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 XX 
 
 
Mississippi 
 
 BY 
 
 S. F. DAVIS 
 
 Copyrighted 1914 by S. F. Davis, lndianola, Miss. 
 
PREFACE 
 
 It seems to be customary for every one who write any- 
 thing for the public, to give some reason, excuse or apol- 
 ogy for so doing, but in offering this little bunch of literary 
 efforts to the public, I have no excuse or apology to offer 
 with them. In the articles herein contained, as well as 
 everything else I have ever written for the public in the 
 past, I have endeavored to give the reader both entertain- 
 ment and information, and if I have succeeded in doing 
 either, I do not count my labor lost. 
 
 Very truly yours, 
 
 S. F. DAVIS. 
 
 JUL-:! 1314 ©CLA376529 
 
S. F. DAVIS 
 
The Negro in His Lair. 
 
 From early childhood I have been a constant observer 
 and an ardent admirer of the wondrous works of God. In 
 my early days birds, bees, bugs and flowers were a never- 
 ending source of pleasure to me; and when I was a lad of 
 more mature years, I have lain for hours in the shade of 
 some friendly tree and played with a toad frog or June 
 bug until the dinner horn blew, when I was erroneously 
 supposed to have been diligently engaged in hoeing cotton. 
 In after years, I have sat silently on the seashore and 
 watched the tide ebb and flow; I have climbed the lofty 
 mountains and looked down upon the clouds; I have then 
 descended into the Missisippi Valley and stood on the 
 banks of the world's greatest river and watched its turbu- 
 lent waters roll by; I have also looked above into the 
 starry-decked dome of heaven and gazed upon the far- 
 away planets and comets performing their stupendous 
 and harmonious revolutions; and have seen written on the 
 face of all things the glory and wonder of the supreme 
 architect of the universe, but I have always regarded the 
 negro as his masterpiece. The negro stands alone in a 
 class by himself; and while the Yazoo and Mississippi 
 delta is peculiarly suited to his needs, yet, he can adjust 
 himself to any kind of climate or conditions and live and 
 die happy under the most trying circumstances. 
 
 He can lie down beneath the scorching rays of a noon- 
 day 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 only in a pair of 
 cotton overalls and a blue jumper. He can also 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 per- 
 fectly comfortable, and, as strange as it may seem, any- 
 body's clothes will fit him and look nice on him. King 
 
Solomon, in his declining years, when he had become 
 thoroughly disgusted 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 free exhibition to the grand concert, and that there 
 was nothing to it, or words to that effect. But it will be 
 remembered that King Solomon never had any negroes to 
 deal with; nor ever tried to make a cotton crop on buck- 
 shot land after an overflow, or he would have had a new 
 problem to solve every day of his eventful career. 
 
 There is nothing else like the negro anywhere under the 
 sun. He sees all things, hears all things, believes all things, 
 and has implicit faith in everything he sees or hears, and 
 stands ready at all times to step aboard of anything that 
 comes along, from a young mule to a flying machine. 
 
 Wireless telegraphy is nothing new to him. He has 
 used it for ages; every negro's mouth is a transmitter and 
 every ear a receiver. If anything of importance happens 
 on a plantation tonight, every negro for forty miles around 
 will know all about it by morning, but if you happen to be 
 a peace officer do not ask him anything about it for that 
 has a tendency to make him forgetful and causes him to 
 close up like a clam. 
 
 If you ever arrive in a delta town, on the train on Sun- 
 day, and the whole colored population is not at the depot 
 to meet you, do not get off, for you may know of a cer- 
 tainty that some catastrophe has just struck that town. 
 
 Saturday is the negro's day by special custom and com- 
 mon consent, and if you have any business to attend to in a 
 delta town, on Saturday, attend to it early and get off of 
 the street before you get hurt. A negro cannot see you 
 Saturday, unless you owe him something, and if you get in 
 his way, he is liable to step on you, sit down on you, or 
 back you up against a brick wall and smother you to 
 death. He does not usually do these things, or any of 
 them, through any evil design, as many people sometimes 
 suppose, but he simply cannot help it if you get in his way, 
 for he is busy and cannot look out for you. Saturday is his 
 "Rashions day," and news exchange day, and in addition 
 
to having all of those things on his mind, he has to shake 
 hands with every other negro in town, and hug every ne- 
 gro woman he meets, and you had hetter take out an acci- 
 dent policy or get off of the streets. 
 
 The standard "rashions" for a negro is a peck of corn 
 meal, three pounds of salt meat, two pounds of sugar, one 
 pound of coffee, one gallon of hlack molasses and one plug 
 of either "Red Coon," "Blue Mule," "Dixie Land," or 
 "Wild Goose" chewing tobacco a week, but he can con- 
 sume all of this at one sitting if necessary, or if he is work- 
 ing for you and boarding himself, he can live a week on 
 three soda crackers, a box of sardines and five cents worth 
 of cheese. In other words, his stomach is built on the 
 same general plan of an old-fashioned accordian, and 
 either contracts or expands according to the pressure 
 brought to bear upon it. 
 
 He is also immune to nearly all kinds of poisons, and 
 can swallow the most deadly drugs with impunity. I re- 
 member of having a negro working for me one time who 
 was having chills and who was suffering from severe 
 backaches. I got him a bottle of chill tonic, to take, and a 
 bottle of liniment to rub his back with. The liniment 
 was labeled in box car letters: "Poison. For External 
 Use Only," and I cautioned him about it when I gave it to 
 him, but for three days and nights before I found it out, he 
 had been rubbing his back with the chill tonic and taking 
 a teaspoonful of the liniment three times a day before 
 each meal with excellent results. On another occasion I 
 was sick myself and had a negro to wait upon me, and the 
 doctor in charge of my case opened a can of antiphlogis- 
 tine to make a plaster for my side, and left the can on the 
 kitchen table, and when my negro went in to get his supper 
 he mistook it for a can of peanut butter and ate the whole 
 of it without ever discovering his mistake. 
 
 The negro does not lay up treasures on earth where 
 moth and rust would corrode them or where thieves might 
 break through and steal, but when he has any money or 
 other valuable thing he immediately puts it in circulation, 
 and the things in which he usually invests are never of a 
 
8 
 
 very permanent or lasting nature. He spends much money 
 each year for legal and medical advice, presumably for 
 the purpose of finding out what he ought to do so that he 
 may go and do the opposite, for it is a well known fact that 
 a negro was never known to shut a gate or follow any- 
 body's advice about anything. 
 
 He is also an ardent admirer of the work turned out by 
 the dental surgeon, and down deep in every negro's heart 
 there is a secret longing to some day have a gold tooth in 
 front, one on a plate so that he can take it out and look at 
 it and put it back in place at will. 
 
