sprung up in the
Southern States, has not only demonstrated that the negro race may be
made to become a source of vast good or profit to the Republic, it has
revolutionised public opinion.

Meanwhile the numbers actually under instruction, and also of those who
were exceedingly anxious to enter the classes, increased daily. At the
same time, the overwhelming need of the coloured race, and the great
opportunities to raise them which offered themselves, made a deep
impression on Booker Washington, as it also did on one who was thus
early an able and sympathetic helper in the work--Miss Olivia Davidson,
afterwards Mrs Booker Washington. The latter was a superior girl, of
coloured ancestry, although personally she was as white as the most
pure-blooded descendant of the Pilgrim Fathers that could have been
found. These two kindred souls were now one in the work, and, of course,
they had many anxious consultations. It did not seem as though the work
of the school could continue to be carried on in the forsaken church and
half-ruinous shed which so far had been the only accommodation.

A short distance outside of the town there was an old plantation of a
hundred acres, and as the house had been burned down, this was to be
secured for the low price of a hundred dollars. If it could possibly be
effected, the removal of the school to such a site promised to be a
great step in advance; and, after overcoming a good many difficulties, a
portion of the money was borrowed and possession was obtained. Having
made such a good beginning, it seemed to be impossible not to go
forward, especially when the enthusiasm of the coloured people was
encouraged by the hearty sympathy and practical help of the whites. The
fact is that, in proportion as the schools prospered, both blacks and
whites were being made to see that they had very much in common; and
friends of the negro will gladly recognise that the continued aid of
friends in the Southern States has made uninterrupted progress possible.
The next thing was to put up a main school building at a cost of six
thousand dollars, the students themselves being the builders. For some
time after this the difficulty in obtaining adequate funds was a cause
of great anxiety; but what at the time seemed to be unsurmountable
obstacles were always overcome, and the way was then open for still
further advances. The first year's work at Tuskegee was, on the whole, a
time of preparation and of founding wha