when I got to Selma the wheel
would not sell, so I boarded the train without money enough to reach
Utica, the place in Mississippi to which I was bound.

I had not got far into the State of Mississippi when my purse was empty.
I stopped off at a little town, late at night, where there were no
boarding-houses, and no one would admit me to a private house to sleep.
I wandered about until I came upon an old guano-house, and crawled into
this and slept until the break of day. Then I crawled out, pulled myself
together, jumped astride my bicycle, and made my way toward Utica,
through a wild and unfrequented part of Mississippi. But before I could
reach Utica my wheel broke down, whereupon I put it upon my shoulder,
rolled up my trousers, and continued the journey to Utica. I soon met a
young man who relieved me of my burden by trading me his brass watch for
the wheel and giving me $2 to boot.

I had previously got myself elected principal of the little county
school, which, if I could pass the State examination, would pay me a
little salary, which would be a great help to me while I worked up the
Industrial and Normal School which I had come to build. Much depended on
my ability to pass the examination. Tuskegee's reputation was at
stake--my own reputation was at stake; for, if I failed, the people
would certainly lose confidence in me, and make it impossible for me to
accomplish my purpose.

I was out of money, and this was the only way I could see to get any for
a long time. If I failed, my wife--who was still in Alabama, and who
believed in my ability to do anything--would perhaps lose respect for
me, and, most of all, the failure to pass the examination might upset
all my plans and blast all my hopes. I confess I went to that
examination with a sort of anxious determination. I did not, however,
find it half so difficult as I had expected. I soon succeeded in
obtaining the necessary license to teach in the public schools of the
State.

The little schoolhouse where the school had been heretofore was so much
out of repair that we could not risk having pupils under its roof. I had
hoped to open in the church, but the good deacons would not permit this.
So the few pupils who came the first day were gathered together under an
oak-tree, and there were taught. After some time a temporary cabin was
fixed up, and in this we taught the entire winter. The cabin was
practically no protection against the rain, and less against th