Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1904-11-25
In the Land
of SOdOm
BY E. Croyfon heConfS
Copyright. 1873. by r.. Crayton McCants


enlightened North OF the village the
Saluda river flows. and 10 the west is
Belleville. but ten miles to the south
east, straight as the crow flies. over
the blue outlines OF the Opalcsccnt hills,
are the marshy low grounds Of Half
way swamp. and beyond the swamp
lies SOdom.
No land of wickedness. however, is
this Sodom of the ragged clay Shale
ridges. nor are there any slime pits
there Instead its quilted and stony
fields are helted by green hill pines,
and its people spend much of their
time i'm strenuous high keyed praise.
for Sodom is a ncighburhood OF negroes
and might have been named just as
aptly Gomorrah or Caesarca Philippi.
The church at Sodom is old the
Weathercd stones of the hurying
ground mutely bear witness 10 that
and long ago its rough walls were
stained neutral gray and green
mosses came 10 harbor on the shingles
of the roof. Very proud are the people
Of Sodom OF this their church. and very
HIOuu INV diF VI ANU w ilNihNs
who breaches here.
A lean. spare man is AmaZlah vii
klns. but slnewy wthal and black.
Little enough does he seem like
preacher. least OF all like the negro
preachers who. growing fat and gran
dose in manner. cling 10 the well pay
ing towns and come not TO Sodom tc
tarry there. But. although his church
Is poor and cannot pay him much
AmaZiah is n prosperous man. Indeed,
such is his industry that the white folk
over the swamp have learned his
value as harvest hand and the mcr-
chants OF Kcowce know him as one
who is good for his debts and as a
supper Of clean, unmOrtgaged cotton.
And at the times when he speaks in
the church there sits on the choir seats
a handsome woman 1.-the Of body, erect
and black Talithy her name is, and
she is the preachers wife To him She
has brought her strength, and, like him,
she has honor in Sodom Ak she bends
TO the Masters work
But woven into all this there is a
story, story which began many years
ago on the river farms that are north
Of Keowee. II was winter then a hard
winter on the black folk-and there
were some who were hungry In one
little cabin there were woman and
half grown boy Day by day their
small store grew smaller. and the time
came when there was nothing. Then
the woman wept, but the boy. seeing
consider lie could not reason very
well, but he knew that through the
long hot days OF summer they had
wrought he and his mother, until their
backs were bent with toll and their
hands calloused with labor, and he
knew that he was hungry; also be
knew that, though the white men had
plenty and to spare their hands were
soft. It all seemed wrong to the boy
Nice points OF law did not appeal to
him. He thought that the producer
should eat Therefore when night haG
como the cold, dark night when PEG
pie harborcd indoors and none was
abroad to soc the boy went TO white
mans barn and, making a hole in the
planking took cotton therefrOm and
sold IL, and he and his mother were fed.
But afterward when the white men
suspected him he was afraid and hid
himself i'm the canebrakes and in the
tanglc~ of river swamp that border
these ana his mother brought him
food.
But he was only boy, after all. The
swamps were cold and he was very
lonely there. And when the midday
sun shonc warm on the pine clad hill
sides ne crept out there close to n
cabin and talked with child at her
play. girl child black like himself.
Don't you tell on me, little gal" he
said Don't you tell folks dat I'm
down here. Kase ef you do den de
white folks is a-gwineter come-come
wild guns an Wild great big dogs, an
dey'll cotch me an kyar me OF, an yer
nuvyer Will see me any mo-"
Then the child's eyes opened wide
with wonder, but she promised. and
day after day she came TO the pine
woods 10 see this strange big boy who
trapped snow buntlngs for her while
he was In the swamp and who brought
her pearly white mussel shells from the
sand bars that skirt the river Thus
for long time they amused each 9th
or, and as the spring came on the boy
grew careless. so that tho father Of the
child saw him and learned of his hid
ing place.
And because OF the price on the head
OF the boy this man sold his know
edge and the white men came, and
through the whole OF n long spring day
thesc-the negro and the white men
tracked the boy through brake and
brier and tangled swamp and as sun
set came the boy, being hard pressed.
found a "dugout" hidden by the river
bank and sought to float away where
the remorseless dogs could by no
means follow But ms he launched the
canoe the negro who had sold him
came close upon him. and when the
fugitive would not halt the other ran
quickly across "A bend striking the