USA > Indiana > Marshall County > A twentieth century history of Marshall County, Indiana, Volume I > Part 23
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"James O. Parks settled on land now owned by Jennie Weaver and Ada Parks in 1836 and cleared several farms. He was elected to the legislature twice. His first opponent was John L. Westervelt, of Plymouth, and his second C. H. Reeve, of Plymouth.
"James Miner settled on the land now owned by Eli Shafer. The first ten acres of land he cleared and fenced he split the rails and carried them on his shoulder and built an eight-rail fence around the ten acres. He didn't own any team. He was a bachelor at that time, but he was not in- vincible, for Sallie Burnett wooed and won him.
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"Andrew Bearinger's house stood on a knoll on the east side of the road from Graham Rose's. He had a son, David, who became enthused with a girl. He had a rival. The girl was pivotal-the one who got there first had an option on her company. One Sunday there was a church in a log schoolhouse. David's rival got around first and got the girl's consent to let him walk home with her. David walked along behind them for a hundred yards or so until he became so jealous that he couldn't stand it any longer. He struck his rival, when they went into a dog fight. Some of the old pioneers not far off hurried to the scene of the fracas and separated them.
"William Elder settled on the land now owned by Ebed Huffer. He was an industrious and an honest man and a fine railsplitter. He wore a knit cap the year round and was so badly tanned that he had a complexion like the red man of the forest. He would occasionally imbibe a little of the extract of corn. He said he didn't like the taste of it, but liked the funny effects it had on him.
"There were three of the Taylor brothers: Joseph, William and George. They were stout men. Joseph started one morning before day- light to help one of his neighbors plant corn. While passing through a woods he was attacked by two wolves. He heard them coming and backed up against a tree and fought them until daylight, when they left him. He was wet with sweat keeping them at bay with an eye hoe, or a 'nigger hoe,' as they were sometimes called. James O. Parks and Solomon Linn went to the woods one day to locate some land. When night came on they had to climb trees and stay there till morning to protect themselves from the wolves. I am inclined to think they got lost and couldn't find the road home."
Getting Lost in the Woods.
In one of his articles Mr. Greer incorporates a letter which he had re- ceived from one of the early pioneers, commending his efforts in preserving some of the early history of the county that otherwise would have been lost. That part of the letter giving some additional historical information is here- with reproduced as follows :
"My Dear Sir: I have been very much interested in reading your sketches of the early pioneers of the eastern portion of the county, and I want to thank you for the work you have done in preserving much useful and interesting historical matter which otherwise would have been lost to future generations. Your sketches are worthy of preservation, and the next history of the county, whenever it shall be written, will not be complete without at least a portion of them.
"I remember nearly all the pioneers you name, but until I read your articles many of them had been forgotten. I had a little experience in the region of country traversed by you in your sketches that came back to me vividly as I read the names of many who were living there then and still in the prime of early manhood. It was on the day of the August election in 1849 that it happened. The county politically was quite evenly divided between the Whigs and Democrats, and while the Democrats had a little the best of it they did not have a sure thing by any means. There was considerable local interest as to the outcome, and messengers were sent to the several polling places in the county to get the vote and carry it to the
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county seat. I was a boy then, and was selected by the Democrats to go to Tip Town and bring back the returns of the election with all possible speed. I was furnished with a horse to ride and an untanned sheepskin in place of a saddle. As you may well remember, the roads were little traveled, and at best were but an elaboration of the Indian trails of those days, the trees being blazed along the route to guide the weary traveler on his way. I passed through Lycurgus, but I do not remember whether your father or you lived there then or not. I think there was a blacksmith shop there, but who 'the village blacksmith' was I do not remember.
