Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1894-09-11
NEGRO coLoslsrs.
Eager ror or..asr risIa. and ss~' r..
lst.cial Corr,.pondsnesl

tur...
Especial Corr,.pondsnssl
PnTsBUEG. sept q. 1T IL q common
belief that the American negro l. not
much % pioneer. aud yet q very
casual inquiry AMI research will dis
clo-o the fact that, when the conditions
of his being in the country prior to the
war "a the rclsllion are considered, he
l. a. eager in the raco after 'grocner
fields aud pastures new" a. are any u
his fellows of whatever race or nation
ality.
After the war larry numbers Of freed.
men followed the Union soldiers tO the
north and west, increasing the negro
population u those sections toa marked
extent. In 1866 some $50 men. women
and children settled in Grant county,
Wis, building the town - Grant. not
far from Lancaster. the county sat In
1917 a colony of them from Tennessee
aud Kentucky settled In Graham coun.
". Kan. and founded the town u Nico-
domus. located on the south fork ~ the
Solomon river The town q Morton
City. In Hodgman county, Kan, was
founded by another colony Ina 1879. n
colony u negro veterans purchased .
large tract of land Ia 1852 Ia the Mouse
river valley. Dakota. and built the town
u Arnold Butler j. tho name u
town about l3 miles -outh u Chicago,
in which there IL large cotton factory,
the whole plant owned and operated by
colorcd men. On the opening ot the sac
and Fox Indian reservation for public
settlement Ia 1890 fully l.JOO u them
secured claims Ia that portion of the In.
dian Territory, and the town ~ Lang.
ston wa. the result In 1897, when the
Cherokee strip was opened up, hun
drods of them were among the claim
gctters. and the town of Liberty was
founded
None ~ ihc.o efforts was mushroom
In it, nature, and while their fame
has bocn and may continue to h. u tho
mute inglorious" kind they serve as
q complete rcfutation q the charge that
the negro i not a pioneer. Tho agita.
tion to settle In Africa has also borno
some fruit. and every little while small
companies ~ them leave the country for
the FAR distant shorcs of Lib.ria Ro.
p.atod efforts have bc,n made 20 colonies
largc numb~rs of them in the Mexican
.tat,s II SONORA and chihuahua and In
Brazil, South America, bat without
sucCUss.
The latest move is an attempt 90 set.
tie "modcl colorcd colony" In Para.
dis valley. Maricopa county, A. T.,
about 10 miles north u PheniX. the
capital of the territory only -olf sus-
tanning col0rrd men are invited t0 D..
come momh.rs. The plan D. called the
"Douglassyille Colony and Farm Vii.
lag" and IL embraces ,. $50 acrcs u
land under the canal .y,tom q the
Pennsylvania Irrigation company. di.
yidol In tracts ~ 20 acrrs each, with .
village site II 40 acros located In the
center " the plan. Each colonist will
have a residence LOT in the village 80 by
200 feet, on which he il expected 20
erect his residence. harms. etc, thu,
creating 40 the start community ~
$50 pcOplr. AMI no farm will H. more
than one mile from town. The high al
titud,, hcalthful climate and fertile soil
u south central Arizona, coupled with
the fact that statehood l. yet 20 come IN
the territory. with all the opportunities
10 engage In industrial. commercial AMI
political pursuits which new country
offer, are held out ~ Inducements. The
plan H. Tccriying the hearty oommenda.
tion Of the leading men Of the race, who
hail IL a. practical solution Of apr
picking race problem. j. l.. Is