The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, February 10, 1901, Page 7

THE RUNDAY CALL. GENERAL / DECAY OF TRFE J »,dy\):/\:/ e for the prize against In- York City. This of the Abe- garded by specimen of S figure. the pot jew of the athlete n lacks flesh and muscle, as he and weighs but bone American ave rfect feet two inches t i he has h se is all the p: wer and en- ace Is famous. demand 4 an is =aid, the yrice for posing paid to any male d figure are familiar s who see the illustrations in woek papers. E W De Conta Smith and Frederic are among the well-known draw from him. Tahamont on Indian dress and orna- rtation. His wife, who is like him- self & full-blood of the Abenakis, also poses. The Abenakis, formerly residents Maine, bave moved to St Francis, ada, where they are prosperous and r whi good citizens. In the Abenaki tongue Tahamos: significs “The ilme of corn srinding ™ Mrs. > right her Rowser ; ebove the wals “I forget wha: medical te that's action of ex I may rm at it amounts to heart, combined br. cf the with gnt It a there was a he advised ‘immediate and ous exercisa—somet and joined a bowling « I'd drop i= this evening and roll b. 1f 1t wasu't 2 case of life = you kr g “I see. 'nder the circumstances won’t raize a row about my béing t- for the evening “No you have decay of the muscular vou must see to it at once. “That's what the doctor said. You peecn't sit up for me.” “No?" “It may be = little late, you see. If I find my muscles limbering up I shall keep right at it. Just go right to bed at the time and don’t worry about my con- 1 think I have taken it in time and AE HE TOOK A SAORT RUN AND LET HER GO0, will come out all right.” It was true that 2 pain under his shoul- der blade had sent Mr. Bowser to a qus doctor, and that he had b ercise more and eat ) RIiB ck : told to ex- ss. He had imagined JOINS A BROWILING QUB AND TAKES AIS FIRST LESSON he~d that he must carry tha victorioud ball with him to show Mrs. Bowser, and warmry welcomed, and was told tnac .he an first thing in order was to take a dr 1t came out soon after he had swa his glass that he was attacked with decay ow it, he wi was awakened by a 1 her haif to keath. about he seemed inclined tu be crusty abow permitted to have his own way He departed with his coat and vest on ena arm and the ball under the other, and 1t or hour later the slee ng Mrs. Bows racket which scared me one was moving and there were on the floor by ow. of the muscular system, and by advice he hiccoughing and chuckling and gurgzling. took another, The twenty men at the She threw on her wrapver and. descend- club that evening were all thoughtful, Ing. found Mr. Bowser had lighted the i-hearted men, and when Mr. Bowser =as and was just about to begia bowiing. got his coat and vest off and his suspend- e was hatless, contless restless, and ers tied around his walst and was re: he for howling, they suggested that he ag weaving about on his legs. Vh ¥ »* sihe demand- a little something to drink to take stiffness out of his shoulders. When tall’” Le thickly rolied his first ball it jumped out of the jied 1t her blankly. alley and knocked a coiored boy Into the ow, zen, everybo atacd ashide midd.e of next week and then crashed while I knocker down more'n a million throughk a window, and some enthuslastic pins!” individual suggested cocktails. His. sec- ~ He stood fn’ tha front windew and sent on ned bn the alley and jyumped the bail rolilng and leaping and bounding over the pine end knocked the side of the down the parlor after tha cat. creating a use out, and that incident created thirst nofse that woke.up pesple across the v more drink street, and ther. with a happy expression Mr. Bowser was limberer on his legs and ©n hig face, he sank down on the fioor and ceeing twenty-four pins and three or four MUrmured: : alleys when he made ready to roll his “Mishus Bowser, T'll roll you f'r er third ball. He meant to make it a win- drinks, I will. Shay. you orter shee shome He got a firm grip and swung it ts of er shots 1 made to-night. Knocked and fro, a then took a sho: run api down shix drinks and more'n a million et her go. The action caused him to it pins. Shay, now, zhat doctor was right— down on the waxy planks.with a jar that health back—got er life back—whocpee f'r shoek his teeth in their sockets, and he neard shouts of excitement and enthusi- asm as the. ball knocked down four pins and a vost and followed 'the first out of the window. When they had assisted Mr. Bowser to his feet and all had taken a about all the rest. After getting out of drink over His miraculous bowling, the the house he let no grass grow under his thought sudden!y struck him that he feet before reaching the ciub. He was ought to go home. He also got it into his Tahamont, a Brave of the Abenaki me! Where's er cat? Where's silshus Bowser? Where's ole man Bow~bow—"" And‘he slept and snored. —_——— Occasionally secret service information comes from an unexpected source, as was the case last year with a New York bank. The president of this institutton. who is something of a crusty customer, received a call one morning from a gentleman whose