Millheim Journal. [volume] (Millheim, Pa.) 1876-1984, 1878-03-14

Life-A Mar ket Day In q Geor-
gia Town.
Special Correspondence OF THE TINES.
DAHLoNEGA, GA, February %.
For the rast two weeks l have
been living among the crackers.
They are distinct and, withal, pc
'cnlia- class of the poor whites.
They are hu1dled together in the
mountains and ridges Of Georgia
ard the Carolinas. a very 'intelli-
gent gentleman, an eX.M. c., told
me the other day when and how the
Eame of cracker originated. When
the poor whites settled in this re-
gion it was inhabited by the Creek
and Cherokee Indians. The coun.
ry was very wild and the land very
roor. AS a general thing the sett-
lers brought with them to their new
homes provisions enough to last un-
til they made their first crap"
Corn was theiG principal production.
After it was harvested it was Leces-
sary to reduce 1t to meal before it
eoull be utilized for culinary prr-
poses. There were no mills in the
immediate vicinity of their homes !;
the roads running out of the noun
iains were merely bridal-paths or
Indian trails, and the settlers were
too poor to erect their own mills.
Iu this emergency they adopted a
custom in. vogue among their In
dian neighbors, and procuring two
stones-one large and the other
small-m anufactured them into
rude pestle and mortar, ard with
this primitive implement ground
their corn into coarse meal. This
mountain mill was called a ''crack-
er," AID the custom Of crushing or
grinding corn by this process becom-
ing universal, the word was adopted
by general acclamation .as distinc-
tive appellation for the people who
originated the practice. Although
the custom OF cracking corn" has
long since become ohselete, and the
derivation of the name era 3ker for
gotten, it still sticks TO them.
THE FIRST SETTLERS.
Many of the first settlers We're at
tracted hither by the discovery of
gold, and the hills and mountains
were tunneled aud the creeks and
small streams turned from their
course in an eager search for the no.
ble metal. 1t was found in paying
quantities, and a branch mint was
established at Dahlonega. The
mint was abandoned when the war
b'gan, and the building is nsw used
as a college. Between Dahlonega
and Gainesville-which latter place
acts as feeder for the mountain
towns and is market for the noun
tain people-lies Knocklesviiie. In
ante bell,un days Kuocklesvil.e was
he chief resort of the miners. They
were bad lot, and the settlement
was always excited over either a
shooting affray or cutting scrape.
KncckleSvilla is located on a hill,
and its single street is strewn with
rocks OF all sizes. One of the le-
gends of the place runs to the effect
that there is not rock in the town
which man could lift that has not
broken head. CTibbage creek, q
small stream which winds around
the hill on which KnockleSville
stands, was noted for the richness
and quality of its gold yield. Hun
OLSu0 VI kDIACAo WClC OCdIGCtCu oIODS
i's banks, busily engaged with
lick, shovel and pan. They made
money-and spend it. At 3 o'clock
every afternoon they would quit
work, don their best shirts, scrape
the red mud from their high-top
Lcots, and, with the proceeds of
their days labor III their pockets,
lasten TO Knocklesville to drink
Whiskey, gamble and fight until
midnight.
Many strange characters found
iheir way into the mountains of
Georgia, lured there by the prospect
Of speedy riches, or driven there by
the criminal authorities Of other
States. Perhaps the strangest of
allese wanderers was Harrison Riley,
falnihaily known in this section as
General" Riley When the gold
excitement was at fever heat Riley
made his appearance i'll Dahl0nega,
and stalking off his "claim," began
mining. He was lucky, traded with
the indians Invariably cheating the
simple aboriginees), ard in q few
wears accumulated fortune 1t is
now generally believed that Riley
was man of education, deecended