The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1906-04-04
MONARCHS FOR A DAY
GERMAN PEASANTS WHO PLAY ROY
Al ROLES ONCE A YEAR.
The Picturesque Trachtenfest of the
Plattdeutsch That Is Held Annually
at Scheessel, In Prussia-COstumes
and State Coaches.

at Scheessel, In Prussia-COstumes
and State Coaches.
Royalty in Europe is not confined to
q few crowned heads. 1t is also to be
seen in the humblest of subjects. In
the coarse clad, coarse fed, ignorant,
downtrodden peasant there smolders
spark of the imperial fire which at
times bursts forth into flame. Yet
these upheavalS of his nature are not
revolutionary. He does not then take
up arms against the government. His
instruction is entirely peaceful. He
simply dons suit of fine clothes and
struts about like some peacock just
let out of a coop. And so throughout
Europe there have been peasant festi.
walls from time immemorial when fol
one day in the year the laborer be-
lieves himself a king.
An illustration of this regal side OF
the European peasant. and one that
has become especially magnificent is
the Trachtenfest of the Plattdeutsch
or Low Germans. Each year it is held
at Scheessel, Prussia, and there the
natives of the country round cOngre-
gate as if it were the court of some
potentate. They come dSkssed in the
gala apparel which is peculiar to theil
own communities, and some of then
are attired in even greater splendol
than may be seen at the palaces OF
certain all the year monarchs. Nearly
all the costumes are family heirlOoms,
which have been handed down from
parent to child, and for the reason that
they are enriched each year by little
more velvet or gold lace they repre-
sent the wealth of long generations
Some are worth more than the houses
in which their owners live.
Just as their hats and coats have
descended from ancestral sources, sc
the songs and dances and all the Other
features Of this peasant pageant hal
from times remote Scheessel is half
way between Hamburg and Bremen
and the American traveller who lands
at either port can thus pass from mod
ern to medieval times by only al
hours railroad ride. Should he arrive
early on the morning of the fete day
he would first see the triumphal pro
cessien. At the sound of a trumpet
these one day kings" with theil
queens" and 'princesses, parade the
main street in long procession, each
community characterized by a differ
ent costume and each believing that it,
own is the most beautiful.
There is little attempt to adorn the
carriages Of state" for their occu.
| pants feel that nothing else should de
tract from their own personal glory
They believe that their costumes are
the chief attraction, and so it matters
not that they ride in cumbrous farm
wagons, used on other days for hay
or cabbages and touched up for the Oc
casion with little paint or some loops
Of bunting. The dignity of the parad
ers, however, suffers not little from
the simplicity of their equipages, for
as the wagons have no springs, the
kings" Queens" and "princesses" fire.
quently receive such jolts that they
have to clutch one another to save
themselves from IalllnS.
Almost every wagon brings to view
a different variety Of dress. The wo
men of Scheessel, for instance are at
tired in great white aprons, the servile
aspect Of which contrasts rather ludi
crously with their headdress Of arti.
fetal flowers and fruits, built up in the
shape Of a tiara Around their waists
are tied gorgeous ribbons of variegat
ed colors. In another wagon girls from
Vierland wear hats which look much
like those their American sisters don
when they are graduated at college
They are not quite so fat, however, as
mortarboards and are more nearly like
inverted soup plates. Their outlandish
appearance is still further increased
by two huge bows which prOtrude on
either side from their back hair and
which appear at little distance like
two fans Of windmill. In other wag
GUS ride madchen from Elsdorf and Sell
fngen, Leer, Gottrum and Apensee and,
most gorgeous of all, the Buckerburger
laSSeS.
Some of the young women Of Bucker-
burg deck themselves out in dresses
estimated to cost $3.50 apiece. So fan.
tastic is the medley of colors to be
seen in a single costume, so extrava.
CANT is the use of laces, braids, tufts,
fringes, flowers and jewels, that it
looks more like the sacred robe OF
some oriental priest than the bridal
dress Of simple peasant girl. for it
happens that great many Platt-
deutsch maidens postpone their we'd
dings until just after the Trachtenfest.
SO that they may appear then in the
costumes they are to be married in.
Next year the dress will be worn by
some other bride, and SO on down the
years.
A costume peculiarly grotesque Is
worn by the Stadthagen women, their
headgear much resembling that worn
by the great tormentor" at the initia-
tons of a certain American secret So
ciety On their breasts they wear
shield the size of a saucer, and the
edges of their aprons are elaborate
with needlework, over which hundreds
Of hands have toiled. Yet not all of the
n9r9dnrC GrQ OQV Some Of tho