The Indianapolis leader. (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1879-1890, 1880-09-04
SKETCHES FROM THE SOUTH.
The Impressions Of Buckeye Rambler
in Dixie.
Politics, Politicians, Incidents, Etc
No. v.
BY W. s. :.

|
To avoid being too monotonous l in
troduce it here. 1t is a common form
of salutation in the South-not mere
ly between persons of Hamitic, but
of Shemitic extraction as well. While
passing along, the other day, by the
cabin of an old colored man, we heard
the following conversation. A boy
was chopping wood in the yard; an
old colored woman was summing her.
self, apparently, in the cabin door;
and an old uncle" Ned, who was
lame in one foot, came up to the front
gate and rested himself on his sound
est leg. After a very few moments,
he shouted:
"How you do, Aun' Dinah?'
"I'm toler'ble. How you do?'
I'm toler'ble How's Aun' Mary?"
"She's toIer'bIe. How's Aun Phyl-
LISP"
"Shes toler'ble. How's Aun' Phe-
be?"
''She's toler'bIe. How's Gus an de
chilluns?"
Dey's toler'ble"
"Lordl Lordl' said the boy, wiping
the sweat off his brow with one fin
ger, and kicking piece of stove
wood aside, "Eberybody toler'ble."
1t is interesting to observe how
shrewd and cautious the Southern
rebels are. They have been out of
power SO long that they are willing
to make almost any kind of concee-
sion to get the machinery of the Gov
ernment into their hands. They tell
the Negroes that if they will give
them their support, they will pay
every cent lost by them in the Freed
mems Savings Bank-they will in
crease their privileges, and will in the
end do better by them than the Re-
publicans are able to do. Wonder
full wonderfulll wonderful!l! "Ubi-
nam gentium sumus," (where in the
world are web Every intelligent
colored man knows that this is false;
not a shadow of truth in it. Why
don't they begin now? Why delay?
In Atlanta, at the depot, are three
sitting rooms-one for white ladies,
one for white gentlemen, and one for
Negroes" ladies and gentlemen.
Here is another The trains on the
Macon and Western Railroad have
| three distinct coaches for passengers
one for the Caucasian, one for the
African, and one for the Caucasian
smokers. In the Negro coach it is
placarded, "This car is for colored
people only" But | noticed as |
came up that quite large number
of white persons took refuge in
there, often in close proximity
with their colored brother. At
times they began to smoke, but the
conductor asked them to 60 into
the next car, the smoker Now
notice the difference. A white man
may 60 into car that they call ex-
clusively negro car, and sit down
while there; if negro attempts to
return the compliment his head or
back pays the penalty. Observe
again feature of Southern justice.
Throughout the North there are two
grades of tickets, first and second; in
the South but one, a first grade ticket
A white man and his black brother
will buy the same ticket, for the same
point on the same train. His eek
cellency" goes into the car he pays
for. His "nigger" takes his valise
into one he did not pay for. You re-
member that said in No. 2 that il
was rumored that Joe Brown and
others of the same temperament said
that they, though not Republicans
affiliated with that party in the early
days of reconstruction to keepNegroes
out of office as much as possible, and
so save the State from Negroes and
carpet rag supremacy. | conclude
that article by saying: "Whethel
true or not, an article on the condi
tion of the black man would show
that it bears semblance of truth.
I ask the Indiana Democrat, the Ohi(
Democrat, the New York Democra
all the Democrats, if there are any
conscientious ones among them fo
an impartial decision on this point
Well, | am wandering and seekin.
that | won't get. The social and po
J litical condition Of the Southerl
Negro is somewhat mysterious
Your correspondent has tried analy
tically and symethetically to solv
the problem, but he, like others, find
no satisfactory solution, unless in
radical change of the Negroes pre-.
. ent status, as effected by him an
] through himself. Financially, her
in the city of Macon, the colored pee
pie are doing well. They own a
the hack lines, are acquiring proI
erty, some on small and others o
a large scale. A few, in addition I
their homes in the city, own plal
tations, where they spend the sun
= mer when heat makes it disagreeab
within the city limits. The editori'
in the Independent aug. 12) on Il
Rev. DIR. b. F. Tanners excellel
communication on Ostracism, is wo
thy of perusal, as it has good al
timely advice relative to the questic