USA > Indiana > Vanderburgh County > Evansville > History of the city of Evansville and Vanderburg County, Indiana, Volume I > Part 14
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48
As has been stated, sickness of a serious nature, was almost unknown to the old pioneers and the primitive stock of drugs and the knowledge of herbs possessed by the pioneer mothers were amply able to cope with almost any sickness that arose, but the one disease most feared by everyone was milk sickness. In fact, a joke was extant for many years that no family would admit that this disease existed in their vicinity but was always to be found in the next county. It was in the very early years of the settle- ment of this section, that this disease appeared in its worst stages. Several young towns and settlements were almost depopulated and there were very few individuals in this section who escaped with only one or more serious attacks. Of course what we now know as chills and fever existed in those days and possibly to a greater extent than at present, for its existence is attributed to decaying vegetation and the malaria in the air and as this whole country was full of low places there was naturally much more malaria than at present. Milk sickness got its name from the fact that those affected attributed their attacks to the use of the milk of cows which had contracted it. No one seems to have ever found out just what caused this disease, but it was from some grass or herb which grew in the land which never had been tilled, for it is a fact that after the country was opened up and the soil all cultivated, it disappeared almost entirely. Many thought it was the noxious weed which grew in deep woods where the sun could never penetrate and the fact that cattle that grazed in cleared fields never took the disease, would make this appear correct.
But in the very early days no farmer could afford to fence in a pasture, let alone clear one, and he was content to let his cattle graze in the deep woods which were rich with canebrakes in winter and wild pea-vine in sum-
116
HISTORY OF VANDERBURG COUNTY
mer. The range was so excellent that cattle were always fat. So preva- lent did this disease become at times, that farmers would lose their entire herds, saving only the hides, for even when an animal died, the hide was promptly secured, as it was the most valuable part about it.
A well-known physician in writing of this disease says, "The disease produced by this poison occurred originally in the Herbivora-as the ox, horse, sheep, etc., but was transmitted to the carniverous animals and birds which had fed upon the flesh of other animals dead from the disease, as the dog and the vulture. The flesh and milk of diseased animals were capable, when eaten, of imparting the disease; the cow, through her milk, poisoned her calf or poisoned the people who drank of the milk or ate of the butter made from the milk.
"When the poison had once been introduced into the system it had the power of self propagation and of imparting the same intensely poisonous properties from one animal to another, and was capable of perpetuating the disease in a continuous chain of animals as one should eat the flesh of an- other. Thus each pound of flesh of a dog which had been poisoned by a pound of flesh of the cow, would poison the vulture and so on through a long chain of animals, the last pound of flesh partaken of being as poison- ous as that taken from the animal first affected. There is no known min- eral or vegetable principle which, when taken into the system, can thus multiply itself and perpetuate its poisonous principle. The disease in man derived its name from the well established fact that it was produced by drinking the milk, or eating the flesh or the butter or cheese made from the milk of cows or other animals which had become poisoned in consequence of frequenting certain limited ranges or uncultivated pastures.
"It was called 'milk sickness.' Through its annual destruction of large numbers of domestic animals and its fatality among early settlers, it was one of the most prominent enemies to the prosperity of the pioneers. In the beginning the symptoms were not well marked, so that the milk and flesh of really diseased animals might be inadvertently eaten under the supposition that the animal was in good health. Their most attractive and healthy looking condition, even their extreme fatness, did not give the com- plete assurance of their exemption of this disease. In this state they were often found to be sick, suffering from a loss of appetite and energy, with their eyes red and watery they would stagger, tremble, fall down in con- vulsions and die. Sheep, when seized with a paroxysm of the 'trembles' would stagger as if trying to free themselves from the grasp of some ter- rible enemy, and would soon surrender and fall down, uttering the most plaintive bleating as if suffering intensely painful distress.
