Piatt County, Illinois - Chapter 5: Customs of the Olden Time, 1883

" There are gains for all our losses, There are balms for all our pains, But when youth, the divani, departs, It takes something from our hearts few lines contain a germ of truth, and one of the reasons -L that the old settlers of the county look back with longing eye and throbbing hearts to the days of "Aukl Lang Syne." The youthful eye of the pioneer saw bluer skies, and greener trees, than the aged eye now sees ; the luxuriant grasses waved to gentler breezes ; cooler, clearer water from rippling brook or refreshing spring laved his heated brow, or quenched his ardent thirst ; his quickened ear caught sweeter strains in the nesting-songs of the feathered tribe, and when twilight clo> -(! the busy day he was "lulled into pleasant dreams by happy toil." Such is some of the glamour which youth sheds over the kwgood old times." However it was not all poetry, the early days in this county. There was a stern and practical side to the life of every pioneer. Trials and hardships found their way into each home. But interwoven with this life of simple pleasures, primitive joys, of alternate smiles and tears, of imdiminished labor, there are many life lessons which we of later days would do well to pause and ponder.

Directed by the faithful, sturdy hand of a dear old man, whose cheerful presence yet gladdens many homes of the present time, let us gaze backward into the past and glean some of the gems from Memory's treasure-house. Lured "on by whispered tales of the abundant resources and future greatness of the new states, the first settlers of this county left their timber-bound homes of Ohio, Kentucky or Indiana and drifted with the tide of immigration into the great ''prairie sea." No doubt, had their pen been as mighty, they would have said of Illinois' magnificent prairies, as Bryant :

"My heart swells while the dilated sight Takes in the encircling vastness. Lo, they stretch In airy undulations far away, As if the ocean, in its gentle swells, Stood still, with all his rounded billows fixed And motionless forever."

Nurtured under the protecting forests of their native states, the immigrants sought timbered land for their new home. In fact it -was years after the first settler came to this county ere it was known that prairie soil could be successfully cnltivated. Upon reaching the watercourses of the county, the timbered region, the new comers pitched their tent, and with their ax, " the first weapon of offense against the forests," began to fell trees, thus clearing land for cultivation, and at the same time preparing to build the primitive log cabin of the county. For years aftqj the first settlements were made in the county, all the men living therein collected together to aid in the raising of each new cabin. These cabins were usually from 14 to 16 feet, and rarely twenty feet, square. They were usually built in the following manner: "Firstlarge logs were laid in position as sills ; on these were placed strong sleepers, and on the sleepers were laid the rough-hewed puncheons which were to serve as floors. The logs were then built up till the proper height for the eaves was reached ; then on the ends of the building were placed poles, longer than the other end-logs, which projected some eighteen or more inches over the sides, and were called " butting pole sleepers "; on the projecting ends of these were placed the "butting poles," which served to give the lines to the first row of clapboards. These were, as a matter of course, split, and as the gables of the cabin were built up, were so laid on as to lap a third of their length. They were often kept in place by the weight of a heavy pole supported by what was called knees, which was laid across the roof parallel to the ridge-pole. The house was then chinked, and daubed with coarse mortar."

In the first cabins of the county huge fire-places, occupying nearly the entire end of the room, were built. These were large enough for persons to sit in chairs on either side of the burning fire, and being entirely within the fireplace they could look up the chimney and out at the sky above. At these fireplaces our mothers cooked, and our fathers tell us that the bread from the "dutch-oven," the corn bread from the "pone" board, the venison from above the coals, and the potatoes from out the ashes, were sweeter far, and formed more delicious food, than any of the dishes of modern device.

In a few of the first cabins in the county, a log being left out of one side, sheets of paper greased with "coon grease" covered the opening and feebly let in the daylight to the inmates. Nearly all the furniture of these first cabins were "home made." A single puncheon board with four legs projecting from the underside formed the dining table, and blocks of wood on three legs were their chairs. The bedstead corresponded with the rest, and sometimes was made with but two poles united at a right angle, and projecting into the side and end of the room. Boards resting on this framework formed a spring bed compared to the hardness of the puncheon floor.

Come with me for a moment and we will take a peep into one of these primitive cabins, after more modern furniture came into use. Here we are on the hewn threshold of the one door, which is in the south side of the house. The latch-string, which is "always out," is drawn and the wooden latch lifts with a sharp click. slowly the massive door swings back from the generous opening and we in truth see some of the charms of "ye olden time." In spite of carpetless floor, limited space and crude furniture, there is an air of comfort about the interior that cannot be denied. After our return we will relate our experience and what we saw in the cabin. At first our entire attention was attracted to the fireplace on the west side of the room, and we saw verified Whittier's twilight scene in "Snow-bound." We saw

"The oaken log, green, huge, and thick, And on its top the stout hack-stick ; The knotty forcstick laid apart, And tilled between with curious art

The ragged brush ; then, hovering near, We watched the first red blaze appear, Hoard the sharp crackle, caught the gleam On whitewashed wall and sagging beam, Until the old, rude furnished room Burst, flower-like into rosy bloom.

