The Sunday telegram. [volume], March 28, 1915, FIRST SECTION, Page PAGE ELEVEN, Image 11

About The Sunday telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1914-1927

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Copyright^ 1915, by The International
* Syndicate. :
ST; _ ;
Legends of the Origin of
) "April Fool" and Some of
s J1. _ A n 1 TT71 1
I) me yueer rranus vv men
Have Been Played On
That Day lii Various Parts
of the World.
No sooner doth St- All Fools* morn
approach'
Bat Wnggs, ere Phebus mount his
gilded coach,
Ih sholes. assemble to employ their
senso
In sending foots to get Intelligence:
One. seeks hens' teeth in farthest part
of the town, :
Another pigeons' milk; a third a gown
From -strollingi cobbler's stall, "left
asJ . therp .by' oliancc- ...
Thus - lead- the giddy tribe a merry j
dance,
r>- And. to reward them for their harm-,
t ... less toil
s Tho cobbler 'uolnts tlieir limbs .with
1 . ; Stirrup oil.
Thus by'contrivers inadvertent jest
One' fool exposed makes pastime for.
r the rest.
~Pogr Robin's Almanac, 1728.
:?'. ' ?*
' "1 FTBR vainly trying to find- an
origin for the silly custom of
B7* "fyollng" people on April first
if; ^ -.o ^the " majority of historians
have come to the conclusion that it
is a relic of the old Roman Saturnalia;
It was at that time that Caius
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0BgfOUR hundred years ago there
?ar Wis not a wheel of any dels
scription on the American, coh.
. JF tinent; n6, not even, a wh'eeltytrrowl
Still 1 more?there was not a
- draft -animal here: that is. one whit^i
was' us^d as such. The North -American-Indians
might have domesticated
the powerful .bison of the..plains, but
their imagination did not extend that
far. It has been very.aptly said that.
? "Necessity is the mother of invention"
- and It logically follows that when neA
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. "Spanish
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' cossity -ls absent, -the. Invention. does j
/^Ai/Alkyv1 TVi am t?Vo a n'/v iiro?iant r A. 1
6 . . V ?? * **? *?w ??tC?VM ? ; 7.
d^rf^^fi'-^he..'aftn"p]lQ UVea.bf the
. J^cnpricajiR of.yesterday, for any means
5fif\ o'fr.conveya.nco boy on d what' they had
?$heir ovum 'oacks. and- the * services
ita? was .Xfieti, th6 first 'pack-anirri?i&n>-thU?'country,
\nd on his back
~-.o'c?*that -ot',his~ wireWas botne
l" 3&JSr;*5JipU8ehoT<I' effects," .which were
jjS^en" vfrom hls h,ut," cr^'tent* when
JfSR-S??*ry- . " - - . .
spmgngr day came. . .
t&ose- days- there waa rio jglory
^f.'Indiaji horsemanship,^either* liv the,
nunt/Tor; chase, for- that.Vuseful equine
had. not put in an appearance. -The
BskinJos, or Indians of the'far"North*
B?P used their'docs and sleds, but no such ]
sleds' weri' evor- used in what' la nov
the -United 'States. sJust when the
reindeer' of " the Ldips-and Chukchls
?became their animal, for work, milk
apd, meat is .not definitely knrfwn. j
/ : ; The First Cart.
--It was\-not-until- the Spanish lnvaelon
of..Alex.ico. about 1519, that any
/practical-; service knimal .was Intro-j
- ducedt. At thA tim.e' the donkey or
..Tkia' to Mexico by the. Spaniards, and
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,< *?? .l^4*"',-'-'s %.*. ' -'k'-r'.
<S #*?*? -,. - --: ?' *" _ ' "-? :? '
wr A MB vk Mw jR
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0/c? Z^r&pt^izrtcS
dftoppryzv#
c>y &5e> GS*
jrz>o/&r y 7P<Z>J*?2
and Manlius bent their classic wits to
the task of ifoOlirtg one another during:
that part of the ceremony known
as "the feast of fools."
A small number of antiquarians,
however, still cling to . other ideas of
its origin and'these are repeated here
for what.they are worth. Some believe
that All Fools'" Day originated
with what was known as the "Feast
of Hull" celebrated in India. This
occurred on March thirty-first, when
the chief diversion of the jieopW' was
to send their friends on foolish errands,
such as sending them letters to
m?et a certain person at a certain
point and then hiding somewhere until?
they appeared and .having a laugh
at their expense.