"I reached Bourbon some time in the afternoon, and I thought it was the most dreary-looking place I ever saw. There were but a few log houses there then, and they stood in the midst of a wilderness of tall and stately forest trees. I remember one of the houses was built of logs and stood on the corner where is now the Matchette drug store. It was kept, I believe, by Robert Cornwall as a general store of small proportions. The only man I remember now of seeing was James O. Parks. He was the big man of the town at that time and for many years afterwards. I remember he di- rected me how to find my way to Tip Town. I got through all right, but owing to the 'red tape' method of the election board I did not get the returns until 7 o'clock. I started on the return trip as fast as I could go, but dark- ness soon came upon me. I lost the main road and was going I did not know where. I could hear the barking of many wolves in the distance in almost every direction, and what to do I did not know. I kept going, however, and finally came in sight of the smoke from a chimney in the woods. I hurried on, and when I reached it I found it was the old Perrin homestead. I told the family that I had missed the road to Plymouth and wished to be directed how I could find it. They told me it would be dan- gerous to attempt to go any farther in the 'pitch darkness' through the woods, and it did not take a great deal of coaxing to persuade me to put up my horse and stay all night. I did not sleep much that night. The ex- citement of the day and evening, the strangeness of the surroundings, the yelping of the wolves and the hooting of the night owls, and the thousands of mosquitoes that insisted on presenting their bills made sleep almost im- possible. I was up and out by break of day next morning, and after travers- ing the woods and Indian trails I brought up at the cabin of the elder Elliott, 'The Pilgrim,' as he called himself, some place in the region of In- wood. He made hickory chairs, I believe, and called his place 'Pilgrim's Rest.' He directed me how I could find Plymouth, and I hurried on, ar- riving there about noon, much to my own relief and to the relief of my parents and friends, who imagined all sorts of calamities had befallen me. Before I arrived home the returns already in showed that the Democratic ticket was elected, and thus ended my first experience in practical politics."
Ramps.
"There was a plant that grew in the thick woods in Marshall county that covered the ground all over and was called ramps; some people called them leeks. The cows would eat them and the butter couldn't be used. A cow's breath would almost vomit a man if he got a full blast of it. The wild turkeys would eat them and when a man killed a turkey that was rampy it was thrown away. I think the hog was the agent that caused the
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ramps to become extinct; I think the ramp belongs to the onion or garlic family; they grew early in the spring and died in June, I believe. Wild onions grew in Marshall county; I have gathered them; they grew up slender and the part that grew in the ground was about the size of a lead pencil.
How They Cooked.
"The pioneers had no cook stoves; they cooked in front of the fire- places in ovens, skillets, pots and on boards, and they baked what they called a John-a-cake on a board in front of the fireplaces ; they had what they called a reflector, made of tin, and one side was open; it had an inclined top and a grate in it, and they would set a pan of biscuits on the grate, set the reflector in front of the fire and the heat would strike the inclined top and reflect on the biscuits and cause them to bake. They were good, too.
Cleaning Wheat.
"I have seen my father and two other men blow the chaff out of wheat with a sheet. One man would pour the wheat down in a small stream, the other two would furnish the wind with the sheet. That beat having no biscuits. Years ago there was a porous substance that grew on decayed trees; it was known as a sweet knot; it had a fine odor, and could be scented, when the wind was favorable, for a considerable distance. This knot was inhabited by small insects which made the perfume, so it was said by those who claimed to know.
"George H. Thayer settled on the land now owned by Milton Martin. He erected buildings, cleared the land and did blacksmithing. He also preached the gospel and was a talented and good man.
"John Greer settled on land half a mile south. He was a violinist. When I was a small boy I heard him play a piece he called 'Sugar in the Gourd.' I thought it was delightful. It might have been the sugar that made it sound so well. Some of the old pioneers used to keep sugar in a gourd. I suppose that is what the song started from. It went something like this :
Sugar in the gourd, Sugar all about ; It's hard to get it in And hard to get it out.
"Samuel R. Coons settled on lands that are now owned by Mrs. Vernet. He was somewhat of a politician and wanted to be sheriff, but never got there. J. B. McFarlin was a very sociable man and loved to sing. He compiled the books of the Old and New Testament into song. I have heard him sing it. It sounded pretty well.
