diff options
Diffstat (limited to '35189-h/35189-h.htm')
| -rw-r--r-- | 35189-h/35189-h.htm | 10599 |
1 files changed, 10599 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/35189-h/35189-h.htm b/35189-h/35189-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..0387816 --- /dev/null +++ b/35189-h/35189-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,10599 @@ +<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?> +<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC '-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.1//EN' 'http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml11/DTD/xhtml11.dtd'> +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en"> +<head> +<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"/> +<meta name="generator" content="Docutils 0.7: http://docutils.sourceforge.net/"/> +<title>HISTORICAL ROMANCE OF THE AMERICAN NEGRO</title> +<meta content="35189" name="PG.Id"/> +<meta content="Historical Romance of the American Negro" name="PG.Title"/> +<meta content="2011-02-05" name="PG.Released"/> +<meta content="Public Domain" name="PG.Rights"/> +<meta content="Suzanne Shell" name="PG.Producer"/> +<meta content="the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net" name="PG.Producer"/> +<meta content="This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries." name="PG.Credits"/> +<meta content="Charles H. Fowler, M. D." name="DC.Creator"/> +<meta content="Historical Romance of the American Negro" name="DC.Title"/> +<meta content="en" name="DC.Language"/> +<meta content="1902" name="DC.Created"/> + + +<link href="images/cover.jpg" rel="coverpage"/> +<link href="http://purl.org/dc/terms/" rel="schema.DCTERMS"/> +<link href="http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/relators" rel="schema.MARCREL"/> +<meta content="Historical Romance of the American Negro" name="DCTERMS.title"/> +<meta content="fowler-rst.rst" name="DCTERMS.source"/> +<meta content="en" scheme="DCTERMS.RFC4646" name="DCTERMS.language"/> +<meta content="2011-02-12T18:07:42.156893+00:00" scheme="DCTERMS.W3CDTF" name="DCTERMS.modified"/> +<meta content="Project Gutenberg" name="DCTERMS.publisher"/> +<meta content="Public Domain in the USA." name="DCTERMS.rights"/> +<link href="http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/35189" rel="DCTERMS.isFormatOf"/> +<meta content="Charles H. Fowler, M. D." name="DCTERMS.creator"/> +<meta content="2011-02-05" scheme="DCTERMS.W3CDTF" name="DCTERMS.created"/> +<meta content="width=device-width" name="viewport"/> +<meta content="EpubMaker 0.3 by Marcello Perathoner <webmaster@gutenberg.org>" name="generator"/> +<style type="text/css"> +/* +Project Gutenberg common docutils stylesheet. + +This stylesheet contains styles common to HTML and EPUB. Put styles +that are specific to HTML and EPUB into their relative stylesheets. + +:Author: Marcello Perathoner (webmaster@gutenberg.org) +:Copyright: This stylesheet has been placed in the public domain. + +This stylesheet is based on: + + :Author: David Goodger (goodger@python.org) + :Copyright: This stylesheet has been placed in the public domain. + + Default cascading style sheet for the HTML output of Docutils. + +*/ + +/* ADE 1.7.2 chokes on !important and throws all css out. */ + +/* FONTS */ + +.italics { font-style: italic } +.bold { font-weight: bold } +.small-caps { } +.gesperrt { } +.antiqua { font-style: italic } /* what else can we do ? */ +.monospaced { font-family: monospace } + +.smaller { font-size: smaller } +.larger { font-size: larger } + +.xx-small { font-size: xx-small } +.x-small { font-size: x-small } +.small { font-size: small } +.medium { font-size: medium } +.large { font-size: large } +.x-large { font-size: x-large } +.xx-large { font-size: xx-large } + +.text-transform-uppercase { text-transform: uppercase } +.text-transform-lowercase { text-transform: lowercase } +.text-transform-none { text-transform: none } + +.red { color: red } +.green { color: green } +.blue { color: blue } +.yellow { color: yellow } +.white { color: white } +.gray { color: gray } +.black { color: black } + +/* ALIGN */ + +.left { text-align: left } +.center { text-align: center } +.right { text-align: right } +.justify { text-align: justify } + +div.line { margin-left: 20%; text-indent: -20%; } +.line-block.noindent div.line { margin-left: 0; text-indent: 0; } + +/* LINE HEIGHT */ + +body { line-height: 1.5 } +p { margin: 1.5em 0 } + +/* PAGINATION */ + +.title, .subtitle { page-break-inside: avoid; + page-break-after: avoid } +.titlepage, +#pg-header { page-break-inside: avoid } + +/* SECTIONS */ + +body { text-align: justify } + +p.noindent { text-indent: 0 } + +.boxed { border: 1px solid black; padding: 1em } +.topic { margin: 5% 0; border: 1px solid black; padding: 1em } +div.section { clear: both } + +hr.docutils { margin: 1.5em 40%; border: none; border-bottom: 1px solid black; } + +.clearpage, +.cleardoublepage, +.vfill, +.vspace { border: 0px solid white } + +.title { margin: 1.5em 0 } +.title.with-subtitle { margin-bottom: 0 } +.subtitle { margin: 1.5em 0 } + +/* ugly hack to give more specifity. + because ADE chokes on !important */ +.first.first { margin-top: 0 } +.last.last { margin-bottom: 0 } + +/* header font style */ +/* http://dev.w3.org/csswg/css3-fonts/#propdef-font-size */ + +h1.title { font-size: 200%; } /* for book title only */ +h2.title, p.subtitle.level-1 { font-size: 150%; margin-top: 4.5em; margin-bottom: 2em } +h3.title, p.subtitle.level-2 { font-size: 120%; margin-top: 2.25em; margin-bottom: 1.25em } +h4.title, p.subtitle.level-3 { font-size: 100%; margin-top: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1.5em; font-weight: bold; } +h5.title, p.subtitle.level-4 { font-size: 89%; margin-top: 1.87em; margin-bottom: 1.69em; font-style: italic; } +h6.title, p.subtitle.level-5 { font-size: 60%; margin-top: 3.5em; margin-bottom: 2.5em } + +/* title page */ + +h1.document-title, +p.document-subtitle { text-align: center } + +div.titlepage, +#pg-header, +h1.document-title { margin: 10% 0 5% 0 } +p.document-subtitle { margin: 0 0 5% 0 } + +/* PG header and footer */ +#pg-machine-header { } +#pg-produced-by { } + +li.toc-entry { list-style-type: none } + +p.attribution { margin-top: 0; text-align: right } + +.example-rendered { + margin: 1em 5%; border: 1px dotted red; padding: 1em; background-color: #ffd } +.literal-block.example-source { + margin: 1em 5%; border: 1px dotted blue; padding: 1em; background-color: #eef } + +/* DROPCAPS */ + +/* BLOCKQUOTES */ + +blockquote { margin: 1.5em 10% } + +blockquote.epigraph { } + +blockquote.highlights { } + +div.abstract { margin: 3em 10% } +div.caption { margin: 1.5em 10%; text-align: center; font-style: italic } +div.legend { margin: 1.5em 10% } + +.hidden { display: none } + +.invisible { visibility: hidden; color: white } /* white: mozilla print bug */ + +a.toc-backref { + text-decoration: none ; + color: black } + +dl.docutils dd { + margin-bottom: 0.5em } + +div.figure { margin: 3em 0 } + +img { max-width: 100% } + +div.footer, div.header { + clear: both; + font-size: smaller } + +div.line-block { + display: block ; + margin-top: 1.5em ; + margin-bottom: 1.5em } + +div.line-block div.line-block { + margin-top: 0 ; + margin-bottom: 0 ; + margin-left: 10% } + +div.sidebar { + margin: 0 0 0.5em 1em ; + border: medium outset ; + padding: 1em ; + background-color: #ffffee ; + width: 40% ; + float: right ; + clear: right } + +div.sidebar p.rubric { + font-family: sans-serif ; + font-size: medium } + +div.topic { + margin: 3em 0 } + +ol.simple, ul.simple { + margin-bottom: 1.5em } + +ol.arabic { + list-style: decimal } + +ol.loweralpha { + list-style: lower-alpha } + +ol.upperalpha { + list-style: upper-alpha } + +ol.lowerroman { + list-style: lower-roman } + +ol.upperroman { + list-style: upper-roman } + +p.credits { + font-style: italic ; + font-size: smaller } + +p.label { + white-space: nowrap } + +p.rubric { + font-weight: bold ; + font-size: larger ; + color: maroon ; + text-align: center } + +p.sidebar-title { + font-family: sans-serif ; + font-weight: bold ; + font-size: larger } + +p.sidebar-subtitle { + font-family: sans-serif ; + font-weight: bold } + +p.topic-title { + font-weight: bold } + +pre.address { + margin-bottom: 0 ; + margin-top: 0 ; + font: inherit } + +.literal-block, .doctest-block { + margin-left: 2em ; + margin-right: 2em; } + +span.classifier { + font-family: sans-serif ; + font-style: oblique } + +span.classifier-delimiter { + font-family: sans-serif ; + font-weight: bold } + +span.interpreted { + font-family: sans-serif } + +span.option { + white-space: nowrap } + +span.pre { + white-space: pre } + +span.problematic { + color: red } + +span.section-subtitle { + /* font-size relative to parent (h1..h6 element) */ + font-size: 100% } + +table { margin-top: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1.5em; border-spacing: 0 } +table.align-left, table.align-right { margin-top: 0 } + +table.table { border-collapse: collapse; } +table.table thead { border: 1px solid black; border-width: 2px 0 0 } +table.table tbody { border: 1px solid black; border-width: 2px 0 } +table.table tr { border: 1px solid black; border-width: 0 0 1px } +table.table tr.last { border-width: 0 } +table.table td, +table.table th { padding: 1ex 1em; vertical-align: middle } + +table.table.norules tr { border-width: 0 } +table.table.norules td, +table.table.norules th { padding: 0.5ex 1em; vertical-align: top } +table.table.norules tr.first td { padding-top: 1ex } +table.table.norules tr.last td { padding-bottom: 1ex } +table.table.norules tr.first th { padding-top: 1ex } +table.table.norules tr.last th { padding-bottom: 1ex } + + +table.citation { + border-left: solid 1px gray; + margin-left: 1px } + +table.docinfo { + margin: 3em 4em } + +table.docutils { } + +table.footnote { + margin-top: 0; + margin-bottom: 1.5em; +} + +table.docutils td, table.docutils th, +table.docinfo td, table.docinfo th { + padding: 0 0.5em; + vertical-align: top } + +table.docutils th.field-name, table.docinfo th.docinfo-name { + font-weight: bold ; + text-align: left ; + white-space: nowrap ; + padding-left: 0 } + +/* used to remove borders from tables and images */ +.borderless, table.borderless td, table.borderless th { + border: 0 } + +table.borderless td, table.borderless th { + /* Override padding for "table.docutils td" with "!important". + The right padding separates the table cells. */ + padding: 0 0.5em 0 0 } /* FIXME: was !important */ + +h1 tt.docutils, h2 tt.docutils, h3 tt.docutils, +h4 tt.docutils, h5 tt.docutils, h6 tt.docutils { + font-size: 100% } + +ul.auto-toc { + list-style-type: none } +</style> +<style type="text/css"> +/* +Project Gutenberg HTML docutils stylesheet. + +This stylesheet contains styles specific to HTML. +*/ + +/* FONTS */ + +em { font-style: normal } +strong { font-weight: normal } +.small-caps { font-variant: small-caps } +.gesperrt { letter-spacing: 0.1em } + +/* ALIGN */ + +.align-left { clear: left; + float: left; + margin-right: 1em } + +.align-right { clear: right; + float: right; + margin-left: 1em } + +.align-center { margin-left: auto; + margin-right: auto } + +/* SECTIONS */ + +body { margin: 5% 10% 5% 10% } + +/* compact list items containing just one p */ +li p.pfirst { margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0 } + +.first { margin-top: 0 !important } +.last { margin-bottom: 0 !important } + +.dropcap { float: left; } +span.dropcap { margin: 0 0.1em 0 0; line-height: 1 } +img.dropcap { margin: 0 0.5em 0 0; } + +/* PAGINATION */ + +@media screen { + .coverpage, .frontispiece, .titlepage, + .verso, .contents, .footnotes, .plainpage + { margin: 10% 0 } + .clearpage { margin: 10% } + .cleardoublepage { margin: 10% } + .vfill { margin: 5% 10% } +} + +@media print { + /* margin-top disappears after a page-break, thus padding */ + .frontispiece, .verso, .plainpage, .section.level-2, + .clearpage { page-break-before: always; padding-top: 1px } + .coverpage, .titlepage, .contents, .footnotes, + .cleardoublepage { page-break-before: right; padding-top: 1px } + .vfill { margin-top: 20% } + h2.title { margin-top: 20% } +} +</style> +<style type="text/css"> +.pageno { position: absolute; right: 95%; font: medium sans-serif; } +.pageno:after { color: gray; content: '[' attr(title) ']' } +.toc-pageref { float: right } +pre { font-family: monospace; font-size: 0.9em; white-space: pre-wrap } +</style> +</head> +<body> +<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 35189 ***</div> +<div class="document" id="historical-romance-of-the-american-negro"> +<h1 class="document-title level-1 pfirst title">HISTORICAL ROMANCE OF THE AMERICAN NEGRO</h1> +</div> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> +</div> +<div class="container" id="pg-produced-by"> +<p class="noindent pfirst">Produced by Suzanne Shell and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at <a class="reference external" href="http://www.pgdp.net">http://www.pgdp.net</a>.</p> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> +</div> +<p class="noindent pnext">This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.</p> +</div> +</div> +<p class="center larger pfirst">HISTORICAL ROMANCE OF THE AMERICAN NEGRO</p> +<p class="center pnext smaller">BY</p> +<p class="center larger pnext">CHARLES H. FOWLER, M. D.</p> +<p class="center pnext">PRESS OF THOMAS & EVANS,</p> +<p class="center pnext">604-608 Water Street,</p> +<p class="center pnext">BALTIMORE.</p> +<p class="center pnext"><em class="italics">1902.</em></p> +<p class="center pnext smaller">Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1902, by</p> +<p class="center pnext smaller">CHARLES H. FOWLER, M. D.,</p> +<p class="center pnext smaller">In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, Washington, D. C.</p> +<div class="contents level-2 section" id="id1"> +<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title">—TABLE OF CONTENTS—</h2> +<ul class="simple"> +<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><a class="reference internal pginternal" href="#preface" id="id2">PREFACE.</a></li> +<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><a class="reference internal pginternal" href="#introductory" id="id3">INTRODUCTORY.</a></li> +<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><a class="reference internal pginternal" href="#chapter-i" id="id4">CHAPTER I.</a></li> +<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><a class="reference internal pginternal" href="#chapter-ii" id="id5">CHAPTER II.</a></li> +<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><a class="reference internal pginternal" href="#chapter-iii" id="id6">CHAPTER III.</a></li> +<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><a class="reference internal pginternal" href="#chapter-iv" id="id7">CHAPTER IV.</a></li> +<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><a class="reference internal pginternal" href="#chapter-v" id="id8">CHAPTER V.</a></li> +<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><a class="reference internal pginternal" href="#chapter-vi" id="id9">CHAPTER VI.</a></li> +<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><a class="reference internal pginternal" href="#chapter-vii" id="id10">CHAPTER VII.</a></li> +<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><a class="reference internal pginternal" href="#chapter-viii" id="id11">CHAPTER VIII.</a></li> +<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><a class="reference internal pginternal" href="#chapter-ix" id="id12">CHAPTER IX.</a></li> +<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><a class="reference internal pginternal" href="#chapter-x" id="id13">CHAPTER X.</a></li> +<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><a class="reference internal pginternal" href="#chapter-xi" id="id14">CHAPTER XI.</a></li> +<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><a class="reference internal pginternal" href="#chapter-xii" id="id15">CHAPTER XII.</a></li> +<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><a class="reference internal pginternal" href="#chapter-xiii" id="id16">CHAPTER XIII.</a></li> +<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><a class="reference internal pginternal" href="#chapter-xiv" id="id17">CHAPTER XIV.</a></li> +<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><a class="reference internal pginternal" href="#chapter-xv" id="id18">CHAPTER XV.</a></li> +<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><a class="reference internal pginternal" href="#chapter-xvi" id="id19">CHAPTER XVI.</a></li> +<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><a class="reference internal pginternal" href="#chapter-xvii" id="id20">CHAPTER XVII.</a></li> +<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><a class="reference internal pginternal" href="#chapter-xviii" id="id21">CHAPTER XVIII.</a></li> +<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><a class="reference internal pginternal" href="#chapter-xix" id="id22">CHAPTER XIX.</a></li> +<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><a class="reference internal pginternal" href="#chapter-xx" id="id23">CHAPTER XX.</a></li> +<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><a class="reference internal pginternal" href="#chapter-xxi" id="id24">CHAPTER XXI.</a></li> +<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><a class="reference internal pginternal" href="#the-american-spanish-wari" id="id25">THE AMERICAN-SPANISH WAR—I.</a></li> +<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><a class="reference internal pginternal" href="#the-american-spanish-warii" id="id26">THE AMERICAN-SPANISH WAR—II.</a></li> +<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><a class="reference internal pginternal" href="#blacks-in-the-revolutionary-war-and-in-1812" id="id27">BLACKS IN THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR AND IN 1812.</a></li> +<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><a class="reference internal pginternal" href="#nick-biddle" id="id28">"NICK" BIDDLE.</a></li> +<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><a class="reference internal pginternal" href="#color-is-no-bar-to-office" id="id29">COLOR IS NO BAR TO OFFICE.</a></li> +</ul> +</div> +<p class="larger pfirst">—<strong class="bold">ILLUSTRATIONS</strong>—</p> +<div class="larger line-block"> +<div class="line"> +<a class="reference internal pginternal" href="#respectfully-yourscharles-h-fowler-m-d-a-m">Respectfully yours—Charles H. Fowler M. D. A. M.</a></div> +<div class="line"> +<a class="reference internal pginternal" href="#beulah-jackson">BEULAH JACKSON.</a></div> +<div class="line"> +<a class="reference internal pginternal" href="#the-escape">THE ESCAPE.</a></div> +<div class="line"> +<a class="reference internal pginternal" href="#scenes-in-new-orleans">SCENES IN NEW ORLEANS.</a></div> +<div class="line"> +<a class="reference internal pginternal" href="#scenes-in-buffalo">SCENES IN BUFFALO.</a></div> +<div class="line"> +<a class="reference internal pginternal" href="#abraham-lincoln">ABRAHAM LINCOLN.</a></div> +<div class="line"> +<a class="reference internal pginternal" href="#battle-of-milliken-s-bend">BATTLE OF MILLIKEN'S BEND.</a></div> +<div class="line"> +<a class="reference internal pginternal" href="#battle-of-port-hudson">BATTLE OF PORT HUDSON.</a></div> +<div class="line"> +<a class="reference internal pginternal" href="#john-brown">JOHN BROWN.</a></div> +<div class="line"> +<a class="reference internal pginternal" href="#frederick-douglass">FREDERICK DOUGLASS.</a></div> +<div class="line"> +<a class="reference internal pginternal" href="#mississippi-river-steamer">MISSISSIPPI RIVER STEAMER.</a></div> +<div class="line"> +<a class="reference internal pginternal" href="#a-scene-on-the-jackson-plantation">A SCENE ON THE JACKSON PLANTATION.</a></div> +<div class="line"> +<a class="reference internal pginternal" href="#scenes-at-niagara-falls">SCENES AT NIAGARA FALLS.</a></div> +<div class="line"> +<a class="reference internal pginternal" href="#cotton-picking">COTTON PICKING.</a></div> +<div class="line"> +<a class="reference internal pginternal" href="#a-relic-of-slavery-days">A RELIC OF SLAVERY DAYS.</a></div> +<div class="line"> +<a class="reference internal pginternal" href="#mr-jackson">MR. JACKSON.</a></div> +<div class="line"> +<a class="reference internal pginternal" href="#house-where-lincoln-died">HOUSE WHERE LINCOLN DIED.</a></div> +<div class="line"> +<a class="reference internal pginternal" href="#emancipation-statue-boston-mass">EMANCIPATION STATUE BOSTON, MASS.</a></div> +<div class="line"> +<a class="reference internal pginternal" href="#hauling-cotton-to-the-gin">HAULING COTTON TO THE GIN.</a></div> +<div class="line"> +<a class="reference internal pginternal" href="#first-reading-emancipation-proclamation">FIRST READING EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION.</a></div> +<div class="line"> +<a class="reference internal pginternal" href="#de-soto-discovering-mississippi-river">DE SOTO DISCOVERING MISSISSIPPI RIVER.</a></div> +<div class="line"> +<a class="reference internal pginternal" href="#in-danger-of-the-overseer-s-lash">IN DANGER OF THE OVERSEER'S LASH.</a></div> +<div class="line"> +<a class="reference internal pginternal" href="#james-a-garfield">JAMES A. GARFIELD.</a></div> +<div class="line"> +<a class="reference internal pginternal" href="#rutherford-b-hayes">RUTHERFORD B. HAYES.</a></div> +<div class="line"> +<a class="reference internal pginternal" href="#chas-sumner">CHAS. SUMNER.</a></div> +<div class="line"> +<a class="reference internal pginternal" href="#wm-lloyd-garrison">WM. LLOYD GARRISON.</a></div> +<div class="line"> +<a class="reference internal pginternal" href="#fred-k-douglass-rochester-n-y">FRED'K DOUGLASS, ROCHESTER, N. Y.</a></div> +<div class="line"> +<a class="reference internal pginternal" href="#southern-chivalryargument-versus-club-s">SOUTHERN CHIVALRY—ARGUMENT VERSUS CLUB'S.</a></div> +<div class="line"> +<a class="reference internal pginternal" href="#statue-of-liberty">STATUE OF LIBERTY.</a></div> +<div class="line"> +<a class="reference internal pginternal" href="#grant-s-tomb">GRANT'S TOMB.</a></div> +<div class="line"> +<a class="reference internal pginternal" href="#dickens-old-curiosity-shop">DICKENS' OLD CURIOSITY SHOP.</a></div> +<div class="line"> +<a class="reference internal pginternal" href="#tower-of-london">TOWER OF LONDON.</a></div> +<div class="line"> +<a class="reference internal pginternal" href="#gen-antonio-maceo">GEN. ANTONIO MACEO.</a></div> +<div class="line"> +<a class="reference internal pginternal" href="#the-defense-of-santiago">THE DEFENSE OF SANTIAGO.</a></div> +<div class="line"> +<a class="reference internal pginternal" href="#battle-of-san-juan-hill">BATTLE OF SAN JUAN HILL.</a></div> +<div class="line"> +<a class="reference internal pginternal" href="#colored-soldiers-and-musicians">COLORED SOLDIERS AND MUSICIANS.</a></div> +<div class="line"> +<a class="reference internal pginternal" href="#spanish-american-war">SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR.</a></div> +<div class="line"> +<a class="reference internal pginternal" href="#the-boston-massacre">THE BOSTON MASSACRE.</a></div> +<div class="line"> +<a class="reference internal pginternal" href="#the-grave-of-nick-biddle">THE GRAVE OF NICK BIDDLE.</a></div> +<div class="line"> +<a class="reference internal pginternal" href="#theodore-roosevelt">THEODORE ROOSEVELT.</a></div> +</div> +<div class="level-2 section" id="preface"> +<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref pginternal" href="#id2">PREFACE.</a></h2> +<div class="align-center figure" id="respectfully-yourscharles-h-fowler-m-d-a-m"> +<img style="display: block; width: 100%" alt="images/image1fowler.jpg" src="images/image1fowler.jpg" width="100%"/> +<div class="caption italics"> +Respectfully yours—Charles H. Fowler M. D. A. M.</div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst">For a number of years it has been on my mind to write a book regarding +the principal events that have occurred to the colored race since the +beginning of the agitation against slavery, going on from thence to the +great Rebellion, passing through that war, and also dealing with all +subjects of great importance that have arrested our attention under our +glorious freedom.</p> +<p class="pnext">At the same time it has occurred to me, as it has to many another +writer, that my book would be far more interesting to the general +reader, if I were to select a representative woman of our own race, and +make her the mouthpiece of all I wished to say; in other words, to +introduce the whole under the pleasing form of an historical romance, so +that we might keep our heroine constantly before our eyes, and make her +weave in a continuous tale of love, travel, war and peace, and thus +portray the lady playing her own parts on that tremendous stage of Time +that has been set forth for the gaze and astonishment of the whole +country during the past fifty years. I hope those members of the general +public who favor me by a perusal of my book will be pleased with my +plan.</p> +<p class="pnext">"Peace hath her victories, no less renowned than war," and I have +introduced into my book all the great advances that our race has made +since the fall of Richmond, and, indeed, have brought things down to +this year. The reader will find a number of things that are intended to +introduce humor, and to brighten the darker portions of the story.</p> +<p class="pnext">And as some fault-finding person may say that I have overdrawn my +heroine, and made her far more clever than she could ever have naturally +been, I venture to affirm that such a charge can by no means be just, +for we have women among us, and men, too, who are as intelligent and +clever as can be found among any other race on the face of the earth. I +believe my book will prove the truth of this assertion in those cases, +at least, where the heroines and heroes of the colored race are +mentioned in its pages by name.</p> +<p class="pnext">Beulah Jackson will therefore stand as a representative woman among our +own people.</p> +<p class="pnext right">CHARLES H. FOWLER.</p> +<p class="pnext right">Baltimore, Md., 1902.</p> +</div> +<div class="level-2 section" id="introductory"> +<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref pginternal" href="#id3">INTRODUCTORY.</a></h2> +<div class="align-center figure"> +<img style="display: block; margin-left: 40%; width: 19%" alt="images/dec01.png" src="images/dec01.png" width="19%"/> +</div> +<p class="pfirst">In this period of the Negro's development so much has been +wielded towards influencing him in the expression of manly sentiment, +that when an unhampered and heartfelt defense is made in his behalf +by one of his number, it should, and I believe will, secure a universal +support by the defenders.</p> +<p class="pnext">The eagerness to devour books is so prevalent in the present +decade that the Anglo-Saxon litterateurs and publishers endeavor to +withhold and suppress all that tends to prove the Negro a man and +an equal, patting all of their writers and molders of public opinion on +the back, who are cringing and palliating with the deceitful exclamation, +"Behold, thee! thou art great!" The desire to secure this cowardly +approbation has, indeed, become too numerous. Learned men, +with ability to withhold the sentiments of their hearts and people, have +too frequently sold the golden opportunities of their lives for paltry +sums and positions to these literary hawks. But few of the public +speakers and writers of these times dare utter the thoughts of Douglass, +Turner, Price, Garnett, and that grand galaxy of post-bellum fighters, +who knew no middle ground, but stood out for all that the Fourteenth +and Fifteenth Amendments to the Constitution had embodied in them. +They had no axe to grind, and even so, their oppressed feelings +wouldn't permit them have it ground at the expense of the manhood +of their four million brothers.</p> +<p class="pnext">It is high time that the Negro judge whose utterances are fitting and +suitable to his case, who stands for his utterances, and which have his +sanction, not to allow those hostile to your very existence select, +under the guise of friendship, those sentiments put forth by +aggrandizing writers and leaders distasteful to you, and brand them as +your daily thoughts and hourly prayers. Respect for the sycophant cannot +exist long, even among them whom he traitorously serves. A tree is +judged by its fruit; so is a race judged by its representative men. If +they be honest, the race is placed in the category of men; if wicked, +treacherous and deceitful, their place is fixed among the distrustful.</p> +<div class="align-center figure" id="beulah-jackson"> +<img style="display: block; width: 100%" alt="images/image2beulah.jpg" src="images/image2beulah.jpg" width="100%"/> +<div class="caption italics"> +BEULAH JACKSON.</div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst">It therefore becomes a small part for us to perform in signalizing the +honest writer and leader by giving him our unanimous support. The author +has spent months of effort and toil in compiling data and accounts, that +Caucasian authors with alertness suppress. He has made a strong case and +defense of the Negro's manhood and trustworthiness at a time when most +men would have been honest with pain. The simplicity with which his data +is compiled and presented to the reader stamps him neither in quest of +gold or greatness, but striving to convince the ignorant that heroes and +heroines can even be found among this despised race of America, whom +some would brand as rapists and thieves. A tale is welded together in +which every experience, occurrence and stage is passed through that can +occur to a poor, struggling people; yet, no instance presents itself by +which the character, the basal part of any people, can be impeached. +'Twill serve as a firer of the ambition and aspirations of the young +Negro, and at the same time, so thrilling are its narratives, that +'twill prove as interesting reading matter as many a romance. The +eagerness with which our youth devour such tales as relates the better +side of his ancestry's life, is too well known to us. The story of +Beulah Jackson will fill a long-felt niche in the young Negro's reading +matter, that will in itself prove highly beneficial.</p> +<p class="pnext right">JACOB NICHOLSON.</p> +<!-- --> +<p class="center larger pnext">HISTORICAL ROMANCE OF THE AMERICAN NEGRO.</p> +</div> +<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-i"> +<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref pginternal" href="#id4">CHAPTER I.</a></h2> +<div class="align-center figure"> +<img style="display: block; margin-left: 40%; width: 19%" alt="images/dec01.png" src="images/dec01.png" width="19%"/> +</div> +<p class="pfirst">Though this is the year of grace, just forty-seven years after the date +when my adventurous story begins, my recollections of that bright +morning in May, 1855, when I arose and at one bound broke loose from +slavery, are as vivid as the lightning's flash. "A still tongue makes a +wise head," and so I held my tongue and bided my time until I made at +last that successful spring. And never do I behold the glorious sun +rising over the hills and forests but the joyous recollection of that +Wednesday morning in May comes back to me, like the rebounding reaction +of the bow that is unbent.</p> +<p class="pnext">I was born in the State of Kentucky, a few miles below Louisville, where +my father's mansion stood on one of those sloping hills that faces the +river Ohio, which the French named with justice, the "Beautiful River." +That mansion, with all its splendid surroundings, belonged to my father +and owner, a white man named Lemuel Jackson; but my own mother, a woman +of uncommon beauty, belonged to the colored race. My mother, for some +cause or other, was sold down the river in New Orleans, in the year +1853, when I was but fifteen years of age. I never got over that sudden +separation, and I at once formed my own resolutions, of which I said +nothing.</p> +<p class="pnext">As my father was a rich man, who indulged me in many ways and appeared +to love me, and as I often had occasion to accompany him and Mrs. +Jackson, or some of the other members of the family, to Louisville, he +seldom refused to give me the cash I asked for, which I now began to +carefully put away in a secret place only known to the Lord and myself. +Two eventful years had passed away. I had by this time discovered the +whereabouts of my mother, Harriet, in New Orleans, and my hopes of +meeting her again grew stronger every day as the time approached for me +to kick off the detested chains of slavery. For the coming of this happy +deliverance I prayed to my good Lord both day and night.</p> +<p class="pnext">At last that day dawned upon me, the spring-time of all my joys. The Lord +heard my prayers, and He cleared the way to freedom. There was to be a +big church gathering at Louisville, and the first session of that great +time was to be on Wednesday morning—the first Wednesday in the month, +as I very well remember, indeed.</p> +<p class="pnext">The bishop and his wife, who were invited guests to our house, had +arrived the day before. They were to spend the night with us, and all +things breathed religion and excitement over the events of the morrow +and the rest of the week to come.</p> +<p class="pnext">Among the inmates of the house was one Tom, whom I was accustomed to +call, Tom Lincoln—a tall, splendid young man, a shade darker in +complexion than myself, and, like myself, a slave. Tom was now +twenty-seven years old. He had been casting "sheep's eyes" at me for +several years past, but who could think of marriage whilst in a state of +slavery? Therefore I gave him no encouragement, but as he was thoroughly +reliable, I said to him one day in strict confidence, and in the most +significant manner possible, "I will talk to you about that when we are +free. While in a state of slavery it is a mockery to profane the names +of love, courtship and marriage. I will never, so help me God, be +married in the house of bondage!"</p> +<p class="pnext">Tom Lincoln was a clever fellow, a general factotum, and acquainted with +everything about the house. He was always relied on, and the great +house, as it was called, would be left in his charge while the family +and the upper servants attended the gathering at Louisville. Soon after +the bishop and his wife arrived, I called Tom aside and laid before him +my whole plan, which had been well formed for some time past in my mind.</p> +<p class="pnext">"Capital!" said he, slapping his knee with his big hand. "Capital, +indeed! Strike when the iron is hot, and kill chickens when they are +fat! But, Beulah, will you marry me then?"</p> +<p class="pnext">"Yes, with pleasure, when we are free from the chains of slavery."</p> +<p class="pnext">When I gave Tom that answer his eyes flashed bright as the stars on a +frosty night, and mine, no doubt, flashed back in a reflected lustre.</p> +<p class="pnext">"All right," said he, and then, after some thought, he added: "Get your +trunk ready by ten o'clock to-morrow morning, as all things will be in +readiness by that time. Beulah, I will be a bondman no longer. Just +think of it. Twenty-seven years old, and a slave!"</p> +<p class="pnext">"That's right, Tom; stick to it! Minds are never to be sold! Stick to +it!" was my instant reply.</p> +<p class="pnext">With immediate freedom and all its joys before him, the brave Tom did +not let much grass grow under his feet. We kept a boat near the house, +and although not an expert oarsman, he knew enough to handle it when +called upon. In the darkness and silence of Tuesday night, he slipped +over to the other side of the stream, then made his way for a mile or +two down the Indiana side, where he ran the boat up a creek, near which +stood a little cabin in which some acquaintances of his lived. He +confided his secret to his friends, and as the man of the house kept a +horse and wagon, the latter consented to convey our trunks to the house +of a mutual friend in New Albany next morning. Then leaving this cabin +and the boat tied up in the creek, Tom made his way to New Albany on +foot, where his mission was also successful. With these preliminary +preparations, he returned to the great house in safety, and it was never +known that he had so much as been out of his own room! Of course there +was some risk to run, but who would not dare all for freedom?</p> +<p class="pnext">As for that anxious Tuesday night, my excitement was such that I never +slept a wink. I thought much of a similarly planned and quite successful +dash for freedom that took place shortly before this near our place. A +girl of fifteen and her brother, twelve years of age, were left alone +one day to take care of the house while all the white people had gone +away. They never suspected anything so unusual from a girl of fifteen, +especially as she was mild and quiet.</p> +<p class="pnext">But after they had gone, Muriel called her brother Willy, and said,</p> +<p class="pnext">"Willie, do you see that boat? We are nothing but slaves, and yonder +across the river lies Indiana—a free State. Master keeps money in the +bureau, and I will burst it open and take what will carry you and me on +the train to a place of safety and freedom. Let us take clothes along +with us, and whatever we need. This is no robbery. It belongs to us by +right, for slavery is nothing but a system of robbery, anyhow."</p> +<p class="pnext">So Muriel and Willy crossed the Ohio river in the open day, walked to +the nearest railway station, took a train for the North, and speedily +arrived in a land where they were slaves no longer.</p> +<p class="pnext">The longest night comes to an end, and the morning of that +never-to-be-forgotten Wednesday in May brought lovely weather, lots of +fine prayers from the bishop, and an immense show of devotion from Mrs. +Jackson, the woman who caused my precious mother to be sent down to New +Orleans. There was a grand breakfast at the big house, and, as usual, I +figured like a flower girl at a wedding. I did my best to keep down my +excitement, but, indeed, it would never have been noticed that morning, +such was the stir on the account of our visitors and the coming glorious +gathering of the "saints" at Louisville.</p> +<p class="pnext">Horses and carriages, and all the rest of our rich display soon hove +into sight, and in due time the coast was clear for Tom and me to strike +for freedom. We packed two large leather trunks that had long done +service on the steamboats and railways of the sunny South.</p> +<p class="pnext">We had clothing enough to put us through for a long time to come, both +summer and winter. Tom being a big and powerful man, soon carried the +trunks down to the boat, without exciting any undue suspicion among the +few old folks and children about the house. It was wonderful, under the +circumstances, to see him so cool and circumspect.</p> +<p class="pnext">Tom heaped up some sacking and other things upon the trunks to give the +whole the appearance of a trading skiff, and as the wind was blowing in +the right direction, he put up a little sail.</p> +<p class="pnext">To still further avoid unwelcome attentions, I insisted on lying flat on +the bottom of the boat, and being covered with sacking (the Fugitive +Slave Law was in force now, and the sleuth hounds of slavery might be +upon our trail). At last the boat was cast loose and headed for a little +ways down the Kentucky shore. Then my adventurous pilot crossed to the +Indiana side, and concealed our little craft behind a string of barges +floating down the Ohio. Several steamboats came puffing and blowing up +the stream, and so, amid the general turmoil and confusion, we slipped +into the little creek, ran our boat under the bushes, and in a short +time had our trunks and belongings safe inside the cabin of our friends. +O praise ye the Lord! for His mercy endureth forever! We had completed +our first step towards liberty!</p> +<div class="align-center figure" id="the-escape"> +<img style="display: block; width: 100%" alt="images/image3escape.jpg" src="images/image3escape.jpg" width="100%"/> +<div class="caption italics"> +THE ESCAPE.</div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst">Our good friend next got out his horse and wagon, our trunks and +things were speedily flung in, and he took his way alone for New Albany. +After I had made many promises to write, and given a thousand thanks, I +started for the place of meeting, and my gallant Tom brought up the rear +at a safe distance. Of course, we were now in a free State, but Kentucky +still lay in full view of us.</p> +<p class="pnext">One by one we arrived at the appointed number and street in New Albany, +and here we dressed for the immediate journey by rail. Having blessed +one another, and made many promises to write to these friends also, we +hurriedly betook ourselves to the station. Tom marched up to the ticket +office, two tickets were quickly secured, and at last the supreme moment +of happiness arrived when we took our seats for the far-famed city of +Cincinnati. I have seen many horses in my time, and mules like the sands +of the sea, in my native State of Kentucky, but the nicest, dearest, +most lamb-like and sweetest horse I ever saw in all my life was that +strong, iron horse named "Steam Engine," that stood ready in the station +waiting for the command to start.</p> +<p class="pnext">We were now in the carriage: it was just twelve o'clock, and the +glorious free sun shone down upon us. The train began to move, and when +it did so, I felt as though I would faint for very joy. I don't believe +that Tom was any better than myself, the transition from slavery to +happiness came with such a rush. But, then, I was only a sensitive young +woman of seventeen, whereas Tom was an experienced man ten years my +senior, and, in appearance, at least, he managed to bear things with +more composure than did I. As our train rushed along through the +beautiful land, all adorned with the thousand beauties of the pleasant +month of May, all things looked to me like consecutive scenes in a new +paradise, as when we look through rose-colored glasses all things are +colored like the rose. The winds played, the sun shone brightly, and all +nature's face was gay, and as our mighty iron steed sped along in his +vigor. Tom and I talked but little. The time for talking would come +another day, never fear! In truth, we were too happy to talk.</p> +<p class="pnext">The afternoon wore on, and we crossed the Indiana State line and entered +Ohio, the sight of which gave our eyes the most unbounded pleasure. On, +on, sped our devoted iron horse, until at last he came to the end of his +race in the beautiful city of Cincinnati. When we two fugitives from +the land of slavery stepped on the platform here, all safe and sound, we +were reminded of a ship entering, after many risks in the voyages of +life, the port of Heaven, with all sails spread, and never an injured +plank. I looked across the "beautiful river," and beheld the hills of my +native State coming down to the water's edge, and laving their feet in +the cooling waves. An immense traffic was rolling down, down, down to +the Mississippi and the Gulf States, and everything was hum and bustle.</p> +<p class="pnext">Thus I stood musing at the top of one of the steep streets that run down +to the Ohio river, while Tom nearby entered into some serious +conversation with a gentleman. At last he came back to me and said,</p> +<p class="pnext">"Beulah, let us go this way."</p> +<p class="pnext">After walking for some time we found the right address, the home of the +Rev. John Robinson, a minister of the A. M. E. Church. In the most +polite manner possible we were asked in, and invited into the parlor. +Mr. Robinson, a jolly, fat-faced, pleasant-looking Reverend, was on hand +at once. Tom told him the main points of our history in a few minutes, +and finished by requesting him to marry us any time that night.</p> +<p class="pnext">When the question arose as to whether the marriage should be performed +in private or public, I insisted on it being done as publicly as +possible, and that a newspaper reporter should be called in, too.</p> +<p class="pnext">Now, as good luck would have it, there was to be a great gathering at +the Methodist Church that night, so it was decided that the wedding +should take place an hour after the meeting commenced. Mrs. Robinson and +the entire family were now called into the parlor, when we were all +introduced to one another, and there was a mighty season of rejoicing. +Tea was prepared, and we adjourned to the dining-room.</p> +<p class="pnext">In the meantime some of the friends and neighbors were sent for, a +reporter was notified, and the news of our safe arrival and prospective +marriage spread like wildfire throughout the good city of Cincinnati. +The ladies, both white and colored, were tremendously interested in my +case. They lavished attentions upon me, and caressed me to such an +extent that I was afraid I would faint!</p> +<p class="pnext">In due time, however, we took up our grand march to the church, and +here I will give the account of our wedding as it appeared next morning +in the Cincinnati News:</p> +<p class="pnext">"WEDDING AT THE A. M. E. CHURCH.</p> +<p class="pnext">"Last night we were called in to witness a happy wedding, which reminded +us of that of Jacob and Rachel. The contracting parties were Mr. Thomas +Lincoln and Miss Beulah Jackson.</p> +<p class="pnext">"This Thomas Lincoln, aged twenty-seven, a fine, tall young man, was +formerly the house steward and general factotum of Lemuel Jackson, Esq., +of Riverside Hall, below Louisville, Ky. The beautiful +seventeen-year-old bride is the daughter of Mr. Jackson himself, by one +Harriet, a slave woman of many graces, whom Mrs. Jackson two years ago, +through jealousy, caused to be sold to New Orleans.</p> +<p class="pnext">"Miss Beulah was indeed 'a bride adorned for her husband,' and the +ladies had her duly arrayed in orange blossoms and the regulation +wedding costume. 'The Flower Girl of Riverside Hall,' as she has been +often called, it seems, carried a beautiful bouquet. The church was +filled to suffocation, and the interest in the ceremony was intense.</p> +<p class="pnext">"After the knot was tied, a gentleman advanced to the front, placed a +five-dollar bill on the table, and called for a wedding present 'for +these two ex-slaves from the State of Kentucky.' The call was readily +responded to, and a good sum was contributed. The young couple passed +the night at the home of the Rev. Mr. Robinson, who performed the +ceremony. They leave this morning for Columbus, Ohio, and points beyond. +Lincoln stated that he could have left Kentucky at almost any time, but +remained until he could find an opportunity to assist in the escape of +the girl.</p> +<p class="pnext">"As the immense assemblage at the A. M. E. Church looked upon this +splendid couple, all hearts were filled with compassion to think that +the South should call such men and women 'goods and chattels.' It was +the outspoken opinion that a day of reckoning is coming; a day of war, a +holy war, sent by God Himself, that will end this system of robbery and +oppression."</p> +<p class="pnext">I bought several copies of the paper that contained the account of our +wedding, and posted one to Riverside Hall, one to our friends at New +Albany, and another to our benefactors in the little cabin by the creek. +Next morning at breakfast the fun was delightful, and I was obliged to +laugh when Mrs. Robinson called me "The flower girl of Riverside Hall." +Breakfast over, our host and hostess insisted on accompanying us to the +station to see us off, and here we took leave of our kind friends, whom +we felt that we could never thank enough.</p> +<p class="pnext">As we steamed away for Columbus, all things were still new and +delightful, and I never tired of beholding the fair face of nature as +our train wound along the banks of the Little Miami. I was immensely +pleased with the beautiful State of Ohio, its fine churches along the +way, its fair and fertile farms, and all its magnificent forest-clad +hills. In due time we arrived at Columbus, the State capital, and were +much impressed with the beauty of the sweet little city.</p> +<p class="pnext">We continued our journey on through Ohio until we crossed into +Pennsylvania, by the shores of Lake Erie, that flowed away towards +Canada like a little inland sea. Thus we continued on to Buffalo, New +York, where we left the train. Here we determined to settle down, at +least for some time. For a few days we put up at a friend's house, for +we were both very much fatigued, indeed, with our long journey and its +incidental bustle and confusion. I was only seventeen years old at this +time, the most romantic age of a woman's life—or rather she is standing +on the borderland with girlhood just behind her, and all the joys of +womanhood and matrimony just before. Anticipation invests all things +with the glories of the rainbow. It is certainly a good time to get +married, for then a girl's nature is soft and pliable, and she has had +neither time nor opportunity to become possessed of cast-iron ways of +her own.</p> +<p class="pnext">During the few days that we were resting ourselves we became acquainted +with a few most worthy colored families who belonged to the A. M. E. +Church on Vine street, as good and loving a congregation as I have found +up to this year. God bless that loving flock!</p> +<p class="pnext">Just at this time Tom and I had a good deal of conversation about my +writing a letter to my father at Riverside Hall. If it was to be done at +all, it had better be done soon, lest the door between us be permanently +closed. Had my father done the right thing he would have married my +mother, Harriet. She was ten times more amiable and lady-like than Mrs. +Jackson, a woman whom he married for fashion's sake; but he never did or +could love her as he did my mother, or even myself. It was the identical +case of Rachel and Joseph over again. If all the rest had died, and +Harriet and Beulah had remained alive, it would have been all right to +him. Thus were there two wives in the same house—Rachel and Leah once +more. The one was loved and the other hated. So it came to pass that +through jealousy that raged in her heart, Mrs. Jackson had my beloved +mother sold down the river to New Orleans.</p> +<p class="pnext">I ran no risk in writing to Lemuel Jackson, as everyone at Riverside +opened his own letters. So we decided that I should write home in a week +or two, when we were settled down to practical house-keeping. And, +besides all that, the old gentleman liked a good letter, and I knew mine +would be doubly welcome.</p> +<p class="pnext">It is very true that the Fugitive Slave Bill was on the statute books of +Congress, but that bill was practically a dead letter, and it was now +only one chance in ten thousand that anyone would attempt to come after +us all the way to Buffalo. It is quite true that immediately after the +passage of that infamous bill there were several fugitive slaves caught +close to the border, and carried back to slavery, but the true spirit of +the North arose against such Southern barbarism, and after a few +slave-hunters had been shot, the South ceased to send her couriers even +to the borderland, but remained at home nursing her sullen wrath, +cursing the Underground Railroad and all Christian abolitionism, and +flaunting her oft-repeated threat in the face of the nation, that unless +she could have her own way in the Union she would have it out of it.</p> +<p class="pnext">We did not consider, therefore, that we had any risk to run in settling +down here in Buffalo, or even in writing to my father and giving him our +street address. Mrs. Jackson would have no doubt been capable of setting +the man-hunters on our track, but father, though a rich man, would never +have made the outlay of money necessary. Besides it would have exposed +his shame and disgrace.</p> +<p class="pnext">In the meantime, then, we rented a small and cosy cottage not far from +the sweet little church on Vine street, furnished it cheaply, but +comfortably, and at the appointed time we invited the pastor of the +church and his good wife to come and spend the evening and take tea, +that the Lord might bless us in our happy home.</p> +<p class="pnext">After we had been settled in Buffalo about a month, I wrote the +following letter to my father, which he duly received:</p> +<p class="pnext smaller">"Lemuel Jackson, Esq., Riverside Hall, Ky.</p> +<p class="pnext">"My dear Father:—</p> +<p class="pnext">"With great pleasure I take my pen in hand to write you a few lines. It +is but natural that your daughter should take a delight in writing to +you, and we have lived too long under the same roof for me not to know +that you will be glad to receive a letter from me. I can never forget +you, my own dear father.</p> +<p class="pnext">"I have great pleasure in informing you that Tom is a very thoughtful, +considerate and loving husband, and is most indulgent and kind to your +own dear Beulah. If I had searched the whole United States I don't +believe that I could ever have found a better man than Tom. He promised +to be good to me when we were married in Cincinnati, and I believe he +always will.</p> +<p class="pnext">"The first thing we did, after we had furnished our cosy little cottage +and settled down, was to join the sweet little A. M. E. Church on Vine +street. We desired to have the approbation of the Almighty upon +ourselves and on our works and ways. Therefore we joined the church of +God first of all. I do believe that if people would always put God first +they would have more luck.</p> +<p class="pnext">"I don't know how it is, but the people of Buffalo, both white and +colored have taken a very great liking indeed to Tom and myself from the +very first hour when we left the train here and set our wandering feet +within the Queen City of the Lakes. The sweet ladies of Buffalo have +been here to see me in numbers, and I also have been to their homes, +where I am received as a daughter or a younger sister. Indeed my lines +have fallen in pleasant places, and I cannot but believe that the good +Lord sent us to Buffalo.</p> +<p class="pnext">"We have been over on a visit to Canada, which lies across the Niagara +River, for the city of Buffalo, as you are aware, lies at the foot of +Lake Erie just where it enters the Niagara River. There is a settlement +of colored people at St. Catherine's, in Canada, only a few miles back +from the river, and Tom and I were greatly interested in them.</p> +<p class="pnext">"They all fled from slavery in the South, and many of them have come up +on the rough side of the mountain. I can assure you, when Tom and I saw +the marks of their horrible treatment, we praised the Lord that our own +cases had been so mild and bearable at Riverside Hall.</p> +<p class="pnext">"We consider that we are lucky in coming here at this delightful season +of the year, for the pleasant month of May seems to surpass all the +other months of the year for sweetness and flowers. All around Lake Erie +and the Niagara River, both in Canada and the State of New York, the +fair face of Nature is just blooming; all the woods are dressed in their +mantle of green, the countless birds sing among the branches, and all +things hereabout clearly shows that the self-same God that has adorned +the State of Kentucky has done as much in these parts.</p> +<p class="pnext">"I am not aware whether you have ever visited Niagara Falls or not, as I +have never heard you say, but whether or not, it is a most wonderful +place, and one well worth the trouble of coming even from the ends of +the earth to see. It is well for Buffalo and all the towns and villages +that lie around about this river, that they are so located, that is, so +near the falls, because there is always a great tide of people coming +here from every land beneath the sun, almost; and these same people seem +never, never to grow weary of one of the most stupendous works that the +great Creator has made.</p> +<p class="pnext">"After we had settled down at home here, and before Tom went to work as +house steward in one of the first mansions on Delaware Avenue, the +leading avenue for private residences in Buffalo, we took a special day +and went to see Niagara Falls. As we had read and heard so much of these +celebrated falls, I might almost say since the time we were born, we +were both in a state of great excitement on the morning of this +expedition. Really, my dear papa, there are some things that we really +never, never can forget.</p> +<p class="pnext">"There were hundreds on the early morning train with us—almost all +strangers, and all in a state of highest excitement. We soon drew out of +the railway station, and left the city behind. Now we were on the bank +of the Niagara River, which flows on almost a perfect level with the +fields, and on the opposite, or Canadian side, the tall pines were +beautiful to behold. As we drew near to the station at the falls, the +roaring of the mighty waters struck with great force upon our astonished +ears, and when we got out, what astonished us more and more was the +grand stampede of every person down the road in the direction of the +great river. No need to ask which way to go; we had but to follow the +sound. At last, through the tall trees we beheld the flying waters, and +there we saw Niagara Falls before us in all their grand and terrible +array!</p> +<p class="pnext">"For about three-quarters of a mile above where we stood, the Rapids of +Niagara came thundering down the steep incline, and the great waves +leaped like the waves of a troubled ocean. It was just one continuous +and eternal yell. I was completely dumfounded. I could do nothing but +quote from the Bible, and shout the praises of the great Creator. But +who heard me then? For the Rapids made such a noise that nobody else +could hear!</p> +<p class="pnext">"The American Fall, on our own side, is the smaller one; the opposite, +or Canadian Fall, which assumes the shape of a gigantic horseshoe, is +the grandest one. The waters are deeply green, and at the top are said +to be eighteen feet deep. Oh, my! What a place it is, to be sure!</p> +<p class="pnext">"We now crossed a light wooden bridge that connects our side with Goat +Island. This portion of the Rapids of Niagara was now just under our +feet, and it required all the nerve we had to allow us to even look down +upon the flying, yelling, and most tremendous waters! This is one of +the places to which so many come for the purpose of committing suicide. +But we are Christians, my dear father, and we could never think of doing +such a very foolish thing.</p> +<p class="pnext">"My dear papa, I shall have to stop now, and continue my narrative at +another time. Here comes Tom home for his tea, and our minister and his +wife along with him. Our love to you all. Au revoir!</p> +<p class="pnext">"From your most affectionate daughter,</p> +<p class="pnext right smaller">"BEULAH LINCOLN."</p> +<p class="pnext">I ran to the nearest box and posted my letter, and in ten days received +the following reply from my dear papa:</p> +<p class="pnext right smaller">RIVERSIDE HALL, NEAR LOUISVILLE, June, 1855.</p> +<p class="pnext">"Mrs. Beulah Lincoln,</p> +<p class="pnext">"My Dear Daughter:—</p> +<p class="pnext">"I duly received your nice, kind and most welcome letter. I am heartily +glad to hear that you are both in good health, and so very comfortable +in every way. I did not take your sudden leaving so much to heart as you +might imagine—I mean in the way of vexation—but Mrs. Jackson was so much +disturbed that she has not recovered from the effects of it yet, as she +did not think you and Tom would leave us. However, now that you have +gone, I wish you well, and I enclose herein a postoffice order for +$50.00, which is my wedding gift to yourself and Tom. Please excuse my +short letter; you know I am not fond of writing. Please send me a letter +at any time that you feel like writing. I am,</p> +<p class="pnext">"Your most affectionate papa,</p> +<p class="pnext right smaller">"LEMUEL JACKSON."</p> +<p class="pnext">As far as my father was concerned, then, it seemed that we were safe. +From him, at least, we had nothing to fear.</p> +</div> +<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-ii"> +<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref pginternal" href="#id5">CHAPTER II.</a></h2> +<div class="align-center figure"> +<img style="display: block; margin-left: 40%; width: 19%" alt="images/dec02.png" src="images/dec02.png" width="19%"/> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><em class="italics">Beulah's Journey to New Orleans—Rescues Her Mother From Slavery, and +Mother and Daughter Return to Buffalo on the Good Boat Columbia, by Way +of Havana, in the Island of Cuba, West Indies and New York City.</em></p> +<p class="pnext">The present was a great time among all classes of the abolition party, +the "Underground Railroad," and all that sort of thing. There were the +border ruffians in Kansas, where John Brown, that hero of fame, led on +the fray, and fugitive slaves escaped over the lines into the free +States, whence their owners were unable to get them back. The Fugitive +Slave Law was a dead letter, for the great gospel guns over all the +North had denounced it as a shame and a disgrace to a Christian nation; +and when the South found that fugitive slaves would resist their +pursuers unto death, and that their messengers were likely to be shot +down, they ceased to send them, at the same time making the slave laws +worse than ever before. However, the tighter and more oppressive they +made them, in greater numbers did the slaves escape from the house of +bondage, for who can stem the spirit of the brave? Slavery is an +abomination before the Lord!</p> +<p class="pnext">We had at this time all the anti-slavery leaders coming round the +country—the greatest speakers I ever heard. I never had a more +wonderful experience than turning out with Tom at night to the halls and +churches to listen to such arguments and eloquence as I had never +dreamed had any existence in this or any other country. William Lloyd +Garrison came to Buffalo, and Fred. Douglass, and all the rest were +there. We listened to men and women who had seen slavery in all parts of +the South, people who had been in Kansas, and almost everywhere else, +and such tales of truth and horror I never heard before in all my life.</p> +<p class="pnext">It is true that even slavery had its backers in the North, and too many +of them at that, but the entire Christian portion of the population was +determined that slavery should come no further, although the South +seemed to demand, with the most unblushing impudence, that they should +carry their slaves into every State and territory under the stars and +stripes. The South acted like a violent, high-strung woman, whose +husband tries to reason with her in vain. She seemed to say, "I shall +have my own way, or I will fight with you, Sam! I'll be no submissive +wife! I'll be master and mistress, too! I'll fight and have my own way!"</p> +<p class="pnext">At this time, freemen from Europe were pouring into the United States in +legions. They had no slavery in those countries from which they came, +and coming here while the tidal wave of anti-slavery sentiment was at +its height, they were ready not only to attempt to stem the +encroachments of slavery, but to resist them by force, if the worst came +to the worst. The Quakers were also in the field, and they gave Congress +no rest. The Southern senators and representatives resisted them at +Washington, and demanded that the whole subject be laid upon the shelf. +Here they were opposed by such men as Charles Sumner, Thaddeus Stevens, +and a host of others. Thus things went on from bad to worse in the halls +of Congress, and all over the free North. The heavens grew darker and +darker as the months rolled by, and the South prepared to leave the +Union unless she had her own way.</p> +<p class="pnext">There was very little sign, indeed, of her ever getting it, for how +could freedom and slavery ever be dominant in the United States at one +and the same time? It is very true that slavery was a legacy left the +thirteen original States by England, but we had gone ahead and spread +the iniquity ourselves, after the disposal of it was left entirely in +our hands; whereas England had long since abolished both slavery and the +slave trade throughout her dominions. She had even paid the owners full +indemnity for the loss of their slaves.</p> +<p class="pnext">I dwell the more fully on these things because they led up to the war of +secession, and actually brought it on in the year 1861.</p> +<div class="align-center figure" id="scenes-in-new-orleans"> +<img style="display: block; width: 100%" alt="images/image4neworleans.jpg" src="images/image4neworleans.jpg" width="100%"/> +<div class="caption italics"> +SCENES IN NEW ORLEANS.</div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst">How did the South treat the oppressed African? She bought, she sold, she +stole, she killed for gold. She hurled all revealed religion to the +winds, and set the Almighty at open defiance. Thus millions of backs had +to bend and labor over the cotton plant, the sugar cane and the rice +stalks of the South. Families were torn asunder, and every human feeling +violently dealt with in men and women born in the image of God, that +silver and gold might be extracted through their blood and tears from +the cotton fields, from the sugar plantations, and from the rice +swamps of the Sunny South. With such crimes as these and a thousand +nameless ones besides that high heaven had to avenge, was it any wonder +that the coming tempest was heralded by rising winds, by darkening +skies, by colder weather, and violent flurries of snow, hail and sleet?</p> +<p class="pnext">It was one of the curses of slavery that the slave-holder often had a +colored wife in the kitchen, and a white one in the parlor. This was +very bad, indeed. It was just Hagar and Sarah over again, and not only +did the iniquitous system bring the two women into conflict, but the +poor, guileless children were brought into conflict also. It was a shame +and a disgrace all the way through. If white American parents had never +taught their innocent babes that the color of the skin made a +difference, "American prejudice" would never have been known in the +world.</p> +<p class="pnext">My own beloved and charming mother was the first in the field. If my +father had done the right thing by her, he would have married her out +and out, and made her his wife de jure, as she certainly was de facto. +Thus it always was in those days of slavery.</p> +<p class="pnext">The grand, chivalric white planter had a splendid octaroon or quadroon +for his "house keeper," a woman whom he loved supremely till Southern +pride took alarm, and he took unto himself a white wife—to be like his +neighbor! Alas! Alas! Such a crooked, dual system as that never worked, +and it never will! Sarah and Hagar could not get along; neither could +Rachel and Leah, and so on to the end of the chapter. Turkish women in +the same harem fight among themselves like dogs and cats, and the poor +miserable Turk sometimes has to provide a separate establishment for +every wife.</p> +<p class="pnext">At last my father brought Mrs. Jackson to the house, and my mother, +Harriet Jackson, as she was called, was pushed to the wall. I am glad +that I was my father's only child by his first wife, for had there been +more of us, the mischief would have been the greater. As the reader +already knows, a day came when I was up the river at Louisville, when, +in some way only known to the devil and herself, Mrs. Jackson caused my +beloved mamma to be spirited away, and as we all subsequently learned, +to be sold down the river to New Orleans. Mr. Jackson seemed very sorry, +indeed, but he said nothing about it at the time, as he knew that he +himself was to blame for the whole matter. But I made up my mind at +once to endeavor to find out her exact place of abode, and to trust in +God to bring us together again.</p> +<p class="pnext">Alas! my dear reader, how shall I ever make you understand the dreadful +gap that was now created in my sensitive heart, when dear mother and I +were torn apart? You can imagine how grieved I was, but how much worse +must mother have felt? It was a shame to separate us, but Mrs. Jackson +was fond of making grand, ostentatious shows, and she determined to keep +me to grace her grand festal occasions. Still, I missed my dear mother +for many a day. Clouds and thick darkness would gather round my heart. I +was in great heaviness every now and then, and often would I retire to +my bed-room, where I used to get into bed, cover myself up, and there lie +and weep, and pray to God to bring mother and me together once more.</p> +<p class="pnext">Now, one would imagine that this feeling would have worn off in the +course of time, but it never did. Two whole years had passed away before +I made my escape. I must admit the truth, that my newly-found freedom, +marriage and acquaintance with the glorious people of the North brought +me immense relief all the summer, but one day, about the beginning of +the fall, I was once more completely overshadowed by grief. It was the +self-same "old trouble"—a trouble that no doctor could cure. I locked +up the house, and went to bed as I used to do at Riverside Hall, and +wept and prayed until I fell asleep. The first thing I knew I was +awakened by a very loud knocking at the door; Tom had come for his tea, +so I arose and let him in, and he was greatly surprised to find me all +in tears, and in such a bad way generally.</p> +<p class="pnext">"Why, Beulah," said he, "what is the matter with you to-day? You have +been crying, and you seem as though you have lost your reason +altogether."</p> +<p class="pnext">"Well, Tom, I have had such a heavy day on account of my mother. It is +one of those 'spells' come back again, the same as I used to have at +Riverside Hall. I declare I hate to feel in this uncomfortable way, but +it just came on me, and I could not help it."</p> +<p class="pnext">"I am afraid, Beulah," replied Tom, "there are bad times in store for us +both if you are going to be subject to those spells of crying and sorrow +as came over you now and then before we left Riverside. I wonder if +anything can be done to put an end to this state of affairs once for +all? I would give a good deal to put an end to such a very mournful +state of affairs. Can you suggest no remedy, my own dear Beulah?"</p> +<p class="pnext">"I am not aware, Tom," said I, "that there can be any remedy in the +world, unless it be to bring my mother and me together again. I think +one of the greatest horrors of slavery is to tear a family in pieces. I +firmly believe that Almighty God is driving the South into a terrible +war that she may receive her well-merited punishment for her blood-red +crimes like these. Even one of her preachers once preached a sermon in +defence of slavery, and he took for his text these words of Holy Writ, +'These are the Lord's doings, and they are wondrous in our eyes!' +Indeed, Tom, they are truly wondrous!"</p> +<p class="pnext">On the morning after this conversation, I went to work at an early hour +and packed my trunk. It was now the fall of the year, and glorious +weather for me to travel. All nature's face was gay, and I myself was +blessed with health and strength and vigorous life. At all events, I +felt a hundred times better than I had twenty-four hours before! The sun +of righteousness had risen upon me with healing in his wings. "Arise, +shine forth, for thy light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen +upon thee."</p> +<p class="pnext">Once more I found myself at one of the railway stations, and took my +departure for Cincinnati, by way of Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio. It was +most delightful traveling to speed over the rails along the shore of +Lake Erie, to see once more the lovely foliage of the forests of the +beautiful state of Ohio, and then at last to skim away, and away down +the smooth and level banks of the Little Miami river, where I could +hardly hear or feel the train in motion at all. At last the "beautiful +river," as the French called the Ohio, hove in sight once more, with the +delightful hills of Kentucky and Ohio, on opposite sides, running up +from the water's edge, all clad with forest trees.</p> +<p class="pnext">I next came to Cincinnati, and the "Public Landing" was crowded with +passengers and traffic going up and down the river, and as neither Tom +nor myself were millionaires, and I was desirous of cheapening things as +much as I could, I went aboard one of these floating palaces of the +Mississippi, and engaged myself as a waitress for the voyage down the +Mississippi. The "Natchez" was to leave at 4 P. M. the same day, so I +got my trunk on board, and reported myself for duty.</p> +<p class="pnext">I gave a shout for joy as we left the Public Landing and floated out on +the mighty and splendid Ohio. Owing to the recent heavy rains all along +the head branches of this beautiful river, the stream was swollen from +bank to bank, and presented a grand appearance as we plunged into the +high-rolling waves and surges in the centre of the river. The glorious +sun danced upon the silvery tide, and covered all the forests, the hills +and dales on each side of the great and rushing flood. Huge barges were +floating down from Pittsburg, and the far North, and large and small +craft of every description were dancing and whirling away, whistling and +screaming and advancing towards us, or retreating around the bends.</p> +<p class="pnext">So far as my duties on the boat permitted, my eyes were never off the +river, the hills, woods and forests, and the wild, fast-flowing traffic +that was going up and down, and which seemed to have no end. The red and +fiery sun went down in the wild waters of the beautiful river that +looked like heaving, molten gold; then up came the silver moon, and +turned all things visible into silver sheen.</p> +<p class="pnext">The great Creator, indeed, was on the waves, and the Natchez drove on at +a rapid rate. We had now the Indiana shore on our right hand, having +passed the Ohio state line at Lawrenceburg, Indiana. In the early +morning we came to Louisville, Ky., where we remained for a few hours. +Here we passed through the Portland canal, and soon went by Riverside +Hall, and the little cabin on the opposite side of the river. It stands +two or three miles below New Albany, and I could see some of our dear +friends standing before the door. It was here that Tom and I had crossed +the Ohio.</p> +<p class="pnext">The "beautiful river" still continued to increase and to swell, and we +plunged along at a glorious rate. All on board seemed to be in a +laughing mood, for the weather was superb, and that floating palace, +"The Natchez," swept along at a furious speed. You can talk as much as +you please about a light heart, but during this most delightful voyage +mine did seem "as light as any feather." I had such joyful dreams every +night, and hailed each coming morning with delight. Indeed I dressed +myself every morning while my mouth was full of laughter.</p> +<p class="pnext">"What are you laughing at?" "I think you must be in love." "You always +appear in such tip-top humor." Such remarks were addressed to me by my +companions in the waiting department, as we made our toilets before the +looking-glass. To which I would reply, "I am laughing for the self-same +reason that the bird sings in the forest, because the sun shines. As the +children say, I am laughing at nothing!"</p> +<p class="pnext">By this time the beautiful hills on both sides of the Ohio had fallen +away. We had the state of Illinois in front of us at last, when we +passed the mouth of the Wabash; and lower down on our left, the +Cumberland and Tennessee rivers poured all their flood into the Ohio, +after they had drained the mountain lands of Virginia, North Carolina, +Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee and Kentucky. "The beautiful river" was +beautiful no more, but on both sides the lands were flat and fertile.</p> +<p class="pnext">Ho for the Mississippi! What a rush there was among our passengers to +behold the great "Father of Waters" absorbing our smaller Ohio at Cairo, +in the state of Illinois. The city of Cairo lies right in the fork of +these two rivers—the Mississippi and the Ohio. "Whew! What a river! +Why, to be sure, this is, indeed, something like a river! It is more +like a flowing sea of fresh waters than a river," were the remarks of a +gentleman on board, and the sight was one that I am sure I never shall +or can forget, either.</p> +<p class="pnext">Our arrival upon the Mississippi seemed to add to my good humor, and +then I was drawing nearer and nearer to my devoted and beloved mother +every hour, and I seemed to have a firm presentiment from high heaven +that my adventurous mission would turn out a success.</p> +<p class="pnext">On, on, on, we rushed night and day, passing the mouths of the St. +Francis, the White, the Arkansas and Red rivers on our right hand, and +the Yazoo and other smaller ones on our left. It grew much warmer as we +advanced farther south. We were now coming into the lands famed for the +cultivation of the sugar cane, the cotton plant, and the rice. The only +thing that dampened my spirits was to behold from the deck of the +swift-flying Natchez, hundreds and thousands of oppressed colored people +toiling and sweating in the sun, whilst their overbearing overseers +stood over them, whip in hand, to make them work on, or receive the lash +on their backs. How even Southern people could look upon such barbarity +as that, and call themselves Christians, I could not understand. But as +sure as there is a God in heaven, there is a terrible "judgment day" in +store for all this, and I firmly believe that we shall all see it very +soon.</p> +<p class="pnext">What was to hinder Mrs. Jackson from selling me down South here, and +forcing me to work till I died, in these very fields that I can see from +the deck of the Natchez? Wherein am I better than these full-blooded +Africans before my eyes, who were murderously torn away from their +beautiful homes in Africa, brought over in "floating hells," and sold +like cattle in the markets of the South? Shall not these who criminally +carry on the slave-trade, and slavery, soon atone for all this? As surely +as God lives, the "judgment day," even in this world, cannot be far off! +The Southern people, like the doomed inhabitants of wicked Jerusalem, +know not the approaching day of their visitation.</p> +<p class="pnext">Musing in this way, we passed the cities of Memphis, Helena, Vicksburg, +Natchez, Baton-Rouge and Donaldsonville, and, at last, amidst a great +deal of noise and excitement, came to the wharf at New Orleans.</p> +<p class="pnext">During all this glorious and enchanting travel from Buffalo by rail and +steamboat, like a good and faithful wife, I never forgot to write every +second day to my brave and beloved Tom, and I knew well that he would be +greatly interested in hearing of my progress down the Ohio and the +Mississippi. He afterwards told me that he used to read these letters of +mine over, and over, and over again, and sometimes before he went to +sleep, he would again light the lamp and read the last "arrival" from +end to end once more.</p> +<p class="pnext">Here, then, at last, the good boat Natchez has brought us all safe and +sound to New Orleans, in the Sunny South. There is no snow here, and +fruits and flowers are to be found all the year round. The climate is +almost tropical, and everything out of doors breathes of orange blossoms +and all those exotics found in the warm climates. The whole scene had an +irresistible charm for me, and I felt a pleasure in being in the state +of Louisiana that I felt quite unable to describe.</p> +<p class="pnext">But even the charms of nature and the strange French air of the people +did not produce the greatest impression on me here. That which produced +the greatest impression of all, was the mighty river Mississippi itself, +and the immense traffic carried over its irresistible waters. It is true +that its banks are quite plain and homely when compared with the +beautiful Ohio in its upper and middle courses. But then the Mississippi +is so big, that it is always majestic, solemn and grand. You are never +tired of looking at the immense and gigantic "creature," and especially +where it has constructed for itself a high embankment, cast up by the +silt and overflow of its muddy waters, in the lofty bosom of which the +mighty river flows as in an elevated canal.</p> +<p class="pnext">And thus the Natchez was high up above the level of the plains on our +right and left hand, and we could look down on the valley of the +Mississippi from the deck of our palatial steamboat. Oh, the Mississippi +is a glorious sight to behold, always immense, solemn and grand!</p> +<p class="pnext">The next thing that attracted me so much was the immense traffic that +came rolling down from the North, and that ascended the stream. When I +came off its mighty waters, I felt as if I was coming up from a wild, +riotous and troubled sea. And though forty-six years have now fled and +gone, the tremendous impression made upon my heart and soul by the +Father of Waters remains. I therefore cried, Ho for the Mississippi! as +I walked the gang-plank into the city.</p> +<p class="pnext">My dear and beloved mother, Harriet Jackson, was one of those religious +women who would go to church if she went nowhere else. She went to the +A. M. E. Church whenever she could get there, and I had ascertained +before I left Riverside Hall, that she attended the services of that +congregation that lay nearest the mansion of the family to whom she had +been sold. I cannot say that she belonged to that family, for slavery +was nothing but a system of robbery in its best estate. She had been +sold down the river to an ancient French family—Roman Catholics—but, +in their indifferent, careless way, they allowed mother to go to her own +A. M. E. Church. She was so steady and devoted in her ways, and so very +remote from Kentucky, that they regarded it as an impossibility that she +would ever even dream of making her escape; and never, never, that any +one would ever come after her in this far-away part of the great world.</p> +<p class="pnext">First and foremost, then, I made inquiries from those who could speak +English, for the name of the pastor, and found it with no great +difficulty. (As my complexion was so light and fair, I passed for one of +the whites of the city. There are many thousands of "whites" in the +South like me). I informed the reverend gentleman, when I first met him, +that I wished to have a private, confidential talk with him. I felt that +I was indeed conversing with a father, and there was not the slightest +fear. He informed me at once that my dear mother attended his church, +and was a warm-hearted and enthusiastic member of the same. He said she +would be at the prayer-meeting that very night, and named the hour when +it began; but while he should be glad to see her obtain her freedom, it +was the part of prudence that it should not even be known that he knew +anything about it, as they might murder him outright for even holding +his tongue! To this I replied that no doubt I could manage very well +myself, and that mother would perhaps have some amendments to put to my +own schemes after we met. In the meantime, I engaged a room with a nice +family, being fully resolved to stay there till such time as mother +could make her escape. I depended upon a well-laid plan, and to carry +out that plan with boldness. When I got myself settled in my temporary +home, and had written another letter to Tom, I walked out to see the +far-famed city of New Orleans, and indeed I obtained a pretty good idea +of it before my return in the evening. New Orleans is indeed a wonderful +place. But I need not take up the reader's time in describing this +quaint French city in America. The kind reader knows all about it +already. What I am most of all interested in at this time is the meeting +with my beloved mother, and getting her away from slavery into a land +where she shall be free to come and go, and do as she pleases, just as I +am doing!</p> +<p class="pnext">Many thousands of slaves obtained their freedom by running away from +their owners; some of them encountered great difficulties on the way, +while others seemed to meet with no difficulties at all. I am also safe +in saying that many a hundred more might have gained their liberty, but +they were simply afraid to venture—they were too timid to take the +first step, or they were deterred from going by being unable to make up +their minds to leave parents, wives and children behind them. The latter +step was proven over and over again by their running away, obtaining +their freedom, but afterwards becoming so homesick that they actually +returned and surrendered themselves again to slavery, being unable to +stay away from those they loved most upon earth.