The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1897-03-11
THE NEGRO RACE.
fts characteristics Are the Same In Africa
as In Our Southern STATES.


as In Our Southern States.
The word negro is not heard in South
Africa excepting as "A term OF opprobrium.
Often and often again have Africander
Englishmen stopped me when speaking of =
Zulus, Basutos, Matabele and SO on as
negroes "You in America only know the
blacks who came over as slaves-that Is to
say, the west African negro, but"-and
this they say with some pride-"our
blacks are of very superior character and
not at all to be confused with the material
found on the Guinea coast"
Though this Is n popular notion among
Africanders and Englishmen generally, 1t
Is not, think, founded either upon his
torical research or upon observation OF the
negro in different places. 1t is true that
the most common slave trade in times past
was between the African west coast and
| the eastern shores of America, but 1t Is
equally true that the Portuguese carried
on steady and very profitable traffic OF
the same nature from their east African
possessions, notably Mozambique. This
alone can account for a large portion of
Zulu and Basuto blood among theyAmeri-
can slaves, but aside from this there Is
every reason for believing that even on the
west coast considerable portion of the
|
of war captured far in the interior from
tribes that had been recruited from the
east coast The life of an African negro
nation is practically the life of one re-
markable man who may possess gift for
war much above the average of his blood.
Thus we hear of Lobengula creating tho
Matabele, of Cetewayo and the Zulus, and,
greater than all, of Moshesh, the great or
ganizer of the Basutos. These black lead
ers have made 10 called nations, because
they readily attracted to themselves the
warriors from surrounding tribes or fami-
lies, who were glad to follow any leader
that promised them plumber in war ana
security for what they might take IN tho
way of booty.
Whoever chances at successive maps OF
Africa must be struck by the rapidity
with which names of territories have been
changed within the last 800 years. 1t Is,
} however, what one might reasonably ex-
pcct from negroes incapable Of self control,
living only for the qualification OF mo-
mentary needs and leaving behind them
, absolutely no record of any achievement
calculated to advance the cause of civil
! zation.
When we hear by our firesides of negro
wars, we IRE apt to receive statements
| very mLCn cXdPRerdeu anu Cci~'hiy o"A
: culated to make us feel that the negro car
: be most daring and dangerous enemy
n No doubt he is such for a short time ant
4 under extraordinary circumstances; but
taken as q race, there Is no more gentl
!, servant and companion than proPerl!
treated negro. 1t has been my fortune to Sc
y something of him in the West Indies, II
e South America and in every state a tn
|, United States Comparing that type o
Is negro with the black man of South Afric
|. as he appears between the Zambezi rive
!. and the cape Of Good Hope, l confess tina
- see very little difference. There are highl
bred negroes in America as well as 10y
bred ones, and as slaves we know tina
J. their price varied enormously on this az
count alone. but / am confident that IL
given number of negroes were picked
haphazard from the different portions
q Africa and then brought to Virginia
re Louisiana, dressed after the manner
o. American negroes, they would attract I
n more attention on the streets of New y
~ leans or Richmond than they do now alon
~ the ZambeZi or the Caledon. -Poultn'
~ Bigelow in Harper's Magazine For Marc