Year: 1873

u y
sec yourself as in Il looking glass" A


few handfuls of meal are thrown into


IL while IL is cooking, "to take the sour
out aud clear it," Ms they express ii.


II is then poured into wooden tubs,
and when cold is OF bright yellow
color and solid, and is called Grind
scmalz,n or beef fat. Lard is called


"schwcin schmalZ," that is, swine
fat, and both of these articles
enter largely into their culinary opera
tions. Their stoves are made of brick
and plastered some have an iron top
with one or two holes for kettles, 9TH
ers are so constructed that the fire is
| built on top Of them and the long leg
ged skiliets are placed directly over
the fire, and the smoke which ascends
is utilized in drying the meat which is
hung up in the murky' vault overhead.


Their farming like their cooking is
rather primative. In fact the whole
construction of society is little bit
aboriginal in style. The women seem
to do large proportion of the labor,
working side by side with the men in
the field, foddcring the stock, milking
three times day, carrying such enor-
nous loads of hay on their backs that
they look like walking hay-stacks, be-
sides doing the house worl; and taking
care of the children.


In cutting grail. they use hand
scythe a little larger and much duller
than our hand grass scythc, and hack
the grain olfciose to the ground. Their
acythcs are not gound, hut brought to
an edge under the hammer, and as
often as il becomes impossible to make
il work by the use Of their milestone,
which is not much better than piece
of slate stone, they again draw out the
edge under the hammer, and this
thump, thump, thump you may hear
mingliny with your morning dreams.
Before beginning to cut they make, in
bungling way, double band and
lay it down before them. They press
the cut grain over against the standing
grain and cut space about two and a
half by ten feet, and then rolling the
grain with the left hand, while walking
backwards, they at the same time cut
under it with the right hand, rolling
and cutting until they have u sheaf
about half as large as our American
farmers make them, when they lay it
upon the band and bind it at once.
When shown how to take 4 handful
from u gavel so as to have it
clean, and long enough to bend two
of their sheaves together, thus proving
that double band was useless, and
took too much time, they admitted the
superiority of the work over their own,
but theu why should they change
their customs? Their great grand
fathers, most worthy men, always did
this way, and their grain turned out
well. For shocking the grain, pole
about eight feet long, by two inches in
diameter, is driven into the ground,
and each sheaf transfiXed thereon.
Hay is also stacked around pole, this
being needful precaution against the
strong winds which sometimes prevail.
For bringing the crop down the steep
fields to the barn, 81 eds, or Il combina-
tion of sled and wagon are employed.
Oxen are largely used in farming, as
they can climb in places where horses
would be useless. And then they move
fast enough to suit these slow moving
people, eight of whom, we are assured
by good authority, cut as much grain
in day rs two good farm hands at
home would do with cradle and
rake.


The dress of the men is generally
brecches of soft leather, finished f-om
the knees down with stiff leather; a
whito shirt; green suspenders; an
apron of leather or blue drilling, and
II hat that was once green, around
which is broad green band. The
holiday attire is such a hat in shape,
but newer, and therefore brighter, and
with an upright feather; usually gray
coat faced with green, and often green
stockings that come to the knees. The
women sometimes wear dark straw
hats, but handkerchief is their usual
head-dress. The older women wear
on Sundays black silk handkerchief
on the head; Il black cloth basque; q
black silk apron, and blue or green
skirt, willie the younger women wear
white linen, lopg-slecved and high
ncclSed shirts, with a colored corset
over; blue cotton skirt, and bright
colored handkerchief OH the head. As
/ said, the construction of society is
aboriginal, and the prevalent ideas of
virtue differ from our own.


For unmarried women to have chill
dren is considered no shame, in fact,
one good Frau assures me that they |
think it shame if they don't have
Cnllureil, anu us IL NSuulnS 10 SOile-
what expensive a man and woman
will live together and raise large |
family without losing their social po- |
sition, because large proportion of
their acquaintences are doing the same
way.


''But do not the men leave these wo-
men when they get sick, or old, or the
women desert the men for some one
handsomer or richcr? We asked of
our good old Frau. 30 never"
was the reply. "The men get drunk
and beat the women, or the women
are sick or lazy, but they don't sepa-
rate they marry after all"


And thus, Notwithstanding thou !
sands, yes, even more than one-half Of
the births stand upon the records as
illegitimate, by the subsequent mar
riage of the parents, very many are le- 1