Iowa state bystander. [volume] (Des Moines, Iowa) 1894-1916, 1911-12-29

r. .
III the direction OF home.
Further on we passed some Of the
iarse estates which are owned gen.
etaiy by some Of the wealthy landed
pioprietors in the city. The CORE.
spending region outside OF Palermo is
given up to orange and lemon groves
out around Catania all the large es.
.a.es apparently are devoted to the
culture Of the vine.
A large vineyard in the autumn and
at the time Of the grape harvest pre-.
sents one of the most interesting
sights ! have ever seen. The grapes,
10 thick. tempting clusters, hang so
neavy on the low vines that It seems
tney must fall to the ground OF their
own weight Meanwhile, troops of
Dare-footed girls. with deep baskets,
rapidly strip the vines of their fruit,
pillng the clusters in baskets. When
all the baskets are full, they lift them
10 their heads or shoulders and, form
ing IN line march slowly in sort Of
| iestal procession in the direction Of
the wine press.
The press, which was large,
round, shallow tublike vat, found
nigh up under the roof in the rough
VINE house. In this vat four or five
men, with their trousers rolled up
above their knees and their shoes and
stockings on, were trotting about in a
circle. and, soging as they went,
tramping the grapes under their feet.
Through. an open space or door at
the back, l caught glimpse now and
then of the procession Of girls and
men as they mounted the little stairs
at the back of the wine house to pour
fresh grapes into the press. In the
light that came In through this open
ing. also, the figures of the men
trampling the grapes. their legs
stained with wine, stood out clear and
distinct. At the same time. the
fumes, which arose from the grapes,
filed the wine house so that the air,
1t almost seemed, was red with their
odor. 1t Is said that the men who
work in the wine press, not lnfre-
quently. become intoxicated from
merely breathing the air saturated
with this fermenting grape juice
AS l watched these men and
lnstened to the quaint and melancholy
little song they sang. while the red
wine gushed out from under their
tramplfng feet, l was reminded Of
the songs the slaves sang at those
times. 81
! was reminded OF it the more as
noticed the way in which the leader
In the Sly g bowed his head and
pressed Ls temples, just as l have
seen 1t done before by the one who
led the singing at the corn huskings.
! recall that as boy, the way this
leader or chorister bowed his head
and pressed his hands against his
temples made deep impression.
s All this was strangely interesting
and even thrilling to me, the more SO.
perhaps because 1t seemed somehow
as II / had seen or known all this
somewhere before. Nevertheless after
watching these men, stained with
wine and sweat crushing the grapes
under shoed and stockinged feet, I
had even less desire to drink wine
than ever before 1t ..yould not have
been 30 bad. perhaps, II the men had
not worn their socks.
One thing that impressed me In all
that saw was the secondary and al
mncf ~ onfo1 ror% <ho ryovooo <ool,
in the work. They worked directly
under an overseer who directed all
their Observation-Disclosures them ap-
parently with a sharp switch which
he carried in his hand. There was
no laughter or singing and apparent
~ little freedom among the women.
who moved slowly. silently with the
weary and monotonous precision In
their work I have frequently noted in
gang labor. They had little II any
share In the kind Of pleasurable ex.
element which helped to tighten the
work of the men.
Once or twice every year, at the
time OF the grape and olive harvests.
the girls and women come down from
their mountain villages % share with
the men in the work of the field. For
these two brief periods. as under
stand 1t. the women of each one OF
these little country. villages, will be
organized into a gang, just as is
true of the wandering harvesters in
Austria and Hungary. l had seen. on
the Sunday r, arrived in Catania.
crowds of these women trooping, arm
and arm, through the streets of the
city. A party Of them had, in fact.
encanped on the pavement in the
little open square at the southern
gate Of the city. They were there
nearly all day and suppose all night.
also. I was interested to observe the
patience with which they sat for
hours on the curb or steps. with their
heads on their bundles, waiting until
the negotiations for hiring them were
finished.
z This brief period Of harvest time is
almost the only opportunity that the
majority Of these country women have
to get acquainted with the outside
world. For the remainder Of the year
IT seems. they are rarely allowed to
venture beyond the limits OF the
street or village In which they live.
4 In the course Of my Journey across
the island, | had seen, high up in the
mountains some Of these inaccessible
little nests from which, perhaps these
girls had come In one or two cases.
and especially at the time l visited
the sulphur mines. ] had an oppor.
tunity. to see something Of the life Of
these mountain villages. Now that i