The age-herald., 1897-09-28
KENTUCKYS NEGRO FAIR.
A Big Success From the Culinary Point of View
 and Several Others.

From the New York Sun. '''' - -
 Lexington, Ky, Sep. 1S.-The negro fair which as just closed here is the only fair given by cclored people in the state. As result negroes from every part of the Commonwealth were in attendance.
 Eating booths extended along the lawn leading to the grand starh for quar- ter of mile. They are u1lke the booths used by the white people at their fairs. The dishes were cooked on the ground. The aveage negro does not like cold food, as 1t is customary for uhe white people hersabout to give the negroes what is left over. At flair time the ne- gro feels tIfat t,e ought to improve his usual dig. and have everything ho.. Cooking stoves are set up immediately back of the boo .hs and big, black greasy cooks dress chickens, clsan fish and chit telings and prspare pigs feet before the eyes of the hungry. They would fry the fish to order and the chicken they would cock as desired. No cook on ear h can excel the negro in preparing chicken. They would cook it in every style im- agirablc, and it was always juicy and tender and a dish fit for the gods. And fish they can f:y to a turn, as brown and crisp as can be and thoroughly done. Chittslings, or as the negroes say, "chI.EnS," are prepared from the intss- tines of hogs, ard If man can bring himself to forget this fact, they are most delightful dish. The meat is as white as frogs legs and almost as ten der, and when it is flied in bat er or stewsd and seasoned with cream and butter, it IS highly es.esmed hy colored epicures and net a few wh e people. Fc.' dessert the negroes had r of ev- a1.Ny Eit,J A.s nj ma Slrf,= 10 ixc of Kentucky are eqDld to the est pas t.y cooks of the ner,h. They believe in lots of "'gredientis," and they make what the Ettle boy would call the "fattss-" kind of pies.
 There was little ice cream served on the grounds, but mot very much. Ne- groes are not fond of ice cream. But the watermelon was ever present. The negroes would cat l. before meals, and after meals, and between meals, and whsn the fair WAS over the grounds were Uttered with watermelon rinds.
 Although the weather was scorch'ng ho. the negroes drank hundreds of gal Ions of hot coffee. I'm fact, their bill of fare would be more suitable to the Klon- dike in winter than to an atmosphere as hot as that of the tor,id zone. In ad- dition to the coffee they consumed large quantities of hct "burgoo," the famous Kentucky soup, which is made by boil ing together choice cuts of beef, whole
 
 ing ears, tomatoes, pol.aces, carrots, cabbage and red pepper. This ma is boiled in kettles holdrrg from 100 10 800 gallons tuch. They begin cooking it at about F o'clock at night. It is the bus mess of one man to keep it stirred so that none of the ingredients will sink to ihe bottom and become scorched It is no. ready to be served until about noon tE'e rext day, or after twelve hours of hard lboikng.d Then it is superb. = All tha me haxra ,Ip:1c,5 tn rJ,r 5, +t, tables are Thoroughly done, and the whole mass blends so perfectly that the burgoo is thick and ropy like New Or leans molasses and in flavor surpasses any soup ever concocted by the most famous French chefs It possesses the quality of sticking to your libs," as the negroes put it.
 A man can elt a pint of burgoo Git is served in tin -cups) and M will give him as much strength as squane meal More than 1000 gallons eff this rich soup were consumed during the fair
 Another clIaralc teristic of the negro 1 came to the surface during the fair. As clsgs negroes are inveterate gamblers. | There wera- numerous games of chance 1 on the grounds and the way the negroes ! backed their Judgment was a sight. No matter what the game was they woufl~l go against it.. If the percentage was al- together in the dealers favor It made no difference to the negroes. They would bet on English hazard as quickly as they would. on a game that was even money. They played the miniature aS r e 1 race or wheel of fortune with the g'r1at- est eagerness. They sh9wered money on the red, white, and blue game in wldch the percentages is all in favor of tine dealer.
 But the negroes enjoyed themselves There was not a sad face in inc large assemhtages. They hgd come out to have a go0d time and they had it. Thsy left their cares behirt1 them and the four days the fair last=d was regular round Of pleasure. The bore races. of vaifich 1 afforded ts,e er.s atest excitement No Eu.uaity. Derby. or Grand Prix ever stirred Americans, Engfshnen nr l Frenchmen more than did llse little ]