Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1891-05-14
From A South Carolina Oolored School.


NCNfIiIs, HAMPTON 60. So.
Dee. 70. 1890.
Mr.. and Mrs. Latta invited Miss Miller
and me up here 10 spend Christmas with
them We are having such a pleasant
time with them II seems good 20 BE- with
white folks again, and especially these.
who are typical New England people.
Mrs !. had a rsai turkey aud a r.Yii i.lu,a
Pudfirg for dinner Yesterday tChristma.l
The dishes to be sure. Mere tut few and
poor but mat only furnished amusement
i"r Us and we were a. happy a If we had
had the best of china and silver ware to
eat from had only two days school this
week The people where teach make
great deal Of Christmas, bnt found them
wholly ignorant Of the meaning Of it
they actually knew nothing Of what the
day commentaries Sunday thc little log
school-house was well filled with men.
women and children and took the oppor
tunity TO take for our Sunday school les
son the Christmas lesson in Luke II, ten. |
7
Sariour's birth, Of the angels song to the
listening shepherds.
They listened with apparent interest.
and had reasons for believing that the |
full story was heard by most oe them.
then for the first time. These people had /
never even heard OF Christopher Columbus |
or of George Washington and the cherry |
tree. Their Christmas preparations con /
sisted in cleaning up" their houses, i. e.. /
pasbna ihs. .f.~prs. aI.i -ronoth oS..-,. ,helr>.
walls. Though only those who were the /
best on did the latter ana trimming their |
houses with evergreen and the usual news
paper strips. Houses ah. YOU would new
er call them by the name. The very best
of them could only be designated a cab
in>.
Miss Miller has been assisting me in
teaching the last two weeks. We got an
other little room not far away. | am hop.
ing that Mrs. Steele will either let her
stay or bring sorns one else as need an
assistant teacher very much. have
few evening pupils. one of them is one
of their preachers. Their preachers are at
the best but ''blind leaders Of the blind"
He wanted me to give him bible lessons
just think OF that. But when YOU con>id-
er that these men are more ignorant Of the
/ scriptures than our average Sunday school
I child of ten years in the North, it does not
seem so absurd.
4 EARt.r BRANCH. HAMPTON Co.
/ December 2>.
/ l staid at McNeills till to-day. ol. my
arrival here found letters and packages
awaiting me. My school has been remem-
bered in way that Is very pleasing to me,
the more so that the things are for the
most part unsolicited, | have received for
school use, within few days, box of
slate pencils, a box Of Spencerian pens
some crayons and two dollars in money
| think | shall bay map of the world
with the money. when | get where they
are or send for one. You write of the
cold weather. We are having to-day the
coolest weather Of the season thus far,
though in the North it would not be called
very cold. saw little skimming of ice
out of doors this morning the first have
seen this season. We feel all the cold that
there is, as the houses are built so open,
but there is an abundance of fire wood
here, that the poorest may have free. 1t
is mostly hard pine full of pitch and tur-
pentine and burns fercely with great
blaze and heat. These people have no
stoves. Their cooking and heating are
done by their mud fire places.
The climate here seems to agree with me
very we'll. The air in these pine woods is
really considered healthful, besides there
is sandy soil and consequently rapid
evaporation. There is malaria here caused
9 by exposure to the night air, which seems
l to be miasmatic. On this account my
r friends at McNeills advise me to have all
4 evening pupils come to the house instead
e of my going to the schooi-house. 1t
e would not be so bad for them as they are
e used to it. As school Is discontinued dur
r ing the summer months | shall not remain
I here, but will probably 60 North. Miss
) Miller went to WATERFORD, Saturday, to
4 spend the Sabbath and speak or preach
to the people there. The same day Mrs
v Steele arrived on her annual visit to hel
+ schools. We teachers were very glad to
d see her and the colored population quite as
t much so, over the coming of the "great
t missionary" as they call her. At Allen
!, dale, McNeils and Early Branch, Mrs
It Steele already has schools Mr.. and Mrs
a Latta talk of opening one in about week
r at Almeda. about three miles farther up the
T. railroad. They and Mrs. Steele talk OF
8 having the school at McNeills for the more
t. advanced pupils only. | am becoming
J. deeply interested in this people, their ignor
q ance and their desire to learn. As fearet
= Mrs. Steele will take Miss Miller back t.
l. Chattanooga with her aud shall be lef
e without an assistant or companion. Mrs
# Steele and Mr. and Mrs. Latta came dow
d with me this morning and held meeting