The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1911-07-07
THE "NIGGER
TEACHER"
By WAL TER B. HENDRICKS
Copyright by American Press Asso-
ciation. 1911.

veer%
"Reckon | do remember Cyrus Van
deveer. Nobody who was hyar when
he was hyar II forgit him, reckon
"Do they remember him kindly or
unkindlyT"
''They remember him mighty kind.
ly about the time he went away, but
when he first came down hyar they
didn't take to him at all"
What changed themP Tell me al
about it"
well. sub. Cyrus vandeveer was
| one of them aboitionists that didn't
know enough to let the southern peo-
pie alone to do what they liked with
their niggers. At that time we didn't
want our slaves to know too much. TO
If they did we would lose our property.
Vandeveer set up school TO- the
blacks. Some of our most influential
citizens went to him and protested
BE said that be believed it to be his
duty to teach 'em. and he proposed to
20 on with the wo'k.
They went away and consulted, but
they didn't say anything mo- to Van
deveer, who continued teachin' the mig
gers. That was just befo' the wah
and we was all gitttn' mighty hot
down hyar. Finally one night Vande
veer's schoolhouse was observed TO be
Goh bo 40 fot ht,o
to put water on 1t, but the committee
stopped 'em. tellin' 'em they couldn't
put on any water Co'se the niggers
was mighty cut up about this. and it
made heap o. trouble among 'em
The schoolhouse burned to the ground
and there was nothing left but few
charred dmbers. Vandeveer wasn't
that had been one of his scholars and
didn't get back till his schoolhouse was
burned to ashes.
''That was a very dry season. there
not having been any rain TO- months
After the 6ah everybody went to bed
The wind rose. and-well. some s'pose
1t carried a spark. and some s'pose the
spark got lodged in the shingles Of
the roof when the schoolhouse was
burning. Anyhow, about II O'Clock
there was an ala'm O. fab at Cunnel
Woodbridge's house. The cunnel was
playin' game o. draw at Majo' Atwa-
ter's with Captain Sykes. Cunnel
Thorpe and several other influential
citizens. They had burned the school
house and afterward gone to Majo'
Atwater's TO a julep and a game O
cyards. Cunnel Woodbridge stated up
when somebody rushed in and tole him
his house was af1ah, sayin' he had left
his little gal tha' alone. The cunnel
was a widower, with this little daugh
ter, about twelve years old.
by the time the poka' party got to the
house the downstairs was burnin', and
nobody could get upstairs. Little Mary
Woodbridge ran to windo' and, see
in her father below by the light O.
the flames. stretched out her AIMS to
him and cried out:
Papa, save mel
~ was lookin' myself at the cunnel.
and | neva' saw such an expression
Of agony on a mans face in my life
No one could get up to the child, fo'
everything below was afiah.
Just then a man come along and
took In the situation. He was that
cursed niger teacher. He was young
and active as a cat There was a
rusty lightning rod In a corner Of the
house runnin' up right to the window
wha' the gal was. vandeveer he TUX
hold OF it and Skinned up to the win
dow and reached out an ann. The gal
TUX hold Of 1t and swung down beside
the abolitonist who held on to the
rod with the other hand
"Waal, there be was. He couldn't
come down hand ovah hand with only
one hand. and he couldn't hold on
long Anyhow. it was gittin' hotter
all the while. and he and the gal would
burn to death But he hung on. While
he was tina the room VIVA the child
had been burst into flame 1t locked
as If both OF 'em must perish when
some one come with ladder and. put
tin it up to 'em. Cy dropped Mary on to
it and she got down. Then Cy fol
lowed her.
You just orter seen Cunnel Wood
bridge when he got his daughter from
the man whose schoolhouse he had
helped to burn. And his burnin' the
schoolhouse was what burned his own
house. and II 1t hadn't been for Cy
Vandeveer would "a burned Mary.
The cunnel couldn't look the niger
teacher IN the face. He just put out
his hand and said nothin'.
THAT was the night befo' Fo't Sum
ter was fred on. and the next mawnin'
when they looked TO- Cyrus Vandeveer
he want no wha' to be found. They
reckoned he'd Lit out to the moth to
fight the south"
whats become of Mary Wood
bridget" / asked.
"Oh, she's Twin here with her aunt
She's grown up now. Lots o. young
fellers want to marry her, but she says
she's waitin' TO that niger teacher
that saved her from burnfn'"