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+<h1>The Project Gutenberg eBook of Hanover; Or The Persecution of the Lowly,
+by David Bryant Fulton</h1>
+<pre>
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at <a href = "http://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a></pre>
+<p>Title: Hanover; Or The Persecution of the Lowly</p>
+<p>       A Story of the Wilmington Massacre.</p>
+<p>Author: David Bryant Fulton</p>
+<p>Release Date: February 24, 2009  [eBook #28180]</p>
+<p>Language: English</p>
+<p>Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1</p>
+<p>***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HANOVER; OR THE PERSECUTION OF THE LOWLY***</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<h3>E-text prepared by Suzanne Shell, Carla Foust,<br />
+    and the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team<br />
+    (http://www.pgdp.net)</h3>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<div class="transnote">
+<h3>Transcriber's note</h3>
+<p> A Table of Contents has been created for this version.</p>
+<p>Minor punctuation errors have been corrected without notice. Printer's
+errors have been corrected, and they are indicated with
+a <a class="correction" title="like this" href="#tnotes">mouse-hover</a>
+and listed at the
+<a href="#tnotes">end of this book</a>. All other
+inconsistencies are as in the original. The author's spelling has been
+retained.
+</p>
+</div>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<hr class="full" />
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+
+<h1>HANOVER;<br />
+
+OR<br />
+
+THE PERSECUTION OF THE LOWLY.</h1>
+
+<p class="fm3">A Story of the Wilmington Massacre</p>
+
+<p><br /></p>
+<p class="fm4">BY</p>
+
+<p class="fm2">JACK THORNE</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+
+<p><br /></p>
+<p class="fm3">Published by M. C. L. Hill.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p class="center">Respectfully dedicated to<br />
+the eminent heroine<br />
+<span class="smcap">Ida B. Wells Barnett</span></p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<!-- Autogenerated TOC. Modify or delete as required. -->
+<p class="center">
+<a href="#NEGROES_FLEEING_FROM_WILMINGTON"><b>Negroes Fleeing From Wilmington.</b></a><br />
+<a href="#Introductory_Note"><b>Introductory Note.</b></a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_I"><b>CHAPTER I.</b></a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_II"><b>CHAPTER II.</b></a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_III"><b>CHAPTER III.</b></a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_IV"><b>CHAPTER IV.</b></a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_V"><b>CHAPTER V.</b></a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_VI"><b>CHAPTER VI.</b></a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_VII"><b>CHAPTER VII.</b></a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_VIII"><b>CHAPTER VIII.</b></a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_IX"><b>CHAPTER IX.</b></a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_X"><b>CHAPTER X.</b></a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_XI"><b>CHAPTER XI.</b></a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_XII"><b>CHAPTER XII.</b></a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_XIII"><b>CHAPTER XIII.</b></a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_XIV"><b>CHAPTER XIV.</b></a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_XV"><b>CHAPTER XV.</b></a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_XVI"><b>CHAPTER XVI.</b></a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_XVII"><b>CHAPTER XVII.</b></a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_XVIII"><b>CHAPTER XVIII.</b></a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_XIX"><b>CHAPTER XIX.</b></a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_XX"><b>CHAPTER XX.</b></a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_XXI"><b>CHAPTER XXI.</b></a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_XXII"><b>CHAPTER XXII.</b></a><br />
+<a href="#CHAPTER_XXIII"><b>CHAPTER XXIII.</b></a><br />
+<a href="#Mollys_Final_Step"><b>Molly's Final Step.</b></a><br />
+</p>
+<!-- End Autogenerated TOC. -->
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[3]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<h2><a name="NEGROES_FLEEING_FROM_WILMINGTON" id="NEGROES_FLEEING_FROM_WILMINGTON"></a>NEGROES FLEEING FROM WILMINGTON.</h2>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Driven out by Organized Bands of "Red Shirts." Obnoxious White Men Also
+Ordered to get out of Town. No Lynching Allowed. Mayor Waddell and his
+Police Prevent Further Killing. Rule of Whites now Prevail. Three
+Hundred Policemen Sworn in to Preserve Order&mdash;No Collision Between the
+Races Expected. No Trade at Wilmington.</span></p>
+
+<hr style="width: 35%;" />
+
+<p class="center">[Associated Press Market Report]</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Wilmington, N. C., Nov. 11.</span>&mdash;Spirits turpentine&mdash;Nothing doing.</p>
+
+<p>Rosin&mdash;Nothing doing.</p>
+
+<p>Crude turpentine&mdash;Nothing doing.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Wilmington, Nov. 11.</span>&mdash;With the killing of the Negroes yesterday the
+backbone of the trouble seems to have been broken. The authors of the
+tragedy have gone to their homes and the mob has disbanded as if in
+contempt of the gangs of Negroes who still hang about in the black
+quarters growling and threatening the whites.</p>
+
+<p>Law and order are gradually being restored; and those among the Negroes
+who feel resentment against the whites are afraid to show their true
+colors.</p>
+
+<p>Early this morning 300 resolute white men gathered at the Mayor's office
+and were sworn in as new policemen.</p>
+
+<p>Late last night half a hundred white citizens got together and planned a
+big lynching party which was to raid the city from centre to
+circumference to-day.</p>
+
+<p>There were six Negroes in jail who had been arrested during the
+excitement of the day, and who some people of the town thought should be
+summarily dispatched. One was a leader, Thomas Miller, who was charged
+with declaring that he would wash his hands in a white man's blood
+before night. Another was A. R. Bryant, charged with being a dangerous
+character; the others were less prominent, but had been under the ban of
+the whites for conduct calculated to incite trouble.</p>
+
+<p>Mayor Waddell and his associates put a veto upon the proposed lynching.
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[4]</a></span>They said that good government was to prevail in Wilmington from this
+time, and would commence immediately. The would-be lynchers were so
+insistent that the Mayor called out a guard and kept the jail surrounded
+all night. This morning the six Negroes were taken out and escorted to
+the north bound train by a detachment of militia, to be banished from
+the city. The citizens cheered as they saw them going, for they
+considered their departure conducive to peace in the future.</p>
+
+<p>G. Z. French, one of the county leaders, attempted to escape. He ran
+through the streets, but was overtaken at the depot by several members
+of the posse.</p>
+
+<p>A noose was thrown over his head and was drawn tightly around his neck.
+Gasping and half choked, he fell upon his knees, begging for his life.</p>
+
+
+<h3>NEGRO BEGS FOR LIFE.</h3>
+
+<p>"Do you solemnly promise that you will leave and never come back?" asked
+the leader of the posse.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, yes; yes. For God's sake, gentlemen, let me go, and I'll never come
+back any more!"</p>
+
+<p>The frightened wretch was allowed to go and crawled aboard the train,
+scared half to death.</p>
+
+<p>After finishing with French the "red shirts" made a raid on Justice
+Bunting's residence. He was away from home. The mob tore from the walls
+of his house the picture of his Negro wife and that of Bunting, and put
+them on exhibition on Market street.</p>
+
+<p>They were labelled: "R. H. Bunting, white," and "Mrs. R. H. Bunting,
+colored." From Bunting's residence the mob proceeded to the house of a
+Negro lawyer named Henderson. The hard-knuckled leader knocked at the
+door.
+"<a name="corr1" id="corr1"></a><a class="correction" href="#cn1" title="changed from 'Whose'">Who's</a>
+there?" came the query. "A white man and a friend," was the
+reply. Inside there was the deep silence of hesitation. "Open the door
+or we'll break it down," shouted the leader. Henderson, badly
+frightened, opened the door.</p>
+
+<p>"We want you to leave the city by 9 o'clock Sunday morning," said the
+leader.</p>
+
+<p>"All right," replied Henderson, "all I want is time enough to get my
+things in order."</p>
+
+<p>A Negro lawyer named Scott was also banished and left the city before
+morning.</p>
+
+<p>The Democrats hired one of Pinkerton's Negro detectives to associate
+with the Negroes several weeks, and his investigation, it is said,
+revealed that the two lawyers and the other Negroes mentioned were
+ringleaders, who were inciting their race to violence.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[5]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<h3>WHITE MEN MUST GO TOO.</h3>
+
+<p>The retiring chief of police, Magistrate R. H. Bunting, Charles H.
+Gilbert, Charles McAlister, all white Republicans, and many assertive
+Negroes, who are considered dangerous to the peace of the community, are
+now under guard and are to be banished from the city.</p>
+
+<p>The Negro Carter Peaman, who was exiled last night, got off the train
+several miles from the city and was shot dead.</p>
+
+<p>A report is current that John C. Dancy, the Negro United States
+Collector of Customs for this port, has been notified to leave the city
+and will be waited upon if orders are not summarily obeyed.</p>
+
+<p>The city is now under thorough military and police protection and there
+is no indication of further outbreaks.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 174px;">
+<img src="images/ornament01.png" width="174" height="56" alt="" title="" />
+</div>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[6]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<h2><a name="Introductory_Note" id="Introductory_Note"></a>Introductory Note.</h2>
+
+
+<p>On the Cape Fear River, about thirty miles from the East coast of North
+Carolina rests the beautiful city of Wilmington.</p>
+
+<p>Wilmington is the metropolis; the most important city of the old North
+State, and in fact, is one of the chief seaports of the Atlantic coast.
+The city lies on the East bank of the river, extending mainly Northward
+and Southward. Market Street, the centre and main thoroughfare of the
+city, wide and beautiful, begins at the river front and gradually climbs
+a hill Eastward, so persistently straight, that the first rays of a
+Summer's morning sun kiss the profusion of oak and cedar trees that
+border it; and the evening sun seems to linger in the Western heavens,
+loath to bid adieu to that foliage-covered crest.</p>
+
+<p>Wilmington is the Mecca for North Carolina's interior inhabitants who
+flock thither to breathe in its life-giving ocean breezes when Summer's
+torrid air becomes unbearable, and lazy Lawrence dances bewilderingly
+before the eyes. The Winter climate is temperate, but not congenial to
+Northern tourists, who like swallows, only alight there for a brief
+rest, and to look around on their journeying to and from the far South:
+yet Wilmington is cosmopolitan; There dwells the thrifty Yankee, the
+prosperous Jew, the patient and docile Negro, the enterprising, cunning
+and scrupulous German; and among her first families are the
+Scotch-Irish, descendants of the survivors of Culloden. Wilmington
+suckled children who rallied under Scott in Mexico, heard the
+thunderings at Monterey, and the immortal Alamo. When the civil strife
+of four years was nearing its close, when the enemies to the Union of
+States, sullen and vindictive, were retreating before an invading army,
+Wilmington, nestling behind Fort Fisher, one of the most formidable
+fortresses ever contrived, was shaken by some of the most terrific
+bombarding that ever took place on earth.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Then thronged the citizens with terror dumb<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Or Whispering with white lips, 'The foe! they come! they come!'"<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>Wilmington, the scene of one of the last desperate stands of a
+demoralized army, witnessed the "memorizing of Golgotha" as her sons
+desperately struggled to resist a conquering foe. In Oak Dale Cemetery
+on the Northeastern boundary of the city sleep a few of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[7]</a></span> principal
+actors in that tragedy. There rests noble James; there rests Colonel
+Hall&mdash;grand old Roman! I am glad he did not live to see the 10th of
+November, 1898, lest he should have been tempted to join that mob of
+misguided citizens whose deeds of cowardice plunged that city, noted for
+its equity, into an abyss of infamy. Southward from Oak Dale Cemetery
+awaiting the final reveille, are calmly sleeping not a few of that Grand
+Army who fell in the arms of victory at Fort Fisher.</p>
+
+<p>During the slave period, North Carolina could not be classed with South
+Carolina, Georgia, and other far Southern States in cruelty and
+inhumanity to its slave population; and in Wilmington and vicinity, the
+pillage of a victorious army, and the Reconstruction period were borne
+with resignation. Former master and freedman vied with each other in
+bringing order out of chaos, building up waste places, and recovering
+lost fortunes. Up to but a few years ago, the best feeling among the
+races prevailed in Wilmington; the Negro and his white brother walked
+their beats together on the police force; white and black aldermen,
+white mayor and black chief of police, white and black school
+committeemen sat together in council; white and black mechanics worked
+together on the same buildings, and at the same bench; white and black
+teachers taught in the same schools. Preachers, lawyers and physicians
+were cordial in their greetings one toward the other, and general
+good-feeling prevailed. Negroes worked, saved, bought lands and built
+houses. Old wooden meeting houses were torn down, and handsome brick
+churches went up in their places. Let the prejudiced scoffer say what he
+will, the Negro has done his full share in making the now illfated city
+blossom as the rose. We who have for so many years made our abode
+elsewhere, have made our boast in Wilmington as being ahead of all other
+Southern cities in the recognition of the citizenship of all of her
+inhabitants; unstained by such acts of violence that had disgraced other
+communities. To be laid to rest 'neath North Carolina pines has been the
+wish of nearly every pilgrim who has left that dear old home. All this
+is changed now; That old city is no longer dear. The spoiler is among
+the works of God. Since the massacre on the 10th of November, 1898, over
+one thousand of Wilmington's most respected taxpaying citizens have sold
+and given away their belongings, and like Lot fleeing from Sodom, have
+hastened away. The lawyer left his client, the physician his patients,
+the carpenter his work-bench, the shoemaker his tools&mdash;all have fled,
+fled for their lives; fled to escape murder and pillage, intimidation
+and insult at hands of a bloodthirsty mob of ignorant descendants of
+England's indentured slaves, fanned into frenzy by their more
+intelligent leaders<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[8]</a></span> whose murderous schemes to obtain office worked
+charmingly. Legally elected officers have been driven from the city
+which is now ruled by a banditti whose safety in office is now
+threatened by the disappointed poor whites whose aid was secured in
+driving out wealthy Negroes on the promise that the Negroes' property
+should be turned over to them.</p>
+
+<p>What has wrought all this havoc in the city once so peaceful? Rev. A. J.
+McKelway of Charlotte, Editor of the <i>North Carolina Presbyterian</i>, in
+an article published in the <i>New York Independent</i> of November, 1898,
+explains as follows:&mdash;"In 1897 was passed at Governor Russell's wish and
+over the protest of the Western Republicans, a bill to amend the charter
+of the city. If there had been any condition of bad or inefficient
+government, there might have been some excuse for this action; but the
+city was admirably governed by those who were most interested in her
+growth and welfare. Here is the law that is responsible for the
+bloodshed recently in Wilmington:"</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"<span class="smcap">Be it Enacted,</span> That there shall be elected by the qualified voters
+of each ward one Alderman only, and there shall be appointed by the
+Governor one Alderman for each ward, and the Board of Aldermen thus
+constituted shall elect a Mayor according to the laws declared to
+be in force by this act."</p></div>
+
+<p>"It will be readily seen that, combining with those elected from the
+Negro wards, it was easy for the appointees of the Governor to elect the
+Mayor and appoint the other city officers."</p>
+
+<p>"When the new Board took possession there were found to be three
+Aldermen, fourteen policemen, seventeen officers in the fire department,
+four deputy sheriffs, and forty Negro magistrates besides. It is
+probable that <i>not one of these</i> was qualified to fill his office. The
+new government soon found itself incapable of governing. It could not
+control its own. The homes of the people were at the mercy of thieves,
+burglars and incendiaries, and the police were either absolutely
+incapable of preventing crime, or connived at it. White women were
+insulted on the streets in broad daylight by Negro men, and on more than
+one occasion slapped in the face by Negro women on no provocation. * * *
+* White people began to arm themselves for the protection of their lives
+and property. * * * * In the city of Wilmington it has been found upon
+investigation, that the Negroes own 5 per cent. of the property, and pay
+5 per cent. of the taxes. * * *</p>
+
+<p>"The Negro editor publicly charged to the white women of the South equal
+blame for the unspeakable crime, etc."</p>
+
+<p>The Rev. Mr. McKelway has worded his defense well; but in giving a
+plausible excuse for the crime of Nov. 10th, he makes a dismal<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[9]</a></span> failure.
+A mob headed by a minister of the gospel, and a hoary-headed deacon,
+after cutting off every avenue of escape and defense, and after the
+government had been surrendered to them as a peace offering, wantonly
+kills and butchers their brethren, is without parallel in a Christian
+community, and the more Mr. McKelway seeks to excuse such a deed, the
+blacker it appears.</p>
+
+<p>The Hon. Judson Lyon, Register of the United States Treasury, in his
+reply to Senator McLaurin in the <i>New York Herald</i>, says truthfully: "In
+Wilmington, N. C., albeit the Executive as a leader of his party had
+backed down and surrendered everything as a peace offering, and the
+democracy, if that is what they call themselves, had carried the day,
+still the main thoroughfares of that city were choked with armed men.
+They destroyed personal property, they burned houses, they wantonly took
+more than a dozen lives, they drove thousands to the woods where nearly
+a dozen infants were born and died in many instances, with their mothers
+the victims of exposure as the result of the cruelty of people who call
+themselves democrats and patriots. Weyler in his maddest moments was
+hardly more barbarous."</p>
+
+<p>In the city of Wilmington, where so much innocent blood had been spilled
+and so many valuable lives had been taken by that furious mob, see what
+are the facts:</p>
+
+<p>There were ten members of the Board of Aldermen, seven of these white
+and three colored; there were twenty-six policemen, sixteen white and
+ten colored, the chief being white and a native of the State, city
+Attorney a white Republican, city clerk and treasurer, white, with
+colored clerk. Turnkeys and janitors white Republicans with colored
+assistants, Superintendent of Streets a white man, Superintendent of
+garbage carts a white man, Clerk of Front Street Market, a white man,
+Clerk of Fourth Street Market, a white man, Superintendent of Health, a
+white Democrat, two lot inspectors, colored men, Chief of Fire
+Department and Assistant chief, both white Democrats. There are three
+white fire companies and two colored. Superintendent of City Hospital is
+a white Democrat with white nurses for white wards, and colored nurses
+for colored wards. The school committees have always had two white
+members and one colored. Superintendent of Public Schools is a white
+Democrat.</p>
+
+<p>Now, will somebody point out where that awful thing that is iterated and
+reiterated so much, to wit, NEGRO DOMINATION existed under this showing
+in the communicipality of Wilmington.</p>
+
+<p>The men who were driven from the city by the mob, with but few
+exceptions, had no political following, nor political aspirations.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[10]</a></span>It has always been the rule with mobs to villify their victims, assail
+their characters in the most shameful manner in justification of their
+murder. But an attack upon the character and integrity of the Negroes of
+Wilmington, in order to justify the massacre of Nov. 10th, shall not go
+unchallenged. If what I write should raise a howl of protest and call
+another ex-Governor Northern to Boston to brand it as a lie, it is
+nevertheless a truthful statement of the causes that led up to the
+doings of the 10th of November, and although I shall fictitiously name
+some of the star actors in this tragedy and the shifters of the scenes,
+I can call them all by their names and point them out. It will be proven
+that the massacre of Nov. 10th, 1898, had been carefully planned by the
+leading wealthy citizens of Wilmington, and that over thirty thousand
+dollars was subscribed to buy arms and ammunition to equip every man and
+boy of the white race, rich and poor; that secret dispatches were sent
+to sympathizers in adjoining States and communities to come in and
+assist in making the 10th of November, 1898, a second Bartholemew's eve
+in the history of the world, by the wholesale killing of black citizens
+after every means of defense had been cut off; that black men and women
+for banishment and slaughter had been carefully listed; that clubs and
+clans of assassins had been organized and drilled in signals and
+tactics; that the aid of the State militia and the Naval Reserves had
+been solicited to enter Wilmington on the 10th of November to assist in
+disarming every Negro, and aiding in his slaughter and banishment. That
+the intervention of Providence in the earnest and persistent entreaties
+of white citizens who were too nobly bred to stoop so low, and the
+strategy and cunning of the Negro himself, frustrated the carrying out
+to its fullest intent, one of the most infamous and cowardly deeds ever
+planned.</p>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[11]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_I" id="CHAPTER_I"></a>CHAPTER I.</h2>
+
+<h3>The Editor.</h3>
+
+
+<p>"I will not retract! No! Not a single sentence! I have told the truth.
+This woman not satisfied with the South's bloody record since the war,
+is clamoring and whining like a she wolf for more human sacrifices, and
+an increased flow of human blood. She is unmercifully pounding a
+helpless and defenseless people. The article was issued in defense of
+the defenseless. It is right against wrong; truth against error, and it
+must stand even if the one who uttered it is annihilated; it must
+stand!"</p>
+
+<p>"But you must remember my dear man, that the South is no place to speak
+plainly upon race matters. You have written the truth, but its a truth
+that the white people of the South cannot and will not stand. Now the
+leading whites are much incensed over this article of yours which they
+interpret as an intent to slander white women, and I am sent to say to
+you that they demand that you retract or leave the city."</p>
+
+<p>"I will do neither! The truth has been said, a slanderer rebuked. God
+help me, I will not go back on that truth."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I leave you; I've done my duty. Good morning."</p>
+
+<p>It is often said that there is nothing so indispensible as the
+newspaper. It is the moulder of public opinion; the medium of free
+speech; the promoter and stimulator of business; the prophet, the
+preacher, swaying the multitudes and carrying them like the whirlwind
+into the right or wrong path. To millions its the Bible, the Apostles
+Creed. Their opinion of God, of religion, of immortality is shaped by
+what the newspaper has to say upon such subjects. Glowing headlines in
+the newspapers have kindled the flames of Anarchy, and started men upon
+the path of destruction like wolves stimulated and brutalized by the
+scent of blood, to pause only when irrepairable evil<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[12]</a></span> hath been
+wrought.&mdash;"When new widows howl and new orphans cry." What a power for
+evil is the newspaper! The newspaper arrayed on the side of the right
+hurls its mighty battering-ram against gigantic walls of oppresion until
+they fall; takes up the cause of the bondman, echoes his wails and the
+clanking of his chains until the nation is aroused, and men are marching
+shoulder to shoulder on to the conflict for the right. What a power for
+good is the newspaper! I once heard a great editor say that "although
+newspaper work was hard and laborious, requiring a great store of
+intellectual strength it was nevertheless a fascinating work." But in
+the South where freedom of speech is limited to a class <i>grit and
+backbone</i> outweigh intellectual ability and are far more requisite. When
+we consider the fact that many white newspaper men have "licked the
+dust" in the Southland because they dared to emerge from the trend of
+popular thought and opinion, the Spartan who without a tremor held his
+hand into the flames until it had burned away was not more a subject of
+supreme admiration than the little Octoroon editor of the <i>Wilmington
+Record</i> whose brave utterances begin this chapter.</p>
+
+<p>The great newspapers of today are too engrossed in weightier matters to
+concern themselves to any extent with things that promote directly the
+interests of the ten million black Americans. That is largely the cause
+of the existence of the Negro editors. The Negro, like the white man,
+likes to read something good of himself; likes to see his picture in the
+paper; likes to read of the social and business affairs of his people;
+likes to see the bright and sunnyside of his character portrayed; so he
+often turns from the great journals (who are if saying anything at all
+concerning him, worrying over the "Negro Problem" (?)) to look at the
+bright side presented by the Negro newspaper. A few days ago while
+worried and disconsolate over the aspersions heaped upon a defenseless
+people that floated upon the feotid air from the Alabama Conference,
+<i>The New York Age</i> came to me, a ray of light in a dungeon of gross
+darkness.</p>
+
+<p>Prior to the year 1892 there had been no genuine zeal among colored
+people to establish a colored newspaper in Wilmington. <i>The Record</i> was
+launched at about that time: but not until taken in hand by the famous
+A. L. Manly did it amount to very much as a news me<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[13]</a></span>dium. Under the
+management of this enterprising little man <i>The Record</i> forged ahead,
+and at the time of its suspension was the only Negro daily, perhaps, in
+the country. It was a strong champion of the cause of Wilmington's
+colored citizens. Improvements in the section of the city owned by black
+people were asked for, and the request granted. Good roads were secured,
+bicycle paths made, etc. The greatest deed achieved however, was the
+exposure by <i>The Record</i> of the very unsanitary condition of the colored
+wards in the city hospital. <i>The Record</i> made such a glowing picture of
+the state of affairs, that the Board of County Commissioners were
+compelled to investigate and take action, which resulted in the putting
+of the old hospital in habitable shape. This, though a good work, did not
+enhance the Editor's popularity with the whites who thought him too
+<i>high strung, bold and saucy</i>. And the colored people who appreciated
+his pluck felt a little shaky over his many tilts with editors of the
+white papers. The brave little man did not last very long however&mdash;the
+end came apace: Sitting in his office one evening in August reading a
+New York paper, his eyes fell upon a clipping from a Georgia paper from
+the pen of a famous Georgia white woman, whose loud cries for the lives
+of Negro rapists had been so very widely read and commented upon during
+the past year. This particular article referred to the exposure of and
+the protection of white girls in the isolated districts of the South
+from lustful brutes. "Narrow-souled fool!" exclaimed the editor,
+throwing the paper upon the floor; "I wonder does she ever think of the
+Negro girls in isolated districts of the South exposed to lustful
+whites! Does she think of those poor creatures shorn of all protection
+by the men of her race! I guess her soul is too small to be generous a
+little bit.&mdash;'White girls in isolated districts exposed to lustful Negro
+brutes.' Colored girls in isolated districts exposed to lustful white
+brutes; what's the difference? Does the Negro's ruined home amount to
+nought? Can man sin against his neighbor without suffering its
+consequences? 'Woe unto you Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!' I'll
+throw a broadside at that old women, so help me God."</p>
+
+<p>The editor took up his pen and wrote the retort which shook the old
+State from
+<a name="corr2" id="corr2"></a><a class="correction" href="#cn2" title="changed from 'mountian'">mountain</a>
+to sea, and which enhanced the chances of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[14]</a></span> the white
+supremacy advocates who were then planning for an uprising in November.
+"<i>Punish sin because it is sin</i>," concluded the editor, "<i>and not
+because the one who commits it is black.</i>" The article was commented
+upon by the press throughout the State, and "the affrontery of the
+Negro" in assailing white women bitterly discussed. <i>The Record</i>
+advanced from five to twenty-five cents a copy, so anxious was every one
+to see what the Negro had said to call for such ado. Threatening letters
+began to come in to the editor's office. "Leave on pain of death." "Stop
+the publishing of that of paper." "Apologize for that slander," etc. But
+the editor refused to apologize, "Suspend or quit." A meeting of
+citizens was called, and a colored man sent to advise the editor to
+retract, but he was obdurate. Immediately after the departure of the
+colored advocate, the owner of the building came in and told the editor
+that he was compelled to ask him to move out. He looked around the
+office so full of pleasant recollections. The face of "Little
+Shunshine," once the writer of the social column whose rolicksome
+disposition had robbed labor of its irksomeness in the work-room, beamed
+upon him from far over the seas, and rendered the quitting of the old
+home a much harder thing to do. But go he must. Colored friends hearing
+of his predicament rallied to his aid, and offered him at least a
+temporary asylum in one of their buildings. So the office of <i>The
+Record</i> was moved into Seventh Street. Excitement soon abated however,
+and <i>The Record</i> resumed its work. Those who are inclined to blame the
+editor of <i>The Wilmington Record</i> for the massacre of 1898 must remember
+that the article was written in August, and the massacre occurred in
+November; and that the editor of that paper did not leave Wilmington
+until a few days before the massacre, upon the urgent advice of friends.
+The whites of Wilmington had need to be afraid of the Negroes, and did
+not attempt to do violence until sufficiently reinforced from the
+outside, and the black citizens had been cut off from all means of
+defense. Editor Manley's reply to the Georgia woman was not the cause of
+the upheaval, but it was an excellent pretext when the election came
+on.</p>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[15]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_II" id="CHAPTER_II"></a>CHAPTER II.</h2>
+
+<h3>The Colonel.</h3>
+
+
+<p>There strode out of a humble but neatly furnished dwelling in the
+Southern section of the city of Wilmington on a sultry morning in
+August, 1898, a man not over the average height, neatly dressed in a
+well-brushed suit of black. His full and well kept beard of mixed gray
+hung low upon his immaculate shirt front. His head classic and perfectly
+fashioned, set well poised upon shoulders as perfectly proportioned as
+an Apollo. His gray hair parted upon the side of his head, was carefully
+brushed over his forehead to hide its baldness, and from beneath
+abundant shaggy eyebrows, looked forth a pair of cold gray eyes. Though
+past sixty, he was erect, and his step was as firm as a man of thirty.
+This was "The Colonel," typical Southern gentleman of the old school, a
+descendant of the genuine aristocracy, the embodiment of arrogance.</p>
+
+<p>The Southerners' definition of the term "gentleman" is a peculiar one.
+The gentleman is born, and there is no possible way for him to lose the
+title. He is a gentleman, drunk or sober, honest or dishonest, in prison
+or out of prison. He is a gentleman with the stains of murder unwashed
+from his hands. It is birth and not character with the Southerner,
+appearance, rather than worth.</p>
+
+<p>While in New England settled the tanner, the wheelwright, the
+blacksmith, the hardy son of the soil who came over to escape religious
+persecution, and to serve God according to the dictates of his own
+conscience, with none to molest or make him afraid, in the South there
+settled England and Europe's aristocrat, lazy and self-indulgent,
+satisfied to live upon the unrequited toil of others.</p>
+
+<p>The "Colonel," aside from having a brilliant war record, had also a
+lofty political career in North Carolina during and following the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[16]</a></span>
+reconstruction period. Twenty years or more ago he, in the height of his
+career, was the idol of Eastern North Carolina. "The silver-tongued
+orator of the East," his appearance in any town or hamlet was greeted
+with the greatest enthusiasm. Holidays were proclaimed and houses were
+decked with flags and bunting in honor of the hero of the day and hour.
+The workman forgot his toil, the merchant his business; old and young,
+little and big thronged the streets, women raised their little ones in
+their arms and cried, "See, the Colonel comes!" We listened with rapt
+attention to his superior eloquence, and no man was more deeply rooted
+in the affections of his people. We esteemed him too high to be low, too
+lofty in thought and aspiration to do a mean thing. Republican aspirants
+to Congress in those days were easily turned down by the Colonel who
+represented that district for three or more terms at the National
+Capitol. But there came a time when the Colonel's influence began to
+wane; whisperings were current that he was indulging too freely in the
+Southern gentleman's besetting sin&mdash;poker and mint julips, and that the
+business of the people whose interests he had been sent to look after
+was being neglected. Still Wilmingtonians' confidence in the Colonel did
+not slacken, and when the time for Congressional nominations came, we
+went to Fayetteville with bands playing and banners flying, and we
+cheered ourselves hoarse in order to quicken slumbering interest in the
+Colonel, but failed. Cumberland, Bladen, Mecklinburg and other counties
+came down unanimously in favor of one Shackleford, of the upper section,
+a name almost unknown to us, and New Hanover, which stood alone for the
+Colonel, was defeated. After the expiration of his term in Congress the
+Colonel went to his home in Wilmington, and resumed the practice of law.
+The last time that I visited the old city, the Colonel was solicitor in
+the Criminal Court. He had also moved out of his palatial dwelling on
+Third street, and sought cheaper quarters. Twenty years ago he would
+have scorned the thought of doing this deed which he was now
+contemplating as he strode down the street on this sultry August
+morning.</p>
+
+<p>"I will carry this election or choke the river with their carcasses," he
+said slowly to himself. But why this ghastly sentence from the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[17]</a></span> mouth of
+a representative Wilmingtonian? What had plunged the Colonel into such a
+desperate state of mind? Poverty! lost honor, unsatisfied ambition. The
+Negro and the "low white" are prospering, holding positions in the city
+government that rightfully belong to first families who are better
+qualified to hold said positions and more entitled to the remunerations;
+but the changing of this order of things cannot be brought about by
+honest methods, so like the hungry wolf, the Colonel is preparing to
+make a desperate charge to carry the election and place himself in
+office, even if the streets of the old city flow with blood. Yea,
+although the usual state election time is some distance off, plans have
+been already secretly perfected not only to carry the election by the
+Democrats, but to reduce the Negro majorities by banishment,
+intimidation and murder.</p>
+
+<p>Senator&mdash;&mdash;, by invitation, had visited the state, and advised the
+carrying of the election with the shotgun, and had offered the loan of
+five hundred guns from South Carolina. Merchants, most of them in
+Wilmington, had promised to discharge all colored help who showed a
+disposition to vote, and had also subscribed to a fund for the purpose
+of purchasing powder, guns and dynamite. A railroad company operating
+into the city had subscribed five hundred guns. Stump orators had
+secured the aid of the poor whites both in the city and rural districts
+by promising them that by assisting to kill and chase the Negro from the
+city, the property owned by the colored citizens would be turned over to
+them. This was the work of hungry politicians who, to get office told an
+infamous lie, and were ready to deluge a city in blood just to get into
+office. Certain Negroes and white men had been listed for slaughter and
+banishment. Negro men and women who had had any difficulty in which they
+had gotten the best of a white person before the courts or otherwise,
+for even ten years back, were to be killed or driven from the city.
+Those who owned houses in white neighborhoods were to be driven out and
+their property taken. All this was being done quietly while the old city
+rested peacefully upon this smouldering volcano. The Negro, unaware of
+the doom that awaited him, went quietly about his work; but there were a
+few white men in the city who, although Southerners by birth and
+edu<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[18]</a></span>cation, did not coincide with the methods adopted for the securing
+of white supremacy. Among these was Mr. Gideon who could not be
+persuaded to assist in such a movement, even in the minutest way. A few
+mornings previous to the opening of my story, there had appeared in the
+columns of a small Negro journal edited in Wilmington, a short article
+which had been interpreted as an intent to slander white women. This had
+thrown the city into a fever of excitement, and dire threats had been
+made against the editor, and the flocking of the colored people to his
+aid had made the whites that much more bitter toward Negroes in general.
+But they soon quieted down, and waited the "final day." The Colonel
+feeling assured that this article in the Negro Journal would be the
+means of driving all lukewarm whites into line, leisurely strolled on
+this particular day toward the office of Mr. Gideon.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, good morning, Colonel!" said Mr. Gideon, arising from his desk and
+extending his hand toward the Colonel who strode noiselessly across the
+large office and gently tapped him upon the shoulder. The Colonel sank
+into a chair, and opening the little sheet which he had drawn from his
+coat pocket, laid it on the desk before Mr. Gideon.</p>
+
+<p>"Now, is it not time for white men to act?"</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Gideon made no answer, but fastened his eyes upon the paper before
+him. The Colonel continued, "We have taken care of the Negro, paid his
+taxes, educated his children, tried to show to him that we were more
+interested in his well-being than the Yankee Radical Carpet-bagger he
+has chosen to follow; but he has persistently disregarded us, unheeded
+our advice, rode rough shod over us, and fretted us until patience is no
+longer a virtue. The Negro has reached the end of his rope. Emboldened
+by successful domination, and the long suffering of the white people of
+this community, this nigger has made an unpardonable attack upon our
+white women. Now, Gideon, if this article is not sufficient to stimulate
+you to join in with your brethren in driving the ungrateful nigger out
+of Wilmington and inducing white labor into it, you are not true to your
+race."</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Gideon turned in his chair and faced the Colonel, "I have<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[19]</a></span>
+previously read the article," he answered slowly "I have read also
+with&mdash;I must say&mdash;considerable disgust, the letters on the Negro
+question from the pen of Mrs. Fells, of Georgia, and the editorials of
+Kingston upon the subject; and to tell you the truth, Colonel, I must
+commend the boy for his courage; he was simply defending his race
+against the attack."</p>
+
+<p>The Colonel jumped to his feet; "In the name of God, Gideon, do you
+believe that a nigger should answer a white man back?"</p>
+
+<p>"Under certain circumstances, Colonel, I do. Mrs. Fells style is
+extremely brazen, and can we expect to harp with impunity upon the
+shortcomings of the Negro? Let us blame the right persons; those whose
+uncalled for assaults provoked the issuing of the article. But that's a
+small matter just at this time. I have refrained from entering into the
+scheme of driving out Negroes, because I am concerned about the business
+interests of this city; sit down, Colonel, sit down and hear me out.
+Now, when we have driven out the Negro, whose to take his place? We have
+tried the poor white."</p>
+
+<p>"Why, encourage thrifty emigrants from the North." "Thrifty emigrants
+from the North," echoed Mr. Gideon.</p>
+
+<p>"Invite labor unions, strikes, incendiarism, anarchy into our midst.
+Look at Illinois; can the South cope with such? The Negro we understand;
+he has stood by us in all of our ups and downs, stood manfully by our
+wives and children while we fought for his enslavement. After the war we
+found no more faithful ally than the Negro has been; he has helped us to
+build waste places and to bring order out of chaos. Now pray tell me
+where do we get the right to drive him from his home where he has as
+much right to dwell as we have?"</p>
+
+<p>"Then you believe in Negro rule?"</p>
+
+<p>"No!"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes you do Gideon, or you'd not talk in that manner," replied the
+Colonel, now beside himself with rage. "Now, by heaven, we are going to
+put the Negro in his place. Look at our city government in the hands of
+ignorant niggers and carpet baggers. God did not intend that his white
+faced children were ever to be ruled by black demons," and the Colonel
+rose again and began to pace the floor.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[20]</a></span>"Calm yourself, Colonel, calm yourself," said Mr. Gideon. "Now we ought
+to be ashamed of ourselves to raise the cry of Negro rule in North
+Carolina, when we so largely outnumber them. I admit that there are
+objectionable Negroes in Wilmington, Negroes who would greatly benefit
+the community by leaving it; but shall we slay the righteous with the
+wicked? Must the innocent and guilty suffer alike? Ten righteous men
+would have saved the cities of the plains."</p>
+
+<p>"But they could nt be found," interrupted the Colonel.</p>
+
+<p>"I warrant you they can be found here," calmly replied Mr. Gideon.</p>
+
+<p>"We the white people of this community, have often given expression of
+our love and even veneration for such characters as Alfred Howe, Henry
+Taylor, John Norwood, George Ganse, John H. Howe, Thomas Revera, Joe
+Sampson, Henry Sampson, Isham Quick, and scores of others whom we must,
+if we do the right thing, acknowledge as the black fathers of this city.
+Thrifty and industrious Negroes have always been the objects of the envy
+of poor whites who will eagerly grasp the opportunity when given, to
+destroy the property of these people. While it is your object, Colonel,
+to carry the election, and triumph politically, they will murder and
+plunder, and when once licensed and started, you cannot check them. I
+see that they are being armed&mdash;a dangerous proceeding. Take care
+Colonel; I beg you to beware lest those guns in the hands of these
+people be turned upon you, and the best white people of this community
+be compelled to quit it. I listened with fear and apprehension a few
+evenings ago, to Fisher's harrangue to the poor whites of Dry Pond. They
+will take him at his word, for they are just that ignorant. Shall we for
+the sake of political ascension plunge Wilmington into an abyss of
+shame?"</p>
+
+<p>"Now, Gideon," said the Colonel, "your talk is all nonsense, we are
+trying to extricate Wilmington from the slough of infamy into which it
+has been plunged by Radicals. We are going to elevate the white man to
+his place and regulate Sambo to his sphere, if the streets have to flow
+with blood to accomplish that end. Good niggers who know their places
+will be protected; but these half educated black rascals who think
+themselves as good as white men, must go.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[21]</a></span> 'Nigger root doctors' are
+crowding white physicians out of business; 'nigger' lawyers are sassing
+white men in our courts; 'nigger' children are hustling white angels off
+our sidewalks. Gideon, in the name of God, what next? what next?" and
+the Colonel bounded into the air like an Indian in a war dance. "White
+supremacy must be restored, and you Gideon will regret the day you
+refused to assist your white brethren to throw off the yoke of
+oppression. Good
+<a name="corr3" id="corr3"></a><a class="correction" href="#cn3" title="changed from 'da ,'">day</a>,
+Gideon, good day"; and the Colonel stalked out of
+the office.</p>
+
+<p>Uncle Ephraim, one of the old Nimrods who supplied Wilmington's markets
+with savory ducks and rice birds, stood with his gun on the corner of
+Front and Market streets that morning, as the Colonel briskly strode
+past on his way from the office of Mr. Gideon to the Court House.</p>
+
+<p>"Good mawnin Co'nel," said Uncle Ephraim, saluting politely; but the
+Colonel did not as usual pause to crack a joke with the docile old
+darky; he did not even vouchsafe a nod of recognition, but moved hastily
+on his way. Uncle Ephraim stood and wistfully watched the Colonel until
+he turned the corner of Second and Market streets.</p>
+
+<p>"Whoop! dar's er pow'ful big load on de Co'nel's mine sho. Dat white man
+didn' eben see me; an' I his ole bodysarbant, too." Uncle Ephraim strode
+slowly down Market street and entered the store of Sprague &amp; Company.
+"Look yer!" said he, "I wants er bout fo' ounce powder an er few cap."
+The salesman shook his head.</p>
+
+<p>"Wa fur yo' shake yer hed, you no got um?"</p>
+
+<p>"We are selling nothing of the kind to darkies just now, uncle."</p>
+
+<p>"But how I gwine fer kill duck?"</p>
+
+<p>The salesman made him no answer.</p>
+
+<p>Uncle Ephraim stood, looked about for a moment, then slowly sauntered
+into the street, and made his way to Joslins, in South Front street, but
+was also refused there. Going again to the corner of Market and Front
+Streets, he saw several white men and boys enter Sprague &amp; Company and
+came out armed with shot guns and other fire-arms, and walk briskly
+away. "De ole boy is gwine to tun heself loose in dis yer town soon; fer
+I see um in de bery eye ob<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[22]</a></span> dese bocra. I can't buy um, but see how de
+bocra go in an git um. Niggah, hit's time ter look er bout,"&mdash;and Uncle
+Ephraim slowly walked up Front Street towards Morrow's.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 174px;">
+<img src="images/ornament01.png" width="174" height="56" alt="" title="" />
+</div>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[23]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_III" id="CHAPTER_III"></a>CHAPTER III.</h2>
+
+<h3>The Meeting In The Wigwam.</h3>
+
+
+<p>Three months have passed since the events narrated in the preceeding
+chapters. Chill winds are heralding the approach of winter. Wilmington
+is three months nearer its doom. Political warriors are buckling on
+their armour for the final struggle on the 8th of November which must
+result in complete victory for white supremacy, or indefinate bondage to
+Negro Domination (?)</p>
+
+<p>Far out on Dry Pond in an old meeting house known as the Wigwam, the
+White Supremacy League has gathered. The old hall is poorly lighted but
+it is easy for the observer to see the look of grim determination on the
+faces of all present. It is a representative gathering. There is the
+Jew, the German, Irishman, Bourbon Aristocrat and "poor bocra." The
+deacon, the minister of the gospel, the thug and murderer. No one
+looking upon this strangely assorted gathering in a Southern community
+would for a moment question its significance. Only when politics and the
+race question are being discussed is such a gathering possible in the
+South. There is a loud rap: the hum of voices ceases. The individual who
+gives the signal stands at a small table at the end of the long narrow
+hall. One hand rests upon the table, with the other he nervously toys
+with a gavel. He is a tall, lean, lank, ungainly chap, whose cheek bones
+as prominent as an Indian's seem to be on the eve of pushing through his
+sallow skin. A pair of restless black eyes, set far apart, are
+apparently at times hidden by the scowls that occasionally wrinkle his
+forehead. His gray hair hangs in thick mats about his shoulders.</p>
+
+<p>Teck Pervis had served in the war of secession under General Whiting,
+and was one of the many demoralized stragglers, who swept<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[24]</a></span> before the
+advancing tide of the Union troops scampered through the swamps and
+marshes after the fall of Fort Fisher, to find refuge in Wilmington.
+During the Reconstruction period and many years following, he, with such
+characters as Sap Grant, Neal Simonds, Henry Sallins, Watson and others,
+made nights hideous on Dry Pond by their brawls and frolics. In
+introducing Teck Pervis to the reader, I wish to briefly call attention
+to that peculiar class in the South known as the "Poor Whites." Always
+an ignorant dependent, entirely different in every respect from the
+descendants of the Huguenots, Celt and Cavaliers that make up the
+South's best people; the origin of this being, who since the war has
+been such a prominent figure in the political uprisings and race
+troubles, and so on, is worthy of consideration. In the early centuries
+the English Government made of America what in later years Australia
+became&mdash;<i>a dumping ground for criminals</i>. Men and women of the Mother
+Country guilty of petty thefts and other misdemeanors were sent to
+America, bound out to a responsible person to be owned by said person
+until the expiration of sentence imposed, a stipulated sum of money
+being paid to the Crown for the services of the convict. At the
+expiration of their term of servitude these subjects were given limited
+citizenship, but were never allowed to be upon equality with those who
+once owned them. These indentured slaves and their descendants were
+always considered with contempt by the upper classes. The advance of
+American civilization, the tide of progress has arisen and swept over
+this indolent creature who remains the same stupid, lazy, ignoramus.</p>
+
+<p>In Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia,
+North and South Carolina, and throughout the entire South are legion of
+this people, some of whom could not be taught the rudiments of
+arithmetic. When African slavery became established in America, white
+slavery was then tried in Australia where the treatment was so severe
+that thousands of them fled to the woods to become as wild in many
+instances as the natives. As the introduction of African slavery caused
+the indentured slave to depreciate in value as bond men, they were
+converted into overseers, patrolmen, Negro drivers to look for and to
+return runaway Negroes to their masters.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[25]</a></span> They were licensed to break up
+Negro frolics, whip the men, and ravish the women. But in the main the
+poor white subsisted by hunting and fishing. To him work was degrading,
+and only for "niggers" to do. A squatter upon the property of others,
+his sole belongings consisted of fishing tackle, guns, a house full of
+children, and a yard full of dogs. In Virginia, North and South Carolina
+he is known as "Poor Bocra," "Poor Tackie." In Georgia and Florida
+<a name="corr4" id="corr4"></a><a class="correction" href="#cn4" title="changed from 'its'">it's</a>
+"Cracker," and there are few readers of current literature who are not
+familiar with that class of whites known as Clay Eaters of Alabama and
+Mississippi. Looked down upon by the upper classes, the poor white
+before the war was simply a tool for designing politicians. When war
+between the North and South became iminent, the poor white increased in
+value; for the aristocrat was adverse to being a common private. So they
+sought the poor white, appealed to his patriotism, pictured to him the
+wrongs heaped upon the South, and the righteousness of slavery. They
+drew glowing pictures of the Southern army's invasion of the North to
+thrash the Yankees, and pardon them in Faneuil Hall. The South freed,
+was to open her markets to the world. Her wealth was to be untold, while
+grass would grow on the sidewalks of Northern cities. Every poor white
+who shouldered a gun was to be elevated out of serfdom, be given forty
+acres of land, a "nigger" and a mule. Enthused by these glowing
+promises, the Southern poor white shouldered his gun and waded in: and
+no one reviewing the history of that immortal struggle would for a
+moment question the bravery of the Southern soldiers. They fought like
+demons. They invaded the North. They made the world wonder at
+Gettysburg.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Here Mississippi flushed with pride<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Met Pennsylvania's deadly tide<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And Georgia's rash and gallant ride<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Was checked by New York's chivalry.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Here Alabama's rebel yell<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Rang through the valleys down to hell<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">But Maine's decisive shot and shell<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Cut short the dreadful revelry.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>But the South's victorious armies did not reach Faneuil Hall. The air
+castles, the hopes of Southern prosperity and the poor whites<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[26]</a></span> elevation
+and wealth were blasted, when two years after that gallant dash at
+Gettysburg, that ragged, starved, wretched host surrendered at
+Appomattox. The blasted hopes of the poor white caused him to drift
+further away from the aristocrat who had fooled him into a foolhardy and
+disastrous struggle. Land was cheap but he hadn't the money to buy it,
+and the aristocrat didn't have the "nigger" and the mule to give him. He
+grew lukewarm politically, got his rod and went a fishing. But with the
+Negro freed and enfranchised, and the Northern politician on the
+premises, the vote of the poor white became indispensible to the former
+Southern ruler who wished to hold his own politically. So a new battle
+cry was made, viz:&mdash;"Negro Domination," "Social Equality." But so
+lukewarm had the poor white become, that his song had to be sung with
+pertinacious fervor to make him do more than pause to listen.</p>
+
+<p>"<i>Do you want niggers to marry your daughters? Do you want niggers to
+sit in school beside your children? Do you want niggers on the juries
+trying white men? If you don't want such dreadful calamities to befall
+the South, go to the polls and do your duty!</i>" "What'd he say? Niggers
+er marryin our darters? Niggers in skule wid we uns? Thet aint er goin
+ter du! Le' me see thet ticket!"</p>
+
+<p>The Southern poor white has never had much of a hankering after "book
+larning." He's better than the "nigger" and that's all he cares to know.
+To be white means license to trample upon the rights of others. The
+cat's paw&mdash;the tool of the aristocrat, he stands ready always, to do the
+dirty work of lynching, burning and intimidation. Traveling South,
+especially on the East Coast, the train conductor only has to say to the
+colored passenger in a first class car but once that he must get out. If
+the passenger refuses, the conductor need not waste words; a telegram to
+Jessup or Way Cross, Ga., or Bartow Junction in Florida will call
+together a crowd of crackers, large enough to put the engine off the
+track if necessary. Like the dog in the manger, unable to pay for a
+first class ride himself, the poor white squats about railroad stations
+and waits for the opportunity to eject some prosperous Negro. I have
+known as many as two hundred to swarm around a train to put off one
+frail woman not over ninety pounds in weight.</p>
+
+<p>This is the creature that is held up continually before the Negro<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[27]</a></span> as
+his superior&mdash;an assertion that will ever be met with strong resistance.
+For while the Negro was a slave he is not a descendant of criminals.</p>
+
+<p>"Gentermen," said Teck Pervis, "whils we air waitin fur ther kernul and
+other big uns ter errive, as cheerman uv the Dry Pond White Supreemacy
+Leeg, I wish ter keep this here meet'n warm by makin' er few broken
+remarks"&mdash;"Go ahead Teck, give us a speech" came from more than a dozen
+throats; "I wanter say jes here" he continued "thet ther white folks uv
+Wilmington, North Caliny hav tuk and stood nigger biggitty and
+hifullutin carryins on with moe patience then eny folks on top side er
+this green yerth" (Laughter and applause). "We po uns have jes layed er
+roun an slep till Mr. Nigger has trotted so fur er hed that I am feared
+we wont be able ter over take him." (Laughter). "They air in better
+houses then we po white uns, thur chilan air er wearin better cloes an
+er gittin moe larnin then our'n. An gentermen surs jes tackle eny er
+them little uns er'n an they'd surprise yer; why they kin spit latin
+faster then er terbacky worm kin spit terbacky. (Laughter). Who give
+ther nigger ther stick ter break our heads? <i>Who done it I say?</i> You
+rich white uns, thets who;" "But we'll do it no longer," said a voice
+from the audience. "We uns hepped yer ter fite yer battles," continued
+Teck, "an when thet war was ended, we did'n git ther nigger an mule yer
+promised, but we uns did' n kick powerful hard agin yer bekase yer did'n
+hev em ter giv us." (Laughter). "But you uns could er giv we uns ther
+wurk instid uv givin it ter good fur nuthin nigger bekase we po uns hev
+voted yer ticket rite er long an kep yer in office&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"I see ther kurnels on hand' so I giv way fur im," and Teck Pervis
+advanced to where the Colonel had paused to remove his overcoat. "Whats
+the matter with the Colonel? He's all right!" was uttered with a ring
+that shook the old wigwam. The Colonel, escorted by Teck Pervis,
+leisurely strutted to the centre of the hall. The Colonel had seen the
+time when he would have scorned the idea of being introduced to an
+audience by a low white. "Oh vain boast! who can control his fate?" He
+is now as poor as the poorest indentured slave, seeking to feed at the
+public crib by appealing to the passions and prejudices of the masses.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[28]</a></span>"Gentlemen," says he, "it is needless for me to ask you to night whether
+or not you believe that the Anglo-Saxon race was ordained by God to rule
+the world. It is needless for me to say that the Anglo-Saxon proposes to
+carry out God's decree to the letter. (Applause). When God made man, he
+placed him over every other living creature to rule and govern, and that
+man was a white man. (Applause). When God said to man 'Have dominion
+over the beasts of the field,' He meant to include inferior races. These
+inferior races are to be kept in subjection by their superiors, and
+wherever and whenever they assume to dominate their superiors we are
+justified by our Creator in using every means available to put them
+down. The white people of North Carolina, the curled darlings of God's
+favor have by their long suffering gotten into such a state of
+subjection that it is time to act. (Applause). Wherever the Saxon has
+planted his foot, he has been a civilizer. He came to America, drove out
+the savage and made it the greatest nation on the face of the earth,
+(applause) and he has the right to govern it in its entirety from the
+humblest official to the executive head of the nation, (prolonged
+applause). We have for years been dominated by semi-civilized
+barbarians, flattered into the belief that they are as good as white
+people by unprincipalled Yankee carpet-baggers who have profited by
+their ignorance. Emboldened by the leniency of their superiors, Negroes
+have become unbearable. The government is corrupt, and so bold has the
+Negro become that the virtue of our women has been assailed by that
+black rascal, the editor of <i>The Record</i>&mdash;(cries of Kill him! Burn the
+scoundrel!) The snake is not to be scorched this time: we are going to
+make a clean sweep, and permanently restore white man's government. Our
+friends in other sections of the State, and even in adjoining States are
+in sympathy with us, and are willing to come in and help us," etc.</p>
+
+<p>But why weary the reader with the Colonel's firey harangue? Although
+there is no foundation for such incendiary language the reader will soon
+see just how much misery it wrought upon a defenseless people. Fanned
+into fury by the rehearsing of imaginary wrongs by gifted tongues, the
+mob when once started astonished its leaders, who quailed and looked
+aghast at the hellish work they had inaugurated.</p>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[29]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IV" id="CHAPTER_IV"></a>CHAPTER IV.</h2>
+
+<h3>Mrs. Amanda Pervis.</h3>
+
+
+<p>"Whew! dis here win is er blowin pow'ful col fer Octoby. Ther ol sow was
+er tot'n straw yistedy and that means winter aint fur off. Shoo there! I
+never seed ther beat er thet ol hen; make hase ter gulp her own co'n
+down ter driv ther turkeys way from their'n." Thus spoke Mrs. Amanda
+Pervis as she stood in the door of her humble wooden dwelling on
+<a name="corr5" id="corr5"></a><a class="correction" href="#cn5" title="changed from 'Kidder s'">Kidder's</a>
+Hill a brisk morning in October. "Thanksgiving haint fur off,
+an turkey meat's er gittin high. Shoo ther yer hussy!" "Who air yu er
+talkin ter Mandy?" said her husband coming to the door and peeping over
+his wife's shoulder. "I tho't er trader er some sort wus er passin." The
+wife turned and looked astonished at her husband. "Why fer ther lan
+sake, what's er comin over ye Teck Pervis? I tho't yer'd be fas er sleep
+after bein so late ter meetin las nite. I tho't yer'd tak yer res bein
+yer haint er goin er fishin!" "I felt kinder resliss like, and I tho't I
+jes es well be er gittin up," answered Teck, plunging his face into the
+basin of cool spring water that his wife had placed on the shelf beside
+the door. "Well hit won't tak me long ter git breakfus reddy," and Mrs.
+Pervis darted into the kitchen. Teck Pervis dipped his hands into the
+basin, poured the cool water on his head until his gray hair hung in
+thick mats over his face then leisurely drawing the towel from the nail
+beside the door, lazily wiped his head and face. The smell of fried
+bacon and delicious coffee arose from the kitchen; the rattling of
+dishes was to him sufficient token of the putting of victuals on the
+table. Teck Pervis sauntered in, sat down folded his arms upon the
+table, and sheepishly watched his wife as she flitted from place to
+place in the humble little kitchen. Mrs. Pervis paused, and her eyes met
+her husband's gaze. "Well what in ther wor'l is ter<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[30]</a></span> matter Teck Pervis?
+Why air ye gazin at me so dis mornin, turn yer cup and tak yer coffy."
+"We uns had er interestin meetin las night," he said meekly. "Well mus
+yer put on er graveyard face ter day bekase yer had er interestin meetin
+las night? Don't put so much gravy on yer rice, hits ergin yer helth.
+Maria Tappin tol me yestidy thet her brother Tom was to be nitiated las
+night with er good meny other uns, an I 'lowed I'd here erbout hit, as
+my husban was er goin. Now yer air talkin erbout er interestin meetin
+the candidates muster all bin on han." Teck Pervis looked pleadingly at
+his wife. Mrs. Pervis went on: "I am glad yer went ter loge meetin; er
+lot er them Red Shirt Varmints cum er roun las night er lookin fer yer
+to go with em ter that wigwam, and I was proud ter tell em that my
+husban' was not in politicks when it cum to killin colud folks ter git
+inter office, an that truth hit em so hard dey sneaked." Teck shuddered.
+During a series of revivals in the Free Will Baptist Church during the
+summer Teck Pervis had professed religion. A fierce struggle was going
+on 'neath his rugged breast. Must he tell the truth. The best whites
+were there even ministers of the gospel; but then preachers are not
+always on the right side; and Teck Pervis had promised his wife that
+he'd not allow himself to be a tool for hungry broken down aristocrats
+who only wished to use the poor as cats' paws. He took a big swallow of
+coffee, drummed nervously with his fingers upon the table. "I jes es
+well tell yer ther plain truth, Mandy," he said finally, "I got wi ther
+boys las night and went ter ther Wigwam, an was made Cheerman ov ther
+meetin. They lowed thet hit wus ter be ther mos importent meetin in ther
+campain, an hit wus time fer white men ter be er standin tergither."
+"Teck Pervis," exclaimed the wife, "Hev I bin er rastlin'in prayer an
+pleadin ter ther Lawd in vain? Didn't I beg yer not ter fergit yer
+religin in jine-in in wid sinners in doin eval?" "There aint er goin ter
+be eny killin done, Mandy, we air jes er goin ter skeer ther Niggers way
+from ther polls, an keep um frum votin." "I know all erbout hit," broke
+in Mrs. Pervis. "Hit will en' in murder, for yer know thet Niggers won't
+be drove." "Why all ther big guns war there Mandy; merchints, lawyers,
+docters an ev'n preachers." "Laws e massy me!" exclaimed Mrs. Pervis.
+"An if ther shepod wus ther, yer kaint blame ther flock." "Teck Pervis<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[31]</a></span>
+did I understan yo ter say that&mdash;" "Don't git excited, Mandy, yer jes es
+well git use ter ther new tern things air takin. Them preachers war thar
+bekase they sed hits time fur white uns ter stan tergither. Radicul rule
+mus be put down." Mrs. Pervis crossed her hands upon the table and
+looked resigned. "Teck, do tell me what preachers war they?" "Why ef yo
+own minister wus'n thar hiself I hope er hoppergrass may chaw me." "Teck
+Pervis, do ye mean ter tell me thet Brother Jonas Melvin wus at thet
+meetin?" "Yes, and Hoosay too, thet Presberteen man thet sines his name
+with er dubble D hung on ter ther een." "Jonas Melvin is er windin up
+his kerrare in Free Will Church. We'll hev no sich men fumblin wi ther
+werd ev God in our pulpit. I never did think them Presbyteens hed eny
+religin no way. They air full of book larnin, but havn't bin tech wit
+ther sparit. This Hussy is lik ther res er these hi tone preachers thet
+hang on ter this docterin thet ther yerth moves insted uv ther sun."
+"Hoosay Mandy. Why don't yer tak proper! Hoosay!" "Well, he jes oughter
+be named Hussy, fur he is er hussy. When ole sat'n meets them two at the
+cross-road thars er goin ter be er tussle now I tell yer." "Well now yer
+know thet ther scripter says cussed be Canyon, least wise thets the way
+Brother Melvin splained hit tother night, cussed be Canyon means cussed
+be Niggers." "Now Teck Pervis, wher is yer proof thet the scripter ment
+Nigger? I aint rusty un ther scripter ef I am er gittin ole." "Now,
+Mandy, yer know ther scripter reads thet Canyon was the son er Ham an
+wus cussed bekase his daddy laffed at ole Noey, bekase when he layed
+down ter sleep he didn't pull the kivver on his self proper like. When
+de ole man woke up the tother boys tole him what Ham hed done, he cussed
+Canyon Ham's son, and sed sarvant of sarvants shill he be. Ham wus ther
+Nigger boy in ther family, and we uns air carin out ther edicts of ther
+scripter when we try ter keep the Nigger cussed. Sarvant ov sarvants
+shill he be, an we air&mdash;" "Hol on, Teck Pervis," exclaimed his wife.
+"Let me git in er word kinder catiwompus like et leas. Now we air all
+ther time er lookin fer scripter ter back us up in our devalmint. Ther
+scripter don't say thet God'l mighty cussed Canyon, it says thet Noey
+cussed him, an ef Noey hed kep sober an b'haved hisself he wouldenter
+hed ter cuss at eny body. Whose teachin air we er follerin? Ole Noey's
+er our Blessed Lawd<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[32]</a></span> an Saviour? He sed all things what soiver ye wood
+thet men should do ter yo, do ye evan so ter thim. Have yer back slided
+an fergot yer religin erready Teck Pervis?" Teck was dumb. "Yo Red Shirts
+Ruff Riders an broke down ristecrats kin go on an do yer devilment but
+mark what Mandy Pervis says, God'l Mighty will giv yu uns ther wurk er
+yer hans." "Why, Mandy, yo ought ter git er license ter preach, why you
+kin spit scripter lik er bon evangilis," and Teck Pervis reached over
+and slapped his wife upon the shoulder. This compliment from her husband
+stimulated the old lady to more earnest effort. "Now look er here," she
+continued. "What do them risticrats kere er bout the likes er we? In
+slave times we war not as good as their Niggers an ef we didn't get out
+ther way on the road, they'd ride their fine critters plum over us. They
+hed no use fer we uns unless hit wus ter use us fer somethin. Whan ther
+war broke out, of course they wanted der po'uns ter do ther fightin, an
+they kill me ole daddy bekase he would'n jine em. He didn't think it
+right ter tak up an fight agin the Union; an I can't fergit thet you'ns
+who did go ter ther fight ware promis'd er Nigger an er mule. But did
+yer git em?" Teck Pervis winced. Mrs. Pervis continued. "Now sich es ole
+Wade an Moss Teele an uthers air hungry ter git er bite at ther public
+grip, so they throw out bait fer yo uns ter nibble; an yer air fools
+ernuff ter nibble. Jane Snow tells me thet all ther big bug Niggers er
+goin ter be driv out, and we uns will git ther property and wash up in
+ther churches." "Thet wus promused," broke in Teck. "But who hes ther
+rite ter tek them critters property an giv hit ter yo uns?" replied Mrs.
+Pervis. "Teck Pervis yo may mark my words, but jes es soon es them
+broken down ristocrats git er hol of ther gov'mint, jes es soon es yo po
+fools help them, then yer kin go." Teck Pervis glared at his wife like a
+fierce beast at bay. He was Teck Pervis of old, the defiant,
+blood-thirsty rebel in the rifle pit glaring over the breastworks at the
+enemy. "Wese got ther guns!" he thundered, bringing his fist down upon
+the table, "an ef they dont give ther po' uns er show when ther city is
+took, why! we'd jes es leave kill er ristercrat as er Nigger, and we uns
+will do it. Wat yo say is right frum start to finish. We uns air watchin
+um; wese got ther guns, an we uns'll hold em till we see how things air
+goin ter wurk. Reach up there an han me my pipe Mandy."</p>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[33]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_V" id="CHAPTER_V"></a>CHAPTER V.</h2>
+
+<h3>Molly Pierrepont.</h3>
+
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Sweet and low, sweet and low<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Wind of the Western sea<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Low, low, breathe and blow<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Wind of the Western sea<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Over the rolling waters go,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Come from the dying moon and blow<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Blow him again to me<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">While my little one, while my pretty one sleeps."<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>This sweet old lullaby of Longfellow's, sung by a rich soprano voice
+floated upon the cool October air out from a beautiful and richly
+furnished suburban cottage in Wilmington. The singer sat alone at the
+piano. Though vulgarly called a "Negress," her skin was almost as fair
+as a Saxon's; and because of the mingling of Negro blood&mdash;more beautiful
+in color. She was gowned in an evening dress of gossamer material, ashes
+of rose in color. Her hair let out to its full length hung in silky
+profusion down her back. There were plain old fashioned half moon rings
+in her ears, and bands of gold upon her bare arms enhanced their beauty.
