The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1894-09-15
AMONG ~CLAY-EATERS
Low. BRUTIsH WHITES IN TIE
SOUTH WHO FEED ON BLUE Mud.
The Clay Is without Smell or Taste,
but Has Properties That Are Both
Nutritious and Poisonous.

VI al iii dliO COMPANY Il "a hiohih5
an examination of the valleys of the east
ern Blue Ridge, extending from the head
waters of the Kanawha. in West Virginia.
TO the of the Chattahoochee, in
Georgia.
While in the foothills, about thirty miles
south of Mount Airy, accompanied by a
guide. my attention was attracted to two
men, whose strange appearance indicated
some unusual disease. Like all the noun
taineers. these men were lean and lank;
but their forms were stopped, their limbs
attenuated and their eyes as dull as those
OF a dead fish-and these are certainly not
the characteristics of the men of the Blue
Ridge. The color of these men was a sick
ly ashy gray, the beard was thin and
struggling, and the hair suggested wigs OF
faded Spanish moss. Dilapidated straw
hats, cotton shirts and butternut trousers
constituted their whole attire. At the first
appearance of these men my guide whis-
pered: "Them's clay eaters" but still /
was slow to believe that / was in the
presence of the people of whom / had
heard so much.
The tender of cigars, which 10 these men
We're great curiosities as we'll as luxuries.
broke the ice and 1 succeeded in entering
into conversation with the elder. / say
elder" but there was really nothing in
the appearance of either man to indicate
his age. They might have been brothers
or father and son, and if either could have
told his age. which is doubtful. he might
have passed for twenty or sixty. for the
faces looked like death masks rather than
those of living beings.
"We-uns live up the crick,' said one OF
the men in reply to my question. and he
Indicated the direction by pointing his long
ann. with its yellow, attenuated finger. in
the 6iranrfOn nf the mountain m the right.
Us IL far from here|' l asked.
BLUE RIDGE DIALECT.
After a painful pause. during which he
sucked at his cigar ard stroked his chin
nervously. as if making a calculation. he
drawled out: WAL hit amt so--far. Yer
a stranger har. / reckon"
1 confessed that l was. whereupon he
continued. with the invariable introduce
ton. WAL. we-uns lives up nigh to the
Harrican."
"Harrican'' was a new word to me. and
/ certainly would have been In ignorance
had not the guide come to the rescue by
informing me that the "Harrican district
meant a place near the head of the valley,
where many years ago hundreds of acres
OF forest had been leveled by a destructive
hrrrieane- 10 a. rho uarr,cang.
asked.
''Do." replied the man. in the same dazed
way, and with the same stroking of the
chin. as If the question rerplexed him.
why we-uns lives thar"
What do you do for a living?' was my
Z next question.
"Oh. not much of nawthin'." he respond
ed. and for the first time a CHASTITY smile
fitted over the death mask, while his COM
panion. who so far had remained r%eticent.
and seemingly Indifferent as to what had
been said. broke into a cackling laugh.
Reasoning that these men were not sem
sitive, nor particularly dangerous If any
directly to the point by asking:
Are you clay eatersg'
"Waal. yes" drawled the man. "We-uns
is bleeged to eat it when thar amt nothin'
better"
I must confess that this information
gave me a throb of delight; l WAS in the
regarded as myths. Against the wishes or
my guide. who assured me that the coun-
try in the direction of the Harrican was
the most God-forsaken on the top or the
green earth" l determined to go there.
About three miles from the point where
we met the two men we entered a labyrinth
of fallen timber, which told me without
question that this was the "Harrlcan.' The
trail skirted the timber for about half a
mile. and then it ended in a little valley iike
a cnl de sac. Before reaching this place
the fact that ii was inhabited was indicated
by a blue smoke column that rose straight
in the clearest of amethystine skies. But
this was not the only sign. A poor South
ern white without a number of yellow ours
would be an anomaly: AS we neared the
cluster % Il Hlllt lOS lDiu Nuio tdiliC
into evidence. They were as lean and fam
ished-looking as their masters. and APP
peared to have as much intelligence and
far more spirit.
A CLAY EATERS FAMILY.
| Standing i'm the door of the nearest cabin
we saw a lanK woman, covered with one
ragged, dirty cotton garment. her ashy face
and expressionless eyes showing unmistak-
ably her relationship TO the men. About
- Il, ,or;o,c ctaoac of nlHity were a
number of children. all lank Of limb and
wide of girth. all having the same deathly
complexion. but with nothing suggestive of
childhood about them excepting their size.
The second man. who had up to this time
been as mute as the proverbial clam, point
ed his arm at the woman in the door and
That's Sal. Sal, she's my wife,"
Regarding this as an Introduction, j raised
my hat and dismounted. AT the expense of
fine lot Of children. madame" Her thin
lips parted, revealing two rows OF long, yell
low teeth. and she said, in the same
cracked voice that distinguished the men:
Yes; thar's a right smart lot of them
and thar'd be more of they wasn't dead
Refusing the mans offer to enter the hut.
which we found to be devoid OF furniture,
myself and the guide staked our horses in
a patch of rich grass by the margin of the
stream and then began an Investigation.
We found the little settlement TO consist OF
fifteen huts, a few OF which were aban-
doned. and that the population, all told,
numbered thirty-Seven. On the slopes back
of the huts patches of sickly corn were
growing. but there was no domestic animal
in sight except our horses. There were
trout in the mountain streams and wild
hogs in the woods. but these lank, lazy men
did not seem TO have energy enough to
catch the one or hunt the other, and 1 SUBJ
seuuently found that even the corn would
not have been planted had it not been for
the women.
The guide lit a fire TO make some coffee,
and while engaged in this operation a num-
Der of children, with a curiosity of which
their seniors seemed devoid. gathered about
us and watched the operation. But this
curiosity was the only indication of child
hood: there was no wondering omInen
passed between them; no burst of laughter
came from their thin. ashy lips. They SIM
Div stood and stared at us. like so many
pot-bellied manikins or naked and dissi-
pated brownies.
THE BLUE GRAY DOPE"
Suddenly / heard a cry in the distance
and saw a lean girl of twelve or thirteen,
with long. matted hair. rushing toward US.
while she held extended in her right hand
a bluish-gray substance. Without paying
any heed to us. the girl passed from one
10 the other of the children. each of whom
twisted off a piece of the clay she held in
her hand. Each child rolled the morsel be-
tween dirty palms till II was as round as
a marble and about the same size. and
then it was clapped between the thin lips.
and the chewing began in much the same
way that / nave seen children In the Nortn
chewing gum. This clay must have ex-
cited the salivary. glands 10 excess. Tor
-