Historical Romance of the American Negro Part 16

_The Exodus of Colored People From the South to Kansas-Causes That Led to it-The Plantation Credit System-Reign of Terror in Louisiana and Other States-Trials on the Way to Kansas-Splendid Welcome by the State of Kansas-Good Beginning of the Pilgrims-"G.o.d Helps Those Who Help Themselves!"_

No doubt my indulgent reader has often heard of the exodus of many thousands of colored people from the Southern States to the generous and hospitable State of Kansas. This was a truly remarkable movement, and began in the early spring of 1879. I have already pointed out some of the shameful causes that led to that exodus that drew the eyes of the whole nation, and elicited the most profound sympathy from all Christian and philanthropic people all over the North, and even in England. To trace this deplorable state of affairs to their foundation head, I need only allude to what was called at the time "The Plantation Credit System," when colored people worked on shares with the white owners of the land, and the latter kept stores of all kinds of provisions and clothing, and swindled the hard-working colored man out of the rightful share of the profits. The latter were always overcharged for their goods, and could never get a clear settlement. This system of robbery and swindling gave the laborer no chance, and made him sigh for a land of freedom.

That was bad enough, but there was something worse that began to show itself, even before those days when the Ku-Klux-Klan became regularly organized for the expulsion of the Republican governments in the South, and that was a gradual and general adoption of the shot-gun policy, to make colored men understand that the whites were still lords and masters, and colored people must serve and obey, as they used to do before the war. This shook the confidence of the latter in the general government of the nation, for if great Uncle Sam could afford them no better protection than that, things might as well have remained as they were, and all their boasted freedom was of very little use to them, or no account at all.

In 1868 General Grant ran for President on the Republican ticket-Grant and Colfax-whilst Seymour and Blair were the nominees on the Democratic ticket. Although the rebel element had always been too rampant in the State of Louisiana, they grew ten times more as the day for the election for President drew near. It was particularly desired by the Democrats of the South to carry Louisiana for Seymour and Blair. The plan they adopted was the wholesale use of the shot-gun in the different "parishes" (or counties) of the State. The rebels began their work of murder, terror and intimidation in good time before the election day in November. Wherever the Republican votes were likely to be heaviest, there a great effort was made to kill, maim and scatter all those white and colored men who would be likely to vote for Grant and Colfax. These Southern thugs in Louisiana and other States of the South put in their fell work mostly after dark, killing, burning and destroying in every possible way. It soon became well understood that the rebels were aiming at the coming election; and for a fact, when election day came there were very, very few men in the different parishes of Louisiana that voted the Republican ticket, because they were afraid of their lives; and who need wonder if they stayed away from the polls when the United States Government afforded them no protection in casting their votes?

All things had gone finely during the years of the Republican governments in the Southern States, when men owned their own land, and there was no one to trouble them, or to make them afraid; but these reconstruction governments were now tottering to their fall; the white man demanded the government, and the law, too, and evil days were in store for the colored race in the South.

The following lines from the pen of General P. H. Sheridan will help to explain the cause of the exodus. He was then in command at New Orleans, and writes under the date of January 10th, 1875:

"Since the year 1866 nearly 3,500 persons, a great majority of whom were colored men, have been killed and wounded in the State. In 1868 the official record shows that 1,884 were killed and wounded. From 1868 to the present time, no official investigation has been made, and in the civil authorities in all but a few cases have been unable to arrest, convict or punish the perpetrators. Consequently there are no correct records to be consulted for information. There is ample evidence, however, to show that more than 1,200 persons have been killed and wounded during this time on account of their political sentiments.

Frightful ma.s.sacres have occurred in the parishes of Bossier, Caddo, Catahoula, St. Bernard, Grant and Orleans."

After this, General Sheridan went on to enumerate the murders committed on account of their Republican sentiments in the various parishes of Louisiana, and says:

"Human life in this State is held so cheaply that when men are killed on account of political opinions, the murderers are regarded rather as heroes than as criminals in the localities where they reside."

