The Palatka daily news. (Palatka, Fla.) 1884-1888, 1886-11-03


Observation-Disclosures n Good Time
The Original breakdown"
To the visitors here the appearance Of
these people was a revelation That the
mountaineer WAS not possessed of an ordi-
nary education was no surprise to them,
but they were not prepared in this nine
teenth century to gaze upon a reproduc-
ton of primitive man Saturday Is gen.
orally set aside as sort of holiday by
them. From within q radius of twenty
miles they come with their families,
babies and all, to the city, as Orkney Is
termed, 20 have time. Those who are
fortunate enough to have wagons drive
here, but fully seven-eight5 are not so
blessed, and over mountain and dell they
climb with their children so as to get TO
Orkney.
Life in the mountains has developed
aloping movement, just as life on ship
board gives 10 the sailor when on shore u
swayins motion. Men, women and child
rem have the same gait. The head is bent
forward and the arms hang down in
front. All are round-Shouldered and
hoIlow-chested. Their faces are express
ionlcss and semi idiotic, their manner
awkward and ungainly, and their be
hav.or marked by an utter absence OF
common cjvility. They gaze upon a stran-
mouth and dilated eyes. evidently deem
ing him a great curiosity, and are not i'll
the least dis concerted when discovered.
The women are little more shy, and evil
IDENTIFY tI.- more ign GRANT of the sexes, if
that we-t possible. This may he due to
the fact rIlJ the males are oftener within
the paies of civilization. Some of them
chew tobacco like the men, while others
smoke pipes. 80 much for their personal
appearance and manner.
GARMENTS NOT FASHIONABLE
As to their garments, it did not require
a connoisseur To determine that they were
not designed by Partisan modesto The
males wore loose sacks of cheap goods
and pants to match Everything was
loose and flowing, implying love of
comfort aud plenty of room. Nearly all
had on black SLOUGH hats, with fiat crowns
and broad brims. The male children
were attired in jackets that hung about
them like sacks, and immensely wide
brown jeans pants, shaped something like
the old-style peg-tops. 1t was the female
attire, however, that attracted the most
attention. Such combination of colors
is rarely seen. Yellow and red FREEDOM
mattel The material, as a rule, was cot
ton print and the style vigorous plaid.
A majority of the crowd wore loud col
ors, while the danes We're attired in
gowns OF some dark stuff and sunbonnets-
Around the neck and shoulders the bodice
fitted snugly, but from the armpits down
they looked like Mother Hubbards. 1t
was generally remarked that few wore
corsets. The fiat shoes left n solid print
on the soft ground, and the head gear of
the more youthful, which, like the rest of
the attire, suggested comfort, was flat
and wide.
There were about 200 on the grounds last
Saturday, and, had the weather been less
threatening, there would probably have
been many more. They came to have a
good time, and they had it. The music
first attracted their attention They gath
e0ed about the little round house on the
lawn, and gazed with wonder and admir-
alton at the brass instruments. Soon the
leader abandoned operate airs. This
sort of music attracted but did not amuse
them. He started up the Virginia Reel,
and almost instantly the features of the
listeners underwent change. The old
familiar strain had a wonderful effect.
After while some of them became I'm
easy, and before the tune died out, two
of the mountaineers suddenly made a
break for the board walk, and began to
dance. 1t was the old break down, rem
dered in a manner that would have ex-
cited the envy OF a song-and-dance man.
He was the original, of which the guests
had heretofore only seen the imitation.
MAN-EATEE AND PARTNER
The dancers were odd characters, one
in particular being known throughout
this section as John Huckleberry, "the
man eater" He is said to be the strong
est man in the mountains, being match
for any six men The mountaineers re-
spect his prowess, and look upon him as
n leader. The giant is about six feet
two inches in hight, and is of herculean
build. The man-eater's partner In the
dance was a lamc man with basket on
his arm. His physical imperfection did
not interfere with his movements After
n time, when the music ceased, some OF
the men withdrew 10 the further end of
the lawn, where ring was formed. One
of the youths pulled out n mouth har-
monica. and, rs the wild strains swung
to the breeze, four mountain boys started
to the center and began a rollicking sort
of dance. In this way the picnickerS
enjoyed themselves throughout the day.
just about shutdown the musicians gave
the usual concert on the lawn After
playing Il number of airs they decided to
give the mourtainee another benefit
This time they selected "Sallie in the
Garden" the well-known "BuZzard' AIR.
The women thought the men had danced
enough, so they prevailed upon two OF
their number 10 start the ball A tall,
slim woman in black. about a years OF
age, WIN y shaker bonnet, anu a sifh Va
Is responded. There was no winging, as
Is seen ut tough balls in your city, but
the side steps and shuflies were immense
They tossed themselves all over the
board, afording infinite amusement to
the spectators. For five minutes they
danced together, then the young girl
gave out The old woman, however, Kept
II up until the musicians were tired out.
IL was al endurance match, and the aged
dancer carried of the prize. When COM
plimented on her performance she re-
marked, with a proud toss of her head:
20, I'm n Woodworking woman, am, y
and she looked 4 Late mt night the
picnickers started tor home which many
did not reach until the following morn
ii4z. Cor. baltimore American.
European Eggs.
About seven-eighths of the European