + </p> + <p> + "My name's 'Liza," she began, "'Liza Jane. Wen I wuz young I us'ter b'long + ter Marse Bob Smif, down in old Missourn. I wuz bawn down dere. W'en I wuz + a gal I wuz married ter a man named Jim. But Jim died, an' after dat I + married a merlatter man named Sam Taylor. Sam wuz free-bawn, but his mammy + and daddy died, an' de w'ite folks 'prenticed him ter my marster fer ter + work fer 'im 'tel he wuz growed up. Sam worked in de fiel', an' I wuz de + cook. One day Ma'y Ann, ole miss's maid, come rushin' out ter de kitchen, + an' says she, ''Liza Jane, ole marse gwine sell yo' Sam down de ribber.' + </p> + <p> + "'Go way f'm yere,' says I; 'my husban's free!' + </p> + <p> + "'Don' make no diff'ence. I heerd ole marse tell ole miss he wuz gwine + take yo' Sam 'way wid 'im ter-morrow, fer he needed money, an' he knowed + whar he could git a t'ousan' dollars fer Sam an' no questions axed.' + </p> + <p> + "W'en Sam come home f'm de fiel', dat night, I tole him 'bout ole marse + gwine steal 'im, an' Sam run erway. His time wuz mos' up, an' he swo' dat + w'en he wuz twenty-one he would come back an' he'p me run erway, er else + save up de money ter buy my freedom. An' I know he'd 'a' done it, fer he + thought a heap er me, Sam did. But w'en he come back he didn' fin' me, fer + I wuzn' dere. Ole marse had heerd dat I warned Sam, so he had me whip' an' + sol' down de ribber. + </p> + <p> + "Den de wah broke out, an' w'en it wuz ober de cullud folks wuz scattered. + I went back ter de ole home; but Sam wuzn' dere, an' I couldn' l'arn + nuffin' 'bout 'im. But I knowed he'd be'n dere to look fer me an' hadn' + foun' me, an' had gone erway ter hunt fer me. + </p> + <p> + "I's be'n lookin' fer 'im eber sence," she added simply, as though + twenty-five years were but a couple of weeks, "an' I knows he's be'n + lookin' fer me. Fer he sot a heap er sto' by me, Sam did, an' I know he's + be'n huntin' fer me all dese years,—'less'n he's be'n sick er + sump'n, so he couldn' work, er out'n his head, so he couldn' 'member his + promise. I went back down de ribber, fer I 'lowed he'd gone down dere + lookin' fer me. I's be'n ter Noo Orleens, an' Atlanty, an' Charleston, an' + Richmon'; an' w'en I'd be'n all ober de Souf I come ter de Norf. Fer I + knows I'll fin' 'im some er dese days," she added softly, "er he'll fin' + me, an' den we'll bofe be as happy in freedom as we wuz in de ole days + befo' de wah." A smile stole over her withered countenance as she paused a + moment, and her bright eyes softened into a far-away look. + </p> + <p> + This was the substance of the old woman's story. She had wandered a little + here and there. Mr. Ryder was looking at her curiously when she finished. + </p> + <p> + "How have you lived all these years?" he asked. + </p> + <p> + "Cookin', suh. I's a good cook. Does you know anybody w'at needs a good + cook, suh? I's stoppin' wid a cullud fam'ly roun' de corner yonder 'tel I + kin fin' a place." + </p> + <p> + "Do you really expect to find your husband? He may be dead long ago." + </p> + <p> + She shook her head emphatically. "Oh no, he ain' dead. De signs an' de + tokens tells me. I dremp three nights runnin' on'y dis las' week dat I + foun' him." + </p> + <p> + "He may have married another woman. Your slave marriage would not have + prevented him, for you never lived with him after the war, and without + that your marriage doesn't count." + </p> + <p> + "Wouldn' make no diff'ence wid Sam. He wouldn' marry no yuther 'ooman 'tel + he foun' out 'bout me. I knows it," she added. "Sump'n's be'n tellin' me + all dese years dat I's gwine fin' Sam 'fo I dies." + </p> + <p> + "Perhaps he's outgrown you, and climbed up in the world where he wouldn't + care to have you find him." + </p> + <p> + "No, indeed, suh," she replied, "Sam ain' dat kin' er man. He wuz good ter + me, Sam wuz, but he wuzn' much good ter nobody e'se, fer he wuz one er de + triflin'es' han's on de plantation. I 'spec's ter haf ter suppo't 'im w'en + I fin' 'im, fer he nebber would work 'less'n he had ter. But den he wuz + free, an' he didn' git no pay fer his work, an' I don' blame 'im much. + Mebbe he's done better sence he run erway, but I ain' 'spectin' much." + </p> + <p> + "You may have passed him on the street a hundred times during the + twenty-five years, and not have known him; time works great changes." + </p> + <p> + She smiled incredulously. "I'd know 'im 'mongs' a hund'ed men. Fer dey + wuzn' no yuther merlatter man like my man Sam, an' I couldn' be mistook. + I's toted his picture roun' wid me twenty-five years." + </p> + <p> + "May I see it?" asked Mr. Ryder. "It might help me to remember whether I + have seen the original." + </p> + <p> + As she drew a small parcel from her bosom, he saw that it was fastened to + a string that went around her neck. Removing several wrappers, she brought + to light an old-fashioned daguerreotype in a black case. He looked long + and intently at the portrait. It was faded with time, but the features + were still distinct, and it was easy to see what manner of man it had + represented. + </p> + <p> + He closed the case, and with a slow movement handed it back to her. + </p> + <p> + "I don't know of any man in town who goes by that name," he said, "nor + have I heard of any one making such inquiries. But if you will leave me + your address, I will give the matter some attention, and if I find out + anything I will let you know." + </p> + <p> + She gave him the number of a house in the neighborhood, and went away, + after thanking him warmly. + </p> + <p> + He wrote down the address on the flyleaf of the volume of Tennyson, and, + when she had gone, rose to his feet and stood looking after her curiously. + As she walked down the street with mincing step, he saw several persons + whom she passed turn and look back at her with a smile of kindly + amusement. When she had turned the corner, he went upstairs to his + bedroom, and stood for a long time before the mirror of his dressing-case, + gazing thoughtfully at the reflection of his own face. + </p> + <p> + III. + </p> + <p> + At eight o'clock the ballroom was a blaze of light and the guests had + begun to assemble; for there was a literary programme and some routine + business of the society to be gone through with before the dancing. A + black servant in evening dress waited at the door and directed the guests + to the dressing-rooms. + </p> + <p> + The occasion was long memorable among the colored people of the city; not + alone for the dress and display, but for the high average of intelligence + and culture that distinguished the gathering as a whole. There were a + number of school-teachers, several young doctors, three or four lawyers, + some professional singers, an editor, a lieutenant in the United States + army spending his furlough in the city, and others in various polite + callings; these were colored, though most of them would not have attracted + even a casual glance because of any marked difference from white people. + Most of the ladies were in evening costume, and dress coats and + dancing-pumps were the rule among the men. A band of string music, + stationed in an alcove behind a row of palms, played popular airs while + the guests were gathering. + </p> + <p> + The dancing began at half past nine. At eleven o'clock supper was served. + Mr. Ryder had left the ballroom some little time before the intermission, + but reappeared at the supper-table. The spread was worthy of the occasion, + and the guests did full justice to it. When the coffee had been served, + the toastmaster, Mr. Solomon Sadler, rapped for order. He made a brief + introductory speech, complimenting host and guests, and then presented in + their order the toasts of the evening. They were responded to with a very + fair display of after-dinner wit. + </p> + <p> + "The last toast," said the toast-master, when he reached the end of the + list, "is one which must appeal to us all. There is no one of us of the + sterner sex who is not at some time dependent upon woman,—in infancy + for protection, in manhood for companionship, in old age for care and + comforting. Our good host has been trying to live alone, but the fair + faces I see around me to-night prove that he too is largely dependent upon + the gentler sex for most that makes life worth living,—the society + and love of friends,—and rumor is at fault if he does not soon yield + entire subjection to one of them. Mr. Ryder will now respond to the toast,—The + Ladies." + </p> + <p> + There was a pensive look in Mr. Ryder's eyes as he took the floor and + adjusted his eyeglasses. He began by speaking of woman as the gift of + Heaven to man, and after some general observations on the relations of the + sexes he said: "But perhaps the quality which most distinguishes woman is + her fidelity and devotion to those she loves. History is full of examples, + but has recorded none more striking than one which only to-day came under + my notice." + </p> + <p> + He then related, simply but effectively, the story told by his visitor of + the afternoon. He told it in the same soft dialect, which came readily to + his lips, while the company listened attentively and sympathetically. For + the story had awakened a responsive thrill in many hearts. There were some + present who had seen, and others who had heard their fathers and + grandfathers tell, the wrongs and sufferings of this past generation, and + all of them still felt, in their darker moments, the shadow hanging over + them. Mr. Ryder went on:— + </p> + <p> + "Such devotion and such confidence are rare even among women. There are + many who would have searched a year, some who would have waited five + years, a few who might have hoped ten years; but for twenty-five years + this woman has retained her affection for and her faith in a man she has + not seen or heard of in all that time. + </p> + <p> + "She came to me to-day in the hope that I might be able to help her find + this long-lost husband. And when she was gone I gave my fancy rein, and + imagined a case I will put to you. + </p> + <p> + "Suppose that this husband, soon after his escape, had learned that his + wife had been sold away, and that such inquiries as he could make brought + no information of her whereabouts. Suppose that he was young, and she much + older than he; that he was light, and she was black; that their marriage + was a slave marriage, and legally binding only if they chose to make it so + after the war. Suppose, too, that he made his way to the North, as some of + us have done, and there, where he had larger opportunities, had improved + them, and had in the course of all these years grown to be as different + from the ignorant boy who ran away from fear of slavery as the day is from + the night. Suppose, even, that he had qualified himself, by industry, by + thrift, and by study, to win the friendship and be considered worthy the + society of such people as these I see around me to-night, gracing my board + and filling my heart with gladness; for I am old enough to remember the + day when such a gathering would not have been possible in this land. + Suppose, too, that, as the years went by, this man's memory of the past + grew more and more indistinct, until at last it was rarely, except in his + dreams, that any image of this bygone period rose before his mind. And + then suppose that accident should bring to his knowledge the fact that the + wife of his youth, the wife he had left behind him,—not one who had + walked by his side and kept pace with him in his upward struggle, but one + upon whom advancing years and a laborious life had set their mark,—was + alive and seeking him, but that he was absolutely safe from recognition or + discovery, unless he chose to reveal himself. My friends, what would the + man do? I will suppose that he was one who loved honor, and tried to deal + justly with all men. I will even carry the case further, and suppose that + perhaps he had set his heart upon another, whom he had hoped to call his + own. What would he do, or rather what ought he to do, in such a crisis of + a lifetime? + </p> + <p> + "It seemed to me that he might hesitate, and I imagined that I was an old + friend, a near friend, and that he had come to me for advice; and I argued + the case with him. I tried to discuss it impartially. After we had looked + upon the matter from every point of view, I said to him, in words that we + all know: + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'This above all: to thine own self be true, + And it must follow, as the night the day, + Thou canst not then be false to any man.' +</pre> + <p> + Then, finally, I put the question to him, 'Shall you acknowledge her?' + </p> + <p> + "And now, ladies and gentlemen, friends and companions, I ask you, what + should he have done?" + </p> + <p> + There was something in Mr. Ryder's voice that stirred the hearts of those + who sat around him. It suggested more than mere sympathy with an imaginary + situation; it seemed rather in the nature of a personal appeal. It was + observed, too, that his look rested more especially upon Mrs. Dixon, with + a mingled expression of renunciation and inquiry. + </p> + <p> + She had listened, with parted lips and streaming eyes. She was the first + to speak: "He should have acknowledged her." + </p> + <p> + "Yes," they all echoed, "he should have acknowledged her." + </p> + <p> + "My friends and companions," responded Mr. Ryder, "I thank you, one and + all. It is the answer I expected, for I knew your hearts." + </p> + <p> + He turned and walked toward the closed door of an adjoining room, while + every eye followed him in wondering curiosity. He came back in a moment, + leading by the hand his visitor of the afternoon, who stood startled and + trembling at the sudden plunge into this scene of brilliant gayety. She + was neatly dressed in gray, and wore the white cap of an elderly woman. + </p> + <p> + "Ladies and gentlemen," he said, "this is the woman, and I am the man, + whose story I have told you. Permit me to introduce to you the wife of my + youth." + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0013" id="link2H_4_0013"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE BOUQUET by Charles W. Chesnutt + </h2> + <p> + Mary Myrover's friends were somewhat surprised when she began to teach a + colored school. Miss Myrover's friends are mentioned here, because nowhere + more than in a Southern town is public opinion a force which cannot be + lightly contravened. Public opinion, however, did not oppose Miss + Myrover's teaching colored children; in fact, all the colored public + schools in town—and there were several—were taught by white + teachers, and had been so taught since the state had undertaken to provide + free public instruction for all children within its boundaries. Previous + to that time there had been a Freedman's Bureau school and a Presbyterian + missionary school, but these had been withdrawn when the need for them + became less pressing. The colored people of the town had been for some + time agitating their right to teach their own schools, but as yet the + claim had not been conceded. + </p> + <p> + The reason Miss Myrover's course created some surprise was not, therefore, + the fact that a Southern white woman should teach a colored school; it lay + in the fact that up to this time no woman of just her quality had taken up + such work. Most of the teachers of colored schools were not of those who + had constituted the aristocracy of the old regime; they might be said + rather to represent the new order of things, in which labor was in time to + become honorable, and men were, after a somewhat longer time, to depend, + for their place in society, upon themselves rather than upon their + ancestors. But Mary Myrover belonged to one of the proudest of the old + families. Her ancestors had been people of distinction in Virginia before + a collateral branch of the main stock had settled in North Carolina. + Before the war they had been able to live up to their pedigree. But the + war brought sad changes. Miss Myrover's father—the Colonel Myrover + who led a gallant but desperate charge at Vicksburg—had fallen on + the battlefield, and his tomb in the white cemetery was a shrine for the + family. On the Confederate Memorial Day no other grave was so profusely + decorated with flowers, and in the oration pronounced the name of Colonel + Myrover was always used to illustrate the highest type of patriotic + devotion and self-sacrifice. Miss Myrover's brother, too, had fallen in + the conflict; but his bones lay in some unknown trench, with those of a + thousand others who had fallen on the same field. Ay, more, her lover, who + had hoped to come home in the full tide of victory and claim his bride as + a reward for gallantry, had shared the fate of her father and brother. + When the war was over, the remnant of the family found itself involved in + the common ruin,—more deeply involved, indeed, than some others; for + Colonel Myrover had believed in the ultimate triumph of his cause, and had + invested most of his wealth in Confederate bonds, which were now only so + much waste paper. + </p> + <p> + There had been a little left. Mrs. Myrover was thrifty, and had laid by a + few hundred dollars, which she kept in the house to meet unforeseen + contingencies. There remained, too, their home, with an ample garden and a + well-stocked orchard, besides a considerable tract of country land, partly + cleared, but productive of very little revenue. + </p> + <p> + With their shrunken resources, Miss Myrover and her mother were able to + hold up their heads without embarrassment for some years after the close + of the war. But when things were adjusted to the changed conditions, and + the stream of life began to flow more vigorously in the new channels, they + saw themselves in danger of dropping behind, unless in some way they could + add to their meagre income. Miss Myrover looked over the field of + employment, never very wide for women in the South, and found it occupied. + The only available position she could be supposed prepared to fill, and + which she could take without distinct loss of caste, was that of a + teacher, and there was no vacancy except in one of the colored schools. + Even teaching was a doubtful experiment; it was not what she would have + preferred, but it was the best that could be done. + </p> + <p> + "I don't like it, Mary," said her mother. "It's a long step from owning + such people to teaching them. What do they need with education? It will + only make them unfit for work." + </p> + <p> + "They're free now, mother, and perhaps they'll work better if they're + taught something. Besides, it's only a business arrangement, and doesn't + involve any closer contact than we have with our servants." + </p> + <p> + "Well, I should say not!" sniffed the old lady. "Not one of them will ever + dare to presume on your position to take any liberties with us. I'll see + to that." + </p> + <p> + Miss Myrover began her work as a teacher in the autumn, at the opening of + the school year. It was a novel experience at first. Though there always + had been negro servants in the house, and though on the streets colored + people were more numerous than her own people, and though she was so + familiar with their dialect that she might almost be said to speak it, + barring certain characteristic grammatical inaccuracies, she had never + been brought in personal contact with so many of them at once as when she + confronted the fifty or sixty faces—of colors ranging from a white + almost as clear as her own to the darkest livery of the sun—which + were gathered in the schoolroom on the morning when she began her duties. + Some of the inherited prejudice of her caste, too, made itself felt, + though she tried to repress any outward sign of it; and she could perceive + that the children were not altogether responsive; they, likewise, were not + entirely free from antagonism. The work was unfamiliar to her. She was not + physically very strong, and at the close of the first day she went home + with a splitting headache. If she could have resigned then and there + without causing comment or annoyance to others, she would have felt it a + privilege to do so. But a night's rest banished her headache and improved + her spirits, and the next morning she went to her work with renewed vigor, + fortified by the experience of the first day. + </p> + <p> + Miss Myrover's second day was more satisfactory. She had some natural + talent for organization, though she had never known it, and in the course + of the day she got her classes formed and lessons under way. In a week or + two she began to classify her pupils in her own mind, as bright or stupid, + mischievous or well behaved, lazy or industrious, as the case might be, + and to regulate her discipline accordingly. That she had come of a long + line of ancestors who had exercised authority and mastership was perhaps + not without its effect upon her character, and enabled her more readily to + maintain good order in the school. When she was fairly broken in she found + the work rather to her liking, and derived much pleasure from such success + as she achieved as a teacher. + </p> + <p> + It was natural that she should be more attracted to some of her pupils + than to others. Perhaps her favorite—or rather, the one she liked + best, for she was too fair and just for conscious favoritism—was + Sophy Tucker. Just the ground for the teacher's liking for Sophy might not + at first be apparent. The girl was far from the whitest of Miss Myrover's + pupils; in fact, she was one of the darker ones. She was not the brightest + in intellect, though she always tried to learn her lessons. She was not + the best dressed, for her mother was a poor widow, who went out washing + and scrubbing for a living. Perhaps the real tie between them was Sophy's + intense devotion to the teacher. It had manifested itself almost from the + first day of the school, in the rapt look of admiration Miss Myrover + always saw on the little black face turned toward her. In it there was + nothing of envy, nothing of regret; nothing but worship for the beautiful + white lady—she was not especially handsome, but to Sophy her beauty + was almost divine—who had come to teach her. If Miss Myrover dropped + a book, Sophy was the first to spring and pick it up; if she wished a + chair moved, Sophy seemed to anticipate her wish; and so of all the + numberless little services that can be rendered in a school-room. + </p> + <p> + Miss Myrover was fond of flowers, and liked to have them about her. The + children soon learned of this taste of hers, and kept the vases on her + desk filled with blossoms during their season. Sophy was perhaps the most + active in providing them. If she could not get garden flowers, she would + make excursions to the woods in the early morning, and bring in great + dew-laden bunches of bay, or jasmine, or some other fragrant forest flower + which she knew the teacher loved. + </p> + <p> + "When I die, Sophy," Miss Myrover said to the child one day, "I want to be + covered with roses. And when they bury me, I'm sure I shall rest better if + my grave is banked with flowers, and roses are planted at my head and at + my feet." + </p> + <p> + Miss Myrover was at first amused at Sophy's devotion; but when she grew + more accustomed to it, she found it rather to her liking. It had a sort of + flavor of the old regime, and she felt, when she bestowed her kindly + notice upon her little black attendant, some of the feudal condescension + of the mistress toward the slave. She was kind to Sophy, and permitted her + to play the role she had assumed, which caused sometimes a little jealousy + among the other girls. Once she gave Sophy a yellow ribbon which she took + from her own hair. The child carried it home, and cherished it as a + priceless treasure, to be worn only on the greatest occasions. + </p> + <p> + Sophy had a rival in her attachment to the teacher, but the rivalry was + altogether friendly. Miss Myrover had a little dog, a white spaniel, + answering to the name of Prince. Prince was a dog of high degree, and + would have very little to do with the children of the school; he made an + exception, however, in the case of Sophy, whose devotion for his mistress + he seemed to comprehend. He was a clever dog, and could fetch and carry, + sit up on his haunches, extend his paw to shake hands, and possessed + several other canine accomplishments. He was very fond of his mistress, + and always, unless shut up at home, accompanied her to school, where he + spent most of his time lying under the teacher's desk, or, in cold + weather, by the stove, except when he would go out now and then and chase + an imaginary rabbit round the yard, presumably for exercise. + </p> + <p> + At school Sophy and Prince vied with each other in their attentions to + Miss Myrover. But when school was over, Prince went away with her, and + Sophy stayed behind; for Miss Myrover was white and Sophy was black, which + they both understood perfectly well. Miss Myrover taught the colored + children, but she could not be seen with them in public. If they + occasionally met her on the street, they did not expect her to speak to + them, unless she happened to be alone and no other white person was in + sight. If any of the children felt slighted, she was not aware of it, for + she intended no slight; she had not been brought up to speak to negroes on + the street, and she could not act differently from other people. And + though she was a woman of sentiment and capable of deep feeling, her + training had been such that she hardly expected to find in those of darker + hue than herself the same susceptibility—varying in degree, perhaps, + but yet the same in kind—that gave to her own life the alternations + of feeling that made it most worth living. + </p> + <p> + Once Miss Myrover wished to carry home a parcel of books. She had the + bundle in her hand when Sophy came up. + </p> + <p> + "Lemme tote yo' bundle fer yer, Miss Ma'y?" she asked eagerly. "I'm gwine + yo' way." + </p> + <p> + "Thank you, Sophy," was the reply. "I'll be glad if you will." + </p> + <p> + Sophy followed the teacher at a respectful distance. When they reached + Miss Myrover's home Sophy carried the bundle to the doorstep, where Miss + Myrover took it and thanked her. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Myrover came out on the piazza as Sophy was moving away. She said, in + the child's hearing, and perhaps with the intention that she should hear: + "Mary, I wish you wouldn't let those little darkies follow you to the + house. I don't want them in the yard. I should think you'd have enough of + them all day." + </p> + <p> + "Very well, mother," replied her daughter. "I won't bring any more of + them. The child was only doing me a favor." + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Myrover was an invalid, and opposition or irritation of any kind + brought on nervous paroxysms that made her miserable, and made life a + burden to the rest of the household; so that Mary seldom crossed her + whims. She did not bring Sophy to the house again, nor did Sophy again + offer her services as porter. + </p> + <p> + One day in spring Sophy brought her teacher a bouquet of yellow roses. + </p> + <p> + "Dey come off'n my own bush, Miss Ma'y," she said proudly, "an' I didn' + let nobody e'se pull 'em, but saved 'em all fer you, 'cause I know you + likes roses so much. I'm gwine bring 'em all ter you as long as dey las'." + </p> + <p> + "Thank you, Sophy," said the teacher; "you are a very good girl." + </p> + <p> + For another year Mary Myrover taught the colored school, and did excellent + service. The children made rapid progress under her tuition, and learned + to love her well; for they saw and appreciated, as well as children could, + her fidelity to a trust that she might have slighted, as some others did, + without much fear of criticism. Toward the end of her second year she + sickened, and after a brief illness died. + </p> + <p> + Old Mrs. Myrover was inconsolable. She ascribed her daughter's death to + her labors as teacher of negro children. Just how the color of the pupils + had produced the fatal effects she did not stop to explain. But she was + too old, and had suffered too deeply from the war, in body and mind and + estate, ever to reconcile herself to the changed order of things following + the return of peace; and with an unsound yet not unnatural logic, she + visited some of her displeasure upon those who had profited most, though + passively, by her losses. + </p> + <p> + "I always feared something would happen to Mary," she said. "It seemed + unnatural for her to be wearing herself out teaching little negroes who + ought to have been working for her. But the world has hardly been a fit + place to live in since the war, and when I follow her, as I must before + long, I shall not be sorry to go." + </p> + <p> + She gave strict orders that no colored people should be admitted to the + house. Some of her friends heard of this, and remonstrated. They knew the + teacher was loved by the pupils, and felt that sincere respect from the + humble would be a worthy tribute to the proudest. But Mrs. Myrover was + obdurate. + </p> + <p> + "They had my daughter when she was alive," she said, "and they've killed + her. But she's mine now, and I won't have them come near her. I don't want + one of them at the funeral or anywhere around." + </p> + <p> + For a month before Miss Myrover's death Sophy had been watching her + rosebush—the one that bore the yellow roses—for the first buds + of spring, and when these appeared had awaited impatiently their gradual + unfolding. But not until her teacher's death had they become full-blown + roses. When Miss Myrover died, Sophy determined to pluck the roses and lay + them on her coffin. Perhaps, she thought, they might even put them in her + hand or on her breast. For Sophy remembered Miss Myrover's thanks and + praise when she had brought her the yellow roses the spring before. + </p> + <p> + On the morning of the day set for the funeral Sophy washed her face until + it shone, combed and brushed her hair with painful conscientiousness, put + on her best frock, plucked her yellow roses, and, tying them with the + treasured ribbon her teacher had given her, set out for Miss Myrover's + home. + </p> + <p> + She went round to the side gate—the house stood on a corner—and + stole up the path to the kitchen. A colored woman, whom she did not know, + came to the door. + </p> + <p> + "W'at yer want, chile?" she inquired. + </p> + <p> + "Kin I see Miss Ma'y?" asked Sophy timidly. + </p> + <p> + "I don' know, honey. Ole Miss Myrover say she don' want no cullud folks + roun' de house endyoin' dis fun'al. I'll look an' see if she's roun' de + front room, whar de co'pse is. You sed-down heah an' keep still, an' ef + she's upstairs maybe I kin git yer in dere a minute. Ef I can't, I kin put + yo' bokay 'mongs' de res', whar she won't know nuthin' erbout it." + </p> + <p> + A moment after she had gone there was a step in the hall, and old Mrs. + Myrover came into the kitchen. + </p> + <p> + "Dinah!" she said in a peevish tone. "Dinah!" + </p> + <p> + Receiving no answer, Mrs. Myrover peered around the kitchen, and caught + sight of Sophy. + </p> + <p> + "What are you doing here?" she demanded. + </p> + <p> + "I—I'm-m waitin' ter see de cook, ma'am," stammered Sophy. + </p> + <p> + "The cook isn't here now. I don't know where she is. Besides, my daughter + is to be buried to-day, and I won't have any one visiting the servants + until the funeral is over. Come back some other day, or see the cook at + her own home in the evening." + </p> + <p> + She stood waiting for the child to go, and under the keen glance of her + eyes Sophy, feeling as though she had been caught in some disgraceful act, + hurried down the walk and out of the gate, with her bouquet in her hand. + </p> + <p> + "Dinah," said Mrs. Myrover, when the cook came back, "I don't want any + strange people admitted here to-day. The house will be full of our + friends, and we have no room for others." + </p> + <p> + "Yas'm," said the cook. She understood perfectly what her mistress meant; + and what the cook thought about her mistress was a matter of no + consequence. + </p> + <p> + The funeral services were held at St. John's Episcopal Church, where the + Myrovers had always worshiped. Quite a number of Miss Myrover's pupils + went to the church to attend the services. The church was not a large one. + There was a small gallery at the rear, to which colored people were + admitted, if they chose to come, at ordinary services; and those who + wished to be present at the funeral supposed that the usual custom would + prevail. They were therefore surprised, when they went to the side + entrance, by which colored people gained access to the gallery stairs, to + be met by an usher who barred their passage. + </p> + <p> + "I'm sorry," he said, "but I have had orders to admit no one until the + friends of the family have all been seated. If you wish to wait until the + white people have all gone in, and there's any room left, you may be able + to get into the back part of the gallery. Of course I can't tell yet + whether there'll be any room or not." + </p> + <p> + Now the statement of the usher was a very reasonable one; but, strange to + say, none of the colored people chose to remain except Sophy. She still + hoped to use her floral offering for its destined end, in some way, though + she did not know just how. She waited in the yard until the church was + filled with white people, and a number who could not gain admittance were + standing about the doors. Then she went round to the side of the church, + and, depositing her bouquet carefully on an old mossy gravestone, climbed + up on the projecting sill of a window near the chancel. The window was of + stained glass, of somewhat ancient make. The church was old, had indeed + been built in colonial times, and the stained glass had been brought from + England. The design of the window showed Jesus blessing little children. + Time had dealt gently with the window; but just at the feet of the figure + of Jesus a small triangular piece of glass had been broken out. To this + aperture Sophy applied her eyes, and through it saw and heard what she + could of the services within. + </p> + <p> + Before the chancel, on trestles draped in black, stood the sombre casket + in which lay all that was mortal of her dear teacher. The top of the + casket was covered with flowers; and lying stretched out underneath it she + saw Miss Myrover's little white dog, Prince. He had followed the body to + the church, and, slipping in unnoticed among the mourners, had taken his + place, from which no one had the heart to remove him. + </p> + <p> + The white-robed rector read the solemn service for the dead, and then + delivered a brief address, in which he spoke of the uncertainty of life, + and, to the believer, the certain blessedness of eternity. He spoke of + Miss Myrover's kindly spirit, and, as an illustration of her love and + self-sacrifice for others, referred to her labors as a teacher of the poor + ignorant negroes who had been placed in their midst by an all-wise + Providence, and whom it was their duty to guide and direct in the station + in which God had put them. Then the organ pealed, a prayer was said, and + the long cortege moved from the church to the cemetery, about half a mile + away, where the body was to be interred. + </p> + <p> + When the services were over, Sophy sprang down from her perch, and, taking + her flowers, followed the procession. She did not walk with the rest, but + at a proper and respectful distance from the last mourner. No one noticed + the little black girl with the bunch of yellow flowers, or thought of her + as interested in the funeral. + </p> + <p> + The cortege reached the cemetery and filed slowly through the gate; but + Sophy stood outside, looking at a small sign in white letters on a black + background:— + </p> + <p> + "NOTICE. This cemetery is for white people only. Others please keep out." + </p> + <p> + Sophy, thanks to Miss Myrover's painstaking instruction, could read this + sign very distinctly. In fact, she had often read it before. For Sophy was + a child who loved beauty, in a blind, groping sort of way, and had + sometimes stood by the fence of the cemetery and looked through at the + green mounds and shaded walks and blooming flowers within, and wished that + she could walk among them. She knew, too, that the little sign on the + gate, though so courteously worded, was no mere formality; for she had + heard how a colored man, who had wandered into the cemetery on a hot night + and fallen asleep on the flat top of a tomb, had been arrested as a + vagrant and fined five dollars, which he had worked out on the streets, + with a ball-and-chain attachment, at twenty-five cents a day. Since that + time the cemetery gate had been locked at night. + </p> + <p> + So Sophy stayed outside, and looked through the fence. Her poor bouquet + had begun to droop by this time, and the yellow ribbon had lost some of + its freshness. Sophy could see the rector standing by the grave, the + mourners gathered round; she could faintly distinguish the solemn words + with which ashes were committed to ashes, and dust to dust. She heard the + hollow thud of the earth falling on the coffin; and she leaned against the + iron fence, sobbing softly, until the grave was filled and rounded off, + and the wreaths and other floral pieces were disposed upon it. When the + mourners began to move toward the gate, Sophy walked slowly down the + street, in a direction opposite to that taken by most of the people who + came out. + </p> + <p> + When they had all gone away, and the sexton had come out and locked the + gate behind him, Sophy crept back. Her roses were faded now, and from some + of them the petals had fallen. She stood there irresolute, loath to leave + with her heart's desire unsatisfied, when, as her eyes fell upon the + teacher's last resting place, she saw lying beside the new-made grave what + looked like a small bundle of white wool. Sophy's eyes lighted up with a + sudden glow. + </p> + <p> + "Prince! Here, Prince!" she called. + </p> + <p> + The little dog rose, and trotted down to the gate. Sophy pushed the poor + bouquet between the iron bars. "Take that ter Miss Ma'y, Prince," she + said, "that's a good doggie." + </p> + <p> + The dog wagged his tail intelligently, took the bouquet carefully in his + mouth, carried it to his mistress's grave, and laid it among the other + flowers. The bunch of roses was so small that from where she stood Sophy + could see only a dash of yellow against the white background of the mass + of flowers. + </p> + <p> + When Prince had performed his mission he turned his eyes toward Sophy + inquiringly, and when she gave him a nod of approval lay down and resumed + his watch by the graveside. Sophy looked at him a moment with a feeling + very much like envy, and then turned and moved slowly away. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0014" id="link2H_4_0014"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE CASE OF THE NEGRO by Booker T. Washington + </h2> + <p> + All attempts to settle the question of the Negro in the South by his + removal from this country have so far failed, and I think that they are + likely to fail. The next census will probably show that we have nearly ten + million black people in the United States, about eight millions of whom + are in the Southern states. In fact, we have almost a nation within a + nation. The Negro population in the United States lacks but two millions + of being as large as the whole population of Mexico, and is nearly twice + as large as that of Canada. Our black people equal in number the combined + populations of Switzerland, Greece, Honduras, Nicaragua, Cuba, Uraguay + [sic], Santo Domingo, Paraguay, and Costa Rica. When we consider, in + connection with these facts, that the race has doubled itself since its + freedom, and is still increasing, it hardly seems possible for any one to + take seriously any scheme of emigration from America as a method of + solution. At most, even if the government were to provide the means, but a + few hundred thousand could be transported each year. The yearly increase + in population would more than likely overbalance the number transported. + Even if it did not, the time required to get rid of the Negro by this + method would perhaps be fifty or seventy-five years. + </p> + <p> + Some have advised that the Negro leave the South, and take up his + residence in the Northern states. I question whether this would make him + any better off than he is in the South, when all things are considered. It + has been my privilege to study the condition of our people in nearly every + part of America; and I say without hesitation that, with some exceptional + cases, the Negro is at his best in the Southern states. While he enjoys + certain privileges in the North that he does not have in the South, when + it comes to the matter of securing property, enjoying business advantages + and employment, the South presents a far better opportunity than the + North. Few colored men from the South are as yet able to stand up against + the severe and increasing competition that exists in the North, to say + nothing of the unfriendly influence of labor organizations, which in some + way prevents black men in the North, as a rule, from securing occupation + in the line of skilled labor. + </p> + <p> + Another point of great danger for the colored man who goes North is the + matter of morals, owing to the numerous temptations by which he finds + himself surrounded. More ways offer in which he can spend money than in + the South, but fewer avenues of employment for earning money are open to + him. The fact that at the North the Negro is almost confined to one line + of occupation often tends to discourage and demoralize the strongest who + go from the South, and makes them an easy prey for temptation. A few years + ago, I made an examination into the condition of a settlement of Negroes + who left the South and went into Kansas about twenty years since, when + there was a good deal of excitement in the South concerning emigration + from the West, and found it much below the standard of that of similar + communities in the South. The only conclusion which any one can reach, + from this and like instances, is that the Negroes are to remain in the + Southern states. As a race they do not want to leave the South, and the + Southern white people do not want them to leave. We must therefore find + some basis of settlement that will be constitutional, just, manly; that + will be fair to both races in the South and to the whole country. This + cannot be done in a day, a year, or any short period of time. We can, + however, with the present light, decide upon a reasonably safe method of + solving the problem, and turn our strength and effort in that direction. + In doing this, I would not have the Negro deprived of any privilege + guaranteed to him by the Constitution of the United States. It is not best + for the Negro that he relinquish any of his constitutional rights; it is + not best for the Southern white man that he should, as I shall attempt to + show in this article. + </p> + <p> + In order that we may concentrate our forces upon a wise object, without + loss of time or effort, I want to suggest what seems to me and many others + the wisest policy to be pursued. I have reached these conclusions not only + by reason of my own observations and experience, but after eighteen years + of direct contact with leading and influential colored and white men in + most parts of our country. But I wish first to mention some elements of + danger in the present situation, which all who desire the permanent + welfare of both races in the South should carefully take into account. + </p> + <p> + First. There is danger that a certain class of impatient extremists among + the Negroes in the North, who have little knowledge of the actual + conditions in the South, may do the entire race injury by attempting to + advise their brethren in the South to resort to armed resistance or the + use of the torch, in order to secure justice. All intelligent and + well-considered discussion of any important question, or condemnation of + any wrong, whether in the North or the South, from the public platform and + through the press, is to be commended and encouraged; but ill-considered + and incendiary utterances from black men in the North will tend to add to + the burdens of our people in the South rather than to relieve them. We + must not fall into the temptation of believing that we can raise ourselves + by abusing some one else. + </p> + <p> + Second. Another danger in the South which should be guarded against is + that the whole white South, including the wise, conservative, law-abiding + element, may find itself represented before the bar of public opinion by + the mob or lawless element, which gives expression to its feelings and + tendency in a manner that advertises the South throughout the world; while + too often those who have no sympathy with such disregard of law are either + silent, or fail to speak in a sufficiently emphatic manner to offset in + any large degree the unfortunate reputation which the lawless have made + for many portions of the South. + </p> + <p> + Third. No race or people ever got upon its feet without severe and + constant struggle, often in the face of the greatest discouragement. While + passing through the present trying period of its history, there is danger + that a large and valuable element of the Negro race may become discouraged + in the effort to better its condition. Every possible influence should be + exerted to prevent this. + </p> + <p> + Fourth. There is a possibility that harm may be done to the South and to + the Negro by exaggerated newspaper articles which are written near the + scene or in the midst of specially aggravating occurrences. Often these + reports are written by newspaper men, who give the impression that there + is a race conflict throughout the South, and that all Southern white + people are opposed to the Negro's progress; overlooking the fact that + though in some sections there is trouble, in most parts of the South, if + matters are not yet in all respects as we would have them, there is + nevertheless a very large measure of peace, good will, and mutual + helpfulness. In the same relation, much can be done to retard the progress + of the Negro by a certain class of Southern white people, who in the midst + of excitement speak or write in a manner that gives the impression that + all Negroes are lawless, untrustworthy, and shiftless. For example, a + Southern writer said, not long ago, in a communication to the New York + Independent: "Even in small towns the husband cannot venture to leave his + wife alone for an hour at night. At no time, in no place, is the white + woman safe from the insults and assaults of these creatures." These + statements, I presume, represented the feelings and the conditions that + existed, at the time of the writing, in one community or county in the + South; but thousands of Southern white men and women would be ready to + testify that this is not the condition throughout the South, nor + throughout any Southern state. + </p> + <p> + Fifth. Owing to the lack of school opportunities for the Negro in the + rural districts of the South, there is danger that ignorance and idleness + may increase to the extent of giving the Negro race a reputation for + crime, and that immorality may eat its way into the fibre of the race so + as to retard its progress for many years. In judging the Negro we must not + be too harsh. We must remember that it has been only within the last + thirty-four years that the black father and mother have had the + responsibility, and consequently the experience, of training their own + children. That perfection has not been reached in one generation, with the + obstacles that the parents have been compelled to overcome, is not to be + wondered at. + </p> + <p> + Sixth. Finally, I would mention my fear that some of the white people of + the South may be led to feel that the way to settle the race problem is to + repress the aspirations of the Negro by legislation of a kind that confers + certain legal or political privileges upon an ignorant and poor white man, + and withholds the same privileges from a black man in a similar condition. + Such legislation injures and retards the progress of both races. It is an + injustice to the poor white man, because it takes from him incentive to + secure education and property as prerequisites for voting. He feels that + because he is a white man, regardless of his possessions, a way will be + found for him to vote. I would label all such measures "laws to keep the + poor white man in ignorance and poverty." + </p> + <p> + The Talladega News Reporter, a Democratic newspaper of Alabama, recently + said: "But it is a weak cry when the white man asks odds on intelligence + over the Negro. When nature has already so handicapped the African in the + race for knowledge, the cry of the boasted Anglo-Saxon for still further + odds seems babyish. What wonder that the world looks on in surprise, if + not disgust? It cannot help but say, If our contention be true that the + Negro is an inferior race, then the odds ought to be on the other side, if + any are to be given. And why not? No; the thing to do—the only thing + that will stand the test of time—is to do right, exactly right, let + come what will. And that right thing, as it seems to us, is to place a + fair educational qualification before every citizen,—one that is + self-testing, and not dependent on the wishes of weak men,—letting + all who pass the test stand in the proud ranks of American voters, whose + votes shall be counted as cast, and whose sovereign will shall be + maintained as law by all the powers that be. Nothing short of this will + do. Every exemption, on whatsoever ground, is an outrage that can only rob + some legitimate voter of his rights." + </p> + <p> + Such laws have been made,—in Mississippi, for example,—with + the "understanding" clause, hold out a temptation for the election officer + to perjure and degrade himself by too often deciding that the ignorant + white man does understand the Constitution when it is read to him, and + that the ignorant black man does not. By such a law, the state not only + commits a wrong against its black citizens; it injures the morals of its + white citizens by conferring such a power upon any white man who may + happen to be a judge of elections. + </p> + <p> + Such laws are hurtful, again, because they keep alive in the heart of the + black man the feeling that the white man means to oppress him. The only + safe way out is to set a high standard as a test of citizenship, and + require blacks and whites alike to come up to it. When this is done, both + will have a higher respect for the election laws, and for those who make + them. I do not believe that, with his centuries of advantage over the + Negro in the opportunity to acquire property and education as + prerequisites for voting, the average white man in the South desires that + any special law be passed to give him further advantage over one who has + had but a little more than thirty years in which to prepare himself for + citizenship. In this relation, another point of danger is that the Negro + has been made to feel that it is his duty continually to oppose the + Southern white man in politics, even in matters where no principle is + involved; and that he is only loyal to his own race and acting in a manly + way in thus opposing the white man. Such a policy has proved very hurtful + to both races. Where it is a matter of principle, where a question of + right or wrong is involved, I would advise the Negro to stand by principle + at all hazards. A Southern white man has no respect for or confidence in a + Negro who acts merely for policy's sake; but there are many cases, and the + number is growing, where the Negro has nothing to gain, and much to lose, + by opposing the Southern white man in matters that relate to government. + </p> + <p> + Under the foregoing six heads I believe I have stated some of the main + points which, all high-minded white men and black men, North and South, + will agree, need our most earnest and thoughtful consideration, if we + would hasten, and not hinder, the progress of our country. + </p> + <p> + Now as to the policy that should be pursued. On this subject I claim to + possess no superior wisdom or unusual insight. I may be wrong; I may be in + some degree right. + </p> + <p> + In the future we want to impress upon the Negro, more than we have done in + the past, the importance of identifying himself more closely with the + interests of the South; of making himself part of the South, and at home + in it. Heretofore, for reasons which were natural, and for which no one is + especially to blame, the colored people have been too much like a foreign + nation residing in the midst of another nation. If William Lloyd Garrison, + Wendell Phillips, or George L. Stearns were alive to-day, I feel sure that + he would advise the Negroes to identify their interests as closely as + possible with those of their white neighbors,—always understanding + that no question of right and wrong is involved. In no other way, it seems + to me, can we get a foundation for peace and progress. He who advises + against this policy will advise the Negro to do that which no people in + history, who have succeeded, have done. The white man, North or South, who + advises the Negro against it advises him to do that which he himself has + not done. The bed rock upon which every individual rests his chances for + success in life is the friendship, the confidence, the respect, of his + next-door neighbor in the little community in which he lives. The problem + of the Negro in the South turns on whether he can make himself of such + indispensable service to his neighbor and the community that no one can + fill his place better in the body politic. There is at present no other + safe course for the black man to pursue. If the Negro in the South has a + friend in his white neighbor, and a still larger number of friends in his + own community, he has a protection and a guarantee of his rights that will + be more potent and more lasting than any our Federal Congress or any + outside power can confer. + </p> + <p> + The London Times, in a recent editorial discussing affairs in the + Transvaal, where Englishmen have been denied certain privileges by the + Boers, says: "England is too sagacious not to prefer a gradual reform from + within, even should it be less rapid than most of us might wish, to the + most sweeping redress of grievances imposed from without. Our object is to + obtain fair play for the Outlanders, but the best way to do it is to + enable them to help themselves." This policy, I think, is equally safe + when applied to conditions in the South. The foreigner who comes to + America identifies himself as soon as possible, in business, education, + and politics, with the community in which he settles. We have a + conspicuous example of this in the case of the Jews, who in the South, as + well as in other parts of our country, have not always been justly + treated; but the Jews have so woven themselves into the business and + patriotic interests of the communities in which they live, have made + themselves so valuable as citizens, that they have won a place in the + South which they could have obtained in no other way. The Negro in Cuba + has practically settled the race question there, because he has made + himself a part of Cuba in thought and action. + </p> + <p> + What I have tried to indicate cannot be accomplished by any sudden + revolution of methods, but it does seem that the tendency should be more + and more in this direction. Let me emphasize this by a practical example. + The North sends thousands of dollars into the South every year for the + education of the Negro. The teachers in most of the Southern schools + supported by the North are Northern men and women of the highest Christian + culture and most unselfish devotion. The Negro owes them a debt of + gratitude which can never be paid. The various missionary societies in the + North have done a work which to a large degree has proved the salvation of + the South, and the results of it will appear more in future generations + than in this. We have now reached the point, in the South, where, I + believe, great good could be accomplished in changing the attitude of the + white people toward the Negro, and of the Negro toward the whites, if a + few Southern white teachers, of high character, would take an active + interest in the work of our higher schools. Can this be done? Yes. The + medical school connected with Shaw University at Raleigh, North Carolina, + has from the first had as instructors and professors almost exclusively + Southern white doctors who reside in Raleigh, and they have given the + highest satisfaction. This gives the people of Raleigh the feeling that + the school is theirs, and not something located in, but not a part of, the + South. In Augusta, Georgia, the Payne Institute, one of the best colleges + for our people, is officered and taught almost wholly by Southern white + men and women. The Presbyterian Theological School at Tuscaloosa, Alabama, + has only Southern white men as instructors. Some time ago, at the Calhoun + School in Alabama, one of the leading white men in the county was given an + important position; since then the feeling of the white people in the + county has greatly changed toward the school. + </p> + <p> + We must admit the stern fact that at present the Negro, through no choice + of his own, is living in the midst of another race, which is far ahead of + him in education, property, and experience; and further, that the Negro's + present condition makes him dependent upon the white people for most of + the things necessary to sustain life, as well as, in a large measure, for + his education. In all history, those who have possessed the property and + intelligence have exercised the greatest control in government, regardless + of color, race, or geographical location. This being the case, how can the + black man in the South improve his estate? And does the Southern white man + want him to improve it? The latter part of this question I shall attempt + to answer later in this article. + </p> + <p> + The Negro in the South has it within his power, if he properly utilizes + the forces at land, to make of himself such a valuable factor in the life + of the South that for the most part he need not seek privileges, but they + will be conferred upon him. To bring this about, the Negro must begin at + the bottom and lay a sure foundation, and not be lured by any temptation + into trying to rise on a false footing. While the Negro is laying this + foundation, he will need help and sympathy and justice from the law. + Progress by any other method will be but temporary and superficial, and + the end of it will be worse than the beginning. American slavery was a + great curse to both races, and I should be the last to apologize for it; + but in the providence of God I believe that slavery laid the foundation + for the solution of the problem that is now before us in the South. Under + slavery, the Negro was taught every trade, every industry, that furnishes + the means of earning a living. Now if on this foundation, laid in a rather + crude way, it is true, but a foundation nevertheless, we can gradually + grow and improve, the future for us is bright. Let me be more specific. + Agriculture is or has been the basic industry of nearly every race or + nation that has succeeded. The Negro got a knowledge of this under + slavery: hence in a large measure he is in possession of this industry in + the South to-day. Taking the whole South, I should say that eighty per + cent of the Negroes live by agriculture in some form, though it is often a + very primitive and crude form. The Negro can buy land in the South, as a + rule, wherever the white man can buy it, and at very low prices. Now, + since the bulk of our people already have a foundation in agriculture, are + at their best when living in the country engaged in agricultural pursuits, + plainly, the best thing, the logical thing, is to turn the larger part of + our strength in a direction that will put the Negroes among the most + skilled agricultural people in the world. The man who has learned to do + something better than any one else, has learned to do a common thing in an + uncommon manner, has power and influence which no adverse surroundings can + take from him. It is better to show a man how to make a place for himself + than to put him in one that some one else has made for him. The Negro who + can make himself so conspicuous as a successful farmer, a large taxpayer, + a wise helper of his fellow men, as to be placed in a position of trust + and honor by natural selection, whether the position be political or not, + is a hundredfold more secure in that position than one placed there by + mere outside force or pressure. I know a Negro, Hon. Isaiah T. Montgomery, + in Mississippi, who is mayor of a town; it is true that the town is + composed almost wholly of Negroes. Mr. Montgomery is mayor of this town + because his genius, thrift, and foresight have created it; and he is held + and supported in his office by a charter granted by the state of + Mississippi, and by the vote and public sentiment of the community in + which he lives. + </p> + <p> + Let us help the Negro by every means possible to acquire such an education + in farming, dairying, stock-raising, horticulture, etc., as will place him + near the top in these industries, and the race problem will in a large + part be settled, or at least stripped of many of its most perplexing + elements. This policy would also tend to keep the Negro in the country and + smaller towns, where he succeeds best, and stop the influx into the large + cities, where he does not succeed so well. The race, like the individual, + which produces something of superior worth that has a common human + interest, wins a permanent place, and is bound to be recognized. + </p> + <p> + At a county fair in the South, not long ago, I saw a Negro awarded the + first prize, by a jury of white men, over white competitors, for the + production of the best specimen of Indian corn. Every white man at the + fair seemed to be proud of the achievement of the Negro, because it was + apparent that he had done something that would add to the wealth and + comfort of the people of both races in that county. At the Tuskegee Normal + and Industrial Institute, in Alabama, we have a department devoted to + training men along the lines of agriculture that I have named; but what we + are doing is