The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1891-02-05
BILL ARP,s CHAT.
Every Race has its own Sir Oracle.
atlanta Constitution.

| BILL AnE|S CuA1s
Every Race has its own Sir Oracle.
atlanta Constitution.
Of course it was trick-somebody's
trick--this gathering of the negroes to 60
| to Africa. The mystery about it all is
that S1.02. They could have gotten 50
just as easy-maybe 50: But it wasn't tue
trick of our people. The credulity OF the
! negro is amazing. One would think they
had learned something since freedom
came-something about trusting stran-
! gers. The idea Of going to Africa for 81
| and postage stamp would convict any.
body of lunacy. Two thousand OF the
| dupes in Atlanta with their tickets and as
| many more all along the line to Wash.
ington-all waiting for the agent and the
ships. Some went from Cartersville,
| and are on the road somewhere. They
won't talk. They are bound to secrecy.
They have been houdood. Education
does not seem to rid the negro of the
superstitions and vagaries that belong to
the race. Every community has its
oracle, its copjurer, its fortune teller.
There is one over on the hill back of ua.
The women and the girls have more faith
in her than in their preacher. If one OF
them loses anything she goes to the old
woman, who listens to her story and
floats some coffee grounds in saucer and
tells the name of the thief, and generally
tells the truth, for she is smart and knows
her nabors. My daughters nurse went
to her yesterday to have her fortune told,
and said the old woman told her she
would get present before mig ght from
the good lady she was nursing tor.
Well, of course, that was compliment,
and nv daughter dident go back on the
colored oracle. Her good will is worth
something when nurses are :arce.
But I was Illuminating about the exodus
to Africa-not about the going, but
about the desire to 60. Is it 8 sign OF
anything7 Ever since I was q boy there
has been talking and writing about the
Jews going to Jerusalem, and sometimes
the signs Of it are pretty good, 1t they
have never made q start. And now the
wise men say that Providence planned
the slavery Of the negro for his good and
waited 100 years for bis civilization, and
then sent Stanley to Africa to get the
Dark Continent ready, and now that
same Providence is inclinirg bis mind to
20 there, and this is the beginning of the
great exodus that ia to come. Well this
may be so or it may not be, but it is all
right if it is. Our people are willing
and waiting. But the negroes can't
swim and they can't be foated over tor
$1.02. One thing is certain-they will
90 when their time comes and not before.
This thing was tried half a century ago
and it was too soon and dident WORK:
The Colonization Society meant we'll and
spent lots of money. They built ships
and sent agents over to Liberia to pre-
pare the country for the colony. They
took over thousands and thousands OF
negroes who had been set tree by their
masters in Maryland and Virginia, but
they died like cattle with the murraln.
Most of the States had laws which for.
bade slaves from remaining in the State
after they were set free. They had to go
north or go to Liberia. But still there
was great many free negroes in the
South-negroes who were born tree-and
they we're middle class between the
slaves and the white folks. They were
not up to the one nor down 10 the other.
Like the Irishman's definition of q fairy,
"aThey are the spirits of folks who are
not quite good enough for heaven, but
are leetle too good for hell" And so
when freedom came to the slaves, the
old-fashioned, high.toned free negro was
in q fix. His middle Station was knock
ed out and he felt it keenly and wss
mad. He was either down to the level
of the Common ligger" or they were
brought up to his. Most of them were
respectable mulattoes and had trades
and occupations in the towns like white
folks. From that class all our Southern
BARRIERS came, but as one of them salo 10
me not long ago: "I was always dem.
ocrat, sir, and mixed with Southern gen
tlemen, sir. was in the Mexican war,
sir. and was intimate with General
Henry R. Jackson and Governor Col
quit, and all the blooded stock. aaso-
ciated with gentlemen, sir, before the
war, but one day Mr.. Lincoln took his
pan in his hand and set all these black
niegers free, and, before we knowed it,
there was about 10000 new BARRIERS
jumped up with brush in one hand and
q razor in the other, and we old'fashion.
ed niggers hain't had any comfort SINCE"
knew one of these high-strung mu-
lattoes who got rich, and owns plan.
tation, and bought some slaves and work
ed them. He never forgave the yankees
| for taking his property without paying
him for It, and what was worse, they
| raised up the other negroes to be his
equals. ,,,
died in our County leaving large estate
and over 100 slaves. BE left a will in
which he set FREQ thirty.seyen of them,
and directed that his executors should
send them to Liberia. He charged that
thew should be provided with abundant
clothing, and when they embarked they
should be given 5000 apiece in gold.
These negroes we're his favorite house.
hold servants and their parents aud their
children-they had been raised by him
and treated with care and humanity and
he was attached to them. They were
reluctant to go but finally consented and
old William, who was the trusted and
confidential agent of his master. made
preparations to go with them, as his
master had directed. Their departure
was prevented by bill .ofi1junction that
vas sued out by one of the heirs and the
case had to go to the supreme court,
where the will was sustained and the
executor ordered to proceed with its pro.
visions. Those negroes were sent from
Savannah to Liberia on the ship Eliza
beth. Three years after their departure
the old man, William and six others very
unexpectedly made their appearance in
our town and delivered themselves to the
executor. They reported all the others
dead and asserted that they had tried for
year to get back but we're refused trsns-
portation by every vessel that came.
Finally they hid themselves in the
hold of trading vessel one night, and
kept hid until the ship had been three