The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1895-09-25
THEIR UTOPIA FATAL.
Over 500 Of the 700 Who Left Aiaba ma
TO Form u Cooperative Colony In Goa
huila, Mexico, Dead or Missing.


Washington, Sept. A.-The 400 sick
and starving negroes at Eagle Pass,
Tex., will have to go to their homes n
Alabama the best way they can for the
government has decided that 1t calnot
pay for their transportation. This de-
cis!on Is simply "a new chapter i'm an
old story. 1t Is a sad story, too, and II
its characters were white the sympathy
of "a continent would have been long
ago awakened.
Last February 700 negroes. men and
women, were induced to leave their
homes In Alabama and Georgia TO go
to the State of Coahuila, Mexico, to
form cooperative colony. The site
of this new Utopia was at Tiahualila.
about 200 miles southwest of Eagle
Pass, Tex. Trouble began as soon as
the negroes reached their destination
and their condition has been growing
from bad to worse ever since.
Early In July forty-two members of
the colony, convinced of the peril of
their position. broke away from the
colony and fled to the north. 1t was re-
ported to the state department that
thirty-two had been killed, but this
was never confirmed.
About the middle Of July the colored
colonists revolted again, and many of
them started on foot for the United
States. They were absolutely without
food or clothing and for weeks were
compelled to eat the beans of the mes
quite bushes and drink the brackish
branch water. Many of them died on
this perilous journey and were buried
by the survivors under a pile of stones
in the rude fashion so common in MeXi-
CO. No one knows how many died on
this journey and no one seems to care.
a f.Hxxr ,ly tb..t ,tg.1
! groes began to drag themselves into the
City of Torreon. on the Mexican Inter-
national railway. They We're destitute
of food and of clothing. They looked
like wild men. Finally 153 collected at
Torreon, lacking the courage to go
farther. Smallpox broke out among
them, and the emacated and exhausted
men and women fell easy victims of
the plague. Many died. The Mexican
authorities caused the darkies to be COR
rallied like a drove of afflicted beasts,
lest they should spread the contagion.
Late In July, on the representation
that the negroes We're dying of starva-
tion, as well as disease, the war depart
ment granted 1,500 rations. which were
| issued to Fort Houston. Tex, and sent
| to Eagle Pass. There they were fed
and housed In twenty-five tents, also
supplied by the war department An
other issue of rations became neces-
sary, and twenty-five days rations for
200 negroes were issued, but the negroes
fell Ill of smallpox again at Eagle Pass,
and were quarantined. More than 175
are suffering from smallpox there now.
There are 100 widows now in the colo
ny, where last February there was not
single one. Out of the 700 poor. ig-
norant negroes who left their south
ern homes last February more than 800
will never return. Many of these are
known to have died. and others baye
disappeared. as If swallowed by the
earth. In their desperation. those who
lived kept no record of those who died:
They We're buried without ceremony,
| and there was no epitaph written to re-
veal the identity of the bones.
The whole history of the expedition Is
sad from beginning to end. 1t has cost
the lives of hundreds of men. women
and children, and their fate has
aroused scarcely sign of sympathy.