</p> +<p class="pnext">The African is both pleased and cursed by being possessed of a very warm +heart, and tender and loving affections. This is indeed a blessing and a +curse at one and the same time. We need not go far for the proof, for I +myself am a living witness to the same, and here I was at New Orleans +after my dearly-beloved and tender-hearted mother, whom I was unable to +live without; and then behold what I have suffered for the want of her +for more than two years—wrenched from me by the diabolical ways of +slavery, and the malice and spite of Mrs. Jackson! If my pinings and +regrets have been so great, longing day and night after my dear mother, +how much worse must that dear mother have felt for the loss of me? I +dare not even look at the picture! But our prayers have been heard by +the Lord; for He always hears those who love Him, and the hour for the +prayer-meeting is drawing nigh; the shades of night are at last falling +upon the long autumn day, and I find myself in the dusk in the +neighborhood of the A. M. E. Church, watching for the approach of my +mother, as maiden never waited for the coming of her lover advancing +among the trees to the well-known trysting-place.</p> +<p class="pnext">All things come to those who wait, and here she comes at last! She is as +sweet and graceful as ever, and her step as light as the greyhound's! I +advanced to meet her, first looking cautiously around into the +increasing darkness, that no other was too near. The over-hanging trees +favored our meeting as I came up to her, and whispered softly in her +ear, "Mother!" We took each other by the hand, and kissed one another, +when she hurriedly drew me round into a side entrance to the basement +and rear of the church, where, entering a small classroom which would +not be used for the night, we sat down together, had one very long and +close embrace, and the happiness of that blessed and speechless half +hour seemed to me to equal all that which might be called out of an +ordinary lifetime. "Sweet the moments, rich in blessing, which within +thy courts I spend!" The remaining hour was passed in conversation, +during which we gave and received a complete history of the time that +had elapsed since the time mother was sold down the river.</p> +<p class="pnext">"There will be no difficulty whatever about my getting away. They are +old people, and have not the remotest idea that I would ever make the +attempt. The best time for us to leave will be at this hour a week +to-night, and, my dear daughter, there is a big leather trunk that is +called mine, and which stands in my little bed-room upstairs, in an +out-of-the-way wing of the house, which I will manage to send empty to +your lodgings, whither I will send or bring my entire wardrobe myself. I +must not go without clothes, as they will be both necessary and useful +for me for years to come, if God my life shall spare. In the meantime +write Tom and give him all my love, and tell him when he may expect us +at home."</p> +<p class="pnext">To all of this I most heartily agreed, and I was more happy and +lightsome than a butterfly. We came out before the congregation, and +another warm kiss and embrace under the trees, then mother steered away +homewards for the old French mansion, and I took my way to my lodgings, +where the people received me with great affection. I had told them that +I was married, and wore a gold ring to that effect, because without +giving them that needful piece of information, young beaux are bad for +coming around seventeen-year-old girls, and I did not wish any of the +kind New Orleans flunkeys to be coming around me with any of their sweet +kind of foolishness. When I got into my bed-room, I found the flowers of +the Sunny South perfuming the whole place like cologne, and I slept like +the angels there. Seven days and nights came and went. Mother and I met +one another as often as it was discreet and prudent for us to do. There +was not the remotest suspicion of her approaching departure—much less +of the direction which we meant to take. Like Tom and myself leaving +Riverside Hall, our plans were well-laid and matured, our hearts were +stout and brave within us, and we carried things out with a bold front.</p> +<p class="pnext">As the New York passenger boat Columbia lay at her pier with steam up in +readiness for her departure on the following Wednesday night, while the +streets were full of horses, wagons, porters, passengers, and all the +rest of it; while late passengers were hurrying into the office to get +their tickets for New York, and boys were shouting the latest edition of +the city papers, two ladies in half mourning and heavily veiled, drove +up in a carriage, alighted in haste, had a heavy leather trunk carried +on board, and the elder of the two (a lady seemingly about thirty-six or +thirty-seven years of age) made for the ticket office and procured +tickets for two, and a corresponding cabin for New York. These two +ladies, the reader will understand, were my own dear mother and myself. +No notice was taken of us in any way. All was noise, bustle and +confusion about the Columbia. We were shown to our cabin like the rest, +and felt at home at once. It was growing dusk, the last bell was rung, +and with anxious hearts and high-beating hopes we cut loose from the +shore, and plunged out into the great river. The night being warm and +balmy, as is usual in the Sunny South, mother and I went on deck to see +our own departure, and to watch the passing vessels coming to and going +from the port of New Orleans. Here, in taking leave of the "Queen City +of the South," as the metropolis of Louisiana is called, I must say that +I was most delightfully impressed. I had been so very kindly treated on +all hands, and there was so much to charm the senses about this famous +French city. As for mother, the depth of the ocean was as nothing +compared with the depth of her contentment at getting away with her +beloved Beulah, the separation from whom had given her so much sorrow.</p> +<p class="pnext">We were only sorry that we could not see the usual sights along the +Mississippi river to the same extent, as if we had left in the morning. +But that was impossible, and I think mother and I had great reason to +thank God that all things fitted in so well at the hour of our +departure. It was the night and hour for the prayer-meeting at the A. M. +E. Church—Wednesday night—with the good boat Columbia leaving at the +same hour. In this crooked world it is a difficult thing to make all +things work together just as we want them. We did indeed want to see our +poor, oppressed race at work among the sugar-canes, the cotton and the +rice, and the orange and fig-trees, and all the rest, which could only +be done rightly by day. We did indeed see plenty of their humble +quarters and cabins along the shores, and some little way back into the +country, and knew them well by the lights in the windows. Alas, alas! +for these poor, dear, miserable creatures! There they lay, no doubt, +sound asleep—sleeping in the sleep of the oppressed—poor old men and +women, laboring and toiling their lives away under a Southern sun, that +oppressors may feast and riot at their expense. But there is a God in +heaven, and we snuffled both war and freedom in the wind. Even a child +could foresee all that.</p> +<p class="pnext">We retired early to bed. When were two women ever so happy on a New York +boat on the Lower Mississippi? It was enough to make the angels laugh +for joy, to think of it! Our departure was another installment in +swelling the volume of Southern wrath to break up the Union, as the +Fugitive Slave Bill would not work in their favor. Mother and +I—murmuring our thanks to Almighty God—soon fell into a happy sleep, +while the Columbia was ploughing her way down the Mississippi, and +moving out at the mouth of one of the passes, as they are called, into +the Gulf of Mexico. When we came back on deck next morning, the weather +was most delightful. The water was intensely clear—indeed it was as +clear as crystal! All things smacked of the Southern seas—of Southern +people, and all things Southern. In due course of time the west end of +the Isle of Cuba hove in sight, and soon the Columbia tied up in the +harbor of Havana.</p> +<p class="pnext">As the Columbia was to remain a few hours at Havana, we were permitted +to go ashore to see the most famous city in the West Indies. The +tropical vegetation was all that the heart could wish, but what +interested mother and me the most was the quaint old city of the +Spaniards, and the different races of people who inhabited the "Ever +Faithful Isle," as it is called. Here we found Spaniards from old Spain, +Spanish creoles, free colored people and slaves. I hated the very sight +of slavery here in the Spanish island, though I have always understood +that slavery was less cruel here than in the Southern States. But all +the same it is slavery, and not freedom. Almighty God certainly never +meant that one man should own another. Besides, these odious Spaniards, +a lying, thieving nation, have promised the civilized nations of the +world a hundred times to abolish slavery, but they have always broken +their promises, and they will continue to break them until they are +compelled to give their slaves up by force. Spain is a dark, suspicious +nation, reduced to the last stages of poverty, but swollen with +ignorance and pride. But this present time of writing is 1897. We may +next take a retrospect, as it is forty-two years since mother and I were +at Havana. Poor Spain has already lost all her slaves, because she could +keep them no longer; and the Cuban war has now lasted for over two +years, during which the patriots have gained possession of the whole +island, except a few fortified towns like Havana. I will not here +narrate the sights, sounds and scenes that came under our observation in +the metropolitan city of Cuba. I will just mention that I was infinitely +amused at the system of courtship that was in vogue in their parts. The +young men went to see their fair lovers, and conversed with them +through grated windows, the young ladies being inside the bars, and the +young gentlemen standing outside on the street. I never think of these +funny scenes without laughter!</p> +<p class="pnext">The Columbia got up steam once more, and we got out of the harbor of +Havana, passed through the Florida Straight, and in a few days were off +Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. All these places were new to us, and as +the fall weather was of the most delightful description, my dear mother +and I spent a great deal of time on deck. At last Sandy Hook was passed, +and we shortly after landed in New York.</p> +</div> +<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-iii"> +<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref pginternal" href="#id6">CHAPTER III.</a></h2> +<div class="align-center figure"> +<img style="display: block; margin-left: 40%; width: 19%" alt="images/dec03.png" src="images/dec03.png" width="19%"/> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><em class="italics">Mrs. Lincoln Brings Her Mother to Buffalo—Warm Welcome Home—Harriet +Jackson married to Mr. J. B. Sutherland—Letter From Mrs. Sarah Jackson +and Beulah's Answer—Beulah, Mrs. Sutherland and Tom at a Great +Abolition Meeting—A Famous Gathering of the Clans.</em></p> +<p class="pnext">Our delight at being once more on shore in our own country, and so near +home, and for the first time in the full possession of our own freedom, +filled our hearts and souls with the wildest enthusiasm, and from the +very bottom of our hearts we blessed and praised the Lord for His mercy +endureth forever.</p> +<p class="pnext">We had intended to send a telegram to my own dear Tom at Buffalo, but we +changed our minds, and determined to take him by surprise. Besides, when +we had reconsidered the matter, we did not deem it altogether prudent to +send a telegram, because there were many wealthy families in New York, +who owned thousands of slaves in the South, and in some respects this +great city was even more dangerous than Georgia and Louisiana. So we +left on the first train for Buffalo, where we arrived in due time, and +hired a cab that took us home. Tom had left the key with a good +neighbor, so we opened the door, went in, and prepared tea for him by +the time he came home. It is very true that we had more need of going to +bed than to thus attend to the work of the house; but we were so excited +with our freedom, our successful journey from New Orleans, and the +exciting times right ahead, that we never thought of fatigue, but only +the present enjoyment.</p> +<div class="align-center figure" id="scenes-in-buffalo"> +<img style="display: block; width: 100%" alt="images/image5buffalo.jpg" src="images/image5buffalo.jpg" width="100%"/> +<div class="caption italics"> +SCENES IN BUFFALO.</div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst">At last we saw Tom coming up the street, when such a scene ensued as it +would take the very angels of heaven to tell. We sat up to a late hour +that night, and seemed quite unwilling to break up and retire for the +night. The pastor of the church, his good lady, and all the friends came +flocking round to see us, and the rejoicing over our mother's safe +arrival from the land of slavery was both loud and deep. When we next +went to church, the interest there was most unbounded, and the +enthusiasm ran higher than the waves of the sea. We made no secret of +anything. Abolition was now under full swing; the "Border Ruffians" were +now in Kansas, and the temper of the whole North was up, that slavery +should come no further. Therefore our white and colored friends came on +in droves to church to see mother, and welcome her to Buffalo, and +prayer, praise and hymns of rejoicing were kept up till a late hour. +Praise ye the Lord, for He is good; for His mercy endureth forever!</p> +<p class="pnext">It is sometimes a very difficult thing for a young person like myself at +this time to know what to do for the best, lest I should be doing wrong. +It has often been said that a woman cannot keep a secret, and I am bound +to confess that I had hard work to hold myself back at this time from +writing to my father and telling him the good news of mother's escape +from slavery. In the secret of his heart I knew well that he would +rejoice to hear it; but Mrs. Jackson might get hold of the letter, and +that was where the trouble came in. In fact, so far as unruffling her +feelings was concerned, I did not care whether she saw my letter or not! +I certainly intended to pen no falsehoods, and saw no good reason why +any one should object to the simple truth. Thus openly to publish our +whereabouts might have endangered mother, Tom and myself, because the +Fugitive Slave Bill was on the National Statute books. It is true that +some of the Southerners had been up to the far North after their +fugitives, and tried hard to carry them back to slavery; but though the +public officers were vigorously called on to do their duty, according to +the letter of the law, the general public arose against such arrests, +and the slave hunters had to go home again to the South without their +prey, avowing and swearing that this would never be a country anyhow +till slavery extended from the Lakes to the Gulf. There was, therefore, +no real cause for fear on account of either mother, Tom or myself. I had +promised my father to write again, and besides he had sent me a present +of fifty dollars, which I was bound to acknowledge, and then my +description of our first visit to Niagara had been broken off in the +middle. There was another thing that would deter Mrs. Jackson from +sending any expedition after us, and that was the fact that we were +right on the Canadian border, there being nothing between us and the +British dominions but the Niagara river. Indeed this was the true reason +why my own dear Tom and I never came to a halt till we reached the +beautiful city of Buffalo. Upon the least hint of man-hunters being on +our trail, we had nothing to do but steer across the river, where we +could have a glorious holiday among our friends, and come back again to +Buffalo as soon as ever our pursuers had returned home.</p> +<p class="pnext">One thing was certain—if I were going to write at all, I must write +soon, or let it slide altogether. Of course, I could never make up my +mind to follow the latter alternative, so I took my pen in hand and sat +down and penned the following epistle:</p> +<p class="pnext right smaller">"BUFFALO, N. Y., October, 1855.</p> +<p class="pnext">"To Lemuel Jackson, Esquire,</p> +<p class="pnext">"My Dear Father:—I am sure it shows very bad manners in me to be so very +slow in answering your thrice-welcomed letter. I am under a thousand +obligations to you for your present to my own dear Tom and me on the +occasion of our happy wedding. We consider that you have indeed been +most mindful of us, and we return you our warmest thanks. We are both +well, and Tom has a good situation on Delaware avenue, the principal +residence street in Buffalo.</p> +<p class="pnext">"The last time I wrote you, I was giving you a description of our first +visit to Niagara Falls, and was interrupted in the middle of it by Tom's +coming home to tea, in company with our pastor and his wife. I am now +desirous of finishing the narrative, but before I do so, I will tell you +something that will indeed surprise you.</p> +<p class="pnext">"You will remember the fits of sadness and depression I was subject to +every now and then after dear mother was sent down the river to New +Orleans. My happy marriage had suspended these attacks altogether for a +time; but one day in the beginning of the fall, they returned in great +force. That was the first attack, and after Tom and I had discussed the +matter over, it was at last fully decided that I must not have a second. +If you wish to hear all the particulars of what followed, I am quite +willing to give you them; but in the meantime—after your own style of +writing—I will be brief. I proceeded to New Orleans, rescued mother from +slavery, and brought her safe and sound home to Buffalo on the steamer +"Columbia," by way of Havana and New York City. This successful and +happy event has caused the liveliest satisfaction to dear mother, to Tom +and myself, and to the entire population of Buffalo, so far as they have +become acquainted with it. Tom is quite pleased to have such a +delightful mother-in-law in the house, and all three work most +harmoniously together.</p> +<p class="pnext">"In my letter, dearest papa, I promised to give you the rest of the +account of our first visit to Niagara Falls. As, however, I have so very +much to say, and as I think it may please you better, instead of giving +you the rest of that most delightful narration and description in my +own words, I will—on Tom's recommendation—send you a most capital 'Guide +to Buffalo and Niagara Falls, with Numerous Illustrations.'</p> +<p class="pnext">"I beg leave now to draw these few lines to a close. Mother and Tom +write in lots of love to you, and I am sure I shall be delighted to +receive even half a dozen lines from you at any time that you can make +it convenient, or feel disposed to write your dear daughter. And I am +yours in all affection,</p> +<p class="pnext right smaller">"BEULAH JACKSON."</p> +<p class="pnext">Having written the above letter, I posted it at once, and no doubt but +it was received in a couple of days and read with great interest by my +own dear father, and also by Mrs. Jackson, though with very different +feelings from his. I was perfectly well aware that there was an +abundance of pent-up wrath in her imperious temper, and that it would +explode one of these fine days!</p> +<p class="pnext">As my mother, Harriet Jackson, was a woman of great handsomeness, beauty +and a thousand graces, and still comparatively young, being only +thirty-seven, her hand was sought by a settled and most honorable man +named Mr. John B. Sutherland, a resident of Buffalo, and a member of the +A. M. E. Church. They had a nice wedding at the church on Vine street, +in the presence of an applauding and highly-respectable company. It was +a perfect union of hearts, like Jacob and Rachel's over again. As we had +plenty of room, and were unwilling to have mother set up a different +establishment, Mr. and Mrs. Sutherland took up their residence with us, +and all things went on most harmoniously together. The Almighty seemed +to pour His richest blessings upon us all, and we tried to honor and +glorify His holy name in all that we did. Our experience in slavery had +been light, and we were now only too thankful to be free.</p> +<p class="pnext">One day in the month of November, Tom received the following letter from +Mrs. Jackson at Riverside Hall, though it was intended for all three of +us:</p> +<p class="pnext right smaller">"RIVERSIDE HALL, Near Louisville, November, 1855.</p> +<p class="pnext">"Mr. Thomas Lincoln,</p> +<p class="pnext">"Dear Tom:—We duly received all your letters, and also the Buffalo +newspaper with an account of the marriage of Harriet to Mr. John B. +Sutherland. That would all be right enough if you were white people, or +even free people of color, but the whole three of you are neither one +nor the other. You are our goods and chattels, and our runaway slaves, +and we have decided to bring you back, or else you must pay us the +reduced sum of one thousand dollars apiece; that is, two thousand +dollars, when we will give you your free papers, and a full discharge. +As your master and mistress, we are herein doing you a great favor, for +we could easily get two thousand dollars apiece for each of you, Tom and +Beulah, in the public market. I suppose you are aware that the Fugitive +Slave Bill is the law of the land, and in case you do not give us +satisfaction immediately, we will proceed to put the law in force, and +either bring you back to Riverside Hall, or sell you down the river. +Now, Tom, a word to the wise is sufficient. We shall look for a letter +from you soon.</p> +<p class="pnext">"I am yours respectfully,</p> +<p class="pnext right smaller">"SARAH JACKSON."</p> +<p class="pnext">When the above letter arrived at our house, the whole four of us were +seated at the tea table in the evening, and laughing first over one +thing and then another, as people will do at eventide when the work of +the day is done. We read the letter aloud in the midst of great sport +and laughter, which went on, grew and increased the more we examined it. +It was the work of Mrs. Jackson and hers alone. None of us believed that +father knew anything about it at all, and I am sure he did not. Mrs. +Sarah Jackson evidently was unable to keep down her temper and spite +after all our grand escapades, marriages and other things.</p> +<p class="pnext">"Why," said Mr. Sutherland, "I suppose she will be coming on us with +bloodhounds themselves! She would look grand in hunting costume on the +streets of Buffalo with bloodhounds!"</p> +<p class="pnext">"What makes me laugh," remarked Tom, "would be to see the boys and young +lads pelting those dogs with stones, and belaboring their sides with big +sticks!"</p> +<p class="pnext">This was followed by another shout of loud laughter, when mother +exclaimed,</p> +<p class="pnext">"She would indeed be a sight well worthy of a first-class painter in the +midst of an infuriated crowd who were bent upon our protection and +rescue."</p> +<p class="pnext">As it was now my turn to put in a word, I remarked,</p> +<p class="pnext">"She had better send nobody after us. It is now five years since the +passage of the Fugitive Slave Bill, which no man can enforce, because +the Christian spirit of the North will not have it, and the North is +right to resist it."</p> +<p class="pnext">The question next arose as to who should answer the letter. Tom and Mrs. +Sutherland absolutely refused to answer it in any shape or form, so I +took pity on the great lady of Riverside Hall, and said that I would +answer her one of these fine days, which would be both sport and +pleasure for me, and then perhaps she would let us all have a rest. So +in a few days after the receipt of her wonderful letter, I took up my +pen and wrote as follows:</p> +<p class="pnext right smaller">"BUFFALO, N. Y., November, 1855.</p> +<p class="pnext">"Mrs. Sarah Jackson,</p> +<p class="pnext">"Madam:—As both Tom and Mrs. Sutherland have absolutely refused to take +the slightest notice of your letter, it has fallen to me to answer it. +It would not suit the convenience of any of us to come to Riverside Hall +at this time, or, indeed, to go anywhere else. Even if we had all the +opportunities in the world, we would not come to Riverside unless we +came as specially invited guests; a visit, in short, that would be a +mutual gratification to us all. But at this time, Tom has got a most +excellent situation on Delaware avenue, the grand residence avenue of +Buffalo; besides, he has married a wife, and therefore he cannot come. +(Such is the language of Holy Writ).</p> +<p class="pnext">"As for myself, the grand committee on abolition have engaged me to give +a number of lectures, and to sing at their meetings in the interest of +the freedom of all those who are held in the South in enforced and +involuntary bondage. The committee on freedom think that the presence of +a young woman like me would help on the good cause, draw the crowds, and +drive another nail into the coffin of slavery in Kentucky, and wherever +the hated institution exists.</p> +<p class="pnext">"It will not be a very hard thing for me to make out a clear case +against slavery, and in favor of freedom. Now, just look at myself, and +all those graces and qualifications that I possess and inherit from both +father and mother, and how our gracious Lord has cut me out to be +something, and to do something in the world! Suppose that I had chosen +to remain at Riverside Hall! What was to hinder you spiriting me away to +the cotton fields of the Sunny South to wear my life away as if I were a +mere animal, instead of being a human being like yourself, and one for +whom Christ died? I therefore rejoice at dear mother's freedom; for +slavery is nothing but a revolting crime—a system of robbery and murder! +Now, here I am, and in a short time intend to appear on the public stage +in the capacity of a lecturer, a singer and a player on the piano. Just +fancy the idea of a handsome young woman of seventeen, like myself, +being sold away to Louisiana or Georgia to wear my life away among the +rice fields, the cotton and the cane, when nature has qualified me with +gifts and graces, the admiration of my gallant and clever Tom, and the +'pick' of the general public to serve against slavery in the Northern +States! I only hope that I shall be able to do my full share to help on +the great conflagration that is now raging all over the free states, and +which I hope will never cease burning until it has burnt the whole +'institution' down to the ground. Here in the North I shall be seen and +heard by legions of people. But who would ever see or hear me in the +cotton fields, or the sugar plantations, and in the rice swamps of +Louisiana or Georgia?</p> +<p class="pnext">"I have failed to answer your letter in the way intended. What +impression you intended to make on my mind is more than I know. Your +statements were nothing but the old parrot cries of the South, that have +been heard for many years. Of course, you cannot compel us to come back +so long as we ourselves object. If you write us any more, and expect +your letters to be read, you will have to make them of a readable +character. We will tolerate no less respect than if you were writing to +the Bishop or his wife. I know you don't wish your letters to be +returned to you unread. 'A word to the wise is sufficient.'</p> +<p class="pnext">"I am yours very respectfully,</p> +<p class="pnext right smaller">"BEULAH JACKSON."</p> +<p class="pnext">The country continued to ring with abolitionism. Orators and agitators +continued to traverse it in all directions. Men and women mounted the +rostrum, and held forth hour after hour before greatly-interested +gatherings of both sexes and all ages. Fugitive slaves who had made +their escape over the lines were introduced upon the platform, and gave +their wonderful experiences of slavery in the South, and how they +managed to get away. It was thrilling to hear some of them tell of all +the dangers they encountered upon the road; how they were pursued for +hundreds of miles by men, horses and even bloodhounds; how they were +assisted by free people of color, and even by those in bondage and white +people; and thus helped along week after week, and month after month, +till they felt that they were at last both safe and free. When we +consider how the slave States passed one law after another, and all +pulled, and hauled, and banded together to protect and perpetuate their +hold upon their human property, it was most wonderful how very many +slaves effected their escape. The nearer the awful storm came to +breaking over our heads, the more numerous grew the successful escapes +that were made. The frantic South still kept tying the strings tighter +and tighter; but instead of producing the effect she desired, the more +daring grew the soul of the intrepid slave, who seemed encouraged by the +very God of battles himself to strike for liberty and flee to the North.</p> +<p class="pnext">Thus the grand storm went on, increased and grew. Fred. Douglass, +William Lloyd Garrison, and many other famous writers continued to issue +their papers week by week, or month by month. The agitation was kept at +fever heat by all sorts and conditions of men and women. Still the +Abolitionists did not have the entire field to themselves, for there +were thousands and thousands of people in the Northern states who +believed in slavery for the colored man as much as the Southern +slave-holder himself, away down in Louisiana and Georgia. But Henry Ward +Beecher, Mrs. Harriet Beecher Stowe, and others without number continued +to lay on with hard licks and steady blows; the public conscience of the +free States became more and more educated, and the people in general +came to take a sympathetic interest in the oppressed African they had +never done before. The presence of the poor, oppressed fugitive slaves +in their meetings, and seen streaming along the North towards the Great +Lakes and Canada, with the marks of the "peculiar institution" stamped +for life upon their backs, were proof positive that none could deny. The +furious quarrel was carried into the halls of Congress at Washington, +and the South was unable to keep it out, though they made the most +determined efforts to do so. The Quakers and all the friends of the +slaves were forever at it, ding-dong, hammer and tongs, and thus the +family quarrel went on. John Brown and free-soil men were in Kansas, and +so were the "Border Ruffians" who came pouring in from Missouri and the +South, being determined to carry Kansas and all other new States and +territories into slavery like the rest of the slave States in their +rear. And still the great American family quarrel went on, increased and +grew, and the Christian voice of the North declared, "Thus far shalt +thou come and no further; and here shall thy proud waves be stayed." The +far-away Christian nations of the world watched the gathering of the +coming tempest from over the seas, and it was apparent to their +unobscured vision that a fearful judgment was coming upon America, and +that it would not be long in coming, either.</p> +<p class="pnext">The escape of mother and Tom and myself from slavery caused no small +sensation in and around Buffalo. An endless tide of visitors came on to +see us, and they had a thousand questions to ask us about our early life +and experiences in Kentucky and Louisiana. As Lemuel Jackson had caused +us to be duly educated, so that we could even play the piano well, we +were rather more fortunate in the line of education than most of our +fugitive brothers and sisters. In those days, great anti-slavery +demonstrations were all the go. The announcement that some great +national abolitionist was to be on hand at the Hall, to address the +general public on the wrongs and crimes of slavery, would pack the whole +place, and sometimes the crowds that came could not find even standing +room. Then music was added at times, songs were sung, even brass and +stringed bands were brought into play, and everything was done to draw +the prohibition hosts of the great North, then to keep them there, and +finally to make them come again.</p> +<p class="pnext">The Abolitionists took advantage of our presence in Buffalo to help one +grand meeting in the city for the purpose of making a demonstration in +force, to prove that colored people were just the very same as white +people when they were educated and polished, as we three had been. +Because the lie had been repeated ten thousand times in the South, and +reechoed by their abetting friends in the North, that we were unfitted +for civilization, and that the African was formed by God himself for +slavery, and for slavery alone, and was never intended by nature to be +the equal and companion of white men and women! It was considered that +our presence in a highly intelligent audience would knock that argument +completely on the head, and kill the abominable falsehood once for all. +Therefore they made a demonstration in force, and we ourselves were on +hand.</p> +<p class="pnext">When the night and hour arrived, Tom, mother and myself proceeded to the +hall, which was already half full, though we were there early. We saw +that great things were expected of us all, and we braced ourselves up +for the occasion, determined that nobody should go away disappointed. +The music discoursed sweet tunes as the people were gathering, and in +due course of time the Rev. Doctor Henderson called the meeting to +order, and took the chair for the evening. He called on our pastor to +offer up prayer to the Giver of every good and perfect gift. The glee +club then sang "The Negro's Complaint," which was written by Mr. William +Cowper, of England. Then the chairman exclaimed,</p> +<p class="pnext">"Now, ladies and gentlemen, the slave-holders tell us that the children +of African descent in these United States are unfitted for civilization, +and that they are nothing but goods and chattels. I will now call upon +one specimen of these goods and chattels to give us a rattling tune on +the grand piano, and to sing us 'The Mocking Bird,' and put some life in +it." (Great display of approbation, mingled with shouts of loud +laughter).</p> +<p class="pnext">Then said the reverend speaker, turning to myself,</p> +<p class="pnext">"Mrs. Lincoln, will you be so kind as to favor us with some of your warm +Southern music?"</p> +<p class="pnext">Now, of course, the indulgent reader will readily understand that upon +this august occasion I was arrayed like a bride adorned for her husband. +So I arose, bowed to the audience, and put on one of my sweetest smiles, +and proceeded to play and sing with unusual vigor. When I came to the +chorus the whole audience joined in, and I thought they would have +brought down the roof of the hall on our heads. Nor was that the best +part of it, because they not only sang at the end of each verse, but +when I got through the entire audience arose upon their feet and shouted +their applause, calling for an encore, and would not be refused.</p> +<p class="pnext">I gave them a Southern song with music, for which they gave me another +sounding cheer, when Dr. Henderson introduced my honored mother, Mrs. +Sutherland, in the following happy terms:</p> +<p class="pnext">"Dear Friends: We are assembled here to-night, in our accustomed place +of meeting, to give the grand chariot of progress another push towards +the bottom of the hill. (Loud applause). The lesson we wish to teach +upon this special and most exceptional occasion is to show what the +colored race are capable of doing and becoming if they had simply an +open field and fair play. It is our desire to see them get an open field +and fair play! (More applause). But I will not detain this large and +splendid audience any longer, but at once introduce to you Mrs. John B. +Sutherland, formerly of Kentucky, but now of Buffalo, who will entertain +us for a time and address the house."</p> +<p class="pnext">Loud applause followed the Doctor's remarks, when my honored mother came +to the front of the platform, and spoke as follows:</p> +<p class="pnext">"My good friends, I consider myself most especially honored this night +to be permitted to come before you, to assist in driving another nail +into the coffin of the 'peculiar institution' from whose clutches I have +just been rescued by the kindness and daring of my own daughter. (Loud +cheers). The South has told you ten thousand times that we of the +colored race are only fit for hewers of wood and drawers of water, like +the Gibeonites. These drawers of water of our poor, oppressed race, that +they themselves may live in mansions more palatial than the lords, and +barons, and dukes of Continental Europe and the British Isles. Who ever +heard of such unmanliness and cowardice? Men who ape the aristocracy of +Europe, and even surpass them in brilliant, grand displays, wringing +their wealth from the oppressed African!</p> +<p class="pnext">"I tell you, ladies and gentlemen, that Almighty God is getting tired of +such refined badness, and that the day is coming, and will soon be here +when such a storm of wrath will be upon the South as will wipe out the +blood-red crime of slavery from Mason and Dixon's line to the Rio +Grande. The sooner that day of judgment comes the better!</p> +<p class="pnext">"Just look abroad over all these far-spreading Northern and Western +States, and hear how they are ringing with the loud notes of freedom, +and the sounds of coming conflict! I am free to say that upon this +night, and at this very hour there are hundreds of meetings going on all +along the Northern States for the purpose of enlightening the nation as +to the real character, intentions and purposes of the South. The South +is not ignorant of these things. They have got Argus eyes for all we do, +both in Congress and out of it, and they will push things as fast and as +far as they dare. They will give us no rest till we are either all +slaves, or all free! (Loud applause). I look around me at the political +skies, and I see them growing blacker and blacker as the great national +storm is gathering. John Brown and the free-soil men are in Kansas; loud +and angry words are being bandied forth between the occupants of the two +ends of the house—between the powerful North and the passionate South. +From words they will most assuredly come to blows over that very +'peculiar institution,' and American slavery and all the evils that +follow in its train, will pass away. But of one thing rest assured. The +South will never consent to emancipate her slaves. They have been +throwing it up in the face of the North these past fifty years that they +can't get their own way; they will go out of the Union, and set up a +slave empire of their own. Then they will attempt a dissolution of these +glorious States. Then they will dare and defy you to force them back +into the Union by the sword. The day is coming, and what will you do +about it?" (Great cheering).</p> +</div> +<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-iv"> +<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref pginternal" href="#id7">CHAPTER IV.</a></h2> +<div class="align-center figure"> +<img style="display: block; margin-left: 40%; width: 19%" alt="images/dec04.png" src="images/dec04.png" width="19%"/> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><em class="italics">Continuation and End of the Great Abolition Meeting at Buffalo.</em></p> +<p class="pnext">"The determination of the slave-holding oligarchy is to keep our +persecuted race under a bushel—both soul and body—and to sit down on +the top of that bushel for all coming time. They are stone blind to the +fact that they are sitting on the top of a bushel of dynamite, which +will blow them sky-high one of these days, with terrible effect. They +have entirely forgotten that this world belongs to God; and they and the +devil between them have made up their minds to do as they please. +Between bloodhounds and cowhides they think they will do very well. My +own firm belief is that a war is coming upon us that will carry mourning +into every house in this great republic, both North and South. There are +thousands and ten thousands of the very same opinion as myself. The +South will never surrender their 'peculiar institution.' If it were +dogs, cows or horses that they were called upon to give up, they would +cheerfully give them up for a fair price. But the very 'Old Lad' himself +is in the business when it comes to claim property in men and women, +especially when those men and women happen to be better than themselves, +which is usually the case. (Loud laughter and cheering all over the +hall). When a dog, a horse or a cow runs away, they will let it go, but +if it be a man or a woman, they will pursue the fugitive over mountains, +lakes and rivers, and even die in the attempt to bring them back to +slavery. If this rising storm shall end in a war, the old lie that the +black man will not fight will certainly be exploded, for every slave +will go to the field, if necessary, and their strong arms will knock +down the 'peculiar institution.' (Great applause).</p> +<div class="align-center figure" id="abraham-lincoln"> +<img style="display: block; width: 100%" alt="images/image6lincoln.jpg" src="images/image6lincoln.jpg" width="100%"/> +<div class="caption italics"> +ABRAHAM LINCOLN.</div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst">"On my way down the Mississippi to New Orleans, they brought an old +colored man on board, having sold him to a family resident in the Queen +City of the South. I conversed much with that grand old hero, and it was +wonderful to see what an intuitive knowledge he had of human nature, and +what a vast amount of natural goodness there was still left in him, +after so much hard experience, labor and toil among the cane brakes +and cotton fields. Such a man as Judah—for that was his name—ought to +have been a bishop in the Church of God, instead of being reckoned among +the bales and bundles, and goods and chattels, of the Southern States. +If that good man (who left such a deep impression on the hearts and +minds of all Christian people who conversed with him)—if he had been +free according to the will of God, and been educated like white men, +instead of being robbed and plundered of his rights, he would have made +a splendid bishop, for I am perfectly positive that he had every +qualification for that office in the highest degree. That saintly +man—that Judah—should this very day be the right reverend and honored +bishop among his brethren in a nation where all are free, instead of +being no more than a favored spaniel or ornament to grace the pride of +some family in New Orleans. If that grand old man had only had the same +opportunities that the white bishops have had, he would at this hour be +gracing the churches and halls of this nation, the very same as white +men do. The day of judgment is at hand that will reverse all that!</p> +<p class="pnext">"On the same voyage down the Mississippi to New Orleans, they brought on +board a fair and beautiful creature of seventeen, who, like Judah, was +also intended to grace a baronial hall in the Queen City of the South. A +more attractive woman I have never seen anywhere. It was pitiable to +think of her future. She was graceful in all her movements; most +handsome; had a musical voice, and was withal a splendid singer. Where +she was born I cannot tell, but they gave $2,500 for her! The more I +looked at poor Julia, the more mournful I became. What a glorious +ornament for society she would have been had she been free! Almost any +honorable man would have been proud to make her his wife. She could have +led the choir in the house of God, and could have sung with the +minstrels before Queen Victoria and all the crowned heads of Europe. She +might have been a bright and shining light in some way or other, under +the guiding hand of divine providence; her life and times might have +been written by some famous author, and read by millions of people in +this and other nations of the earth.</p> +<p class="pnext">"In this way we can go on to the end of the chapter. Our traducers and +slanderers say that we are unfit for this, that and the other thing, +which is a deliberate and willful falsehood. We are well qualified for +everything that any other race upon earth is qualified to perform, and +that is the very reason why our maligners say we are not; and they are +even unwilling to give us the chance to try. It is true that a few of us +are educated, but very few. We three, that is, myself and daughter and +her husband, were taught a little because we were favorably situated +under Mr. Jackson, but the slave-holders, as a general thing, make a +specialty of keeping us in the most complete ignorance, and it is a +crime for a slave to be taught to read, write and cast accounts, and it +is also a crime for any man to be found teaching him.</p> +<p class="pnext">"But there is a better day coming, and will soon be here; only we will +have to pass through a time of the most tremendous affliction before the +better times arrive. When, by the predetermined will of God, all men and +women are free from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and from the Lakes to +the Gulf, then, indeed, shall we arise and shine forth, for our light +will be come, and the glory of the Lord will be risen upon us. Then +shall new schools and colleges be established all over the land, into +which our sons and daughters will crowd, and they will also go to those +which have been long established. Then shall our professional men and +women go forth in their thousands and ten thousands, and spread to lands +and islands beyond the seas. Then shall our senators and representatives +enter the halls of Congress at Washington, and every state legislature. +Our surgeons and physicians shall then ride forth precisely the same as +their white brothers duly armed with the very same diplomas, authorizing +them to heal the sick, and alleviate the ailments of those that are +afflicted, instead of wearing their lives away in the cane brakes, the +cotton fields and the rice swamp of the South as slaves. They may labor +all over the far-extended lands as freemen toiling for themselves and +their families at useful trades, and laying up money against a rainy +day. Then shall children go forth in their hundreds and thousands to be +trained like others for the duties of life, and to become the ornaments +of society. Then shall our afflicted sons and daughters sit no longer in +the galleries of the churches of the land as so many 'goods and +chattels" thrust away up into the corner, but walk forth in freedom to +the house of the Lord on the Sabbath day—go forth in their thousands +and tens of thousands to our most Holy Communion in all that liberty of +soul and body wherein the Lord has made us all free. The time would fail +for me to tell, and for you to listen to all the good things that will +come with freedom, after every man, woman and child, now in slavery, are +at liberty."</p> +<p class="pnext">When Mrs. Sutherland had done speaking as above, she resumed her seat +amidst a scene of great enthusiasm. Indeed the whole audience was worked +up to a pitch of great excitement. The glee club now advanced to the +front, and gave us one of their best songs, which was most heartily +enjoyed by every person present.</p> +<p class="pnext">The reverend chairman now rose to his feet, and thus addressed the +immense assembly:</p> +<p class="pnext">"Ladies and Gentlemen:—Just think upon the glorious speech to which we +have listened, and the unanswerable arguments of the beautiful and +accomplished speaker! There are wonderful changes in store for this +nation, and the end is not yet. I will now call upon Mrs. Thomas +Lincoln, of Kentucky, to address the house. Ladies and gentlemen, Mrs. +Lincoln."</p> +<p class="pnext">Although this was my first appearance in public, and though that mighty +audience looked formidable enough to scare an African lion or royal +Indian tiger, still my own mind was firmly made up to brook no failure, +and I proceeded to speak as follows:</p> +<p class="pnext">"My good Christian friends of the North: I bless and magnify the Lord +this famous night, not only because I am permitted to address you, but +because I am even free. It is very true that in yonder great slave land +my lines fell to me in pleasant places; but after all, though I figured +as 'The Flower-Girl of Riverside Hall,' I was no more in the eyes of the +'peculiar institution,' ridiculously so called, than a pampered and +favored greyhound with a gold chain around his neck! (Loud laughter.) +That golden chain marked me for a slave, although it was my privilege, +upon grand occasions, to become an ornament to grace my owner's triumph +among his visitors, just like any other fragile vase set upon a +mantelpiece. (More laughter). Upon those grand occasions our masters +used to bring out the finest wines, richest fruits and rarest delicacies +of the whole earth. The land and the sea were ransacked to find dainties +for the glorious lords and ladies of the South, to set before their +guests far more than the lords and dukes and barons of Europe and Asia +ever even attempted to display. At our grand banquets it was my duty to +pour out the wine, and assist in a general way in the dining-room, as +the necessity of the moment might require. Then nature has endowed me +with a voice for music, and as I am fond of singing, I had to obey, +whenever I was bid, by giving them some of our Southern songs to the +accompaniment of the grand piano, and even play for the company whenever +they wanted to dance. (Loud applause from the young people). But I am +bound to confess that often in the midst of these grand pastimes, when I +deemed it prudent to look pleasant, and even to smile sweetly for the +purpose of concealing my real thought, I was longing and praying for +freedom, and regarded myself as no more than that aforementioned chained +greyhound among other greyhounds that were free. (Cheers from the +audience). I could not forget that at that very hour there were good men +and women of color, down in the slave quarter, dressed in little more +than sackcloth, stretching their weary limbs for the night upon their +miserable beds, after a miserable meal of coarse cornbread, and a +swallow of tea or coffee, perfect dish water, besides other stuff not +fit for a horse or a dog to feed on! In the slave quarter there lay the +best of men and women, of whom this world is not worthy, and here we +were in the ball-room, abandoned to the dance as if there were no +suffering in the world, much less not many yards away from the place +where all our revelry was going on. Was it wonder, then, as my fingers +flew over the piano, that I internally prayed, 'O my Good Lord, set me +free! Set me free! and take me away from all this shallow and hollow +mockery!' I had a tremendous presentiment, which I could not keep down, +that the Lord God Almighty would yet visit the South for all this, and +give our great lords and masters, on some near future day, the field of +battle whereon they could show off their talents, instead of robbing and +murdering the oppressed African, and thus living at his expense. O my +God, it was too much! (Great cheering).</p> +<p class="pnext">"I was still very young. It was only spring when I was seventeen, when +the Bishop and his wife were invited to our house. They were to be our +guests during a great religious gathering at Louisville. I felt a sudden +inspiration to make a rush for liberty, now or perhaps never. Besides, +slavery is so uncertain, and as it is usually the unexpected thing that +happens on their estates and plantations, if you don't take time by the +forelock when you can, you may never have so good a chance again. I will +leave it to my kind and gallant Tom to tell you how we got away; because +I think that was the luckiest day in my whole life—unless, indeed, I +consider also the day that my own dear mother and I sailed from New +Orleans on the Columbia. There are great days in the lives of +individuals as well as in the lives of nations, and I feel a heavenly +presentiment in my own heart and soul that a great war is impending upon +this nation, and that Almighty God will send it to set His people free. +We are the Lord's own people, and we pray to Him every day. He has +promised, many a time, in His holy word, to hear our prayers, and He +does hear our prayers, and there are thousands and millions of prayers +sent up to heaven every day to the throne of mercy that God would set +the captives free. The North and South between them, may pass 'Fugitive +Slave Bills,' and plan and scheme to keep the curse of slavery going +till the end of time, if they like; but at the same time this world +belongs to the great Lord of heaven and earth, and He will hear all the +prayers of the oppressed before much more time rolls over our heads, for +He is sure to set our people free.</p> +<p class="pnext">"I have been studying what I can to help on the good cause of +emancipation, abolitionism, or by whatsoever name you may call it—I +mean in this campaign that is now raging and at fever heat all along the +Northern states, and from ocean to ocean. I am willing to do all I can +to help the cause of the oppressed and terribly down-trodden slave. I am +willing to place my services at the command of the managing committee in +these parts, and to speak, to play, and to sing, and do my best in every +way for the good cause. (Loud applause all over the hall). Fred. +Douglass, and William Lloyd Garrison, and Henry Ward Beecher, and many +others of the 'big guns' will be coming around; and perhaps even Mrs. +Harriet Beecher Stowe herself. I think she, at least, ought to pay us a +visit, for if any free colored person in the South is detected with her +'Uncle Tom's Cabin' in his possession, that person may be sent to prison +for twelve months. Now I myself managed to read 'Uncle Tom,' even in +slavery. So did my honored mother and husband—all here present before +you—and Mr. Jackson, our owner, could have been fined so much apiece +for us three, had the State of Kentucky been made aware of the fact! +(Loud ironical cheers and great laughter by the whole house). In a +campaign like this, we must all put our shoulders to the wheel, and give +a long pull, a strong pull, and a pull all together; and each and every +one of us must do all we can to bring the abominations of slavery to an +end. 'There is a divinity that shapes our ends, rough hew them as we +will.' Such are the words of Shakespeare. We also are rough-hewing the +cause of freedom for the slave. The divinity of heaven will give the +proper shape and finish to these ends of ours.</p> +<p class="pnext">"As I have myself already drunk so deeply of the fountain of liberty, I +think it is my bounden duty to do all I can to help on that good cause +that lies so near all our hearts. And yet I do not see that I can do +much more, when I have done my best, than to aid in heaping more fuel +upon the top of the fire now raging, and thus assist in firing the +Northern heart. Other weak women, besides me, have worked wonders in +forwarding the cause of freedom and of God. Several of the greatest +heroines of history are mentioned in both the Old and New Testament. One +of the very first who was mentioned is Miriam, who led forth the women +with timbrels and with dances at the Red Sea, for she commanded the +people 'to praise the Lord, because He had done gloriously; the horse +and the rider He had cast into the sea.' Then we come to the case of the +brave and valiant Deborah, the most conspicuous of all the heroines of +the Bible, for she led the Jewish nation to the war, and placed herself +at the head of her volunteers on the mountains of Israel. So long as +freedom and liberty are held sacred in this world, so long shall the +name of the victorious and intrepid Deborah be ever green. (Loud +applause). Another famous heroine of history was Boadicea, the Queen of +the Britons, who placed herself at the head of her army and fought with +the Romans. Then we have the burning and shining example of Joan d'Arc, +who led on the armies of France, and cleared that country of the English +invaders. Nor must we forget the intrepidity and courage of Her Majesty +Elizabeth, Queen of England, who placed herself at the head of her +troops when her native isle was threatened with invasion by the Spanish +Armada. Such women were—each one of them—worth a hundred thousand men, +not so much for what they could do in themselves, but because they +greatly assisted in firing the national heart, and urging on the hosts +of men to war.</p> +<p class="pnext">"Now, I am not saying that I myself will make a Deborah, a Joan of Arc, +or an Elizabeth; but there are already in this campaign several heroic +American women, who are doing yeoman service on behalf of the +down-trodden and oppressed African, and if they can do something in this +good cause, so can I. (Loud shouts of 'Yes, yes! so you can! Hurrah for +Mrs. Lincoln!') I am at least willing to do my best in talking, in +singing and in striking the dulcet chords of music, and wherein I may +happen to fall short, others will atone for my deficiencies. Let the +work go on! Let us lay the axe to the roots of this deadly and devilish +upas tree! Let slavery be shaken to its lowest foundations, and be +driven into the Gulf of Mexico! Forward, ye brave! And even if war +itself must come, let it come, and even we women will go to the field!"</p> +<p class="pnext">With the last exhortation, I resumed my seat, when the audience rose to +their feet and cheered, and almost made me blush at the results of my +own small efforts. When the excitement had abated, and the audience was +in readiness to hear the next speaker, the Rev. Dr. Henderson arose once +more and said:</p> +<p class="pnext">"Ladies and gentlemen:—After the eloquent and stirring address we have +heard from the wife, we shall now look forward with much pleasure to an +address from that noble and gallant husband who safely piloted both +himself and her out of slavery, as we plainly see here before us +to-night. I beg to introduce to you Mr. Thomas Lincoln!"</p> +<p class="pnext">Tom arose at once, and as he advanced towards the footlights, he pulled +down his vest and cleared his throat in the masculine fashion, the +audience in the meanwhile cheering loudly, after which he proceeded to +speak as follows:</p> +<p class="pnext">"My right good Christian friends:—It is with no small pleasure that I +appear before you to-night to give you some of my sentiments, veins and +opinions on the coming war in this country. (Sensation). I firmly +believe that a war is impending over us, as I believe that there is a +God of vengeance and of justice. Look at the millions and billions of +money that the Southern chivalry have piled up, and they are piling it +up still, at the expense of the poor, oppressed and enslaved African! +And shall a sinful nation indeed escape from blood-red crimes like +these? I am neither a prophet by profession, nor the son of a prophet, +but even a child can understand that the funeral bell of slavery will be +tolled before long, and depend upon it, ye young men! both you and I +will be called into the field, and we will all be needed to pull down +that most abominable and 'peculiar institution!' (Loud applause).</p> +<p class="pnext">"Though neither a prophet, nor the son of a prophet, I affirm that a day +is coming, and is now on the home stretch, indeed, when you young men +and I will not be permitted to stay at home and dally with the apron +strings of our mothers and sweethearts, but we will have to march to the +field. We will then make it manifest what we men of Africa can dare and +can do. I shall be quite willing to go for one, when the South, in her +frantic anger, will secede; I am willing to do all I can for my own +country, and if those who are soldiers themselves never come home, we, +at least, will clear the great national gangway for coming generations, +and the glories that are to follow! (Loud cheers).</p> +<p class="pnext">"I suppose that some of our friends on the other side of the fence will +begin to tell us here that the colored man will not fight, and that +there is neither pluck nor courage in him. We shall certainly be told a +hundred thousand times that there is no fighting in him, and that he was +never intended for anything but a docile slave! Such persons who say so +have never read even the A B C of history; for colored men fought quite +as well as white men on many a hard-fought field, both in the War of the +Revolution, and in the War of 1812; and what we did once, and did well, +we can do again, and do better, and with a better motive, too, because +we will be fighting for our own complete emancipation, and to put an +end, once for all, to slavery in the United States, and purge the nation +of a great crime. (Loud applause throughout the hall).</p> +<p class="pnext">"I need not go back in history to prove the bravery of the African race, +for this is a well-known fact, and the very school-books are full of it. +The bravery of the slave is one of the main reasons why the +slave-holders make such stringent laws in attempting to perpetuate their +iniquitous system. They know our prowess, and the risks they would run +in the case of a general rising, and therefore they exercise double +caution in order to keep down even the slightest attempts at +insurrection. But for all that, there is not the slightest doubt in my +own mind that they will go out of the Union, as they have been promising +us to do for the last fifty years, if they cannot get their own way! In +all their plans, schemes and calculations, this slave-holding oligarchy +have thrown the Almighty overboard, and every sacred right of the human +race. They have treated the wronged and oppressed African as if he had +neither rights nor feelings, and, indeed, as if he were not a human +being at all. But there is a day coming, and it will soon be here, when +the Great Creator of the entire human race will call an imperative halt +to all this, and go into this war as we may, we will come out with four +millions of people who will be redeemed from the yoke and curse of +Southern bondage. (Loud cheers).</p> +<p class="pnext">"I did not intend to make a lengthy address. I only wished to point out +that we are drifting into war, and my own willingness to lend a hand to +liberate the oppressed slave."</p> +<p class="pnext">Tom now resumed his seat amidst great applause. The audience, though +taken by surprise by his speech, were greatly delighted, because of his +willingness to go to the field.</p> +<p class="pnext">The reverend chairman now called on the glee club to give us some more +of their musical compositions and campaign songs. These were given with +a hearty good will, so that the enthusiasm of the audience rose higher +and higher. The newspaper reporters were also kept busy, and a good +account of the proceedings of this very successful abolition meeting was +found in several of the papers next morning, and very extensively read. +Before we scattered for the night, the Rev. Doctor Henderson arose, and +made the following closing remarks to the audience:</p> +<p class="pnext">"Ladies and gentlemen: We have all listened to a rare treat this night. +Just think of it! The South calls these two ladies and this gentleman +their 'goods and chattels,' and for the very life of me I do not see how +a war can be avoided, and then we shall know what their so-called goods +and chattels will do when the storm shall burst upon us in all its fury. +No, no! I do not see how a war is to be avoided, for the passions of +both the North and the South are being worked up in precisely the same +way as is usual in quarrels between individuals, and no doubt but it +will all end by coming to blows in a terrible conflict.</p> +<p class="pnext">"In the meantime it is our duty to keep agitating as never before. It is +a perfect outrage on humanity to hold in bondage such refined persons as +these three here present to-night. We must agitate this great question, +night and day, till the sun of righteousness shall arise with healing +in his wings. I now call for a vote of thanks to Mrs. John B. +Sutherland, and to Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Lincoln. Let three rousing cheers +be given for them!"</p> +<p class="pnext">The audience rose to their feet, gave three cheers and a tiger, and the +great demonstration came to an end.</p> +</div> +<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-v"> +<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref pginternal" href="#id8">CHAPTER V.</a></h2> +<div class="align-center figure"> +<img style="display: block; margin-left: 40%; width: 19%" alt="images/dec05.png" src="images/dec05.png" width="19%"/> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><em class="italics">The Negro's Complaint—John Brown's Raid—The Secession of the Southern +States—Battle of Milliken's Bend—Battle at Fort Hudson—The Effect of +the Emancipation Proclamation on this Nation and the Entire Christian +World.</em></p> +<p class="pnext">As my indulgent readers would perhaps like to know the lines of "The +Negro's Complaint," which were sung so beautifully by the campaign glee +club that night at the great meeting at Buffalo, I will here insert +them. They were written by the Honorable William Cowper, of England, and +directed against British slavery in the West Indies, and the slave trade +generally. They apply with such force and truth to that self-same +blood-red crime as carried on by the United States that they are worthy +of being committed to memory by every true lover of poetry in the +English language throughout the world.</p> +<blockquote><div> +<div class="line-block"> +<div class="line"> + </div> +<div class="line"> +THE NEGRO'S COMPLAINT.</div> +<div class="line"> + </div> +<div class="line"> +Forced from home and all its pleasures,</div> +<div class="line-block"> +<div class="line"> +Africa's coast I left forlorn,</div> +</div> +<div class="line"> +To increase a stranger's treasures</div> +<div class="line-block"> +<div class="line"> +O'er the raging billows borne.</div> +</div> +<div class="line"> +Men from England bought and sold me,</div> +<div class="line-block"> +<div class="line"> +Paid my price in paltry gold;</div> +</div> +<div class="line"> +But, though theirs they have enrolled me,</div> +<div class="line-block"> +<div class="line"> +Minds are never to be sold.</div> +<div class="line"> + </div> +</div> +<div class="line"> +Still in thought as free as ever,</div> +<div class="line-block"> +<div class="line"> +What are England's rights? I ask;</div> +</div> +<div class="line"> +Me from delights to sever,</div> +<div class="line-block"> +<div class="line"> +Me to torture, me to task?</div> +</div> +<div class="line"> +Fleecy locks and dark complexion</div> +<div class="line-block"> +<div class="line"> +Cannot forfeit nature's claim;</div> +</div> +<div class="line"> +Skins may differ, but affection</div> +<div class="line-block"> +<div class="line"> +Dwells in white and black the same.</div> +<div class="line"> + </div> +</div> +<div class="line"> +Why did all-creating nature</div> +<div class="line-block"> +<div class="line"> +Make the plant for which we toil?</div> +</div> +<div class="line"> +Sighs must fan it—tears must water,</div> +<div class="line-block"> +<div class="line"> +Sweat of ours must dress the soil.</div> +</div> +<div class="line"> +Hark! Ye masters, iron-hearted,</div> +<div class="line-block"> +<div class="line"> +Lolling at your jovial boards—</div> +</div> +<div class="line"> +Think how many backs have smarted</div> +<div class="line-block"> +<div class="line"> +For the sweets your cane affords!</div> +<div class="line"> + </div> +</div> +<div class="line"> +Hark! He answers. Wild tornadoes</div> +<div class="line-block"> +<div class="line"> +Strewing yonder seas with wrecks,</div> +</div> +<div class="line"> +Wasting towns, plantations, meadows,</div> +<div class="line-block"> +<div class="line"> +Are the voice with which he speaks;</div> +</div> +<div class="line"> +He, foreseeing what vexations</div> +<div class="line-block"> +<div class="line"> +Afric's sons should undergo,</div> +</div> +<div class="line"> +Fixed their tyrant's habitations</div> +<div class="line-block"> +<div class="line"> +Where his whirlwinds answer—No!</div> +<div class="line"> + </div> +</div> +<div class="line"> +By our blood in Afric wasted,</div> +<div class="line-block"> +<div class="line"> +Ere our necks received the chain,</div> +</div> +<div class="line"> +By the miseries we have tasted</div> +<div class="line-block"> +<div class="line"> +Crossing in your barks the main;</div> +</div> +<div class="line"> +By our sufferings since ye brought us</div> +<div class="line-block"> +<div class="line"> +To the man-degrading mart—</div> +</div> +<div class="line"> +All, sustained by patience, taught us,</div> +<div class="line-block"> +<div class="line"> +Only by a broken heart.</div> +<div class="line"> + </div> +</div> +<div class="line"> +Count our nation brutes no longer,</div> +<div class="line-block"> +<div class="line"> +Till some reason ye shall find</div> +</div> +<div class="line"> +Worthier of regard, and stronger</div> +<div class="line-block"> +<div class="line"> +Than the color of the kind;</div> +</div> +<div class="line"> +Slaves of gold, whose sordid dealings</div> +<div class="line-block"> +<div class="line"> +Tarnish all your boasted powers,</div> +</div> +<div class="line"> +Prove that ye have human feelings</div> +<div class="line-block"> +<div class="line"> +Ere ye proudly question ours!</div> +<div class="line"> + </div> +</div> +</div> +</div></blockquote> +<p class="pfirst">Time passed on, and Tom and I, and Mr. and Mrs. Sutherland, still +continued to occupy the same house. The Lord blessed the entire +household, and none of us had ever cause to regret the steps we had +taken and carried out with such speed. We enlisted heart and soul in the +grand anti-slavery movement, and blew the bellows with all our might to +help on the good cause of liberty and perfect freedom. The border +ruffians in Kansas had been beaten back into the South, which was the +first open fight between the two high contending parties. That put the +angry South in no good humor. Like an ungovernable, high-strung virago, +her temper was up, and she threatened secession, and dreamed of +extending a new slave empire around the Gulf of Mexico. The +abolitionists of the North were unyielding, and the two sections were +drifting into war.</p> +<p class="pnext">In the midst of so much combustion and heated temper, it would have been +remarkable, indeed, if there had been no "flame" that burst out here or +there. In all impending struggles and revolutions there is always +someone who voices the pent-up feelings of one party or the other, and +sometimes of both. On the impulse of the moment, as it were by an act of +inspiration, somebody steps out of the ranks, and becomes the leader on +his side. The man who led the way on the part of the anti-slavery party, +was the famous John Brown, who figured so largely in Kansas, and in 1859 +seized upon the United States Arsenal at Harper's Ferry, in Virginia, +while he was leading on a handful of white and colored men for the +purpose of effecting a general rising of the slaves throughout the +South. But the Virginians came pouring down upon him and his little +band. Some were killed and wounded; others were missing, and John Brown +himself and a few of his followers were hung. Still, John Brown was in +the right. He was simply an outgrowth of the times. He regarded the +slaves as prisoners, whom it was the duty of any man to set at liberty. +They or their forefathers, at least, had been taken captive in Africa, +and it—that is, American slavery—was the crying scandal of the entire +Christian world. John Brown was one of the abolitionists of the North, +and they were responsible for his actions. But the South was alarmed all +over its dark domain. From Mason and Dixon's Line to the Rio Grande the +news of John Brown's raid flew like wildfire, and the violent temper of +the South grew to a white heat. And all the world—both at home and +abroad—remarked,</p> +<p class="pnext">"If one single spark like this can raise such a conflagration, what +shall we have when the anti-slavery party shall set their foot into the +whole 'business' on a grand scale? If one man at Harper's Ferry can +effect such a disturbance, what will ensue when the great overshadowing +North will arise in her might, and call for a settlement of the whole +question in favor of the oppressed African?"</p> +<p class="pnext">The war, indeed, was now nearer than before. The South would listen to +no compromise nor reason of any kind. The haughty Southern lords would +brook no interference. The Northern intruders who touched her "peculiar +institution" touched "the apple of her eye." And now for war!</p> +<p class="pnext">The war came at last, and South Carolina was the state that struck the +first blow. Then one state seceded after another, and they set up the +"Southern Confederacy," with slavery as its corner-stone. Then the +wildest and most tremendous excitement spread over all the great North, +and the interest reached even the ends of the earth. For the time being, +so great was the national delirium that the great masses of the +population seemed to have completely forgotten the glorious cause of +abolitionism, the grand doings of the underground railroad, and even the +eternal decree of the Most High God that one man should not own property +in another. But all the same the deep and thoughtful minds of all +thorough-going Christians all over the world could see that this war +should not close till every slave was set free. It was Pharaoh and the +captive Israelites over again, "Let my people go, that they may serve +me."</p> +<p class="pnext">That which threw the great North into such a state of excitement and +alarm was not the slave question at all. The people were concerned over +the breaking up of this great united republic, because the establishment +of the Southern Confederacy cut the nation in two, and took away from us +the middle and lower Mississippi. If the hair is the glory of a woman, +as Paul says, the Mississippi river is the glory of the United States. +Uncle Sam, therefore, even yet did all he could to induce the seceded +states to come home again, and assured them in every possible way that +not a finger should be laid upon their slaves, but that they should keep +them all! But the haughty South had made up her mind to set up +house-keeping for herself, and she thought she could do so even if the +worst came to the worst. She had been getting ready for secession for +fifty years, and now the crisis had come.</p> +<p class="pnext">There did not appear to be the slightest idea on either side that more +than four years would elapse before the dreadful business would be +settled. A call was made by President Lincoln for seventy-five thousand +men to serve for three months, but a far greater number offered +themselves. There were thousands, if not millions, of people who +believed that the small affair would be all over in a very little while, +and nothing was talked of but marching to Richmond, and winding things +up. Then the rebellious leaders would return to their duties, slavery +would go on as before, and the Mississippi river would once more flow +through our glorious republic—one and undivided, from the headwaters of +the same to the Gulf of Mexico.</p> +<p class="pnext">It never seemed to enter the minds of the great masses of the people +then that the South was as terribly in earnest as she certainly was, nor +how well-trained she was and ready for the fray. The skill of her +leaders, the intrepidity of her sons, and fighting upon her own soil, +were lost sight of to a very great extent in the wild delirium that +seized on the great Northern heart over the breaking up of the Union. It +did not seem to strike the national mind at the time that this was a war +sent by God for the extirpation of slavery, and as an answer to the +prayers of the oppressed millions in the South for freedom, and for the +treatment of human beings. It did not then occur to the minds of the +North that a day would come after nearly two years' indecisive fighting, +when military necessity would compel the Federal government to free the +slave by Act of Congress, and call upon him "to come to the help of the +Lord against the mighty," and Shakespeare says, "There is a divinity +that shapes our ends, rough hew them as we will." and so it was even +now.</p> +<div class="align-center figure" id="battle-of-milliken-s-bend"> +<img style="display: block; width: 100%" alt="images/image7millikensbend.jpg" src="images/image7millikensbend.jpg" width="100%"/> +<div class="caption italics"> +BATTLE OF MILLIKEN'S BEND.</div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst">I shall never forget that morning at Buffalo—it was in the month of +June, 1863, when the letter-carrier brought me the first war letter from +my gallant Tom. The date was not given, but it came from a place called +Milliken's Bend, on the Lower Mississippi river, and a battle had been +fought at that place, since called by the historians, "The Battle of +Milliken's Bend." But I will here insert Tom's letter in its entirety, +as there are some other things in it besides war and fighting.</p> +<p class="pnext right smaller">"MILLIKEN'S BEND, June, 1863.</p> +<p class="pnext">"My Dear Beulah:—No doubt but you have already received the letters I +sent you from New Orleans, after that I myself and the rest of the +Buffalonians had landed in the Crescent City. I send lots of warm love +to the entire family, and be sure to keep our two daughters, Ella and +Fannie, regularly at school. My best love to the church in a body. Tell +them to pray for us.</p> +<p class="pnext">"I have great pleasure in informing you that we have here completely +settled the question whether colored men will not fight in America as +well as their ancestors did in Africa. On the night of the 6th of June, +about three thousand Texans came to our fortifications, and lay around +our five hundred colored soldiers, besides a hundred white ones. Those +three thousand rebels lay prowling around our men like so many cats, +only waiting for the dawn of the 7th of June to gobble us up like so +many poor, helpless mice. About three o'clock they came on with an awful +rush, shouting, 'No quarter for niggers and their officers!' They got +into our works, and the way that men fell on both sides was dreadful. It +was really awful the way my poor comrades were shot down, or killed with +the bayonet, though at the same time we mowed them down like grass +before the scythe. Those strong arms of ours that had made the South the +rich land that it lately was, now laid its defenders even with the +ground. There was hardly a single officer, either black or white, among +us who was not either killed or wounded. How I escaped myself without a +scratch is more than I can tell, where there were so very few who came +out of the battle as they went in. To God be all the praise!</p> +<p class="pnext">"The gunboats Choctow and Lexington assisted us very much, for they kept +throwing shells into the enemy, and made them fly in all directions, and +even up into the air! The white men on our side—one hundred of them—also +fought like lions. One division of the rebels hesitated about coming out +of a redoubt they had got into their possession. They were not willing. +But our brave black soldiers went in with a rush, and assisted them in +making up their minds by taking the bayonet to them, and thrashing them +with the butt ends of their guns, precisely like thrashing wheat! They +reminded me of a lot of guilty cats when the dogs are on them. Having +suffered the loss of hundreds of men, and been completely vanquished in +the bargain, the rebels were forced to retreat, and this they did with +as good a grace as they were able.</p> +<p class="pnext">"No doubt but the telegraph has already carried the news all over the +Union how our six hundred intrepid soldiers beat three thousand rebels. +This will settle, once for all, the insulting question, 'Will the black +man fight?' It will also secure for us more civil treatment from white +soldiers, both North and South, and remind them that the Great Creator +himself, and all foreign nations, make no difference whatsoever on +account of the color of the skin. I would like to know what 'Old Massa' +thinks of things now.</p> +<p class="pnext">"I send my best love to all those who may enquire for me, and please +write soon to your most affectionate husband,</p> +<p class="pnext">"Tuesday night, 9 o'clock.</p> +<p class="pnext right smaller">"THOMAS LINCOLN."</p> +<p class="pnext">War surely is a terrible thing at its best estate. Nations have often +waged war for mere conquest and ambition, which was the greatest crime +that ever could have been committed. But here was a war for freedom—the +freedom of millions of slaves. It was for this freedom that we had +prayed for the assistance of the Most High God, and troubled the +country, labored and toiled in all possible ways. It was for this +freedom that all the chivalrous Christianity of the nation had put forth +all its efforts; and now at times, many people began to doubt whether +all these efforts had not been put forth in vain, because for the first +two years of the war, our arms really made such small progress compared +with what we had expected. And yet, for the very life of me, I am to +this very day unable to see how we could have done much more than we +did; for though the Northern troops were as brave as men could be, we +had a foe to contend with who was quite as brave as ourselves—a foe +manned by officers as good as our own, and fighting upon their own soil, +where they knew every foot of the ground. Thus the war dragged slowly +along, and the close of the second year found us with very little +progress made.</p> +<p class="pnext">We were not in despair, but the South yet retained all her strength, and +was proud and defiant. They were also determined to fight on, and did +fight on with a valor worthy of a better cause. But how could we expect +more success than we had under the circumstances? So great was the +prejudice against color that white men were even unwilling to fight side +by side with our own people; and then Lincoln and his cabinet were all +afraid of affronting the tender and delicate susceptibilities of the +South by putting even their little finger on the heinous institution +called "Domestic slavery." Verily, they were carrying their +squeamishness to a most tremendous length when lives had to be wasted in +thousands, because white men were too proud even to fight side by side +with colored men, and because we were so very timid about offending our +"separate brethren," that the Northern officers even sent back the +refugees from our armies—sent them back into slavery! And they even +allowed their life-long oppressors to come into the camps, look around +for their slaves, identify and claim their property, and carry them home +again before our very eyes! Was it any wonder, then, that we had so +little success in this war which God himself had sent, chiefly that the +slaves should be freed?</p> +<p class="pnext">But the spectacle of thousands and tens of thousands of men being mowed +down like grass before the Southern scythes gradually changed all that. +The South, indeed, had a comfortable time of it, sending all their sons +to the war, whilst the black population were taking care of their +families, working their fields, and even throwing up intrenchments, and +making themselves useful in a thousand ways by command of their owners, +and against the forces of the North! Not that the slaves wished to work +in these ways for the South, but because our very armies were helping +their masters to keep them in their present position, even by returning +them to bondage whenever they tried to gain their freedom. The Southern +lords knew all about our "tender feelings" for their own +"property"—falsely so called—and they took advantage of it.</p> +<p class="pnext">We had nobody but ourselves to blame for this state of things. Our men +were mown down in thousands because we had such tender regard for the +feelings of the rebels, and there was not the slightest sign that things +would ever get any better. We whipped the South to-day and they whipped +us to-morrow. In the meantime the strong, able-bodied African tilled the +fields of the South, when he might have been fighting for freedom and +the Union.</p> +<div class="align-center figure" id="battle-of-port-hudson"> +<img style="display: block; width: 100%" alt="images/image8porthudson.jpg" src="images/image8porthudson.jpg" width="100%"/> +<div class="caption italics"> +BATTLE OF PORT HUDSON.</div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst">But to return to the year 1863. Some changes had been made in the +rapidly-shifting scenes of the war. Tom had been removed from Milliken's +Bend, and gone to Port Hudson, where a most terrible assault had been +made on the rebel defences about the 23rd of May. But I will here let +Tom speak for himself, because he wrote to me often, and my greatest +pleasure was to sit down and send him all our domestic news.