Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1889-03-31
HEREOF THE NEGROES.
RACB TROUBLES POMBNTBD BY SHARP
VENDOR OF LIVER PADS.
Shreveport Alarmed by Fakr Who Tells the
Negroes They Are Oppresssi-Hs Als' Pockets
All Their Oash-R.markable influence
Of an Ezpsr! in Hum0ugging

| been excite Tor some tllis pa1-' "-' -
sibilities of race trouble growing ont OF
liver pads. Liver plds are the only sub
iecs Of conversation on the streets to-day,
and the State, city and parish authorities
backed by the unanimous press and the
white people Of that section, have sworn to
drive the liver pads and their vendcT'
''Yellstone Kit, " from the town.
Kit ia well known from one end OF Inc
cotton country to the other. Travelling
through it as a fakir and vendor OF liver
psds and popular medicines ne mas made
both reputation and fortune among the ne
groes He pitches his tent, Dig one tOo'
! IN some Southern city, gives Tree circus
mins,rels, music, and oil thar, makes
speeches to the negroes and then sells MS
pads to them By thu thousands. In tnls
wav he has accumulated in few ) ears
large fortune. He claims to be worm 90
OOO, 600, wears the purest diamonds IN me
South, and has made himself the IDEAL OF
the negroes. Ii is impossible to oyerestl-
mate the admiration they feel for him lie
| is regarded by many Of them as their Mes
siah. the man who not only can cure their
ills By his medicines, but who Is destiheu
to lead them TO new freedom and prosper
ity. u,
His Influence with them was well shown
in the great prohibition election IN A .t.a
ia, Gs., a year ago. Both the Pfonlol'lVn-
istl and the "antisn bid for his support
and every inducsment was offered MN 10
come ont on either side, nut be Kept silent
en- the subject until the very night Dolore
the election. Then he bugsi forth to the
thousands of negroes present with snort
but strong speech against prohibition. de
is a vigorous speaker b fore a black audi
ence. ard he settled the election. The ne
proes voted solidly against prohibition and
drowned it, and every ore in Atlanta al
mitted that to Yellowstone Kit the result
was due.
Such is the man who opened his tent IN
Shreveport a couple of weeks ago, gave bis
usual tree show with some theatre perform
ers. made speeches to the negroes, and sold
his liver pads. The show soon acquired an
even greater notoriety than Kit had bar
gained for. He is 8 strO0g advocate OF the
0rights of the negro" and in his speeches
usually touches on this subject. DE went
a little further than usual in that line In
Shreveport and declared that the negroes
were being ill-.reated, defrauded and per
secuted by the whites. The colored people
are in majority in Shreveport and the
neighbor country, and there hss always
begn some offishness there on the race
question. Kits speech caused some little
alarm and was denounced as incendlary by
the press He replied with stronger one,
and the white people then became much
alarmed lest he might stir mp trouble with
the negroes. while the latter got the idea
that some harm was about to be done to
their Messiah and became boisterous.
Thus the race feeling grew more bitter
and intense. It was finally decided to get
rid OF Kit on the charge that he was q null
sapce; that he had violated the license law,
g.. and he was arrested and taken before
the court charged with number OF Of
| lenses. 1t was then seen that the situation
was really serious. The negroes hocked to
his assistance by thousands, and expressed
a strong desire TO release him from arrest
by violence. Had he given the word or
encouraged them a serious race riot would
inevitably have followed
He saw the result, persuaded the negroes
to be quiet, and went to court and bonded
himself by paying down his bond IN cash,
/ for he could get no man TO 20 his security.
By this time all parties were excited by
the affair. The episode had only MADE
Kit dearer to the negroes, giving them
greater confidence in him, and advertised
/ him through all the country aIoucd Shreve-
port. For every dollar of business he had
| done before he now aid ten, selling from
| $500 to 81 600 worth of his medicines d
day. The negroes docked into Shreveport
from the surrounding country, his tent was
always crowded with thousands of persons
aad his speeches followed each other in
rapid succession. Yellowstone Kit is to-
day the idol OF the north Louisiana negroes,
and tens of thousands Of them would do
tomorrow whatever he told them to do.
SAYS Shreveport paper on this subject:
/ IF Abraham Lincoln could rice from the
grave to-day the negroes Of CaddO parish
would not regard him with more blind
idolatry than that which they bsstow upon
this faSir who, under the forms Of law, is
robbing them of their money"
There has been genuine alarm ever since
over the subject TIE whites declare that
the negroes have become aggressive and
turbulent. The view taken of the situation
by the white people Of Shreveport IS well
shown in the following extract rom the
Democrat, OF that town. TIE otter news
papers agree cordially with oil it says, and
Kit has the benefit OF two or three editori-
ais in them every day:
THAT these things have come to pass no
intelligent man, VINO he's seen the count
| less multitude of negroes pouring into the
city from surrounding plantations, who has
noted the Ominous sc0wls on their faces
when conservative men talk Of suppressirg
Yellowstone Kit, and who heard their
shouts Of triumph with which his deliver
ance from iail on bond was greeted, con
/ for one moment doubt For while the
situation last evening was full of gravity,
il not Of actual peril 10 the city. At the
daily and nightly meetings of this man
/ thousands of whites and blacks are mingled.
| In view of the condition of public senii-
ment, and the marked aggressivenes5 of
/ the negroes, due to the teachings Of this
man, q proper regard for the public safety
should suggest TO the city authorities the
! impropriety of permitting continuance Of
/ these meetings 4 difficulty between q
white end blsck man, which under the
present conditions is liable to occur at any
moment, would result in a bloody riot be-
/ tween the races
So far Kit hss stuck 10 his post, although
the situation has been growing more threat
enirg from day to day. No legal way Of
getting rid Of MIN has been found, as be
I bonds himself cut with cash whenever ar
rested. Daring the las; few days there
has bsen disposition to get rid Of him
by extra legal means, and White Cap no.
/ tees are pouring in on him warning him 20
+ leave town. He is demoralizing labor, The
whites say; he ia creating an i'll feeling be-
tween the races; Re is capturing all the
money Ct the negroes; be must be compelled
TO leave. The fakir, however, finds Shrsve-
port q good field, and he intends to stay.
Should violence be tried against him he
has the negroes at his back and could cause