Marion County, Ohio - Chapter 3: Pioneer Life, 1883

Chapter 3: Pioneer Life

CARCELY any but poor people take to the frontier, going thither, generally, with the hope of having a home of their own, and ultimately a competence for themselves and their families. They are, therefore, a hardworking people,and their mode of life being actually more healthful than in the subsequent age of effeminating luxury, they were a sturdy people. The white settlers in this part of Ohio were mainly from Pennsylvania, Virginia, New York, Kentucky, etc.; in the order here named as to numbers, and each class, of course, brought along with them "something of the manners and customs of the State whence they emigrated. But, mingling together, they became more homogeneous, like America herself as compared with the rest of the world. They came hither in wagons, drawn by horses, mules or oxen, bringing their families, and often all their possessions with them. Sometimes, however, the head of the family wotld come first and select his land, and return for his family, and ina numberof cases they became homesick after a year or two of residence in the wilds of the (then) West, and would go hack to their old homes in the East, or endeavor to do so; but in a year or two more, their old homes became less attractive than ever, and they would try the West the second time, then to remain.

An observing person would have noticed great difference in the manners of the settlers from different regions of country. The New Englander had his peculiarities, but they were not in the least like those of the Pennsyl. vanian, and either was unlike the Virginian, the Carolinian or the Kentuckian. An occasional New Yorker found a home in this county, and he, too, possessed the traits of the State from which he had emigrated. The customs of the fathers were handed down to their sons, and it is quite easy, even at the present time, if possessed of a thorough knowledge of the manners of the people of the various States here represented, to determine whence the inhabitants derive their lineage. The county of Marion, however, is more cosmopolitan than most of its southern neighbors, and the blending of the different classes has resulted in a general community of which any State might be proud. Here is a thrifty and enterprising population, inhabiting a region rapidly developing into one of the best in the great State of Ohio.

In some of the surrounding counties, it was customary among the pioneers, upon their arrival, to construct three-sided, sloping-roofed shanties, which they called "camps." In front of the fourth side, which was open to the weather, a huge fire of logs was kept burning, and these primitive structures were occupied until the regularly buiit log cabin was ready for occupancy. In Marion County, however, it is stated that very few of these "camps" were ever built, the settlers preparing the log houses for permanent occupation at the very start, and thus saving considerable labor. If help was plenty, it was easy to build a cabin ina day. The shingles, or "elapboards," four feet long, were split out on the ground, and the roof, held firmly in place by weight poles, could, without much extra labor, be put on the same day. It sometimes occurred that a family moved into ita cabin before the puncheon floor was laid, or the door hung, but this was in case of extreme weather, when some place of shelter was indispensable.

A person writing, about 1846-47, of early days in Delaware County, recorded the following items, which are as applicable to pioneer times in Marion County:

"I learn from the old pioneers, that during the early period of the county the people were in a condition of complete social equality; no aristocratic distinctions were thought of in society, and the first line of demarkation drawn was to separate the very bad from the general mass. Their parties were for raisings and log-rollings, and, the labor being fin: ished, their sports usually were shooting and gy~:nastic exercises with the men, and convivial amusements among the women; no punctilious formality nor ignoble aping the fashions of licentious Paris marred their assemblies, but all were happy and enjoyed themselves in seeing others do so. The rich and the poor dressed alike - the men generally wearing hunting shirts and buckskin paats, and the women attired in coarse fabrics produced by their own hands. Such was their common and holiday dress, and if a fair damsel wished a superb dress for her bridal day, her highest aspiration was to obtain a common American cotton check. The latter, which now sells for a shilling a yard, then cost $1, and five yards was deemed an ample pattern; silks, satins and fancy goods, that now inflate our vanity and deplete our purses, were not then even dreamed of. The cabins were furnished in the same style of simplicity; the bedstead was home-made, and often consisted of forked sticks driven into the ground, with cross poles to support the clapboards or the cord. One pot, kettle and frying-pan were the only articles considered indispensable, though some included the tea-kettle; a few plates and dishes upon a shelf in one corner was as satisfactory as is now a cupboard full of china, and their food relished well from a puncheon table. Some of the wealthiest families had a few split bottom chairs, but as a general thing stools and benches answered the place of lounges and sofas; and at first the green sward or smoothly leveled earth served the double purpose of floor and carpet. Whisky toddy was considered luxury enough for any party. The woods furnished an abundance of fancy meats, and corn pone supplied the place of every variety of pastry.