 He is likewise a great admirer of art and in nearly every 
 negro's home, be it ever so humble, there hangs a life-size 
 crayon portrait of himself on the wall right opposite the 
 front door where you will be sure to see it as you enter. 
 The rest of his surplus money he usually spends for enter- 
 tainment, preferably an excursion, but anything else in 
 motion will do. I have frequently stood on the street cor- 
 ner, on a cold cloudy winter day, and watched as many as 
 fifty negroes who did not have, on an average, fifty cents 
 each; and none of whom had on enough clothes to flag a 
 hand car, clinging to a merry-go-round as it went round- 
 and-round grinding out that well known and much be- 
 loved melody, "Oh, Bill Bailey, Why Don't You Come 
 Home?" and their front teeth shining like the keys of a 
 piano, while hundreds of others, who did not have the 
 price of a ride, were standing in the half frozen mud shoe 
 mouth deep, cheering them as they came round. 
 
 All things are pleasing to him. A circus or a funeral is 
 equally enjoyable, but a protracted meeting followed by 
 a big baptizing or a term of the circuit court followed by 
 a public hanging is his chiefest delight. 
 
 The negro was once the white man's slave, but that was 
 only for a short time, and was a part of the great scheme 
 which God had in mind to better prepare him for the en- 
 joyment of the things which he meant to bestow upon him 
 in the future. By long and close association with the white 
 man, the negro has learned all of his ways, and can read 
 at a glance his innermost thoughts, and can now size him 
 
up and classify him just as accurate as a cotton buyer 
 does the different grades of cotton, and can do it much 
 quicker. 
 
 He is no longer a slave to man or mammon, and verily 
 that scripture which says, "The first shall be last and the 
 last shall be first," has already come to pass and the negro 
 now has a reserve seat in the front row. If any good 
 things are to be had he is sure to get his share. One day a 
 negro asked me if I thought a negro had a soul. I told 
 him that I most assuredly did, and if he did not have one, 
 it was the only thing I had ever heard of a white man 
 having that a negro did not get it if he stayed with him 
 long enough. 
 
 The negro has no great problems to solve. There is no 
 race question so far as he is concerned. He enjoys the 
 society of all races, ages and nationalities, and will mingle 
 with any of them. He enjoys with equal pleasure the 
 companionship of a five-year-old white boy or an aged 
 Chinaman who can neither speak or understand a single 
 word of English, for in either of those cases he gets to do 
 nearly all of the talking. 
 
 The tariff question or the currency question does not in- 
 terest him in the least. Silver is his standard and he does 
 not want any other kind of money. Neither does the Mex- 
 ican situation worry him. All of those things are the 
 white man's troubles. But if the white folks want to whip 
 Mexico or anybody else for any cause, or without any 
 cause for that matter, and will furnish him the arms and 
 ammunition, and will back him up in it, he will be glad to 
 do it for them. 
 
 The road question was the only question that ever gave 
 the negro any real trouble, but that was when he was sub- 
 ject to road duty ten days out of every year, but happily 
 for him the roads of the delta are now being worked by 
 taxation, and all he has to do is to pack them down after 
 they have been constructed. 
 
 Neither does the levees or the want of levees bother him 
 any. That is some more of the white folks' trouble. If we 
 have an overflow or do not have one it is all right with 
 
10 
 
 him. If we do have one, he is the first to have a boat and 
 get out into it and paddle around from morning until night 
 with the blessed assurance that there will be no work done 
 while it lasts, and that he will draw his rations from his 
 landlord or from the government, and sometimes both, 
 until the water subsides. 
 
 Whenever a negro tires of country life, he moves to 
 town, acquires a charcoal bucket and a tailor's goose; 
 forms an alliance with some white man's cook, and with 
 his living thus assured, he opens a cleaning and pressing 
 establishment. He then gets out Monday morning and 
 gathers in the Sunday clothes of all the white clerks in 
 town, and after wearing them himself every night during 
 the week, he gets up early Saturday morning and treats 
 them to a gasoline bath, and flattens them out with a red 
 hot iron and rushes them home to their owner so that he 
 may wear them Sunday, collects $1.50 for his services in 
 that behalf and goes on his way rejoicing. But should 
 there be any special function in town Saturday night 
 which he wishes to attend, he holds back the best suit of 
 clothes which he happens to have on hand and wears them 
 to that, and carries them home Sunday morning, if he 
 should wake up in time, otherwise its owner can lay in bed 
 over Sunday, and he will bring the clothes back the fol- 
 lowing Monday. 
 
 If perchance his fancy does not run to cleaning clothes, 
 he gets himself a gasoline stove and other paraphernalia 
 wherewith to defeat the vagrant statute, and sets up a 
 lunch counter where he serves all such as care to come his 
 way, irrespective of race, color or previous condition of 
 servitude, with hamburgers, hot cat-fish, and beef sausage, 
 and sometimes sweet spirits of fermenti on the side. 
 
 But should neither of these vocations appeal to him, he 
 usually opens a colored barber shop with a pool room and 
 a "crap table" in the rear, and proceeds to enjoy life until 
 the city officials become obnoxious to him and he then 
 goes back to the quiet country life, which is usually right 
 after the Christmas holidays, and joins himself to a cotton 
 planter for a period of twelve months or more and by his 
 
11 
 
 certain written contract duly executed in duplicate, obli- 
 gates and binds himself, heirs and assigns, to cultivate and 
 gather a crop of cotton on the land therein described, and 
 on the strength thereof, proceeds to eat up anywhere from 
 $5.00 to $300.00 worth of grub while he is waiting for the 
 ground to get dry enough to plow, and it very frequently 
 happens that when the trees begin to bud; and when the 
 birds begin to whistle; and the grasshopper begins to sing; 
 Mr. Negro is seized with wanderlust, and he suddenly dis- 
 appears and the people who once knew him know him no 
 more forever. 
 
 Every delta town also has its full quota of negro women, 
 who like the lily, toil not, neither do they spin, yet the 
 Queen of Sheba in all of her glory was never clad like unto 
 one of them. 
 
 Surely the negro is fearfully and wonderfully made and 
 his ways are past finding out. 
 
The Reason Why a Negro is 
 Called a "Coon." 
 
 Nearly every one knows, in a general way, that there is, 
 in all of the Southern states, a certain small animal closely 
 allied to the bear, that is listed in Webster's Dictionary as 
 "rac-coon," and they also know, or should know, if they 
 have been south of the Ohio river, that this animal has 
 long since lost the "rac" and is now known as just plain 
 simple "coon," which is pronounced "Koon." 
 
 They also know, in the same general way, that there are 
 many negroes in the same locality and that they are often 
 referred to as "Coons," but not all of them know the 
 reason why. 
 