"The farmer had a test for the healthfulness of the beef cattle, just off the wild range, that may have been designated the 'fatigue' test. I have often seen the test applied. It consisted of placing the animals in a field or lot, and boys, with coats and hats off, were directed to chase them around and urge them to their greatest speed. If, after a long chase the cattle did
117
HISTORY OF VANDERBURG COUNTY
not evince signs of muscular weakness, stagger, tremble, or fall down, they were pronounced healthy, and were at once slaughtered and their flesh was eaten with the utmost security against the disease."
In the primitive days, when it was claimed that men were more honest than they are now, it was not always an easy matter to determine just in what particular neighborhood the poisonous principle was located. The story has been current for fifty years that travelers, or land-buyers seek- ing homes in the west, found it very difficult to catch up with the place where it had its habitation ; that in answer to the question whether the neigh- borhood was troubled with it, they invariably received the assurance that the disease did not exist there, but "over at Jones five miles ahead it was bad." Farmers then appeared to be as ready to suppress the existence of the disease near them as commercial men and newspapers are nowadays to suppress epidemic or contagious disease in the great marts of business.
The disease was known in North Carolina more than one hundred years ago, and as emigration flowed westward it was found to exist in Tennessee, Kentucky, and has prevailed in these states, as well as in Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Alabama, Virginia and perhaps several western states other than these mentioned. There are no statistics accessible from which we may learn the fatality of this subtle poison in man and beast.
The late Dr. M. J. Bray, one of the oldest inhabitants, as truthful and honorable as he was aged, stated that at an early day in the history of the city of Evansville, when much of the present site was occupied by mature forests, he could walk from the present center of business to the present suburbs, a distance of two miles, on the bones of animals which had died from "trembles." Another states that an entire family, a wife, seven chil- dren and two grandparents, were swept away in a single season by this scourge. The history of a single case will be sufficient to illustrate the fact that the greatest physical strength, when brought into the unequal combat, was powerless to resist the fatal effects of this terrible and deadly malady. I witnessed when a boy the sufferings and death of a neighbor from this poison. His muscular strength was greater than that of ordinary men. Though not apparently a large man, his frame was compact, his form symmetrical, his muscles were firm and unusually developed, and his power seemed phenomenal. His strength was particularly manifested in athletic contests, and at log-rollings where a hand spike, sufficient to resist the strength of an ordinary man, was like a brittle broom stick when tested by his power. In his struggles with the disease he was extremely restless, so that no ordinary effort could restrain him in bed. He would roll off onto the floor and roll back and forth from one side of the room to the other. The struggle was terrible to behold but the physical giant, Jack Bowman, was forced to yield to the overpowering enemy. Any attempt on the part of a man not fully recovered from an attack, to walk or run fast would induce a paroxysm of trembling attended by great muscular prostration and debility. He would be compelled to sit down and rest or fall down. Active
4
118
HISTORY OF VANDERBURG COUNTY
physical exertion stimulated by excitement would immediately endanger life. Judge Asa Iglehart said that his father, who lived on a public road, had a dog that was sick with trembles. A neighbor passed along the road with a dog following him. The sick dog did not see the other until it had passed some distance beyond the house. The old habit of chasing every dog that came in sight of the farm had become second nature, and so he started off at his greatest speed, but, before catching up with the strange . dog, he was seen to fall down, tremble as with a convulsion and before the owner could walk to where he fell, he was dead.
Esquire Ben Stinson says that when a lad he was walking on the Hen- derson road, some five miles from this city, and met a neighbor on horse- back. After passing him he looked down the road and saw the neighbor's dog following him. He hid himself behind a tree for the purpose of jump- ing out and frightening the dog in order to see him run. When the dog was opposite he sprang out and said "boo." Instead of running the dog fell in his tracks, gave a few kicks, and was dead. Mingled guilt and fear prevented him, until he was a man grown, from mentioning the injury he believed he had done his neighbor. Dogs which had eaten of poisoned flesh became, in a few days, so stiff and helpless that they could not get over a three-rail fence and were utterly unfit to chase game or to drive stock from the fields. Oxen could endure but little travel or work. Horses once affected, though looking well, were worthless for work or travel, and traders could not speed them back and forth to exhibit their superior gaits, but were forced to trade them standing.