The Log Cabin

After arriving and selecting a suitable location, the first thing to do was to build a log cabin, a description of which should be embalmed in print, as it will prove interesting to future generations as well as the prest: M Trees of uniform size were chosen and cut into logs of the desired length, generally fourteen to sixteen feet, and hauled to the spot selected for the future dwelling. Ifa hewed-log house was desired, as was occasionally the case with those who were a little "fore-handed," the logs would be hewed on two opposite sides, either before or after hauling. On an appointed day, the few neighbors who were available would assemble, and have a "house-raising." Each end of every log was "saddled," and notched-so that they would lie as close down as possible. The next day, the proprietor would proceed to " chink and daub" the cabin, to keep out the rain, wind andcold. To chink it was to drive small blocks of wood into the crevices or openings between the logs, and to daub it was to fill in clay mortar on both sides, making the walls air-tight. The house had to be re-daubed every fall, as the rains of the intervening time would wash out a great part of the mortar. The usual height of the house, from floor to loft, was six to seven feet. 'The gables were formed by shortening the logs gradually at each end of the building. On the topmost of these was laid the ridge-pole, the other logs for the roof having been laid parallel with the sides of the house and two and a half feet-apart as the gables were raised. On these logs or poles were laid the clapboards, "rived" for the purpose with a " frow." The frow was simply an iron blade fixed to its handle at a right angle, and this was driven into bolts of nicely splitting oak with a mallet. These clapboards were laid on shingling style, two and a half feet to the weather, and held to their place by weight poles instead of nails, the poles being laid opposite and above the supporting poles, and kept in their places by sticks of wood called * knees." There would not be a nail, or a screw, or any other thing metallic, in the whole building.

The chimney to the Western pioneer's cabin was made by leaving in the original building a large open place in one wall, or by cutting one after the wall was up, and by building on the outside, from the ground up, a stone or "mud and stick" chimney. For the first few feet, it was usual to lay up some irregular stones, held- to their place by a slab wall locked around them and covered interiorly with mud. The remainder of the chimney was made with sticks laid up cob-house or rail-pen fashion, and these filled and plastered inside 'and outside with clay mortar. The fireplace thus made was often large enough to receive firewood six or eight feet long. Sometimes this wood, especially the "back log," would be nearly as large as a saw log, and a horse would be employed to "snake" or "tow" it into the house.. The more rapidly the pioneer could burn up the wood in his vicinity, the sooner he had his little farm cleared and ready for cultivation.

For a window, a section about two feet long was cut out of one of the wall logs and the aperture closed sometimes with glass, but generally with greased paper, or even, in rare instances, with thin deer skin greased. A doorway was eut through one of the walls, if a saw was to be had; otherwise, the door would be left by using shortened logs in raising the building. The door was made by fastening clapboards to cross-pieces with wooden pins, and was hung upon wooden hinges. A wooden latch then finished the door. To this a leather string was attached, and ran through a hole above, one end hanging down on the outside. For security at night, the latch.string was drawn in, but during the day, the "latch-string was always hanging out," for the convenience of callers and as a sign of welcome.

Sometimes the bare ground was used for a floor, but generally a floor was made of puncheous or slabs, laid upon sleepers. Puncheons were what might be termed rude plank, such as could he made with the maul and wedge, ax and broad-ax. There was no occasion for having the floor tightly laid, as the walls rested solidly on the ground and kept the interior warm during cold weather. Small articles, however, would sometimes drop. through, anda puncheon would have to be raised in order to recover them.

The " loft," or garret, was sometimes wanting: but when a few boards could be obtained, they were laid upon joists overhead, and thus a sort of storage and sleeping room formed next the roof, where one could lie and hear the rain patter upon the clapboard roof close to his ears.

shelf," on which stood the candlestick or lamp, some cooking utensils or table ware, the old clock and some miscellaneous articles. In the fire-place would be the crane, sometimes of iron, sometimes of wood. On it the pots were hung, for cooking. Over the door, in forked cleats or rude brackets, hung the rifle and powder-horn. In one corner stood the beds, the larger one for the parents and baby, and under it the trundle bed for the rest of the children. In another stood the old-fashioned spinning-wheel, with a corner stood the only table, a heavy one. In the remaining corner was a rude cupboard, containing the table ware, which consisted of a few cups and saucers and blue-edged plates, standing singly on their edges against the back, to make tke display of table furniture more conspicuous; while around the room were scattered a few splint-bottomed or Windsor chairs, and two or three stools.

These simple cabins were inhabited by a kind and true-hearted people. They were strangers to mock-modesty, and the traveler, seeking accommodations for the night, or desirous of spending a few days in the community, if willing to accept the rude offering, was always welcome, although how they were disposed of the reader might not easily imagine, for, as described, a single room, about fifteen feet square, was made to answer for kitchen, dining-room, sitting-room, bedroom and parlor, and many families consisted of six or eight members.

Sleeping Accommodations

The bed was very often made by fixing a post in the floor about six feet from one wall and four feet from the adjoining wall, to serve as a bed-post, while rails extended from it to the walls. Stiff clapboards formed the bed bottom, on which was placed a large feather tick and the other bedding. Guests were given this bed, while the family disposed of themselves in another corner of the room, or in the " loft."