</p> +<p class="pnext right smaller">"PORT HUDSON, on the Mississippi, July, 1863.</p> +<p class="pnext">"My Dear Beulah:—I arrived at this place a few days ago, and have been +out to see signs and marks of the recent siege. Everything seems to +interest me, and war is indeed a terrible game. I have heard great and +full accounts of the awful fighting down in this place, much of which I +must reserve for your patient ears when I come, if God my life shall +spare.</p> +<p class="pnext">"You could not find a white man in all the Mississippi Valley to-day who +will tell you that colored men wont fight. I don't know where such an +idea ever arose, because it was the strong arm and perseverance of the +slave in raising crops all over Dixie that created most of the wealth we +found in the South, and I look upon it as a wilful and malicious +falsehood in white soldiers, North and South alike, affirming over +and over again that colored men would not fight. General Grant and every +high officer in the Union army have given us most unstinted praise, and +have affirmed that we fight nobly.</p> +<p class="pnext">"The accounts of the terrible fighting done here almost surpass human +belief. About the 23rd of May, the Northern armies invested this place, +and made a most tremendous effort to carry it by storm. The rebels had a +naturally strong position, and all the appliances of war at their +command. They had batteries and masked batteries, mortars, and, in +short, almost everything known for destruction and modern warfare. They +had even felled trees in our path, and their very cannon balls mowed +down trees three feet thick. The noise of their guns made more din and +uproar than the loudest thunderstorm. Against those brave and terrible +rebels white soldiers from the North and colored soldiers from Louisiana +advanced again and again, but all of them failed, and they were mown +down like grass before the scythe. O terrible, sanguinary war! It was +horrible! The balls and other missiles flew through the air thicker than +hailstones. Once more we terribly underrated the prowess of the South. +All of us were shipped alike, though we fought like gods! Oh, my dear +Beulah! This is the price the American nation is now paying for the +crime of slavery! The South carried out the villainy, and the North +winked at the whole devilish business, thus, in fact, helping the rebels +to keep on our claims! Shall a guilty nation indeed escape for deeds +like these? At all events, we proved one thing during that terrible +assault in May, and the subsequent siege of Port Hudson, and that was +that colored men are as much men as white men, red, brown, yellow or any +other race that can be named. These things were all well known before by +every man, woman and child, but then, 'None are so blind as those who +don't want to see.' The cry now is, 'Yes, yes! Colored men will fight +well.' It is some comfort to know all this, for now we can get a rest.</p> +<p class="pnext">"I send a deal of love to yourself, the children, to Mr. and Mrs. +Sutherland, to the entire church on Vine street, and to all others. I +get all your letters.</p> +<p class="pnext">"I am, my dear Beulah, your most loving</p> +<p class="pnext right smaller">"THOMAS LINCOLN."</p> +<p class="pnext">From the accounts contained in the two foregoing letters that I received +from my dear husband, my kind readers will see that it was a public +revelation made to the whole nation that the colored race not only made +first-rate soldiers, but that they were sorely needed by Uncle Sam in +the day of his distress. Lincoln's Proclamation on the first of January, +1863, completely broke down the dam from one end of the country to the +other and throughout the whole land. Now the patriotic governors and +many others bestirred themselves in raising colored regiments, getting +them drilled, and pushed to the front with rapidity, so that the tide of +war everywhere began to turn in favor of the Northern arms, and things +began to look as if the very God of Liberty Himself was smiling upon the +nation. Up to the end of 1862 the North had been fighting for nothing +more than the restoration of the Union, and surely this was a noble +thing to fight for, and especially for the possession of the glorious +Mississippi, flowing all the way from its remotest springs at its +farthest away branches in Montana, some 4,400 miles from the ocean. It +was indeed something to keep the great river and all the States one and +undivided. But what about slavery? Was it not, if possible, a ten times +greater sin to carry on slavery than for the Southern States to secede? +And yet there were thousands and tens of thousands of soldiers, officers +and citizens all over the land who made the most strenuous objections to +striking one blow for freedom—the very cause for which the war had been +sent! Who need wonder, indeed, that our arms had such small success for +almost two years after the rebels seceded? The only thing that surprises +me is that we had as much success as we did, but we were taught a +lesson, and we learned it well at last.</p> +<div class="align-center figure" id="john-brown"> +<img style="display: block; width: 100%" alt="images/image9brown.jpg" src="images/image9brown.jpg" width="100%"/> +<div class="caption italics"> +JOHN BROWN.</div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst">It was not long before the fame of the colored soldiers of America was +wafted over the whole world, and was everywhere received by all lovers +of freedom with most hearty applause. All, excepting those who believed +in keeping other people down, heard the news with the greatest of +pleasure. Many of the aristocrats of England, France and elsewhere, who +had made investments in Confederate bonds, and sympathized with the +South from the beginning, had no joy when they learned how Uncle Sam had +turned a new element of strength into the field; but the common people +everywhere all the world over, who had read "Uncle Tom's Cabin" in all +the principal languages of the earth, and opposed the recognition of the +Southern Confederacy from the first on account of slavery, rejoiced to +hear that the Great North had at last turned over a new leaf, and +brought the heroic sons of Africa into the field. It was a military +necessity, of course; the nation was forced to do it; but all the same +it was a matter of justice, and the right thing to do. Now the entire +Christian world took ten times more interest in the war than before. +They had been praying and often working in the interest of the +American slave; and now they were delighted to hear of the self-same +slave marching bravely to the field, and assisting white men in knocking +the fetters off the whole race. Now, indeed, the scales began to turn in +favor of the North, along the whole line. Before the first of January, +1863, it was as if there were eight pounds in the Northern scale, and +eight pounds in the Southern scale, but now we throw in 200,000 colored +men or more into the Northern scale, when the Southern end of the beam +flies up as the lighter weight, and it becomes clear to the obtusest +mind that the South is doomed, and domestic slavery with it also.</p> +</div> +<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-vi"> +<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref pginternal" href="#id9">CHAPTER VI.</a></h2> +<div class="align-center figure"> +<img style="display: block; margin-left: 40%; width: 19%" alt="images/dec07.png" src="images/dec07.png" width="19%"/> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><em class="italics">Great Service of the Colored Race—Heroic Colored Women—Attack on Fort +Wagner, 18th July, 1863—The ex-Slaves go to School—The Freedman's +Bureau—The Jubilee Minstrels—A Long Letter From Mr. Thomas Lincoln, +Describing His Life in a New Orleans Hospital—The Mississippi River, +and the Fight at Pleasant Grove in the Red River Expedition.</em></p> +<p class="pnext">As I stated in the last chapter, recruiting went merrily on, and colored +men came up "to the help of the Lord, to the help of the Lord against +the mighty." The heavens now smiled upon the Northern arms, and "the sun +of righteousness arose upon them with healing in his wings." It is +glorious to think how willingly our people threw down the shovel and the +hoe, and advanced to meet the Northern troops as they came within easy +striking distance. Thousands and tens of thousands crossed the +mountains, threaded the mountain passes, kept on their way day and night +up the rivers and down the rivers till they beheld the Union armies +encamped away in the valleys, and a few more willing, enthusiastic +bounds, and they were free! It was most refreshing to read the letters +from the white soldiers at the time, commending these colored men in +every possible way. They took a perfect delight in relating the thousand +and one acts of kindness and sympathy that colored men and women +performed towards countless Union men in times of distress, disaster and +danger; how they secreted them; how they fed them, gave them rest and +shelter, and how faithfully and skilfully they guided the armies on +their way, and even piloted the Union boats in safety up and down the +rivers of the South. Never were fidelity and devotion more marked since +the world began, and it was downright pleasant to read the letters from +"the seat of war," and see how these good deeds of the African were +appreciated by the Anglo-Saxons. "Skins may differ, but affection dwells +in white and black the same," and although "Old Massa" and "Old Missus" +did their best to keep Lincoln's proclamation from the knowledge of the +slaves, somehow or other the truth became known; in fact, it seemed +to be carried on the wings of the wind, and now all prayed more and more +fervently that the Lord would send freedom.</p> +<div class="align-center figure" id="frederick-douglass"> +<img style="display: block; width: 100%" alt="images/image10douglass.jpg" src="images/image10douglass.jpg" width="100%"/> +<div class="caption italics"> +FREDERICK DOUGLASS.</div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst">It would be a pleasure for me to relate the deeds of devotion recorded +of our people in behalf of the cause of God and liberty. There are two +acts, those of heroic women, that I must not omit. We have all heard of +General John Morgan, the Kentucky guerilla chief, who led a raid into +Ohio, and worked so much wanton mischief on Union people and the Union +in the Southern cause. We caught and imprisoned him in Ohio, but he +escaped, and took to his tricks again, and was more fleet, and harder to +catch than a long-legged greyhound. At last he was located one night in +a far-away town or village of the South, and the nearest Union troops +lay about twenty miles away. This devoted colored woman lost not a +moment of time, but steered for the distant camp, gave them the most +particular information, so that they rose at once, and upon arriving at +John Morgan's rendezvous, they woke him up, and once for all put an end +to his dreadful raidings on the Unionists.</p> +<div class="align-center figure" id="mississippi-river-steamer"> +<img style="display: block; width: 100%" alt="images/image11steamer.jpg" src="images/image11steamer.jpg" width="100%"/> +<div class="caption italics"> +MISSISSIPPI RIVER STEAMER.</div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst">I must next mention the case of a colored woman in Georgia, when General +Sherman came riding through the woods on his famous march from Atlanta +to the Sea. This woman was a regular heroine—"a mother in Israel"—and +one who would have made a second Deborah, with a host of men, women and +children at her back, all of whom the war had set free. This woman +advanced upon the path of the troops, and having introduced herself to +General Sherman and his men, gave glory to God and to the Union armies, +whom the God of Hosts had there and then sent forth. Her language was +worthy of a Shakespeare. On that day when Deborah, and Miriam, and Joan +of Arc, and all the other heroines of history shall be gathered together +in the Palace of God, I feel certain that this colored Deborah, this +"mother in Israel," will be among them when the Lord of Heaven and Earth +makes up His jewels.</p> +<p class="pnext">Where all did so well, it would be in vain to single out any one +regiment that distinguished itself more than another. At the same time, +there were certain regiments that attracted a great deal of attention to +themselves because they were the first ones to break the spell as to +whether colored men would fight like white men, and thus render +effective service in the war. And such men were the colored troops that +had been well drilled and sent down from Massachusetts to South +Carolina, and who lent a hand in the investment of Charleston. It was on +the 18th of July, 1863, when a general bombardment of both land and sea +forces at once made a high-handed attempt to carry Fort Wagner—a rebel +fort which lay on the narrowest part of a mere strip of sandy land +called Morris Island, washed by the ocean on one side, and approachable +by low, swampy marshes in the rear. The entire morning and middle of the +day had been spent in bombarding the place till at last the extemporized +fort, composed of timber, and stone, and sand, seemed to have crumbled +away; for, as the day wore away, the rebels ceased entirely to reply to +the land and sea forces, and the Federal troops were under the +impression that the place was abandoned altogether, or at least +destroyed past all hope of remedy for the present. The Union forces +clamored loudly for an advance upon the fort, and to occupy the place +once for all. After some hesitation the commanders assented to their +wishes, and it was decided to advance just as the darkness of the night +was setting in on that long July day. Alas, alas! It was a fatal +resolution, for the rebels had been busy all the afternoon and early +night making swift preparations to give our men a terrible reception. By +the time that darkness had fully set in, Fort Wagner was almost as good +as ever, although it had such a terrible knocking about all the early +hours of the day. The Southern engineers were so clever, and their men +had wrought with such a will, that it needed the bravest of the brave to +fight with them; but as far as that was concerned we were all about +even-handed when we had a fair field. Four thousand men, therefore, +advanced along the sands of Morris Island with the intention of +investing and clearing out the fort of its defenders, if there were any +of them there. The colored Massachusetts troops led the way, and so they +all advanced along the sands—the white sands that had but lately been +washed by the ocean. Everything was as still as a stone till they came +to a ditch, when a fearful tempest of shot from the cannon and musket +assailed them, and the assailants were mowed down like grass before the +scythe. Still our troops bravely advanced across the ditch, climbed up +the bank, and pushed forward right into the fort, slaughtering the +gunners and clearing a path before them. But all this time our brave men +were being mowed down in rows. Many jumped into the fort and had to +surrender there, because, indeed, they could neither advance nor +retreat, being caught in a perfect trap. Thus we lost about half our men +in killed, wounded and prisoners, and had to retreat in the best way we +were able. It was a dreadful defeat that the Union forces sustained; but +the colored troops had the honor of leading all the rest, and the +foolish idea that colored men would not fight received another complete +quietus, and their bravery was published in all the papers from one end +of the Union to the other.</p> +<p class="pnext">We now come to the glorious subject of education—that which lifts up +any nation from the bottom, and places it among the kings and queens of +the world. The colored men and women of the South before who could read +and write, were like angel visits—few and far between. You might search +the whole day long, and not find one who could sign his name. But the +government records show that in the year 1870, only five years after the +close of the war, taking the entire population of the United States in +the aggregate, there were two-tenths, which is twenty per cent., who +could read and write. Here, indeed, was one of the signs of the times +with a vengeance! Surely the colored race must have a great natural +thirst for knowledge. In the year 1880, that is, fifteen years after +freedom came, three-tenths, which is thirty per cent. of the whole +population, could read and write; and in 1890, or twenty-five years +after the end of the war, forty-three of every hundred. In other words, +forty-three per cent. of the colored population of the United States +could read and write—being ten years and over of age. At that time that +I am writing my book, that is, the year of grace, 1897, inasmuch as the +increase is going bravely on from day to day, I have no hesitation in +saying that fifty per cent., that is, one-half of the entire colored +population of the United States, North and South included, and—as usual +in such government statistics—ten years of age and over, are able to +read and write at least, and there are hundreds of thousands of them who +can do a hundred times more.</p> +<p class="pnext">Now, since Adam and Eve walked hand in hand on the enchanting grounds of +Paradise, I would like to know where the people can be found who ever +came out of such Cimmerian darkness, who ever progressed at such a rate +as this? The present march of education among the colored race far +surpasses the march of the whites since freedom came, and it still keeps +ahead of them at the present time of writing. Indeed, in some parts of +the fair and Sunny South, we are in lead our white brethren; and it is +quite superfluous for me to say that whoever are in the lead in +education are the more intelligent of the two, be they black or white.</p> +<p class="pnext">Behold the stupid-looking and ignorant hordes of Italians, Poles, +Bohemians, Chinese and others who are dumped down in shiploads upon our +shores! Even at home in their own lands they are very little more than +dumb-driven cattle! How much more, then, must their stupidity appear in +full blaze of daylight in a highly-intelligent nation like this! It is +like comparing the feeble light of midnight under the stars alone with +the full blaze of a day when the sun is shining at twelve at noon. Shall +we of the colored race, who may now safely count on fifty per cent. of +the entire population who can read and write compare ourselves with the +immigrants like these, or even with Spaniard or Portuguese, Turks or +Greeks, who have had the opportunities of acquiring education for +hundreds of years, while we, who were set free only thirty-two years +ago, have produced men and women who have stood in honor before +presidents and kings, and proved that we are able to climb to the +topmost rounds of the ladder that Almighty God Himself has set up? No, +indeed. Men and brethren, we are not going to come down and compare +ourselves with any such persons! That won't do at all!</p> +<p class="pnext">As fast as ever the Northern armies cleared the way, benevolent and +devoted teachers sent down by the different churches followed, and +imparted to those who had never had a chance before the elements of +English education, teaching them to read, write and figure, and many +other useful things besides that accompany civilization and +enlightenment. The American Mission Association took the lead, but the +different churches and societies sent down their full quotas, and those +volunteer teachers did a splendid and most devoted work. And yet there +was some risk to run in this business, now being tried for the first +time, because the war was still going on, and sometimes the Southern +arms regained the territory they had lost, which brought the teachers +into danger on one hand, and the colored people on the other. It had +always been the policy of the Southern law-makers to keep the slaves in +darkness, and even the rank and file of the white people themselves were +purposely kept in a condition little better than the slaves. The +planters kept teachers in their own grand halls, or sent their sons and +daughters away from home for education. It was made a crime for a slave +to be found with a book in his possession, or for anybody to teach him, +whether he was white or a free person of color. A white man taught even +the celebrated Bishop Daniel E. Payne in a cellar at Charleston, S. C., +of which city the bishop was a native. In short, the laws of slavery +warred upon nature, and even on God himself. The whole system was a +system of murder, robbery and adultery. Every human right was broken +down; but as the Northern armies cleared the way the teachers and their +colored pupils rushed in at once.</p> +<p class="pnext">On the 3rd of March, 1865, Congress launched the Freedman's Bureau upon +the country for the purpose of assisting the freedman in any and every +way just as soon as they were set free from slavery, and required the +help of the national government. The Freedman's Bureau took education +under its fostering care, and did a good work during the few years that +it lasted, 1865 to 1872. The devoted teachers from the North had even +begun to follow the very armies themselves as early as the year 1862, +and we find them then on the Lower Mississippi. The colored soldiers +took to their lessons well, and owing to their great thirst for +learning, they learned with an eagerness and rapidity that filled their +willing teachers with the greatest surprise. And throughout the freed +zones did not only young girls and boys thus drink in—yea, literally +swallow up instruction, but smart men and women sixty and seventy years +of age and over learned to write, read, spell and cipher with a gusto +and an enthusiasm that was most inspiring!</p> +<p class="pnext">"Arise! Shine forth, for the light has come, and the glory of the Lord +has risen upon thee!" Thus saith the Prophet, and it was now fulfilled. +What a treat, to be sure, for men and women thus to learn to read the +mighty word of God, many of them in their old age! Verily, the ways of +the Lord are wonderful and past finding out! Much hardship was +experienced at first in finding suitable buildings in which to teach the +people, and many a church and school-house were burned to the ground +both during the war and the first years that followed the entire +collapse of the "peculiar institution," but that has not stopped the +triumphal march of the education of the colored race, for who, indeed, +could stop the waves of the ocean?</p> +<p class="pnext">It is indeed a joyous thing to look around us at this time and behold +even now how high the sun has ascended in the heavens. If we have +advanced so much in thirty-two years, how much farther shall we be in +thirty-two more? Behold all the schools, colleges and places of learning +of every name and nature thrown open in hundreds to our young people, +both male and female! What a glorious array of splendid seminaries all +over the great republic, besides hundreds belonging to the whites, to +which we can obtain admission! It is true that there are others still +barred against us on account of the prejudice still obtaining here and +there owing to the color of the skin, but that will give way in due +time, for there is nothing incapable of change but the Great Creator +Himself.</p> +<p class="pnext">By way of illustrating the results of the great Civil War, let us look +back a little over twenty years, when Fisk University, at Nashville, +Tennessee, sent forth Miss Ella Shephard and the rest of the "Jubilee +Minstrels" to astonish the North with what even those who had been in +slavery could do, when once their God-given talents were brought to the +front. For the benefit of Fisk University they sang an immense sum of +money out of the country, and covered themselves with unfading glory for +all coming time. And where would those poor girls have been if it had +not been for their own fathers who assisted white men in the war to +knock off the chains of slavery? Why, to be sure, instead of being the +"Jubilee Minstrels" in the North, they would have been toiling among the +cotton, the sugar-cane and the rice fields of the South, wearing their +young lives away down there.</p> +<div class="align-center figure" id="a-scene-on-the-jackson-plantation"> +<img style="display: block; width: 100%" alt="images/image12plantation.jpg" src="images/image12plantation.jpg" width="100%"/> +<div class="caption italics"> +A SCENE ON THE JACKSON PLANTATION.</div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst">But the glories of the "Jubilee Singers" were by no means over. More +money was still needed, and those devoted people again took to the road, +and this time, with most laudable ambition; they even crossed the North +Atlantic, and sang with the most abundant success before the crowned +heads and grandees of Europe. These crowned heads and grandees knew full +well that if it had not been for the war for freedom and the union, the +singers would at this time have been in the cane, the cotton and the +rice fields singing:</p> +<blockquote><div> +<div class="line-block"> +<div class="line"> + </div> +<div class="line"> +Away down in Egypt's land</div> +<div class="line-block"> +<div class="line"> +We have gained the victory,</div> +</div> +<div class="line"> +Away down in Egypt's land</div> +<div class="line-block"> +<div class="line"> +We have gained the day!</div> +</div> +<div class="line"> +Oh, children ain't you glad,</div> +<div class="line-block"> +<div class="line"> +The sea gave away?</div> +<div class="line"> + </div> +</div> +<div class="line"> +When Moses smote the waters</div> +<div class="line-block"> +<div class="line"> +The children all passed over,—</div> +</div> +<div class="line"> +O, glory, halleluia!</div> +<div class="line-block"> +<div class="line"> +For we have gained the day!</div> +</div> +<div class="line"> +Oh, children, ain't you glad,</div> +<div class="line-block"> +<div class="line"> +That Moses smote the waters,—</div> +</div> +<div class="line"> +Oh, children ain't you glad</div> +<div class="line-block"> +<div class="line"> +The sea gave away?</div> +<div class="line"> + </div> +</div> +</div> +</div></blockquote> +<p class="pfirst">The Jubilee singers did sing the above song and many others before the +rich and great, and the general population of the British Isles and +continental Europe, but it was to let them hear what slaves used to sing +before the war to wile away the time before Uncle Sam came down from the +North to set them all free; in doing which he was assisted by 200,000 +colored men, or more. Such are the fruits of war!</p> +<p class="pnext">I here append a letter I received from Tom at New Orleans, whither he +had been carried and placed in a hospital on account of a wound he had +received in a skirmish with some of the rebel forces on the Lower +Mississippi:</p> +<p class="pnext right smaller">"At the hospital, New Orleans, La., December, 1864.</p> +<p class="pnext">"My Dear Beulah:—</p> +<p class="pnext">"I dare say that you and the children are looking for a letter from me +once more. I duly received your own nice, kind and most welcome letters, +with all the sweet home news, and I can assure you that they did me an +immense deal of good whilst being confined here with my wound. I am, +however, doing very well indeed, and in a short time expect to be +discharged and in the ranks once more. It is impossible for me to tell +you of the kindness and attention of these doctors and nurses in this +hospital, it is really most astonishing to see strangers so kind. We are +all loud in the praises of these good people, who are taking the best +care in the world of us when we are so far from home and from our loved +ones. Nobody knows how much good there is in the world until he comes +across good strangers like these. Of course there is always plenty of +evil in it too; but it is at least a very great compensation to come +across so much love and kindness among such strange people. We never +looked for anything better than cuffs and blows!</p> +<p class="pnext">"Although I was not in the very best mood, as I was brought down to New +Orleans to enjoy the sights all around me, still I was tremendously +impressed with the majesty and immensity of the ever-glorious +Mississippi. Well, to be sure,—to be sure! What a grand factor of our +national greatness is the Mississippi! I don't wonder at yourself and +Mrs. John B. Sutherland always making such a fuss over our glorious +river. Indeed too much can never be spoken in its praise, and, above +all,—of the great Creator who made it. I have seen plenty of the 'Father +of Waters' before on many a long day, as I went sweeping past the forts +where I was located further up the river; but, as we came on, it +received so many and such large rivers, into its swollen waters, till it +was more like a sea than a river; and, although level and destitute of +beautiful banks like the Ohio, it had ever an increasing majesty and +grandeur about it that mightily impressed all who beheld it. I don't +wonder at Uncle Sam fighting so hard for the restoration of the Union. +Such a river as the Mississippi alone,—if there were no other,—is the +very joy and glory of the United States. But I shall have more to tell +you about these things at another time, and I hope to be able to do so +by word of mouth when the war is over.</p> +<p class="pnext">"I very much regret to inform you that several of my wounded comrades +have died since we were all brought into this hospital, though the most +part of them, in common with myself, have recovered; and we now all +desire to go back to war as soon as we are well.</p> +<p class="pnext">"I have had a good deal of conversation with a soldier who served in the +Red river campaign under General Banks, and where the rebels numbered +three to our one. In that campaign we were unsuccessful, for they +defeated our forces day after day. We were about ten thousand in number, +as we fled before such overwhelming odds. It was at this crisis that the +black soldier proved himself such 'a very present help in the time of +trouble.' If it had not been for Dickey's colored troops there would +have been a regular slaughter of the Union forces at Pleasant Grove. +These colored soldiers were attached to the first division of the 19th +corps. Our army under General Banks had been beaten both days at Sabine, +Cross Roads, below Mansfield, and they drove us for several hours before +them towards Pleasant Grove. And yet the ardor and spirit of the +combined Union forces under Banks and Franklin could not have been much +higher. But for all that, it was quite evident that unless the rebels +could be checked by the time we were pushed back to Pleasant Grove, all +would be lost. So General Emory prepared for the coming crisis on the +western edge of a wood, which had an open field before it that sloped +down towards Mansfield. It was at this point that General Dwight formed +a brigade of the colored troops right across the road in the face of +the rebels, who came rushing and hurrahing on, driving our ten thousand +men before them. They were charging at double quick time; but the black +brigade reserved their fire till the exultant rebels were close at hand, +when they all poured a deadly volley into them, arresting them at once, +and covered the ground with their dead and wounded. Now a regular fight +came on which lasted an hour and a half, and only ceased even then +because darkness put an end to the terrible combat. The foe made one +charge after another, and as he had plenty of men, he thought he would +wear us out at last; but the black soldiers and General Emory's brigade +successfully repulsed them every time, and thus saved the Union army +from being destroyed. Nor was this the only time that our own troops met +the rebels in the Red river campaign, and defied both them and their +repeated threats of 'the black flag;' for they always said that they +would not treat a black man like a white man if the former fell alive +into their hands. They said they would treat him like a wild beast, and +not like a human being at all! No doubt but that was done to keep our +soldiers from fighting for freedom and the Union; but the threat most +signally failed, because our brave men cared not a straw for their black +flag; indeed the threats, and even the practices of the rebels in +destroying some of our prisoners whom they took in the beginning +contributed a great deal in bringing about the downfall of the rebel +powers, at least up to the present time; and will no doubt contribute +more and more till the last rebel lays down his arms. Although a war +proclamation has been issued that we will shoot our rebel prisoners, if +they kill any of our men, I am unable to say what general effect it has +had so far. I only know that none of the men who have fallen alive into +their hands have ever since been heard of, and I fear the worst. But of +one thing I am sure, and that is, that the 'black soldiers' so far has +done as good fighting as the 'white soldiers,' and he has either won or +been defeated with the latter on many a hard fought field. He has had +his full share in disaster and victory alike; and thus he will still +assist in pulling down this terrible rebellion,—but I must lay down my +pen. With much love to yourself and all, I am,</p> +<p class="pnext">"Your most affectionate,</p> +<p class="pnext right smaller">"THOMAS."</p> +</div> +<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-vii"> +<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref pginternal" href="#id10">CHAPTER VII.</a></h2> +<div class="align-center figure"> +<img style="display: block; margin-left: 40%; width: 19%" alt="images/dec07.png" src="images/dec07.png" width="19%"/> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><em class="italics">Tom's Letter From the Seat of War—The Pilgrim's Progress—Niagara +Falls—Visit to Canada—Letters From Richmond Hill—Great War Interest +in Canada—The Girl's Letter to Papa—Tom's Letter and Poem on the Great +Fight With the Bloodhounds in South Carolina.</em></p> +<p class="pnext">I have always believed that it was because the Lord loved me that He +gave me so good a husband, who, by the bye, is preserved to me yet, and +for the same reason, that He allowed me to have my dear mother with me +again. She has been the very joy of my life, and is with me still. I +would have missed my gallant and devoted Tom in no small degree when he +went away to the war among so many others of the brave and true, only he +was so attentive about writing me letters during his absence. I have +kept all those missives of his, and laid them carefully away, and I have +always said they would make a good book if they were printed; and some +day I may put them in book form.</p> +<p class="pnext">And Tom's numerous and well-written letters were not only a perpetual +treat and joy to myself, but the two sweet girls, and Mr. and Mrs. John +B. Sutherland, and a few select friends who came round the house seemed +never to tire of reading his letters. He also wrote each of them a +separate letter occasionally, but as a general thing, his long letters +to myself had to serve for all.</p> +<p class="pnext">During all this time the girls were growing up finely, and every twelve +months I had their photographs taken and sent to him to let him see how +nicely they looked in their New Year's dresses. Tom sent up photographs +of himself in his plain soldier's dress, and also in his officer's +dress, after his promotion. Poor Tom! My eyes often filled with tears +when his letters came, and I sat down with an anxious heart to read +their contents. I knew, of course, that the children and I should be +provided for, should Tom be numbered with the slain, but we all longed +to see him, and prayed much to Almighty God that if it was His +gracious will our Tom might come home to us once more from the war.</p> +<div class="align-center figure" id="scenes-at-niagara-falls"> +<img style="display: block; width: 100%" alt="images/image13niagara.jpg" src="images/image13niagara.jpg" width="100%"/> +<div class="caption italics"> +SCENES AT NIAGARA FALLS.</div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst">It was at this time that one Christmas my two daughters were cojointly +presented with a large, splendid, and well-illustrated copy of "The +Pilgrim's Progress"—a book that attracted them so much that they have +been reading it ever since! This glorious book kindled up all the latent +enthusiasm of their souls, and in their excitement over "Doubting +Castle," "Vanity Fair," and a hundred other wonders, they even wrote +letters to their father about that wonderful book and its author—the +tinker and preacher of Bedford. Their youthful enthusiasm amused their +father very much, and he wrote back to them at once to read all in the +Pilgrim's Progress that they wanted. They used to take turns with the +book; one would read for an hour at a time, and the other would listen. +I have always looked back upon the coming of that book into my house as +a real blessing.</p> +<p class="pnext">And still we always continued to attend the ordinances of our sweet +little Church on Vine street—attended them on the Sabbath and during +the week. The girls went to the Sunday School, and we adults assisted +all that we could.</p> +<p class="pnext">As Niagara Falls were not more than twenty-two miles away, we all +occasionally took a holiday and went down and spent the day there, +crossing over to the Canadian shore by way of the Suspension Bridge, +that we might stand on Table Rock and see the great "Horseshoe Fall." +Well, really, the Falls of Niagara are a wonderful sight. Even our own +smaller American Fall is a splendid sight, though rather diminutive +compared with the great Horseshoe Fall on the Canadian side of the +river. I can never understand how a mere puny man can stand before the +great Creator's works here, and say, "There is no God."</p> +<p class="pnext">During the fall of 1864, I took my two daughters and went as far as +Oxford county, Canada, to pay a visit to a dear family with whom I +became acquainted in Buffalo. The weather was most delightful, and we +enjoyed ourselves very much indeed during the month we remained on the +farm. At that time I wrote the following letter to Tom, and will here +introduce it, as it will speak for itself:</p> +<p class="pnext right smaller">"RICHMOND HILL, Oxford Co., Canada, Sept., 1864.</p> +<p class="pnext">"To Captain Thomas Lincoln,</p> +<p class="pnext">"My Dear Husband.—The children and I took the train at Buffalo and came +here two weeks ago, to pay a long-promised visit to the Gibsons at +'Richmond Hill' farm, which lies in the county of Oxford some ten or +twelve miles from the nearest station on the railroad. We left Buffalo +early in the morning, and thus had the whole day before us, and plenty +of leisure to look at the highly cultivated country through which we +passed. The country was truly delightful all the way to Ingersoll, were +we got out of the train, and where one of the Gibsons met us with a +buggy. We all got in, and the children and I were greatly pleased with +the charming country all around us, the farms being in such a high state +of cultivation. But it was not all farming land that we passed through, +for our way in one place led us through the forest, where the squirrels +were running in perfect freedom overhead in the branches, and we could +hear the woodman's axe ringing both far and near and bringing down the +tall trees. After we had come about ten miles, we saw 'Richmond Hill' +high up on the rising ground on the far side of a very narrow valley, +that ran down to the cypress swamp away on our right hand. So we issued +out of the woods on the top of the hill we were now descending, made our +way along the creek at the bottom for a little distance to the right, +and then we opened a big country gate and made our way up through the +fields to the farm house door. While the girls and I were looking around +at the grand view presented on all hands to our astonished eyes, the +front house door opened, and out came Mrs. Gibson and her two daughters, +and as many of the sons as were at home at the time of our arrival. They +helped us out of the buggy, kissed and embraced us most rapturously, and +gave us a very warm, hearty and enthusiastic welcome. (My whole soul +fairly grows warm when I think of that welcome among the good +Canadians). So they brought us into their nice house, which reminded me +of the 'Palace Beautiful' in the Pilgrim's Progress. I had a little room +for myself on a wing of the house. They called my room the 'Guest +Chamber,' and it was a snug room with a pretty name I am sure. The girls +slept in another small room near my own. Our things were all brought +into the house and well disposed of within reach, and we felt most +thoroughly at home among a kind people whose loving ways filled me and +the girls with surprise. Mr. Gibson himself came home during the day, +and gave us a warm welcome to Richmond Hill, and we saw the whole family +with the exception of two who were not at home at that time.</p> +<p class="pnext">"The friends and neighbors round about heard of our arrival and came to +see us, and to invite me and the girls to pay them a visit as soon as +ever we were able to do so. Indeed, had I known of the beauty and +enchantment of this place and such a kind family, I would have been +here long ago, never you fear!</p> +<p class="pnext">"This glorious visit to Richmond Hill, where we have already been for +two weeks, seems to the girls and me the essence of all enchantment, and +the very ground we tread upon seems to be perfectly enchanted ground. +The weather is so fine, the Gibsons themselves are so refined and +polished, and there is so much beauty all around us, that life itself +seems to be one long day of joy. It is so delightful to climb the hill +behind the house, and look across the deep and narrow valley below us to +the primæval forests through which we rode; then we can see the winding +creek away to our right, and the evergreen cypress swamp away upon our +left. After we have seen all that, there are still the farm houses and +cottages lying all round about us on the hill tops, and we often turn +into one of them and sit down for an hour after our walk.</p> +<p class="pnext">"The Gibsons are neither Secesh, nor semi-Unionists, nor even +Copperheads! They are good Union people out and out, and they are for +the restoration of the American Union. You would be thunderstruck if you +were here and beheld the overwhelming interest that the Canadians take +in the Civil War in the States. They are mostly Unionists, but some few +would rather see the South win,—just the very same as they are in +England and France. But we need not blame these few Canadians, nor go +all the way across the North Atlantic to England, and Germany, and +France, for all the Northern States are honeycombed with Democrats and +semi-Unionists called 'Copperheads,' who are doing almost as much harm +to our arms as the rebels themselves; because they sympathize with the +South,—they desire them to retain their slaves, and would object to the +colored man being made a freeman and a citizen. They have no heart for +the Union with freedom.</p> +<p class="pnext">"We have little cause indeed to find fault with Southern sympathizers +far, far away beyond the deep, blue seas, when they are swarming all +over the North, and are found mixed up in every part of the Union,—East, +West and South as well. There are tens of thousands of people, who, I +firmly believe, would rather see the very Union itself broken up than +that the curse of slavery should now come to an end! We here in Canada +have nothing to do but look around us to see the proofs of all this. In +these trying days, when Uncle Sam is compelled to resort to one draft +after another draft, to fill up the depleted ranks of our armies, there +are thousands and tens of thousands of men who have crossed over here +into British America, and I have seen plenty of them with my own eyes. +One day I met quite a fine young doctor from Maine,—quite a fine medical +man, and a good looking fellow to boot, who addressed me in these words, +"I was at home in Maine with my newly married wife when the draft came, +and I was taken. I have no hatred against Southern men who never did me +any harm, and considered I had no right to throw my young life away on +Southern bullets. I had also other conscientious objections to the whole +business, and did not consider their war any interest of mine! The +Canadian frontier, therefore, being near at hand, it was my own +privilege to do just as I pleased—'to use force' as well as they! So I +crossed the Canadian border, and here I am in good health and safety! +Upon that he drew a letter out of his inside vest pocket,—a letter just +received from his wife, along with the photograph of her, which he +showed me, and she looked most uncommonly pretty too.</p> +<p class="pnext">"One day the girls and I were walking along the high road when we met +six men who had come over from the Northern States, and all over the +length and breadth of Canada, they are everywhere, and indeed, the very +woods seem to be full of them!</p> +<p class="pnext">"The first thing I do in the morning, and the last thing at night, is to +pray to our Father in Heaven for you, my own dear Tom,—that he may take +care of you; and, if it be his good will and pleasure, to bring you back +safe and sound to us at home. I no longer wonder at some people being +fond of travel. No wonder, for it has its charms and great ones too. It +seems to me so very strange that the children and I,—in a few hours +time, should be transported from the City of Buffalo to this romantic +and almost ethereal home upon the hills of Western Canada, and then for +me to turn around and think of you and the rest of the army battling +away for freedom and union in the Fair South! We get the papers here +every day. They are brought from the nearest post town which is three +miles away, and then we all have such a scramble to hear the latest news +from the seat of war, as they call it on their great headlines. It does +not surprise me so much that we at home should make such an ado over the +war news, but that these Canadians should also take so much interest as +ourselves seems to me most astonishing indeed. It is just three miles +from here to the post town, and one day we three went to spend the day +with some relatives of the Gibsons. On an open space at the entrance to +the town stood a large tent,—a kind of show called 'The War in the +South.' We paid the showman five cents apiece and went in to see the +pictures of the war set out on the canvas. We looked through the round, +bull-eye glasses, and the general effect was to magnify the whole scene +to a very great extent. I must confess that after all that I have read +and heard, this peep-show, or whatever else you may call it, gave me a +better idea of the field of war, and its far-spreading extent than all I +have ever learned from other sources,—all put together.</p> +<p class="pnext">"As we stood and looked we could see the long, fertile, southern plains +under the noon-day sun; the woods and forest lay around them like a +fringe in the distance; so minute and life-like did the very trees and +bushes appear that I could almost tell what species they belonged to. +Other pictures, in which we were ten times more interested, showed us +the northern and southern armies on the march with flags flying, or else +they were encamped on the edge of a wood among the lofty trees. There +were also scenes of war and a battle which looked really too dreadful, +even to behold the pictures of them. At such times I felt quite inclined +to shut my eyes on such awful scenes. 'If such is the mere picture,' I +said to myself, 'what must the reality of actual war be.' When we had +thoroughly satisfied ourselves with this famous little peep-show, we +came out, considering that we had had a good five cents' worth,—I mean +five cents a piece! And so we moved on to our friend's house, where we +had a most uncommonly warm welcome, and where we spent the whole day, +some other friends coming in to see us during our pleasant visit.</p> +<p class="pnext">"I must not forget to tell you that at the farm house at 'Richmond Hill' +they have quite a fine piano; and, as my experience during the great +Abolition campaign in the North made me quite an adept at speaking and +singing in public, I have been able to entertain these good Gibsons and +other Canadian friends with some of the music and songs I used to play +and sing. Our girls also have dome very well on the piano, to be so +young yet.</p> +<p class="pnext">"We all send our warmest love to you; and if I see any good reason for +writing you again before we leave Richmond Hill, will send you another +Canadian letter before our return home, and I remain, my dear Tom, ever +your most affectionate wife,</p> +<p class="pnext right smaller">"BEULAH LINCOLN."</p> +<p class="pnext">When we had been a month at Richmond Hill, and were getting ready for +our departure on the following day, the girls had a great desire to +write their papa. So I furnished them with the writing materials, upon +which they put their heads and thoughts together, and wrote the letter +that follows:</p> +<p class="pnext right smaller">"RICHMOND HILL, October, 1864.</p> +<p class="pnext">"Our Dear Papa:—</p> +<p class="pnext">"With great pleasure we send you this letter, we your daughters, who +love you. We are all quite well, and hope you are well also amidst the +dangers and toils of the war. All the letters and other things that you +sent us to Buffalo were forwarded to us to Richmond Hill, in Canada. We +have read your letters over and over again with great interest, and the +friends here have read some of them that told all about the military +operations in the fields, and they were very well pleased with their +contents, for the Gibsons are great union people too.</p> +<p class="pnext">"As the weather here has been most delightfully sunny, and we have been +so much in the open air on these Canadian hills, both mama and our two +selves have gotten quite fat, and also look as people do when they come +from the bathing places on the sea shore. We also feel right good, all +three of us, for we have had a grand time, and been so very kindly used. +Thus our hearts and minds are content, and we are going home to Buffalo +to-morrow filled with pleasure, like heavily laden bees going humming to +their hives with plenty of sweet honey.</p> +<p class="pnext">"We have been to church in the town every Sunday since we came here. The +Gibsons are Presbyterians, and so we went to the Presbyterian church, +and indeed it is very beautiful. We stood up to pray instead of kneeling +down as we do at Vine Street, in Buffalo, but Dr. Bell is a famous +preacher.</p> +<p class="pnext">"As the buggy could not hold everybody, mamma rode both ways and we +walked, and we never thought of getting tired.</p> +<p class="pnext">"The horse is an awful quiet one, something little 'Gentle Annie' of the +song. We were not a bit afraid to drive on week days by our two selves, +and bring the mail from the postoffice; and then we learned how to drive +and manage a horse. But the Gibson horse would never make a war horse, +he is not strong enough, and the cannons would frighten him too much.</p> +<p class="pnext">"We do not go to market here for fruit and vegetables. We just open the +gates to the garden and orchard, and bring in all the potatoes, cabbage, +turnips, pears, peaches, apples, and whatever else we may need. We have +been very busy paring apples; and besides that we have a lot of fruit in +jars that we are going to take home to Buffalo. The preserves will be +nice in winter.</p> +<p class="pnext">"We met with a wonderful piece of good luck at Richmond Hill. The +Gibsons have got an enormous copy of the Pilgrim's Progress,—as big as a +family Bible, published in London, and all the pictures are quite +different from those in our own. O, what grand times we had looking at +all the pictures!</p> +<p class="pnext">"When night came on, we girls took our turn and read 'The War in the +South' in the 'Daily Toronto Globe.' How our eyes did glisten as we read +many parts of the news!</p> +<p class="pnext">"We will leave this house to-morrow after an early breakfast. One of the +sons will drive us to Ingersoll railway station. We have now seen the +whole family,—all the Gibsons. We never knew that there were such fine +people in Canada. We are all so very glad that the Lord directed our +young feet to this place.</p> +<p class="pnext">"We must now close our letter with much love from everybody, and we are, +our dear papa, your most loving daughters,</p> +<p class="pnext right smaller">"—— and —— Lincoln."</p> +<p class="pnext">We got home to Buffalo once more all right, but that grand visit made a +very great impression upon our hearts and minds. I have attempted to +place a few sketches of it before my kind and indulgent reader, but Oh, +dear me! if I were to write down all that I could write about that +famous visit it would fill up a whole book. Perhaps I may return to the +subject again.</p> +<p class="pnext">Soon after our return to our happy and pleasant home in Buffalo, I +received the following letter from Tom:</p> +<p class="pnext right smaller">"NEW ORLEANS, La., October, 1864.</p> +<p class="pnext">"Mrs. Beulah Lincoln,</p> +<p class="pnext">"My Dear Beulah:—Since I was promoted to the rank of captain, my duties +have varied a good deal more at different times than they did when I was +a private in the ranks. I have lately been away in the interior of this +State, but here I am back to the Crescent City once more, and ever +trying to attend most faithfully to my duties. I tell you, my dear +Beulah, it takes every one of us to do our very best,—with a long pull, +and a strong pull, and a pull altogether,—to pull down this terrible and +powerful rebellion. People can think, and talk, and even write all they +please; but I am firmly convinced that had Abraham Lincoln not issued +his famous emancipation proclamation on the 1st of January, 1863, the +war would go on for twenty years, and perhaps we would have to +compromise with the rebels even then. And then they are such fighters! +Why, they are worse than tigers! However that may be, I know one +thing,—since the issuing of that proclamation the rebellion has been cut +down in territory on all sides; and, as we have got hold of the rebel +ports, one by one, the blockade runners have been cut off by sea to that +extent. Thus we have cut off their supplies from foreign nations; and +right here I may notice that, as to the millions of silver and gold that +the South has piled and heaped from the toils and labors of the +oppressed slaves,—of all that ill-gotten coin, there is perhaps not one +dollar of it left now in the entire South. It has all gone to buy the +munition of war in Europe; and yet the cause for which the South has +expended it will all be lost!</p> +<p class="pnext">"The rebellion is going down, and will come to an end by and by. I +suppose there are now about 200,000 colored troops in the field, many of +whom used to raise the crops for 'old Massa.' Now white men must stay at +home and raise the crops, and look after their own families into the +bargain, and all that is so much more cut off from their resources.</p> +<p class="pnext">"I used to be of the opinion that after all the lickings we have given +them, and seeing that they had no prospect but ultimate defeat before +their eyes, they would come to terms and lay down their arms. But +no!—nothing of the sort indeed! They have still their pride left, and +that is something!—I don't think we will ever conquer them; but we will +just wear them away, one by one, till there is not another rebel left. +The armies of the nations of history have usually laid down their arms +when they saw that the struggle was quite hopeless; but so long as there +is even one Southern rebel left who can stand on his feet and hold up a +flag, I believe they will say that the South is still independent and +free! We will never conquer them; we shall have to wear them out!</p> +<p class="pnext">"We here at the seat of war in the South are splendidly supplied with an +abundance of newspapers, magazines, and I know not what besides. Some +are illustrated with all sorts of pictures, and some are not +illustrated; and they appear to be sent to us poor fellows by all sorts +of good people from all the four winds of heaven. In one of these latest +magazines there is a very vivid representation of a terrible fight that +the First South Carolina Colored Regiment had with bloodhounds at +Pocataligo Bridge, on the 23rd of October, 1862. The rebels came +streaming on through the woods, with horse, foot and dragoons, and also +the bloodhounds. Our own brave men advanced boldly through among the +trees, and attacked dog, horse and man in a terrible hurry. The hounds +especially dashed against our men with great fierceness, but they were +shot down and bayoneted quicker than it takes me to tell the tale with +pen and ink. Then the gallant troops held them up aloft for joy on the +points of their bayonets and laughed. The dogs looked just like meat on +the point of a fork. I have turned the entire scene into a little poem +of my own. Here it is:</p> +<blockquote><div> +<div class="line-block"> +<div class="line"> + </div> +<div class="line"> +"We met the bloodhounds at the bridge,</div> +<div class="line-block"> +<div class="line"> +They ran with all their might;</div> +</div> +<div class="line"> +Their open months cried bow, wow, wow!</div> +<div class="line-block"> +<div class="line"> +It was a glorious sight.</div> +</div> +<div class="line"> +We ran our bayonets through their backs,</div> +<div class="line-block"> +<div class="line"> +We shot them with the gun;</div> +</div> +<div class="line"> +It was all over with the dogs,</div> +<div class="line-block"> +<div class="line"> +And 'twas most glorious fun!</div> +<div class="line"> + </div> +</div> +<div class="line"> +"In former days those brutes were used</div> +<div class="line-block"> +<div class="line"> +To hunt the flying slave;</div> +</div> +<div class="line"> +They tracked them through their dismal swamps,</div> +<div class="line-block"> +<div class="line"> +And little quarter gave;</div> +</div> +<div class="line"> +But when they tried the game of war</div> +<div class="line-block"> +<div class="line"> +We knocked them on the head,</div> +</div> +<div class="line"> +We shot them quick, and ran them through,</div> +<div class="line-block"> +<div class="line"> +Until every hound was dead!</div> +<div class="line"> + </div> +</div> +<div class="line"> +"Thus perished those bad dogs at once,</div> +<div class="line-block"> +<div class="line"> +We tossed them high for fun;</div> +</div> +<div class="line"> +We held them on our bayonet tops,</div> +<div class="line-block"> +<div class="line"> +And finished the last one;</div> +</div> +<div class="line"> +Which was a flitting end for them,</div> +<div class="line-block"> +<div class="line"> +The brutes shall bark no more,</div> +</div> +<div class="line"> +Nor hunt the flying fugitive</div> +<div class="line-block"> +<div class="line"> +On Carolina's shore!</div> +<div class="line"> + </div> +</div> +<div class="line"> +"But slavery there has lost the day,</div> +<div class="line-block"> +<div class="line"> +They need bloodhounds no more;</div> +</div> +<div class="line"> +All men and women now are free</div> +<div class="line-block"> +<div class="line"> +On Carolina's shore;</div> +</div> +<div class="line"> +The white man now will learn to work</div> +<div class="line-block"> +<div class="line"> +Like other men I trow,</div> +</div> +<div class="line"> +Nor raise the bloodhounds for the chase,</div> +<div class="line-block"> +<div class="line"> +Big brutes that cry bow, wow!</div> +</div> +</div> +</div></blockquote> +<p class="pfirst">"But I must lay down the pen, or else I am sure you will begin to get +tired of my long letter. I was very greatly interested, indeed, in your +glorious visit to Canada. I would like to go there myself. Perhaps we +will all visit them together some future day. With much warm love to +yourself, the girls, and all the rest. I am as ever,</p> +<p class="pnext">"Your most loving husband,</p> +<p class="pnext right smaller">"THOMAS LINCOLN."</p> +</div> +<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-viii"> +<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref pginternal" href="#id11">CHAPTER VIII.</a></h2> +<div class="align-center figure"> +<img style="display: block; margin-left: 40%; width: 19%" alt="images/dec08.png" src="images/dec08.png" width="19%"/> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><em class="italics">The Fight at Marion, Tennessee—The Battle of Nashville—Success of the +Northern Armies—Massacre at Fort Pillow—The Rebels Refuse to Exchange +Colored Soldiers—Our Defeat at Olustee—Eighty Thousand Northern +Prisoners Perishing in Southern Prisons—The Mine at Petersburg—The +Wealth of the South—A Soldier's Song.</em></p> +<p class="pnext">When we consider that there were 200,000 or more colored men in the +field, and that they were engaged in fights, large and small, somewhere +or other every day all over the far-spreading South, where all did so +well and received the praises of the brave and true, it seems to me +ridiculous at this time of day to look back and select particular +actions wherein they distinguished themselves. But I am not aware that I +can do any better than many worthy writers have done before me. There +was one circumstance, however, or rather course of similar circumstances +that struck those of us at home who closely followed the war as detailed +by private letters and dispatches in the public newspapers, which was +that on many memorable occasions the colored regiments saved the +defeated and flying white troops from complete destruction. And white +men were thankful enough to be saved by our men, and who could blame +them? They were both in the field to assist one another in every +possible way. I am not claiming more for the colored troops than belongs +to them; but let them have their rights. No just man will give them +less.</p> +<p class="pnext">It was in the beginning of December, 1864, that a regular battle took +place near Marion, Tennessee, for the destruction of the Marion Salt +Works. The battle commenced in the morning, and fluctuated backwards and +forwards the greater part of the day. General Stoneman, who commanded +the Federals, at last found himself badly beaten by the Confederates, +under General Breckenridge. The national troops were in a desperate +condition, and nothing but destruction stared them in the face. There +was no time to be lost. The fate of the Northern army was trembling in +the scales. General Stoneman at once ordered up the black troops, whom +he divided into three columns. He placed General Burbridge at the head +of one column, gave another to Col. Wade, and the third to General +Brisbin.</p> +<p class="pnext">Colonel Wade led the right column, General Burbridge the left, and +General Brisbin the centre. Wade got off first, and sailed into the +rebels in gallant style. Burbridge piled his overcoat on the ground, +drew his sword, and led his column forward like lions. Most of the +officers and all the men were on foot. Wade's horse was soon shot, after +which he led his men on foot, and they were the first to strike the +Confederate line, who fired time after time, but Wade's column advanced +rapidly for a hand-to-hand fight with the rebels. They went through the +Confederate lines like an iron wedge, when the enemy broke, turned and +ran. Burbridge hit with all his might on the left, and Brisbin's men in +the centre also covered themselves with glory. Men never did better in +this world. When their guns were empty, they clubbed their foes with the +butt ends, many of the latter jumping fully fifteen feet down the +opposite side of the hill to get out of the way of our infuriated men! +The night was now coming on! Sauve qui peut! The rebels fled in the +darkness, and ultimately took the North Carolina road, fleeing over the +mountains. Thus ended the grand struggle for the salt works at Marion, +Tennessee. Our troops now advanced, nor stopped till their destruction +was complete.</p> +<p class="pnext">We all know that it must go very hard, indeed, with any people when they +have got no salt. Poor things! What could they do without salt? So these +coveted salt works at Marion were destroyed by the Union army, but not +till the army had been first rescued from destruction by the colored +troops who were attached to the service there.</p> +<p class="pnext">I don't know how it happened, but somehow or other the Northern generals +had a great deal of confidence in colored men, whom they often put +aside, and held in reserve in case of the direst necessity in the end, +and when the worst might come to the worst. It was then that our +faithful fellows were called forwards to save the armies, and they saved +them, too, standing like walls of adamant between the white Unionists +and their terrible foes. Our brave boys often did as well elsewhere as +they did at Marion.</p> +<p class="pnext">It used to be the grand hue and cry in the beginning of the war that if +colored men were enlisted into the armies of the Union, they would not +fight like their white brothers! Even we ladies, who surely were never +intended to fight in the ranks—we ladies living far away up in the +North at Buffalo, used to laugh at the whole thing as a joke, for +certainly everybody knew better. But that miserable parrot cry ceased +after a while, and was no more heard of.</p> +<p class="pnext">Another grievance in the beginning of the enlistment of colored troops +was to offer them smaller pay than white men. Some of our regiments +absolutely refused to take less; others took what was offered. But as a +general thing, between Congress and the States themselves, all things +were put right at last, and justice was done by making things about +even. But whether right or wrong the troops never refused to do their +duty. It certainly was a shameful and shabby affair to offer them less, +because many of them certainly were superior to their white brothers in +the field. The color of the skin was a poor, miserable reason for giving +them less.</p> +<p class="pnext">General T. J. Morgan gives a long and brilliant account of his +connection with several colored regiments in the Department of +Cumberland. He is also very jokey, and furnished us with a great many +amusing anecdotes, which he loves to relate. He gives us some very good +sketches of the Battle of Nashville, Tennessee, which occupied two days, +in the middle of December, 1864. A thaw had set in; the ice and cold had +given way, and General George T. Thomas now took advantage of the +opportunity that presented itself to compel the rebel General Hood to +raise the siege of Nashville. It was decided that General Morgan and his +colored regiments should begin the attack on the Union left as soon as +they could see their way in the dawn of that December morning. After an +early breakfast, Morgan and his men advanced upon the rebel right with +unbounded enthusiasm, and struck it with all their might. Their attacks +were simply irresistible, and although the Southerners fought with their +accustomed stubbornness and bravery they had to give way. General Hood +was under the impression that this attack upon his left was to be the +grand attack of the day's battle, but it was a feint to draw off his men +from his right, where General Thomas struck him with awful force, +doubled him up, and forced the whole rebel army, right, left and centre, +to retreat for the space of two miles. Thus the first day's battle +(which the colored troops began) was a complete success along the whole +line, although we lost many a brave man. General Hood made haste to +fortify himself, and threw up intrenchments on his line of battle—in +short, he did everything that a prudent general upon the defensive could +do. But the white and colored troops followed up their success by +attacking his forces with unwonted vigor and enthusiasm on the morning +of the second day. The Southerners not being gods, nor made even of +iron, now turned and fled. A general pursuit of the rebels at once +began; colored and white alike pressed on like hounds behind the hares. +We followed them all the way to Franklin, Tennessee, followed them day +and night, and traversed hundreds of miles, with mud and rains. The +roads were in a dreadful condition. Many of our brave men lost their +shoes in the deep and sticky mud, but still kept on, though their feet +were cold, and bled into the bargain. At night they would take down +fence-rails and such like to make fires to keep themselves warm. General +Hood fled away, and returned no more. The Confederacy was now beginning +to shake in every limb of its body. The North determined to hold on. +Thus our own 200,000 colored men contributed to the grand result. As the +songs of the day said, "The colored troops fought bravely!"</p> +<div class="align-center figure" id="cotton-picking"> +<img style="display: block; width: 100%" alt="images/image14cotton.jpg" src="images/image14cotton.jpg" width="100%"/> +<div class="caption italics"> +COTTON PICKING.</div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst">About the 20th of April, 1864, after I had given the children their +breakfast, and sent them to school, the letter-carrier came up the steps +with another missive from my own dear Tom, and just as I had opened it +to begin to read it, who came into the room but dear mother! So to work +we went and read the letter together:</p> +<p class="pnext right smaller">"NEW ORLEANS, April, 1864.</p> +<p class="pnext">"Mrs. Beulah Lincoln,</p> +<p class="pnext">"My Dear Beulah:—With great pleasure I sit down to answer all the +delightful letters I have received from yourself and the girls. Your +letters have been a very great joy to me indeed all the time I have been +in the hospital. They have actually helped me to mend by keeping up my +spirits! At least that is what the doctors and nurses say, who have read +some of your letters, and they liked them so much. They were greatly +delighted over your letters on your trip to Canada! If it had not been +for my wound, my residence at this beautiful hospital in the Sunny South +would have been almost as great a treat to me as the month you and the +girls spent at Richmond Hill. Because here comes neither frost nor snow, +and the sun is always bright and genial, and the flowers scent the air +all the year round, and the winds come through the open windows just +laden with their fragrance. But, thank God, I shall soon be well now, +and then I will go back to the war if it is not all over by the time I +receive my discharge from this good hospital. If the war is not over +then, I will go back to the field; but, if it is all over, then I am +likely to get my discharge from the army and come home. I have taken +'notes' of all the active operations in which I was engaged in the field +up to the time I was wounded; and I think I will write and publish a +book when I come home! All the events, let things be going as they may, +I am sure that they are going ten times better now that our glorious +Grant has got the chief command over all the armies in the field +throughout the far-extended seat of war in the South. Before he took +command even a child could see how our own Northern generals and +colonels themselves wrangled, and were jealous of one another, and +carried on. It always appeared to me that before Grant took command they +wasted as much strength and national resources as the rebels themselves +did! Too many cooks spoil the broth; and they also resembled a balky +team of cross-grained mules pulling, kicking and flinging against one +another! Indeed they had a great deal to learn, and that was how to +agree. But Grant put them all to rights with a few shuffles of national +'cards.' He made all things work aright, and those who were too anxious +to be bosses, he either set off on one side by themselves, or else sent +them home about their business. In this respect the rebels had been far +wiser than we were. They had, of course, their quarrels and +disagreements also, but never to the same extent as ourselves. But Grant +ended all that, and I observe that secession has been ailing very much +ever since!</p> +<p class="pnext">"It will be old news to you to speak in this letter about the late +massacre of white and colored officers and soldiers at Fort Pillow, +where General Forrest and his men murdered hundreds of our own brave +fellows in cold blood. I understand that although that massacre occurred +only a few days ago, so to speak, that the war-cry 'Remember Fort +Pillow!' has already been made in quite a number of the most recent +engagements between colored troops and rebels on the seat of war. The +wholesale murder of our own men and officers at Fort Pillow is the +entire conversation throughout the hospital, the city of New Orleans and +the entire South. Surely that murder was winked at by the rebel +government at Richmond. From the very first day when a rebel was shot +dead by a former servant (?) all the rebels of the South together have +been more faint at heart than if they had got the leprosy! There has +been a constant attempt from the first to treat colored troops not as +soldiers under the United States Government, but as perfect outlaws or +even as wild animals themselves. A certain kind of shudder, a horror,—a +something that no man can describe—seems to have taken possession of the +rebel breast at the very idea of letting loose their former slaves +against their masters! They think that this is awful indeed, and hold up +their hands in holy horror. And this horror of theirs holds good not +only with regard to the colored troops themselves, but it is even more +bitter if possible when directed against the white officers who trained +them in the art of war, and who led them on the battle-field. It is true +that we have officers chosen from among ourselves, but then we are all +one army, and we must go shares hand in hand with the rest in the +general conflict.</p> +<p class="pnext">"It was not only a great crime in General Forrest and his rebels +murdering hundreds of Union men at Fort Pillow, but it was the greatest +blunder they have yet committed as they will themselves find out at +once. Instead of making over 200,000 men afraid of them, or deterring +them from the battle entirely, we shall only go into battle ten times +more eagerly than before, and do fighting ten times more valiant than +ever. A shudder has already run over the entire North that will do more +to unite the whole Union than if we had gained one of the greatest +victories of war. The Southern policy from Jeff. Davis downwards is to +ignore us completely as men, and to treat us as 'goods and chattels' +still. Jeff. even issued a proclamation against Benjamin F. Butler, at +New Orleans, treating him as an outlaw for organizing regiments of +colored troops, or, in fact, for pressing their former slaves into the +war in any shape and form. At the same time, they themselves have made +use of their slaves to throw up breastworks, and to do all kinds of +labor, almost from the hour when they themselves at first rebelled. +Their theory is that they have a perfect right to use their slaves to +fight against the Union, and we, who own the whole nation must not +indeed even touch them with our little fingers! This will never do, +because it is a game that two of us at least cannot play at.</p> +<p class="pnext">"It will never be known until the great Day of Judgment what became of +all the colored soldiers who fell into the hands of the rebels. It is +true that the rebel authorities directed them to be handed over to the +States to which they belonged to be dealt with by the civil laws of +those States, but even this is a subject upon which I can obtain no +information whatever. I can only say that their path is unknown, and +they have never been seen alive after their capture. Of other things we +are more certain. The Southern soldiers have been seen killing their +colored prisoners on the battle-field,—killing them in hospitals, and in +many ways awarding to them the treatment we would give to any wild +animal that we shot at a hunt. From the very first the rebels at +Richmond have refused to exchange colored prisoners like white prisoners +of war. They have never even exchanged a single man! There is an old +saying that those whom the gods intend to destroy, they first make mad, +that is insane. We do not thank the rebel crew for attempting to treat +us as outlaws and wild beasts, but we will do one thing for them for all +this,—we will now assist in pulling down their Confederacy far faster +than we have done before.</p> +<p class="pnext">"As to the murder at Fort Pillow, the whole thing was, of course, a put +up job. After fighting all the morning, and finding ten times more +trouble to get into the fort than they ever expected, at 1 P. M. they +sent in a flag of truce. But whilst they pretended to be parleying round +that flag of truce, the rebels rapidly and quietly pushed their men up +on the sides of the fort, which was contrary to the laws of war, and +then breaking off the truce made a sudden rush into the fort and took +it. Then we surrendered, but the rebels would not receive our surrender, +and their massacre began. They shot down and killed our officers and men +in every possible way after they had given up their weapons of war. +General Forrest and other rebel commanders were there and allowed the +carnage to go on that afternoon and next morning. The rebels took our +men, nailed some of them to the floors of old wooden buildings to which +they next set fire, and thus burned them while yet alive. Then they +called out others, one by one, and shot them as fast as they appeared. +One of the principal white officers was murdered on the road as the +rebels were marching away from the fort,—at least he never came through +alive. No doubt that Congress will appoint a commission of inquiry at +once, and make a complete examination of the whole affair, and the +entire truth will be established from the mouths of those white and +black soldiers who escaped. In the meantime, we have facts enough at +hand to put all the above beyond the shadow of a doubt. It was horrible.</p> +<p class="pnext">"My dear Beulah, I had much more to write to you about, but the doctors +will be here in a quarter of an hour, and as I wish you to receive my +letter without delay, I will now draw it to a hurried end, and leave the +balance for my next epistle. In the meantime, my dear Beulah, keep the +girls steady at school, for after good religion, I think that good +education (put to good use) is the grandest ornament in the world, and +in a woman I think it looks splendid. Also give all my love to Mr. and +Mrs. John B. Sutherland, and give them a reading of this letter—and let +our children read it too, by all means. I just feel, my dear, as if I +could go on writing to you for a month,—you are such a comfort! But, +good-by, God bless you! Ta-ta!</p> +<p class="pnext">"Your thrice loving</p> +<p class="pnext right smaller">"TOM."</p> +<p class="pnext">My indulgent and kind readers, I would be glad if I could draw down the +veil upon the disasters and defeats we met with from the hands of the +rebels whilst our brave men were battling for freedom, and the reunion +of all the States. But, alas, alas! that would never do, and I must tell +the whole truth on both sides. We had our victories in plenty, and there +was a general caving-in of Secessia going on continually, but O dear me! +what drawbacks and disasters there are for the historian to tell! The +whole nation was still smarting from our signal defeat at Olustee, Fla., +when the butchery at Fort Pillow fell upon us like a thunderstorm in +summer. I can't tell which was the worst in its way—our complete +defeat, our flight and almost total annihilation at Olustee, or the +barbarous murders at Fort Pillow. Our defeat at Olustee took place on +the 20th of February, 1864. We must, in the first place, thank our +General Gillmore for disobeying orders, and leading his black and white +troops into that perfect trap which the rebels had prepared for us among +the forest trees at Olustee. They had their masked batteries, and all +their perfect preparations of war completely concealed from us till we +were right inside the very trap itself, and then General Gillmore, +instead of drawing back his forces and forming them into a regular line +of battle, wildly rushed one regiment after another into the powerful +rebel position that lay concealed between two swamps, where our poor +fellows were just mown down like grass before the scythe. When eight +hundred colored soldiers and six hundred white ones had thus been placed +hors de combat, we turned and fled for Jacksonville, and all along the +way the rebels followed up our retreat, and all the fugitives alike +shared the disasters of a defeat, which was most complete in every part. +The exultation at the South, of course, was as great as our depression +of spirits at the North, for it was another Braddock's defeat over +again; but then war is as much of a game as a game of cards, or a game +at the checker-board. Thus one was in joy whilst the other was in +grief; in the same way the dark night follows the bright day, and +sunshine gives way to shadow. It is the self-same with the individual as +with the nation. Which one of us has not had a grand day of triumph, as +well as his night of misfortune and distress? What proportion our +defeats bore to our victories I am at this time unable to say; but I +know they were a very high percentage of the whole, as we found out to +our cost. It is not my intention to open up the whole question, but +there is at least one horror that I must mention besides actual conflict +on the battle-field, which is, that the nation lost about 80,000 men +that were starved to death (I might almost say) or perished through +misusage and neglect, and the want of all comforts in the Southern +prisons, at Richmond, Andersonville and elsewhere. Whilst we were +fattening their men in our Northern cities, and exchanging them as +prisoners of war, so they might take the field against us once more, +our poor fellows, who were merely skin and bone, were returned to us +only to remain mental and bodily wrecks on our hands the rest of their +days. Few of them, indeed, were ever found fit to go back to the field +again. Thus 80,000 men, some at least of whom were colored, died in the +South from want of sufficient food, from cold in the winters, and almost +every other conceivable and bad reason, such as the want of medicine, +proper nursing and attention during sickness, and so forth. No wonder, +then, that our people used to associate the murders at Fort Pillow and +the deaths in the Southern prisons together.</p> +<p class="pnext">We also met with a great defeat at the explosion of the mine at +Petersburg, on the 30th of July, 1864. That turned out one of the +greatest blunders and most bungled affairs of the whole war. It was +decided that the colored troops should lead the charge into Petersburg +after the explosion had cleared the way for the advance and attack. Then +a general, who ranked higher, in a spirit of jealousy countermanded the +first and best arrangements, and ordered his white troops to lead the +advance. Then the mine itself did not explode until some hours after the +appointed time. When the explosion came the advance and attack were so +bungled that the whole affair turned out a complete failure. The +attacking troops were also caught inside the crater in a perfect trap, +and the colored troops who were sent in to their aid, fared no better. +In fact, at last there was neither advance nor retreat for any one, and +things were even worse than at Olustee, and all had to surrender in a +body, prisoners of war. Thus all our labors were thrown away at +Petersburg on that fatal morning, through jealousy and every kind of +bungling and mismanagement. General Grant has recorded it in his life, +that if the first arrangements had been carried out, they would no doubt +have succeeded in capturing the city.</p> +<p class="pnext">But such are jealousy and ignorance! These were the two grand causes of +the disaster of the Union armies during the first half of the war, and +all these misfortunes happened in the face of an ever-watchful and +desperate enemy, who had staked everything on the issue—life, fortune +and all—an enemy fighting with all his might for the institution of +slavery, and for the control of his own land and government without +interference from Uncle Sam. But so it has ever been with all wars that +the historian has ever recorded. Nations have their dark days as well +as their bright ones. And if we had great and crowning victories, we +also had our defeats and dark days.