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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..c246276 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #68234 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/68234) diff --git a/old/68234-0.txt b/old/68234-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 0f934a1..0000000 --- a/old/68234-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,4652 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of Martha Schofield pioneer Negro -educator, by Matilda A. Evans - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: Martha Schofield pioneer Negro educator - Historical and philosophical review of reconstruction period of - South Carolina - -Author: Matilda A. Evans - -Release Date: June 4, 2022 [eBook #68234] - -Language: English - -Produced by: Charlene Taylor and the Online Distributed Proofreading - Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from - images generously made available by The Internet - Archive/American Libraries.) - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MARTHA SCHOFIELD PIONEER -NEGRO EDUCATOR *** - - - - - - Martha Schofield - - Pioneer Negro Educator - - [Illustration] - - Historical and Philosophical Review - of Reconstruction Period of - South Carolina - - [Illustration] - - By MATILDA A. EVANS, M. D. - Graduate Schofield School - - - - - Copyright, 1916. - BY MATILDA A. EVANS, M. D. - - - DuPre Printing Company, Columbia, S.C. - - - - -Dedicatory - - -To the men and women who braved the dangers and suffered the hardships -of frontier life and bore with fortitude the pain of social ostracism -and the sting of poison slander that through their work a lowly race -might be educated, this work is respectfully dedicated by - - THE AUTHOR. - - - - -FOREWORD - - -One of the benefits conferred by education is that of enlightening the -mind on the subject of one’s duty. Finding what is duty the manner -of discharging it will suggest itself to the alert, the active, and -those of industrious and intelligent discernment. Perhaps forever -hidden would remain the necessity for certain tasks were it not for the -inspiration idealists receive from education. This education, if proper -and well rounded, also forces all who embrace it into the line of work -promising the accomplishment of the greatest achievements--achievements -such as in leaving foot-prints on the sands of time leave no mark of -dishonor but such as really and truly do give new heart and new hope -and new courage to the weaker brother. - -That Martha Schofield was inspired by the highest motives that -possibly could influence any one in choosing an occupation to be made -a life-work is evidenced by the personal sacrifices she made in order -to engage in it. The fortitude with which she bore the poison sting -of slander, the cruel whip of character assassination and braved the -threats of personal violence forcibly attests the sincerity actuating -her in pursuing her chosen work. The results accomplished by the fifty -years of earnest endeavor by her form a tribute to efficiency of -women in administrative affairs that is seldom ever equaled by other -human beings claiming greater strength by reason of sex. When the -final history of the war between ignorance and enlightenment, between -superstition and science, between vice and virtue shall have been -written of the colored race the foremost name among all will be--Martha -Schofield--Pioneer Negro Educator. - - MATILDA A. EVANS, M. D., - Columbia, S. C. - - - - -Martha Schofield - - - - -CHAPTER I. - -THE HUNTED BEAST. - - -A woman apparently thirty years of age, of mulatto skin, fell limp into -a chair in the kitchen of Mrs. Oliver Schofield of Darby, Bucks County, -Pennsylvania about the year 1857, with blood hounds and the voices of -angry men following close upon her heels through the tangled swamps -from which she had just emerged. - -“Who can thee be? Who can thee be?--and what does thee want here?” -inquired excited Mrs. Schofield as she dropped the dish rag and rushed -to the prostrate form in the chair, eager to render aid and comfort to -the suffering and afflicted woman as well as to ascertain the cause of -her abrupt, unannounced entrance into her home. - -Out of breath from the long run made necessary to escape the dogs -and the traps laid by experienced officers of the law who had been -so diligently upon her trail for more than a week, that she had had -time to stop and rest and take nourishment for only a few minutes at -a time, Laura Duncan was unable at first to give any coherent account -of herself. She managed, however, to make it known to the kind Quaker -lady that she was an escaped slave and was endeavoring with all speed -possible to reach the Canadian border and enter the world of freedom, -which she had been informed existed under the British flag in the -Dominion of Canada for all who might enter that country. - -As causes moving her to take this drastic step in defiance of the -law of her own land and the possibility of involving the liberty -and happiness of all who might be kind enough to assist her in the -accomplishment of the task, she recited such evils as brought tears -to the eyes of her enforced host. She exhibited a lash-scared back, -a broken bone or two and a deep cut on the head that had since been -healed without serious results only by the aid of a skillful surgeon. - -But the physical suffering attested by these outward signs of the -practice of brutality on the woman were but a fraction of the pain and -torture which Miss Schofield knew was gnashing at her heart over the -parting of herself and husband and children more than a month before, -when at a public sale little Gabe, her ten year old son, and Jennie, -the only daughter, and her husband, “Jim,” were each sold to different -masters in as many different States and carried away where she would -never see or hear of any of them again. - -“Martha” said Mrs. Schofield addressing her daughter, whose face was -covered in an immaculate white apron that adorned her whole front, to -hide the freely flowing tears that rushed from her eyes like water from -the fountains, “do thee find thy father at once and tell him to come to -the house as quickly as possible.” - -Then laying her arms around the body of the inconsolable wife and -mother she spoke words of consolation and cheer, assuring her that God -in his own way and wisdom would destroy the power of the government of -human beings by the lash, would break the chains that bind the hand and -foot and visit a just retribution on all those responsible for the sale -of babies from the breasts of mothers. She begged and pleaded earnestly -that Laura abandon the attempt to escape and entreated her to surrender -to the officers and return to her master, but the slave, chafing under -the influence of a life of injustice and brutality, expressed a firmer -determination than ever before, to continue on in her course and begged -pitiably of her host that her presence in the home be not divulged. She -threatened suicide if captured. - -Mr. Schofield, himself, by this time had reached the house and -instantly grasping the situation, requested of Mrs. Schofield a -familiar old shawl and bonnet of hers. Dressed in these Laura, in -company with Mr. Schofield, passed readily as Mary, his wife, among -acquaintances of the latter, and successfully eluded all pursuit by -the officers, who a half hour after her departure had ransacked the -Schofield home from turret to foundation stone in search of the fleeing -fugitive. - -Reaching a zone safely out of reach of harm’s way, the leader of the -church of the Society Friends, deposited his burden, wishing her -God-speed in her undertaking and placing in her hand one dollar in gold -to assist her on her journey, turned his horse, after many days on the -road, and made his way slowly back home, with a painful heart. - -During the interval of her husband’s departure and return, Mrs. -Schofield was kept busy in the attempt to control the indignant and -outraged feelings of Martha, who had gone to her mother dozens of times -with the question of the justice and mercy of God and the wisdom and -power of the government in permitting the fettering of four million -bodies in chains and the trampling under foot by brutal might of all -the sacred relations of wife, father and child. - -“Ah, my daughter, ’tis not for thee to question the mysterious workings -of God,” she would reply, “in the Master’s own time and way He will -touch the auction block, the slave pen and the whipping post, and in -their place thee shall see what thy dear heart desires so much to -see--happy homes and firesides, and school houses and books, where -today thee only sees crime and cruelty and fear.” - -“But mother,” Martha would protest, “for how much longer must the poor -ignorant slaves endure the infinite outrages heaped upon them by reason -of the barbarism of the slave-holding oligarchy? Have they not suffered -enough already? Is it not time to close the door on the slave-holding -class and render judgment as swift and implacable as death? Their -cause was brought forth in iniquity and consummated in crime, and I -for one believe God would only be served by our societies (the Society -of Friends and the Abolitionist Society) hastening on the inevitable -civil conflict, believed by most people as absolutely necessary in the -settlement of the whole question of slavery.” - -“My daughter, oh, my daughter, pray thee do not talk that way” said her -mother in tones of profound anxiety; “does not the good book command -thee not to kill? Eternal torment for thy portion if thou should -commit murder, and to wish it to be done is father to the deed. Oh, my -daughter! my daughter! thee frightens me!” - -“Oh, no my mother, there’s no murder in my heart, I assure thee,” said -Martha; “I only desire the government’s protection for every human -being subject to its authority and I want that same authority to turn -every auction block and slave pen into a school house even if its -necessary to exact by bullet every drop of blood that has been spilled -by the lash, in accomplishing this result. Thee must concede that the -Bible also teaches us to exact an eye for an eye and a tooth for a -tooth. But I wish this to be done, Mother, only to make possible a -happier and blesseder existence here on this earth for a lowly race, -when all other means of accomplishing so desirable an end have been -tried and proven in vain.” - -[Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -REVOLUTION AND WAR. - - -During the ten years intervening between the precipitate appearance -of the runaway slave at the Schofield home and the coming to Edisto -Island, South Carolina, of Miss Martha Schofield for the purpose of -founding an industrial school for the colored race, the new form of -liberty conceived by our fore-fathers and dedicated to the principle -that all men are born free and equal, had been put to a severe test as -to whether this new form of government could be put into practice. The -great Civil War predicted by Martha as inevitable in the settlement of -the problem of slavery broke out in all its fury in 1860-61 and was -not only attended by the loss of hundreds of thousands of priceless -lives, whose bodies filled countless hospitals of pain, and made gory -the prairies and furrows of old fields, as they on the side of the -South as well as they on the side of the North bled and died for the -eternal right as each saw what was their duty; but the demoralization -precipitated by this gigantic conflict, followed by the assassination -of President Lincoln, the idol of the whole free-civilized world, was -even more staggering in its influence on the lives and fortunes of -those left to solve the problems created by the great revolution. - -The waste of inconceivable sums of money through the awarding of -contracts involving millions and millions of dollars by which fortunes, -through little or no effort at all, were made in a single night was -openly countenanced at Washington. - -Superfluous wealth chocked the nation at the North with its mighty grip -and the riot of speculation, corruption and debauchery which followed, -in the voting away of the public lands free of any charge to private -corporations and the granting of subsidies of millions of dollars -without any compensation whatever, laid such burdens upon the people -that many of them until this day (1916) remain undischarged. - -The paralysis experienced by the business interests as a result of -this whirlwind of corruption resulted in the decline of the credit -of the country to such an extent that the six per cent. bonds of the -Republic dropped to about seventy-three cents on the dollar in the open -market. But the disastrous financial calamity which the war produced is -of no consequence in comparison with the moral degradation into which -the country sank. - -A few years before the panic of 1873 nearly everybody in the North and -West, where conditions were prosperous in spite of the war, wanted to -go to the cities where fortunes were waiting for them, and almost every -farmer’s son took an oath that he would never cultivate the soil. At -the age of twenty-one they left the dreary and desolate farms in droves -and rushed to the cities to become bookkeepers, doctors, lawyers, -merchants and sewing machine agents, anything to escape the heavy work -of the farm. Those with capital wanted to engage in something promising -huge and quick returns and so these built railroads, established banks -and insurance companies. Some speculated in stocks of Wall Street, -while others gambled in grain in Chicago with the result that the -riches of the whole country flowed to their coffers in immense volume, -and in their carriages and palaces the pitied their poor brothers on -the farm, who as earnestly envied them. - -But the lap of luxury in which these citizens were being nursed was -doomed to become thread-bare as, indeed, it did do, and always will -do, when the world’s advance is checked by the want of assistance and -co-operation of all classes of laborers. The railroad and insurance -presidents became bankrupts and their companies went into the hands of -receivers by the score. Large numbers of young men who imagined they -had entirely too much education to be wasted on the farm and flocked -to the cities in incredible numbers became in time, either absconders -and fugitives from justice, or plain tramps and hobos, a demonstrative -force to prove the saying, that the only really solvent people, the -only independent people, are the tillers of the soil. - -At the South which had been reduced to the most degraded type of -poverty there were no such opportunities for the accumulation of -wealth as existed at the North and in the West. The few railroads -that before the war intersected this section had been torn up by the -necessities of war and needed rebuilding, but there was no money to be -had anywhere with which to do the work. All the strongest blood and -brain had been either slain in battle or rendered incapacitated for the -tasks which the new order of conditions had forced upon the country. -Aside from the loss of millions and millions of dollars as a result of -the Emancipation Proclamation freeing the slaves the South was forced -also to bear the burden of an exorbitant tax on all crops produced, -especially the cotton tax. - -The agitation set up by many of the acts of Reconstruction, impeachment -proceedings against President Johnson and the foment and strife -engendered by the rule of the military authorities opposed by the Ku -Klux Klan, all served, to keep for years longer than necessary, the -bleeding and prostrate South securely on its back, a helpless beggar at -the mercy, in many instances of an army of unscrupulous and grafting -office-seekers. Under such conditions it was impossible to obtain -credit anywhere for the most necessary things of life and as there -was almost nothing of any value produced, the greatest hardships and -suffering, if not actual misery, was endured by the people of the South. - -Scores of persons gave up in despair and died. Cow peas, corn bread and -molasses of such quality as only a few years before would have been -considered unfit food for the slaves formed the sole diet, for the -first few years after the war, of delicate and cultured women. Little -children often went to bed crying from hunger. An element of the Negro -population, rendered conspicuously brutal and vicious by service in the -army, stole and threatened even blacker crimes, just as the game of war -has affected the morality of all races of men throughout the history of -recorded warfare. - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -PIONEER EDUCATOR ARRIVES. - - -Into the midst of these terrible times which made weak the souls and -hearts of the strongest of men, came Miss Martha Schofield, the first -of the pioneers to push into the distracted South to labor, to suffer, -and if need be, to die for the millions of ignorant, irresponsible -Negroes. Their education, along industrial lines, she made her -life-work--crowning it on the 77th day of her birth, February 1, 1916, -by passing from earth to heaven. But she left to show that she did -something on earth a school and campus comprising an area of two entire -blocks in the beautiful City of Aiken, S. C., on which she had erected -eight buildings. - -The school farm, adequate for all farm demonstration work, consists -of about 400 acres. The funds by which all this valuable property was -acquired was raised by Miss Schofield herself, through the fluent -use of her trenchant pen, which she knew how to wield as few women -have ever learned to do. Everything contracted for in the interest -of the school was paid for in cash as Miss Schofield, in all her -fifty years of administration, never contracted the outlay of money -without first having provided the means with which to meet claims. She -enjoyed the good-will and friendship of men and women of wealth and -influence throughout the country, especially of the old Abolitionists, -who supported her institution generously as long as they lived and -possessed the means with which to do so. - -The Schofield School at Aiken has sent out into the world many young -men and women who have gone back among their own people accomplished -teachers, ministers, physicians, farmers and artisans, leading the -colored race of the South to the highest appreciation of what Martha -Schofield’s motto for life was--“Thoroughness,” thoroughness not only -in books and the industrial arts, but in thought and action as well. -No doubt the success which attended the efforts of the graduates of -this School is due, in the main, to the strict regard for efficiency -with which this great woman inspired every student coming under her -influence. - -When we contemplate the wide-spread influence which the life and work -of Martha Schofield has exerted on the education of the people of the -South, the white as well as the colored, words become inadequate to pay -proper tribute to her; to justly express the appreciation felt by those -having knowledge of her achievements. - -There is not a colored school in the entire South that has not -acknowledged the wisdom of this Divinely endowed leader and instructor -by establishing an industrial department. Recognizing the imperative -importance of this sort of instruction almost all the schools and -colleges for whites emphasize it by giving it first place in their -curriculums. Clemson, for white men and Rock Hill Normal and Industrial -Institute for young white women were established long after Miss -Schofield brought home to the people of the South the crying necessity -of preparing our boys and girls of all races for the actual duties -met with in every day home life. The vision which she herself had of -a thorough preparation for the humbler tasks lighted the intellectual -skies of the whole South after years of success by her in the education -of the weaker race. This fact is made more prominent by the action of -many of the States in incorporating industrial courses in the common -schools. - -Much credit must be given to the practical success of Miss Schofield’s -school work for the marvelous strides made by the education of the -Negro at such celebrated institutions as Hampton, Va., with an -enrollment annually of over 1,500 students and an endowment of over -$1,000,000.00; and at Tuskegee, with about an equal number of students -and as great or greater endowment fund. Then there are other great -institutions devoted entirely to the education of the colored race, -making quite a feature of the industrial department, such as Atlanta -University, Atlanta, Ga., Fisk University, Nashville, Term., Haines -Institute, Augusta, Ga., Spellman University, Atlanta, Ga., Claflin -and the Agricultural Colored State College at Orangeburg, S. C. Also -Benedict at Columbia and Voorhees Institute at Denmark, all of which -have grown into existence and attained the top-most rung of the ladder -of fame since the coming to the South of Martha Schofield in 1865. - -Near the Schofield School is the Bettis Academy in Edgefield County, -South Carolina, formed and modeled after the fashion of the Aiken -School. Alford Nicholson, the principal, is a product of the latter -and is working out with great similarity the ideas and theories of his -Alma Mater. The good being accomplished here in a small way is one of -the great triumphs of the life-work of Miss Schofield, it being her -greatest aim in life not to create and endow great institutions of -learning with money and high sounding names, but to plant in the heart -and soul of every child coming under her influence those principles -of efficiency that would enable them to get out into the world and -actually do something to lift up the fallen. She acted always as if the -taking of the name of the Lord in vain consisted entirely of praying -for the Kingdom of God to come but doing absolutely nothing to bring -those prayers to pass. “Deeds, deeds, my children,” she was fond of -saying, “are what count, not mere words.” - -The absence of faith in God, she asserted, was seen in all those who -did not turn their hand to accomplish the results for which they -prayed. No one can successfully accuse her of hypocracy in the least. -She practiced what she taught and taught others that anything less than -that was hypocracy and infidelism. - -Miss Martha Schofield was born near Newton, in Bucks County, -Pennsylvania, on the first day of February in the year 1839 of -well-to-do parents, who professed and lived true the principles of -religion as enunciated by the Society of Friends, or the Quakers, as -they are commonly called. This stern sect of religious puritans date -their arrival in America along with the earliest immigrants, and in -proportion to numbers can lay as heavy claim to being responsible -for the civilization of the present day as any other denomination -inhabiting the New World. The same cause, religious persecution, -leading other denominations to seek a home on American shores, where -they could worship God in their own way, inspired the Friends to come -to this country. William Penn, a very wealthy and highly educated -man, famous the civilized world over for his kindness of heart and -generous benevolences, was a member of the Society and one of its chief -supporters in England and America. He founded the City of Philadelphia, -which means brotherly love. The foundation stone of the whole structure -of the Quaker religion is carved out of the rock of brotherly love, and -it was this love that placed Ben Abon Ahem on the highest seat in the -house of the Hall of Saints when the wandering Angel of the earth went -to Heaven to pick out the Archangel within the pearly gates. - -The love which Martha Schofield bore for all mankind, white and black, -Jew and Greek, male and female, friend and foe, was evidently inspired -by a religious conviction that held her thrall. - -Not since Christ has there been a man or woman of whom it can be truly -said he or she could not possibly, wilfully sin, but it is believed -confidently by all who knew Miss Schofield best that she would not -under any circumstances knowingly commit sin. It was as natural for her -to be virtuous and righteous as it is natural for the vicious to be -bad, unkind, selfish and immoral. - -While Miss Schofield was kind and generous to prodigality she was -also as brave as a lion and quick as a tiger to fight if the occasion -demanded it. While she always took counsel and weighed matters -carefully she never failed to contend for what she believed to be -right. Her nature seemed blended with the holiness of a sacred -spirituality, imparted to it no doubt by her religious training, and -an invincibleness in matters affecting social relations that bordered -the stubbornness of Satan. Influenced, possibly, to greatness in the -latter attribute by the teachings of the Abolitionist Party, to which -she belonged in heart, mind and soul? - -As one of her most valued friends and one of the most brilliant of the -many noteworthy people said of her at the funeral, the author wishes -to repeat here: “Martha Schofield is not dead; she lives and will -continue to live in the memory of her students scattered all over South -Carolina and other States. She lives in their memory and in the memory -of their children’s children, for there are few colored homes in which -her name and deeds are not recounted in the family circle. I count some -of her best work, the efforts she made to elevate and purify the home. -She spent much time and endured many hardships traveling through the -country speaking and teaching the value of homes and the necessity of -clean homes, both physically and morally. She never tired of stressing -these things and there are many good Negro homes in South Carolina and -all over the Southland that are evidences that her efforts have not -been in vain. Martha Schofield was helpful not alone to the Negroes but -also to the whites, for good Negroes make good whites and good whites -make good Negroes.” - -[Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -INSPIRED BY HIGH IDEALS. - - -What motive led this young woman of only twenty-six, surrounded by -wealth, by culture, and every circumstance that made her not only -acceptable but desirable in the highest circles of society, to abandon -all--home and friends and money and the pleasures which her position -in the social world brings--for a life of the most arduous toil among -a barbarous, if not a savage people, whose skin, unlike hers, was -black and whose habits and customs were thought to be repugnant and -repelling to those of refinement? She had been fully appraised, too, of -the physical dangers that lay in wait for any one who would condescend -to prostitute their powers of mind in the instruction and elevation of -the Negro race, at the hands of the whites of the South. Her position -between the fire of social ostracism on the one hand and the fagot on -the other was one not to be envied. It would have daunted the courage -of any woman made of weaker stuff, but being of sterner material and -obsessed with a sense of duty in a just cause, such a sense of duty as -led both the blue and the gray to do and die in the cause which each -conceived to be right, Martha Schofield set a star for herself and -determined to go to it even if she was forced to wade through blood and -fire in doing so. - -Beginning her first labors on Wadmalaw Island, between Charleston -and Beaufort, in South Carolina, Miss Schofield suffered every -inconvenience and privation of frontier life. Aside from the annoyance -and hindrances placed in her way by the few scattered white settlers in -sympathy with the Order of the Ku Klux Klan, life was made unsafe by -many diseases that flourish in this climate. - -The enrollment in her school consisted of the children of the 1,500 -Negroes who had followed Sherman in his march to the sea. She had the -assistance of only one person, a white woman. - -She set to work not only to educate an army of Children but the duty of -clothing and feeding the naked and starving, of which there were many, -fell to her lot. - -It is beyond the reach of the imagination of the present generation to -adequately comprehend the hardships endured by her at the time of which -we write. October 24, 1865, she wrote in her diary as follows: - -“This morning I took my bread to school to watch; when light enough I -made it up and sent it half-mile away to be baked in the only stove in -the village. We distributed clothing for 102 today.” - -But for the aid of the Society of Friends and the Abolitionists who -supplied food and clothing to her for free distribution, hundreds would -have died from starvation and thousands have gone as naked as were the -custom of some of the Negroes when captured in Africa and brought to -this country as slaves. - -Under the conditions which Miss Schofield created an immense amount -of suffering was dissipated. Not only the Negroes but she herself, -faced starvation at one time for several weeks. This occurred when the -steamer from Philadelphia, laden with a cargo of groceries, clothing, -shoes and books, ran aground and remained motionless for thirty-one -days. During this time Miss Schofield set the Negroes to work gathering -oysters and acorns. With these and a few boxes of crackers, which she -had hidden away for just such an emergency, she originated a kind of -porridge that prevented actual starvation. “The crackers,” she writes -in her diary “had to be broken up in fine parts so as to remove the -worms from them.” - -The same tale of poverty and almost inconceivable hardships followed -her from Wadmalaw to Edisto in 1866 and on to the Island of St. Helena -in 1867. But these were things to be expected and to be born patiently -as long as she had strength and health. But these gave away right here -at St. Helena in the second year of her immigration to South Carolina. -It was here that malarial fever, with which this section has been -infected ever since it was settled, attacked her, and for quite a long -time her life was despaired of. “This illness,” she writes, “occasioned -hemorrhages of the lungs, from which all hope of recovery was abandoned -by my friends.” - -It was at this very critical period in her career that those flighty -and fashionable friends in the North, some of them her nearest -relatives, urged her with all their might to give up the undertaking -in the South and return to her home. It was very much against the will -and desires of her own people as well as against the wishes of her best -friends that she sacrifice her time and life in the interest of any -race or cause, and she was told so before the instinct to engage in -social welfare work had totally possessed her. They now drew a picture -of a frail sickly woman with one foot in the grave and the other lifted -up to follow, and asked her if such a feeble body even though possessed -of ample means to employ teachers, had the power to direct the work so -necessary to be done. She was urged to get out of the business in order -to make room for some one stronger than she, who still had the strength -to carry to completion the noble undertaking set in motion by her. - -But Martha Schofield answered with these words: “As long as there is -life in me to work, I shall work. The coast may not be the place but I -will yet find the place.” - -And she did. - -So in 1868 she went to Aiken, S. C, and started work again after losing -her health and all her personal income. Assisted by an auxiliary branch -of the “Freedman’s Commission,” a charitable organization composed of -two dozen ladies, of Germantown, Pa., she soon was able to begin work -on a scale of some promise. - -In 1870 the United States Government, through the “Freedman’s Bureau,” -took official recognition of the necessity for the kind of work being -done by her by having a small frame house erected for her. This house -still stands. - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -BRIGHTNESS OF MARTHA’S PUPILS. - - -When Martha Schofield opened her first school in South Carolina it -was impossible to secure the necessary text books and much of the -instruction was oral. With the few books which the school did possess -it was not an uncommon sight to see three and four pupils preparing -their lessons from the same book. The children took the books home -nights, until the “Blue Back” and Webster’s had gone the circuit round -many times. Having advanced to the ability to write and read script, -a pupil was no longer eligible to the benefits of the circulating -library. He was then forced to copy at his spare time the lessons he -was supposed to prepare during the night. - -Notwithstanding the serious difficulties attending the acquisition of -knowledge without the aid of books, the intellectual as well as the -moral improvement of not only the children but their parents as well -was soon apparent. “There was an eager desire among all the children to -attend school” says Miss Schofield in writing of her experiences on the -Coast and later at Aiken; “never a truant.” - -The average attendance of the Negroes at school in the South today -exceeds the attendance of 1900 by over 10 per cent. This thirsting -after knowledge by the brother in black is one of his redeeming -characteristics. - -Miss Schofield once put the question to a class in Geography as to what -the world rested on. A grown man replied that it rested on stumps and -big wild animals. A ten year old boy corrected him by saying that it -rested on the Power of God. These definitions will serve to show the -dense ignorance of the race at the time Miss Schofield began teaching. - -In a definition exercise the class was requested to define the word, -husband. Volunteers were called for but no one volunteered. In an -effort to lucify the subject and assist them to guess the meaning of -the word, with an approximate accuracy, Miss Schofield asked them to -tell her what she would have were she to marry. A little girl, almost -ten, replied, with much enthusiasm but unconscious of any wit at all, -“A baby.” - -As soon as a student mastered reading, writing and arithmetic -sufficiently to enable him to read without much faltering and write -at all legibly and add a sum of four or five numbers, Miss Schofield -set him to teaching. The scarcity of teachers made this expedient -imperative. - -A middle-aged man, Isaac Kimberley, who as a slave had been taught to -read and write but had greatly added to his fund of knowledge by a term -at Miss Schofield’s school, was one of the first to be honored with a -school. It was located near Miss Schofield’s and closely supervised -by her. Isaac assumed the duties of it with all the dignity of some -divinely appointed potentate and proceeded at once to make use of -only the most carefully chosen words possible, and put on a haughty, -undignified air that made him more ridiculous than he really was. -Alford Kimberley, a son of his former master, on meeting him soon after -he began teaching, addressed him familiarly as “Uncle Ike.” “I’le hab -yo’ to understan,’ suh, dat Ise neaver yo’ uncle or yo antie, suh, Ise -yo eacle,” said Isaac in reply. “Frum dis day on, ef yo’ pleas, suh, -Ise Prof. Isaak Kimberley,” continued the new teacher. - -“Well, take that, and that, Prof. Isaac Kimberley, from your equal,” -responded Alford, as he bent over the prostrate form of the instructor, -lying in the ditch by the roadside where he had knocked him. “I’ll -teach you yet how to talk to white gentlemen, you low-down lover of -blue-bellied Yankees, you!” - -No report of this dramatic incident ever reached the ears of Miss -Schofield as Isaac was afraid it might. He concealed it from everybody -in the neighborhood as much as possible, both on account of having -gotten whipped in his first encounter after becoming a free man and -also on account of an increasing amount of comment among both colored -and white that he was daily growing too big for his breeches and would -have to be whipped. - -Miss Schofield’s confidence in him, at no time, it is needless to say, -was very great, but it was Isaac or worse. She finally dismissed him -and looked around in vain for a “worser” one. - -His dismissal followed a visit to his school, which she was in the -habit of making regularly. - -The day was an unusually cold one for South Carolina, where the -temperature in the winter seldom reaches the freezing point, and -through the unsealed crevices between the poles out of which the house -was built, the sleet and snow drifted joyously in. A half hundred or -more half clothed and well nigh starved little black urchins shook the -shackly floor with their shivering and drowned their voices with the -chattering of their teeth. If ever there was a blue-lipped, blue-gummed -Negro school Isaac’s was surely one on that day. - -The extreme cold weather and the open condition of the house gave every -student a free license to leave his seat, even without permission of -the authority in charge, and crowd in close proximity around the wide -open hearth at the end of the building, where with the shivering of -limbs, chattering of teeth and shuffling of feet, all noise of their -cries and shrieks as one would pinch the other or mash a toe or hit -this one or that one over the head with a well worn book or trab ball, -was drowned out. - -In the midst of the greatest confusion, Isaac, with the purpose in -view of dispersing the crowd and relieving the congestion around the -“fire place” blurted out with an assumed air of supreme dignity: “John -Thomas, why don’t yo’ add full to de flame?” With his black eyes -blinking like a rabbits when shot at and trembling from head to foot -and turning round like a Bob White in a trap, it was clear to Miss -Schofield that the child did not understand what the master of the -school wished to be done. She immediately came to the relief of all, -as she always seemed capable of doing in each and every predicament in -which she or any of her children (children is what she called all the -students) found themselves, by saying, “Isaac, tell John Thomas to put -some wood on the fire and he wilt understand thee.” - -Walking along home with Isaac after dismission that afternoon she -informed him that it would be necessary to suspend his school until -the house could be repaired. Isaac, tired of waiting for the needed -repairs, returned to the Schofield school for instruction himself and -taking up the study of harness making, developed into a genius for -work of this kind. After years of success at the bench in one of the -best shops in a large Southern city, where he earned $22.50 a week, -the government of the United States awarded a contract to him for 250 -army saddles. He could not teach school but he could make saddles and -harness. - -The greatness of Miss Schofield’s work consisted of converting men and -women who could never develop into great singers and teachers into -useful productive workers and making them to see beauty as well as -profit in the humbler tasks. - -The sad experience had with Isaac Kimberley as a teacher indicated to -Miss Schofield the necessity for raising the standard of qualification -for all applicants for teacher’s certificates, and with the cooperation -of Mose Graham, a Negro, who could scarcely read or write but who had -been made County School Commissioner by the Radical Party, then in -complete control of the State and National Government, she undertook to -do this, which proved a complete failure on account of the illiteracy -of the Negro race and the reluctance with which competent white -teachers from the North accepted the call from the South to join the -ranks of the teaching profession. - -Ephriam Daniels, a six months pupil of the Schofield School, where -he acquired the art of reading fluently and writing legibly and also -mastered the four fundamental rules of arithmetic, concluded that in -staying on the farm and tilling the soil he was hiding his light under -a bushel and therefore, committing a sin which the Bible commanded him -not commit, so he made application to Mose for a certificate to engage -in the noble calling of teaching. - -“Mr. Commissioner Graham,” said Ephriam, “I’se a wastin’ muh tallents -behin’ de plow handles, as I is a mi’ty smart man ef I is a nigger, -and so I haf com ter see yo’ ’bout gitten one o’ dem licenses to teach -chillen wid. Wi’l yo’ gib muh one?” - -Mose explained in detail and in a very perfunctory manner the -difficulties of the teacher and discoursed considerably on the small -compensation paid them. But encouraged his friend, however, by saying -that the harvest was great and the laborers few, by which he meant that -the office of County School Commissioner had a number of schools but no -one to teach them. - -“Don’t care ’bout difficultys and small pa’--dats what yo’ mean -by--what did you call it?--com--something--commishion, I beleives. All -I wants is ter teach. I’se going in der bizness fer de gud I kin do, -not fer de muney.” - -“Very good, indeed,” said Mose, “but befo’ I kin lisence yo’ ter teech -I’se got to see Miss Marther Schofield and hab’ yo’ examed by her and -me. Yo’ cum ter see me termorrow, ’bout ten o’clock.” - -When Miss Schofield heard of the ambitions of Ephriam that afternoon -her heart ran down in her shoes, both because of the impossibility -which she knew existed of ever making a teacher of Ephriam and the -equally impossible task of helping him to realize it. He was as -stubborn as a mule in his ways and when he made up his mind to do -anything he worked at it with all his poor brain till it either proved -successful or fizzled out. It pained her to think of the neglect which -she knew in her own mind had attended his crop throughout the spring -season when it needed most attention, which she was well aware from -the nature of Ephriam had been diverted to the subject of school -teaching. - -But on the insistance of Graham, in whose favor she had often to make -some concessions, though none of any importance, she at some expense of -time and dignity consented to meet him at his office at the appointed -hour for the purpose of examining Ephriam Daniels for a certificate to -teach in the free public schools. - -Dressed in a soldier’s old uniform, which was secured from the remnants -of Sherman’s Army as they passed through South Carolina; with a large -bandana handkerchief around his neck for a collar and an old stove pipe -hat which his old master, John Rutledge Daniels, had given him on the -day of his freedom, Ephriam appeared before the examining board with a -pocket full of pencils and a quire or two of ruled fools-cap paper. - -Miss Schofield, who was one of the kindest and gentlest of women whom -the author ever knew, eyed Ephriam with a well concealed curiosity as -she asked him what preparations he had made for taking the examination. - -“Wull, Mis’ Sch’fields,” he said, “I’se got heap ob pencils and papur.” - -“Yes, I see you have,” replied the examiner, with laughter almost -bursting her throat, “but what I mean to get at is, what preparations -have you made for teaching school?” - -Quick as a flash Ephriam replied that he had sold his horse and rented -out his farm. - -The uproarous laughter which this answer produced was genuinely -participated in by all present, including Ephriam, although he could -not for the life of himself, as he afterwards stated, see what all the -laughing was about. - -Extending the examination a little more for the purpose of entertaining -and amusing still further the board and its lone applicant, Miss -Schofield was unkind enough to ask the definition of the noun, “word.” - -“Word,” repeated Ephriam, now quite seriously perplexed, “why, Mis’ -Schofiels, yo’ sholey noes dat I noes dat a word is someting dat yo’ -sais.” - -When she put the question of the fundamental principles of Arithmetic, -Ephriam readily admitted that he did not know, and in a polite way -gave the board to understand that he did not see the necessity for -scholarship of a high grade for teaching “niggers what don’t ’no der A -B C’s.” - -Not long afterward, Ephriam, his wife and their four children were -stricken with small pox--that malignant infection formerly very common -in the South--and it was beautiful the way Miss Schofield attended to -their wants during the period of illness and final death and burial -of Ephriam. On the morning of the sixth day of the appearance of the -dreaded malady, Miss Schofield appeared at the home with breakfast for -all and was horrified to find the body of the father behind the door, -his death occurring sometime during the night, unknown to the other -members of the family. - -[Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - -EDUCATION UNDER DIFFICULTIES. - - -Some time as many as a half dozen funerals a day occurred in the coast -region from malarial fever or small pox. The chances for recovery were -rendered difficult by the absence of any physician, the nearest one -being sixty miles away. - -Among the medicines sent Miss Schofield from friends of the North was -a bottle of port wine. This was sent in 1876, when she was attacked -by a hemorrhage of the lungs, with instructions from a physician that -she must take it three times a day. But the fear of setting an example -which might prove the ruin of many people in her charge caused her not -to open it. She took it to Aiken, and during the construction of her -residence there it was deposited in the walls and no one except Miss -Schofield to the day of her death, on February 1, 1916, knew where to -break the wall; no one on earth knows just where to this very day. - -She despised the avarice and greed that caused men to manufacture -intoxicants but hated with the venom of the devil the lust for gain -by the municipalities and States which caused them to issue licenses -for the manufacture of alcohol. She taught and lived that the greatest -criminal in the history of criminology was the criminal who issued the -license for the commission of crime. In her opinion this was not only a -crime against society but a crime against criminals as well. - -The pernicious influence of alcohol on the Negro was largely -responsible for her antagonism to the liquor traffic. Opposed to it -naturally, as every educated and thinking person must be, she was more -so after observing its destructive influence among the ignorant and -vicious. - -It was confidently believed by her that if every Negro capable of -complying with the registration laws regulating the qualification of -voters, was registered and allowed to vote, uninfluenced by any outside -influence, that the legal sale of alcoholic stimulants in the South -at least, would be a thing of the past. She believed also that if -positions on the police force were available to colored men for service -in the Negro sections of the cities that not only would the illegal -sale of intoxicants be stopped but crimes of every character would be -largely suppressed. - -Martha Schofield, having lived to see accomplished the task to which -her life had been dedicated on the day her father rescued Laura Duncan -from the blood hounds of the slave holding oligarchy, died as happy -and serene as an angel, perfectly confident that the work she had been -doing would gain momentum and go on more splendidly each year, until -illiteracy and physical and moral degradation would be an exceptional -thing among the Negroes. - -Between the years of 1890 and 1910 the percentage of Negro illiteracy -had fallen from 57.10 to 30.40 per cent. among children between the -ages of ten and fourteen years. For those fifteen years of age and -under nineteen, the percentage of illiteracy was only 18.90 per cent. - -The greater illiteracy in the higher age classes is very marked, the -illiteracy of Negroes of 55 to 64 years of age being about 67 per cent. -of the total, and nearly every one of those of 65 years and above were -found to be unable to read or write when the 1910 census was taken. - -Negroes of sixty years and above, it will be recalled, were past -childhood before emancipation, when little or no provision was made to -teach them to read and write, and this accounts for the high percentage -of illiteracy in the old people and the rapidly decreasing percentage -of illiteracy among their children. - -At the rate of advance in education among the Negroes at present there -will be less than 10 per cent. of the population between ten and -fourteen illiterate in 1920, and every child of sane mind and sound -body will be able to read and write by 1930, when the Fourteenth -Census shall have been taken. This all in the space of fifty years. -Remarkable! - -And yet there are well informed influential people who still maintain -that the progress of the Negro has been slow, superficial and unworthy -of the effort and money expended on it. - -Maybe so, but all admit, that it is very helpful to every human being -to be able to read and write, to be able to assimilate the thoughts -of others and to express his thoughts and hand them on to others of -his kind by other means than by the word of mouth. To deny this would -be equal to denying one the right to be taught the use of his mind or -tongue, the two organs which God in His infinite wisdom put no ban -upon, but made free as the air of Heaven, restricting their use only to -the accomplishment of honorable and noble undertakings, thus dethroning -the power of all, who though possessed of powerful intellect, would use -their talent in the interest of the base and ignoble. - -While the peoples of all races are born with a knowledge of good -and evil they are not possessed at birth with the knowledge which -science is supposed to endow them with, and therefore, it should be -the pleasure, as it certainly is the imperative duty of the State -to provide liberally for the diffusion of knowledge among even the -humblest of all its citizens. - -Martha Schofield taught more emphatically than anything else the -economic necessity which exists among all races for the performance -of duty, one to another. She argued that unrighted wrongs retard -the progress of races, and if not checked by the refinements of -civilization, through the enlightenment of the mind, become the -instruments which at last wreck and destroy the strongest ships of -State. She wanted her work to prove to the country that great measures -of service in the field of education was the price to be paid for -the salvation of our land against the misery and death, which others -through ignorance and greed, had sown. She made the man at the North -without principle or scruple to modify his ambition in the selfish -accumulation of wealth equally as culpable as the man of the South, -in producing the suffering and misery which attended the great -civil conflict for freedom. She exhibited the chaos attending the -Reconstruction period as the awful penalty for benighted stupidity -and ignorance of an earlier day, for which none of the present day is -accountable, and whose fruits none, in an earlier past, foresaw. - -Her doctrine of the elevation of the Negro so as to meet the -necessities of the new standard of civilization which freedom had -thrust upon him, spread like wild fire on a western prairie, and was, -of course, shocking, even inconceivable to the imagination of the -Southern white mind, which had been taught and religiously believed -that education impaired the usefulness of the colored people, both as -productive machines in the hard field of toil and as mediums for the -expression of the divine messages of power. - -“No amount or kind of learning,” they argued, “can be made available to -the ‘nigger’ because of his inability to assimilate it. He’s a brute, -pure and simple, and has anyone ever succeeded through teaching in -making a brute anything but a brute?” - -“Pigs will be pigs.” - -Laws by the General Assembly of South Carolina forbade the whites the -privilege of teaching Negroes, but it was ignored by many good men and -women who devoted much time and money to the education of the race. - -An influential Southern man, a former Governor of one of the great -States of the South and now an honored member of the Senate of the -United States once wrote a book in which he delved deep into history -and anthropology and proved to the complete satisfaction of the voters -of his State and to a great number of the learned professors of the -sciences in some of the Southern colleges, that the Negro by every fact -known to the scientists and evolutionists was a member of the families -of the lower animals, and, therefore, an impossibility in the matter of -intellectual development. - -The influence of this propaganda at the South exerted itself strongly -to the detriment of the work undertaken by Miss Schofield, and others -who came after her, in that it aroused the passions of the ignorant -whites and determined them in the course of lawlessness, which but for -the zeal and strength of heart expressed by Martha Schofield might have -succeeded in delaying for many years the phenomenal rise and progress -of the black people of the Southern States. - -One Sunday morning, the sun in all its radiance and splendor lighting -up the whole world, doing for the earth and every creature and plant on -it (giving them light and warmth and moisture that they might develop -and grow to perfection) just what God would have us do--help along -everything good that we can--on such a morning as this--a band of -armed men approached Miss Schofield’s home and demanded that she quit -teaching Negro children and return to her home or she would be forced -to do so. - -To these she replied as follows: “Thee can kill my body and hide it -away, but my soul is of God, that is the one invincible thing, which -thee can not kill.” - -A noble life consecrated absolutely, even in the face of death, to the -uplift and service of a lowly, impoverished race! Everywhere she went, -she reached righteousness, law, order, temperance, truth, cleanliness, -thoroughness and economy. - -After fifty years of toil, of social ostracism, of infinitely wicked -persecution, which in later years by her patience, by her kindness -and charity was greatly modified, she fell in the harness, full of -achievements from the work which God had given her to do. At both the -funeral service at Aiken, S. C., where she died on the night before -the event arranged by friends to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary -of her service to the colored people and her helpfulness to all who -met her socially or in a business way, and at Darby Meeting House, -in Pennsylvania, where the interment of the body took place, solemn -covenants consecrating mind and heart and hand, amid the tears and -sobs of blacks and whites alike, were made by many to keep alive -forever the spark of truth and life she was first to express the -courage to plant in a land of enemies, surrounded on every side by the -dangers of assassination and the ravages of small pox, malaria, and -dengue fevers. - -[Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - -CAUSE OF MANY RIOTS. - - -Between the years of 1865 and 1876 the severest tests were put to -the work of being done by Miss Schofield, to see whether it could be -made practical or not. By the courage with which she met and answered -them she established once and for always the truth that the progress -of light and reason can not be retarded long, no matter by whom and -for what purpose such an attempt might be undertaken. The outrageous -murders of Negroes by white men which went on almost daily following -the unwise policy of the government at Washington in putting them in -power in the South before many of them could scarcely read or write, -precipitated the greatest excitement throughout the country. These -outrages attracted the indignation of the North and martial law was -declared all over South Carolina. This was done to enforce the rights -of the peaceable, law-abiding whites, as well as the rights of that -class of Negroes. Of course, much blame for the haughty attitude of the -Negro and the declaration of martial law was laid at the door of Miss -Schofield, whose teaching it was generally believed by the ignorant -whites, was responsible for the deplorable state of affairs that -existed. The Northern press at the time carried over her signature many -accounts of the numerous brutalities happening in and around Aiken and -she was repeatedly called to account by the leading white people, all -assuming a threatening attitude that would have put to flight almost -any other woman. But Miss Schofield would meet her antagonists face to -face and dare them to harm even one hair of her head. She would remind -them that they were all chivalrous white gentlemen and could not under -their own pretences attack her and do her violence without surrendering -every right and claim which they might have upon knight erranty. - -In a New York newspaper of the year 1876 she details one of the murders -typical of the Reconstruction period. - -An old man, deaf, and dumb, who had never spoken a word or heard a -sound in all his seventy years of life sought protection and refuge in -the Schofield home. He had scarcely entered the house before an armed -body of men arrived and demanded that the old dumb man reveal the -hiding place of a certain negro whom the white people had decided it -was necessary to put to death for their own peace and security. As he -could neither hear nor talk, he answered the threatening attitude of -the crowd with unintelligent murmurs and gestures and pointed excitedly -at Miss Schofield. She explained the condition of the man and plead -earnestly with the mob for his life, but to no purpose. They engaged -him and stabbed him to death in her back yard as he undertook to escape. - -The same number of this newspaper carries instances and gives dates -of other atrocities of a most depraved character. All this served -to stimulate the growing animosity between the whites, who regarded -the outrages being committed by them as absolutely essential to -the preservation of civilization, and the Northern immigrants or -carpet-baggers, who through the Negro vote were in power and held -all of the important offices of the County and State. Many of these -disgraced with shame for the time being the offices held for enriching -themselves and impoverishing the already impoverished and well-nigh -destitute country. - -Martha Schofield’s activities in broad-casting stories of these hideous -outrages and appealing for the continuance of the reign of the military -authorities in South Carolina as the only means of making life at all -safe and possible under the circumstances, drew to her the contempt and -hatred of the white people, who of all the people on earth were best -suited by reason of their position and knowledge to assist her in her -work. - -The suspicion and distrust she worked under of being in sympathy with -the unscrupulous and corrupt regime in complete control of local -affairs was manifestly a serious handicap. No one more clearly than -she realized the disastrous effect their corruption would have on her -school, her work and the colored people. She knew also that it meant -defeat, in the South at least, of the great party whose triumph in the -cause of freedom had made it possible for the first time in American -history to test the possibility of elevating a lowly and much abhorred -race. These influences weighed heavily upon her heart, and but for -the courage and sternness of her nature, which seemed never to be at -its best except when acutely vexed and infinitely tried, would have -resulted in her voluntarily withdrawing from the self-imposed task -almost in its beginning. - -The author shall never forget but she will always remember and value -her most priceless treasure, the tender religious emotion which the -happenings of these times provoked. They were felt keenly at the -morning service of the Schofield Normal and Industrial Institute during -her first year at this institution. How fondly does she recall now as -if the voices of angels, whose voices of three decades ago as the whole -school would sing those comforting old plantation hymns, “Steal Away, -Steal Away to Jesus,” and “Love, Come a Twinkling Down.” - -The joy, the emotion and inspiration which is felt at the moment of -writing these lines, over the probability of a similar joy in heaven, -in the heart of her who had the heroic courage and the splendid manhood -to risk her life in the unselfish and holy cause of implanting in the -Negro mind and soul that which is beautiful, noble and sentimental, is -unbounded. - -The reflection that large numbers of her fellow-citizens now rejoice -with her, and the prediction that others who do not now do so will -later on, gives her likewise an even greater measure of the debt of -gratitude which all owe to the mother of the movement for the courage -to continue the work for the uplift of the Negro even at the peril of -her life. - -The work of Miss Schofield was made doubly more perilous each day -by the misrule of the imported rulers of State. For these she had, -instead of sympathy, an unbridled contempt, and never failed to express -that contempt, whenever possible. But the white people would not -condescend to hear her talk, much less believe anything which she might -say. Besides their prediction that deplorable conditions would follow -the rule of any Yankee, no matter whether he was a Scott, a Moses, or a -Chamberlain, must not be discounted by the substitution of honest men -from the North. The more corrupt a Republican was the better he served -to prove the contention of the Southerners that only Democrats could be -safely trusted with power. - -The dishonest, corrupt and unscrupulous officials in authority were -equally as energetic in protecting their offices from capture by -good men, by countenancing, if not actually encouraging, a spirit of -lawlessness. Governor Jenkins, the Republican Governor of Alabama, was -quoted as saying that he would like to have a few colored men killed -every week or so, in order to provide the semblance of truth for his -libels that the maintenance of the Radicals in power was the only -salvation of the colored people. His work and talk, typical of that -of others, served to frighten good men away and keep Jenkins and his -kind in authority. And all this time Martha Schofield and her little -band of Negroes, whom she was endeavoring to lead out of the depths -of darkness, despair and crime into the light of reason, courage, and -industry were daily praying for their enemies, for the deliverance of -men of all races from the fetters of greed, avarice and revenge, which -was responsible for the suffering and misery to be seen on every hand. -They were praying not only, they were working also, with all their -little might, that the things for which they prayed might come to pass. -This school, of all others which the author ever attended, preached, if -it preached anything at all, that God must never be expected to answer -prayers unsupported by works. - -At one of the great political rallies held in Aiken by the Democratic -Party a few years before the succession of Hampton to the Governorship -one of the orators of the day said that the treasury of South Carolina -had been so gutted by the thieves in power that nothing was left to -steal except the power to stop the further enlightenment of the fool -‘nigger.’ He added also, that he wanted a change in the government in -order to make a South Carolina bond equally as good on the market as a -“nigger’s note.” - -The legislatures of the Southern States authorized the increase of -the public debt from $87,000,000 to $300,000,000. They held the right -to declare martial law in every county whenever deemed advisable, to -arrest and try any person by court martial and had at their disposal -the right to raise regiments of soldiers, one of Negroes and one of -whites, to execute their several wills. Under these circumstances -it does seem that security of life, liberty and even the pursuit -of happiness and the accumulation of property should have gone on -undisturbed by anything which the aristocrats and poor whites might -have done, in opposition to the desideratum so devoutly wished for by -the authorities in power. - -But history records that the authorities with unlimited power signally -failed in asserting any power at all; that the party in power with -unlimited means at its command for accomplishing great undertakings of -public enterprise accomplished only the complete demoralization of the -whole South, financially and morally. - -After sitting a whole year the legislature of Alabama at the end of -its session passed a bill authorizing the endorsement of the State’s -credit, for the purpose of encouraging the development of railway -construction and transportation to the extent of $16,000 per mile. Only -one road was completed. Five were built a few miles and abandoned. -Through the issue of bonds for one purpose or another, as for instance, -the building of railroads organized and owned principally by the men -voting the bonds, the public treasury was fleeced to the limit. -This, combined with the stupidity, cowardliness and corruption of the -military authorities hastened on the hurried collapse of organized -government and substituted in its place a reign of terror and -lawlessness without a parallel in Southern history. - -[Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -HAMBURG AND ELLENTON RIOTS. - - -Several riots and some of as foul murders as ever disgraced the lives -of men attended the uprisings around Aiken. - -Among the most important of these were the Hamburg, the Ellenton and -Ned Tennant riots, all occurring within a few miles of Miss Schofield’s -school. - -The Hamburg riot occurred in July, 1876, and proved to be one of the -most tragic events, as it was one of the most disastrous occurrences -for the Negro race and the Republican Party of the South that occurred -during the entire period of Reconstruction. Seven Negroes and one white -man were killed out-right, while one white man and two Negroes were -seriously wounded. - -This sounded the alarm of danger in the South for the experiment being -made with the Negro for self-government and urged immediate action -by Congress for the protection of its policy there, if not its newly -made citizens who at the first challenge had shown conclusively the -incapacity to protect themselves. - -The riot was precipitated by two young white men, Henry Getzen and -Thomas Butler, who were driving through Hamburg on the return from -Georgia to their homes in South Carolina, just across the State line in -the vicinity of Augusta. At the time a company of one hundred Negro men -in command of Captain Dock Adams was drilling on the principal street -of the town of Hamburg, and a large proportion of the Negro population, -as usual, was out admiring the spectacular performance. It is claimed -by the white men that the company was drilling “company front” and so -filled the street from side-walk to side-walk, which permitted them no -room to pass; and that Captain Adams instead of ordering his troops -to fall into “Column fours” or “column platoons,” he ordered them -to “charge,” at which command, Butler, a son of Mr. Robert Butler, -shouted from his seat in the buggy, with revolver drawn, that he -would shoot to death the first man that stuck a bayonet in the horse. -With a hundred bayonets gleaming in the sun and several hundred of the -colored race looking on, the Negroes knew the butchery of the whites -was an easy matter, but being desirous of avoiding a conflict which -they knew only too well was instigated at that time for the purpose of -arousing the already over enraged whites to an action that would later -on mean either the annihilation of themselves or their old masters and -mistresses, whom some of them still loved and admired with the same -affection and admiration that caused most of them throughout the battle -for their freedom to remain at the fire-side and defend the homes of -those out in a war fought to continue them in a state of bondage, the -Captain ordered a halt and opened the ranks so that the buggy could -pass. Completing the exercises, the soldiers were marched to their -armory and dismissed. Adams then went, as was his right to do, to a -Justice of the Peace, “General” Prince Rivers, a Negro, an ex-Union -Soldier, commander of the Negro militia, the State Senator from Aiken -County in the General Assembly and also the Trial Justice for his -district, and swore out warrants for Getzen and Butler, charging them -with interfering with his company at drill. - -Hearing of this, Butler hurried home and informed his father of what -had happened, who went in haste to the same Trial Justice and secured -a warrant for Adams for obstructing the highway. News of the “cowing” -of the Negro militia and the subsequent issuance of warrants for the -captain of the company and the white men and the setting of the trials -of each for a hearing was spread all over the surrounding country in a -very short time, and excitement was intense on both sides as to what -the outcome would be. - -Without quoting the exact words of one of the members of the rioters -who was the leader in the three great riots, the settled purpose of -the whites was the seizure of the first opportunity that might be -made by the Negroes to provoke a riot and demonstrate to the latter -through blood-shed the utter hopelessness of the attempt of the Negro -to rule and so rid South Carolina of the domination of Negro and -carpet-bag government. For the approaching trial elaborate preparations -had been made by the whites, including the employment of General M. -C. Butler for the defense of Thomas Butler and Henry Getzen and the -prosecution of Adams, and the calling together of all members of the -Sweet Water Sabre Club, an organization of the leading white men of -Edgefield and Aiken Counties for the destruction of the Negro regime -locally and for use in overthrowing the State government and for the -purpose of trampling under foot the laws passed by Congress, intended -to give the Negro equal power with the white in the government of the -State. Members of this club were not only instructed to attend the -trial for the protection of the two young white men, but were ordered -to be present to see to it that if no opportunity offered itself to -provoke a riot, then they were to create one, anyhow. They were to go -un-uniformed and armed with pistols only, but were to have their rifles -near at hand and be ready at a moment’s notice to engage the blacks in -deadly combat under their own vine and fig tree. - -Emboldened by the apparent cowardliness of the Negroes to attack -Getzen and Butler a few days before, members of the club expressed -much fear that the Negroes would be bold enough to show resentment to -any indignity which they might offer, and so would bring to naught -the various plans and schemes previously formulated to engage them -in battle. News of their presence in Hamburg and of their object had -preceded their arrival, and the justice ordered the hearing postponed -to a later day, when the orderly trial of the case could be assured -by the protection of additional militia-men. The whites were quick to -see the advantage which the Negroes would obtain by delay and promptly -decided to begin the attack at once. - -At about five o’clock in the afternoon, just as Adams and his company -had assembled in their armory, General M. C. Butler sent the captain -word that his militia with guns had shown that they were a menace to -the peace and good order of the community and demanded of him the -surrender of his guns, informing him at the same time that the whites -were resolved to put an end to the political rule of the Negro and the -carpet-bagger or die in the attempt that very day. With his prompt and -peremptory refusal to surrender, Adams also sent defiance to the white -men. This boldness somewhat dismayed the latter as they had with them -five rifles only. The remainder of their armament consisted of pistols -and shot-guns, making the effectiveness of the attacking party very -inferior in the matter of weapons as in numbers. But this inefficiency -was more than offset by the difference in training of the opposing -parties, by the inheritance of many of the whites of thousands and -thousands of years of skill in the use of the weapons of war, while the -only training ever given the Negro had been one of fear. This had been -his by inheritance just as the white race had inherited its contempt of -fear. It is as natural for some of the Negroes to show cowardliness as -it is for some of the whites to show bravery, and this difference in -the qualities of the two races must remain relative in proportion to -the intellectual and moral development of each race. - -Besides, think who they were fighting--why, their old masters and their -sons, whom some of the Negro soldiers no doubt, had risked their lives -in previous emergencies to protect and defend from danger. - -Could it be expected, under the circumstances, that their aim would -prove unerring? Wasn’t it rather to be expected at the beginning that -the shots which the poor, illiterate Negroes fired would fall wide of -the mark, just as they did? - -All admit now, even the intelligent Negro and the radical abolitionist, -that the arming of the Negroes before first teaching them the use of -weapons was a mistake, but this would apply with equal force to the -ignorant, illiterate white race. ’Tis the condition of the mind that -makes the body fit or unfit. The adder is not better than the eel, -because of his painted skin, nor the blue-jay any better than the wren -because of his fine plumage, as the Bard of Avon well expressed it when -addressing good Kate and reminding her that she was none the worse -because of her poor furniture and mean array, provided her mind and -heart were perfect. - -The Negro has arms and hands as strong as iron bands and with these he -can punish into insensibility the men of almost any race; there are -white men endowed with equally great physical powers who can, like the -Negro, subdue others not so powerful in animal strength. Each of these -types of men labor in the fields of arduous toil, neither having the -time and, in most cases, lacking the intelligence to bathe and live a -sanitary life, much less educate their poor brains. For this reason -neither are the equal, either in war or in the every day intellectual -occupations of life, of the men trained and dexterously skilled in the -use of their muscles and brains. The psychological influence of the men -of education over the ignorant and illiterate must not be overlooked -neither in any attempt to account for the tremendous supremacy which -the few exercise over the many. - -At any rate, the superiority of the seventy members of the Sweet Water -Sabre Club over the one hundred members of the Negro militia was -amply demonstrated at Hamburg on July 8, 1876. It is possible that -the Negroes, who could have destroyed the entire mob in a few minutes -with their superior equipment, were aware of the reinforcements lying -in wait at the beck and call of General Butler, and so retained their -position in the armory as a means of protection against an attack by an -overwhelmingly superior force. Certain it is, that from a vantage point -of view the inside of the armory was no suitable place from which to -shoot. The soldiers were compelled to shoot from below the windowsills, -which elevated their guns, and so their bullets, except the one which -killed Makie Meriwether, were spent in vain. At the sound of the first -firing reinforcements for the whites began to pour into Hamburg by the -hundreds, and no time was lost in obtaining a piece of artillery in -Augusta and bringing it into action. Two shots from this destructive -machine silenced the guns of the militia and the members of the company -began to retire as secretly as possible, it being well understood by -all that the whites would give nor ask any quarter in the orderly rules -of warfare, as in the matter of capitulation and terms of surrender. -The knowledge by every Negro at the beginning of this historic event -that the battle meant death to everyone captured possibly unnerved -every soldier and precipitated the demoralization following the advent -of the solitary field piece of artillery. Out of the forty Negroes -captured only a few belonged to the militia, the members of which the -mob was determined to destroy that night, but as most of these had -escaped, then it was decided to kill anybody in reparation for the -death of young Meriwether. So a search of the homes of all Negroes -and some of the whites was made, including that of a Jew named Louis -Schiller, who was friendly with the Negroes and had through their -votes, under the new order of things, obtained and held the office of -County Auditor of Edgefield County before the creation of Aiken County. -It was decreed that Schiller should be put to death, but he escaped -with his life only by climbing through a trap door leading out on the -roof and hiding himself behind a parapet on top of the house. All the -while he was in hearing distance of the curses and execrations heaped -upon his name and the avowed intention of the mob to hang him sooner or -later. - -Two, among the forty prisoners held under guard while the searching -party worked, who knew that their capture meant their death, attempted -to escape by jumping over a fence with their guards looking on and -running as fast as their legs could carry them in hope of reaching a -place of safety; but white men seemed to be everywhere, and although -one of them, Jim Cook, the town marshall, did escape his guards he was -shot to death by bullets from a shot-gun which tore in his head as -he dashed through the crowds. The other had been killed by the guards -having him in charge. - -Cook was supremely hated by the entire white population of the County, -more so, than other individuals of his race on account of his activity -in the office of marshal, which the whites charged he used without -provocation to humiliate and degrade them. Over his death there was the -greatest rejoicing throughout the county among the whites. - -Being unable to locate any more Negroes, General Butler and Colonel -A. P. Butler concluded that all work was practically finished and -quietly departed for their homes. They did not leave any orders and -the members of the mob began to disperse in perceptibly large numbers. -But the thirst for blood born of that insatiable desire to torture, to -torment as in the fiery pit, and to murder implanted in the heart of -individuals, half-animal and the sport of impulse, whim and conceit, -until relieved by the tameness and intelligence which time and -education alone can give, had not yet been satisfied, although for one -life taken by the militia they had taken two. - -These deluded children of the white men suffering with the same malady, -ignorance, with which the children of the blacks were more seriously -suffering, but recognizing the advantage which their superiority of -numbers now gave them, reasoned that it was a dear piece of work to -exchange one of their number for only two Negroes. It was argued that -a story like that would not appease the popular clamor that now would -rise like a heavy mist from the sea and gain the momentum of a cyclone. -So it was solemnly agreed that, while the annihilation of the entire -Negro population of the town of Hamburg would not atone for the death -of Meriwether, the members of the mob would content themselves for that -night, at least, with the assassination of only the meanest characters -among the remaining number of prisoners held. The duty of designating -these “meanest” characters, and those most deserving of death, fell -to the lot of Henry Getzen, one of the young men who was the original -cause of the riot and whose residence in the vicinity of Hamburg -brought him into the closest contact with the Negro population and so -prepared him fully for the duty of passing judgment upon the destiny of -the prisoners. - -His hands, red with the blood from the wounds that had killed Makie -Meriwether and his heart beating in unison with his rankling mind at -thought of the imaginary injustices already done, or to be done, by the -Negro, the state of his feelings made him anything else but fit to pass -upon the lives of the men now at stake, even had he been an honest man -and inspired by high and lofty ideals as it must be conceded many of -the whites in the Hamburg riot were. - -The purpose by the whites was to use this riot to strike terror in the -heart of the Negroes and intimidate them, then and there and for all -time, in their aspirations for political as well as social advancement. - -At that time, as at this time, in the case of a large element of the -white population, it is undeniable that it is against their express -desire that encouragement for improvement of the Negro be given him. -Witness, the laws passed by the several Legislatures as late as 1916 in -discrimination of him, one of which forbids the employment of truckmen -in the cotton mills along with other employees whose skin is white. -Several bills have been introduced for passage in the General Assembly -of South Carolina to make the instruction of Negroes by whites a -violation of the law, but up to this date, 1916, all measures for the -purpose have failed of enactment. - -When such laws finally become effective it may be proposed by the -Negroes to restrict the practice of medicine by blacks and whites to -the respective races to which each belongs. Likewise measures may be -devised and enacted into law, which will make it unlawful for white -salespeople to wait upon Negroes in the stores, or for Negroes to wait -upon whites as sales clerks. - -The constitutionality of the proposed law relating to the restriction -of Negro teachers only in Negro schools is thought by some lawyers to -be as applicable to physicians and clerks as to teachers. - -The same racial prejudice which showed its specter-head in demoniac -form in the case of the burning at the stake of two Negroes near the -town of Statesboro, Georgia, in the year 1905, and the previous death -by fire at the stake near Newman, Georgia, in 1895 of another was the -moving spirit that actuated the mob and guided the hearts and hands of -Henry Getzen and his band at Hamburg, twenty and thirty years before. -As fast as Getzen could select from among the prisoners those he -considered most worthy of death, they were taken out in the streets, -before the eyes of their wives and children and shot to death, in -the light of a brilliant moon reflecting the love of heaven, but no -wavering image of that love was anywhere to be found in Hamburg that -night. God and the angels had deserted it without any apparent concern -for the safety of the helpless blacks. - -When the firing ceased the mob’s victims, numbering seven with the two -who previously had been killed, were piled side by side in the most -conspicuous part of the town, and presented a grewsome sight, lying -stark, stiff and cold, when the Negroes who had fled from the town -returned to their homes on Sunday morning following. - -Those of the prisoners who were spared, about twenty-eight in all, -were given permission to leave and told to go with all speed at their -command which they were none too slow about doing. Volley after volley -was fired after them, over their heads with no intention to hit or -injure them. - -Had it been known before they were allowed to go that one of the -supposed dead was only assuming death the number freed would have -been reduced to twenty-seven instead of twenty-eight, for it was the -decision of the mob that nothing less than eight lives should be taken -in retaliation for the life of young Meriwether. Pompey Curry, who -was selected among those to be shot fell dead at the first report of -the guns and remained motionless and apparently breathless throughout -the examination of the bodies and their disposal by the mob until -the whites had all gone home, when he crawled through the high weeds -which were near by and made his escape in the woods with only a slight -wound in his leg. Among all the witnesses for the government in the -prosecution of members of the mob which followed the conflict, none -was of the importance of “Pompey Curry” as he knew by name a large -number of the men and could point them out on sight. He discharged his -duty as a witness in the celebrated trial, but a short time afterward -he suddenly disappeared and no one knows or appears to know whatever -became of him. - -The success of the mob in thus attacking and annihilating a company of -the government’s own soldiers and ruthlessly putting to death peaceable -citizens in defiance of the law, without judge or jury, gave the -greatest encouragement to the hopes of the whites. It was really of -more far-reaching consequences in influencing their lives and fortunes -than any incident ever occurring before or since in the history of -South Carolina. - -The direct opposite effect which it had upon the Negro and upon the -people of the North, where it occasioned the bitterest comment, -resulted in Congress appointing an investigation committee and the -substitution of white Union soldiers to fill the places made vacant -by the resignation of the Negroes from the ranks. Their resignation -resulted from the fear they had of the whites and sincere desire to -work in the interest of peace. They were also encouraged to resign by -such men as Chamberlain, whose record as Governor, although placed in -power by the votes of Negroes, is one of the most honorable of any -Governor who ever filled the office of Chief Executive. - -This tragic episode took from the Negro his last hope of being able to -control the elections which followed in the fall. It gave to the whites -all the freedom they desired to follow the doctrine of General Mart -Gary to vote early and often. By doing so, they changed a Republican -majority in Edgefield County of 2,300 to a Democratic majority of -almost 4,000! - -As an example of the perfect contempt with which Gary and his mobs -treated the authority of not only the officials of the County but of -the State may be cited his refusal to obey General Ruger’s orders to -have the court house at Edgefield vacated by the whites. At this time -he openly defied the military power of both the State and National -government when he with his Red Shirt regiment, which he organized, -captured the Chamberlain meeting on August 12, 1876. In a fiery speech -to the Negroes at that time he announced in no unmistakable terms that -no power above or below earth was sufficient to prevent the success of -the Democratic Party at the polls that year nor in any succeeding year. -He told the white men that an ounce of “Fearnot” was worth a ton of -“Persuasion” and exhorted them to put the ballots in the boxes and he -would see that every one was counted. - -[Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - -GREAT JUDICIAL FARCE. - - -The reign of lawlessness resulting in the torture and wanton murder of -the blacks following the Hamburg riot went unrestrained in spite of -the presence of white Union soldiers stationed in those sections where -the greatest outrages occurred after the Negro troops had been partly -mustered out. - -The reason for this was not want of ample power close at hand for -the enforcement of law and order and respect for the rights of every -citizen, white and black alike; but inefficiency or culpable neglect on -the part of the military authorities to assert any authority at all. -Through the leadership of Gary and Butler and some others, including -Hon. B. R. Tillman, Luther Ransom and George W. Croft, a prominent -citizen of Aiken, the whites were allowed to run rough-shod over the -Northern white soldiers just as they had succeeded previously in -intimidating and “cowing” the Negro militia. - -With the crazed white people swearing vengeance against every -northern man or woman known to be in sympathy with the movement for -the improvement of the Negro race, and the Negro and white soldiers -having demonstrated such poor ability or better stated, none at all, -in securing any decent respect for them and their work, the condition -of Martha Schofield’s school at this period is better imagined than -described. Located in the thick of the great white heat of the conflict -the principal and students were subjected to insults and indignities -that could be committed with impunity in times of great peril only. A -few nights before the trial at Aiken for the taking of testimony in the -case of the Hamburg rioters a number of armed men entered the yard and -some of them occupied the porch of Miss Schofield’s home. Taking a whip -in her hand she went out on the porch with a light in the other hand -and inquired as politely and calmly as she possibly could, what the -gentlemen would have, and if she could do anything for them. No one -made any reply but all immediately arose and departed in an orderly and -quiet manner. - -The tact, the power and magnetism with which this woman met and -disarmed her enemies were the same forces wielded by her in drawing -to herself the great following at the North so necessary in the -accomplishment of her great educational mission in the South. -Afterwards it served in attracting to her the help of those who only a -few years before sought to do her injury only. With her powers of mind -and heart, enriched and mellowed by a Christian spirit that plainly -indicated that she held malice for none, but charity for all, she -won the love, respect and admiration of everybody who came under her -influence. - -The absolute fearlessness and splendid self control maintained by her -during the rioting in Aiken preliminary to that great Judicial farce, -the trial of the members of the mob at Hamburg, is said by those who -witnessed it with her as having been courageous, if not heroic. Her -conduct on this occasion modulated by such propriety as required the -exercise of the greatest common sense, shows her to have been well -fitted for leadership in a time of great unrest and supreme anxiety. - -Hundreds of excited Negroes on this eventful occasion flocked to her -like biddies to the mother hen in time of danger. Her school was a -veritable shelter in the time of storm when large bodies of white men -on horses dressed in white uniforms decorated in red, with crosses -and skeleton heads approached and rode through the town. The leader -riding in front carried a huge banner made of a shirt large enough for -Goliath. It was spotted all over with large red spots indicative of -pistol wounds. On either side was placed a Negro dough-face ornamented -at the top by chignons. This banner turned high in the air, round and -round, in the swift ride through Aiken from every side that the Negroes -looked, all that they could see was a bleeding, grinning, dying Negro. - -The only thought among them was, how much longer each of them had -to live, and so they rushed in multitudes to Miss Schofield whose -interpretation of one of the inscriptions on the banner somewhat -allayed their fears and restored quiet among them. - -One of the inscriptions said: “Awake, Arise or Be Forever Fallen.” The -other contained this: “None but the Guilty Need Fear.” - -Among the excited Negroes were old men, ex-slaves, and young, strong, -manly fellows; but these, along with the weeping and moaning women and -crying, bellowing children, rushed to the grounds and buildings of the -Schofield school, all quaking with fear, one old fellow, exclaiming, -“Lawd, God-er mi’ty, I sho cant stan dis!” - -And all the while this extravagant defiance of the police power of -the city and military authority of the United States was happening, -great bodies of the government’s own soldiers were standing idly by -and looking on! The impotency of the whites in uniform had brought the -same disgrace to the flag with which the Negro militia besmirched it at -Hamburg. - -The white Union troops cheered the marauding mob, and even formed in -line and marched to the court house with them, where the rioters, or -many of them, were to be arraigned on the charge of murder. - -The company was afterwards severely reprimanded for this conduct, and -while they never again set up cheers for the “Red Shirts” or fell -in ranks with them, it was common knowledge that a cordial relation -existed between them and the whites. - -Under this condition of affairs it should not have been expected that -anything more than a ridiculous farce could have been made of the -court hearing given the party of lynchers. Besides, the Radicals in -power at the State Capitol were charged, not without much evidence to -support the charges made, with corruption of every sort, including -bold, out-right stealing and conspiracy to commit murder, and were, -therefore, in no condition to throw stones. The few Negroes intelligent -enough to present the case against the mob at the bar of justice were -intimidated alike by the whites of the South and the Radical whites of -the North, as well as by the action of the military authorities, who -allowed the brutalities to proceed with impunity just as they had gone -on before their arrival in the country. - -Although the evidence at this mock trial was sufficient to convict -almost any man indicted of murder in the first degree, the kind hearted -Judge instead of remanding the prisoners to jail, admitted them to -bail in the sum of $2,000. This, it is believed, was done through the -discovery by Judge Maher of the utter hopelessness of any attempt to -prosecute the cases to a successful conclusion. Not only were the -Negroes intimidated, but the court itself fell under the vice of this -baneful influence, lying like a spectre, between justice and the -freedom of the culprits. This feature of the case is made unique by the -granting of any bail at all, and doubly so by the smallness of the sum -fixed. It becomes a travesty upon justice, if there was ever one, when -the character and financial responsibility of some of the men signing -the bonds are considered. Chreighton Matheny, a man who did not own -ten dollars in property in all the world was accepted as surety to -the extent of $20,000.00! It is the only case on record in the whole -judicial history of the universe where prisoners were allowed to go on -the bond of each other. One of the leaders in the riot who delights -in recounting the part he played in the murders at Hamburg and who -was given his liberty on a spurious bond at this trial, says that the -performance was a perfunctory and laughable travesty on law, but that -the action was necessary, for if the attempt to put any of them in jail -had been made every official in the court house and town obnoxious to -them would have been killed and they would all have gone to Texas or -some other hiding place. - -If the judicial outrage at Aiken did not show a corrupt collusion -between the whites of the South and the white Union soldiers sent from -the North, certainly the relations of the Red Shirts and Yankee soldier -made this evident a few weeks later when the Ellenton riot broke out. -The pent up prejudice and passion lying dormant in the heart of the -Negro and whites for ages broke loose in all its fury and swept the -whole western section of South Carolina with a fan of fire, scattering -desolation and ruin wherever it touched. The possibility of the -outrages committed in the bloody drama of this riot is inconceivable -except upon the hypothesis that a thorough understanding existed -between the whites of the South and the soldiers of the North. In -spite of the fact that the government was supported or thought it was -supported, by the best soldiers the world had ever seen, by the men -who met Lee at Gettysburg and Johnston and Hood at Atlanta, Resaca and -Chickamauga, and also in spite of the fact that the Negro population -in the section affected out numbered the white population by about -ten to one, the murder of Negroes, accompanied by a reign of terror -unapproached by any in history with the possible exception of the one -attending the French Revolution, went on almost daily, the military -authorities being unable or possibly disinclined to afford any measure -of relief. - -The failure of the government to meet its promises to the Negroes, -especially those made by many unscrupulous imposters who immigrated -to South Carolina and conspired with a number of native born white -sons, among the latter ex-Governor Moses, to obtain control of -the State government fell not so heavily upon the spirits of the -leading, thinking colored people as the failure of the government -to preserve law and order and insure them that security of life and -liberty which are indispensible to peace and happiness and essential -to the accumulation of wealth. It is not at all improbable that -the government’s proclamation to the Negroes insuring them against -molestation at the hands of their white neighbors was one of the -contributory causes of the Hamburg riot and all the other disturbances -that so seriously injured the Negro and the whole South. But the -government and the soldiers in blue who made him the equal of his -master and the white people among whom he lived could not or would not -make him master of the situation in which his freedom had placed him. - -That distinctive quality of the Negro, predominating his character more -prominently than any other trait, of aspiring to authority, while a -perfectly laudable ambition, served him no good purpose at the period -of which this is written, but inflicted on him serious injury because -of both the untenableness of his position and the inability of his -government to make it tenable. - -The majority of the educated white people of the South, as well as -the ignorant, all speak out and say in 1916 what they asserted in -1876--that God made them of better clay than He made colored people -and that they will shoot Negroes and steal their votes from the ballot -boxes just as long as murder and robbery may be necessary to maintain -their hold on the government, but there is not nearly so much chance of -them being able to do this now as in the years gone by, simply because -of the preparation of the Negro for the ballot which preparation is -rapidly making him not only fit to vote but qualified to fill the -position in which he once utterly failed for want of efficiency. -Through education he is making his position, both as a citizen and a -voter quite tenable, and by industry is spreading an influence that -will multiply the wealth of the South, in the distribution of which he -will share in proportion to his intelligence, industry and superiority -of numbers. - -No one saw more clearly than Miss Schofield that the amelioration of -the condition of the race could be accomplished through education only -and the disturbing effect of the riot on her work gave her deep concern -and great anxiety. She had been in the South at the time of the mock -trial of the Hamburg rioters long enough to know with exactness the -prejudice and bitterness of the whites toward the cause dearest to her -heart and observed at close range each and every move made, determined -to courageously carry forward her work if in doing so it required the -sacrifice of her frail little body, which she always spoke of as -nothing but the temporary residence of a transitory soul upon which she -was dependent here and hereafter, now and forevermore, for all earthly -and eternal happiness. - -No one, either white or black, came under her influence at this gloomy -period without being deeply impressed with the divine inspiration -that apparently guided her. All went away feeling verily that any -harm to that woman or her school could be inflicted only at too great -an expense, either in the loss of all self-respect or in remorse of -conscience, if not actual conflict in earnest, with the authorities at -Washington. She drove her tormentors away with kindness and kept them -at a safe distance with the philosophy of MacBeth, which made all who -cared to do her an injury feel that in murdering her work they would -also murder their own sleep and peace both here on earth and throughout -all eternity. - -Could she have gained an audience with the men literally butchering the -colored population alive, and have spoken to them of the enormity of -their sins, it is possible that time at least, would have been given -the poor distracted Negroes to bury their dead. But time for argument -and reason was a thing of the past. Bodies lay for a week and even -longer, uncoffined and unknelled. A Negro named Bryant who was killed -by Captain Bush’s mob, near Ellenton, lay by the roadside from Saturday -evening until late Monday afternoon, when a few brave colored men -aroused sufficient courage to undertake to bury it. These had it in -a pine box of cheap manufacture, just as the unhappy man had fallen, -without a funeral robe or garment, in everyday old working clothes, -perhaps all the clothes the poor fellow had in the world, and were on -the way to a newly made hole in the ground near by, to lay it away from -the mutilating hand of the marauders as well as to protect it from -the pinions of the vultures on wings above, when a band of Red Shirts -appeared on the scene and forced them to flee for their lives, leaving -the body, stiff and stark, in all its gruesomeness to lie in state for -the benefit of all Negroes who might pass by. - -While this squad of the “Red Shirts” were busily engaged in -intercepting the interment of the bodies of men which they had slain or -had assisted in slaying, another body just a short distance away was -equally as busy in the manufacture of new corpses, while some of the -unfortunates were on their knees in prayer. - -Among the most prominent of the Negroes falling a victim to the -mutilators’ knives and the assassins’ bludgeons, with the dead and -the dying lying all around and stenching the pure air of Heaven -with the sickly odor of death, was Simon Coker, an unusually bright -mulatto, leader of the Republican Party in Barnwell County and the -representative of that County in the State Senate. He was shown the -body of Bryant, dead for several days, and told that equal honors -would be given his distinguished carcass when it had been made ready -for exhibition. He was promised this distinction for urging Negroes to -vote, to aspire to official position, and to stand for their rights, -even in the face of death itself. - -Captain Nat Butler, a brother of General M. C. Butler, under whose -direction the execution of Coker took place, ordered the fatal shots -while the victim was in the middle of his last supplication on earth to -Him who alone can give or has any right to take away. - -Before being horribly murdered Coker was reminded that he had but -very few minutes to live and was asked by Captain Butler if there was -anything which he could do for him. With great calmness, he is said by -a member of one of his executioners to have replied: “Yes, sir, here -is my cotton house key; I wish you would please send it to my wife and -tell her to have our cotton ginned and pay our landlord our rent just -as soon as she can.” - -Butler is reported as saying in reply; “Very well, Coker, I will attend -to this. Now is there anything else?” - -“Yes, sir,” said the Negro, “I would like to pray.” - -“All right, get at it quick,” Butler answered by way of giving his -consent. - -Before the doomed man could finish his prayer, the order, “Make ready, -men, aim, fire,” was given and Simon Coker, still in a kneeling -position, with pleas of forgiveness half finished on his lips, passed -from earth into eternity. - -When the body was found a ghastly wound in the forehead as if it -had been made at close range was noticed. Evidence subsequently -disclosed that it had been made by one Dunlap Phinney, who delighted -in acknowledging the deed and humorously remarked in recounting the -terrible crime that he did it because he wanted no more dead “niggers” -to come to life again and turn witness as Pompey Curry had done when he -“played possum” with the same men in the Hamburg riot. - -And this outrage, like others previously perpetrated, and still others -committed later on, occurred under the very eyes of the soldiers in -blue stationed in the South in the interest of maintaining the rights -of those citizens who had been made free by the force of their arms, in -deadly combat with the same men now being allowed to deny the Negroes -all that freedom implied and all that made the war worthy of being -fought! - -Perhaps the hand of God had less to do with the non-interference of -the government in the rioting than the influence set at work by the -misrule of those in power of the State government. Every intelligent -soldier knew of the chaotic condition of the country as a result of -the open handed robbery and connivance with crime on the part of the -State officials and decided possibly that the reign of lawlessness -prevailing was no worse than the infamous conduct of the government -under the constituted authorities. At any rate, the “Red Shirts” were -allowed a wide latitude in defiance of all authority, and Mart Gary’s -and Butler’s doctrine of spreading terror among the Negroes as the -only means of rescuing the State from the misrule prevailing triumphed -famously. - -Preceding the arrival of the national military authorities, travel -and the peaceable pursuit of business was made as hazardous by the -inefficiency and corruption of the constituted authorities as it had -been made by the creation of the reign of terror by the “Red Shirts.” -Radical officials, instead of the Negro, should be held accountable -for many of the real grievances complained of by the white people. In -the hope of winning his vote the Negro was promised by most of these -time-servers and self-seekers almost everything under the sun which -he could desire, including not only the proverbial forty acres and a -mule but absolute protection in attempts at inter-marriage with the -whites. He was urged not only to assert his rights but to defend them -even if it became necessary to shoot to death whole communities of -white people in doing so. With this instruction and the additional -assurance that the government at Washington would protect them in -every thing they might do, is it any wonder that the conduct of these -simple, trusting, unsuspicious children of ignorance, ready to believe -any thing told them and as ready to act on false assumptions as on the -other sort, should have become very obnoxious to their former masters, -and especially to that class known as the “Poor Buckra?” - -Therefore, the work Miss Schofield undertook to do and accomplished -in spite of all opposition, that of educating the ignorant Negro and -empowering him with the sword of reason, in order that he might not be -led unwisely by those who sought to use him and did use him for selfish -purposes, was the great need of the times. - -A former member of one of the many “Red Shirt” bands who participated -in the outrages of the Ellenton and Hamburg riots and is at this time -(1916) an inmate of the home for Confederate soldiers at Columbia, S. -C., stated to the author that it was the firmness, the reasonableness -and plausibility of the arguments of Martha Schofield that influenced -him and his compatriots in crime from molesting the Schofield school. -He states that he and his friends once made designs looking to the -destruction of the school as a part of the plan in terrorizing the -Negroes and “scallawags,” but were prevented from doing so only by -the patriotism expressed by this little woman in a casual, brief -conversation, at a time when she least expected their design against -her. “We all felt, also,” added the old rebel, “that since we could -not possibly kill all the Negroes some of them would be forced to live -amongst us always, and since the more useful arts, such as farming, -house-keeping, sewing and cooking which we satisfied ourselves were -specialized in by Miss Schofield, were better done right than wrong her -work might be helpful to us, and so we agree to let her alone.” - -The great mission of her work was to teach the Negro the necessity of -preparing himself for the duties devolving upon him after freedom and -to place in his hands the knowledge with which he would be better able -to discharge these duties. This took him first through an elementary -course in physiology and hygiene, as the first duty of man as Miss -Schofield understood it, was to make of himself a good animal. The -author, by reason of her position in the medical profession and on -account of her attendance at the Schofield school is in a position -to know that the principles of hygiene and sanitation as taught and -practiced by Martha Schofield thirty years ago among the Negroes were -far in advance of that time, so far in advance that at this day and -time we see the same identical principles in use among us, improved -upon but slightly, if any. - -The fact that Miss Schofield had the intelligence and genius to begin -her work where it should have been begun, in the home, appealed to the -good common sense of her white neighbors who for economic reasons, -if not for nobler motives, desired improved living conditions to -obtain among the Negroes. In the moral and intellectual aspect of -the lives of the latter the white man took little or no interest, -except to disparage the work done in this direction; but morality and -intelligence are bred on physical prosperity. Instruction in the art -of farming and in the laws of sanitation and health served to free -many who came under the influence of the school early in life from -the shackles and bonds of a form of slavery woven in the factory of -ignorance. Immorality, superstition, disease and death are some of the -products of this factory. Great joy is taken in the fact that not one -of the graduates of Miss Schofield’s school has ever been convicted or -sentenced to penal servitude. This demonstrates the wisdom of education -as a means of stamping out crime. - -Robbery and murder by the Negroes in the new situation which freedom -had placed him was very uncommon, but he did practice a form of conduct -more humiliating to the whites than that of stealing their trashy -purses or taking their lives, which with the loss of their slaves and -their old aristocratic prestige, they considered worse than blasted. -He “mustered” into the service of the army, aspired to official -recognition and even cast votes and that at a time when his old master -was disfranchised! Why, he even arose to the position of Sheriff and -Attorney-General, Legislator and city Marshall. And in the execution of -the duties of his high office he often had occasion to arrest some of -his old masters or their best friends, and this aroused far more anger -among the whites than any of his lesser crimes, such as assassination, -robbery and the like. The white man resolved about like this: “The -Negro who steals my life and purse stealeth trash but he who steals my -high-blown greatness, takes that which shall not elevate him but make -him lie low, indeed, beneath six foot of earth and clay.” - -For want of a cool, calm and deliberate judgment which education is -supposed to give to man, regulating his action to suit occasions and -emergencies, the Negro in office, erred egregiously in his dealings -with the whites, as white men and the men of all races before being -made efficient by the refining influences of enlightenment, will -err and do err. As a legislator he enacted some very foolish and -unnecessary legislation, impracticable if not discriminatory. - -Among the ordinances of the town of Hamburg, which was ruled entirely -by Negroes, was one designed for the purpose of entrapping the white -men into the meshes of the law, although it was ostensibly passed in -the interest of the public health. It forbade any one to drink at a -public spring within the limits of the town except from some vessel -such as a gourd, cup or dipper, and was rigidly enforced by the town -marshall who was always a Negro. As many of the whites who passed by it -had no dipper or cup and were not disposed to use the one at the spring -for the public use as the Negroes enjoyed the same privilege as they -in its use, this ordinance caused the death of one of the marshalls of -the town and may have produced many riots if the Negro authorities had -resented extensively the defiance of this law which the whites took -particular pains to glaringly flaunt in their faces. - -On one occasion a white man was arrested and taken before “General” -Prince Rivers and fined five dollars for drinking from the spring -without a cup. Sometime after this incident a Mr. Cockrell in -attempting to drink from it in a similar way was arrested by the -Negro marshall who it is charged, used insolent and abusive language. -Cockrell resented it by stabbing the officer to death with a knife. He -escaped capture and trial for murder only by getting out of the town in -a coffin-box which a friendly merchant arranged for his convenience. -No one knew till years afterwards who it was that killed the vigilant -of the town’s peace, but everybody felt that this act also killed the -enforcement of the “Spout” spring ordinance even as dead as the town’s -dead marshall. - -Miss Schofield’s teaching included helpful instructions in the matter -of the responsibility of those entrusted with the exercise of power and -had for its object the work of storing the minds of the Negroes with -correct and practical principles of government, such as would promote -peace and contribute to the happiness and progress of both races -alike. With equal force she applied herself strenuously to the task -of impressing every Negro official that she could possibly reach with -the fact that the dignity of their office required an unostentatious -exercise of authority rather than a lavish display of power, which, -unfortunately for the Negro, seemed to characterize his first attempt -to rule. She taught that good government rested upon the exercise of -intelligent judgment and was made strong or weak in proportion to the -intelligence of those delegated to perform its functions, supposing, -of course, that intelligence also qualifies an individual (as it most -certainly does if it is heart deep), in moral fitness for the duties -and honors of office. - -No one can know her life and work as the author knows about them -without acknowledging that want of her divine messages is, at bottom -the sole cause of much of our present woe, as want of them were the -cause in 1860 and 1870 and 1880 of our suffering and misery then. - -In the light of this fact, with all of us, white and black alike, -becoming more and more inclined to accept it as a fact, it is scarcely -possible that any attempt sufficiently strong to retard the educational -advancement of the Negro to any great extent, will ever be made again. - -Martha Schofield’s pupils and graduates are now scattered all over this -broad land, the majority of them engaged in farming, and are making a -success; but a vast number are architects, house-builders, while not -a few are successfully employed in the manufacture of useful articles -of all kinds. Among the best teachers of the colored race are numbered -some of her students, while the law and medical professions each have a -few to their credit. - -But the influence of her teaching in the preparation of colored men and -women for the practice of humanitarian and religious principles, the -forces behind all endeavor that can be depended upon to make the world -a better place in which to live, is the greater legacy of her life to -the South, the white as well as the colored people. - -If the white men of 1876 had had the regard for the doctrine of the -brotherhood of man with which Miss Schofield’s instruction abounded, -the brutalities and barbarities of those horrible times would have been -impossible. Intellectual and moral advancement of both the colored -and white race is necessary, absolutely, to a higher conception and -a greater appreciation of this doctrine which carries with it the -conviction that all the world is one country and no religion is worthy -which does not compel us to do good wherever and whenever good may be -done. - -Miss Schofield never seemed to question whether a solicitor of alms was -worthy or not but devoted her time and energy to the immediate relief -of the need. That the applicant was in need and whether it was within -her reach to assist him or her, black or white, was all that appeared -to concern her. - -It was out of the spirit of such sainted souls that the reaction in the -North against the continuance of the profligate conditions in the South -arose, and out of the wisdom of men and women of the North and South of -her calibre and justness, that remedies for the healing of the wounds -were found. But not without leaving scars, however, as a huge reminder -that like conditions in the future will produce like disaster. - -The estimated killed among the colored in the Hamburg and Ellenton -riots is between 150 and 200. The number of whites killed is less than -twenty. - -But for the change in the attitude of the United States troops towards -the whites, whom they informed that rioting must terminate, after the -Ellenton riot had then been in progress for more than a week, the -number of killed and wounded might have run into thousands instead of -only hundreds. - -So the stationing of soldiers in South Carolina was at last justified -even though they stained, if not disgraced, for all time the uniform -they wore. Their failure to prevent rioting, accompanied as it was -by a large number of infinite outrages, may be forgiven but never -forgotten by memory. - -Although two thousand or more white men participated in these riots -only about eight hundred were ever arrested. A charge of murder or -conspiracy to commit murder was made against each one, but only a few -were tried and none punished. - -The reason of the failure of the government to press the charges and -convict the guilty was not for want of evidence nor from any fear of -another conflict of like character but on account of the election of -General Wade Hampton to the governorship, in whose courage and justice -the United States Government had perfect confidence. Besides, the most -intelligent Negroes as well as the whole radical regime of the South -plead for moderation in dealing with these cases. The radicals utilized -the Federal indictments against the “Red Shirts” as a scare-crow to -intimidate them in the prosecution of themselves in the State courts -which followed the inauguration of Hampton. The Democrats in Congress -who were bitterly contesting, at the time the election of Hayes, a -Republican, to the presidency over Tilden, also lent their powerful -influence to the motion to nol pros the cases against the whites by -agreeing not to press the cases at home against the former rulers of -the South. It was also stipulated that the Democrats must accept the -choice of Hayes for president if the Republicans succeeded in having -the troops from South Carolina and Louisiana removed. - -These were the conditions upon which a treaty of peace was entered -into by the Republicans and Democrats at the time of the election of -President Hayes, but since that time laws have been passed in many of -the States making it a felony for citizens to utter such agreements, -and, of course, would apply for more severely in the case of officials -whose sworn duty it is to prosecute those guilty of crime. - - - - -CHAPTER X. - -CRIME BREEDS CRIMINALS. - - -After the withdrawal of troops from the South, crime of every sort went -regularly on much as usual, though not on nearly so large a scale as -before. Negro men and women, as well as those of the whites who had -sympathized with the radical regime, were whipped and even murdered -on the flimsiest and slightest pretext and in the most wanton manner. -Robbery was of such frequent occurrence as to occasion surprise only -when it did not happen. Negroes became good Democrats or submitted to -unmerciful whippings. This soon reduced the number of objectionable -voters to such a negligent quantity as they all got lost in a -well-hidden minority. Everybody who was not a Democrat was worse than -an infidel. A Republican stood no more chance of success in a contest -for political preference than a snow ball in the infernal regions. -Social ostracism was handed out to him to the extent of ignoring him -altogether, visiting his home in case of the direst necessity and then -long enough only to attend to the matter in hand in the shortest time -possible. His little children were not infrequently whipped by other -children on account of their father being a Republican. - -This was the spirit existing between a South Carolina Democrat and -Republican only a few years ago, but today the two meet on terms of -perfect equality, provided, of course, that each are white; and discuss -the politics of the country without a quarrel or even exciting much -attention. The Democrat is perfectly willing to let the Republican -run the government at Washington as long as the Republican remains -indifferent to the rule of the Democrat in the government of the State. -The one bribes the other and each cheats the Negro. The latter’s -vote, under the disfranchisement laws enacted by the Democrats, is so -negligible as to draw the contempt of the majority party and obtain a -few false promises only from the party of the minority. - -But in spite of the handicap of continued injustice and persecution, -in the face of opposition when the race was weaker and not so capable -of bearing its burdens as now, the Negro race through the assimilation -of knowledge is evolving at a rapid rate. Miss Schofield’s work is -bearing fruit, enriched by the multiplication of schools all over the -South. The habit of whipping and murdering Negroes is growing less -and less frequent and becoming in most of the Southern States, quite -a serious offense. Recent acts of some of the legislatures of States -make a county in which a person is lynched responsible to the family -sustaining the loss, and suit to recover the sum of $2,000.00 as an -indemnity is authorized. Improvement in the moral standard of the -whites is making for improvement in the moral standard of the Negro. -As the condition of one race improves the other improves. The two will -continue to go up or down together. - -The lesson that crime breeds criminals, taught by the brutalities of -the “Red Shirts,” will never be forgotten by the white people of the -South. When these people tired of robbing and assassinating Negroes, -many of them turned on their own kind and not a few but suffered -much. A man named Taylor for no other grievance than that he accepted -the office of Sheriff under Chamberlain, a Republican governor, was -shot down in his own home under the very eyes and nose of his wife. -Conviction of the criminal was, of course, impossible as there were -numbers and numbers of men bound together by oaths and other ties of -secret invention ready at call to perjure themselves in any event -affecting a member of their clan, while at that time a wife could -testify neither for nor against her husband. The criminality of