Democratic Sentinel, Volume 14, Number 44, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 28 November 1890 — SAUCE FOR THE TURKEY. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

SAUCE FOR THE TURKEY.

SCENES IN THE CRANBERRY MARSHES OF WISCONSIN. 'lmmense Tracts ol Hitherto Worthless Lands Devoteil to the Production of the Thanksgiving Berry—How and Where It Grows—Winnebago Indians the First to Pick the Fruit—Amusements and Housing of the Harvesters Ituring the -Season.

TTI. HOSE who have =WI W never taken tin* trouH f ble to study cranberJ I\l rv culture have no B . intelligent concepts ■ li k |o, ‘ the P oss ibiliA, 11 ties of this agricul- ' /ftural industry, its Jr present importance, \vy and the methods adopted to gather in the crop and lit it

for those who prepare a delicious saucerelish for a Thanksgiving dinner. It is over twenty-five years since the golden discovery was made .tliat there is money to be made in cranberries. During these years fortunes have been made and other fortunes expended to place what appeared worthless marsh in a condition to bear fruit. The little city of Berlin, Green Lake County, YVis., writes a correspondent of the Chicago Tribune , is the center of a cranberry-producing area that turns out thousands of barrels of fruit annually, which fact has given the place the name of “Cranberry City,” a mamc which it proudly wears in contra•distinction to its sister city, Ripon, whose prosaic pursuit of late years has been the growth of cucumbers, and is therefore dubbed “Picklcvilie.” ■ At first the men who made money out of cranberry culture were those who had great holdings of wild marsh, surrounded with tamaracks and garnished with a wilderness of sage brush and ihuckleberry bushes. The crop blossomed in wild neglect and tbc fortunate possessors of these tracts found themselves taking off from $20,000 t 0550,000 in clear profits annually without spending a dollar except tp the, pickers. Then the hunt began for marsh land that would grow cranberries. Many were succesful in finding from three so ten and fifteen acres tracts, and in numerous instances pools were formed so that larger areas might be purchased and parceled out. The small growers went to work planting vines and have now the satisfaction of reaping ample returns. Fortune has been more fickle with the big growers. The science of the culture was pushed too far, perhaps. The great canals that were dug for flooding purposes and the expensive pumping machinery that was put in have not had the effect of producing a corresponding increase in the crop. Cran-

terries are like Indians, they are not benefited by tco much civilizing. The tame marsh cannot bo relied upon to iVield every year. Aside from the “natural intentions” of the berry it is threatened with destruction from various sources —heavy floods, worms, blight, scalding, drought and early frosts being among the dangers; so that a man who burdens his mind with the probable fate of a crop from the time it blossoms through the summer season is not likely to be at peace with himself. However, there is rarely a year when there is a general failure of the crop, andeachsuc-

ceeding year witnesses a grand rally of men, women and children from a radius of twenty miles to the cranberry fields. The pickers are generally enlisted from the foreign element, although there may be seen a liberal sprinkling of the native Americans and occasionally a small band of the Winnebago Indians. Fifty years ago the Indians were the only ones whoappoared on the cranberry exchange, dumping a few b’anketfuls of the berries on the market, and. after spending the proceeds in beads and “benzine,” went off whooping. Now they are

rarely seen, but when they come into camp they hunt the festive berry fast and furious daytime and beat the tomtom at night. They are great gamblers, and it is not unusual to see a “buck” get away with all the tickets at the close of the harvest. The mistaken idea may not be so prevalent as it was five years ago, but it is well enough to repeat that cranberries do not grow on bushes, like blueberries, nor do they He supinely on a vine that trails itself along with runners. It is the fruit of a growth that reminds one of tough-jointed grass or grass stems whose appendage consists of small elliptical leaves. You may tear a vine into fragments, scatter tho pieces 'to the four

winds, and tread them into the soft marsh, and they will return good for evil by spring up and bearing fruit. In the spring these broad acres of swamp land are a literal matting of cranberry vegetation, covered with a tiny white blossom. If one out of ten of these blossoms, or even one in a hundred, runs the gaunlet, a good crop is assured. The harvest begins the first week in September and generally lasts from ten days to two weeks. At the appointed time a motley tide ol humanity sets in toward the cranberry

