The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1911-09-02
NEW TYPE OF NEGRO FORMED,
Marked Changes In the Race Observ-
ed In the South.

The census figures for 1910, says a
New Orleans letter to the New York
Sun, show that the negro increased
slowly In numbers during this decade
and that they are making for the
towns. The rural districts Of the
south the increase OF population was
only S.3 per cent for the negroes. as
against IT'S per ce,.t for the previous
decade, and as against 17.3 per cent
for the whites. In other words twice
as fast as the negro population in the
country districts.
This was not wholly unexpected. If
the census of 1910 had covered the
question of the admixture Of the races
az the enumerations in antebellum
times did. it would have brought to
light remarkable chronological fact,
namely that the Southern negro is
getting blacker in spite Of the mixture
of blood and that there is rapidly be-
Ing formed a homogeneous negroid
race. Former censuses divided the
negroes into octoroons, quadroons,
mulattos and blacks. Later these dis
tinctions were dropped and the classi-
fications OF colored. that is those Of
mixed race. and negroes were substi-
tuted. Finally all negroes. whether
full black or not, were enumerated as
colored. Because Of this classification
the census figures do not reflect the
change now going on among the ne
grOes as a race.
Louisiana is whitening very fast 1t
had negro majority in slavery days
and for thirty years afterward, and
this was the case with New Orleans
until 1850. 1t b. = the only large
American city at the time with more
negroes than whites. The census of
1900 showed a white majority Of U.s.
900; that Of 1910 will show a white
majority Of 10000.
The whites have been gaining on
the negroes, slightly through immi-
grafton and mainly through natural
increase, especially Of the French
speaking population. OF the twenty
eight parishes Of south Louisiana in
which the people Of French origin are
numerous, majority had more ne
groes than white when emancipation
came. Today all but five of them have
white majorities and the majorlties
are steadily increasing.
There Is some drift in the same d.
rection in the northern part Of the
State. but there Is due largely to the
negro exodus to Oklahoma, Arkansas
and other States caused by the inva
sion Of the boil weevil.
But his change Is a minor matter
compared with the tendency Of the
negroes to become a more homogene-
GUS race. different from what they
were in Africa or from what they
were in the south In antebellum DAYS.
The type Is markedly different, and
the difference Is most apparent In
southern Louisiana and especially in
New Orleans, where the conditions
have been such as to develop this
type.
Early in Louisiana was the fact
recognized that the negro slaves i'm
ported into the country were not all
OF the same tribe or race. AS mat
ter Of fact the slaves were Of different
tribes and differed in language, form
and even color. There were yellow,
black and bronze negroes even some
Gallas and others mixed Of an Arab
type; there were straight haired ne
groes and not few persons of dark
SKINNED races were smuggled in
among the negroes proper.
All the earlier Louisiana records
ciassihed the negroes according to
their tribes. and up to the extinction
OF slavery the Louisiana title deeds
continued to specify the kind of ne.
gro sold. He was a negro Nard or
or the Nard nation, a Senegal negro.
Congo negro, a Mandinga negro,
etc. Since the abolition Of slavery all
these tribes and races have so inter-
married that the race became I'm time
composite. including all the black
t~,I
trioes or central and southern Africa,
with probably a dash Of Arab blood.
Ihen followed mixture with Ameri-
can Indians.
AS negro ethnology has never re-
ceived much consideration, although
the Smithsonian institution has issued
uo~ens or volumes on Indian ethnol-
osy' there is nothing to show what
proportion of Indian blood was swal-