The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-01-05


ally like an advertisement for a mission
| society.
The Same old SHIT.
From him I glanced to his pa" who
had given him away and seemed mighty
glad to get rid of him. Pa" was dressed
| in pure black from head to heel-just the
| same old suit that he had worn when he
! struck this planet, only more of it. He
| was gultless of anything and everything
| in the shape OF dress. except for large
ring of horn which he wore on top of his
| head. He did not carry any parasols, or
| fans, or gewgaws of any kind in his great
! muscular fists. One hand grasped an IRON
| shod assegai and the other lovingly
| fondled a battle-axe, and both weapons
| looked at home where they rested. He
| was not just the sort of father-in-law l
should have hankered for if l had been
out on a matrimonial venture; but I
would rather have had one limb of that
old heather than the whole body of his
civilized" son, for with all his faults he
looked man. chum of mine who knew
the ways of these people had advised me
to purchase a horn or snuff before being
presented to the bride and bridegroom
and had acted accordingly.
When the ceremony of Introduction was
over, and ! had managed TO turn my
bevy of damsels, as efrily clothed as
herself I offered the snuff box to the
| happy pair. The groom took a tiny pinch
and smiled sadly as though committing
some deadly sin. The bride however,
poured little heap in the palm of her
hand about as big as hen egg, regard
less of her nice white kid gloves. This
she proceeded to snuff up her capacious
nostrils with savage delight until the
u.
down coal heap. Then she threw back
her head, spread her hands out palm
downward like mammoth duck treading
water, and sneeZed. ! never heard
human sneeze like that before: it was
like the effort of a horse after a two
mile gallop through a dust storm. And
each time she sneezed something con-
rected with her wedding gear ripped or
gave way, until I began to be afraid for
her. But the wreck was not quite so
awful as l had anticipated, and when
she had done sneezips she laughed. All
the crowd except the groom laughed,
and the sound OF their laughter was like
the sound of the sea on cliff-crowned
coast.
Nnuseous Brew.
A little later one of the bridesmaids,
whose toilet consisted of a dainty neck
lace of beads and copper ring around
one ankle invited me to drink a draught
of native beer The beer was in a large
calabash, and l felt constrained to drink
some of it. These natives know how to
make love, and they know how to make
war, but, as my soul liveth, they don t
know how to make beer. The stuff they
gave me to drink was about as thick as
clearinghouse cocoa; In color 1t was like
unto milk that a very dirty maid of all
work had been stirring round IN soiled
soup dish with an unwashed forefinger
1t had neither body nor soul in It, and
was as insipid a policeman at a prayer
meeting. Some of the niggers got glorious
ly merry on it, and sang songs and dane
ed weird, unlucky dances under it's in
fiuence. But it did not appeal to me in
that way; possibly | was not educated
up to its niceties.
The wedding joys We're Of a peculiar
nature. Bride and bridegroofn linked arm
in arm marched up and down on a pad
about twenty yards in length; a nude
minstrel marched in front. and drew I'M
earthly music from a kind of mouth
organ. Girls squatting in the dust en-
route clapped their hands and chanted
a chorus. The bridegroom hoped first
on one leg and then on the other, ano
tried to look gorgeously happy; the bride
! kicked her satin skirts out behind, pranc.
| ed along the track as gracefully as a
| lady camel in the mating season; behind
the principal actors in the drama came
regiment of youths and girls, and the
antics they cut were worthy of the oc-
| casion. Now and again some dusky Don
Juan would dig his thumb into the ribs
of a daughter of Ham. The lady would
promptly squeal. and try TO look coy. It
| is not easy to look coy when you have
not got enough clothes on your whole
body to make a patch to cover black
eye, but still they tried it, for the sex
seem to me to be much alike on the in
side. whether they dress in a coat OF
paint or a coat of sealskin.
Not the POut of Poetry.
| BY and by The groom took his bride by
the arm and made an effort to induce
her to leave her maids of honor and
'Nrek' toward the bin which hence
forth was to be her home. The lady
pouted and shook his hand off her arm,
while the maidens laughed and clapped
their hands, dancing in the dust-strewn
sunlight with such high kicking action
as would win fame for any ballet dancer
in Europe. The young men jeered the
groom and melted him to take charge
of his own. He hung down his ebony
head and locked Silly sullen, and the
bride continued to ''pout." Have you ever
seen a savage niger wench pout, my
masters? Nenly it is a sight worth
travelling far to see. First of all she
wraps her mouth in a shipper and her
lips look like a fold i'm a badly doubled
blanket, Then slowly she draws the cor
ners toward the centre, just as the uni
verse will be crumpled up on the day
of judgment. 1t is beautiful sight, the
mouth which when she smiled looked
| like a sword wound on the flank of a
horse, now when the ''pout" is complete
looks like crumpled concertina- The
groom again timidly advanced his hand
toward the satin-covered arm of his
spouse and the 'pout become more pro-
nounced than ever.
The white of one eye was slyly turned
| towards the bridesmaids the other rolled
with infinite subtlety in the direction OF
him who was to be her lord and master
aud the 'pout" grew larger and larger
until / was constrained to push my way
amid the maids to get look behind tht
| bride for l faRced the back Of her neck
must surely have got somehow into the
| front of her face. When l got to the
| front again the ''pout' was still growing
| the rich red lips in their midnight set
| ting looking like some giant rose ia
| full bloom that an elephants hoof hac
trodden upon. So the show proceeded
! At last one of the bridesmaids steppej
! from amid her sisters and playfuly push
ed the bride in the direction of her home
Then the "pout" gave way to smile
the white teeth cleaning in the gap lik,
tombstones in a Highland churchyard.
had been a biz scared of her "pout," but
when she smiled / looked round anxiouslS