+No one will deny that among the women of mixed blood in the South, there
+are types of surpassing beauty. The inter-mixture of Negro and Saxon,
+Negro and Spanish and Indian blood gives the skin a more beautiful color
+than exists in the unadulterated of either race. While the mulatto and
+octoroon may reveal the Saxon in the fairness of the skin, the Negro
+reinforcement shows itself generally in the slight inclination of the
+lips toward thickness, the lustrious black of the eye and hair which is
+generally abundant and slightly woolly in texture. This is brought out
+plainly in the case of the Jew. Although centuries have passed since the
+Jews very extensively amalgamated with the dark races of Egypt and
+Canaan,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[34]</a></span> their dark complexions, lustrous black eyes, abundant woolly
+hair plainly reveal their Hamatic lineage. To pass through the Bowery or
+lower Broadway in the great metropolis at an hour when the shop and
+factory girl is hurrying to or from her work, one is struck by the
+beauty of Jewish womanhood. King David's successful campaigns placed
+Solomon over large dominions of Moabitish and Canaanitish peoples; and
+for the stability of his kingdom, Solomon took wives out of all of these
+nationalities; and Solomon's most favored wife was his black princess,
+Naamah, the mother of Rehoboam, his successor. The poet describes Naamah
+as the "Rose of Sharon, the most excellent of her country." The marriage
+of Solomon to his black princess was the most notable of any of his
+marriages; for that wonderful poem, "Solomon's Songs," is mainly a
+eulogy to this one of his many wives. "I am black but comely, O ye
+daughters of Jerusalem as the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of
+Solomon. Look not upon me because I am black, because the sun hath
+looked upon me." In the most beautiful language in the gift of the poets
+of that day Solomon converses with Naamah in the following dialogue:
+"Return, return O Shulamite; return, return that we may look upon thee."
+Naamah, "What will you see in Shulamite?" Solomon, "As it were a company
+of two armies."</p>
+
+<p>We have conclusive evidence that the Southern gentleman did, and does
+sing such love ditties, and talk sweet nothings to the Southern black
+woman, and the woman of mixed blood, but unlike Solomon, he is too much
+of a coward to publicly extol her. During the slave period in the West
+Indian Islands a child born to a slave woman shared the fortunes of its
+father; and if the father was free, so was the child. But the American
+slave holder reversed that law so that he could humble the bond-woman
+and damn her offspring with impunity. Upheld by the law the Southerner
+sold his own daughter and sister into a life of shame. The pretty
+Negress and the woman of mixed blood brought extortionate prices in
+Southern markets. Northern sympathizers may talk of the New South, and
+the Southern orator may harp upon the shortcomings of the "inferior
+race," but on this line of thought and conduct, the Southern whites have
+not changed one whit. Before the war, Sambo only had a quit-claim on his
+black or mulatto<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[35]</a></span> wife, and now the laws are so framed that he cannot
+defend the woman of his race against the encroachments of his white
+brother, who looks at the destruction of the Negro woman as only an
+indiscretion. The humble black fool is often forced away from his own
+wife or sweet-heart at the point of a revolver, cowed by the feeling
+that a manly stand against a white man might cause incalculable loss of
+life. Yet the advocate of Lynch Law pictures this humble fellow, this
+man who is afraid to attempt to defend his own home, as a reckless
+dare-devil, keeping the whites in constant terror. How incompatible
+these two traits of character. No; it is not the reckless dare deviltry
+of the Negro that terrorizes the South, but the conscience of the white
+man whose wrong treatment of a defenseless people fills him with fear
+and intensifies his hatred. He is determined to fill to overflow his cup
+of iniquity. Like Macbeth, he has waded in so far, that to return were
+as tedious as to go over. It matters not how loud the Southerner shouts
+about "the good-for-nothing Nigger," he still has the same old
+<a name="corr6" id="corr6"></a><a class="correction" href="#cn6" title="changed from 'anti-bellum'">ante-bellum</a>
+liking for the women of that race. Bishop Turner is the only
+honest and earnest advocate of Negro Emigration, the others have only a
+half-hearted leaning in that direction. If it were possible for
+emigration to become a reality, the Southern whites would be the hardest
+kickers against the scheme. The only beneficiaries from this wonderful
+enterprise would be the steamship companies; for after the hundreds of
+years of transportation are over, then excursion parties would be the
+order of the day for time immemorial. Our Southern gentleman will not be
+deprived of the Negro woman. There is no ocean too wide for him to
+cross; no wall too high for him to scale; he'd risk the fires of hell to
+be in her company, intensely as he pretends to hate her. Wilmington,
+North Carolina, the scene of that much regretted phenomenon&mdash;the fatal
+clashing of races in November, 1898, was not, and is not without its
+harems, its unholy minglings of Shem with Ham; where the soft-fingered
+aristocrat embraces the lowest dusky sirene in Paddy's Hollow, and
+thinks nothing of it. Molly Pierrepont whom I introduce to the reader in
+this chapter, is a type of Negro women whose progress along ennobling
+avenues is more hotly contested than any other woman in the South,
+because of her beauty. To decide between the honor with poverty offered
+by the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[36]</a></span> black man and the life of ease with shame offered by the white
+one is her "Gethsemine." Yet where love of honor has conquered, she has
+made a devoted wife and a loving mother.</p>
+
+<p>Such a character as Molly Pierrepont was an exclusive luxury for
+gentlemen. The poor white could not afford to support a mistress who of
+course went to the highest bidder. Ben Hartright left the Wigwam before
+the close of the meeting in which he was so deeply interested, and
+proceeded directly to Molly's cottage; but he did not notice as he
+tipped lightly through the gate a cloaked and veiled form crouching down
+in the bushes a few yards away. He heard not the light footsteps as it
+drew nearer to be sure that there was no mistaking the visitor. Ben
+Hartright entered boldly; knocking was unnecessary, he was master there.
+The furniture and hangings were all his purchase, even the expensive
+jewels that the woman wore. The figure on the outside drew still closer,
+peered in, tip-toed upon the piazza, pressed the ear against the window
+to catch as much as possible of what went on within. Only a few minutes
+did it tarry however. As the door swung open, Molly arose from the piano
+and advanced with outstretched arms to meet him.</p>
+
+<p>"Hello, Ben! I thought you were to be here by eight to-night."</p>
+
+<p>Ben Hartright sank upon a sofa and gently drew the girl down beside him
+before he assayed to answer her.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, Molly, you must remember that I am in politics now," he said,
+kissing her fondly, "and I must attend the different meetings, business
+before pleasure you know. We are in the most exciting period of the
+campaign; a campaign the like of which has never before been experienced
+in North Carolina. We are organized and determined to save the State to
+the Democratic party and make white supremacy an established fact if we
+have to kill every Nigger and Nigger-hearted white man in it. To make
+assurance doubly sure, we are arming ourselves, and seeing to it that no
+Nigger shall buy an ounce of powder, and every Nigger man and woman is
+to be searched and what weapons they have taken away that no white man's
+life may be endangered. There are some Niggers and white men who must be
+killed, and they are carefully listed."</p>
+
+<p>Ben Hartright unbosomed to Molly the plots of the White Su<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[37]</a></span>premacy
+League in all its blood-curdling details, naming every man and woman who
+were to be the victims of the mob's fury.</p>
+
+<p>"Do you think that a very brave thing to do?" asked Molly at the
+conclusion of Ben's recital.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, anything is fair in dealing with Niggers," answered Ben. But the
+look of astonishment in Molly's black eyes suddenly brought Ben
+Hartright to the full realization that he was revealing the secrets of
+his klan to one of the race he was plotting to massacre.</p>
+
+<p>"Of course we don't include such as you, Molly," he said, lightly
+tapping her on the shoulder. "You are no Nigger, you are nearly as white
+as I am."</p>
+
+<p>"Nearly as white," echoed Molly with a sneer. "Do you mean to try to
+choke it down my throat that my whiteness would save me should your
+people rise up against Niggers in Wilmington? Honestly, Ben Hartright,
+do you mean that?" Molly arose from the sofa and stood up before her
+lover that she might the better study his face. Hartright was silent.</p>
+
+<p>In Southern legislative halls white minorities in old Reconstruction
+days ruled Republican majorities by appealing to the vanity of
+light-skinned Negro representatives.</p>
+
+<p>"You are almost white, why vote with them Niggers?" Ben Hartright was
+using the old tactics; he had realized that he perhaps had been careless
+with his secrets. "What I really mean, Molly, is that you are a friend
+of white people&mdash;that is you are not one of those Nigger wenches who
+want to be er&mdash;er&mdash;ladies&mdash;that want Nigger dudes to raise their hats to
+them&mdash;want to be like white people you know."</p>
+
+<p>"I understand," said Molly.</p>
+
+<p>"We white gentlemen believe in having colored girl friends, and we
+always stand by them no matter what happens." Molly momentarily eyed the
+ceiling.</p>
+
+<p>"Benny, did you ever read Uncle Tom's Cabin?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, I have," answered Ben, but it has been too long ago to remember
+very much of its contents.</p>
+
+<p>"Why? Everybody should read that book it seems to me; read and read
+again Cassie's story of her love for the man who after prom<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[38]</a></span>ising to
+protect and defend her, sneaked away and sold her. Cassie was almost
+white. Cassie was a white man's friend, and to that man she was true;
+but Cassie's story of betrayal, disappointment, misery at the hands of
+that long haired brute who afterwards became her master, would make the
+strongest heart weep. <i>You will stand by your colored girl friend.</i>
+Perhaps you think you would, but I doubt it, Ben Hartright. When that
+time comes that the two races are arrayed against each other, my fair
+complexion will be of no avail. I am a Nigger, and will be dealt with as
+such, even by the man who now promises me protection."</p>
+
+<p>Ben Hartright quailed under Molly's biting sarcasm. He was unprepared
+for this change of front on the part of his mistress. His pretention of
+love were not sufficient to create in Molly a feeling of security.</p>
+
+<p>"Then d'm it all! you as good as tell a gentleman to his teeth that he
+lies then?" said he doggedly.</p>
+
+<p>"No; I don't mean to say that you lie. What you say to me <i>now</i>, you may
+earnestly mean, but under circumstances just mentioned, you would deny
+that you ever knew me. What you have revealed tonight concerning your
+aims and plots, portrays to my mind just who and what you are, and just
+who and what I am. Samson has revealed his secret to his Delilah, and
+its Delilah's duty to warn her people of the dangers that await them.
+Men whose lives are threatened must be warned; women who are in danger
+of being ignominiously dealt with must be put upon their guard; must
+know that these defenders of virtue, these Southern gentlemen who are
+thirsting for the blood of a slanderer (?) of white women are
+hypocrites, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel."</p>
+
+<p>"By the thunder, what do you mean by such language?" and Ben Hartright
+arose from the sofa and glared at the girl, his eyes flashing. "Do you
+know that you are talking to a gentleman?"</p>
+
+<p>"Be careful," said Molly, "You wouldn't have the women for whom you
+would be so chivalrous know who Ben Hartright <i>really is</i>, would you?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why, what's the matter Molly?" said Hartright in a more subdued voice.
+"Have you joined the sanctified band?"</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[39]</a></span>"No; but I realize as never before just who and what I am, and your
+trying to flatter me into the belief that I am better than black women
+who try to be pure, is a revelation to me who and what <i>you are</i>. There
+are men whom you have named to be killed whose only offense is that they
+are respectable and independent; and women who are hated because they
+are not easy victims such as I am&mdash;women who will live honestly upon
+bread and water. These are colored people who have so much confidence in
+the better class of white people, that they would not believe that such
+a plot is being laid for their destruction."</p>
+
+<p>Ben Hartright put his arms around Molly's waist. "I thought you were a
+true friend of white people, Molly; but I find that you are not, so
+let's drop the unpleasant subject. If the Niggers keep away from the
+polls, and don't attempt to run a ticket, there will be no trouble; but
+if they persist in defying the whites, there'll be hell. But all pretty
+Nigger gals such as you will be all right."</p>
+
+<p>"Unhand me!" said Molly, twisting herself from his grasp. "Go tell your
+hypocritical associates in crime that the deed they are about to commit
+will recoil upon their own heads, and upon the heads of their children."</p>
+
+<p>"But&mdash;er&mdash;now Molly&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Go!" hissed Molly, pointing to the door.</p>
+
+<p>Ben Hartright walked slowly to the door paused and wistfully eyed Molly
+who stood with uplifted hand pointing in that direction. "Oh, you are
+quite full of race pride just now, but when it comes to deciding between
+the easy life that a white man pays for and Nigger drudgery, you'll
+doubtless change your tune. I leave you to reflect."</p>
+
+<p>Hartright walked out. Molly sank upon the sofa and buried her face in
+her hands. "How true!" she sobbed. "What have I done?" but she rose and
+her anguish was gone in a twinkling. "Easy life! Drudgery! But <i>here I
+swear from this hour Molly Pierrepont will live no longer such a life</i>."</p>
+
+<p>Ben Hartright reached his home in Orange street about three o'clock,
+noiselessly opened the door and strode up to his apartments, thinking he
+would get to bed without disturbing his young wife; but she was not
+there. The bed remained as it was when the chambermaid left<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[40]</a></span> it that
+morning, after giving it its finishing touches. Ben Hartright looked
+about the room in wild amazement. He drew out his watch, scanned its
+face eagerly. "By ginger!" he exclaimed, "it's past three o'clock.
+Wonder where is Emily? This is indeed something unusual." Thinking
+perhaps that his child might have taken ill during the night and that
+his wife had remained in the nurse's room with it, he crossed the hall
+and rapped upon the door; a second rap brought the nurse to the door
+rubbing her eyes. "What's the matter, Fannie; is the baby sick?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, sah!" answered the girl.</p>
+
+<p>"Isn't Miss Emily in there?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, sah; Mr. Benny she aint in heah, sah."</p>
+
+<p>"<i>Where in the thunder is she then?</i>" roared Ben Hartright, now beside
+himself with rage. "<i>Is this the way you look after your mistress?</i>" and
+he seized the already frightened girl by the shoulders and shook her
+vigorously, turned away before she could utter a word of excuse, and
+bounded down to his mother's apartments.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Hartright, aroused by the noise above, was just emerging from her
+door to learn the cause of it all. "Why, what's the matter, son?" she
+questioned gently, as Ben, both angry and frightened, strode up to where
+she stood.</p>
+
+<p>"Didn't you hear me asking Fannie where Emily is? Didn't you know that
+she hasn't been in her room, and here it is nearly four o'clock in the
+morning!"</p>
+
+<p>"Emily went out just after tea, and I thought she had returned,"
+answered the mother. "Perhaps she went walking with some of her girl
+friends, was taken ill and had to stop at one of their homes. Wait
+Benny, I'll dress and help you to look for her."</p>
+
+<p>Ben Hartright turned and walked slowly to the door and paused to wait
+for his mother. There was a turn of the door latch, a vigorous twist of
+a key in the lock; the door flew open and Emily Hartright walked in. She
+apparently did not see her husband who stood and eyed her angrily as she
+entered and began to ascend the steps to her room.</p>
+
+<p>"Emily," said Ben, following and seizing his wife by the arm. "Are you
+mad, if not explain this extraordinary conduct of yours.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[41]</a></span> Where have you
+been?" She turned, gazed into her husband's eyes for a moment, then with
+one vigorous tug, she wrenched her arm from his grasp and proceeded up
+the steps. The mother by this time had joined her son, and they both
+followed the young lady who had entered her room and was removing her
+wraps.</p>
+
+<p>"What's the matter my darling?" said Mrs. Hartright, throwing her arms
+around her daughter's waist. "I was so troubled about you. What kept you
+out so late, Emily?"</p>
+
+<p>"Wait, mother, until I have rested and composed myself, then I will
+explain," answered Emily, softly.</p>
+
+<p>Ben had sank into a chair and sat with his chin resting upon the palm of
+his hand. Emily sat upon the side of the bed.</p>
+
+<p>"Men go night after night," she said, "stay as long as they please, and
+return in whatever condition they please; and to queries of their wives,
+they are evasive in their answers; but when a woman takes the privilege
+of exercising her rights&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"<i>Her rights</i>," roared Ben, jumping to his feet. "A lady goes out of her
+residence, leaves her servant and relatives in ignorance of her
+destination, returns at four o' clock in the morning to tell anxious
+husband and mother about <i>her rights</i>! We'll have a direct explanation
+from you, Mrs. Hartright, without preambling."</p>
+
+<p>"I'll not be bullied, Ben Hartright," answered the young wife calmly.
+"Remember that when you married <i>me</i>, you didn't marry a chambermaid or
+housekeeper, but a lady of one of the first families of Virginia, and
+such people brook <i>no bullying</i>," and Emily arose and glared at her
+husband like a tigress.</p>
+
+<p>Ben Hartright quailed. Never had he seen his little wife in such a state
+of anger and defiance.</p>
+
+<p>"If you are man enough to reveal your whereabouts until the small hours
+of the morning, you can tell where your wife was."</p>
+
+<p>Ben Hartright raised his eyes from the floor and looked at his wife in
+amazement.</p>
+
+<p>"When you entered the house of your mistress, Molly Pierrepont,
+to-night, I saw you. I, your <i>wife</i>, whom <i>you</i> swore to honor and
+protect, saw you. She saw you embrace and kiss a Negro woman, the woman
+of a race whom you pretend to despise, and whom you and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[42]</a></span> your pals are
+secretly scheming to cold bloodedly murder and drive from their homes.
+Take care! God knows your hypocrisy and the deeds you commit will recoil
+upon your own heads."</p>
+
+<p>"Emily, are you mad?" gasped the elder lady who stood as if transfixed
+to the floor.</p>
+
+<p>"Ask him," returned the young lady, "he knows whether or not I utter the
+truth, or whether I am a victim of a beclouded brain. He knows that he
+has wronged me; he knows that he has lied to me. I care not for your
+frowns. <i>You</i> a gentleman? You hate Niggers, yet you can embrace one so
+fondly. I will no longer live with such a gentleman, who night after
+night under the excuse of 'clubs' and 'business' spends his time away
+from his wife, and in company of a Negro woman. I am going home to my
+people."</p>
+
+<p>"Now, Emily," said the elder Mrs. Hartright, "don't start a scandal;
+remember that you are a Southerner. Southern people do not countenance
+the airing of unpleasant family matters!"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," replied the young lady, "this fear of airing family troubles on
+the part of our women, has made us slaves, while the men are licensed to
+indulge in all manner of indecencies with impunity. I will be the first
+Southern woman to sever the chain of 'formality,' and cry aloud to the
+world that I leave my husband because of his unfaithfulness. It is my
+right, and I will exercise that right."</p>
+
+<p>Ben who had again sank into his seat arose and advanced toward his wife
+to sue for forgiveness.</p>
+
+<p>"Don't touch me!" she cried, with uplifted hand. "The cup is full. Go
+back to her who has monopolized the best portion of your time since you
+have married me."</p>
+
+<p>Ben Hartright sank again into his chair and buried his face into his
+hands.</p>
+
+<p>"Now, my darlings, let mother be the daysman between you," said the
+elder Mrs. Hartright, coming near carressing the young wife. "Benny
+knows just to what extent he has wronged you my dear, and I believe him
+honest enough and manly enough to acknowledge it, and sue for
+forgiveness. I leave you to yourselves. God grant that you may be
+enabled to peacably settle your difficulties satisfactorily to you both,
+without giving license to Madame Gossip. God bless<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[43]</a></span> you." Kissing Emily,
+Mrs. Hartright descended to her room.</p>
+
+<p>Ben Hartright succeeded in patching up matters with his wife by
+promising to live a more honest life, only to break it, which caused her
+to make good her threat and leave him.</p>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[44]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VI" id="CHAPTER_VI"></a>CHAPTER VI.</h2>
+
+<h3>The Union Aid Society Holds a Meeting.</h3>
+
+
+<p>The home of Mrs. West was one of the many snug little cottages owned by
+the colored inhabitants of that section of Wilmington known as "Camp
+Land." It also had the distinction of facing Campbell Street, the main
+<a name="corr7" id="corr7"></a><a class="correction" href="#cn7" title="changed from 'thorougfare'">thoroughfare</a>
+of that portion of the city. Although Mrs. West knew
+something of slavery as it existed in North Carolina, she was free born;
+her grandfather having purchased his freedom, and afterwards that of the
+rest of the family before her birth. The rule that the free Negro was a
+shiftless being more to be pitied than envied by slaves, was not without
+many exceptions in North Carolina. There were many Negroes in old North
+Carolina who by grasping every opportunity to earn an extra dollar by
+working for neighboring planters when their own tasks were done, and
+making such useful articles as their genius could contrive, often after
+years of patient toiling and saving would often astonish their masters
+by offering to
+<a name="corr8" id="corr8"></a><a class="correction" href="#cn8" title="changed from 'puschase'">purchase</a>
+their freedom. There were others who paid to
+their masters annually a specified sum of money for their time, that
+they might enjoy the control of their own affairs as much as possible.</p>
+
+<p>For many years before the war my father did public carting in the town
+of Fayetteville as a free-man, his master receiving a certain amount of
+his earnings. Of course there were free Negroes whose conception of
+freedom was a release from manual toil, and who like poor whites, lived
+a shiftless indolent life, following the sunshine in Winter and the
+shade in Summer.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[45]</a></span>Free Negroes in North Carolina had the right to purchase property and
+enjoy other limited privileges. The parents of Mrs. West, known as
+Burchers, emigrated to the West in the forties, where their children
+could be educated. After the war Mrs. West, with her husband whom she
+had met and married in Ohio, returned to North Carolina, prepared to
+enter upon the work of uplifting the newly emancipated of their
+unfortunate race; and now well advanced in years, she could look over
+many years of active useful service in the cause of her people. It was
+the evening for the regular monthly meeting of the Union Aid Society of
+which Mrs. West was President, and several members had already arrived;
+but in such a season such business for which a society of this kind was
+organized would doubtless be neglected, so pregnant was the air with the
+all absorbing subject&mdash;politics.</p>
+
+<p>But the Union Aid Society is composed exclusively of women. What of
+that? Some of our most skilled politicians in the South are among the
+women of both races. Although they do not take the stump and sit upon
+platforms in public assemblages, they are superior house-to-house
+canvassers, and in their homes noiselessly urge the men to do their
+duty. For earnest persistence and true loyalty to the party of her
+choice, the Negro woman of the South outdoes her sister in white. Give
+the ballot to the women of the South, and give her dusky daughters an
+equal show, and a Solid South would be a thing of the past; for the
+Negro woman is the most loyal supporter of Republican principles in that
+section. So radical is the Negro woman, that it is worth a husband's, or
+brother's, or sweetheart's good standing in the home or society to assay
+to vote a Democratic ticket. Such a step on the part of a Negro man has
+in some instances broken up his home. The Spartan loyalty of the
+Southern white woman to the Confederacy and the Lost Cause was not more
+marked than is the fidelity of the Negro woman to that party which stood
+for universal freedom and the brotherhood of man, and whose triumphant
+legions so ignominiously crushed Freedom's sullen and vindictive foe.
+Although the Government provides for the annual placing of a small flag
+upon the grave of each of the thousands of heroes now sleeping in the
+Southland, it is the dusky fingers of the Negro woman, perfumed by<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[46]</a></span> the
+sweet incense of love and gratitude that places the lilac, the rose and
+forget-me-not there.</p>
+
+<p>The Northern white woman in the South, in order to maintain her social
+caste, generally allows her patriotism to cool. But the Negro woman
+sings patriotic airs on each 30th of May as she twines wreaths of pine
+to lay upon the graves of those <i>who died for her</i>. Of course, these
+women who had gathered in the parlor of Mrs. West's cottage were
+intensely interested in the coming election in Wilmington, and were
+ready to discuss the event with all the fervor of their patriotic souls.
+"Ladies," said Mrs. West after the prayers had been said, and the
+minutes of the previous meeting read, "I confess that for the first time
+since my election to the presidency of this society, I feel an
+inclination to waive the transaction of its regular business, so
+depressed am I over events now crowding upon us." "I believe thats the
+case with every one," answered Mrs. Cole. "I have received a letter from
+the Chairman of the Executive Committee," continued Mrs. West, "stating
+that so grave is the situation all over the State that he is advised by
+the Governor himself to withdraw Republican candidates from the field&mdash;a
+request without a precedent in North Carolina."</p>
+
+<p>"It would never do to show such cowardice!" said Mrs. Cole. "If I were
+chairman of that committee I'd put the ticket in the field and go to the
+polls if the devils were around it as thick as shingles upon a
+housetop." "I was of the same mind" answered Mrs. West, "but when the
+Governor of the State&mdash;when brave Daniel Lane has become apprehensive, I
+can appreciate the gravity of the situation. I have seen that man walk
+undismayed through the streets of Wilmington during very turbulent
+periods in her history. I see that in the upper section of the State the
+Democrats have already organized Red Shirt Brigades who are riding
+through the rural districts terrorizing Negroes, and we may look for the
+same to take place in Wilmington. Silas writes that they are determined
+to carry the election. He has received two threatening letters and is
+afraid. You are aware that that monster has been, and is advising the
+whites in our State to copy South Carolina's method of carrying
+elections, and they are heeding his advice. I am compelled to
+acknowledge despite my<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[47]</a></span> previous confidence in the integrity and honesty
+of our North Carolina white people that my faith is getting shaky. The
+buying of guns and other weapons by poor whites who are often unable to
+buy food, means something. It means that the rich are going to use them
+to perform the dirty work of intimidation and murder if necessary to
+carry this election." "Colored men must show their manhood, and fight
+for their rights," exclaimed Mrs. Wise the secretary who had laid down
+her pen and was attentively listening to the president's talk. "But how
+are they to do it?" asked Mrs. West; "My son tells me that there is not
+a store in the city that will sell a Negro an ounce of powder. The best
+thing to do&mdash;if such things should happen&mdash;is to stay in our homes, and
+advise the men to be cool. Rashness on their part would be all the
+excuse the unprincipalled whites would want to kill them. Editor Manly's
+reply to Mrs. Fell's letter in August is now brought forward to be used
+by their stump orators to fan the flames of race hatred." "I wish he
+hadn't written it," interrupted Mrs. Cole. "It was a truth unwisely
+said," answered Mrs. Wise, "and by a man who meant to defend his own; so
+let us make the best of it. I would not have Editor Manly feel for a
+moment that we are such ingrates as to say anything against him."</p>
+
+<p>"The most important thing that I intended to mention, and which makes me
+feel that our situation is a critical one," continued Mrs. West, "was a
+letter that came this morning from Molly Pierrepont." "Molly
+Pierrepont!" echo every one almost in one breath. "Poor erring girl!"
+said Mrs. Wise slowly. "What has happened her?" "Molly has written me a
+long and even affectionate letter. She writes, '<i>Ben Hartright confided
+to me the other night the ghastly plans of the Rough Riders, a band made
+up from the most respectable of the whites. They are to be reinforced
+from all over the State, and even from other States for the purpose of
+killing and driving from Wilmington objectionable blacks and whites,
+John Holloway, Nicholas McDuffy, Editor Manly, John Brown, Lawyers
+Scott, Moore and Henderson, George Z. French, Thomas Miller, Ariah
+Bryant, McLane Lofton, Pickens and Bell and others of prominence and
+independenence are to be special marks of vengeance. I beg you my dear
+Aunt Betty, warn these people. I shall take it upon myself to give the
+alarm, for these are my people.</i>'</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[48]</a></span>"There is some good in this wayward child after all," said Mrs. West,
+pushing her spectacles back, and looking up. "But who of these people
+would believe that such was in store for them? These men would not leave
+their homes without a severe struggle." "The Government should protect
+its citizens in their rights," said Mrs. Wise. "Government? Bah!"
+answered Mrs. West. "Here's the highest official of the State afraid for
+his own life." "Well if the Governor is incapable of coping with the
+situation, the President has the power to send in the troops," said Mrs.
+Cole. "Yes, but will he use that power? I don't believe McKinley is
+going to do anything to offend the Southern whites if they kill every
+Negro in the South. The interests of an alien race are too trivial to
+risk the sundering of the ties that are supposed by the North to bind
+the two sections. Each State according to the Southern view, is a
+sovereignty itself, and can kill and murder its inhabitants with
+impunity. There is no John Brown, Beecher, nor Sumner, nor Douglass,
+Garrison, Phillips and others of that undaunted host who were willing
+and did risk persecution and death for us; this generation has not
+produced such precious characters. God is our only helper and we must
+look to Him for deliverance. We are living too well for the broken down
+aristocrats and poor whites who are disappointed because we are not all
+domestics.</p>
+
+<p>"Molly expresses her intention to call, and I was hoping she would come
+before you all left. Perhaps you know Molly Pierrepont, for a woman of
+her reputation cannot help being known to a small community; but you are
+not all aware of the fact that I raised her, and took special pains to
+give her a good education, and I thought she'd requite me by trying to
+lead a useful life." "But you know Mrs. West, that Negro girls of
+attractiveness in the South have a great battle to fight, if they wish
+to be pure," said Mrs. Wise. "That's very true" answered Mrs. West; "I
+have often pondered over the thought since she left me five years ago,
+that the conditions under which she was born may have had something to
+do with shaping her course in life. We, innocent as we may be, must
+suffer for the iniquities of our parents. Before the war, there lived in
+Brunswick a large slave owner by name of Philpot. He was the father of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[49]</a></span>
+Molly's mother, one of his slaves. After the surrender, this woman did
+not leave the plantation of her master but remained there until her
+death. The child, Molly's mother, whose name was Eliza, at the time of
+her mother's death was a pretty lass of fourteen; so attractive that the
+father then an old man could not curb his brutal passion. It is needless
+for me to speak plainer ladies. There is a passage of Scripture which
+reads as follows: 'The dog has returned to his vomit, and the sow that
+was washed is wallowing in the mire.' The young mother brought the child
+to Wilmington, gave her to me, and disappeared. Molly was then about
+four years old. Those who knew of me and my affairs know how carefully I
+raised the girl. She graduated from Hampton with honors, has a fair
+musical education, and a voice that might have made her a fortune.
+Imagine how proud her foster mother was when she returned home from
+school, so full of promise. If she would only leave this place and seek
+to live a better life in some strange community I would be more content.
+It would be hard for her to do so here. This Ben Hartright and another
+white gentleman had a free fight over her about a month ago. Ben was
+prevented from using his pistol by the girl's timely interference. That
+fiend of Georgia who is urging the men of her race to revel in the blood
+of their fellows, would do them more good by urging upon them the
+necessity of good morals. Doubtless this Ben Hartright is one of the
+leaders of this proposed raid in Wilmington to drive out undesirable
+citizens, yet he is so low morally, that he leaves a richly furnished
+home, a refined wife and pretty child to fight over a Negro woman, for
+such he has I hear." "But this letter proves that there are redeemable
+qualities in Molly despite her birth and bad life." "Magdalene made a
+devoted follower of Christ, you know," said Mrs. Wise; "with God's help,
+she can if she wills, pull away from her present surroundings and be a
+good woman." "Yes, she says in her letter that '<i>never did the full
+realization of what I am, come so plainly before me, as when this
+villian so cooly told me of his plans. I drove him from my presence as I
+would a dog.</i>' This shows that Molly's race pride is not entirely
+blunted by dissipation and unholy living. I counsel you all ere you
+depart, to remember that we are at the mercy of the whites, and each one
+of us<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[50]</a></span> should do all in our power to show our men the wisdom of
+coolness. By this, with God's help, we may be able to avert the evil
+threatened. I declare the Union Aid Society adjourned, subject to the
+call of the president."</p>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[51]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VII" id="CHAPTER_VII"></a>CHAPTER VII.</h2>
+
+<h3>Molly's Atonement.</h3>
+
+
+<p>A few evenings after the unpleasant interview between Molly Pierrepont
+and Ben Hartright, Silas Wingate, chairman of the Republican Executive
+Committee, sat alone in his office. In that morning's mail had come to
+him a letter from the Governor, full of discouraging news as to the
+chances of Republican success throughout the State, and advising that
+for the safety of life Republican candidates be withdrawn from the
+field&mdash;a request unprecedented in the history of the State. "This would
+be too cowardly a backdown," he soliloquized. "The situation is not so
+serious perhaps as the Governor imagines. Such bluffs the Democrats have
+resorted to more than once before, but they didn't deter us in the
+least. We put our ticket in the field and fought hard for its election."
+But never before had the chairman of the Executive Committee seen in New
+Hanover County such grim and warlike activity on the part of the
+Democrats. The arming of the poor whites, the hiring of sterner
+implements of war, secret house-to-house meetings, and the stern refusal
+of dealers to sell a black man a deadly weapon of any description or as
+much as an ounce of powder meant something more than bluff. Yet so
+strong was the faith of Mr. Wingate in the integrity of the better
+classes of Wilmington's white citizens that he was slow to grasp the
+situation although the evidence was so overwhelming. He took the letter
+from the desk and read it for the fourth time since receiving it,
+riveting his eyes long and intently upon the signature affixed. Of all
+the years he had known the Governor he had never known him to shrink or
+show cowardice in any form whatever, although he'd passed through such
+crises as would tend to test the mettle<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[52]</a></span> of any man, it matters not how
+brave. "Surely the situation must be terrible!" finally observed Mr.
+Wingate, throwing the letter upon the desk and whirling around in his
+chair. "I will call a meeting and put the matter before the committee.
+When that man says back down then surely doomsday is not far off."</p>
+
+<p>There was a timid knock at the door. Feeling that perhaps it was one of
+his colleagues dropping in for a chat upon the all-absorbing topic of
+the day, Mr. Wingate did not rise or turn his face in that direction,
+but simply bid the visitor enter. The latch was timidly turned, followed
+by light footsteps, accompanied by the rustle of skirts, and before he
+could turn his head to see who this unexpected visitor might be, the
+figure had glided up to his chair and two soft hands were pressed over
+his eyes. "Now, just guess who it is. I will not release my hold until
+you do," was the soft command. "Now, as I was expecting only politicians
+to-night and, of course, no visitor in petticoats, I should be excused
+from trying to guess who you are on these grounds," answered Mr.
+Wingate, trying to force the hands which were firmly pressing down upon
+his eyes. "In such times as these you are likely to see even the women
+in the forefront in the fray, and doing even more than merely making
+calls," returned the visitor, releasing her hold and stepping in front
+of Mr. Wingate. "Why, Molly Pierrepont! What brings you here?" exclaimed
+Mr. Wingate, rising and staring at his visitor, who unceremoniously sank
+into a chair. "I am somewhat interested in this campaign
+myself&mdash;astonishing intelligence I know," calmly replied the visitor;
+"yet I am going to astonish you more by saying that I have information
+to impart to the chairman of the Executive Committee that will be of
+great value to him in conducting this campaign." Molly's calm demeanor,
+so unlike a woman of her disposition and temperament, struck Mr. Wingate
+somewhat humorously. Molly Pierrepont, having chosen a life of shame
+that she might&mdash;if only clandestinely&mdash;associate with and enjoy the
+favors of the men of the white race, would be the last person of the
+race to take a stand in its defense to give aid to the Negro in his
+combat with the white man, politically or otherwise. Women of Molly's
+stamp, possessing no<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[53]</a></span> race pride, had never been race defenders, so it
+was plausible for Mr. Wingate to feel that the woman was jesting, or
+that she was sent by his enemies into his camp as a spy. "In our present
+dilemma the Republican Committee stands much in need of information and
+advice," said Mr. Wingate, slowly. "Things are assuming quite a serious
+aspect; you are in position to get a good deal of information as to the
+maneuvers of the enemy. But, my dear girl, if you are here to aid us,
+have you counted the cost?" Mr. Wingate knew that Molly Pierrepont was
+the mistress of one of Wilmington's best citizens, a bitter Democrat,
+and a reputed leader of the White Supremacy League; that she was well
+cared for, that her gowns, etc., equaled in quality and construction
+those of her paramour's wife, and, considering her love for such ease
+and luxury, to come out and reveal the doings, and openly denounce the
+schemes of the party of her paramour, was a sacrifice that a woman of
+her character was not generally ready to make&mdash;in fact, such thoughts
+did not find lodgment in her brain. In the flattering embrace of the
+Philistine all noble aspirations ordinarily become extinct. Mr.
+Wingate's interrogation was followed by a brief pause, which caused
+Molly to move uneasily in her chair. "I see, Silas Wingate, that you
+question my sincerity," she said, slowly. "I can't blame you, though. It
+is perfectly natural for such as I to be arrayed with the whites or be
+neutral, stifling all thoughts of being of service to my wronged people,
+because my life belies it. But I am sincere, Silas; believe me," and
+Molly reached over and laid her hand upon the arm of Mr. Wingate, whose
+look betrayed his incredulity. "In spite of the lowliness of my birth,
+and the life I have chosen, some good remains in me." She went on: "My
+fair complexion and life of ease have not made me forget that I am
+identified with the oppressed and despised." "Thank God! thank God!"
+said Mr. Wingate, his face brightening. "There is a ring of sincerity in
+your voice, my dear, that banishes doubt." "I come to-night to warn you,
+Silas," continued Molly. "Before many moons Wilmington will be the scene
+of a bloody race war. Ben Hartright is my medium of information. He came
+to my house last evening, and, imbued with the feeling that I was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[54]</a></span> in
+sympathy with the white element, revealed to me the dastardly plot in
+all its blood-curdling details." Mr. Wingate trembled and shook like an
+aspen leaf as Molly named the men and women singled out as victims.
+"These people have ample time now to make good their escape. Tell them,
+Silas, that the best whites are in this move, and they are determined to
+carry it to the bitter end, and their only safety is in flight. Ben
+tells me that the plans are well laid, that men will be here to assist
+in the dirty work from as far South as Texas. I listened patiently to
+Hartright's recital and then denounced him and his cohorts as infamous
+cowards!" "Did you dare?" exclaimed Mr. Wingate, gazing eagerly into
+Molly's face. "I drove him from my presence." Mr. Wingate drew nigh and
+laid his hand caressingly upon Molly's head. "You have risked much," he
+said, eagerly. "I fully realize that," returned Molly. "When he had left
+me, what I had said and done came home with its full force, but, like
+Jephthah, I had sworn, and will not go back; and here now, as I did
+then, I swear with uplifted hand to renounce forever my life of shame,
+and will be no longer a Magdalene!" "Angels record thy vow in heaven,"
+said Mr. Wingate. "You can, with God's help, be true to your vow, for
+Magdalene, who became one of the faithful, was a greater sinner than
+you, Molly." "But Magdalene perhaps never threw away the opportunities
+for good that I have," answered Molly, who had arisen and begun to pace
+the floor. "Magdalene is not charged with having spurned the love and
+sent to a premature grave a man who offered to honor and protect her
+through life." "Don't brood over the past, Molly," said Mr. Wingate, a
+grass-covered mound in Pine Forest Cemetery rising before him. "Let the
+dead past be gone." "I will not! I cannot!" said Molly, pausing. "The
+past will spur me to higher aims in the future. I never can forget the
+time that Harold came to make a last plea to me to be his wife,
+expressing his willingness to make every sacrifice for my happiness. He
+had bright hopes of success in his profession. Yet I spurned his offer
+to live a life of shame with a white man. You know he went to Macon
+afterwards, and there as a physician built up quite a lucrative
+practice. He wrote me often; he spoke of his<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[55]</a></span> prosperity and his
+unhappiness without me to share it. He could not forget me. I tried to
+forget him by plunging deeper into sin. It's some three years ago now
+since the last letter came, in which he said, 'I am dying! dying! dying
+for you!' I tried to make light of it as perhaps merely a jest. But,
+Silas, you know that it's quite two years now since they buried the
+heart which I had broken in Pine Forest Cemetery. Harold! Harold! If I
+could only call you back with those sunny days of innocence. No one
+knows but God what anguish I have suffered since you left me. But I was
+unworthy of you, Harold, unworthy!" The woman had bowed her head upon
+the desk and was sobbing convulsively. "Oh, that you could come back to
+me, Harold! Harold, tender and true. How gladly would I accept your
+offer now, Harold. You would forgive me, unworthy me." Her voice sank
+into an incoherent murmur. Mr. Wingate was deeply moved. He arose and
+bent over her.</p>
+
+<p>"Courage, my child, courage," he whispered, soothingly. "You have just
+started out to do the noblest work of your life. There are many years
+before you to live nobly and amend for the past."</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"'Up, faint heart, up! Immortal life<br /></span>
+<span class="i1">Is lodged within thy frame.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Then let no recreant tho't or deed<br /></span>
+<span class="i1">Divert thy upward aim.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Shall earth's brief ills appall the brave?<br /></span>
+<span class="i1">Shall manly hearts despond?<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Up, faint heart, up! The blackest cloud<br /></span>
+<span class="i1">But veils the heavens beyond.'"<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>These inspired lines caused Molly to raise her head. "I must command
+myself," she said, firmly, "for what I have to do requires courage." She
+arose and laid her hand caressingly upon Mr. Wingate's shoulder. "You
+will warn them, won't you, Silas? Keep the men from the polls. Surrender
+everything. Better to lose a vote than lose a life." She moved toward
+the door, Mr. Wingate following. Laying her hand upon the knob, she
+paused and faced him. "Coming events cast their shadows before," she
+said. "I fear that our days of freedom are at an end in Wilming<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[56]</a></span>ton.
+Good night," and Molly Pierrepont was gone. "Poor girl, poor girl," said
+Mr. Wingate, as he locked the door. "She might have been a queen, but,
+like the base Judean, she threw a pearl away richer than all her tribe.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"'Of all the sad words of tongue or pen<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The saddest are these, 'It might have been.'<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>"Harold Carlyle's youthful life was blighted because he could not give
+up this woman who was unworthy of him. But at last repentance has come.
+God forgive her."</p>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[57]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VIII" id="CHAPTER_VIII"></a>CHAPTER VIII.</h2>
+
+<h3>Dr. Jose.</h3>
+
+
+<p>I will read for your consideration this evening Joshua, tenth chapter,
+eighth and tenth verses, which are as follows:</p>
+
+<p>"And the Lord said unto Joshua, fear them not, for I have delivered them
+into thine hand. There shall not a man of them stand before thee.</p>
+
+<p>"And the Lord discomfited them before Israel and slew them with great
+slaughter at Gibeon and chased them along the way that goeth up to
+Beth-horon and smote them to Azekah and unto Makkedah."</p>
+
+<p>Thus read the pastor of one of Wilmington's Presbyterian churches at the
+beginning of one of the weekly prayer meetings. "Brethren," said he, "I
+have chosen these two verses of Scripture this evening because my mind
+is as, I believe, yours are&mdash;weighted down by the situation that
+confronts the white people of this city. No doubt all of you would like
+to see white man's government permanently restored, although you are
+most of you averse to resorting to physical force to accomplish that
+end. While most all Biblical students believe and teach that God told
+Joshua to destroy these Amorites, Canaanites and Jebusites because of
+their wickedness, I go further and say that they were to be destroyed
+because they were the black descendants of Ham, the accursed son of
+Noah. Joshua was commanded to utterly destroy them or put them under
+subjection according to God's word&mdash;'Cursed be Canaan, servant of
+servants shall he be.' The Jew in this instance represented Shem, the
+blessed son, who was to triumph over Ham and keep him forever in
+subjection. God has blackened with his<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[58]</a></span> curse the descendants of this
+cursed son of Noah that Shem and Japheth may ever know who the cursed of
+God is. You who are hesitating in doubt as whether it is right to use
+force to put this descendant of Ham in his rightful place&mdash;the place
+which God ordained that he should be&mdash;I counsel you to ponder over the
+passages of Scripture just read. The education of the Negro is giving
+him an advantage that justifies our apprehension. This, combined with
+accumulated wealth, make him a subject for grave and careful
+consideration. We are in a condition of subjection under Negro rule and
+domination that justifies the taking of the sword. We are God's chosen
+people, the banner carriers of civilization. We civilized the Negro and
+set him free, and it's our right to return him, if necessary, to his
+former condition of servitude.</p>
+
+<p>"The meeting is now open for prayer, praise and exhortation." Saying
+this, Dr. Jose took his seat.</p>
+
+<p>When the country was wrought up over the question of slavery it was the
+Presbyterian Church South that drafted resolutions declaring that
+"Slavery is a divine institution." If a divine institution, then the
+destruction of that institution was wrong, and the champions of freedom
+and the brotherhood of man open violators of divine law. If it is the
+will of God that the dusky children of Ham are to ever serve their
+brethren and ever to be reminded of their inferiority, then why not the
+professing Christian, the minister of the Gospel, join in the work of
+carrying out God's decree?</p>
+
+<p>The victory of Union guns at Fort Fisher brought many carpet-baggers to
+Wilmington, many of them thrifty men of enterprise, who willingly
+assisted their brethren to restore life to that devastated town. Quite a
+goodly number of these good people worshipped God in Wilmington's
+Presbyterian Church. Therefore, among these cool and thoughtful
+Northerners the ministers' exhortation to retort to the shotgun was not
+very favorably commented upon at that meeting. But this did not in the
+least dampen the ardor of this hot-blooded Virginian. He went home, and
+instead of kneeling, as usual, by his bedside to pray, he knelt in his
+study. "Lord, we are sorely tried; the enemies of thy chosen people are
+waxing stronger and stronger. Thou art a God of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[59]</a></span> battle. Thou didst in
+days of old lead thy children to victory over the enemies. Shall we this
+day rise in our might? Shall we smite with the sword?" There are many
+instances recorded where men strong in faith have heard the voice of God
+assuring them of His divine approval, that He was ready to lead them to
+victory. But Dr. Jose heard no voice, felt no divine presence near him.
+He arose, took his Bible and turned again to the wars of Joshua and the
+terrible triumphs of Jehovah. Mrs. Jose, seeing that her husband
+lingered longer than usual in his study that night, glided softly in to
+see what so absorbed his attention. "Why do you sit up so late to-night,
+my dear?" she asked, softly, laying a hand gently upon her husband's
+shoulders. "I am exceedingly troubled to-night, Mary, darling," returned
+the minister. "This question of Negro Domination is troubling us. We are
+about to the point of desperation. Negroes are becoming so bold that our
+white angels are no longer safe on our streets. We have made up our
+minds to arm ourselves and shake off the yoke." Mrs. Jose gently closed
+the book and laid her hand caressingly upon her husband's head. "Cease
+to ponder over and keep before you the old Scripture, with its martial
+spirit. Remember Christ and the doctrine He came to teach. He came to
+teach the new commandment, to heal the broken hearted, to release the
+captives. 'Verily, brethren, avenge not yourselves, for it is
+<a name="corr9" id="corr9"></a><a class="correction" href="#cn9" title="changed from 'writeen'">written</a>
+Vengeance is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord.' What would Jesus do
+under such circumstances? His was the spirit of love. He would not break
+the bruised reed nor quench the smoking flax. Come away, darling, and
+leave the regulation of everything to God." "But Mary," persisted the
+minister, "you don't understand the situation. We, the men of
+Wilmington, see utter ruin in store for us unless something is done to
+check the Negro. Our women can scarcely venture out alone after dark, so
+ugly and bold has he become under our lenient treatment." "This is all
+imaginary, my dear," interrupted Mrs. Jose. "I am afraid that you have
+allowed yourself to be influenced by these designing politicians, whose
+desire to gain power has stifled their love for truth. Rev. Dr. Jose is
+a Christian. Dr. Jose is a minister of the Gospel, who<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[60]</a></span> should not be
+enticed by sinners into evil. It matters not how justifiable the deed
+may seem, you, my darling, cannot afford to lend either hand or voice in
+this contemplated work. He that taketh the sword shall perish by the
+sword.' Our homes, our firesides, our women are perfectly safe. The only
+uneasy ones among us are those who want offices. Come away, my darling;
+leave wickedness for the wicked to do; you cannot afford to take a hand
+in it." Mrs. Jose took her husband by the hand and gently led him to his
+bedchamber. How much happier man would be if in such trying periods of
+life he'd heed the counsel of the angel of his bosom. But those who read
+the account of the massacre of November, 1898, learned that among that
+body of men, who, armed to the teeth, marched to Dry Pond on that fatal
+morning was a minister of the Gospel. Some papers published the text
+which that minister of the Gospel took to preach from the Sunday
+following, "We have taken a city," etc.</p>
+
+<p>But those hands which turned the leaves of the sacred word were crimson
+with the blood of the defenseless. "And Pilate took a basin of water and
+washed his hands before the multitude." But would we suppose that Pilate
+washed his hands only once? Doubtless far into the night, when the faint
+shouts of triumph from the enemies of God resounded through that ancient
+city, Pilate arose from his bed and washed his hands again, but the
+blood stains were still there. The court scene appears. The cry of the
+Pharisees rings in his ears, the humble Nazarene stands bound before
+him, then Calvary, with the three ghastly instruments of death upon its
+brow, looms up. "Out, damned spot! will these hands never be clean?" The
+blood stains upon his hands have doubtless worried Dr. Jose somewhat,
+and all the others who joined with him in the work of carnage. But the
+blood stains are on their hands still, and the groans and wails of
+innocents must ever ring in their ears. "It was a knavish piece of
+work." "Tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the streets of Askelon,
+lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, lest the daughters of the
+uncircumcised triumph."&mdash;II Samuel, i, 20.</p>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[61]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IX" id="CHAPTER_IX"></a>CHAPTER IX.</h2>
+
+<h3>George Howe.</h3>
+
+
+<p>From the fall of Fort Fisher and political upheavals of the
+Reconstruction period to the awful tragedy of 1898, with the exception
+of a few tragic scenes, Wilmington had been the theatre of one
+continuous comedy, performed by gifted players, whose names and faces
+will ever remain indelibly fixed in the memory. Phillis, "State Mary"
+Tinny, George Howe, Uncle Abram, Bill Dabney, "Uncle Billy" pass over
+the stage before me as I write. But of those who unwittingly struggled
+for the foremost rank in the line of fun-making, George Howe must be the
+acknowledged star.</p>
+
+<p>Unlike others of the same school, whose minds had become unbalanced by
+overwork, worry or disease, George Howe was born a fool. Being a child
+of honorable and respectable parentage, the playmates with whom he
+associated in his early youth were of that class who regarded his
+imbecility as a terrible affliction, were charitable and kind, never
+allowing others to impose upon this simple fellow, who was incapable of
+taking his own part. But as George Howe advanced in years he gradually
+threw off his stupidity, and although he never outgrew the habit of
+keeping his mouth open, he ceased to slobber, and acquired the habit of
+looking respectable. He entered school and became quite proficient in
+one branch of study in particular&mdash;he was an excellent reader,
+with a wonderfully retentive memory. But he never outgrew his
+simple-mindedness, and appellation of "Fool" always justly clung to him,
+for, bright as he seemed to be upon many things, he was incapable of
+applying his knowledge to his own advantage. George Howe kept abreast
+with the doings of the times, especially in the political and religious
+world, and these two subjects he was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[62]</a></span> always ready to discuss. Was there
+a public meeting called, religious, political or otherwise, George Howe
+would be there, often in some conspicuous place, with wide-open mouth
+and staring eyes, drinking in all that was said or done.</p>
+
+<p>It mattered not how many were held in a single day or night, George Howe
+would spend sufficient time at all of them to tell something of what
+took place. For, with a jewsharp as his sole companion, George could
+cover more ground in a single day or night than any other inhabitant of
+Wilmington, keeping time to its discordant twanks. During political
+campaigns, before the press of the city could announce to its readers
+the result of the contest, George Howe could be heard howling the news
+through the streets of Wilmington. "Oh-o-o, look er here, every
+bod-e-e-e! New York, New Jerseee, Dilewar hev gone Dimocratic by big
+majoritees. Great Dimocratic gains throughout ther country." When, in
+1884, the Democratic party astonished the country and itself by electing
+Grover Cleveland to the Presidency by a safe majority, it was George
+Howe who led that host of elated Democrats down Front street and toward
+the Custom House on the evening of election day to inform Republican
+officeholders that at length their time had come to give place for
+others. Being generally shunned by those of his own race, George Howe
+cherished quite a liking for colored people, and could be very
+frequently found among them in their religious meetings. There was
+something in the Negroes' mode of worship that seemed to fascinate him,
+especially the saints of color who worshipped in old Ebenezer Church, in
+South Seventh street. When that most eloquent of pulpit orators, the
+Rev. William H. Banks, led his hosts to Cape Fear River's brink, and
+drew three-fourths of the worshippers of other denominations with them,
+George Howe would be there, yea, marching with the converts themselves,
+joining as lustily as they in the singing of that familiar old marching
+song:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"I'm er goin' up ter join in the army of the Lord,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">I'm er goin' up ter join in the army."<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>Upon the river's bank he'd stand and drink in every word that flowed
+from the mouth of that great divine. No Negro woman or<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[63]</a></span> man could lisp
+the name of "Brother Banks" with sweeter accent than George Howe, and no
+one could sing his praises more earnestly. Who can forget those early
+days of revivals and religious enthusiasm in Wilmington, and the three
+great divines who filled the three great pulpits from which the bread of
+life was given to hungry multitudes. There was Lavender in "Christian
+Chapel," Slubie in St. Stephen, and, more powerful and influential than
+either of these, was William H. Banks, the pastor of Ebenezer Baptist
+Church. Even years after Slubie and Lavender had been called to other
+fields, it was George Howe's delight to stand upon the street corner
+opposite the residence of the Rev. Banks and sing the parody to that
+famous old song that electrified and filled with the spirit the revival
+meetings of the early seventies:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i2">"Brother Lavender's got some liars,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Brother Slubie's got some, too;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Jus' carry 'em down to Cape Fear River,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">An' Banks'll put 'em through."<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Chorus: "Git on board, children," etc.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>These great men are gone into the spirit world, but George Howe still
+lives. Banks was the last to go, and when that coffined clay was being
+borne from old Ebenezer, where for sixteen years he had labored, George
+Howe was one of that multitude of bleeding hearts who followed his
+precious bones to the burying ground. He stood and looked on until the
+last spadeful of earth was thrown upon the coffin and the mound shaped
+above it. After the death of the Rev. Banks George Howe became very much
+attached to his eldest daughter, Mary Elizabeth, and he could often be
+seen leisurely strolling down Seventh street in the direction of Banks'
+residence, playing his jewsharp and singing the praises of "Sister Mary
+Lizzie" between the twanks.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"I'm er goin' down to Sister Mary Lizzie Banksies;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Sister Mary Lizzie is the daughter of Brother Banks,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">An' I think er
+<a name="corr10" id="corr10"></a><a class="correction" href="#cn10" title="changed from 'great' eal'">great 'eal</a>
+of Sister Mary Lizzie;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Sister Lizzie, I've got ter tell you-u-u."<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>Pausing in front of the door, he would roll up his sleeves, stretch his
+mouth, roll his eyes and make all kinds of comical ex<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[64]</a></span>pressions. "Sister
+Mary Lizzie, I'm jus' out er jail-l-l, I'm full er lice-e-e; but jus' as
+soon as I take er bath I'm comin' back to see you-u-u, for I have
+news-s-s-s to tell you-u-u." The young lady would often have to run in
+and lock her doors when she'd see this harmless nuisance approaching.</p>
+
+<p>George Howe was one of the few that listened to the Colonel and Teck
+Pervis in the Wigwam on this particular night in October. Even when the
+ghastly plans of the murderous clan were being discussed, no one thought
+of excluding the town fool, who stood gaping around taking it all in.
+Schults, the German, was arranging things in and about his well-filled
+and well-patronized grocery store on Castle street on the following
+morning, when George Howe entered. Grabbing a handful of dried apples
+from a tray which sat upon the counter, he stuffed them into his mouth,
+threw his long legs across a flour barrel and momentarily watched the
+German as he busied himself about the store. "You didn't git out las'
+night, Schults," said he to the German, gulping the apples down to clear
+his throat for conversation.</p>
+
+<p>"Oudt! oudt weer?" asked Schults, pausing with a tray of onions in his
+hands. "To the meetin' in the Wigwam," answered George. "They done er
+powerful lot er plannin' there las' night. The Dimocrats mean business
+this time. They say they'll carry the election this time or kill every
+Nigger in the district. An' white men who are lukewarm, who don't come
+out an' take er stan' with white men will share Niggers' fate. They got
+the names of the lukewarm in this affair. I don't want ter skeer you,
+Schults, but you are on the black list." Schults had laid down the tray
+of onions and was eyeing George from behind the showcase. "What did you
+say boudt black lisdt, Gheorge?" "I say they read your name on the black
+list last night, an' that means they are goin' ter kill yer, for their
+air determin' ter kill everything in the way of white supremacy. I don't
+want ter skeer you, Schults; I jes' wan' ter warn you. You hain't tended
+eny of their meetings, and they conclude you air agin them. An' then you
+wouldn't discharge your Nigger." Schults' eyes flashed. He locked his
+hands and brought them down upon the show case hard enough<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[65]</a></span> to break it.
+"What I keers fer der black lisdt, eh? I dondt keers whadt dey duse mid
+Schults. Before I vould hep dem ter harm dese kullod peeples py dams I
+suffers ter be kilt. Who ish mine frients? Who buys mine groceries?
+Kullud peeples. When Schults cum ster Wilmiton sick mit der rhumatiz,
+mit no moneys, mit no frients, who helbs Schults ter git on his feets?
+Dese rich bocra? No; dey kicks Schults off de sidewalks, cowhide Schults
+on der sthreets. Who helbs Schults den? Kullud peeples! An' befoe I
+rais' mine hand 'gin dem I suffer det. Let dem kum, kum an' git Schults
+when dey chuse. Don't let dem t'ink fur er moment I no prepare fer dem.
+Dem Ghermans who 'lows dem down bhroke ristocrats persuade dem gintz
+deir kullud frients who thrade mit dem an' keeps dem from starvin' when
+dese rich bocra thry ter dhrive dem frum des country deserbe de cuss ov
+Almighty Got! An' you damn po bocras dat allows yo'uselfs ter be make
+fools mit you'selfs fer broke down risterchrats ter dhrive kullud
+peeples frum dey homes deserfs efry one eff you' ter be kilt." George
+Howe's under jaw dropped. He stared at Schults in astonishment, for he
+did not expect to witness such a show of bravery on the part of this
+quiet German grocer. "I didn't mean to insult you, Schults," said he,
+reaching over and helping himself from a barrel of apples which stood
+close by. "I jes thought I'd warn you." "Now, dere's dat Gheorge Bohn,"
+continued Schults, with apparent inattention to what George had said. "I
+see his nhame in der bapers as one uv der leaders in dis supremacy
+humbug. Who makes Bohn whadt he is on Dry Pon'? Who makes Gheorge Bohn
+whad he is in dis counthry? Dem very peeples who he is now thrin' ter
+kill. Dem broke down ristercrats, sich as Moss an' odders, cares no more
+fer sich as him den dey do fur de grass neat der feets. When dey gits
+demselfs in office dem Dutchmen kin go, po bocras kin go, dey cares
+noddings fur yo when dey wus rich. Now dey air po as Job's turkey, dey
+wants us Dutchmans an po bocras to dhrive oud our meat an' bread so dey
+kin demselfs git fat at de public crib. But I tells you dis: Schults
+will haft nodding to do mit dem. I stays in mine house, mine house is
+mine castle, and ef dey wants me let dem cum to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[66]</a></span> mine house, by dams I
+fills dem full uv lead; yo kin put dat in yo pipe and shmoke id." George
+Howe arose, yawned, then slowly walked to the door, turned, dropped his
+under jaw and stared again at Schults, who had resumed his work about
+the store. "Didn't mean ter hurt yer feelings, Schults, but ter put yer
+on yer giard, that unless you jine em dey air goin' ter do yo." George
+stepped out upon the walk, drew forth his jewsharp and sauntered up the
+street, twanking upon it as he went.</p>
+
+<p>The German to the Southern Negro has been and is what the Jew is to the
+Russian peasant&mdash;the storekeeper, the barterer. The German citizen has
+never been a manufacturer or a farmer; he is in no business that gives
+extensive employment to wage earners. But, as a corner grocer, he lays
+for the Negro as he goes to and from his toil, and, with cheap wares and
+bad whisky, he grows fat upon his unwary customer. The German usually
+comes to this country poor, enters small towns, and, by the aid of other
+older residents of his nation who have already grown prosperous, he goes
+into business on a small scale&mdash;grocery business as a rule. He begins in
+a one-story structure, one-half devoted to business, while in the other
+he lives. These little stores were never without their indispensable
+liquor departments, where the trader was invited to refresh himself
+after paying his weekly grocery bill.</p>
+
+<p>Before the war the South's best people had no use for the German
+emigrant, and did everything in their power to discourage his living
+among them. If the slave returned home to his master under the influence
+of liquor, the master in many instances went and cowhided the seller.
+The flogging of the Negro did not keep him from returning to the German
+to trade, and the German prospered, and to-day is among the foremost
+property owners in the South. I do not exaggerate when I say that the
+German's wealth has come to him solely through Negro patronage; not even
+to-day does the people known as the best people trade with Germans.</p>
+
+<p>The Bohns&mdash;Joseph, Charles, George and William&mdash;coming into Wilmington
+in the seventies, had lived principally and conducted business in that
+section of the old city known as Dry Pond, and, like the most of their
+kind, have accumulated their wealth<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[67]</a></span> from the patronage of the colored
+people, among whom they had ever lived. This makes the crime of George
+Bohn appear the more atrocious and cowardly. George joined the White
+Supremacy League during the uprising in Wilmington, and was one of its
+most active members. There was a certain colored citizen who knew of
+Bohn's secret relations to the movement which disgraced the city. This
+man gave the information to the people of his race who were patronizing
+Bohn, and entreated them not to support such an ingrate. When the
+excitement was at its height, when Red Shirts and Rough Riders were
+terrorizing the city, a band of poor whites, headed by George Bohn,
+sought this colored man's residence, battered down the door, fired
+several bullets into the bed where the man and his wife lay, the latter
+in a precarious condition. The house was riddled with shots; they were
+compelled to get out and leave their own home, to which they have not as
+yet been permitted to return. Bohn, after the deed was done, sneaked
+back to his home, and when the horrible crime was reported, tried to
+prove an alibi. But George Bohn is the guilty man, and George Bohn shall
+not escape! The hand of Justice shall point him out. His name shall go
+down to posterity on the list of cowards who, on the 10th of November,
+1898, brought into disrepute the fair name of one of the best little
+cities on the American continent.</p>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[68]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_X" id="CHAPTER_X"></a>CHAPTER X.</h2>
+
+<h3>Judas Iscariot.</h3>
+
+
+<p>When the Executive Committee, in response to Mr. Wingate's call, met in
+his office the following evening, the Governor's letter was read to
+them, and Molly Pierrepont's story repeated. Plans of action were mapped
+out, but not without some bitter attacks upon the enemy. Mr. Wingate's
+proposal to surrender for the sake of averting bloodshed, if possible,
+however, prevailed. The bitter language and threats made by hotheads
+would, if they reached the ears of whites, only add fuel to the fire
+already burning; so the members were cautioned by the chairman to give
+to the enemy no opportunity. But even among the twelve chosen of God
+there was a traitor, and since that memorable time nearly every band of
+brothers has had its Judas ready at any time of trouble to sacrifice
+others to save himself, or betray them for reward. Was there a Judas on
+the Republican Executive Committee of New Hanover county? Yes!</p>
+
+<p>In the days of slavery there existed in the South a kind of Negro known
+as the "Good Nigger" or "White folks Nigger," who was a stubborn
+believer in his own inferiority and the righteousness of his
+enslavement. He sneaked around, grinned his way into the confidence of
+other slaves, then stole away and told their secrets. Were there any
+plots being concocted to rise up and strike a blow for liberty, the good
+nigger would inevitably be there to join in the shaping of plans, only
+to go out and hang his fellow-conspirators.</p>
+
+<p>The San Domingons in their struggle for liberty found this good nigger a
+most formidable barrier, and those who are familiar<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[69]</a></span> with the history of
+that bloody struggle know just how heart-sickening was the taking off of
+this creature wherever found. In many instances they cut off his toes,
+his fingers, his ears, his nose, stuffed pieces of these extremities
+into his mouth, and left him to die a slow death. The emancipation and
+the consequent opportunities for intellectual advancement have not
+changed this good nigger, for in numerous instances you will find him
+well educated, and often swaying quite an influence in a community. But
+he is generally an ignorant, shiftless fellow, forever lamenting about
+his freedom, flaying the Yankees for taking him away from his master,
+who took care of him. He still likes to sit around on the back steps of
+the whites' residences to talk about good old days when he was free from
+the responsibility of "keerin' fer mase'f." Or, in higher walks of life,
+from pulpit and public rostrum, he's bewailing the shortcomings of his
+own people and magnifying the virtues of the whites. He stands among the
+ashes of the victims of a mob's fury to abuse the Negro for having been
+killed, and to praise the whites for the crime.</p>
+
+<p>George R. Shaw, a prominent negro, writes a card to the public, in which
+he says:</p>
+
+<p>"One reason why such crimes are committed by negroes is that there is no
+discipline over negro children. From ten years up they are allowed to
+loaf about from place to place and with all kinds of characters. They
+have no moral restraints. Book learning in colleges dooms the negro to
+be fit for nothing. They think they cannot do manual labor. What my
+people need is an industrial, moral, common school training. Lynching
+does no good, and makes bad worse. The brute who will commit these
+crimes never sees a newspaper. Sam Hose and all such should die, but not
+at the hands of a mob. The negro must be taught to abhor crime from
+principle, not through fear. Let critics take this Sam Hose case home to
+themselves. If the same crime was to happen in my immediate vicinity
+most any of us would do very nearly like those Georgians did. If we did
+not lynch him we would hold the clothing of those that were doing the
+lynching."</p>
+
+<p>Shortly after the burning of Sam Hose in Georgia, a good nig<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[70]</a></span>ger,
+signing his name as Shaw sent to a certain Southern paper an article
+commending the action of the mob, and expressing a willingness to have
+held their coats while the dastardly act was performed. Did this man
+know that Sam Hose committed the crime for which he suffered such a
+horrible death? Can men capable of committing such deeds as the burning
+and mutilating the body of this wretch be relied upon for truth? If
+Cranford was one of that mob of cowards who shot to death those manacled
+men at Palmetto, the knocking out of his brains would have made a man of
+another race a hero.</p>
+
+<p>Calvin Sauls, who had heretofore been a kind of an independent, having
+at various times voted with Democrats, Populists, Green-backers and
+Republicans, had shown a disposition to be earnestly interested in
+Republican success in the campaign of 1898. Running here and there,
+attending primaries and committee meetings, full of information as to
+the movements of the enemy, he had worked his way into the confidence of
+these unwary colored politicians, who considered him an earnest worker
+for the cause of Republicanism, so much so that he had been admitted
+into the headquarters of the Executive Committee on that evening. "And
+Judas, having received the sop, went immediately out, and it was night."
