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The
first buildings in the county were not just like the log
cabins that immediately succeeded them. The latter
required some help and a great deal of labor to build.
The very first buildings constructed were a cross
between “
hoop
cabins “ and Indian bark huts. As soon as enough men
could be got together for a “ cabin raising,” then
log cabins were in style. Many a pioneer can remember
the happiest time of his life as that when he lived in
one of these homely but
comfortable old cabins.
A
window with sash and glass was a rarity, and was an
evidence of wealth and aristocracy which but few could
support. They were often made with greased paper put
over the window, which admitted a little light, but more
often there was nothing whatever over it, or the cracks
between the logs, without either chinking or daubing,
were the dependence for light and air. The doors were
fastened with old-fashioned wooden latches, and for a
friend, or neighbor, or traveler, the string always hung
out, for the pioneers of the West were hospitable and
entertained visitors to the best of their ability. It is
noticeable with what affection the pioneers speak of
their old log cabins. It may be doubted whether palaces
ever sheltered happier hearts than those homely cabins.
The following is a good description of those old
landmarks, but few of which now remain:--
“These
were of round logs, notched together at the corners,
ribbed with poles and covered with boards split from a
tree. A
puncheon floor was then laid down, a hole cut in the end
and a stick chimney run up. A clapboard door is made, a
window is opened by cutting out a hole in the side or
end two feet square and finished without glass or
transparency. The house is then ‘ chinked ‘ and ‘
daubed’ with mud. The cabin is now ready to go into.
The household and kitchen furniture is adjusted, and
life on the frontier is begun in earnest.
The
one-legged
bedstead, now a piece of furniture of the past, was made
by cutting a stick the proper length, boring holes at
one end one and a half inches in diameter, at right
angles, and the same sized holes corresponding with
those in the logs of the cabin the length and breadth
desired for the bed, in which are inserted poles. Upon
these poles the clapboards are laid, or linn bark is
interwoven consecutively from pole to pole. Upon this
primitive structure the bed is laid. The convenience of
a cook stove was not thought of, but instead, the
cooking was done by the faithful housewife in pots,
kettles or skillets, on and about the big fire-place,
and very frequently over and around, too, the distended
pedal extremities of the legal sovereign of the
household, while the latter was indulging in the
luxuries of a cob-pipe and discussing the probable
results of a contemplated deer hunt on Salt river or
some one of its small tributaries.” These log cabins
were really not so bad after all. The people of to-day,
familiarized with “Charter Oak” cooking stoves and
ranges, would be ill at home were they compelled to prepare
a meal with no other conveniences than those provided
in a pioneer cabin. Rude fire-places were built in chimneys
composed of mud and sticks, or, at best, undressed
stone. These fire-places served for heating and cooking
purposes; also, for ventilation. Around the cheerful
blaze
of this fire the meal was prepared, and these meals were
not so bad, either. As elsewhere remarked, they were not
such as would tempt an epicure, but such as afforded the
most healthful nourishment for a race of people who were
driven to the exposure and hardships which were their
lot. We hear of few dyspeptics in those days. Another
advantage of these cooking arrangements was that the stovepipe
never fell down, and the pioneer was spared being
subjected to the most trying of ordeals, and one
probably more productive of profanity than any other.
Before
the country became supplied with mills which were of
easy access, and even in some instances afterward,
hominy-blocks were used. They exist now only in the
memory of the oldest settlers, but as relies of the “
long ago,” a description of them will not be
uninteresting: A
tree of suitable size, say from eighteen inches to two
feet in diameter, was selected in the forest and felled
to the ground. If a cross-cut
saw happened to be convenient, the tree was ‘”
butted,” that is, the kerf end was sawed off, so that
it would stand steady when ready for ilse. If there was
no cross-cut saw in the neighborhood,
strong arms and sharp axes were ready to do the work.
Then the proper length, from four to five feet, was
measured off and sawed or cut square. When this was done
the block was raised on end and the work of cutting out
a hollow in one of the ends was commenced.
This
was generally done with a common chopping ax. Sometimes
a smaller one was used. When the cavity was judged to be
large enough, a fire was built in it, and carefully
watched till the ragged edges were burned away. When
completed the hominy-block somewhat resembled a
druggist’s mortar. Then a pestle, or something to
crush the corn, was necessary. This was usually made
from a suitably
sized
piece of timber, with an iron wedge attached, the large
end down. This completed the machinery, and the block
was ready for use. Sometimes one hominy-block
accommodated an entire neighborhood and was the means of
staying the hunger of many mouths. In giving the bill of
fare above we should have added meat, for of this they
had plenty. Deer would be seen daily trooping over the
prairie in droves of from 12 to 20, and sometimes as
many as 50 would be seen grazing together. Elk were also
found, and wild turkeys and
prairie chickens without number. Bears were not unknown.
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