Evening star., 1911-08-24
CUSTOMS AND HOME WAYS


coin, Local Celebrity.
INDIAN RESIDENTS cLANN1sH
Romance Of Petit lfenan Lighthouse,
Witch u Located on the
Coast Of Maine.
By WILLIAM n CURTIS.
Special Oorespondence Of The Star and the
Chicago Record Herald.
BREWSTER. Mass, August, IL.
You can get an accurate idea Of the Cape
Cod folks from sally Pratt" McLean's
novel Of that name. The author Is a young
lady In Boston. who came down to a Cape
Cod village to teach school through a
winter, and boarded 'round'-that is.
divided her time as the guest OF the
parents Of her pupils. and in that way
saw the inner life and studied the in
formal habits and home ways OF the
people. After her experience was over
and sho had returned to her home in
Boston her friends persuaded her to put
The stories she told them in writing. and
they were duly published in book form
with the real names Of tho persons and
places. The good people whose homes
and habits were described and whose ia
miliar conversation was repeated were
Mortified and sued the publishers for
libel. A compromise was hnally effected
under which tho first edition was with
drawn from circulation and new edi-
tion published with the names Of people
and places changed. This incident nat
urally was a great advertisement for the
story. It had q tremendous sale from the
start and II still the standard descrip-
ton OF tho Cape Cod folks.
Joseph G. Lincoln, q rhymSter and yarn
spinner. IL the Joaquin Miller and the
one. His character studies are graphic
and accurate and most OF the individuals
and incidents which appear In ICY Whit
takers Place." Capt. Erf" and other of
his books can be promptly identified by
people familiar with the Cape Cod viii
lagos.
His last story. '"The Women Haters."
is almost q true tale. His oracle" de-
scribed in one Of his 'Cape Cod Ballads. :"
Is q well known citizen Of Wellfeet, and
Is very proud Of his distinction.
Some folks reckon more or less before they
speak their mind,
And sometimes calculate or guess. but that
The Lord knows ali tiinss great and small;
He in His wisdom known 1t all,
But Dan1 Hanks comes next"
Favored With Salt Water.
Il would bs worth while for somebody
to mako q glossary Of Cape Cod express
sions. which, as have said. have a very
strong flavor Of salt water and have de-
veloped in the seafaring experience OF
the people, just as the dialects that are
spoken In the west hav the odor Of the
cattle ranch and color OF the mines. Here
on Cape Cod, after the storm Is over, It
looks like fair1n' OF"
A 'lob-scouser'' Is ono who cures mack
eral or salt Goldfish.
What is neither good nor bad is mid
dlin'."
They don't guess or reckon down here.
but "calkilate' that things are so and
SO. They "calkilate to do something CT
those arc his horses he "calkilates they
air."
II wanter know" Is q mild ejaculation
Of surprise.
when q matter looks promisin' there
People who dress according to the pre-
vailing fashion and have refined manners
are ''cityied."
Sugar and cream In coffee or tea are
"trtmmin's."
Sea Captains Wisdom.
An old sea captain. who has picked up
q good deal Of wisdom in his cruises. and
has q quaint way OF expressing 1t, says:
whenever Tn In doubt allus stan to
lee'ard."
A young woman from the city was
1T - t. l~~ n
when the old philosopher inquired:
'sDo you like them cockeley boats?"
''They are very pretty and graceful"
was answered. "and there Is no better
exercise than canoeing"
member) and I have the rheumatise so
bad can't swim; so Jest nachelly I
don't like to have nothin' but thin
piece OF birch bark betwixt me and hell"
Why don't you repent and join the
He thought a minute before speaking
and then answered, ''Waal. my wife has
been teasin' me to for ever SO long.
and I calklate it's about time was at
tending to It."
II you ask one Of the old salts whose
wife is keeping summer boarders what
people down here do to occupy their time
In the long winters he will say:
'@Oh! We just stan and hold the
turn"
This 10 q nautical expression to de-
scribe the action Of a sailor who takes a
turn with q cable around the capstan or
windlass. and then holds the turn un-
til the captain orders him to slack off.
The word ''schoon" is used to describe
the action Of a man. a horse. or any
other animate object. which moves easily
and rapidly, and from It the word
schooner was derived. It Is said that
Q sailor, observing q gwift-running sail
tnG craft, remarked. She's schooner"
and the nanae stuck.
Descended From Fugittves.
Thsre are . good many Irish families
who have lived on the cape for genera
tions, and most Of them are descendants
Of fugittves who came over In '48. There
10 q silent feud between tho Irish and
tho Dagoes Portuguese). without any ap-
parent reason. They will not work to-
gether. and often. when whisky 10 avail
able. the two races clash. The Irishman
always gets the worst OF 1t, for he fights
knife somewhere about his clothes
The village OF Mashpee Is composed al
most exclusively Of Indians. the residue Of
the abOrigines who once owned and in
habited the peninsula Their town Is In
corporated Hike all tho rest OF those on
and have never intermarried to any ex-
tent with their white neighbors. but are
full -dedged citizens, and enjoy ell Of the
rights, privileges and prerogatives Of
other citi1ene OF Massachusetts,. They
send their sons to school and college. and
some Of them have distinguished them
selves In the Baptist ministry, which is
tho prevailing creed among them. And
their only church was built and endowed
by q benevolent Baptist merchant Of