Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1879-03-18

] MnlCn Is lllc luNL"lANiVl. "'"N'
this hapless race in America. Only q
poor old niggcr, YOU know, hopeless,
spiritlcss and stupid, as far as You or
can Judge, like hundreds of Others We sec
every dav. The Africans millennium IN
| America will never come for them. Born
/ in slavery, bred in slavery, Old Joe car
ricd hi, chains So long. that when at length
they were lifted off they had worn SO
dccp into the old mans nature that he
could not outgrow the marks of them.
What else could YOU expect, pray:
Old Joe had ten children. Some OF
them died and others were sold away
from him, Thirty years ago or more
I Where they are, or whether they are alive
or dead. Old Joe knows no more than you
do. and never will know in this world.
( lie counts them over on his fingers often,
50 that he will not forget the names of
/ them.
"Au dead or sold of when they was
pickaninnics, Master. The Lord above
knows where they are now. All but lit
tie Nose. Little Nose was left.
Little Nose was the Youngest, the
whitcst-skinncd. most spirited of them
all. The white blood had gained the
mastery over the negro in this boy veins,
as it does everywhere else, and Nose was
as slender, straighi-fcaturcd and fiery
hearted" as any Southern gentleman IN
the land Of the magnolia aud the mock
. ing bird. Nose was like his mother, who
was nearly white.
have told You what Old Joc's father
and grandfather did for America. What
could poor, >piri,lcs, uiEscr like Old
Joe do: Tie could no; fight, that is ccr-
tain. Seven generations of scrvitude had
no; left much of the spirit OF fight in
Joe. Besides, hc WAS dcvoUt Christian,
and in his ignorant. foolish soul believed
that the Christian religion really meant
m,cknc>,. patience and submission, and
returning good for evil Bat there arr
some Southern ladic, and gentlemen who
would not tonight Doe sleeping peacefully
in their bed, only fo- this poor, stupid
0,I ". i,t.l,. J,, s1vrd tho live,
~. - 80 .l,, ,..-, mon ,,h,-but We
have uot come to that vet Old Joe.
poor. ragged. stupid Old joe. did that
" hicb makcs him the Christian hero Of
his race.
lie WAS Old Jo, before the late war
b, i very Oll I,. now. cigh,y year, old
a. l.,st In m. mid,, Of the war Joe
ner,nrmed hi, heroic work for the white
man
I, was At the tim, tina, the North had
begun to permit the enlistment Of negro
,oldicr,. and the somewhat remote district
of the South in which Jo, ate the corn
brad of SLAYER, was uu of ,he crazic~t
rumo-s and the widest excitement, Il
was currently pportcd and believed that
an arm, of forty thousand "niggcr' and
an indefinite number OF white men wis on
it> way to that particular county To destroy
the face of creation and ran tine slaves oil
7 for recruit, 10 the Northern army. south
7 cn ghiyalry, Whl, there WAS lcit OF /; !"
the county. WAS terrified out ot H. boots.
I II you'u excuse nae ior saving IL, and ala
anxious watch va, kcp, on the ucEroe,.
One nigh, jos asked his master tor a
mas. to 90 90 q Methodist m.,t.ug. Pres
emily another slave came 70 the master
with ,be same rrguc>.. and another, and
another. until the master suddenly rc-
mcmbcrcd that every one of his slaves
| had asked for pass 20 - to a Methodist
meeting. Then hc remembered that the
same thing had happened a few days be-
fore. /, looked suspicious.
In day OF two more the negroes all
asked to IN 10 another Methodist meeting
This evening the master blackcd hi, face
and dressed in negro clothes and followed
~, =, tbe Methodist meeting himself. |,
v.,s ,ba kind of Methods, meeting that
madc the ,laye-owncr r. hair stand on end
L. -. r,;5., of , dense thickct several
bn,J~od s,,Iwart NEGROES were holding d
mcc.;,q by torch-Eght. The master no.
t;cod that each man a, he came in, bent
aud touched the ground with his fore
head and laid his finger on his lip as he
,ro.. The master did the same and Wa.
IaIr,;,,od with ,bc rest Concealing him
~elf IN tbe shadow he listened anxiousl,
70 catch the drift of this curious Mctho
Idist meeting. The talk was carried on il
. low. tome bnt presently the master dis
cs,red tb,, the NEGROES were actually dis
cn.-;n, ' whether when the Yankees came
.So,. .6o,,id ;o;n tbe Northern army oui
II II - - ,bcv sboyId mo, rise in