USA > Illinois > Illinois in the fifties; or, A decade of development, 1851-1860 > Part 5
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Many of the ministers preached a fiery gospel and had no little to say about the "unquenchable fire" into which, after death, presumably all unrepentant sinners would be cast. In this connection 1 will refer to the ease of a man in another neighborhood who in a sort of holy horror was referred to as an avowed Univer- salist and consequently was thought to be little short of cloven-footed.
Four times every year came the Quarterly meeting,
71
Making It Attractive
which all looked forward to with pleasurable anticipa- tion. To these Quarterly meetings always came the Presiding Elder, who in most instances was a relatively able preacher. One of these by the name of Mitchell I yet recall with pleasure. In contrast to many others, he was fond of presenting the more attractive side of religion. Nothing appeared to please him so much as in well chosen words to depict the delights and joys of Heaven, to which he seemed to take it as a matter of course we were all going. In this state of mind his eyes would beam, his face would light up with radiant smiles while the musical tones of his welcome words fell upon delighted listeners-delighted because his hearers could but compare his attractive words, the winning expression of his features and his kindly man- ner with the harsh tones, repulsive contortions and fierce pulpit-poundings of too many preachers of that day as they portrayed the literal hell into which they seemed to think the majority of mankind were destined to sink.
Every winter there was a Protracted Meeting at which it was hoped all the church members would get new zeal and all the non-church members would "get religion". For this last purpose a "mourners' bench" was provided. This was a long seat without a back, placed in front of the pulpit and at which all kneeled who wanted to get religion.
To this mourners' bench came not a few hardened sinners who certainly needed some kind of reformation in their lives. To it also came youths whose greatest transgression was, perhaps, some mischievous prank played upon a schoolmate. To it also came young misses who, so far from being sinners, were the very
72
A Religious Rounder
embodiment of innocence in their every-day lives. But the hard theology of the day taught these innocent young people that they must seek, must implore, nay must "agonize", till their many sins were forgiven and they could "flee from the wrath to come".
In the community were certain characters who, for the want of a better name, might be termed religious rounders. These individuals would get religion at ev- ery protracted meeting and in a few weeks somehow manage to get rid of it. One of these religious rounders was an ox-driver, a six-footer with a loud, stentorian voice. When this man was so fortunate as once more to get religion he would work himself into a sort of ecstatic state and shout so loud and so long, that the dead would almost awaken. He not unfrequently lead in prayer, and as he always used substantially the same words, some of us youngsters could not help "learning by heart" his oft-repeated supplication. Notwithstand- ing the numerous times this man fell from grace,. after each regeneration, in a voice that could be heard a mile away, he would go about his work singing that old hymn :
"I'll never turn back any more,
Any more, any more, I'll never turn back, I'll never turn back."
Such a thing as church music, as we understand it today, was unknown in the period of which I write. Indeed, by many, anything besides the human voice, raised in songful worship, was deemed sacreligious. Hymn books were few and none were in the pews, con- sequently the preacher would "line the hymn" that the congregation might sing it. Is some reader of a younger
73
A Pleasant Memory
. generation curious to know what the preacher really did when he "lined" a hymn? He simply read two lines, then paused till these were sung by the congrega- tion, then read two more, waited till these were sung, and so on till the end was reached.
Lining a hymn was perhaps a relic of the days when there were no hymn books and none was really needed because the people, for the most part, could not read. In due time the people began to provide themselves with hymn books and for some time after this provision the preacher when announcing the hymn would say : "Please sing . without lining".
But whatever else may have been said of these church members they were liberal and accommodating in allow- ing ministers of other denominations to occupy their pulpit. True, the regular preacher had several other appointments that he had to fill and in consequence he could use the pulpit of his village church but once in two weeks.
One pleasant memory deeply impressed on my mind in connection with the outside use of this pulpit was when a Lutheran minister from another town preached and brought with him an orchestra which furnished the music in delightful strains that thrilled us young- sters.
At odd times this pulpit was occupied by a minister of different type from any of those above described. This man, in the prime of a superb manhood, was six feet in height, finely proportioned and had handsome features. His sermons were thoughtful and scholarly and delivered in the silvery tones of a fine voice. He was a good singer, always led in this part of the wor- ship, and it was a real treat to hear his voice as it
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1
Preachers and Prcachers
rounded out in the full, rich tones to the music of some fine old tune, such as Balerma, Boylston, Duke Street, Siloam, and others.
