The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1898-03-16
A BARBECUE.
a Hv.."orn .ra.riing MANS Divertinr
Experience In louisiana.

O' y lNSl lull, SulQ
the drummer, tilcking the ashes
from his cigar and fitting his chair
to q comfortable angle. Got caught
for a week by quarantine in a little
backwoods town in Louisiana. in
ihe piny woods as they call it
there, and the things 1 saw during
that week would fill a book. Among
other things l saw Il barbecue. Ever
been to Il regular, old fashioned
southern barbecuei Well, / have.
upon its native heath and in its most
primitive state, l guess. Really. I
think the people sort of got up the
barbecue for MY benefit as a kind OF
public entertainment i'll my behalf,
killing the fatted calf, us it were, for
the prodigal who could not go home.
1 appreciated the courtesy, l a tell
you, and never missed Il detail of it
from start to finish.
1.-The barbecue was given at what
they called tho picnic grounds a
little grass grown, underbrush clear
Ell space III the rise OF Il hill. Prepa.
rations for tho affair began the da;
before. Among other things Il
creased pole vas erected, and a cou-
pie of old negroes were sent down
the hollow by the spring to dig tho
trench for the ~barbecuing. The
process seemed a very simple one.
All there was to it was just a ditch
about Is or 20 feet long, 3 feet deep
and 4 feet wide.
I'm the bottom of this the men COL
lected some pine splinters, kindled a
fire and then fed it with oak and
hickory and ash wood till they had
the ditch half full of glowing Goals.
This took them well into tho
night, you see, and before day they
cut II lot of slender oak saplings into
lengths and laid them ut intervals
of eight or ten inches across tia
ditch over the fire. Along about
this time the men camo with the
meat. A whole beef they had and
thrco lnuttOns, and when they
spread them out Oh the green sap
llngs over the glowing Goals those
great, brawny, bearded men, with
the light from tho pine torches glar-
ing on their faces, looked like q race
OF cannibais preparing for an orgy.
All night they staid there, the
good fellows, with forks and spits to
turn the meat, and with great long
handled mops which they dipped in
melted lard and vinegar to basic it.
And maybe you think it WASN'T good,
that barbecued meat. Just wait I'm.
til You taste some. There's nothing
like it.
"But the peoplel Before day, they
began to come, covered wagons and
OK carts full Of them-men, women
and children. And the baskets they
brought full of biscuits and corn
pones and sweet potatoes and Gus
tard pies ind cakes! I don't think I
ever saw so much to eat 81! ct once
in my life. And ehe watermelons!
Wagon loads of them were put in the
branch to cool. And tubs of sweet
cider big enough to float il!
AFTER dinner the fun began.
There were foot races, sack races,
jumping contests, creased polo
climbing and creased pig chasing.
Nov, among my acquaintance
was O small boy named Tige. or. at
least. so called; & redheired, freckled
lad, son of the man I boarded with.
Tige aud I were good friends, but q
lazier lad l never saw, go somehow
l was surprised when he appeared
as one of the contestants for prizes.
However, he did not enter either Of
the races nor the jumping contest.
but when it came to the CREASED
pole, 10, the freckled Tige led all the
rest! Tho way that chap stuck to
that slippery sapling was a caution,
and when he reached the ton mono
cheered louder than l. The salno
way with the creased shoat. Tige
was simply onto the pig and staid
there.
"By right Of being o guest and
therefore to be honored it fell to
my lot to award the prizes. Tigo
was to receive a six bladed pocket
knife and a pair of spurs-hardware
in my line, you know" the drum
mer interrupted himself quite un-
consciously, land when the little
scamp came up to get them I caught
q wink II his other eye that seemed
sort of suggestive.
"'Tell me how you cid it, Iige,'I
said when / lad given him his prizes
with appropriate remarks.
"'Iain't no fool, if I do have fits
he said, still winking.
"'But we ~ friends T urged.
can is hayin keepina' he asked.
"'Yes. having is keeping, sure
said 1.
Coming quite close to me, he
winked frantically and said in q
hoarse whisper:
"tPine rosin:'
SGTHn~ LoJ1, - r.: