The Washington bee., 1897-09-04
Two Years Among the Freedmen
By ANNA ELLIS.
Written for the BEEF
PART III,

One good soul, evidently from Bos-
ton, had contributed bag OF drleo
beans, the paper had bursted and there
were beans in every direction, every
package and every hole and corner had
beans in it; after much effort these
beans were collected and afterwards
cooked and eaten with much relish, as
the principal article of diet in this
country, Northumberland county Va,
was pine-rooter pork and corn bread,
the latter often without butter, as the
COWS ran dry for want of proper milk
ing.
Now, my two years in this good work
showed me the needs of the negro;
they should have industrial training as
well as book learning train them h07O
to work, Had | have had the means
/ would have erected a building right
in that poor country, that land of ticks
and sand hills, and taught the colored
people the right methods OF perform
ing manual labor; teach them as you
are doing the Indian. to be good car
penters, bricklayers, mechanics of all
kinds, daesSmakerS, house servants,
&c, &c. 1t will take years to do it, as
it took generations to enlighten the
white race, which in many cases has
not been done yet.
The sessions of the school were two,
in the morning for colored children
and at night for grown people, both of
which were well attended. 1t was
surprise to me that men and women
who had been busy through the day
in the corn fields and their other occu-
pationS would feel able to spend their
evenings in the SChool-rOOm learning
to read, write and cipher, but they
came regularly, and seemed to delight
in their books.
The Colored people had Sunday
School in the School-room every Sun
day morning, having for their superln-
tendent one of their own people. |
never interfered with that, with the eX-
ceptiOn of occasionally taking a class
or offering a suggestion when asked !;
their ideas of religion were good and
needed no interference, besides | found
teaching twice day through the week,
or | might say three times a day, tor
about FIVE white children came for In
struction in the afternoons, as much as
| could do, for the parents OF these
white children begged so hard that L
could not say may"
From many sources have been told
and read that the colored race was
naturally dishonest. During the two
wears that | lived in Virginia, in the
School-houSe mostly alone, without
neighbor, the nearest being One-eighth
of a mile away land they colored), and
surrounded as was by every tempta-
ton, the contents of the boxes and bar
rels themselves being sufficient tempta-
ton, never lost a penny'S worth Of
anything by theft.
The principal mode of travel through
that country was by OK cart, the roads
being too sandy for horses and the peo-
pie too poor to buy horses If they
would.
The nearest railroad being thirty
miles, with no stage coach, the mail
beiug brought by carrier twice week.
There were two steamboats, on the
Coon and Wicomico rivers twice a
week from Washington and Baltimore,
but they stopped running at Christmas
and did not begin again until spring
opened.
During the two years of my teaching
! ate fresh meat just three times twice
ODldlHcu lIOll TIE DOdlJ dIlu lllC OlICl
time a white neighbor killed lamb,
which lamb required three hours cook
ing to get it tender enough to eat, and
being a "nigger teacher " | was
charged twice its usual value.
NV heart was almost broken when |
was obliged to give this school up, but
| was so afflicted with the ague, and
kept continually begging North for pc
Cuniary assistance that could not con-
tinue | had won the hearts of the
people, and saw a great future with
proper means
never could understand why such
great wealth was given to those who
only squander it, while those who could
and would put it to such good use,
have it not.