History of St. Clair County, Michigan, containing an account of its settlement, growth, development and resources, its war record, biographical sketches, the whole preceded by a history of Michigan, Part 28

Author:
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Chicago, A.T. Andreas & Co.
Number of Pages: 818

USA > Michigan > St Clair County > History of St. Clair County, Michigan, containing an account of its settlement, growth, development and resources, its war record, biographical sketches, the whole preceded by a history of Michigan > Part 28

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quently the latter only, when stone was not convenient-was made in the best practicable shape for the purpose, in an opening in one end of the building, extending outward, and planked on the outside by bolts of wood notched together to stay it. Frequently a fire-place of this kind was made so capacious as to occupy nearly the whole width of the house. In cold weather,

when a great deal of fuel was needed to keep the atmosphere above freezing point-for this wide-mouthed fire-place was a huge ventilator-large logs were piled into the yawning space. To protect the crumbling back-wall against the effects of fire, two back logs were placed against

it, one upon the other. Sometimes these were so large that they could not be got in in any other way than to hitch a horse to them. The animal was driven in at the door, when the log was unfastened before the fire-place. It was afterward put in position. The horse would be driven out at another door. For a chimney, any contrivance that would convey the smoke out of the building would do. Some were made of sods, plastered on the inside with clay; others-the more common, perhaps-were of the kind. we occasionally see in use now, clay in sticks, or " cat in clay," as they were sometimes called. Imagine, of a winter's night, when the storm was having its own wild way over this almost uninhabited land, and when the wind was roaring like a cataract of cold over the broad wilderness, and the settler had to do his best to keep warm, what a royal fire this double back-log and well-filled fire-place would hold! It was a cozy place to smoke, provided the settler had any tobacco; or for the wife to sit knitting before, provided she had any needles and yarn. At any rate, it gave something of cheer to the conversation, which very likely was upon the home and friends they had left behind when they started out on this bold venture of seeking fortunes in a new land.

For doors and windows, the most simple contrivances that would serve the purpose were brought into requisition. The door was not always immediately provided with a shutter, and a blanket often did duty in guarding the entrance. But as soon as convenient, some boards were split and put together, hung upon wooden hinges and held shut by a wooden pin inserted in an auger hole. As a substitute for window glass, greased paper, pasted over sticks crossed in the shape of a sash, was sometimes used. This admitted the light and excluded the air, but, of course, lacked transparency. In regard to the furniture of such a cabin, it varied in proportion to the ingenuity of the occupants, unless it was when settlers brought with them their old household supply, which, owing to the distance some of them had come, was very seldom. It was easy enough to provide tables and chairs; the former could be made of split logs-and there are instances where the door would be taken from its hinges and used at meals, after which it would be rehung; the latter were designed after the three-legged stool pattern,

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or benches served their purposes. A bedstead was a very important item in the domestic com- fort of the family, and this was the fashion of improvising one: A forked stake was driven into the ground diagonally from the corner of the room, and at a proper distance, upon which poles reaching from each other were laid. The wall ends of the poles either rested in the open- ings between the logs, or were driven into auger holes. Bark or boards were used as a substi - tute for cords. Upon this the tidy housewife spread her straw tick, and if she had a home-made feather bed, she piled it up into a luxurious mound, and covered it with her whitest drapery. Some sheets hung behind it for tapestry added to the coziness of the resting-place. The house thus far along, it was left to the deft devices of the wife to complete its comforts, and the father of the family was free to superintend out-door affairs. If it was in season, his first impor- tant duty was to prepare some ground for planting, and to plant what he could. The first year's farming consisted mainly of a " truck patch," planted in corn, potatoes, turnips and other vegetables. Generally, the first year's crop fell short of supplying even the most rigid economy of food. Many of the settlers brought with them small stores of such things as seemed indis- pensable to frugal living, such as flour, bacon, coffee and tea. But these supplies were not

inexhaustible, and once used were not easily replaced. A long winter must come and go before another crop could be raised. If game was plentiful, it helped to eke out their limited sup-

way plies. But even when corn was plentiful, the preparation of it was the next difficulty in the

