The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-09-30

COntented, Industrious Community
with Peculiar Customs.
Bedford Gnd) Mail.


About ten miles from Washington Ind,
in Daviess county, there is a fertile section
or land owned and cultivated by peculiar
sect of people known as the Amsh Very
little is known of them except by people
living in the immediate vicinity of their set
Element.
date and bought rich farms for a nominal
price. They have added greatly to their
possessions until now this settlement takes
up thousands of acres Their peculiar man
nerS and customs are interesting.
According to their religious beliefs the
Amish are not allowed to use buttons on
their Clothes Instead of buttons they use
hooks and eyes. Their clothing is home-
spun, and they wear black SLOUGH hats. All
AmiShmen let their hair grow long and fall
over their shoulders. They never shave and
have heavy boards of unusual length. They
invariably drive black horses. They prefer
death rather than to swear in court. They
are an economical sect Of people and are
great traders. They seldom pay cash for
anything, but always insist on trading farm
products and poultry for what they want.
Their settlement is divided up into farms
of an equal number of acres. They abide
strictly by a code of laws handed down to
them by their ancestors. One of these laws
is to the effect that no Amishman in the
settlement shall be entitled to more of the
worlds goods than his neighbor. Conse-
quently about all the farms are of the same
size and are stocked equally. Another law
says If one member of the settlement meets
with misfortune his neighbors must go
down in their pockets, pay his indebted
ness, and, If necessary, buy him q new
farm and stock it. The Anish originally
came from a country in one of the East
ern States. There are a few families still
living in the East. Whenever scion OF
one of the Eastern families emigrates to the
Indiana settlement he is Immediately pre-
scented with a farm equal in size to those
of his brethren. The Amish do not believe
in courts that is, they never settle any
of their difficulties in the courts All dis
puteS and disagreementS of every nature
are taken up for settlement by a majority
of members of the settlement 1t is, how
ever, rare occurrence that the least
trouble arises among them. They are law
abiding, honest and truthful. They do not
deposit their money in banks but accumu-
late and hoard it in their homes. They
raise all the farm products usually grown
in this section of the country and are said
to be the most successful poultry raisers
Their everyday life is their religion. They
speak the German language and no other.
They are negligent about educating their
children and start them, boys and girls
alike, to work in the fields when they are
scarcely able to walk without assistance.
Long pants are put on the boys at the age
of two or three years.
The AmiSh. owning so much land, are
necessarily big taxpayers.
Several months ago young Amishman
conceived an idea to discard the hooks and
eyes on his clothing, to shave his beard
and to don a suit of store clothes. This he
did and returned to his neghbors in the
new garb. He was Immediately elected
from the community. His farm was taken
from him, as we'll as his stock and farming
machinery. He was given strict orders
never again to put his foot on property
owned by any member of the settlement.
After several weeks he allowed his beard to
grow to it's former length discarded his
new clothes for the old, and returned to
his people. They finally received him and
returned his property to him.
Another Amishman, while doing his trad
ing in Washington, became struck with the
idea of wheeling. He purchased a bicycle
and rode .gleefully home to. show the ma
chine to the members of his family. The
old Amishnlen of the settlement looked wise
and called a mass meeting to decide wheth-
err or not it was proper for one of their
number to ride upon such a contrivance as
a bicycle. The verdict of the elder heads
was against the young Amishman, and he
was compelled to part with the bicycle.
The Amish are strict and will brook no
new departure whatever from their code
of laws, They seem to know no trouble
and lead happy and contented lives.