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Craighead Writes of New Orleans Mardi Gras As Seen By MobilianFrank Craighead, who spent Mardi Gras in New Orleans, tells The Times that in his opinion, the people of Mobile could add very greatly to the carnival celebration here by following what appears to be a comparatively inexpensive custom of New Orleans— that is, the touring of the city by small bands of costumed merrymakers on individually operated trucks. Mr. Craighead's statement -follows:In the Crescent City, throughout Shrove Tuesday, one may see truck after truck loaded with funsters, going wherever those on board wish to be' taken, without regard to the peregrinations, of any other object. There Is evidence of organization, not of the revelers as a whole, but of each separate band. That there is-organization is shown by the uniformity of dress of each little group. All the persons on one truck may be in pierrot costume; all those on another in pirate garb; still another may carry a load of boys and girls dressed as sailors; and so on ad infinitum.This particular form of the pursuit of enjoyment is not confined to the number of trucks available for the purpose. Bands which for one reason or another, cannot commander trucks, make a very good best of it by going on foot.Of course, we have something of this sort in Mobile, but not to the extent that it is carried on in New Orleans. Such individual effort here does not reflect the planning in advance that seems to be the rule over there.To a Mobilian in New Orleans on Mardi Gras, an astonishing observation is that the majority of celebrants do not wear masks. As many of the costumes are quite handsome, the revelers seem to hope that they will be recognized. In lieu of masks, the celebrants paint or stain their faces, A few appear in “black face.”'Place for TerpsichoreSome of the outfits carry their own music. 'This was done by those able to obtain an articulated vehicle, this is, a power unit coupled to a long, flat body. Four or five paid musicians, not in costume, are stationed on the forward end of the trailer, immediately behind the cab, so that the occupants of the driver’s seat may get the benefit of their more or l§ss harmonious efforts. From time to tim§ the truck .s stopped, and the revelers get down and dance on the asphalt.Between the small bands of merrymakers who ride or walk and the great mystic societies with their parades of decorated floats are what might be called big little, or little big organizations of costumed marchers who manage to make Interesting displays without great expense by the simple expedient of doing without floats. Not having any rolling works of art to be ruined by rain, these marchers were able to turn out last Tuesday in spite of the weather.One such organization passed me near enough for a close view. Marching behind a very good brass band, it consisted of 50 or 60 men dressed like Spanish, foot soldiers in the days 'before spikes and battle axes were displaced by firearms. These mystics” were devoid of mystery, as they wore no masks. Their faces were stained in copper color, possibly to effect a swarthy Spanish” complexion.Rex might have paraded, andprobably would have appeared had he known there would be' no rain after about one o'clock. Monday night's parade was drenched, and the floats utterly spoiled.The Zulu King and his entourage. the negro mystic society whose parade is one of the sights of the New Orleans carnival, showed up on Canal street about 3 p.m. His arrival in the city had been timed for 10 a.m., at which hour his queen, enthroned at the place of business of a firm of colored undertakers, was waiting for him to come and drink a toast to her. At 10 o'clock, however, rain was descending in sheets.Where all the revelers, mm.sked and not masked, took refuge from the downpour, is more than I can tell, but I know they did not disperse to their homes. So soon as the rain slacked up, the streets were filled with them. For hours all vehicles were barred from the centre of the business district, and revelers and spectators took possession of the thoroughfares from building line to building line. The 'banquettes,” as New Orleans calls its sidewalks, would have been inadequate for the crowds.The only big” parade of the carnival was that of Com us. Tuesday night. No rain _ had fallen since early afternoon, and the 18 or 20 floats traveled the lengthy route of march wlthput misadventure.Firmly Fixed FowlsThe Comus display was of especial interest to Mobile observers jjecause In many respects it was not so good as those of our own mystic societies. There were no mechanical effects. The subject was “Bird Fantasies,” and a : tiffer and less spirited ornithological collection this writer never saw. For example, one float of great blue cranes bore very good j images of the big heron, but they i were as immovable as stone cranes on the bank of a lake. Had : a Mobile artist designed that float and Mobile mechanics built it, those herons would have swung their necks from side to side, or at least opened and closed their bills, as the vehicle went along.The eagles on the float labeled “Golden Eagles” stood with upraised wings, like the eagle on the silver dollar, but the wings ! didn’t flap. The “Cardinals” were j very good red birds, each about three feet long, but they showed no sign of life. It was the same with all the floats. Everything was as stiff as if well stuffed. The birds might have been mounted ■ by a taxidermist. 'The only forms j of life visible were the maskers, | who, because the night was chilly, j did some energetic flapping on their own account.Whoever planned the Cornu* ■ parade had only two or three de- | signs in his box of tricks. Some i of the floats had columns at the corners; others an arch, set fore and aft. That was about all in the way of structural variation. The color schemes were good, but no better than ours. If one can judge by Tuesday night's display, New Orleans mystic parades are superior to those of Mobile only In the number of floats. In all other particulars, we outdo them.While there was little or no rain Tuesday afternoon, the sky was: blanketed with clouds throughout the remainder of the day. On Wednesday morning not a cloud was visible. I heard a man in ! the street exclaim, “Look at that ; rascally sun; where the heck was j it yesterday?” 1
Newspaper Details
The Sunday Times
Mobile, Alabama, US
Sun, Mar 05, 1933
Page 3
Full Page
Clipped by
Denisha L.
NA, 04 Aug 2023
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