The man who writes the above is no ordinary correspondent. The writer is the famous soldier, P. H. Sheridan, and he is merely sending in his report as military commander in the State. And whole volumes of other testimony have been taken, as exactly as was done in the case of the ma.s.sacre of Fort Pillow, which confirm in every respect the words of General Sheridan.

The doc.u.ments in which these political murders have been recorded show that a perfect reign of terror existed all over the State in 1867, the year before the Presidential election. In the parish of St. Landry there was a ma.s.sacre of colored people that began on the 28th of September in the following year, 1868, and lasted from three to six days, and during that time between three hundred and four hundred were killed. Thirteen captains were taken from the jail and shot, and a pile of twenty-five dead bodies were found burned in the woods. And what was the Democratic result in this parish of St. Landry? The registered Republican majority of 1,071 was completely wiped out, and when the general election for President came on a few weeks later, not a single vote was cast for Grant and Colfax, whilst Seymour and Blair received 4,787. What a spectacle was this for the whole civilized world to look upon only three years and a half after the fall of the Confederacy! All those murders were committed right here in free America!

In the parish of Bossier, there was just such another ma.s.sacre between the 20th and 30th of September, 1868, and which lasted from three to four days, and during that time two hundred colored people were killed.

The official register for Bossier parish for the year 1868 shows that the Republican voters numbered 1,938. But when the Presidential election came on, only one vote was cast! Such was the result of the shot-gun policy in Bossier parish.

During the month of October, 1868, the month before the election, over forty colored people were killed in the parish of Caddo. The Republican register shows that there were 2,894 votes, and yet when the election came on there was only one such vote cast out of all that number. And the same things happened all over the State.

During the months of September, October and November, the number of murders, maimings and whippings that took place for political reasons were a thousand. The names of Republican voters in twenty-eight parishes amounted to 47,923; but when the Presidential election came on a few weeks later, only 5,360 votes were cast for Grant and Colfax, whilst the Democratic gain, from the shot-gun policy, amounted to 42,563.

In nine of the parishes, where most of the murder and violence was carried on, only nineteen votes were cast for Gen. Grant, though there were 11,604 names on the Republican register. In other seven parishes where there were 7,253 names on the register, not one vote was cast for the Republican nominees at the subsequent election in November.

In the years that followed 1868, when political lawlessness was held in check, these same Republican parishes cast from 33,000 to 37,000 votes, which proved that terrorism was the rebel policy of 1868.

Thus things went on from 1868 to 1876, when the Democracy of Louisiana desired to carry the State for Tilden and Hendricks. The candidates for Republican President and Vice-President were Hayes and Wheeler; and everybody knew that colored men would not vote the Democratic ticket.

The same murderous policy was again adopted as in 1868, and the results were much the same. On election day, in November, 1876, there were in Louisiana 92,996 registered white voters, and 115,310 colored voters, giving a majority of 22,314 votes that should have been cast for Hayes.

It would be quite unnecessary to quote the "returns" from the different parishes of Louisiana. It would only be a repet.i.tion of 1868 over again.

And after all was done it did not profit the Southern Democrats any, for it was proven that they had carried the parishes by violence; and therefore the parishes were not counted in the returns.

And Louisiana was not the only State where the thugs attempted to suppress voting by violence amongst the colored men. It was the self-same policy everywhere throughout the South, and as a rule colored men kept away from the polls, in fear of their lives.

