The Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1885-1886, 1886-06-15
THE SOUTHERN NEGRO.
SCENES WITNESSED At A coLoREo
REVIVAL IN SAVANNAH.

A Season "f Religious Interest Lasting
from November TIL May-Breakinr
Out in Rapturous songs-''Dipping in
the Golden Sea''-Wages.
On these moonlight evenings the stroller
toward the west end of the city will see all
the sidewalks thronged by cheerful darkies,
pressing toward the center of town at an
| early hour, and toward the western suburbs
at a later hour. Moving in that direction a
few blocks all the streets and houses take a
different look; the former are narrow and
unpaved, the latter set in punches, un-
painted and dingy. Every little dwelling
swarms with colored people A cabin, too
small for a small white family in Indiana,
holds two or three colored families, their
| furniture is not worth 81 to the family.
| their home life is painfu.l y bare, and nearly
| all their leisure is spent in the open air. The
banjo ami violin are heard on every square.
| The little dark saloons are marked by red
| lights and the narrow alleys and open
| spaces resound with riotous merriment
Every saloon that is big enough has a pool
table. and u fairly exciting article of tan
| gle foot Is retailed at 5 or 10 cents zig
ger" according to the wish of the customer
Restaurants abound, each about six or
eight feet square, with a little two-by two
counter displaying candy, cigars and sand
| witches
STRONG ON REVEALS AND FUNERALS.
| Coiored churches also abound, of all sizes,
| from the large building, which will seat a
| thousand, down to @ mere board chapel
| and in various private houses prayer meet.
| ings are in progress | should say that one
half the colored people are now attending
| some kind of religious service every night il
the week. In one evenings walk through
their section | found six meetings, large
and small, in progress There is seldom &
time from Nov mber till May that a ''glo
rious revival is not going on, and otter
three are running at once. The negro il
strong on revivals and on funerals be il
simply nnmsnse In the country every
black person who knew the deacesed Negro
III bis life goes to the funeral If one dies
in the forenoon the fact is known for 81,
or seven miles around before night-shouted
FROM field to field by the laborors, and tn
report sent by swiftfooted children tt
houses too far away for shouting the news
From field to field thus runs the word "O-o-h
Fannie Gwyne to set up to night" "Why
who.o os deadt'' "Aunt Polly's Susie
gwyne:" why, shuah" We'll send d
word on"
Just ut present 'powahful revival
devastating the congregation of the bii
, church here, and evening after evening tn
scenes are wonderful The vast edific
crowded above and below with blacks, tn
loud and long prayers in tone of movin
energy, the fervent responses, and the groan
and cries of forty or fifty "mourners' max
up panorama that thrills the blood Ate
each reported conversion the sisters brea
out in rapturous songs, and when there
delay or an apparent tending to coldnes
the appeals III song are startlingly vivid, a!
Jesus my al to heaven is gone
Is anybody here gittin' ready.
He whom | fix my hopes upon
Is anybody here gettin' ready.
GOO, sinners come, GOO, sinners GOMEZ
Is You gittin ready to die.
| fell TO de door wild my load of sin
Is any body here gittin' ready'
But Jesus come and hope Ihelpedl me in
Is anybody here gittin' ready:
GOO sinners, come, etc.
DIPPING IN THE GOLDEN SEA
But when the harvest has been great an
the time for exultation has come, then the
is music:
| see Sain' Fetah astandin in de do,
Dip in de golden sea!
And all my friends dat went befo'
Dip in de golden sea
de say to me, sistah, how do you do.
Go set right yondah in de ivory pew!
Chorus: o, dip we, battle We, sisters yol
o, brothers, won't you help us through
Wen all ride behind de milk white steed
, And dip in de golden sea,
1t were worth while to be poor and igno
ant if it would insure one to see supern
things clearly as they seem to; but IL
g seniors complain bitterly that the 20
: spirituals" are no longer sung as once the
Z were The educated young negro can IL
roar them forth with the fervor the slav
!, did
Z And how do all these people live! Wei
i for eight months in the year there is pleni
$ OF work, and at fairly good wages the mt
|. earn from IS cents to 81 80 per day at Il
= oommonest labor, and many in avocatiol
requiring some some skill got 81 a day fro
October till April There is, first, all Il
heavy handling OF ship stores on the lor
wharvs | oaded with Georgia pine, ia
rosin, and turpentine Cotton handling
the negros monopoly. 1t is never too h
for him about the compress or the whar
Fish and oysters employ hundreds. All Il
draying is done by negroes. At least ha
the crews of the many little sail vessels u
black, OF course there are no white ba
bers, hotel walters, bootblacks, seavengel
or porters. have yet to see white nurs
maid, and white house servants are vel
rare Four-tifth Of the dealers in t
market house are black. All the WOO
coal, ashes, fruit. and provisions | see
transit are in charge of black men. Al
scores of lines | lacA space 10 mention tn
nunopolize -'Parkes' Savannah Letter
Chicago Times