Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1890-04-06
pLUNKET ON EASTER.
HIS FIRST ACQUAINTANCE Win 4"
DOWN SOUTH.
How the Negroes Took TO tho Holiday
Their Customs supcrstitious-ihe"
Taster-EEgs, &c.
rwri,,.n fOr The pI.pntch BY SARGE

Their Customs supcrstitious-ine"
Easter-Eggs, &c.
Written for the Dispatch by ssrsel
IFS or GOOD thing that Easter comes 20
soon arter 'Apri-fools day said Jun Ao'''
| with n scr1ousuass that il rarely SHOWN
"Tbis Anril- fool business is the biggest
fraud that was ever handed down from one
generation TO another. - al
F." Browr's Gale come over and stayed nv
| night lust 10 be here on the lst Vi nPlHt
| and they all know my weakness LOT nos
vaffIea {or brea kfast. and 50 they J0lheu
| in with the old '0man and had tne nne,s
! kind er dish Of ZEN smoking on the tnu,o o
when took my seat. ] hardy M III III
/ 20 snv grace. and no sooner than mao h"la
! H. M into them wafles and had -FOUR OF
ZEN piled into my plate with tho ifeSh 9 1.l,.
ter swimming errouudu pon ZEN. ~ uiun 7
! take mo long to add some syrup anu t,lcn 4
| whaCked crwav TO cut OF q IhOu'h,,.ui,,
whom low and behold - was Just some il lie
| cotton kIvcred with batter: Guy ny No.. w
/ from under my eyebrows at the Ola oInan;
1 but the Gals broke ont laughing ana cricd
| Anril fool Arril, fool, and ] subsidized
! and smiled or FAINT little smile, hut VS.
| az mad as thunder and they oil EnoWcd u;
$50 much foolishnes5 on the lst OF ~
makes the solemnity Of Easter tbe uett' =.
relshed-it tones down and gets things 70
running in regular channels. Brown sals
| VIII sing tho Easter anthems ana looh 80
/ pOug that nobody would ever SuS Po.e
/ them OF making cotton waitcs 70 looi III
| old man. -, T
Erway back in tho fortios was TThen !
! first heard of the socredness o. Lastet.
| Erb0ut '43 OF - there was er klnd ol I,i5ltl
wave that passed through Georgia anu oooA
I o. hold upon the ggers and they were
! crazicr than tho Salvation army OF any
| other army
"Railroads were jast being built to A.
/ lania erlDng then and thousands OF the
| Old Country folks come here 70 WORK
/ upOn 'om. J never seed IT priest III my
| life till then and ! knowed nothing or Ihls
/ Easter business. There WAS not or Catho-
! lie church from Savannah 20 LOUISIANA
/ but SO MANY Of this sect coming IN mere
| brought the priests and e wasn't long til
| the news spread that Catholic churches
was Going 10 be organized. -.
There were several hundred Catholics
/ working upon the old Monroe Banking
| Companys road-now the Central-end the
news got ermong them that one OF their
! churches was being built up IN iennessee'
/ erbout knoxville think. and there was er
! general jOlliGcation ormOng thcm, anu
! Easter coming on in the mean tune tley
made or 10 do that was never Sted mere DE-
/ fore. bot erbout the time that 'hey got
| fhrOurh iOllifviDr over the day. news come
/ lhat the peoi.le had TT and sw0re they
were going 10 tear down the churcn anu
W. ore threatening 80 handle tie nrestS er-
bout like the MOrmOns are hfnd ..i ihese
dar-. and Won never seed suoh excitement.
/ Hundreds OF raiir0adcrs threw down their
picks and shOvcis and went 10 ana II dt-
/ Tending their priests and the neW-bullt
! church. The matter was fottled some way
] 4 f,41. Il fsi.r o
/ in the territory from Savannah to Loulsl-
ana. and reycr heard much Of celebrating
| Easter till about that time.
"The Catholics are the stuctest oh-
servers Of these sacrcd-day rites and they
are mighty true % their religion. They
mix or heap of pictures erlOng with their
| doctrines and know folks who swear 70
| tins dry that the changing OF the CoHied-
crate fac was done 10 work upon EN-.
