The National tribune., 1899-03-30
The Veteran Pot-wrestler Discusses the
Present Situation.

Dar seems tub be great deal tub say
nowadays bout de Philippines. Dem
Philippines always wuz a bad lot OATS
what makes st. Paul pint his pistol at
dem, and say lots OBJ tings in de Bible.
Nigh as | kin understand, its sort OBJ de
Lords backyard, ober dar, whar he
frowed all his miSfits, and culls, and
warps dat wazzent fit tub make straight
out white folks and cullud people out of,
and dey has bin breedin down grade
ebber since, mlxin up wild Chinese,
Spaniards, and udder briskets, neck and
tail-pieces OBJ humanity. | haint no use
fob mixes OBJ no kinds. j want my re-
ligion, my politics, my whisky, and my
races straight. A white man is good in
his place. and cullud man good in his
place. but yaller niggah aint no good
for muffin, except tub smoke cigarets, use
big words and clean spittons. He haint
got in him dc know-how OBJ de white
man, nor de hard wuk OBJ de black.
Den dat Aguinaldo. Names nuff foh
me. Take a sOrrel-cullud niggah wild a
bird-songy name. and you've done struck
combination dat you kin place no more
dependence on dan on a mongrel hound.
JiSt arter de wah, / went inter politix a
little. and got job cleanin de streets in
Richmond. l was done tole Ide be
Superintendent or boss. or Sumfin, and
git my hand inter de tresury. All / got
tub boss wuZ one hoe and split broom,
and all de Doodle l handled wuz S1.50 a
day, less 10 per cent, political assess
ments. But as dat wuz mo- money dan
Good make scratchin around on de ole
clay knobs, raisin things foh de udder
niggehS and po whites tuh steal, stuck
tub hit, until sumfin betteh should turn
up. But dar wuz an awful smaht niggeh,
about de color OBJ a new saddle, who
called hisself I2inaldO de MontmOrency,
who used tub do most OBJ de talkin at
| ouah Ward caucuses. He had a tongue
los Epnhar hIaCE lie uhin and
used words eZ long eZ a lOg-chain. He
had So day job up at de State House,
waShin winders and carryin papers from
| one official to anudder, and pintin tuh de
place whar dey must sign DER names.
| He was runnin foh de Legislature too.
He used tub tell us dat we wuz now free
men and American citizens, and dat 1t
was ouah own fault if we continered tub
be servile hewers OBJ wood and drawers OBJ
watch. Dat all de big places and de big
salaries belonged tub us mOre'n dey did
tub de big-bugs who'd bin swellin around
all deir lives doin muffin but holdin offs.
1t wuz only right dat de bottom rails
should have DER turn on top. and dat
wede git dar if wede only demand ouah
rights, ez free men should. Hede be our
leader, and sink or swim. live or die. sur
vive or perish wild us in de holy struggle
foh equal rights. l thought dere wuz
good deal OBJ bcock-a-dOodle-doo in his re-
| marks, but if dere wuz any chance tuh
git more n 81. % day WuZ ready ION IT,
| so lined in one day when he told us we
| must show ourselves men, and go up tuh
de State House in body and claim ouah
rights or wede bust things ginerally.
Rinaldo de AIontmorency did march at de
head foh square or two. and den l done
loss sight OBJ him. and purity soon 1de
sumfin else tub think OBJ, foh de police
and de milishy come chargin down on us.
Dey dubbed de heads often most OBJ us,
and run us out OBJ de town. week or
| two arter ! sneaked back tuh git de money
dat was OWN me, and see if ! coodent git
my Job back agin, but dey wooddent hab
muffin tub do wild me. Said / wuz an
agititator, and made trouble. ! strolled
up tui1 de State House, and dar see
Rinaldo de Montmorency a-bossin de
udder fellers what washed winders and
toted papers. He wooddent know me or
speak tub me-ohdehcd me out OBJ de
house, and oberheared some OBJ de white
men say:
Dat murlatter, Montmorency, is
smaht niggeh, but good man. He glib
us de infermashun about de uprisin
while ago, what lowed US tuh head it off
befo it got dangerous, and we've permoted
him."
OATS what makes me 'spise clay
bank niggeh, wild bird-songy name Like
dis Aguinaldo.