"North and northwest of Bourbon John Greer built a house in June, 1836, on the land where the Bourbon schoolhouse now stands. He moved into it in September, and lived there six weeks before a white man came to the territory to live. Solomon Linn settled on land half a mile north of the main corners of Bourbon on the west side of the road. The front is now mostly covered with town. He came here in 1836, erected build- ings, cleared a good farm, lived there many years, and there he died."
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HISTORY OF MARSHALL COUNTY.
XXVIII. FARM MACHINERY AND HARVESTING.
It was only a year or two after the clearing off of the ground, and the first crop of corn had been raised, until the grounds were sown in wheat. There were no drills in those days, and the wheat had to be sown "broad- cast." This was done in this way: A bushel and a half or two bushels were put in a sack, and thrown over the shoulder of the "sower." Stakes were set up at certain distances, at each side, on the top of which a white flag was attached. These were generally fifteen or twenty feet apart. The sower threw the sack over his left shoulder, the grain divided equally in the middle, with the front end partially opened so as to admit the right hand. The sower then started on his journey across the field, stepping about three feet at a stride and at every step taking out a handful of grain and sowing it "broadcast" before him. After a little experience, nearly all to whom that part of the farm work was assigned became quite expert, and the wheat came up very evenly all over the field. The ground was gen- erally dragged with a wooden harrow drawn by a yoke of oxen. Some- times the grain was "brushed" in; that is, the top limbs of small trees were pulled over the ground, which was an excellent substitute where harrows were not obtainable.
After the grain had grown and ripened, the next thing was to harvest it, and this was done in this part of the country, at the time of which we write, almost entirely with what was called a "sickle," an agricultural implement almost entirely unknown to the present generation of farmers. It was a small implement made of steel in a crescent shape, and having a handle fitted to a tang. It had one side of the blade notched so as always to sharpen with a serrated edge so that when inserted into the grain it would be easily cut off, the reaper holding the stocks by the tops with the left hand, and pulling steadily, but firmly, with the right hand.
Harvesting grain in this way was something that had to be learned, and without an exception those who first attempted it were sure to cut the lower part of the left little finger, which always left a scar by which he could ever after prove that he belonged to the great army of reapers. The writer has a "certificate" that he is one of 'em. Half an acre, or three-quarters, at most, was as much as the average reaper could cut and bind in a day. The swath was generally, according to the size of the man, and the reach of his arms, from three and a half to four feet in width.
The operation has been described by a writer as follows: "The first movement was to cast the sickle into the standing grain, compelling it to lean somewhat toward the reaper, and then dexterously throwing forward the left leg, the grain was further led into the desired position; then by throwing around it the right leg and the left arm and hand, it was in a position to be cut off by the sickle, ten or twelve inches above the ground, and dropped from the left hand of the reaper into piles. On the return, to rest his back, the reaper, carrying the sickle on his shoulder, properly twisted into his suspender so as to hold it there, he bound into sheaves the grain he had cut through the field and started in again. Usually five to ten persons composed these bands of reapers, one man following another, and their gyratory movements at cutting a half acre each per day would be a sight to the driver of the present stately harvesters.
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HISTORY OF MARSHALL COUNTY.
"Previous to 1840 the grain was thrashed, either with the flail or was tramped out with horses. Two men could flail out and winnow about twelve bushels per day, and two men and a boy, with horses, could tramp out and winnow about twenty bushels a day. The winnowing, or separating the grain from the chaff, was done by the hand sieve, pouring the mixed chaff and grain from above, two men at the ends of a bed sheet so vibrated it as to make a current of air which blew the chaff to one side, while the heavier grain fell in a pile at their fect."
The "flails" referred to above were a very awkward implement to handle, and if it so happened that he who used it was himself awkward, he would frequently get a knock on the head that would make him see stars. The handle part was about three and a half feet long, somewhat larger than an ordinary hoe handle. At the upper end a small auger hole was bored, through which a rope or cord was run. The upper part of the flail was a round piece of wood, larger than the handle, about a foot and a half long. An auger hole was bored through one end, and it was securely tied to the handle, leaving the rope a play of two or three inches. The operator raised the flail high above his head and brought it down with all the strength he could command. He kept on beating the heads of the sheaves until the grain was all loosened, when it was cleaned as above stated.
