Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1880-02-21

indianapolis Sentinel.

L = Z.
There is no abatement of the eX
= = dus. The Carolina negroes continI
y to arrive i'm large and small lot
y The number having arrived hel
y since. November 81 is over 2,30
and not one to-day is making none
: enough to provide the necessarit
: of life for himself and family.
: Public opinion is divided as to til
Z cause of the exodus. It is general
; held that the negroes were induce
: to come here through represents
I tions and promises that were know
to be falsehoods when made. On
: week ago Friday night $50 of thes
/. /. poor, miserable, deluded wretche
! ! arrived in this city, and 400 NOR
! are expected to follow within ten
days. l qosii 4a ~ "a
One of these Immigrants unbos
! Omed himself to a Sentinel reporte
! yesterday. Is i'
His story is full of sorrow, am
) would awaken thesympathy of any
heart. He is a plantation negro
: with no education, yet possessed O
good common sense. He talkeC
freely when met by the reporter
.
says. The conversation was opened
thus:
"Where are you from ?''
"Lenoir county, North Carolina 2
"Why did you come here?"
s'Samuel Perry and Peter G. Viii
liams came to us and said get ready
and go to Indiana. They lection
eered just as they do in election
/ times. They promised that if /
came to Indiana / would receive
two or three dollars day for any
kind of labor, and that 1 would be
! provided with a house to live IN. :"
! "What other promises 2'' iha
swell dey said that there were
500 houses built and furnished for
us; that we would be given bed
clothing and suits and milk cow"
''Were you to get work ?p
afOh, yes, yes, sir; we were given
| the privilege of farming for our
selves or working at 50 per day.
They said we could buy good lard
at ST so per acre, and that pfovis-
ions would be furnished us for seven
months, and those who did not buy
land would be hired by men as
soon as they arrived in the city,
right from the trains." lA
"You have found this true?" m
ttNo, sir; no indeed. As / stand
before the Lord, not one word is as
they said"
eYou found the land ?''sHoe sifh T.
''No, SIR"
"You obtained work ?"
81 amt heard of it."
"Telf me now" said the reporter,
show much money have you made
since you arrived, nine days ago?"
"Ten cents; that is every cent, as
true as / am here" ...
"Have you a family ?''
"A wife and six head of children"
"Have you money?'
"Well, l is got 40 cents what i
brung with me, and nothing to eat;
no wood and no clothing. We
sleep on the bare floor. They told
me we did not have to burn wood
here"
"What was it Perry told you
about being Republicans?'S
Samuel Perry told me that we
must be valiant-hearted Republi-
cans; that they wanted no Demo
crat niggers in the party, and"
"WelI, what else?''
''That the Democrats had used
the offices for robbery and such,
and that we must all show our
principles as men and vote the Re
publican ticket"
"Of course you agreed?"
ave all told him we would do as
we had been doing, and that was to
vote that ticket. / want to say to
you here, that they told us we
would be free up here, and /
want to say we was as free in
North Carolina. There we had |
work and all we could eat, and |
voted as we pleased"
eDid they not bulldoze and in
timidate you ?"
"Not as I have heard on. /
worked with my master seven
years, and he was a Democrat, and |
he never once asked me how |
voted"
Of the $50 families now in this
city, fully one-third are sick with |
contagious diseases. The city dis
pensary has furnished for the past |
month an average of 20 prescriptions
per day for these.
A visit to 245 Shelby street, in the |
alley in the rear of 500 North Della
ware, corner of California and st. |
Clair streets, on Tennessee, between /
South and the railroad, along Pros
pect, West Michigan, St. Clair and |
South Mississippi streets, may be
found in. each house three to FIVE |
families, and always two, andsome-
times as many as five, sick persons |
to one house.
AS a rule, they are without medi- |
cine, sometimes a little fire warns |
the stove, and in almost every case |
without clothing sufficient to cover !
them.
A prominent colored man, who
has been Identified with the Repub-
lican party and with Bro. Broyles'
church, told a reporter yesterday |
that not single negro had come to
this town but what understood that
he was to vote the Republican
ticket. He further said that since |
the publication in the Sentinel of |
the article showing the sickness,
poverty and deaths among the inn
migrants, the committee from the |
Christian Aid Society, who, by the
way, are all good Republicans as
well as Christians, had advised
Perry and others In Washington to
send the negroes in small numbers,
and that they had been coming in
lots of six and ten families, and |
therefore had not attracted public
attention. He said there had been
no mention of these arrivals, and
that they had been coming FOR three
weeks past every other day, some
times three days apart, and were
met by the committee, who would
advise them to rent houses, which
took all their money, if they had
any.
In the northern part of the city /
the negroes are a burden to the /
people. Not day passes but that
they are around asking for aid, In |
all forms-food, clothing and fuel. !
Some have even solicited small |
pieces of carpet in which to wrap
their babes at night to keep them
warm. This state of affairs can
not be denied when it is known
that none have received more than
50 cents a day, and Others of the
few who have obtained Hlittle johs''
are paid but 40 and SO cents per
dav What must the result he %