USA > Indiana > Vanderburgh County > Evansville > History of the city of Evansville and Vanderburg County, Indiana, Volume I > Part 10
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As horse shows, automobile races, etc., hold the limelight now, I will speak of about the only other festival that we had in those days. This was the tournament at the fair grounds. The old figure eight track was used
GOVERNOR SCHOOL BUILDING (Colored.)
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and rings were placed on poles that extended over the track. A certain number of knights entered to compete and they used just such lances as did Sir Galahad and Ivanhoe and other of our old friends. The point was to pierce the greatest number of rings and retain them on the lances. The lucky man was then presented with a wreath of flowers which he at once carried to the grand stand and presented to his sweetheart. She was then known for the rest of the day as Queen of Love and Beauty. It can be imagined that there was a great deal of rivalry and a great deal of quiet practice for this event, as knight-errantry has come to us by heredity and there is always something fetching about anything of this kind. If I am not mistaken, Billy Baker, a son of Governor Conrad Baker won the first wreath for his lady love and I think Miss Lister was the recipient. I re- member further that Billy was such a prime favorite on account of his jovial disposition and his big heart and the hail-fellow-well-met way in which he approached every one, that even his most bitter enemies forgave him for winning the prize. We had also sleigh frolics in these old days where a big wagon was put onto uncouth rudders and Joe Setchell's four-horse team of big grays were always called into requisition. The town people used to make little excursions to the hospitable country homes near here, where, no matter whether they were expected or not, smoking suppers were soon ready for those who came. It was at this time, also, that mas- querading parties came into vogue but never in the public hall that the city possessed. They were always given at private houses exclusively and for several winters were quite the rage.
CHAPTER VIII.
EARLY SPORTS AND PASTIMES-CRACK SHOTS-THE BOONES-TOM JACK HUDS- PETH-EARLY DIET-WHY WOMEN WERE HEALTHY-A VISITING DRESS- "HOME-MADE" CLOTHING-DRESS COLORS-SHOES-EARLY ILLUMINATION -OUR GRANDMOTHERS' COMBS-OLD-TIME BOYS-THEIR CLOTHING- STRANGE WAYS-THE DIFFERENT "TIMES"-FRUIT AND WATERMELONS- THEIR GAMES.
Though the first denizens of this section were hard workers, both men and women, they had their sports and pastimes. Their lives were spent almost entirely in the open air, for to find a door closed even in the coldest weather was an almost unheard of thing. The old remark, "burn your face while your back freezes," grew from those who sat in front of the big open fireplaces with the big "back logs" that lasted for days.
About the only time the men had for sport was at the log-rollings, house raisings, and at elections and political meetings. The two great games were "raslin" (wrestling) and jumping.
Nothing did they know of "strangle-holds," "half-Nelsons," "flying falls," etc. A man won when he threw the other, landed on top and held him down.
Of course everybody jumped, or ran, and most of them could run like deer. A game called "quates" (quoits) was in great favor after there were a few horses in the settlement, though every shoe was valuable to nail over the cabin door.
Of course the game above all others was shooting, but none could af- ford to shoot at a mark and waste precious powder and lead, so a prize of a sheep, calf or full grown cow or steer would be put up. There were always five prizes: Ist, hide and taller; 2nd, hind quarters; 3rd, fore quarters; 4th, head and legs; 5th, lead in the tree.
So closely matched were some of the grand shots of the olden time that they would put bullet after bullet into the same hole and would have to shoot off ties after dark. In this case the mark was put at the foot of the tree, and a small fire made to show it plainly. Then, one hundred yards back a log was rolled up and a fire built by its side, so that the marksmen could see their rifle sights. I have seen this shooting off after dark many a time in Warrick County, the home of some of the best hunters that ever lived, for many of them were direct descendants of the Boones of Kentucky and seemed born to the woods.