/ Brown sVorc that no Catholic would hght
oroiu the Confedcrates WHOM thevsecd that
cross waving over the battle line. but they
| did. and II il was State secret that this
| fay should beadOpted lust to work on the
! religion turn Of these people they were
/ bad calculatOrs who inspired j., though
! they do tell mo that the Pope Of Rome was
! the only power that recognized the Con-
/ lederate States OF America.
This emblem business and this sacred
! dav business caught the nigcers. They
/ fairly spread themselves for or while, and
! # II hadn't or been for the fuss and furry
/ OF tho Methodlsts and Bautsts every nig-
| ger IN Ge0r1ia would be Catholic. Er me-
! ger has 60 make fuss in bis rellg.ou-qulet
! religion hairt worth or cent-and 50 they
! sortcr split the difference, and whilo they
| lined the Bnptsts and Methodlsts in order
! 10 rare aud pitch. they took up some of the
! Clthhc notions on pictures anu sacred
Faster Sunday was their great day.
| Thov gathered pretty stories aesDclated
with the ascension, and for days before
/ Easter they talked of nothing else. Mar
! riGges were arranged for COMING on on
| that dav. and the ceremony was the SIM
! Dle Joining of hands and jumping over 2
/ broom. his made them husband and
/ wife. and they fully believed that 70 enter
! into the marriage relationship upon Easter
| would bring them good luck, and that
they and their children would not be
! parted.
I'm connecting themselves with any
| church they preferred 20 JON on Easter.
! Whoy thought that the day helped them to
| keep the faith, and so II was that Easter
! Sunday got to be o GREAT day for the per-
! formance Of tho baptsm0l rite. and from
| one of these baptsings there sprung the
! first case Of kukluxing that was ever IN
| Georgia.
| sTte story was notorious That ne one of
| the converts was sOuIed under the water
| no cot mighty badly strangled, and rs be
ri2 CT splitting and er sneezlng ana 'r
| ecrambling ho rolled his eyes no the crowd
! and lowed, "a soon as he could speak:
- Some man is going to lose er niger at
this d-n fOolishncs.'
His brethren held er caucus and FORM
cd er band 10 punish HIM for cussinc on
! Easter. and so in a few nights they wmten-
| ol their faces with chalk, waylaid the TEL
low. tied him 10 IT tree, and give MN
thunder in regular kuklux style-that was
the first lukluXing in Georgia.
1.-THE blue birds furnished tho nicgers
| their Easter eggs, but they wouldn't 90 II
now, for blue birds are too scarce now,
and. besides. tho seasons have changed
birds don't get mated now by Easter. Corn
was planted in February in them days and
| blue birds were plentiful and every hollow
stump had er nest in It, and 1t was the
pride Of the nCgeTS 90 secure the eggs and
paint 'em up for Easter.
The butterhy como in for the nigCer's
attention They had pretty stories Of how
the crvsalis fastened themselves GROUND
the tomb in great numbers, and when the
Lord arose they turned TO butterflies anc
followed IN a cloud of beauty The MIG
GERS watched the trees for these crysaii'
and cut the twirs TO which they were
fastened and carried 'em 10 their cabins
They were more diligent in hunting these
things erbout Easter, and they studied II
tin they could tell prettynighto er minute
when it would break ont from IFS shell anC
come forth as er butterfly. SO 1t was tina
many er niger cabin was alive Will, TN
futter of these pretty things, which, adorn
eel the walls as never palace was adorned
TO live for er dav and pass away foreyer'
"But this Easter wave soon passed. over
Niererg want to he religious but there mus
be sound in it. They want 10 open then
mouths and sing the 'Old Ship Of Zion,
and 'Jordans Stormy Banks and dotoo
hut there are hallowed associations whlGi
cluster around Easter which SHOULD
quicken every heart and have 1t beet II
Him who rose upon that day." SARGE
GAMBLING IN PARIS.