r work
was very cold. We were not able to provide enough bed-clothes to keep
the students warm. In fact, for some time we were not able to provide,
except in a few cases, bedsteads and mattresses of any kind. During the
coldest nights I was so troubled about the discomfort of the students
that I could not sleep myself. I recall that on several occasions I went
in the middle of the night to the shanties occupied by the young men,
for the purpose of confronting them. Often I found some of them sitting
huddled around a fire, with the one blanket which we had been able to
provide wrapped around them, trying in this way to keep warm. During the
whole night some of them did not attempt to lie down. One morning,
when the night previous had been unusually cold, I asked those of the
students in the chapel who thought that they had been frostbitten during
the night to raise their hands. Three hands went up. Notwithstanding
these experiences, there was almost no complaining on the part of the
students. They knew that we were doing the best that we could for them.
They were happy in the privilege of being permitted to enjoy any kind of
opportunity that would enable them to improve their condition. They
were constantly asking what they might do to lighten the burdens of the
teachers.

I have heard it stated more than once, both in the North and in the
South, that coloured people would not obey and respect each other when
one member of the race is placed in a position of authority over others.
In regard to this general belief and these statements, I can say that
during the nineteen years of my experience at Tuskegee I never, either
by word or act, have been treated with disrespect by any student
or officer connected with the institution. On the other hand, I am
constantly embarrassed by the many acts of thoughtful kindness. The
students do not seem to want to see me carry a large book or a satchel
or any kind of a burden through the grounds. In such cases more than one
always offers to relieve me. I almost never go out of my office when
the rain is falling that some student does not come to my side with an
umbrella and ask to be allowed to hold it over me.

While writing upon this subject, it is a pleasure for me to add that in
all my contact with the white people of the South I have never received
a single personal insult. The white people in and near Tuskegee, to
an especial degree, seem to count it as a privilege to show me all t