Makers and Romance of Alabama HistoryRiley, B. F. (Benjamin Franklin)
History
Makers and Romance of Alabama History
Riley, B. F. (Benjamin Franklin)
Alabama -- Biography; Alabama -- History
Still another sport, cruel enough in itself, was that of the "gander
pulling." A large gander with greased neck would be suspended to a
flexible limb overhanging the road, and one by one the horsemen would ride
at full tilt, grasp the neck of the goose, and attempt to wring it off,
while his horse was at full speed. With many a piteous honk, the goose
would turn its head here and there to avoid being seized, and it was not
easy to accomplish the required feat. A given sum of money was the usual
reward to the successful contestant. This cruel sport of more than
seventy-five years ago was among the first to disappear from the programme
of rural diversions. The reader of "Georgia Scenes" has been made familiar
with this sport, which at one time was quite popular.
"Muster day," which came once each month, was usually one of bloody
hilarity. The crude evolutions on the field being over, "the boys" would
return to the grocery, and, after being bounteously served several times
at the bar, they were ready for the fun, which usually began with a
wrestling or boxing bout, in which some one who was unsuccessful would
change the scene into one of an out-and-out fray. When temper became
ascendant, which was not difficult under the condition of free imbibing,
one violent blow would invite another, when the crowd would form a ring
around the belligerents, and cries of "Stand back!" and "Fair play!" would
be heard on all hands. If one interfered in behalf of a kinsman or friend,
he was pounced on by another, and not infrequently as many as a dozen men
would be embroiled in a fisticuff battle. Nothing was tolerated but the
fist. Not even a stick could be used, though when one was down under his
antagonist it was accounted lawful to use the teeth, or even to fill the
eyes of an opponent with sand, in order to make him squall. When the
shriek of defeat was sounded, the successful antagonist was pulled off,
and some one treated him on the spot.
It was by this means that bullies were produced in those days. Sometimes a
bully would come from some other region where he had swept the field, in
order to test his prowess with a local bully. Bets would be made in
advance, and the announcement through the region, a week or so in advance,
would serve to draw an unusual crowd to the scene of pugilistic contest. A
ring was drawn in the sand, and while the contest would begin in a boxing
exercise, there came a time when it grew into a battle royal with the
fists. The champions of different neighborhoods each felt that not only
was his own reputation at stake, but that of his community. Bulls on the
pastures would not fight with greater fierceness than would these rough
rowdies. When one or the other would "give up," then would come a general
disagreement among the boozy bettors, and the entire crowd would become
involved in a general melee.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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