The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1868-10-02
THIRTY THOUSAND WOMEN PICKING
HOPS.
Curious Scene in Wisconsin.
.consin paner SAYS


a Wisconsin paper says:
s'Probably in all the history of hop
picking since yeast and lager were in
vented there has been nothing to COM
pare with the scenes that have been GO
ing on in this region, and in kilbourn
City, especially, for the last six or eight
days. For two or three weeks the hop
grow rs have been gathering their sup
plies, and the merchants and traders OF
this place, Baraboo and Reedsburg have
been on the jump waiting on their Gus
toners. The first of last week the pickers
began to come in, and this week there
must be at least thirty thousand lively
at work picking the hops of the region
that ships them at this depot. Of this
thirty thousand at least ten thousand
pass through this village. Wagon loads
of nom eight to fifteen each have been
almost constantly passing through tow Il
for the last eight days, generally coming
from the north and east, and crossing
the river into Sank county. Of the ten
thousand that pass through this village,
about eight thousand come on the rail-
road from the east and stop here.
ESThe first installment by cars, some
three hundred. came last week on Tues
day evening. Wednesday evening near
" one thousand came. Thursday and
Friday evenings each five or six nun
dred. Saturday afternoon it was ru-
mored that very large number were
on the way. and the rumor was corrob-
GRATED by the great number of teams
that seemed to be in waiting. About
train time (half-past seven) probably one
thousand persons had collected at the
depot to witness the arrival. 1t was
then found that the cars We're two hours
behind time, and that instead of one
f,sai two nnTnirrF wit Ia twenty
eight cars loaded. When the two hours
were up the crowd at the depot had in
creased; and this, with the acres of two
and four horse wagons about the depot,
and the music and fun of the merry
drivers, formed no small preliminary
show OF itself. But as the two trains
came laundering along, and as they
stretched themselves away beyond and
away back of the depot and stopped
excitement was on tip-toe. And when
| two thousand pickers began TO pour out
of every door of those twenty-eight
cars, the scene beat all other Western
| shows. Cheering, laughing, singing
shouting! Admirable eouIusion-ue
disorder. Sections of tens, platoOns O
twenties, companies of forties, all Off
/ cered, moving in every possible direc
ton; corporais guiding their squads
captains giving orders to their compa
MES marching and coUntermarching-
direct and in echelOn-forming CAM
i and breaking camp earned and equipped
with umbrellas, parasols, satchels, has
kets, bandboxes, bags, bundles, babies
/ Transfers shouting for their loads
| rush for the Wagons-tumb bling in al
formed a scene to beat any army CAM
/ or movement! We can't do justice t.
the subject.
,.But great as was the display on Sat
urday evening, it was more than match
/ ed on Monday evening. We have II
I means of knowing exactly how man.
came on the two trains, but from tn
best information we can get, we put tn
number at twenty-five hundred! TWJ
hours before the trains arrived, two hun
dred and forty teams were counted
which were waiting to take the picker
to their destinations. After the count
. teams continued to come in; and whel
the train arrived there must hav
: been nearly three hundred. Some O
the four-horse teams take eighteen o
twenty, and the average is at least ten
But some teams do not get their load:
because two long trains could not brin
them-(we hear that the trains were flu
before they arrived at Oconomowo OF
and that hundreds who had gathered a
the stations this side of there had to b
left to come by the train to-day-w
write tuesday, But, undoubtedly, tw,
hundred and fifty wagons were file
,, with at least ten each.
'Truly, hops are king, and in this re
, gion thirty thousand queens are waitin
on the old fellow"