50 - HISTORY OF HOCKING VALLEY. Trees of uniform size were chosen and cut into logs of the desired length, generally twelve to fifteen feet, and hauled to the spot selected for the future dwelling. 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 and cold. 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 was seven or eight feet. The gables were formed by shortening the logs gradually at each end of the building near the top. The roof was made by laying very straight small logs or stout poles suitable distances apart, generally about two and a half feet, from gable to gable, and on these poles were laid the " clapboards " after the manner of shingling, showing about two and a half feet to the weather. These clapboards were fastened to their place by " weight poles," corresponding in place with the joists just described, and these again were held in their place by " runs" or " knees," which were chunks of wood about eighteen or twenty inches long fitted between them near the ends. Clapboards were made from the nicest oaks in the vicinity, by chopping or sawing them into four-foot blocks and riving these with a frow, which was a simple blade fixed at right angles to its handle. This was driven into the blocks of wood by a mallet. As the frow was wrenched down through the wood, the latter was turned alternately over from side to side, one end being held by a forked piece of timber. 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 structure was up, and by building on the out side from the ground up, a stone column, or a column of sticks and mud, the sticks being laid up cob-house fashion. The fireplace thus made was often large enough to receive fire-wood six to eight feet long. Sometimes this wood, especially the " back-log," would be nearly as large as a saw-log. 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 piece about two feet long was cut out of one of the wall logs, and the hole closed sometimes by glass, but generally with greased paper. Even greased deer-hide was sometimes used. A doorway was cut through one of the walls if a saw was to be had; otherwise HISTORY OF HOCKING VALLEY - 51 the door would be left by shortened logs in the original building. The. door was made by pinning clapboards to two or three wood bars, and was hung upon wooden hinges. A wooden latch, with catch, then finished the door, and the latch was raised by any one on the outside by pulling a leather string. For security at night this latch-string was drawn in; but for friends and neighbors, and even strangers, the " latch-string was always hanging out," as a welcome. In the interior, over the fire-place would be a shelf, called " the mantel," on which stood the candle-stick or lamp, some cooking and table ware, possibly an old clock, and other 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,hung the ever trustful rifle and powder horn ;in one corner stood the larger bed for the " old folks " and under it the trundle-bed for the children; in another stood the old-fashioned spinning-wheel, with a smaller one by its side; in another the heavy table, the only table, of course, there was in the house; in the remaining corner was a rude cupboard holding 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 the 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 lodgings 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 at night the reader might not easily imagine; for, as described, a single room was made to answer for kitchen, dining-room, sitting-room, bed-room 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, and fastening a stick to this post about two feet above the floor, on each of two sides, so that the other end of each of the two sticks could be fastened in the opposite wall; clapboards were laid across these, and thus the bed was made complete. Guests were given this bed, while the family disposed of themselves in another corner 52 - HISTORY OF HOCKING VALLEY. of the room, or in the " loft." When several guests were on hand many ingenious ways were resorted to for the accommodation of the weary traveler. COOKING. The pioneer women had very few conveniences which now adorn the kitchens of to-day. The range or stove was then unknown, but the large fire-place was fitted with a crane and a supply of hooks of different lengths, and from one to four pots could be hung over the fire at once. Then the long-handled frying-pan, the bake-pan, the Dutch-oven, and along about 1830 came the tin bake-oven. With these the pioneer women did their hot, laborious work. But they knew how to cook. The bread and the biscuit of those days have not been improved upon. A better article for baking batter-cakes was the cast-iron spider or Dutch skillet. The best thing for baking bread those days, and possibly even yet in these latter days, was the flat-bottomed bake kettle, of greater depth, with closely fitting cast-iron cover, and commonly known as the " Dutch-oven." With coals over and under it, bread and biscuit would quickly and nicely bake. Turkey and spare-ribs were sometimes roasted before the fire, suspended by a string, a dish being placed underneath to catch the drippings. Hominy and samp were very much used. The hominy, however, was generally hulled corn—boiled corn from which the hull, or bran, had been taken by hot lye; hence sometimes called " lye hominy." True hominy and samp were made of pounded corn. A popular method of making this, as well as real meal for bread, was to cut out or burn a large hole in the top of a huge stump, in the shape of a mortar, and pounding the corn in this by a maul or beetle suspended on the end of a swing pole, like a well-sweep. This and the well-sweep consisted of a pole twenty to thirty feet long fixed in an upright fork so that it could be worked " teeter " fashion. It was a rapid and simple way of drawing water. 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 in early day were corn bread, hominy or samp, venison, pork, honey, beans, pumpkin (dried pumpkin for more than half the year), turkey, prairie chicken, squirrel and some other game, with a few additional vegetables a portion of the year. Wheat bread, tea, coffee and fruit were luxuries not to be indulged in except on special occasions, as when visitors were present. HISTORY OF HOCKING VALLEY - 53 WOMEN'S WORK. Besides cooking in the manner described, the women had many other arduous duties to perform, one of the thief of which was spinning. 