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I
cannot now recall how long I lived with Mrs. Ruffner before going to
Hampton, but I think it must have been a year and a half. At any rate, I
here repeat what I have said more than once before, that the lessons that I
learned in the home of Mrs. Ruffner were as valuable to me as any education
I have ever gotten anywhere else. Even to this day I never see bits of paper
scattered around a house or in the street that I do not want to pick them up
at once. I never see a filthy yard that I do not want to clean it, a paling
off of a fence that I do not want to put it on, an unpainted or
unwhitewashed house that I do not want to pain or whitewash it, or a button
off one's clothes, or a grease-spot on them or on a floor, that I do not
want to call attention to it.
From
fearing Mrs. Ruffner I soon learned to look upon her as one of my best
friends. When she found that she could trust me she did so implicitly.
During the one or two winters that I was with her she gave me an opportunity
to go to school for an hour in the day during a portion of the winter
months, but most of my studying was done at night, sometimes alone,
sometimes under some one whom I could hire to teach me. Mrs. Ruffner always
encouraged and sympathized with me in all my efforts to get an education. It
was while living with her that I began to get together my first library. I
secured a dry-goods box, knocked out one side of it, put some shelves in it,
and began putting into it every kind of book that I could get my hands upon,
and called it my "library."
Notwithstanding
my success at Mrs. Ruffner's I did not give up the idea of going to the
Hampton Institute. In the fall of 1872 I determined to make an effort to get
there, although, as I have stated, I had no definite idea of the direction
in which Hampton was, or of what it would cost to go there. I do not think
that any one thoroughly sympathized with me in my ambition to go to Hampton
unless it was my mother, and she was troubled with a grave fear that I was
starting out on a "wild-goose chase." At any rate, I got only a
half-hearted consent from her that I might start. The small amount of money
that I had earned had been consumed by my stepfather and the remainder of
the family, with the exception of a very few dollars, and so I had very
little with which to buy clothes and pay my travelling expenses. My brother
John helped me all that he could, but of course that was not a great deal,
for his work was in the coal-mine, where he did not earn much, and most of
what he did earn went in the direction of paying the household expenses.
Perhaps
the thing that touched and pleased me most in connection with my starting
for Hampton was the interest that many of the older coloured people took in
the matter. They had spent the best days of their lives in slavery, and
hardly expected to live to see the time when they would see a member of
their race leave home to attend a boarding-school. Some of these older
people would give me a nickel, others a quarter, or a handkerchief.
Finally
the great day came, and I started for Hampton. I had only a small, cheap
satchel that contained a few articles of clothing I could get. My mother at
the time was rather weak and broken in health. I hardly expected to see her
again, and thus our parting was all the more sad. She, however, was very
brave through it all. At that time there were no through trains connecting
that part of West Virginia with eastern Virginia. Trains ran only a portion
of the way, and the remainder of the distance was travelled by
stage-coaches.
The
distance from Malden to Hampton is about five hundred miles. I had not been
away from home many hours before it began to grow painfully evident that I
did not have enough money to pay my fair to Hampton. One experience I shall
long remember. I had been travelling over the mountains most of the
afternoon in an old-fashion stage-coach, when, late in the evening, the
coach stopped for the night at a common, unpainted house called a hotel. All
the other passengers except myself were whites. In my ignorance I supposed
that the little hotel existed for the purpose of accommodating the
passengers who travelled on the stage-coach. The difference that the colour
of one's skin would make I had not thought anything about. After all the
other passengers had been shown rooms and were getting ready for supper, I
shyly presented myself before the man at the desk. It is true I had
practically no money in my pocket with which to pay for bed or food, but I
had hoped in some way to beg my way into the good graces of the landlord,
for at that season in the mountains of Virginia the weather was cold, and I
wanted to get indoors for the night. Without asking as to whether I had any
money, the man at the desk firmly refused to even consider the matter of
providing me with food or lodging. This was my first experience in finding
out what the colour of my skin meant. In some way I managed to keep warm by
walking about, and so got through the night. My whole soul was so bent upon
reaching Hampton that I did not have time to cherish any bitterness toward
the hotel-keeper.
By
walking, begging rides both in wagons and in the cars, in some way, after a
number of days, I reached the city of Richmond, Virginia, about eighty-two
miles from Hampton. When I reached there, tired, hungry, and dirty, it was
late in the night. I had never been in a large city, and this rather added
to my misery. When I reached Richmond, I was completely out of money. I had
not a single acquaintance in the place, and, being unused to city ways, I
did not know where to go. I applied at several places for lodging, but they
all wanted money, and that was what I did not have. Knowing nothing else
better to do, I walked the streets. In doing this I passed by many a
food-stands where fried chicken and half-moon apple pies were piled high and
made to present a most tempting appearance. At that time it seemed to me
that I would have promised all that I expected to possess in the future to
have gotten hold of one of those chicken legs or one of those pies. But I
could not get either of these, nor anything else to eat.
