n their home life.

One incident which occurred about this time gave me a great deal of
satisfaction as well as surprise. When it became known in the town that
we were discussing the plans for a new, large building, a Southern white
man who was operating a sawmill not far from Tuskegee came to me and
said that he would gladly put all the lumber necessary to erect the
building on the grounds, with no other guarantee for payment than my
word that it would be paid for when we secured some money. I told the
man frankly that at the time we did not have in our hands one dollar of
the money needed. Notwithstanding this, he insisted on being allowed to
put the lumber on the grounds. After we had secured some portion of the
money we permitted him to do this.

Miss Davidson again began the work of securing in various ways small
contributions for the new building from the white and coloured people
in and near Tuskegee. I think I never saw a community of people so happy
over anything as were the coloured people over the prospect of this new
building. One day, when we were holding a meeting to secure funds for
its erection, an old, ante-bellum coloured man came a distance of twelve
miles and brought in his ox-cart a large hog. When the meeting was in
progress, he rose in the midst of the company and said that he had no
money which he could give, but he had raised two fine hogs, and that
he had brought one of them as a contribution toward the expenses of the
building. He closed his announcement by saying: "Any nigger that's got
any love for his race, or any respect for himself, will bring a hog
to the next meeting." Quite a number of men in the community also
volunteered to give several days' work, each, toward the erection of the
building.

After we had secured all the help that we could in Tuskegee, Miss
Davidson decided to go North for the purpose of securing additional
funds. For weeks she visited individuals and spoke in churches and
before Sunday schools and other organizations. She found this work quite
trying, and often embarrassing. The school was not known, but she was
not long in winning her way into the confidence of the best people in
the North.

The first gift from any Northern person was received from a New York
lady whom Miss Davidson met on the boat that was bringing her North.
They fell into a conversation, and the Northern lady became so much
interested in the effort being made at Tuskegee that before they part