The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1910-01-20

the idea of real negro character I'M
narsonation came that r three years
tbav gave I'D their clog dancing and
white faced app arances in the varl-
ety houses in which they were becom-
ing favorably known even 80 years ago
and trave ed with circuses devotlns
their routes entirely to the smaller
southern towns that they might get as
closely in touch with the country ne
gro as possible, and that they became
seIlers Of tickets for the circus con-
certs in order to be less confined to
the routine of the circus life and
more free to follow up this trend OF
study.
They incidentally made money fast
in this new venture, for as it was ex-
pressed in those days: Mcintyre ana
Heath could jes' charm the n1ggers
into the concert The colored folk
came to them because those two had
gone out to make friends everywhere
/ ulation. They were the first to arrive
at the circus grounds and as the gilt
tering parade passed before the shin
ing ewes of the dusky lines of sight
seekers. it was Mcintyre and Heath
who stood in the midst of them and
| talked and listened. Many a stolen
| chicken has been cooked for these
"wite mans who talked jes' lax coon"
| in friendly fashion.
| MCINTYRE had been a dancing pro-
| dizzy at ten years of age, and both he
| and Heath took to the new steps with
energy Night after night did they
dance on the ST. Louis and Memphis
| levees in friendly contact with their
darkey models.
! When they returned 10 the theater
stage it was with a burnt cork cover
! ing and the earnest intent to really
initiate the individuality and idiosyn-
crasies of the rollicking darkey. They
1
| buck, and wing dancing in the north
when they appeared at Tony Pastors
old New York theater in 1879, Incl
dentally speaking the negro dialects,
| and it took the city by storm and
laid a solid foundation for their pres
| emit popularity. Hitherto such come
dams of the burnt cork as Billy Birch,
Wambold and Backus had danced
nothing but clogs and reels with no
real effort to reproduce the 'colored
brothers. twang which is more strange
as one remembers that for the previous
20 years this brother had been a
matter of much interest and consider
able differences of opinion between
sections of this country. They devel-
oped different talking sketches about
this time, each following out some
trait of negro character. 1t was Nc
Intyre and Heath who gave informa :
: ton to the New York Association of
chronological Science on which much
of the associations data abs been
founded. they were able to prove there
are twelve distinct negro dialects
spoken in America, and to correctly
Indicate from what influences each
arose Mr.. Mcintyre has spoken in
each of these variations according to
the different sections of the south in
which he has played. though Mr..
Heath has adhered closely to that of
the Alabama section. Generally in
the northern cities Mr.. Mcintyre
speaks the Georgian form of speach.
AS their facility of imitation in
creased so did they elaborate upon
their playlet until the characterize
tons took largely the place of their
dancing 1t is a remarkable fact and
one we'll known to their fellow players
that Mcintyre and Heath have hardly
ever been known to give two success
sive performances in which their forms
of experience We're carried out in quite
the same way, and yet both these ac-
tors take their form of laugh making
so seriously that neither would step
out of the legitimate picture of his
character to arouse momentary
laugh.
For more than fifteen years they arc
seen on the vaudeville stage in a play
known as 1.-The Georgia Minstrels," a
classic so complete that each new sue
cessor for it was refused and the de-
mand was always made for the old and
we'll known but never worn work. The
incidents of this epic of hard luck
days was founded on facts in the
actual history of Mcintyre and Heath.
While Mcintyre was not actually
dragged from his livery stable where
every horse was his friend, to go and
be a great musician and play the
| bass drum both had left cOmfOrta BILE