Cayton's weekly. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1916-1921, 1919-08-02

to have their marriage annulled on the
ground that "Negro blood flows in her
veins' The trial is in it's second week.
Judge Troup said after the arguments from
both sides had been heard that he would
render his decision the latter part of this
week. The courtroom was crowded during
the few days the trial has been heard, and
Mr.. McCarry. man Of very swarthy COM
pleXion, the front half of his head bald
and the back half covered with strai CHIT gray
hair. was the center Of attraction. He
denied that there is any "colored blood' in
his veins, and testified to his ancestry as
follows:
"Father politician in Mississippi, post
master Of the city Of Natchez for four years
and sheriff of the county for ten years and
a slave holder. Mother, a white woman
living now in Washington, D. c., 1923
Columbia street. Mothers mother, school
ma am in Massachusetts, who went south
to teach school. Fathers father, a red
headed Irishman." Opposed to this testi-
mony regarding his being white are the
following admissions Of Mr. McCarry:
Gle was cashier Of the Capital and
Savings bank, Washington. d. c., an insti-
tuition operated and owned by "colored
people," He stated that he didn It remem-
Der whether he had registered his name as
'whte" or "colored" in applying for
civil service position. Assistant Postmaster
Wood (white) testified that McCarry
had worked at the pOstOffice for several
years, but on objection by McCarry he was
not allowed to testify regarding the color
under which he had registered there. At
tornev Yeiser asked McCarry whether he
to be put in the record Of the case when
it goes to the supreme court. McCarry
would not consent.'
Whether the parents of the McCary
boys were actually white, but for purpose
played coored, deponent knoweth not but
he does know they played the coored man
game bang up. 1t was not unusual for
coored men to own slaves in and about
\atchez. [ have no criticism of Mr.
McCary and his family for turning white
even though they had strain of colored
blood in them, but it does seem to me that
IN going into court to establish his anti
Negro blood he was put on the defensive
with the odds very much against him. In
turning white however, Mr.. McCary did no
more than did scores of others of his social
circles and such may be found from Natchez
to Seattle. with the most of them doing it,
The first scenes of this story occurred in
1886 and about twenty years thereafter [
was IN Chicago and by chance got ac-
quainted with former Natchez young lady
It seems that her mother was at the party
in which | was the black sheep, and she
had related the incident to her children,
who, by the way, had never turned white
OF course | was anxious to learn of what
had become Of my chum's sisters, and
especially the baby one, for it was no fault
OF mine that she did not become my wife.
She quickly told me about three of them
and their brothers and then slowly said,
maggie is in Chicago but" and again she
hesitated when I suspected the rest. she
too had turned white. I could not resist
the temptation to call upon her when her
husband was out to at least bid her for
ever farewell, and the brief parting was
more pathetic than I had bargained for
| have not written this story for sinister
motives, but to give to the public some idea
OF how general is the mixture Of white and
colored boods even in the far West. where
the colored is so limited that the slight mix
tl1r yn111l o. 1,o