ijR^oycil £R,escue Series
of
SPoems,
Will Appear in 8mee4i»g Stegw and (k$w$$ tin
Our mi and Uvefv Topics 0/ the
Relative to the ffegn Etc-
¥ * ¥
Wilt Endeavor to Produce end Foster the Best tier*
ary fa lent oj the Age; Therefore Ws
vile Young wd Unknown Authors
to offer Their Productions
to J HE "RESCUE."
BY W. H. GOODE, AUTHOR.
A Proposition.
We propose to build up wherever needed, and
encourage wherever built up, among our people, liter¬
ary clubs, circles, libraries, etc., and to foster, create
and encourage a love for the best? literature and a
worthy pride in the works of our own race.
To do this we shall \ leave in every community
where "The Royal Rescue" is sold five per cent of
such sale for the above named purposes, five per cent
for school purposes, the same for church purposes and
a like amount for the benefit of the poor.
Thus, giving twenty-five per cent of the proceeds
to the community and selling you a pamphlet worth
forty ceiits for oiily twenty-five cents single copies and
twenty cents each in club of twelve. Special reduced
prices to agents.
Address "The Rescue, Blackstone, Va.
Authors Preface;
My only excuse for offering to afflict toy friends
and the public with this work is—we may observe dai¬
ly, persistent and continued efforts of a few little men
whose numbers seem to increase rapidly in search of
fame or something worse, who have evidently never
known the ancient maxim of the knight errants, "To
shield the timid, weak; and smite the vicious, strong."
I would use as an antidote for snake bite, a piece of
the snake. But in this book wc propose to apply com¬
mon sense and justice fearlessly.
The Author.
4
When I was two,
And sister one,
It seems our joys
Had but begun.
Our parents loved
Us, "through and through'
When she was one,
And I was two.
When she was two,
And I nas three,
I thought they loved
Her more than me—
A uayjghty thought
it ^.gjs for" tri|,e;
Wh.en I was three,
Ajul she was two.
When I was four
Aod she was three,
Gup mother catted
lis to Her knee
Aod gave us hath
Her dying Ipv-c;
^Vnd then she soared
To realms above.
When she was four
And I was five.
Our father brought
Another wife
She loved us just
One m nth, no more;
''"hen I was five
And she was four.
5
When I was six
And she was five.
Our father sought
The cup> to drive
Unwelcome thoughts
Out from his mind,
His wife was of
The cruel kind
When ihe was six
And I was se en,
I wished that we
Were both in heaven
With mother dear,
Who watched betwixt
Her child of seven
And one pf six-
When she was seven
And I was eight,
I thought it well
To watch and wait,
For father dear
We knew not where
Had left us to
A stranger's care.
6
Nature and Man.
Majestic nature had her ancient plan,
Which ruled the universe, ere man began;
It gave the stars their varied posts to hold,
And set the king of day a throne of gold.
—2—
Earth in her humbler sphere but holds a place
Out ranked by numorous worlds with larger space;
Teeming with billions, beings of a kind
To superior us in might and mind.
—3—
Creations dawn and ages pass away;
Material things but flourish, then decay;
Succeeding times their canopy unroll
To prove the lasting purpose of the soul.
—4—
Nature prepared the universe for man,
Whose mortal life may measure but a span;
Mortal the case, infinity within;
Where ends the one, the other but begins.
—5—
Begins a life more perfect than before,
Tending tt that which Jesus lived of yore;
At which we must in future's time arrive,
Where in the joy of living we shall live,
—6—
First tried in Eden, man's first nursing place,
Wherein he sinned, and sinning, fell from grace;
Redeemed from sin by Christ's own sacrifice
Man seeks a home beyond fair.Paradise
7
Paradise.
A time there was, ere earth began to grieve,
And weep rain drops to quench the sin of Eve:
When Adam's husbandry was needed not
To find the fruits whereof their wishes wot:
—2—
Within a vale low sunk beneath the hills,
Circled a fount, not fed nor drained by rills;
On every side the fruits profusion grew,
And plenty fed what famine never knew.
The vale encircling that life giving fount,
Receeded out, then upward sprang the mount;
Its sloping hills with plenteous orchards bore
Fruits ever ripe, and springing ever more.
—4—
Down from this mount Eolus softly breathed;
Breezes whispered to the lake enwreathed
Of happier climes than Eden ever knew,
And kissed the flowers with refreshing dew.
—5—
\Vhen man betrayed his trust and fell from grace
This Fountain ceased to circle in its place, '
Waters once full of sparkling life lay dead
Till murmuring thunders sounded overhead.
—6—
The breezes ceased to ripple with the lake,
That man no more its fragrant breath should take,
8
The flowers furled their leaves and fell asleep;
And naught was heard but serpents' wiley creep.
—7 -
Then from onliigh angels decending there,
Drove from that beauteous vale the guilty pair;
Set there a watch to see that none intrude,
To break the spell of awful solitude.
<•-*8—
'Twas then that thunders clove the mount m
twain,
And earth began to pour her weeping rain.
rhe fountain sought escape throughout the cleft;
Sang on ihc way of its loved valeber. ft.
™Q—
As dawn the glen she poured her liquid wa\\
Kindred streams her passage sought, and they
ogether rushed their waters to the seas,
Whereat they found the giant of the breze.
COLOR
The theory that color in the Negro is the result
of climate, is £ falacy and cannot stand the test of in
telligent investigation, The argument so often ad¬
vanced that when renoved to colder latitudes theblack
color is modified and that the white man stationed un¬
der tropical sufl will gradually grow darker is true
9
but not conclusive however of cause of color in the
Negro and the want of it in the white man.
In support of this contention we may observe
that the Virginia Negro, of pure African whose desent
ancestors from the ninth generation have lived in
Virginia is as black now as his African ancestors
were; and in case of the fair European subjected to the
tropical sun will no doubt become darker in color but
changes have never been so marked as to warrant us
in the opinion that any length of time could render
a complete change in the complexion.
But why should we seek thus the cause of color or
or want of color in man ? Are we not surrounded
with varying shades and their reverses in all nature?
Wc think nothing, theoretically, of black or white
color in the horse, dog or cow. It would seem a
sacriclege to assert that color in man is an accident-nor
is it better to suppose it a curse.
