The Union times. [volume] (Union, S.C.) 1894-1918, 1905-12-29

d 8 - 80 - a + s !
q on SO 0UTn a oLfNX.
lar shake down, or country
dance There was genefaily 3 s
fiddler in the neighbo sod v36
was always short on strings and
tunes, but he made things lively.
The Christmas dinners and
suppers consisted of turkeys,
chickens, sausage, spare ribs
and game. Cakes and pies were
abundant and the people In that.
day carried good appetites around,
with them. Canned goods and:
all sorts of store eatab bles Wefe
wanting. Another amusement
for the men was SHOOTING
matches. There were no civ
pigeons then and breech-loaders
were unknown. Even the term
calibre" was never used and if
1T had been no one would have
known the meaning. The bore
of rifle was designated by the
number of bullets to the p6unl
of lead. The prize at these.
matches was generally a beer
turkey or money. The sh06tEsS6
match was generally at a sst0fE
and many of the shooters were
more than half shot, before
the close of the day. g
1t is said that at one of these
Christmas gatherings north of
Gaffney, about 1910, the crowd
got hungry. There was bushel
or two of eggs in the store. A
fire was built out of doors and a
big pot put on and about half a
bushel of eggs emptied into it.
They were boiled thoroughly and
with the addition of salt they
were devoured. 1t was told Of
one of the men that he ate 40
eggs and drank whisl1ey in pro-
portion and was ready for more
next day.
Liz tnN1AiiOt< SI1ISio mAS.
The nearest approach to the
modern celebration of Christmas
before 1910 was on the plants
tions, where there were 20 to
40 negroes or more. The wagons
were hitched up early in Dece5a<
Der, and cotton and -four were
carried to Columbia. AuQnsta i53t
Char on. Sugar. coffee, cheese
Rlackefei, brogahs and red dsree {xzS
ed handkerchiefs were bought,
Christmas morning the negroes
would assemble at the "big
house" and catch all the family
with Christmas gift" The
shoes were then handed out, a
stout pair to each one. The
women received the red bandana
handkerchiefs and the men got a
little tobacco. An extra guam
tity of flour was given out, and
the older women received sugar
and coffee. Frequently these
negroes would bring gifts of
eggs and chickens. They gener-
ally had four days to weeks
holiday. They were allowed un-
usual liberty those days, and
could fiddle and dance as late at
night as they pleased. The ne
gro boys would unite with the
white boys, and when they got
after a rabbit they were sure to
have it. With all the dogs on
the place and all the boys yell
ing, MOLLY Cotton-tail" stood
no chance at all. There was one
thing in favor of the old Christ
mas celebrations. There were
no dark lantern carousals and
debauches. The drinking was
public, and if men played a game
of "seven-up," it was not be-
hind closed doors.
CHRISTMAS ON HORSEBACK.
There was another kind of
amusement in the old days not
confined to Christmas especially.
The long winter evenings invited
young men to rove around.
There were no club rooms or
special meeting places. AS
every one owned a horse and
saddle, they would mount and
ride around the neighborhood,
going from house to house.
Sometimes they would get
pretty full' after riding in the
crisp, cool air an hour or two,
and they would make as much