“I’m afraid that the past few years have taken quite the toll on the colored population here. Most folks came here to flee slavery, but the work they found wasn’t much better. When the dead rose there was an opportunity to work the patrols, but that was before the Chinese took over most of those jobs. Now the Chinese do all the menial work, leaving no real way for the Negro to thrive. It ain’t like white folks are hiring us to do anything more than clean their houses.”
