Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1881-01-19
Life in the Tyrol.

by-gone days which characteriZes the
staunch old race dwelling in the recesses OF
these almost inaccessible mountains. Liv-
ing in a country lying between two of the
lowest passes of the Alps, which formed
the chief highways between civilized Italy
and rUugh Germany, and constantly
crossed by victorious or defeated armies,
marching to or returning from Italy, they
have preserved sturdy, wariike spirit,
fostered by their fractional and steadfas'
attachment TO the ruling house of Haps'
burg. The gentry and superior class OF
peasantry and mountaineers are very fond
| of target shooting, which almost invariably
follows their weddings, dances and merry
makings, which usually continue through
out the day and night. The targets are
placed at distance of about two hundred
yards, and consist If fixed bull s-eye and
rings, figure of deer at rest and run
ming stag This consists of the wooden
figure of a stag, rigged up by means OF
| huge pendulum in such manner that when
loosened it darts across an Openspace eight
feet. in width. between tall and dense
bushes. The pace at which this imitation
stag travelled was about equal to living
specimen in full flight, and the target, set
over the region of the heart, must be hit
while 1t passes tins space, momentous
feat, considering the speed with which the
object passes; but have seen it done sew
eral times in succession ty these expert ri
fiemen. A love of the chase seems inher-
ent 10 tins hardy people. The black cock
| (tetrQO tetriT) belongs 10 the grouse spe-
cies, and the sport requires great hardihood
and patience and an accurate knowledge
OF his peculiar1ties. Like the pinnated
grouse of the prairies, he is polygamous +,
but, unlike them, Is shot during the pairing
season. the hens being carefully spared.
The descriptions the hunters give of the
lovc-slck bird strut.ing and gambolIng
around the base of tree for the editication
of the hens, who crowd around their lord
and master, are ludicrous in the extreme.
His lone song, which consists OF three dis
tinct notes repeated constantly ut more or
less regular intervals. is frequently his ruin,
| for in the midst of his ecstacies, during the
execution of the third note, he is insensible
TO danger, and becomes an easy prey to
the rifle of the expert huntsman. Vi
course, if you adopt the English idea OF
sport you can build a miniature hut or
bind of bushes in the course of the day,
clost u the tree selected by the jealous old
cock IJr his morning song, patiently await
tie advent of the game, and then murder
him in cold blood. But this is FAR different
from the genuine sport, where foot and
hand, eye and ear, are on the alert TO take
advantage of any indIscretion OF your
quick-witted opponent. 1t is a contest be-
tween the acute intellect of the featherless
biped and tn keen instinct Of his ieathered
prototype. The golden eagle, the tiger OF
his race, is occasionally seen circling around
his eyrie among the lofty crags, and his
young are sometimes captured by the In
trepld hunter. They are of immense size.
tip of the wings, and are the greatest foes
OF the chamois and roe buck, as well as
the farmers stock OF young pigs, kids and
lambs. had the pleasurable excitement
of seeing one of these rapacious birds car
rying oil young chamois, which he had
swooped down upon with resistless fury,
and by the mere force of the concus-
sion hurled down the abyss, at the brink
of which it happened TO be feeding. Sew
eral times the great weight of the prey
Obliged him to loosen his hold upon II
while circling at a terrible height over
ravine and peak. As 1t fell the eagle
darted after it, and catching it in his claws,
and sinking thirty or forty feet by the
mere impetuosity of his downward flight,
he spread his mighty wings to their widest
extent and resumed his circling ascent,
With bis prey firmly clutched In his strong
talons. The weddings of the peasantry
are solemnized In the chapel, after the
usual form of the Catholic Church, but
there are some ubservances connected with
them which have a character of their own.
One of these consists of presentation OF
money to thenewiy- married couple by each
person, be it man, woman or child, present
at the wedding. The gifts are received by
the godmother of the bride, the mother
never being permitted to be present al any
Fart of her daughters wedding. The name
Of the donor and the amount of the gift is
carefully noted down by brother or other
relation of the bride, and when the giver
marries he expects the exact amount of his
gift to be returned by the bridegroom. The
gift is never less than two fiorlns, about
one dollar, one OF which is to pay for the
supper. Sometimes articles of household
furniture are presented, and in some re-
mote valleys the custom still exists Of each
of the discarded lovers OF the bride present.
ing her with cradle. Thus, a rustic belle
who has for series of years held her court
in her summer palace, the Alp hut, will
sometimes find half-doZen of rough Grad
les at the front door on tue morning after
the wedding. But the most comical fea-
ture of all occurs when guest after guest
stand forth and in rough, improvised
rhyme and song, accuse the bride or bride
groom of any questionable incidents in their
lives, and tell tales of former sins, accom-
panied by much laughter and shouting.
They are usually assembled at the house Of
the s'wirth, OF landlord of the village, and
{ ance the day and night away, fortified by
coplous potations Of beer and numerous
huge dishes of ''speck, bacon: ''knodels,
balls of dough fried in lard, and ''schmarn'
-four, water, butter and salt The dance
Is the universal valse. varied by an occas-
ional independent ''hoe-down," by some
of the strapping fellows, who perform s1me
strange gymnastics. l have seen one sud-
denly spring up from the floor and drop
with a thud upon his knees, and then with
folded arms throw his head back and strike
the hard boards with three or four sound
ing raps, and then regain his feet with
sudden spring, without touching the fioor
with his hands-a feat that many an athlete
of repute could not initiate. All this time
their buxom partners are circling round
the room alone, coquettishly spreading out
their short but ample skirts, and encourag-
ing their partners to still greater exertions.
The music is generally Trombone, sax
horn and flute, frequently accompanied by
the ''ziiher." which TO mary cultivated
ears is the most charming musical instru-
mant in existence.
Washington's Appearance.
General Washington Is a tall, well