+No one noticed Calvin Sauls on that night, as he, taking the advantage
+of a moment of exciting debate, slipped out into the darkness, and made
+his way into the Democratic headquarters. At the corner of Fourth and
+Chestnut streets a dark figure stepped out from the darkness and
+confronted him. "Hello dar, Calvin Sauls!" said a gruff voice. "Where is
+you sneakin' ter? You got er few uv us fool, but not all. Goin' down ter
+tell wa't you foun' out at de committee meet'n, eh?" "O, g'wan way f'm
+me, man; I got dese white fo'ks bizness ter ten' ter." The man seized
+Sauls and held on to him. "Look er here, some women waited at de corner
+of Red Cross an' Fourth street to beat yo' las' night." "Wa' fer?" asked
+Sauls, trying to free himself from the man's grasp. "Fur trying ter
+suade dey dauters down ter dat Fayette Club for dem white mens." "It's
+er no sich ting!" "You lie, you louse!" exclaimed the man, loosening his
+hold, and shoving Sauls nearly off<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[71]</a></span> the sidewalk. Sauls, recovering,
+staggered on his way.</p>
+
+<p>Ben Hartright leaned against a post on the veranda of the Democratic
+Club's meeting place when Calvin Sauls came up. "Why hello, Calvin, is
+that you?" "Yes, sah, Marse Ben," returned the Negro. "I comin' ter make
+ma report." Ben Hartright intercepted Sauls as he placed his foot upon
+the door sill and drew him aside. "Say, Calvin, I saw you talking to a
+rather striking looking colored girl the other day; who is she? Can't
+you fix it so I can get an interview?" "Uh, uh," said Sauls, shaking his
+head. "Dat's Bob Sims' gal; she jes from college, an' she's all right
+now, I tell yer. You know dem Simses is top er de pot Niggers." "That's
+the kind I always play for, Calvin; you know me," answered Ben.
+"Gentlemen must always have the best, ding it all! I though you were
+sufficiently well bred to know that the best of everything in this world
+is for white people." "Dat's so," said Sauls, "but yo member dat time
+Bob Sims cum nie beat'n dat white man head off bout insult'n dat tudder
+gal er his. I feared mon." "That's all right, Calvin; I'll stand by you.
+Molly's gone back on me now; I'm afraid she's converted and joined the
+sanctified band. By thunder, she defied me the other night." "Yes, sah,
+an' she's in yernes', too; she's on de warpath fur true. I got er heap
+ter report ter night, so I see you later on dat udder matter." And Sauls
+pushed past Hartright and made his way into the club room.</p>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[72]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XI" id="CHAPTER_XI"></a>CHAPTER XI.</h2>
+
+<h3>Uncle Guy.</h3>
+
+
+<p>On looking over the list of Wilmingtons' personages who have been
+instrumental in moulding its character and making it one of the most
+desirable places on earth, and the memory of whose face and name revive
+the sweetest recollections of early youth in the dear old town, the name
+and face of Uncle Guy comes most vividly before me.</p>
+
+<p>In ante-bellum days in the South, one week in all the year was given by
+the master to the slave&mdash;a week of absolute freedom, in which the Negro,
+unrestrained, danced and frolicked and otherwise amused himself to his
+heart's content. This season of freedom commenced with the dawn of
+Christmas, and lasted until the beginning of the New Year. The slave
+heard not the story of the Christ, of the wise men, or the shepherds of
+Bethlehem; he saw no Christmas tree brilliant with tapers even in the
+home of his master. For, unlike Christmas observances in the North, full
+of solemnity and historic significance, the Southern Christmas was and
+is still a kind of Mardi Gras festival, ending with the dawn of the New
+Year. Early on each Christmas morning the slaves, old and young, little
+and big, gathered at the door of the "Big House" to greet their master,
+who gave each in turn his Christmas "dram," and then, like a kennel is
+opened and pent-up hounds are bidden to scamper away, the slaves were
+let go to enjoy themselves to their heart's content, and were summoned
+no more to the field before the dawn of the New Year. While in the rural
+districts the frolics and kindred pleasures were the chief pastimes, in
+the cities and towns the celebrations were more elaborate. In gaudy
+rega<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[73]</a></span>lia the "Hog Eye" danced for the general amusement, and the Cooner
+in his rags "showed his motions." For many years before the war Uncle
+Guy was the star performer at these functions in Wilmington. With whip
+in hand, he danced and pranced, and in sport flogged children who had
+been naughty during the year. But to us, who were youngsters in the
+seventies, Uncle Guy is most vividly remembered as a musician&mdash;a
+clarionet soloist&mdash;a member of the Shoo Fly Band, whose martial music
+will ever ring in the ear of memory.</p>
+
+<p>The fall of Fort Fisher added many a new face and character to
+Wilmington life. Negroes who had in the conflict just closed learned of
+the art of war, added impetus to and stimulated the old city's martial
+spirit and love of gaudy display. And those who through the same agency
+had learned in the military bands and drum corps the art of music were
+indispensable adjuvants in elevating her lowly inhabitants. But he who
+came with the knowledge of music had a much wider field for usefulness
+before him; for the Negroes' love for music is stronger than love for
+war. Frank Johnson, who had the credit of organizing the Shoo Fly Band,
+had not tasted of war, but he and Uncle Guy had been "orchestra"
+musicians before the war. And now, as the increase of talent in
+Wilmington opened a wider field, the band was organized. It was called
+Frank Johnson's Band at first, but in after years more familiarly known
+as the "Shoo Fly." The name is a small matter, however; music was the
+chief thing. And how that band could play it! There was a ring in that
+music that electrified the soul and filled the limbs with renewed vigor.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">There was Dick Stove with his trombone,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Henry Anderson with his bass,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Making music swift as raindrops in a race.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">There was Guy Wright with his clarionet,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Henry Adams with his B,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And the music made the youngsters dance with glee.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">There was Johnson, he play'd second,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Who, when horn-blowing was dull,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Could play a fiddle tempting to the soul.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[74]</a></span><br /></span>
+<span class="i0">At Hilton, Paddy's Hollow, at the Oaks, on Kidder's Hill,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Where good and bad alike could dance their fill.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Then there was Jim, the drummer,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Who could beat a drum like Jim?<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Oh! we little ones were awful proud of him.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">How nicely he could keep the time.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">"Shoo Fly, don't bother me!"<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">For I'm a member of old Comp'ny D.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">It was down old Seventh to Market,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And through Market down to Third.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Playin' Molly Darlin', sweetes' ever heard;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">From thence up Third to Castle, while "Up in a Balloon"<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Made us wish to pay a visit to the moon.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Then we had no Gen'l Jacksons<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Dressed in gol' lace all for show,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Then such hifullutin notions didn't go.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">It was music! Sweetes' music!<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">"Darlin', I am growin' old,"<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Will live, forever live within the soul.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>The old Shoo Fly Band is a thing of the past; no more shall we listen to
+its inspiring music, for the majority of its members have crossed the
+melancholy flood. The last time that they appeared on the streets of
+Wilmington only a sextet remained. Dick Stove's trombone horn had been
+curtailed in order to hide the marks of decay upon its bell. They
+gallantly marched up Market street, and with a dismal, yet not
+discordant blast, turned into Fourth, en route to Hilton. I think that
+Uncle Guy is the only remaining one of that gallant few living in
+Wilmington to-day, and the friends of those who departed this life in
+later years followed their bodies to the grave keeping step to the sad
+wail of his lone clarionet. Jim Richardson, Dick Stove, Johnson, Adams,
+Anderson&mdash;I wonder, does he think of them now, tenderly, emotionally and
+with a longing to join them on the other side. I wonder if they all
+cluster about him when in his lonely hours he consoles himself with his
+clarionet. For many years Uncle Guy has been Wilmington's chief
+musician. Bands magnificent in equipment and rich in talent have been
+organized, to flourish for a few years only. But Uncle Guy's trio of
+clarionet and drums has<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[75]</a></span> withstood the test of time; yea, they were
+indispensable for base ball advertisement and kindred amusements,
+heading both civic and military processions, white and black, in their
+outings and celebrations, or with bowed head and thoughtful countenance
+he has led the march to the grave. As I recollect Uncle Guy, he was the
+embodiment of neatness, feminine in build&mdash;it seemed that nature
+intended to form a woman instead of a man. Like a woman, he plaited his
+hair and drew it down behind his ears. His hands and feet were small,
+his fingers tapering; his face was black, his eyes small, his lips and
+nose thin, his voice fine, but harsh, and he slightly stooped or bent
+forward as he walked. There is poetry in every move of his bent figure
+as he slowly walks down the street on this autumn morning. As we gaze
+upon him strolling feebly along, we involuntarily sigh for the days when
+the heart was young. May Day, with its buds and blossoms, Christmastide,
+full of bright anticipations, come trooping up the misty way. We are
+following the old band; listen to the music! How enchanting!</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Up in a balloon, boys, up in a balloon,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Where the little stars are sailing round the moon;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Up in a balloon, to pay a visit to the moon,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">All among the little stars sailing round the moon."<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>We are making water-mills in the brooks; we are swinging our
+sweethearts; we feel again the heart throbs of early youth when we dared
+the first caress.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i4">"Shoo fly, don't bother me!<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">For I belong to Company D."<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<hr style="width: 45%;" />
+
+<p>It is Monday morning&mdash;the washwoman's day of preparation; when the
+clothes are brought in, the shopping attended to; when the women
+congregate on the street corners, sit upon their baskets and bundles or
+lean against the fences to discuss the doings of the Sunday just
+past&mdash;what the preacher said and what the neighbors wore, etc. Three
+women stood upon the corner toward which Uncle Guy was tending. But they
+were not talking about texts and fashions. Uncle Guy heard the following
+as he drew nigh: "Bu'n um! Bu'n um! Good fer nuthin' broke down
+rister<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[76]</a></span>crats an' po' white trash. Ef de men kayn't git gun we kin git
+karsene an' match an' we'll hab um wahkin' de street in dere nite gown."
+Judge Morse passed by, turned his head to catch as much as possible of
+what was being spoken. "Negro like," he said, as he went on his way.
+"They are all talk. I was raised among them, heard them talk before, but
+it amounted to nothing. I'm against any scheme to do them harm, for
+there's no harm in them. This Negro domination talk is all bosh."</p>
+
+<p>Uncle Guy stepped to one side and humbly saluted Judge Morse as he
+passed, then bore down upon the women who were vigorously discussing the
+all-absorbing topic. The old man walked out to the edge of the sidewalk,
+squinted his eyes and came slowly up to where the women stood, comically
+pointing his index finger at them: "Look yer," said he, "yuna ta'k too
+much!" raising his voice. "Yuna mouts g'wine ter git yuna inter trouble;
+hear me? Did yuna see Jedge Morse when he go by? Did yuna see 'im stop
+ter listen at you? Le' me tell yuna sumthin' right good." The old man
+shook his finger several seconds before proceeding. "Dese white fo'kes
+is onter you, dey got de road all map out. Dey no ebry move yuna Nigger
+makin'. How dey no it? How dey no it, I say?" Another long finger shake.
+"Yuna Nigger uman tell um, yuna runnin' yuna tongue in de kitchen, yuna
+runnin' yer tongue in de street. Now, instid ov de bocra bein' in de
+street in dey nite gown, yuna gwine ter be thar wid nuttin' on. Don't
+you no dat we ain't bin able ter by er gun er ounce powder in munts, an'
+de bocra got cannon an ebry ting. See how he'pliss yer is? Now yuna go
+home, an' quit so much ta'k. Keep cool fer dese bocra pisen." Uncle Guy
+walked slowly on and the women dispersed. Those who read the newspaper
+accounts of that terrible massacre know full well just how true was the
+prophecy of this old citizen. Doubtless he looks back over it now as a
+catastrophe beyond his expectations or dreams.</p>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[77]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XII" id="CHAPTER_XII"></a>CHAPTER XII.</h2>
+
+<h3>The Massacre.</h3>
+
+
+<p>The five days prior to the massacre Wilmington was the scene of turmoil,
+of bickerings between the factions in the political struggle; "Red
+Shirts" and "Rough Riders" had paraded, and for two or three days
+Captain Keen had been displaying his gatling gun, testing its efficiency
+as a deadly weapon before the Negroes.</p>
+
+<p>All of these demonstrations had taken place to convince the Negro that
+to try to exercise his right as an elector would have a disastrous
+result. Upon the conservative and peace-loving these things had the
+desired effect. But the bolder ones showed a rugged front, and on
+election day hung about the polls and insisted upon exercising their
+rights as citizens, and many clashings were the results. But the major
+portion of black electors stayed at home in hope that the bloodshed
+which hot-headed Democrats had been clamoring for as the only means of
+carrying the election might be averted. When the sun set upon the little
+city on the 9th of November there seemed to be a rift in the storm cloud
+that had for so many weeks hung over it, and the city had apparently
+resumed its wonted quiet. Far out on Dry Pond, in the old "Wigwam" a
+gang of men had met, who ere the sun should set upon another day would
+make Wilmington the scene of a tragedy astonishing to the State and to
+the nation. They had gathered to await the signal to begin; they had
+good rifles and a plentiful supply of ammunition, and their tethered
+steeds standing about the old "Wigwam" were pawing and neighing for the
+fray. The clock in the old Presbyterian Church on Orange street dismally
+tolled out the hour of three. Teck Pervis arose, yawned, walked<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[78]</a></span> up and
+then down the floor among the men who lay asleep with their weapons
+beside them. He made a deep, long, loud whistle; the men began to arise
+one after another, and soon the room was in a bustle. Some were washing
+faces, others sipping coffee as a forerunner of something hotter that
+would stimulate and give force to the spirit of deviltry that the work
+of the day required.</p>
+
+<p>"Gentermen," said Teck Pervis, standing in the middle of the hall and
+holding a cup of coffee in his hand. "This is ther day thet ther white
+people of North Ca'liny is going ter show Mr. Nigger who's ter rule in
+Wilmin'ton, and there's ter be no drawin' back in this here bizness."
+Just then Dick Sands interrupted the leader by jumping out into the
+floor. He shuffled, he danced, kissed his gun, threw it into the air,
+and twirled it between his fingers like a born drum major. "Gentermen!
+hit's ther happies' day I seed sence way foe ther war. This is er day I
+bin er longin' fur and prayin' fur eber since ther ding Yanks cum and
+freed Mr. Nigger an' sot im on ekal footin' wid er white man. Laws er
+massy me'. Gentermen, I'se seed things happen in this here town sence
+Fo't Fisher fell thet wus enuf ter make eny dec'nt white man go inter
+his hole, an' pull his hole after 'im. Think uv it, gentermen, think uv
+it! Nigger lawyers, Nigger doctors, Nigger storekeepers, Nigger
+teachers, Nigger preachers, Niggers in fine houses&mdash;why, gentermen,
+jedgmint hain't fur off. Who was in ther Cote House thet day when thet
+Nigger White tole Colonel Buck he did'n no law? I wus thar, an' never
+wanter see sich ergin. Evrybody jis' opened his mouth an' stared fus at
+ther Nigger an' then at Colonel Buck. I felt thet ther merlineum wus at
+han', jus' waitin' ter see ther worl' turn een uppermos', an' go ter
+smash. Whoopalah! but we air goin' ter show um sump'n ter day, an' I jes
+wish thet Nigger White wus in Wilminton, fur these big Niggers'll be the
+firs' whose cases we'll try. Oh. Mr. Peaman, Oh, Mr. Bryant, Mr. Miller
+and all you uns er the Afrikin foe hundered! yo time is cum!" Dick Sands
+ended his harangue by turning a somersault. "I jes bet Dick Sands owes
+Tom Miller now," said a young chap who sat leaning against the wall with
+his legs spread out, laughing at Dick's Indian-like antics. "Yes,"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[79]</a></span>
+broke in another; "Tom's he'ped er lot er we po' devals; he's lent out
+thousans er dollars in all ter white men. Hits er shame ter do him!"
+"Yes, I mus admit that I owe Tom, but this is er time fur me ter jump
+bail," said Dick Sands. "I don't b'lieve thet er Nigger should hav es
+much money es Tom's got no way. Hit's ergin his helth. You know Niggers
+liv longer po' then they do when they air rich, bekase when they're po'
+they air in ther natruls, an air easier kept in their places. Hit's
+these foe hundred Niggers thet er raisin all ther trouble." ...</p>
+
+<p>"Well, les git ter bizness, gentermen," broke in Teck Pervis "There's er
+lot befoe us ter do; Hell is ter begin at ther Cotton Press under Kurnel
+Moss, while Cap'n Keen'll kinder peramerlate er roun in ther middle er
+ther town with thet everlasting hell belcher uv his ter keep tings in
+check. Kurnel Wade, Tom Strong, Hines an uther big uns will sortie er
+roun' to'ards Dry Pond an blow up ther print'n press; thets ter draw
+ther Niggers out frum ther Cotton Press, so thet Kurnel Moss kin git at
+um, an mow em down. We uns will canter to'ards Brooklyn holdin' up
+Niggers as we go. Then we air to jine Hill, Sikes, Turpin, Isaacs an'
+others, an' raise hell in thet sexion. We uns air ter take no chances
+wid theese Wilminton darkies. I ain't ferget Seventy-six. Let nun git by
+without bein' sarched, uman er man. Shoot ef they resiss. Them's the
+Kurnel's orders." "Who is this man Isaacs?" asked a stranger from
+Georgia. "A Jew?" "Thet name's Jewey e'nuff fur yir, ain't it?" replied
+Dick Sands. "He is er Jew, an er good un, I tell yer. I never took much
+stock in er Jew, but this here un is er bo'n genterman, mo fit ter be
+Christun. No church in hard circumstance is ever turned away from Ole
+Mose; he he'ps em all, don't kere what they be, Jewish, Protestan er
+Caterlick, white er black. He throde his influence with ther
+Prohibitionists some years er go, an foute hard ter make er dry town
+outer Wilminton, but ther luvers uv ole ginger wair too strong an jes
+wallop'd ther life out er ther cold water uns. Ole Mose tuk hit cool, he
+died game, took his defeat like er bon fighter, bekase he'd done an
+fill'd his jugs an' stowd em up in de house afore ther fight begun, so
+he cu'd erford ter be beat. Takin er<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[80]</a></span> drink in public was ergin his
+creed. Nice ole Jew tho. Keeps er paint store down street, and deals in
+painters' merterial, but never buys er baral er biled oil wonc't in five
+yers; but, like de widder in the Scripter, he alers has er baral ter
+draw frum when er customer wants biled oil. Ole Mose is er fine man tho;
+jes go in his stoe ter buy sumthin, pat him on his back, and tell him he
+is er bo'n genterman, an thet you b'lieve he kin trace his geneology
+back ter Moses an ther prophets, and thet his great-granddaddy's daddy
+was ther only Jew thet sined ther Dicleration of Independance; thet he
+looks like Napolyan, and he'll jes go inter his office an fetch yer ther
+fines' segyar yer ever smoked an foller yer all over ther stoe. Nice ole
+Jew Isaacs is. Ter see him stridin down ter bizniss ov er mawnin, yer
+air reminded uv ther prophets uv ole jurneyin toards Jarusalum ter read
+ther law." "What is the feller's name?" soliloquized a sallow-looking
+chap who stood with his back to the stove scratching his head in
+perplexity. "Name?" returned Dick Sands. "Why is you bin er listenin ter
+me all this time an dunno who I'm talkin erbout?" "Excuse me," returned
+the sallow man; "I no powerful well who yer ware talking er bout, and I
+wus tryin ter think uv ther name uv thet chap who's bin er stump speakin
+up in Sampson." "Fisher?" "No-o-o, thet ain't ther name; he's ther
+feller thet's runnin fur Congress." "Belden!" exclaimed several in one
+breath. "Thet's ther feller. Look er here," continued the sallow man,
+"he tole we uns up there thet ef we cum an he'p ter make Wilminton er
+white man's town, we ware ter jes move inter ther Niggers' houses an own
+em; thet's what brung me here ter jine in this here fite." "Well, I tell
+yer fren," answered Dick, "we air goin ter make this er white man's
+town, thet's no lie, but ther ain't no shoity er bout ther other
+matter." "Boots an saddles." Further conversation was cut off. Every man
+flew to his horse and the host of murderers were off in a jiffy.</p>
+
+<p>The city of Wilmington was startled by the loud report of a cannon on
+the morning of November 10th, 1898, which made her tremble as though
+shaken by an earthquake. Molly Pierrepont arose, hastened to the south
+window of her cottage and looked out; the clouds which hung low over Dry
+Pond were as brilliant<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[81]</a></span> in hue as though they hung over a lake of fire.
+"Tis fire!" exclaimed Molly; "the hell hounds are at their work. Ben
+Hartwright is keeping his word. But it's at the Cotton Press that the
+dance of death was to really begin, where hundreds of unsuspecting men
+are at work. The fire and the cannon shot are only a ruse to entice them
+out to be shot down. They must be warned! I must warn them!" She hastily
+dressed herself, locked her cottage and hurried away. Down Bladen street
+she hastened, turned into Fourth and across Bony bridge. At the corner
+of Campbell street she came upon a large body of armed men who were
+parleying with a negro who was making a futile protest against being
+searched. More than half a dozen of them thrust pistols into the
+helpless and frightened man's face, while two others rifled his pockets
+for firearms. All this Molly took in at a glance, as she hurried down
+Campbell street toward the press. At the corner of Third street she
+encountered five white boys, mere lads, who were proceeding up Campbell
+street. "Halt!" cried they all in one voice, and five pistols were
+thrust into her face. Molly paused, but with no show of embarrassment or
+dismay. "Come, hol up your hans!" commanded one of them, advancing a
+step nearer. "Hol on, fellers, we're not to search white ladies," said
+another, lowering his pistol, and attempting to push the others aside.
+"O, she's no lady; she's er nigger; I know her," returned the lad who
+gave the command. "Search her! tear her clothes from her! All er these
+nigger women are armed." The boy raised his hand to seize Molly, but was
+not quick enough. Molly stepped back; a quick raise of her foot sent the
+boy sprawling into the gutter. This completely demoralized his
+companions, who broke and ran. A gang of men coming up Third street
+inspired the boys to renew the attack upon the woman, who was hurrying
+on her way. "Nigger," cried the boy, raising himself up and scrambling
+from the gutter into which Molly's well-aimed kick had sent him. The men
+ran and overtook Molly, spread themselves across the sidewalk in front
+of her. "Will I never be permitted to reach the press?" she murmured to
+herself. "You've got ter be searched, ole gal," said one of the men,
+with a mocking smile of triumph<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[82]</a></span> in his face, "an' you jes' es well let
+these boys go through them duds er your'n an' have done with it. Come
+now, hands up!" and they all glared like hungry wolves at the woman, who
+stood apparently unmoved. Molly drew herself up to her full height.
+"Cowards!" she shrieked. "Not satisfied at the cutting off of every
+means of defense from the black men of Wilmington, that you may shoot
+them down with impunity, you are low enough to take advantage of their
+helplessness to insult weak women. But here I stand!" she cried,
+stepping backward, and drawing a gleaming revolver from beneath her
+cloak. "Search me! but it must be done when the body is lifeless; I'll
+be a target for the whole of you before I'm searched; so let the battle
+begin."</p>
+
+<p>The men stared at the woman in amazement. "Pluckies' Nigger gal we're
+tackled ter day!" exclaimed a gruff and rough-looking chap. "Got grit
+enough ter buil er fort. Let her go, men; not er hair un her hed mus' be
+tech'd!" The men stepped to one side, and Molly proceeded on her way.
+When she reached Front street the sight which met her gaze caused her
+blood to chill. From Front to Water street below was choked with armed
+men. To pass through such a crowd without much more difficulty was
+impossible. "Too late!" she sobbed. Rushing across the railroad bridge,
+she hastily descended the steps to the road below, crossed the tracks to
+the shed of the great compress, and entered by one of the large side
+doors. News of burning and pillage on Dry Pond had been conveyed to the
+workmen by another, and the news had brought confusion among them
+indescribable. At the main entrance to the press stood an army of
+whites, ready to shoot them down as they rushed forth to go to the
+rescue of their wives and little ones whom they thought were being
+murdered. White men with a cannon mounted on a lighter anchored in the
+river just opposite were waiting to fire upon those driven back by the
+fire from Colonel Moss' riflemen in Water street.</p>
+
+<p>A crowd of frightened and angry men hastily retreating towards this
+death-trap were suddenly confronted by a woman, who like an heavenly
+messenger, stood with uplifted hand, her hair streaming in the wind.
+"Back! Back men!" she cried. "To go to the river is to be killed also;
+they're waiting there for the opportunity." "Molly Pierrepont!"
+exclaimed one of the men in astonishment. "No time for questions now!"
+said the woman; "your only safety from slaughter is to remain in this
+shed; you are not able to cope with that mob of cowards on the outside,
+who now are even searching women in a most shameful manner on the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[83]</a></span>
+streets. Back! Don't rush like fools to death." Molly's head began to
+whirl. Before any one could reach out a hand to catch her, she sank in a
+swoon upon the floor. Tenderly the prostrate form was lifted up, and
+borne to a place of safety, and an effort made to revive her. At the
+front entrance were huddled hundreds of negroes, cursing and crying in
+their desperation. On the opposite side of the street in front of a
+company of armed whites stood Colonel Moss, his face red with
+determination. Above the oaths and groans of the helpless negroes his
+harsh voice was heard: "Stand back, Mr. &mdash;&mdash;! I tell you again, stand
+out of the way, that I may blow them into eternity." Mr. &mdash;&mdash; heeded him
+not, and Colonel Moss was afraid to fire for fear of injuring a British
+Consul. There were tears in the eyes of this good man as he went about
+among his angry workmen imploring them to keep cool. It was his bravery
+and presence of mind that prevented the ignominious slaughter of
+hundreds of defenseless men by a mob of armed cowards, who stood there
+awaiting the signal from Colonel Moss to "Blow them into eternity."</p>
+
+<p>Dispatching a messenger to Dry Pond, who returned with the assurance
+that no one had been killed, was instrumental in cooling the negroes and
+inducing them to return to work. Mr. &mdash;&mdash; kept at his post until the
+white mob melted away to join their fellows in other portions of the
+city. Look! up Front Street comes an excited crowd of men and boys.
+Every one of them seems to be wrought up to the highest pitch of
+excitement. Every individual is struggling to get to some one who is in
+the centre of the crowd. On they come! struggling, pushing and swearing.
+As the mob draws near, the tall, stately figure of an old man is seen
+towering above them. His abundant hair and beard are shaggy and gray. He
+stares wildly at his tormenters, and begs them to spare his life. They
+shove, they kick, they slap him. "Shoot the Yankee dog! Hang him to a
+lamp post! Nigger hearted carpet bagger! Kill him!" Still the crowd
+pushes towards the depot. "Who is this man? What has he done?" asked a
+stranger. "Done!" exclaims a citizen close-by. '"Why he's been teachin'
+niggers they're es good es white men." "How long has he been in
+Wilmington?" "Ever sence the fall er Fort Fisher." "Is he a tax payer?
+Is he or has he ever engaged in any business in the community?" "Well,
+yes; he owns er whole county up the road there er piece." "Think of it!
+Bin here all these years, an' we can't make er decent white man out'n
+him!" "Well,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[84]</a></span> if he has been in this community as long as you say, and
+is to the community what you acknowledge, I'd like to know what right
+his fellow citizens have to&mdash;" "Well now, stranger, don't you think
+you're gettin' too inquisitive? When er white man shows that he's ergin
+er white man, the question of what he owns don't cut no ice; he's got
+ter go. This is er white man's country, an' white men are goin' ter rule
+it." Saying this the citizen hastened away to join the mob, who were
+then crossing the bridge to the depot to put the undesirable citizen
+upon the train to send him away.</p>
+
+<p>The mob that had a few hours previous made a futile attempt to butcher
+the negroes at the Compress had now moved in the direction of Brooklyn
+like a whirlwind, sweeping men, women and children before as it went.
+Negroes, filled with terror and astonishment, fled before this armed
+mob, who shot at them as they ran.</p>
+
+<p>When in a certain battle during the Revolutionary War, terror stricken
+colonists were retreating before the superiorly equipped and disciplined
+British soldiers, it was Israel Putnam who vainly implored the
+frightened Americans to make a stand. General Putnam cursed and swore,
+when he saw that it was impossible to stop his men and induce them to
+give battle to the British. Was there a Putnam here to essay to inspire
+courage into these frightened negroes, who left their wives and children
+at the mercy of the mob, and were fleeing toward Hillton? Yes, there was
+one, and his name was DAN WRIGHT. Did Dan Wright fully realize the
+enormity of his act as he faced this mob of white men, armed to the
+teeth, now pressing down upon him? Did Dan Wright feel that death was to
+be his reward for this act of bravery? Yes, but this did not deter him
+or affect the steadiness of his aim. Above the oaths and yells of this
+band of cowards, now almost upon him, the report of his rifle rang out,
+and a bandit reeled and fell from his horse. But Dan was not to escape;
+the crowd pressed upon him and crushed him to the earth; they riddled
+his body with bullets, and dragged him bleeding and torn through the
+streets. "Back wench!" cried a bandit, as poor Mrs. Wright pressed
+forward to succor her dying husband. "You shall not touch his black
+carcass; let the buzzards eat it!" But the mob did not tarry long beside
+Dan's bleeding form; they swept on to Brunswick Street, where they
+divided, some turning into Brunswick, while others rode toward Hillton.
+Dan Wright did not die in the street, however. Torn and riddled as his
+body<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[85]</a></span> was, he lingered a few days in agony in the city hospital before
+death released him. "And the king followed the bier; and the king lifted
+up his voice and wept; and the king said, 'Died Abner as a fool dieth?'"</p>
+
+<p>As we gaze upon the bleeding form of this simple negro, this question
+comes forcibly to us: Died Dan Wright as a fool dieth? Was it right for
+him to stand alone against such fearful odds? Yes, that the chronicler
+in recording this terrible one-sided fight might be able to mention one
+act of true bravery; that among so many cowards there was one man.</p>
+
+<p>I knew Dan Wright ever since he was a lad. He was simple, quiet,
+unobtrusive; pious in life and glorious in death.</p>
+
+<p>"He was swifter than an eagle; he was stronger than a lion." Over the
+humble grave in which he sleeps no shaft of granite rises to point to
+passers-by where this martyr to the cause of freedom lies. But when
+Justice shall write the names of true heroes upon the immortal scroll,
+she will write the names of Leonidas, Buoy, Davy Crocket, Daniel Boone,
+Nathan Hale, Wolf, Napoleon, Smalls, Cushing, Lawrence, John Brown, Nat
+Turner, and then far above them all, in letters that shall shine as the
+brightness of the firmanent, the name of DAN WRIGHT.</p>
+
+<p>Unlike most of the heroes named above, Dan's name will not in this
+generation be engraved upon brass or steel, or carved in marble. To an
+unsympathetic world he was an outlaw, who raised his arms against kings
+and princes, who feel that they have the sanction of God Himself to
+trample upon the lowly.</p>
+
+<p>With tall pines as sentinels keeping watch over it, and stars for tapers
+tall, the body of this immortal hero lies beneath the soil enriched by
+his blood.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Fleet foot on the corey,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Brave counsel in cumber,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Red hand in the foray,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">How sound is the slumber!"<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>Who killed this simple fellow, and the score of others of his race who
+fell on that eventful day? The blame is laid upon the Georgians, who
+were invited there to assist in restoring white man's government, when
+there had never been any other government in existence there. But who is
+really responsible for this cowardly massacre? Wilmington's best white
+citizens, by whose invitation and under whose directions the Georgians
+acted. And what better market could have been sought for murderers and
+cowards and assassins, and intense haters of negroes than Geor<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[86]</a></span>gia? In
+ante-bellum days Georgia outdid all other slave-holding States in
+cruelty to its slave population. The North Carolina master could subdue
+the most unruly slave by threatening to sell him or her into Georgia.
+The old negro voo-doo doctor or fortune teller could fill any negro for
+whom she had formed a dislike with terror, and bring him to her feet
+begging for mercy by walking backward, making a cross with her heel and
+prophesying, "You'll walk Georgia road."</p>
+
+<p>When Georgia, the altar for human sacrifices, perfumed by the odor of
+cooked human flesh, travailed, she brought forth the prodegy of the
+nineteenth century, whose cries for blood would startle Catherine De
+Medici and cause Bloody Mary to look aghast.</p>
+
+<p>Georgia bore upon her sulphurous bosom an Andersonville, within whose
+walls thousands of the nation's noblest sons suffered the most inhuman
+treatment and died the most agonizing and ignominious death. Georgia
+trained her cannon upon these emaciated, starved vermin-eaten creatures
+rather than submit to their rescue by an invading army. Georgia's
+convict camps of the present day are worse than slavery, and more
+intolerable than the Siberian mines. The order of the States upon the
+map should be changed so as to read as follows: North Carolina, South
+Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisana, Texas, Georgia, Hell. The
+people of Wilmington were bargaining for the genuine article when they
+sent to Georgia for trained murderers and assassins.</p>
+
+<p>Josh Halsey was the second one to fall on that fatal day. Josh was deaf
+and did not hear the command to halt, and ran until brought down by a
+bandit's bullet. Josh Halsey was asleep in bed when the mob turned into
+Brunswick Street, and his daughter awoke him, only to rush from his
+house to death. The mob swept on over his prostrate form, shooting into
+private dwellings, and frightening men and children, who fled to the
+woods for safety, or hid beneath their dwellings.</p>
+
+<p>Let us go back and see what has become of Molly. To bring her around it
+required heroic efforts on the part of men and the women who were the
+sewers of bagging on the docks. Too weak for further effort in behalf of
+her people, she was tenderly lifted into a buggy, carried up by way of
+the old Charlotte depot to her home in Brooklyn. Mrs. West, who knowing
+of her determination, and anxious as to her fate, had arrived at the
+cottage that morning too late to intercept Molly. She lingered about the
+cottage, however, and when they bore the exhausted and faint girl<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[87]</a></span> home,
+the foster mother was frantic with grief. "It was only a fainting spell,
+mother," said Molly, as Mrs. West bent over her. "I was there in time to
+save them, but it cost me&mdash;oh so much." "You have done nobly," returned
+the mother, soothingly. "Your name should be placed upon the roll of
+honor, my dear. Go to sleep; rest serenely upon your laurels."</p>
+
+
+<h3>Dr. Philip Le Grand.</h3>
+
+<p>St. Stephen's Church on the corner of Red Cross and Fifth Streets, in
+Wilmington, is among the finest and most refined of the A. M. E.
+Conference. In appointing ministers to this post the most diligent care
+has always been exercised, for the appointee must be of the most
+eloquent, the most learned and efficient in the gift of the assembly. So
+St. Stephen's audiences have listened to some of the world's best
+orators, and have had the word expounded by superior doctors of
+divinity. Who of that great church can forget Frey Chambers, Thomas,
+Nichols, Gregg, Epps and others whose names I cannot now recall? St.
+Stephen's is among the finest of church edifices in the city, put up at
+a cost of over sixty thousand dollars, with a seating of twenty-two
+hundred. Back of her pulpit stands an immense and costly pipe organ,
+operated by water power, and presided over by a young woman raised up in
+the church, educated in the public schools of Wilmington. During the
+political upheaval in Eastern North Carolina, it was the fortune of Rev.
+Philip Le Grand, D. D., to be the pastor of St. Stephen's, in
+Wilmington, and there is living to-day. Many men and women owe their
+lives to the wonderful presence of mind, superior tact and
+persuasiveness of this grave, good man. Besides being a minister, he had
+filled many positions of trust in the South. Yet Dr. Le Grand was both
+unassuming and undemonstrative. He looked for and expected a clashing of
+races on election day in Wilmington, but that which took place on the
+10th of November was far more than he was prepared to grapple with. The
+dawn of that fatal day found the streets of Wilmington crowded with
+armed men and boys, who had sprung, as it were, by magic from the earth.
+Aroused by loud noises in the neighborhood of his residence, the
+minister arose early, dressed and hastened into the street. A large
+crowd of colored citizens, mostly women, stood upon the street corner
+half a block away, excitedly talking and brandishing broomsticks,
+stove-pokers, hoes, axes and other rude implements of war. All<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[88]</a></span> was
+confusion among them. There seemed to be no leader, but each individual
+was wildly ejaculating in a manner that showed that she or he was highly
+wrought up. Dr. Le Grand came slowly up to them, paused and raised his
+hands for silence. "Why this excitement so early in the morning?" he
+asked. "We's prepared fer um ter day," said a woman, coming forward and
+brandishing a broomstick. "Dey says dey gointer kill niggers, but we's
+gwine ter tek er few er dem long wid us." "Bah!" exclaimed the minister.
+"What will such a thing as that amount to against rifles? Disperse and
+go home, or you'll be sorry." This command had but slight effect upon
+this throng, whom Rev. Le Grand left and proceeded toward a crowd of
+white men and boys who stood not far distant, apparently debating the
+question of bearing down upon and dispersing the blacks on the corner.
+"Halt!" said one of the men, stepping in front of Mr. Le Grand and
+placing his rifle against his breast. "You can't go no further; this
+town's under military law now." "What means this demonstration?" calmly
+asked the minister, with his eyes fixed steadily upon the face of the
+man who had given the command. "It means that white men are in charge of
+things from now on," said another fellow, stepping up and eying the
+minister contemptuously. "You educated nigger preachers have been
+teaching your race that white men are not ordained to rule, and such
+teaching has got 'em beside themselves, so much so that the white people
+are compelled to take stringent measures."</p>
+
+<p>"Will you kindly inform me who the leader of this movement is?"
+persisted Dr. Le Grand calmly. "Big words these," said the first man who
+had spoken. "I guess we'd better settle this nigger." "Hold on, Sam,"
+said the second man, pushing aside the gun the man had raised. "This is
+St. Stephen's preacher. He is not on the list." "I'm out here in the
+name of peace," said Dr. Le Grand, "willing to do anything to bring that
+end." "Well," said the leader, producing a notebook from his breast
+pocket, and scribbling something in it, "we came out to-day to wash the
+streets in nigger gore, and if you can induce them to go home, you and
+others of the leading men of your race, instead of encouraging them to
+bully white people, you can save many lives. Colonel Moss is the
+gentleman to go to. But you'll need a pass," tearing a leaf from the
+notebook and handing it to Dr. Le Grand; "and I doubt if that will take
+you through the lines. You will doubtless find the colonel somewhere in
+the down-town section of the city. Stand aside, men, and let him pass."
+Dr. Le Grand took the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[89]</a></span> slip of paper and started for the section of the
+city indicated, but the way was so choked with men and boys, who
+challenged and parleyed with him in spite of the permit he carried, that
+progress was slow. Men whom he had met in his common every-day life in
+Wilmington, men who had been cordial and gentlemanly in their greetings,
+now either hurled bitter epithets at him, or passed him with averted
+eyes. Several times during that morning were guns pointed into his face
+as he paused here and there to stop collisions that were constantly
+occurring between white and black men, fatal in every instance to the
+blacks, who, without arms, were no match for the well-equipped whites,
+who took advantage of their helplessness to bully them. The most
+thrilling scene witnessed was that which made the minister's heart
+faint, although the incident excited the admiration of all who beheld
+it. Above the oaths of excited men and boys was heard a wild cheer a few
+blocks away, followed by the defiant cry of a negro boy, who came
+panting up the street, unmindful of the cry of "halt" that issued from
+many lips. Frantically waving a huge revolver in his hand, he fell upon
+his face within a few yards of where the minister stood, pierced by a
+rifle ball. Turning over slowly upon his back, he leveled his pistol and
+fired into the crowd of men closing in on him, shattering the arm of a
+Georgia bandit. "He is dying!" exclaimed the minister, with uplifted
+hand to prevent the men from doing further violence to the dying lad,
+whose life-blood was making crimson the sand where he lay. One man in
+the crowd stooped and picked up the pistol that had fallen from the
+lad's grasp. He raised it up before the crowd and said: "Let him die in
+peace, boys; I admire a brave heart, if it is under a black skin." The
+crowd dispersed. The minister got down upon his knees and raised the
+lad's head into his arms. He opened his eyes and fixed them upon the
+face of the man of God, who had begun to stroke his forehead with his
+hand. "God be merciful to thee, my son," said the minister tenderly.
+"Dat's all right, parson," returned the lad faintly, with a smile upon
+his ebony face. "I tol' um I'd die foe I'd giv' up ma gun, an' I tink
+dat when I tun ober dat time I got one er dem."</p>
+
+<p>"What is your name, my son?" asked Dr. Le Grand, eagerly. There was no
+answer; the boy was gone into undying life. The minister gently laid the
+little hero back upon the ground to await the arrival of the
+undertaker's wagon, and went on his way. This incident somewhat awed the
+bandits, some of whom stood off some little distance and watched him
+through the scene; and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[90]</a></span> his progress was attended with but little
+further difficulty. When he reached Front Street, however, the Record
+Office on Dry Pond had been burned, and the futile attempt to murder the
+workmen at the cotton press had been made. Several black men had been
+killed during the morning, and their bodies left where they had been
+shot down. At the corner of Front and Chestnut Streets three men passed
+him under guard, walking rapidly toward the depot, and whom he
+recognized as prominent citizens&mdash;one a grocery man another quite an
+extensive real estate owner and money lender, while the third, a white
+man, had been a magistrate in the city for quite a number of years.
+These men were being escorted to the trains by soldiers, who had
+considerable trouble in keeping a mob of men and boys from doing them
+violence. "Well, what are you standing up here for?" asked a man,
+turning aside from the throng that surrounded the fugitives, and
+akimbowed in front of the minister. "No niggers are allowed to loiter;
+white men are in charge of affairs from now on." "I have a pass that
+permits me to interview the Colonel," answered Dr. Le Grand, holding up
+the paper before the man's eyes. The man took the paper and read it
+slowly. "Come," said he in a gentler tone of voice, "I'll take you
+through to the Colonel, for you can't go by yourself." Across the
+street, and in the direction of the cotton press they proceeded. At the
+corner of Mulberry Street they met Colonel Moss going southward, with a
+crowd of soldiers and citizens about him. He scowled at the minister,
+his face flushed with anger as the minister saluted. "What do you want?"
+he roared. "That's the question I have come to ask you," returned the
+minister. "What do you wish us to do? We are willing to do anything to
+stop this carnage." "We want nothing! We are masters of the situation,"
+answered the Colonel hotly. But the minister persisted. "Hear me,
+Colonel. This is indeed a one-sided fight. Our men are unarmed, and are
+the chief sufferers in this affair." "It's your own fault," roared
+Colonel Moss. "We gave you colored leaders time to comply with our
+request to burn the negro's printing outfit. We waited twelve hours for
+your reply, and it came not, so we took the matter into our own hands.
+We propose to scourge this black pest out of Wilmington. If you can
+induce them to go to their homes and recognize the authority of the
+white people, you can prevent further bloodshed." "I will do my best,"
+replied the minister. Dr. Le Grand was placed in a buggy, between two
+whites, to protect him against violence. This man of God finished that
+day,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[91]</a></span> and the other days of terror to the unfortunate negroes, in
+inducing rebellious black citizens throughout the city to submit to
+overwhelming odds against them, and staking his own life upon the good
+character of this or that man or woman in danger of being killed for
+some trivial charge made by a white person, whether remote or recent.</p>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[92]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIII" id="CHAPTER_XIII"></a>CHAPTER XIII.</h2>
+
+<h3>Mrs. Adelaide Peterson's Narrative.</h3>
+
+
+<p class="author">New Bedford, Mass., Dec. 19, 1899.</p>
+
+<p>Dear Jack Thorne:</p>
+
+<p>In compliance with your request for a narrative of what I witnessed of
+the massacre which took place in Wilmington, N. C., in November, 1898, I
+herewith write for the information of the world what happened in the
+section of the city known as Dry Pond. The plans for the slaughter of
+November 10th had been carefully laid. The negroes, lulled into a
+feeling of security by the usual yet unexpected quiet election, were
+utterly surprised on the morning of the 10th to find the streets choked
+with armed men and boys. The mob, it seems, formed at the Court House,
+and dividing itself into bands scattered into every direction, holding
+up and searching both black men and women, beating and shooting those
+who showed a disposition to resist. On the corner of Seventh and Nun
+Streets stands Gregory Normal Institute for colored youth, with Christ
+Church (Congregational) and the teachers' home, comprising the most
+beautiful group of buildings in the city. This is the property of the
+American Missionary Association. The morning devotions had just ended in
+this school on the morning of the 10th, and scholars were going to the
+different class-rooms, when the report of a gun threw the entire school
+and neighborhood into confusion. Children ran to their teachers for
+safety, who, with blanched faces, stood dumb with terror, for a mob of
+armed whites had already surrounded the buildings and completely blocked
+Seventh, Ann and Nun streets. On Seventh street, between Nun and Church
+streets, in a small wooden structure, the much talked of
+<a name="corr11" id="corr11"></a><a class="correction" href="#cn11" title="Italics added"><i>Wilmington
+Record</i></a>
+had found a temporary home, and this was the objective point of
+the mob. Surrounding this building, they battered down the door, broke
+in pieces the printing outfit, and then set fire to the building. Many
+women, with their little ones, took to the woods,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[93]</a></span> so thoroughly
+frightened were they at this strange and unlooked-for spectacle. Black
+men were awed into helplessness by the superiorly armed mob. I was at
+the ironing table, when one of my little ones ran in and told me that
+the school house was on fire. I hurried out to join the crowd of anxious
+mothers, who were hurrying in that direction to rescue their children,
+whom, they supposed, were in danger. But we were not able to get past
+the crowd of men who surrounded the Record building. The cries of the
+frightened children could be heard, and the inability of the mothers to
+reach them added to the horror of the scene. One mother, frenzied with
+grief and desperation, pushed and shoved her way through, despite the
+threats of the mob. One little girl died of sheer fright. The shooting
+without, mingled with the oaths of the men and the frantic wails of the
+women without were too much for the little one to bear. Her teacher's
+assurance of safety were of no avail. The teachers finally made a bold
+front, pushed their way through the crowd and delivered the frightened
+children to their frightened parents, some of whom did not return to
+their homes, but hastened to the woods for safety. I returned home. My
+husband, who worked at the Press did not arrive until late that night,
+he having had serious difficulty in passing the armed whites who lined
+the streets, and challenged him at every corner. He informed me that
+Colonel Moss, on leaving
+<a name="corr12" id="corr12"></a><a class="correction" href="#cn12" title="changed from 'Dr.'">Dry</a>
+Pond, went immediately to the Press with
+the intention of killing all the men at work there, but was thwarted by
+the coolness of Mr. &mdash;&mdash; and Molly Pierrepont, who went from her home to
+warn them. I bless that woman for her courage. She stood like a goddess
+among those men and prevented them from rushing into a trap prepared for
+them. My husband at first thought it unsafe to remain in the house that
+night; the poor whites were heavily armed and were likely to do most
+anything. They had already fired into several houses in the
+neighborhood. Some one rapped at the door. I was too frightened to move.
+My husband finally opened the door, and in staggered Joe Bently,
+bleeding profusely from a large gash in his forehead. He said: "I was
+trying to reach the hill this evening without being searched, as I did
+not want to part with my gun. At the corner of Market and Front streets
+I met Mr. Philip Hines, who offered to take me through the crowd to
+safety, and led me right into trouble. I was held up and searched. Ben
+Turpin took my revolver from me and gave me this gash on my forehead
+with the butt of it." I bathed and bound up Bently's wound, and he<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[94]</a></span> lay
+himself upon the lounge in my dining-room, and being weak from the loss
+of blood, soon dropped off to sleep. We were too frightened to lie down.
+Thirty minutes elapsed. We heard the sound of footsteps approaching; the
+door received a vigorous kick. "Hello!" came from without. "Say
+Peterson! Don't be afraid; this is McGinn!" My husband opened the door.
+"Is that you, Mr. Mac?" said he. "Yes, we are looking for that feller
+Manly." "I guess he's far away," returned my husband. "Well, its good
+for him that he is. Who's in there with you?" "My family." "Well, I
+believe you, Peterson. Good night." The men went their way. We were
+molested no more during the night, but shooting was kept up at intervals
+in the neighborhood all night. Some citizens slept under their houses
+for safety.</p>
+
+<p>The morning of the 11th of November dawned clear and cold, and the
+sufferings of those who were compelled to sleep in the open air were
+terrible. At about nine o'clock Rev. Simons called at my house. He had
+his wagon laden with comfortables for the suffering ones. "Hundreds are
+in the woods," he said after greeting me, "and God only knows what their
+sufferings were during the night."</p>
+
+<p>"People of the Saxon race, whom we have trusted so implicitly, this is
+your work, for which you must answer to God," and with his hand he
+brushed away a tear. Together we rode to the woods, my husband remaining
+home with the children. Far beyond "Jump and Run" we came upon quite a
+crowd of women and children, who had built a large fire, and were
+huddled about it. One woman, a tall creature, ran to meet us as we
+approached with outstretched hands and a maniacal stare in her eyes.
+"Where's my husband?" she shrieked. "Is it true he is killed? An' are
+you comin' to kill me?" "No, my dear," answered the minister, "we come
+to bring you comfort." "No! no! no!" she cried. "Tell me no more about
+God. Hagar's children have no God. They are forsaken! Lost! lost! lost!"
+Several women came up and took hold of the demented creature and led her
+away. "She's los' her mind," said one. "She sat here las' night an' saw
+her dear friend an' neighbor die in the agony of childbirth; and that,
+with the news of her husband's death has unbalanced her mind." "There
+lays the woman," said another, taking the minister by the hand and
+leading him to where&mdash;cold and lifeless&mdash;the body of the woman with that
+of the new-born babe by its side. The poor, demented creature had taken
+a seat upon a stump beside the corpse, and was moaning and wringing her<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[95]</a></span>
+hands. "Lord, be merciful!" exclaimed the minister, with clasped hands.
+"They are all about here," said another woman; "these are not all that
+have died during the night." We busied ourselves in giving such comfort
+as lay in our power. In our search among the bushes we came across
+several dead and others dying from the night's exposure. So thoroughly
+frightened were these people that we could not induce them to believe it
+safe to venture back to their own homes. The situation was indeed
+appalling. On our way into the city we met some humane whites going out
+to persuade the frightened refugees back.</p>
+
+<p>The 10th day of November, 1898, can never be forgotten. I will not close
+this narrative without mentioning an act of bravery performed by a lone
+woman which stopped the vulgar and inhuman searching of women in our
+section of the city. The most atrocious and unpardonable act of the mob
+was the wanton disregard for womanhood. Lizzie Smith was the first woman
+to make a firm and stubborn stand against the proceeding in the southern
+section. It was near the noon hour when Lizzie, homeward bound, reached
+the corner of Orange and Third streets. A block away she saw a woman
+struggling to free herself from the grasp of several men who were, in
+turn, slapping her face and otherwise abusing her. The woman fought
+until her clothes were torn to shreds; then with a shove the men allowed
+her to proceed on her way. Lizzie could have saved herself by running
+away, but anger at such cowardice had chased away every vestige of fear.
+She leisurely walked up to where the fight was going on. "Halt," said
+one of the ruffians to Lizzie, "an' let's see how many razors you got
+under them duds. That tother wench was er walkin' arsennel. Come now!"
+roared the man, "none er your cussed impert'nence." Lizzie, instead of
+assaying to comply, akimbowed and looked defiantly at the crowd about
+her. "Oh, yo' po' white trash." "Shut up or we'll settle you an' have
+done with it," said the leader, making a motion toward his hip pocket.
+"Yo' will, eh!" answered the girl, "yo' kan't skeer me. But ef yo'
+wanter search me I'll take off ma clothes, so yo' won't have ter tear
+'em," and Lizzie began to hurriedly unfasten her bodice. "Yo've got ter
+search me right," she continued, throwing off piece after piece; "yo'll
+fin' I am jes' like yo' sisters an' mammies, yo' po' tackies." "That'll
+do," growled one of the men, as Lizzie was unbuttoning the last piece.
+"Oh, no," returned the girl, "I'm goin' ter git naked; yer got ter see
+that I'm er woman." White women were looking on from their windows at
+this sight so<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[96]</a></span> shocking. One had the courage to shout "Shame! how dare
+you expose that woman in that manner?" "Them's the curnel's orders,"
+replied the leader, raising his hat. "Who is the Colonel, and what right
+has he to give such orders?" shrieked the woman. "You ought to be
+ashamed of yourselves for your own wives and daughters' sakes." The men
+skulked away and left Lizzie victor on the field. Yours for justice and
+right,</p>
+
+<p class="author">ADELAIDE PETERSON.</p>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[97]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIV" id="CHAPTER_XIV"></a>CHAPTER XIV.</h2>
+
+<h3>The Flight of Reverend Selkirk.</h3>
+
+
+<p>There is a great deal said about the fatality of the wind of Boston Bay.
+Even the native Bostonian dreads its icy touch, and when winter comes to
+re-enforce its intensity, as many as can, seek warmer climes. A few
+winters ago, among the many tourists who sought accommodations on a
+train South-bound were Rev. Hiland Silkirk, wife and two children. Rev.
+Silkirk's many years of ministerial work in the old cradle of liberty
+had somewhat told upon his health, and he felt that a few months or
+years in a warmer clime would result in the recovery of lost vigor. He
+had purchased a ticket for Wilmington, N. C. The air there was mild,
+bracing and dry and made health giving and mellow by the sweet odor of
+the yellow pine. And then, again, a field was open for the continuance
+of his work while he recuperated, a certain Baptist church in the old
+city had called him to its pastorate. Being a man of exceptional
+ability, affable and of sunny temperament, Rev. Hiland Silkirk was just
+the man to win friends among Southern people, and he won them among both
+white and black citizens in that old town. This is the case in every
+Southern community. A Negro man of prominence can retain his popularity
+on certain lines among the whites if he keeps out of politics and in all
+race troubles remains neutral. But he cannot take this stand and be
+universally loved. His reward will inevitably be the contempt of his own
+race, which he cannot afford to engender. And no man who loves his
+people can hide his light under a bushel; can keep quiet when they are
+assailed. He must, he will raise hand and voice in their defense. Moses
+refused to dwell in the king's palace while his people suffered about
+him. No! he went forth, and in his zeal smote an uncircumcised Egyptian
+oppressor to death and fled into a strange land and there fitted himself
+for their deliverer. Rev. Hiland Silkirk counted his friends among some
+leading ministers and laymen of the oppo<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[98]</a></span>site race. But Rev. Silkirk was
+true to his own, and when the time came to test that devotion, he
+arrayed himself with his own people and endangered his own life. When,
+in the early part of August, 1898, the fight between the editor of the
+Record and the editor of the Messenger waxed hot over the inflammatory
+letters on the race question from the pen of Mrs. Fells, of Georgia,
+which had its final result in the destruction of the Record's property
+and the banishment of its editor, Rev. Silkirk did not hesitate to join
+in the controversy. This caused many of his white friends to cool
+towards him, and it placed his name upon the list of dangerous(?)
+Negroes to be killed or banished. After the general raid which
+terrorized and put the city in a state of panic on the 10th of November,
+the mobs divided into squads, and, as deputy sheriffs, begun to arrest
+and drive from the city the objects of their spleen. The duly elected
+Mayor and other officials having been deposed, bandits were put in their
+places. A portion of the mob which destroyed the Record building on the
+morning of the 10th, started northward toward Walnut street, on which
+the hated Negro minister resided. But among the white ministers in
+Wilmington there was one at least who would not allow his prejudice to
+impair his devotion to a worthy friend. He, aware of the plot to murder
+the black divine, set out on that morning to warn him of his danger. The
+Rev. Silkirk, aroused and alarmed by the noise of guns coming from every
+direction in the city, had just mounted his bicycle and started in the
+direction of Dry Pond. As he turned into Seventh street he saw, more
+than two blocks away, another bicyclist breathlessly pedaling toward
+him. "Why, Dr. Sawyer, I was just starting to your house!" said the
+colored man, as the white one rode up and dismounted. "And I was just
+coming to your house to inform you that a ride in my direction is
+dangerous! Return! There is no time to be lost. Get into the woods! They
+are on the way to your house now to kill you. I must not be seen with
+you. Go! Make haste!" This was all said in one breath, and before the
+colored man could recover from his astonishment to ask a question the
+white one was gone. Down the street a cloud of dust rose before the
+colored minister's eyes. The bandits were only a few blocks away. There
+was not even time to return to his home. He hastened down Walnut street,
+crossed Red Cross into Campbell, and made for the woods. The bandits
+rode up to the minister's house, dismounted and surrounded it, but the
+quarry was gone. From the frightened wife and little ones they could
+glean no information as to the where<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[99]</a></span>abouts of the minister. They were
+about to satisfy their vengeance by subjecting the helpless woman to
+revolting indignities, when a boy ran up to inform them of the direction
+in which the man had fled. The mob mounted their horses and made a dash
+for Oak Dale Cemetery. The colored people in the neighborhood, afraid to
+approach to offer protection to poor Mrs. Silkirk, now gathered about
+her. All were unanimous in the belief that the bandits would return
+should they fail to find the minister, and not only molest her, but
+shoot into the houses of others as well. So they decided to take her to
+the church, yea, gather the whole neighborhood in there. "Sho, dey won't
+shoot in de house er God," said an old lady. "Le'us git dar an' pray; we
+kin do nuth'n better. Le' us ask de Lawd wot it all means?"</p>
+
+<p>When Rev. Silkirk reached a secluded spot in the woods he was wet, sore
+and exhausted from wading through marshes and being scratched by briars.
+Night had set in. He lay down beneath a clump of bushes to rest; but
+there was no rest for this poor innocent wretch, outlawed by ruffians
+and compelled to leave his wife and little ones, and be hunted as a wild
+beast in the forest. This is the fate of many a Negro who had committed
+no more offense against law and order. But this, to such characters as
+Rev. Silkirk, was no evidence of God's displeasure. Men more righteous
+than he had been compelled to flee for their lives; yea, suffer death
+for truth's sake; men of whom the world was not worthy. He pillowed his
+head upon a tuft of wire grass, and gazed upward towards the spangled
+skies. "Lord, we cannot tell why this, thy people, are so severely
+tried; yet we believe that all things work together for good to them
+that trust in Thee. Strengthen our faith, Lord. Save our wives and
+little ones from a fate worse than death at the hands of the wicked, who
+glory and take delight in shameful treatment of the defenseless." He
+heard the tramping of horses' feet among the bushes only a short
+distance away, and soon several men galloped past where he lay&mdash;so close
+that one of the horses brushed against the bush which sheltered him. The
+frightened minister lay perfectly still until the footsteps died away,
+then he arose and went cautiously back to the city to see, if possible,
+what had been the fate of his wife and children, left to the mercy of a
+disappointed and angry mob.</p>
+
+<p>The feeling that the church was the only place for safety filled the
+breasts of most of the frightened souls in the neighborhood of Seventh
+and Red Cross streets on the evening of the dreadful 10th of November,
+after the band of Red Shirts had terrorized the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[100]</a></span> people in their
+blusterous hunt for the negro minister. "It seemed like the day of
+Judgment," said an eye witness. "There were no loud lamentations, as is
+usual when colored people are wrought up under excitement, but sobs,
+groans and whispered petitions. Bless our pastor, Lord, an' save him ef
+it be Thy will," came from many lips, followed by "Amens" and "Do,
+Lord." Suddenly the church was thrown into a spasm of excitement that
+could not be suppressed, for while they were breathing prayers for his
+deliverance, the pastor, wet, footsore and tired, entered and strode
+slowly up the aisle. "Why did you, oh, why did you come back?" exclaimed
+his wife, throwing her arms about the minister's neck, while others in
+their excitement gathered about them. The Rev. Silkirk gently led his
+wife, who had almost fainted in his arms, to a chair and raised his hand
+for silence. "Brethren and sisters," he began, "my escape from death
+to-day has been a narrow one. I knew that my attitude in the Manly-Fells
+controversy had caused some of my friends to cool toward me, but I did
+not believe that it would ripen into a desire to murder me, because of
+my opinions. Nevertheless, my attitude is the same. I do not retract a
+single word said in defense of my people. Twenty or more men were killed
+to-day&mdash;men who are innocent of any wrong. I may be numbered with them
+before morning; yet love for my wife and little ones and you caused me
+to tempt death by returning here to console and speak a word of comfort
+to you. These may be evidences of God's displeasure; we may have in our
+prosperity forgotten to give Him the glory due unto His name; yet by
+these afflictions we may know that we are beloved of God, for whom he
+loveth He chasteneth. We are too well schooled in affliction to be
+dismayed, and they who are responsible for this rioting may just as well
+try to stop the river in its flow as to try to triumph permanently over
+a people who by affliction have waxed so strong in faith. We are as firm
+as Mount Zion, which cannot be moved. You, all of you, deem it expedient
+that I go away; so to-night, by the help of the Lord, I shall try to get
+away from this place. I may see you again, I cannot tell; if not, there
+are twelve gates to the City, and, with God's help, we'll meet up there.
+Let us have a few moments of silent prayer." Every knee was bended on
+that terrible night; but so emotional is the colored American that
+silence in a meeting of this kind is maintained with difficulty. A
+silence of two minutes elapsed&mdash;followed by sobs and groans painful to
+listen to. Then a voice tremulous with emotion floated over the
+assemblage&mdash;a woman's voice:</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[101]</a></span>"Father in heaven, we have evidence that thou didst hear thy children's
+cry in days past and gone, and we believe that Thou wilt hear us now.
