The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1901-09-15
THE SALT LAKE HERALD, SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER IS. 1901

be unfamiliar to a tenderfoot- and he
may be bewildered by the order to
choose pardners for a suVie ann I'M
til he learns that .'suvie ann" is Idaho
for varsouVienne, but the spirit of the
occasion is too much for him 10 keep
his feet still. Under the urging of the
hcSplt3ble bishop he is soon one of the
side gents" of a set, with a good dan
Ger Tor d partner With frequent
swinging yer pardner" and prone
nading ALL" he is soon initiated into the
mysteries of weaving the basket"
caging the bird, and other figures of
emphatic movement.
The One-syed caller out was an adept
at introducing these figures in an in
teresung manner. Ii was nearly mid
night when the fiddler set the feet in
motion with the popular air to which
thousands of soldiers marched away TO
war forty years ago. The lively meas
ure instantly redoubled the efforts OF
] the caller out, VINO interspersed with
I his calls more lively remarks than ever
while his feet, head and winking eve
/ had difficulty in keeping time with the
violin His excitement was intense IS
he led up TO his masterpiece With his
humminS calls of Gents lead ter the
right, balance an swing. n-n-n hurry
up there, Joe. n-n-n now we lead ter.
the right once more, balance an swing
: n-n-n that's right, Maggie. toss him
( around there, n-n-n trot ter the right
once more, until the gents ap-
] I-teACAAT0 tllGiE original position. Wlel
( he broke out into the tune of the violin
with Lead ter the right once more an
! balance an
Swing that girl, that pretty little girl.
That girl you left behind you
h My partner for that number was a
large woman, the mother of two of the
/ young people dancing in the same set.
/ The vigorous manner in which she as
sisted in the last movement left some
/ doubts in my mind as to which did the
/ swinging" The doubts were soon
1 dispelled by the remark of the woman's
| husband: The pretty little girl made
yer heels snap. didn't she?"
Soon after midnight there is an in
PERMISSION for refreshing up" when
the baskets are brought out and the
picnic is spread. Following this. one
or two of the best dancers entertain the
party with step Dances and recita-
tons and songs add to the pleasures
of the intermission hour. After this en-
tertainment the general dancing is re-
sumed and continues until daylight, al
/ which hour the dance usually breaks
up.
The men and boys usually outnumber
| the women and girls 1t accordingly
| happens that there are few wall flow
ers,' the better dancing girls frequent
! ~ participating in every number Of the
night. There are no cards and nc
| uaIiceS are reserved IN advance. AFTER
| each number the women and girls are
| escorted to the seats around three sides
! of the room, after which most of the
| men promptly gather at the Unseate6
| end near the door. As the master OF
ceremonies announces the next num-
Der, the men instantly make a break
for the benches, several of them start
ing in a race for the most attractivt
and best dancers.
Several times during the night comes
the announcement: Choose pardners
for a Mormon dance" For this number
each man has two partners which add:
to the compleXity of the figures and in
creases the merriment of the occasion
Sometimes toward morning the Older
and less enthusiastic younger members
of the party become tired, when variety
is added to the entertainment by two
or three of the best dancing couple;
who engage in a contest of endurance
in an attempt TO dance each othel