The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1912-10-10

To- Fighters and Cowar<i.-Tae
Man With A.ay Relatives Who
Would Fight Was "Ie-Tuwn.
Mere Merely Forts In the Old Day.
Disgrace To lie ChIlfir~~-f.-xa-
liar Dress Of the Early German
fnhabitant>-Iron and steel sca.r~
In Oiden Times.
Correspondence OF The Caucasian
Enterprise.
Bilkinsville. y. G. Sept. so. 1912.
While Germany IL nov one oy the
great nations ov Europe. like Others
hits real greatness began at q much
later period than her ancient history.
For long time Germany wux divided
In such a way. an among 80 many
sovereigns, both native an foreign.
that hit wuz difficult for the world at
large to form correct Idea az 10
the boundaries ov Germany. Faciius
gave US TO understand that Germany
occupied practically one-third oy Eu-
rope, an hiZ claim seems TO hev been
undisputed.
The ancient Germans were noted
for their large stature. red hair an
blue eyes. Although the climate In
cool much ov the years. the ancient
Germans grew up mostly without any
clothin' until they were good-sized
boys an girls an they are said TO
hev known but little about soap an
water, though a change hez probably
come about in that respect. There
wuZ neither master nor slave In Ger
many. awl havin' an equal chance In
society, at first. But az they grew
into maturity portion ov the males
became distinguished on account ov
the superior valor shown by some an
this divided the males into two class
es, the fighter becomin' the master
an the weaklings the servants. The
man ov yalor. especially If he had a
large number ov relatives who could
an would fight. usually stood pretty
high, especially az he grew towards
| old age. Nearly everybody got mar
rfed, an hit wuz considered but little
short ov a disgrace for a married
couple to be childless In Germany In
the early days. At that time the peo-
pie ov Germany were divided into diff
ferent tribes somethin' after the
fashion ov the American Indians. The
uncle on the mothers side regarded
the nephew with az much affection
az If they were hiz sons. The ancient
| Germans were utterly ignorant of the
arts an of agriculture. Tacitus says
they had no towns nor cities In hiz
day. Ptolemy. another historian ov
ancient days, says there were about
ninety towns in hiZ day, but hit liz
believed that they were hardly more
than small settlements surroundin' a
fort, the latter bein' place ov refuge
for the women an children for the
men were engaged in tribal wars
most ov the time. No stones or
bricks were used in buildings I'm that
day in Germany, log cabins bein' the
regular style. The clothin' used by
both sexes wuz a loose mantle. fast
ened either with clasp or by thorns
to hold hit in place. A little later
the richer people wore a garment
girt close showing the shape ov the
body an limbs. In the northern sec
ton ov the country furs were worn.
both sexes dressing alike. But for
the Sunday best" some ov the wo-
a rich purple. Indifferent farmin'
wuz carried on. Az an addition the
men were expert in hunting an trap
ping game, which wuz said TO be
plentiful. Considerable cattle wuz
raised but only for home use. az
there wuz but few markets Iron an
other metals were scarce. In war
fare they used wooden spears with
a steel or iron point. In war the in
fantry used slings an the men could
throw stone a great distance with
sling an their aim wuz good.
Mounted soldiers. usually called cal
vary. carried a shield an spear. But
the horses being hard TO manage.
sort ov a wild species, were not worth
much In battle. Each family or clan
fought separately an women an chill
drsn accompanied the soldiers In
time ov war az a matter ov safety.
The women dressed the wounds ov
the injured an carried food an water
to the men. Most ov the fitin' wux
with the Romans. The Germans
were not trained soldiers like the
Romans an could only win when they
attacked an inferior force. But their
fool-hardy bravery often gave them
victory. But the Germans being un-
drilled an without officers could not
retire nor retreat In an orderly man
ner an were sure to suffer In such
cases on that account In some bat
ties with the well-drilled Romans the
Germans were practically cut to
pieces when forced TO retreat because