Woodford County, Illinois - Chapter 7, 1910

Chapter 7

THE broad fertile prairies of Woodford county, dotted with handsome farm houses, with here and there a prosperous town, give little sign of the hardships endured by the pioneer in bringing them under cultivation. These can never be fully realized by a generation surrounded by the comforts and luxuries of the modern farm home. The early settlers aspired to nothing better than the log cabin, frequently made from rough, unhewn logs, notched and laid together in a hurried manner. The cracks left between these logs were stopped with a crude plaster made of clay, mixed with straw and the roof was made of clapboards. Windows were made by cutting out a part of a log or two. In the early cabins these openings were covered with oiled paper, but later some indulged in the luxury of a pane of glass, which was so arranged that it could be taken out for ventilation.

The cabin usually consisted of a single room with a loft reached by a ladder. In one end was a fireplace, the chimney of which wras on the outside. It was made with a wooden frame, plastered on each side with a mud plaster. The glowing red fire in the fireplace cast a bright glow over the entire room and served for light as well as heat. Great pPes of wood from the neighboring timber supplied the eager flames. Large quantities of fuel were required, for the holes in the walls let in the cold air, chilling the room. It was no uncommon occurrence for the sleeper to awaken on a winter

Hardships And Pleasures

The cook stove and range were unknown luxuries, and all cooking was done on the fireplace or in a Dutch oven, In spite of the disadvantages of the fireplace, the housewife could cook dishes that were both healthful and appetizing. Corn bread and johnny cake baked in a Dutch oven have an enviable reputation to this day, while pancakes baked on the hot griddle furnished an appetizing breakfast for the pioneer. Hasty pudding, hulled corn and hominy boiled in the pot with all the savory meats cooked in a dozen different ways furnished a meal fit for a prince. Who has tasted such fare and not wish he was back in the log cabin of the pioneer enjoying the thrifty housewife's cooking with an appetite sharpened by toil.

The fireplace was frecpiently supplemented by a Dutch oven, which was formed by building a frame work of the size desired, and covering the inside to a considerable thickness with a kind of cement, while the outside was covered with mud. When ready for use a fire was built in the oven until its walls were hot, the temperature being gauged by experience. The fire was then removed, and bread, cake, or pies were put in. The walls retained sufficient heat to bake them to a nicety. Those who depended on the fireplace for baking had an iron pan in which bread or cake was placed. A nice bed of coals was arranged, and the pan placed on them and covered with a lid, over which live coals were scattered. Often potatoes or even corn bread was baked in the hot ashes. The well to do had pots and kettles, but those who were less fortunate roasted their meat on a spit or twig, held over the fire and turned to secure even roasting. Canned fruit was an unknown luxury, for within the memory of older people, glass jars for canning have been introduced. The furnishings of the cabin were almost all hand made. A few simple tools and timber from the neighboring woods supplied all that was necessary for furnishing the usual home for use of the pioneer and his family.

Hardships within were not !<> be compared with hardships without. Broad prairies untouched by the plow were to be broken. Oxen were used in breaking, five, six or even eight yokes, being attached to a plow, breaking a wide furrow. The driver of an ox team required considerable skill in the management of his oxen. He carried a gad, which consisted of a long pole, at the end of which was a lash. V>y means of this he could touch up the lazy or refractory ox that was trying to shirk its share of the load. The head yoke was picked from the best trained oxen of the farm, while the raw animals were used as followers. The gad was frequently used to cut off the head of some noisy prairie bird or of a snake that happened to raise its head above the grass.

Snakes formed one of the greatest dangers the settlers had to face. The country was over-run with them. There were numerous varieties and various sizes, and the pioneer was constantly on the lookout for the warning whir of venomous rattlers. The black and bull snakes and racers were quite large, frequently ten or twelve feet long. The racers possessed great speed, and the black snake had remarkable strength. It was no uncommon occurrence for a settler to do battle with a snake that taxed both his strength and courage before it was dispatched.

The only tombstone in the cemetery at Panola marks the grave of Horace Allen who died as the result of the bite of a deadly copperhead snake. The silent motion of the grass was a warning and the boldest was cautious about appoaching until he had determined the direction in which the snake was headed. There were thousands of little snakes that were harmless, but infested every part of the prairies.