Can friends of the black races suppose they miti¬
gate or in any way change the ill condition cf such
creatures by advancing these fallacious theories con¬
cerning color's orign in man ?
"Be not deceived"—The Negro was created black
and his color is primary. He was made black by the
same nature which makes a black crow and a white
heron. And there is no disgrace in it —no accident
pbout it, but "A man is a man for a that."
Tfte Negro w^o lives an apology, carries condemn*
10
nation in his face, and with stopping cringing posture
of form j[crawls"because his skin is black'is not fit to
be a Negro, nor to be trusted by^his fellow-man. He is
that dangerous specimen of humanity for whom mobs
organize and men search for as if for dangerous for
beasts of prey.
Doomed. Day.
King Sol sat smiling on the universe
All quiet reigned no motion was in space
No obejct moved on earth nor in. the heavens
Save man alone who dwelt in Prardise
And myrriad beams of light
Eolus lay prostrate upon the mount
Breathing such zephyrs softer than since known
So soft were they the lightest thistle down
Moved not nor stirred in its place.
2
Then liquid earth stood silent motionless
Amid the mass nor whispered of the sea
And solid earth no mountain boasted high
Save air throne, no vale save Paradise
Naught but a plane sphere—
Though force with in, about and up above
Lay deep in sleep profund, waiting a touch
A signal from her God O to convulse the earth
And change all natures face
Thus from Creation's, dawn
All nature lay in ert save only Paradise
Here in man walked and passed the time
11
In blissful ignorance
While flora bloomed and fruited for his feast
Nursed by refreshing dews
Moredelicate than ether, blown
On winds more fragile than the angels breathe.
3
So 'tws till, man betrayed his trust
And yielded to the nether power
Then came the change-
Sol from his throne on high
Dispatched his messnger
Couriers, the innumerable beams of light
Bore his majestic orders to the gods.
Jove clove in twain the anchor chain,
Which held the world in space.
4
When the sun, God's brightest jewel
Did reflect the sin of man
He immediately did will
And his Angels put in force
The dormant powers of nature
Which had lain beneath his pleasure
Creations felt the shock when
Myrriad worlds broke from their moorings
And began their varied journeyings
Around the sun, their satelities obeying
Their motions followed in their courses
Then man the fallen perceiving the change
And knowing not the cause thereof
Although he knew he'd sinned,
Felt the lurch and when he saw the sun
Receding from the meridian feared
12
He knew not what; no night had Eden seen
Forwith he followe i the westward journeyin
of the light
Ascended painfully the mount to its summit
'Twas there when half way up he felt the chang
And sought redress from the fig leaves
Thus clothed they reached the mountain top
From whence they witnessed the first
STORM
Amid the thickening gloom
Caused by the setting sun
The fog began to rise
And to obscure the skies
The thunder crashed
The lightning flashed
Earth trembled with the sound,
God's anger spoke
And silence broke
A nd rent the shaking ground;
Winds roared from earth to sea
And rivers from their sources
Down through the rents
Their waters sent
Pouring their liquid courses.
Land shrank to valeys deep
And mountains towered high,
They formed the lines
For the confines
And stood the coasts hard by,
X^ike armies in the strife
1H
The enemy to meet
Nor suffer a retreat
To-day they stand
One solid hand
Grim warriors for life.
™3—
The seas withdrew a pace
Then hurled their billows forth
Though mquntains high
They fell hard by
And crushed their lurnhering course
''"he winds wee in the strife
They raised the waves again
Who carae at length
With fury's Strength
Till spent upon the main—
The Spectators.
Amid the storm on thf rflQuntain steep
Man crouched in silent ^we
While to his side she c ting to we©p
Who causecl this sin. and woe.
The earth quake.
' r was while the winds and waters raged
And mountains towered high.
They saw far on horizons edge
A flame leap to the sky
—3—
hen heard a blast of thunder sound
14
From terra firma's deep,
And felt the shock come from the ground
Where on they stood to weep.
— i—
The lull.
Then darker as the night did seem to grow
The winds began to lull their fiercest blow; •
Almight rumblings fainter grew and far
As if a truce prevailed in nature's war.
—I—
Theh on the green the king and queeii
In silence fell asleep •
With none tomock while earth did rock
Their lullaby sang the deep.
—2—
Nor waked they when the mountain ken
The king of day was up
'Till nature thought her vassals ought
To summon in to sup.
Then up they Sprang while wild woods rang
With misic of the birds
Their thirst was hot, their hunger not
To be appeased with words.
Color.
So Ebus was the name man gave his Dale
Because the color black did there prevail
And black as Ebus was his outer skin
While lighter hues concealed themselves within.
lb
—2—
Extracted from an inner rib perceive
The lighter hues disclose in mother Eve
Their sons came clothed in ebony black
Their sisters child who did this color lack.
Thus color did prevail but for a time
The cause which men so oft ascribe to clime
Had being in Creation's early morn
Thus early was it found a cause of scorn.
Adam and the first male descendants^ who werb
ihvariably black regarded the white color in Eve and
her daughters as a sign of feminine weakness: thus-,
primarily, white was associated with fernininety but
afterwards when white male children were born the
color in such was regarded as a sign of degeneracy.
Then the offense of being born a white male was at
first punished with death but when black females came
the fathers grew alarmed and supposed the women
Would eventually become the stronger.
The mothers had protested the destruction of
their male infants who came white but to no avail till
the advent of black female infants—The rulers most
likely regarded this, the black female phenomena as a
necessary evil to offset the former and both were
spared and for the time mated exclusively.
The phenomenon of white males and black fe¬
males were looked upon with horror and distrust and
16
were only countenanced in fear of a worse curse.
J'hus on to the flood did the human family live in
the greatest simplicity; its only complex problem be¬
ing the perversion of colors, which were regarded as
a curse for sins.
'■ he black male's unquestioned strength made
them the absolute rulers of the land and in the voyage
from the ante, to the post, deluvian world, even to the
dispersion at Babel; and there when the slaves of
lighter hue could no longer speak and understand the
master tongue they were driven forth and the black
male and female speaking the same tongue remained
and are there today.