 It is argued by some well-known scientists, that all men, 
 irrespective of race, color or previous condition of servi- 
 tude, are lineal descendants of a prehistorical bald face 
 monkey. And while I do not subscribe to that doctrine, 
 still, I must admit that there are many men, who, from 
 their facial expressions, mental achievements and muscu- 
 lar movements, seem to bear out this doctrine, and when- 
 ever I meet a man who claims to be a grandson of a 
 baboon or an ourang-outang, I always take it for granted 
 that he knows, or ought to know, more about his own fam- 
 ily history and ancestors than I do, and for that reason, I 
 never argue the question with him and accept his state- 
 ment as to his individual case as being true. 
 
 But be that as it may, the colored brother also bears 
 many striking resemblances to the "coon," not so much in 
 facial expressions as the marked similarity of habits and 
 feet. They each have very dark India-rubber feet built on 
 the same identical pattern, differing only in size; and they 
 each have an ungovernable appetite for a certain specie of 
 Southern fish commonly called a "grunnel" and which is 
 
i*V" 
 
 13 
 
 found in great numbers in all shallow lakes and cypress 
 breaks. 
 
 Both the negro and the real "coon" each have a great 
 fancy for all kinds of domestic fowls, and any experienced 
 negro house-boy, or yard-man, can go into your poultry 
 house the darkest night that ever descended upon a lost 
 and sin cursed world, and tell the kind, age, grade and sex 
 of all fowls therein by deftly running his fingers over the 
 toes on the roost pole, in the same manner that a musician 
 tests the tone of a piano by running his fingers over the 
 keys, and can do it without ever disturbing their lightest 
 dreams. 
 
 Neither the negro or the "coon" ever suffer from insom- 
 nia while the sun shines, and can sleep soundly anywhere 
 during the day wherever they may be, whether that be on 
 a barren island in the midst of the sea or in a rolling mill. 
 But when darkness settles down upon the earth, they each 
 become active and wide-awake, or in the language of the 
 poet: 
 
 "The rac-coon is a mighty man, 
 He rambles in the dark; 
 He never knows what trouble is, 
 Till he hears old Rattler bark." 
 The same beautiful thought so aptly expressed by that 
 author in reference to the "coon" is also applicable to the 
 negro, but the words should be revised so as to read : 
 "The negro is a mighty man, 
 He rambles in the dark; 
 He never knows what trouble is, 
 
 Till he hears the Capt'n's automatic 44 begin 
 to bark." 
 From time immemorial, the negro and the "coon" have 
 been closely and intimately associated together, and be it 
 said to the credit of the former, that they have certainly 
 led the latter a merry chase, as will readily be seen by the 
 number of pelts of the latter tacked on to the sunny side 
 of the cabin of the average plantation negro. 
 
 Well do I remember, when I was a small boy, just be- 
 ginning to study the glorious history of my country, that 
 
14 
 
 the thing that impressed me most of all about the picture 
 of the birthplace of Abraham Lincoln, the great American 
 statesman, and the emancipator of the negro, was the 
 "coon" skin tacked on the outer wall of his humble cot- 
 tage, and I now know the significance of that picture; and 
 further know that none other than a master hand of a true 
 son of the bright and sunny South executed it, because 
 every Southern man knows that no picture that pertains 
 O anything connected with the negro in any way — be it 
 ever so slight or indirect — is ever complete without a 
 "coon" skin showing up somewhere in the background. 
 
 Whenever it becomes necessary to catch a negro, or a 
 "coon" for any purpose, the same methods are employed 
 in each case. There are three ways by which either can be 
 caught, namely: by traps, by still hunting, and with 
 hounds. If a trapper wants to catch a "coon" in a trap, he 
 either baits it with sardines, salmon or some other kind of 
 loud smelling canned fish; or he baits it with some bright 
 object, say a piece of broken plate about the size of a silver 
 dollar, or a little piece of new tin, and if a "coon" passes 
 that way, he will most likely fall a victim of either his ap- 
 petite, or his curiosity. He simply cannot resist the temp- 
 tation. 
 
 If an installment man or a peddler wishes to trap a 
 negro for his pelt, he goes about it in the same manner. 
 He first shows him some flashy plated jewelry, lace cur- 
 tains, hand mirrors or safety razors, and if none of these 
 things will land him, he goes out to his wagon and gets a 
 can or bottle of something and opens it up and sticks it 
 under the negro's nose and lets him smell it for a few 
 minutes, and his downfall is then assured. 
 
 When a negro wants a "coon" for table purposes, he 
 either locates his den and hangs around and shoots him 
 when he comes out, or else he goes after him on the 
 ground, with a pack of blue speckled hounds, and runs 
 him down, but in either case he gets him just the same. 
 
 If a white man wants to catch a negro for the purpose of 
 lynching him, or sending him to jail, he uses the same 
 simple "coon" tactics on him. He either locates the house 
 
15 
 
 where the negro's "lady friend" is stopping and waylays 
 that until he catches the negro slipping in or out some 
 morning before day, and nabs him; or else he gets the 
 state's bloodhounds and runs him down. 
 
 I do not claim, nor do I believe, the negro is any blood 
 relation to a "coon," but on account of the similarity of 
 their habits, and the long and close connection existing 
 between them, the negro has long since been aptly termed, 
 a "coon." 
 
A Negro's Version of Heaven 
 
 and Hell. 
 
 One Sunday night in the month of August, some years 
 ago, I was passing by Mount Ever Rest Colored Church, 
 the doors and windows were open and the congregation 
 was singing: 
 
 "God showed Noah by the rain bow sign, 
 No more water, but the fire next time," 
 and as they finished the last stanza, the Rev. George W. 
 Flowers, a minister of ebony hue, and who was an ac- 
 quaintance of mine, arose and began to address them, as 
 follows : 
 
 "Bretheren, and sisteren, my discourse dis even am 
 gwine to be on the beautifulness of heavn, and de horriful- 
 ness of hell, and one or de other of dem two things ought 
 to reach every man, 'oman and chile in this vast assembli- 
 ment. 
 
 "My text am like de brains of de most of my hearers 
 here tonight, somewhat scatterin, but de thought dat I 
 wishes to convey to you am gwine to be more constimated 
 and to de pint. 
 
 "My text am scattered all through dis good old book 
 from kiver to kiver, like chicken feed in de straw, and if 
 any of you smart Alecks doubts any thing dat I has to say 
 here to you here tonight, you can take dis book down and 
 sarch out des vital thruths for yerselves, after I am 
 through wid my expostulations. 
 