The mills for grinding it were at such long distances that every other device was re- sorted to for reducing it to meal. Some grated it on an implement made by punching small holes through a piece of sheet iron or tin, and fastening it upon a board in concave shape, with the rough side out. Upon this the ear was rubbed to produce the meal. But grating could

not be done when the corn became so dry as to shell off when rubbed. Some used a coffee mill for grinding it; and a very common substitute for bread was hominy -- a palatable and whole- some diet-made by boiling corn in a weak lye till the hull or bean peeled off, after which it was well washed to cleanse it of the lye. It was then boiled again to soften it, when it was ready for use, as occasion required, by frying and seasoning it to the taste. Another mode of preparing hominy was by pestling. A mortar was made by burning a bowl-shaped cavity in the end of an upright block of wood. After thoroughly cleansing it of the charcoal, the corn could be put in, hot water turned upon it, when it was subjected to a severe pestling by a club of sufficient length and thickness, in the large end of which was inserted an iron wedge, banded to keep it there. The hot water would soften the corn and loosen the hull, while the pestle would crush it. When breadstuffs were needed, they had to be obtained from long dis- tances. Owing to the lack of proper means for threshing and cleaning wheat, it was more or less mixed with foreign substances such as smut, dirt and oats. And as the time when the set- tlers' method of threshing and cleaning may be forgotten, it may be well to preserve a brief ac-

count of them here. The plan was to clean off a space of ground of sufficient size, and, if the

earth was dry, to dampen it and beat it to render it somewhat compact. Then the sheaves were unbound and spread in a circle, so that the heads would be uppermost, leaving room in the center for the person whose business it was to turn and stir the straw in the process of threshing. Then as many oxen or horses were brought as could conveniently swing around the circle, and these were kept moving until the wheat was well trodden out. After several "floor- ings " or layers were threshed, the straw was carefully raked off and the wheat shoveled into a heap to be cleaned. This cleaning was sometimes done by waving a sheet up and down to

fan out the chaff as the grain was dropped before it; but this trouble was often obviated when the strong winds of autumn were all that was needed to blow out the chaff from the grain.

This mode of preparing the grain for flouring was so imperfect that it is not to be wondered at that a considerable amount of black soil got mixed with it, and unavoidably got into the bread. This, with an addition of smut, often rendered it so dark as to have less the appearance of bread than mud; yet, upon such diet the people were compelled to subsist for want of a better. Not the least among the pioneers' tribulations, during the first few years of the settlement, was the going to mill. The slow mode of travel by ox teams was made still slower by the almost total absence of roads and bridges, while such a thing as a ferry was hardly ever dreamed of. The distance to be traversed was often as far as from sixty to ninety miles. In dry weather,

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common sloughs and creeks offered but little impediment to teamsters; but during floods and breaking up of winter, they proved exceedingly troublesome and dangerous. To get stuck in a slough, and thus be delayed for many hours, was no uncommon occurrence, and that, too, when time was an item of grave import to the comfort and sometimes even to the lives of the settler's family. Often a swollen stream would blockade the way, seeming to threaten destruc- tion to whoever would attempt to ford it. With regard to roads, there was nothing of the kind worthy of the name. Indian trails were common, but they were unfit to travel on with vehicles. They were mere paths about two feet wide-all that was required to accommodate the single file manner of Indian traveling. When the early settlers were compelled to make these long and difficult trips to mill, if the country was prairie over which they passed, they found it compara- tively easy to do in summer when grass was plentiful. By traveling until night, and thence camping out to feed the teams, they got along without much difficulty But in winter such a jour- ney was attended with no little danger. The utmost economy of time was, of course, necessary. When the goal was reached, after a week or more of toilsome traveling, with many exposures and risks, the poor man was impatient to immediately return with the desired staff of life, but he was often shocked and disheartened with the information that his turn would come in a week. Then he must look about for some means to pay expenses, and he was lucky who could find employment by the day or job. Then, when his turn came, he had to be on hand to bolt his own flour, as, in those days, the bolting machine was not an attached part of the other mill ma- chinery. This done, the anxious soul was ready to endure the trials of a return trip, his heart more or less concerned about the affairs of home. Those milling trips often occupied from three weeks to more than a month each, and were attended with an expense, in one way or another, that rendered the cost of breadstuffs extremely high. If made in the winter, when more or less grain feed was required for the team, the load would be found to be so considerably reduced on reaching home that the cost of what was left, adding other expenses, would make their grain reach the high cash figure of $3 to $5 per bushel. And these trips could not always be made at the most favorable season for traveling. In spring and summer, so much time could hardly be spared from other essential labor; yet, for a large family, it was almost impossible to avoid making three or four trips during the year.