Thus it was that mankind was dispersed over
the face of the globe except the blacks who being the
Stranger abode there, in Ethiopia, and built up the
first great civilization.
The Egyptians, the next in line borrowed of them
the wonderful knowledge and skill of which they have
left such lasting manifestations, that we, of today per¬
ceive,
he Jews, the chosen people of God, were given
four hundred years tutalage under the Egyptians,
Carthage, Persia and Greece tired of savagery had
sent students to Egypt for enlightenment before the
Oueen of Sheba studied at the court of King Solomon
and there gained the knowledge later transmitted to
the Chinese, Japanese and the other oriental nations.
Ethiopia, the mother nativity, of man after a lapse
of centuries nursed in the cradle bordering the Nile
and surrounded with plenty; with none to interfered
with gorgeous cities such as Memphis; stately palaces
and too much leisure soon fell on intemporate ways
i7
and gradually* slowly, but surely orient to direct dep¬
reciation the like of which will hev®r again sfeeh.
While fchse savages driven from the ftuitfiii plains of
Sfeinar to sharfe the da*ig%rs aaidi 3priVaHGiii &f
wil«U be£&#»s toaiity under ihd evefthiaiijp
sn&tefetd from tke decaying tbttetihg ri*ins •$£
once more fortunate brothers the gem of civilizattoft.
It caipot succe&sjfally denied £$)&£ at thfc £o»f?e of
the river ityas {foe gard## of E4m g|ant$d jplmi-
ed Thi$ w0c$ tbe fouftfcaiia ^M$h 0&%, ^befcfcijjg
dew$„ the water pi Ufe.io ^ Uv$t& khiygs h$m
drihk to man. It wiiifc* adj»ai*#i Tih# t%bvgh
soiigkt 'the s4&rea M tlsife ff^tk tlfex ifai .beeft
revealed arid likewise it Musi swfeijt&p ikai thfc fe-
mjiljttjs of «rfcat citiefc mwm albh|; fchie bajajLs ol: fchifc
river nuririsn abuftcUnt pi-otef m fit md&i: .weiiderjili civ¬
ilization more ancient thah ail^ y«t discovferied aliyv
where else.
After ifoe iiiry oi aaturc dfe^isiyJed fai ihe(fir$t war
of the elfetnerits, ott tljat amiil njjpiij tiken wife
begafi to {subside atid lull mail io slfejep, jui sought a^d
found a ca?we# jreili i» tiie^rifo by the p£j:tte/2te.
mentfe in their fierce ih&y fell afcl&fci?
and wo&je neit till tfce jjlija addrnbd fc ^rijiatefeiit arid
this j^3$ea|>e smiled j^orlo'us
Thlii iip they Sprang WitC tfii tet
their surroundings Soon they hiihgeir&J* attd km* the
first time they were reduced to the .necessity &f parch¬
ing for food .and of. £lafhberift|£ tfite tail irfcJss to jwtr-
taKfe bf ^hat they fdiitid; wfafcii jEbfer mipt&a tkfey
sought Hie glen atx& foijiia 'tafritijj iissi#a
of circling: because of this Activity he fcallM k^rpl,'*
Following along its banks downward as It poured, in
18
Search of the fruits found there in greater abundance
than the uplands afforded: they observed it widen
and deepen and called it a creek."
As families grew and spread further down to its
b oader and deeper expanse they called the stream-
ar river.'' They learned, to swim its waters from
necessity and eventualy to make and propel
boats.
The furious battle of the elecments caused by the
sin of man changed all nature so that the beasts who
before were harmless became man's deadly foe and
he found it necessary to obey the command. "Multi¬
ply replenish the earth and subdue it" and he like¬
wise found it needful to build stuctures for protection
and live together in so large numbers as could be
amassed, hence cities, walled, sprung up and finally
the great tower Babel,, then came the confusion and
its inevitable dispersion.
Man seems to have learned to strive from that
awful strife of nature which has subsequently ■ been
repeated innumerable times and an account of which
was no doubt narated by the lone parants to their
eager listening group of children who likewise trans¬
mitted it to their decendants, who in like manner
have passed it down to us. However this may be
we see in the confusion of tongues at Babel the first
great military strife, as a direct result of the miss-
understanding.
The stronger, of course, held possessiou of the
realm which was Ethiopia. Those of lighter hues
and weaker sinews were driven forth out of the land
by the four cardinal directions and had to abide in
h e wilderness.
19
Africa
Nativity wherein man first drew breath,
To thee I point my lay.
In thee alas ! He sinned and suffered death.
From thee he took his way.
Traversed the earth, till lost, thou seemed afar;
Then all forgot wast thou.
Men sought their boon where nature seemed ajar
They'll reckon with thee now.
Silent anon for centuries agone,
Save in the stealthy tread
Of beasts of prey who made in thee their home,
And feasted on thy dead.
When on thy coast the slaver plied his bark,
Thy children fled in fright,
Nor dreamed that this descendant of the ark,
Would finally bring light.
No more they seek thy sons for slvaery's toil,
Nor yet to peevert thee;
They've found the precious riches of thy soil,
And come to make thee free.
Although the thunders from the southern war,
May make thee tremble still,
'Tis but the voice the British sends afar,
That speaks to thee no ill.
Although a Rhodes may rape thy mines of
wealth,
A Stanley seek thy heart;
To thee they bring their tongue and laws of
health,
And knowledge in thee start.
20
Take then these gifts proffered b; the Gods,
And thank thy lucky star
That in thv soil hid deep beneath thy sods,
Lies Wfc&lth to cause such war.
To thee, err long, we'll flock our herding flight,
And lay the sword aside;
In thee at last, all races must unite,
And blessed in thee abide.
REVELATION VQUt^,
Aux Neaux prout Sos le ma jproslern
Ne da '£Ui: ses feaur disux pras
Fra mas me tabien ne fras pridea
Sos prjlo Je Bien,
Nes praSn la fra do pres daen. Sas
Proax ne fares ,et Eino prido
Tuer es madaeo iros praes jjion do sc
Quareretri prado ses quiem Taureas m adao Ses
Quite©'sit Sos modi quiaatim aend deas des Sos.
