New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1876-01-09
The Hoosfers of Posey County.


Edward Eggleston, the novelist, c5n-
tributes the following:
In the southwest corner of Indiana, be-
tween the Ohio and the Wabash. is Posey
county. Nearly ten years since l taught
winter school in the centre of Posey. re-
member it used to be said that Just north OF
where l taught. people run down their chill
dren with dogs once month to put clean
clothes on them; and in the maps we used
to draw at school we laid Posey Oft in four
divisions, marked thus in childish comedy:
.Civilized tribes" "Yahoos," "Munge-
rooms" "Unexplored regions l had sixty
five scholars or my list. and my private
record shows eighty-hve 'corporeal punish
ments inflicted" and the bulk of that fell
on three boys. "Lickin' and larnln-llckln
and larpin'." Was the Alternative philosophy
of Centre township, in Posey county.
In this part Of Indiana and Illinois the
original Hoosier Iiourished. Flat Greek,
Hoop-pole, Dog Hollow and Lick Skillet
are ali here. No stage carica.ure ever re-
presented the Hoosier to one who knows
him; he is sui gcneris. gaurt OF person, pale
yellow Of hair, loose OF joint, long drawn
out and shaky, with inimltabie voice, sn1
foot which ia destruction to cut-wOrms.
know the Hoosier we'll, for l was born with
him, partially brought up with him; mar
rowiy escaped bong one of him. HIS
language is a derivative and compound dia-
lect, consisting of equal parts OF literally
translated Pennsylvania Dutch idioms,
Carolina aud Kentucky niggerisms, and
good stocky English. Webstar has no
vowel sounds which will fully represent the
Hoosier dialect. Its grammar may be par
tally illustrated by the conlugaton OF the
word "to do" AS thus:
Present tense-Regular as in Engllsh.
Imperfect-I done it, you done it, he done
Plural-Weuns done it, you'uns done it,,
they done it, etc.
Perfect-I gone done it, etc.
Plural-We'uns gone done it, etc.
Pluperfect-I bin goHe done 1t, ETC.
Pluial-We'uns been gone done 1t, etc.
First future-I gwine to do it, you gwine
to do it, etc.
Plural-We'uns gwine to do 1t, etc.
Second future-I gwine to gone done It,
etc.
Plural-We'uns gwine to gone done it,,
you'uns gwine, etc.
The HoOsier enjoyed corn ehucklngs' CIR.
cuses and "speilln' Matches his greatest
dread was the .'fever'n ager." In my boy
| hood this terrible sc0urge was both epidemic
and endemic, both chronic and sporadic.
In some neighborhoods it came only at tue
..tnrn of the season"-along in August
when the vegetation begins to part with its
| Juices to the air; in other places it was to
| be expected at any season OF tne year, any
| hour Of the day. These last were speclhcally
known as the Eager naborhoods;" new
corners we're solemnly warned not to get in
such, and every village cherished traditions
of some other village not far remote where
the "town bell was rung every two hours tol
folks to take their quinine."
Now one may live for years in almost any
mart of Indiana before seeing case OF
ague. But it comes back sometimes in
rather a startling way, and this appears to
have been one OF the years for it. l met
yeung people Of my acquaintance who had
never seen case Of it before their own, II
had go nearly vanished; but recognized II
in a minute as the same old, mean, sneak
ing. freezing disease. Cognate with tn
eager" was the "milk sick" that strange
unsccountable affection which seized up0I
milk kline, and through their milk, butte
and flesh, upon men.
Thaa too, seems to me nearly exnnc'