We pray de Lord: he gib us signs
Dat some day we be free;
De Norf-wind tell it to de pines,
De wild-duck to de sea;
We tink it when de church-bell ring,
We dream it in de dream;
De rice-bird mean it when he sing,
De eagle when he scream.
We know de promise nebber fail,
An' nebber lie de Word;
So, like de 'postles in de jail,
We waited for de Lord:
An' now he open ebery door,
An' trow away de key;
He tink we lub him so before,
We lub him better free.
De yam will grow, de cotton blow,
He'll gib de rice an' corn:
O nebber you fear, if nebber you hear
De driver blow his horn!
EXTRACT FROM SPEECH BY HON. HENRY WILSON TO THE COLORED PEOPLE IN CHARLESTON, S. C., APRIL, 1865.
"For twenty-nine years, in private life and in public life, at all times and on all occasions, I have spoken and voted against Slavery, and in favor of the freedom of every man that breathes God's air or walks His earth. And to-day, standing here in South Carolina, I feel that the slave-power we have fought so long is under my heel; and that the men and women held in bondage so long are free forevermore.
"Understanding this to be your position,—that you are forever free,—remember, O remember, the sacrifices that have been made for your freedom, and be worthy of the blessing that has come to you! I know you will be. [Cheers.] Through these four years of bloody war, you have always been loyal to the old flag of the country. You have never betrayed the Union soldiers who were fighting the battles of the country. You have guided them, you have protected them, you have cheered them. You have proved yourselves worthy the great situation in which you were placed by the Slaveholders' Rebellion. Four years ago you saw the flag of your country struck down from Fort Sumter; yesterday you saw the old flag go up again. Its stars now beam with a brighter lustre. You know now what the old flag means,—that it means liberty to every man and woman in the country. [Cheers.]
"You have been patient, you have endured, you have trusted in God and your country; and the God of our fathers has blessed our country, and He has blessed you. The long, dreary, chilly night of Slavery has passed away forevermore, and the sun of Liberty casts its broad beams upon you to-day.
"But your duties commence with your liberties. Remember that you are to be obedient, faithful, true, and loyal to the country forevermore. [Cheers, and cries of 'Yes!' 'Yes!' 'Yes!'] Remember that you are to educate your children; that you are to improve their condition; that you are to make a brighter future for them than the past has been to you. Remember that you are to be industrious. Freedom does not mean that you are not to work. It means that when you do work you shall have pay for it, to carry home to your wives and the children of your love. Liberty means the liberty to work for yourselves, to have the fruits of your labor, to better your own condition, and improve the condition of your children. I want every man and woman to understand that every neglect of duty, every failure to be industrious, to be economical, to support yourselves, to take care of your families, to secure the education of your children, will be put in the faces of your friends as a reproach. Your old masters will point you out and say to us, 'We told you so.' For more than thirty years we have said that you were fit for liberty. We have maintained it amid obloquy and reproach. For maintaining this doctrine in the halls of Congress our names have been made a by-word. The great lesson for you in the future is to prove that we were right; to prove that you were worthy of liberty. We simply ask you, in the name of your friends, in the name of our country, to show by your good conduct, and by efforts to improve your condition, that you were worthy of freedom; to prove to all the world, even to your old masters and mistresses, that it was a sin against God to hold you in Slavery, and that you are worthy to have your names enrolled among the freemen of the United States of America. [Great cheering.]
"We want you to respect yourselves; to walk erect, with the consciousness that you are free men. Be humane and kind to each other, always serving each other when you can. Be courteous and gentlemanly to everybody on earth, black and white, but cringe to nobody.
"You have helped us to fight our battles; you have stood by the old flag; you have given us your prayers; and you have had the desire of your hearts fulfilled. The cause of freedom has triumphed; and in our triumph we want all to stand up and rejoice together."