——>»-«r •—
Thou to He in U,arkilegs and &jt an H «t#r of My
Distress.
Sis lo bien se beal ichao
Sos mea so train £a ma
Mestachios ma tra mea trevan
Lfcs mat so }a bien Sos tra.
To tachio miaii so villen,
To rachio misquin SoS
Mes toe lae et quiem ct triven,
Ses poetra fo ine quota sos.
21
A Truce to Peace.
Spirit of Peace invoked by prayers of man,
Before thou foldeet thy pinions on this earth,
Rise to yon heights from wlaieh tbltle eye may foan
Oppressions' wrongs which give the warrior birth*
Know that these Wrongs and all their kindred train
Must banished to obliviou he consigned,
Rr<- man may halt or sheathe Wta sword again
R^luot-mt though he be to kill his kind.
Know that the bravest warrior serves the best
Who on the bloodi-st fie^d slays human foes;
To build a shrine wherein thy form may rest
And guarded, be secure in thy repose.
When in forgetfulness of race or clime,
Men in accord with Christian precepts deal,
rphen, not before, my spirit, is the time
That thy glad mandates, we with love may seal.
When human freighted ships to Jamestown's shore
Their savage burdens bore, and there disposed*
•wi'hin her walls tiiev drew the wooden horse,
And here a Sampson's form has Mnce reposed.
And here they might have toiled ages hence
Nor s-night the virtues of their master's house
Had thev bQenleft to Afric's color den-e,
Nor changed to varied hues t^e sable brows.
*
Rut see, the spoiler spoils but his own,
His is the lif^, the liberty and all,
Service is his and virtue must succumb,
Decrees the courts, "The duaky maids must fall,"
22
But in their fall fair maiden, see thy woe,
There, none to offer a protecting hand;
From bad to "worse, thy lusting lovers go
Till now, mixed breeds cover "half the land."
Immoral men who gave to lust their all,
Ill-favored children born of base desires,
Oh ! How we grieve when we see in their fall
That they bring down the daughters of their sires.
Not only this, but vengeance in the land
Stalks in the form of mobs, whose raving cry
Revenge and death, destruction but demand,
When they their country's power thus defy.
If Europe's troops should marshal for a fray,
And bid defiance to the western world,
Armies unknown would muster and dismay
The hosts, who back to Europe would be hurled.
But here, at home, we're nurturing a foe,
More surely on this lard's destruction bent
Than foreign arms, whose might we'd overthrow,
While here we pause and seem to give assent,
Here, Peace, is cause sufficient for thy flight
Nor tarry thou till this cause is removed
For giant warriors here will wage their fight
Regardless of thy vision much beloved.
In this sad cause I think we might expect,
(Since Scriptural reference we do not lack)
That sin to sin, its evil will reflect,
And passion often answer passion back.
Blind. Man's Bull".
i
Futile the efforts of loyal regards,
Vain are the ©ffers of liberal rewards,
28
Though earnest the efforts, the pay quite enough,
We are in for a season of
Blind man's buff.
2
The season is long, the end not in view,
Time from its origin grows lengthy too,
And with it our consciences seem to grow tough,
As our ardor increases in
Blind man's buff.
3
Our "Tar Heel" governor is now on the floor,
Succeeding the many who were there before.
As chief of the "Red Shirts" he is made of the
. stuff,
That is fit to play centre in
Blind man's buff.
The above poem came forth on • the occasion of
the lynching, by a mob in North Carolina, two inno¬
cent Negro boys charged with murder. The Gover¬
nor, Aycock, offered a reward as usual for, the arrest
etc, of any and all of the parties implicated.
He, the Governor knew that no one would be present
ed, and if presented, would neve be arrested.
"TAR HEEL" REFERS TO NORTH CAROLINA.
The Red Shirts, a notorious band of white out¬
laws representing the Democratic party of North Car¬
olina, who in the campaign of 1897, when Aycock was
made governor, went over the State shooting Negro
24
children, women and men, with the cry "Down with
the Negro/' and whose watchword was "White Su¬
premacy and "Negro Domination/'
For weeks before this massacre commenced all deal
ers were forbidden upon pain of death to sell a Negro
any arms or ammunition, consequently they were un¬
prepared, but upon being refused ammunition for
hunting purposes 2S they gfeW suspicious and
appraised Pf esidefit Mefchiley of their ^prehensions,
but to no pufpose; he ignored them in tote.
Timberlake*
i
Timberlake! oh Timberlake
How insanity you fade;
And the jury for your sake
And their owft, ,
Turns a deafened ear to crime,
Takes precedence set in time
By their peers and yours, who chimq
In your tone,
2
Hear the verdict with the cheers
For a jury of his peers-
Men who know no heavenly fears
Nor pretense;
Peers they are in every deed,
Men with not ft Christian need-
Timberkke they are in creec(
And feense,
25
3
China, Africa/japan,
Budha, Mohammed, Pagan,
Here and help us when y ou can
In our needs.
Heed^our call, for Jesus' sake
Rid us of our Timbeflakes
And the court9 whose juries make
Them theii" Creeds.
4
Hear the Christians as they yell,
While the roaring flames from hell
Sends a human soul to dwell
With the damned.
But his crime may devils take
Since 'tis not a limberlake;
Let the black brute at the stake
Go unnamed.
Chas. Timberlake, a young white man commit¬
ted rape on an old an highly respected colored woman
in Henrico county, Va., October 1902, and was dis¬
charged by the jury of white men who, in the face of
all the evidence of eye-witnesses to the crime and oth¬
ers and no jot of testimony in his favor and not even
a plea of insanity sent this verdict "We the jury find
the prisoner not guilty as charged but recommend
his discharge on insanity,
TJ stirjp«tion
Who strikes a blow in freedom's cause
Or takes a Stand for right,
26
'Tis his to claim a world's applause
And honor pure and bright.
Who lags behind and fears to face
His foeman in the vans,
Has but to fill a coward's place,
A traitor's, not a man's.
Virginia's sons are called upon,
in language clear and bold.
To strike for liberty again,
As did their sires of old.
As Charles the first his Cromwell found.
And George the third found his,
Such may yet find on freedom's ground,
Sic Semper Tyrannis.