the -times had made criminals of men formerly of gentlemanly traits, and -splendid character, while those of an immoral nature from inheritance -were rendered desperately and hopelessly criminal. - -Than “Uncle” Alex Bettis, there was never a better Negro in all the -world. It is said of him that he could really do no wrong wilfully, -that all his errors were to be charged to the ignorance of his poor -brain rather than to any sinister motive of his pure heart; yet -notwithstanding his reputation as a faithful friend to the white -man, to all men of all races, the type of criminal produced by the -criminality of the times was so depraved that it sought the life of -Bettis, justifying their actions by asserting that his work as a -minister and an advocate of education for the colored race was inimical -to the best interests of the people, white and black alike. - -Although almost illiterate, “Uncle Alex” was truly a power behind the -throne of grace on earth, for them behind that throne, when he directed -the machinery connected with it, all imaginary blessings on earth and -in Heaven flowed, even to over-flowing in the hearts of the Negroes. -It is admitted now, and should have been acknowledged at the time of -his great ministry that Mr. Bettis’ assurances of salvation to the -Negro for a righteous life and eternal damnation for a wicked life well -served to cause thousands of his followers to abandon their ways of sin -and lead lives of self-sacrifice and Christian effort, as Jesus would -have all peoples to live and act. - -Perhaps his preaching was not considered objectionable and had he -confined himself solely to that alone, would not have been disturbed; -but he had become imbued with the redeeming influence of education -through contact with the Schofield school at Aiken and early in -his work began the agitation for a Negro school, where, along with -elementary literary courses, should be taught the industrial arts as -Miss Schofield was doing. This aroused the highly criminal element of -the whites, who wanted some pretext to further persecute the Negroes, -and so it was ordered at one of their meetings that Bettis should be -put to death. The day, date and place for his execution had been fixed, -but on account of an accident or some illness to his horse, a large -iron-gray, known to the whole country-side, the minister passed the -band of murderers bent on his assassination, astride another horse, -in disguise. The leader of the mob inquired of the rider if he knew of -the whereabouts of Bettis. He replied that “preacher Bettis wus jes’ -a little way up de road at Simon Kenny’s ho’se, and wus ’er comin’ er -long terrectly.” - -The mob waited all the afternoon and throughout the night for Bettis -but he never came. So early the next morning they called in person at -the Bettis’ home. He received them with great kindness, and although he -knew the object of their visit, showed no excitement whatever. - -When informed that his death had been decided on, and that he had -but little time in which to live, Bettis displayed a calmness and -self-control that would have stripped Zeno of his honors at the shrine -of stoicism. - -“Well, ef dat be de way der gud Lawd hab fer me ter go” said Bettis, -“I’s re’dy, but yo’ genermen luk lak yer is pow’rful hungry, an’ befo’ -yer tends ter de bisness at han’ pleas let mer ole lady fix yer a bit’ -ter ete.” - -As something to eat in those days was very welcome and there was -unusual hunger among the party, the consent of the mob to have Mrs. -Bettis prepare the meal was readily obtained. During the interval -between its preparation and consumption Bettis entertained his guests -with talks relating to his crops, the condition of crops generally -throughout his circuit of churches and kept repeating at the end of -each subject: “But laws er mercy, youn’ marsters, its a heap wusser -fer de po’ nigger dan it wus befo’ de wah. Now, he’s got nuttin but -freedum, whiles fo’ freedum he hab all he wants ter ete an’ mo’ ter -boot, an’ hab close to ware and ebbryting ter kep hissef wa’m.” - -If these bad men were not wholly disarmed by the simple, rustic beauty -of the Negro’s unaffected discourse in the presence of death, during -the whole of which not once did he evince any sign that a single -thought of his sad fate had ever passed through his troubled brain, -they were certainly deeply affected by it, as well as by that act of -his in desiring to feed them, they who had come, not to feed him but -to make food of him for the worms of old graves in the silent woods of -sighing forest trees! - -When the hungry had been fed and all had returned to the sitting room -of the humble Negro home, Mr. Bettis said, “Well, youn’ marsters, I -g’ess yo’ is ’er wantin’ ter go, and so I’se not er goin’ ter dela’ yo’ -lon’, but I do wants ter pra’, ef yo’ pleas’es suhs.” - -[Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER XI. - -MOB SPIRIT OF LICK SKILLET. - - -At the time of this dramatic period in the life of “Uncle” Alex, the -greatest excitement prevailed elsewhere in Lick Skillet neighborhood, -as Allen Dodson and his neighbors, armed with rifles and led by blood -hounds, pursued the trail of Leslie Duncan, a son of Laura, whom the -reader met in the first chapter of this story, firmly determined to -hang him to the first convenient limb and riddle his body with bullets. -With a pitch-fork he had stabbed Willie Hudson, Allen’s 15 year old -son and inflicted a severe wound in the stomach, for whipping him with -a lash. Besides, in leaving the Dodson farm he had broken a labor -contract which he had made with Mr. Dodson at one dollar per week and -board, and deserved to be captured and shot without the expense and -formality of a trial in a legalized court of justice! - -“Unless we make an example of this ‘nigger,’” said the leader of the -party, as they took a short rest, propped up on their guns, “it will -soon come to a pass that we might as well try to control the winds as -these terrifying black brutes. If we don’t subdue them they will subdue -us. That’s what old Ben Tillman says, and he knows. Good God, fellows, -you ought to have heard that old one-eyed rebel speak the other night -at Daleyville. I’d vote for him for any position he might want. I would -even vote to change the form of government in America and make him -Emperor if I only had the chance!” - -Long, loud and enthusiastic cheering followed this declaration by -Millard Dodson, the eldest son of Allen, whose eternal enmity for -Leslie was quite well understood by all members of the mob as well as -by others of his neighbors. Those who refused to join in the attempted -capture and assassination said that the boy had a right to defend -himself, and intimated that the quarrel and fight were precipitated by -Millard to rid the community of Leslie who was paying entirely too -much attention to Matilda Deas, a nineteen year old mulatto employed -as cook in the Dodson home, whose affection for Leslie dated back to -their school days together eight years before, to suit Millard. His -wife had on one occasion abandoned him and threatened a separation on -account of the gossip of intimacy between him and Matilda. Leslie, who -had departed in haste after wounding the boy, which incident took place -three hours before it was timed by Millard to come off made good use of -the spare moments at his disposal for eluding the mob, which he knew in -his own mind would follow him, unopposed by the police authorities, and -execute him if his capture could be effected. - -With him it was a case of life, with Matilda and children and a happy -home, although he knew the sacred purity and virtue of his betrothed -had been despoiled by the lust of one of the men, at least, seeking -his life; if he could escape this was possible; otherwise it was death -with all the tortures of the damned. So he spurred himself on and -onward in his flight, through tangled woods and swamps, across deep and -swift flowing streams, over hills and high precipices, down through -the valleys and old fashioned fields, stopping only once in ten hours -to rest at a Negro farm home, where he was given some food and a small -bit of change to aid him along on his journey to a place of safety, if -place of safety beyond the grave there was! Twice or thrice he heard -the barking of dogs and the voices of men as nearer and nearer they -approached and his heart almost stopped beating. It developed that -what he did hear was the reports of cattle buyers from the West who -were in the South buying up the “scrub stock” to take to the plains -to fatten for the Chicago packing houses. As fear of being overtaken -and summarily put to death, without a last word or look or kiss from -his sweetheart, would tend to accelerate his speed, so would that joy -he felt over the possibility of escape and final reunion with Matilda -cause him to double and redouble his energies in his onward course in -the mad race for life. - -His pursuers discounting the cleverness of the Negro in selecting only -unfrequented roads and abandoned farm-houses, as places of travel and -concealment when a rest became imperative, had lost the trail at the -beginning of the hunt and on the second morning, although they searched -diligently until midnight on the evening before, found the hunters and -their bird of prey some thirty odd miles apart. Dissentions had arisen -among the members over the conduct of the chase at the beginning which -for a while threatened to break up the party, but about this time Ben -Milligan, who was drunk when the party first set out and unable to go -at first call joined them with a gallon of “Old North Carolina Corn,” -and the information that Leslie had been seen only a few hours before -in the Shinburnally neighborhood. Under the stimulation of the whiskey -and the false promises of the leader of the mob to pay the party first -to lay hands on Leslie Duncan the sum of twenty-five dollars, new -momentum was injected into the chase and as long as the whiskey lasted -it was energetic enough to elicit the praise of the most pronounced -grouch among the men. - -But miscalculations were again made, as Leslie was many miles from -Shinburnally and was going as fast as his tired legs could carry him on -and on in an opposite direction. - -In the meantime, Mrs. Millard Dodson in a rage of indignation over the -report going the rounds of the neighborhood and gaining credence each -day that the ‘yaller woman’ at her home had succeeded in alienating -the affections of her husband completely, had taken advantage of -Millard’s absence to rid her household of the presence of the person -she conceived to be the source of much of her domestic infelicity, -shame and disgrace. With the aid of John Quincy, her eldest son, she -had administered a terrible beating to the woman and at the point of a -gun had marched her three miles from the farm and after commanding her -to go and admonishing her never to show herself in Lick Skillet again -on penalty of death, left her and returned to the house, stopping at -each of the neighbor’s houses to inform them of what she had done. - -During her absence from the house, Millard and his party, which had -postponed the chase for want of more whiskey, had returned and were -ransacking the pantries and side boards in the dining room as she -entered, in quest of food which they had gone without for nearly -thirty-six hours. - -“Where’s Matilda?” inquired Millard, as his wife suddenly entered the -house. - -“That Negro wench is gone” she told him in a calm, unimpassioned -voice, “and gone forever. I have borne the disgrace of the reported -relation between her and you as long as I can, much longer and far more -patiently than I should have been expected to, so I gave her a whipping -which she will never forget and took the gun and marched her away with -such a warning that will be heeded.” - -Millard tried hard to conceal the effect which the temporary loss of -his paramour had on him by approving the action of his wife; at the -same time he assured her that the common gossip of the neighborhood -was without the least foundation, and that it would have aided in the -capture had Matilda been retained for a few days longer. But that -indescribable inner consciousness which betrays guilt and convicts the -criminal beyond the hope of escape, except through suicide, and suicide -is not escape, marked the stain of dishonor and shame all over his -countenance with its brush of indelible guilt. - -After the departure of the members of the mob, pandemonium broke loose -in the Dodson home over Millard’s attempt to chastise his wife for -running Matilda away, being intercepted by his two daughters and the -energetic pugilistic activities of the wife. When the resounding, -reverberating atmosphere had cleared away the father found two large -bruises on his face and a slight wound in the back from a knife as -evidence, proof and positive, that his was essentially a family of -fighters on the mother’s side at least. Matilda, at this time, was more -than ten miles away and happy as a bird suddenly freed from its cage -except for one thing which burdened her soul as no other event had -ever done since the evening that the beastly Dodson had forced her to -surrender her body to his passion in satisfying his greedy lust, and -that one thing was the ignorance in which she lived of the safety and -security of her lover, Leslie, whom she felt quite sure by or before -that hour had been captured and lynched. - -Maybe he had made good his escape. For the latter she had hoped and -prayed with the earnestness, desperation and despair with which she -so long warded off the entreaties and appeals of Dodson when he first -made the advances which finally culminated in the degradation of her -life. Her miserable life was spent in his home only under compulsion, -the compulsion of a labor contract entered into by her in legal form, -a breach of which she knew from the experience of other colored women -employed under such terms and conditions meant only one thing--a term -of penal servitude at the hardest of the most degraded sort of labor! - -So she had determined to carry out her part of the contract and at the -end of it marry Leslie and settle down in a home of her own, to bless -it, perhaps, with the voices of children and all the endearments which -the relations of father, mother and child mean to mankind. - -But in a world of strange and unfriendly relations, the only sort of -a world which she had ever known, having been but eight years old on -the day of the impeachment of President Andrew Johnson, in the great -white-heat of the conflict being waged by the whites of the North and -the whites and the Negroes of the South in that great historical drama -known all over the civilized world as the “Reconstruction Period!” What -blighted hopes they should have been! Meditating over the hopelessness -of her present plight, separated from her lover, whose body at that -moment for all she knew might be dangling at the end of a rope, stung -to the heart by hundreds of bullets from the guns of armed murderers; -and without the reach, comfort and consolation of her father, who was -at that time serving a sentence in the penitentiary for disposing of -a crop under lien, the spirit of despair was rapidly enveloping her -troubled soul, when lo, and behold, there appeared before her no other -a person than Dodson on his swiftest mare with Leslie in tow, tied hard -and fast to his saddle! As unexpected as a bolt of lightning from the -clear blue sky and with the vigor and fierceness of a tiger she sprang -between the horse and the bound boy and began biting and knawing at the -rope with the voracity of a starving lion in contact with its hunk of -meat. - -At first Millard drew his pistol and threatened to shoot if she did -not desist but paying no attention at all to his demands she kept on -chewing the rope as if she had not heard, when Leslie managed to secure -his knife from his pocket and get it into her hands with which she cut -the rope in two, and set her lover free. Then facing her traducer and -heaping curse after curse upon him and daring him to shoot, she managed -to distract his attention from Leslie and give the latter time to get -out of reach, which he did, remaining, however, near by in concealment -ready at any moment to spring upon his adversary and engage him in -mortal combat if further harm threatened his sweetheart. - -For the purpose of making Leslie’s escape secure. Matilda consented to -return with Dodson on condition that the charges against her lover be -withdrawn and he be allowed to leave the country unmolested by any mob -or officers of the law; and seating herself behind him on his swift, -gay, young horse the two had scarcely begun the journey back home when -the girl spied Leslie in hiding. With the dexterity of a born adroit -sleuth she extracted from one of the pockets in the back of Dodson’s -pants the pistol with which he had failed to frighten her and dropped -it silently in the dust before the eyes of Leslie, all unknown to -Dodson. In the next few moments the latter was looking down the barrel -of his own gun, his teeth chattering as if suddenly attacked by a -chill and his whole body shaking and quivering as if in the throes of -an ague. He very quickly consented to be bound hand and foot and tied -to a tree in the woods some distance from the road-side and forever -abandon the prosecution of Leslie, and permit Matilda to go in peace -and trouble her no more, as the price of his life, now at the mercy -of those whose liberty of body and soul less than an hour before was -entirely in his hands to be dealt with as he wished. - -[Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER XII. - -GREAT PROGRESS OF NEGRO. - - -The predicament of Millard was rendered all the more distressing by the -engagement of most of his friends in the conspiracy against the life of -“Uncle” Alex Bettis. They were not in ignorance, however, of the chase -for Leslie Duncan and the desire to get into it themselves probably -hastened the brief consultation which resulted in the release of Bettis -on his promise to see to it that the classes of study in his school -included agriculture and not social and political economy. Besides -Brother Bettis’ prayer was a masterful plea for the forgiveness of the -sins of those bent on taking his life. It was pathetic. Some of the -mob shed tears, real heart-felt tears, that flow from the heart in our -moments of contemplation of the generousness of God and beauty of his -handiwork as naturally as rain from a mountain summer cloud. - -Those who felt the Omnipotent power of God in the kindness and prayers -of this simple old colored man counselled with the more marble-hearted -and vicious of their number, and all at last agreed that while the old -man’s magnetic influence and his powerful, mysterious control over -himself in a period of the greatest suspense might prove a monster -with which they would have to deal later on, none could have the heart -wicked enough to put him to death. - -So Mr. Bettis demonstrated a strategic ability that should prove -to be the admiration of white men, learned and skilled in the art -of strategy, as well as proved conclusively in his own case, the -efficacy and power of prayer. Until the day of his death he always -maintained that it was not the delay which the preparation of the -dinner occasioned giving him time to influence the men against taking -his life; nor, indeed the kindness displayed in the act of feeding and -nourishing his enemies, but wholly and absolutely the power of God in -answer to prayer! - -This demonstration in his own case of the saving efficacy of prayer was -worth more to him than all the volumes of theology ever written could -have been in reaching the ears and hearts of his benighted followers, -who had to be made to see and feel with their own sense of sight and -touch the evidence of the tangible things which an educated mind finds, -without literal interpretation, in everything, even in rocks and stones -and running brooks. - -He preached not to the heads of his hearers, but to their hearts; not -about Emerson, Spencer, Napoleon, or Shakespeare, but about Jesus -Christ, His death, His resurrection and His power to resurrect even -them, as He was resurrected if only they would believe on Him and live -such lives as He had lived. - -Is it not remarkable that a man with the power to carry such a -message to those who stood in such great need if it should have been -singled out for destruction by those whose interest he was serving in -disseminating the unadulterated doctrine of the lowly Nazarene? Yet -history of sacred and profane origin all record that the men and women -who really benefit their kind do so at the risk of martyring themselves. - -The power of prayer which the Rev. Alexander Bettis used so -dramatically in rescuing himself from an ignominous death was used -effectively in the establishment and later the development of a great -school in which through the adoption of the methods pursued at the -Schofield school at Aiken, the condition of thousands of children and -hundreds of homes have been reformed, even transformed, revolutionized -and made new. This school in honor of its founder and executive head -until the day of his death is known as the Bettis Academy and is -located on a farm of several hundred acres near Trenton, S. C. The -interest taken in it at its earliest inception by Miss Schofield, -together with the great work done by Mr. Bettis at his own expense -without any compensation whatever, made the institution possible and a -force from the start in the education of the Negroes from many of the -counties of South Carolina and Georgia. - -The great personality of the founder attracted to the school like a -loadstone, large numbers of Negroes, and Miss Schofield, who enjoyed -Mr. Bettis’ confidence in full, seeing the opportunity which the school -afforded her to accomplish the maximum of results, most heartily -cooperated in the conduct of it. She not only wrote and lectured for -her school but for Bettis Academy as well. - -In fact, every line written and every word spoken in the interest of, -or inimical to, the interest of all related enterprise affect each -other for good or evil, in the same proportion. This makes the attempts -to injure one race of human beings by another race without injury to -itself impossible, and is the foundation rock upon which the Negro -race can stand with perfect confidence, that absolute justice will -eventually be done it. - -To the intelligent supervision of the organization of the Bettis -Academy much credit is due Martha Schofield. She was the store-house -from which ideas of the most experienced and practical sort emanated -for perfecting all departments, especially the industrial department. -The school in a few years, paid her back many times by the wide -interest its patrons took in the Farmers’ Conference, a local -organization for every colored school in the country, original with the -Schofield Normal and Industrial Institute, having for its object the -encouragement of the farmers to buy land, to raise more food supplies, -to stop mortgaging their property and to extend the term of the country -school. At the general meetings of these Conferences which were held in -February of each year in the chapel of the Schofield school, Bettis’ -followers were largely in attendance. This gave Miss Schofield the -opportunity she so much desired of meeting face to face the fathers and -mothers of those whom she regarded as the foundation-stone for the new -structure of civilization which freedom and her educational work was -building. - -Among the wide range of subjects discussed, no question was given so -much importance as better living conditions. These discussions, in -which hundreds present participated, discouraged the habit of living -in cabins. With what practical knowledge the attendants gained at the -general meeting, augmented by the instruction given the students of the -schools, every Negro family in a wide area was greatly benefited. Miss -Schofield, out of the funds of her school employed an organizer whose -duty it was to organize a conference in every community, without cost -to the members. The benefits to be derived from the work were apparent -in a short time in many ways. One room cabins soon evolved into homes -of at least two rooms and even three, four and five; tenants as fast as -they could became owners of homes; many mortgages were burned and few -were given, and increases in production of crops were very noticeable. -Terms of schools were lengthened from two months to four, five and even -six months, as a result of the work of the conferences. But better than -all was the extraordinary improvement apparent in the manners, morals, -habits and dress of all who came to the general meetings. At these -meetings Miss Schofield, who was host to the large gathering, made -up of delegates from each conference, presided, and each session was -conducted in a parliamentary manner, thus educating the delegates in -the matter of conducting the meetings of the various local conferences -to the best advantage. - -Thus it will be seen that Miss Schofield’s activities embraced a wide -range of influence and as her contemplations, of course, extended -beyond the reach of actual performance it is to be regretted that time -enough from the drudgery of work in her school was never found for her -to write and publish a manual of important information for the guidance -and direction of missionaries in welfare work. It is an extravagant -waste of any system of social responsibility to permit the departure of -its members before first obtaining for all time the entire treasury of -their store house of wisdom and compiling the information in convenient -form for future use. - -Miss Schofield’s organization of the Negro farmers into clubs for the -purpose of mutual helpfulness indicates that she appreciated the fact -that one person can do but little within herself for the benefit of -the people, but by securing their cooperation to the extent of getting -them to practice as a whole and teach in unity the things most needed -to be taught, results of the most far-reaching consequences could be -achieved. She was a labor-unionist with most practical and up-to-date -ideas. - -Much of what has been accomplished by the agricultural departments -of some of the States and by the Federal Department of Agricultural -for the Negro of the cotton district is directly traceable to efforts -of Miss Schofield, the pioneer of industrial training for the Negro. -Her system to bring the methods by which the Negro could improve his -condition within reach of all appears to the author as superior in -practicability to any yet advanced. This idea of carrying to the people -systems pregnant with practical uses for the regulation of their work -in all the arts, that of printing, shoe repairing, harness making, -carpentering, school teaching, and business of every kind contemplated -a unity of action by each. She enjoined as she taught the principle -illustrated by the old man with the seven sons and the bundle of sticks -a strict regard for the community of interest underlying all related -industry. This has made it possible for every Negro within reach of -her influence to have gained some knowledge of a better way of getting -along in the world, and combined with the work which is being done and -has been done already by other schools and colleges, accounts for the -remarkable development of the race in the occupation of farming. - -According to the report of the thirteenth census of 1910 there were -920,883 colored farmers in the United States. Twenty six and two-tenths -per cent. of these owned their farms, and 73.60 per cent. constituted -renters, while 2 per cent. managed farms. The same report also shows -that while the value of all farm property of white people almost -doubled between the years of 1900 and 1910, the value of all farm -property of colored people more than doubled, to be exact, showed -an increase of 134 per cent. In the classes of property reported, -conspicuously noticeable is the increase in the value of live-stock. -The increase of the live stock of the whites showed 58.60 per cent., -while that of the Negroes showed an increase of 105.50 per cent. In the -value of farm buildings the percentage of increase was 76.70 for the -whites and 131.80 for the Negroes. The percentage of increase in the -matter of improved farm implements and machinery was 60.80 per cent. -for the whites and 81.70 per cent. for the Negroes. - -When it is considered that the Negro has had at his disposal but fifty -years for self-improvement and growth in all the arts, limited in -the pursuit of them by the restrictions placed around him by reason -of his race, his progress in every direction except, perhaps, in the -exercise of the right of suffrage, becomes more than remarkable--it is -phenomenal, especially in the occupation of farming, to which he is -unquestionably better adapted than to any other calling. - -In the matter of owners of homes both on the farm and in the city, -the Negroes, those who did and those who did not come under Miss -Schofield’s instructions in this, “the most important matter of their -lives,” as she often told her students, appear from the 1910 census, -to have made an equally creditable showing. In the Southern States the -percentage of the white and Negro population owning their homes, was -white 50.50, Negro, 23.10 per cent. The percentage of Negroes who owned -their homes entirely, without encumbrance, was 18.10 per cent.; that -of the whites 39.50. In 1900 the percentage was, whites 43.50; Negroes -16.80. It will be seen from the official figures of the government that -the percentage of whites owning their homes in the decade between 1900 -and 1910 decreased 4 per cent., while the percentage of the Negroes -increased 1.30 per cent. - -If the Negroes were not discriminated against in the pursuit of their -occupations in the cities; if they were encouraged to buy homes and -beautify and improve them, instead of being discouraged by the many -obstacles placed in their way, such for instance, as the agitation by -some of the best white people not to rent a home built by Negro labor, -and the probability of another riot such as that in Atlanta in 1906, it -is entirely within his power to eclipse any race of men the Southern -white people could possibly induce to come and make homes among them. -In time they will do it in the morality of their lives, just as they -now are outstripping the members of the race laying claim to the purest -blood that ever flowed in Aryan veins, in the art of farming. - -The hope of the race lies in the multiplication of the opportunities -for every member to obtain an education, such an education as Martha -Schofield contemplated for all; and the demand by the law abiding, God -serving element of the white race that the colored people be given -every opportunity for the exercise of their powers that equity and -justice dictate. The Negroes want nothing more, ask nothing more, but -in justice to their own self respect and the rights of man can accept -nothing less. - -That they have shown themselves worthy of freedom, which certainly -cost the white people more than the cost of insuring them certain -inalienable rights will entail, is emphatically indicated by comparison -of Negro per capita property with that of the freed Russian serfs in -1861, two years before the emancipation of the Negro. The Russians -situated in the most fertile sections of the Muscovite empire, -numbering over 14 millions, have in the same time it has taken the -Negroes to accumulate 700 million dollars worth of property but 500 -million dollars in property. The accumulations of the two peoples freed -at about the same time are $70 per capita for the Negro and $36.00 for -the Russians. In the same Russian province only 30 per cent. of the -serfs can read and write, while in the United States 61 per cent. of -the Negroes can read and write. - -Yet in the face of this wonderful development of the race; in -opposition to the aspirations necessary to make achievements of this -kind possible, there is race prejudice, degradation and humiliation. -This is doing more to produce poverty among both races and hold in -check the progress of a great section of the country than all the other -agencies for evil combined. - -The remedy for this will perhaps be found in the education of the -whites, stimulation in this direction being assured by both the -compulsory school attendance laws being passed, and the rivalry in -education between the races already set in motion by the Negroes. - -Almost two million colored children are enrolled in the normal schools -and colleges. There are 35,000 colored teachers now actively engaged -in the common schools and about four thousand professors in the -colleges and normal and industrial institutions. The value of the -property devoted to education of the Negro is nearly twenty million -dollars. There was expended in 1915 nearly $5,000,000 for the higher -and industrial training of the race while $10,000,000 was spent -on elementary instructions in the common schools. The stimulating -effect which these figures should have and, undoubtedly will have on -the education of the whites will serve to increase very largely the -facilities for their education, which is the remedy most needed, in -the opinion of the leading white people, as well as the author, for -the dissipation of much of the race prejudice responsible for the -passage of a great number of discriminatory laws and for the arbitrary -execution of those having a discriminating effect in their operation, -if not in their wording. This enlightening information, however, -concerning the facilities for the education of the Negro is very much -offset by the announcement that the number not in school in the South -is greater than the number in school. - -There are 2,000,000 Negro children of school age in the South not in -school. Let all who would aid in the solution of the Negro problem -find a means of reaching these 2,000,000 blacks by the school, and the -neglected ignorant whites, in self-defense, will be forced into the -school room. Give the black child $10.23 per capita instead of $2.82 -now allotted for its education, raise the per capita to that spent for -the education of the white child, and the white people will then double -the money for the education of their children. This would raise the -expenditures for Negro education in the common schools of the South -to about $35,000,000 annually, and this amount is actually needed in -putting the two million out of school in school and stirring the whites -to greater activity in the education of their own race. - -[Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER XIII. - -MATILDA AND LESLIE CALL. - - -At the close of one of the first meetings of the farmer’s conference -in Schofield chapel at which was discussed more than anything else the -growing friction between the white and colored people, there called at -the Schofield school a young woman, accompanied by a man about her age, -and each appeared to be exhausted from travel and greatly excited from -some cause or other, no one knew just what. - -It was Matilda Deas and Leslie Duncan, the two young lovers who had -escaped from Millard Dodson a few days before and left him and his -horse tied securely in the woods. - -The story of how the young man had been given a race for his life at -the hands of a mob and how the young woman had escaped the lust and -power of the beastly Dodson only after her life had been despoiled -by him and of the circumstances attending the stabbing of the young -Dodson boy, greatly affected Miss Schofield, and with all her heart -she sympathized with the poor helpless Negroes. Yet she knew that the -concealment and protection of the boy meant the lighting of the bomb -manufactured by the Dodsons to produce the explosion of race prejudice -that the ignorant white people so much desired. She did not light it, -but instead drove to the scene of the disturbance and ascertained -personally the truth about the whole matter, as well as the seriousness -of the situation to the whole Negro population. On returning she -informed young Duncan that it would be very unwise, and exceedingly -unjust to the thousands of others of his race, for her to conceal him -on the school premises as the inflammatory conditions worked up among -the people by the Dodsons demanded nothing less than his life if his -whereabouts became known and, perhaps, by her intercession in his -behalf would mean the extension of it to include others of his people -and so cause the death of many instead of only one. But she promised -him absolute protection, even at the cost of her school and all its -property until communication with the organized authorities of the -County and State could be had, and substantial guarantees were given by -these that his life would be safe and he be given a fair trial on the -charges laid against him. - -In due time the contingencies for the trial were arranged and Leslie -was delivered up to the Sheriff of the County, who took him to jail to -await the action of the Court, which would be determined largely by the -result of the injuries suffered by the Dodson child. Under direction -of the Governor of the State a sufficient guard had been placed around -the jail for the protection of the prisoner at all hazards. This was -done at the insistance of Miss Schofield whose influence with the -head of the Democratic Party in power was great only because of her -influence at the North in the passage of measures of a conciliatory -nature in reconstructing the States of the South. It was of little or -no consequence to the ruling element whether Duncan was lynched or not, -except in so far as his murder might retard the progress the whites -were making in gaining favor with the reactionaries in Congress. - -While abundant evidence was introduced at the trial to justify the -actions of Leslie in stabbing Willie Dodson, no weight or consideration -whatever was given it by the perjured members of the jury, all having -formed an opinion before the trial that the “nigger” would get off -light if he escaped with his life. After being in the jury room but -three minutes the talesman returned with the results of their brief -deliberations summed up in one word, “Guilty.” - -That, of course, was the verdict. No recommendation to mercy out of -consideration of the age of the youthful prisoner or the acknowledged -great provocation under which the act was committed. - -When replying “No, sir” to the question as to whether he had anything -to say why sentence should not be passed upon him the Court promptly -replied that it certainly had and proceeded to say it in these words, -“I wish you were of age, Leslie, that I might give you the full benefit -of the law on this charge, one of a most serious nature, murder with -intent to kill. But on account of your youth, out of mercy of the -Court, I will make the sentence as light as possible. You are sentenced -to five years imprisonment in the penitentiary at hard labor.” - -At the same moment the Clerk of the Court was ordered to record another -charge against the prisoner, that of violating a contract for the -performance of labor and directed that a warrant be served on the boy -at the expiration of his term. - -Miss Schofield returned to her school and consoled Matilda with the -story of the old servant who was hanged for the loss of a costly -necklace of beads from the household in which she had been intrusted -with the property of her mistress. “Some years after the execution of -the faithful maid,” said Miss Schofield, “a bolt of lightning from the -sky struck one of the monuments on the public square near the home and -burst it into fragments and there in the center, in a magpie’s nest lay -the necklace, in all its parts, just as it was on the day the bird, -instead of the old servant had stolen it away. The lady who prosecuted -the maid for the theft stated to the judges who heard the case that she -would be satisfied with nothing but the death of the prisoner unless -she divulged the hiding place of the jewels, committed suicide by -swallowing poison on learning of the fatal mistake in the execution of -poor Jeannie Junne, for that was her name. - -“So you see my friends,” concluded the brilliant story teller, for such -Miss Schofield was when she had occasion to be, “God never permits the -infliction of great injustices, such as this which has happened to -Leslie and you, without exposing them and compelling those responsible -for them to repent of their sins.” - -Miss Schofield knew the heart of the Negroes better than they -themselves knew them and this knowledge served her well in all her -dealings with them. In the control of them she knew just when to use -harshness and to what extent and equally well she knew when other means -would prove more availing. The simple, child-like, trusting faith -common to all colored people, she realized this faith would cause her -story to find a lasting lodgment and would prove a source of genuine -consolation to Matilda in her hour of despair, and so it proved to -be, not only for the moment, but throughout the whole long period of -Leslie’s confinement. Whenever reference to him was made she would -in her simple way show that she understood clearly that God never -allowed people to suffer without compensating them for it; that He -also punished those responsible for the misery of others. The latter -contingency, Miss Schofield had taught her was a necessary condition in -nature fixed there by God for the protection of men in all their human -relations, and was as inevitable as fate itself. - -What an immensely valuable doctrine for the control of the passions of -men, especially those of a lowly race, steeped in ignorance and allowed -a free reign in the exercise of the more vicious instincts. - -Make them afraid to do wrong; not indeed afraid of man’s law but an -eternal law which is irrevocable even by God himself. It was the -doctrine, believed in to the depths of his soul, that inspired the -immortal Georgian, Alex H. Stephens, to exclaim that he was afraid of -nothing above earth or below it except to do wrong. - -When one reaches this stage of belief it is not a difficult matter to -induce him to begin doing right for righteousness sake only. He has -already conceived firmly the fact that only virtue is any just reward -for being virtuous. The bribes offered men for being good in the shape -of escape from earthly punishment and the hope of earthly blessings -are wholly inadequate to restrain them from evil as is proven by the -many artifices resorted to in concealing crimes; but when they are made -to see that only righteous living can produce real happiness and that -there is absolutely no way of concealing the evidences of evil doing, -substantial progress has been made in their reformation. They will not -do wrong, wilfully, because, as Miss Schofield always taught, the wrong -done will show eternally in their faces every time they look in the -glass. - -Miss Schofield never permitted opportunities to impress and teach great -moral truths to pass by unimproved. Living on them herself she depended -upon them entirely to support her work which was her life in itself. -The great Normal and Industrial school at Aiken is Martha Schofield -reincarnated out and out. The lifeless body has been taken and carried -away but the spirit which is of God, still lingers on and around all -the place, crying out aloud as of yore for the perfection of those -means of justice and freedom of action in both body and mind that alone -can make life ideal and our work eternal. - -On the occasion of her visit to the home of Allen Dodson for the -purpose of securing his endorsement to the petition for the pardon of -Leslie Duncan, she was received with scant courtesy by Mrs. Dodson, who -strange to say, bore the reputation of being one of the most zealous -and faithful followers of Christ in Lick Skillet neighborhood. Indeed -she was president of the local Mary Magdalene Missionary Society of -the First Baptist Church, and besides had been honored by the national -president of her society with appointment to the position of treasurer -in the national association of Mary Magdaleners. Throughout the -community and in church and benevolent circles all over the State and -country she was well and favorably known. At home she was regarded as -the pillar of the Baptist church and an unselfish and philanthropic -soul in whose leadership the community could rely with perfect -confidence that the work of salvation was abreast of that in any other -community of like population in the whole moral vineyard of Christ. - -Seating Miss Schofield in the parlor while she waited on the return of -Mr. Dodson, other duties and responsibilities of the house engaged the -attention of Mrs. Dodson. She left her visitor to entertain herself as -best she might, placing within her reach a few religious periodicals -and a library of perhaps a dozen or more books, mostly of Baptist -denominational interest, especially devoted to the work of that church -in the foreign missionary field. - -Mr. Dodson’s refusal to sign the petition on his return, did not -shock Miss Schofield’s sensibilities of the injustices of race hatred -nearly so much as the ignorance with which Mrs. Dodson maintained her -position of missionary worker in an enlightened church supported by an -intelligent and supposedly cultured membership. - -After Mr. Dodson had given his reasons, which were like hunting mustard -seeds in a hay stack and if found was never worth the search, for his -refusal to lend his assistance to the righting of the wrongs done -Leslie Duncan, Mrs. Dodson interposed herself into the conversation to -inquire of Miss Schofield why she was so interested in the Negroes as -to live and work wholly among them as if she were one of them herself. - -“I am very much obliged to thee for the opportunity to answer that -question,” said Miss Schofield in reply. - -“Thou must see that the condition of the Negro is such that none, or -few of them at this time, is able to lead the race as it should be led. -Only a small percentage can either read or write; the most primitive -methods of making a livelihood prevail among them and as a result their -lives, their morals and their hopes for the future are in jeopardy. I -most desire to do a little part in improving the conditions among them, -in making their lives better and happier by my having lived. I firmly -believe if I succeed in doing so, thee and all thy people will be -equally blessed.” - -“To the mischief with such doctrine,” retorted Mrs. Dodson. “It is such -as you that are putting foolish notions in the heads of these darkies, -creating in them a hope for an equality and a social relation repugnant -to the sense of all decent people entitled to the benefits of a -superior civilization, and I want to tell you that if another war comes -it will come as a result of your work. - -“You had better stop it and go back to your home and let the Negroes -teach themselves. If they have been too lazy and stupid to enlighten -themselves in the past it is quite likely such will not be the case in -future in this free country along by the side of a superior race from -whom they can, if they will, gain all the instruction they need for -self improvement by observation.” - -Miss Schofield assured her that the question of social equality with -the whites was never considered by her in her work except to disparage -it; that while she had no regard herself for the color of a person’s -skin she taught her students that a deep racial prejudice existed among -all races everywhere, especially in the United States, but that it -should not be allowed to interfere with their Christianity, that they -should show a Christian spirit to all mankind--Jew or Greek, male or -female, friend or foe, Negro or white. - -“Does not the Bible command thee,” questioned Miss Schofield, “to go -into all the world and teach all nations? Does thee, then, not feel -that the Negro is one of those to whom thou art commanded to extend thy -instruction?” - -“Feeling and knowing absolutely that He is I came to the South many -years ago to fill one of the commandments of my Lord. As a Christian -woman, which I know thee to be, else the literature of thy home belies -the character of this house, I ask thee to answer me before God if thee -still considers that my work is productive of harmful results and if it -should be given up and I go back home in my prime and live a life of -indolence, ease and nothingness.” - -Mrs. Dodson was greatly perplexed. Miss Schofield convicted her of her -neglect of duty in her own country, where as well as in far off China -and Japan, it was admittedly very necessary to do missionary work; -but she hid as best she could the influence of the speaker’s rebuke -and called attention to the thousands of dollars being spent by her -society in the cause of home missions. When pressed for a single school -being maintained by that association in the interest of the Negro -children or the expenditure of as much as a penny for the relief of the -material needs of the race, she expressed considerable anger and stated -that the taxes paid by the whites were adequate for the education of -the colored people and for the support of the indigent among them. - -Among the most versatile as well as resourceful women who ever came -South to teach Miss Schofield was well fortified with facts to meet -Mrs. Dodson’s excuse for the indifference of her society to the need -of the Negro. She showed her that not only was the common school fund -wholly inadequate for the education of the white children but that -there was absolutely no justice in its distribution--that the whites -gave the Negroes just as little of it as possible and dignified it as -“hush-mouth” money. She cited instances calling names, dates and places -which proved conclusively that the system of the Southern white people -for the education of the Negro was a farce pure and simple, in that -there was not only no pretence at all at an equitable distribution -of the school funds, but no regard whatever was had as to the proper -qualification of Negro teachers. She intimated that favor was shown -by the whites to the less capable and least deserving of the Negroes -as teachers, and sought to close the argument by impressing the fact, -that where conditions obtain like those in the South, there is where -the Master’s work calls loudest, according to the teachings of her own -church. - -Stung to the quick by the truth of these statements Mrs. Dodson was -willing enough to terminate the conversation, and apparently with -middling right good cheer bade her visitor “good day” and set about the -work of her household. - -But Martha Schofield had made an impression on her. She had been made -to feel the hypocracy of her position for the first time in the new -relations between the two races, a position wholly incompatible with -the teachings of Christ. It started her to reasoning, that if from -a selfish point of view if not from a Christian standpoint, it were -not better to encourage the work of Miss Schofield. She was not an -ignorant woman, but on the contrary highly intellectual, and although -but superficially educated was well enough informed to know that the -Negro was here and here, perhaps, to stay. “Then why,” she silently -asked herself, “would not one’s greatest defense and security be more -certainly attained in the development of the intellectual and moral -powers of the race?” She had been teaching all her life that to give -was more blessed than to receive; then why not give to the needy Negro -right at her door? Why not stimulate and encourage every effort being -made to convert him into a useful and intelligent citizen? His labor -she knew, even though his hands and face were black, would be worth -a thousand per cent. more if it were skilled. Besides, that thought -of blessings being twice blest--“blessing him that gives and him that -takes”--continually haunted her. - -Such a marked change was apparent in her attitude toward foreign -missions at the next meeting of her society after Miss Schofield’s -visit that her fidelity to the cause was severely questioned by others -of the faithful, from whom she concealed well the cause of her new -devotion to the home missionary field. She told them that they should -seek to do all they could for the heathen in foreign lands but that -their ability to extend their usefulness in that direction was now -limited by the newly enforced political and social conditions at home. -She suggested that the society consider the matter of expending as much -of its funds at home as abroad, elaborating upon the great necessity -for the industrial training of the Negro, and the education of the -thousands of white children in this country, whose school term at the -time was not in excess of three months out of twelve, for want of funds. - -This met the approval of all members, as all of Mrs. Dodson’s -propositions usually did, and a resolution setting forth the fact -that the sentiment of the Mary Magdalene Society of the First Baptist -Church of Lick Skillet was in favor of the equal division of the funds -between the Foreign and Home Mission Boards of the National Missionary -Association was unanimously passed. - -A few days later Allen Dodson accompanied by Millard, his son, called -at the Schofield school and expressed a desire to sign the petition -for the pardon of Leslie Duncan who had now begun serving the third of -a five year sentence given him for stabbing Mr. Dodson’s little son, -Willie. - -This completed the requirements of the pardoning board, and as soon as -their signatures were affixed the document was sent by Miss Schofield -to the governor who immediately ordered the prisoner released. - -Hundreds of instances might be mentioned where this great woman took -the burdens of others on herself at times when she was already over -burdened with her own work, and rendered them a service which could not -possibly have been accomplished without her aid. - -When Leslie appeared at the Schofield school after his release from -prison to thank Miss Schofield for her kindness to him and to claim -Matilda for his wife, Miss Schofield ordered him arrested on the charge -docketed by the Judge at the time of his former conviction, that of a -breach of contract. - -When the trial was called the Dodson family failed to appear against -the prisoner and the prosecution was abandoned. - -Thus through the power and magnetism of Miss Schofield, was the -influence and good-will of a large and influential white family secured -for the benefit of the Negro population of Lick Skillet neighborhood, -at least. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV. - -LYNCHING OF NEGROES. - - -Miss Schofield had great confidence in the ultimate conversion of the -white people of the South to the cause which she represented and looked -to the support of her work by them as one of the essentials to the -achievements of the highest success. She, however, went about securing -the cooperation of the whites in a manner entirely different from the -means employed by Booker T. Washington in accomplishing the same end. -She drew attention of the white people to the necessity for her work -by making them mad; by expressing to them the inconsistencies of their -position on the race question and demonstrating to them the hypocrisy -of their actions, she caused a great deal to be done for the Negroes -that would have been delayed for years had more persuasive measures -been taken to reach them. She told the Christian missionary workers -that the presence of the Negroes here provided the best means possible -for them to show by actual demonstration rather than by words of -mouth, tongue or pen, that Christianity was literally and figuratively -true. That it really did mean the showering of blessings on men of all -kinds and races. “If the Negro is an enemy” she told them, “show the -benighted heathen here and carry the message to his friends in China -that thee love thine enemy. By your actions before his eyes here in -this country prove to him that thee are the people that tell the truth; -that Christians will not take advantage of even Negroes; that thee -are patient, kind and generous in thy dealings with that part of thy -own population that is ignorant and benighted. Above all prove to him -by thy treatment of the Negro that thee has no prejudice on account -of race, color or previous condition of servitude. Let them see by -thy relation to the Negroes that thee looks upon mankind as brethren, -indeed, in whose service thee are not only willing to work but to -suffer for the good thee may do not alone to the Negro but to the -heathen as well.” - -She went to the intelligent, cultured white people, leaders of the -churches, schools and Southern civilization itself, all that she -could reach, and told them plainly and bluntly that any course other -than that outlined would surely bring Christianity into disrepute, -especially if they themselves approved a different course, or permitted -a different course to be pursued without their protest. She showed them -their responsibility and their duty both as a Christian and a member of -civilized society, and left them without a single prop upon which to -stand in defense of the position taken to keep the Negro down. - -Having no patience with anyone who for gain would sacrifice -righteousness or who would not suffer pain that justice be done she was -rather uncharitable in her criticisms of the Southern white people. -But the sternness and rough, rugged honesty and sincerity she used -in expressing her convictions appealed to them, as they are a people -essentially frank in their manners and actions. One of the great men -in the United States Senate from the South has won and retained the -respect of the people of the whole country by reason of his frankness -on this question of race prejudice. His radicalism is common to most of -the people of the South and seeing this characteristic of the people, -Miss Schofield pandered to it early in her work and drew to herself a -large measure and esteem and respect that could have been earned in no -other way. She made people respect her by respecting herself in holding -fast to her conception of the principles of honesty. - -Miss Schofield was not less severe on the people of the North than -of the South in her arraignment of the prostitution of the power of -government in permitting the commission of outrages and injustices to -go unpunished. In assailing the sin of race prejudice and hypocrisy in -the Southern people she was assailing with equal force the same thing -wherever it existed and as it is more prevalent at the North that -section of the country really received the burden of her denunciation. -The fact that the power to punish the crimes against the Negro race lay -in the hands of the people of the North but was seldom exercised, gave -her greater cause for denouncing her folks, which she did unmercifully. -She felt that the crime of lynching Negroes could be largely suppressed -by the Federal authorities and was not reluctant in advocating the -intercession of the general government in the enforcement of the -Federal statutes guaranteeing every citizen the protection of life -and liberty, even if “States’ Rights” were trampled under foot. Being -absolutely honest in all her promises she did not look for dishonesty -in others, especially not in the people of the North who had spilled so -much blood and expended hundreds of millions of dollars in extending -the guarantee of life, freedom and liberty to the Negroes. Their -failure to make their promises in this matter good was shocking to her -sense of honor and inspired her greatest contempt. - -In words of eloquence, made eloquent by both the truth in them and the -manner of delivery, she told the people of the North that the rights of -man rose above the rights of state government as the Alps rise above -the valleys; that government, both state and national, is only good in -so far as it respects and protects human rights. “If a state government -fails to measure up to its duty in its functions affecting the most -vital rights of the people,” said she in an address in the North, “then -it becomes the duty of the general government to interfere. If the -latter likewise fails then it is the duty of the people to overthrow -it, not, indeed, by powder and shot and shell but by the votes of -citizens. - -“But in the South thousands and thousands entitled to vote under -authority of the general government are disfranchised; their rights are -not being respected by either the general government or the state. If -this is permitted to continue thee can not respect thyself, much less -expect those perpetrating the fraud to respect thee. During the last -quarter of a century the number of deaths at the hands of mobs in this -country has averaged 184 annually, eighty to ninety per cent. of which -has occurred in the South. - -“Can thee respect thyself or expect the respect of the Southerners if -these crimes are allowed to go unpunished? - -“If the government of the several States were sincere in the -representations of their attempt at government that would not be any -excuse for no action being taken by the general government. Failure to -govern is alone sufficient for action. - -“We can not permit incompetency to triumph on the basis that the rulers -of the South are sincere in their attempts at law enforcement. Too much -emphasis can not be laid on this fact. Respect for the law must be -demanded and enforced at all hazards. - -“The spread of lynch law all over the land may be looked for if this is -done.” - -How prophetic these words uttered years ago as the records kept will -show. - -Before the war and immediately after, Negroes were now and then put to -death but the law was generally allowed to take its course. - -For rape or attempted rape there were only four Negroes lynched between -the years 1830 and 1840. It was not until 1850 to 1860 that lynch law -attained any high degree of danger to the success of free government. -Out of forty-six Negroes put to death during this time, twenty-six were -lynched and twenty legally executed. Nine of those destroyed by mobs -were burned at the stake. The crimes with which they were charged were -murders of owners and overseers. It does not appear that rape, which is -now made the cause of nearly every lynching was very frequent before -the war. - -It has become the cause or the alleged cause of mob violence only since -the year 1871 to any great extent. - -Had Martha Schofield’s suggestion, for the interference of the national -government in the enforcement of the laws of the country wherever the -State proved inefficient to do so been adopted and put into practice, -the shame and disgrace which now attaches to American civilization -would have no basis or foundation. There would not be as many orphans -as there are; there would not be the humiliation and injustices that -there are; neither would there be the poverty and misery among the -blacks and whites that there are. - -The remissness of the national government to supervise wisely the -execution of the laws has permitted the officials to do what they -accuse the Negro of desiring to do, to take a foot for every inch and -a mile for every yard; Discriminatory laws affecting the most vital -interest of the colored race have been enacted and generally enforced -without the suggestion of a protest from the federal authorities, and -many of the national laws that enforced would give great relief to the -oppressed are apparently “dead letters,” so far as their practical -application is concerned. - -In 1885 there were 184 people lynched in this country, 106 white and -78 colored. Ten years later mobs murdered 112 Negroes and 56 whites; -in 1892, 100 whites and 155 blacks, making a total of 255. The year -following exactly 200 were lynched. In 1905 two were burned at the -stake. In 1906 civilized Atlanta, Ga. murdered 28 in one night. - -Less than one-third of these lynchings, nearly all of which occurred in -the Southern States, were for the alleged crime of rape. No offense at -all had been committed by anyone of those mobbed in Atlanta in 1906. - -In the Atlanta riot no attempt was made by any of the rioters to -conceal their identity. They slew every Negro in sight openly and -before the eyes of the officers charged with the enforcement of the -laws against disorderly conduct and murder, yet not a single individual -of the mob was ever punished. The governor of the State took no action -to apprehend the guilty and execute the laws he had sworn to uphold and -execute. - -At Statesboro, Ga., in 1905, the boldness of the mob was only exceeded -by the heinousness of the crime committed. Two negroes being tried -for murder under guard of a company of State militia soldiers, were -removed from the court room during the progress of the trial and burned -at the stake. - -Although the sheriff of the county and every officer of the law in that -section knew personally numbers of the mob no prosecution was ever -attempted by them. - -During the winter of 1916 five Negro prisoners were taken from the -county jail at Sylvester, Ga. and hanged to the same tree. Later the -criminal who committed the crime for which the five were lynched was -also summarily put to death. - -Six lives of Negroes, five of whom were in no wise connected with the -crime for which vengeance was wreaked, in retaliation for the life of -one white man! - -The case has too many parallels for recitation here. - -In none of the open, undisguised atrocious crimes against the blacks is -prosecution even remotely probable. - -With like impunity are almost all the laws respecting the welfare of -the Negro violated throughout the Southern States. Especially notable -are the violations of the act to make effective the Fifteenth Amendment -to the Constitution of the United States adopted by Congress May 31, -1870. - -This act declares, that all citizens who are or shall become qualified -by law to vote at any election shall not be denied the right to vote -at all elections, on account of race, color or previous condition of -servitude, by any constitution, law, custom, usage or regulation any -State or territory may make. - -Various subterfuges in the guise of law are resorted to in the effort -to disqualify the Negroes, but as the race is becoming able to qualify -rapidly discrimination in the application of the registration laws are -openly admitted by the authorities. - -All the laws for qualification of voters contemplate the qualification -of a sufficient majority of the whites as to make the Negro a nullity -in the elections, and this even in those communities where the Negroes -out-number in population and wealth the whites by large majorities. - -There are tax tests, property tests, educational tests, grand-father -clauses and understanding and character clauses. Of course under -the educational tests such requirements as a constitutional lawyer -might not be able to meet could be made with the same facility that -requirements which a fifteen year old boy could meet are made. The -former requirements are for the educated and ignorant Negroes alike, -while the latter, if occasion demands it, are for the whites of all -degrees of intelligence. The intention of all the laws regulating the -registration of voters is to disqualify as many Negroes as possible. No -attempt is made to conceal the true intent of the laws by their authors -or by those charged with the duty of their application. - -There are members of the United States Senate owing their elevation -to the disfranchisement laws of the Southern States who will not -only acknowledge that their States are nullifying some of the acts -of Congress but boast that they have done so and defy the executive -department of the government to interfere. - -Miss Schofield was greatly affected by the tendency of the government -to ignore its solemn duty respecting the enforcement of many of the -acts intended to degrade and humiliate the Negro race, because she said -it could mean only the degradation and humiliation of all mankind. -Vanderbilt and Rockefeller in their palaces of gold, she maintained, -had no more right to protection than the humblest Negro in his little -log hut. Humanity with her was a sacred thing and she believed in -protecting it. She looked to the exercise of the franchise as the only -means of securing this protection, and when she saw the right to it -being stolen openly and the theft acknowledged and the court defied to -do its worst by the guilty themselves, no wonder her confidence of the -manhood in men was seriously shocked. - -But she never ceased to hope nor ever lost an opportunity to fight for -the rights which she demanded of the government for all men. One of -the proposals to minimize the number of lynchings, original with her, -is now a statute of some of the States. It makes the county in which -the lynching of a person occurs liable to the members of the deceased -family for his or her loss, and recovery may be had by action in the -courts. Another important measure advocated strenuously by her was the -reduction in the representatives in Congress from those States limiting -the suffrage of its citizens. - -[Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER XV. - -NATIONAL SEGREGATION OF NEGRO. - - -Miss Schofield was most solicitous concerning the future difficulties -which the Negro problem would occasion when the colored race reaches -that stage of development when requests as are made at the present -time for certain rights become demands which can not be ignored or -disposed of by trickery and hypocritical legislation. As she was in -advance of her time about thirty years in valuing the importance of -industrial training for the Negro, and as early as 1890 was teaching -and practicing the principles of hygiene and sanitation as they are now -in force by the United States government at the Army and Navy stations, -in the camps and homes of its employees wherever governmental authority -extends, so she saw that the Negro will not always be satisfied with -whatever his white friends chose to give him. She felt and believed -that enlightenment, through education, the day would come when the -Negro would be controlled only by according to him every right to which -he may be entitled, and had great confidence that education also would -so improve the intelligence and morals of the white people that they -would have too much respect for their own manhood to prostitute it by -declining to grant absolute justice to the race. - -Upon the enlightenment of both races she depended absolutely for the -fulfillment of that divine declaration of 1776, which declared that all -men are created free and equal. She relied upon it wholly for making -the war between the States worth its cost in blood and treasury; and -considered that her work would prove in vain if it did not prepare the -Negro for the highest responsibilities of life and create within him an -unconquerable desire to assume them. - -She maintained that man’s highest development could be achieved only by -holding out to him rewards commensurate with the industry necessary for -his development. This principle in political economy she asserted, was -responsible for the antagonism of plutocracy to the education of the -masses. - -As her work, to which she was called by God as she sincerely believed -and as the author whom she reared from a little child and educated as -sincerely believes, was among the latter, plutocracy was, of course, -the most frightful monster to be encountered and overcome. But overcome -it must be at all hazards in the philosophy of Martha Schofield, and -education instead of violence she taught was the weapon for that -purpose. - -The doctrine that by imparting to the colored man the knowledge which -the white man has gained by laborious processes and the painful travail -of centuries would stir ambitions, passions and new emotions in the -colored race which would cause the Negro to refuse to submit to the -domination of the white race was preached by her, and she dreamed -dreams and formed plans for the solution of the problem that it is -expected will arise in the final struggle of the Negro for complete -and absolute justice under the flag of the republic. It was her most -earnest desire that the two races occupy, if possible, one common -country as they are now doing but on terms of perfect equality in the -pursuit of happiness and the accumulation of wealth, which means an -equal division with the Negroes of everything produced for the common -good through the united strength and action of the masses. It also -demands the same freedom of action for the Negroes in the exercise of -every function of a citizen that is allowed the whites and contemplates -their assimilation in the political life of the nation to the extent -of their being eligible to the highest office of trust without regard -to any qualification other than that of all citizens. Of course, it -is worse than useless to say that the demand carries with it the -observance of every principle of equality before the law without -discrimination on account of race or color. The reservation of the -right to impose restrictions on account of race in the application of -the laws, customs and usages enacted to regulate the control of all -would mean the surrender of the basis upon which rests the fundamental -guarantee of certain rights without which no government could or should -be acceptable to men of any manhood or courage. - -Failing in the effort to live together on terms of reasonable -compatibility, such as would conduce to the betterment of each race -in all intellectual, moral and political aspirations, Miss Schofield -advocated for the colored people segregation in a state or territory -of its own, in which only people of color or those as now defined by -national authority as Negroes, might become citizens. - -This plan is made practicable, she thought by the right of Eminent -Domain which the government retains to itself in the final acquisition -and possession of territory through the means of condemnatory -proceedings which certain contingencies might make imperative in the -interest of the public weal. - -Under authority of Congress the Secretary of the Interior might acquire -by purchase through peaceable transfer, if possible, or if necessary -through condemnation proceedings a territory of sufficient area to -settle the entire colored race for all time and place it under a -territorial form of government until such time as statehood might be -considered more feasible. In this territory only could a Negro become -a sovereign citizen with the rights of a citizen which now belong to -any person residing in any of the States of the Union and complying -with the requirements regulating citizenship. White men who remained -in the territory could under no circumstances become a sovereign -citizen. Only the Negroes should be allowed to vote or hold office. -They should be allowed all the benefits and privileges that citizens of -a constitutional state now enjoy, being represented in Congress on the -same basis that any State is now represented. - -No person, either white or colored, should be forced to move in or out -of Negroland, except through deportation for offenses such as are now -punished by exile. This would leave it optional with the Negro to live -wherever he wished and still be under the protection of the United -States flag and give the whites of the country a similar choice. If -the Negro choose to remain in the States of the white man he would be -at liberty to do so, but under no circumstances could he be allowed to -perform the duties of a sovereign. The white men in Negroland would -not be allowed to vote in that State on the same principle that a -Georgian is not qualified to vote in Oregon; and a Negro living in -South Carolina would not be allowed to vote in that State on the same -principle that a white man is disqualified from voting at an election -in Negroland. - -It might be argued against this plan for the final settlement of the -Race Question that it is not only revolutionary but confiscatory in -that it seeks to deprive the white citizens of the territory to be -created into a Negroland, of their property without their consent. In -answer to this, reply should be made that it contains no more elements -of a confiscatory nature that the common every-day application of the -laws now in force for the condemnation of property in the construction -of railways and the opening up of public highways. - -That the public demands are sufficient to justify the extension of this -law, even if it is undemocratic, to include the purchase of a wide -area of territory is seen in the continued persecution of the Negro on -account of his color, and the growing resentment of the race at the -open discrimination practiced by the whites of all sections. It is more -likely that the causes for the friction between the races will multiply -rather than decrease as each becomes wiser, unless it were possible to -make angels of men on earth as well as in Heaven. - -The whites of the South by a large and increasing majority make no -pretense at the determination of that race to keep the Negro down -politically, at least; they depend upon their ability to do this as the -only means of continuing themselves in power. When the Negro demands a -share in the affairs of the government as he inevitably will and most -assuredly should do, then will come concrete examples which will not -only justify the separation of the two peoples through some plan of -segregation, but make their separation imperative. - -The climax of the antagonism, which may be dissipated by separating -the two peoples, will be reached when the Negro shall not only demand -but force the constituted authorities to grant absolute equality in -the administration of justice; when he shall not only demand the right -to vote, to sit on juries and represent his country in its legislative -deliberations and actions but shall force his rights in these premises. - -The determination of the white people now is to dominate predominately, -and in all human probability this determination is to become intensely -more fixed, even at the cost of their lives, their fortunes and their -honor; while the Negroes will be equally determined, after equal -fitness with the white man for the performance of the duties of -citizenship, so determined that no power on earth or Heaven except -extermination shall deny them certain inalienable rights which all -instruction teaches them are cheap at any sacrifice. They will never -assimilate Patrick Henry’s great speech until they are ready to act -it. They can never act it until they are ready to accept death rather -than slavery. Without the patriotism and love of liberty inspiring this -immortal Virginian they can never develop the ideal that is in them. - -Who would smother the ideals and aspirations of any race does so at -the expense of their immortal souls. God could not be just unless -He protected the emotions of human beings with the same degree of -efficiency with which He protected the organs within them. Protecting -the brain is a mass of bone and fiber; in front and behind the heart -and lungs, are breastworks of superior construction, and around the -longings and aspirations of the human heart are the bulwarks of -self-condemnation and eternal damnation for any man or race of men who -desecrate those sacred chambers by closing the opportunities for their -development. - -It may be argued that if this psychological law is true in practice -the necessity for segregation exists in the imagination only--that the -Race Problem will solve itself on the principle of self preservation -and self interest if let alone and given time. The trouble with this -argument is that it fails to take into account the value of the most -effective means of preserving the integrity of both races. If God -in His wisdom contemplated the commingling of races never before in -physical touch it was for a temporary period only, each race, in -the meantime, being endowed with reason sufficient to find a common -solution for the evils which the Creator knew physical contact would -produce. - -That solution is segregation. It offers intact all the advantages which -the opportunities of life among a highly civilized race create without -the demoralizing and humiliating influences at work on account of race -prejudice. It frees the whites and Negroes alike and enlarges the -opportunities for the development of each race, under a common flag, -that will no longer be under the necessity of polluting the pure air of -Heaven by withholding its protection from among even the humblest of -its citizens. - -We often hear it said that the Negro is not yet ready for -self-government, that he has not the fitness yet to govern under a -territorial form of government; but less intelligent and far inferior -races are at this time governing themselves. Were the Cubans as capable -of self-government as the Negroes are now when the government of Cuba -was assumed by them? Did not the United States Government entrust the -Indians with a measure of self-government when the Indian territory -was created and this race was settled in the West? There is no nation -south of the United States with the possible exception of Brazil whose -citizens have the intelligence and efficiency of the Negroes of North -America for self-government. Besides, under the plan for segregation -a territorial form of government is proposed until such time as -statehood is more desirable. While the Negroes are being prepared for -controlling their own affairs government under territorial laws would -make life safe and insure equal rights to all. At least, the government -of the territory, it is safe to say, would not be worse than the -government obtained in the Southern States today. - -But the Negro race is entirely capable at this time of managing its own -affairs, supervised by a wise and just administration at Washington. - -[Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER XVI. - -EFFICIENCY OF NEGRO. - - -The records of the conduct of Negroes in office, with the exception of -the rascality of those in power in the South during the Reconstruction -Period, are creditable indeed, to the race from which they sprang. -Responsibility for the scandals attaching to the rule of the race in -some of the Southern States directly after the war are chargeable -not to the Negro but to the corruption of the white men who imposed -on the Negro by taking advantage of his ignorance and making him the -cat’s paw with which they attempted to extricate themselves from many -difficulties without the stain of dishonor. - -The first Negroes to become members of the legislature of any State -in the Union were Edward G. Walker and Charles L. Mitchell of -Massachusetts in 1866. The records show they discharged their duties -with intelligence and honor. - -The first holding a position under appointment by the government was -Ebenezer Don Carlos Bassett of Philadelphia who was appointed minister -resident and consul general to the government of Hayti in 1869. - -He was an educated Negro of great ability and was engaged in teaching -for many years. The “Hand Book of Hayti,” of which he was the author, -has been translated into many languages. - -He was a member of the American Geographical Society and of the -Connecticut Historical Society. - -The number of colored officers, clerks and other employees in the -service of the United States Government at the present time is 22,440 -with salaries aggregating an annual income of $12,456,760.00. - -The qualification of the large majority of these employees was tested -under civil service rules and so it is seen this large number got into -the service through merit alone. - -Out of a population of 12,000,000 people, with a force of 20,000 -trained in the government of the country it is idle to assume a -sufficient number for the proper administration of the laws of the -territory could not be secured. - -In the matter of military genius and personal bravery as well as in -preparation for statesmanship by reason of education and patriotism the -records show the Negro to be well equipped. - -There are eleven colored officers in the regular army of the United -States at the present time. Three Negroes have been graduated from West -Point. - -At the order of the government for service in Mexico, the first to go -to the front in search of Villa and his bandits was the Tenth cavalry -composed of Negroes which has distinguished itself for service in this -punitive expedition as it distinguished itself at the battle of Las -Guasimas in Cuba when it came to the rescue of Colonel Roosevelt and -his Rough Riders. - -The first to go to the front in the Spanish-American War, in 1898, were -the four NEGRO regiments, the Tenth Cavalry, the Twenty-fifth Infantry, -which took a prominent part in the battle of El Caney, the Ninth -Cavalry, which with the Twenty-fourth Infantry and the Tenth Cavalry, -rendered heroic service in the battle of San Juan Hill. The Ninth and -Tenth Cavalry have the reputation of being the best Indian fighters in -the United States Army. - -It does not appear from the records of the Military Secretary at -Washington that the Negro is lacking in any essential quality for the -performance of the duty of a soldier. - -The people of that section of the country where most of the argument -against his ability as a soldier originates were quite willing enough -to enlist him in the Confederate States Army, or that portion of the -race which had been made free previous to the Emancipation Proclamation. - -In 1864 the Confederate Congress, at Richmond, passed an act making all -male Negroes, with certain exceptions, between the ages of eighteen and -fifty liable for the performance of such duties in the Confederate -Army, in the way of work in connection with the military defenses as -the Secretary of War might prescribe, and provided for them in rations, -clothing and compensation. Provision was also made at the same time for -the employment of 20,000 Negro slaves for similar duty by the Secretary -of War. - -In November, 1861, at a review of 28,000 Confederate troops in New -Orleans, one of the most prominent regiments was colored, consisting -of 1,400 free Negroes. The members of the companies comprising this -regiment according to The Picayune of that city, supplied themselves -with arms without aid from the Confederate Government. - -The worst that can be said against this regiment is that it existed at -all for the defense of a government that sought to continue its members -in perpetual slavery. - -Nearly 200,000 Negro soldiers were employed in the United States Army -in the Civil War. These formed 161 regiments of which 141 were infantry -or cavalry, 12 heavy artillery and 1 light artillery. - -The Negro troops fought gloriously in many of the bloodiest battles -of the war. Among the engagements in which they were particularly -distinguished for bravery and heroism were the battles of Milliken’s -Bend on the Mississippi River near Vicksburg, in July 1863, the -assault on Port Hudson near Baton Rouge, La., in 1863, at Fort Wagner, -a Charleston, S. C., defence, in 1863, and at all the assaults on -Petersburg, Va., in 1864 as well as in the battle of Nashville, Tenn., -fought in December 1864. - -In the Revolutionary War as well as in the War of 1812, Negroes were -enlisted and served with such distinction in the latter as to inspire -the following address by General Andrew Jackson, afterwards President -of the United States. - -“To the men of color--Soldiers: I knew before your enlistment that you -could endure the hardships of hunger and thirst and brave the dangers -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 have -surpassed my hopes. I have found in you, united to these qualities, -that noble enthusiasm which impels to great deeds. - -“Soldiers! The President of the United States shall be informed of your -conduct on the present occasion; and the voices of the Representatives -of the American nation shall applaud your valor as your General now -praises your ardor.” - -It was the distinguished service of two battalions of 500 Negroes that -elicited this eulogy from the Commander in Chief of the forces engaged -in the second war with England. - -Commodore Perry used equally forcible language in his praise of the -bravery and conduct of the Negroes under his command at the battle -of Lake Erie. He said that Negro soldiers seemed to be absolutely -insensible to danger. - -There were about 3,000 Negroes employed in the Revolutionary War by -General Washington. An equal or greater number were employed by the -British. - -Some of the most heroic deeds of the war for Independence were -performed by the men of color. Major Pitcairn, in charge of the British -forces at the battle of Bunker Hill, was killed by a Negro named Peter -Salem. A petition was drawn by some of the principal officers of the -American Army to secure recognition by the Massachusetts Colony for -Solomon Poor, a Negro, for distinguished service at the battle of -Bunker Hill. Crispus Attucks, a Negro, was the first American to become -a martyr in the Boston massacre. - -The Black Legion of Count D’Estaing saved the defeated American and -French Army from complete annihilation at the siege of Savannah on -October 9, 1779, by covering the retreat and repulsing the charge of -the British. - -In every war fought on American soil, the Negroes whenever allowed to -participate, have displayed a courage and heroism that is not only a -credit to the race but a credit to mankind. - -In poetry and literature, as well as war, the Negro has arisen to -distinction. Indeed, the first woman, either white or black, to attain -to literary distinction in this country was a Negro, a slave at that. - -She was Phyllis Wheatly of Boston, who wrote poems on various subjects, -religious and moral, of high literary value. One of the poems was -addressed to General Washington and was appreciated by him as reference -to it by him was made in a letter to Joseph Reed under date of February -10, 1776. Through the endorsement of several men distinguished in -literature her poems were collected and published in London under the -title, “Poems of Various Subjects, Religious and Moral, by Phyllis -Wheatly, a Negro Servant to Mr. John Wheatly of Boston, in New England.” - -Paul Lawrence Dunbar, born in 1872, was a noted Negro poet. - -William Stanley Braithwaite, author of “The Book of Georgian Verse” and -the reviewer of poetry appearing in the standard magazines is classed -among the geniuses of American verse writers. - -“A Little Dreaming” is a volume by Fenton Johnson of Chicago that has -been favorably commented on in this country and Europe. - -The most famous of the Negro Shakesperian scholars was Ira Aldridge -of Bel Air Maryland. He is said to have had no equal in the -personification of Othello, the Moor. He was awarded the Gold Medal -of the First Class for “Art and Science” by the King of Prussia, a -distinction that had never before been awarded to any but Humbolt, -Spentini, the composer and Liszt, the musician. His title in England -was that of “Royal Saxe Ernest House Order,” a title of higher degree -than that of “Sir” so much coveted in Britain. He was a member of the -Academy of Arts and Sciences of St. Petersburg. - -Bert Williams, another Negro actor, bears the distinction of being the -“Greatest Comedian on the American Stage.” - -The inventive genius of the Negro is to be seen in the records of the -patent office at Washington. These show the application of a wide range -of inventive talent, including agricultural implements, in wood and -metal working machines, in land conveyances on road and steel rail -tracks, in ocean going vessels, in chemistry and chemical compounds, -in electricity in all its wide range of uses, in aereonautics, in new -designs of house furniture and bric-a-brac, in mechanical toys and -amusement devices. - -It is said that a Negro really invented the cotton gin, or gave to Ely -Whitney, who was the patentee of it, the suggestions which aided in the -completion of this invention. As early as 1834 a Negro, Henry Blair, of -Maryland, secured a patent on a corn harvester. - -Soon after the Dred Scott Decision in 1857 the Patent Office rendered a -decision that a Negro could not take out a patent on an invention, but -since 1862, when the decision was rescinded, no restrictions have been -placed on the use of the office by Negroes and a great number of useful -inventions have been patented by them. - -Robert Pelham, of Detroit, an employee in the Census Bureau, has -devised a machine that tabulates the statistics from the manufacturer’s -schedules in a way that displaces a dozen men in a given quantity -of work, doing the work economically, speedily and with faultless -precision. The returns in royalties from his invention, which is -patented, greatly exceeds the income Mr. Pelham receives from the -Government salary paid him for services in the office of the Census -Bureau. - -At the present time there are nearly 50,000 Negro business enterprises -of various kinds, some requiring a knowledge of banking, insurance, -manufacturing, undertaking and hospital training. - -The combined business of these enterprises total over one billion -dollars annually. - -There are about 66 banks in all with a capital and surplus of over -$2,000,000.00. - -Reference elsewhere made in this book to the progress of the Negro -in farming operations indicates that he is advancing more rapidly -in agriculture than any of the other pursuits. In educational and -church work it is shown, also, that he is well prepared to take care -of himself should the separation of the races ever become a reality. -The church denominational statistics show there are about 40,000 -Negro Churches of Christ in America, with communicants numbering over -4,000,000. The value of Negro church property is about $60,000,000.00. - -From $200,000.00 to $250,000.00 is spent annually on home missions. -For foreign missions the race spends from $100,000.00 to $150,000.00 -annually. - -By every test or qualification and efficiency the Negro, in government, -in the science of war, in the art of agriculture, in manufacturing, -invention, medicine, law and literature is well prepared to assume the -government of his race in a territory of his own. This insures him the -same protection from the persecution and injustices of the stronger -race that enabled the latter to succeed so famously when they, too, -in the course of human events, found it necessary to dissolve the -political bonds that united them to a dominant authority that gave them -no justice. - - - - -INCIDENTS IN MISS SCHOFIELD’S LIFE. - - -Martha Schofield’s conception of an education included a great deal -more than the mere matter of acquiring a fund of knowledge. She -taught that knowledge without the ability to use it was worthless, -and inspired every one coming under her influence with the necessity -for a means of practicing what they were taught. This made her work -intensely practical and enabled her students to succeed in overcoming -difficulties as they saw her overcome them. The operation of her -school, including the farm, the store and boarding house dormitories -became a part of the curriculum and each student was provided with -practical, concrete examples of every day business life with a solution -for each worked out before the eyes of the whole school. The success -which has and is attending the efforts of her students in many lines -of endeavor is one of the best arguments we have to advance for the -extension of practical instruction, especially among the Negroes who -have evidenced a singular ability in assimilating it and imparting its -usefulness afterwards. - -While every Schofield scholar received a deep impression of the power -which knowledge gives no want of attention was directed to the evil -which invariably attends the wrong use of it. This developed a course -in moral philosophy which, it is to be supposed, is responsible -for the high average maintained by the graduates of this school in -the deportment of their lives. Not one of the many receiving their -education at the school has ever been convicted of crime or sentenced -to jail or servitude in a penal institution. This contradicts and -discredits the statement often heard that the education of the Negro -has been attended by an increase of crime among the members of the -race. While unsupported by the facts with regard to the students of -all other Negro schools the statement could have basis only in those -schools and colleges where the relation of morals to breeding is -ignored altogether or made of secondary importance only. Certain it is -that Martha Schofield impressed each one of her students with a higher -regard for truth and virtue than for anything else in this world. - -Without the morality to live and act honorably education to her was a -curse, and she had the faculty of making her students a co-partner with -her in sharing her convictions along lines of right conduct and moral -grandeur as well as excelling in efficiency in all the arts taught. - -Martha Schofield was impelled by a power in her heart which inspired -sympathy to give the very best of her life in help of the Negro. So she -was very particular in her work that what she imparted really should -inspire her disciples to think right and live right. This enforced the -necessity for a discipline that may be considered severe by some but -many are there today who bless her from the bottom of their hearts for -holding them strictly to account in their work that in the final result -they might be the possessors of a future worthy of the instruction -received at her hands. She never enforced iron-hand discipline without -the glove of charity and her advice always sparkled with such sincerity -and sympathy as to make it palatable. - -Not only was the work of Miss Schofield opposed by the antagonism of -race prejudice, but opposed by a want of a precedent. There were few -Negroes of education to refer to as examples of what education may be -expected to do for one with the intelligence and industry necessary -to acquire it. Only a few years before Miss Schofield began her work -the instruction of Negroes was made unlawful by some of the States -in the South and as a result the greatest ignorance prevailed among -them. Not five per cent. could either read or write and quite a number -possessed no Christian name at all. They lived principally in one room -cabins, whole families of them, and subsisted on the coarsest and most -unwholesome food imaginable. There was no respect anywhere for sanitary -science laws and all this had the effect to greatly handicap Miss -Schofield at the beginning of her effort. - -One of the rules of her school which she enforced early in her career -was that no child could enter school who did not have a name. As all -were eager to learn and made tremendous sacrifices that their children -might do so this rule produced a mild sensation among some of the older -people who had not the intuition to go about the work of obtaining a -name for their offspring. But the ruling finally served to obtain names -for all, and these in time became legal, some of them appearing just as -Martha Schofield gave them on the tax books to this very day. - -Perhaps the origin of the name Rahab Obedience, for many years an -employe in Miss Schofield’s room, was one among the most unique. -Accompanied by her child, who had been sent home the day before for -want of a name, Rahab called early one morning on Miss Schofield and -expressed great distress over the possibility of her not being able to -comply with the entrance regulations and keep her little boy in school. - -“Missus,” spoke Rahab, “Banjo be’n tellin’ me dat yo’ sais he mus’ hab -some trimmins’ ’fore he kin com’ to yo’ sc’ool an’ clear befo’ dee -Lawd, Missus, he aint got non’ ’side frum Banjo’ and hee jist caint git -non.’ Dat chile nebber aint had any daddy, Missus!” - -“Every child that enters this school” said Miss Schofield, “must have a -name or be given one, else we can not teach him. Perhaps, we may give -your son a name. - -“What is your name? All children without a father bear their mother’s -name.” - -“Mer name, Missus?” queried Rahab in surprise. “I be’n tinkink yo’ no’ -mer name lon’ time.” - -“Yes, I know; but what is your Christian name--the other part of your -name? Rahab who?” - -“O, yas’am, I ’noes w’at yo’ means now, but dats all de name I -habs--jest Rahab,” said the woman as she looked hopefully at Miss -Schofield for some means by which a name could be found for her son -and he be allowed to remain in school. - -“Well, can’t you suggest some name for your son?” asked Miss Schofield. -“What name would you like for him to be known by?” - -“We’l Missus,” said Rahab, “mer old marster allus tol’ us dat Obedience -wus der bes trate in de karecter of a cullud pusson an’ so I bleeves -I’d jest lak to hab mer boi call’d Banjo Obedience.” - -“Very well,” replied Miss Schofield, “hereafter he shall be known as -Banjo Obedience and we shall know you as Rahab Obedience.” - -“Dat’s jest alritee ef Banjo kin cum ter sc’ool wid dat name. Don’t -care w’at yo’ cal’ ’em nor how much yo’ beats ’em jest so yo larns em -sometings, som’ gud man’ers lak he ole marster had.” - -In a very few days after this unusual interview Rahab herself was given -a position in the Schofield household where she was employed for many -years. - -Among all the mourners at the funeral none there were more deeply -affected by the passing of Miss Schofield than the servants of her -household. - -One of the most beautiful traits of Miss Schofield’s character is -to be seen in her treatment of the Negro servants in her employ. -The excellent service which “Aunt Amy” rendered to her gave her a -high appreciation of the Negro for domestic duties, and inspired the -sentiment now common over the country that the Southern white people -do not appreciate the value of Negro servants because they have never -had the dissatisfaction attending the employment of other domestics of -different nationality. - -“Aunt Ann,” another employe for thirty-five years, equally -distinguished the race by excelling in the art of domestic service. -Rahab Obedience, Darius Bauknight and Charlotte, all so well pleased -Miss Schofield with the quality and quantity of their services that -each received recognition in her Will. - -Martha Schofield was not only admired and loved by all her students -and servants--she was idolized by them. Wherever she went in the South -or North she always found a number to do her honor, and honor shown her -by the humblest and lowest of the Negro race was to all appearances as -much appreciated as that shown by the great poets and writers, many of -whom knew her and delighted in showing her the respect which one great -mind has for another. - -Among the distinguished people who expressed a deep appreciation of her -strength of character and firmness of purpose in carrying on her work -was John G. Whittier, the Quaker Poet, who wrote her several pleasing -commendatory letters, and dedicated all his works to the spirit which -inspired her to carry on her work in the face of difficulties that -would have discouraged into inactivity anybody but Martha Schofield. -Other notable people who paid tribute to Miss Schofield were Lucretia -Mott, the distinguished reformer and Miss Francis Willard. - -At her home in Aiken she was highly respected for her strength of -character in holding fast to her convictions and for her intelligence -and absolute honesty. - -The following resolutions by the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union, a -white organization to which Miss Schofield belonged, were passed at a -recent session: - - - “RESOLUTIONS. - - “Aiken, S. C., April 17th, 1916. - - “_Whereas_, God, in His infinite wisdom, has seen fit to take from - us, our sister and earnest co-worker, Miss Martha Schofield; We, - the members of the W. C. T. U., Aiken, S. C., do hereby offer the - following resolutions: - - “1st. That in her passing away the W. C. T. U. has lost one of its - earnest workers. - - “2nd. That we extend to her neice and to her companion, Mrs. Taylor, - our deepest sympathy. - - “3rd. That a page in our Minute Book be inscribed to her memory. - - “4th. That a copy of these resolutions be sent to her neice, to Mrs. - Taylor and to the County papers for publication. - - META SUMMERALL, - HATTIE P. HILL, - TWEETIE M. CARTER, - Committee.” - - -If one ever questioned whether the services of Miss Schofield were -appreciated by the colored people of Aiken all doubts must have been -removed by the demonstration of Negroes at the funeral on Monday, -February 3, and again on the same day as the casket was borne from the -Schofield home to the railroad station. The line of march included -over 1,000 school children and citizens and the mass was so great at -the train shed as to interfere with the movement of all traffic. As -the train moved off the citizens joined in the favorite song of the -lamented lady and sang so sadly and feelingly as to bring tears to the -eyes of all: “Steal Away, Steal Away to Jesus.” - -Among hundreds of telegrams, letters and personal messages received -at the school following the death of Miss Schofield, the latter are -typical: - - “I am here to give my testimony of the value of the life of Martha - Schofield to my race. She was one of the bravest, kindest women I - ever knew. It is true that Martha Schofield was a fighter. She dared - to contend for what she believed was right, but always took counsel, - weighed things carefully, and, when she took a stand that she believed - was right, believing she was right, there was no earthly power to - turn her from her course. Martha Schofield is not dead--she lives - in the memory of her students scattered all over South Carolina and - other States. She will live in the memory of their children and their - children’s children, for there are few colored homes in which her name - and deeds are not recounted in the family circle.” - - LUCY LANEY, - Principal Haines Institute, Augusta, Ga. - - “In the death of Miss Martha Schofield the Negroes have lost a true - friend of long standing, and the cause of the great social uplift here - in the South has lost an earnest and effective worker. - - “Miss Schofield was my personal friend and adviser for many years. - I think she has accomplished a most unselfish life work and very - effective.” - - WALTER S. BUCHANAN, - President Agricultural & Mechanical College, - Normal, Alabama. - - - Miss Schofield did a valuable, a useful, a noble work for my race, - and I am glad so many of the colored people in Georgia and South - Carolina have joined in the general chorus of sorrow and sympathy - in consequence of her death. A hundred years from now, when the - history of the South shall be written anew, the brightest page in the - story will be that on which shall be recorded the lives, labor, and - sacrifices of the white men and women from the North who came into the - South directly after the war and brought the torch of civilization to - a freed race and taught them the way of truth and righteousness. - - PROF. S. X. FLOYD, - Principal Gwinnett School, - Augusta, Ga. - - -The following resolution was unanimously adopted by the faculty of the -Schofield school, in respect to the memory of Miss Schofield: - - “_Resolved_, That the Schofield School most sorrowfully realizes that - in the translation of the spirit of this truly great woman, it has - sustained an irreparable loss. In the departure from our midst of this - illustrious character, we solemnly obligate ourselves to ever reserve - prominent places in our memories for the most worthy example set - before us by the founder and friend of the great work. The greatest - monument to the life of Miss Schofield is the school which bears her - name. This most splendid plant, now in the flower of its prosperity, - marks the fruitful result of the untiring zeal and the dauntless - courage possessed, and the patient efforts put forth by the Founder - who so faithfully labored for and among the freedmen of our community.” - -[Illustration] - - - - -Transcriber’s Notes - -Page 7: “envitable civil conflict” changed to “inevitable civil -conflict” - -Page 8: “dsirable an end” changed to “desirable an end” - -Page 10: “moral degredation” changed to “moral degradation” “in immense -volumne” changed to “in immense volume” “pitted their poor brothers” -changed to “pitied their poor brothers” - -Page 12: “trenchent pen” changed to “trenchant pen” - -Page 13: “at Tuskeegee” changed to “at Tuskegee” - -Page 17: “life as made” changed to “life was made” - -Page 18: “Wadlamaw to Edisto” changed to “Wadmalaw to Edisto” - -Page 19: “instinct to enage” changed to “instinct to engage” - -Page 20: “Brightnesss of Martha’s Pupils.” changed to “Brightness of -Martha’s Pupils.” “Nothwithstanding” changed to “Notwithstanding” - -Page 24: “concluded trat” changed to “concluded that” - -Page 27: “on Februay” changed to “on February” “by the municipalites” -changed to “by the municipalities” “oustide influence” changed to -“outside influence” - -Page 29: “science is suppossed” changed to “science is supposed” - -Page 31: “phenominal rise” changed to “phenomenal rise” - -Page 40: “his dristrict” changed to “his district” - -Page 41: “had preceeded” changed to “had preceded” - -Page 42: “the communty” changed to “the community” “prompt and -preemptory” changed to “prompt and peremptory” - -Page 44: “precipitated the demorilization” changed to “precipitated the -demoralization” - -Page 45: “recognizing the advanage” changed to “recognizing the -advantage” - -Page 46: “Mackie Meriwether” changed to “Makie Meriwether” - -Page 47: “domoniac form” changed to “demoniac form” “most conspecious -part” changed to “most conspicuous part” - -Page 48: “which followd” changed to “which followed” “resulted in -Conress” changed to “resulted in Congress” - -Page 49: “firey speech” changed to “fiery speech” - -Page 50: “reign of lawlessnes” changed to “reign of lawlessness” - -Page 52: “gov-government’s” changed to “government’s?” “be arrainged” -changed to “be arraigned” - -Page 53: “wha was given” changed to “who was given” - -Page 54: “between the the” changed to “between the” - -Page 56: “the maurauders” changed to “the marauders” - -Page 60: “enconomic reasons” changed to “economic reasons” - -Page 62: “the enforcemnet” changed to “the enforcement” - -Page 64: “barbaraties of those” changed to “barbarities of those” - -Page 66: “disfranchisemnt laws” changed to “disfranchisement laws” - -Page 67: “that that” changed to “than that” - -Page 69: “althuogh” changed to “although” - -Page 71: “firmly deternmied” changed to “firmly determined” “make him -Emporer” changed to “make him Emperor” - -Page 72: “his bethrothed” changed to “his betrothed” “his jounrey” -changed to “his journey” - -Page 78: “generousnes of God” changed to “generousness of God” -“stragetic ability” changed to “strategic ability” - -Page 81: “manuel of important information” changed to “manual of -important information” - -Page 83: “is phenominal” changed to “is phenomenal” - -Page 87: “inflamatory conditions” changed to “inflammatory conditions” -“she sympatized” changed to “she sympathized” - -Page 89: “compeling those responsible” changed to “compelling those -responsible” - -Page 93: “for off China” changed to “far off China” “espcially” changed -to “especially” - -Page 95: “well enough inwormed” changed to “well enough informed” - -Page 97: “own populatoin” changed to “own population” - -Page 110: “the fitnss” changed to “the fitness” - -Page 115: “seige of Savannah” changed to “siege of Savannah” - -Page 116: “the genuises” changed to “the geniuses” - -Page 117: “Patent Offce” changed to “Patent Office” - -Page 120: “her diciples” changed to “her disciples” “palatible” changed -to “palatable” - -Page 123: “Lucreta Mott” changed to “Lucretia Mott” - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MARTHA SCHOFIELD PIONEER NEGRO -EDUCATOR *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the -United States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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Thus, we do not -necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper -edition. - -Most people start at our website which has the main PG search -facility: www.gutenberg.org - -This website includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, -including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to -subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. diff --git a/old/68234-0.zip b/old/68234-0.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index cb6aa2b..0000000 --- a/old/68234-0.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/68234-h.zip b/old/68234-h.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index fd13e12..0000000 --- a/old/68234-h.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/68234-h/68234-h.htm b/old/68234-h/68234-h.htm deleted file mode 100644 index 81015b7..0000000 --- a/old/68234-h/68234-h.htm +++ /dev/null @@ -1,4952 +0,0 @@ -<!DOCTYPE html> -<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> -<head> - <meta charset="UTF-8" /> - <title> - Martha Schofield Pioneer Negro Educator, by Matilda A. Evans—A Project Gutenberg eBook - </title> - <link rel="icon" href="images/cover.jpg" type="image/x-cover" /> - <style> /* <![CDATA[ */ - -body { - margin-left: 10%; - margin-right: 10%; -} - - h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6 { - text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ - clear: both; -} - -p { - margin-top: .51em; - text-align: justify; - margin-bottom: .49em; -text-indent: 1em; -} - -abbr[title] { - text-decoration: none; -} - -.p2 {margin-top: 2em;} -.p4 {margin-top: 4em;} - -hr { - width: 33%; - margin-top: 2em; - margin-bottom: 2em; - margin-left: 33.5%; - margin-right: 33.5%; - clear: both; -} - -hr.chap {width: 65%; margin-left: 17.5%; margin-right: 17.5%;} -@media print { hr.chap {display: none; visibility: hidden;} } - -hr.r5 {width: 5%; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 47.5%; margin-right: 47.5%;} - -div.chapter {page-break-before: always;} -h2.nobreak {page-break-before: avoid;} - - -table { - margin-left: auto; - margin-right: auto; -} - -.pagenum { /* uncomment the next line for invisible page numbers */ - /* visibility: hidden; */ - position: absolute; - left: 92%; - font-size: smaller; - text-align: right; - font-style: normal; - font-weight: normal; - font-variant: normal; -} /* page numbers */ - -.blockquot { - margin-left: 5%; - margin-right: 5%; -} - -.bt {border-top: 2px solid; width: 50%; margin-left: 25%;} - -.bbox {border: 2px solid; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; padding: 1em;} - -.center {text-align: center; text-indent: 0em;} - -.right {text-align: right; text-indent: 0em;} - -.smcap {font-variant: small-caps;} - -/* Images */ - -img { - max-width: 100%; - height: auto; -} -img.w5 {width: 5%;} -.x-ebookmaker .w5 {width: 7%;} - - -.figcenter { - margin: auto; - text-align: center; - page-break-inside: avoid; - max-width: 100%; -} - -.mr {margin-right: 2em;} - -/* Transcriber's notes */ -.transnote {background-color: #E6E6FA; - color: black; - font-size:smaller; - padding:0.5em; - margin-bottom:5em; - font-family:sans-serif, serif; } - -.small {font-size: 0.8em;} -.big {font-size: 1.2em;} -.xbig {font-size: 2em;} - - /* ]]> */ </style> -</head> -<body> -<p style='text-align:center; font-size:1.2em; font-weight:bold'>The Project Gutenberg eBook of Martha Schofield pioneer Negro educator, by Matilda A. Evans</p> -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online -at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> - -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: Martha Schofield pioneer Negro educator</p> -<p style='display:block; margin-left:2em; text-indent:0; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:1em;'>Historical and philosophical review of reconstruction period of South Carolina</p> -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Matilda A. Evans</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: June 4, 2022 [eBook #68234]</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</p> - <p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em; text-align:left'>Produced by: Charlene Taylor and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)</p> -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MARTHA SCHOFIELD PIONEER NEGRO EDUCATOR ***</div> -<div class="bbox"> - -<h1> Martha Schofield<br /><br /> -<span class="small">Pioneer Negro Educator</span></h1> - -<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img002a"> - <img src="images/002.jpg" class="w5" alt="Leaf image" /></span><span class="figcenter" id="img002b"> - <img src="images/002.jpg" class="w5" alt="Leaf image" /> -</span></p> - -<p class="center big"> Historical and Philosophical Review - of Reconstruction Period of - South Carolina</p> - -<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img002c"> - <img src="images/002.jpg" class="w5" alt="Leaf image" /> -</span></p> - -<p class="center p4"> By MATILDA A. EVANS, M. D.<br /> - Graduate Schofield School -</p> - -</div> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - - -<p class="center"> Copyright, 1916.<br /> - <span class="smcap">By Matilda A. Evans</span>, M. D.</p> - - -<p class="center p4 bt small"> DuPre Printing Company, Columbia, S.C. -</p> -</div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter bbox"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="Dedicatory">Dedicatory</h2> - - - -<p>To the men and women who braved the dangers and suffered the hardships -of frontier life and bore with fortitude the pain of social ostracism -and the sting of poison slander that through their work a lowly race -might be educated, this work is respectfully dedicated by</p> - -<p class="right"> -<span class="smcap">The Author</span>.<br /> -</p> -</div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="FOREWORD">FOREWORD</h2> -</div> - -<hr class="r5" /> -<p>One of the benefits conferred by education is that of enlightening the -mind on the subject of one’s duty. Finding what is duty the manner -of discharging it will suggest itself to the alert, the active, and -those of industrious and intelligent discernment. Perhaps forever -hidden would remain the necessity for certain tasks were it not for the -inspiration idealists receive from education. This education, if proper -and well rounded, also forces all who embrace it into the line of work -promising the accomplishment of the greatest achievements—achievements -such as in leaving foot-prints on the sands of time leave no mark of -dishonor but such as really and truly do give new heart and new hope -and new courage to the weaker brother.</p> - -<p>That Martha Schofield was inspired by the highest motives that -possibly could influence any one in choosing an occupation to be made -a life-work is evidenced by the personal sacrifices she made in order -to engage in it. The fortitude with which she bore the poison sting -of slander, the cruel whip of character assassination and braved the -threats of personal violence forcibly attests the sincerity actuating -her in pursuing her chosen work. The results accomplished by the fifty -years of earnest endeavor by her form a tribute to efficiency of -women in administrative affairs that is seldom ever equaled by other -human beings claiming greater strength by reason of sex. When the -final history of the war between ignorance and enlightenment, between -superstition and science, between vice and virtue shall have been -written of the colored race the foremost name among all will be—Martha -Schofield—Pioneer Negro Educator.</p> - -<p class="right"> -<span class="mr"><span class="smcap">Matilda A. Evans</span>, M. D.,</span><br /> -Columbia, <abbr title="South Carolina">S. C.</abbr><br /> -</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_5">[Pg 5]</span></p> - -<p class="center xbig">Martha Schofield</p> -<hr class="r5" /> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I.<br /><span class="small"><span class="smcap">The Hunted Beast.</span></span></h2> -</div> - - -<p>A woman apparently thirty years of age, of mulatto skin, fell limp into -a chair in the kitchen of Mrs. Oliver Schofield of Darby, Bucks County, -Pennsylvania about the year 1857, with blood hounds and the voices of -angry men following close upon her heels through the tangled swamps -from which she had just emerged.</p> - -<p>“Who can thee be? Who can thee be?—and what does thee want here?” -inquired excited Mrs. Schofield as she dropped the dish rag and rushed -to the prostrate form in the chair, eager to render aid and comfort to -the suffering and afflicted woman as well as to ascertain the cause of -her abrupt, unannounced entrance into her home.</p> - -<p>Out of breath from the long run made necessary to escape the dogs -and the traps laid by experienced officers of the law who had been -so diligently upon her trail for more than a week, that she had had -time to stop and rest and take nourishment for only a few minutes at -a time, Laura Duncan was unable at first to give any coherent account -of herself. She managed, however, to make it known to the kind Quaker -lady that she was an escaped slave and was endeavoring with all speed -possible to reach the Canadian border and enter the world of freedom, -which she had been informed existed under the British flag in the -Dominion of Canada for all who might enter that country.</p> - -<p>As causes moving her to take this drastic step in defiance of the -law of her own land and the possibility of involving the liberty -and happiness of all who might be kind enough to assist her in the -accomplishment of the task, she recited such evils as brought tears -to the eyes of her enforced host. She exhibited a lash-scared back,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_6">[Pg 6]</span> -a broken bone or two and a deep cut on the head that had since been -healed without serious results only by the aid of a skillful surgeon.</p> - -<p>But the physical suffering attested by these outward signs of the -practice of brutality on the woman were but a fraction of the pain and -torture which Miss Schofield knew was gnashing at her heart over the -parting of herself and husband and children more than a month before, -when at a public sale little Gabe, her ten year old son, and Jennie, -the only daughter, and her husband, “Jim,” were each sold to different -masters in as many different States and carried away where she would -never see or hear of any of them again.</p> - -<p>“Martha” said Mrs. Schofield addressing her daughter, whose face was -covered in an immaculate white apron that adorned her whole front, to -hide the freely flowing tears that rushed from her eyes like water from -the fountains, “do thee find thy father at once and tell him to come to -the house as quickly as possible.”