Still --others contend that -the day
began with.^tbe mistake .-of sending
the dove out of the Ark. before the
waters had abated-on the first day of
the month among the Hebrews, which
answers to our first 61 April, and to
perpetuate the niempiry of this deliverance
It" was thought. .proper that
whoever forgot so remarkable a .circumstance
should be. punished by "being
sent upon an errand similar to ;
that Ineffectual message upon which i
the "bird was sent by the Patriarch.
A few cling to the old legend that
It originated in the time of Christ,
that, the Passion of our f^vlour took
place about this time of tt.o year, and
the Jews sent Christ backward and
fftrmard tn mnrV nnrl tormsnt him?
- ? : . - *; '
Spanish were also responsible for the
introduction of the horse, and the
first wheeled vehicle In-the shape of
their "Carreta," shown in ono of the
illustrations, was taken from one exhibit
in the Natloftal Museum.
This cumbersome cart, made entirely
of wood, was 'used extensively
by the Indians of Mexico and Arizona,
where this type of vehicle is still
made and used today. A lighter cart,
with spoked wheels and shafts, was
later -made-for-- transporting freight
Caret ta,"
over the northern 'plains of the. Red
River region, and was called the "Red
River Cart."
*. Before, and during the use of these
carts, the Indians ;?f the' North were
hauling their supplies of came, skins,
etc., upon Ingeniously, fitted tij? forked
limbs of stout trees, which formed
the prlifittive. sledges of both Indians
and ejnrly. settlers. Another early sledis
shown.' In one of ' the - illustrations.
which shows mors workmanship than,
the forked branch with cross-pieces
bound oh It. This' latter sled was
used by the early settlers for
every purpose where a heavy - load
was to-be . hauled, over ?he anow?t.aa
well.-ad for .lighter loads; when there
who no snow.-. Sleds very .mudh'^Jlke
this are 'used.-by the.,-northern ,lumber
men. and . sajp-gatherers at the present
time, and several yokeb of' Oxen
or tfalrs of horses bear ..the burden
of pulling them, insteadof the meh
doing the , Job alone.
The",great .value. of .the horse was
.appreciated by the" Iftdlans of Mexico
and" the Southwest' generally; "and
without saddle or spurs they became
.expert riclers/u&Ing only the mouthrain
of hide fastened around the low
"HE SUNDAY TELEGR.
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bhhbb^'^^ ^
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from Annas to Calaphas, from. Calaphas
to Pilate, from Pilate to Herod,
and from Herod back again to Pilate,
thus attributing this ridiculous or
rather impious *ycustkm to a sacred
subject. To furthejr substantiate their
claim they give the Frenph name for
April fool "polsson d*Avril"S on the
theory, that ''polsson" is the corruption
of "passion." Such an explanation
is as unpleasant as it is untrue,
for the term "Poissons d'Avril" means
exactly what it says?"April fish"?a
young fish, therefore easily caught,
as in English when we use the word
"sucker"?a small , fish.
.Another origin for the custom Is
traced to France. This nation took
the lead.over all Christendom in com-,
mencing the new year on January
first Instead, of March twenty-fifth
Before the change wis made the
merry-making culminated with a
feast held on April first, when visits
were paid and gifts bestowed. "With
the adoption of the reformed calendar
in. 1564 New Year's Day was carried
back to January' first and only pretended
gifts and -mock ceremonial |
visits were paid on April first with
the view of making fools of those
who had forgotten to change the date.
The custom once -started was kept
up even long after its origin had been
forgotten.-:
Feast of Fools.
But after all. these origins must
-e m
Four Hundred Years Ago
duced First Horses,
Cart?Early Sleds
"Travois"? "Prs
- Inventions?
er Jaw to control-their steeds.
The plains tribes fixed a contrivance
of two crossed" poles over the
horse. - near * the neck. the ''ends of
which . dragged along the . ground.
Upon these long poles they bound
cross-stick^ upon which to place a.
load. Sometimes a small tent-like
cabin was erected upon these dragging
poles, and In moving or tra\^
ling from olace to place, the "children
of the family rode within, while their
mother was honored by a position
upon the back of the horse. This get-,
up was called* horse-travols, and the
same kind of :wheclless vehicle was
'said to have been adopted for the
dogs of tho early Pueblos.
The Prairio Schooner.
