The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-03-20
4 NEGRO TEACHES FRENCH
A KANSAS BOY WHO LIVED IN
FRANCE AND THE ORIENT.
A. a. Anderson Left Wyandotte Fiji
teen Years Ago and Has Since
Been An Actor, Etc.
Ransas CITY Starry

a negro who speaks with distinct
English accent when he uses that Ian
guage, and has the lingual touch of
the boulevards in his French: who
smatters in Italian and Spanish, can
make his wants known in Flemish and
tconverse fiuently in Arabic whenever
he finds another who can understand
him, is a rarity, and he is Kansan.
About fifteen years ago a. young negro
of the name of y. a. Anderson lived in
Wyandotte and went to the Lincoln
school in this city. He longed to be-
come an actor and went to New York,
where he studied Shakespeare as we'll
as he might, and essayed Othello, Ham
let and others in black face with other
amateurs of his race. But there was
little field for a colored tragedian in
this country and he set his eyes toward
England.
One day this young Kansas negro
landed in London with a few dollars in
his pocket and the fires of tragedy
burning in his soul. After awhile he
got employment in the theatres and
played negro servant parts with sew
eral companies. He was in Wilson Bar
rett's company for awhile, playing in
the Royal theatre in Manchester But,
after ALL negro traSedians did not seem
to be in greater demand in Britain
his way to Paris just before the great
exposition of 1889 opened.
In Paris Anderson's career began. He
got a position in a hotel and occupied
his evenings studying French. In two
months he was far ADLER to take care
of himself than the thousands of Amer
leans who We're soon to come to see the
sights The Personally Conducted"
Cooks heard of him and engaged him as
y -,14 f.,. nni h-1oo inc1
clients and so he occupied himself until
the exposition closed. Then the Cooks
took him to Algiers as a guide. He soon
learned their itinerary there and pick
ed I'D Arabic. He dressed as an Arab,
and being able to speak French and
English, was very popular with tour
lists He was in Algiers two years, liv-
ing in tents, dressed in burnous and
sandals and flowing trousers-not at all
like 2. Kansas negro. The tourists who
met him probably remember the clever
young Arab who spoke the idiomatic
English of Wyandotte and Partisan
French.
Anderson had had enough of the Arab
life and desired to see more of the ORR
ent An Italian man-o'-war dropped
anchor in the harbor and Anderson for
sock the Cooks to become servant to an
officer aboard of her. He was compel
led in his acquaintance with the sailors
to learn Italian: his communication
with the officers was in French Thus
he visited Egypt and Asia Minor, with
plenty of shore leave, and was in Asia
Minor during the Armenian atrocities.
firing OF sea life he made his way to
Paris, where he became an artists mod
ell in the schools and for painters of
oriental subjects. IN this pleasant oc-
cupation he continued several years,
for he found that his color was there
rather a badge of distinction than of
contempt. There are not many more
than 100 negroes in Paris, and few of
them are from the United States, most
of them having come from Martinique
and other West Indian islands and from