It was probably in the '40s that the "cradle" began to be introduced here. It was a wonderful improvement over the sickle, and the man who owned a cradle and knew how to use it was considered to have a for- tune within his grasp. The scythe, up to that time, had been used solely to cut hay, which was cured on the ground and stacked in heaps without binding. In using these scythes, some one caught the idea that a frame with fingers that would hold the stalks of wheat and enable the cutter to lay it down with the heads together in one direction for binding, attached to the ordinary mowing scythe would be just the thing, and so it came to pass that the wheat cradle was invented. It was quite a nack to handle these cradles, and besides it was very laborious work. Usually a man could cut a swath four or five feet wide as rapidly as an expert could bind it in bundles.
It was about this time that wooden wind mills for cleaning wheat, that is, separating the chaff from grain, began to make their appearance, and this was a most valuable improvement over the old primitive method of manipulating a bed quilt or sheet for the purpose of producing wind to drive ont the chaff.
XXIX. FARM PRODUCTS-COON AND DEER HUNTING-SUGAR CAMPS.
It was hard "scratching." you may be sure, the first few years, to get enough wholesome food to live on after the pioneers settled near Maxin- kuckee lake. Corn, at first, was the staple product, as its growth was rapid and it could be used from the time it was in the milk stage until it ripened, about the time when "the frost was on the 'punkin' an' the fodder's in the shock." As soon as the ears began to "blister" they began to be plucked for use by roasting before the fire, by cutting the corn from the cob and
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frying and boiling, and cooking in various other ways. When the beans began to mature, a favorite dish was a pot of boiled corn and beans with a piece of fat pork to give the proper flavor. Potatoes and turnips, rutabagas, pumpkins and squashes, peas and onions, beets, cucumbers, lettuce, radishes, and all kinds of garden vegetables among which were all varieties of melons. were planted and grew in abundance, and of the very best quality. The woods, too, were full of a great variety of wild fruits, such as huckleberries, blackberries, raspberries, gooseberries, cranberries, wild cherries, paw paws, black and red haws, crab apples and plums, and other fruits in their season.
And there was also an abundance of all kinds of wild game used for food, such as deer, turkeys, quails, ducks, prairie chickens, wild geese, pheasants, squirrels, and fish by the barrel whenever the big seine was drawn in the lake, so that, although it was quite different from what it is in these days of fancy dishes, the menu was sufficiently palatable and nutritious for all practical purposes.
Buckwheat was a favorite crop, as it matured rapidly and required less labor to produce it than other grains. Hot buckwheat cakes for breakfast, with a plentiful supply of wild honey or maple molasses made a meal fit for a king.
Almost every farm had a sufficient number of maple trees to open a sugar camp. Sugar troughs were made out of small poplar trees chopped out with an ax and adz and placed near the tree which was to be "tapped." "Spiles," as they were called, were made out of the branches of elder bushes. They were made about one foot in length, split in half, lengthwise, after which the pith was removed, thus forming a channel for the water to run into the trough. Holes were bored into the trees, into which the spile was inserted. The trough was placed under the end of the spile through which the water, as it ran from the tree, was carried and emptied. A sugar camp was established at a convenient place on the grounds, a furnace was made of "niggerheads" arranged so that large kettles could be set in and heated from below. Sometimes a pole held in the forks or crotches of stakes at each end would be used to hold up the kettles so that fire could be kept burning underneath. Large wooden barrels or tanks were kept standing near by, into which the sugar water would be emptied as it was drawn in on sleds or carried by hand in wooden buckets as fast as the troughs were filled. Usually it was made the duty of the women and girls of the family to boil the water down to the molasses or sugar point, while the "old man" and the boys chopped and hauled the wood for fuel, and looked after the taking care of the water. There was a good deal of work about these primitive sugar camps, and it required a good deal of experience to ascertain just where the molasses point ended and the graining, or sugar point began. Frequently when the "stirring off" time came the young people of the neighborhood for miles around would congre- gate at a favorite camp, have a molasses pulling and make a night of it and the "boys would go home with the girls in the morning." These were joyful times for the young people of those primitive days. Sugar making time was always in the spring of the year when the flowers were just budding into bloom and making the air fragrant with their sweetness; when the woodlands were clothed in their habiliments of living green; when the bird songsters sang joyously in the rich foliage, and all nature
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joined in the glad anthem. Really the people were very happy then. They were the children of nature and knew nothing of the annoyances and per- plexities of the break-neck world in which we are now living.