Cooking

To witness the processes of cookery in those days would alike surprise and amuse those who have grown up since cooking-stoves and ranges came into use. Kettles and pots were hung over the large fire, suspended with pot-hooks, iron or wooden, on the crane, or on poles, one end of which would rest upon a chair. The lony-handled frying-pan was used for cook. ing meat and baking pancakes, called also "flapjacks" and "batter cakes." It was either held over the fire by hand or' set down on coals drawn out upon the hearth. For baking bread, the best article was a cast-iron spider or Dutch skillet. The "bake kettle," or Dutch oven, was like it, but deeper, in which were baked those large corn " pones" made light with over and underneath was placed a bed of live coals, which was renewed oceasionally. Bread, however, was sometimes baked in the hot ashes underneath the fire, and sometimes upon a board tipped up in front of the fire. Corn bread, baked in the last mentioned manner, was the true "hoe-cake," this name being derived from the primary negro wethod of using a hoe for the purpose. " Johnny cake," corrupted from " journey cake," is the name of any simply prepared corn bread. l Potatoes, both Irish and sweet, and even squashes and pumpkins, were also often baked in the ashes. This methed of baking, indeed, although somewhat troublesome, produced a more palatable and apparantly more wholesome article than any other method, either ancient or modern. Turkeys and spare-ribs were sometimes roasted before the fire, suspended by a string, a dish being placed underneath to catch the drippings, which would make a nice gravy.

Hominy and samp were very much used. These dishes were prepared from pounded corn; but the so-called " hominy" was generally hulled corn. This was boiled corn from which the hull or bran had been eaten off by boiling lye; hence sometimes called "lye hominy." A popular method of making hominy and samp, and sometimes corn-meal itself, was o cut out or burn a large hole in the top of a huge stump, in the shape of a mortar, and pound the corr in this with a maul or beetle suspended on the end of a spring pole, like a well-sweep or a modern apparatus for boring artesian wells by hand. When the samp was sufficiently pounded, it was taken out, the bran floated off and the delicious grain boiled like rice.

The chief articles of diet were corn bread, hominy, vefhison and other wild game, pork, honey, beans, potatoes, pumpkin (dried pumpkin for more than half the year), and some garden "truck," a portion of the year. Wheat bread, tea, coffee and preserves were luxuries not to be indulged in except on special occasions, as when visitors were present.

Well water was generally drawn up with what is called a " sweep," which was a long, heavy pole, hinged in a fork at the top of a tall post, and a rope or chain attached at the end over the well, with the bucket. Water could be drawn more rapidly with this simple apparatus than with the windlass or any modern pump.

Besides cooking, in the manner just described, the women had many other arduous duties to perform, one of the chief of which was spinning, and often weaving also. The "big wheel" was used for spinning yarn, and the " little wheel" for spinning flax. These stringed instruments furnished the principal music of the family, and remarkable was the skill with which our mothers and grandmothers manipulated them. In spite of wolves, the settlers succeeded in raising same sheep, and often made all the cloth used in the family, except a little cotton goods for sheets and underclothing, and occasionally a little calico for a fancy dress. Wool was carded and made irto rolls by hand cards, and the rolls were spun on the "big wheel." We still occasionally find, in the houses of old settlers, a wheel of the kind, sometimes used for spinning or twisting cotton yarn. A common article woven on the pioneer loom was linsey, or linsey-woolsey, the "chain" or "warp" being linen, and " filling" or " woof" woolen. This cloth was used for dresses for the women and girls. "Jeans" were woven for men's clothing. Straw hats for the men and straw bonnets for the women were plaited and sewed by hand. Ina very few years, however, * store clothes" began to be purchased, very rarely at first, on account of their relative expensiveness.

These home fabrics were dyed with walnut bark, indigo, copperas, ete., and striped or checkered work was produced by first dying portions of the _ yarn their respective colors before it was put into the loom.

Religious Worship

The Methodists were generally first on the ground in pioneer settlements, and at that early day were more demonstrative in their devotions than at the present time. Pulpit oratory was also more full of action, and fraught with soaring flights, while the grammatical dress was thought of but little. Family worship, especially among the pioneer Methodists and United Brethren, partook of the zealous fervency of their more public devotions. We had then a most emphatic American edition of that pious old Scotch practice so eloquently described in Burns' " Cotter's Saturday Night:" à "The cheerfu' supper done, wi' serious face They round the ingle formed a circle wide; The sire turns o'er wi' patriarchal grace, : The big ha' Bible, once his father's pride. His bonnet rev'rently is laid aside, His lyart hafferts wearing thin and bare, Those strains that ance did sweet in Zion glide, He wales a portion wi' judicious care, And 'Let us worship God,' he says, wi' solemn air.

"They chant their artless notes in simple guise; They tune their hearts - by far the noblest aim; Perhaps 'Dundee's' wild warbling measures rise, Or plaintive 'Martyrs,' worthy of the name; Or noble 'Elgin' beats the heavenward flame, The sweetest far of Scotia's hallowed lays. Compared wi' these, Italian trills are tame; The tickled ear no heartfelt raptures raise; Nae unison hae they wi' our Creator's praise.