</p> - -<p>Then laying her arms around the body of the inconsolable wife and -mother she spoke words of consolation and cheer, assuring her that God -in his own way and wisdom would destroy the power of the government of -human beings by the lash, would break the chains that bind the hand and -foot and visit a just retribution on all those responsible for the sale -of babies from the breasts of mothers. She begged and pleaded earnestly -that Laura abandon the attempt to escape and entreated her to surrender -to the officers and return to her master, but the slave, chafing under -the influence of a life of injustice and brutality, expressed a firmer -determination than ever before, to continue on in her course and begged -pitiably of her host that her presence in the home be not divulged. She -threatened suicide if captured.</p> - -<p><abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> Schofield, himself, by this time had reached the house and -instantly grasping the situation, requested of Mrs. Schofield a -familiar old shawl and bonnet of hers. Dressed in these Laura, in -company with <abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> Schofield, passed readily as Mary, his wife, among -acquaintances of the latter, and successfully eluded all pursuit<span class="pagenum" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</span> by -the officers, who a half hour after her departure had ransacked the -Schofield home from turret to foundation stone in search of the fleeing -fugitive.</p> - -<p>Reaching a zone safely out of reach of harm’s way, the leader of the -church of the Society Friends, deposited his burden, wishing her -God-speed in her undertaking and placing in her hand one dollar in gold -to assist her on her journey, turned his horse, after many days on the -road, and made his way slowly back home, with a painful heart.</p> - -<p>During the interval of her husband’s departure and return, Mrs. -Schofield was kept busy in the attempt to control the indignant and -outraged feelings of Martha, who had gone to her mother dozens of times -with the question of the justice and mercy of God and the wisdom and -power of the government in permitting the fettering of four million -bodies in chains and the trampling under foot by brutal might of all -the sacred relations of wife, father and child.</p> - -<p>“Ah, my daughter, ’tis not for thee to question the mysterious workings -of God,” she would reply, “in the Master’s own time and way He will -touch the auction block, the slave pen and the whipping post, and in -their place thee shall see what thy dear heart desires so much to -see—happy homes and firesides, and school houses and books, where -today thee only sees crime and cruelty and fear.”</p> - -<p>“But mother,” Martha would protest, “for how much longer must the poor -ignorant slaves endure the infinite outrages heaped upon them by reason -of the barbarism of the slave-holding oligarchy? Have they not suffered -enough already? Is it not time to close the door on the slave-holding -class and render judgment as swift and implacable as death? Their -cause was brought forth in iniquity and consummated in crime, and I -for one believe God would only be served by our societies (the Society -of Friends and the Abolitionist Society) hastening on the inevitable -civil conflict, believed by most people as absolutely necessary in the -settlement of the whole question of slavery.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</span></p> - -<p>“My daughter, oh, my daughter, pray thee do not talk that way” said her -mother in tones of profound anxiety; “does not the good book command -thee not to kill? Eternal torment for thy portion if thou should -commit murder, and to wish it to be done is father to the deed. Oh, my -daughter! my daughter! thee frightens me!”</p> - -<p>“Oh, no my mother, there’s no murder in my heart, I assure thee,” said -Martha; “I only desire the government’s protection for every human -being subject to its authority and I want that same authority to turn -every auction block and slave pen into a school house even if its -necessary to exact by bullet every drop of blood that has been spilled -by the lash, in accomplishing this result. Thee must concede that the -Bible also teaches us to exact an eye for an eye and a tooth for a -tooth. But I wish this to be done, Mother, only to make possible a -happier and blesseder existence here on this earth for a lowly race, -when all other means of accomplishing so desirable an end have been -tried and proven in vain.”</p> - -<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img001a"> - <img src="images/001.jpg" class="w5" alt="book icon" /> -</span></p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II.<br /><span class="small"><span class="smcap">Revolution and War.</span></span></h2> -</div> - - - -<p>During the ten years intervening between the precipitate appearance -of the runaway slave at the Schofield home and the coming to Edisto -Island, South Carolina, of Miss Martha Schofield for the purpose of -founding an industrial school for the colored race, the new form of -liberty conceived by our fore-fathers and dedicated to the principle -that all men are born free and equal, had been put to a severe test as -to whether this new form of government could be put into practice. The -great Civil War predicted by Martha as inevitable in the settlement of -the problem of slavery broke out in all its fury in 1860-61 and was -not only attended by the loss of hundreds of thousands of priceless -lives, whose bodies filled countless hospitals of pain, and made gory -the prairies and furrows of old fields, as they on the side of the -South as well as they on the side of the North bled and died for the -eternal right as each saw what was their duty; but the demoralization -precipitated by this gigantic conflict, followed by the assassination -of President Lincoln, the idol of the whole free-civilized world, was -even more staggering in its influence on the lives and fortunes of -those left to solve the problems created by the great revolution.</p> - -<p>The waste of inconceivable sums of money through the awarding of -contracts involving millions and millions of dollars by which fortunes, -through little or no effort at all, were made in a single night was -openly countenanced at Washington.</p> - -<p>Superfluous wealth chocked the nation at the North with its mighty grip -and the riot of speculation, corruption and debauchery which followed, -in the voting away of the public lands free of any charge to private -corporations and the granting of subsidies of millions of dollars -without any compensation whatever, laid such burdens upon the people -that many of them until this day (1916) remain undischarged.</p> - -<p>The paralysis experienced by the business interests as<span class="pagenum" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</span> a result of -this whirlwind of corruption resulted in the decline of the credit -of the country to such an extent that the six per cent. bonds of the -Republic dropped to about seventy-three cents on the dollar in the open -market. But the disastrous financial calamity which the war produced is -of no consequence in comparison with the moral degradation into which -the country sank.</p> - -<p>A few years before the panic of 1873 nearly everybody in the North and -West, where conditions were prosperous in spite of the war, wanted to -go to the cities where fortunes were waiting for them, and almost every -farmer’s son took an oath that he would never cultivate the soil. At -the age of twenty-one they left the dreary and desolate farms in droves -and rushed to the cities to become bookkeepers, doctors, lawyers, -merchants and sewing machine agents, anything to escape the heavy work -of the farm. Those with capital wanted to engage in something promising -huge and quick returns and so these built railroads, established banks -and insurance companies. Some speculated in stocks of Wall Street, -while others gambled in grain in Chicago with the result that the -riches of the whole country flowed to their coffers in immense volume, -and in their carriages and palaces the pitied their poor brothers on -the farm, who as earnestly envied them.</p> - -<p>But the lap of luxury in which these citizens were being nursed was -doomed to become thread-bare as, indeed, it did do, and always will -do, when the world’s advance is checked by the want of assistance and -co-operation of all classes of laborers. The railroad and insurance -presidents became bankrupts and their companies went into the hands of -receivers by the score. Large numbers of young men who imagined they -had entirely too much education to be wasted on the farm and flocked -to the cities in incredible numbers became in time, either absconders -and fugitives from justice, or plain tramps and hobos, a demonstrative -force to prove the saying, that the only really solvent people, the -only independent people, are the tillers of the soil.</p> - -<p>At the South which had been reduced to the most<span class="pagenum" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</span> degraded type of -poverty there were no such opportunities for the accumulation of -wealth as existed at the North and in the West. The few railroads -that before the war intersected this section had been torn up by the -necessities of war and needed rebuilding, but there was no money to be -had anywhere with which to do the work. All the strongest blood and -brain had been either slain in battle or rendered incapacitated for the -tasks which the new order of conditions had forced upon the country. -Aside from the loss of millions and millions of dollars as a result of -the Emancipation Proclamation freeing the slaves the South was forced -also to bear the burden of an exorbitant tax on all crops produced, -especially the cotton tax.</p> - -<p>The agitation set up by many of the acts of Reconstruction, impeachment -proceedings against President Johnson and the foment and strife -engendered by the rule of the military authorities opposed by the Ku -Klux Klan, all served, to keep for years longer than necessary, the -bleeding and prostrate South securely on its back, a helpless beggar at -the mercy, in many instances of an army of unscrupulous and grafting -office-seekers. Under such conditions it was impossible to obtain -credit anywhere for the most necessary things of life and as there -was almost nothing of any value produced, the greatest hardships and -suffering, if not actual misery, was endured by the people of the South.</p> - -<p>Scores of persons gave up in despair and died. Cow peas, corn bread and -molasses of such quality as only a few years before would have been -considered unfit food for the slaves formed the sole diet, for the -first few years after the war, of delicate and cultured women. Little -children often went to bed crying from hunger. An element of the Negro -population, rendered conspicuously brutal and vicious by service in the -army, stole and threatened even blacker crimes, just as the game of war -has affected the morality of all races of men throughout the history of -recorded warfare.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III.<br /><span class="small"><span class="smcap">Pioneer Educator Arrives.</span></span></h2> -</div> - - - -<p>Into the midst of these terrible times which made weak the souls and -hearts of the strongest of men, came Miss Martha Schofield, the first -of the pioneers to push into the distracted South to labor, to suffer, -and if need be, to die for the millions of ignorant, irresponsible -Negroes. Their education, along industrial lines, she made her -life-work—crowning it on the 77th day of her birth, February 1, 1916, -by passing from earth to heaven. But she left to show that she did -something on earth a school and campus comprising an area of two entire -blocks in the beautiful City of Aiken, <abbr title="South Carolina">S. C.</abbr>, on which she had erected -eight buildings.</p> - -<p>The school farm, adequate for all farm demonstration work, consists -of about 400 acres. The funds by which all this valuable property was -acquired was raised by Miss Schofield herself, through the fluent -use of her trenchant pen, which she knew how to wield as few women -have ever learned to do. Everything contracted for in the interest -of the school was paid for in cash as Miss Schofield, in all her -fifty years of administration, never contracted the outlay of money -without first having provided the means with which to meet claims. She -enjoyed the good-will and friendship of men and women of wealth and -influence throughout the country, especially of the old Abolitionists, -who supported her institution generously as long as they lived and -possessed the means with which to do so.</p> - -<p>The Schofield School at Aiken has sent out into the world many young -men and women who have gone back among their own people accomplished -teachers, ministers, physicians, farmers and artisans, leading the -colored race of the South to the highest appreciation of what Martha -Schofield’s motto for life was—“Thoroughness,” thoroughness not only -in books and the industrial arts, but in thought and action as well. -No doubt the success which attended the efforts of the graduates of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</span> -this School is due, in the main, to the strict regard for efficiency -with which this great woman inspired every student coming under her -influence.</p> - -<p>When we contemplate the wide-spread influence which the life and work -of Martha Schofield has exerted on the education of the people of the -South, the white as well as the colored, words become inadequate to pay -proper tribute to her; to justly express the appreciation felt by those -having knowledge of her achievements.</p> - -<p>There is not a colored school in the entire South that has not -acknowledged the wisdom of this Divinely endowed leader and instructor -by establishing an industrial department. Recognizing the imperative -importance of this sort of instruction almost all the schools and -colleges for whites emphasize it by giving it first place in their -curriculums. Clemson, for white men and Rock Hill Normal and Industrial -Institute for young white women were established long after Miss -Schofield brought home to the people of the South the crying necessity -of preparing our boys and girls of all races for the actual duties -met with in every day home life. The vision which she herself had of -a thorough preparation for the humbler tasks lighted the intellectual -skies of the whole South after years of success by her in the education -of the weaker race. This fact is made more prominent by the action of -many of the States in incorporating industrial courses in the common -schools.</p> - -<p>Much credit must be given to the practical success of Miss Schofield’s -school work for the marvelous strides made by the education of the -Negro at such celebrated institutions as Hampton, <abbr title="Virginia">Va.</abbr>, with an -enrollment annually of over 1,500 students and an endowment of over -$1,000,000.00; and at Tuskegee, with about an equal number of students -and as great or greater endowment fund. Then there are other great -institutions devoted entirely to the education of the colored race, -making quite a feature of the industrial department, such as Atlanta -University, Atlanta, <abbr title="Georgia">Ga.</abbr>, Fisk University,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</span> Nashville, Term., Haines -Institute, Augusta, <abbr title="Georgia">Ga.</abbr>, Spellman University, Atlanta, <abbr title="Georgia">Ga.</abbr>, Claflin -and the Agricultural Colored State College at Orangeburg, <abbr title="South Carolina">S. C.</abbr> Also -Benedict at Columbia and Voorhees Institute at Denmark, all of which -have grown into existence and attained the top-most rung of the ladder -of fame since the coming to the South of Martha Schofield in 1865.</p> - -<p>Near the Schofield School is the Bettis Academy in Edgefield County, -South Carolina, formed and modeled after the fashion of the Aiken -School. Alford Nicholson, the principal, is a product of the latter -and is working out with great similarity the ideas and theories of his -Alma Mater. The good being accomplished here in a small way is one of -the great triumphs of the life-work of Miss Schofield, it being her -greatest aim in life not to create and endow great institutions of -learning with money and high sounding names, but to plant in the heart -and soul of every child coming under her influence those principles -of efficiency that would enable them to get out into the world and -actually do something to lift up the fallen. She acted always as if the -taking of the name of the Lord in vain consisted entirely of praying -for the Kingdom of God to come but doing absolutely nothing to bring -those prayers to pass. “Deeds, deeds, my children,” she was fond of -saying, “are what count, not mere words.”</p> - -<p>The absence of faith in God, she asserted, was seen in all those who -did not turn their hand to accomplish the results for which they -prayed. No one can successfully accuse her of hypocracy in the least. -She practiced what she taught and taught others that anything less than -that was hypocracy and infidelism.</p> - -<p>Miss Martha Schofield was born near Newton, in Bucks County, -Pennsylvania, on the first day of February in the year 1839 of -well-to-do parents, who professed and lived true the principles of -religion as enunciated by the Society of Friends, or the Quakers, as -they are commonly called. This stern sect of religious puritans date -their arrival in America along with the earliest<span class="pagenum" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</span> immigrants, and in -proportion to numbers can lay as heavy claim to being responsible -for the civilization of the present day as any other denomination -inhabiting the New World. The same cause, religious persecution, -leading other denominations to seek a home on American shores, where -they could worship God in their own way, inspired the Friends to come -to this country. William Penn, a very wealthy and highly educated -man, famous the civilized world over for his kindness of heart and -generous benevolences, was a member of the Society and one of its chief -supporters in England and America. He founded the City of Philadelphia, -which means brotherly love. The foundation stone of the whole structure -of the Quaker religion is carved out of the rock of brotherly love, and -it was this love that placed Ben Abon Ahem on the highest seat in the -house of the Hall of Saints when the wandering Angel of the earth went -to Heaven to pick out the Archangel within the pearly gates.</p> - -<p>The love which Martha Schofield bore for all mankind, white and black, -Jew and Greek, male and female, friend and foe, was evidently inspired -by a religious conviction that held her thrall.</p> - -<p>Not since Christ has there been a man or woman of whom it can be truly -said he or she could not possibly, wilfully sin, but it is believed -confidently by all who knew Miss Schofield best that she would not -under any circumstances knowingly commit sin. It was as natural for her -to be virtuous and righteous as it is natural for the vicious to be -bad, unkind, selfish and immoral.</p> - -<p>While Miss Schofield was kind and generous to prodigality she was -also as brave as a lion and quick as a tiger to fight if the occasion -demanded it. While she always took counsel and weighed matters -carefully she never failed to contend for what she believed to be -right. Her nature seemed blended with the holiness of a sacred -spirituality, imparted to it no doubt by her religious training, and -an invincibleness in matters affecting social relations that bordered -the stubbornness of Satan.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</span> Influenced, possibly, to greatness in the -latter attribute by the teachings of the Abolitionist Party, to which -she belonged in heart, mind and soul?</p> - -<p>As one of her most valued friends and one of the most brilliant of the -many noteworthy people said of her at the funeral, the author wishes -to repeat here: “Martha Schofield is not dead; she lives and will -continue to live in the memory of her students scattered all over South -Carolina and other States. She lives in their memory and in the memory -of their children’s children, for there are few colored homes in which -her name and deeds are not recounted in the family circle. I count some -of her best work, the efforts she made to elevate and purify the home. -She spent much time and endured many hardships traveling through the -country speaking and teaching the value of homes and the necessity of -clean homes, both physically and morally. She never tired of stressing -these things and there are many good Negro homes in South Carolina and -all over the Southland that are evidences that her efforts have not -been in vain. Martha Schofield was helpful not alone to the Negroes but -also to the whites, for good Negroes make good whites and good whites -make good Negroes.”</p> - -<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img001b"> - <img src="images/001.jpg" class="w5" alt="book icon" /> -</span></p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV.<br /><span class="small"><span class="smcap">Inspired by High Ideals.</span></span></h2> -</div> - -<p>What motive led this young woman of only twenty-six, surrounded by -wealth, by culture, and every circumstance that made her not only -acceptable but desirable in the highest circles of society, to abandon -all—home and friends and money and the pleasures which her position -in the social world brings—for a life of the most arduous toil among -a barbarous, if not a savage people, whose skin, unlike hers, was -black and whose habits and customs were thought to be repugnant and -repelling to those of refinement? She had been fully appraised, too, of -the physical dangers that lay in wait for any one who would condescend -to prostitute their powers of mind in the instruction and elevation of -the Negro race, at the hands of the whites of the South. Her position -between the fire of social ostracism on the one hand and the fagot on -the other was one not to be envied. It would have daunted the courage -of any woman made of weaker stuff, but being of sterner material and -obsessed with a sense of duty in a just cause, such a sense of duty as -led both the blue and the gray to do and die in the cause which each -conceived to be right, Martha Schofield set a star for herself and -determined to go to it even if she was forced to wade through blood and -fire in doing so.</p> - -<p>Beginning her first labors on Wadmalaw Island, between Charleston -and Beaufort, in South Carolina, Miss Schofield suffered every -inconvenience and privation of frontier life. Aside from the annoyance -and hindrances placed in her way by the few scattered white settlers in -sympathy with the Order of the Ku Klux Klan, life was made unsafe by -many diseases that flourish in this climate.</p> - -<p>The enrollment in her school consisted of the children of the 1,500 -Negroes who had followed Sherman in his march to the sea. She had the -assistance of only one person, a white woman.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</span></p> - -<p>She set to work not only to educate an army of Children but the duty of -clothing and feeding the naked and starving, of which there were many, -fell to her lot.</p> - -<p>It is beyond the reach of the imagination of the present generation to -adequately comprehend the hardships endured by her at the time of which -we write. October 24, 1865, she wrote in her diary as follows:</p> - -<p>“This morning I took my bread to school to watch; when light enough I -made it up and sent it half-mile away to be baked in the only stove in -the village. We distributed clothing for 102 today.”</p> - -<p>But for the aid of the Society of Friends and the Abolitionists who -supplied food and clothing to her for free distribution, hundreds would -have died from starvation and thousands have gone as naked as were the -custom of some of the Negroes when captured in Africa and brought to -this country as slaves.</p> - -<p>Under the conditions which Miss Schofield created an immense amount -of suffering was dissipated. Not only the Negroes but she herself, -faced starvation at one time for several weeks. This occurred when the -steamer from Philadelphia, laden with a cargo of groceries, clothing, -shoes and books, ran aground and remained motionless for thirty-one -days. During this time Miss Schofield set the Negroes to work gathering -oysters and acorns. With these and a few boxes of crackers, which she -had hidden away for just such an emergency, she originated a kind of -porridge that prevented actual starvation. “The crackers,” she writes -in her diary “had to be broken up in fine parts so as to remove the -worms from them.”</p> - -<p>The same tale of poverty and almost inconceivable hardships followed -her from Wadmalaw to Edisto in 1866 and on to the Island of <abbr title="saint">St.</abbr> Helena -in 1867. But these were things to be expected and to be born patiently -as long as she had strength and health. But these gave away right here -at <abbr title="saint">St.</abbr> Helena in the second year of her immigration to South Carolina. -It was here that malarial fever, with which this section has been -infected<span class="pagenum" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</span> ever since it was settled, attacked her, and for quite a long -time her life was despaired of. “This illness,” she writes, “occasioned -hemorrhages of the lungs, from which all hope of recovery was abandoned -by my friends.”</p> - -<p>It was at this very critical period in her career that those flighty -and fashionable friends in the North, some of them her nearest -relatives, urged her with all their might to give up the undertaking -in the South and return to her home. It was very much against the will -and desires of her own people as well as against the wishes of her best -friends that she sacrifice her time and life in the interest of any -race or cause, and she was told so before the instinct to engage in -social welfare work had totally possessed her. They now drew a picture -of a frail sickly woman with one foot in the grave and the other lifted -up to follow, and asked her if such a feeble body even though possessed -of ample means to employ teachers, had the power to direct the work so -necessary to be done. She was urged to get out of the business in order -to make room for some one stronger than she, who still had the strength -to carry to completion the noble undertaking set in motion by her.</p> - -<p>But Martha Schofield answered with these words: “As long as there is -life in me to work, I shall work. The coast may not be the place but I -will yet find the place.”</p> - -<p>And she did.</p> - -<p>So in 1868 she went to Aiken, S. C, and started work again after losing -her health and all her personal income. Assisted by an auxiliary branch -of the “Freedman’s Commission,” a charitable organization composed of -two dozen ladies, of Germantown, Pa., she soon was able to begin work -on a scale of some promise.</p> - -<p>In 1870 the United States Government, through the “Freedman’s Bureau,” -took official recognition of the necessity for the kind of work being -done by her by having a small frame house erected for her. This house -still stands.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V.<br /><span class="small"><span class="smcap">Brightness of Martha’s Pupils.</span></span></h2> -</div> - - - -<p>When Martha Schofield opened her first school in South Carolina it -was impossible to secure the necessary text books and much of the -instruction was oral. With the few books which the school did possess -it was not an uncommon sight to see three and four pupils preparing -their lessons from the same book. The children took the books home -nights, until the “Blue Back” and Webster’s had gone the circuit round -many times. Having advanced to the ability to write and read script, -a pupil was no longer eligible to the benefits of the circulating -library. He was then forced to copy at his spare time the lessons he -was supposed to prepare during the night.</p> - -<p>Notwithstanding the serious difficulties attending the acquisition of -knowledge without the aid of books, the intellectual as well as the -moral improvement of not only the children but their parents as well -was soon apparent. “There was an eager desire among all the children to -attend school” says Miss Schofield in writing of her experiences on the -Coast and later at Aiken; “never a truant.”</p> - -<p>The average attendance of the Negroes at school in the South today -exceeds the attendance of 1900 by over 10 per cent. This thirsting -after knowledge by the brother in black is one of his redeeming -characteristics.</p> - -<p>Miss Schofield once put the question to a class in Geography as to what -the world rested on. A grown man replied that it rested on stumps and -big wild animals. A ten year old boy corrected him by saying that it -rested on the Power of God. These definitions will serve to show the -dense ignorance of the race at the time Miss Schofield began teaching.</p> - -<p>In a definition exercise the class was requested to define the word, -husband. Volunteers were called for but no one volunteered. In an -effort to lucify the subject and assist them to guess the meaning of -the word, with<span class="pagenum" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</span> an approximate accuracy, Miss Schofield asked them to -tell her what she would have were she to marry. A little girl, almost -ten, replied, with much enthusiasm but unconscious of any wit at all, -“A baby.”</p> - -<p>As soon as a student mastered reading, writing and arithmetic -sufficiently to enable him to read without much faltering and write -at all legibly and add a sum of four or five numbers, Miss Schofield -set him to teaching. The scarcity of teachers made this expedient -imperative.</p> - -<p>A middle-aged man, Isaac Kimberley, who as a slave had been taught to -read and write but had greatly added to his fund of knowledge by a term -at Miss Schofield’s school, was one of the first to be honored with a -school. It was located near Miss Schofield’s and closely supervised -by her. Isaac assumed the duties of it with all the dignity of some -divinely appointed potentate and proceeded at once to make use of -only the most carefully chosen words possible, and put on a haughty, -undignified air that made him more ridiculous than he really was. -Alford Kimberley, a son of his former master, on meeting him soon after -he began teaching, addressed him familiarly as “Uncle Ike.” “I’le hab -yo’ to understan,’ suh, dat Ise neaver yo’ uncle or yo antie, suh, Ise -yo eacle,” said Isaac in reply. “Frum dis day on, ef yo’ pleas, suh, -Ise <abbr title="professor">Prof.</abbr> Isaak Kimberley,” continued the new teacher.</p> - -<p>“Well, take that, and that, <abbr title="professor">Prof.</abbr> Isaac Kimberley, from your equal,” -responded Alford, as he bent over the prostrate form of the instructor, -lying in the ditch by the roadside where he had knocked him. “I’ll -teach you yet how to talk to white gentlemen, you low-down lover of -blue-bellied Yankees, you!”</p> - -<p>No report of this dramatic incident ever reached the ears of Miss -Schofield as Isaac was afraid it might. He concealed it from everybody -in the neighborhood as much as possible, both on account of having -gotten whipped in his first encounter after becoming a free man and -also on account of an increasing amount of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</span> comment among both colored -and white that he was daily growing too big for his breeches and would -have to be whipped.</p> - -<p>Miss Schofield’s confidence in him, at no time, it is needless to say, -was very great, but it was Isaac or worse. She finally dismissed him -and looked around in vain for a “worser” one.</p> - -<p>His dismissal followed a visit to his school, which she was in the -habit of making regularly.</p> - -<p>The day was an unusually cold one for South Carolina, where the -temperature in the winter seldom reaches the freezing point, and -through the unsealed crevices between the poles out of which the house -was built, the sleet and snow drifted joyously in. A half hundred or -more half clothed and well nigh starved little black urchins shook the -shackly floor with their shivering and drowned their voices with the -chattering of their teeth. If ever there was a blue-lipped, blue-gummed -Negro school Isaac’s was surely one on that day.</p> - -<p>The extreme cold weather and the open condition of the house gave every -student a free license to leave his seat, even without permission of -the authority in charge, and crowd in close proximity around the wide -open hearth at the end of the building, where with the shivering of -limbs, chattering of teeth and shuffling of feet, all noise of their -cries and shrieks as one would pinch the other or mash a toe or hit -this one or that one over the head with a well worn book or trab ball, -was drowned out.</p> - -<p>In the midst of the greatest confusion, Isaac, with the purpose in -view of dispersing the crowd and relieving the congestion around the -“fire place” blurted out with an assumed air of supreme dignity: “John -Thomas, why don’t yo’ add full to de flame?” With his black eyes -blinking like a rabbits when shot at and trembling from head to foot -and turning round like a Bob White in a trap, it was clear to Miss -Schofield that the child did not understand what the master of the -school wished to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</span> be done. She immediately came to the relief of all, -as she always seemed capable of doing in each and every predicament in -which she or any of her children (children is what she called all the -students) found themselves, by saying, “Isaac, tell John Thomas to put -some wood on the fire and he wilt understand thee.”</p> - -<p>Walking along home with Isaac after dismission that afternoon she -informed him that it would be necessary to suspend his school until -the house could be repaired. Isaac, tired of waiting for the needed -repairs, returned to the Schofield school for instruction himself and -taking up the study of harness making, developed into a genius for -work of this kind. After years of success at the bench in one of the -best shops in a large Southern city, where he earned $22.50 a week, -the government of the United States awarded a contract to him for 250 -army saddles. He could not teach school but he could make saddles and -harness.</p> - -<p>The greatness of Miss Schofield’s work consisted of converting men and -women who could never develop into great singers and teachers into -useful productive workers and making them to see beauty as well as -profit in the humbler tasks.</p> - -<p>The sad experience had with Isaac Kimberley as a teacher indicated to -Miss Schofield the necessity for raising the standard of qualification -for all applicants for teacher’s certificates, and with the cooperation -of Mose Graham, a Negro, who could scarcely read or write but who had -been made County School Commissioner by the Radical Party, then in -complete control of the State and National Government, she undertook to -do this, which proved a complete failure on account of the illiteracy -of the Negro race and the reluctance with which competent white -teachers from the North accepted the call from the South to join the -ranks of the teaching profession.</p> - -<p>Ephriam Daniels, a six months pupil of the Schofield School, where -he acquired the art of reading fluently and writing legibly and also -mastered the four fundamental<span class="pagenum" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</span> rules of arithmetic, concluded that in -staying on the farm and tilling the soil he was hiding his light under -a bushel and therefore, committing a sin which the Bible commanded him -not commit, so he made application to Mose for a certificate to engage -in the noble calling of teaching.</p> - -<p>“<abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> Commissioner Graham,” said Ephriam, “I’se a wastin’ muh tallents -behin’ de plow handles, as I is a mi’ty smart man ef I is a nigger, -and so I haf com ter see yo’ ’bout gitten one o’ dem licenses to teach -chillen wid. Wi’l yo’ gib muh one?”</p> - -<p>Mose explained in detail and in a very perfunctory manner the -difficulties of the teacher and discoursed considerably on the small -compensation paid them. But encouraged his friend, however, by saying -that the harvest was great and the laborers few, by which he meant that -the office of County School Commissioner had a number of schools but no -one to teach them.</p> - -<p>“Don’t care ’bout difficultys and small pa’—dats what yo’ mean -by—what did you call it?—com—something—commishion, I beleives. All -I wants is ter teach. I’se going in der bizness fer de gud I kin do, -not fer de muney.”</p> - -<p>“Very good, indeed,” said Mose, “but befo’ I kin lisence yo’ ter teech -I’se got to see Miss Marther Schofield and hab’ yo’ examed by her and -me. Yo’ cum ter see me termorrow, ’bout ten o’clock.”</p> - -<p>When Miss Schofield heard of the ambitions of Ephriam that afternoon -her heart ran down in her shoes, both because of the impossibility -which she knew existed of ever making a teacher of Ephriam and the -equally impossible task of helping him to realize it. He was as -stubborn as a mule in his ways and when he made up his mind to do -anything he worked at it with all his poor brain till it either proved -successful or fizzled out. It pained her to think of the neglect which -she knew in her own mind had attended his crop throughout the spring -season when it needed most attention, which she<span class="pagenum" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</span> was well aware from -the nature of Ephriam had been diverted to the subject of school -teaching.</p> - -<p>But on the insistance of Graham, in whose favor she had often to make -some concessions, though none of any importance, she at some expense of -time and dignity consented to meet him at his office at the appointed -hour for the purpose of examining Ephriam Daniels for a certificate to -teach in the free public schools.</p> - -<p>Dressed in a soldier’s old uniform, which was secured from the remnants -of Sherman’s Army as they passed through South Carolina; with a large -bandana handkerchief around his neck for a collar and an old stove pipe -hat which his old master, John Rutledge Daniels, had given him on the -day of his freedom, Ephriam appeared before the examining board with a -pocket full of pencils and a quire or two of ruled fools-cap paper.</p> - -<p>Miss Schofield, who was one of the kindest and gentlest of women whom -the author ever knew, eyed Ephriam with a well concealed curiosity as -she asked him what preparations he had made for taking the examination.</p> - -<p>“Wull, Mis’ Sch’fields,” he said, “I’se got heap ob pencils and papur.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, I see you have,” replied the examiner, with laughter almost -bursting her throat, “but what I mean to get at is, what preparations -have you made for teaching school?”</p> - -<p>Quick as a flash Ephriam replied that he had sold his horse and rented -out his farm.</p> - -<p>The uproarous laughter which this answer produced was genuinely -participated in by all present, including Ephriam, although he could -not for the life of himself, as he afterwards stated, see what all the -laughing was about.</p> - -<p>Extending the examination a little more for the purpose of entertaining -and amusing still further the board and its lone applicant, Miss -Schofield was unkind enough to ask the definition of the noun, “word.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</span></p> - -<p>“Word,” repeated Ephriam, now quite seriously perplexed, “why, Mis’ -Schofiels, yo’ sholey noes dat I noes dat a word is someting dat yo’ -sais.”</p> - -<p>When she put the question of the fundamental principles of Arithmetic, -Ephriam readily admitted that he did not know, and in a polite way -gave the board to understand that he did not see the necessity for -scholarship of a high grade for teaching “niggers what don’t ’no der A -B C’s.”</p> - -<p>Not long afterward, Ephriam, his wife and their four children were -stricken with small pox—that malignant infection formerly very common -in the South—and it was beautiful the way Miss Schofield attended to -their wants during the period of illness and final death and burial -of Ephriam. On the morning of the sixth day of the appearance of the -dreaded malady, Miss Schofield appeared at the home with breakfast for -all and was horrified to find the body of the father behind the door, -his death occurring sometime during the night, unknown to the other -members of the family.</p> - -<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img001e"> - <img src="images/001.jpg" class="w5" alt="book icon" /> -</span></p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI.<br /><span class="small"><span class="smcap">Education Under Difficulties.</span></span></h2> -</div> - - -<p>Some time as many as a half dozen funerals a day occurred in the coast -region from malarial fever or small pox. The chances for recovery were -rendered difficult by the absence of any physician, the nearest one -being sixty miles away.</p> - -<p>Among the medicines sent Miss Schofield from friends of the North was -a bottle of port wine. This was sent in 1876, when she was attacked -by a hemorrhage of the lungs, with instructions from a physician that -she must take it three times a day. But the fear of setting an example -which might prove the ruin of many people in her charge caused her not -to open it. She took it to Aiken, and during the construction of her -residence there it was deposited in the walls and no one except Miss -Schofield to the day of her death, on February 1, 1916, knew where to -break the wall; no one on earth knows just where to this very day.</p> - -<p>She despised the avarice and greed that caused men to manufacture -intoxicants but hated with the venom of the devil the lust for gain -by the municipalities and States which caused them to issue licenses -for the manufacture of alcohol. She taught and lived that the greatest -criminal in the history of criminology was the criminal who issued the -license for the commission of crime. In her opinion this was not only a -crime against society but a crime against criminals as well.</p> - -<p>The pernicious influence of alcohol on the Negro was largely -responsible for her antagonism to the liquor traffic. Opposed to it -naturally, as every educated and thinking person must be, she was more -so after observing its destructive influence among the ignorant and -vicious.</p> - -<p>It was confidently believed by her that if every Negro capable of -complying with the registration laws regulating the qualification of -voters, was registered and allowed to vote, uninfluenced by any outside -influence,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</span> that the legal sale of alcoholic stimulants in the South -at least, would be a thing of the past. She believed also that if -positions on the police force were available to colored men for service -in the Negro sections of the cities that not only would the illegal -sale of intoxicants be stopped but crimes of every character would be -largely suppressed.</p> - -<p>Martha Schofield, having lived to see accomplished the task to which -her life had been dedicated on the day her father rescued Laura Duncan -from the blood hounds of the slave holding oligarchy, died as happy -and serene as an angel, perfectly confident that the work she had been -doing would gain momentum and go on more splendidly each year, until -illiteracy and physical and moral degradation would be an exceptional -thing among the Negroes.</p> - -<p>Between the years of 1890 and 1910 the percentage of Negro illiteracy -had fallen from 57.10 to 30.40 per cent. among children between the -ages of ten and fourteen years. For those fifteen years of age and -under nineteen, the percentage of illiteracy was only 18.90 per cent.</p> - -<p>The greater illiteracy in the higher age classes is very marked, the -illiteracy of Negroes of 55 to 64 years of age being about 67 per cent. -of the total, and nearly every one of those of 65 years and above were -found to be unable to read or write when the 1910 census was taken.</p> - -<p>Negroes of sixty years and above, it will be recalled, were past -childhood before emancipation, when little or no provision was made to -teach them to read and write, and this accounts for the high percentage -of illiteracy in the old people and the rapidly decreasing percentage -of illiteracy among their children.</p> - -<p>At the rate of advance in education among the Negroes at present there -will be less than 10 per cent. of the population between ten and -fourteen illiterate in 1920, and every child of sane mind and sound -body will be able to read and write by 1930, when the Fourteenth<span class="pagenum" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</span> -Census shall have been taken. This all in the space of fifty years. -Remarkable!</p> - -<p>And yet there are well informed influential people who still maintain -that the progress of the Negro has been slow, superficial and unworthy -of the effort and money expended on it.</p> - -<p>Maybe so, but all admit, that it is very helpful to every human being -to be able to read and write, to be able to assimilate the thoughts -of others and to express his thoughts and hand them on to others of -his kind by other means than by the word of mouth. To deny this would -be equal to denying one the right to be taught the use of his mind or -tongue, the two organs which God in His infinite wisdom put no ban -upon, but made free as the air of Heaven, restricting their use only to -the accomplishment of honorable and noble undertakings, thus dethroning -the power of all, who though possessed of powerful intellect, would use -their talent in the interest of the base and ignoble.</p> - -<p>While the peoples of all races are born with a knowledge of good -and evil they are not possessed at birth with the knowledge which -science is supposed to endow them with, and therefore, it should be -the pleasure, as it certainly is the imperative duty of the State -to provide liberally for the diffusion of knowledge among even the -humblest of all its citizens.</p> - -<p>Martha Schofield taught more emphatically than anything else the -economic necessity which exists among all races for the performance -of duty, one to another. She argued that unrighted wrongs retard -the progress of races, and if not checked by the refinements of -civilization, through the enlightenment of the mind, become the -instruments which at last wreck and destroy the strongest ships of -State. She wanted her work to prove to the country that great measures -of service in the field of education was the price to be paid for -the salvation of our land against the misery and death, which others -through ignorance and greed, had sown. She made the man at the North -without principle or scruple to modify<span class="pagenum" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</span> his ambition in the selfish -accumulation of wealth equally as culpable as the man of the South, -in producing the suffering and misery which attended the great -civil conflict for freedom. She exhibited the chaos attending the -Reconstruction period as the awful penalty for benighted stupidity -and ignorance of an earlier day, for which none of the present day is -accountable, and whose fruits none, in an earlier past, foresaw.</p> - -<p>Her doctrine of the elevation of the Negro so as to meet the -necessities of the new standard of civilization which freedom had -thrust upon him, spread like wild fire on a western prairie, and was, -of course, shocking, even inconceivable to the imagination of the -Southern white mind, which had been taught and religiously believed -that education impaired the usefulness of the colored people, both as -productive machines in the hard field of toil and as mediums for the -expression of the divine messages of power.</p> - -<p>“No amount or kind of learning,” they argued, “can be made available to -the ‘nigger’ because of his inability to assimilate it. He’s a brute, -pure and simple, and has anyone ever succeeded through teaching in -making a brute anything but a brute?”</p> - -<p>“Pigs will be pigs.”</p> - -<p>Laws by the General Assembly of South Carolina forbade the whites the -privilege of teaching Negroes, but it was ignored by many good men and -women who devoted much time and money to the education of the race.</p> - -<p>An influential Southern man, a former Governor of one of the great -States of the South and now an honored member of the Senate of the -United States once wrote a book in which he delved deep into history -and anthropology and proved to the complete satisfaction of the voters -of his State and to a great number of the learned professors of the -sciences in some of the Southern colleges, that the Negro by every fact -known to the scientists and evolutionists was a member of the families -of the lower animals, and, therefore, an impossibility in the matter of -intellectual development.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</span></p> - -<p>The influence of this propaganda at the South exerted itself strongly -to the detriment of the work undertaken by Miss Schofield, and others -who came after her, in that it aroused the passions of the ignorant -whites and determined them in the course of lawlessness, which but for -the zeal and strength of heart expressed by Martha Schofield might have -succeeded in delaying for many years the phenomenal rise and progress -of the black people of the Southern States.</p> - -<p>One Sunday morning, the sun in all its radiance and splendor lighting -up the whole world, doing for the earth and every creature and plant on -it (giving them light and warmth and moisture that they might develop -and grow to perfection) just what God would have us do—help along -everything good that we can—on such a morning as this—a band of -armed men approached Miss Schofield’s home and demanded that she quit -teaching Negro children and return to her home or she would be forced -to do so.</p> - -<p>To these she replied as follows: “Thee can kill my body and hide it -away, but my soul is of God, that is the one invincible thing, which -thee can not kill.”</p> - -<p>A noble life consecrated absolutely, even in the face of death, to the -uplift and service of a lowly, impoverished race! Everywhere she went, -she reached righteousness, law, order, temperance, truth, cleanliness, -thoroughness and economy.</p> - -<p>After fifty years of toil, of social ostracism, of infinitely wicked -persecution, which in later years by her patience, by her kindness -and charity was greatly modified, she fell in the harness, full of -achievements from the work which God had given her to do. At both the -funeral service at Aiken, <abbr title="South Carolina">S. C.</abbr>, where she died on the night before -the event arranged by friends to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary -of her service to the colored people and her helpfulness to all who -met her socially or in a business way, and at Darby Meeting House, -in Pennsylvania, where the interment of the body took place, solemn -covenants consecrating mind and heart and hand,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</span> amid the tears and -sobs of blacks and whites alike, were made by many to keep alive -forever the spark of truth and life she was first to express the -courage to plant in a land of enemies, surrounded on every side by the -dangers of assassination and the ravages of small pox, malaria, and -dengue fevers.</p> - -<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img001c"> - <img src="images/001.jpg" class="w5" alt="book icon" /> -</span></p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER VII.<br /><span class="small"><span class="smcap">Cause of Many Riots.</span></span></h2> -</div> - - -<p>Between the years of 1865 and 1876 the severest tests were put to -the work of being done by Miss Schofield, to see whether it could be -made practical or not. By the courage with which she met and answered -them she established once and for always the truth that the progress -of light and reason can not be retarded long, no matter by whom and -for what purpose such an attempt might be undertaken. The outrageous -murders of Negroes by white men which went on almost daily following -the unwise policy of the government at Washington in putting them in -power in the South before many of them could scarcely read or write, -precipitated the greatest excitement throughout the country. These -outrages attracted the indignation of the North and martial law was -declared all over South Carolina. This was done to enforce the rights -of the peaceable, law-abiding whites, as well as the rights of that -class of Negroes. Of course, much blame for the haughty attitude of the -Negro and the declaration of martial law was laid at the door of Miss -Schofield, whose teaching it was generally believed by the ignorant -whites, was responsible for the deplorable state of affairs that -existed. The Northern press at the time carried over her signature many -accounts of the numerous brutalities happening in and around Aiken and -she was repeatedly called to account by the leading white people, all -assuming a threatening attitude that would have put to flight almost -any other woman. But Miss Schofield would meet her antagonists face to -face and dare them to harm even one hair of her head. She would remind -them that they were all chivalrous white gentlemen and could not under -their own pretences attack her and do her violence without surrendering -every right and claim which they might have upon knight erranty.</p> - -<p>In a New York newspaper of the year 1876 she details one of the murders -typical of the Reconstruction period.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</span></p> - -<p>An old man, deaf, and dumb, who had never spoken a word or heard a -sound in all his seventy years of life sought protection and refuge in -the Schofield home. He had scarcely entered the house before an armed -body of men arrived and demanded that the old dumb man reveal the -hiding place of a certain negro whom the white people had decided it -was necessary to put to death for their own peace and security. As he -could neither hear nor talk, he answered the threatening attitude of -the crowd with unintelligent murmurs and gestures and pointed excitedly -at Miss Schofield. She explained the condition of the man and plead -earnestly with the mob for his life, but to no purpose. They engaged -him and stabbed him to death in her back yard as he undertook to escape.</p> - -<p>The same number of this newspaper carries instances and gives dates -of other atrocities of a most depraved character. All this served -to stimulate the growing animosity between the whites, who regarded -the outrages being committed by them as absolutely essential to -the preservation of civilization, and the Northern immigrants or -carpet-baggers, who through the Negro vote were in power and held -all of the important offices of the County and State. Many of these -disgraced with shame for the time being the offices held for enriching -themselves and impoverishing the already impoverished and well-nigh -destitute country.</p> - -<p>Martha Schofield’s activities in broad-casting stories of these hideous -outrages and appealing for the continuance of the reign of the military -authorities in South Carolina as the only means of making life at all -safe and possible under the circumstances, drew to her the contempt and -hatred of the white people, who of all the people on earth were best -suited by reason of their position and knowledge to assist her in her -work.</p> - -<p>The suspicion and distrust she worked under of being in sympathy with -the unscrupulous and corrupt regime in complete control of local -affairs was manifestly a serious handicap. No one more clearly than -she realized<span class="pagenum" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</span> the disastrous effect their corruption would have on her -school, her work and the colored people. She knew also that it meant -defeat, in the South at least, of the great party whose triumph in the -cause of freedom had made it possible for the first time in American -history to test the possibility of elevating a lowly and much abhorred -race. These influences weighed heavily upon her heart, and but for -the courage and sternness of her nature, which seemed never to be at -its best except when acutely vexed and infinitely tried, would have -resulted in her voluntarily withdrawing from the self-imposed task -almost in its beginning.</p> - -<p>The author shall never forget but she will always remember and value -her most priceless treasure, the tender religious emotion which the -happenings of these times provoked. They were felt keenly at the -morning service of the Schofield Normal and Industrial Institute during -her first year at this institution. How fondly does she recall now as -if the voices of angels, whose voices of three decades ago as the whole -school would sing those comforting old plantation hymns, “Steal Away, -Steal Away to Jesus,” and “Love, Come a Twinkling Down.”</p> - -<p>The joy, the emotion and inspiration which is felt at the moment of -writing these lines, over the probability of a similar joy in heaven, -in the heart of her who had the heroic courage and the splendid manhood -to risk her life in the unselfish and holy cause of implanting in the -Negro mind and soul that which is beautiful, noble and sentimental, is -unbounded.</p> - -<p>The reflection that large numbers of her fellow-citizens now rejoice -with her, and the prediction that others who do not now do so will -later on, gives her likewise an even greater measure of the debt of -gratitude which all owe to the mother of the movement for the courage -to continue the work for the uplift of the Negro even at the peril of -her life.</p> - -<p>The work of Miss Schofield was made doubly more perilous each day -by the misrule of the imported rulers<span class="pagenum" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</span> of State. For these she had, -instead of sympathy, an unbridled contempt, and never failed to express -that contempt, whenever possible. But the white people would not -condescend to hear her talk, much less believe anything which she might -say. Besides their prediction that deplorable conditions would follow -the rule of any Yankee, no matter whether he was a Scott, a Moses, or a -Chamberlain, must not be discounted by the substitution of honest men -from the North. The more corrupt a Republican was the better he served -to prove the contention of the Southerners that only Democrats could be -safely trusted with power.</p> - -<p>The dishonest, corrupt and unscrupulous officials in authority were -equally as energetic in protecting their offices from capture by -good men, by countenancing, if not actually encouraging, a spirit of -lawlessness. Governor Jenkins, the Republican Governor of Alabama, was -quoted as saying that he would like to have a few colored men killed -every week or so, in order to provide the semblance of truth for his -libels that the maintenance of the Radicals in power was the only -salvation of the colored people. His work and talk, typical of that -of others, served to frighten good men away and keep Jenkins and his -kind in authority. And all this time Martha Schofield and her little -band of Negroes, whom she was endeavoring to lead out of the depths -of darkness, despair and crime into the light of reason, courage, and -industry were daily praying for their enemies, for the deliverance of -men of all races from the fetters of greed, avarice and revenge, which -was responsible for the suffering and misery to be seen on every hand. -They were praying not only, they were working also, with all their -little might, that the things for which they prayed might come to pass. -This school, of all others which the author ever attended, preached, if -it preached anything at all, that God must never be expected to answer -prayers unsupported by works.</p> - -<p>At one of the great political rallies held in Aiken by the Democratic -Party a few years before the succession<span class="pagenum" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</span> of Hampton to the Governorship -one of the orators of the day said that the treasury of South Carolina -had been so gutted by the thieves in power that nothing was left to -steal except the power to stop the further enlightenment of the fool -‘nigger.’ He added also, that he wanted a change in the government in -order to make a South Carolina bond equally as good on the market as a -“nigger’s note.”</p> - -<p>The legislatures of the Southern States authorized the increase of -the public debt from $87,000,000 to $300,000,000. They held the right -to declare martial law in every county whenever deemed advisable, to -arrest and try any person by court martial and had at their disposal -the right to raise regiments of soldiers, one of Negroes and one of -whites, to execute their several wills. Under these circumstances -it does seem that security of life, liberty and even the pursuit -of happiness and the accumulation of property should have gone on -undisturbed by anything which the aristocrats and poor whites might -have done, in opposition to the desideratum so devoutly wished for by -the authorities in power.