The Rising Son; or, the Antecedents and Advancement of the Colored RaceBrown, William Wells
History
The Rising Son; or, the Antecedents and Advancement of the Colored Race
Brown, William Wells
African Americans -- Biography; African Americans -- History; Black race; Slavery -- United States
It was while in the discharge of his duties of visiting the South, in
1871, and during his travels through the State of Kentucky, he became
a victim of the Ku-Klux, and of which the following is the narrative:--
“I visited my native State in behalf of The National Association for
the Spread of Temperance and Night-schools among the Freedmen, and
had spoken to large numbers of them at Louisville, and other places,
and was on my way to speak at Pleasureville, a place half-way between
Louisville and Lexington. I arrived at Pleasureville dépôt a little
after six in the evening, and was met by a colored man, who informed me
that the meeting was to take place five miles in the country.
“After waiting some time for a team which was expected, we started
on foot, thinking we would meet the vehicle. We walked on until dark
overtook us, and seeing no team, I began to feel apprehensive that all
was not right. The man with me, however, assured me that there was no
danger, and went on. But we shortly after heard the trotting of horses,
both in front and in the rear, and before I could determine what to do,
we were surrounded by some eight or ten men, three of whom dismounted,
bound my arms behind me with a cord, remounted their horses, and
started on in the direction I had been travelling. The man who was with
me disappeared while I was being tied. The men were not disguised, and
talked freely among themselves.
“After going a mile or more they stopped, and consulted a moment
or two, the purport of which I could not hear, except one of them
saying,--‘Lawrence don’t want a nigger hung so near his place.’ They
started again; I was on foot, a rope had been attached to my arms, and
the other end to one of the horses. I had to hasten my steps to keep
from being dragged along by the animal. Soon they turned to the right,
and followed up what appeared to be a cow-path.
“While on this road my hat fell off, and I called out to the man behind
and said, ‘I’ve lost my hat.’
“‘You’ll need no hat in half an hour’s time,’ he replied. As we were
passing a log house on this road, a man came out and said, in a
trembling voice, ‘Jim’s dying!’ All the men now dismounted, and, with
the exception of two, they went into the building. I distinctly heard
the cries, groans, and ravings of the sick man, which satisfied me at
once that it was an extreme case of delirium tremens; and as I treated
the malady successfully by the hypodermic remedy, and having with me
the little instrument, the thought flashed upon my mind that I might
save my life by the trial. Consequently, I said to one of the men,--‘I
know what’s the matter with that man, and I can relieve him in ten
minutes.’
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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