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 were operated by our mothers and grandmothers with great skill, attained without pecuniary expense and with far less practice than is necessary for the girls of our period to acquire a skillful use of their costly and elegant instruments. But those wheels, indispensable a few years ago, are all now superseded by the mighty factories which overspread the country, furnishing cloth of all kinds at an expense ten times less than would be incurred now by the old system. The loom was not less necessary than the wheel, though they were not needed in so great numbers. Not every house had a loom; one loom had a capacity for the needs of several families. Settlers, having succeeded in spite of the wolves in raising sheep, commenced the manufacture of woolen cloth; wool was carded and made into 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 this kind, sometimes used for spinning and twisting stocking yarn. They are turned with the hand, acid with such velocity that it will run itself, while the nimble worker, by her backward step, draws out and twists her thread nearly the whole length of the cabin. A common article woven on the loom was linsey, or linsey-woolsey, the chain being linen and the filling woolen. This cloth was used for dresses for the women and girls. Nearly all the clothes •worn by the men were also home-made; rarely was a farmer or his son seen in a coat made of any other. If, occasionally, a young man appeared in a suit of " boughten " clothes, he was suspected of having gotten it for a particular occasion, which occurs in the life of nearly every young man. DRESS AND MANNERS. The dress, habits, etc., of a people throw so much light upon their conditions and limitations that in order better to show the circumstances surrounding the people of the State, a short exposition of the manner of life at different epochs is here given. The Indians themselves are credited by Charlevoix with being " very laborious"—raising poultry, spinning the wool of the buffalo, and 54 - HISTORY OF HOCKING VALLEY. manufacturing garments therefrom. These must have been, however, more than usually favorable representatives of their race. Dressed deer-skins and blue cloth were worn commonly in the winter for pantaloons. The blue handkerchief and the deer-skin mocassins covered the head and feet generally. In 1800 scarcely a man thought himself clothed unless he had a belt tied round his blanket coat, and on one side was hung the dressed skin of a polecat filled with tobacco, pipe, flint and steel. On the other side was fastened, under the belt, the butcher knife. Among the Americans home-made wool hats were the common wear. Fur hats were not common, and scarcely a boot was seen. The covering of the feet in winter was chiefly mocassins made of deer-skins and shoe-packs of tanned leather. Some wore shoes, but not common in very early times. In the summer the greater portion of the young people, male and female, and many of the old, went barefoot. The substantial and universal outside wear was the blue linsey hunting shirt. This was an excellent garment. It was made of wide sleeves, open before, with ample size so as to envelop the body almost twice around. Sometimes it had a large cape, which answered well to save the shoulders from the rain. A belt was mostly used to keep the garment close around the person, and, nevertheless, there was nothing tight about it to hamper the body. It was often fringed, and at times the fringe was composed of red and other gay colors. The belt, frequently, was sewed to the hunting shirt. The vest was mostly made of striped linsey. The colors were often made with alum, copperas and madder, boiled with the bark of trees, in such a manner and proportions as the old ladies prescribed. The pantaloons of the masses were generally made of deer-skin and linsey. Linsey, neat and fine, manufactured at home, composed generally the outside garments of the females as well as the males. The ladies had linsey colored and woven to suit their fancy. A bonnet, composed of calico or some gay goods, was worn on the head when they were in the open air. Jewelry on the pioneer ladies was uncommon a gold ring was an ornament not often seen. In 1820 a change of dress began to take place, and before 1830, according to Ford, most of the pioneer costume had disappeared. " The blue linsey hunting shirt, with red or white fringe, had given place to the cloth coat. [Jeans would be more like the fact.] The raccoon cap, with the tail of the animal dangling down behind, had been thrown aside for hats of wool or fur. Boots and shoes had HISTORY OF HOCKING VALLEY - 55 superseded the deer-skin mocassins ; and the leather breeches, strapped tight around the ankle, had disappeared before unmentionables of a more modern material. The female sex had made still greater progress in dress. The old sort of cotton or woolen frocks, spun, woven and made with their own fair hands, and striped and cross-barred with blue dye and Turkey red, had given place to gowns of silk and calico. The feet, before in a state of nudity, now charmed in shoes of calf-skin or slippers of kid ; and the head, formerly unbonneted, but covered with a cotton handkerchief, now displayed the charms of the female face under many forms of bonnets of straw, silk and Leghorn. The young ladies, instead of walking a mile or two to church on Sunday, carrying their shoes and stockings in their hands until within a hundred yards of the place of worship, as formerly, now come forth arrayed complete in all the pride of dress, mounted on fine horses and attended by their male admirers. " The chronicler of to-day, looking back to the golden days of 1830 to 1840, and comparing them with the present, must be struck with the tendency of an almost monotonous uniformity in dress and manners that comes from the easy inter-communication afforded by steamer, railway, telegraph and newspaper. Home manufacturers have been driven from the household by lower-priced fabrics of distant mills. The Kentucky jeans and the copperas-colored clothing of home manufacture, so familiar a few years ago, have given place to the cassimeres and cloths of noted factories. The ready-made clothing stores, like a touch of nature, made the whole world kin, and may drape the charcoal man in a dress-coat and a stove-pipe hat. The dress goods of England and France give a variety of choice and assortment of colors and shades such as the pioneer woman could hardly have dreamed of. Godey and Demorest and Harper's Bazar are found in our modern farm-houses, and the latest fashions of Paris are not uncommon. FAMILY WORSHIP. The ministers in pioneer settlements at that early day seemed more demonstrative in their devotions than at the present time. In those days, too, pulpit oratory was generally more eloquent and effective, while the grammatical dress and other "worldly" accomplishments were not so assiduously cultivated as at present. But in the manner of conducting public worship there has probably not been so much change as in that of family worship, or " family prayers, " as it was often called. We had then most emphatically, 56 - HISTORY OF HOOKING VALLEY. an American edition of that pious old Scotch practice so eloquently described in Burns's "Cotter's Saturday Night: " 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, since his father's pride; His bonnet rev'rently is laid aside, His lyart haffets wearing thin and bare ; Those strains that once did sweet in Zion glide; He wales a portion with judicious care, And " let us worship God, " he says with 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 with these, Italian trills are tame; The tickled ear no heart-felt raptures raise: Nae unison hae they with our Creator's praise. The priest-like father reads the sacred page,— How Abraham was the friend of God on high, * * * * * * * * Then kneeling down to heaven's Eternal Bing The saint, the father and the husband prays ; Hope " springs exulting on triumphant wing," That thus they all shall meet in future days; There ever bask in untreated rays, No more to sigh or shed the bitter tear, Together hymning their Creator's praise, In such society, yet still more dear, While circling time moves round in an