The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1889-07-04
CHAPTER XIII.
ooUvrRy LIFE-(continued.)

It has often been remarked that the daily
occupations of savages are apt TO become the
pastimes Of civilized nations. Fishing and
hunting formed the staple industries of nearly
all primitive races, and have now become the Ia
vorite holiday Rmusementsof our wealthlest TEL
low-citizens. Amateur gardening and amateur
boat sailing are getting more aud more lash
ionable. Our archery clubs have oven revived
the warfare practice of our earliest ancestors,
aud camp-life in the wilderness OF the mount
sin forests is the day-dream of thousands OF
city dwellers.
How can it be explained that the inhabitants
Of that wilderness, the almost over-happy
rustics,r as Virgil calls them, are nevertheless
anxious 10 exchange their advantages Tor the
giided tinsel of a crowded cityg For one hun
dred farmer boys who actually run away, at
least hundred thousand would confess Sc
cret longing 10 give the old homestead the slip
and try their luck in town." Is ii the love
of change inherent in human nature, or the
migration mania, said TO be q result OF the
American climate? Partly, perhaps; but IL is
suspicious circumstance that only few OF our
young farm house deserters would be willing
70 renOunee their city quarters and return to
the scenes OF their alleged rural happiness. Not
few of them would be apt 10 deny the ex-
perience of that happiness altogether, though
perhaps not its possibility, under modified cir
cumsIances. Farm work is pretty hard for
the wages a-going, isn't itg" / asked OF one of
those refugees, who secuted the idea Of home
sickness after the neighb0rhOOd of the :" old
oaken bucket" q" Y es," said he; you can't get
rich on a farm nowadays. But that never wor-
ried me, nor the hard work either. l could
split fence-rails for bet with the best OF them,
and didn't mind hunting cows ia the rain, and
such things; but in Summer have more than
once felt as If / would sooner be dead and be
shut Of all trouble, If / was just getting good
nap under a shase-tree after dinner, and the
old man jerked me out 10 90 70 work in the
blazing hot snn."
The shortness Of noon-time rest is. indeed a
chief grievance OF a workingman's life north Of
the Rio Grande, and in warm Summers is apt
% wear out constitutions that would have
weathered hardship in any other form. In
Spanish America, even in the uplands, where
the Summers are not nearly as opPressively
hot as in the bOttOmlands Of the Mississippi
Valley. the stingiest planter would not grudge
his labOrers a siesta of three hours; and two
hours should be the very minimum where the
Thermometer often rises 10 hundred degrees
in the shade. The fact is that our National
territory has a strangely compound climate
the Winters OF nOrtheTnmOst Norway with the
Summers Of southern Spain. Southern France
is considered a semi-tTOpical climate; but the
peasants Of AvignOn and LanguedOc would
groWl II the thermometer rise above 80 degrees
Fahrenheit while in western Missouri lO5 de-
Rrees IN the shade ID nothing unusual after the
degrees for 10 or - following days would not
surprise the planters of the lower Mississippi
Valley, and the occasional state OF affairs on
the Pacific slope Of Our continent can be infer
red from the following weather notice OF the
Stockton Ars0:
In the stanislaus Valley the thermometer
rose 10 lib degrees in the shade. The wind
was avoided, as il was so heated that it felt as
II actually burning the skin-As IL rushing
from hot oven. In one drove Of 10 horses
three fell in the road from heat; two died, but
the other recovered by pouring sweet oil IN its
throat At BuuOn's public house, near Low
ing'g Ferry, birds few in the bsr-rOom 10 the
pitcher to get water, so tame were they made
by the thirst caused by the extreme heat
Birds were seen 10 fall dead of the limbs Of
trees in the middle Of the day from the heat
ss IL they were shot" In the town Of Santa
Barbara, 200 miles further south. the weather
once got even hotter. so much 50, indeed, that
the people had 70 save their lives by taking
refuge in their cellars AT ] o'clock, says
Prof. q. s. Hittell Resources Of California, page
%. ION the 18th OF june, 1853, a burning wind
rose from the southwest and smote all living
things with terror. At 2 o'clock the thermom-
eter exposed 10 this VIVID rose 10 I33 degrees
Fahrenheit, and At o'clock il was still above
10 degrees. a fisherman who was out az sea
came back with his arms ali blstered. Many
calves, rabbits and birds died Of sufoc4tion,
but the greatest losses were among the vege-
tables. The fruit trees were nearly all burned !;
nsuy pears and apples looked as If they had
been literally cooked"
Those phenomena were. Of course, excep-
tiOnal, but on the whole our Summers are from
70 70 y degrees warmer than those Of the coun-
tries where the plurality Of our country popu-
latiOH adopted their nOnhland babits-foF in
stance, the habit Of wearing the same kind Of
clothes All the year round. The Disadvantages
q that custom are still aggravated by what a
H. 81
tlDn," VIZ. the idea that sWeltering warm
UndeFgzrDents are conducive TO the pTeseTga-
ton Of health. Flannel or no Gannel Is a
question that has Tor years reused the war
cries Of coHteBding medical factions. The no
naHuei party called attention 20 the fact that
OFeDials have for ages reached hale old age
without The maTtyrdOm Of wooden undershirts
and that IN the WarIBest of climates the ezpe-
rience Of centuries has taught our feliOw-men
~ prefer linen % ali other fabFics They also
proved that IN countries where wooden gar
nenis are used only IN Winter rheumatism aud
similar ailments arc less frequent than ia the
lands VI civilization, and that the cutaneous
disOrderE Of our medieval ancestors were album
dainty explained by their dietetic misiakes
Arguments Of that sort might convert few
FatiOnallsts and habitnAl diebelegerE in the
competency Of prevalent opinions, but the
masses stick 10 their flannel. No logic could
prevail against the Circumstance that in warm
Portable than linen. Whatever is pleasant
nust be wrong" AID linen underwear had u
90.
From hygienic point Of view the best Sum
nleT dress for outdoor work ia fields aud wood,
would be the smOSihest tie thnnest aifOrdinf
protection from gnsts. the Iightegt compatible
with deceney. Light fabrics can he made ex
tFemely durable. The linen jackets Of oul
German Turner'S are ar smooth and cool an sill
and az tough corduroy. In the warmeg
weeks Of our East American dOg-days parent
sending their children 10 the country nigh
safely adopt the plan Of . medical friend 0
mine, who permits his boys 10 run about bare
loot up 70 the knees" in thin linen jacket ant
linen trousers, leaving the question Of hat
optional with the prediction Of each specia
yonngster. There is no doubt that the eve
protecting value Of broad brimmed hats la
been strangely over rated. Hats were uhk now
during the long ages Of pagan civilization
Greeks and Romans protected their heads Onl,
~ war, and were rarely troubled with short
Eighteduesg. The eagle-eyed Arabs wear onI,
tuFbans. Our American aborigines can b
c0azeG into Jack boots and dressc0ats but alb
Eouiely fail 10 zee the use Of hat. They WeG
little but their natural head-dress-braids O
hair wound like Wreaths about the temple
and forehead and, perhaps. supplemented witt
few ribbons, fas in Nicaragua, where th
c0Gaye Of an Indian brave strikingly resemble
that 81 d New England country girl: vet In