</p> - -<p>But history records that the authorities with unlimited power signally -failed in asserting any power at all; that the party in power with -unlimited means at its command for accomplishing great undertakings of -public enterprise accomplished only the complete demoralization of the -whole South, financially and morally.</p> - -<p>After sitting a whole year the legislature of Alabama at the end of -its session passed a bill authorizing the endorsement of the State’s -credit, for the purpose of encouraging the development of railway -construction and transportation to the extent of $16,000 per mile. Only -one road was completed. Five were built a few miles and abandoned. -Through the issue of bonds for one purpose or another, as for instance, -the building of railroads organized and owned principally by the men -voting the bonds, the public treasury was fleeced to the limit.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</span> -This, combined with the stupidity, cowardliness and corruption of the -military authorities hastened on the hurried collapse of organized -government and substituted in its place a reign of terror and -lawlessness without a parallel in Southern history.</p> - -<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img001d"> - <img src="images/001.jpg" class="w5" alt="book icon" /> -</span></p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VIII">CHAPTER VIII.<br /><span class="small"><span class="smcap">Hamburg and Ellenton Riots.</span></span></h2> -</div> - - -<p>Several riots and some of as foul murders as ever disgraced the lives -of men attended the uprisings around Aiken.</p> - -<p>Among the most important of these were the Hamburg, the Ellenton and -Ned Tennant riots, all occurring within a few miles of Miss Schofield’s -school.</p> - -<p>The Hamburg riot occurred in July, 1876, and proved to be one of the -most tragic events, as it was one of the most disastrous occurrences -for the Negro race and the Republican Party of the South that occurred -during the entire period of Reconstruction. Seven Negroes and one white -man were killed out-right, while one white man and two Negroes were -seriously wounded.</p> - -<p>This sounded the alarm of danger in the South for the experiment being -made with the Negro for self-government and urged immediate action -by Congress for the protection of its policy there, if not its newly -made citizens who at the first challenge had shown conclusively the -incapacity to protect themselves.</p> - -<p>The riot was precipitated by two young white men, Henry Getzen and -Thomas Butler, who were driving through Hamburg on the return from -Georgia to their homes in South Carolina, just across the State line in -the vicinity of Augusta. At the time a company of one hundred Negro men -in command of Captain Dock Adams was drilling on the principal street -of the town of Hamburg, and a large proportion of the Negro population, -as usual, was out admiring the spectacular performance. It is claimed -by the white men that the company was drilling “company front” and so -filled the street from side-walk to side-walk, which permitted them no -room to pass; and that Captain Adams instead of ordering his troops -to fall into “Column fours” or “column platoons,” he ordered them -to “charge,” at which command, Butler, a son of <abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> Robert Butler, -shouted from his seat in the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</span> buggy, with revolver drawn, that he -would shoot to death the first man that stuck a bayonet in the horse. -With a hundred bayonets gleaming in the sun and several hundred of the -colored race looking on, the Negroes knew the butchery of the whites -was an easy matter, but being desirous of avoiding a conflict which -they knew only too well was instigated at that time for the purpose of -arousing the already over enraged whites to an action that would later -on mean either the annihilation of themselves or their old masters and -mistresses, whom some of them still loved and admired with the same -affection and admiration that caused most of them throughout the battle -for their freedom to remain at the fire-side and defend the homes of -those out in a war fought to continue them in a state of bondage, the -Captain ordered a halt and opened the ranks so that the buggy could -pass. Completing the exercises, the soldiers were marched to their -armory and dismissed. Adams then went, as was his right to do, to a -Justice of the Peace, “General” Prince Rivers, a Negro, an ex-Union -Soldier, commander of the Negro militia, the State Senator from Aiken -County in the General Assembly and also the Trial Justice for his -district, and swore out warrants for Getzen and Butler, charging them -with interfering with his company at drill.</p> - -<p>Hearing of this, Butler hurried home and informed his father of what -had happened, who went in haste to the same Trial Justice and secured -a warrant for Adams for obstructing the highway. News of the “cowing” -of the Negro militia and the subsequent issuance of warrants for the -captain of the company and the white men and the setting of the trials -of each for a hearing was spread all over the surrounding country in a -very short time, and excitement was intense on both sides as to what -the outcome would be.</p> - -<p>Without quoting the exact words of one of the members of the rioters -who was the leader in the three great riots, the settled purpose of -the whites was the seizure of the first opportunity that might be -made by the Negroes<span class="pagenum" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</span> to provoke a riot and demonstrate to the latter -through blood-shed the utter hopelessness of the attempt of the Negro -to rule and so rid South Carolina of the domination of Negro and -carpet-bag government. For the approaching trial elaborate preparations -had been made by the whites, including the employment of General M. -C. Butler for the defense of Thomas Butler and Henry Getzen and the -prosecution of Adams, and the calling together of all members of the -Sweet Water Sabre Club, an organization of the leading white men of -Edgefield and Aiken Counties for the destruction of the Negro regime -locally and for use in overthrowing the State government and for the -purpose of trampling under foot the laws passed by Congress, intended -to give the Negro equal power with the white in the government of the -State. Members of this club were not only instructed to attend the -trial for the protection of the two young white men, but were ordered -to be present to see to it that if no opportunity offered itself to -provoke a riot, then they were to create one, anyhow. They were to go -un-uniformed and armed with pistols only, but were to have their rifles -near at hand and be ready at a moment’s notice to engage the blacks in -deadly combat under their own vine and fig tree.</p> - -<p>Emboldened by the apparent cowardliness of the Negroes to attack -Getzen and Butler a few days before, members of the club expressed -much fear that the Negroes would be bold enough to show resentment to -any indignity which they might offer, and so would bring to naught -the various plans and schemes previously formulated to engage them -in battle. News of their presence in Hamburg and of their object had -preceded their arrival, and the justice ordered the hearing postponed -to a later day, when the orderly trial of the case could be assured -by the protection of additional militia-men. The whites were quick to -see the advantage which the Negroes would obtain by delay and promptly -decided to begin the attack at once.</p> - -<p>At about five o’clock in the afternoon, just as Adams<span class="pagenum" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</span> and his company -had assembled in their armory, General M. C. Butler sent the captain -word that his militia with guns had shown that they were a menace to -the peace and good order of the community and demanded of him the -surrender of his guns, informing him at the same time that the whites -were resolved to put an end to the political rule of the Negro and the -carpet-bagger or die in the attempt that very day. With his prompt and -peremptory refusal to surrender, Adams also sent defiance to the white -men. This boldness somewhat dismayed the latter as they had with them -five rifles only. The remainder of their armament consisted of pistols -and shot-guns, making the effectiveness of the attacking party very -inferior in the matter of weapons as in numbers. But this inefficiency -was more than offset by the difference in training of the opposing -parties, by the inheritance of many of the whites of thousands and -thousands of years of skill in the use of the weapons of war, while the -only training ever given the Negro had been one of fear. This had been -his by inheritance just as the white race had inherited its contempt of -fear. It is as natural for some of the Negroes to show cowardliness as -it is for some of the whites to show bravery, and this difference in -the qualities of the two races must remain relative in proportion to -the intellectual and moral development of each race.</p> - -<p>Besides, think who they were fighting—why, their old masters and their -sons, whom some of the Negro soldiers no doubt, had risked their lives -in previous emergencies to protect and defend from danger.</p> - -<p>Could it be expected, under the circumstances, that their aim would -prove unerring? Wasn’t it rather to be expected at the beginning that -the shots which the poor, illiterate Negroes fired would fall wide of -the mark, just as they did?</p> - -<p>All admit now, even the intelligent Negro and the radical abolitionist, -that the arming of the Negroes before first teaching them the use of -weapons was a mistake, but this would apply with equal force to the -ignorant,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</span> illiterate white race. ’Tis the condition of the mind that -makes the body fit or unfit. The adder is not better than the eel, -because of his painted skin, nor the blue-jay any better than the wren -because of his fine plumage, as the Bard of Avon well expressed it when -addressing good Kate and reminding her that she was none the worse -because of her poor furniture and mean array, provided her mind and -heart were perfect.</p> - -<p>The Negro has arms and hands as strong as iron bands and with these he -can punish into insensibility the men of almost any race; there are -white men endowed with equally great physical powers who can, like the -Negro, subdue others not so powerful in animal strength. Each of these -types of men labor in the fields of arduous toil, neither having the -time and, in most cases, lacking the intelligence to bathe and live a -sanitary life, much less educate their poor brains. For this reason -neither are the equal, either in war or in the every day intellectual -occupations of life, of the men trained and dexterously skilled in the -use of their muscles and brains. The psychological influence of the men -of education over the ignorant and illiterate must not be overlooked -neither in any attempt to account for the tremendous supremacy which -the few exercise over the many.</p> - -<p>At any rate, the superiority of the seventy members of the Sweet Water -Sabre Club over the one hundred members of the Negro militia was -amply demonstrated at Hamburg on July 8, 1876. It is possible that -the Negroes, who could have destroyed the entire mob in a few minutes -with their superior equipment, were aware of the reinforcements lying -in wait at the beck and call of General Butler, and so retained their -position in the armory as a means of protection against an attack by an -overwhelmingly superior force. Certain it is, that from a vantage point -of view the inside of the armory was no suitable place from which to -shoot. The soldiers were compelled to shoot from below the windowsills, -which elevated their guns, and so their bullets, except the one which -killed Makie Meriwether, were spent in vain. At<span class="pagenum" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</span> the sound of the first -firing reinforcements for the whites began to pour into Hamburg by the -hundreds, and no time was lost in obtaining a piece of artillery in -Augusta and bringing it into action. Two shots from this destructive -machine silenced the guns of the militia and the members of the company -began to retire as secretly as possible, it being well understood by -all that the whites would give nor ask any quarter in the orderly rules -of warfare, as in the matter of capitulation and terms of surrender. -The knowledge by every Negro at the beginning of this historic event -that the battle meant death to everyone captured possibly unnerved -every soldier and precipitated the demoralization following the advent -of the solitary field piece of artillery. Out of the forty Negroes -captured only a few belonged to the militia, the members of which the -mob was determined to destroy that night, but as most of these had -escaped, then it was decided to kill anybody in reparation for the -death of young Meriwether. So a search of the homes of all Negroes -and some of the whites was made, including that of a Jew named Louis -Schiller, who was friendly with the Negroes and had through their -votes, under the new order of things, obtained and held the office of -County Auditor of Edgefield County before the creation of Aiken County. -It was decreed that Schiller should be put to death, but he escaped -with his life only by climbing through a trap door leading out on the -roof and hiding himself behind a parapet on top of the house. All the -while he was in hearing distance of the curses and execrations heaped -upon his name and the avowed intention of the mob to hang him sooner or -later.</p> - -<p>Two, among the forty prisoners held under guard while the searching -party worked, who knew that their capture meant their death, attempted -to escape by jumping over a fence with their guards looking on and -running as fast as their legs could carry them in hope of reaching a -place of safety; but white men seemed to be everywhere, and although -one of them, Jim Cook, the town marshall, did escape his guards he was -shot to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</span> death by bullets from a shot-gun which tore in his head as -he dashed through the crowds. The other had been killed by the guards -having him in charge.</p> - -<p>Cook was supremely hated by the entire white population of the County, -more so, than other individuals of his race on account of his activity -in the office of marshal, which the whites charged he used without -provocation to humiliate and degrade them. Over his death there was the -greatest rejoicing throughout the county among the whites.</p> - -<p>Being unable to locate any more Negroes, General Butler and Colonel -A. P. Butler concluded that all work was practically finished and -quietly departed for their homes. They did not leave any orders and -the members of the mob began to disperse in perceptibly large numbers. -But the thirst for blood born of that insatiable desire to torture, to -torment as in the fiery pit, and to murder implanted in the heart of -individuals, half-animal and the sport of impulse, whim and conceit, -until relieved by the tameness and intelligence which time and -education alone can give, had not yet been satisfied, although for one -life taken by the militia they had taken two.</p> - -<p>These deluded children of the white men suffering with the same malady, -ignorance, with which the children of the blacks were more seriously -suffering, but recognizing the advantage which their superiority of -numbers now gave them, reasoned that it was a dear piece of work to -exchange one of their number for only two Negroes. It was argued that -a story like that would not appease the popular clamor that now would -rise like a heavy mist from the sea and gain the momentum of a cyclone. -So it was solemnly agreed that, while the annihilation of the entire -Negro population of the town of Hamburg would not atone for the death -of Meriwether, the members of the mob would content themselves for that -night, at least, with the assassination of only the meanest characters -among the remaining number of prisoners held. The duty of designating -these<span class="pagenum" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</span> “meanest” characters, and those most deserving of death, fell -to the lot of Henry Getzen, one of the young men who was the original -cause of the riot and whose residence in the vicinity of Hamburg -brought him into the closest contact with the Negro population and so -prepared him fully for the duty of passing judgment upon the destiny of -the prisoners.</p> - -<p>His hands, red with the blood from the wounds that had killed Makie -Meriwether and his heart beating in unison with his rankling mind at -thought of the imaginary injustices already done, or to be done, by the -Negro, the state of his feelings made him anything else but fit to pass -upon the lives of the men now at stake, even had he been an honest man -and inspired by high and lofty ideals as it must be conceded many of -the whites in the Hamburg riot were.</p> - -<p>The purpose by the whites was to use this riot to strike terror in the -heart of the Negroes and intimidate them, then and there and for all -time, in their aspirations for political as well as social advancement.</p> - -<p>At that time, as at this time, in the case of a large element of the -white population, it is undeniable that it is against their express -desire that encouragement for improvement of the Negro be given him. -Witness, the laws passed by the several Legislatures as late as 1916 in -discrimination of him, one of which forbids the employment of truckmen -in the cotton mills along with other employees whose skin is white. -Several bills have been introduced for passage in the General Assembly -of South Carolina to make the instruction of Negroes by whites a -violation of the law, but up to this date, 1916, all measures for the -purpose have failed of enactment.</p> - -<p>When such laws finally become effective it may be proposed by the -Negroes to restrict the practice of medicine by blacks and whites to -the respective races to which each belongs. Likewise measures may be -devised and enacted into law, which will make it unlawful for white -salespeople to wait upon Negroes in the stores, or for Negroes to wait -upon whites as sales clerks.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</span></p> - -<p>The constitutionality of the proposed law relating to the restriction -of Negro teachers only in Negro schools is thought by some lawyers to -be as applicable to physicians and clerks as to teachers.</p> - -<p>The same racial prejudice which showed its specter-head in demoniac -form in the case of the burning at the stake of two Negroes near the -town of Statesboro, Georgia, in the year 1905, and the previous death -by fire at the stake near Newman, Georgia, in 1895 of another was the -moving spirit that actuated the mob and guided the hearts and hands of -Henry Getzen and his band at Hamburg, twenty and thirty years before. -As fast as Getzen could select from among the prisoners those he -considered most worthy of death, they were taken out in the streets, -before the eyes of their wives and children and shot to death, in -the light of a brilliant moon reflecting the love of heaven, but no -wavering image of that love was anywhere to be found in Hamburg that -night. God and the angels had deserted it without any apparent concern -for the safety of the helpless blacks.</p> - -<p>When the firing ceased the mob’s victims, numbering seven with the two -who previously had been killed, were piled side by side in the most -conspicuous part of the town, and presented a grewsome sight, lying -stark, stiff and cold, when the Negroes who had fled from the town -returned to their homes on Sunday morning following.</p> - -<p>Those of the prisoners who were spared, about twenty-eight in all, -were given permission to leave and told to go with all speed at their -command which they were none too slow about doing. Volley after volley -was fired after them, over their heads with no intention to hit or -injure them.</p> - -<p>Had it been known before they were allowed to go that one of the -supposed dead was only assuming death the number freed would have -been reduced to twenty-seven instead of twenty-eight, for it was the -decision of the mob that nothing less than eight lives should be taken -in retaliation for the life of young Meriwether. Pompey Curry, who -was selected among those to be shot<span class="pagenum" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</span> fell dead at the first report of -the guns and remained motionless and apparently breathless throughout -the examination of the bodies and their disposal by the mob until -the whites had all gone home, when he crawled through the high weeds -which were near by and made his escape in the woods with only a slight -wound in his leg. Among all the witnesses for the government in the -prosecution of members of the mob which followed the conflict, none -was of the importance of “Pompey Curry” as he knew by name a large -number of the men and could point them out on sight. He discharged his -duty as a witness in the celebrated trial, but a short time afterward -he suddenly disappeared and no one knows or appears to know whatever -became of him.</p> - -<p>The success of the mob in thus attacking and annihilating a company of -the government’s own soldiers and ruthlessly putting to death peaceable -citizens in defiance of the law, without judge or jury, gave the -greatest encouragement to the hopes of the whites. It was really of -more far-reaching consequences in influencing their lives and fortunes -than any incident ever occurring before or since in the history of -South Carolina.</p> - -<p>The direct opposite effect which it had upon the Negro and upon the -people of the North, where it occasioned the bitterest comment, -resulted in Congress appointing an investigation committee and the -substitution of white Union soldiers to fill the places made vacant -by the resignation of the Negroes from the ranks. Their resignation -resulted from the fear they had of the whites and sincere desire to -work in the interest of peace. They were also encouraged to resign by -such men as Chamberlain, whose record as Governor, although placed in -power by the votes of Negroes, is one of the most honorable of any -Governor who ever filled the office of Chief Executive.</p> - -<p>This tragic episode took from the Negro his last hope of being able to -control the elections which followed in the fall. It gave to the whites -all the freedom they desired to follow the doctrine of General Mart -Gary to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</span> vote early and often. By doing so, they changed a Republican -majority in Edgefield County of 2,300 to a Democratic majority of -almost 4,000!</p> - -<p>As an example of the perfect contempt with which Gary and his mobs -treated the authority of not only the officials of the County but of -the State may be cited his refusal to obey General Ruger’s orders to -have the court house at Edgefield vacated by the whites. At this time -he openly defied the military power of both the State and National -government when he with his Red Shirt regiment, which he organized, -captured the Chamberlain meeting on August 12, 1876. In a fiery speech -to the Negroes at that time he announced in no unmistakable terms that -no power above or below earth was sufficient to prevent the success of -the Democratic Party at the polls that year nor in any succeeding year. -He told the white men that an ounce of “Fearnot” was worth a ton of -“Persuasion” and exhorted them to put the ballots in the boxes and he -would see that every one was counted.</p> - -<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img001f"> - <img src="images/001.jpg" class="w5" alt="book icon" /> -</span></p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_IX">CHAPTER IX.<br /><span class="small"><span class="smcap">Great Judicial Farce.</span></span></h2> -</div> - - -<p>The reign of lawlessness resulting in the torture and wanton murder of -the blacks following the Hamburg riot went unrestrained in spite of -the presence of white Union soldiers stationed in those sections where -the greatest outrages occurred after the Negro troops had been partly -mustered out.</p> - -<p>The reason for this was not want of ample power close at hand for -the enforcement of law and order and respect for the rights of every -citizen, white and black alike; but inefficiency or culpable neglect on -the part of the military authorities to assert any authority at all. -Through the leadership of Gary and Butler and some others, including -Hon. B. R. Tillman, Luther Ransom and George W. Croft, a prominent -citizen of Aiken, the whites were allowed to run rough-shod over the -Northern white soldiers just as they had succeeded previously in -intimidating and “cowing” the Negro militia.</p> - -<p>With the crazed white people swearing vengeance against every -northern man or woman known to be in sympathy with the movement for -the improvement of the Negro race, and the Negro and white soldiers -having demonstrated such poor ability or better stated, none at all, -in securing any decent respect for them and their work, the condition -of Martha Schofield’s school at this period is better imagined than -described. Located in the thick of the great white heat of the conflict -the principal and students were subjected to insults and indignities -that could be committed with impunity in times of great peril only. A -few nights before the trial at Aiken for the taking of testimony in the -case of the Hamburg rioters a number of armed men entered the yard and -some of them occupied the porch of Miss Schofield’s home. Taking a whip -in her hand she went out on the porch with a light in the other hand -and inquired as politely and calmly as she possibly could, what the -gentlemen would have, and if she could do anything for<span class="pagenum" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</span> them. No one -made any reply but all immediately arose and departed in an orderly and -quiet manner.</p> - -<p>The tact, the power and magnetism with which this woman met and -disarmed her enemies were the same forces wielded by her in drawing -to herself the great following at the North so necessary in the -accomplishment of her great educational mission in the South. -Afterwards it served in attracting to her the help of those who only a -few years before sought to do her injury only. With her powers of mind -and heart, enriched and mellowed by a Christian spirit that plainly -indicated that she held malice for none, but charity for all, she -won the love, respect and admiration of everybody who came under her -influence.</p> - -<p>The absolute fearlessness and splendid self control maintained by her -during the rioting in Aiken preliminary to that great Judicial farce, -the trial of the members of the mob at Hamburg, is said by those who -witnessed it with her as having been courageous, if not heroic. Her -conduct on this occasion modulated by such propriety as required the -exercise of the greatest common sense, shows her to have been well -fitted for leadership in a time of great unrest and supreme anxiety.</p> - -<p>Hundreds of excited Negroes on this eventful occasion flocked to her -like biddies to the mother hen in time of danger. Her school was a -veritable shelter in the time of storm when large bodies of white men -on horses dressed in white uniforms decorated in red, with crosses -and skeleton heads approached and rode through the town. The leader -riding in front carried a huge banner made of a shirt large enough for -Goliath. It was spotted all over with large red spots indicative of -pistol wounds. On either side was placed a Negro dough-face ornamented -at the top by chignons. This banner turned high in the air, round and -round, in the swift ride through Aiken from every side that the Negroes -looked, all that they could see was a bleeding, grinning, dying Negro.</p> - -<p>The only thought among them was, how much longer<span class="pagenum" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</span> each of them had -to live, and so they rushed in multitudes to Miss Schofield whose -interpretation of one of the inscriptions on the banner somewhat -allayed their fears and restored quiet among them.</p> - -<p>One of the inscriptions said: “Awake, Arise or Be Forever Fallen.” The -other contained this: “None but the Guilty Need Fear.”</p> - -<p>Among the excited Negroes were old men, ex-slaves, and young, strong, -manly fellows; but these, along with the weeping and moaning women and -crying, bellowing children, rushed to the grounds and buildings of the -Schofield school, all quaking with fear, one old fellow, exclaiming, -“Lawd, God-er mi’ty, I sho cant stan dis!”</p> - -<p>And all the while this extravagant defiance of the police power of -the city and military authority of the United States was happening, -great bodies of the government’s own soldiers were standing idly by -and looking on! The impotency of the whites in uniform had brought the -same disgrace to the flag with which the Negro militia besmirched it at -Hamburg.</p> - -<p>The white Union troops cheered the marauding mob, and even formed in -line and marched to the court house with them, where the rioters, or -many of them, were to be arraigned on the charge of murder.</p> - -<p>The company was afterwards severely reprimanded for this conduct, and -while they never again set up cheers for the “Red Shirts” or fell -in ranks with them, it was common knowledge that a cordial relation -existed between them and the whites.</p> - -<p>Under this condition of affairs it should not have been expected that -anything more than a ridiculous farce could have been made of the -court hearing given the party of lynchers. Besides, the Radicals in -power at the State Capitol were charged, not without much evidence to -support the charges made, with corruption of every sort, including -bold, out-right stealing and conspiracy to commit murder, and were, -therefore, in no condition to throw stones. The few Negroes intelligent -enough to present the case against the mob at the bar<span class="pagenum" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</span> of justice were -intimidated alike by the whites of the South and the Radical whites of -the North, as well as by the action of the military authorities, who -allowed the brutalities to proceed with impunity just as they had gone -on before their arrival in the country.</p> - -<p>Although the evidence at this mock trial was sufficient to convict -almost any man indicted of murder in the first degree, the kind hearted -Judge instead of remanding the prisoners to jail, admitted them to -bail in the sum of $2,000. This, it is believed, was done through the -discovery by Judge Maher of the utter hopelessness of any attempt to -prosecute the cases to a successful conclusion. Not only were the -Negroes intimidated, but the court itself fell under the vice of this -baneful influence, lying like a spectre, between justice and the -freedom of the culprits. This feature of the case is made unique by the -granting of any bail at all, and doubly so by the smallness of the sum -fixed. It becomes a travesty upon justice, if there was ever one, when -the character and financial responsibility of some of the men signing -the bonds are considered. Chreighton Matheny, a man who did not own -ten dollars in property in all the world was accepted as surety to -the extent of $20,000.00! It is the only case on record in the whole -judicial history of the universe where prisoners were allowed to go on -the bond of each other. One of the leaders in the riot who delights -in recounting the part he played in the murders at Hamburg and who -was given his liberty on a spurious bond at this trial, says that the -performance was a perfunctory and laughable travesty on law, but that -the action was necessary, for if the attempt to put any of them in jail -had been made every official in the court house and town obnoxious to -them would have been killed and they would all have gone to Texas or -some other hiding place.</p> - -<p>If the judicial outrage at Aiken did not show a corrupt collusion -between the whites of the South and the white Union soldiers sent from -the North, certainly the relations of the Red Shirts and Yankee soldier -made<span class="pagenum" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</span> this evident a few weeks later when the Ellenton riot broke out. -The pent up prejudice and passion lying dormant in the heart of the -Negro and whites for ages broke loose in all its fury and swept the -whole western section of South Carolina with a fan of fire, scattering -desolation and ruin wherever it touched. The possibility of the -outrages committed in the bloody drama of this riot is inconceivable -except upon the hypothesis that a thorough understanding existed -between the whites of the South and the soldiers of the North. In -spite of the fact that the government was supported or thought it was -supported, by the best soldiers the world had ever seen, by the men -who met Lee at Gettysburg and Johnston and Hood at Atlanta, Resaca and -Chickamauga, and also in spite of the fact that the Negro population -in the section affected out numbered the white population by about -ten to one, the murder of Negroes, accompanied by a reign of terror -unapproached by any in history with the possible exception of the one -attending the French Revolution, went on almost daily, the military -authorities being unable or possibly disinclined to afford any measure -of relief.</p> - -<p>The failure of the government to meet its promises to the Negroes, -especially those made by many unscrupulous imposters who immigrated -to South Carolina and conspired with a number of native born white -sons, among the latter ex-Governor Moses, to obtain control of -the State government fell not so heavily upon the spirits of the -leading, thinking colored people as the failure of the government -to preserve law and order and insure them that security of life and -liberty which are indispensible to peace and happiness and essential -to the accumulation of wealth. It is not at all improbable that -the government’s proclamation to the Negroes insuring them against -molestation at the hands of their white neighbors was one of the -contributory causes of the Hamburg riot and all the other disturbances -that so seriously injured the Negro and the whole South. But the -government and the soldiers in blue who made him<span class="pagenum" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</span> the equal of his -master and the white people among whom he lived could not or would not -make him master of the situation in which his freedom had placed him.</p> - -<p>That distinctive quality of the Negro, predominating his character more -prominently than any other trait, of aspiring to authority, while a -perfectly laudable ambition, served him no good purpose at the period -of which this is written, but inflicted on him serious injury because -of both the untenableness of his position and the inability of his -government to make it tenable.</p> - -<p>The majority of the educated white people of the South, as well as -the ignorant, all speak out and say in 1916 what they asserted in -1876—that God made them of better clay than He made colored people -and that they will shoot Negroes and steal their votes from the ballot -boxes just as long as murder and robbery may be necessary to maintain -their hold on the government, but there is not nearly so much chance of -them being able to do this now as in the years gone by, simply because -of the preparation of the Negro for the ballot which preparation is -rapidly making him not only fit to vote but qualified to fill the -position in which he once utterly failed for want of efficiency. -Through education he is making his position, both as a citizen and a -voter quite tenable, and by industry is spreading an influence that -will multiply the wealth of the South, in the distribution of which he -will share in proportion to his intelligence, industry and superiority -of numbers.</p> - -<p>No one saw more clearly than Miss Schofield that the amelioration of -the condition of the race could be accomplished through education only -and the disturbing effect of the riot on her work gave her deep concern -and great anxiety. She had been in the South at the time of the mock -trial of the Hamburg rioters long enough to know with exactness the -prejudice and bitterness of the whites toward the cause dearest to her -heart and observed at close range each and every move made, determined -to courageously carry forward her work if in doing so it required the -sacrifice of her frail little body,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</span> which she always spoke of as -nothing but the temporary residence of a transitory soul upon which she -was dependent here and hereafter, now and forevermore, for all earthly -and eternal happiness.</p> - -<p>No one, either white or black, came under her influence at this gloomy -period without being deeply impressed with the divine inspiration -that apparently guided her. All went away feeling verily that any -harm to that woman or her school could be inflicted only at too great -an expense, either in the loss of all self-respect or in remorse of -conscience, if not actual conflict in earnest, with the authorities at -Washington. She drove her tormentors away with kindness and kept them -at a safe distance with the philosophy of MacBeth, which made all who -cared to do her an injury feel that in murdering her work they would -also murder their own sleep and peace both here on earth and throughout -all eternity.</p> - -<p>Could she have gained an audience with the men literally butchering the -colored population alive, and have spoken to them of the enormity of -their sins, it is possible that time at least, would have been given -the poor distracted Negroes to bury their dead. But time for argument -and reason was a thing of the past. Bodies lay for a week and even -longer, uncoffined and unknelled. A Negro named Bryant who was killed -by Captain Bush’s mob, near Ellenton, lay by the roadside from Saturday -evening until late Monday afternoon, when a few brave colored men -aroused sufficient courage to undertake to bury it. These had it in -a pine box of cheap manufacture, just as the unhappy man had fallen, -without a funeral robe or garment, in everyday old working clothes, -perhaps all the clothes the poor fellow had in the world, and were on -the way to a newly made hole in the ground near by, to lay it away from -the mutilating hand of the marauders as well as to protect it from -the pinions of the vultures on wings above, when a band of Red Shirts -appeared on the scene and forced them to flee for their lives, leaving -the body, stiff and stark, in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</span> all its gruesomeness to lie in state for -the benefit of all Negroes who might pass by.</p> - -<p>While this squad of the “Red Shirts” were busily engaged in -intercepting the interment of the bodies of men which they had slain or -had assisted in slaying, another body just a short distance away was -equally as busy in the manufacture of new corpses, while some of the -unfortunates were on their knees in prayer.</p> - -<p>Among the most prominent of the Negroes falling a victim to the -mutilators’ knives and the assassins’ bludgeons, with the dead and -the dying lying all around and stenching the pure air of Heaven -with the sickly odor of death, was Simon Coker, an unusually bright -mulatto, leader of the Republican Party in Barnwell County and the -representative of that County in the State Senate. He was shown the -body of Bryant, dead for several days, and told that equal honors -would be given his distinguished carcass when it had been made ready -for exhibition. He was promised this distinction for urging Negroes to -vote, to aspire to official position, and to stand for their rights, -even in the face of death itself.</p> - -<p>Captain Nat Butler, a brother of General M. C. Butler, under whose -direction the execution of Coker took place, ordered the fatal shots -while the victim was in the middle of his last supplication on earth to -Him who alone can give or has any right to take away.</p> - -<p>Before being horribly murdered Coker was reminded that he had but -very few minutes to live and was asked by Captain Butler if there was -anything which he could do for him. With great calmness, he is said by -a member of one of his executioners to have replied: “Yes, sir, here -is my cotton house key; I wish you would please send it to my wife and -tell her to have our cotton ginned and pay our landlord our rent just -as soon as she can.”</p> - -<p>Butler is reported as saying in reply; “Very well, Coker, I will attend -to this. Now is there anything else?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, sir,” said the Negro, “I would like to pray.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</span></p> - -<p>“All right, get at it quick,” Butler answered by way of giving his -consent.</p> - -<p>Before the doomed man could finish his prayer, the order, “Make ready, -men, aim, fire,” was given and Simon Coker, still in a kneeling -position, with pleas of forgiveness half finished on his lips, passed -from earth into eternity.</p> - -<p>When the body was found a ghastly wound in the forehead as if it -had been made at close range was noticed. Evidence subsequently -disclosed that it had been made by one Dunlap Phinney, who delighted -in acknowledging the deed and humorously remarked in recounting the -terrible crime that he did it because he wanted no more dead “niggers” -to come to life again and turn witness as Pompey Curry had done when he -“played possum” with the same men in the Hamburg riot.</p> - -<p>And this outrage, like others previously perpetrated, and still others -committed later on, occurred under the very eyes of the soldiers in -blue stationed in the South in the interest of maintaining the rights -of those citizens who had been made free by the force of their arms, in -deadly combat with the same men now being allowed to deny the Negroes -all that freedom implied and all that made the war worthy of being -fought!</p> - -<p>Perhaps the hand of God had less to do with the non-interference of -the government in the rioting than the influence set at work by the -misrule of those in power of the State government. Every intelligent -soldier knew of the chaotic condition of the country as a result of -the open handed robbery and connivance with crime on the part of the -State officials and decided possibly that the reign of lawlessness -prevailing was no worse than the infamous conduct of the government -under the constituted authorities. At any rate, the “Red Shirts” were -allowed a wide latitude in defiance of all authority, and Mart Gary’s -and Butler’s doctrine of spreading terror among the Negroes as the -only means of rescuing the State from the misrule prevailing triumphed -famously.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</span></p> - -<p>Preceding the arrival of the national military authorities, travel -and the peaceable pursuit of business was made as hazardous by the -inefficiency and corruption of the constituted authorities as it had -been made by the creation of the reign of terror by the “Red Shirts.” -Radical officials, instead of the Negro, should be held accountable -for many of the real grievances complained of by the white people. In -the hope of winning his vote the Negro was promised by most of these -time-servers and self-seekers almost everything under the sun which -he could desire, including not only the proverbial forty acres and a -mule but absolute protection in attempts at inter-marriage with the -whites. He was urged not only to assert his rights but to defend them -even if it became necessary to shoot to death whole communities of -white people in doing so. With this instruction and the additional -assurance that the government at Washington would protect them in -every thing they might do, is it any wonder that the conduct of these -simple, trusting, unsuspicious children of ignorance, ready to believe -any thing told them and as ready to act on false assumptions as on the -other sort, should have become very obnoxious to their former masters, -and especially to that class known as the “Poor Buckra?”</p> - -<p>Therefore, the work Miss Schofield undertook to do and accomplished -in spite of all opposition, that of educating the ignorant Negro and -empowering him with the sword of reason, in order that he might not be -led unwisely by those who sought to use him and did use him for selfish -purposes, was the great need of the times.</p> - -<p>A former member of one of the many “Red Shirt” bands who participated -in the outrages of the Ellenton and Hamburg riots and is at this time -(1916) an inmate of the home for Confederate soldiers at Columbia, S. -C., stated to the author that it was the firmness, the reasonableness -and plausibility of the arguments of Martha Schofield that influenced -him and his compatriots in crime from molesting the Schofield school. -He states that he and his friends once made designs looking to the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</span> -destruction of the school as a part of the plan in terrorizing the -Negroes and “scallawags,” but were prevented from doing so only by -the patriotism expressed by this little woman in a casual, brief -conversation, at a time when she least expected their design against -her. “We all felt, also,” added the old rebel, “that since we could -not possibly kill all the Negroes some of them would be forced to live -amongst us always, and since the more useful arts, such as farming, -house-keeping, sewing and cooking which we satisfied ourselves were -specialized in by Miss Schofield, were better done right than wrong her -work might be helpful to us, and so we agree to let her alone.”</p> - -<p>The great mission of her work was to teach the Negro the necessity of -preparing himself for the duties devolving upon him after freedom and -to place in his hands the knowledge with which he would be better able -to discharge these duties. This took him first through an elementary -course in physiology and hygiene, as the first duty of man as Miss -Schofield understood it, was to make of himself a good animal. The -author, by reason of her position in the medical profession and on -account of her attendance at the Schofield school is in a position -to know that the principles of hygiene and sanitation as taught and -practiced by Martha Schofield thirty years ago among the Negroes were -far in advance of that time, so far in advance that at this day and -time we see the same identical principles in use among us, improved -upon but slightly, if any.</p> - -<p>The fact that Miss Schofield had the intelligence and genius to begin -her work where it should have been begun, in the home, appealed to the -good common sense of her white neighbors who for economic reasons, -if not for nobler motives, desired improved living conditions to -obtain among the Negroes. In the moral and intellectual aspect of -the lives of the latter the white man took little or no interest, -except to disparage the work done in this direction; but morality and -intelligence are bred on physical prosperity. Instruction in the art -of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</span> farming and in the laws of sanitation and health served to free -many who came under the influence of the school early in life from -the shackles and bonds of a form of slavery woven in the factory of -ignorance. Immorality, superstition, disease and death are some of the -products of this factory. Great joy is taken in the fact that not one -of the graduates of Miss Schofield’s school has ever been convicted or -sentenced to penal servitude. This demonstrates the wisdom of education -as a means of stamping out crime.</p> - -<p>Robbery and murder by the Negroes in the new situation which freedom -had placed him was very uncommon, but he did practice a form of conduct -more humiliating to the whites than that of stealing their trashy -purses or taking their lives, which with the loss of their slaves and -their old aristocratic prestige, they considered worse than blasted. -He “mustered” into the service of the army, aspired to official -recognition and even cast votes and that at a time when his old master -was disfranchised! Why, he even arose to the position of Sheriff and -Attorney-General, Legislator and city Marshall. And in the execution of -the duties of his high office he often had occasion to arrest some of -his old masters or their best friends, and this aroused far more anger -among the whites than any of his lesser crimes, such as assassination, -robbery and the like. The white man resolved about like this: “The -Negro who steals my life and purse stealeth trash but he who steals my -high-blown greatness, takes that which shall not elevate him but make -him lie low, indeed, beneath six foot of earth and clay.”</p> - -<p>For want of a cool, calm and deliberate judgment which education is -supposed to give to man, regulating his action to suit occasions and -emergencies, the Negro in office, erred egregiously in his dealings -with the whites, as white men and the men of all races before being -made efficient by the refining influences of enlightenment, will -err and do err. As a legislator he enacted<span class="pagenum" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</span> some very foolish and -unnecessary legislation, impracticable if not discriminatory.</p> - -<p>Among the ordinances of the town of Hamburg, which was ruled entirely -by Negroes, was one designed for the purpose of entrapping the white -men into the meshes of the law, although it was ostensibly passed in -the interest of the public health. It forbade any one to drink at a -public spring within the limits of the town except from some vessel -such as a gourd, cup or dipper, and was rigidly enforced by the town -marshall who was always a Negro. As many of the whites who passed by it -had no dipper or cup and were not disposed to use the one at the spring -for the public use as the Negroes enjoyed the same privilege as they -in its use, this ordinance caused the death of one of the marshalls of -the town and may have produced many riots if the Negro authorities had -resented extensively the defiance of this law which the whites took -particular pains to glaringly flaunt in their faces.</p> - -<p>On one occasion a white man was arrested and taken before “General” -Prince Rivers and fined five dollars for drinking from the spring -without a cup. Sometime after this incident a <abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> Cockrell in -attempting to drink from it in a similar way was arrested by the -Negro marshall who it is charged, used insolent and abusive language. -Cockrell resented it by stabbing the officer to death with a knife. He -escaped capture and trial for murder only by getting out of the town in -a coffin-box which a friendly merchant arranged for his convenience. -No one knew till years afterwards who it was that killed the vigilant -of the town’s peace, but everybody felt that this act also killed the -enforcement of the “Spout” spring ordinance even as dead as the town’s -dead marshall.</p> - -<p>Miss Schofield’s teaching included helpful instructions in the matter -of the responsibility of those entrusted with the exercise of power and -had for its object the work of storing the minds of the Negroes with -correct and practical principles of government, such as would<span class="pagenum" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</span> promote -peace and contribute to the happiness and progress of both races -alike. With equal force she applied herself strenuously to the task -of impressing every Negro official that she could possibly reach with -the fact that the dignity of their office required an unostentatious -exercise of authority rather than a lavish display of power, which, -unfortunately for the Negro, seemed to characterize his first attempt -to rule. She taught that good government rested upon the exercise of -intelligent judgment and was made strong or weak in proportion to the -intelligence of those delegated to perform its functions, supposing, -of course, that intelligence also qualifies an individual (as it most -certainly does if it is heart deep), in moral fitness for the duties -and honors of office.</p> - -<p>No one can know her life and work as the author knows about them -without acknowledging that want of her divine messages is, at bottom -the sole cause of much of our present woe, as want of them were the -cause in 1860 and 1870 and 1880 of our suffering and misery then.</p> - -<p>In the light of this fact, with all of us, white and black alike, -becoming more and more inclined to accept it as a fact, it is scarcely -possible that any attempt sufficiently strong to retard the educational -advancement of the Negro to any great extent, will ever be made again.</p> - -<p>Martha Schofield’s pupils and graduates are now scattered all over this -broad land, the majority of them engaged in farming, and are making a -success; but a vast number are architects, house-builders, while not -a few are successfully employed in the manufacture of useful articles -of all kinds. Among the best teachers of the colored race are numbered -some of her students, while the law and medical professions each have a -few to their credit.</p> - -<p>But the influence of her teaching in the preparation of colored men and -women for the practice of humanitarian and religious principles, the -forces behind all endeavor that can be depended upon to make the world -a better<span class="pagenum" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</span> place in which to live, is the greater legacy of her life to -the South, the white as well as the colored people.</p> - -<p>If the white men of 1876 had had the regard for the doctrine of the -brotherhood of man with which Miss Schofield’s instruction abounded, -the brutalities and barbarities of those horrible times would have been -impossible. Intellectual and moral advancement of both the colored -and white race is necessary, absolutely, to a higher conception and -a greater appreciation of this doctrine which carries with it the -conviction that all the world is one country and no religion is worthy -which does not compel us to do good wherever and whenever good may be -done.</p> - -<p>Miss Schofield never seemed to question whether a solicitor of alms was -worthy or not but devoted her time and energy to the immediate relief -of the need. That the applicant was in need and whether it was within -her reach to assist him or her, black or white, was all that appeared -to concern her.</p> - -<p>It was out of the spirit of such sainted souls that the reaction in the -North against the continuance of the profligate conditions in the South -arose, and out of the wisdom of men and women of the North and South of -her calibre and justness, that remedies for the healing of the wounds -were found. But not without leaving scars, however, as a huge reminder -that like conditions in the future will produce like disaster.</p> - -<p>The estimated killed among the colored in the Hamburg and Ellenton -riots is between 150 and 200. The number of whites killed is less than -twenty.</p> - -<p>But for the change in the attitude of the United States troops towards -the whites, whom they informed that rioting must terminate, after the -Ellenton riot had then been in progress for more than a week, the -number of killed and wounded might have run into thousands instead of -only hundreds.</p> - -<p>So the stationing of soldiers in South Carolina was at last justified -even though they stained, if not disgraced, for all time the uniform -they wore. Their failure<span class="pagenum" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</span> to prevent rioting, accompanied as it was -by a large number of infinite outrages, may be forgiven but never -forgotten by memory.</p> - -<p>Although two thousand or more white men participated in these riots -only about eight hundred were ever arrested. A charge of murder or -conspiracy to commit murder was made against each one, but only a few -were tried and none punished.</p> - -<p>The reason of the failure of the government to press the charges and -convict the guilty was not for want of evidence nor from any fear of -another conflict of like character but on account of the election of -General Wade Hampton to the governorship, in whose courage and justice -the United States Government had perfect confidence. Besides, the most -intelligent Negroes as well as the whole radical regime of the South -plead for moderation in dealing with these cases. The radicals utilized -the Federal indictments against the “Red Shirts” as a scare-crow to -intimidate them in the prosecution of themselves in the State courts -which followed the inauguration of Hampton. The Democrats in Congress -who were bitterly contesting, at the time the election of Hayes, a -Republican, to the presidency over Tilden, also lent their powerful -influence to the motion to nol pros the cases against the whites by -agreeing not to press the cases at home against the former rulers of -the South. It was also stipulated that the Democrats must accept the -choice of Hayes for president if the Republicans succeeded in having -the troops from South Carolina and Louisiana removed.</p> - -<p>These were the conditions upon which a treaty of peace was entered -into by the Republicans and Democrats at the time of the election of -President Hayes, but since that time laws have been passed in many of -the States making it a felony for citizens to utter such agreements, -and, of course, would apply for more severely in the case of officials -whose sworn duty it is to prosecute those guilty of crime.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_X">CHAPTER X.<br /><span class="small"><span class="smcap">Crime Breeds Criminals.</span></span></h2> -</div> - - -<p>After the withdrawal of troops from the South, crime of every sort went -regularly on much as usual, though not on nearly so large a scale as -before. Negro men and women, as well as those of the whites who had -sympathized with the radical regime, were whipped and even murdered -on the flimsiest and slightest pretext and in the most wanton manner. -Robbery was of such frequent occurrence as to occasion surprise only -when it did not happen. Negroes became good Democrats or submitted to -unmerciful whippings. This soon reduced the number of objectionable -voters to such a negligent quantity as they all got lost in a -well-hidden minority. Everybody who was not a Democrat was worse than -an infidel. A Republican stood no more chance of success in a contest -for political preference than a snow ball in the infernal regions. -Social ostracism was handed out to him to the extent of ignoring him -altogether, visiting his home in case of the direst necessity and then -long enough only to attend to the matter in hand in the shortest time -possible. His little children were not infrequently whipped by other -children on account of their father being a Republican.</p> - -<p>This was the spirit existing between a South Carolina Democrat and -Republican only a few years ago, but today the two meet on terms of -perfect equality, provided, of course, that each are white; and discuss -the politics of the country without a quarrel or even exciting much -attention. The Democrat is perfectly willing to let the Republican -run the government at Washington as long as the Republican remains -indifferent to the rule of the Democrat in the government of the State. -The one bribes the other and each cheats the Negro. The latter’s -vote, under the disfranchisement laws enacted by the Democrats, is so -negligible as to draw the contempt of the majority party and obtain a -few false promises only from the party of the minority.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</span></p> - -<p>But in spite of the handicap of continued injustice and persecution, -in the face of opposition when the race was weaker and not so capable -of bearing its burdens as now, the Negro race through the assimilation -of knowledge is evolving at a rapid rate. Miss Schofield’s work is -bearing fruit, enriched by the multiplication of schools all over the -South. The habit of whipping and murdering Negroes is growing less -and less frequent and becoming in most of the Southern States, quite -a serious offense. Recent acts of some of the legislatures of States -make a county in which a person is lynched responsible to the family -sustaining the loss, and suit to recover the sum of $2,000.00 as an -indemnity is authorized. Improvement in the moral standard of the -whites is making for improvement in the moral standard of the Negro. -As the condition of one race improves the other improves. The two will -continue to go up or down together.