+(Yes, Lord.) Thou didst hear the Hebrew children. (Yes.) Thou didst
+deliver Daniel. (Yes.) Thou didst hear Africa's groans, and didst break
+her chains. (Yes, Lord.) Oh Jesus, Master, hear us to-night. (Do,
+Jesus.) We cannot tell, Lord, why we are buffeted, beaten, murdered and
+driven from our homes, and made to seek refuge among strangers; but Thou
+knowest. Perhaps in our prosperity we have forgotten to give Thee the
+glory, blessed Lord, and these demons that have flocked to Wilmington
+from all quarters may be the scourgers that Thou art using to bring us
+closer to Thee. Hear, O Lord, the groans and cries of the widows and
+orphans of the slaughtered ones; men who gave up their lives in the
+feeble efforts to defend their homes and firesides. (Do, Lord.) Bless
+Brother Silkirk and his little family (Amen), who are about to start
+upon a perilous journey. The way is beset by demons thirsting for his
+blood. (Lord, help.) But he's in Thy hands, and Thou canst save him and
+save us from further persecution, if it be Thy will. Amen!"</p>
+
+<p>Rev. Silkirk was visibly moved by this earnest and pathetic plea. He
+thanked the petitioner and the entire church for their solicitude. He
+was dissuaded from attempting to take his wife and little ones with him
+on his perilous journey, and they were left in care of friends until an
+opportune season presented itself. The parting between that good man and
+his wife and friends was indeed touching. A substantial bank note was
+hurriedly thrust into his hand, and, with two deacons, he stepped out
+into the darkness and disappeared.</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 45%;" />
+
+<p>When the North-bound passenger train leaving Wilmington at 12.01 slowed
+up at Castle Hayne on the morning of the 12th of November a
+wretched-looking Negro minister stepped aboard. The trains had for two
+days been leaving the city ladened with undesirable citizens, white and
+black, and the trainmen had been earnest abettors in the injury and
+insult offered them. From Wilmington to Weldon at every stop crowds
+waited to do injury, if possible, to "Nigger" and radical refugees.
+Thomas Miller, Aria Bryant and other citizens had been taken off and
+jailed at Goldsboro, and one man in trying to escape was shot to death.</p>
+
+<p>The Rev. Silkirk did not feel very comfortable under the searching eye
+of the conductor who lifted his fare, and that individual's<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[102]</a></span> refusal to
+give satisfactory answers to inquiries concerning connections at Rocky
+Mount increased his feeling of uneasiness. He felt assured that failing
+to capture him in the woods, his would-be murderers had telegraphed his
+description, etc., along the road. At Dudley Station two men came into
+the smoker and took seats immediately in front of him, and continued the
+discussion of the topic which doubtless absorbed their minds before
+entering. "I was saying," said one, an elderly man, with quite a refined
+appearance, "that impertinent article by that Negro preacher was equally
+as spicy as the editorial, and as the editor took time by the forelock
+and made good his escape, the determination was to make sure of this
+preacher. But he was warned in time to get out, and the impression is
+that he was warned by a white man." "Shame," said the other, slapping
+his knee vigorously. "He got away, then." "Yes, but it's likely he'll
+sneak back before taking final leave, as he has a family there, and they
+are on the lookout for him; besides, the boys have been notified along
+the road to be on the lookout." "What's his name?" "Silkirk; he is er
+Boston darkey, an' doubtless is heading for that place, as Southern
+climate has got too hot for 'im."</p>
+
+<p>"Goldsboro! Change cars for Newbern," shouted the porter. "Well,
+good-bye!" said the genteel man, rising and making a bolt for the door.
+As the train slowly clanged its way through the old town the remaining
+passenger settled himself back in the seat and went to sleep.</p>
+
+<p>Several men passed through the train, the conductor in the lead. Each
+man slyly glanced at the minister, but said nothing. The train sped on
+its way through the town.</p>
+
+<p>Now, Wilson is the place where through passengers change cars and board
+North-bound trains from the far South. Wilson for the past few days had
+been the rendezvous for a well-organized vigilance committee, who had
+vied with the ruffians at Goldsboro in offering violence to citizens
+driven out of Wilmington. The leader of this gang was a young farmer by
+the name of Bull. That afternoon Mr. Bull and quite a number of his
+fellow-committeemen sat on the steps of the railroad station whittling
+sticks when the station operator came up and handed him a telegram,
+which ran as follows: "Goldsboro&mdash;Man on train 78 answering description
+of Silkirk. Look out for him. Barnet."</p>
+
+<p>"By Joe!" exclaimed Captain Bull, jumping to his feet. "Well, what's
+up?" asked three or four of his companions, gathering around the leader.
+"Nothing, only that Boston black Yankee is<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[103]</a></span> on train 78, an' he mustn't
+git any further 'an Wilson, that's all," returned Bull. "Go, Buxton," he
+said to a sallow-faced young man leaning against the wall, "an' tell the
+boys ter git ready for er feast ter night. That Nigger editor slipped
+through like grease, an' ef we let this Nigger do so we all uns ought
+ter be gibbited. We want er be ready ter mount the train time she stops.
+I've got no description of the man, but, then, its no hard tas' to pick
+out er preacher from the tother uns." With that Captain Bull started
+toward home to get his gun, and the crowd dispersed.</p>
+
+<p>At Wilson trains usually pause at the water tank, a few yards below, for
+coal and water, before making the final stop at the station. Just as
+train 78 paused at this place, a colored man with a buggy whip under his
+arm got aboard. He walked briskly through the train, scanning the faces
+of the passengers as he went. "The' ain't but one colored man on here,"
+he said, as he reached the door of the smoking car and looked in.
+Walking up and touching this man on the shoulder, he said: "Looker here,
+mister, you goin' North?" "I want to," returned the colored passenger.
+"Well, come with me an' get somethin' ter eat foe you go; you look like
+you hungry. I keep er resterant, put up thar jes' fer my people, bekase
+thar's no show fer 'em in the other place. Come on! No time ter be los',
+train don't stay up thar more 'an twenty minutes." With that he led the
+passenger from the train. "Git up in thar," he said, pointing to a small
+wagon. "Got er trunk?" "No, just this bag," returned the other. "Well,
+let's go. Git up, Nell," and the horse started off in a brisk trot.
+"Looker here, mister, I ain't got no more resterant then er dog. Ain't
+your name Silkirk?" "That's may name," returned the passenger in
+astonishment. "I knowed it," said the driver. "I got on that train ter
+save yer life ter night. Slower dar, Nell! This road's full er mud holes
+sence the big rain we had tother day. I jes' happen ter that depot ter
+day jes' in time ter see thet telegraph when hit cum an' was put inter
+Captain Bull's han'. Sence dem riots in Wilmin'ton he's bin er getin'
+telegraphs an' sarchin' trains, an' insultin' women an' killin' col'd
+mens. An' I jes' slied erroun' tell I hear what that telegraph say. Hit
+say, look out fer Silkirk. Thar's er gang of crackers waitin' ter kill
+you as sho es yo' er bo'n; but Bob Jones is goin' ter cheat um dis time.
+Go on thar!" "God moves in a mysterious way," murmured the minister,
+slowly. "You'll bet he does. Come, gal, pick um up an' put um down;
+thar's no time ter be los'. Gwine<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[104]</a></span> ter take yer cross de country here,
+an' put yer on er frate train, an' dat train gwine take yer to Norfolk,
+for yo' sholy ain't safe on dat coas' line road. Dis is what we call
+throwin' de houn's off de scent. Pure Nigger cunnin', here me? Git up,
+Nell."</p>
+
+<p>It was near the midnight hour when the horse, panting for breath, paused
+at a lonely rickety old station. The men alighted. "Hit's jes' twenty
+minutes pas' eleven," said Bob Jones glancing at his watch. "Now that
+train's comin' long here in er few minutes. Jes' git er board an' treat
+de Cap'n right, an' he'll put yer through." "God bless you and all of
+yours," said the minister, gratefully. "My people in Wilmington and
+Boston must know of you and what you have done for me to-night." "Dat's
+all right, parson, keep de change. Ise jes' doin' my duty, that's all.
+We should feel each other's keer, an' bear each other's cross, says de
+good word. Dar's de train now!" The old freight train panted slowly up
+and stopped to look for freight. The Rev. Hiland Silkirk, with tears of
+gratitude in his eyes, got aboard, and the triumphant Jehu turned his
+horse and started homeward.</p>
+
+<p>"Well done, good and faithful servant, forasmuch as you have done good
+unto one of the least of these my brethren, you have done it unto me."</p>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[105]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XV" id="CHAPTER_XV"></a>CHAPTER XV.</h2>
+
+<h3>Captain Nicholas McDuffy.</h3>
+
+
+<p>Before the introduction of the improved method of fire fighting in
+Southern cities&mdash;before the steam engine, the hook and ladder and water
+tower companies supplanted the old hand pump and bucket companies, the
+Negro was the chief fire fighter, and there was nothing that tended more
+to make fire fighting a pleasant pastime than those old volunteer
+organizations. For many years after the war Wilmington was supplied with
+water for the putting out of fires by means of cisterns which were built
+in the centre of streets. When the old bell in the market house tower
+sounded the alarm of fire, the volunteers left their work and hastened
+to headquarters to drag forth the old hand pump and make for the cistern
+nearest the scene of the fire, where, keeping time to the tune of some
+lively song, they pumped the fire out. There was peculiar sweetness in
+those old songs which made fire fighting a fascinating pastime in those
+old days. While a few men spannered the hose, directed the stream and
+did the work of rescuing and saving furniture, etc., the majority were
+required to man the pumps. Thirty or forty men in brilliant uniform
+lined up on either side of the huge engine, tugging away at the great
+horizontal handles, presented a spectacle which no one even in these
+days of advancement would despise. And the singing!</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"O Lindy, Lindy my dear honey,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Lindy, gal, I'm boun' to go;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">O Lindy, Lindy my dear honey,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">O Lindy, gal, I'm boun' to go," etc.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>A few lines of another:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"The cows in de ole field, don't yo' hear de bell?<br /></span>
+<span class="i3">Let her go, let her go.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The cows in de ole field, don't yo' hear de bell?<br /></span>
+<span class="i3">Let her go, let her go," etc.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[106]</a></span>But the things that will make those old organizations live longest in
+the memory are their frolics, excursions and picnics, full of all that
+appealed to the appetite for pleasure and excitement. There the dancer,
+the fighter, the runner, the wrestler, could indulge freely in his
+favorite pastime; there old scores could be settled and new ones made.
+The most noteworthy and serviceable of those old volunteer organizations
+was the old "Brooklyn No. 4," which guarded that portion of the city
+known by that name. No. 2, in the middle section, and the "Old No. 3
+Double Deck," in the southern part of the city. These old-fashioned
+machines have given place to the modern fire fighter, the steam engine.
+But of all of these banished organizations, No. 3 will be the longest
+remembered. Upon her roll were the names of some of Wilmington's best
+citizens. In the year 1873 this company, too serviceable to be
+disbanded, was reorganized under the name of "Cape Fear Engine Company,"
+and presented by the city with a handsome steam engine of that name. And
+although the Germans had replaced their hand pump by costly steamer, and
+a company had been organized among the aristocracy, this colored company
+kept and maintained the reputation of being the best fire fighters in
+the city, and second to none in the entire State. Upon the walls of
+their engine house hung trophies for superior firemanship won in nearly
+every city in the State. The insurance companies of the city recognized
+their value as savers of property, and upon more than one occasion made
+them valuable presents. Only men of good repute who could "stand the
+gaze of an honest eye" were eligible to membership in the Cape Fear Fire
+Company, and he who aspired to leadership must be efficient both in
+character and experience as a fire fighter. I write the above that the
+reader may know what manner of man this was who was compelled to leave
+his home, his wife and little ones and flee for his life. Captain
+Nicholas McDuffy was at one time foreman of the Cape Fear Engine
+Company. McDuffy came to Wilmington a rough country lad, secured
+employment, went to work, saved his money, bought property and became a
+citizen of note and respectability. He joined the engine company and
+rose like a meteor to its foremost rank. The relations between the races
+in the South have always been such that it requires a Negro of Spartan
+courage to face a white man and return blow for blow, it matters not how
+righteous may be his cause. Captain Nicholas McDuffy was a man without
+fear. Two or three years ago, while a member of the police force of
+Wilmington, it became his duty<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[107]</a></span> to arrest some white roughs for
+disorderly conduct. It was a hazardous undertaking, but McDuffy waded in
+and landed his men, but it cost him dear. His body was so hacked by
+knife thrusts that he was compelled to go to the hospital for repairs.
+Generally policemen are commended and rewarded for such heroic deeds,
+but this placed the name of Nicholas McDuffy upon the death list. A
+Negro officer must not presume to arrest a white man. There were,
+however, white men who admired McDuffy for his frankness and courage,
+and when the riotous excitement was at its height and the assassins were
+seeking here and there for victims, one of these true men warned McDuffy
+just in time to get into the swamp before a mob surrounded his house.
+They pursued him, however, but by swimming a creek not far from the
+city's limit he escaped their bullets, and without coat or hat made his
+way to New Berne. His poor wife and children were left to the mercy of
+the mob, who drove them forth and burned the house behind them.</p>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[108]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVI" id="CHAPTER_XVI"></a>CHAPTER XVI.</h2>
+
+<h3>Tempting Negroes to Return.</h3>
+
+
+<p>
+<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Wilmington Officials Scouring the Woods for Refugees&mdash;Want</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Them to Return and Go to Work.</span><br />
+</p>
+
+<p>Special to The World.</p>
+
+<p>Wilmington, N. C., Nov. 13.&mdash;Affairs are settling down to their normal
+condition here. Chief of Police Edgar G. Parmle and several
+representatives of the new city government drove out ten miles on the
+various roads leading from the city to-day, to induce the refugee
+Negroes to come back.</p>
+
+<p>City officials also attended the colored churches and urged the pastors
+and their people to go into the woods to induce the frightened Negroes
+to return and resume their work.</p>
+
+<p>The pastors of the white churches referred to the riot in their sermons
+to-day. The burden of the discourses was that the struggle at the polls
+Tuesday was for liberty, decency, honesty and right; that it was not so
+much the drawing of the color line as a contest for the supremacy of
+intelligence and competence over ignorance, incompetence and debauchery.</p>
+
+<p>Dr. Hoge, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church, who recently preached
+in the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church, New York, and was mentioned as
+Dr. Hall's successor, took as his text: "He that ruleth his spirit is
+better than he that taketh a city."</p>
+
+<p>"We have done both," he said. "We have taken a city. That is much, but
+it is more because it is our own city that we have taken."</p>
+
+<p>Dr. Hoge justified the movement which led to the change of government.</p>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[109]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVII" id="CHAPTER_XVII"></a>CHAPTER XVII.</h2>
+
+<h3>At Mrs. McLane's.</h3>
+
+
+<p>It was Thanksgiving Day. The political storm increased tenfold in
+velocity and destructiveness by race hatred that had swept through the
+old city of Wilmington, devastating homes, leaving orphans, widows and
+ruined fortunes in its wake, was slowly abating. A city in a state of
+siege could not have presented a more distressing appearance. Soldiers
+and armed white men and boys stood in groups on every street ready to
+pounce upon and disperse any assemblage of black citizens upon the
+streets. The ringing of church bells, the call to praise only served to
+intensify the fear of colored worshippers whose meetings had been
+previously broken up by armed mobs. These dusky worshippers, devout as
+they were, had not the faith sufficient to enable them to discern the
+smiling face of God through the clouds which hung over them.
+Demoralized, dejected, disconsolate, they dodged about here and there
+like sheep having no shepherd. Just as the bell in the tall steeple of
+the old Baptist Church on Market street was making its last long and
+measured peals there crept out from behind the old Marine Hospital a
+woman leading a little child by the hand. Both were wretchedly clad.
+Thrown about the woman's shoulders was an old quilt. Her shoes were tied
+with strings, which were wrapped around the soles to keep from leaving
+her feet. Her skirt, tattered and torn, hung dejectedly about her scant
+form. The child, barefooted and with only one piece to hide its
+nakedness, dodged behind its mother as it walked to keep the wind from
+striking with its full force its emaciated body. The woman, though young
+in years, was old and haggard in face. Her woolly hair, unkempt and
+sprinkled with gray, the result of just three weeks of privation,
+apprehension and dread, bulged out from beneath the old shawl which
+covered her head. At the northwest corner of the hospital fence she
+paused, looked cheerfully toward her own cottage, but a few blocks away,
+then slowly<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[110]</a></span> walked on in that direction, the child toddling at her
+side. "What is the bells ringin' for, mamma?" asked the little one. "It
+ain't Sunday." "It's Thanksgiving Day, and we usually go to church on
+that day," answered the mother, slowly. "What is Thanksgiving Day?" "It
+is a day set apart by the President for the people to assemble and give
+thanks for&mdash;for&mdash;blessings&mdash;received during the year, my child." This
+last answer tore that disconsolate mother's heart till it bled. She had
+reached the gate of her cottage, from which she had fled on the night of
+November 10th to escape insult and murder. A white woman sat upon the
+steps knitting, her children playing about the yard. The colored woman
+stood and momentarily gazed in amazement at the intruder upon her
+premises. "Well, whart du you wannt?" said the white one, looking up
+from her work and then down again. "What do I want?" returned the
+colored one. "That's the question for me to ask. What are you doing in
+my house?" "Your house?" "Yes, my house!" "Niggers don't own houses in
+dis here town no mo'; white uns air rulin' now," was the saucy response.
+"We uns air in these houses, an' we air goin' ter stay in um. An' mo'n
+thet; them's ther Mair's orders." "You poor white trash; I worked hard
+for this house, and hold the deed for it, so you get out!" So saying,
+she caught hold of the latch. The white woman rushed to the corner of
+the fence and screamed "Police!" at the top of her voice.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, what's ther mater here?" asked one of the four men who came
+running up in response to the woman's call. "This nigger cums here ter
+purt me out er this house." "This is my house!" broke in the other. "My
+house," repeated the man, with a sneer. "Pocession is nine-tents er th'
+law. She's in, you air out, so git." Several colored people had
+responded to the call, most of them women. "Come, Eliza," said one,
+putting her arms affectionately about the wretched and angry woman's
+waist, while another took the little one in her arms. "It's no use to
+waste words; we all have suffered at the hands of these superior (?)
+people. But God will give the wrong-doer his reward in due season. Come
+with us, my dear, and wait patiently." "All my nice furniture being
+ruined by this dirty cracker, and I can do nothing to prevent it,"
+sobbed Eliza, struggling to free herself that she might fly at the
+throat of the intruder, who stood glaring at her in triumph.</p>
+
+<p>"Take her er long," said the white bully, "Or I'll lock her up. The time
+fer Niggers ter sass white fo'ks is past in Wilmington."</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[111]</a></span>"Come, Eliza; that's a good woman." The woman walked reluctantly away,
+to be cared for by her neighbors.</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 45%;" />
+
+<p>That evening at about dusk Mrs. McLane, an old and wealthy white
+citizen, stood at the window of her palatial dwelling on Third street
+watching the twilight fade&mdash;watching the Thanksgiving Day of 1898 slowly
+die. Mrs. McLane had not attended church; she felt more like hiding away
+from the world to be alone with God. In her devotions that morning she
+had cried out with all the fervency of her soul that God would turn away
+his anger from a people with whom He was justly displeased.</p>
+
+<p>"My people are to-day imbued with the feeling of boastfulness in their
+own strength rather than thankfulness to God. For can any of us feel
+that God has countenanced the murder, pillage and intimidation which the
+whites of Wilmington have resorted to? And for what?" Thus she
+soliloquized as she watched the day die. The clock in the old
+Presbyterian Church slowly chimed the hour of six. A long jingle of the
+doorbell awoke Mrs. McLane from her reverie. "Mrs. Hill, Mrs. Bruce and
+Mrs. Engel,
+<a name="corr13" id="corr13"></a><a class="correction" href="#cn13" title="changed from 'Misses'">missis</a>,"
+said a servant, slightly pulling the door ajar and
+pushing her head in. "All right, Margaret, I'll be right down," answered
+the lady. "Tell Aunt Susan that the guests I expected to tea are here."
+"Yes m'm." The servant disappeared, and Mrs. McLane slowly descended to
+the parlor. "Why, Marjorie!" exclaimed Mrs. Bruce, as the hostess glided
+into the parlor, where the three women sat chatting. "How could you stay
+at home from church on such a lovely day! You missed a treat, you&mdash;"
+"Tea's ready, missis," said Margaret, appearing suddenly in the parlor
+door. "Now, ladies, we must retire to the dining room and let
+conversation aid digestion; remember that my tea has waited until half
+an hour past the usual time for you. So, without further delay, let me
+lead the way to tea," and Mrs. McLane proceeded to the dining room,
+followed by her three visitors. "Well, from Mrs. Bruce's exclamation
+when I entered a while ago I must infer that you all enjoyed church
+service immensely." "Well, I should say so," promptly answered Mrs.
+Bruce. "I don't see how any one could have remained at home on such a
+day as this. And, you know, we have so much to be thankful for. Dr. Jose
+quoted for his text, 'He that is slow to anger is better than the
+mighty, and he that controlleth his spirit than he that taketh a city.'
+'We have taken a city,' said he, 'our city; freed it from<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[112]</a></span> ignorance and
+misrule.' I, for one, am grateful to see our men have so nobly shown to
+the women of Wilmington that they are worthy of our loyalty and
+devotion. I said to my husband, after reading that infamous and
+slanderous article in the Record, that our men were too pigeon-livered
+to take that Nigger out and give him what he deserves; and I think it
+was just such talk from our women in the households that brought about
+this revolution. Such as the white people of Wilmington have been
+compelled to resort to would never have happened had the
+good-for-nothing Yankee left the black where he belonged, instead of
+wrenching him from his master and then educating him into the belief
+that he is as good as he who owned him. This Manly is a new Nigger&mdash;a
+product of Yankee schools and colleges. Freedom and education have
+worked only harm to the Negro by putting high notions into his head.
+Blacks of Wilmington have had more sway than was for their good, and
+they need checking, and it has come at last. We will have no more black
+lawyers, doctors, editors and so forth, taking the support from our own
+professional men. And no more such disgraceful scenes as we have been
+compelled to endure&mdash;well-dressed Negro women flaunting about our
+streets in finery, when they ought to be in their places. Why, we can't
+order a gown or bonnet, but what, before we can get into the street with
+it on our backs, some Nigger woman flirts by with the very same thing
+on, style, material and all. It is preposterous! How I have burned in
+desire to jump upon them and tear the things off and flog them, as they
+deserve. And to go to Seventh street on a Sunday or on a week-day, for
+that matter, the sight is heart sickening! There Sambo and his woman,
+dressed to death, strut along with heads erect, looking as important as
+though they owned the city, or, astride their bicycles, they'll ride
+plumb over you. But we have put a stop to Nigger high-stepping for a
+while at least, thanks to our true and patriotic men, blue-blooded
+Southern gentlemen." "And our boys, who did so nobly!" chimed in Mrs.
+Engel. "Yes! yes!" exclaimed Mrs. Bruce, with a triumphant laugh. "How
+full of zeal and love for home and country they are! It was indeed
+charming to see them hold up big, burly blacks and make them stand until
+bidden to pass on. One of the most amusing and gratifying sights was the
+holding up of a big Nigger woman, right in front of my gate. She reared
+and charged, but to no purpose; those boys made her shake her duds. They
+pulled her clothes almost off her back trying to make her stand until
+searched." "And you didn't protest against such<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[113]</a></span> ungallant treatment of
+a woman, and by mere lads?" asked Mrs. McLane. "Protest! Why, Marjorie
+McLane! You must not, my dear, allow yourself to think of such creatures
+as women entitled to such consideration as is due white women. How did I
+know but what that creature had set out to burn some lady's dwelling.
+Protest? No! decidedly no! I just stood there and enjoyed the fun. I am
+afraid you are too full of Yankeeism, Marjorie. You should be thankful
+that our enemies are vanquished. When Colonel Moss reached Dry Pond,
+instead of showing fight and standing by their editor, whom they upheld
+in slandering white women, they scampered to the woods." "And the poor
+frightened creatures are still there. They cannot be induced to return,
+and the suffering among them is intense. Mothers have given birth out
+there, and they and their offspring have died from exposure." "Poor
+creatures!" exclaimed Mrs. Engel. "God pity them and us!" continued Mrs.
+McLane. "If what has been done in Wilmington within the last few days is
+the work of gentlemen, then in the name of God let us have a few men in
+Wilmington, if such can be found." "But, my dear&mdash;" "Don't interrupt me,
+Mrs. Bruce! Hear me through," said Mrs. McLane, raising her voice. "May
+the groans of these suffering women and children ever ring in the ears
+of Colonels Moss and Wade, and may the spirits of their murdered victims
+unrelentingly pursue them through the regions of hell." "Marjorie
+McLane!" exclaimed Mrs. Bruce, in astonishment. "Such
+<a name="corr14" id="corr14"></a><a class="correction" href="#cn14" title="changed from 'langauge'">language</a>
+from a
+Southern lady!" said Mrs. Hill. "Yes, a Southern lady clothed in her
+right mind," returned the hostess. "These men in their blind zeal to
+restore white supremacy, and to defend women, have unmistakably
+demonstrated their weakness. White supremacy cannot be maintained by
+resorting to brute force, neither can the women of one race be protected
+and defended while the defender of virtue looks upon the destruction of
+the other race as only an indiscretion.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">'Thou must be true thyself<br /></span>
+<span class="i1">If thou the truth wouldst teach.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Thy soul must overflow<br /></span>
+<span class="i1">If thou another's soul would reach.'<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>"Enduring supremacy, the supremacy that will be acknowledged is
+supremacy of character, supremacy of deportment, supremacy in justice
+and fair play. We have irreparably lost our hold upon the Negro because
+we lack these attributes. We must not allow ourselves to feel that the
+Negro in this enlightened age is incapable of knowing and appreciating
+true manhood and true<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[114]</a></span> gallantry. To shoot men after they have been
+totally disarmed, and after they have surrendered everything as a peace
+offering is cowardice without parallel.</p>
+
+<p>"What would Lee and Jackson have said should their departed spirits
+return to gaze upon men who so bravely followed them through the
+wilderness, in perilous times, leading in such dastardly work as was
+done in Wilmington on the 10th of November? 'Whatsoever a man soweth
+that shall he also reap.' It is not in future fires that men are to get
+the reward for their doings, but here in this life. Our fathers have
+sowed the seeds that are sprung up now in race troubles and discord. The
+North was first to see the danger, and gave the warning; but we blindly
+plunged into four years of bitter strife, to maintain what we thought
+was our right. The troubles through which we are passing are the reaping
+of the fruits of the sowing of our fathers. The conduct of our people on
+the 10th of November shows plainly to my mind that we are making the
+same mistakes. We are foolish enough to sow that which will cause the
+harvester to curse us in his misery. Here were boys not over twelve
+years of age armed and licensed to insult women, tear their clothes from
+them and humiliate them." "Humiliate them!" echoed Mrs. Bruce, with a
+sneer, "as though such creatures could be humiliated. They are entitled
+to no respect from white men." "And we should not allow ourselves to
+think of them as women with the same feelings and propensities that we
+have," said Mrs. Engel. "I say," continued Mrs. McLane, "that the Negro
+woman should be considered a woman in the fullest sense of the term, and
+those men and boys who in their zeal to protect white women humiliated
+and disgraced black ones, insulted and humbled their own mothers,
+sisters and sweethearts; for what disgraces one woman disgraces another,
+be she white, black, red or brown. We, the white people of the South,
+have acknowledged the black woman's right to all the sympathy that we
+ourselves may expect. She has carried us in her arms and suckled us at
+her breast, and in thousands of instances her word has been the only law
+among our children in our nurseries. She heard and faithfully kept the
+secrets of our lives. We sought her advice, and believed in the efficacy
+of her prayers." "Now, Marjorie, you know," said Mrs. Bruce, "that such
+Negro women are still dear to us; these old mammies and uncles who know
+and keep in their places are never troubled in the South. The Yankee did
+us a great injury by lifting the Negro out of his place, and making him
+feel that he is as good as we are. It is this new Nig<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[115]</a></span>ger that is
+causing all the trouble. The black woman, allowed to dress and flaunt
+about illures, tempts and often robs our domestic life of its sweetness,
+while the black man, with the wrong conception of freedom, often makes
+it impossible for our men to leave their homes unguarded." "Bah! away
+with such nonsensical babbling! You are saying, Mrs. Bruce, that which
+down in your innermost soul you do not believe. Such talk as that has
+given Southern women undesirable notoriety, and is making the world
+believe that to keep us pure it costs yearly hundreds of ignominious
+human sacrifices, a thing that we should rise up and brand as a lie! Who
+is to guard the home of the Negro man? Can we look around Wilmington and
+believe that his home does not need a stronger arsenal than ours? While
+we are boiling over with sympathy for Mrs. Hartright, do we think for a
+moment of the humble home of that Negro father made unhappy by Mr.
+Hartright? Do we feel pity for Dan Hawes, John Maxim, Charlotte Jones?
+The Negro no longer feels that the appearance of a white illegitimate
+among his honestly begotten piccaninnies is an honor bestowed upon his
+household. Charlotte's case was indeed a sad one. No one knows better
+than I what a heavy heart she carried after her favorite child, the one
+she had taken such pains to educate, and from whom she expected so much,
+fell a victim to the flatteries of a Jew." "Well, must white women stop
+to lament over such things?" asked Mrs. Hill. "Are we to blame for the
+shortcomings of these people?" "Yes," answered the hostess. "We have
+looked on unmoved and beheld our sister in black shorn of all protection
+by the laws upon the State books of every Southern State, that she may
+be humiliated with impunity, and we have gloried in her shame."</p>
+
+<p>"Harriet Beecher Stowe's "Uncle Tom's Cabin" is no exaggeration. Simon
+Legree stalks abroad unrebuked in the South, and Cassies with sad
+stories of betrayal and humiliation are plentiful." "I do not think it
+possible to better the black woman morally," said Mrs. Hill. "The germs
+of high and lofty thought are not in her, that is certain." "Have you
+ever tried to put that theory to a test?" asked Mrs. McLane sharply. "I
+cant say that I have," returned Mrs. Hill slowly. "If the Negro is
+morally low, we are ourselves responsible, and God will call us to
+account for it. In our greed for gain we stifled every good impulse,
+fostered and encouraged immorality and unholy living among our slaves by
+disregarding the sacredness of the marriage relation. 'That which God
+hath joined together let no man put asunder!'<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[116]</a></span> We have done that. We
+have made a discord in the sweetest music that ever thrilled the human
+heart&mdash;the music of love. I believe that there is that pathos, that true
+poetry in Negro love-making that no other race possesses. When a child I
+used to love to listen to the simple and yet pathetic pleading of the
+Negro boy for the hand of the girl, whom to protect and defend he owned
+not himself. My very heart would weep when I pictured those fond hearts
+torn asunder by the slave trader. I could see the boy far away, in some
+lonely cornfield in Georgia, pause, lean upon his plow and sigh for his
+lost love as he listened to the cooing of the dove, while she, far away
+in Tennessee or in some Virginia cornfield mournfully sang as she
+dropped the yellow corn.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">'Ebry time the sun goes down<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">I hangs ma head an' cries.'<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>Have we not done enough to a forgiving race? The case of Richard Holmes
+is a strong proof of the Negroes' high and lofty conception of purity
+and virtue, and had he been a white man, his actions would have been
+applauded to the echo. My opinion is that just so long as the safeguards
+around Negro women are so weak, so long as the laws upon the statute
+books of Southern States brand her as a harlot, pure or impure, and keep
+her outside the pale of pity and consideration, just so long will our
+representatives have to resort to murder and intimidation to get to
+Congress. The strength of any race rests in the purity of its women, and
+when the womanhood is degraded, the life blood of a race is sapped.
+Should we be disappointed under this showing because the Negro does not
+vote with us? You know as well as I that the Negro's vote was at the
+bottom of all this trouble. And we will always have trouble as long as
+the destruction of Negro womanhood is only an indiscretion. Mrs. Fells,
+of Georgia shows the narrowness of her soul when she cries aloud for the
+protection of white women in isolated sections of Georgia against
+lustful Negroes, when she knows perfectly well that Negro girls in
+Georgia need the same protection against lustful whites. A woman who is
+not desirous of protecting the innocent of any race is insincere, and
+should be branded as a hypocrite." "Mrs. Fells should not be blamed for
+ignoring Negro women. They are all fallen creatures," said Mrs. Engle.
+"That's a broad assertion for any woman to make, and there's no white
+woman that believes it in her innermost soul," returned Mrs. McLane.
+"The best white blood of the South flows through the veins of Negroes,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[117]</a></span>
+and this reveals the unmistakable weakness of a superior race." * * *
+"The weakness of the men of a superior race! Be careful and make that
+distinction, Marjorie," said Mrs. Bruce. "Southern white women are the
+most virtuous women in the world." "That's the general boast," returned
+Mrs. McLane. "And a boast that cannot be gainsaid," said Mrs. Hill.
+"Visiting the iniquities of the fathers upon the children to the third
+and fourth generation," quoted Mrs. McLane slowly. "Do you believe in
+the truthfulness of God's word?" There was no answer. "You all are
+willing to admit that the fathers have eaten sour grapes, that the sin
+of unlawful inter-mixture with the alien is the fault of the men. But
+can we prove that the taint of lust in the blood of the fathers has come
+down through the generations to effect the male child only, and leave
+the female uncontaminated? God has not so ordained it. Our men sin and
+boast in it. Consorting with the women of the alien race to them is only
+an indiscretion. While even to acknowledge that in the Negro man are the
+elements of genuine manhood would make a Southern white women a social
+exile, and make her the butt of ridicule. Does not this account for the
+human sacrifices that have shocked the nation? If the Negro's life is
+cheap and a frank acknowledgement of preference for him means so much to
+her, and knowing that her word is judge and jury, is it not likely that
+she would pursue the easiest course? The passing of laws since the war
+prohibiting the intermarriage of the races is proof that the men do not
+trust us as implicitly as they pretend. The lynchings and burnings that
+are daily occurring in the South are intended as warnings to white women
+as well as checks to Negro men. Men who constitute these mobs care no
+more for virtue than so many beasts; and saying that they are composed
+of best citizens does not alter my opinion. Instead of going about as
+Mrs. Fells is doing, crying for more of the blood of the black men, and
+vilifying defenseless black women as Mrs. Harris of that same State is
+doing, we the Southern white women better be doing a little missionary
+work among the men of our own race. It is time for us to rise up and let
+our voices be heard against the making of our protection an excuse for
+crime. Women like Mrs. Harris have done nothing, and would do nothing to
+better the condition of the woman whom they vilify. Nathan said unto
+David: 'Thou art the man.' This poor wretch will rise up in the judgment
+and cry aloud against us as her unnatural sisters who stood upon her and
+trampled her in the mud and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[118]</a></span> mire. As inferior and morally low as we may
+deem her, it may be more tolerable for her in the judgment than for us.
+I wonder sometimes how the black woman could even look with favor upon
+the man who to her has been and is a sneaking coward, as well as a
+hypocrite in conduct toward the women of his own race. To us he abuses
+the Negro women, makes her the subject of ridiculous cartoons, shows her
+up before the world as a beast with his lips wet with kisses from her
+mouth, and she suckles at her breast the child of his begetting." "We
+can't afford to be too plain on that subject, Marjorie," interrupted
+Mrs. Bruce. "Southern women, not being independent and self-supporting,
+like our Northern sisters, cannot afford to call the men to account,
+though we, some of us, see the situation just as you have presented it."
+"But I for one will speak plainly," said Mrs. McLane. "Officer Bunts,
+instead of being driven from the city and hung in effigy, should have
+been treated differently, because in publicly acknowledging that he
+preferred a Negro woman as a companion he showed that he was more of a
+man than those who, like the Pharisees, rose up against him. If we as
+parents should refuse to give our daughters in marriage to men who have
+not clandestinely consorted with women of the alien race, how many could
+hold up clean hands?"</p>
+
+<p>"She who comes through environments of temptation unprotected from the
+assaults of the devil to glory and immortality will have a more
+exceeding and eternal weight of glory than she who has been shut in, as
+it were, by the walls of a nunnery." "If we could have kept the Negro
+from the Bible, kept the religion of Jesus Christ out of his heart, the
+massacre of November 10th might have the effect that those who planned
+it desired. But such demonstrations of barbarism will never be the means
+of vanquishing a trusting people. There's my cook, Susan. Her faith is
+simply astonishing. That young Negro man who was shot to death trying to
+escape from the Naval Reserves who were taking him from his home and
+family was her son. When my son read the news to her, she said no word,
+there was no sign of distress in her face, but I could see that her
+heart was deeply moved. She arose after a few minutes' silent
+meditation, then went on with her work. That evening I stole up to her
+room to speak a comforting word to her. I found her reading her Bible.
+She took off her glasses and wiped the water from her eyes as I
+entered." "I'm jes' layin' hold of God's promises," she said with a
+smile. "God is our refuge an' strength in all kinds<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[119]</a></span> er trouble, Honey."
+She threw her arms about my neck and drew me down beside her, and
+pointing to a verse in the prayer of Habakkuk said: "Read it loud,
+Honey. That's whar I stan'. 'Although the fig tree shall not blossom,
+neither shall fruit be in the vines, the labor of the olive shall fail,
+and the fields shall yield no meat.' 'The flock shall be cut off from
+the fold and there shall be no herd in the stalls. Yet will I rejoice in
+the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.' These are her
+sentiments." "This demonstrates the strength of her faith. She will not
+believe that her child was killed. In some miraculous way he must have
+escaped, and will some day come to her. For the faith of the simple
+Negro woman I would give a world." It was near the midnight hour when
+Mrs. McLane's visitors departed, wiser women by that Thanksgiving Day
+visit, we hope.</p>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[120]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVIII" id="CHAPTER_XVIII"></a>CHAPTER XVIII.</h2>
+
+<h3>The Colonel's Repentance.</h3>
+
+
+<p>The riotous excitement was slowly abating in the old city. The woods
+were full of panic-stricken, starving colored people, and trains were
+leaving the city laden with those who had means to get away. The leading
+whites, feeling both alarmed at and ashamed of the havoc and misery
+their ambition had wrought, had begun to send men into the woods to
+carry food to the starving, and induce them to return to the city. But
+so thoroughly frightened were these poor refugees that the sight of
+white faces made them run away from the very food offered them. The
+ambassadors came back to the city disgusted, and dispatched colored men,
+who were more successful. It was the evening of the 15th of November.
+Mr. Julius Kahn, Eastern North Carolina's representative of the Life
+Insurance Company of Virginia, sat at his desk in his office on Front
+street. This company, which had been giving, for a small weekly payment,
+quite a substantial and satisfactory death benefit, and consequently
+doing quite an enormous business among the poorer classes of the colored
+people, were among the heaviest sufferers from the massacre, for some of
+the collectors had been pressed into the service of the rioters to shoot
+down, and intimidate their very means of support. As Mr. Kahn sat there,
+he saw nothing but absolute ruin staring him in the face. "Well, what
+news?" he asked a man who stalked in, and sank heavily into a chair. The
+man threw his book upon the desk before him, shrugged his shoulders and
+sighed wearily. "It's useless," he answered finally. "I give it up. I
+haven't succeeded in getting within ten yards of a nigger woman to-day.
+If I went in at the front door, every occupant in a house would bolt out
+at the back one, and run for dear life. They will listen to no overtures
+of friendship. Our very faces fill them with abject terror. We had just
+as well throw up the insurance business and quit, as far as Wilmington
+is concerned. God's curse on the men who are responsible for this<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[121]</a></span>
+blight upon the good name of this city. One woman opened her door,
+cursed me, threw her book at me, and slammed the door in my face; and I
+can't blame her, for she saw and recognized me among the mob who shot
+her husband down right in her gate. And God knows I did not want to be
+among them, but was compelled to. And they say that old devil, after
+usurping the Mayoralty of the city, and killing and driving from their
+homes so many colored people, has softened, and has sent out to induce
+the wretches to return," said Mr. Kahn after a long pause. "Yes,"
+returned the agent, "but that won't help us. They say they've lost their
+confidence in white people. Why, you have no idea what a wretched state
+of things I've come across. The last five days' experience has made
+raving maniacs out of some of the niggers. The papers have announced the
+giving out of rations at the City Hall to-morrow, but I doubt if many
+will go to get them." Mr. Kahn leaned over, rested his elbows upon the
+desk, and slowly ran his fingers through his hair. "Some of our men left
+the city before they would be mixed up in this affair, and I wish now
+that I had done the same. But," he continued slowly, "we may just as
+well wait until all excitement is at an end before we pull up stakes.
+Other blacks will doubtless pour in to fill the places of those that are
+going, and we may be enabled to build up business." "You can remain and
+wait, Mr. Kahn," answered the agent rising. "This accursed town can no
+longer hold me. I leave to-night for Richmond, for I can no longer look
+into the faces of the people whom I have had a hand in killing and
+terrorizing. Good bye, Mr. Kahn," and the collector was gone.</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 45%;" />
+
+<p>"Everybody git in line an' pass one ba one before ther Mair an' git yer
+permits; fer yer can't git rations thoughten 'um," shouted a policeman
+to a crowd of hungry citizens who stood upon the steps of the City Hall.
+"Git in thur ole Aunty an' wait yer turn!" to an old lady, who started
+to leisurely climb the steps. The Mayor sat at his desk, which had been
+placed just behind the railing in the court room, and mildly lectured
+each applicant as he or she came up. "This state of affairs is terrible,
+but it's your own fault. White people were born to rule, and you to
+obey. We liberated you and we can re-enslave you. Freedom and Yankee
+advice have ruined a good many of you. What's your name, old Aunty?" he
+asked an old woman who came limping up. "Maria Tapp'n, marster,"
+answered the old woman courte<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[122]</a></span>sing. "That's right, you haven't lost your
+manners," said the Mayor with a smile, writing out for her an order for
+a double portion. "Emulate these old mammies and uncles, who know their
+places, and you will have no trouble. Next!" "Ef ther's eny who needs er
+double po'tion hits ther widders an' orphans," said a policeman gently,
+pushing a little woman in black before the Mayor's desk. "Whose widow
+are you?" asked the Mayor. "Was your husband killed in the
+riots?&mdash;resisting arrest, I suppose." "This is ther widder of Dan
+Wright," answered the policeman; "an' ef Wilmin'ton had er had a hundred
+niggers like that, we uns would er had er diff'ant tale ter tell. He was
+ded game." "Dan Wright," repeated the Mayor slowly. "He's ther darkey
+that drawed er bead on an' defied we uns ter the las'," said the
+policeman pushing the woman away, and pushing another up to the desk.
+But the Mayor neither answered nor looked up. One by one they continued
+to come up to receive their orders and pass out; but the executive
+looked them no more in the face, nor essayed to speak. The crowd slowly
+dwindled away until the last applicant had passed out. The Mayor laid
+his pen upon the desk before him, leaned back in his chair, raised his
+feet upon the desk, and fell into a reverie. The doings of the past few
+days came back to his mind in all their shocking significance. The
+curses, the groans, the agonizing cries of the bereaved and the dying
+sounded a hundred-fold more voluminous and heart-rending. Then the
+bloody form of Dan Wright appeared with hands uplifted, eyes staring at
+his murderers, the blood streaming from a hundred wounds.</p>
+
+<p>The Mayor had seen hard service in war, was one of the immortal few who,
+under the leadership of Pickett, made that gallant but futile charge at
+Gettysburg, to be driven back for a third time, crushed, mangled and
+defeated. He doubtless assisted in digging the trenches into which those
+ghastly remnants that told of the cannon's awful work were thrown. That
+was war, and such sights had never so affected the veteran as the vision
+now before him.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Avaunt! avaunt! Quit my sight!<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Let the earth hide thee!<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Thy bones are marrowless, thy blood is cold;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Thou hast no speculation<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">In those eyes that thou dost glare with!"<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>The Mayor started up, opened his eyes. Uncle Guy stood before him. "I
+jes' taut I'd drap in, Kurnel, but didn't speck ter<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[123]</a></span> fin' yer sleep,"
+said he, wincing under the Mayor's abstracted gaze. "Oh, I don' want
+nut'n; don' make er scratch on dat paper. I ain't beggin'," he
+exclaimed, as the Mayor, recovering, reached for his pen. "That's so
+Guy; you needn't be a beggar as long as the white people own a crust,"
+he answered, settling back in his chair again. "Well, what are Negroes
+saying about the uprising, Guy?" The old man shrugged his shoulders, and
+shook his index finger at the Mayor. "Le' me tell yo', Kurnel, you na
+Wilmin'ton rich bocra, dun throw yo' number an' los'; hear me? Ef
+enybody gone tell me dat dese people I bin raise wid, who bin called de
+bes' bocra in de worl' would go an' kick up all dis ere devil, I'd er
+tole um No." The old man straightened up, pointed skyward. "Lowd deliver
+yunna bocra when yer call befo' de bar. Dese niggers ain't su'prise at
+po' white trash; dey do enyting. But yunna fus class white fo'ks&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, Guy," broke in the Mayor, "it was hard for us to resort to such,
+but it was in self-defense." "Self-defense! self-defense!" repeated the
+old man. "When po' nigger han bin tie, an' yunna bocra got
+eberyt'ing&mdash;gun, cannon an' all de am-nition, an' beside dat, de town
+full wid strange trash frum all ober de country to crush dem? Some er
+dese men I sees shootin' an' killin', dars men an' umen livin' er my
+race dat nussed an' tuk keer er dem w'en dey bin little. God er mighty
+gwinter pay yunna well fer yer work, Kurnel, an' de gost er dem po'
+murdered creeters gwine ter haunt yo' in yer sleep. God don' lub ugly,
+an' yunna can't prosper." The old man concluded with a low bow, strode
+out, and left the Mayor alone with his thoughts.</p>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[124]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIX" id="CHAPTER_XIX"></a>CHAPTER XIX.</h2>
+
+<h3>Teck Pervis, the Leader.</h3>
+
+
+<p>"Come, stan' back, men! I led you uns this fer, an' kin lead you
+through. I'm goin' ter lead the way ter ther Mare's office. Foller me!"
+A crowd of disappointed poor whites, who had assisted in restoring white
+supremacy and who had not been treated fairly in the distribution of the
+spoils, had gathered upon the City Hall steps in Wilmington to state
+their grievances and have them adjusted. Teck Pervis, the chairman of
+White Supremacy League of Dry Pond and leader of the raiders on the 10th
+of November, pushed his way through the crowd and faced the Mayor, who,
+seeing them approaching, had sent forward a platoon of police to
+intercept them, but without effect. "I say, Mr. Mare," said the leader,
+fumbling with his hat, "we uns heard that you sont orders fer us ter
+turn in our guns." "I did give such orders," returned the Mayor calmly.
+"Le' me tell yer, Mr. Mare, you uns ain't filled yer contract wid we po'
+uns, an' ther hain't er goin' ter be eny turnin' in guns tell yer do."
+"State your grievance," commanded the Mayor, in a tone that betrayed the
+ugliness of his temper. "You hain't carried out yer promus by a jug
+full," said Teck. "We uns have ter have ther pintin' er half er ther new
+officers in ther city. We uns war ter be giv'n these big-bug niggers'
+houses, churches an' so on. Niggers places in ther sto'es an' every whar
+was ter be giv' ter we uns. Now, drot my hides, ef these things air
+takin' shape zactly ter suit we uns. Now, we want satisfaction." "Well,"
+said the Mayor, "we thank you gentlemen for your zeal in helping us to
+rid Wilmington of radical rule, but we are sorry that you misunderstood
+us in regard to spoils and so forth. We can't take from the Negro his
+property and give it to you, but in cases where he has been timid enough
+to give it up (and we have had instances of the kind) we have sustained
+the white man. As many of the merchants as could consistently do so have
+discharged their black<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[125]</a></span> help and put on whites. But complaints are
+coming in to me that you can't do their work; that it often takes two
+white men to perform one Negro's task. Good and reliable colored help
+are leaving the city in alarming numbers, and we must call a halt. Mr.
+Skidmore tells me that he tried a few whites at his mill a few days ago
+and the result was most unsatisfactory. They couldn't count and pile the
+lumber and run the saws, and the scheme is a dead loss. What are we to
+do? We have given you the street work, and the police force is full. You
+men are not sufficiently educated to fill clerical positions, and even
+if you were, we must reserve them for the first families," concluded the
+Mayor, with a haughty lift of his head. "Now, Mr. Mare, yo' speech is
+all right 'nough, but it don't suit we uns ernough ter give up ther
+guns. We went back on our colored frends ter giv' yo' 'ristocrats ther
+gov'ment, and we uns'll combine wi' ther colored men an' take hit from
+yer, see?"</p>
+
+<p>Teck Pervis turned and faced the men who stood like a wall at his back.
+"Gentermen, go home an' keep yer guns an' yer powder dry, for yo'll need
+'em! Good day, Mr. Mare!" He followed and addressed his men from the
+steps of the City Hall.</p>
+
+<p>"Gentermen, we pu' down nigger rule on the tenth, the nex' move mus' be
+ter let ther 'ristocrats know thet the one gullus boys air indowed by
+God wi' ther same rites as they air. We po' uns'll have er show, er
+break up the whole thing. Go home, boys, and be ready to rally when ther
+order's giv'!"</p>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[126]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XX" id="CHAPTER_XX"></a>CHAPTER XX.</h2>
+
+<h3>Rev. Jonas Melvin, Resigns.</h3>
+
+
+<p>"I've bin er readin' ther Scripter an' rastlin' wi' ther Lord in prayer
+fer lo these meny ye'rs, an' hain't never seed er time when I tho't thet
+er preacher of ther word was jestified in j'inin' in with sinners in
+devilment. Thar's no use in talkin', Brother Melvin mus' wine up his
+kareer in Free Will Church." Mrs. Aamanda Pervis was addressing the
+above to Deacon Littleton, as arm in arm they proceeded toward the
+church a few evenings after Thanksgiving Day. Ever since the massacre
+she had been busily trying to awaken sentiment in the church against the
+pastor, who on that fatal day had stood with Dr. Jose upon the firing
+line to shoot down his fellow citizens of color. The deacons had waited
+upon Jonas Melvin and informed him of what was being done, and had
+advised him to tender his resignation and get out; but he preferred
+coming before the church and "quitting honorably," as he termed it. Mrs.
+Pervis had worked so earnestly that the church was crowded to the doors
+on that evening. It was Deacon Littleton who called the meeting to order
+and stated its purpose. "Brethren an' sisters," he began, "the 10th of
+November was to the people of this community a tryin' time. It was a war
+which many of us felt justifiable in enterin', but there was no
+justification in it; it was the work of the devil. If we had got on our
+knees an' kept our eyes fixed upon the things of God, such a deed as has
+disgraced this community would not have happened. I wonder what the
+Negro thinks of us now? Does he think we air the banner carriers of
+Christian civilization? Orphans are cryin', widows are moanin', a
+paradise has been turned into hell by a people calling themselves a
+superior people. Christians and sinners have gone hand and hand into
+this evil. We don't know whether any other church has felt in duty boun'
+to sift its membership, an' reprimanded the guilty, but Free Will
+Baptist Church feels it her indispensable duty to do so, an' we are
+sorry to say that the first case we are pained to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[127]</a></span> try is that of our
+pastor, Rev. Jonas Melvin, who, on the 10th of November, 1898, stood
+with gun in hand, assisting the devil in his work." Turning to the
+minister, who sat all the while with head bowed, the deacon concluded:
+"Brother Jonas Melvin, have you anything to say to this charge, why it
+should not be sustained, and you be dismissed from this church?"</p>
+
+<p>Rev. Jonas Melvin arose. "Brethren," he began, "this work began in the
+church; church people laid the plans and led in the execution of those
+plans. Those men who waited upon the Governor to persuade him to keep
+the troops away that the mob might execute its work unmolested, were
+leading church men and ministers of the gospel." "They were no
+Christians!" cried a feminine voice. "I thought I was doing my duty as a
+Christian in assisting in restoring good government to the people of
+this town, and if I have done wrong, the Lord is my judge." Mr. Melvin
+sat down. "The state of things as they existed in Wilmington did not
+justify the taking of a single life," said a brother, rising, "and many
+a man has been made to stumble by the deeds of professing Christians in
+this riot; and while I'm on my feet, I move that the resignation of Rev.
+Jonas Melvin from the pastorate of this church be demanded." "Secon'
+ther motion!" exclaimed Mrs. Pervis, jumping to her feet. "An' I wish
+ter say jes' here that Teck Pervis, who perfessed religion las' year,
+has jes' gone back to ther deval bekase, ses he, the preachers war in
+this thing. Preachers whose han's air full er blood air not fit ter
+handle ther word er God."</p>
+
+<p>The motion was carried with but few opposers. Mrs. Pervis felt light
+enough to fly away that night as she walked homeward, for she had
+carried the church with her for God and the right. She hugged the arm of
+Deacon Littleton with painful tenacity as they both strode homeward
+together. "Think of them po' creeters drove frum ther homes ter suffer
+an' die by men claimin' ter hev religion. Jonas Melvin mus' go back ter
+Georgy whar the people air in leeg wid ther deval."</p>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[128]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXI" id="CHAPTER_XXI"></a>CHAPTER XXI.</h2>
+
+<h3>Bill Sikes.</h3>
+
+
+<p>Bill Sikes was a man who always looked ahead and wisely prepared for
+declining years. Bill was a carpenter by trade, and by thrift and
+industry saved money, bought land and built houses upon it, so that he
+might leave comfortable homes for his many children. When the calamity
+came which incapacitated him for further usefulness he had come into
+possession of a whole block in the portion of the city known as "New
+Town." His prosperity did not, however, lessen his activity; he forgot
+that he was getting old, for his limbs were yet supple and his eyes
+perfectly clear. He measured off his lumber and drove nails with the
+strength and accuracy of a young man; yet, as death lurks in every
+passing breeze, feeling well is no evidence of sound health or assurance
+of long life. Bill Sikes seldom complained. Steady habits had made him
+vigorous and confident; but one morning his fond wife stood in the door
+and watched him as with head erect and firm step he strode away to his
+work, only to be borne back to her at noon a helpless paralytic. "What's
+the matter, William?" she asked tenderly, as loving hands lay him upon
+the lounge before her. But the tongue which had bid her good-bye so
+fondly that morning could not utter a word, and the eyes that had gazed
+so sweetly into hers bespoke the bitter anguish of his soul as they
+stared vacantly at her. "He's done fer," said one of the men, rubbing
+his eye with the back of his hand. "The doctors seen him and says he
+ain't fer long." "Speak to me, William," cried Mrs. Sikes, bending low
+and pressing her cheeks against her husband's. He raised his arm to
+caress her, but it fell again to his side.</p>
+
+<p>But Bill Sikes did not die; he rallied; the lost strength gradually came
+back to his palsied limbs sufficiently to enable him to hobble around,
+and his tongue became light enough to utter words that could be
+understood with difficulty. Full and complete<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[129]</a></span> recovery was impossible,
+however; he was a child, helplessly clinging to his wife, whose burden
+was increased tenfold with the larger children all away and management
+of everything&mdash;the looking after their little store and other property
+upon her shoulders; she felt that God had tried her as no other soul had
+been tried. The property of Bill Sikes had for a long time been coveted
+by his white neighbors, but even extortionate offers had been refused.
+But the 10th of November offered a favorable opportunity for the
+covetous to bulldoze black men who owned valuable real estate into
+selling it at any price, and Mrs. Sikes was one of that number whose
+experience had turned their love for the dear old home into hate. She
+had witnessed the killing of a poor wretch right in front of her door,
+within a stone's throw of his home; had heard the agonizing wails of his
+wife and children&mdash;a sight which she had never expected to witness in
+Wilmington. The roar of cannon and musketry, the yells of frightened
+women and children kept her poor, helpless husband in constant terror,
+hanging on to her skirts like a babe. And now, although weeks had passed
+since that fatal day, the native white, emboldened by re-enforcement and
+the demoralization of colored men, kept up the reign of terror. Colored
+women of respectability who had not fled the city were compelled to
+remain prisoners in their homes to escape ignominious treatment upon the
+highways.</p>
+
+<p>It was a few mornings after Thanksgiving Day when Mrs. West left her
+cottage on Campbell street and ventured over to pay a visit to Mrs.
+Sikes. "Well, Henrietta, how have you managed to live through it all?"
+she asked, throwing her arms about the waist of Mrs. Sikes, who saw her
+approaching, and had gone out upon the porch to greet her. "And poor
+William! I've thought of you oh! so many times, Henrietta, knowing of
+just how much you were in need of his protection during these days of
+trial." "Yes," answered Mrs. Sikes, leading the visitor in and bolting
+the door. "The burden upon his poor wife's shoulders is indeed heavy;
+but, then, our men are unable to protect us, anyway, so great are the
+odds against them." "Oh, Wilmington! Wilmington! who would have thought
+that thou wouldst be the theatre for the tragedy enacted within thy
+borders!" interrupted Mrs. West. "Some of us, at least, are too well
+bred, have too much self-respect and pride to stand and endure this
+state of things that exists now in our home. We could go to church and
+worship unmolested in the days of slavery; now we have not been
+permitted for weeks to hold public worship. They are determined to place
+and keep<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[130]</a></span> North Carolina on a level with States further South. Would you
+believe it? one of our white ladies sent her servant down to the bandit
+Mayor to be whipped the other day." "Yes," said Mrs. Sikes, "another
+went down to have a Negro woman driven out of her own house because she
+lived in a white neighborhood and the children had had a little trouble
+among themselves. And the poor black woman, to remain in her house, was
+compelled to get down on her knees and beg the white one's pardon."
+"Well," said Mrs. West, "we held a meeting the other night, and I told
+the few who had the courage to venture out that I was going. Give me
+liberty or give me death! I would rather be a beggar in a land of
+liberty than a Croesus where my wealth will not purchase toleration. The
+colored citizens who own property are the very ones who have been forced
+to leave the city." "I have also made up my mind to do the same,"
+answered Mrs. Sikes. "William is so disgusted that he wants to go even
+if he has to sell our property for half its value. Then he thinks that
+in New York he can go under treatment in one of the many great hospitals
+there. He has improved so much that he believes final recovery possible.
+To tell you the truth, I did not believe that I could become so
+disgusted with my own home, in which I was born and loved so well." "It
+may all be for the best," said Mrs. West. "Some one hath sinned&mdash;there
+is an Achan in the camp, and when the sin is punished innocent and
+guilty suffer alike. In our prosperity we have strayed away from Him who
+hath redeemed us, and these broken down aristocrats and poor white
+indentured slaves are the Philistines sent to scourge us. And, then, we
+have been slaves to the idea that there is no place on earth for us to
+live but here in our home. The eagle hath stirred up her nest that her
+young may scatter abroad. Old as I am, I will leave Wilmington, trusting
+in God and feeling that the world is mine, and if I can't live in peace
+in one place I can go to another. But the most important thing is, Molly
+has consented to go." "Brave girl!" said Mrs. Sikes. "I heard of her
+wonderful deeds during the massacre; I didn't believe it was in her. In
+her new surroundings, away from old associate, she will keep straight. I
+have made up my mind to go finally to Cleveland, Ohio, my old home.
+Colored women are not so much annoyed by white men in the North and West
+as in the South, and Molly may there be enabled to quit her old habits.
+We will see each other before we start away, as I shall take a steamer,
+for we may stay a while in New York," concluded Mrs. West, rising to go.
+"It matters not where on earth<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[131]</a></span> we may roam, there are twelve gates to
+the City up there. There is no more parting, no more persecution, no
+more separation, no tears. So long, till I see you again."</p>
+
+<p>The usurping Mayor of Wilmington had just disposed of the last case upon
+docket, dismissed the court and had settled back in his chair to enjoy
+the morning paper, when Bill Sikes entered, and, with his hat in his
+hand, humbly approached the railing behind which the Mayor sat. He
+rested his palsied hand upon the rail and saluted. The Mayor arose, came
+forward and extended his hand. "Well, Bill, how are you?" "Mornin',
+Colonel," answered he. "I come down to tell yer I'm goin'." "Going?
+Where?" "I think I'll try the North, Colonel." The Mayor's face relaxed.
+"Why, Bill, you are all right; no one's troubled you. If all the Negroes
+were like you we would have had no trouble." "Yes, I know I'm all
+right," answered Bill, "but I can't stan' seein' men who was playmates
+of mine shot down on the streets like dogs by their ol' 'sociates an'
+neighbors. You know, Colonel, I'm one who b'lieved in the white people
+of this town, an' was ready at any time to stake ma life on that belief;
+but what has took place in Wilmington an' what is still goin' on has
+converted me." "Now, Bill," said the Mayor, somewhat moved, "the white
+people of Wilmington had to resort to this to restore the government to
+those to whom it rightfully belonged. White people must rule, Bill." "I
+ain't got no objection to your rulin', but drivin' out black citizens
+who have stood by yer an' been always faithful to yer is er grave
+mistake. The deal yer made with these po-bocra is goin' ter give yer
+trouble, Colonel, mark ma words. You ain't got no more use fer po'
+whites than I have, an' I know it." "But they were the means to the end,
+Bill," answered the Mayor, with a smile. "A kingdom divided agin itself
+is er goin' ter fall, Colonel." "Don't be a fool and leave your home
+because of unpleasantness; remember you are getting old; the North is no
+place for you; you are comfortably fixed here." "Yes, Colonel, I know
+that, but I'm not goin' ter stay in er place where a d&mdash;n scoundrel can
+insult ma wife an' I can't pertect her, an' you know there's been a time
+when I could. Good-bye, Colonel." "Good-bye, Bill; you'll regret it I'm
+afraid."</p>
+
+<p>Bill Sikes went back home to prepare for his journey northward.</p>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[132]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXII" id="CHAPTER_XXII"></a>CHAPTER XXII.</h2>
+
+<h3>A Ship Sails.</h3>
+
+
+<p>When on the evening of December 1, 1898, the old Clyde steamer drifted
+out from her docks into mid stream in the harbor of Wilmington, among
+the host of passengers that stood upon her deck, with tear-dimmed eyes,
+to bid adieu to the dear old town was Molly Pierrepont. Leaning upon the
+shoulder of her foster mother, whose heart was too full to speak, she
+frantically waved her handkerchief and cried "Farewell, old home! Dear
+as thou hast been to me, I must leave thee for ever; for thou art in the
+possession of the wicked. The spoiler is in thy borders. The blood of
+innocents has flowed freely in thy highways, and the murderer and the
+assassin stalk abroad in thy streets. But it matters not where I go, thy
+days of equity, when every citizen, it mattered not how humble, was
+free, shall ever live with me. Days of childhood innocence, the shouts
+of the children, the clang of the school bell, the rippling of the
+rills, the hum of bees will be the means of helping me to forget thy
+latter days of turmoil and strife. Good-bye, old home! Good-bye!"</p>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[133]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXIII" id="CHAPTER_XXIII"></a>CHAPTER XXIII.</h2>
+
+<h3>Bill Sikes in New York.</h3>
+
+
+<p>It was near the Christmas holidays, a genuine Northern winter day, cold
+and piercing, going to the marrow in spite of heavy clothing. Francis
+Lewis, contractor and builder, sat in his comfortable office in West
+Forty-seventh street, New York city, when the door was pushed open and a
+light-skinned colored man entered. His face was thin and pinched, his
+hair and beard slightly mixed with gray, and he dragged one foot as he
+walked.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, what can I do for you, my good man?" said Mr. Lewis, rising.
+"Take a seat; you don't look as though you are very well," pointing to a
+chair near by. "I'm jes' lookin' aroun'," answered the man, lowering
+himself into the chair with difficulty. "I'm er carp'nter maself." "Yes?
+Where are you from?" asked Mr. Lewis. "From the South&mdash;Wilmington," was
+the reply. "Oh, that's the scene of recent riots. What's the matter with
+those people down there&mdash;crazy?" "No, but that was the only way they
+could git er hol' er the gov-nment," answered the colored man. "The
+colored people bein' in the majority of course had controlin' power, but
+they were always willin' fer the whites ter rule, an' they did rule. But
+there wasn't offices ernough to go 'round to all the bankrup' whites who
+wanted political jobs, and give the Negro er repersentation too, so they
+concluded ter wipe the Negro off the earth." "Shame! shame!" exclaimed
+Mr. Lewis. "Then the colored people were gittin' er lon too well; they
+had considerable property, and was well up in the trades an'
+professions. I owned er whole block maself, an' was perpared to spen'
+ther balance of ma days at ease, but had ter sell ma house an' git out."
+"You say you are a carpenter&mdash;house builder?" "Yes, sir." "You mean to
+say that you took contracts, planned and built houses?" "Oh, yes,"
+replied the colored man. "I never saw a colored architect. Say, George!"
