Fort Worth weekly gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1888-11-30

"Bsrrelsl"
TnsE's what 1t is. Barrels. Turkey
first and barrels sfterward.
AS early as the first day Of October the
Norwich boy begins to make plsus for
THANKSGIVING day, and his first and cen.
trsl fancy turns to barrels. From that
| time on to the festival no mans barrel is
ssfe in Norwich
An evil fpirit seems 10 possess it. II O
boy passes II In the sooerest style in the
world, II he SO much as caste one CO.
/! quoting sidelong glance that way, in
stantly the bsrIel begins to dance and
rattle, and II 10 one ts watching and the
youngster rubs up sgainst it, 1t gives q
sudden hop, topples over on its side and
scurries away. OF course the boy has to
follow 1t to kick It strajgh. when it gets
askew on its ruubling course and to keep
it from preDcing against pedestrians; end
1t invariably happens that the boy has to
drive 1t into its lair before 1t will sub
nit ;,tO government. There Is little
useNSf attempting to control 6
barrel sitter 1t has contracted the
THANKSGIVING fever, and the owner looks
feLgsrd resignedly to its inevitable dec
seffton from him. II looks very singular
to q stranger coming into this town at
this sssson ofthe yesr to see barrels roll.
ing CO in eyery direction, and statd citi-
zens Skipping nimbly and good>humored-
~ out Of the way OF the procession. He
cannot account for the phenomenon.
Perhaps he Is curious enough TO try
and fihd cut. But the Norwich boy is up
to SNUFF.
"Ssy, sonny" the stranger asks,
"what's up? Where are you going with
all these barrels?"
And the boy replies, innocently:
"Nothin's up, mister. The barrel don't
b'long to nobody nor nothin'. Found it
loose up the street and run 1t in. Say,
there, Jimmy, give her lift. Let her
go, Gallagher"
And with whoop the whole company
are of, kicking the whirling things
swiftly into the darkness Of side street.
These Youngsters are systematic.
The work Of collecting tina booty is
marked from tie opening Of the cam
psign to its finish by thorough discipline
snd organization and hearty rsFpelt for
the rights CT each squad. First, all the
boys in town array taemgelves into about
dozen Independent hrigades, and each
force lie duly empowered to look after the
barrel In It's own precinct, ard an IN
written law that is st least 200 years cid
forbids the bands to trespass on terri
tory not assigned 10 them. The largest
squads are thus placed: One CT Bean
Hill, the ancestral home of President
Cleveland, whose grandfather was bar
rel burner; one at Norwich Town, two st
the Falls, two ct the West Side, one St
Jail Hill, in the center Of the city, one at
Laurel Hill, one st Gree nville, and the
rest are scattered about in the suburbs.
Esch band has hiding place for its col
lection, called the "Home Base" and to
each is assigned the hill on which the
stacks are TO be burned. The prelimin-
srY arrangements completed, the boys go
to " TX with Will to get their barrels
together.
Suppose they had to do this. How
they would growl.
The custom OF burning bonlres or
Thanksgiving night is peculiar to this
town, end it's origin is lost in the obscu.
rity OF early colonial tradition. 1. was
old when Benedict Arnold was boy,
and into the sport he entered with char
ac.eristic impstuosity and Wiilfulness
1t is mentioned In the frat chronicles Of
Norwich; and Miss Csulkins, q local his
torisn, describes o fiery encounter be-
tween Ben etics and solemn constable
who undertook to rob him Of his barrel,
In which Arnold stripped Q & his coat and
dared the big man to fight. Many at
tempts have been made by local antigua
rians to trace the custom to its source,
bnt vsinly; the only plausible explanation
essays to connect It with practice thSt
prevailed in the hill towns Of the Mssss-
chusetts colony of burning bush fires
early in November to celebrate the mis-
Garage OF the Guy FawKes gunpowder
plot. 1t was suspected that as Thanks
giving WAS appointed ct that period at
about November the custom attached
itself to Thanksgiving, after its original
intent was lost, and thst 1t was imported
into this town by tie frat settlers
little after the middle ofthe seventeenth
century.
But the Massat husetts rite d'f1srs i'm
portsnt y from the Norwich spirit in that
brush was burned instead OF barrel stacks. |
There is nothing nique about brush bon
fires, which were common among tbs |
ancient Britons ana Scots, but o barrel |
fire Is An elaborate and startling creation, |
piouuSs Va suO IoNOalAS genius Vi |
ancient Norwich.
Boys, think oftt. Think ct hunting,
hun ting for Gays together, for barrels.
Think Of the work, and 1t takes work.
But then, It's great fun, you say.
So 1t Is.
To make lofty and successful barrel
bonfire demands native tact, talent and
abilities. The first thing Is
10 get the pole about which the barrels
IRE to be strung like giant beads, and this
usually is cut and peeled few days be-
lore the forthcoming ceremony. slim,
straight hickory, free from knots and not
ess than Fifty or sixty feet high is select
ed in the forest and sitter ii has been
rim ed and dsnuded Of its bark it is
.rsiled is.ssa town at the heels OF q dozen
sturdy boys. ON Thanksgiving day morn
ing 1t is drs n to the spex Of the hill
on which It is tC do duty, wherein scores
Of citizens have gait cred to lend IA hand
in erecting the staff or rnlsh the Reces-
ssry advisory remarks to she workers.
The barrels are quickly hung, about the