small when compared with what should be done in Tuskegee, and + at other educational centres. In a material sense the South is still an + undeveloped country. While in some other affairs race prejudice is + strongly marked, in the matter of business, of commercial and industrial + development, there are few obstacles in the Negro's way. A Negro who + produces or has for sale something that the community wants finds + customers among white people as well as black. Upon equal security, a + Negro can borrow money at the bank as readily as a white man can. A bank + in Birmingham, Alabama, which has existed ten years, is officered and + controlled wholly by Negroes. This bank has white borrowers and white + depositors. A graduate of the Tuskegee Institute keeps a well-appointed + grocery store in Tuskegee, and he tells me that he sells about as many + goods to one race as to the other. What I have said of the opening that + awaits the Negro in the business of agriculture is almost equally true of + mechanics, manufacturing, and all the domestic arts. The field is before + him and right about him. Will he seize upon it? Will he "cast down his + bucket where he is"? Will his friends, North and South, encourage him and + prepare him to occupy it? Every city in the South, for example, would give + support to a first-class architect or housebuilder or contractor of our + race. The architect or contractor would not only receive support, but + through his example numbers of young colored men would learn such trades + as carpentry, brickmasonry, plastering, painting, etc., and the race would + be put into a position to hold on to many of the industries which it is + now in danger of losing, because in too many cases brain, skill, and + dignity are not imparted to the common occupations. Any individual or race + that does not fit itself to occupy in the best manner the field or service + that is right about it will sooner or later be asked to move on and let + another take it. + </p> + <p> + But I may be asked, Would you confine the Negro to agriculture, mechanics, + the domestic arts, etc.? Not at all; but just now and for a number of + years the stress should be laid along the lines that I have mentioned. We + shall need and must have many teachers and ministers, some doctors and + lawyers and statesmen, but these professional men will have a constituency + or a foundation from which to draw support just in proportion as the race + prospers along the economic lines that I have pointed out. During the + first fifty or one hundred years of the life of any people, are not the + economic occupations always given the greater attention? This is not only + the historic, but, I think, the common-sense view. If this generation will + lay the material foundation, it will be the quickest and surest way for + enabling later generations to succeed in the cultivation of the fine arts, + and to surround themselves with some of the luxuries of life, if desired. + What the race most needs now, in my opinion, is a whole army of men and + women well-trained to lead, and at the same time devote themselves to + agriculture, mechanics, domestic employment, and business. As to the + mental training that these educated leaders should be equipped with, I + should say, give them all the mental training and culture that the + circumstances of individuals will allow,—the more the better. No + race can permanently succeed until its mind is awakened and strengthened + by the ripest thought. But I would constantly have it kept in the minds of + those who are educated in books that a large proportion of those who are + educated should be so trained in hand that they can bring this mental + strength and knowledge to bear upon the physical conditions in the South, + which I have tried to emphasize. + </p> + <p> + Frederick Douglass, of sainted memory, once, in addressing his race, used + these words: "We are to prove that we can better our own condition. One + way to do this is to accumulate property. This may sound to you like a new + gospel. You have been accustomed to hear that money is the root of all + evil, etc.; on the other hand, property, money, if you please, will + purchase for us the only condition by which any people can rise to the + dignity of genuine manhood; for without property there can be no leisure, + without leisure there can be no thought, without thought there can be no + invention, without invention there can be no progress." + </p> + <p> + The Negro should be taught that material development is not an end, but + merely a means to an end. As professor W. E. B. Du Bois puts it, the idea + should not be simply to make men carpenters, but to make carpenters men. + The Negro has a highly religious temperament; but what he needs more and + more is to be convinced of the importance of weaving his religion and + morality into the practical affairs of daily life. Equally does he need to + be taught to put so much intelligence into his labor that he will see + dignity and beauty in the occupation, and love it for its own sake. The + Negro needs to be taught to apply more of the religion that manifests + itself in his happiness in prayer meeting to the performance of his daily + task. The man who owns a home, and is in the possession of the elements by + which he is sure of a daily living, has a great aid to a moral and + religious life. What bearing will all this have upon the Negro's place in + the South, as a citizen and in the enjoyment of the privileges which our + government confers? + </p> + <p> + To state in detail just what place the black man will occupy in the South + as a citizen, when he has developed in the direction named, is beyond the + wisdom of any one. Much will depend upon the sense of justice which can be + kept alive in the breast of the American people; almost as much will + depend upon the good sense of the Negro himself. That question, I confess, + does not give me the most concern just now. The important and pressing + question is, Will the Negro, with his own help and that of his friends, + take advantage of the opportunities that surround him? When he has done + this, I believe, speaking of his future in general terms, that he will be + treated with justice, be given the protection of the law and the + recognition which his usefulness and ability warrant. If, fifty years ago, + one had predicted that the Negro would receive the recognition and honor + which individuals have already received, he would have been laughed at as + an idle dreamer. Time, patience, and constant achievement are great + factors in the rise of a race. + </p> + <p> + I do not believe that the world ever takes a race seriously, in its desire + to share in the government of a nation, until a large number of individual + members of that race have demonstrated beyond question their ability to + control and develop their own business enterprises. Once a number of + Negroes rise to the point where they own and operate the most successful + farms, are among the largest taxpayers in their county, are moral and + intelligent, I do not believe that in many portions of the South such men + need long be denied the right of saying by their votes how they prefer + their property to be taxed, and who are to make and administer the laws. + </p> + <p> + I was walking the street of a certain town in the South lately in company + with the most prominent Negro there. While we were together, the mayor of + the town sought out the black man, and said, "Next week we are going to + vote on the question of issuing bonds to secure water-works; you must be + sure to vote on the day of election." The mayor did not suggest whether he + should vote yes or no; but he knew that the very fact of this Negro's + owning nearly a block of the most valuable property in the town was a + guarantee that he would cast a safe, wise vote on this important + proposition. The white man knew that because of this Negro's property + interests he would cast his vote in the way he thought would benefit every + white and black citizen in the town, and not be controlled by influences a + thousand miles away. But a short time ago I read letters from nearly every + prominent white man in Birmingham, Alabama, asking that the Rev. W. R. + Pettiford, a Negro, be appointed to a certain important federal office. + What is the explanation of this? For nine years Mr. Pettiford has been the + president of the Negro bank in Birmingham, to which I have alluded. During + these nine years, the white citizens have had the opportunity of seeing + that Mr. Pettiford can manage successfully a private business, and that he + has proved himself a conservative, thoughtful citizen, and they are + willing to trust him in a public office. Such individual examples will + have to be multiplied, till they become more nearly the rule than the + exception they now are. While we are multiplying these examples, the Negro + must keep a strong and courageous heart. He cannot improve his condition + by any short-cut course or by artificial methods. Above all, he must not + be deluded into believing that his condition can be permanently bettered + by a mere battledoor [sic] and shuttlecock of words, or by any process of + mere mental gymnastics or oratory. What is desired along with a logical + defense of his cause are deeds, results,—continued results, in the + direction of building himself up, so as to leave no doubt in the mind of + any one of his ability to succeed. + </p> + <p> + An important question often asked is, Does the white man in the South want + the Negro to improve his present condition? I say yes. From the Montgomery + (Alabama) Daily Advertiser I clip the following in reference to the + closing of a colored school in a town in Alabama:— + </p> + <p> + "EUFALA, May 25, 1899. The closing exercises of the city colored public + school were held at St. Luke's A. M. E. Church last night, and were + witnessed by a large gathering, including many whites. The recitations by + the pupils were excellent, and the music was also an interesting feature. + Rev. R. T. Pollard delivered the address, which was quite an able one, and + the certificates were presented by Professor T. L. McCoy, white, of the + Sanford Street School. The success of the exercises reflects great credit + on Professor S. M. Murphy, the principal, who enjoys a deserved good + reputation as a capable and efficient educator." + </p> + <p> + I quote this report, not because it is the exception, but because such + marks of interest in the education of the Negro on the part of the + Southern white people may be seen almost every day in the local papers. + Why should white people, by their presence, words, and actions, encourage + the black man to get education, if they do not desire him to improve his + condition? + </p> + <p> + The Payne Institute, an excellent college, to which I have already + referred, is supported almost wholly by the Southern white Methodist + church. The Southern white Presbyterians support a theological school for + Negroes at Tuscaloosa. For a number of years the Southern white Baptists + have contributed toward Negro education. Other denominations have done the + same. If these people do not want the Negro educated to a higher standard, + there is no reason why they should pretend they do. + </p> + <p> + Though some of the lynchings in the South have indicated a barbarous + feeling toward Negroes, Southern white men here and there, as well as + newspapers, have spoken out strongly against lynching. I quote from the + address of the Rev. Mr. Vance, of Nashville, Tennessee, delivered before + the National Sunday School Union, in Atlanta, not long since, as an + example:— + </p> + <p> + "And yet, as I stand here to-night, a Southerner speaking for my section + and addressing an audience from all sections, there is one foul blot upon + the fair fame of the South, at the bare mention of which the heart turns + sick and the cheek is crimsoned with shame. I want to lift my voice + to-night in loud and long and indignant protest against the awful horror + of mob violence, which the other day reached the climax of its madness and + infamy in a deed as black and brutal and barbarous as can be found in the + annals of human crime. + </p> + <p> + "I have a right to speak on the subject, and I propose to be heard. The + time has come for every lover of the South to set the might of an angered + and resolute manhood against the shame and peril of the lynch demon. These + people whose fiendish glee taunts their victim as his flesh crackles in + the flames do not represent the South. I have not a syllable of apology + for the sickening crime they meant to avenge. But it is high time we were + learning that lawlessness is no remedy for crime. For one, I dare to + believe that the people of my section are able to cope with crime, however + treacherous and defiant, through their courts of justice; and I plead for + the masterful sway of a righteous and exalted public sentiment that shall + class lynch law in the category with crime." + </p> + <p> + It is a notable and encouraging fact that no Negro educated in any of our + larger institutions of learning in the South has been charged with any of + the recent crimes connected with assaults upon women. + </p> + <p> + If we go on making progress in the directions that I have tried to + indicate, more and more the South will be drawn to one course. As I have + already said, it is not to the best interests of the white race of the + South that the Negro be deprived of any privilege guaranteed him by the + Constitution of the United States. This would put upon the South a burden + under which no government could stand and prosper. Every article in our + Federal Constitution was placed there with a view of stimulating and + encouraging the highest type of citizenship. To continue to tax the Negro + without giving him the right to vote, as fast as he qualifies himself in + education and property for voting, would insure the alienation of the + affections of the Negro from the state in which he lives, and would be the + reversal of the fundamental principles of government for which our states + have stood. In other ways than this the injury would be as great to the + white man as to the Negro. Taxation without the hope of becoming voters + would take away from one third of the citizens of the Gulf states their + interest in government, and a stimulus to become taxpayers or to secure + education, and thus be able and willing to bear their share of the cost of + education and government, which now rests so heavily upon the white + taxpayers of the South. The more the Negro is stimulated and encouraged, + the sooner will he be able to bear a larger share of the burdens of the + South. We have recently had before us an example, in the case of Spain, of + a government that left a large portion of its citizens in ignorance, and + neglected their highest interests. + </p> + <p> + As I have said elsewhere: "There is no escape, through law of man or God, + from the inevitable. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + 'The laws of changeless justice bind + Oppressor with oppressed; + And close as sin and suffering joined + We march to fate abreast.' +</pre> + <p> + Nearly sixteen millions of hands will aid you in pulling the load upwards, + or they will pull the load downwards against you. We shall constitute one + third and more of the ignorance and crime of the South, or one third of + its intelligence and progress; we shall contribute one third to the + business and industrial prosperity of the South, or we shall prove a + veritable body of death, stagnating, depressing, retarding every effort to + advance the body politic." + </p> + <p> + My own feeling is that the South will gradually reach the point where it + will see the wisdom and the justice of enacting an educational or property + qualification, or both, for voting, that shall be made to apply honestly + to both races. The industrial development of the Negro in connection with + education and Christian character will help to hasten this end. When this + is done, we shall have a foundation, in my opinion, upon which to build a + government that is honest, and that will be in a high degree satisfactory + to both races. + </p> + <p> + I do not suffer myself to take too optimistic a view of the conditions in + the South. The problem is a large and serious one, and will require the + patient help, sympathy, and advice of our most patriotic citizens, North + and South, for years to come. But I believe that if the principles which I + have tried to indicate are followed, a solution of the question will come. + So long as the Negro is permitted to get education, acquire property, and + secure employment, and is treated with respect in the business world, as + is now true in the greater part of the South, I shall have the greatest + faith in his working out his own destiny in our Southern states. The + education and preparation for citizenship of nearly eight millions of + people is a tremendous task, and every lover of humanity should count it a + privilege to help in the solution of a problem for which our whole country + is responsible. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0015" id="link2H_4_0015"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + HOT-FOOT HANNIBAL by Charles W. Chesnutt + </h2> + <p> + "I hate and despise you! I wish never to see you or speak to you again!" + </p> + <p> + "Very well; I will take care that henceforth you have no opportunity to do + either." + </p> + <p> + These words—the first in the passionately vibrant tones of my + sister-in-law, and the latter in the deeper and more restrained accents of + an angry man—startled me from my nap. I had been dozing in my + hammock on the front piazza, behind the honeysuckle vine. I had been + faintly aware of a buzz of conversation in the parlor, but had not at all + awakened to its import until these sentences fell, or, I might rather say, + were hurled upon my ear. I presume the young people had either not seen me + lying there,—the Venetian blinds opening from the parlor windows + upon the piazza were partly closed on account of the heat,—or else + in their excitement they had forgotten my proximity. + </p> + <p> + I felt somewhat concerned. The young man, I had remarked, was proud, firm, + jealous of the point of honor, and, from my observation of him, quite + likely to resent to the bitter end what he deemed a slight or an + injustice. The girl, I knew, was quite as high-spirited as young + Murchison. I feared she was not so just, and hoped she would prove more + yielding. I knew that her affections were strong and enduring, but that + her temperament was capricious, and her sunniest moods easily overcast by + some small cloud of jealousy or pique. I had never imagined, however, that + she was capable of such intensity as was revealed by these few words of + hers. As I say, I felt concerned. I had learned to like Malcolm Murchison, + and had heartily consented to his marriage with my ward; for it was in + that capacity that I had stood for a year or two to my wife's younger + sister, Mabel. The match thus rudely broken off had promised to be another + link binding me to the kindly Southern people among whom I had not long + before taken up my residence. + </p> + <p> + Young Murchison came out of the door, cleared the piazza in two strides + without seeming aware of my presence, and went off down the lane at a + furious pace. A few moments later Mabel began playing the piano loudly, + with a touch that indicated anger and pride and independence and a dash of + exultation, as though she were really glad that she had driven away + forever the young man whom the day before she had loved with all the ardor + of a first passion. + </p> + <p> + I hoped that time might heal the breach and bring the two young people + together again. I told my wife what I had overheard. In return she gave me + Mabel's version of the affair. + </p> + <p> + "I do not see how it can ever be settled," my wife said. "It is something + more than a mere lovers' quarrel. It began, it is true, because she found + fault with him for going to church with that hateful Branson girl. But + before it ended there were things said that no woman of any spirit could + stand. I am afraid it is all over between them." + </p> + <p> + I was sorry to hear this. In spite of the very firm attitude taken by my + wife and her sister, I still hoped that the quarrel would be made up + within a day or two. Nevertheless, when a week had passed with no word + from young Murchison, and with no sign of relenting on Mabel's part, I + began to think myself mistaken. + </p> + <p> + One pleasant afternoon, about ten days after the rupture, old Julius drove + the rockaway up to the piazza, and my wife, Mabel, and I took our seats + for a drive to a neighbor's vineyard, over on the Lumberton plankroad. + </p> + <p> + "Which way shall we go," I asked,—"the short road or the long one?" + </p> + <p> + "I guess we had better take the short road," answered my wife. "We will + get there sooner." + </p> + <p> + "It's a mighty fine dribe roun' by de big road, Mis' Annie," observed + Julius, "en it doan take much longer to git dere." + </p> + <p> + "No," said my wife, "I think we will go by the short road. There is a bay + tree in blossom near the mineral spring, and I wish to get some of the + flowers." + </p> + <p> + "I 'spec's you'd find some bay trees 'long de big road, ma'am," said + Julius. + </p> + <p> + "But I know about the flowers on the short road, and they are the ones I + want." + </p> + <p> + We drove down the lane to the highway, and soon struck into the short road + leading past the mineral spring. Our route lay partly through a swamp, and + on each side the dark, umbrageous foliage, unbroken by any clearing, lent + to the road solemnity, and to the air a refreshing coolness. About half a + mile from the house, and about halfway to the mineral spring, we stopped + at the tree of which my wife had spoken, and reaching up to the + low-hanging boughs I gathered a dozen of the fragrant white flowers. When + I resumed my seat in the rockaway, Julius started the mare. She went on + for a few rods, until we had reached the edge of a branch crossing the + road, when she stopped short. + </p> + <p> + "Why did you stop, Julius?" I asked. + </p> + <p> + "I didn', suh," he replied. "'T wuz de mare stop'. G' 'long dere, Lucy! + W'at you mean by dis foolis'ness?" + </p> + <p> + Julius jerked the reins and applied the whip lightly, but the mare did not + stir. + </p> + <p> + "Perhaps you had better get down and lead her," I suggested. "If you get + her started, you can cross on the log and keep your feet dry." + </p> + <p> + Julius alighted, took hold of the bridle, and vainly essayed to make the + mare move. She planted her feet with even more evident obstinacy. + </p> + <p> + "I don't know what to make of this," I said. "I have never known her to + balk before. Have you, Julius?" + </p> + <p> + "No, suh," replied the old man, "I nebber has. It's a cu'ous thing ter me, + suh." + </p> + <p> + "What's the best way to make her go?" + </p> + <p> + "I 'spec's, suh, dat ef I'd tu'n her roun' she'd go de udder way." + </p> + <p> + "But we want her to go this way." + </p> + <p> + "Well, suh, I 'low ef we des set heah fo' er fibe minutes, she'll sta't up + by herse'f." + </p> + <p> + "All right," I rejoined, "it is cooler here than any place I have struck + to-day. We'll let her stand for a while, and see what she does." + </p> + <p> + We had sat in silence for a few minutes, when Julius suddenly ejaculated, + "Uh huh! I knows w'y dis mare doan go. It des flash 'cross my + reccommemb'ance." + </p> + <p> + "Why is it, Julius?" I inquired. + </p> + <p> + "Ca'se she sees Chloe." + </p> + <p> + "Where is Chloe?" I demanded. + </p> + <p> + "Chloe's done be'n dead dese fo'ty years er mo'," the old man returned. + "Her ha'nt is settin' ober yander on de udder side er de branch, unner dat + willer tree, dis blessed minute." + </p> + <p> + "Why, Julius!" said my wife, "do you see the haunt?" + </p> + <p> + "No'm," he answered, shaking his head, "I doan see 'er, but de mare sees + 'er." + </p> + <p> + "How do you know?" I inquired. + </p> + <p> + "Well, suh, dis yer is a gray hoss, en dis yer is a Friday; en a gray hoss + kin alluz see a ha'nt w'at walks on Friday." + </p> + <p> + "Who was Chloe?" said Mabel. + </p> + <p> + "And why does Chloe's haunt walk?" asked my wife. + </p> + <p> + "It's all in de tale, ma'am," Julius replied, with a deep sigh. "It's all + in de tale." + </p> + <p> + "Tell us the tale," I said. "Perhaps, by the time you get through, the + haunt will go away and the mare will cross." + </p> + <p> + I was willing to humor the old man's fancy. He had not told us a story for + some time; and the dark and solemn swamp around us; the amber-colored + stream flowing silently and sluggishly at our feet, like the waters of + Lethe; the heavy, aromatic scent of the bays, faintly suggestive of + funeral wreaths,—all made the place an ideal one for a ghost story. + </p> + <p> + "Chloe," Julius began in a subdued tone, "use' ter b'long ter ole Mars' + Dugal' McAdoo—my ole marster. She wuz a ladly gal en a smart gal, en + ole mis' tuk her up ter de big house, en l'arnt her ter wait on de w'ite + folks, 'tel bimeby she come ter be mis's own maid, en 'peared ter 'low she + run de house herse'f, ter heah her talk erbout it. I wuz a young boy den, + en use' ter wuk about de stables, so I knowed ev'ythin' dat wuz gwine on + roun' de plantation. + </p> + <p> + "Well, one time Mars' Dugal' wanted a house boy, en sont down ter de + qua'ters fer hab Jeff en Hannibal come up ter de big house nex' mawnin'. + Ole marster en ole mis' look' de two boys ober, en 'sco'sed wid deyse'ves + fer a little w'ile, en den Mars' Dugal' sez, sezee:— + </p> + <p> + "'We laks Hannibal de bes', en we gwine ter keep him. Heah, Hannibal, + you'll wuk at de house fum now on. En ef you're a good nigger en min's yo' + bizness, I'll gib you Chloe fer a wife nex' spring. You other nigger, you + Jeff, you kin go back ter de qua'ters. We ain' gwine ter need you.' + </p> + <p> + "Now Chloe had be'n standin' dere behin' ole mis' dyoin' all er dis yer + talk, en Chloe made up her min' fum de ve'y fus' minute she sot eyes on + dem two dat she didn' lak dat nigger Hannibal, en wa'n't nebber gwine keer + fer 'im, en she wuz des ez sho' dat she lak Jeff, en wuz gwine ter set + sto' by 'im, whuther Mars' Dugal' tuk 'im in de big house er no; en so + co'se Chloe wuz monst'us sorry w'en ole Mars' Dugal' tuk Hannibal en sont + Jeff back. So she slip' roun' de house en waylaid Jeff on de way back ter + de qua'ters en tol' 'im not ter be downhea'ted, fer she wuz gwine ter see + ef she couldn' fin' some way er 'nuther ter git rid er dat nigger + Hannibal, en git Jeff up ter de house in his place. + </p> + <p> + "De noo house boy kotch on monst'us fas', en it wa'n't no time ha'dly + befo' Mars' Dugal' en ole mis' bofe 'mence' ter 'low Hannibal wuz de bes' + house boy dey eber had. He wuz peart en soopl', quick ez lightnin', en + sha'p ez a razor. But Chloe didn' lak his ways. He wuz so sho' he wuz + gwine ter git 'er in de spring, dat he didn' 'pear ter 'low he had ter do + any co'tin', en w'en he'd run 'cross Chloe 'bout de house, he'd swell + roun' 'er in a biggity way en say: + </p> + <p> + "'Come heah en kiss me, honey. You gwine ter be mine in de spring. You + doan 'pear ter be ez fon' er me ez you oughter be.' + </p> + <p> + "Chloe didn' keer nuffin' fer Hannibal, en hadn' keered nuffin' fer 'im, + en she sot des ez much sto' by Jeff ez she did de day she fus' laid eyes + on 'im. En de mo' fermilyus dis yer Hannibal got, de mo' Chloe let her + min' run on Jeff, en one ebenin' she went down ter de qua'ters en watch', + 'tel she got a chance fer ter talk wid 'im by hisse'f. En she tol' Jeff + fer ter go down en see ole Aun' Peggy, de cunjuh-'oman down by de + Wim'l'ton Road, en ax her fer ter gib 'im sump'n ter he'p git Hannibal + out'n de big house, so de w'ite folks 'u'd sen' fer Jeff ag'in. En bein' + ez Jeff didn' hab nuffin' ter gib Aun' Peggy, Chloe gun i'm a silber + dollah en a silk han'kercher fer ter pay her wid, fer Aun' Peggy nebber + lak ter wuk fer nobody fer nuffin'. + </p> + <p> + "So Jeff slip' off down ter Aun' Peggy's one night, en gun 'er de presents + he brung, en tol' er all 'bout 'im en Chloe en Hannibal, en ax' 'er ter + he'p 'im out. Aun' Peggy tol' 'im she'd wuk 'er roots, en fer 'im ter come + back de nex' night, en she'd tell 'im w'at she c'd do fer 'im. + </p> + <p> + "So de nex' night Jeff went back, en Aun' Peggy gun 'im a baby-doll, wid a + body made out'n a piece er co'n-stalk, en wid splinters fer a'ms en legs, + en a head made out'n elderberry peth, en two little red peppers fer feet. + </p> + <p> + "'Dis yer baby-doll,' sez she, 'is Hannibal. Dis yer peth head is + Hannibal's head, en dese yer pepper feet is Hannibal's feet. You take dis + en hide it unner de house, on de sill unner de do', whar Hannibal'll + hafter walk ober it ev'y day. En ez long ez Hannibal comes anywhar nigh + dis baby-doll, he'll be des lak it is—light-headed en hot-footed; en + ef dem two things doan git 'im inter trouble mighty soon, den I'm no + cunjuh-'oman. But w'en you git Hannibal out'n de house, en git all thoo + wid dis baby-doll, you mus' fetch it back ter me, fer it's monst'us + powerful goopher, en is liable ter make mo' trouble ef you leabe it layin' + roun'.' + </p> + <p> + "Well, Jeff tuk de baby-doll, en slip' up ter de big house, en whistle' + ter Chloe, en w'en she come out he tol' 'er w'at ole Aun' Peggy had said. + En Chloe showed 'im how ter git unner de house, en w'en he had put de + cunjuh-doll on de sill he went 'long back ter de qua'ters—en des + waited. + </p> + <p> + "Nex' day, sho' 'nuff, de goopher 'mence' ter wuk. Hannibal sta'ted in de + house soon in de mawnin' wid a armful er wood ter make a fier, en he hadn' + mo' d'n got 'cross de do'sill befo' his feet begun ter bu'n so dat he + drap' de armful er wood on de flo' en woke ole mis' up an hour sooner'n + yuzhal, en co'se ole mis' didn' lak dat, en spoke sha'p erbout it. + </p> + <p> + "W'en dinner-time come, en Hannibal wuz help'n de cook kyar de dinner f'm + de kitchen inter de big house, en wuz gittin' close ter de do' what he had + ter go in, his feet sta'ted ter bu'n en his head begun ter swim, en he let + de big dish er chicken en dumplin's fall right down in de dirt, in de + middle er de ya'd, en de w'ite folks had ter make dey dinner dat day off'n + col' ham en sweet pertaters. + </p> + <p> + "De nex' mawnin' he overslep' hisse'f, en got inter mo' trouble. Atter + breakfus', Mars' Dugal' sont 'im ober ter Mars' Marrabo Utley's fer ter + borry a monkey wrench. He oughter be'n back in ha'f an hour, but he come + pokin' home 'bout dinner'time wid a screw-driver stidder a monkey wrench. + Mars' Dugal' sont ernudder nigger back wid de screw-driver, en Hannibal + didn' git no dinner. 'Long in de atternoon, ole mis' sot Hannibal ter + weedin' de flowers in de front gyahden, en Hannibal dug up all de bulbs + ole mis' had sont erway fer, en paid a lot er money fer, en tuk 'em down + ter de hawg-pen by de ba'nya'd, en fed 'em ter de hawgs. W'en ole mis' + come out in de cool er de ebenin', en seed w'at Hannibal had done, she wuz + mos' crazy, en she wrote a note en sont Hannibal down ter de obserseah wid + it. + </p> + <p> + "But w'at Hannibal got fum de oberseah didn' 'pear ter do no good. Ev'y + now en den 'is feet'd 'mence ter torment 'im, en 'is min' 'u'd git all + mix' up, en his conduc' kep' gittin' wusser en wusser, 'tel fin'ly de + w'ite folks couldn' stan' it no longer, en Mars' Dugal' tuk Hannibal back + down ter de qua'ters. + </p> + <p> + "'Mr. Smif,' sez Mars' Dugal' ter de oberseah, 'dis yer nigger has tu'nt + out so triflin' yer lately, dat we can't keep 'im at de house no mo', en + I's fotch' 'im ter you ter be straighten' up. You's had 'casion ter deal + wid 'im once, so he knows w'at ter expec'. You des take 'im in han', en + lemme know how he tu'ns out. En w'en de han's comes in fum de fiel' dis + ebenin' you kin sen' dat yaller nigger Jeff up ter de house. I'll try 'im, + en see ef he's any better'n Hannibal.' + </p> + <p> + "So Jeff went up ter de big house, en pleas' Mars' Dugal' en ole mis' en + de res' er de fambly so well dat dey all got ter lakin' 'im fus'rate, en + dey'd 'a' fergot all 'bout Hannibal ef it hadn' be'n fer de bad repo'ts + w'at come up fum de qua'ters 'bout 'im fer a mont' er so. Fac' is dat + Chloe en Jeff wuz so int'rusted in one ernudder since Jeff be'n up ter de + house, dat dey fergot all about takin' de baby-doll back ter Aun' Peggy, + en it kep' wukkin fer a w'ile, en makin' Hannibal's feet bu'n mo' er less, + 'tel all de folks on de plantation got ter callin' 'im Hot-Foot Hannibal. + He kep' gittin' mo' en mo' triflin', 'tel he got de name er bein' de mos' + no 'countes' nigger on de plantation, en Mars' Dugal' had ter th'eaten ter + sell 'im in de spring; w'en bimeby de goopher quit wukkin', en Hannibal + 'mence' ter pick up some en make folks set a little mo' sto' by 'im. + </p> + <p> + "Now, dis yer Hannibal was a monst'us sma't nigger, en w'en he got rid er + dem so' feet his min' kep' runnin' on 'is udder troubles. Heah th'ee er + fo' weeks befo' he'd had a' easy job, waitin' on de w'ite folks, libbin + off'n de fat er de lan', en promus' de fines' gal on de plantation fer a + wife in de spring, en now heah he wuz back in de co'nfiel', wid de + oberseah a-cussin' en a r'arin' ef he didn' get a ha'd tas' done; wid + nuffin' but co'n bread en bacon en merlasses ter eat; en all de fiel-han's + makin' rema'ks, en pokin' fun at 'im ca'se he be'n sont back fum de big + house ter de fiel'. En de mo' Hannibal studied 'bout it de mo' madder he + got, 'tel he fin'ly swo' he wuz gwine ter git eben wid Jeff en Chloe ef it + wuz de las' ac'. + </p> + <p> + "So Hannibal slipped 'way fum de qua'ters one Sunday en hid in de co'n up + close ter de big house, 'tel he see Chloe gwine down de road. He waylaid + her, en sezee:— + </p> + <p> + "'Hoddy, Chloe?' + </p> + <p> + "'I ain't got no time fer ter fool wid fiel'-han's,' sez Chloe, tossin' + her head; 'W'at you want wid me, Hot-Foot?' + </p> + <p> + "'I wants ter know how you en Jeff is gittin' 'long.' + </p> + <p> + "'I 'lows dat's none er yo' bizness, nigger. I doan see w'at 'casion any + common fiel'-han' has got ter mix in wid de 'fairs er folks w'at libs in + de big house. But ef it'll do you any good ter know, I mought say dat me + en Jeff is gittin' 'long mighty well, en we gwine ter git married in de + spring, en you ain' gwine ter be 'vited ter de weddin' nuther.' + </p> + <p> + "'No, no!' sezee, 'I wouldn' 'spec' ter be 'vited ter de weddin',—a + common, low-down fiel'-han' lak I is. But I's glad ter heah you en Jeff is + gittin' 'long so well. I didn' knowed but w'at he had 'mence' ter be a + little ti'ed.' + </p> + <p> + "'Ti'ed er me? Dat's rediklus!' sez Chloe. 'W'y, dat nigger lubs me so I + b'liebe he'd go th'oo fier en water fer me. Dat nigger is des wrop' up in + me.' + </p> + <p> + "'Uh huh,' sez Hannibal, 'den I reckon is mus' be some udder nigger w'at + meets a 'oman down by de crick in de swamp ev'y Sunday ebenin', ter say + nuffin' 'bout two er th'ee times a week.' + </p> + <p> + "'Yas, hit is ernudder nigger, en you is a liah w'en you say it wuz Jeff.' + </p> + <p> + "'Mebbe I is a liah, en mebbe I ain' got good eyes. But 'less'n I IS a + liah, en 'less'n I AIN' got good eyes, Jeff is gwine ter meet dat 'oman + dis ebenin' long 'bout eight o'clock right down dere by de crick in de + swamp 'bout halfway betwix' dis plantation en Mars' Marrabo Utley's.' + </p> + <p> + "Well, Chloe tol' Hannibal she didn' b'liebe a wud he said, en call' 'im a + low-down nigger who wuz tryin' ter slander Jeff 'ca'se he wuz mo' + luckier'n he wuz. But all de same, she couldn' keep her min' fum runnin' + on w'at Hannibal had said. She 'membered she'd heared one er de niggers + say dey wuz a gal ober at Mars' Marrabo Utley's plantation w'at Jeff use' + ter go wid some befo' he got 'quainted wid Chloe. Den she 'mence' ter + figger back, en sho' 'nuff, dey wuz two er th'ee times in de las' week + w'en she'd be'n he'p'n de ladies wid dey dressin' en udder fixin's in de + ebenin', en Jeff mought 'a' gone down ter de swamp widout her knowin' + 'bout it at all. En den she 'mence' ter 'member little things w'at she + hadn' tuk no notice of befo', en w'at 'u'd make it 'pear lak Jeff had + sump'n on his min'. + </p> + <p> + "Chloe set a monst'us heap er sto' by Jeff, en would 'a' done mos' + anythin' fer 'im, so long ez he stuck ter her. But Chloe wuz a mighty + jealous 'oman, en w'iles she didn' b'liebe w'at Hannibal said, she seed + how it COULD 'a' be'n so, en she 'termine' fer ter fin' out fer herse'f + whuther it WUZ so er no. + </p> + <p> + "Now, Chloe hadn' seed Jeff all day, fer Mars' Dugal' had sont Jeff ober + ter his daughter's house, young Mis' Ma'g'ret's, w'at libbed 'bout fo' + miles fum Mars' Dugal's, en Jeff wuzn' 'spected home 'tel ebenin'. But des + atter supper wuz ober, en w'iles de ladies wuz settin' out on de piazzer, + Chloe slip' off fum de house en run down de road,—dis yer same road + we come; en w'en she got mos' ter de crick—dis yer same crick right + befo' us—she kin' er kip' in de bushes at de side er de road, 'tel + fin'ly she seed Jeff settin' on de back on de udder side er de crick,—right + under dat ole willer tree droopin' ober de watah yander. En ev'y now en + den he'd git up en look up de road to'ds Mars' Marrabo's on de udder side + er de swamp. + </p> + <p> + "Fus' Chloe felt lak she'd go right ober de crick en gib Jeff a piece er + her min'. Den she 'lowed she better be sho' befo' she done anythin'. So + she helt herse'f in de bes' she could, gittin' madder en madder ev'ry + minute, 'tel bimeby she seed a 'oman comin' down de road on de udder side + fum to'ds Mars' Marrabo Utley's plantation. En w'en she seed Jeff jump up + en run to'ds dat 'oman, en th'ow his a'ms roun' her neck, po' Chloe didn' + stop ter see no mo', but des tu'nt roun' en run up ter de house, en rush' + up on de piazzer, en up en tol' Mars' Dugal' en ole mis' all 'bout de + baby-doll, en all 'bout Jeff gittin' de goopher fum Aun' Peggy, en 'bout + w'at de goopher had done ter Hannibal. + </p> + <p> + "Mars' Dugal' wuz monst'us mad. He didn' let on at fus' lak he b'liebed + Chloe, but w'en she tuk en showed 'im whar ter fin' de baby-doll, Mars' + Dugal' tu'nt w'ite ez chalk. + </p> + <p> + "'What debil's wuk is dis?' sezee. 'No wonder de po' nigger's feet + eetched. Sump'n got ter be done ter l'arn dat ole witch ter keep her han's + off'n my niggers. En ez fer dis yer Jeff, I'm gwine ter do des w'at I + promus', so de darkies on dis plantation'll know I means w'at I sez.' + </p> + <p> + "Fer Mars' Dugal' had warned de han's befo' 'bout foolin' wid cunju'ation; + fac', he had los' one er two niggers hisse'f fum dey bein' goophered, en + he would 'a' had ole Aun' Peggy whip' long ago, on'y Aun' Peggy wuz a free + 'oman, en he wuz 'feard she'd cunjuh him. En wi'les Mars' Dugal' say he + didn' b'liebe in cunj'in' en sich, he 'peared ter 'low it wuz bes' ter be + on de safe side, en let Aun' Peggy alone. + </p> + <p> + "So Mars' Dugal' done des ez he say. Ef ole mis' had ple'd fer Jeff he + mought 'a' kep' 'im. But ole mis' hadn' got ober losin' dem bulbs yit, en + she nebber said a wud. Mars' Dugal' tuk Jeff ter town nex' day en' sol' + 'im ter a spekilater, who sta'ted down de ribber wid 'im nex' mawnin' on a + steamboat, fer ter take 'im ter Alabama. + </p> + <p> + "Now, w'en Chloe tol' ole Mars' Dugal' 'bout dis yer baby-doll en dis + udder goopher, she hadn' ha'dly 'lowed Mars' Dugal' would sell Jeff down + Souf. Howsomeber, she wuz so mad wid Jeff dat she 'suaded herse'f she + didn' keer; en so she hilt her head up en went roun' lookin' lak she wuz + rale glad 'bout it. But one day she wuz walkin' down de road, w'en who + sh'd come 'long but dis yer Hannibal. + </p> + <p> + "W'en Hannibal seed 'er he bus' out laffin' fittin' fer ter kill: 'Yah, + yah, yah! ho, ho, ho! ha, ha, ha! Oh, hol' me, honey, hol' me, er I'll laf + myse'f ter def. I ain' nebber laf' so much sence I be'n bawn.' + </p> + <p> + "'W'at you laffin' at, Hot-Foot?' + </p> + <p> + "'Yah, yah, yah! W'at I laffin' at? W'y, I's laffin' at myse'f, tooby + sho',—laffin' ter think w'at a fine 'oman I made.' + </p> + <p> + "Chloe tu'nt pale, en her hea't come up in her mouf. + </p> + <p> + "'W'at you mean, nigger?' sez she, ketchin' holt er a bush by de road fer + ter stiddy herse'f. 'W'at you mean by de kin' er 'oman you made?' + </p> + <p> + "W'at do I mean? I means dat I got squared up wid you fer treatin' me de + way you done, en I got eben wid dat yaller nigger Jeff fer cuttin' me out. + Now, he's gwine ter know w'at it is ter eat co'n bread en merlasses once + mo', en wuk fum daylight ter da'k, en ter hab a oberseah dribin' 'im fum + one day's een' ter de udder. I means dat I sont wud ter Jeff dat Sunday + dat you wuz gwine ter be ober ter Mars' Marrabo's visitin' dat ebenin', en + you want i'm ter meet you down by de crick on de way home en go de rest er + de road wid you. En den I put on a frock en a sun-bonnet en fix' myse'f up + ter look lak a 'oman; en w'en Jeff seed me comin' he run ter meet me, en + you seed 'im,—fer I had be'n watchin' in de bushes befo' en + 'skivered you comin' down de road. En now I reckon you en Jeff bofe knows + w'at it means ter mess wid a nigger lak me.' + </p> + <p> + "Po' Chloe hadn' heared mo' d'n half er de las' part er w'at Hannibal + said, but she had heared 'nuff to l'arn dat dis nigger had fooler her en + Jeff, en dat po' Jeff hadn' done nuffin', en dat fer lovin' her too much + en goin' ter meet her she had cause' 'im ter be sol' erway whar she'd + nebber, nebber see 'im no mo'. De sun mought shine by day, de moon by + night, de flowers mought bloom, en de mawkin'-birds mought sing, but po' + Jeff wuz done los' ter her fereber en fereber. + </p> + <p> + "Hannibal hadn' mo' d'n finish' w'at he had ter say, w'en Chloe's knees + gun 'way unner her, en she fell down in de road, en lay dere half a' hour + er so befo' she come to. W'en she did, she crep' up ter de house des ez + pale ez a ghos'. En fer a mont' er so she crawled roun' de house, en + 'peared ter be so po'ly dat Mars' Dugal' sont fer a doctor; en de doctor + kep' on axin' her questions 'tel he foun' she wuz des pinin' erway fer + Jeff. + </p> + <p> + "W'en he tol' Mars' Dugal', Mars' Dugal' lafft, en said he'd fix dat. She + could hab de noo house boy fer a husban'. But ole mis' say, no, Chloe ain' + dat kinder gal, en dat Mars' Dugal' should buy Jeff back. + </p> + <p> + "So Mars' Dugal' writ a letter ter dis yer spekilater down ter Wim'l'ton, + en tol' ef he ain' done sol' dat nigger Souf w'at he bought fum 'im, he'd + lak ter buy 'm back ag'in. Chloe 'mence' ter pick up a little w'en ole + mis' tol' her 'bout dis letter. Howsomeber, bimeby Mars' Dugal' got a' + answer fum de spekilater, who said he wuz monst'us sorry, but Jeff had + fell ove'boa'd er jumped off'n de steamboat on de way ter Wim'l'ton, en + got drownded, en co'se he couldn' sell 'im back, much ez he'd lak ter + 'bleedge Mars' Dugal'. + </p> + <p> + "Well, atter Chloe heared dis she pu'tended ter do her wuk, en ole mis' + wa'n't much mo' use ter nobody. She put up wid her, en hed de doctor gib + her medicine, en let 'er go ter de circus, en all so'ts er things fer ter + take her min' off'n her troubles. But dey didn' none un 'em do no good. + Chloe got ter slippin' down here in de ebenin' des lak she 'uz comin' ter + meet Jeff, en she'd set dere unner dat willer tree on de udder side, en + wait fer 'im, night atter night. Bimeby she got so bad de w'ite folks sont + her ober ter young Mis' Ma'g'ret's fer ter gib her a change; but she + runned erway de fus' night, en w'en dey looked fer 'er nex' mawnin' dey + foun' her co'pse layin' in de branch yander, right 'cross fum whar we're + settin' now. + </p> + <p> + "Eber sence den," said Julius in conclusion, "Chloe's ha'nt comes eve'y + ebenin' en sets down unner dat willer tree en waits fer Jeff, er e'se + walks up en down de road yander, lookin' en lookin', en' [sic] waitin' en + waitin', fer her sweethea't w'at ain' nebber, nebber come back ter her no + mo'." + </p> + <p> + There was silence when the old man had finished, and I am sure I saw a + tear in my wife's eye, and more than one in Mabel's. + </p> + <p> + "I think, Julius," said my wife after a moment, "that you may turn the + mare around and go by the long road." + </p> + <p> + The old man obeyed with alacrity, and I noticed no reluctance on the + mare's part. + </p> + <p> + "You are not afraid of Chloe's haunt, are you?" I asked jocularly. + </p> + <p> + My mood was not responded to, and neither of the ladies smiled. + </p> + <p> + "Oh no," said Annie, "but I've changed my mind. I prefer the other route." + </p> + <p> + When we had reached the main road and had proceeded along it for a short + distance, we met a cart driven by a young negro, and on the cart were a + trunk and a valise. We recognized the man as Malcolm Murchison's servant, + and drew up a moment to speak to him. + </p> + <p> + "Who's going away, Marshall?" I inquired. + </p> + <p> + "Young Mistah Ma'colm gwine 'way on de boat ter Noo Yo'k dis ebenin', suh, + en I'm takin' his things down ter de wharf, suh." + </p> + <p> + This was news to me, and I heard it with regret. My wife looked sorry, + too, and I could see that Mabel was trying hard to hide her concern. + </p> + <p> + "He's comin' 'long behin', suh, en I 'spec's you'll meet 'im up de road a + piece. He's gwine ter walk down ez fur ez Mistah Jim Williams's, en take + de buggy fum dere ter town. He 'spec's ter be gone a long time, suh, en + say prob'ly he ain' nebber comin' back." + </p> + <p> + The man drove on. There were a few words exchanged in an undertone between + my wife and Mabel, which I did not catch. Then Annie said: "Julius, you + may stop the rockaway a moment. There are some trumpet-flowers by the road + there that I want. Will you get them for me, John?" + </p> + <p> + I sprang into the underbrush, and soon returned with a great bunch of + scarlet blossoms. + </p> + <p> + "Where is Mabel?" I asked, noting her absence. + </p> + <p> + "She has walked on ahead. We shall overtake her in a few minutes." + </p> + <p> + The carriage had gone only a short distance when my wife discovered that + she had dropped her fan. + </p> + <p> + "I had it where we were stopping. Julius, will you go back and get it for + me?" + </p> + <p> + Julius got down and went back for the fan. He was an unconscionably long + time finding it. After we got started again we had gone only a little way, + when we saw Mabel and young Murchison coming toward us. They were walking + arm in arm, and their faces were aglow with the light of love. + </p> + <p> + I do not know whether or not Julius had a previous understanding with + Malcolm Murchison by which he was to drive us round by the long road that + day, nor do I know exactly what motive influenced the old man's exertions + in the matter. He was fond of Mabel, but I was old enough, and knew Julius + well enough, to be skeptical of his motives. It is certain that a most + excellent understanding existed between him and Murchison after the + reconciliation, and that when the young people set up housekeeping over at + the old Murchison place Julius had an opportunity to enter their service. + For some reason or other, however, he preferred to remain with us. The + mare, I might add, was never known to balk again. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0016" id="link2H_4_0016"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + A NEGRO SCHOOLMASTER IN THE NEW SOUTH by W. E. Burghardt Du Bois + </h2> + <p> + Once upon a time I taught school in the hills of Tennessee, where the + broad dark vale of the Mississippi begins to roll and crumple to greet the + Alleghanies. I was a Fisk student then, and all Fisk men think that + Tennessee—beyond the Veil—is theirs alone, and in vacation + time they sally forth in lusty bands to meet the county school + commissioners. Young and happy, I too went, and I shall not soon forget + that summer, ten years ago. + </p> + <p> + First, there was a teachers' Institute at the county-seat; and there + distinguished guests of the superintendent taught the teachers fractions + and spelling and other mysteries,—white teachers in the morning, + Negroes at night. A picnic now and then, and a supper, and the rough world + was softened by laughter and song. I remember how—But I wander. + </p> + <p> + There came a day when all the teachers left the Institute, and began the + hunt for schools. I learn from hearsay (for my mother was mortally afraid + of firearms) that the hunting of ducks and bears and men is wonderfully + interesting, but I am sure that the man who has never hunted a country + school has something to learn of the pleasures of the chase. I see now the + white, hot roads lazily rise and fall and wind before me under the burning + July sun; I feel the deep weariness of heart and limb, as ten, eight, six + miles stretch relentlessly ahead; I feel my heart sink heavily as I hear + again and again, "Got a teacher? Yes." So I walked on and on,—horses + were too expensive,—until I had wandered beyond railways, beyond + stage lines, to a land of "varmints" and rattlesnakes, where the coming of + a stranger was an event, and men lived and died in the shadow of one blue + hill. + </p> + <p> + Sprinkled over hill and dale lay cabins and farmhouses, shut out from the + world by the forests and the rolling hills toward the east. There I found + at last a little school. Josie told me of it; she was a thin, homely girl + of twenty, with a dark brown face and thick, hard hair. I had crossed the + stream at Watertown, and rested under the great willows; then I had gone + to the little cabin in the lot where Josie was resting on her way to town. + The gaunt farmer made me welcome, and Josie, hearing my errand, told me + anxiously that they wanted a school over the hill; that but once since the + war had a teacher been there; that she herself longed to learn,—and + thus she ran on, talking fast and loud, with much earnestness and energy. + </p> + <p> + Next morning I crossed the tall round hill, lingered to look at the blue + and yellow mountains stretching toward the Carolinas; then I plunged into + the wood, and came out at Josie's home. It was a dull frame cottage with + four rooms, perched just below the brow of the hill, amid peach trees. The + father was a quiet, simple soul, calmly ignorant, with no touch of + vulgarity. The mother was different,—strong, bustling, and + energetic, with a quick, restless tongue, and an ambition to live "like + folks." There was a crowd of children. Two boys had gone away. There + remained two growing girls; a shy midget of eight; John, tall, awkward, + and eighteen; Jim, younger, quicker, and better looking; and two babies of + indefinite age. Then there was Josie herself. She seemed to be the centre + of the family: always busy at service or at home, or berry-picking; a + little nervous and inclined to scold, like her mother, yet faithful, too, + like her father. She had about her a certain fineness, the shadow of an + unconscious moral heroism that would willingly give all of life to make + life broader, deeper, and fuller for her and hers. I saw much of this + family afterward, and grew to love them for their honest efforts to be + decent and comfortable, and for their knowledge of their own ignorance. + There was with them no affectation. The mother would scold the father for + being so "easy;" Josie would roundly rate the boys for carelessness; and + all knew that it was a hard thing to dig a living out of a rocky side + hill. + </p> + <p> + I secured the school. I remember the day I rode horseback out to the + commissioner's house, with a pleasant young white fellow, who wanted the + white school. The road ran down the bed of a stream; the sun laughed and + the water jingled, and we rode on. "Come in," said the commissioner,—"come + in. Have a seat. Yes, that certificate will do. Stay to dinner. What do + you want a month?" Oh, thought I, this is lucky; but even then fell the + awful shadow of the Veil, for they ate first, then I—alone. + </p> + <p> + The schoolhouse was a log hut, where Colonel Wheeler used to shelter his + corn. It sat in a lot behind a rail fence and thorn bushes, near the + sweetest of springs. There was an entrance where a door once was, and + within, a massive rickety fireplace; great chinks between the logs served + as windows. Furniture was scarce. A pale blackboard crouched in the + corner. My desk was made of three boards, reinforced at critical points, + and my chair, borrowed from the landlady, had to be returned every night. + Seats for the children,—these puzzled me much. I was haunted by a + New England vision of neat little desks and chairs, but, alas, the reality + was rough plank benches without backs, and at times without legs. They had + the one virtue of making naps dangerous,—possibly fatal, for the + floor was not to be trusted. + </p> + <p> + It was a hot morning late in July when the school opened. I trembled when + I heard the patter of little feet down the dusty road, and saw the growing + row of dark solemn faces and bright eager eyes facing me. First came Josie + and her brothers and sisters. The longing to know, to be a student in the + great school at Nashville, hovered like a star above this child woman amid + her work and worry, and she studied doggedly. There were the Dowells from + their farm over toward Alexandria: Fanny, with her smooth black face and + wondering eyes; Martha, brown and dull; the pretty girl wife of a brother, + and the younger brood. There were the Burkes, two brown and yellow lads, + and a tiny haughty-eyed girl. Fat Reuben's little chubby girl came, with + golden face and old gold hair, faithful and solemn. 'Thenie was on hand + early,—a jolly, ugly, good-hearted girl, who slyly dipped snuff and + looked after her little bow-legged brother. When her mother could spare + her, 'Tildy came,—a midnight beauty, with starry eyes and tapering + limbs; and her brother, correspondingly homely. And then the big boys: the + hulking Lawrences; the lazy Neills, unfathered sons of mother and + daughter; Hickman, with a stoop in his shoulders; and the rest. + </p> + <p> + There they sat, nearly thirty of them, on the rough benches, their faces + shading from a pale cream to a deep brown, the little feet bare and + swinging, the eyes full of expectation, with here and there a twinkle of + mischief, and the hands grasping Webster's blue-back spelling-book. I + loved my school, and the fine faith the children had in the wisdom of + their teacher was truly marvelous. We read and spelled together, wrote a + little, picked flowers, sang, and listened to stories of the world beyond + the hill. At times the school would dwindle away, and I would start out. I + would visit Mun Eddings, who lived in two very dirty rooms, and ask why + little Lugene, whose flaming face seemed ever ablaze with the dark red + hair uncombed, was absent all last week, or why I missed so often the + inimitable rags of Mack and Ed. Then the father, who worked Colonel + Wheeler's farm on shares, would tell me how the crops needed the boys; and + the thin, slovenly mother, whose face was pretty when washed, assured me + that Lugene must mind the baby. "But we'll start them again next week." + When the Lawrences stopped, I knew that the doubts of the old folks about + book-learning had conquered again, and so, toiling up the hill, and + getting as far into the cabin as possible, I put Cicero pro Archia Poeta + into the simplest English with local applications, and usually convinced + them—for a week or so. + </p> + <p> + On Friday nights I often went home with some of the children; sometimes to + Doc Burke's farm. He was a great, loud, thin Black, ever working, and + trying to buy the seventy-five acres of hill and dale where he lived; but + people said that he would surely fail, and the "white folks would get it + all." His wife was a magnificent Amazon, with saffron face and shining + hair, uncorseted and barefooted, and the children were strong and + beautiful. They lived in a one-and-a-half-room cabin in the hollow of the + farm, near the spring. The front room was full of great fat white beds, + scrupulously neat; and there were bad chromos on the walls, and a tired + centre-table. In the tiny back kitchen I was often invited to "take out + and help" myself to fried chicken and wheat biscuit, "meat" and corn pone, + string beans and berries. At first I used to be a little alarmed at the + approach of bed-time in the one lone bedroom, but embarrassment was very + deftly avoided. First, all the children nodded and slept, and were stowed + away in one great pile of goose feathers; next, the mother and the father + discreetly slipped away to the kitchen while I went to bed; then, blowing + out the dim light, they retired in the dark. In the morning all were up + and away before I thought of awaking. Across the road, where fat Reuben + lived, they all went outdoors while the teacher retired, because they did + not boast the luxury of a kitchen. + </p> + <p> + I liked to stay with the Dowells, for they had four rooms and plenty of + good country fare. Uncle Bird had a small, rough farm, all woods and + hills, miles from the big road; but he was full of tales,—he + preached now and then,—and with his children, berries, horses, and + wheat he was happy and prosperous. Often, to keep the peace, I must go + where life was less lovely; for instance, 'Tildy's mother was incorrigibly + dirty, Reuben's larder was limited seriously, and herds of untamed bedbugs + wandered over the Eddingses' beds. Best of all I loved to go to Josie's, + and sit on the porch, eating peaches, while the mother bustled and talked: + how Josie had bought the sewing-machine; how Josie worked at service in + winter, but that four dollars a month was "mighty little" wages; how Josie + longed to go away to school, but that it "looked like" they never could + get far enough ahead to let her; how the crops failed and the well was yet + unfinished; and, finally, how "mean" some of the white folks were. + </p> + <p> + For two summers I lived in this little world; it was dull and humdrum. The + girls looked at the hill in wistful longing, and the boys fretted, and + haunted Alexandria. Alexandria was "town,"—a straggling, lazy + village of houses, churches, and shops, and an aristocracy of Toms, Dicks, + and Captains. Cuddled on the hill to the north was the village of the + colored folks, who lived in three or four room unpainted cottages, some + neat and homelike, and some dirty. The dwellings were scattered rather + aimlessly, but they centred about the twin temples of the hamlet, the + Methodist and the Hard-Shell Baptist churches. These, in turn, leaned + gingerly on a sad-colored schoolhouse. Hither my little world wended its + crooked way on Sunday to meet other worlds, and gossip, and wonder, and + make the weekly sacrifice with frenzied priest at the altar of the + "old-time religion." Then the soft melody and mighty cadences of Negro + song fluttered and thundered. + </p> + <p> + I have called my tiny community a world, and so its isolation made it; and + yet there was among us but a half-awakened common consciousness, sprung + from common joy and grief, at burial, birth, or wedding; from a common + hardship in poverty, poor land, and low wages; and, above all, from the + sight of the Veil that hung between us and Opportunity. All this caused us + to think some thoughts together; but these, when ripe for speech, were + spoken in various languages. Those whose eyes thirty and more years before + had seen "the glory of the coming of the Lord" saw in every present + hindrance or help a dark fatalism bound to bring all things right in His + own good time. The mass of those to whom slavery was a dim recollection of + childhood found the world a puzzling thing: it asked little of them, and + they answered with little, and yet it ridiculed their offering. Such a + paradox they could not understand, and therefore sank into listless + indifference, or shiftlessness, or reckless bravado. There were, however, + some such as Josie, Jim, and Ben,—they to whom War, Hell, and + Slavery were but childhood tales, whose young appetites had been whetted + to an edge by school and story and half-awakened thought. Ill could they + be content, born without and beyond the World. And their weak wings beat + against their barriers,—barriers of caste, of youth, of life; at + last, in dangerous moments, against everything that opposed even a whim. + </p> + <p> + The ten years that follow youth, the years when first the realization + comes that life is leading somewhere,—these were the years that + passed after I left my little school. When they were past, I came by + chance once more to the walls of Fisk University, to the halls of the + chapel of melody. As I lingered there in the joy and pain of meeting old + school friends, there swept over me a sudden longing to pass again beyond + the blue hill, and to see the homes and the school of other days, and to + learn how life had gone with my school-children; and I went. + </p> + <p> + Josie was dead, and the gray-haired mother said simply, "We've had a heap + of trouble since you've been away." I had feared for Jim. With a cultured + parentage and a social caste to uphold him, he might have made a + venturesome merchant or a West Point cadet. But here he was, angry with + life and reckless; and when Farmer Durham charged him with stealing wheat, + the old man had to ride fast to escape the stones which the furious fool + hurled after him. They told Jim to run away; but he would not run, and the + constable came that afternoon. It grieved Josie, and great awkward John + walked nine miles every day to see his little brother through the bars of + Lebanon jail. At last the two came back together in the dark night. The + mother cooked supper, and Josie emptied her purse, and the boys stole + away. Josie grew thin and silent, yet worked the more. The hill became + steep for the quiet old father, and with the boys away there was little to + do in the valley. Josie helped them sell the old farm, and they moved + nearer town. Brother Dennis, the carpenter, built a new house with six + rooms; Josie toiled a year in Nashville, and brought back ninety dollars + to furnish the house and change it to a home. + </p> + <p> + When the spring came, and the birds twittered, and the stream ran proud + and full, little sister Lizzie, bold and thoughtless, flushed with the + passion of youth, bestowed herself on the tempter, and brought home a + nameless child. Josie shivered, and worked on, with the vision of + schooldays all fled, with a face wan and tired,—worked until, on a + summer's day, some one married another; then Josie crept to her mother + like a hurt child, and slept—and sleeps. + </p> + <p> + I paused to scent the breeze as I entered the valley. The Lawrences have + gone; father and son forever, and the other son lazily digs in the earth + to live. A new young widow rents out their cabin to fat Reuben. Reuben is + a Baptist preacher now, but I fear as lazy as ever, though his cabin has + three rooms; and little Ella has grown into a bouncing woman, and is + ploughing corn on the hot hillside. There are babies a plenty, and one + half-witted girl. Across the valley is a house I did not know before, and + there I found, rocking one baby and expecting another, one of my + schoolgirls, a daughter of Uncle Bird Dowell. She looked somewhat worried + with her new duties, but soon bristled into pride over her neat cabin, and + the tale of her thrifty husband, the horse and cow, and the farm they were + planning to buy. + </p> + <p> + My log schoolhouse was gone. In its place stood Progress, and Progress, I + understand, is necessarily ugly. The crazy foundation stones still marked + the former site of my poor little cabin, and not far away, on six weary + boulders, perched a jaunty board house, perhaps twenty by thirty feet, + with three windows and a door that locked. Some of the window glass was + broken, and part of an old iron stove lay mournfully under the house. I + peeped through the window half reverently, and found things that were more + familiar. The blackboard had grown by about two feet, and the seats were + still without backs. The county owns the lot now, I hear, and every year + there is a session of school. As I sat by the spring and looked on the Old + and the New I felt glad, very glad, and yet— + </p> + <p> + After two long drinks I started on. There was the great double log house + on the corner. I remembered the broken, blighted family that used to live + there. The strong, hard face of the mother, with its wilderness of hair, + rose before me. She had driven her husband away, and while I taught school + a strange man lived there, big and jovial, and people talked. I felt sure + that Ben and 'Tildy would come to naught from such a home. But this is an + odd world; for Ben is a busy farmer in Smith County, "doing well, too," + they say, and he had cared for little 'Tildy until last spring, when a + lover married her. A hard life the lad had led, toiling for meat, and + laughed at because he was homely and crooked. There was Sam Carlon, an + impudent old skinflint, who had definite notions about niggers, and hired + Ben a summer and would not pay him. Then the hungry boy gathered his sacks + together, and in broad daylight went into Carlon's corn; and when the + hard-fisted farmer set upon him, the angry boy flew at him like a beast. + Doc Burke saved a murder and a lynching that day. + </p> + <p> + The story reminded me again of the Burkes, and an impatience seized me to + know who won in the battle, Doc or the seventy-five acres. For it is a + hard thing to make a farm out of nothing, even in fifteen years. So I + hurried on, thinking of the Burkes. They used to have a certain + magnificent barbarism about them that I liked. They were never vulgar, + never immoral, but rather rough and primitive, with an unconventionality + that spent itself in loud guffaws, slaps on the back, and naps in the + corner. I hurried by the cottage of the misborn Neill boys. It was empty, + and they were grown into fat, lazy farm hands. I saw the home of the + Hickmans, but Albert, with his stooping shoulders, had passed from the + world. Then I came to the Burkes' gate and peered through; the inclosure + looked rough and untrimmed, and yet there were the same fences around the + old farm save to the left, where lay twenty-five other acres. And lo! the + cabin in the hollow had climbed the hill and swollen to a half-finished + six-room cottage. + </p> + <p> + The Burkes held a hundred acres, but they were still in debt. Indeed, the + gaunt father who toiled night and day would scarcely be happy out of debt, + being so used to it. Some day he must stop, for his massive frame is + showing decline. The mother wore shoes, but the lionlike physique of other + days was broken. The children had grown up. Rob, the image of his father, + was loud and rough with laughter. Birdie, my school baby of six, had grown + to a picture of maiden beauty, tall and tawny. "Edgar is gone," said the + mother, with head half bowed,—"gone to work in Nashville; he and his + father couldn't agree." + </p> + <p> + Little Doc, the boy born since the time of my school, took me horseback + down the creek next morning toward Farmer Dowell's. The road and the + stream were battling for mastery, and the stream had the better of it. We + splashed and waded, and the merry boy, perched behind me, chattered and + laughed. He showed me where Simon Thompson had bought a bit of ground and + a home; but his daughter Lana, a plump, brown, slow girl, was not there. + She had married a man and a farm twenty miles away. We wound on down the + stream till we came to a gate that I did not recognize, but the boy + insisted that it was "Uncle Bird's." The farm was fat with the growing + crop. In that little valley was a strange stillness as I rode up; for + death and marriage had stolen youth, and left age and childhood there. We + sat and talked that night, after the chores were done. Uncle Bird was + grayer, and his eyes did not see so well, but he was still jovial. We + talked of the acres bought,—one hundred and twenty-five,—of + the new guest chamber added, of Martha's marrying. Then we talked of + death: Fanny and Fred were gone; a shadow hung over the other daughter, + and when it lifted she was to go to Nashville to school. At last we spoke + of the neighbors, and as night fell Uncle Bird told me how, on a night + like that, 'Thenie came wandering back to her home over yonder, to escape + the blows of her husband. And next morning she died in the home that her + little bow-legged brother, working and saving, had bought for their + widowed mother. + </p> + <p> + My journey was done, and behind me lay hill and dale, and Life and Death. + How shall man measure Progress there where the dark-faced Josie lies? How + many heartfuls of sorrow shall balance a bushel of wheat? How hard a thing + is life to the lowly, and yet how human and real! And all this life and + love and strife and failure,—is it the twilight of nightfall or the + flush of some faint-dawning day? + </p> + <p> + Thus sadly musing, I rode to Nashville in the Jim Crow car. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0017" id="link2H_4_0017"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE CAPTURE OF A SLAVER by J. Taylor Wood + </h2> + <p> + From 1830 to 1850 both Great Britain and the United States, by joint + convention, kept on the coast of Africa at least eighty guns afloat for + the suppression of the slave trade. Most of the vessels so employed were + small corvettes, brigs, or schooners; steam at that time was just being + introduced into the navies of the world. + </p> + <p> + Nearly fifty years ago I was midshipman on the United States brig + Porpoise, of ten guns. Some of my readers may remember these little + ten-gun coffins, as many of them proved to be to their crews. The Porpoise + was a fair sample of the type; a full-rigged brig of one hundred and + thirty tons, heavily sparred, deep waisted, and carrying a battery of + eight twenty-four-pound carronades and two long chasers; so wet that even + in a moderate breeze or sea it was necessary to batten down; and so tender + that she required careful watching; only five feet between decks, her + quarters were necessarily cramped and uncomfortable, and, as far as + possible, we lived on deck. With a crew of eighty all told, Lieutenant + Thompson was in command, Lieutenant Bukett executive officer, and two + midshipmen were the line officers. She was so slow that we could hardly + hope for a prize except by a fluke. Repeatedly we had chased suspicious + craft only to be out-sailed. + </p> + <p> + At this time the traffic in slaves was very brisk; the demand in the + Brazils, in Cuba, and in other Spanish West Indies was urgent, and the + profit of the business so great that two or three successful ventures + would enrich any one. The slavers were generally small, handy craft; fast, + of course; usually schooner-rigged, and carrying flying topsails and + forecourse. Many were built in England or elsewhere purposely for the + business, without, of course, the knowledge of the builders, ostensibly as + yachts or traders. The Spaniards and Portuguese were the principal + offenders, with occasionally an English-speaking renegade. + </p> + <p> + The slave depots, or barracoons, were generally located some miles up a + river. Here the slaver was secure from capture and could embark his live + cargo at his leisure. Keeping a sharp lookout on the coast, the dealers + were able to follow the movements of the cruisers, and by means of smoke, + or in other ways, signal when the coast was clear for the coming down the + river and sailing of the loaded craft. Before taking in the cargoes they + were always fortified with all the necessary papers and documents to show + they were engaged in legitimate commerce, so it was only when caught in + flagrante delicto that we could hold them. + </p> + <p> + We had been cruising off the coast of Liberia doing nothing, when we were + ordered to the Gulf of Guinea to watch the Bonny and Cameroons mouths of + the great Niger River. Our consort was H.M. schooner Bright, a beautiful + craft about our tonnage, but with half our crew, and able to sail three + miles to our two. She was an old slaver, captured and adapted as a + cruiser. She had been very successful, making several important captures + of full cargoes, and twice or thrice her commanding officer and others had + been promoted. Working our way slowly down the coast in company with the + Bright, we would occasionally send a boat on shore to reconnoitre or + gather any information we could from the natives through our Krooman + interpreter. A few glasses of rum or a string of beads would loosen the + tongue of almost any one. At Little Bonny we heard that two vessels were + some miles up the river, ready to sail, and were only waiting until the + coast was clear. Captain James, of the Bright, thought that one, if not + both, would sail from another outlet of the river, about thirty miles to + the southward, and determined to watch it. + </p> + <p> + We both stood to that direction. Of course we were watched from the shore, + and the slavers were kept posted as to our movements. They supposed we had + both gone to the Cameroons, leaving Little Bonny open; but after dark, + with a light land breeze, we wore round and stood to the northward, + keeping offshore some distance, so that captains leaving the river might + have sufficient offing to prevent their reaching port again or beaching + their craft. At daybreak, as far as we could judge, we were about twenty + miles offshore to the northward and westward of Little Bonny, in the track + of any vessel bound for the West Indies. The night was dark with + occasional rain squalls, when the heavens would open and the water come + down in a flood. Anxiously we all watched for daylight, which comes under + the equator with a suddenness very different from the prolonged twilight + of higher latitudes. At the first glimmer in the east every eye was + strained on the horizon, all eager, all anxious to be the first to sight + anything within our vision. The darkness soon gave way to gray morn. Day + was dawning, when suddenly a Krooman by my side seized my hand and, + without saying a word, pointed inshore. I looked, but could see nothing. + All eyes were focused in that direction, and in a few minutes the faint + outline of a vessel appeared against the sky. She was some miles inshore + of us, and as the day brightened we made her out to be a brigantine (an + uncommon rig in those days), standing across our bows, with all studding + sails set on the starboard side, indeed everything that could pull, + including water sails and save-all. We were on the same tack heading to + the northward. We set everything that would draw, and kept off two points, + bringing the wind abeam so as to head her off. + </p> + <p> + The breeze was light and off the land. We had not yet been seen against + the darker western horizon, but we knew it could only be a few minutes + longer before their sharp eyes would make us out. Soon we saw the studding + sails and all kites come down by the run and her yards braced up sharp on + the same tack as ours. We also hauled by the wind. At sunrise she was four + points on our weather bow, distant about four miles. We soon perceived + that she could outsail our brig and if the wind held would escape. + Gradually she drew away from us until she was hull down. Our only hope now + was that the land breeze would cease and the sea breeze come in. As the + sun rose we gladly noticed the wind lessening, until at eleven o'clock it + was calm. Not a breath ruffled the surface of the sea; the sun's rays in + the zenith were reflected as from a mirror; the waters seemed like molten + lead. + </p> + <p> + I know of nothing more depressing than a calm in the tropics,—a + raging sun overhead, around an endless expanse of dead sea, and a feeling + of utter helplessness that is overpowering. What if this should last? what + a fate! The Rime of the Ancient Mariner comes to our mind. Come storm and + tempest, come hurricanes and blizzards, anything but an endless + stagnation. For some hours we watched earnestly the horizon to the + westward, looking for the first dark break on the smooth sea. Not a cloud + was in the heavens. The brig appeared to be leaving us either by towing or + by sweeps; only her topgallant sail was above the horizon. It looked as if + the sea breeze would desert us. It usually came in about one o'clock, but + that hour and another had passed and yet we watched for the first change. + Without a breeze our chances of overhauling the stranger were gone. Only a + white speck like the wing of a gull now marked her whereabouts on the edge + of the horizon, and in another hour she would be invisible even from the + masthead. + </p> + <p> + When we were about to despair, our head Krooman drew the captain's + attention to the westward and said the breeze was coming. We saw no signs + of it, but his quick eye had noticed light feathery clouds rising to the + westward, a sure indication of the coming breeze. Soon we could see the + glassy surface ruffled at different points as the breeze danced over it, + coming on like an advancing line of skirmishers; and as we felt its first + gentle movement on our parched faces, it was welcome indeed, putting new + life into all of us. The crew needed no encouragement to spring to their + work. As the little brig felt the breeze and gathered steerageway, she was + headed for the chase, bringing the wind on her starboard quarter. In less + than five minutes all the studding sails that would draw were set, as well + as everything that would pull. The best quartermaster was sent to the + wheel, with orders to keep the chase directly over the weather end of the + spritsail yard. The captain ordered the sails wet, an expedient I never + had much faith in, unless the sails are very old. But as if to recompense + us for the delay, the breeze came in strong and steady. Our one hope now + was to follow it up close, and to carry it within gunshot of the brig, for + if she caught it before we were within range she would certainly escape. + All hands were piped to quarters, and the long eighteen-pounder on the + forecastle was loaded with a full service charge; on this piece we relied + to cripple the chase. We were now rapidly raising her, and I was sent + aloft on the fore topsail yard, with a good glass to watch her movements. + Her hull was in sight and she was still becalmed, though her head was + pointed in the right direction, and everything was set to catch the coming + breeze. She carried a boat on each side at the davits like a man-of-war, + and I reported that I could make out men securing them. They had been + towing her, and only stopped when they saw us drawing near. + </p> + <p> + Anxiously we watched the breeze on the water as it narrowed the sheen + between us, and we were yet two miles or more distant when she first felt + the breeze. As she did so we hoisted the English blue ensign,—for + the fleet at this time was under a Rear Admiral of the Blue,—and + fired a weather gun, but no response was made. Fortunately the wind + continued to freshen and the Porpoise was doing wonderfully well. We were + rapidly closing the distance between us. We fired another gun, but no + attention was paid to it. I noticed from the movements of the crew of the + brig that they were getting ready for some manoeuvre, and reported to the + captain. He divined at once what the manoeuvre would be, and ordered the + braces be led along, hands by the studding-sail halyards and tacks, and + everything ready to haul by the wind. We felt certain now of the character + of our friend, and the men were already calculating the amount of their + prize money. We were now within range, and must clip her wings if + possible. + </p> + <p> + The first lieutenant was ordered to open fire with the eighteen-pounder. + Carefully the gun was laid, and as the order "fire" was given, down came + our English flag, and the stop of the Stars and Stripes was broken at the + gaff. The first shot touched the water abeam of the chase and ricochetted + ahead of her. She showed the Spanish flag. The captain of the gun was + ordered to elevate a little more and try again. The second shot let + daylight through her fore topsail, but the third was wide again. + </p> + <p> + Then the sharp, quick order of the captain, "Fore topsail yard there, come + down on deck, sir!" brought me down on the run. "Have both cutters cleared + away and ready for lowering," were my orders as I reached the + quarter-deck. Practice from the bow chasers continued, but the smoke that + drifted ahead of us interfered with the accuracy of the firing, and no + vital part was touched, though a number of shots went through her sails. + The captain in the main rigging never took his eye from the Spaniard, + evidently expecting that as a fox when hard pressed doubles on the hounds, + the chase would attempt the same thing. And he was not disappointed, for + when we had come within easy range of her, the smoke hid her from view for + a few minutes, and as it dispersed the first glimpse showed the captain + that her studding sails had all gone, and that she had hauled by the wind, + standing across our weather bow. Her captain had lost no time in taking in + his studding sails; halyards, tacks, and sheets had all been cut together + and dropped overboard. + </p> + <p> + It was a bold and well-executed manoeuvre, and we could not help admiring + the skill with which she was handled. However, we had been prepared for + this move. "Ease down your helm." "Lower away. Haul down the studding + sails." "Ease away the weather braces. Brace up." "Trim down the head + sheets," were the orders which followed in rapid succession, and were as + quickly executed. The Spaniard was now broad on our lee bow, distant not + more than half a mile, but as she felt the wind which we brought down she + fairly spun through the water, exposing her bright copper. She was both + head-reaching and outsailing us; in half an hour she would have been right + ahead of us, and in an hour the sun would be down. It was now or never. We + could bring nothing to bear except the gun on the forecastle. Fortunately + it continued smooth, and we were no longer troubled with smoke. Shot after + shot went hissing through the air after her; a number tore through the + sails or rigging, but not a spar was touched nor an important rope cut. We + could see some of her crew aloft reeving and stopping braces and ready to + repair any damage done, working as coolly under fire as old man-of-war's + men. But while we were looking, down came the gaff of her mainsail, and + the gaff-topsail fell all adrift; a lucky shot had cut her peak halyards. + Our crew cheered with a will. "Well done, Hobson; try it again!" called + the captain to the boatswain's mate, who was captain of the gun. + </p> + <p> + After the next shot, the topgallant yard swayed for a few minutes and fell + forward. The order was given to cease firing; she was at our mercy. We + were rapidly nearing the chase, when she backed her topsail. We kept off, + and when within easy range of the carronades "hove to" to windward. + Lieutenant Bukett was ordered to board her in the first cutter and take + charge. I followed in the second cutter, with orders to bring the captain + on board with his papers. A few strokes sent us alongside of a brig about + our tonnage, but with a low rail and a flush deck. The crew, some eighteen + or twenty fine-looking seamen, were forward eagerly discussing the + situation of affairs. The captain was aft with his two officers, talking + to Lieutenant Bukett. He was fair, with light hair curling all over his + head, beard cut short, about forty years of age, well set up, with a frame + like a Roman wrestler, evidently a tough customer in a rough-and-ready + scrimmage. + </p> + <p> + He spoke fairly good English, and was violently denouncing the outrage + done to his flag; his government would demand instant satisfaction for + firing upon a legitimate trader on the high seas. I have the lieutenant + Captain Thompson's orders, to bring the captain and his papers on board at + once. His harangue was cut short by orders to get on board my boat. He + swore with a terrible oath that he would never leave his vessel. "Come on + board, men," said I, and twenty of our crew were on deck in a jiffy. I + stationed my coxswain, Parker, at the cabin companion way with orders to + allow no one to pass. "Now," said Lieutenant Bukett to the Spaniard, "I + will take you on board in irons unless you go quietly." He hesitated a + moment, then said he would come as soon as he had gone below to bring up + his papers. "No, never mind your papers; I will find them," said the + lieutenant, for he saw the devil in the Spaniard's eyes, and knew he meant + mischief. Our captive made one bound for the companion way, however, and + seizing Parker by the throat hurled him into the water ways as if he had + been a rag baby. But fortunately he slipped on a small grating and fell on + his knees, and before he could recover himself two of our men threw + themselves upon him. + </p> + <p> + I closed the companion way. The struggle was desperate for a few minutes, + for the Spaniard seemed possessed of the furies, and his efforts were + almost superhuman. Twice he threw the men from him across the deck, but + they were reinforced by Parker, who, smarting under his discomfiture, + rushed in, determined to down him. I was anxious to end it with my pistol, + but Lieutenant Bukett would not consent. The Spaniard's officers and men + made some demonstration to assist, but they were quickly disposed of: his + two mates were put in irons and the crew driven forward. Struggling, + fighting, every limb and every muscle at work, the captain was + overpowered; a piece of the signal halyards brought his hands together, + and handcuffs were slipped on his wrists. Only then he succumbed, and + begged Lieutenant Bukett to blow out his brains, for he had been treated + like a pirate. + </p> + <p> + Without doubt if he had reached the cabin he would have blown up the + vessel, for in a locker over the transom were two open kegs of powder. I + led him to my boat, assisted him in, and returned to the Porpoise. As soon + as the Spaniard reached the deck the captain ordered his irons removed, + and expressed his regret that it had been necessary to use force. The + prisoner only bowed and said nothing. The captain asked him what his cargo + consisted of. He replied, "About four hundred blacks bound to the + Brazils." + </p> + <p> + I was then ordered to return to the brig, bring on board her crew, leaving + only the cook and steward, and to take charge of the prize as Lieutenant + Bukett, our first lieutenant, was not yet wholly recovered from an attack + of African fever. The crew of twenty men, when brought on board, consisted + of Spaniards, Greeks, Malays, Arabs, white and black, but had not one + Anglo-Saxon. They were ironed in pairs and put under guard. + </p> + <p> + From the time we first got on board we had heard moans, cries, and + rumblings coming from below, and as soon as the captain and crew were + removed, the hatches had been taken off, when there arose a hot blast as + from a charnel house, sickening and overpowering. In the hold were three + or four hundred human beings, gasping, struggling for breath, dying; their + bodies, limbs, faces, all expressing terrible suffering. In their + agonizing fight for life, some had torn or wounded themselves or their + neighbors dreadfully; some were stiffened in the most unnatural positions. + As soon as I knew the condition of things I sent the boat back for the + doctor and some whiskey. It returned bringing Captain Thompson, and for an + hour or more we were all hard at work lifting and helping the poor + creatures on deck, where they were laid out in rows. A little water and + stimulant revived most of them; some, however, were dead or too far gone + to be resuscitated. The doctor worked earnestly over each one, but + seventeen were beyond human skill. As fast as he pronounced them dead they + were quickly dropped overboard. + </p> + <p> + Night closed in with our decks covered so thickly with the ebony bodies + that with difficulty we could move about; fortunately they were as quiet + as so many snakes. In the meantime the first officer, Mr. Block, was + sending up a new topgallant yard, reeving new rigging, repairing the + sails, and getting everything ataunto aloft. The Kroomen were busy washing + out and fumigating the hold, getting ready for our cargo again. It would + have been a very anxious night, except that I felt relieved by the + presence of the brig which kept within hail. Soon after daybreak Captain + Thompson came on board again, and we made a count of the captives as they + were sent below; 188 men and boys, and 166 women and girls. Seeing + everything snug and in order the captain returned to the brig, giving me + final orders to proceed with all possible dispatch to Monrovia, Liberia, + land the negroes, then sail for Porto Praya, Cape de Verde Islands, and + report to the commodore. As the brig hauled to the wind and stood to the + southward and eastward I dipped my colors, when her crew jumped into the + rigging and gave us three cheers, which we returned. + </p> + <p> + As she drew away from us I began to realize my position and + responsibility: a young midshipman, yet in my teens, commanding a prize, + with three hundred and fifty prisoners on board, two or three weeks' sail + from port, with only a small crew. From the first I kept all hands aft + except two men on the lookout, and the weather was so warm that we could + all sleep on deck. I also ordered the men never to lay aside their pistols + or cutlasses, except when working aloft, but my chief reliance was in my + knowledge of the negro,—of his patient, docile disposition. Born and + bred a slave he never thought of any other condition, and he accepted the + situation without a murmur. I had never heard of blacks rising or + attempting to gain their freedom on board a slaver. + </p> + <p> + My charges were all of a deep black; from fifteen to twenty-five years of + age, and, with a few exceptions, nude, unless copper or brass rings on + their ankles or necklaces of cowries can be described as articles of + dress. All were slashed, or had the scars of branding on their foreheads + and cheeks; these marks were the distinguishing features of different + tribes or families. The men's hair had been cut short, and their heads + looked in some cases as if they had been shaven. The women, on the + contrary, wore their hair "a la pompadour;" the coarse kinky locks were + sometimes a foot or more above their heads, and trained square or round + like a boxwood bush. Their features were of the pronounced African type, + but, notwithstanding this disfigurement, were not unpleasing in + appearance. The figures of all were very good, straight, well developed, + some of the young men having bodies that would have graced a Mercury or an + Apollo. Their hands were small, showing no evidences of work, only the + cruel marks of shackles. These in some cases had worn deep furrows on + their wrists or ankles. + </p> + <p> + They were obedient to all orders as far as they understood them, and + would, I believe, have jumped overboard if told to do so. I forbade the + men to treat them harshly or cruelly. I had the sick separated from the + others, and allowed them to remain on deck all the time, and in this way I + partly gained their confidence. I was anxious to learn their story. + Fortunately one of the Kroomen found among the prisoners a native of a + tribe living near the coast, and with him as interpreter was able to make + himself understood. After a good deal of questioning I learned that most + of them were from a long distance in the interior, some having been one + and some two moons on the way, traveling partly by land and partly by + river until they reached the coast. They had been sold by their kings or + by their parents to the Arab trader for firearms or for rum. Once at the + depots near the coast, they were sold by the Arabs or other traders to the + slave captains for from twenty-five to fifty dollars a head. In the + Brazils or West Indies they were worth from two to five hundred dollars. + This wide margin, of course, attracted unscrupulous and greedy + adventurers, who if they succeeded in running a few cargoes would enrich + themselves. + </p> + <p> + Our daily routine was simple. At six in the morning the rope netting over + the main hatch which admitted light and air was taken off, and twenty-five + of each sex were brought up, and seated in two circles, one on each side + of the deck. A large pan of boiled paddy was then placed in the centre by + the cook and all went to work with their hands. A few minutes sufficed to + dispose of every grain; then one of the Kroomen gave each of them a cup of + water from a bucket. For half an hour after the meal they had the liberty + of the deck, except the poop, for exercise, to wash and to sun themselves; + for sunshine to a negro is meat and drink. At the end of this time they + were sent below and another fifty brought up, and so on until all had been + fed and watered. Paddy or rice was the staple article of food. At dinner + boiled yams were given with the rice. Our passengers were quartered on a + flying deck extending from the foremast to a point twenty feet abaft the + main hatch from which came light and air. The height was about five feet; + the men had one side and the women the other. Of course there was no + furnishing of any kind, but all lay prone upon the bare deck in rows. + </p> + <p> + Every morning after breakfast the Kroomen would rig the force pump, screw + on the hose and drench them all, washing out thoroughly between decks. + They appeared to enjoy this, and it was cooling, for be it remembered we + were close under the equator, the thermometer dancing about 90 deg. As the + water was sluiced over them they would rub and scrub each other. Only the + girls would try not to get their hair wet, for they were at all times + particular about their headdress. It may be that this was the only part of + their toilet that gave them any concern. + </p> + <p> + The winds were baffling and light, so we made but slow progress. + Fortunately frequent rains, with sometimes a genuine tropical downpour or + cloud-burst, gave us an opportunity of replenishing our water casks, and + by spreading the awnings we were able to get a good supply. I found on + inspection that there were at least thirty days' provisions on board, so + on this score and that of water I felt easy. I lived on deck, seldom using + the cabin, which was a veritable arsenal, with racks of muskets and + cutlasses on two sides, many more than the captain needed to arm his crew, + evidently intended for barter. Two or three prints of his favorite saints, + ornamented with sharks' teeth, hung on one bulkhead. A well-thrummed + mandolin and a number of French novels proved him to be a musical and + literary fellow, who could probably play a bolero while making a + troublesome slave walk a plank. I found also some choice vintages from the + Douro and Bordeaux snugly stowed in his spirit locker, which proved good + medicines for some of our captives, who required stimulants. Several of + the girls were much reduced, refused nearly all food, and were only kept + alive by a little wine and water. Two finally died of mere inanition. + Their death did not in the least affect their fellows, who appeared + perfectly indifferent and callous to all their surroundings, showing not + the least sympathy or desire to help or wait on one another. + </p> + <p> + The fifth day after parting from the brig we encountered a tropical storm. + The sun rose red and angry, and owing to the great refraction appeared + three times its natural size. It climbed lazily to the zenith, and at noon + we were shadowless. The sky was as calm as a vault, and the surface of the + water was like burnished steel. The heat became so stifling that even the + Africans were gasping for breath, and we envied them their freedom from + all impediments. The least exertion was irksome, and attended with extreme + lassitude. During the afternoon thin cirri clouds, flying very high, + spread out over the western heavens like a fan. As the day lengthened they + thickened to resemble the scales of a fish, bringing to mind the old + saying, "A mackerel sky and a mare's tail," etc. The signs were all + unmistakable, and even the gulls recognized a change, and, screaming, + sought shelter on our spars. Mr. Block was ordered to send down all the + light yards and sails; to take in and furl everything, using storm + gaskets, except on the fore and main storm staysails; to lash everything + on deck; to batten down the hatches, except one square of the main; see + all the shifting boards in place, so that our living cargo would not be + thrown to leeward higgledy-piggledy, and to take four or five of the worst + cases of the sick into the cabin and lay them on the floor. + </p> + <p> + The sun disappeared behind a mountainous mass of leaden-colored clouds + which rose rapidly in the southern and western quarters. To the eastward, + also, the signs were threatening. Night came on suddenly as it does in the + tropics. Soon the darkness enveloped us, a palpable veil. A noise like the + march of a mighty host was heard, which proved to be the approach of a + tropical flood, heralded by drops as large as marbles. It churned the + still waters into a phosphorescent foam which rendered the darkness only + more oppressive. The rain came down as it can come only in the Bight of + Benin. The avalanche cooled us, reducing the temperature ten or fifteen + degrees, giving us new life, and relieving our fevered blood. I told Mr. + Block to throw back the tarpaulin over the main hatch and let our dusky + friends get some benefit of it. In half an hour the rain ceased, but it + was as calm and ominous as ever. + </p> + <p> + I knew this was but the forerunner of something worse to follow, and we + had not long to wait, for suddenly a blinding flash of lightning darted + through the gloom from east to west, followed by one in the opposite + direction. Without intermission, one blaze after another and thunder + crashing until our eyes were blinded and our ears deafened, a thousand + times ten thousand pieces of artillery thundered away. We seemed utterly + helpless and insignificant. "How wonderful are Thy works," came to my + mind. Still no wind; the brig lay helpless. + </p> + <p> + Suddenly, as a slap in the face, the wind struck us,—on the + starboard quarter, fortunately. "Hard-a-starboard." "Hanl aft port fore + staysail sheet," I called. But before she could gather way she was thrown + down by the wind like a reed. She was "coming to" instead of "going off," + and I tried to get the main storm staysail down but could not make myself + heard. She was lying on her broadside. Luckily the water was smooth as + yet. The main staysail shot out of the boltropes with a report like a + twelve-pounder, and this eased her so that if the fore staysail would only + hold she would go off. For a few minutes all we could do was to hold on, + our lee rail in the water; but the plucky little brig rallied a little, + her head went off inch by inch, and as she gathered way she righted, and + catching the wind on our quarter we were off like a shot out of a gun. I + knew we were too near the vortex of the disturbance for the wind to hang + long in one quarter, so watched anxiously for a change. The sea rose + rapidly while we were running to the northward on her course, and after a + lull of a few minutes the wind opened from the eastward, butt end + foremost, a change of eight points. Nothing was to be done but heave to, + and this in a cross sea where pitch, weather roll, lee lurch, followed one + another in such earnest that it was a wonder her masts were not switched + out of her. + </p> + <p> + I passed an anxious night, most concerned about the poor creatures under + hatches, whose sufferings must have been terrible. To prevent their + suffocating I kept two men at the main hatch with orders to lift one + corner of the tarpaulin whenever possible, even if some water did go + below. Toward morning the wind and the sea went down rapidly, and as the + sun rose it chased the clouds off, giving us the promise of a fine day. + When the cook brought me a cup of coffee, I do not know that I ever + enjoyed anything more. Hatches off, I jumped down into the hold to look + after my prisoners. Battered and bruised they lay around in heaps. Only + the shifting boards had kept them from being beaten into an + indistinguishable mass. As fast as possible they were sent on deck, and + the sun's rays, with a few buckets of water that were thrown over them, + accomplished wonders in bringing them to life and starting them to care + for their sore limbs and bruises. + </p> + <p> + One boy, when I motioned for him to go on deck, pointed quietly to his + leg, and upon examination I found a fracture just above the knee. Swelling + had already commenced. I had seen limbs set, and had some rough idea how + it should be done. So while getting some splints of keg staves and + bandages ready, I kept a stream of water pouring on the fracture, and then + ordered two men to pull the limb in place, and it took all their strength. + That done I put on the splints and wrapped the bandages tightly. Three + weeks later I landed him in a fair way of recovery. + </p> + <p> + Gradually I allowed a larger number of the blacks to remain on deck, a + privilege which they greatly enjoyed. To lie basking in the sun like + saurians, half sleeping, half waking, appeared to satisfy all their + wishes. They were perfectly docile and obedient, and not by word, gesture, + or look did they express any dissatisfaction with orders given them. But + again for any little acts of kindness they expressed no kind of + appreciation or gratitude. Physically they were men and women, but + otherwise as far removed from the Anglo-Saxon as the oyster from the + baboon, or the mole from the horse. + </p> + <p> + On the fourteenth day from parting with the brig we made the palms on Cape + Mesurado, the entrance to Monrovia Harbor. A light sea breath wafted us to + the anchorage, a mile from the town, and when the anchor dropped from the + bows and the chain ran through the hawse pipe, it was sweet music to my + ears; for the strain had been great, and I felt years older than when I + parted from my messmates. A great responsibility seemed lifted from my + shoulders, and I enjoyed a long and refreshing sleep for the first time in + a fortnight. At nine the next morning I went on shore and reported to the + authorities, the officials of Liberia, of which Monrovia is the capital. + </p> + <p> + This part of the African coast had been selected by the United States + government as the home of emancipated slaves; for prior to the abolition + excitement which culminated in the war, numbers of slaves in the South had + been manumitted by their masters with the understanding that they should + be deported to Liberia, and the Colonization Society, an influential body, + comprising some of the leading men, like Madison, Webster, and Clay, had + assisted in the same work. The passages of the negroes were paid; each + family was given a tract of land and sufficient means to build a house. + Several thousand had been sent out, most of whom had settled at Monrovia, + and a few at other places on the coast. They had made no impression on the + natives. On the contrary, many of them had intermarried with the natives, + and the off-spring of these unions had lost the use of the English tongue, + and had even gone back to the life and customs of their ancestors, sans + clothing, sans habitations, and worship of a fetich. + </p> + <p> + Of course there were some notable exceptions, especially President + Roberts, who proved himself a safe and prudent ruler, taking into + consideration his surroundings and the material with which he had to work. + The form of government was modeled after that of the United States, but it + was top-heavy. Honorables, colonels, and judges were thicker than in + Georgia. Only privates were scarce; for nothing delights a negro more than + a little show or a gaudy uniform. On landing I was met by a dark mulatto, + dressed in a straw hat, blue tail coat, silver epaulettes, linen trousers, + with bare feet, and a heavy cavalry sabre hanging by his side. With him + were three or four others in the same rig, except the epaulettes. He + introduced himself as Colonel Harrison, chief of police. I asked to be + directed to the custom house. + </p> + <p> + The collector proved to be an old negro from Raleigh, N. C., gray as a + badger, spectacled, with manners of Lord Grandison and language of Mrs. + Malaprop. I reported my arrival, and asked permission to land my cargo as + soon as possible. He replied that in a matter of so much importance, + devolving questions of momentous interest, it would be obligatory on him + to consult the Secretary of the Treasury. I said I trusted he would so + facilitate affairs that I might at an early hour disembarrass myself of my + involuntary prisoners. I returned on board, and the day passed without any + answer. The next morning I determined to go at once to headquarters and + find out the cause of the delay by calling on the President. + </p> + <p> + He received me without any formality. I made my case as strong as + possible, and pressed for an immediate answer. In reply he assured me he + would consult with other members of his cabinet, and give me a final + answer the next morning. That evening I dined with him en famille, and + recognized some old Virginia dishes on the table. The next morning I + waited impatiently for his decision, having made up my mind however, if it + was unfavorable, to land my poor captives, be the consequences what they + might. + </p> + <p> + About eleven o'clock a boat came off with an officer in full uniform, who + introduced himself as Colonel Royal, bearer of dispatches from his + Excellency the President. He handed me a letter couched in diplomatic + language, as long as some of his brother presidents' messages on this side + of the Atlantic. I had hardly patience to read it. The gist of it was, I + might not land the captives at Monrovia, but might land them at Grand + Bassa, about a hundred and fifty miles to the eastward; that Colonel Royal + would accompany me with orders to the governor there to receive them. This + was something I had not anticipated, and outside of my instructions. + However, I thought it best to comply with the wishes of the government of + our only colony. + </p> + <p> + Getting under way we stood to the southward and eastward, taking advantage + of the light land and sea breeze, keeping the coast close aboard. The + colonel had come on board without any impediments, and I wondered if he + intended to make the voyage in his cocked hat, epaulettes, sword, etc. But + soon after we had started he disappeared and emerged from the cabin + bareheaded, barefooted, and without clothing except a blue dungaree shirt + and trousers. Like a provident negro, having stowed away all his + trappings, he appeared as a roustabout on a Western steamer. But he had + not laid aside with his toggery any of his important and consequential + airs. He ran foul of Mr. Block, who called him Mr. Cuffy, and ordered him + to give him a pull with the main sheet. The colonel complained to me that + he was not addressed by his name or title, and that he was not treated as + a representative of his government should be. I reprimanded Mr. Block, and + told him to give the visitor all his title. "All right, sir, but the + colonel must keep off the weather side of the deck," growled the officer. + The cook, the crew, and even the Kroomen, all took their cue from the + first officer, and the colonel's lot was made most unhappy. + </p> + <p> + On the third day we reached Grand Bassa, and anchored off the beach about + two miles, along which the surf was breaking so high that any attempt to + land would be hazardous. Toward evening it moderated, and a canoe with + three naked natives came off. One I found could speak a little English. I + told him to say to the governor that I would come on shore in the morning + and see him, and land my cargo at the same time. + </p> + <p> + The next morning at sunrise we were boarded by a party of natives headed + by one wearing a black hat half covered with a tarnished silver band, an + old navy frock coat, much too small, between the buttons of which his + well-oiled skin showed clearly. A pair of blue flannel trousers completed + his outfit. An interpreter introduced him as King George of Grand Bassa. + With him were about a dozen followers, each one wearing a different sort + of garment—and seldom more than a single one—representing old + uniforms of many countries. Two coats I noticed were buttoned up the back. + </p> + <p> + The king began by saying that he was and always had been a friend of the + Americans; that he was a big man, had plenty of men and five wives, etc. + While he was speaking, a white-bearded old colored gentleman came over the + gangway, dressed in a linen roundabout and trousers, with a wide-brimmed + straw hat. At the same time Colonel Royal came up from the cabin in grande + tenue and introduced us to the Hon. Mr. Marshall, governor of Bassa, + formerly of Kentucky. + </p> + <p> + In a few minutes he explained the situation. With a few settlers he was + located at this place, on the frontier of the colony, and they were there + on sufferance only from the natives. I told him Colonel Royal would + explain my mission to him and the king. The colonel, bowing low to the + king, the governor, and myself, and bringing his sword down with a thud on + the deck, drew from between the bursting buttons of his coat the + formidable document I had seen at Monrovia, and with most impressive voice + and gesture commenced to read it. The king listened for a few minutes, and + then interrupted him. I asked the interpreter what he said. He replied, + "King say he fool nigger; if he comes on shore he give him to Voodoo + women." Then turning his back he walked forward. The colonel dropped his + paper, and drawing his sword, in the most dramatic manner claimed + protection in the name of the government, declaring that he had been + insulted. I told him to keep cool, since he was certainly safe as long as + he was on board my ship. He grumbled and muttered terrible things, but + subsided gradually like the departing thunder of a summer storm. + </p> + <p> + I arranged the landing of the passengers with Governor Marshall, whom I + found a sensible, clear-headed old man, ready to cooperate in every way. + But he suggested that I had better consult the king before doing anything. + I did so, and he at once said they could not land. I told the interpreter + to say they would be landed at once and put under the protection of the + governor; that if the king or his people hurt them or ran them off I would + report it to our commodore, who would certainly punish him severely. + Finding me determined, he began to temporize, and asked that the landing + be put off until the next day, that he might consult with his head people, + for if I sent them on shore before he had done so they would kill them. + "If that is the case," I replied, "I will hold you on board as a hostage + for their good behavior." This threat surprised him, and he changed his + tactics. After a little powwow with some of his followers, he said that if + I would give him fifty muskets, twenty pounds of powder, the colonel's + sword, and some red cloth for his wives, I might land them. I replied that + I had not a musket to spare nor an ounce of powder, that the colonel was a + high officer of his government, and that he of course would not give up + his uniform. Fortunately the colonel had retired to the cabin and did not + hear this modest demand, or he would have been as much outraged as if his + sable Majesty had asked for him to be served "roti a l'Ashantee." However, + I told the king I would send his wives some cloth and buttons. He grunted + his approval but returned again to the charge, and asked that he might + choose a few of the captives for his own use, before landing. "Certainly + not," I answered, "neither on board nor on shore," and added that he would + be held accountable for their good treatment as free men and women. He + left thoroughly disappointed and bent on mischief. + </p> + <p> + In the meantime Mr. Block had made all preparations for landing, and had + the boats lowered and ranged alongside, with sufficient rice to last the + blacks a week or ten days. The men and boys were sent first. When they + were called up from the hold and ordered into the boats not one of them + moved. They evidently divined what had been going on and dreaded leaving + the vessel, though our Kroomen tried to explain that they would be safe + and free on shore. The explanation was without effect, however, and they + refused to move. The could only understand that they were changing + masters, and they preferred the present ones. Sending three or four men + down, I told them to pass up the negroes one at a time. Only a passive + resistance was offered, such as one often sees exhibited by cattle being + loaded on the cars or on a steamer, and were silent, not uttering a word + of complaint. By noon the men were all on shore, and then we began with + the girls. They were more demonstrative than the men, and by their looks + and gestures begged not to be taken out of the vessel. I was much moved, + for it was a painful duty, and I had become interested in these beings, so + utterly helpless, so childlike in their dependence on those around them. + And I could not help thinking what their fate would be, thrown upon the + shore hundreds of miles from their homes, and among a people strange to + them in language. + </p> + <p> + Even Mr. Block was deeply stirred. "He had not shipped," he said, "for + such work." I went to my cabin and left him in charge. In the course of an + hour he reported, "All ashore, sir." I told him to have the gig manned and + I would go on shore with Colonel Royal, and get a receipt from Governor + Marshall for my late cargo. The colonel declined to accompany me, alleging + sickness and requesting me to get the necessary papers signed. No doubt he + felt safer on board than within reach of King George. + </p> + <p> + We landed through the surf on a sandy beach, on which the waves of the + Atlantic were fretting. Near by was a thick grove of cocoanut trees, under + which in groups of four and five were those who had just been landed. They + were seated on the ground, their heads resting on their knees, in a + position of utter abnegation, surrounded by three or four hundred + chattering savages of all ages, headed by the king. With the exception of + him and a few of his head men, the clothing of the company would not have + covered a rag baby. They were no doubt discussing the appearance of the + strangers and making their selections. + </p> + <p> + I found the governor's house and the houses of the few settlers some + distance back on a slight elevation. The governor was comfortably, though + plainly situated, with a large family around him. He gave me a receipt for + the number of blacks landed, but said it would be impossible for him to + prevent the natives from taking and enslaving them. I agreed with him, and + said he must repeat to the king what I had told him. Then bidding him + good-by I returned on board, sad and weary as one often feels after being + relieved of a great burden. At the same time I wondered whether the fate + of these people would have been any worse if the captain of the slaver had + succeeded in landing them in the Brazils or the West Indies. Sierra Leone + being a crown colony, the English could land all their captives there and + provide for them until they were able to work for themselves. In this + respect they had a great advantage over us. + </p> + <p> + Getting under way, I proceeded to Monrovia to land Colonel Royal, and then + to Porto Praya, our squadron's headquarters. There I found Commodore + Gregory in the flagship corvette Portsmouth, and reported to him. Soon + after the Porpoise came in, and I joined my old craft, giving up my + command of the captured slaver rather reluctantly. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0018" id="link2H_4_0018"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + MR. CHARLES W. CHESNUTT'S STORIES by W. D. Howells + </h2> + <p> + The critical reader of the story called The Wife of his Youth, which + appeared in these pages two years ago, must have noticed uncommon traits + in what was altogether a remarkable piece of work. The first was the + novelty of the material; for the writer dealt not only with people who + were not white, but with people who were not black enough to contrast + grotesquely with white people,—who in fact were of that near + approach to the ordinary American in race and color which leaves, at the + last degree, every one but the connoisseur in doubt whether they are + Anglo-Saxon or Anglo-African. Quite as striking as this novelty of the + material was the author's thorough mastery of it, and his unerring + knowledge of the life he had chosen in its peculiar racial + characteristics. But above all, the story was notable for the passionless + handling of a phase of our common life which is tense with potential + tragedy; for the attitude, almost ironical, in which the artist observes + the play of contesting emotions in the drama under his eyes; and for his + apparently reluctant, apparently helpless consent to let the spectator + know his real feeling in the matter. Any one accustomed to study methods + in fiction, to distinguish between good and bad art, to feel the joy which + the delicate skill possible only from a love of truth can give, must have + known a high pleasure in the quiet self-restraint of the performance; and + such a reader would probably have decided that the social situation in the + piece was studied wholly from the outside, by an observer with special + opportunities for knowing it, who was, as it were, surprised into final + sympathy. + </p> + <p> + Now, however, it is known that the author of this story is of negro blood,—diluted, + indeed, in such measure that if he did not admit this descent few would + imagine it, but still quite of that middle world which lies next, though + wholly outside, our own. Since his first story appeared he has contributed + several others to these pages, and he now makes a showing palpable to + criticism in a volume called The Wife of his Youth, and Other Stories of + the Color Line; a volume of Southern sketches called The Conjure Woman; + and a short life of Frederick Douglass, in the Beacon Series of + biographies. The last is a simple, solid, straight piece of work, not + remarkable above many other biographical studies by people entirely white, + and yet important as the work of a man not entirely white treating of a + great man of his inalienable race. But the volumes of fiction ARE + remarkable above many, above most short stories by people entirely white, + and would be worthy of unusual notice if they were not the work of a man + not entirely white. + </p> + <p> + It is not from their racial interest that we could first wish to speak of + them, though that must have a very great and very just claim upon the + critic. It is much more simply and directly, as works of art, that they + make their appeal, and we must allow the force of this quite independently + of the other interest. Yet it cannot always be allowed. There are times in + each of the stories of the first volume when the simplicity lapses, and + the effect is as of a weak and uninstructed touch. There are other times + when the attitude, severely impartial and studiously aloof, accuses itself + of a little pompousness. There are still other times when the literature + is a little too ornate for beauty, and the diction is journalistic, + reporteristic. But it is right to add that these are the exceptional + times, and that for far the greatest part Mr. Chesnutt seems to know quite + as well what he wants to do in a given case as Maupassant, or Tourguenief, + or Mr. James, or Miss Jewett, or Miss Wilkins, in other given cases, and + has done it with an art of kindred quiet and force. He belongs, in other + words, to the good school, the only school, all aberrations from nature + being so much truancy and anarchy. He sees his people very clearly, very + justly, and he shows them as he sees them, leaving the reader to divine + the depth of his feeling for them. He touches all the stops, and with + equal delicacy in stories of real tragedy and comedy and pathos, so that + it would be hard to say which is the finest in such admirably rendered + effects as The Web of Circumstance, The Bouquet, and Uncle Wellington's + Wives. In some others the comedy degenerates into satire, with a look in + the reader's direction which the author's friend must deplore. + </p> + <p> + As these stories are of our own time and country, and as there is not a + swashbuckler of the seventeenth century, or a sentimentalist of this, or a + princess of an imaginary kingdom, in any of them, they will possibly not + reach half a million readers in six months, but in twelve months possibly + more readers will remember them than if they had reached the half million. + They are new and fresh and strong, as life always is, and fable never is; + and the stories of The Conjure Woman have a wild, indigenous poetry, the + creation of sincere and original imagination, which is imparted with a + tender humorousness and a very artistic reticence. As far as his race is + concerned, or his sixteenth part of a race, it does not greatly matter + whether Mr. Chesnutt invented their motives, or found them, as he feigns, + among his distant cousins of the Southern cabins. In either case, the + wonder of their beauty is the same; and whatever is primitive and sylvan + or campestral in the reader's heart is touched by the spells thrown on the + simple black lives in these enchanting tales. Character, the most precious + thing in fiction, is as faithfully portrayed against the poetic background + as in the setting of the Stories of the Color Line. + </p> + <p> + Yet these stories, after all, are Mr. Chesnutt's most important work, + whether we consider them merely as realistic fiction, apart from their + author, or as studies of that middle world of which he is naturally and + voluntarily a citizen. We had known the nethermost world of the grotesque + and comical negro and the terrible and tragic negro through the white + observer on the outside, and black character in its lyrical moods we had + known from such an inside witness as Mr. Paul Dunbar; but it had remained + for Mr. Chesnutt to acquaint us with those regions where the paler shades + dwell as hopelessly, with relation to ourselves, as the blackest negro. He + has not shown the dwellers there as very different from ourselves. They + have within their own circles the same social ambitions and prejudices; + they intrigue and truckle and crawl, and are snobs, like ourselves, both + of the snobs that snub and the snobs that are snubbed. We may choose to + think them droll in their parody of pure white society, but perhaps it + would be wiser to recognize that they are like us because they are of our + blood by more than a half, or three quarters, or nine tenths. It is not, + in such cases, their negro blood that characterizes them; but it is their + negro blood that excludes them, and that will imaginably fortify them and + exalt them. Bound in that sad solidarity from which there is no hope of + entrance into polite white society for them, they may create a + civilization of their own, which need not lack the highest quality. They + need not be ashamed of the race from which they have sprung, and whose + exile they share; for in many of the arts it has already shown, during a + single generation of freedom, gifts which slavery apparently only + obscured. With Mr. Booker Washington the first American orator of our + time, fresh upon the time of Frederick Douglass; with Mr. Dunbar among the + truest of our poets; with Mr. Tanner, a black American, among the only + three Americans from whom the French government ever bought a picture, Mr. + Chesnutt may well be willing to own his color. + </p> + <p> + But that is his personal affair. Our own more universal interest in him + arises from the more than promise he has given in a department of + literature where Americans hold the foremost place. In this there is, + happily, no color line; and if he has it in him to go forward on the way + which he has traced for himself, to be true to life as he has known it, to + deny himself the glories of the cheap success which awaits the charlatan + in fiction, one of the places at the top is open to him. He has sounded a + fresh note, boldly, not blatantly, and he has won the ear of the more + intelligent public. