oan told all his niggers that and they all voted that ticket but
two--that was Charley Tang and Simp Campbell.

"I 'lieve the young race of our people is progressin' fine. If they had
priv'lege to use they educations, they'd make more progress, but the
color line holds them back.

420106

[Illustration: James Cape]

JAMES CAPE, centenarian, now living in a dilapidated little shack
in the rear of the stockyards in Fort Worth, Texas, was born a
slave to Mr. Bob Houston, who owned a large ranch in southeast
Texas. James' parents came direct from Africa into slavery. James
spent his youth as a cowboy, fought in the Confederate army, was
wounded and has an ugly shoulder scar. After the war, James
unknowingly took a job with the outlaw, Jesse James, for whom he
worked three years, in Missouri. He then came back to Texas, and
worked in the stockyards until 1928. Documentary proof of James'
age is lacking, but various facts told him by his parents and
others lead him to think he must be over 100 years old.

"I's bo'n in yonder southeast Texas and I don' know what month or de
year for sho', but 'twas more dan 100 years ago. My mammy and pappy was
bo'n in Africa, dats what dey's tol' me. Dey was owned by Marster Bob
Houston and him had de ranch down dere, whar dey have cattle and hosses.

"When I's old 'nough to set on de hoss, dey larned me to ride, tendin'
hosses. 'Cause I's good hoss rider, dey uses me all de time gwine after
hosses. I goes with dem to Mexico. We crosses de river lots of times. I
'members once when we was a drivin' 'bout 200 hosses north'ards. Dey was
a bad hail storm comes into de face of de herd and dat herd turns and
starts de other way. Dere was five of us riders and we had to keep dem
hosses from scatterment. I was de leader and do you know what happens to
dis nigger if my hoss stumbles? Right dere's whar I'd still be! Marster
give me a new saddle for savin' de hosses.

"One day Marster Bob comes to me and says, 'Jim, how you like to jine de
army?' You see, de war had started. I says to him, 'What does I have to
do?' And he says, 'Tend hosses and ride 'em.' I was young den and
thought it would be lots of fun, so I says I'd go. So de first thing I
knows, I's in de army away off east from here, somewhar dis side of St.
Louis and in Tennessee and Arkansas and other places. I goes in de army
'stead of Dr. Carroll.

"After I gits in de