Northwest enterprise. [volume] (Anacortes, Wash. Ter.) 1882-1887, 1882-10-14
A PECULIAR PEOPLE.
Queer Ways of Living ON the Hatterac
Ranks-lEogs and Cattle.


From the Raleigh News and Observer.l
The people of this region are OF an
amphibious nature, and live so much ON
and IN the water that most OF them, I am
,ure, are web-footed. They live mainly
on fish, clans, oysters, crabs, terrapins
Gnd wild fowl. When they leave home
they go in a boat, and whether they go
to court or go counting, or to trade, or to
the mill, or to funeral, they always go
by sail. Their corn-mills are run by
sails, and some of them pump their
water with windmills. They don't go
up stairs, but ego aloft, ," and when they
go to bed they turn in" when they
are III they are "under the weather."
and when in robust health they say they
are chung up and bilge Free" They
speak of a trim-built sweetheart as
"clipper built" If she is little stout
they say she Is "broad in the BEAM" or
she is "wide across the transom."
Many of them have ships cabin doors in
their houses, that slide on grooves, and
to their buildings they give a coating of
tar instead of painting them. The cold
woman" blows a conch shell when din
ner is ready, and they measure time by
"bells." Their babies are not rocked
in cradles, but swung in hammocks.
They chew black pig-tail tobacco and
drink wild tea called "Yeopon." They
manure their land with sea-grass and
bury their yam potatoes i'll the sand
hills. When they want doctor they
hang a red flag against hillside as
signal of distress. Ii he don't come, be-
cause the "wind amt fair" they take a
dram of whisky and copperas, soak their
feet in sea water, "turn in" and trust
to luck. Ii they die they will be buried
on the top of sand ridge, and when
You see several sail boats on the water
in procession, with flag at half mast,
you are looking at funeral.
They ornament their houses with
whales ribs and jaws, sharks teeth,
swordfish shouts, devilish arms, sawfsh
swords (six feet long,, miniature ships,
camphor-wood chests, Honduras gourds,
Eyeglasses, South American lariats, war
clubs from the Mozambique islands,
Turkish pipes, West India shells, san
dal-wood boxes, Chinese chessmen,
Japanese faces, Madagascar idols, Aus
tralian boomerangs and other strange,
outlandish things. Their hogs are
raised on CLAIMS, mussels, offal of fish
and garbage, and their cattle wade out
ON the shoals for miles, where the water
covers their backs, to feed OH sea grass,
and if they are carried up-country and
fed on corn and fodder they will not
live.
Every man is Captain of some kind of
boat, and "she" is always better than
any other boat in some way. "She is
hard TO beat in gale of wind" or "be-
fore the wind" or "hoating to wind
ward" or with the wind on the BEAM"
or "she can sail closer to the wind" or
"will carry sail longest" or "hard to
beat in light wind" or "totes more
stock" or is "stronger," or "dryer,"
or "bigger," or "she is big little
boat" or draws the least water" or
"needs less ballast" or "she is the
newest" or "has the best timbers," or
steers the best" or "she is lucky
boat" or Stands up better" or "needs
less sail than any other boat" or "she is
best for fishing" etc. Perhaps "she
comes about better than any other
bout" She is bound to have something
about her better than anybody else's
boat.