As soon as we got the cabins in condition to be used, I
determined to clear up some land so that we could plant a crop. When
I explained my plan to the young men, I noticed that they did not seem
to take to it very kindly. It was hard for them to see the connection
between clearing land and an education. Besides, many of them had
been school-teachers, and they questioned whether or not clearing land
would be in keeping with their dignity. In order to relieve them from
any embarrassment, each afternoon after school I took my axe and led
the way to the woods. When they saw that I was not afraid or ashamed
to work, they began to assist with more enthusiasm. We kept at the
work each afternoon, until we had cleared about twenty acres and had
planted a crop.
In the meantime Miss Davidson was devising plans to repay the
loan. Her first effort was made by holding festivals, or "suppers."
She made a personal canvass among the white and coloured families in
the town of Tuskegee, and got them to agree to give something, like a
cake, a chicken, bread, or pies, that could be sold at the festival.
Of course the coloured people were glad to give anything that they
could spare, but I want to add that Miss Davidson did not apply to a
single white family, so far as I now remember, that failed to donate
something; and in many ways the white families showed their interested
in the school.
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