Telegram-herald., 1889-07-31

81 s. rf1-n4Y a. 41 rctr a..lll.l.-L.
lt1eat 81 De1g asa rszin1s Is
ofres e-.Y tlae ever san hl-u. z1e t-s CIR
clzer1aezs at1s---lg Uly seeirg am were
sssrsr--l1F zsd amusing thai nzse aeFsr
fef1e-.ea taeI. 4--1ocgl il w-s several
wears 1et re- the w4r lg occurred ~
Psi rhzeepsie. \ y. ena Ire a1sr.cloas oc-
c4sle1 VS. tie celebration uy t1e cc-cret
population q tie anniversary of tas fres-
lem of l1s negroes of the islznd = J4Dzlca-
flere wzs gorgeous processi9n, Win
rnlsl-. isUon21es speeches Snd peanuts
o-t ne principal attraction, ASIDE from tae
peanuts. Has Fred D0lg-1ss. t1e fccz-
tlooe1s rler-fasisusc, ccgper-co-9ces era
t9r cf t1e dag, the cLs selected % sslzo ne
Amersc-n eagle ty TIE tesiocks, swing ban
three g.lies u. aud his head and scatter tAe
Ia feathers al ever lo4e lzsepsle-
49, I1-r tine there were quite = number
OF boys lro-a ghs South attending the Pough-
kespsis Ce..egl4 l4ts Institute. 2u4 happened
% 1e oae ~ lhel. IL IL needless u state
tlat tie celebration did not u any entLasi-
sslle degree, NEE, VITA TIE cord "a support,
or es1- approval, Of the aforesaid youths
frcm tie south Thers was one young
hol,aerner in particular who steIed 20 re-
gard Tie proposed festivities es sufficient
pfovoc~ilol 10 iu4uguralo ia fratr-ci1al
struggle wulca broA5 loose tnly 4 lew
ye4rs .4-er. lis name WIS Burress. 2ud
A-s hone was IL Mississippi where MS
father owned several large plantations and
upwarcs OF five hundred negroes
The slgnt CT ab-e-DOdied, likely negroes
stalking the streets with high hats on the
port sides Of their heads, canes ia their
hands and smoking clgars almost parslyzed
poor Burress. II was entirely beyond bis
comprehension.
The spe4Aing was 10 take place N College
Grove IN u long wooden pavilion tnat had
been erected for that express purpose. At
this place congregated quite large mum
Der Of the participants II the celebration,
and among them was Blrress. The crowd
would have been large one without Bur
ress, but Bgrress was II II, and Of II, and
ali around il, and ne helped amazingly 70
swell the vast proportions.
The pavilion was completely filed with
white and colored ab5lti0nists, as they
were then called, and rurress was with no
small difficulty, prevented Dy his friends
from making audible market quotations Of
the casn value OF the representative COL
ored men II tue pavilion, ana thus establish.
ing himself Us kind OF op-n call board His
forc.ole little hits and caustic innuendoes
concerning the social status Of the white
man on this platform along side the negroes
were wild and frequent
81 last Fred Douglass came forward, and
was formally introduced 10 the audience
he was tai, well-made man, having more
the appearance OF an Indian than Of a
negro. He stretched forth his arm and was
about 20 recapitulato the story OF his thrall-
dom. when suddenly there was sudden
crash. The pavilion had collapsed. The
weight OF impending argument ha1 proven
too heavy a strain and il came down abou:
our heads like lathe hen house struck by .
cyclone. There was wild vision Of planks,
boards, joints, two by four scanuing. tim
bers, terrified darkies, white orators and
oolored, and large and carefully selected
assortment of black. brown, yellow, bronze.
saddle-colOred, liver-colored, mezzo- -tirted,
terra Gotta, seal brown, black and tan,
Chrome and gingerbread darkies. Profan-
ity rent the air, and those who came to
weep over the wrongs OF tue colorsd race
remained to blaspheme the inexperienced
architect who constructed the pavilion.
Fortunately nobody was particularly in
lured except Burress. he, however, was
not injured physically, but the mental
straln-the stream Of p.easGrable electricity
coursing through his systcm-was too
much, AID he was borne from the scene in
sn hystcrical paroxysm Of mirth which laid
him up IN his room for two weeks.
One or the most remarkable Of the phe-
ncmena Of the cataclysm was the fact that
while quite a number of the whites were
feeling their heads, not solitary colored
man seemed 10 have taken tue disease in
that form, bat dozen or more platoons Of
them were hopping around on one leg ten
oerly nursing injured shins, and among
them was Fred Douglass himself.
Burress returned 10 bis home shortly
afterwards, and when the war broke out he
went 10 the front and was killed in one Il
the first oztles- ALEX T. SWEET.