n building up his
business, and of the almost hopeless condition of the Negroes about
there. He said that they usually made money each year, but that they did
not know how to keep it. The merchants would induce them to buy buggies,
machines, clocks, etc., but would never encourage them to buy homes. We
were very much pleased with the reception which Mr. Darrington gave us,
and felt very much like putting into practice our State motto, "Here We
Rest," at his home, but our objective point for the day was Fatama,
sixteen miles away.

[Illustration: UNCLE CHARLES LEE AND HIS HOME IN THE BLACK BELT]

On our journey that afternoon we saw hundreds of Negro one-room log
cabins. Some of these were located in the dense swamps and some on the
hills, while others were miles away from the public road. Most of these
people had never seen a locomotive.

We reached Fatama about seven o'clock that night, and here for the first
time we were compelled to divide our crowd in order to get a night's
lodging. Each of us had to spend the night in a one-room cabin. It was my
privilege to spend the night with Uncle Jake, a jovial old man, a local
celebrity. After telling him of our weary journey, he immediately made
preparation for me to retire. This was done by cutting off my bed from
the remainder of the cabin by hanging up a sheet on a screen. While
somewhat inconvenient, my rest that night was pleasant, and the next
morning found me very much refreshed and ready for another day's
journey. Our company assembled at Uncle Jake's for breakfast, after
which we started for Pineapple.

We found the condition of the Negroes between Fatama and Pineapple much
the same as that of those we had seen the previous day. No school-house
was to be seen, but occasionally we would see a church at the
cross-roads. We reached Pineapple late in the afternoon.

From Pineapple we went to Greenville, and from Greenville to Fort
Deposit, and from Fort Deposit we returned to Snow Hill, after having
traveled a distance of 157 miles and visiting four counties.

In three of these counties there was a colored population of 42,810
between the ages of five and twenty years, and a white population of
7,608 of the same ages. The Negro school population of Wilcox and the
seven adjoining counties was 11,623. Speaking of public schools in the
sense that educators use the term, the colored people in this section
had none. Of course, there were so-called public schools he