The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1872-12-20
the n0OsKRs Of PossY COUNTY.
A Historic hut vanishing Race
Where EggiestOM got his Char
Acters.
lfrom tho Cincinnati Commercial

Posey county. Nearly ten years since
| taught a winter school in the centre OF
Pose!, and from my own charge and
PATROLS, might have furnished all the
characters tor E~ggleston "Old MAJ,
Means" Dad" and isis" Hank"
and "~Shocky." all figure in my recol-
lectiuns. The boys barred me out" OF
course; but | tried no such heoric re,u-
ed,es AS did Ralph Haris,ock. On the
contrary | quietly returned TO my boar
dimg-housc, and read law all day, only
too glad oil an xcnse to get away from
the noisy crew for II whole day and
study my chosen profession. Posey il
unique. Ii has IN the south and west
some Of the best districts in the State.
which have given us such men as Me-
Clure Gen. A. Z. llovcy and the Owens
family while in the center and nortl,
are regions SO bcnighted that strangers
would not believe u literal description.
| remember il used TO be said that just
north OF where | taught, people ran
down their children with dogs once Il
month to put clean clothes on them /;
and in the maps we used To draw at
school not the school | taught we
laid POsey off in four divisions. marked
thus in childish comedy "Civilized
Tribes" "Pahoos," "Monwcroons." TN
explored Regions" l had sixty-tive
scholars on my list. and my private rec
ord shows eighty-iiye corporal pumisl-
mcnt inflicted" aud the bulk OF that ,eli
ON three boys. "Lickcn and larnin"
" licken and %larnin," was the alliterative
philosophy Of Center towgship, in Po-
sey county.
In this part of Indiana and Illinois
the original lioosier tiourisicd. FIar
Greek, Hoop Pole, Dog Hollow. and
Lick Skillet L all here. No stage car
feature ever represented the lloosier to
one who knows him he is %sui-gencris
gaunt of person, pale yellow OF hair.
loose OF JOINT, long drawn out and shaky.
with inimitable voice, and Il foot which
rs destruction to cui-worEas. know
the HoOsier well, aud can talk about
him as | please, for l was BORN with
him, partially brought up with him: |
narrowly escaped being one of him. =
His language is Il d~erivatiye and COM
pound dialect, consisting of equal part,
of literally translated P%cnnsyvania
Dutch idioms, Carolina aul kentuhcy
niggerisin, and good stocky English. =
Webster has no vowel SQUADS which,
fully represent the Hoosier dialect. It's
grammar may be partially illustrated by
the conjugation OF the word 10 do
As thus:
Present tense: Regular as in English.
Imperfect: l done il, you done il, he
done it.
Plural: We'uns done it, you'uns done
il, they'uns done it. etc.
Perfect: | gone done il. etc.
Plural We'uns gone done it. etc.
Tinper!rct: | bin gone done it. etc.
llulal: We'uns been gone ,.one il, etc.
First future : l gwine 10 10 it, you
to ,o it. etc.
Plural: Weuns gwinr 10 do II. etc.
Second future: l gwiue 10 gone do it.
etc.
Plural: We'uns gwine done il, you 'uns
etc.
The Hoosicr enjoyed corn s~inckings.
%circnse-. aud ''spel!in' nmiche.:' his
greatest dread was the "icvrr'n aver"
La my boyhood this terrible conrge
was both epidemic and endemic: bnti,
chronic and spasmcdic. In some neigh
bOrhOods it came only at the turn OF
the season. along in August Wien
vegetation begin to part with its
juices 10 the air ip other places il was
10 be expected ut any season of the year,
and any hour Of the day. These last
specifically known as the Eager
= newcomers were solemn
~ warned not 10 get ia such. and every
cherished traditions Of some
william MT far ,.v.ctn xs1a.n sl.,l
$ town Dell IA rung every two hours
for folks to take their quinine."
Now II may live for years in almos.
any part Of Indiana before seeing a case
If ague. But it back sometimes
in a startling way. and this appears 10
been n OF the years for il. | met
young people Of my acquaintance who
had never seen II case before their own.
il had Sc nearly vanished; but | recog-
nized it in a minute as the same old
mean, s%ncaking, freczing disease. Cog
nate with the Eager" was the "milk-
that strange, un%accountable aflec-
ion which seized upon milk-kinc, and
their milk, butter and flesh up
Din man. That, too, seems to be nearly
Indeed. l never hear il mentioned
but it was the cause Of many pain
Tul lingering deaths and still more shat
constitutions twenty-five years
,go. A thousand times | have heard
groups of farmers discuss The various
theories as to whether il was in the wa
,er or the air, or the vegetation, or all
.hrcc, and for aught ] know the ques-
ion is unsettled yet. The Hoosier, too,
. almost extinct, and since the school