I
must have walked the streets till after midnight. At last I became so
exhausted that I could walk no longer. I was tired, I was hungry, I was
everything but discouraged. Just about the time when I reached extreme
physical exhaustion, I came upon a portion of a street where the board
sidewalk was considerably elevated. I waited for a few minutes, till I was
sure that no passers-by could see me, and then crept under the sidewalk and
lay for the night upon the ground, with my satchel of clothing for a pillow.
Nearly all night I could hear the tramp of feet over my head. The next
morning I found myself somewhat refreshed, but I was extremely hungry,
because it had been a long time since I had had sufficient food. As soon as
it became light enough for me to see my surroundings I noticed that I was
near a large ship, and that this ship seemed to be unloading a cargo of pig
iron. I went at once to the vessel and asked the captain to permit me to
help unload the vessel in order to get money for food. The captain, a white
man, who seemed to be kind-hearted, consented. I worked long enough to earn
money for my breakfast, and it seems to me, as I remember it now, to have
been about the best breakfast that I have ever eaten.
My
work pleased the captain so well that he told me if I desired I could
continue working for a small amount per day. This I was very glad to do. I
continued working on this vessel for a number of days. After buying food
with the small wages I received there was not much left to add on the amount
I must get to pay my way to Hampton. In order to economize in every way
possible, so as to be sure to reach Hampton in a reasonable time, I
continued to sleep under the same sidewalk that gave me shelter the first
night I was in Richmond. Many years after that the coloured citizens of
Richmond very kindly tendered me a reception at which there must have been
two thousand people present. This reception was held not far from the spot
where I slept the first night I spent in the city, and I must confess that
my mind was more upon the sidewalk that first gave me shelter than upon the
recognition, agreeable and cordial as it was.
When
I had saved what I considered enough money with which to reach Hampton, I
thanked the captain of the vessel for his kindness, and started again.
Without any unusual occurrence I reached Hampton, with a surplus of exactly
fifty cents with which to begin my education. To me it had been a long,
eventful journey; but the first sight of the large, three-story, brick
school building seemed to have rewarded me for all that I had undergone in
order to reach the place. If the people who gave the money to provide that
building could appreciate the influence the sight of it had upon me, as well
as upon thousands of other youths, they would feel all the more encouraged
to make such gifts. It seemed to me to be the largest and most beautiful
building I had ever seen. The sight of it seemed to give me new life. I felt
that a new kind of existence had now begun--that life would now have a new
meaning. I felt that I had reached the promised land, and I resolved to let
no obstacle prevent me from putting forth the highest effort to fit myself
to accomplish the most good in the world.
As
soon as possible after reaching the grounds of the Hampton Institute, I
presented myself before the head teacher for an assignment to a class.
Having been so long without proper food, a bath, and a change of clothing, I
did not, of course, make a very favourable impression upon her, and I could
see at once that there were doubts in her mind about the wisdom of admitting
me as a student. I felt that I could hardly blame her if she got the idea
that I was a worthless loafer or tramp. For some time she did not refuse to
admit me, neither did she decide in my favour, and I continued to linger
about her, and to impress her in all the ways I could with my worthiness. In
the meantime I saw her admitting other students, and that added greatly to
my discomfort, for I felt, deep down in my heart, that I could do as well as
they, if I could only get a chance to show what was in me.
After
some hours had passed, the head teacher said to me: "The adjoining
recitation-room needs sweeping. Take the broom and sweep it."
It
occurred to me at once that here was my chance. Never did I receive an order
with more delight. I knew that I could sweep, for Mrs. Ruffner had
thoroughly taught me how to do that when I lived with her.
I
swept the recitation-room three times. Then I got a dusting-cloth and dusted
it four times. All the woodwork around the walls, every bench, table, and
desk, I went over four times with my dusting-cloth. Besides, every piece of
furniture had been moved and every closet and corner in the room had been
thoroughly cleaned. I had the feeling that in a large measure my future
dependent upon the impression I made upon the teacher in the cleaning of
that room. When I was through, I reported to the head teacher. She was a
"Yankee" woman who knew just where to look for dirt. She went into
the room and inspected the floor and closets; then she took her handkerchief
and rubbed it on the woodwork about the walls, and over the table and
benches. When she was unable to find one bit of dirt on the floor, or a
particle of dust on any of the furniture, she quietly remarked, "I
guess you will do to enter this institution."
I
was one of the happiest souls on Earth. The sweeping of that room was my
college examination, and never did any youth pass an examination for
entrance into Harvard or Yale that gave him more genuine satisfaction. I
have passed several examinations since then, but I have always felt that
this was the best one I ever passed.