principal claim to distinction rested on a preternaturally large and clean- shaven jaw overhanging a highly splendent diamond of indubitable worth. The caller proceeded at once to business, introducing himself as being ‘“‘the ins man with Square Mike Smith” (zaming a re- de star in the sambling ho firma- ment) “You think you don't want to kmow me.” he contin ng a fat finger at s s plexus, ou onte your d out his dis- his em- ¥ ched his imperturbably v night, that roiling the bank's green “He's n cash e place eve shiners acr r money. I sup- s why you are here giving body wan neered “He's been w 1 that the banker. broke What “Copper it, 1 say hat bet ess vou want to g0 port quiet! ar that? You're twisted. He We're. getting said ain't getting money. his bank's.” me to believe that you is or the Do v came down here— I'm bu with sudden of those u expect the visitor interrupted, vigor. “I know you. You're lead that think they I ain’t got the time to hear the Your cash- gh at our place. That's lows in the bank's one know it all you tell it. H fer blows in his all right. Then he dough for a few thou’. and what hap- get onto him and you beef. don’t you? And then it all gets into the papers and the closing us for cops has to make a play & couple of weeks right 1 the rush of the season. We W hat cashier reeled in. He got to his Zeet. That Take him away, see? Take him away And with a sudden violent gesture that would have knc off the tip of the banker's chin mptuous Insect had happened to be there the visitor rned and leaving the banker ing and ess.—§. H. Adams in Ainslee’s. went oo oo el etk @ Peculiarities of Dialect in the Koosier State. ARTICULARLY marked is the dis- simllarity between the folk s of the northern part of ths and that of the soutlern par settlers in the north cams mainly from New England, Pennsyivenia, New York and Northern Ohto, «nd In co there exists in the north a twang. Those in the southern par: mainly from Virginia, Mary ern Ohio, the Carolinas Tennessce, and the shows Bouthern influence, containing some points of similarity to the negro and the “‘poor the white' or ‘“cracker” dialect, The expression “right smart,” as in the sentence, “‘He has a right smart chance of corn,” is an illustration of the dissim- flarity. The expression is used generally in Central and Southern Indiana. but is rarely met with farther porth. It is worth noticing that’ while “right,” in the sense of “very' is so much used in the South as ta be considered by some writers a Bouthern provincialism, it is as well de- scended as most Bnghsh words. The pealms have “I myself will wake right earl. ; Not only has folk speech never been uniform throughout Indiana, but exact geographical bounds cannot be given to the Hoosler dialect. It does not end with States lines, but extends beyond them into Kentucky, Ohlo, Michigan and Illinois, gradually ‘becoming modified and shading SR into other didlects. Much the same may be said in regard to the other dia- lects extending into Indiana. Doubtless, also, in many States farther West there are ' colonies of transplanted FHoosiers where the dialect is spoken in almost its criginal purity, while all over the United States expressions of Hoosler birth have become domiciled. The fact is, it has always been true, and never more so than in these days of rapid communication and shifting population, that in nothing is the student of folk speech o liable to error as in-assigning seograph!cnl limits to a word or phrase. ur local dialects, from which we gzet many of our folk words and phrases, are pretty thoroughly mixed. For example, take.the famillar word “tote,” a word which we know did not ariginate in Indiana, vet which has be- come a part of Hoosler dialect. Most per- eons, if questioned as to the origin and range of this word, would doubtless con- nect it with the negro. and certain it is that the negro—especially the negro in dialect stories—u. the word freely. As a matter of fact, however, the word was in use in Virginia at least as early as 1677, when thera. were four times more white bond servants than there were negroes. There are old, abandoned post roads in Maine, where negroes were unknown, that went by the name of “tote roads,” aad, furthermore, the word *“tote’ was a com- mon one in England during the seven- teenth century. The canclusion must, therefore, be that “tote” is not of African origin, nor is its use confined to localities where negroes are found. “Cantankerous” is another word often met with in Hoosier dialect, but by no means confined to the narrow bounds of our State. Thackeray speaks of a “can- tankerous humor ' Charles Egbert Crad- dock (Miss Murfree). in her story, “Tho Casting Vote,” puts into the mouth of the Coroner the sentence, ‘‘He’s ez hardhead- ed, an’ tyrannical, an’ perverse, an' can- tankerous a critter ez ever lived.” Even Chaucer makes use the word ‘‘con- teke.” from which ‘cantankerous” is probably derived. So wide, indeed, is the geographical dis- tribution of most folk words and phrases that, while taking the United States over, one can collect great numbers of coilo- quialisms, it is extremely difficult to