This man was always something of a mystery to me. All coneeded him to be an able pulpit man indeed, one far above the average. Moreover, he was universally esteemed and liked. Those who knew him best, and were best qualified to judge, could but wonder why he was not filling a high salaried pulpit in some large city. As it was he lived on a rather poor farm and preached wherever, and whenever, opportunity offered. I have since learned that he was a Presbyterian mis- sionary and conscientiously believed the field he was working in afforded him ample opportunities to do good, and unquestionably he did it.
Another type was a Baptist minister who frequently occupied the pulpit on off Sundays. His sermons were thoughtful and carefully written out. These he deliv- ered, or rather read, in a conversational tone and never raised his eyes from his manuscript. This man's man- ner and methods were in striking contrast to the vigor- ous delivery and ringing words of practically all the preachers of the day.
The Sabbath School at this ehureh was non-denomi- national and was known as a Union Sunday School. It had a little library of books published by the Ameri- can Union Sunday School Publishing Association of Philadelphia ; and while some of these were of the siekly kind where the willful boy always goes to the everlast- ing bow-wows and the goody-goody boy always meets with suceess and grows up to be governor of his State, yet for the most part, the books were well selected and were interesting, and helpful to young people. This
"Visit to the Hive", Frontispiece in "The Hive and its Wonders", a small volume published by the American Sunday School Union in 1851.
75
I Acknowledge My Obligations
publishing house also printed a little paper, and I shall always remember the picture at the top of its first page-a neat little church with a graceful spire and a comely woman leading a little boy with one hand and a little girl with the other, all evidently going to Sab- bath School. This Union Sunday School certainly filled what would otherwise have been a hiatus in the lives of the young people of the village, and I take pleasure in acknowledging my obligations to it.
CHAPTER VII.
SPORTS, AMUSEMENTS AND SOME OTHER THINGS.
Dear lovely bowers of innocence and ease, Seats of my youth, when every sport could please ! * *
* * How often have I blessed the coming day, When toil remitting, lent its turn to play.
-Goldsmith. I had rather have a fool to make me merry, . Than experience to make me sad.
-- Shakespeare.
Amusements were few and simple and foremost among these, for the men folks, was hunting, for there was yet much small game in the country. In quest of this, half-grown boys, not a few young men, and cer- tain grown-ups, who had the hunting instinct ingrained in their natures, found much satisfaction.
My native village of Pocahontas was in the edge of the timber. To the west Looking-Glass prairie extended far as the eye could reach; to the east was the "forest primeval" that lay on either side of Shoal Creek. On the prairie were great numbers of prairie chickens. In the timber were many squirrels, a few wild turkeys and in the early fifties, at certain times, the branches of the trees would bend and sometimes even break under the weight of thousands of wild pigeons. Rabbits and quail, usually called "partridges", could be found in plenty, both in the prairie and timber.
A few deer were left and there was an occasional
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77
Old Billy Reems and His Hounds
old hunter who kept deer hounds. One of these hunt- ers I shall never forget, Old Billy Reems, as he was familiarly called. He was famous for the great amount of larger game that current report credited him with having slain. I shall never forget a village seene in which Old Billy was the central figure. The scene was staged one Saturday afternoon in October, when a few farmers, on one errand and another, had come in from their homes-this one for his mail, that one for some needed supplies, the other to fulfill an engage- ment, and all, to meet and greet their neighbors and gather the latest community gossip. Presently the sound of a horn was heard and all ears and eyes became intent. In a little while Old Billy Reems was seen ap- proaching on one of the timber roads. In a moment he had halted in front of the village store where most of the men were gathered. In front of him and across the withers of his horse was a deer. Across the pommel of the saddle was a Kentucky rifle, its butt held in the hunter's hand while in his other was the bridle rein. Under his left elbow suspended by a leather strap was a powderhorn and leather bulletpouch. Under his right elbow was an ox-horn whose reverberations put new life in the deer hounds, several of which soon gathered about their master. They were all yellow in color, slen- der in form and cadaverous looking in appearance. Their barking was deep toned and characteristic, so that the term "baying of the hounds" has come to be almost classical.
