History of Luzerne, Lackawanna, and Wyoming counties, Pa.; with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of their prominent men and pioneers, Part 10

Author: Munsell, W.W., & Co., New York
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: New York, W.W. Munsell & co.
Number of Pages: 900

USA > Pennsylvania > Luzerne County > History of Luzerne, Lackawanna, and Wyoming counties, Pa.; with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of their prominent men and pioneers > Part 10
USA > Pennsylvania > Lackawanna County > History of Luzerne, Lackawanna, and Wyoming counties, Pa.; with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of their prominent men and pioneers > Part 10
USA > Pennsylvania > Wyoming County > History of Luzerne, Lackawanna, and Wyoming counties, Pa.; with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of their prominent men and pioneers > Part 10

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).

A few brought with them their wives and children, and came with oxen and carts, bringing a few indispensable articles of household furniture and driving a few domes- tic animals. Most of them, however, came on foot, with knapsacks on their backs, rifles on their shoulders and axes in their hands. Thus accoutred, they bade adieu for a time to the loved ones at home, and turned their faces westward to make for themselves homes and fortunes.

For a time they followed the trail of emigrants who had settled in other regions, but finally they abandoned this, left the borders of civilization and struck into the forest. They followed Indian trails, threaded forests and swamps, and climbed over mountains, camping in squads in the roads by night, till at length they reached the valley, and having selected their locations commenced their preparations for the future. Shanties for temporary shelter were constructed, clearings were begun, and prep- arations made for the erection of rude log houses for the shelter of those whom they were to bring with them on their return the next year.

While this work was in progress they subsisted largely on the game with which the surrounding forest abounded, and the fish which were taken in great numbers from the river. Their neighbors were making similar preparations at different points in the valley, and with these they often exchanged visits, to talk of home and to discuss their plans for the future, to anticipate the pleasure which they would derive from such visits the next year, when they would be accompanied by the partners who were to share their fortunes and their privations.

They frequently "changed works" in order to ac- complish some of their various tasks with greater facility, and to dissipate the sense of loneliness which haunted them as they pursued their solitary labors. In this way they occasionally hired from those who had brought teams a yoke of oxen, with which to draw to their build- ding sites the logs which they had cut for their houses, and to "log up" the timber which they desired to burn on their clearings. Thus passed their first summer in the valley. By night they lay in their shanties on their beds of boughs and dreamed of the homes they had left, or of the future homes which their fancies pictured; or in their

HISTORY OF LUZERNE COUNTY.

waking intervals listened to the distant howling of the wolf on the mountain side, and the nearer hooting of the owl. Day after day they toiled on, sustained and cheered by their hopes of future happiness with their chosen com- panions and children in the midst of the surroundings which they were creating.

By early autumn their rude houses were erected and partially prepared for their reception on their return. Small areas had been burned off, and here they "brushed in " their first wheat. Larger areas had been cut over and made ready for burning and planting the next spring. When these preparations were completed they deposited in places of safety their axes and few other implements, and with light hearts turned their faces again toward their paternal mansions. Thus terminated the first sum- mer with many a pioneer in Luzerne county. As he journeyed homeward the sky above him was brighter and the songs of the birds in the forest through which he passed more melodious than ever before, for he was re- turning to the haunts of his early life from the scenes of his prospective manhood.

In due time he arrived among the scenes of his child- hood and wended his way to the old home where parents brothers and sisters welcomed him warmly, and listened with eager attention to the story of his experience in the wilderness. He received a still more hearty welcome from another, who during his long absence had not ceased to think of him by day and dream of him by night. She listened to the recital of his doings with a deeper interest, for to her and him they were matters of equal impor- tance.

A wedding soon occurred, and the last winter of the pair in their native State was a season of busy prepara-

tion for removal to their western home, interspersed with social gatherings and merry-makings among the scenes and companions of their childhood. They sat down to their last Thanksgiving dinner with their parents, broth- ers and sisters; attended their last Christmas and New Year's festivals with their former playmates and school- fellows, and on the approach of spring bade all these scenes and friends a tearful adieu, and departed for their new home, followed by the good wishes of their friends, and the benedictions and prayers of their parents.

Their outfit consisted of a yoke of oxen and a cart, loaded with a few utensils and necessary articles of household furniture. They brought with them a cow or two and a few sheep, the latter to serve as the nucleus of a flock, which, if spared by the wolves, was to furnish wool for their future clothing. Thus equipped they pur- sued their toilsome journey till at length their destination was reached, and they entered at once on the realities of pioneer life.

Their house was made tenable by the few preparations which pioneers found necessary for their comfort, though open holes in the walls at first served for windows and one in the roof for a chimney, and a blanket was the door. A small spot was prepared for the garden seeds which they had brought, their corn field was burned off and planted in due season, and a large area prepared for other wheat and corn fields. In this the labor of the husband was lightened by the presence and encouraging smiles, and sometimes by the assistance, of his young wife. In their solitude they were sustained by their buoyant hopes of the future, and they ever after referred to this summer as the happiest period of their lives.

Their wheat field gave good returns; the few acres .

