Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1893-09-07
DANGERS OF ALL NATIONS.
STRANGE DANCING SEEN AT THE
WORLDS FAIR.
Thirty-Five Nations Represented In
the Recent Rail- mt the, Nntntorium
Dancing of the Japanese LadB
Queer African Dances. ~

~
Jackson Park, Special Correspond
ence.-The feature of the worlds fair
entertainments which seem to meet
with the heartiest response in point of
attendance are those in which the
many strange peoples of Midway Plais-
ance take part. This week Il ball was
given at the Natatorium, in which IS
nationalities were represented. 1t may
be safely said that never We're so many
different kinds Of dances seen during
one evening at one place before in the
worlds history. 1t is possible that in
the Roman triumphs which we read so
much about in our school histories
there were as many tribes brought to-
Sether and led captive to make 4 Ro-
man holiday, but they were usually
from one quarter Of the Eastern con-
tinent and not from all quarters Of
both hemisphercs as We're the merry
makers who danced upon this Column
bian festival. There We're noises Of
all kinds only worthy in many instances
of being called music from the fact of
fairly correct idea Of time to which
the dancers paid more or less attention
in their strange dancing. There were
American Indians Esquimaux. Daho-
meyans, NIeXicans, Nubians, Lapland-
,ers, Irish jig dancers, Turks, Algerians,
Syrians Egyptians. Hindoos and many
other nationalities represented in the
motley crew who amused an American
audience packed into small room as
closely as sardines in box. One could
see newspaper men here in boxes who
hailed from almost all points Of the
compass of the four corners Of the
earth. Over on the stage were two
princes of India hobnobbing with Clti-
zen Francis Train, the best advertised
man i'll America. Close to one of the
princes sat an American typewritist,
a regular worker in Midway Plaisance,
gowned in a fetching costume of black.
She did her best to win India upon
brief acquaintance and If we hear one
Of these days of Il lucky American
typcwritist marrying "llis nobs Of III
dia," we will love to jot down in our
40
fallibility of Chicago nerve and Yankee
enterprise. The average "pencil push
err is credited with possessing the
chemically pure article of gall Of the
most pungent variety, but even the vet
Grams in newspapcrdom sighed that
night for the privilege of sitting at the
young lady's feet and take lessons in
the noble calling Of embracing the
main chance or perhaps the last chance.
The throng included many colors Of
skin and raiment, babel of tongues,
but manifested an abundance of good
nature and Il ready obedience to the
programme.
One Of the most pleasing numbers
on the list was the dancing Of the Jap
anese ladies, seven in number, much
in the style Of the three little maids
from school who perform in the Mi
kado. The Dahomeyans gave their
war dance to the beating Of tom-toms
ana other devices which make life and
night hideous. They circle round their
musicians much in the style OF the
American Indian, but the African ma
1ure manifested itself very strongly in
the vigor and enthusiasm of their dane
ing. When they got fairly warmed up
it was almost impossible to stop them.
The manager shouted and waived his
arms, but all to no purpose. They
had just got down to business and
would probably have kept it up all
night with tiendish yelling. if it had
not been that q Frenchmal who has
spent forty years among them hap
pened to be present, and by personal
appeal finally quoted them down.
One old Dahomey warrior or ANA
zon Of the kings body guard kept up
the fun all by herself after the others
were quieted down. 1t is well known
since the French conquest of Daho-
mey that the old Greek story of the
Amazons or female warriors had some
foundation in fact. The choicest and
bravest warriors of the king Of Daho-
mey who are alone entrusted with
guarding the loyal parsonage from
harm, are huge women Injured to all
hardship and brutality by special train
ing for that purpose. All the dances
were interesting because they were
evidently exactly true to the original
and many of them We're entirely Diff
ferent from anything ever seen in this
country before. Such, for instance,
as the wild cannibal dances of the Fiji
Islanders, which consist mainly of a
wild savage brandishing of heavy war
clubs to the time of very vigorous
1ancing and leaping. The dancers adj
vance upon each other with blood
curdling ferocity and as vigorously
turn aside beating the ground with
their heavy war clubs. Every national
ity on the Plaisance strictly preserves
it's customs and identity, although they
socially mingle together with appar-
emily congenial natures. 1t is quite
Il common sight to see an Albanian,
Creek or Turk conversing with Chi
uaman over pot Of American beer in
the Val. Blatz beer tunnel by means Of
sign language, which both seem to
understand with little trouble. 1t is
wonderful to see how quickly all Of
these foreigners catch on to the Yankee
customs, modes Of expression slang
and especially Dutch-American beer.
kfurks, Cinnamon, Laplanders, Esqui-
maux, Soudanese, Mibians, Egyp-
-tians, all patronize the American beer