The Huttig news., 1908-02-22

the country, for as one comes near
farmhouse where dance is going on,
instead of one lamp streaming out
like a lighthouse signal, there is the
shine of Nominations from every win
dow. Then the rigs" are seen as
you approach, there may be glimpse
Of two or three mistily deserted forms
on the porches, and then you will
hear the faint squeak of the fiddle. AS
you pass. you may hear the shout Of
the caller" the distant tramp of
flying feet, the echoes and unwritten
inscriptions that tell OF the gayety
within.
The figures called" include not
only all the old ones which have been
handed down from the time of the
log cabin and the timber wolf, but
new ones which the callers" have
figured out and perfected. The two
step, the schottische, the polka, and
the waltz have found scant favor in
real old-fashioned country dances, but
once i'll awhile they are danced, gen.
orally to the scornful comment of
those VINO do not care for that sort Of
thing.
The younger boys like to hang
around where a dance is in progress,
and when the dance is short of men
folk they sometimes get chance to
be pressed into service and learn a
thing or two about the institution. An
awkward, half-grown boy Topping and
foundering through the mazes of
dance is always the signal for a good
deal of laughter on the part of por-
ton of the dancers But if he is sent
into the sets" too often they are
quite likely to tire of his antics To
reel a set off smoothly makes it nee
essary that all of the participants be
possessed of considerable skill; and
your seasoned dancer cannot abide to
be compelled to pull and haul "a
green-horn" here and there in order
to get through with the set" But
that is about the only way the boys
can learn, and if they are at all apt,
and anxious to excel, they soon be-
come acquainted with the simpler fig
ureS.
house fully as much as our neighbors
who gave them" Sometimes | took
my fiddle and spelled" the fiddler for
set or two, my knowledge of the
old-style tunes being a part of my
education, which came in handy just
then. There was never any trouble
whatever at our dances. 1t isn't al
,%,,,r
dance, for sometimes some of the boys
make up their minds to bust up"
dance, just to see how it would feel.
But our neighbors were all strong for
perfect good behavior And in fact,
l think that if any outsiders had
started trouble, at least three of the
boys in our vicinity would have made
it interesting for them. These friends
of ours would undoubtedly have insist
ed on peace, even if they had been
compelled to disable few of the I'M
ruly. They were very strong and &C.
tive, and perfectly willing and anx-
ious to 'sap" any disturber, and as
this was generally known, we always
had a nice, quiet time.
The only financial question connect
ed with the dance is the remunera-
ton of the fiddler. He is the works"
whether he "calls" or not If he
calls" he is just so much more the
centre thing" If he only plays, he is
still indispensable. No simon pure
country fiddler plays by note. He can
say with the rural bard:
my playins only middlin', tunes 1
picked up when boy,
The kind O. sort O fiddlin' the folks
calls corduroy
The Old Fat CAL an 'Rye-Straw,' an
My Sailors On the Sea-
Are the cowtillions l saw on, when
the chico is left to me-"
There is a charge for each 'set," so
much to each boy or man who is Sc
lected to take place in the set"
He pays one of the boys who has got
ten up the dance, and the projectors of
the dance pay the fiddler. Sometimes
there are two folders, one to play a
second" to the other, or as it some
times happens two fiddlers who have
played together for years. and who
play so evenly together that it sounds
like one instrument. Sometimes an
organ is used to accompany or "chord"
with the fiddle; and this accompani-
ment makes splendid contrast.
When an organ is used, however,
there is rarely room in kitchen for
it. But in the halls 1t can be set on
raised platform while the dancing
goes on below the platform.
AS a dance proceeds into the morn
ing hours, the older people generally
trail off, and maybe a couple or two
who live long ways off may follow
suit, but for the most part the devo-
tees stay until long after daylight.
We used to slip away and retire, about
one a. M, while the dance was at its
height, and drift away to unconscious
ness to the thump, thump of the dane
ers' feet, the hardly-heard "calls" Of
the caller" and the reminiscent
shrek of the violin. 1t was something
quite vague and fantastic, this listen
ing to the echoes of dance, with the
MOONLIGHT Derhans streaming in on