The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1899-09-23
The Story of Forty Acres and a
Mule, and Six Hundred
Dollar Hole.

The Story of Forty Acres and a
Mule, and Six Hundred
Dollar Hole.
Editor CoJdr Chronicle:
In the jubilee time of Reconstruction
the negroes in the Southern States
were given to understand that their
white friends atWashington had pass
ed laws giving to each negro ''forty
acres and a mule" At the oppor-
tune moment, when this imaginary
benefaction occupied the thoughts OF
all the negroes, a smooth carpet.bag-
ger over in Alabama met an old dar-
KEY, and said to him: "Uncle, you
know the government has passed a
law giving every cOlored man forty
acres and a mule" The negro re-
piled that he had heard the joyful
tidings. swell, said the man, Il am
the agent for the government in this
part of the country. / am locating
and certifying the land to each man.
If you know of any particular tract
OF land that you would like to have
/ can make you a deed to it. ! am
doing all this for the government, so
the land will cost you almost moth
ing. The only thing you will have to
pay will be my fees, which will not be
over twenty dollars"
The negro stated that he had his
eye on a certain forty acre tract, and
wanted his writings then and there.
"Well," said the white man, show
about my fee; how about the twenty
dOllars?" The negro reached into his
pocket and produced q purse wrap
ped and bound round and round with
long string. The contents of the
purse amounted to $14 rs. Then
the white man said, "Being it is you,
| will make you the deed, although l
am entitled to the full amount of
twenty dollars" So saying, he took
from his carpetbag some writing ma
trials, and when he had finished wri-
ting he handed the negro the deed.-
Then the meeting adjourned and each
| went his several way.
In the course of time the talk and
the worry about the proposition of
''forty acres and a mule,' died out.
Nobody ever came to put the negro
in possession of his land, and SO he
concluded be would take his deed to
friend who could read and under
stand deeds. The following is a true
copy of that deed:
Hs Moses lifted up the Serpent in THE
Wilderness, even 50 bave ]. lifted this
poor Niger out Of fourteen Dollars
and Six Bits. = e = 6elab! X
l have been forcibly reminded of
this incident by a publication made
last week in the Peoples Demands by
Mr.. &C. Watson, wherein that gen
tleman mentions, among other things
paid out of the parish treasury, the
sum of $500 90, paid for abstract 4"
For some time after reading Mr.
Watson's article, wondered whether
he had used the proper word when he
said abstract" 1t seems to me the
word extract" would have been just
as good, if not better. You see, the
thing he describes was a process by
which 5000 90 got out of the parish
treasury. Now, would like to know
if it is correct form to say that mon
ey was ABsTRACTED or EXTRACTED
from the parish treasury? | know
that Mr.. W. and his friends will con-
tend that this money was paid ont
for an Abstract of Land Deeds. But
that kind of rejOinder will be far from
satisfactory to me, because ] want to
know WHERE that abstract is, and
WHAT that bstract is. To man up
a tree, it seems to be an abstract in
the abstract, a kind of quintessence OF
quintessence. But, aside from the
shady transaction, abstract, extract,
and fishy figures, would rise to state
that there is a Six Hundred Doll, r
Hole in the treasury. Now, "Whrt
will the harvest be" if Mr.. Watson 4
Company succeed in putting a real,
live Abstract in that hole? What will
it be like. and who viii be benefited
by it? And, in the language of the
man who drew the elephant in the
lottery, what shall we do with it?
/ move that the Abstract when it
is forthcoming) be neatly folded and
gently laid to rest in that Hole, with
the following legend plainly written
on the outside label:
BE Moses lifted up the Serpent IN tbs
Wilderness, even 80 has the police Jury
Of Grant Parish been lifted cut Of Six
hundred Dc.lars. - r 6etab! Il
Mr.. Watson was full of fun the dc y
he wrote that missive to the Demands,
for he also states that $500 v as paid
out for the artesian well. That is a
good jokel i wonder what made Mr.
Watson say that? The men who dug
the well have feeling of emptiness IN
their hearts land in their pockets
with respect to that same $500, that
amounts to almost a total absence.