River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1890-05-15

4 Brand-New step That Is Raging In A
Parts of Georgia.


Tribune reporter just returned from
Georgia brought back with him the new
step that has had an extensive run in
that State in the last two months. It's
called the "Buzzard LOPEZ" Nothing
like it was ever seen in this part of the
country, and persons who are not init
mately acquainted with the ways OF
buzzards will be able to form any thing
approaching a correct notion OF its style.
The buzzard is so useful citizen OF the
South that he seldom ventures north
ward He is known in a small way in
The West, but 1t is an historic fact that
he was never caught Looping outside of
Georgia. The habits Of the buzzard are
peculiar. He is excessively carnivorous,
and likes his meat served high. If your
iavorite COW dies the buzzards of the
neighborhood will bury her, not neces-
sarily in the earth, but--they'll bury
her.
An aged darby lost his aged mule,
lost by death in the piney woods on
black Friday. The following Sunday
he took a spade ami went forth to bury
him. Arriving within sight Of the bod j
he came upon group of forty-nine buzz
Yards. Forty-eight OF them fl ew away.
The forty-ninth, whose feathers were
gray with age, or early piety, or sorne-
thing. declined to retire. Looking
straight at the old darky he spread his
wings-they were nine feet from tip to
tip-tucked his tail under his body,
drew in his chin and proceeded to lope
around the dead mule. The old darby
had been a wonderful dancer in slavery
days, and prided himself on knowing
every step that any body else knew. He
had danced the dignity" step in Bar
bados, the Tom Tom" in Dominica; he
had danced .'lxaro" as no other person
in the world could dance it, and as far
as cutting the pigeon wing, why,
he invented it! But here was
brand-new step. 1t wrenched
his soul to see that ancient
buzzard Looping there at his ease, as he
had never dreamed any creature on
earth could lope. He stood aghast. The
spade fell from his shoulder. He spread
his arms, bent his body in the middle,
stiffened every joint except those at the
elbow, wrist, ankle and knee, and for
lowed the buzzard around the mule for
four solid hours, keeping step with the
bird. At dusk the buzzard tapped his
wings and went to roost, while the old
man Hoped home, feeling ten years
younger than the youngest ''coon" in
the county.
Such is the legend of the "Buzzard
Lope." The step captured every body.
Clubs were formed all over the State to
learn it, and for the time being all I'M
happiness over the appointment OF
negro postmasters was forgotten. The
proportion of persons able to master the
lope was about ! in 2s5. The reporter gave
up every thing else and devoted himself
assiduously to the task for nine DAYS,
ar the end of which time he accidental
| ly strmbled into the proper caper. On
the ay to New York he was so afraid
lest the lope might escape him that he
lost no opportunity to practice it. AT
Chattanooga he devoted his twenty
minutes for supper to lope on the
station platform, and left all the en-
| ployes of the Queen & Crescent, Ala
| bama Great Southern, Cincinnati South
ern, Western & Atlantic and Louisville
& Nashville working hard to master
the step. At Cincinnati he Hoped so in
dustriously in the waiting-room that an
official threatened to lope him out into
| the street. At Pittsburgh the general
| impression was that lunatic had es
capped, but even that did not prevent q
score of Smoky City inhabitants from
moving their feet in a mysterious way.
The ''Buzzard Lope" beggars descrip
ton. You can not appreciate it till you
soc it. 1t ought to go on the stage fol
the benefit of the community.-N.Y