The Osceola times., 1884-11-08

and was at first, to the ordinary
negro mind, ipcomprehensible; new
ertheless, it gradually pcrmeated
his brain that, should the Federal
arms prevail, he would be free. But
would the North prevail? Every
man IN the circle of his acquaintance
in whom had heretofore resided
authority hooted at the idea; the
possibility of the South being con-
quered was openly secuted, and the
effect Of this on the negro's intel
ligence was to warn him to submis-
sion. Here and there, one more
adventurous than the rest ran away
and hid himself behind the Federal
lines, but nincty-nine out of hun
dred not only remained in bondage,
but openly ridiculed the idea of
their preferring to be free: the old
farm and old master were good
enough for them. OF these'a small
percentage were sincere, as was
pre- we'd by their remaining at home
and serving their former owners
after the necessity for so doing had
ceased. just as if no edict had been
issued; but in time the last one de-
serted, even to the octogenarians,
who set up their separate establish
ment, VIXEN they could, with a part
ing declaration to their old masters
that so long as they were able to
support themselves they would do
SO, but after that they proposed to
return and be maintained as were the
aged in times of slavery.
To the unreAecting white man it
seemed as if chaos had come again;
nothing like this had ever before
come under the limited range Of his
reading or experience. To the stu
dent it was but a repetition of his
tory; to him, beyond the loss of So
much personal property, and the
delay in the readjustment Of social
laws, no great cataclysm had occur
red or was to be apprehended.
Before emancipation, the negro had
to work or be lashed; now, he has
to work or starve. Before the war,
the owner was obligated to furnish
the slave with provisions and cloth
ing, to pay his doctors bills when
sick, to maintain him in idleness
when superannuated, to bury him
when dead. Under the new regime
the freedman must do all these
things and make these provisions for
himself. The intelligent Southern
man was prepared to pocket his
losses and 90 to work under the
new order of affairs, but was met at
the very beginning with obstacles.
The poor amanci pated slave had an
idea that liberty meant license; all
his life he had seen free white peo-
pie living life of, what appeared
to him, perfect idleness, and his
thought was to reach that blissful
conditions; he was willing to labor
only sufficiently to supply himself
with meat and clothes, and it really
appeared that the South, instead of
selling, as it now does, the produce
of single crop to the value of over
three hundred million dollars, would
sink into a scmi-barbarous condi-
ton, with a population (all the en-
terprising ones having removedD sat
isfed with just enough to prevent
absolute want. And thus 1t might
have been but for the vim and de-
termination of the Anglo-Saxon peo-
pie, who foresaw that, if but small
crops were made, large prices would
be obtained. Their example has
told among the blacks, especially
the men; the women have yet to
learn; the example of white ladies,
who lived luxuriously before the
war, now doing great part of their
own labor and drudgery, instead of
being an example to the former
slave woman, only affords gratih-
cation to their spite and malevo-
lence.
The freedman imagined that
whatever superiority white people
have over the blacks is owing to
education; and as Eve was induced
to think that if she and Adam shoald
eat of the forbidden fruit they
would be as gods, so the ordinary
African thought if his child could
only read, write aud cipher, he
would be i'll every way the equal of
thcCaucaslan. He was utterly unable
to discriminate between man with
only capacity to ill with infinite
labor a postal card and one who
could reason out the law of gravity
or define the principles of electricity.
With tins glorifed idea on the sub
ject of education, their enthusiastic
desire for schools is not surprising.
Their only idea of the difference
between Prospero and Caliban was,
that one could read and write and
the other could not.
However absurd these views were
and however great the disappoint-
ment which follows, the result is
good. If the entire race could
read, write and cipher, it would be
an excellent thing. An utterly un-
educated man, unless he chances
To be OF nNtranrdinnrv ncutnnnss. is