Among other things calculated to annoy and distress the pioneer, was the prevalence of wild beasts of prey, the most numerous and troublesome of which was the wolf. While it was true, in a figurative sense, that it required the utmost care and attention to " keep the wolf from the door," it was almost as true in a literal sense. There were two species of these ani- mals-the large, black timber wolf and the small gray wolf that usually inhabited the prairie. At first, it was almost impossible for a settler to keep small stock of any kind that would serve

as a prey to these ravenous beasts. Sheep were not deemed safe property until years after, when their enemies were supposed to be nearly exterminated. Large numbers of wolves were destroyed during the early years of settlement. When they were hungry, which was not un- common, particularly during the winter, they were too indiscreet for their own safety, and would often approach within easy shot of the settters' dwellings. At certain seasons, their wild, plaintive yelp or bark could be heard in all directions and at all hours of the night, creating intense excitement among the dogs, whose howling would add to the dismal melody. It has been found by experiment that but one of the canine species-the hound -- has both the fleetness and the courage to cope with his savage cousin, the wolf. Attempts were often made to capture him with the common cur, but this animal, as a rule, proved himself wholly unreliable for such service. So long as the wolf would run, the cur would follow; but the wolf being apparently ac- quainted with the character of his pursuer, would either turn and place himself in a combat- ive attitude, or else act upon the principle that "discretion is the better part of valor," and throw himself upon his back in token of surrender. This strategic performance would make

instant peace between these two scions of the same house; and not infrequently dogs and wolves have been seen playing together like puppies. But the hound was never known to recognize a flag of truce; his baying seemed to "signify no quarters," or, at least, so the terrified wolf un- derstood it. Smaller animals, such as panthers, lynxes, wild cats, catamounts and polecats, were sufficiently numerous to be troublesome. And an exceeding source of annoyance were the

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swarms of mosquitoes that aggravated the trials of the settler in a most exasperating degree. Persons have been driven from the labors of the field by their unmerciful assaults. The trials of the pioneer were innumerable, and the cases of actual suffering might fill a volume of no ordinary size. Timid women became brave through combats with real dangers, and patient mothers grew sick at heart with the sight of beloved children failing in health from lack of com- mon necessaries of life. The struggle was not for ease or luxury, but was a constant one for the means of sustaining life itself.

PIONEER MOTHERS.

What shall we say of the true women-the pioneer women of this county ? Ah! the past, with its lights and shadows, its failures and its successes, its joys and its privations, is well remembered by the surviving pioneer, and happily in many instances by his children. Many a pioneer of the township of this county has already gone to his rest on the hill that gave to those near and dear to him a first outlook upon the pioneer life that was to come-a life destined to develop these forces of the head and heart-forces which, in the luxury and ease of an older civilization, rarely appear upon the surface of society.

It was not always the dark side of the facies which was turned toward the pioneer, for though many of the immigrants were rough, and in many instances ungodly, yet manhood and womanhood were here in all their strength and beauty, and nowhere in the world of created intelligence did God's last, best gift to man more clearly assume the character of a helpmate than in the log-cabin, and amid the rough and trying scenes, incidental to a home in the wil- derness. . Ever foremost in the work of civilization and progress, the pioneer woman-the true woman-was to-day physician, to-morrow nurse, and the following day teacher of the primitive school. Withal, the woman was busily engaged in that wearisome round of household work which knows no cessation. Early and late, all the year round, the pioneer woman acted her part well. From year to year, as through many privations and much new and strange experience of that necessity which is the mother of invention, wife and husband joined hand to hand to work out under the green arches of the wilderness the true beginnings of St. Clair County. To the pioneer mothers of St. Clair honor belongs. The many who are gone to their rest left a memory to honor-treat the living mothers well and tenderly.

THE OLD WHIPPING-POST.

There seems to be some misapprehension among "the old fellows " as to when "the cat-o'-nine-tails," as a punishment for certain crimes and offenses, was authorized by law in the Territory of Michigan, and when it was abolished or prohibited.