</p> +<p class="pnext">Before my dear Tom got wounded, and was taken to the hospital at New +Orleans, I received a letter from him describing a march his regiment +had down the banks of a beautiful river in Mississippi, after which they +came upon the boundaries of one of those grand mansions that I alluded +to before as almost excelling the princely palaces of the grandees of +Europe. We used to think Riverside Hall something (continues my dear +letter-writer), but Riverside Hall was nothing to Belmont, as this place +was called. The family had all left, and there was nobody in and about +the princely place. No wonder that the slave-holder had grown rich! With +a thousand people to work for them for nothing, and themselves pocketing +the entire proceeds of their labors and toils, all they had to do was to +bank their money, and lay it out in eating and drinking and riotous +living, as the Bible tells us. No wonder that they had pleasant trees +and shrubbery, and fine streams gliding through the park here, the +smooth lawns reminding one of the garden of Eden before the fall of our +first parents. No wonder that they had grand statuary all along their +graveled walks, along which fine carriages and lordly companies on foot +glided along their sunny way in the palmy days of slavery, now departed +to return nevermore! In the Sunny South this day, we marched down the +banks of one of the sweetest rivers I have seen in the State of +Mississippi. I have written a few verses on the subject; written them on +a marble table in the interior of splendid Belmont, a mansion, which for +glory and for beauty, it would dazzle your eyes to look upon. Here are +the lines I composed:</p> +<blockquote><div> +<div class="line-block"> +<div class="line"> + </div> +<div class="line"> +UPON THE SOUTHERN RIVER!</div> +<div class="line"> + </div> +<div class="line"> +Across the bridge we made our way,</div> +<div class="line-block"> +<div class="line"> +The dancing waves sang loud and gay,</div> +</div> +<div class="line"> +And warm and bright the sunbeams lay,</div> +<div class="line-block"> +<div class="line"> +Upon the Southern River!</div> +<div class="line"> + </div> +</div> +<div class="line"> +And countless birds sang in the trees,</div> +<div class="line-block"> +<div class="line"> +Our banners fluttered in the breeze,</div> +</div> +<div class="line"> +All eyes were charmed midst scenes like these,</div> +<div class="line-block"> +<div class="line"> +All down the Southern River!</div> +<div class="line"> + </div> +</div> +<div class="line"> +Our hearts were light, our bands did play</div> +<div class="line-block"> +<div class="line"> +Upon that glorious sunny day.</div> +</div> +<div class="line"> +... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...</div> +<div class="line-block"> +<div class="line"> +Beside the southern river!</div> +<div class="line"> + </div> +</div> +<div class="line"> +"The Sunny South!—The Sunny South!"</div> +<div class="line-block"> +<div class="line"> +These words were ever in each mouth,</div> +</div> +<div class="line"> +Suggesting things of love and youth</div> +<div class="line-block"> +<div class="line"> +Along the Southern River.</div> +<div class="line"> + </div> +</div> +<div class="line"> +And still we marched, and laughed and sang</div> +<div class="line-block"> +<div class="line"> +And down the flowery banks we sprang,</div> +</div> +<div class="line"> +The wild woods with the echoes rang</div> +<div class="line-block"> +<div class="line"> +All down the Southern River!</div> +<div class="line"> + </div> +</div> +<div class="line"> +Until we came to "Belmont" grand,—</div> +<div class="line-block"> +<div class="line"> +The finest mansion in the land,</div> +</div> +<div class="line"> +That on the rising ground does stand</div> +<div class="line-block"> +<div class="line"> +Beside the Southern River!</div> +<div class="line"> + </div> +</div> +</div> +</div></blockquote> +<p class="pfirst">Thus my Tom wrote about the Southern river and the Sunny South. After +this I never wondered more why the slave-holders fought so hard to gain +their independence. No wonder, when they fought for "Belmont," etc.!</p> +</div> +<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-ix"> +<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref pginternal" href="#id12">CHAPTER IX.</a></h2> +<div class="align-center figure"> +<img style="display: block; margin-left: 40%; width: 19%" alt="images/dec09.png" src="images/dec09.png" width="19%"/> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><em class="italics">The Colored Men of Iowa—Hard Fight Near White River—The Men of +Kansas—Enthusiasm for the War—Fight at Butler—Battle of Cabin +Creek—Battle of Honey Springs—The Battle of Poison Springs—Battle at +the Sabine River—Battle of Boykin's Mill with Poem—Incidents of the +War.</em></p> +<p class="pnext">I have said nothing yet about the far western frontier, and the +enlistments that took place far away between the Mississippi river and +the Rocky Mountains. There were not many colored people in those States +and territories at that time, but the few who were there acted with the +greatest enthusiasm, and came joyously up to the rescue of the Union and +liberty. Although all colored men were free in those parts, they most +willingly laid down the plough and other implements of husbandry, left +their sweethearts, their wives and families, and all that they held +dearest, with wonderful zeal and alacrity, and marched to the field even +with the utmost joy, "to help of the Lord against the mighty." Of course +the Western frontier was not the only part of the Union where such +devotion for the Union and liberty was shown. It was the very same +everywhere. Even in the old slave States, when the recruiting sergeants +came along, and asked the slaves if they would like to go to the war and +fight for Uncle Sam, to a man they answered yes. Thus the recruiting +went rapidly on wherever colored volunteers could be found. Poor Uncle +Sam was in great need of men, and these brave recruits were gathered +together at places appointed for drill, in all the various branches of +the art of war, and they learned with great willingness and with great +rapidity also. With so much enthusiasm and fire, is it any wonder that +colored troops did so well in the war, and with their strong, brawny, +willing arms so mightily helped to knock down the South? It is no wonder +at all!</p> +<p class="pnext">Yes, poor Uncle Sam was in great need of assistance about the time of +Lincoln's proclamation of freedom, for these terrible and clever rebels +had not only destroyed our white troops by tens of thousands, but they +had at the same time thinned out some thousands of the black soldiers +also. Lincoln kept calling for more troops, for a very great many more, +indeed, and black and white men came up to the national call like +heroes.</p> +<p class="pnext">It was not until August, 1863, when the men of Iowa arose, hurried +through their drill, and marched to the front. They gathered at first at +St. Louis, where Mrs. I. N. Triplet presented one of the regiments with +a beautiful silk national flag, on behalf of the ladies of Iowa, and of +the city of Muscatine. That beautiful flag was carried all through the +war, and was brought home again to Iowa, in the midst of great +congratulations.</p> +<p class="pnext">In January, 1864, this regiment was ordered to report to Helena, +Arkansas, and lent a hand in a number of small engagements, where they +took numbers of prisoners. But the most serious fight in which they were +engaged took place in the following July, near the White river, where +they attacked a force of the rebels twice as numerous as themselves. +This fight was most desperate, though the rebels lost three men to our +one. Most of our own officers were killed or wounded; night was coming +on apace, and still we held out—yea! fought like lions hour after hour. +At last a body of white Union soldiers coming to our aid, burst through +the rebel ranks with loud cheering, and our poor fellows, who were so +hard pressed, cheered loudly in return. Still the arrival of these +re-enforcements did not turn the battle into a Union victory, but they +enabled us to retreat from the field in good order. Later on in the day, +more colored re-enforcements from Helena arrived, but too late to make +any changes in the situation. It was well for us, however, to save all +the men we could, because the rebel soldiers and the rebel population on +these western States and territories seldom missed an opportunity to +murder every colored soldier who fell alive into their hands. Still we +cared nothing for their "black flag," but fought ten times harder than +before, and thus we helped on the downfall of slavery!</p> +<p class="pnext">The State of Kansas was the very first State in the entire Union to make +a commencement in recruiting and drilling regiments of colored men to +put down the great rebellion. Kansas was only admitted into the Union as +a free State on the 29th of January, 1861. It was her admission as such +that transferred the slave-holder's rebellion from Kansas to South +Carolina, and the other seceding States. In other words, the rebellion +began in Kansas, and the scene was simply shifted upon Lincoln's +election. But the Republican men of Kansas arose with unbounded alacrity +and enthusiasm, and in a short time had 20,000 men in the field, some of +whom were regiments of colored men, who did yeoman's service in the +West. And not only in Kansas, but in every other section of the Union, +colored men showed a great deal of principle in the way in which they +came up to the rescue of the nation; came up with horse, foot and +artillery! As Deborah says in her song of victory (Judges, 5 chapter, +verse 18): "Zabulun and Naphtali were a people that jeopardized their +lives unto the death in the high place of the field." The first fight in +which the colored troops of Kansas were engaged took place near Butler. +There were about two hundred and twenty-five men in all, and they were +attacked by about five hundred Confederates. This is supposed to have +been the very first engagement in the war between colored soldiers and +the rebels, and the rebels were defeated with considerable loss. The +date of the engagement was the 28th of October, 1862. The next morning a +few recruits came up and joined their comrades in the pursuit of the +secessionists, but failed to overtake them. The work of recruiting, +drilling and disciplining the regiments still went on, till at last they +were so efficient in the various arms of the service that they were +second to none. Soon after this a foraging party of forty-five of our +men were attacked by three hundred Confederates, and half of them killed +or captured in a short time.</p> +<p class="pnext">This regiment, which was lead by the gallant Colonel Williams, remained +in camp at Baxter Springs till the 27th of June, 1863, when it marched +for Fort Gibson, in connection with a large supply train from Fort Scott +en route to the former place. The Colonel was led to believe that they +would be attacked in the neighborhood of Cabin Creek. He made haste, and +gathered all his men together, about eight hundred in all. Upon arriving +at Cabin Creek the rebels in great force under General Cooper met him +there, but our men were unable to cross the stream on account of a +shower of rain, which had swollen its waters too high for infantry to +get over. When the morning came, by the aid of those who had come up in +the night, the whole effective force was now raised to 1,200 men, which +embraced some cavalry, a few Indians, and four pieces of artillery. +Being well lead on by their officers, these 1,200 men made a most +heroic attack on the vastly-superior rebel force, and after two hours' +hard fighting, vanquished them completely, killing and wounding one +hundred men, and taking eight prisoners. We had eight killed and +twenty-five wounded on our side. The road was now open, and our men +proceeded with the train to Fort Gibson, where they arrived on the 5th +of July, 1863.</p> +<p class="pnext">It was on the morning of the 17th of July when our small force under +command of General Blunt, left Fort Gibson, and moved upon the enemy, +6,000 strong, who were commanded by General Cooper. We found the latter +encamped at Honey Springs, twenty miles south of Fort Gibson. After a +desperate combat of two hours, the rebels were totally defeated with a +loss of four hundred men killed and wounded, and one hundred prisoners. +After this the Kansas City troops returned to Fort Gibson, where they +remained till September, when they moved out again against General +Cooper and his forces, who fled at their approach. We followed them for +one hundred miles, but as they still continued to keep ahead of us, we +returned and encamped at Fort Davis, a former Confederate fort on the +Arkansas River.</p> +<p class="pnext">The troops marched and counter-marched till the month of March, 1864, +when they joined Union General Steele's forces, and marched against the +enemy, who were posted on the west side of Prairie d'Ane, within +twenty-five miles of Washington. As we came up, the enemy fled before +us, and we occupied their works without having to fight for them! +Indeed, a good deal of the warfare on the western frontier was nothing +but marching and counter-marching; coming to blows now and then, in which +we were mainly successful, for the rebels often preferred to fly before +us!</p> +<p class="pnext">It was curious to note at the time how what appeared to be very +frivolous circumstances led to pitched battles and the most serious +results. Letters from newspaper correspondents, and private letters as +well, made this quite clear. Private letters to friends were often more +clear and explicit than the more general and profuse war correspondence.</p> +<div class="align-center figure" id="a-relic-of-slavery-days"> +<img style="display: block; width: 100%" alt="images/image15days.jpg" src="images/image15days.jpg" width="100%"/> +<div class="caption italics"> +A RELIC OF SLAVERY DAYS</div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst">Col. Williams informs us that he arrived at Camden on the 16th of April, +1864, but on the following day, the 17th, started with five hundred men +of the First Colorado, two hundred cavalry detailed from the Second, +Sixth and Fourteenth Kansas regiments, and one section of the Second +Indiana Battery, with a train for the purpose of loading forage and +provisions at a point twenty miles west of Camden, on the Washington +road. On the 17th he reached the place, and succeeded in loading about +two-thirds of his train, which consisted of two hundred wagons; the rest +of the wagons were loaded next morning as they passed along. At a point +fourteen miles west of Camden, the advance encountered a small force of +the enemy, who retreated down the road after some slight skirmishing, +but did in such a manner as to convince the Colonel that it was a mere +feint to cover other movements, or else to draw his command into ambush, +as had already been done at Olustee, in Florida. The troops advanced +with caution for about a mile and a-half to a place called Poison +Springs, and here they came upon the skirmish lines of the enemy in a +thickly-timbered region. Our troops drove in their skirmish lines, and +discovered that the rebels were there in force. Indeed it was +ascertained afterwards that there were about ten thousand of them, and +their intention seemed to have been to eat us all up alive! To me it is +a most astonishing thing to even think that our small force, not more +than 1,000 men, should venture to contest a "field" of 10,000 rebels; +but so it was, not only at the battle of Poison Springs, but such +attacks were made again and again over the entire seat of war. Surely +the colored troops must have had the hearts of lions, and a most +tremendous amount of self-confidence even to look in the face of such +odds!</p> +<p class="pnext">The enemy, with ten pieces of artillery, now opened the fight, six in +front and four on the right flank. (They had twelve cannon altogether, +but commenced the engagement with ten). We had to fight hard, yes, most +desperately, and lost many a brave man, either killed or wounded. Col. +Williams still fought on and on, making the best disposition possible of +his little force. We were only able to use two of our light cannon at +any one time, on account of the difficult nature of the thickly-timbered +land. The Colonel was ever hoping that re-enforcements would come up to +his aid from Camden, and relieve the train loaded of two hundred wagons, +and save our little army, but no relief ever came. Thus the battle went +on from 10 A. M. till 2 P. M., during which the rebels made one charge +after another, but were always repulsed after the most desperate +fighting. The loud roaring and yelling of the rebels at Poison Springs +even exceeded the noise of the fire-arms used upon that occasion. We +had ninety-two killed, ninety-seven wounded, and one hundred and six +missing—in all two hundred and ninety-five. The enemy probably lost +more than we did. As no re-enforcements arrived by 2 P.M., it was +decided to abandon our entire train, and work our way through the woods +as best we could to Camden, where those who remained arrived at 11 P.M. +on the day of the battle. Col. Williams named this tremendous fight the +Battle of Poison Springs, from a spring of that name in the +neighborhood. This was one of the very hardest fights of all that took +place in the West. No one but a fool would now ask the ridiculous +question, "Will colored men fight?"—because here we see a force of a +thousand colored men or less fighting most desperately for four hours +with ten times their own numbers. This was as good as the 10,000 Greeks +under Miltiades, at Marathon. The Greeks did not one whit better than +our troops at Poison Springs.</p> +<p class="pnext">But the success of the troops already raised in Kansas fired the hearts +of other devoted men to lend a hand in the battle for the Union and +liberty. In June, 1863, another regiment was organized at Fort Scott, +and the regimental organization of the same was completed at Fort Smith, +Arkansas. The regiment went into camp on the Poteau river, about two +miles south of Fort Smith. The work of drill and discipline was here +carried on till the regiment was in splendid condition for the field.</p> +<p class="pnext">On the 24th of March, 1864, the regiment left Fort Smith, and set out on +the Camden expedition, forming a part of Col. Williams' brigade of +General Thayer's division. This division united with that under +Major-General Steele on the Little Missouri river, after which they all +moved on together against the rebels in the direction of the Red river.</p> +<p class="pnext">The rebels under Generals Price, Smith and Taylor having defeated Union +General Banks at the Red river, Major-General Steele retreated eastward +to Camden, a distance of about sixty miles. During the retreat the +regiment had several skirmishes with the enemy, and quite distinguished +themselves.</p> +<p class="pnext">On the 29th of April, 1864, the rebel cavalry came up with the rear of +the Union forces at the Saline river, and skirmishing continued until +night came on. A pontoon bridge had been flung over the river, and all +the Union soldiers had already crossed except some artillery and two +brigades of infantry, which included the Second Kansas Colored Regiment. +We had six regiments in all on our side. The rebels came close up to our +forces, and waited for the dawn of day to begin the battle. Union +General Rice, of Iowa, formed his brigade in the centre; the Twelfth +Kansas Infantry, under General Hayes, was on the left, and the Second +Kansas Colored Regiment, under Colonel Crawford, was on the right. There +were also two pieces of artillery on the Union side.</p> +<p class="pnext">As soon as it was light enough, the opposing forces drew nearer one +another, and the battle commenced in dead earnest. The crash of musketry +was terrific. The rebels strove again and again to break through our +thin lines, but the Union forces stood their ground with firmness, +repelling every onset of the rebels till re-enforcements came back over +the pontoon bridge to our aid. The rebels, who had in vain attempted for +three long hours to break down the colored men of Kansas, next brought a +battery of artillery to bear upon them, and opened fire. When Col. +Crawford saw this, he ordered the brave young men to charge upon the +guns with the bayonet, and led the charge himself. All the gun-carriage +horses were killed but two; the gunners were killed, wounded or had +fled; the intrepid and heroic Kansas colored boys took possession of the +rebel battery, and brought them over to our side! Truly, this was a +brave deed! (Zabulun and Naphtali were a people who jeopardized their +lives unto the death upon the high places of the field). When the Second +Kansas returned with the rebel guns, the officers and men, in the midst +of the battle, gave them a glorious salute, waving their swords in the +air, and tossing up their caps on the points of their bayonets, whilst +our devoted braves smiled with pleasure. After this successful capture +of the guns, the Second Kansas was moved into the centre of the line; a +charge by the entire Union forces was made along the whole line, and now +the rebels everywhere gave away, and the victory was complete. The +Second Kansas was the first to begin the battle, and they were the last +to leave the field.</p> +<p class="pnext">Thus the war went along the Western frontier. There were no great +battles, as was the case in the East. But here was plenty to do for all +that, and it was done well. There were at times great hardships to +endure—long, weary marches, cold, and the want of all things; but such +is the life of the soldier, and such is war. We must take the rough with +the smooth. Upon the whole, the Western men fought bravely and +successfully, and mightily helped to pull down the rebellion.</p> +<p class="pnext">The present generation have very little idea of the excitement that +prevailed all over the country during the long war. Where all our +regiments did so well—indeed, covered themselves with honor—it would +be ridiculous to make any distinction, and place one before another. But +I may at least make a selection at random, and single out the 54th +Regiment of Massachusetts, in March, 1863, who fought with unsurpassed +valor until the close of the war—yea, after the close of the war! I +followed the career of that devoted regiment as if I had been one of the +brave fellows! Well, how they did fight, to be sure! They fought at +James Island, at Fort Wagner, at Olustee, at Honey Hill, and at Boykin's +Mill, after the war was over, because they had not heard that Lee had +surrendered!</p> +<p class="pnext">This Boykin's Mill was a few miles from Camden, South Carolina. The +Fifty-fourth Regiment had fought every step of the way from Georgetown +to Camden, and the rebels made a last desperate, but unsuccessful stand +at Boykin's Mill. It was a splendid place for the defense, as there was +no other way of approaching it except by a narrow embankment about two +hundred yards long, where only one man could walk at a time. The rebels +had torn up the planks of the bridge over the mill-race, thus compelling +the men of the Fifty-fourth to cross over on the timbers and cross-ties, +and all this under a fatal fire of musketry, which swept the embankment +and the bridge, and made it little better than a "forlorn hope" to pass +over. But the Fifty-fourth did not falter. They had fought at Olustee +and Fort Wagner, so they charged over the dreadful way in single file. +The first men to advance were all shot down, but the rest of their +comrades advanced over their prostrate bodies, till the enemy became so +panic-stricken at the sight that they gave up the fight, abandoned their +position at the mill, and fled. There seems to have been a poet in the +regiment—Mr. Henry A. Monroe, of New Bedford, Massachusetts, who was +the drummer-boy of Company C, of the Fifty-Fourth. He thus describes the +fight at Boykin's Mill:</p> +<blockquote><div> +<div class="line-block"> +<div class="line"> + </div> +<div class="line"> +One wailing bugle note—then at the break of day,</div> +<div class="line"> +With martial step and gay the army takes the way</div> +<div class="line-block"> +<div class="line"> +From Camden Town.</div> +<div class="line"> + </div> +</div> +<div class="line"> +There lay along the path, defending native land,</div> +<div class="line"> +A daring, desperate band entrenched on either hand</div> +<div class="line-block"> +<div class="line"> +In ambuscade.</div> +<div class="line"> + </div> +</div> +<div class="line"> +A low and dark ravine beneath a rugged hill,</div> +<div class="line"> +Where stood the Boykin Mill spanning the creek, whose rill</div> +<div class="line-block"> +<div class="line"> +Flows dark and deep.</div> +<div class="line"> + </div> +</div> +<div class="line"> +Only a narrow bank where one can scarcely tread;</div> +<div class="line"> +Thick branches meet o'erhead; across the mill-pond's bed</div> +<div class="line-block"> +<div class="line"> +A bridge up-torn.</div> +<div class="line"> + </div> +</div> +<div class="line"> +One single sharp report:—A hundred muskets peal,—</div> +<div class="line"> +A wild triumphant yell, as back the army fell</div> +<div class="line-block"> +<div class="line"> +Stunned, bleeding, faint.</div> +<div class="line"> + </div> +</div> +<div class="line"> +As when some mighty rock, obstructs the torrent's course;</div> +<div class="line"> +After the moment's pause, 'twill rush with greater force,</div> +<div class="line-block"> +<div class="line"> +Resistless on.</div> +<div class="line"> + </div> +</div> +<div class="line"> +A moment's pause, and then our leader from his post,</div> +<div class="line"> +Viewing the stricken host, cried, "Comrades!—all is lost</div> +<div class="line-block"> +<div class="line"> +If now we fail!"</div> +<div class="line"> + </div> +</div> +<div class="line"> +Forming in single file, they gaze with bated breath;</div> +<div class="line"> +Around,—before,—beneath,—on every hand, stern death</div> +<div class="line-block"> +<div class="line"> +His visage showed.</div> +<div class="line"> + </div> +</div> +<div class="line"> +"Forward!"—They quickly spring with leveled bayonet;</div> +<div class="line"> +Each eye is firmly set upon that pathway, wet</div> +<div class="line-block"> +<div class="line"> +With crimson gore.</div> +<div class="line"> + </div> +</div> +<div class="line"> +That Balaklava dash!—Right through the leaden hail,</div> +<div class="line"> +O'er dyke and timbers frail, with heart that never fail</div> +<div class="line-block"> +<div class="line"> +They boldly charge.</div> +<div class="line"> + </div> +</div> +<div class="line"> +Facing the scathing fire without a halt or break,</div> +<div class="line"> +Save when with moan or shriek in the blood-mingled creek</div> +<div class="line-block"> +<div class="line"> +The wounded fall.</div> +<div class="line"> + </div> +</div> +<div class="line"> +What could resist that charge?—Above the battle's roar</div> +<div class="line"> +There swells a deafening cheer, telling to far and near,</div> +<div class="line-block"> +<div class="line"> +The Mill is won!</div> +<div class="line"> + </div> +</div> +</div> +</div></blockquote> +<p class="pfirst">Anecdotes of deeds of bravery and devotion kept cropping up all through +the war. During the early part of the war on the Lower Mississippi, a +former slave assisted in bringing in a lot of prisoners, and he himself +actually drove his former owner before him into the Union camp! "Old +Master" assumed bullying airs to induce him to let him escape, but the +soldier pointed his gun at him repeatedly, saying, "Go on, sir, or I'll +shoot!" So he brought him into the camp, all radiant with smiles, and +who can blame him for smiling at such a time as this?</p> +<p class="pnext">At Marion, Tennessee, there were many incidents of personal bravery, of +which this was one. A colored soldier had got a tree stump close to the +rebel line, and in spite of all efforts to dislodge him, he still stuck +to his post, and picked off their men. The rebels charged on the stump, +but when the Union line saw the movement they concentrated their fire on +the advancing men, and drove them back. Then there followed long and +loud cheering for that brave and lonely soldier, who still stuck to his +stump and kept firing away with a regularity that was truly wonderful. +The stump was riddled with bullets, but he still stuck to it, although +at times he was nearer to the rebel lines than to the Union ones.</p> +<p class="pnext">A great many war incidents were recorded in the annals of the fighting +in Mississippi between Union General Sturgis and the rebels there under +General Forrest. Here are a few of them. A corporal in one of the +colored regiments was ordered to surrender. He allowed his would-be +captor to come up close to him, when he struck him down with the butt +end of his gun. Whilst the regiment was fighting in a ditch, and the +order came to retreat, the color-bearer threw out the flag, intending to +jump out and get it, but the rebels made a rush for it, and in the +struggle one of our men knocked down with his gun the rebel who had the +flag, and caught it and ran. A rebel, with an oath, ordered one of our +men to surrender. He thought the rebel's gun was loaded, and dropped his +own gun; but when he saw his enemy commence loading, our colored soldier +made a sudden spring for his own gun, and struck the rebel dead. One of +our captains was surrounded by about a dozen of the enemy, when he was +seen by one of our own men, who called several of his companions to his +side, when they rushed forward together and fired, killed several of the +rebels, and rescued their captain at once. A rebel came up to one of +our men, and said, "Come, my good fellow; go with me, and wait on me." +In a second our Union soldier shot his would-be master dead. Once when +our men made a charge on the enemy they rushed forward with the cry, +"Remember Fort Pillow!" when the rebels called back to them and said, +"Lee's men killed no prisoners!" One of our men in a charge threw his +antagonist to the ground, and pinned him fast there, but when he tried +to withdraw his bayonet it came off the gun, and as he was very busy +just at that time, he left it behind him, still transfixed to the +ground. Another soldier killed a rebel by striking him with the butt end +of his gun; the gun broke, and as he was unwilling to stop his work just +then, he kept on loading, and fired three times before he could get a +better gun. The first time, as he was not very cautious, the rebound of +his gun cut his lip badly. When the troops were in the ditch, three +rebels came upon one man and ordered him to surrender. But as his gun +was loaded he shot one of them and bayoneted the other; but forgetting +in his haste that he could bayonet the third he turned the butt end of +his gun and knocked him down. (The above are a few incidents culled from +the annals of the fighting done by our men in Northern Mississippi.)</p> +<p class="pnext">A great many good stories have been related in connection with the Army +of the Cumberland. Here is one that refers to an incident when that army +was in Tennessee. Early one morning, as a company of white soldiers were +about to resume their march, a Kentucky lieutenant rode up to the +commanding officer, saluted, and said he had some runaway slaves under +his charge, whom he had arrested for the purpose of sending them back to +their masters; but as he had been ordered away from there just then, he +turned them over to this officer in command. (At that time rewards could +be claimed for returning fugitive slaves to their masters). So the +officer took charge of them, and purposely assuming a stern air and +manner, which he did not feel at all, he said:</p> +<p class="pnext">"Where are you going?"</p> +<p class="pnext">"Going to the Yankee army."</p> +<p class="pnext">"What for?"</p> +<p class="pnext">"We want to be free."</p> +<p class="pnext">"All right; you are free now; go where you wish!"</p> +<p class="pnext">And their warm thanks gave great joy to the officer.</p> +<p class="pnext">The same officer relates another incident for the purpose of showing the +humor of the colored soldier. A spent ball had struck one of our men on +the side of the head, passed under the scalp, and making nearly a +circuit of the skull, came out on the other side. His comrades merrily +declared, when the ball struck him it sang out, "Too thick!" and then +merrily passed on.</p> +<p class="pnext">Here is another incident that happened, which I think is very diverting, +even amidst the horrors of war. An officer was riding at the head of his +column, and the men were swinging along "arms at will," when they spied +General George H. Thomas and his staff approaching. Without orders, at +once they brought their arms to "right shoulder shift," took the step, +and striking up their favorite tune of "John Brown," whistled it with +most admirable effect while they were passing the general, who was +greatly amused and pleased at the incident.</p> +<p class="pnext">There was a private soldier who during an engagement had taken his +position up a tree as a sharpshooter, when he had his right arm broken +by a ball. The captain called out to him, "You had better come down from +there, go to the rear, and find the surgeon."</p> +<p class="pnext">"Oh, no, Captain," he replied; "I can fire with my left arm!"</p> +<p class="pnext">And so he did.</p> +<p class="pnext">When General Thomas rode over the field, after the battle of Nashville, +and saw the bodies of colored men side by side with the foremost of +white men, and upon the very ramparts and works of the Confederates, he +turned to his staff and said:</p> +<p class="pnext">"Gentlemen, the question is settled; Negroes will fight!"</p> +<p class="pnext">And thus I might go on, adding incident to incident, and that without +end. Where a war was being carried on all the way from the Potomac to +the Rio Grande, it must needs have been that thousands of such incidents +were taking place every day.</p> +</div> +<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-x"> +<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref pginternal" href="#id13">CHAPTER X.</a></h2> +<div class="align-center figure"> +<img style="display: block; margin-left: 40%; width: 19%" alt="images/dec10.png" src="images/dec10.png" width="19%"/> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><em class="italics">Mrs. Beulah Lincoln and the Girls Leave Buffalo for New Orleans—The +Journey to Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, Ohio—Voyage Down the Ohio +to the Mississippi—Arrival at New Orleans—Met by Old Friends at the +Landing—Meeting With Tom at the Hospital—The Newspaper Reports.</em></p> +<p class="pnext">Weeks and months had passed away, during which my gallant Tom had +written incessantly from the hospital at New Orleans, and the two girls +and myself had answered him. It was now the winter of 1864, and Tom was +not yet well enough to get his discharge from the hospital, much less to +take the field. I was beginning to tire of writing letters, and things +called for a change of scene and fresh air. Besides, another stern +winter was setting in, and I thought I might get along better in another +climate. So I got the girls ready, and we boarded the train for +Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati, Ohio. It was wonderful to see and +feel how warmer the weather became as we got further South. The icy +fetters of winter relaxed their hold as we advanced, and we were quite +delighted with the hills and forests of the beautiful State of Ohio all +the way to Cincinnati. Here we travelled over a great part of the city, +and called at the parsonage of the A. M. E. Church, and visited the A. +M. E. Church itself, where Tom and I were so happily married upon the +evening the self-same day when we took our departure from Riverside +Hall, near Louisville, Kentucky.</p> +<p class="pnext">Having seen a few of our dear friends here—friends whose acquaintance +we had made at the time of our marriage—the girls and I, escorted by +some of those beloved acquaintances, moved down to the "Public Landing," +where we boarded the "Natchez" for New Orleans. We took a fond leave of +those dear souls, and got on board, and soon felt quite happy in our +nice and cosy stateroom, which the girls thought the most delightful +little home they had ever been in. At 4 P. M., whilst the bright and +dazzling sun was still some distance above the horizon, and after all +the loud racket and wild confusion of the embarkation were over, the +last whistle was blown, they drew in the gang-planks, and we pushed out +into the river Ohio.</p> +<p class="pnext">Our hearts felt as light as feathers as the "Natchez" ploughed out into +mid-stream, a thousand branches up above, swollen with the recent rains, +having filled up the mighty and splendid Ohio from bank to bank, so that +we seemed to be floating down a grand, heaving, fresh-water sea! Now, +indeed, did we enjoy new life with a vim. I told the girls how the first +French owners and explorers named the Ohio "La Belle Rivière," that is, +"The Beautiful River," and it is the beautiful river, still. Our eyes +were quite enchanted with the endless hills on both sides, all clothed +with primeval forests up to their summits, and coming down to the +water's edge. The girls were quite transported with the beautiful, +endless turns and windings, and seemed to get no rest for the thousands +of boats and barges, and floating things of every shape and size, +rushing up and down the river day and night, whistling and screaming, +and that without end. It was a perfect delight for me to be once more on +this river, for nature is always fresh, fair and enchanting, but for my +two daughters the whole scene was nothing but a succession of unending +delights. Their feet and eyes had no rest, and their tongues were never +still. It was more than I could do to answer all their questions. I was +quite delighted to see how the girls and several other nice children on +the boat became acquainted, and learned to love one another. And this +acquaintanceship and love seemed to grow upon them all from day to day +as we advanced farther south. Indeed, children are great people, and +they will have ways of their own. And on, on, still flew "The Natchez," +whilst our glorious river increased with innumerable branches from the +right and left, till we reached the lower end of Kentucky, where the +lands were more flat and uninteresting. We made a call here or there, +and rushed down the stream again, until at last our glorious Ohio was +swallowed up in the Mississippi, "The Father of Waters."</p> +<div class="align-center figure" id="mr-jackson"> +<img style="display: block; width: 100%" alt="images/image16mrjackson.jpg" src="images/image16mrjackson.jpg" width="100%"/> +<div class="caption italics"> +MR. JACKSON.</div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst">I don't know how it is! I suppose it is because I am a sensitive woman; +but our arrival in the Mississippi river seemed to put a new soul into +me that I am altogether unable to define. Like the far-travelled Queen +of Sheba, there seemed no more spirit left within me. My first and +grandest sensation arose, no doubt, from the fact that the reunion +between my well-beloved Tom and me was almost an accomplished fact, +because we were now both on the same river, and the rapid "Natchez," +assisted by the mighty forces of the great rushing river, would soon +bring us face to face, after several years of separation, which looked +to me like half a lifetime already. Then there was the mighty "Father +of Waters" himself, always majestic, solemn and grand, bearing your boat +along upon his mighty bosom, like a perfect fly! And then we seemed to +live our lives over again in our dear children, and the two thoughtful, +contemplative girls were filled with a wonder that seemed to strike them +dumb. It was a truly wondrous sight, especially for those passengers who +had never been on the mighty "Father of Waters" before, nor even seen +his rushing waters. Oh, the Mississippi, the Mississippi! How I thought +and thought, and thought again how my dear Tom had battled on for many a +day against the powerful rebel forts on this very river, to clear Uncle +Sam's way from the headwaters to the Gulf of Mexico! It brought the +tears to my eyes when I thought how my own tender husband had fought and +bled on this very stream that the Union, one and all re-united, might be +restored to the nation at large; how Tom had fought and bled, and almost +died that the shackles might be knocked off the suffering slave, and +freedom reign all over the land, from the Lakes to the Gulf.</p> +<p class="pnext">Thus I stood for many a long hour in my usual feeling, womanish, +sentimental way, watching the gathering and thundering waters, over +which the swift and beautiful "Natchez," the floating palace of the +Mississippi, hurried and bowled along like a thing of life. And as we +swept on past Vicksburg and other places that had long ago surrendered +to the Union armies, I thought of Lincoln's famous words (President +Lincoln's): "The Mississippi, the 'Father of Waters' flows once more +annexed to the sea!"</p> +<p class="pnext">And in this way the joyous days and nights passed away on the rapid +"Natchez," whilst the passengers spent the time in any way they pleased, +reading, talking and sleeping by day, and dancing, courting and lolling +away the evening hours, or looking lazily at the rushing waters of the +great river. Attracted by the hilarity in the saloon, my girls spent +some time flirting and waltzing around with the other children on the +boat, nice, harmless playmates, whom I mentioned before. Indeed, the +girls were quite fortunate in having such nice girl companions, for of +all the curses on the face of the earth, I think bad company is about +the worst of all!</p> +<p class="pnext">Somehow or other this voyage down the Mississippi and Ohio seemed food +for my health. The complete want of domestic cares, the fresh air on the +open deck, the happiness of the two children, and all my delightful +surroundings, made me fat and rosy, and the girls, also. Indeed, we were +complimented on our appearance before we left the boat. The rapid +"Natchez" flew along in, and in due course the "Crescent City," as New +Orleans is called, arose upon our view, and thrilled us with the utmost +delight.</p> +<p class="pnext">We drew up to the land-place in due time, and now followed one of those +wild, exciting scenes that usually take place when we come to the end of +a grand journey and anticipate grand things in the immediate future. No +sooner had the gang-planks been thrown out, but the usual rush for the +shore, and the usual rush on board, took place at once. Cabs, carriages +and porters, all were on hand. As I had taken the precaution to +communicate with those dear friends at whose house I lodged when I +rescued my own dear mother, Mrs. John B. Sutherland, from slavery, there +were two of the self-same sweet ladies awaiting us on the wharf, and +signalling to us before we even came up to it, whilst myself and the +girls waved our handkerchiefs to them in reply. But when the gang-planks +were flung down between us and the shore, the dear souls rushed on +board, and a scene of wild embracing, kissing, tears and laughter +followed, that it would be quite vain for me to describe. In that brief +and joyous meeting on the deck of the "Natchez," we all experienced a +lifetime of bliss. With a terrible vim, indeed, did we all realize the +truth of the 13th chapter of First Corinthians, wherein the great +apostle of the Gentiles dilates so eloquently on love (not charity). +Well, the girls and I got all our traps together, called for a cab, when +we all got in, and drove for my cosy old quarters. Although I had only +spent a week with that dear family on my last visit, the attachment that +had grown up between us was truly wonderful. I had heard from them +several times, and they never, never forgot my dear mother and me. When +we all reached the never-to-be-forgotten house with the cab, we received +another ovation at the door from those who had remained at home. The +grand welcome put the girls and me into the very best humor. After we +had heard and told each other's news, the girls and myself walked forth +to meet dear husband and father at the hospital. Our impatience was so +great, mine at least was, that we did not seem able to live out this day +unless we met with Capt. Thomas Lincoln, of the Union Army, in the +South. We soon reached the hospital, where we were received with all +that politeness, tenderness and humanity that are so characteristic of +doctors and nurses. I told them at once who we were, and they were very +greatly astonished and delighted, indeed, to think that we had thus +purposely travelled all the way from one extreme end of the United +States to the other on a pilgrimage of love and devotion for husband and +father. As I told them that Tom knew nothing about our coming, I asked +them to take us into a parlor, and simply to announce to my husband that +some friends had called to see him. Our attendants smiled with pleasure +at the proposal, and led us into one of the parlors of this beautiful +hospital, and we had not long to wait till we heard a heavy man +coming—clank, clank, clanking along on one crutch. (He sent me word +that at first he used two, but now he only required one of them). When +Tom came to the door, we three advanced to meet him, and now followed a +wild scene of tears, laughter, embracing and joy, which my dear readers +will understand far better than I am able to describe. The wild, +heaving, rushing waters of the Mississippi were as nothing to this. Oh, +sweet is the pleasure after pain! We seemed to live a whole lifetime of +joy of the most Elysian bliss whilst seated in that +never-to-be-forgotten parlor. Thus hour after hour passed away, till it +was dinner time, but on this occasion, Tom's dinner and ours were served +up in this parlor.</p> +<p class="pnext">By this time the news had been well spread throughout the hospital, and +even into the city of New Orleans, that the children and I had come to +see Tom. And no sooner had we got through with our dinner when the tide +of visitors began—doctors, nurses, with their lady and gentlemen +friends from all quarters, besides almost all the officials on the +premises, at least those who could get away from their duties, to come +and shake hands and speak a kind word to us three pilgrim travelers to +their own hospital. No doubt but a good deal of this interest arose from +the high favor in which Captain Thomas Lincoln had been held from the +first, and that in turn was greatly due to his well-known bravery on +the field of battle and of fame. Then Tom is of a tall, commanding, +splendid personage, and a perfect magnet among all comers.</p> +<p class="pnext">We had intended to spend the afternoon in our own way, but circumstances +alter cases, and the afternoon wore away with nothing at all but one +round of introductions after another round, till at last the first +crowds began to die off as tea time drew near; and as the authorities at +the hospital were very kind, indeed, and as we were still in that +self-same parlor where we had spent the day, as an additional favor to +us four our tea was served up in the same place where we had had our +dinner. And so we all sat down, our hearts overflowing with joy—joy +that found vent even in tears, and filled our eyes, out of gratitude to +that good God who had thus allowed us all to meet again, "for His mercy +endureth forever." One of the girls having said grace before meal, we +all fell to, and had a most glorious repast of the very best that the +hospital and the city of New Orleans could produce.</p> +<p class="pnext">As good news flies fast in a strange place, especially where a good +cause is under way, we had no sooner got through with our most capital +tea than the newspaper reporters began to arrive. And those reporters +were the politest gentlemen I ever saw in my life, for they treated us +with as much kindly interest as if we had all been acquainted for the +last twenty years. Tom and I asked them to be seated whilst we had a +brief consultation between ourselves aside. This consultation was about +my own coming to New Orleans at a former time, and releasing my own dear +mother from slavery. But as the bottom had already been knocked out of +the peculiar institution, as it was playfully called, and what remained +of it would soon pass away, we did not consider that there was any risk +to run, and decide to tell the whole truth, and give all the facts of +the case to the reporters, leaving it to their own discretion to say and +do anything that they pleased, themselves. So the reporting gentlemen +took their seats, got out their note-books, and went to work, writing +down our depositions, one and all, first and last, asking us questions +which we answered with the greatest pleasure. There was a good deal of +amusement in the parlor that evening over the reporting business, I +suspect arising out of the slavery question, and the whole of us being a +lot of "runaways"!</p> +<p class="pnext">In the meantime, when all had left, the girls and myself were +completely worn out both in mind and body, with travel, fatigue and +excitement. Tom saw us to the gate where we all took leave for the +night, after which we steered for our cosy lodgings, and all got to bed +as rapidly as possible, for we were as tired and worn out as soldiers +after a hard-fought field!</p> +<p class="pnext">The children and I had a grand, long sleep, and came down late to +breakfast. There had been showers of warm rain in the early morning, and +the breezes that blew over New Orleans were as well perfumed with the +odor of Southern flowers and vegetation as ever lady's boudoir was with +the perfumes and colognes. Fresh-cut flowers in vases stood on the +dining-room table, and there were plenty of the fresh fruits of the +Sunny South, which the family had brought in from the market in the +early morning. The girls seemed quite at sea amid so many tropical +pleasures, and my first-born exclaimed, as she looked around and viewed +the plants, and flowers, and shrubbery in every direction, both in the +house and out of it,</p> +<p class="pnext">"My goodness, mamma; the people have good times down here in Dixie. Papa +has a grand time in that fine hospital, reading the latest news from the +front, and scenting the perfumery wafted from 10,000 flowers and shrubs! +I just envy him so much happiness."</p> +<p class="pnext">"Yes," said the younger child, "and he is here all the time."</p> +<p class="pnext">To which her elder sister rejoined,</p> +<p class="pnext">"Oh, my dear sister, I wish that mamma and papa would stay here +altogether, and not go back to Buffalo!"</p> +<p class="pnext">"What?" said I, in great surprise, "don't you know that there are 10,000 +serpents among the grasses and shrubs out in the woods? Don't you want +to go back to our sweet little church on Vine street, in Buffalo? And +don't you want to visit the Gibsons, at Richmond Hill, once more?"</p> +<p class="pnext">"Oh, yes, mamma," she replied, "I want to go back to class to the church +on Vine street, Buffalo, and I want to dig up potatoes, and pull down +apples and peaches at Richmond Hill, where those good Gibsons live, in +Western Canada."</p> +<p class="pnext">"But," resumed my oldest daughter, "you say, mamma, that there are +10,000 serpents in this part of the Sunny South; is that so?"</p> +<p class="pnext">"Yes," I replied, whilst I cut another orange in two, "there are more +than 10,000, I suppose; but take all the hundreds of species in the +world, there is not one species in a hundred that is poisonous at all; +and they will seldom or never sting anybody, if one does not go in their +way, or trample on them in the woods. They generally get out of the way. +But tell me, my dear, what makes you so fond of the South?"</p> +<p class="pnext">"Indeed, mamma, I can hardly tell, unless it be that there is such a +sweet and delicious feeling about all our surroundings here. Why, the +very winds themselves seem to be fond of blowing about in this place."</p> +<p class="pnext">"Yes," put in the younger; "the very winds are fond of blowing about in +this place."</p> +<p class="pnext">These latter remarks were heard by some of the family and guests, and we +all raised a loud laugh, whilst the youngest added:</p> +<p class="pnext">"Sister, please pass me another of those small, sweet oranges! I don't +see for the very life of me why we could not live in the State of +Louisiana. And then, mamma says the snakes are not very dangerous, and +we could be careful, and look out for them."</p> +<p class="pnext">"Oh, yes," rejoined her sister; "we could be careful, and look out for +them. And would not the good Lord Himself protect us against them?"</p> +<p class="pnext">"No doubt he would," remarked the other, "if Christianity can protect us +against serpents about New Orleans."</p> +<p class="pnext">By this time we were in a great state of merriment over the two girls, +and rose from the breakfast table as if we had been leaving a successful +entertainment, and walked out to see the garden.</p> +<p class="pnext">After we had made the rounds of the garden, and regaled our senses with +all that was most delicious in the Sunny South, we came back to the +house, when a member of this good family placed before us on the +sitting-room table, one of the New Orleans morning papers, which +contained the following article. I think the good reporter who wrote +this most grandiloquent article on myself, family and connections must +either have been drinking too much wine, or else he is on the point of +getting married! I can account for such high praise in no other way. But +let us hear what he has got to say:</p> +<p class="pnext">"ARRIVAL OF MRS. THOMAS LINCOLN AND HER TWO DAUGHTERS.</p> +<p class="pnext">"It is an old and true saying 'that wonders never cease,' and again we +are reminded of the words used by Paul against his enemies,—'Those who +have turned the world up-side down have come hither also!' We Southern +people, after this, need wonder no longer at the terrible war that the +mighty North has brought about our ears! There arrived in the port of +New Orleans yesterday, the wife and two daughters of Capt. Thos. +Lincoln, an inmate of one of our hospitals, a captain of colored troops, +promoted on the battle-field for bravery. Mrs. Lincoln is a perfect +paragon among ladies, and seem to possess every accomplishment under the +sun,—both mind and body. She is only twenty-seven years of age, and +brought her children, two well-grown girls—along with her, having +traveled by rail from Buffalo, New York, and from thence came on the +'Natchez,' down the Ohio and Mississippi to New Orleans. Their arrival +was a great surprise to Captain Lincoln, and all the high authorities at +the hospital; and a tremendous, warm welcome was what they all received +from all whom they met. We ourselves heard of their arrival, hurried up +to the hospital, met Captain Lincoln's wife and daughters in one of the +parlors there, and were very much impressed indeed by this entire happy +family, who appeared to us 'as fine as silk.' We found all four brimful +of talk and intelligence; Mrs. Lincoln and the girls being expert hands +on the piano, whilst the girls have evidently had splendid opportunities +of getting a first-class training in every way. Indeed the intelligence +of the great North has not yet been told by one half!</p> +<p class="pnext">"We remember reading in the public papers, some nine or ten years ago, +that this self-same Capt. Thos. Lincoln and Miss Beulah Jackson, now +Mrs. Lincoln, made their escape from Riverside Hall, Kentucky, and were +married on the evening of the same day at Cincinnati, Ohio. Tom Lincoln, +as he used to be called, was general manager at the old baronial +residence, and Beulah went by the facetious name of 'The Flower Girl of +Riverside Hall,' and Beulah is 'Flower Girl' still.</p> +<p class="pnext">"Mrs. Lincoln and the girls are very comfortably lodged at the house of +some old friends where, according to present appearances, they will +spend the winter,—a solace and a comfort to the brave husband and +father, who is slowly recovering from the wounds he received on the +banks of the Mississippi whilst heroically contending with the enemy up +the river. The happiness of this now re-united family, and under such +romantic circumstances, taught us that the age of chivalry has not yet +gone by.</p> +<p class="pnext">"We are all aware that this war sent by God himself for the downfall of +slavery, was begun in Kansas, transferred to South Carolina, and then +spread over almost all the Southern States. It was the abolitionism of +the North aided by the anger and high-strung temper of the South that +blew up the flames of war, and brought on the present state of things +that we now see! And there were not only men in the great abolition +campaign, but a few intrepid women also, who traveled the Northern +States, attended great meetings, where they played, and sang, and even +made most eloquent addresses to fire the great northern heart, and thus +these talented and warring women, these Deborahs of the great North, +were a mighty factor in blowing up the raging fires of abolitionism, and +driving the nation into war.</p> +<p class="pnext">"Mrs. Thomas Lincoln herself was one of those moving spirits, and her +great natural intelligence, splendid training, and good looks helped to +put wind in her sails, and to stir up the war spirit of the dominant +North in every kind of way possible.</p> +<p class="pnext">"As slavery is almost dead and gone,—and what remains cannot exist much +longer, we must accept the entire situation with as good a grace as we +can! It can do no harm now to let the cat out of the bag and tell the +whole truth! We have shown that not only is Capt. Thos. Lincoln a brave +man, but his affectionate and beautiful wife is brave also; and she +proved it about ten years ago, when she was only some seventeen years of +age, and came to this very city of New Orleans, and 'stole away' her own +handsome and accomplished mother out of one of the grandest houses here, +marched on board the New York steamer with her, and conveyed her to +Buffalo, New York, by way of Havana and New York City. Surely that was a +great feat for a mere seventeen-year-old married woman, or 'big' school +girl if you prefer it,—to perform,—that is travelling all the way by +rail to Cincinnati, then down the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, and then +braving the dangers of the Gulf of Mexico and the stormy North Atlantic +and all this to have her own beloved mother under the self-same roof +with herself—and she succeeded in the bargain! We are informed that her +mother,—formerly called Harriet Jackson, was married some eight or nine +years ago to Mr. John B. Sutherland, of Buffalo, N. Y. Under all these +altered circumstances we think that the right thing to do now, is to +accept of the changed situation with all the grace that we can,—turn +over a new leaf, and do all for our former slaves, but now our freed +brothers and sisters that lies in our power. It is clearly the will of +God that men should be free. It will never do to talk about 'goods and +chattels' any longer. If Tom Lincoln and Beulah Jackson had not left +Riverside Hall in Kentucky, it is quite clear that had it not been for +God and Northern Liberty, we would never have seen such a splendid +development of things, as we now behold at the hospital which we have +just visited, that is,—a brave and well-trained soldier from the +battle-field and a mother and two daughters that possess all the gifts +and the graces that can ever be claimed by the mistress of the 'White +House,' at Washington, and the queens and ladies of rank of Europe.</p> +<p class="pnext">"With all our hearts we welcome our visitors to the Crescent City of +New Orleans, and desire to make a good impression on their hearts and +minds, trusting that their stay among us will be very pleasant indeed; +and may they ever be much in love with the Sunny South."</p> +</div> +<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-xi"> +<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref pginternal" href="#id14">CHAPTER XI.</a></h2> +<div class="align-center figure"> +<img style="display: block; margin-left: 40%; width: 19%" alt="images/dec11.png" src="images/dec11.png" width="19%"/> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><em class="italics">Grand Demonstration at the Military Hospital—Music and Speeches—The +Armies Reviewed by President Lincoln—The War in Virginia—Fight at New +Market Heights—Fall of Petersburg and Richmond—Flight of the +Rebels—Their Surrender at Appomattox Court House—Rejoicing Over the +Good News—The Lincoln Family Leave New Orleans, and Arrive Home at +Buffalo.</em></p> +<div class="align-center figure" id="house-where-lincoln-died"> +<img style="display: block; width: 100%" alt="images/image17lincolnhouse.jpg" src="images/image17lincolnhouse.jpg" width="100%"/> +<div class="caption italics"> +HOUSE WHERE LINCOLN DIED.</div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst">As the hospital where my husband was staying was at this time one of the +greatest attractions of New Orleans, the authorities determined to make +the most of our arrival there, and in short get up a demonstration in +force in honor of the colored soldier and the glorious deeds he had done +on the far-extended battle-field, all the way from the Potomac to the +Rio Grande; and it was decided that some high military general should be +asked to take the chair at this great meeting in the largest hall at the +hospital. As the newspaper reporters were once more on hand in force, it +will be unnecessary for me to say any more about this grand +demonstration, only I may say that men have a peculiar love for +flattering the fair sex, and I think that newspaper reporters, at least +those in the Sunny South, lead all the rest of the flatterers. I will +here insert a copy from the article of the same paper that contained the +glowing account of our arrival at New Orleans:</p> +<p class="pnext">"GRAND DEMONSTRATION AT THE MILITARY HOSPITAL—MRS. BEULAH LINCOLN ON THE +COLORED SOLDIER.</p> +<p class="pnext">"It will be a long time before the citizens of New Orleans and Louisiana +will forget the mighty gathering that took place last night at the +Military Hospital, where the commanding general took the chair, and +nobly presided for two hours over a mixed multitude of all races and +professions, to be entertained by Capt. Thos. Lincoln, Mrs. Beulah +Lincoln and their two daughters, all of whom are by this time well-known +to the people of Louisiana. The colored soldiers, officers, and general +population were out in force, and between them and the white portion of +the audience, standing room at last was a premium, and hundreds were +turned away for want of room in the hall.</p> +<p class="pnext">"All things being now in readiness, the chairman called the meeting to +order by saying,—'Ladies and Gentlemen! We are assembled here to-night +for an evening's entertainment from the Lincoln Family of Buffalo, and +we may also consider this a public reception of the same family. And +inasmuch as Mrs. Lincoln is a splendid hand on the piano, and a 'number +one' singer in the bargain, and as I had the pleasure of hearing her +myself, only the other day, going through the 'Mocking Bird' at a rate +and in a way such as I have never heard—no, never, elsewhere—I will ask +this accomplished lady to give us 'The Mocking Bird,' and sing to her +own accompaniment at the same time.'</p> +<p class="pnext">"When Mrs. Lincoln arose and advanced to the grand piano on the stage in +front of the audience, a most tremendous outburst of applause arose from +the audience, and almost brought down the roof. But our plucky and +accomplished musician struck in without stint, and such a 'Mocking Bird' +came forth from her lungs and off the chords of the piano as has not +been heard for many a long day on the lower Mississippi. The attention +was such as could be felt, and when she got through with the +performance, the applause was simply indescribable. An encore was +immediately called for with such vigor that the fair player was forced +to comply, and with grand spirit and vim she gave us 'We Are Coming +Father Abraham, Six Hundred Thousand More.' This really is a grand +story, to which Mrs. Lincoln's clever hands and powerful, sweet voice +did ample justice. Another encore was called for, but the gallant +chairman interfered by rising and saying, 'We now call upon Captain +Thos. Lincoln for a few remarks. Let us all give our most earnest +attention to Captain Tom.'</p> +<p class="pnext">"When the applause that had greeted his appearance had somewhat died +down, Captain Lincoln went on to say, 'Ladies and Gentlemen, such a +night as this makes up for all I have suffered in the cause of the Union +and Freedom. When I first entered the army to assist in putting down the +rebellion, I came down to the State of Louisiana and did my level best +against the enemy along the lower Mississippi. While we in Louisiana and +the colored troops in South Carolina under General Hunter, proved from +our first blows that we could and would fight, the President and his +Cabinet were deterred by many prejudiced men in the north and in the +very army itself from enlisting colored men. A portion of the northern +press were forever thundering against the enlistment of colored men, on +account of the prejudice against the color of the skin, or at least +against the inheritance of a few drops of African blood. They were +envious and jealous lest the descendant of African parentage should fall +side by side with the fair-skinned Caucasian, should die and be buried +with him, or if he survived the shock of war, should receive the +self-same honors as his Anglo-Saxon brother. Of course the white man of +the north knew that we could fight quite as well as himself. Why not? +But he was afraid of our proving that our claims to manhood were as good +as anything he could claim for himself; and therefore he felt unwilling +to give us a chance. Then again, not only did the slave-holders of the +south desire the continuation of slavery, but there was an 'immense +mixed multitude' of their sympathizers north of Mason and Dixon's Line, +who took the same view of the situation, and who foresaw that, once the +colored race marched to the field, slavery would come to an end. This +opposition was rampant in the Union Army and throughout the north till +the Southrons had given us dozens, if not hundreds of lickings on many a +hard fought field, and the winter of 1862 saw the entire nation in a +fearful state of depression. What was to be done?—The answer was at +hand!—As a matter of immediate military necessity call the colored men +into the field,—free them,—and end the war! Then drilling of colored men +began at once, from the Atlantic to the Rocky Mountains, and from the +Great Lakes to the Ohio and Missouri rivers, and now I believe that we +have some two hundred thousand colored men in the field and in the +fleets together. Neither have we fought for pay nor from any other +personal selfish motive; we have fought for the salvation of Uncle Sam +and the freedom of the slave at one and the same time. We have not +fought for ourselves alone, we have fought for others, and all the +commanding generals have ever given us a good word, and never a bad one. +They have uniformly praised our men with a good grace, and praised them +without stint. Now the south is steadily going down, down, down. All +they have left is a small section in the northeastern part of the +confederacy, and they cannot hold out much longer. Still like rats, they +will fight as long as there is one man left standing on his feet. I am +afraid we shall have to kill every one of them for they are a +stiff-necked and rebellious generation, and they will never surrender +whilst they have a man in front who can carry a flag.</p> +<p class="pnext">"'I ought to be in Virginia now myself, where so many of my friends and +compatriots, under Grant, are wearing out the rebellion to a nonentity. +I would like to be there, and would soon show the rebels and rebel +sympathizers again whether I will fight or not. But I am not entirely +recovered, even now, from the wounds I received up the river, and here I +will remain until I am cured.'</p> +<p class="pnext">"Captain Lincoln having thus spoken resumed his seat amidst a perfect +storm of applause all over the hall.</p> +<p class="pnext">"The gallant chairman once more arose and said, 'Ladies and Gentlemen. +It is now my extreme pleasure to bring under your kind notice the two +accomplished young daughters of Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln, two of the +sweetest girls that I ever met with in all my life. They are regular +attendants of a Christian Church at Buffalo, and have also received a +first class musical education in the north. They will now treat us all +to a fine duet on the grand piano.'</p> +<p class="pnext">"When the commanding general had thus spoken, these two elegant girls +advanced to the piano, took their seats, and commenced a duet which +gave a world of pleasure to all assembled in the hall, both soldiers and +citizens alike, and where and how these girls had got so much training +and perfected musical education was a wonder to many. Be that as it may, +the girls were not at all daunted, and played as quietly and collected +as if they had been in a private parlor at home. When the girls had got +through their lively and enthusiastic duet, the applause that followed +was so great and continued that they were obliged to comply with the +demand for an encore, which they accordingly gave, and which was, if +possible, better than the one before it, and was rewarded with another +tremendous round of applause.</p> +<p class="pnext">"The chairman arose again and said, 'Ladies and Gentlemen, we have all +listened with extreme pleasure to the two duets played by these two +children. We will now call upon Mrs. Thos. Lincoln to address the house. +She did splendid service during the Abolition Campaign that led on to +the election of Abraham Lincoln; and thousands, who are now free, have +already risen up and called her blessed. But we will now have the +pleasure of hearing the lady herself.'</p> +<p class="pnext">"Mrs. Lincoln on coming forward was met with a splendid reception from +the audience, who even rose to their feet and cheered loudly. It was a +glorious sight to see the meeting at this time, the handsome lady +waiting on the stage, and soldiers and citizens like to go frantic with +joy, as well indeed they might. When order had been evolved out of +chaos, Mrs. Lincoln proceeded as follows:</p> +<p class="pnext">"'Gallant General, Ladies and Gentlemen, it seems to me that this must +be the happiest day of my life, thus to stand before an audience in the +famous Crescent City in company with my dear husband and daughters. Most +assuredly this is the red letter day of my life, if I ever had one, to +address both soldiers and citizens at New Orleans.</p> +<p class="pnext">"'And yet I am quite overwhelmed when I contrast the little I was +permitted to do in the Abolition Campaign before the war with what many +a brave man,—yes, hundreds of thousands of men have done since, and are +doing now, both by day and by night. I feel quite overcome when I think +even of these brave men all around me here, and remember the easy times +by comparison, that we Abolitionists had as we travelled the Northern +States, and were not always well received. Yes, small and puny was our +work compared with that of the black and white heroes who have often met +a most determined and even desperate foe, on many a hard fought field. +The hearts of us poor women in the North have often bled as we all these +years at home lay secure and safe, whilst our loved ones were fighting +like giants against the enemies of human liberty, and mankind also. The +bravest of the brave were in the field. White and black all fought alike +well. They were the flower of all the men of the north. They were +swifter than eagles. They were stronger than lions.</p> +<p class="pnext">"'The war, no doubt, is now drawing to a close. The host of slavery +is in their last ditch, even at Richmond in Virginia, where blacks +and whites will have to finish them between them. And when this cruel +war is all over, and those who remain alive return home again, then the +country will begin to teem with chronicles and histories of the great +rebellion. But will one hundredth part of the truth ever be told? I +don't think it ever will; because it will never be known, and who can +write the history of that which we don't know? Such and such things +could be related, but there is no one to record them.</p> +<p class="pnext">"'It is very true that we may catch a glimpse of things here and there, +but for one item that is recorded, there will be a thousand lost. There +are the marches, and the counter-marches, the snow, the rain, and the +hail of winter; the heats and droughts of summer; weakness and sickness +arising from the want of all things, hunger and fatigue. O, there is +none but the Lord from heaven Himself who can ever know all that our +brave fellows have endured before they breathed their precious lives +away in the service of their country. Just consider for a moment how +their decaying bodies have been found weeks and months afterwards in the +deep ravines, at the bottom of swamps and rivers, in the wild tangled +thickets of the forest, upon every highway, and under every green tree. +Here a poor wounded fellow wandering away by himself and perishing all +alone in a strange land far from home and his native state, who knows +all about the end of that man; and who shall write his heroism and the +suffering he endured before the Lord put an end to his pains, and took +him home to heaven to Himself? Alas, alas! There is no one to tell us +how he suffered, fought and died. We only know that he marched forth to +the field, in health and strength and vigorous life, and did his part in +pulling down this terrible rebellion, a wicked rebellion indeed, built +upon the broken laws of human nature, an outrage upon humanity, and a +sin against God. But those gallant heroes who have fallen in the war +often said, that it was simply their part to do their duty, and, if they +fell, their wives and children would at least be free, and not forgotten +by a grateful and Christian government. (They shall not be forgotten). +When I look around me, and see the great advance along the whole line +already in the way of human liberty, the results are perfectly grand and +most inspiring. With the exception of a small section of the +Confederacy, it may be truthfully stated that the armies of the Union +have already freed all the slaves. From the Potomac to the Rio Grande +one grand song of liberty has been sung by the emancipated race. Was +there ever such a shout of joy heard since the Israelites escaped from +Egyptian slavery, when Pharaoh and all his host perished in the Red Sea? +Who would ever have imagined that in our own day history would thus have +repeated itself? But it has done so all the same; and for the self-same +reason our own poor, oppressed people have raised one universal shout to +Heaven, and sung all along the whole line, 'I will sing unto the Lord, +for he hath triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider hath he +thrown into the sea.' O, my brother! ye brave soldiers of the army of +the Union, ye have deserved well of your God and of your country, and +your honors will never fade while sun and moon endure. White and black +soldiers, shoulder to shoulder, have marched to the field; they have +overthrown their terrible foe, and they have cleared the way for the +education, the Christianization, and grand enlightenment and +intelligence of an emancipated race. Our sufferings have been great. The +whole nation has suffered, but the sacrifice has not been made in vain, +for generations unborn shall arise and call you blessed. Your labors, +toils and sufferings will neither be lost nor forgotten. The entire +emancipated race will bless you while life and time shall last; your +names shall be inscribed upon the roll of fame, and all generations +shall conspire to call you blessed. 'Be thou faithful unto death, and +<em class="italics">I</em> will give you a crown of life.' 'Enter ye into the joy of your +Lord.'</p> +<p class="pnext">"'Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen, I thank you very much indeed for +your kind attention to my few remarks.'</p> +<p class="pnext">"When Mrs. Lincoln had thus spoken, she resumed her seat amidst a loud +and long-continued storm of applause. The gallant chairman then called +for 'three cheers and a tiger,' for the Lincoln family, which were given +with a terrible vim, when the meeting broke up, and we all scattered for +our separate homes. But a grander demonstration was never gotten up in +the city of New Orleans."</p> +<p class="pnext">The last grand struggle of war was in Virginia, where General Grant +gathered together many of the veterans who had fought in the South and +Southwest, including 20,000 colored troops, one-half, at least, of whom +were veterans, and there were also many powerful, enthusiastic recruits +who desired nothing better than an opportunity to assist in knocking +down the Confederacy! A goodly number of those brave young fellows had +been enlisted in Maryland. It is quite amusing to recall the letters and +chronicles of the times when the recruiting officers landed from their +vessels on the shores of the Chesapeake, marched up to the +slave-holder's estates, called for all the male slaves to be brought +before them, when they picked out the strongest and the best, asked them +if they were willing to fight for freedom and the Union, and always +receiving the joyful answer, "Yes, master, I am willing," laid down +their tools there and then, and marched on board the Union vessels with +great delight. It was in vain that their rebel masters and mistresses +pointed out their need of their slaves, to gather in their harvest, +which was then about ripe (1863), or that the officers took their +able-bodied "servants," who left their teams right there on the +highways, the heads of the horses being turned round in the direction of +the plantation. The rebel masters and mistresses were simply referred to +Washington for redress—if any could be got there! "You must apply to +the Secretary of War; we are merely acting under orders from the head of +the department." In the meantime the delighted slaves marched on board, +and were taken to the camp appointed for drilling, and thus many a +splendid soldier was recruited who mightily helped to pull down the +"Confederate States."</p> +<div class="align-center figure" id="emancipation-statue-boston-mass"> +<img style="display: block; width: 100%" alt="images/image18bostonstatue.jpg" src="images/image18bostonstatue.jpg" width="100%"/> +<div class="caption italics"> +EMANCIPATION STATUE BOSTON, MASS.</div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst">The children and I spent a delightful time, as I remember well, on the +26th of April, 1864, reading the glorious accounts in the papers of the +grand march, the day before, past the White House at Washington, of the +mighty army destined for the conquest of Virginia, and the destruction +of the entire slave-holders' rebellion. That never-to-be-forgotten +show-day was indeed one of the red-letter days for the army of the +Union, among whom were thousands of colored soldiers who marched gaily +past, and hurrahed lustily for "Father Abraham," who was smiling down +upon them from the balcony of the White House. Although they were not +yet declared American citizens, still these brave young men were going +to fight for the star-spangled banner. They had often heard the name of +Abraham Lincoln, but this was the first time they ever saw him, and they +swung their caps around their heads, clapped their hands, and shouted +aloud for joy, "Hurrah, hurrah, hurrah for Mr. Lincoln! Three cheers for +the President!" Long and loud were the rejoicings, as regiment after +regiment marched past; powerful, enthusiastic men, who were once slaves, +but now freemen, with steady step and even ranks moved in splendid order +down the street past the White House on their venturesome way to the +seat of war. The President had never seen a general review of colored +troops before, but he was greatly pleased, indeed, and heartily +acknowledged their enthusiastic shouts by bowing and waving his hand to +them, and making himself agreeable and pleasant to them, as they marched +past.</p> +<p class="pnext">Thus the whole army under review passed on, crossed "yon long bridge" +over the Potomac river, and entered the State of Virginia. Poor, brave +fellows! Many of them never returned alive, but they were the bravest of +the brave, and performed their glorious mission.</p> +<p class="pnext">The grand march was past at Washington. It was like the ball and dance +before the battle of Waterloo, when the British and allied armies had +that glorious night's revelry before they marched to the field to meet +the French under Napoleon. And so some 20,000 men of African descent met +on the soil of Virginia to contend with Lee and his Confederate +veterans. It would require a whole volume to itself to relate all the +marching and counter-marching of the next twelve months; the battles in +the woods, the advancing and retreating, and the fighting at the fords +of the rivers of Virginia. General Grant, poor fellow, lost many brave +men, for the rebels were bold and courageous; they were on their own +soil, and, worst of all, were fighting for slavery. The evolutions of +the contending hosts these last twelve months of the war, remind me +somewhat of a great "circus," where the horse and their riders fly along +in one unending whirl, whilst Grant seemed to stand in the middle of the +circus, and direct the evolutions of both riders and steeds. The colored +troops came in for their full share of the work, bravely performed their +duties every time, but, alas! there was many a brave man who was laid +under the sod! Yes, it would take a whole volume to recount all the +deeds that our brave brothers did, marching and fighting month in and +month out, in summer's heat and winter's cold. It was in the end of +September, 1864, that General Butler, at the head of a strong force of +colored troops, carried the New Market Heights, and utterly defeated the +rebels. Our loss was considerable, but our own men were completely +successful. Many other instances of devotion and bravery might be given; +but it would be nothing but an endless task. General Grant and all the +other commanders had nothing but good words for our heroic brothers.</p> +<p class="pnext">It was now the beginning of April, 1865. The bottom had almost been +knocked out of the Confederacy by Sherman's march from Atlanta to the +sea. General Lee and his determined rebel crew still held out at +Richmond, but Grant and the Union armies were thinning them down and +wearing them out. Then came the fall of Petersburg, the key to Richmond, +and then followed the retreat of the rebels from Richmond itself. The +intention of Lee and the rest of the Confederates was to betake +themselves to the mountains, and there carry on a guerrilla warfare as +long as they had a man left to carry the rebel flag and shoot a gun. But +this was not allowed. Swift-footed white and black troops followed them +up with unrelenting vigor day and night; with horsemen and footmen we +hurried after them, and at last got right in front of them, and +outflanked them also at Appomattox Court House. The Confederates had +been without food for three days and nights, and all things were coming +to an end. Lee soon discovered that he could not break through the Union +forces, under Grant, Meade and Sheridan. At one and the same time, he +therefore dispatched fleet couriers to each one of the three Union +generals to cease fighting, and stating that he would surrender himself +and his army prisoners of war. Generals Grant and Lee accordingly met, +when the surrender was made; and when the rebel forces in other parts of +the South heard of the surrender of Lee at Appomattox Court House, they +also laid down their arms. Thus the South was conquered, and slavery was +destroyed. The shackles were knocked off 4,000,000 of our own beloved +race, the Union was restored, and, as Lincoln said, "The Mississippi, +Father of Waters, flowed once more unvexed to the sea!" Glory to God!</p> +<p class="pnext">I shall never forget the excitement when the news arrived at New Orleans +that Lee had surrendered. Among the rebel sympathizers it was a time of +great depression, indeed; but among all Union people, and the entire +colored race, most of all, it was truly a time of such rejoicing as only +occurs once in a lifetime. People embraced and even kissed one another +who had never met before; they shed tears of joy, sang, shouted, and +gave glory to God. It was a perfect carnival both day and night. To the +colored race, at least, it brought the deepest and most sincere joy, and +all felt that the war had not been waged in vain, nor so many valuable +lives sacrificed for nothing. In many parts of the Union the people met +together in halls and churches for the purpose of giving praise and +glory to God; and there was general rejoicing over the triumph of the +armies of the Union. Thousands—I might say millions—never went to bed. +That night was like the night when the Israelites came out of Egypt. It +was the passage of the Red Sea over again. "Sing unto the Lord, for He +hath triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider hath He thrown into +the Sea! Praise ye the Lord!"