.A.11 Extract.
From the Last Speech of Tousaint to Napoleon.
Haiti, my glorious country,
But as for me !
Consign me to your heil
Wherein to abide your coming
There to dwell
On equal terms through all eternity we,
But Haiti ! my glorious Haiti
Must survive the wreck of your mortal fame.
The rust of your ignoble frame
.And when your France shall have passed
27
The muster roll in heaven
To be thitherward consigned
To make room for the new France given
To bless mankind
Haiti must still shine on :
No shame of mine
To blur that brilliant spot
From which she shone.
From the Block to the Bar.
When the Confederate flag was furled at Appo¬
mattox and Lee 's army on parole started wearily but
peaceably to their homes, the world, except the lat
rebels, supposed slavery, the fundamental cause of the
war, to be ended in the United States, but in this
supposition the world was ingenuously hoodwinked,
Those in rebellion against the Union had never
thought seriously of the proposition to free their
slaves in the light of probability. They knew that
there were abolitionists who, if they had the power
would gladly free every slave in Christendom, but
this ''power" was the question. Even then with their
government dispersed and their army captured hope
survived. So silently but no less determinedly they
set about to secure in peace what they had lost in
war.
All was conjecture as to the purport of the proc¬
lamation of '63. Varied were the opinions of friends
and foes alike respecting its final adjustment. The
country was in a state of suspense regarding this
final issue ; the victors stood for universal freedom,
28
the vanquished had no standing but craved the con¬
tinuance of their chee-rished institution, slavery, for
this they had fought and fell like heroes
In this, the national dilemma, all eyes were turn¬
ed upon the one man who had power, the will and
none doubted the knowledge to do The loyal states
feeling secure in their tested strength, knowing they
could rely on President Lincoln and a republican con¬
gress, supported by a large and victorious army and
he approbation of the Christian world rested on
'their laurels." The states lately in rebellion de¬
feated but not conquered, powerless but patient, hu¬
miliated but determined, with no respect for opinion
of the Christian world when this opinion ran counter
to what thfey believed their domestic and financial
weal, plotted.
The republican party in its national convention of
1864, at a most Critical period, when that party was
directly and indirectly responsible to the nation for
its safe deliverance from its then great peril, and more
for its re-establishment on a solid and permanent
foundation of universal liberty Responsible directly
becaus its principles and political success in i860 had
had caused the withdrawal of the slave states and p>e-
cipitated the war thereby, practically driving its only
great rival from the political field and acquiring there
undisputed power Indirectly because thousands of
northern and western politicians who under different
circumstances would have acted with other than that
party cast their strength with it because'they believ¬
ed it the only party capable of giving the nation per¬
manent peace and liberty
At this convention the party made a compro¬
mise with itself which bids fdjr to bring worse results
29
than did the " Missouri Compromise" famed for its
evil consequences. The Republican .party hei\e nom¬
inated Andrew Johnston, a southern man With south¬
ern sympathies to be Lincoln's running mate.
Johnston as vice president could do no harm, all
knew that, but Johnston as president was quite anoth¬
er thing.
There are politics and political tricks
Chicanery and crimES in politics, etc.,
All kne-w Lincoln's determination and none fear¬
ed Johnston's sympathies but herein lay the plot—(of
which we will trgat later),
When Lincoln Was shot, the South sent Up a
heart rending wail of 41 The South has lost its best
friend." This was patt 'o$ the programing. But did
a Reunited Country sincerely tntmrn the death of
Lincoln ?
"Where ignorance is bliss 'tis foily to wise,'"
fewedjately upon his ascension to fche high 'jmfi
honored office made vacant b.y the death of iH-us-
trkms predecessor fohsston beg&n intrigue in 'i&v$r<Qf
his brethren late in rebellion against tile Ufeion. Com¬
pare notes between Johij-ston s active t-ffortis in favor
of ths Southern mstoratioia and J3uch8.na»'s i-na-ctivi-
ty jn-favor of disunion. Johnston padded th« "Co-ytrts
against a trial for treason and in every conceivable
way cashed the mitigation and tLxpulsaon t)f any and
all attempts to punish the Arch rebels Truly in
manj respects the Chivalric Class at the South has
been indulged at the expense of the nation and this
indulgence Continues to grow stronger. Bseauee of
his affiliation in this clique Johnston soon found him-
80
self at odds with his congress but he served his pur¬
pose. '
Slavery's champion before the war had contend¬
ed that the " South's Industries" could not be main¬
tained without slavery. They were sincere in their
beliefs and the war has neither changed nor modified
this belief. "When Grant was elected president and
the congress had enacted to carry into effect the proc¬
lamation of '63 that " neither slavery nor involuntary
servitude shall exist except for crime." The late
slave owner had his cue—" Could not every Negro be
proved a criminal?" they asked and replied "Yes,
every Negro is a criminal" If there is no eye wit¬
ness there is always circumstantial evidence ; and the
most obvious circumstances is, he is a Negro "and
that is enough." "The preachers say he is an origi¬
nal criminal by inheritance. Did not Ham, the first
Negro commit the most heinous crime imaginable?"
So thus reasoning they quietly but sullenly submitted
while federal troops were at their door but loudly and
loyally? protested their presence. The nation aware of
their loyal ? intentions removed the troops leaving the
Negroes free ? ('lo slavery or death) and the South
restored. But they reckoned without their right boot.
The blue coats had barely crossed Dixon's line be¬
fore the nefarious business of man stealing under the
crime punishment law began. In many of these states
a premium is paid on all criminals locked up by the
sheriff, who in turn tips his constables and deputies
who in their turn" lets off" or tips some worthless Ne¬
gro to lie up " reports." Almost each lock-up is con¬
victed, if he be a Negro and the charge trifling he is
fined or sent to the chain gang. In the former case
31
some planter pays his fine "to help him along" and
takes him out to his plantationand puts him " to work
it out." Such a man is regarded by these ignorant
creatures as a great benefactor and if kindly treated
the culprit will work for him as long as he wishes.
