Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-06-30
PENNSYLVANIA DUTCH.
Sturdy People Who Live Long and Drink
Beer The Unique Cures for Intemper-
ance and Various Distempers-Charms TO

Beer The Unique Cures for Intemper-
ance and Various Distempers- Charms to
Win Love.
READING, June 29.-This city and the coun-
try within radius of % miles surrounding 1t is
justly celebrated for its great number of aged
men and women, there being 234 in this (Berks)
county who are living at more than fourscore
| years, and more than dozen centenarians.
Then, too, they almost all enjoy good health,
and they say it is seldom that man or woman
| gets sick before the time comes for him to
shuttle off his mortal coil and take peep at
things beyond. Doctors, that is to say the
| orthodox fellows, who prescribe blue mass.
| qu1nine, strichnia, arsenic, paregoric, pepper
mint or any other of the drugs constituting the
| orthodox materla medica of this nation OF
| dyspeptics-do not thrive here. If you we're to
ask any of these old people their opinion of
the regular disciple of Esculapius, they would
answer you in the sweetest language on earth
Pennsylvania Dutch-with the words: "Ka
docther fur mich; Ich glob net in Elm unit sic
medicine" which being translated, reads: mo
doctor for me; don't believe in him and his
medicine"
These people have materia medica peculiar
ly their own, in which their well-known lager
beer plays prominent part 1.-THE county went
1851 majority-9 to l-against the prohibition
amendment to the State Constitution, on June
lSl and while every father in the county con-
siders 1t incumbent upon him to see to it that
his children are taught TO call for their favor
lite beverage in two different languages. he con-
sders it no less his duty to impress upon their
minds the unfailing efficacy of the following
methods of fighting disease, combating death
and his sickle and attaining to long and happy
life:
Mans Chief Duties.
First of all, it is necessary to take beer in
moderate quantities, and if you are unfortunate
enough to have been born a male. vote the
Democratic ticket. If you can't catch on to the
regular party ticket, put one in with General
Jackson's name on and the judges will in nine
cases out of ten know that you meant the right
thing anyhow, and count it the way it should be
counted.
If Berks county party ever becomes fool
ish enough to throw beer to one side and take
whisky in such quantities as to produce de-
lirium tremens, his friends 6onslder it their
duty to secure two live eels from distance of
at least 100 miles from where the patient lives,
pour half gallon of whisky over them, and
after the death of the poor eels compel the
patient to drink all the whisky during three
consecutive days in the sign of the fish. If he
lives through this, they say he will get well
sure and never again be cursed with an appe-
tite for rum.
No man or woman will, in the opinion of the
e.,
age or enjoy good health If he OF she has not
been placed in the hopper of the nearest grist
mill before the age Of 10 days has been reached,
and 30 well do the dusty millerS in this section
understand this belief of the people that they
invariably commence to get the hopper ready
when they see woman approach the mill with
a child in her arms. In the estimation Of sew
eral with whom / have conversed relative to
their peculiar list Of cures and preventives, a
man or woman who will make it point on
their twenty-ifth birthday to catch toad and
kiss it will certainly live to be three-score and
ten; if, after attaining that age they repeat
the same dose on the same toad There are
scores of toads kept in this country for that
purp0se), there is no doubt but that they will
live to be centenarians.
Preserving the Baby From Harm.
The average country mother in this county,
and portions of Lancaster Schuylkill and Lee
high, would consider it most serious derelic.
tion of duty to neglect taking the first crop of
hair cut from the head of her child and stow it
away under the rock first touched by her foot
after the birth of the youngster, for she firmly
believes that this will conduce to its future
good health and guarantee long life. She
knows her mother did so in her case, and the
traditions of the old folks must not be forgotten
or disbelieved.
When man sprains his back here he will be-
tween sundown and o'clock P. M. wind an eel
skin three times around his body and say: I'm
the name of FatheRSon and Spirit" an6 be
willing to swear thathe Will have no pain the
next morning.
boy who sees warts on his hands in this
county doesn't carry them long If he has been
properly instructed at home, for his mother
has told him that Immediately upon their first
appearance he must take bee-line for the
nearest tree stump that has water in it and
thoroughly cleanse ~ his hands in the stag
nant pool. If he does SO he need have no fear but
that the warts will disappear before the end of |
the month.
When little Berks county baby gets sore
throat no physician, allopathic or otherwise. is
called in prescribe some nauseous dose or may
hap burn the darllng's throat with caustic, but |
the mother takes the stocking from her own |
right foot, winds it around her pets neck, puts
it to bed and loi the soreness has taken its ever
lasting departure and the child is entirely well
the next morning.
When age brings aches and pains and the old |
mans joints get stiff, the wife who has for |
SO many years shared his joys and sorrows |
takes bacon rind, carefully rubs the. sore spots
and then buries the rind under the eve of the |
house. firmly believing that as the meat grad |
ually rots away the pains will cease and the |
joints timber up.
Charms and Love Philters.
Nine-tenths of the country people believe in
and there are few indeed who do
not believe that the seventh child of a seventh
child has the power to, by the laying on of
hands, knock all the fever out of a burn or
scald.
Peddlers of charms for the cure of heartaches,
love, jealousy, slowness of COM
inability to makemoney, dyspepsia,
headache or backache, freckels, moles, super
duous hair, and any or all of the ills that hu-
manity is heir to, thrive and grow rich.
The belief in witchcraft may be said to be
almost universal, more especially in the coun-
try districts and there is not a township but
has one or more persons ostracized from the
general society because of the belief that she
IS witch. or hex, as they are called in Penn
,ylvania Dutch.
There is an old man in this city who has for
doctor, and who has grown rich from 1t; and
there is another serving term in the county
prison who. during his trial, declared that there
was no humbug about his being able to cure
anyone who was "behexedn (bewitched) as he
;ermed it. and although the Judge gave him a
for hoodwinking and imposing upon |
he credulity of the people, two-thirds of the
audience in the Court House land it was
,rowded) sympathized with the culprit and
blamed the Judge.
These are but few of the curious ideas that |
eem to permeate the very life of society in the
county of Berks, and when l. few days ago, |
expressed doubt as to the efficacy of some of |
he cures mentioned, the old residenter to
whom was talking shook his head disdain-
ully and remarked "All recht; du waist net;
# mehr lite tes ting wissa tower besser fer se''
-"all right; you don't know; if more people
,new these things it would be better for them"
GERMAN STATE SALARIES