If a man started to ride to a neighbor's a few miles away, his horse was liable to give out on the road and leave him to walk home. Such is briefly the history of the "pioneers' enemy," "Milk Sickness."
CHAPTER XI.
PIONEER WEDDINGS-THEIR CRUDENESS-HUMBLE START IN LIFE-THE WEDDING DANCE AFTER THE FEAST-HOW THEY STARTED FOR HOME- HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF-CHANGES IN PLOWS-THE FATHER OF THE PLOW INDUSTRY, "FATHER URIL"-THE INCREASE OF THE VULCAN WORKS-WHAT MR. BLOUNT HAS DONE AND MY TRIBUTE TO A MAN WHO DESERVES IT-STEAMBOATS OF THE OLD TIME-RISE AND FALL-THEIR GREAT FUTURE-HAPPY TIMES ON BOATS-THE WITCHERY OF NIGHT.
The fashionable wedding of today is indeed a matter of great note and also a matter of strenuous anxiety on the part of the contracting parties and their relatives for perhaps weeks and even months before the auspi- cious event occurs. The bride perhaps spends months in getting ready a trousseau to befit the occasion, while the groom spends his time in so per- fecting his business as to assure himself of enough ready cash for their honeymoon trip, and the furnishing of a house, etc., after the wedding is over. It is also a matter of great import to the immediate friends of both families, as the wedding presents of the present day are no trifle. Before the ceremony it is customary to have rehearsals at the church in order that the ceremony may be absolutely perfect in every detail. The attendants, though having no real interest in the affair, save for the playing of their particular parts, are also put to great expense in the way of proper and appropriate costumes for the occasion. Of course the above has reference only to weddings in what is termed "high class society," and while those in Evansville are not to be compared to the gorgeous display of the 400 in the east, where each woman seems to feel it her duty to show by her dress and her jewelry how much money her husband is quoted at having, they still form only a very small part in the aggregate number of weddings that occur. There are many among the people of moderate and even hum- ble means, where there is no attempt at display, yet even in these cases the bride and groom usually have plenty on which to marry. They are nearly always able to have their own home or to arrange for a nice living with relatives and the most humble have warm-hearted friends who are only too glad, out of their own small stores, to furnish them with all the needful things of this life. Now mark the contrast with the early day. In those days they married young. Many marriages were consummated when neither groom or bride possessed one solitary cent in actual money. In fact, the groom owned absolutely nothing except the clothes on his back and his
119
120
HISTORY OF VANDERBURG COUNTY
trusty rifle and possibly a dog or two. The bride on her part, had nothing but the homespun dress which she wore and possibly one other for state occasions. Had money been necessary to pay the fee for the license, it would have been hard to raise even that. The young people did not ask or expect much. If the groom was a good hunter and could handle an axe, he could furnish his bride with all that was necessary, for the bride had been carefully raised by her mother and was a good girl and a good daugh- ter and that was all the groom asked. He had no thought of any dowry. When it became known that the young people had "sot" the day, the news was soon sent over the entire neighborhood by way of mouth. No one ever thought of sending an invitation in writing, but it was supposed naturally that every one who heard of the wedding was expected. There were no social lines or distinctions of any kind. Men and women were all alike and if their characters were good, that was all that was asked by any one. The wedding indeed was a case where "the latch key string hung out." On the day of the wedding the groom and his best friends would gather at his father's home. Sometimes as many as a dozen were in this party and the two who owned the best horses were selected to "run for the bottle." The race began half a mile from the home of the bride and a bottle of corn whiskey was given to the young man who first reached the door. He then turned and riding at top speed, took the bottle back to the little knot of friends where each one took a drink. This may seem strange to the people of the present who see so much of the bad effects of hard drinking, but it must be remembered that the pioneers were simple in their drinking as they were in other things and again their hardy frames could resist liquor which would quickly cause one of the young dudes of today to col- lapse. These races were for blood and there is a case which happened in Pike county where a young man who was running for the bottle, was in- stantly killed. The horse shied at something and threw him against a tree which fractured his skull.