+to a man who had just entered, "here's a colored architect and
+house-builder from the South." "Architect and builder?" queried the
+other,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[134]</a></span> drawing nigh. "Well, Mr.&mdash;what is your name?" "William&mdash;William
+Sikes." "Mr. Sikes, are you looking for work at your trade in the North?
+The Trades Union and so forth make it
+<a name="corr15" id="corr15"></a><a class="correction" href="#cn15" title="changed from 'prety'">pretty</a>
+hard for a colored man to
+get in here; and then you can't work, you are lame." "I am a little
+lame," replied Bill, looking down at his palsied arm. "I had a paralytic
+stroke some time er go. I am goin' in for treatment, an' if I git well,
+I won't ask Trade Union an' labor unions no boot. Where there's er will
+there's er way." "But I am afraid you will never recover sufficient
+strength to work again at your trade, my man," answered Mr. Lewis,
+tenderly; "but you can try." "Good day," said Bill, rising to go. "Good
+day," said Mr. Lewis.</p>
+
+<p>But Mrs. Sikes, still vigorous and strong, found in New York abundant
+opportunities for women to be useful. There was day's work, general
+house work, chamber work and cooking situations to be had without very
+much effort on the part of the seeker. Mrs. Sikes, whose work had
+chiefly been dressmaking and plain sewing, found the new field of labor
+quite irksome. The money realized from the sale of her property she must
+not let dwindle away too swiftly; her husband was helpless, and she must
+work, and the children must work. She found the North a place where a
+day's work meant a day's work in full; there was no let up; the pound of
+flesh was exacted. So she often tugged home to her apartments very tired
+and discouraged.</p>
+
+<p>They had been in New York quite a year, and Mrs. Sikes had quite gotten
+used to Northern ways (everything seeming easier accomplished), when one
+evening at the dinner table she noticed that her husband watched her
+more than usual. "What's the matter, William?" she asked, tenderly. "I'm
+awful discouraged," he said. "I&mdash;I don't get any better, an' hate ter
+see you an' children strugglin' so hard an' I can't help." "Now, don't
+worry about that, William; it will do no good." "I was thinkin'," he
+went on, "that we might try it again in Wil&mdash;" "Now, don't mention
+Wilmington to me again, William!" broke in Mrs Sikes, sharply. "If you
+wish to go back to that hell, I'll put you on the train and you can go;
+but I, never! Life is not so easy here, but I can walk the streets as a
+lady, and my children are free to play and romp without fear of being
+killed for accidentally or purposely treading upon the toe of a white
+child. I have been free too long to endure slavery for one moment.
+Wilmington is not what it used to be, and I fear it never will be. I
+have just received a letter from Mrs. Cole saying that the situation has
+not<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[135]</a></span> changed. On Castle street about a month ago a black child's body
+was found full of bruises. It is supposed he was killed by white boys in
+sport. A young man was called to his door a few nights ago and shot down
+because he had driven his horse over a gentleman's (?) dog. She says to
+appeal to the law is useless. She says further that the poor whites are
+preparing for another raid. Now, I would rather live here free in
+poverty than to live there a slave in comfort. The children are all
+away, the property is sold, and there is nothing to be gained by going."
+Bill said no more to his wife upon the subject; he knew her too well to
+misunderstand her words.</p>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[136]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<h2><a name="Mollys_Final_Step" id="Mollys_Final_Step"></a>Molly's Final Step.</h2>
+
+
+<p>It was Sunday evening in New York. Bethel Church was crowded to the
+doors. The sermon had been concluded, and the choir and congregation had
+solemnly chanted the Lord's Prayer. "As I looked over this audience
+to-night," said Dr. Henderson, descending from the pulpit, "I think of
+the words of the blessed Saviour, 'The fields are white and ready to
+harvest,' so I'm going to open the doors of the church. Who here is
+ready to make a start for heaven to-night? Come, sinner! God's not
+calling the righteous, but you. There is a prodigal child here to-night
+who has wandered from home. Come home; there is bread and to spare, and
+a warm welcome there. Here comes one, thank God!" A young man went
+forward and took the minister's hand, followed by two others. "Who else
+will come? There is some one that is almost persuaded. Remember that to
+be almost persuaded is to be lost. Come, sinner.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"'Will you scorn the message<br /></span>
+<span class="i1">Sent in mercy from above?<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Every sentence, oh how tender!<br /></span>
+<span class="i1">Every line is full of love.'<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>"Listen to it: 'Every line is full of love.' God requires no
+preparation; come just as you are. Just surrender yourself, yourself
+to&mdash;" "I surrender, Lord." This exclamation startled the audience, and
+all eyes were turned upon a tall and stately woman, who suddenly arose
+in the centre of the church and started forward. This was Molly
+Pierrepont, making the final step. "Poor Magdalene," she whispered as
+she took Dr. Henderson's hand. "But God is gracious, my child," returned
+the minister.</p>
+
+<p>A month went by. It was Sunday evening, and again Bethel was filled to
+overflowing; but, large as that audience was, a serene stillness
+prevailed, for out from the choir loft a rich soprano voice, pathetic
+and appealing in its tone, fell serenely upon listening ears.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Just as I am thou wilt receive,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Because thy promise I believe<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Oh Lamb of God, I come.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Just as I am, thy love unknown,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Hath broken every barrier down,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Now to be Thine, yea Thine alone,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Oh Lamb of God, I come."<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>Molly has done her part nobly and well, so I close the story with
+Molly.</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<div class="transnote">
+<h3>Transcriber's note<a name="tnotes" id="tnotes"></a></h3>
+
+<p>
+The following changes have been made to the text:</p>
+
+
+<p>Page 4: "Whose there" changed to
+"<a name="cn1" id="cn1"></a><a href="#corr1">Who's</a> there".</p>
+
+<p>Page 13: "State from mountian" changed to "State from
+<a name="cn2" id="cn2"></a><a href="#corr2">mountain</a>".</p>
+
+<p>Page 21: "Good da , Gideon" changed to "Good
+<a name="cn3" id="cn3"></a><a href="#corr3">day,</a> Gideon".</p>
+
+<p>Page 25: "Georgia and Florida its" changed to "Georgia and Florida
+<a name="cn4" id="cn4"></a><a href="#corr4">it's</a>".</p>
+
+<p>Page 29: "Kidder s Hill" changed to
+"<a name="cn5" id="cn5"></a><a href="#corr5">Kidder's</a> Hill".</p>
+
+<p>Page 35: "anti-bellum liking" changed to
+"<a name="cn6" id="cn6"></a><a href="#corr6">ante-bellum</a> liking".</p>
+
+<p>Page 44: "the main thorougfare" changed to "the main
+<a name="cn7" id="cn7"></a><a href="#corr7">thoroughfare</a>".</p>
+
+<p>Page 44: "by offering to puschase" changed to "by offering to
+<a name="cn8" id="cn8"></a><a href="#corr8">purchase</a>".</p>
+
+<p>Page 59: "it is writeen" changed to "it is
+<a name="cn9" id="cn9"></a><a href="#corr9">written</a>".</p>
+
+<p>Page 63: "great' eal" changed to
+"<a name="cn10" id="cn10"></a><a href="#corr10">great 'eal</a>".</p>
+
+<p>Page 92:
+"<a name="cn11" id="cn11"></a><a href="#corr11">Wilmington Record</a>" was italicized.</p>
+
+<p>Page 93: "Dr. Pond" changed to
+"<a name="cn12" id="cn12"></a><a href="#corr12">Dry</a> Pond".</p>
+
+<p>Page 111: "Misses," said a servant" changed to
+"<a name="cn13" id="cn13"></a><a href="#corr13">missis</a>," said a
+servant".</p>
+
+<p>Page 113: "Such langauge" changed to "Such
+<a name="cn14" id="cn14"></a><a href="#corr14">language</a>".</p>
+
+<p>Page 134: "make it prety hard" changed to "make it
+<a name="cn15" id="cn15"></a><a href="#corr15">pretty</a> hard".</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
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+</html>
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+The Project Gutenberg eBook of Hanover; Or The Persecution of the Lowly,
+by David Bryant Fulton
+
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+
+
+
+Title: Hanover; Or The Persecution of the Lowly
+       A Story of the Wilmington Massacre.
+
+
+Author: David Bryant Fulton
+
+
+
+Release Date: February 24, 2009  [eBook #28180]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII)
+
+
+***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HANOVER; OR THE PERSECUTION OF THE
+LOWLY***
+
+
+E-text prepared by Suzanne Shell, Carla Foust, and the Project Gutenberg
+Online Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net)
+
+
+
+Transcriber's note:
+
+   Minor punctuation errors have been corrected without notice.
+   Printer's errors have been corrected, and they are listed at
+   the end. All other inconsistencies are as in the original.
+   The author's spelling has been retained.
+
+
+
+
+HANOVER; OR THE PERSECUTION OF THE LOWLY.
+
+A Story of the Wilmington Massacre
+
+by
+
+JACK THORNE
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+Published by M. C. L. Hill.
+
+
+
+
+   Respectfully dedicated to
+   the eminent heroine
+   IDA B. WELLS BARNETT
+
+
+
+
+NEGROES FLEEING FROM WILMINGTON.
+
+DRIVEN OUT BY ORGANIZED BANDS OF "RED SHIRTS." OBNOXIOUS WHITE MEN ALSO
+ORDERED TO GET OUT OF TOWN. NO LYNCHING ALLOWED. MAYOR WADDELL AND HIS
+POLICE PREVENT FURTHER KILLING. RULE OF WHITES NOW PREVAIL. THREE
+HUNDRED POLICEMEN SWORN IN TO PRESERVE ORDER--NO COLLISION BETWEEN THE
+RACES EXPECTED. NO TRADE AT WILMINGTON.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+[Associated Press Market Report]
+
+WILMINGTON, N. C., NOV. 11.--Spirits turpentine--Nothing doing.
+
+Rosin--Nothing doing.
+
+Crude turpentine--Nothing doing.
+
+WILMINGTON, NOV. 11.--With the killing of the Negroes yesterday the
+backbone of the trouble seems to have been broken. The authors of the
+tragedy have gone to their homes and the mob has disbanded as if in
+contempt of the gangs of Negroes who still hang about in the black
+quarters growling and threatening the whites.
+
+Law and order are gradually being restored; and those among the Negroes
+who feel resentment against the whites are afraid to show their true
+colors.
+
+Early this morning 300 resolute white men gathered at the Mayor's office
+and were sworn in as new policemen.
+
+Late last night half a hundred white citizens got together and planned a
+big lynching party which was to raid the city from centre to
+circumference to-day.
+
+There were six Negroes in jail who had been arrested during the
+excitement of the day, and who some people of the town thought should be
+summarily dispatched. One was a leader, Thomas Miller, who was charged
+with declaring that he would wash his hands in a white man's blood
+before night. Another was A. R. Bryant, charged with being a dangerous
+character; the others were less prominent, but had been under the ban of
+the whites for conduct calculated to incite trouble.
+
+Mayor Waddell and his associates put a veto upon the proposed lynching.
+They said that good government was to prevail in Wilmington from this
+time, and would commence immediately. The would-be lynchers were so
+insistent that the Mayor called out a guard and kept the jail surrounded
+all night. This morning the six Negroes were taken out and escorted to
+the north bound train by a detachment of militia, to be banished from
+the city. The citizens cheered as they saw them going, for they
+considered their departure conducive to peace in the future.
+
+G. Z. French, one of the county leaders, attempted to escape. He ran
+through the streets, but was overtaken at the depot by several members
+of the posse.
+
+A noose was thrown over his head and was drawn tightly around his neck.
+Gasping and half choked, he fell upon his knees, begging for his life.
+
+
+NEGRO BEGS FOR LIFE.
+
+"Do you solemnly promise that you will leave and never come back?" asked
+the leader of the posse.
+
+"Oh, yes; yes. For God's sake, gentlemen, let me go, and I'll never come
+back any more!"
+
+The frightened wretch was allowed to go and crawled aboard the train,
+scared half to death.
+
+After finishing with French the "red shirts" made a raid on Justice
+Bunting's residence. He was away from home. The mob tore from the walls
+of his house the picture of his Negro wife and that of Bunting, and put
+them on exhibition on Market street.
+
+They were labelled: "R. H. Bunting, white," and "Mrs. R. H. Bunting,
+colored." From Bunting's residence the mob proceeded to the house of a
+Negro lawyer named Henderson. The hard-knuckled leader knocked at the
+door. "Who's there?" came the query. "A white man and a friend," was the
+reply. Inside there was the deep silence of hesitation. "Open the door
+or we'll break it down," shouted the leader. Henderson, badly
+frightened, opened the door.
+
+"We want you to leave the city by 9 o'clock Sunday morning," said the
+leader.
+
+"All right," replied Henderson, "all I want is time enough to get my
+things in order."
+
+A Negro lawyer named Scott was also banished and left the city before
+morning.
+
+The Democrats hired one of Pinkerton's Negro detectives to associate
+with the Negroes several weeks, and his investigation, it is said,
+revealed that the two lawyers and the other Negroes mentioned were
+ringleaders, who were inciting their race to violence.
+
+
+WHITE MEN MUST GO TOO.
+
+The retiring chief of police, Magistrate R. H. Bunting, Charles H.
+Gilbert, Charles McAlister, all white Republicans, and many assertive
+Negroes, who are considered dangerous to the peace of the community, are
+now under guard and are to be banished from the city.
+
+The Negro Carter Peaman, who was exiled last night, got off the train
+several miles from the city and was shot dead.
+
+A report is current that John C. Dancy, the Negro United States
+Collector of Customs for this port, has been notified to leave the city
+and will be waited upon if orders are not summarily obeyed.
+
+The city is now under thorough military and police protection and there
+is no indication of further outbreaks.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+Introductory Note.
+
+
+On the Cape Fear River, about thirty miles from the East coast of North
+Carolina rests the beautiful city of Wilmington.
+
+Wilmington is the metropolis; the most important city of the old North
+State, and in fact, is one of the chief seaports of the Atlantic coast.
+The city lies on the East bank of the river, extending mainly Northward
+and Southward. Market Street, the centre and main thoroughfare of the
+city, wide and beautiful, begins at the river front and gradually climbs
+a hill Eastward, so persistently straight, that the first rays of a
+Summer's morning sun kiss the profusion of oak and cedar trees that
+border it; and the evening sun seems to linger in the Western heavens,
+loath to bid adieu to that foliage-covered crest.
+
+Wilmington is the Mecca for North Carolina's interior inhabitants who
+flock thither to breathe in its life-giving ocean breezes when Summer's
+torrid air becomes unbearable, and lazy Lawrence dances bewilderingly
+before the eyes. The Winter climate is temperate, but not congenial to
+Northern tourists, who like swallows, only alight there for a brief
+rest, and to look around on their journeying to and from the far South:
+yet Wilmington is cosmopolitan; There dwells the thrifty Yankee, the
+prosperous Jew, the patient and docile Negro, the enterprising, cunning
+and scrupulous German; and among her first families are the
+Scotch-Irish, descendants of the survivors of Culloden. Wilmington
+suckled children who rallied under Scott in Mexico, heard the
+thunderings at Monterey, and the immortal Alamo. When the civil strife
+of four years was nearing its close, when the enemies to the Union of
+States, sullen and vindictive, were retreating before an invading army,
+Wilmington, nestling behind Fort Fisher, one of the most formidable
+fortresses ever contrived, was shaken by some of the most terrific
+bombarding that ever took place on earth.
+
+   "Then thronged the citizens with terror dumb
+   Or Whispering with white lips, 'The foe! they come! they come!'"
+
+Wilmington, the scene of one of the last desperate stands of a
+demoralized army, witnessed the "memorizing of Golgotha" as her sons
+desperately struggled to resist a conquering foe. In Oak Dale Cemetery
+on the Northeastern boundary of the city sleep a few of the principal
+actors in that tragedy. There rests noble James; there rests Colonel
+Hall--grand old Roman! I am glad he did not live to see the 10th of
+November, 1898, lest he should have been tempted to join that mob of
+misguided citizens whose deeds of cowardice plunged that city, noted for
+its equity, into an abyss of infamy. Southward from Oak Dale Cemetery
+awaiting the final reveille, are calmly sleeping not a few of that Grand
+Army who fell in the arms of victory at Fort Fisher.
+
+During the slave period, North Carolina could not be classed with South
+Carolina, Georgia, and other far Southern States in cruelty and
+inhumanity to its slave population; and in Wilmington and vicinity, the
+pillage of a victorious army, and the Reconstruction period were borne
+with resignation. Former master and freedman vied with each other in
+bringing order out of chaos, building up waste places, and recovering
+lost fortunes. Up to but a few years ago, the best feeling among the
+races prevailed in Wilmington; the Negro and his white brother walked
+their beats together on the police force; white and black aldermen,
+white mayor and black chief of police, white and black school
+committeemen sat together in council; white and black mechanics worked
+together on the same buildings, and at the same bench; white and black
+teachers taught in the same schools. Preachers, lawyers and physicians
+were cordial in their greetings one toward the other, and general
+good-feeling prevailed. Negroes worked, saved, bought lands and built
+houses. Old wooden meeting houses were torn down, and handsome brick
+churches went up in their places. Let the prejudiced scoffer say what he
+will, the Negro has done his full share in making the now illfated city
+blossom as the rose. We who have for so many years made our abode
+elsewhere, have made our boast in Wilmington as being ahead of all other
+Southern cities in the recognition of the citizenship of all of her
+inhabitants; unstained by such acts of violence that had disgraced other
+communities. To be laid to rest 'neath North Carolina pines has been the
+wish of nearly every pilgrim who has left that dear old home. All this
+is changed now; That old city is no longer dear. The spoiler is among
+the works of God. Since the massacre on the 10th of November, 1898, over
+one thousand of Wilmington's most respected taxpaying citizens have sold
+and given away their belongings, and like Lot fleeing from Sodom, have
+hastened away. The lawyer left his client, the physician his patients,
+the carpenter his work-bench, the shoemaker his tools--all have fled,
+fled for their lives; fled to escape murder and pillage, intimidation
+and insult at hands of a bloodthirsty mob of ignorant descendants of
+England's indentured slaves, fanned into frenzy by their more
+intelligent leaders whose murderous schemes to obtain office worked
+charmingly. Legally elected officers have been driven from the city
+which is now ruled by a banditti whose safety in office is now
+threatened by the disappointed poor whites whose aid was secured in
+driving out wealthy Negroes on the promise that the Negroes' property
+should be turned over to them.
+
+What has wrought all this havoc in the city once so peaceful? Rev. A. J.
+McKelway of Charlotte, Editor of the _North Carolina Presbyterian_, in
+an article published in the _New York Independent_ of November, 1898,
+explains as follows:--"In 1897 was passed at Governor Russell's wish and
+over the protest of the Western Republicans, a bill to amend the charter
+of the city. If there had been any condition of bad or inefficient
+government, there might have been some excuse for this action; but the
+city was admirably governed by those who were most interested in her
+growth and welfare. Here is the law that is responsible for the
+bloodshed recently in Wilmington:"
+
+     "BE IT ENACTED, That there shall be elected by the qualified voters
+     of each ward one Alderman only, and there shall be appointed by the
+     Governor one Alderman for each ward, and the Board of Aldermen thus
+     constituted shall elect a Mayor according to the laws declared to
+     be in force by this act."
+
+"It will be readily seen that, combining with those elected from the
+Negro wards, it was easy for the appointees of the Governor to elect the
+Mayor and appoint the other city officers."
+
+"When the new Board took possession there were found to be three
+Aldermen, fourteen policemen, seventeen officers in the fire department,
+four deputy sheriffs, and forty Negro magistrates besides. It is
+probable that _not one of these_ was qualified to fill his office. The
+new government soon found itself incapable of governing. It could not
+control its own. The homes of the people were at the mercy of thieves,
+burglars and incendiaries, and the police were either absolutely
+incapable of preventing crime, or connived at it. White women were
+insulted on the streets in broad daylight by Negro men, and on more than
+one occasion slapped in the face by Negro women on no provocation. * * *
+* White people began to arm themselves for the protection of their lives
+and property. * * * * In the city of Wilmington it has been found upon
+investigation, that the Negroes own 5 per cent. of the property, and pay
+5 per cent. of the taxes. * * *
+
+"The Negro editor publicly charged to the white women of the South equal
+blame for the unspeakable crime, etc."
+
+The Rev. Mr. McKelway has worded his defense well; but in giving a
+plausible excuse for the crime of Nov. 10th, he makes a dismal failure.
+A mob headed by a minister of the gospel, and a hoary-headed deacon,
+after cutting off every avenue of escape and defense, and after the
+government had been surrendered to them as a peace offering, wantonly
+kills and butchers their brethren, is without parallel in a Christian
+community, and the more Mr. McKelway seeks to excuse such a deed, the
+blacker it appears.
+
+The Hon. Judson Lyon, Register of the United States Treasury, in his
+reply to Senator McLaurin in the _New York Herald_, says truthfully: "In
+Wilmington, N. C., albeit the Executive as a leader of his party had
+backed down and surrendered everything as a peace offering, and the
+democracy, if that is what they call themselves, had carried the day,
+still the main thoroughfares of that city were choked with armed men.
+They destroyed personal property, they burned houses, they wantonly took
+more than a dozen lives, they drove thousands to the woods where nearly
+a dozen infants were born and died in many instances, with their mothers
+the victims of exposure as the result of the cruelty of people who call
+themselves democrats and patriots. Weyler in his maddest moments was
+hardly more barbarous."
+
+In the city of Wilmington, where so much innocent blood had been spilled
+and so many valuable lives had been taken by that furious mob, see what
+are the facts:
+
+There were ten members of the Board of Aldermen, seven of these white
+and three colored; there were twenty-six policemen, sixteen white and
+ten colored, the chief being white and a native of the State, city
+Attorney a white Republican, city clerk and treasurer, white, with
+colored clerk. Turnkeys and janitors white Republicans with colored
+assistants, Superintendent of Streets a white man, Superintendent of
+garbage carts a white man, Clerk of Front Street Market, a white man,
+Clerk of Fourth Street Market, a white man, Superintendent of Health, a
+white Democrat, two lot inspectors, colored men, Chief of Fire
+Department and Assistant chief, both white Democrats. There are three
+white fire companies and two colored. Superintendent of City Hospital is
+a white Democrat with white nurses for white wards, and colored nurses
+for colored wards. The school committees have always had two white
+members and one colored. Superintendent of Public Schools is a white
+Democrat.
+
+Now, will somebody point out where that awful thing that is iterated and
+reiterated so much, to wit, NEGRO DOMINATION existed under this showing
+in the communicipality of Wilmington.
+
+The men who were driven from the city by the mob, with but few
+exceptions, had no political following, nor political aspirations.
+
+It has always been the rule with mobs to villify their victims, assail
+their characters in the most shameful manner in justification of their
+murder. But an attack upon the character and integrity of the Negroes of
+Wilmington, in order to justify the massacre of Nov. 10th, shall not go
+unchallenged. If what I write should raise a howl of protest and call
+another ex-Governor Northern to Boston to brand it as a lie, it is
+nevertheless a truthful statement of the causes that led up to the
+doings of the 10th of November, and although I shall fictitiously name
+some of the star actors in this tragedy and the shifters of the scenes,
+I can call them all by their names and point them out. It will be proven
+that the massacre of Nov. 10th, 1898, had been carefully planned by the
+leading wealthy citizens of Wilmington, and that over thirty thousand
+dollars was subscribed to buy arms and ammunition to equip every man and
+boy of the white race, rich and poor; that secret dispatches were sent
+to sympathizers in adjoining States and communities to come in and
+assist in making the 10th of November, 1898, a second Bartholemew's eve
+in the history of the world, by the wholesale killing of black citizens
+after every means of defense had been cut off; that black men and women
+for banishment and slaughter had been carefully listed; that clubs and
+clans of assassins had been organized and drilled in signals and
+tactics; that the aid of the State militia and the Naval Reserves had
+been solicited to enter Wilmington on the 10th of November to assist in
+disarming every Negro, and aiding in his slaughter and banishment. That
+the intervention of Providence in the earnest and persistent entreaties
+of white citizens who were too nobly bred to stoop so low, and the
+strategy and cunning of the Negro himself, frustrated the carrying out
+to its fullest intent, one of the most infamous and cowardly deeds ever
+planned.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+The Editor.
+
+
+"I will not retract! No! Not a single sentence! I have told the truth.
+This woman not satisfied with the South's bloody record since the war,
+is clamoring and whining like a she wolf for more human sacrifices, and
+an increased flow of human blood. She is unmercifully pounding a
+helpless and defenseless people. The article was issued in defense of
+the defenseless. It is right against wrong; truth against error, and it
+must stand even if the one who uttered it is annihilated; it must
+stand!"
+
+"But you must remember my dear man, that the South is no place to speak
+plainly upon race matters. You have written the truth, but its a truth
+that the white people of the South cannot and will not stand. Now the
+leading whites are much incensed over this article of yours which they
+interpret as an intent to slander white women, and I am sent to say to
+you that they demand that you retract or leave the city."
+
+"I will do neither! The truth has been said, a slanderer rebuked. God
+help me, I will not go back on that truth."
+
+"Well, I leave you; I've done my duty. Good morning."
+
+It is often said that there is nothing so indispensible as the
+newspaper. It is the moulder of public opinion; the medium of free
+speech; the promoter and stimulator of business; the prophet, the
+preacher, swaying the multitudes and carrying them like the whirlwind
+into the right or wrong path. To millions its the Bible, the Apostles
+Creed. Their opinion of God, of religion, of immortality is shaped by
+what the newspaper has to say upon such subjects. Glowing headlines in
+the newspapers have kindled the flames of Anarchy, and started men upon
+the path of destruction like wolves stimulated and brutalized by the
+scent of blood, to pause only when irrepairable evil hath been
+wrought.--"When new widows howl and new orphans cry." What a power for
+evil is the newspaper! The newspaper arrayed on the side of the right
+hurls its mighty battering-ram against gigantic walls of oppresion until
+they fall; takes up the cause of the bondman, echoes his wails and the
+clanking of his chains until the nation is aroused, and men are marching
+shoulder to shoulder on to the conflict for the right. What a power for
+good is the newspaper! I once heard a great editor say that "although
+newspaper work was hard and laborious, requiring a great store of
+intellectual strength it was nevertheless a fascinating work." But in
+the South where freedom of speech is limited to a class _grit and
+backbone_ outweigh intellectual ability and are far more requisite. When
+we consider the fact that many white newspaper men have "licked the
+dust" in the Southland because they dared to emerge from the trend of
+popular thought and opinion, the Spartan who without a tremor held his
+hand into the flames until it had burned away was not more a subject of
+supreme admiration than the little Octoroon editor of the _Wilmington
+Record_ whose brave utterances begin this chapter.
+
+The great newspapers of today are too engrossed in weightier matters to
+concern themselves to any extent with things that promote directly the
+interests of the ten million black Americans. That is largely the cause
+of the existence of the Negro editors. The Negro, like the white man,
+likes to read something good of himself; likes to see his picture in the
+paper; likes to read of the social and business affairs of his people;
+likes to see the bright and sunnyside of his character portrayed; so he
+often turns from the great journals (who are if saying anything at all
+concerning him, worrying over the "Negro Problem" (?)) to look at the
+bright side presented by the Negro newspaper. A few days ago while
+worried and disconsolate over the aspersions heaped upon a defenseless
+people that floated upon the feotid air from the Alabama Conference,
+_The New York Age_ came to me, a ray of light in a dungeon of gross
+darkness.
+
+Prior to the year 1892 there had been no genuine zeal among colored
+people to establish a colored newspaper in Wilmington. _The Record_ was
+launched at about that time: but not until taken in hand by the famous
+A. L. Manly did it amount to very much as a news medium. Under the
+management of this enterprising little man _The Record_ forged ahead,
+and at the time of its suspension was the only Negro daily, perhaps, in
+the country. It was a strong champion of the cause of Wilmington's
+colored citizens. Improvements in the section of the city owned by black
+people were asked for, and the request granted. Good roads were secured,
+bicycle paths made, etc. The greatest deed achieved however, was the
+exposure by _The Record_ of the very unsanitary condition of the colored
+wards in the city hospital. _The Record_ made such a glowing picture of
+the state of affairs, that the Board of County Commissioners were
+compelled to investigate and take action, which resulted in the putting
+of the old hospital in habitable shape. This, though a good work, did not
+enhance the Editor's popularity with the whites who thought him too
+_high strung, bold and saucy_. And the colored people who appreciated
+his pluck felt a little shaky over his many tilts with editors of the
+white papers. The brave little man did not last very long however--the
+end came apace: Sitting in his office one evening in August reading a
+New York paper, his eyes fell upon a clipping from a Georgia paper from
+the pen of a famous Georgia white woman, whose loud cries for the lives
+of Negro rapists had been so very widely read and commented upon during
+the past year. This particular article referred to the exposure of and
+the protection of white girls in the isolated districts of the South
+from lustful brutes. "Narrow-souled fool!" exclaimed the editor,
+throwing the paper upon the floor; "I wonder does she ever think of the
+Negro girls in isolated districts of the South exposed to lustful
+whites! Does she think of those poor creatures shorn of all protection
+by the men of her race! I guess her soul is too small to be generous a
+little bit.--'White girls in isolated districts exposed to lustful Negro
+brutes.' Colored girls in isolated districts exposed to lustful white
+brutes; what's the difference? Does the Negro's ruined home amount to
+nought? Can man sin against his neighbor without suffering its
+consequences? 'Woe unto you Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!' I'll
+throw a broadside at that old women, so help me God."
+
+The editor took up his pen and wrote the retort which shook the old
+State from mountain to sea, and which enhanced the chances of the white
+supremacy advocates who were then planning for an uprising in November.
+"_Punish sin because it is sin_," concluded the editor, "_and not
+because the one who commits it is black._" The article was commented
+upon by the press throughout the State, and "the affrontery of the
+Negro" in assailing white women bitterly discussed. _The Record_
+advanced from five to twenty-five cents a copy, so anxious was every one
+to see what the Negro had said to call for such ado. Threatening letters
+began to come in to the editor's office. "Leave on pain of death." "Stop
+the publishing of that of paper." "Apologize for that slander," etc. But
+the editor refused to apologize, "Suspend or quit." A meeting of
+citizens was called, and a colored man sent to advise the editor to
+retract, but he was obdurate. Immediately after the departure of the
+colored advocate, the owner of the building came in and told the editor
+that he was compelled to ask him to move out. He looked around the
+office so full of pleasant recollections. The face of "Little
+Shunshine," once the writer of the social column whose rolicksome
+disposition had robbed labor of its irksomeness in the work-room, beamed
+upon him from far over the seas, and rendered the quitting of the old
+home a much harder thing to do. But go he must. Colored friends hearing
+of his predicament rallied to his aid, and offered him at least a
+temporary asylum in one of their buildings. So the office of _The
+Record_ was moved into Seventh Street. Excitement soon abated however,
+and _The Record_ resumed its work. Those who are inclined to blame the
+editor of _The Wilmington Record_ for the massacre of 1898 must remember
+that the article was written in August, and the massacre occurred in
+November; and that the editor of that paper did not leave Wilmington
+until a few days before the massacre, upon the urgent advice of friends.
+The whites of Wilmington had need to be afraid of the Negroes, and did
+not attempt to do violence until sufficiently reinforced from the
+outside, and the black citizens had been cut off from all means of
+defense. Editor Manley's reply to the Georgia woman was not the cause of
+the upheaval, but it was an excellent pretext when the election came
+on.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+The Colonel.
+
+
+There strode out of a humble but neatly furnished dwelling in the
+Southern section of the city of Wilmington on a sultry morning in
+August, 1898, a man not over the average height, neatly dressed in a
+well-brushed suit of black. His full and well kept beard of mixed gray
+hung low upon his immaculate shirt front. His head classic and perfectly
+fashioned, set well poised upon shoulders as perfectly proportioned as
+an Apollo. His gray hair parted upon the side of his head, was carefully
+brushed over his forehead to hide its baldness, and from beneath
+abundant shaggy eyebrows, looked forth a pair of cold gray eyes. Though
+past sixty, he was erect, and his step was as firm as a man of thirty.
+This was "The Colonel," typical Southern gentleman of the old school, a
+descendant of the genuine aristocracy, the embodiment of arrogance.
+
+The Southerners' definition of the term "gentleman" is a peculiar one.
+The gentleman is born, and there is no possible way for him to lose the
+title. He is a gentleman, drunk or sober, honest or dishonest, in prison
+or out of prison. He is a gentleman with the stains of murder unwashed
+from his hands. It is birth and not character with the Southerner,
+appearance, rather than worth.
+
+While in New England settled the tanner, the wheelwright, the
+blacksmith, the hardy son of the soil who came over to escape religious
+persecution, and to serve God according to the dictates of his own
+conscience, with none to molest or make him afraid, in the South there
+settled England and Europe's aristocrat, lazy and self-indulgent,
+satisfied to live upon the unrequited toil of others.
+
+The "Colonel," aside from having a brilliant war record, had also a
+lofty political career in North Carolina during and following the
+reconstruction period. Twenty years or more ago he, in the height of his
+career, was the idol of Eastern North Carolina. "The silver-tongued
+orator of the East," his appearance in any town or hamlet was greeted
+with the greatest enthusiasm. Holidays were proclaimed and houses were
+decked with flags and bunting in honor of the hero of the day and hour.
+The workman forgot his toil, the merchant his business; old and young,
+little and big thronged the streets, women raised their little ones in
+their arms and cried, "See, the Colonel comes!" We listened with rapt
+attention to his superior eloquence, and no man was more deeply rooted
+in the affections of his people. We esteemed him too high to be low, too
+lofty in thought and aspiration to do a mean thing. Republican aspirants
+to Congress in those days were easily turned down by the Colonel who
+represented that district for three or more terms at the National
+Capitol. But there came a time when the Colonel's influence began to
+wane; whisperings were current that he was indulging too freely in the
+Southern gentleman's besetting sin--poker and mint julips, and that the
+business of the people whose interests he had been sent to look after
+was being neglected. Still Wilmingtonians' confidence in the Colonel did
+not slacken, and when the time for Congressional nominations came, we
+went to Fayetteville with bands playing and banners flying, and we
+cheered ourselves hoarse in order to quicken slumbering interest in the
+Colonel, but failed. Cumberland, Bladen, Mecklinburg and other counties
+came down unanimously in favor of one Shackleford, of the upper section,
+a name almost unknown to us, and New Hanover, which stood alone for the
+Colonel, was defeated. After the expiration of his term in Congress the
+Colonel went to his home in Wilmington, and resumed the practice of law.
+The last time that I visited the old city, the Colonel was solicitor in
+the Criminal Court. He had also moved out of his palatial dwelling on
+Third street, and sought cheaper quarters. Twenty years ago he would
+have scorned the thought of doing this deed which he was now
+contemplating as he strode down the street on this sultry August
+morning.
+
+"I will carry this election or choke the river with their carcasses," he
+said slowly to himself. But why this ghastly sentence from the mouth of
+a representative Wilmingtonian? What had plunged the Colonel into such a
+desperate state of mind? Poverty! lost honor, unsatisfied ambition. The
+Negro and the "low white" are prospering, holding positions in the city
+government that rightfully belong to first families who are better
+qualified to hold said positions and more entitled to the remunerations;
+but the changing of this order of things cannot be brought about by
+honest methods, so like the hungry wolf, the Colonel is preparing to
+make a desperate charge to carry the election and place himself in
+office, even if the streets of the old city flow with blood. Yea,
+although the usual state election time is some distance off, plans have
+been already secretly perfected not only to carry the election by the
+Democrats, but to reduce the Negro majorities by banishment,
+intimidation and murder.
+
+Senator ----, by invitation, had visited the state, and advised the
+carrying of the election with the shotgun, and had offered the loan of
+five hundred guns from South Carolina. Merchants, most of them in
+Wilmington, had promised to discharge all colored help who showed a
+disposition to vote, and had also subscribed to a fund for the purpose
+of purchasing powder, guns and dynamite. A railroad company operating
+into the city had subscribed five hundred guns. Stump orators had
+secured the aid of the poor whites both in the city and rural districts
+by promising them that by assisting to kill and chase the Negro from the
+city, the property owned by the colored citizens would be turned over to
+them. This was the work of hungry politicians who, to get office told an
+infamous lie, and were ready to deluge a city in blood just to get into
+office. Certain Negroes and white men had been listed for slaughter and
+banishment. Negro men and women who had had any difficulty in which they
+had gotten the best of a white person before the courts or otherwise,
+for even ten years back, were to be killed or driven from the city.
+Those who owned houses in white neighborhoods were to be driven out and
+their property taken. All this was being done quietly while the old city
+rested peacefully upon this smouldering volcano. The Negro, unaware of
+the doom that awaited him, went quietly about his work; but there were a
+few white men in the city who, although Southerners by birth and
+education, did not coincide with the methods adopted for the securing
+of white supremacy. Among these was Mr. Gideon who could not be
+persuaded to assist in such a movement, even in the minutest way. A few
+mornings previous to the opening of my story, there had appeared in the
+columns of a small Negro journal edited in Wilmington, a short article
+which had been interpreted as an intent to slander white women. This had
+thrown the city into a fever of excitement, and dire threats had been
+made against the editor, and the flocking of the colored people to his
+aid had made the whites that much more bitter toward Negroes in general.
+But they soon quieted down, and waited the "final day." The Colonel
+feeling assured that this article in the Negro Journal would be the
+means of driving all lukewarm whites into line, leisurely strolled on
+this particular day toward the office of Mr. Gideon.
+
+"Why, good morning, Colonel!" said Mr. Gideon, arising from his desk and
+extending his hand toward the Colonel who strode noiselessly across the
+large office and gently tapped him upon the shoulder. The Colonel sank
+into a chair, and opening the little sheet which he had drawn from his
+coat pocket, laid it on the desk before Mr. Gideon.
+
+"Now, is it not time for white men to act?"
+
+Mr. Gideon made no answer, but fastened his eyes upon the paper before
+him. The Colonel continued, "We have taken care of the Negro, paid his
+taxes, educated his children, tried to show to him that we were more
+interested in his well-being than the Yankee Radical Carpet-bagger he
+has chosen to follow; but he has persistently disregarded us, unheeded
+our advice, rode rough shod over us, and fretted us until patience is no
+longer a virtue. The Negro has reached the end of his rope. Emboldened
+by successful domination, and the long suffering of the white people of
+this community, this nigger has made an unpardonable attack upon our
+white women. Now, Gideon, if this article is not sufficient to stimulate
+you to join in with your brethren in driving the ungrateful nigger out
+of Wilmington and inducing white labor into it, you are not true to your
+race."
+
+Mr. Gideon turned in his chair and faced the Colonel, "I have
+previously read the article," he answered slowly "I have read also
+with--I must say--considerable disgust, the letters on the Negro
+question from the pen of Mrs. Fells, of Georgia, and the editorials of
+Kingston upon the subject; and to tell you the truth, Colonel, I must
+commend the boy for his courage; he was simply defending his race
+against the attack."
+
+The Colonel jumped to his feet; "In the name of God, Gideon, do you
+believe that a nigger should answer a white man back?"
+
+"Under certain circumstances, Colonel, I do. Mrs. Fells style is
+extremely brazen, and can we expect to harp with impunity upon the
+shortcomings of the Negro? Let us blame the right persons; those whose
+uncalled for assaults provoked the issuing of the article. But that's a
+small matter just at this time. I have refrained from entering into the
+scheme of driving out Negroes, because I am concerned about the business
+interests of this city; sit down, Colonel, sit down and hear me out.
+Now, when we have driven out the Negro, whose to take his place? We have
+tried the poor white."
+
+"Why, encourage thrifty emigrants from the North." "Thrifty emigrants
+from the North," echoed Mr. Gideon.
+
+"Invite labor unions, strikes, incendiarism, anarchy into our midst.
+Look at Illinois; can the South cope with such? The Negro we understand;
+he has stood by us in all of our ups and downs, stood manfully by our
+wives and children while we fought for his enslavement. After the war we
+found no more faithful ally than the Negro has been; he has helped us to
+build waste places and to bring order out of chaos. Now pray tell me
+where do we get the right to drive him from his home where he has as
+much right to dwell as we have?"
+
+"Then you believe in Negro rule?"
+
+"No!"
+
+"Yes you do Gideon, or you'd not talk in that manner," replied the
+Colonel, now beside himself with rage. "Now, by heaven, we are going to
+put the Negro in his place. Look at our city government in the hands of
+ignorant niggers and carpet baggers. God did not intend that his white
+faced children were ever to be ruled by black demons," and the Colonel
+rose again and began to pace the floor.
+
+"Calm yourself, Colonel, calm yourself," said Mr. Gideon. "Now we ought
+to be ashamed of ourselves to raise the cry of Negro rule in North
+Carolina, when we so largely outnumber them. I admit that there are
+objectionable Negroes in Wilmington, Negroes who would greatly benefit
+the community by leaving it; but shall we slay the righteous with the
+wicked? Must the innocent and guilty suffer alike? Ten righteous men
+would have saved the cities of the plains."
+
+"But they could nt be found," interrupted the Colonel.
+
+"I warrant you they can be found here," calmly replied Mr. Gideon.
+
+"We the white people of this community, have often given expression of
+our love and even veneration for such characters as Alfred Howe, Henry
+Taylor, John Norwood, George Ganse, John H. Howe, Thomas Revera, Joe
+Sampson, Henry Sampson, Isham Quick, and scores of others whom we must,
+if we do the right thing, acknowledge as the black fathers of this city.
+Thrifty and industrious Negroes have always been the objects of the envy
+of poor whites who will eagerly grasp the opportunity when given, to
+destroy the property of these people. While it is your object, Colonel,
+to carry the election, and triumph politically, they will murder and
+plunder, and when once licensed and started, you cannot check them. I
+see that they are being armed--a dangerous proceeding. Take care
+Colonel; I beg you to beware lest those guns in the hands of these
+people be turned upon you, and the best white people of this community
+be compelled to quit it. I listened with fear and apprehension a few
+evenings ago, to Fisher's harrangue to the poor whites of Dry Pond. They
+will take him at his word, for they are just that ignorant. Shall we for
+the sake of political ascension plunge Wilmington into an abyss of
+shame?"
+
+"Now, Gideon," said the Colonel, "your talk is all nonsense, we are
+trying to extricate Wilmington from the slough of infamy into which it
+has been plunged by Radicals. We are going to elevate the white man to
+his place and regulate Sambo to his sphere, if the streets have to flow
+with blood to accomplish that end. Good niggers who know their places
+will be protected; but these half educated black rascals who think
+themselves as good as white men, must go. 'Nigger root doctors' are
+crowding white physicians out of business; 'nigger' lawyers are sassing
+white men in our courts; 'nigger' children are hustling white angels off
+our sidewalks. Gideon, in the name of God, what next? what next?" and
+the Colonel bounded into the air like an Indian in a war dance. "White
+supremacy must be restored, and you Gideon will regret the day you
+refused to assist your white brethren to throw off the yoke of
+oppression. Good day, Gideon, good day"; and the Colonel stalked out of
+the office.
+
+Uncle Ephraim, one of the old Nimrods who supplied Wilmington's markets
+with savory ducks and rice birds, stood with his gun on the corner of
+Front and Market streets that morning, as the Colonel briskly strode
+past on his way from the office of Mr. Gideon to the Court House.
+
+"Good mawnin Co'nel," said Uncle Ephraim, saluting politely; but the
+Colonel did not as usual pause to crack a joke with the docile old
+darky; he did not even vouchsafe a nod of recognition, but moved hastily
+on his way. Uncle Ephraim stood and wistfully watched the Colonel until
+he turned the corner of Second and Market streets.
+
+"Whoop! dar's er pow'ful big load on de Co'nel's mine sho. Dat white man
+didn' eben see me; an' I his ole bodysarbant, too." Uncle Ephraim strode
+slowly down Market street and entered the store of Sprague & Company.
+"Look yer!" said he, "I wants er bout fo' ounce powder an er few cap."
+The salesman shook his head.
+
+"Wa fur yo' shake yer hed, you no got um?"
+
+"We are selling nothing of the kind to darkies just now, uncle."
+
+"But how I gwine fer kill duck?"
+
+The salesman made him no answer.
+
+Uncle Ephraim stood, looked about for a moment, then slowly sauntered
+into the street, and made his way to Joslins, in South Front street, but
+was also refused there. Going again to the corner of Market and Front
+Streets, he saw several white men and boys enter Sprague & Company and
+came out armed with shot guns and other fire-arms, and walk briskly
+away. "De ole boy is gwine to tun heself loose in dis yer town soon; fer
+I see um in de bery eye ob dese bocra. I can't buy um, but see how de
+bocra go in an git um. Niggah, hit's time ter look er bout,"--and Uncle
+Ephraim slowly walked up Front Street towards Morrow's.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+The Meeting In The Wigwam.
+
+
+Three months have passed since the events narrated in the preceeding
+chapters. Chill winds are heralding the approach of winter. Wilmington
+is three months nearer its doom. Political warriors are buckling on
+their armour for the final struggle on the 8th of November which must
+result in complete victory for white supremacy, or indefinate bondage to
+Negro Domination (?)
+
+Far out on Dry Pond in an old meeting house known as the Wigwam, the
+White Supremacy League has gathered. The old hall is poorly lighted but
+it is easy for the observer to see the look of grim determination on the
+faces of all present. It is a representative gathering. There is the
+Jew, the German, Irishman, Bourbon Aristocrat and "poor bocra." The
+deacon, the minister of the gospel, the thug and murderer. No one
+looking upon this strangely assorted gathering in a Southern community
+would for a moment question its significance. Only when politics and the
+race question are being discussed is such a gathering possible in the
+South. There is a loud rap: the hum of voices ceases. The individual who
+gives the signal stands at a small table at the end of the long narrow
+hall. One hand rests upon the table, with the other he nervously toys
+with a gavel. He is a tall, lean, lank, ungainly chap, whose cheek bones
+as prominent as an Indian's seem to be on the eve of pushing through his
+sallow skin. A pair of restless black eyes, set far apart, are
+apparently at times hidden by the scowls that occasionally wrinkle his
+forehead. His gray hair hangs in thick mats about his shoulders.
+
+Teck Pervis had served in the war of secession under General Whiting,
+and was one of the many demoralized stragglers, who swept before the
+advancing tide of the Union troops scampered through the swamps and
+marshes after the fall of Fort Fisher, to find refuge in Wilmington.
+During the Reconstruction period and many years following, he, with such
+characters as Sap Grant, Neal Simonds, Henry Sallins, Watson and others,
+made nights hideous on Dry Pond by their brawls and frolics. In
+introducing Teck Pervis to the reader, I wish to briefly call attention
+to that peculiar class in the South known as the "Poor Whites." Always
+an ignorant dependent, entirely different in every respect from the
+descendants of the Huguenots, Celt and Cavaliers that make up the
+South's best people; the origin of this being, who since the war has
+been such a prominent figure in the political uprisings and race
+troubles, and so on, is worthy of consideration. In the early centuries
+the English Government made of America what in later years Australia
+became--_a dumping ground for criminals_. Men and women of the Mother
+Country guilty of petty thefts and other misdemeanors were sent to
+America, bound out to a responsible person to be owned by said person
+until the expiration of sentence imposed, a stipulated sum of money
+being paid to the Crown for the services of the convict. At the
+expiration of their term of servitude these subjects were given limited
+citizenship, but were never allowed to be upon equality with those who
+once owned them. These indentured slaves and their descendants were
+always considered with contempt by the upper classes. The advance of
+American civilization, the tide of progress has arisen and swept over
+this indolent creature who remains the same stupid, lazy, ignoramus.
+
+In Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia,
+North and South Carolina, and throughout the entire South are legion of
+this people, some of whom could not be taught the rudiments of
+arithmetic. When African slavery became established in America, white
+slavery was then tried in Australia where the treatment was so severe
+that thousands of them fled to the woods to become as wild in many
+instances as the natives. As the introduction of African slavery caused
+the indentured slave to depreciate in value as bond men, they were
+converted into overseers, patrolmen, Negro drivers to look for and to
+return runaway Negroes to their masters. They were licensed to break up
+Negro frolics, whip the men, and ravish the women. But in the main the
+poor white subsisted by hunting and fishing. To him work was degrading,
+and only for "niggers" to do. A squatter upon the property of others,
+his sole belongings consisted of fishing tackle, guns, a house full of
+children, and a yard full of dogs. In Virginia, North and South Carolina
+he is known as "Poor Bocra," "Poor Tackie." In Georgia and Florida it's
+"Cracker," and there are few readers of current literature who are not
+familiar with that class of whites known as Clay Eaters of Alabama and
+Mississippi. Looked down upon by the upper classes, the poor white
+before the war was simply a tool for designing politicians. When war
+between the North and South became iminent, the poor white increased in
+value; for the aristocrat was adverse to being a common private. So they
+sought the poor white, appealed to his patriotism, pictured to him the
+wrongs heaped upon the South, and the righteousness of slavery. They
+drew glowing pictures of the Southern army's invasion of the North to
+thrash the Yankees, and pardon them in Faneuil Hall. The South freed,
+was to open her markets to the world. Her wealth was to be untold, while
+grass would grow on the sidewalks of Northern cities. Every poor white
+who shouldered a gun was to be elevated out of serfdom, be given forty
+acres of land, a "nigger" and a mule. Enthused by these glowing
+promises, the Southern poor white shouldered his gun and waded in: and
+no one reviewing the history of that immortal struggle would for a
+moment question the bravery of the Southern soldiers. They fought like
+demons. They invaded the North. They made the world wonder at
+Gettysburg.
+
+   Here Mississippi flushed with pride
+   Met Pennsylvania's deadly tide
+   And Georgia's rash and gallant ride
+   Was checked by New York's chivalry.
+
+   Here Alabama's rebel yell
+   Rang through the valleys down to hell
+   But Maine's decisive shot and shell
+   Cut short the dreadful revelry.
+
+But the South's victorious armies did not reach Faneuil Hall. The air
+castles, the hopes of Southern prosperity and the poor whites elevation
+and wealth were blasted, when two years after that gallant dash at
+Gettysburg, that ragged, starved, wretched host surrendered at
+Appomattox. The blasted hopes of the poor white caused him to drift
+further away from the aristocrat who had fooled him into a foolhardy and
+disastrous struggle. Land was cheap but he hadn't the money to buy it,
+and the aristocrat didn't have the "nigger" and the mule to give him. He
+grew lukewarm politically, got his rod and went a fishing. But with the
+Negro freed and enfranchised, and the Northern politician on the
+premises, the vote of the poor white became indispensible to the former
+Southern ruler who wished to hold his own politically. So a new battle
+cry was made, viz:--"Negro Domination," "Social Equality." But so
+lukewarm had the poor white become, that his song had to be sung with
+pertinacious fervor to make him do more than pause to listen.
+
+"_Do you want niggers to marry your daughters? Do you want niggers to
+sit in school beside your children? Do you want niggers on the juries
+trying white men? If you don't want such dreadful calamities to befall
+the South, go to the polls and do your duty!_" "What'd he say? Niggers
+er marryin our darters? Niggers in skule wid we uns? Thet aint er goin
+ter du! Le' me see thet ticket!"
+
+The Southern poor white has never had much of a hankering after "book
+larning." He's better than the "nigger" and that's all he cares to know.
+To be white means license to trample upon the rights of others. The
+cat's paw--the tool of the aristocrat, he stands ready always, to do the
+dirty work of lynching, burning and intimidation. Traveling South,
+especially on the East Coast, the train conductor only has to say to the
+colored passenger in a first class car but once that he must get out. If
+the passenger refuses, the conductor need not waste words; a telegram to
+Jessup or Way Cross, Ga., or Bartow Junction in Florida will call
+together a crowd of crackers, large enough to put the engine off the
+track if necessary. Like the dog in the manger, unable to pay for a
+first class ride himself, the poor white squats about railroad stations
+and waits for the opportunity to eject some prosperous Negro. I have
+known as many as two hundred to swarm around a train to put off one
+frail woman not over ninety pounds in weight.
+
+This is the creature that is held up continually before the Negro as
+his superior--an assertion that will ever be met with strong resistance.
+For while the Negro was a slave he is not a descendant of criminals.
+
+"Gentermen," said Teck Pervis, "whils we air waitin fur ther kernul and
+other big uns ter errive, as cheerman uv the Dry Pond White Supreemacy
+Leeg, I wish ter keep this here meet'n warm by makin' er few broken
+remarks"--"Go ahead Teck, give us a speech" came from more than a dozen
+throats; "I wanter say jes here" he continued "thet ther white folks uv
+Wilmington, North Caliny hav tuk and stood nigger biggitty and
+hifullutin carryins on with moe patience then eny folks on top side er
+this green yerth" (Laughter and applause). "We po uns have jes layed er
+roun an slep till Mr. Nigger has trotted so fur er hed that I am feared
+we wont be able ter over take him." (Laughter). "They air in better
+houses then we po white uns, thur chilan air er wearin better cloes an
+er gittin moe larnin then our'n. An gentermen surs jes tackle eny er
+them little uns er'n an they'd surprise yer; why they kin spit latin
+faster then er terbacky worm kin spit terbacky. (Laughter). Who give
+ther nigger ther stick ter break our heads? _Who done it I say?_ You
+rich white uns, thets who;" "But we'll do it no longer," said a voice
+from the audience. "We uns hepped yer ter fite yer battles," continued
+Teck, "an when thet war was ended, we did'n git ther nigger an mule yer
+promised, but we uns did' n kick powerful hard agin yer bekase yer did'n
+hev em ter giv us." (Laughter). "But you uns could er giv we uns ther
+wurk instid uv givin it ter good fur nuthin nigger bekase we po uns hev
+voted yer ticket rite er long an kep yer in office--
+
+"I see ther kurnels on hand' so I giv way fur im," and Teck Pervis
+advanced to where the Colonel had paused to remove his overcoat. "Whats
+the matter with the Colonel? He's all right!" was uttered with a ring
+that shook the old wigwam. The Colonel, escorted by Teck Pervis,
+leisurely strutted to the centre of the hall. The Colonel had seen the
+time when he would have scorned the idea of being introduced to an
+audience by a low white. "Oh vain boast! who can control his fate?" He
+is now as poor as the poorest indentured slave, seeking to feed at the
+public crib by appealing to the passions and prejudices of the masses.
+
+"Gentlemen," says he, "it is needless for me to ask you to night whether
+or not you believe that the Anglo-Saxon race was ordained by God to rule
+the world. It is needless for me to say that the Anglo-Saxon proposes to
+carry out God's decree to the letter. (Applause). When God made man, he
+placed him over every other living creature to rule and govern, and that
+man was a white man. (Applause). When God said to man 'Have dominion
+over the beasts of the field,' He meant to include inferior races. These
+inferior races are to be kept in subjection by their superiors, and
+wherever and whenever they assume to dominate their superiors we are
+justified by our Creator in using every means available to put them
+down. The white people of North Carolina, the curled darlings of God's
+favor have by their long suffering gotten into such a state of
+subjection that it is time to act. (Applause). Wherever the Saxon has
+planted his foot, he has been a civilizer. He came to America, drove out
+the savage and made it the greatest nation on the face of the earth,
+(applause) and he has the right to govern it in its entirety from the
+humblest official to the executive head of the nation, (prolonged
+applause). We have for years been dominated by semi-civilized
+barbarians, flattered into the belief that they are as good as white
+people by unprincipalled Yankee carpet-baggers who have profited by
+their ignorance. Emboldened by the leniency of their superiors, Negroes
+have become unbearable. The government is corrupt, and so bold has the
+Negro become that the virtue of our women has been assailed by that
+black rascal, the editor of _The Record_--(cries of Kill him! Burn the
+scoundrel!) The snake is not to be scorched this time: we are going to
+make a clean sweep, and permanently restore white man's government. Our
+friends in other sections of the State, and even in adjoining States are
+in sympathy with us, and are willing to come in and help us," etc.
+
+But why weary the reader with the Colonel's firey harangue? Although
+there is no foundation for such incendiary language the reader will soon
+see just how much misery it wrought upon a defenseless people. Fanned
+into fury by the rehearsing of imaginary wrongs by gifted tongues, the
+mob when once started astonished its leaders, who quailed and looked
+aghast at the hellish work they had inaugurated.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+Mrs. Amanda Pervis.
+
+
+"Whew! dis here win is er blowin pow'ful col fer Octoby. Ther ol sow was
+er tot'n straw yistedy and that means winter aint fur off. Shoo there! I
+never seed ther beat er thet ol hen; make hase ter gulp her own co'n
+down ter driv ther turkeys way from their'n." Thus spoke Mrs. Amanda
+Pervis as she stood in the door of her humble wooden dwelling on
+Kidder's Hill a brisk morning in October. "Thanksgiving haint fur off,
+an turkey meat's er gittin high. Shoo ther yer hussy!" "Who air yu er
+talkin ter Mandy?" said her husband coming to the door and peeping over
+his wife's shoulder. "I tho't er trader er some sort wus er passin." The
+wife turned and looked astonished at her husband. "Why fer ther lan
+sake, what's er comin over ye Teck Pervis? I tho't yer'd be fas er sleep
+after bein so late ter meetin las nite. I tho't yer'd tak yer res bein
+yer haint er goin er fishin!" "I felt kinder resliss like, and I tho't I
+jes es well be er gittin up," answered Teck, plunging his face into the
+basin of cool spring water that his wife had placed on the shelf beside
+the door. "Well hit won't tak me long ter git breakfus reddy," and Mrs.
+Pervis darted into the kitchen. Teck Pervis dipped his hands into the
+basin, poured the cool water on his head until his gray hair hung in
+thick mats over his face then leisurely drawing the towel from the nail
+beside the door, lazily wiped his head and face. The smell of fried
+bacon and delicious coffee arose from the kitchen; the rattling of
+dishes was to him sufficient token of the putting of victuals on the
+table. Teck Pervis sauntered in, sat down folded his arms upon the
+table, and sheepishly watched his wife as she flitted from place to
+place in the humble little kitchen. Mrs. Pervis paused, and her eyes met
+her husband's gaze. "Well what in ther wor'l is ter matter Teck Pervis?
+Why air ye gazin at me so dis mornin, turn yer cup and tak yer coffy."
+"We uns had er interestin meetin las night," he said meekly. "Well mus
+yer put on er graveyard face ter day bekase yer had er interestin meetin
+las night? Don't put so much gravy on yer rice, hits ergin yer helth.
+Maria Tappin tol me yestidy thet her brother Tom was to be nitiated las
+night with er good meny other uns, an I 'lowed I'd here erbout hit, as
+my husban was er goin. Now yer air talkin erbout er interestin meetin
+the candidates muster all bin on han." Teck Pervis looked pleadingly at
+his wife. Mrs. Pervis went on: "I am glad yer went ter loge meetin; er
+lot er them Red Shirt Varmints cum er roun las night er lookin fer yer
+to go with em ter that wigwam, and I was proud ter tell em that my
+husban' was not in politicks when it cum to killin colud folks ter git
+inter office, an that truth hit em so hard dey sneaked." Teck shuddered.
+During a series of revivals in the Free Will Baptist Church during the
+summer Teck Pervis had professed religion. A fierce struggle was going
+on 'neath his rugged breast. Must he tell the truth. The best whites
+were there even ministers of the gospel; but then preachers are not
+always on the right side; and Teck Pervis had promised his wife that
+he'd not allow himself to be a tool for hungry broken down aristocrats
+who only wished to use the poor as cats' paws. He took a big swallow of
+coffee, drummed nervously with his fingers upon the table. "I jes es
+well tell yer ther plain truth, Mandy," he said finally, "I got wi ther
+boys las night and went ter ther Wigwam, an was made Cheerman ov ther
+meetin. They lowed thet hit wus ter be ther mos importent meetin in ther
+campain, an hit wus time fer white men ter be er standin tergither."
+"Teck Pervis," exclaimed the wife, "Hev I bin er rastlin'in prayer an
+pleadin ter ther Lawd in vain? Didn't I beg yer not ter fergit yer
+religin in jine-in in wid sinners in doin eval?" "There aint er goin ter
+be eny killin done, Mandy, we air jes er goin ter skeer ther Niggers way
+from ther polls, an keep um frum votin." "I know all erbout hit," broke
+in Mrs. Pervis. "Hit will en' in murder, for yer know thet Niggers won't
+be drove." "Why all ther big guns war there Mandy; merchints, lawyers,
+docters an ev'n preachers." "Laws e massy me!" exclaimed Mrs. Pervis.
+"An if ther shepod wus ther, yer kaint blame ther flock." "Teck Pervis
+did I understan yo ter say that--" "Don't git excited, Mandy, yer jes es
+well git use ter ther new tern things air takin. Them preachers war thar
+bekase they sed hits time fur white uns ter stan tergither. Radicul rule
+mus be put down." Mrs. Pervis crossed her hands upon the table and
+looked resigned. "Teck, do tell me what preachers war they?" "Why ef yo
+own minister wus'n thar hiself I hope er hoppergrass may chaw me." "Teck
+Pervis, do ye mean ter tell me thet Brother Jonas Melvin wus at thet
+meetin?" "Yes, and Hoosay too, thet Presberteen man thet sines his name
+with er dubble D hung on ter ther een." "Jonas Melvin is er windin up
+his kerrare in Free Will Church. We'll hev no sich men fumblin wi ther
+werd ev God in our pulpit. I never did think them Presbyteens hed eny
+religin no way. They air full of book larnin, but havn't bin tech wit
+ther sparit. This Hussy is lik ther res er these hi tone preachers thet
+hang on ter this docterin thet ther yerth moves insted uv ther sun."
+"Hoosay Mandy. Why don't yer tak proper! Hoosay!" "Well, he jes oughter
+be named Hussy, fur he is er hussy. When ole sat'n meets them two at the
+cross-road thars er goin ter be er tussle now I tell yer." "Well now yer
+know thet ther scripter says cussed be Canyon, least wise thets the way
+Brother Melvin splained hit tother night, cussed be Canyon means cussed
+be Niggers." "Now Teck Pervis, wher is yer proof thet the scripter ment
+Nigger? I aint rusty un ther scripter ef I am er gittin ole." "Now,
+Mandy, yer know ther scripter reads thet Canyon was the son er Ham an
+wus cussed bekase his daddy laffed at ole Noey, bekase when he layed
+down ter sleep he didn't pull the kivver on his self proper like. When
+de ole man woke up the tother boys tole him what Ham hed done, he cussed
+Canyon Ham's son, and sed sarvant of sarvants shill he be. Ham wus ther
+Nigger boy in ther family, and we uns air carin out ther edicts of ther
+scripter when we try ter keep the Nigger cussed. Sarvant ov sarvants
+shill he be, an we air--" "Hol on, Teck Pervis," exclaimed his wife.
+"Let me git in er word kinder catiwompus like et leas. Now we air all
+ther time er lookin fer scripter ter back us up in our devalmint. Ther
+scripter don't say thet God'l mighty cussed Canyon, it says thet Noey
+cussed him, an ef Noey hed kep sober an b'haved hisself he wouldenter
+hed ter cuss at eny body. Whose teachin air we er follerin? Ole Noey's
+er our Blessed Lawd an Saviour? He sed all things what soiver ye wood
+thet men should do ter yo, do ye evan so ter thim. Have yer back slided
+an fergot yer religin erready Teck Pervis?" Teck was dumb. "Yo Red Shirts
+Ruff Riders an broke down ristecrats kin go on an do yer devilment but
+mark what Mandy Pervis says, God'l Mighty will giv yu uns ther wurk er
+yer hans." "Why, Mandy, yo ought ter git er license ter preach, why you
+kin spit scripter lik er bon evangilis," and Teck Pervis reached over
+and slapped his wife upon the shoulder. This compliment from her husband
+stimulated the old lady to more earnest effort. "Now look er here," she
+continued. "What do them risticrats kere er bout the likes er we? In
+slave times we war not as good as their Niggers an ef we didn't get out
+ther way on the road, they'd ride their fine critters plum over us. They
+hed no use fer we uns unless hit wus ter use us fer somethin. Whan ther
+war broke out, of course they wanted der po'uns ter do ther fightin, an
+they kill me ole daddy bekase he would'n jine em. He didn't think it
+right ter tak up an fight agin the Union; an I can't fergit thet you'ns
+who did go ter ther fight ware promis'd er Nigger an er mule. But did
+yer git em?" Teck Pervis winced. Mrs. Pervis continued. "Now sich es ole
+Wade an Moss Teele an uthers air hungry ter git er bite at ther public
+grip, so they throw out bait fer yo uns ter nibble; an yer air fools
+ernuff ter nibble. Jane Snow tells me thet all ther big bug Niggers er
+goin ter be driv out, and we uns will git ther property and wash up in
+ther churches." "Thet wus promused," broke in Teck. "But who hes ther
+rite ter tek them critters property an giv hit ter yo uns?" replied Mrs.
