The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1888-08-11
THE PASSING OF THE "CRAoKER.p
The Present Generation OF Georgians an I'M
provement on Their Ancestors.

The Present Generation of Georglans an I'm.
provement on Their Ancestors.
Bill Arp. in Atlanta Constitution.
How gratefully conscious we are that our chill
dren and grandchildren live in q better age than
that in which our youth was spent. The world
is assimilatinR-knowledge il being diffused.
Half a century ago it was within reach of the
privileged few. / remember when my father
was . merchant. and / was . lad behind his
counter. about half his customers made cross
marks TO their promissory notes. But few Of
them could tell whether they had signed for $40
or sl0G. but they signed and trusted. Honest
and tr1e, they believed that others were. We
love to tell Of the honest simplicity OF those
ing for MS children. q longing desire for their
education. Not long ago 1 called at a humble
cottage for Q drink OF water. and found a little
bare-footed girl reading a story to
her her, srs snd M 1t o,d was m Sund nHOss .a
tell me that Sarah Jane could read. 81 had no
larnin'," said he, 'but this child has been to
school, and now she comes and reads to the old
man and il does me a power OF good" l know
of o father who goes regularly to school with his
two little boys and studies the same lesson end
stands up with them at recitation. The humble
country people. the toilers. are advancing in
knowledge, in ideas, IN language. The time was
when most every family and their kindred had
tone of voice was handed down from some rude
ancestor and spread around among the chill
dren to the third and fourth. genera
ton; there was a whole settlement in
Gwinnett county who said wall for we'll
'yaas' for yes, and added on to every break In
their sentences. He tod me oh that be was
a-gwine to town eh, aud I axed him eh to
bring as some coffee, eh." There was another
very numerous family who Enclosed their sem
fences with $50 it wus." or $50 he did" or $50 l
will" / have bought me a cow, so I have. and l
gave fifteen dollars for her. 30 l did. There are
still people living among the hills of North
Georgia who say youuns and we'uns. but they
are growing few and old. A clever country
woman was telling my wife about one OF her
neishtors falling in the fire. and she said. "As
soon as / heern ;t / sont after Jim for to come
for to go for to git some inyuns to make a poul-
tice for to put on the burn for to draw the fire
out Of hit" | knew O good woman who called
her daughter Thella, and when / asked
what the child's name was, said,
"Her name Is Othello. but / call
her Thel.a for short" But the children and
grandchildren of these good old-fashioned people
make no such mistakes. The school-master is
abroad in the land and the press is circulating
KNOWLEDGE everywhere. Miss Murfree cannot
now find the people nor the dialect 10 Smoky
mountain that she writes SO charmingly about.
Betsy Hamilton can't find her quaint and curl
Gus characters in north Alabama. Colonel New.
man can't rnd the north Georgia cracker around
Canton. That generation has well nigh gone.
Even the negroes have ceased to use their old
time folk lore. and bre'r rabbit and brer fox
nave cedsou 10 DISCUSS their pr'vate AFFAIRS. 1
rememo Der when my grandfather used to set the
big milk pail under the cow and milk with
both hands and say, "Am. my laddie.
I kin git more milk from this ere
cow than ye can from half a dozen down
in Georgia" He was q rough old man lust like
the times he lived in. He moved hay and laid
stone wall for q living; but the next age was q
better one, and so my father got a good share
of schooling and became we'll versed in the linn
tied literature OF bis day. Next came my own
2~. .h,nh -Aa Ae< .kn
college. which was supposed to be the goal, the
finish, the completeness Of education. The
difference between the dialect, tone and accent
Of the up country and low country people is
still very marked and distinguishing. re-
member that forty years ago . little girl of one
Of the best Savannah families would say to her
brother James. Berlin, mama say come dare
TO he" and they still pronounce mama and pap
pa loIg with the accent on the second syllable,
while our up-country people pronounce it broad
with the accent on the first.