Sitting there in the mystic light from this charmed fireside we gazed about the room. The sand-scoured puncheon floor reflected the lirelight to wall and ceiling. Chairs, stools, benches and chests were scattered about the room. Three curtained beds with narrow passways between, and mayhap a trundle bed beneath, stood with heads to the east at the back part of the room. Under the spotless curtained windows - the one at the west and the other at the north of the room - stood a stand and dining table. In the corner to the left of the lireplace an old-time cupboard rested against the wall. Rows of blue and white plates lined the uncurtained shelves, while a huge onion or a ripe tomato ornamented the top. High over the fireplace the narrow mantle with its medicine bottles, candlestick, and what not, rested ; while, at various places about "the room, boards resting on sticks driven into auger holes formed shelves for bedding and other things. The pioneer's friend and weapon of defense, his gun, rested on wooden hooks fastened to the centermost joist of the ceiling. Hanging on wooden pegs against the wall in the back part of the room were the " linsey woolsey," drawstring tow, or eight-yard calico dresses, of the economical and thrifty women, of the household, and the stocking-pole or line found its place in the corner of the cabin. The spinning wheels, both large and small, had their place in the corner of the room. From the joists and about the wall, dried herbs of various kinds were hanging. From these, soothing beverages were made by the family nurse of the home - the good house-wife - for healing the wounded and curing the sick. On peeled hickory poles resting on pegs driven into the joists there hung numberless rounds of dried pumpkins and strings of dried apples.

While viewing all these numerous articles we sat in the midst of the inmates of the house. With genuine pleasure and good will beaming in their kindly faces, they had made us welcome and with generous hand and open heart had entertained us well.

As we reluctantly left this genial home and turned our steps to a modern one, we thought along the years from then till now - the old days to the new, and we grievingly saw many dear old customs that had gradually dropped out of use, so that perhaps but a shadow of their influence reaches the present time.

Very much of the free-hearted hospitality which used to make each cabin a home to the stranger is gone. There is less of the genuine neighborly feeling which existed between the early inhabitants of the county. In the early days here there was not much need for lawyers ; the good-natured judgment of the pioneers quietly settled all disputes. There was a simplicity of demeanor, and a wonderful amount of genuine upright integrity in the character of the pioneer, whose counterparts are seldom found in the character of people of to-day.

There is one thing of which the early settlers of the county all had an equal share, - they all had a generous portion of poverty. It being a common article no feeling of degradation accompanied it. However, they had one comfort, - what little they did have was their very own. They lacked many of the conveniences of life and some of what now seem necessaries, but with patient hearts and laboring hands they toiled on, hoping for brighter days.

The first settlers did most of their farm work with oxen. The ploughs first brought here were of little use in breaking the grassmatted prairie soil. This was a drawback to the cultivation of the latter, after the truth was made clear that the prairie soil would grow grain as well as the timber ground. When the county was first settled the nearest sawmills were on the Wabash river, and some of the houses are yet standing, the lumber of which was brought from the banks of the said stream. The Wabash region and Sangamon county furnished the grist-mills for a number of years. The groceries came from the same regions, while the salt mines of Vermilion county were frequented. These, too, were the market-places, while many hauled their grain all the way to Chicago and exchanged for groceries. It has not been over thirty years since a family in this county hauled peaches in a wagon to Chicago and sold them. For a number of years all blacksmithing was done outside the limits of the county. It would be utterly impossible to give an accurate idea of all the suffering and hardships undergone by the people living under such inconvenience.

The people on coming to make a new settlement were generally prepared with breadstuifs and groceries to last until a crop could be raised. Corn-meal seemed to be the staple article of diet. Johnny-cake and pones made of this were relished for breakfast and dinner, while mushand-milk or "- hasty pudding" was the usual dish for supper. The "truck-patch" contained about the same kind of vegetables we find in modern ones. All kinds of wild fruit were plentiful. Honey was found in great abundance in the forests, and maple sugar was successfully made, though the sugar camps were never as extensive as those in more eastern states. Wild meat was very plentiful. Venison and wild-turkey meat abundantly supplied their tables.

The thrifty housewife of the early days of the county not only kept her house neatly and in order, cooking for a large family, and ofttimes for a whole wagon-load of travelers, but she manufactured nearly all of the clothing worn by the family, and made much of the bedding. Many women in the county are yet using blankets woven by their own hands. " Linsey-woolsey " was made into winter gowns for the women, while blue and butternut jeans suits were worn by the men. The men, too, often wore buckskin shirts, and, in fact, entire suits of the same. The early settlers upon coming to the county found the Indians here, and some of their athletic sports were copied. Most of the sport in way of games were those testing muscular strength or the skill with the gun and bow and arrow. Shooting matches were sometimes indulged in.

The first settlers were located, some of them, miles apart, but they were never too far to refuse to obey a call to a house-raising, log-rolling or corn-husking. "We're going to raise to-morrow," was all the invitation needed to obtain abundant assistance to erect a cabin.

For a number of years after the first settlement was made in the county, the inhabitants made yearly preparations for the sickly or ague season, which usually began about August and lasted several months.

During this time often the entire household would be "shaking" at one time, and neighbors who lived at a distance of from sixteen to twenty miles willingly left their home work to minister at the bedside of sick friends.

One great annoyance to the settlers in the early days of the county was land speculators, who often entered land before the settler who anticipated entering it could get time to travel some seventy miles to the land office. One instance is already recorded relating the fact that one of the ladies now living in the county rode horseback to Danville, swimming the Vermilion river on the way, and reached the land office, entered her land, and walked out of one door of the office just as the speculator came in at the other.

In such way have we related some of the manners and customs of the long ago. If by such relation we have succeeded in pleasantly recalling to some of the old people of the county their early days here, we will feel amply repaid for our labor.