Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1899-08-09
GYPSY CLAN GATHERING.
Harrisons Coming From Far and
Near to Netherwood, N. J.
HAVE not MET FOR TWENTY YEARS

Forty Families to Assemble Around
Their Aged Queen, Whom the World
Knows as "snalxe Mary"-ROmany
Tribe, Who Are Clean and Not I'm
welcome Visitors.
The queen Of the Harrison gypsies,
with her family, awaits the gathering
Of her people ON the NetherwoOd road,
not three miles from Plainfield, N. j.
The Harrisons have not assembled for
20 years, and in that time they have
travel only in the gypsy way, in their
own wagons, carrying all their world
ly goods with them. Some Of them
started from the Pacific slope months
ago for this meeting. Others, in Della
ware, Pennsylvania and New York,
have but just turned their horses
heads toward Motherhood. 1t is ex-
pected that the gathering will soon be
complete.
The meeting place is the regular
summer camp of the queen, "Snake
Mary" and her own immediate fami-
ly. 1t is beside the main road, in q
clump of trees on the edge Of a field.
A painfully prosaic roadhouse is only
few rods away. The Harrisons made
no effort to secure complete privacy.
They like to have visitors come. When
all the families are assembled, it is
their purpose to rope in the encamp-
ment and charge an admission fee of
% cents ito defray the expense which
many Of them have incurred in max
ing their long journeys" The place is
only 10 minutes walk from Neither
wood station, and they hope to make
money out Of folks who come from
nearby towns.
The family now here numbers 10 or
IL persons. Snake Mary" as the out
side world calls her, or grandma"
as the family itself calls her, is known
to the Harrison tribe as "the
queen" She is "a years old. She was
born in Egypt and has the brown skin
and the dead black hair that charac-
terize the people of the pyramids.
There was a newspaper photographer
in the party that visited the encamp-
ment the other afternoon, and she
wouldn't come out Of the tent in which
she was working if she could help it.
One Of the grandsons, who did not
share her prejudices against the cam
era, pulled aside a flap CT the tent, and
she came out to pull it back, complain
ing bitterly against all photographers
and their ways. The photograph
was taken in the midst of her plant.
Great was the joy Of the younger gen.
GRAFTON, who exchanged noisy cOngrat-
ulations that they had at last got
ahead Of grandma"
The members of the tribe talk with
freedom from bad grammar that is
rather surprising to one who has pre-
conceived notions that the gypsies are
a shiftless and unpleasant race Both
men and women are neatly dressed
and carry themselves rather in the
manner of city folks on an outing. Part
Of the queens lifetime was spent in
visiting the regions in which the diff
ferent families of the tribe roam. She
was crowned anew by each family she
visited. In that way her household
has acquired an easy and intimate
knowledge of every part of the coun-
try.
The male head of the family is
James Harrison, the husband of
"Snake Mary's" oldest daughter, who
is about 80 years old. king James,"
as the gypsies call Harrison, has the
look Of a keen, clean cut American of
Scotch or Irish descent He has a son
whose name is the same as his own.
There are number of children. mas
much as they spend much Of their
time playing under the wagons, they
were not exactly in state to appear
on any formal occasion, such, for in
stance. as Sunday school festival, the
other day, but their clothes were
whole. There was not a patch or q
tear anywhere visible.
The elder James Harrison talked
freely about the family. In this part
Of New Jersey, he said. and. in fact, in
any part Of the country in which this
family or any members of the Harri-
son tribe had spent any time, he had
never observed an unfriendly spirit.
wherever we CO." he added, 1--WE are
known. and we never have any diff
Guilty. The Harrisons have made
good, clean name for themselves.
There are people going around who are
dishonest, malicious and bad lot gen.
orally. They take the name of gypsies,
and they cause people who have any
thing to do with them to think that
gypsies are very bad people to have
around. We never harmed anybody,
and as people learn to understand that
fact they are glad to see us when we
come back each year. We hear the
same story from all the other 40 fami-
lies Of our tribe"
The members Of the family speak to
one another sometimes In English,
sometimes In their own Romany
tongue. Their wagons are strongly
built and bright with fresh paint. The
tarpaulins are new looking. Inside the
living wagons the berths are laid with
clean linen sheets and hung with fine
lace curtains. There Is every evidence