Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1859-08-09
THE GAZETTE.
TUESDAY MORNING, AUGUST .. 1859.
TIE PENNSYLVANIA GERMANS.

THE PENNSYLVANIA GERMANS.
Correspondence Of lie n. y. Err"iny Post.
NEw GRANADA, July %. lSj9.-lt is
strange that in the United States region
should exist which belongs entirely /" an"Ih-
er world and another time. But such Is the
case with the eastern or German counties III
the great state of Pennsylvania. These
counties were settled by the Germans, ana
they still remain German. No change has
taken place among the people; they speak,
live aud act nothing but German. In
the last few DAYS have walked from the Della
ware river to the Susquehanna. and during
that Journey have spoken to almost every one
that | met on the road, have stopped in ut
the houses, and did not find more than
dozen persons who were able to speak Eng
lish. took the road through the mountains
passing the Water Gap, and travelled through
some ofthe most beautiful scenery on the con-
tinent, following the windings Of the streams
and stopping over night in little hamlets Gov
cred up in the hills.
The mountains rise up on either side OF
the road, clothed in pines and chesnuts, and
their tops for some days made the only hori.
zon, cutting off some time from the length OF
the days The rich bottom lands of the val
legs are peopled by German farmers. with
here and there village gathered about a
tavern. These farmers, judging from their
barns, are well to do in the world; fer such
barns never were seen even Oh model farms,
in the Eastern States. On the journey L
have seen some enormous ones from fifty to
a hundred feet in length and from forty to
sixty feet deep. The ends are built OF worked
limestone, about three feet thick, while the
faces are all of wood, and are built with glass
windows. The large barus stand three sto-
ries high, with basement: the windows
are all sashed and glazed. The woodwork
of these mammoth stables is painted red,
and is adorned-with all manner of devices,
stars, suns crosses. and with rather strange
shaped monster, over which paused half Il
day until was told that that it was an an
chor. | never should have known if had
not been told.
All the great barns have the names OF the
owner and builder painted Oh them over the
central window, and many OF them have some
motto. generally as inappropriate rs possible.
But the horses are worthy Of even their
palatial stables, for they are very large. and
look as if they were finely kept. The houses
in which the people themselves live are in
diret and striking contrast with the barns.
They are poor log huts. plastered up with
mud. never more than one and n half stories
high, and will averagSabOut twelve feet by
fifteen; they are overlooking with children
These people have lost trace Of what part OF
the fatherland they came from. All the In
formation that could gather was, that they
came from Germany. But what part OF
Germany? 20, from Germany;" further
than this they either would or could not tell
me Thew still retain some of the old coun-
try customs, not at all improved by trans
planting over the sea, for bad whiskey has
taken the place of weak beer. Their trolics
(bier squrts, as they call them, marriages,
funerals and christenings, without priest,
are attended by the whole country side,
and thew themselves told me that the effects
of whiskey are oftentimes unpleasantly no
ticed.
In this country, Germany, as the inhabl-
tants call it, wives and daughters are very
useful in household. The do field work
with the men, and are not troubled with
consumption. Large, strong, masculine wo-
men, with faces buried and hair tangled they
seem to enjoy life full as much as their more
delicate sisters in the city. The women oi
the house do everything and keep everything
in order, or rather disorder.
All this ia i'm the richest agricultural conn-
ties i'm the State, amid farms OF the highest
cultivation, and with mountain and SKY 80
beautiful that one would think they must
have some influence upon the minds OF the
inhabitants. Contrary to their usual taste,
the Germans here have very little apprecia-
tion of music | heard some Wild German
songs which must have been imported from
the fatherland by the first settlers: the music
consisted of n certain number ot words run on
in rapid recitatiye, and interSpread with
long, dismal howl. The language which is
sroken is mixture of several of the old Ger
man dialects, crossed with English: this last
having caused the dropping OF most OF the
noun and many of the verb case BINDINGS, re-
Gently arrived Germans are unable 7" un,
derstand the tongue, and call 1t very hard
names.
The coal measur = occur in the mountains
through the district, and have driven the
Dutch out in spots, a. the mines are WORKED
by English, Welsh and Irish, under Amer.
can engineers; but darkness closes IN around
these bright spots, although it seems para
dox to call coal bright, and the little civiiiza-
ton extends no further than IN the immedi-
ate region of the mines. There are. how
ever, some few iron FORCES i'll the hills work
ed by the Germans, in the same manner aS
those in the IIartz mountains, making ut
great waste of labor, very good iron, The
FORCES burn charcoal, and cart the product to
the nearest outlet in farm wagons.
The inhabitants appear perfectly content
ed, every face is round and has either plea
seant expression or none atall. principally the
latter. / did not see single ill-natured
look on the whole trip, except one man who
was talking loud to his wife in the unknown
tongue.
rs To CoysuMPTIvES.-Thc advertiser liav-
ing been restored to health in II few weeks, by a
very simple remedy, after having suffered sever",
years with severe Lung affection, aud that dread
disease, Consumption,-is anxious to make known
IN his fellow sufferers the means of cure To all
who desire il he will send copy OF the prcscrip-
tion used free of charYe with directions for pre-