+Pervis. "Teck Pervis yo may mark my words, but jes es soon es them
+broken down ristocrats git er hol of ther gov'mint, jes es soon es yo po
+fools help them, then yer kin go." Teck Pervis glared at his wife like a
+fierce beast at bay. He was Teck Pervis of old, the defiant,
+blood-thirsty rebel in the rifle pit glaring over the breastworks at the
+enemy. "Wese got ther guns!" he thundered, bringing his fist down upon
+the table, "an ef they dont give ther po' uns er show when ther city is
+took, why! we'd jes es leave kill er ristercrat as er Nigger, and we uns
+will do it. Wat yo say is right frum start to finish. We uns air watchin
+um; wese got ther guns, an we uns'll hold em till we see how things air
+goin ter wurk. Reach up there an han me my pipe Mandy."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+Molly Pierrepont.
+
+
+   "Sweet and low, sweet and low
+   Wind of the Western sea
+   Low, low, breathe and blow
+   Wind of the Western sea
+   Over the rolling waters go,
+   Come from the dying moon and blow
+   Blow him again to me
+   While my little one, while my pretty one sleeps."
+
+This sweet old lullaby of Longfellow's, sung by a rich soprano voice
+floated upon the cool October air out from a beautiful and richly
+furnished suburban cottage in Wilmington. The singer sat alone at the
+piano. Though vulgarly called a "Negress," her skin was almost as fair
+as a Saxon's; and because of the mingling of Negro blood--more beautiful
+in color. She was gowned in an evening dress of gossamer material, ashes
+of rose in color. Her hair let out to its full length hung in silky
+profusion down her back. There were plain old fashioned half moon rings
+in her ears, and bands of gold upon her bare arms enhanced their beauty.
+No one will deny that among the women of mixed blood in the South, there
+are types of surpassing beauty. The inter-mixture of Negro and Saxon,
+Negro and Spanish and Indian blood gives the skin a more beautiful color
+than exists in the unadulterated of either race. While the mulatto and
+octoroon may reveal the Saxon in the fairness of the skin, the Negro
+reinforcement shows itself generally in the slight inclination of the
+lips toward thickness, the lustrious black of the eye and hair which is
+generally abundant and slightly woolly in texture. This is brought out
+plainly in the case of the Jew. Although centuries have passed since the
+Jews very extensively amalgamated with the dark races of Egypt and
+Canaan, their dark complexions, lustrous black eyes, abundant woolly
+hair plainly reveal their Hamatic lineage. To pass through the Bowery or
+lower Broadway in the great metropolis at an hour when the shop and
+factory girl is hurrying to or from her work, one is struck by the
+beauty of Jewish womanhood. King David's successful campaigns placed
+Solomon over large dominions of Moabitish and Canaanitish peoples; and
+for the stability of his kingdom, Solomon took wives out of all of these
+nationalities; and Solomon's most favored wife was his black princess,
+Naamah, the mother of Rehoboam, his successor. The poet describes Naamah
+as the "Rose of Sharon, the most excellent of her country." The marriage
+of Solomon to his black princess was the most notable of any of his
+marriages; for that wonderful poem, "Solomon's Songs," is mainly a
+eulogy to this one of his many wives. "I am black but comely, O ye
+daughters of Jerusalem as the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of
+Solomon. Look not upon me because I am black, because the sun hath
+looked upon me." In the most beautiful language in the gift of the poets
+of that day Solomon converses with Naamah in the following dialogue:
+"Return, return O Shulamite; return, return that we may look upon thee."
+Naamah, "What will you see in Shulamite?" Solomon, "As it were a company
+of two armies."
+
+We have conclusive evidence that the Southern gentleman did, and does
+sing such love ditties, and talk sweet nothings to the Southern black
+woman, and the woman of mixed blood, but unlike Solomon, he is too much
+of a coward to publicly extol her. During the slave period in the West
+Indian Islands a child born to a slave woman shared the fortunes of its
+father; and if the father was free, so was the child. But the American
+slave holder reversed that law so that he could humble the bond-woman
+and damn her offspring with impunity. Upheld by the law the Southerner
+sold his own daughter and sister into a life of shame. The pretty
+Negress and the woman of mixed blood brought extortionate prices in
+Southern markets. Northern sympathizers may talk of the New South, and
+the Southern orator may harp upon the shortcomings of the "inferior
+race," but on this line of thought and conduct, the Southern whites have
+not changed one whit. Before the war, Sambo only had a quit-claim on his
+black or mulatto wife, and now the laws are so framed that he cannot
+defend the woman of his race against the encroachments of his white
+brother, who looks at the destruction of the Negro woman as only an
+indiscretion. The humble black fool is often forced away from his own
+wife or sweet-heart at the point of a revolver, cowed by the feeling
+that a manly stand against a white man might cause incalculable loss of
+life. Yet the advocate of Lynch Law pictures this humble fellow, this
+man who is afraid to attempt to defend his own home, as a reckless
+dare-devil, keeping the whites in constant terror. How incompatible
+these two traits of character. No; it is not the reckless dare deviltry
+of the Negro that terrorizes the South, but the conscience of the white
+man whose wrong treatment of a defenseless people fills him with fear
+and intensifies his hatred. He is determined to fill to overflow his cup
+of iniquity. Like Macbeth, he has waded in so far, that to return were
+as tedious as to go over. It matters not how loud the Southerner shouts
+about "the good-for-nothing Nigger," he still has the same old
+anti-bellum liking for the women of that race. Bishop Turner is the only
+honest and earnest advocate of Negro Emigration, the others have only a
+half-hearted leaning in that direction. If it were possible for
+emigration to become a reality, the Southern whites would be the hardest
+kickers against the scheme. The only beneficiaries from this wonderful
+enterprise would be the steamship companies; for after the hundreds of
+years of transportation are over, then excursion parties would be the
+order of the day for time immemorial. Our Southern gentleman will not be
+deprived of the Negro woman. There is no ocean too wide for him to
+cross; no wall too high for him to scale; he'd risk the fires of hell to
+be in her company, intensely as he pretends to hate her. Wilmington,
+North Carolina, the scene of that much regretted phenomenon--the fatal
+clashing of races in November, 1898, was not, and is not without its
+harems, its unholy minglings of Shem with Ham; where the soft-fingered
+aristocrat embraces the lowest dusky sirene in Paddy's Hollow, and
+thinks nothing of it. Molly Pierrepont whom I introduce to the reader in
+this chapter, is a type of Negro women whose progress along ennobling
+avenues is more hotly contested than any other woman in the South,
+because of her beauty. To decide between the honor with poverty offered
+by the black man and the life of ease with shame offered by the white
+one is her "Gethsemine." Yet where love of honor has conquered, she has
+made a devoted wife and a loving mother.
+
+Such a character as Molly Pierrepont was an exclusive luxury for
+gentlemen. The poor white could not afford to support a mistress who of
+course went to the highest bidder. Ben Hartright left the Wigwam before
+the close of the meeting in which he was so deeply interested, and
+proceeded directly to Molly's cottage; but he did not notice as he
+tipped lightly through the gate a cloaked and veiled form crouching down
+in the bushes a few yards away. He heard not the light footsteps as it
+drew nearer to be sure that there was no mistaking the visitor. Ben
+Hartright entered boldly; knocking was unnecessary, he was master there.
+The furniture and hangings were all his purchase, even the expensive
+jewels that the woman wore. The figure on the outside drew still closer,
+peered in, tip-toed upon the piazza, pressed the ear against the window
+to catch as much as possible of what went on within. Only a few minutes
+did it tarry however. As the door swung open, Molly arose from the piano
+and advanced with outstretched arms to meet him.
+
+"Hello, Ben! I thought you were to be here by eight to-night."
+
+Ben Hartright sank upon a sofa and gently drew the girl down beside him
+before he assayed to answer her.
+
+"Well, Molly, you must remember that I am in politics now," he said,
+kissing her fondly, "and I must attend the different meetings, business
+before pleasure you know. We are in the most exciting period of the
+campaign; a campaign the like of which has never before been experienced
+in North Carolina. We are organized and determined to save the State to
+the Democratic party and make white supremacy an established fact if we
+have to kill every Nigger and Nigger-hearted white man in it. To make
+assurance doubly sure, we are arming ourselves, and seeing to it that no
+Nigger shall buy an ounce of powder, and every Nigger man and woman is
+to be searched and what weapons they have taken away that no white man's
+life may be endangered. There are some Niggers and white men who must be
+killed, and they are carefully listed."
+
+Ben Hartright unbosomed to Molly the plots of the White Supremacy
+League in all its blood-curdling details, naming every man and woman who
+were to be the victims of the mob's fury.
+
+"Do you think that a very brave thing to do?" asked Molly at the
+conclusion of Ben's recital.
+
+"Oh, anything is fair in dealing with Niggers," answered Ben. But the
+look of astonishment in Molly's black eyes suddenly brought Ben
+Hartright to the full realization that he was revealing the secrets of
+his klan to one of the race he was plotting to massacre.
+
+"Of course we don't include such as you, Molly," he said, lightly
+tapping her on the shoulder. "You are no Nigger, you are nearly as white
+as I am."
+
+"Nearly as white," echoed Molly with a sneer. "Do you mean to try to
+choke it down my throat that my whiteness would save me should your
+people rise up against Niggers in Wilmington? Honestly, Ben Hartright,
+do you mean that?" Molly arose from the sofa and stood up before her
+lover that she might the better study his face. Hartright was silent.
+
+In Southern legislative halls white minorities in old Reconstruction
+days ruled Republican majorities by appealing to the vanity of
+light-skinned Negro representatives.
+
+"You are almost white, why vote with them Niggers?" Ben Hartright was
+using the old tactics; he had realized that he perhaps had been careless
+with his secrets. "What I really mean, Molly, is that you are a friend
+of white people--that is you are not one of those Nigger wenches who
+want to be er--er--ladies--that want Nigger dudes to raise their hats to
+them--want to be like white people you know."
+
+"I understand," said Molly.
+
+"We white gentlemen believe in having colored girl friends, and we
+always stand by them no matter what happens." Molly momentarily eyed the
+ceiling.
+
+"Benny, did you ever read Uncle Tom's Cabin?"
+
+"Yes, I have," answered Ben, but it has been too long ago to remember
+very much of its contents.
+
+"Why? Everybody should read that book it seems to me; read and read
+again Cassie's story of her love for the man who after promising to
+protect and defend her, sneaked away and sold her. Cassie was almost
+white. Cassie was a white man's friend, and to that man she was true;
+but Cassie's story of betrayal, disappointment, misery at the hands of
+that long haired brute who afterwards became her master, would make the
+strongest heart weep. _You will stand by your colored girl friend._
+Perhaps you think you would, but I doubt it, Ben Hartright. When that
+time comes that the two races are arrayed against each other, my fair
+complexion will be of no avail. I am a Nigger, and will be dealt with as
+such, even by the man who now promises me protection."
+
+Ben Hartright quailed under Molly's biting sarcasm. He was unprepared
+for this change of front on the part of his mistress. His pretention of
+love were not sufficient to create in Molly a feeling of security.
+
+"Then d'm it all! you as good as tell a gentleman to his teeth that he
+lies then?" said he doggedly.
+
+"No; I don't mean to say that you lie. What you say to me _now_, you may
+earnestly mean, but under circumstances just mentioned, you would deny
+that you ever knew me. What you have revealed tonight concerning your
+aims and plots, portrays to my mind just who and what you are, and just
+who and what I am. Samson has revealed his secret to his Delilah, and
+its Delilah's duty to warn her people of the dangers that await them.
+Men whose lives are threatened must be warned; women who are in danger
+of being ignominiously dealt with must be put upon their guard; must
+know that these defenders of virtue, these Southern gentlemen who are
+thirsting for the blood of a slanderer (?) of white women are
+hypocrites, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel."
+
+"By the thunder, what do you mean by such language?" and Ben Hartright
+arose from the sofa and glared at the girl, his eyes flashing. "Do you
+know that you are talking to a gentleman?"
+
+"Be careful," said Molly, "You wouldn't have the women for whom you
+would be so chivalrous know who Ben Hartright _really is_, would you?"
+
+"Why, what's the matter Molly?" said Hartright in a more subdued voice.
+"Have you joined the sanctified band?"
+
+"No; but I realize as never before just who and what I am, and your
+trying to flatter me into the belief that I am better than black women
+who try to be pure, is a revelation to me who and what _you are_. There
+are men whom you have named to be killed whose only offense is that they
+are respectable and independent; and women who are hated because they
+are not easy victims such as I am--women who will live honestly upon
+bread and water. These are colored people who have so much confidence in
+the better class of white people, that they would not believe that such
+a plot is being laid for their destruction."
+
+Ben Hartright put his arms around Molly's waist. "I thought you were a
+true friend of white people, Molly; but I find that you are not, so
+let's drop the unpleasant subject. If the Niggers keep away from the
+polls, and don't attempt to run a ticket, there will be no trouble; but
+if they persist in defying the whites, there'll be hell. But all pretty
+Nigger gals such as you will be all right."
+
+"Unhand me!" said Molly, twisting herself from his grasp. "Go tell your
+hypocritical associates in crime that the deed they are about to commit
+will recoil upon their own heads, and upon the heads of their children."
+
+"But--er--now Molly--"
+
+"Go!" hissed Molly, pointing to the door.
+
+Ben Hartright walked slowly to the door paused and wistfully eyed Molly
+who stood with uplifted hand pointing in that direction. "Oh, you are
+quite full of race pride just now, but when it comes to deciding between
+the easy life that a white man pays for and Nigger drudgery, you'll
+doubtless change your tune. I leave you to reflect."
+
+Hartright walked out. Molly sank upon the sofa and buried her face in
+her hands. "How true!" she sobbed. "What have I done?" but she rose and
+her anguish was gone in a twinkling. "Easy life! Drudgery! But _here I
+swear from this hour Molly Pierrepont will live no longer such a life_."
+
+Ben Hartright reached his home in Orange street about three o'clock,
+noiselessly opened the door and strode up to his apartments, thinking he
+would get to bed without disturbing his young wife; but she was not
+there. The bed remained as it was when the chambermaid left it that
+morning, after giving it its finishing touches. Ben Hartright looked
+about the room in wild amazement. He drew out his watch, scanned its
+face eagerly. "By ginger!" he exclaimed, "it's past three o'clock.
+Wonder where is Emily? This is indeed something unusual." Thinking
+perhaps that his child might have taken ill during the night and that
+his wife had remained in the nurse's room with it, he crossed the hall
+and rapped upon the door; a second rap brought the nurse to the door
+rubbing her eyes. "What's the matter, Fannie; is the baby sick?"
+
+"No, sah!" answered the girl.
+
+"Isn't Miss Emily in there?"
+
+"No, sah; Mr. Benny she aint in heah, sah."
+
+"_Where in the thunder is she then?_" roared Ben Hartright, now beside
+himself with rage. "_Is this the way you look after your mistress?_" and
+he seized the already frightened girl by the shoulders and shook her
+vigorously, turned away before she could utter a word of excuse, and
+bounded down to his mother's apartments.
+
+Mrs. Hartright, aroused by the noise above, was just emerging from her
+door to learn the cause of it all. "Why, what's the matter, son?" she
+questioned gently, as Ben, both angry and frightened, strode up to where
+she stood.
+
+"Didn't you hear me asking Fannie where Emily is? Didn't you know that
+she hasn't been in her room, and here it is nearly four o'clock in the
+morning!"
+
+"Emily went out just after tea, and I thought she had returned,"
+answered the mother. "Perhaps she went walking with some of her girl
+friends, was taken ill and had to stop at one of their homes. Wait
+Benny, I'll dress and help you to look for her."
+
+Ben Hartright turned and walked slowly to the door and paused to wait
+for his mother. There was a turn of the door latch, a vigorous twist of
+a key in the lock; the door flew open and Emily Hartright walked in. She
+apparently did not see her husband who stood and eyed her angrily as she
+entered and began to ascend the steps to her room.
+
+"Emily," said Ben, following and seizing his wife by the arm. "Are you
+mad, if not explain this extraordinary conduct of yours. Where have you
+been?" She turned, gazed into her husband's eyes for a moment, then with
+one vigorous tug, she wrenched her arm from his grasp and proceeded up
+the steps. The mother by this time had joined her son, and they both
+followed the young lady who had entered her room and was removing her
+wraps.
+
+"What's the matter my darling?" said Mrs. Hartright, throwing her arms
+around her daughter's waist. "I was so troubled about you. What kept you
+out so late, Emily?"
+
+"Wait, mother, until I have rested and composed myself, then I will
+explain," answered Emily, softly.
+
+Ben had sank into a chair and sat with his chin resting upon the palm of
+his hand. Emily sat upon the side of the bed.
+
+"Men go night after night," she said, "stay as long as they please, and
+return in whatever condition they please; and to queries of their wives,
+they are evasive in their answers; but when a woman takes the privilege
+of exercising her rights--"
+
+"_Her rights_," roared Ben, jumping to his feet. "A lady goes out of her
+residence, leaves her servant and relatives in ignorance of her
+destination, returns at four o' clock in the morning to tell anxious
+husband and mother about _her rights_! We'll have a direct explanation
+from you, Mrs. Hartright, without preambling."
+
+"I'll not be bullied, Ben Hartright," answered the young wife calmly.
+"Remember that when you married _me_, you didn't marry a chambermaid or
+housekeeper, but a lady of one of the first families of Virginia, and
+such people brook _no bullying_," and Emily arose and glared at her
+husband like a tigress.
+
+Ben Hartright quailed. Never had he seen his little wife in such a state
+of anger and defiance.
+
+"If you are man enough to reveal your whereabouts until the small hours
+of the morning, you can tell where your wife was."
+
+Ben Hartright raised his eyes from the floor and looked at his wife in
+amazement.
+
+"When you entered the house of your mistress, Molly Pierrepont,
+to-night, I saw you. I, your _wife_, whom _you_ swore to honor and
+protect, saw you. She saw you embrace and kiss a Negro woman, the woman
+of a race whom you pretend to despise, and whom you and your pals are
+secretly scheming to cold bloodedly murder and drive from their homes.
+Take care! God knows your hypocrisy and the deeds you commit will recoil
+upon your own heads."
+
+"Emily, are you mad?" gasped the elder lady who stood as if transfixed
+to the floor.
+
+"Ask him," returned the young lady, "he knows whether or not I utter the
+truth, or whether I am a victim of a beclouded brain. He knows that he
+has wronged me; he knows that he has lied to me. I care not for your
+frowns. _You_ a gentleman? You hate Niggers, yet you can embrace one so
+fondly. I will no longer live with such a gentleman, who night after
+night under the excuse of 'clubs' and 'business' spends his time away
+from his wife, and in company of a Negro woman. I am going home to my
+people."
+
+"Now, Emily," said the elder Mrs. Hartright, "don't start a scandal;
+remember that you are a Southerner. Southern people do not countenance
+the airing of unpleasant family matters!"
+
+"Yes," replied the young lady, "this fear of airing family troubles on
+the part of our women, has made us slaves, while the men are licensed to
+indulge in all manner of indecencies with impunity. I will be the first
+Southern woman to sever the chain of 'formality,' and cry aloud to the
+world that I leave my husband because of his unfaithfulness. It is my
+right, and I will exercise that right."
+
+Ben who had again sank into his seat arose and advanced toward his wife
+to sue for forgiveness.
+
+"Don't touch me!" she cried, with uplifted hand. "The cup is full. Go
+back to her who has monopolized the best portion of your time since you
+have married me."
+
+Ben Hartright sank again into his chair and buried his face into his
+hands.
+
+"Now, my darlings, let mother be the daysman between you," said the
+elder Mrs. Hartright, coming near carressing the young wife. "Benny
+knows just to what extent he has wronged you my dear, and I believe him
+honest enough and manly enough to acknowledge it, and sue for
+forgiveness. I leave you to yourselves. God grant that you may be
+enabled to peacably settle your difficulties satisfactorily to you both,
+without giving license to Madame Gossip. God bless you." Kissing Emily,
+Mrs. Hartright descended to her room.
+
+Ben Hartright succeeded in patching up matters with his wife by
+promising to live a more honest life, only to break it, which caused her
+to make good her threat and leave him.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+The Union Aid Society Holds a Meeting.
+
+
+The home of Mrs. West was one of the many snug little cottages owned by
+the colored inhabitants of that section of Wilmington known as "Camp
+Land." It also had the distinction of facing Campbell Street, the main
+thoroughfare of that portion of the city. Although Mrs. West knew
+something of slavery as it existed in North Carolina, she was free born;
+her grandfather having purchased his freedom, and afterwards that of the
+rest of the family before her birth. The rule that the free Negro was a
+shiftless being more to be pitied than envied by slaves, was not without
+many exceptions in North Carolina. There were many Negroes in old North
+Carolina who by grasping every opportunity to earn an extra dollar by
+working for neighboring planters when their own tasks were done, and
+making such useful articles as their genius could contrive, often after
+years of patient toiling and saving would often astonish their masters
+by offering to purchase their freedom. There were others who paid to
+their masters annually a specified sum of money for their time, that
+they might enjoy the control of their own affairs as much as possible.
+
+For many years before the war my father did public carting in the town
+of Fayetteville as a free-man, his master receiving a certain amount of
+his earnings. Of course there were free Negroes whose conception of
+freedom was a release from manual toil, and who like poor whites, lived
+a shiftless indolent life, following the sunshine in Winter and the
+shade in Summer.
+
+Free Negroes in North Carolina had the right to purchase property and
+enjoy other limited privileges. The parents of Mrs. West, known as
+Burchers, emigrated to the West in the forties, where their children
+could be educated. After the war Mrs. West, with her husband whom she
+had met and married in Ohio, returned to North Carolina, prepared to
+enter upon the work of uplifting the newly emancipated of their
+unfortunate race; and now well advanced in years, she could look over
+many years of active useful service in the cause of her people. It was
+the evening for the regular monthly meeting of the Union Aid Society of
+which Mrs. West was President, and several members had already arrived;
+but in such a season such business for which a society of this kind was
+organized would doubtless be neglected, so pregnant was the air with the
+all absorbing subject--politics.
+
+But the Union Aid Society is composed exclusively of women. What of
+that? Some of our most skilled politicians in the South are among the
+women of both races. Although they do not take the stump and sit upon
+platforms in public assemblages, they are superior house-to-house
+canvassers, and in their homes noiselessly urge the men to do their
+duty. For earnest persistence and true loyalty to the party of her
+choice, the Negro woman of the South outdoes her sister in white. Give
+the ballot to the women of the South, and give her dusky daughters an
+equal show, and a Solid South would be a thing of the past; for the
+Negro woman is the most loyal supporter of Republican principles in that
+section. So radical is the Negro woman, that it is worth a husband's, or
+brother's, or sweetheart's good standing in the home or society to assay
+to vote a Democratic ticket. Such a step on the part of a Negro man has
+in some instances broken up his home. The Spartan loyalty of the
+Southern white woman to the Confederacy and the Lost Cause was not more
+marked than is the fidelity of the Negro woman to that party which stood
+for universal freedom and the brotherhood of man, and whose triumphant
+legions so ignominiously crushed Freedom's sullen and vindictive foe.
+Although the Government provides for the annual placing of a small flag
+upon the grave of each of the thousands of heroes now sleeping in the
+Southland, it is the dusky fingers of the Negro woman, perfumed by the
+sweet incense of love and gratitude that places the lilac, the rose and
+forget-me-not there.
+
+The Northern white woman in the South, in order to maintain her social
+caste, generally allows her patriotism to cool. But the Negro woman
+sings patriotic airs on each 30th of May as she twines wreaths of pine
+to lay upon the graves of those _who died for her_. Of course, these
+women who had gathered in the parlor of Mrs. West's cottage were
+intensely interested in the coming election in Wilmington, and were
+ready to discuss the event with all the fervor of their patriotic souls.
+"Ladies," said Mrs. West after the prayers had been said, and the
+minutes of the previous meeting read, "I confess that for the first time
+since my election to the presidency of this society, I feel an
+inclination to waive the transaction of its regular business, so
+depressed am I over events now crowding upon us." "I believe thats the
+case with every one," answered Mrs. Cole. "I have received a letter from
+the Chairman of the Executive Committee," continued Mrs. West, "stating
+that so grave is the situation all over the State that he is advised by
+the Governor himself to withdraw Republican candidates from the field--a
+request without a precedent in North Carolina."
+
+"It would never do to show such cowardice!" said Mrs. Cole. "If I were
+chairman of that committee I'd put the ticket in the field and go to the
+polls if the devils were around it as thick as shingles upon a
+housetop." "I was of the same mind" answered Mrs. West, "but when the
+Governor of the State--when brave Daniel Lane has become apprehensive, I
+can appreciate the gravity of the situation. I have seen that man walk
+undismayed through the streets of Wilmington during very turbulent
+periods in her history. I see that in the upper section of the State the
+Democrats have already organized Red Shirt Brigades who are riding
+through the rural districts terrorizing Negroes, and we may look for the
+same to take place in Wilmington. Silas writes that they are determined
+to carry the election. He has received two threatening letters and is
+afraid. You are aware that that monster has been, and is advising the
+whites in our State to copy South Carolina's method of carrying
+elections, and they are heeding his advice. I am compelled to
+acknowledge despite my previous confidence in the integrity and honesty
+of our North Carolina white people that my faith is getting shaky. The
+buying of guns and other weapons by poor whites who are often unable to
+buy food, means something. It means that the rich are going to use them
+to perform the dirty work of intimidation and murder if necessary to
+carry this election." "Colored men must show their manhood, and fight
+for their rights," exclaimed Mrs. Wise the secretary who had laid down
+her pen and was attentively listening to the president's talk. "But how
+are they to do it?" asked Mrs. West; "My son tells me that there is not
+a store in the city that will sell a Negro an ounce of powder. The best
+thing to do--if such things should happen--is to stay in our homes, and
+advise the men to be cool. Rashness on their part would be all the
+excuse the unprincipalled whites would want to kill them. Editor Manly's
+reply to Mrs. Fell's letter in August is now brought forward to be used
+by their stump orators to fan the flames of race hatred." "I wish he
+hadn't written it," interrupted Mrs. Cole. "It was a truth unwisely
+said," answered Mrs. Wise, "and by a man who meant to defend his own; so
+let us make the best of it. I would not have Editor Manly feel for a
+moment that we are such ingrates as to say anything against him."
+
+"The most important thing that I intended to mention, and which makes me
+feel that our situation is a critical one," continued Mrs. West, "was a
+letter that came this morning from Molly Pierrepont." "Molly
+Pierrepont!" echo every one almost in one breath. "Poor erring girl!"
+said Mrs. Wise slowly. "What has happened her?" "Molly has written me a
+long and even affectionate letter. She writes, '_Ben Hartright confided
+to me the other night the ghastly plans of the Rough Riders, a band made
+up from the most respectable of the whites. They are to be reinforced
+from all over the State, and even from other States for the purpose of
+killing and driving from Wilmington objectionable blacks and whites,
+John Holloway, Nicholas McDuffy, Editor Manly, John Brown, Lawyers
+Scott, Moore and Henderson, George Z. French, Thomas Miller, Ariah
+Bryant, McLane Lofton, Pickens and Bell and others of prominence and
+independenence are to be special marks of vengeance. I beg you my dear
+Aunt Betty, warn these people. I shall take it upon myself to give the
+alarm, for these are my people._'
+
+"There is some good in this wayward child after all," said Mrs. West,
+pushing her spectacles back, and looking up. "But who of these people
+would believe that such was in store for them? These men would not leave
+their homes without a severe struggle." "The Government should protect
+its citizens in their rights," said Mrs. Wise. "Government? Bah!"
+answered Mrs. West. "Here's the highest official of the State afraid for
+his own life." "Well if the Governor is incapable of coping with the
+situation, the President has the power to send in the troops," said Mrs.
+Cole. "Yes, but will he use that power? I don't believe McKinley is
+going to do anything to offend the Southern whites if they kill every
+Negro in the South. The interests of an alien race are too trivial to
+risk the sundering of the ties that are supposed by the North to bind
+the two sections. Each State according to the Southern view, is a
+sovereignty itself, and can kill and murder its inhabitants with
+impunity. There is no John Brown, Beecher, nor Sumner, nor Douglass,
+Garrison, Phillips and others of that undaunted host who were willing
+and did risk persecution and death for us; this generation has not
+produced such precious characters. God is our only helper and we must
+look to Him for deliverance. We are living too well for the broken down
+aristocrats and poor whites who are disappointed because we are not all
+domestics.
+
+"Molly expresses her intention to call, and I was hoping she would come
+before you all left. Perhaps you know Molly Pierrepont, for a woman of
+her reputation cannot help being known to a small community; but you are
+not all aware of the fact that I raised her, and took special pains to
+give her a good education, and I thought she'd requite me by trying to
+lead a useful life." "But you know Mrs. West, that Negro girls of
+attractiveness in the South have a great battle to fight, if they wish
+to be pure," said Mrs. Wise. "That's very true" answered Mrs. West; "I
+have often pondered over the thought since she left me five years ago,
+that the conditions under which she was born may have had something to
+do with shaping her course in life. We, innocent as we may be, must
+suffer for the iniquities of our parents. Before the war, there lived in
+Brunswick a large slave owner by name of Philpot. He was the father of
+Molly's mother, one of his slaves. After the surrender, this woman did
+not leave the plantation of her master but remained there until her
+death. The child, Molly's mother, whose name was Eliza, at the time of
+her mother's death was a pretty lass of fourteen; so attractive that the
+father then an old man could not curb his brutal passion. It is needless
+for me to speak plainer ladies. There is a passage of Scripture which
+reads as follows: 'The dog has returned to his vomit, and the sow that
+was washed is wallowing in the mire.' The young mother brought the child
+to Wilmington, gave her to me, and disappeared. Molly was then about
+four years old. Those who knew of me and my affairs know how carefully I
+raised the girl. She graduated from Hampton with honors, has a fair
+musical education, and a voice that might have made her a fortune.
+Imagine how proud her foster mother was when she returned home from
+school, so full of promise. If she would only leave this place and seek
+to live a better life in some strange community I would be more content.
+It would be hard for her to do so here. This Ben Hartright and another
+white gentleman had a free fight over her about a month ago. Ben was
+prevented from using his pistol by the girl's timely interference. That
+fiend of Georgia who is urging the men of her race to revel in the blood
+of their fellows, would do them more good by urging upon them the
+necessity of good morals. Doubtless this Ben Hartright is one of the
+leaders of this proposed raid in Wilmington to drive out undesirable
+citizens, yet he is so low morally, that he leaves a richly furnished
+home, a refined wife and pretty child to fight over a Negro woman, for
+such he has I hear." "But this letter proves that there are redeemable
+qualities in Molly despite her birth and bad life." "Magdalene made a
+devoted follower of Christ, you know," said Mrs. Wise; "with God's help,
+she can if she wills, pull away from her present surroundings and be a
+good woman." "Yes, she says in her letter that '_never did the full
+realization of what I am, come so plainly before me, as when this
+villian so cooly told me of his plans. I drove him from my presence as I
+would a dog._' This shows that Molly's race pride is not entirely
+blunted by dissipation and unholy living. I counsel you all ere you
+depart, to remember that we are at the mercy of the whites, and each one
+of us should do all in our power to show our men the wisdom of
+coolness. By this, with God's help, we may be able to avert the evil
+threatened. I declare the Union Aid Society adjourned, subject to the
+call of the president."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+Molly's Atonement.
+
+
+A few evenings after the unpleasant interview between Molly Pierrepont
+and Ben Hartright, Silas Wingate, chairman of the Republican Executive
+Committee, sat alone in his office. In that morning's mail had come to
+him a letter from the Governor, full of discouraging news as to the
+chances of Republican success throughout the State, and advising that
+for the safety of life Republican candidates be withdrawn from the
+field--a request unprecedented in the history of the State. "This would
+be too cowardly a backdown," he soliloquized. "The situation is not so
+serious perhaps as the Governor imagines. Such bluffs the Democrats have
+resorted to more than once before, but they didn't deter us in the
+least. We put our ticket in the field and fought hard for its election."
+But never before had the chairman of the Executive Committee seen in New
+Hanover County such grim and warlike activity on the part of the
+Democrats. The arming of the poor whites, the hiring of sterner
+implements of war, secret house-to-house meetings, and the stern refusal
+of dealers to sell a black man a deadly weapon of any description or as
+much as an ounce of powder meant something more than bluff. Yet so
+strong was the faith of Mr. Wingate in the integrity of the better
+classes of Wilmington's white citizens that he was slow to grasp the
+situation although the evidence was so overwhelming. He took the letter
+from the desk and read it for the fourth time since receiving it,
+riveting his eyes long and intently upon the signature affixed. Of all
+the years he had known the Governor he had never known him to shrink or
+show cowardice in any form whatever, although he'd passed through such
+crises as would tend to test the mettle of any man, it matters not how
+brave. "Surely the situation must be terrible!" finally observed Mr.
+Wingate, throwing the letter upon the desk and whirling around in his
+chair. "I will call a meeting and put the matter before the committee.
+When that man says back down then surely doomsday is not far off."
+
+There was a timid knock at the door. Feeling that perhaps it was one of
+his colleagues dropping in for a chat upon the all-absorbing topic of
+the day, Mr. Wingate did not rise or turn his face in that direction,
+but simply bid the visitor enter. The latch was timidly turned, followed
+by light footsteps, accompanied by the rustle of skirts, and before he
+could turn his head to see who this unexpected visitor might be, the
+figure had glided up to his chair and two soft hands were pressed over
+his eyes. "Now, just guess who it is. I will not release my hold until
+you do," was the soft command. "Now, as I was expecting only politicians
+to-night and, of course, no visitor in petticoats, I should be excused
+from trying to guess who you are on these grounds," answered Mr.
+Wingate, trying to force the hands which were firmly pressing down upon
+his eyes. "In such times as these you are likely to see even the women
+in the forefront in the fray, and doing even more than merely making
+calls," returned the visitor, releasing her hold and stepping in front
+of Mr. Wingate. "Why, Molly Pierrepont! What brings you here?" exclaimed
+Mr. Wingate, rising and staring at his visitor, who unceremoniously sank
+into a chair. "I am somewhat interested in this campaign
+myself--astonishing intelligence I know," calmly replied the visitor;
+"yet I am going to astonish you more by saying that I have information
+to impart to the chairman of the Executive Committee that will be of
+great value to him in conducting this campaign." Molly's calm demeanor,
+so unlike a woman of her disposition and temperament, struck Mr. Wingate
+somewhat humorously. Molly Pierrepont, having chosen a life of shame
+that she might--if only clandestinely--associate with and enjoy the
+favors of the men of the white race, would be the last person of the
+race to take a stand in its defense to give aid to the Negro in his
+combat with the white man, politically or otherwise. Women of Molly's
+stamp, possessing no race pride, had never been race defenders, so it
+was plausible for Mr. Wingate to feel that the woman was jesting, or
+that she was sent by his enemies into his camp as a spy. "In our present
+dilemma the Republican Committee stands much in need of information and
+advice," said Mr. Wingate, slowly. "Things are assuming quite a serious
+aspect; you are in position to get a good deal of information as to the
+maneuvers of the enemy. But, my dear girl, if you are here to aid us,
+have you counted the cost?" Mr. Wingate knew that Molly Pierrepont was
+the mistress of one of Wilmington's best citizens, a bitter Democrat,
+and a reputed leader of the White Supremacy League; that she was well
+cared for, that her gowns, etc., equaled in quality and construction
+those of her paramour's wife, and, considering her love for such ease
+and luxury, to come out and reveal the doings, and openly denounce the
+schemes of the party of her paramour, was a sacrifice that a woman of
+her character was not generally ready to make--in fact, such thoughts
+did not find lodgment in her brain. In the flattering embrace of the
+Philistine all noble aspirations ordinarily become extinct. Mr.
+Wingate's interrogation was followed by a brief pause, which caused
+Molly to move uneasily in her chair. "I see, Silas Wingate, that you
+question my sincerity," she said, slowly. "I can't blame you, though. It
+is perfectly natural for such as I to be arrayed with the whites or be
+neutral, stifling all thoughts of being of service to my wronged people,
+because my life belies it. But I am sincere, Silas; believe me," and
+Molly reached over and laid her hand upon the arm of Mr. Wingate, whose
+look betrayed his incredulity. "In spite of the lowliness of my birth,
+and the life I have chosen, some good remains in me." She went on: "My
+fair complexion and life of ease have not made me forget that I am
+identified with the oppressed and despised." "Thank God! thank God!"
+said Mr. Wingate, his face brightening. "There is a ring of sincerity in
+your voice, my dear, that banishes doubt." "I come to-night to warn you,
+Silas," continued Molly. "Before many moons Wilmington will be the scene
+of a bloody race war. Ben Hartright is my medium of information. He came
+to my house last evening, and, imbued with the feeling that I was in
+sympathy with the white element, revealed to me the dastardly plot in
+all its blood-curdling details." Mr. Wingate trembled and shook like an
+aspen leaf as Molly named the men and women singled out as victims.
+"These people have ample time now to make good their escape. Tell them,
+Silas, that the best whites are in this move, and they are determined to
+carry it to the bitter end, and their only safety is in flight. Ben
+tells me that the plans are well laid, that men will be here to assist
+in the dirty work from as far South as Texas. I listened patiently to
+Hartright's recital and then denounced him and his cohorts as infamous
+cowards!" "Did you dare?" exclaimed Mr. Wingate, gazing eagerly into
+Molly's face. "I drove him from my presence." Mr. Wingate drew nigh and
+laid his hand caressingly upon Molly's head. "You have risked much," he
+said, eagerly. "I fully realize that," returned Molly. "When he had left
+me, what I had said and done came home with its full force, but, like
+Jephthah, I had sworn, and will not go back; and here now, as I did
+then, I swear with uplifted hand to renounce forever my life of shame,
+and will be no longer a Magdalene!" "Angels record thy vow in heaven,"
+said Mr. Wingate. "You can, with God's help, be true to your vow, for
+Magdalene, who became one of the faithful, was a greater sinner than
+you, Molly." "But Magdalene perhaps never threw away the opportunities
+for good that I have," answered Molly, who had arisen and begun to pace
+the floor. "Magdalene is not charged with having spurned the love and
+sent to a premature grave a man who offered to honor and protect her
+through life." "Don't brood over the past, Molly," said Mr. Wingate, a
+grass-covered mound in Pine Forest Cemetery rising before him. "Let the
+dead past be gone." "I will not! I cannot!" said Molly, pausing. "The
+past will spur me to higher aims in the future. I never can forget the
+time that Harold came to make a last plea to me to be his wife,
+expressing his willingness to make every sacrifice for my happiness. He
+had bright hopes of success in his profession. Yet I spurned his offer
+to live a life of shame with a white man. You know he went to Macon
+afterwards, and there as a physician built up quite a lucrative
+practice. He wrote me often; he spoke of his prosperity and his
+unhappiness without me to share it. He could not forget me. I tried to
+forget him by plunging deeper into sin. It's some three years ago now
+since the last letter came, in which he said, 'I am dying! dying! dying
+for you!' I tried to make light of it as perhaps merely a jest. But,
+Silas, you know that it's quite two years now since they buried the
+heart which I had broken in Pine Forest Cemetery. Harold! Harold! If I
+could only call you back with those sunny days of innocence. No one
+knows but God what anguish I have suffered since you left me. But I was
+unworthy of you, Harold, unworthy!" The woman had bowed her head upon
+the desk and was sobbing convulsively. "Oh, that you could come back to
+me, Harold! Harold, tender and true. How gladly would I accept your
+offer now, Harold. You would forgive me, unworthy me." Her voice sank
+into an incoherent murmur. Mr. Wingate was deeply moved. He arose and
+bent over her.
+
+"Courage, my child, courage," he whispered, soothingly. "You have just
+started out to do the noblest work of your life. There are many years
+before you to live nobly and amend for the past."
+
+   "'Up, faint heart, up! Immortal life
+       Is lodged within thy frame.
+     Then let no recreant tho't or deed
+       Divert thy upward aim.
+
+     Shall earth's brief ills appall the brave?
+       Shall manly hearts despond?
+     Up, faint heart, up! The blackest cloud
+       But veils the heavens beyond.'"
+
+These inspired lines caused Molly to raise her head. "I must command
+myself," she said, firmly, "for what I have to do requires courage." She
+arose and laid her hand caressingly upon Mr. Wingate's shoulder. "You
+will warn them, won't you, Silas? Keep the men from the polls. Surrender
+everything. Better to lose a vote than lose a life." She moved toward
+the door, Mr. Wingate following. Laying her hand upon the knob, she
+paused and faced him. "Coming events cast their shadows before," she
+said. "I fear that our days of freedom are at an end in Wilmington.
+Good night," and Molly Pierrepont was gone. "Poor girl, poor girl," said
+Mr. Wingate, as he locked the door. "She might have been a queen, but,
+like the base Judean, she threw a pearl away richer than all her tribe.
+
+   "'Of all the sad words of tongue or pen
+     The saddest are these, 'It might have been.'
+
+"Harold Carlyle's youthful life was blighted because he could not give
+up this woman who was unworthy of him. But at last repentance has come.
+God forgive her."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+Dr. Jose.
+
+
+I will read for your consideration this evening Joshua, tenth chapter,
+eighth and tenth verses, which are as follows:
+
+"And the Lord said unto Joshua, fear them not, for I have delivered them
+into thine hand. There shall not a man of them stand before thee.
+
+"And the Lord discomfited them before Israel and slew them with great
+slaughter at Gibeon and chased them along the way that goeth up to
+Beth-horon and smote them to Azekah and unto Makkedah."
+
+Thus read the pastor of one of Wilmington's Presbyterian churches at the
+beginning of one of the weekly prayer meetings. "Brethren," said he, "I
+have chosen these two verses of Scripture this evening because my mind
+is as, I believe, yours are--weighted down by the situation that
+confronts the white people of this city. No doubt all of you would like
+to see white man's government permanently restored, although you are
+most of you averse to resorting to physical force to accomplish that
+end. While most all Biblical students believe and teach that God told
+Joshua to destroy these Amorites, Canaanites and Jebusites because of
+their wickedness, I go further and say that they were to be destroyed
+because they were the black descendants of Ham, the accursed son of
+Noah. Joshua was commanded to utterly destroy them or put them under
+subjection according to God's word--'Cursed be Canaan, servant of
+servants shall he be.' The Jew in this instance represented Shem, the
+blessed son, who was to triumph over Ham and keep him forever in
+subjection. God has blackened with his curse the descendants of this
+cursed son of Noah that Shem and Japheth may ever know who the cursed of
+God is. You who are hesitating in doubt as whether it is right to use
+force to put this descendant of Ham in his rightful place--the place
+which God ordained that he should be--I counsel you to ponder over the
+passages of Scripture just read. The education of the Negro is giving
+him an advantage that justifies our apprehension. This, combined with
+accumulated wealth, make him a subject for grave and careful
+consideration. We are in a condition of subjection under Negro rule and
+domination that justifies the taking of the sword. We are God's chosen
+people, the banner carriers of civilization. We civilized the Negro and
+set him free, and it's our right to return him, if necessary, to his
+former condition of servitude.
+
+"The meeting is now open for prayer, praise and exhortation." Saying
+this, Dr. Jose took his seat.
+
+When the country was wrought up over the question of slavery it was the
+Presbyterian Church South that drafted resolutions declaring that
+"Slavery is a divine institution." If a divine institution, then the
+destruction of that institution was wrong, and the champions of freedom
+and the brotherhood of man open violators of divine law. If it is the
+will of God that the dusky children of Ham are to ever serve their
+brethren and ever to be reminded of their inferiority, then why not the
+professing Christian, the minister of the Gospel, join in the work of
+carrying out God's decree?
+
+The victory of Union guns at Fort Fisher brought many carpet-baggers to
+Wilmington, many of them thrifty men of enterprise, who willingly
+assisted their brethren to restore life to that devastated town. Quite a
+goodly number of these good people worshipped God in Wilmington's
+Presbyterian Church. Therefore, among these cool and thoughtful
+Northerners the ministers' exhortation to retort to the shotgun was not
+very favorably commented upon at that meeting. But this did not in the
+least dampen the ardor of this hot-blooded Virginian. He went home, and
+instead of kneeling, as usual, by his bedside to pray, he knelt in his
+study. "Lord, we are sorely tried; the enemies of thy chosen people are
+waxing stronger and stronger. Thou art a God of battle. Thou didst in
+days of old lead thy children to victory over the enemies. Shall we this
+day rise in our might? Shall we smite with the sword?" There are many
+instances recorded where men strong in faith have heard the voice of God
+assuring them of His divine approval, that He was ready to lead them to
+victory. But Dr. Jose heard no voice, felt no divine presence near him.
+He arose, took his Bible and turned again to the wars of Joshua and the
+terrible triumphs of Jehovah. Mrs. Jose, seeing that her husband
+lingered longer than usual in his study that night, glided softly in to
+see what so absorbed his attention. "Why do you sit up so late to-night,
+my dear?" she asked, softly, laying a hand gently upon her husband's
+shoulders. "I am exceedingly troubled to-night, Mary, darling," returned
+the minister. "This question of Negro Domination is troubling us. We are
+about to the point of desperation. Negroes are becoming so bold that our
+white angels are no longer safe on our streets. We have made up our
+minds to arm ourselves and shake off the yoke." Mrs. Jose gently closed
+the book and laid her hand caressingly upon her husband's head. "Cease
+to ponder over and keep before you the old Scripture, with its martial
+spirit. Remember Christ and the doctrine He came to teach. He came to
+teach the new commandment, to heal the broken hearted, to release the
+captives. 'Verily, brethren, avenge not yourselves, for it is written
+Vengeance is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord.' What would Jesus do
+under such circumstances? His was the spirit of love. He would not break
+the bruised reed nor quench the smoking flax. Come away, darling, and
+leave the regulation of everything to God." "But Mary," persisted the
+minister, "you don't understand the situation. We, the men of
+Wilmington, see utter ruin in store for us unless something is done to
+check the Negro. Our women can scarcely venture out alone after dark, so
+ugly and bold has he become under our lenient treatment." "This is all
+imaginary, my dear," interrupted Mrs. Jose. "I am afraid that you have
+allowed yourself to be influenced by these designing politicians, whose
+desire to gain power has stifled their love for truth. Rev. Dr. Jose is
+a Christian. Dr. Jose is a minister of the Gospel, who should not be
+enticed by sinners into evil. It matters not how justifiable the deed
+may seem, you, my darling, cannot afford to lend either hand or voice in
+this contemplated work. He that taketh the sword shall perish by the
+sword.' Our homes, our firesides, our women are perfectly safe. The only
+uneasy ones among us are those who want offices. Come away, my darling;
+leave wickedness for the wicked to do; you cannot afford to take a hand
+in it." Mrs. Jose took her husband by the hand and gently led him to his
+bedchamber. How much happier man would be if in such trying periods of
+life he'd heed the counsel of the angel of his bosom. But those who read
+the account of the massacre of November, 1898, learned that among that
+body of men, who, armed to the teeth, marched to Dry Pond on that fatal
+morning was a minister of the Gospel. Some papers published the text
+which that minister of the Gospel took to preach from the Sunday
+following, "We have taken a city," etc.
+
+But those hands which turned the leaves of the sacred word were crimson
+with the blood of the defenseless. "And Pilate took a basin of water and
+washed his hands before the multitude." But would we suppose that Pilate
+washed his hands only once? Doubtless far into the night, when the faint
+shouts of triumph from the enemies of God resounded through that ancient
+city, Pilate arose from his bed and washed his hands again, but the
+blood stains were still there. The court scene appears. The cry of the
+Pharisees rings in his ears, the humble Nazarene stands bound before
+him, then Calvary, with the three ghastly instruments of death upon its
+brow, looms up. "Out, damned spot! will these hands never be clean?" The
+blood stains upon his hands have doubtless worried Dr. Jose somewhat,
+and all the others who joined with him in the work of carnage. But the
+blood stains are on their hands still, and the groans and wails of
+innocents must ever ring in their ears. "It was a knavish piece of
+work." "Tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the streets of Askelon,
+lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, lest the daughters of the
+uncircumcised triumph."--II Samuel, i, 20.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+George Howe.
+
+
+From the fall of Fort Fisher and political upheavals of the
+Reconstruction period to the awful tragedy of 1898, with the exception
+of a few tragic scenes, Wilmington had been the theatre of one
+continuous comedy, performed by gifted players, whose names and faces
+will ever remain indelibly fixed in the memory. Phillis, "State Mary"
+Tinny, George Howe, Uncle Abram, Bill Dabney, "Uncle Billy" pass over
+the stage before me as I write. But of those who unwittingly struggled
+for the foremost rank in the line of fun-making, George Howe must be the
+acknowledged star.
+
+Unlike others of the same school, whose minds had become unbalanced by
+overwork, worry or disease, George Howe was born a fool. Being a child
+of honorable and respectable parentage, the playmates with whom he
+associated in his early youth were of that class who regarded his
+imbecility as a terrible affliction, were charitable and kind, never
+allowing others to impose upon this simple fellow, who was incapable of
+taking his own part. But as George Howe advanced in years he gradually
+threw off his stupidity, and although he never outgrew the habit of
+keeping his mouth open, he ceased to slobber, and acquired the habit of
+looking respectable. He entered school and became quite proficient in
+one branch of study in particular--he was an excellent reader,
+with a wonderfully retentive memory. But he never outgrew his
+simple-mindedness, and appellation of "Fool" always justly clung to him,
+for, bright as he seemed to be upon many things, he was incapable of
+applying his knowledge to his own advantage. George Howe kept abreast
+with the doings of the times, especially in the political and religious
+world, and these two subjects he was always ready to discuss. Was there
+a public meeting called, religious, political or otherwise, George Howe
+would be there, often in some conspicuous place, with wide-open mouth
+and staring eyes, drinking in all that was said or done.
+
+It mattered not how many were held in a single day or night, George Howe
+would spend sufficient time at all of them to tell something of what
+took place. For, with a jewsharp as his sole companion, George could
+cover more ground in a single day or night than any other inhabitant of
+Wilmington, keeping time to its discordant twanks. During political
+campaigns, before the press of the city could announce to its readers
+the result of the contest, George Howe could be heard howling the news
+through the streets of Wilmington. "Oh-o-o, look er here, every
+bod-e-e-e! New York, New Jerseee, Dilewar hev gone Dimocratic by big
+majoritees. Great Dimocratic gains throughout ther country." When, in
+1884, the Democratic party astonished the country and itself by electing
+Grover Cleveland to the Presidency by a safe majority, it was George
+Howe who led that host of elated Democrats down Front street and toward
+the Custom House on the evening of election day to inform Republican
+officeholders that at length their time had come to give place for
+others. Being generally shunned by those of his own race, George Howe
+cherished quite a liking for colored people, and could be very
+frequently found among them in their religious meetings. There was
+something in the Negroes' mode of worship that seemed to fascinate him,
+especially the saints of color who worshipped in old Ebenezer Church, in
+South Seventh street. When that most eloquent of pulpit orators, the
+Rev. William H. Banks, led his hosts to Cape Fear River's brink, and
+drew three-fourths of the worshippers of other denominations with them,
+George Howe would be there, yea, marching with the converts themselves,
+joining as lustily as they in the singing of that familiar old marching
+song:
+
+   "I'm er goin' up ter join in the army of the Lord,
+    I'm er goin' up ter join in the army."
+
+Upon the river's bank he'd stand and drink in every word that flowed
+from the mouth of that great divine. No Negro woman or man could lisp
+the name of "Brother Banks" with sweeter accent than George Howe, and no
+one could sing his praises more earnestly. Who can forget those early
+days of revivals and religious enthusiasm in Wilmington, and the three
+great divines who filled the three great pulpits from which the bread of
+life was given to hungry multitudes. There was Lavender in "Christian
+Chapel," Slubie in St. Stephen, and, more powerful and influential than
+either of these, was William H. Banks, the pastor of Ebenezer Baptist
+Church. Even years after Slubie and Lavender had been called to other
+fields, it was George Howe's delight to stand upon the street corner
+opposite the residence of the Rev. Banks and sing the parody to that
+famous old song that electrified and filled with the spirit the revival
+meetings of the early seventies:
+
+     "Brother Lavender's got some liars,
+      Brother Slubie's got some, too;
+      Jus' carry 'em down to Cape Fear River,
+      An' Banks'll put 'em through."
+
+   Chorus: "Git on board, children," etc.
+
+These great men are gone into the spirit world, but George Howe still
+lives. Banks was the last to go, and when that coffined clay was being
+borne from old Ebenezer, where for sixteen years he had labored, George
+Howe was one of that multitude of bleeding hearts who followed his
+precious bones to the burying ground. He stood and looked on until the
+last spadeful of earth was thrown upon the coffin and the mound shaped
+above it. After the death of the Rev. Banks George Howe became very much
+attached to his eldest daughter, Mary Elizabeth, and he could often be
+seen leisurely strolling down Seventh street in the direction of Banks'
+residence, playing his jewsharp and singing the praises of "Sister Mary
+Lizzie" between the twanks.
+
+   "I'm er goin' down to Sister Mary Lizzie Banksies;
+    Sister Mary Lizzie is the daughter of Brother Banks,
+    An' I think er great 'eal of Sister Mary Lizzie;
+    Sister Lizzie, I've got ter tell you-u-u."
+
+Pausing in front of the door, he would roll up his sleeves, stretch his
+mouth, roll his eyes and make all kinds of comical expressions. "Sister
+Mary Lizzie, I'm jus' out er jail-l-l, I'm full er lice-e-e; but jus' as
+soon as I take er bath I'm comin' back to see you-u-u, for I have
+news-s-s-s to tell you-u-u." The young lady would often have to run in
+and lock her doors when she'd see this harmless nuisance approaching.
+
+George Howe was one of the few that listened to the Colonel and Teck
+Pervis in the Wigwam on this particular night in October. Even when the
+ghastly plans of the murderous clan were being discussed, no one thought
+of excluding the town fool, who stood gaping around taking it all in.
+Schults, the German, was arranging things in and about his well-filled
+and well-patronized grocery store on Castle street on the following
+morning, when George Howe entered. Grabbing a handful of dried apples
+from a tray which sat upon the counter, he stuffed them into his mouth,
+threw his long legs across a flour barrel and momentarily watched the
+German as he busied himself about the store. "You didn't git out las'
+night, Schults," said he to the German, gulping the apples down to clear
+his throat for conversation.
+
+"Oudt! oudt weer?" asked Schults, pausing with a tray of onions in his
+hands. "To the meetin' in the Wigwam," answered George. "They done er
+powerful lot er plannin' there las' night. The Dimocrats mean business
+this time. They say they'll carry the election this time or kill every
+Nigger in the district. An' white men who are lukewarm, who don't come
+out an' take er stan' with white men will share Niggers' fate. They got
+the names of the lukewarm in this affair. I don't want ter skeer you,
+Schults, but you are on the black list." Schults had laid down the tray
+of onions and was eyeing George from behind the showcase. "What did you
+say boudt black lisdt, Gheorge?" "I say they read your name on the black
+list last night, an' that means they are goin' ter kill yer, for their
+air determin' ter kill everything in the way of white supremacy. I don't
+want ter skeer you, Schults; I jes' wan' ter warn you. You hain't tended
+eny of their meetings, and they conclude you air agin them. An' then you
+wouldn't discharge your Nigger." Schults' eyes flashed. He locked his
+hands and brought them down upon the show case hard enough to break it.
+"What I keers fer der black lisdt, eh? I dondt keers whadt dey duse mid
+Schults. Before I vould hep dem ter harm dese kullod peeples py dams I
+suffers ter be kilt. Who ish mine frients? Who buys mine groceries?
+Kullud peeples. When Schults cum ster Wilmiton sick mit der rhumatiz,
+mit no moneys, mit no frients, who helbs Schults ter git on his feets?
+Dese rich bocra? No; dey kicks Schults off de sidewalks, cowhide Schults
+on der sthreets. Who helbs Schults den? Kullud peeples! An' befoe I
+rais' mine hand 'gin dem I suffer det. Let dem kum, kum an' git Schults
+when dey chuse. Don't let dem t'ink fur er moment I no prepare fer dem.
+Dem Ghermans who 'lows dem down bhroke ristocrats persuade dem gintz
+deir kullud frients who thrade mit dem an' keeps dem from starvin' when
+dese rich bocra thry ter dhrive dem frum des country deserbe de cuss ov
+Almighty Got! An' you damn po bocras dat allows yo'uselfs ter be make
+fools mit you'selfs fer broke down risterchrats ter dhrive kullud
+peeples frum dey homes deserfs efry one eff you' ter be kilt." George
+Howe's under jaw dropped. He stared at Schults in astonishment, for he
+did not expect to witness such a show of bravery on the part of this
+quiet German grocer. "I didn't mean to insult you, Schults," said he,
+reaching over and helping himself from a barrel of apples which stood
+close by. "I jes thought I'd warn you." "Now, dere's dat Gheorge Bohn,"
+continued Schults, with apparent inattention to what George had said. "I
+see his nhame in der bapers as one uv der leaders in dis supremacy
+humbug. Who makes Bohn whadt he is on Dry Pon'? Who makes Gheorge Bohn
+whad he is in dis counthry? Dem very peeples who he is now thrin' ter
+kill. Dem broke down ristercrats, sich as Moss an' odders, cares no more
+fer sich as him den dey do fur de grass neat der feets. When dey gits
+demselfs in office dem Dutchmen kin go, po bocras kin go, dey cares
+noddings fur yo when dey wus rich. Now dey air po as Job's turkey, dey
+wants us Dutchmans an po bocras to dhrive oud our meat an' bread so dey
+kin demselfs git fat at de public crib. But I tells you dis: Schults
+will haft nodding to do mit dem. I stays in mine house, mine house is
+mine castle, and ef dey wants me let dem cum to mine house, by dams I
+fills dem full uv lead; yo kin put dat in yo pipe and shmoke id." George
+Howe arose, yawned, then slowly walked to the door, turned, dropped his
+under jaw and stared again at Schults, who had resumed his work about
+the store. "Didn't mean ter hurt yer feelings, Schults, but ter put yer
+on yer giard, that unless you jine em dey air goin' ter do yo." George
+stepped out upon the walk, drew forth his jewsharp and sauntered up the
+street, twanking upon it as he went.
+
+The German to the Southern Negro has been and is what the Jew is to the
+Russian peasant--the storekeeper, the barterer. The German citizen has
+never been a manufacturer or a farmer; he is in no business that gives
+extensive employment to wage earners. But, as a corner grocer, he lays
+for the Negro as he goes to and from his toil, and, with cheap wares and
+bad whisky, he grows fat upon his unwary customer. The German usually
+comes to this country poor, enters small towns, and, by the aid of other
+older residents of his nation who have already grown prosperous, he goes
+into business on a small scale--grocery business as a rule. He begins in
+a one-story structure, one-half devoted to business, while in the other
+he lives. These little stores were never without their indispensable
+liquor departments, where the trader was invited to refresh himself
+after paying his weekly grocery bill.
+
+Before the war the South's best people had no use for the German
+emigrant, and did everything in their power to discourage his living
+among them. If the slave returned home to his master under the influence
+of liquor, the master in many instances went and cowhided the seller.
+The flogging of the Negro did not keep him from returning to the German
+to trade, and the German prospered, and to-day is among the foremost
+property owners in the South. I do not exaggerate when I say that the
+German's wealth has come to him solely through Negro patronage; not even
+to-day does the people known as the best people trade with Germans.
+
+The Bohns--Joseph, Charles, George and William--coming into Wilmington
+in the seventies, had lived principally and conducted business in that
+section of the old city known as Dry Pond, and, like the most of their
+kind, have accumulated their wealth from the patronage of the colored
+people, among whom they had ever lived. This makes the crime of George
+Bohn appear the more atrocious and cowardly. George joined the White
+Supremacy League during the uprising in Wilmington, and was one of its
+most active members. There was a certain colored citizen who knew of
+Bohn's secret relations to the movement which disgraced the city. This
+man gave the information to the people of his race who were patronizing
+Bohn, and entreated them not to support such an ingrate. When the
+excitement was at its height, when Red Shirts and Rough Riders were
+terrorizing the city, a band of poor whites, headed by George Bohn,
+sought this colored man's residence, battered down the door, fired
+several bullets into the bed where the man and his wife lay, the latter
+in a precarious condition. The house was riddled with shots; they were
+compelled to get out and leave their own home, to which they have not as
+yet been permitted to return. Bohn, after the deed was done, sneaked
+back to his home, and when the horrible crime was reported, tried to
+prove an alibi. But George Bohn is the guilty man, and George Bohn shall
+not escape! The hand of Justice shall point him out. His name shall go
+down to posterity on the list of cowards who, on the 10th of November,
+1898, brought into disrepute the fair name of one of the best little
+cities on the American continent.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+Judas Iscariot.
+
+
+When the Executive Committee, in response to Mr. Wingate's call, met in
+his office the following evening, the Governor's letter was read to
+them, and Molly Pierrepont's story repeated. Plans of action were mapped
+out, but not without some bitter attacks upon the enemy. Mr. Wingate's
+proposal to surrender for the sake of averting bloodshed, if possible,
+however, prevailed. The bitter language and threats made by hotheads
+would, if they reached the ears of whites, only add fuel to the fire
+already burning; so the members were cautioned by the chairman to give
+to the enemy no opportunity. But even among the twelve chosen of God
+there was a traitor, and since that memorable time nearly every band of
+brothers has had its Judas ready at any time of trouble to sacrifice
+others to save himself, or betray them for reward. Was there a Judas on
+the Republican Executive Committee of New Hanover county? Yes!
+
+In the days of slavery there existed in the South a kind of Negro known
+as the "Good Nigger" or "White folks Nigger," who was a stubborn
+believer in his own inferiority and the righteousness of his
+enslavement. He sneaked around, grinned his way into the confidence of
+other slaves, then stole away and told their secrets. Were there any
+plots being concocted to rise up and strike a blow for liberty, the good
+nigger would inevitably be there to join in the shaping of plans, only
+to go out and hang his fellow-conspirators.
+
+The San Domingons in their struggle for liberty found this good nigger a
+most formidable barrier, and those who are familiar with the history of
+that bloody struggle know just how heart-sickening was the taking off of
+this creature wherever found. In many instances they cut off his toes,
+his fingers, his ears, his nose, stuffed pieces of these extremities
+into his mouth, and left him to die a slow death. The emancipation and
+the consequent opportunities for intellectual advancement have not
+changed this good nigger, for in numerous instances you will find him
+well educated, and often swaying quite an influence in a community. But
+he is generally an ignorant, shiftless fellow, forever lamenting about
+his freedom, flaying the Yankees for taking him away from his master,
+who took care of him. He still likes to sit around on the back steps of
+the whites' residences to talk about good old days when he was free from
+the responsibility of "keerin' fer mase'f." Or, in higher walks of life,
+from pulpit and public rostrum, he's bewailing the shortcomings of his
+own people and magnifying the virtues of the whites. He stands among the
+ashes of the victims of a mob's fury to abuse the Negro for having been
+killed, and to praise the whites for the crime.
+
+George R. Shaw, a prominent negro, writes a card to the public, in which
+he says:
+
+"One reason why such crimes are committed by negroes is that there is no
+discipline over negro children. From ten years up they are allowed to
+loaf about from place to place and with all kinds of characters. They
+have no moral restraints. Book learning in colleges dooms the negro to
+be fit for nothing. They think they cannot do manual labor. What my
+people need is an industrial, moral, common school training. Lynching
+does no good, and makes bad worse. The brute who will commit these
+crimes never sees a newspaper. Sam Hose and all such should die, but not
+at the hands of a mob. The negro must be taught to abhor crime from
+principle, not through fear. Let critics take this Sam Hose case home to
+themselves. If the same crime was to happen in my immediate vicinity
+most any of us would do very nearly like those Georgians did. If we did
+not lynch him we would hold the clothing of those that were doing the
+lynching."
