The master and the slave were each pulled from his place as by a mighty
force--a force which did no little tearing on both sides, especially
on the side of master. For this reason the master was sore. The South
had grown rich in slaves. This property the war pulled from its fists,
and left in its midst. The Southern people who were rich one day were
poor the next day. That the presence of the former slave, clothed in
the sovereignty of citizenship, amidst his ex-master’s poverty, should
chafe and madden the master, there can be no wonder. Well, it did
madden him, and because of this fact the pioneer Negro leader often
found himself “headed off” or hindered with reference to some church or
school project in his mind. Often did he hide or turn from his course
to escape punishment or death by the hands of persons who suspicioned
him as a bad man to be among “the Negroes of the neighborhood.” The
writer has had many narrow escapes and painful experiences.
We needed help, but whither should we go to obtain it? Thank God for
the few white people who had grace in such a time to extend a helping
hand to us in our and in their time of weakness.