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0019" id="link2H_4_0019"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + PATHS OF HOPE FOR THE NEGRO by Jerome Dowd + </h2> + <h3> + PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS OF A SOUTHERNER + </h3> + <p> + It is too late in the day to discuss whether it would have been better had + the Negro never been brought into the Southern States. If his presence + here has been beneficial, or is ever to prove so, the price of the benefit + has already been dearly paid for. He was the occasion of the deadliest and + most expensive war in modern times. In the next place, his presence has + corrupted politics and has limited statesmanship to a mere question of + race supremacy. Great problems concerning the political, industrial, and + moral life of the people have been subordinated or overshadowed, so that, + while important strides have been made elsewhere in the investigation of + social conditions and in the administration of State and municipal + affairs, in civil-service reform, in the management of penal and + charitable institutions, and in the field of education, the South has + lagged behind. + </p> + <p> + On the charts of illiteracy and crime the South is represented by an + immense black spot. Such are a few items of the account. It will require + millions more of dollars and generations more of earnest work before the + total cost is met of bringing the black man to this side of the globe. But + the debt has been incurred and must be liquidated. + </p> + <p> + The welfare of the Negro is bound up with that of the white man in many + important particulars: + </p> + <p> + First, the low standard of living among the blacks keeps down the wages of + all classes of whites. So long as the Negroes are content to live in + miserable huts, wear rags, and subsist upon hog fat and cow-pease, so long + must the wages of white people in the same kind of work be pressed toward + the same level. The higher we raise the standard of living among the + Negroes, the higher will be the wages of the white people in the same + occupations. The low standard of the Negroes is the result of low + productive power. The less intelligent and skilled the Negroes are, the + less they can produce, whether working for themselves or others, and + hence, the less will be the total wealth of the country. + </p> + <p> + But it may be asked, When the standard of living of the Negroes is raised, + will not wages go up, and will not that be a drawback? Certainly wages + will go up, because the income of all classes will be increased. High + wages generally indicate high productive power and general wealth, while + low wages indicate the opposite. Only benefits can arise from better + wages. + </p> + <p> + In the next place, the Negro's propensity to crime tends to excite the + criminal tendencies of the white man. The South enjoys the distinction of + having the highest percentage of crime in all the civilized world, and the + reason is that the crimes of the one race provoke counter-crimes in the + other. + </p> + <p> + The physical well-being of the one race has such a conspicuous influence + upon that of the other that the subject requires no elaboration. The + uncleanliness of person and habits of the Negroes in their homes and in + the homes of their employers tends to propagate diseases, and thus impairs + the health and increases the death-rate of the whole population. + </p> + <p> + Again, the lack of refinement in intellect, manners, and dress among the + Negroes is an obstacle to the cultivated life of the whites. Ignorance and + the absence of taste and self-respect in servants result in badly kept + homes and yards, destruction of furniture and ware, ill-prepared food, + poor table service, and a general lowering of the standard of living. + Furthermore, the corrupt, coarse, and vulgar language of the Negroes is + largely responsible for the jumbled and distorted English spoken by many + of the Southern whites. + </p> + <p> + Seeing that the degradation of the Negro is an impediment to the progress + and civilization of the white man, how may we effect an improvement in his + condition? + </p> + <p> + First, municipalities should give more attention to the streets and alleys + that traverse Negro settlements. In almost every town in the South there + are settlements, known by such names as "New Africa," "Haiti," "Log Town," + "Smoky Hollow," or "Snow Hill," exclusively inhabited by Negroes. These + settlements are often outside the corporate limits. The houses are built + along narrow, crooked, and dirty lanes, and the community is without + sanitary regulations or oversight. These quarters should be brought under + municipal control, the lanes widened into streets and cleaned, and + provision made to guard against the opening of similar ones in the future. + </p> + <p> + In the next place, property-owners should build better houses for the + Negroes to live in. The weakness in the civilization of the Negroes is + most pronounced in their family life. But improvement in this respect is + not possible without an improvement in the character and the comforts of + the houses they live in. Bad houses breed bad people and bad + neighborhoods. There is no more distinctive form of crime than the + building and renting of houses unfit for human habitation. + </p> + <p> + Scarcely second in importance to improvements in house architecture is the + need among Negroes of more time to spend with their families. Employers of + Negro labor should be less exacting in the number of hours required for a + day's work. Many domestic servants now work from six in the morning until + nine and ten o'clock at night. The Southern habit of keeping open + shopping-places until late at night encourages late suppers, retains + cooks, butlers, and nurses until bedtime, and robs them of all home life. + If the merchants would close their shops at six o'clock, as is the custom + in the North, the welfare of both races would be greatly promoted. + </p> + <p> + Again, a revolution is needed in the character of the Negro's religion. At + present it is too largely an affair of the emotions. He needs to be taught + that the religious life is something to grow into by the perfection of + personality, and not to be jumped into or sweated into at camp-meetings. + The theological seminaries and the graduate preachers should assume the + task of grafting upon the religion of the Negro that much sanity at least. + </p> + <p> + A reform is as much needed in the methods and aims of Negro education. Up + to the present Negro education has shared with that of the white man the + fault of being top-heavy. Colleges and universities have developed out of + proportion to, and at the expense of, common schools. Then, the kind of + education afforded the Negro has not been fitted to his capacities and + needs. He has been made to pursue courses of study parallel to those + prescribed for the whites, as though the individuals of both races had to + fill the same positions in life. Much of the Negro's education has had + nothing to do with his real life-work. It has only made him discontented + and disinclined to unfold his arms. The survival of the Negroes in the + race for existence depends upon their retaining possession of the few + bread-winning occupations now open to them. But instead of better + qualifying themselves for these occupations they have been poring over + dead languages and working problems in mathematics. In the meantime the + Chinaman and the steam-laundry have abolished the Negro's wash-tub, + trained white "tonsorial artists" have taken away his barber's chair, and + skilled painters and plasterers and mechanics have taken away his + paint-brushes and tool-chests. Every year the number of occupations open + to him becomes fewer because of his lack of progress in them. Unless a + radical change takes place in the scope of his education, so that he may + learn better how to do his work, a tide of white immigration will set in + and force him out of his last stronghold, domestic service, and limit his + sphere to the farm. + </p> + <p> + All primary schools for the Negroes should be equipped for industrial + training in such work as sewing, cooking, laundering, carpentry, and + house-cleaning, and, in rural districts, in elementary agriculture. + </p> + <p> + Secondary schools should add to the literary courses a more advanced + course in industrial training, so as to approach as nearly as possible the + objects and methods of the Tuskegee and Hampton Industrial and Normal + Schools. Too much cannot be said in behalf of the revolution in the life + of the Negro which the work of these schools promises and, in part, has + already wrought. The writer is fully aware that education has a value + aside from and above its bread-winning results, and he would not dissuade + the Negro from seeking the highest culture that he may be capable of; but + it is folly for him to wing his way through the higher realms of the + intellect without some acquaintance with the requirements and duties of + life. + </p> + <p> + Changes are needed in the methods of Negro education as well as in its + scope. Educators should take into account, more than they have yet done, + the differences in the mental characteristics of the two races. It is a + well-established fact that, while the lower races possess marked capacity + to deal with simple, concrete ideas, they lack power of generalization, + and soon fatigue in the realm of the abstract. It is also well known that + the inferior races, being deficient in generalization, which is a + subjective process, are absorbed almost entirely in the things that are + objective. They have strong and alert eyesight, and are susceptible to + impressions through the medium of the eye to an extent that is impossible + to any of the white races. This fact is evidenced in the great number of + pictures found in the homes of the Negroes. In default of anything better, + they will paper their walls with advertisements of the theater and the + circus, and even with pictures from vicious newspapers. They delight in + street pageantry, fancy costumes, theatrical performances, and similar + spectacles. Factories employing Negroes generally find it necessary to + suspend operations on "circus day." They love stories of adventure and any + fiction that gives play to their imaginations. All their tastes lie in the + realm of the objective and the concrete. + </p> + <p> + Hence, in the school-room stress should be laid on those studies that + appeal to the eye and the imagination. Lessons should be given in + sketching, painting, drawing, and casting. Reprints of the popular works + of art should be placed before the Negroes, that their love for art may be + gratified and their taste cultivated at the same time. Fancy needlework, + dress-making, and home decorations should also have an important place. + These studies, while not contributing directly to bread-winning, have a + refining and softening influence upon character, and inspire efforts to + make the home more attractive. The more interest we can make the Negro + take in his personal appearance and in the comforts of his home, the more + we shall strengthen and promote his family life and raise the level of his + civilization. + </p> + <p> + The literary education of the Negro should consist of carefully selected + poems and novels that appeal to his imagination and produce clear images + upon his mind, excluding such literature as is in the nature of + psychological or moral research. Recitations and dialogues should be more + generally and more frequently required. In history emphasis should be + given to what is picturesque, dramatic, and biographical. + </p> + <p> + Coming to the political phase of the Negro problem, there is a general + agreement among white men that the Southern States cannot keep pace with + the progress of the world as long as they are menaced by Negro domination, + and that, therefore, it is necessary to eliminate the Negro vote from + politics. When the Negroes become intelligent factors in society, when + they become thrifty and accumulate wealth, they will find the way to + larger exercise of citizenship. They can never sit upon juries to pass + upon life and property until they are property-owners themselves, and they + can never hold the reins of government by reason of mere superiority of + numbers. Before they can take on larger political responsibilities they + must demonstrate their ability to meet them. + </p> + <p> + The Negroes will never be allowed to control State governments so long as + they vote at every election upon the basis of color, without regard + whatever to political issues or private convictions. If the Negroes would + divide their votes according to their individual opinions, as the lamented + Charles Price, one of their best leaders, advised, there would be no + danger of Negro domination and no objection to their holding offices which + they might be competent to fill. But as there is no present prospect of + their voting upon any other basis than that of color, the white people are + forced to accept the situation and protect themselves accordingly. Years + of bitter and costly experience have demonstrated over and over again that + Negro rule is not only incompetent and corrupt, but a menace to + civilization. Some people imagine that there is something anomalous, + peculiar, or local in the race prejudice that binds all Negroes together; + but this clan spirit is a characteristic of all savage and semi-civilized + peoples. + </p> + <p> + It should be well understood by this time that no foreign race inhabiting + this country and acting together politically can dominate the native + whites. To permit an inferior race, holding less than one tenth of the + property of the community, to take the reins of government in its hands, + by reason of mere numerical strength, would be to renounce civilization. + Our national government, in making laws for Hawaii, has carefully provided + for white supremacy by an educational qualification for suffrage that + excludes the semi-civilized natives. No sane man, let us hope, would think + of placing Manila under the control of a government of the Philippine + Islands based upon universal suffrage. Yet the problem in the South and + the problem in the Philippines and in Hawaii differ only in degree. + </p> + <p> + The only proper safeguard against Negro rule in States where the blacks + outnumber or approximate in number the whites lies in constitutional + provisions establishing an educational test for suffrage applicable to + black and white alike. If the suffrage is not thus limited it is necessary + for the whites to resort to technicalities and ballot laws, to bribery or + intimidation. To set up an educational test with a "grandfather clause," + making the test apply for a certain time to the blacks only, seems to an + outsider unnecessary, arbitrary, and unjust. The reason for such a clause + arises from the belief that no constitutional amendment could ever carry + if it immediately disfranchised the illiterate whites, as many + property-holding whites belong to that class. But the writer does not + believe in the principle nor in the necessity for a "grandfather clause." + If constitutional amendments were to be submitted in North Carolina and + Virginia applying the educational test to both races alike after 1908, the + question would be lifted above the level of party gain, and would receive + the support of white men of all parties and the approbation of the moral + sentiment of the American people. A white man who would disfranchise a + Negro because of his color or for mere party advantage is himself unworthy + of the suffrage. With the suffrage question adjusted upon an educational + basis the Negroes would have the power to work out their political + emancipation, the white people having made education necessary and + provided the means for attaining it. + </p> + <p> + When the question of Negro domination is settled the path of progress of + both races will be very much cleared. Race conflicts will then be less + frequent and race feeling less bitter. With more friendly relations + growing up, and with more concentration of energy on the part of the + Negroes in industrial lines, the opportunities for them will be widened + and the task of finding industrial adjustment in the struggle for life + made easier. The wisest and best leaders among the Negroes, such as Booker + Washington and the late Charles Price, have tried to turn the attention of + the Negroes from politics to the more profitable pursuits of industry, and + if the professional politician would cease inspiring the Negroes to seek + salvation in political domination over the whites, the race issue would + soon cease to exist. + </p> + <p> + The field is broad enough in the South for both races to attain all that + is possible to them. In spite of the periodic political conflicts and + occasional local riots and acts of individual violence, the relations + between the races, in respect to nine tenths of the population, are very + friendly. The general condition has been too often judged by the acts of a + small minority. The Southern people understand the Negroes, and feel a + real fondness for those that are thrifty and well behaved. When fairly + treated the Negro has a strong affection for his employer. He seldom + forgets a kindness, and is quick to forget a wrong. If he does not stay + long at one place, it is not that he dislikes his employer so much as that + he has a restless temperament and craves change. His disposition is full + of mirth and sunshine, and not a little of the fine flavor of Southern wit + and humor is due to his influence. His nature is plastic, and while he is + easily molded into a monster, he is also capable of a high degree of + culture. Many Negroes are thoroughly honest, notwithstanding their bad + environment and hereditary disposition to steal. Negro servants are + trusted with the keys to households to an extent that, probably, is not + the case among domestics elsewhere in the civilized world. + </p> + <p> + It is strange that two races working side by side should possess so many + opposite traits of character. The white man has strong will and + convictions and is set in his ways. He lives an indoor, monotonous life, + restrains himself like a Puritan, and is inclined to melancholy. The + prevalence of Populism throughout the South is nothing but the outcome of + this morbid tendency. Farmers and merchants are entirely absorbed in their + business, and the women, especially the married women, contrast with the + women of France, Germany, and even England, in their indoor life and + disinclination to mingle with the world outside. Public parks and public + concerts, such as are found in Europe, which call out husband, wife, and + children for a few hours of rest and communion with their friends, are + almost unknown in the South. The few entertainments that receive sanction + generally exclude all but the well-to-do by the cost of admission. The + life of the poor in town and country is bleak and bare to the last degree. + </p> + <p> + Contrasting with this tendency is the free-and-easy life of the blacks. + The burdens of the present and the future weigh lightly upon their + shoulders. They love all the worldly amusements; in their homes they are + free entertainers, and in their fondness for conversation and love of + street life they are equal to the French or Italians. + </p> + <p> + May we not hope that the conflict of these two opposite races is working + out some advantages to both, and that the final result will justify all + that the conflict has cost? + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0020" id="link2H_4_0020"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + SIGNS OF PROGRESS AMONG THE NEGROES by Booker T. Washington + </h2> + <p> + In addition to the problem of educating eight million negroes in our + Southern States and ingrafting them into American citizenship, we now have + the additional responsibility, either directly or indirectly, of educating + and elevating about eight hundred thousand others of African descent in + Cuba and Porto Rico, to say nothing of the white people of these islands, + many of whom are in a condition about as deplorable as that of the + negroes. We have, however, one advantage in approaching the question of + the education of our new neighbors. + </p> + <p> + The experience that we have passed through in the Southern States during + the last thirty years in the education of my race, whose history and needs + are not very different from the history and needs of the Cubans and Porto + Ricans, will prove most valuable in elevating the blacks of the West + Indian Islands. To tell what has already been accomplished in the South + under most difficult circumstances is to tell what may be done in Cuba and + Porto Rico. + </p> + <p> + To this end let me tell a story. + </p> + <p> + In what is known as the black belt of the South—that is, where the + negroes outnumber the whites—there lived before the Civil War a + white man who owned some two hundred slaves, and was prosperous. At the + close of the war he found his fortune gone, except that which was + represented in land, of which he owned several thousand acres. Of the two + hundred slaves a large proportion decided, after their freedom, to + continue on the plantation of their former owner. + </p> + <p> + Some years after the war a young black boy, who seemed to have "rained + down," was discovered on the plantation by Mr. S——-, the + owner. In daily rides through the plantation Mr. S——- saw this + boy sitting by the roadside, and his condition awakened his pity, for, + from want of care, he was covered from head to foot with sores, and Mr. S——- + soon grew into the habit of tossing him a nickel or a dime as he rode by. + In some way this boy heard of the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute + in Alabama, and of the advantages which it offered poor but deserving + colored men and women to secure an education through their own labor while + taking the course of study. This boy, whose name was William, made known + to the plantation hands his wish to go to the Tuskegee school. By each one + "chipping in," and through the efforts of the boy himself, a few decent + pieces of clothing were secured, and a little money, but not enough to pay + his railroad fare, so the boy resolved to walk to Tuskegee, a distance of + about one hundred and fifty miles. Strange to say, he made the long + distance with an expenditure of only twenty cents in cash. He frankly told + every one with whom he came in contact where he was going and what he was + seeking. Both white and colored people along the route gave him food and a + place to sleep free of cost, and even the usually exacting ferrymen were + so impressed with the young negro's desire for an education that, except + in one case, he was given free ferriage across the creeks and rivers. + </p> + <p> + One can easily imagine his appearance when he first arrived at Tuskegee, + with his blistered feet and small white bundle, which contained all the + clothing he possessed. + </p> + <p> + On being shown into my office his first words were: "I's come. S'pose you + been lookin' for me, but I didn't come on de railroad." Looking up the + records, it was found that this young man had been given permission to + come several months ago, but the correspondence had long since been + forgotten. + </p> + <p> + After being sent to the bath-room and provided with a tooth-brush,—for + the tooth-brush at Tuskegee is the emblem of civilization,—William + was assigned to a room, and was given work on the school farm of fourteen + hundred acres, seven hundred of which are cultivated by student labor. + During his first year at Tuskegee William worked on the farm during the + day, where he soon learned to take a deep interest in all that the school + was doing to teach the students the best and most improved methods of + farming, and studied for two hours at night in the class-room after his + hard day's work was over. At first he seemed drowsy and dull in the + night-school, and would now and then fall asleep while trying to study; + but he did not grow discouraged. The new machinery that he was compelled + to use on the farm interested him because it taught him that the farm work + could be stripped of much of the old-time drudgery and toil, and seemed to + awaken his sleeping intellect. Soon he began asking the farm-instructors + such questions as where the Jersey and Holstein cattle came from, and why + they produced more milk and butter than the common long-tailed and + long-horned cows that he had seen at home. + </p> + <p> + His night-school teachers found that he ceased to sleep in school, and + began asking questions about his lessons, and was soon able to calculate + the number of square yards in an acre and to tell the number of + peach-trees required to plant an acre of land. After he had been at + Tuskegee two or three months the farm-manager came into my office on a + cold, rainy day, and said that William was virtually barefooted, the soles + of his shoes having separated from the uppers, though William had fastened + them together as best he could with bits of wire. In this condition the + farm-instructor found him plowing without a word of complaint. A pair of + second-hand shoes was secured for him, and he was soon very happy. + </p> + <p> + I will not take this part of the story further except to say that at the + end of his first year at Tuskegee this young man, having made a start in + his books, and having saved a small sum of money above the cost of his + board, which was credited to his account, entered the next year our + regular day-classes, though still dividing his time between the class-room + and work on the farm. + </p> + <p> + Toward the end of the year he found himself in need of money with which to + buy books, clothing, etc., and so wrote a carefully worded letter to Mr. S——-, + the white man on whose plantation he had lived, and who had been, in + slavery, the owner of his mother. + </p> + <p> + In the letter he told Mr. S——- how he got to Tuskegee, what he + was doing, and what his needs were, and asked Mr. S——- to lend + him fifteen dollars. Before receiving this letter Mr. S——- had + not thought once about the boy during his two years' absence; in fact, did + not know that he had left the plantation. + </p> + <p> + Mr. S——- was a good deal shocked, as well as amused, over such + a request from such a source. The letter went to the wastebasket without + being answered. A few weeks later William sent a second letter, in which + he took it for granted that the first letter had not been received. The + second letter shared the same fate as the first. A third letter reached + Mr. S——- in a few weeks, making the same request. In answer to + the third letter Mr. S——- told me that, moved by some impulse + which he himself never understood, he sent William the fifteen dollars. + </p> + <p> + Two or three years passed, and Mr. S——- had about forgotten + William and the fifteen dollars; but one morning while sitting upon his + porch a bright young colored man walked up and introduced himself as + William, the boy to whom he used to toss small pieces of money, and the + one to whom he had sent fifteen dollars. + </p> + <p> + William paid Mr. S——- the fifteen dollars with interest, which + he had earned while teaching school after leaving Tuskegee. + </p> + <p> + This simple experience with this young colored man made a new and + different person of Mr. S——-, so far as the negro was + concerned. + </p> + <p> + He began to think. He thought of the long past, but he thought most of the + future, and of his duty toward the hundreds of colored people on his + plantation and in his community. After careful thought he asked William + Edwards to open a school on his plantation in a vacant log cabin. That was + seven years ago. On this same plantation at Snow Hill, Wilcox county, + Alabama, a county where, according to the last census, there are + twenty-four thousand colored people and about six thousand whites, there + is now a school with two hundred pupils, five teachers from Tuskegee, and + three school buildings. The school has forty acres of land. In addition to + the text-book lessons, the boys are taught farming and carpentry, and the + girls sewing and general house-keeping, and the school is now in the act + of starting a blacksmith and wheelwright department. This school owes its + existence almost wholly to Mr. S——-, who gave to the trustees + the forty acres of land, and has contributed liberally to the building + fund, as well as to the pay of the teachers. Gifts from a few friends in + the North have been received, and the colored people have given their + labor and small sums in cash. When the people cannot find money to give, + they have often given corn, chickens, and eggs. The school has grown so + popular that almost every leading white man in the community is willing to + make a small gift toward its maintenance. + </p> + <p> + In addition to the work done directly in the school for the children, the + teachers in the Snow Hill school have organized a kind of university + extension movement. The farmers are organized into conferences, which hold + meetings each month. In these meetings they are taught better methods of + agriculture, how to buy land, how to economize and keep out of debt, how + to stop mortgaging, how to build school-houses and dwelling-houses with + more than one room, how to bring about a higher moral and religious + standing, and are warned against buying cheap jewelry, snuff, and whisky. + </p> + <p> + No one is a more interested visitor at these meetings than Mr. S——-himself. + The matter does not end in mere talk and advice. The women teachers go + right into the cabins of the people and show them how to keep them clean, + how to dust, sweep, and cook. + </p> + <p> + When William Edwards left this community a few years ago for the Tuskegee + school, he left the larger proportion in debt, mortgaging their crops + every year for the food on which to live. Most of them were living on + rented land in small one-room log cabins, and attempting to pay an + enormous rate of interest on the value of their food advances. As one old + colored man expressed it, "I ain't got but six feet of land, and I is got + to die to git dat." The little school taught in a cabin lasted only three + or four months in the year. The religion was largely a matter of the + emotions, with almost no practical ideas of morality. It was the white man + for himself and the negro for himself, each in too many cases trying to + take advantage of the other. The situation was pretty well described by a + black man who said to me: "I tells you how we votes. We always watches de + white man, and we keeps watchin' de white man. De nearer it gits to + 'lection-time de more we watches de white man. We keeps watchin' de white + man till we find out which way he gwine to vote; den we votes 'zactly de + odder way. Den we knows we is right." + </p> + <p> + Now how changed is all at Snow Hill, and how it is gradually changing each + year! Instead of the hopelessness and dejection that were there a few + years ago, there are now light and buoyancy in the countenances and + movements of the people. The negroes are getting out of debt and buying + land, ceasing to mortgage their crops, building houses with two or three + rooms, and a higher moral and religious standard has been established. + </p> + <p> + Last May, on the day that the school had its closing exercises, there were + present, besides the hundreds of colored-people, about fifty of the + leading white men and women of the county, and these white people seemed + as much interested in the work of the school as the people of my own race. + </p> + <p> + Only a few years ago in the State of Alabama the law in reference to the + education of the negro read as follows: "Any person or persons who shall + attempt to teach any free person of color or slave to spell, read, or + write shall, upon conviction thereof by indictment, be fined in a sum not + less than two hundred and fifty dollars nor more than five hundred + dollars." + </p> + <p> + Within half a dozen years I have heard Dr. J. L. M. Curry, a brave, honest + ex-Confederate officer, in addressing both the Alabama and Georgia State + legislatures, say to those bodies in the most emphatic manner that it was + as much the duty of the State to educate the negro children as the white + children, and in each case Dr. Curry's words were cheered. + </p> + <p> + Here at Snow Hill is the foundation for the solution of the legal and + political difficulties that exist in the South, and the improvement of the + industrial condition of the negro in Cuba and Porto Rico. This solution + will not come all at once, but gradually. The foundation must exist in the + commercial and industrial development of the people of my race in the + South and in the West Indian Islands. + </p> + <p> + The most intelligent whites are beginning to realize that they cannot go + much higher than they lift the negro at the same time. When a black man + owns and cultivates the best farm to be found in his county he will have + the confidence and respect of most of the white people in that county. + When a black man is the largest taxpayer in his community his white + neighbor will not object very long to his voting, and having that vote + honestly counted. Even now a black man who has five hundred dollars to + lend has no trouble in finding a white man who is willing to borrow his + money. The negro who is a large stockholder in a railroad company will + always be treated with justice on that railroad. + </p> + <p> + Many of the most intelligent colored people are learning that while there + are many bad white men in the South, there are Southern whites who have + the highest interests of the negro just as closely at heart as have any + other people in any part of the country. Many of the negroes are learning + that it is folly not to cultivate in every honorable way the friendship of + the white man who is their next-door neighbor. + </p> + <p> + To describe the work being done in connection with the public schools by + graduates of Tuskegee and other institutions in the South, at such places + as Mount Meigs, under Miss Cornelia Bowen; Denmark, South Carolina; + Abbeville and Newville, Alabama; Christiansburg, Virginia, and numbers of + other places in the Gulf States, would be only to repeat in a larger or + smaller degree what I have said of Snow Hill. + </p> + <p> + Not very long after the last national election I visited a town in the + South, to speak at a meeting which had for its object the raising of money + to complete the school-house. The audience was about equally divided + between white men and women and black men and women. When the time for the + collection came it was intensely satisfactory to observe that the white + side of the audience was just as eager to make its small contributions as + were the members of my own race. But I was anxious to see how the late + election had been conducted in that community. I soon found out that the + Republican party, composed almost wholly of the black people, was + represented by an election officer in the person of one of the + best-educated colored men in the town, that both the Democratic and + Populist parties were equally well represented, and that there was no + suspicion of unfairness. + </p> + <p> + But I wished to go a little deeper, and I soon found that one of the + leading stores in this community was owned by a colored man; that a + cotton-gin was owned by a colored man; that the sawmill was owned by + another colored man. Colored men had mortgages on white men's crops, and + vice versa, and colored people not only owned land, but in several cases + were renting land to white men. Black men were in debt to white men, and + white men were in debt to black men. In a word, the industrial and + commercial relations of the races were interwoven just as if all had been + of one race. + </p> + <p> + An object-lesson in civilization is more potent in compelling people to + act right than a law compelling them to do so. Some years ago a colored + woman who had graduated at Tuskegee began her life-work in a Southern + community where the force of white public sentiment was opposed to the + starting of what was termed a "nigger school." At first this girl was + tempted to abuse her white sister, but she remembered that perhaps the + white woman had been taught from her earliest childhood, through reading + and conversation, that education was not good for the negro, that it would + result only in trouble to the community, and that no amount of abuse could + change this prejudice. + </p> + <p> + After a while this colored teacher was married to an educated colored man, + and they built a little cottage, which, in connection with her husband's + farm, was a model. One morning one of the white women who had been most + intense in her feelings was passing this cottage, and her attention was + attracted to the colored woman who was at work in her beautiful + flower-garden. A conversation took place concerning the flowers. At + another time this same white woman was so attracted by this flower-garden + that she came inside the yard, and from the yard she went into the + sitting-room and examined the books and papers. + </p> + <p> + This acquaintance has now ripened and broadened, so that to-day there are + few people in that community more highly respected than this colored + family. What did it all? This object-lesson. No one could explain that + away. One such object-lesson in every community in the South is more + powerful than all the laws Congress can pass in the direction of bringing + about right relations between blacks and whites. + </p> + <p> + A few months ago an agricultural county fair, the first ever held in that + county, was organized and held at Calhoun, Alabama, by the teachers in the + Calhoun School, which is an offshoot of the Hampton Institute. Both the + colored people and numbers of white visitors were astonished at the + creditable exhibits made by the colored people. Most of these white people + saw the school work at Calhoun for the first time. Perhaps no amount of + abstract talk or advice could have brought them to this school, but the + best hog, the largest pumpkin, or the most valuable bale of cotton + possessed a common interest, and it has been a comparatively easy thing to + extend their interest from the best hog to the work being done in the + school-room. Further, this fair convinced these white people, as almost + nothing else could have done, that education was making the negroes better + citizens rather than worse; that the people were not being educated away + from themselves, but with their elevation the conditions about them were + being lifted in a manner that possessed an interest and value for both + races. + </p> + <p> + It was after speaking, not long ago, to the colored people at such a + county fair in North Carolina that I was asked the next morning to speak + to the white students at their college, who gave me as hearty a greeting + as I have ever received at Northern colleges. + </p> + <p> + But such forces as I have described—forces that are gradually + regenerating the entire South and will regenerate Cuba and Porto Rico—are + not started and kept in motion without a central plant—a + power-house, where the power is generated. I cannot describe all these + places of power. Perhaps the whole South and the whole country are most + indebted to the Hampton Institute in Virginia. Then there is Fisk + University at Nashville, Tennessee; Talladega College at Talladega, + Alabama; Spelman Seminary, Atlanta University, and Atlanta Baptist College + at Atlanta; Biddle University in North Carolina; Claflin University at + Orangeburg, South Carolina; and Knoxville College at Knoxville, Tennessee. + Some of these do a different grade of work, but one much needed. + </p> + <p> + At Tuskegee, Alabama, starting fifteen years ago in a little shanty with + one teacher and thirty students, with no property, there has grown up an + industrial and educational village where the ideas that I have referred to + are put into the heads, hearts, and hands of an army of colored men and + women, with the purpose of having them become centers of light and + civilization in every part of the South. One visiting the Tuskegee Normal + and Industrial Institute to-day will find eight hundred and fifty students + gathered from twenty-four States, with eighty-eight teachers and officers + training these students in literary, religious, and industrial work. + </p> + <p> + Counting the students and the families of the instructors, the visitor + will find a black village of about twelve hundred people. Instead of the + old, worn-out plantation that was there fifteen years ago, there is a + modern farm of seven hundred acres cultivated by student labor. There are + Jersey and Holstein cows and Berkshire pigs, and the butter used is made + by the most modern process. + </p> + <p> + Aside from the dozens of neat, comfortable cottages owned by individual + teachers and other persons, who have settled in this village for the + purpose of educating their children, he will find thirty-six buildings of + various kinds and sizes, owned and built by the school, property valued at + three hundred thousand dollars. Perhaps the most interesting thing in + connection with these buildings is that, with the exception of three, they + have been built by student labor. The friends of the school have furnished + money to pay the teachers and for material. + </p> + <p> + When a building is to be erected, the teacher in charge of the mechanical + and architectural drawing department gives to the class in drawing a + general description of the building desired, and then there is a + competition to see whose plan will be accepted. These same students in + most cases help do the practical work of putting up the building—some + at the sawmill, the brick-yard, or in the carpentry, brickmaking, + plastering, painting, and tinsmithing departments. At the same time care + is taken to see not only that the building goes up properly, but that the + students, who are under intelligent instructors in their special branch, + are taught at the same time the principles as well as the practical part + of the trade. + </p> + <p> + The school has the building in the end, and the students have the + knowledge of the trade. This same principle applies, whether in the + laundry, where the washing for seven or eight hundred people is done, or + in the sewing-room, where a large part of the clothing for this colony is + made and repaired, or in the wheelwright and blacksmith departments, where + all the wagons and buggies used by the school, besides a large number for + the outside public, are manufactured, or in the printing-office, where a + large part of the printing for the white and colored people in this region + is done. Twenty-six different industries are here in constant operation. + </p> + <p> + When the student is through with his course of training he goes out + feeling that it is just as honorable to labor with the hand as with the + head, and instead of his having to look for a place, the place usually + seeks him, because he has to give that which the South wants. One other + thing should not be overlooked in our efforts to develop the black man. As + bad as slavery was, almost every large plantation in the South during that + time was, in a measure, an industrial school. It had its farming + department, its blacksmith, wheelwright, brickmaking, carpentry, and + sewing departments. Thus at the close of the war our people were in + possession of all the common and skilled labor in the South. For nearly + twenty years after the war we overlooked the value of the ante-bellum + training, and no one was trained to replace these skilled men and women + who were soon to pass away; and now, as skilled laborers from foreign + countries, with not only educated hands but trained brains, begin to come + into the South and take these positions once held by us, we are gradually + waking up to the fact that we must compete with the white man in the + industrial world if we would hold our own. No one understands his value in + the labor world better than the old colored man. Recently, when a + convention was held in the South by the white people for the purpose of + inducing white settlers from the North and West to settle in the South, + one of these colored men said to the president of the convention: "'Fore + de Lord, boss, we's got as many white people down here now as we niggers + can support." + </p> + <p> + The negro in the South has another advantage. While there is prejudice + against him along certain lines,—in the matter of business in + general, and the trades especially,—there is virtually no prejudice + so far as the native Southern white man is concerned. White men and black + men work at the same carpenter's bench and on the same brick wall. + Sometimes the white man is the "boss," sometimes the black man is the + boss. + </p> + <p> + Some one chaffed a colored man recently because, when he got through with + a contract for building a house, he cleared just ten cents; but he said: + "All right, boss; it was worth ten cents to be de boss of dem white men." + If a Southern white man has a contract to let for the building of a house, + he prefers the black contractor, because he has been used to doing + business of this character with a negro rather than with a white man. + </p> + <p> + The negro will find his way up as a man just in proportion as he makes + himself valuable, possesses something that a white man wants, can do + something as well as, or better than, a white man. + </p> + <p> + I would not have my readers get the thought that the problem in the South + is settled, that there is nothing else to be done; far from this. Long + years of patient, hard work will be required for the betterment of the + condition of the negro in the South, as well as for the betterment of the + condition of the negro in the West Indies. + </p> + <p> + There are bright spots here and there that point the way. Perhaps the most + that we have accomplished in the last thirty years is to show the North + and the South how the fourteen slaves landed a few hundred years ago at + Jamestown, Virginia,—now nearly eight millions of freemen in the + South alone,—are to be made a safe and useful part of our democratic + and Christian institutions. + </p> + <p> + The main thing that is now needed to bring about a solution of the + difficulties in the South is money in large sums, to be used largely for + Christian, technical, and industrial education. + </p> + <p> + For more than thirty years we have been trying to solve one of the most + serious problems in the history of the world largely by passing around a + hat in the North. Out of their poverty the Southern States have done well + in assisting; many more millions are needed, and these millions will have + to come before the question as to the negro in the South is settled. + </p> + <p> + There never was a greater opportunity for men of wealth to place a few + million dollars where they could be used in lifting up and regenerating a + whole race; and let it always be borne in mind that every dollar given for + the proper education of the negro in the South is almost as much help to + the Southern white man as to the negro himself. So long as the whites in + the South are surrounded by a race that is, in a large measure, in + ignorance and poverty, so long will this ignorance and poverty of the + negro in a score of ways prevent the highest development of the white man. + </p> + <p> + The problem of lifting up the negro in Cuba and Porto Rico is an easier + one in one respect, even if it proves more difficult in others. It will be + less difficult, because there is the absence of that higher degree of race + feeling which exists in many parts of the United States. Both the white + Cuban and the white Spaniard have treated the people of African descent, + in civil, political, military, and business matters, very much as they + have treated others of their own race. Oppression has not cowed and + unmanned the Cuban negro in certain respects as it has the American negro. + </p> + <p> + In only a few instances is the color-line drawn. How Americans will treat + the negro Cuban, and what will be the tendency of American influences in + the matter of the relation of the races, remains an interesting and open + question. Certainly it will place this country in an awkward position to + have gone to war to free a people from Spanish cruelty, and then as soon + as it gets them within its power to treat a large proportion of the + population worse than did even Spain herself, simply on account of color. + </p> + <p> + While in the matter of the relation of the races the problem before us in + the West Indies is easier, in respect to the industrial, moral, and + religious sides it is more difficult. The negroes on these islands are + largely an agricultural people, and for this reason, in addition to a + higher degree of mental and religious training, they need the same + agricultural, mechanical, and domestic training that is fast helping the + negroes in our Southern States. Industrial training will not only help + them to the ownership of property, habits of thrift and economy, but the + acquiring of these elements of strength will go further than anything else + in improving the moral and religious condition of the masses, just as has + been and is true of my people in the Southern States. + </p> + <p> + With the idea of getting the methods of industrial education pursued at + Hampton and Tuskegee permanently and rightly started in Cuba and Porto + Rico, a few of the most promising men and women from these islands have + been brought to the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute, and educated + with the view of having them return and take the lead in affording + industrial training on these islands, where the training can best be given + to the masses. + </p> + <p> + The emphasis that I have placed upon an industrial education does not mean + that the negro is to be excluded from the higher interests of life, but it + does mean that in proportion as the negro gets the foundation,—the + useful before the ornamental,—in the same proportion will he + accelerate his progress in acquiring those elements which do not pertain + so directly to the utilitarian. + </p> + <p> + Phillips Brooks once said, "One generation gathers the material, and the + next builds the palaces." Very largely this must be the material-gathering + generation of black people, but in due time the palaces will come if we + are patient. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0021" id="link2H_4_0021"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE MARCH OF PROGRESS by Charles W. Chesnutt + </h2> + <p> + The colored people of Patesville had at length gained the object they had + for a long time been seeking—the appointment of a committee of + themselves to manage the colored schools of the town. They had argued, + with some show of reason, that they were most interested in the education + of their own children, and in a position to know, better than any + committee of white men could, what was best for their children's needs. + The appointments had been made by the county commissioners during the + latter part of the summer, and a week later a meeting was called for the + purpose of electing a teacher to take charge of the grammar school at the + beginning of the fall term. + </p> + <p> + The committee consisted of Frank Gillespie, or "Glaspy," a barber, who + took an active part in local politics; Bob Cotten, a blacksmith, who owned + several houses and was looked upon as a substantial citizen; and Abe + Johnson, commonly called "Ole Abe" or "Uncle Abe," who had a large family, + and drove a dray, and did odd jobs of hauling; he was also a class-leader + in the Methodist church. The committee had been chosen from among a number + of candidates—Gillespie on account of his political standing, Cotten + as representing the solid element of the colored population, and Old Abe, + with democratic impartiality, as likely to satisfy the humbler class of a + humble people. While the choice had not pleased everybody,—for + instance, some of the other applicants,—it was acquiesced in with + general satisfaction. The first meeting of the new committee was of great + public interest, partly by reason of its novelty, but chiefly because + there were two candidates for the position of teacher of the grammar + school. + </p> + <p> + The former teacher, Miss Henrietta Noble, had applied for the school. She + had taught the colored children of Patesville for fifteen years. When the + Freedmen's Bureau, after the military occupation of North Carolina, had + called for volunteers to teach the children of the freedmen, Henrietta + Nobel had offered her services. Brought up in a New England household by + parents who taught her to fear God and love her fellow-men, she had seen + her father's body brought home from a Southern battle-field and laid to + rest in the village cemetery; and a short six months later she had buried + her mother by his side. Henrietta had no brothers or sisters, and her + nearest relatives were cousins living in the far West. The only human + being in whom she felt any special personal interest was a certain captain + in her father's regiment, who had paid her some attention. She had loved + this man deeply, in a maidenly, modest way; but he had gone away without + speaking, and had not since written. He had escaped the fate of many + others, and at the close of the war was alive and well, stationed in some + Southern garrison. + </p> + <p> + When her mother died, Henrietta had found herself possessed only of the + house where she lived and the furniture it contained, neither being of + much value, and she was thrown upon her own resources for a livelihood. + She had a fair education and had read many good books. It was not easy to + find employment such as she desired. She wrote to her Western cousins, and + they advised her to come to them, as they thought they could do something + for her if she were there. She had almost decided to accept their offer, + when the demand arose for teachers in the South. Whether impelled by some + strain of adventurous blood from a Pilgrim ancestry, or by a sensitive + pride that shrank from dependence, or by some dim and unacknowledged hope + that she might sometime, somewhere, somehow meet Captain Carey—whether + from one of these motives or a combination of them all, joined to + something of the missionary spirit, she decided to go South, and wrote to + her cousins declining their friendly offer. + </p> + <p> + She had come to Patesville when the children were mostly a mob of dirty + little beggars. She had distributed among them the cast-off clothing that + came from their friends in the North; she had taught them to wash their + faces and to comb their hair; and patiently, year after year, she had + labored to instruct them in the rudiments of learning and the first + principles of religion and morality. And she had not wrought in vain. + Other agencies, it is true, had in time cooperated with her efforts, but + any one who had watched the current of events must have been compelled to + admit that the very fair progress of the colored people of Patesville in + the fifteen years following emancipation had been due chiefly to the + unselfish labors of Henrietta Noble, and that her nature did not belie her + name. + </p> + <p> + Fifteen years is a long time. Miss Noble had never met Captain Carey; and + when she learned later that he had married a Southern girl in the + neighborhood of his post, she had shed her tears in secret and banished + his image from her heart. She had lived a lonely life. The white people of + the town, though they learned in time to respect her and to value her + work, had never recognized her existence by more than the mere external + courtesy shown by any community to one who lives in the midst of it. The + situation was at first, of course, so strained that she did not expect + sympathy from the white people; and later, when time had smoothed over + some of the asperities of war, her work had so engaged her that she had + not had time to pine over her social exclusion. Once or twice nature had + asserted itself, and she had longed for her own kind, and had visited her + New England home. But her circle of friends was broken up, and she did not + find much pleasure in boarding-house life; and on her last visit to the + North but one, she had felt so lonely that she had longed for the dark + faces of her pupils, and had welcomed with pleasure the hour when her task + should be resumed. + </p> + <p> + But for several reasons the school at Patesville was of more importance to + Miss Noble at this particular time than it ever had been before. During + the last few years her health had not been good. An affection of the heart + similar to that from which her mother had died, while not interfering + perceptibly with her work, had grown from bad to worse, aggravated by + close application to her duties, until it had caused her grave alarm. She + did not have perfect confidence in the skill of the Patesville physicians, + and to obtain the best medical advice had gone to New York during the + summer, remaining there a month under the treatment of an eminent + specialist. This, of course, had been expensive and had absorbed the + savings of years from a small salary; and when the time came for her to + return to Patesville, she was reduced, after paying her traveling + expenses, to her last ten-dollar note. + </p> + <p> + "It is very fortunate," the great man had said at her last visit, "that + circumstances permit you to live in the South, for I am afraid you could + not endure a Northern winter. You are getting along very well now, and if + you will take care of yourself and avoid excitement, you will be better." + He said to himself as she went away: "It's only a matter of time, but that + is true about us all; and a wise physician does as much good by what he + withholds as by what he tells." + </p> + <p> + Miss Noble had not anticipated any trouble about the school. When she went + away the same committee of white men was in charge that had controlled the + school since it had become part of the public-school system of the State + on the withdrawal of support from the Freedmen's Bureau. While there had + been no formal engagement made for the next year, when she had last seen + the chairman before she went away, he had remarked that she was looking + rather fagged out, had bidden her good-by, and had hoped to see her much + improved when she returned. She had left her house in the care of the + colored woman who lived with her and did her housework, assuming, of + course, that she would take up her work again in the autumn. + </p> + <p> + She was much surprised at first, and later alarmed, to find a rival for + her position as teacher of the grammar school. Many of her friends and + pupils had called on her since her return, and she had met a number of the + people at the colored Methodist church, where she taught in the + Sunday-school. She had many friends and supporters, but she soon found out + that her opponent had considerable strength. There had been a time when + she would have withdrawn and left him a clear field, but at the present + moment it was almost a matter of life and death to her—certainly the + matter of earning a living—to secure the appointment. + </p> + <p> + The other candidate was a young man who in former years had been one of + Miss Noble's brightest pupils. When he had finished his course in the + grammar school, his parents, with considerable sacrifice, had sent him to + a college for colored youth. He had studied diligently, had worked + industriously during his vacations, sometimes at manual labor, sometimes + teaching a country school, and in due time had been graduated from his + college with honors. He had come home at the end of his school life, and + was very naturally seeking the employment for which he had fitted himself. + He was a "bright" mulatto, with straight hair, an intelligent face, and a + well-set figure. He had acquired some of the marks of culture, wore a + frock-coat and a high collar, parted his hair in the middle, and showed by + his manner that he thought a good deal of himself. He was the popular + candidate among the progressive element of his people, and rather + confidently expected the appointment. + </p> + <p> + The meeting of the committee was held in the Methodist church, where, in + fact, the grammar school was taught, for want of a separate school-house. + After the preliminary steps to effect an organization, Mr. Gillespie, who + had been elected chairman, took the floor. + </p> + <p> + "The principal business to be brought befo' the meet'n' this evenin'," he + said, "is the selection of a teacher for our grammar school for the + ensuin' year. Two candidates have filed applications, which, if there is + no objection, I will read to the committee. The first is from Miss Noble, + who has been the teacher ever since the grammar school was started." + </p> + <p> + He then read Miss Noble's letter, in which she called attention to her + long years of service, to her need of the position, and to her affection + for the pupils, and made formal application for the school for the next + year. She did not, from motives of self-respect, make known the extremity + of her need; nor did she mention the condition of her health, as it might + have been used as an argument against her retention. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Gillespie then read the application of the other candidate, Andrew J. + Williams. Mr. Williams set out in detail his qualifications for the + position: his degree from Riddle University; his familiarity with the dead + and living languages and the higher mathematics; his views of discipline; + and a peroration in which he expressed the desire to devote himself to the + elevation of his race and assist the march of progress through the medium + of the Patesville grammar school. The letter was well written in a bold, + round hand, with many flourishes, and looked very aggressive and + overbearing as it lay on the table by the side of the sheet of small + note-paper in Miss Noble's faint and somewhat cramped handwriting. + </p> + <p> + "You have heard the readin' of the applications," said the chairman. + "Gentlemen, what is yo' pleasure?" + </p> + <p> + There being no immediate response, the chairman continued: + </p> + <p> + "As this is a matter of consid'able importance, involvin' not only the + welfare of our schools, but the progress of our race, an' as our action is + liable to be criticized, whatever we decide, perhaps we had better discuss + the subjec' befo' we act. If nobody else has anything to obse've, I will + make a few remarks." + </p> + <p> + Mr. Gillespie cleared his throat, and, assuming an oratorical attitude, + proceeded: + </p> + <p> + "The time has come in the history of our people when we should stand + together. In this age of organization the march of progress requires that + we help ourselves, or be forever left behind. Ever since the war we have + been sendin' our child'n to school an' educatin' 'em; an' now the time has + come when they are leavin' the schools an' colleges, an' are ready to go + to work. An' what are they goin' to do? The white people won't hire 'em as + clerks in their sto's an' factories an' mills, an' we have no sto's or + factories or mills of our own. They can't be lawyers or doctors yet, + because we haven't got the money to send 'em to medical colleges an' law + schools. We can't elect many of 'em to office, for various reasons. + There's just two things they can find to do—to preach in our own + pulpits, an' teach in our own schools. If it wasn't for that, they'd have + to go on forever waitin' on white folks, like their fo'fathers have done, + because they couldn't help it. If we expect our race to progress, we must + educate our young men an' women. If we want to encourage 'em to get + education, we must find 'em employment when they are educated. We have now + an opportunity to do this in the case of our young friend an' + fellow-citizen, Mr. Williams, whose eloquent an' fine-lookin' letter ought + to make us feel proud of him an' of our race. + </p> + <p> + "Of co'se there are two sides to the question. We have got to consider the + claims of Miss Noble. She has been with us a long time an' has done much + good work for our people, an' we'll never forget her work an' frien'ship. + But, after all, she has been paid for it; she has got her salary regularly + an' for a long time, an' she has probably saved somethin', for we all know + she hasn't lived high; an', for all we know, she may have had somethin' + left her by her parents. An' then again, she's white, an' has got her own + people to look after her; they've got all the money an' all the offices + an' all the everythin',—all that they've made an' all that we've + made for fo' hundred years,—an' they sho'ly would look out for her. + If she don't get this school, there's probably a dozen others she can get + at the North. An' another thing: she is gettin' rather feeble, an' it + 'pears to me she's hardly able to stand teachin' so many child'n, an' a + long rest might be the best thing in the world for her. + </p> + <p> + "Now, gentlemen, that's the situation. Shall we keep Miss Noble, or shall + we stand by our own people? It seems to me there can hardly be but one + answer. Self-preservation is the first law of nature. Are there any other + remarks?" + </p> + <p> + Old Abe was moving restlessly in his seat. He did not say anything, + however, and the chairman turned to the other member. + </p> + <p> + "Brother Cotten, what is yo' opinion of the question befo' the board?" + </p> + <p> + Mr. Cotten rose with the slowness and dignity becoming a substantial + citizen, and observed: + </p> + <p> + "I think the remarks of the chairman have great weight. We all have + nothin' but kind feelin's fer Miss Noble, an' I came here to-night + somewhat undecided how to vote on this question. But after listenin' to + the just an' forcible arguments of Brother Glaspy, it 'pears to me that, + after all, the question befo' us is not a matter of feelin', but of + business. As a business man, I am inclined to think Brother Glaspy is + right. If we don't help ourselves when we get a chance, who is goin' to + help us?" + </p> + <p> + "That bein' the case," said the chairman, "shall we proceed to a vote? All + who favor the election of Brother Williams—" + </p> + <p> + At this point Old Abe, with much preliminary shuffling, stood up in his + place and interrupted the speaker. + </p> + <p> + "Mr. Chuhman," he said, "I s'pose I has a right ter speak in dis meet'n? I + S'POSE I is a member er dis committee?" + </p> + <p> + "Certainly, Brother Johnson, certainly; we shall be glad to hear from + you." + </p> + <p> + "I s'pose I's got a right ter speak my min', ef I is po' an' black, an' + don' weah as good clo's as some other members er de committee?" + </p> + <p> + "Most assuredly, Brother Johnson," answered the chairman, with a barber's + suavity, "you have as much right to be heard as any one else. There was no + intention of cuttin' you off." + </p> + <p> + "I s'pose," continued Abe, "dat a man wid fo'teen child'n kin be 'lowed + ter hab somethin' ter say 'bout de schools er dis town?" + </p> + <p> + "I am sorry, Brother Johnson, that you should feel slighted, but there was + no intention to igno' yo' rights. The committee will be please' to have + you ventilate yo' views." + </p> + <p> + "Ef it's all be'n an' done reco'nized an' 'cided dat I's got de right ter + be heared in dis meet'n', I'll say w'at I has ter say, an' it won't take + me long ter say it. Ef I should try ter tell all de things dat Miss Noble + has done fer de niggers er dis town, it'd take me till ter-morrer mawnin'. + Fer fifteen long yeahs I has watched her incomin's an' her outgoin's. Her + daddy was a Yankee kunnel, who died fighting fer ou' freedom. She come + heah when we—yas, Mr. Chuhman, when you an' Br'er Cotten—was + jes sot free, an' when none er us didn' have a rag ter ou' backs. She come + heah, an' she tuk yo' child'n an' my child'n, an' she teached 'em sense + an' manners an' religion an' book-l'arnin'. When she come heah we didn' + hab no chu'ch. Who writ up No'th an' got a preacher sent to us, an' de + fun's ter buil' dis same chu'ch-house we're settin' in ter-night? Who got + de money f'm de Bureau to s'port de school? An' when dat was stop', who + got de money f'm de Peabody Fun'? Talk about Miss Noble gittin' a sal'ry! + Who paid dat sal'ry up ter five years ago? Not one dollah of it come outer + ou' pockets! + </p> + <p> + "An' den, w'at did she git fer de yuther things she done? Who paid her fer + de gals she kep' f'm throwin' deyse'ves away? Who paid fer de boys she + kep' outer jail? I had a son dat seemed to hab made up his min' ter go + straight ter hell. I made him go ter Sunday-school, an' somethin' dat + woman said teched his heart, an' he behaved hisse'f, an' I ain' got no + reason fer ter be 'shame' er 'im. An' I can 'member, Br'er Cotten, when + you didn' own fo' houses an' a fahm. An' when yo' fus wife was sick, who + sot by her bedside an' read de Good Book ter 'er, w'en dey wuzn' nobody + else knowed how ter read it, an' comforted her on her way across de col', + dahk ribber? An' dat ain' all I kin 'member, Mr. Chuhman! When yo' gal + Fanny was a baby, an' sick, an' nobody knowed what was de matter wid 'er, + who sent fer a doctor, an' paid 'im fer comin', an' who he'ped nuss dat + chile, an' tol' yo' wife w'at ter do, an' save' dat chile's life, jes as + sho' as de Lawd has save' my soul? + </p> + <p> + "An' now, aftuh fifteen yeahs o' slavin' fer us, who ain't got no claim on + her, aftuh fifteen yeahs dat she has libbed 'mongs' us an' made herse'f + one of us, an' endyoed havin' her own people look down on her, aftuh she + has growed ole an' gray wukkin' fer us an' our child'n, we talk erbout + turnin' 'er out like a' ole hoss ter die! It 'pears ter me some folks has + po' mem'ries! Whar would we 'a' be'n ef her folks at de No'th hadn' + 'membered us no bettuh? An' we hadn' done nothin', neither, fer dem to + 'member us fer. De man dat kin fergit w'at Miss Noble has done fer dis + town is unworthy de name er nigger! He oughter die an' make room fer some + 'spectable dog! + </p> + <p> + "Br'er Glaspy says we got a' educated young man, an' we mus' gib him + sump'n' ter do. Let him wait; ef I reads de signs right he won't hab ter + wait long fer dis job. Let him teach in de primary schools, er in de + country; an' ef he can't do dat, let 'im work awhile. It don't hahm a' + educated man ter work a little; his fo'fathers has worked fer hund'eds of + years, an' we's worked, an' we're heah yet, an' we're free, an' we's + gettin' ou' own houses an' lots an' hosses an' cows—an' ou' educated + young men. But don't let de fus thing we do as a committee be somethin' we + ought ter be 'shamed of as long as we lib. I votes fer Miss Noble, fus, + las', an' all de time!" + </p> + <p> + When Old Abe sat down the chairman's face bore a troubled look. He + remembered how his baby girl, the first of his children that he could + really call his own, that no master could hold a prior claim upon, lay + dying in the arms of his distracted young wife, and how the thin, homely, + and short-sighted white teacher had come like an angel into his cabin, and + had brought back the little one from the verge of the grave. The child was + a young woman now, and Gillespie had well-founded hopes of securing the + superior young Williams for a son-in-law; and he realized with something + of shame that this later ambition had so dazzled his eyes for a moment as + to obscure the memory of earlier days. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Cotten, too, had not been unmoved, and there were tears in his eyes as + he recalled how his first wife, Nancy, who had borne with him the + privations of slavery, had passed away, with the teacher's hand in hers, + before she had been able to enjoy the fruits of liberty. For they had + loved one another much, and her death had been to them both a hard and + bitter thing. And, as Old Abe spoke, he could remember, as distinctly as + though they had been spoken but an hour before, the words of comfort that + the teacher had whispered to Nancy in her dying hour and to him in his + bereavement. + </p> + <p> + "On consideration, Mr. Chairman," he said, with an effort to hide a + suspicious tremor in his voice and to speak with the dignity consistent + with his character as a substantial citizen, "I wish to record my vote fer + Miss Noble." + </p> + <p> + "The chair," said Gillespie, yielding gracefully to the majority, and + greatly relieved that the responsibility of his candidate's defeat lay + elsewhere, "will make the vote unanimous, and will appoint Brother Cotten + and Brother Johnson a committee to step round the corner to Miss Noble's + and notify her of her election." + </p> + <p> + The two committeemen put on their hats, and, accompanied by several people + who had been waiting at the door to hear the result of the meeting, went + around the corner to Miss Noble's house, a distance of a block or two + away. The house was lighted, so they knew she had not gone to bed. They + went in at the gate, and Cotten knocked at the door. + </p> + <p> + The colored maid opened it. + </p> + <p> + "Is Miss Noble home?" said Cotten. + </p> + <p> + "Yes; come in. She's waitin' ter hear from the committee." + </p> + <p> + The woman showed them into the parlor. Miss Noble rose from her seat by + the table, where she had been reading, and came forward to meet them. They + did not for a moment observe, as she took a step toward them, that her + footsteps wavered. In her agitation she was scarcely aware of it herself. + </p> + <p> + "Miss Noble," announced Cotten, "we have come to let you know that you + have be'n 'lected teacher of the grammar school fer the next year." + </p> + <p> + "Thank you; oh, thank you so much!" she said. "I am very glad. Mary"—she + put her hand to her side suddenly and tottered—"Mary, will you—" + </p> + <p> + A spasm of pain contracted her face and cut short her speech. She would + have fallen had Old Abe not caught her and, with Mary's help, laid her on + a couch. + </p> + <p> + The remedies applied by Mary, and by the physician who was hastily + summoned, proved unavailing. The teacher did not regain consciousness. + </p> + <p> + If it be given to those whose eyes have closed in death to linger + regretfully for a while about their earthly tenement, or from some higher + vantage-ground to look down upon it, then Henrietta Noble's tolerant + spirit must have felt, mingling with its regret, a compensating thrill of + pleasure; for not only those for whom she had labored sorrowed for her, + but the people of her own race, many of whom, in the blindness of their + pride, would not admit during her life that she served them also, saw so + much clearer now that they took charge of her poor clay, and did it gentle + reverence, and laid it tenderly away amid the dust of their own loved and + honored dead. + </p> + <p> + TWO weeks after Miss Noble's funeral the other candidate took charge of + the grammar school, which went on without any further obstacles to the + march of progress. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0022" id="link2H_4_0022"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE FREEDMEN'S BUREAU by W. E. Burghardt Du Bois + </h2> + <p> + The problem of the twentieth century is the problem of the color line; the + relation of the darker to the lighter races of men in Asia and Africa, in + America and the islands of the sea. It was a phase of this problem that + caused the Civil War; and however much they who marched south and north in + 1861 may have fixed on the technical points of union and local autonomy as + a shibboleth, all nevertheless knew, as we know, that the question of + Negro slavery was the deeper cause of the conflict. Curious it was, too, + how this deeper question ever forced itself to the surface, despite effort + and disclaimer. No sooner had Northern armies touched Southern soil than + this old question, newly guised, sprang from the earth,—What shall + be done with slaves? Peremptory military commands, this way and that, + could not answer the query; the Emancipation Proclamation seemed but to + broaden and intensify the difficulties; and so at last there arose in the + South a government of men called the Freedmen's Bureau, which lasted, + legally, from 1865 to 1872, but in a sense from 1861 to 1876, and which + sought to settle the Negro problems in the United States of America. + </p> + <p> + It is the aim of this essay to study the Freedmen's Bureau,—the + occasion of its rise, the character of its work, and its final success and + failure,—not only as a part of American history, but above all as + one of the most singular and interesting of the attempts made by a great + nation to grapple with vast problems of race and social condition. + </p> + <p> + No sooner had the armies, east and west, penetrated Virginia and Tennessee + than fugitive slaves appeared within their lines. They came at night, when + the flickering camp fires of the blue hosts shone like vast unsteady stars + along the black horizon: old men, and thin, with gray and tufted hair; + women with frightened eyes, dragging whimpering, hungry children; men and + girls, stalwart and gaunt,—a horde of starving vagabonds, homeless, + helpless, and pitiable in their dark distress. Two methods of treating + these newcomers seemed equally logical to opposite sorts of minds. Said + some, "We have nothing to do with slaves." "Hereafter," commanded Halleck, + "no slaves should be allowed to come into your lines at all; if any come + without your knowledge, when owners call for them, deliver them." But + others said, "We take grain and fowl; why not slaves?" Whereupon Fremont, + as early as August, 1861, declared the slaves of Missouri rebels free. + Such radical action was quickly countermanded, but at the same time the + opposite policy could not be enforced; some of the black refugees declared + themselves freemen, others showed their masters had deserted them, and + still others were captured with forts and plantations. Evidently, too, + slaves were a source of strength to the Confederacy, and were being used + as laborers and producers. "They constitute a military resource," wrote + the Secretary of War, late in 1861; "and being such, that they should not + be turned over to the enemy is too plain to discuss." So the tone of the + army chiefs changed, Congress forbade the rendition of fugitives, and + Butler's "contrabands" were welcomed as military laborers. This + complicated rather than solved the problem; for now the scattering + fugitives became a steady stream, which flowed faster as the armies + marched. + </p> + <p> + Then the long-headed man, with care-chiseled face, who sat in the White + House, saw the inevitable, and emancipated the slaves of rebels on New + Year's, 1863. A month later Congress called earnestly for the Negro + soldiers whom the act of July, 1862, had half grudgingly allowed to + enlist. Thus the barriers were leveled, and the deed was done. The stream + of fugitives swelled to a flood, and anxious officers kept inquiring: + "What must be done with slaves arriving almost daily? Am I to find food + and shelter for women and children?" + </p> + <p> + It was a Pierce of Boston who pointed out the way, and thus became in a + sense the founder of the Freedmen's Bureau. Being specially detailed from + the ranks to care for the freedmen at Fortress Monroe, he afterward + founded the celebrated Port Royal experiment and started the Freedmen's + Aid Societies. Thus, under the timid Treasury officials and bold army + officers, Pierce's plan widened and developed. At first, the able-bodied + men were enlisted as soldiers or hired as laborers, the women and children + were herded into central camps under guard, and "superintendents of + contrabands" multiplied here and there. Centres of massed freedmen arose + at Fortress Monroe, Va., Washington, D. C., Beaufort and Port Royal, S. + C., New Orleans, La., Vicksburg and Corinth, Miss., Columbus, Ky., Cairo, + Ill., and elsewhere, and the army chaplains found here new and fruitful + fields. + </p> + <p> + Then came the Freedmen's Aid Societies, born of the touching appeals for + relief and help from these centres of distress. There was the American + Missionary Association, sprung from the Amistad, and now full grown for + work, the various church organizations, the National Freedmen's Relief + Association, the American Freedmen's Union, the Western Freedmen's Aid + Commission,—in all fifty or more active organizations, which sent + clothes, money, school-books, and teachers southward. All they did was + needed, for the destitution of the freedmen was often reported as "too + appalling for belief," and the situation was growing daily worse rather + than better. + </p> + <p> + And daily, too, it seemed more plain that this was no ordinary matter of + temporary relief, but a national crisis; for here loomed a labor problem + of vast dimensions. Masses of Negroes stood idle, or, if they worked + spasmodically, were never sure of pay; and if perchance they received pay, + squandered the new thing thoughtlessly. In these and in other ways were + camp life and the new liberty demoralizing the freedmen. The broader + economic organization thus clearly demanded sprang up here and there as + accident and local conditions determined. Here again Pierce's Port Royal + plan of leased plantations and guided workmen pointed out the rough way. + In Washington, the military governor, at the urgent appeal of the + superintendent, opened confiscated estates to the cultivation of the + fugitives, and there in the shadow of the dome gathered black farm + villages. General Dix gave over estates to the freedmen of Fortress + Monroe, and so on through the South. The government and the benevolent + societies furnished the means of cultivation, and the Negro turned again + slowly to work. The systems of control, thus started, rapidly grew, here + and there, into strange little governments, like that of General Banks in + Louisiana, with its 90,000 black subjects, its 50,000 guided laborers, and + its annual budget of $100,000 and more. It made out 4000 pay rolls, + registered all freedmen, inquired into grievances and redressed them, laid + and collected taxes, and established a system of public schools. So too + Colonel Eaton, the superintendent of Tennessee and Arkansas, ruled over + 100,000, leased and cultivated 7000 acres of cotton land, and furnished + food for 10,000 paupers. In South Carolina was General Saxton, with his + deep interest in black folk. He succeeded Pierce and the Treasury + officials, and sold forfeited estates, leased abandoned plantations, + encouraged schools, and received from Sherman, after the terribly + picturesque march to the sea, thousands of the wretched camp followers. + </p> + <p> + Three characteristic things one might have seen in Sherman's raid through + Georgia, which threw the new situation in deep and shadowy relief: the + Conqueror, the Conquered, and the Negro. Some see all significance in the + grim front of the destroyer, and some in the bitter sufferers of the lost + cause. But to me neither soldier nor fugitive speaks with so deep a + meaning as that dark and human cloud that clung like remorse on the rear + of those swift columns, swelling at times to half their size, almost + engulfing and choking them. In vain were they ordered back, in vain were + bridges hewn from beneath their feet; on they trudged and writhed and + surged, until they rolled into Savannah, a starved and naked horde of tens + of thousands. There too came the characteristic military remedy: "The + islands from Charleston south, the abandoned ricefields along the rivers + for thirty miles back from the sea, and the country bordering the St. + John's River, Florida, are reserved and set apart for the settlement of + Negroes now made free by act of war." So read the celebrated field order. + </p> + <p> + All these experiments, orders, and systems were bound to attract and + perplex the government and the nation. Directly after the Emancipation + Proclamation, Representative Eliot had introduced a bill creating a Bureau + of Emancipation, but it was never reported. The following June, a + committee of inquiry, appointed by the Secretary of War, reported in favor + of a temporary bureau for the "improvement, protection, and employment of + refugee freedmen," on much the same lines as were afterward followed. + Petitions came in to President Lincoln from distinguished citizens and + organizations, strongly urging a comprehensive and unified plan of dealing + with the freedmen, under a bureau which should be "charged with the study + of plans and execution of measures for easily guiding, and in every way + judiciously and humanely aiding, the passage of our emancipated and yet to + be emancipated blacks from the old condition of forced labor to their new + state of voluntary industry." + </p> + <p> + Some half-hearted steps were early taken by the government to put both + freedmen and abandoned estates under the supervision of the Treasury + officials. Laws of 1863 and 1864 directed them to take charge of and lease + abandoned lands for periods not exceeding twelve months, and to "provide + in such leases or otherwise for the employment and general welfare" of the + freedmen. Most of the army officers looked upon this as a welcome relief + from perplexing "Negro affairs;" but the Treasury hesitated and blundered, + and although it leased large quantities of land and employed many Negroes, + especially along the Mississippi, yet it left the virtual control of the + laborers and their relations to their neighbors in the hands of the army. + </p> + <p> + In March, 1864, Congress at last turned its attention to the subject, and + the House passed a bill, by a majority of two, establishing a Bureau for + Freedmen in the War Department. Senator Sumner, who had charge of the bill + in the Senate, argued that freedmen and abandoned lands ought to be under + the same department, and reported a substitute for the House bill, + attaching the Bureau to the Treasury Department. This bill passed, but too + late for action in the House. The debate wandered over the whole policy of + the administration and the general question of slavery, without touching + very closely the specific merits of the measure in hand. + </p> + <p> + Meantime the election took place, and the administration, returning from + the country with a vote of renewed confidence, addressed itself to the + matter more seriously. A conference between the houses agreed upon a + carefully drawn measure which contained the chief provisions of Charles + Sumner's bill, but made the proposed organization a department independent + of both the War and Treasury officials. The bill was conservative, giving + the new department "general superintendence of all freedmen." It was to + "establish regulations" for them, protect them, lease them lands, adjust + their wages, and appear in civil and military courts as their "next + friend." There were many limitations attached to the powers thus granted, + and the organization was made permanent. Nevertheless, the Senate defeated + the bill, and a new conference committee was appointed. This committee + reported a new bill, February 28, which was whirled through just as the + session closed, and which became the act of 1865 establishing in the War + Department a "Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands." + </p> + <p> + This last compromise was a hasty bit of legislation, vague and uncertain + in outline. A Bureau was created, "to continue during the present War of + Rebellion, and for one year thereafter," to which was given "the + supervision and management of all abandoned lands, and the control of all + subjects relating to refugees and freedmen," under "such rules and + regulations as may be presented by the head of the Bureau and approved by + the President." A commissioner, appointed by the President and Senate, was + to control the Bureau, with an office force not exceeding ten clerks. The + President might also appoint commissioners in the seceded states, and to + all these offices military officials might be detailed at regular pay. The + Secretary of War could issue rations, clothing, and fuel to the destitute, + and all abandoned property was placed in the hands of the Bureau for + eventual lease and sale to ex-slaves in forty-acre parcels. + </p> + <p> + Thus did the United States government definitely assume charge of the + emancipated Negro as the ward of the nation. It was a tremendous + undertaking. Here, at a stroke of the pen, was erected a government of + millions of men,—and not ordinary men, either, but black men + emasculated by a peculiarly complete system of slavery, centuries old; and + now, suddenly, violently, they come into a new birthright, at a time of + war and passion, in the midst of the stricken, embittered population of + their former masters. Any man might well have hesitated to assume charge + of such a work, with vast responsibilities, indefinite powers, and limited + resources. Probably no one but a soldier would have answered such a call + promptly; and indeed no one but a soldier could be called, for Congress + had appropriated no money for salaries and expenses. + </p> + <p> + Less than a month after the weary emancipator passed to his rest, his + successor assigned Major General Oliver O. Howard to duty as commissioner + of the new Bureau. He was a Maine man, then only thirty-five years of age. + He had marched with Sherman to the sea, had fought well at Gettysburg, and + had but a year before been assigned to the command of the Department of + Tennessee. An honest and sincere men, with rather too much faith in human + nature, little aptitude for systematic business and intricate detail, he + was nevertheless conservative, hard-working, and, above all, acquainted at + first-hand with much of the work before him. And of that work it has been + truly said, "No approximately correct history of civilization can ever be + written which does not throw out in bold relief, as one of the great + landmarks of political and social progress, the organization and + administration of the Freedmen's Bureau." + </p> + <p> + On May 12, 1865, Howard was appointed, and he assumed the duties of his + office promptly on the 15th, and began examining the field of work. A + curious mess he looked upon: little despotisms, communistic experiments, + slavery, peonage, business speculations, organized charity, unorganized + almsgiving,—all reeling on under the guise of helping the freedman, + and all enshrined in the smoke and blood of war and the cursing and + silence of angry men. On May 19 the new government—for a government + it really was—issued its constitution; commissioners were to be + appointed in each of the seceded states, who were to take charge of "all + subjects relating to refugees and freedmen," and all relief and rations + were to be given by their consent alone. The Bureau invited continued + cooperation with benevolent societies, and declared, "It will be the + object of all commissioners to introduce practicable systems of + compensated labor," and to establish schools. Forthwith nine assistant + commissioners were appointed. They were to hasten to their fields of work; + seek gradually to close relief establishments, and make the destitute + self-supporting; act as courts of law where there were no courts, or where + Negroes were not recognized in them as free; establish the institution of + marriage among ex-slaves, and keep records; see that freedmen were free to + choose their employers, and help in making fair contracts for them; and + finally, the circular said, "Simple good faith, for which we hope on all + hands for those concerned in the passing away of slavery, will especially + relieve the assistant commissioners in the discharge of their duties + toward the freedmen, as well as promote the general welfare." + </p> + <p> + No sooner was the work thus started, and the general system and local + organization in some measure begun, than two grave difficulties appeared + which changed largely the theory and outcome of Bureau work. First, there + were the abandoned lands of the South. It had long been the more or less + definitely expressed theory of the North that all the chief problems of + emancipation might be settled by establishing the slaves on the forfeited + lands of their masters,—a sort of poetic justice, said some. But + this poetry done into solemn prose meant either wholesale confiscation of + private property in the South, or vast appropriations. Now Congress had + not appropriated a cent, and no sooner did the proclamations of general + amnesty appear than the 800,000 acres of abandoned lands in the hands of + the Freedmen's Bureau melted quickly away. The second difficulty lay in + perfecting the local organization of the Bureau throughout the wide field + of work. Making a new machine and sending out officials of duly + ascertained fitness for a great work of social reform is no child's task; + but this task was even harder, for a new central organization had to be + fitted on a heterogeneous and confused but already existing system of + relief and control of ex-slaves; and the agents available for this work + must be sought for in an army still busy with war operations,—men in + the very nature of the case ill fitted for delicate social work,—or + among the questionable camp followers of an invading host. Thus, after a + year's work, vigorously as it was pushed, the problem looked even more + difficult to grasp and solve than at the beginning. Nevertheless, three + things that year's work did, well worth the doing: it relieved a vast + amount of physical suffering; it transported 7000 fugitives from congested + centres back to the farm; and, best of all, it inaugurated the crusade of + the New England schoolma'am. + </p> + <p> + The annals of this Ninth Crusade are yet to be written, the tale of a + mission that seemed to our age far more quixotic than the quest of St. + Louis seemed to his. Behind the mists of ruin and rapine waved the calico + dresses of women who dared, and after the hoarse mouthings of the field + guns rang the rhythm of the alphabet. Rich and poor they were, serious and + curious. Bereaved now of a father, now of a brother, now of more than + these, they came seeking a life work in planting New England schoolhouses + among the white and black of the South. They did their work well. In that + first year they taught 100,000 souls, and more. + </p> + <p> + Evidently, Congress must soon legislate again on the hastily organized + Bureau, which had so quickly grown into wide significance and vast + possibilities. An institution such as that was well-nigh as difficult to + end as to begin. Early in 1866 Congress took up the matter, when Senator + Trumbull, of Illinois, introduced a bill to extend the Bureau and enlarge + its powers. This measure received, at the hands of Congress, far more + thorough discussion and attention than its predecessor. The war cloud had + thinned enough to allow a clearer conception of the work of emancipation. + The champions of the bill argued that the strengthening of the Freedmen's + Bureau was still a military necessity; that it was needed for the proper + carrying out of the Thirteenth Amendment, and was a work of sheer justice + to the ex-slave, at a trifling cost to the government. The opponents of + the measure declared that the war was over, and the necessity for war + measures past; that the Bureau, by reason of its extraordinary powers, was + clearly unconstitutional in time of peace, and was destined to irritate + the South and pauperize the freedmen, at a final cost of possibly hundreds + of millions. Two of these arguments were unanswered, and indeed + unanswerable: the one that the extraordinary powers of the Bureau + threatened the civil rights of all citizens; and the other that the + government must have power to do what manifestly must be done, and that + present abandonment of the freedmen meant their practical enslavement. The + bill which finally passed enlarged and made permanent the Freedmen's + Bureau. It was promptly vetoed by President Johnson, as + "unconstitutional," "unnecessary," and "extrajudicial," and failed of + passage over the veto. Meantime, however, the breach between Congress and + the President began to broaden, and a modified form of the lost bill was + finally passed over the President's second veto, July 16. + </p> + <p> + The act of 1866 gave the Freedmen's Bureau its final form,—the form + by which it will be known to posterity and judged of men. It extended the + existence of the Bureau to July, 1868; it authorized additional assistant + commissioners, the retention of army officers mustered out of regular + service, the sale of certain forfeited lands to freedmen on nominal terms, + the sale of Confederate public property for Negro schools, and a wider + field of judicial interpretation and cognizance. The government of the + un-reconstructed South was thus put very largely in the hands of the + Freedmen's Bureau, especially as in many cases the departmental military + commander was now made also assistant commissioner. It was thus that the + Freedmen's Bureau became a full-fledged government of men. It made laws, + executed them and interpreted them; it laid and collected taxes, defined + and punished crime, maintained and used military force, and dictated such + measures as it thought necessary and proper for the accomplishment of its + varied ends. Naturally, all these powers were not exercised continuously + nor to their fullest extent; and yet, as General Howard has said, + "scarcely any subject that has to be legislated upon in civil society + failed, at one time or another, to demand the action of this singular + Bureau." + </p> + <p> + To understand and criticise intelligently so vast a work, one must not + forget an instant the drift of things in the later sixties: Lee had + surrendered, Lincoln was dead, and Johnson and Congress were at + loggerheads; the Thirteenth Amendment was adopted, the Fourteenth pending, + and the Fifteenth declared in force in 1870. Guerrilla raiding, the ever + present flickering after-flame of war, was spending its force against the + Negroes, and all the Southern land was awakening as from some wild dream + to poverty and social revolution. In a time of perfect calm, amid willing + neighbors and streaming wealth, the social uplifting of 4,000,000 slaves + to an assured and self-sustaining place in the body politic and economic + would have been an herculean task; but when to the inherent difficulties + of so delicate and nice a social operation were added the spite and hate + of conflict, the Hell of War; when suspicion and cruelty were rife, and + gaunt Hunger wept beside Bereavement,—in such a case, the work of + any instrument of social regeneration was in large part foredoomed to + failure. The very name of the Bureau stood for a thing in the South which + for two centuries and better men had refused even to argue,—that + life amid free Negroes was simply unthinkable, the maddest of experiments. + The agents which the Bureau could command varied all the way from + unselfish philanthropists to narrow-minded busybodies and thieves; and + even though it be true that the average was far better than the worst, it + was the one fly that helped to spoil the ointment. Then, amid all this + crouched the freed slave, bewildered between friend and foe. He had + emerged from slavery: not the worst slavery in the world, not a slavery + that made all life unbearable,—rather, a slavery that had here and + there much of kindliness, fidelity, and happiness,—but withal + slavery, which, so far as human aspiration and desert were concerned, + classed the black man and the ox together. And the Negro knew full well + that, whatever their deeper convictions may have been, Southern men had + fought with desperate energy to perpetuate this slavery, under which the + black masses, with half-articulate thought, had writhed and shivered. They + welcomed freedom with a cry. They fled to the friends that had freed them. + They shrank from the master who still strove for their chains. So the + cleft between the white and black South grew. Idle to say it never should + have been; it was as inevitable as its results were pitiable. Curiously + incongruous elements were left arrayed against each other: the North, the + government, the carpetbagger, and the slave, here; and there, all the + South that was white, whether gentleman or vagabond, honest man or rascal, + lawless murderer or martyr to duty. + </p> + <p> + Thus it is doubly difficult to write of this period calmly, so intense was + the feeling, so mighty the human passions, that swayed and blinded men. + Amid it all two figures ever stand to typify that day to coming men: the + one a gray-haired gentleman, whose fathers had quit themselves like men, + whose sons lay in nameless graves, who bowed to the evil of slavery + because its abolition boded untold ill to all; who stood at last, in the + evening of life, a blighted, ruined form, with hate in his eyes. And the + other, a form hovering dark and mother-like, her awful face black with the + mists of centuries, had aforetime bent in love over her white master's + cradle, rocked his sons and daughters to sleep, and closed in death the + sunken eyes of his wife to the world; ay, too, had laid herself low to his + lust and borne a tawny man child to the world, only to see her dark boy's + limbs scattered to the winds by midnight marauders riding after Damned + Niggers. These were the saddest sights of that woeful day; and no man + clasped the hands of these two passing figures of the present-past; but + hating they went to their long home, and hating their children's children + live to-day. + </p> + <p> + Here, then, was the field of work for the Freedmen's Bureau; and since, + with some hesitation, it was continued by the act of 1868 till 1869, let + us look upon four years of its work as a whole. There were, in 1868, 900 + Bureau officials scattered from Washington to Texas, ruling, directly and + indirectly, many millions of men. And the deeds of these rulers fall + mainly under seven heads,—the relief of physical suffering, the + overseeing of the beginnings of free labor, the buying and selling of + land, the establishment of schools, the paying of bounties, the + administration of justice, and the financiering of all these activities. + Up to June, 1869, over half a million patients had been treated by Bureau + physicians and surgeons, and sixty hospitals and asylums had been in + operation. In fifty months of work 21,000,000 free rations were + distributed at a cost of over $4,000,000,—beginning at the rate of + 30,000 rations a day in 1865, and discontinuing in 1869. Next came the + difficult question of labor. First, 30,000 black men were transported from + the refuges and relief stations back to the farms, back to the critical + trial of a new way of working. Plain, simple instructions went out from + Washington,—the freedom of laborers to choose employers, no fixed + rates of wages, no peonage or forced labor. So far so good; but where + local agents differed toto coelo in capacity and character, where the + personnel was continually changing, the outcome was varied. The largest + element of success lay in the fact that the majority of the freedmen were + willing, often eager, to work. So contracts were written,—50,000 in + a single state,—laborers advised, wages guaranteed, and employers + supplied. In truth, the organization became a vast labor bureau; not + perfect, indeed,—notably defective here and there,—but on the + whole, considering the situation, successful beyond the dreams of + thoughtful men. The two great obstacles which confronted the officers at + every turn were the tyrant and the idler: the slaveholder, who believed + slavery was right, and was determined to perpetuate it under another name; + and the freedman, who regarded freedom as perpetual rest. These were the + Devil and the Deep Sea. + </p> + <p> + In the work of establishing the Negroes as peasant proprietors the Bureau + was severely handicapped, as I have shown. Nevertheless, something was + done. Abandoned lands were leased so long as they remained in the hands of + the Bureau, and a total revenue of $400,000 derived from black tenants. + Some other lands to which the nation had gained title were sold, and + public lands were opened for the settlement of the few blacks who had + tools and capital. The vision of landowning, however, the righteous and + reasonable ambition for forty acres and a mule which filled the freedmen's + dreams, was doomed in most cases to disappointment. And those men of + marvelous hind-sight, who to-day are seeking to preach the Negro back to + the soil, know well, or ought to know, that it was here, in 1865, that the + finest opportunity of binding the black peasant to the soil was lost. Yet, + with help and striving, the Negro gained some land, and by 1874, in the + one state of Georgia, owned near 350,000 acres. + </p> + <p> + The greatest success of the Freedmen's Bureau lay in the planting of the + free school among Negroes, and the idea of free elementary education among + all classes in the South. It not only called the schoolmistress through + the benevolent agencies, and built them schoolhouses, but it helped + discover and support such apostles of human development as Edmund Ware, + Erastus Cravath, and Samuel Armstrong. State superintendents of education + were appointed, and by 1870 150,000 children were in school. The + opposition to Negro education was bitter in the South, for the South + believed an educated Negro to be a dangerous Negro. And the South was not + wholly wrong; for education among all kinds of men always has had, and + always will have, an element of danger and revolution, of dissatisfaction + and discontent. Nevertheless, men strive to know. It was some inkling of + this paradox, even in the unquiet days of the Bureau, that allayed an + opposition to human training, which still to-day lies smouldering, but not + flaming. Fisk, Atlanta, Howard, and Hampton were founded in these days, + and nearly $6,000,000 was expended in five years for educational work, + $750,000 of which came from the freedmen themselves. + </p> + <p> + Such contributions, together with the buying of land and various other + enterprises, showed that the ex-slave was handling some free capital + already. The chief initial source of this was labor in the army, and his + pay and bounty as a soldier. Payments to Negro soldiers were at first + complicated by the ignorance of the recipients, and the fact that the + quotas of colored regiments from Northern states were largely filled by + recruits from the South, unknown to their fellow soldiers. Consequently, + payments were accompanied by such frauds that Congress, by joint + resolution in 1867, put the whole matter in the hands of the Freedmen's + Bureau. In two years $6,000,000 was thus distributed to 5000 claimants, + and in the end the sum exceeded $8,000,000. Even in this system, fraud was + frequent; but still the work put needed capital in the hands of practical + paupers, and some, at least, was well spent. + </p> + <p> + The most perplexing and least successful part of the Bureau's work lay in + the exercise of its judicial functions. In a distracted land where slavery + had hardly fallen, to keep the strong from wanton abuse of the weak, and + the weak from gloating insolently over the half-shorn strength of the + strong, was a thankless, hopeless task. The former masters of the land + were peremptorily ordered about, seized and imprisoned, and punished over + and again, with scant courtesy from army officers. The former slaves were + intimidated, beaten, raped, and butchered by angry and revengeful men. + Bureau courts tended to become centres simply for punishing whites, while + the regular civil courts tended to become solely institutions for + perpetuating the slavery of blacks. Almost every law and method ingenuity + could devise was employed by the legislatures to reduce the Negroes to + serfdom,—to make them the slaves of the state, if not of individual + owners; while the Bureau officials too often were found striving to put + the "bottom rail on top," and give the freedmen a power and independence + which they could not yet use. It is all well enough for us of another + generation to wax wise with advice to those who bore the burden in the + heat of the day. It is full easy now to see that the man who lost home, + fortune, and family at a stroke, and saw his land ruled by "mules and + niggers," was really benefited by the passing of slavery. It is not + difficult now to say to the young freedman, cheated and cuffed about, who + has seen his father's head beaten to a jelly and his own mother namelessly + assaulted, that the meek shall inherit the earth. Above all, nothing is + more convenient than to heap on the Freedmen's Bureau all the evils of + that evil day, and damn it utterly for every mistake and blunder that was + made. + </p> + <p> + All this is easy, but it is neither sensible nor just. Some one had + blundered, but that was long before Oliver Howard was born; there was + criminal aggression and heedless neglect, but without some system of + control there would have been far more than there was. Had that control + been from within, the Negro would have been reenslaved, to all intents and + purposes. Coming as the control did from without, perfect men and methods + would have bettered all things; and even with imperfect agents and + questionable methods, the work accomplished was not undeserving of much + commendation. The regular Bureau court consisted of one representative of + the employer, one of the Negro, and one of the Bureau. If the Bureau could + have maintained a perfectly judicial attitude, this arrangement would have + been ideal, and must in time have gained confidence; but the nature of its + other activities and the character of its personnel prejudiced the Bureau + in favor of the black litigants, and led without doubt to much injustice + and annoyance. On the other hand, to leave the Negro in the hands of + Southern courts was impossible. + </p> + <p> + What the Freedmen's Bureau cost the nation is difficult to determine + accurately. Its methods of bookkeeping were not good, and the whole system + of its work and records partook of the hurry and turmoil of the time. + General Howard himself disbursed some $15,000,000 during his incumbency; + but this includes the bounties paid colored soldiers, which perhaps should + not be counted as an expense of the Bureau. In bounties, prize money, and + all other expenses, the Bureau disbursed over $20,000,000 before all of + its departments were finally closed. To this ought to be added the large + expenses of the various departments of Negro affairs before 1865; but + these are hardly extricable from war expenditures, nor can we estimate + with any accuracy the contributions of benevolent societies during all + these years. + </p> + <p> + Such was the work of the Freedmen's Bureau. To sum it up in brief, we may + say: it set going a system of free labor; it established the black peasant + proprietor; it secured the recognition of black freemen before courts of + law; it founded the free public school in the South. On the other hand, it + failed to establish good will between ex-masters and freedmen; to guard + its work wholly from paternalistic methods that discouraged self-reliance; + to make Negroes landholders in any considerable numbers. Its successes + were the result of hard work, supplemented by the aid of philanthropists + and the eager striving of black men. Its failures were the result of bad + local agents, inherent difficulties of the work, and national neglect. The + Freedmen's Bureau expired by limitation in 1869, save its educational and + bounty departments. The educational work came to an end in 1872, and + General Howard's connection with the Bureau ceased at that time. The work + of paying bounties was transferred to the adjutant general's office, where + it was continued three or four years longer. + </p> + <p> + Such an institution, from its wide powers, great responsibilities, large + control of moneys, and generally conspicuous position, was naturally open + to repeated and bitter attacks. It sustained a searching congressional + investigation at the instance of Fernando Wood in 1870. It was, with blunt + discourtesy, transferred from Howard's control, in his absence, to the + supervision of Secretary of War Belknap in 1872, on the Secretary's + recommendation. Finally, in consequence of grave intimations of wrongdoing + made by the Secretary and his subordinates, General Howard was + court-martialed in 1874. In each of these trials, and in other attacks, + the commissioner of the Freedmen's Bureau was exonerated from any willful + misdoing, and his work heartily commended. Nevertheless, many unpleasant + things were brought to light: the methods of transacting the business of + the Bureau were faulty; several cases of defalcation among officials in + the field were proven, and further frauds hinted at; there were some + business transactions which savored of dangerous speculation, if not + dishonesty; and, above all, the smirch of the Freedmen's Bank, which, + while legally distinct from, was morally and practically a part of the + Bureau, will ever blacken the record of this great institution. Not even + ten additional years of slavery could have done as much to throttle the + thrift of the freedmen as the mismanagement and bankruptcy of the savings + bank chartered by the nation for their especial aid. Yet it is but fair to + say that the perfect honesty of purpose and unselfish devotion of General + Howard have passed untarnished through the fire of criticism. Not so with + all his subordinates, although in the case of the great majority of these + there were shown bravery and devotion to duty, even though sometimes + linked to narrowness and incompetency. + </p> + <p> + The most bitter attacks on the Freedmen's Bureau were aimed not so much at + its conduct or policy under the law as at the necessity for any such + organization at all. Such attacks came naturally from the border states + and the South, and they were summed up by Senator Davis, of Kentucky, when + he moved to entitle the act of 1866 a bill "to promote strife and conflict + between the white and black races... by a grant of unconstitutional + power." The argument was of tremendous strength, but its very strength was + its weakness. For, argued the plain common sense of the nation, if it is + unconstitutional, unpracticable, and futile for the nation to stand + guardian over its helpless wards, then there is left but one alternative: + to make those wards their own guardians by arming them with the ballot. + The alternative offered the nation then was not between full and + restricted Negro suffrage; else every sensible man, black and white, would + easily have chosen the latter. It was rather a choice between suffrage and + slavery, after endless blood and gold had flowed to sweep human bondage + away. Not a single Southern legislature stood ready to admit a Negro, + under any conditions, to the polls; not a single Southern legislature + believed free Negro labor was possible without a system of restrictions + that took all its freedom away; there was scarcely a white man in the + South who did not honestly regard emancipation as a crime, and its + practical nullification as a duty. In such a situation, the granting of + the ballot to the black man was a necessity, the very least a guilty + nation could grant a wronged race. Had the opposition to government + guardianship of Negroes been less bitter, and the attachment to the slave + system less strong, the social seer can well imagine a far better policy: + a permanent Freedmen's Bureau, with a national system of Negro schools; a + carefully supervised employment and labor office; a system of impartial + protection before the regular courts; and such institutions for social + betterment as savings banks, land and building associations, and social + settlements. All this vast expenditure of money and brains might have + formed a great school of prospective citizenship, and solved in a way we + have not yet solved the most perplexing and persistent of the Negro + problems. + </p> + <p> + That such an institution was unthinkable in 1870 was due in part to + certain acts of the Freedmen's Bureau itself. It came to regard its work + as merely temporary, and Negro suffrage as a final answer to all present + perplexities. The political ambition of many of its agents and proteges + led it far afield into questionable activities, until the South, nursing + its own deep prejudices, came easily to ignore all the good deeds of the + Bureau, and hate its very name with perfect hatred. So the Freedmen's + Bureau died, and its child was the Fifteenth Amendment. + </p> + <p> + The passing of a great human institution before its work is done, like the + untimely passing of a single soul, but leaves a legacy of striving for + other men. The legacy of the Freedmen's Bureau is the heavy heritage of + this generation. Today, when new and vaster problems are destined to + strain every fibre of the national mind and soul, would it not be well to + count this legacy honestly and carefully? For this much all men know: + despite compromise, struggle, war, and struggle, the Negro is not free. In + the backwoods of the Gulf states, for miles and miles, he may not leave + the plantation of his birth; in well-nigh the whole rural South the black + farmers are peons, bound by law and custom to an economic slavery, from + which the only escape is death or the penitentiary. In the most cultured + sections and cities of the South the Negroes are a segregated servile + caste, with restricted rights and privileges. Before the courts, both in + law and custom, they stand on a different and peculiar basis. Taxation + without representation is the rule of their political life. And the result + of all this is, and in nature must have been, lawlessness and crime. That + is the large legacy of the Freedmen's Bureau, the work it did not do + because it could not. + </p> + <p> + I have seen a land right merry with the sun; where children sing, and + rolling hills lie like passioned women, wanton with harvest. And there in + the King's Highway sat and sits a figure, veiled and bowed, by which the + traveler's footsteps hasten as they go. On the tainted air broods fear. + Three centuries' thought has been the raising and unveiling of that bowed + human heart, and now, behold, my fellows, a century new for the duty and + the deed. The problem of the twentieth century is the problem of the color + line. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0023" id="link2H_4_0023"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + OF THE TRAINING OF BLACK MEN by W. E. Burghardt Du Bois + </h2> + <p> + From the shimmering swirl of waters where many, many thoughts ago the + slave-ship first saw the square tower of Jamestown have flowed down to our + day three streams of thinking: one from the larger world here and + over-seas, saying, the multiplying of human wants in culture lands calls + for the world-wide co-operation of men in satisfying them. Hence arises a + new human unity, pulling the ends of earth nearer, and all men, black, + yellow, and white. The larger humanity strives to feel in this contact of + living nations and sleeping hordes a thrill of new life in the world, + crying, If the contact of Life and Sleep be Death, shame on such Life. To + be sure, behind this thought lurks the afterthought of force and dominion,—the + making of brown men to delve when the temptation of beads and red calico + cloys. + </p> + <p> + The second thought streaming from the death-ship and the curving river is + the thought of the older South: the sincere and passionate belief that + somewhere between men and cattle God created a tertium quid, and called it + a Negro,—a clownish, simple creature, at times even lovable within + its limitations, but straitly foreordained to walk within the Veil. To be + sure, behind the thought lurks the afterthought,—some of them with + favoring chance might become men, but in sheer self-defense we dare not + let them, and build about them walls so high, and hang between them and + the light a veil so thick, that they shall not even think of breaking + through. + </p> + <p> + And last of all there trickles down that third and darker thought, the + thought of the things themselves, the confused half-conscious mutter of + men who are black and whitened, crying Liberty, Freedom, Opportunity—vouchsafe + to us, O boastful World, the chance of living men! To be sure, behind the + thought lurks the afterthought: suppose, after all, the World is right and + we are less than men? Suppose this mad impulse within is all wrong, some + mock mirage from the untrue? + </p> + <p> + So here we stand among thoughts of human unity, even through conquest and + slavery; the inferiority of black men, even if forced by fraud; a shriek + in the night for the freedom of men who themselves are not yet sure of + their right to demand it. This is the tangle of thought and afterthought + wherein we are called to solve the problem of training men for life. + </p> + <p> + Behind all its curiousness, so attractive alike to sage and dilettante, + lie its dim dangers, throwing across us shadows at once grotesque and + awful. Plain it is to us that what the world seeks through desert and wild + we have within our threshold;—a stalwart laboring force, suited to + the semi-tropics; if, deaf to the voice of the Zeitgeist, we refuse to use + and develop these men, we risk poverty and loss. If, on the other hand, + seized by the brutal afterthought, we debauch the race thus caught in our + talons, selfishly sucking their blood and brains in the future as in the + past, what shall save us from national decadence? Only that saner + selfishness which, Education teaches men, can find the rights of all in + the whirl of work. + </p> + <p> + Again, we may decry the color prejudice of the South, yet it remains a + heavy fact. Such curious kinks of the human mind exist and must be + reckoned with soberly. They cannot be laughed away, nor always + successfully stormed at, nor easily abolished by act of legislature. And + yet they cannot be encouraged by being let alone. They must be recognized + as facts, but unpleasant facts; things that stand in the way of + civilization and religion and common decency. They can be met in but one + way: by the breadth and broadening of human reason, by catholicity of + taste and culture. And so, too, the native ambition and aspiration of men, + even though they be black, backward, and ungraceful, must not lightly be + dealt with. To stimulate wildly weak and untrained minds is to play with + mighty fires; to flout their striving idly is to welcome a harvest of + brutish crime and shameless lethargy in our very laps. The guiding of + thought and the deft coordination of deed is at once the path of honor and + humanity. + </p> + <p> + And so, in this great question of reconciling three vast and partially + contradictory streams of thought, the one panacea of Education leaps to + the lips of all; such human training as will best use the labor of all men + without enslaving or brutalizing; such training as will give us poise to + encourage the prejudices that bulwark society, and stamp out those that in + sheer barbarity deafen us to the wail of prisoned souls within the Veil, + and the mounting fury of shackled men. + </p> + <p> + But when we have vaguely said Education will set this tangle straight, + what have we uttered but a truism? Training for life teaches living; but + what training for the profitable living together of black men and white? + Two hundred years ago our task would have seemed easier. Then Dr. Johnson + blandly assured us that education was needed solely for the embellishments + of life, and was useless for ordinary vermin. To-day we have climbed to + heights where we would open at least the outer courts of knowledge to all, + display its treasures to many, and select the few to whom its mystery of + Truth is revealed, not wholly by truth or the accidents of the stock + market, but at least in part according to deftness and aim, talent and + character. This programme, however, we are sorely puzzled in carrying out + through that part of the land where the blight of slavery fell hardest, + and where we are dealing with two backward peoples. To make here in human + education that ever necessary combination of the permanent and the + contingent—of the ideal and the practical in workable equilibrium—has + been there, as it ever must be in every age and place, a matter of + infinite experiment and frequent mistakes. + </p> + <p> + In rough approximation we may point out four varying decades of work in + Southern education since the Civil War. From the close of the war until + 1876 was the period of uncertain groping and temporary relief. There were + army schools, mission schools, and schools of the Freedmen's Bureau in + chaotic disarrangement, seeking system and cooperation. Then followed ten + years of constructive definite effort toward the building of complete + school systems in the South. Normal schools and colleges were founded for + the freedmen, and teachers trained there to man the public schools. There + was the inevitable tendency of war to underestimate the prejudice of the + master and the ignorance of the slave, and all seemed clear sailing out of + the wreckage of the storm. Meantime, starting in this decade yet + especially developing from 1885 to 1895, began the industrial revolution + of the South. The land saw glimpses of a new destiny and the stirring of + new ideals. The educational system striving to complete itself saw new + obstacles and a field of work ever broader and deeper. The Negro colleges, + hurriedly founded, were inadequately equipped, illogically distributed, + and of varying efficiency and grade; the normal and high schools were + doing little more than common school work, and the common schools were + training but a third of the children who ought to be in them, and training + these too often poorly. At the same time the white South, by reason of its + sudden conversion from the slavery ideal, by so much the more became set + and strengthened in its racial prejudice, and crystallized it into harsh + law and harsher custom; while the marvelous pushing forward of the poor + white daily threatened to take even bread and butter from the mouths of + the heavily handicapped sons of the freedmen. In the midst, then, of the + larger problem of Negro education sprang up the more practical question of + work, the inevitable economic quandary that faces a people in the + transition from slavery to freedom, and especially those who make that + change amid hate and prejudice, lawlessness and ruthless competition. + </p> + <p> + The industrial school springing to notice in this decade, but coming to + full recognition in the decade beginning with 1895, was the proffered + answer to this combined educational and economic crisis, and an answer of + singular wisdom and timeliness. From the very first in nearly all the + schools some attention had been given to training in handiwork, but now + was this training first raised to a dignity that brought it in direct + touch with the South's magnificent industrial development, and given an + emphasis which reminded black folk that before the Temple of Knowledge + swing the Gates of Toil. + </p> + <p> + Yet after all they are but gates, and when turning our eyes from the + temporary and the contingent in the Negro problem to the broader question + of the permanent uplifting and civilization of black men in America, we + have a right to inquire, as this enthusiasm for material advancement + mounts to its height, if after all the industrial school is the final and + sufficient answer in the training of the Negro race; and to ask gently, + but in all sincerity, the ever recurring query of the ages, Is not life + more than meat, and the body more than raiment? And men ask this to-day + all the more eagerly because of sinister signs in recent educational + movements. The tendency is here born of slavery and quickened to renewed + life by the crazy imperialism of the day, to regard human beings as among + the material resources of a land to be trained with an eye single to + future dividends. Race prejudices, which keep brown and black men in their + "places," we are coming to regard as useful allies with such a theory, no + matter how much they may dull the ambition and sicken the hearts of + struggling human beings. And above all, we daily hear that an education + that encourages aspiration, that sets the loftiest of ideals and seeks as + an end culture and character than bread-winning, is the privilege of white + men and the danger and delusion of black. + </p> + <p> + Especially has criticism been directed against the former educational + efforts to aid the Negro. In the four periods I have mentioned, we find + first boundless, planless enthusiasm and sacrifice; then the preparation + of teachers for a vast public school system; then the launching and + expansion of that school system amid increasing difficulties; and finally + the training of workmen for the new and growing industries. This + development has been sharply ridiculed as a logical anomaly and flat + reversal of nature. Soothly we have been told that first industrial and + manual training should have taught the Negro to work, then simple schools + should have taught him to read and write, and finally, after years, high + and normal schools could have completed the system, as intelligence and + wealth demanded. + </p> + <p> + That a system logically so complete was historically impossible, it needs + but a little thought to prove. Progress in human affairs is more often a + pull than a push, surging forward of the exceptional man, and the lifting + of his duller brethren slowly and painfully to his vantage ground. Thus it + was no accident that gave birth to universities centuries before the + common schools, that made fair Harvard the first flower of our wilderness. + So in the South: the mass of the freedmen at the end of the war lacked the + intelligence so necessary to modern workingmen. They must first have the + common school to teach them to read, write, and cipher. The white teachers + who flocked South went to establish such a common school system. They had + no idea of founding colleges; they themselves at first would have laughed + at the idea. But they faced, as all men since them have faced, that + central paradox of the South, the social separation of the races. Then it + was the sudden volcanic rupture of nearly all relations between black and + white, in work and government and family life. Since then a new adjustment + of relations in economic and political affairs has grown up,—an + adjustment subtle and difficult to grasp, yet singularly ingenious, which + leaves still that frightful chasm at the color line across which men pass + at their peril. Thus, then and now, there stand in the South two separate + worlds; and separate not simply in the higher realms of social + intercourse, but also in church and school, on railway and street car, in + hotels and theatres, in streets and city sections, in books and + newspapers, in asylums and jails, in hospitals and graveyards. There is + still enough of contact for large economic and group cooperation, but the + separation is so thorough and deep, that it absolutely precludes for the + present between the races anything like that sympathetic and effective + group training and leadership of the one by the other, such as the + American Negro and all backward peoples must have for effectual progress. + </p> + <p> + This the missionaries of '68 soon saw; and if effective industrial and + trade schools were impractical before the establishment of a common school + system, just as certainly no adequate common schools could be founded + until there were teachers to teach them. Southern whites would not teach + them; Northern whites in sufficient numbers could not be had. If the Negro + was to learn, he must teach himself, and the most effective help that + could be given him was the establishment of schools to train Negro + teachers. This conclusion was slowly but surely reached by every student + of the situation until simultaneously, in widely separated regions, + without consultation or systematic plan, there arose a series of + institutions designed to furnish teachers for the untaught. Above the + sneers of critics at the obvious defects of this procedure must ever stand + its one crushing rejoinder: in a single generation they put thirty + thousand black teachers in the South; they wiped out the illiteracy of the + majority of the black people of the land, and they made Tuskegee possible. + </p> + <p> + Such higher training schools tended naturally to deepen broader + development: at first they were common and grammar schools, then some + became high schools. And finally, by 1900, some thirty-four had one year + or more of studies of college grade. This development was reached with + different degrees of speed in different institutions: Hampton is still a + high school, while Fisk University started her college in 1871, and + Spelman Seminary about 1896. In all cases the aim was identical: to + maintain the standards of the lower training by giving teachers and + leaders the best practicable training; and above all to furnish the black + world with adequate standards of human culture and lofty ideals of life. + It was not enough that the teachers of teachers should be trained in + technical normal methods; they must also, so far as possible, be + broad-minded, cultured men and women, to scatter civilization among a + people whose ignorance was not simply of letters, but of life itself. + </p> + <p> + It can thus be seen that the work of education in the South began with + higher institutions of training, which threw off as their foliage common + schools, and later industrial schools, and at the same time strove to + shoot their roots ever deeper toward college and university training. That + this was an inevitable and necessary development, sooner or later, goes + without saying; but there has been, and still is, a question in many minds + if the natural growth was not forced, and if the higher training was not + either overdone or done with cheap and unsound methods. Among white + Southerners this feeling is widespread and positive. A prominent Southern + journal voiced this in a recent editorial: + </p> + <p> + "The experiment that has been made to give the colored students classical + training has not been satisfactory. Even though many were able to pursue + the course, most of them did so in a parrot-like way, learning what was + taught, but not seeming to appropriate the truth and import of their + instruction, and graduating without sensible aim or valuable occupation + for their future. The whole scheme has proved a waste of time, efforts, + and the money of the state." + </p> + <p> + While most far-minded men would recognize this as extreme and overdrawn, + still without doubt many are asking, Are there a sufficient number of + Negroes ready for college training to warrant the undertaking? Are not too + many students prematurely forced into this work? Does it not have the + effect of dissatisfying the young Negro with his environment? And do these + graduates succeed in real life? Such natural questions cannot be evaded, + nor on the other hand must a nation naturally skeptical as to Negro + ability assume an unfavorable answer without careful inquiry and patient + openness to conviction. We must not forget that most Americans answer all + queries regarding the Negro a priori, and that the least that human + courtesy can do is to listen to evidence. + </p> + <p> + The advocates of the higher education of the Negro would be the last to + deny the incompleteness and glaring defects of the present system: too + many institutions have attempted to do college work, the work in some + cases has not been thoroughly done, and quantity rather than quality has + sometimes been sought. But all this can be said of higher education + throughout the land: it is the almost inevitable incident of educational + growth, and leaves the deeper question of the legitimate demand for the + higher training of Negroes untouched. And this latter question can be + settled in but one way—by a first-hand study of the facts. If we + leave out of view all institutions which have not actually graduated + students from a course higher than that of a New England high school, even + though they be called colleges; if then we take the thirty-four remaining + institutions, we may clear up many misapprehensions by asking searchingly, + What kind of institutions are they, what do they teach, and what sort of + men do they graduate? + </p> + <p> + And first we may say that this type of college, including Atlanta, Fisk + and Howard, Wilberforce and Lincoln, Biddle, Shaw, and the rest, is + peculiar, almost unique. Through the shining trees that whisper before me + as I write, I catch glimpses of a boulder of New England granite, covering + a grave, which graduates of Atlanta University have placed there:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + "IN GRATEFUL MEMORY OF THEIR + FORMER TEACHER AND FRIEND + AND OF THE UNSELFISH LIFE HE + LIVED, AND THE NOBLE WORK HE + WROUGHT; THAT THEY, THEIR + CHILDREN, AND THEIR CHIL- + DREN'S CHILDREN MIGHT BE + BLESSED." +</pre> + <p> + This was the gift of New England to the freed Negro: not alms, but a + friend; not cash, but character. It was not and is not money these + seething millions want, but love and sympathy, the pulse of hearts beating + with red blood; a gift which to-day only their own kindred and race can + bring to the masses, but which once saintly souls brought to their favored + children in the crusade of the sixties, that finest thing in American + history, and one of the few things untainted by sordid greed and cheap + vainglory. The teachers in these institutions came not to keep the Negroes + in their place, but to raise them out of their places where the filth of + slavery had wallowed them. The colleges they founded were social + settlements; homes where the best of the sons of the freedmen came in + close and sympathetic touch with the best traditions of New England. They + lived and ate together, studies and worked, hoped and harkened in the + dawning light. In actual formal content their curriculum was doubtless + old-fashioned, but in educational power it was supreme, for it was the + contact of living souls. + </p> + <p> + From such schools about two thousand Negroes have gone forth with the + bachelor's degree. The number in itself is enough to put at rest the + argument that too large a proportion of Negroes are receiving higher + training. If the ratio to population of all Negro students throughout the + land, in both college and secondary training, be counted, Commissioner + Harris assures us "it must be increased to five times its present average" + to equal the average of the land. + </p> + <p> + Fifty years ago the ability of Negro students in any appreciable numbers + to master a modern college course would have been difficult to prove. + To-day it is proved by the fact that four hundred Negroes, many of whom + have been reported as brilliant students, have received the bachelor's + degree from Harvard, Yale, Oberlin, and seventy other leading colleges. + Here we have, then, nearly twenty-five hundred Negro graduates, of whom + the crucial query must be made. How far did their training fit them for + life? It is of course extremely difficult to collect satisfactory data on + such a point,—difficult to reach the men, to get trustworthy + testimony, and to gauge that testimony by any generally acceptable + criterion of success. In 1900, the Conference at Atlanta University + undertook to study these graduates, and published the results. First they + sought to know what these graduates were doing, and succeeded in getting + answers from nearly two thirds of the living. The direct testimony was in + almost all cases corroborated by the reports of the colleges where they + graduated, so that in the main the reports were worthy of credence. + Fifty-three per cent of these graduates were teachers,—presidents of + institutions, heads of normal schools, principals of city school systems, + and the like. Seventeen per cent were clergymen; another seventeen per + cent were in the professions, chiefly as physicians. Over six per cent + were merchants, farmers, and artisans, and four per cent were in the + government civil service. Granting even that a considerable proportion of + the third unheard from are unsuccessful, this is a record of usefulness. + Personally I know many hundreds of these graduates and have corresponded + with more than a thousand; through others I have followed carefully the + life-work of scores; I have taught some of them and some of the pupils + whom they have taught, lived in homes which they have builded, and looked + at life through their eyes. Comparing them as a class with my fellow + students in New England and in Europe, I cannot hesitate in saying that + nowhere have I met men and women with a broader spirit of helpfulness, + with deeper devotion to their life-work, or with more consecrated + determination to succeed in the face of bitter difficulties than among + Negro college-bred men. They have, to be sure, their proportion of + ne'er-do-weels, their pedants and lettered fools, but they have a + surprisingly small proportion of them; they have not that culture of + manner which we instinctively associate with university men, forgetting + that in reality it is the heritage from cultured homes, and that no people + a generation removed from slavery can escape a certain unpleasant rawness + and gaucherie, despite the best of training. + </p> + <p> + With all their larger vision and deeper sensibility, these men have + usually been conservative, careful leaders. They have seldom been + agitators, have withstood the temptation to head the mob, and have worked + steadily and faithfully in a thousand communities in the South. As + teachers they have given the South a commendable system of city schools + and large numbers of private normal schools and academies. Colored + college-bred men have worked side by side with white college graduates at + Hampton; almost from the beginning the backbone of Tuskegee's teaching + force has been formed of graduates from Fisk and Atlanta. And to-day the + institute is filled with college graduates, from the energetic wife of the + principal down to the teacher of agriculture, including nearly half of the + executive council and a majority of the heads of departments. In the + professions, college men are slowly but surely leavening the Negro church, + are healing and preventing the devastations of disease, and beginning to + furnish legal protection for the liberty and property of the toiling + masses. All this is needful work. Who would do it if Negroes did not? How + could Negroes do it if they were not trained carefully for it? If white + people need colleges to furnish teachers, ministers, lawyers, and doctors, + do black people need nothing of the sort? + </p> + <p> + If it be true that there are an appreciable number of Negro youth in the + land capable by character and talent to receive that higher training, the + end of which is culture, and if the two and a half thousand who have had + something of this training in the past have in the main proved themselves + useful to their race and generation, the question then comes, What place + in the future development of the South might the Negro college and + college-bred man to occupy? That the present social separation and acute + race sensitiveness must eventually yield to the influences of culture as + the South grows civilized is clear. But such transformation calls for + singular wisdom and patience. If, while the healing of this vast sore is + progressing, the races are to live for many years side by side, united in + economic effort, obeying a common government, sensitive to mutual thought + and feeling, yet subtly and silently separate in many matters of deeper + human intimacy—if this unusual and dangerous development is to + progress amid peace and order, mutual respect and growing intelligence, it + will call for social surgery at once the delicatest and nicest in modern + history. It will demand broad-minded, upright men both white and black, + and in its final accomplishment American civilization will triumph. So far + as white men are concerned, this fact is to-day being recognized in the + South, and a happy renaissance of university education seems imminent. But + the very voices that cry Hail! to this good work are, strange to relate, + largely silent or antagonistic to the higher education of the Negro. + </p> + <p> + Strange to relate! for this is certain, no secure civilization can be + built in the South with the Negro as an ignorant, turbulent proletariat. + Suppose we seek to remedy this by making them laborers and nothing more: + they are not fools, they have tasted of the Tree of Life, and they will + not cease to think, will not cease attempting to read the riddle of the + world. By taking away their best equipped teachers and leaders, by + slamming the door of opportunity in the faces of their bolder and brighter + minds, will you make them satisfied with their lot? or will you not rather + transfer their leading from the hands of men taught to think to the hands + of untrained demagogues? We ought not to forget that despite the pressure + of poverty, and despite the active discouragement and even ridicule of + friends, the demand for higher training steadily increases among Negro + youth: there were, in the years from 1875 to 1880, twenty-two Negro + graduates from Northern colleges; from 1885 to 1895 there were + forty-three, and from 1895 to 1900, nearly 100 graduates. From Southern + Negro colleges there were, in the same three periods, 143, 413, and over + 500 graduates. Here, then, is the plain thirst for training; by refusing + to give this Talented Tenth the key to knowledge can any sane man imagine + that they will lightly lay aside their yearning and contentedly become + hewers of wood and drawers of water? + </p> + <p> + No. The dangerously clear logic of the Negro's position will more and more + loudly assert itself in that day when increasing wealth and more intricate + social organization preclude the South from being, as it so largely is, + simply an armed camp for intimidating black folk. Such waste of energy + cannot be spared if the South is to catch up with civilization. And as the + black third of the land grows in thrift and skill, unless skillfully + guided in its larger philosophy, it must more and more brood over the red + past and the creeping, crooked present, until it grasps a gospel of revolt + and revenge and throws its new-found energies athwart the current of + advance. Even to-day the masses of the Negroes see all too clearly the + anomalies of their position and the moral crookedness of yours. You may + marshal strong indictments against them, but their counter-cries, lacking + though they be in formal logic, have burning truths within them which you + may not wholly ignore, O Southern Gentlemen! If you deplore their presence + here, they ask, Who brought us? When you shriek, Deliver us from the + vision of intermarriage, they answer, that legal marriage is infinitely + better than systematic concubinage and prostitution. And if in just fury + you accuse their vagabonds of violating women, they also in fury quite as + just may wail: the rape which your gentlemen have done against helpless + black women in defiance of your own laws is written on the foreheads of + two millions of mulattoes, and written in ineffaceable blood. And finally, + when you fasten crime upon this race as its peculiar trait, they answer + that slavery was the arch-crime, and lynching and lawlessness its twin + abortion; that color and race are not crimes, and yet they it is which in + this land receive most unceasing condemnation, North, East, South, and + West. + </p> + <p> + I will not say such arguments are wholly justified—I will not insist + that there is no other side to the shield; but I do say that of the nine + millions of Negroes in this nation, there is scarcely one out of the + cradle to whom these arguments do not daily present themselves in the + guise of terrible truth. I insist that the question of the future is how + best to keep these millions from brooding over the wrongs of the past and + the difficulties of the present, so that all their energies may be bent + toward a cheerful striving and cooperation with their white neighbors + toward a larger, juster, and fuller future. That one wise method of doing + this lies in the closer knitting of the Negro to the great industrial + possibilities of the South is a great truth. And this the common schools + and the manual training and trade schools are working to accomplish. But + these alone are not enough. The foundations of knowledge in this race, as + in others, must be sunk deep in the college and university if we would + build a solid, permanent structure. Internal problems of social advance + must inevitably come,—problems of work and wages, of families and + homes, of morals and the true valuing of the things of life; and all these + and other inevitable problems of civilization the Negro must meet and + solve largely for himself, by reason of his isolation; and can there be + any possible solution other than by study and thought and an appeal to the + rich experience of the past? Is there not, with such a group and in such a + crisis, infinitely more danger to be apprehended from half-trained minds + and shallow thinking than from over-education and over-refinement? Surely + we have wit enough to found a Negro college so manned and equipped as to + steer successfully between the dilettante and the fool. We shall hardly + induce black men to believe that if their bellies be full it matters + little about their brains. They already dimly perceive that the paths of + peace winding between honest toil and dignified manhood call for the + guidance of skilled thinkers, the loving, reverent comradeship between the + black lowly and black men emancipated by training and culture. + </p> + <p> + The function of the Negro college then is clear: it must maintain the + standards of popular education, it must seek the social regeneration of + the Negro, and it must help in the solution of problems of race contact + and cooperation. And finally, beyond all this, it must develop men. Above + our modern socialism, and out of the worship of the mass, must persist and + evolve that higher individualism which the centres of culture protect; + there must come a loftier respect for the sovereign human soul that seeks + to know itself and the world about it; that seeks a freedom for expansion + and self-development; that will love and hate and labor in its own way, + untrammeled alike by old and new. Such souls aforetime have inspired and + guided worlds, and if we be not wholly bewitched by our Rhine-gold, they + shall again. Herein the longing of black men must have respect: the rich + and bitter depth of their experience, the unknown treasures of their inner + life, the strange rendings of nature they have seen, may give the world + new points of view and make their loving, living, and doing precious to + all human hearts. And to themselves in these the days that try their souls + the chance to soar in the dim blue air above the smoke is to their finer + spirits boon and guerdon for what they lose on earth by being black. + </p> + <p> + I sit with Shakespeare and he winces not. Across the color line I move arm + in arm with Balzac and Dumas, where smiling men and welcoming women glide + in gilded halls. From out the caves of Evening that swing between the + strong-limbed earth and the tracery of the stars, I summon Aristotle and + Aurelius and what soul I will, and they come all graciously with no scorn + nor condescension. So, wed with Truth, I dwell above the Veil. Is this the + life you grudge us, O knightly America? Is this the life you long to + change into the dull red hideousness of Georgia? Are you so afraid lest + peering from this high Pisgah, between Philistine and Amalekite, we sight + the Promised Land? + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0024" id="link2H_4_0024"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE FRUITS OF INDUSTRIAL TRAINING by Booker T. Washington + </h2> + <p> + The political, educational, social, and economic evolution through which + the South passed during, say, the first fifteen or twenty years after the + close of the civil war furnishes one of the most interesting periods that + any country has passed through. + </p> + <p> + A large share of the thought and activity of the white South, of the black + South, and of that section of the North especially interested in my race, + was directed during the years of the Reconstruction period toward + politics, or toward matters bearing upon what were termed civil or social + rights. The work of education was rather slow, and covered a large section + of the South; still I think I am justified in saying that in the public + mind the Negro's relation to politics overshadowed nearly every other + interest. The education of the race was conducted quietly, and attracted + comparatively little attention, just as is true at the present time. The + appointment of one Negro postmaster at a third or fourth rate post office + will be given wider publicity through the daily press than the founding of + a school, or some important discovery in science. + </p> + <p> + With reference to the black man's political relation to the state and + Federal governments, I think I am safe in saying that for many years after + the civil war there were sharp and antagonistic views between the North + and the South, as well as between the white South and the black South. At + practically every point where there was a political question to be decided + in the South the blacks would array themselves on one side and the whites + on the other. I remember that very soon after I began teaching school in + Alabama an old colored man came to me just prior to an election. He said: + "You can read de newspapers and most of us can't, but dar is one thing dat + we knows dat you don't, and dat is how to vote down here; and we wants you + to vote as we does." He added: "I tell you how we does. We watches de + white man; we keeps watching de white man; de nearer it gits to election + time de more we watches de white man. We watches him till we finds out + which way he gwine to vote. After we finds out which way he gwine to vote, + den we votes exactly de other way; den we knows we 's right." + </p> + <p> + Stories on the other side might be given showing that a certain class of + white people, both at the polls and in the Legislatures, voted just as + unreasonably in opposing politically what they thought the Negro or the + North wanted, no matter how much benefit might ensue from a contrary + action. Unfortunately such antagonism did not end with matters political, + but in many cases affected the relation of the races in nearly every walk + of life. Aside from political strife, there was naturally deep feeling + between the North and the South on account of the war. On nearly every + question growing out of the war, which was debated in Congress, or in + political campaigns, there was the keenest difference and often the + deepest feeling. There was almost no question of even a semi-political + nature, or having a remote connection with the Negro, upon which there was + not sharp and often bitter division between the North and South. It is + needless to say that in many cases the Negro was the sufferer. He was + being ground between the upper and nether millstones. Even to this day it + is well-nigh impossible, largely by reason of the force of habit, in + certain states to prevent state and even local campaigns from being + centred in some form upon the black man. In states like Mississippi, for + example, where the Negro ceased nearly a score of years ago, by operation + of law, to be a determining factor in politics, he forms in some way the + principal fuel for campaign discussion at nearly every election. The sad + feature of this is, that it prevents the presentation before the masses of + the people of matters pertaining to local and state improvement, and to + great national issues like finance, tariff, or foreign policies. It + prevents the masses from receiving the broad and helpful education which + every political campaign should furnish, and, what is equally unfortunate, + it prevents the youth from seeing and hearing on the platform the great + political leaders of the two national parties. During a national campaign + few of the great Democratic leaders debate national questions in the + South, because it is felt that the old antagonism to the Negro politically + will keep the South voting one way. Few of the great Republican leaders + appear on Southern platforms, because they feel that nothing will be + gained. + </p> + <p> + One of the saddest instances of this situation that has come within my + knowledge occurred some years ago in a certain Southern state where a + white friend of mine was making the race for Congress on the Democratic + ticket in a district that was overwhelmingly Democratic. I speak of this + man as my friend, because there was no personal favor in reason which he + would have refused me. He was equally friendly to the race, and was + generous in giving for its education, and in helping individuals to buy + land. His campaign took him into one of the "white" counties, where there + were few colored people, and where the whites were unusually ignorant. I + was surprised one morning to read in the daily papers of a bitter attack + he had made on the Negro while speaking in this county. The next time I + saw him I informed him of my surprise. He replied that he was ashamed of + what he had said, and that he did not himself believe much that he had + stated, but gave as a reason for his action that he had found himself + before an audience which had heard little for thirty years in the way of + political discussion that did not bear upon the Negro, and that he + therefore knew it was almost impossible to interest them in any other + subject. + </p> + <p> + But this is somewhat aside from my purpose, which is, I repeat, to make + plain that in all political matters there was for years after the war no + meeting ground of agreement for the two races, or for the North and South. + Upon the question of the Negro's civil rights, as embodied in what was + called the Civil Rights Bill, there was almost the same sharp line of + division between the races, and, in theory at least, between the Northern + and Southern whites,—largely because the former were supposed to be + giving the blacks social recognition, and encouraging intermingling + between the races. The white teachers, who came from the North to work in + missionary schools, received for years little recognition or encouragement + from the rank and file of their own race. The lines were so sharply drawn + that in cities where native Southern white women taught Negro children in + the public schools, they would have no dealings with Northern white women + who, perhaps, taught Negro children from the same family in a missionary + school. + </p> + <p> + I want to call attention here to a phase of Reconstruction policy which is + often overlooked. All now agree that there was much in Reconstruction + which was unwise and unfortunate. However we may regard that policy, and + much as we may regret mistakes, the fact is too often overlooked that it + was during the Reconstruction period that a public school system for the + education of all the people of the South was first established in most of + the states. Much that was done by those in charge of Reconstruction + legislation has been overturned, but the public school system still + remains. True, it has been modified and improved, but the system remains, + and is every day growing in popularity and strength. + </p> + <p> + As to the difference of opinion between the North and the South regarding + Negro education, I find that many people, especially in the North, have a + wrong conception of the attitude of the Southern white people. It is and + has been very generally thought that what is termed "higher education" of + the Negro has been from the first opposed by the white South. This opinion + is far from being correct. I remember that, in 1891, when I began the work + of establishing the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, practically all of the + white people who talked to me on the subject took it for granted that + instruction in the Greek, Latin, and modern languages would be one of the + main features of our curriculum. I heard no one oppose what he thought our + course of study was to embrace. In fact, there are many white people in + the South at the present time who do not know that instruction in the dead + languages is not given at the Tuskegee Institute. In further proof of what + I have stated, if one will go through the catalogue of the schools + maintained by the states for Negro people, and managed by Southern white + people, he will find in almost every case that instruction in the higher + branches is given with the consent and approval of white officials. This + was true as far back as 1880. It is not unusual to meet at this time + Southern white people who are as emphatic in their belief in the value of + classical education as a certain element of colored people themselves. In + matters relating to civil and political rights, the breach was broad, and + without apparent hope of being bridged; even in the matter of religion, + practically all of the denominations had split on the subject of the + Negro, though I should add that there is now, and always has been, a + closer touch and more cooperation in matters of religion between the white + and colored people in the South than is generally known. But the breach + between the white churches in the South and North remains. + </p> + <p> + In matters of education the difference was much less sharp. The truth is + that a large element in the South had little faith in the efficacy of the + higher or any other kind of education of the Negro. They were indifferent, + but did not openly oppose; on the other hand, there has always been a + potent element of white people in all of the Southern states who have + stood out openly and bravely for the education of all the people, + regardless of race. This element has thus far been successful in shaping + and leading public opinion, and I think that it will continue to do so + more and more. This statement must not be taken to mean that there is as + yet an equitable division of the school funds, raised by common taxation, + between the two races in many sections of the South, though the Southern + states deserve much credit for what has been done. In discussing the small + amount of direct taxes the Negro pays, the fact that he pays tremendous + indirect taxes is often overlooked. + </p> + <p> + I wish, however, to emphasize the fact that while there was either open + antagonism or indifference in the directions I have named, it was the + introduction of industrial training into the Negro's education that seemed + to furnish the first basis for anything like united and sympathetic + interest and action between the two races in the South and between the + whites in the North and those in the South. Aside from its direct benefit + to the black race, industrial education has furnished a basis for mutual + faith and cooperation, which has meant more to the South, and to the work + of education, than has been realized. + </p> + <p> + This was, at the least, something in the way of construction. Many people, + I think, fail to appreciate the difference between the problems now before + us and those that existed previous to the civil war. Slavery presented a + problem of destruction; freedom presents a problem of construction. + </p> + <p> + From its first inception the white people of the South had faith in the + theory of industrial education, because they had noted, what was not + unnatural, that a large element of the colored people at first interpreted + freedom to mean freedom from work with the hands. They naturally had not + learned to appreciate the fact that they had been WORKED, and that one of + the great lessons for freemen to learn is to WORK. They had not learned + the vast difference between WORKING and BEING WORKED. The white people saw + in the movement to teach the Negro youth the dignity, beauty, and + civilizing power of all honorable labor with the hands something that + would lead the Negro into his new life of freedom gradually and sensibly, + and prevent his going from one extreme of life to the other too suddenly. + Furthermore, industrial education appealed directly to the individual and + community interest of the white people. They saw at once that intelligence + coupled with skill would add wealth to the community and to the state, in + which both races would have an added share. Crude labor in the days of + slavery, they believed, could be handled and made in a degree profitable, + but ignorant and unskilled labor in a state of freedom could not be made + so. Practically every white man in the South was interested in + agricultural or in mechanical or in some form of manual labor; every white + man was interested in all that related to the home life,—the cooking + and serving of food, laundering, dairying, poultry-raising, and + housekeeping in general. There was no family whose interest in intelligent + and skillful nursing was not now and then quickened by the presence of a + trained nurse. As already stated, there was general appreciation of the + fact that the industrial education of the black people had direct, vital, + and practical bearing upon the life of each white family in the South; + while there was no such appreciation of the results of mere literary + training. If a black man became a lawyer, a doctor, a minister, or an + ordinary teacher, his professional duties would not ordinarily bring him + in touch with the life of the white portion of the community, but rather + confine him almost exclusively to his own race. While purely literary or + professional education was not opposed by the white population, it was + something in which they found little or no interest, beyond a confused + hope that it would result in producing a higher and a better type of Negro + manhood. The minute it was seen that through industrial education the + Negro youth was not only studying chemistry, but also how to apply the + knowledge of chemistry to the enrichment of the soil, or to cooking, or to + dairying, and that the student was being taught not only geometry and + physics, but their application to blacksmithing, brickmaking, farming, and + what not, then there began to appear for the first time a common bond + between the two races and cooperation between North and South. + </p> + <p> + One of the most interesting and valuable instances of the kind that I know + of is presented in the case of Mr. George W. Carver, one of our + instructors in agriculture at Tuskegee Institute. For some time it has + been his custom to prepare articles containing information concerning the + conditions of local crops, and warning the farmers against the ravages of + certain insects and diseases. The local white papers are always glad to + publish these articles, and they are read by white and colored farmers. + </p> + <p> + Some months ago a white land-holder in Montgomery County asked Mr. Carver + to go through his farm with him for the purpose of inspecting it. While + doing so Mr. Carver discovered traces of what he thought was a valuable + mineral deposit, used in making a certain kind of paint. The interests of + the land-owner and the agricultural instructor at once became mutual. + Specimens of the deposits were taken to the laboratories of the Tuskegee + Institute and analyzed by Mr. Carver. In due time the land-owner received + a report of the analysis, together with a statement showing the commercial + value and application of the mineral. I shall not go through the whole + interesting story, except to say that a stock company, composed of some of + the best white people in Alabama, has been organized, and is now preparing + to build a factory for the purpose of putting their product on the market. + I hardly need to add that Mr. Carver has been freely consulted at every + step, and his services generously recognized in the organization of the + concern. When the company was being formed the following testimonial, + among others, was embodied in the printed copy of the circular:— + </p> + <p> + "George W. Carver, Director of the Department of Agriculture, Tuskegee, + Alabama, says:— + </p> + <p> + "'The pigment is an ochreous clay. Its value as a paint is due to the + presence of ferric oxide, of which it contains more than any of the + French, Australian, American, Irish, or Welsh ochres. Ferric oxides have + long been recognized as the essential constituents of such paints as + Venetian red, Turkish red, oxide red, Indian red, and scarlet. They are + most desirable, being quite permanent when exposed to light and air. As a + stain they are most valuable.'" + </p> + <p> + In further proof of what I wish to emphasize, I think I am safe in saying + that the work of the Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute, under the + late General S. C. Armstrong, was the first to receive any kind of + recognition and hearty sympathy from the Southern white people, and + General Armstrong was perhaps the first Northern educator of Negroes who + won the confidence and cooperation of the white South. The effects of + General Armstrong's introduction of industrial education at Hampton, and + its extension to the Tuskegee Institute in the far South, are now actively + and helpfully apparent in the splendid work being accomplished for the + whole South by the Southern Education Board, with Mr. Robert C. Ogden at + its head, and by the General Education Board, with Mr. William H. Baldwin, + Jr., as its president. Without the introduction of manual training it is + doubtful whether such work as is now being wrought through these two + boards for both races in the South could have been possible within a + quarter of a century to come. Later on in the history of our country it + will be recognized and appreciated that the far-reaching and + statesman-like efforts of these two boards for general education in the + South, under the guidance of the two gentlemen named, and with the + cooperation and assistance of such men as Mr. George Foster Peabody, Dr. + Wallace Buttrick, Mr. John D. Rockefeller, of the North, and Mr. Edgar + Gardner Murphy, Chancellor Hill, Dr. Alderman, Dr. McIver, Dr. Dabney, and + others of the South, will have furnished the material for one of the + brightest and most encouraging chapters in the history of our country. The + fact that we have reached the point where men and women who were so far + apart twenty years ago can meet in the South and discuss freely from the + same platform questions relating to the industrial, educational, + political, moral, and religious development of the two races marks a great + step in advance. It is true that as yet the Negro has not been invited to + share in these discussions. + </p> + <p> + Aside from the reasons I have given showing why the South favored + industrial education, coupled with intellectual and moral training, many + of the whites saw, for example, that the Negroes who were master + carpenters and contractors, under the guidance of their owners, could + become still greater factors in the development of the South if their + children were not suddenly removed from the atmosphere and occupations of + their fathers, and if they could be taught to use the thing in hand as a + foundation for higher growth. Many of the white people were wise enough to + see that such education would enable some of the Negro youths to become + more skillful carpenters and contractors, and that if they laid an + economic foundation in this way in their generation, they would be laying + a foundation for a more abstract education of their children in the + future. + </p> + <p> + Again, a large element of people at the South favored manual training for + the Negro because they were wise enough to see that the South was largely + free from the restrictive influences of the Northern trades unions, and + that such organizations would secure little hold in the South so long as + the Negro kept abreast in intelligence and skill with the same class of + people elsewhere. Many realized that the South would be tying itself to a + body of death if it did not help the Negro up. In this connection I want + to call attention to the fact that the official records show that within + one year about one million foreigners came into the United States. + Notwithstanding this number, practically none went into the Southern + states; to be more exact, the records show that in 1892 only 2278 all told + went into the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, + North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. One ship + sometimes brings as many to New York. Various reasons are given to explain + why these foreigners systematically avoid the South. One is that the + climate is so hot; and another is that they do not like the restrictions + thrown about the ballot; and still another is the presence of the Negro is + so large numbers. Whatever the true reason is, the fact remains that + foreigners avoid the South, and the South is more and more realizing that + it cannot keep pace with the progress being made in other parts of the + country if a third of its population is ignorant and without skill. + </p> + <p> + The South must frankly face this truth, that for a long period it must + depend upon the black man to do for it what the foreigner is now doing for + the great West. If, by reason of his skill and knowledge, one man in Iowa + learns to produce as much corn in a season as four men can produce in + Alabama, it requires little reasoning to see that Alabama will buy most of + her corn from Iowa. + </p> + <p> + Another interesting result of the introduction of industrial education for + the Negro has been its influence upon the white people of the South, and, + I believe, upon the whites of the North as well. This phase of it has + proved of interest in making hand training a conciliatory element between + the races. + </p> + <p> + In 1883 I was delivering an address on industrial education before the + colored State Teachers' Association of one of our Southern states. When I + had finished, some of the teachers began to ask the State Superintendent + of Education, who was on the programme, some questions about the subject. + He politely but firmly stopped the questions by stating that he knew + absolutely nothing about industrial training, and had never heard it + discussed before. At that time there was no such education being given at + any white institution in that state. With one or two exceptions this case + will illustrate what was true of all the Southern states. A careful + investigation of the subject will show that it was not until after + industrial education was started among the colored people, and its value + proved, that it was taken up by the Southern white people. + </p> + <p> + Manual training or industrial and technical schools for the whites have, + for the most part, been established under state auspices, and are at this + time chiefly maintained by the states. An investigation would also show + that in securing money from the state legislatures for the purpose of + introducing hand work, one of the main arguments used was the existence + and success of industrial training among the Negroes. It was often argued + that the white boys and girls would be left behind unless they had the + opportunities for securing the same kind of training that was being given + the colored people. Although it is, I think, not generally known, it is a + fact that since the idea of industrial or technical education for white + people took root within the last few years, much more money is spent + annually for such education for the whites than for the colored people. + Any one who has not looked into the subject will be surprised to find how + thorough and high grade the work is. Take, for example, the state of + Georgia, and it will be found that several times as much is being spent at + the Industrial College for white girls at Milledgeville, and at the + technical school for whites at Atlanta, as is being spent in the whole + state for the industrial education of Negro youths. I have met no Southern + white educators who have not been generous in their praise of the Negro + schools for taking the initiative in hand training. This fact has again + served to create in matters relating to education a bond of sympathy + between the two races in the South. Referring again to the influence of + industrial training for the Negro in education, in the Northern states I + find, while writing this article, the following announcement in the + advertisement of what is perhaps the most high-priced and exclusive girls' + seminary in Massachusetts:— + </p> + <p> + "In planning a system of education for young ladies, with the view of + fitting them for the greatest usefulness in life, the idea was conceived + of supplementing the purely intellectual work by a practical training in + the art of home management and its related subjects. + </p> + <p> + "It was the first school of high literary grade to introduce courses in + Domestic Science into the regular curriculum. + </p> + <p> + "The results were so gratifying as to lead to the equipment of Experiment + Hall, a special building, fitted for the purpose of studying the + principles of Applied Housekeeping. Here the girls do the actual work of + cooking, marketing, arranging menus, and attend to all the affairs of a + well-arranged household. + </p> + <p> + "Courses are arranged also in sewing, dressmaking, and millinery; they are + conducted on a similarly practical basis, and equip the student with a + thorough knowledge of the subject." + </p> + <p> + A dozen years ago I do not believe that any such announcement would have + been made. + </p> + <p> + Beginning with the year 1877, the Negro in the South lost practically all + political control; that is to say, as early as 1885 the Negro scarcely had + any members of his race in the national Congress or state legislatures, + and long before this date had ceased to hold state offices. This was true, + notwithstanding the protests and fervent oratory of such strong race + leaders as Frederick Douglass, B. K. Bruce, John R. Lynch, P. B. S. + Pinchback, and John M. Langston, with a host of others. When Frederick + Douglass, the greatest man that the race has produced, died in 1895, it is + safe to say that the Negro in the Southern states, with here and there a + few exceptions, had practically no political control or political + influence, except in sending delegates to national conventions, or in + holding a few Federal positions by appointment. It became evident to many + of the wise Negroes that the race would have to depend for its success in + the future less upon political agitations and the opportunity of holding + office, and more upon something more tangible and substantial. It was at + this period in the Negro's development, when the distance between the + races was greatest, and the spirit and ambition of the colored people most + depressed, that the idea of industrial or business development was + introduced and began to be made prominent. It did not take the more + level-headed members of the race long to see that while the Negro in the + South was surrounded by many difficulties, there was practically no line + drawn and little race discrimination in the world of commerce, banking, + storekeeping, manufacturing, and the skilled trades, and in agriculture, + and that in this lay his great opportunity. They understood that, while + the whites might object to a Negro's being a postmaster, they would not + object to his being the president of a bank, and in the latter occupation + they would give him assistance and encouragement. The colored people were + quick to see that while the negro would not be invited as a rule to attend + the white man's prayer-meeting, he would be invited every time to attend + the stockholders' meeting of a business concern in which he had an + interest and that he could buy property in practically any portion of the + South where the white man could buy it. The white citizens were all the + more willing to encourage the Negro in this economic or industrial + development, because they saw that the prosperity of the Negro meant also + the prosperity of the white man. They saw, too, that when a Negro became + the owner of a home and was a taxpayer, having a regular trade or other + occupation, he at once became a conservative and safe citizen and voter; + one who would consider the interests of his whole community before casting + his ballot; and, further, one whose ballot could not be purchased. + </p> + <p> + One case in point is that of the twenty-eight teachers at our school in + Tuskegee who applied for life-voting certificates under the new + constitution of Alabama, not one was refused registration; and if I may be + forgiven a personal reference, in my own case, the Board of Registers were + kind enough to send me a special request to the effect that they wished me + not to fail to register as a life voter. I do not wish to convey the + impression that all worthy colored people have been registered in Alabama, + because there have been many inexcusable and unlawful omissions; but, with + few exceptions, the 2700 who have been registered represent the best + Negroes in the state. + </p> + <p> + Though in some parts of the country he is now misunderstood, I believe + that the time is going to come when matters can be weighed soberly, and + when the whole people are going to see that president Roosevelt is, and + has been from the first, in line with this policy,—that of + encouraging the colored people who by industry and economy have won their + way into the confidence and respect of their neighbors. Both before and + since he became President I have had many conversations with him, and at + all times I have found him enthusiastic over the plan that I have + described. + </p> + <p> + The growth of the race in industrial and business directions within the + last few years cannot perhaps be better illustrated than by the fact that + what is now the largest secular national organization among the colored + people is the National Negro Business League. This organization brings + together annually hundreds of men and women who have worked their way up + from the bottom to the point where they are now in some cases bankers, + merchants, manufacturers, planters, etc. The sight of this body of men and + women would surprise a large part of American citizens who do not really + know the better side of the Negro's life. + </p> + <p> + It ought to be stated frankly here that at first, and for several years + after the introduction of industrial training at such educational centres + as Hampton and Tuskegee, there was opposition from colored people, and + from portions of those Northern white people engaged in educational and + missionary work among the colored people in the South. Most of those who + manifested such opposition were actuated by the highest and most honest + motives. From the first the rank and file of the blacks were quick to see + the advantages of industrial training, as is shown by the fact that + industrial schools have always been overcrowded. Opposition to industrial + training was based largely on the old and narrow ground that it was + something that the Southern white people favored, and therefore must be + against the interests of the Negro. Again, others opposed it because they + feared that it meant the abandonment of all political privileges, and the + higher or classical education of the race. They feared that the final + outcome would be the materialization of the Negro, and the smothering of + his spiritual and aesthetic nature. Others felt that industrial education + had for its object the limitation of the Negro's development, and the + branding him for all time as a special hand-working class. + </p> + <p> + Now that enough time has elapsed for those who opposed it to see that it + meant none of these things, opposition, except from a very few of the + colored people living in Boston and Washington, has ceased, and this + system has the enthusiastic support of the Negroes and of most of the + whites who formerly opposed it. All are beginning to see that it was never + meant that ALL Negro youths should secure industrial education, any more + than it is meant that ALL white youths should pass through the + Massachusetts Institute of Technology, or the Amherst Agricultural + College, to the exclusion of such training as is given at Harvard, Yale, + or Dartmouth; but that in a peculiar sense a large proportion of the Negro + youths needed to have that education which would enable them to secure an + economic foundation, without which no people can succeed in any of the + higher walks of life. + </p> + <p> + It is because of the fact that the Tuskegee Institute began at the bottom, + with work in the soil, in wood, in iron, in leather, that it has now + developed to the point where it is able to furnish employment as teachers + to twenty-eight Negro graduates of the best colleges in the country. This + is about three times as many Negro college graduates as any other + institution in the United States for the education of colored people + employs, the total number of officers and instructors at Tuskegee being + about one hundred and ten. + </p> + <p> + Those who once opposed this see now that while the Negro youth who becomes + skilled in agriculture and a successful farmer may not be able himself to + pass through a purely literary college, he is laying the foundation for + his children and grandchildren to do it if desirable. Industrial education + in this generation is contributing in the highest degree to make what is + called higher education a success. It is now realized that in so far as + the race has intelligent and skillful producers, the greater will be the + success of the minister, lawyer, doctor, and teacher. Opposition has + melted away, too, because all men now see that it will take a long time to + "materialize" a race, millions of which hold neither houses nor railroads, + nor bank stocks, nor factories, nor coal and gold mines. + </p> + <p> + Another reason for the growth of a better understanding of the objects and + influence of industrial training is the fact, as before stated, that it + has been taken up with such interest and activity by the Southern whites, + and that it has been established at such universities as Cornell in the + East, and in practically all of the state colleges of the great West. + </p> + <p> + It is now seen that the result of such education will be to help the black + man to make for himself an independent place in our great American life. + It was largely the poverty of the Negro that made him the prey of + designing politicians immediately after the war; and wherever poverty and + lack of industry exist to-day, one does not find in him that deep + spiritual life which the race must in the future possess in a higher + degree. + </p> + <p> + To those who still express the fear that perhaps too much stress is put + upon industrial education for the Negro I would add that I should + emphasize the same kind of training for any people, whether black or + white, in the same stage of development as the masses of the colored + people. + </p> + <p> + For a number of years this country has looked to Germany for much in the + way of education, and a large number of our brightest men and women are + sent there each year. The official reports show that in Saxony, Germany, + alone, there are 287 industrial schools, or one such school to every + 14,641 people. This is true of a people who have back of them centuries of + wealth and culture. In the South I am safe in saying that there is not + more than one effective industrial school for every 400,000 colored + people. + </p> + <p> + A recent dispatch from Germany says that the German Emperor has had a + kitchen fitted up in the palace for the single purpose of having his + daughter taught cooking. If all classes and nationalities, who are in most + cases thousands of years ahead of the Negro in the arts of civilization, + continue their interest in industrial training, I cannot understand how + any reasonable person can object to such education for a large part of a + people who are in the poverty-stricken condition that is true of a large + element of my race, especially when such hand training is combined, as it + should be, with the best education of head and heart. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0025" id="link2H_4_0025"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE NEGRO IN THE REGULAR ARMY by Oswald Garrison Villard + </h2> + <p> + When the Fifty-fourth Massachusetts Regiment stormed Fort Wagner July 18, + 1863, only to be driven back with the loss of its colonel, Robert Gould + Shaw, and many of its rank and file, it established for all time the fact + that the colored soldier would fight and fight well. This had already been + demonstrated in Louisiana by colored regiments under the command of + General Godfrey Weitzel in the attack upon Port Hudson on May 27 of the + same year. On that occasion regiments composed for the greater part of raw + recruits, plantation hands with centuries of servitude under the lash + behind them, stormed trenches and dashed upon cold steel in the hands of + their former masters and oppressors. After that there was no more talk in + the portion of the country of the "natural cowardice" of the negro. But + the heroic qualities of Colonel Shaw, his social prominence and that of + his officers, and the comparative nearness of their battlefield to the + North, attracted greater and more lasting attention to the daring and + bravery of their exploit, until it finally became fixed in many minds as + the first real baptism of fire of colored American soldiers. + </p> + <p> + After Wagner the recruiting of colored regiments, originally opposed by + both North and South, went on apace, particularly under the Federal + government, which organized no less than one hundred and fifty-four, + designated as "United States Colored Troops." Colonel Shaw's raising of a + colored regiment aroused quite as much comment in the North because of the + race prejudice it defied, as because of the novelty of the new + organization. General Weitzel tendered his resignation the instant General + B. F. Butler assigned black soldiers to his brigade, and was with + difficulty induced to serve on. His change of mind was a wise one, and not + only because these colored soldiers covered him with glory at Port Hudson. + It was his good fortune to be the central figure in one of the dramatic + incidents of a war that must ever rank among the most thrilling and tragic + the world has seen. The black cavalrymen who rode into Richmond, the first + of the Northern troops to enter the Southern capital, went in waving their + sabres and crying to the negroes on the sidewalks, "We have come to set + you free!" They were from the division of Godfrey Weitzel, and American + history has no more stirring moment. + </p> + <p> + In the South, notwithstanding the raising in 1861 of a colored Confederate + regiment by Governor Moore of Louisiana (a magnificent body of educated + colored men which afterwards became the First Louisiana National Guards of + General Weitzel's brigade and the first colored regiment in the Federal + Army), the feeling against negro troops was insurmountable until the last + days of the struggle. Then no straw could be overlooked. When, in + December, 1863, Major-General Patrick R. Cleburne, who commanded a + division of Hardee's Corps of the Confederate Army of the Tennessee, sent + in a paper in which the employment of the slaves as soldiers of the South + was vigorously advocated, Jefferson Davis indorsed it with the statement, + "I deem it inexpedient at this time to give publicity to this paper, and + request that it be suppressed." General Cleburne urged that "freedom + within a reasonable time" be granted to every slave remaining true to the + Confederacy, and was moved to this action by the valor of the Fifty-fourth + Massachusetts, saying, "If they [the negroes] can be made to face and + fight bravely against their former masters, how much more probable is it + that with the allurement of a higher reward, and led by those masters, + they would submit to discipline and face dangers?" + </p> + <p> + With the ending of the civil war the regular army of the United States was + reorganized upon a peace footing by an act of Congress dated July 28, + 1866. In just recognition of the bravery of the colored volunteers six + regiments, the Ninth and Tenth Cavalry and the Thirty-eighth, + Thirty-ninth, Fortieth, and Forth-first Infantry, were designated as + colored regiments. When the army was again reduced in 1869, the + Thirty-eighth and Forty-first became the Twenty-fourth Infantry, and the + Thirty-ninth and Fortieth became the Twenty-fifth. This left four colored + regiments in the regular army as it was constituted from 1870 until 1901. + There has never been a colored artillery organization in the regular + service. + </p> + <p> + To these new regiments came a motley mixture of veterans of volunteer + organizations, newly released slaves, and some freedmen of several years' + standing but without military experience. They were eager to learn, and + soon showed the same traits which distinguish the black regiments to-day,—loyalty + to their officers and to their colors, sobriety and courage, and a notable + pride in the efficiency of their corps. But if ever officers had to + "father and mother" their soldiers they were the company officers of these + regiments. The captains in particular had to be bankers, secretaries, + advisers, and judges for their men. As Lieutenant Grote Hutcheson has + stated it, "The men knew nothing, and the non-commissioned officers but + little more. From the very circumstances of their preceding life it could + not be otherwise. They had no independence, no self-reliance, not a + thought except for the present, and were filled with superstition." Yet + the officers were determined to prove the wisdom of the experiment. To do + this they were forced to give their own attention to the minutest details + of military administration, and to act as non-commissioned officers. The + total lack of education among the men necessitated an enormous amount of + writing by the officers. In the Ninth Cavalry only one man was found able + to write well enough to be sergeant-major, and not for several years was + it possible to obtain troop clerks. When the Tenth Cavalry was being + recruited an officer was sent to Philadelphia with the express purpose of + picking up educated colored men for the non-commissioned positions. + Difficult as the tasks of the officers thus were, most of them felt well + repaid for their unusual labors by the affectionate regard in which they + were held by their soldiers, and by the never-failing good humor with + which the latter went about their duties. + </p> + <p> + As the years passed the character of the colored soldiers naturally + changed. In place of the war veterans, and of the men whose chains of + servitude had just been struck off, came young men from the North and East + with more education and more self-reliance. They depended less upon their + officers, both in the barracks and in the field, yet they reverenced and + cared for them as much as did their predecessors. Their greatest faults + then as now were gambling and quarreling. On the other hand, the negro + regiments speedily became favorably known because of greater sobriety and + of fewer desertions than among the white soldiers. It was the Ninth + Cavalry which a few years ago astonished the army by reporting not a + single desertion in twelve months, an unheard-of and perhaps undreamed-of + record. In all that goes to make a good soldier, in drill, fidelity, and + smartness, the negro regular from the first took front rank. + </p> + <p> + Nor was there ever any lack of the fighting quality which had gratified + the nation at Fort Wagner, or at Fort Blakely, Ala., where the + Seventy-third Colored Infantry, under Colonel Henry C. Merriam, stormed + the enemy's works, in advance of orders, in one of the last actions of the + war. It soon fell to the lot of the Ninth and Tenth Cavalry to prove that + the negroes could do as well under fire in the Indian wars as they had + when fighting for the freedom of their race. While the Twenty-fourth and + Twenty-fifth Infantry had merely garrison work to do, the Ninth and Tenth + Cavalry scouted for years against hostile Indians in Texas, New Mexico, + Colorado, and Kansas, always acquitting themselves honorably. In + September, 1868, a little over two years after their organization, three + troops of the Ninth Cavalry did well in an action against Indians at + Horsehead Hills, Texas. When General George A. Forsyth and his detachment + of fifty scouts were surrounded and "corralled" by seven hundred Indians + on an island in the Republican River, it was the troop of Captain Louis H. + Carpenter, of the Tenth Cavalry, which first came to their rescue. + Similarly when Major T. T. Thornburg's command was nearly wiped out by + Utes in 1879, it was Captain F. S. Dodge's Troop D of the Ninth which + succeeded in reaching it in time, losing all its horses in so doing. This + regiment alone took part in sixty Indian fights between 1868 and 1890, + during which time it lost three officers and twenty-seven men killed, and + had three officers and thirty-four men wounded. The Tenth Cavalry's + casualties were also heavy during this same period, and it fought for many + years over a most difficult country in New Mexico and Arizona, taking a + conspicuous part in running to earth Geronimo's and Victoria's bands of + Apaches. + </p> + <p> + On one of these campaigns Lieutenant Powhatan H. Clarke gave effective + proof of the affection which the officers of colored regiments have for + their men. In the fight in the Pineto Mountains with a portion of + Geronimo's forces this young Southerner risked his life to save a colored + sergeant who had fallen wounded in an open space where both he and his + rescuer were easy marks for the Apaches. For this gallant act Lieutenant + Clarke rightly received a medal of honor. The Twenty-fourth Infantry, on + the other hand, has contributed a striking instance of the devotion of + colored soldiers to their officers. When Major Joseph W. Wham, paymaster, + was attacked by robbers on May 11, 1889, his colored escort fought with + such gallantry that every one of the soldiers was awarded a medal of honor + or a certificate of merit. Some of them stood their ground although badly + wounded, notably Sergeant Benjamin Brown, who continued to fight and to + encourage his men until shot through both arms. In a fight against Apaches + in the Cuchilo Negro Mountains of New Mexico on August 16, 1881, Moses + Williams, First Sergeant of Troop I, Ninth Cavalry, displayed such + gallantry that he was given a medal of honor by common consent. When the + only officer with the detachment, Lieutenant Gustavus Valois, had his + horse shot under him, and was cut off from his men, Sergeant Williams + promptly rallied the detachment, and conducted the right flank in a + running fight for several hours with such coolness, bravery, and + unflinching devotion to duty that he undoubtedly saved the lives of at + least three comrades. His action in standing by and rescuing Lieutenant + Valois was the more noteworthy because he and his men were subjected, in + an exposed position, to a heavy fire from a large number of Indians. For + splendid gallantry against Indians, while serving as sergeant of Troop K, + Ninth Cavalry, on May 14, 1880, and August 12, 1881, George Jordan was + also given a medal of honor. Five of the medal of honor men now in the + service are colored soldiers, while fifteen others have "certificates of + merit" also awarded for conspicuous deeds of bravery. + </p> + <p> + It was not until the battle of Santiago, however, that the bulk of the + American people realized that the standing army comprised regiments + composed wholly of black men. Up to that time only one company of colored + soldiers had served at a post east of the Mississippi. Even Major, later + Brigadier-General, Guy V. Henry's gallop to the rescue of the Seventh + Cavalry on December 30, 1890, with four troops of the Ninth Cavalry, + attracted but little attention. This feat was the more remarkable because + Major Henry's command had just completed a march of more than one hundred + miles in twenty-four hours. But in the battle at Santiago, the four + colored regiments won praise from all sides, particularly for their + advance upon Kettle Hill, in which the Rough Riders also figured. From the + very beginning of the movement of the army after its landing, the negro + troops were in the front of the fighting, and contributed largely to the + successful result. Although they suffered heavy losses, especially in + officers, the men fought with the same gallantry they had displayed on the + plains, as is attested by the honors awarded. In every company there were + instances of personal gallantry. The first sergeants especially lived up + to the responsibilities placed upon them. The color sergeant of the Tenth + Cavalry, Adam Houston, bore to the front not only his own flags, but those + of the Third Cavalry when the latter's color sergeant was shot down. In + several emergencies where troops or companies lost their white officers, + the senior sergeants took command and handled their men in a faultless + manner, notably in the Tenth Cavalry. + </p> + <p> + Indeed, the conduct of these men has done much to dispel the old belief + that colored soldiers will fight only when they have efficient white + officers. This may well have been true at one period of the civil war when + the colored race as a whole had never even had the responsibilities + attaching to free men. It is growing less and less true as time passes and + better educated men enter the ranks. In recognition of their achievements + at Santiago a number of these black non-commissioned officers were made + commissioned officers in several of the so-called "immune" regiments of + United States Volunteers raised in July, 1898. None of these organizations + were in service long enough to become really efficient, and a few were + never properly disciplined. Nevertheless, a majority of the officers + promoted from the colored regulars bore themselves well under exceedingly + trying circumstances. Some of them, and a number of regular sergeants and + corporals who had succeeded to their former places, were made lieutenants + and captains in the Forty-eighth and Forty-ninth Volunteer Infantry, which + served in the Philippines for two years, and to which we shall recur + later. + </p> + <p> + At Santiago the characteristic cheerfulness of the negro soldiers was as + striking as their bravery. In his little book called The Nth Foot In War, + Lieutenant M. B. Stewart says of them:— + </p> + <p> + "The negro troops were in a high good humor. They had made the charge of + the day; they had fought with a dash and vigor which forever established + their reputation as fighters, and which would carry them down in the pages + of history. To have heard them that night no one would have ever thought + that they had lived for twelve mortal hours under a galling fire. They + were laughing and joking over the events of the day, in the same manner + they would have done had they been returning from a picnic. + </p> + <p> + "'Golly,' laughed a six-foot sergeant, 'dere was music in de air sho' + nuff. Dat lead was flying around in sheets, I tell you. I seen a buzzard + flying around in front of our line, and I says to myself, "Buzzard, you is + in a mighty dangerous position. You better git out uf dat, 'cause dey + ain't room out dar for a muskeeter."' Another remarked, 'Say, did you see + dat man Brown; pity dat man been killed. He'd a been a corporal, sho.' + </p> + <p> + "In the utter exhaustion of the moment all race and social distinctions + were forgotten. Officers lay down among their men and slept like logs. The + negro troops sought out soft places along the sides of the road and lay + down with their white comrades. There was a little commotion among the + latter, and an officer was heard to yell: 'Here, you man, take your feet + off my stomach. Well, I'll be damned if it ain't a nigger. Get out, you + black rascal.' As the commotion subsided, the negro was heard to remark, + 'Well, if dat ain't de mos' particler man I ever see.'" + </p> + <p> + Characteristic also is a story of the negro cavalryman who, returning to + the rear, said to some troops anxious to get to the front: "Dat's all + right, gemmen; don't git in a sweat; dere's lots of it lef' for you. You + wants to look out for dese yere sharpshooters, for dey is mighty careless + with dere weapons, and dey is specially careless when dey is officers + aroun'." + </p> + <p> + As soon as the army settled down in the trenches before Santiago, smuggled + musical instruments—guitars, banjos, mouth organs, and what not—appeared + among the negro troops as if by magic, and they were ever in use. It was + at once a scene of cheerfulness and gayety, and the officers had their + usual trouble in making the men go to sleep instead of spending the night + in talking, singing, and gaming. In the peaceful camp of the Third + Alabama, in that state, the scenes were similar. There was always "a + steady hum of laughter and talk, dance, song, shout, and the twang of + musical instruments." It was "a scene full of life and fun, of jostling, + scuffling, and racing, of clown performances and cake-walks, of impromptu + minstrelsy, speech-making, and preaching, of deviling, guying, and + fighting, both real and mimic." The colonel found great difficulty in + getting men to work alone. Two would volunteer for any service. "Colonel," + said a visitor to the camp, "your sentinels are sociable fellows. I saw + No. 5 over at the end of his beat entertaining No. 6 with some fancy + manual of arms. Afterwards, with equal amiability, No. 6 executed a most + artistic cake-walk for his friend." It must be remembered here that this + colonel's men were typical Southern negroes, literate and illiterate, and + all new to military life. + </p> + <p> + In addition to the Forty-eighth and Forty-ninth Volunteers, the four + regular colored regiments have served in the Philippines. Here the work + was particularly trying and the temptations to misconduct many. The + Filipino women were especially attractive to the men because of their + color, and it is on record that several soldiers were tempted from their + allegiance to the United States. Two of these, whose sympathy and liking + for the Filipinos overcame their judgment, paid the full penalty of + desertion, being hanged by their former comrades. Both belonged to the + Ninth Cavalry. On the other hand, in a remarkable order issued by General + A. S. Burt in relinquishing command of the Twenty-fifth Infantry, on April + 17, 1902, on his promotion to brigadier-general, he was able to quote the + Inspector-General of the army as saying: "The Twenty-fifth Infantry is the + best regiment I have seen in the Philippines." General Burt praised highly + the excellent conduct of the enlisted men while in the Archipelago, which + proved to his mind that the American negroes are "as law-abiding as any + race in the world." + </p> + <p> + Three of General Burt's sergeants, Russell, McBryar, and Hoffman, were + promoted to the Forty-eighth and Forty-ninth Volunteers, and served, as + lieutenants, for several months with their old regiment, the Twenty-fifth, + until the arrival of their new regiments in Manila. During this time they + were frequently under fire. General Burt bore high testimony to their + soldierly bearing, their capacity and ability, and expressed great regret + when he was forced to let them go. McBryar had won a medal of honor for + gallantry against Indians in Arizona in 1890. In the Forty-ninth + Volunteers, Company L, composed wholly of colored men, and commanded by + Captain Edward L. Baker, a colored veteran of Santiago, who had served for + seventeen years in the Ninth and Tenth Cavalry and in the Tenth "Immunes," + made a wonderful record. According to a statement which was widely + published at the time and never denied, this company had on its rolls + during a period of twelve months one hundred and six men who were fit for + duty at all times and never lost a day on account of sickness. No white + company remotely approached this record. More extraordinary still is the + fact that during this same period not one of these men ever went before a + court-martial. This is surely a striking illustration of what can be done + by colored officers. It is noticeable, too, that neither the officers nor + the men of any colored regiment have figured in the charges and + counter-charges arising out of the use of the water-torture, except one + man who at the time of his offense was not with his regiment. The + Forty-ninth Volunteers was a very unhappy regiment during its brief life, + but its troubles were largely due to its white officers. One of these, a + major, was dismissed for misconduct, and his place was filled by the + senior captain, a colored man. Several other white officers and one + colored captain got into serious trouble, the last being dismissed. The + Forty-eighth was, on the contrary, a contented organization in which the + colored officers were treated in a kindly and courteous manner by their + white associates and superiors. The two regiments afford a striking + illustration of Napoleon's saying, "There are no such things as poor + regiments,—only poor colonels." + </p> + <p> + The negro regiment unquestionably calls for different treatment from that + which would be accorded to white troops, just as the Indian troops of King + Edward's army require different handling from that called for in the case + of the King's Royal Rifles. Yet as fighting machines, the Indian soldiers + may be the equals if not the superiors of the Englishmen. Major Robert L. + Bullard, Twenty-eighth United States Infantry who commanded the colored + Third Alabama Volunteers, already referred to, during the war with Spain, + discusses in a remarkable paper published in the United Service Magazine + for July, 1901, the differences between negro and white soldiers. They are + so great, he says, as to require the military commander to treat the negro + as a different species. He must fit his methods of instruction and + discipline to the characteristics of the race. Major Bullard adds that + "mistakes, injustices, and failures would result from his making the same + rules and methods apply to the two races without regard to how far apart + set by nature or separated by evolution." But Major Bullard would + unquestionably concede that these differences in no way require a + treatment of the negro soldier which implies that he is an inferior being + and which ever impresses upon him his inferiority. Yet this seems to have + been the case in the Forty-ninth United States Volunteers. + </p> + <p> + In the regular army, as well as in the volunteers, officers have + frequently appealed with success to the negroes' pride of race, and have + urged them on to greater efficiency and better behavior by reminding them + that they have the honor of their people in their hands. To such appeals + there is ever a prompt response. One of the most effective ways of + disciplining an offender is by holding him up to the ridicule of his + fellows. The desire of the colored soldiers to amuse and to be amused + gives the officers an easy way of obtaining a hold upon them and their + affections. The regimental rifle team, the baseball nine, the minstrel + troupe, and the regimental band offer positions of importance for which + the competition is much keener than in the white regiments. There is also + a friendly rivalry between companies, which is much missed elsewhere in + the service. The negroes are natural horsemen and riders. It is a pleasure + to them to take care of their mounts, and a matter of pride to keep their + animals in good condition. Personally they are clean and neat, and they + take the greatest possible pride in their uniforms. In no white regiment + is there a similar feeling. With the negroes the canteen question is of + comparatively slight importance, not only because the men can be more + easily amused within their barracks, but because their appetite for drink + is by no means as strong as that of the white men. Their sociability is + astonishing. They would rather sit up and tell stories and crack jokes + than go to bed, no matter how hard the day has been. + </p> + <p> + The dark sides are, that the negro soldiers easily turn merited punishment + into martyrdom, that their gambling propensities are almost beyond + control, that their habit of carrying concealed weapons is incurable, and + that there is danger of serious fighting when they fall out with one + another. Frequent failure to act honorably toward a comrade in some + trifling matter is apt to cause scuffling and fighting until the men are + well disciplined. Women are another cause of quarrels, and are at all + times a potent temptation to misconduct and neglect of duty. It is very + difficult to impress upon the men the value of government property, and + duty which requires memorizing of orders is always the most difficult to + teach. For the study of guard duty manuals or of tactics they have no + natural aptitude. The non-commissioned officers are of very great + importance, and in the regulars they are looked up to and obeyed + implicitly, much more so than is the case with white troops. It is + necessary, however, for the officers to back up the sergeants and + corporals very vigorously, even when they are slightly in the wrong. Then + colored men are more easily "rattled" by poor officers than are their + white comrades. There was a striking instance of this two or three years + ago when a newly appointed and wholly untrained white officer lost his + head at a post in Texas. His black subordinates, largely recruits, + followed suit, and in carrying out his hysterical orders imperiled many + lives in the neighboring town. Selections for service with colored troops + should therefore be most carefully made. Major Bullard declares that the + officer of negro troops "must not only be an officer and a gentleman, but + he must be considerate, patient, laborious, self-sacrificing, a man of + affairs, and he must have knowledge and wisdom in a great lot of things + not really military." + </p> + <p> + If the position of a white officer is a difficult one, that of the colored + officer is still more so. He has not the self-assumed superiority of the + white man, naturally feels that he is on trial, and must worry himself + incessantly about his relations to his white comrades of the shoulder + straps. While the United States Navy has hitherto been closed to negroes + who aspire to be officers, the army has pursued a wiser and more just + policy. The contrast between the two services is really remarkable. On + almost every war vessel white and black sailors sleep and live together in + crowded quarters without protest or friction. But the negro naval officer + is kept out of the service by hook or by crook for the avowed reason that + the cramped quarters of the wardroom would make association with him + intolerable. In the army, on the other hand, the experiment of mixed + regiments has never been tried. A good colored soldier can nevertheless + obtain a commission by going through West Point, or by rising from the + ranks, or by being appointed directly from civil life. + </p> + <p> + Since the foundation of the Military Academy there have been eighteen + colored boys appointed to West Point, of whom fifteen failed in their + preliminary examinations, or were discharged after entering because of + deficiency in studies. Three were graduated and commissioned as second + lieutenants of cavalry, Henry Ossian Flipper, John Hanks Alexander, and + Charles Young. Of these, Lieutenant Flipper was dismissed June 30, 1882, + for "conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman." The other two proved + themselves excellent officers, notably Young, who is at this writing a + captain, and a most efficient one, in the Ninth Cavalry, with which he + recently served in the Philippines. Lieutenant Alexander died suddenly in + 1894. In announcing his death in a regimental order his colonel spoke of + him in terms of high praise, and did not use the customary stereotyped + phrases of regret. His fellow white officers all had good words for him. + There never was more striking testimony to the discipline and spirit of + fairness at West Point than was afforded by the sight of Cadet Charles + Young, who is of very dark complexion, commanding white cadets. Nothing + else has impressed foreign visitors at West Point half so much. + </p> + <p> + An equally remarkable happening, and one which speaks even more for the + democratic spirit in the army, was the commissioning in 1901 of + Sergeant-Major Benjamin O. Davis, Ninth Cavalry, and of Corporal John E. + Green, Twenty-fourth Infantry. Both these men were examined by boards of + white officers, who might easily have excluded them because of color + prejudice, in which case there would have been no appeal from their + findings. Lieutenant Davis's former troop commander, a West Pointer, + openly rejoiced at his success, and predicted that he would make an + excellent officer. These are the first two colored men to rise from the + ranks, but there will be many more if the same admirable spirit of fair + play continues to rule in the army and is not altered by outside + prejudice. It was thought that there would be a severe strain upon + discipline when a colored officer rose to the rank of captain and to the + command of white officers. But in Captain Young's case his white + subordinates seem to have realized that it is the position and rank that + they are compelled to salute and obey, and not the individual. This + principle is at the bottom of all discipline. Only too frequently do + subordinates throughout the army have to remind themselves of this when + obeying men for whose social qualities and character they have neither + regard nor respect. During the war with Spain Captain Young commanded a + negro battalion from Ohio, which was pronounced the best drilled + organization in the large army assembled at Camp Alger near Washington. In + addition to these officers, Captain John R. Lynch, formerly a Congressman + from Mississippi, and four colored chaplains represent their race on the + commissioned rolls of the army. All of these men are doing well. One + colored chaplain was dismissed for drunkenness in 1894. Beyond this their + record is unblemished. + </p> + <p> + Despite the fairness shown in these appointments, there has been + considerable very just criticism of the War Department for its failure to + appoint to the regulars any of the colored officers who did well in the + Forty-eighth and Forty-ninth Volunteers. Every colonel of volunteers was + allowed to designate for examination for appointment to the regular army + the best officers in his regiment. Hundreds of white officers were + selected in this way, but not a single colored officer was given an + examination,—not even Lieutenant McBryar, with his medal of honor, + or Captain Baker. Similarly fault has been found with Secretary Root + because no new colored regiments were established under the law of + February 2, 1901, increasing the army by five regiments of infantry, five + of cavalry, and a large number of companies of artillery. The excuse most + often heard is that the negroes already have sufficient representation in + comparison with the percentage of negroes to white persons within the + borders of the United States. But the sterling characteristics of the + colored soldiers, their loyalty to the service as shown by the statistics + of desertion, and, above all, their splendid service in Cuba, should have + entitled them to additional organizations. To say the least, the decision + of the War Department smacks considerably of ingratitude. Nevertheless, + the negro regiments have come to stay, both in the regulars and in the + volunteers. The hostilities of the last five years have dispelled any + doubt which may have existed upon this point. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0026" id="link2H_4_0026"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + BAXTER'S PROCRUSTES by Charles W. Chesnutt + </h2> + <p> + Baxter's Procrustes is one of the publications of the Bodleian Club. The + Bodleian Club is composed of gentlemen of culture, who are interested in + books and book-collecting. It was named, very obviously, after the famous + library of the same name, and not only became in our city a sort of shrine + for local worshipers of fine bindings and rare editions, but was visited + occasionally by pilgrims from afar. The Bodleian has entertained Mark + Twain, Joseph Jefferson, and other literary and histrionic celebrities. It + possesses quite a collection of personal mementos of distinguished + authors, among them a paperweight which once belonged to Goethe, a lead + pencil used by Emerson, an autograph letter of Matthew Arnold, and a chip + from a tree felled by Mr. Gladstone. Its library contains a number of rare + books, including a fine collection on chess, of which game several of the + members are enthusiastic devotees. + </p> + <p> + The activities of the club are not, however, confined entirely to books. + We have a very handsome clubhouse, and much taste and discrimination have + been exercised in its adornment. There are many good paintings, including + portraits of the various presidents of the club, which adorn the entrance + hall. After books, perhaps the most distinctive feature of the club is our + collection of pipes. In a large rack in the smoking-room—really a + superfluity, since smoking is permitted all over the house—is as + complete an assortment of pipes as perhaps exists in the civilized world. + Indeed, it is an unwritten rule of the club that no one is eligible for + membership who cannot produce a new variety of pipe, which is filed with + his application for membership, and, if he passes, deposited with the club + collection, he, however, retaining the title in himself. Once a year, upon + the anniversary of the death of Sir Walter Raleigh, who it will be + remembered, first introduced tobacco into England, the full membership of + the club, as a rule, turns out. A large supply of the very best smoking + mixture is laid in. At nine o'clock sharp each member takes his pipe from + the rack, fills it with tobacco, and then the whole club, with the + president at the head, all smoking furiously, march in solemn procession + from room to room, upstairs and downstairs, making the tour of the + clubhouse and returning to the smoking-room. The president then delivers + an address, and each member is called upon to say something, either by way + of a quotation or an original sentiment, in praise of the virtues of + nicotine. This ceremony—facetiously known as "hitting the pipe"—being + thus concluded, the membership pipes are carefully cleaned out and + replaced in the club rack. + </p> + <p> + As I have said, however, the raison d'etre of the club, and the feature + upon which its fame chiefly rests, is its collection of rare books, and of + these by far the most interesting are its own publications. Even its + catalogues are works of art, published in numbered editions, and sought by + libraries and book-collectors. Early in its history it began the + occasional publication of books which should meet the club standard,—books + in which emphasis should be laid upon the qualities that make a book + valuable in the eyes of collectors. Of these, age could not, of course, be + imparted, but in the matter of fine and curious bindings, of hand-made + linen papers, of uncut or deckle edges, of wide margins and limited + editions, the club could control its own publications. The matter of + contents was, it must be confessed, a less important consideration. At + first it was felt by the publishing committee that nothing but the finest + products of the human mind should be selected for enshrinement in the + beautiful volumes which the club should issue. The length of the work was + an important consideration,—long things were not compatible with + wide margins and graceful slenderness. For instance, we brought out + Coleridge's Ancient Mariner, an essay by Emerson, and another by Thoreau. + Our Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam was Heron-Allen's translation of the original + MS in the Bodleian Library at Oxford, which, though less poetical than + FitzGerald's, was not so common. Several years ago we began to publish the + works of our own members. Bascom's Essay on Pipes was a very creditable + performance. It was published in a limited edition of one hundred copies, + and since it had not previously appeared elsewhere and was copyrighted by + the club, it was sufficiently rare to be valuable for that reason. The + second publication of local origin was Baxter's Procrustes. + </p> + <p> + I have omitted to say that once or twice a year, at a meeting of which + notice has been given, an auction is held at the Bodleian. The members of + the club send in their duplicate copies, or books they for any reason wish + to dispose of, which are auctioned off to the highest bidder. At these + sales, which are well attended, the club's publications have of recent + years formed the leading feature. Three years ago, number three of + Bascom's Essay on Pipes sold for fifteen dollars;—the original cost + of publication was one dollar and seventy-five cents. Later in the evening + an uncut copy of the same brought thirty dollars. At the next auction the + price of the cut copy was run up to twenty-five dollars, while the uncut + copy was knocked down at seventy-five dollars. The club had always + appreciated the value of uncut copies, but this financial indorsement + enhanced their desirability immensely. This rise in the Essay on Pipes was + not without a sympathetic effect upon all the club publications. The + Emerson essay rose from three dollars to seventeen, and the Thoreau, being + by an author less widely read, and, by his own confession commercially + unsuccessful, brought a somewhat higher figure. The prices, thus inflated, + were not permitted to come down appreciably. Since every member of the + club possessed one or more of these valuable editions, they were all + manifestly interested in keeping up the price. The publication, however, + which brought the highest prices, and, but for the sober second thought, + might have wrecked the whole system, was Baxter's Procrustes. + </p> + <p> + Baxter was, perhaps, the most scholarly member of the club. A graduate of + Harvard, he had traveled extensively, had read widely, and while not so + enthusiastic a collector as some of us, possessed as fine a private + library as any man of his age in the city. He was about thirty-five when + he joined the club, and apparently some bitter experience—some + disappointment in love or ambition—had left its mark upon his + character. With light, curly hair, fair complexion, and gray eyes, one + would have expected Baxter to be genial of temper, with a tendency toward + wordiness of speech. But though he had occasional flashes of humor, his + ordinary demeanor was characterized by a mild cynicism, which, with his + gloomy pessimistic philosophy, so foreign to the temperament that should + accompany his physical type, could only be accounted for upon the + hypothesis of some secret sorrow such as I have suggested. What it might + be no one knew. He had means and social position, and was an uncommonly + handsome man. The fact that he remained unmarried at thirty-five furnished + some support for the theory of a disappointment in love, though this the + several intimates of Baxter who belonged to the club were not able to + verify. + </p> + <p> + It had occurred to me, in a vague way, that perhaps Baxter might be an + unsuccessful author. That he was a poet we knew very well, and typewritten + copies of his verses had occasionally circulated among us. But Baxter had + always expressed such a profound contempt for modern literature, had + always spoken in terms of such unmeasured pity for the slaves of the pen, + who were dependent upon the whim of an undiscriminating public for + recognition and a livelihood, that no one of us had ever suspected him of + aspirations toward publication, until, as I have said, it occurred to me + one day that Baxter's attitude with regard to publication might be viewed + in the light of effect as well as of cause—that his scorn of + publicity might as easily arise from failure to achieve it, as his never + having published might be due to his preconceived disdain of the vulgar + popularity which one must share with the pugilist or balloonist of the + hour. + </p> + <p> + The notion of publishing Baxter's Procrustes did not emanate from Baxter,—I + must do him the justice to say this. But he had spoken to several of the + fellows about the theme of his poem, until the notion that Baxter was at + work upon something fine had become pretty well disseminated throughout + our membership. He would occasionally read brief passages to a small + coterie of friends in the sitting-room or library,—never more than + ten lines at once, or to more than five people at a time,—and these + excerpts gave at least a few of us a pretty fair idea of the motive and + scope of the poem. As I, for one, gathered, it was quite along the line of + Baxter's philosophy. Society was the Procrustes which, like the Greek + bandit of old, caught every man born into the world, and endeavored to fit + him to some preconceived standard, generally to the one for which he was + least adapted. The world was full of men and women who were merely square + pegs in round holes, and vice versa. Most marriages were unhappy because + the contracting parties were not properly mated. Religion was mostly + superstition, science for the most part sciolism, popular education merely + a means of forcing the stupid and repressing the bright, so that all the + youth of the rising generation might conform to the same dull, dead level + of democratic mediocrity. Life would soon become so monotonously uniform + and so uniformly monotonous as to be scarce worth the living. + </p> + <p> + It was Smith, I think, who first proposed that the club publish Baxter's + Procrustes. The poet himself did not seem enthusiastic when the subject + was broached; he demurred for some little time, protesting that the poem + was not worthy of publication. But when it was proposed that the edition + be limited to fifty copies he agreed to consider the proposition. When I + suggested, having in mind my secret theory of Baxter's failure in + authorship, that the edition would at least be in the hands of friends, + that it would be difficult for a hostile critic to secure a copy, and that + if it should not achieve success from a literary point of view, the extent + of the failure would be limited to the size of the edition, Baxter was + visibly impressed. When the literary committee at length decided to + request formally of Baxter the privilege of publishing his Procrustes, he + consented, with evident reluctance, upon condition that he should + supervise the printing, binding, and delivery of the books, merely + submitting to the committee, in advance, the manuscript, and taking their + views in regard to the bookmaking. + </p> + <p> + The manuscript was duly presented to the literary committee. Baxter having + expressed the desire that the poem be not read aloud at a meeting of the + club, as was the custom, since he wished it to be given to the world clad + in suitable garb, the committee went even farther. Having entire + confidence in Baxter's taste and scholarship, they, with great delicacy, + refrained from even reading the manuscript, contenting themselves with + Baxter's statement of the general theme and the topics grouped under it. + The details of the bookmaking, however, were gone into thoroughly. The + paper was to be of hand-made linen, from the Kelmscott Mills; the type + black-letter, with rubricated initials. The cover, which was Baxter's own + selection, was to be of dark green morocco, with a cap-and-bells border in + red inlays, and doublures of maroon morocco with a blind-tooled design. + Baxter was authorized to contract with the printer and superintend the + publication. The whole edition of fifty numbered copies was to be disposed + of at auction, in advance, to the highest bidder, only one copy to each, + the proceeds to be devoted to paying for the printing and binding, the + remainder, if any, to go into the club treasury, and Baxter himself to + receive one copy by way of remuneration. Baxter was inclined to protest at + this, on the ground that his copy would probably be worth more than the + royalties on the edition, at the usual ten per cent, would amount to, but + was finally prevailed upon to accept an author's copy. + </p> + <p> + While the Procrustes was under consideration, some one read, at one of our + meetings, a note from some magazine, which stated that a sealed copy of a + new translation of Campanella's Sonnets, published by the Grolier Club, + had been sold for three hundred dollars. This impressed the members + greatly. It was a novel idea. A new work might thus be enshrined in a sort + of holy of holies, which, if the collector so desired, could be forever + sacred from the profanation of any vulgar or unappreciative eye. The + possessor of such a treasure could enjoy it by the eye of imagination, + having at the same time the exaltation of grasping what was for others the + unattainable. The literary committee were so impressed with this idea that + they presented it to Baxter in regard to the Procrustes. Baxter making no + objection, the subscribers who might wish their copies delivered sealed + were directed to notify the author. I sent in my name. A fine book, after + all, was an investment, and if there was any way of enhancing its rarity, + and therefore its value, I was quite willing to enjoy such an advantage. + </p> + <p> + When the Procrustes was ready for distribution, each subscriber received + his copy by mail, in a neat pasteboard box. Each number was wrapped in a + thin and transparent but very strong paper through which the cover design + and tooling were clearly visible. The number of the copy was indorsed upon + the wrapper, the folds of which were securely fastened at each end with + sealing-wax, upon which was impressed, as a guaranty of its inviolateness, + the monogram of the club. + </p> + <p> + At the next meeting of the Bodleian, a great deal was said about the + Procrustes, and it was unanimously agreed that no finer specimen of + bookmaking had ever been published by the club. By a curious coincidence, + no one had brought his copy with him, and the two club copies had not yet + been received from the binder, who, Baxter had reported was retaining them + for some extra fine work. Upon resolution, offered by a member who had not + subscribed for the volume, a committee of three was appointed to review + the Procrustes at the next literary meeting of the club. Of this committee + it was my doubtful fortune to constitute one. + </p> + <p> + In pursuance of my duty in the premises, it of course became necessary for + me to read the Procrustes. In all probability I should have cut my own + copy for this purpose, had not one of the club auctions intervened between + my appointment and the date set for the discussion of the Procrustes. At + this meeting a copy of the book, still sealed, was offered for sale, and + bought by a non-subscriber for the unprecedented price of one hundred and + fifty dollars. After this a proper regard for my own interests would not + permit me to spoil my copy by opening it, and I was therefore compelled to + procure my information concerning the poem from some other source. As I + had no desire to appear mercenary, I said nothing about my own copy, and + made no attempt to borrow. I did, however, casually remark to Baxter that + I should like to look at his copy of the proof sheets, since I wished to + make some extended quotations for my review, and would rather not trust my + copy to a typist for that purpose. Baxter assured me, with every evidence + of regret, that he had considered them of so little importance that he had + thrown them into the fire. This indifference of Baxter to literary values + struck me as just a little overdone. The proof sheets of Hamlet, corrected + in Shakespeare's own hand, would be well-nigh priceless. + </p> + <p> + At the next meeting of the club I observed that Thompson and Davis, who + were with me on the reviewing committee, very soon brought up the question + of the Procrustes in conversation in the smoking-room, and seemed anxious + to get from the members their views concerning Baxter's production, I + supposed upon the theory that the appreciation of any book review would + depend more or less upon the degree to which it reflected the opinion of + those to whom the review should be presented. I presumed, of course, that + Thompson and Davis had each read the book,—they were among the + subscribers,—and I was desirous of getting their point of view. + </p> + <p> + "What do you think," I inquired, "of the passage on Social Systems?" I + have forgotten to say that the poem was in blank verse, and divided into + parts, each with an appropriate title. + </p> + <p> + "Well," replied Davis, it seemed to me a little cautiously, "it is not + exactly Spencerian, although it squints at the Spencerian view, with a + slight deflection toward Hegelianism. I should consider it an harmonious + fusion of the best views of all the modern philosophers, with a strong + Baxterian flavor." + </p> + <p> + "Yes," said Thompson, "the charm of the chapter lies in this very quality. + The style is an emanation from Baxter's own intellect,—he has + written himself into the poem. By knowing Baxter we are able to appreciate + the book, and after having read the book we feel that we are so much the + more intimately acquainted with Baxter,—the real Baxter." + </p> + <p> + Baxter had come in during this colloquy, and was standing by the fireplace + smoking a pipe. I was not exactly sure whether the faint smile which + marked his face was a token of pleasure or cynicism; it was Baxterian, + however, and I had already learned that Baxter's opinions upon any subject + were not to be gathered always from his facial expression. For instance, + when the club porter's crippled child died Baxter remarked, it seemed to + me unfeelingly, that the poor little devil was doubtless better off, and + that the porter himself had certainly been relieved of a burden; and only + a week later the porter told me in confidence that Baxter had paid for an + expensive operation, undertaken in the hope of prolonging the child's + life. I therefore drew no conclusions from Baxter's somewhat enigmatical + smile. He left the room at this point in the conversation, somewhat to my + relief. + </p> + <p> + "By the way, Jones," said Davis, addressing me, "are you impressed by + Baxter's views on Degeneration?" + </p> + <p> + Having often heard Baxter express himself upon the general downward + tendency of modern civilization, I felt safe in discussing his views in a + broad and general manner. + </p> + <p> + "I think," I replied, "that they are in harmony with those of + Schopenhauer, without his bitterness; with those of Nordau, without his + flippancy. His materialism is Haeckel's, presented with something of the + charm of Omar Khayyam." + </p> + <p> + "Yes," chimed in Davis, "it answers the strenuous demand of our day,—dissatisfaction + with an unjustified optimism,—and voices for us the courage of human + philosophy facing the unknown." + </p> + <p> + I had a vague recollection of having read something like this somewhere, + but so much has been written, that one can scarcely discuss any subject of + importance without unconsciously borrowing, now and then, the thoughts or + the language of others. Quotation, like imitation, is a superior grade of + flattery. + </p> + <p> + "The Procrustes," said Thompson, to whom the metrical review had been + apportioned, "is couched in sonorous lines, of haunting melody and charm; + and yet so closely inter-related as to be scarcely quotable with justice + to the author. To be appreciated the poem should be read as a whole,—I + shall say as much in my review. What shall you say of the letter-press?" + he concluded, addressing me. I was supposed to discuss the technical + excellence of the volume from the connoisseur's viewpoint. + </p> + <p> + "The setting," I replied judicially, "is worthy of the gem. The dark green + cover, elaborately tooled, the old English lettering, the heavy linen + paper, mark this as one of our very choicest publications. The + letter-press is of course De Vinne's best,—there is nothing better + on this side of the Atlantic. The text is a beautiful, slender stream, + meandering gracefully through a wide meadow of margin." + </p> + <p> + For some reason I left the room for a minute. As I stepped into the hall, + I almost ran into Baxter, who was standing near the door, facing a hunting + print of a somewhat humorous character, hung upon the wall, and smiling + with an immensely pleased expression. + </p> + <p> + "What a ridiculous scene!" he remarked. "Look at that fat old squire on + that tall hunter! I'll wager dollars to doughnuts that he won't get over + the first fence!" + </p> + <p> + It was a very good bluff, but did not deceive me. Under his mask of + unconcern, Baxter was anxious to learn what we thought of his poem, and + had stationed himself in the hall that he might overhear our discussion + without embarrassing us by his presence. He had covered up his delight at + our appreciation by this simulated interest in the hunting print. + </p> + <p> + When the night came for the review of the Procrustes there was a large + attendance of members, and several visitors, among them a young English + cousin of one of the members, on his first visit to the United States; + some of us had met him at other clubs, and in society, and had found him a + very jolly boy, with a youthful exuberance of spirits and a naive + ignorance of things American that made his views refreshing and, at times, + amusing. + </p> + <p> + The critical essays were well considered, if a trifle vague. Baxter + received credit for poetic skill of a high order. + </p> + <p> + "Our brother Baxter," said Thompson, "should no longer bury his talent in + a napkin. This gem, of course, belongs to the club, but the same brain + from which issued this exquisite emanation can produce others to inspire + and charm an appreciative world." + </p> + <p> + "The author's view of life," said Davis, "as expressed in these beautiful + lines, will help us to fit our shoulders for the heavy burden of life, by + bringing to our realization those profound truths of philosophy which find + hope in despair and pleasure in pain. When he shall see fit to give to the + wider world, in fuller form, the thoughts of which we have been vouchsafed + this foretaste, let us hope that some little ray of his fame may rest upon + the Bodleian, from which can never be taken away the proud privilege of + saying that he was one of its members." + </p> + <p> + I then pointed out the beauties of the volume as a piece of bookmaking. I + knew, from conversation with the publication committee, the style of type + and rubrication, and could see the cover through the wrapper of my sealed + copy. The dark green morocco, I said, in summing up, typified the author's + serious view of life, as a thing to be endured as patiently as might be. + The cap-and-bells border was significant of the shams by which the + optimist sought to delude himself into the view that life was a desirable + thing. The intricate blind-tooling of the doublure shadowed forth the + blind fate which left us in ignorance of our future and our past, or of + even what the day itself might bring forth. The black-letter type, with + rubricated initials, signified a philosophic pessimism enlightened by the + conviction that in duty one might find, after all, an excuse for life and + a hope for humanity. Applying this test to the club, this work, which + might be said to represent all that the Bodleian stood for, was in itself + sufficient to justify the club's existence. If the Bodleian had done + nothing else, if it should do nothing more, it had produced a masterpiece. + </p> + <p> + There was a sealed copy of the Procrustes, belonging, I believe, to one of + the committee, lying on the table by which I stood, and I had picked it up + and held it in my hand for a moment, to emphasize one of my periods, but + had laid it down immediately. I noted, as I sat down, that young Hunkin, + our English visitor, who sat on the other side of the table, had picked up + the volume and was examining it with interest. When the last review was + read, and the generous applause had subsided, there were cries for Baxter. + </p> + <p> + "Baxter! Baxter! Author! Author!" + </p> + <p> + Baxter had been sitting over in a corner during the reading of the + reviews, and had succeeded remarkably well, it seemed to me, in + concealing, under his mask of cynical indifference, the exultation which I + was sure he must feel. But this outburst of enthusiasm was too much even + for Baxter, and it was clear that he was struggling with strong emotion + when he rose to speak. + </p> + <p> + "Gentlemen, and fellow members of the Bodleian, it gives me unaffected + pleasure—sincere pleasure—some day you may know how much + pleasure—I cannot trust myself to say it now—to see the + evident care with which your committee have read my poor verses, and the + responsive sympathy with which my friends have entered into my views of + life and conduct. I thank you again, and again, and when I say that I am + too full for utterance,—I'm sure you will excuse me from saying any + more." + </p> + <p> + Baxter took his seat, and the applause had begun again when it was broken + by a sudden exclamation. + </p> + <p> + "By Jove!" exclaimed our English visitor, who still sat behind the table, + "what an extraordinary book!" + </p> + <p> + Every one gathered around him. + </p> + <p> + "You see," he exclaimed; holding up the volume, "you fellows said so much + about the bally book that I wanted to see what it was like; so I untied + the ribbon, and cut the leaves with the paper knife lying here, and found—and + found that there wasn't a single line in it, don't you know!" + </p> + <p> + Blank consternation followed this announcement, which proved only too + true. Every one knew instinctively, without further investigation, that + the club had been badly sold. In the resulting confusion Baxter escaped, + but later was waited upon by a committee, to whom he made the rather lame + excuse that he had always regarded uncut and sealed books as tommy-rot, + and that he had merely been curious to see how far the thing could go; and + that the result had justified his belief that a book with nothing in it + was just as useful to a book-collector as one embodying a work of genius. + He offered to pay all the bills for the sham Procrustes, or to replace the + blank copies with the real thing, as we might choose. Of course, after + such an insult, the club did not care for the poem. He was permitted to + pay the expense, however, and it was more than hinted to him that his + resignation from the club would be favorably acted upon. He never sent it + in, and, as he went to Europe shortly afterwards, the affair had time to + blow over. + </p> + <p> + In our first disgust at Baxter's duplicity, most of us cut our copies of + the Procrustes, some of us mailed them to Baxter with cutting notes, and + others threw them into the fire. A few wiser spirits held on to theirs, + and this fact leaking out, it began to dawn upon the minds of the real + collectors among us that the volume was something unique in the way of a + publication. + </p> + <p> + "Baxter," said our president one evening to a select few of us who sat + around the fireplace, "was wiser than we knew, or than he perhaps + appreciated. His Procrustes, from the collector's point of view, is + entirely logical, and might be considered as the acme of bookmaking. To + the true collector, a book is a work of art, of which the contents are no + more important than the words of an opera. Fine binding is a desideratum, + and, for its cost, that of the Procrustes could not be improved upon. The + paper is above criticism. The true collector loves wide margins, and the + Procrustes, being all margin, merely touches the vanishing point of the + perspective. The smaller the edition, the greater the collector's + eagerness to acquire a copy. There are but six uncut copies left, I am + told, of the Procrustes, and three sealed copies, of one of which I am the + fortunate possessor." + </p> + <p> + After this deliverance, it is not surprising that, at our next auction, a + sealed copy of Baxter's Procrustes was knocked down, after spirited + bidding, for two hundred and fifty dollars, the highest price ever brought + by a single volume published by the club. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0027" id="link2H_4_0027"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE HEART OF THE RACE PROBLEM by Quincy Ewing + </h2> + <p> + "And, instead of going to the Congress of the United States and saying + there is no distinction made in Mississippi, because of color or previous + condition of servitude, tell the truth, and say this: 'We tried for many + years to live in Mississippi, and share sovereignty and dominion with the + Negro, and we saw our institutions crumbling.... We rose in the majesty + and highest type of Anglo-Saxon manhood, and took the reins of government + out of the hands of the carpet-bagger and the Negro, and, so help us God, + from now on we will never share any sovereignty or dominion with him + again.'"