Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1894-09-06
In a Warrington Hop Field.


In the article, In a Washington Hop
Field, by Louise Herrick Wall, in the
September Atlantic, hop-picker's dance
is described
On platform Of unrlanked boards,
raised foot or two from the ground, they
were dancing,-a tangle Of figures, seen
indistinctly by the glimmer OF few Ian.
terms that stood near the rough benches
running around the four sides OF the floor,
These seats were given over to the women;
and the men stood on the ground, press
ing four or five rows deep, about the plat
form. AS we worked our way in among
the spectators, man in shirt sleeves was
calling the figures Of the square dance
with great energy. He seemed to be
master Of ceremonies, and took the most
unselfsh delight in finding partners for
the minated. Now and then, when the
banjo and fiddle rose into a particularly
irresistible tune, a man would break
through the crowd, leap upon the platform,
and search out partner from among the
women. 1t mattered little, in the dim
light, whether she had simply added
white apron to her working dress, Or if
she were one Of the young girls in cash.
mere and cotton lace finery.
In the fiddler recognized the father of
the baby hop picker. had OWNED that
there was something of the artist in the
young fellow; and now, as he sat with
his hat pushed back, legs crossed, and
cheek laid ON the fiddle, playing for him
self and to the others, he made delight
full figure of happy abandon. Close at
his knee sat the baby, perfectly erect,
thin black shawl drawn tightly over its
head and wrapped around the body bam-
bino-wise, holding the arms down. The
tiny pale face and large eyes turned al
ways toward the mother, who danced un-
ceasingly.
The music changed, and the master OF
ceremonies called aloud, "Ta'le your part
ners for a quad-rille!"
The square dance was really dance
as the hop pickers conceived it. The
men, their broad soft hats tipped over one
ear, took the hands of their partners, and
went through series Of bewildering side
steps and fourishes that varied in the
different dancers from grace to clownish
grotesquerie.
The terpsichorean director had called
the figures alone, in a powerful voice;
but suddenly all the dancers took up the
refrain in chanting measure -
"Lady round the gent and the gent solo;
Lady round the lady, and the gent don't CO."
This figure continued long enough to fas-
ten the sing-song in the memory for
lifetime.
Dance followed dance: the women
lifted their aprons and wiped their faces,
to the wonder Of chill bystanders, and
danced again. The boards of the floor
creaked, the fiddle and banjo thrilled and
screamed, few fell away from the press
about the platform; but the tramp of feet
beat with ceaseless pulse. The little
black figure at the fiddler's knee sat silent,
with wide eyes. A young fellow, who
had not missed a dance since our coming,
threw up his head and cried, "What's
the matter with the roof" Then, as all
eyes turned up to the solemn dark of the
star-pierced sky, "Why, the roofs all
rightn'
1t was pleasant, in the quiet of our lit
tie room in the shanty, to browse upon
the hay, and let the aroma OF the day
float back to us the boquet Of coarse
draught, perhaps, and yet from natures
source.