The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-11-28
THE REBEL YELL.
N oFFICER,s lNALTSIS on TEE
WAR CIR or THE SOUTH.

va Peculiar to tho aouth, hut Simply the
Bsout which EveEy Farmer Learns 60 Use
why II necame F~amous-simiipr Cries
m tho Alps and Among Florida Cowboys.
prrrspuRo, Nov. 27.-one night last summer
at the cncampmont OF the Pennsylvania Me-
tional Guard IN Lake Conneaut. the officers,
aeveral of whom had served In the late wars
were discussing tho rebel yell and the terrorh
was alleged to have caused in the minds Of the
green Northern volunteers every time the rebels
charged down upon them.
ut had not tho slightost effect upon me, said
ono OF the officers, although when / first went
into tho war i was only n raw recruit and
had never seen SERVICE
"oh. of course, Colonel" remarked ono Of HE
companions, nothing could scare you"
"Spare your sarcasm. Major" was the reply.
"Ill admit 1 was badly scared tho first timeI
smolled powder. but 1t was the same feeling OF
fright that every new soldier experiences, no mat
tor how often he may aftcrward deny 1t. No, sir,
it was not the rebel yell that sent my heart Int
my boots. was very familiar with 1t, and yet
/ had never been South before. Why. you
Young follows yourselves have heard II a thou
sand times. .
IT sec you don't believe that assertion. and
vet I will shortly show you that the famous
rebel yell was not peculiar to the southerner.
but that II aroused such attention among North
ern writers only because the rebels uttered 10
| Nutnk ulIk Ill WI INV - 49," eN'S
proverbial Anglo-Saxon hoarse cheer. Lake
yourselves these newspaper correspondents had
often hoard the same yell. Surely all or you
have heard q stump speaker give uttorance 70
some sentiment that has set his audience In an
applnuding uproar. Did you not distinguish,
above tho foundation of deep cheors. .
series of ear splitting yellsi Perhaps you
have sat alongside o bnss-voiced frieno
on such IN occasion, and you've heard
his voice. instead Of venting approval
in a deep growl. soar aloft in . piercing yell,
Maybe you have tried to initiate him, and found
s I%sisst GSp pr sS' a SS q t sSsy that 'at soq 8 S,SHs 6 SssrS
two blocks away in the open, air. You Wonde,ed
a aSS. s sfsSo tn1fna You s'G SiaH!t fhs s9f L, 81 only NJ.
tered that terrific rebel yell you've heard about.
e sSS sssia your Do y se sSG' cords Il dE0s and sni unit aai tss hs sS$ti 8
chest tone, so different from the throat tone that
70 ES4 qo pD . Pf the yell III in t IL Musical &c sIE seSle sA' h0''
"And here's something that III III. wager SeT you you
give the rebel yell, for no learns It BY virtue Of
his occupation. On the stage the farmer 10
age who fairly shouts his lines, While SOME Of
you gentlemen have no doubt observed. when
s shlST tRsty tSsy c sHs 4 se SGHsins ssS i IL, snd p tS fsS
SSS oar maze AYE h ,vord 10 benz. bend Z ear ana M ,s strain stres 70
. But put u W ono oP0' thoso up COUSINS Hs "a" on '''e one
side Of a, twenty.acre field. and station
can distinguish every word be shout. to- You,
, while he 10 unable to understand you. Right
e eossfG ySSa Ss are ssqh hfasdipis Is b ssS TsH Sa SSs salai AZ" Il IL H9 nis
business. The workers on our big American
at considerable distances. and they train the
voice accordingly.
exclusively an agricultural community, end
, tho proportion OF countrymen who served In her
s %ho sRO %HS @Sfh t Sces ean on sh1 sRo ne Sert RnrSRor sIss.
, Consequently when a Southern regiment made
j. s 8 seSSeFS' f isS%ap boys os it ov ss%S; ssS i Hs,i a e { tns
r toned shout Of the city men, for ! have since
n s soutGern City sf Is just sts as f ineapsSl ee Of siriS Se the the
n rebel yell as the average resident Of tho citieo
cal meeting that I spoke Of. -,
Is product. You've heard tho late Fritz Emmett
y iion u ,h well rsSs YOU 2s, then nro Listened d. to ;bS a I moait flea.
yodel is composed of standings Of various tonal
o ossr t iae ssi moq T9fS,.ss, and Of 1hs rsSs; zen al 81
3 e e"%%f Sos sseni / Ssy wh sFts the sa ssmn dI'ss'i5 oS ssfl 'h :
stop In, his yodel tune and by dwelling
II !, rebel yell that / had so often heard down south
. Florida so% @beS n Knows 'a as the e cow Roil en-
though the two are dissimilar. as tho cowboy
70 sings a sort Of iubilant time, characteristic q
refgen for Florida cowboys. and have found tha
they acquired it speedily. as there was a differ
ence only In tune and not in method.
But this y. getting off my subject. At AM
d rate i think have proved to you that the rebe
yell Is a worldwide vocal accomplishment, and
while 1t seems not to have much musical quality
just go down TO Florida or over TO Switzerland
and you will hear 1t in its most artistic develop
ment. Listen TO the COW halloa and the yodel OF
some still night. and you will find that the foul
or Ave notes to which tho compressed voca
y cords are limited can be woven into the mos
pleasing combinations. And there's one thinl
about tho rebel yell developed into the cow hal
loa and the yodel-the man who can't sing wifi
his natural voice a littlo bit can please the mos
y critical car when driving tho cows home.n