Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1907-04-28


glnia counties that flank the Blue
Ridge OH the enst and climb the
mountain shoulders until they look
down over the summit in tho Shenun-
doah valley the daily life Of the hill
SGweller is hedged IN with countlG -
Bigns and omens, all portcn,s OF evil,
Gays n Washington letter 10 the New
York Herald Through them le
wallis gingerly, fearful lest, In pro-
pitiating one genins Of disuster, he
! offend against another.
n religious and church going folk
are these-on Sunday. The rest OF
the week they devote TO keeping out
q of the clutches Of bad luck" the
modern form Of that dlsagreenble and
uncomfortable old god of the Zldon-
ians, Baal, who visited them with
dire and original punislrments when
he didn't get his regular allowance
or brolled baby They don't broil ba-
& bies, those luttertlay worshipers, hut
they Keep themselves in perpetual
hot water.
"iiance,' said sturdy old farmer
OF Bib CobGled Mountain TO his son.
ne the boy started out on Il juno
morning to hoe the weed,choked corn.
"ther moons in them secon' quarter
VI wi Snols gill uoMu llleHl
4 weedsll grow worser'n ever. Better
wait'll next week.
Sides. | want yer 10 go for ther
+ doctor Yer mas nilln' this mawnin'
ynn' FER burned whippi-wili set on Their
horse bocl, an hollered In night tel
clodded him off Yer know what
that means!
Whippoorwills, that the ignorant
. rt,nu h ,nl, To-,
early and sudden death. For years
they had made that block a rendez.
vous for their nightly chorals, while
the family remained healthy ms host
lers. But II shook not the old mans
belief In the faith Of his fathers. The
doctor was hnrredly fetched. only to
find ma recovered and "as peart ms
cricket"
Cows and saseafras.
Don't yer put that sassafras wood
iii Their kitchen fire!" cried tho old
Z Indy TO her helping hand one day. n
twelve year old girl, rs yet unlenrned
in the lore of the hills. Every single
COW OH Their place'll 90 dry eff you
do. Con put 1t In pas fire"
A Listening city man Wondered at
this distinction
Law, chile" sagely explained the
old lady. ITS ies puttii sassafns
in Their kitchen firo What makes COWS
go dry: 1t don't make III diffunce In
4 no other fire. Why. when WIZ er
gal over'n Rappahannouk" -ani wise
saws and ancient instances were CO.
( plously cited to sustain Tho theory of
i the INTERPRETATION or sassafras Kitchen
fire and COW.
5 Sometimes they hit It. One day
n ntt
else in wood chopping, strolled
through the house with axe a.shonl.
dor.
"Glt outer hyuh 18th that" ronred
the old man in pallid terror. Don't
yer know It's ther wors' luck In the
\ worl' ter tote or axe thro' er house?
What yer thiniin' bout, anyhow"
An hour later as the city man APP
preached the dwelling. his ears were
s. flooded with n torrent of high treble
recriminations mingled with deep
flow OF apologies They gushed from
door and window, The city man BE.
took hiniself hack to the placid for,
est where he aboded until the gusty
pa Niagara had subsidized. AS he emery
ed the old man met him.
II knowed yer'd make trouble 18th
that axe" lie said accuslngly "Yer
4 hadn't got fer ez ther barn To- Their
old oman foun' err ieg or moonshine
hid under Their bed. an I'd done swore
off las Christmas fer er year. Let
this be er lesson ter yer, m son. an
dom never tore er axe thro.er house
"a no mo-.
The city man began to believe there
WAS something in It,
Peacocks VS.. Wealth.
"Peacocks won't stay 18th u.s." ex-
plained the old lady when the city
( man suggested them rs an ornament
sb to the yelvety blue grass lawn "They
Z won't stay 18th po' folks.
J We used ter have er beautiful pair
OF 'em. They stayed here fer years
tel We los that lawsuit 18th Their Cy-
arters an got po. Their very newt
e night them peacocks went down Their
2 Tountn, pas Dorse Heflin's place an
ole man Coosers who's both no
folks, an didn't stop tel they got
plum ter Colonel Walters. that owns
bout half o. Warren county.
"They'ye been thar ever sence, an
they'll stay thar tel Their Walters
gifts po am then they'll move on
No, faint 10 use ter git peacocks
IS hyah."
One sign the sexes split upon. The
men hold 1t is worse to drink whis.
y. key on the waxing. the women on
the waning moon. They agree. how.
ever, that n given and sufficient
amount will make man twice as
drunk and twice as long when the
moon is on the wane so 1t is really
n question for dialecticians and pro.
hibitionists.
Cuttings and combihgs from the
hair must be carefully collected and
q burned in the kitchen fire that nltar