The sun., 1900-08-12
AMITYVILLE'S BIG PICNIC.
,ovo ISLAND COL0nED Folks AN.
"~ NUAL EXCURSION.

~, IN spectacles who DancsA and Cold
p.,s far a Hard Drinker-wsssd Up with
,.ot,rs By the Rev. william 0umbs.
IuryYyuLp, Aug 1.-THE Ethuologtcal
sodrtv and the whole ooterie Of learned an
.,u.r,sns would hnd their resources taxed
A. ,hs ut1nos, to decide why the oolored peo-
II. Al ,bs South Side choose tho second Sat-
,rd.y In Ausust for their annual beach day
"a h.xn With. tho people who so 70 Hemlook
n..oh for ts days outing are By no means
oonnusd 10 one color. Tho crowd comprises
o.sroes mulattoes. Indians. Iudo-Africsns.
.nd crowds Of white folks. As the most prom
,nsn, man OF color connected with the expe-
d,,lon. The Rev W. william Gumbs replied 70
THr SUNS inquiries:
-sinos coming to this locality have en-
A..vored 70 ascertain the origin Of this Gus
som. bu, without avail. As nearly as have
h..n able to discover the custom originated
Atm the Indians. from whom large part Of
INV nook Is sub,racted. and II Is still kept up.
No NJ one Is In authority over It and the people
-ho come 70 1. are Of different classes. Some
spend the day quietly and decen'ly and In the
.vsnins attend the lecture provided for the
occasIon. while the others--well. you see for
yourself
And II was indeed certain that any one with
.vss to see could see for himself. For oom-
nlste relaxation and enjoyment modern life
has little to offer 10 equal the proceedings Of
mi. occasion. Fully twenty-four hours before
In. excursion starts Amityville takes on a
twilight appearance. Colored people from
Huntington. Babylon. Bayshore. Massapeaua
and the interior Of the island begin to flock to
the town. Weeks In advance every available
boat Ia chartered and all the grooers lay In an
e.tra stock Of provisions and Gelicacies Not
only all available boarding houses are crowded.
hut pleasant fence corners. the railroad plat
forms and convenient stoops have their tenants,
and the CHEEKY -Yahl yah! YAH" Of the Afro
American makes the streets and lanes musical
The excursion Il scheduled to leave Amity-
Vile AZ 10 4. VI. and the good humor that pre-
walls Is admirable. 'Whufoh yoh got on yoh
clad rags" shouts one dusky citizen to an
Other .,~o, n 90, or vou ovn,-
A. lhis primitive ioke every one within hear
irc laughs aud tho professional Joke writer who
Il spen I'rg IN" summer /! he town ,sighs be-
cause editors ore not equally susceptible.
Beforar Il over forty five sails were counted
making tooari The beach and the breeze bore
nothins but Joyous laughter. When they had
parties st out their dalqtts in the pavilion and
IN Tho barroo the tdl'cr- and banjo players
began 70 vie with orc nnihcr H. playing dancing
tIres soon negroes India a'S aud fshermen were
dol clogs aGd horu' iles and the rhyth-
nical b. of their rout-falls added 10 the
muse Presently thsr" was a diversion. A
thrt.waist man, summer resident demanded
the floor and i vds given 70 him. With his
spectacle, pCrched hikh on his rose and his
Adm'S apple urotruding hrayelv, he BEGAN "A
clog dance while The colored peone howled
w,h admiration. lie did the spread eagle,
darcad with crossed legs with one foot behind
tha Cther but never mis- spd a note, When he
STE ed from the ring 'oal black negro, who
look u 70 be past such diversions. jump'd into
tla one0ing and began 10 dance Unlike the
who man he danced with yorv much Of hi
b b'y Head harcs hits aid f"et kept perfect
r m and h"rr j, a pVl for The realistic
noveiists. While N" negro daucrd h. ko't
his % dovr. looking A. his feet; when the
shir'-vas' ma0 da cod lle CO.. retantlN looked
" over his nlass,- and an Indian. who followed
them looked straight ahead with level glance.
Surp,v there + sonnet ing for Tn" "ihnolOCi.tS
70 consider In this. The neNt thing on the pro-
gramme was row
"Iemme go!" yelled man who had par
taken too freely of the Hemlock Beach cock
tail. which might well b. considered the same
that ended the career Of Socrates.
In moment crowd had hold OF him and
were dragging him toward the boats, for il
is law of these outings that man who be-
comes tncapactated must NJ once be put back
on the boat that brought him. As he was be-
ine dragged along the narrow dock he sud-
denly broke from his captors and tumblad
into the shallow water. A. howl Of delight
the half-sobered pugillst rose from the water
md with true Horatan dignity began to hang
bis drinping garments on the side OF the dock
az an Offering to the god Of the sea
I amt a big man. he yelled but 1t takes
BIG man TO hold me! and he stumbled back
10 dry land
his assertion, but a moment later a tall colored
man who locked TO be blend OF several races
rushed forward and caught the dist,lrber Of
The peace There was struggle and il ended
Nttb tha f.,f "a an fIa 81 sk~
vanQuished TOPPER. just then the circle opened
and a woman with a baby on one arm and
piece OF driftwood in the other hand came to
she .hrieked. take your foot Of my brudder'.
etummick;" She enforced the request with
blows Of the driftwood. Her relatives grabbed
while her brother. who had fallen asleep during
the diversion she had caused. was put out OF
When the dining ended the dancing began
IN the paw lion.
"pos-do, the trumpet sounds
Lady In the centre four hands round,
xii.@snds ei, on he Kitchen door,
Cotions and Virginia reels followed each
other Ia quick succession with constant changes
StsE Wild 9sa cs q Rs aSn %n
were other cries also Of men who were being
drageed 20 the boats but they did not inter- |
rupt the fun. While the dancing was in prog
Ina, and II Is perhaps as well that Mr.. Bradley |
OF Asbnry Park has no authority over Hem |
lock Beach. Besides uniQueness Of design |
there there was crash Of color that would |
have either thrown Worth into a at or given |
him new ideas
ln the evening the crowd returned to Amlty- |
Vile and disposed OF themselves according TO |
ther tastes. Some attended dances and cake |
Salks while others focked to the. Lyoeum to
bear the lecture on The Turning Of the River"
BY The Rev. William Gymbs. This lecture
contained at least one point that Is certainly
OF interest at the present time The river |
mich was the subject Of his lecture Is the river
American race Ia forced to contend
u, L y 1ows he said. "on account Of its inertia,
nile u might seem wise TO turn II aside here and |
there for purposes Of irrigation, that is not our
,hp nhope We must pray that this river that
threatens tn oyerwhelm us be taken up BY |
svaporation under the rays Of the sun Of right
ssonsnees 40 that Il will become IA pure as the |
heaven 70 which II rises. Then and then onlv |
may ma We look for II to descend in the rain that
WI, promote the true brotherhood OF man, In |
Nhioh there VIII be neither black nor red nor |
White-in which there will be no color line"