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Just a little story to show how strong heredity is. I was quail shooting in an old field above Boonville, when a slight snow was on the ground. Glancing to my left I saw a hunter coming rapidly along with his eyes bent to the ground and, as he came nearer, I recognized one of the steady mer- chants of Boonville. As he glanced up while shaking hands, I could see that his eyes were all ablaze and his nostrils quivering just as do those of a hunting dog in which the hunting instinct comes down through genera- tions. Said he, "See that turkey trail? I saw her in the flats, but she was out of range. It's a nice hen and I'm going to trail her down." "But," said I, "it's nearly dark now. Let's go back to town." "Back nothing," replied he, "I'm going to trail her till dark and she'll tree and I'll wait till I can see my sights and I'll get her if I have to wait till just before day- light."
That man was Joe Hudspeth, who recently died, loved and respected by every one who knew him. He was one of the fairest, squarest men that ever lived, and if his conscience told him a certain thing was right he would stick to it, no matter what happened. Now see where heredity comes in. His grandmother was Susanna Boon, a sister of Col. Ratliff Boon.
As the Boons and their descendants are so closely connected with the early history of this city, perhaps another instance of the force of heredity may not be out of place.
Among the pioneers who came West from Virginia and South Caro- lina was Thomas Jackson Hudspeth, who married Susanna, the sister of Col. Boon. He was a man of rugged exterior, brave and fearless but a God-fearing man.
His oldest son was Thomas Jackson Hudspeth, Jr., who for many years was sheriff of Warrick County. He was known as "Tom Jack" all over that country and loved and feared alike. He was not a large man but had broad shoulders and a very strong back. His jaws were very square and his eye was as piercing as a hawk's. He died at the age of seventy-two with every tooth in his jaws as perfect as the day it first grew. In all that country his dare-devil courage made him the very best man for sheriff, when whisky was so plenty and all sorts of men who found it best to leave the East were crowding into the new West.
In all his career he was never shot, though he would walk right up to a rifle or revolver and such was his grit and so absolutely was he devoid of any knowledge of what fear meant that no one dared to shoot at him. Any desperado knew that if he did not kill "Tom Jack" instantly the latter would wrest his gun from him, and though mortally wounded, beat out his brains with it before he died himself. And yet he loved little children and flowers and everything that was lovely in nature.
Old citizens have told me that after he refused to serve longer as sheriff he was the best "peace" officer the little town ever saw.
On Saturday afternoons, after the usual horse-trading, etc., many of the farmers would get drunk and of course some pair who could not agree,
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or had an old grudge, would get to fighting. Soon the friends of the first contestant would begin to "take sides" and then a "free for all" would get into progress. At such a time it was only necessary for some cool-headed man to yell, "Look out, men, Tom Jack is comin'," and all fighting would stop instantly, for he had taught them several lessons.
His store stood at the corner of the Public Square and just as soon as the curses and yells that indicated a fight reached his ears he would grab an ax handle, wagon spoke, or anything that came handy and run out bare- headed. The very thickest place in the fight was the place his soul cried for, and using both fists, boots and whatever weapon he had, he would leave a string of bloody heads and noses in his wake.
By the time he got to the center the fight was all over every time, and then he would tell them that if anybody still wanted to fight he could whip him "quicker'n hell could scorch a feather."
So much for heredity. "Tom Jack" came by his nerve honestly.
In all writings regarding the Boons, the name of Simon Girty creeps in and there are many who infer that he operated in this section, but this is wrong. He was a vile rengade white man, only a little removed from a brute. No matter what drove him from his original haunts there was no excuse for the atrocities he committed. He was worse and far more treacherous than the Indians. He first appeared over in Kentucky in August, 1782, with a band of Indians, some 500 in number, who had for- merly lived on this side of the river. He tried to kill off the settlers at Bryant's Station but was repelled by McGary, Daniel Boone and Col. Hart, of Lexington, aided by the settlers in that region. It is said that he was finally stabbed to death by another renegade. Be that as it may, so long as the history of this section exists his name will be execrated. It was just after the above fight that McGary went to Vincennes and then came back down the old Indian trail to the foot of Main street.
