The Big Stone Gap post. [volume] (Big Stone Gap, Wise County, Va.) 1892-1928, 1893-06-15
T;is; NEGRO RACE.
The Views Of Northern Man Who Has
Lived in the $Drth.

The Views Of Il Northern Man Who Has
Lived in the snr,h.
| came from the North five or six
years ago. and have availed myself
of every opportunity to learn more
about the nesro-his psychology, hi.
sociology, his archacology-with the
net result Of having the opinions
and preiudices of life time en-
tirely subvcrtcd. I began with re-
gardins him as an unfortunate and
degraded man; ended with the set
tied conviction that he is not q man
at all, except in an accommodated
sense. md this because =! find him
absolutely destitute Of 50 many char
acteristcs that are essential and
basal to humanity
He originates nothing. lie knows
about the cultivation Of the soil Just
what two centuries Of slavery forced
upon im, and since the WI: lie seems
incapable 9: learning how to cult
vatc anything he had not t@rn &C
cu$tomcl to, or OF doing anything in
different way. He cxcels, however,
in mimicry; every change he has
made in the mode OF labor or mode
of life is the fruit of this faculty, and
whenever the pressure that 'orccd
his few c9Hdc ideas upon him is relax
cd, or the odjcct of his mil'icry re-
codes, he instinctivcly SravtatcS to-
ware, Tie ideas, the habits and all
the evil environment OF the Nlrican
jungle.
He has 40 lnrctlou=ht. ;e seems
to lie quite incapable OF any uncasi-
mes. about thc future His sleep is
never disturbed by the fact that he
has nothing to eat tomorrow; he
drops into peaceful sInmher beside
his dying vile or child; and the fact
that he must suffer dcatli upon the
yallowa in Il fcw hours affects ncilIl-
err hi, appetite nor the Soun'!nc,s ot
his rcpose.
He. has no reverence. IL :ppre-
ciatcS power; hut he has no respect
for Il mau or Il thing that liz ,locs not
fear. To reverence man because
he is good or intellectually -rcat, or
a woman because she is noble and
pure, is = sentiment rs foreign to his
nature rs It is to that of Il wild
beast! &c has no cona.'cnrc lie
may feel sorry t|at II" va c,crtc!
if thor is . pc'lalty atta2he /: l'i 10
regret having CLONE w.oAg wAen he
apprci,al.j,, 40 danger ;rom il--iit
does nothing of the kind
lie has no sense Of obligation. II
he owes You he will pay you if he
knows yen can com,cI |Iini to. or he
thinks that by paying this debt he
can Sc advantage Of YOU Tor 4 larger
amount He has no more conception
of hastily or coninyal fidelity than a
goat. Gratitude is not in his vocab-
ulary. \ lifetime of Kindness &c
him afford, you no assurance that be
will not turn against YOU at the be
hest of sorlc man who has robbed
him and has knocked him down 4
thousand times.
His affection is very probcmaticaI
He sccn, 10 find real satisfaction
in burvng his family if he can have
the boiStnrollS sermon and q splendid
funeral At I'LL ever IS, he is more
relcntlc., than the grizzly bear in ia
flictinS punishment upon them while
living.
And, final y, thc researches Of the
alchacologi,t trace the negro to his
origin in qua orial Africa, while
the other races originated in Asia;
and there is not shadow OF evidence
that they all sprany from the same
source
In what ! have said | refer to ;hc
"averaSe' negro. How or to What
extent these facts may ne modified I'y
msccgiintion am not PREPARE! to
discuss.
feel some hcsitancy ia referring
to the religious aspect Of this sub
icct, but from the fact that the char
actcr of the religious negroes, so
called, and even (if not especially
Of their ministers, for truth AMI hon
esty, and chastity is ain oat without
exception bad, | must be pardoned ii
| fail to have any confidence in them,
or even if suspect that the negro
knows really nothing about religion.
"A. G.. johnson in the Memphis
Commercial.
Improve the Roads.
The charlottesville Progress SAYS