The Washington bee., 1886-10-09
SOME NEGRO CHARACTER
ISTICS.
No. 3.

A key to the spirit of forgive
ness which pervades the heart of
the Negro is TO be found in an in-
cident which occurred in Edgefeld
county, South Carolina, during
the reign of Ku-kIuxism. A col~
oredsrepublican of good reputation
for honesty and uprigktness OF
character, although an office hold
er, was ordered officially by thr
K. K. to quit the county in "a
hours. On failing To obey he was
in the stiffness Of the following
night, visited by armed marauders.
disguised in hideous regalia and
mounted on swift horses clad In
white raiment, whose gathering
hoofs warned the offending colored
man Of the approach of his would
''be friends" He was prepared
to give them the reception they
so richly deserved by discharging
his double baFrelled gun, loaded
with buck shot to the muzzle, into
the crowd of Ku- -Klux when they
scampeied cowardly away, leaving
two of their companions wounded
almost unto death. Attracted BY
the cries of the wounded, the
c0lored man Hent to their rescue,
unmasked them, gave them water
and after bathing aud binding up
their wounds, tied them on their
horses before day and allowed
them to 60 to their homes, even
promising them not to reveal their
names. This circumstance was
related under oath by the colored
man himself, before the congress
sional committee in 1872. Nor
did he reveal the names of his as.
sailants and to this dav they have
never been revealed. What would
an Indian have done under the
circumstances? What would a
white man have done?
-.
"The saddest bird her season
finds to sing" Everybody knows
that as singer the Negro has a
world wide reputation. The
"BIack Swan was an exponent Of
this art of song SO we'll developed
in her people. The same euchant-
ing music attracted the public on
either side of the Atlantic. All
Negroes sing well as rule. In
church, at camp meetings, on the
plantation in the school room,
everywhere this ia the rule. They
sing in their hours of gladness or
sorrow In success or failure under
all circumstances, always singing
like nightingales. Is their not
hope for a race with SO much sun
shine in their hearts?
~
Nothing is SO apt to demon
strate the fact that the American
Negro is like other Americans,
than a visit 10 one Of the annual
state fairs in the south. In this
feature of public exhibition the
''tar heel" state takes the lead.
For seven years in succession the
colored people of North Carolina
have held state fairs and fairs they
are indeed. Ex-Gov. Jarvis, now
minister to Brazil, after inspecting
the exhibits in the various depart
ments few years ago, said, "In Il
great many respects ihe colored
fair exceeds the white fair In
point of excellence. The fair is
held in ten acre lot with suitable
buildings, race track and all the
apuurtenances needed for a first
class fair ground. Nearly all the
celebrated orators, who have al
dressed the vast crowds that as
semble annually at Raleigh TO
attend these fairs speak In the
highest terms of these efforts The
colored people of the state make
in their upward movement. Hon.
Fred. Douglass, Il. b. Elliott, SeL-
ator Vance, Gov. Scales, have all
thus attested this sentiment.
Frank Leslie's Illustrated Weekly
once gave almost an entire issue
to the LIST Annual Colored Fair,
and the word went round. He is
coming, coming, coming.
~
The Negro is no skeptie. Al
ready he has mounted the rostrdm
to demolish IngersolIism and all
forms OF iuidelity. AS he can