Post by Okwes on Dec 9, 2005 10:13:03 GMT -5
Historian: Lowry winning war of words
By Scott Bigelow - UNCP Notebook
Legend makes better stories than history,” said historian William McKee
Evans.
In the case of Lumbee Indian hero Henry Berry Lowry, history is legend,
said Evans, Ph.D.
The author of “To Die Game; The Story of the Lowry Band,” Evans spoke
recently to an overflow crowd in the Native American Resource Center of
The University of North Carolina at Pembroke. It was sponsored by the
Adolph L. Dial Lecture Series.
“Henry Berry Lowry was a man of few words, but a man of dramatic deeds,”
Evans said. “The record of what he said wouldn't fill up a page.”
Evans, a native of St. Pauls, recounted several of Henry Berry Lowry's
adventures that made him an “avenging angel” to some and a “demon
incarnate” to others.
“When the bounty on his head was raised from $8,000 to $10,000, Henry
Berry and about 100 of his followers were waiting for the train at the
Moss Neck station,” he said. “They cracked open a cask of cider and
served the passengers.”
Lowry often flaunted and humiliated the authorities who hunted him for
more than eight years. He murdered John Taylor, the “presumed head” of
the Ku Klux Klan after Taylor killed Lowry band member Henderson
Oxendine.
“Henry Berry Lowry was hiding in wait for him at McNeill's Pond, not 500
yards from an encampment of troops who were supposed to be looking for
him,” Evans said. “After killing him, Henry Berry took his pistol and
$50 from him.”
Needless to say, they did catch Henry Berry that day.
Evans set the stage for the Lowry uprising in the later days of the
Civil War during a famine time for the poor.
“The Civil War was a rich man's war and a poor man's fight," Evans said.
“War brought inequality to absolutely grotesque proportions. The people
who had it worst were the poor Lumbee, who were rounded up and forced to
work at Fort Fisher.”
Lowry and many others, white, black and Indian, escaped into the
surrounding swamps - “lying out,” he said. “Some were escaping the meat
grinder in Northern Virginia.”
Food became scarce as more outliers, including escaped slaves,
Confederate deserters and Union prison escapees, fled to the sanctuary
of the swamps.
“The Lowry Band were not guerillas but hiding out,” Evans said. “When
food became scarce, they were forced to change tactics and decided to
live off the wealthy class of people instead of the poor.”
The band raided plantations and distributed food to the poor in
Pembroke, which was known then as Scuffletown or the Settlement. But
they were “no ordinary robbers,” he said.
“They were unusual, not the common grade of robbers,” Evans said. “They
wouldn't take everything a person had, and they would bring his wagons
back. They always left enough for them to live on."
Henry Berry Lowry's disappearance in 1872 remains a mystery to his
biographer, too.
“The $10,000 reward was never collected,” Evans said. “He disappeared
into a twilight world of mystery and legend.”
Evans addressed the duality of the Lowry legend.
“Henry Berry Lowry is a source of strength for the Lumbee people,” he
said. “They have stood tall because of the legend.”
“The greatest critics of Lowry have given ground,” Evans said. “The
legend friendly to Lowry has grown.”
Evans also authored “Ballots and Fence Rails: Reconstruction on the
Lower Cape Fear.” At 82, his newest book, “Open Wounds: The Evolution
and Crisis in the History of the American Race System,” is about to be
published.
Growing up in St. Pauls, Evans heard stories of Henry Berry Lowry. Now a
professor emeritus at California State Polytechnic University, he has
become Lowry's preeminent biographer.
The lecture was hosted by the American Indian Studies Department and the
Native American Resource Center. Adolph Dial was the founding chairman
of UNCP's American Indian Studies program, and the lecture series honors
his contribution to the university and the pursuit of Lumbee history,
said Stan Knick, director of the Native American Resource Center at
UNCP.
“Adolph Dial was the father of American Indian Studies at UNCP,” Knick
said. “In establishing this lecture series, it was his intention that we
appreciate Native America from as many angles as possible. He saw us as
active participants in the past, present and future of Native America.”
In the crowd that overflowed the Thomas Assembly Room, were a mixed
group of students, faculty, community residents and local historians,
including Blake Tyner, director of the Robeson County History Museum,
and Henry McKinnon of Lumberton.
