The Forged Note: A Romance of the Darker RacesMicheaux, Oscar
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The Forged Note: A Romance of the Darker Races
Micheaux, Oscar
African Americans -- Fiction
About a year before, there had been committed in Attalia, a most
dastardly murder. A man, a Jew he was, had killed a little girl, a
gentile. This murder had occasioned more comment in those sections, than
had anything in the way of crime for a decade. We stated that the Jew
had killed the girl; it should have been said that he was _accused_ of
having killed her.
This was the state of affairs in regard to the murder at the time of our
story. Notwithstanding the fact that the Jew was accused of the murder,
the charge against him, and the public sentiment in particular, had
reached a very serious stage. It would have been very serious for any
one to be accused of such a crime in those parts, be she gentile,
Jewess, or anyone with a white face.
The body of this girl had been found in the basement of a factory, at
which she was employed at a very small wage, foully murdered. It was a
mystery at first, as to who was the murderer. A Negro had been arrested
and charged with the crime. It appeared that he was surely guilty; but
he wasn't--at least so it was decided shortly afterwards. It was
confidentially whispered about town to this day, and may be for all
time, that he was a lucky Negro, too. Because, with the way they treat
Negroes accused of doing much less serious things in a part of this
country, he was fortunate to have been accused in Attalia, where
protection is quite ample now, and not in some of the smaller
places--but we are digressing.
Evidently he was not felt to be guilty, and, moreover, since suspicion
was quickly diverted to the Jew. And yet he, the Negro, had been
discovered in the back yard of the factory, washing a bloody shirt. Such
incriminating evidence! For some reason, the people could not seem to
bring themselves to feel that the Negro had sense enough to kill the
girl, had he wished to. He was put through a severe examination of some
length, and finally confessed to having helped the real murderer
dispose, or try to dispose of the body after it was all over. It was, of
course, duly found and as duly buried. It was, thereafter, exhumed two
or three times, as evidence for the state. The Jew was discovered acting
very peculiarly a few days after the murder. So they had taken him into
custody to ascertain the cause of these actions. Accusations followed,
and he was in time brought before the high tribunal on a charge of
murder, convicted and sentenced to be hanged until dead, however long
that might be. The date of execution was set for a day, which happened
to be the same day a year later, than that upon which he was supposed to
have committed the deed.
Thus our story found it.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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