The Conquest: The Story of a Negro PioneerMicheaux, Oscar
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The Conquest: The Story of a Negro Pioneer
Micheaux, Oscar
African American pioneers -- Fiction; Autobiographical fiction; South Dakota -- Fiction; Western stories
After thirty days had elapsed, the Nicholsons warned the people of Amro
that it was the last opportunity they would have to accept his
proposition, and when they paid no attention to his warning, he named
the new town. I shall not soon forget how the people outside of the town
of Amro laughed over the name applied to the new town, as its
application to the situation was so accurate and descriptive of later
events, that I regret I must substitute a name for the purposes of this
story, but which is the best I am able to find, "Victor."
Instead of moving to Victor, taking advantage of choice of location and
the purchase of a lot at half price, the Amroites began making
improvements in their town, putting down cement walks ten feet wide the
length of the two business blocks and walks on side streets as well. A
school election was called and as a result an eleven-thousand-dollar
school house was erected, a modern two-story building, with basement and
gymnasium. The building was large enough to hold all the population of
Amro if all the men, women and children were of school age, and still
have room for many more. This act brought a storm of criticism from the
settlers, and even many of the people of the town thought it quite a
needless extravagance; but Van Neter, who was strong for education and
for Amro, had put it through and figured he had won a point. He was the
county superintendent. Most of the people claimed the town would soon
grow large enough to require the building, and let it go at that.
People began drifting into Victor, buying lots and putting up good
buildings. Nicholsons announced a lot sale and preparations began for
much active boosting for the new town. In the election to be held a year
later, they hoped to wrest the county seat from Amro.
When Ernest Nicholson saw the improvements being made in Amro and no
sign of moving the town, he began to scheme, and I could see that if
Amro wasn't going to move peacefully he would help it along in some
other way. However, nothing was done before the lot sale, which was
advertised to take place in the lobby of the Nicholson Brothers' new
office building in Calias.
On the date advertised for the lot sale, crowds gathered and many who
had no intentions of investing, attended the sale out of curiosity. I
took a crowd to Calias from Megory, among whom was Joy Flackler, cashier
of the Megory National Bank, who stated that Frank Woodring had loaned
the Nicholsons fifty thousand dollars to buy the townsite. Megoryites
still held a grudge against the Nicholsons, and Flackler seemed to wish
they had asked the loan of him so he might have had the pleasure of
turning them down.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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