The weekly clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1863-1882, 1869-09-09

GAKroN, Sept. lth, 1867
LEFT Jackson this morning at O'Clock,
and reached this place in an hour and half;
sometime before Canton. had awakened from
its slumbers. A deathlike stiffness prevail
ed, which was only Interrupted by the sup
pressed murmur of the converse
tions Of the different groups into which
others that had come here for the samepur
pose as the writer, had gathered.
Befor. the usual hour of arising, Canton,
was already awake, and soon the streets
were thronged by all kinds OF vehicles and
horsemen. Hundreds and hundreds of peo-
pie had gathered from the country tor miles
around to see the great
INDIAN BALL PLAY.
| Yesterday about seventy-livc Indians,
with their squaws and children, arrived
| from Leake and Neshoba. 1t is hardly ne
cessary for me to add that they belong to
the Choctaw tribe.
At nine o'clock this morning those Of
them that were to participate in the game
marched around the Courthouse, in files
fourteen deep, in charge of a white man.
and under the command of a venerable old
chief of at least eighty years, assisted By
two sub-chiefs. There were two mufiled
| drums beating very low and regularly to
which the Indians kept time wit hNa low
humming song. After getting around the
square with crowd of both sexes of all
colors and ages following, they marched to
the
! PLAYGROUND.
Just half a mile South of the Courthouse
is an old field. three hundred yards
apart stood tall posts two feet vide
These stakes had been driven at equal dis
tances apart, but widening toward the CEN
tire until at that point they enclosed a space
! an hundred yards across. These stakes in
dictated to the crowd the ground that had
been reserved for the
| PLAYERS
Who soon made their appearance clothed
from the waist up in the garment that ma
ture had given them. From the waist
down in their pantaloons rolled above the
knee. Their faces were either painted per-
fec.Iy red, or were striped red and black as
the fancy of each had dictated. Each wore
Jas well as l can describe it, miniature nick
ed horse tail, which was made of horse hair
or a deer's tail, and / suppose were symbols
of the way in which their owners were to
run; with the rapidity of a horse. or bound
ing along gracefully a deer. They pre-
scented very ludicrous appearance when
the players were STOPPING to get the ball.
They came out in two parties, each comman-
ded by sub-chief and took their stations
around each Of the posts. The Willie man
rode around the play ground requesting the
lOokers-on not to get within the stakes and
announcing that Leake was to play against
! Neshoba. And then the
PLAY
Began by a dance around the posts, accom-
panied by the softly beaten drum and hum
ming song. This over, each party rushed
to the center with yell, and then another
dance by the whole party. At tie close of
the dance the old chief threw the small
india-rubber ball in the midst of the play
ers. 1t was soon caught by one of them in
his basket-like sticks, with which each OF
them was armed, and was sent whizzing for
a hundred yards through the air and the
play was fairly opened. From that time to
the end Of the game the players used every
means to get the ball, from friendly tap
over the head with a stick, to push which
| generally landed one of them upon his nose
and frequently during the most exciting
| parts Of the game two of them would catch
| each other and hold Off until the ball had
been gotten by some one and thrown. If
| the ball happened to 20 outside of the linn
its, they rushed over the crowd like wind
through the trees in winter" regardless of
whom they overthrow in their course.
| Twelve blows against one ofthe posts count
ed the game, and after each blow it was re-
| turned to the old chief in the center of the
| grounds, who started it around. During the
play the squaws were rowing about upon the
grounds with buckets of water and encour-
aging their particular favorites, and added
no little by their excited acts to the amuse-
ment of the
| LooKERs-oN,
| OF which there were at least three thousand
| There were many carriages and buggIes
drawn up around the circle filled with the
| ladies of Canton and vicinity. When the
players first made their appearance upon
the grounds, clad as they were in natures
stockings, knee-breeches and red-skin shirts.
the ladies were interested in most every thing
but the players; when the game had fairly
begun, however, they were soon as much ex-
cited over it as their male friends, who
staked their small change very literally up
on the issue. Three games consumed the
day.
CANTON
| Is rejoicing i'm several brick buildings in
| process of construction, one of them the
Odd Fellows Hall which was destroyed by
| fire during last winter. The residences for
the most part yet carry the impress of war
in their weather-beaten appearance, but
everybody is looking forward to the time
when Canton will be itself again.
CROPS.
understand that the army worm IS In
many of the fields near here and l. dam
aging the cotton a great deal. Ten new
| bales of cotton have been brought here and
sold.
| POLITICS.
There was meeting of the County Exec
utive Committee of the National Union Re-
publican party to-day to appoint delegates
to the Convention 10 be held in Jackson on
the Sth inst. Three or four Radicals from
Jackson came up to-day to get up
Radical meeting, but / think they
have gone back convinced that politics gen
orally were below par on this particular day,
and Radicalisln especially so, in Madison
county.
THE PRESS CONVENTION.
understand that great preparations are
being made to entertain the Press Conven-
ton which convenes here on the 9TH inst.
III. b.
A COLLISION.
A corresnOndent calls our attention 10