Dressed in his "hunting shirt", his trusty rifle and latest conquest' in front of him, his accoutrements in proper place, the hounds at ease, Old Billy Reems,
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78
Loading the Pioneer's Gun
proud as any conqueror, made a picture for the pen of a Cooper.
The older men still clung to the Kentucky squirrel rifle, some of which yet had flint locks, but the newer generation nearly all had shotguns, most of which were double-barreled. The stores all carried in stock powder, shot and percussion caps. Cartridges had not yet come in use, and in loading a charge of powder was first poured into the muzzle of the gun. On the powder a piece of paper was pressed down firmly by the butt end of the ram-rod, and on this was placed a charge of shot, held in place by a piece of newspaper pressed firmly down as before. Meantime, a few grains of pow- der found its way out through the tube where it came in contact with the contents of the percussion cap and all that was needed to discharge the gun, was the sharp stroke from the hammer of the gunlock.
Loading a rifle was not so easy as loading a shotgun for the reason that a patch had to be put round the bullet. To make the patch a strong piece of cotton cloth was "tallowed" on its under side and placed over the muzzle and upon this the bullet was laid and pressed down till even with the top of the gun-barrel. Then with a sharp knife the cloth was cut off, the bul- let thus covered was pushed to the bottom of the gun- barrel where it rested on the charge of powder. The. powder was poured into the palm of the hand and the amount needed was measured by the eye. However, for this purpose there came in vogue later a measure made of brass and about the size of one's little finger.
Sometimes there were shooting-matches, at which prizes of some kind would be awarded the best marks- men. And occasionally a gun contest of another char-
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A Hunting Contest
acter would occur: All those in the neighborhood de- siring a day's hunt would divide into two equal parties and to each of these a certain specifically defined local- ity was assigned and in this the individuals named were to hunt, and no others. When night came, all were to report with the day's produet at the village tavern. The final result was determined by a simple computa- tion in addition. Let it be surmised that each bird or animal represented so many points-say a rabbit 5, a squirrel 10, a quail 20, a prairie chicken 50, a wild turkey 100, a deer 500, and so on through the list of game. Thus it can easily be seen that the side footing up the largest number of points would be declared the winner and would have to foot the bill for a dinner or supper, or pay some other forfeit.
Football and baseball, as played today, were unknown games. What was known as townball, however, was a popular sport. This was played with a yarn ball cov- ered with leather, or a hollow, inflated rubber ball, both of which were soft and yielding and not likely to in- fliet injury as is so common today in baseball. Town- ball was much played in the schoolhouse yard during recess and at the noon hour.
Sometimes there was an exhibition by a traveling showman who, in a wagon or other vehicle, transported his curios and other attractions and appliances from village to village. I recall one of these who had two mummies which he advertised as an Egyptian King and Queen. So common as are electric batteries today it seems strange to recall that they were so rare two gen- erations ago that showmen took them around and greatly pleased their audienees by permitting certain fortunate ones to "take shocks". In connection with
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The Sewing Society
this exhibition the working of Morse's electric tele- graph, then a recent invention, was explained. I re- member one showman with long, heavy whiskers, and as almost every one shaved closely, his appearance was unique and attracted much attention, as he doubtless intended it should.
A source of no little social pleasure was the Ladies' Sewing Society, whose members met on certain speci- fied afternoons at one of the neighbors', where they - would get busy with their needles and tongues. The sewing machine had not yet come in use and conse- quently all sewing was done by hand. What the women of the local organization did was simple, and consisted for the most part in making underwear and men's working clothes. However, they marketed their prod- uct at a fair profit and the proceeds were devoted to sundry commendable things. Maybe the parsonage was in need of a new carpet or possibly some worthy, strug- gling widow was in need of a cookstove. About the middle of the fifties the organization put forth unusual efforts and made enough to purchase a small circulating library, a great need in the community. The women would sew till supper time, when husbands, brothers and fathers would come in and all sat down to an enjoyable evening meal. After supper two or three hours would be spent in social intercourse. Sometimes the organization would conduct a sort of newspaper managed by the Society's secretary, and to which any one was at liberty to contribute. At stated times the contributions were read aloud, and, as the name of the writer was in all cases withheld, they excited no little interest and curiosity.
