On April 4, 1901, Paul Laurence Dunbar wrote an exasperated letter to his wife Alice, upset about a vague accusation she had made in an earlier letter. Paul was on an extended visit to Jacksonville, Florida, while she remained at their home in Washington, D. C. Suffering from tuberculosis and feeling depressed, Paul referred to his impending death.
I am anxious to know what is the matter with you. Why should you say what you have just at this time? I am quite ill tonight and alone. Your letter has not helped me much either. The chances are that I shall not bother you for long and you can afford to be truthful for a little while.
Paul Laurence Dunbar to Alice Moore Dunbar, April 4, 1901. Paul Laurence Dunbar Papers, Ohio History Connection (Microfilm edition, Roll 8).
The next day, Paul wrote a more conciliatory letter, but he again alluded to his illness and imminent death.
I don't want you to have only that cold, hard letter so I send you this. I am very anxious to get home. It does not do for me to stay away from you for so long. I grow ill both bodily and mentally. I am taking the tablets for the pain under the shoulder blades, but it is my private opinion Dr. Francis really knows nothing about my case. Why I should continue to bring up heavy mucous for now over a month is something when one takes into account that I have been under treatment. Perhaps, though, as I seem to have about written myself out, some considerate Fate thinks it about time for me to shuffle off before my star descends. I did so want this letter to be cheerful, but I can't for the life of me make it so.
Paul Laurence Dunbar to Alice Moore Dunbar, April 5, 1901. Paul Laurence Dunbar Papers, Ohio History Connection (Microfilm edition, Roll 8).
While Paul was in Jacksonville, he stayed at the home of the author James Weldon Johnson. Years later in his autobiography, Johnson recalled Paul's extended visit.
I had asked him to stay with us for as long as he liked. I got pleasure out of humoring him. I remember how scrupulous I was in seeing that he was provided with the bedtime snack that he wanted every night, a raw onion with salt and a bottle of beer. He had great faith in this smelly combination as an antidote for tuberculosis -- the disease that he knew would someday set at naught all antidotes.
Along This Way, by James Weldon Johnson. The Viking Press (New York, New York). 1933. Pages 159 - 160.
When Paul left Florida, he went to the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, where he continued to experience poor health.
I did not write yesterday because I was on the train all day and an awful trip it was -- Jim Crow car, no sleeper and about a half dozen changes. Naturally I am sick from it. Don't worry when I tell you that in gagging today, I had quite a flow of blood. Where it came from I don't know.
Paul Laurence Dunbar to Alice Moore Dunbar, April 17, 1901. Paul Laurence Dunbar Papers, Ohio History Connection (Microfilm edition, Roll 8).