Now, my dear reader, I have placed before you the reasons that led our oppressed people to rise up in the early spring of 1879, and search out for themselves new homes, where they could dwell in safety, and where they would not be robbed, oppressed and burned out, and even murdered on account of their political opinions. Colored men could never be expected to vote the Democratic ticket. Besides, were they not free? And had they not the right to vote as they pleased, even as others had? They never dreamed of terrorizing the whites because they would not vote the Republican ticket. It was a most remarkable thing that President Grant, the great war general, who had conquered the South, was unable to devise ways and means to protect the lives of colored men on election days. So far as I have ever heard there was not even a semblance of protection anywhere in those States where it was desired to carry the same for the Democratic nominees. Thus colored men were left unprotected in all their natural rights by the very Government itself that had pa.s.sed the Const.i.tutional Amendments. In fact they were left like sheep in the midst of wolves. They had been swindled and cheated in every way, as I have already shown. The Government now failed to protect their very lives, and therefore they began to turn their eyes to other regions where they could at least wors.h.i.+p G.o.d, and sleep in their beds in safety. The shot-gun policy was now beginning to recoil on itself, for who can till the soil of the South like colored men?

The State of Kansas possessed many attractions for our oppressed and wronged people. All had often heard of the long struggle there between the border ruffians from the South, and the free soil men of the North, as to whether Kansas should be enslaved or free; and how at last it had been won by the Abolitionists as a free State. All had heard how the immortal John Brown (of glorious memory) had warred and fought in Kansas for the liberty of all people, and how in 1861 the struggle between slavery and liberty had been transferred from the soil of Kansas to the rebel lands of South Carolina. Thus Kansas had a name that charmed all hearts, and letters that were written at the time by those colored families already settled down there and flouris.h.i.+ng, like the green bay-tree, among a good and just white population, gave glorious accounts of the new State in the West, and invited all others to come and settle down on its fertile lands who wished for peaceful homes.

One thing was clear-colored people could not afford to remain in the old rebel States of the South, where there was no safety for their lives, and where even the national government appeared unable to protect them.

Indeed, something must be done soon.

Here are a few questions and answers that will speak for themselves:

"Now, Uncle Joe, what did you come for?"

"Oh, Lawd, Missus, I follows my two boys and the old woman; and then, 'pears like I wants a taste of votin' before I dies, an' the ole man done wants no swamps to wade in afore he votes, 'kase he must be Republican, ye see!"

"Well, Aunty, give us the sympathetic side of the story, or tell us what you think of leaving your old home."

"I done have no home, nohow, if they shoots my ole man an' the boys, an'

gives me no money for de was.h.i.+ng."

A bright woman of twenty-five years of age was asked her condition, when she answered,

"I hadn't much real trouble yet, like some of my neighbors who lost everything. We had a lot, an' a little house, an' some stock on the place. We sold all out, 'kase we didn't dare to stay when votin' time came again. Some neighbors better off than we had been all broken up by a pack of night-riders, all in white, who scared everybody to death, ran the men off the swamps before elections, ran the stock off, an' set fire to their places. A poor woman might as well be killed, and done with it."

Whoever read anything more pathetic than the above? Who can wonder any longer that a regular panic seized upon the people in certain sections on the South to go forth unto a land they knew not, where they could live in peace and safety among a better race of men? The number of persecuted pilgrims, those seeking a home in Kansas, is variously given at between forty and sixty thousand men, women and children. When the army of the Israelites left Egypt, they were well supplied, for they had been instructed to ask of the Egyptians anything they wanted; but these 40,000 or 60,000 people departed in most cases with absolutely nothing but the clothes they stood in, and they were often poorly clad, often hungry and exhausted, and in need of all things. Some, indeed, had teams of oxen that brought on all their earthly possessions, dragging their weary length along day after day, and week after week, and straining their longing eyes towards the fields of Kansas and liberty. Some of these pilgrims that came no further than from Texas were actually nine weeks on the road! Poor, dear creatures! How sweet to them must have been the hopes and antic.i.p.ations of a peaceful home, when they were willing to make such tremendous sacrifices that they might cross over into the fair and fertile fields of Kansas! "Sweet fields beyond the swelling flood stood dressed in living green; so to the Jews old Canaan stood, while Jordan rolled between."