The more ambitious slave dealers who cannot "put up
with this tame system" and free Negro atmosphere
and who has large acres or contracts for public work
etc., requiring a great number of unskilled laborers,
buys these criminals for the "Chain gang" where with
chain and ball they are worked hard to death in a few
years especially if his term of service is short
Thus from the block in front of the Courthouse
door prior to 1865 to the bar and the judges bench in¬
side the Courthouse the sale of Negro slaves has
been removed—wonderful transformation.
Africa.
Nativity, wherein man first drew breath*
To thee, I poirit my lay.
In thee alas he sinned and suffered death,
From thee he took his way.
Traversed the earth till lost, thou seemed afar,
Then all forgot wast thou.
Men sought their boon where nature seemed ajar,
They'll reckon with thee now.
Silent anon for centuries agone,
Save in the stealthy tread,
Of beasts of prey who made in thee their home,
And feasted on they. dead.
82
When on thy coast the slaver piitd his bark,
i"hy children fled in fright,
Nor dreamed that this descendant of the ark,
Would finally forihg light.
No more they seek thy sons £m slavery's toil,
Nor yigjt-fco pervert the©.
They've found the preciows riches of thy soil,
A»d c^J»€ tQ ttiS-ke thee frffc,
Although thjp thunders frojn the .sputhern war,
May mak.£ thes tremble still,
' Tis but the voice the British Sfciidfe $£ar,
That speaks to thee no ill.
Although a Rhpdfes may rape thy mines of wealth,
A Stanley seek thy heart,
To thee they bring their tongue and laws of health,
And knowledge in thee start.
Take then these gifts proffered by the gods,
And thank thy lucky star,
That in thy soil hid deep belreath thy sods,
Lies wealth to cause such war.
To thee ere long we'll flock our herding flight,
And lay the sword aside,
In thee alas all ratfes must unite,
And blessed in thee abide.
To the Christian, l^ew of the
8axon
A PRELUDfe.
I cha&t tey lay
From day to day
38
Because ray race has lost its way
I'd call thftm froia their wanderings far
But if my plaint should Be of War
l&now that my songs
Are steeped in wrongs
Which we ho# suffer and have long
Hard burdens borne
And did but mourn
5Til! naught we now receive but scorn
&
I'd call theiil b&ck
To duties track
And point to therri their children's lack
So if my sorigs should be wars
Reckon y6W Ofi yOttf maHy scars,
If we must fight
To keep our right
We'll cast our misery on yeur might
And go to hell
Your deeds to teil
And point the future why we fett,
,1 ■! -Tl<t <11.1,.., .... ... -
1. Westward the CBtlfSe effipifg tfifcgS its Way.
Does but begin to fc&ll tb<S fiOble truth,
Though nations ri£& ftfid ftetifisJh IhffS decay
Mankind still te hi if# mtly yotitl,
2. Man's fftfawey beg&n tm Airk's mif
Its zig zag ctmree which W«Jstwftfdly £©es tend
u
On Egypt's Nile the savage sought his spoil
And bore to Greece an Athens from its end.
3, Greece startled Europe with her wondrous skill
Ana Athens call to learnings sacred shrine
Reechoed back far o'er the Alpine hill
And brought responses from beyond the Rhine.
4. Rome in her might conquered the western shores,
Turned to the east and saw the Savior die,
Snatched from the scene the phantom of remorse
But left the more important teachings by,
5 These we must garner in our westward flight
Or circumnavigate the globp in quest.
The Golden Rule must triumph with the right
Transcribing to oblivion all the rest,
1. War to destroy the land
Where evil stalks abroad
Opposing God's command 1
Which brought the ancient flood
2. War to the death we cry
For tyrants long obeyed
Omnipotence defy
And crush devoted heads,
3. Ours is a God of war
Jehovah is his name,
Would we his graces mar
And ground our arms in shame ?
4. Nay ! then to battle speed
Gird on his armor bright,
85
War the Remedy for Social Ills.
He knows our every need,
And will supply the right.
5. His son the Prince of Peace
Taught in his holy word
He would not war should cease
* But brings to earth the sword.
6. Whence then this princely name ?
But wherefore king of kings ?
While carnage rules the same
Nor peace to earth he brings ?
7. Peace crowns his diadem,
But not in "guilty state,"
That righteous brilliant gem,
Cover not sin or hase.
8. The sword must purge the land
And then be purged there from
Its mission in demand
Will bv till justice comes.
They try in vain who try
To put the sword awav
Tyrants shall fear and fly
when justice comes to stay*
PHILADELPHIA.
I. Only one whiff of freedom's air
My spirit seeks in thee4
36
I fly not from my home so fair
Nor basely would J fl.ee,
To shun the task my duty given
To make that hocn.e fair freedom's Jieaven.
2. Only one breath np mqre J ask
And faintly s^ek it tljee.
Thou hast so n(obly done thy task,
That bondjrien far may see,
Thy standard high floats on the breeze
And beckons strangers'oyer seas.
3. We stifle in our lowly pit
Though struggle hard we may
To make our home for freedom fit.
Just one breath now We pray
One more glance to tii^t standard high
For freedom then we'll live or di«
4. Thy fathers soijght far ov«r the seas
These wilds them thir.p
And liberty's t\vif* heirs at ease-
Far different did mine
Who came not of their own iiUeot
Nor pledge their livrs on freedom bent.
5. But freedoai'# Ciod now adwe
And patiently will tread
The paths your fathers trod before
Nor death's cold presence dft&d
But grudge us fiat this gloiiows draught
Of their pure air froio Shait.
37
6. We drink it deep and turn again
fo our Southland so fair
Strong and determined to attain
And hold a freeman's share
When ail mankind their freedom woo
Shall turn to thee and say well done.
FREE MEN.
1. Strangers are we to scenes agone far aye
When Negroes knew of nought but to obey
Possessed no will they dared to call their own
When white men chose to make their wishes
known.
2. Standing we may be on the brink of hell
Threatened with dire destruction who can tell
If in that abyss soon we may be found
But there, like Israel, we may find dry grou^
3. At all events we're in to face the fates
And if to hotter fumes than fury hates
We are consigned our spirits to consume
Let there fair freedom's vows black hell illume.
4. Others can boast of sires prowess bold
Ages of culture, wealth but yet untold.
