The silver star., 1898-03-31
A VERY LEVEL HEAD.
WONDERFUL FsArs OF NE
oROES.
ExhinAtasas u Baton Rougs-A Man who
csslA Garry Two Buckets of Water ON
HI Head.

In Baton Rouge for the first time we
were brought into collision with the
eQuilibristlc negro-the black person
who has solved the secret Of the law
Of grAvitation and to whom the feat
OF balancing whole May-day moving
upon his Or her head is a little, trifIing,
inc0neequential matter. In other COM
munities the district telegraph boy and
the express wagon symbolic the .busl-
ness OF small transportation, but In the
southland the steady-headed colored
person stands for that traffic. The first
day Of our visit In Baton Rouge was
prolific Of wonders In this particular
line. On the main street of the town
we met q black woman Of 90 or there
abouts who conveyed upon her head a
huge basket with what seemed to be
the washing for seven large families
piling In peak like Popocatapetl
above her moving form. She did not
deign to steady this enormous burden
with her hand, but marched on, erect
as q grenadier, probably giving her
head imperceptible motions to keep the
basket true to center, but SO far as we
could see doing absolutely nothing to
insure steady carriage.
In another street we encountered n
young negro woman who held in her
arms 2-year-old child. and who was
moreover afflicted with the custody of a
distracting dog, which ran and barked
and sauced everything In sight and
which she was obliged to reprlmand
at every tenth stride. She seemed ut
terly obliviOus of the great bundle
which surmOunted her head and gave
1t no more consideration than n white
woman Of loftier station would accord
to a theater bonnet weighing less than
ten pennyweight.
A local resident who noted our looks
OF wonderment stopped, and, with that
courtesy to which we have become ac-
customed, ventured some information
on the subject.
'They learn 1t from the cradle, nj
most" he said. "As soon as they are
able to walk, these colored folk are
taught by their elders to tote In the
course of time and under proper in
struction negrO-and especially a ne
gro woman-is able to carry an entire
inventory Of third-class grocery upon
her head and to be happy and pleased
about 1t. 1t Is very interesting thing
to see two or three OF these black wo-
men, each of whom Is transporting
such . huge bundle that she takes up
most Of the street. meet upon corner
and chat about affairs. They cannot
approach close to one another to speak
cOnfidentially, for their head burdens
nre 30 unwleldy that they crowd their
carriers aloOf from one another. They
gradually acquire high skill in this
business. / once knew n black man
named Harve Allen. who could carry
two wooden buckets of water upon his
head-One set upon n small board
which covered the top of the other. He
could walk along the street and make
gestures with his hands, for he was an
illiterate but rudely eloquent preacher,
and recited and rehearscd his sermons
az he performed his days work. Some
times you would see him whiting or
tying q hook to n fishline or perform
ing some other function which required
the services of both hands, while aloft
he bore perhaps tub Of water or six
or eight dozen Of eggs or something
equally risky.