The familiar tunes of pioneer worship were mostly in the minor key, and very pensive and solemnly inspiring, in striking contrast with the worldly sound of nearly all modern church music. As they are named in tho old * Missouri Harmony " (who has seen-this music book within the last thirty years?), the characteristic standard tunes were such as Bourbon, Consolation, China, Canaan, Conquering Soldier, Condescension, Devotion, Davis,

Greenville, Idumea, Imandra, Kentucky, Lenox, Leander, Mear, New Orleans, Northfield, New Salem, New Durham, Olney, Primrose, Pisgah, Pleyel's Hymn, Rockbridge, Rockingham, Reflection, Supplication, Salvation, St. Thomas, Salem, Tender Thought, Windham, ete., besides a great number known only by the first lines of the words, as " O, how happy are they," " Come, thou fount of every blessing," " O, for a glance of heavenly

Once or twice a day - in the morning, just before or after breakfast, and in the evening just before retiring to rest - the head of the family would call to order, read a chapter in the Bible, announcé the hymn and time by fervent prayer. If a pious guest was present, he would be called upon to take the lead in the religious exercises; and if, in those days, a person who prayed either in the family or in public, did not pray as if it were his very

Members of other orthodox denominations also had their family prayers,. in which, however, the phraseology was somewhat different from that of the Methodists, and the voice kept low and calm.

Hospitality

never "full." Although there might be already a guest for every puncheon, still there was ".room for one more." If the stranger was in search of land, he was doubly welcome, and his host would volunteer to show him all the first-rate claims in "this 'ere neck of the woods," going with him for days, showing the corners and advantages of every " Congress tract" or 'unclaimed section within a dozen miles. To his neighbors, the pioneer was equally liberal. If a deer was killed, the choicest bits were sent to . them - a half-dozen miles away, perhaps. When a "shoat" was butchered, the neighbors were also kindly remembered. If a new-comer came in too late for "cropping," the neighbors would supply his table with the same luxuries they themselves enjoyed, and in as liberal quantity, until a new crop could be raised. Often the neighbors would also cut and hew logs, and haul them to the place of the new-comer's future residence, concluding _the jubilee task with a grand house-raising. The first night after completing the cabin, they would have a "house warming" and a dance, as a sort of dedication. The very next day, the new-comer was about as wealthy as the oldest. settlers.

An instance of primitive hospitality will be in place here. A traveling Methodist preacher arrived in a distant neighborhood to fill an , appointment. The house where services were to be held did not belong to a church member - -but no matter for that. Boards were raked up from all quarters, with which to make temporary seats, one of the neighbors volunteering to lead off in the work, while the man of the house, with the faithful rifle on his shoulder, sallied forth tu the woods in quest of meat; for this was truly a. * ground-hog case" - the preacher coming and no meat in the house. He did not rest unti! he found his game, which this time was a deer. Returning, he sent a boy out after it, with directions on what " pint" to find it. After services, which had been listened to with rapt attention, the host said to his wife, * Old woman, Ireckon tbis 'ere preacher is poorty hungry, an' you must git "im a bite to eat." "What shall I git 'm?" asked the wife, who had not seen the deer; *thar's nothin' in the house to eat." * Why, look thar," said he, "thar's a deer, and thar's plenty o' corn in the field. You git some corn an' grate it, while I skin the deer an' we'll have a good supper for him." And they well succeeded. Good bread, from new corn, grated, and venison steak are as palatable as any entree in the world.

Trade And Money

Commercial transactions were generally carried on without money, that. is, by exchanges of commodities, called " barter" in the books. In this system, sometimes, considerable ingenuity was displayed. When commod. ities were not even in value, credit was given. But for taxes and postage neither the barter nor the credit dodge would answer, and often letters were suffered to remain a long time in the post office for want of the 25 cents in money demanded by the Government. With all this high price on postage, by the way, the letter had not been brought several hundred miles in a day or two, as now-a-days, and delivered within a mile or two of the person addressed; but it had been weeks on the route, and delivered, probably, ata ' post office five, ten or twenty miles distant.

Peltries came nearer being money than anything else, as it came, in some sections, to be the custom to estimate values in peltries; such an article was worth so many peltries. Even some tax collectors and postmasters were known to take peltries and exchange them for the money required by the Government. Now and then, a farmer would load a flat-boat with peltries, tallow, honey, beeswax and perhaps a little grain and a few hundred clapboards, and float down the rivers into the Ohio and thence to New Orleans, where he would exchange his produce for staple groceries and cash. This was, in some places, the principal means of bringing money into the country. Betimes, there appeared at the steamboat landings " commission - and forwarding merchants," as "middle men," to carry on the business through steam navigation, and thus money became more plentiful and indeed more needed. The Winter's accumulations would be shipped in large quantities in the Spring, and manufactured goods would come back in return. Orders on the store were abundant, and served as a kind of local money. When a day's work was done by a working man, his employer would ask, " Well, what store do you want your order on?" The answer being given, the order was drawn, which was nearly always honored.

