St. Landry democrat., 1879-05-31
Three Hundred More.
SCENES IN ATCHISON, kANSAS--A RE
rUBLICANTOWN GIVING THE BLACKS
THE COLD SHOULDER.


PUBLICAN TOWN GIVING THE BLACKS
THE COLD SHOULDER.
A NARROWING TALE FROM EICKSBURG.
IAtchison (Kansas) Patuot.l
The brief item in the Patriot last eve
ming that the steamer Joe Kinney, with
three hundred specimens of the present
exodus" had arrived at our levee,
? sent a delegation of sight -seers in that
direction with much celerity, aud SO
miscellaneous was the delegation that
| to do the members of the exodus justice,
we believe their numbers were over
estimated owing to the general mixing
up that ensued among the brethren.
! Our officials had been apprsed OF the
fact that the chief Of police Of Ieaven-
worth had posse of men at t&elr levee
to prevent them from landing, and the
| Mayor of that town gave the steamboat
captain $3.50 to land them some place
outside of Leavenworth county, sug-
gestiug Atchison as q suitable place.
| Inasmuch as the officials Of fLcavenWOrth
are pure and undetied Republicans, the
scuryy trick was very unbecOmlng, and
it was very immodest for the members
of the exodus to leave Leavenworth
and come to a community so Democratic
as AtchiSOn.
Notwithstanding these incongruities
they are here, and that their condition
may not be misrepresented, we make
the statement that three hundred more
helpless or destitute-lOoking humans
never gathered together. In this party
there were fourteen able-bOdied men.
The rest were women, old men, cripplcs
and children, the latter lar Tgely predom-
mating. They were located on the leVce,
lust below the bridge, and when they
were hustled ashore. bag and baggage,
the sight was enough to make the flesh
creep. AS the citizens gathered around
and mingled with them their child-like
simplicity was most apparent IN their
modest importunlngs for quarter, and
if they failed to reach this amount, they
would reply, "Gimme dime, den" :"
All that could talk piled their vocation
industriously until the pumps showed
evidence of giving ont:
The stories they told of barbarous
cruelty were heart-rending in the ex-
treme. One man said that he counted
Hiyty-nine dead bodies Of negroes rho
had been shot down in the streets Of vichs-
bmg tie day he left there, and that the
bulldo=crs refused to let them be buried.
Another one said that able-b bodied la
bOrers couldn't make S7J a month, work
as hard as they would. Another said
that lie was near dead from the work he
had done on the boat the night before ;
that he had helped to carry ties off the
boat twice as large as any sycamore
log, and when they lay on the ground
eight men with hundspikes couldn't
move them. By these sad word pictures
they worked on the feelings of the
thrODgs.
One old darkey woman was asked
what she worked at. Her reply was
"Gi' me quarter an I'll tell you" After
compromising on a dime, her retort was,
Use a cotton picker, in co'se. We
asked her what they were paying cotton
picllers, and SHE said fifty cents hun
tred. We asked her how many pounds
she could pick in day, and she said
$50. We asked her if she expected to
make more than 81 25 per day in Kansas.
Her reply was: "'Deed does, honey;
you don't ketch dis nigga workin' her
ole soul an body out fo' no dolla' an a
quartah day"
And it was that way among them all.
4 few of them wanted work, but q
majority were complaining on account
of the delay in the banquet that was
promised them on the steamboat. There
were at least twenty Of Them sick
down sick in bed with blankets and old
quilts thrown round them. One bright
1 looking young woman had three-days
old baby, and was the sadest-looking
of all. t.
Late in the afternoon a relief com
mittee, with a number OF prominent
colored citizens in the lead, was organ
| lied, and they were all supplied with
| + L.,
up to. the colored churches and the
| We are upiDfortped as to what DISPOSE.
ton ia to be made of them. The able
bodied men could find work without
| trouble, but they compose such small
percentage of the number who must be
helped, that but little can be expected
Of them. Seriously, it is a grave ques--
tion which our humane citizens will
| have to solve. This is the first INSTALL
ment. We understand that several
| more boatloads are on their way Ep,
| and with the same experience the doe
Kinney has had, they will assurdedly
reach Atchison.
Since writing the above, the following
interesting teiegraphic correspondence
has passed between Mayor Tomlinson
and the Mayor of Leayenworth:
LEAvENwoRTH, May g. 1920 P: m;-Go the
Mayor of Atchison Can you provide for more
refugees Have some here and two boatloads
expected hourly. aa
". M. FoRTEsCUE, Mayor.
ATcH1seH. May 3.-Yo the Hou ". IL. For
tescue, Mayor Nc. Ne have all that the city
can provide for, and 1 respectfully hereby
notify, yon and the city OF 1!eavenmeTt.l that
city responsible for the paupers you sent here
yesterday. JOHN c. ToMLINsoN, Mayor.