Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1885-09-04
A PEOPLE.
The Queer Ideas, Costumes and Language
of the Pennsylvania Dutch.

- ~~SSA AAO80e OOOeAAhA0O 1Wu L@h1kWWk
of the P~ennsylvania Dutch.
There is net a more curious people,
under the sun than the PENNSYLVANIA
Dutch farmers. Their ancestors were
the pioneer settlers in one of the most
fertile sections of Pennsylvania, and
the superstitions, customs and anti
pathies of the fathers are still held by
the sons. The war of the rebellion did
o to dispel the traditions of the
Pennsylvania Dutch than anything in
their history, but go among them in
the back counties, where their farms
are isolated from towns, and you will
find them still firm believers in
''spooks," witches and charms, and
strong in their doubts of the necessity
OF the common schools. They are as
honest as the day is long, and the most
close-fisted and exacting in a bargain
of any people in the world. Driving
long distances to market, they will
higgle over a dime in a bargain that.
involves, probably, the sale of hum
dreds of dollars worth of produce,
and if assured that by going ten miles
further they will be able to sell their
goods and make the extra ten cents
they will not hesitate amoment to take.
the journey. The extra time and labor
they do not stop to take into account.
from the earliest days of the Penn,
sylvania Dutch farmers they have re-;
garded mental service the duty of their,
women. 1t is by no means an uncom-
mon sight in passing through these
back farming regions to see the
women working in the fields the same
as the men-not only hoeing or har-
vesting, but following the plough or
harrow. This idea that women should,
have no mission beyond mental labor
is well illustrated by the fact that many
a domestic drudge in the town families
is the daughter Of q farmer rich enough
to buy her employer yer and over.
again. [ have a servant in my house
now whose father is one of the best
known Dutch farmers in Eastern Le-
high County, and is worth at least
$4,000.
Before the war the old Dutch farm
ers held to the custom of their
fathers, which prompted them to never
refuse to extend financial aid to another.
and that without eNacting written obi
cation or interest. If one farmer
needed a few hundred dollars he went
to any neighbor whom he knew had the
money. The loan was at once forth
coming, the borrower naming a certain
day and hour on which the money
would be repaid. If he failed to keep
his word he was forever in disgrace,
and no one vas bound to aver respond
to his request for aid again. Defaults
in payments of these unsecured and I'M
~remunerated loans were very rare, so
sacred was the verbal contract held.
The scarcity of money that came with
the early years of the war, and the
premium that gold commanded, sent
spectators through the Pennsylvania
Dutch farming regions, and the cupid
ity of the farmers was soon awakened,
and they for the first time began to
realize profit from the use Of their
money. Then the old custom of help
ing n another without some return
for the favor was gradually abandoned,
and the bond and mortgage took its
place.
When the common school system
vas first proposed, although it was the
scheme of Pennsylvania Dutch Legis-
lators and Executives, the farmers were
a unit in opposing it. After it was
authorized by law, its machinery in
many of the districts of the Dutch
counties necessarily passed into the CON
troll of its opponents. Their policy was
to establish as few schools as possible,
keep them open only a few weeks in
the year. and employ only such teach
ers as were willing to serve at the
lowest possible wages. Many old
timers have not modified their OPP
position to the common schools yet,
and will not accept their benefits. The
consequence is that there are whole
communities where nothing but Ger
man is read. written or spoken. 1t is
a characteristic of the race to preserve
their language, which is a quaint COM
bination of English and German. The
Pennsylvania Dutch hate the Irish, and
if a person can not speak their language
they call him an 'Irisher.' The typical
Pennsylvania Dutchman has a holy
horror of the ways of lawyers.
especially on cross-eXamination, and
he invariably insists On giving his tes-
timony in his mother tongue, although
he may be able to speak English we'll
enough to testify in that language.
Bucher's knowledge of the language
gained him a previous election as
Judge, and while he was on the bench
witnesses of this kind were able to give
their testimony in their way through
his aid. For instance, if the lawyer ex-
aiming could not speak Dutch, he
asked the question in English. The
witness said nothing until some one
asked him in Dutch. Then he
answered the questioner in the same
language, who interpreted it to the
lawyer, and so on If you should ask
one of these Pennsylvania Dutchmen
why he is so averse to testifying in
English, he will very likely reply:
''Yaw, shust du, in Deutsch koenne
die verdolt lawyers mich net fange,
aber DIES derdolt English better MICH"
That means: Eyes, you see, in
! German these DANCED lawyers can't
catch me, but their DANCED English
bothers meteor. N. Y. San.
An Interesting "Find."