NEW ENGLAND. 



149 



tended, and there are many who hold it unlawful to enter them. There are }(hces, too, in the 

 country, where dancing is considered to be a "vain, idle, and sinful amusement." 



The active sports are principally games of ball, and sometimes running and wrestling ; for- 

 "nerly, different towns and parishes had their champions in wrestling, to try their superiority by 

 matches, in which several fatal accidents occurred ; but the sport is now almost entirely disused. 

 Boxing, which is so universal in England, is almost unknown, and horse-racing and cock-fight- 

 ing are seldom seen. In winter, when there are delightful moonligiit nights, sleigh-rides are a 

 favorite amusement. Parties of both sexes sit in large sleighs as closely as they can be packed, 

 and sometimes in each other's laps, scour over several miles at a rapid rate, and at some 

 hotel find not only a supper, but a fiddler in attendance, whose gains are much enhanced 

 in the season of sleighing. There are several holidays, but none that are observed in England. 

 Skating is a very general amusement in the northern parts of the United States, and there are 

 few boys who have not a pair of skates. Coasting is another winter pastime, in which, as in 

 many other games, the labor seems to be at least equal to the pleasure. When the snow covers 

 the earth, a troop of joyous boys assemble on the top of a long and steep hill, and each one 

 sitting upon a little sled, gives it an impulse, which carries him to the bottom with accelerating 

 velocity, and far into the plain below. The motion is sometimes so swift, that it is like the 

 sweep of an eagle. In the cities, fatal accidents occur in following this amusement, and there 

 are generally penalties imposed by law for pursuing it there. 



The coasting is performed, however, in the country upon a grander scale ; the great ox sled, 

 or sledge, is carried up with commendable perseverance and toil, and so covered with youth of 

 both sexes, that htde of the timber appears. When fitted, it is launched, but when adrift it is 

 more difficult to be guided than the single sledge, and the whole freight is sometimes turned 

 topsy-turvy into a snow bank half way down the hill. This, however, seems to increase the 

 enjoyment. 



Fast day is an observance that has descended from the pilgrims, and is kept with a decent 

 solemnity. The governors appoint one day in the year, in all the New England States, for 

 "fasting, humiliation, and prayer ;" there is little business transacted, and the people generally 

 attend in the churches, which are called more generally, from an old dislike to episcopacy, 

 meetinghouses. Thanksgiving is also a day appointed by the same authorities, and the intent 

 of the edict or proclamation is carried into full effect by the disposition of the people. It is 

 always appointed in the fall or autumn, after the harvests, when the garners are full ; and poor 

 indeed is the inmate of the hovel that has not on that day plenty and luxury on his board. The 

 preparations for Thanksgiving continue several days, and for many more the prepared viands 

 are not exhausted. It is the day for family meetings, and it is then that members of the same 

 family often come hundreds of miles to meet again, to renew the bands of affinity and affection 

 under the paternal roof. It is at this feast, that the simplicity and patriarchal character of a New 

 England grandsire is preeminent. 



Before and after Thanksgiving, there are held all over the country " shooting matches," 

 which are announced by printed placards, headed "sportsmen attend ! " and which set forth 

 that geese, turkeys, and fowls will be set up for marksmen. They are shot at, generally after 

 they are killed, with rifles at certain distances, and rates are paid for every shot. If they are 

 hit, the marksman has the game. These sports are commonly held in some retired spot, or at 

 some deserted house, by which there is little passing, and where a day or two is spent as -'n an 

 encampment. A bear or deer is sometimes shot at in the same way.* 



Autumn also brings other holiday observances, one of which is "husking," whe^i the men 

 of a neighborhood meet to husk the Indian corn of one of the number, that is, to separate the ear 



* The feast of Squantum is held annually on the shore 

 to the east of Neponset bridge, at a rocky point projecting 

 into Boston Bay, about 5 miles from the city. The ob- 

 servance of this festival is on the vifane. Squantum was 

 the name of the last Indian female who resided there, and 

 when the feast is held with the ancient ceremonies, a per- 

 son comes forth dressed as Squantum herself, and ha- 

 rangues the people in the metaphorical manner of the In- 

 dians. During the late war, when political parties were 

 violent, the feast of Squantum was attended by crowds, 

 and, in fact, both parties had a distinct celebration. Some 

 of the ceremonies consisted in brightening the chain of 

 peace, and in burying the tomahawk in a place indicated 

 by the representative of Squantum. A Saenem, too, dress- 



ed in blanket and moccasins, wouV sometimes assume the 

 direction of the feast. The Indian pliraseology is affected, 

 and tlie notification of the fe^^^ sets forth, that the " wig- 

 wam w ill contain all the gc^d things of the sea and sand," 

 and it is commonly date^l at the new moon of the month 

 of string-beans. 



It is a " feast of s-ftells," and the refreshments are lob- 

 sters, clams, oysters, quahogs, and every fish that is cov- 

 ered with a sh'^ll, together with the fish soup called chow- 

 der. It is c:ommon to eat these only with clam shells 

 instead of spoons, and it is not held to be proper to drink 

 from any thing liut wood. This is the only observance 

 that reminds the present proprietors of the soil of the simple 

 race from whom they wrested or received the possession. 