When the first settlers came into the wilderness, they generally supposed that their hard struggle would be principally over after the first year; but, alas! they often looked for "easier times next year" for many years before realizing them; and then they came in so gradually and obsecurely as to be almost imperceptible. The sturdy frontiersmen thus learned to bear hardships likesoldiers on duty. The less heroic would sell out cheap, return to their old homes East and spread reports of the hard. ships and privations on the frontier, while the sterner class would remain and also take advantage of these partially improved lands thus abandoned, and in time become wealthy. j

At one time, tea retailed at $2 to $3 a pound; coffee, 75 cents; salt, from $5 to $6 a bushel of fifty pounds; the coarsest calico, $1 a yard, and whisky, $1 to $2 a gallon, and all this at atime, too, when the poor pioneers had no money to buy with, except the little they sometimes obtained for peltries.

About 1837, a farmer would haul his whéat to Sandusky City, over swampy rouds, requiring six to eight days to make the trip, and sell his grain for 60 cents a bushel. On returning, they brought out merchandise, at the rate of 50 cents a hundred weight.

Flour, for some time, could not be obtained nearer than Zanesville or Chillicothe. Store goods were very high, and none but the most common kinds were - brought here, and had to be packed on horses or mules from Detroit, or wagoned from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh, thence floated down the Ohio River to the mouth of the Scioto, and then packed or hauled up. The freight was enormous, often costing $4 a ton.

Milling

Bread, the " staff of life," was the most difficult of all to procure, as there were no mills in the country to grind the grain. The use of stump mortars and graters already referred tv, were tedious and tiresome processes. ~A grater was a semi-cylindrical piece of thickly perforatea tin, fastened upon a board, and operated upon as is a nutmeg grater. The corn was taken in the ear, and grated before it got dry and hard. By and by a horse grist mill was put up here and there, and then water grist mills along the principal streams; but all these together could not keep pace with the demands of the rapidly growing settlements. When there was water enough to run the mills, the roads were too muddy and small streams too high for teaming and taking the grain to the mills. Horse mills were too slow, and thus the community had to plod their weary way along until steam flouring mills were introduced.

Agricultural Implements

The implements used by the first farmers in this State would, in this age of improvement, be great curiosities. The plow was of the wooden mold-board, bar-share pattern, difficult to describe. The reapers were the sickle and the cradle. Harrows with wooden teeth, were simply brush heaps dragged over the ground. . Hoes were almost as heavy as grubbing hoes. Threshing machines were flails, or the graiu was trodden out by horses or oxen. A sheet or quilt, with a stout person at each end to swing it simultaneously, sometimes constituted the fanning mill; or sometimes the grain and chaff would be dipped up with a pail, held aloft and slowly poured out, while the wind was blowing. Handbreaks were used for breaking flax and hemp.

Hog Killing

bright winter morning the farmer would call in his neighbors to help * kill hogs;" large kettles of water were heated; a sled or two, covered with boards, was the platform on which the hogs were cleaned. Against it was leaned up the hogshead or barrel in whieh the scalding was done; a quilt being thrown over the top, to retain the heat. From the crotch of a tree near by, a projecting pole was rigged, to hold the animals for devisceration, trimming and thorough cleaning. When everything was arranged, the best shot of the company loaded his rifle, and the work of killing commenced. It was considered a disgrace to make a hog squeal by bad shooting or butchering. A "shoulder stiek," which was to be avoided, was the running of the point of the butcher knife into the shoulder instead of the gullet. As each hog fell, the "sticker " mounted him, and plunged the knife into his throat. After bleeding a few minutes, and all signs of motion ceased, two men would catch him by the hind legs, draw him up to the scalding tub, which had just been filled with boiling-hot water, with a 'shovelful of good greenwood ashes thrown in. In this the carcass was plunged and moved around a minute or two, or until the hair would slip off easily, then placed onthe platform, where the cleaners would pitch upon it with all their might, with knives or any other sharp-edged article, until all the hair was cleaned off. Then it was hung up, bya " gambrell," upon the pole above described, where the work of cleaning would be finished.

The next day, those hogs which were selected for domestic use were cut up, the lard "tried" out by the women, and the surplus hogs were taken to market while the weather was cold, if possible. The merchant at the steamboat landing had a pork house, in which he stored his stock until it was shipped in the spring. In this, the pork-packing was done, giving employment to a number of hands during the winter. Allowing for the difference of eurrency and manner of marketing, the price of pork in those days was not so high as at present. Now, while calico and muslin are 8 and 10 cents a yard, and pork 2 to 4 cents a pound, and wheat $1 a bushel, then the cottons were 25 cents a yard, while pork was only 1 to 2 cents a pound and wheat 25 cents a bushel. In other words, a bushel of wheat, now-a-days, buys as much cotton goods as ten bushels would then.

