, 1877-04-22
TEXAS LINGO.
Some PecuIiarities of Language
in the Lone Star State, ).
Which It Will Be Well for Chicago
Travellers to Learn,
Otherwise They Will Be Suspected OF
YanAeeism, and Bounced.
10 the Editor At The Tribune.

| 1anHee1Sms anu D0unceus
| To the Editor At The Tribune.
! MuSc1E, Ind, April ls.-The trade Of Tcxa:
is immense and is yearly growing in importance
| Formerly the Texas trade was controlled By
New Orleans. Then Galveston and Houston
| sprang up and divided it with N. o. Later St
Louis, upon the completion Of the Missouri
Kansas s. Texas Railway, flooded Texas witt
| her drummers and gained q vast trade. Chicago
| now proposes to contend for part Of thai
trade. No one can doubt but that With her in
domitab1c will she will succeed.
| It will obviously be Of advantage to the traV
cler, commercial or other, to have pointed ou'
to him certain pcculiarities Of language that he
will meet with in Texas. To do this is my OBJ
! jcct in writing this letter. II succeed in SC
farnilarizng one Chicago man with the Texan
ycrpaclAar that he can, Immediately upon ar:
| riviug in Texas, assume somewhat the tone and
style Of conversation peculiar to the old Tex.
an" then will I be indeed happy. For con.
vcnicncc sake will address the supposed tray
,clcr directly.
When, Mr.. Traveller, you "1and" [people
'land, J" not arrive) In Texas remember that yon
have no baggage, but "trIcks.'' And, If a
drummer, after you have displayed your sam
pies to your customers, you arc asked to 60 and
TAKE A sNlFTER,n
yon will reply, await till pack my tricks. ,"
You will speedily learn that 'stricks" is the
handicst word in The "whoIc business" 1t is
applicable at all times, in all places, and to all
things {almostl 1t may be defined to mean any
article pronounced in Texas with the accent
on the scconI syllablc) or articles that can he
carried in the hand.
It you are a thcatre-gocr when in Chicago you
may have developed a fondncss for peanuts.
Beware Of asking for them under that name un-
less you want to proclaim yourself q Yankee !.
Call boldly for s'goobcrs," or t'grounl-peas."
When you make payments Of put prices Oh
goods, recollcct that in Texas the dollar is di-
vided into eight equal parts, each part being
called "bit." Thus s'quarter' ~ is sf two
bits, )" half-a-dol!ar is ''four bits" etc.
II vou would not be laughed to scorn, take
care when crossing, a small stream not to say,
What creek {pronouncing IT short, crik, as is
common In the North, but what creeh pro-
nonncing it long like cyrak)a
When speaking Ut drove OF horses say " cay
vy-yard u Of horses. !" Graveyard !" seams to
be corrupted from the Spanish caoazto, q horse.
You may hnvc to travel on horseback, In
this event be careful III choosing your beast.
DO NOT SELECT "MusTANG,n
IL AE AAppE4S W UC Also u E0h-
pony" unless you want to be initiated into the
mysteries of "burking.o The mustang is the
only animal in thc world that can bues," and
1t ought to be source OF continual thauksgiv
ing that such IS The case. The " buck'' consists
of thc'mustang's springing forward With quick,
short, pungtng leaps, aud coming down stiff
legged, with his head between his fore legs and
as near the ground as possible. He will also
run 4' sky-godln," 4 peculiar obliquc movement,
and get up and "scally-hoot,n that is,, tear
rfrry0 nd ry,t1 ~. ill
Of a .tsuddent' u and vary his performances by
ssraring up'' behind. By this time the rider,
unless he is Mexican, Comanchc, or Texas
sCow-Boy," is safely resting upon mother
earth. One experiment with bueking mus
tang generally SATISFIES the most curious. By
all means, then. for saudIc-anf1lal choose m
"Amcrican horse, as all 1orses from the
tsStates'' ure called.
Mules arc proverbially unsafe in all countries
In Texas, the small "Alcx;can II or "Spanish u
mule is rightly considered many degrees more
unsafe than lis American cousin.
. When you come down: stairs too late for the
rather ear1y breakfast Of 4 Texas hotel, the
sable attendant will inform you "dat dey's
never done In Texas, it is s'done done." 4
person has never gone anywhere, but "done
gonc." And when the colorel brother for
sister) seeks to impress upon your mind be-
something you have employed him to do, he
will solemnly asseveratc that he has q done
gone and lone done y it. His power Of as
sertiuu can 70 no further.
1n tue catt1c country yon will have plenty Of
LEARN 70 ."norE" rEAn11xa,
to distinguish q sAIagerick" !" from other year
1ings, and to manage t:cow-pony." These
things and many others viii be taught you by
tic ''coW- boys" The "cow-boy is the Texas
mustang hr trains and uses. a g Maverick is
an unbranded yearliug. This word, which is
universal in Texas, came into existence in this
wise: Mr.. s. 4. Maverick, Of San Antonio (pro-
o hs s sgfs n ean o i
Independence, who died q few years ago, was
the largest landowner in Texas. ii not in the
world, and, though he lived in the midst OF a
vast cattle-region, he had contempt for thai
nonomanilc. Nevertheless, lie was once COM
PEELED to take 6 brand ~ OF cattle in payment
or q tlcbt-a bad aebt hc must have regarded it.
These cattle were allowed to run On the
Nov, when calves arrive 1t the dignity
OF t'yearlings'' they must be branded with
their owners "brunl," otherwise some fellow
Will 's}ap his sbraul' onto 'em," and the law
says they belong e the party whose o. .,brand"
property in cattle, neglected to brand his Year.
fings. This continuing year after year, ali un-
branded yearlinga were said to be Maverick's,- |
but they did not long remain Mavericks, or |
:" AilScElChS EttNEt Ao tAc ~ st AttAti bAdS Sot
u chance branded them in lis own brand, md |
thus they bccame lis. The word "Maveriek,',,
whom it might fuirly be said, she never owned |
cattle,' has given Ills name to certain members |
of tile vast herbs that form the chief wealth OF !
Western Texas
IN RIDING THE 'scow-roSY"
q "quirt'' Is used. This is q short and heavy /
made Of plaitcd rawhide fastened !
to short wooden handle or stock. It is very |
eIfcctive instrument. =
In driving cattle 'tcow-whp " is used. 1t is
made Of long lash ATTACHED to short wooden
stock. It is like the whip used hy butchers and t
drorers fn the Nortl-only "more So"
The Il ox-whipn is used in driving ''stecrs."
It consists of a,'long lasl, and long handle,
mud is fearful afTlir. When III expert ''pops"
[cracls) it, it sounds like the crack Of rie but
only an expert can use it to any satisfaction; for
when new hhnd attempts to "pop" it, it will !
insist upon winding itself in the most exaspcrat-
ing away around his face and neck, much to his
discomfort but to the great glce of the old
hands,
Ok and oxen are almost unknown terms in
Texas. These usctul beasts arc there called
i stecrs' The word oxen Is indeed sometimes |