eternal sphere. Once or twice a day, in the morning, just before breakfast, or in the. evening. just before retiring to rest, the head of the family would call those around him to order, read a chapter in the Bible, announce the hymn and tune by commencing to sing it, when all would join; then he would deliver a most fervent prayer. If a pious guest was present he would be called on to take the lead in all the exercises of the evening; and if in those days a person who prayed in the family or in public did not pray as if it were his very last on earth, his piety was thought to be defective. The familiar tunes of that day are remembered by the surviving old settlers as being to them more spiritual and inspiring than those of the present day, such as Bourbon, Consolation, China, Canaan, Conquering Soldier, Devotion, Davis, Fiducia, Funeral Thought, HISTORY OF HOCKING VALLEY - 57 Florida, Golden Hill, Greenfields, Ganges, Kentucky, Lenox, Mear, New Orleans, Northfield, New Salem, Olney, Primrose, Pisgah, Pleyel's Hymn, Rockbridge, Rockingham, Reflection, Supplication, Salvation, St. Thomas, Salem, Windham, Greenville, etc., etc. HOSPITALITY. The traveler always found a welcome at the pioneer's cabin. It was never full. Although there might be already a guest for every puncheon, there was still " room for one more," and a wider circle would be made for the new-comer at the log fire. 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 neck of woods," going with him for days, showing the corners and advantages of every " Congress tract" within a dozen miles of his cabin. To his neighbors the pioneer was equally liberal. If a deer was killed, the choicest bits were sent to his nearest neighbor, a half-dozen miles away. perhaps. When a "shoat " was butchered, the same custom prevailed. If a new corner came in too late for " cropping," the neighbors would supply his table with just the same luxuries they themselves enjoyed, and in as liberal quantity, until a crop could be raised. When a new-corner had located his claim, the neighbors for miles around would assemble at the site of his proposed cabin and aid him in " gittin'" it up. One party with axes would cut down the trees and hew the logs another with teams would haul the logs to the ground ; another party would "raise" the cabin ; while several of the old men would " rive the clapboards" for the roof. By night the little forest domicile would be up and ready for a " house-warming," which was the dedicatory occupation of the house, when music and dancing and festivity would be enjoyed at full height. The next day the new arrival would be as well situated as his neighbors. An instance of primitive hospitable manners will be in place here. A traveling preacher arrived in a distant neighborhood to fill an appointment. Time 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 time work, while the man of the house, with the faithful rifle on his shoulder, sallied forth in quest of meat, for this truly was a " ground-hog " case, the preacher coming and no meat in the house. The host ceased not the chase until he found the meat, in the shape of a 58 - HISTORY OF HOCKING VALLEY. 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 by all the audience, mine host said to his wife: " Old woman, I reckon this 'ere preacher in pretty hungry and you must git him a bite to eat." " What shall I git him ?" asked the wife, who had not seen the deer; " thar's nuthin' in the house to eat. " " Why, look thar," returned he; " thar's a deer, thar's plenty of corn in the field; you git some corn and grate it while I skin the deer, and we'll have a good supper for him." It is needless to add that venison and corn bread made a supper fit for any pioneer preacher, and was thankfully eaten. TRADE. In pioneer times the transactions of commerce were generally carried on by neighborhood exchanges. Now and then a farmer would load a flat-boat with beeswax, honey, tallow and peltries, with perhaps a few bushels of wheat or corn or a few hundred clapboards, and float down the rivers into the Ohio and thence to New Orleans, where he would exchange his produce for substantials in the shape of groceries and a little ready money, with which he would return by some one of the two or three steamboats then running. Betimes there appeared at the best steamboat landings a number of " middle men" engaged in the " commission and forwarding " business, buying up the farmers' produce and the trophies of the chase and the trap, and sending them to the various distant markets. Their winter's accumulations would be shipped in the spring, and the manufactured goods of the far East or distant South would come back in return; and in all these transactions scarcely any money was seen or used. Goods were sold on a year's time to the farmers, and payment made from the proceeds of the ensuing crops. When the crops were sold and the merchant satisfied, the surplus was paid out in orders on the store to laboring men and to satisfy other creditors. 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 written and always cheerfully accepted, MONEY. Money was an article little known and seldom seen among the earlier settlers. Indeed, they had but little use for it, as they could transact all their business abort as well without it, on the " barter" system, wherein great ingenuity was sometimes displayed. When HISTORY OF HOCKING VALLEY - 59 it failed in any instance, long credits contributed to the convenience of the citizens. But for taxes and postage neither the barter nor the credit system would answer, and often letters were suffered to remain a long time in the postoffice for the want of the twenty-five cents demanded by the Government. With all this high price on postage, by the way, the letter had not been brought 500 miles in a day or two, as is the case nowadays, but had probably been weeks on the route, and the mail was delivered at the pioneer's postoffice, several miles distant from his residence, only once in a week or two. All the mail would be carried by a lone horseman. Peltries came nearer being money than anything else, as it came to be custom to estimate the value of everything 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. When the settlers first came into the wilderness, some 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 slily as to be almost imperceptible. The sturdy pioneer thus learned to bear hardships, privation and hard living, as good soldiers do. As the facilities for making money were not great, they lived pretty well satisfied in an atmosphere of good, social, friendly feeling. But among the early settlers who came to this State were many who, accustomed to the advantages of an older civilization, to churches, schools and society, became speedily home-sick and dissatisfied. They would remain perhaps one summer, or at most two, then, selling whatever claim with its improvements they had made, would return to the older States, spreading reports of the hardships endured by the settlers here and the disadvantages which they had found, or imagined they had found, in the country. These weaklings were not an unmitigated curse. The slight improvements they had made were sold to men of sterner stuff, who were the sooner able to surround themselves with the necessities of life, while their unfavorable report deterred other weaklings