Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1888-11-11
OLD-TIME CORNSHUCKINGS.

OLD-TIME CORNSHUCKINGS.
The Gathering of Cora rs It Used to Be
and as IL Is Now-The Old Man Has been
Driving Oxen.
,S1.o," IN Atlanta Constitution.
ibid YOU ever haul up corn with yoke
of oxen ?" astei Piunkett, as he Lit his
nine and took his seat in the corner.
ttGsthering corn with oxen haint 10
ess7 iob.n continued the old man, ss he
settled b sex in his IO:ker. lyon have to
Jerk AMI haw and ges to keep 'em from
pulling their necks off 1t echiug ont for
eating on esch side, and the man that can
drive 'em under such circumstances
aud not c1ss is deserving man for
sure. I've been driving for the boys to-
dsy aod my old bones ache snd my throat
is sore from jerking and whooping, and
then, besides, corn gathering time is not
what il us d to be, AMI it don't bring the
frolic and fun of the shocking like it used
to; but don't say a word, for kr on If /
did some Of these youngsters would say
'ths Old mans liver hGin't tlloppe1;' go /
lust gin and baar j., and comic myself
by thinking of tbs days when was young
and the OF old times wa hsd tteo.
"Corn gathering then was frolic, for
we kuowed that good tins was coming.
The corn wasn't throwed in thu cribs in
them days, but big pile was made in ths
lot ard then the night was set for shucS-
ing and the settlement gathered in-white
and black-cni tie corn was shucke1,
nut in the CRIB and the shucks penned all
in one night. I've seed a Pile Of 5000
bushels shucked and put up IN one night,
and there wasn't q TRAD psr3on in the
crowd, for t ere was fan and frolic and
sorgs and dances, and there was looking
fer tbs last ear before anybody knowed it.
Them old stockings are things Of the
past, but the generations to come will
never feast or melodies sweeter thln the
niger songs of the old corashuckiug days.
I've sat at night and listened to the crowds
as they were on their way to the CORN pile.
They always went in crowds ard hsd
their leaders, and the young masters
would 20 alorg to protect them, and thsy
felt as free ami as grand as they Iaye ever
since TIE war, and there hes neyer been q
gang of s'nce.the-war niggers that were
near so happy as these crowds IS they went
arross the fields singing:
Old msssa give me holiday,
He says he'll give me more;
thanked hin very kindly,
As / showed my boat frJm shore.
Oh, my dearest May
You're lovely as the DAY,
Your eyes SO bright
They shine 2tuight,
When the moon has gene away.
Aud then over on tie river you d haar
the big chain lumber on the bottom Of the
ferry boSt, and as the feVrymau pulled ont
from shore you'd hear 80 voices of anotte'
crowd JON ia tie chorus and sing:
Then row away wv,
Ger the waters 50 blue,
Like feat her we'll float,
In our gum tree Csn5e
"8ut the climax WAS at tbs corn pile
With two o, three hlrdred rec roes at ths
foot of corn pile az big as house, 3
leader w1u,d moan: On top end start OF
with 4 will start the hOilar,' and the rest
would come ia with 'Bugl Ia 1t ran
thus:
I will start the hollern
'Bu2lelo"
Twill start the hollcrl
BuglElO.
oh, don't you hear me holier'
'Buglelo,'
'MsSSa's gN bYg'e"
'Buglelo.
y tcu-cent bugle"
Buglelc"
Aud on and on thst leader would cali
and tle crowd would answer TIL they
would want change, which was indicated
by THO wing corn at the caller and never
fai,el 10 bring him down, and then another
lesder would mount the pile and he'd have
something on the same style, but never the
cams tune. And thus tie night would
wear along and the pile Of upshucked corn
dim nish. The lively time would be when
the pile began to grow email and they'd
begin to yell ,,
Looking for the Ia ear!
'Bangama ang".
Looking for he last cay"
'BangamslangO,
Round up the "a boy.
gamSlanVr"
Round up the corn pie
'BIugamalangO'
Then there was scramblng, Tor the
work was over and tbs frOic bsguu. The
crowd would gather around ther owner OF
the corn, ard he was lifted on the shout
ders Of strong nj ggers, and I'll would fol-
low behind, singing In their own way ss
the march was continued to and around
the b g house, and thea to where boun-
tisul feast was in waiting on tables pre-
parsd in the yard.
THE tsbl9s were full, and the niggers
would eat awhile and sing awhile, aud re-
turn t. eat again. Here would BE- o crowd
putting end dancing; other crowds would
wrestle and box, while Others would gath
er on seat in the background and sing the
songs they loved to sing. love them old
soags and | loved them o!d'time nigg 'rs,
for nev<r seed singing niggsr that wa9
man
1.-THE seasons are the same. The cotton
patches grow white as they used TO, bat
the Cld-time Niger, ~ he rams acIOls he
lated watermelon ia the grass around some
stump and grabs it and breaks it op2n en-
h $ knee ard scoops cut the meat with his
hand AID th,usts it into mouth teat Is
81 ways ready TO smile is not here. Cnrn
gstte Jog time gives no tOps of good timc
TO COM, and its work-sure enough work
and business, business, all the tina"
HAVE not used AL of one bottle yet. !
suff. red from catsrrh for twelve years, ex-
periencipg the nauSeating dropping in the
throat peculiar 70 that disease, ard nose
bleed almost daily. tried various rene
dies without benefit until last April, when
saw Ely's Cream Balm advertised in the
Boston Budget, / procured bottle, ard
sine the fl rat davis use have lad no more