The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1897-10-06
NEGROES AS GUESTS
MILLIONAIRE'S WIFE CREATES A
SENSATION IN KCNTUCKY.

she Had Reasons of Her Own for Giving a
Great Bail. to Which Not Single
White Person was Invited, and Oas oil
Her Reasons WAS That She Wanted to
show the Colored People Tha. She Did
Not Despise Them some of the Won
ders OF the Wonderful Fuuction-The
cake Walk.
Lexington, KY, Oct. 5.-The bigges,
social sensation in Lexington since the
late Mrs. Rosa Vertner Jeffrey gave her
famous Hasheesh party, thirty years
| ago, occurred lately when Mrs. W. E.
D. Sookes, wife Of the New York mill
ionaire, gave a swell dance TO the ne
grCes Of Lexington and Fayette coun-
ties. Negroes are necessary adjuncts to
the well regulated party in central Ken
lucky, but no society dame, however
bold, in her entertainments or radical
in Ler views, ever went SO far as 10 give
a party especially for negroes.
IN antebellum days wealthy planters
/
and ''thrashing" parties, at which there
| would be plenty Of hard cider; some
| times old bourbon, and always doast
| shoat and sweet potatoes, pumpkin pies
| and wheat bread. But these were not
| exactly social functions. and the negroes
were expected to clear out the timber,
| shuck the corn and thre.h the wheat, as
the case might be.
Mrs. Stokes, contrary to the usuages.
which We're peculiar to southern people,
went step further and gave an elabor-
ate ball, TO which not single white per-
| son was invited.
WHY THE BALL WAS GIVEN.
Mrs. Stokes wanted to show to the
cocred people Of this vicinity tha. she
doss not believe that negroes were re-
sponsible for the burning Of her fine
| barn last spring, in which her great
mare Josie B., and a dozen other valua-
bic horses persisted. She employs many
| coiored people on her Patchen Wilkes
farm, near this city, and she evidently
thinks that it would be the proper thing
to show them that she does not despise
them. She built a new barn on the site
Of the one which burned last spring,
and it was finished lately.
she has been here for the past two
weeks experimenting the training of
her tro.ters and incidentally watching
after the finishing touches Of her fine
balm.
She is an all-rcund outdoor woman.
She rides wheel to perfection and near
| ly every morning ecorches around the
| half-mile track on her form for an hour
or more. She also drives her horses, and
it is quite sight to see her in a sulky
| behind Beuzetta, POS "a, or Miss Rita,
| 200 IA, 10 the poles. Before Josie B.,
who made the record with Miss Rita,
was destroyed in the fire, Mrs. Stokes
used TO drive them as team, and it is
said that she drove them a mile over
| her track in better than 2:15.
She is also a good wing shot. and
spends portion OF her time in shoot
ing birds and squirrels.
Her baby boy she brought with her
and he IS constantly in the care Of a
trained nurse. This is the boy on which
| his father settled on million dollars the
| day he was christened, and he also gave
| him an interest in Patchen Wilkes Stock
| Farm.
One day last week while Mrs. Stokes
and Peter Duryea Were looking over the
new barn, George MINIS, the colored
norsessoer. came along and remarked 10
Mrs. Stokes that 1t would be a good
| place to give foall.
She and Mr.. Duryea talked the matter
over. with the result that they issued
about 200 invitations to the leading col
ored people of this vicinity. The invi-
tationS state that "Patchen Wilkes
! Farm request the pleasure of your COM
| pany al a barn dance on Saturday night
I October g."
A F'LUTTER IN SOCIETY.
It is needless TO say that these invita-
| tons caused flutter in Lexington So
| ciety. 1t was such a good thing the
| negroes could not keep it, and by Mon
day night everybody in Lexington knew
that Mrs Stokes was going TO give the
| darkies a ball. The matter got into the
| local papers. much to the discontinue Of
the New York lady, and she vigorously
| denied that she was giving the ball
| These denials were promptly printed
here. but the preparations for the ball
went on, just the same. A leading ca
| terer was employed to set the supper
| for Mrs Stokes colored guests. and he
prepared a royal repast for them, be-
/ cause Mr.. Duryea told him to spare no
| expense. saying that he wanted every
thing Just right"
| The ball didn't begin until about 9
| o'clock, when Jones colored band struck
up the opening march. What a grand
! parade IL was. Nearly one hundred
! dusky damsels, srrayed in all the colors
| OF the rainbow. their compilations rang
| ing from a creamy white TO EBONY black
| and their figures from that of the syiph-
! ike form OF the octoroon, 10 the rotund
! proportion of Mrs. Stokes colored Sook
The "gemmen" were equally many
| hued, ana there was no regulation" in
| their dress Everybody wore the best
! they had. and that was all there was %
| it. Some had swailow-tail coats. others
! had short rouni-abouts. But they all
danced.
| Right well did II amIse Mrs. Stokes
| and the ladies' and gentlemen she had
! invited 10 witness this peculiar enter
/ tainment. They laughed until they
! cried at the antics OF the darkies, and
/ when the company sat down - supper
/ me nerriment OF Mrs. Stakes and her
/ friends knew no bounds. The darkies
! a.e as Il they had been starving for 4
| week. getting ready for the feast, AM
| there was not enough le:t over 10 feed
| thed ogS.
| The cake walk came of after supper.
| II vas not over before early Sunday
morning "Dicer' Williams and Ms
rf-I Mary Emma Jones the CHAMPION