from coming. The men who stayed and were willing to endure privations belonged to a different guild; they were heroes every one—men to whom hardships were things to be overcome, and privations endured for the sake of posterity, and they never shrank from this duty. It is to those hardy pioneers who could endure that the people of to-day owe the wonderful improvements 60 - HISTORY OF HOCKING VALLEY made, and the developments, almost miraculous, that have brought this commonwealth in the past eighty years from a wilderness to the front rank among the States of this great nation. MILLING. Not the least of the hardships of the pioneers was the procuring of bread. The first settlers must be supplied at least one year from other sources than their own lands; but the first crops, however abundant, gave only partial relief, there being no mills to grind the grain. Hence the necessity of grinding by hand-power, and many families were poorly provided with means for doing this. Another way was to grate the corn. A grater was made from a piece of tin, sometimes taken from an old, worn-out tin bucket or other vessel. It was thickly perforated, bent into a semicircular form, and nailed, rough side upward, on a hoard. The corn was taken in the ear, and grated before it got dry and hard. Corn, however, was eaten in various ways. Then followed the horse or band mill as it was called. Soon after the country became more generally settled, enterprising men were ready to embark in the milling business. Sites along the streams were selected for water-power. A person looking for a mill-site would follow up and down the stream for a desired location, and when found lie would go before the authorities and secure a writ of ad quod damnum. This would enable the miller to have the adjoining land officially examined, and the amount of damage by making a dam was named. Mills being so great a public necessity, they were permitted to be located upon any person's land where the miller thought the site desirable. AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS. The agricultural implements used by the first farmers in this State would in this age of improvement be great curiosities. The plow used was called the " bar-share " plow; the iron point consisted of a bar of iron about two feet long, and a broad share of iron welded to it. At the extreme point was a coulter that passed through a beam six or seven feet long, to which were attached handles of corresponding length. The mold-board was a wooden one split out of winding timber, or hewed into a winding shape, in order to turn the soil over. Sown seed was brushed in by dragging over the ground a sapling with a bushy top. In harvesting the change is most striking. Instead of the reapers and mowers HISTORY OF HOCKING VALLEY - 61 of to-day, the sickle and cradle were used. The grain was threshed with a flail, or trodden out by horses or oxen. HOG KILLING. Hogs were always dressed before they were taken to market. The farmer, if forehanded, would call in his neighbors some bright fall or winter morning to help "kill hogs." Immense kettles of water were heated; a sled or two, covered with loose boards or plank, constituted the platform on which the hog was cleaned, and was placed near an inclined hogshead in which the scalding was done; a quilt was thrown over the top of the latter to retain the heat; from the crotch of some convenient tree a projecting pole was rigged, to hold the animals for disemboweling and thorough cleaning. When everything was arranged, the best shot of the neighborhood loaded his rifle, and the work of killing was commenced. It was considered a disgrace to make a hog " squeal" by bad shooting or by a " shoulder-stick," that is, running the point of the butcher-knife into the shoulder instead of the cavity of the breast As each hog fell, the " sticker " mounted him and plunged the butcher-knife into his throat ; two persons would then 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 green-wood ashes thrown in ; in this the carcass was plunged and moved around a minute or so until the hair would slip off easily, then placed on the platform where the cleaner would take hold of him and clean him as quickly as possible, with knives and other sharp-edged implements ; then two stout men would take him up between them, and a third man to manage the gambrel (which was a stout stick about two feet long, sharpened at both ends, to be inserted between the muscles of the hind legs at or near the hock joint), the animal would be elevated to the pole, where the work of cleaning was finished. After the slaughter was over and the hogs had had time to cool, such as were intended for domestic use were cut up, the lard " tried" out by the women of the household, and the surplus hogs taken to market, while the weather was cold, if possible. In those days almost every merchant had, at the rear end of his place of business or at same convenient building, a " pork-house," and would buy the pork of his customers and of such others as would sell to him, and cut it for the market. This gave employment to a large number of hands in every village, who would cut and pack 62 - HISTORY OF HOOKING VALLEY. pork all winter. The hauling of all this to the river would also give employment to a large number of teams, and the manufacture of pork barrels would keep many coopers employed. There was one feature in this method of marketing pork that made the country a paradise for the poor man in the winter time. Spare-ribs, tenderloins, pigs' heads and pigs' feet were not considered of any value, and were freely given to all who could use them. If a barrel was taken to any pork-house and salt furnished, the barrel would be filled and salted down with tenderloins and spare-ribs gratuitously. So great in many cases was the quantity of spare-ribs, etc., to be disposed of, that they would be hauled away in wagon-loads and dumped in the woods out of town. In those early times much wheat was marketed at twenty-five to fifty cents a bushel, oats the same or less, and corn ten cents a bushel. A good young milch-cow could be bought for $5 to $10, and that payable in work. Those might truly be called " close times," yet the citizens of the country were accommodating, and but very little suffering for the actual necessities of life was ever known to exist. NATIVE ANIMALS. The principal wild animals found in the State by the early settler were the deer, wolf, bear, wild-cat, fox, otter, raccoon, generally called " coon," woodchuck, or ground-hog, skunk, mink, weasel, muskrat, opossum, rabbit and squirrel; and the principal feathered game were the quail, prairie chicken and wild turkey. Hawks, turkey buzzards, crows, blackbirds, were also very abundant. Several of these animals furnished meat for the settlers ; but their principal meat did not long consist of game ; pork and poultry were raised in abundance. The wolf was the most troublesome animal, it being the common enemy of the sheep, and sometimes attacking other domestic animals, and even human beings. But their hideous howlings at night were so constant and terrifying that they almost seemed to do more mischief by that annoyance than by direct attack. They would keep everybody and every animal about the farm-house awake and frightened, and set all the dogs in the neighborhood to barking. As one