Wild Hogs

_ When the earliest pioneer reached this Western wilderness, game was his principal meat, until he had conquered a farm from the forest or prairie. As the country filled up with inhabitants, game grew correspondingly scarce, and by 1840-50, he who would live by his rifle would have had but & precarious subsistence had it not been for " wild hogs." These animals - - the descendants of those left by home-sick emigrants who had returned East - multiplied and thrived in a wild state, their subsistence being chiefly acorns, nuts, sedge stalks and flesh of carcasses 'and small vermin. The second and third immigration to the country found these wild hogs an unfailing source of meat supply for a number of years. In some sections of the West, they became altogether too numerous for comfort, and the citizens met, organized and adopted measures for their extermination.

Bee Hunting

This wild recreation was a peculiar one, and many a backwoodsman gloried in excelling in this art. He would carefully watch a bee as it filled itself with the sweet product of some flower or leaf-bud, and notice particularly the direction taken by it as it struck a "bee line" for its home, which, would be marked, and in September a party would go and cut down the tree and eapture the honey as quickly as they could before it wasted away. Several gallons would thus be often taken from a single tree, and, by a very little work, and pleasant at that, the early settlers could keep themselves in honey the year round. When the honey was a year old or less, it would turn white and granulate, yet be as good and healthful as when fresh. This was by some called "candied" honey. In some districts, the resorts of bees would be so plentiful that all the available hollow trees would be oceupied, and many colonies of bees would be found at work in crevices in the rock and holes in the ground, and some honey has been taken from such places. : THE SHAKES.

One of the greatest obstacles to the early settlement and prosperity of the West was the ague, " fever and ague," or "chills and fever," as it was variously termed. In the fall, almost everybody was afflicted with it. It was no respecter of persons. Everybody looked pale and sallow, as though he were frost-bitten. It was not contagious, but derived from impure water and malaria, such as is abundant in a new, timbered country. The impurities from them, combined with those which came from bad dietetics, engorged the liver and deranged the whole vital machinery. By and by the shock would come, and come iu the form of a shake, followed by a fever. These would be regular, on certain hours every alternate day - sometimes every day or every third day. When you had the chill, you couldn't get warm, and when you had the fever you couldn't get cool. It was exceedingly awkward in this respect, indeed it was! Nor would it stop for any sort of contingency; not even a wedding in the family would stop it It was tyrannical. When the appointed time came around, everything else had to be stopped to attend to its demands. It didn't have even any Sundays or holidays.

After the fever went down, you still didn't feel much better. You felt as though you had gone through some sort of collision, or threshing machine, or jarring machine and came out, not killed, but you sometimes wish you had been. You felt weak, as though you had run too far after something and then didn't catch it. You felt languid, stupid and sore, and was down in the mouth and heel, and partially raveled out. Your back was out of fix, your head ached and your appetite was crazy. Your eyes had too much white in them; your ears, especially after taking quinine, had too much roar in them, and your whole body and soul were entirely woe-begone, disconsolate, sad, poor and good-for-nothing. You didn't think much of yourself, and didn't believe that other people did either; and you didn't care. You didn't make up your mind to commit suicide, but sometimes wished some accident would happen to knock either the malady or yourself out of existence. You imagined that even the dogs looked at you with a kind of self-complacency. You felt that even the sun had a sickly shine about it.

About this time, you came to the conclusion that you would not accept the whole State of Ohio as a gift; and if you had the strength and meaus, you picked up Hannah and the baby and your traps and went back " yander to Ole Virginny," " Pennsylvany," " Maryland," or the " Jarseys." You didn't sing, but you felt, the following:

The above is not a mere picture of the imagination. It is simply recounting, in quaint phrase, what actually occurred in thousands of cases. Whole families would sometimes be siek at one time, and not one member scarcely able to wait upon another. Labor or exercise always aggravated the malady, and it took Gen. Laziness a long time to thrash the enemy out. And those were the days for swallowing all sorts of." roots and yarbs," and whisky, etc., with a faint hope of relief. And finally, when the case wore out, the last remedy taken got the credit of the cure.

Education

The primitive log schoolhouse was erected in every neighborhood as soon as there were a dozen children to attend school. The general architecture of this original academy of the wilderness was the same as that already described for the cabin; the difference being that the furniture of the schoolhouse consisted exclusively of benches for seats and a desk fastened to the wall on two sides of tbe room, behind the principal row of benches, on which the pupils did their writing and laid articles not used for the time being. These writing desks were simply rough slabs, resting upon pins driven inclined into the wall, and they extended nearly the whole length and width of the building. The fire-place averaged larger than those in dwellings.