1. By an act of the Governor and Judges, approved November 4, 1815, any negro, Indian, or mulatto slave, who should be convicted of any offense except murder, might be sentenced to any corporal punishment, not extending to life or limb, as the court or justice trying the case might in their discretion direct. This meant the " cat," if adjudged proper. This law was re-enacted on May 17, 1820.

2. Next came the act of July 27, 1818, adopted from the laws of Vermont. Especial at- tention is invited to the comprehensive list of offenses contained in the act that might be pun- ished at the whipping-post and by the "cat " well laid on, that is to say: Vagrants; lewd, idle and disorderly persons; stubborn servants; common drunkards; common night walkers; pilferers; persons wanton in speech, conduct or behavior; common railers or brawlers; such as neglect their calling or employments, mis-spend what they earn and do not provide for them- selves or families. This is the luxurious list of petty offenses named, and it came from the State of Vermont, too. And how a vein of brutality and meanness runs through the list, which the " nine tails " was so well calculated to expel and thoroughly eradicate from the sneaking per- petrator. Detroit must have been rather an unwholesome place for tramps in those days, and how would such a law and punishment now clear the city, very soon, of sneaks, vagrants and disorderly persons.

3. The " cat" seems to have been exercised in Woodward avenue. a little south of Jeffer. son avenue, between the old Central Market which stood there, and King's corner, so called.

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Some of " the old fellows" say that a post stood there near the curb-stone, as a " standing ad- monition " to all evil-disposed persons. And some say that the offender was sometimes tied up to the corner post of the old market, where he received his blessing; but, however the thing was done, all agree who saw and remember it, that the cat, in the language of some of the stat- utes, " was well laid on." In conversation on the subject, there are found many persons who think that this punishment ought to be restored, and that it would soon clear the country of tramps, vagrants and other pests of society, who, now, as a punishment of crimes, find com- fortable quarters in houses of correction and in other places of confinement.

4. The statute of 1818, was in substance re-enacted by an act approved April 27, 1827. 5. Finally, by an act approved March 4, 1831, the punishment of whipping was abolished. While the last-named statute is repealed by an act approved November 25, 1834, the prohibi- tion of the punishment by whipping is re-asserted in the act of repeal.

6. According to this record, the authority for punishment at the whipping-post was con- tinued until March, 1831, since which time no such authority has existed in this State. The operation of the "cat " in one of the principal streets of a village is said to have been a subject of general attraction. Hundreds gathered round to see the sight, while adjacent win- dows were filled with spectators. The performance meant business, and there was no boy's play about it. It was a salutary and earnest admonition to all evil-doers.

Slavery was introduced into this district about 1794. At that time, an imitator of Jacob worked seven years in Meldrum & Park's mill to earn one of that firm's female slaves for his wife.

SEASONS OF SICKNESS.

Among the numerous troubles which the pioneers and old settlers of St. Clair had to en- counter, was the common ague, generated by miasmas arising from the low lands along the shore of the lake, and from the decaying vegetable matter in the swales of the interior and along the Riviere aux Hurons. This disease, known also as the chills and fever, formed, as it were, a stumbling block in the way of progress, and one of the great arguments presented by the trad- ers against the settlement of the district by the American pioneers. The disease was a terror to the people who did make a settlement here. In the fall of the year, every one was ill-every one shook, not hands as now; but the very soul seemed to tremble under the effects of the mal- ady. Respecting neither rich nor poor, it entered summarily into the system of the settlers, and became part and parcel of their existence-all looked pale and yellow as if frost bitten. It was not literally contagious; but owing to the diffusion of the terrible miasma, it was virtually a most disagreeable if not dangerous epidemic. The noxious exhalations of the lake shore and inland swamps continued to be inhaled or absorbed from day to day, until the whole body became charged with it, as with electricity, and then the shock came. This shock was a regu- lar shake-a terrific shake, with a fixed beginning and ending, coming on each day or alternate day, with an appalling regularity. After the shake came the fever, and this last phase of the disease was even more dreaded than the first. It was a burning, hot fever, lasting for hours. When you had the chill you could not become warm, and when you had the fever you could not get cool-it was simply a change of terrific extremes.

