The Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1???-1928, 1911-07-06
THE "NIGGER
TEACHER"
By WALTER q. HENDRICKS
Copyright by American Press Asso-
citation. 1871.

4 out2' | asked q citizen OF AAapana
4 during visit to that state in 1865.
4 @Waal, yes, / reckon ! war hyar
about that time"
aDo you remember Cyrus Wander
veerY'
Reckon 7 do remember Cyrus van
| deyeer. Nobody who was hyar Wheh
be was hyar n forgit him, reckon
1 .Do they remember him kindly Or
unkindly r.
II .aThey remember him mighty klno-
IL about the time he went away, but
when he first came down nyae they
didn't take TO him at all. !"
what changed them? Tell me az
about 1t"
.Well sub, Cyrus Vandeveer was
- af them aboltionists that didnt
: know enough to let the southern peo-
!, ME alone TO do what they liked WIN
2 their niggers. At that time we dion
want our slaves to know too mucn' ~
II they did we would lose our property.
! yanteveer set up scnooi ~ lAe
HACKS. Some Of our most inhuentiai
citizens went to him and protesesu'
No said that he believed 1t TO De MS
duty to teach 'en, and he proposeu y
20 On with the wo'k.
~Thsv went away and consulted put
thev didn't say anything mo 20 van
D aavaar who continued teacnin the ing
n sers That was just befo INC Va.
/ ana we was all gittin' mighty nv
aown hyar Finally one night eahue
veers schoolhouse was Observer W =
an fah. The darkies ran 10 puckees
~ nut water on 1t. but the comiiiitlss
s+onnad Fem. tellin' 'em they couiah
d, MI nm any water. Co'se the niggefs
rel waa mighty cut up about this, ana y
al mada heap o. trouble among seln-
nd Tha schoolhouse burned to the grouho'
TO and there was nothing left out ism
se- charred timbers. vandeveer wasn
nd riqh He had gone to see SICK darhs
OF ,bat had heen one OF his scholars ano
In a,d.,t oct hack till bis schoolhouse wa
sss burned to ashes.
Ill .That was a very dry season, tnef'
III ,ot having been any rain TO months
set After the fab everybody went 70 peu
in The wind rose, and-well, some POS
ull II "a rried spark, and some s'pose ~
ap \ enark got lodged In the shingles
Tee / the roof when the schooihouse W.
PSF burning. Anyhow. about Al cioe
acf | thare was an aia'm O. fab at Cahh'
ON Woodbridge's house, The cunnel WI
ink nlayin' a game o draw at MAYO A'W'
the ter's with Captain Sykes, Cuhn
mes Thorpe and several other innuehu'
citizens. They had burned the schoo
house and afterward gone 10 MAY
Atwater's 70 a julep and q game
YOU cyards. CunneI Woodbridge sta teo !
cial when somebody rushed in and tole hl
his house was afah. sayin pc had ie
I'VE his little gal tina alone. Inc cum
han was widower. with this little daug
for about twelve years old.
aBy the time the polka party got 10
hist | house the downstairs was burnin u
teen nobody could get upstairs. Little Ma
Woodbridge ran to a windo and -
in her father below by the iish1
liter the flames, stretched out her ms
him and cried out;
.papa. save mes
and ~ was Iookin' myself at the cum
as | and | neya saw such an express
llain of agony on mans face In nay II
tie No one could get up to the ehlid,
and everything below was anah.
, IT. "Just then a man come aiohs
took In the situation. he was y
cursed niger teacher. He was YOU
and active as q cat There was
.nsed rusty lightning rod In corner OF
i. In house runntn' up right TO the vino
cture wha the gal was. fanoeVeer NC
as hold of 1t and Skinned up TO the
ernor dow aud reached out an arm Inc
and. ink hold OF it and swung down bef
runk. the abolitionist, who held on to
err, as rod with the other hand.
went WAL. there he was. He coul'
yener come down hand ovah hand with
lways one hand. and he c@aldn't hold
like q long. Anyhow, it was gittin' no
town all the while, and he and the gal W.
Court burn to death But he hung on. w
IRE OF he was tina the room VIVA tue Z
.avern had been burst into a flame. 1t lot
gainst as If both of 'em must perish "
lte Tor some one come with q ladder and
IT. tin it up to 'em, Cy dropped Mary
it and she got down Then W
lowed her.
You Just orter seen Cunnei W
mother bridge when he got his daughter
Waiting the man whose schoolhouse he
to dis helped to burn. And his burnin'
oppor schoolhouse was what burned his
mt ana house, and il it hadn't been fol
xvi vandeveer would a. burned n
made The cunnei couldn't look the m
~ tune teacher In the face He just pu
affair Nc hama and said nothin,.
lim lot '.That was the night befo' Fo't
ter was fred on, and the next ma
me > when they looked TO Cyrus Wand
iacl y he want no wha' to be found.
ne y reckoned he'd lit out to the mo-
"oA' fight the south"
whats become of Mary Y
bridgeW 1 asked.