xercises of their university
at Tougaloo, only seven miles away.

TOUGALOO TO-DAY.

For a wonder the war spared Tougaloo. Less pretentious houses within
sight of it were fired and destroyed by roving squads. But the
mansion, in the midst of a grand grove of oaks, stood intact. When the
war was over, the American Missionary Association acquired 500 acres
of the estate, including the mansion.

At the beginning the building afforded accommodations for both
teachers and students. But at present the mansion is used for the
offices of the institution and for class rooms. Tougaloo has developed
into one of the largest institutions for colored youth in the South.
The mansion, which was the nucleus, is now only one of half a dozen
large structures. To the north of it is Strieby Hall, a long
three-story brick structure. The clay was dug, the brick made, and the
walls laid, chiefly by student labor. To the south is another
three-story dormitory. Another notable {pg 207} structure in the
group is the Ballard School Building, every nail in which was driven
by the students. About these larger buildings are grouped the Ballard
Industrial shops and cottages.

Three hundred and twenty-six students were enrolled at Tougaloo the
past year. The steady growth in the attendance more than keeps pace
with the increase in accommodations. They come from all parts of
Mississippi, Yazoo County of terrible memories furnishing a
representation notable for its numbers. Arkansas, Louisiana and
Tennessee are represented.

A MISSISSIPPI MYSTERY.

Nowhere in the South is the negro so totally a nonentity in politics
as in Mississippi, and yet nowhere in the South is there a colored
institution so heartily commended as is Tougaloo University by the
white Mississippians. This seems odd, hardly credible. Tougaloo is not
a State institution. Mississippi has a system of instruction including
a normal school and other departments for colored youth. And yet every
Legislature makes an appropriation for Tougaloo. The institution's
management reports the use made of the money, and the Governor
appoints a Board of Visitors. This is the extent of State supervision,
and still Mississippi continues to make biennially an appropriation
for the university. The last Legislature cut down the amount somewhat,
but it cut some of the white institutions worse than it did Tougaloo.

Perhaps a stronger evidence of the esteem in which this university is
held by white Mis