The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1891-10-21
A RABUN COUNTY FROLIC.
From Dave o. sloan's Fogy Days and Now.

In olden times, dancing was by odds
the favorite amusement with the young
people, and in my youthful days I en-
gagged in all kinds of terpsichorean felic.
tiles, participated in the fashionable Co.
tillions, waltzes and polkas, at the balls,
weddings and parties, with the elite of
that day have been to the piuey woods
frolics, shin digs and stag dances, but in
Raybun county, Ga., where once lived
our Chief Justice Bleckley and the sill
ver-topgued q. v. M. Miller, I attend
frolic that, for intensity of enjoyment,
cast glamour over all the balance of
my experience.
had recently returned from Califor-
nia, and my father was contractor on
the old Blue Ridge Railroad, in South
Carolina, and had taken contract in
Rabun county, Ga., known as the Whit
mire fill, and said by Col. Walter Gwinn
chief engineer, to be the deepest railroad
fill then known, measuring 10S feet from
the culvert top of the grade, and de-
scription of which was given by our
Judge George Hillyer, in an Athens pa
per, in his youthful reportorial work,
and where I first made bis acquaint-
ance.
In this contract was to be a partner
as we'll as a manager and had made a
horse. back trip into Rabun. I was riding
through the rich valley, at the very head
waters OF the Tennessee river, with a
resident young man named Major Glib
son. Late in the afternoon (dusk had
already commenced to throw Its sable
mantle over the beautiful Valley, as we
passed a store We were informed of q
log rolling and quilting close by, and de-
cided to attend, but as we had partici-
| pated in the labor of rolling logs, and
did not like to iutrpde without some
equivalent on our part as contribution,
80 bought jug of mountain dew and had
itsent over to the frolic we were wei
coined and our present was we'll re.
ceived by the boys. We were introduced
as the men from Californy and we all took
q familiar smile from the aforementioned
Jug.
The quilts having been finished and
removed, the frolic had already com.
menced. Our host, Jack Bradley, was
the fiddler his tune was an old time ia.
nous one, and widely know as "Rye
Straw" and Jacks performance was oil.
tirely confined to the bottom part of the
tune, but after bit (like the Arkansaw
Traseler) ventured to ask him If he
never went up stars on that tune? He
answered that he didn't because he didn't
know where the steps was, and handing
me the instrument asked me if I could
play the fddle7 l answered that some.
times sawed s.little and put the upper
story on "Rye Straw" tho best I could.
It proved ten.strike, az I discovered that
had become veg popular person. I
showed Bradley the stairsteps and soon
had him educated 80 he could 60 through
the upper story Of the tune.
Suddenly I felt ? clap on my shoul.
der and turning, discovered my assault.
er to be a splendid specimen of fresh
mountain girlhood, beauty with rosy
cheeks and sparkling eyes. She said,
"Californy, less you and me take turn"
enough said," says I, as quick as cat
could vink his eye, and calling on
Bradley to give ms the best he had
In the shop, he promised to empty