Regarding these most primitive times the question may be asked "how did they live when this was only a wilderness?" I have tried to tell how plentiful the game was but neglected to refer to the first bread. When the first little clearings were made (and this was often done by two men, one working and the other keeping guard with a rifle) corn and pumpkins were the only things planted, but, while waiting for the ripening of the little crops, some substitute for bread had to be made for they could not live on a constant diet of jerked venison and bear meat.
They often roasted the white-oak acorns and ate them with their meat. Then they would gather wild rice and wild barley and mix it with the roasted acorns and these made "ash cakes." When the corn was ripe it was pounded and mixed with bears' grease.
This diet and the constant living in the open air made the very strongest of men and women. Dyspepsia or any kind of stomach trouble was almost unknown. The young people matured early and married early. A boy of 17 was expected to do a man's work on the clearing, or in hunting or
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scouting and he was expected to marry early, and with the help of his parents and neighbors build a little cabin, clear up a piece of land and be- come a citizen. All had large families. What else could be expected. The wives of the present, leading artificial lives, heated by artificial heat so to speak, laced up and bundled up at every change of the weather, are nothing like the women of the early day. They dressed loosely, the vise-like corset was unknown and their bodies were free as nature in- tended. They drew in great breaths of the pure air into lungs that were never cramped. They could go to a puncheon floor dance and dance all night and be up before the sun and work all next day and never feel it.
Possibly it would be a surprising sight to see one of these pioneer women walk down the old Indian trail just now. Her head bare, a sort of jacket of tanned deer skin or "lindsey," a skirt of deer skin, and leggings and moccasins of the same. She might, if tasty, wear a neat little mink skin cap on her luxuriant hair and carry an Indian pouch. But the chances are she would be carrying a rosy-cheeked baby with half a dozen other fat and healthy children at her heels and probably not one in the lot ever took more medicine than a little catnip tea or a few doses of sarsaparilla tea each spring. And that woman would tumble the children into a canoe, give the baby to the eldest to hold and after telling them to sit still and not "spill out" pick up a paddle and strike right across this broad Ohio to see her "kin" over at Red Banks. And she would get there too and think nothing of the trip. So much for fresh air, loose clothes and daily exercise.
Doubtless some lady readers will turn up their noses at this and say "Oh, they were stronger in those days." Not a bit, gentle reader. Unless you have by heredity a frail constitution, you could be as strong as any of the pioneer women-if you only breathed Gods' air as they did, cared as little for the dictates of fashion as they did and exercised as they did- but you don't.
I have spoken of the clothing that was worn by the settlers but neglected to say just how it was made and from what, but it was almost a necessity for each neighborhood to have at least one or two farmers who raised both flax or cotton. It is a fact that in the early days cotton was very successfully raised in southern Indiana, and why it is not the case at present, is something I don't understand, for I am positive that the winters grow milder each year. The very fact that there is so little skating and so little sleighing that I can remember that for one term of five years, my sleigh was never taken out of the hay loft, would go to show that this must be the case. So why is it that cotton is not produced today ; and yet one can take a trip over the entire country near here and never see one little patch of it. Flax was what was used to form what was called the jean or the leading thread in the loom, where all the fabrics were made in the early days. It was very easily raised and gathered when ripe and tied into bundls and allowed to become brittle. The bundles were then opened and the flax was spread on the ground and left in the sun and rain until
