Iowa state bystander. [volume] (Des Moines, Iowa) 1894-1916, 1912-07-05
.IsTRlNGE HUMAN DOCUMENT

II 81 1AVO6 ssOssSUN OSSS"sVs
Story or AN "Ex.coLoRED MAN"
AN ACCOUNT OF ONE WHO
LIVED AS A NEGRO AMONG
NEGROES AND A WHITE MAN
AMONG WHITES. Z.
Now and then there appears re-
markable book OF personal expert
ences throwing light from new view.
noint upon some old problem and add
ing one more to the list of poignant
human documents. Such book Ia
"The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored
Man" which is published by Sherman.
french & Co., without mention of the
authors name for reasons which are
soon apparent. ! It Is the product OF an
unusual and well-equipped mind, and
while in intellectual ability 1t does not
achieve the plane Of Booker Wash
ington's "Up From Slavery" or Mary
Antin's THE Promised Land" 1t ranks
near those two striking books and Is
nossessed of q certain element which
may be termed either legitimate ro-
nance or legitimate tragedy, and
which is to be found In neither Of
them It does not sound the note OF
optimism, nor is It constructive in the
sense that both DR., Washington's
book and that Of the young Jewish i'm
migrant are constructive, but 1t tells
A story of intense human interest in
the terms of fact and personal expe-
renee such as has been told before
only in weakly imaginative fiction.
The solution of the title, "The Auto.
biography of an ex-Colored Man" Is
the one which must suggest itself to
the curious reader, since there is only
one. The author is the son Of a white
southerner and very light mulatto,
and is himself SO fair that after hav-
Ing been identified with negroes In
the south, and to a certain extent In
the north, he has been able to with
draw himself wholly from relations
with that race and, for the sake Of
the children borne him by his white
wife, now dead, to class himself as a
white man. So far as concerns the
practical importance of the book, It Is
to be found chiefly in the warning &C.
count Of the negro underworld in the
big city. AS for the complete identi-
hcation OF this man of negro blood
with the white race, the narrative
may excite the fears Of imaginative
persons that what has happened in
this case may be repeated in others,
to the eventful amalgamation Of the
races. But while 1t is not for a mo.
ment to be supposed that this is the
only instance Of its kind, those who
eonjure such fears may be left to
deal with them.
The author was born in little town
In Georgia, which he does not name.
few years after the close of the Civil
war. OF his birthplace he recalls only
dim recollections of little house with
flowers around it, and of various PEG.
pie who moved in and about it, but Of
whom he has only distinct mental
Image; one his mother, and the other
"a tall man with small, dark mus
tache.' who, as he was to learn later,
was his father. While still little
lad, he and his mother moved north
BY steamer, and after landing in New
York, went to little town in Connecti-
\ cut, also not named. which became his
boyhood home. There they lived in
small cottage, while his mother
took in sewing and he went to school,
fully believing himself to be white
boy, and failing to understand the in
tensity Of his mothers reproof when
ne came home and told of one of the
niger" children at school. But the
DAY Of disillusionment came. One
morning the principal Of the school
came to the room and called upon all
the white children to stand for a mo-
ment.' Il rose with the Others"
writes the author, and adds: 1.-THE
& teacher looked at me, and calling my
name. said, You may. sit down for
/ me present, and rise with the 9th.
ers AT first he did not understand
ana the light scarcely began to break
IN even when, after school was dis.
missed and he went out in a kind OF
:tupor, a few Of the white children
'eered at him, saying, ooh, you're a
niger, too" 1881.
The narrative which is thus intro
: ouced is told clearly and wildly, al
'nough with a touch now and then of
sentimental emotion, which Is the less
80 ne wondered at as the author de-
\ scrlDes his usnusual musical achieve
ments, which suggest plainly the tenn
permental racial inheritance. He was
!! years old or whereabouts at the
4 4 June OF his discovery of the negro
\ oooa IN his veins, and for some years
ster that he remained in the little
connecticut town, developing his mu-
slcal talent, and once seeing his ia
.ner' who came to visit the little cot
tage. ..-,.,',..,' .'"', ''-'''. ''','' '. ~,
n's Inotners death, the boy, who
would appear to have been about 16
sears' went to Atlanta to enter the
ueero college there. Before entering
Ie college, his boarded money was
''olen IN negro boarding house. and,
ssnamed OF his carelessness, he did not
ware TO 90 to the college authorities,
WI instead, taking tho advice ~ tho
l .ero porter, who proved afterward to
ave probably been the thief, he went
= Jacksonville, where he obtained
80 IN cigar factory With the
1 snual dextertty which came partly
om piano playing, be soon became
. Expert workman, and then, with his
.ssy discovered capacity for Ian
ss.ses, he acquired q command of
spanish, and was ranaid Nv hoin~ "a.