we reached Camden, but having been
there before, we had no difficulty in securing lodging. Camden is the
seat of Wilcox County, and has a population of about three thousand. The
most costly buildings of the town were the courthouse and jail, and
these occupied the most conspicuous places. Here great crowds of Negroes
would gather on Saturdays to spend their earnings of the week for a fine
breakfast or dinner on the following Sunday, or for useless
trivialities.

On Saturday evenings, on the roads leading to and from Camden, as from
other towns, could be seen groups of Negroes gambling here and there,
and buying and selling whiskey. As the county had voted against
licensing whiskey-selling, this was a violation of the law, and often
the commission merchant, a Negro, was imprisoned for the offense, while
those who supplied him went free.

In Camden I found one Negro school-house; this was a box-like cottage,
20 by 16 feet, and was supposed to seat more than one hundred students.
This school, like those taught in the churches, was opened only three
months in the year.

After a two days' stay in Camden, I next visited Miller's Ferry on the
Alabama River, twelve miles west of Camden. The road from Camden is one
of the best roads in the State, and for miles and miles one could see
nothing but cotton and corn.

At Miller's Ferry a Negro school-house of ample proportions had been
built on Judge Henderson's plantation. Here the school ran several
months in the year, and the colored people in the community were
prosperous and showed a remarkable degree of intelligence. Their church
was as attractive as their school-house.

Judge Henderson was for twelve years Probate Judge of Wilcox County. He
proved to be one of the best judges this county has ever had, and even
unto this day he is admired by all, both white and black, rich and poor,
for his honesty, integrity, and high sense of justice.

From Judge Henderson's place we traveled southward to Rockwest, a
distance of more than fifteen miles. During this journey hundreds of
Negroes were seen at work in the corn and cotton fields. These people
were almost wholly ignorant, as they had neither schools nor teachers,
and their ministers were almost wholly illiterate. At Rockwest I found a
very intelligent colored man, Mr. Darrington, who had attended school at
Selma for a few years. He owned his home and ran a small grocery. He
told of the hardships with which he had to contend i