The Atlanta constitution., 1894-02-27

for toddy, and finding Jarratt spring con-
venient place to mix drinks, declueo "
camp there and how the next morning
that tired feeling precluded farther naEl.
CATION and that Milledgevllle was ldiu OIL
at the foot of the hill.
So scarborough stands and the cruih-
bling remains of a few brick bullalhsS
Lare and there are monuments to the glory
of departed days, and an old-fashlohed rose
bush is sometimes found blooming IN the
pine thickets reminding on StrlhiHSiS VI
what was in the long ago.
This old town marks a radical cnahSe III
the soil and vegetation, for there the Pled-
mont escarpment ends and the late Seolos
ical formation begins. The clay gives up
it's red hue and takes on a loamy "hite-
ness interSpersed with extensive SahupeuS.
The lorg-leaf pine begins to pop up anu .he
underground also changes
In the Right Spirit.
What is more remarkable, the people
change Instead of the red-faced, STURDY
farmer buoyant with strength ana hea!'h
full of vigor and rejoicing III ING NoH
scousness of his own robust nature, +lele
comes a class of people WIN iact" ~
worn and haggard that it senoS a
ehudder through your very soul to lot 4 at
them. A little inquiry about the nelGhbor-
hood will put you onto some appalling lacIS'
and the shudder of pity will increase TO IN
ague of alarm when you learn thal tnese
trlaVG1tefS,
For the sake of information 1t might De
Vol to state that a clayeater is one who
eats clay This definition, however SlmpIe'
carries weight when it is taken into cor
aideration that these beings make a reSu-
;ar practice a fixed habit OF dining upon
= dainty morses of kaolin. che" 1t! On
thew chew it with much enjoyment
COW gets out of her cud, and sw2lloW
III more eagerress and relish than Il
IL boy does a green apple. lncredulous
IT may appear, whole families have the
1abit From the father, ana grandfather
too if he has CHANGED to survive, down 10
the skinny-faced little tot who cres for his
share, they all eat clay regularly ana
eagerly.
This depraved taste fixes itself upon them
in early childhood. and, as they grow Older
the habit becomes stronger ana stronger
until it is an Utter imposslblllty TO pledh
off 1t is said to be more powerful imam tle
whisky opium, morphine, cocaine or any
other habit yet known. OF course, heredty
has much to do with it. and thus the habit
is transmitted from generation unto gen
Grafton with singular precision
There is no mistaking a clayeater Their
countenances have distinctly original anu
uuearthly cast, reminding you more OF Il
deaths head with a bone in its mouth than
ANYTHING else. The children have large eyes
set deep in the head and %centuated py
high skinny cheek bones. These eyes lack
!uster and they glare with leaden Slupldlty
from the cadaverous holloWs. Ana as lor
the men and women, compared WIN lheHS
the face of an Egyptian mummy "ouiu AoON
fresh and beautiful.
The milky Whiteness of the skln Whlch
they have in childhood, has changed INTO
a parched brown, which falls III folus
about their eyes and neck
Deep wrinkles radiate from then mouths
and spread in every conceivable direction.
You can easily trace them, as they serve
for convenient aqueducts to tobacco juice.
The clay which they devour is not, as
some have supposed, the red variety so
common throughout middle Georgia, but
peculiar white KIND, with d soft anu greasy
feel and found only II certain localities.
1t is said to contain arsenic, ;LuE GtoC mt
ing for the force OF The habit and is effect
upon the system.
The clayeaters are not wholly without
social instincts. They said to hold fes-
tiyals, OF rather dinngS, the menu OF which
is made up mainly OF clay.
For instance, one of the patriarchS VIII
decide to celebrate. and invitations are is
sued to all the families in the nelghbor-
hood After several wild break iowns.'
the tempting glebe is passed around for
refreshments. Corn liquor, of course, is
necessary adjunct.
how the CInyeaters Live.
These beings make no attempt at regular
work. They eke out their existence in the
winter by selling kindlng wood in town,
and during the summer the most energetic
pick and sell blackDerrleS and hucklebef-
ries, which grow in pro1usion there Some
of them own donkeys ana these, attached
TO the little two-wheeled, nondescrlpt We
hicles, are familiar sights along the puoAc
highways leading to AillleuSGVIlle.
Last winter, returning from a hunt in the
lower part of the county, | Wns forced by
the ram to take shelter i'll the dwelling
place of a full-hedged clayeater. The
house, il such it might be called. was pd 1t
in the regulation log-cabln style. The
building was set back some distance tIom
the road and well l-beaten rath led
through the weeds to the doorway, from
which the blanched faces of sCme
half dozen children peered forth Gu
riously 1t was squalid den. There
were two windows utterly destitute of glass,
stuffed with old rags and paper to keep out
the chill while the rain beat dreaily and the
wind whistled dismally between the old
rotten logs. 1t is customary to daub up the
cracks in log house with clay, but the
absence of it there could be explained. The
nlank floor laid directly upon the ground,
was broken in many places and the damp,
green mould ooZed up through the numerous
cracks OF furniture there was none except
a poor apology for bed over in one corner.
A large pile OF corn cObS in the other COR
ner appeared to be the nightly resting
place of the children.
This gloomy interior was somewhat cheer
cd bv the titful blaze of pine knot on the
hearth. n cur uOS, cOIlpOSeu mainly OF i1DS,
had already asserted his right of way by
an omnous growl. The pater-familias was
sitting cross-legged before the fireplace,
and his spouse had gone to the spring for
fresh drink of water.
A chew of tobacco started the fellow to
talking, but upon the lay-eating subject
he was woefully retcent.
A oaestion about his family. however.
brought forth big dose of genealogy.
"Wall, now," he said, chunkng the fire,