Dec. 7, 1912 
FOREST AND STREAM 
715 
Christmas in North Carolina 
By FRANK W. BICKNELL 
GALAX PULLERS’ WINTER SHELTER IN THE BLUE RIDGE MOUNTAINS. 
C HRISTMAS in Dixie isn’t what it used to 
be in the “good old days befo’ de wall,” 
as I have been told many times by the 
survivors of that interesting and more care¬ 
free period. Then it was the great family day, 
when the children came home and the nearest 
of kin got together for the week’s celebration 
on a grand scale. There were big house 
parties, especially on the great plantations, little 
kingdoms in themselves, with innumerable 
servants—slaves, of course—and there and then 
the poet’s command to “Let joy be unconfined” 
was heartily obeyed. Youth and pleasure did 
indeed meet, while the older set had their 
share, too. Every Christmas caller was cheered 
on his way by the hot toddy they knew so well 
how to make, and in many instances had pro¬ 
duced all the ingredients on the plantation-. It 
was a great day for the colored population, 
for they were not omitted in the serving of 
the cheering beverage, nor in the distribution 
of generous gifts. Also they had their social 
diversions. 
Now this is much modified. So many of 
the old families were broken by the war, and 
the plantations, planned for cotton and slaves, 
cut up and more or less dismantled, that the 
Christmas doings have undergone radical 
changes, too. Many of the old families were 
no longer able, after the war, to indulge in 
these bountiful entertainments, and they have 
not been resumed on the scale once so typical 
of Southern hospitality, now that prosperity, 
happiness and contentment have come back to 
Dixie. Still, the old spirit of hospitality is 
strongly in evidence at this time. Changing 
fortunes have not been, and never will be, suf¬ 
ficient to stifle it, though certain unavoidable 
alterations have taken place in the life of the 
South. Many Southern people would like to 
do much more than they do in the way of en¬ 
tertaining their friends and visitors. They 
make the paying guest from the North feel 
very much at home. Thanksgiving Day has 
become more of a day for family gatherings 
than Christmas Day, and this year was one of 
great rejoicing among the old families, as well 
as many others, for they feel that the South is 
coming back into power at Washington under 
very favorable conditions. 
The most striking difference between the 
observation of Christmas in the South and in 
the North is the very extensive use of fireworks 
at this time in the South. In fact, Christmas 
is to the South about what the Fourth of July 
is in the North. Firecrackers, and too often 
firewater, play a large part. Persons, even 
families, that rarely touch liquor at other 
times, consider it quite important to be sup¬ 
plied for Christmas. They tell me, however, 
it is less so than formerly. North Carolina 
is a prohibition State, but the thousands of ex¬ 
press packages that may be seen almost any 
day at any railway station, show that the alco¬ 
holic taste has not departed from the people. 
Moonshine, or “blockade” whisky and apple¬ 
jack, as it is called here, still is sometimes to 
be obtained by the trusted ones. This industry, 
too, has suffered decline,. owing to the activity 
of the Federal revenue officers. 
From a sportsman’s standpoint, the Christ¬ 
mas season in North Carolina offers choice at¬ 
tractions, particularly the quail shooting in the 
Piedmont and mountain sections, from the mid¬ 
dle of the State to its extreme northwestern 
corner. The variety of climate offered by this 
State is so great that one may find almost any¬ 
thing he chooses, from the mild low country of 
the middle and eastern sections to the cool, 
pure air of the mountains. On the coast he 
may have some of the finest duck shooting in 
North America. Up in the mountains it is 
usually, though not always, a little late for bear, 
’coon and ’possum. Squirrels are plenty and 
rabbits a nuisance, they are so numerous all 
over Western North Carolina, in spite of the 
fact that they are much hunted by the men and 
boys all fall and winter. Rabbit hunting has 
become the favorite sport in many localities on 
Christmas Day. Quail are quite often to be 
found in the mountain farming country, while 
the pheasants, or ruffed grouse, are gaining in 
numbers and in some localities are very num¬ 
erous. I know of several places where the 
hunting would be first-class with a good dog 
for a man who can “shoot some.” These birds 
are not easy game in the woods, any more 
than quail, and for this reason are little hunted 
by the mountain hunters. I have heard them 
drumming all through the mountains this fall. 
The mountaineer’s favorite game is bear, 
’coon and ’possum, and by Christmas time he 
has had many a race after them. If the weather 
is not too cold, he will have more, while lower 
down, in the warmer zones, the pursuit of these 
highly prized food animals will continue. 
The amusing sport of “turkey-rolling” is- 
still kept up about Christmas time, especially 
up in the mountains. It never fails to attract 
a crowd and after one or two have made a 
start, others soon enter. The contestant is 
blindfolded, stood between the handles of a 
wheel-barrow and whirled around rapidly by 
two men. Then he is told to wheel the bar- 
row to a stake in the ground, which he has 
seen before being blindfolded, and toward 
which the barrow is pointed. It is about 75 to 
100 feet distant, usually, and when he has 
reached the stake, or thinks he has, which is 
usually quite another thing, he is then to turn 
around and bring the barrow back. It is sur¬ 
prising how far the average man will miss it 
the first time, both in reaching the stake and 
in returning to the starting point. The hilarity 
of the crowd is noisily manifested. Ten or 
fifteen will enter, each paying a dime, and the 
one who makes the best record gets a turkey. 
Wild turkeys, too, are still to be found if 
one knows where to go, and no' other bird is 
quite so satisfying for Christmas, in the opin¬ 
ion of mountaineer, visiting sportsman and all 
others of good taste. The last one we had was 
a yearling gobbler weighing 19J/2 pounds, and 
no domestic turkey can compare with the flavor 
of that great bird. 
The old-fashioned rifle-shooting matches 
are also kept up in Western North Carolina. 
The usual plan is to shoot for a beef, divided 
into five “choices.” The best man gets first 
choice of hind quarters, second the other hind 
quarter. The front quarters go to third and 
fourth men, while the fifth gets the hide and 
tallow. The old deer rifles, or hog rifles, ap¬ 
pear for these contests, sometime with barrels 
