The Atlanta constitution. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1885-19??, 1888-06-26
THE Niger. F"
Old Man Plunkett Tells What He
Thinks
And Gives the Observation of Long Life to
Illustrate His Position-How the Ne
groes Combed their Hair.
For the Constitution

and he's going to stay, and thar's no use in
talking erbout what he would be under differ
ent circumstances"
These were the words of old man Plunkett
as he settled himself down in his fayorite
rocker, and proceeded:
GIVE watched the niger for err long time,
and I've watched the changes that have took
place for the past sixty years.
~ can remember when tho little sullen
African was plentiful in Georgia, and all you
had to say to quiet bad child was to tell 'em
you'd give 'em to the African to eat. This
was the way the young idea was taught, and
yet lived to see the niger work through a
four-years war to support an army that was
fighting to keep 'em in bondage, and there
never was a time during them terrible days bu-
what the niger would or laid down his life to
protect his 'missus' or the children of the men
in the army. l can't forget this, and 1 don't
want to forget it. The niger may steal a
chicken now and then, but he's the best laborer
for this country, and we like him, and he likes
us, 'cepting when it comes to politics, and
then he's gwyne to vote with the yankee, and
don't blame him.
"But the niggers going forward. He's
mighty different now to what he was thirty
years ago, and it hain't er gwine to be long be-
fore the Niger will have a will of his own and
will cease to follow the yankee just because he
have got it into their heads that the Niger is
an inferior race and can't come up to the white
folks had better begin to scufhe or they'll wake
up some bright morning to see the Niger
erway yonder in front, and then they'll slap
their hands on their knees and say like I've
said in thousand other things, Who would
er thought it,
81 know the niger. I've watched 'em in
their quarters as little shirt-tail urchins. I've
seed twenty of 'em, with the one garment for
hair =, fpI1 fba
negress with bucket on her head and one in
each hand as she made her way to the shade of
an oak to portion out to them milk that was
sent from the white folks house er scuffling
and er Squeezing the same as pigs, and then
I've lived to see the day when niger young
sters of the same age as these wear store
bought clothes and smoke cigarettes, and guy
an old man like me the same as the white boy
of purest blood.
''They used to say the niger would never
be free, and never did believe they would,
but they are.
81 never did believe that the niger could
have farming beat into him, but he can.
Tive changed my notion nightly, and its
all from what I've seed.
1--WE seed the day when would er thought
it all right to lynch er fellow for bringing the
New York Tribune into Georgia. and yet I
seed the time when old Horace Greeley was
Dragged on and went up and voted for him
to be our president.
w L
it would collapse the world, but it didn't, and
now think it all right for the niger to vote,
and if l was running for Office I'd get his vote
if I could.
knowing these things is what makes me
anxious erbout this young generation. When
hear 'em er talking erbOut the niger can't
do this, that and tother thing land erbout 'em er
going back into heathenism, it reminds me of
many er young man that have known in my
life who stood upon their blood and wore
gloves and SIGH like till the poor boys in the
settlement would outstrip EN- and reverse the
whole condition of things.
"It's not what man used to be nor what
he's gwine to be that counts. It's what you is
now is the way the world looks at it.
'fThe niger lives cheap, his clothes don't
cost much and the whole family is put to work
at once.
''The niger man will work for fifty cents
day and his wife will cook for family of
whites whose income from salary will range
from S75 to $3.50 per month, and the negro
cook is morn apt to feed her family from the
scraps of the high salaried individuals table,
and pick up old clothes enough to clothe tho
family, and SO at the end OF the month the
Niger family, whose head only can earn fifty
cents per day, will have moro money to Law
month. The Niger is wide awake, he gets all
he can and keeps all he geUs, and his whole
family is self sustaining by the time they can
pick blackberries or drive a milk COW to the
pasture.
"The Lord had something to do with this
Niger business, else the yankees never could
er whipped us. The niger had nothing to do
with coming over here, and he didn't raise his
hand to free himself. He lived here, and
worked for the wimen and children and for the
support of an army that was fighting to keep
'em in slavery. We oughten to forget this
and we never WILL but the whites needn't be
deluded with the idea that because they are so
much better than the niger, it Amino use to
make an effort to keep so, for tell you that
the workers will be the property owners, and
the niger will work and live scant and have
money, and grow more and more like tho
whites, till aFter while you'll be saying who
would or thoughtit
GIVE seed these sort OF things. I've seed
enough to teach me that you can't tell any
thing erbout changes what are to come
81 will tell you of some things that I've seed
right here YIN Georgia to illustrate the way sich
things work and to impress you that it's all
foolishness to be er sizing er man or er race up
till the end has come:
"Thar was Dan Burro1v, one Of my old
neighbor's boys, who tied the plowline GROUND
himself to be certain that young heifer what
he was driving across the river wouldn't get
away from him. The heifer got scared and
took the advantage of hill and run and Dan
he stumped his toe and fell, and the heifer
dragged him over roots and gravel and stumrs
till the skin was pretty nigh all offer him.
Folks said he was or fool and his daddy never
would trust MIN Win driving anything arter
that; but Dan growed up and went to Texas,
and he is now the greatest cattle raiser that
ever went from Georgia to that state and can
handle more cattle and do it better than most
any man. This goes to show that you don't
know anything erbout what fellows going
to be till he dies
"Thar is Lum McGahee-the biggest devil
in the settlement as boy, who, upon one oc-
casion, found hornets nest and stopped up
the hole and took it to church and throwed
it right in ermong the mourners, turned out to
be great preacher and er good man.
"Pve seed these things and I've watched
close, and whenever / see folks turn up their
nose at er younsster for being dull 1 al
ways tell EN- that they can't tell what a fell
lows gwync to be till he dies.
81 might tell you of men what I've seed in
the newspaper business" said the old man,
turning to the scribe.
"Erwav back before the war thar was er fell
low come from over in South Carolina by tho
name Of Whightman, land hear that there is a
Bishop Whightman over in South Carolina
now, and speCk he's this fellows brother
"Well, young Whightman went into the
newspaper business at Griffin, and there was
er great to do made over him, and he got to be
the pet Of the whole country round. He was
clever and smart, and he could hop up and
make er speech all most the same as Ben Hill
He was educated to be a preacher and every
body thought for er long time that he would
90 to preaching arter awhile but, anyhow,
everybody was dead certain that his life would