Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-09-02

ES
/ In colonial times title to land in the Jersey
provinces descended. by the law of primo
| geniture. to the eldest son of the eldest
| son. The pines. then entirely a vast no
| mans land. offered refuge To many of the
| younger sons thus deprived of their patri-
| mony Also came early immigrants, who,
after serving their labor contracts with
their masters, bought from the proprietors
| small parcels of the cheap forest lands. AT
the close of the revolution discharged Brit
ish soldiers found their way to the same
| peaceful shades Added to these were nu-
merous Quaker outCasts-"Free Quakers,
| straCiZad by their meetings because they
| chose to take up arms with the patriots or
! because they contracted marriages contrary
to the tenstS of their strict faith. Another
| nom ldc. gypsy-like element descends from
| the famous Jersey tories, who. subsequent
! to the revolution banded together here as
| forest FIRE ebootcrS and raided the neiShbor-
! Ing farms. Close ntermarrlage between
| cousins. s,erility Of soil. isolation from the
| enlightened and Industrious surroundings
| so ncarabout have left their unmistakable
| marks upen the present race amalgamated
| from these elements.
| The pine hawker is. indeed. law unto
! him..if He rarely moves far from his
| ha bitatiOn-often patterned after the log
cabin of colonial tinles-uness driven forth
| by Il forest FIRE. The conventionalities Of
society bother him not jot. He lives and
tlES IN blessed CONthNJNpNt WITHIN the mar
| row little world in which he mOves-a world
| which. in many cases. extends no farther
! even in his fertile imagination than the vast
| eXp4ust of pines and scrub oak and dwarsed
| cedarS which shelter him from the sun.
The Moon Healer"
| Fifteen miles westward along the trail of
| Leeds devil brings the traveller to the cabin
| of the most Interesting pine hawkar of the
| entire forest region. Six feet four inches
| in his stockings stands this wizard Of the
| woods-Enos Dean. whose white beard and
hair nave not felt the shears IN decades.
He is a hermt-a sort of nomad alleged to
be possessed of healing power that will
Danish any human i'll When the moon is
| young he treats his patients by the Lying
on of hands. but only after nightfall and
| when the reigning luminary of night is
! shining bright upon the faces of the sick.
He Will tell you that he receives his mag
netism from the moon direct. and while eff
| fCCting i cure he lifts his face to that orb.
| mumbling the while weird jargon of
meaningless sounds.
| He is a pronounced mlsogynist. this
moon healer of the woods wherefore he
will not treat a woman unless he be blind
| folded. even then the mere contact of his
| hands with the flesh of the fair sex so
| weakens his curative powers that he must
await the fresh Light of the new moon to
rekindla them. In fact he declares that
| since childhood he has never allowed HIM
| self to feast eyes upon but one woman.
| who flashed suddenly before his vision with
parry of campers passing through his re-
treat some thirteen years ago, whereupon
hs climbed tree and refused to descend
until the fair creature was out of sight.
Prophet Bites Snakes
Enos not only heals by charms. bus Is
possessed of an unfalling power of
prophesy. AS proof of this his neighbors
cite the case of Bob Hurlburt, who one
day eleven years ago happened to pass the
he-mit's isolated cabin. Old Dean beck-
oned to Bob. who came up to the fence.
I've just woke up, Bob. an 1 had a
dream about ye.' said the old man. Don t
We go home acrost the Roarin' crick; If ye
do. suthinu happen to ye.'
Hurlburt laughed and made off toward
the bridge. Ii was In the spring. and Roar
ing creek was swollen to the confines of It's
bed. Bob Hurlburt was never heard OF
more. This vision of his skeptical neigh
boris impending danger old Enos saw dur
ing one OF his maps" His usual nap.
tbs said. lasts four days. during which he
| cannot be aroused
| Once in seven years the hermit prophet
says he bites live black snake through the
back, just to preserve his teeth, and he rec
ommcnds this prophyactic trea tment to all
| of his disciples. He can pick up a black
snake. pine snake adder even a RATHER
| with a dizziness which allows his prey nc
; time to defend itself.
Sell Snakes by the Foot
Further north in the forest 1 found q
| group of children beating the underbrust
with sticks and now and then uttering q
/ shrill note of glee as they lifted a writing
| serpent out of the grass with the aid of 6
leather moose looped at the end of a rod.
KILLED many this morning boys?" l wa.
now gazing into crate of reptlles-black
brown. striped and notified.
Kilt nawthin. Not mutcheei They
wouldn't be worth nawthin dead We gi
. 15 cents a foot fer EN- over to Misery
where they buys snakes and sends EN- Il
Phildelphy. That's what we git fer pine
snakes like these here, and they sell then
to felers what runs shows They lool
, mighty wicked, but there han't no pizen II
EN-. My brother he got bit by big pine
snake an 1t drawcd his blood; but nav
! thin never come OF it. Pop, he ketched q
, pine snake six foot long. Ii was In the
, guinea's nest an was full of guinea eggs
You kin feel 'em in its stumn,ick now
Guess he'll keep EN- there till they melt"
| accepted the invitation to inspec
. Pops" wonderful snake. He said 1t woult
2 net him ninety cents. Were 1t RATHER h
would be three dollars the richer. for a
Misery they paid fifty cents foot 70
that species
D At Mount Misery the center Of the snak
industry. l found the door jam of Pit
/ mans store graduated into feet and inches
Against this scale the live serpents ar,
measured. Those accepted are stored ava!
at this season in a high box covered Will
( wire screening. In winter they are burie,
In boxes beneath the frost Once good
yy,a,.9 % .aI DE-; a. &c S S.pps 49, y