The early settlers not only used the
;two-wheeled, carts , for transporting
their families and their effects from
place to place, but later made four-'
.wheeled "'prairie schooners," named
"after the boats which thelf bodies
.closely resembled, that more might
_be carried' -in one wagon than wer'8
/possible with the two-wheelera In
j'th'ese' picturesque "prairie-schooners"
whole families,, crossed the "great
:plalns of the west, to- Beek their for-'
'.tune. or living, among wild beasts
and savages I Sometimes these wagon'
'trains stretched out 'for a long die'tance.
and many out-riders on horse back
accompanied them for. guidance
and protection, but-their old match^
lock rifles' could not. be reloaded as
quickly as the spear or arrow of. the
Indian-could be In readiness, so travjelling
across the plains was not always
free: from dangers of redskins.
While the most, prljnitlve carts, lntroduccd
first into Mexico, were very
heavy, and cumbersome, much lighter
ones were later made after "the general
patterti of the heavy ones. One of these
.-lighter vehicles.-which was extensively,
iused- in: .the; Colonies, was the onehorae
chaise whichOliver Wendell
'Holmes, in his poem. "The Deacon's
the gOndf
t hoss-shay. This "shay" was .thd bsr
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A.Mr CLARKSBURG, W. "i
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give way to ancient -Rome, for, the
feasting of fools even though ltr- ocJ
curred on-February seventeenth is the
nearest thing- to our All Fools' Day.
Although this feast took place In
pagan: times it wasv really one of a
| series of burlesque festivals' which are
; said to Have 6een' introduced into the
Christian Church by Theophylact,
Patriarch of Constantinople, and was
a recrudescence of the'-Roman Festa.
|In France and. Italy a bishop and
archbishop of fools were elected and
confirmed with* a lot of buffoonery,
after which a pope 6f fftols was
chosen. All sorts of riotous and imI
pious scenes took place, such" as 'eat
1 mg sausages on tne altar-and burning
bid-shoes lii/the censers.'' The people
performed all sorts of pranks on the
streets, being carrfe'd '" aboilVoA" each
others* shoulders for" the amusement
of the crowds * The Churches depending
immediately upon the Holy See,
refused to permit these things and
happily the custom died, out-'and the
simple fooling of people took Its place
and Is still universal throughout the
world.* ..
All Fools* Day In Eighteenth Century^
There Is little, record of All Fools'
Day pranks in England until the
early part of the eighteenth century;
About .this time Addison' makes reference
to it, telling how "a neighbor
of mine, who Is a haberdasher by
trade and a very shallow, conceited
?e
> Not a Wheel On This Co]
Burros and Wheeled Cai
i Used By Indians and Se
lirie Schooners"?Old Sta
Railroads andCars ?The
Br HARRY B. BRADFORD
ginning;', of, carriage-making' in," the
United -State#, and when supplied with
good springs, made a comfortable
means of conveyance'fortwopersonli;
with a rack lib the rear for alf necessary
baggdge. . < The Illustration
shown was..- drawn from*, one ;'of, the
very, early models, exhibited in 'the
Rational Museum.) '/ This earljj model,
without' steel springs, m\ist have been
a yeritable"rough-rider" In those by
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t "
gone days when roads Jn thlsfcbuniry
were in as primitive a condition as
wagon manufacturing.
Historic Stage Coatfh
The old. historic.; stage-coachmade
Its appearance-^ about the beginning
of thfe' nineteenth century; -when. }t
was- put In general use throughout
the- United'States. Its familiar ah&pefl
-body was suspended..above the frame
work of -the supporting parts' ;by
'means oi great leather, straps, and
these added greatly to the ease of the
occupants Within. -To' these' coaches,
four or more horses were harneesed,
and the weary t^lps from?"Phlladeln>ii?i
tr\ iPltfihilfi'iL'.! -AV VtiifWii?h ritl
tnerous . Other points, were undertaken,
frtth'lugfeagre pliedCuip-on. top
and behind the big stage.'' .
It goes without saying that travelling
teds Slow, and tedious In tho&e
early 'daJ^C$add ho dbtthtC pftisengefa
had plenty Of'time to get '"*ell acquainted
with ' oneV another " during
their journey, v '*?,' - "> ??/ . > * First
Stonr? Carriage. .
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fellow, makes bis boast that foe these.
ten--years consecutively he has made
not less than a hundred fools. . My
landlady had a falling: out with him
about a fortnight ago for sending
tevery one. of her children upon a
'sleeveless*4 errand, , as she terms It. j
' Her eldest son went to buy a half- j
penny's worth of inkle at a shoe- [
makers, the eldest daughter was dis- ,
patched half a mile to see a mon- '
ster; In short, the whole family of j
innocent children were made April
fools. " Nay, the landlady herself did
'not escape him."
Dean Swift.