I
have spoken of my own experience in entering the Hampton Institute. Perhaps
few, if any, had anything like the same experience that I had, but about the
same period there were hundreds who found their way to Hampton and other
institutions after experiencing something of the same difficulties that I
went through. The young men and women were determined to secure an education
at any cost.
The
sweeping of the recitation-room in the manner that I did it seems to have
paved the way for me to get through Hampton. Miss Mary F. Mackie, the head
teacher, offered me a position as janitor. This, of course, I gladly
accepted, because it was a place where I could work out nearly all the cost
of my board. The work was hard and taxing but I stuck to it. I had a large
number of rooms to care for, and had to work late into the night, while at
the same time I had to rise by four o'clock in the morning, in order to
build the fires and have a little time in which to prepare my lessons. In
all my career at Hampton, and ever since I have been out in the world, Miss
Mary F. Mackie, the head teacher to whom I have referred, proved one of my
strongest and most helpful friends. Her advice and encouragement were always
helpful in strengthening to me in the darkest hour.
I
have spoken of the impression that was made upon me by the buildings and
general appearance of the Hampton Institute, but I have not spoken of that
which made the greatest and most lasting impression on me, and that was a
great man--the noblest, rarest human being that it has ever been my
privilege to meet. I refer to the late General Samuel C. Armstrong.
It
has been my fortune to meet personally many of what are called great
characters, both in Europe and America, but I do not hesitate to say that I
never met any man who, in my estimation, was the equal of General Armstrong.
Fresh from the degrading influences of the slave plantation and the
coal-mines, it was a rare privilege for me to be permitted to come into
direct contact with such a character as General Armstrong. I shall always
remember that the first time I went into his presence he made the impression
upon me of being a perfect man: I was made to feel that there was something
about him that was superhuman. It was my privilege to know the General
personally from the time I entered Hampton till he died, and the more I saw
of him the greater he grew in my estimation. One might have removed from
Hampton all the buildings, class-rooms, teachers, and industries, and given
the men and women there the opportunity of coming into daily contact with
General Armstrong, and that alone would have been a liberal education. The
older I grow, the more I am convinced that there is no education which one
can get from books and costly apparatus that is equal to that which can be
gotten from contact with great men and women. Instead of studying books so
constantly, how I wish that our schools and colleges might learn to study
men and things!
General
Armstrong spent two of the last six months of his life in my home at
Tuskegee. At that time he was paralyzed to the extent that he had lost
control of his body and voice in a very large degree. Notwithstanding his
affliction, he worked almost constantly night and day for the cause to which
he had given his life. I never saw a man who so completely lost sight of
himself. I do not believe he ever had a selfish thought. He was just as
happy in trying to assist some other institution in the South as he was when
working for Hampton. Although he fought the Southern white man in the Civil
War, I never heard him utter a bitter word against him afterward. On the
other hand, he was constantly seeking to find ways by which he could be of
service to the Southern whites.
It
would be difficult to describe the hold that he had upon the students at
Hampton, or the faith they had in him. In fact, he was worshipped by his
students. It never occurred to me that General Armstrong could fail in
anything that he undertook. There is almost no request that he could have
made that would not have been complied with. When he was a guest at my home
in Alabama, and was so badly paralyzed that he had to be wheeled about in an
invalid's chair, I recall that one of the General's former students had
occasion to push his chair up a long, steep hill that taxed his strength to
the utmost. When the top of the hill was reached, the former pupil, with a
glow of happiness on his face, exclaimed, "I am so glad that I have
been permitted to do something that was real hard for the General before he
dies!" While I was a student at Hampton, the dormitories became so
crowded that it was impossible to find room for all who wanted to be
admitted. In order to help remedy the difficulty, the General conceived the
plan of putting up tents to be used as rooms. As soon as it became known
that General Armstrong would be pleased if some of the older students would
live in the tents during the winter, nearly every student in school
volunteered to go.
I
was one of the volunteers. The winter that we spent in those tents was an
intensely cold one, and we suffered severely--how much I am sure General
Armstrong never knew, because we made no complaints. It was enough for us to
know that we were pleasing General Armstrong, and that we were making it
possible for an additional number of students to secure an education. More
than once, during a cold night, when a stiff gale would be blowing, our tend
was lifted bodily, and we would find ourselves in the open air. The General
would usually pay a visit to the tents early in the morning, and his
earnest, cheerful, encouraging voice would dispel any feeling of
despondency.
I
have spoken of my admiration for General Armstrong, and yet he was but a
type of that Christlike body of men and women who went into the Negro
schools at the close of the war by the hundreds to assist in lifting up my
race. The history of the world fails to show a higher, purer, and more
unselfish class of men and women than those who found their way into those
Negro schools.
