Dodge City times. [volume] (Dodge City, Kan.) 1876-1892, 1882-10-19
Traits Of the People Of Newfoundland.

AIuss VI we Ieopie u NeWiOuuGkAnus
The people of Newfoundland may be
separated into reedivisions-th the we'll
to-do residents OF st. Johns, the fishing
class and the French, who live on the
far northwest coast. MANY of the peo-
pie of st. Johns have wealth, accumu-
lated from the seal and cod trade. They
are cultivated people, of good manners.
and hospitals TO point almost oner-
ous to the recipient OF their kindly cour-
tesies. Their leading social amusement
is card-playing. in which the seductive
draw-poker takes the lead of other
games. Even the best ladies play
poker. with stakes adapted TO the femi-
nine standard. The prevailing type of
nationality is English or Irish. modified
by insular surroundings Three-quar-
tiers, AT least. of the population of $780,
600 in the whole island is made up of
the poor fishermen. They are hardy,
rough race, familiar with every phase
of ocean life, ignorant. narrow and in
sular. but kindly disposed. Some of
their linguistic oddities. at the remoter
fishing stations particularly, are worth
noting. Like the Southern negro, who
SO often uses ''him'' for ''it," SO these
islanders twist the word ..he'' into alb
surd combinations. '.Will the trout be
cooked soon?'' was asked the waiter
e ri at one of the coast inns day or
two ago. MAY be he will be-" was
The reply. 1.-The wagon has lost he's
Wheels" or Il don't know where the
spade he is" illustrate further these
peculiaritics The name of the island
is almost universally pronounced
New-fun-land. with strong accent
on the final syllable The ma
rine temperament of the people
crops out in the term skipper"
always employed by subordinate in
addressing superior. or by street
boy accosting gentleman. North
ward is here down" in direction. the
phrase Down North" corresponding
pretty closely to the Down East OF
our Middle and Western States. For
the Observation-Disclosures phrase up
South " We have no equivalent. except
ing the up to South End, OF Boston.
There is also strange broadening of
vowels in colloquial speech. Thus
ridge becomes in Newfoundlandesc
"rudgc" and fire fur" Many of
them would say, The forest has been
furred ~. e.. burned over. The
wives of the lower order cf islanders.
who stay at home, till the soil, and do
all the manual labor of the household.
while their lords are at sea, become n
brawny set of amazons. terrible in do
nestle warfare. and ruling their con-
sorts in imperative fashion. A party Of
thirty railroad surveyors who recently
entered little hamlet were put TO flight
By few of these muscular danes and
forced 10 appeal to the police before
they could continue their work. The
lower classes. particularly the Irish.
are intensely ignorant and superstitious.
Not long ago. in one of the smaller
towns. certain shrewd spirits wanted
10 change the local cemetery for bet
ter burial place. the old one being occa-
overilowed by the waters of
Conception Bay. They carried their
point easily bv asserting that winter
nights they had seen the ghosts troop
out to dance on the ice of the bay and
protest against their wet treatment
Cor. N L. Eccnin1 Post.