This disease was despotic in every respect. If a wedding occurred in the family circle it was sure to attack a few, if not all, of those participating in the festivities. The funeral pro- cessionists shook as they marched to some sequestered spot to bury their dead friend.

The ague commonly had no respect for Sunday or holidays. Whether the people were en- gaged in the sacred, profane, or ridiculous, ague came forward to the attack, and generally suc- ceeded in prostrating its victims.

After the fever subsided, you felt as if you had been some months in the Confederate Hotels, known as Andersonville and Libby Prisons, or as if you came within the influence of some wandering planet-not killed outright, but so demoralized that life seemed a burden. A feel- ing of languor, stupidity and soreness took possession of the body-the soul itself was sad, and the sufferer was driven to ask himself the question: What did God send me here for, anyway ?

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Your back was out of fix, your appetite crazy, your head ached, and your eyes glared. You did not care a straw for yourself or other people, or even for the dogs, which looked on you sympathetically. The sun did not shine as it used to-it looked too sickly by half-and the moon, bless your soul! the sufferer never ventured to look at her-but rather wished for the dissolution of himself, the sun, moon, earth and stars.

EVENING VISITS.

The evening visits were matters long to be remembered. The chores of the day per- formed, it was common for the farmer to yoke his cattle, hitch them to a sleigh, and drive the whole family over the snow-covered land to the fireside of some well-known friend many miles distant. Perhaps by agreement several families met, and then were such chattings of politics, of live-stock affairs, of tradings made or prospective, in fact of the past, present and future.

There were all those interesting matters of household care and labor as held the mothers in breathless and rapid conversation. The shying and blushing of the older girls, because some boys, just about as big were there; the nervous pinchings of fingers and pulling of coat tails, told plainly that big boys, too, were ill at ease-boys and girls were bashful, blushing creatures in those olden days. In the back room, how the little folks did play blind man's buff, how they were joined by their seniors, and how the game went on until supper was announced at about the hour before midnight. Such setting out of all the substantials would be a sight to day. Then came the sauces of all sorts, the pies and cakes, and cookies, and honeys, till all cried, enough. Then came the counter-invitations, the good-byes and leave-takings, after every and all approved styles. This performed, the guests started for home to enjoy sleepiness and slight headaches the next day. These were good old times. Social life at that day was eminently sincere!

NUPTIAL FEASTS IN EARLY TIMES.

The festivities attendant on the union of two souls in pioneer days formed a great attrac- tion There was no distinction of classes, and very little of fortune, which led to marriages from the first impressions of that queer idea, called love The family establishment cost but little labor-nothing more. The festivities generally took place at the house of the bride, and to her was given the privilege of selecting the Justice of the l'eace or clergyman whom she wished to officiate. The wedding engaged the attention of the whole neighborhood; old and young, within a radius of many miles, enjoyed an immense time. On the morning of the wedding day, the groom and his intimate friends assembled at the house of his father, and after due preparation set out for the home of his girl. This journey was sometimes made on horseback, and sometimes on the old-time carts of the early settlers. It was always a merry tour, made so by the bottle, which cheers for a little time, and then inebriates. On reaching the house of the bride, the marriage ceremony was performed, and then the dinner or supper was served. After this meal, the dancing commenced, and allowed to continue just so long as any one desired to step jauntingly about to the music of the district violinist. The figures of the dance were three or four handed reels, square sets and jigs. So far the whole proceedings were, in the language of our modern æsthetic girls, too utterly utter. The commencement was always a square four, followed by what pioneers called jigging; that is, two of the four would single out for a jig, and their example be followed by the remaining couple. The jigs were often char- acterized by what was called the cutting out, that is when either of the parties became tired of the dance, on intimating a desire to retire, his place was supplied by some one of the com- pany, without interrupting the dance for a moment. In this way the reel was continued until the musician himself was exhausted.

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History of St. Clair County, Michigan, containing an account of its settlement, growth, development and resources, its war record, biographical sketches, the whole preceded by a history of Michigan, Part 28

Author: Publication date: 1883 Publisher: Chicago, A.T. Andreas & Co. Number of Pages: 818

Author:
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Chicago, A.T. Andreas & Co.
Number of Pages: 818