The territory that is now so well drained was formerly covered with sloughs and ponds. Hundreds of acres of land now under cultivation were formerly under water a great part of the year. These, together with the slough grass, which was frequently eight or ten feet high presented a serious barrier to a successful breaking of the prairie.

The farmer's stock was in danger from prowling wolves that infested the country. It was even dangerous for a man to be alone on the prairie at night with a pack of hungry wolves on his track. This trouble from wolves was so great that a bounty was offered for a wolf's scalp. Foxes were also frequently found in the timber region but these were never so harmful as wolves, altho a bounty was also offered for a fox scalp. The day of the wolf is past and the fox is now but rarely seen, altho occasionally one is found with her little ones in the timber.

The danger that was feared above all others was the deadly prairie fire. The tall, rank growth of grass was often high enough to effectually conceal a horse and rider. As soon as it became dry, as it usually did in the fall, it afforded an easy means of starting a fire that spread with inconceivable swiftness. The prairie fire can never be adequately pictured by one who has never seen it. The warning glow can be seen for a great distance by night, and the black clouds of smoke, coupled with red flames, create consternation among men and beasts. The roaring of the names can be heard afar off, and long before the advancing names arrive, scores of wild animals dash by in their mad flight from the flames which mean certain death to them. Their only hope lies in reaching some stream that may serve as a barrier to the awful advance of the flames. About the only means available for fighting these terrible fires was back firing, in other words starting a fire in advance of the flames, so as to put an impassible barrier of burned prairie grass in its path. These fires frequently covered miles of territory before they could be checked. It was impossible to guard against the ravages of the flames with any degree of security, but it could be done to a certain extent by burning around a claim. A few furrows would be plowed around the farm, then a space would be left large enough to check the adavnce of a fire, then a few more furrows were plowed. The grass between the plowed portion was fired and the furrows proved an effectual barrier to the spread of the flames. Another method is described in Prof. Radford's <)1<1 Settler's History of Woodford County. The settlers of a neighborhood would get together and fire the grass around the borders of their claims. The grass would be fired by one of the party, while the others would keep it in check by the constant use of brushes. A strip was burned over in this manner that was broad enough to check the advance of any ordinary tire. After the sweeping destruction of such a visitor the territory passed over looked like a dreary waste, with here and there the charred carcass of some animal that had not been able to escape from the rapidly advancing enemy. Only after the county became settled and the prairies came under cultivation was the danger from this source removed.

A serious drawback to the pioneer was the distance from the market. Fort Clark, afterward Peoria, and even Chicago were markets to which the pioneer directed his course when in need of supplies, aside from the simplest household necessities. Mills did a thriving business as the farmer depended on them for all his flour and meal, and wheat was one of the leading crops at that time.

The many ponds, sloughs and swampy places, filled with decaying matter, produced its harvest of malaria and ague. The early settler was fortunate if he did not have a siege of one or the other in his family during the year. Home remedies were relied upon to restore the sick.

The seasons were much more severe in the early period than now. The settlement of the prairies, the planting of groves, and the continued cultivation of the soil have served to modify the climate. Snow fell in the winter to a great depth, covering roads and fences and making the whole country appear one vast expanse of snow. It often covered the ground from early winter until spring. In the winter of 1830 and '31 occurred what has ever since been known as the great snow. It began in December and reached a depth of four feet on the level and stayed on the ground until spring. Great numbers of animals died from starvation, while the few settlers scattered here and there suffered many hard- ships. The broad, unsettled prairies gave an uninterrupted sweep to the storm, which swept across them with terrible fury. Snow storms were often almost blinding, making it extremely difficult for the traveler caught in the storm to find his way. There were few landmarks on the prairie to' guide one lost in the storm. Even on a dark night it was easy to become lost. John Brotherhood, who drove a stage thru Hanover, is said to have lost his way and after driving for hours found himself at dawn hut a mile from his starting place.

There were few roads and no bridges, and the pioneer traveler had to follow an uncertain trail and ford the streams. The sloughs were minature swamps, miry, sticky and extremely hard to cross. It was frequently necessary to double teams to cross them.