</p> +<p class="pnext">The war also vindicated and proved the complete manhood of the colored +race before the entire world. At least 200,000 of the flower of our +youth had fought most manfully to save the very life of the nation; in +fact, the late slave had earned his own freedom, and therefore had at +least as much reason to thank his own powerful right arm as to Uncle Sam +himself and the armies of the Union.</p> +<p class="pnext">It now gives me great pleasure to inform the kind reader that Tom was +now completely recovered from the effects of the wounds he had received +up the river. It was now the month of June, 1865, and we were all +longing to see our dear friends at Buffalo, and they also were anxious +to see us. As Tom and the girls had never seen the Gulf of Mexico, nor +the Atlantic Ocean, we thought it would afford us a pleasant variety in +the line of travel to return home by Havana and New York City. So we all +took a tender leave of our dear friends at the hospital, and throughout +the city, many of whom came down to the New York boat to give us the +last sweet tokens of affection and see us off. As upon the former +occasion, when Mrs. Sutherland and I came this way, we had splendid +weather all the way to Havana, where we all landed and had a pleasant +walk through the city of the capital of Cuba. It is wonderful what a +good idea a person can get of a strange place, even in a few hours.</p> +<p class="pnext">We got up steam once more, passed through among the Bahama Islands, and +made a call for a few hours at the beautiful little city of Nassau, on +the Island of New Providence. This belongs to the English, and is the +most spicy and perfect place in all the West India Islands. Got up steam +again, and passed Cape Hatteras in safety, and in due time landed at New +York, after which we took the train for Buffalo, where we arrived after +a long and weary ride on the cars; and Mr. and Mrs. John B. Sutherland +and several other dear friends gave us a very warm welcome when they met +us at the depot, and took us all to our own home.</p> +</div> +<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-xii"> +<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref pginternal" href="#id15">CHAPTER XII.</a></h2> +<div class="align-center figure"> +<img style="display: block; margin-left: 40%; width: 19%" alt="images/dec12.png" src="images/dec12.png" width="19%"/> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><em class="italics">Receptions at Buffalo—The Lincoln's and Sutherland's Visit to +Canada—Their Grand Reception There—Our Sacrifices for the Union and +Freedom—The Difficulties of Reconstruction—Good Work of the Freedman's +Bureau—Universal Rejoicing of all the Redeemed Race—The Colored People +Settling Down to Hard Work throughout the South.</em></p> +<p class="pnext">The long and terrible Civil War was all over at last, and by the grace +of God we had got our Tom home to Buffalo once more, all safe and sound. +Our sea voyage from New Orleans to New York did us all an immense lot of +good, and seemed to brighten us all up in a wonderful degree. It was at +least a grand event in the lives of the girls, and is not forgotten even +now.</p> +<p class="pnext">By way of returning thanks and giving glory to God for the victorious +end of the war, a regular reception was given to us one night at the +A. M. E. Church on Vine street, when every member was present, and there +was such a time of rejoicing and general jollification as I thought had +never been exceeded since the world began. We were also called upon for +short speeches; hymns of praise and triumph were sung, and, indeed, +there was a high time generally. "O give thanks unto the Lord, for He is +good, for His mercy endureth forever!"</p> +<p class="pnext">For the space of a whole month thereafter we just spent the whole time +receiving friends at our house, and entertaining them, and going out and +being entertained by them in turn. It was just one round of the purest +pleasure, in which there was neither danger nor alloy. Tom had to do an +infinite deal of talking, relating his wars and battles in the Sunny +South, and the girls and I supplemented the same by giving our +experiences of the Rivers Ohio and Mississippi, and the grand sea voyage +all the way from New Orleans to New York. People were greatly taken with +the two girls, as they were just as bright as two buttons.</p> +<p class="pnext">After all this turmoil was over, we all sighed for some fresh air in the +country, and new scenes altogether. The glorious Gibsons of Canada had +been writing incessantly ever since we spent that never-to-be-forgotten +month at Richmond Hill, and had most urgently insisted upon us three +coming back the second time after Tom's return to Buffalo—and for us to +bring Tom along with us. And Tom himself was not only willing but he was +most anxious to go, for the tongues of our children had been going +ding-dong hammer and tongs, about the glories of Richmond Hill and +Western Canada. And when it was at last decided that we would take the +road, and the day of our departure from Buffalo had been set, nothing +would satisfy our anxious children but that they should write a conjoint +letter to the Gibsons about our coming to Canada. And this they did in +their own way, and with such an incredible amount of enthusiasm that the +good Gibsons have been laughing over it ever since.</p> +<p class="pnext">So we got already for our journey in the beginning of August, 1865, and +when we were about to start for the railway station, what was our +surprise when Mr. and Mrs. Sutherland, in travelling costume, marched +back into the parlor, and said that they also were bound along with us +to Richmond Hill and the Canadas! We were as much knocked down by this +piece of information as if we had been prostrated on the battle-field by +a discharge of grapeshot. We four all gave a loud shout for joy, made a +general rush for them, and such a scene of embracing, kissing and +congratulation followed as certainly can never be described by the pen. +This unexpected turn of affairs put new courage into us all, and served +its purpose as well as a tremendous victory over the enemy. The girls +shouted, "Come on, father! Come on, mother! Grandpa, come on! Come on, +grandma! There's a good time coming, and no mistake this time." The +children set us all laughing. But business is business, and so we got +our trunks into a conveyance, and all the presents intended for the good +folk at Richmond Hill, and the conveyance rolled on to the railroad +station, while we six happy travelers proceeded after it on foot.</p> +<div class="align-center figure" id="hauling-cotton-to-the-gin"> +<img style="display: block; width: 100%" alt="images/image19hauling.jpg" src="images/image19hauling.jpg" width="100%"/> +<div class="caption italics"> +HAULING COTTON TO THE GIN.</div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst">We all reached the station in due time, and being in a very hilarious +mood, the weather being so fine, and with such pleasing prospects before +us, we were taken for a wedding party, and no wonder! We got into the +train, and soon was off for Canada. Having at length crossed over the +Niagara river, we were fairly launched upon Canadian soil. All hearts +were light, all eyes were bright, and nature's face was fair and gay. +Our ride from the river to the railway station at Ingersoll was indeed +perfectly delightful, and we had nothing to do by the way but sit back +in our seats and admire the beautiful and well-cultivated country. As +the girls and I had been here two years ago, it was not such a wonder to +us, but the beautiful hills and dales of this land of refuge, to our +oppressed people in days gone by, were a perfect inspiration, a wonder +and a delight to the rest. In due course of time we arrived at the +station at Ingersoll, where we were met by a conveyance from Richmond +Hill; but as there were six of us in all, more than they, or even than +some of our ownselves, had expected, we could not all get in, and Tom +got another conveyance and divided the company in two. When we had +almost completed our journey, the Gibsons at Richmond Hill saw us coming +over the top of the last hill, as we issued out among the trees, upon +which the entire family, dogs, cats and all, were seen leaving the +house, and going down the field for the purpose of meeting our cavalcade +at the gate that opened into the high-road. We cautiously descended the +last hill, moved down the road that leads to the Cedar Swamp, and met +these good Gibsons at the gate. I have said hundreds of times since that +the warm welcome they gave us put me in mind of heaven, and it seemed to +me at the time worth going all the way to Richmond Hill to receive!</p> +<p class="pnext">We all steered up the field road on foot, and when we came to Richmond +Hill, and looked around us upon the country far and wide, we were all +perfectly enchanted with the view, and one and all of us exclaimed, +"What a beautiful land! Fair as the Garden of Eden before the Lord! +Beautiful as Tirzah!" Then we all went into the house, where we disposed +of our trunks, and all the rest of our things, after which we sat down +and talked, and felt thoroughly at home. Indeed, there was a home +feeling about the place that was irresistible. With true Canadian +kindness refreshments were immediately placed before the young man who +drove the hired conveyance, and after he had helped himself to his +heart's content, he took his departure for Ingersoll, where I doubt not +he arrived safely in a short time.</p> +<p class="pnext">A good supply of bread and cheese and milk were set upon the table, and +each of us took a snack only, because the afternoon was now wearing on +apace, and supper would be ready in a couple of hours. In the meantime, +we all put on our hats and bonnets, and accompanied by several members +of the family, we took a walk up to the top of the range of hills that +ran away above the house, from whence we could see the sloping lands and +dales that lay away beyond them; and, indeed, we had a most complete +view of the whole country as far as the eye could reach. There was +something perfectly sublime in the scenery that lay all around us, far +and wide. How we did admire the fair-faced forest land, where the +streams rolled away for Lake Erie, winding round, and round, and round; +and the forests grew on both sides all down their banks, and the rest of +the country was under a course of careful, splendid cultivation.</p> +<p class="pnext">We were so much taken with the glorious views of fair and fertile Canada +that we felt in no hurry to return, but sat down on the hill-top, like a +lot of birds of passage resting after a long flight, and inhaled the +very inspiration of the joyous scene. But at last time was called for, +and we all steered back to the house, where we found Doctor and Mrs. +McKenzie, of the Presbyterian Church, to which the Gibsons go, in the +little country town three miles off. The McKenzies live in a beautiful +mansion among the trees on the hill-top opposite Richmond Hill. (We left +the mansion on our right hand before we descended the last hill). They +had heard that we six had come, and in our absence had arrived to pay us +a visit. Dr. McKenzie and wife are excellent company; they are highly +intelligent, and come from the highlands of Scotland. We had attended +his church in the town upon our last visit in the autumn of 1863.</p> +<p class="pnext">Supper was now ready, and we all sat down around the jovial board, which +was fairly groaning under an enormous weight of good things. Dr. +McKenzie said grace; Mary and Margaret Gibson acted as waiters, and we +had one of the best suppers that were ever served up even in hospitable +Canada. After that we resolved ourselves into a sort of open parliament, +and the night drove on with fun and conversation. One after another of +the neighbors continued to arrive, and the enthusiasm of the night went +on, grew and still increased. The piano was also brought into full play, +and the girls and some of the rest of us played and sang, and a better +time had never been heard along the sides of those peaceful and lovely +hills. I am sure it was for all a time of extraordinary enjoyment.</p> +<p class="pnext">During a lull in the proceedings of the night, Dr. McKenzie stated that +it would be a great gratification to himself and wife, and to all their +friends over these hills if a night's entertainment were given in the +hall at the post-town, three miles off; and we could order the +proceedings of the night in any varied way that we pleased. We informed +the learned doctor that we would leave the matter entirely in his own +hands, and whenever he called us up we would answer to the summons, and +do our very best to please every man, woman or child who favored us with +their presence.</p> +<p class="pnext">In due course the grand entertainment came off, and what with songs, +music and speeches it was declared to be one of the very best and most +enthusiastic gatherings in all the chronicles of Canada.</p> +<p class="pnext">We spent one whole month at Richmond Hill, the month of August, 1865. We +walked the hills and dales, far and near, as on the occasion of our +former visit we spent many a pleasant day at the homes of the dear +Canadians, who never knew how to be kind enough, and a great many came +even a long way to see us. We walked along the hill-tops, and sat down +besides the purling streams in the forests, and read under the shade of +the tall trees. Once more the two girls overhauled that grand edition of +the "Pilgrim's Progress," and Tom was also taken immensely with the +pictures.</p> +<p class="pnext">But all things come to an end. We had a most glorious time among these +good Canadians; we all felt greatly benefited by our visit to Richmond +Hill, and Tom declared that he felt at least as well as he did before he +went away to the war. So we gave the Gibsons a general invitation to +come and visit us at our home in Buffalo whenever they got ready to do +so. We took a fond leave of them at Richmond Hill, and some of them +accompanied us to the railway station at Ingersoll, where we took the 10 +o'clock train for Buffalo, and arrived there safe and sound the same +afternoon.</p> +<p class="pnext">The condition of the South after the rebel armies surrendered reminds me +of the havoc wrought when a forest of great tall trees is swept down by +a strong and mighty wind, and all the forest monarchs are flat on the +ground. Their mighty roots are exposed to the gaze of every passer-by; +an enormous quantity of earth is torn up by the terrible wrench that has +taken place; and the great branches are broken and jumbled together with +the great crash of the now prostrate and ruined forest. Such was the +state of the South after Lee surrendered at Appomattox Court House, in +Virginia. He had, indeed, no great army to surrender, and what little +armies remained to the rebellion elsewhere were but of small account, +and promptly laid down their arms at last.</p> +<p class="pnext">Whilst the South fought with a valor that was worthy of a better cause, +and her slave-holders and followers actually laid down their lives in +thousands and ten thousands for their darling "independence" and +slavery, I am never able to think without regret of the dreadful +sacrifice of human lives and treasure that we of the North were forced +to make to restore the Union to its former state, and to secure the +freedom of the last slave in all the land. Never since this world began +did a defiant, haughty and valiant race of rebels so long and so +successfully resist—I might almost say the wealth, the resources, and +the physical strength of half the world. It was the "strong man armed," +and in his own house, fighting there with all his might and main. And +how did we knock down the house and kill him? Alas, alas! we had to +sacrifice whole legions of our well-beloved, both white and black, that +the Union and liberty might be where they are at the present day.</p> +<p class="pnext">I have just above compared the condition of the South at the close of +the war to that of a forest of mighty trees, all suddenly dashed to the +earth by the force of overwhelming and irresistible winds—even the +terrible winds that are swept upon the land from the wild and stormy +ocean that breaks upon our shores. The question next was how were we to +clear this forest land; remove all the trees with their great upturned +roots; fill up the great cavities—in a word, "clear the land," and +worst of all, restore the forest? What Abraham Lincoln might have done +if he had lived—he and his cabinet between them—I am unable to say. A +great many people are of the opinion that had Lincoln lived things would +have gone ten times better with Reconstruction than they did. That may +have been so, but the wish was father to the thought, and it has always +been my opinion that there would have been a bad time of it for years +and years to come, as there was without the great war President. Poor +fellow! Because ever during his lifetime, and when the war was going on, +there were many times when Lincoln himself confessed that he was almost +at his wit's end, and did not know what to do for the best. With the +Southerners going home, sullen, angry and defeated, and four millions of +slaves redeemed from the curse of the "peculiar institution," for the +very life of me I am unable to see that any one with much less wisdom +than that which is divine, could ever had at once brought order out of +chaos in a day, or even in a year. Even with the assistance of 10,000 +giants, it must have taken time to clear away that fallen forest, fill +up the awful gaps, and put a new forest in the place of the one that had +been knocked down!</p> +<p class="pnext">In order to make a beginning at Reconstruction it was decided to place +the late rebellious States under military governors, who acted in +concert with the Bureau for Freedmen, Refugees and Abandoned Lands. This +"Freedman's Bureau," as it was briefly called, was wisely established in +the spring of 1865 for the purpose of assisting in every possible way +those 4,000,000 of the African race whom the war had made free and +turned loose on the country. Of course they must not be permitted to +starve, and the Government at Washington wisely established the bureau +to assist them in tiding over the crisis. Richmond and the Confederacy +had not fallen yet, but the grand crash was at hand, and all things were +in readiness for the mighty changes that were at the door of the nation.</p> +<p class="pnext">But the freedmen were not the only people who had to be provided for. +There was a host of white people—all sorts of refugees—who had also +been rendered homeless and entirely destitute, who were in precisely the +same condition as the recent slaves of African descent. These had to be +looked after the same as the rest of the people, and all had to be +clothed and fed, and encouraged to go to work at once, besides sending +their children to public schools that were to be established all over +the States lately in rebellion. Besides all these, courts of law were +set a-going to try ordinary cases throughout the new military districts +everywhere. And for the purpose of farming, it was decided to take the +lands that had been abandoned by the rebels during the war, or +confiscated by the government, and portion out the same to freedman and +refugees, not giving more than forty acres to each, and that upon the +easiest terms, for the space of three years, with the right of purchase +afterwards, if the tenants wished to buy, when the easiest terms again +would be granted. But right here I have something of a most unusual +pleasant nature to relate. My indulgent reader, my book would come far +short of the mark without it!</p> +<p class="pnext">The war that had lasted about four years and a half was now all over +and gone. The last rebel had been forced to lay down his arms, and +slavery, that had existed under the most aggravated form for about two +hundred and fifty years, had been swept from the land, and there +remained not the shadow of a doubt that every colored man, woman and +child were entirely free. Then, like the Jews of old, after the drowning +of Pharaoh and his rebel army in the Red sea, there arose a loud and +long-continued song of joy from the hearts of all the 4,000,000 of freed +people all over Secessia—from Mason and Dixon's line to the Rio Grande +river; and from the wild Atlantic waves to the State of Missouri in the +far west. For some time after the close of the war, throughout the +entire South, the entire colored race could think of little else but +rejoicing, singing and dancing for joy. And I would think it a very +strange thing if the redeemed race had not so abandoned themselves to +such joy and rejoicing for a time at least. It was the natural song of +the captive, suddenly and unexpectedly released from his prison. Joy, +joy, joy! Oh, nothing but joy! "I will sing unto the Lord, for He hath +triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider hath He thrown into the +sea." For two hundred and fifty years the poor, dear, oppressed people +of God had been under the lash of the task-master; but now they were +free as the masters themselves! This was right, perfectly right, and +accounts for all their joy, their songs and rejoicing all over the +lately far-extended battle-field. "Oh, praise ye the Lord, for He is +good: for His mercy endureth forever!"</p> +<p class="pnext">When Abraham Lincoln was assassinated, Andrew Johnson, of Tennessee, who +had been elected vice-president, became in turn the President of the +United States. This man had been brought up in the South, and when +Reconstruction came, all his Southern sympathies floated up to the +surface. He entered into a direct quarrel with the houses of Congress, +and vetoed almost every bill that ever came before him. But in all such +cases, Congress passed his vetoes over his head, and they were of no +effect. At last he was impeached and tried for his cross-grained, +contrary measures, but escaped conviction by the smallest majority. But +all the same he was one of the most destructive rebels that we had.</p> +<p class="pnext">In the meantime Reconstruction went on in the late rebellious States in +the best way that Congress knew how to do it, which was not much at the +best. A race of men swept down from the North with their carpet-bags in +their hands in search of fortune, who were nick-named carpet-baggers; +then there were the middle class whites of the South, who were +nick-named the scalawags, who assisted the carpet-baggers in ruling the +South, all of whom, however, were under the eyes of the military +generals, each of whom was placed in command of one of the States, and +these generals in turn worked hand in hand along with an assistant +commissioner of the Freedman's Bureau, Major-General O. O. Howard, at +Washington, being the chief commissioner, and one of the best men that +ever lived.</p> +<p class="pnext">Immediately after the close of the war, many of the more pronounced +rebels retired abroad, where they found employment in foreign armies, or +more peaceful occupations. They had no heart for any further rule under +the flag of Uncle Sam, which now, indeed, floated freely over all races +of people from the Lakes to the Gulf. For such arch-rebels the Sunny +South was a home no more. But many of the late rebel leaders preferred +to stay at home and take their chance, hoping for mercy and pardon from +the Northern government, which they had so terribly outraged. As a +general thing they were cross-vexed and sullen, and had no heart +whatever for the reconstruction of the Southern states, which was +entirely conducted by legislatures, composed of loyal Southerners and +colored men, all of whom were duly elected. These colored men were in +all the lower houses of legislature, while in some of the States they +were also in the Senate, and in a few of the States they filled the +office of deputy-governor. The heads and leaders of the late rebellion +showed no disposition to lend a hand; they allowed the military and +civil administrators to take their own way, assisted as the latter were +by the colored senators and representatives in the State legislature, +carpet-baggers and scalawags.</p> +<p class="pnext">Whilst no doubt all of the above were doing the best they knew how, the +entire race of 4,000,000 of freedmen had recovered from their dance of +new and glorious liberty; had opened their eyes to the stern realities +of the changed situation, and settled down to steady work all over the +land. Many of them crowded into the towns, cities and villages, while a +host of others went to work over all the plantations and farms—some +working on shares with their former masters, whilst others farmed their +own lands, and did wonderfully. Many a brave old "prophecy" had been +uttered that the descendants of Africans were unfit for the pursuits of +freedom, and that the whole freed race would fall to pieces like a ship +on the sands; but the race went steadily to work, and with some aid from +the Freedman's Bureau, they prospered from the very beginning. In short, +the people now fairly began to see the beauties of personal liberty, and +they had a mind to work. The American Government, however, never did a +better thing than to establish that bureau, without the aid of which +entire legions of colored and white people must inevitably have +perished.</p> +<p class="pnext">All things, however, did not work satisfactorily, and under the crooked +circumstances perhaps that was more than was to be expected. Throughout +the entire South the system of working on shares was not in favor of the +redeemed race in many cases. The white man had got a notion in his head +that he had been cheated out of his rights, and that somehow or other, +the former slave still of right belonged to him. Some of them therefore +thought themselves privileged in beating the freedman out of the fruits +of their toil in every possible way. If such white men were thus +aggrieved over the new order of things, their wives were worse, and +could find no one to comfort them! The slave was now, at least, as free +as themselves, and there was no power in the land to force him back to +his former condition. So they took their spite out of him by cheating +him on the division of the crops, and he was obliged either to stay on +the lands and be imposed upon, or leave at a loss. The public papers +were full of the freedman's complaints at the time. One way of +defrauding him who did all the hard work was to open a general store for +the sale of all kinds of groceries and other needful things. The +accounts were cooked and managed in a way to suit the bosses, and almost +everything was charged for far above the general prices of the country. +Thus, when the day of settlement came, the laborer usually found himself +from $50 to $200 in debt, owing to the system of thieving practiced on +him by his betrayer. The Southern people generally were sullen, and +almost inconsolable under the new order of things, and they refused to +be comforted for a long time. Indeed, some of them are not comforted +yet, and never will be. Andrew Johnson, the President, did much harm in +contending for the rebels in every way in his power. In fact, he went +right over to them, and even obstructed Reconstruction itself in every +way that he could.</p> +<p class="pnext">This sullenness on the part of the Southerners at last found vent in the +organization of a secret and murderous conspiracy called the +Ku-Klux-Klan—whoever was guilty of inventing such an ugly name! This +Ku-Klux-Klan reached for their shot-guns, and went forth by night, and +shot down the carpet-baggers and their like, like crows. This was soon +after the first election of President Grant, an election, by the by, in +which the rebels took no part, but they now determined to spoil that +which they were unwilling to mend. These wicked Ku-Klux sought to +obstruct the courts of justice, harass and trouble the colored people in +every possible way, and cripple the local governments. The terror that +spread all over the South at the time was perfectly dreadful. People +were shot down everywhere, colored churches and school-houses were +burned to the ground in the night, and the work of revenge and +destruction went on night and day. It seemed as if the late rebel +soldiers, who had been beaten in the field by the North, were once more +trying to raise a rebellion in a new form. The writ of habeas corpus was +suspended for a time, and Uncle Sam put his heavy foot down upon the +whole matter. The powers of the day went forth; arrests were made; the +trials and convictions of many of those bad men were secured, and some +of the penitentiaries were filled with the enemies of law and order. +Then for a time, at least, followed a pause in the obstructing work of +the reconstruction of the late rebellious States, and the governments by +colored legislators, scalawags and carpet-baggers went on as before. How +much better it would have been if all parties, both white and black, had +been harmonious and agreeable after Lee surrendered at Appomattox Court +House! But instead of that the defeated rebel went home, nursed his +wrath to keep it warm. Robbing and stealing from the injured freedmen +followed, and then he went out working mischief after dark with the aid +of his shot-gun.</p> +</div> +<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-xiii"> +<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref pginternal" href="#id16">CHAPTER XIII.</a></h2> +<div class="align-center figure"> +<img style="display: block; margin-left: 40%; width: 19%" alt="images/dec13.png" src="images/dec13.png" width="19%"/> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><em class="italics">Reconstruction in the South—Great Progress in Education—The Fifteenth +Amendment—Message of President Grant—Certificate of Mr. Secretary Fish +Regarding the Same—Great Joy Over Amendment—It Goes to Work.</em></p> +<p class="pnext">General Grant had been elected President of the United States in 1868 +for his first term of office. In 1872 he carried the Southern States +once more. He met with but little opposition in the South. Colored +lieutenant-governors were elected in Louisiana, Mississippi and South +Carolina, in which three States the colored population is far greater +than the white. The States of Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Louisiana, +Mississippi and South Carolina had colored men in their Houses of +Representatives, and Mississippi had them also in her Senate House. Many +of the most important offices in the Southern States were held by men of +color. But by the year 1875 the white leaders in the Republican party +had become intimidated by the Ku-Klux-Klan, and were quite driven out or +destroyed by that deadly shot-gun. Thus the colored men in the +legislatures were abandoned to their fate, and the presence of the +United States Army became necessary to support them at elections, whilst +they held office, and carried on the State governments. The whole South +was in a bad way, and things had gone on from bad to worse. The sullen +and stubborn leaders of the late rebellion had refused to lend a hand in +building up the State governments once more, which they had torn down, +and the Northern government of the whole nation had committed the +reconstruction of the late rebel States to hands as yet far too feeble +at such a time, and that was, namely, to colored men, many of whom had +little experience before with carpet-baggers and scalawags. At the same +time there did not seem to be any others who could be trusted by the +national government to carry on the business of the Southern States. +Even colored men, carpet-baggers and scalawags were either heartily or +formally Republicans, and could be trusted by the Washington authorities +in acting loyally and faithfully in the discharge of their duties at +least. I am unable to see how the Washington government can be much +blamed for committing the care of the Southern States to hands so +feeble, so long as there did not seem to be anybody else to rule, and +the late rebels themselves were still in too sullen a mood to lend a +hand in the governments.</p> +<div class="align-center figure" id="first-reading-emancipation-proclamation"> +<img style="display: block; width: 100%" alt="images/image20reading.jpg" src="images/image20reading.jpg" width="100%"/> +<div class="caption italics"> +FIRST READING EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION.</div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst">But during all these unhappy years that followed the close of the war +there was one thing that did not miscarry, and that was the great march +of the emancipated slaves on the road to progress, and everything that +tends to elevate and ennoble a nation. The fostering national +government, the churches of the North, and all that which was best in +this great republic, were straining themselves to the very utmost to +lift up the entire redeemed race by affording them the best education +that they could possibly bestow. Teachers still flocked down from the +North in great numbers, all kinds of schools were opened, and institutes +and colleges were set on float for the benefit of the boys and girls, +and young men and young women, who wished to attend them. There was no +branch of education that was not supplied to the white race that was not +also supplied to the colored. And not only did children and youths +attend those schools, but even men and women; parents and grandparents +in thousands took up their spelling-books and first readers, and went to +work with a hearty good will, and learned to read, write and spell with +great rapidity. The progress that the emancipated race made in the line +of education was perfectly marvelous, and astonished the whole nation. +Even old preachers, who had been preaching the gospel for fifty years, +went to work and learned how to read the Bible; they learned how to +write letters and work arithmetic for the first time in their lives. It +had been charged often enough that the colored race were unfitted by +nature to learn this, that and other things. The studied policy of the +slave-holders was, not to give them a chance, and then to tell a willful +falsehood. But now that all were free, they rushed in at once, and +showed the whole world that they were as capable of learning as any +other race under the sun. Nay, more! They even crossed the oceans, and +were recognized by all the nations on the face of the earth!</p> +<p class="pnext">Nor did the people only learn how to read, write and work arithmetic, +but all kinds of industrial schools were started throughout the South; +first in one place, then in another, so that the young men learned +different trades, and thus qualified themselves to learn a living in +coming years. And they not only learned, but they learned well, were +ambitious to excel, took naturally to it, and earned the good will and +praise of their teachers. In short, after the war was over, the South +was both cursed and blessed by a race of "volunteers," who came down +from the North, and whose mission was to take advantage of the new state +of things. The curse came in with those carpet-baggers, who came to take +all they could get, and hold on as long as ever they could. It is true +that they were not all bad, for indeed they ran all the way from good to +middling. But they have generally been looked upon as a set of rapacious +men, who came down to help themselves first, last and all the time; and +when all was done, if anybody else could be benefitted by them, so much +the better!</p> +<p class="pnext">But with the teachers things were altogether different. They can in no +sense be compared with the carpet-baggers, for they were a perfect +blessing—all of them, or nearly all, being "volunteers" for the South, +and for the benefit of freedmen, and for them alone. They were sent +forth, as I have stated before, by the churches and societies of the +North, and the national government encouraged them and their efforts in +every possible way. And not only were public schools set on foot all +over the land, but there were a great many who opened private schools, +and thus the work went merrily on. And the walls of the new educational +structure began to rise rapidly on all sides, "for the people had a mind +to work," and, as the ancient Romans said, "Labor conquers all things."</p> +<div class="align-center figure" id="de-soto-discovering-mississippi-river"> +<img style="display: block; width: 100%" alt="images/image21desoto.jpg" src="images/image21desoto.jpg" width="100%"/> +<div class="caption italics"> +DE SOTO DISCOVERING MISSISSIPPI RIVER.</div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst">And even to the very day and time whilst I am now writing, I have great +pleasure in informing my kind reader that the work goes on, and still +goes on well. Beginning gradually at the close of the war, nay, I might +almost say, in some places before the close of the war—schools and +colleges for all studies were set on foot, either South or North, some +for the training of young colored men and women, who were destined to +become teachers of their own race throughout the land; some were +institutes or colleges for the study of law, medicine, music, elocution +and a variety of other subjects. And the work still continues and +extends in all directions, and promises to unfold itself more and more +as the years go by. At the present time there are many beautiful private +schools and seminaries in many parts of the South where young colored +ladies exclusively are sent to be educated, and they are splendidly +educated, too. And inasmuch as the colored race are born to excel in +music, many of them have come to the front, and in the departments of +music and song they have shone brightly in the nation, and in distant +lands also, where they have no prejudice to contend with. But though the +color line has by no means been wiped out yet, even in the Northern +States, it must in all fairness be stated that colored youths and +maidens are freely permitted to pursue their studies in almost all the +schools and colleges of the land; and it is only where race prejudice +exists, and the last dregs thereof prevail, that the children of African +descent are barred from entering. But time changes all things; God alone +cannot be changed—new generations will arise who will entirely sweep +the evil past away!</p> +<p class="pnext">The Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution had been +passed, securing the race in their personal and civil rights as freemen +before the common law of the United States; but as yet colored men could +not vote, and the Republican party, as a just and defensive measure, +considered that it would be well to arm those who had formerly been +slaves with all the rights of citizens, even as others. This brought up +the question of a new amendment to the Constitution. It was to be a new +dress in which the new citizens were to be clothed before the work was +complete. There was opposition enough to this in some quarters; of +course, it never was once intended to ask such men as Jefferson Davis +and Robert E. Lee for their consent. Even if many of the colored men +were uneducated, they were as good, if not better, than a wicked and +intelligent rebel. The rebels (as they were still commonly called), +would rather pull the national government down to the ground than +restore it, but the entire ransomed race desired to build it up. +Politically, and also from a sense of gratitude for their freedom, they +belonged to the Republican party, and therefore they were perfectly +right in siding with the Republicans on every and all occasions. +Besides, the right for colored men to vote was bound to come forward +sometime or other, and it might just as well come now as hereafter. +Ignorance on their part was much better than the studied opposition on +the part of the rebels. And I doubt very much whether the most +illiterate colored man did not know more about the American Constitution +than those ignorant hordes of Europeans who are almost weekly dumped +down on our shores, who neither know nor care anything about our +Constitution, and who never even heard of the name of George Washington. +If this was not so serious a matter, I could almost laugh at the thought +of the ignorance of those foreigners.</p> +<p class="pnext">Besides, if colored men were in many cases unfit for the franchise, it +was no bad thing to give it them at once anyhow, because it would +stimulate the nation at large to push their complete education along, +and the race themselves would now have a far more powerful motive to +acquire knowledge than they had ever had before. Therefore, there was a +very great deal of interest taken by the nation at large in the passage +of the new amendment to the Constitution that was destined to place +black men upon the self-same footing with white men. The white +Republicans also considered that they were indebted to colored soldiers +for the restoration of the Union to the tune of at least 200,000 brave, +heroic men, and that they owed them the right to vote.</p> +<p class="pnext">The necessary three-fourths of all the States of the Union having voted +in their legislatures in favor of the passage of the new amendment to +the Constitution, President Grant deemed the new measure of such vast +importance that he went out of the usual mode adopted upon such +occasions, and addressed the following special message on the subject to +Congress, for the purpose of still further enhancing its importance in +the eyes of the Senate and House of Representatives, and, in short, of +the whole American people:</p> +<p class="pnext">"SPECIAL MESSAGE OF PRESIDENT GRANT ON THE RATIFICATION OF THE FIFTEENTH +AMENDMENT.</p> +<p class="pnext">"To the Senate and House of Representatives:</p> +<p class="pnext">"It is unusual to notify the two houses of Congress, by message, of the +promulgation by proclamation of the Secretary of State of the +ratification of a Constitutional Amendment. In view, however, of the +vast importance of the Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution this day +declared a part of the revered instrument, I deem a departure from the +usual custom justifiable. A measure which makes at once four millions of +people voters, who were heretofore declared by the highest tribunal in +the land not citizens of the United States, nor eligible to become so +(with the assertion that, at the time of the Declaration of +Independence, the opinion was fixed and universal in the civilized +portion of the white race, regarded as an axiom in morals as well as +politics, that black men had no rights which the white man was bound to +respect) is indeed a measure of grander importance than any other one +act of the kind from the foundation of our free government to the +present day.</p> +<p class="pnext">"Institutions like ours, in which all power is derived directly from the +people, must depend mainly upon their intelligence, patriotism, and +industry. I call the attention, therefore, of the newly-enfranchised +race to the importance of their new privilege. To the race more favored +heretofore by our laws, I would say, withhold no legal privilege of +advancement to the new citizen. The framers of our Constitution firmly +believed that a republican government could not endure without +intelligence and education generally diffused among the people. The +'Father of his country,' in his farewell address, uses this language, +'Promote, then, as a matter of primary importance, institutions for the +general diffusion of knowledge. In proportion as the structure of the +government gives force to public opinion, it is essential that public +opinion should be enlightened.' In his first annual message to Congress, +the same views are forcibly presented, and are again urged in his eighth +message.</p> +<p class="pnext">"I repeat that the adoption of the Fifteenth Amendment to the +Constitution completes the greatest civil change and constitutes the +most important event that has occurred since the nation came into life. +The change will be beneficial in proportion to the need that is given to +the urgent recommendations of Washington. If these recommendations were +important then, with a population of but a few millions, how much more +now with a population of forty millions, and increasing in rapid ratio.</p> +<p class="pnext">"I would therefore call upon Congress to take all the means within their +Constitutional power to promote and encourage popular education +throughout the country; and upon the people everywhere to see to it that +all who possess and exercise political rights shall have the opportunity +to acquire the knowledge which will make their share in the government a +blessing and not a danger. By such means only can the benefits +contemplated by this amendment to the Constitution be secured.</p> +<p class="pnext">"Executive Mansion, March 30, 1870.</p> +<p class="pnext right">"U. S. GRANT."</p> +<p class="pnext">On account of the vast importance of the Fifteenth Amendment to the +Constitution, and its direct bearing upon the elevation of the colored +race, and the immediate amelioration of their condition, I will here +append the certificate of Mr. Secretary Fish respecting ratification of +the Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution, March 30, 1870:</p> +<p class="pnext">"Hamilton Fish, Secretary of State of the United States.</p> +<p class="pnext">"To all to whom these presents may come, greeting,</p> +<p class="pnext">"Know ye that the Congress of the United States, on or about the 27th +day of February, in the year 1869, passed a resolution in the words and +figures following, to wit:</p> +<p class="pnext">"A resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United +States.</p> +<p class="pnext">"Resolved, By the Senate and House of Representatives of the United +States of America in Congress assembled (two thirds of both houses +concurring,) That the following article be proposed to the legislature, +shall be valid as part of the Constitution, namely,</p> +<p class="pnext">"Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not +be denied or abridged by the United States, or by any State, on account +of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.</p> +<p class="pnext">"Section 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by +appropriate legislation.</p> +<p class="pnext">"And, Further, that it appears, from official documents on file in this +department, that the amendment to the Constitution of the United States, +proposed as aforesaid, has been ratified by the legislatures of the +States of North Carolina, West Virginia, Massachusetts, Wisconsin, +Maine, Louisiana, Michigan, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Arkansas, +Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, New York, New Hampshire, +Nevada, Vermont, Virginia, Alabama, Missouri, Mississippi, Ohio, Iowa, +Kansas, Minnesota, Rhode Island, Nebraska, and Texas, in all, +twenty-nine States.</p> +<p class="pnext">"And, Further, that the States whose legislatures have so ratified the +said proposed amendment constitute three-fourths of the whole number of +States in the United States.</p> +<p class="pnext">"And, Further, that it appears, from an official document on file in +this department, that the legislature of the State of New York has since +passed resolutions claiming to withdraw the said ratification of the +said amendment, which had been made by the legislature of that State, +and of which official notice had been filed in the department.</p> +<p class="pnext">"And, Further, that it appears from an official document on file in this +department, that the legislature of Georgia has by resolution ratified +the said proposed amendment.</p> +<p class="pnext">"Now, therefore, be it known, that I, Hamilton Fish, Secretary of State +of the United States, by virtue and in pursuance of the Second Section +of the Act of Congress, approved the 20th day of April, 1818, entitled, +An act to provide for the publication of the Laws of the United States, +and for other purposes, do hereby certify that the amendment aforesaid +has become valid, to all intents and purposes, as part of the +Constitution of the United States.</p> +<p class="pnext">"In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, and caused the seal +of the Department of State to be affixed.</p> +<p class="pnext">"Done at the City of Washington, this 20th day of March, in the year of +our Lord, eighteen hundred and seventy; and of the Independence of the +United States the ninety-fourth.</p> +<blockquote><div> +<p class="pfirst">"SEAL.</p> +</div></blockquote> +<p class="pfirst right">"HAMILTON FISH."</p> +<p class="pnext">Thus, as will be seen above, the ever-glorious Fifteenth Amendment +became a part of the American Constitution, and the same was made known +to the remotest bounds of the Republic.</p> +<p class="pnext">"Arise, shine forth, for thy light has come, and the glory of the Lord +has risen upon thee!" Such is the language of Holy Scripture, and it +expresses well the sudden outburst of the joy that filled the hearts of +the entire colored race when the Fifteenth Amendment became the law of +the land. Then, indeed, did the colored soldier feel that he had a +country, and that he had not fought and bled in vain for the cause of +freedom and the Union! Then did all colored men and women feel, indeed, +that they were men and women among other full-fledged citizens of the +United States! Then did they feel, in the celebrated words of Robert +Burns, the Scotch poet, that "An honest man, though e'er so poor, is +king of men for all that!" If the Emancipation Proclamation called forth +a tremendous flood of thankfulness and gratitude, if even the fall of +Richmond and the freeing of the last slave called for shouts of joy and +rejoicing, much more—yea, ten times more—did the publication of the +Fifteenth Amendment exercise the entire redeemed race from the very +bottom of their hearts! Their forefathers had been stolen away from +Africa; they had been brought here. This was their home, such as it was. +They had no other country but the United States. Now, the new amendment +to the Constitution had put the right to vote into their hands, the same +as others—just the same as others, and they most loyally sent up a +shout of joy that reached from Maine to the Rio Grande river, and that +shout arose to Heaven and entered into the ears of the celestials.</p> +<p class="pnext">Where, now, was the doctrine, indeed, "That the descendants of the +African race had no rights that a white man was bound to respect?" Who +ever gave "the white man" the right to use such language, unless it was +wickedly presumed by his own presumptuous and lying arrogance? The white +race only compose a small portion of the human race. According to +tradition, Adam was as brown as a bun; and certainly our Lord and +Saviour Jesus Christ must have been a very dark-complexioned man? Does +anybody mean to say that Adam and the Lord Jesus had no right to be +respected because they were as brown as a bun in complexion? Like the +so-called "divine right of kings," such language was nothing but a +wilful and deliberate falsehood, for the entire race of man have rights +to be respected—the one as much as the other. How passeth away the +glory of this world! Behold your millions of people gloriously set free, +and after a long and fearful war pronounced full-fledged citizens, even +as others! If the ransomed race formerly rejoiced when they felt their +bodily chains fall off, much more did they rejoice when they were +invested with the same rights as the rest of the American nation, and +could vote like the freemen that they were! It is true that in the +sight of God and all justice (both divine and human) they were always +men, they had always rights that other men were bound to respect, but +now we had the full confession of those rights from all the rest of our +own compatriots, who fully and freely admitted, that all their rights +were ours also and justice, though long delayed, was done at last!</p> +<p class="pnext">The colored people were now in full possession of their political rights +for the first time, and many new things happened that passed for a great +wonder in the history of the nation. Hiram B. Revels took his seat as +United States Senator for Mississippi on the 25th of February, 1870. It +was from the self-same State that Jefferson Davis hailed, for he was +Senator for Mississippi until he resigned his seat and went out with the +rest of the rebels. Nine brief years had passed away; for four and a +half years the civil war had raged; the curse of slavery had disappeared +from the land, and now came Hiram B. Revels from Mississippi, from which +the head of the Southern Confederacy had come in former days! Most +assuredly this was the Lord's work, and it was wondrous in our eyes!</p> +<p class="pnext">It was just one year from the day and hour when Senator Revels took his +seat in the United States Senate that Jefferson F. Long, also a colored +man, was sworn in as a member of the House of Representatives from the +State of Georgia—the State of Alexander H. Stephens, who had been +vice-president of the late Confederate States! It was that same Stephens +who had put forth the idea in a speech of his own immediately after he +was made vice-president, that slavery should be the corner-stone of the +new government of Secessia!</p> +<p class="pnext">Then the United States Government sent E. D. Bassett, a colored man from +Pennsylvania, as Minister-Resident and Consul-General to the Republic of +Hayti, in the West Indies. This was carrying things on at quite a lively +rate, indeed. Nor was this all. President Grant then turned around, and +sent J. Milton Turner, a colored man from Missouri, as Minister-Resident +and Consul-General to the Republic of Liberia, in Western Africa. It is +true that Hayti and Liberia are not nations of the first rank in power +and population, but they are at least as respectable as any, and the +time must yet come when ambassadors of the colored race will be +appointed to the first nations on earth. President Grant was at least +making a good beginning, and as he had been a soldier, like the lion, he +had nothing to fear!</p> +<p class="pnext">About this time Frederick Douglass had been made a Presidential Elector +for the great Empire State of New York, and he helped to cast the vote +for that State for General Grant upon his election for the second term, +in 1872. Times were indeed mightily changed with Frederick Douglass +since he was a young man, and fled away from Baltimore in the disguise +of a sailor, passing through New York City, which was then almost as +much opposed to freedom of the slaves as the State of Georgia.</p> +<p class="pnext">Well does the English poet say, "Slavery there has lost the day!" The +ballot was now in the hands of the colored man as well as others. He had +tilled the fertile soil of the United States for two hundred and fifty +years; he had now lent a vigorous hand in three wars, and had completely +won his right and title to full-fledged citizenship, with all the honors +and powers that it carries with it. All Abolitionists and true-hearted +Republicans rejoiced at the spectacle, whilst the late arch-rebels and +others of that ilk were depressed at the changes!</p> +</div> +<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-xiv"> +<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref pginternal" href="#id17">CHAPTER XIV.</a></h2> +<div class="align-center figure"> +<img style="display: block; margin-left: 40%; width: 19%" alt="images/dec14.png" src="images/dec14.png" width="19%"/> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><em class="italics">Joyful Demonstrations Over the Fifteenth Amendment—Processions in all +the Cities of the Land—Departure for Louisville, Ky.—The Journey +Thither—The River Ohio—Great Celebration—The Week at Louisville—The +Return to Buffalo.</em></p> +<p class="pnext">My dear, kind reader, as I have already indicated, the eventful year of +1870 had come, and the Fifteenth Amendment had become the law of the +land. From Maine to Texas, from the wild Atlantic waves to the Coast of +the Pacific Ocean, the entire colored race abandoned themselves to the +most unbounded demonstration of joy and delight. I never saw the tide of +delight running so high either before or since, as upon this most august +occasion. Great mass-meetings, immense processions, music, dancing, +religious meetings for sacred song, prayer and praise were the order of +the night and of the day. Indeed, there was no outward form of joy and +rejoicing that can either be conceived or described, that was not +observed upon this glorious occasion. We read in the Book of Esther +about the joy of the whole Jewish nation, when they were all saved by +the Lord from the wicked plots and schemes of the evil-minded Haman—the +Jew's enemy. So great, indeed, was the impression produced upon the +heart of God's ancient people that the feast of Purim is still kept up +in commemoration of that terrible crisis through which all Israel had to +pass. We ourselves—the colored race in America—had had our experiences +in times past, as bad or worse than the Israelites of old. It was now +five full years since the close of the war; we had had five years of +national freedom; slavery here had lost the day; we could now vote like +any other race, and therefore the free exercise of the self-same power +was placed in our hands; the spring of 1870 was come, when the entire +colored race abandoned themselves to singing, dancing and rejoicing in +all ways in general; and, indeed, they had good cause and the right to +rejoice, for they had waited a long time for it, and their patience had +been sorely tried. Justice was long in coming, but it came at last.</p> +<p class="pnext">In all the larger towns and cities of the United States, both North and +South, immense processions were organized and carried out in the +greatest and grandest perfection. It struck me as a truly wonderful +thing at the time that the Democratic and rebel element that were so +rank and strong even in former days in the North did not take mortal +offense at such out-and-out demonstrations, carried out with such a high +hand before the noon-day sun!</p> +<p class="pnext">But our people were discreet, and neither said nor did anything +purposely to cause any reasonable person to take offense. Of course, +they stood upon their rights, and they claimed their rights of way as +much as others, but all the same their lawful demonstration of joy and +rejoicing went with a most tremendous swing, and nothing was done by +anybody to mar the exultation of the grand occasion. So far as the +Republicans were concerned, and all the brave old Abolition school, and +every one of that ilk, they were well pleased to see the happy +consummation of all their labors and toils.</p> +<p class="pnext">I do not wonder so much that this tremendous colored demonstration +passed off without opposition in the North, but what was really +surprising was that the processions and other demonstrations of joy in +the cities of the South, in honor of the Fifteenth Amendment, should not +have brought on opposition, conflicts and riots. In brief, the entire +white race, over all the land, submitted to the inevitable; they +submitted to the results of the war. Their consciences at least bore +witness that neither race nor color, nor previous condition make men nor +unmake them; that one man is as much of a man as another in a general +sense, and that the colored race had fought for their equal rights, and +deserved them, and all seemed now willing to live in peace.</p> +<p class="pnext">As we heard that a very great demonstration was to be made at +Louisville, Ky., in honor of the Fifteenth Amendment, and as my beloved +mother, Tom and myself had been longing for a long time past for a sight +of the dear old place upon the Kentucky shore, where we had all been +born and brought up, we determined to take the girls and go along to the +celebration, and Mr. Sutherland also consented to accompany us. He had +never been in Kentucky, and so anticipated that it would be a great +treat to him.</p> +<p class="pnext">It was a fine morning in the spring when we took the road for the +railway station, and soon we found ourselves all seated in the train. +Mr. Sutherland and the girls were in a great way about going to +Kentucky, and the girls had so long desired to see it once more. Ever +since they awoke in the morning they had been humming and singing "The +Old Kentucky Shore!" Nay, they even played it on the piano, and sang to +their own accompaniments. Thus the whole house was ringing that early +morning with the sounds of music. But to those of us who were older the +children's hilarity, music and song brought other thoughts, for we were +no longer children. Many dear old slave ditties had been sung about +Kentucky, which was a slave State, as the dear reader knows very well. +Thousands of fugitives had escaped over the river Ohio, which bounds all +her northern line. Indeed, runaway slaves from States further south +usually made for this river, and made their escapes into the free States +of the North. Even my own dear Tom and I had made our escape over this +river, and my own dear mother had been carried down and over its waters +on her way to the Sunny South.</p> +<div class="align-center figure" id="in-danger-of-the-overseer-s-lash"> +<img style="display: block; width: 100%" alt="images/image22danger.jpg" src="images/image22danger.jpg" width="100%"/> +<div class="caption italics"> +IN DANGER OF THE OVERSEER'S LASH.</div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst">Thus our feelings that morning were rather conflicting. Mr. Sutherland +and the girls seemed best off, for there were no dark shadows in the +immediate past to cloud their brows, like mother, Tom and myself. But +all clouds passed away sooner or later, and we happily forgot our +old-time experiences in the pleasantness of the new day, the bright and +warming sunlight, and even the joyous surroundings that were all around +about us on our happy way. The girls having bought a couple of bright +new picture books from the book-stand at the depot while we were +securing our tickets, all things were now in readiness for our +departure. We took our seats in a very contented and flowery state of +mind at last, and our brave iron horse set out for the open road along +the shores of Lake Erie, and soon we had left the city of Buffalo behind +us. The dark shadows of the early morning had indeed departed +altogether, and our eyes and thoughts were fixed upon the beautiful +country as we flew past, and on the shining waters of Lake Erie, till we +came to Cleveland, Ohio. Here we left the lake, and switched away +towards the southwest of Columbus, the capital of this State. The rest +of us had been over this ground before, as the dear reader will +remember; but all was new ground to mother and Mr. Sutherland, who now +greatly admired the beauties of the State of Ohio, adorned in all the +charms of spring, and with all its fine woods and forests arrayed in +their new mantle of green, that set off the beauties of the hills and +dales in great perfection. And whatever our thoughts and feelings might +otherwise have been, on one point we were all united—we were going back +to our dear old Kentucky shore, and the city of Louisville, to behold +the glorious celebration of the Fifteenth Amendment to the American +Constitution, and to such an outpouring of the colored race as had never +been seen in Kentucky. That, indeed, made our hearts light; that was joy +enough for all.</p> +<p class="pnext">In due time we reached Columbus, the capital of the State, as nice a +little country city as ever I saw. Here a small contingent of our own +beloved people came on board the train for Cincinnati and Louisville. +They were in a state of high excitement over the forthcoming events. +Some of them, no doubt, had fled away from the curse and chains of +slavery in Kentucky, and more remote States; but now they could return +without fear. "Slavery there had lost the day!"</p> +<p class="pnext">Continuing our journey, we all reached Cincinnati in safety, a fine +city, of which Mr. and Mrs. Sutherland often heard, but had never seen; +and they were quite captivated with its beauty, reposing so sweetly on +the hills that line the northern banks of the "beautiful river," as the +French discoverers delighted to call it. With what wonder and delight +did Mr. and Mrs. Sutherland behold the beautiful hills and dells of +Kentucky, just across the mighty stream! Mrs. Sutherland had of course +seen the Ohio at Riverside, and all the way down to the Mississippi, but +it was the first time her husband had seen the beautiful river of the +Frenchmen, or even slave land, and it produced in his mind mingled +feelings of pain and pleasure to behold it, for though born free +himself, his forefathers had fled across the Ohio river as they made +their escape from the South.</p> +<p class="pnext">We decided to spend a night at sweet Cincinnati, where we paid a visit +to A. M. E. Church parsonage, where my beloved Tom and I put up when we +were married at the church there, and what was our surprise and joy to +find the very same family there, the self-same reverend gentleman having +been called back for a second time. What kissing, embracing and joy +there was between the two families upon this happy, happy reunion! +Heaven alone can tell, my dear reader, how very much good this meeting +did us all. My goodness! this poor pen of mine is altogether unequal to +the task. It was indeed a heavenly union!</p> +<p class="pnext">There being a class that night at the dear, dear church, after tea, we +all went along with the pastor and his family and had a glorious time, +where we praised the Lord, for He is good, for His mercy endureth +forever. Many old friends remembered us still, and gave us a warm +welcome. O Christianity! Christianity! What joys has this world like +them?</p> +<p class="pnext">After this grand meeting was over, we all made our way to the private +quarters, which we had engaged for the night, and where we had a most +refreshing sleep. We were all quite amused with the girls, for they were +worse than wild birds for sheer delight. The fine weather and the great +events in the immediate future were mighty stimulants. Indeed the whole +of us were completely carried away by our feelings, and we ran the city +and suburbs of Cincinnati in all directions, our private boarding-house +being our rendezvous at three o'clock in the afternoon, so that we could +all start together for the boat that was to leave an hour or two later +for Louisville.</p> +<p class="pnext">It is a remarkable thing how rapidly some people become acquainted. By +the time we had spent some twenty-four hours with the kind people at the +boarding-house, we were almost as fond of one another as if we had been +brought up together. Some of them even accompanied us to the Public +Landing, where we were to embark for Louisville. I don't know what the +neighbors along the street thought of us, for we were more excited and +exultant and louder than a lot of barn-yard fowl, with laughing and one +thing and another! Well, it was a time for laughing, I think, and after +two hundred and fifty years of slavery, I also think we had a right to +laugh, and to laugh with all our might and main!</p> +<p class="pnext">At last we reached the Public Landing, marched on board, secured our +cabins, and settled ourselves down for our passage to Louisville, +greatly admiring the scenery and traffic of "The Beautiful River."</p> +<p class="pnext">A great many passengers came on board at Cincinnati, all bound for the +great celebration. All eyes were bright with animation, and high-beating +hope swelled in every human heart. The rush to the colossal exhibition +at Louisville reminded me of the tides of people on the grand march to +see a circus; but this was a circus of a most unusual kind. From the +grand reports that had been circulated all over the country for weeks, +we all expected a high old time, we expected the colored race and their +friends at Louisville to make a mighty effort to place a great show +before the whole State, and also expected to swell the mighty chorus and +throng by our own presence. Many persons on board had never been back to +Louisville since they took French leave of the same place; whilst others +had numerous friends and relations whom they greatly desired to see. But +all wished to behold the old Kentucky shore again, for who does not love +the scenes of their youth?</p> +<p class="pnext">We were now fairly launched out upon the great river. The sweet spring +winds blew over us, and seemed to accompany and cheer us upon our way. +At such times the imagination gives play to all sorts of sweet things, +and the very surges of the Ohio river seemed to rejoice as they bore us +along on their downward course to the Mississippi and the Gulf States. +The sun went down, and the moon arose upon the fleeting scene. The night +was now upon us, and all the hills and dells that lined both sides of +the beautiful river enchanted the eyes and hearts of all beholders. A +sweet peace stole into our hearts that came down from heaven.</p> +<p class="pnext">With what interest did we view the little wooden cabins that lay along +the shores of the river on the Kentucky side, and along the slopes of +her hills! What tales of grief and joy those dear little homes could +have told if they had been able to speak. My two dear children were awed +into silence as they looked upon the passing scenes, for they had both +read "Uncle Tom's Cabin," and many other plaintive books besides; and +heard from us and from others a thousand tales of slavery in days gone +by. Many eyes besides our own were wet with tears of love, sorrow and +emotion, as we viewed those little cabin homes, and saw the lights that +night on the "Old Kentucky Shore" of the poet, and in our hearts we +thanked the Lord that slavery here had indeed passed away forever. It +has been often a wonder to me that the Lord allowed the curse to +continue so long; but then He knows what is for the best, and I am +always willing to take things on trust that I cannot understand. "The +Lord is good; a stronghold in the day of trouble, and He knoweth them +who put their trust in Him." How true, how very true, indeed!</p> +<p class="pnext">We called at no place on our way, but at the beautiful little city of +Madison, Indiana, that lies so sweet-looking in the edge of the Ohio +river. Quite a goodly number of our own beloved people came on board +here, whom we rejoiced to see. It was the same old, old story that I +have told before. They were going to Louisville to swell the mighty +throng, and help sing the songs of the ransomed of the Lord during the +forthcoming celebration at that city.</p> +<p class="pnext">After we left Madison, we all retired to bed for the night, and we were +not long in falling into a sound sleep. The night passed away, on flew +the waves of the beautiful river with our fleet boat on their bosom, +rushing on for the general rendezvous, and about four o'clock in the +morning our gallant craft tied up at the landing-place at Louisville, +the metropolis of Kentucky.</p> +<p class="pnext">All up once more, and in good time! We were careful this morning to give +ourselves a thorough, good washing, and lay in a solid, substantial +breakfast in preparation for the events of the coming day. All on board, +bent on the same happy journey as ourselves, were in a high key of +excitement. Indeed we could snuff excitement in the very air before we +left the boat. But at last we got away, and came up the bank from the +beautiful river, and entered the city before seven o'clock, where we +found the whole place astir with great numbers of excited people, +rushing and sweeping along in all directions—men on horseback riding +rapidly up and down the streets; great crowds of men, women and children +arriving by rail from different parts of the State, while men in +uniforms, bands of music, with the town boys and girls scurrying along +in all directions like the wild waves of the sea; flags, banners, +streamers and ribands seen fluttering in the breeze in all +directions—such was our introduction to Louisville, when we came up +from the river, and looked up and down Market, Jefferson and Green +streets, and made our early way to a place on Walnut street, where we +had arranged previously by letter to take up our quarters for the week +that we were to spend in the city. Here our dear old acquaintances of +ante bellum days received us gladly. We were all much altered now, had +grown older, were married and had children of our own; were now free, +whereas formerly we were called "goods and chattels" in defiance of the +truth of the Eternal Jehovah that we had all the same rights as others, +but for the time being were held down by sheer physical force.</p> +<p class="pnext">So much talk about a "Fifteenth Amendment" we had never heard in our +lives, and it made us laugh to hear even the little children lisp "The +Fifteenth Amendment!" Poor, dear little things! Theirs was a happy lot. +They were all free, and had not come up by the rough side of the +mountain like their oppressed parents. The glorious weather was +immensely in our favor. We blessed God for that, and we blessed Him for +all things. The sun was shining in all his beauty; the mocking-birds +sang in the parks, and the light winds blew over the fair and +garden-like city on the Ohio. Thousands upon thousands of people still +continued to arrive upon boats that came up and down the river, by the +ferry-boats, and on all the heavily-laden incoming trains that arrived +thick and fast. Even the old inhabitant was astonished at the tremendous +crowds that at last packed all the main streets along which the +procession was to pass, because we were now getting well into line, just +as is done at a Presidential inauguration at Washington. Uniformed +riders and fast messengers, ex-soldiers dressed in Uncle Sam's +conventional blue, the fair sex as thick as the leaves of the forest, +boys in the trees, all the windows full of sight-seers, and men and boys +on the roofs of the houses—well, indeed, might the oldest inhabitant +ask where all the people came from! Nobody could have given a complete +answer to that question, for there were tens of thousands of people here +this day who had never been to Louisville before. All had heard of +Louisville, the beautiful metropolis of the State, but they were slaves +then, and had no hope of ever beholding its beauties; but God is +good—here came the war, here came victory and freedom, here came new +laws and the Fifteenth Amendment, and here came they themselves at last +to help on the good cause with loud shouts of joy.</p> +<p class="pnext">Flags fluttered from thousands of windows, and the indications of joy +were universal. And not only did the colored, but the white population +packed the streets in thousands and tens of thousands; the crowds were +good-humored to the last degree, and there was nothing but joy and +rejoicing on every side all day long.</p> +<p class="pnext">The outriders now began to move in advance of the procession; the first +men in line followed next with a band of music, and these again were +followed by a tasteful and beautiful float that promised mighty things +in the rear! Bands of music at intervals, all the different societies, +another wonderful and beautiful float came sailing on laden with +rejoicing citizens, young and old, and a thousand other strange and +wonderful features and devices of the triumphal march called forth loud +shouts of joy, great outbursts of laughter and general applause. A +beautiful colored maiden of sixteen or seventeen summers, named Miss +Laura Claggett, stood up in a chariot during the entire procession, and +she made a splendid living representation of the "Goddess of Liberty." +It was said of her, as of the beauty of ancient Tyre, "Thou hast made +thy beauty perfect." The interest that we all took in the long, splendid +and varied procession was most intense. So much pains had been taken +with all the necessary preparations that every part of it was complete, +and the warmest approbation was bestowed upon all the preliminary +arrangements, and the way in which they were carried out. Here was a +true object lesson, indeed, that we were as fit for the highest +civilization as the whites. This was freely admitted on all hands, with +the exception, of course, of those blind persons who did not wish to +see. We find them everywhere, and the best thing to do is simply to +ignore them altogether. It was wonderful, thrice wonderful, to look +around, and see the people who had come from the remotest parts of the +State to see Louisville and the great celebration. It was most pathetic +to look at some of them—bent down in some cases with hard work, labor +and toil of half a century. There was a feeling of unutterable +thankfulness that was apparent to all observers—thankfulness that they +could yet enjoy a few years of freedom before they went home to be with +the Lord, and thankfulness that their children should be free for all +coming time. "No more auction blocks for me!" was the sentiment.</p> +<p class="pnext">Thus the whole glorious procession marched and counter-marched over the +principal streets of the beautiful garden-like city of Louisville, and +at last broke up and scattered like all other famous processions of the +kind, whether at Washington or anywhere else. The whole city press were +loud in their praises of the universal good conduct and splendid +management of the new citizens, and of course the Republican organ +brought out the whole truth flat-footed, and cast all its glories to the +breeze without stint. It was a downright triumph in the interest of law +and order, for the police authorities had little or nothing to do. The +pastors of all the churches, and other leaders, had impressed it upon +the hearts and minds of all the people to be good, and to act as +citizens, and give the enemy no just reason to throw stones. For my own +part, though I had by this time seen a hundred processions, at least, in +my time, I am bound to confess that the procession and day's doings at +Louisville were as good as the best in regard to law and order, and I +understand that other cities behaved quite as well as they did in +Kentucky, throughout the Union.</p> +<p class="pnext">For a week or so the entire colored population at Louisville were en +fete, and a high old time of it they did have, indeed. It was a perfect +carnival—a general jollification along the whole line. Music and +dancing, and grand tea parties, both in public and private, were all the +go, and as our presence in town was soon well known, we were invited to +lend a hand in the general festivities along with others. There was a +good time all over the metropolis of Kentucky, and don't you forget it.</p> +<p class="pnext">There is a poem that says in one place, "Joy's image may vanish, and +griefs die away; but the scenes of our youth are recorded for +aye,"—which leads me on to say that Tom, mother and myself had a great +and yearning desire to revisit all those dear scenes and places round +about the beautiful river that had been so deeply stamped into our +hearts and memories in the glorious, youthful spring-time of life. Mr. +Sutherland had no such longing to satisfy, and the two girls were not +then born. The latter three, indeed, were born at Buffalo, on the +Niagara river, in the great Empire State of New York. So Tom, mother and +myself made calls on all those dear, dear friends of our earliest days +who still remained alive, or still dwelt in Louisville. But many changes +had taken place. Some had grown old and almost past recognition; the +children of others received us kindly, for their parents were gone to a +better land, and there were other changes all around, too numerous to +mention. With the exception of God Himself, and the course of nature, +all things seemed to be altered, and it was a source of thankfulness to +us all that something remained that could not be shaken.</p> +<p class="pnext">When we had thus ransacked the whole city in search of old friends (Mr. +Sutherland and the girls coming bravely along with us), we crossed the +river to Jeffersonville, Indiana, where we made two or three calls, and +then went down to New Albany, on the Indiana side, where we had grand +welcomes from all whom we knew there. It was really astonishing to +behold our mutual joy, and to tell our true tales of joys and sorrows, +and hear theirs in return. Praise ye the Lord!</p> +<p class="pnext">We now hired a boat, and had a glorious sail up the Ohio, and showed Mr. +Sutherland and the children all the old familiar places up the stream +where we had formerly been. Then we went down the river, passed through +the canal at Portland, below the city, and came out upon the Ohio once +more. There were six of us in the boat besides the two rowers. We had +taken the precaution to borrow a variety of loud-sounding musical +instruments; we kept close to the Kentucky side of the Ohio, and when we +drew near to the place of our birth, that is, Riverside Hall, we struck +up "The Old Kentucky Shore," which we both played and sang with +tremendous force, raising more excitement than the Salvation Army! This +brought out Mr. and Mrs. Jackson, and all the old retainers who chose to +remain after the fall of slavery. There were new faces there, also. My +father recognized us at once, and invited us in to receive the +hospitalities of the house. Here we remained all day, saw everything +once more, and returned to Louisville at set of sun. But we afterwards +returned to Riverside, and spent another whole day in perfect love and +harmony. It was a sweet time.</p> +<p class="pnext">We were now all far, far more than satisfied. All things had gone well +with us, and we returned home to Buffalo more thankful and gladsome than +ever. Oh, what shall we render unto the Lord for all his goodness! +Because His mercy endureth forever!</p> +</div> +<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-xv"> +<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref pginternal" href="#id18">CHAPTER XV.</a></h2> +<div class="align-center figure"> +<img style="display: block; margin-left: 40%; width: 19%" alt="images/dec15.png" src="images/dec15.png" width="19%"/> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><em class="italics">The Great Commercial Panic of 1873—Collapse of the Republican +Government of the South—The Rebel Shot-Gun—The Force Bill—Rebellion +at New Orleans—Dangerous State of the Whole Country—Election of +President Hayes—Presumption of the Late Secessionists—Speech of +Congressman Foster, in Ohio—The Solid North Against the Solid +South—The Election of James A. Garfield—For the Sake of Peace.</em></p> +<p class="pnext">As I have indicated at the close of the last chapter, we all got home to +Buffalo in perfect safety, and settled down once more to the duties of +life. In the meantime we continued to watch the course of reconstruction +in the South, which was run by the Republicans with but very few +exceptions. We all seemed to think that things had settled down all +right in those States. White and colored Republicans were mixed up +pretty fairly in the Governments, and in all the different departments. +There were about a dozen colored Congressmen at Washington, and numbers +were also employed abroad in the consular and diplomatic service of the +United States. All things appeared to have settled down in quietness and +peace, but it was only to lull that which comes before the tempest, for +the elements in Secessia were only awaiting a favorable opportunity to +strike their favorable blow.</p> +<p class="pnext">Up to the year 1872 (as I still remember well) this entire nation seemed +to be running a course of unprecedented and joyful prosperity. Everybody +was working, there seemed to be plenty of money in the country, and +glorious good times, and immediately prospective wealth were the order +of the day everywhere. Alas, alas! It was nothing but the inflation of a +big balloon. In 1873 came a universal crash, and the balloon collapsed +entirely! There was nothing but consternation over the whole nation, and +the Northern States ceased for a time to keep their watchful eyes upon +the reconstruction of the South, in order to attend to the dreadful +troubles at home, caused by the complete collapse in trade. This was the +opportunity for which the late open rebels had been waiting. They +determined at once to take advantage of the sudden panic. The +Ku-Klux-Klan now came to the front (of whom I have made mention before). +They seized the shot-gun, and wrote on their banners, "We must carry +these States peaceably if we can; forcibly, if we must." Their first +efforts were directed against the white Republican leaders, who melted +away like new fallen snow before a warm sun. Their next effort was +directed against the most intelligent and influential colored leaders, +to whom they denied employment in almost every possible case. In a short +time there were not many Republican leaders left, either white or +colored, and the rank and file of the party could not then do much. +Congress passed next an act empowering President Grant to use the army +to suppress their domestic violence, and prevent bloodshed; also to +protect colored voters in the constitutional exercise of the rights +conferred upon them by the Fifteenth Amendment. But the South were up on +their feet again, and offered the most determined opposition to the +right and proper use of the national army. Like a high-strung, violent +termagant, the lately-defeated rebels now clamored for the ruling of +their own States in their own way, to the complete exclusion of the +lawful rights of all others. In her anxiety and desperation to have her +own way, "Miss Dixie" appealed to the sympathies of the Northern people, +and, indeed, she was pretty successful in her unjust appeal, because she +was aided by the "Copperheads" (Democrats) of the North, by many of the +Northern papers, and even by the more luke-warm among the Republicans +themselves. The ex-rebels clamored for what they called "a white man's +government," though the Union was no more a white man's government than +a black man's. Indeed, if this country belongs to anybody, it belongs to +the Indians, from whom the wicked Spaniards and other European robbers +first stole the lands away, and murdered the people.