The Portland daily press., 1896-03-14
BREAKING THE COLOR LINE.
An Episode Of War Days In Dixie's
Land.

Naughty Southern Eat Humble Pie
"Back Down This Train Immediately,
Sir, and Take Your Sidetraoked Car
and Those sNigger's officers AIong!'-
Righteous Denouement and Sur
prising "Coior Line" Revelation.
Bridgton, Me-, March 49," Speakin
of the color line as recognized by the
average Southerner as it existed in and
before war times. can give you specl-
men brick as it came up in my personal
experience"
Thus spoke my boyhood schoolmate
and lifelong friend, the late Lieut.. John
Mead. of North Bridgton, Me-, the war
time commander of Co. D, 18th Maine
Vols, brave officer. a worthy, honorable,
as well as intellectual man; an artist,
and press writer; fish warden, and
zealously active in stocking the waters of
western Maine with game fish. We were
chatting about the race prejudice of the
Southern white people against anything
which savored of equality and social in
bermingling with the coIored folks And
this is his story, which in the light of
the recent breeze and newspaper COM
nent over the refusal of certain Boston
hotels to entertain distinguished
eoclesiastic of African lineage, is OF time
ly interest.
in the fall of 1885," continued Lieut..
Mead. "my company was on provost duty
at Corralton. Louisiana, some ten miles
above New Orleans. We were camped
in a little square in the heart of the
town, and our duties were diversified,
requiring squad of men in harness. at
all hours to regulate some matters be-
tween citizens and soldiers, or planters
and such oontsabands as could be in
duced to help make craps OH der coast.
Our duty required detail of men, under
a non-commissioned officer, to run on
the railway train between Oorralton and
New Orleans to enforce such military
regulations as the case required.
"One afternoon an orderly presented
himself at my tent with Capt. Silver's
compliments, with the request that
should report at once st his office. l i'm
,nediatety complied On entering the
room which was doing duty as the office
OF the Provost Marshal, l found it occu-
pied by the Captain and typical South
erner, with long hair, sallow complexion,
and broad brimmed hat reminding me of
the stage makeup of some of the oharac-
tiers in Uncle Toms Cabin
81 recognized the long haired indiyid-
uai as conductor on the railroad men
TONED, and knew at once, from the
ygn mi hat no
unusual WAS astir. The Captain entered
at once into the business at hand.
Lieutenant said he, this is Con-
duotor W. He informs me that there
has been trouble on the road below here.
Two niger" officers came on board the
train at New Orleans, whom he ordered
Into the "nigger car" and they fatty
refused TO go. He called on the guard
to turn them out. bus the young non
commish in charge Of the guard had
been to them, and they declined to
bulge; and the Corporal stood little in
did not want to intorfefe without posi-
tive orders from some competent authori
ty. The conductor had sidestracked the
car some four or i've miles down the
road, with the two officers aboard. Now
want you 70 60 down on this train and
look after this business, and do Whatever
your Judgment dictates; but bring the
men to me, whatever else you do.
want to see what they are about. land
what they think of tneIlselvesi''
With these brief instructions I went
with the conductor TO his train, and was
soon whirling rapidly down the line. On
the way listened to the conductor COM
plant, and questioned the Corporal-who
was member of my company-and pre-
pared myself an we'll as possible for a key
TO the situation, but gos no points differ
ing much frcm what WAS embodied in
the Captains orders. Soon the train
pulled up, and the conductor notioned
our hsels we crossed the track and en-
tered another car, and the conductor mo-
stoned towards two officers who sat in
the rear seat Of the car, reading the daily
papers, with the remark, There are your
niger officers, and went back to order
some change in his train.
"As I went down the aisle of the car
tho two officers looked up from the pa
pers they we're interested in, aud, to my
surprise, instead of the black facs and
thick lips of the ordinary descendant of
Ham that / had expected to see, found
myself face to face with two men bearing
every appearance Of being gentlemen,
dressed In neat new uniforms Of Captain
and Lieutenant of the army, with regu-
lar features and skins hardly darker
than some of our own Yanks,' who had
gone out from Maine two years before.
AS came to the 0fncerS l said, i learn
there is some trouble here. What is it
all abou5@ The men met the inquiry
pleasantly and said:
g we will tell yen. We boarded this
train at New Orleans. on our way to join
orr company at the canal opposite Cor
ration. TIE conductor came around to
collect fares and stopped in front of US
and said "You don't belong here-you
will have to go forward into the nigg er
cars with the rest of your color" We
objected. We told him We were officers
of the United States Army, and as suOh
were entitled to the treatment accorded
to gentlemen; at least, we were entitled
to as good accommodations in transporta-
t1on as the road afforded. We refused to
bulge. de called on the guard and the
men hesitated about executing his orders,
aud to save further trouble. or to mako
as much as he could, he switched the car
OF, and left us here. That's the long
ana the short Of it. We will leave it to
you to say whether we shall go into the
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