Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1916-08-09
!. i. !. j. j. i i i. j. !. !. +
!. THE NEGRO =.
!. AS KNOW HIM. =.
1. !. i. i. 1. i. i. j. j. j. i. j.
(By J. Russell Wright.D

| Fioul early CHlluHOOu l nave Deen
a constant observer and admirer of
the wondrous works Of God. In my
early days the birds, bees, bugs and
flowers were neyer-ending source
OF pleasure to me; and when a lad
Of more mature years have lain for
| hours in the shade of some friendly
tree ana played with toad frog or
June-bug until the dinner horn blew,
when | was enormously supposed to
have been diligently hoeing cotton.
In, after years have sat silently on
the sea shore and watched the tides
ebb and flow; | have climbed lofty
mountains and looked down upon the
clouds; l have descended into the
valleys and stood on the world
greatest river and watched its turbu-
! lent waters roll by; | have looked
above into the star-decked dome of
heaven, and gazed upon the far
away planets and comets performing
| their stupendous and harmonious
revolutions, and have seen written
| upon the face OF all nature the glory
and wonder Of the great Creator.
But | have always-and now-re-
gard the negro as His masterpiece.
lie stands alone, in a class to HIM
sell; ana, while Yazoo and the Mis-
slssippi delta are peculiarly suited to
his needs. still he can adjust him
self to any kind Of climatic condi-
tons, and live and die happy under
| the most trying circumstances He
can lie down beneath the scorching
rays OF MONDAY sun and sleep the
sleep OF the seven sleepers Of old
without suffering any evil effects
from it whatever, or he can weather
the fiercest winter gale. clad in a pair
OF cotton overalls and a blue jumper.
lie can 80 wear an overcoat to a
Fourth of July celebration, or a pair
, OF linen pants and an alpaca coat to
a Christmas tree, and be perfectly
comfortable; and, strange as it may
seem, anybody's clothes will fit him
and look we'll on him.
| King Solomon, in his declining
years, when he had become thor
oughly disguised with high society
and fast living, said that there was
nothing new under the sun; that he
had gone all the gaits and had seen
the whole show, from the exhibition
to the grand concert, and there was
nothing to it, or words to that effect.
But 1T will be remembered that ho
never had any negroes to deal with
or he would have had a new problem
10 solve every day Of his eventful life.
! There is nothing else like the negro
under the sun. He sees all things,
hears all things, and has implicit
faith in everything he sees or hears,
and stands ready at all times to step
aboard anything that comes along,
. from young mule to a flying ma
chine. Wireless teIegraphy is moth
ing new to him; he has used it for
ages. Every negro's mouth is a
transmitter and every ear a receiver.
II anything OF importance happens
on a plantation tonight every negro
for twenty miles around will know it
by morning.
Sunday is his special day, by GUS
tom and consent, and if you have any
business to attend to in town on Sat
urday. attend to it early and get off
| the streets before you get hurt.
negro pDnnNt
him something; and if you get in
his way he is liable to step on you or
back you up against brick wall and
smother You to death. He does not
90 these things, or any Of them,
through evil designs. but he simply
cannot help it if you get in his way.
FOR he is busy, and cannot look out
Tor you. Saturday is his "rashions"
and news exchange day. and, in addi-
ton to having all those things in
mlnd he has to shake hands with
every other negro woman he meets.
You had better take out an accident
policy or get off the streets on Sat
urday.
The standard "rashions" for a ne
gro is peck Of corn meal, three
pounds Of salt meat, one quart of
black molasscs, pound Of sugar and
a pound Of coffee week. But he
can consume all Of this in one day if
necessary; or, If he is working for
you and boarding himself, he can
| 1t,-o