Imagine such a house, with tne children seated around, the teacher on one end of a bench orn a chair, with no desk, and you have a view of the whole scene. The "schoolmaster" has just called " Books! books!"

at the door, and the scholars have just run in, almost out of breath from vigorous play, taken their seats and are, for the moment, hurriedly " saying over their lessons" in aloud whisper, preparatory to recitation. While they are thus engaged, the teacher is, perhaps, sharpening a few quill pens for the pupils, for no other kind of writing pen had been thought of as yet. In a few minutes, he calls up an urchin to say his ABC's. The little boy stands beside the teacher, perhaps leaning against him. The teacher, with his pen-knife (urchin wishes he owned such a knife), points to the first letter, and asks what it is. The little fellow remains silent, for he does not know what to say, "A," says the teacher; "A," echoes the urchin. Teacher then points to the next, when the same programme is carried out, and so on, with three or four letters a day, and day after day until the "boy has got all his A B C's by heart." At the conclusion of these exercises, the teacher bids the * Major " to go to his seat and study his letters, and when he comes to a letter he doesn't know to come to him and he will tell him. Accordingly, he returns to his seat, looks on his book a little while, and then goes trudging across the floor to the master, pointing to a letter outside of his lesson, and holds it up awkwardy in front of the teacher's face. He is told that that letter is not in his lesson, and he needn't study it now, and he trudges, smilingly as he catches the eye of some one, back to his seat

To prevent wearing the books out at the lower corner, every pupil was expected to keep a "thumb-paper " under his thumb as he held the book in his hand, which was tben the custom, there being no desks in front of the scholars. Even then the books were soiled and worn through at this place in a few weeks, so that a part of many lessons were gone. Consequently, the request was often made, "Master, may I borrow Jimmy's book, to git my lesson in? Mine hain't in my book; it's tore out." It was also customary to use book pointers, to point out the letters or words in study as well as in recitation. 'The black stem of the maiden-hair fern was a favorite material from which pointers were made.

The a-b, ab, scholars through with, perhaps the second or third reader class would be called up, who would stand in a row in front of the teacher, "toeing the mark," which was actually a chalk ur charcoal mark, or a crack, and, commencing at one end of the class, one would read the first "verse," the next the second, and so on round and round, Sunday school fashion, taking the paragraphs in the order they occur. Whenever a pupil hesitated at a word, the teacher would pronounce it for him. And this was all there was of the reading exercise.

Those, studying arithmetic were but little classified, and they were, therefore, generally called forward singly and interviewed, or the teacher would visit them at their seats. A lesson, comprising several "sums," would be given for the next day to those in classes, while others would press forward without any regard to quantity. Whenever the learner came to a "sum he couldn't do," he would go to the teacher with it - unless he was a drone - and the teacher would do it for him.

In geography, no wall maps were used, no drawing required, and the studying and recitation comprised only the " getting-by-heart" names and places. The recitation proceeded like this: " Where is Norfolk?" "In the southeastern partof Virginia." " Whatbay between Maryland and Virginia?" "Chesapeake." " What is the capital of Pennsylvania?" Harrisburg." " Where does the Susquehannah River rise?" "In New York.

ter, and every pupil learning the art would throw his feet over and around. under the writing desk, facing the greased paper or glass window, and proceed to "follow copy," which was invariably set by the teacher at his leisure moments, not by rule, but by as nice a stroke of the pen as he could make. Blue ink and blue paper were both common, and a "blue time" the learner often had of it. P About half past 10 o'clock, the master would announce, "School may go out," which meant "little play-time," in the children's parlance, called in modern times "recess" or "intermission." Sometimes the boys and girls were allowed to have this intermission separately. Between play times, the request, " Master, may I go out?" was often iterated, to the annoyance of the teacher and the disturbance of the school. At about half-past 11 o'clock, or a little later, the teacher would announce, "Scholars may now get their spelling lessons," and then, in prospect of * big play time" being near at hand, they would, with the characteristic loud whisper, "say over" to themselves the lesson a given number ` of times. " Master, I've said my lesson over four times," would sometimes be heard. A few minutes before 12, the " little spelling class" would recite, and then the " big spelling class." The latter would comprise the larger scholars and the greater part of the school. They would stand in a row, toeing the mark in the midst of the floor, or standing with their backs against an unoccupied portion of the wall. One end of the class was the "head," the other the " foot," and when the pupil spelled a missed word correctly he would "go up," "turning down" all those who had missed it. The recitation done, the class would number, the head pupil numbering as at the foot, where he or she would take station next time, to have another opportunity of turning them all down. Before taking their' seats, the teacher

.would say, * School's dismissed," which was the signal for every child rushing for his dinner; and enjoying the " big play-time." The same programme would also be followed on closing school in the afternoon.

* Past the Pictures." THis phrase had its origin in the practice of pioneer schools which used Webster's Elementary Spelling Book, toward the back part of which were a few reading lessons illustrated with pictures - as the'mastiff, the stag, the squirrel, the boy stealing apples, the partial lawyers, the milk-maid's day dream, and poor Tray. Succeeding this illusirated portion of the book were a few more spelling exercises, of a peculiar kind; and when a scholar succeeded in reaching these he was said to be "past the pictures," and was looked up to as being smarter and more learned than most other youths expected to be. Hence the application of this phrase came to be extended to other affairs in life, especially where scholarship was involved.

