Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-11-03
EARLY NEGRO MINSTRELs.
Edwin Forrest and Joseph Jefferson
Appeared in Burnt Cork.

Edwin Forrest and Joseph Jefferson
Appeared in Burnt Cork.
From the Philadelphia Saturday Evening Post.
About thirty or forty years ago, when
Edwin Forrest was in the heyday of his
popularity, he went into a western town,
the exact location of which 1 do not recall,
and played to such large audiences during
his stay that on the morning he was to
leave he remarked to the manager that he
was surprised to find such a cultured town,
and that 1t could furnish such large au-
diences for Shakespearean plays.
1.-The MINISTRIES are here" replied the man
ager. ,, ,.,
What has that got to do with it?' asked
the tragedian.
why the minstrels play in the after
noon, and the people come into town to see
them; then, having nothing to do In the
evening, they come here
Perhaps the manager was attempting to
be funny and exaggerated matters. But
there is foundation for the story, as one
whose memory goes back thirty or forty
years will admit
Negro minstrelsy today has settled into
regular thing; people go to show to enjoy
it, memorize the gags work them off
with an unconscious and spontaneous air
on less fortunate friends, and then wait for
the return of the show to lay In new sup
ply. But there was time when minstrelsy
had a beginning, just like the earth and
Adam and Eve, and 1t was beginning with
a boom, and everything else gave way be-
fore it.
There is some disagreement as to which
was the first minstrel organization, but I'M
doubtedly it was Christy's Ministries that
first spread the fame of the organized
troupe and made an impression on the coun-
try And as for it's impression on the old
world where the band made its home Tor
several years, Thackeray himself stands
witness. Christy became synonymous with
well atteStS.
A minstrel in this country has the salts
faction of knowing that he is working in a
kind of amusement that is the genuine pro-
duct of America. / suppose, however, that
Shakespeare put the first negro on the stage
Ca Moor to him was negro), but Othello
was not a minstrel; he played heavier line
of business. From almost the beginning
of American stage history there were ne
groes of the minstrel variety mpersonated
on the stage though it was not until about
the fortieS that they were organized INTO
bands. Some of the greatest actors of later
days had their experience as MINISTRIES,
among them Joe Jefferson and Edwin For
rest.
Forrest was given negro Song and
dance act to do when he was very young,
and after he had studied it up he asked
where was the "old negro lady" that was
to act as his assistant in the piece. The
management tried several Of the women
who were members of the company, but
none Of them would consent to blacken up,
and, in fact, they were very indignant over
the proposition. The actor, however, was
not easily discouraged, and on the night OF
the first performance he blackened up and
went around the corner to an old negro wo-
man who did his washing.
Hello, Dinah,' he said on entering. How
you been feelin' dis belly fine ebening"'
Hello, yo'," replied the African lady.
Pears to me yo' am er berry fresh mig
GER
use no nlgger" answered Forrest; and
,l,a,, Ip,a hei thar he
his natural voice, and told Dinah, much to
her surprise, that he was Forrest, the &C
tor, and that he wanted her to go on the
stage with him that night, and laugh loudly
at frequent intervals-whch was all the fe-
male part called for. The two made great
hit and were kept on for some time, which
goes to show that Forrest might have been
a good minstrel had he been of an ambitious
nature.
The point is that when the minstrel bands
were taking on character and shaping
themselves for the future the women re-
fused to take part, which, without being
ungallant 1 think was just as well.
The minstrel organization as 1t is known
today was brought about by the wonderful
success that certain men made as 1ndlvid-
uals. Most of these men are but dimly re-
membered today. One of them, curious to
relate, was John B. Cough, afterward IA
nous as temperance orator. Another was
the famous Thomas D. Rice, whose Jim
Crow belongs to the history Of nations.
How Jim Crow found his way on the stage
is an interesting part of the story Of min
serelsy.
In 1929, while Rice was doing a small
negro act at the Louisville Theater he hap
pened to look out Of the back window,
which faced a stable kept by old and
broken-down negro called Jim Crow One
of Crows shoulders was much lower than
the other, his left leg stiff and crooked
at the knee SO that when he walked he
went up and down in a most ludicrous fash
ion.
This day he was standing in the yard,
humming a peculiar tune to himself, the
words Of which were his own. When he
had finished a verse he would give jump
ing step, which has since become famous as
"rockin' de heel" The refrain Of his song
was:
Wheel about, turn about
An cherry time wheel about
jump Jim Crow.
Rice saw that here was something new.
He studied the old man, made the tune
little bit more lively, wrote number Of
new verses. and copying the original very
closely in makeup appeared as Jim Grow
at the Louisville Theater. He was recalled
more than twenty times the first night, and
always after was known as Jim Crow Rice.
In 1888, when Joe Jefferson was only four
years of age, Rice appeared at a benefit at
the Jefferson Theater in Washington, and
bag, costumed and blackened exactly like
the Jim Crow Rice. AS Rice shambled on
the stage he sang this coupet:
Ladies and gentlemen, I'd have You for to know
Use got little darkey here to jump Jim Crow
Whereupon he emptied the bag, and those
who were present say that little Joe imme-
diately assumed the attitude of the elder
Jim Crow, and danced and nnimcked Rice
In a way that caused the audience to cheer
So there WAS q great minstrel lost To the