- Scott Bigelow is the associate director of public relations for The
University of North Carolina at Pembroke.
By Scott Bigelow - UNCP Notebook
Legend makes better stories than history,” said historian William McKee
Evans.
In the case of Lumbee Indian hero Henry Berry Lowry, history is legend,
said Evans, Ph.D.
The author of “To Die Game; The Story of the Lowry Band,” Evans spoke
recently to an overflow crowd in the Native American Resource Center of
The University of North Carolina at Pembroke. It was sponsored by the
Adolph L. Dial Lecture Series.
“Henry Berry Lowry was a man of few words, but a man of dramatic deeds,”
Evans said. “The record of what he said wouldn't fill up a page.”
Evans, a native of St. Pauls, recounted several of Henry Berry Lowry's
adventures that made him an “avenging angel” to some and a “demon
incarnate” to others.
“When the bounty on his head was raised from $8,000 to $10,000, Henry
Berry and about 100 of his followers were waiting for the train at the
Moss Neck station,” he said. “They cracked open a cask of cider and
served the passengers.”
Lowry often flaunted and humiliated the authorities who hunted him for
more than eight years. He murdered John Taylor, the “presumed head” of
the Ku Klux Klan after Taylor killed Lowry band member Henderson
Oxendine.
“Henry Berry Lowry was hiding in wait for him at McNeill's Pond, not 500
yards from an encampment of troops who were supposed to be looking for
him,” Evans said. “After killing him, Henry Berry took his pistol and
$50 from him.”
Needless to say, they did catch Henry Berry that day.
Evans set the stage for the Lowry uprising in the later days of the
Civil War during a famine time for the poor.
“The Civil War was a rich man's war and a poor man's fight," Evans said.
“War brought inequality to absolutely grotesque proportions. The people
who had it worst were the poor Lumbee, who were rounded up and forced to
work at Fort Fisher.”
Lowry and many others, white, black and Indian, escaped into the
surrounding swamps - “lying out,” he said. “Some were escaping the meat
grinder in Northern Virginia.”
Food became scarce as more outliers, including escaped slaves,
Confederate deserters and Union prison escapees, fled to the sanctuary
of the swamps.
“The Lowry Band were not guerillas but hiding out,” Evans said. “When
food became scarce, they were forced to change tactics and decided to
live off the wealthy class of people instead of the poor.”
The band raided plantations and distributed food to the poor in
Pembroke, which was known then as Scuffletown or the Settlement. But
they were “no ordinary robbers,” he said.
“They were unusual, not the common grade of robbers,” Evans said. “They
wouldn't take everything a person had, and they would bring his wagons
back. They always left enough for them to live on."
Henry Berry Lowry's disappearance in 1872 remains a mystery to his
biographer, too.
“The $10,000 reward was never collected,” Evans said. “He disappeared
into a twilight world of mystery and legend.”
Evans addressed the duality of the Lowry legend.
“Henry Berry Lowry is a source of strength for the Lumbee people,” he
said. “They have stood tall because of the legend.”
“The greatest critics of Lowry have given ground,” Evans said. “The
legend friendly to Lowry has grown.”
Evans also authored “Ballots and Fence Rails: Reconstruction on the
Lower Cape Fear.” At 82, his newest book, “Open Wounds: The Evolution
and Crisis in the History of the American Race System,” is about to be
published.
Growing up in St. Pauls, Evans heard stories of Henry Berry Lowry. Now a
professor emeritus at California State Polytechnic University, he has
become Lowry's preeminent biographer.
The lecture was hosted by the American Indian Studies Department and the
Native American Resource Center. Adolph Dial was the founding chairman
of UNCP's American Indian Studies program, and the lecture series honors
his contribution to the university and the pursuit of Lumbee history,
said Stan Knick, director of the Native American Resource Center at
UNCP.
“Adolph Dial was the father of American Indian Studies at UNCP,” Knick
said. “In establishing this lecture series, it was his intention that we
appreciate Native America from as many angles as possible. He saw us as
active participants in the past, present and future of Native America.”
In the crowd that overflowed the Thomas Assembly Room, were a mixed
group of students, faculty, community residents and local historians,
including Blake Tyner, director of the Robeson County History Museum,
and Henry McKinnon of Lumberton.
- Scott Bigelow is the associate director of public relations for The
University of North Carolina at Pembroke.