The school was opened November 7, 1887, in the dwelling-house of the principal, and at first occupied one room; a second and then a third were soon in demand; from an enrolment of twenty-one pupils it increased to 138, and has steadily advanced until the roll has reached nearly 300. With the assistance of Messrs. W. B. Alexander, J. W. Crawford, J. B. Speers, Judge W. S. McCain, J. R. Westbrooks, _et al._; a title with no encumbrance was secured to the property, and a building commenced, foundation and studding in place, when the weather prevented further work. When completed, this building had four rooms below, two rooms in second story, and one extended room on the third floor. In this, from 250 to 300 pupils were accommodated. The loss of this house by fire on the 17th of January, 1894, was a severe blow, entailing a loss of $5,000, confining the whole school in the dormitory of Richard Allen Institute, which was erected in 1892, by the assistance of Miss Mary E. Holmes, and fitted up to accommodate a number of pupils. This is a chartered Institute under the laws of Arkansas, and is supported like all other Missions under the Board of Missions for Freedmen of the Presbyterian Church. Rev. Lewis Johnston, Principal. CHAPTER XI. INDEPENDENT AND STATE SCHOOLS. In this and the next two chapters I shall deal with the Independent and State schools. I open this chapter with Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute because it has created a greater amount of interest and has been the subject of more discussion in recent years than any other. THE TUSKEGEE NORMAL AND INDUSTRIAL INSTITUTE. Charles Dickens says somewhere: "There is not an atom in Tom's slime, not a cubic inch in any pestilential gas in which he lives, not one obscenity, or degradation about him, not an ignorance, not a wickedness, not a brutality of his committing, but shall work its retribution through every order of society, up to the proudest of the proud and the highest of the high." Ignorance and degradation among the people clearly menace the South, and not only the South, but the entire country. The action and reaction of human life is such that no class of persons, however wise or wealthy, can stand aloof from those lower, and remain unaffected, even though unmoved, by their misfortunes. More and more is this fact being recognized, and, as a means of self-protection, as well as from philanthropic motives, a widespread interest is being taken in the education of the Negro.