The modern improvements in machinery were unthot of and the work of the farm was accomplished by the expenditure of a large amount of muscular effort. Harvesting was done by hand. The cradle was used in reaping grain, the cradler being followed by a binder who gathered the grain together and bound it by holding it across his knee. Men acquired great skill in both cradling and binding, but the reaper and self-binder were a welcome introduction as a labor saving improvement. Corn was planted by hand and hoed, while small grains were thrashed on a great floor constructed for that purpose. Neighbors brought their wheat in shocks and it was scattered over this floor and oxen or horses were driven around until the wheat was thrashed out, when the straw was removed and the wheat and the chaff were separated. Later the corn planter, cultivator and separator were introduced, making it possible to cultivate larger farms with less labor. The farmer of today has his riding plow, and riding cultivator, while his hay is loaded with a patent loader, and his harvesting is done by a self-binder. Water is pumped by a wind mill or by the use of a small engine. The old-fashioned plow with the wooden

Probably the first use of steam as a power in the operation of a separator in the eounty was made by Simon Peterson in the vicinity of Benson more than thirty years ago. Since that time the number of traction engines has increased very rapidly. Horse power in shelling corn has long since been abandoned and the traction engine furnishes the power required.Aside from these are great numbers of other labor saving improvements that tend to lighten the drudgery of farm life.

The clothing worn was home made, the material being linen, jeans and linsey. The thrifty housewife was skillful in the manufacture of this home-made clothing. The wool was carded, spun, woven and dyed at home, the dye used being walnut bark or blue-dye. The flax went thru the process of hatcheling, spinning and weaving. For many years the spinning wheel was a necessity in the home, but it has long since ceased to be regarded'as such and is now a cariosity rather than a useful part of the equipment of the household. The sewing machine, now regarded as a necessity, was an unknown luxury in the county for many years after its settlement.

Money was a scarce article, and the settlers' wants were few from necessity. Altho the pioneer suffered many hardships, he had many pleasures as well. These were entered into with the greater zest because there were hardships to be endured. Game was very plentiful, and the hunter found an abundance of choice sport. If he sought small game, there were wild turkeys, prairie chickens, and quail in great numbers. These were easily shot or trapped. The larger game included deer, wolves, foxes and raccoons. The great event in the neighborhood was the ring hunt. This was the forming of a great ring in which all the men and boys took part. The ring was gradually narrowed, the game being slowly driven toward the center. When the game was huddled together, the signal was given and the slaughter be-

One of the occasions of a neighborhood gathering was a barn or house raising. The timbers of the early structure were heavy, and the entire community was called in to help in the work. It was a time of merry-making as well as of work, and both men and women entered with keen enjoyment into the jollity of the event.

The old time spelling school was one of the features of the social life of the early days It was the event of the year and good spellers were known thruout the entire neighborhood. Preparations were made for this event, and many a young person could be seen, days before the match, spending all spare moments in pondering the list of words in the old speller. Many were remarkably skillful in the art of spelling, much more so than at the present time. When schools became more numerous, it was no unusual occurrence for several schools to take part in a joint contest, or for the adherents of one school to challenge the adherents of a neighboring school to a joint match. These occasions were looked forward to with high anticipation by the young people, and advantage was taken of the opportunity offered the sturdy boys to win favor with their sweethearts.

Religious services that were held in the homes of the pioneer were a means of social intercourse as well as of devotion. They brought the people together and they enjoyed these occasional meetings to the utmost. With his modest cabin, boasting of but a single room, the early settler was far more hospitable than the possessor of the modern, commodious home. No stranger who happened to be delayed in his journey or was overtaken by darkness was turned away from the humblest cabin. The public stopping places were few and far between, so that the traveler would have been in a sorry plight had it not been for pioneer hospitality. Visitors were given the beds, while the family slept on the floor. This spirit of hospitality was indicated by the expression : "The latch string hangs on the outside for you." In the cabin there was always a long wooden Latch reaching across the door. A string was attached to it and passed thru a hole in the door above it. With this string the latch could be easily lifted from the outside, while to fasten the door it was only necessary to pull the string, hence the appropriateness of the expression. As the country became more thickly settled the practice of entertaining so freely gradually grew less and less, until today open hospitality is but seldom practiced as formerly.