The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1899-09-13
EASTERN SHORE DIALECT.
Queer Expressions In Common Cnc
Among Natives Of Maryland.

queer ExrFesniOns In Common Cnc
Among Natives of Maryland.
Here on the eastern shore, which
from It's opportunities should be one OF
the most enlightened instead of most
benighted regions OF the country.
teacher III the public schools or o
minister OF the gospel no less than
any member OF tbs common herd.
would never fail in telling Of his lack
OF luck in fishing TO say, II was gone
oil day and never caught either fish"
or on meeting, with similar want OF
success in hunting would declare he
''saw plenty of rabbits, but never got
either one
Among these people there are no
early vegetables or fruit grown, but
forward" potatoes, cabbage. corn
strawberries, etc, are quite common
l have even heard the remark. The
forward bird catches the worm" Here
rails are not used in constructing the
old fashioned worm fence, only fence
'logs," although they be split as Lin
coin made them I'm his forward" DAYS.
What are called sawlogs In other
states are "chunks" here, regardless of
length and size. One never sees a
corncrib hereabout, but "cornstalks''
buildings In which maize is stored at
gathering time) are found on every
farm. There are no barnyards or sta.
bic lots either. All such things are
given the name of pound"
The universal misuse Of the word
head" Is ridiculous, IL not ludicrous.
A man has five or six or ten head" Of
children or visitors on O Sunday, but
he never applies the word head to his
stock. Our congressman, who operates
large mill here, If asked how many
hands he employs would tell you 80
many or about 80 many head" Re.
Gently q news item IN one Of the coun.
ty papers was headlined, "Big Revival
In Progress-Fo Head Baptized"
Quite as general, as we'll among the
white as among the colored portion OF
fhe population. is the use Of ''d'' for
"th" In the words the. this, that. they
and them. The propositions ''in" and
Into" are basely mistreated, tie frat
by neglect. the other by overworking
1t. Nobody has money invested .in''
stocks, land, merchandise and the like.
what Ills farm or horse is worth and
he'll answer by telling you what
amount OF money he has invested
Into" 1t. One never has hole in his
trousers or a dollar I'm" his pocket.
but Into" them or 1t. heard q lady
teacher say she had lost her portemon-
male. "But, thank fortune" she add
ed, there wasn't penny into It,"
People never haul anything here. but
carry it. A man carries his wife or
family to church, his wood or crops to
the railroad station or boat landing,
his cattle to pasture or his chunks to
the steam mill, never sawmill What
ever he takes into his arms or on his
shoulder to convey from one place to
another. he totes, instead Of carries.
There are no buggies or phaetons here,
every vehicle used exclusively to ride
IN being a carriage, If 1t has more than
two wheels. The land is Of two kinds,
hard and kind. Hard land is chiefly
clay and kind land mostly sand. The
land IL never broke when plowed, but
flushed. neve,' narrowed, but drug to
make the surface fne. Crops when
titled with q cultivator are narrowed,
and cultivat0r is known here only ss
a harrow. while harrow fs called a
drag.
Teams, except when attached to car
riages. are driven without reins or
lines. The driver, whether walking or
riding. directs his team by his yvort. oe
mouth, supplemented with q long lash
ed whip. When he wants his team
horses. mules or oxen-to go or turn to
the right, he halloos "gee-a." If he wants
a short turn to the left he yells "petty.
wc." but if only q slight diversion In
that direction he calculates 'ha-ther''
pronounced like "father") in sub.
dued tone. To stop his team he yells
"wo-back." loud enough to stop a
train, and the team usually halts with
ia space OF ten rods. The familiar
''gee," "haw." "ho" or "whoa" of our
Ohio boyhood days is not heard in
this country, and the use of a single
line on the leader Of team Is un-
known.
No odds how wicked the natives may
be in this part OF the moral vineyard,
meme is SO abandoned as TO use the
word hello. They consider it shocking
profanity. worse indeed than down.
right ''cussin." Heigh-ho Is the word
they enjoy fnstead.-John A. Geeting
in Indiana School Journal.