Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1883-08-30
TRUTH STRANGER THAN FICTION.

"A negro DOy WAS uoIu LII iiiSo AIu"oAo
county, Va, March /, lS4l. His master
had an only son, for whom he employed
special instructor. AS the son and negro
boy were constat playmates, the latter learn
ed as fast as the former, and says he can not
remember the time when he could not read.
His master moved to Missouri several years
before the war, and died about it's commence
ment. AT the close of the war, this boy was
free and commenced his career as a school,
teacher in Hannibal. With his small saw
ings from teaching, he went to Oberlin Col
lege. where he sawed wood at night to help
pay his way. For lack of funds, he did not
complete the college course. Thence he
went to Mississippi, and soon commanded
the respect and confidence of both races.
In 1872 he was the assessor of taxes for the
county of Bolivar. The following year he
was appointed sheriff and tax collector, and
also made member of the Board Of Levee
Commissioners. Though his aggregate bond
at that time was $4,000, in q county where
all the property owners were Democrats and
white men, such was their confidence in
him, he found no difficulty in giving bonds
with ample security. He has since served
a full term in the United States Senate, the
only one of his race that ever has. He is al
so the only colored man who has presided
over the Senate When engaged in politics
in Mississippi, he employed a private teach
er and has made up by the study the defects
of his early education. He is dignified, po-
lite, modest and unassuming, which ac-
counts for his popularity among his Demo-
cratic opponents. "When the Democrats
had control Of the organization OF the Sen:
mittee to investigate the Freedman's Bank.
This was a wise appointment. He found
three commissioners with salaries OF $4,000
each, and lot of clerks, eating up the poor
resources of the depositOrs without doing
any work. He acted promptly, and intro
duced bill turning out all the parasites, ap-
pointing John Jay Knox, the Controller of
the Currency, to take sole charge Of the work
at a salary of 81, 900 a year. His able man.
agement stopped all the stealing, and has
since paid 62 per cent. to the depositors."
Just after Senators Conkling and Platt had
resigned and the Democrats were in the
majority, President Garfield said to this
colored Senator, 81 wish to make you my
Registrar but 1 do not wish to see you
slaughtered. think had better wait un-
til the Senate adiourns, and appoint you
then" To which he replied, "Mr. Presi-
dent, 1 would be willing to have my noml-
nation to go to a Senate made up entirely OF
Democrats" The nomination was sent in,
and he had the unusual compliment OF hay
ing his nomination confirmed instantly,
without reference or single objection, May
q, 1881 This colored man is now Registrar
of the Treasury of the United States; and
though he could once have been sold, as
slave, for twelve or fifteen hundred dollars,
he now has the. handling of millions of our
Government money, and every greenback
and National bank-nOte issue since May,
1881, is worthless without his signature.
He was married five years ago, to the daugh-
ter of a successful colored dentist in Cleve-
land, O. They made bridal tour OF six
months in Europe. His wife is highly
woman, having received
good education. They have handsome
house in Washington, in addition to thou
sand-acre cotton plantation III Mississippi.
"When he first came to Washington he
had white cOachman, who used to look
not at all out of place upon the box OF the
coupe. Now he has "a colored man,
who wears plain livery. His secretary at
the Treasury is white man. In the morn
ing twenty or thirty people, white and
black, will be seen waiting for an audience.
He has been singularly fortunate, but he de-
serves his good fortune, as he has worked
for it,"
The colored people look upon this man as
the luckiest of their race, and think ne IS as
happy as the blissful hero of a novel. One
of his friends says: "He rises in the morn
ing in condition of ecstasy, and lies down
this be so, this former slave is the most for
tunate man in the United States. The
name of this most honOred Of his race is b.
X. Bruce, who, like the rest Of the slaves
when freed, took the surname Of.his master.
The above history has been compiled
from an article written by Mr.. IT. G. Craw-
ford, of Washington, and is given here to
show
l. That truth is stranger than fiction.
Thirty years ago who would have dreamed,
in his widest fancies, that colored slave
boy, then some twelve years old, in Prince
Edward county, Va, would, in after years,
become Senator of the United States, and
in 1888 it would require his name to all is
sues of our National bank notes to make
them good? The Field Editor was born
joining Prince Edward. His mother, whose
maiden name was Bruce, was born in Lu-
nenburg, also an adjoining county. Being
distantly related to the Bruces of Prince
Edward, we visited some of these families
in the long ago, but had not the slightest
idea that one of their little slave boys would
ever preside over the United States Senate
and become the happiest man in America.
'Tis true. we often heard the little negro
boys, in that long ago, sing with great giee,
"If was de President Of desc United States
I'd eat molasses candy and swing upon de gates
It seems, however, that Mr.. Bruce has re-
allied much more than that childish day
dream of his juvenile race. He did not stop
to ''swing on the gates" but walked in and
took his seat among the big men of the ma
ton.
2. That the colored people alone can solve
the problem of their success or failure as
freemen. BY diligent study, patient indus
try and strict honesty, Mr.. Bruce has be-
come an eminent success. So must it be
with all their race, if they would rise above
their former condition.
3. The white men of the South will re-
cognize merit in colored man, and aid in
his promotion, when he proves himself
worthy of it. Some of Mr.. Bruce's best
friends at the South are white Democrats
4. B. Cabmiss, in Weste1m Recorder.
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL PICNIC.--lt is a
glad picnic party. The Sunday school had
gone out into the leafy forest. The dark
object in the heavens, 800 miles wide and
3 Goo miles long is cloud 1t got into the
woods as soon as the picnic, and is there
yet. Under the great oak you can see the
dinner. The large Winter proof mound in
the middle of the table sullenly laughing
at the storm is fruit cake. The teacher
of the infant class made it herself for the
little ones. But the storm saved them:
See, the lightning struck the cake. 1t will
never strike anything else. There stands
the cake without a dent, and under the
table, shattered and blighted, lies the thun-
derbolt. Under the cedar tree is dying
dog. He got in the way and the superin-
tendent feIled him to the earth with one
hlow of a biscuit. The tall figure wrapped