The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-08-28
MAN FAM1xr IN THE cArsK1rLS.

MAN FAlLINE IN THE CITSKILLS.
Brooklyn schoolteachers in Giddy Hats and
Plaid Stockings Said TO BE the Cause.
LEXINGTON. Greene county. N. Y, Aug. 81
There is q man famine up here among the
Catskills that is more pronounced In character
than the usual summer scarcity OF the male
population for which this region is noted.
Aman who has never been popular with fem
mime creation has only TO appear upon the
scene here to be feted and to be q hero. Men
who have skunk through life heretofore with
out even an approving glance from the eyes
Of their typewritists find themselves over
whelmed with attentions Just as soon as the
stage deposits them at q farmhouse or hotel
piazza.
The Catskill Mountains girl has therefore
been reduced to o desperate expedient. She
wanders in groups Of twos and threes through
the villages and along the shady mountain
paths looking hungrily for a male creature in
white duck trousers and y straw hat which
proclaim him to be Of town breed. And when
these foraging companies Of young women
come across any u rare specimen they not
only smile upon him and address him pleas
antly, but they bear him of In triumph in o
hay cart and treat him SO well that he wants to
leave his boarding house and camp out on the
porch OF the hostelry wherein his captors dwell.
The farmers OF this part OF the country at
tribute the man famine to the war. Even the
husband brigade-the Friday till Monday
men-who were won't to brighten up the coun-
tryside by their presence. bearing baskets OF
fruit as offerings to their w~omonkind. have
thinned out this season. and Sunday is like all
the rest-cheerless, manless and lonely.
There Is one reason for the man famine,
however. that must impress any thinking per-
son who inhabits these hills for more than a
week. 1t consists of the fact that the summer
girl OF the Catskills Is none other han the
Brooklyn schoolteacher who comes up here
in disguise as . gay and wildly frivolous young
person. and who expresses the exuberance of
her nature by shrieks and yawps which are in
tended to represent laughter. but which resem-
the The vii Wildcat HSafs as they echo q Over piazzas In the
the ROADS to Hunter and sh9ndakin, t,on,non
in the, Catskiiis exempllfes q type Of deyilIsh-
ness that is gradually Kidding this part OF the
Of cooping up n stqiry gchoolTo9m with only
the company Of forty to sixty children In whose
up here with dozen pairs q plaid or striped
hosiery and q hammock, with which combina-
tiD sbs she %o h0psiS sG q SF be! ,e sae P sSe br R1Palfi ss9,
ishly ethwart her hair. and II, her hair be
be- q linen m'! aT s q With ii the name 81 q . batsleo
shin across the brow or the crossed rifles OF a
pfsid ssoee sihSwi afs snp lsSRsdi 70 nn ssP a T sa aba sne
don IN its most riotous form; Th9 shrieks Of
Eddy summer girl ofthe comic weeklies.
1t is the same form OF hyBteria that seizes the
on oiD Ris SSsatfon. and lives IN . wSitfe flannel
suit for two weeks. as though he never wore
enaieaVors to extract an ordinary amount Of
comfort and happiness out of 365 days a year
under all clrcumstances cannot understand
feeII fesbie and decreDit 70 see a q 4O-year-oid
face under a Tam o. Shanter cap at one end of
BY crossed feet OF the plaid variety. all OF which
IS being vested on other women. ehipmunks
and al s g s6S riv sfaS tRatS eEi sesf here Facet 6etween the
more sl1ai intense hs0s than any NsWport 5sad sr bells:
Observation-Disclosures twines her arms
about her sister and refuses to let her. out OF
She may have discovered some man whom she
will spring upon the other women 60aF EdneaTnsaaass
her s PEE 2 a. R pr re- Sta9 ne ami may s% Se 9 aST u poarS Der
fore he. has had time to take on his duster. He
Is hardly In the hotel Office before a GROUP, OF
introduce themselves, ascertain the number OF
his room and then steal away to concoct plans
for surprising him when he prepares Tor slum-
These plane or tricks are sapP0Gsed to con.
sat : tR %b nlGh tsey iI are 81 ssuSecce essti pefpsl
trated upon a new, boarder the shrlefs and
yells Of isaghtsr win Be R%EFESlGSR lgNSt, for s 3 ESek
marin is out TO enjoy herself. and she is not
letting you forget it.
put In force should a new man so far forget
himself as to appear armed with a grip or q
dress suit e SaS t6ss one ef III the er mSsS PSp To o 81 lHa
some Of the new Poarder's clothing, his pa
jamas, preferred. which are stitched together
open with q penknife before he can wear them,
This Is q one 9S q The dsti ianpiSss au tTisks IN ths bright
delicate humor appeals to some, men. And
there ore others who assume . siokiy air Of, en-
ioyment Of the girliSh pFankk; While 10 In ! r, tnsir
Taking the Stats out OF a bed and arrenginG
p IsS %st'f T. a sS sfss 7 es seSS&IIft % e SS Amy ! tsSETSi
t asw os sSss Sna iu slEsai ssiss T y Sa he G dinner tf 81 cam IN
ned foods which awaits him prepares i9r rest
IN the room one I trunk b vide s Sy a sh re- s9d 10 q
Which Sinks to The aoor beneath, him. ,Riesplts;
IaSHhte sh ilSn the sH half Y SSssss he fE%P result q tie Re
'n PdttlnG salt or 'Goar Between the sheets and
sprlnkling red pepper on the pillow are other
IaSsl jH Is sh sR nl hSFS; q IL ah sn HlShs HH Is S an sa dSSF
coyote Hind iqr ySsES' Ard S SSd f6Sy s sSSSGIr
teacher. dis Bdin her frivolous hat andh9r
staT-spangled stockings. scours the countrywide
and leaves not u stone unturned in her search
but she inds nothing but early worms and
She takes i blackboard ride she, prefers to. alt
with her feet hanging out. OF the back OFF,
wagon as an indication that she 10 o wild
young thing out for O lark.
None Of these young women talk shop. They
are ali going TO Saratoga, Newport, or Atlantic
City In another week, with a few days at Lepox
thheIS nresence or they would be Mortified.
They. want Il CLEARLY, understood that they are
friends every week telling fairy tales about the
god sS. Y sEa% t sSS R RTs sSxlpfii to Kingston a wild
yawp echoes through the hills, It'll the cryof
the Brooklyn schoolmarm, doing her great
summer girl specially and wondering II the
evening stage viii bring p%srehanee q male hu-
a. the morriesf o Nests and who Will DO content
70 bask In. her smile AT her Scotch plaid feet
until tho piazza gossipB begin u. talk. which "
tho highest ambition entertained In the soul OF
the CGtskil Mountains girl