man described it: " Suppose six boys, having six dogs tied, whipped them all at the same time, and you would hear such music as two wolves would make." To effect the destruction of these animals the county authorities offered a bounty for their scalps; and, besides, big hunts were common. HISTORY OF HOCKING VALLEY - 63 WOLF HUNTS. In early days more Mischief was done by wolves than by any other wild animal, and no small part of their mischief consisted, in their almost constant barking at night, which always seemed so menacing and frightful to the settlers. Like mosquitoes, the noise they made appeared to be about as dreadful as the real depredations they committed. The most effectual, as well as the most exciting, method of ridding the country of these hateful pests, was that known as the " circular wolf hunt," by which all the men and boys would turn out on an appointed day, in a kind of circle, comprising many square miles of territory, with horses and dogs, and then close up toward the center of their field of operation, gathering not 'only wolves, but also deer and many smaller "varmint." Five, ten, or more wolves by this means would sometimes be killed in a single day. The men would be organized with as much system as a little army, every one being well posted in the meaning of every signal and the application of every rule. Guns were scarcely ever allowed to be brought on such occasions, as their use would be unavoidably dangerous. The dogs were depended upon for the final slaughter. The dogs, by the way, had all to be held in check by a cord in the hands of their keepers until the final signal was given to let them loose, when away they would all go to the center of battle, and a more exciting scene would follow than can be easily described. BEE HUNTING. This wild recreation was a peculiar one, and many sturdy backwoodsmen 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, when found, would be generally high up in the hollow of a tree. The tree would be marked, and in September a party would go and cut down the tree and capture the Honey as quickly as they could before it wasted away through the broken walls in which it had been so carefully stored away by the little busy bee. Several gallons would often be thus 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. By the time the honey was a year old, or before, it would turn white and granulate, yet be as good and healthful as when fresh. This was by some called " candid honey." 64 - HISTORY OF HOCKING VALLEY. In some districts the resorts of bees would be so plentiful that all the available hollow trees would be occupied and many colonies of bees would be found at work in crevices in the rock and holes in the ground. A considerable quantity of honey has even been taken from such places. SNAKES. In pioneer times snakes were numerous, such as the rattlesnake, adder, blood snake and many varieties of large blue and green -snakes, milk snake, garter and water snakes, black snakes, etc., etc. If, on meeting one of these, you would retreat, they would chase you very fiercely ; but if you would turn and give them battle, they would immediately crawl away with all possible speed, hide in the grass and weeds, and wait for a greener" customer. These really harmless snakes served to put people on.their guard against the more dangerous and venomous kinds. It was the practice in some sections of the country to turn out in companies, with spades, mattocks and crow-bars, attack the principal snake dens and slay large numbers of them. In early spring the snakes were somewhat torpid and easily captured. Scores of rattlesnakes were sometimes frightened out of a single den, which, as soon as they showed their heads through the crevices of the rocks, were dispatched, and left to be devoured by the numerous wild hogs of that day. Some of the fattest of these snakes were taken to the house and oil extracted from them, and their glittering skins were saved as specifics for rheumatism. Another method was to so fix a heavy stick over the door of their dens, with a long grape-vine attached, that one at a distance could plug the entrance to the den when the snakes were all out sunning themselves. Then a large company of citizens, on hand by appointment, could kill scores of the reptiles in a few minutes. EDUCATION. Though struggling through the pressure of poverty and privation, the early settlers planted among them the school-house, at the earliest practical period. So important an object as the education of their children they did not defer until they could build more comely and convenient houses. They were for a time content with such as corresponded with their rude dwellings, but soon better buildings and accommodations were provided. As may readily be HISTORY OF HOOKING VALLEY - 65 supposed, the accommodations of the earliest Schools were not good. Sometimes school was taught in a room of a large or double log cabin, but oftener in a log house built for the purpose. A mud and stick chimney in one end of the building, with earthen hearth and a fire-place wide and deep enough to receive a four to six foot back-log, and smaller wood to match, served for warming purposes in winter and a kind of conservatory in summer. For windows, part of a log was cut out in two sides of the building; and may be ,a few lights of eight by ten glass set in, or the aperture might be covered over with greased paper. Writing desks consisted of heavy oak plank or a hewed slab laid upon wooden pins driven into the wall. 'The four-legged slab benches were in front of these, and the pupils when not writing would sit with their backs against the front, sharp edge of the writing-desks. The floor was also made out of these slabs or "puncheons," laid upon log sleepers. Everything was rude and plain ; but many of America's greatest men have gone out from just such school-houses to grapple with the world, and make names for themselves and reflect honor upon their country. So with many of the most eloquent and efficient preachers. Imagine such a house with the children seated around, and the teacher seated on one end of a bench, with no more desk at his hand than any of the pupils have, and you have in view the whole scene. The " schoolmaster " has 'called " Books ! books!" at the door, and the " scholars " have just run in almost out of breath from vigorous play, have taken their seats, and are for the moment " saying over their lessons" to themselves with all their might, that is, in as loud a whisper as possible. 