After taking this first drink as etiquette demanded, the party of young men rode slowly to the home of the bride. The point was to reach the house as near noon as possible, it being a breach of etiquette to get there too early. Every settlement had within its limits some one who could solemnize a wedding, though the county seat was often 50 miles away. As soon as the ceremony was over the wedding feast began and it was a feast indeed, for the appetites of those days were in exact ratio with everything else-harmless. The dinner was usually served on a long table, made with rough planks and was sometimes 100 feet long. This, in view of the festival occasion, was always covered with linen cloth that had been laid on the bushes in the garden for many weeks, to bleach as white as possible. At other times our ancestors ate from the bare boards or from puncheon benches but at a wedding-never. This cloth was al- ways made by the bride alone. Of course every dish in the entire neigh- borhood had been sent in long before as the most wealthy pioneer rarely
121
HISTORY OF VANDERBURG COUNTY
owned more than enough dishes for his little family. Most of the plates were pewter, as were also the spoons, for this was even before the days of the blue and white dishes of our grandmothers. When the pewter spoons gave out, horn and wooden spoons were used. The feast was plain but plenty. There were all sorts of meats. A steer was generally killed and in addition to beef there was venison, bear's meat, wild turkey and squir- rels. The bread was only one kind. The old hoe cake or johnnie cake, as it was sometimes called, made from meal pounded in a mortar and baked on a hoe or johnnie-cake board. There was an abundance of wild turkey and they could be found almost anywhere. After the dinner was over and a general hand-shaking had been indulged in, together with heartfelt wishes for good luck, and these wishes came from the hearts of these dear old souls, the older people all started for home but the young ones made their preparations for a dance, which was never over until it was daylight. The dances were of course primitive and as I had found no record in any books of reference, as to how these dances were conducted, I will give an exact description of how the figures were called, as years ago in the towns of Egypt, Illinois, where the people still observe the primitive customs which were in vogue in Evansville in the '20s. I have attended many a dance of that kind and know whereof I speak. The fiddler, for they had no violin- ists in those days, or two of them, if the settlement was wealthy enough to own two, took their places on a raised platform in one corner. They kept time with their feet and often the music of their feet was louder than that of the fiddle. The fiddler who would fail to beat time with his foot at a dance, would never be expected to serve at a second one. The "calls" were as follows:
Balansay all. Swing corners. Swing partners. Ladies change. Sides the same. First four forward and back. Four hands round and back to places. Sides the same. Ladies change. All hands round and close to center.
Balansay all. Swing corners. Swing partners. First lady to the right, gent to the left. Three hands 'round. . Both balance next couple. Four hands 'round.
122
HISTORY OF VANDERBURG COUNTY
Same to the sides. Three hands 'round. All balance and swing corners. Swing partners.
First lady to the right and swing. Gent follow and swing.
Same to the next and 'round. Second lady follow, gent the same. Third lady, same, fourth lady same.
All jine hands and close to center.
Once more, once more.
Swing the one you love the best and back to places.
Grand right and left. Seats.