A great deal was written at that time, a great deal has been written since then, and a great deal will still be written about the sufferings of those poor, dear pilgrims; but the whole truth of what they really did suffer on the way, with all the hards.h.i.+ps that confronted them in the days of their distress will never, never be told. Indeed, it cannot; it is impossible. One thing we all know-the colored race is preeminently a religious race. They will wors.h.i.+p G.o.d. The germs of immortality are safe within the bosoms of all thinking men and women among them. They were always faithful to their G.o.d, even in the darkest days of slavery.

Like Paul, they could say, "I can do all things through Christ, Who strengthens me." Indeed it is most marvelous what any of us may do, and can do, when we are put upon our muscle. The world has often been astonished at deeds performed by puny women, and even mere boys and girls. But such need hardly have been the case, for none can tell what they can do themselves until they are tried, and the grand resolutions of the soul arise like a hurricane to meet terrors and trials of the situation. There are always heroes and heroines in the world, ready when called for.

But although the grand and high-soaring resolutions of heart and soul worked wonders-I had almost said miracles-among the pilgrims of this exodus; still, none of us are made of iron, and the strain proved too much for the bodies of some of those devoted people, for they died soon after reaching the Canaan of their hopes: they died in the consecrated soil of Kansas, and the angels of heaven came down and carried them home. A result like this was to be expected, and the only wonder is that more of them did not perish, even while they were on the way. The Lord knows those that are His; we shall meet them in heaven!

There was no time to be lost. News travels fast in the days of electric telegraph, and even of railroads and steamboats. The news of the tide of the exodus from the murderous sections of the Sunny South was swiftly wafted all over the land, and even crossed the broad Atlantic to mother England. Swift as the fleet winds, Christians and philanthropists were on their feet at once, and a relief a.s.sociation was organized. "They give twice who give quickly." A dear Quaker lady named Mrs. Comstock (whose name is written in the Book of Life) immediately put herself at the head of affairs, and aided by "The Kansas Freedman's Relief a.s.sociation," she was just the right and proper person to manage the raising of money, clothing and relief in every shape and form. The name of Governor St. John, of Kansas, must be a.s.sociated with this glorious work of swiftly relieving the pilgrims in the day of their distress. He will ever stand before the world as a Christian and a gentleman for his willing help at this time. We too often hear people speaking of "this bad world," but this world contains millions of friends-all ready for the day of trial!

The pilgrims from the South were not long in turning round after they reached the friendly and welcoming lands of Kansas. They felt safe now, and had no more to fear. They soon became self-sustaining, because they were willing, and had a mind to work. All their past sorrows were now happily forgotten; they took hold, and were most enthusiastic, industrious and frugal. The relief a.s.sociation at first gave them a supply of stoves, teams and seeds. In a little over a year about $40,000 were used, and 500,000 pounds of clothing, bedding, and so forth. "Old England" sent 50,000 pounds of goods, and $8,000 in money, which chiefly came from Mrs. Comstock's friends in "the tight little island" beyond the seas, who had known her there by her good works. Much of the remainder had come in small sums, and from the Christian women of America. The most n.o.ble and loyal Quakers furnished one-third. The State of Ohio gave more than any other State. The funds of the State of Kansas were not drawn upon.

The freedman at once set to work, and during the first year entered upon the cultivation of 20,000 acres of land, and they ploughed and fitted 3,000 acres for grain-growing. They also built 300 cabins and dugouts, and ama.s.sed $30,000 in money. We have heard of one Henry Carter, a colored man of Tennessee, who set out from Topeka in 1878, and made his way on foot for Dunlap, which was sixty-five miles away; he carried his own tools, whilst his plucky wife carried their bed clothes. In 1880 he had forty acres of land cleared, and had made the first payment for the same. He earned that money by working on sheep ranches, and making himself generally useful. He built for himself and wife a good stone cottage, sixteen feet by ten, and then owned a horse, a cow and other things besides. Not only did the white people a.s.sist the pilgrims, as good friends and neighbors, far and wide, over all the broad lands of Kansas, but colored families pulled and hauled together, lent and borrowed, and most willingly a.s.sisted one another in every conceivable way. "Good Samaritans" sprang up in all directions, thicker than the gra.s.s of the field. These blessed eyes of mine, dear reader, were privileged to look upon many letters at the time, giving lovely accounts of the way, the doings and sayings of the good folks of Kansas. With what warmth of feeling did they praise all their neighbors, colored and white alike, and pressed upon all "to come out!" There were, of course, many who arrived at first at Topeka, and other large towns, in a sadly dest.i.tute condition, needing clothing, food, medicine and all things.

