Eastern times. [volume] (Bath, Me.) 1846-1857, 1851-04-24
Scenes in Illinois.

| Tie Inherent races vi ne smoking
phlegmatc German, the Swede, the Norwegi-
an, the beer-drinking Dntchman, the self COM
placent John Bull, the canny Scot, the cheat
ing Israelite, the mercurial Frenchman, the
rollicking Irishman, and the ever-present, ever
active Yankee, together with the Buckeye from
Ohio, the Hoosier from Indiana, and the illil-
crate, drinking, fighting, generous Southerner
all are here in equal proportions, and give
about their equal quota to the character of the
State, and supply a choice variety of their Pc
culiar expressions to its language. The
Hoosier allows the Souiherner suspicious
the Buckeye 'reckous,' while the Yankee
calculates and the Missourian Opinions =
The State has yet settled character-its
different elements not having had time to har-
monize and settle together. So its laws, its
manners, its languages. A Southern farm
house, for instance, is mere cabin, construct
4 ed without regard to looks, convenience or
comfort. The furniture, cooking utensils, and
dress of the inmates correspond with the house ;
| while the fences and out-houses are of the
most wretched condition, and the door-yard
and the fields are given up to weeds, and crops
wasted with the most reckless disregard to
thrift. Cows will be allowed to run all the
season with their calves to save mlking-or
if milked, only when they happen to come up
of themselves, or when the boy happens 10
find them, which is rare. Families with good
farms will have no butter, but they will have
eggs and chickens without stint. 1t is not un-
common to see two hundred hens about a man S
door, and four pounds dressed is not uncommon
weight. So common are they, that you can
purchase them for bit a pair. These peo-
pie live on bacon, chickens and corn dodgers,
and doubt whether Southerner has anv sem
slbllity in his palate, or cares what he is eat
/ ing, so he gets enough. You would think so,
| if you saw the dishes and the cooking. As
an Offset to this, yon are as welcome as the
pigs to anything he has got
The Yankee here is the same as the Yankee
anywhere-only more so. More liberal, less
saving, less religions, less honest less careful
eft appearances-but quite as enterprislng, and
bound TO get living at his own or somebody's
expense.
| The lrishman is improved here-more in
teligent, thrifty and steady, and in every re-
spect more of man and better citizen than
he is elsewhere where have seen him.
The Englishman gets good property here
| He fares well-drinks his grog when he likes,
and always alone, or with his own countrymen
keeps pointer or setter, doubled gun and
enjoys field sports when he pleases. A great
many are scattered over the country, but do
not readily assimilate with the people, aud con-
tinue to prefer brandy to corn whiskey-n
which think they show good taste.
The Scotchman here is always a good citi-
zen, and man of property-steady, thrifty,
and law-abidlng The German and the Jew
do the fddling and huckstering, the gardening,
wood-sawing. cooking, and large part of the
drinEinu The only men 7 have seen drunE
here, were Germans, and yet they were good
citizens. The Swedes and Norwegians are
steady, hard-working fellows, and give nobody
any trouble The Hooscr is a sort of cross
between the Southerner and the bear, with all
its qnalities-mental. moral and physical, inst
about equally divided between the two races
with a touch of the wandering Arab. He is
wandering animal, and his home and house
are wherever his wagon happens to be-near
some timber or fence or firewood-and where
there is water enough for cofee-whiskey he
takes raw-and washing is to him and his a
work of supererogation.
The young sucker, the rising generation of
all these heterogeneous materials, is the devil
just as nearly as he is anyihing-unletiered
ignorant, uncivilized, selEdependent, free, law
less, unpublished, resolule, careless, confident
tobacco-chewing, whiskey- drinking, suspicious
of good clothes or good manners, in others,
and finally, 20 use his own expression, don I
care 'shuckS for law, gospel or the devil
One characteristic of the animal is that he is
always anticipating some body t. feel big,
which he considers his duty to resent before it
happens.
The way the young Sucker volunteer fought
in Mexico, may give you some idea of his
characteristics. One of the officers related to
me little scene which occurred at Buena VIs-
ia. 1t was in the very crisis of the fight, when
the Indiana troops broke and retreated, and
left the whole brunt of the Mexican advance to
be borne by the Illinois regiment. 1t seemed
as though they would be annihllated by supe
rlority of numbers, and there were some signs
| of wavering, when young Sucker drew his
rifle deliberately and dropped Mexican
Set up the pins he shouted, and the whole
regiment took up the word, and at every fire
would shout-'Set up the pins! The officer
said they fought like demons, and with as much
drollery and fun as if on spree. At another
time, when charge was ordered, one of the
officers could not think of the word, and he
shouted-'Let 'er rip when the whole line
burst out with the yell-'Let 'er rip.'-and
dashed in amongst the Mexicans laughing and
shouting this new battle cry. Of course there
are many honorable exceptions, but the char
acteristics of the Sucker are mainly as have
represented. The reasons are obvious. The
State itself is yet but little over 'twenty-one
years of age and was settled all in heap
Poverty piled in the settlers very unceremoni-
ously, and they had to struggle with all sorts
of hardships and NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS., priva-
tions and bereavements, and even dangers
So the youth were conceived, nursed and
brought up in a mixture of all sorts of exigen-
ces, which make them what they are.
Many curious and most laughable scenes are
daily occurring in the courts of Justice. |
will relate one which occurred in Kane Coun-
ty, in the circuit court few years ago, when
Gov. Ford was the presiding Judge, which
will serve as a specimen.
An old miner and land contractor of conside-
able wealth was summoned as one of the grand
jury; he came to the court gloriously drunk, and
rather late-in fact, not until the court was or
ganized and was engaged in trying a case
He came staggering in, dressed in buckskin,
and making his way to the bar, addressed the
court and people with-'How are ye all, d-n
ye9 at the top of his voice.
The Judge put on decorous frown and
said-'Mr. Clerk, enter fine Of FIVE dollars
against Mr.. -
Wal, Judge, guess you think this old
boss hahn got the money, but your mistak-
en-, old feller.' ta
J. sMr. Clerk, enter fine of ten dollars
sWal, old feller, can fork up and he
threw down the gold to pay the fine.
J. Mr.. Clerk, enter a fine of twenty dol
lars
'Wal. Judge. here's the pewter, but if only
we two are going to play this game, put up
your money if you do rake down the pile
J. sMr. Clerk, enter fine of fifty dollars