The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-03-06
RISE OF A FORMER SLAVE.
STORY OF a GREAT oWNER OF LAND
IN ALABAMA.

the Fiautation on vhicl $50 war Born
n eiave-utn varied MISUNDERSTANDING
That Keen NeishbsrinE Farnera Poor.
RowALIGA, Ala, March lit Is worth the
d~iscomforts Of a trip to Alabama to ride behind
two strong horses In q stout road buggy, from
Tuskegee. In the central part Of Macon county.
through the narrow southern end OF Taliapoosa
county, past the famous Tallassee Falls and then
straight through Gilmore county, following for
o good part OF the way the Wallahatches River,
on the western border Of the county, TO tho
Kowaliga settlement. in the extreme north
western portion Of Elmore county. These tbree
counties, with Coosa county, north of Elmoro
and east Of Tallapoosa counties, were the
stamping ground of tho Crock Indians, with
Tallassco, not quite in the centre of the group,
as the capital. Tallassee is rapidly becoming
a cotton manufacturing centre. tho works al
ready in operation and those in course of con-
s%truction representing perhaps $4,000. 900.
The whole country ia full Of little rivers and
creeks. whose uplands and bottoms contain
some Of the best corn and cotton land IN the
South. The country looks to be of volcanic
origin and may contain mineral wealth which
has not been suspected. Gold has been discov-
erod In small quantities at two points In the
Kowaliga settlement. This settlement con-
tains about 900 people. 600 OF whom are Afro
Americans, most OF them farmers.
My main purpose in going to tho settlement
was to visit the Kowaliea Industrial School,
one Of many of its kind to be found oil over tho
Soutn and in the most unexpected places. One
gets a better idea Of the possible future of the
Afro.Amcrican race by seeing and studying the
school children in the rural districts than in
towns and cities and one has at the same time
an opportunity to study the farm population.
A significant thing about tho Kowaliga settle
ment is that the white farmers are gradually
leaving the farms and seeking factory work at
Tallassce, Wetumpka and other points In the
county, while the blacks are sticking moro |
closely than ever to the soil, purchasing the
abandoned farms in many instances for half
thor value. All through the four counties
mentioned 1t looks as IL the white population
would eventually become a miserable factory
ono, with from one to three families huddled in
and proprietor class. The white farmer. has
farmer. in the Koweliga settlement at least,
whore the land is rapidly passing into the hands
OF tho Afro-American farmers.
l had an experience yesterday which few
hours in the saddle riding over the estate Of
ing tho windings of Kowaliga Creek in The
northwest from its source to where it empties
q distance of six miles, and all the land fora
distance of two miles, or more on either side.
the white proprietors refuse to sell. is owned
by Mr.. benson. At some points Kowaliga
dace an abundance Of corn Tau and '1 peas os'' While Pts its
%uplands, a black. stony soil. are famous for cot
ton. MIR. Benson has q sawmill. a grist mill.
and a cotton ginning and COMPRISING mill.
operated by its waters. Mr.. Henson owns 5000
ship of Kowaliga Creek, with the exception OF
a body Of 277 ceres. including kowaliga Falls;
farms already referred to. This tract Of land
comprises five large plantations, with II half
s aIfsh 500 s% acres en for Which iae LGG M. Benson paaH paid fo e.
acres on which the mill is situated, cost $50
ings. Mr.. Henson has $4,000 Invested in farm
most OF them on land owned BY white farmers.
and expects in the end to own many, OF the
that the farmer who gets tangled up in a mort
gage but seldom gets out of 1t with his farm.
Connection sttaS1" with itso his Grf arms and d'n mills. furnish,
Ing all the supplies needed by the forty families
employed f o fSs 5 on od The sd farms c,a and in the bs mill M ps,.o,
1900, are cultivated, in corn and cotton and
the like. 500 are used for pasturagc. and 1000
hickory " timber. Mr.. henson ON operates his
farms for the most part on shares, furnishing
farmers furnishing the labor and their keep. tho
product, of whatever sort, being divided half
There are forty families on the farms and so
Mr.. Benson says he runs forty ploughs." Tho
leases are divided up among n dozen good men,
of the stock and the faithful work of the hands
under them. These head men are responsible
never been ten miles from tho Kowaliga settle.
ment since they were born. To each head OF a
and he has the care of the mule he uses in plough
ing: Mr.. Benson Gays that in good years he
sbundanee Of corn. the surplus Of which he has
no trouble in disposing OF to farmers less thrifty
than h h,h himself ms ELF He He says az it is a &C common thing
% cents n bushel and sell the same corn to the
same armers in June and July for 65 cents a
e easn'I when unit It 7 Is ne cheap eni '@ aud sells Sc sAi I when hen 0 II Is
high. Some Of the hands on Mr.. Benson's
corn and meat, He does not undertake to regu.
late such matters, for them. When they are
the ebert ru IF sFe @ar iee m pries h and Tu tafss a them hem o aa
their prospective cotton production. In bad
years. like the last one, when tho long drought
the Kowaliga Creek district, Mr.. Benson gets
nearly all The cotton produced, the hand hay.
says he has got tired Of preaching to his hands
that they should raise their own food supplies.
friction and bad feeling to keep plenty of
corn and bacon in stock to sell to them when
MIR. Henson Is a very quiet little man, 46 years
old. His grandfather was a white Benson, who,
after raising 2 white family in Calhoun county.
removed to Gilmore county and raised a yellow
ono. When he died during tho war these yel.
children and grandchildren were divided
VI. .db 5IhNc pIOpCrty dllUnR tuO "lil LUTTE III
and Talladega ~counties. 1t was very
hard lines for them. as their father had not
treated them as slaves in the full sense Of the
term, but had allowed them to have many
and immunities not enjoyed by the
common run of slaves.
John fell to a white Benson at Tal,adega. and
remained at that place until 1853, when he re-
turned to Rowaliga settlement and purchased
on credit 100 acres Of land three miles from the
where he was born. In time all tho
land between his new home and the plantation
ho was born and two miles beyond came
his possession. There is nothing of the old
Benson place remaining but tho chimney Of tho
big house and a few plum trees. Where the
master ruled in lavish but barbaric state
the slave child now lords 1t and is the leading
patron of tho kowaliga Industrial School,
where little black boys and girls arc receiving
the blessings OF a liberal and useful. education
Instead OF being knocked down to the highest
bidder on the auction block.
Mr.. Benson loves the first place he purchased,
he has n hundred finer sites for a
home. and the carpenters are now busy con-
for him a two-story, ten.room house,
with modern improvements, on the old site,
Il I'LL A-AAAA H. lA-l L