+
+Shortly after the burning of Sam Hose in Georgia, a good nigger,
+signing his name as Shaw sent to a certain Southern paper an article
+commending the action of the mob, and expressing a willingness to have
+held their coats while the dastardly act was performed. Did this man
+know that Sam Hose committed the crime for which he suffered such a
+horrible death? Can men capable of committing such deeds as the burning
+and mutilating the body of this wretch be relied upon for truth? If
+Cranford was one of that mob of cowards who shot to death those manacled
+men at Palmetto, the knocking out of his brains would have made a man of
+another race a hero.
+
+Calvin Sauls, who had heretofore been a kind of an independent, having
+at various times voted with Democrats, Populists, Green-backers and
+Republicans, had shown a disposition to be earnestly interested in
+Republican success in the campaign of 1898. Running here and there,
+attending primaries and committee meetings, full of information as to
+the movements of the enemy, he had worked his way into the confidence of
+these unwary colored politicians, who considered him an earnest worker
+for the cause of Republicanism, so much so that he had been admitted
+into the headquarters of the Executive Committee on that evening. "And
+Judas, having received the sop, went immediately out, and it was night."
+No one noticed Calvin Sauls on that night, as he, taking the advantage
+of a moment of exciting debate, slipped out into the darkness, and made
+his way into the Democratic headquarters. At the corner of Fourth and
+Chestnut streets a dark figure stepped out from the darkness and
+confronted him. "Hello dar, Calvin Sauls!" said a gruff voice. "Where is
+you sneakin' ter? You got er few uv us fool, but not all. Goin' down ter
+tell wa't you foun' out at de committee meet'n, eh?" "O, g'wan way f'm
+me, man; I got dese white fo'ks bizness ter ten' ter." The man seized
+Sauls and held on to him. "Look er here, some women waited at de corner
+of Red Cross an' Fourth street to beat yo' las' night." "Wa' fer?" asked
+Sauls, trying to free himself from the man's grasp. "Fur trying ter
+suade dey dauters down ter dat Fayette Club for dem white mens." "It's
+er no sich ting!" "You lie, you louse!" exclaimed the man, loosening his
+hold, and shoving Sauls nearly off the sidewalk. Sauls, recovering,
+staggered on his way.
+
+Ben Hartright leaned against a post on the veranda of the Democratic
+Club's meeting place when Calvin Sauls came up. "Why hello, Calvin, is
+that you?" "Yes, sah, Marse Ben," returned the Negro. "I comin' ter make
+ma report." Ben Hartright intercepted Sauls as he placed his foot upon
+the door sill and drew him aside. "Say, Calvin, I saw you talking to a
+rather striking looking colored girl the other day; who is she? Can't
+you fix it so I can get an interview?" "Uh, uh," said Sauls, shaking his
+head. "Dat's Bob Sims' gal; she jes from college, an' she's all right
+now, I tell yer. You know dem Simses is top er de pot Niggers." "That's
+the kind I always play for, Calvin; you know me," answered Ben.
+"Gentlemen must always have the best, ding it all! I though you were
+sufficiently well bred to know that the best of everything in this world
+is for white people." "Dat's so," said Sauls, "but yo member dat time
+Bob Sims cum nie beat'n dat white man head off bout insult'n dat tudder
+gal er his. I feared mon." "That's all right, Calvin; I'll stand by you.
+Molly's gone back on me now; I'm afraid she's converted and joined the
+sanctified band. By thunder, she defied me the other night." "Yes, sah,
+an' she's in yernes', too; she's on de warpath fur true. I got er heap
+ter report ter night, so I see you later on dat udder matter." And Sauls
+pushed past Hartright and made his way into the club room.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+Uncle Guy.
+
+
+On looking over the list of Wilmingtons' personages who have been
+instrumental in moulding its character and making it one of the most
+desirable places on earth, and the memory of whose face and name revive
+the sweetest recollections of early youth in the dear old town, the name
+and face of Uncle Guy comes most vividly before me.
+
+In ante-bellum days in the South, one week in all the year was given by
+the master to the slave--a week of absolute freedom, in which the Negro,
+unrestrained, danced and frolicked and otherwise amused himself to his
+heart's content. This season of freedom commenced with the dawn of
+Christmas, and lasted until the beginning of the New Year. The slave
+heard not the story of the Christ, of the wise men, or the shepherds of
+Bethlehem; he saw no Christmas tree brilliant with tapers even in the
+home of his master. For, unlike Christmas observances in the North, full
+of solemnity and historic significance, the Southern Christmas was and
+is still a kind of Mardi Gras festival, ending with the dawn of the New
+Year. Early on each Christmas morning the slaves, old and young, little
+and big, gathered at the door of the "Big House" to greet their master,
+who gave each in turn his Christmas "dram," and then, like a kennel is
+opened and pent-up hounds are bidden to scamper away, the slaves were
+let go to enjoy themselves to their heart's content, and were summoned
+no more to the field before the dawn of the New Year. While in the rural
+districts the frolics and kindred pleasures were the chief pastimes, in
+the cities and towns the celebrations were more elaborate. In gaudy
+regalia the "Hog Eye" danced for the general amusement, and the Cooner
+in his rags "showed his motions." For many years before the war Uncle
+Guy was the star performer at these functions in Wilmington. With whip
+in hand, he danced and pranced, and in sport flogged children who had
+been naughty during the year. But to us, who were youngsters in the
+seventies, Uncle Guy is most vividly remembered as a musician--a
+clarionet soloist--a member of the Shoo Fly Band, whose martial music
+will ever ring in the ear of memory.
+
+The fall of Fort Fisher added many a new face and character to
+Wilmington life. Negroes who had in the conflict just closed learned of
+the art of war, added impetus to and stimulated the old city's martial
+spirit and love of gaudy display. And those who through the same agency
+had learned in the military bands and drum corps the art of music were
+indispensable adjuvants in elevating her lowly inhabitants. But he who
+came with the knowledge of music had a much wider field for usefulness
+before him; for the Negroes' love for music is stronger than love for
+war. Frank Johnson, who had the credit of organizing the Shoo Fly Band,
+had not tasted of war, but he and Uncle Guy had been "orchestra"
+musicians before the war. And now, as the increase of talent in
+Wilmington opened a wider field, the band was organized. It was called
+Frank Johnson's Band at first, but in after years more familiarly known
+as the "Shoo Fly." The name is a small matter, however; music was the
+chief thing. And how that band could play it! There was a ring in that
+music that electrified the soul and filled the limbs with renewed vigor.
+
+   There was Dick Stove with his trombone,
+   Henry Anderson with his bass,
+   Making music swift as raindrops in a race.
+   There was Guy Wright with his clarionet,
+   Henry Adams with his B,
+   And the music made the youngsters dance with glee.
+   There was Johnson, he play'd second,
+   Who, when horn-blowing was dull,
+   Could play a fiddle tempting to the soul.
+   At Hilton, Paddy's Hollow, at the Oaks, on Kidder's Hill,
+   Where good and bad alike could dance their fill.
+   Then there was Jim, the drummer,
+   Who could beat a drum like Jim?
+   Oh! we little ones were awful proud of him.
+   How nicely he could keep the time.
+   "Shoo Fly, don't bother me!"
+   For I'm a member of old Comp'ny D.
+   It was down old Seventh to Market,
+   And through Market down to Third.
+   Playin' Molly Darlin', sweetes' ever heard;
+   From thence up Third to Castle, while "Up in a Balloon"
+   Made us wish to pay a visit to the moon.
+   Then we had no Gen'l Jacksons
+   Dressed in gol' lace all for show,
+   Then such hifullutin notions didn't go.
+   It was music! Sweetes' music!
+   "Darlin', I am growin' old,"
+   Will live, forever live within the soul.
+
+The old Shoo Fly Band is a thing of the past; no more shall we listen to
+its inspiring music, for the majority of its members have crossed the
+melancholy flood. The last time that they appeared on the streets of
+Wilmington only a sextet remained. Dick Stove's trombone horn had been
+curtailed in order to hide the marks of decay upon its bell. They
+gallantly marched up Market street, and with a dismal, yet not
+discordant blast, turned into Fourth, en route to Hilton. I think that
+Uncle Guy is the only remaining one of that gallant few living in
+Wilmington to-day, and the friends of those who departed this life in
+later years followed their bodies to the grave keeping step to the sad
+wail of his lone clarionet. Jim Richardson, Dick Stove, Johnson, Adams,
+Anderson--I wonder, does he think of them now, tenderly, emotionally and
+with a longing to join them on the other side. I wonder if they all
+cluster about him when in his lonely hours he consoles himself with his
+clarionet. For many years Uncle Guy has been Wilmington's chief
+musician. Bands magnificent in equipment and rich in talent have been
+organized, to flourish for a few years only. But Uncle Guy's trio of
+clarionet and drums has withstood the test of time; yea, they were
+indispensable for base ball advertisement and kindred amusements,
+heading both civic and military processions, white and black, in their
+outings and celebrations, or with bowed head and thoughtful countenance
+he has led the march to the grave. As I recollect Uncle Guy, he was the
+embodiment of neatness, feminine in build--it seemed that nature
+intended to form a woman instead of a man. Like a woman, he plaited his
+hair and drew it down behind his ears. His hands and feet were small,
+his fingers tapering; his face was black, his eyes small, his lips and
+nose thin, his voice fine, but harsh, and he slightly stooped or bent
+forward as he walked. There is poetry in every move of his bent figure
+as he slowly walks down the street on this autumn morning. As we gaze
+upon him strolling feebly along, we involuntarily sigh for the days when
+the heart was young. May Day, with its buds and blossoms, Christmastide,
+full of bright anticipations, come trooping up the misty way. We are
+following the old band; listen to the music! How enchanting!
+
+   "Up in a balloon, boys, up in a balloon,
+    Where the little stars are sailing round the moon;
+    Up in a balloon, to pay a visit to the moon,
+    All among the little stars sailing round the moon."
+
+We are making water-mills in the brooks; we are swinging our
+sweethearts; we feel again the heart throbs of early youth when we dared
+the first caress.
+
+   "Shoo fly, don't bother me!
+    For I belong to Company D."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+It is Monday morning--the washwoman's day of preparation; when the
+clothes are brought in, the shopping attended to; when the women
+congregate on the street corners, sit upon their baskets and bundles or
+lean against the fences to discuss the doings of the Sunday just
+past--what the preacher said and what the neighbors wore, etc. Three
+women stood upon the corner toward which Uncle Guy was tending. But they
+were not talking about texts and fashions. Uncle Guy heard the following
+as he drew nigh: "Bu'n um! Bu'n um! Good fer nuthin' broke down
+ristercrats an' po' white trash. Ef de men kayn't git gun we kin git
+karsene an' match an' we'll hab um wahkin' de street in dere nite gown."
+Judge Morse passed by, turned his head to catch as much as possible of
+what was being spoken. "Negro like," he said, as he went on his way.
+"They are all talk. I was raised among them, heard them talk before, but
+it amounted to nothing. I'm against any scheme to do them harm, for
+there's no harm in them. This Negro domination talk is all bosh."
+
+Uncle Guy stepped to one side and humbly saluted Judge Morse as he
+passed, then bore down upon the women who were vigorously discussing the
+all-absorbing topic. The old man walked out to the edge of the sidewalk,
+squinted his eyes and came slowly up to where the women stood, comically
+pointing his index finger at them: "Look yer," said he, "yuna ta'k too
+much!" raising his voice. "Yuna mouts g'wine ter git yuna inter trouble;
+hear me? Did yuna see Jedge Morse when he go by? Did yuna see 'im stop
+ter listen at you? Le' me tell yuna sumthin' right good." The old man
+shook his finger several seconds before proceeding. "Dese white fo'kes
+is onter you, dey got de road all map out. Dey no ebry move yuna Nigger
+makin'. How dey no it? How dey no it, I say?" Another long finger shake.
+"Yuna Nigger uman tell um, yuna runnin' yuna tongue in de kitchen, yuna
+runnin' yer tongue in de street. Now, instid ov de bocra bein' in de
+street in dey nite gown, yuna gwine ter be thar wid nuttin' on. Don't
+you no dat we ain't bin able ter by er gun er ounce powder in munts, an'
+de bocra got cannon an ebry ting. See how he'pliss yer is? Now yuna go
+home, an' quit so much ta'k. Keep cool fer dese bocra pisen." Uncle Guy
+walked slowly on and the women dispersed. Those who read the newspaper
+accounts of that terrible massacre know full well just how true was the
+prophecy of this old citizen. Doubtless he looks back over it now as a
+catastrophe beyond his expectations or dreams.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+The Massacre.
+
+
+The five days prior to the massacre Wilmington was the scene of turmoil,
+of bickerings between the factions in the political struggle; "Red
+Shirts" and "Rough Riders" had paraded, and for two or three days
+Captain Keen had been displaying his gatling gun, testing its efficiency
+as a deadly weapon before the Negroes.
+
+All of these demonstrations had taken place to convince the Negro that
+to try to exercise his right as an elector would have a disastrous
+result. Upon the conservative and peace-loving these things had the
+desired effect. But the bolder ones showed a rugged front, and on
+election day hung about the polls and insisted upon exercising their
+rights as citizens, and many clashings were the results. But the major
+portion of black electors stayed at home in hope that the bloodshed
+which hot-headed Democrats had been clamoring for as the only means of
+carrying the election might be averted. When the sun set upon the little
+city on the 9th of November there seemed to be a rift in the storm cloud
+that had for so many weeks hung over it, and the city had apparently
+resumed its wonted quiet. Far out on Dry Pond, in the old "Wigwam" a
+gang of men had met, who ere the sun should set upon another day would
+make Wilmington the scene of a tragedy astonishing to the State and to
+the nation. They had gathered to await the signal to begin; they had
+good rifles and a plentiful supply of ammunition, and their tethered
+steeds standing about the old "Wigwam" were pawing and neighing for the
+fray. The clock in the old Presbyterian Church on Orange street dismally
+tolled out the hour of three. Teck Pervis arose, yawned, walked up and
+then down the floor among the men who lay asleep with their weapons
+beside them. He made a deep, long, loud whistle; the men began to arise
+one after another, and soon the room was in a bustle. Some were washing
+faces, others sipping coffee as a forerunner of something hotter that
+would stimulate and give force to the spirit of deviltry that the work
+of the day required.
+
+"Gentermen," said Teck Pervis, standing in the middle of the hall and
+holding a cup of coffee in his hand. "This is ther day thet ther white
+people of North Ca'liny is going ter show Mr. Nigger who's ter rule in
+Wilmin'ton, and there's ter be no drawin' back in this here bizness."
+Just then Dick Sands interrupted the leader by jumping out into the
+floor. He shuffled, he danced, kissed his gun, threw it into the air,
+and twirled it between his fingers like a born drum major. "Gentermen!
+hit's ther happies' day I seed sence way foe ther war. This is er day I
+bin er longin' fur and prayin' fur eber since ther ding Yanks cum and
+freed Mr. Nigger an' sot im on ekal footin' wid er white man. Laws er
+massy me'. Gentermen, I'se seed things happen in this here town sence
+Fo't Fisher fell thet wus enuf ter make eny dec'nt white man go inter
+his hole, an' pull his hole after 'im. Think uv it, gentermen, think uv
+it! Nigger lawyers, Nigger doctors, Nigger storekeepers, Nigger
+teachers, Nigger preachers, Niggers in fine houses--why, gentermen,
+jedgmint hain't fur off. Who was in ther Cote House thet day when thet
+Nigger White tole Colonel Buck he did'n no law? I wus thar, an' never
+wanter see sich ergin. Evrybody jis' opened his mouth an' stared fus at
+ther Nigger an' then at Colonel Buck. I felt thet ther merlineum wus at
+han', jus' waitin' ter see ther worl' turn een uppermos', an' go ter
+smash. Whoopalah! but we air goin' ter show um sump'n ter day, an' I jes
+wish thet Nigger White wus in Wilminton, fur these big Niggers'll be the
+firs' whose cases we'll try. Oh. Mr. Peaman, Oh, Mr. Bryant, Mr. Miller
+and all you uns er the Afrikin foe hundered! yo time is cum!" Dick Sands
+ended his harangue by turning a somersault. "I jes bet Dick Sands owes
+Tom Miller now," said a young chap who sat leaning against the wall with
+his legs spread out, laughing at Dick's Indian-like antics. "Yes,"
+broke in another; "Tom's he'ped er lot er we po' devals; he's lent out
+thousans er dollars in all ter white men. Hits er shame ter do him!"
+"Yes, I mus admit that I owe Tom, but this is er time fur me ter jump
+bail," said Dick Sands. "I don't b'lieve thet er Nigger should hav es
+much money es Tom's got no way. Hit's ergin his helth. You know Niggers
+liv longer po' then they do when they air rich, bekase when they're po'
+they air in ther natruls, an air easier kept in their places. Hit's
+these foe hundred Niggers thet er raisin all ther trouble." ...
+
+"Well, les git ter bizness, gentermen," broke in Teck Pervis "There's er
+lot befoe us ter do; Hell is ter begin at ther Cotton Press under Kurnel
+Moss, while Cap'n Keen'll kinder peramerlate er roun in ther middle er
+ther town with thet everlasting hell belcher uv his ter keep tings in
+check. Kurnel Wade, Tom Strong, Hines an uther big uns will sortie er
+roun' to'ards Dry Pond an blow up ther print'n press; thets ter draw
+ther Niggers out frum ther Cotton Press, so thet Kurnel Moss kin git at
+um, an mow em down. We uns will canter to'ards Brooklyn holdin' up
+Niggers as we go. Then we air to jine Hill, Sikes, Turpin, Isaacs an'
+others, an' raise hell in thet sexion. We uns air ter take no chances
+wid theese Wilminton darkies. I ain't ferget Seventy-six. Let nun git by
+without bein' sarched, uman er man. Shoot ef they resiss. Them's the
+Kurnel's orders." "Who is this man Isaacs?" asked a stranger from
+Georgia. "A Jew?" "Thet name's Jewey e'nuff fur yir, ain't it?" replied
+Dick Sands. "He is er Jew, an er good un, I tell yer. I never took much
+stock in er Jew, but this here un is er bo'n genterman, mo fit ter be
+Christun. No church in hard circumstance is ever turned away from Ole
+Mose; he he'ps em all, don't kere what they be, Jewish, Protestan er
+Caterlick, white er black. He throde his influence with ther
+Prohibitionists some years er go, an foute hard ter make er dry town
+outer Wilminton, but ther luvers uv ole ginger wair too strong an jes
+wallop'd ther life out er ther cold water uns. Ole Mose tuk hit cool, he
+died game, took his defeat like er bon fighter, bekase he'd done an
+fill'd his jugs an' stowd em up in de house afore ther fight begun, so
+he cu'd erford ter be beat. Takin er drink in public was ergin his
+creed. Nice ole Jew tho. Keeps er paint store down street, and deals in
+painters' merterial, but never buys er baral er biled oil wonc't in five
+yers; but, like de widder in the Scripter, he alers has er baral ter
+draw frum when er customer wants biled oil. Ole Mose is er fine man tho;
+jes go in his stoe ter buy sumthin, pat him on his back, and tell him he
+is er bo'n genterman, an thet you b'lieve he kin trace his geneology
+back ter Moses an ther prophets, and thet his great-granddaddy's daddy
+was ther only Jew thet sined ther Dicleration of Independance; thet he
+looks like Napolyan, and he'll jes go inter his office an fetch yer ther
+fines' segyar yer ever smoked an foller yer all over ther stoe. Nice ole
+Jew Isaacs is. Ter see him stridin down ter bizniss ov er mawnin, yer
+air reminded uv ther prophets uv ole jurneyin toards Jarusalum ter read
+ther law." "What is the feller's name?" soliloquized a sallow-looking
+chap who stood with his back to the stove scratching his head in
+perplexity. "Name?" returned Dick Sands. "Why is you bin er listenin ter
+me all this time an dunno who I'm talkin erbout?" "Excuse me," returned
+the sallow man; "I no powerful well who yer ware talking er bout, and I
+wus tryin ter think uv ther name uv thet chap who's bin er stump speakin
+up in Sampson." "Fisher?" "No-o-o, thet ain't ther name; he's ther
+feller thet's runnin fur Congress." "Belden!" exclaimed several in one
+breath. "Thet's ther feller. Look er here," continued the sallow man,
+"he tole we uns up there thet ef we cum an he'p ter make Wilminton er
+white man's town, we ware ter jes move inter ther Niggers' houses an own
+em; thet's what brung me here ter jine in this here fite." "Well, I tell
+yer fren," answered Dick, "we air goin ter make this er white man's
+town, thet's no lie, but ther ain't no shoity er bout ther other
+matter." "Boots an saddles." Further conversation was cut off. Every man
+flew to his horse and the host of murderers were off in a jiffy.
+
+The city of Wilmington was startled by the loud report of a cannon on
+the morning of November 10th, 1898, which made her tremble as though
+shaken by an earthquake. Molly Pierrepont arose, hastened to the south
+window of her cottage and looked out; the clouds which hung low over Dry
+Pond were as brilliant in hue as though they hung over a lake of fire.
+"Tis fire!" exclaimed Molly; "the hell hounds are at their work. Ben
+Hartwright is keeping his word. But it's at the Cotton Press that the
+dance of death was to really begin, where hundreds of unsuspecting men
+are at work. The fire and the cannon shot are only a ruse to entice them
+out to be shot down. They must be warned! I must warn them!" She hastily
+dressed herself, locked her cottage and hurried away. Down Bladen street
+she hastened, turned into Fourth and across Bony bridge. At the corner
+of Campbell street she came upon a large body of armed men who were
+parleying with a negro who was making a futile protest against being
+searched. More than half a dozen of them thrust pistols into the
+helpless and frightened man's face, while two others rifled his pockets
+for firearms. All this Molly took in at a glance, as she hurried down
+Campbell street toward the press. At the corner of Third street she
+encountered five white boys, mere lads, who were proceeding up Campbell
+street. "Halt!" cried they all in one voice, and five pistols were
+thrust into her face. Molly paused, but with no show of embarrassment or
+dismay. "Come, hol up your hans!" commanded one of them, advancing a
+step nearer. "Hol on, fellers, we're not to search white ladies," said
+another, lowering his pistol, and attempting to push the others aside.
+"O, she's no lady; she's er nigger; I know her," returned the lad who
+gave the command. "Search her! tear her clothes from her! All er these
+nigger women are armed." The boy raised his hand to seize Molly, but was
+not quick enough. Molly stepped back; a quick raise of her foot sent the
+boy sprawling into the gutter. This completely demoralized his
+companions, who broke and ran. A gang of men coming up Third street
+inspired the boys to renew the attack upon the woman, who was hurrying
+on her way. "Nigger," cried the boy, raising himself up and scrambling
+from the gutter into which Molly's well-aimed kick had sent him. The men
+ran and overtook Molly, spread themselves across the sidewalk in front
+of her. "Will I never be permitted to reach the press?" she murmured to
+herself. "You've got ter be searched, ole gal," said one of the men,
+with a mocking smile of triumph in his face, "an' you jes' es well let
+these boys go through them duds er your'n an' have done with it. Come
+now, hands up!" and they all glared like hungry wolves at the woman, who
+stood apparently unmoved. Molly drew herself up to her full height.
+"Cowards!" she shrieked. "Not satisfied at the cutting off of every
+means of defense from the black men of Wilmington, that you may shoot
+them down with impunity, you are low enough to take advantage of their
+helplessness to insult weak women. But here I stand!" she cried,
+stepping backward, and drawing a gleaming revolver from beneath her
+cloak. "Search me! but it must be done when the body is lifeless; I'll
+be a target for the whole of you before I'm searched; so let the battle
+begin."
+
+The men stared at the woman in amazement. "Pluckies' Nigger gal we're
+tackled ter day!" exclaimed a gruff and rough-looking chap. "Got grit
+enough ter buil er fort. Let her go, men; not er hair un her hed mus' be
+tech'd!" The men stepped to one side, and Molly proceeded on her way.
+When she reached Front street the sight which met her gaze caused her
+blood to chill. From Front to Water street below was choked with armed
+men. To pass through such a crowd without much more difficulty was
+impossible. "Too late!" she sobbed. Rushing across the railroad bridge,
+she hastily descended the steps to the road below, crossed the tracks to
+the shed of the great compress, and entered by one of the large side
+doors. News of burning and pillage on Dry Pond had been conveyed to the
+workmen by another, and the news had brought confusion among them
+indescribable. At the main entrance to the press stood an army of
+whites, ready to shoot them down as they rushed forth to go to the
+rescue of their wives and little ones whom they thought were being
+murdered. White men with a cannon mounted on a lighter anchored in the
+river just opposite were waiting to fire upon those driven back by the
+fire from Colonel Moss' riflemen in Water street.
+
+A crowd of frightened and angry men hastily retreating towards this
+death-trap were suddenly confronted by a woman, who like an heavenly
+messenger, stood with uplifted hand, her hair streaming in the wind.
+"Back! Back men!" she cried. "To go to the river is to be killed also;
+they're waiting there for the opportunity." "Molly Pierrepont!"
+exclaimed one of the men in astonishment. "No time for questions now!"
+said the woman; "your only safety from slaughter is to remain in this
+shed; you are not able to cope with that mob of cowards on the outside,
+who now are even searching women in a most shameful manner on the
+streets. Back! Don't rush like fools to death." Molly's head began to
+whirl. Before any one could reach out a hand to catch her, she sank in a
+swoon upon the floor. Tenderly the prostrate form was lifted up, and
+borne to a place of safety, and an effort made to revive her. At the
+front entrance were huddled hundreds of negroes, cursing and crying in
+their desperation. On the opposite side of the street in front of a
+company of armed whites stood Colonel Moss, his face red with
+determination. Above the oaths and groans of the helpless negroes his
+harsh voice was heard: "Stand back, Mr. ----! I tell you again, stand
+out of the way, that I may blow them into eternity." Mr. ---- heeded him
+not, and Colonel Moss was afraid to fire for fear of injuring a British
+Consul. There were tears in the eyes of this good man as he went about
+among his angry workmen imploring them to keep cool. It was his bravery
+and presence of mind that prevented the ignominious slaughter of
+hundreds of defenseless men by a mob of armed cowards, who stood there
+awaiting the signal from Colonel Moss to "Blow them into eternity."
+
+Dispatching a messenger to Dry Pond, who returned with the assurance
+that no one had been killed, was instrumental in cooling the negroes and
+inducing them to return to work. Mr. ---- kept at his post until the
+white mob melted away to join their fellows in other portions of the
+city. Look! up Front Street comes an excited crowd of men and boys.
+Every one of them seems to be wrought up to the highest pitch of
+excitement. Every individual is struggling to get to some one who is in
+the centre of the crowd. On they come! struggling, pushing and swearing.
+As the mob draws near, the tall, stately figure of an old man is seen
+towering above them. His abundant hair and beard are shaggy and gray. He
+stares wildly at his tormenters, and begs them to spare his life. They
+shove, they kick, they slap him. "Shoot the Yankee dog! Hang him to a
+lamp post! Nigger hearted carpet bagger! Kill him!" Still the crowd
+pushes towards the depot. "Who is this man? What has he done?" asked a
+stranger. "Done!" exclaims a citizen close-by. '"Why he's been teachin'
+niggers they're es good es white men." "How long has he been in
+Wilmington?" "Ever sence the fall er Fort Fisher." "Is he a tax payer?
+Is he or has he ever engaged in any business in the community?" "Well,
+yes; he owns er whole county up the road there er piece." "Think of it!
+Bin here all these years, an' we can't make er decent white man out'n
+him!" "Well, if he has been in this community as long as you say, and
+is to the community what you acknowledge, I'd like to know what right
+his fellow citizens have to--" "Well now, stranger, don't you think
+you're gettin' too inquisitive? When er white man shows that he's ergin
+er white man, the question of what he owns don't cut no ice; he's got
+ter go. This is er white man's country, an' white men are goin' ter rule
+it." Saying this the citizen hastened away to join the mob, who were
+then crossing the bridge to the depot to put the undesirable citizen
+upon the train to send him away.
+
+The mob that had a few hours previous made a futile attempt to butcher
+the negroes at the Compress had now moved in the direction of Brooklyn
+like a whirlwind, sweeping men, women and children before as it went.
+Negroes, filled with terror and astonishment, fled before this armed
+mob, who shot at them as they ran.
+
+When in a certain battle during the Revolutionary War, terror stricken
+colonists were retreating before the superiorly equipped and disciplined
+British soldiers, it was Israel Putnam who vainly implored the
+frightened Americans to make a stand. General Putnam cursed and swore,
+when he saw that it was impossible to stop his men and induce them to
+give battle to the British. Was there a Putnam here to essay to inspire
+courage into these frightened negroes, who left their wives and children
+at the mercy of the mob, and were fleeing toward Hillton? Yes, there was
+one, and his name was DAN WRIGHT. Did Dan Wright fully realize the
+enormity of his act as he faced this mob of white men, armed to the
+teeth, now pressing down upon him? Did Dan Wright feel that death was to
+be his reward for this act of bravery? Yes, but this did not deter him
+or affect the steadiness of his aim. Above the oaths and yells of this
+band of cowards, now almost upon him, the report of his rifle rang out,
+and a bandit reeled and fell from his horse. But Dan was not to escape;
+the crowd pressed upon him and crushed him to the earth; they riddled
+his body with bullets, and dragged him bleeding and torn through the
+streets. "Back wench!" cried a bandit, as poor Mrs. Wright pressed
+forward to succor her dying husband. "You shall not touch his black
+carcass; let the buzzards eat it!" But the mob did not tarry long beside
+Dan's bleeding form; they swept on to Brunswick Street, where they
+divided, some turning into Brunswick, while others rode toward Hillton.
+Dan Wright did not die in the street, however. Torn and riddled as his
+body was, he lingered a few days in agony in the city hospital before
+death released him. "And the king followed the bier; and the king lifted
+up his voice and wept; and the king said, 'Died Abner as a fool dieth?'"
+
+As we gaze upon the bleeding form of this simple negro, this question
+comes forcibly to us: Died Dan Wright as a fool dieth? Was it right for
+him to stand alone against such fearful odds? Yes, that the chronicler
+in recording this terrible one-sided fight might be able to mention one
+act of true bravery; that among so many cowards there was one man.
+
+I knew Dan Wright ever since he was a lad. He was simple, quiet,
+unobtrusive; pious in life and glorious in death.
+
+"He was swifter than an eagle; he was stronger than a lion." Over the
+humble grave in which he sleeps no shaft of granite rises to point to
+passers-by where this martyr to the cause of freedom lies. But when
+Justice shall write the names of true heroes upon the immortal scroll,
+she will write the names of Leonidas, Buoy, Davy Crocket, Daniel Boone,
+Nathan Hale, Wolf, Napoleon, Smalls, Cushing, Lawrence, John Brown, Nat
+Turner, and then far above them all, in letters that shall shine as the
+brightness of the firmanent, the name of DAN WRIGHT.
+
+Unlike most of the heroes named above, Dan's name will not in this
+generation be engraved upon brass or steel, or carved in marble. To an
+unsympathetic world he was an outlaw, who raised his arms against kings
+and princes, who feel that they have the sanction of God Himself to
+trample upon the lowly.
+
+With tall pines as sentinels keeping watch over it, and stars for tapers
+tall, the body of this immortal hero lies beneath the soil enriched by
+his blood.
+
+   "Fleet foot on the corey,
+    Brave counsel in cumber,
+    Red hand in the foray,
+    How sound is the slumber!"
+
+Who killed this simple fellow, and the score of others of his race who
+fell on that eventful day? The blame is laid upon the Georgians, who
+were invited there to assist in restoring white man's government, when
+there had never been any other government in existence there. But who is
+really responsible for this cowardly massacre? Wilmington's best white
+citizens, by whose invitation and under whose directions the Georgians
+acted. And what better market could have been sought for murderers and
+cowards and assassins, and intense haters of negroes than Georgia? In
+ante-bellum days Georgia outdid all other slave-holding States in
+cruelty to its slave population. The North Carolina master could subdue
+the most unruly slave by threatening to sell him or her into Georgia.
+The old negro voo-doo doctor or fortune teller could fill any negro for
+whom she had formed a dislike with terror, and bring him to her feet
+begging for mercy by walking backward, making a cross with her heel and
+prophesying, "You'll walk Georgia road."
+
+When Georgia, the altar for human sacrifices, perfumed by the odor of
+cooked human flesh, travailed, she brought forth the prodegy of the
+nineteenth century, whose cries for blood would startle Catherine De
+Medici and cause Bloody Mary to look aghast.
+
+Georgia bore upon her sulphurous bosom an Andersonville, within whose
+walls thousands of the nation's noblest sons suffered the most inhuman
+treatment and died the most agonizing and ignominious death. Georgia
+trained her cannon upon these emaciated, starved vermin-eaten creatures
+rather than submit to their rescue by an invading army. Georgia's
+convict camps of the present day are worse than slavery, and more
+intolerable than the Siberian mines. The order of the States upon the
+map should be changed so as to read as follows: North Carolina, South
+Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisana, Texas, Georgia, Hell. The
+people of Wilmington were bargaining for the genuine article when they
+sent to Georgia for trained murderers and assassins.
+
+Josh Halsey was the second one to fall on that fatal day. Josh was deaf
+and did not hear the command to halt, and ran until brought down by a
+bandit's bullet. Josh Halsey was asleep in bed when the mob turned into
+Brunswick Street, and his daughter awoke him, only to rush from his
+house to death. The mob swept on over his prostrate form, shooting into
+private dwellings, and frightening men and children, who fled to the
+woods for safety, or hid beneath their dwellings.
+
+Let us go back and see what has become of Molly. To bring her around it
+required heroic efforts on the part of men and the women who were the
+sewers of bagging on the docks. Too weak for further effort in behalf of
+her people, she was tenderly lifted into a buggy, carried up by way of
+the old Charlotte depot to her home in Brooklyn. Mrs. West, who knowing
+of her determination, and anxious as to her fate, had arrived at the
+cottage that morning too late to intercept Molly. She lingered about the
+cottage, however, and when they bore the exhausted and faint girl home,
+the foster mother was frantic with grief. "It was only a fainting spell,
+mother," said Molly, as Mrs. West bent over her. "I was there in time to
+save them, but it cost me--oh so much." "You have done nobly," returned
+the mother, soothingly. "Your name should be placed upon the roll of
+honor, my dear. Go to sleep; rest serenely upon your laurels."
+
+
+Dr. Philip Le Grand.
+
+St. Stephen's Church on the corner of Red Cross and Fifth Streets, in
+Wilmington, is among the finest and most refined of the A. M. E.
+Conference. In appointing ministers to this post the most diligent care
+has always been exercised, for the appointee must be of the most
+eloquent, the most learned and efficient in the gift of the assembly. So
+St. Stephen's audiences have listened to some of the world's best
+orators, and have had the word expounded by superior doctors of
+divinity. Who of that great church can forget Frey Chambers, Thomas,
+Nichols, Gregg, Epps and others whose names I cannot now recall? St.
+Stephen's is among the finest of church edifices in the city, put up at
+a cost of over sixty thousand dollars, with a seating of twenty-two
+hundred. Back of her pulpit stands an immense and costly pipe organ,
+operated by water power, and presided over by a young woman raised up in
+the church, educated in the public schools of Wilmington. During the
+political upheaval in Eastern North Carolina, it was the fortune of Rev.
+Philip Le Grand, D. D., to be the pastor of St. Stephen's, in
+Wilmington, and there is living to-day. Many men and women owe their
+lives to the wonderful presence of mind, superior tact and
+persuasiveness of this grave, good man. Besides being a minister, he had
+filled many positions of trust in the South. Yet Dr. Le Grand was both
+unassuming and undemonstrative. He looked for and expected a clashing of
+races on election day in Wilmington, but that which took place on the
+10th of November was far more than he was prepared to grapple with. The
+dawn of that fatal day found the streets of Wilmington crowded with
+armed men and boys, who had sprung, as it were, by magic from the earth.
+Aroused by loud noises in the neighborhood of his residence, the
+minister arose early, dressed and hastened into the street. A large
+crowd of colored citizens, mostly women, stood upon the street corner
+half a block away, excitedly talking and brandishing broomsticks,
+stove-pokers, hoes, axes and other rude implements of war. All was
+confusion among them. There seemed to be no leader, but each individual
+was wildly ejaculating in a manner that showed that she or he was highly
+wrought up. Dr. Le Grand came slowly up to them, paused and raised his
+hands for silence. "Why this excitement so early in the morning?" he
+asked. "We's prepared fer um ter day," said a woman, coming forward and
+brandishing a broomstick. "Dey says dey gointer kill niggers, but we's
+gwine ter tek er few er dem long wid us." "Bah!" exclaimed the minister.
+"What will such a thing as that amount to against rifles? Disperse and
+go home, or you'll be sorry." This command had but slight effect upon
+this throng, whom Rev. Le Grand left and proceeded toward a crowd of
+white men and boys who stood not far distant, apparently debating the
+question of bearing down upon and dispersing the blacks on the corner.
+"Halt!" said one of the men, stepping in front of Mr. Le Grand and
+placing his rifle against his breast. "You can't go no further; this
+town's under military law now." "What means this demonstration?" calmly
+asked the minister, with his eyes fixed steadily upon the face of the
+man who had given the command. "It means that white men are in charge of
+things from now on," said another fellow, stepping up and eying the
+minister contemptuously. "You educated nigger preachers have been
+teaching your race that white men are not ordained to rule, and such
+teaching has got 'em beside themselves, so much so that the white people
+are compelled to take stringent measures."
+
+"Will you kindly inform me who the leader of this movement is?"
+persisted Dr. Le Grand calmly. "Big words these," said the first man who
+had spoken. "I guess we'd better settle this nigger." "Hold on, Sam,"
+said the second man, pushing aside the gun the man had raised. "This is
+St. Stephen's preacher. He is not on the list." "I'm out here in the
+name of peace," said Dr. Le Grand, "willing to do anything to bring that
+end." "Well," said the leader, producing a notebook from his breast
+pocket, and scribbling something in it, "we came out to-day to wash the
+streets in nigger gore, and if you can induce them to go home, you and
+others of the leading men of your race, instead of encouraging them to
+bully white people, you can save many lives. Colonel Moss is the
+gentleman to go to. But you'll need a pass," tearing a leaf from the
+notebook and handing it to Dr. Le Grand; "and I doubt if that will take
+you through the lines. You will doubtless find the colonel somewhere in
+the down-town section of the city. Stand aside, men, and let him pass."
+Dr. Le Grand took the slip of paper and started for the section of the
+city indicated, but the way was so choked with men and boys, who
+challenged and parleyed with him in spite of the permit he carried, that
+progress was slow. Men whom he had met in his common every-day life in
+Wilmington, men who had been cordial and gentlemanly in their greetings,
+now either hurled bitter epithets at him, or passed him with averted
+eyes. Several times during that morning were guns pointed into his face
+as he paused here and there to stop collisions that were constantly
+occurring between white and black men, fatal in every instance to the
+blacks, who, without arms, were no match for the well-equipped whites,
+who took advantage of their helplessness to bully them. The most
+thrilling scene witnessed was that which made the minister's heart
+faint, although the incident excited the admiration of all who beheld
+it. Above the oaths of excited men and boys was heard a wild cheer a few
+blocks away, followed by the defiant cry of a negro boy, who came
+panting up the street, unmindful of the cry of "halt" that issued from
+many lips. Frantically waving a huge revolver in his hand, he fell upon
+his face within a few yards of where the minister stood, pierced by a
+rifle ball. Turning over slowly upon his back, he leveled his pistol and
+fired into the crowd of men closing in on him, shattering the arm of a
+Georgia bandit. "He is dying!" exclaimed the minister, with uplifted
+hand to prevent the men from doing further violence to the dying lad,
+whose life-blood was making crimson the sand where he lay. One man in
+the crowd stooped and picked up the pistol that had fallen from the
+lad's grasp. He raised it up before the crowd and said: "Let him die in
+peace, boys; I admire a brave heart, if it is under a black skin." The
+crowd dispersed. The minister got down upon his knees and raised the
+lad's head into his arms. He opened his eyes and fixed them upon the
+face of the man of God, who had begun to stroke his forehead with his
+hand. "God be merciful to thee, my son," said the minister tenderly.
+"Dat's all right, parson," returned the lad faintly, with a smile upon
+his ebony face. "I tol' um I'd die foe I'd giv' up ma gun, an' I tink
+dat when I tun ober dat time I got one er dem."
+
+"What is your name, my son?" asked Dr. Le Grand, eagerly. There was no
+answer; the boy was gone into undying life. The minister gently laid the
+little hero back upon the ground to await the arrival of the
+undertaker's wagon, and went on his way. This incident somewhat awed the
+bandits, some of whom stood off some little distance and watched him
+through the scene; and his progress was attended with but little
+further difficulty. When he reached Front Street, however, the Record
+Office on Dry Pond had been burned, and the futile attempt to murder the
+workmen at the cotton press had been made. Several black men had been
+killed during the morning, and their bodies left where they had been
+shot down. At the corner of Front and Chestnut Streets three men passed
+him under guard, walking rapidly toward the depot, and whom he
+recognized as prominent citizens--one a grocery man another quite an
+extensive real estate owner and money lender, while the third, a white
+man, had been a magistrate in the city for quite a number of years.
+These men were being escorted to the trains by soldiers, who had
+considerable trouble in keeping a mob of men and boys from doing them
+violence. "Well, what are you standing up here for?" asked a man,
+turning aside from the throng that surrounded the fugitives, and
+akimbowed in front of the minister. "No niggers are allowed to loiter;
+white men are in charge of affairs from now on." "I have a pass that
+permits me to interview the Colonel," answered Dr. Le Grand, holding up
+the paper before the man's eyes. The man took the paper and read it
+slowly. "Come," said he in a gentler tone of voice, "I'll take you
+through to the Colonel, for you can't go by yourself." Across the
+street, and in the direction of the cotton press they proceeded. At the
+corner of Mulberry Street they met Colonel Moss going southward, with a
+crowd of soldiers and citizens about him. He scowled at the minister,
+his face flushed with anger as the minister saluted. "What do you want?"
+he roared. "That's the question I have come to ask you," returned the
+minister. "What do you wish us to do? We are willing to do anything to
+stop this carnage." "We want nothing! We are masters of the situation,"
+answered the Colonel hotly. But the minister persisted. "Hear me,
+Colonel. This is indeed a one-sided fight. Our men are unarmed, and are
+the chief sufferers in this affair." "It's your own fault," roared
+Colonel Moss. "We gave you colored leaders time to comply with our
+request to burn the negro's printing outfit. We waited twelve hours for
+your reply, and it came not, so we took the matter into our own hands.
+We propose to scourge this black pest out of Wilmington. If you can
+induce them to go to their homes and recognize the authority of the
+white people, you can prevent further bloodshed." "I will do my best,"
+replied the minister. Dr. Le Grand was placed in a buggy, between two
+whites, to protect him against violence. This man of God finished that
+day, and the other days of terror to the unfortunate negroes, in
+inducing rebellious black citizens throughout the city to submit to
+overwhelming odds against them, and staking his own life upon the good
+character of this or that man or woman in danger of being killed for
+some trivial charge made by a white person, whether remote or recent.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+
+Mrs. Adelaide Peterson's Narrative.
+
+
+   New Bedford, Mass., Dec. 19, 1899.
+
+   Dear Jack Thorne:
+
+In compliance with your request for a narrative of what I witnessed of
+the massacre which took place in Wilmington, N. C., in November, 1898, I
+herewith write for the information of the world what happened in the
+section of the city known as Dry Pond. The plans for the slaughter of
+November 10th had been carefully laid. The negroes, lulled into a
+feeling of security by the usual yet unexpected quiet election, were
+utterly surprised on the morning of the 10th to find the streets choked
+with armed men and boys. The mob, it seems, formed at the Court House,
+and dividing itself into bands scattered into every direction, holding
+up and searching both black men and women, beating and shooting those
+who showed a disposition to resist. On the corner of Seventh and Nun
+Streets stands Gregory Normal Institute for colored youth, with Christ
+Church (Congregational) and the teachers' home, comprising the most
+beautiful group of buildings in the city. This is the property of the
+American Missionary Association. The morning devotions had just ended in
+this school on the morning of the 10th, and scholars were going to the
+different class-rooms, when the report of a gun threw the entire school
+and neighborhood into confusion. Children ran to their teachers for
+safety, who, with blanched faces, stood dumb with terror, for a mob of
+armed whites had already surrounded the buildings and completely blocked
+Seventh, Ann and Nun streets. On Seventh street, between Nun and Church
+streets, in a small wooden structure, the much talked of _Wilmington
+Record_ had found a temporary home, and this was the objective point of
+the mob. Surrounding this building, they battered down the door, broke
+in pieces the printing outfit, and then set fire to the building. Many
+women, with their little ones, took to the woods, so thoroughly
+frightened were they at this strange and unlooked-for spectacle. Black
+men were awed into helplessness by the superiorly armed mob. I was at
+the ironing table, when one of my little ones ran in and told me that
+the school house was on fire. I hurried out to join the crowd of anxious
+mothers, who were hurrying in that direction to rescue their children,
+whom, they supposed, were in danger. But we were not able to get past
+the crowd of men who surrounded the Record building. The cries of the
+frightened children could be heard, and the inability of the mothers to
+reach them added to the horror of the scene. One mother, frenzied with
+grief and desperation, pushed and shoved her way through, despite the
+threats of the mob. One little girl died of sheer fright. The shooting
+without, mingled with the oaths of the men and the frantic wails of the
+women without were too much for the little one to bear. Her teacher's
+assurance of safety were of no avail. The teachers finally made a bold
+front, pushed their way through the crowd and delivered the frightened
+children to their frightened parents, some of whom did not return to
+their homes, but hastened to the woods for safety. I returned home. My
+husband, who worked at the Press did not arrive until late that night,
+he having had serious difficulty in passing the armed whites who lined
+the streets, and challenged him at every corner. He informed me that
+Colonel Moss, on leaving Dry Pond, went immediately to the Press with
+the intention of killing all the men at work there, but was thwarted by
+the coolness of Mr. ---- and Molly Pierrepont, who went from her home to
+warn them. I bless that woman for her courage. She stood like a goddess
+among those men and prevented them from rushing into a trap prepared for
+them. My husband at first thought it unsafe to remain in the house that
+night; the poor whites were heavily armed and were likely to do most
+anything. They had already fired into several houses in the
+neighborhood. Some one rapped at the door. I was too frightened to move.
+My husband finally opened the door, and in staggered Joe Bently,
+bleeding profusely from a large gash in his forehead. He said: "I was
+trying to reach the hill this evening without being searched, as I did
+not want to part with my gun. At the corner of Market and Front streets
+I met Mr. Philip Hines, who offered to take me through the crowd to
+safety, and led me right into trouble. I was held up and searched. Ben
+Turpin took my revolver from me and gave me this gash on my forehead
+with the butt of it." I bathed and bound up Bently's wound, and he lay
+himself upon the lounge in my dining-room, and being weak from the loss
+of blood, soon dropped off to sleep. We were too frightened to lie down.
+Thirty minutes elapsed. We heard the sound of footsteps approaching; the
+door received a vigorous kick. "Hello!" came from without. "Say
+Peterson! Don't be afraid; this is McGinn!" My husband opened the door.
+"Is that you, Mr. Mac?" said he. "Yes, we are looking for that feller
+Manly." "I guess he's far away," returned my husband. "Well, its good
+for him that he is. Who's in there with you?" "My family." "Well, I
+believe you, Peterson. Good night." The men went their way. We were
+molested no more during the night, but shooting was kept up at intervals
+in the neighborhood all night. Some citizens slept under their houses
+for safety.
+
+The morning of the 11th of November dawned clear and cold, and the
+sufferings of those who were compelled to sleep in the open air were
+terrible. At about nine o'clock Rev. Simons called at my house. He had
+his wagon laden with comfortables for the suffering ones. "Hundreds are
+in the woods," he said after greeting me, "and God only knows what their
+sufferings were during the night."
+
+"People of the Saxon race, whom we have trusted so implicitly, this is
+your work, for which you must answer to God," and with his hand he
+brushed away a tear. Together we rode to the woods, my husband remaining
+home with the children. Far beyond "Jump and Run" we came upon quite a
+crowd of women and children, who had built a large fire, and were
+huddled about it. One woman, a tall creature, ran to meet us as we
+approached with outstretched hands and a maniacal stare in her eyes.
+"Where's my husband?" she shrieked. "Is it true he is killed? An' are
+you comin' to kill me?" "No, my dear," answered the minister, "we come
+to bring you comfort." "No! no! no!" she cried. "Tell me no more about
+God. Hagar's children have no God. They are forsaken! Lost! lost! lost!"
+Several women came up and took hold of the demented creature and led her
+away. "She's los' her mind," said one. "She sat here las' night an' saw
+her dear friend an' neighbor die in the agony of childbirth; and that,
+with the news of her husband's death has unbalanced her mind." "There
+lays the woman," said another, taking the minister by the hand and
+leading him to where--cold and lifeless--the body of the woman with that
+of the new-born babe by its side. The poor, demented creature had taken
+a seat upon a stump beside the corpse, and was moaning and wringing her
+hands. "Lord, be merciful!" exclaimed the minister, with clasped hands.
+"They are all about here," said another woman; "these are not all that
+have died during the night." We busied ourselves in giving such comfort
+as lay in our power. In our search among the bushes we came across
+several dead and others dying from the night's exposure. So thoroughly
+frightened were these people that we could not induce them to believe it
+safe to venture back to their own homes. The situation was indeed
+appalling. On our way into the city we met some humane whites going out
+to persuade the frightened refugees back.
+
+The 10th day of November, 1898, can never be forgotten. I will not close
+this narrative without mentioning an act of bravery performed by a lone
+woman which stopped the vulgar and inhuman searching of women in our
+section of the city. The most atrocious and unpardonable act of the mob
+was the wanton disregard for womanhood. Lizzie Smith was the first woman
+to make a firm and stubborn stand against the proceeding in the southern
+section. It was near the noon hour when Lizzie, homeward bound, reached
+the corner of Orange and Third streets. A block away she saw a woman
+struggling to free herself from the grasp of several men who were, in
+turn, slapping her face and otherwise abusing her. The woman fought
+until her clothes were torn to shreds; then with a shove the men allowed
+her to proceed on her way. Lizzie could have saved herself by running
+away, but anger at such cowardice had chased away every vestige of fear.
+She leisurely walked up to where the fight was going on. "Halt," said
+one of the ruffians to Lizzie, "an' let's see how many razors you got
+under them duds. That tother wench was er walkin' arsennel. Come now!"
+roared the man, "none er your cussed impert'nence." Lizzie, instead of
+assaying to comply, akimbowed and looked defiantly at the crowd about
+her. "Oh, yo' po' white trash." "Shut up or we'll settle you an' have
+done with it," said the leader, making a motion toward his hip pocket.
+"Yo' will, eh!" answered the girl, "yo' kan't skeer me. But ef yo'
+wanter search me I'll take off ma clothes, so yo' won't have ter tear
+'em," and Lizzie began to hurriedly unfasten her bodice. "Yo've got ter
+search me right," she continued, throwing off piece after piece; "yo'll
+fin' I am jes' like yo' sisters an' mammies, yo' po' tackies." "That'll
+do," growled one of the men, as Lizzie was unbuttoning the last piece.
+"Oh, no," returned the girl, "I'm goin' ter git naked; yer got ter see
+that I'm er woman." White women were looking on from their windows at
+this sight so shocking. One had the courage to shout "Shame! how dare
+you expose that woman in that manner?" "Them's the curnel's orders,"
+replied the leader, raising his hat. "Who is the Colonel, and what right
+has he to give such orders?" shrieked the woman. "You ought to be
+ashamed of yourselves for your own wives and daughters' sakes." The men
+skulked away and left Lizzie victor on the field. Yours for justice and
+right,
+
+   ADELAIDE PETERSON.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+The Flight of Reverend Selkirk.
+
+
+There is a great deal said about the fatality of the wind of Boston Bay.
+Even the native Bostonian dreads its icy touch, and when winter comes to
+re-enforce its intensity, as many as can, seek warmer climes. A few
+winters ago, among the many tourists who sought accommodations on a
+train South-bound were Rev. Hiland Silkirk, wife and two children. Rev.
+Silkirk's many years of ministerial work in the old cradle of liberty
+had somewhat told upon his health, and he felt that a few months or
+years in a warmer clime would result in the recovery of lost vigor. He
+had purchased a ticket for Wilmington, N. C. The air there was mild,
+bracing and dry and made health giving and mellow by the sweet odor of
+the yellow pine. And then, again, a field was open for the continuance
+of his work while he recuperated, a certain Baptist church in the old
+city had called him to its pastorate. Being a man of exceptional
+ability, affable and of sunny temperament, Rev. Hiland Silkirk was just
+the man to win friends among Southern people, and he won them among both
+white and black citizens in that old town. This is the case in every
+Southern community. A Negro man of prominence can retain his popularity
+on certain lines among the whites if he keeps out of politics and in all
+race troubles remains neutral. But he cannot take this stand and be
+universally loved. His reward will inevitably be the contempt of his own
+race, which he cannot afford to engender. And no man who loves his
+people can hide his light under a bushel; can keep quiet when they are
+assailed. He must, he will raise hand and voice in their defense. Moses
+refused to dwell in the king's palace while his people suffered about
+him. No! he went forth, and in his zeal smote an uncircumcised Egyptian
+oppressor to death and fled into a strange land and there fitted himself
+for their deliverer. Rev. Hiland Silkirk counted his friends among some
+leading ministers and laymen of the opposite race. But Rev. Silkirk was
+true to his own, and when the time came to test that devotion, he
+arrayed himself with his own people and endangered his own life. When,
+in the early part of August, 1898, the fight between the editor of the
+Record and the editor of the Messenger waxed hot over the inflammatory
+letters on the race question from the pen of Mrs. Fells, of Georgia,
+which had its final result in the destruction of the Record's property
+and the banishment of its editor, Rev. Silkirk did not hesitate to join
+in the controversy. This caused many of his white friends to cool
+towards him, and it placed his name upon the list of dangerous(?)
+Negroes to be killed or banished. After the general raid which
+terrorized and put the city in a state of panic on the 10th of November,
+the mobs divided into squads, and, as deputy sheriffs, begun to arrest
+and drive from the city the objects of their spleen. The duly elected
+Mayor and other officials having been deposed, bandits were put in their
+places. A portion of the mob which destroyed the Record building on the
+morning of the 10th, started northward toward Walnut street, on which
+the hated Negro minister resided. But among the white ministers in
+Wilmington there was one at least who would not allow his prejudice to
+impair his devotion to a worthy friend. He, aware of the plot to murder
+the black divine, set out on that morning to warn him of his danger. The
+Rev. Silkirk, aroused and alarmed by the noise of guns coming from every
+direction in the city, had just mounted his bicycle and started in the
+direction of Dry Pond. As he turned into Seventh street he saw, more
+than two blocks away, another bicyclist breathlessly pedaling toward
+him. "Why, Dr. Sawyer, I was just starting to your house!" said the
+colored man, as the white one rode up and dismounted. "And I was just
+coming to your house to inform you that a ride in my direction is
+dangerous! Return! There is no time to be lost. Get into the woods! They
+are on the way to your house now to kill you. I must not be seen with
+you. Go! Make haste!" This was all said in one breath, and before the
+colored man could recover from his astonishment to ask a question the
+white one was gone. Down the street a cloud of dust rose before the
+colored minister's eyes. The bandits were only a few blocks away. There
+was not even time to return to his home. He hastened down Walnut street,
+crossed Red Cross into Campbell, and made for the woods. The bandits
+rode up to the minister's house, dismounted and surrounded it, but the
+quarry was gone. From the frightened wife and little ones they could
+glean no information as to the whereabouts of the minister. They were
+about to satisfy their vengeance by subjecting the helpless woman to
+revolting indignities, when a boy ran up to inform them of the direction
+in which the man had fled. The mob mounted their horses and made a dash
+for Oak Dale Cemetery. The colored people in the neighborhood, afraid to
+approach to offer protection to poor Mrs. Silkirk, now gathered about
+her. All were unanimous in the belief that the bandits would return
+should they fail to find the minister, and not only molest her, but
+shoot into the houses of others as well. So they decided to take her to
+the church, yea, gather the whole neighborhood in there. "Sho, dey won't
+shoot in de house er God," said an old lady. "Le'us git dar an' pray; we
+kin do nuth'n better. Le' us ask de Lawd wot it all means?"
+
+When Rev. Silkirk reached a secluded spot in the woods he was wet, sore
+and exhausted from wading through marshes and being scratched by briars.
+Night had set in. He lay down beneath a clump of bushes to rest; but
+there was no rest for this poor innocent wretch, outlawed by ruffians
+and compelled to leave his wife and little ones, and be hunted as a wild
+beast in the forest. This is the fate of many a Negro who had committed
+no more offense against law and order. But this, to such characters as
+Rev. Silkirk, was no evidence of God's displeasure. Men more righteous
+than he had been compelled to flee for their lives; yea, suffer death
+for truth's sake; men of whom the world was not worthy. He pillowed his
+head upon a tuft of wire grass, and gazed upward towards the spangled
+skies. "Lord, we cannot tell why this, thy people, are so severely
+tried; yet we believe that all things work together for good to them
+that trust in Thee. Strengthen our faith, Lord. Save our wives and
+little ones from a fate worse than death at the hands of the wicked, who
+glory and take delight in shameful treatment of the defenseless." He
+heard the tramping of horses' feet among the bushes only a short
+distance away, and soon several men galloped past where he lay--so close
+that one of the horses brushed against the bush which sheltered him. The
+frightened minister lay perfectly still until the footsteps died away,
+then he arose and went cautiously back to the city to see, if possible,
+what had been the fate of his wife and children, left to the mercy of a
+disappointed and angry mob.
+
+The feeling that the church was the only place for safety filled the
+breasts of most of the frightened souls in the neighborhood of Seventh
+and Red Cross streets on the evening of the dreadful 10th of November,
+after the band of Red Shirts had terrorized the people in their
+blusterous hunt for the negro minister. "It seemed like the day of
+Judgment," said an eye witness. "There were no loud lamentations, as is
+usual when colored people are wrought up under excitement, but sobs,
+groans and whispered petitions. Bless our pastor, Lord, an' save him ef
+it be Thy will," came from many lips, followed by "Amens" and "Do,
+Lord." Suddenly the church was thrown into a spasm of excitement that
+could not be suppressed, for while they were breathing prayers for his
+deliverance, the pastor, wet, footsore and tired, entered and strode
+slowly up the aisle. "Why did you, oh, why did you come back?" exclaimed
+his wife, throwing her arms about the minister's neck, while others in
+their excitement gathered about them. The Rev. Silkirk gently led his
+wife, who had almost fainted in his arms, to a chair and raised his hand
+for silence. "Brethren and sisters," he began, "my escape from death
+to-day has been a narrow one. I knew that my attitude in the Manly-Fells
+controversy had caused some of my friends to cool toward me, but I did
+not believe that it would ripen into a desire to murder me, because of
+my opinions. Nevertheless, my attitude is the same. I do not retract a
+single word said in defense of my people. Twenty or more men were killed
+to-day--men who are innocent of any wrong. I may be numbered with them
+before morning; yet love for my wife and little ones and you caused me
+to tempt death by returning here to console and speak a word of comfort
+to you. These may be evidences of God's displeasure; we may have in our
+prosperity forgotten to give Him the glory due unto His name; yet by
+these afflictions we may know that we are beloved of God, for whom he
+loveth He chasteneth. We are too well schooled in affliction to be
+dismayed, and they who are responsible for this rioting may just as well
+try to stop the river in its flow as to try to triumph permanently over
+a people who by affliction have waxed so strong in faith. We are as firm
+as Mount Zion, which cannot be moved. You, all of you, deem it expedient
+that I go away; so to-night, by the help of the Lord, I shall try to get
+away from this place. I may see you again, I cannot tell; if not, there
+are twelve gates to the City, and, with God's help, we'll meet up there.
+Let us have a few moments of silent prayer." Every knee was bended on
+that terrible night; but so emotional is the colored American that
+silence in a meeting of this kind is maintained with difficulty. A
+silence of two minutes elapsed--followed by sobs and groans painful to
+listen to. Then a voice tremulous with emotion floated over the
+assemblage--a woman's voice:
+
+"Father in heaven, we have evidence that thou didst hear thy children's
+cry in days past and gone, and we believe that Thou wilt hear us now.
+(Yes, Lord.) Thou didst hear the Hebrew children. (Yes.) Thou didst
+deliver Daniel. (Yes.) Thou didst hear Africa's groans, and didst break
+her chains. (Yes, Lord.) Oh Jesus, Master, hear us to-night. (Do,
+Jesus.) We cannot tell, Lord, why we are buffeted, beaten, murdered and
+driven from our homes, and made to seek refuge among strangers; but Thou
+knowest. Perhaps in our prosperity we have forgotten to give Thee the
+glory, blessed Lord, and these demons that have flocked to Wilmington
+from all quarters may be the scourgers that Thou art using to bring us
+closer to Thee. Hear, O Lord, the groans and cries of the widows and
+orphans of the slaughtered ones; men who gave up their lives in the
+feeble efforts to defend their homes and firesides. (Do, Lord.) Bless
+Brother Silkirk and his little family (Amen), who are about to start
+upon a perilous journey. The way is beset by demons thirsting for his
+blood. (Lord, help.) But he's in Thy hands, and Thou canst save him and
+save us from further persecution, if it be Thy will. Amen!"
+
+Rev. Silkirk was visibly moved by this earnest and pathetic plea. He
+thanked the petitioner and the entire church for their solicitude. He
+was dissuaded from attempting to take his wife and little ones with him
+on his perilous journey, and they were left in care of friends until an
+opportune season presented itself. The parting between that good man and
+his wife and friends was indeed touching. A substantial bank note was
+hurriedly thrust into his hand, and, with two deacons, he stepped out
+into the darkness and disappeared.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+When the North-bound passenger train leaving Wilmington at 12.01 slowed
+up at Castle Hayne on the morning of the 12th of November a
+wretched-looking Negro minister stepped aboard. The trains had for two
+days been leaving the city ladened with undesirable citizens, white and
+black, and the trainmen had been earnest abettors in the injury and
+insult offered them. From Wilmington to Weldon at every stop crowds
+waited to do injury, if possible, to "Nigger" and radical refugees.
+Thomas Miller, Aria Bryant and other citizens had been taken off and
+jailed at Goldsboro, and one man in trying to escape was shot to death.
+
+The Rev. Silkirk did not feel very comfortable under the searching eye
+of the conductor who lifted his fare, and that individual's refusal to
+give satisfactory answers to inquiries concerning connections at Rocky
+Mount increased his feeling of uneasiness. He felt assured that failing
+to capture him in the woods, his would-be murderers had telegraphed his
+description, etc., along the road. At Dudley Station two men came into
+the smoker and took seats immediately in front of him, and continued the
+discussion of the topic which doubtless absorbed their minds before
+entering. "I was saying," said one, an elderly man, with quite a refined
+appearance, "that impertinent article by that Negro preacher was equally
+as spicy as the editorial, and as the editor took time by the forelock
+and made good his escape, the determination was to make sure of this
+preacher. But he was warned in time to get out, and the impression is
+that he was warned by a white man." "Shame," said the other, slapping
+his knee vigorously. "He got away, then." "Yes, but it's likely he'll
+sneak back before taking final leave, as he has a family there, and they
+are on the lookout for him; besides, the boys have been notified along
+the road to be on the lookout." "What's his name?" "Silkirk; he is er
+Boston darkey, an' doubtless is heading for that place, as Southern
+climate has got too hot for 'im."
+
+"Goldsboro! Change cars for Newbern," shouted the porter. "Well,
+good-bye!" said the genteel man, rising and making a bolt for the door.
+As the train slowly clanged its way through the old town the remaining
+passenger settled himself back in the seat and went to sleep.
+
+Several men passed through the train, the conductor in the lead. Each
+man slyly glanced at the minister, but said nothing. The train sped on
+its way through the town.
+
+Now, Wilson is the place where through passengers change cars and board
+North-bound trains from the far South. Wilson for the past few days had
+been the rendezvous for a well-organized vigilance committee, who had
+vied with the ruffians at Goldsboro in offering violence to citizens
+driven out of Wilmington. The leader of this gang was a young farmer by
+the name of Bull. That afternoon Mr. Bull and quite a number of his
+fellow-committeemen sat on the steps of the railroad station whittling
+sticks when the station operator came up and handed him a telegram,
+which ran as follows: "Goldsboro--Man on train 78 answering description
+of Silkirk. Look out for him. Barnet."