Canned fruits were not known in those days. Peaches and apples, after they began to be raised, were cut into pieces, and strung on a thread to dry. All kinds of wild cherries were spread out on a cloth and dried in the sun. When sufficiently cured they were put in a sack and hung up on a, peg handy for use when wanted. Pumpkins and squashes were cut into thin rings, peeled and hung up on a pole to dry.
When deer were killed, the saddles, or the hams, were partially dried, or "jerked," as it was called, as in this way it could be kept longer for use and was more palatable than when salted and preserved in brine. The hides were neatly dressed and trimmed, and tacked up to the gable end of the house to dry.
The common American deer was the only variety found here when this county was first settled by the whites. This graceful animal was the most useful of all the wild game found here at that time. Its flesh was a very palatable and easily digestible article of food, its skin was made into various articles of clothing, and especially for moccasins, both for the Indian and the white man. Its horns were useful for handles for different kinds of cutlery, and its sinews for bow . strings and other uses. During the day they usually retired to thickets and swamps, coming out to feed and drink by night, although they were frequently seen in daylight. In the winter they lived on buds of the wild rose, brambles, and various berries and leaves, and in spring and summer on the tenderest leaves and grasses. Some- times when the males would meet tremendous battles would ensue, resulting often in the death of one or both of the combatants. In January their horns would drop off, after which they would live peaceably, as if conscious of their weak and defenseless condition. The young were generally born in May or June. They were carefully concealed, and were visited by their mother by day only occasionally, as at morning, noon and night. These fawns were easily domesticated, but they were troublesome pets, and were seldom kept any great length of time. The mother was much attached to her young and the imitation of their cry was often practiced by the Indians to bring the mother within reach of their weapons. The young, until about the age of four months, were bright reddish brown, with irregular white spots; after that age the spots disappeared and they resembled the old ones. Preferring to roam at night in search of food, they frequented the banks of lakes and water courses and salt licks, where they were easily destroyed. In walking, the deer carried his head low, the largest animal usually leading the herd, which went in single file. When alarmed it gave two or three high and exceedingly graceful springs, and if he saw any danger, he rushed off with the speed of a race horse, running low with the head in line with the body. They took to water readily, and could swim with their bodies deeply submerged, and so rapidly that nothing but an Indian canoe could easily overtake them.
There were expert hunters and fishermen in those days, those who knew where the runways of the deer were, who knew all about their peculiarities and habits, and those who were familiar with the best fishing holes in the
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lake and river, and what sort of fishing tackle was the best to use to capture the various kinds of fish that were the most numerous at that time.
The guns used then in hunting deer and other wild animals were rifles loaded with a single ball, instead of the double barrelled shot gun now in almost universal use, so that the hunter, if he missed his aim, or failed to hit his game the first time, before he could load and fire again the fleet footed skipper would be a mile or so away in the woods and underbrush. If the shot happened to strike the deer and wound him, not so severely, however, as to prevent him from running, sometimes a long chase would ensue before he was finally tired out and exhausted by the "hounds" that were sent after him. If it happened to be a big buck with horns like an elk, after his fright was over he would occasionally turn and fight his pur- suers. The barking of the dogs would frequently hold him at bay until the hunter could overtake him and fire another shot which would almost always bring him to his knees and finally result in his capture.
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