Dean. Swift in his "Journal . to
Stella" In 1713, tells how he spent a
lively evening In "contriving an April
fool." The scheme was to clrculato
a report through their servants that
a' man who had been hanged a fewdays
previous had come back to life
land could be seen in flesh as a guest
of the" Black Swan in Holborn. He
j-was anticipating great sport at seeing
the crowd on the"'followlng day. ,
but after all, he records later, somebody
told the people that" the ,wholt>
affair was a Joke and he himself be'<
came the April fool.
! . On April first. IS 10. Napoleon married
Marle^ Louise, Archduchess of
[Austria, oir which occasion the'wagLglsh
Parisians called him "un poisson
d;Avrll"?a young fish?an April fool.
1 As a memorial of his marriage Naj
poleon had a number of medals made
j which showed Love "tearing a thun- "
Iderbolt. Later these medals were
known as April Fool Medals and several
of. them are to be seen In the
French Museums.
Royalty Indulged In The Sport.
At one time even royalty Indulged
In the sport of April fooling. Peter the
Great In 1719 .set about to fool1 his
people by building an Immense pile
of wood in the open square In front
of the palace at Petrograd. This was
covered i with tar and other Inflammable
material. On the morning of
.April first he had it set on-fire. The
flames shot high in the-air and people
came into the city by the thousands "
to assist in'putting out the fire which
they believed was consuming the palace.
"When ;they reached* the squa*re
[they were-met by soldiers who shouted?-"Sheepheads.
pl$s, .swine,- donkeys!
Fall back by order of the
^ t n J ?a J n tv
uii.it jfua ^fiuer^Lttiiu uidi LUV
Little Father-lias fooled you? * It is
tlio first at >*" ) '(*^|if
Tower of London Joke..
Another historic bit of fooling was
when Franils,- puke of Lorraine, and'
his 'duchess escaped from .prison on
April first" in the'.fifteqhth century.
-They, came out of prison disguised as
^peasants and were recognized by an.
old woman attendant. - She called to
the soldier who'was on guard, telling
him that it was the duke and duchess.!
"April' fool!" was' the sentry's answer,
and the royal couple went out
undisturbed. When " the guard went
off duty he told the Story to his friends
and they called It a smart trick. The
Governor enjoyed the Joke as well;
| /
ntinent-Spaniards Introrts
? The "Red River
tilers - The Horse
ge Coach?Steam
Automobile.
'X'
corded that. the. first, steam carriage
was made by Oliver Evans, of Philadelphia/.In
17S7. while it seems }he
first' quite practical . one" whs manufactured
b> .the Stanley* Steam Car-*,
riage Company of Newton. Mass., in
18971 .
The jjflcrst iron-rail track Jn the'
United States was laid" in 1826 from'
| ioc quarries at vuinty. iuasa;; a iracK
lour mUesUdnsf, costirig: $50,000. and
ttler's Sled.
*
, In 1830 the first American locomotive
was constructed by Peter Cooper In
. Baltimore, Md., and this was the first
locomotive to carry passengers on this
side of the Atlantic ocean. The first
railway cars, as many know, .were
merely, .stage, coach bodies .placed
upon smaller .-wheels* for' traction use.
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and even while he was laughing word
came to. him that .the peasants were,
none other than the royal prisoners
and they were now beyond his reach.
In 1S60 all Ixmdon was aroused
over a clever April fool trick which
was perpetrated on some of the best
families. On March thirty-first a
large number of persons received post
cards conveying the following Invitation:
"TOWER OF LONDON
Admit bearer and friends to view the
annual ceremony of washing the white
lions on Sun day j April 1st, I860.
It is particularly requested that no
gratuities be given to the wardens, or
their assistants.
Entrance at the "White Gate."
In one corner of the card was aseal
which proved to be the die of an
inverted sixpence put-on to give the
invitation an official appearance. The
result of the hoax wad greater perhaps
than the perpetrator imagined It
wpuld be, for It Is said- that nundreds
<jf people went to the town in response
to the Invitation and all day.
long cabs rattled about the walls, tjie
drivers Inquiring for the White Gate.
"Hunt the Gowk."
In Scotland, the proverbial land of
wit and humor, the curious practice
of.-;^hunting rtherrgowk" was In- vogue I
for many years. Gowk, originally a
cuckoo, means by extension a fool, a
simpleton. The trick' as played wasr
for wag'number one to send his vie-*
tim. wag number two,' for some distance-with
a letter containing-words
such as these:
"This. Is the first of Aprile?
