The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1872-11-30
Cooking a Dinner.
now 4 rENNEssEE GIL CREATED 4 SENSATION.

HOW 4 TENNESSEE GIRL CREATED a SENSATION.
1 heard Of a young lady the other day up in
Middle Tennessee, who, the river men say, has
taken another chute. The story told about her
did my heart good, and for the comfort of other
halE-staryed dyspeptics like myself, whose tardy
sustenation is affected by means of fried chicken,
soggy biscuits, greasy hash and sole-leather
~lritJeIs, Ill relate 1t. For years past, as a mere
matter Of fOrm-sOmething handed down from
remote antiquity-the officers of the county fair
held in the neighbOrhOOd where this young lady
lived have been in the habit Of Offering a pre-
MUM to the lady (unmarried) cooking the best
dinner. lt was a dead letter. Nobody had con-
tested for the premium within the memory of the
oldest inhabitant. This year, however, the
young lady of whom [ am speaking determined
to compete for the prize. Her name| wish /
could immOrtalize twas Kate Janaway. The
fair men set up a stove for her, stretched a canvas
to shield her from the sun, and about IL O'Clock
Of the last day she went to work. The matter
had been talked about by every one in the neigh
bOrhoOd, and curiosity was on the tip toe. A
crowd collected around the place where the stove
was set mp early in the morning, and kept in
creasing, but when Miss Kate herself, a buxom,
handsome girl Of nineteen. daughter OF the eA-
Mayor of the town, appeared on the ground, and,
putting on a white aprOn and rolling up ersleeves,
commenced operations, all other attractions were
nothing. Every one was eager to see so novel a
sight. There was a tree near by which soon be-
came black with spectators, who had climbed up
to get a better view. The branches were, finally,
50 burdened that one by one they broke, precipi-
tatIng those upon them to the ground, until only
one man was left in the tree. He sat in a lofty
fork, with eyes riveted on the scene below. No
amount Of persuasion by those beneath, enviOus
of his better view, could induce him tocomedown
even n bride Of so failed. He said he was
bound to see or die. Meanwhile the dinner prep
a~ratiOns went on apace. The savory smell of the
cooking food seemed to intOxIcate the crowd, which
pressed nearer and nearer. 1t took all the police
force on the grounds to keep order. The tune ar
rived for the trOtting match, announced as the
sport of the day, but heamphitheatre was empty.
The judges, with the exception Of one grabbed old
widOweT, and the timers, all were missing, and
so nothing could be done. At ~half-past two the
dinner was nnOunced ready and the judges, happy
men. seated themselves at the table-the crowd
regarding them with i~ll-disguised envy. A roast
UG beef, delicltely done, was put stcaming hot
upon the table, then followed corn pudding, whose
delicate aroma fell upon the Olfactories of the
excited crowd "like breezes Of Araby the blest;''
a prOfusiOn of vegetables, cooked to perfection,
followed next. The Judges ate and ate. praising
the flavor Of the food and the skill of the cook at
every mOuthful. But when, at last, a desert Of
piping hot apple dumplings made its appearance,
the fOrbearance of the crowd was at an end. They
broke through the ropes into the ring with one
accord, and the dumplings disappeared in n trice.
One old fellow, proprietor of a store and owner
Of u big saw-mill, proposed TO the young lady on
tie spot, but he was quickly collared and led off
the grounds by two younger aspirants, vino made
common cause against the aged s%uitOr, saw-mill
and all. That young lady was the center of at
traction in her town after the cooking feat. She
received % offers of marriage the first week, and
her fame spread through the country round. An
old bachelor fellow down in Grundy county, with
a farm 50 big that it takes all day 10 ride around
it. and cattle on a hundred hills, heard of her,
and made a pilgrimage all the way to that town
tn Ianrn the frurb He cot tho GIRL too alfhprgh
some Of the young men Of the place sued out a
writ of habeas corpus to prevent her being carried
out of the county. They were too late.-Mem
UhS Corr. Louisville COurier-JOUrRdl.