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

Queer Expressions In Common Use
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, i
teacher in the public schools or a
minister Of the gospel, no less than
any member Of the common herd,
would never fail in telling Of his lack
Of luck in fishing to say, 81 was gone
all day and never caught either fish"
OF 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.
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 in his forward" days.
What are called sawlogs in other
states are Chunks" here, regardless of
length and size. One never sees
corncrib hereabout, but "cornstalks"
buildings in which maize is stored at
gathering time) are found on every
farm. There are DO barnyards or sta
BILE lots either. AL such things are
given the name Of pound"
The universal misuse Of the word
.head" is ridiculous, If not ludicrous.
A man has five or six or ten head" Of
children or visitors on q Sunday, but
he never applies the word head to his
stock. Our congressman, who operates
q large mill here, II asked how many
hands he employs would tell you so
many or about so many head" Re-
Gently news item In one Of the coun-
ty papers was headlined, "Big Revival
In Progress-Four Head Baptized"
Quite rs general, as well among the
white rs among the colored portion Of
the population, is the use Of I'd" for
eth" in the words the, this, that. they
and them. The propositions Gin" and
"into" are basely mistreated, the first
by neglect, the other by overworking
it. Nobody has money invested "in"
stocks, land, merchandise and the like,
but always into" them. Ask a man
what his farm or horse Is worth and
he'll answer by telling you what
amount Of money he has invested
Into" it. One never has hole in his
trousers or dollar "in" his pocket,
but Into" them or 1t. heard a lady
teacher say she had lost her portemon
naie. "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 carriage, IL it 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 is never broke when pl0wed, but
flushed, never narrowed, but drug to
make the surface fine. Crops when
titled with q cultivator are narrowed,
and a cultivator is known here only Us
harrow. while harrow is 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 word Of
mouth, supplemented with long lash
ed whip. When he wants his team
horses, mules or oxen-to 60 or turn to
the right, he halloos "gee-a." If he wants
short turn to the left he yells "petty-
wo," but If only slight diversion in
that direction he calculates "ha-ther"
pronounced like "father'0 in a SUBJ
dued tone. To stop his team he yells
"wo-back," loud enough to stop q
train, and the team usually halts with
in a 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 single
line on the leader Of team is IN
known.
No odds how wicked the natives may
be in this part Of the moral vineyard,
none is so abandoned as to use the
word hello. They consider it shocking
profanity, worse indeed than down
right "cussin." Helgh-ho is the word
they enjoy instead.-John A. Geeting
in Indiana School Journal.