 "I wishes to further say, dat I sees in dis congregation, a 
 big flock of black sheep without a sheperd; one in which 
 de bline am 'temptin to lead de bline. De very openin 
 song dat you has just sung show dat you am followin after 
 false doctrin. And I mought just as well tell you now as 
 any other time, by way of introductatory, dat my remarks 
 
17 
 
 to you on dis auspicious occasion am not gwine to be long 
 de old and well beaten path followed by all of my prepos- 
 sessors, but am gwine to be entirely new to de most of 
 you. 
 
 "Now hear me people, and give your ears over to under- 
 standin. De Bible specifies dat all flesh am not de same 
 flesh; dat dare am one kine of flesh of men; another kine 
 >f birds; and still another of fish and fowls; and it mought 
 a ve further said dat all flesh of men am not de same kine 
 of meat, for we has de flesh of de white folks; de flesh of 
 de nigger; de flesh of de Injun; and at last de flesh of de 
 Chinaman, all differin in glory de same as one star differs 
 from another star in glory. 
 
 "Listen now, and hear me people, all heavens, and all 
 hells, am not de same kine either. 
 
 "(I am gwine to ax de brother dat is settin de closest to 
 dat dawg to please kick him out of dis sanctuary 'fore I 
 proceeds any further, and I wants to again call de atten- 
 tion to all of you to dat scripture dat says, 'cast not your 
 pearls before a hawg, nor feed holy things to er dawg.' 
 Dat am de third time now dat I has seed that same dawg 
 trying to lift dat kiver from off dat sacrement beard, and I 
 am gwine to ax you once more to leave dem dawgs at 
 home in de future. ***** Thank you my brother, be 
 seated.) 
 
 "Now hear me people and harken unto my voice, don't 
 you all know dat de Bible says dat dare am seven heavens; 
 and don't you all further know dat wid all dat room dat 
 dey aint gwine to be anways crowded; and dat dare will 
 be plenty of room for all dat gits dare widout mixin up de 
 different races. 
 
 "All you niggers what think you gwine to set down and 
 eat wid de white people at de feast of de lamb am gwine 
 to be disappinted. De white folks aint gwine to stand for 
 nothin like dat, and 'sides dat if you was in dare, de way 
 dey am gwine to have dare grub cooked would'nt suit you 
 no how, and you mought just as well git dat off your mine, 
 for you ain't gwine to be dare. 
 
18 
 
 "De New Jerusalem aint gwine to be no 'coon town,' and 
 it ain't gwine to have no ile mills, or compresses in it; and 
 dare ain't gwine to be no fruit stands or lunch counter on 
 dem golden streets. Dat town am gwine to be strictly for 
 de white folks, and dey ain't gwine to have no niggers 
 blockin up dem pearly gates. No nigger is ever gwine to 
 git any further in dat town dan Paradise Ally. 
 
 "De nigger settlement in heaven am gwine to be some 
 miles out, on de east side of de River of Life, and hear me 
 people, and give heed to my supplication, de cat-fish in dat 
 river am gwine to be as big as a whale * * * *'cordin to 
 de size of de whale, of course * * and the watermelons 
 and sweet 'taters am gwine to grow wile and spontanious 
 all up and down dat fertile valley. 
 
 "Oh my brethern, me thinks I see dat place now, dimly 
 in de distance, through de twilight; and I thinks I can see 
 wid my mine eye, a twelve pound 'possum wid his tail 
 twined 'round a 'simmon limb and a young Plymouth 
 Rock rooster roostin on de lot fence. * * * Glory be to 
 God in the highest . Amen. 
 
 "But bretheren, hear me now, and despise not the mes- 
 senger of de Lord, what am you gwine to do on dat awful 
 day of judgment; dat day when de Lord of Lords and 
 King of Kings comes down in all of his glory to judge dis 
 old world. Dat am not gwine to be any perlice court trial. 
 False swearin ain't gwine to git you nothin dare. Dat am 
 gwine to be one time when you am gwine to git all dat is 
 comin to you, and den some, even to de uttermost farthin 
 — whatsumever dat mought be. 
 
 "Oh my bretheren, it makes me tremble, tremble, when 
 I thinks of what you gwine to do when dat trial is over; 
 and when de good Sheperd 'gins to separate de goat from 
 de sheeps. Oh my brother, I 'magines I can hear him now 
 sayin, 'Depart from me, you big bobtail billy goat from 
 Riverside Plantation, git off de exhibition ground alto- 
 gether, I never knewed you.' Den dare will be weepin, 
 wailin and mashin of teeth; and de wicked will be cast out 
 into outer darkness widout so much as a two-bit three 
 burner headlight on; and on down into dat awful region 
 
19 
 
 where de sun never shines, and where the thermometer 
 stands fifty degrees below zero on de Fourth of July. 
 
 "Oh my bretheren, and sisteren, I beseches you to be- 
 ware of dat awful place where hell is friz over all de year 
 round; and where de devil am gwine to roll you in de snow 
 throughout de countless ages of eternety. 
 
 "Oh my brother, think about what you gwine to do when 
 dem awful icicles go slidin down your back. Oh what am 
 "on gwine to do in dat awful hour. De north pole what 
 Dr. Cook has done told so many horrifyin and conflictin 
 tales about, am a plum tropical climate 'side of dat awful 
 region. 
 
 "Oh, my bretheren, de very words in your mouth am 
 gwine to freeze hard and drap down on dat icy floor and 
 rattle like tinklin brass and clashin symbles, when you 
 tries to cry out in your agony. De very breath of your 
 nostrils am gwine to freeze and beat you in de face like a 
 snow storm; and hail and sleet am gwine to blow and beat 
 on dat old leaky roof of hell continously. 
 
 "Oh my bretheren, let me exhaust you to quit your cus- 
 sin; lyin; stealin; crap shootin; whisky drinkin, and back- 
 biting one another to de white folks, and prepare your- 
 selves for dat awful day what am bound to come. 
 
 "And now may de good Lord have mercy on your poor 
 ignited souls 'fore it is everlastinly too late shall ever be 
 my prayer. 
 
 "Now brethern, and sisteren, while de congregation 
 stands, I am gwine to ax all of you to jine me in singin: 
 " 'It rains and it hails, 
 
 And it is cold and stormy weather; 
 De people weeps, and dey wails, 
 And Lord, I flees to Thee for shelter.' " 
 
 On the following morning, I saw George, and said : 
 
 "George, what sort of a hell was that you were telling 
 your people about last night?" 
 
 "Who, me?" 
 
 "Yes, you. I happened to be passing Mount Ever Rest 
 last night and stopped outside and listened to you preach 
 for a while." 
 
20 
 
 "Oh pshaw, Capt'n," said George, with a broad smile on 
 his face, "I know dat de Bible say dat hell am a lake of 
 
 •e and blue stone, but den you knows a nigger well 
 enough to know dat it don't do not good to try to skeer 
 him wid hot weather, and dat if you wants to git next to 
 him. you got to threaten him wid cold." 
 
