Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1879-04-11
THE TERROR STRICKEN NEGROES.
st. Louis People Send to Congress a
Written Memorial On the Sub
ieet of the Migration.

w HASHlNGTON, April I.-Mf. ".
II. Tandy, of st. Louis, arrived in
Washington to-day, bringing a me-
mortal to Congress on the subject Of
the exodous of colored people from
the South. The following are the
most important portions of the pa
per:
The undersigned, your memorial
lists, respectfully represent that with
in the last two weeks there have
come by steamboats, up the Missis-
sippi River, chiefly from the States
of Louisiana and Mississippi, and
landed at st. Louis, Mo-, a great
number Of colored citizens of the
United States, not less than 1000,
and composed of men and women,
old and young, and with them many
of their children. This multitude
are eager to proceed to Kansas, and,
without exception, so far as we have
learned, refuse all oVertures or in
ducements to return South, even if
their passage back is paid for them.
The condition Of the great majority
is that of absolute poverty. They
are clothed in thin and ragged gar
ments for the most part, and while
here, have been supported, to some
extent, by public, but mostly by
private, charity. The older ones
are the former slaves of the South,
all now entitled to life and liberty.
The weather, from the first advent
of these people in this northern
city, has been unusually cold, at
tended with ice and snow, so that
their sufferings have been greatly
increased, and if there was in their
hearts single kind remembrance of
their Southern sunny homes, they
would give it expression now.
We have taken occasion to ex-
anime into the causes they them
selves assign for their extraordinary
and unexpected transit, and beg
leave to submit herewith the writz
ten statements of number Of in
dividuals of the refugees, which
were taken without any effort to
have one thing said more than an
other, and to express the sense of
the witness in his own language as
nearly as possible. The story is
about the same in each instance
great privation and want from ex-
cesive rent exacted for land, con-
nected with murder Of colored
and threats Of personal
violence to themselves. The tone
of each statement is that Of suffer
ing and terror. Election days and
Christmas by the concurrent testi-
mony seem to have been appropri-
ated to killing the smart " men,
while robbery and personal violence,
in one form and another, seem to
have run the year round.
Here follow abstracts of a num-
ber of afidavits, giving the circum-
stances of murders committed in |
Louisiana and Mississippi, some of
which have heretofore been reported |
in the North, but many of which |
have never before been made public. |
The memorial continues.
We submit that great migration
of negroes from the South is in it.
self a fact that oYerbears all con-
tradiction, and proves conclusively |
that great causes must exist in the |
South to account for it. Here they
are in multitudes; not men alone,
but women and children, old, mid |
dle-aged and young, with common
consent leaving their old homes in
a natural climate, and facing storms
and unknown dangers to get to
Northern Kansas. Why? Among
them all there is little said of hope
in the future. It is all of fear in
the past. They are not drawn by
the attractions of Kansas. They
are driven by the terrors Of Missis-
sippi and Louisiana. Whatever be-
comes of them they are unanimous
IN their unalterable determination
not to return. There are others
coming. Those who have come and
gone on to Kansas must suffer even
unto death we fear-at all events,
more than any body Of people enti,
tied to liberty and law, the posses
sion of property, the right to vote
and the pursuit of happiness, should
be compelled to suffer under free
from terror, inspired
by robbery, tn. eats, assaults and
murder.
The memorial closes as foil ows:
We protest against the direful
necessities impelling the exodus and
against the violation of common
right, natural and constitutional,
proven to be of most frequent occur
renee in places named and We ask
such action at the hands Of our Rep
and our Government as
shall investigate to the full extent
the causes leading to this unnatural
state of affairs, and protect the peo-
nle from itS continuance and not |