Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1905-12-15

barbarism."
"The statesman can educate" put in
the Commoner.
The doctor cleared his throat with a
quick little nervous cough he was in
the habit of giving when deeply moved.
Education. sir, Is the development
Of that which is. Since the dawn OF
history the negro has owned the conti-
nent of Africa--rich beyond the dream
of poets fancy. crunchlng acres Of dia-
monds beneath his bare black feet.
Yet he never picked one up from the
dust until a white man showed to him
It's glittering light. His land swarmed
with powerful and docile animals, yet
he never dreamed a harness, cart, or
sled. A hunter by necessity, he never
made al axe, spear or arrowhead
worth preserving beyond the moment
of it's use. He lived as an OK, content
| to Craze for an hour. In a land OF
stone and timber he never sawed
| foot Of lumber, carved a block, or
built a house save Of broken sticks
and mud. With league on league OF
ocean strand and miles Of inland seas,
for four thousand years he watched
their surface ripple under the wind,
heard the thunder of the surf on his
beach. the howl of the storm over his
head, gazed on the dim blue horizon
calling him to worlds that lie beyond.
and yet he never dreamed sail! He
lived as his fathers lived-stole his
food, worked his wife, sold his children,
ate his brother, content to drink, sing,
dance, and sport as the ape!
And this creature. half-child, half
animal, the sport of impulse, whim and
conceit, pleased with a rattle, tickled
with a straw being who, left to his
will, roams at night and sleeps in the
day whose speech knows no word OF
love, whose passions, once aroused, are
as the fury of the tiger-they have set
this thing to rule over the southern
people"
The doctor sprang to his feet, his
face lived, his eyes blazing with emo
ton. "Merciful God-it surpasses hu-
man belief"
He sank exhausted in his chair, and,
extending his hand in an eloquent ges-
ture, continued:
Surely, surely, sir, the people of the
north are not mad? We can yet appeal
to the conscience and the brain Of our
brethren OF a common race?"
Stoneman was silent as If stunned
Deep down in his strange soul he was
drunk with the joy Of triumphant
vengeance he had carried locked in
the depths of his being, yet the inten-
sity of this mans suffering for a peo-
pies cause surprised and distressed
him as all individual pain hurt him.
DR.. Cameron rose, stung by his ST.
lence, and the consciousness of the
hostility with which Stoneman had
wrapped himself.
| Pardon my apparent rudeness, doc
tor" he said at length, extending his
hand. "The violence of your feeling
stunned me for the moment. I'm OBJ
liged to you for speaking. I like
plain-spoken man. l am sorry to
learn of the stupidity Of the former
military commandant in this town"
My personal wrongs, sir" the doc
tor broke in, "are nothing!"
Il am sorry, too about these individ-
ual cases of suffering. They are the
necessary incidents Of a great upheaval
But may it not all come out right in
I.lo hn To ri daV
brckC at last. We have the printing
press, railroad and telegraph-a revo-
Luton in human affairs. We may do In
years what it took ages to do In the
past. May not the black man speedily
emerge? Who knows? An appeal to
the north will be a waste of breath.
This experiment is going to be made.
1t is written in the book of Fate. But
l like you. Come to see me again"
DR.. Cameron left with heavy heart
He had grown great hope in this long
wished for appeal to Stoneman. 1t had
come to his ears that the old man, who
had dwelt as one dead in their viii
lage, was a power.
1t was ten o'clock before the doctor
walked slowly back to the hotel. AS
he passed the armory of the black mi
Iitia, they were still drilling under
the command of Gus. The windows
were open, through which came the
steady tramp of heavy feet and the
cry of Hep! Hep! Hep" from the
captains thick cracked lips. The full
dress officers uniform, with its gold
epaulets, yellow stripes, and glistening
sword, only accentuated the coarse
ed to hide completely the gold braid
on his collar.
, The doctor watched with a shudder,
; his black bloated face covered with
perspiration and the huge hand grip
ping his sword.
They suddenly halted in double ranks
and Gus yelled:
"Odah arms!"
The butts of their rifles crashed to
! the floor with precision, and they were
allowed to break ranks for a brief
rest.
They sang John Browns Body" and
( as its echoes died away big negro
swung his rife in a circle over his
head. shouting:
Here's your regulator for white
, trash! En- dey's nine hundred OBJ 'em
in dis county,"
r I'VE got 'em down now en- we keep
E 'em dar chile!" bawled another.
r The doctor passed on slowly to the
hotel. The night was dark, the streets
l were without lights under their present
rulers, and the stars were hidden with
= swift flying clouds which threatened a
t storm AS he passed under the boughs
= of an oak in front of his house, voice
Y above him whispered.
t "A message for you. sir"
Had the wings of a spirit suddenly
: brushed his cheek, he would not have
been more startled.
D WHO are you?" he asked, with q
n slight tremor
lii l.