The Negro Law of /Mississippi. 
 
 There has been much written about the common law, 
 the civil law, the statutory law and the so-called "unwrit- 
 ten law," but we have another important branch of the 
 law here in Mississippi, about which I have never seen 
 anything written, nor do I know of any school in which 
 this branch of the law is taught. It must be learned by ex- 
 perience and observation, and it is one of the most com- 
 plicated branches of the law. I refer to the "negro law." 
 Any attorney from a foreign state might examine our con- 
 stitution and statutes and find that this was a common-law 
 state, and that, except where it was modified by some stat- 
 ute, the common law was in full force and effect, and 
 would further find that, if he was a citizen of the United 
 States, above the age of twenty-one years, of a good moral 
 character, and could pass a satisfactory examination on 
 the common law and the statutory laws of this state, he 
 would be granted a license to practice law in all of her 
 courts, upon his taking the oath prescribed by the statutes. 
 He might also believe himself qualified to do so, but that 
 is where he would make a very great mistake. The law 
 which he has spent time and money to learn, and about 
 which he has been interrogated on his examination for his 
 admittance to the bar, is for the white people of this state; 
 and the law he is going to be called on to practice more 
 than any other, and especially in the early years of his 
 practice, is "negro law," about which (unless he is native 
 born) he knows absolutely nothing, and about which no 
 book on earth, so far as I know, sheds the faintest ray of 
 light. 
 
 The "negro law" of Mississippi is a law of many parts, 
 and is composed partly of the common law, statutory law, 
 and unwritten law, and to be able to tell just which one of 
 these several parts of the law applies in any given case is 
 
22 
 
 an art rarely, if ever, possessed by any one, except the 
 native born attorney of this state. From the letter of our 
 statutes, a stranger might justifiably infer that they ap- 
 plied to all persons within this state, without regard to 
 race, color, or previous condition of servitude, but nothing 
 ? farther from the truth. The judges, lawyers and jurors 
 ^1 know that some of our laws are to be enforced against 
 everybody, while others are to be enforced against the 
 white people, and others are to be enforced only against 
 the negroes, and they are enforced accordingly. 
 
 Descent and Distribution. 
 
 Under our system of administering the law, a negro 
 has the same right to acquire, enjoy and dispose of prop- 
 erty, both real and personal, that a white man has, and 
 when he dies intestate, leaving any property, it is dis- 
 tributed according to our statute of descent and distribu- 
 tion, but beyond that the rule varies and shifts from one 
 to the other; sometimes in favor of the white man, and 
 sometimes in favor of the negro. 
 
 Civil Actions. 
 
 Whenever a civil controversy arises between two or 
 more negroes, it takes its regular course, and is either 
 tried in the justice of the peace court; the circuit court, 
 or the chancery court, depending altogether which court 
 has jurisdiction over the parties and the subject matter, 
 but whenever any minor controversy arises between a 
 white man and any negro working for him, whether civil 
 or criminal, he generally gives the negro an ex-parte 
 hearing in the barn or gin house, at which time and place, 
 he impresses his theory of the case on the aforesaid negro 
 with a piece of gin belting, or about three feet of the butt 
 end of an old buggy trace, which is usually very effective; 
 and the hearing is then adjourned sine die. 
 
 There are some cases, however, that do sometimes arise 
 between a white man and a negro that cannot be adjusted 
 in this manner, and when there is enough property in- 
 volved to justify the employment of counsel to represent 
 
\ 
 
 23 
 
 the respective parties, it is always a wise move on the 
 part of counsel representing the negro to get the case in 
 the chancery court on one ground or other, for by doing 
 so he dodges a jury of twelve white men who might feel 
 embarassed in reaching a proper verdict where the con- 
 troversy was between a white man and a negro; and he 
 also avoids any chance of having the negro embarassed 
 by their verdict. Under our system, if our chancery 
 court once acquires or assumes jurisdiction over any 
 matter for any purpose, it retains jurisdiction over it 
 until it is finally terminated, and adjusts all of the rights 
 of the parties, although they may be purely legal rights 
 as well as equitable rights, and it is always much safer to 
 try your negro's case in that court, if possible. 
 
 Divorce and Alimony. 
 
 We have, in this state, eleven statutory grounds for di- 
 vorce, and if in the course of his married career, a white 
 man is so unfortunate as to get his domestic affairs in such 
 a tangle that it becomes necessary to sever his matri- 
 monial bonds to insure his future happiness, he must 
 allege, and must prove by two or more creditable wit- 
 nesses, in addition to his own testimony, that his wife has 
 at least crossed one of the boundary lines fixed by the 
 statute, and he must pay all cost of the action, including 
 a reasonable attorney's fee to counsel representing him, 
 which ranges anywhere from $50.00 to $500.00 according 
 to the social and financial standing of the parties; and 
 must also furnish his wife with ample means to procure 
 counsel of equal, and in many cases better, qualifications 
 to represent her side of the case; and must pay her ali- 
 mony pendente lite in such sum as the court thinks is in 
 keeping with his ability to pay, and his wife's necessities 
 and social standing demands, before his case can even be 
 heard on its merits, or demerits, as the case may be; and if 
 a decree is finally rendered in his favor, he is frequently 
 required to pay permanent alimony ever afterwards, 
 which ipso facto robs him of all of the pleasures usually 
 attending a legal victory, and which renders him in con- 
 
24 
 
 tempt of court at any time should he fail to promptly pay 
 the alimony on the day it fell due, and which would sub- 
 ject him to a term in the county jail without further notice. 
 Or, in other words, the legislature and the courts of this 
 state have never done much towards encouraging and 
 facilitating divorces among its white citizens. 
 
 Now when it comes to the negroes, the rule is different. 
 In the first place, a negro does not need a divorce, but a 
 great many of them want them and are willing to pay for 
 the privilege of having them; and are always willing to 
 pay the clerk fifty cents extra for a certified copy of the 
 decree, if he will put a gilt seal on it instead of the ordi- 
 nary impress; and seventy-five cents extra where the seal 
 is attached to a little piece of blue ribbon with a scallop 
 in the loose end of it. 
 
