The Washington weekly post., 1899-05-23
SAFEGUARDS THE HENCOOPs.
Electric Wires Regarded by the Darkies
as Hosd0os.
From the New York Telegraph.

from the New York Telegraph.
"One Of the best things that the South
has ever he'd" said the Colonel, as he sat
back in his chair and lighted a cheroot,
is electricity. The proper use for the
subtle fluid has not only lighted up the
dark places, but it has acted as a deter
rent to thievery. 1t is the darkys hoo
doc and planters give thanks every day
Tor Its presence and use.
The colOTed man of the South is loose-
Jointed in his moral code He gobbles
your chickens or breaks into your meat
house without calling il stealing. He rec
ognises no proprietary interests when
his stomach yearns. l used to try to pro-
tect my fowls and bacon with bear trans
and alarm bells and padlocks, but the
darkies always beat me in the end. If
they couldn't get into my meat house by
door or window, they'd cut a hole through
the foundations. Up to about ten yearE
ago one had to sit up nights with a shot
gun across his knees to guard his fowls
and he might get up in the morning to
find 200 pounds OF bacon missing or the
StorehouseS robbed of meal or flour
Inc colored man was frightened of
electricity from the start. There is some
thlng OF the supernatural in it to MIN.
YOU can't get one in a hundred to talk
through telephone, and they never rIda
on trolley Car without being prenared
for calamity. In my district. when we
came TO know how the colored man re-
garded the unseen force each pIauter SET
about taking advantage of it for the pro-
lection OF his chattsls. We passed hand
batteries around and gave exhibitions
ana after, marauding darky had re-
ceived a shock to loosen his teeth h. was
ready 10 listen and 10 believe
The meat house is to-day surrounded
Dy TWO INES or wire. So with my hen
coop and store house. They are as safe
as If guarded by half a troop of cavalry.
BY running single line of wire around
my melon patch | can keep all providers
out II II were known a wire ran through
my peach orchard, you couldn't get a
darky over the fence. The idea is that
me electric current is lying in ambush
and that its mission Is to knock out
prowlers. We foster the idea, OF course.
and IL has brought happy relief and a
great financial saving.
There are some queer happenings In con-
nection, as you may suppose The colored
women refuse to use wire clotheslines for
fear of shocks. and you couldn't give a
coiored FAMILY woven wire mattress
Some of my field hands won't cross a
street car track without Offering up a
prayer. and / have a dozen old fellows
VINO couldn't be hired to ride on q trolley
car. Last fall / sent two of my hands
across the country to bring home a hull I
had bought OF y fellow-planter. The dis
tanee was fourteen miles. and they came
nome about o'clock at night without the
bull When 1 questioned them the ex-
PLANTATION was:
We got dar all right. Mars Penlope
an We found Mars Thompson an de bull
Mars Thompson WAS mighty kind an de
bull was pow erful slick. but when we seed
dem brass knobs on dat critters horns
We Enowed dat he was a 'Iectrfe bull AM
had bin all wired up 20 raise de debbil on
dls plAhtashun, an so We dun walked
right OF an left him behind