“You all know that it would be only my dead body that would ever leave that place, if I went there,” said Watta. “I should be riddled with bullets in no time. Those men standing outside of that groggery are thirsting for my blood this minute.”
“But I ‘am only a Nigger,’ (baring his yellow arm to his elbow.)”—Page [105].
“I have known Gen. Baker for several years, and I believe he is an honorable man, and he will protect you,” said Judge K——.
“An honorable man?” repeated Watta. “‘An honorable man’ he may be when dealing with those he acknowledges his equals, if there are any such; but I am ‘only a nigger’ (baring his yellow arm to his elbow.) “Honor? He’ll ventilate no honor when a nigger or politics is concerned. I don’t mean any disrespect to you, Judge; but Gen. Baker doesn’t hold the same views about colored people that you do, as you know.”
“Well, I’m going,” said the First Lieutenant, “and I talked as bad as any of you on the Fourth. I’ll apologize.”
“But they hate me more than all the rest of you,” resumed Watta, still inspecting his bare arm. “I’m nearer their color, and the best thing they can say of a man of my complexion is that he’s a smart fellow, but needs watching. And they do watch us, and they magnify everything we do or say, and misconstrue it, and lie about us. And then you know I’m that heinous offender—a ‘nigger school teacher, and a Republican newspaper correspondent.’ Why, Gen. Baker can’t protect me. I should be shot a dozen times before he knew I was coming. And then he’d regret it. That wouldn’t do me much good, nor my family. I tell you it is only a trap, a decoy, to get us up there and massacre us. If they kill me, they must come after me, I a’n’t fool enough to go to them to get shot.”
“If the General could get shet of them armed men, would you go?” asked Springer.