 Negro divorces in this state are a staple just the same as 
 cotton or any other native product, and are to be had by 
 him, as a matter of course, whenever he wants one, at a 
 fixed price, to-wit: $25.00 for attorney's fee and $5.00 for 
 court cost, in the delta, and a little less in some parts of 
 the hills. When a negro decides to invest some money in 
 a divorce, he goes to some attorney and makes his wants 
 known; makes a cash deposit of $15.00 as a guarantee of 
 good faith, and makes affidavit to the original bill pre- 
 pared by the aforesaid attorney; and is instructed to be 
 back at the court-house of his county, on the first Tuesday, 
 or the second day of the next term of the chancery court, 
 and to have with him then $15.00 more of the lawful coin 
 of the realm, and two good substantial witnesses, if he can 
 get them — and he usually can — but in no case to overlook 
 that balance of $15.00 which is so essentially necessary to 
 carry his case through without any hitch. The first Tues- 
 day of each term of the chancery court is set apart and 
 specially dedicated to the trial of negro divorce cases; and 
 in order to expedite matters, it is customary with a great 
 many chancellors, especially in the black belt, to appoint 
 the different members of the bar who are not otherwise 
 engaged, to sit as commissioners, or vice-chancellors on 
 these cases, and if, after ascertaining whether or not ser- 
 
25 
 
 vice has been had on the defendant, and after having 
 heard the evidence, or some of it, he should recommend a 
 divorce, the chancellor signs the decree; and the clerk fur- 
 nishes the negro with a copy of same, under the seal of his 
 office, and that is the end of it. 
 
 Criminal Actions. 
 
 There are many things declared by the statutes of this 
 state to be a crime that a negro may do with impunity and 
 never be molested, while a white man for the same act, 
 would get not less than ten years in the penitentiary. For 
 instance, as above stated, divorces are not compulsive with 
 a negro, and he may have two or more wives at one and 
 the same time, with or without being married to any of 
 them and no one care; and it is not uncommon for the pre- 
 siding judge to instruct the grand jury not to take any no- 
 tice of it in case it is called to their attention by any wit- 
 ness who might be before them on other business. On the 
 other hand, if any white man should be guilty of the same 
 offense, he would be promptly indicted, and if convicted, 
 he could safely count on getting anywhere from three to 
 ten years in the penitentiary. 
 
 Gambling. 
 
 Under our criminal statute it is a misdemeanor for any 
 person to wager any money or other valuable thing on 
 
 ny game of chance, or to play for money at any game of 
 cards or dice, etc.; but it is the unwritten law — and the un- 
 written law applies in this case — that all negroes may 
 play a game of chance with dice, commonly called "craps" 
 for money or any other valuable thing, on Saturday nights 
 or any time during the first day of the week commonly 
 called Sunday; provided, however, that said game is con- 
 ducted in a quiet, orderly manner in a vacant cabin or cot- 
 ton house on the back side of the plantation. But it is also 
 the unwritten law of this state, that a white man must not, 
 
 't any time or place, for either love or money or any other 
 valuable thing, play a game of "craps," that being recog- 
 nized as a negro game exclusively. 
 
26 
 
 It is also the unwritten law of this state, that all white 
 persons above the age of twenty-one years, may play a 
 game of chance with cards, commonly called "poker," for 
 money and other valuable things; provided, however, that 
 said game is conducted in a quiet, orderly manner in some 
 private place, after business hours, but a negro must not, 
 under any circumstances, play a game of "poker," for love, 
 money or anything else, that being recognized as strictly a 
 white man's game. 
 
 Larceny. 
 
 If a white man be guilty of petit larceny in this state, he 
 is either lynched, deported or sent to the county convict 
 farm for a long term, but if a negro be guilty of petit lar- 
 ceny, he is either cursed, whipped or made to pay the value 
 of the thing stolen, or is sent to jail, all depending on what 
 he has stolen and from whom he has stolen it. If he steal 
 anything from another negro, he is arrested, tried before a 
 justice of the peace, and usually sent to the county convict 
 farm to work out the fine and cost, especially the cost, but 
 under certain circumstances the fine may be held up dur- 
 ing good behavior, where satisfactory arrangements can 
 be made as to the cost. If he steals from a white man, he 
 is not usually arrested or tried at all, but is given one of 
 those ex-parte hearings above mentioned, and made to re- 
 turn the article stolen or pay its value, according to the 
 circumstances. If he steals tobacco, whisky, chickens or 
 watermelons from any white man for whom he is work- 
 ing, or for whom he has ever worked, nothing is ever done 
 *■ said to him about it at all, for it is well known to all 
 white people that he cannot help taking those things, and 
 is not responsible for his acts in the premises, and if any 
 white man should ever undertake to prosecute him on a 
 charge of this kind, he would have no more show before 
 a Mississippi jury than a paper shirt in a bear fight. 
 
 Concealed Weapons. 
 
 If a negro is guilty of selling whisky, cocaine, or carry- 
 ing a pistol he is severely dealt with, that being absolutely 
 
27 
 
 necessary to protect the lives of both the white people, and 
 the negroes themselves, for there never was a more dan- 
 gerous combination than a negro, whisky or cocaine and a 
 pistol. He is just bound to kill somebody, and he does not 
 care who, when he has a pistol and is under the influence 
 of cocaine or mean whisky. On the other hand, all able- 
 bodied white males above the age of sixteen years, who 
 live in the black belt, where the negroes outnumber the 
 whites ten to one, are all supposed to have pistols of stand- 
 ard make and size, and are supposed to carry them all the 
 time, either concealed or otherwise, and are supposed to 
 know how to use them to the best advantage on the short- 
 est notice — and they usually do — notwithstanding, the 
 statute says that if any person who carries concealed, in 
 whole or part, and bowie knife, dirk knife, butcher knife, 
 pistol, etc., shall, on conviction, be fined not less than 
 $25.00 and the weapon so carried, shall be forfeited to the 
 state, and shall be, by the sheriff of the county where the 
 conviction occurred, publicly destroyed, etc., but this stat- 
 ute applies only to the negroes and the people who live in 
 the white belt and has no application to any white person 
 who lives in the black belt. 
 
 Homicide. 
 
 The statutes of Mississippi also say, that if any person 
 shall be convicted of murder, he shall suffer death, unless 
 the jury rendering the verdict shall fix the punishment at 
 imprisonment in the penitentiary for the life of the con- 
 vict. This statute only applies to a white man who kills 
 another one about something else besides a woman. If 
 the killing was about a woman, he is tried by the unwrit- 
 n law, and is either hanged, sent to the penitentiary or 
 acquitted, all depending on what woman the killing was 
 about, and what the facts were in that particular case. But 
 this statute does not apply to a negro at all. If he kills a 
 white man, and is caught, he suffers death in some form 
 other, the time, place and manner of his execution de- 
 ending altogether on who caught him, the sheriff's posse 
 r the friends of the deceased. If the sheriff's posse are 
 
28 
 
 the first to get to him, he is hanged the fourth Friday after 
 court adjourns, but if the friends of the deceased are the 
 rst to get possession of him, he is executed at once, at or 
 near the place where the homicide occurred; the manner 
 of his death being always a matter of individual taste of 
 the parties conducting the ceremonies. 
 