find words or phrases that are confined to a single -dialect. The fact is, the mixing process has been so effective that most provincialisms have ceased to be provin- clal. The writers of this article are com- pelled to confess, and they take no shame to themselves for so doing, that in spite of considerable gearch they have been un- able to find a sitgle provincialism which they would be willing to assert is at pres- ent_confined to Indfana alone. “Wants out” and ‘“‘wants in, ‘such sentences as “The dog wants out”—that s, “wants to go out”’—have been pointed out as peculiar to our State. Possibly so, but the elision occurs in othef phras e. g.. “They let me in for a nickel.” ** hired man wants off,” and I8 so simple and useful that its use is probably wide- spread. A native of Massachusetits once asked one of the writers about the word ‘‘or- nary,” saying he had never heard it out- side of Hoosierdom. The word is a simple and natural variation of ‘“ordinary.,” through the short pronunciation of “ord’- nary,” and its present meaning has be- come, through successive steps, mean, low down. Its use is by confined to Indiara. The word “mosey common, no means frequently heard in such expressions s, “He moseyed off down the crick,” has the Hoosier st but Is met with elsewher arles which confine it TOT as regards its me: b them it means to move off quickly out, to light out, to hustle. But tra! Indiana. at least. it means to along. to walk slowly alons. as no particular destination in view, and 1s rarely or never used in the sense given by the dictionaries. Most accounts of I°s derivation are equally erroneous. One au thor tells a story of a defaulting Postma: ter named Moses, who fert between two days, and he abstrdly connects the word to get in Ce: unt. it with with the name and manner of flight. The word possibly comes from tha Spanish imperative verh. “vamos,” go: L e.. it is a variation of “vameose.” which is %0 de- rived, and which has some of the mean- ings ascribed to “raosey. Probably some, if not all, pf the follow- ing words and phrases are more frequent- 1y used in Indiana than elsewhere: “Heap sight.” as in “more ground by a heap li%ht “jubetous,” as in “I felt mighty Juberous about crossin’ the river”; boree,” in the “flabbergasted.” ley.” 1. e.. awkwa “T ‘remember that “rattled going to the whangdoodle to-night? But the individuality of a dialeet is, In fact, far more a result of accent qr of pronunciation than of the possession of expressions pecuiiar to itself. As has just been pointeq out. Indiana has but few provincialisms that are peculiarly her own. But where else than in Indiana would one hear the long-drawn flatn of th in.such words as ‘‘sassers,” “saft ‘Passnip etc.? Or where else would one hear such a sentence as “I swum straight acrost the crick, an’ kept a-goin' right ahead through the past an’ clim plum to the top of van . over vander. an’ wuz considerable tired like comin’ down t'other side, but at last got to that air read.” pronounced as a citizen of “Hoopole Kyounty, Injeanny,” would have pronounced it forty years ago? ‘Perh-pn the most marked characteris- tic of incorrect as compared with correct spe¢ch consists in the abhreviation or con- tortion of words. In Indiana it is common to hear “fur” used for far, ‘“‘further” for quare” for queer, drap” for ddmp. farther, “kin “puty” for . or saw, for share pr Join, s who have lived in the rural dis- triets of the State will recognize the fol- Jowing very common expressions; “‘All« git-out,” as in “It's a-rainin’ to beat all. git-out ‘passel,” as in ‘“They're } “hump your stumps, ole woman, and git passel of fools; “Hump your stump: me up a cake Em' © (sald to be common in_Pennsy! finteky"— L e, finical; “slather. in “He_ just slathers away and says anything:” “She- nanigan,” to cheat; “thing-a-majig,” as in “What kind of a thing-a-mjig have you got therea™ An examination words and vhrases of some the follk that have been cur- rent in Indiana will reveal many things of historical interest. Think, for example, of the testimony of former economic con- ditions contained in the expression “sharp bit.”” In the early days there was but lt- tle or no change in the country. nor was it convenient for traders coming from New Orieans and elsewhere to bring with them any other than the larger coins. In order to make smaller change the settlers cut.these coins Into pieces, and thess pieces were known as The demand for words and expressions to relieve overwrought feeling seems to be felt by all humanity—Hoosler human- ity as well as otherwise The biood of the Hoosier is less easily heated than that of his neighbor across the Ohio. Yet, if one is to judge from the number of swear words and exclamations in use in our State i* would seem that even we accasionally feel their need. Of the following list of exclamatory expres- sions all are considered in good form om certain ogcasions b birs. scrimminy “whiz, a'mighty,” * geo oo (formed on Jerusalem “dad zooks ‘dad “great scott N-fired.” “T'1l be 4" or “dargon’d” (Barry uses a gimilar term, “dagonet,” in “Sentimental Tommy'"). “for the land's sake,” goodnes: h, my,