Hunt the gowk another mil$L" -After
reading It number two hands
It to number three and so. the letter
passed on .until.^somebody discovered
the Joke. In writing of. this a-Scotch
poet -seems to -think that the man
who did-the sending was the bigger,
fool of the two. and says in' rhyme?
fit is a thing to~b.e disputed.
Which Is. the greatest f obi" reputed?
The man who Innocently went
K -' r:
S B jtjp* J
By 1835 one..thousarid miles of railroad
tr^ick had' been completed in.^the
Unfted States, bu,t-the speed of!.t.rains
had not passed mUchkbpye. the..* enty-flve
mile an, hour limit. The tirst
sleeping car came during1 the 'year 1836.
' but "the Pullman} Palace Car
waited until very nearly a "genera-_
tion had passed (1864).
Steam Railways. Appear.
While the first.street horse-railroadIndiai
' ' . '
was . opened on Fourth avenue. New
York, way back-In IS32, the elevated
street railways were ;not erected there
until 1877-78." With the successive
improvements In the "application of
steam, transportation both on land
and water greatly Increased, and-railroad
and steamship companies began
to' develop and handle mors business.'
Considering- this "wonderful development
and '.tvlde application of the
I% 1 ; .. . '. ? ,.(I , steam
^ engine. It Is strange Indeed
that the automobile did hot arrive'
until so late a date!. It has only been
during the".past fifteen years, or.less,
after the development of-the gas en-;
gtne; that the automobile business has
t?ken on such Immense - proportions
7^00/ ~
Or he that him designedly sent."
Just how the custom, came to Amer-. , "
lea Is not recorded, but nevertheless
It Is here, and the spirit of the day
is unchanged even if our sense, of
humor has advanced or deteriorated
whichever way one may view the ?
matter.
American Jokes.
One of the American trlek$ is to
glue a coin to the pavement and
have people try to- pick It up. This .
affords the greatest amusement .to the
street* urchins. Another is to drop a .
pocketbook stuffed with paper on the
street and then call out "April JToolT*
when a passerby picks it up. A package
to which a slender, almost-invisible
string is attached (s another favorite
trick, as is the bf ck under the
in - the old days the London street
gamins delighted in callihg-'out-ttt gentlemen
who were walking with ladles ?-"Say,
mister, what Is that on your
coat?" When; the embarrassed man ^ ^
had twisted himself in all manner, of
ways in trying to find out the boy
would, can out^?"just me tan to too v
coat?April fool!"4t Yearn afterward
the boy calls out?"Say. "mister,,
there's something on your face," and
when, the man gets put, his handkerchief
and begins to" rub he ls' ^reetetf ,
with?"Why, your, nose is on.1 .yphrV
face?April fool:"" Sending persons to "
the druggists for pigeons' milk or' ^..-A
the bookseller's for a history of "Eve's
grandmother are still a ' common
practice. Loajde'd cigars and ' candy
stuffed with cotton and pepper ' are
regarded as refined April fool tricks
and so common that few min will accept
a Havana 'fro'iti a friend dri that
day and "many girls distrust the boxes
of candy sent to them by over-generous
sweethearts.
The custom-of pinning papers
^bearing the words 'JAPRIL FOOL." to
a man's coat taiuu no longer regarded
as funny in this country, although
It i& still regarded as a clever April-, .
foel Joke In England. - ,
h MM
The . first electric railway wai
opened In Berlip, Germany in 1881,
but it was some, ten years .or so before
the first elbctrlc underground
system superseded the cable-propelled
method in "Washington, D. C. Electric
locomotives' have - been : in use' -for
some years., for shortvruns, in various
parts oX the country, but the development
of the Vthlrd rail" and trolley
.systems have far outdistanced the
more cumbersome locomotives. One
of. the most pleasing changes from
steam to electricity occurred-when'the
New York elevated systenr gave up
their little steam .engines for the
cleaner cars propel led'oytbe Vthlrd
rail?? electric "method." - V
Wheels?-Wheels?Wheels:
Now our city streets present "wheels
?Wheels everywhere I Policemen protect
us at street crossings from the V
dangers ' of carts, carriages.- "tro cars.
wagons, autopdoblles, ' bicycleg^t
motor-cycles, etc.. etc. Over one "million
autdmobiles ; are at present, ir
mra In ( 7?nnmee
oni*.la. either operated or owned by
population- The. health* ulexerclSeot
walking Is more dangerous in_ pur
large pities, today! than it bas\retrer
cSnt^yef?re iD the bistory ?r olir
;mS^o or, less lrresponslbla^^ujfeurs
are operating great gasolhte o.
steam-driven trucks .and cars along
our thoroughfares _ today.