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the stem was so brittle as to break away from the flax proper. It was then taken to the flax brake and so thoroughly broken that the wood part fell through and out of the way, leaving the flax fiber. They then used what was called the scutching board and a knife. It was laid on this board and the knife drawn over it, until nothing was left but the fiber which was then ready to be put on the old spinning wheel and spun into thread. There are a few of these old spinning wheels now in Evansville and they are put away among the treasures of the people who own them, but over in Kentucky and southern Illinois, there are thousands of them in use today, in the little settlements in the mountains and in the sparsely settled dis- tricts. The art of making this thread was indeed quite an art. What was called the distaff was fastened into the arm of a small wheel that stood about two feet away from the wheel bench proper. This distaff was made of a small dogwood bush, using the part where four small forks grew to- gether. The bush was cut some two feet below the fork. The ends of the flax were gathered around the middle stem and the flax wrapped around it ready for the spinning. The big wheel was run with the foot on the treadle and both hands had to be used in separating the flax so that it would run into an even thread. This thread was very strong, much stronger than one would naturally suppose and the fact that the old jeans would stand wonderful wear and tear bears out this statement. The next machine was the reel. The thread went around this and was run into pieces all of the same length and these were made into what was called the hank. This was taken off and twisted so as to keep it from becoming tangled and it was then put away ready for the winding spool. The first cotton came with the settlers who came here from North and South Caro- lina and from Tennessee. They brought the cotton seed with them. The colors of the cloth were about as follows:
The brown was made from the bark of walnut trees and the hulls of walnut and these youngsters who hull walnuts even in these days, know what a stain the latter makes. Sometimes a little copperas was mixed with maple bark, but copperas was hard to get in those days. But it was not long until indigo and madder began to be brought here and in fact I have helped store away many a box of indigo and huge hogsheads of madder that came to Evansville in the original packages in which it was put up in the far-off land where it was grown. In the very early days, most dyes of this kind came up the river from New Orleans, being taken in ships to that port. Logwood was also used and the depth of the color was gauged by the quantity put into the dye. I might add that there were several tan- yards established in this county very early. They were primitive, of course, but tan bark cost very little to make, so that there was quite a profit in the business. The shoemaker who made these hides into shoes went from house to house with his tools and worked during the entire year, but the work which he did in the summer was carefully put away until winter, as children and a great many women did not wear shoes at all, though some
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of the latter wore moccasins, as did the men, but every man liked to have good serviceable pair of cow-hide boots as they were called. A woman buying a dress in those days, asked for a six-yard pattern. That was considered enough. There were no hooks and eyes, whatever, as they had not been introduced and buttons or draw strings took their place. How easy it is now to step into our halls on a dark night and by simply touching a little button, light the whole house by electricity or any hall or a room that you may desire, and then think what it was to get a light in the old days. Of course the great open fire-place furnished the light in the winter time, but during the summer when the cooking was done out doors very often to keep from heating the house, light at night became a very neces- sary thing. It was many a day after Evansville was founded, before even a tallow candle made its appearance, for there was no cotton wick which did not appear until later and there were no tinsmiths who could make candle moulds. What was used was simply a tin or brass plate if one could be obtained with the end turned up so as to form a sort of bowl. This was nailed to the wall. In it was placed a piece of almost any kind of cloth and then it was filled with tallow or grease of any kind. The flame came out from the end. Of course this light was barely better than none at all, yet many a school boy who wished to acquire knowledge, put in his evenings studying by a light of this kind, as all through the day he was ex- pected to work. As civilization progressed, people began to want candles and candle wick usually sold in hanks or in balls. Then the tinsmith was called on to make a mould. This consisted of a series of tubes just large enough to make the old tallow candle which was nearly twice as large as the sperm candle of today. The wick was put into each of the tubes and pulled through the end and then the mould was filled with melted tallow and the mould set out to cool. When cool they were taken out and the rough ends at the bottom cut off and they were ready for use. But so primitive were these lights, that the candle had to be continually snuffed and many a family now has a pair of these old candle snuffers put safely away. I know of one pair in the city which is said to be over a hundred years old.
