The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1908-09-11
PEASANTS INITIATE
KINGS AND QUEENS
Low Germans Hold Festivals
Each Year-They Imi-
tate Royalty.

Berlin, Special: Royalty in Europe
IS not confined to a few crowned heads.
1t is also to be seen In the humblest
subjects. In h coarse clad, coarse
fed, ignorant, downtrodden peasant
there s1nolders a spark of the imperial
fire. which at times bursts forth into
flame. Yet these u%pheavals Of his ma
ture are not revolutionary. He does not
then take up arms against the govern
ment. His insurrection IL entirely
peaceful. He simply dons a suit of
fine clothes n struts about like some
peacock Just let out Of a coop. And
30 throughout Europe there have been
peasant festivals from time immemorial
when for one day in the year the labor
er believes himself a king.
An Illustration of this regal side OF
the European peasant. and one that has
recently become especially magnificent,
Is the Trachtenfest Of the Plattdeutsch,
or low Germans. Each year 1t is held
at Scheessel, Prussia. and there the ma
tlves OF the country round congregats
~potentate. They come dressed in the
gala apparel which is peculiar to their
communities, N some OF them
are attired in ever greater splendor
tina may be seen at the palaces of GER
tain all the year .monarchs. Nearly
all OF the costumes are. family heir
looms, which have been handed down
from parent to child. and for the rea-
son that they are enriched each year
by a little more velvet or gold lace they
represent the wealth of long genera
lions. Some are worth more than the
houses In which there owners live. Just
as their hats and coats have descended
from ancestral sources, so the songs
and dances and all the other features
OF this great peasant pageant hail from
times remote.
Like Medieval Times.
Scheessel is half way between Ham
burg and Bremen, and the American
rravele who lands at either port can
thus pass from modern to medieval
times by only an hours railroad ride.
Should he arrive early on the morning
OF the fete day he would first see the
t%riulnphal procession. At the Dun Of
a trumpet these one day kings" with
their queens and ''princesses," parade
the main street in a long procession,
each community characterized by a diff
ferent costume. and Zach believing that
Its own is the most beautiful. There is
little attempt to adorn the Carriages
of state" for their occupants feel that
nothing else should detract from their
personal glory. They believe that
their costumes are the chief attraction
n so it matters not that they ride in
cumbrous farm wagons. used on other
days for hay or cabbages, and touched
up for the occasion With Il little paint
vi III ihOol3 vi otlIllIIlS. Liz uI6!llly
of the paradcrs, however. suffers not
a little from the simplicity Of their
e%quipages. for as the wagons have no
springs, the kings" queens and
"prlncesses" frequently receive such
jolts that they have to cluch one an
other to save themselves from falling.
Almost every wagon brings to view
a different variety of dress. The wom-
en- of Scheessel. for instance, are at
tired In great white aprons. the servile
aspect Of which contrasts rather ludic-
rously with their headdress Of artificial
flowers and fruits. built up in the shape
of q tiara.
Girls GaiIy Decked Out.
Around their waists are tied gorgeous
bbons Of v%ariegated colors. In an
other wagon girls from Nierland wear
hats which look much like those their
American sisters don when they are
graduated at college. They are not
boards, and are more nearly / k in
verified soup plates. Their outlandish
appearance is still further increased by
two huge bows which protrude on
either side from their back hair. IL
which appear at a little distance like
wagons ride "maedchen" from Elsdorf
and Eelflngen, Leer, Gottrum and
rApensee, and. most gorgeous Of all, the
Bueckerburger lasses. Some Of the
young women of Bueckerburg deck
themselves out in dresses estimated to
cost $3.50 apiece. So fantastic is the
medley Of colors to be seen in a sim
edges of their aprons are elaborate
Of laces, braids. tufts, fringes, lowers
and Jewels. thai it Dol more like the
sacred robe Of some Oriental priest
than the bridal dress of a simple peas
ant girl, for it happens that a great
many Plattdeutsche maidens postpone
their weddings 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 in
itiatlon of a certain American secret
society. On their breasts they wear a
shield the size CT a saucer, and the
gle costume. SO eXtraVagant is the use
with neerdlework, over which hundreds
of lands have toiled. Yet not all Of
the paraders are gay. Some of the
OF communicates, with white Jokes and
white caps, and from Sitten comes a
delegation which walks behind a wagon
with heads bowed and in weeds OF
mourning.
Msn Appear Very Plain.
IN comparison Win the women the
men appear extremely plain. Their
ostentation is limited chiefly tn buttons,
with which some of them fairly cover
themselves, and which vary in size
from q pea to a butter dish. All the
kings appear peculiarly stiff and
awkward in their fine clothes, and even
those who are Wont to wear their cos
tunes now and then on a Sunday, in
stead of slowing them away for tho
rest OF the year, seem to feel unco1n-
Portable restraint. The music heard
when the procession has ended and the
various couples are ~"treading the
mazes Of the dance would make one
think that these people are akin to the
Scotch Highlanders. One dance is es-
! pecially like the Highland fling; and,
as a matter of fact, it is called the
'Klapper Scottish" The celebration
generally ends with tableaus showing
the peasants in the dairy, the harvest
field or among the bee hives.
OF recent years the Trachtenfest has
, grown in Importance, drawing peasants
to Scheessel each year from a much
greater area, and n far greater number
of visitors also. The emperor, too, has
taken a special interest in the festival,
and the empress offers each year a
prize to the community which revives
! most faithfully the customs, songs and
i dances of it's ancestors.