. At one of these gatherings at the home of a promi-
81
Some Old-Time Songs
nent citizen the guests were seated one evening after supper, when all at once the host's only daughter came in on the arin of her lover and took a position in front of a minister who was present, and who in due time pronounced the couple man and wife. To the great majority of those assembled all this was as "lightning from a clear sky".
Sometimes all would join in singing some popular melody, such as "Blue Juniata", "Last Rose of Sum- mer", "The Prairie Flower", "Nellie Gray", "Sweet Home", and "Lilly Dale". Not a few of these songs were sad. I recall four lines of "Lilly Dale":
"'Twas a calm, still night, and the moon's pale light Shone soft o'er hill and dale,
When friends mute with grief stood around the death-bed Of my poor lost Lilly Dale."
I recall the first two and last two lines of "Blue Ju- niata":
"Wild roved an Indian girl, bright Elpharata, Where sweep the waters of the Blue Juniata. * * * * Fleeting years have born away the voice of Elpharata ; Still sweep the waters of the Blue Juniata."
As elsewhere stated, there were practically no pianos or cottage organs in those days, but in the late fifties there was a young man who sometimes added the melo- dious tones of his flute to the music made by the voices of the singers.
Right or wrong. vet the fact remains that very many people went to church for diversion and entertainment. This was markedly true during protracted meetings.
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A "Jerusalem Fiddle"
On certain festive occasions the blacksmith's anvils were loaded with powder and when this was ignited a tremendous noise resulted. Sometimes the boys would bore holes in logs, put in powder, drive in a peg with a groove on one side, then fix a fuse and get away to a' safe distance, while the powder ignited and burst the log open with an almost deafening sound.
At other times, after night youngsters would get tur- pentine, and soak in this balls of candle-wick, set these on fire and throw them from one to another. Under such circumstances turpentine burns with a slow flame that does not injure the hand, if held for a short while only.
In the early fifties charivaris ("chivarees") were in vogue and on more than one occasion the night all about would be made hideous with unearthly noise for the benefit of some young man and woman who had just taken a solemn vow to love and eherish each other. A popular noise producer at a charivari was the "Je- rusalem Fiddle", which was made by removing the top from a large dry-goods box and rubbing rosin plenti- fully on the up-standing edges, across which the flat side of a long seantling, also well rosined, was drawn to and fro. The noise resulting was hideous and like nothing else outside of Bedlam.
House raisings, barn raisings and corn huskings all served to get the people together ; and on such occasions there were nearly always bountiful dinners. One of these I attended when a boy. The table was spread under the trees in the yard, and was made by putting planks on trestles and covering these with tablecloths, some of which neighbors supplied. This extemporized table fairly "groaned beneath the load" of food put
83
A Long Menu
upon it. Of the ample supply of good things to eat at such times and from which the good housewives of those days drew at appropriate seasons to spread the hos- pitable board for everybody, my boyhood recollections contain a list something like the following: Fresh beef, fresh pork, venison, prairie chieken, wild turkey, fried chicken, fried eggs, broiled ham, Irish potatoes, sweet potatoes, turnips, snap beans, butter beans, onions, cab- bage, roasting ears, egg bread, corn bread, wheat bread, biscuits, buckwheat cakes, fritters, stewed peaches, stewed apples, stewed tomatoes, stewed pumpkin, baked squash, quince preserves, plum preserves, pear preserves, apple pie, pumpkin pie, peach cobbler, cream pudding, maple syrup, honey, peaches, sweet cream, doughnuts, poundcake, sweet milk, buttermilk, elabber, sweet cider, coffee and tea.
One of the never-to-be-forgotten sights of the fifties was Donati's comet, which in the late summer and early autumn of 1858 filled nearly the whole of the northwest heavens. Much was written about the comet before it made its appearance and very naturally much was said about it after it eame. Some believed it meant that the end of the world was near and others said it was a sign that we would soon have a bloody war. However, the great majority accepted the comet of 1858 as one of nature's wonders and one whose like they would never again be permitted to see. Gray-haired men and women of today still talk of the wonderful comet of their childhood that came about the time of the great Lincoln-Douglas debate.