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 a b c's; the little boy stands beside the teacher, perhaps partially leaning upon his lap ; the teacher with his pen-knife points to the letter and asks what it is ; the little fellow remains silent, for he does not know what to say ; "A," says the teacher; the boy echoes "A;" the teacher points to the next and asks what it is; the boy is silent again; " B," says the teacher; " B," echoes the little urchin; and so it goes through the exercise, at the conclusion of which the teacher tells the little " Major" to go back to his seat and study his letters, and when he conies to a letter he doesn't know, to come to him and he will tell him. He obediently goes to his seat, looks - 5 - 66 - HISTORY OF HOOKING VALLEY. on his book a little while, and then goes trudging across the puncheon floor again in his bare feet, to the teacher, and points to a letter, probably outside of his lesson, and asks what it is. The teacher kindly tells him that that is not in his lesson, that he need not study that or look at it now; he will come to that some other day, and then he will learn what it is. The simple-minded little fellow then trudges, smilingly, as he catches the eye of some ono, back to his seat again. But why he smiled he has no definite idea. The a-b-ab scholars through with, perhaps the second or third reader class would be called, who would stand in a row in front of the teacher, " toeing the mark," which was actually a chalk or charcoal mark drawn on the floor, and, commencing at one end of the class, one would read the first " verse," the next the second, and so on around, taking the paragraphs in the order as they occur in the book. 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 simply visited them at their seats. A lesson containing several "sums" would be given for the next day. Whenever the learner came to a sum he couldn't do, he would go to the teacher with it, who would willingly and patiently, if he had time, do it for him. In geography, no wall maps were used, no drawing required, and the studying and recitation comprised only the committing to memory, or " getting by heart," as it was called, the names and locality of places. The recitation proceeded like this: Teacher" Where is Norfolk?" Pupil—" In the southeastern part of Virginia." Teacher—" What bay between Maryland and Virginia?" Pupil—" Chesapeake." When the hour for writing arrived, the time was announced by the master, and every pupil practicing this art would turn his feet over to the back of his seat, thus throwing them under the writing desk, already described; and proceed to " follow copy," which was invariably set by the teacher, not by rule, but by as nice a stroke of the pen as he could make. The first copies for each pupil would be letters, and the second kind and last consisted of maxims. About half past ten o'clock the master would announce, " School may go out;" which meant, " Little play time," in the children's parlance, called nowadays recess or intermission. Often the prac- HISTORY OF HOOKING VALLEY - 67 tice was to have the boys and girls go out separately, in which case the teacher would first say, " The girls may go out," and after they had been out about ten minutes the boys were allowed a similar privilege in the same way. Between play-times the request, " Teacher, may I go out?"was often iterated to the annoyance of the teacher and the disturbance of the school. At about half past eleven o'clock the teacher would announce, "Scholars may now get their spelling lessons," and they would all pitch in with their characteristic loud whisper and "say over" their lessons with that vigor which characterizes the movements of those who have just learned that the dinner hour and " big playtime" is near at hand. A few minutes before twelve the " little spelling class" would recite, then the "big spelling class." The latter would comprise the larger scholars and the major part of the school. The classes would stand in a row, either toeing the mark in the midst of the floor, or straggling along next an unoccupied portion of the wall. One end of the class was the " head," the other the " foot," and when a pupil spelled a word correctly; which had been missed by one or more, he would " go up " and take his station above all that had missed the word; this was called " turning them down." At the conclusion of the recitation the head pupil would go to the foot to have another opportunity of turning them all down. The class would number, and before taking their seats the teacher would say, " School's dismissed," which was the signal for every child rushing for his dinner and having the " big playtime." The same process of spelling would also be gone through with in the afternoon just before dismissing the school for the day. The chief text-books in which the " scholars " got their lessons were Webster's or some other elementary spelling-book, and arithmetic, may be Pike's, Dilworth's, Daboll's, Smiley's or Adams's, the old English reader, and Roswell C. Smith's geography and atlas. First, old Murray's, then Kirkham's grammar, were the text-books on this subject. " Book larnin " instead of practical oral instruction, was the only thing supposed to be attained in the primitive log school-house days. But writing was generally taught with fair diligence. " 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 that time-honored text-book was a series of seven or eight 68 - HISTORY OF HOOKING VALLEY. pictures, illustrating morals, and after these again were a few more spelling exercises of a peculiar kind. When a scholar got over into these he was said to be " past the pictures," and was looked up to as being smarter and more learned than most other people ever hoped to be. Hence the application of this phrase came to be extended to other affairs in life, especially where scholarship was involved. SPELLING-SCHOOLS. The chief public evening entertainment for the first thirty or forty years of pioneer existence was the celebrated " spelling-school." Both young people and old looked forward to the next spelling-school with as much anticipation and anxiety as we nowadays look forward to a general Fourth-of-July celebration; and when the time arrived the whole neighborhood, yea, and sometimes several neighborhoods, would flock together to the scene of academical combat, where the excitement was often more intense than had been expected. It was far better, of course, when there was good sleighing; then the young folks would turn out in high glee and be fairly beside themselves. The jollity is scarcely equaled at the present day by anything in vogue. When the appointed hour arrived, the usual plan of commencing battle was for two of the young people who might agree to play against each other, or who might be selected to do so by the schoolteacher of the neighborhood, to " choose sides;" that is, each contestant, or " captain," as he was generally called, would choose the best speller from the assembled crowd. Each one choosing alternately, the ultimate strength of the respective parties would be about equal. When all were chosen who could be made to serve, each side would " number," so as to ascertain whether amid the confusion one captain had more spellers than the other. In case he had, some compromise would be made by the aid of the teacher, the master of ceremonies, and then the plan of conducting the campaign, or counting the misspelled words, would be canvassed for a moment by the captains, sometimes by the aid of the teacher and others. There were many ways of conducting the contest and keeping tally. At one time they would commence spelling at the head, at another time at the foot; at one time they would " spell across," that is, the first on one side would spell the first word, then the first on the other side; next the second in the line on each side, alternately, down to the other end of each line. The question, HISTORY OF HOCKING VALLEY - 69 who should spell the first word was determined by the captains guessing what page the teacher would have before him in a partially opened book at a distance; the captain guessing the nearest would spell the first word