The Indianapolis journal., 1903-12-27
The Hoosier as Known in 1880
lie Was Regarded with Respect and Esteem...A
Trib

hair and shirt collar, but does not his in
dustry contribute more to the prosperity of
the State in time OF peace, and might not
mere confidence be placed in his brawny
arm in time of war than in d whole regi-
ment of such men of doubtful gender? A
H0Osier has all the good qualities of
Yankee, without his genius for manufactur-
ing notions
"He is frank, free and generous. of a
noble nature, and his utter unbelief in de-
ceptlOn and chicanery too often make him
the duDe OF the dishonest and the victim
or the vicious. We do love TO see a Hoosier
roll along the levee with the proceeds of
the plunder of his flatboat in his pockets.
1t IS the wages of industry-of labor per
formed at the impulse of his own free Will,
and no lOrdly ecclesiastic or titled layman
I dares claim cent OF Ii. He feels the pride
of his place and would not barter his situ-
alton for the empty popularity, or the en-
viable nCtOriety which Is often the recon-
pensC of the statesman. or of him who en-
barkS on the troubled waters of public life.
He feels that on his return to his home he
Is master, as IL were, of all he surveys.
He can, sitting round the bright and blaz-
Ing wood hre. relate city scenes or adVen-
tures of travel to his credulous neighbors:
and although he may not do il with the
grace Of a Willis, or the fidelity Of an Irv-
ing. he does ii in language understood by
his audience, and which never fails to in
terest. He knows there is no task-master
TO say when he shall work and when rest
himself is sole arbiter in the case. He
knows that he may aid at the log-rolling,
join the apple bee frolic go to the corn
husking' or coon hunt of his neighbors, or
/ indulge in any other amusement or occupa-
ton which his fancy may dictate. To use
an independent, though not very elegant
expression. he knows full well that when
he gets home he may do just as he damn
pieases.
But let us take another view of him on
the leVee. See with what pity he regards
those who are confined 10 the unchanging
monotony of a city life, and observe how
he deSpises uniformity of dress. He has
just donned a new blue dress coat with
silk Innings and lowered gilt buttons. His
new pants look rather short for the pres
ent fashion, but this is easily accounted
for. They were of stocking fit or French
cut at the instep, and thinking they pressed
rather close to be comfortable, he has cur
tailed them of some six inches of their fair
proportions He carries q dozen of new
shirts-some colored and some of white cot
ton or linen, In the hand, but he glOrieS in
still sporting the same unpublished peg boots
and the wooden, round-topped wide-leaf
hat in which he set out from home. The
Hoosler says, or rather he seems to say:
"A life in the woods for me-
and his happy and independent life attests
the wisdom of his choice"
This article Is amusing by its VerbOsity
but IL has some historic value in showing
that as early 1899 the Hoosier a
familiar figure in New Orleans in the per-
son of the Indiana fatboatman as at cer-
tain seasons of the year he sauntered
plunder OF his fiatboat In his pocket. There
was a time when Abraham Lincoln might
nave stood for that picture. The article is
also interesting in showing that in 1889 the
Hoosier commanded respect and the term
was not one of derisiOn. The article con-
talns something OF the same spirit that
appears in these lines from "The Hoosiers S
Nest"
strutting fox who boasts OF knowledge
Acquired at some far Eastern college,
expects TO take US by surprise.
And dazzle our astonished eyes.
he boasts OF learning, skill, and talents
Which, in the scale would Andes balance;
Cuts widening swaths from day day,
And In a month he runs away.
Not thus the honest son of toll
Who settles here to till the soil
And, with intentions Just and good.
acquires an ample livelihood:
he is land not the little-great)
The bone and sinew of the State
The fact that the Journal reprinted the
artlcle from the Picayune in 1899 is further
evidence that the term Hooser was not
considered one of derfsion at that time
fIoDaDly IL never was excent by supersen-
sltlve persons or by those VINO had no prop
er conception of the Hoosier character. At
present no nickname of any other State is
as well Known or as proudly accepted by
lts people as that of the Hoosier State.