The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1896-05-27
"REMINISCENCES.

OF "A song, Of which he quotes a versc
or two the writer Is sorry to say he
can not furnish ii, although he dis
tinctly remembers, when a boy, hear
ing the wagOners sing that or some
other song. No jOllie: set Of men ever
lived than these same wagOners, and
no set of men ever had kinder hearts
or more charitable dispositions, or were
more ready to do anyone favor, at any
time, than they. or course among 50
many, an exception was occasionally
seen, but il was only a rare thing to
come across q man who drove a big
team of horses in a big wagon, who
had not q correspondingly big heart.
They were bluff and brusque in man
ner, cheerful, kind and accommodate
ing as a rule. We often read how ''the
army swore in Flanders" and some
times the volubility and vehemenee,
and variety of the objurgatiOns Of the
old wagoners would put a Flanders
army, or any other, for that matter,
TO shame, when the old wagons would
stick fast ia the mud on wet rainy
day, or i'm snow banks on cold one.
Still the oaths were necessary, "a they
seemed TO think, and the horses were
constrained 10 greater exertions when
their drivers used them, that tears
polite" were not 50 often offended.
The life Of an old WAGNER was not all
the time cheerful one, nor was his
pathway always strewn with roses.
Long days in rain and snow, sleet and
ice, and nights Of inky darkness and
gloom, often fell to his lot, but, in the
old-time bar-roOms, when his team
had been fed and attended to for the
night, and his stomach filed with the
sumptuous supper furnished by the
landlord, and ''the cookies Of his
heart" warmed by portion Of the
pure liquor kept in the well-stOeked
bar, he forgot his exposures and hard
ships, in his huge enjoyment of the oc-
casiOn, and il was then his songs rang
out clear and strong. If your CORE
spondent had made inquiry about some
of the old games the boys used to play
forty or fifty years ago, the writer
might have been able to give him
some information. The games the
boys play now, seem tame indeed conn
pared with those Of old days. In the
way Of bsll-playing we had three diff
ferent kinds. The most enjoyable to
the writer was Corner" OF SOck-baI. -
called sometimes ''mush-pot.- At the
old Newbury SchooEhOuse four trees
stood, at convenient distances apart,
forming the angles of a square, and no
grass ever grew in that square. The
game was played BY eight boys, four
on a side, with two of the best players
for captains, who, after one Of them
had thrown up a paddle or piece OF
board, upon which he had spit, crying
out "Wet or dry" for the first choice,
proceeded to choose of the remainder Of
the boys, and 'wet or dry" as the case
might he, they were chosen one by
one according 10 their alleged merits
until the 'sides" were completed.
Then ''wet or dry came into play
again for corners" the successful
chooser with his men taking the trees
or "corners," the others going in the
square, or ''mush-pot." The ball was
then tossed to the boys on the corners
until each one had caught il, when it
was said to be ''hot." The ball was
thrown with much swiftness and force,
and if one of the boys on corner failed
to catch it, it had to go around again
until all had caught it; after il was
''hOt" the objective point was the an
atomy of some boy in the ''mush-pOt :"
while they all tried to dodge so that
they would not be hit. When one was
hit with the ball he was ont, and if
any of the four on the corners missed
a boy in the ''mush-pot," he was out.
IL all the boys stayed on the corners
until those in those in the 'mush-pOt''
were all hit and out, they had the
corners for another game. In the Ian
guage of the game the ''mush-pOt"
boys were ''skunkedr On the other
hand, if the "mush-pot" boys all stay
ed in and the corner boys all missed
them, the corner boys were ''skunked." !"
Ii any of the corner boys, even one, re-
mained after the ''mush-potn boys
were all out, the corner boys had the
corners for another game, and like
wise, If one or more boys remained in
the ''mush-pot" after the corner boys
were all out, they had the corners, and
80 on. Frequently the corner boys
would all get out but one, and he
would have fun chasing the other boys
around the square, feinting on each
corner, with the ball, for he could only
throw the ball from corner, and often
being an expert, he would hit all four,
ifso many remained, thus saving the
corners for his side. The writer has
often seen one boy on the corners, and
one in the ''mush-pot," when a trial
of skill and activity would take place,
beautiful to see, each trying his best,
the one to hit, and the other to dodge
the ball, and, rs one throw would de
eide the contest, great dexterity pre-
vailed. Another game Of ball was
called ''anti-over," played by two sides
of equal numbers, any number that
was convenient on a side. In this
game there were two captains also, and
the paddle or board was thrown up
with "wet or dry" to choose sides.
Then they arranged themselves on
each side of the school house, and
threw the ball from one side to the
other crying, "anti-over,r the boys on
the opposite side would try to catch it.
After the ball had been caught at least
once on each side, it was hot, and the
boys, crying ''anti-over," divided into
two squads, rushing around the house
in different directions The boys on
the opposite would stand with open
eyes and mouths waiting for the ball
to come over, when the others would
charge down on them pell-mell. There
would be a ''scatterment' then, fol
they had no means of knowing which
squad had the ball. The boy who had
caught the ball would hit one Of tbs
others IL possible, in which case thai