Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1885-05-08

YVES ludicrous enough, and it VA
almost impossible to keep o
laughing. The effect wore oil IN .
moment and the Frenchmen sat down
again, glaring at the intruders tor IN
terrupting their meal. This is only
one Of a thousand funny things that
might be told of these same Jumpers.
As a general thing the jumper takes
the joke pleasantly Y; but it sometimes
makes him surly and quarrelsome.
Jumping Frenchmen love to tease each
ether, and at any of their gatherings
there are always many pranks playeu'
often with serious consequences. Some
times when friends are talking a mis-
chief-maker will saunter up, slap one
of them on the shoulder and cry out
Hit him. or something of the kind,
and leave the friends to settle the mat
ter, for something is bound to happen:
Usually the jumperobeys the command
to the letter and strikes mi in a way
that would do credit to a prize fighter
If his friend gets knocked down 1t IS
nobody's fault but the n who started
the mischief. for the poor Frenchman
could not help doing as he was told.
He would hit his mother or q stone
wall as soon as he would DO anything
else. More often. however, the effect
of startling q jumping Frenchman is
oomical, but harmless. When ne gets
a sudden start the impulse is to leap
into the air. He then utters a low, al
most plaintive cry, throws his hands up
and makes a bound that is sometimes
worthy of record as a high jump No
particular harm is done, but the jamper
is left pale and trembling for q few mo-
ments and then forgets all about it and
is ready to be jumped again and again
for the most trivial reasons. Of course,
if he is on his guard he is no more sus-
ceptible to jumping than other people.
1.-The women arc little if any less
likely to be jumped than the men. 10
see a small, dumpy Frenchwoman try
ing to get into the air would make q
high-bench Judge laugh. They are all
most useless as servants. AdistNof hot.
soup would be thrown anywhere, even,
on the traditional bald head, on the.
slightest ~provocation. The general
tendency Of those affected, as 1 have
said, is to jump; but there are almost.
as many peculiarities as there are peo-:
pic. A sneeze will startle one into a,
violent fit of sneezing and shifting. A
jumping Frenchman who could
not speak a word OF any lam
guage but his w "a kind
Of patois, by the way) has been known
to repeat a single-breath English sem
tence, word for word, including into
nation and gesture, on being suddenly
startled by the one saying it. In the
little town of Caribou 1 saw q jumper
who was really a remarkable checker
player. A travelling man of consid-
cradle reputation in that line was
playing with him, and the game had
been brought to point at which a
single move practically gave it to the
Frenchman. His opponent, seeing
that he would be beaten, uttered a
sudden cry Of alarm, which produced
the desired effect. for the Frenchman
turned pale and instantly threw board
and nieces across the room. 1t is &C.
tually dangerous at times to be among
Frenchmen, for they are not RESPONSE
BILE for what they do, and their freaks
are likely to be as harmful as they
are lud.crous.
81 was unable to learn anything
about the historyof these queer people,
but have no doubt some of the physi-
clans of Houlton, Caribou or Fort Fair
field could tell something about the
nature of their affection. The climate,
and their rude, dirty ways have been
suggested, and some say intermarriage
has had something to do with the
matter. Others believe that the pecul-
iarity is an Inheritance which has been
developed without check until it has
become general. At any rate, the
Aroostook and the nearby part of the
provinces is probably the home of the
jumping Frenchman. Upper Maine is
a tough place for a travelling man in
winter, but it is the most interesting
part of the country so far as human
curiosities are concerned that [ know
of, and | am supposed to know pretty
much the whole of it. Many New
Workers are beginning to appreciate
the advantages of the Aroostook as a
summer resort, and it is probable that
when the hotels and boarding-houses
commence to send out circulars of in
formation, chief among the novelties
mentioned will be the singular Pc
culiarities of these singular people,
N. Y. World.