</p> - -<p>The lesson that crime breeds criminals, taught by the brutalities of -the “Red Shirts,” will never be forgotten by the white people of the -South. When these people tired of robbing and assassinating Negroes, -many of them turned on their own kind and not a few but suffered -much. A man named Taylor for no other grievance than that he accepted -the office of Sheriff under Chamberlain, a Republican governor, was -shot down in his own home under the very eyes and nose of his wife. -Conviction of the criminal was, of course, impossible as there were -numbers and numbers of men bound together by oaths and other ties of -secret invention ready at call to perjure themselves in any event -affecting a member of their clan, while at that time a wife could -testify neither for nor against her husband. The criminality of the -times had made criminals of men formerly of gentlemanly traits, and -splendid character, while those of an immoral nature from inheritance -were rendered desperately and hopelessly criminal.</p> - -<p>Than “Uncle” Alex Bettis, there was never a better Negro in all the -world. It is said of him that he could<span class="pagenum" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</span> really do no wrong wilfully, -that all his errors were to be charged to the ignorance of his poor -brain rather than to any sinister motive of his pure heart; yet -notwithstanding his reputation as a faithful friend to the white -man, to all men of all races, the type of criminal produced by the -criminality of the times was so depraved that it sought the life of -Bettis, justifying their actions by asserting that his work as a -minister and an advocate of education for the colored race was inimical -to the best interests of the people, white and black alike.</p> - -<p>Although almost illiterate, “Uncle Alex” was truly a power behind the -throne of grace on earth, for them behind that throne, when he directed -the machinery connected with it, all imaginary blessings on earth and -in Heaven flowed, even to over-flowing in the hearts of the Negroes. -It is admitted now, and should have been acknowledged at the time of -his great ministry that <abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> Bettis’ assurances of salvation to the -Negro for a righteous life and eternal damnation for a wicked life well -served to cause thousands of his followers to abandon their ways of sin -and lead lives of self-sacrifice and Christian effort, as Jesus would -have all peoples to live and act.</p> - -<p>Perhaps his preaching was not considered objectionable and had he -confined himself solely to that alone, would not have been disturbed; -but he had become imbued with the redeeming influence of education -through contact with the Schofield school at Aiken and early in -his work began the agitation for a Negro school, where, along with -elementary literary courses, should be taught the industrial arts as -Miss Schofield was doing. This aroused the highly criminal element of -the whites, who wanted some pretext to further persecute the Negroes, -and so it was ordered at one of their meetings that Bettis should be -put to death. The day, date and place for his execution had been fixed, -but on account of an accident or some illness to his horse, a large -iron-gray, known to the whole country-side, the minister passed the -band of murderers bent on his assassination,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</span> astride another horse, -in disguise. The leader of the mob inquired of the rider if he knew of -the whereabouts of Bettis. He replied that “preacher Bettis wus jes’ -a little way up de road at Simon Kenny’s ho’se, and wus ’er comin’ er -long terrectly.”</p> - -<p>The mob waited all the afternoon and throughout the night for Bettis -but he never came. So early the next morning they called in person at -the Bettis’ home. He received them with great kindness, and although he -knew the object of their visit, showed no excitement whatever.</p> - -<p>When informed that his death had been decided on, and that he had -but little time in which to live, Bettis displayed a calmness and -self-control that would have stripped Zeno of his honors at the shrine -of stoicism.</p> - -<p>“Well, ef dat be de way der gud Lawd hab fer me ter go” said Bettis, -“I’s re’dy, but yo’ genermen luk lak yer is pow’rful hungry, an’ befo’ -yer tends ter de bisness at han’ pleas let mer ole lady fix yer a bit’ -ter ete.”</p> - -<p>As something to eat in those days was very welcome and there was -unusual hunger among the party, the consent of the mob to have Mrs. -Bettis prepare the meal was readily obtained. During the interval -between its preparation and consumption Bettis entertained his guests -with talks relating to his crops, the condition of crops generally -throughout his circuit of churches and kept repeating at the end of -each subject: “But laws er mercy, youn’ marsters, its a heap wusser -fer de po’ nigger dan it wus befo’ de wah. Now, he’s got nuttin but -freedum, whiles fo’ freedum he hab all he wants ter ete an’ mo’ ter -boot, an’ hab close to ware and ebbryting ter kep hissef wa’m.”</p> - -<p>If these bad men were not wholly disarmed by the simple, rustic beauty -of the Negro’s unaffected discourse in the presence of death, during -the whole of which not once did he evince any sign that a single -thought of his sad fate had ever passed through his troubled brain, -they were certainly deeply affected by it, as well as by that act of -his in desiring to feed them,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</span> they who had come, not to feed him but -to make food of him for the worms of old graves in the silent woods of -sighing forest trees!</p> - -<p>When the hungry had been fed and all had returned to the sitting room -of the humble Negro home, <abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> Bettis said, “Well, youn’ marsters, I -g’ess yo’ is ’er wantin’ ter go, and so I’se not er goin’ ter dela’ yo’ -lon’, but I do wants ter pra’, ef yo’ pleas’es suhs.”</p> - -<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img001g"> - <img src="images/001.jpg" class="w5" alt="book icon" /> -</span></p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XI">CHAPTER XI.<br /><span class="small"><span class="smcap">Mob Spirit of Lick Skillet.</span></span></h2> -</div> - - -<p>At the time of this dramatic period in the life of “Uncle” Alex, the -greatest excitement prevailed elsewhere in Lick Skillet neighborhood, -as Allen Dodson and his neighbors, armed with rifles and led by blood -hounds, pursued the trail of Leslie Duncan, a son of Laura, whom the -reader met in the first chapter of this story, firmly determined to -hang him to the first convenient limb and riddle his body with bullets. -With a pitch-fork he had stabbed Willie Hudson, Allen’s 15 year old -son and inflicted a severe wound in the stomach, for whipping him with -a lash. Besides, in leaving the Dodson farm he had broken a labor -contract which he had made with <abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> Dodson at one dollar per week and -board, and deserved to be captured and shot without the expense and -formality of a trial in a legalized court of justice!</p> - -<p>“Unless we make an example of this ‘nigger,’” said the leader of the -party, as they took a short rest, propped up on their guns, “it will -soon come to a pass that we might as well try to control the winds as -these terrifying black brutes. If we don’t subdue them they will subdue -us. That’s what old Ben Tillman says, and he knows. Good God, fellows, -you ought to have heard that old one-eyed rebel speak the other night -at Daleyville. I’d vote for him for any position he might want. I would -even vote to change the form of government in America and make him -Emperor if I only had the chance!”</p> - -<p>Long, loud and enthusiastic cheering followed this declaration by -Millard Dodson, the eldest son of Allen, whose eternal enmity for -Leslie was quite well understood by all members of the mob as well as -by others of his neighbors. Those who refused to join in the attempted -capture and assassination said that the boy had a right to defend -himself, and intimated that the quarrel and fight were precipitated by -Millard to rid the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</span> community of Leslie who was paying entirely too -much attention to Matilda Deas, a nineteen year old mulatto employed -as cook in the Dodson home, whose affection for Leslie dated back to -their school days together eight years before, to suit Millard. His -wife had on one occasion abandoned him and threatened a separation on -account of the gossip of intimacy between him and Matilda. Leslie, who -had departed in haste after wounding the boy, which incident took place -three hours before it was timed by Millard to come off made good use of -the spare moments at his disposal for eluding the mob, which he knew in -his own mind would follow him, unopposed by the police authorities, and -execute him if his capture could be effected.</p> - -<p>With him it was a case of life, with Matilda and children and a happy -home, although he knew the sacred purity and virtue of his betrothed -had been despoiled by the lust of one of the men, at least, seeking -his life; if he could escape this was possible; otherwise it was death -with all the tortures of the damned. So he spurred himself on and -onward in his flight, through tangled woods and swamps, across deep and -swift flowing streams, over hills and high precipices, down through -the valleys and old fashioned fields, stopping only once in ten hours -to rest at a Negro farm home, where he was given some food and a small -bit of change to aid him along on his journey to a place of safety, if -place of safety beyond the grave there was! Twice or thrice he heard -the barking of dogs and the voices of men as nearer and nearer they -approached and his heart almost stopped beating. It developed that -what he did hear was the reports of cattle buyers from the West who -were in the South buying up the “scrub stock” to take to the plains -to fatten for the Chicago packing houses. As fear of being overtaken -and summarily put to death, without a last word or look or kiss from -his sweetheart, would tend to accelerate his speed, so would that joy -he felt over the possibility of escape and final reunion with Matilda -cause him to double and redouble his energies in his onward course in -the mad race for life.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</span></p> - -<p>His pursuers discounting the cleverness of the Negro in selecting only -unfrequented roads and abandoned farm-houses, as places of travel and -concealment when a rest became imperative, had lost the trail at the -beginning of the hunt and on the second morning, although they searched -diligently until midnight on the evening before, found the hunters and -their bird of prey some thirty odd miles apart. Dissentions had arisen -among the members over the conduct of the chase at the beginning which -for a while threatened to break up the party, but about this time Ben -Milligan, who was drunk when the party first set out and unable to go -at first call joined them with a gallon of “Old North Carolina Corn,” -and the information that Leslie had been seen only a few hours before -in the Shinburnally neighborhood. Under the stimulation of the whiskey -and the false promises of the leader of the mob to pay the party first -to lay hands on Leslie Duncan the sum of twenty-five dollars, new -momentum was injected into the chase and as long as the whiskey lasted -it was energetic enough to elicit the praise of the most pronounced -grouch among the men.</p> - -<p>But miscalculations were again made, as Leslie was many miles from -Shinburnally and was going as fast as his tired legs could carry him on -and on in an opposite direction.</p> - -<p>In the meantime, Mrs. Millard Dodson in a rage of indignation over the -report going the rounds of the neighborhood and gaining credence each -day that the ‘yaller woman’ at her home had succeeded in alienating -the affections of her husband completely, had taken advantage of -Millard’s absence to rid her household of the presence of the person -she conceived to be the source of much of her domestic infelicity, -shame and disgrace. With the aid of John Quincy, her eldest son, she -had administered a terrible beating to the woman and at the point of a -gun had marched her three miles from the farm and after commanding her -to go and admonishing her never to show herself in Lick Skillet again -on penalty<span class="pagenum" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</span> of death, left her and returned to the house, stopping at -each of the neighbor’s houses to inform them of what she had done.</p> - -<p>During her absence from the house, Millard and his party, which had -postponed the chase for want of more whiskey, had returned and were -ransacking the pantries and side boards in the dining room as she -entered, in quest of food which they had gone without for nearly -thirty-six hours.</p> - -<p>“Where’s Matilda?” inquired Millard, as his wife suddenly entered the -house.</p> - -<p>“That Negro wench is gone” she told him in a calm, unimpassioned -voice, “and gone forever. I have borne the disgrace of the reported -relation between her and you as long as I can, much longer and far more -patiently than I should have been expected to, so I gave her a whipping -which she will never forget and took the gun and marched her away with -such a warning that will be heeded.”</p> - -<p>Millard tried hard to conceal the effect which the temporary loss of -his paramour had on him by approving the action of his wife; at the -same time he assured her that the common gossip of the neighborhood -was without the least foundation, and that it would have aided in the -capture had Matilda been retained for a few days longer. But that -indescribable inner consciousness which betrays guilt and convicts the -criminal beyond the hope of escape, except through suicide, and suicide -is not escape, marked the stain of dishonor and shame all over his -countenance with its brush of indelible guilt.</p> - -<p>After the departure of the members of the mob, pandemonium broke loose -in the Dodson home over Millard’s attempt to chastise his wife for -running Matilda away, being intercepted by his two daughters and the -energetic pugilistic activities of the wife. When the resounding, -reverberating atmosphere had cleared away the father found two large -bruises on his face and a slight wound in the back from a knife as -evidence, proof<span class="pagenum" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</span> and positive, that his was essentially a family of -fighters on the mother’s side at least. Matilda, at this time, was more -than ten miles away and happy as a bird suddenly freed from its cage -except for one thing which burdened her soul as no other event had -ever done since the evening that the beastly Dodson had forced her to -surrender her body to his passion in satisfying his greedy lust, and -that one thing was the ignorance in which she lived of the safety and -security of her lover, Leslie, whom she felt quite sure by or before -that hour had been captured and lynched.</p> - -<p>Maybe he had made good his escape. For the latter she had hoped and -prayed with the earnestness, desperation and despair with which she -so long warded off the entreaties and appeals of Dodson when he first -made the advances which finally culminated in the degradation of her -life. Her miserable life was spent in his home only under compulsion, -the compulsion of a labor contract entered into by her in legal form, -a breach of which she knew from the experience of other colored women -employed under such terms and conditions meant only one thing—a term -of penal servitude at the hardest of the most degraded sort of labor!</p> - -<p>So she had determined to carry out her part of the contract and at the -end of it marry Leslie and settle down in a home of her own, to bless -it, perhaps, with the voices of children and all the endearments which -the relations of father, mother and child mean to mankind.</p> - -<p>But in a world of strange and unfriendly relations, the only sort of -a world which she had ever known, having been but eight years old on -the day of the impeachment of President Andrew Johnson, in the great -white-heat of the conflict being waged by the whites of the North and -the whites and the Negroes of the South in that great historical drama -known all over the civilized world as the “Reconstruction Period!” What -blighted hopes they should have been! Meditating over the hopelessness -of her present plight, separated from her<span class="pagenum" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</span> lover, whose body at that -moment for all she knew might be dangling at the end of a rope, stung -to the heart by hundreds of bullets from the guns of armed murderers; -and without the reach, comfort and consolation of her father, who was -at that time serving a sentence in the penitentiary for disposing of -a crop under lien, the spirit of despair was rapidly enveloping her -troubled soul, when lo, and behold, there appeared before her no other -a person than Dodson on his swiftest mare with Leslie in tow, tied hard -and fast to his saddle! As unexpected as a bolt of lightning from the -clear blue sky and with the vigor and fierceness of a tiger she sprang -between the horse and the bound boy and began biting and knawing at the -rope with the voracity of a starving lion in contact with its hunk of -meat.</p> - -<p>At first Millard drew his pistol and threatened to shoot if she did -not desist but paying no attention at all to his demands she kept on -chewing the rope as if she had not heard, when Leslie managed to secure -his knife from his pocket and get it into her hands with which she cut -the rope in two, and set her lover free. Then facing her traducer and -heaping curse after curse upon him and daring him to shoot, she managed -to distract his attention from Leslie and give the latter time to get -out of reach, which he did, remaining, however, near by in concealment -ready at any moment to spring upon his adversary and engage him in -mortal combat if further harm threatened his sweetheart.</p> - -<p>For the purpose of making Leslie’s escape secure. Matilda consented to -return with Dodson on condition that the charges against her lover be -withdrawn and he be allowed to leave the country unmolested by any mob -or officers of the law; and seating herself behind him on his swift, -gay, young horse the two had scarcely begun the journey back home when -the girl spied Leslie in hiding. With the dexterity of a born adroit -sleuth she extracted from one of the pockets in the back of Dodson’s -pants the pistol with which he had failed to frighten her and dropped -it silently in the dust before the eyes of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</span> Leslie, all unknown to -Dodson. In the next few moments the latter was looking down the barrel -of his own gun, his teeth chattering as if suddenly attacked by a -chill and his whole body shaking and quivering as if in the throes of -an ague. He very quickly consented to be bound hand and foot and tied -to a tree in the woods some distance from the road-side and forever -abandon the prosecution of Leslie, and permit Matilda to go in peace -and trouble her no more, as the price of his life, now at the mercy -of those whose liberty of body and soul less than an hour before was -entirely in his hands to be dealt with as he wished.</p> - -<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img001h"> - <img src="images/001.jpg" class="w5" alt="book icon" /> -</span></p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XII">CHAPTER XII.<br /><span class="small"><span class="smcap">Great Progress of Negro.</span></span></h2> -</div> - - -<p>The predicament of Millard was rendered all the more distressing by the -engagement of most of his friends in the conspiracy against the life of -“Uncle” Alex Bettis. They were not in ignorance, however, of the chase -for Leslie Duncan and the desire to get into it themselves probably -hastened the brief consultation which resulted in the release of Bettis -on his promise to see to it that the classes of study in his school -included agriculture and not social and political economy. Besides -Brother Bettis’ prayer was a masterful plea for the forgiveness of the -sins of those bent on taking his life. It was pathetic. Some of the -mob shed tears, real heart-felt tears, that flow from the heart in our -moments of contemplation of the generousness of God and beauty of his -handiwork as naturally as rain from a mountain summer cloud.</p> - -<p>Those who felt the Omnipotent power of God in the kindness and prayers -of this simple old colored man counselled with the more marble-hearted -and vicious of their number, and all at last agreed that while the old -man’s magnetic influence and his powerful, mysterious control over -himself in a period of the greatest suspense might prove a monster -with which they would have to deal later on, none could have the heart -wicked enough to put him to death.</p> - -<p>So <abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> Bettis demonstrated a strategic ability that should prove -to be the admiration of white men, learned and skilled in the art -of strategy, as well as proved conclusively in his own case, the -efficacy and power of prayer. Until the day of his death he always -maintained that it was not the delay which the preparation of the -dinner occasioned giving him time to influence the men against taking -his life; nor, indeed the kindness displayed in the act of feeding and -nourishing his enemies, but wholly and absolutely the power of God in -answer to prayer!</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</span></p> - -<p>This demonstration in his own case of the saving efficacy of prayer was -worth more to him than all the volumes of theology ever written could -have been in reaching the ears and hearts of his benighted followers, -who had to be made to see and feel with their own sense of sight and -touch the evidence of the tangible things which an educated mind finds, -without literal interpretation, in everything, even in rocks and stones -and running brooks.</p> - -<p>He preached not to the heads of his hearers, but to their hearts; not -about Emerson, Spencer, Napoleon, or Shakespeare, but about Jesus -Christ, His death, His resurrection and His power to resurrect even -them, as He was resurrected if only they would believe on Him and live -such lives as He had lived.</p> - -<p>Is it not remarkable that a man with the power to carry such a -message to those who stood in such great need if it should have been -singled out for destruction by those whose interest he was serving in -disseminating the unadulterated doctrine of the lowly Nazarene? Yet -history of sacred and profane origin all record that the men and women -who really benefit their kind do so at the risk of martyring themselves.</p> - -<p>The power of prayer which the <abbr title="Reverend">Rev.</abbr> Alexander Bettis used so -dramatically in rescuing himself from an ignominous death was used -effectively in the establishment and later the development of a great -school in which through the adoption of the methods pursued at the -Schofield school at Aiken, the condition of thousands of children and -hundreds of homes have been reformed, even transformed, revolutionized -and made new. This school in honor of its founder and executive head -until the day of his death is known as the Bettis Academy and is -located on a farm of several hundred acres near Trenton, <abbr title="South Carolina">S. C.</abbr> The -interest taken in it at its earliest inception by Miss Schofield, -together with the great work done by <abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> Bettis at his own expense -without any compensation whatever, made the institution possible and a -force from the start in the education of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</span> Negroes from many of the -counties of South Carolina and Georgia.</p> - -<p>The great personality of the founder attracted to the school like a -loadstone, large numbers of Negroes, and Miss Schofield, who enjoyed -<abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> Bettis’ confidence in full, seeing the opportunity which the school -afforded her to accomplish the maximum of results, most heartily -cooperated in the conduct of it. She not only wrote and lectured for -her school but for Bettis Academy as well.</p> - -<p>In fact, every line written and every word spoken in the interest of, -or inimical to, the interest of all related enterprise affect each -other for good or evil, in the same proportion. This makes the attempts -to injure one race of human beings by another race without injury to -itself impossible, and is the foundation rock upon which the Negro -race can stand with perfect confidence, that absolute justice will -eventually be done it.</p> - -<p>To the intelligent supervision of the organization of the Bettis -Academy much credit is due Martha Schofield. She was the store-house -from which ideas of the most experienced and practical sort emanated -for perfecting all departments, especially the industrial department. -The school in a few years, paid her back many times by the wide -interest its patrons took in the Farmers’ Conference, a local -organization for every colored school in the country, original with the -Schofield Normal and Industrial Institute, having for its object the -encouragement of the farmers to buy land, to raise more food supplies, -to stop mortgaging their property and to extend the term of the country -school. At the general meetings of these Conferences which were held in -February of each year in the chapel of the Schofield school, Bettis’ -followers were largely in attendance. This gave Miss Schofield the -opportunity she so much desired of meeting face to face the fathers and -mothers of those whom she regarded as the foundation-stone for the new -structure of civilization which freedom and her educational work was -building.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</span></p> - -<p>Among the wide range of subjects discussed, no question was given so -much importance as better living conditions. These discussions, in -which hundreds present participated, discouraged the habit of living -in cabins. With what practical knowledge the attendants gained at the -general meeting, augmented by the instruction given the students of the -schools, every Negro family in a wide area was greatly benefited. Miss -Schofield, out of the funds of her school employed an organizer whose -duty it was to organize a conference in every community, without cost -to the members. The benefits to be derived from the work were apparent -in a short time in many ways. One room cabins soon evolved into homes -of at least two rooms and even three, four and five; tenants as fast as -they could became owners of homes; many mortgages were burned and few -were given, and increases in production of crops were very noticeable. -Terms of schools were lengthened from two months to four, five and even -six months, as a result of the work of the conferences. But better than -all was the extraordinary improvement apparent in the manners, morals, -habits and dress of all who came to the general meetings. At these -meetings Miss Schofield, who was host to the large gathering, made -up of delegates from each conference, presided, and each session was -conducted in a parliamentary manner, thus educating the delegates in -the matter of conducting the meetings of the various local conferences -to the best advantage.</p> - -<p>Thus it will be seen that Miss Schofield’s activities embraced a wide -range of influence and as her contemplations, of course, extended -beyond the reach of actual performance it is to be regretted that time -enough from the drudgery of work in her school was never found for her -to write and publish a manual of important information for the guidance -and direction of missionaries in welfare work. It is an extravagant -waste of any system of social responsibility to permit the departure of -its members before first obtaining for all time the entire<span class="pagenum" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</span> treasury of -their store house of wisdom and compiling the information in convenient -form for future use.</p> - -<p>Miss Schofield’s organization of the Negro farmers into clubs for the -purpose of mutual helpfulness indicates that she appreciated the fact -that one person can do but little within herself for the benefit of -the people, but by securing their cooperation to the extent of getting -them to practice as a whole and teach in unity the things most needed -to be taught, results of the most far-reaching consequences could be -achieved. She was a labor-unionist with most practical and up-to-date -ideas.</p> - -<p>Much of what has been accomplished by the agricultural departments -of some of the States and by the Federal Department of Agricultural -for the Negro of the cotton district is directly traceable to efforts -of Miss Schofield, the pioneer of industrial training for the Negro. -Her system to bring the methods by which the Negro could improve his -condition within reach of all appears to the author as superior in -practicability to any yet advanced. This idea of carrying to the people -systems pregnant with practical uses for the regulation of their work -in all the arts, that of printing, shoe repairing, harness making, -carpentering, school teaching, and business of every kind contemplated -a unity of action by each. She enjoined as she taught the principle -illustrated by the old man with the seven sons and the bundle of sticks -a strict regard for the community of interest underlying all related -industry. This has made it possible for every Negro within reach of -her influence to have gained some knowledge of a better way of getting -along in the world, and combined with the work which is being done and -has been done already by other schools and colleges, accounts for the -remarkable development of the race in the occupation of farming.</p> - -<p>According to the report of the thirteenth census of 1910 there were -920,883 colored farmers in the United States. Twenty six and two-tenths -per cent. of these owned their farms, and 73.60 per cent. constituted -renters, while 2 per cent. managed farms. The same report<span class="pagenum" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</span> also shows -that while the value of all farm property of white people almost -doubled between the years of 1900 and 1910, the value of all farm -property of colored people more than doubled, to be exact, showed -an increase of 134 per cent. In the classes of property reported, -conspicuously noticeable is the increase in the value of live-stock. -The increase of the live stock of the whites showed 58.60 per cent., -while that of the Negroes showed an increase of 105.50 per cent. In the -value of farm buildings the percentage of increase was 76.70 for the -whites and 131.80 for the Negroes. The percentage of increase in the -matter of improved farm implements and machinery was 60.80 per cent. -for the whites and 81.70 per cent. for the Negroes.</p> - -<p>When it is considered that the Negro has had at his disposal but fifty -years for self-improvement and growth in all the arts, limited in -the pursuit of them by the restrictions placed around him by reason -of his race, his progress in every direction except, perhaps, in the -exercise of the right of suffrage, becomes more than remarkable—it is -phenomenal, especially in the occupation of farming, to which he is -unquestionably better adapted than to any other calling.</p> - -<p>In the matter of owners of homes both on the farm and in the city, -the Negroes, those who did and those who did not come under Miss -Schofield’s instructions in this, “the most important matter of their -lives,” as she often told her students, appear from the 1910 census, -to have made an equally creditable showing. In the Southern States the -percentage of the white and Negro population owning their homes, was -white 50.50, Negro, 23.10 per cent. The percentage of Negroes who owned -their homes entirely, without encumbrance, was 18.10 per cent.; that -of the whites 39.50. In 1900 the percentage was, whites 43.50; Negroes -16.80. It will be seen from the official figures of the government that -the percentage of whites owning their homes in the decade between 1900 -and 1910 decreased 4 per cent., while the percentage of the Negroes -increased 1.30 per cent.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</span></p> - -<p>If the Negroes were not discriminated against in the pursuit of their -occupations in the cities; if they were encouraged to buy homes and -beautify and improve them, instead of being discouraged by the many -obstacles placed in their way, such for instance, as the agitation by -some of the best white people not to rent a home built by Negro labor, -and the probability of another riot such as that in Atlanta in 1906, it -is entirely within his power to eclipse any race of men the Southern -white people could possibly induce to come and make homes among them. -In time they will do it in the morality of their lives, just as they -now are outstripping the members of the race laying claim to the purest -blood that ever flowed in Aryan veins, in the art of farming.</p> - -<p>The hope of the race lies in the multiplication of the opportunities -for every member to obtain an education, such an education as Martha -Schofield contemplated for all; and the demand by the law abiding, God -serving element of the white race that the colored people be given -every opportunity for the exercise of their powers that equity and -justice dictate. The Negroes want nothing more, ask nothing more, but -in justice to their own self respect and the rights of man can accept -nothing less.</p> - -<p>That they have shown themselves worthy of freedom, which certainly -cost the white people more than the cost of insuring them certain -inalienable rights will entail, is emphatically indicated by comparison -of Negro per capita property with that of the freed Russian serfs in -1861, two years before the emancipation of the Negro. The Russians -situated in the most fertile sections of the Muscovite empire, -numbering over 14 millions, have in the same time it has taken the -Negroes to accumulate 700 million dollars worth of property but 500 -million dollars in property. The accumulations of the two peoples freed -at about the same time are $70 per capita for the Negro and $36.00 for -the Russians. In the same Russian province only 30 per cent. of the -serfs can read<span class="pagenum" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</span> and write, while in the United States 61 per cent. of -the Negroes can read and write.</p> - -<p>Yet in the face of this wonderful development of the race; in -opposition to the aspirations necessary to make achievements of this -kind possible, there is race prejudice, degradation and humiliation. -This is doing more to produce poverty among both races and hold in -check the progress of a great section of the country than all the other -agencies for evil combined.</p> - -<p>The remedy for this will perhaps be found in the education of the -whites, stimulation in this direction being assured by both the -compulsory school attendance laws being passed, and the rivalry in -education between the races already set in motion by the Negroes.</p> - -<p>Almost two million colored children are enrolled in the normal schools -and colleges. There are 35,000 colored teachers now actively engaged -in the common schools and about four thousand professors in the -colleges and normal and industrial institutions. The value of the -property devoted to education of the Negro is nearly twenty million -dollars. There was expended in 1915 nearly $5,000,000 for the higher -and industrial training of the race while $10,000,000 was spent -on elementary instructions in the common schools. The stimulating -effect which these figures should have and, undoubtedly will have on -the education of the whites will serve to increase very largely the -facilities for their education, which is the remedy most needed, in -the opinion of the leading white people, as well as the author, for -the dissipation of much of the race prejudice responsible for the -passage of a great number of discriminatory laws and for the arbitrary -execution of those having a discriminating effect in their operation, -if not in their wording. This enlightening information, however, -concerning the facilities for the education of the Negro is very much -offset by the announcement that the number not in school in the South -is greater than the number in school.</p> - -<p>There are 2,000,000 Negro children of school age in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</span> the South not in -school. Let all who would aid in the solution of the Negro problem -find a means of reaching these 2,000,000 blacks by the school, and the -neglected ignorant whites, in self-defense, will be forced into the -school room. Give the black child $10.23 per capita instead of $2.82 -now allotted for its education, raise the per capita to that spent for -the education of the white child, and the white people will then double -the money for the education of their children. This would raise the -expenditures for Negro education in the common schools of the South -to about $35,000,000 annually, and this amount is actually needed in -putting the two million out of school in school and stirring the whites -to greater activity in the education of their own race.</p> - -<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img001i"> - <img src="images/001.jpg" class="w5" alt="book icon" /> -</span></p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XIII">CHAPTER XIII.<br /><span class="small"><span class="smcap">Matilda and Leslie Call.</span></span></h2> -</div> - - -<p>At the close of one of the first meetings of the farmer’s conference -in Schofield chapel at which was discussed more than anything else the -growing friction between the white and colored people, there called at -the Schofield school a young woman, accompanied by a man about her age, -and each appeared to be exhausted from travel and greatly excited from -some cause or other, no one knew just what.</p> - -<p>It was Matilda Deas and Leslie Duncan, the two young lovers who had -escaped from Millard Dodson a few days before and left him and his -horse tied securely in the woods.</p> - -<p>The story of how the young man had been given a race for his life at -the hands of a mob and how the young woman had escaped the lust and -power of the beastly Dodson only after her life had been despoiled -by him and of the circumstances attending the stabbing of the young -Dodson boy, greatly affected Miss Schofield, and with all her heart -she sympathized with the poor helpless Negroes. Yet she knew that the -concealment and protection of the boy meant the lighting of the bomb -manufactured by the Dodsons to produce the explosion of race prejudice -that the ignorant white people so much desired. She did not light it, -but instead drove to the scene of the disturbance and ascertained -personally the truth about the whole matter, as well as the seriousness -of the situation to the whole Negro population. On returning she -informed young Duncan that it would be very unwise, and exceedingly -unjust to the thousands of others of his race, for her to conceal him -on the school premises as the inflammatory conditions worked up among -the people by the Dodsons demanded nothing less than his life if his -whereabouts became known and, perhaps, by her intercession in his -behalf would mean the extension of it to include others of his people -and so cause the death of many instead of only one. But she promised<span class="pagenum" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</span> -him absolute protection, even at the cost of her school and all its -property until communication with the organized authorities of the -County and State could be had, and substantial guarantees were given by -these that his life would be safe and he be given a fair trial on the -charges laid against him.</p> - -<p>In due time the contingencies for the trial were arranged and Leslie -was delivered up to the Sheriff of the County, who took him to jail to -await the action of the Court, which would be determined largely by the -result of the injuries suffered by the Dodson child. Under direction -of the Governor of the State a sufficient guard had been placed around -the jail for the protection of the prisoner at all hazards. This was -done at the insistance of Miss Schofield whose influence with the -head of the Democratic Party in power was great only because of her -influence at the North in the passage of measures of a conciliatory -nature in reconstructing the States of the South. It was of little or -no consequence to the ruling element whether Duncan was lynched or not, -except in so far as his murder might retard the progress the whites -were making in gaining favor with the reactionaries in Congress.</p> - -<p>While abundant evidence was introduced at the trial to justify the -actions of Leslie in stabbing Willie Dodson, no weight or consideration -whatever was given it by the perjured members of the jury, all having -formed an opinion before the trial that the “nigger” would get off -light if he escaped with his life. After being in the jury room but -three minutes the talesman returned with the results of their brief -deliberations summed up in one word, “Guilty.”</p> - -<p>That, of course, was the verdict. No recommendation to mercy out of -consideration of the age of the youthful prisoner or the acknowledged -great provocation under which the act was committed.</p> - -<p>When replying “No, sir” to the question as to whether he had anything -to say why sentence should not be passed upon him the Court promptly -replied that it certainly<span class="pagenum" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</span> had and proceeded to say it in these words, -“I wish you were of age, Leslie, that I might give you the full benefit -of the law on this charge, one of a most serious nature, murder with -intent to kill. But on account of your youth, out of mercy of the -Court, I will make the sentence as light as possible. You are sentenced -to five years imprisonment in the penitentiary at hard labor.”</p> - -<p>At the same moment the Clerk of the Court was ordered to record another -charge against the prisoner, that of violating a contract for the -performance of labor and directed that a warrant be served on the boy -at the expiration of his term.</p> - -<p>Miss Schofield returned to her school and consoled Matilda with the -story of the old servant who was hanged for the loss of a costly -necklace of beads from the household in which she had been intrusted -with the property of her mistress. “Some years after the execution of -the faithful maid,” said Miss Schofield, “a bolt of lightning from the -sky struck one of the monuments on the public square near the home and -burst it into fragments and there in the center, in a magpie’s nest lay -the necklace, in all its parts, just as it was on the day the bird, -instead of the old servant had stolen it away. The lady who prosecuted -the maid for the theft stated to the judges who heard the case that she -would be satisfied with nothing but the death of the prisoner unless -she divulged the hiding place of the jewels, committed suicide by -swallowing poison on learning of the fatal mistake in the execution of -poor Jeannie Junne, for that was her name.</p> - -<p>“So you see my friends,” concluded the brilliant story teller, for such -Miss Schofield was when she had occasion to be, “God never permits the -infliction of great injustices, such as this which has happened to -Leslie and you, without exposing them and compelling those responsible -for them to repent of their sins.”</p> - -<p>Miss Schofield knew the heart of the Negroes better than they -themselves knew them and this knowledge served her well in all her -dealings with them. In the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</span> control of them she knew just when to use -harshness and to what extent and equally well she knew when other means -would prove more availing. The simple, child-like, trusting faith -common to all colored people, she realized this faith would cause her -story to find a lasting lodgment and would prove a source of genuine -consolation to Matilda in her hour of despair, and so it proved to -be, not only for the moment, but throughout the whole long period of -Leslie’s confinement. Whenever reference to him was made she would -in her simple way show that she understood clearly that God never -allowed people to suffer without compensating them for it; that He -also punished those responsible for the misery of others. The latter -contingency, Miss Schofield had taught her was a necessary condition in -nature fixed there by God for the protection of men in all their human -relations, and was as inevitable as fate itself.</p> - -<p>What an immensely valuable doctrine for the control of the passions of -men, especially those of a lowly race, steeped in ignorance and allowed -a free reign in the exercise of the more vicious instincts.</p> - -<p>Make them afraid to do wrong; not indeed afraid of man’s law but an -eternal law which is irrevocable even by God himself. It was the -doctrine, believed in to the depths of his soul, that inspired the -immortal Georgian, Alex H. Stephens, to exclaim that he was afraid of -nothing above earth or below it except to do wrong.</p> - -<p>When one reaches this stage of belief it is not a difficult matter to -induce him to begin doing right for righteousness sake only. He has -already conceived firmly the fact that only virtue is any just reward -for being virtuous. The bribes offered men for being good in the shape -of escape from earthly punishment and the hope of earthly blessings -are wholly inadequate to restrain them from evil as is proven by the -many artifices resorted to in concealing crimes; but when they are made -to see that only righteous living can produce real happiness and that -there is absolutely no way of concealing the evidences of evil doing, -substantial progress has<span class="pagenum" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</span> been made in their reformation. They will not -do wrong, wilfully, because, as Miss Schofield always taught, the wrong -done will show eternally in their faces every time they look in the -glass.</p> - -<p>Miss Schofield never permitted opportunities to impress and teach great -moral truths to pass by unimproved. Living on them herself she depended -upon them entirely to support her work which was her life in itself. -The great Normal and Industrial school at Aiken is Martha Schofield -reincarnated out and out. The lifeless body has been taken and carried -away but the spirit which is of God, still lingers on and around all -the place, crying out aloud as of yore for the perfection of those -means of justice and freedom of action in both body and mind that alone -can make life ideal and our work eternal.</p> - -<p>On the occasion of her visit to the home of Allen Dodson for the -purpose of securing his endorsement to the petition for the pardon of -Leslie Duncan, she was received with scant courtesy by Mrs. Dodson, who -strange to say, bore the reputation of being one of the most zealous -and faithful followers of Christ in Lick Skillet neighborhood. Indeed -she was president of the local Mary Magdalene Missionary Society of -the First Baptist Church, and besides had been honored by the national -president of her society with appointment to the position of treasurer -in the national association of Mary Magdaleners. Throughout the -community and in church and benevolent circles all over the State and -country she was well and favorably known. At home she was regarded as -the pillar of the Baptist church and an unselfish and philanthropic -soul in whose leadership the community could rely with perfect -confidence that the work of salvation was abreast of that in any other -community of like population in the whole moral vineyard of Christ.</p> - -<p>Seating Miss Schofield in the parlor while she waited on the return of -<abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> Dodson, other duties and responsibilities of the house engaged the -attention of Mrs. Dodson.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</span> She left her visitor to entertain herself as -best she might, placing within her reach a few religious periodicals -and a library of perhaps a dozen or more books, mostly of Baptist -denominational interest, especially devoted to the work of that church -in the foreign missionary field.</p> - -<p><abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> Dodson’s refusal to sign the petition on his return, did not -shock Miss Schofield’s sensibilities of the injustices of race hatred -nearly so much as the ignorance with which Mrs. Dodson maintained her -position of missionary worker in an enlightened church supported by an -intelligent and supposedly cultured membership.</p> - -<p>After <abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> Dodson had given his reasons, which were like hunting mustard -seeds in a hay stack and if found was never worth the search, for his -refusal to lend his assistance to the righting of the wrongs done -Leslie Duncan, Mrs. Dodson interposed herself into the conversation to -inquire of Miss Schofield why she was so interested in the Negroes as -to live and work wholly among them as if she were one of them herself.</p> - -<p>“I am very much obliged to thee for the opportunity to answer that -question,” said Miss Schofield in reply.</p> - -<p>“Thou must see that the condition of the Negro is such that none, or -few of them at this time, is able to lead the race as it should be led. -Only a small percentage can either read or write; the most primitive -methods of making a livelihood prevail among them and as a result their -lives, their morals and their hopes for the future are in jeopardy. I -most desire to do a little part in improving the conditions among them, -in making their lives better and happier by my having lived. I firmly -believe if I succeed in doing so, thee and all thy people will be -equally blessed.”</p> - -<p>“To the mischief with such doctrine,” retorted Mrs. Dodson. “It is such -as you that are putting foolish notions in the heads of these darkies, -creating in them a hope for an equality and a social relation repugnant -to the sense of all decent people entitled to the benefits of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</span> a -superior civilization, and I want to tell you that if another war comes -it will come as a result of your work.</p> - -<p>“You had better stop it and go back to your home and let the Negroes -teach themselves. If they have been too lazy and stupid to enlighten -themselves in the past it is quite likely such will not be the case in -future in this free country along by the side of a superior race from -whom they can, if they will, gain all the instruction they need for -self improvement by observation.”</p> - -<p>Miss Schofield assured her that the question of social equality with -the whites was never considered by her in her work except to disparage -it; that while she had no regard herself for the color of a person’s -skin she taught her students that a deep racial prejudice existed among -all races everywhere, especially in the United States, but that it -should not be allowed to interfere with their Christianity, that they -should show a Christian spirit to all mankind—Jew or Greek, male or -female, friend or foe, Negro or white.</p> - -<p>“Does not the Bible command thee,” questioned Miss Schofield, “to go -into all the world and teach all nations? Does thee, then, not feel -that the Negro is one of those to whom thou art commanded to extend thy -instruction?”</p> - -<p>“Feeling and knowing absolutely that He is I came to the South many -years ago to fill one of the commandments of my Lord. As a Christian -woman, which I know thee to be, else the literature of thy home belies -the character of this house, I ask thee to answer me before God if thee -still considers that my work is productive of harmful results and if it -should be given up and I go back home in my prime and live a life of -indolence, ease and nothingness.”</p> - -<p>Mrs. Dodson was greatly perplexed. Miss Schofield convicted her of her -neglect of duty in her own country, where as well as in far off China -and Japan, it was admittedly very necessary to do missionary work; -but she hid as best she could the influence of the speaker’s rebuke -and called attention to the thousands of dollars<span class="pagenum" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</span> being spent by her -society in the cause of home missions. When pressed for a single school -being maintained by that association in the interest of the Negro -children or the expenditure of as much as a penny for the relief of the -material needs of the race, she expressed considerable anger and stated -that the taxes paid by the whites were adequate for the education of -the colored people and for the support of the indigent among them.</p> - -<p>Among the most versatile as well as resourceful women who ever came -South to teach Miss Schofield was well fortified with facts to meet -Mrs. Dodson’s excuse for the indifference of her society to the need -of the Negro. She showed her that not only was the common school fund -wholly inadequate for the education of the white children but that -there was absolutely no justice in its distribution—that the whites -gave the Negroes just as little of it as possible and dignified it as -“hush-mouth” money. She cited instances calling names, dates and places -which proved conclusively that the system of the Southern white people -for the education of the Negro was a farce pure and simple, in that -there was not only no pretence at all at an equitable distribution -of the school funds, but no regard whatever was had as to the proper -qualification of Negro teachers. She intimated that favor was shown -by the whites to the less capable and least deserving of the Negroes -as teachers, and sought to close the argument by impressing the fact, -that where conditions obtain like those in the South, there is where -the Master’s work calls loudest, according to the teachings of her own -church.</p> - -<p>Stung to the quick by the truth of these statements Mrs. Dodson was -willing enough to terminate the conversation, and apparently with -middling right good cheer bade her visitor “good day” and set about the -work of her household.</p> - -<p>But Martha Schofield had made an impression on her. She had been made -to feel the hypocracy of her position for the first time in the new -relations between the two races, a position wholly incompatible with -the teachings<span class="pagenum" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</span> of Christ. It started her to reasoning, that if from -a selfish point of view if not from a Christian standpoint, it were -not better to encourage the work of Miss Schofield. She was not an -ignorant woman, but on the contrary highly intellectual, and although -but superficially educated was well enough informed to know that the -Negro was here and here, perhaps, to stay. “Then why,” she silently -asked herself, “would not one’s greatest defense and security be more -certainly attained in the development of the intellectual and moral -powers of the race?” She had been teaching all her life that to give -was more blessed than to receive; then why not give to the needy Negro -right at her door? Why not stimulate and encourage every effort being -made to convert him into a useful and intelligent citizen? His labor -she knew, even though his hands and face were black, would be worth -a thousand per cent. more if it were skilled. Besides, that thought -of blessings being twice blest—“blessing him that gives and him that -takes”—continually haunted her.</p> - -<p>Such a marked change was apparent in her attitude toward foreign -missions at the next meeting of her society after Miss Schofield’s -visit that her fidelity to the cause was severely questioned by others -of the faithful, from whom she concealed well the cause of her new -devotion to the home missionary field. She told them that they should -seek to do all they could for the heathen in foreign lands but that -their ability to extend their usefulness in that direction was now -limited by the newly enforced political and social conditions at home. -She suggested that the society consider the matter of expending as much -of its funds at home as abroad, elaborating upon the great necessity -for the industrial training of the Negro, and the education of the -thousands of white children in this country, whose school term at the -time was not in excess of three months out of twelve, for want of funds.</p> - -<p>This met the approval of all members, as all of Mrs. Dodson’s -propositions usually did, and a resolution setting<span class="pagenum" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</span> forth the fact -that the sentiment of the Mary Magdalene Society of the First Baptist -Church of Lick Skillet was in favor of the equal division of the funds -between the Foreign and Home Mission Boards of the National Missionary -Association was unanimously passed.</p> - -<p>A few days later Allen Dodson accompanied by Millard, his son, called -at the Schofield school and expressed a desire to sign the petition -for the pardon of Leslie Duncan who had now begun serving the third of -a five year sentence given him for stabbing <abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> Dodson’s little son, -Willie.</p> - -<p>This completed the requirements of the pardoning board, and as soon as -their signatures were affixed the document was sent by Miss Schofield -to the governor who immediately ordered the prisoner released.</p> - -<p>Hundreds of instances might be mentioned where this great woman took -the burdens of others on herself at times when she was already over -burdened with her own work, and rendered them a service which could not -possibly have been accomplished without her aid.</p> - -<p>When Leslie appeared at the Schofield school after his release from -prison to thank Miss Schofield for her kindness to him and to claim -Matilda for his wife, Miss Schofield ordered him arrested on the charge -docketed by the Judge at the time of his former conviction, that of a -breach of contract.</p> - -<p>When the trial was called the Dodson family failed to appear against -the prisoner and the prosecution was abandoned.</p> - -<p>Thus through the power and magnetism of Miss Schofield, was the -influence and good-will of a large and influential white family secured -for the benefit of the Negro population of Lick Skillet neighborhood, -at least.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XIV">CHAPTER XIV.<br /><span class="small"><span class="smcap">Lynching of Negroes.</span></span></h2> -</div> - - -<p>Miss Schofield had great confidence in the ultimate conversion of the -white people of the South to the cause which she represented and looked -to the support of her work by them as one of the essentials to the -achievements of the highest success. She, however, went about securing -the cooperation of the whites in a manner entirely different from the -means employed by Booker T. Washington in accomplishing the same end. -She drew attention of the white people to the necessity for her work -by making them mad; by expressing to them the inconsistencies of their -position on the race question and demonstrating to them the hypocrisy -of their actions, she caused a great deal to be done for the Negroes -that would have been delayed for years had more persuasive measures -been taken to reach them. She told the Christian missionary workers -that the presence of the Negroes here provided the best means possible -for them to show by actual demonstration rather than by words of -mouth, tongue or pen, that Christianity was literally and figuratively -true. That it really did mean the showering of blessings on men of all -kinds and races. “If the Negro is an enemy” she told them, “show the -benighted heathen here and carry the message to his friends in China -that thee love thine enemy. By your actions before his eyes here in -this country prove to him that thee are the people that tell the truth; -that Christians will not take advantage of even Negroes; that thee -are patient, kind and generous in thy dealings with that part of thy -own population that is ignorant and benighted. Above all prove to him -by thy treatment of the Negro that thee has no prejudice on account -of race, color or previous condition of servitude. Let them see by -thy relation to the Negroes that thee looks upon mankind as brethren, -indeed, in whose service thee are not only willing to work but to -suffer for the good thee may do not alone to the Negro but to the -heathen as well.