File:The blue-grass region of Kentucky - and other Kentucky articles (1892) (14781102562).jpg

Identifier: bluegrassregiono5460alle (find matches)
Title: The blue-grass region of Kentucky : and other Kentucky articles
Year: 1892 (1890s)
Authors: Allen, James Lane, 1849-1925
Subjects:
Publisher: New York : Harper & Brothers
Contributing Library: Lincoln Financial Foundation Collection
Digitizing Sponsor: The Institute of Museum and Library Services through an Indiana State Library LSTA Grant

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nt—thelog-rolling and the quilting, the social frolic of theharvesting, the merry parties of flax-pullers, and thecorn-husking at nightfall, when the men divided intosides, and the green glass whiskey-bottle, stoppedwith a corn-cob, was filled and refilled and passedfrom mouth to mouth, until out of those lustythroats rose and swelled a rhythmic choral songthat could be heard in the deep woods a mile ormore away: at midnight those who were sober tookhome those who were drunk. But of course noneof these were organized amusements. They arenot instances of taking pleasures sadly, but of at-tempts to do much hard, rough work with gladness.Other occasions, also, which have the semblance ofpopular joys, and which certainly were not passedover without merriment and turbulent, disorderlyfun, were really set apart for the gravest of civic andpolitical reasons: militia musters, stump-speakings,county court day assemblages, and the yearly Julycelebrations. Still other pleasures were of an eco-
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KENTUCKY FAIRS 133 nomic or utilitarian nature. Thus the novel andexciting contests by parties of men at squirrel-shoot-ing looked to the taking of that destructive animalsscalp, to say nothing of the skin ; the hunting ofbeehives in the woods had some regard to the scarc-ity of sugar; and the nut gatherings and wild-grapegatherings by younger folks in the gorgeous autum-nal days were partly in memory of a scant, unvariedlarder, which might profitably draw upon naturesrich and salutary hoard. Perhaps the dearest pleas-ures among them were those that lay closest totheir clangers. They loved the pursuit of maraud-ing parties, the solitary chase; were always ready tothrow away axe and mattock for rifle and knife.Among pleasures, certainly, should be mentionedthe weddings. For plain reasons these were com-monly held in the daytime. Men often rode tothem armed, and before leaving too often madethem scenes of carousal and unchastened joculari-ties. After the wedding came the infare, withthe

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