The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-04-16
WHITE MEN NOT WANTED
TOWN TENANTED ONLY BY
COLORED PEOPLE.


ored Schools.
From the New York Times
JAMES CITY, n c., April There was
g. time when no white man who placed any
roI,,a upon his life or desired to keep his
limbs intact would have ventured within
4be limits of this community, except under
. beevilv-armed guard. This condition of
+hi,gs existed under the rule of the carpet
bo,ger. and when the carpet-bagger pointed
his toes Northward the embargo was
raised Before this happened attempts
1vere made by adventurous persons, whose
,,biact was to elevate the colored race and
reach office by its assistance, to enter the
,,lace and disseminate political doctrine for
which. it was well known, the residents of
lanes City had shown no prediction. 1t
cannot be cenclusively proved chat any of
+base persons were killed outright, but it is
a matter of common report that none of
them made a second visit TO the town. One
If them, an ex Judge, paid the place visit
during the Grant-Greeley campaign. AS he
walked through the principal throughfareS,
none of which differ materially from the
other thoroughfares, he attracted a
GOOD deal of attention. The children were
first attracted. Wherever he went they
went There were a great many children
bare at the time, and to a strange white
Il man. they all looked alike, particularly in
a Yoint of color. When every child in town
A had Joined the procession the mothers be-
4 gan to take an interest in the new arrival,
Chiefly on account of the rumor that the
strangers object was to kidnap the rising
a generation. When the ''men folkn Joined
Y fbe parade and expressed willingness to
4 dispose of the stranger in any way the
"women folk" might suggest, the ex-Judge
& thought the proper moment for explaining
his purpose had arrived.
After announcing to the assembled null
u ttude that he was an independently
can he awaited developments. There were
4 no developments. The residents of James
Il City had never heard of an independent
H Republican. They had heard of Republi-
n cans and of Democrats, but beyond these
Il they had no knowledge of political parti-
81 sans. Before they proceeded to extremi-
n ties they desired to obtain further iuforma-
n ton from the stranger The latter ex-
y planned that as an Independent Republican
he advocated the election as President of
Il Horace Greeley and the defeat of Gen.
4 Grant He was accounted a fluent speaker
n aid would probably have said more had
be considered the time and
& place propitious. His audience,
4 having grasped the fact that
n moved upon the ex-Judge with so much
y celebrity and earnestness that he was hardly
& able to get start Of five yards. As the
Il friends of Gen. Grant got between him and
n his boat the stranger made a straight break
N for the river Trent. The river at the point
4 chosen by the ex-Judge is nearly a mile
& wide. He waded out to his chin and then
81 informed the friends of Greeley on the
IA opposite bank that if they had any patriot
q ism in their souls they would rescue him
d from his bloodthirsty pursuers. They res
cued him. and since that time the people of
81 James City have been utterly neglected by
Il Independent Republican and Democratic
n campaign orators.
q In spite of this neglect, James City, or as
81 the irrevent call it, Jim City, or even Jim
"A Town has held its own Not that it owns
N greal deal; indeed, the land on which it
N stands is claimed by white man who lives
* on the othsr side of the Trent River, but as
n James City contains a thousand souls and
Fl each individual soul is determined to hold
tightly to its own patch and cabin,
u the white mans claim may not be recog-
~ Gized for two or three centuries
Each man, woman, and child in James
p City is colored. Every voter is a Republi-
N can. No efforts have recently been made
N to make political converts here, except
through the medium of printed handbills,
and these are scattered through the town so
81 unobtrusively that the scatterer has never
n ben discovered. He informed the Times
Il correspondent that although lifelong res
81 rence in the South had accustomed him to
& the ways and wiles of the colored man, he
& had never been able to overcome his dislike
b. razor as weapon of offense. For fear
4 Of accidentt he shaves himself
In spite of its colo and its politics, 20 say
nothing of its objection to the introduction
OF foreign elements in either, this curious
town is by no means isolated. As stated. it
Y Is situated on the Trent river, at its mouth,
about thirty eight miles from Pamlico
Sound, and is connected with the other side
4 OF the river by bridge constructed by the
\ Atlantic and North Carolina Railroad Com
pany This bridge has been built since the
war. During the rebellion there was d
bridge at the same point until an enter
prlslng rebel conceived a brilliant scheme.
/ This scheme was to load vessel with pitch,
turpentlne, and resin, set it on fire and let
II 1loat from the Trent into the Neuse river,
and down the Neuse until it came in contact
| with some of Gen. Burnside'S trans
ports. Connection having been made,
the transports were to catch the contagion
ana burn up, exploding with a loud and
| gratifying noise before they sank below the
Drownlsh rlpples of the noble Neuse. The
scheme was put in force. The vessel was
loaded with the combustihle products of
'OIVu CaTOilna plueS, aud she was fired and
MT on her way. The protector forgot to
maze allowance for one uncertain element
mere is no tide i'll the river, but soon after
lhe nreshlp was sent on her way the wind
turned. The freShip bowed gracefully be-
lore Its master, and instead of demolshing
ankee transports Smuggled up against the
orldge and, recognizing no distinction be-
n tween Union and Confederate property,
burned the bridge down. This was the first
Trent river.
:, nose who do not own a boat and are
short' on nickels yet who desire to visit
tne otner side of the river, walk across the
Talroad bridge. To make the passage sue
ges'lully IN high wind, without getting
nown on all fours and cling for help, re-
qures nerve. here was continuous foot
pain on the bridge at one time, but pine
boards do not last forever, and as the foot
pam was OF no material interest to the rail
Ioad 1t has never been repaired, and
o-uay Is porous to a dangerous ex-
C91t' Nobody in James City is apparently
hule TO explain why it has remained
50 persistently in the background. To the
pictorial papers and magazines it is an I'M
worked field. The merest surface scratch
Ihg would produce a luxuriant crop, for
suere are phases of colored life to be found
leIe which can be found nowhere else per-
maps IN the South. There is no telegraph
once here, and there is no use for one
L IL n AsarN. IL