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ored Caucasian people or the Afro-Americans. If statistics could be carefully taken it would be found that there are less than one million absolutely full-blooded Africans in this country. The remaining nine or ten millions are of mixed blood. Four million are decidedly of Caucasian stamp, and are nothing less than Caucasians with a strain of more or less Negro blood. We speak of this here because we wish our readers to bear this fact in mind.

[graphic][subsumed]

It is a curiosity to see a full-blooded African in many parts

of this country.

CHAPTER II

CONFLICTING ELEMENTS OF PROGRESS.

LACK OF CONFIDENCE-UNDERGROUND CURRENT.-Years of residence and careful observation and investigation in this country, designated the "Darkest South" by northern friends, unacquainted with the tremendous evolutionary process going on in this great Southland, will necessarily change one's preconceived conceptions concerning ten million people about whom so much has been said and written, yet so very little is actually known by casual observers of both the North and South; and who have heretofore escaped all unbiased, earnest scientific investigation. We dare say that one may become a resident of any thickly settled colored population in the South, for a long time, and not gain its entire confidence, or become acquainted with the deeper workings, the underground current of thought, the hidden convictions, the terrible potent influence, which dominates a great percentage of the colored people.

WHITES DISAPPOINTED IN THEM. -We have met northern men who have come South with the expectation of finding the Negro, as a whole, a patient, docile animal, ready for

any burden, abuse and misuse. They were disappointed in him, and many have now no more use for "niggers" than for very useless yellow dogs, who hang about the kitchen in daytime and bark at the moon at night. When they hired colored help they found that such was not always anxious to do all that was required of it, or that northern white help is reputed to do without so carefully calculating just the amount of physical exertion, etc., it takes to perform a certain work, and the exact amount of remuneration that might be forthcoming for the least expenditure of strength. Should they desire to have work done which requires a little more effort than other work in the neighborhood, it is possible that they may find theirs displaced by an easier job. Hence it has been said that the Negro of this generation is, to a great extent, after an easy job, plenty of time to sport in, and plenty of money to sport with. But we have, indeed, found many exceptions to this rule. There are many individuals of the old and new South, in every community, who are hard working, honest, intelligent, frugal people.

NO CHEAP LABOR.-We are now concerned with the present Negro in the, and of the, "Darkest South," just as we find him. We have been in localities in several states where it is yet possible to secure good farm labor for

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