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</span></p> - -<p>She went to the intelligent, cultured white people, leaders of the -churches, schools and Southern civilization itself, all that she -could reach, and told them plainly and bluntly that any course other -than that outlined would surely bring Christianity into disrepute, -especially if they themselves approved a different course, or permitted -a different course to be pursued without their protest. She showed them -their responsibility and their duty both as a Christian and a member of -civilized society, and left them without a single prop upon which to -stand in defense of the position taken to keep the Negro down.</p> - -<p>Having no patience with anyone who for gain would sacrifice -righteousness or who would not suffer pain that justice be done she was -rather uncharitable in her criticisms of the Southern white people. -But the sternness and rough, rugged honesty and sincerity she used -in expressing her convictions appealed to them, as they are a people -essentially frank in their manners and actions. One of the great men -in the United States Senate from the South has won and retained the -respect of the people of the whole country by reason of his frankness -on this question of race prejudice. His radicalism is common to most of -the people of the South and seeing this characteristic of the people, -Miss Schofield pandered to it early in her work and drew to herself a -large measure and esteem and respect that could have been earned in no -other way. She made people respect her by respecting herself in holding -fast to her conception of the principles of honesty.</p> - -<p>Miss Schofield was not less severe on the people of the North than -of the South in her arraignment of the prostitution of the power of -government in permitting the commission of outrages and injustices to -go unpunished. In assailing the sin of race prejudice and hypocrisy in -the Southern people she was assailing with equal force the same thing -wherever it existed and as it is more prevalent at the North that -section of the country really received the burden of her denunciation.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</span> -The fact that the power to punish the crimes against the Negro race lay -in the hands of the people of the North but was seldom exercised, gave -her greater cause for denouncing her folks, which she did unmercifully. -She felt that the crime of lynching Negroes could be largely suppressed -by the Federal authorities and was not reluctant in advocating the -intercession of the general government in the enforcement of the -Federal statutes guaranteeing every citizen the protection of life -and liberty, even if “States’ Rights” were trampled under foot. Being -absolutely honest in all her promises she did not look for dishonesty -in others, especially not in the people of the North who had spilled so -much blood and expended hundreds of millions of dollars in extending -the guarantee of life, freedom and liberty to the Negroes. Their -failure to make their promises in this matter good was shocking to her -sense of honor and inspired her greatest contempt.</p> - -<p>In words of eloquence, made eloquent by both the truth in them and the -manner of delivery, she told the people of the North that the rights of -man rose above the rights of state government as the Alps rise above -the valleys; that government, both state and national, is only good in -so far as it respects and protects human rights. “If a state government -fails to measure up to its duty in its functions affecting the most -vital rights of the people,” said she in an address in the North, “then -it becomes the duty of the general government to interfere. If the -latter likewise fails then it is the duty of the people to overthrow -it, not, indeed, by powder and shot and shell but by the votes of -citizens.</p> - -<p>“But in the South thousands and thousands entitled to vote under -authority of the general government are disfranchised; their rights are -not being respected by either the general government or the state. If -this is permitted to continue thee can not respect thyself, much less -expect those perpetrating the fraud to respect thee. During the last -quarter of a century the number of deaths at the hands of mobs in this -country has averaged<span class="pagenum" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</span> 184 annually, eighty to ninety per cent. of which -has occurred in the South.</p> - -<p>“Can thee respect thyself or expect the respect of the Southerners if -these crimes are allowed to go unpunished?</p> - -<p>“If the government of the several States were sincere in the -representations of their attempt at government that would not be any -excuse for no action being taken by the general government. Failure to -govern is alone sufficient for action.</p> - -<p>“We can not permit incompetency to triumph on the basis that the rulers -of the South are sincere in their attempts at law enforcement. Too much -emphasis can not be laid on this fact. Respect for the law must be -demanded and enforced at all hazards.</p> - -<p>“The spread of lynch law all over the land may be looked for if this is -done.”</p> - -<p>How prophetic these words uttered years ago as the records kept will -show.</p> - -<p>Before the war and immediately after, Negroes were now and then put to -death but the law was generally allowed to take its course.</p> - -<p>For rape or attempted rape there were only four Negroes lynched between -the years 1830 and 1840. It was not until 1850 to 1860 that lynch law -attained any high degree of danger to the success of free government. -Out of forty-six Negroes put to death during this time, twenty-six were -lynched and twenty legally executed. Nine of those destroyed by mobs -were burned at the stake. The crimes with which they were charged were -murders of owners and overseers. It does not appear that rape, which is -now made the cause of nearly every lynching was very frequent before -the war.</p> - -<p>It has become the cause or the alleged cause of mob violence only since -the year 1871 to any great extent.</p> - -<p>Had Martha Schofield’s suggestion, for the interference of the national -government in the enforcement of the laws of the country wherever the -State proved inefficient to do so been adopted and put into practice, -the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</span> shame and disgrace which now attaches to American civilization -would have no basis or foundation. There would not be as many orphans -as there are; there would not be the humiliation and injustices that -there are; neither would there be the poverty and misery among the -blacks and whites that there are.</p> - -<p>The remissness of the national government to supervise wisely the -execution of the laws has permitted the officials to do what they -accuse the Negro of desiring to do, to take a foot for every inch and -a mile for every yard; Discriminatory laws affecting the most vital -interest of the colored race have been enacted and generally enforced -without the suggestion of a protest from the federal authorities, and -many of the national laws that enforced would give great relief to the -oppressed are apparently “dead letters,” so far as their practical -application is concerned.</p> - -<p>In 1885 there were 184 people lynched in this country, 106 white and -78 colored. Ten years later mobs murdered 112 Negroes and 56 whites; -in 1892, 100 whites and 155 blacks, making a total of 255. The year -following exactly 200 were lynched. In 1905 two were burned at the -stake. In 1906 civilized Atlanta, <abbr title="Georgia">Ga.</abbr> murdered 28 in one night.</p> - -<p>Less than one-third of these lynchings, nearly all of which occurred in -the Southern States, were for the alleged crime of rape. No offense at -all had been committed by anyone of those mobbed in Atlanta in 1906.</p> - -<p>In the Atlanta riot no attempt was made by any of the rioters to -conceal their identity. They slew every Negro in sight openly and -before the eyes of the officers charged with the enforcement of the -laws against disorderly conduct and murder, yet not a single individual -of the mob was ever punished. The governor of the State took no action -to apprehend the guilty and execute the laws he had sworn to uphold and -execute.</p> - -<p>At Statesboro, <abbr title="Georgia">Ga.</abbr>, in 1905, the boldness of the mob was only exceeded -by the heinousness of the crime committed. Two negroes being tried -for murder under<span class="pagenum" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</span> guard of a company of State militia soldiers, were -removed from the court room during the progress of the trial and burned -at the stake.</p> - -<p>Although the sheriff of the county and every officer of the law in that -section knew personally numbers of the mob no prosecution was ever -attempted by them.</p> - -<p>During the winter of 1916 five Negro prisoners were taken from the -county jail at Sylvester, <abbr title="Georgia">Ga.</abbr> and hanged to the same tree. Later the -criminal who committed the crime for which the five were lynched was -also summarily put to death.</p> - -<p>Six lives of Negroes, five of whom were in no wise connected with the -crime for which vengeance was wreaked, in retaliation for the life of -one white man!</p> - -<p>The case has too many parallels for recitation here.</p> - -<p>In none of the open, undisguised atrocious crimes against the blacks is -prosecution even remotely probable.</p> - -<p>With like impunity are almost all the laws respecting the welfare of -the Negro violated throughout the Southern States. Especially notable -are the violations of the act to make effective the Fifteenth Amendment -to the Constitution of the United States adopted by Congress May 31, -1870.</p> - -<p>This act declares, that all citizens who are or shall become qualified -by law to vote at any election shall not be denied the right to vote -at all elections, on account of race, color or previous condition of -servitude, by any constitution, law, custom, usage or regulation any -State or territory may make.</p> - -<p>Various subterfuges in the guise of law are resorted to in the effort -to disqualify the Negroes, but as the race is becoming able to qualify -rapidly discrimination in the application of the registration laws are -openly admitted by the authorities.</p> - -<p>All the laws for qualification of voters contemplate the qualification -of a sufficient majority of the whites as to make the Negro a nullity -in the elections, and this even in those communities where the Negroes -out-number<span class="pagenum" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</span> in population and wealth the whites by large majorities.</p> - -<p>There are tax tests, property tests, educational tests, grand-father -clauses and understanding and character clauses. Of course under -the educational tests such requirements as a constitutional lawyer -might not be able to meet could be made with the same facility that -requirements which a fifteen year old boy could meet are made. The -former requirements are for the educated and ignorant Negroes alike, -while the latter, if occasion demands it, are for the whites of all -degrees of intelligence. The intention of all the laws regulating the -registration of voters is to disqualify as many Negroes as possible. No -attempt is made to conceal the true intent of the laws by their authors -or by those charged with the duty of their application.</p> - -<p>There are members of the United States Senate owing their elevation -to the disfranchisement laws of the Southern States who will not -only acknowledge that their States are nullifying some of the acts -of Congress but boast that they have done so and defy the executive -department of the government to interfere.</p> - -<p>Miss Schofield was greatly affected by the tendency of the government -to ignore its solemn duty respecting the enforcement of many of the -acts intended to degrade and humiliate the Negro race, because she said -it could mean only the degradation and humiliation of all mankind. -Vanderbilt and Rockefeller in their palaces of gold, she maintained, -had no more right to protection than the humblest Negro in his little -log hut. Humanity with her was a sacred thing and she believed in -protecting it. She looked to the exercise of the franchise as the only -means of securing this protection, and when she saw the right to it -being stolen openly and the theft acknowledged and the court defied to -do its worst by the guilty themselves, no wonder her confidence of the -manhood in men was seriously shocked.</p> - -<p>But she never ceased to hope nor ever lost an opportunity to fight for -the rights which she demanded of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</span> government for all men. One of -the proposals to minimize the number of lynchings, original with her, -is now a statute of some of the States. It makes the county in which -the lynching of a person occurs liable to the members of the deceased -family for his or her loss, and recovery may be had by action in the -courts. Another important measure advocated strenuously by her was the -reduction in the representatives in Congress from those States limiting -the suffrage of its citizens.</p> - -<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img001j"> - <img src="images/001.jpg" class="w5" alt="book icon" /> -</span></p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XV">CHAPTER XV.<br /><span class="small"><span class="smcap">National Segregation of Negro.</span></span></h2> -</div> - - - -<p>Miss Schofield was most solicitous concerning the future difficulties -which the Negro problem would occasion when the colored race reaches -that stage of development when requests as are made at the present -time for certain rights become demands which can not be ignored or -disposed of by trickery and hypocritical legislation. As she was in -advance of her time about thirty years in valuing the importance of -industrial training for the Negro, and as early as 1890 was teaching -and practicing the principles of hygiene and sanitation as they are now -in force by the United States government at the Army and Navy stations, -in the camps and homes of its employees wherever governmental authority -extends, so she saw that the Negro will not always be satisfied with -whatever his white friends chose to give him. She felt and believed -that enlightenment, through education, the day would come when the -Negro would be controlled only by according to him every right to which -he may be entitled, and had great confidence that education also would -so improve the intelligence and morals of the white people that they -would have too much respect for their own manhood to prostitute it by -declining to grant absolute justice to the race.</p> - -<p>Upon the enlightenment of both races she depended absolutely for the -fulfillment of that divine declaration of 1776, which declared that all -men are created free and equal. She relied upon it wholly for making -the war between the States worth its cost in blood and treasury; and -considered that her work would prove in vain if it did not prepare the -Negro for the highest responsibilities of life and create within him an -unconquerable desire to assume them.</p> - -<p>She maintained that man’s highest development could be achieved only by -holding out to him rewards commensurate with the industry necessary for -his development. This principle in political economy she asserted,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</span> was -responsible for the antagonism of plutocracy to the education of the -masses.</p> - -<p>As her work, to which she was called by God as she sincerely believed -and as the author whom she reared from a little child and educated as -sincerely believes, was among the latter, plutocracy was, of course, -the most frightful monster to be encountered and overcome. But overcome -it must be at all hazards in the philosophy of Martha Schofield, and -education instead of violence she taught was the weapon for that -purpose.</p> - -<p>The doctrine that by imparting to the colored man the knowledge which -the white man has gained by laborious processes and the painful travail -of centuries would stir ambitions, passions and new emotions in the -colored race which would cause the Negro to refuse to submit to the -domination of the white race was preached by her, and she dreamed -dreams and formed plans for the solution of the problem that it is -expected will arise in the final struggle of the Negro for complete -and absolute justice under the flag of the republic. It was her most -earnest desire that the two races occupy, if possible, one common -country as they are now doing but on terms of perfect equality in the -pursuit of happiness and the accumulation of wealth, which means an -equal division with the Negroes of everything produced for the common -good through the united strength and action of the masses. It also -demands the same freedom of action for the Negroes in the exercise of -every function of a citizen that is allowed the whites and contemplates -their assimilation in the political life of the nation to the extent -of their being eligible to the highest office of trust without regard -to any qualification other than that of all citizens. Of course, it -is worse than useless to say that the demand carries with it the -observance of every principle of equality before the law without -discrimination on account of race or color. The reservation of the -right to impose restrictions on account of race in the application of -the laws, customs and usages enacted to regulate the control of all -would mean the surrender<span class="pagenum" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</span> of the basis upon which rests the fundamental -guarantee of certain rights without which no government could or should -be acceptable to men of any manhood or courage.</p> - -<p>Failing in the effort to live together on terms of reasonable -compatibility, such as would conduce to the betterment of each race -in all intellectual, moral and political aspirations, Miss Schofield -advocated for the colored people segregation in a state or territory -of its own, in which only people of color or those as now defined by -national authority as Negroes, might become citizens.</p> - -<p>This plan is made practicable, she thought by the right of Eminent -Domain which the government retains to itself in the final acquisition -and possession of territory through the means of condemnatory -proceedings which certain contingencies might make imperative in the -interest of the public weal.</p> - -<p>Under authority of Congress the Secretary of the Interior might acquire -by purchase through peaceable transfer, if possible, or if necessary -through condemnation proceedings a territory of sufficient area to -settle the entire colored race for all time and place it under a -territorial form of government until such time as statehood might be -considered more feasible. In this territory only could a Negro become -a sovereign citizen with the rights of a citizen which now belong to -any person residing in any of the States of the Union and complying -with the requirements regulating citizenship. White men who remained -in the territory could under no circumstances become a sovereign -citizen. Only the Negroes should be allowed to vote or hold office. -They should be allowed all the benefits and privileges that citizens of -a constitutional state now enjoy, being represented in Congress on the -same basis that any State is now represented.</p> - -<p>No person, either white or colored, should be forced to move in or out -of Negroland, except through deportation for offenses such as are now -punished by exile.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</span> This would leave it optional with the Negro to live -wherever he wished and still be under the protection of the United -States flag and give the whites of the country a similar choice. If -the Negro choose to remain in the States of the white man he would be -at liberty to do so, but under no circumstances could he be allowed to -perform the duties of a sovereign. The white men in Negroland would -not be allowed to vote in that State on the same principle that a -Georgian is not qualified to vote in Oregon; and a Negro living in -South Carolina would not be allowed to vote in that State on the same -principle that a white man is disqualified from voting at an election -in Negroland.</p> - -<p>It might be argued against this plan for the final settlement of the -Race Question that it is not only revolutionary but confiscatory in -that it seeks to deprive the white citizens of the territory to be -created into a Negroland, of their property without their consent. In -answer to this, reply should be made that it contains no more elements -of a confiscatory nature that the common every-day application of the -laws now in force for the condemnation of property in the construction -of railways and the opening up of public highways.</p> - -<p>That the public demands are sufficient to justify the extension of this -law, even if it is undemocratic, to include the purchase of a wide -area of territory is seen in the continued persecution of the Negro on -account of his color, and the growing resentment of the race at the -open discrimination practiced by the whites of all sections. It is more -likely that the causes for the friction between the races will multiply -rather than decrease as each becomes wiser, unless it were possible to -make angels of men on earth as well as in Heaven.</p> - -<p>The whites of the South by a large and increasing majority make no -pretense at the determination of that race to keep the Negro down -politically, at least; they depend upon their ability to do this as the -only means of continuing themselves in power. When the Negro demands a -share in the affairs of the government as he<span class="pagenum" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</span> inevitably will and most -assuredly should do, then will come concrete examples which will not -only justify the separation of the two peoples through some plan of -segregation, but make their separation imperative.</p> - -<p>The climax of the antagonism, which may be dissipated by separating -the two peoples, will be reached when the Negro shall not only demand -but force the constituted authorities to grant absolute equality in -the administration of justice; when he shall not only demand the right -to vote, to sit on juries and represent his country in its legislative -deliberations and actions but shall force his rights in these premises.</p> - -<p>The determination of the white people now is to dominate predominately, -and in all human probability this determination is to become intensely -more fixed, even at the cost of their lives, their fortunes and their -honor; while the Negroes will be equally determined, after equal -fitness with the white man for the performance of the duties of -citizenship, so determined that no power on earth or Heaven except -extermination shall deny them certain inalienable rights which all -instruction teaches them are cheap at any sacrifice. They will never -assimilate Patrick Henry’s great speech until they are ready to act -it. They can never act it until they are ready to accept death rather -than slavery. Without the patriotism and love of liberty inspiring this -immortal Virginian they can never develop the ideal that is in them.</p> - -<p>Who would smother the ideals and aspirations of any race does so at -the expense of their immortal souls. God could not be just unless -He protected the emotions of human beings with the same degree of -efficiency with which He protected the organs within them. Protecting -the brain is a mass of bone and fiber; in front and behind the heart -and lungs, are breastworks of superior construction, and around the -longings and aspirations of the human heart are the bulwarks of -self-condemnation and eternal damnation for any man or race of men who -desecrate those sacred chambers by closing the opportunities for their -development.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</span></p> - -<p>It may be argued that if this psychological law is true in practice -the necessity for segregation exists in the imagination only—that the -Race Problem will solve itself on the principle of self preservation -and self interest if let alone and given time. The trouble with this -argument is that it fails to take into account the value of the most -effective means of preserving the integrity of both races. If God -in His wisdom contemplated the commingling of races never before in -physical touch it was for a temporary period only, each race, in -the meantime, being endowed with reason sufficient to find a common -solution for the evils which the Creator knew physical contact would -produce.</p> - -<p>That solution is segregation. It offers intact all the advantages which -the opportunities of life among a highly civilized race create without -the demoralizing and humiliating influences at work on account of race -prejudice. It frees the whites and Negroes alike and enlarges the -opportunities for the development of each race, under a common flag, -that will no longer be under the necessity of polluting the pure air of -Heaven by withholding its protection from among even the humblest of -its citizens.</p> - -<p>We often hear it said that the Negro is not yet ready for -self-government, that he has not the fitness yet to govern under a -territorial form of government; but less intelligent and far inferior -races are at this time governing themselves. Were the Cubans as capable -of self-government as the Negroes are now when the government of Cuba -was assumed by them? Did not the United States Government entrust the -Indians with a measure of self-government when the Indian territory -was created and this race was settled in the West? There is no nation -south of the United States with the possible exception of Brazil whose -citizens have the intelligence and efficiency of the Negroes of North -America for self-government. Besides, under the plan for segregation -a territorial form of government is proposed until such time as -statehood is more desirable. While the Negroes<span class="pagenum" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</span> are being prepared for -controlling their own affairs government under territorial laws would -make life safe and insure equal rights to all. At least, the government -of the territory, it is safe to say, would not be worse than the -government obtained in the Southern States today.</p> - -<p>But the Negro race is entirely capable at this time of managing its own -affairs, supervised by a wise and just administration at Washington.</p> - -<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img001k"> - <img src="images/001.jpg" class="w5" alt="book icon" /> -</span></p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XVI">CHAPTER XVI.<br /><span class="small"><span class="smcap">Efficiency of Negro.</span></span></h2> -</div> - - - -<p>The records of the conduct of Negroes in office, with the exception of -the rascality of those in power in the South during the Reconstruction -Period, are creditable indeed, to the race from which they sprang. -Responsibility for the scandals attaching to the rule of the race in -some of the Southern States directly after the war are chargeable -not to the Negro but to the corruption of the white men who imposed -on the Negro by taking advantage of his ignorance and making him the -cat’s paw with which they attempted to extricate themselves from many -difficulties without the stain of dishonor.</p> - -<p>The first Negroes to become members of the legislature of any State -in the Union were Edward G. Walker and Charles L. Mitchell of -Massachusetts in 1866. The records show they discharged their duties -with intelligence and honor.</p> - -<p>The first holding a position under appointment by the government was -Ebenezer Don Carlos Bassett of Philadelphia who was appointed minister -resident and consul general to the government of Hayti in 1869.</p> - -<p>He was an educated Negro of great ability and was engaged in teaching -for many years. The “Hand Book of Hayti,” of which he was the author, -has been translated into many languages.</p> - -<p>He was a member of the American Geographical Society and of the -Connecticut Historical Society.</p> - -<p>The number of colored officers, clerks and other employees in the -service of the United States Government at the present time is 22,440 -with salaries aggregating an annual income of $12,456,760.00.</p> - -<p>The qualification of the large majority of these employees was tested -under civil service rules and so it is seen this large number got into -the service through merit alone.</p> - -<p>Out of a population of 12,000,000 people, with a force of 20,000 -trained in the government of the country it is<span class="pagenum" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</span> idle to assume a -sufficient number for the proper administration of the laws of the -territory could not be secured.</p> - -<p>In the matter of military genius and personal bravery as well as in -preparation for statesmanship by reason of education and patriotism the -records show the Negro to be well equipped.</p> - -<p>There are eleven colored officers in the regular army of the United -States at the present time. Three Negroes have been graduated from West -Point.</p> - -<p>At the order of the government for service in Mexico, the first to go -to the front in search of Villa and his bandits was the Tenth cavalry -composed of Negroes which has distinguished itself for service in this -punitive expedition as it distinguished itself at the battle of Las -Guasimas in Cuba when it came to the rescue of Colonel Roosevelt and -his Rough Riders.</p> - -<p>The first to go to the front in the Spanish-American War, in 1898, were -the four NEGRO regiments, the Tenth Cavalry, the Twenty-fifth Infantry, -which took a prominent part in the battle of El Caney, the Ninth -Cavalry, which with the Twenty-fourth Infantry and the Tenth Cavalry, -rendered heroic service in the battle of San Juan Hill. The Ninth and -Tenth Cavalry have the reputation of being the best Indian fighters in -the United States Army.</p> - -<p>It does not appear from the records of the Military Secretary at -Washington that the Negro is lacking in any essential quality for the -performance of the duty of a soldier.</p> - -<p>The people of that section of the country where most of the argument -against his ability as a soldier originates were quite willing enough -to enlist him in the Confederate States Army, or that portion of the -race which had been made free previous to the Emancipation Proclamation.</p> - -<p>In 1864 the Confederate Congress, at Richmond, passed an act making all -male Negroes, with certain exceptions, between the ages of eighteen and -fifty liable<span class="pagenum" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</span> for the performance of such duties in the Confederate -Army, in the way of work in connection with the military defenses as -the Secretary of War might prescribe, and provided for them in rations, -clothing and compensation. Provision was also made at the same time for -the employment of 20,000 Negro slaves for similar duty by the Secretary -of War.</p> - -<p>In November, 1861, at a review of 28,000 Confederate troops in New -Orleans, one of the most prominent regiments was colored, consisting -of 1,400 free Negroes. The members of the companies comprising this -regiment according to The Picayune of that city, supplied themselves -with arms without aid from the Confederate Government.</p> - -<p>The worst that can be said against this regiment is that it existed at -all for the defense of a government that sought to continue its members -in perpetual slavery.</p> - -<p>Nearly 200,000 Negro soldiers were employed in the United States Army -in the Civil War. These formed 161 regiments of which 141 were infantry -or cavalry, 12 heavy artillery and 1 light artillery.</p> - -<p>The Negro troops fought gloriously in many of the bloodiest battles -of the war. Among the engagements in which they were particularly -distinguished for bravery and heroism were the battles of Milliken’s -Bend on the Mississippi River near Vicksburg, in July 1863, the -assault on Port Hudson near Baton Rouge, La., in 1863, at Fort Wagner, -a Charleston, <abbr title="South Carolina">S. C.</abbr>, defence, in 1863, and at all the assaults on -Petersburg, <abbr title="Virginia">Va.</abbr>, in 1864 as well as in the battle of Nashville, Tenn., -fought in December 1864.</p> - -<p>In the Revolutionary War as well as in the War of 1812, Negroes were -enlisted and served with such distinction in the latter as to inspire -the following address by General Andrew Jackson, afterwards President -of the United States.</p> - -<p>“To the men of color—Soldiers: I knew before your enlistment that you -could endure the hardships of hunger<span class="pagenum" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</span> and thirst and brave the dangers -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 have -surpassed my hopes. I have found in you, united to these qualities, -that noble enthusiasm which impels to great deeds.</p> - -<p>“Soldiers! The President of the United States shall be informed of your -conduct on the present occasion; and the voices of the Representatives -of the American nation shall applaud your valor as your General now -praises your ardor.”</p> - -<p>It was the distinguished service of two battalions of 500 Negroes that -elicited this eulogy from the Commander in Chief of the forces engaged -in the second war with England.</p> - -<p>Commodore Perry used equally forcible language in his praise of the -bravery and conduct of the Negroes under his command at the battle -of Lake Erie. He said that Negro soldiers seemed to be absolutely -insensible to danger.</p> - -<p>There were about 3,000 Negroes employed in the Revolutionary War by -General Washington. An equal or greater number were employed by the -British.</p> - -<p>Some of the most heroic deeds of the war for Independence were -performed by the men of color. Major Pitcairn, in charge of the British -forces at the battle of Bunker Hill, was killed by a Negro named Peter -Salem. A petition was drawn by some of the principal officers of the -American Army to secure recognition by the Massachusetts Colony for -Solomon Poor, a Negro, for distinguished service at the battle of -Bunker Hill. Crispus Attucks, a Negro, was the first American to become -a martyr in the Boston massacre.</p> - -<p>The Black Legion of Count D’Estaing saved the defeated American and -French Army from complete annihilation at the siege of Savannah on -October 9, 1779, by covering the retreat and repulsing the charge of -the British.</p> - -<p>In every war fought on American soil, the Negroes<span class="pagenum" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</span> whenever allowed to -participate, have displayed a courage and heroism that is not only a -credit to the race but a credit to mankind.</p> - -<p>In poetry and literature, as well as war, the Negro has arisen to -distinction. Indeed, the first woman, either white or black, to attain -to literary distinction in this country was a Negro, a slave at that.</p> - -<p>She was Phyllis Wheatly of Boston, who wrote poems on various subjects, -religious and moral, of high literary value. One of the poems was -addressed to General Washington and was appreciated by him as reference -to it by him was made in a letter to Joseph Reed under date of February -10, 1776. Through the endorsement of several men distinguished in -literature her poems were collected and published in London under the -title, “Poems of Various Subjects, Religious and Moral, by Phyllis -Wheatly, a Negro Servant to <abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> John Wheatly of Boston, in New England.”</p> - -<p>Paul Lawrence Dunbar, born in 1872, was a noted Negro poet.</p> - -<p>William Stanley Braithwaite, author of “The Book of Georgian Verse” and -the reviewer of poetry appearing in the standard magazines is classed -among the geniuses of American verse writers.</p> - -<p>“A Little Dreaming” is a volume by Fenton Johnson of Chicago that has -been favorably commented on in this country and Europe.</p> - -<p>The most famous of the Negro Shakesperian scholars was Ira Aldridge -of Bel Air Maryland. He is said to have had no equal in the -personification of Othello, the Moor. He was awarded the Gold Medal -of the First Class for “Art and Science” by the King of Prussia, a -distinction that had never before been awarded to any but Humbolt, -Spentini, the composer and Liszt, the musician. His title in England -was that of “Royal Saxe Ernest House Order,” a title of higher degree -than that of “Sir” so much coveted in Britain. He was a member of the -Academy of Arts and Sciences of <abbr title="saint">St.</abbr> Petersburg.</p> - -<p>Bert Williams, another Negro actor, bears the distinction<span class="pagenum" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</span> of being the -“Greatest Comedian on the American Stage.”</p> - -<p>The inventive genius of the Negro is to be seen in the records of the -patent office at Washington. These show the application of a wide range -of inventive talent, including agricultural implements, in wood and -metal working machines, in land conveyances on road and steel rail -tracks, in ocean going vessels, in chemistry and chemical compounds, -in electricity in all its wide range of uses, in aereonautics, in new -designs of house furniture and bric-a-brac, in mechanical toys and -amusement devices.</p> - -<p>It is said that a Negro really invented the cotton gin, or gave to Ely -Whitney, who was the patentee of it, the suggestions which aided in the -completion of this invention. As early as 1834 a Negro, Henry Blair, of -Maryland, secured a patent on a corn harvester.</p> - -<p>Soon after the Dred Scott Decision in 1857 the Patent Office rendered a -decision that a Negro could not take out a patent on an invention, but -since 1862, when the decision was rescinded, no restrictions have been -placed on the use of the office by Negroes and a great number of useful -inventions have been patented by them.</p> - -<p>Robert Pelham, of Detroit, an employee in the Census Bureau, has -devised a machine that tabulates the statistics from the manufacturer’s -schedules in a way that displaces a dozen men in a given quantity -of work, doing the work economically, speedily and with faultless -precision. The returns in royalties from his invention, which is -patented, greatly exceeds the income <abbr title="mister">Mr.</abbr> Pelham receives from the -Government salary paid him for services in the office of the Census -Bureau.</p> - -<p>At the present time there are nearly 50,000 Negro business enterprises -of various kinds, some requiring a knowledge of banking, insurance, -manufacturing, undertaking and hospital training.</p> - -<p>The combined business of these enterprises total over one billion -dollars annually.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</span></p> - -<p>There are about 66 banks in all with a capital and surplus of over -$2,000,000.00.</p> - -<p>Reference elsewhere made in this book to the progress of the Negro -in farming operations indicates that he is advancing more rapidly -in agriculture than any of the other pursuits. In educational and -church work it is shown, also, that he is well prepared to take care -of himself should the separation of the races ever become a reality. -The church denominational statistics show there are about 40,000 -Negro Churches of Christ in America, with communicants numbering over -4,000,000. The value of Negro church property is about $60,000,000.00.</p> - -<p>From $200,000.00 to $250,000.00 is spent annually on home missions. -For foreign missions the race spends from $100,000.00 to $150,000.00 -annually.</p> - -<p>By every test or qualification and efficiency the Negro, in government, -in the science of war, in the art of agriculture, in manufacturing, -invention, medicine, law and literature is well prepared to assume the -government of his race in a territory of his own. This insures him the -same protection from the persecution and injustices of the stronger -race that enabled the latter to succeed so famously when they, too, -in the course of human events, found it necessary to dissolve the -political bonds that united them to a dominant authority that gave them -no justice.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="INCIDENTS_IN_MISS_SCHOFIELDS_LIFE">INCIDENTS IN MISS SCHOFIELD’S LIFE.</h2> -</div> - - -<p>Martha Schofield’s conception of an education included a great deal -more than the mere matter of acquiring a fund of knowledge. She -taught that knowledge without the ability to use it was worthless, -and inspired every one coming under her influence with the necessity -for a means of practicing what they were taught. This made her work -intensely practical and enabled her students to succeed in overcoming -difficulties as they saw her overcome them. The operation of her -school, including the farm, the store and boarding house dormitories -became a part of the curriculum and each student was provided with -practical, concrete examples of every day business life with a solution -for each worked out before the eyes of the whole school. The success -which has and is attending the efforts of her students in many lines -of endeavor is one of the best arguments we have to advance for the -extension of practical instruction, especially among the Negroes who -have evidenced a singular ability in assimilating it and imparting its -usefulness afterwards.</p> - -<p>While every Schofield scholar received a deep impression of the power -which knowledge gives no want of attention was directed to the evil -which invariably attends the wrong use of it. This developed a course -in moral philosophy which, it is to be supposed, is responsible -for the high average maintained by the graduates of this school in -the deportment of their lives. Not one of the many receiving their -education at the school has ever been convicted of crime or sentenced -to jail or servitude in a penal institution. This contradicts and -discredits the statement often heard that the education of the Negro -has been attended by an increase of crime among the members of the -race. While unsupported by the facts with regard to the students of -all other Negro schools the statement could have basis only in those -schools and colleges where the relation of morals to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</span> breeding is -ignored altogether or made of secondary importance only. Certain it is -that Martha Schofield impressed each one of her students with a higher -regard for truth and virtue than for anything else in this world.</p> - -<p>Without the morality to live and act honorably education to her was a -curse, and she had the faculty of making her students a co-partner with -her in sharing her convictions along lines of right conduct and moral -grandeur as well as excelling in efficiency in all the arts taught.</p> - -<p>Martha Schofield was impelled by a power in her heart which inspired -sympathy to give the very best of her life in help of the Negro. So she -was very particular in her work that what she imparted really should -inspire her disciples to think right and live right. This enforced the -necessity for a discipline that may be considered severe by some but -many are there today who bless her from the bottom of their hearts for -holding them strictly to account in their work that in the final result -they might be the possessors of a future worthy of the instruction -received at her hands. She never enforced iron-hand discipline without -the glove of charity and her advice always sparkled with such sincerity -and sympathy as to make it palatable.</p> - -<p>Not only was the work of Miss Schofield opposed by the antagonism of -race prejudice, but opposed by a want of a precedent. There were few -Negroes of education to refer to as examples of what education may be -expected to do for one with the intelligence and industry necessary -to acquire it. Only a few years before Miss Schofield began her work -the instruction of Negroes was made unlawful by some of the States -in the South and as a result the greatest ignorance prevailed among -them. Not five per cent. could either read or write and quite a number -possessed no Christian name at all. They lived principally in one room -cabins, whole families of them, and subsisted on the coarsest and most -unwholesome food imaginable. There was no respect anywhere for sanitary -science laws and all this had the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</span> effect to greatly handicap Miss -Schofield at the beginning of her effort.</p> - -<p>One of the rules of her school which she enforced early in her career -was that no child could enter school who did not have a name. As all -were eager to learn and made tremendous sacrifices that their children -might do so this rule produced a mild sensation among some of the older -people who had not the intuition to go about the work of obtaining a -name for their offspring. But the ruling finally served to obtain names -for all, and these in time became legal, some of them appearing just as -Martha Schofield gave them on the tax books to this very day.</p> - -<p>Perhaps the origin of the name Rahab Obedience, for many years an -employe in Miss Schofield’s room, was one among the most unique. -Accompanied by her child, who had been sent home the day before for -want of a name, Rahab called early one morning on Miss Schofield and -expressed great distress over the possibility of her not being able to -comply with the entrance regulations and keep her little boy in school.</p> - -<p>“Missus,” spoke Rahab, “Banjo be’n tellin’ me dat yo’ sais he mus’ hab -some trimmins’ ’fore he kin com’ to yo’ sc’ool an’ clear befo’ dee -Lawd, Missus, he aint got non’ ’side frum Banjo’ and hee jist caint git -non.’ Dat chile nebber aint had any daddy, Missus!”</p> - -<p>“Every child that enters this school” said Miss Schofield, “must have a -name or be given one, else we can not teach him. Perhaps, we may give -your son a name.</p> - -<p>“What is your name? All children without a father bear their mother’s -name.”</p> - -<p>“Mer name, Missus?” queried Rahab in surprise. “I be’n tinkink yo’ no’ -mer name lon’ time.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, I know; but what is your Christian name—the other part of your -name? Rahab who?”</p> - -<p>“O, yas’am, I ’noes w’at yo’ means now, but dats all de name I -habs—jest Rahab,” said the woman as she looked hopefully at Miss -Schofield for some means by<span class="pagenum" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</span> which a name could be found for her son -and he be allowed to remain in school.</p> - -<p>“Well, can’t you suggest some name for your son?” asked Miss Schofield. -“What name would you like for him to be known by?”</p> - -<p>“We’l Missus,” said Rahab, “mer old marster allus tol’ us dat Obedience -wus der bes trate in de karecter of a cullud pusson an’ so I bleeves -I’d jest lak to hab mer boi call’d Banjo Obedience.”</p> - -<p>“Very well,” replied Miss Schofield, “hereafter he shall be known as -Banjo Obedience and we shall know you as Rahab Obedience.”</p> - -<p>“Dat’s jest alritee ef Banjo kin cum ter sc’ool wid dat name. Don’t -care w’at yo’ cal’ ’em nor how much yo’ beats ’em jest so yo larns em -sometings, som’ gud man’ers lak he ole marster had.”</p> - -<p>In a very few days after this unusual interview Rahab herself was given -a position in the Schofield household where she was employed for many -years.</p> - -<p>Among all the mourners at the funeral none there were more deeply -affected by the passing of Miss Schofield than the servants of her -household.</p> - -<p>One of the most beautiful traits of Miss Schofield’s character is -to be seen in her treatment of the Negro servants in her employ. -The excellent service which “Aunt Amy” rendered to her gave her a -high appreciation of the Negro for domestic duties, and inspired the -sentiment now common over the country that the Southern white people -do not appreciate the value of Negro servants because they have never -had the dissatisfaction attending the employment of other domestics of -different nationality.</p> - -<p>“Aunt Ann,” another employe for thirty-five years, equally -distinguished the race by excelling in the art of domestic service. -Rahab Obedience, Darius Bauknight and Charlotte, all so well pleased -Miss Schofield with the quality and quantity of their services that -each received recognition in her Will.</p> - -<p>Martha Schofield was not only admired and loved by<span class="pagenum" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</span> all her students -and servants—she was idolized by them. Wherever she went in the South -or North she always found a number to do her honor, and honor shown her -by the humblest and lowest of the Negro race was to all appearances as -much appreciated as that shown by the great poets and writers, many of -whom knew her and delighted in showing her the respect which one great -mind has for another.</p> - -<p>Among the distinguished people who expressed a deep appreciation of her -strength of character and firmness of purpose in carrying on her work -was John G. Whittier, the Quaker Poet, who wrote her several pleasing -commendatory letters, and dedicated all his works to the spirit which -inspired her to carry on her work in the face of difficulties that -would have discouraged into inactivity anybody but Martha Schofield. -Other notable people who paid tribute to Miss Schofield were Lucretia -Mott, the distinguished reformer and Miss Francis Willard.</p> - -<p>At her home in Aiken she was highly respected for her strength of -character in holding fast to her convictions and for her intelligence -and absolute honesty.</p> - -<p>The following resolutions by the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union, a -white organization to which Miss Schofield belonged, were passed at a -recent session:</p> - - - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p class="center">“<span class="smcap">Resolutions.</span></p> - -<p class="right"> -“Aiken, <abbr title="South Carolina">S. C.</abbr>, April 17th, 1916.<br /> -</p> -<p>“<em>Whereas</em>, God, in His infinite wisdom, has seen fit to take -from us, our sister and earnest co-worker, Miss Martha Schofield; We, -the members of the W. C. T. U., Aiken, <abbr title="South Carolina">S. C.</abbr>, do hereby offer the -following resolutions:</p> - -<p>“1st. That in her passing away the W. C. T. U. has lost one of its -earnest workers.</p> - -<p>“2nd. That we extend to her neice and to her companion, Mrs. Taylor, -our deepest sympathy.</p> - -<p>“3rd. That a page in our Minute Book be inscribed to her memory.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</span></p> - -<p>“4th. That a copy of these resolutions be sent to her neice, to Mrs. -Taylor and to the County papers for publication.</p> - -<p class="right"> -<span class="smcap mr">Meta Summerall,</span><br /> -<span class="smcap mr">Hattie P. Hill,</span><br /> -<span class="smcap mr">Tweetie M. Carter,</span><br /> -Committee.”<br /> -</p> -</div> - - -<p>If one ever questioned whether the services of Miss Schofield were -appreciated by the colored people of Aiken all doubts must have been -removed by the demonstration of Negroes at the funeral on Monday, -February 3, and again on the same day as the casket was borne from the -Schofield home to the railroad station. The line of march included -over 1,000 school children and citizens and the mass was so great at -the train shed as to interfere with the movement of all traffic. As -the train moved off the citizens joined in the favorite song of the -lamented lady and sang so sadly and feelingly as to bring tears to the -eyes of all: “Steal Away, Steal Away to Jesus.”</p> - -<p>Among hundreds of telegrams, letters and personal messages received -at the school following the death of Miss Schofield, the latter are -typical:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>“I am here to give my testimony of the value of the life of Martha -Schofield to my race. She was one of the bravest, kindest women I -ever knew. It is true that Martha Schofield was a fighter. She dared -to contend for what she believed was right, but always took counsel, -weighed things carefully, and, when she took a stand that she believed -was right, believing she was right, there was no earthly power to -turn her from her course. Martha Schofield is not dead—she lives -in the memory of her students scattered all over South Carolina and -other States. She will live in the memory of their children and their -children’s children, for there are few colored homes in which her name -and deeds are not recounted in the family circle.”</p> - -<p class="right"> -<span class="smcap mr">Lucy Laney,</span><br /> -Principal Haines Institute, Augusta, <abbr title="Georgia">Ga.</abbr><br /> -</p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</span> - -<p>“In the death of Miss Martha Schofield the Negroes have lost a true -friend of long standing, and the cause of the great social uplift here -in the South has lost an earnest and effective worker.</p> - -<p>“Miss Schofield was my personal friend and adviser for many years. -I think she has accomplished a most unselfish life work and very -effective.”</p> - -<p class="right"> -<span class="smcap mr">Walter S. Buchanan,</span><br /> -<span class="mr">President Agricultural & Mechanical College,</span><br /> -Normal, Alabama.<br /> -</p> -</div> - - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>Miss Schofield did a valuable, a useful, a noble work for my race, -and I am glad so many of the colored people in Georgia and South -Carolina have joined in the general chorus of sorrow and sympathy -in consequence of her death. A hundred years from now, when the -history of the South shall be written anew, the brightest page in the -story will be that on which shall be recorded the lives, labor, and -sacrifices of the white men and women from the North who came into the -South directly after the war and brought the torch of civilization to -a freed race and taught them the way of truth and righteousness.</p> - -<p class="right"> -<span class="smcap mr"><abbr title="professor">Prof.</abbr> S. X. Floyd,</span><br /> -<span class="mr">Principal Gwinnett School,</span><br /> -Augusta, <abbr title="Georgia">Ga.</abbr><br /> -</p> -</div> - - -<p>The following resolution was unanimously adopted by the faculty of the -Schofield school, in respect to the memory of Miss Schofield:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>“<em>Resolved</em>, That the Schofield School most sorrowfully realizes -that in the translation of the spirit of this truly great woman, it -has sustained an irreparable loss. In the departure from our midst -of this illustrious character, we solemnly obligate ourselves to -ever reserve prominent places in our memories for the most worthy -example set before us by the founder and friend of the great work. The -greatest monument to the life of Miss<span class="pagenum" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</span> Schofield is the school which -bears her name. This most splendid plant, now in the flower of its -prosperity, marks the fruitful result of the untiring zeal and the -dauntless courage possessed, and the patient efforts put forth by the -Founder who so faithfully labored for and among the freedmen of our -community.”</p> -</div> - -<p class="center p2"><span class="figcenter" id="img001l"> - <img src="images/001.jpg" class="w5" alt="book icon" /> -</span></p> - -<hr class="x-ebookmaker-drop chap" /> -<div class="chapter transnote"> -<h2>Transcriber’s Notes</h2> - -<p>Page <a href="#Page_7">7</a>: “envitable civil conflict” changed to “inevitable civil -conflict”</p> - -<p>Page <a href="#Page_8">8</a>: “dsirable an end” changed to “desirable an end”</p> - -<p>Page <a href="#Page_10">10</a>: “moral degredation” changed to “moral degradation” “in immense -volumne” changed to “in immense volume” “pitted their poor brothers” -changed to “pitied their poor brothers”</p> - -<p>Page <a href="#Page_12">12</a>: “trenchent pen” changed to “trenchant pen”</p> - -<p>Page <a href="#Page_13">13</a>: “at Tuskeegee” changed to “at Tuskegee”</p> - -<p>Page <a href="#Page_17">17</a>: “life as made” changed to “life was made”</p> - -<p>Page <a href="#Page_18">18</a>: “Wadlamaw to Edisto” changed to “Wadmalaw to Edisto”</p> - -<p>Page <a href="#Page_19">19</a>: “instinct to enage” changed to “instinct to engage”</p> - -<p>Page <a href="#Page_20">20</a>: “Brightnesss of Martha’s Pupils.” changed to “Brightness of -Martha’s Pupils.” “Nothwithstanding” changed to “Notwithstanding”</p> - -<p>Page <a href="#Page_24">24</a>: “concluded trat” changed to “concluded that”</p> - -<p>Page <a href="#Page_27">27</a>: “on Februay” changed to “on February” “by the municipalites” -changed to “by the municipalities” “oustide influence” changed to -“outside influence”</p> - -<p>Page <a href="#Page_29">29</a>: “science is suppossed” changed to “science is supposed”</p> - -<p>Page <a href="#Page_31">31</a>: “phenominal rise” changed to “phenomenal rise”</p> - -<p>Page <a href="#Page_40">40</a>: “his dristrict” changed to “his district”</p> - -<p>Page <a href="#Page_41">41</a>: “had preceeded” changed to “had preceded”</p> - -<p>Page <a href="#Page_42">42</a>: “the communty” changed to “the community” “prompt and -preemptory” changed to “prompt and peremptory”</p> - -<p>Page <a href="#Page_44">44</a>: “precipitated the demorilization” changed to “precipitated the -demoralization”</p> - -<p>Page <a href="#Page_45">45</a>: “recognizing the advanage” changed to “recognizing the -advantage”</p> - -<p>Page <a href="#Page_46">46</a>: “Mackie Meriwether” changed to “Makie Meriwether”</p> - -<p>Page <a href="#Page_47">47</a>: “domoniac form” changed to “demoniac form” “most conspecious -part” changed to “most conspicuous part”</p> - -<p>Page <a href="#Page_48">48</a>: “which followd” changed to “which followed” “resulted in -Conress” changed to “resulted in Congress”</p> - -<p>Page <a href="#Page_49">49</a>: “firey speech” changed to “fiery speech”</p> - -<p>Page <a href="#Page_50">50</a>: “reign of lawlessnes” changed to “reign of lawlessness”</p> - -<p>Page <a href="#Page_52">52</a>: “gov-government’s” changed to “government’s?” “be arrainged” -changed to “be arraigned”</p> - -<p>Page <a href="#Page_53">53</a>: “wha was given” changed to “who was given”</p> - -<p>Page <a href="#Page_54">54</a>: “between the the” changed to “between the”</p> - -<p>Page <a href="#Page_56">56</a>: “the maurauders” changed to “the marauders”</p> - -<p>Page <a href="#Page_60">60</a>: “enconomic reasons” changed to “economic reasons”</p> - -<p>Page <a href="#Page_62">62</a>: “the enforcemnet” changed to “the enforcement”</p> - -<p>Page <a href="#Page_64">64</a>: “barbaraties of those” changed to “barbarities of those”</p> - -<p>Page <a href="#Page_66">66</a>: “disfranchisemnt laws” changed to “disfranchisement laws”</p> - -<p>Page <a href="#Page_67">67</a>: “that that” changed to “than that”</p> - -<p>Page <a href="#Page_69">69</a>: “althuogh” changed to “although”</p> - -<p>Page <a href="#Page_71">71</a>: “firmly deternmied” changed to “firmly determined” “ make him -Emporer” changed to “make him Emperor”</p> - -<p>Page <a href="#Page_72">72</a>: “his bethrothed” changed to “his betrothed” “his jounrey” -changed to “his journey”</p> - -<p>Page <a href="#Page_78">78</a>: “generousnes of God” changed to “generousness of God” -“stragetic ability” changed to “strategic ability”</p> - -<p>Page <a href="#Page_81">81</a>: “manuel of important information” changed to “manual of -important information”</p> - -<p>Page <a href="#Page_83">83</a>: “is phenominal” changed to “is phenomenal”</p> - -<p>Page <a href="#Page_87">87</a>: “inflamatory conditions” changed to “inflammatory conditions” -“she sympatized” changed to “she sympathized”</p> - -<p>Page <a href="#Page_89">89</a>: “compeling those responsible” changed to “compelling those -responsible”</p> - -<p>Page <a href="#Page_93">93</a>: “for off China” changed to “far off China” “espcially” changed -to “especially”</p> - -<p>Page <a href="#Page_95">95</a>: “well enough inwormed” changed to “well enough informed”</p> - -<p>Page <a href="#Page_97">97</a>: “own populatoin” changed to “own population”</p> - -<p>Page <a href="#Page_110">110</a>: “the fitnss” changed to “the fitness”</p> - -<p>Page <a href="#Page_115">115</a>: “seige of Savannah” changed to “siege of Savannah”</p> - -<p>Page <a href="#Page_116">116</a>: “the genuises” changed to “the geniuses”</p> - -<p>Page <a href="#Page_117">117</a>: “Patent Offce” changed to “Patent Office”</p> - -<p>Page <a href="#Page_120">120</a>: “her diciples” changed to “her disciples” “palatible” changed -to “palatable”</p> - -<p>Page <a href="#Page_123">123</a>: “Lucreta Mott” changed to “Lucretia Mott”</p> -</div> -<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MARTHA SCHOFIELD PIONEER NEGRO EDUCATOR ***</div> -<div style='text-align:left'> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will -be renamed. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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