Life
at Hampton was a constant revelation to me; was constantly taking me into a
new world. The matter of having meals at regular hours, of eating on a
tablecloth, using a napkin, the use of the bath-tub and of the tooth-brush,
as well as the use of sheets upon the bed, were all new to me.
I
sometimes feel that almost the most valuable lesson I got at the Hampton
Institute was in the use and value of the bath. I learned there for the
first time some of its value, not only in keeping the body healthy, but in
inspiring self-respect and promoting virtue. In all my travels in the South
and elsewhere since leaving Hampton I have always in some way sought my
daily bath. To get it sometimes when I have been the guest of my own people
in a single-roomed cabin has not always been easy to do, except by slipping
away to some stream in the woods. I have always tried to teach my people
that some provision for bathing should be a part of every house.
For
some time, while a student at Hampton, I possessed but a single pair of
socks, but when I had worn these till they became soiled, I would wash them
at night and hang them by the fire to dry, so that I might wear them again
the next morning.
The
charge for my board at Hampton was ten dollars per month. I was expected to
pay a part of this in cash and to work out the remainder. To meet this cash
payment, as I have stated, I had just fifty cents when I reached the
institution. Aside from a very few dollars that my brother John was able to
send me once in a while, I had no money with which to pay my board. I was
determined from the first to make my work as janitor so valuable that my
services would be indispensable. This I succeeded in doing to such an extent
that I was soon informed that I would be allowed the full cost of my board
in return for my work. The cost of tuition was seventy dollars a year. This,
of course, was wholly beyond my ability to provide. If I had been compelled
to pay the seventy dollars for tuition, in addition to providing for my
board, I would have been compelled to leave the Hampton school. General
Armstrong, however, very kindly got Mr. S. Griffitts Morgan, of New Bedford,
Mass., to defray the cost of my tuition during the whole time that I was at
Hampton. After I finished the course at Hampton and had entered upon my
lifework at Tuskegee, I had the pleasure of visiting Mr. Morgan several
times.
After
having been for a while at Hampton, I found myself in difficulty because I
did not have books and clothing. Usually, however, I got around the trouble
about books by borrowing from those who were more fortunate than myself. As
to clothes, when I reached Hampton I had practically nothing. Everything
that I possessed was in a small hand satchel. My anxiety about clothing was
increased because of the fact that General Armstrong made a personal
inspection of the young men in ranks, to see that their clothes were clean.
Shoes had to be polished, there must be no buttons off the clothing, and no
grease-spots. To wear one suit of clothes continually, while at work and in
the schoolroom, and at the same time keep it clean, was rather a hard
problem for me to solve. In some way I managed to get on till the teachers
learned that I was in earnest and meant to succeed, and then some of them
were kind enough to see that I was partly supplied with second-hand clothing
that had been sent in barrels from the North. These barrels proved a
blessing to hundreds of poor but deserving students. Without them I question
whether I should ever have gotten through Hampton.
When
I first went to Hampton I do not recall that I had ever slept in a bed that
had two sheets on it. In those days there were not many buildings there, and
room was very precious. There were seven other boys in the same room with
me; most of them, however, students who had been there for some time. The
sheets were quite a puzzle to me. The first night I slept under both of
them, and the second night I slept on top of them; but by watching the other
boys I learned my lesson in this, and have been trying to follow it ever
since and to teach it to others.
I
was among the youngest of the students who were in Hampton at the time. Most
of the students were men and women--some as old as forty years of ago. As I
now recall the scene of my first year, I do not believe that one often has
the opportunity of coming into contact with three or four hundred men and
women who were so tremendously in earnest as these men and women were. Every
hour was occupied in study or work. Nearly all had had enough actual contact
with the world to teach them the need of education. Many of the older ones
were, of course, too old to master the text-books very thoroughly, and it
was often sad to watch their struggles; but they made up in earnest much of
what they lacked in books. Many of them were as poor as I was, and, besides
having to wrestle with their books, they had to struggle with a poverty
which prevented their having the necessities of life. Many of them had aged
parents who were dependent upon them, and some of them were men who had
wives whose support in some way they had to provide for.
The
great and prevailing idea that seemed to take possession of every one was to
prepare himself to lift up the people at his home. No one seemed to think of
himself. And the officers and teachers, what a rare set of human beings they
were! They worked for the students night and day, in seasons and out of
season. They seemed happy only when they were helping the students in some
manner. Whenever it is written--and I hope it will be--the part that the
Yankee teachers played in the education of the Negroes immediately after the
war will make one of the most thrilling parts of the history off this
country. The time is not far distant when the whole South will appreciate
this service in a way that it has not yet been able to do.
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