Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1876-01-04
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| THE EooSIERs OF PosKY COUNTY. I'M.
AND THEIR SPEECH.
Edward Eggleston, the novelist, contrib
utes the following 10 Cincinnati journal -
In the southwest corner OF Indiana. betwe n
the Ohio and The Wabash. is Posey count Il.
school In the center OF PoSey. L renemb n
IL used TO be said that lust north of wherp I
taught, people run down their children wlta
them; ard in the maps we used TO draw a.
school, we laid PoSey OF I'm four divisions
msrked thus in childish comedy: "CivijiEed
Tribes, ahoos,' "MUngeroons /" a. IJuex-
plored Regions" l had sixty-nye scholars
on my list, and my private record shows
eighty nve corporal punishment inflicted"
"Lickin' and larnin'-lickin' and larnin, .
was the alliterative philosophy OF Center
township, In Posey county.
In this part or Indiana and Illinois the
original Hoosier fiourished. Flat Creek
Hoop pole, Dog Hollow and Lick Skillet are
all here. No stage caricature ever repre-
he is sui generis; gaupt OF person, pale yell
low OF hair, loose OF joint, long drawn out
and shaky, with inimitable voice, and a foot
which is destruction 10 cut-worms. / know
the HoOsier well, and can talk about him as
please, for 1 was born with him, partially
brought up with him; 1 narrowly escaped
being one OF him. His language is a deriva-
tive and compound dialect, consisting OF
equal parts of literally translated Pennsyl-
vania Dutch idioms, Carolina aud Ken
lucky niggertsms, aud good stocky Engli IN.
Webster has no vowel sounds wbich vii
fully represent the HooSier dialect. Its
grammar may be partially illustrated by
the conjugation OF the verb Ito do" AS
thus:
Perfect tense-Regular as I'm English.
lmperfect-l done IL, you done II, he done
Plursl-weuns done it, you'uns done IL.
they uns done II. etc.
Perfect gone done il, etc.
Plural-We'uns gone done IL. etc.
Pluperfect-l bin gone done II, etc.
Plural-We'unsb sen gone done ~, etc.
First future-I gwiue 20 DO 1t, you gwlne
10 do IL. etc.
PIural-We'uns gwire TO do IL. etc.
Second future-I gwine 10 gone dsne 10,
etc.
Plural-Weuns gwine TO gone done 1t.
yOu'uns gwine. etc.
The Hoosier enjoyed corn stockings, cir
cusSes ana "Spellin' matches" his gre" test
dread was the ',fever'n ager." In my boy
hood this terrible scourge was both epidemic
ard endemic; bo.h chronic and sporadic. Ia
some nelghbOrhoods IL came only at the
turn OF the season'-along in August
when the vegetation begins 10 part with its
juices to the air, i'm other places IL was To be
expect ed at any season of the year, any hour
OF the day. These last were specifically
corners were Solemnly warned not TO get i'm
such, and every village cherished traditions
of some other village not far remote wsere
the town bell was rung every two hours for
folks TO take their Quinjne.'
Now, one may live for years In almost any
part OF Indiana before seeing a case OF ague.
But IL comes back sometimes in rather a
startling way, and this appears TO have been
one of the years for it, L met young people
of my acquaintance who had never seen a
case of ii before their own, 10 had SO nearly
vanished; but recognized IL in a minute as
the same old mean, sneaking, freezing dis
ease. Cognate with the lager" was the
"milk SICK" that strange, unaccOuntable
affection which seized upon mill1-kine, and.
through their milk, butter and flesh, upon
man.
That, too, seems 10 be nearly extinct. In
deed, never hear il mentioned now; bat it
was the cause of many painful, lingering
deaths and still more shattered consti utions
twenty-five years ago. A Thousand times 4
have heard farmers discuss the various the
Dries, as TO whether IL was in the water or
the air, or the vegetation, or all three, and
for aught / know the question is unsettled
yet. The HOosier, too. is almost extinct, and
since the school law of 1856 went into opera
ton young generation OF educated people
have come upon the stage.