Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1867-01-15

| to specialization" as he called it. He
seemed In doubts whether to keep his horizon
tai position or to mount the stump closest to
him at once, and ''pfomulgate" an Grafton on
the state of political affairs, or to keep his po-
sition and relate story which required no par
ticular action.
"Have yer ever been down at Snakes Hol.
low, fellers ?' asked he, waiting moment for
reply, eff yer amt, yerve lost treat It's
cute place, nigh on the sea- board of Georgy,
and don't need any O your splendiferous palaces
to make it city, for natur has done more nor
art could do in making it a furst rate jumpin
off place for them that tired of this here world
and all it's troubles. The folks, too, live like
fghtin' cocks-and that, too, without doin any
work All yer have to do is to open yer fly
trap, and mamma will drop inter it | know all
| about the gaIs-they are real Buncumb, and no
mistake-of very high descent, some, o their
| lows.
Snakes Hollow is a place Of considerable ex-
! tent, and will, [ have no doubt, become city
of some importance when the streets is laid
out-the trees chopped down-the lots fenced
and the old tavern white washed 1t has a
pretty considerable trade in the hog Gne-some
oysters, and no small trife O. sweet potatoes
and gubers. The boys is furst rate-and the
gals, Jehosiphat they II make mans mouth
| water jist like a green priscimmon, or some
| thin o'that sort. The families around are
amongst the oldest settlers, and-when their
dander's riz, quite 'ristocratic. Being as how
its quite fashionable to give pedigrees-
as they do race nags to make EN- blood horses,
| I'll strive to give you the breed osome o'the
| gals in them diggins
[ shall begin with Sal Smith-she's a
scrouger, weighs two hundred and seven gross,
and wears what the winning folks calls a bus
| tie. | know her auntsisters from A to lizard
John Smith, her great grand daddy, on her
daddys side, came to this country about the
| time when a ship-load o'convcts cast anchor in
| Chesapeake bay, with the colors o'John Bull
! flying. Nobody never got information as to
whether there was any Smiths among them
| transported emigrants- John never opened
his fy-trap about that affair, but went honestly
to work at the hog-stealing business, until he
made bacon enough to open store lie also
understood the soyster grab, and kept two
canoes and four runaway nlggers to work all
night on the oyster shoals o his neighbors. He
hitched teams with Barbara Singers, the wild
der Squire Singers, who sold whiskey and
tobacco at Snakes Hollow
Seven Smiths, boys and gals sprung out
this union-John Smith, Jr, Pheleg Simon
and Bill; SAL Capsy and Jimima. The gals
all either cut stick or got married to some
o their brothers, for, at that time there was
none but ingins and niggers in them parts
Pheleg got shot by ingin-Simon got nabbed
by shark whilst stealing oysters, and Bill was
gored to death by mad bull. From John
Smith, who married his sister Jimima, came
Wrapping family of Smiths-some on EN-,
they do say, was little tinged with the yaer,
which, howsOmdever, wore Oft the next genera
ton, and the breed become real Buncumb, good
at knock down and drag-out Every rum
sucker from other settlements had to gin In, for
they was some pumpkins and each never lost
more nor one eye in regular gouge. Sal-the
gal of whom was iist speaking, is all gal from
head to foot; she can go it strong on the double
shuttle at hoedoWn, whip a niger, or take a
calf by the hind legs and pitch it over the fence.
She's screamer but won't get married, cause
she II lose the name O Smith, which, you know
is become monstrous scarce.
We had smacking time o'it one Valentine S
day. ''Sich Citing up stairs you never did
see' among the love-sick swines. There wa mt
no particular post -ofGce-so the holer O. an old
black jack tree was used to deposte the billy
dukes in. Sich writin' and sich love maxim !
[ got two on EN-, written to kill, and for your
benefit, fellers, [ Il recite 'em. The furst one
piles it on
love the poesy when it blooms,
[ love the beauteous eglentine;
My dearest one-my Valentine.
Furst rate, isn't it, fellers? 'Tother one goes
this wise
Oh, how yer eyes does pierce me through,
And how yer lips does shine;
Yer are the sweetest man I've seed,
My smiling one, my Valentine.
There's no mistake about the gals that wrote
that poetry-they' re genusses, and flowers that
were born to blush unseen, and waste their
oto fbo Al
Sal Smith guy a ball on Valentines night !;
and there was considerable fxin on the occa-
sion. It was a grand affair, and caused a
moughty deal O excitement all over them dig
gins Jehu didn' the gals rub their cheeks
with brick-dust, and fix on the balloon skirts.
And the fellers, too Sam Jirkins turned out
with spank and span new red waistcoat, snuff
colored knee breeches and yaller stockings He
had watch chain as big as the Atlantic cable,
but don't believe he had any other fxins to
it. Oceans O musk was used by the gals on
that perticier occasion, and the room smelt as
if ten thousand catamounts had been let loose.
After the dance was over, the gals, accordin' to
custom, swaller'd d the egg and salt, and went to
bed backwards fer, it's well known that when
this is done, they are to get the feller they dream
on. The men, howsomdever, sot up awhile and
took so many pulls at the brown jug, that they
didn't exactly 60 to bed backwards, but kind O
sideways or santendicular, some on EN- was so
perticular how com d-you so, that they did as
old Dan Tucker did, shut the candle and blew
out their eyes. In the mornin there was
some complainin' Of headache and all that sort
O thing but, | reckon that the heart-ache was
the common rapidemic, as amly four weddins
came out O that Valentines day.
Did yer ever see a generrolne Georgy hoe
down, fellers? Wall, if yer didn't yer've got
no education, and yer mought as well scratch
gravel for furrin parts in Yankeedom. Talk
about yer minerets-yer cowtilions-yer gal
lops, pokers, and merzerkers, they can't hold a
candle to Georgy set-to when the steam's up.
Well, we had scrougin one at Snakes Hol-
low one Christmas week. The niggers all went
to work at the huskin and sung so loud that
the folks at Skunk's hole thought there was an
alrthquake The white folks conglomerated in
the house and squatted round log fire, the
gals a-eating gubers, and the men a-chawing
tobacco and, at decent periods a-takin pull at
the old rye in the closet. Jemima Smith look
ed as kiln as stingeree fish, and Casey
seemed to be suckin' green prescimmon.-
Them gals was pumpkins all over, and didn't
want to git married, cause there's none O the
pure blood in them diggins that s fit to mix with
the blood of old John Smith. Wall, old Joe,
the fiddler took his seat in the corner, and, af-
ter having come the ole Bull over the cat-gut,
with grand flourish, let her rip on "Coony in
holler.'' The room was cleared in a streak
O. lightnin' and, Jehosaphat! how the gals
and bows did streak it-down in the middle and
up again-right and left-turn your partner
nioeon.wino and double-shuffie The pine floor