But if the good housewife was deficient in the matter of trains and jewelry and other articles of adornment, she was never without a good comb and it would seem that combs were about the earliest articles of adornment ever brought here. The pioneer women got them in Virginia and the Carolinas from whence most of them came and must have brought a bountiful supply, but even when these failed, it was very easy for the husband to make some kind of a horn comb for his wife. With a sharp knife he was able to cut out some very pretty patterns. Be that as it may, every pioneer mother had her comb and as the daughters grew up, they also had them; and one other thing. The daughters of the family always seemed to have beads and it was almost a rarity to find any young girl from the age of 10 up who did not wear a string of beads. There were
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not Indian beads, but real glass beads which had probably been made in the east. Whether they got them through trading with the Indians who always were willing to trade their furs for them at the stores, is not known, but they were probably brought by the pioneer mothers when they came west to settle, and the peculiar thing was that they claimed that the beads were a prevention for certain kinds of sickness. In fact, I have often heard this stated in backwood families where I have been, but I do not remember just what sickness it was that they claimed to keep away. Another idea was that a girl's ears must always be pierced when she was young. Even if she had no ear rings, or had no expectations of getting any for years, they were pierced and either a small bone from a deer's leg or a piece of thread was passed through and kept there until the orifice was made and my recollection is that it was claimed that if the ears were pierced there would never be any danger of the girl having sore eyes.
Of course the old time boys have all grown into manhood, many of them into old manhood and of the young fellows that I used to play with, many of them go on Sunday afternoons and play with their little grand- children, and this certaintly covers a long stretch of years.
It was formerly believed and perhaps as much in Evansville as in any town in the country, that all boys were bad. This was not the case. The boys were not any worse than the boys of the present day but they were not hampered by all the restrictions which are now thrown around the children of almost the entire community.
For instance now, the average boy is well and comfortably dressed, he does not go barefooted except in extreme warm weather and he knows what it is to not only wear a collar and tie, but to have his hair brushed and his face clean. He even attempts to put on a little style at times and is very particular as to whether tan shoes or black shoes are the most be- coming. He also pays more particular attention to the exact way in which his hair must be worn. I regret very much to say that there are many hundreds of boys in Evansville who are following a style which has long been obsolete in the East or in fact, any civilized part of the United States, in that they persist in pulling a great mop of greasy hair out on their fore- heads or parting their hair in the middle and pasting it down so as to nearly cover their eyes as possible. If they would take the trouble to look at the fashion plates or any photographs taken recently of young men in the East, they would see that this style of hair dressing has long been out of date. Yet they persist in wearing these mops and tilting their hats either on the back of their heads or over on one side, all of which shows much absolute ignorance, as eating with one's knife or chewing with ones lips open. This was particularly called to my mind the other day by noting the cover page of the Popular magazine which pictured the seats filled with specta- tors at a great ball game. The great majority or in fact, 99 per cent of those whose faces were shown, wore their hats straight on the top of their heads and their hair did not show at all. But in the lot, were three or four
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of these greasy-fronted boys with caps stuck on the back of their heads and the make-up of their faces showed that they were bad characters. In fact, their low brows, high cheek bones, protruding ears, and cruel mouths, showed that they were descended from the very lowest grade of parents. Here was where heredity had set its mark again.
But to drop the present day boy and get back to the old-time boy, he was a husky little fellow and as stated, cared very little what he wore, just so he did not transgress the laws of common decency. His one suspender which held up his short pants, was often held in place by a nail or thorn, while his straw hat was usually of the style now worn by farmers. Part of the time he wore his hat but generally he carried it in his hand or left it in some convenient lumber pile until ready to go home, as he considered it a useless article of apparel. An undershirt was unknown to him. A common "Hickory" shirt sometimes with a collar but usually without, was good enough for him and the rest of his attire consisted of his one pair of pants and generally they were colored either blue or walnut color by his mother.
He was not a bad little fellow at heart but he was up to all sorts of tricks and ten times as full of life as the boy of the present day, for he lived almost entirely in the open air. There was no bird's nest safe if his eagle eye ever saw the parent bird go to it. The few pigeons that were kept here then were supposed to be fair prey for him, and a boy who could most successfully sneak into a dovice and get away with the most pigeons was the king among his fellows. Of course all fruit trees belonged to him. The only point was that he must be smart enough to get the fruit without being caught and the early town people always expected that a certain percent of all their fruit and grapes and their strawberries, etc., would be taken by the small boy. This was as much a matter of fact, as the charging up of the profit and loss account of the merchant.
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