</p> +<div class="align-center figure" id="james-a-garfield"> +<img style="display: block; width: 100%" alt="images/image23garfield.jpg" src="images/image23garfield.jpg" width="100%"/> +<div class="caption italics"> +JAMES A. GARFIELD.</div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst">The bill that was introduced into Congress to enforce order in the South +was nick-named the "Force Bill," and it was not such a bad name, after +all, because nothing but force seemed of any service in making Southern +States do right. Things came to their worst in 1874, when the city of +New Orleans was in a state of siege, the streets blockaded with State +troops and White Line leagues, and an open battle was fought between the +two conflicting parties. The rebels overthrew the Republican State +government, and a new government was set up by physical force in its +stead. But President Grant sent troops to New Orleans, and the lawful +government was restored. State elections followed in the North in the +States of Indiana, Ohio, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and +Massachusetts, which resulted in the defeat of the Republican ticket and +the triumph of the Democrats. In their short-sighted way, the Bourbon +Democrats of the South gave way to great exultation and joy, and behaved +in the most cruel and shameful way to the white and colored Republicans +in Secessia.</p> +<p class="pnext">Nor did the mischief end there, for in their mistaken sympathy, many of +the Northern legislatures passed resolutions condemning President Grant +for sending troops into the South, although he only did so in the +discharge of his most legitimate duty, and in accordance with the law. +These movements caused the next Congress, which was the Forty-fourth, to +be organized by the Democrats, when the very cabinet ministers +themselves were divided upon the policy to be pursued towards the South, +one half pulling one way, and the other half pulling the other way. To +help on the bad cause still further, although a majority of colored +people exists in Mississippi, and that State ought to have gone +Republican, still the shot-gun policy of the rebels carried that State +before them, and the Republican Government ceased to exist.</p> +<div class="align-center figure" id="rutherford-b-hayes"> +<img style="display: block; width: 100%" alt="images/image24hayes.jpg" src="images/image24hayes.jpg" width="100%"/> +<div class="caption italics"> +RUTHERFORD B. HAYES.</div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst">The country was truly in a dangerous condition; a portion of the +Northern population were in favor of General Grant and his policy, and +the rest were in favor of a change in the South. A house divided against +itself will not stand: at least, it will not stand long. Men even +deserted the grand Republican party, not for any ill it had done, but +simply because others deserted it. It was even charged against the Grant +administration that it was responsible for the ruin of the Republican +government in the Southern States, and even for the great business +disasters that had overtaken the whole country, North and South. It is +easy to find a stick to beat a dog. Such puerile charges remind me +rather of the tricks of children than actions of men. All those charges +were entirely false, and the Democrats, both North and South, must have +known it themselves. We still remember well the mischief that President +Andrew Johnson did in his great sympathy for the rebels after they had +laid down their arms, and how the Southern States had been ruled by +hands far too weak for the task; that is, by colored men, formerly +unaccustomed to politics, by scalawags and carpet-baggers. The +cleverest of the rebels refused to lend a hand in the work of +Reconstruction, and sat sullenly at home nursing their wrath to keep it +warm. They never moved a hand in the work of building up their own +country, till they moved as the Ku-Klux-Klan, reached for the shot-gun, +and murdered those who ruled the Southern States. The rebel legislatures +were now made up of those very men whom the North had put down in the +war. They thronged the State halls and corridors, dressed in the very +same robes that they had worn on the battle-field when we were fighting +for the Union and freedom: and they were as rebellious in heart as +before!</p> +<p class="pnext">There was one great man in the Republican party who might have done a +great deal for the colored people of the South, if he had tried, but he +did not try; nay, he himself wanted to be President, and did not wish to +hurt himself when his own selfish interests were at stake. This man was +the Hon. James G. Blaine, of Maine. He opposed the Force Bill, and lost +no opportunity of opposing President Grant's administration whenever the +latter wished to do anything against the late rebels, and in favor of +the people. But Mr. Blaine never became President, and it served him +right, for he might have proved a bad one, as Andrew Johnson did.</p> +<p class="pnext">General Rutherford B. Hayes was Governor of Ohio, and in 1876 the +Republican party gave him the nomination for the Presidency. The +convention met at Cincinnati. The Democrats ran Samuel Jones Tilden as +their candidate. By the aid of the shot-gun the South had suppressed the +Republican legislatures of the States lately in rebellion, and having +gained an inch they went boldly on with the intention of taking a yard. +They certainly did expect to carry things their own way, especially if +Mr. Tilden could be elected, which appeared very likely at the time. +Though really done by means of the shot-gun in several Southern States, +it was still pretended that those States had been carried for Tilden and +the Democrats, which was a most unblushing falsehood on the very face of +it, for although returning officers came up as bold as rats from those +very States that had gone Democratic by the aid of the shot-gun, and put +in their claims, every child in the land, both North and South, knew +where the truth lay. A long wrangle followed over the counting of the +electoral votes, and as several Southern States had been carried +unlawfully, they were flung out, and General Rutherford B. Hayes was +declared duly elected President of the United States, and took his seat +on the Fourth of March, 1877. Now arose a wild cry about injustice from +all the Democrats of the land that what they called "a great steal" had +been done. The rebel South (that cared for no rights but the right of +their murderous shot-guns) was exasperated to the last degree. In fact +they were ready to fight for what they considered their rights, that is +the right to do as they pleased. They had hoped that with the +restoration of the Democratic government at that time they would be able +to collect their rebel war claims of the National Treasury at +Washington, and even get the price of their lost slaves from the same +source. They considered that they had a perfect right to all such +claims, and that the very rebel soldiers wounded in the war ought to +receive pensions the same as those who fought against them for the Union +and for freedom. When colored girls called upon those old rebel ladies +of Secessia at this time, asking for employment, those female rebels +replied, "Oh, we will hire you from your masters or mistresses," thus +clearly indicating that they fully expected the restoration of slavery +itself!</p> +<p class="pnext">So the Democrats of the North, and the Bourbon Democrats of the South +settled down in a sullen mood to four years more of Republican rule. It +was nothing but right and proper that they should be disappointed of +their prey. Even St. Paul, in the New Testament, tells us that no man is +entitled to the prize unless he contends lawfully. Of course, the South +neither cared for the opinion of St. Paul, lawful contention, nor +anything else of the same kind. So long as they could carry the +elections by the shot-gun it was all right, and good enough for them.</p> +<p class="pnext">The South was still discontented and sullen. They had, indeed, knocked +down the Republican governments of her several States, but though +allowed to govern was not allowed all war claims on the treasury at +Washington, and there was not one single ray of hope for the restoration +of slavery. None, none whatever! That was settled for all time. "Dixie" +sat down like a sulky, sullen woman by her own hearthstone, and refused +to be comforted. While she was in sorrow, others were in joy. Uncle Sam, +like a kind and tender husband, next tried the gentler arts of pacifying +and pleasing his termagant wife—the wife who in former days, yea, even +for fifty years, had always threatened to go out of the Union unless she +could have her own way! So an ex-Major-General of the late Confederate +army was called into the cabinet of President Hayes, and was given a +portfolio for the purpose of trying what he could do to better the +condition of the South. Then General Longstreet, also a leader in the +army of the rebellion, was made postmaster at Gainesville, in Georgia, +and was afterwards sent as minister to Turkey. Colonel Mosby, the famous +Confederate guerilla, was sent to China, and Colonel Fitzsimmons was +made marshal of Georgia. The South nevertheless did not show any signs +of real improvement. They stuck together, however, in a certain fashion, +like solid rocks of ice, all congealed and frozen tight and hard +together into one lump, and became known as the "Solid South." They +showed the greatest repugnance to the scalawags and carpet-baggers, and +all white Republicans generally, who were intimidated, persecuted and +driven out of all participation in the reconstruction of the States. +Black Republicans were allowed to vote, but the Democrats of Secessia +took the counting of the votes into their own hands, and secured the +offices, all the same! At this time President Hayes was under the +influence of Alexander H. Stephens, of Georgia, and Wade Hampton, of +South Carolina. President Hayes expected much, but received nothing in +return. The more kindness and consideration he showed them the more +arrogant and ungrateful they became. The Southern leaders in Congress +even tried to deprive the President of his Constitutional veto—tried to +starve the army, and even to protract the session of Congress. The North +was indeed holding out the olive branch of peace to the late rebel +States, and these States were trampling the kindness of the North +beneath their feet. Southern insolence went on, grew and increased. +There were loyal Republican men at Washington, who could have assisted +the President to steer the ship of state better than he did; but +President Hayes did not seem to care for their advice; he preferred to +shut himself up altogether in his own abilities, and left his real +well-wishers and friends on the outside. There was evidently no such +thing as satisfying the demands of the South. With unthankfulness she +took all that was given and demanded more, and never as much as said +"Thank you!" She considered that she had done right to secede, and was +only sorry that she had not succeeded with her rebellion. President +Hayes refused to surrender his veto power to those arrogant and +secessionist Congressmen at Washington. At last he saw clearly that the +South was not capable of appreciating his kindness as she ought, and +that all his good intentions had been flung away. He now decided to +change front, being worn out with so much arrogance and ingratitude. +Dealing out kindness to a gang of ex-rebel officers, who had once owned +and whipped their slaves, was found to be very irksome work. The entire +Republican party were now firmly and solidly united against the South. +The Cabinet, which was a splendid one, became more and more unanimous +than before; the administration was without fault, and other good things +that followed in their train did wonders for the Republican party all +over the land. Among these was the resumption of specie payment—a +source of delight to the nation. Thus, at last we see the Republican +ranks of the North were firmly united. They saw clearly that the +arrogance of the South was simply unlimited, and that nothing short of +the state of things before the war would satisfy her, unless, indeed, it +was the complete extension of her darling slavery from the Gulf of +Mexico to all the Northern States of the Union along the Canadian +border.</p> +<p class="pnext">There was one man in this country at the time who clearly saw what the +country needed next to tide her over the present state of things. This +clear-sighted man was the Hon. Charles Foster, Congressman from Ohio. +Mr. Foster returned home to Ohio from Washington in the summer of 1878. +He had been watching with eagle eyes the follies of President Hayes in +the vain attempt he made to pacify the South by love and kindness. He +had watched the governments of the Northern States slipping away from +their allegiance to the Republican party one after another, and, indeed, +he took in the whole situation, and saw what was needed to steer the +ship of state through the right channel in safety. Mr. Foster saw that +the South had been thoroughly disloyal in every respect; they had acted +with treason to the Union; they had not shown the least desire to +protect the new citizens, the colored voters at the polls, but in fact +had purposely murdered them with the shot-gun; they had shown the whole +nation that they were bent on rebellion, and nothing else.</p> +<p class="pnext">On the first of August, 1878, Mr. Foster made a great and famous speech +at Upper Sandusky, Ohio, when he raised a battle-cry that thrilled the +entire North, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, "A Solid North Against a +Solid South!" This speech was published in all the papers of the land, +and was kept up till it elected Garfield, in 1880. On account of its +immense influence during these two years, I will here reproduce it. Such +a battle-cry as this should be committed to memory.</p> +<p class="pnext">Mr. Foster proceeded to say:</p> +<p class="pnext">"I happened to be one who thought and believed that the President's +southern policy, as far as it related to the use of the troops for the +support of State Governments, was right. I sustained it upon the ground +of high principle,—nevertheless it could have been sustained on the +ground of necessity. The President has extended to the people of the +south the hand of conciliation and friendship. He has shown a desire, +probably contrary to the wishes of the great mass of his party, to bring +about by the means of conciliation, better relations between the north +and the south. In doing this he has alienated from him the great mass of +the leading and influential republicans of the country. He has lost +their sympathy, and to a great degree their support. What has he +received in return for the measure of conciliation and kindness? How +have these measures been received by the south? What advance can we +discover in them of the recognition of the guarantees of the rights of +the colored men under the Constitutional Amendments? We see Jeff. Davis +making speeches as treasonable as those of 1861, and these speeches +endorsed and applauded by a great portion of their press and people! We +see also the declaration of Mr. Singleton, of Mississippi, in answer to +a question of mine on the floor of the house, declaring that this +paramount allegiance in peace and war was due to his State! No gentlemen +from the south, or even of the democratic party has taken issue with +him.</p> +<p class="pnext">"We see also, all over the south, a disposition to resist the execution +of the United States laws, especially in the matter of collection of +internal revenue. To-day there are four United States officers under +arrest by the authorities of the State of South Carolina, in jail and +bail refused, for an alleged crime in their State, while in fact these +officers were discharging their duty in executing the laws of the United +States, in that State. Their State courts and their officers refused to +obey the writs of the United States courts in the surrender of these +United States authorities. No former act of this treasonable state shows +a more defiant attitude towards the United States Government, or a +greater disposition to trample on its authority. I trust the +administration will in this case, assert, in the most vigorous manner +possible, the authority of the United States Government for the rescue +and protection of these officers. I have no bloody shirt to wave. If +there is one man in this country more than another, who desires peace +and quiet between the sections, I believe I am that man. Gentlemen may +philosophize over this question until they are gray, but you cannot +escape the discussion of this question so long as the Solid South +menaces the peace of the country. A solid democratic south means the +control of the country by the spirit and the men who sought its +destruction.</p> +<p class="pnext">"My own opinion is that there can be no peace. This question will not +down until the menace of the Solid South is withdrawn. I had hoped that +the policy of President Hayes would lead to the assertion, by a very +considerable portion of the South, of their antagonism to Bourbon +Democracy. I confess to a degree of disappointment in this, though I +think I see signs of a breaking up of the Solid South in the independent +movements that seem to be gaining a foothold in all sections of that +country. But the effective way to aid these independent movements; this +breaking up of all the Solid South, is for the North to present itself +united against the Solid South. A Solid South under the control of the +Democratic party means the control of the party by this element. It +means the repeal of the Constitutional Amendments, if not in form, in +spirit. It means the payment of hundreds of rebel claims. It means the +payment of pensions to rebel soldiers. It means the payment for slaves +lost in the rebellion. It means the abrogation of that provision of the +Constitution which declares that the citizens of one State shall have +all the rights, privileges and immunities of the citizens of other +States.</p> +<p class="pnext">"If my Democratic friends who seem to be anxious to bring about peace +and quiet between the sections are sincere, and desire to make their +expressions effective, they should act with that party which presents a +solid front, a united North so long as we are menaced with the Solid +South.</p> +<p class="pnext">"If it could be understood in the South that they are to be met with a +Solid North, I do not believe that the Solid South would exist in that +condition a single year. They retain this position because they believe +they can have the support of a fragment of the North; and thus with this +fragment rule and control the country. I would have no fear of the +control of the country by the Democratic party, if it were made up of +something like equal proportions from all sections of the country. I +discuss this question first, because I believe it is the most important +question at issue in the pending canvass. I repeat, that it is the +imperative duty of the North to meet the Solid South with a united +front!"</p> +<p class="pnext">The above little speech thrilled the North, and put new life into the +Republican party. It was a regular battle-cry; it was passed along the +line from city to city, and from State to State. It gave Mr. Foster the +nomination for Governor of Ohio, and whereas the Democrats had +possession of the State by a majority of 23,000, he reversed the whole +question by a Republican majority of 17,000, and redeemed the State of +Ohio to the Republican party. The rising tide of enthusiasm swept the +whole country. That famous little speech was printed and set forth by +all the papers of the land. Editorials were written on the subject, and +orators all over the land took Mr. Foster's speech at Upper Sandusky as +a text from which to preach their sermons. The whole country was aroused +over the treasonable designs and aims of the South. Her intentions were +to come as near back to slavery as ever she could get, or rather as near +as ever she dared to come, once more. But now the North was on her +guard, and presented a solid Republican front against the Solid South, +and in the course of two years more returned James A. Garfield as +President of the United States.</p> +<p class="pnext">You must have observed, my dear reader, in the last few pages, how the +former secessionists arose in the South, and tore down the negro, or +Republican, governments that ruled in the days of Reconstruction. You +have seen the arrogance and insolence of the rebel brigadier-generals +who vaulted into their places, and even came to Congress at Washington, +and attempted to tie the hands of President Hayes by depriving him of +the right to veto. You have seen how these self-same rebels next began +to talk about pensioning the very soldiers who broke up the Union for a +time, or at least prevented the free course of law in the Southern +States, and they next built their hopes on the payment of their own +war-claims and the price of their slaves out of the United States +Treasury at Washington. You have seen how all the above, and far more, +welded all the Northern States into what was termed "the Solid North," +and rolled back the great Southern waves of presumption and insolence, +saying to the sea, "Thus far shalt thou come, and no further; and here +shall thy proud waves be stayed!" Having said and done so much, and +having awakened the Southern States to their proper senses, a person +would have thought that colored men would have been restored to the +government of these States, at least in cases where the colored men were +clever men, and therefore well qualified to rule. But the aforementioned +Negro, or Republican, governments of the late rebel States were not +restored, though we had established the "Solid North," and returned +James A. Garfield to the White House as the head of the great republic.</p> +<p class="pnext">For the time being, therefore, and for the sake of peace, the North +has not yet seen fit to enforce the Fifteenth Amendment, so as to compel +the South to make room for the rightful share of colored men in the +governments of the South. If this were France or England, colored men +would to-day be sitting side by side with white men, and ruling the +country together. But the South was like a termagant, fighting wife, who +shook her fists in her husband's face, and exclaimed, "Look ye here Sam! +This is a white man's government and I will rule it myself, or not rule +at all; for these colored men shall not divide the power with me!" Then +Uncle Sam, poor fellow, gave way, for a time, for the sake of peace, and +ever since colored men in the South have kept away from this hateful +contention with the white man there. It may have been for the best for +the present, till we are more highly educated, and so more fitted and +qualified to rule. In the meantime we are gathering knowledge like sands +of the sea, and qualifying ourselves to hold any office on the face of +the earth. Those rebels are rapidly passing away who sold "their own +flesh and blood" on the auction blocks, and who fought for slavery on +many a well-contested field, and at last were subdued by physical force. +They are passing away, and more intelligent and enlightened children are +taking their places. And we are growing more and more intelligent every +day of the year, and the time must come, and come soon, when we will get +all the rights that belong to us, and one of this is the right for +colored men to rule the entire Union, North, East, South and West, along +with all other men. And, my dear reader, as sure as there is a God in +heaven, so sure is it that we shall yet get all that belongs to us, and +right and justice shall prevail and flourish from the Lakes to the Gulf!</p> +</div> +<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-xvi"> +<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref pginternal" href="#id19">CHAPTER XVI.</a></h2> +<div class="align-center figure"> +<img style="display: block; margin-left: 40%; width: 19%" alt="images/dec16.png" src="images/dec16.png" width="19%"/> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><em class="italics">The Exodus of Colored People From the South to Kansas—Causes That Led +to it—The Plantation Credit System—Reign of Terror in Louisiana and +Other States—Trials on the Way to Kansas—Splendid Welcome by the State +of Kansas—Good Beginning of the Pilgrims—"God Helps Those Who Help +Themselves!"</em></p> +<p class="pnext">No doubt my indulgent reader has often heard of the exodus of many +thousands of colored people from the Southern States to the generous and +hospitable State of Kansas. This was a truly remarkable movement, and +began in the early spring of 1879. I have already pointed out some of +the shameful causes that led to that exodus that drew the eyes of the +whole nation, and elicited the most profound sympathy from all Christian +and philanthropic people all over the North, and even in England. To +trace this deplorable state of affairs to their foundation head, I need +only allude to what was called at the time "The Plantation Credit +System," when colored people worked on shares with the white owners of +the land, and the latter kept stores of all kinds of provisions and +clothing, and swindled the hard-working colored man out of the rightful +share of the profits. The latter were always overcharged for their +goods, and could never get a clear settlement. This system of robbery +and swindling gave the laborer no chance, and made him sigh for a land +of freedom.</p> +<p class="pnext">That was bad enough, but there was something worse that began to show +itself, even before those days when the Ku-Klux-Klan became regularly +organized for the expulsion of the Republican governments in the South, +and that was a gradual and general adoption of the shot-gun policy, to +make colored men understand that the whites were still lords and +masters, and colored people must serve and obey, as they used to do +before the war. This shook the confidence of the latter in the general +government of the nation, for if great Uncle Sam could afford them no +better protection than that, things might as well have remained as they +were, and all their boasted freedom was of very little use to them, or +no account at all.</p> +<p class="pnext">In 1868 General Grant ran for President on the Republican ticket—Grant +and Colfax—whilst Seymour and Blair were the nominees on the Democratic +ticket. Although the rebel element had always been too rampant in the +State of Louisiana, they grew ten times more as the day for the election +for President drew near. It was particularly desired by the Democrats of +the South to carry Louisiana for Seymour and Blair. The plan they +adopted was the wholesale use of the shot-gun in the different +"parishes" (or counties) of the State. The rebels began their work of +murder, terror and intimidation in good time before the election day in +November. Wherever the Republican votes were likely to be heaviest, +there a great effort was made to kill, maim and scatter all those white +and colored men who would be likely to vote for Grant and Colfax. These +Southern thugs in Louisiana and other States of the South put in their +fell work mostly after dark, killing, burning and destroying in every +possible way. It soon became well understood that the rebels were aiming +at the coming election; and for a fact, when election day came there +were very, very few men in the different parishes of Louisiana that +voted the Republican ticket, because they were afraid of their lives; +and who need wonder if they stayed away from the polls when the United +States Government afforded them no protection in casting their votes? +All things had gone finely during the years of the Republican +governments in the Southern States, when men owned their own land, and +there was no one to trouble them, or to make them afraid; but these +reconstruction governments were now tottering to their fall; the white +man demanded the government, and the law, too, and evil days were in +store for the colored race in the South.</p> +<p class="pnext">The following lines from the pen of General P. H. Sheridan will help to +explain the cause of the exodus. He was then in command at New Orleans, +and writes under the date of January 10th, 1875:</p> +<p class="pnext">"Since the year 1866 nearly 3,500 persons, a great majority of whom were +colored men, have been killed and wounded in the State. In 1868 the +official record shows that 1,884 were killed and wounded. From 1868 to +the present time, no official investigation has been made, and in the +civil authorities in all but a few cases have been unable to arrest, +convict or punish the perpetrators. Consequently there are no correct +records to be consulted for information. There is ample evidence, +however, to show that more than 1,200 persons have been killed and +wounded during this time on account of their political sentiments. +Frightful massacres have occurred in the parishes of Bossier, Caddo, +Catahoula, St. Bernard, Grant and Orleans."</p> +<p class="pnext">After this, General Sheridan went on to enumerate the murders +committed on account of their Republican sentiments in the various +parishes of Louisiana, and says:</p> +<p class="pnext">"Human life in this State is held so cheaply that when men are killed on +account of political opinions, the murderers are regarded rather as +heroes than as criminals in the localities where they reside."</p> +<p class="pnext">The man who writes the above is no ordinary correspondent. The writer is +the famous soldier, P. H. Sheridan, and he is merely sending in his +report as military commander in the State. And whole volumes of other +testimony have been taken, as exactly as was done in the case of the +massacre of Fort Pillow, which confirm in every respect the words of +General Sheridan.</p> +<p class="pnext">The documents in which these political murders have been recorded show +that a perfect reign of terror existed all over the State in 1867, the +year before the Presidential election. In the parish of St. Landry there +was a massacre of colored people that began on the 28th of September in +the following year, 1868, and lasted from three to six days, and during +that time between three hundred and four hundred were killed. Thirteen +captains were taken from the jail and shot, and a pile of twenty-five +dead bodies were found burned in the woods. And what was the Democratic +result in this parish of St. Landry? The registered Republican majority +of 1,071 was completely wiped out, and when the general election for +President came on a few weeks later, not a single vote was cast for +Grant and Colfax, whilst Seymour and Blair received 4,787. What a +spectacle was this for the whole civilized world to look upon only three +years and a half after the fall of the Confederacy! All those murders +were committed right here in free America!</p> +<p class="pnext">In the parish of Bossier, there was just such another massacre between +the 20th and 30th of September, 1868, and which lasted from three to +four days, and during that time two hundred colored people were killed. +The official register for Bossier parish for the year 1868 shows that +the Republican voters numbered 1,938. But when the Presidential election +came on, only one vote was cast! Such was the result of the shot-gun +policy in Bossier parish.</p> +<p class="pnext">During the month of October, 1868, the month before the election, over +forty colored people were killed in the parish of Caddo. The Republican +register shows that there were 2,894 votes, and yet when the election +came on there was only one such vote cast out of all that number. And +the same things happened all over the State.</p> +<p class="pnext">During the months of September, October and November, the number of +murders, maimings and whippings that took place for political reasons +were a thousand. The names of Republican voters in twenty-eight parishes +amounted to 47,923; but when the Presidential election came on a few +weeks later, only 5,360 votes were cast for Grant and Colfax, whilst the +Democratic gain, from the shot-gun policy, amounted to 42,563.</p> +<p class="pnext">In nine of the parishes, where most of the murder and violence was +carried on, only nineteen votes were cast for Gen. Grant, though there +were 11,604 names on the Republican register. In other seven parishes +where there were 7,253 names on the register, not one vote was cast for +the Republican nominees at the subsequent election in November.</p> +<p class="pnext">In the years that followed 1868, when political lawlessness was held in +check, these same Republican parishes cast from 33,000 to 37,000 votes, +which proved that terrorism was the rebel policy of 1868.</p> +<p class="pnext">Thus things went on from 1868 to 1876, when the Democracy of Louisiana +desired to carry the State for Tilden and Hendricks. The candidates for +Republican President and Vice-President were Hayes and Wheeler; and +everybody knew that colored men would not vote the Democratic ticket. +The same murderous policy was again adopted as in 1868, and the results +were much the same. On election day, in November, 1876, there were in +Louisiana 92,996 registered white voters, and 115,310 colored voters, +giving a majority of 22,314 votes that should have been cast for Hayes. +It would be quite unnecessary to quote the "returns" from the different +parishes of Louisiana. It would only be a repetition of 1868 over again. +And after all was done it did not profit the Southern Democrats any, for +it was proven that they had carried the parishes by violence; and +therefore the parishes were not counted in the returns.</p> +<p class="pnext">And Louisiana was not the only State where the thugs attempted to +suppress voting by violence amongst the colored men. It was the +self-same policy everywhere throughout the South, and as a rule colored +men kept away from the polls, in fear of their lives.</p> +<p class="pnext">Now, my dear reader, I have placed before you the reasons that led our +oppressed people to rise up in the early spring of 1879, and search out +for themselves new homes, where they could dwell in safety, and where +they would not be robbed, oppressed and burned out, and even murdered on +account of their political opinions. Colored men could never be expected +to vote the Democratic ticket. Besides, were they not free? And had they +not the right to vote as they pleased, even as others had? They never +dreamed of terrorizing the whites because they would not vote the +Republican ticket. It was a most remarkable thing that President Grant, +the great war general, who had conquered the South, was unable to devise +ways and means to protect the lives of colored men on election days. So +far as I have ever heard there was not even a semblance of protection +anywhere in those States where it was desired to carry the same for the +Democratic nominees. Thus colored men were left unprotected in all their +natural rights by the very Government itself that had passed the +Constitutional Amendments. In fact they were left like sheep in the +midst of wolves. They had been swindled and cheated in every way, as I +have already shown. The Government now failed to protect their very +lives, and therefore they began to turn their eyes to other regions +where they could at least worship God, and sleep in their beds in +safety. The shot-gun policy was now beginning to recoil on itself, for +who can till the soil of the South like colored men?</p> +<p class="pnext">The State of Kansas possessed many attractions for our oppressed and +wronged people. All had often heard of the long struggle there between +the border ruffians from the South, and the free soil men of the North, +as to whether Kansas should be enslaved or free; and how at last it had +been won by the Abolitionists as a free State. All had heard how the +immortal John Brown (of glorious memory) had warred and fought in Kansas +for the liberty of all people, and how in 1861 the struggle between +slavery and liberty had been transferred from the soil of Kansas to the +rebel lands of South Carolina. Thus Kansas had a name that charmed all +hearts, and letters that were written at the time by those colored +families already settled down there and flourishing, like the green +bay-tree, among a good and just white population, gave glorious +accounts of the new State in the West, and invited all others to come +and settle down on its fertile lands who wished for peaceful homes.</p> +<p class="pnext">One thing was clear—colored people could not afford to remain in the +old rebel States of the South, where there was no safety for their +lives, and where even the national government appeared unable to protect +them. Indeed, something must be done soon.</p> +<p class="pnext">Here are a few questions and answers that will speak for themselves:</p> +<p class="pnext">"Now, Uncle Joe, what did you come for?"</p> +<p class="pnext">"Oh, Lawd, Missus, I follows my two boys and the old woman; and then, +'pears like I wants a taste of votin' before I dies, an' the ole man +done wants no swamps to wade in afore he votes, 'kase he must be +Republican, ye see!"</p> +<p class="pnext">"Well, Aunty, give us the sympathetic side of the story, or tell us what +you think of leaving your old home."</p> +<p class="pnext">"I done have no home, nohow, if they shoots my ole man an' the boys, an' +gives me no money for de washing."</p> +<p class="pnext">A bright woman of twenty-five years of age was asked her condition, when +she answered,</p> +<p class="pnext">"I hadn't much real trouble yet, like some of my neighbors who lost +everything. We had a lot, an' a little house, an' some stock on the +place. We sold all out, 'kase we didn't dare to stay when votin' time +came again. Some neighbors better off than we had been all broken up by +a pack of night-riders, all in white, who scared everybody to death, ran +the men off the swamps before elections, ran the stock off, an' set fire +to their places. A poor woman might as well be killed, and done with +it."</p> +<p class="pnext">Whoever read anything more pathetic than the above? Who can wonder any +longer that a regular panic seized upon the people in certain sections +on the South to go forth unto a land they knew not, where they could +live in peace and safety among a better race of men? The number of +persecuted pilgrims, those seeking a home in Kansas, is variously given +at between forty and sixty thousand men, women and children. When the +army of the Israelites left Egypt, they were well supplied, for they had +been instructed to ask of the Egyptians anything they wanted; but these +40,000 or 60,000 people departed in most cases with absolutely nothing +but the clothes they stood in, and they were often poorly clad, often +hungry and exhausted, and in need of all things. Some, indeed, had teams +of oxen that brought on all their earthly possessions, dragging their +weary length along day after day, and week after week, and straining +their longing eyes towards the fields of Kansas and liberty. Some of +these pilgrims that came no further than from Texas were actually nine +weeks on the road! Poor, dear creatures! How sweet to them must have +been the hopes and anticipations of a peaceful home, when they were +willing to make such tremendous sacrifices that they might cross over +into the fair and fertile fields of Kansas! "Sweet fields beyond the +swelling flood stood dressed in living green; so to the Jews old Canaan +stood, while Jordan rolled between."</p> +<p class="pnext">A great deal was written at that time, a great deal has been written +since then, and a great deal will still be written about the sufferings +of those poor, dear pilgrims; but the whole truth of what they really +did suffer on the way, with all the hardships that confronted them in +the days of their distress will never, never be told. Indeed, it cannot; +it is impossible. One thing we all know—the colored race is +preeminently a religious race. They will worship God. The germs of +immortality are safe within the bosoms of all thinking men and women +among them. They were always faithful to their God, even in the darkest +days of slavery. Like Paul, they could say, "I can do all things through +Christ, Who strengthens me." Indeed it is most marvelous what any of us +may do, and can do, when we are put upon our muscle. The world has often +been astonished at deeds performed by puny women, and even mere boys and +girls. But such need hardly have been the case, for none can tell what +they can do themselves until they are tried, and the grand resolutions +of the soul arise like a hurricane to meet terrors and trials of the +situation. There are always heroes and heroines in the world, ready when +called for.</p> +<p class="pnext">But although the grand and high-soaring resolutions of heart and soul +worked wonders—I had almost said miracles—among the pilgrims of this +exodus; still, none of us are made of iron, and the strain proved too +much for the bodies of some of those devoted people, for they died soon +after reaching the Canaan of their hopes: they died in the consecrated +soil of Kansas, and the angels of heaven came down and carried them +home. A result like this was to be expected, and the only wonder is that +more of them did not perish, even while they were on the way. The Lord +knows those that are His; we shall meet them in heaven!</p> +<p class="pnext">There was no time to be lost. News travels fast in the days of electric +telegraph, and even of railroads and steamboats. The news of the tide of +the exodus from the murderous sections of the Sunny South was swiftly +wafted all over the land, and even crossed the broad Atlantic to mother +England. Swift as the fleet winds, Christians and philanthropists were +on their feet at once, and a relief association was organized. "They +give twice who give quickly." A dear Quaker lady named Mrs. Comstock +(whose name is written in the Book of Life) immediately put herself at +the head of affairs, and aided by "The Kansas Freedman's Relief +Association," she was just the right and proper person to manage the +raising of money, clothing and relief in every shape and form. The name +of Governor St. John, of Kansas, must be associated with this glorious +work of swiftly relieving the pilgrims in the day of their distress. He +will ever stand before the world as a Christian and a gentleman for his +willing help at this time. We too often hear people speaking of "this +bad world," but this world contains millions of friends—all ready for +the day of trial!</p> +<p class="pnext">The pilgrims from the South were not long in turning round after they +reached the friendly and welcoming lands of Kansas. They felt safe now, +and had no more to fear. They soon became self-sustaining, because they +were willing, and had a mind to work. All their past sorrows were now +happily forgotten; they took hold, and were most enthusiastic, +industrious and frugal. The relief association at first gave them a +supply of stoves, teams and seeds. In a little over a year about $40,000 +were used, and 500,000 pounds of clothing, bedding, and so forth. "Old +England" sent 50,000 pounds of goods, and $8,000 in money, which chiefly +came from Mrs. Comstock's friends in "the tight little island" beyond +the seas, who had known her there by her good works. Much of the +remainder had come in small sums, and from the Christian women of +America. The most noble and loyal Quakers furnished one-third. The State +of Ohio gave more than any other State. The funds of the State of Kansas +were not drawn upon.</p> +<p class="pnext">The freedman at once set to work, and during the first year entered +upon the cultivation of 20,000 acres of land, and they ploughed and +fitted 3,000 acres for grain-growing. They also built 300 cabins and +dugouts, and amassed $30,000 in money. We have heard of one Henry +Carter, a colored man of Tennessee, who set out from Topeka in 1878, and +made his way on foot for Dunlap, which was sixty-five miles away; he +carried his own tools, whilst his plucky wife carried their bed clothes. +In 1880 he had forty acres of land cleared, and had made the first +payment for the same. He earned that money by working on sheep ranches, +and making himself generally useful. He built for himself and wife a +good stone cottage, sixteen feet by ten, and then owned a horse, a cow +and other things besides. Not only did the white people assist the +pilgrims, as good friends and neighbors, far and wide, over all the +broad lands of Kansas, but colored families pulled and hauled together, +lent and borrowed, and most willingly assisted one another in every +conceivable way. "Good Samaritans" sprang up in all directions, thicker +than the grass of the field. These blessed eyes of mine, dear reader, +were privileged to look upon many letters at the time, giving lovely +accounts of the way, the doings and sayings of the good folks of Kansas. +With what warmth of feeling did they praise all their neighbors, colored +and white alike, and pressed upon all "to come out!" There were, of +course, many who arrived at first at Topeka, and other large towns, in a +sadly destitute condition, needing clothing, food, medicine and all +things. But they were at once assisted upon their feet—they turned +round at once like swift winds, and all were soon most industriously at +work. None were ever arrested for stealing, and very few were found +drunk. All at once "made tracks," as we say, for the Church of God, and +the bible and the school-house. The colored children were at once +admitted into the public schools, as the color of the skin was too +paltry a matter to be noticed by the great-minded people of the State of +Kansas. Industrial schools were also set going for all those who needed +such institutions. May God forever bless the State of Kansas for her +unsurpassed humanity and hospitality to our oppressed people in the days +of their distress! This is a most uncommonly prosperous and well-to-do +State. The Lord has smiled upon them, and remembered all their loving +ways.</p> +<p class="pnext">John M. Brown, Esq., was the general superintendent of the Freedman's +Relief Association, and in February, 1880, he read a very interesting +report before the Association, of which the following is an extract:</p> +<p class="pnext">"The great exodus of colored people from the South began about the first +of February, 1879. By the first of April, 1,300 refugees had gathered +around Wyandotte, Kansas. Many of them were in a suffering condition. It +was then that the Kansas Relief Association came into existence, for the +purpose of helping the most needy among the refugees from the Southern +States. Up to date, about 60,000 refugees have come to the State of +Kansas to live. Nearly 40,000 of them were in a destitute condition when +they arrived, and have been helped by our association. We have received +to date $68,000 for the relief of the refugees. About 5,000 of those who +have come to Kansas have gone to other States to live, leaving about +55,000 yet in Kansas. About 30,000 of that number have settled in the +country, some of those on lands of their own or rented lands; others +have hired out to the farmers, leaving about 25,000 in and around the +different cities and towns of Kansas. There has been great suffering +among those remaining in and near the cities and towns this winter. It +has been so cold that they could not find employment; and if they did, +they had to work for very low wages; because so many of them were +looking for work that they were in each other's way.</p> +<p class="pnext">"Most of those about the cities and towns are with large families, +widows, and very old people. The farmers want only able-bodied men for +their work, and it is very hard for men with large families to get homes +among the farmers. Kansas is a new State, and most farmers have small +houses, and they cannot take large families to live with them. So when +the farmers call for help, they usually call for a man and his wife +only, or for a single man or woman.</p> +<p class="pnext">"Now in order that men with large families may become owners of land, +and be able to support their families, the Kansas Freedman's Relief +Association, if they can secure the means, will purchase cheap lands +which can be bought at from $3 to $5 per acre, on long time, by making a +small payment in cash. They will settle the refuges on these lands, +letting each family have from 20 to 40 acres, and not settling more than +sixteen families in any one neighborhood, so that they can easily obtain +work from the farmers in that section or near by. I do not think it best +to settle too many of them in any one place, because it will make it +hard for them to find employment.</p> +<p class="pnext">"If our Association can help them to build a small house, and have five +acres of their land broken, the women and children can cultivate the +five acres and make enough to support their families, while the men are +out at work by the day to meet the payments on their land when they +become due. In this way many families can be helped to homes of their +own, where they can become self-sustaining, educate their children, and +be useful citizens to the State of Kansas.</p> +<p class="pnext">"Money spent in this way will be much more profitable to them than so +much old clothing and provisions. They will no longer be objects of +charity, or a burden to benevolent people."</p> +</div> +<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-xvii"> +<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref pginternal" href="#id20">CHAPTER XVII.</a></h2> +<div class="align-center figure"> +<img style="display: block; margin-left: 40%; width: 19%" alt="images/dec17.png" src="images/dec17.png" width="19%"/> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><em class="italics">Continuation of the Exodus to Kansas—Complete Success of That Grand +Movement—Similar Governments Elsewhere—Resolution of the Hon. D. W. +Voorhees in Congress—A Perfect Farce In Itself—The Story of the +Exodus—Its End.</em></p> +<p class="pnext">We are not to suppose, my dear reader, that the coming of so many +colored people to Kansas was in the beginning cordially agreed to by +every white citizen of that State. Indeed, the exodus of these poor +pilgrims and refugees to their consecrated soil was at first met with +the most determined and violent opposition by many. But the new +immigrants were usually so active, sincere and clever in all their +movements that they at once disarmed all opposition, and the white +residents at once grounded the arms of their rebellion. With few +exceptions, everybody was well pleased with the new-comers, and they +were made thrice welcome to the soil of Kansas. Behold the hand of God +in all this! St. Paul advises us to be hospitable and entertain +strangers, "for some have thereby entertained angels unawares," he +continues to say. Indeed, I know of no better way to draw down the +abundant blessings of high heaven upon our heads than by relieving +really worthy and deserving people in the day of their distress. Our +Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ Himself pronounced a splendid eulogy upon +those who relieved the hungry, thirsty, the sick and the prisoners, and +He winds up his glorious sermon by saying, "Inasmuch as ye have done it +unto the least of these, my disciples, ye have done it unto Me; enter ye +into the joy of your Lord!" If ever Christ's words were carried out to +the very fullest extent, they were carried out by the welcome reception +of our pilgrim host to the soil of Kansas. The Lord has a long memory +for a kind act, and He has not been unmindful to shower His blessings on +this flourishing State.</p> +<p class="pnext">But after all, the season of agony, doubts and fears was but of short +duration. By the year 1881, at the very latest, the regular tide of the +refugees had discontinued to flow, the work of the "Kansas Freedmen's +Relief Association" had entirely and successfully completed its work +and disbanded itself, as the Union soldiers did when the Civil War was +over. How glorious is all this now to sit down and think of! "As one +door shuts, another opens." Very good, indeed. Let us thank God that the +world is so big and roomy; and if we have plenty of enemies here, we +have plenty of friends also. It was so in the old-time bible days, for +in that blessed book we read how hosts of people, and even individuals, +rose up, and departed in millions, in thousands and hundreds, and even +in single cases, and went away from among "devils," that they might +dwell in peace among better people. Thus history has simply repeated +itself over and over again, and the exodus of colored people from the +South is perhaps the most recent example of that oft-repeated affair. +And it is safe to say, when we consider the natural badness of the human +race, that other exoduses elsewhere will follow. It may not be in this +country, but it will be somewhere.</p> +<p class="pnext">There is an old but true saying that "None are so blind as those who +don't want to see," which leads me on to say that the Hon. D. W. +Voorhees, United States Senator from Indiana, must either have been most +dreadfully blind to the truth, or else he must have been in a very +childish humor, when he introduced his famous resolution into the Senate +at Washington for the investigation of "The causes of the migration of +the colored people from the Southern to the Northern States." Now, since +this world began, dear reader, when did any one of us ever hear of such +a farce as this? To institute a national inquiry of the causes of the +exodus of entire legions of men, women and children, when Mr. Voorhees +and the whole population of the United States knew all about things +before he ever asked the question? That inquiry cost the government +thousands of dollars—flung away upon what every man, woman and child +knew already! Verily, this was the greatest national farce ever heard of +from the creation of the world down to the present time of writing!</p> +<p class="pnext">While this inquiry was going on, money and clothing were sent to the +State of Kansas by every train; and the refugees were rapidly scattered +all over the different counties as fast as the relief association could +secure homes for them.</p> +<div class="align-center figure" id="chas-sumner"> +<img style="display: block; width: 100%" alt="images/image25sumner.jpg" src="images/image25sumner.jpg" width="100%"/> +<div class="caption italics"> +CHAS. SUMNER.</div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst">The "Chicago Inter-Ocean" newspaper sent a special correspondent to +Topeka, to report on the state of things in Kansas, in connection with +the pilgrims from the Sunny South. This faithful man made the following +report, which is so very interesting that I will copy it in full:</p> +<p class="pnext">"TOPEKA, KANSAS, April 9th.</p> +<p class="pnext">"During the last few days I have in obedience to your request been +taking notice of the exodus as it may be studied here at the +headquarters for relief among the refugees in Kansas. This is the third +visit your correspondent has made to the 'promised land' of the dusky +hosts, who fleeing from persecution and wrongs, have swarmed within its +borders to the number of 25,000. In a letter written here in December +last the number then within the State was estimated about 15,000, and +since that date at least 12,000 more have come. In the 'barracks' to-day +I found what seemed to be the same one hundred who crowded about the +stove that cold December day; but they were not the same of course, but +their places have been filled many times since with other hundreds, who +have found their first welcome to Kansas in the rest, food and warmth, +which the charity of the North has provided here. So efficient have the +plan of relief and the machinery of distribution been made, that of the +thousands who have passed through here, none have remained as a burden +of expense to the Association more than four or five days before places +were found where their own labor could furnish them support. 'If that +pure statesman of Indiana, (Mr. Voorhees) whose great heart was so +filled with solicitude for the welfare of his colored brethren, that he +asked Congress to appropriate thousands of dollars to ascertain why they +moved from one State to another will come here,—he will be rewarded with +such a flood of light on the question as could never penetrate the +recesses of his committee-room in Washington. He need hardly propound an +inquiry; he had, indeed, best not let his great presence be known,—for +in the presence of 'Democracy' the negro has learned to keep silence. +But in search of the truth, let him go to the file of over 3,000 letters +in the Governor's office from negroes in the South, and read in them the +homely but truthful tales of suffering, oppression and wrongs. Let him +note how real is their complaint, but how modest the boon they ask; for, +in different words,—sometimes in quaint and often in awkward phrases, +the questions are always the same,—'Can we be free? Can we have work? +And can we have our rights in Kansas?' Let him go next to the +'barracks,' and watch the tired, ragged, hungry, scared-looking negroes +as they come by the dozens on every train. If he is not prompted by +shame, then from caution necessary to the success of his errand, let him +here conceal the fact that he is a 'Democrat;' for these half-famished +and terrified negroes have been fleeing from Democrats in the South, and +in their ignorance they may not be able to comprehend the nice +distinction between a northern and a southern Democrat. If he will be +content simply to listen as they talk among themselves, he will soon +learn much that the laborious cross-examination of witnesses has failed +to teach him. He may take note of the fact that fleeing from robbery, +oppression and murder, they come only with the plea for work and justice +while they work. He may see reason to criticise what has generally been +deemed by Southern Democrats, at least, unreasonable folly in a negro +which prompts husband and wife to go only where they can go together; +but he will find nothing to cause him to doubt the sincerity and good +faith with which the negro grapples with the problem of his new life +here. If he would learn more of this strength of resolution, and the +patience which they have brought to search for a home in a free land, +let him inquire concerning the lives of those refugees in Kansas. It may +seem of significance, and worthy of approving note to him, that as +laborers they have been faithful and industrious; that in no single case +have they come back asking aid of the relief association, nor become +burdens in any way upon corporate or public charities; that as citizens +they are sober and law-abiding to such a degree that he would hardly be +able to discover a single case of crime among them; and, finally, that +in those instances where they were able to purchase a little land and +stock, they have made as good progress towards the acquirement of homes +and property, as have the average, poor, white, immigrant to the State. +He will first learn then, from the refugees themselves, something of the +desperate nature of the causes that drove them from the South; and +secondly, from their lives here, with what thrift, patience and +determination they have met the difficulties which they have encountered +in their efforts to gain a foothold, and as men among men in the land of +equal rights.</p> +<p class="pnext">"From the Hon. William Reynolds, president of the Auxiliary Relief +Association, at Parsons, I learn that the negroes who have come into the +southern part of the State, mostly from Texas, are all either settled on +small tracts of land, or employed as laborers at from $8 to $10 per +month, and are all doing well. Mr. Reynolds' testimony to this effect +was positive and unqualified. To assist these refugees in Southern +Kansas,—over 3,000 in all,—only $575 has been expended.</p> +<p class="pnext">"From Judge R. W. Dawson (who was the secretary of the association under +the old management, and during the early months of the movement one year +ago, when 6,000 refugees were distributed throughout the State and +provided with homes at a cost of $5,000) I learned much of interest +concerning the welfare and progress of this advance guard of the great +exodus. Judge Dawson, although not now connected with the relief work, +feels, of course, a great interest in the welfare of those to whose +assistance he contributed much, and loses no opportunity for observation +of their condition while traveling over the State. He says he knows of +no case where one has come back to the Association for aid; and that as +laborers and citizens their conduct has been such as to win the approval +of all classes. Four colonies have been established. State lands were +bought by the Association, and given to the colonies with the +understanding that to secure their title they must make the second and +third payments on the land purchased on the one-third cash and +two-thirds time payment plan. Two of the newest of these colonies are +still receiving aid from the Association, but the others are +self-sustaining, and will be able, it is thought, to make small purchase +payments on the land as they become due.</p> +<p class="pnext">"If our inquiring statesman is interested in observing in what spirit +these refugees receive the aid which has made existence possible during +the cold weather months, he may be profited by spending a few days about +the city of Topeka. There are in Topeka alone over 3,000 refugees, and +nearly all of them (paupers when they come) have found means in some way +to make a living. In many cases it is a precarious subsistence that is +gained, and in not a few cases among late arrivals he would find +evidence of want and destitution; but compared with this, he cannot but +be struck with the small number of applicants to the Relief Association +for aid. Only 213 rations were issued outside the barracks last week to +the 3,000 refugees who came here only a few months since without money, +and frequently without clothing, to undertake what seemed, under the +circumstances, the desperate purpose of making a living.</p> +<p class="pnext">"The dangers and difficulties which beset the refugees' departure from a +land, where even the right to emigrate is denied him, are great. He may +learn, that is, Mr. Voorhees, however, from copies of letters over 1,000 +in the Governor's office, that Governor St. John has never, in reply to +their appeals, failed to warn them of the difficulties that would beset +their way here, and has never extended them promise of other assistance +than that implied in the equal rights which are guaranteed to every +citizen of Kansas. Further than this, however surprising it may be to +Mr. Voorhees' theory of the causes of the exodus, it is nevertheless a +fact that this very Association, which is charged with encouraging the +exodus, has sent the Rev. W. O. Lynch, a colored man, to the South to +warn the colored people that they must not come here expecting to be +fed, or to find homes ready, and to do all in his power to dissuade them +from coming at all. Still, they come, and why they come the country had +determined long in advance of Mr. Voorhees' report.</p> +<p class="pnext">"While we have Mr. Voorhees here, we would like to have him glance at a +State document to be found upon Governor St. John's table, which bears +the great seal and signature of Governor O. M. Roberts, of the State of +Texas. It is a requisition by the Governor of Texas upon the Governor of +Kansas for the body of one Peter Womack, a colored man, who was indicted +by the Grand Jury of Grimes county, at the last November term, for the +felony of fraudulently disposing of ten bushels of corn. From further +particulars we learn that this Peter Womack gave a mortgage early in the +spring of 1879 upon his crop just planted, to cover a debt of twenty +dollars due the firm of Wilson & Howell. When Womack came to gather his +crop, he yields to the importunities of another white creditor ten +bushels of corn to be applied upon the debt. About this time this Peter +Womack becomes influential in inducing a number of his colored neighbors +in Grimes county to emigrate to Kansas. Undeterred by threats, and +despite the bulldozing methods employed to cause him to remain a +'citizen' of Texas, Womack, with others, sick of a condition of +'citizenship' which is nothing less than hopeless peonage, leaves stock +and crop behind to seek a home in Kansas. His acts inciting the movement +of those black serfs are not forgotten, however, by the white chivalry +of Grimes county. The evidence of this surrender on a debt of ten +bushels of corn, mortgaged for another debt, is hunted up, presented to +the Grand Jury of Grimes county, he is promptly indicted for a felony, +and the great State of Texas rises in her majesty and demands a +surrender of his body! The demand is in accordance with law, +undoubtedly—Texas law—but if Texas would occasionally punish one of the +white murderers who do not think it necessary to leave her borders, this +pursuit of a Negro for selling ten bushels of corn from a mortgaged crop +would seem a more imposing exhibition of the power of the commonwealth +to enforce its laws."</p> +<p class="pnext">The above extracts from the Chicago Inter-Ocean of the 15th of April, +1880, were clearly written by a humane and Christian gentleman, whose +sole aim was to tell the truth.</p> +<div class="align-center figure" id="wm-lloyd-garrison"> +<img style="display: block; width: 100%" alt="images/image26garrison.jpg" src="images/image26garrison.jpg" width="100%"/> +<div class="caption italics"> +WM. LLOYD GARRISON.</div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst">Will my kind reader now permit me to sum up, in a few sentences, the +results of this wonderful exodus? The departure of so many thousands of +colored people from the different States of the Sunny South to Kansas +and many other Northern States informed the whole world that the South +was nothing but a land of thugs and common cut-throats and murderers. +The exodus informed the world that 'Secessia' was no place for them to +emigrate into, where even life and limb were unsafe. It represented the +Southerners as a vindictive, barbarous and most uncivilized people; as a +people, in short, who were unfitted to carry on the laws of their States +in a civilized nation. It repelled the Christian world from them, +instead of drawing them to them in love and friendship. The exodus, in +short, gave the South a 'black eye,' to use a familiar expression common +among pugilists, and afforded most abundant proof that the war had been +a just and righteous one, as waged against so wicked and demoralized a +race of men—men unfitted for civil government. Even the 'laughable +farce' of Mr. Voorhees' Congressional inquiry into the causes of the +exodus informed the whole world of the murderous state of mind of the +Southern white people, who were unable to contemplate the sight of a +colored man voting the Republican ticket of freedom without the wish of +taking his life—the life of his neighbor citizen who had even a better +right to vote than himself; for the colored man had certainly never been +a traitor to his country, as these self-same murderous Southerners had +been.</p> +<p class="pnext">We are all perfectly well aware that colored men could get on better +without the white man, than the white man could without him. The climate +of the South, and especially of the far South, is warm, and men of +African descent are naturally better able to stand against the rays of +the hot sun than the Caucasian race. It was for this express reason that +the slave trade and slavery were so long carried on with such vigor and +persistency, because the African was well qualified to work among the +canebrakes, the cotton fields and the rice swamps of the Southern +States.</p> +<p class="pnext">The African was found to be strong-bodied, and through and by means of +his diligent labor the cities and lands of the South had been built up +and tilled respectively. The "poor white trash," as Caucasian laborers +were termed, were not so well qualified to toil under a semi-tropical +sky, and extract the wealth from the soil in the same degree. No part of +the United States was so rich when the war began as these States. They +had amassed an immense horde of silver and of gold by means of the +labors of the slaves; although all that precious metal was thrown away +upon cannon and gunpowder, and all other necessaries of war, and the +cause for which they fought was lost after all. Still, the fact remains +that the South had to a great extent been built up by the labor of the +hardy and diligent African, who was so very useful and valuable that +"Secessia" struggled on for four long years to retain the colored race +in slavery, and even to make slavery itself the chief corner-stone of +the Southern Confederacy. But crime could not be allowed to go +unpunished, and the oppressed African was entitled to his liberty and +his rights.</p> +<p class="pnext">With the tramp, tramp, tramp of so many refugees from the Southern +States upon their pilgrim way to Kansas and other Northern States, the +leading white men of the country that they left behind at last began to +open their eyes to the mischief which they and their minions had already +done, and they saw that they had lost the confidence of the colored +race. As from forty to sixty thousand men, women and children had gone +to Kansas alone, and immense numbers had emigrated to other Northern +States, both far and near, the leading men in the deserted sections now +began to wonder to what extent this thing would grow. They saw that if +things went on at this rate the Southern States would become +depopulated, or at least as destitute of inhabitants as they were upon +the landing of Columbus. Something must be done to stop at once this +great rush of wronged and oppressed men for other States, where they +could live in safety and freedom; and not only must the shot-gun policy +of the Southerners be brought to an end, but that system of cheating and +robbery, also, whereby white men had beat the colored ones out of their +full share of the crops, on the plantations, and defrauded them in every +way under the so-called "Credit System." It was most unmanly, cowardly, +and even shameful to the last degree, for wise and intelligent white men +to thus rob and plunder the oppressed and uneducated African. Such a +devilish policy was simply adding insult to injury. Never was a more +savage thing done through the wickedness of the human race since the +creation. It now became the policy of all thinking ex-rebels to put on +their thinking caps, and study a better system than such sheer +dishonesty.</p> +<p class="pnext">The leading white men of the South, therefore, now went to work to +reverse the system that had driven so many of the colored people out of +the land, and to do every possible thing to regain their confidence, +because there was no one who could fill the empty places, and do the +needful work.</p> +<p class="pnext">And not only was it now necessary to gain the confidence of the colored +man, but even to regain the confidence of white men who had any +intention of going South and settling down in that part of the country. +There were many men of capital, besides thousands of accomplished +artisans, who could both enrich themselves and the Southern States by +going and settling down there, but who were now justly alarmed, when +they saw whole hosts of orderly and industrious people of color moving +away from these self-same States on account of robbers and murders by +the very same men among whom they had been planning to go and settle +down, to labor and toil, and there to end their days. It was perfectly +clear to the most obtuse Southern mind that no Northern man would ever +go South and invest his capital where those who ran his mills and +cultivated his plantations were liable to be brought down by the +shot-gun of the old soldiers of Lee and Jackson, because they voted the +Republican ticket—if they even dared to go to the polls at all on +election day! This was as bad, or worse, than despotic Russia or Turkey; +and therefore Southern men wisely decided to reverse the policy they had +adopted towards the colored population, for they now saw that if they +did not do so, no capitalists or artisans would ever come South, but +remain at home or go elsewhere.</p> +<p class="pnext">On the other hand the exodus was a benefit to the colored race; at +least, to a portion of them. Those who emigrated from the Southern +States found an abundant entrance, and a warm welcome to the fertile +lands of Kansas and other Northern cities and Western States, where +there was plenty of land calling for nothing so much as cultivation, and +where the oppressed pilgrims and refugees built up for themselves +comfortable homes, and they and their children are there to this day. In +Kansas and the other States whither they emigrated, the spirit of +freedom and justice prevailed, and every man could abide under his own +vine and fig tree without having any midnight thugs about to make him +afraid. And those who remained behind were also benefited by the exodus, +because there was now more room for those who were left there; and +inasmuch as the white leaders of the South had decided upon possessing a +wiser and more Christian policy, the prospect of good treatment in every +respect was far brighter than ever; they need not emigrate to the North +and West, as their brethren had done, but could remain at home in +safety.</p> +<p class="pnext">Thus, my dear reader, I have related to you the story of the exodus of +our people to Kansas and other States, as it passed before our eyes +about the years 1879 and 1880, as I very well remember. It was a +wonderful object lesson set before the whole nation, and an outgrowth of +slavery, and the war, and the violent passions of the vanquished. But +good has come out of evil. The poor, oppressed pilgrim refugees were not +forsaken in the days of their distress, for they were tenderly cared for +by the most loving of mankind, and underneath them were the everlasting +arms of the merciful God.</p> +</div> +<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-xviii"> +<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref pginternal" href="#id21">CHAPTER XVIII.</a></h2> +<div class="align-center figure"> +<img style="display: block; margin-left: 40%; width: 19%" alt="images/dec18.png" src="images/dec18.png" width="19%"/> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><em class="italics">My Daughters' Weddings—Departure for England for the Honeymoon—The +Voyage—Letter to the Rev. Mr. Carroll—The City of Liverpool—England, +Wales, Scotland, Ireland—Return Home to America—Benefits of Travel.</em></p> +<p class="pnext">This chapter will introduce the kind reader to my life and times in the +eventful year 1876—eventful in the history of my own family, because my +two dear daughters had now almost reached their twentieth year, were, +therefore, come to the age when the fair sex turn their hearts to the +thoughts of love, courtship and marriage; and, in short, my dear +children were engaged to be married in the month of May, in the spring +of the year 1876. The bridegrooms were both Christian, industrious and +highly-respectable young men, and such as we knew would promote the +happiness of the two dear girls as well as their own. All four +candidates for matrimony were well matched in every way, having been +brought up in schools and colleges where the most select members of the +Anglo-Saxon race themselves have received their polish. Indeed, freedom +and all the advantages that flow from a brilliant education, have +polished our young men and maidens, until now they are as smooth as a +mirror, and you can see your face in that mirror as well as the best +looking-glass! Thus these young people had been trained and polished +till training and polishing could not be carried much further; because +they had had all the advantages that money and talent could give; they +shone in the best society, and no company of refined young Christian +people was considered perfect unless they were invited, enhancing the +happiness of all by their presence. But the best thing of all was the +pure, unadulterated Christianity that grew and flourished like the green +bay-tree in every heart. My own dear husband and I were most profoundly +thankful to see our dear children so well inclined by grace and training +to every good thought and deed; and no less so to see, in their +prospective husbands men who could encourage such dispositions instead +of being obstacles in their way, like so many others.</p> +<p class="pnext">The main points being secured, we gave our willing consent to the +marriage and it was thought best to have them both together. Accordingly +the double wedding came off the first Wednesday night of the merry month +of May, and the A. M. E. Church on Vine street was packed to its utmost +capacity. All the particulars of dress, bonnets, bouquets, etc., with +all the latest improvements down to the eventful year, 1876, were duly +noted by the reporter who was present, and who wrote a flourishing +account of the weddings, which came out in the paper next morning. After +the ceremony at the church was over, we all adjourned to our own house, +where a reception was held and continued until a late hour. As my two +dear girls (as I always call them) stood before the altar, I could not +but reflect what their fate might have been had it not been for the +Providence of God, and for the fact that their parents managed to get +away from slavery, and gave them a good Christian education in a free +State of the North. Verily, the present generation of colored men and +maidens have something to be thankful for to that good Lord who sent the +war, destroyed slavery, and opened the doors for them to enter in, and +enjoy all the privileges that the white race possesses.</p> +<p class="pnext">It is quite unnecessary for me to say that marriage is one of the +greatest events in human life, and that their marriage gave each one of +these four young people the most abundant joy. To still further enhance +the happiness of the young people it was decided that they should spend +their honeymoon upon the ocean, and in the British Isles, where some of +our ancestors had come from; and my husband and myself decided to go +with them for company, and have a good time generally. So all +preparations were made for our departure to pay this delightful visit to +John Bull and his Island, which made all feel as gay as birds.</p> +<p class="pnext">Thursday morning came on apace—the day after their marriage—and we +were all in a great bustle and high excitement over our departure for +Old England, as it is called. Our trunks were packed, and all things +made ready for the journey and voyage before us. We understood that dear +mother and her devoted husband, Mr. Sutherland, were not going with us; +at least they had said nothing about doing so to the rest of us—I dare +say they intended to take us by surprise. And it was a surprise, indeed! +Because when we were almost ready to walk down the street to the railway +station, who came in smiling all over, but Mr. and Mrs. Sutherland! We +were so much surprised that we all set up a loud shout of joy; and the +more especially as they seemed to enjoy the fun as much as any of us. It +was a lively time that followed the next ten minutes, and we held quite +a jubilee on the subject. The minister of the church and his good lady +had come up to see us off, and a few other friends of the "inner circle" +of our acquaintances; and all things being now ready, we walked down the +street to the railway station, where we found all bustle and confusion. +But at last we secured our tickets, took a tender leave of our dear +friends on the platform, and having taken our seats we steamed away for +New York, where we were to take the boat for Liverpool, England. We shed +no tears on this occasion, because we all had to come back again in a +few months. There was nothing but delightful novelty and unexpected joy +before us, and therefore there was nothing for any of us to cry about +upon the present occasion.</p> +<p class="pnext">The following letter which I wrote after our landing at Liverpool will +explain itself to the reader:</p> +<p class="pnext right smaller">"LIVERPOOL, ENG., May, 1876.</p> +<p class="pnext">"Rev. Mr. and Mrs. Carroll,</p> +<p class="pnext">"My Dear Friends:—I am quite delighted to inform you that we have +crossed the broad Atlantic in perfect safety, and yesterday we landed at +the great seaport of Liverpool, where nothing seems to be talked about +but shipping and ships. We are all in splendid health and gay spirits, +and it is quite a pleasing change for us to be in a land where color is +unknown. We all send our best love to you both, to all your family, and +to our dear church on Vine street, where we hope to find ourselves again +in a few months, among the dear brothers and sisters there.</p> +<p class="pnext">"We had quite a pleasant journey on the train all the way to New York, +where we arrived on scheduled time, and found our way to the private +hotel, where all things were in readiness for our reception. We spent a +portion of two days in walking about, and enjoying the sights of the +city, but the time rapidly rolled around for our embarkation, and we +went on board the 'Sarmatian,' which is truly a splendid liner—indeed, +one of the finest boats on the North Atlantic. The 'Sarmatian' is a +British vessel, and strange as it may appear so soon, the feeling was so +sweet and home-like upon this foreign ship that I could not but notice +it. Officers and sailors who have been reared in a land where prejudice +is unknown, are in no way interested about such paltry things as the +color of the skin. Seated upon this noble British ship, I felt even now +as if I were already in England!</p> +<p class="pnext">"Indeed, we would all have quite forgotten that there was any such +thing as prejudice in any part of the world had we not been reminded +of it on board by the presence of a few Americans. But even they, on +board a British ship, were obliged to keep their personal feelings well +covered up; and here I may say, when we are abroad and traveling the +wide, wide world, you meet with nobody who objects to the color of your +skin, but somebody from some port of the United States! But even +American prejudice must die out, for all wickedness is subject to +change, and God Himself alone changeth never.</p> +<div class="align-center figure" id="fred-k-douglass-rochester-n-y"> +<img style="display: block; width: 100%" alt="images/image27rochesterdouglass.jpg" src="images/image27rochesterdouglass.jpg" width="100%"/> +<div class="caption italics"> +FRED'K DOUGLASS, ROCHESTER, N. Y.</div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst">"In glorious May weather, and in the presence of a tremendous concourse +of people, who had come down to the water's edge to see us off, we +backed out into the North river at New York. The immense mixed multitude +standing on the pier had sent up one tremendous cheer after another, +waved their hats and handkerchiefs, and gave us a general grand +hurrahing time. We replied in like manner as we came slowly away at +first, accompanied by two or three tug-boats, that ventured out some +distance to grace our departure. No doubt the passengers on board of +them had friends and relatives on the Sarmatian.</p> +<p class="pnext">"We settled down at once, and made ourselves at home in good earnest. We +were quite at home in our sweet, cozy little cabins, and the officers +and attendants were all that could be desired. We walked about the deck, +sat down to read or talk, and became acquainted with some of the most +delightful people on the face of the earth—most of them on errands of +pleasure, like ourselves. All were in high spirits, and anxious to visit +different parts of Europe—the British Isles, Germany, etc.