The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1881-02-05
Life In tho Tyrol.

In the secluded valleys of the Austrian
TYrol, as this region Is sometimes called,
the sports and rccrcati0ns of the people
are in strict accordance with the spirit of
by-gonc days which charactcriZes the
staunch old race dwelling in the rcCcsses of
these almost inaccessible mountains. Liv-
lug in a country lying between two of the
lowest passes of the Alps, which formed
the chief highways between civilized Italy
and Rough Germany, aud constantly
crossed by victorious or defeated armies,
marching to or returning from Italy, they
have preserved sturdy, warlikc spirit,
fostered by their traditional and steadfasl
attachment TO the ruling house of lIaps-
burg. The gentry and superior class of
pcasantry and mountaincers 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 arc
placed ut distance Of aboui two hundred
yards, and consist If Il fixed bull l's-cyc and
rings, figure of deer at rest and "run-
ming stag" This consists of the wooden
figure OF stag, rugged up by means Of Il
huge pendulum in such a manner that when
loosencd it darts across un open space eight
feet in width, between tall and dense
bushes. Tho pace at which this imitation
stag travelled was about equal to u living
specimen in full flight, and the target, set
over the region of the heart, must be hit
while 1t passes this space, momentous
feat, considering the speed with which the
object passes; but have seen it done sew.
eml times in succession Ey these expert ri
fiemen. A love Of the clnsc seems inhcr-
ent 10 this hardy people. The black cock
(tctrao tctric) belongs to the grouse spc-
cies, and the sport requires great hardihood
and patience, and an accurate knowledge
OF his pcculiaritics. Like the pinnatCd
grouse of the prairics, heis polygnmous :,
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 gambollng
around the base of tree for the ctlitcation
OF the hens, who crowd around their lord
and master, arc ludcrous in the extreme.
| Ills lone song, which consists Of three dis
| tlnct notes repeated constantly at more or
| less regular intervals. is frequently his ruin,
Tor in the midst Of his ecstaccs, during the
execution OF the third note, he is inscnsiblc
10 danger, and becomes M easy prey to
the rifle OF the expert huntsnlan. or
course, IL you adopt the English idea of
sport you can build d miniature hut or
bind OF bushes in the course of the day,
close to the tree selected by the Jealous old
COCK / )r his morning song patiently await
inc 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
aaay!antage OF any indlscretion OF your
ta,aaS sh Mstea opponent i is con!HSs:e Ser"d no
prototype. The golden eagle, the tiger Of
his race, is occasionally seen circling around
his cyric among the lofty crags, and his
young arc sometimes captured by the in
trcpld hunter. They arc Of immense size,
sometimes measuring eight feet from TIP to
tip of the wings, and are the greatest foes
OF the chamois anu roc buck, as well as
the farmers stock of young pigs, kids and
lambs. l had the plcasurable excitement
of seeing one OF these rapacious birds car
ryng of young chamois, which he had
swoopcd down upon with resstlcss fury,
and by the mere force of the concus-
sion hurled down the abyss, at the brink
Of which it happened to be feeding. Scv-
eral times the great weight of the prey
obliged him to loosen his hold upon it
while circling at a terrible height over
rayine 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 impctuosity of his downward flight,
lie spread his mighty wings to their widest
extent and resumed his crcling ascent
with bis prey firmly clutchcd III bis strong
talons. The weddings of the pcasantry
arc solcmnizcd IN the chapel, after the
usual form of the Catholic Church, but
there urc some Ubservanccs connected with
them which have character of their own.
One OF these consists OF presentation of
money to thenew,y-marred couple by each
person, be il man, woman or child, present
at the wedding. The gifts are received by
the godmothcr Of the bride, the mother
never being permitted to be present at any
part of her daughters wedding. The name
Of the donor and the amountof the gift is
carefully noted down by a lrothcr or other
relation OF the bride, and when the gvcr
marrics he expects the cXactamount of his
gift TO be returned by the Bridegroom. The
gift is never less than two HORNS, about
one dollar, one of which is to pay for the
supper. Sometimes articles OF household
furniture arc presented, AMI in some re-
mote valleys the custom still exists Of each
Of the discarded lovers of tie bride present.
ing her with cradle. Thus, rustic belle
who has for Il series of ycaD held her court
in her summer palace, the Alp hut, will
| sometimes find IL half-doZcnof rough Grad
| les ut the front door on the morning after
the wedding. But the mos comcal fca-
ture of all occurs when gust after guest
stand forth aud in roug, improviscd
rhyme and song, accuse thc,ride or bride
groom of any questionable inidcnts in their
lives, and tell tales of formr sins, accom-
panied by much laughter and shouting.
They arc usually assemblcd.t the house of
the "wirth," or landlord of nc village, and
cameo the day and night awy, fortified by
coplous potations of beer nd numerous
huge dishes of "spcclS," bacn; "knodcls,"
balls of dough fried in lard, nd 'schmarn"
flour, water, butter and salt The dance
Is the universal valsc. varictby an occas-
ional independent ''hoe-dOn," by some
of the strapping fellows, whpcrform some
strange gymnastics. l havecen one sud
denly spring up from tho Dor and drop
with thud upon his knces,nd then with
folded arms throw his head lck and strike
tho hard boards with three four sound
| ipu and then rouoin n foof >t,ith n