pronounced. When a word was missed, it would be re-pronounced, or passed along without re-pronouncing (as some teachers strictly followed the rule never to re-pronounce a word) until it was spelled correctly. If a speller on the opposite side finally spelled the missed word correctly, it was counted a gain of one to that side; if the word was finally corrected by some speller on the same side on which it was originated as a missed word, it was " saved," and no tally mark was made. Another popular method was to commence at one end of the line of spellers and go directly around, and the missed words caught up quickly and corrected by " word-catchers," appointed by the captains from among their best spellers. These word-catchers would attempt to correct all the words missed on his opponent's side, and, failing to do this, the catcher on the other side would catch him up with a peculiar zest, and then there was fan. Still another very interesting, though somewhat disorderly, method, was this: Each word-catcher would go to the foot of the adversary's line, and every time he " catched " a word he would go up one, thus " turning them down" in regular spelling-class style. When one catcher in this way turned all down on the opposing side, his own party was victorious by as many as the opposing catcher was behind. This method required no slate or blackboard tally to be kept. One turn, by either of the foregoing or other methods, would occupy forty minutes to an hour, and by this time an intermission or recess was had, when the buzzing, cackling and hurrahing that ensued for ten or fifteen minutes were beyond description. Coming to order again, the next style of battle to be illustrated was to " spell down," by which process it was ascertained who were the best spellers and could continue standing as a soldier the longest. But very often good spellers would inadvertently miss a word in an early stage of the contest and would have to sit down humiliated, while a comparatively poor speller would often stand till nearly or quite the last, amid the cheers of the assemblage. Sometimes the two parties first " chosen up " in the evening would re-take their places after recess, so that by the " spelling-down " process there would virtually be another race, in another form; sometimes there would be a new " choosing up " for the " spelling-down " 70 - HISTORY OF HOOKING VALLEY. contest; and sometimes the spelling down would be conducted without any party lines being made. It would occasionally happen that two or three very good spellers would retain the floor so long that the exercise would become monotonous, when a few outlandish words like " chevaux-de-frise," " ompompanoosuc " or " baugh-naugh-claugh-ber," as they used to spell it sometimes, would create a little ripple of excitement to close with. Sometimes these words would decide the contest, but generally when two or three good spellers kept the floor until the exercise became monotonous, the tEacher would declare the race closed and the standing spellers acquitted with a" drawn game." The audience dismissed, the next thing was to "go home," very often by a round-about way, " a sleighing with the girls," which of course was with many the most interesting part of the evening's performances. SINGING-SCHOOL. Next to the night spelling-school the singing-school was an occasion of much jollity, wherein it was difficult for the average singing-master to preserve order, as many went more for fun than for music. This species of evening entertainment, in its introduction to the West, was later than the spelling-school, and served, as it were, as the second step toward the more modern civilization. Good sleighing weather was of course almost a necessity for the success of these schools, but how many of them have been prevented by mud and rain! Perhaps a greater part of the time from November to April the roads would be muddy and often half frozen, which would have a very dampening and freezing effect upon the souls, as well as the bodies, of the young people who longed for a good time on such occasions. The old-time method of conducting singing-school was also somewhat different from that of modern times. It was more plodding and heavy, the attention being kept upon the simplest rudiments, as the names of the notes on the staff, and their pitch, and beating time, while comparatively little attention was given to expression and light, gleeful music. The very earliest scale introduced in the West was from the South, and the notes, from their peculiar shape, were denominated " patent " or " buckwheat " notes. There were four, of which the round one was always called so, the square one la, the triangular one fa, and the " diamond shaped " one mi, pronounced me; and the diatonic scale, or " gamut" as it was called then, ran thus: fa, sol, la, fa, sol, la, mi, fa. The part of a tune HISTORY OF HOOKING VALLEY - 71 nowadays called " treble," or " soprano," was then called " tenor;" the part now called " tenor " was called " treble," and what is now " alto" was then " counter," and when sung according to the oldest rule, was sung by a female an octave higher than marked, and still on the " chest register." The " old " " Missouri Harmony " and Mason's " Sacred Harp " were the principal books used with this style of musical notation. About 1850 the " round-note" system began to " come round," being introduced by the singing-master. The scale was do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, si, do; and for many years thereafter there was much more do-re-mi-ing than is practiced at present day, when a musical instrument is always under the hand. The " Carmina Sacra " was the pioneer round-note book. GUARDING AGAINST INDIANS. The fashion of carrying fire-arms was made necessary by the presence of roving bands of Indians, most of whom were ostensibly friendly, but like Indians in all times, treacherous and .unreliable, An Indian war was at any time probable, and all the old settlers still retain vivid recollections of Indian massacres, murders, plunder, and frightful rumors of intended raids. While target practice was much indulged in as an amusement, it was also necessary at times to carry their guns with them to their daily field work. As an illustration of the painstaking which characterized pioneer life, we quote the following remark of an old settler: " The manner in which I used to work in those perilous times was as follows: On all occasions I carried my rifle, tomahawk and butcher-knife, with a loaded pistol in my belt. When I went to plow I laid my gun on the plowed ground, and stuck a stick by it for a marks, so that I could get it quick in case it was wanted. I had two good dogs; I took one into the house leaving the other out. The one outside was expected to give the alarm, which would cause the one inside to bark, by which I would be awakened, having my arms always loaded. I kept my horse in a stable close to the house, having a port-hole so that I could shoot to the stable door. During two years I never went from home with any certainty of returning, not knowing the minute I might receive a ball from an unknown hand." 72 - HISTORY OF HOCKING VALLEY THE BRIGHT SIDE. The history of pioneer life generally presents the dark side Of the picture; but the toils and privations of the early settlers were not a series of