The Olneyville tribune. (Providence, R.I.) 1893-189?, 1894-02-03
HUMAN CLAY EATERS.
STRANGE DIET OF NORTH CAR
OLiNA MOUNTAINEERS.
a Valley in Which,, 1t Times, Clay 10
the Only Food Of the Inhabitants.

the Only Food Of the Inhabitants.
The correspondent, who was at
tached to a corps of engineers, geol
Ogists and na~turalists who were max
ing a tour OF investigation through
the wilderness Of the Smoky Noun
tain region OF North Carolina severa
years since, when near the watershed
which drains westward into the New
River in West Virginia and the heaC
waters Of the Big Sandy, was in
formed by resident m~ountaineers tina
about twenty miles away there was &
neighborhood in which every resident
was said to be a clay eater. Ac.
companied by Captain Denton, q
mountain guide, and a negro servant,
we crossed the range through II narrow
gap and descended, after a ten-milo
ride, upon u narrow creek which sub
divided a little valley between two
parallel mountains. Here we struck
the first cabin in a strung-out settle
ment of perhaps forty or fifty fami-
lies.
Every pusson on this yer erik is a
clay eater" said the guide as We app
preached IA low-roofed. rude log cabin,
the door of which stood wide open,
facing the stream.
A tall, sallow, stoop-shouldcred
man OF 40 or 30 stood near the door,
from which OF N approach streamed
nearly n dozen barcheaded, bare
footed children, ranging from = to
1S years OF age. The MAI was clad
in n coarse hempen shirt and pants,
Like the children, he was barehendcd
and barefooted.
Our guide spoke to the man, calling
him by name, "Dinker, and abrupt
ly introduced the subject OF our call.
"Dinker," said he, " they-uns have
rid over the mount'n jes' TO see sum
NV you-uns eet clay. They-uns sen
they-uns don's b'leev we-uns kin Get
it,"
You-uns lite and kun rite in"
said Dinker "Morg," turning TO one
Of the largest boys, tex of'n they
uns saddl's an brides an turn they
uns' hosses inter the pastcr.'
The boy took charge Of the ami
mails and Led them into II small patch
Of ground fenced in with II brush
fence.
We declined to enter the house
giving ms an excuse that il was much
pleasanter under the shade Of II big
tree which stood near tNe door. At
our request Dinkcr sent one Of his
boys, ii sallow-faced, tow-headed boz
Of ID or l6, after some of the clay
which was said to be edible. The
guide and myself accompanied him
to the creek, where he stopped in
front of a layer or ledge of blush
gray clay several inches i'm thickness.
The stuff when taken in hand and
%moistened, felt pliable, soft, and oily
like putty, and bore much the same
general appearance. The boy carried
a handful Of the clay to his father,
who, after taking it, gave it another
wetting; then, rolling it into IA ball,
began manipulating il rs n painter
preparing putty for use. He rolled,
pressed il out, and manipulated it
until the greasy, slippery mass be-
came soft, pliablc and tenacious.
Then he separated it into pills, or
boluSes, from the size OF "A bullet to
that of an ordinary marble, with two
or three rs large almost as II walnut.
He gave the smaller children several
Of the smallest balls or pills and the
larger ones the balance, reserving to
himelf two of the biggest balls of
clay.
The boys, girls, and the man then
put the balls Of clay in their mouths,
when, by constant chewing and the
aid of the secretions, they soon ON
verified them into soft, m%ucilaginous
masses, which, with no apparent diff
ficulty, they swallowed.
For fear that there might be some
sleight-of-hand hocus-pocus about
the affair | determined to try the clay
myself. | took n piece about the
size of II bullet and put it into my
mouth. In n short time, without
chewing or manipulating it ut all, |
found that the saliva had completely
dissolved the mass. There were no
gritty PARTICLES apparent, but, on the
contrary, the stuff left an oily feeling,
but without semblance OF taste.
| didn't swallow the stuff, but
could have easily done so but for the
repugnance | naturally felt toward
eating dirt.
After the clay had all been swal-
lowed by the man and children |
said
Does this stuff satisfy your hun
ger?"
"Sartin they's why we-uns Get it.
A Teller kin Get nuff to las three or
foh days, but this yer bunch'll only
last till tomorrow
Doesn't the stuff make you sick?
Doesn't it affect you some way when
you make what you call a meal of
it?"
Never heered NV nobody gettin'
sick on 1t, but thar's some ez say it
makes they-un weak"
Does anybody else in this neigh
borhood eat clay?"