Blackfoot news. (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1891-1902, 1897-09-25
AoKFooT BINGHAM COUNTY, 25 1897

NnC otine among tuc FRENCH people
whom I love SO well, and Mr.. KIRK
might say: LET me be buried in the
shadow Of the Blue Ridge among q
people / love SO we'll"
An hour at Lynchburg, but can tell
but little about the city. Twas inform.
ed it is growing rapidly in wealth and
population because of its immense bust.
ness In the manufacture and sale of to-
bacco. But this much did see: Like
Natchez, it is built on the hill and un-
der the hill. From Lynchburg a few
hours ride took me to Durham, North
Carolina There is q genuine tobacco
city for you. Every smoker in Idaho
must know of Durham's popular brands
OF smoking tobacco. The city had its
beginning in little tobacco field thirty
years ago and now it claims popula-
tion of 1900, and all OF them living
directly or indirectly on tobacco.
At Durham wac the first break in my
connections Of through travel. The
branch road connecting that city and
Henderson is somewhat like the Sho-
shone and HALEY branch in Idaho, it
has no night trains, and | was forced
to take night of rest there, but it
proved to be both one of rest and en-
ioyment The lady of the hotel and
her daughters made the evening so
pleasant that when i retired was soon
in happy dreamland, glad that the
night caught me there. We spent the
hours of the evening on the hotel bal
cony, giving to each other the history
OF our respective homes and watching
the darkeys in their merry promenades
along the streets.
Mine hostess and daughters were
agreeably communicative and told me
OF Durham and its people from the his
tory of the tobacco field to Labor Day
in 1897. They were good at asking ques-
tions, too. They wanted me to tell
them as much OF the Great West, of
Idaho and the Indians as they had told
me of Durham, and were particularly
interested in the Indians. Their be-
lief was they would be afraid of the
treacherous Indian and would never
trust one. Had not the good lady
thought / might be tired from my jour
ney, she would have kept me talking
until the break of day.
During the evening we were several
times entertained with negro songs as
they would collect in groups at the
street corner below us, and once or
twice we heard the footballs of one as
he would dance sort of jig on the pave
ments. There was q great deal of mel
ody in some OF their songs. Here is a
part of one of their lively, spirited
songs as caught It:
Good times comm
An de mill wheels fly.
When de pork sells cheap,
An de cotton sells high.
Good times comm
When de cribs full o. corn
Good times. nigger,
When de hard times gone"
CHORUS:
Good times. good times! dats my song,
Boss man, boss man, push'm alongi
Scrape dat 40 when the sugar mills hum,
Swing de gals when de good times come"
And the chorus from another group
was:
There's somethin' like a Jingle, an Jingle
everywhere,
And the smoke has a meaning as it curls;.
They are tunin' up dc fiddle, an there's music
IN the air.
An well soon be swinging corners wild de
girls"
From Durham to Henderson is q
short ride. This is the extreme south
ern point of my visit. Here plant my
banner with the legend: Here l rest
a while from my long journey" My
friends have given me a cordial greet
ing and welcome. Though far, far from
home l feel very much at home. My
hand is too tired from hand shaking and
returning greetings ofwelcome to write
more to-day. Remember me kindly to
all my friends in Blackfoot. B.J.