The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1891-09-23
The Press and Banner
BILL ARP.
THE GEORGIA CRACKER.
Atlanta Constitution.

venture upon some unoccupied territory
and tell how Cherokee, Georgia, became
the home of that much maligned and
misunderstood individual known as the
Georgia cracker. Ihave lived long in his
region and am close akin to him.
There is really but little difference be-
tween the Georgia cracker and the Ala
bama and Tennessee cracker. They have
all had the same origin, and until the
Appalachian range was opened up to the
rest of mankind by railroads and the
schoolhouse these crackers had ways and
usages and language peculiarly their
own.
1t will be remembered that until 1885
the Cherokee Indians owned and occu-
pied this region of Georgia-the portion
lying west of the Chattahoochee and
north of the Tallapoosa rivers. They
were the most peaceable and civilized of
all the tribes, but they were not subject
to Georgia laws, and had many conflicts
and disturbances with their white nabors.
It seemed to be manifested destiny that
they should 60. $50 west, red man."
was the white mans fiat. They went at
the point of the bayonet, and all their
beautiful country was suddenly. opened
to the ingress of whomsoever might
come. Georgia had itsurveyed and divi-
ded into lots of forty and 16O acres, and
then made lottery and gave every man
and widow and orphan child chance in
the drawing. But the cracker dident
wait for the drawing. The rude, untamed
and restless people from the mountain
borders of Georgia and the Carolinas
focked hither to pursue their wild and
fascinating occupation of hunting and
fishing for livelihood. They came sep
arately, but soon assimilated and shared
a common interest. There are such
spirits in every community. There are
some right here now who would rather
90 up to Cohutta mountains on a
bear hunt than 60 to New York or Paris
for pleasure. Ialmost would myself, and
remember the earnest cravings Of my
youth to 60 west and find wilderness,
and with my companions live in hut
and kill deer and turkeys, and sometimes
bear and panther.
But for my town raising and old field
school education, too would have made
a very respectable cracker. This was the
class of young men and middle aged men
that first settled among these historic
hills and valleys and climbed these
mountains and fished in these streams.
BY and by the fortunate owners of these
lands received their certificates and many
of thom came from all parts of the State
to look up their lots and SEQ how much
gold or how much bottom land there was
upon them, but gold was the principal at
traction. The Indians had found gold
and washed it out of the creeks and
branches and traded it to the white man
in small parcels, and it was believed that
every stream was lined with golden sand.
This proved an illusion, and so the
squatters were not disturbed or else they
bought their titles for song and then
sang "sweet home" Of their own. They
built their cabins and cleared their lands
and raised their scrub cattle, and with
their old-fashioned rifles kept the family
in game. Many ofthese settlers could
read and write, but in their day there
was but little to read. No newspapers
and but few books were found by the
hunters friends. Their children grew
up the same way, but what they lacked in
culture they made up in rough expert
ences and hair breadth escapes and fire.
side talk, and in the sports that were
either improvised or inherited. Pony
races, gander pullings, shooting matches,
coon hunting and quiltings had more at
fractions than books. How they got to
using such twisted languages as you'uns
and we'uns and Inguns and mout and
gwine and all sich is not known, nor was
such talk universal. When such idioms
began in family they descended and
spread out among the kindred, but 1t was
not contagious. Iknow one family now
VI FCIy 0AtCucltO COuuCStlOAS W uO uofC
folklore of their own, and it can be trac-
cd back to the old ancestor who died half
century ago. But these corruptions of
language are by no means peculiar to the
cracker, for the English cockneys and the
genuine yankee have an idiom quite as
eccentric, though they do not realize it
and would not admit it.
The Georgia cracker was merry
hearted, unconcerned, independent crea-
ture, and all he asked was to be let alone
by the laws and the outside world.
The justice court of his beat was quite
enough for him. He had far more respect
for the old spectacled squire than for the
highest court in the nation. From this
homemade tribunal he never appealed
until the young lawyers began 10 figure
in it, and seduced him into the mysteries
of the law and the wonderful performance
of the writ of ''Sasheray." Nevertheless