Wc point to recent years of slavery's toil
And claim a home on this our sweat bought soil.
5. In this, our claim, we know we're in the right
But if iye are forced to pit it against might
38
May future bards to coming ages tell
How just our Cause, our foemen why they fell.
6. We boast not nor are eager for the fray
But if perchance some stern thermopolea,
Some Alamo should claim our unwrought dust
This be our boast, we know our cause is just.
7. Two hundred years of unrequited toil
Besides a home on Afric's sunny soil
Kindred bereft consigned to oceans deeps
These are but few, the items justice keeps
8. "A white man's country" oft is boasted loud
By hair brained, red boned friends who are too
proud
To know they are but fools and have no claim
To any soil requiring honest fame.
<90 THE IXAWE,
Honorable Tbonjas Bracket Reed.
Most noble of the noblest souls of men,
From whom great powers dared display their force,
Nor could te curbed to curry favors when
The nations weal resided in their course.
We pause to drop a tear upon thy tomb,
Then onward move to do thee honor more.
Reflecting that such beings must succumb, '
i^tyre's law before the triumph '
39
'1 was thine to soar above men's petty powers,
Too high to fill the chair of president,
Though enemies did style thee with the Czars,
They lived to see thy merits and repent.
When time brings on the sober after thought,
That reckons merit shown of filthy dross,
We will thy virtues cherish as we ought,
And know thy vices saved thee from the cross,
Ruler of rulers thou wast in thy time,
And if thou ruled then with an iron rod,
Thou hast a nation's gratitude sublime,
And hearest a "well done" from the throne of God,
Then to thy rest while angels chant thy praise,
And men in honor bow the stately heads,
Sleep well and know that centuries of grace,
Will but the brighter show thy worthy deeds,
Persecutions of the kind indulged by our presji
against weak defenseless and harmless people can b^t
redound to the lasting hurt and inevitable disgrace pf
the persecutors. The public press all over the coun¬
try willingly and anxiously lends its aid the endeavor
pf vicious white men with a purpose, to hold us the
'Negro man to scorn infamy denunciation and as one
capable of crimes against womanhood desiring imme¬
diate destruction. The newspapers are so anxiously
hungry for such news that often they riish to press on
the barest suspicion that such cripie ha§ been commits
fed ^U.
41)
The idea seems to be to create a more complete
distrust and fear on th« part of white women for col¬
ored men. When the truth is, there is no foundation
for the fear. White women are just as safe today in
their homes with Negro men of this generation _ as
guardians, as their mothers were before and during
the war when guarded by our fathers. There is m the
breast of too many white men th« unreasonable jeal¬
ousy born of the fear that their women might in some
instances prove as fal^e with Negro men as they, the
white men have with Negro women.
There may bt a few isolated, genuine cases of
rape commitfc&d by colored men as charged, but it re¬
quired a very bold fiend, one ready to commit suicide
to approach a pure woman of a superior race for such
purpose Aftd this purpose in that event would be
just as laudable as the White man who yields to a sim¬
ilar passion with a Negro woman. But the brute cour¬
age, tob often the white man's boast, must in the black
so often surpass the same virtue? In the white that
there could be no comparison.
But why should the white press lend hs power to
this effort, to accuse the Negro man falsely to the
respectable ^ world? Are they not aware that when,
the search lights are turaedon they will be seen in a.
dark place?
The pit you are digging therein ye shall fall. The
gallows ye build thereon shall ye hang It is known
thai ninety-five per ctnt of the illegitimate mulattoes
4ii the world are from white fathers, not from white
molhfera. Therefore the white men are hot fit to pro¬
scribe a standard of morals for the; white wom£n and
colored men to be governed by. "Dd unto others as
you would have th.em do unto you." If the White men
41
Have done or are doing this 'tis high tkne we bad <Hir
guna.
Will the press continue to advertise to the shame
of the white women and to the hurt of the colored
men the false imputations? which tend to the depri=
vations of justice the guilty parties- Officers ami de=
tectives are in this section almost invariably put tm
the trail of a Negro. 1 his fact is thoroughly known
to all who may be inclined to commit these deeds and
since they offer a safe and sure retreat, Why will not
the guilty parties take advantage of the same?
This proneness of the press to degrade the de¬
graded in this particular, coupled with the too oft man¬
ifested desire of white men to make the most unfavor¬
able impression on the minds of white women relative
to colored men and the very thoroughly tendency tafi
the part of a large and growing number of white out¬
laws of every description including the rapes, are in¬
ducements of the strongest character to the white evil
doer, who when his deed is done has but to join the
hue and cry—Negro. Lynch! Lynch! which is taken
up by the white press and heralded reverberating
throughout the land.
Eventually it will 4evelop that three fourths of
the rape charges against Negroes are not genuine and
that an understanding amounting to almost an organ¬
ization exists among a growing class of dissolute va¬
grant white men in the South which has recently car¬
ried their operations to the North.
No ingenuity is required on the part of the fee
criminals to deceive a self deceived public. They have
the most powerful agency of our boasted civilisation,
the press as their tool This formidable intrepid ally
42
and most destructive adversary is ever ready to de¬
ceive the public and point detectives the wrong road
to catch the culprit. Hence our over jealous public
led in too many instances by the original culprit will
take no chances of an- hence a "Confession
to Judge I^ynch, witnessed only by the favored few of
his honor in justice Court, a convenient oak, or a
roasting flame by the way settles the difficulty.
Stilling a triffling tongue, stimulating noisy gos¬
sip, spreading scandal to the detriment of an unfor¬
tunate race of men and enriching the press and the
best reporters.
But can humanity afford thus to be hoodwinked?
Does the crime of rape increase or decrease? See the
statistics. What good comes out of lynching? Evi¬
dently the right parties are not reached by the lynch¬
ers.
If Judge Lynch would turn his attention to the
mob leaders and the unscrupulous press he would ob¬
viously put down rape and lynching and put himselfj
out of business.
What will come of it and when and will it end?1
Who will beared the "Lyon in his den?" When will
the public become alarmed and demand a halt? An
early investigation? In short when will our Christian
civilization assert itself? Make good its pledges and
save humanity?
