The Banner-Democrat. [volume] (Lake Providence, East Carroll Parish, La.) 1892-current, 1894-06-02
EATERS OF CLAY.
Hountaincers Who Rely Literally ON Moth
err Earth fer Subsistence.

tached to a corps of engineers, geolo-
gists and naturalists who were making
a tour of investigation through the
wilderness of the Smoky mountain
region of North Carolina several years
since, when near the watershed which
drains westward into the New river in
West Virginia and the headwaters of
the Big Sandy, was informed by resi-
dent moiiiitaiheers that about twenty
miles away there was iieighborhood
in which every resident was said to be
a clay eater. Accompanied by Capt.
Denton, a mountain guide, and negro
servant, we crossed the range through
narrow gap, and descended after
ten-tnile ride, upon narrow creek,
which subdivided q little valley be-
tween two parallel mountains. Here
we struck the first cabin in strung
out settlement of perhaps forty or fifty
families.
Every pisson on this yer erik is a
clay EATER" said the guide, as we APP.
preached low-roofed, rude log cabin,
the door OF which stood wide open, fac
ing the stream.
A tall, sallow, stoop-shouldered man
of forty or fifty stood near the door,
from which on our approach streamed
nearly dozen bare-headed, barefoot
ed children, ranging from two to eight
cen years OF age. The man was clad in
a coarse hempen SHIFT and trousers.
Like the children, he was bare-headed
and bare-footed.
Our guide spoke to the man, calling
him by name. Dinker, and abruptly In.
troduced the subject of our call.
"Dinker," said he; 'they-nns hev rid
over the mount'n jes' to see sum nv
uns don't b'leev we-uns kin eet it."
.'You-uns lite an KUN rite in" said
Dinker, "Morg," turning to one of the
largest boys, tick uff'ii they-uns saddrs
an brides an turn they-uns' bosses in
ter the pasture"
The boy took charge of the animals
and led them into small patch of
ground fenced in with brush fcfice. :
We declined to enter the house, Civ.
ing as an excuse that it was much
pleasanter under the shade of a big
tree which stood near the door. At our
request Dinler sent one of his boys, a
sallow-faced, tow-headed lad of fifteen
or sixteen, 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 b1rish
gray clay several inches in 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
handful of the clay to his father,
who. after taking it, gave it another
wetting, then. rolling it into ball,
began manipulating it as painter pre-
pairing putty for use. He rolled it,
pressed it out and manipulated it Until
the greasy, slippery ifiass became soft,
pliable and tenacious. Then he
separated it into pills or boluses, from
the size of bullet to that of an ordi-
nary marble, with two Or three as
large almost as a walnut. He gave the
smaller children several of the small
est balls or pills, and the larger ones
the balance, reserving to himself two
of the balls of clay.
The boys, girls and the inah then
put the balls of clay in their mouths
when, by constant chewing and the
aid of the secretions, they soon con-
verted them into soft, mucilaginous
masses, which, with no apparent diff
Guilty, they swallowed.
For fear that there might be some
sleight.of-hand hocus-pocus about the
affair l determined to try the clay
myself. l took piece about the size
of a bullet and put it into my mouth.
In short time, without chewing or
manipulating it at all, I found that
the saliva had completely dissolved
the mass. There were no gritty parti-
cles apparent, but, on the contrary,
the stuff, lie II an oily feeling, but with
out semblance of taste.
didn't swollow the stuff, but could
have easily done so but for the repug-
nance 1 naturally felt toward eating
dirt.
After the clay had all been swal-
lowed by the man and children said:
docs this stuff satisfy your hunger?"
.'Sartin; thet's why we-uns Get it. A
Teller kin eet huff to las three or fob
days, but . is yer bunch'll only last till
to-morry.'
Doesn't the stuff make you sick?
Doesn't it affect you some way when
you make what you call meal out of
it?"
Never heerd NV nobody gettin' sick
on it, but thar's some ez say it makes
theyun weak"
"Does any body else in this neighbor-
hood eat clay?"
"'Bout all of they-uns do. We-uns
don't eet It all Nv the time. We eet it
when we-uns' short nv grub an thar's
no game Summer an fall thar's plenty
NV grub, an then we don't tech the
clay"
Shortly after we left and continued
our ascent of the creek to another
cabin, prototype of the first. even to
the appearance and number of the
family. They were all lank. cadaver-
GUS and blush looking, with dull,
leaden eyes and a physical appearance
Of partial paralyzation. They were
slow in movement and obtuse, and to
my mind apparently mentally deficient.
At this cabin the same questions were
asked, and the same admission made
as to the custom of clay-eating, and