In the early fifties a sort of epidemic of "spirit- rappings", "table-turnings" or "table-rappings", as it was severally called, swept over Illinois. Spirit-rap-
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Spirit-Rappings
pings started in and near Rochester, New York, and from there extended over the entire land. When I was a small boy I was present on two or three occasions when older people would gather about a bare table, and after seating themselves all would lay their extended hands upon it. Then some one would gravely ask ques- tion after question which it was proposed the spirits . should answer with a specified number of raps or knocks.
But the spirits invariably refused to answer any of the questions propounded, and not a rap or knock of any kind was heard. But notwithstanding this lack of spirit manifestation, for several years during the fifties certain people persisted in holding these meetings, usu- ally at private houses.
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CHAPTER VIII.
THE VILLAGE LYCEUM AND SOME LOCAL PETTIFOGGERS.
Leave these keen encounter of our wits, And fall somewhat into a slower method.
i
-Shakespeare. Your pettifoggers dam their souls, To share with knaves in cheating fools.
/ -Butler.
Even though vanquished he could argue still. -Goldsmith.
One of the institutions of the village was its Lyceum, the sessions of which occurred once a week, during cool weather, in the schoolhouse. Here heat was furnished from two wood-stoves and light from candles which were made to stand alone by putting the free end in melted tallow dropped from the burning end on the desk and allowed to harden.
Every man of good character was eligible to mem- bership and many of the villagers enrolled their names. The officers consisted of a president, vice-president, sec- retary and treasurer. Following were some of the top- ics discussed, or rather subjects debated : "Resolved, that African slavery should be abolished in the United States". "Resolved, that polygamy is a greater evil than African slavery". "Resolved, that the sale of alcoholic beverages should be prohibited". "Resolved, that the repeal of the Missouri Compromise is a menace to the perpetuity of the national union". "Resolved, that there is more satisfaction in pursuit than in pos-
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86
Types of Debaters
session". "Resolved, that the discovery of California gold has proved more of a eurse than a blessing to this country". "Resolved, that the right of suffrage should be granted to women".
Some member would move that a certain subject be the one named for discussion at the next meeting, and upon the adoption of this motion, two polemies were appointed whose duty it was to select their assistants, and lead in the discussion. All the members would be chosen on one or the other side. However, no one was permitted to speak longer than ten minutes; but as a matter of fact, few speakers used up the time allowed, for, save the Methodist preacher and three or four pet- tifoggers, all were amateurs. When the evening came for the debate the polemies made the opening talks and were followed in turn by other speakers. Strict par- liamentary rules were sought to be enforced.
These debates were always well attended, as it was interesting to see and hear the speakers. A certain wordy village pettifogger, not infrequently manifested a disposition to be arrogant and overbearing. The preacher, considerate and deferential, expressed his thoughts in well-chosen words and had the happy fac- ulty of knowing when he was through. The principal ·of the village school, poetical in temperament and gifted in speech, nearly always spoke with great earnestness, especially if the subject under debate gave him oppor- tunity to picture the horrors of slavery or the evils of the liquor traffic-two questions near his heart. The chief citizen of the village, a little pompous in bearing, always spoke in measured terms, seemingly impressed with the thought that his words carried unusual weight and authority. The village wit, with a grave, imper-
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87
Abolitionists and Prohibitionists
turbable countenance, labored under the handicap of having his most serious, carefully-worded thoughts in- terpreted as funny. The modest, timid youth, who was about to make his maiden speech, won the general sym- pathy when he arose and in a trembling voice said a few words, blushed, forgot most of what he had in mind, blushed a deeper red than ever, and sat down. There was also the man who was never disturbed, because he had more brass than brains, and who, with the utmost composure, would expose his ignorance by making blun- der after blunder, and in the end, sacrifice everything but his equipoise. These Lyceum debates revealed the fact that there were full-fledged abolitionists resident in the village, and this at a time when the mere word was deemed a reproach, so great was the influence of the upholders of African slavery, even in the free state of Illinois. Furthermore, they showed that in the com- munity were total abstainers who, if they could have had their way, would have poured in the Atlantic Ocean all the intoxicating beverages in existence.
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