Every popular breeze, every hum of the press
brings to our listening ears the sound of lawlessness
from every part of the Christian world, but most espe¬
cially here at home, in our own Christian America the
boast of civilization for popular liberty, "the land of
prosperity." "Tfye lan4 oi tjie free and tji$ hojn^
43
of the brave."
Here we have the proud Anglo-Saxon rulers of
Empires whose word is law in every hemisphere and
here we have the lowly descended sons of Ham from a
benighted continent wherein for* centuries they have
ndulged the savage practices of the beast of the forest
till drunk with moral depravity. What a blessing it
was! Whose resultant benefits no guage known to hu-
manskill could measure or point faint idea of the good
to be derived by bringing this, the lowest under the
ennobling influence of the highest type of mankind.
America so nobly fitted to be the field of operation
Ivhere in the great humanizing, Christianizing, civili¬
sing and harmonizing all humanity, is selected by a
Irise providence for this purpose, kept hidden from
lie view of Christian man by the intervening screen of
lie Dark Ages till Christianity was fifteen centuries
■d, when Columbus drew the curtain and revealed the
Bpauty.
First man gazed,
Then were amazed,
He next embraced,
Has now disgraced.
Disgraced a heritage so fair, impossible, incredi¬
ble. But listen, these the ripe years of the twentieth
century we are confronted with deeds of atrocity cal¬
culated to shadow the crimes of blackest Africa where
men for hunger's sake slay eat their kind. Can a deed
more gruesome than this be presented? patience—
Read but the press dispatches with which our noble
civilization daily furnishes us and see "A brute in hu.
fprm # Houston, Texas July 21, cpjpmjtted tfo§
44
usual crime • n the" person of Mrs. ■- •<' -• . A sheriff^
posse arrested a Neg q supposed to be the guilty party!
who was subsequently taken from the officers by a
mob of several outraged citizens who with such instru¬
ments as they found nearest severed the joints aud af¬
terwards burned the body,
Editor's Comment.
"Our fair women must be protected from the vtH
black brutes wh> roam over the country at large seek*
mg to rob our wives and children of that virtue dear
er to them than life. We are not in favor of mobvio
lence but the law courts are too slow and there are tec
many loop fooles in the law through which the culprii
may escape."
Missionary in Central Africa to Cannier
Chief —
M.—But you are commanded—"Thou shalt not
kill."
C. C.--lf I did not kill him he would kill me.
M,— You must love your enemies, do good to
tliem who dispitefully use < ous and you must knox^
how horrible to think of cooking and eating a fellow
man
C, C.—But I am hungry and why should the flesh
go to waste?
M.—A disgrace.
Southeki* Fakirs jn i he North.
Hark ye unsuspecting Yankees
While for good c|ee.d pas* \yg |baafc j-je
And along with justice rank thee,
Yet we fear noblti noii>(Js
Arc being doctored by deceptions.
Base, ignoble, in cot>ijiructi<>»
Foreign to fhefr right £Qnc£pt>ojys
And regard fo? huinan kjiid.
There are fakes within thy holders
Acting under Southern orders
To mistreat the lovely daughters
And on Negroes turn the blame.
In disguise they sc-ek the victims
While some Negro unsuspecting
Is beguilded into conviction
And his doom the rope and flame.
If you'll call thy secret service,
Tq ytmr and take no £s>v?ee
Yw may find that in these versus
I have sought the truth to teH
But if you'll not heed my warning
You'll regret when some fine morning
You'll awake to tell the dawning
•'Land of freedom fare thee well."
These same fakes have roamed t&es© -f£gkms,
Since from here the Northern legiofos,
Left this land the curse peons
And their fair homes proudly sought.
46
K.lu kiux first the called their klans
Reveled in their vicious plans
With no care for God's nor man's
Desire; nor Christian thought.
6. Texas black with crime lies bleeding,
Prostrate Georgia all unheeding,
Massachusetts chides their reeding
And to her their vengeance draws.
Forth they come their viles beguilding
This fair land with freedom smiling
Into basest crimes reviling
And rejecting righteous laws.
Newspaper Spats.
Richmond Times:—
President Roosevelt has shocked the nation by in
viting the Negro B. T. Washington to dine with his
family at the White House.
W. H. Goode:—
Pooh! B. T. Washington is not the first nor the
only Negro invited by a president to dine at the White
House—Douglass, Bruce, Pinchback, Langston, El¬
liott and numbers of others have been entertained
there by presidents before the world knew Washing¬
ton was a Negro. But the jolly part of this affair is
that the few disgruntled malcontents now, imagine
il
themselves which less than forty years ago they imag*
ined they were not—Strange world this and strangers
in it.
Tim^s Dispatch,
Richmond, Va,
Dear Editor:-
Relative to the reported outrageous occurence of
Friday night whereby it is alleged that a mulatto and
two other Negroes attacked Mr. James S. Shelton and
Miss Mullen at the Golf Club just after they had
alighted from the car—I have this to say, a few nights
prior, a lot of strikers and sympathizers were arrested
in the act of violence. The next day and afterwards
the papers gave warning that the public would no
longer sympathize with the strikers because of this
their shown attitude. These parties got off the car
at this out of the way place, were attacked in the
dark and yet the man avers that his assailants were
Negroes and the one who came nearest and attacked
first where he could be the better seen was a mulat¬
to—would he swear to this?
Forthwith we point through humbler Genesis,
No worthier sire than be thy nemesis.
In the light of reason and Christian manhood can
We afford to pretend these were Negroes? And if
they Were can we believe as the report says city Ne¬
groes? They did not go there on the same car with
thejparties attacked and thay didjnot come on the next
lar—Could they have been in waiting for these parties?
Absurd.
How mil eh manhood is required and iti VfUM Me
we benefited by heapi&g sueh false reports on a defeil-
less people? Where-is our chivalry? No man in the
light of reason can believe this, but it was a mistaken
identity as to the color of the jnen—They watched
that car to intomb the passengers.
If might is right,
And that is what we claim it,
I hen might is tight
Whatever else we name it,
Might then we'll have
Obtain as we may, Sir.
For right to save
Becomes a mighty saviour^
—hozie'k.
Right in his might
I? doubtless right my friend.