The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1913-07-24

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is going over good many years of
life in his mind. Purity soon he says:
GAS far as honesty goes-it isn't that
so much, o O-judgment.
It's about as honest as most medicine
games It's He stopped and frown-
ed agin.
"What is it?"
"It's their being niggers.' he says.
That made the difference fur me too.
I dunno how nor why.
"Do you know what's the matter
with me?" he asts.
asts him what.
T'm too decent to be crook" he
says, "and too crooked to be decent.
You've got to be one thing or the other
steady to make it pay"
Then he says:
did you ever hear of the descent to
Avernus, Danny?"
81 might" tells him, land then agin
l mightn't. But if I ever did l don't
remember what she is. What is she?"
"It's the chute to the Internal re-
gions," he says. '"They say it's greas-
ed. But it isn't. It's really no easier
sliding down than it is climbing back"
Well, I seen this niger scheme of
our'n wasn't the only thing that was
troubling DR.. Kirby that night. 1t was
thinking of all the schemes like it in
the years past he had went into. He
was seeing himself how he had been
changing, like another person could of
seen it. That's the main trouble with
drinking to fergit yourself. You fer
git the wrong part of yourself.
left him purity soon and went along
to bed. My room was next to his'n,
and they was door between so the
two could be rented together if want
ed, I suppose. l went to sleep and
woke up agin with a start out of
dream that had in it millions and mil
lions and millions Of niggers, every
way you looked, and their mouths was
all open red and their eyes walled
white, fit to scare you out Of your
shoes.
l hearn DR.. Kirby moving around In
his room. But purity soon he sets down
and begins to talk to himself. Every
thing else was quiet. was kind Of
worried about him, he had taken so
much, and hoped he wouldn't get a
notion to go downtown that time O.
night. So 1 thinks I will see how he
is acting and steps over to the door
between the rooms.
The key happened to be on my side,
and I unlocked it. But she only opens
a little ways, fur his wash stand was
near to the hinge end Of the door.
l looked through. He is setting by
the table, looking at woman's picture
that is propped up on it and talking
to himself He has never hearn me
open the door, he is so interested. But
somehow he don't look drunk. He
looks like he had fought his way up
out of it somehow.
'"God help you! If you'd only stay
away it wouldn't be so hard to go to
hellr' he says to the picture
There's a lot of counties in Georgia
where the blacks are equal In number
to the whites and two or three counties
where the blacks number over the
whites by two to one. 1t was fur lit
tie town in one of the latter that we
pinted ourselves, DR.. Kirby and me
and Sam-right into the blacklist part
of the black belt.
That country is full of big sized plan
tations where they raise cotton, cot
ton, cotton and then more cotton.
Some places there shows that things
can't be so awful much changed since
slavery days. and most Of the niggers
are sure enough country niggers yet.
the owners, and some Of 'em crops it
on the shares. and very many Of EN-
Jest works as hands. A lot Of 'em
don't do nigh so we'll now as they did
when their bosses was their masters,
they tell me, and then. agin. some has
done right we'll on their own hook.
Them that thinks they is awful easy
10 handle out Of natcheral respect fur
white folks has got another guess COM
Ing They amt so bad to get along
with If you keep it most pintetdly
showed into their heads they is niggers.
You got to do that especial in the black
belt jest because they is so many Of
'em. They is children all their lives,
mebby, till some one minute of crazi-
ness may strike one Of them, and then
he is devil temporary. Mebby when
the crazy at has passed some white
woman is worse of than If she was
dead, or mebby she Is dead, or mebby
q loonatic fur life, and that niger Is
a candidate fur lynching bee and gin
orally elected by an anonymous ma
jority.
Not that all niggers Is hathaway,
nor half Of 'em, nor very many Of 'em
even, but you can never tell which mig
ger it Is going to be. So in the black
belt the white folks is mighty pertic'ler
who comes along fooling with their
black folks
We didn't know them things then,
DR.. Kirby and me didn't But we
Nightn't Of got into any trouble II 1t
sndn't OF been fur old Bishop Warren.