—Governor JAMES K. VARDAMAN, Mississippi, 1904. + </p> + <p> + During the past decade, newspaper and magazine articles galore, and not a + few books, have been written on what is called the "Race Problem," the + problem caused by the presence in this country of some ten millions of + black and variously-shaded colored people known as Negroes. But, strange + as it may sound, the writer has no hesitation in saying that at this date + there appears to be no clear conception anywhere, on the part of most + people, as to just what the essential problem is which confronts the white + inhabitants of the country because they have for fellow-citizens + (nominally) ten million Negroes. Ask the average man, ask even the average + editor or professor anywhere, what the race problem is, the heart of it; + why, in this land with its millions of foreigners of all nationalities, + THE race problem of problems should be caused by ten million Negroes, not + foreigners but native to the soil through several generations; and in all + probability you will get some such answer as this:— + </p> + <p> + "The Negroes, as a rule, are very ignorant, are very lazy, are very + brutal, are very criminal. But a little way removed from savagery, they + are incapable of adopting the white man's moral code, of assimilating the + white man's moral sentiments, of striving toward the white man's moral + ideals. They are creatures of brutal, untamed instincts, and uncontrolled + feral passions, which give frequent expression of themselves in crimes of + horrible ferocity. They are, in brief, an uncivilized, semi-savage people, + living in a civilization to which they are unequal, partaking to a limited + degree of its benefits, performing in no degree its duties. Because they + are spatially in a civilization to which they are morally and + intellectually repugnant, they cannot but be as a foreign irritant to the + body social. The problem is, How shall the body social adjust itself, + daily, hourly, to this irritant; how feel at ease and safe in spite of it? + How shall the white inhabitants of the land, with their centuries of + inherited superiority, conserve their civilization and carry it forward to + a yet higher plane, hampered by ten million black inhabitants of the same + land with their centuries of inherited inferiority?" + </p> + <p> + To the foregoing answer, this might now and again be added, or advanced + independently in reply to our question: "Personal aversion on the part of + the white person for the Negro; personal aversion accounted for by nothing + the individual Negro is, or is not, intellectually and morally; accounted + for by the fact, simply, that he is a Negro, that he has a black or + colored skin, that he is different, of another kind." + </p> + <p> + Now, certainly, there are very few average men or philosophers, to whom + the answer given to our question would not seem to state, or at any rate + fairly indicate, the race problem in its essence. But, however few they + be, I do not hesitate to align myself with them as one who does not + believe that the essential race problem as it exists in the South + (whatever it be in the North) is stated, or even fairly indicated, in the + foregoing answer. In Northern and Western communities, where he is + outnumbered by many thousands of white people, the Negro may be accounted + a problem, because he is lazy, or ignorant, or brutal, or criminal, or all + these things together; or because he is black and different. But in + Southern communities, where the Negro is not outnumbered by many thousands + of white people, the race problem, essentially, and in its most acute + form, is something distinct from his laziness or ignorance, or brutality, + or criminality, or all-round intellectual and moral inferiority to the + white man. That problem as the South knows and deals with it would exist, + as certainly as it does to-day, if there were no shadow of excuse for the + conviction that the Negro is more lazy, or more ignorant, or more + criminal, or more brutal, or more anything else he ought not to be, or + less anything else he ought to be, than other men. In other words, let it + be supposed that the average Negro is as a matter of fact the equal, + morally and intellectually, of the average white man of the same class, + and the race problem declines to vanish, declines to budge. We shall see + why, presently. The statements just made demand immediate justification. + For they are doubtless surprising to a degree, and to some readers may + prove startling. + </p> + <p> + I proceed to justify them as briefly as possible, asking the reader to + bear in mind that very much more might be said along this line than I + allow myself space to say. + </p> + <p> + I + </p> + <p> + That the Negro is not a problem because he is lazy, because he declines to + work, is evidenced by the patent fact that in virtually every Southern + community he is sought as a laborer in fields, mills, mines, and that in + very many Southern communities the vexing problem for employers is not too + many, but too few Negroes. In certain agricultural sections, notably in + the Louisiana sugar district, quite a number of Italians ("Dagoes") are + employed. The reason is not dissatisfaction with Negro labor, but simply + that there is not enough of it to meet the requirements of the large + plantations. There is, perhaps, not one of these plantations on which any + able-bodied Negro could not get employment for the asking; and as a rule, + the Negroes are given, not the work which demands the lowest, but that + which demands the highest, efficiency: they are the ploughmen, the + teamsters, the foremen. If any one doubts that Negroes are wanted as + laborers in Southern communities, very much wanted, let him go to any such + community and attempt to inveigle a few dozen of the laziest away. He will + be likely to take his life in his hands, after the usual warning is + disregarded! + </p> + <p> + II + </p> + <p> + The small politician's trump-card, played early and late, and in all + seasons, that the Negro is a black shadow over the Southland because of + his excessive criminality, serves well the politician's purpose,—it + wins his game; but only because the game is played and won on a board + where fictions, not facts, are dominant. Nothing is easier than to offer + so-called proofs of the contention that the Negro's tendency to crime is + something peculiar to his race; there are the jail and penitentiary and + gallows statistics, for instance. But surely it should not be difficult + for these so-called proofs to present themselves in their true light to + any one who takes the trouble to consider two weighty and conspicuous + facts: this, first, that the Negroes occupy everywhere in this country the + lowest social and industrial plane, the plane which everywhere else + supplies the jail, the penitentiary, the gallows, with the greatest number + of their victims; and secondly this, that in the section of the country + where these penal statistics are gathered, all the machinery of justice is + in the hands of white men. + </p> + <p> + No Negro is a sheriff, or judge, or justice of the peace, or grand or + petit juryman, or member of a pardoning board. Charged with crime, again + and again, the black man must go to jail; he is unable to give bond; he is + defended, not by the ablest, but by the poorest lawyers, often by an + unwilling appointee of the court; he lacks the benefit of that personal + appeal to judge and jury, so often enjoyed by other defendants, which + would make them WANT to believe him innocent until proven guilty; he + faces, on the contrary, a judge and jury who hold him in some measure of + contempt as a man, regardless of his guilt or innocence. He is without + means, except occasionally, to fight his case through appeals to higher + courts, and errors sleep in many a record that on review would upset the + verdict. In the light of such considerations, it would seem impossible + that criminal statistics should not bear hard upon the Negro race, even + supposing it to be a fact that that race of all races in the world is the + LEAST criminal. + </p> + <p> + Let it be admitted without question that in most Southern communities the + crimes and misdemeanors of the Negroes exceed those committed by an equal + number of white people, and we have admitted nothing that at all explains + or accounts for the race problem. For is it not equally true that in every + other community the doers of society's rough work, the recipients of its + meagrest rewards, are chargeable, relatively, with the greatest number of + crimes and misdemeanors? Is it not true, as well in Massachusetts and + Connecticut as in Louisiana and Mississippi, that the vast majority of + those occupying prison cells are members of the social lowest class? that + the vast majority condemned, after trial, to hard labor with their hands + were accustomed to such labor before their judicial condemnation? Nothing + is more preposterous than the idea that the race problem means more + Negroes hanged, more Negroes imprisoned, more Negroes in mines and + chain-gangs, than white people! If the Negro did not furnish the great + bulk of the grist for the grinding of our penal machinery in the Southern + states, he would constitute the racial miracle of this and all ages! + </p> + <p> + My own conviction is, and I speak with the experience of forty years' + residence in Southern states, that the Negro is not more given to crimes + and misdemeanors than the laboring population of any other section of the + country. But be this as it may, it is abundantly certain that no race of + people anywhere are more easily controlled than the Negroes by the + guardians of law and order; and there are none anywhere so easily punished + for disobedience to the statutes and mandates of their economic superiors. + Courts and juries may be sometimes subject to just criticism for undue + leniency toward white defendants; but that courts and juries are ever + subject to just criticism for undue leniency in dealing with black + defendants is the sheerest nonsense. + </p> + <p> + The frequent charge that the Negro's worst crimes partake of a brutality + that is peculiarly racial, is not supported by facts. I need not enlarge + upon this statement further than to say that the Negro's worst crimes, + with all their shocking accompaniments, are, not seldom, but often, + duplicated by white men. Let any one who doubts the statement observe for + one week the criminal statistics of any cosmopolitan newspaper, and he + will have his doubt removed. + </p> + <p> + Assuredly we do not hit upon the essence of the race problem in the + Negro's propensity to crime! + </p> + <p> + III + </p> + <p> + Do we hit upon it in his ignorance, in the fact that an immense number of + the black people are illiterate, not knowing the first from the last + letter of the alphabet? Hardly. For, almost to a man, the people who most + parade and most rail at the race problem in private conversation, on the + political platform, and in the pages of newspapers, books, and + periodicals, are disposed rather to lament, than to assist, the passing of + the Negro's ignorance. Ex-Governor Vardaman, of Mississippi, used the + following language in a message to the legislature of that state, January, + 1906:— + </p> + <p> + "The startling facts revealed by the census show that those [Negroes] who + can read and write are more criminal than the illiterate, which is true of + no other element of our population.. .. The state for many years, at great + expense to the tax-payers, has maintained a system of Negro education + which has produced disappointing results, and I am opposed to the + perpetuation of this system. My own idea is, that the character of + education for the Negro ought to be changed. If, after forty years of + earnest effort, and the expenditure of fabulous sums to educate his head, + we have only succeeded in making a criminal of him and impairing his + usefulness and efficiency as a laborer, wisdom would suggest that we make + another experiment and see if we cannot improve him by educating his hand + and his heart.... Slavery is the only process by which he has ever been + partially civilized. God Almighty created the Negro for a menial, he is + essentially a servant." + </p> + <p> + This is the reply of an ex-governor of one of our blackest states to those + who contend that the negro is a problem, a "burden carried by the white + people of the South," because of his ignorance and consequent + inefficiency; and that the lightening of the burden depends upon more + money spent, more earnest efforts made, for the schooling of the black + people. According to this ex-governor, and there are thousands who agree + with him in and out of Mississippi, the race problem is heightened, rather + than mitigated, by all attempts to increase the negro's intellectual + efficiency. The more ignorant he is, the less burdensome he is to the + white man, provided his heart be good, and his hands skillful enough to do + the service of a menial. Nothing but slavery ever partially civilized him, + nothing but slavery continued in some form can civilize him further! + </p> + <p> + IV + </p> + <p> + If we listen vainly for the heart-throb of the race problem in the Negro's + laziness, and criminality, and brutality, and ignorance, and inefficiency, + do we detect it with clearness and certainty in the personal aversion felt + by the white people for the black people, aversion which the white people + can no more help feeling than the black people can help exciting? Is this + the real trouble, the real burden, the real tragedy and sorrow of our + white population in those sections of the country where the Negroes are + many,—that they are compelled to dwell face to face, day by day, + with an inferior, degraded population, repulsive to their finer + sensibilities, obnoxious to them in countless ways inexplicable? Facts are + far from furnishing an affirmative answer. However pronounced may be the + feeling of personal aversion toward the Negroes in Northern communities, + where they are few, or known at long range, or casually, there is no such + thing in Southern communities as personal aversion for the Negro + pronounced enough to be responsible for anything resembling a problem. How + could there be in the South, where from infancy we have all been as + familiar with black faces as with white; where many of us fell asleep in + the laps of black mammies, and had for playmates Ephrom, Izik, Zeke, black + mammy's grandchildren; where most of us have had our meals prepared by + black cooks, and been waited on by black house-servants and dining-room + servants, and ridden in carriages and buggies with black hostlers? We are + so used to the black people in the South, their mere personal presence is + so far from being responsible for our race problem, that the South would + not seem Southern without them, as it would not without its crape myrtles, + and live-oaks, and magnolias, its cotton and its sugar-cane! + </p> + <p> + It is very easy to go astray in regard to the matter of personal aversion + toward the members of alien races, to magnify greatly the reality and + importance of it. What seems race-aversion is frequently something else, + namely, revulsion aroused by the presence of the strange, the unusual, the + uncanny, the not-understood. Such revulsion is aroused, not only by the + members of alien races, alien and unfamiliar, but as certainly by strange + animals of not more terrifying appearance than the well-loved cow and + horse; and it would be aroused as really and as painfully, doubtless, by + the sudden proximity of one of Milton's archangels. It was not necessarily + race-aversion which made Emerson, and may have made many another Concord + philosopher, uncomfortable in the presence of a Negro, any more than it is + race-aversion which makes the Fifth Avenue boy run from the gentle + farmyard cow; any more than it is race-aversion which would make me + uncomfortable in the presence of Li Hung Chang. The Negro, simply, it may + be, was a mystery to Emerson, as the farmyard cow is a mystery to the + Fifth Avenue boy, as the Chinaman is a mystery to me. + </p> + <p> + The Negro is NOT a mystery to people whom he has nursed and waited on, + whose language he has spoken, whose ways, good and bad, he has copied for + generations; and his personal presence does not render them uncomfortable, + not, at any rate, uncomfortable enough to beget the sense of a burden or a + problem. + </p> + <p> + It may be very difficult for Northern readers, to whom the Negro is in + reality a stranger, a foreigner, to appreciate fully the force of what has + just been said; but appreciated by them it must be, or they can never hope + to realize the innermost meaning of the race problem in the South. + </p> + <p> + So much for what the race problem is not. Let me without further delay + state what it is. The foundation of it, true or false, is the white man's + conviction that the Negro as a race, and as an individual, is his + inferior: not human in the sense that he is human, not entitled to the + exercise of human rights in the sense that he is entitled to the exercise + of them. The problem itself, the essence of it, the heart of it, is the + white man's determination to make good this conviction, coupled with + constant anxiety lest, by some means, he should fail to make it good. The + race problem, in other words, is NOT that the Negro is what he is in + relation to the white man, the white man's inferior; but this, rather: How + to keep him what he is in relation to the white man; how to prevent his + ever achieving or becoming that which would justify the belief on his + part, or on the part of other people, that he and the white man stand on + common human ground. + </p> + <p> + That such is the heart of the problem should be made evident by this + general consideration alone: namely, that everywhere in the South friction + between the races is entirely absent so long as the Negro justifies the + white man's opinion of him as an inferior; is grateful for privileges and + lays no claim to RIGHTS. Let him seem content to be as the South insists + he shall be, and not only is he not harshly treated, not abused, and never + boycotted, but he is shown much kindness and generosity, and employment + awaits him for the asking. Trouble brews when he begins to manifest those + qualities, to reveal those tastes, to give vent to those ambitions, which + are supposed to be characteristic exclusively of the higher human type, + and which, unless restrained, would result in confounding the lower with + the higher. The expression "Good Nigger" means everywhere in the South a + real Negro, from the Southern standpoint, one who in no respect gets out + of focus with that standpoint; the expression "Bad Nigger" means + universally one who in some respect, not necessarily criminal, does get + out of focus with it. So, stated differently, the race problem is the + problem how to keep the Negro in focus with the traditional standpoint. + </p> + <p> + But we are very far from needing to rely upon any general consideration in + support of the proposition advanced above. It is supported by evidences on + every hand, waiting only the eye of recognition. Scarcely a day passes but + something is said or done with this end in view, to emphasize, lest they + forget, the conviction for both white man and Negro that the latter is and + must remain an inferior. Let me instance a few such evidences. + </p> + <p> + Consider, first, the "Jim Crow" legislation in the manner of its + enforcement. Such legislation is supposed to have for its object the + separation of the races in trains, street-cars, etc., to save the white + people from occasional contact with drunken, rowdy, ill-smelling Negroes, + and to prevent personal encounters between the whites and blacks. How is + this object attained in the street cars of Southern cities? Members of the + different races occupy the same cars, separated only by absurdly + inadequate little open-mesh wire screens, so tiny and light that a + conductor can move them from one seat to another with the strength of his + little finger. Needless to add, these screens would serve to obscure + neither sound, sight, nor smell of drunken rowdies who sat behind them! In + summer cars black and white passengers may be separated not even by a + make-believe screen; they are simply required, respectively, to occupy + certain seats in the front or the back end of the cars. + </p> + <p> + In Birmingham, Alabama, the front seats are assigned to Negroes in all + closed cars, and the back seats in all open ones. Why the front seats in + the one case, and the back seats in the other, it is not easy to + understand in the light of the letter and alleged spirit of the Jim Crow + law! The underlying purpose of the law is clearly not the separation of + the races in space; for public sentiment does not insist upon its + fulfillment to that end. The underlying purpose of it would seem to be the + separation of the races in status. The doctrine of inequality would be + attacked if white and black passengers rode in public conveyances on equal + terms; therefore the Negro who rides in a public conveyance must do so, + not as of undoubted right, but as with the white man's permission, subject + to the white man's regulation. "This place you may occupy, that other you + may not, because I am I and you are you, lest to you or me it should be + obscured that I am I and you are you." Such is the real spirit of the Jim + Crow laws. + </p> + <p> + Why is it that in every Southern city no Negro is allowed to witness a + dramatic performance, or a baseball game, from a first-class seat? In + every large city, there are hundreds of Negroes who would gladly pay for + first-class seats at the theatre and the baseball game, were they + permitted to. It can hardly be that permission is withheld because + theatres and baseball games are so well attended by half the population + that first-class seats could not be furnished for the other half. As a + matter of fact, theatre-auditoriums and baseball grand-stands are seldom + crowded; the rule is, not all first-class seats occupied, but many vacant. + Surely as simple as moving from seat to seat a make-shift screen in a + street-car, would it be to set apart a certain number of seats in the + dress-circle of every theatre, and in the grand-stand of every baseball + park, for Negro patrons. The reason why this is not done is perfectly + obvious: it would be intolerable to the average Southern man or woman to + sit through the hours of a theatrical performance or a baseball game on + terms of equal accommodation with Negroes, even with a screen between. + Negroes would look out of place, out of status, in the dress circle or the + grand-stand; their place, signifying their status, is the peanut-gallery, + or the bleachers. There, neither they nor others will be tempted to forget + that as things are they must continue. + </p> + <p> + How shall we account for the "intense feeling" (to quote the language of + the mayor or New Orleans) occasioned in that city one day, last July, when + it was flashed over the wires that the first prize in the National + Spelling Contest had been won by a Negro girl, in competition with white + children from New Orleans and other Southern cities? The indignation of at + least one of the leading New Orleans papers verged upon hysterics; the + editor's rhetoric visited upon some foulest crime could hardly have been + more inflamed than in denunciation of the fact that, on the far-away shore + of Lake Erie, New Orleans white children had competed at a spelling bee + with a Negro girl. The superintendent of the New Orleans schools was + roundly denounced in many quarters for permitting his wards to compete + with a Negro; and there were broad hints in "Letters from the People" to + the papers that his resignation was in order. + </p> + <p> + Certainly in the days following the National Spelling Contest the race + problem was in evidence, if it ever was, in New Orleans and the South! Did + it show itself, then, as the problem of Negro crime, or brutality, or + laziness? Assuredly not! Of the Negro's personal repulsiveness? By no + means! There was no evidence of Negro criminality, or brutality, or + laziness in the Negro child's victory; and every day in the South, in + their games and otherwise, hundreds of white children of the best families + are in closer personal contact with little Negroes than were the white + children who took part in the Cleveland spelling bee. The "intense + feeling" can be explained on one ground only: the Negro girl's victory was + an affront to the tradition of the Negro's inferiority; it suggested—perhaps + indicated—that, given equal opportunities, all Negroes are not + necessarily the intellectual inferiors of all white people. What other + explanation is rationally conceivable? If the race problem means in the + South to its white inhabitants the burden and tragedy of having to dwell + face to face with an intellectually and morally backward people, why + should not the Negro girl's triumph have occasioned intense feeling of + pleasure, rather than displeasure, by its suggestion that her race is not + intellectually hopeless? + </p> + <p> + Consider further that while no Negro, no matter what his occupation, or + personal refinement, or intellectual culture, or moral character, is + allowed to travel in a Pullman car between state lines, or to enter as a + guest a hotel patronized by white people, the blackest of Negro nurses and + valets are given food and shelter in all first-class hotels, and occasion + neither disgust, nor surprise in the Pullman cars. Here again the heart of + the race problem is laid bare. The black nurse with a white baby in her + arms, the black valet looking after the comfort of a white invalid, have + the label of their inferiority conspicuously upon them; they understand + themselves, and everybody understands them, to be servants, enjoying + certain privileges for the sake of the person served. Almost anything, the + Negro may do in the South, and anywhere he may go, provided the manner of + his doing and his doing is that of an inferior. Such is the premium put + upon his inferiority; such his inducement to maintain it. + </p> + <p> + The point here insisted on may be made clearer, if already it is not clear + enough, by this consideration, that the man who would lose social caste + for dining with an Irish street-sweeper might be congratulated for dining + with an Irish educator; but President Roosevelt would scarcely have given + greater offense by entertaining a Negro laborer at the White House than he + gave by inviting to lunch there the Principal of Tuskegee Institute. The + race problem being what it is, the status of any Negro is logically the + status of every other. There are recognizable degrees of inferiority among + Negroes themselves; some are vastly superior to others. But there is only + one degree of inferiority separating the Negro from the white person, + attached to all Negroes alike. The logic of the situation requires that to + be any sort of black man is to be inferior to any sort of white man; and + from this logic there is no departure in the South. + </p> + <p> + Inconsistent, perhaps, with what has been said may seem the defeat in the + Louisiana Legislature (1908) of the anti-miscegenation bill, a measure + designed to prohibit sexual cohabitation between white persons and + Negroes; to be specific, between white men and Negro women. But there was + no inconsistency whatever in the defeat of that bill. In all times and + places, the status of that portion of the female population, Lecky's + martyred "priestesses of humanity," whose existence men have demanded for + the gratification of unlawful passion, has been that of social outcasts. + They have no rights that they can insist upon; they are simply privileged + to exist by society's permission, and may be any moment legislated out of + their vocation. Hence the defeat of an anti-miscegenation measure by + Southern legislators cannot be construed as a failure on their part to + live up to their conviction of race-superiority. It must be construed, + rather, as legislative unwillingness to restrict the white man's liberty; + to dictate by statute the kind of social outcast which he may use as a + mere means to the gratification of his passion. To concede to Negro women + the status of a degraded and proscribed class, is not in any sense to + overlook or obscure their racial inferiority, but on the contrary, it may + be, to emphasize it. Precisely the same principle, in a word, compasses + the defeat of an anti-miscegenation bill which would compass the defeat of + a measure to prohibit Negro servants from occupying seats in Pullman cars. + </p> + <p> + At the risk of reiteration, I must in concluding this article take sharp + issue with the view of a recent very able writer, who asks the question, + "What, essentially, is the Race Problem?" and answers it thus: "The race + problem is the problem of living with human beings who are not like us, + whether they are in our estimation our 'superiors' or inferiors, whether + they have kinky hair or pigtails, whether they are slant-eyed, hook-nosed, + or thick-lipped. In its essence, it is the same problem, magnified, which + besets every neighborhood, even every family." + </p> + <p> + I have contended so far, and I here repeat, that the race problem is + essentially NOT what this writer declares it to be. It is emphatically + not, in the South, "the problem of living with human beings who are not + like us, whether they are in our estimation our superiors or inferiors." + It may be, it probably is, that in the North, where the Negro is largely a + stranger, a foreigner, very much to the same degree that the Chinese are + strangers and foreigners in the South; and where, consequently, the + Negro's personal repulsiveness is a much more significant force than it is + in the South. Assuredly there would be no race problem, anywhere, were + there no contact with others unlike ourselves! The unlikeness of the + unlike is everywhere its indispensable foundation. But we get nowhither + unless we carefully distinguish between the foundation of the problem and + the problem itself. There is nothing in the unlikeness of the unlike that + is necessarily problematical; it may be simply accepted and dealt with as + a fact, like any other fact. The problem arises only when the people of + one race are minded to adopt and act upon some policy more or less + oppressive or repressive in dealing with the people of another race. In + the absence of some such policy, there has never been a race problem since + the world began. It is the existence of such a policy become traditional, + and supported by immovable conviction, which constitutes the race problem + of the Southern states. + </p> + <p> + There was an immensely tragic race problem distressing the South fifty + years ago; but who will suggest that it was the problem of "living with + human beings who are not like us?" The problem then was, clearly, how to + make good a certain conviction concerning the unlike, how to maintain a + certain policy in dealing with them. What else is it today? The problem, + How to maintain the institution of chattel slavery, ceased to be at + Appomattox; the problem, How to maintain the social, industrial, and civic + inferiority of the descendants of chattel slaves, succeeded it, and is the + race problem of the South at the present time. There is no other. + </p> + <p> + Whether the policy adopted by the white South, and supported, as I have + said, by immovable conviction, is expedient or inexpedient, wise or + unwise, righteous or unrighteous, these are questions which I have not + sought to answer one way or another in this article. Perhaps they cannot + be answered at all in our time. Certain is it, that their only real and + satisfactory answer will be many years ahead of the present generation. + </p> + <p> + In the mean time, nothing could be more unwarranted, than to suppose that + the race problem of one section of this country is peculiar to that + section, because its white inhabitants are themselves in some sense + peculiar; because they are peculiarly prejudiced, because they are + peculiarly behind the hour which the high clock of civilization has + struck. Remove the white inhabitants of the South, give their place to the + white people of any other section of the United States, and, beyond a + peradventure, the Southern race problem, as I have defined it, would + continue to be—revealed, perhaps, in ways more perplexing, more + intense and tragic. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0028" id="link2H_4_0028"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + NEGRO SUFFRAGE IN A DEMOCRACY by Ray Stannard Baker + </h2> + <p> + In this paper I endeavor to lay down the fundamental principles which + should govern the Negro franchise in a democracy, and to outline a + practical programme for the immediate treatment of the problem. + </p> + <p> + As I see it, the question of Negro suffrage in the United States presents + two distinct aspects:— + </p> + <p> + FIRST: the legal aspect. + </p> + <p> + SECOND: the practical aspect. + </p> + <p> + It will be admitted, I think, without argument, that all governments do + and of a necessity must exercise the right to limit the number of people + who are permitted to take part in the weighty responsibilities of the + suffrage. Some governments allow only a few men to vote; in an absolute + monarchy there is only one voter; other governments, as they become more + democratic, permit a larger proportion of the people to vote. + </p> + <p> + Our own government is one of the freest in the world in the matter of + suffrage; and yet we bar out, in most states, all women; we bar out + Mongolians, no matter how intelligent; we bar out Indians, and all + foreigners who have not passed through a certain probationary stage and + have not acquired a certain small amount of education. We also declare—for + an arbitrary limit must be placed somewhere—that no person under + twenty-one years of age may exercise the right to vote, although some boys + of eighteen are to-day better equipped to pass intelligently upon public + questions than many grown men. We even place adult white men on probation + until they have resided for a certain length of time, often as much as two + years, in the state or the town where they wish to cast their ballots. Our + registration and ballot laws eliminate hundreds of thousands of voters; + and finally, we bar out everywhere the defective and criminal classes of + our population. We do not realize, sometimes, I think, how limited the + franchise really is, even in America. We forget that out of nearly ninety + million people in the United States, fewer than fifteen million cast their + votes for President in 1908—or about one in every six. + </p> + <p> + Thus the practice of a restricted suffrage is very deeply implanted in our + system of government. It is everywhere recognized that even in a democracy + lines must be drawn, and that the ballot, the precious instrument of + government, must be hedged about with stringent regulations. The question + is, where shall these lines be drawn in order that the best interests, not + of any particular class, but of the whole nation, shall be served. + </p> + <p> + Upon this question, we, as free citizens, have the absolute right to agree + or disagree with the present laws regulating suffrage; and if we want more + people brought in as partakers in government, or some people who are + already in, barred out, we have a right to organize, to agitate, to do our + best to change the laws. Powerful organizations of women are now agitating + for the right to vote; there is an organization which demands the suffrage + for Chinese and Japanese who wish to become citizens. It is even + conceivable that a society might be founded to lower the suffrage + age-limit from twenty-one to nineteen years, thereby endowing a large + number of young men with the privileges, and therefore the educational + responsibilities, of political power. On the other hand, a large number of + people, chiefly in our Southern States, earnestly believe that the right + of the Negro to vote should be curtailed, or even abolished. + </p> + <p> + Thus we disagree, and government is the resultant of all these diverse + views and forces. No one can say dogmatically how far democracy should go + in distributing the enormously important powers of active government. + Democracy is not a dogma; it is not even a dogma of free suffrage. + Democracy is a life, a spirit, a growth. The primal necessity of any sort + of government, democracy or otherwise, whether it be more unjust or less + unjust toward special groups of its citizens, is to exist, to be a going + concern, to maintain upon the whole a stable and peaceful administration + of affairs. If a democracy cannot provide such stability, then the people + go back to some form of oligarchy. Having secured a fair measure of + stability, a democracy proceeds with caution toward the extension of the + suffrage to more and more people—trying foreigners, trying women, + trying Negroes. + </p> + <p> + And no one can prophesy how far a democracy will ultimately go in the + matter of suffrage. We know only the tendency. We know that in the + beginning, even in America, the right to vote was a very limited matter. + In the early years, in New England, only church-members voted; then the + franchise was extended to include property-owners; then it was enlarged to + include all white adults; then to include Negroes; then, in several + Western States, to include women. + </p> + <p> + Thus the line has been constantly advancing, but with many fluctuations, + eddies, and back-currents—like any other stream of progress. At the + present time the fundamental principles which underlie popular government, + and especially the whole matter of popular suffrage, are much in the + public mind. The tendency of government throughout the entire civilized + world is strongly in the direction of placing more and more power in the + hands of the people. In our own country we are enacting a remarkable group + of laws providing for direct primaries in the nomination of public + officials, for direct election of United States Senators, and for direct + legislation by means of the initiative and referendum; and we are even + going to the point, in many cities, of permitting the people to recall an + elected official who is unsatisfactory. The principle of local option, + which is nothing but that of direct government by the people, is being + everywhere accepted. All these changes affect, fundamentally, the historic + structure of our government, making it less republican and more + democratic. + </p> + <p> + Still more important and far-reaching in its significance is the tendency + of our government, especially our Federal Government, to regulate or to + appropriate great groups of business enterprises formerly left wholly in + private hands. More and more, private business is becoming public + business. + </p> + <p> + Now, then, as the weight of responsibility upon the popular vote is + increased, it becomes more and more important that the ballot should be + jealously guarded and honestly exercised. In the last few years, + therefore, a series of extraordinary new precautions have been adopted: + the Australian ballot, more stringent registration systems, the stricter + enforcement of naturalization laws to prevent the voting of crowds of + unprepared foreigners, and the imposition by several states, rightly or + wrongly, of educational and property tests. It becomes a more and more + serious matter every year to be an American citizen, more of an honor, + more of a duty. + </p> + <p> + At the close of the Civil War, in a time of intense idealistic emotion, + some three-quarters of a million of Negroes, the mass of them densely + ignorant and just out of slavery, with the iron of slavery still in their + souls, were suddenly given the political rights of free citizens. A great + many people, and not in the South alone, thought then, and still think, + that it was a mistake to bestow the high powers and privileges of a wholly + unrestricted ballot—a ballot which is the symbol of intelligent + self-government—upon the Negro. Other people, of whom I am one, + believe that it was a necessary concomitant of the revolution; it was + itself a revolution, not a growth, and like every other revolution it has + had its fearful reaction. Revolutions, indeed, change names, but they do + not at once change human relationships. Mankind is reconstructed not by + proclamations, or legislation, or military occupation, but by time, + growth, education, religion, thought. At that time, then, the nation drove + down the stakes of its idealism in government far beyond the point it was + able to reach in the humdrum activities of everyday existence. A reaction + was inevitable; it was inevitable and perfectly natural that there should + be a widespread questioning as to whether all Negroes, or indeed any + Negroes, should properly be admitted to full political fellowship. That + questioning continues to this day. + </p> + <p> + Now, the essential principle established by the Fifteenth Amendment to the + Constitution was not that all Negroes should necessarily be given an + unrestricted access to the ballot; but that the right to vote should not + be denied or abridged 'on account of race, color, or previous condition of + servitude.' This amendment wiped out the color-line in politics so far as + any written law could possibly do it. + </p> + <p> + Let me here express my profound conviction that the principle of political + equality then laid down is a sound, valid, and absolutely essential + principle in any free government; that restrictions upon the ballot, when + necessary, should be made to apply equally to white and colored citizens; + and that the Fifteenth Amendment ought not to be, and cannot be repealed. + Moreover, I am convinced that the principle of political equality is more + firmly established to-day in this country than it was forty years ago, + when it had only Northern bayonets behind it. For now, however short the + practice falls of reaching the legal standard, the principle is woven into + the warp and woof of Southern life and Southern legislation. Many Southern + white leaders of thought are to-day CONVINCED, not FORCED believers in the + principle; and that is a great omen. + </p> + <p> + Limitations have come about, it is true, and were to be expected as the + back-currents of the revolution. Laws providing for educational and + property qualifications as a prerequisite to the exercise of the suffrage + have been passed in all the Southern States, and have operated to exclude + from the ballot large numbers of both white and colored citizens, who on + account of ignorance or poverty are unable to meet the tests. These + provisions, whatever the opinion entertained as to the wisdom of such + laws, are well within the principle laid down by the Fifteenth Amendment. + But several Southern States have gone a step further, and by means of the + so-called 'grandfather laws,' have exempted certain ignorant white men + from the necessity of meeting the educational and property tests. These + unfair 'grandfather laws,' however, in some of the states adopting them, + have now expired by limitation. + </p> + <p> + Let me then lay down this general proposition:— + </p> + <p> + Nowhere in the South to-day is the Negro cut off LEGALLY, as a Negro, from + the ballot. Legally, to-day, any Negro who can meet the comparatively + slight requirements as to education, or property, or both, can cast his + ballot on a basis of equality with the white man. I have emphasized the + word legally, for I know the PRACTICAL difficulties which confront the + Negro votes in many parts of the South. The point I wish to make is that + legally the Negro is essentially the political equal of the white man; but + that practically, in the enforcement of the law, the legislative ideal is + still pegged out far beyond the actual performance. + </p> + <p> + Now, then, if we are interested in the problem of democracy, we have two + courses open to us. We may think the laws are unjust to the Negro, and + incidentally to the 'poor white' man as well. If we do, we have a perfect + right to agitate for changes; and we can do much to disclose, without + heat, the actual facts regarding the complicated and vexatious legislative + situation in the South, as regards the suffrage. Every change in the + legislation upon this subject should, indeed, be jealously watched, that + the principle of political equality between the races be not legally + curtailed. The doctrine laid down in the Fifteenth Amendment must, at any + hazard, be maintained. + </p> + <p> + But, personally,—and I am here voicing a profound conviction,—I + think our emphasis at present should be laid upon the practical rather + than upon the legal aspect of the problem; I think we should take + advantage of the widely prevalent feeling in the South that the question + of suffrage has been settled, legally, for some time to come: of the + desire on the part of many Southern people, both white and colored, to + turn aside from the discussion of the political status of the Negro. + </p> + <p> + In short, let us for the time being accept the laws as they are, and build + upward from that point. Let us turn our attention to the practical task of + finding out why it is that the laws we already have are not enforced, and + how best to secure an honest vote for every Negro and equally for every + 'poor white' man, who is able to meet the requirements, but who for one + reason or another does not or cannot now exercise his rights. I include + the disfranchised white man as well as the Negro, because I take it that + we are interested, first of all, in democracy, and unless we can arouse + the spirit of democracy, South and North, we can hope for justice neither + for Negroes, nor for the poorer class of white men, nor for the women of + the factories and shops, nor for the children of the cottonmills. + </p> + <p> + Taking up this side of the problem we shall discover two entirely distinct + difficulties:— + </p> + <p> + First, we shall find many Negroes, and indeed hundreds of thousands of + white men as well, who might vote, but who, through ignorance, or + inability or unwillingness to pay the poll-taxes, or from mere lack of + interest, disfranchise themselves. + </p> + <p> + The second difficulty is peculiar to the Negro. It consists in open or + concealed intimidation on the part of the white men who control the + election machinery. In many places in the South to-day no Negro, how well + qualified, would dare to present himself for registration; when he does, + he is rejected for some trivial or illegal reason. + </p> + <p> + Thus we have to meet a vast amount of apathy and ignorance and poverty on + the one hand, and the threat of intimidation on the other. + </p> + <p> + First of all, for it is the chief injustice as between white and colored + men with which we have to deal,—an injustice which the law already + makes illegal and punishable,—how shall we meet the matter of + intimidation? As I have already said, the door of the suffrage is + everywhere legally open to the Negro, but a certain sort of Southerner + bars the passage-way. He stands there and, law or no law, keeps out many + Negroes who might vote; and he represents in most parts of the South the + prevailing public opinion. + </p> + <p> + Shall we meet this situation by force? What force is available? Shall the + North go down and fight the South? You and I know that the North to-day + has no feeling but friendship for the South. More than that—and I + say it with all seriousness, because it represents what I have heard + wherever I have gone in the North to make inquiries regarding the Negro + problem—the North, wrongly or rightly, is to-day more than half + convinced that the South is right in imposing some measure of limitation + upon the franchise. There is now, in short, no disposition anywhere in the + North to interfere in internal affairs in the South—not even with + the force of public opinion. + </p> + <p> + What other force, then, is to be invoked? Shall the Negro revolt? Shall he + migrate? Shall he prosecute his case in the courts? The very asking of + these questions suggests the inevitable reply. + </p> + <p> + We might as well, here and now, dismiss the idea of force, express or + implied. There are times of last resort which call for force; but this is + not such a time. + </p> + <p> + What other alternatives are there? + </p> + <p> + Accepting the laws as they are, then, there are two methods of procedure, + neither sensational nor exciting. I have no quick cure to suggest, but + only old and tried methods of commonplace growth. + </p> + <p> + The underlying causes of the trouble in the country being plainly + ignorance and prejudice, we must meet ignorance and prejudice with their + antidotes, education and association. + </p> + <p> + Every effort should be made to extend free education among both Negroes + and white people. A great extension of education is now going forward in + the South. The Negro is not by any means getting his full share; but, as + certainly as sunshine makes things grow, education in the South will + produce tolerance. That there is already such a growing tolerance no one + who has talked with the leading white men in the South can doubt. The old + fire-eating, Negro-baiting leaders of the Tillman-Vardaman type are + swiftly passing away: a far better and broader group is coming into power. + </p> + <p> + In his last book, Mr. Edgar Gardner Murphy, of Alabama, expresses this new + point of view when he says,— + </p> + <p> + 'There is no question here as to the unrestricted admission [to the + ballot] of the great masses of our ignorant and semi-ignorant blacks. I + know no advocate of such admission. But the question is as to whether the + individuals of the race, upon conditions or restrictions legally imposed + and fairly administered, shall be admitted to adequate and increasing + representation in the electorate. And as that question is more seriously + and more generally considered, many of the leading publicists of the + South, I am glad to say, are quietly resolved that the answer shall be in + the affirmative.' + </p> + <p> + From an able Southern white man, a resident of New Orleans, I received + recently a letter containing these words:— + </p> + <p> + 'I believe we have reached the bottom, and a sort of quiescent period. I + think it most likely that from now on there will be a gradual increase of + the Negro vote. And I honestly believe that the less said about it, the + surer the increase will be.' + </p> + <p> + Education—and by education I mean education of all sorts, + industrial, professional, classical, in accordance with each man's talents—will + not only produce breadth and tolerance, but will help to cure the apathy + which now keeps so many thousands of both white men and Negroes from the + polls: for it will show them that it is necessary for every man to + exercise all the political rights within his reach. If he fails + voluntarily to take advantage of the rights he already has, how shall he + acquire more rights? + </p> + <p> + And as ignorance must be met by education, so prejudice must be met with + its antidote, which is association. Democracy does not consist in mere + voting, but in association, the spirit of common effort, of which the + ballot is a mere visible expression. When we come to know one another we + soon find that the points of likeness are much more numerous than the + points of difference. And this human association for the common good, + which is democracy, is difficult to bring about anywhere, whether among + different classes of white people, or between white people and Negroes. As + one of the leaders of the Negro race, Dr. Du Bois, has said,— + </p> + <p> + 'Herein lies the tragedy of the age. Not that men are poor: all men know + something of poverty. Not that men are wicked: who is good? Not that men + are ignorant: what is truth? Nay, but that men know so little of each + other.' + </p> + <p> + After the Atlanta riot I attended a number of conferences between leading + white men and leading colored men. It is true those meetings bore evidence + of awkwardness and embarrassment, for they were among the first of the + sort to take place in the South, but they were none the less valuable. A + white man told me after one of the meetings,— + </p> + <p> + 'I did not know that there were any such sensible Negroes in the South.' + </p> + <p> + And a Negro told me that it was the first time in his life that he had + ever heard a Southern white man reason in a friendly way with a Negro + concerning their common difficulties. + </p> + <p> + More and more these associations of white and colored men, at certain + points of contact, must and will come about. Already, in connection with + various educational and business projects in the South, white and colored + men meet on common grounds, and the way has been opened to a wider mutual + understanding. And it is common enough now, where it was unheard of a few + years ago, for both white men and Negroes to speak from the same platform + in the South. I have attended a number of such meetings. Thus slowly—awkwardly, + at first, for two centuries of prejudice are not immediately overcome—the + white man and Negro will come to know one another, not merely as master + and servant, but as co-workers. These things cannot be forced. + </p> + <p> + One reason why the white man and the Negro have not got together more + rapidly in the South than they have, is because they have tried always to + meet at the sorest points. When sensible people, who must live together + whether or no, find that there are points at which they cannot agree, it + is the part of wisdom to avoid these points, and to meet upon other and + common interests. Upon no other terms, indeed, can a democracy exist, for + in no imaginable future state will individuals cease to disagree with one + another upon something less than half of all the problems of life. + </p> + <p> + 'Here we all live together in a great country,' say the apostles of this + view; 'let us all get together and develop it. Let the Negro do his best + to educate himself, to own his own land, and to buy and sell with the + white people in the fairest possible way.' + </p> + <p> + It is wonderful, indeed, how close together men who are stooping to a + common task soon come. + </p> + <p> + Now, buying and selling, land ownership and common material pursuits, may + not be the highest points of contact between man and man, but they are + real points, and help to give men an idea of the worth of their fellows, + white or black. How many times, in the South, I heard white men speak in + high admiration of some Negro farmer who had been successful, or of some + Negro blacksmith who was a worthy citizen, or of some Negro doctor who was + a leader of his race. + </p> + <p> + It is curious, once a man (any man, white or black) learns to do his job + well, how he finds himself in a democratic relationship with other men. I + remember asking a prominent white citizen of a town in Central Georgia if + he knew anything about Tuskegee. He said,— + </p> + <p> + 'Yes: I had rather a curious experience last fall. I was building a hotel + and couldn't get any one to do the plastering as I wanted it done. One day + I saw two Negro plasterers at work in a new house that a friend of mine + was building. I watched them for an hour. They seemed to know their trade. + I invited them to come over and see me. They came, took the contract for + my work, hired a white man to carry mortar at a dollar a day, and when + they got through it was the best job of plastering in town. I found that + they had learned their trade at Tuskegee. They averaged four dollars a day + each in wages. We tried to get them to locate in our town, but they went + back to school.' + </p> + <p> + When I was in Mississippi a prominent banker showed me his business + letter-heads. + </p> + <p> + 'Good job, isn't it?' he said. 'A Negro printer did it. He wrote to me + asking if he might bid on my work. I replied that although I had known him + a long time I couldn't give him the job merely because he was a Negro. He + told me to forget his color, and said that if he couldn't do as good a job + and do it as reasonably as any white man could, he didn't want it. I let + him try, and now he does most of our printing.' + </p> + <p> + Out of such points of contact, then, encouraged by such wise leaders as + Booker T. Washington, will grow an ever finer and finer spirit of + association and of common and friendly knowledge. And that will inevitably + lead to an extension upon the soundest possible basis of the Negro + franchise. I know cases where white men have urged intelligent Negroes to + come and cast their ballots, and have stood sponsor for them, out of + genuine respect. As a result, to-day, the Negroes who vote in the South + are, as a class, men of substance and intelligence, fully equal to the + tasks of citizenship. + </p> + <p> + Thus, I have boundless confidence not only in the sense of the white men + of the South, but in the innate capability of the Negro, and that once + these two come really to know each other, not at sore points of contact, + but as common workers for a common country, the question of suffrage will + gradually solve itself along the lines of true democracy. + </p> + <p> + Another influence also will tend to change the status of the Negro as a + voter. That is the pending break-up of the political solidarity of the + South. All the signs point to a political realignment upon new issues in + this country, both South and North. Old party names may even pass away. + And that break-up, with the attendant struggle for votes, is certain to + bring into politics thousands of Negroes and white men now disfranchised. + The result of a real division on live issues has been shown in many local + contests in the South, as in the fight against the saloons, when every + qualified Negro voter, and every Negro who could qualify, was eagerly + pushed forward by one side or the other. With such a division on new + issues the Negro will tend to exercise more and more political power, + dividing, not on the color line, but on the principles at stake. + </p> + <p> + Thus in spite of the difficulties which now confront the Negro, I cannot + but look upon the situation in a spirit of optimism. I think sometimes we + are tempted to set a higher value upon the ritual of a belief than upon + the spirit which underlies it. The ballot is not democracy: it is merely + the symbol or ritual of democracy, and it may be full of passionate + social, yes, even religious significance, or it may be a mere empty and + dangerous formalism. What we should look to, then, primarily, is not the + shadow, but the substance of democracy in this country. Nor must we look + for results too swiftly; our progress toward democracy is slow of growth + and needs to be cultivated with patience and watered with faith. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_BIBL" id="link2H_BIBL"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + BIBLIOGRAPHY OF SOURCES ———————————- + </h2> + <p> + SOJOURNER TRUTH, THE LIBYAN SIBYL by Harriet Beecher Stowe Atlantic + Monthly 11 (April 1863): 473-481. + </p> + <p> + RECONSTRUCTION by Frederick Douglass Atlantic Monthly 18 (1866): 761-765. + </p> + <p> + AN APPEAL TO CONGRESS FOR IMPARTIAL SUFFRAGE by Frederick Douglas Atlantic + Monthly 19 (Jan. 1867): 112-117. + </p> + <p> + THE NEGRO EXODUS by James B. Runnion Atlantic Monthly 44 (1879): 222-230. + </p> + <p> + MY ESCAPE FROM SLAVERY by Frederick Douglass The Century Illustrated + Magazine 23, n.s. 1 (Nov. 1881): 125-131. + </p> + <p> + THE GOOPHERED GRAPEVINE by Charles W. Chesnutt Atlantic Monthly 60 (Aug. + 1887): 254-260. + </p> + <p> + PO' SANDY by Charles W. Chesnutt Atlantic Monthly 61 (1888): 605-611. + </p> + <p> + DAVE'S NECKLISS by Charles W. Chesnutt Atlantic Monthly 64 (1889): 500-08. + </p> + <p> + THE AWAKENING OF THE NEGRO by Booker T. Washington Atlantic Monthly 78 + (1896): 322-328. + </p> + <p> + THE STORY OF UNCLE TOM'S CABIN by Charles Dudley Warner Atlantic Monthly + 78 (1896): 311-321. + </p> + <p> + STRIVINGS OF THE NEGRO PEOPLE by W. E. Burghardt Du Bois Atlantic Monthly + 80 (1897): 194-198. + </p> + <p> + THE WIFE OF HIS YOUTH by Charles W. Chesnutt Atlantic Monthly 82 (1898): + 55-61. + </p> + <p> + THE BOUQUET by Charles W. Chesnutt Atlantic Monthly 84 (1899): 648-654. + </p> + <p> + THE CASE OF THE NEGRO by Booker T. Washington Atlantic Monthly 84 (1899): + 577-587. + </p> + <p> + HOT-FOOT HANNIBAL by Charles W. Chesnutt Atlantic Monthly 83 (1899): + 49-56. + </p> + <p> + A NEGRO SCHOOLMASTER IN THE NEW SOUTH by W. E. Burghardt Du Bois Atlantic + Monthly 83 (1899): 99-104. + </p> + <p> + THE CAPTURE OF A SLAVER by J. Taylor Wood Atlantic Monthly 86 (1900): + 451-463. + </p> + <p> + MR. CHARLES W. CHESNUTT'S STORIES by W. D. Howells Atlantic Monthly 85 + (1900): 699-701. + </p> + <p> + PATHS OF HOPE FOR THE NEGRO PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS OF A SOUTHERNER by + Jerome Dowd Century Magazine 61.2 (Dec. 1900): 278-281. + </p> + <p> + SIGNS OF PROGRESS AMONG THE NEGROES by Booker T. Washington Century + Magazine 59 (1900): 472-478. + </p> + <p> + THE MARCH OF PROGRESS by Charles W. Chesnutt Century Magazine 61.3 (Jan. + 1901): 422-428. + </p> + <p> + THE FREEDMEN'S BUREAU by W. E. Burghardt Du Bois Atlantic Monthly 87 + (1901): 354-365. + </p> + <p> + OF THE TRAINING OF BLACK MEN by W. E. Burghardt Du Bois Atlantic Monthly + 90 (1902): 289-297. + </p> + <p> + THE FRUITS OF INDUSTRIAL TRAINING by Booker T. Washington Atlantic Monthly + 92 (1903): 453-462. + </p> + <p> + THE NEGRO IN THE REGULAR ARMY by Oswald Garrison Villard Atlantic Monthly + 91 (1903): 721-729. + </p> + <p> + BAXTER'S PROCRUSTES by Charles W. Chesnutt Atlantic Monthly 93 (1904): + 823-830. + </p> + <p> + THE HEART OF THE RACE PROBLEM by Quincy Ewing Atlantic Monthly 103 (1909): + 389-397. + </p> + <p> + NEGRO SUFFRAGE IN A DEMOCRACY by Ray Stannard Baker Atlantic Monthly 106 + (1910): 612-619. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, 1995, +Memorial Issue, by Various + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. *** + +***** This file should be named 206-h.htm or 206-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/2/0/206/ + +Produced by Judith Boss, John Hamm, and David Widger + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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