The Pascagoula democrat-star., 1902-02-28


OF refuge for freed slaves. The river
swung in on each side so that al the
narrowest place the neck OF the pen.
insula was only half mile wide.
Forti fications were thrown across at
this place to protect the people inside.
After the war-it was In 1S67-the
property was returned to the owners,
and a sum Of money was paid as rent.
One of the first things Mr.. Joe did
was to get In communication with my
father and engage him to act as a sort
OF agent for him, to get the colored
people to come back to work the land.
In the meantime my brother and my.
self had gone into the United States
navy. We were on board the Admiral
Porter. After while father had me
come back to the place to act as book
keeper for him. l thought l was
pretty we'll educated, but found that
| couldn't keep books. Although l
had read widely in the Hurricane
library-chiefy history-I had never
been beyond long division in arithma-
matte. At that time there was a
school not far from our place, taught
by woman from the North. l made |
arrangements with her to teach me
arithmatic and went to her on
horseback twice week until l had
mastered the study. My work for
father threw me in contact with the
clerks on the river steamboats,. Those
men were almost always good book
keepers, and from one of them l learn.
ed the principles of double entry
bookkeeping. Some years after that
l took a notion wanted to write fc-
tion. l hx1l read some novels, and
had always seen the white folks
around me read great many. l
thought | would like to write a novel.
So got some books on composition
and rhetoric and studied them by my.
self"
Have you ever written that novel?"
l asked, "or any flction?"
NO" said Mr.. Montgomery, II
never have had ii me.
stayed at the Davis place until
1888. Mr.. Joe died soon after the
war. He was an old man-much old
er than Mr. JEFF l had got the color.
ed people there pretty well provided
with schoOls and churches, but one or
two floods and the decline in the price
of cotton made some of them discon.
tented The trouble was there was
no permanent interest to hold them
together because they did not own the
land they lived on. Every little acct
, dent would make them get up and
leave. | began to see that il a per.
manent colony was to be formed the
colored people must own the land
themselves. Finally. after consulta.
tion with the railroads land commits.
sioner, l picked out tract in the
Yazoo River Valley near what was
: known as the Louis vile. New Orleans
and Texas Railroad. This is now
: known as the Yazoo and Mississippi
Valley Railroad, and is represented
in general by the Illinois Central.
began to advertise this land among
colored people. told them much o.
:, it was wild land, and that they woult
), find woods to be cleared up, but that
), they might as well buy land ant
- own it, and do for themselves wha
. they had been doing for other folk
for 25O years. learned how to sui
- vey land and to lay of lots. We sol
no less than forty acres.
:. Most Of the settlers buy forty {
"a eighty acres, but few have acquire
~ as many as 200 acres. Colored peop
= now own 10000 acres there. The
" are about 250 inhabitants in Mour
:, Boyou, tho village OF which | a
mayor, and about 1000 in the tow
" We have perhaps ten stores and shol
III should say that the business dol
." by the colored establishments wou
amount to at least 10000 a year, al
this Is not more than half OF Of
. trade, as there are two large towl
~ near. Mound Bayou is 1O4 miles b
" low Memphis, and ll6 above WICK
bury. 1t is an agricultural commu
-, ity. Our people raise cotton to sci
-. and some food crops, but not as mar
~ 80 OF the latter as they ought We ha'
~ a large timber trade in oak, ash, gu
~ and hickory. We have good church,
and schools with a high school taugl
re- by graduate Of Booker Washington
~ school at Tuskegee.
'e We have passed the first stage
ou W the development OF such an ente
:, prise as ours. That stage Is to q
ny the coIored people to buy land and
nc settle down. Now we are approach
inv the second stage, where the pc
ay Die must be Induced to take up intel
sifled and diversified farming. AMI
: dustrious colored man does not nee
- to hire out 10 anyone for more tha
:. two years. II he Is good for anythil
= i. he can get started for himself by th
ttunn 44 t