 When a negro is indicted for killing another negro, he is 
 seldom, if ever, tried at all. The usual practice is for the 
 court to appoint some young inexperienced attorney to 
 defend him; then partly out of sympathy for the negro, 
 and partly out of sympathy for the young attorney, the 
 state's attorney will allow the negro to plead guilty with 
 the understanding that the jury will fix his punishment at 
 life imprisonment, and they will be instructed to bring in 
 a formal verdict to that effect. This plan always works 
 perfectly satisfactory to all parties concerned — the state 
 saves the expense of a long drawn out trial, the negro is 
 saved from being hanged, and the state gets another cotton 
 producer on the state farm. If he is a young negro — and 
 in most cases he is — he is good for about twenty years 
 service at the least, and ought to raise on an average of ten 
 bales of cotton each year, under the scientific methods 
 used there, and this cotton, after deducting the customary 
 shrinkage and graft, ought to net the state as much as 
 $75.00 per bale, or a sum total of $15,000.00, which from a 
 business standpoint, is worth a great deal more to the tax 
 payers than a public hanging. 
 
 There are only a few of the unwritten rules of practice 
 in this jurisdiction, the whole of which would fill a large 
 volume, and are rarely, if ever, understood by any one, 
 except the native born attorneys of this commonwealth. 
 
State of /Mississippi vs. Dink 
 
 Coleman. 
 
 Some years ago, in the early part of June, Dink Cole- 
 man, a gent of ebony hue, a driver for the Delta Transfer 
 Company by occupation, and for many years past a resi- 
 dent of the city of Greenville, the county seat of Washing- 
 ton County, Mississippi, and which is situated on the east 
 bank of the "Father of Waters," sat upon the levee and 
 watched the sun disappear behind the willow fringed 
 shore of the Arkansas side; he watched the towboat Hen- 
 rietta drift slowly by with a long raft of logs in tow; he 
 also watched the steamer Ruth land, discharge her freight 
 and resume her southward journey. He then arose, 
 yawned, rubbed his eyes, stretched his arms and walked 
 across Washington avenue and down Walnut street to the 
 "Twilight Cafe," a place of refreshment for colored folks 
 only, and which was presided over by Ephriam Brown, 
 likewise a gent of color and who was its sole proprietor 
 and general manager. 
 
 Soon after Dink had seated himself on a vacant stool at 
 the refreshment counter, he and Ephriam had a disagree- 
 ment about the age, grade and quanity of hot-cat-fish that 
 had been served to Dink for the amount of money ex- 
 pended by him, to-wit: two bits, or the fourth part of a 
 dollar of the lawful money of the realm. Hot words be- 
 tween them were soon followed by blows; negroes ran 
 through the open door, and some jumped through the 
 windows; crockery crashed against the floor; furniture 
 was reduced to kindling wood; and pandemonium 
 reigned supreme. 
 
 When the dust of battle had cleared away, Ephriam 
 Brown lay on the floor in the midst of the wreckage, with 
 several ugly wounds on different parts of his person, in- 
 
30 
 
 flicted by a certain deadly weapon, to- wit: a razor in the 
 hands of Dink Coleman, who was promptly arrested and 
 placed in the county jail to await further developments. 
 
 As soon as time, nature and local surgical talent had 
 made sufficient repairs on Ephriam to enable him to ap- 
 pear in court as the chief witness for the state, Dink was 
 given a preliminary hearing before His Honor, Judge 
 O'Riley, justice of the peace for district No. 3 of Washing- 
 <m county, on an affidavit charging, that he did, on or 
 
 about the 8th day of June, A. D. 19 -, in the county and 
 
 state aforesaid, with force and arms, wilfully, maliciously, 
 feloneously and of his malice aforethought, commit an 
 assault and battery upon the person of one Ephriam 
 Brown, with the intent, him the said Ephriam Brown, to 
 then and there kill and murder, against the peace and 
 dignity of the state of Mississippi. 
 
 When Dink was brought into court, and the charge had 
 been read to him, he was asked the usual question, "how 
 do you plead, guilty or not guilty?" 
 
 To which he replied : "No siree, jedge, I ain't done none 
 of them things to dat nigger." 
 
 "This is er put up job on me jedge. Dese here good-fer- 
 nuthin niggers is all got it in fer me jedge, 'cause I's er 
 nigger what mines my own business jedge and don't both- 
 er no body." 
 
 "No siree, jedge, I'se not guilty sir." 
 
 "Never was 'rested 'fore in my life, jedge, for nothin. 
 All the white folks in dis town will tell you dat 'bout me, 
 jedge." "And 'sides dat, jedge, dat nigger done hit me 
 once wid er fryin pan on my jaw 'fore I cut em, jedge." 
 
 "Won't some of you gen'emen over dare, please sir 
 phone Mr. Jimmie Coleman to come over here right quick. 
 He's my whitefolks and my lawyah." 
 
 "Mr. Jimmie" to whom Dink had referred, was the Hon- 
 orable James B. Coleman, one of the most able criminal 
 lawyers at the local bar. Before the war, Dink's father 
 had belonged to Mr. Coleman's father, and the feeling 
 which existed between him and Dink was similar to the 
 feelings which usually exist between two first cousins who 
 
31 
 
 have never had any conflicting property rights, and Dink, 
 as a matter of course, expected "Mr. Jimmie" to fight all 
 of his legal battles for him. 
 
 In due time, Mr. Coleman appeared in court, perspiring 
 freely, and took charge of Dink's defense, or rather lack of 
 defense. 
 
 The state introduced witness after witness who swore, 
 that Dink had voluntarily entered the "Twilight Cafe" 
 and without any reason, real or apparent, had proceeded 
 to provoke a difficulty with the proprietor thereof, and 
 then carve him up in the most approved style with a razor. 
 Each of these witnesses was subjected to a grilling cross- 
 examination by Mr. Coleman, which was greatly enjoyed 
 by Dink, as well as all of the other negroes present, but 
 their testimony remained unimpeached. Dink offered no 
 testimony, and after some wrangling between counsel for 
 the state, and the defendant, it was agreed that Dink 
 should be placed under bond in the sum of one hundred 
 dollars to await the action of the next grand jury, which 
 bond was accordingly given, and Dink released from cus- 
 tody. 
 
 On the second Monday of the following July, the regular 
 criminal term of the circuit court of Washington county 
 convened, with Judge Harrison, a true type of the old 
 school, presiding. The weather was extremely warm and 
 the court room was filled to overflowing with a squirming 
 mass of humanity varying in color from the fair skinned, 
 blue eyed, red headed Anglo-Saxon to the jet black Afro- 
 American. 
 