</p> +<p class="pnext">"We carried on much the same at sea as we do home on shore. I spent most +of my own time in conversation with our own party and other passengers, +with reading new books, and with watching the play of the wild waves of +the deep. Some slept a great deal of the voyage away, and others were +busy courting, and that continually. I am informed that an immense +number of marriages result from crossing the ocean every year. They get +acquainted on shipboard, and marry after they come to land. The very +seamen seem to be smitten by Cupid with a great love for the fair sex. +'Jack Tar' finds many a fair sweetheart on shipboard. Here at Liverpool +you can soon see 10,000 of them walking about. A stranger in this mighty +'Modern Tyre' would be led to fancy that there was nothing in the world +but sailors, ships and shipping. And who need wonder at it in the first +port of the whole world, with that 'Great Landing Stage' at the entrance +to the Mersey—upwards of twenty miles of dock along the right bank of +the river, and ten thousand masts (10,000) hailing from every continent, +and all the islands of the Ocean!</p> +<p class="pnext">"When you come to sea blessed with splendid health, and strength, and +vigorous life, with high-beating hope, and all things before your +imagination of the seven colors of the rainbow; when 'all hearts are +light, all eyes are bright, and nature's face is gay'—then, indeed, you +are going to have a first-class time upon the rolling deep in the merry +month of May. Life on the ocean wave has really ten times more charms +than I am able to define. You must come to sea yourself to experience +it, for it is indeed far too much for my pen.</p> +<p class="pnext">"The sea! the sea! The broad, blue sea! What a glorious thing it is to +look away as far as ever the eye can reach, and behold nothing but the +big, blue waves of the North Atlantic heaving up and down, while our +bold and plucky steamboat rushes fearlessly over those watery hills, and +the bright and beautiful sun pours his warm rays down upon the rolling +deep, and a fascinating and bewitching feeling floods upon your own +heart, and there begets a feeling of enthusiasm that no language can +describe!</p> +<p class="pnext">"The porpoise is a lively fish, often seen from the deck of an Atlantic +steamboat, and we saw plenty of them rushing through the waves like +winged lightning. It was indeed a fine sight; but the best companions we +had all the way to the British Isles were the bold, brave sea-gulls, +that left the coast of America with us, and came all the way to +Liverpool. The sea-gull acts more like a human being than anything else +to which I can describe him; cavorting about all over the main, and then +coming down almost to the deck itself, to let you know that he is there, +and trying to make you feel at home on the ocean.</p> +<p class="pnext">"There seemed to be no end of sweet, peaceful enjoyment; the weather +continued so fine all the way across the sea, our health was so good, +and we had such pleasant companions on all sides around, and nothing +happened to the ship to mar the general joy. It was, indeed, a downright +holiday, most thoroughly enjoyed by us all.</p> +<p class="pnext">"The Sabbath-day came around, and there were two church services in the +Grand Saloon. We all went both times, which proved, as I thought at the +time, the greatest treat in our whole life. The singing, the prayers, +the sermons, and everything else combined to form a novelty that I am +again quite at a loss to explain.</p> +<p class="pnext">"And yet there were many on board who never went to a church service at +sea, although it was the very joy of our lives, and a treat that turned +our gallant ship into a floating heaven on the deep. It is just the same +on shore. There are people who live next door to the church who never +enter its portals once in their lives.</p> +<p class="pnext">"We spent a good deal of time watching for vessels on the ocean, and saw +plenty of them. We passed quite close to several, and spoke to a few. +Some of them came so near that we saw everything on deck, and that was +something when far from home.</p> +<p class="pnext">"What a glorious sight it was to behold the red, red sun rising out of +the waves in the East every morning, like a great, big, round, red +cheese, and again to watch him at night going down in all his glory in +the West, like a red and fiery wheel, flooding all the main with the +splendor of his glory, as he sank down into his water bed! We used to +stand on the open deck, and watch the 'glorious god of day' sink, sink, +sinking, till at last he quite disappeared from view. Then the +fair-faced silver moon, fair Luna, Queen of Night, arose in the East, +and flooded all the ocean with her silver shining that was laid so +entrancingly upon the rolling waves, whilst the thousand stars came out +in ones, and twos, and hundreds, and bestudded all the skies. Thus again +we would gather out upon the deck at night, and watch the starry +heavens, and the moon, and listen to the wild waves of the North +Atlantic rolling away, far and near; and when night came on, we found +ourselves pretty well worn out after another long and busy day. But we +slept well, as indeed we well might, for the good Lord and the sailors +were ever taking good care of us all and the brave Sarmatian was +battling her rapid way cross the North Atlantic.</p> +<p class="pnext">"As I used to stand and muse upon the deck, it often occurred to my mind +how all the ancestors of the colored race in America had been borne over +the waves of the self-same North Atlantic over which we were now +sailing, though farther to the South. Over these waves, also, the great +Fred. Douglass had passed several times on his journeys to and from the +British Isles; for he is one of the great pillars of history, and has +filled the whole world with his fame. His renown is bright all over the +earth!</p> +<p class="pnext">"Thus time passed on, day and night, and we all enjoyed ourselves to the +top of our bent; at the grand piano in the saloon, watching the play of +the wild waves of the rolling deep, etc., etc. The excitement in every +bosom began to rise as we drew near to the land, and when the old head +of Kinsale rose from the main in the southwest of Ireland, there was +truly a most tremendous flurry in every heart. And as the Sarmatian +passed rapidly along, one lofty, frowning headland after another rose +from the waves, reminding one of grand lofty church steeples placed at +intervals here and there; then the bold, precipitous coasts ran far away +back into some estuary or firth, at the head of which a river came +pouring down from the interior of the land. A heavy summer shower of +rain came up all of a sudden, after which the sun burst out with +indescribable splendor, and a mighty rainbow stood over the entire +convex of heaven, with its great feet like elephant's legs, deep down in +the ocean. Our American sea-gulls came bravely on, and in Irish waters +were met by Irish sea-gulls, and countless wild sea-mews.</p> +<p class="pnext">"The excitement that began when we passed the Old Head at Kinsale did +not subside. It went on, grew and increased hour after hour, as we +called at Queenstown, and then moved on to Liverpool. Nothing was now +thought of nor talked about but John Bull and his Island—Britannia, the +Pride of the Ocean, the home of the brave and the free! We noticed that +we were no longer upon the big, blue waves of the North Atlantic, but +ploughing our rapid way across the shallower green seas of the British +Isles—quite a pleasant change in its way, after so much blue, because +nature's green is a beautiful color.</p> +<p class="pnext">"It was time for us to go to bed, as we approached St. George's +Channel, that divides Ireland from Wales; but we were all up and fresh, +and bright as buttons in the morning, when Holyhead, the Isle of +Anglesea, and the bold mountains of North Wales arose almost +perpendicular out of the Irish Sea, and dipped their feet, deep, deep +into the waves.</p> +<p class="pnext">"The excitement on board now among us all was simply dreadful! We were +so near home, and yet not quite there! Hundreds of ships in all +directions were moving about over all the sea; and no wonder, because we +were close to the doors of one of the most famous queen seaports that +this world has ever seen. At last we came up in front of the City of +Liverpool, and having a tremendous traffic in full view, and here we had +to lie till two o'clock in the afternoon, when the tide would be full, +and we could cross the bar of the Mersey. We crossed the bar in due +time, and got into that famous river, came up to the Great Landing Stage +where we landed in great excitement, for here at last was John Bull and +his Island!</p> +<p class="pnext">"Having landed and passed the custom-house officers, we procured cabs +and drove to our appointed quarters in the city, where we received a +most hearty welcome upon our arrival, and were ushered into our rooms, +and we never felt more thoroughly at home in our lives. The good people +seemed determined to make us feel all right, and to make a good +impression on the Americans. The English tea time, 5 P. M., drew nigh, +and we had toast and tea, with jams, etc., in the regular English +fashion. It was delightful to have all things so nice in a foreign way. +The fire was also delightful in the open grate, and that also looked +most cheerful. Pictures of Queen Victoria and the royal family hung from +the walls, and battle scenes by land and sea, and landscape pictures +powerfully reminded us that we were now under the British flag, and in +another part of the world.</p> +<p class="pnext">"After tea, we walked out to view the city, the river, the mighty +traffic of this modern Tyre, and 10,000 seamen talking far more +languages than we knew anything about. Thus several days and nights +passed away, and we found the people one of the most delightful in the +world—frank, free, open-hearted and generous and hospitable to a fault. +I am told that there is not a heartier people on the face of the earth +than the half million inhabitants of Liverpool, and so far as my +experience goes that is quite true. We accepted several invitations, and +had glorious times among these people; we ran the whole town and saw +many places of great interest and beauty. But from fifteen to twenty +miles of dock, the busy river and the Great Landing Stage almost took +our breath away. It is worth crossing the Atlantic to see the far-famed +city of Liverpool!</p> +<p class="pnext">"Everybody saw and knew that we had a wedding party along with us, and, +indeed, my two daughters and their husbands were just like so many birds +set free, when once they got ashore. Like the spirited singing birds of +the British Isles, there was no end to their hilarity; and it was +delightful to see them. Our entire party were very favorably impressed +with all that we both heard and saw, and everybody was so very polite +to us, and agreeable in all their ways. We now began to make excursions +to see some of the fine sights of 'Old England,' and some of the grand +castles and palaces of fame and renown. What seemed to impress us all +most was the smooth, lawn-like appearance of the whole fair-faced +country, which is the most polished upon the face of the earth. +Beautiful England, indeed, reminds me of a well-cultivated garden, and +it looks like a great garden, and nothing else. The houses and grounds +of some of the nobility are flung open for the inspection of foreign +visitors, and truly they are a delight to behold, with all their flower +gardens, conservatories of plants, playing fountains, and other +attractions too numerous to mention. Go where we might, nothing seemed +more gratifying to our feelings than the polite attention and fine +manners of all those with whom we came in contact. The sights and scenes +round about us, and so much to charm the senses in a foreign land, in +the delightful month of May, delighted us to the core, and made us think +of the Garden of Eden, and the fabled, golden regions of the blessed. +The stately homes of England—how beautiful they stand!—amidst the tall, +ancestral trees, o'er all the pleasant land! Such is England, that has +been polished for 1,000 years, till polishing can do no more!</p> +<p class="pnext">"All the world has heard of 'Beautiful Wales,' and we determined to pass +a few weeks among her enchanting scenery. We visited the Vale of +Llangollen, the Vale of Clwyd, the Vale of Conway, saw Bettws-y-Coed, +the Pass of Llanberis, and, indeed, the best things in all North Wales, +including lakes, rivers, waterfalls, and glorious romance without end. +The warm-hearted, impulsive Welsh people almost carried us all off our +feet with their unbounded enthusiasm, and the tremendous warmth of their +welcome. They are the greatest singers in the world. Indeed, all Wales +is one sea of song, and they sing well, and they even dearly love to +sing. They are a God-fearing race, and we never heard a Welshman +swear—no, not even once. Here was something for our young people to +learn, for it was so sweet to hear the name of the Lord mentioned only +in terms of praise. Wales always reminded our entire party of the +'Delectable Mountains' of the Pilgrim's Progress, for the Welsh +mountains were delightful to us.</p> +<p class="pnext">"After we got through with all we cared about seeing in 'Beautiful +Wales,' and among its warm-hearted people, we next moved away to the +North to become somewhat acquainted with what is truly called 'Bonnie +Scotland.' We passed around the highlands and the islands of that +romantic country, and beheld the famous lakes and the lofty mountains, +her deep waterfalls and historic straits and glens. We visited the land +of Burns, in the South, or Lowlands, saw Edinburgh and Glasgow, and the +home of Sir Walter Scott, on the Lower Tweed. Of a truth, Scotland is a +beautiful, enchanting and enchanted land, and her warm-hearted, +enthusiastic people stamp their impress on the hearts of all those who +visit them, for all coming time.</p> +<p class="pnext">We found the whole of the British Isles overrun with tourists in the +summer time; but few failed to see Scotland, which has filled the whole +world with its fame. There is something so peculiarly romantic about the +'Scotch Borders,' that our heads were almost turned, and where all the +land seemed to be enchanted ground. Sweet Moffat and its grand +surroundings can never be forgotten, nor the impression that they made +on all our hearts. We also descended the beautiful Esk river, from +Langholm, till we came to headwaters upon Eskdalemoor, where the +intelligent and hospitable people are mostly shepherds, and, like all +the rest of the Scotch, most exemplary in their attendance at church. +The parish minister is the Rev. John C. Dick, and we were royally +entertained by him to tea at the manse, and we had a good time +generally.</p> +<p class="pnext">"After leaving Scotland, we made our way over to Ireland, saw Belfast, +Dublin, Cork, the Lakes of Killarney, and, indeed, the best of all that +was to be seen in the Emerald Isle. I don't know whether a people can be +too enthusiastic and warm-hearted, but if they can, these are the Irish +at home.</p> +<p class="pnext">"My good friend and brother, I began this long letter upon landing at +Liverpool, in May. It is now September, 1876. We have all come back to +Liverpool—to our first quarters here. We have had a glorious time roving +over the British Isles these four eventful months. We intend to embark +to-morrow on the 'Scotia' for New York. I intend to keep a journal on +our voyage, and yourself and lady shall have a reading of it at once. We +are all quite well, and, indeed, the trans-Atlantic trip has had the +most salutary influence upon the health of our entire party. My next +greatest desire is to return home to Buffalo, and we all hope to visit +the British Isles at some future day, if God our lives shall spare. With +our united love to yourself, lady and all other friends, I am yours in +all Christian affection.</p> +<p class="pnext right smaller">"BEULAH LINCOLN."</p> +</div> +<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-xix"> +<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref pginternal" href="#id22">CHAPTER XIX.</a></h2> +<div class="align-center figure"> +<img style="display: block; margin-left: 40%; width: 19%" alt="images/dec19.png" src="images/dec19.png" width="19%"/> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><em class="italics">Eminent Colored Men and Women—Bishop Daniel E. Payne—Frederick +Douglass—His Life and Times—Mrs. Frances Ellen Harper—Miss Louise de +Mortie.</em></p> +<p class="pnext">One of the hardest things in the world is to keep down a man who is +determined to rise. He comes up like a plant of spontaneous growth, and +the more we try to keep him down, the more he will persevere in his +determination to stand upon his own feet like other men. This was often +shown in the days before the war, when the bold, intrepid slave, who +clearly saw that the whole system was wrong, made up his mind at least +to be free, and the next thing we hear of him is a daring and successful +attempt to shake off the chains of slavery, through his successful +escape to the free States of the North, or to Canada, or even to Europe.</p> +<p class="pnext">But this determined spirit to at least be free, did not confine itself +merely to such adventurous and successful escapes, but assumed the form +of acquiring an education also; and no better illustration of this can +be given than that of the late Bishop Daniel E. Payne, of the A. M. E. +Church, who was born in South Carolina, in the year 1811. The heinous +system of slavery in that rebellious State treated as a crime the +teaching of any slave or free colored person whatsoever. But Daniel E. +Payne had an unquenchable thirst for knowledge, and in order to flank +the evil system that then prevailed, and to gain that knowledge to which +he was as much entitled as the President of the United States himself, +he procured the assistance of a friendly white man, who taught him in a +cellar, where neither friend nor foe could see what they were doing. +Daniel was an apt and clever student, and above all things, as the Bible +says, "He had a mind to work," and an enthusiastic mind at that. It did +not take this young hero long to take in the entire situation regarding +slave lands and slavery when once his mind had begun to expand. Like +Moses and many other famous leaders, the Lord had work for him to do, +and he was preparing him for it at this time.</p> +<p class="pnext">Young Payne saw that South Carolina was no place for him, and that the +first duty he owed to himself was to get away as best he could, to the +Northern States, where he could enjoy his own manly and manful rights. +As fortune favors the brave, he succeeded in making his escape, and his +freedom being now secure, he made all due haste to become that eminent +scholar, who was destined by the will of God, to become a leader and an +instructor of his people. He connected himself with the A. M. E. Church, +and through and by means of that powerful body he did mighty things for +the education of his own people, both before the war and after it. He +has justly been called "The Apostle of Education," and what the great +Fred. Douglass was in the political world, Daniel E. Payne was in the +educational and intellectual world. Such a man as Bishop Payne should be +revered as a philanthropist for all coming time. The colored race will +never be able to say that they are out of his debt. At last he was made +a bishop of his own church, and became the head of Wilberforce +University, in Ohio—a glorious institution that had made itself felt by +its influence over all this nation. Bishop Payne was sent to Europe for +a time in the interest of his church, and his high qualities were +everywhere honored by the Christian and scholars across the Atlantic.</p> +<p class="pnext">Thus we see in Daniel Payne a diamond in the rough, in the slave State +of South Carolina, but by the predetermined will of God, brought to the +free North and polished, as it were, by the hand of the jeweler. We see +all the work that the great Creator had given him to do, and how well he +did it, too. And what we have said of Payne could as well be said of +thousands of others—men in whom the spirit of right and ambition +dwells; men who ever forge to the front: men whom God helps, because He +sees that they are also willing to help themselves.</p> +<div class="align-center figure" id="southern-chivalryargument-versus-club-s"> +<img style="display: block; width: 100%" alt="images/image28chivalry.jpg" src="images/image28chivalry.jpg" width="100%"/> +<div class="caption italics"> +SOUTHERN CHIVALRY—ARGUMENT VERSUS CLUB'S.</div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst">We next come to the far-famed and highly-celebrated Frederick Douglass, +renowned over all the earth wherever honest worth is appreciated and +valued by the civilized sons and daughters of Adam. The name of "Fred. +Douglass," as he is affectionately called, stands out in alto-relief +with that of John Bunyan, George Washington, and some few others who +carry fame and goodness with them at one and the same time. Nobody seems +to be jealous of them nor envy them, for their fame is far beyond the +reach of jealousy or envy. It would be a difficult thing to find a +village, valley or an isle of any ocean on the face of the globe +where the familiar endearing name of Fred. Douglass has not been heard. +The children growing up at their mothers' knees have learned to lisp it +as a name to be revered; and when they grow up to man's estate, nothing +will content them until they have read the life of the famous Fred. +Douglass.</p> +<p class="pnext">The opinion, or rather the belief, has prevailed in America that Fred. +Douglass was the son of a white father and colored mother, and that +white father has been supposed to have been his owner. But in the +history of his own life and times, published a few years ago, Douglass +positively affirms that both his parents were colored, and for my own +part I believe that to be the truth. As men like Fred. Douglass are very +few and far between, the wish among many of the anti-slavery school, at +least, seems to have been father to the thought that so clever a man +could never have been the offspring of colored parents, but that his +father, at least, must have been white. Not so, by any means! Fred. +himself makes it quite plain that his father and mother were both +colored, and he tells us all about it in his usual modest way.</p> +<p class="pnext">Fred. Douglass was born in the region called Tuckahoe Neck, in Talbot +county, on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, in the year 1817. There is +something unusually sad and plaintive about the way in which the poor +child was separated from his own father and mother, and how he came up +on the rough side of the mountain of slavery. The poor lad was subjected +not only to the purest barbarities, but had to undergo treatment that +may be called sheer cowardice on the part of his tormentors. Well might +the Prophet exclaim, "How long, O Lord, how long?" Whilst he was a boy, +growing up at Baltimore, his mistress kindly taught him his letters, and +went some way in giving him further instructions, till at last his +master advised her to stop teaching him, as such things and slavery did +not work well together. No, indeed! They did not work well together, +especially in the heart and soul of a boy like Fred., who already began +to look into the workings of the curse of slavery. To stop Fred. from +learning was now impossible. One might as well dam up a mountain rill +with one's hands—it would simply flow over the top of them, or round +about them. Nature will have her way, and the great Creator had +implanted the germ of liberty in the boy's heart, whose growth was not +to be kept down. After many ups and downs on the Eastern and Western +Shores of Maryland, when our hero had arrived at about the age of +twenty-one, in the year 1838, he resolved to make a bold stroke for +liberty; and accordingly, being dressed up like a sailor, he took the +train at Baltimore for Philadelphia, luckily escaping detection, and +having successfully run the gauntlet by the way, he landed upon the +platform of the Quaker City all right. But he did not consider himself +safe even here; so he left Philadelphia, still dressed in his sailor's +suit, and came on to the city of New York.</p> +<p class="pnext">"Arise! Shine forth; for thy light has come, and the glory of the Lord +has risen upon thee!" Thus said the Prophet, and Fred. Douglass, in his +last book—the history of his life and times—almost sets up a perfect +yell of delight at having escaped from the horrors of slavery and being +a free man. The few days he spent in New York City among the friends of +the free must have been a perfect spring-time of life to him—free, +free, free, as the wild waves of the deep! Free to go where he pleased, +and to read and study what he liked. Our glorious youthful Fred.—this +splendid, well-built, stout-bodied young man of twenty-one, did a very +sensible thing whilst in New York. He had a lady-love at Baltimore, a +free young woman of color named Anna: but before he moved a step further +he sent for her to come on to New York City. So to New York she came, +and here the interesting young couple were married. This, indeed, was a +very lively stroke of business on the part of Frederick, but he was now +at the golden age of twenty-one; it was best for him to marry now, +because it would give him something to live and toil for, and also "give +ballast to his ship of life." The Great Creator and his daughter +"Nature" made no mistakes. My own marriage with my own beloved Tom has +been no failure. We have never repented of it, either of us. We could +have done no better. And so it was with Fred. Douglass and his beloved +Anna, from Baltimore. There never was a more manly bridegroom than he. +Above all things he was a Christian and a gentleman, in the very essence +of his nature; a man of lofty honor and principle, and with such a man +as that a young woman is forever in safety.</p> +<p class="pnext">All this time, 1838, the Abolitionists were under full swing, led on by +William Lloyd Garrison, of Massachusetts, and backed up by all those who +beheld the dawn of freedom on the Eastern horizon. Garrison's paper, +"The Liberator," sent forth its blasts all over the Northern States; +but the North at that time abode in thick darkness as to the rights of +colored men to freedom on the self-same footing with themselves. And not +only did thick darkness cover the land, but entire legions and hosts of +the people were almost as much prejudiced upon the slave question as the +slave-holders of the South. They had no more idea of the grand, +self-elevating capabilities of the colored race than the child that was +unborn; and the ignorant masses of white people were certainly unwilling +to give them a chance. And our poor, dear Fred., now a married man, had +just to stand his chances, and run his risks with the rest, while the +untutored North was in such a crude and chaotic state. Therefore, on +account of the presence of so much ignorance and prejudice against men +of color in New York City, the friends of freedom considered it unsafe +for Frederick Douglass to remain there any longer, and advised him to +move on to New Bedford, in Massachusetts, where he would at least be out +of danger. We can never forget the honored name of Mr. David Ruggles, a +colored gentleman of New York City, in connection with these events. It +was he who mainly took charge of our hero and his wife in New York City, +and sent them on to New Bedford. And when they arrived in New Bedford, +they were met by one Mr. Nathan Johnson, a very intelligent and +industrious colored man, a warm friend of theirs, who advanced them a +sum of money to redeem their baggage, which was held for fare. He +advised Fred. to drop the name of Fred. Lloyd, and to call himself +"Fred. Douglass," as he (Nathan Johnson) had lately been reading of +Douglass, in Sir Walter Scott's novels, relating to Scotland and the +Scotch.</p> +<p class="pnext">Being now in possession of his freedom, having a sweet young wife and a +home of his own, he had something to live for! Douglass had learned the +trade of the ship-builder, at Baltimore, but was unable to work at that +trade at New Bedford, on account of the prejudices of the white workmen +there against color, for had he taken his tools in among them and gone +to work, they would all at once have stopped work and left the yard. +Such was the character of even Northern men in the year 1838, but +Douglass was not the man to flinch. He was strong, hardy and handy at +almost everything. If he could not do one thing he could do another; and +therefore he picked up a living at anything that presented itself to +him.</p> +<p class="pnext">The whole colored race are preeminently inquiring, and possess a thirst +and love for knowledge in the very highest degree. Fred. Douglass was a +splendid specimen of this noble trait of character. Being now his own +master, he literally devoured knowledge, and his splendid intellect +expanded, flourished and grew on apace like the growth of vegetation in +the tropics. He was no longer watched, or almost murdered, if he was +found with a book in his hand! He was no longer the so-called "property" +of a fellow calling himself his "owner," who robbed him of his week's +wages, and then pretended to make him a present of a quarter of his own +money to treat himself with! Oh, dear me, no! No more of that for him! +When this brave young man, this hero of twenty-one had done his day's +work, he came home to his beloved Anna at his cosy home in New Bedford, +and after he had his supper, the way was clear for a grand time reading +"The Liberator," which William Lloyd Garrison sent out every week, and +that fired the warm, receptive mind and heart of young Fred., so that +his fame as a brilliant conversationalist and a well-read man, spread +rapidly throughout the town. He had been often listened to as an +exhorter and unusually fervid speaker at the colored Methodist Church in +the town, and all men with sharp eyes perceived that another star had +risen in the intellectual heavens, and that some circumstance or other +would bring him to the front some day. And it came to pass as they had +prophesied!</p> +<p class="pnext">In New Bedford Mr. Douglass had attended several meetings in defence of +the poor, oppressed slave; and there he had heard the most unmitigated +denunciation of the whole infamous system of slavery. The eloquent, +burning language of the speakers went home to his heart. In the summer +of 1841, when Douglass was twenty-four years old, an anti-slavery +convention was to be held at Nantucket, Massachusetts, a place not far +from New Bedford, and the convention would be under the management of +the famous William Lloyd Garrison, whose weekly paper, "The Liberator," +Douglass had been devouring week by week with such unwonted avidity. He +determined to take a little respite from his hard work in the brass +foundry, and attend this gathering of anti-slavery people. There was a +great assemblage of people at Nantucket. The fires of enthusiasm on +behalf of the oppressed slave burned hot and high. In the midst of the +vast audience here assembled, there was one Mr. Wm. C. Coffin, who had +heard the eloquent and burning words of Frederick Douglass as he +harangued the little audiences of the colored Methodist Church in New +Bedford. Mr. Coffin sought out our unknown hero, and gave him such a +vigorous invitation to speak that his hesitancy, and bashfulness, and +backwardness were all entirely overcome, and Fred. Douglass, nothing +daunted, now mounted the platform, and made such an oration as filled +every thinking man and woman with astonishment. His simple, burning tale +of his own wrongs and experiences completely swept his audience away, +and like the Queen of Sheba, there seemed to be no more spirit left in +them. Fred. Douglass had come to stay!</p> +<p class="pnext">The name and fame of Fred. Douglass arose like a brilliant and new star +in the heavens. He began to travel and lecture in different parts of the +New England States, and paid visits to other sections of the North. His +noble presence and splendid eloquence drew the eyes and ears of the +whole country. His great name crossed the Atlantic, and spread +throughout the British Isles. His powerful pen, in the columns of "The +Liberator," and elsewhere, added still further to his fame. Everybody +who hated and detested slavery desired to see him and to hear him speak. +He was a power in the anti-slavery party, and he himself laid the axe +most willingly with all his might and main. The question arose, "If one +colored man can do so much, what can the whole race do, if they were set +at liberty?" On account of the rising excitement all over the land on +the slavery question, in the year 1845, the friends of Mr. Douglass sent +him to England. In crossing the North Atlantic the passengers called +upon him to make a speech on the question of slavery, and he complied. +There were several gentlemen on board who most violently objected to any +such attacks on their holy (!) institution of slavery; but the captain +was master of his own vessel, and put down that Southern mutiny with a +strong hand. These pro-slavery gentlemen tried to justify their conduct +afterwards in the London papers; but John Bull would not hear them, and +it was simply a splendid advertisement for the fair name and fame of Mr. +Douglass.</p> +<p class="pnext">For two years he travelled the British Isles, speaking upon the subject +of American slavery. He was received well everywhere, and the fine +spreading plains of Old England, the beautiful valleys of Wales, the +green fields of Ireland, and the bold mountains of Scotland, all rang +with the illustrious name of Fred. Douglass.</p> +<p class="pnext">Such a man as he was did not belong to the colored race alone, and to +the United States; he belonged to the whole world, and to all races. +Such men can never be appropriated by one people, but they are, indeed, +the common property of all. Douglass returned home, and founded a paper +called "The North Star." He moved to Rochester, N. Y., and there he and +his family took up their abode. The glorious work for the destruction of +slavery went on, grew and increased, and at last brought on the war of +secession, and freedom likewise for the entire enslaved race. Mr. +Douglass then removed to Washington, and was honored with high offices +in the services of his native country. He had the misfortune of losing +his darling Anna, though after five years he married again, and went on +a wedding tour to Europe and the East, this being his third voyage +across the ocean. He died at Washington in February, 1895, at the age of +seventy-eight—no very great age, but then he had done the work of ten +men, and that wears human life rapidly away.</p> +<p class="pnext">Thousands of eminent men have arisen from the ranks of the colored race +since 1865, and thousands are now upon their feet also. Their names have +reached the ends of the earth. But Fred. Douglass was early in the +field, and he was a very, very bright particular star. Like John Bunyan, +George Washington, and some few others, he shines for all time, and for +the entire human race. He did a mighty work for God and humanity. Of all +those illustrious men who have been born of women, there has never +arisen a greater man, in all the annals of time, than our congenial +friend and brother, Fred. Douglass.</p> +<p class="pnext">My dear reader, I have given but short sketches of two eminent colored +men who elevated themselves head and shoulder above their fellows, for +the purpose of showing what the race can do. And I could go on to any +length in the same strain, and pick out and describe other eminent men +whose fame has reached the ends of the earth, though not in the same +degree, as Fred. Douglass. But I need not dwell further here in showing +what we can do, especially now that we are set free. Though the whole +world freely admits that we have done well, and very well, still, we are +only now at the threshold of our advancement, for it is only thirty odd +years since the close of the war. But in that short time we have beaten +every other race in the way of progress, and the sun is only yet one +hour above the horizon. By and by we shall have the full noon-day.</p> +<p class="pnext">I have mentioned Fred. Douglass and Daniel E. Payne, and it is only just +that a couple of other representative women should be singled out, to +show what our women can do. We have had no bright, particular star among +the gentler sex, like Fred. Douglass among men; but still the colored +race, like other peoples, can certainly boast of a splendid galaxy of +eminent and clever women, who only lacked better education and wider and +greater opportunities to shine more than they did. The women have so far +not had the same chances as the men, but they are getting them now, and +they are coming to the front one by one—coming out, one here and +another there, like the bright stars of the night. High-schools and +colleges of all kinds are now thrown open for our daughters, and +wherever there are genius and ability they will forge to the front, and +make themselves known.</p> +<p class="pnext">Contemporaneous with Bishop Daniel E. Payne and Fred. Douglass we +mention the name of Mrs. Frances Ellen Harper, who was born in +Baltimore, Md., in the year 1825. Her home for many years has been the +Queen City of Philadelphia. Mrs. Harper is a noble woman among women, +and impresses all comers with her unusual natural sweetness, and +graceful, lady-like ways. There is a deal of magnetism about her that +attracts all those who hear her sweet, well-trained voice, and that +draws us towards her by the comeliness of her graceful presence. We have +all heard of "a bundle of love," but Mrs. Frances Harper is a bundle of +natural and cultivated intellect, and of refined and polished manners. +Her sweetness draws us to her, like the charming and fragrant rose in +the flower garden. Born during the reign of slavery, when days were dark +and friends were few, she did not have a right and proper opportunity of +getting an early education, as the young ladies are getting to-day. But +all the same, the great Creator gave her talents, and she has had a +thirst for knowledge and a mind to work. This, indeed, is half the +battle, and sometimes much more than half. Mrs. Harper applied herself +most vigorously to study as she was growing up in her teens, and by the +time she had come to woman's estate she was well educated. (Thus we see +that nobody need despair of becoming well educated, for we can all learn +if we only have pluck and ambition, and patience and perseverance with +them to forge to the front, like the lady in question). This eminent +woman soon became widely known for her brilliant talents, and all her +sweet, lady-like graces, and admonished all Abolitionists and +anti-slavery people what our race could do if they were once freed from +their shackles!</p> +<p class="pnext">Mrs. Harper possessed a great natural fondness for poetry, which she +proceeded early to cultivate, so that she had become well-known for her +sweet effusions in that line, and they have been published far and wide +throughout the world, and prove that we have "birds of song" among us as +well as others. She has written some pieces possessing much merit. She +has a great natural facility for writing, and reminds me of a clause in +Deborah's song of triumph in the fifth chapter of the Book of Judges, +"Out of Zabulun came down those who handle the pen of the writer." For a +facile, easy pen, Mrs. Frances Ellen Harper is a perfect Zabulunite, for +she has shown that she also can handle the pen of the writer.</p> +<p class="pnext">This gifted lady has also been a bright and shining light on the lecture +platform, and, indeed, has appeared on many of the leading platforms of +the nation, and crowned herself with honor and glory. She has proved to +the whole world that a woman can do mighty deeds as well as man. There +was a dark and doleful time in this world's history when a woman was +regarded as little more than a mere serf, for man's will and pleasure +everywhere. But those dark ages have passed away, and women have +advanced to the front line, and taken their rightful places in the +world. Mrs. Harper is a living proof of this nobility among women, and +she has done yeoman service in trying to elevate her sisters of the +colored race. Her splendid services will never be forgotten by either +this generation or the generations to come. "Well done, good and +faithful servant; enter thou into the joy of thy Lord!"</p> +<p class="pnext">Louise de Mortie, of Norfolk, Va., was born of free parents in that +place in the year 1833. As she was not allowed to receive an education +at the home of her youth, she decided to go to Boston, where she could +get one. It was in the year 1853 that she took up her residence in that +city, when she was twenty years of age, with life and all its +opportunities before her in a free State. At once she took a vigorous +hold, and availed herself of all favoring opportunities that presented +themselves. She was a young maiden of great personal beauty, and +possessed a sweet disposition and a most remarkably good memory. She +took very high standing as a pupil in the schools and seminaries of +Boston, and made a whole host of friends, won over by her graces and +accomplishments.</p> +<p class="pnext">In 1862 she came out as a public reader, and shone like a very brilliant +star. She showed that she was a perfect elocutionist by birth, and had +been polished like a rich jewel. Her natural beauty and personal graces, +engaging manners and richly-toned voice, drew the eyes of the whole +country. Just as she had come to be well-known, she heard of the great +destitution among the colored orphans at New Orleans at the close of the +war. Hither she hastened, and in 1867 raised funds to build an asylum +for the colored people of that city. This she did in her spirit of +Christian love, and she won the hearts of all those who beheld her, like +another angel of mercy, at her good works. But the yellow fever struck +her down on the 10th of October of the above year, 1867, when she said +so touchingly, "I belong to God, our Father," and then expired. Thus was +this brave young woman cut off in her thirty-fourth year. But she lived +long enough to show to others a brilliant example that will never be +forgotten.</p> +</div> +<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-xx"> +<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref pginternal" href="#id23">CHAPTER XX.</a></h2> +<div class="align-center figure"> +<img style="display: block; margin-left: 40%; width: 19%" alt="images/dec20.png" src="images/dec20.png" width="19%"/> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><em class="italics">Our First Great Men and Women—New Lights to the Front—Our Own Humble +Beginning in 1865—Cleanliness and Industry—Music and Song—Immense +Progress in Education, and a Mighty Advance Along the Whole Line—The +Rapid Increase of Wealth—The Crime of Lynching—The Church and +Sunday-School—The Colored Man's Right to Vote, and to Rule the Nation.</em></p> +<p class="pnext">Though I have only sketched the lives of two most eminent members of +color, and two famous women of the same race, I must confess that I feel +greatly tempted to go on with the subject, and speak of many others, +some of whom have gone to their reward, and others remain alive unto the +present day. At first sight the general reader might imagine that those +first bright stars that shone in our intellectual firmament were +brighter than the talented men and women whom we can see at this day and +hour, walking up and down our streets, and shining like suns in their +different professions, doing splendid service in elevating the colored +race in America. We had Fred. Douglass, Bishop Payne, Mrs. Frances Ellen +Harper, and some other bright, particular stars, who shone with +apparently unusual brilliancy some fifty or sixty years ago, and they +have been set down for the seven wonders of the world (Fred. Douglass, +at least, was a genuine wonder for all time). But while we are inclined +to look upon these worthies as towering geniuses, and most extraordinary +lights in the heavens in but recently bye-gone days, we forget that the +thick darkness that surrounded them went a long way in making their +brilliance and splendor appear far brighter than they really were. This +is quite true of all races, and is no detraction whatever from the real +merits that were justly their own. I am safe in saying that 10,000 +clever colored men and women, representing all the different arts and +professions, could be picked out at this day, who would have passed for +stars of the first magnitude, had they made their appearance upon the +stage of time some fifty or sixty years ago. To shine to the same extent +of brilliancy and glory nowadays would indeed be a very difficult +matter, when the whole United States is flooded with a great tide of +knowledge that was never known before.</p> +<p class="pnext">In these happy days of ours knowledge covers the land, as the waters +cover the seas. It is perfectly laughable for me now to look back and +remember the taunting expressions that were flung upon our dear people, +saying that we had no originality, and that we could never rise above +being mere imitators of the white man! In those days our people were in +slavery, and had no opportunities of showing what they were capable of +doing. But now we are free, and we can all go to school, and education +can polish us like other races, in the same way as we polish the block +of marble, and cut out the precious jewels of all descriptions. If we +leave a diamond in its rude, rough state, like the colored race in the +dark days of slavery, that diamond will continue to be rude and rough +still; but place the precious stone in the hand of the jeweler, and we +shall soon behold a bright and shining precious stone, indeed. It was +not only cruel, but it was cowardly to taunt a whole race of people with +incapacity and lack of talent, when our enemies had our hands tied, and +were unwilling to give us a chance. But by the grace of God, and the +blood of the Americans, both white and black, we are now all free, and +thousands upon thousands of our dear people have acquired splendid +educations, in all the different professions and walks of life, and they +have proved to the whole world, both men and women, that there is talent +and genius among our sons and daughters who have forged to the front, +who are self-made men and women, indeed—men and women who have risen +from the ranks, just the same as officers and commanders start up from +the ranks in the time of war.</p> +<p class="pnext">My dear reader, we are often told that poverty is no disgrace, but that +it is very inconvenient. Which is all true, indeed, too true; and what +is still worse, it often cannot be helped. In days not so long since +gone by, we used to be taunted with poverty, but if we had no +possessions of our own in the days of slavery, we at least, like the +apostle Paul, made others rich, and it was our oppressed people who +built up the Sunny South—the richest section of the United States +before the war. If we had had all the wealth that was thus stolen away +from us and given to those who led on the great rebellion, we would +never had been turned loose with nothing in our hands in 1865, and to +begin life anew at the lowermost round of the ladder of prosperity. It +is very true that even in the days of slavery there were colored men +scattered over all the free States of the Union, many of whom had +amassed vast sums of money, and who were invariably treated with great +respect and honor by white people because they were rich. So long as +they had plenty of money it was all right, and there was nothing either +thought or said about the color of their skin. But if the whole race of +colored people in the South were turned loose with nothing in 1865, they +have at least made in the aggregate immense sums of money since then, +and devoted it all to those noble purposes whereby the entire race has +been raised up and elevated in the scale of nations. Above all other +causes, religion and education have been thus spread all over the land, +the money being supplied by a willing people, whose good natural +inclination to give has never been surpassed, and very seldom equalled +by any race under the sun. Immense sums of money have been put away in +savings banks, and property in land is a noble feature of the wisdom of +our people in the South.</p> +<p class="pnext">Take the more than 8,000,000 colored people all over the Union, and +behold what a vast number own their own houses, and have money to their +credit stored up in banks against a rainy day. And then see the comfort, +cleanliness and order to be observed everywhere in an untold number of +dwellings. The colored race are unusually fond of cleanliness and order +in their nice and cosy snug homes, when they can get them; and take the +United Stages all over to-day, it is most astonishing to behold such a +number of beautiful and comfortable homes as there are. I think, dear +reader, that our own people taken as a whole, have been both industrious +and thrifty since the close of the war, and, as the Bible tells us, they +have succeeded in building up the walls of Jerusalem, because they have +had a mind to work. Wherever there is a will there is a way. It is all +very true that some among us are extravagant, lazy, shiftless, but that +is quite true of the white race, too, only I think more so, and we never +condemn a whole race for the faults of a few.</p> +<div class="align-center figure" id="statue-of-liberty"> +<img style="display: block; width: 100%" alt="images/image29libertystatue.jpg" src="images/image29libertystatue.jpg" width="100%"/> +<div class="caption italics"> +STATUE OF LIBERTY.</div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst">Let us then judge fairly, and award to the colored race what belongs +to them by right. As in the days of slavery, so at the present +day it is the colored man who still extracts the wealth from the soil +of the South, partly for himself, and partly for the white man. He can +stand the heat of the sun far better than the white tiller of the soil, +and it seems that the rich white man would rather have him than the +other. In the days of slavery we had to do the best we could. We +had no Vanderbilt palaces to live in then. But now we have at least +lots of comforts—nice furniture, carpets, pictures hanging from our +walls, whole libraries on our book-shelves, and hundreds of other +things too numerous to mention.</p> +<div class="align-center figure" id="grant-s-tomb"> +<img style="display: block; width: 100%" alt="images/image30grantstomb.jpg" src="images/image30grantstomb.jpg" width="100%"/> +<div class="caption italics"> +GRANT'S TOMB.</div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst">Music and song are more or less bound up with the history of every +nation of which we have ever heard or read. Away back in the dark night +of slavery in America, the slaves in the field used to sing their +mournful, plaintive, yet musical ditties to lighten their heavy labors, +and cheer up their hearts. These ditties were songs and prayers at one +and the same time. In the day of his distress, the African never forgot +the God who brought Israel out of Egypt, and we know quite well that +many of our own people confidently expected that day of happy +deliverance that came at last to all. Therefore they sang praises unto +the Lord, God of Israel, and, like the Psalmist, they prayed and sang at +the same time; and we have it plainly on record that they had powerful +lungs and most wonderfully rich voices, showing in advance what great +and famous singers they would become if their musical talents were only +fully developed like others. I have already spoken of the "Jubilee +Minstrels," who were mostly born in slavery, many of whom indeed "came +up by the rough side of the mountain," and yet who possessed such a +wealth of music and song within themselves that they surprised the whole +country, and even crossed the North Atlantic, and rendered themselves +illustrious for all coming time by performing and singing before Queen +Victoria, the grandees and general population of the British Isles, and +some of the royal families, and magnates and peoples of continental +Europe. This was honor, indeed, with a vengeance! Old England and all +the rest cared nothing for the color of the skin. They all at once set +their seals upon the wonderful talents of the colored race in the +musical line, and there was rejoicing among Freedom's friends over all +the earth.</p> +<p class="pnext">The time would fail to mention the names of all those eminent singers +who have made themselves illustrious in these latter years in this +country, and not in this country alone, but they have crossed the wide +oceans in ships, and sung before the admiring audiences of many a +foreign land. But among all these great singers of our race who have +thus distinguished themselves, I will simply mention the name of Miss +Flora Batson, who has justly been called the "Jenny Lind of America," +and she can sing, indeed, before any audience in this nation—a +veritable nightingale and queen of song. But leaving her and a whole +host of other warblers on one side, there is a grandeur in singing of +our church members and congregations on the Sabbath-day that has become +the standing wonder of the country; and it is my own deliberate opinion, +and the openly-confessed opinion of many of the white race, that for +music and song, at least, we have no equals in the United States.</p> +<p class="pnext">I think we may safely claim that not only can we play and sing, but we +can play and sing well, there arising from the great congregation a +grand volume of music and song that reminds me of the "voice of many +waters," mentioned in the Revelations—a volume of song rising from +powerful lungs, and helped on by the warm feelings and enthusiasm of the +race. And as our oppressed forefathers whiled away the long hours in the +field, and lightened their labors by singing, so our people nowadays +bring home the latest new hymn or fine anthem of praise, and sing them +at home to brighten up their domestic cares, and find a vent for that +joyous nature and devotional enthusiasm for which the colored race are +famed over all the earth.</p> +<p class="pnext">The greatest blot at the present time upon the fair fame and name of the +internal and domestic doings of the United States, as it appears to me, +is lynching. And this lynching is not confined to any particular race, +or any particular crime, but we find, to a greater or less degree, all +over the land, from the Lakes to the Gulf, a mob spirit among the people +to take the law into their own hands, whenever any flagrant breach of +law occurs, and hang their victim on the nearest tree. The mob is +unwilling to leave the matter in the hands of the regularly constituted +authorities, and proceeds to murder the supposed criminal in its own +way. I say supposed criminal, because the man they are hunting after is +often not the right man at all; an innocent man is put to death, and the +guilty man escapes. It has also been proven beyond the shadow of a +doubt, because we have "all seen the records of the same in the public +papers at the time, that white men have been in the habit of blackening +their faces when about to commit some heinous offence, and thus try to +produce the impression that the guilty party was a colored man, and not +a white man at all! Cases have thus occurred where innocent colored men +have been lynched, and the real criminals made their escape by simply +discoloring their faces. There is hardly a week passes but we find the +hurrying mobs themselves discovering their own mistakes, sometimes in +time to prevent the execution, but at other times too late. It is very +true that on many occasions the really guilty party is taken, confesses +his crime, and is duly executed by the wild and unruly mob of lynchers.</p> +<p class="pnext">The chief fault, as it appears to my mind, is a lack of firmness on the +part of the States, and I might also add of the central government at +Washington. It is a perfect scandal to a duly constituted government to +say that they are not able to carry out the law, or let the law take its +course. Who would believe for a moment that England or Russia would +allow any and every wild mob to take their victims out of the hands of +the police, and, in fact, administer the law for them? Such a test of +home authority would never run on for twenty-four hours in any foreign +civilized land. If the Governors and the authorities would show a proper +amount of firmness, and the central government at Washington would +tighten up the screws a little all these lynchings would come to an end, +and such a thing would be heard of no more. With regard to the Southern +States, at least, where lynchings have been more common, the taunting +question has been asked by foreign nations, "Are the Southern States fit +for civilization, and ought they to be depended on to govern +themselves?" Well, I think they are fit for self-government, but the +screws ought to be tightened up considerably, and I think the sooner the +better. If I had any power to advise the Houses at Washington, I would +advise them to take the scandal of lynching by the wild mobs into their +own hands, and put a stop to it in their own way. And let Congress see +that all races and crimes are treated alike, and let the duly +constituted authorities of the States administer the laws for which they +are appointed and paid. Lynching is not only a breach of the law, but it +is murder itself, and a horrible system of crime and public disorder +that have brought this most shameful nation into great disrepute. Let us +hope and pray that something may be done very soon to bring this +national scandal to an end; and let public murder by infuriated mobs +come to an end, and be heard of no more.</p> +<p class="pnext">In the books which Fred. Douglass wrote of his life and times he always +mentions the miserable and doleful processions of slaves who were +driven, during the darkness of the night, from the pens into which they +had been gathered in Baltimore to the vessels which were to sail with +them to Georgia and other scenes of toil and exhaustion in the +far-distant South. Alas, alas! The Sunny South had no joys for them, and +as they passed through the streets of Baltimore, during the night, they +wailed and lamented their hard fate. This leads me on to reflect, my +dear reader, upon the gloriously-altered state of affairs that freedom +has brought around, and which we can see all around about us at the +present day. One of the grandest sights that delights our eyes now is +the great array of Sunday-Schools in every State and county of the +United States. I have always called the Sunday-School "the children's +church," and it is the children's church, indeed, and a glorious church +at that, too. Far and wide, spread over all this broad land, running all +along the way from the wild Atlantic to the mild Pacific, and from the +Lakes to the Gulf, young, well-dressed boys and girls in thousands and +tens of thousands may be seen wending their happy way to their own +dearly beloved "Children's Church"—I mean their Sunday-School. The +great and powerful wide-spread Methodist, Baptist and other grand +churches, organized and carried on by the colored race to the utmost +limits of the American Union, deserve the utmost praise for pains and +labors they have been at to make such splendid provision for the rising +generation of boys and girls, who thus go forth upon the Sabbath-day to +worship the Lord in their own youthful, sweet and attractive way, well +taught by devoted men and women, who rear their tender vines, and watch +over them, and tend them well, as the careful and skilful gardener tends +and ripens his precious plants in the hot-house.</p> +<p class="pnext">What a glorious change for the better, my dear reader, has come over +this Federal Union of ours in our own day! Well did the Jubilee +Minstrels sing before the royal family of England, "No more Auction +Blocks for Me!" For at the present day, instead of auction blocks and +wronged and oppressed slaves being conveyed (in a fugitive way, under +cover of the darkness of the night) from their pens to the ships, +wailing and lamenting their sad fate, in the self-same city of +Baltimore, at the present time thousands and tens of thousands of +children, and men and women, wend their peaceful way to Sunday-school +and church, walking the streets of the city in love and peace, on their +pilgrimage to Jerusalem, the city of the Great King. And yet if anybody +had told the slave-holder only fifty years ago that his darling +"peculiar institution" was on its last legs, he would probably there and +then have caused us to be lynched for our rashness of speech! As I have +mentioned already in this book, preachers in the South in those days had +even the audacity to preach sermons in the defence of slavery, and they +were so bold as to select for their text: "This" (meaning slavery) "is +the Lord's doings; and it is wonderful in our eyes." Very wonderful, +indeed, I should say. And the war for the extinction of slavery was the +Lord's doing, too, I suppose! And it also was wonderful in our eyes, +indeed! If those miserable slave-traders were to rise from their graves +to-day; were to hear colored minstrels singing in the courts of Europe, +"No More Auction Blocks for Me!" and then were to see millions of +colored children, youths and maidens wending their way to the happy +Sunday-schools on the day of rest—even they also would be compelled to +admire the great changes for the better, and to exclaim in a different +sense, "Truly these are the Lord's doings, and they are wonderful in our +eyes!"</p> +<p class="pnext">It has always been a matter of personal interest and importance for men +to take a hand in voting and the ruling of their native State. Universal +history shows us plainly that this has always been the case, unless, +indeed, the nation was a monarchy, and therefore subject to the +unlimited will and pleasure of one man as despot in chief, and those who +served under him, and did as they were commanded. But in those lands +where freedom ruled in the days of old, and all countries to-day where +constitutional government prevails, men have always voted in one form or +another, and they still lend a hand at elections, and this without +regard to race, color or any such thing. Neither has there ever been any +friction or trouble in legislative assemblies, and there is none now in +foreign nations, where men of different races, colors, and even creeds, +take their seats side by side, and proceed to work together for the good +of all the citizens. We all know how it was in the South in the early +years of Reconstruction after the close of the war, when the State +legislatures were composed of white and colored men, who ruled the +States together. We thought at the time that this thing would go on and +that all parties had settled down in peace and harmony, for every man to +vote as he pleased, and to send such men, black or white, to represent +them in their legislatures, as were returned by the largest number of +voters at the elections, conducted according to the constitution of the +nation. But the white man of the South had almost always been accustomed +to his own selfish, despotic way and sway in the days of slavery. The +South had not only the rule of colored men, but even over white men in +the halls of Congress! Unless that section of the Union could have her +own dictatorial way there was no peace whatever in the House!</p> +<p class="pnext">The North therefore felt herself often obliged to give way, which +encouraged the South to take a mile the next time when we gave her an +ell.</p> +<p class="pnext">I have shown the reader of these pages how the Ku-Klux-Klan arose; how +the new shot-gun policy brought the Republican governments of Secessia +to an end, and how the very amendments to the Constitution, including +the bare privilege of casting one's own vote, were all brought to an +end—nay, more than that—the reader knows by this time how an immense +number of colored men, women and children tore up stakes, and left the +States of the South where they were born, and sought new homes in +Northern and Western States, where the shot-gun policy of the late +rebels did not prevail!</p> +<p class="pnext">But where are representatives in Congress to-day, and where are the +colored Senators and others in the legislative halls of the Southern +States? For the present they have been wiped out, and so far Uncle Sam +has given way, and backed down once more to the violent South for the +sake of keeping peace in the house. It may be argued that coming but +recently out of slavery, as we did, we were unfitted for the full +privilege of freemen and voters. Perhaps there is some reason in that +view of the question. As a nation we certainly could not be expected to +be college-bred in 1865. But that is over thirty years ago, and both we +ourselves and our children have been to almost all the schools, +seminaries and colleges in the land since then. If we were ignorant in +1865, sure we cannot as a race be called ignorant now. In my own +opinion, I think it is about time that the last three amendments to the +Constitution were now carried out to the fullest extent, and that we +should be no longer contented merely to vote for the white man, but vote +for colored men, too, who run for office.</p> +<p class="pnext">As the South has been so violent over the matter of ruling her own +States to the exclusion of the colored man, the grand hue and cry among +some of our own people has been raised, "Let politics alone, and attend +to your own business, and let the white man rule!" So far as I can see +there is neither sense nor justice in such a cry as that. If the white +man has a right to vote, so has the colored man. To stuff the +ballot-boxes with manufactured votes, or to throw out those that colored +men have voted, is simply breaking the law, and the central government +should punish it as such. If an ambitious young colored man desires to +represent his country in the field of politics, it stands neither in law +nor reason for any white man to presume to stop him. If he be a man of +great talent, like Frederick Douglass, or John M. Langston, or Blanche +K. Bruce, that is just so much more the reason why he should go to +Congress, or represent his own country and State at home. The colored +man must receive every fair play at the elections: his vote must not be +tampered with any more than the white man's vote. By all means let him +have his vote, for he will never be satisfied with anything less. Let +every infringement of the law be pushed to the utmost extent; let a few +examples be made, and tampering with other men's votes will come to an +end. For the very life of me I can see no reason why colored men should +abstain from politics any more than white men. There is no reason why +they should do so if they wish to enter into political life. We can also +attend to other business at home, like the rest of the population. To +discharge our duties at the polls, indeed, is one of the very first +duties of every citizen, and we have a perfect right to vote under the +law of the land.</p> +<p class="pnext">Every now and then some surviving rebel in South Carolina, or some other +of the late seceded States, takes upon himself to raise the old +parrot-cry, "This is a white man's government! Colored men shall not +rule with us!" If the national government did its full duty, it would +arrest such a man as this for trying to teach the rising generation +falsehoods, and for disturbing the minds of the lieges. This is not a +white man's country, nor a black man's country, nor a red man's +country—but it belongs to all alike. We have only to go back four +hundred years, when this country belonged to the Indians, and if it +belongs by right to anybody at all, it belongs to them. But Spaniards, +Frenchmen, Englishmen and others came over the sea, they murdered or +drove back the Indians, and stole away their lands. Then the self-same +Europeans went to Africa, and killed and kidnapped the nations, and by +physical force brought our ancestors here—and here we are at the +present day. The war of revolution came; the colonists secured their own +freedom, but they did not set their own slaves free. They complained +that they were in subjection under the king of England, but they winked +at the thraldom of our ancestors, and left us to languish in chains and +slavery till the Lord sent the Civil War, and made us all free, while +the three amendments to the Constitution put us on the self-same footing +with white citizens, and here we are in our own country, part and parcel +of the entire American population. This country, then, either belongs to +the Lord from heaven, or it is the property of the North American +Indian, or else it has become, in some way or other, the property of the +whole of us. We had better not examine into our rights too closely, for +we cannot go back more than four hundred years to establish our claims, +and four hundred years will not go for much, especially with the +owner—the Lord of Heaven.</p> +</div> +<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-xxi"> +<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref pginternal" href="#id24">CHAPTER XXI.</a></h2> +<div class="align-center figure"> +<img style="display: block; margin-left: 40%; width: 19%" alt="images/dec01.png" src="images/dec01.png" width="19%"/> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><em class="italics">A General Review of the Writer's Entire Life and Work, and an Optimistic +View of the Whole Subject, With Reflections and Observations and +Forecasts of the Near Future.</em></p> +<p class="pnext">When I left the place where I was born, in the year 1855, and made my +lucky escape to a land of freedom, in company with my fiancee, Thomas +Lincoln, I had no idea whatever of the future that lay before us, and of +all the pleasant ways by which the Lord would lead us. It was well for +both my darling Tom and me that we were the children of religious +mothers, who taught us from our earliest infancy to love the Lord at all +times, and to put our entire trust and confidence in Him. Tom and I had +been accustomed to a delightful home at Riverside Hall, on the banks of +the Ohio, and we knew nothing about the evils of slavery, like millions +of others.</p> +<p class="pnext">In the midst of such pleasant surroundings on the banks of the +"Beautiful River," it seemed easy enough for us at the time to love the +Lord and put our trust in Him; but whilst the great Creator was working +out his sure decrees, we considered ourselves perfectly justified in +taking the law into our own hands, and whereas we could not get our +rights by fair means, to take them by foul. It has been well for Tom and +me that we acted as we did; and the blessings thus vouchsafed to us in +that way have descended to our dear children in a full state of freedom. +But while we had little risks to run compared to many refugees, there +were millions left behind us who could not get along. For what could +frail and feeble women do surrounded as they were by every device and +scheme that slavery and Satan could invent to keep their hold on what +they presumptuously called their "property?" Thus our distressed +brothers and sisters were obliged to wait for the coming of the Lord, +and the wisest among them knew that His coming could not be long +delayed, because the signs of the times pointed to a speedy deliverance, +and a child could almost hear the loud and heavy rumblings in the +heavens.</p> +<p class="pnext">But, my dear reader, the "Lord works in mysterious ways His wonders to +perform." We fondly expected and hoped to see freedom in our own +day—"some sweet day"—but our minds were little prepared for its coming +so soon. We heard the rumblings of the storm, indeed, but there had been +other storms before, and they had blown over, and why should not this +one go the same as they? That is the way that we poor, limited, erring +human beings are likely to go aside and miss the mark. We judged of the +rising storm of 1860 that it would be like those that had gone before +it, but there was not a single being on the face of the earth who ever +dreamed that we were at last drifting into a mighty war, that was to +continue for over four years, and would sweep away slavery and all its +belongings, as the mighty tides of the ocean wash away the foot-prints +on the sands. It became clear as time and war went on, that the Almighty +Ruler of the Universe had risen up to strike the earth, and that He +would not smite a second blow, but finish things up now. He says in His +sacred word that He will hear our prayers; our oppressed people had been +crying to Him for many years, "How long, O Lord, how long!" The prayers +of the distressed, their tears and cries, had been heard; they had all +been duly chronicled in heaven; the day for settlement with the +slave-holders had now fully come, and one of those mighty changes that +have followed each other these last forty years with such rapidity was +now at the door. Like the prompt railroad train, or, better still, the +tide of the sea, the Lord of Heaven and Earth was ready and armed from +head to foot; freedom was at the door, indeed and in truth, and the +doors must be opened that captives should go free!</p> +<div class="align-center figure" id="dickens-old-curiosity-shop"> +<img style="display: block; width: 100%" alt="images/image31curiosityshop.jpg" src="images/image31curiosityshop.jpg" width="100%"/> +<div class="caption italics"> +DICKENS' OLD CURIOSITY SHOP.</div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst">"What hath not God wrought?" Those more than four decisive years, so +heavy with fate and destiny, looked long, very long, in passing, but ah! +they brought changes to the entire colored race, both collectively and +individually; and as slavery had grown more and more even down to the +very year when the war began, so was the joy all the greater when it was +all over, and bright shining freedom came suddenly at last. There was +joy and rejoicing all over the United States at the result; dancing and +singing from the Potomac to the Rio Grande in particular. So much for +the whole race taken collectively. To us individually as a family, that +mighty upheaval, the war, brought great and varied experiences—both +sorrows and joy. When the first rush of wild enthusiasm against the +rebellion was over, we all found out that we had to settle down to +hard work, and four full years of war and fighting were before us. Thus +the children and I saw Tom leave for the seat of war, and after many a +hard-fought field, Tom was wounded so badly that he lay for a long time +at New Orleans. We had done an immense quantity of correspondence by +this time, but more changes wrought through and by the war were at hand. +The whole American nation was undergoing changes, and so were we! The +children and I longed with all our hearts to see husband and father once +more. He was not yet well enough to travel to Buffalo; indeed, the +military authorities forbade it, and so we three determined to tear up +stakes at Buffalo for a time, and make a sudden and unexpected march on +the city of New Orleans. This was not my first visit to the Crescent +City of the Sunny South. As my dear reader is already well aware, I went +there about the year 1856, and rescued my dear mother from slavery, +which I consider one of the very best things that ever I did in this +world! This journey to New Orleans was a most glorious experience, for +the girls in particular, and they are even talking of it now. When we +were in the Lower Mississippi, we had a good time to look about us and +see what a mighty work the sword of the North had already done for that +section of the Union. The colored people were all free, and thousands +were flocking to schools just newly set up, and learning as people had +never learned before. The rebels, and all those that sympathized with +them, used to say that if the slaves were set free, they would turn in +and massacre their former owners, and become regular heathens and +savages. This was, of course, nothing but a silly parrot-cry that nobody +seriously believed, as no colored man had any other intention than to +become a peaceable citizen. But during our delightful residence in the +Sunny South we saw those who had been slaves in that section all working +away upon the lands, and in the towns and cities, in perfect freedom, +and their lives were both orderly and exemplary. But what surprised us +most was to see them going to work with first readers, spelling books, +slates and pencils, and all the other appliances of education, and +gathering knowledge like the sands of the sea. This, indeed, augured +well for the future—to see people even seventy and eighty years of age +learning to read, write and figure like the rest! Here was a field of +bright promise for the near future. Here was a race of people, just set +free, grasping at the lowermost round of the ladder of education, and +ambitious to mount higher every day.</p> +<div class="align-center figure" id="tower-of-london"> +<img style="display: block; width: 100%" alt="images/image32londontower.jpg" src="images/image32londontower.jpg" width="100%"/> +<div class="caption italics"> +TOWER OF LONDON.</div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst">Behold, indeed, the mighty changes that the Lord has brought about in +this dear land of ours! We have already lived long enough not only to +see all the captives set free, but a second generation, fifty per cent. +of whom are armed, from head to foot, so to speak, with education. We +have already brilliant men and women competent to shine like stars, in +all the different walks and departments of life, which my two girls and +I saw such abundant promise when we went to Louisiana. In due course of +time Tom was pronounced completely cured, was discharged from the +hospital, and our two precious children and we took our homeward journey +by way of the Gulf of Mexico, the city of Havana, in Cuba, West Indies +and the Atlantic Ocean to New York, after which we took the train for +Buffalo, where we all arrived safe and sound in due time, and had such a +welcome home as is still green in our memories. This sea voyage and land +journey were delightful experiences in the young lives of our two +daughters, and showed them what a great, varied, and beautiful world the +great Creator had made. We thanked Him with full and grateful hearts for +having laid our lines in such pleasant places, and giving us this sweet +home of ours at Buffalo, where we have resided in peace, pleasure and +plenty. Lo! these many years! and we are at Buffalo, still. It is a +great comfort to our hearts and minds to think that the entire colored +race are no longer compelled to reside, to dwell, and sleep where they +are bidden, as in the bad old times of slavery; but that here again a +mighty change for the better has come over all our people, inasmuch as +many of them nowadays have comfortable and pleasant homes of their own, +where beautiful furniture and musical instruments can be seen—yes, even +fine pianos, along which the supple fingers of the rising generation can +fly with the best! I bless and praise the goodness of the Lord for all +these changes for the better. Instead of operating on the fiddle and the +banjo, our clever musical sons and daughters can sing lovely +accompaniments to the piano and the organ. The race is full of music, +and their fame has reached the ends of the earth. Our churches and other +institutions have a great name for sacred music and song, and I have +heard good judges among the white population declare that there are no +such singers as the colored race in the United States. We may at least +congratulate ourselves that the entire press of the United States and +the British Isles have completely endorsed the above sentiments of my +own, and therefore I do not think that any conscientious man will +dispute them. It is an old and a true saying that variety is the spice +of life, and the beauties of the different races of people appear to the +greatest advantage where their separate traits of character most differ +from one another. Music and song, indeed, are quite a distinguished +feature in the colored race, and there again we have seen mighty changes +wrought out through and by our freedom, and again I thank the goodness +of the Lord for even such changes as these.</p> +<p class="pnext">And yet we are only at the beginning of our improvements, associated as +we also are with the white race of the United States—one of the most +talented and ingenious peoples that the world has ever seen! It is well +for us in a way that we are so associated, because our progress in these +past years, and at the present time, is all the greater on that account. +And yet when we consider that it is only yesterday, as it were, that all +our people were set free, that our unbroken progress is still going on +along the whole line, and that our progress will continue to be more +marked in the future as the years gone by, who can tell to what glorious +heights of elevation our people shall attain, even within the next +twenty or twenty-five years? Because in our own day and generation, all +the arts and sciences seem to be coming to the front; learning, +education and inventions are farther and farther advanced day by day, +and every kind of improvement grows and flourishes like the green +bay-tree. Progress indeed must be made; things will not go backwards, +but must go forward, onward and upward. Such is the inevitable fate of +the colored race. With so very much accomplished already; with fifty per +cent. of our entire people throughout the whole Union who can read and +write and work arithmetic, we may well wonder at the advancement still +in store for our race, when education shall cover the whole land, as the +waters cover the sea; when the remaining fifty per cent., who are still +destitute of education, are brought into the fold, as it were, and an +ignorant colored man or woman will be difficult to find in our nation.</p> +<p class="pnext">The unparalleled progress that we have made reminds me of the progress +of a great river. Take for example the Mississippi. How small it is when +it issues from Lake Itasca, away up at its headwaters in Minnesota. It +is of truth very small indeed, when it begins its journey to the sea. +But the river advances boldly upon its long way, and keeps on and on, +and still on, while every now and then a branch comes flowing in, now on +the right hand, now on the left, sometimes nothing but a small rivulet, +then a large and swelling stream. Thus the Mississippi still keeps +advancing on mile after mile on its journey, till the great Ohio swells +its waters, and then the greater Missouri comes rolling down from the +Rocky Mountains, and now the Mississippi is growing large, indeed—yes, +very large. And here comes the Arkansas and the Red River, with many +smaller streams from the east, and thus the mighty Mississippi, that +began so small in Lake Itasca, has now reached the Crescent City, and +whole fleets of ships can float upon its bosom before its great and +swelling waters reach the Gulf of Mexico. And thus it is with the +advancement that has already been made by the colored race along the +whole line. We began, indeed, very small in the year 1865, when the war +closed, and the appliances of education and improvement were put into +our hands. But here is the year 1902, and, like the Mississippi river, +we have advanced far, very far upon our way; and yet we have by no means +attained the goal of our expectations, by any means, but great changes +are under way, and we are still advancing.</p> +<p class="pnext">Many travelers have left it on record how they turned round upon the +ever-ascending mountain way to mark progress, and see how far they had +come. Then with fresh resolution they again turned their faces to the +road that still lay before and above them, and that with renewed +interest and courage. I don't know how it may be with anybody else, but +as I am now about sixty years of age, I am at times given to look back, +and to muse not only over all the way the Lord has led me, but also how +He has led the entire race in my own days. The rising generation knows +little of the thoughts and feelings, and the sufferings of their fathers +and mothers on their way to freedom, and the present happy condition of +things. But I am like that mountain traveller of whom I have just +spoken, and I sit at times and muse and muse upon the tremendous +excitement all over the North on the slavery question, and how the +Abolitionists demanded freedom, and the South would not listen to any +such thing. Then my mind runs back to Fred. Douglass, Henry Ward +Beecher, and all those heroes and heroines who fought the good cause of +liberty, and were faithful unto the end. We were in for a great and +stirring time.