Spelling And Singing Schools

These were held at night, at the schoolhouse, when a general frolic was had, and sometimes mischief was done by the "rowdies." On assembling for the spelling match, two youths would volunteer as "captains," to * choose sides" and have a contest. Various methods were adopted, eveu in the same neighborhood, for conducting this exciting exercise. Sometimes "tally" would be kept; at other times a system of cross-spelling would be followed, commencing at the head or at the foot, or they would spell straight round, or have a " word-catcher" appointed for each side, or would "turn down," etc. After an hour's contest, an intermission was had, which was indeed a lively time for conversation. After recess, the practice was to have a regular spelling down, sometimes the sides chosen at the first taking their places so as to carry on a sort of double contest, and sometimes taking all the assembly promiseuously. The audience dismissed, the next thing was to *go home," very often by a round.about way, 'a-sleighing with the girls," which, with many, was the most interesting part of the evening's performance. :

The singing school was of later introduction, but afforded equal advantage for a jubilee. These occasions were looked forward to with great anticipation, even by the older folks.

Guarding Against Indians

In pioneer times, when Indian alarms were frequent, it was customary for the frontiersman to take his rifle to the field with him and keep it near by. Often they would also carry a butcher knife, tomahawk and pistol about their persons. A stick would be set up near the gun, so that it could readily be found in case of emergency. It must-have been painful to work in such suspense, taking some noise to be an Indian alarm several times every day, in one instance for two long years without interruption. Many an exciting experience is related by old settlers in connection with this tedious, cumbersome process of opening up and cultivating their farms.

Bees

Not honey bees, but quilting bees, husking bees, apple parings, log rollings and house raisings, etc., were jolly occasions, when a great deal of work was done, and often a deal of whisky drank, too. In corn-huskings, the women often took part. In the evening of such days, a grand supper would be served, and after.the older and more sedate had left, the remaiader would indulge in an old-fashioned dance.

Saturday afternoons were generally holidays for those who lived at or near villages, the most public cross-roads, etc., when they would assemble to witness the militia drill, drink whisky, do mischief, and have a general jollification.

A Retrospect

Ohio is a grand State; taking it all in all, it is one of the two or three reatest in the Union. Beneath her fertile soil is coal enough to supply the State for many generations; her barvests are bountiful; she has a medium climate; is conveniently situated in the nation and with reference to the large markets. But for her present standing, she owes much to the sturdy pioneers whose unremitting toil is referred to in these pages. How great the transformation they have wrought, and amid what troubles!

And now, how natural to turn our mental vision back to the log-cabin days of half a century ago, and contrast those rude dwellings with the elegant mansion of to-day. Before us stands the old log cabin. Let us enter. Instinctively the head is uncovered, in token of reverence to this relic of ancestral beginnings and early struggles. To the left is the deep, wide fire-place, in whose commodious space a group of children may sit by the fire, and up through the chimney count the stars, while ghostly stories of witches and giants, and still more thrilling stories of Indians and wild beasts, are whisperingly told and shudderingly heard. On the great crane hang the old iea-kettle and the great iron pot. The huge shovel and tongs stand sentinel in either corner, while the great andirons patiently wait for the huge back-log. Over the fire-place hangs the trusty rifle. At the right stands the spinning wheel, while in the further end of the room the loom looms up with a dignity peculiarly its own. Strings of drying apple and poles of drying pumpkin are overhead. Opposite the door stands the great walnut table; by its side the dresser, whose pewter plates and shining delf catch and reflect the fire's flame as shields of armies do the sunshine. From the corner of its shelves coyly peep out the relies of former china. Ina eurtained corner of the room is "mother's bed," and under it the trundle bed, while near them a ladder indicates the loft where the older children sleep. Toward another corner is * mother's workstand," upon which lies the Bible, evidently much used, and its family record, telling of parents and friends a long way off; and telling, too, of children

Her spectacles, as if but just used, are inserted between the leaves of the Bible, and tell of her purpose to return to its comforts when cares permit and duty is done. A stool, a bench well notched and whittled and carved, and a few old chairs complete the furniture of the room; and all stand on a coarse but well-scoured floor.

Let us, fora moment, watch the city visitors to this humble cabin. The city bride, innocent but thoughtless and ignorant of labor and care, asks her city-bred husband, " Pray, what savages set this up?" Honestly confessing his ignorance, he replies that he does not know. But see the pair on whom age sits " frosty but kindly." First, as they enter, thoy give a rapid glance about the cabin home, and then a mutual glance of eye to eye. Why do tears start and fill their eyes? Why do their lips quiver? There are many who know why; but who. that has not learned in'tlre school of experience the full ineaning of all these symbols of trials and privation, of loneliness and danger, can comprehend the story that they tell to the pioneer? Within this chinked and mud.daubed cabin we read the first pages of our history; and as we retire through its low doorway and note the heavy, battened door, its wooden hinges and its welcoming latch-string, is it strange that the scenes without should seem but an Arabian Nights dream? But the cabin and the palace, standing side by side in vivid contrast, tell the story of this people's progress. They are a history anda prophecy in one.