marshes. They are drawn by teams hitched to lumber wagons, and generally carry baggage and provisions enough to last them through. On the high land bordering the marshes are erected rows of one and two story shanties, and into these the pickers are stowed. Sometimes tents are necessary to shelter this overflow. In a few days everybody knows his neighbor, and a labor commune is established. Fun and hard work are equally mixed. It is a welcome change to these people who, for a few days, get out of the humdrum rut of their existence, see new faces, crack jokes, dance and sing, and add a small sum of money to their scanty savings for the winter. It is an interesting sight to see the pickers go to work in the morning. Everybody is d/essed for the job. On the heads of the women, are i broadbrimmed stt ayv hats tied down over the ears, suubomiets, shakers, or the clean white linen! CSfcthes, after the style of the German market women. An old jacket, a calico skirt, and'a heavy pair of shoes and stockingsicomplefe the costume. The men wear anything that “wpn’t hurt,” but all, by previous experience, know enough to keep dry wraps in camp in case of a wot sinking marsh or a sudden shower. Evfcry one carries a large shallow milk pap, Ail'd each picker is provided with a slatted rectangular box holding exactly a bushel. Arriving at the ground tp be picked t-he hands are ranged in airow, under the direction of a boss to every forty flickers. The boxes are thrown on the; ground, the pickers, get on theiruands and knees and commence to fill the shallow pans. It is in this work, sis’with all other kinds, some grow wonderfully skillful, and with deft fingers "rhtifllng ’ through the vines, like" a comb, fill their pans quickly, while others are clumsy and slow. As thfey are paid by the bpx, the earnings vary accordingly. As the lino of pickers advance across a .“forty” it grows irregular, and keeps the bosses

poking about among the vines to see that no ground is being neglected. Sometimes disputes arise over the rights of a particular swath and a fight ensues, when all business suddenly comes to a standstill until the war-cloud passes away. Pretty girls are also the frequent causes of a cranberry fracas, the cases being numerous where two “bloods” ! insist upon protecting the same maiden from the Poygan or the Black Wolf country, who enjoys the reputation of being the best dancer on the marsh and at the same time is well able to take care of herself. A rough-and-tumble fight is a diversion, and the people like it. But the picking goes on just the same. Portab.e tramways are laid, and the boxes, as fast as filled, are run on small cars to the warehouse, where they an 1 piled up in long tiers to dry, cure, and ripen thoroughly. When the berry reaches the market it is generally red, but when it is picked it is nearly white, with a faint rosy tint just beginning to show. As each picker hands over his box of berries he receives a ticket which he can “cash in” for the current price, usually from 5 to 6 shillings. They earn from SI. 50 to S 3 a day. The present method of handling the crowd is much better than it used to be when every one kept his pickings in bags until measuring-up time at night. Then the whole crowd would assemble about the boss on the marsh and wait their turn. The soft spongy ground under the pressure of the crowd, increased by the weight of the bags of berries, would sink and leave everybody up to their shoe-tops iu water. Now the harvesters rarely get wet. The large number qt j marshes prevents the massing of so many people as formerly. If a man secures 500 or I,<XX) pickers he considers it a great crowd, while ten years ago it was not unusual to see 2,500 or 3,000 at one time. - . > ■ t—' It is a btantifal sight. Stretching away for miles lie the cranberry fields, , perhaps at some past age the basin of a placid lake, now covered with verdure, * reflecting rich colors in the sunshine and teeming with life. From the camp, i nearly a mile away, you catch the shouts j

of exuberant ones, and occasionally the glitter of a pan as it |s whirled high in the air after a trip to the box. But what sets one. to thinking m6St is the bobbing heads with the white linen, Silverings. These are the Polish or German women, working hard to pay tho op the church, to add a few more to the small but well-cultivated farm; >to clothe and educate the ohJWrqm or to augment the “roil” alrea&jr’.iifO an old stocking or-truuk. - ’Many of these foreign-born picners are well-to-do, and having no faith in banks, hoard their money in hiding places at their homes. They are a good class of citizens to cultivate thp wasto places, and they have taken up a great deal of land in this part of the State. As the day draws to a close* the tired ones drop out and the older ones prepare to go back to the shanties. The day’s work is talked over, supper is eaten, the crowd begins to scatter, and the evening fun begins. Various kinds of hawkers appear. The kodak man sells his views and the “sutler” disposes of his goods Liquors, wheels of fortune, and other harmful attractions are forbidden, but music fills the vacancy, and at the first rasping notes of the violin the boys and girls are ready for the dance. It is a free-for-all, in a rude pavilion, at 5 cents a dance. This dancing will compare with anything North or South in its local character. The old folks look on for awhile and then go to bed, while the youngsters keep the ball rolling until nearly midnight. Such joking, swinging, flirting, love-making, and merrymaking were never experienced under tallow and kerosene, unless at the old quiltings and corn-huskings of early days. A few days later the crowd breaks up, to know each other no more until another harvest. As the Thanksgiving diners lift a dainty morsel of jelly that is destined to

join a fragment of turkey, they can tUiik of the’ craiibcrty’s marshy birthplace, and the" dream of Jollity through which the berry passed before it was hurried tojnarket to be c'ooked, sugared, and.squeezed for their benefit.. „ , „ , There is something crooked about the law of retribution. It isn’t the woman just in front with the big hat who gets her feci stepped on-when the man goes in pursuit of cloves. , A lover differs .from some,*roedical prescriptions in that, he cannot very well be shaken befdre fid is taken. ' I— v- “—f*wis w„ People get so well acquainted with their oxyn faults that they don’t mind thou* existence.

PICKING CRANBERRIES.

TICKERS’ SHANTIES.

A FIGHT AND ITS CAUSE.

MERRY-MAKING CRANBERRY-PICKERS.

THE CRANBERRY'S APOTHEOSIS.