stock, for stock not warmly housed, require more food to keep them in order. Negroes are notoriously bad stock masters. In plowing, his gear is often illy adjusted to its work, galling the mules' shoulders, making the plow run badly, too deep or too shallow. He is slow to see anything wrong with the gear, or any tool he uses. If he has a rickety door or gate that might be remedied in a few minutes, he will continue to pass through it, though it is troublesome to open, and never think of fixing it. Poor stock and poor dogs are characteristic of a negro's premises. The negro's general bad management and unmethodical ways cause much loss to his profits.

Negro improvidence is shown in the following bit of conversation. I was in a jeweler's store when a good-looking young negro man came in and asked the jeweler to examine his watch. I said to him: "Why, have you got a watch?" "Yes, sir," he replied, seeming much pleased. "You must be prosperous. Have any money in the bank?" "No, sir." "Have a home and land?" "No, sir." "Have you a mule or "No, sir." "Have an axe or hoe or any implement?" "No, sir." "Have a wife?" "Yes, sir." "Is a wife and a watch all you own?" "Yes, sir." By this time his pleased

wagon?""

looks had fallen, and he went out. This was an actual conversation and represents well the character of the negro's improvidence. There is nothing mean or vicious in such habits, and all negroes are not so lacking in financial ability.

CHAPTER V

THE HISTORIC NEGRO

I ONCE met a very intelligent gentleman from Montana, who told me that there is no such personage as the historic Indian; that those who are acquainted with the Indian only through books, have but little knowledge of his real character. After discussing the matter with him, I remarked that his statement about the Indian would apply equally well to the negroes of the South. He said he thought so too, but having only slight acquaintance with the negroes, he could not speak positively.

Most people living in the South understand tolerably well the characteristics of the colored race, but the farmers who employ them understand them better than others do. People living outside of the old slave States understand but faintly the real character of this greatly misrepresented race. Even the ministers, in their zeal for good works, not coming in contact with the negroes on the exposed side of their characters, fail to understand their nature, over-estimate their capacity, mistake

their book learning for progress, and their zeal in church work for true religion, and they give a hurrah statement to the world about an encouraging development, a development that has not been made.

At steady, hard labor, such as chopping, splitting rails, ditching, the negro is fully the white man's equal, if not his superior: he can do as much work in a day, can work as many days in a year, and as many years in a life time. But he must not be pushed. At work that requires quickness of action and rapidity of movement, he falls behind the white man. In severe army life, where running, wading, swimming, starving, feasting, doing without sleep, resting, working, and freezing are all mingled together in the most irregular order and quantity, the negro goes down rapidly and finds an early grave. One white man can last as long as three negroes, at least.

The negro left to himself, separated from other workers, is a poor laborer, both as to work and as to how to work, whether he is hireling, renter, or cropper. There are a few, of course, who do well, but negroes work best in squads under a boss, and they are attracted to this kind of work. A section boss on a railroad can command them well, govern them easily and get much work out of them. In sawmills and all factories where colored

labor is employed, they are obedient, manageable, and work well.

The negro needs a boss. In all his years of slavery he worked under a boss and looked up to him. In his African life he did no regular work of any kind. He still looks to some one to advise, direct him and to tell him to go. He likes a man of authority. A man with a large supply store, or the owner of a large plantation, is about his highest ideal of a great man. Such men as these, understanding the nature of the negro, can control negroes at will. They like him, look up to him, and feel that he has the right to boss them almost as they did in the days of slavery. They fear him, admire him, and look to him for help in all times of trouble. If he knocks one of them down for impudence, the others are all on the boss's side and tease the one knocked down for having no more sense than to affront that white

man.

They respect the whole white race and feel that they can not hope to cope with the whites. There are two classes of whites a negro has a profound contempt for: the really low grade, log cabin poor folks "-not "poor white trash" ; that phrase was put into the negro's mouth by writers -and white people who equalize themselves with negroes. If a man treats a negro as a white man,