 The court was duly organized and called to order; the 
 grand jury was empanelled, sworn and charged; the dock- 
 et was then sounded; after which court adjourned for 
 dinner. 
 
 Dink silently followed Mr. Coleman back to his office, 
 dropped his hat on the floor and himself into an empty 
 chair. Mr. Coleman also removed his hat, mopped his 
 brow, seated himself in a chair by an open window over- 
 looking the Mississippi, and gazed long and earnestly 
 across its waters. For quite a while neither he or Dink 
 
32 
 
 spoke. Finally Dink said : "Mr. Jimmie, what you think 
 'bout our case now?" To which he replied, "Dink, I don't 
 like the looks of your case at all." 
 
 Dink's lower jaw dropped, his eyes shone like twin 
 moons, great beads of perspiration stood out on his ebony 
 brow, and an expression of utter spread over his face as he 
 said: 
 
 "My Gawd, Mr. Jimmie, don't you think we can beat dis 
 case?" 
 
 "I am afraid not," said Mr. Coleman, "with the evidence 
 the state has against you, Dink." 
 
 "It seems to me, from what all of the witnesses say about 
 ; t, that you just simply went down to this joint and 'raised 
 a rough house' without any provocation whatever, and 
 with that evidence against you, the jury, under their oaths, 
 will be bound to convict you." 
 
 "Den what?" said Dink. 
 
 "Well, in that case, you will be sent to the penitentiary, 
 that's what," said Mr. Coleman. 
 
 "My Gawd, Mr. Jimmie," said Dink, "I was just as drunk 
 as er biled owl when I done gone down dare and started all 
 dis trouble, and didn't no more know what I was doin than 
 er new born merino lamb. Please sir git me out of dis 
 mess." 
 
 "Drunkness is no defense to crime, Dink," said Mr. 
 Coleman, but of course, I am going to get you out of it if I 
 can, but am doubtful about being able to do it this time." 
 
 "Den don't you think I had just better be mozying on off 
 from 'bout here?" said Dink. 
 
 "Well," said Mr. Coleman, "as an attorney, I could not 
 advise you to do that. You are under bond to be in the 
 court room when your case is called, and unless you are 
 there, a forfeiture will be taken on your bond." 
 
 "What am dat, Mr. Jimmie?" said Dink. 
 
 "Your bondsmen will have to pay the amount of your 
 bond," said Mr. Coleman. 
 
 "Yas sir, yas sir, I see," said Dink. 
 
 "But if you are there," said Mr. Coleman, "I think you 
 will be convicted, and I know that if you are convicted, ^ 
 
33 
 
 you will be sent to the penitentiary; there is no doubt 
 about that." 
 
 "Thank you, Mr. Jimmie, thank you sir. I think I begins 
 to understand you now sir, yas sir," said Dink, and taking 
 up his hat he bowed himself out of the office and down 
 the stairs and was soon out of sight around the corner. 
 
 Before court adjourned for the day, the grand jury re- 
 turned several true bills, one of which was against Dink 
 Coleman, charging him with assault and battery with the 
 intent to kill and murder one Ephriam Brown, against the 
 peace and dignity of the State of Mississippi. 
 
 On the following morning Judge Harrison seemed to be 
 in a particularly bad frame of mind, due partly to the op- 
 pressive atmosphere, and partly to his advanced age. His 
 paint brush whiskers stood straight out; great beads of 
 perspiration rolled off of his round bald head, and his 
 eyes gleamed defiantly. It further appeared, that no one 
 who had been recently indicted was particularly anxious 
 for that speedy trial guaranteed to them by both State, and 
 Federal constitutions. First one lawyer and then another 
 was wrangling for a continuance. Some had sickness in 
 their families; others had certificates and affidavits from 
 reputable physicians showing that their client, or witness 
 was physically unable to attend court at this time, and 
 were further prepared to show that they could not safely 
 go to trial without him. Case after case had been called 
 and passed for the present, when the court called out in 
 an irritable voice, "State of Mississippi vs. Dink Coleman; 
 what sayeth the state?" 
 
 "Beady, your Honor," answered the district attorney. 
 
 "What sayeth the defendant?" said the court. 
 
 No answer. 
 
 "State of Mississippi vs. Dink Coleman, charged with as- 
 sault and battery with the intent to kill and murder," 
 called the court again. 
 
 Still no answer. 
 
 "Does any member of the bar represent the defendant 
 in this case?" stormed the court, but no one spoke. 
 
34 
 
 "Mr. Sheriff," said the court, "where is the defendant in 
 this case?" 
 
 "I don't know, your Honor," said the sheriff, "but I think 
 he is out on bond. He was here yesterday, but I don't 
 think I have seen him in here this morning." 
 
 "Mr. Clerk," said the court, "enter a fine of $50.00 against 
 this defendant for not being present in the court room 
 when his name was called, and Mr. Sheriff, I want you to 
 see that this fine is paid too." 
 
 Then an old wrinkled faced negro woman as black as 
 the proverbial ace of spades, slowly arose in the rear of 
 the crowded court room, and pointing a withered finger 
 towards the court, said : "Jedge, may I have a few words 
 wid you?" 
 
 "Sit down," thundered the court, and she automatically 
 dropped back into her seat. 
 
 "Mr. Sheriff," said the court, "I want you to keep order 
 in this court room. Call the defendant in this case. Go 
 o the window and call him." 
 
 "Dink Coleman, Dink Coleman, Dink Coleman, come 
 into court," called the sheriff, but no response. 
 
 "Mr. Clerk," said the court, "enter another fine of $50.00 
 against the defendant in this case. And, Mr. Sheriff, you 
 o out on the street and arrest him and bring him in here 
 before me, and I will learn him that the court room is the 
 place for him to be when court is in session, and not out on 
 some street corner." 
 
 For quite a while now everything was quiet in the court 
 room, save for the regular tick of the wall clock over the 
 judge's stand, and the gentle purr of a small electric fan 
 on the mantel at his right. 
 
 When the sheriff finally returned, he reported, that after 
 strict search, and diligent inquiry, Dink Coleman could 
 not be found. 
 
 The same old woman again arose, and looking dubious- 
 ly around the room, said: "Jedge, may I speak a few 
 words to you?" 
 
 "Yes," said the court, "what is it you want?" 
 
35 
 
 She said: "Ain't dat Dink Coleman you all been axin 
 'bout?" 
 
 "Yas," said the court, "what do you know about him?" 
 "Well," she said, "as I were comin to town dis morn in, 
 1 seed Dink, 'bout nine miles south of here, settin on de 
 'cvee, and he told me, dat if I seed any body up here axin 
 'bout him, to giv em his regards and tell em dat he's done 
 gone to Arkansaw." 
 
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