Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1890-02-13
HEALTH AMONG THE HOPS.
Brooklyn Young woman's Chatty story
of Her Health Trip.

!
of Her Health Trip.
II worked in the hop fields lest sum-
mer," she said, and she looked as
though all the good of the hops and
none of their injurious qualities had
been absorbed into her system, for her
face was bright and rosy, her step elas-
tic, and her manner cheerful. She
was not at all like the fragile young
lady of eight months ago, whose friends
in Brooklyn hardly expected to see her
alive in November. For whole
month";" she continued, 81 lived on a
farm near Cooperstown, N. Y, and
picked hops almost from dawn to dusk
every day except Sundays. The farm
er was glad to hire me for my board
and lodging. Four other girls and
two yonug men were engaged on the
same terms. We were all more or less
acquainted with each other in Brook
lyn, so it was not exactly like going
alone among strangers. Of course 1t
would have seemed a great deal more
refined if we had paid the farmer for
the privilege of picking his hops, but
had we done so the object for which we
isolated ourselves so far from home
would not have been achieved. He
would never have had the moral cour-
age to make his guests and patrons
work against their wills. AS matters
were arranged, he left great deal to
his wife, and, can tell you, she show
ed us very little consideration. She
was determined to get the full value
of her milk and weak tea, and was not
disposed to give us her fat pork and
beans without fair equivalent or to
allow us to eat the corn bread of idle
ness She called us every morning at
day ybreak, and she was not to be de-
MED. We had to walk three-quarters
of mile to the hop fields, and it was
necessary, she said, for us to be astir
early.
I'VE did not mind this much on
warm mornings, but when the breath
of frost was on the atmosphere it was
dreadful thing to be told to get up
from our not too comfortable beds
and to know that we had no alterna-
tive but to obey. However, it was not
so bad when we We're once up, and
when the sun got well up, too, we
grew quite cheerful, for the morning
air in the northern part of the state is
very bracing. 1t was like bathing at
!
the first dip the agony is over But
terrible ordeal. Once | asked the
farmers wife to let me have a little
warm water in my bedroom, but the
proposition, which she declined frigid-
ly, so shocked her that | was afraid she
would punish me by giving me no
breakfast; but she only marked her
displeasure by conlining me to three
slices of corn bread, which was bad
! enough, for my appetite at that time
had grown out of all ladylike proper.
tions, and / usually consumed five
; slices.
Gone young man, whose hair and
mustache were of beautiful seal.
brown color, said that he would allow
his beard to grow rather than shave
with cold water; but we were all amaz
ed to see the bristles on his cheeks and
, chin coming out quite red. He was
very much mortified, and when the
other young fellow laughed at him
} and lectured him about the evils o.
forgetfulness, he packed up his traps
} and went away two weeks before the
: formers hops had all been harvested.
''Of course we had some rights that
we always maintained. We insisted
on not being separated from each Other
in the hop fields, and we ate our lunch
together among the vines. 1t was
, very pleasant, for we could sing songs
and talk and tell stories, which we
, should not have cared to do if we had
been obliged to work side by side with
the paid laborers, many of whom were
tramps, pure and simple. To them the
farmer used language that seemed to
me to be sometimes unnecessarily en-
phatic. To us he spoke more politely;
but this was the only distinction he
made. He was as careful in seeing
that we turned in our full complement
of hops every evening as he was to get
the value of his money from the men
and women to whom he paid their
wages at the end of each day.
''The fare at meals was, of course,
execrable, but hunger is good sauce,
and we all ate heartily. Next season
shall try to make up party of delicate
young ladies, and take them to the
hop fields in search of health. | shall
lay in stock of biscuits and canned
provisions to assuage my hunger in my
bedroom or among the vines, so that
the farmers wife will not have reason
to regard me with a strong reproach-
full eye at meals, as though she thought
| worked harder at the table than in
the field