unmitigated sufferings. No; for while the fathers and mothers toiled hard, they were not averse to a little relaxation, and had their seasons of fun and enjoyment. They contrived to do something to break the monotony of their daily life and furnish them a good hearty laugh. Among the more general forms of amusements were the " quilting-bee," " corn-husking," " apple-paring," " log rolling," and " house-raising." Our young readers will doubtless be interested in a description of these forms of amusement, when labor was made to afford fun and enjoyment to all participating. The " quilting-bee," as its name implies, was when the industrious qualities of the busy little insect that " improves each shining hour" were exemplified in the manufacture of quilts for the household. In the afternoon ladies for miles around gathered at an appointed place, and while their tongues would not cease to play the hand was busily engaged in making the quilt, the desire being always manifested to get it out as quickly as possible, for then the fun would begin. In the evening the gentlemen came and the hours would then pass swiftly by in playing games or dancing. "Corn-huskings " were when both sexes united in the work. They usually assembled in a large barn which was arranged for the occasion; and when each gentleman had selected a lady partner the husking began. When a lady found a red ear she was subject to a kiss from her partner; when a gentleman found one he was allowed to kiss his lady partner. A fter the corn was all husked a good supper was served; then the " old folks " would leave, and the remainder of the evening was spent in the dance and in having a general good time. The recreation afforded to the young people on the annual recurrence of these festive occasions was as highly enjoyed, and quite as innocent, as the amusements of the present boasted age of refinement and culture. The amusements of the pioneers were peculiar to themselves. Saturday afternoon was a holiday in which no man was expected to work. A load of produce might be taken to " town " for sale or traffic without violence to custom, but no more serious labor could be tolerated. When on Saturday afternoon the town was reached, " fun commenced." Had two neighbors business to transact, here it was done. Horses were " swapped," difficulties HISTORY OF HOCKING VALLEY - 78 settled and free fights indulged in. Blue and red ribbons were not worn in those days, and whisky was as free as water; twelve and a half cents would buy a quart, and thirty-five or forty cents a gallon, and at such prices enormous quantities were consumed. Go to any town in the county and ask the first pioneer you meet, and he would tell you of notable Saturday-afternoon fights, either of which to-day would fill a column of the Police „New, with elaborate engravings to match. An old settler quaintly describes some of the happy features of frontier life in this manner: " We cleared land, rolled logs, burned brush, blazed out paths from one neighbor's cabin to another and from one settlement to another, made and used hand-mills and hominy mortars, hunted deer, turkey, otter and raccoons, caught fish, dug ginseng, hunted bees and the like, and—lived on the fat of the land. We read of a land of corn and wine,' and another flowing with milk and honey;' but I rather think, in a temporal point of view, taking into account the richness of the soil, timber, stone, wild game and other advantages, that the Hocking Valley country would come up to any of them, if not surpass them. " Reader, what would you think of going six to eight miles to help roll logs, or raise a cabin? or ten to thirty miles to mill, and wait three or four days and nights for your grist? as many had to do in the first settlement of this country. Such things were of frequent occurrence then, and there was but little grumbling about it. It was a grand sight to see the log heaps and brush piles burning in the night, on a clearing of ten or fifteen acres. A Democratic torchlight procession, or a midnight march of the Sons of Malta with their grand Gyasticutus in the center bearing the grand jewel of the order, would be nowhere in comparison with the log-heaps and brush-piles in a blaze. "But it may be asked, Had you any social amusements, or manly pastimes, to recreate and enliven the dwellers in the wilderness? "We had. In the social line we had our meetings and our singing-schools, sugar-boilings and weddings, which were as good as ever came off in any country, new or old; and if our youngsters did not 'trip the light fantastic toe' under a professor of the Terpsichorean art or expert French dancing-master, they had many a good hoedown' on puncheon ,floors, and were not annoyed by bad whisky. The boys and men of those days had quite as much sport, and made more money and health by their hunting excursions than 74 - HISTORY OF HOCKING VALLEY our city gents nowadays playing chess by telegraph where the players are more than seventy miles apart." WHAT THE PIONEERS HAVE DONE. Ohio is a grand State, in many respects second to none in the Union, and in almost everything that goes to make a live, prosperous community, not far behind the best. Beneath her fertile soil is coal enough to supply the State for generations; her harvests are bountiful; she has a medium climate, and many other things, that make her people contented, prosperous and happy ; but she owes much to those who opened up these avenues that have led to her present condition and happy surroundings. Unremitting toil and labor have driven off the sickly miasmas that brooded over swampy prairies. Energy and perseverance have peopled every section of her wild lands, and changed them from wastes and deserts to gardens of beauty and profit. Where but a few years ago the barking wolves made the night hideous with their wild shrieks and howls, now is heard only the lowing and bleating of domestic animals. Only. a half century ago the wild whoop of the Indian rent the air where now are heard the engine and rumbling trains of cars, bearing away to markets the products of our labor and soil. Then the savage built his rude but on the spot where now rise the dwellings and school-houses and church spires of civilized life. How great the transformation! This change has been brought about by the incessant toil and aggregated labor of thousands of tired hands and anxious hearts, and the noble aspirations of such men and women as make any country great. What will another half century accomplish ? There are few, very few, of these old pioneers yet lingering on the shores of time as connecting links of the past with the present. What must their thoughts be as with their dim eyes they view the scenes that surround them ? We often hear people talk about the old-fogy ideas and fogy ways and want of enterprise on the part of the old men who have gone through the experiences of pioneer life. Sometimes, perhaps, such remarks are just, but, considering the experiences, education, and entire life of such men, such remarks are better unsaid. They have had their trials, misfortunes, hardships and adventures, and shall we now, as they are passing far down the western declivity of life, and many of them gone, point to them the finger of derision and laugh and sneer at the simplicity of their ways ? Let us rather cheer them up, revere and respect