me, but I decided at that time that I would have an edu- cation and went at it. I learned my A, B, C's by ask- ing other children, who went to school, what the let- ters were, and by practicing on every person whom I met, I finally learned to read and write. I studied as best I could until I became able to read the news- papers, and I know that I could stumble my way through a congressional speech when I was fifteen. It was about this time that Geo. S. Boutwell, a Con- gressman from Maine or Massachusetts, made^ a speech, which I read. It made a great impression upon me, and I can quote one sentence from it now. It was on the Southern question, and I think it read as follows : ' I know that there is pro-slavery desire and always has been and always will be until we, the Republican party, grind it into powder, trample it under foot, and freedom blows the dust out with the healing of her wings.' This sentence made an impres- sion on me, and I probably read it to some of our peo- ple, as the colored boys who could read always read the papers to the others. Well, in this way I learned to read and write. Arithmetic always came easy to me, and I could figure out sums in my head long before I knew how to make the figures. When I was eighteen years old I had so far progressed that I began to teach school, and the first school I ever entered was as a teacher, and not as a scholar. After teaching several years, I went to the University of South Carolina, and remained there at school until the government of the State prohibited the co-education of the races, and forced me out. I then went back to teach in the pub- lic schools, and was engaged in teaching and farming until I was elected to Congress." Farming Among the Negroes " How about farming among the negroes, Mr. Mur- ray," I asked, " are they gradually acquiring prop- erty?" " They are, indeed," emphatically replied the colored Congres^sman. " The negro naturally wants a farm of