+
+"By Joe!" exclaimed Captain Bull, jumping to his feet. "Well, what's
+up?" asked three or four of his companions, gathering around the leader.
+"Nothing, only that Boston black Yankee is on train 78, an' he mustn't
+git any further 'an Wilson, that's all," returned Bull. "Go, Buxton," he
+said to a sallow-faced young man leaning against the wall, "an' tell the
+boys ter git ready for er feast ter night. That Nigger editor slipped
+through like grease, an' ef we let this Nigger do so we all uns ought
+ter be gibbited. We want er be ready ter mount the train time she stops.
+I've got no description of the man, but, then, its no hard tas' to pick
+out er preacher from the tother uns." With that Captain Bull started
+toward home to get his gun, and the crowd dispersed.
+
+At Wilson trains usually pause at the water tank, a few yards below, for
+coal and water, before making the final stop at the station. Just as
+train 78 paused at this place, a colored man with a buggy whip under his
+arm got aboard. He walked briskly through the train, scanning the faces
+of the passengers as he went. "The' ain't but one colored man on here,"
+he said, as he reached the door of the smoking car and looked in.
+Walking up and touching this man on the shoulder, he said: "Looker here,
+mister, you goin' North?" "I want to," returned the colored passenger.
+"Well, come with me an' get somethin' ter eat foe you go; you look like
+you hungry. I keep er resterant, put up thar jes' fer my people, bekase
+thar's no show fer 'em in the other place. Come on! No time ter be los',
+train don't stay up thar more 'an twenty minutes." With that he led the
+passenger from the train. "Git up in thar," he said, pointing to a small
+wagon. "Got er trunk?" "No, just this bag," returned the other. "Well,
+let's go. Git up, Nell," and the horse started off in a brisk trot.
+"Looker here, mister, I ain't got no more resterant then er dog. Ain't
+your name Silkirk?" "That's may name," returned the passenger in
+astonishment. "I knowed it," said the driver. "I got on that train ter
+save yer life ter night. Slower dar, Nell! This road's full er mud holes
+sence the big rain we had tother day. I jes' happen ter that depot ter
+day jes' in time ter see thet telegraph when hit cum an' was put inter
+Captain Bull's han'. Sence dem riots in Wilmin'ton he's bin er getin'
+telegraphs an' sarchin' trains, an' insultin' women an' killin' col'd
+mens. An' I jes' slied erroun' tell I hear what that telegraph say. Hit
+say, look out fer Silkirk. Thar's er gang of crackers waitin' ter kill
+you as sho es yo' er bo'n; but Bob Jones is goin' ter cheat um dis time.
+Go on thar!" "God moves in a mysterious way," murmured the minister,
+slowly. "You'll bet he does. Come, gal, pick um up an' put um down;
+thar's no time ter be los'. Gwine ter take yer cross de country here,
+an' put yer on er frate train, an' dat train gwine take yer to Norfolk,
+for yo' sholy ain't safe on dat coas' line road. Dis is what we call
+throwin' de houn's off de scent. Pure Nigger cunnin', here me? Git up,
+Nell."
+
+It was near the midnight hour when the horse, panting for breath, paused
+at a lonely rickety old station. The men alighted. "Hit's jes' twenty
+minutes pas' eleven," said Bob Jones glancing at his watch. "Now that
+train's comin' long here in er few minutes. Jes' git er board an' treat
+de Cap'n right, an' he'll put yer through." "God bless you and all of
+yours," said the minister, gratefully. "My people in Wilmington and
+Boston must know of you and what you have done for me to-night." "Dat's
+all right, parson, keep de change. Ise jes' doin' my duty, that's all.
+We should feel each other's keer, an' bear each other's cross, says de
+good word. Dar's de train now!" The old freight train panted slowly up
+and stopped to look for freight. The Rev. Hiland Silkirk, with tears of
+gratitude in his eyes, got aboard, and the triumphant Jehu turned his
+horse and started homeward.
+
+"Well done, good and faithful servant, forasmuch as you have done good
+unto one of the least of these my brethren, you have done it unto me."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+
+Captain Nicholas McDuffy.
+
+
+Before the introduction of the improved method of fire fighting in
+Southern cities--before the steam engine, the hook and ladder and water
+tower companies supplanted the old hand pump and bucket companies, the
+Negro was the chief fire fighter, and there was nothing that tended more
+to make fire fighting a pleasant pastime than those old volunteer
+organizations. For many years after the war Wilmington was supplied with
+water for the putting out of fires by means of cisterns which were built
+in the centre of streets. When the old bell in the market house tower
+sounded the alarm of fire, the volunteers left their work and hastened
+to headquarters to drag forth the old hand pump and make for the cistern
+nearest the scene of the fire, where, keeping time to the tune of some
+lively song, they pumped the fire out. There was peculiar sweetness in
+those old songs which made fire fighting a fascinating pastime in those
+old days. While a few men spannered the hose, directed the stream and
+did the work of rescuing and saving furniture, etc., the majority were
+required to man the pumps. Thirty or forty men in brilliant uniform
+lined up on either side of the huge engine, tugging away at the great
+horizontal handles, presented a spectacle which no one even in these
+days of advancement would despise. And the singing!
+
+   "O Lindy, Lindy my dear honey,
+    Lindy, gal, I'm boun' to go;
+    O Lindy, Lindy my dear honey,
+    O Lindy, gal, I'm boun' to go," etc.
+
+A few lines of another:
+
+   "The cows in de ole field, don't yo' hear de bell?
+       Let her go, let her go.
+    The cows in de ole field, don't yo' hear de bell?
+       Let her go, let her go," etc.
+
+But the things that will make those old organizations live longest in
+the memory are their frolics, excursions and picnics, full of all that
+appealed to the appetite for pleasure and excitement. There the dancer,
+the fighter, the runner, the wrestler, could indulge freely in his
+favorite pastime; there old scores could be settled and new ones made.
+The most noteworthy and serviceable of those old volunteer organizations
+was the old "Brooklyn No. 4," which guarded that portion of the city
+known by that name. No. 2, in the middle section, and the "Old No. 3
+Double Deck," in the southern part of the city. These old-fashioned
+machines have given place to the modern fire fighter, the steam engine.
+But of all of these banished organizations, No. 3 will be the longest
+remembered. Upon her roll were the names of some of Wilmington's best
+citizens. In the year 1873 this company, too serviceable to be
+disbanded, was reorganized under the name of "Cape Fear Engine Company,"
+and presented by the city with a handsome steam engine of that name. And
+although the Germans had replaced their hand pump by costly steamer, and
+a company had been organized among the aristocracy, this colored company
+kept and maintained the reputation of being the best fire fighters in
+the city, and second to none in the entire State. Upon the walls of
+their engine house hung trophies for superior firemanship won in nearly
+every city in the State. The insurance companies of the city recognized
+their value as savers of property, and upon more than one occasion made
+them valuable presents. Only men of good repute who could "stand the
+gaze of an honest eye" were eligible to membership in the Cape Fear Fire
+Company, and he who aspired to leadership must be efficient both in
+character and experience as a fire fighter. I write the above that the
+reader may know what manner of man this was who was compelled to leave
+his home, his wife and little ones and flee for his life. Captain
+Nicholas McDuffy was at one time foreman of the Cape Fear Engine
+Company. McDuffy came to Wilmington a rough country lad, secured
+employment, went to work, saved his money, bought property and became a
+citizen of note and respectability. He joined the engine company and
+rose like a meteor to its foremost rank. The relations between the races
+in the South have always been such that it requires a Negro of Spartan
+courage to face a white man and return blow for blow, it matters not how
+righteous may be his cause. Captain Nicholas McDuffy was a man without
+fear. Two or three years ago, while a member of the police force of
+Wilmington, it became his duty to arrest some white roughs for
+disorderly conduct. It was a hazardous undertaking, but McDuffy waded in
+and landed his men, but it cost him dear. His body was so hacked by
+knife thrusts that he was compelled to go to the hospital for repairs.
+Generally policemen are commended and rewarded for such heroic deeds,
+but this placed the name of Nicholas McDuffy upon the death list. A
+Negro officer must not presume to arrest a white man. There were,
+however, white men who admired McDuffy for his frankness and courage,
+and when the riotous excitement was at its height and the assassins were
+seeking here and there for victims, one of these true men warned McDuffy
+just in time to get into the swamp before a mob surrounded his house.
+They pursued him, however, but by swimming a creek not far from the
+city's limit he escaped their bullets, and without coat or hat made his
+way to New Berne. His poor wife and children were left to the mercy of
+the mob, who drove them forth and burned the house behind them.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI.
+
+Tempting Negroes to Return.
+
+
+   Wilmington Officials Scouring the Woods for Refugees--Want
+   Them to Return and Go to Work.
+
+Special to The World.
+
+Wilmington, N. C., Nov. 13.--Affairs are settling down to their normal
+condition here. Chief of Police Edgar G. Parmle and several
+representatives of the new city government drove out ten miles on the
+various roads leading from the city to-day, to induce the refugee
+Negroes to come back.
+
+City officials also attended the colored churches and urged the pastors
+and their people to go into the woods to induce the frightened Negroes
+to return and resume their work.
+
+The pastors of the white churches referred to the riot in their sermons
+to-day. The burden of the discourses was that the struggle at the polls
+Tuesday was for liberty, decency, honesty and right; that it was not so
+much the drawing of the color line as a contest for the supremacy of
+intelligence and competence over ignorance, incompetence and debauchery.
+
+Dr. Hoge, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church, who recently preached
+in the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church, New York, and was mentioned as
+Dr. Hall's successor, took as his text: "He that ruleth his spirit is
+better than he that taketh a city."
+
+"We have done both," he said. "We have taken a city. That is much, but
+it is more because it is our own city that we have taken."
+
+Dr. Hoge justified the movement which led to the change of government.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII.
+
+At Mrs. McLane's.
+
+
+It was Thanksgiving Day. The political storm increased tenfold in
+velocity and destructiveness by race hatred that had swept through the
+old city of Wilmington, devastating homes, leaving orphans, widows and
+ruined fortunes in its wake, was slowly abating. A city in a state of
+siege could not have presented a more distressing appearance. Soldiers
+and armed white men and boys stood in groups on every street ready to
+pounce upon and disperse any assemblage of black citizens upon the
+streets. The ringing of church bells, the call to praise only served to
+intensify the fear of colored worshippers whose meetings had been
+previously broken up by armed mobs. These dusky worshippers, devout as
+they were, had not the faith sufficient to enable them to discern the
+smiling face of God through the clouds which hung over them.
+Demoralized, dejected, disconsolate, they dodged about here and there
+like sheep having no shepherd. Just as the bell in the tall steeple of
+the old Baptist Church on Market street was making its last long and
+measured peals there crept out from behind the old Marine Hospital a
+woman leading a little child by the hand. Both were wretchedly clad.
+Thrown about the woman's shoulders was an old quilt. Her shoes were tied
+with strings, which were wrapped around the soles to keep from leaving
+her feet. Her skirt, tattered and torn, hung dejectedly about her scant
+form. The child, barefooted and with only one piece to hide its
+nakedness, dodged behind its mother as it walked to keep the wind from
+striking with its full force its emaciated body. The woman, though young
+in years, was old and haggard in face. Her woolly hair, unkempt and
+sprinkled with gray, the result of just three weeks of privation,
+apprehension and dread, bulged out from beneath the old shawl which
+covered her head. At the northwest corner of the hospital fence she
+paused, looked cheerfully toward her own cottage, but a few blocks away,
+then slowly walked on in that direction, the child toddling at her
+side. "What is the bells ringin' for, mamma?" asked the little one. "It
+ain't Sunday." "It's Thanksgiving Day, and we usually go to church on
+that day," answered the mother, slowly. "What is Thanksgiving Day?" "It
+is a day set apart by the President for the people to assemble and give
+thanks for--for--blessings--received during the year, my child." This
+last answer tore that disconsolate mother's heart till it bled. She had
+reached the gate of her cottage, from which she had fled on the night of
+November 10th to escape insult and murder. A white woman sat upon the
+steps knitting, her children playing about the yard. The colored woman
+stood and momentarily gazed in amazement at the intruder upon her
+premises. "Well, whart du you wannt?" said the white one, looking up
+from her work and then down again. "What do I want?" returned the
+colored one. "That's the question for me to ask. What are you doing in
+my house?" "Your house?" "Yes, my house!" "Niggers don't own houses in
+dis here town no mo'; white uns air rulin' now," was the saucy response.
+"We uns air in these houses, an' we air goin' ter stay in um. An' mo'n
+thet; them's ther Mair's orders." "You poor white trash; I worked hard
+for this house, and hold the deed for it, so you get out!" So saying,
+she caught hold of the latch. The white woman rushed to the corner of
+the fence and screamed "Police!" at the top of her voice.
+
+"Well, what's ther mater here?" asked one of the four men who came
+running up in response to the woman's call. "This nigger cums here ter
+purt me out er this house." "This is my house!" broke in the other. "My
+house," repeated the man, with a sneer. "Pocession is nine-tents er th'
+law. She's in, you air out, so git." Several colored people had
+responded to the call, most of them women. "Come, Eliza," said one,
+putting her arms affectionately about the wretched and angry woman's
+waist, while another took the little one in her arms. "It's no use to
+waste words; we all have suffered at the hands of these superior (?)
+people. But God will give the wrong-doer his reward in due season. Come
+with us, my dear, and wait patiently." "All my nice furniture being
+ruined by this dirty cracker, and I can do nothing to prevent it,"
+sobbed Eliza, struggling to free herself that she might fly at the
+throat of the intruder, who stood glaring at her in triumph.
+
+"Take her er long," said the white bully, "Or I'll lock her up. The time
+fer Niggers ter sass white fo'ks is past in Wilmington."
+
+"Come, Eliza; that's a good woman." The woman walked reluctantly away,
+to be cared for by her neighbors.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+That evening at about dusk Mrs. McLane, an old and wealthy white
+citizen, stood at the window of her palatial dwelling on Third street
+watching the twilight fade--watching the Thanksgiving Day of 1898 slowly
+die. Mrs. McLane had not attended church; she felt more like hiding away
+from the world to be alone with God. In her devotions that morning she
+had cried out with all the fervency of her soul that God would turn away
+his anger from a people with whom He was justly displeased.
+
+"My people are to-day imbued with the feeling of boastfulness in their
+own strength rather than thankfulness to God. For can any of us feel
+that God has countenanced the murder, pillage and intimidation which the
+whites of Wilmington have resorted to? And for what?" Thus she
+soliloquized as she watched the day die. The clock in the old
+Presbyterian Church slowly chimed the hour of six. A long jingle of the
+doorbell awoke Mrs. McLane from her reverie. "Mrs. Hill, Mrs. Bruce and
+Mrs. Engel, missis," said a servant, slightly pulling the door ajar and
+pushing her head in. "All right, Margaret, I'll be right down," answered
+the lady. "Tell Aunt Susan that the guests I expected to tea are here."
+"Yes m'm." The servant disappeared, and Mrs. McLane slowly descended to
+the parlor. "Why, Marjorie!" exclaimed Mrs. Bruce, as the hostess glided
+into the parlor, where the three women sat chatting. "How could you stay
+at home from church on such a lovely day! You missed a treat, you--"
+"Tea's ready, missis," said Margaret, appearing suddenly in the parlor
+door. "Now, ladies, we must retire to the dining room and let
+conversation aid digestion; remember that my tea has waited until half
+an hour past the usual time for you. So, without further delay, let me
+lead the way to tea," and Mrs. McLane proceeded to the dining room,
+followed by her three visitors. "Well, from Mrs. Bruce's exclamation
+when I entered a while ago I must infer that you all enjoyed church
+service immensely." "Well, I should say so," promptly answered Mrs.
+Bruce. "I don't see how any one could have remained at home on such a
+day as this. And, you know, we have so much to be thankful for. Dr. Jose
+quoted for his text, 'He that is slow to anger is better than the
+mighty, and he that controlleth his spirit than he that taketh a city.'
+'We have taken a city,' said he, 'our city; freed it from ignorance and
+misrule.' I, for one, am grateful to see our men have so nobly shown to
+the women of Wilmington that they are worthy of our loyalty and
+devotion. I said to my husband, after reading that infamous and
+slanderous article in the Record, that our men were too pigeon-livered
+to take that Nigger out and give him what he deserves; and I think it
+was just such talk from our women in the households that brought about
+this revolution. Such as the white people of Wilmington have been
+compelled to resort to would never have happened had the
+good-for-nothing Yankee left the black where he belonged, instead of
+wrenching him from his master and then educating him into the belief
+that he is as good as he who owned him. This Manly is a new Nigger--a
+product of Yankee schools and colleges. Freedom and education have
+worked only harm to the Negro by putting high notions into his head.
+Blacks of Wilmington have had more sway than was for their good, and
+they need checking, and it has come at last. We will have no more black
+lawyers, doctors, editors and so forth, taking the support from our own
+professional men. And no more such disgraceful scenes as we have been
+compelled to endure--well-dressed Negro women flaunting about our
+streets in finery, when they ought to be in their places. Why, we can't
+order a gown or bonnet, but what, before we can get into the street with
+it on our backs, some Nigger woman flirts by with the very same thing
+on, style, material and all. It is preposterous! How I have burned in
+desire to jump upon them and tear the things off and flog them, as they
+deserve. And to go to Seventh street on a Sunday or on a week-day, for
+that matter, the sight is heart sickening! There Sambo and his woman,
+dressed to death, strut along with heads erect, looking as important as
+though they owned the city, or, astride their bicycles, they'll ride
+plumb over you. But we have put a stop to Nigger high-stepping for a
+while at least, thanks to our true and patriotic men, blue-blooded
+Southern gentlemen." "And our boys, who did so nobly!" chimed in Mrs.
+Engel. "Yes! yes!" exclaimed Mrs. Bruce, with a triumphant laugh. "How
+full of zeal and love for home and country they are! It was indeed
+charming to see them hold up big, burly blacks and make them stand until
+bidden to pass on. One of the most amusing and gratifying sights was the
+holding up of a big Nigger woman, right in front of my gate. She reared
+and charged, but to no purpose; those boys made her shake her duds. They
+pulled her clothes almost off her back trying to make her stand until
+searched." "And you didn't protest against such ungallant treatment of
+a woman, and by mere lads?" asked Mrs. McLane. "Protest! Why, Marjorie
+McLane! You must not, my dear, allow yourself to think of such creatures
+as women entitled to such consideration as is due white women. How did I
+know but what that creature had set out to burn some lady's dwelling.
+Protest? No! decidedly no! I just stood there and enjoyed the fun. I am
+afraid you are too full of Yankeeism, Marjorie. You should be thankful
+that our enemies are vanquished. When Colonel Moss reached Dry Pond,
+instead of showing fight and standing by their editor, whom they upheld
+in slandering white women, they scampered to the woods." "And the poor
+frightened creatures are still there. They cannot be induced to return,
+and the suffering among them is intense. Mothers have given birth out
+there, and they and their offspring have died from exposure." "Poor
+creatures!" exclaimed Mrs. Engel. "God pity them and us!" continued Mrs.
+McLane. "If what has been done in Wilmington within the last few days is
+the work of gentlemen, then in the name of God let us have a few men in
+Wilmington, if such can be found." "But, my dear--" "Don't interrupt me,
+Mrs. Bruce! Hear me through," said Mrs. McLane, raising her voice. "May
+the groans of these suffering women and children ever ring in the ears
+of Colonels Moss and Wade, and may the spirits of their murdered victims
+unrelentingly pursue them through the regions of hell." "Marjorie
+McLane!" exclaimed Mrs. Bruce, in astonishment. "Such language from a
+Southern lady!" said Mrs. Hill. "Yes, a Southern lady clothed in her
+right mind," returned the hostess. "These men in their blind zeal to
+restore white supremacy, and to defend women, have unmistakably
+demonstrated their weakness. White supremacy cannot be maintained by
+resorting to brute force, neither can the women of one race be protected
+and defended while the defender of virtue looks upon the destruction of
+the other race as only an indiscretion.
+
+   'Thou must be true thyself
+     If thou the truth wouldst teach.
+    Thy soul must overflow
+     If thou another's soul would reach.'
+
+"Enduring supremacy, the supremacy that will be acknowledged is
+supremacy of character, supremacy of deportment, supremacy in justice
+and fair play. We have irreparably lost our hold upon the Negro because
+we lack these attributes. We must not allow ourselves to feel that the
+Negro in this enlightened age is incapable of knowing and appreciating
+true manhood and true gallantry. To shoot men after they have been
+totally disarmed, and after they have surrendered everything as a peace
+offering is cowardice without parallel.
+
+"What would Lee and Jackson have said should their departed spirits
+return to gaze upon men who so bravely followed them through the
+wilderness, in perilous times, leading in such dastardly work as was
+done in Wilmington on the 10th of November? 'Whatsoever a man soweth
+that shall he also reap.' It is not in future fires that men are to get
+the reward for their doings, but here in this life. Our fathers have
+sowed the seeds that are sprung up now in race troubles and discord. The
+North was first to see the danger, and gave the warning; but we blindly
+plunged into four years of bitter strife, to maintain what we thought
+was our right. The troubles through which we are passing are the reaping
+of the fruits of the sowing of our fathers. The conduct of our people on
+the 10th of November shows plainly to my mind that we are making the
+same mistakes. We are foolish enough to sow that which will cause the
+harvester to curse us in his misery. Here were boys not over twelve
+years of age armed and licensed to insult women, tear their clothes from
+them and humiliate them." "Humiliate them!" echoed Mrs. Bruce, with a
+sneer, "as though such creatures could be humiliated. They are entitled
+to no respect from white men." "And we should not allow ourselves to
+think of them as women with the same feelings and propensities that we
+have," said Mrs. Engel. "I say," continued Mrs. McLane, "that the Negro
+woman should be considered a woman in the fullest sense of the term, and
+those men and boys who in their zeal to protect white women humiliated
+and disgraced black ones, insulted and humbled their own mothers,
+sisters and sweethearts; for what disgraces one woman disgraces another,
+be she white, black, red or brown. We, the white people of the South,
+have acknowledged the black woman's right to all the sympathy that we
+ourselves may expect. She has carried us in her arms and suckled us at
+her breast, and in thousands of instances her word has been the only law
+among our children in our nurseries. She heard and faithfully kept the
+secrets of our lives. We sought her advice, and believed in the efficacy
+of her prayers." "Now, Marjorie, you know," said Mrs. Bruce, "that such
+Negro women are still dear to us; these old mammies and uncles who know
+and keep in their places are never troubled in the South. The Yankee did
+us a great injury by lifting the Negro out of his place, and making him
+feel that he is as good as we are. It is this new Nigger that is
+causing all the trouble. The black woman, allowed to dress and flaunt
+about illures, tempts and often robs our domestic life of its sweetness,
+while the black man, with the wrong conception of freedom, often makes
+it impossible for our men to leave their homes unguarded." "Bah! away
+with such nonsensical babbling! You are saying, Mrs. Bruce, that which
+down in your innermost soul you do not believe. Such talk as that has
+given Southern women undesirable notoriety, and is making the world
+believe that to keep us pure it costs yearly hundreds of ignominious
+human sacrifices, a thing that we should rise up and brand as a lie! Who
+is to guard the home of the Negro man? Can we look around Wilmington and
+believe that his home does not need a stronger arsenal than ours? While
+we are boiling over with sympathy for Mrs. Hartright, do we think for a
+moment of the humble home of that Negro father made unhappy by Mr.
+Hartright? Do we feel pity for Dan Hawes, John Maxim, Charlotte Jones?
+The Negro no longer feels that the appearance of a white illegitimate
+among his honestly begotten piccaninnies is an honor bestowed upon his
+household. Charlotte's case was indeed a sad one. No one knows better
+than I what a heavy heart she carried after her favorite child, the one
+she had taken such pains to educate, and from whom she expected so much,
+fell a victim to the flatteries of a Jew." "Well, must white women stop
+to lament over such things?" asked Mrs. Hill. "Are we to blame for the
+shortcomings of these people?" "Yes," answered the hostess. "We have
+looked on unmoved and beheld our sister in black shorn of all protection
+by the laws upon the State books of every Southern State, that she may
+be humiliated with impunity, and we have gloried in her shame."
+
+"Harriet Beecher Stowe's "Uncle Tom's Cabin" is no exaggeration. Simon
+Legree stalks abroad unrebuked in the South, and Cassies with sad
+stories of betrayal and humiliation are plentiful." "I do not think it
+possible to better the black woman morally," said Mrs. Hill. "The germs
+of high and lofty thought are not in her, that is certain." "Have you
+ever tried to put that theory to a test?" asked Mrs. McLane sharply. "I
+cant say that I have," returned Mrs. Hill slowly. "If the Negro is
+morally low, we are ourselves responsible, and God will call us to
+account for it. In our greed for gain we stifled every good impulse,
+fostered and encouraged immorality and unholy living among our slaves by
+disregarding the sacredness of the marriage relation. 'That which God
+hath joined together let no man put asunder!' We have done that. We
+have made a discord in the sweetest music that ever thrilled the human
+heart--the music of love. I believe that there is that pathos, that true
+poetry in Negro love-making that no other race possesses. When a child I
+used to love to listen to the simple and yet pathetic pleading of the
+Negro boy for the hand of the girl, whom to protect and defend he owned
+not himself. My very heart would weep when I pictured those fond hearts
+torn asunder by the slave trader. I could see the boy far away, in some
+lonely cornfield in Georgia, pause, lean upon his plow and sigh for his
+lost love as he listened to the cooing of the dove, while she, far away
+in Tennessee or in some Virginia cornfield mournfully sang as she
+dropped the yellow corn.
+
+   'Ebry time the sun goes down
+    I hangs ma head an' cries.'
+
+Have we not done enough to a forgiving race? The case of Richard Holmes
+is a strong proof of the Negroes' high and lofty conception of purity
+and virtue, and had he been a white man, his actions would have been
+applauded to the echo. My opinion is that just so long as the safeguards
+around Negro women are so weak, so long as the laws upon the statute
+books of Southern States brand her as a harlot, pure or impure, and keep
+her outside the pale of pity and consideration, just so long will our
+representatives have to resort to murder and intimidation to get to
+Congress. The strength of any race rests in the purity of its women, and
+when the womanhood is degraded, the life blood of a race is sapped.
+Should we be disappointed under this showing because the Negro does not
+vote with us? You know as well as I that the Negro's vote was at the
+bottom of all this trouble. And we will always have trouble as long as
+the destruction of Negro womanhood is only an indiscretion. Mrs. Fells
+of Georgia shows the narrowness of her soul when she cries aloud for the
+protection of white women in isolated sections of Georgia against
+lustful Negroes, when she knows perfectly well that Negro girls in
+Georgia need the same protection against lustful whites. A woman who is
+not desirous of protecting the innocent of any race is insincere, and
+should be branded as a hypocrite." "Mrs. Fells should not be blamed for
+ignoring Negro women. They are all fallen creatures," said Mrs. Engle.
+"That's a broad assertion for any woman to make, and there's no white
+woman that believes it in her innermost soul," returned Mrs. McLane.
+"The best white blood of the South flows through the veins of Negroes,
+and this reveals the unmistakable weakness of a superior race." * * *
+"The weakness of the men of a superior race! Be careful and make that
+distinction, Marjorie," said Mrs. Bruce. "Southern white women are the
+most virtuous women in the world." "That's the general boast," returned
+Mrs. McLane. "And a boast that cannot be gainsaid," said Mrs. Hill.
+"Visiting the iniquities of the fathers upon the children to the third
+and fourth generation," quoted Mrs. McLane slowly. "Do you believe in
+the truthfulness of God's word?" There was no answer. "You all are
+willing to admit that the fathers have eaten sour grapes, that the sin
+of unlawful inter-mixture with the alien is the fault of the men. But
+can we prove that the taint of lust in the blood of the fathers has come
+down through the generations to effect the male child only, and leave
+the female uncontaminated? God has not so ordained it. Our men sin and
+boast in it. Consorting with the women of the alien race to them is only
+an indiscretion. While even to acknowledge that in the Negro man are the
+elements of genuine manhood would make a Southern white women a social
+exile, and make her the butt of ridicule. Does not this account for the
+human sacrifices that have shocked the nation? If the Negro's life is
+cheap and a frank acknowledgement of preference for him means so much to
+her, and knowing that her word is judge and jury, is it not likely that
+she would pursue the easiest course? The passing of laws since the war
+prohibiting the intermarriage of the races is proof that the men do not
+trust us as implicitly as they pretend. The lynchings and burnings that
+are daily occurring in the South are intended as warnings to white women
+as well as checks to Negro men. Men who constitute these mobs care no
+more for virtue than so many beasts; and saying that they are composed
+of best citizens does not alter my opinion. Instead of going about as
+Mrs. Fells is doing, crying for more of the blood of the black men, and
+vilifying defenseless black women as Mrs. Harris of that same State is
+doing, we the Southern white women better be doing a little missionary
+work among the men of our own race. It is time for us to rise up and let
+our voices be heard against the making of our protection an excuse for
+crime. Women like Mrs. Harris have done nothing, and would do nothing to
+better the condition of the woman whom they vilify. Nathan said unto
+David: 'Thou art the man.' This poor wretch will rise up in the judgment
+and cry aloud against us as her unnatural sisters who stood upon her and
+trampled her in the mud and mire. As inferior and morally low as we may
+deem her, it may be more tolerable for her in the judgment than for us.
+I wonder sometimes how the black woman could even look with favor upon
+the man who to her has been and is a sneaking coward, as well as a
+hypocrite in conduct toward the women of his own race. To us he abuses
+the Negro women, makes her the subject of ridiculous cartoons, shows her
+up before the world as a beast with his lips wet with kisses from her
+mouth, and she suckles at her breast the child of his begetting." "We
+can't afford to be too plain on that subject, Marjorie," interrupted
+Mrs. Bruce. "Southern women, not being independent and self-supporting,
+like our Northern sisters, cannot afford to call the men to account,
+though we, some of us, see the situation just as you have presented it."
+"But I for one will speak plainly," said Mrs. McLane. "Officer Bunts,
+instead of being driven from the city and hung in effigy, should have
+been treated differently, because in publicly acknowledging that he
+preferred a Negro woman as a companion he showed that he was more of a
+man than those who, like the Pharisees, rose up against him. If we as
+parents should refuse to give our daughters in marriage to men who have
+not clandestinely consorted with women of the alien race, how many could
+hold up clean hands?"
+
+"She who comes through environments of temptation unprotected from the
+assaults of the devil to glory and immortality will have a more
+exceeding and eternal weight of glory than she who has been shut in, as
+it were, by the walls of a nunnery." "If we could have kept the Negro
+from the Bible, kept the religion of Jesus Christ out of his heart, the
+massacre of November 10th might have the effect that those who planned
+it desired. But such demonstrations of barbarism will never be the means
+of vanquishing a trusting people. There's my cook, Susan. Her faith is
+simply astonishing. That young Negro man who was shot to death trying to
+escape from the Naval Reserves who were taking him from his home and
+family was her son. When my son read the news to her, she said no word,
+there was no sign of distress in her face, but I could see that her
+heart was deeply moved. She arose after a few minutes' silent
+meditation, then went on with her work. That evening I stole up to her
+room to speak a comforting word to her. I found her reading her Bible.
+She took off her glasses and wiped the water from her eyes as I
+entered." "I'm jes' layin' hold of God's promises," she said with a
+smile. "God is our refuge an' strength in all kinds er trouble, Honey."
+She threw her arms about my neck and drew me down beside her, and
+pointing to a verse in the prayer of Habakkuk said: "Read it loud,
+Honey. That's whar I stan'. 'Although the fig tree shall not blossom,
+neither shall fruit be in the vines, the labor of the olive shall fail,
+and the fields shall yield no meat.' 'The flock shall be cut off from
+the fold and there shall be no herd in the stalls. Yet will I rejoice in
+the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.' These are her
+sentiments." "This demonstrates the strength of her faith. She will not
+believe that her child was killed. In some miraculous way he must have
+escaped, and will some day come to her. For the faith of the simple
+Negro woman I would give a world." It was near the midnight hour when
+Mrs. McLane's visitors departed, wiser women by that Thanksgiving Day
+visit, we hope.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII.
+
+The Colonel's Repentance.
+
+
+The riotous excitement was slowly abating in the old city. The woods
+were full of panic-stricken, starving colored people, and trains were
+leaving the city laden with those who had means to get away. The leading
+whites, feeling both alarmed at and ashamed of the havoc and misery
+their ambition had wrought, had begun to send men into the woods to
+carry food to the starving, and induce them to return to the city. But
+so thoroughly frightened were these poor refugees that the sight of
+white faces made them run away from the very food offered them. The
+ambassadors came back to the city disgusted, and dispatched colored men,
+who were more successful. It was the evening of the 15th of November.
+Mr. Julius Kahn, Eastern North Carolina's representative of the Life
+Insurance Company of Virginia, sat at his desk in his office on Front
+street. This company, which had been giving, for a small weekly payment,
+quite a substantial and satisfactory death benefit, and consequently
+doing quite an enormous business among the poorer classes of the colored
+people, were among the heaviest sufferers from the massacre, for some of
+the collectors had been pressed into the service of the rioters to shoot
+down, and intimidate their very means of support. As Mr. Kahn sat there,
+he saw nothing but absolute ruin staring him in the face. "Well, what
+news?" he asked a man who stalked in, and sank heavily into a chair. The
+man threw his book upon the desk before him, shrugged his shoulders and
+sighed wearily. "It's useless," he answered finally. "I give it up. I
+haven't succeeded in getting within ten yards of a nigger woman to-day.
+If I went in at the front door, every occupant in a house would bolt out
+at the back one, and run for dear life. They will listen to no overtures
+of friendship. Our very faces fill them with abject terror. We had just
+as well throw up the insurance business and quit, as far as Wilmington
+is concerned. God's curse on the men who are responsible for this
+blight upon the good name of this city. One woman opened her door,
+cursed me, threw her book at me, and slammed the door in my face; and I
+can't blame her, for she saw and recognized me among the mob who shot
+her husband down right in her gate. And God knows I did not want to be
+among them, but was compelled to. And they say that old devil, after
+usurping the Mayoralty of the city, and killing and driving from their
+homes so many colored people, has softened, and has sent out to induce
+the wretches to return," said Mr. Kahn after a long pause. "Yes,"
+returned the agent, "but that won't help us. They say they've lost their
+confidence in white people. Why, you have no idea what a wretched state
+of things I've come across. The last five days' experience has made
+raving maniacs out of some of the niggers. The papers have announced the
+giving out of rations at the City Hall to-morrow, but I doubt if many
+will go to get them." Mr. Kahn leaned over, rested his elbows upon the
+desk, and slowly ran his fingers through his hair. "Some of our men left
+the city before they would be mixed up in this affair, and I wish now
+that I had done the same. But," he continued slowly, "we may just as
+well wait until all excitement is at an end before we pull up stakes.
+Other blacks will doubtless pour in to fill the places of those that are
+going, and we may be enabled to build up business." "You can remain and
+wait, Mr. Kahn," answered the agent rising. "This accursed town can no
+longer hold me. I leave to-night for Richmond, for I can no longer look
+into the faces of the people whom I have had a hand in killing and
+terrorizing. Good bye, Mr. Kahn," and the collector was gone.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+"Everybody git in line an' pass one ba one before ther Mair an' git yer
+permits; fer yer can't git rations thoughten 'um," shouted a policeman
+to a crowd of hungry citizens who stood upon the steps of the City Hall.
+"Git in thur ole Aunty an' wait yer turn!" to an old lady, who started
+to leisurely climb the steps. The Mayor sat at his desk, which had been
+placed just behind the railing in the court room, and mildly lectured
+each applicant as he or she came up. "This state of affairs is terrible,
+but it's your own fault. White people were born to rule, and you to
+obey. We liberated you and we can re-enslave you. Freedom and Yankee
+advice have ruined a good many of you. What's your name, old Aunty?" he
+asked an old woman who came limping up. "Maria Tapp'n, marster,"
+answered the old woman courtesing. "That's right, you haven't lost your
+manners," said the Mayor with a smile, writing out for her an order for
+a double portion. "Emulate these old mammies and uncles, who know their
+places, and you will have no trouble. Next!" "Ef ther's eny who needs er
+double po'tion hits ther widders an' orphans," said a policeman gently,
+pushing a little woman in black before the Mayor's desk. "Whose widow
+are you?" asked the Mayor. "Was your husband killed in the
+riots?--resisting arrest, I suppose." "This is ther widder of Dan
+Wright," answered the policeman; "an' ef Wilmin'ton had er had a hundred
+niggers like that, we uns would er had er diff'ant tale ter tell. He was
+ded game." "Dan Wright," repeated the Mayor slowly. "He's ther darkey
+that drawed er bead on an' defied we uns ter the las'," said the
+policeman pushing the woman away, and pushing another up to the desk.
+But the Mayor neither answered nor looked up. One by one they continued
+to come up to receive their orders and pass out; but the executive
+looked them no more in the face, nor essayed to speak. The crowd slowly
+dwindled away until the last applicant had passed out. The Mayor laid
+his pen upon the desk before him, leaned back in his chair, raised his
+feet upon the desk, and fell into a reverie. The doings of the past few
+days came back to his mind in all their shocking significance. The
+curses, the groans, the agonizing cries of the bereaved and the dying
+sounded a hundred-fold more voluminous and heart-rending. Then the
+bloody form of Dan Wright appeared with hands uplifted, eyes staring at
+his murderers, the blood streaming from a hundred wounds.
+
+The Mayor had seen hard service in war, was one of the immortal few who,
+under the leadership of Pickett, made that gallant but futile charge at
+Gettysburg, to be driven back for a third time, crushed, mangled and
+defeated. He doubtless assisted in digging the trenches into which those
+ghastly remnants that told of the cannon's awful work were thrown. That
+was war, and such sights had never so affected the veteran as the vision
+now before him.
+
+   "Avaunt! avaunt! Quit my sight!
+    Let the earth hide thee!
+    Thy bones are marrowless, thy blood is cold;
+    Thou hast no speculation
+    In those eyes that thou dost glare with!"
+
+The Mayor started up, opened his eyes. Uncle Guy stood before him. "I
+jes' taut I'd drap in, Kurnel, but didn't speck ter fin' yer sleep,"
+said he, wincing under the Mayor's abstracted gaze. "Oh, I don' want
+nut'n; don' make er scratch on dat paper. I ain't beggin'," he
+exclaimed, as the Mayor, recovering, reached for his pen. "That's so
+Guy; you needn't be a beggar as long as the white people own a crust,"
+he answered, settling back in his chair again. "Well, what are Negroes
+saying about the uprising, Guy?" The old man shrugged his shoulders, and
+shook his index finger at the Mayor. "Le' me tell yo', Kurnel, you na
+Wilmin'ton rich bocra, dun throw yo' number an' los'; hear me? Ef
+enybody gone tell me dat dese people I bin raise wid, who bin called de
+bes' bocra in de worl' would go an' kick up all dis ere devil, I'd er
+tole um No." The old man straightened up, pointed skyward. "Lowd deliver
+yunna bocra when yer call befo' de bar. Dese niggers ain't su'prise at
+po' white trash; dey do enyting. But yunna fus class white fo'ks--"
+
+"Well, Guy," broke in the Mayor, "it was hard for us to resort to such,
+but it was in self-defense." "Self-defense! self-defense!" repeated the
+old man. "When po' nigger han bin tie, an' yunna bocra got
+eberyt'ing--gun, cannon an' all de am-nition, an' beside dat, de town
+full wid strange trash frum all ober de country to crush dem? Some er
+dese men I sees shootin' an' killin', dars men an' umen livin' er my
+race dat nussed an' tuk keer er dem w'en dey bin little. God er mighty
+gwinter pay yunna well fer yer work, Kurnel, an' de gost er dem po'
+murdered creeters gwine ter haunt yo' in yer sleep. God don' lub ugly,
+an' yunna can't prosper." The old man concluded with a low bow, strode
+out, and left the Mayor alone with his thoughts.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX.
+
+Teck Pervis, the Leader.
+
+
+"Come, stan' back, men! I led you uns this fer, an' kin lead you
+through. I'm goin' ter lead the way ter ther Mare's office. Foller me!"
+A crowd of disappointed poor whites, who had assisted in restoring white
+supremacy and who had not been treated fairly in the distribution of the
+spoils, had gathered upon the City Hall steps in Wilmington to state
+their grievances and have them adjusted. Teck Pervis, the chairman of
+White Supremacy League of Dry Pond and leader of the raiders on the 10th
+of November, pushed his way through the crowd and faced the Mayor, who,
+seeing them approaching, had sent forward a platoon of police to
+intercept them, but without effect. "I say, Mr. Mare," said the leader,
+fumbling with his hat, "we uns heard that you sont orders fer us ter
+turn in our guns." "I did give such orders," returned the Mayor calmly.
+"Le' me tell yer, Mr. Mare, you uns ain't filled yer contract wid we po'
+uns, an' ther hain't er goin' ter be eny turnin' in guns tell yer do."
+"State your grievance," commanded the Mayor, in a tone that betrayed the
+ugliness of his temper. "You hain't carried out yer promus by a jug
+full," said Teck. "We uns have ter have ther pintin' er half er ther new
+officers in ther city. We uns war ter be giv'n these big-bug niggers'
+houses, churches an' so on. Niggers places in ther sto'es an' every whar
+was ter be giv' ter we uns. Now, drot my hides, ef these things air
+takin' shape zactly ter suit we uns. Now, we want satisfaction." "Well,"
+said the Mayor, "we thank you gentlemen for your zeal in helping us to
+rid Wilmington of radical rule, but we are sorry that you misunderstood
+us in regard to spoils and so forth. We can't take from the Negro his
+property and give it to you, but in cases where he has been timid enough
+to give it up (and we have had instances of the kind) we have sustained
+the white man. As many of the merchants as could consistently do so have
+discharged their black help and put on whites. But complaints are
+coming in to me that you can't do their work; that it often takes two
+white men to perform one Negro's task. Good and reliable colored help
+are leaving the city in alarming numbers, and we must call a halt. Mr.
+Skidmore tells me that he tried a few whites at his mill a few days ago
+and the result was most unsatisfactory. They couldn't count and pile the
+lumber and run the saws, and the scheme is a dead loss. What are we to
+do? We have given you the street work, and the police force is full. You
+men are not sufficiently educated to fill clerical positions, and even
+if you were, we must reserve them for the first families," concluded the
+Mayor, with a haughty lift of his head. "Now, Mr. Mare, yo' speech is
+all right 'nough, but it don't suit we uns ernough ter give up ther
+guns. We went back on our colored frends ter giv' yo' 'ristocrats ther
+gov'ment, and we uns'll combine wi' ther colored men an' take hit from
+yer, see?"
+
+Teck Pervis turned and faced the men who stood like a wall at his back.
+"Gentermen, go home an' keep yer guns an' yer powder dry, for yo'll need
+'em! Good day, Mr. Mare!" He followed and addressed his men from the
+steps of the City Hall.
+
+"Gentermen, we pu' down nigger rule on the tenth, the nex' move mus' be
+ter let ther 'ristocrats know thet the one gullus boys air indowed by
+God wi' ther same rites as they air. We po' uns'll have er show, er
+break up the whole thing. Go home, boys, and be ready to rally when ther
+order's giv'!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX.
+
+Rev. Jonas Melvin, Resigns.
+
+
+"I've bin er readin' ther Scripter an' rastlin' wi' ther Lord in prayer
+fer lo these meny ye'rs, an' hain't never seed er time when I tho't thet
+er preacher of ther word was jestified in j'inin' in with sinners in
+devilment. Thar's no use in talkin', Brother Melvin mus' wine up his
+kareer in Free Will Church." Mrs. Aamanda Pervis was addressing the
+above to Deacon Littleton, as arm in arm they proceeded toward the
+church a few evenings after Thanksgiving Day. Ever since the massacre
+she had been busily trying to awaken sentiment in the church against the
+pastor, who on that fatal day had stood with Dr. Jose upon the firing
+line to shoot down his fellow citizens of color. The deacons had waited
+upon Jonas Melvin and informed him of what was being done, and had
+advised him to tender his resignation and get out; but he preferred
+coming before the church and "quitting honorably," as he termed it. Mrs.
+Pervis had worked so earnestly that the church was crowded to the doors
+on that evening. It was Deacon Littleton who called the meeting to order
+and stated its purpose. "Brethren an' sisters," he began, "the 10th of
+November was to the people of this community a tryin' time. It was a war
+which many of us felt justifiable in enterin', but there was no
+justification in it; it was the work of the devil. If we had got on our
+knees an' kept our eyes fixed upon the things of God, such a deed as has
+disgraced this community would not have happened. I wonder what the
+Negro thinks of us now? Does he think we air the banner carriers of
+Christian civilization? Orphans are cryin', widows are moanin', a
+paradise has been turned into hell by a people calling themselves a
+superior people. Christians and sinners have gone hand and hand into
+this evil. We don't know whether any other church has felt in duty boun'
+to sift its membership, an' reprimanded the guilty, but Free Will
+Baptist Church feels it her indispensable duty to do so, an' we are
+sorry to say that the first case we are pained to try is that of our
+pastor, Rev. Jonas Melvin, who, on the 10th of November, 1898, stood
+with gun in hand, assisting the devil in his work." Turning to the
+minister, who sat all the while with head bowed, the deacon concluded:
+"Brother Jonas Melvin, have you anything to say to this charge, why it
+should not be sustained, and you be dismissed from this church?"
+
+Rev. Jonas Melvin arose. "Brethren," he began, "this work began in the
+church; church people laid the plans and led in the execution of those
+plans. Those men who waited upon the Governor to persuade him to keep
+the troops away that the mob might execute its work unmolested, were
+leading church men and ministers of the gospel." "They were no
+Christians!" cried a feminine voice. "I thought I was doing my duty as a
+Christian in assisting in restoring good government to the people of
+this town, and if I have done wrong, the Lord is my judge." Mr. Melvin
+sat down. "The state of things as they existed in Wilmington did not
+justify the taking of a single life," said a brother, rising, "and many
+a man has been made to stumble by the deeds of professing Christians in
+this riot; and while I'm on my feet, I move that the resignation of Rev.
+Jonas Melvin from the pastorate of this church be demanded." "Secon'
+ther motion!" exclaimed Mrs. Pervis, jumping to her feet. "An' I wish
+ter say jes' here that Teck Pervis, who perfessed religion las' year,
+has jes' gone back to ther deval bekase, ses he, the preachers war in
+this thing. Preachers whose han's air full er blood air not fit ter
+handle ther word er God."
+
+The motion was carried with but few opposers. Mrs. Pervis felt light
+enough to fly away that night as she walked homeward, for she had
+carried the church with her for God and the right. She hugged the arm of
+Deacon Littleton with painful tenacity as they both strode homeward
+together. "Think of them po' creeters drove frum ther homes ter suffer
+an' die by men claimin' ter hev religion. Jonas Melvin mus' go back ter
+Georgy whar the people air in leeg wid ther deval."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI.
+
+Bill Sikes.
+
+
+Bill Sikes was a man who always looked ahead and wisely prepared for
+declining years. Bill was a carpenter by trade, and by thrift and
+industry saved money, bought land and built houses upon it, so that he
+might leave comfortable homes for his many children. When the calamity
+came which incapacitated him for further usefulness he had come into
+possession of a whole block in the portion of the city known as "New
+Town." His prosperity did not, however, lessen his activity; he forgot
+that he was getting old, for his limbs were yet supple and his eyes
+perfectly clear. He measured off his lumber and drove nails with the
+strength and accuracy of a young man; yet, as death lurks in every
+passing breeze, feeling well is no evidence of sound health or assurance
+of long life. Bill Sikes seldom complained. Steady habits had made him
+vigorous and confident; but one morning his fond wife stood in the door
+and watched him as with head erect and firm step he strode away to his
+work, only to be borne back to her at noon a helpless paralytic. "What's
+the matter, William?" she asked tenderly, as loving hands lay him upon
+the lounge before her. But the tongue which had bid her good-bye so
+fondly that morning could not utter a word, and the eyes that had gazed
+so sweetly into hers bespoke the bitter anguish of his soul as they
+stared vacantly at her. "He's done fer," said one of the men, rubbing
+his eye with the back of his hand. "The doctors seen him and says he
+ain't fer long." "Speak to me, William," cried Mrs. Sikes, bending low
+and pressing her cheeks against her husband's. He raised his arm to
+caress her, but it fell again to his side.
+
+But Bill Sikes did not die; he rallied; the lost strength gradually came
+back to his palsied limbs sufficiently to enable him to hobble around,
+and his tongue became light enough to utter words that could be
+understood with difficulty. Full and complete recovery was impossible,
+however; he was a child, helplessly clinging to his wife, whose burden
+was increased tenfold with the larger children all away and management
+of everything--the looking after their little store and other property
+upon her shoulders; she felt that God had tried her as no other soul had
+been tried. The property of Bill Sikes had for a long time been coveted
+by his white neighbors, but even extortionate offers had been refused.
+But the 10th of November offered a favorable opportunity for the
+covetous to bulldoze black men who owned valuable real estate into
+selling it at any price, and Mrs. Sikes was one of that number whose
+experience had turned their love for the dear old home into hate. She
+had witnessed the killing of a poor wretch right in front of her door,
+within a stone's throw of his home; had heard the agonizing wails of his
+wife and children--a sight which she had never expected to witness in
+Wilmington. The roar of cannon and musketry, the yells of frightened
+women and children kept her poor, helpless husband in constant terror,
+hanging on to her skirts like a babe. And now, although weeks had passed
+since that fatal day, the native white, emboldened by re-enforcement and
+the demoralization of colored men, kept up the reign of terror. Colored
+women of respectability who had not fled the city were compelled to
+remain prisoners in their homes to escape ignominious treatment upon the
+highways.
+
+It was a few mornings after Thanksgiving Day when Mrs. West left her
+cottage on Campbell street and ventured over to pay a visit to Mrs.
+Sikes. "Well, Henrietta, how have you managed to live through it all?"
+she asked, throwing her arms about the waist of Mrs. Sikes, who saw her
+approaching, and had gone out upon the porch to greet her. "And poor
+William! I've thought of you oh! so many times, Henrietta, knowing of
+just how much you were in need of his protection during these days of
+trial." "Yes," answered Mrs. Sikes, leading the visitor in and bolting
+the door. "The burden upon his poor wife's shoulders is indeed heavy;
+but, then, our men are unable to protect us, anyway, so great are the
+odds against them." "Oh, Wilmington! Wilmington! who would have thought
+that thou wouldst be the theatre for the tragedy enacted within thy
+borders!" interrupted Mrs. West. "Some of us, at least, are too well
+bred, have too much self-respect and pride to stand and endure this
+state of things that exists now in our home. We could go to church and
+worship unmolested in the days of slavery; now we have not been
+permitted for weeks to hold public worship. They are determined to place
+and keep North Carolina on a level with States further South. Would you
+believe it? one of our white ladies sent her servant down to the bandit
+Mayor to be whipped the other day." "Yes," said Mrs. Sikes, "another
+went down to have a Negro woman driven out of her own house because she
+lived in a white neighborhood and the children had had a little trouble
+among themselves. And the poor black woman, to remain in her house, was
+compelled to get down on her knees and beg the white one's pardon."
+"Well," said Mrs. West, "we held a meeting the other night, and I told
+the few who had the courage to venture out that I was going. Give me
+liberty or give me death! I would rather be a beggar in a land of
+liberty than a Croesus where my wealth will not purchase toleration. The
+colored citizens who own property are the very ones who have been forced
+to leave the city." "I have also made up my mind to do the same,"
+answered Mrs. Sikes. "William is so disgusted that he wants to go even
+if he has to sell our property for half its value. Then he thinks that
+in New York he can go under treatment in one of the many great hospitals
+there. He has improved so much that he believes final recovery possible.
+To tell you the truth, I did not believe that I could become so
+disgusted with my own home, in which I was born and loved so well." "It
+may all be for the best," said Mrs. West. "Some one hath sinned--there
+is an Achan in the camp, and when the sin is punished innocent and
+guilty suffer alike. In our prosperity we have strayed away from Him who
+hath redeemed us, and these broken down aristocrats and poor white
+indentured slaves are the Philistines sent to scourge us. And, then, we
+have been slaves to the idea that there is no place on earth for us to
+live but here in our home. The eagle hath stirred up her nest that her
+young may scatter abroad. Old as I am, I will leave Wilmington, trusting
+in God and feeling that the world is mine, and if I can't live in peace
+in one place I can go to another. But the most important thing is, Molly
+has consented to go." "Brave girl!" said Mrs. Sikes. "I heard of her
+wonderful deeds during the massacre; I didn't believe it was in her. In
+her new surroundings, away from old associate, she will keep straight. I
+have made up my mind to go finally to Cleveland, Ohio, my old home.
+Colored women are not so much annoyed by white men in the North and West
+as in the South, and Molly may there be enabled to quit her old habits.
+We will see each other before we start away, as I shall take a steamer,
+for we may stay a while in New York," concluded Mrs. West, rising to go.
+"It matters not where on earth we may roam, there are twelve gates to
+the City up there. There is no more parting, no more persecution, no
+more separation, no tears. So long, till I see you again."
+
+The usurping Mayor of Wilmington had just disposed of the last case upon
+docket, dismissed the court and had settled back in his chair to enjoy
+the morning paper, when Bill Sikes entered, and, with his hat in his
+hand, humbly approached the railing behind which the Mayor sat. He
+rested his palsied hand upon the rail and saluted. The Mayor arose, came
+forward and extended his hand. "Well, Bill, how are you?" "Mornin',
+Colonel," answered he. "I come down to tell yer I'm goin'." "Going?
+Where?" "I think I'll try the North, Colonel." The Mayor's face relaxed.
+"Why, Bill, you are all right; no one's troubled you. If all the Negroes
+were like you we would have had no trouble." "Yes, I know I'm all
+right," answered Bill, "but I can't stan' seein' men who was playmates
+of mine shot down on the streets like dogs by their ol' 'sociates an'
+neighbors. You know, Colonel, I'm one who b'lieved in the white people
+of this town, an' was ready at any time to stake ma life on that belief;
+but what has took place in Wilmington an' what is still goin' on has
+converted me." "Now, Bill," said the Mayor, somewhat moved, "the white
+people of Wilmington had to resort to this to restore the government to
+those to whom it rightfully belonged. White people must rule, Bill." "I
+ain't got no objection to your rulin', but drivin' out black citizens
+who have stood by yer an' been always faithful to yer is er grave
+mistake. The deal yer made with these po-bocra is goin' ter give yer
+trouble, Colonel, mark ma words. You ain't got no more use fer po'
+whites than I have, an' I know it." "But they were the means to the end,
+Bill," answered the Mayor, with a smile. "A kingdom divided agin itself
+is er goin' ter fall, Colonel." "Don't be a fool and leave your home
+because of unpleasantness; remember you are getting old; the North is no
+place for you; you are comfortably fixed here." "Yes, Colonel, I know
+that, but I'm not goin' ter stay in er place where a d--n scoundrel can
+insult ma wife an' I can't pertect her, an' you know there's been a time
+when I could. Good-bye, Colonel." "Good-bye, Bill; you'll regret it I'm
+afraid."
+
+Bill Sikes went back home to prepare for his journey northward.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII.
+
+A Ship Sails.
+
+
+When on the evening of December 1, 1898, the old Clyde steamer drifted
+out from her docks into mid stream in the harbor of Wilmington, among
+the host of passengers that stood upon her deck, with tear-dimmed eyes,
+to bid adieu to the dear old town was Molly Pierrepont. Leaning upon the
+shoulder of her foster mother, whose heart was too full to speak, she
+frantically waved her handkerchief and cried "Farewell, old home! Dear
+as thou hast been to me, I must leave thee for ever; for thou art in the
+possession of the wicked. The spoiler is in thy borders. The blood of
+innocents has flowed freely in thy highways, and the murderer and the
+assassin stalk abroad in thy streets. But it matters not where I go, thy
+days of equity, when every citizen, it mattered not how humble, was
+free, shall ever live with me. Days of childhood innocence, the shouts
+of the children, the clang of the school bell, the rippling of the
+rills, the hum of bees will be the means of helping me to forget thy
+latter days of turmoil and strife. Good-bye, old home! Good-bye!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII.
+
+Bill Sikes in New York.
+
+
+It was near the Christmas holidays, a genuine Northern winter day, cold
+and piercing, going to the marrow in spite of heavy clothing. Francis
+Lewis, contractor and builder, sat in his comfortable office in West
+Forty-seventh street, New York city, when the door was pushed open and a
+light-skinned colored man entered. His face was thin and pinched, his
+hair and beard slightly mixed with gray, and he dragged one foot as he
+walked.
+
+"Well, what can I do for you, my good man?" said Mr. Lewis, rising.
+"Take a seat; you don't look as though you are very well," pointing to a
+chair near by. "I'm jes' lookin' aroun'," answered the man, lowering
+himself into the chair with difficulty. "I'm er carp'nter maself." "Yes?
+Where are you from?" asked Mr. Lewis. "From the South--Wilmington," was
+the reply. "Oh, that's the scene of recent riots. What's the matter with
+those people down there--crazy?" "No, but that was the only way they
+could git er hol' er the gov-nment," answered the colored man. "The
+colored people bein' in the majority of course had controlin' power, but
+they were always willin' fer the whites ter rule, an' they did rule. But
+there wasn't offices ernough to go 'round to all the bankrup' whites who
+wanted political jobs, and give the Negro er repersentation too, so they
+concluded ter wipe the Negro off the earth." "Shame! shame!" exclaimed
+Mr. Lewis. "Then the colored people were gittin' er lon too well; they
+had considerable property, and was well up in the trades an'
+professions. I owned er whole block maself, an' was perpared to spen'
+ther balance of ma days at ease, but had ter sell ma house an' git out."
+"You say you are a carpenter--house builder?" "Yes, sir." "You mean to
+say that you took contracts, planned and built houses?" "Oh, yes,"
+replied the colored man. "I never saw a colored architect. Say, George!"
+to a man who had just entered, "here's a colored architect and
+house-builder from the South." "Architect and builder?" queried the
+other, drawing nigh. "Well, Mr.--what is your name?" "William--William
+Sikes." "Mr. Sikes, are you looking for work at your trade in the North?
+The Trades Union and so forth make it pretty hard for a colored man to
+get in here; and then you can't work, you are lame." "I am a little
+lame," replied Bill, looking down at his palsied arm. "I had a paralytic
+stroke some time er go. I am goin' in for treatment, an' if I git well,
+I won't ask Trade Union an' labor unions no boot. Where there's er will
+there's er way." "But I am afraid you will never recover sufficient
+strength to work again at your trade, my man," answered Mr. Lewis,
+tenderly; "but you can try." "Good day," said Bill, rising to go. "Good
+day," said Mr. Lewis.
+
+But Mrs. Sikes, still vigorous and strong, found in New York abundant
+opportunities for women to be useful. There was day's work, general
+house work, chamber work and cooking situations to be had without very
+much effort on the part of the seeker. Mrs. Sikes, whose work had
+chiefly been dressmaking and plain sewing, found the new field of labor
+quite irksome. The money realized from the sale of her property she must
+not let dwindle away too swiftly; her husband was helpless, and she must
+work, and the children must work. She found the North a place where a
+day's work meant a day's work in full; there was no let up; the pound of
+flesh was exacted. So she often tugged home to her apartments very tired
+and discouraged.
+
+They had been in New York quite a year, and Mrs. Sikes had quite gotten
+used to Northern ways (everything seeming easier accomplished), when one
+evening at the dinner table she noticed that her husband watched her
+more than usual. "What's the matter, William?" she asked, tenderly. "I'm
+awful discouraged," he said. "I--I don't get any better, an' hate ter
+see you an' children strugglin' so hard an' I can't help." "Now, don't
+worry about that, William; it will do no good." "I was thinkin'," he
+went on, "that we might try it again in Wil--" "Now, don't mention
+Wilmington to me again, William!" broke in Mrs Sikes, sharply. "If you
+wish to go back to that hell, I'll put you on the train and you can go;
+but I, never! Life is not so easy here, but I can walk the streets as a
+lady, and my children are free to play and romp without fear of being
+killed for accidentally or purposely treading upon the toe of a white
+child. I have been free too long to endure slavery for one moment.
+Wilmington is not what it used to be, and I fear it never will be. I
+have just received a letter from Mrs. Cole saying that the situation has
+not changed. On Castle street about a month ago a black child's body
+was found full of bruises. It is supposed he was killed by white boys in
+sport. A young man was called to his door a few nights ago and shot down
+because he had driven his horse over a gentleman's (?) dog. She says to
+appeal to the law is useless. She says further that the poor whites are
+preparing for another raid. Now, I would rather live here free in
+poverty than to live there a slave in comfort. The children are all
+away, the property is sold, and there is nothing to be gained by going."
+Bill said no more to his wife upon the subject; he knew her too well to
+misunderstand her words.
+
+
+
+
+Molly's Final Step.
+
+
+It was Sunday evening in New York. Bethel Church was crowded to the
+doors. The sermon had been concluded, and the choir and congregation had
+solemnly chanted the Lord's Prayer. "As I looked over this audience
+to-night," said Dr. Henderson, descending from the pulpit, "I think of
+the words of the blessed Saviour, 'The fields are white and ready to
+harvest,' so I'm going to open the doors of the church. Who here is
+ready to make a start for heaven to-night? Come, sinner! God's not
+calling the righteous, but you. There is a prodigal child here to-night
+who has wandered from home. Come home; there is bread and to spare, and
+a warm welcome there. Here comes one, thank God!" A young man went
+forward and took the minister's hand, followed by two others. "Who else
+will come? There is some one that is almost persuaded. Remember that to
+be almost persuaded is to be lost. Come, sinner.
+
+   "'Will you scorn the message
+       Sent in mercy from above?
+     Every sentence, oh how tender!
+       Every line is full of love.'
+
+"Listen to it: 'Every line is full of love.' God requires no
+preparation; come just as you are. Just surrender yourself, yourself
+to--" "I surrender, Lord." This exclamation startled the audience, and
+all eyes were turned upon a tall and stately woman, who suddenly arose
+in the centre of the church and started forward. This was Molly
+Pierrepont, making the final step. "Poor Magdalene," she whispered as
+she took Dr. Henderson's hand. "But God is gracious, my child," returned
+the minister.
+
+A month went by. It was Sunday evening, and again Bethel was filled to
+overflowing; but, large as that audience was, a serene stillness
+prevailed, for out from the choir loft a rich soprano voice, pathetic
+and appealing in its tone, fell serenely upon listening ears.
+
+   "Just as I am thou wilt receive,
+    Wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve;
+    Because thy promise I believe
+    Oh Lamb of God, I come.
+
+   "Just as I am, thy love unknown,
+    Hath broken every barrier down,
+    Now to be Thine, yea Thine alone,
+    Oh Lamb of God, I come."
+
+Molly has done her part nobly and well, so I close the story with
+Molly.
+
+
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber's note:
+
+
+The following changes have been made to the text:
+
+Page 4: "Whose there" changed to "Who's there".
+
+Page 13: "State from mountian" changed to "State from mountain".
+
+Page 21: "Good da , Gideon" changed to "Good day, Gideon".
+
+Page 25: "Georgia and Florida its" changed to "Georgia and Florida
+it's".
+
+Page 29: "Kidder s Hill" changed to "Kidder's Hill".
+
+Page 35: "anti-bellum liking" changed to "ante-bellum liking".
+
+Page 44: "the main thorougfare" changed to "the main thoroughfare".
+
+Page 44: "by offering to puschase" changed to "by offering to purchase".
+
+Page 59: "it is writeen" changed to "it is written".
+
+Page 63: "great' eal" changed to "great 'eal".
+
+Page 92: "Wilmington Record" was italicized.
+
+Page 93: "Dr. Pond" changed to "Dry Pond".
+
+Page 111: "Misses," said a servant" changed to "missis," said a
+servant".
+
+Page 113: "Such langauge" changed to "Such language".
+
+Page 134: "make it prety hard" changed to "make it pretty hard".
+
+
+
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