But they were at once a.s.sisted upon their feet-they turned round at once like swift winds, and all were soon most industriously at work. None were ever arrested for stealing, and very few were found drunk. All at once "made tracks," as we say, for the Church of G.o.d, and the bible and the school-house. The colored children were at once admitted into the public schools, as the color of the skin was too paltry a matter to be noticed by the great-minded people of the State of Kansas. Industrial schools were also set going for all those who needed such inst.i.tutions.

May G.o.d forever bless the State of Kansas for her unsurpa.s.sed humanity and hospitality to our oppressed people in the days of their distress!

This is a most uncommonly prosperous and well-to-do State. The Lord has smiled upon them, and remembered all their loving ways.

John M. Brown, Esq., was the general superintendent of the Freedman's Relief a.s.sociation, and in February, 1880, he read a very interesting report before the a.s.sociation, of which the following is an extract:

"The great exodus of colored people from the South began about the first of February, 1879. By the first of April, 1,300 refugees had gathered around Wyandotte, Kansas. Many of them were in a suffering condition. It was then that the Kansas Relief a.s.sociation came into existence, for the purpose of helping the most needy among the refugees from the Southern States. Up to date, about 60,000 refugees have come to the State of Kansas to live. Nearly 40,000 of them were in a dest.i.tute condition when they arrived, and have been helped by our a.s.sociation. We have received to date $68,000 for the relief of the refugees. About 5,000 of those who have come to Kansas have gone to other States to live, leaving about 55,000 yet in Kansas. About 30,000 of that number have settled in the country, some of those on lands of their own or rented lands; others have hired out to the farmers, leaving about 25,000 in and around the different cities and towns of Kansas. There has been great suffering among those remaining in and near the cities and towns this winter. It has been so cold that they could not find employment; and if they did, they had to work for very low wages; because so many of them were looking for work that they were in each other's way.

"Most of those about the cities and towns are with large families, widows, and very old people. The farmers want only able-bodied men for their work, and it is very hard for men with large families to get homes among the farmers. Kansas is a new State, and most farmers have small houses, and they cannot take large families to live with them. So when the farmers call for help, they usually call for a man and his wife only, or for a single man or woman.

"Now in order that men with large families may become owners of land, and be able to support their families, the Kansas Freedman's Relief a.s.sociation, if they can secure the means, will purchase cheap lands which can be bought at from $3 to $5 per acre, on long time, by making a small payment in cash. They will settle the refuges on these lands, letting each family have from 20 to 40 acres, and not settling more than sixteen families in any one neighborhood, so that they can easily obtain work from the farmers in that section or near by. I do not think it best to settle too many of them in any one place, because it will make it hard for them to find employment.

"If our a.s.sociation can help them to build a small house, and have five acres of their land broken, the women and children can cultivate the five acres and make enough to support their families, while the men are out at work by the day to meet the payments on their land when they become due. In this way many families can be helped to homes of their own, where they can become self-sustaining, educate their children, and be useful citizens to the State of Kansas.

"Money spent in this way will be much more profitable to them than so much old clothing and provisions. They will no longer be objects of charity, or a burden to benevolent people."

CHAPTER XVII.

_Continuation of the Exodus to Kansas-Complete Success of That Grand Movement-Similar Governments Elsewhere-Resolution of the Hon. D. W.

Voorhees in Congress-A Perfect Farce In Itself-The Story of the Exodus-Its End._