It can be seen by the above that the figures are very easy to learn and "balansay all" seemed to be the favorite call. The boys would "rare" back and execute a kind of shuffle, while the girls would spread out their homespun dresses and some of them were far superior to the boys. In every little settlement there was always one young man and one young lady who could out-shuffle all the rest and whenever it came the turn for the gentleman to balance to the next lady and these two dancers met in the center of the floor, the fiddler would throw his whole soul into his instru- ment and hold these two in the center while both the fiddler and the others in the seats would indulge in such encouraging remarks as "Lay her down Sallie, lay her down. Don't let Bill get you on that step, Sallie." "Rare back Bill. Side swing Bill and turkey shuffle. Don't give in Sallie, you can beat Bill. Don't give in," and so on until the pair were nearly ex- hausted, when the gentleman would pass to the left and the lady to the right as the case might be, and begin to balance the two other couples. It would seem from the above statements that there was a sort of wildness about these dances, but such was not the case. No more respect to the gentler sex could be shown at the greatest function of the present day and while the young pioneer might swing his partner with a great deal of force, it was only because he was strong and full of the rich blood of young manhood and did not really realize his own strength. If the waltz of the present day in which a lady in accordance with common rules, rests her head on the shoulder of the partner, while he clasps her closely around the waist, had been attempted in those days, the dance would have been broken up and the fathers and mothers of the pair who had been guilty of such absolutely astounding actions, would have admonished them then and there. So much for the changes and styles of dancing. And just to show that history repeats itself, here is a recent article from the daily press :
123
HISTORY OF VANDERBURG COUNTY
"It's coming back, yes sir, it's coming back-the crossroad dance of twenty-five years ago is coming back and the old fiddle with its sweet strains of music is coming back too-bet yer boots both of 'em are coming back. The numerous selections squeaked by the old fiddle also are coming back-'Mohawk,' 'The Girl I left Behind Me,' 'Who Hit Aunt Jane,' 'Ar- kansas Traveler,' 'Hades Am Floatin', de River Am Risin'' and dozens of others just like 'em are coming back. Ain't that going some? Listen to the dance caller of twenty-five years ago:
"Eight hands up, circle to left, Single file back, balance all, Right hands cross, left hand back, Do-si-do, next couple up.
"Eight hands up, circle to left, Balance all, swing your partners, First couple lead to the right Circle four, lady round lady,
Gent round gent, gent round lady, Lady round gent, balance to next.
"Eight hands up, circle to left, Everybody swing, first couple out, Circle four, both hands cross, birds, In the center, birds hop out, crows Hop in, swing, balance all, swing, Next couple out.
"The fiddle or violin is fast coming back into favor in southern In- diana according to a statistical report, and this means that the crossroad dance is coming back, too. The crossroad dance used to be a great social factor in rural communities, in fact, down in Wabash township the fiddle and open air dances are still in vogue. It is refreshing to learn that Wa- bash township will no longer hold a monopoly on this grand and glorious feature of the old social life. Older citizens can readily recall the time when the fiddle occupied as conspicuous a place in the home as the tele- phone, organ, piano, or phonograph does today. It was an article that shared the affection and care of each member of the family. If it was an instrument that had been handed down from generation to generation, its value in the eyes of those who knew its past history was doubly enhanced.
"It's coming back, yes sir, it's coming back, and won't the pioneers of southern Indiana have cause to rejoice? Fetch that fiddle, child, and clear the room-
124
HISTORY OF VANDERBURG COUNTY
"Eight hands, up, circle to left, Single file back, balance all, Right hands cross, left hand back, Do-si-do, next couple up."
The honeymoon was unknown and as soon as the dance was over and breakfast taken, the young husband started home with his bride. If he was fortunate enough to own a horse, he led him to the horse block and she, after putting a rough skirt over her lindsey woolsey dress, mounted the horse block and jumped on the horse's back behind her husband's sad- dle, if he had one. Very often his saddle was only a piece of deer hide roughly fastened on. Sometimes the mother of the bride furnished what was known as a pillion, which was merely like the sofa cushion of the present day and on this the bride sat and with her arms closely clasping her husband's waist, they started off for their home, which was nearly always one of the little cabins described elsewhere in this work. There was no throwing of rice or old shoes. Nobody, not even the most wealthy had any rice to throw away for such foolishness, and as for shoes, one pair was all that anybody ever was known to own. As for the bride, she had no Saratoga traveling trunk. All she could take with her she could easily carry in one hand, in a deer-skin bag. Of course the quilts and utensils for household use, had been carried to the new home by the young friends of the couple. Everything was in readiness for the noonday meal. Even a pile of nicely chopped fire wood would be provided by the young groom's friends and possibly a piece of venison or game of some kind would be found hanging up all ready for their first meal. It would be perhaps proper to say, "and they lived happy forever after," and it is a fact that this could be said more truly than it can be of many weddings of the present day, where marriage is so often made a matter of convenience or of join- ing two estates. In the old days there was nothing but true love and when a man and woman married they seemed to feel that it was their duty to stand by each other through every one of the toils and privations that closed so thickly around the histories of these early settlers.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.