</p> +<p class="pnext">Little does the present generation know of the times we went through in +the years immediately before the war, when I used to travel over the +States of the North, assisting in the lecturing and agitation against +slavery. It is a very great gratification to me nowadays to look back +and think of all the wonders of that most wonderful and lengthened +campaign when William Lloyd Garrison, and all the other "big guns" were +thundering away, and the discharge of their mighty artillery shook all +the land, even to the Gulf of Mexico! I am not so strong and supple in +body now as I was in those glorious, Halcyon days; but I praise and +bless the Lord that I was then endowed with health, and strength, and +vigorous life to lay on the axe of liberty, and to help bring down that +foul and deadly upas tree called "Slavery," that was the curse of the +whole land—the public disgrace of the United States. Since then I have +contributed many articles to the papers and magazines of the day to help +my own people to rise up and start upon their feet; but there is nothing +that I ever did that left so much pleasure upon my memory as the +campaign wherein I played, sang and lectured against slavery in the +South. Well, to be sure, how the surging crowds did come! It was a +wonderful time that we had. The excitement was also most exhilarating. +But above all, those mighty changes were on the road, that we see around +us to-day. The Lord has done great things for us already, and still we +can say that there is a good time coming!</p> +<p class="pnext">Upon the whole my life has been a happy one—at least, as happy as could +be expected in this shady world of ours, where ever-changing clouds and +sunshine chase each other all through our pilgrim journey to our home in +heaven. I have tried to make the best of things, and to consign myself +to the Lord's will as nearly as my infirmities will let me. Mercy and +goodness have followed me all the days of my life, and I have been most +abundantly blessed by the Lord above all that I could either ask or +think. My dear reader will no doubt think that I am in a very +contemplative frame of mind at the present time, thus looking back and +musing upon the active years of my past life. No doubt the greater part +of life's long day has gone by, and the evening and night are coming +on. But in my time I have learned to trust in God, to lay hold upon +eternal life, to keep hope alive in my heart for all times for myself +and all my people, not only my immediate family, but the entire colored +race.</p> +<p class="pnext">I am therefore able to look forward with calmness, and even joy, to the +time when the great Lord will take me home to Himself. But still, as the +evening and shadows of life are coming on, I will converse with my own +family and friends upon the stirring events of the past years, and keep +musing upon them, also. If variety is the spice of life, I am sure I +have had plenty of it for my own part. I can never complain of the want +of variety. And it has been a downright blessing to me, too; for it has +added to my knowledge and blessing in every way. My travels and varied +experiences have brought me into contact with strange and interesting +peoples, and countless individuals, worth far more than their weight in +gold. My many delightful journeys to the dearly beloved friends in +Canada, and their return visits to me, have been like glorious rainbows +that spanned the heavens of my happiness on earth. Then there is the +permanent love and friendship of the many brave and true hearts that +have thrown light and pleasure upon my path all along the line—good and +faithful friends who assisted in pulling down the powers of slavery, and +who now rejoice, in common with myself, that the mighty work was done at +last, and that all our grand destiny is still before us. Thank God for +this splendid prospect before us! It has been the joy of my life to see +the improvements introduced into the American Constitution in our favor, +and the celebration of the Fifteenth Amendment all over the land, +including the one we took a part in at Louisville, Kentucky, was a +series of brilliant events that can never be forgotten.</p> +<p class="pnext">As I am by nature a great lover of the ocean, I have made two voyages +from New Orleans to New York, and have even crossed the great Atlantic, +and visited the British Isles upon the happy occasion when my daughters +were married. But above all things, I have had the pleasure of seeing +the entire colored race set free; have seen them make incredible +advances in every walk and department of life, and the promise is held +out that they will still go on in the path of progress. We must still +trust in God and ourselves, and march forward!</p> +<p class="pnext">And now, my dear reader, wishing for you all that is good, health and +prosperity, I am</p> +<p class="pnext">Yours most sincerely,</p> +<blockquote><div> +<p class="pfirst">BEULAH LINCOLN.</p> +</div></blockquote> +<div class="align-center figure"> +<img style="display: block; margin-left: 40%; width: 19%" alt="images/dec07.png" src="images/dec07.png" width="19%"/> +<div class="caption italics"> +<em class="italics">FINIS.</em></div> +</div> +</div> +<div class="level-2 section" id="the-american-spanish-wari"> +<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref pginternal" href="#id25">THE AMERICAN-SPANISH WAR—I.</a></h2> +<div class="align-center figure"> +<img style="display: block; margin-left: 40%; width: 19%" alt="images/dec05.png" src="images/dec05.png" width="19%"/> +</div> +<p class="pfirst">Indulgent reader, I had grown accustomed to think that I should now live +and die, and never see any more war, either foreign or domestic, on the +part of the United States. All things were running smoothly on the part +of our nation, and there hardly appeared the most distant cloud in our +peaceful-looking skies. But, as Robert Burns, the famous Scotch poet, +most truthfully says, "The best-laid schemes of mice and men gang aft +aglee, and leave us nought but grief and pain for promised joy." In the +month of February, 1895, the oppressed and robbed people of Cuba once +more raised the standard of rebellion against Spain, and entered upon +another struggle with the mother country. The tyrant Spain had broken +all the promises she had made at the close of the Ten Years' Cuban War, +in 1878, and thus it came to pass, after an useless truce of seventeen +years, that the Cuban leaders once more decided to raise the standard of +rebellion against the tyrant, considering it better to die in a war for +freedom than to sit down any longer in a state of endless oppression.</p> +<div class="align-center figure" id="gen-antonio-maceo"> +<img style="display: block; width: 100%" alt="images/image33generalmaceo.jpg" src="images/image33generalmaceo.jpg" width="100%"/> +<div class="caption italics"> +GEN. ANTONIO MACEO.</div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst">As our own nation had had a fearful war with England, in the days of +George Washington—a war that lasted over seven years—all citizens of +the United States felt a great deal of sympathy for the Cuban leaders, +and for all the Cuban people—"a people who now devoted their lives unto +death on the high places of the field"—and myself, my own family, and +all my beloved race, felt very, very deeply for them.</p> +<p class="pnext">And not only did the people of the United States, but all lovers of +freedom throughout the world felt the greatest sympathy for the Cubans. +Thus long, weary months came and went, and poor, proud, decrepit old +Spain, in her antiquated way, continued to borrow many millions of money +at home and abroad, till at last "Pobre Espagna" (poor Spain) was hardly +able to pay the mere interest upon the money she had borrowed, let alone +the principal. The patriotic Cubans fought long, well and nobly; so did +the Spaniards, but no real advantage was ever gained upon either side, +because the Cubans had neither seaport nor fleet, and were never able to +get the Spaniards out of their ancient and powerful fortifications, +whilst the Spaniards were never able to beat the Cubans off the field, +get them out of their strongholds among the mountains, and their +inaccessible retreats amidst their grand, primeval forests.</p> +<p class="pnext">The Cubans of the United States, assisted by many of our own people, +gathered money, and loaded filibustering vessels that ran the feeble +Spanish blockade off the island, and safely landed an untold number of +cargoes of arms and ammunition for the struggling patriots, while our +own national feeling against Spain still increased as the days went by. +It is very true that the Government of the United States did all that it +was able to preserve neutrality, and to keep the peace with Spain—nay, +more than that—we were at last obliged even to police the seas around +the Southern States to prevent those blockade-runners from slipping away +from our parts with their loads of arms and ammunition for that devoted +island, and we were hardly able to stop them when we had done our best. +Thus we were put to endless trouble to watch the seas for a foreign and +cruel country, and that country was always laying complaints at our +doors because we could watch no better!</p> +<div class="align-center figure" id="the-defense-of-santiago"> +<img style="display: block; width: 100%" alt="images/image34santiagodefense.jpg" src="images/image34santiagodefense.jpg" width="100%"/> +<div class="caption italics"> +THE DEFENSE OF SANTIAGO.</div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst">When Campos was Captain-General of Cuba, the war for independence in +that unhappy island was conducted with some regard to decency and +civilized ways; but the Spanish arms made no progress, and the mother +country sent over the cruel General Weyler, usually called "The +Butcher," and gave him a free hand in putting down the islanders in any +way he saw fit. The mind of this bad man seems to have been imbued with +all the old Spanish cruelties of the dark ages, and all that tiger-like +love for cruelty and bloodshed for which Spain and the Spaniards have +always been so notorious. The readers of the public press are no doubt +well aware already of the treacherous acts, cruelties and medieval deeds +of barbarism to which that monster and his soldiers resorted for the +purpose of suppressing the Cuban rebellion. The worst of them all was +his gathering the country people into seacoast towns and cities—mainly +women, children and old men—where they subsequently died by tens of +thousands; and thus the poor, oppressed Cuban nation was weakened at +last to the number of at least 200,000, if not more; and by such +cold-blooded deeds, and others on a smaller scale, quite as cruel, did +that black-hearted Spanish butcher wear down the population of Cuba. He +made war upon nature, and shocked the moral sense of the whole world. +And yet, this Weyler had the entire approval of the mother country while +he thus caused the non-combatant part of the Cubans to perish, when they +had the unblushing impudence to carry on the barbarities of the dark +ages all over the Island of Cuba, and right before our front door! The +false and wilfully-lying messages that even this butcher sent home to +Spain from day to day about victories that he had gained over the +insurgents were usually contradicted by the American, and other foreign +presses next day. Weyler excelled in nothing but writing false +dispatches, while the hatred against him increased, both in Congress, +and all over the United States. So great, indeed, was the outcry against +the Spaniards, that the proud and scornful Dons kept sending more and +more soldiers over the Atlantic, to give us to understand by that, that +if we Americans dared to interfere between her and what she called "The +Ever-Faithful Isle," she would there fight Uncle Sam to the death, and +never surrender Cuba!</p> +<p class="pnext">Captain-General Weyler's want of success, his cruelties and countless +false reports were at last so revolting to the feelings of Uncle Sam +that Spain decided to withdraw her faithful butcher, and send another +Captain-General over, and his name was General Blanco. He was admonished +to bring the Cuban leaders and the Cubans to terms by wiles, bribes and +flattery; but the patriotic Cubans refused to swallow any such baits, +and war went on the same as before—all our trade with Cuba being now +destroyed, almost the whole island being reduced to the condition of a +wilderness, while the silence of the grave seemed supreme everywhere. +Spain continued to make more and more fresh promises from month to +month, both to ourselves and to the Cubans—promises made in deceit and +craft, which she never meant to fulfill.</p> +<p class="pnext">It is calculated that at one time there were two hundred thousand +Spanish soldiers in Cuba, when the Cuban troops became so numerous that +they even threatened Havana, and whipped the Spanish outposts in the +suburbs of the stronghold. Affairs at last became so unsafe and +threatening for the numerous American colonists in Havana, and +throughout Cuba, that the United States battleship "Maine" was sent to +the island, by way of protection, and she was duly anchored by the +direction of the port authorities, in a certain specified position +within the harbor of Havana.</p> +<p class="pnext">Alas, alas! we little knew what we were doing! And yet, for the very +life of me, I cannot but see that the hand of Providence was in some way +or other connected with the anchoring of the Maine in the harbor of +Havana. It is true that we might at some time or other have interfered +in the Island, and there put an end to the medieval and murderous +practices of "Old Spain," carried on at our front door here in the end +of the nineteenth century; but war, in its best state, is a serious +business, and Spain might have succeeded for a long time in gulling us +with fair-faced promises she never meant to fulfill. In the pride of her +heart she regarded the poor Cuban patriots as nothing but a gang of +rebels, who, had they laid down their arms at her request, would have +been treated as so many footballs—as deserving less consideration than +mere dogs and cats. Thus it appears to me very doubtful whether we would +have embarked upon a war with that proud, haughty and impoverished +nation, that loves to talk of her former grandeur, four hundred years +ago. But the Spaniards viewed the coming of the Maine to Havana with +hatred and disgust. Whispers in high places in the Cuban capital +declared that she should be destroyed, and so in fact she was, for on +Tuesday night, the 15th of February, 1898, the Spaniards blew her up +with torpedoes planted underneath her in the water.</p> +<p class="pnext">This destruction of a splendid American battleship, with the +accompanying loss of 266 lives, brought much comfort and joy to the +cruel Spanish heart; for the head gentlemen of Spain at Havana were +known to laugh and be jolly, and to drink champagne wine over the +destruction of our devoted vessel! But with us it was otherwise. We were +overwhelmed with the most profound sorrow and grief. Every man, woman +and child in all Uncle Sam's far-spreading Union was bowed down under +this sudden blow that supplied so much comfort to the heart of the +Spaniard. He looked upon us as his enemy because of our own sympathy for +the Cubans; and so that ship was another "enemy" out of his way. His +mirth did not prevent our national grief over the sudden murder of our +266 men, and the loss of the poor ship, so we sat down and cried real, +sincere tears, while the naval commission were in session at Key West +over the cause of the destruction of the unfortunate vessel. The finding +of the court of inquiry was that the vessel was not blown up from within +(as the Spaniards pretended), but was blown up from without, and that by +the hands of the Spaniards, and done on purpose by them.</p> +<p class="pnext">Then we wiped our tears away, and every man, woman and understanding +child, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and from the Lakes to the Gulf, +arose and took an oath that that cruel and bloody nation of Spaniards +should leave this hemisphere, bag and baggage, and that we should make +them! Then the shout, "Remember the Maine!" was heard all over the land. +Congress demanded Spain's withdrawal from American waters; or else that +war should be levied on her forthwith. Now did the regent mother country +send letters to all the magnates of Europe, begging them to intercede, +and make peace between the Americans and Spaniards. But from all +quarters came the same reply, "You and the Americans help yourselves; +this is not our war. Hold the Ever-faithful Isle—if you are able!"</p> +<p class="pnext">While the war clouds were gathering the Spaniards still ran around +Europe, praying and screeching for help. Uncle Sam went swiftly to work +laid down fifty million dollars instantly, and quickly bought up a +number of newly-built and powerful men-of-war from foreign +nations—bought and hired swift and powerful merchant vessels, and +swiftly clad them round their sides and all over their decks with +steel-mail, so that they might boldly plough the waves, and do as +useful service as the very best of iron-clads of effete Old Spain. Uncle +Sam made two swift calls for troops, and almost every white and colored +man replied, "We come, we come!" So terrible, indeed, was the impression +produced by the loss of our poor ship, and the murder of 266 men at +Havana, that almost every colored and white man in this nation seemed +even to sigh and thirst to go and fight with Spain! Women by thousands +and tens of thousands offered themselves as nurses, and to be used in +any way that the Government pleased. Our colored men, once slaves, or +the children of slaves, but now loyal freemen, came forward almost to a +man, and with quite as much patriotism as their white brethren, at +least, offered themselves as ready, quite ready to march to the war. +Uncle Sam's great difficulty lay in his having too many offers on his +hands, so he picked and chose, and did his best. The fleet, of course, +encountered a little more difficulty in filling up; but the flower of +our youth—even the sons of millionaires among the rest—came trooping +on in thousands, and our fleet was manned splendidly. Men were sent +South by thousands and tens of thousands; the trains carried them down +every day, accompanied with immense loads of ammunition, and all the +appliances of war. Our new and old war vessels were gathered about Key +West, etc., and others were placed near our great harbors, which harbors +were defended by torpedoes and other means of offense and defense. By +this time our demand upon Spain to get out of the West Indies had been +received by the proud Dons, and had been refused by them, as we +expected. So we moved on with the war, and our own four regiments of +regular colored United States troops, the Ninth and Tenth Cavalry, and +the Twenty-fourth and Twenty-fifth Infantry, which had been brought from +the far West to Chickamauga Park, were brought down to Key West, in +order to be at hand to sail over to Cuba along with their white brothers +when the "Ever-Faithful Isle—Fair Cuba, the Queen of the Antilles," +should be invaded by all the boys in blue.</p> +<p class="pnext">I am not aware that even the most rabid misanthrope in the United States +believed in his heart that there was one colored man who was not willing +to go to the war, and also able to do yeoman service in knocking down +the Spaniards, if he were allowed to get at them. It is true that +charges were made against some of us, but charges were also made in the +same way against the whites. It is true that some of our men made their +marching to war conditional on their now having their own colored +officers; but that demand was right, and they only asked their own.</p> +<p class="pnext">Our hereditary enemies are not all dead by any means, yet! Either they +are less formidable, or we ourselves are growing more independent. The +small pettifogging journalist tried to make the usual capital out of our +men holding out for his most undoubted rights, for what would a white +regiment, indeed, think, if the law was that none but colored officers +should be placed over white men? And yet, that was the very thing that +certain men—white men—in our nation demanded, namely, that none but +white officers should be placed in command of colored soldiers!</p> +<div class="align-center figure" id="battle-of-san-juan-hill"> +<img style="display: block; width: 100%" alt="images/image35sanjuanhill.jpg" src="images/image35sanjuanhill.jpg" width="100%"/> +<div class="caption italics"> +BATTLE OF SAN JUAN HILL.</div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst">It is very true there were a few colored officers in the ranks, and +colored chaplains; but, like angels' visits, they were few and far +between. But the Spanish war was on, and colored men had to go or stay. +Some demanded officers of their own race, seeing they were competent to +fill such positions as the whitest of men. It was only the dregs of +slavery in the bottom of the cup that were left. It was only the +difference between a dark skin and a light one, don't you know. Well, +quite a number of the governors granted the colored regiments their +petitions; gave them all the officers of their own race, from Colonel +down, and it has been proven that they have acted and succeeded as well +as white officers could ever have possibly done. Other governors +hesitated about granting their just demands, and claimed that white +officers ought to be placed over colored men.</p> +<p class="pnext">But, as I said before, the war was now under way, and as too much time +could not be lost in wrangling in this unseemly manner over a matter, +after all, no greater than the color of the skin, our brave fellows in +some of the States said they were willing to give way, and go and fight +the Spaniards under command of white officers. In some States there was +no dispute. It is a well-known fact that colored men have often been +greatly attached to their white officers, and in like manner, these +officers have been greatly attached to their own soldiers, and thus they +have got along harmoniously together at all times. At the same time, +this knotty point has been settled once for all in many a State, and the +men—colored men, I mean—have been allowed to have the officers of +their own choice. No doubt the time will come when all these "trumpery +distinctions" will be done away! The dregs of slavery washed out of the +cup! The time will come in the United States when white men will be led +by colored officers, and colored men will be led by white officers. Life +is really too short for such foolishness as squabbling over small +trifles like these. One thing I know, the Bible tells us that God has +made of one blood all the races that dwell upon earth.</p> +<p class="pnext">The readings in the public papers about the enthusiasm of colored men +for the war against the Spaniards was most refreshing. Taken as a whole, +white men of every walk in life, awarded them the very highest possible +praise for their love of drilling—for their great willingness to be +drilled, and for the great progress they made in drilling. Some of +them, indeed, seemed to be drilling both in season and out of season, +because even after their officers had given them all their needful +drilling for the passing day, they would themselves get together and +drill themselves for a whole hour, or for an hour and a half at a time. +I must not forget a most unusually lively letter I saw from Key West at +the time that our four regiments of regulars (United States) were lying +there in readiness to sail over to Cuba. This letter stated that they +were regiments of grand men; tall, powerful, splendid fellows; full of +life, humor and enthusiasm, and that they looked as if they would be +able to lick three or four Spaniards apiece! No doubt our glorious +fellows were far more than a match for the Spaniards, who only weighed +about 130 pounds apiece, stood five feet, six inches in height, and few +of them seem able to shoot straight; while our men stand six feet, are +powerful, and can hit the mark almost every time.</p> +<p class="pnext">Thus time passed on, while the entire colored race all over the land +took the deepest interest in the war, calling upon the war department, +or sending to the President, whenever there was occasion for the same. A +Conference of the Zion A. M. E. Church, at the commencement of the war, +sat in Baltimore, at which time a notice was sent forth throughout the +nation that ten new cadets, for some military reason or other, were to +be brought forward. The Conference here stepped forward, and did the +right thing. They drew up a most respectful and patriotic address upon +the subject to the President, and asked that three cadets out of those +ten should be men of color. The address was then sealed up, and sent to +McKinley. At Baltimore, also, under the leadership of Dr. Bryant, a +regiment of colored men was organized and drilled in good earnest. At +first many of these young volunteers were awkward enough, but we are all +awkward in the beginning. So they persevered, and in the course of time +became quite proficient; and I have no doubt, had the war lasted, and +they had gone to the front, and met the Spaniards in the open field, +that they would have whipped them hip and thigh, as other colored troops +did later on. The spirit of all our people was most excellent; we were +determined to see ourselves righted, and there were none but a few old +soreheads that stood in our way.</p> +<div class="align-center figure" id="colored-soldiers-and-musicians"> +<img style="display: block; width: 100%" alt="images/image36musicians.jpg" src="images/image36musicians.jpg" width="100%"/> +<div class="caption italics"> +COLORED SOLDIERS AND MUSICIANS</div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst">While we are getting ready to give the Dons a proper knock-down on +his own ground, it may not be amiss to notice the most unusual display +of American flags—the "Stars and Stripes"—that was made here all over +our beautiful city of Buffalo, where we still reside. At first we +thought that "The Queen City of the Lakes," as our city is called, was +simply ultra-patriotic, and wanted to be ahead of all our neighbors, but +soon all eyes were opened wide at our grand mistake, for we learned that +there was hardly a city, town, village or hamlet in the Union where the +self-same grand array of "Star-Spangled Banners" did not obtain. It was +flags, flags, flags, from one end of the nation to the other—nothing +but flags! I think I am safe in saying that in any moderate-sized city +of the Union there were ten thousand flags flying at least. And these +national emblems of faith, loyalty and love were all sizes, from the +smallest to the largest. And not alone upon the broad street did the +banners fly, but in all the smaller streets and alleys—away up the +narrow and crooked alleys, where the poorer families of both races were +found, these self-same beautiful banners fluttered to the breeze, and +plainly said, "We are here in defense of our native country! No more +oppressive Dons for us! Freedom for Cuba, and for all the world. 'Tis +the Star-Spangled Banner, O Long May it Wave!"</p> +<p class="pnext">But the national feeling was exhibited in thousands of other ways +besides the flags in the open streets. Great meetings were held all over +the land; sermons were preached, and public prayers ascended to the +Throne of Grace for the speedy triumph of our armies over the oppressive +Spaniards. The very envelopes that went through the Postoffice were +stamped with miniature flags, and pictures of the Maine were hung up in +almost every house. No doubt many an ingenious man cleared a good, round +sum by a newly-brought-out device that was cast upon the public, and +eagerly bought up by almost everybody. An immense quantity of patriotic +poetry was also written, and scattered broadcast to all the four winds +of heaven; and it was read and quoted with most unbounded enthusiasm. +Music came in now for its full share. All the patriotic songs we had +were sung and played in public and private to their own well-known +tunes. The Star-Spangled Banner, indeed, "took the cake," and seemed to +be everywhere floating in the air. Even "John Bull," our true and +faithful friend across the seas, fell into line with us, and he placed +the Star-Spangled Banner from one end of the British Isles to the other. +"Mother England," indeed, was most loyal to us, even before we struck a +blow at the Spaniards, for she set down her foot against privateering on +the high seas, and Spain submitted to her against her own will!</p> +</div> +<div class="level-2 section" id="the-american-spanish-warii"> +<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref pginternal" href="#id26">THE AMERICAN-SPANISH WAR—II.</a></h2> +<div class="align-center figure"> +<img style="display: block; margin-left: 40%; width: 19%" alt="images/dec05.png" src="images/dec05.png" width="19%"/> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><em class="italics">The Brave Exploits of our Colored Regiments Around Santiago de +Cuba—Their Rescue of the Rough Riders—The Wounded in the +Hospitals—Regiments That Never Went to War—Great Flag Presentations at +New Orleans—The Colored Chaplains—The Killed, Wounded and Sick of the +War—Coming Home and Disbanding, Etc.—The Glorious Results of the +War—Colored Men Did Their Duty—Glory to God in the Highest!</em></p> +<p class="pnext">The reader will naturally expect an account of marching and +counter-marching, pitched battles, skirmishing, and all kinds of military +operations, such as I have already described in the war of 1861-'65. And +the reader is justified in such expectations; but this American-Spanish +War was one of the very shortest conflicts ever recorded in history, for +the whole affair was over in less than four months, having begun towards +the end of April, and concluded on the 12th of August, 1898. The readers +of my own people will now ask if there was no opportunity given us +whereby we might show our prowess upon the battle-field, like our +Anglo-Saxon brothers. Well, yes, we had opportunities given us to show +of what kind of material we were made, and I believe that all the +generals, officers and soldiers in the army awarded us the most +unstinted praise for what we did, and they did it with a most hearty +good will.</p> +<div class="align-center figure" id="spanish-american-war"> +<img style="display: block; width: 100%" alt="images/image37spanamwar.jpg" src="images/image37spanamwar.jpg" width="100%"/> +<div class="caption italics"> +SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR.</div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst">The heaviest fighting by land was done around the city of Santiago de +Cuba, the second city of the island, and the old Spanish capital of the +same. Santiago (which means "St. James," in Spanish) was very strongly +fortified, and pretty well defended by the ancient and modern methods of +an old nation going down in the world. On account of the great danger of +assaulting a city built upon hills, and thus strongly defended by nature +and art, Uncle Sam wisely decided to send his veteran troops there—not +merely the pick and cream of the volunteers—but first of all, the old, +well-seasoned regulars of the American standing army, of which there +were four regiments of colored men, that is to say, the Ninth and Tenth +Cavalry, and the Twenty-fourth and Twenty-fifth Infantry. Among the +first that went to Santiago in General Shafter's expedition were those +four regiments—brave, powerful, well-built fellows, big, brawny men, +who could knock Spaniards over like ninepins, and smite them hip and +thigh like the heroes of old. In the different engagements that took +place while the enemy was being driven into his beleaguered city, and +was being pushed back, back farther and farther, into the fortifications +of Santiago, these colored regiments did splendid service, laying on +with might and main, and making their enemy flee before them into his +last retreat. Our troops were usually mixed up with the whites in the +days in the end of June, and the beginning of July, and thus the history +of the one is the history of the other.</p> +<p class="pnext">Seeing, therefore, that they had been so well trained as regulars, we +need not wonder that they acquitted themselves so well in the +preliminary assault, that occurred before preparations were made for the +final advance on the doomed city. That part of the operations of our men +that caused most noise to be made in the newspapers and elsewhere took +place when Colonel Roosevelt and his Rough Riders advanced up one of the +hills that was overgrown with dense brushwood, where the Spaniards had +dug trenches along the face of the hill, and had run powerful wire +fences along the front of those trenches, from which they fired upon the +Americans as they came up the hill-side. The Rough Riders had a hard time +of it as they advanced in the face of the showers of balls that were +poured down upon them. Little progress did they make, although they lay +down again and again to let those leaden showers pass over their devoted +heads. Colonel Roosevelt had a horse killed under him, jumped off the +animal before it carried him under as it fell, and advanced up the hill +in advance of all his men, shouting to them to come on. Well, of course, +the men did come on; but some were killed here, and others were wounded +there; while as for the Spaniards, they went down like grass before the +scythe. As a general thing they were bad shots—as might be expected of +a dying nation still bragging of the deeds of their ancestors four +hundred years back; and they themselves swollen with ignorance and +pride, too haughty to be taught better ways! Thus the Rough Riders +gravely struggled up the hill-side, cutting the wire fences as they went, +clearing the retreating Spaniards out of the rifle-pits (or trenches, +rather), lying down and advancing again and again as best they could. +It was evident that they must suffer great losses, or might even fail +altogether.</p> +<p class="pnext">At this very crisis the Ninth and Tenth Cavalry, or United States +colored troops, were ordered forward to the rescue of their dismounted +brothers, and so dismounted, they advanced up the hill-side, laughing +and hurrahing with as much trained ease, and as cheerfully as if they +had been upon their old parade grounds in the far West! Success against +the enemy was now assured. Our brave, well-seasoned veterans from the +West fired, advanced, lay down, chatted and laughed with their white +brothers, as they lay upon the ground, partly hidden among the +brushwood, tall grasses and bushes of the Cuban jungle; and thus the day +there was saved, and the white men were saved by the Ninth and Tenth +Cavalry, just in the self-same way as white and black had often saved +one another during the Civil War in the sixties. The wire fences were +cut, the trenches were cleared of their occupants, the hill-top was +gained, the Spaniards were set upon the run down the hill, on the other +side, and now our men could see their enemies, and have a straight shot +at them as they ran down the open, in full retreat and rapid flight. Our +own trained heroes followed fast after them, dropping on one knee every +now and then, to get a steadier aim at the fleeing Spaniards and thus +they fell at a rapid rate before our guns.</p> +<p class="pnext">While it is true that there was no desire among our own men to be vain +of their achievements when they had thus timely assisted in saving and +winning the field, still, the wild and hearty cheers that were there and +then given to the black soldiers by their white comrades were very +encouraging, indeed, to the hearts of the former. Many of the letters +sent home and published in the papers were quite unstinted in their +praise, and showed how the white men shouted their loudest huzzas to the +colored men, swung their arms and caps in the air, and made other +demonstrations of mutual good will and delight. Most of the Republican +papers, and even some of the Democratic and others wrote editorials and +other shorter and well-pointed paragraphs, too numerous for me either to +mention or extract. With the exception of the soreheads and those +whose stubborn natures love to hide all such promising things and keep +them from public favor, there were none who failed to do us that justice +to which we were entitled.</p> +<p class="pnext">As for the Twenty-fourth and Twenty-fifth Colored Infantry, they lent a +hand in the different actions that were fought around Santiago, and are +well spoken of by one and all whose duty, love or pleasure it was to +record the details of the fighting that took place in the environments +of Santiago de Cuba.</p> +<p class="pnext">But what shall we say of all those many regiments of colored men who +were raised in many different States, and drilled and put in a state of +readiness to march forward to the war, and assist in knocking down the +tottering powers of old and bigoted Spain? Did those men do nothing for +their country, after all their drillings and other mighty preparations +for the purpose of going to the field? What was the use of Camp This, or +Camp That, or Camp the Other Place to them? Either for good luck, or bad +luck, as it turned out, all those camps were of no use at all to them. +And it was just the same with the white volunteers and their camps. All, +indeed, were drilled, and lay to be called away at any moment—all were +in perfect readiness to go, and even very greatly desired to go; but few +went, for their services were not required, as the war came to an end on +the 12th of August, because "Old Spain" was fast going to the wall, as +the Bible says of the wicked, "I will laugh at your calamity, and mock +when your fear cometh." In fact, most that had been done in the war so +far had been done upon the sea. Dewey and Schley had sunk Spain's best +war ships, which circumstance placed the Spanish peninsula entirely at +our mercy. Then she was bankrupt and inferior to the United States in +every way. We had lost 264 men in the war, who were killed outright; but +how many thousands Spain lost, she is probably too proud ever to let us +know. She probably lost at least fifty to our one.</p> +<p class="pnext">A great deal has been written about the hospitals in and around +Santiago, and the conduct and sufferings of the patients who were +treated there. It has been universally stated of the colored men who +were treated for wounds that they were most exemplary and patient in +every way, and even ready and willing to give way in favor of those +white soldiers who lay side by side with them, waiting to be treated by +the doctors on hand. It is really touching to read in the public papers +how our own men insisted on their unfortunate suffering neighbors being +treated first, and that they themselves would wait. "He is worse than I +am, I can wait!"—and—"He is shot through the body, while I am only +wounded in the arms; save him first!" This is the very essence of all +generosity. This, indeed, is the most tender-hearted mercy and +Christianity. If there is any bravery and nobility of character upon +earth, this, indeed, is it. And the white Americans in the hospital were +quite as generous as the colored men—to both their colored and white +companions, according to the direct testimony and eye witness of foreign +and domestic correspondents right there and then on the ground. There +was no color line even dreamed of in the fields and hospitals of +Santiago. It is only in the day of health and pride that people can +afford to draw that line. But in the day of distress, and when death is +hovering over us, then all that kind of foolishness is driven far away, +and we only know that God has made of one blood all the nations upon +earth.</p> +<p class="pnext">It is quite refreshing to look back even now, and think upon the grand +times we had when flags were raised on our houses, or flags were +presented to regiments of volunteers getting ready to go to fight the +Spaniards. I here select from the Southwestern Christian Advocate, of +New Orleans, an organ of the M. E. Church, the following vivid +description of the presentation of a flag to colored troops at New +Orleans:</p> +<p class="pnext">"A GLORIOUS DAY AND A GREAT CROWD.</p> +<p class="pnext">"On Wednesday of last week, July 20th, there took place in this city, +the most patriotic demonstration that it has ever been my privilege to +witness. It was the occasion of the formal presentation of the +regimental flag, the national colors, and a Red Cross flag to the Ninth +Infantry Regiment of United States Volunteers, by the Afro-American +citizens of New Orleans. Fully ten thousand people took part in what has +been said to be the most enthusiastic gathering around the Nation's flag +that has ever assembled in the Crescent City for years, if ever before. +Political parties and denominational antagonisms were lost sight of in +the fixed purpose to do honor to our boys in blue. It was thrilling, +inspiring, to see a thousand black soldiers standing in line before the +grandstand, with eyes to the front, and ears attentive to the words of +the speakers.</p> +<p class="pnext">"The committee on programme had done their work well in selecting such +an array of talent for the occasion. The Hon. J. Madison Vance, was +master of ceremonies. The grace and dignity with which he conducted the +exercises were worthy of the occasion.</p> +<p class="pnext">"Rev. W. R. Butler, pastor of the First Street M. E. Church, led in a +fervent and earnest prayer for the protection of our boys, and the +success of our army. Rev. Dr. Scott, the editor of The Southwestern +Christian Advocate, was the orator of the day. His speech was scholarly, +burning with eloquence, and full of patriotism, and words of advice for +the black boys in blue. Again and again he was interrupted by the +wildest applause by the vast concourse of people.</p> +<p class="pnext">"I am sorry that space forbids the giving of the whole address. I simply +give this. He said: 'We shall always look to you as our regiment, our +boys. We are glad to see you here; glad to have you respond so readily +to your country's call; glad you had the opportunity to do so. We +present this flag, hoping it will ever signify to you the interest we +feel in you, and impress you with your responsibility to your country +and your race. We are a part of a great nation, and there are many +reasons why we should be patriotic and true. The strength of a nation is +largely measured by its patriotism. If the citizens of a country are +devoted to the highest and best interests of that country there is +little cause to fear. Patriotism enlists armies and develops martyrs.'</p> +<p class="pnext">"The flag was presented by Dr. L. H. Reynolds, editor 'The African +Methodist,' published in this city. Dr. Reynolds is gifted as a speaker, +and the thrilling occasion warmed his heart. His words, patriotic and +weighty, stirred the entire assembly, which cheered him to the echo.</p> +<p class="pnext">"At the conclusion of the address, Mr. Vance introduced Major Armand +Romain, 'as a remarkable son, from one of the best homes of the South,' +who received the beautiful and costly flag with well-chosen words. As +the flag was unfolded, the cheering was deafening. The officers and +soldiers joined with the people in cheering the colors of the Ninth +Regiment. This flag was purchased by a committee of ladies and gentlemen +organized for that purpose.</p> +<p class="pnext">"The Red Cross flag was presented by Miss Emma M. Williams, who +represented the donor, 'The Phillis Wheatley Club,' and it was received +on behalf of the regiment by Lieutenant Barnett. The National colors +were given by the Israel Lodge of the Grand United Order of Odd +Fellows, and they were presented in a happy speech by the Rev. R. A. +Alston, of this city. Major Harrison, in his characteristic and earnest +way, received the colors for the regiment amid great applause. Colonel +Crane, Major Harrison, and the other members of the staff, were called +forward and given three cheers, most heartily.</p> +<p class="pnext">"The Rev. T. A. Wilson, on behalf of the A. M. E. Church, presented the +regiment with a number of small Bibles and song books. Resolutions +pledging loyal support to President McKinley and the country were +unanimously adopted.</p> +<p class="pnext">"Among others who served on the programme were Miss E. V. Edwards, Miss +Ida Cohen, Miss Naomi Kitchens and Mr. A. Lewis. The soldiers seemed +happy over the way their friends and loved ones remembered them, and I +am sure they will sustain the confidence of the friends at home—never +letting the old flag touch the ground.</p> +<p class="pnext right smaller">"R. E. J."</p> +<p class="pnext">The above article is taken from the Southwestern Christian Advocate, of +New Orleans, for Thursday, the 28th of July, 1898. There is more of it, +but the lines that follow are only taken up with the names of those who +were on the different committees.</p> +<p class="pnext">The careful reader must have observed in the article given above what a +large share the preachers of the gospel had in the above flag +presentations at New Orleans. And right here it may be proper for me to +remark that the entire press of this country, so far as they have +written on the subject, had given the greatest praise to the colored +chaplains of the four regular regiments, United States cavalry and +infantry, and mention what a deal their fatherly care and guidance had +to do with the building up of the troops. And the same is equally true +of those chaplains of those volunteer regiments that got ready for the +field, but never went to the war, because they were not called upon to +do so.</p> +<p class="pnext">Although the war with Spain is now over, at this writing (September, +1898), I know not what may be the ultimate destination of the numerous +colored volunteer regiments that were organized for the war, which will +be retained for the country's service, and which will be disbanded and +sent home. There is, however, one regiment from Illinois, all the +officers being colored, from the colonel down, who have been sent to +assist in the garrisoning of Santiago de Cuba.</p> +<p class="pnext">The authorities at Washington have not been slow to reward bravery in +the late war with Spain, as the following short article from an exchange +will show:</p> +<p class="pnext">"NEGRO BRAVERY REWARDED.</p> +<p class="pnext">"Washington, D. C., August, 1898.—Six colored non-commissioned officers, +who rendered particularly gallant and meritorious service in the face of +the enemy in the actions around Santiago on July 1st and 2nd, have been +appointed second lieutenants in two of the colored immune regiments +recently organized under special acts of Congress. These men are +Sergeants William Washington, of Troop F, and John C. Proctor, of Troop +I, of the Ninth Cavalry; and Sergeants William McBonjar, of Company H; +Wyatt Hoffman, of Company G; Mason Russell, of Company H, and Andrew J. +Smith, of Company B, of the Twenty-fifth Infantry, commanded by Colonel +Daggatt. These two Negro regiments were in the thick of the fierce +fighting at El Caney and San Juan, and won high praise for their courage +and efficiency. The Ninth Cavalry was also with the Rough Riders at La +Quasina."</p> +<p class="pnext">As the above extract will show, there has been a disposition shown at +Washington to reward bravery, and reward it at once. People have not +been wanting to point out who ought to be honored, and honor has been +forthcoming on all hands.</p> +<p class="pnext">While I am engaged writing these pages, the war is practically over, and +a great many of the regiments are being disbanded and sent home. It is +expected, however, that a larger army will be maintained at the national +expense than ever before. We used to support 25,000 men, but now we have +the Philippine Islands, Cuba and Porto Rico on our hands, besides home +duties and the Hawaiian Islands, and therefore we shall need more men +than before; at least, for some time to come. But all these things must +be settled by the authorities at Washington.</p> +<p class="pnext">While it is now my mournful task once more to revert to the 266 men +killed on the Maine, and the 264 killed in battle, our list of wounded +was much higher; while those who died of fevers contracted in the +tropical climates, and came home sick, were, indeed, a mournful subject +for us to think about. Our men were not used to the heat and rains of +the East and West Indies, or even to the lowlands of Florida, and other +far Southern States, which rendered them more helpless than children, so +that many died far away from home, while others were too weak to be +moved. Some died on the way, and many were carried into our hospitals as +soon as they arrived at their destinations. Most of those who could +stand the journey were sent on their way home, and all seemed to be glad +that the war was over.</p> +<p class="pnext">It is hardly necessary for me to say that this war has largely had the +happy result of greatly elevating the character of the United States +before the whole world. We are now a second-class naval power, and our +praises are sung in all lands, from one end of the world to the other. +Our armies that fought on shore at Manilla and Santiago have been +honored by the nations of the earth, "Mother England," and all the +rest—no matter whether they are willing or not. Immense good will +follow to Cuba, Porto Rico, the Philippines, and, indeed, all mankind, +for we will teach them what a moral, Christian and talented people we +are. And we have done all this in less than four months—at the loss of +very few lives, indeed, and not at much expense. I feel that Almighty +God has been the head and spring of all this; and I am also proud that +my own people have done their whole duty, and done it well.</p> +<p class="pnext right smaller">BEULAH LINCOLN.</p> +<div class="align-center figure"> +<img style="display: block; margin-left: 40%; width: 19%" alt="images/dec16.png" src="images/dec16.png" width="19%"/> +<div class="caption italics"> +<em class="italics">FINIS.</em></div> +</div> +</div> +<div class="level-2 section" id="blacks-in-the-revolutionary-war-and-in-1812"> +<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref pginternal" href="#id27">BLACKS IN THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR AND IN 1812.</a></h2> +<div class="align-center figure"> +<img style="display: block; margin-left: 40%; width: 19%" alt="images/dec04.png" src="images/dec04.png" width="19%"/> +</div> +<p class="pfirst">I now undertake to write a history of the part which the colored men +took in the great American Rebellion. Previous to entering upon that +subject, however, I may be pardoned for bringing before the reader the +condition of the blacks previous to the breaking out of the war.</p> +<div class="align-center figure" id="the-boston-massacre"> +<img style="display: block; width: 100%" alt="images/image38bostonmassacre.jpg" src="images/image38bostonmassacre.jpg" width="100%"/> +<div class="caption italics"> +THE BOSTON MASSACRE.</div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst">The Declaration of American Independence, made July 4th, 1776, had +scarcely been enunciated, and an organization of the government +commenced, ere the people found themselves surrounded by new and trying +difficulties, which, for a time, threatened to wreck the ship of state. +The forty-five slaves landed on the banks of the James river, in the +colony of Virginia, from the coast of Africa, in 1620, had multiplied to +several thousands, and were influencing the political, social and +religious institutions of the country. Brought into the colonies against +their will; made the hewers of wood, and the drawers of water; +considered in the light of law and public opinion as mere chattels, +things to be bought and sold at the will of the owner; driven to their +unrequited toil by unfeeling men, picked for the purpose from the lowest +and most degraded of the uneducated whites, whose moral, social and +political degradation by slavery was equal to that of the slave—the +condition of the Negro was indeed a sad one!</p> +<p class="pnext">The history of this people, full of sorrow, blood and tears, is full +also of instruction for mankind. God has so ordered it that one class +shall not degrade another without becoming themselves contaminated. So +with slavery in America. The institution bred in the master insulting +arrogance, deteriorating sloth, pampered the loathsome lust it inflamed +until licentious luxury sapped the strength and rottened the virtue of +the slave owners of the South.</p> +<p class="pnext">Never were the institutions of a people, or the principles of liberty, +put to such a severe test as those of the American Republic. The +convention to frame the Constitution for the Government of the United +States had not organized before the slave-masters began to press the +claims of their system upon the delegates. They wanted their property +represented in the National Congress, and undue guarantees thrown around +it; they wanted the African slave-trade made lawful, and their victims +returned if they should attempt to escape; they begged that an article +might be inserted in the Constitution making it the duty of the general +government to put down the slaves if they should imitate their masters +in striking a blow for freedom. They seemed afraid of the very evil they +were clinging to closely to. "Thus conscience doth make cowards of us +all."</p> +<p class="pnext">In all this early difficulty, South Carolina took the lead against +humanity, her delegates ever showing themselves the foes of freedom. +Both in the Federal Convention to frame the Constitution, and in the +State Conventions to ratify the same, it was admitted that the blacks +had fought bravely against the British, and in favor of the American +Republic, for the fact that a black man (Crispus Attucks) was the first +to give his life at the commencement of the Revolution, was still fresh +in their minds. Eighteen years previous to the breaking out of the war, +Attucks was held as a slave by Mr. William Brown, of Framingham, Mass., +and from whom he escaped about that time, taking up his residence in +Boston.</p> +<p class="pnext">The Boston Massacre, March, 5th, 1770, may be regarded as the first act +of the great drama of the American Revolution. "From that moment," said +Daniel Webster, "we may date the severance of the British Empire." The +presence of the British soldiers in King street excited the patriotic +indignation of the people. The whole community was stirred, and sage +counsellors were deliberating, and writing, and talking about the public +grievance. But it was not for "the wise and prudent" to be the first to +act against the encroachments of arbitrary power. "A motley rabble of +saucy boys, Negroes and mulattoes, Irish teagues, and outlandish +Jacktars" (as John Adams described them in his plea in defence of the +soldiers) could not restrain their emotion, or stop to inquire if what +they must do was according to the letter of any law. Led by Crispus +Attucks, the mulatto slave, and shouting, "The way to get rid of these +soldiers is to attack the mainguard; strike at the root; this is the +nest!" with more valor than discretion, they rushed to King street, and +were fired upon by Captain Preston's company. Crispus Attucks was the +first to fall; he and Samuel Gray and Jonas Caldwell were killed on the +spot; Samuel Maverick and Patrick Carr were mortally wounded.</p> +<p class="pnext">The excitement which followed was intense. The bells of the town were +rung; an impromptu town meeting was held, and an immense assembly was +gathered. Three days after, on the 8th, a public funeral of the martyrs +took place. The shops of Boston were closed, and all the bells of Boston +and the neighboring towns were rung. It is said that a greater number of +persons assembled on this occasion than were ever before gathered on +this continent for a similar purpose. The body of Crispus Attucks, the +mulatto slave, had been placed in Faneuil Hall, with that of Caldwell, +both being strangers in the city. Maverick was buried from his mother's +house, on Union street, and Gray from his brothers, in Royal Exchange +Lane. The four hearses formed a junction in King street, and there the +procession marched in columns six deep, with a long file of coaches +belonging to the most distinguished citizens, to the Middle +burying-ground, where the four victims were deposited in one grave, over +which a stone was placed with this inscription:</p> +<blockquote><div> +<div class="line-block"> +<div class="line"> + </div> +<div class="line"> +"Long as in Freedom's cause the wise contend,</div> +<div class="line"> +Dear to your country shall your fame extend;</div> +<div class="line"> +While to the world the lettered stone shall tell</div> +<div class="line"> +Where Caldwell, Attucks, Gray, Maverick fell."</div> +<div class="line"> + </div> +</div> +</div></blockquote> +<p class="pfirst">The anniversary of this event was publicly commemorated in Boston by an +ovation and other exercises every year until after our national +independence was achieved, when the Fourth of July was substituted for +the Fifth of March, as the more proper day for a general celebration. +Not only was the event commemorated, but the martyrs who then gave up +their lives were remembered and honored.</p> +<p class="pnext">For half a century after the close of the war, the name of Crispus +Attucks was honorably mentioned by the most noted men of the country, +who were not blinded by foolish prejudice. At the battle of Bunker Hill, +Peter Salem, a Negro, distinguished himself by shooting Major Pitcairn, +who, in the midst of the battle, having passed the storm of fire without +mounting the redoubt, and waving the sword, cried to the rebels to +surrender. The fall of Pitcairn ended the battle in favor of liberty.</p> +<p class="pnext">A single passage from Mr. Bancroft's history will give a succinct and +clear account of the condition of the army in respect to colored +soldiers, at the time of the battle of Bunker Hill:</p> +<p class="pnext">"Nor should history forget to record that as in the army of Cambridge, +so also in this gallant band, the free Negroes of the colony had their +representatives. For the right of free Negroes to bear arms in the +public defence was at that day as little disputed in New England as +their other rights. They took their place, not in a separate corps, but +in the ranks with the white man; and their names may be read on the +pension rolls of the country, side by side with those of other soldiers +of the Revolution."—Bancroft's History of the United States, Vol. VII, +p. 421.</p> +<p class="pnext">The capture of Major-General Prescott, of the British army, on the 9th +of July, 1777, was an occasion of great joy throughout the country. +Prince, the valiant Negro who seized that officer, ought always to be +remembered with honor for his important service. The exploit was much +commended at the time, as its results were highly important; and Colonel +Barton very properly received from Congress the compliment of a sword +for his ingenuity and bravery. It seems, however, that it took more than +one head to plan and to execute the undertaking. The following account +of the capture is historical:</p> +<p class="pnext">"They landed about five miles from Newport, and three-quarters of a mile +from the house, which they approached cautiously, avoiding the +mainguard, which was at some distance. The Colonel went foremost, with a +stout, active Negro close behind him, and another at a small distance; +the rest followed so as to be near, but not seen.</p> +<p class="pnext">"A single sentinel at the door saw and hailed the Colonel. He answered +by exclaiming against and inquiring for rebel prisoners, but kept slowly +advancing. The sentinel again challenged him, and required the +countersign. He said he had not the countersign, but amused the sentry +by talking about rebel prisoners, and still advancing till he came +within reach of the bayonet, which, he presenting, the colonel suddenly +struck aside and seized him. He was immediately secured, and ordered to +be silent on pain of instant death.</p> +<p class="pnext">"Meanwhile the rest of the men surrounding the house, the Negro, with +his head, at the second stroke, forced a passage into it, and then into +the landlord's apartment. The landlord at first refused to give the +necessary intelligence, but on the prospect of present death, he pointed +to the general's chamber, which, being instantly opened by the Negro's +head, the Colonel calling the general by name, told him he was a +prisoner."—Pennsylvania Evening Post, August 7th, 1777 (in Frank Moore's +"Diary of the American Revolution," Vol. I, p. 468).</p> +<p class="pnext">There is abundant evidence of the fidelity and bravery of the colored +patriots of Rhode Island during the whole war. Before they had been +formed into a separate regiment, they had fought valiantly with the +white soldiers at Red Bank and elsewhere. Their conduct at the battle of +Rhode Island, on the 29th of August, 1778, entitles them to perpetual +honor. That battle has been pronounced by military authorities to have +been one of the best-fought battles of the Revolutionary War. Its +success was owing, in a great degree, to the good fighting of the Negro +soldiers. Mr. Arnold, in his "History of Rhode Island," thus closes his +account of it:</p> +<p class="pnext">"A third time the enemy, with desperate courage and increased strength, +attempted to assail the redoubt, and would have carried it, but for the +timely aid of two Continental battalions despatched by Sullivan to +support his almost exhausted troops. It was in repelling these furious +onsets that the newly-raised black regiment, under Col. Greene, +distinguished itself by deeds of desperate valor. Posted behind a +thicket in the valley, they three times drove back the Hessians, who +charged repeatedly down the hill to dislodge them; and so determined +were the enemy in these successive charges that the day after the +battle, the Hessian colonel, upon whom this duty had devolved, applied +to exchange his command, and go to New York, because he dared not lead +his regiment again to battle, lest his men should shoot him by having +caused them so much loss."—Arnold's History of Rhode Island, Vol. II, +pp. 427, 428.</p> +<p class="pnext">Three years later, these soldiers are thus mentioned by the Marquis de +Chastellux:</p> +<p class="pnext">"The 5th (of January, 1781), I did not set out till eleven, although I +had thirty miles' journey to Lebanon. At the passage to the ferry, I met +with a detachment of the Rhode Island regiment—the same corps we had +with us all the last summer; but they have since been recruited and +clothed. The greatest part of them are Negroes, or mulattoes; they are +strong, robust men, and those I have seen had a very good appearance."</p> +<p class="pnext">When Colonel Greene was surprised and murdered near Point Bridge, New +York, on the 14th of May, 1781, his colored soldiers heroically defended +him till they were cut to pieces; and the Negro reached him over the +dead bodies of his faithful Negroes. That large numbers of Negroes were +enrolled in the army, and served faithfully as soldiers during the whole +period of the war of the revolution, may be regarded as a +well-established historical fact, and it should be borne in mind that +the enlistment was not confined, by any means, to those who had before +enjoyed the privileges of free citizens. Very many slaves were offered +to and received by the army, on the condition that they were to be +emancipated either at the time of enlistment, or when they had served +out the term of their enlistment. The inconsistency of keeping in +slavery any person who had taken up arms for the defence of our national +liberty had led to the passing of an order forbidding slaves, as such, +to be received as soldiers.</p> +<p class="pnext">That colored men were equally serviceable in the last war with Great +Britain is true, as the following historical document will show:</p> +<p class="pnext">"GEN. JACKSON'S PROCLAMATION TO THE NEGROES.</p> +<p class="pnext right smaller">"Headquarters, Seventh Military District,</p> +<p class="pnext right smaller">"MOBILE, September 21st, 1814.</p> +<p class="pnext">"To the Free Colored Inhabitants of Louisiana:—</p> +<p class="pnext">"Through a mistaken policy, you have heretofore been deprived of a +participation in the glorious struggle for national rights, in which our +country is engaged. This no longer shall exist. As sons of freemen, you +are now called upon to defend our most inestimable blessing. As +Americans, your country looks with confidence to her adopted children +for a valorous support, as a faithful return for the advantages enjoyed +under her mild and equitable government. As fathers, husbands and +brothers, you are summoned to rally around the standard of the Eagle, to +defend all which is dear in existence. Your country, although calling +for your exertions, does not wish you to engage in her cause without +amply remunerating you for the services rendered. Your intelligent minds +are not to be led away by false representations. Your love of honor +would cause you to despise the man who should attempt to deceive you. In +the sincerity of a soldier, and the language of truth, I address you. To +every noble-hearted, generous freeman of color, volunteering to serve +during the present contest with Great Britain, and no longer, there will +be paid the same bounty in money and lands now received by the white +soldiers of the United States, viz: one hundred and twenty dollars in +money, and one hundred and sixty acres of land. The non-commissioned +officers and privates will also be entitled to the same monthly pay and +daily rations and clothes furnished to any American soldier.</p> +<p class="pnext">"On enrolling yourselves in companies, the Major-General commanding will +select officers for your government from your white fellow citizens; +your non-commissioned officers will be appointed from among yourselves.</p> +<p class="pnext">"Due regard will be paid to the feelings of freemen and soldiers. You +will not, by being associated with white men in the same corps, be +exposed to improper comparisons or unjust sarcasm. As a distinct, +independent battalion or regiment, pursuing the path of glory, you will, +undivided, receive the applause and gratitude of your countrymen. To +assure you of the sincerity of my intentions, and my anxiety to engage +your invaluable services to our country, I have communicated my wishes +to the Governor of Louisiana, who is fully informed as to the manner of +enrollment, and will give you every necessary information on the subject +of this address.</p> +<p class="pnext right smaller">"ANDREW JACKSON, Major-General Commanding."</p> +<p class="pnext">Three months later General Jackson addressed the same troops +as follows:</p> +<p class="pnext">"To the Men of Color, Soldiers:—</p> +<p class="pnext">"From the shores of Mobile I collected you to arms. I invited you to +share in the perils, and to divide the glory of your white countrymen. I +expected much from you, for I was not uninformed of those qualities +which must render you so formidable to an invading foe. I knew that you +could endure hunger and thirst, and all the hardships of war. I knew +that you loved the land of your nativity, and that, like ourselves, you +had to defend all that is most dear to man. But you surpass my hopes. I +have found in you, united to these qualities, that noble enthusiasm +which impels to great deeds.</p> +<p class="pnext">"Soldiers, the President of the United States shall be informed of your +conduct on the present occasion, and the voice of the Representatives of +the American nation shall applaud your valor, as your General now +praises your ardor. The enemy is near! His sails cover the lakes. But +the brave are united, and if he finds us contending with ourselves, it +will be for the prize of valor and fame—its noblest reward."</p> +<p class="pnext">Black men served in the navy with great credit to themselves, receiving +the commendation of Commodore Perry and other brave officers.</p> +<p class="pnext">Extract of a letter from Nathaniel Shaler, commander of the private +armed schooner General Tompkins, to his agent in New York, dated—</p> +<p class="pnext right smaller">"AT SEA, January 1st, 1813.</p> +<p class="pnext">"Before I could get our light sails in, and almost before I could turn +round, I was under the guns, not of a transport, but of a large frigate, +and not more than a quarter of a mile from her! Her first broadside +killed two men, and wounded six others. My officers conducted themselves +in a way that would have done honor to a more permanent service. The +name of one of my poor fellows who was killed ought to be registered in +the book of fame, and remembered with reverence as long as bravery is +considered a virtue. He was a black man, by the name of John Johnson. A +twenty-four pound shot struck him on the hip, and took away all the +lower part of his body. In this state, the poor, brave fellow lay on the +deck, and several times exclaimed to his shipmates, 'Fire away, my boy! +No haul a color down!' The other was also a black man, by the name of +John Davis, and was struck in much the same way. He fell near me, and +several times requested to be thrown overboard, saying he was only in +the way of others. When America has such tars she has little to fear +from the tyrants of the ocean."</p> +</div> +<div class="level-2 section" id="nick-biddle"> +<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref pginternal" href="#id28">"NICK" BIDDLE.</a></h2> +<div class="align-center figure"> +<img style="display: block; margin-left: 40%; width: 19%" alt="images/dec08.png" src="images/dec08.png" width="19%"/> +</div> +<p class="pfirst">The title of "First Defenders" has been given to the five companies of +Pennsylvania troops, two of which were from Schuylkill Co., one from +Reading, one from Allentown, and one from Lewistown, Pa., that marched +through Baltimore on the day before the Massachusetts soldiers were +mobbed in the streets on the way to defend the national capital. After +running the gauntlet of a furious rabble, the five companies reached +Washington on the evening of the 18th, and were quartered in the Capitol +Building. A pool of blood, which ran from the wounded cheek of "Nick" +Biddle, marked the spot on the Capitol floor, where he lay that night. +It was the first blood shed in the war for the Union. His grave is in +the colored churchyard in Pottsville, Pa.</p> +<blockquote><div> +<div class="line-block"> +<div class="line"> + </div> +<div class="line"> +The grave of "Nick" Biddle a Mecca should be,</div> +<div class="line"> +To Pilgrims who seek in this land of the free,</div> +<div class="line"> +The tombs of the lowly as well as the great,</div> +<div class="line"> +Who struggled for freedom in war or debate;</div> +<div class="line"> +For there lies a black man distinguished from all</div> +<div class="line"> +In that his veins furnished the first blood to fall</div> +<div class="line"> +In war for the Union, when traitors assailed</div> +<div class="line"> +Its brave "First Defenders," whose hearts never quailed.</div> +<div class="line"> +The eighteenth of April, eighteen sixty-one,</div> +<div class="line"> +Was the day "Nick" Biddle his great laurels won,</div> +<div class="line"> +In Baltimore city, where riot ran high,</div> +<div class="line"> +He stood by our banner to do or to die;</div> +<div class="line"> +And onward, responsive to liberty's call—</div> +<div class="line"> +The Capital City to reach ere it fall.</div> +<div class="line"> +Brave Biddle with others as true and as brave,</div> +<div class="line"> +Marched through the wild tempest, the nation to save.</div> +<div class="line"> +Their pathway was fearful, surrounded by foes,</div> +<div class="line"> +Who strove in fierce madness their course to oppose;</div> +<div class="line"> +Who hurl threats and curses defiant of law,</div> +<div class="line"> +And think by such methods they may overawe</div> +<div class="line"> +The gallant defenders, who nevertheless</div> +<div class="line"> +Hold back their resentment as forward they press,</div> +<div class="line"> +And conscious of noble endeavor, despise</div> +<div class="line"> +The flashing of weapons and traitorous eyes.</div> +<div class="line"> +Behold now the crisis! The mob thirsts for blood!</div> +<div class="line"> +It strikes down "Nick" Biddle, and opens the flood;</div> +<div class="line"> +The torrents of crimson from hearts that are true,</div> +<div class="line"> +That shall deepen and widen, shall clean and renew,</div> +<div class="line"> +The land of our fathers by slavery cursed.</div> +<div class="line"> +The blood of "Nick" Biddle—yes, it is the first,</div> +<div class="line"> +The patter of raindrops presaging the storm,</div> +<div class="line"> +That will rage and destroy till the nation reform.</div> +<div class="line"> +How strange, too, it seems that the Capitol floor,</div> +<div class="line"> +Where slave-holders sat in the Congress of yore,</div> +<div class="line"> +And forged for his kindred chains heavy to bear,</div> +<div class="line"> +To bind down the black man in endless despair,</div> +<div class="line"> +Should be stained with his blood, and thus sanctified,</div> +<div class="line"> +Made sacred to Freedom, through time to abide,</div> +<div class="line"> +A temple of justice, with every right</div> +<div class="line"> +For all of the nation—black, red men and white.</div> +<div class="line"> +The grave of "Nick" Biddle, though humble it be,</div> +<div class="line"> +Is nobler by far in the sight of the free</div> +<div class="line"> +Than tombs of those chieftains whose sinful crusade,</div> +<div class="line"> +Brought long years of mourning, and countless graves made;</div> +<div class="line"> +In striving to fetter their black fellow-men,</div> +<div class="line"> +And make of the Southland a vast prison pen,</div> +<div class="line"> +Their cause was unholy, but "Nick" Biddle was just—</div> +<div class="line"> +And hosts of pure spirits watch over his dust.</div> +<div class="line"> + </div> +</div> +</div></blockquote> +<div class="align-center figure" id="the-grave-of-nick-biddle"> +<img style="display: block; width: 100%" alt="images/image39biddle.jpg" src="images/image39biddle.jpg" width="100%"/> +<div class="caption italics"> +THE GRAVE OF NICK BIDDLE.</div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst">Deeds are indestructible; ideas are imperishable, and mind is immortal. +"Children," says George Eliot, "may be strangled, deeds never; they have +an indestructible life, both in mind and outside of our consciousness." +It is not to be wondered at, therefore, that many of the ancients of the +distant past should have predicated eternal life upon deeds and +ideas. Deeds which are formidable, and ideas which grow and expand, and +gather strength, until they become the very life of the social, moral +and religious structure of the nation. To my mind there can be no truer +measurement of a man, or a race, or a nation, than the standard of ideas +which formulate themselves into deeds. "Deeds and ideas," which, +according to Disraeli, "render a man independent of his constituencies, +independent of dissolution, independent even of the course of time."</p> +<div class="align-center figure" id="theodore-roosevelt"> +<img style="display: block; width: 100%" alt="images/image40troosevelt.jpg" src="images/image40troosevelt.jpg" width="100%"/> +<div class="caption italics"> +THEODORE ROOSEVELT.</div> +</div> +<p class="pfirst">Measure from this standard Theodore Roosevelt, the President of the +United States of America, is the most unique figure before the American +people to-day. No President since the days of Lincoln, the emancipator, +merits in a larger degree the unselfish praise and devotion, not only of +his countrymen, but of the whole civilized world. In the strictest sense +of the term, he is a man of destiny. Born, like all true leaders and +reformers, at a particular time, for a particular purpose; endowed by +nature with a constitution which defies the encroachment of disease; +with an intellect which craves the most rigid discipline; with a courage +which knows no daring, and a conscience which repels the slightest +innovation which might result to the detriment of his fellow-man, +regardless of race, color or creed. It was for Abraham Lincoln to issue +the proclamation of freedom, and thus save the nation from +disintegration; it is for Theodore Roosevelt to preserve that +proclamation, and preserve the amendments to the Constitution, which is +the very life of the freedom guaranteed to the emancipated. From the +time of President Grant down to the present time, there has been a +persistent attempt on the part of the South to paralyze the spirit and +practice of the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments to the +Constitution, without which freed men would have no legal standing in +the nation.</p> +<p class="pnext">The amendments received a dangerous wound during the administration of +President Hayes. From the effects of this wound it hardly ever +recovered. When, by a strange Providence, Theodore Roosevelt was called +suddenly to occupy the place of the martyred President McKinley, a most +lovable and peaceful man, black men and their friends, all over the +country, rejoiced in the hope of a better day, when right and justice +would succeed policy and conciliation. In this we were not mistaken. Not +that Theodore Roosevelt loves the black man any more than any of his +predecessors, but that Theodore Roosevelt has convictions and the +courage of his convictions, regardless of consequences. The appended +correspondence, which explains itself, will render him immortal, and +will keep his memory fresh in the recollection of his fellow-men, and +when future historians chronicle his acts, they shall speak of him as +"Theodore, the Great and the Good."</p> +</div> +<div class="level-2 section" id="color-is-no-bar-to-office"> +<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref pginternal" href="#id29">COLOR IS NO BAR TO OFFICE.</a></h2> +<div class="align-center figure"> +<img style="display: block; margin-left: 40%; width: 19%" alt="images/dec03.png" src="images/dec03.png" width="19%"/> +</div> +<p class="pfirst"><em class="italics">President Roosevelt Defines His Attitude—In a Letter to a South +Carolinian, Who Includes in a Number of Objections to the Appointment of +Dr. Crum as Collector of the Port of Charleston the Statement That He is +a Negro, the President Declares That He Will Continue to Appoint Colored +Men of Intelligence and Standing—Incentive to Good Citizenship.</em></p> +<p class="pnext">Washington, November 27.—The President has sent the following +communication to a prominent citizen of Charleston, S. C.:</p> +<p class="pnext">"Personal.</p> +<p class="pnext">"WHITE HOUSE,</p> +<p class="pnext">"Washington, November 26th, 1902.</p> +<p class="pnext">"My Dear Sir:—I am in receipt of your letter of November 10th, +and one from Mr. ——, under date of November 11th, in +reference to the appointment of Dr. Crum as collector of the +port of Charleston.</p> +<p class="pnext">"In your letter you make certain specific charges against Dr. +Crum, tending to show his unfitness in several respects for the +office sought. These charges are entitled to the utmost +consideration from me, and I shall go over them carefully +before taking any action. After making these charges, you add, +as a further reason for opposition to him, that he is a colored +man; and after reciting the misdeeds that followed carpet-bag +rule and Negro domination in South Carolina, you say that 'we +have sworn never again to submit to the rule of the African, +and such an appointment as that of Dr. Crum to any such office +forces us to protest unanimously against this insult to the +white blood,' and you add that you understood me to say that I +would never force a Negro on such a community as yours. Mr. +—— puts the objection of color first, saying, 'First, he is a +colored man, and that of itself ought to bar him from the +office.'</p> +<p class="pnext">"In view of these last statements, I think I ought to make +clear to you why I am concerned and pained by your making them, +and what my attitude is as regards all such appointments. How +anyone could have gained the idea that I had said I would not +appoint reputable and upright colored men to office when +objection was made to them solely on account of their color, I +confess I am wholly unable to understand. At the time of my +visit to Charleston last spring, I had made, and since that +time I have made, a number of such appointments from several +States in which there was considerable colored population. For +example, I made one such appointment in Mississippi, and +another in Alabama shortly before my visit to Charleston. I had +at that time appointed two colored men as judicial magistrates +in the District of Columbia. I have recently announced another +such appointment for New Orleans, and have just made one from +Pennsylvania. The great majority of my appointments in every +State have been of white men. North and South alike it has been +my sedulous endeavor to appoint only men of high character and +good capacity, whether white or black. But it has been my +consistent policy in every State where their numbers warranted +it to recognize colored men of good repute and standing in +making appointments to office. These appointments of colored +men have in no State made more than a small proportion of the +total number of appointments. I am unable to see how I can +legitimately be asked to make an exception for South Carolina. +In South Carolina, to the four most important positions in the +State, I have appointed three men and continued in office a +fourth, all of them white men—three originally Gold Democrats; +two of them, as I am informed, the sons of Confederate +soldiers. I have been informed by the citizens of Charleston +whom I met that these four men represent a high grade of public +service.</p> +<p class="pnext">"I do not intend to appoint any unfit man to office. So far as +I legitimately can I shall always endeavor to pay regard to the +wishes and feelings of the people of each locality, but I +cannot consent to take the position that the door of hope—the +door of opportunity—is to be shut upon any man, no matter how +worthy, purely upon the grounds of race or color. Such an +attitude would, according to my convictions, be fundamentally +wrong. If, as you hold, the great bulk of the colored people +are not yet fit in point of character and influence to hold +such positions, it seems to me that it is worth while putting a +premium upon the effort among them to achieve the character and +standing which will fit them.</p> +<p class="pnext">"The question of 'Negro domination' does not enter into the +matter at all. It might as well be asserted that when I was +Governor of New York, I sought to bring about Negro domination +in that State because I appointed two colored men of good +character and standing to responsible positions—one of them to +a position paying a salary twice as large as that paid in the +office now under consideration; one of them as a director of +the Buffalo Exposition. The question raised by you and Mr.—— +in the statements to which I refer is simply whether it is to +be declared that under no circumstances shall any man of color, +no matter how upright and honest, no matter how good a citizen, +no matter how fair in his dealings with all his fellows, be +permitted to hold any office under our government.</p> +<p class="pnext">"I certainly cannot assume such an attitude, and you must +permit me to say that in my view it is an attitude no man +should assume, whether he looks at it from the standpoint of +the true interest of the white man of the South or of the +colored man of the South—not to speak of any other section of +the Union. It seems to me that it is a good thing from every +standpoint to let the colored man know that if he shows in +marked degree the qualities of good citizenship—that the +qualities which in a white man we feel are entitled to +reward—then he will not be cut off from all hope of similar +reward.</p> +<p class="pnext">"Without any regard as to what my decision may be on the merits +of this particular applicant for this particular place, I feel +that I ought to let you know clearly my attitude on the far +broader question raised by you and Mr. ——, an attitude from +which I have not varied during my term of office.</p> +<p class="pnext">"Faithfully yours,</p> +<p class="pnext right">"THEODORE ROOSEVELT.</p> +<p class="pnext right">"Hon. ——</p> +<p class="pnext right">"Charleston, S. C."</p> +<p class="center pnext smaller">[Transcriber's note: Original spelling varieties have been maintained.]</p> +<div class="vspace" style="height: 5em"> +</div> +<div>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 35189 ***</div> +</body> +</html> |