THE PIONEER'S PROGRESS.

which they cleared and planted with corn yielded abun- dantly, and early in the winter they secured a sufficient supply of venison. Their wheat and corn were ground in a "pioneer mill"-a mortar hollowed in a stump or in the end of a log. A hovel had been constructed of logs and roofed with brush or straw, for the protection of their animals against the inclemency of the weather and the attacks of wild beasts. No hay was provided for the cattle, but from day to day trees were cut on ground that was to be cleared the next summer, and they lived on the browse which these afforded. A couple of pigs and a few fowls were fed each morning at the door of the house with corn from the wife's folded apron. Thus passed their first winter in the woods. The sound of the hus- band's ax echoed through the forest during the day, and the wife plied "her evening care " in the cheerful glow of the " blazing hearth " at night. Their simple fare and active exercise in the open air gave them robust health, and though their surroundings were quite different from those in the midst of which they had been reared, this was the home which they had made for themselves, and · they were happy in the enjoyment of it.

During the summer other settlers had come in, some singly, others in companies, with their families; and neighbors were more numerous and less distant, and the monotony of their life was varied by occasional exchanges of evening visits among these. This social intercourse among the pioneers had none of the bad features which characterized that of later times. There were among them no conventionalities, no unmeaning expressions of civility, no unkind criticism of each others' dress or sur_

roundings, no rivalries and jealousies, and no hypocritical manifestations of interest in each others' welfare. Each rejoiced with his neighbor in his prosperity or sympa- thized with him in his adversity. These visits were anti- cipated with pleasure and remembered without regret.

The happy life which they had just commenced here was darkened by many shadows. The Indians of the vicinity became exasperated towards the settlers, by reason of an act of treachery on the part of the members of a distant tribe, fell upon them, killed many and drove away the others. Several years later they returned and resumed their occupancy of the valley, but they were several times driven out by adverse claimants, and were compelled to resort to force for the maintenance of their rights and the protection of their property.

Notwithstanding these interruptions a few years brought evidence of increasing prosperity. The clearing had been enlarged and a portion of it fenced ; a stick chimney, plastered with mud, filled the hole in the roof ; glass had taken the place of greased paper in the window; a plank door swung on wooden hinges where formerly hung the blanket, and some flowering shrubbery was growing at the side of it. A more capacious and com- fortable stable had been erected for the animals, a " worm " fence appeared around the house and garden, and a log bridge had been built across the stream which ran near the house. Near the edge of the clearing the crackling fire was consuming the trees that the men of a logging bee were piling together for that purpose. The corn, potatoes, pumpkins, etc., which had been planted among the stumps had attained sufficient growth

HISTORY OF LUZERNE COUNTY.

Y Y

to be visible from some distance. A calf frolicked at the side of its dam and a litter of grunting young porkers asserted their right to "life, liberty," etc. Every thing wore an air of thrift. The solitude of the wife was enlivened by the prattle of her children, and their play- ful caresses sweetened the labor and lessened the fatigue of the husband and father.

The tide of immigration, the first wave of which had borne them hither, continued with increasing flow. Set- tlers came more rapidly, the smoke from their hearths curled upward at shorter intervals, and clearings en- croached more and more on the surrounding wilderness. The hissing and rushing of the whirlwinds of flame were oftener heard as the trees that had been felled and had become dry were consumed. Small fields of waving corn and here and there a verdant meadow were to be seen. The music of numerous cow bells was heard, and " drowsy tinklings lulled the distant folds" where sheep were herded to protect them from the wolves at night. The hum of spinning wheels might be heard in almost every house, and the merry laughter and shouts of frolicksome children resounded as they gamboled through the woods.

The Revolutionary war came upon the country, and nowhere were its horrors greater than here. On the re- turn of peace the few surviving settlers came back to the valley, and prosperity smiled again. Settlements extended up the valleys of the Susquehanna and the Lackawanna and their tributaries, and many of the earliest experiences of the settlers in the Wyoming valley were repeated in these localities.

The lapse of time brought with it changes. The old house, which had survived the ravages of war, had come to be only the wing of a new one that had been built of

squared logs, covered with a shingled roof, lighted by glazed windows and closed by a paneled door. A lawn appeared in front, tastefully ornamented with flowers, and fruit trees were growing on the former site of the garden. An apiary stood on the margin of the lawn, which was bounded by a straight fence. A commodious frame barn had been built, and where the forest once stood were fields of waving grain. Beyond the grove of sugar maples could be seen the log school-house where, "in her noisy mansion skilled to rule, the comely mistress taught her little school."

The stream that ran by was spanned by a newer bridge, and the ding-donging of a saw-mill that had been built on its bank could be heard in the distance. The eldest surviving son of the pioneer couple, now grown to be a young man, drove toward the barn with a load of hay drawn by horses instead of the oxen that for years had constituted their only team. At the well, which still had its primitive sweep, stood a somewhat portly matron, who turned to look with motherly pride at her son as he drove along. A middle-aged man was walking down the road that came from the mill. It was he who came many years since with his knapsack, rifle and ax, and built his shanty in the howling wilderness. The woman at the well was the young wife who came with him a year later. Their privations, hardships, industry and economy had been rewarded. They had acquired an honorable com- petence. They had, however, experienced vicissitudes. A brother of the husband and two brothers of the wife fell on the fatal field of Wyoming, and there the husband acquired an honorable scar. They had also followed two of their children to the grave.

Sixty years had gone by since the settlement of the

LIFE AMONG THE SETTLERS.

valley. An elegant mansions tood on the site of the old log cabin, and all its surroundings indicated that it was the abode of wealth and refinement. The stream passed under a stone arch; the old saw- mill had gone to decay; the sugar orchard was no longer to be seen, and only on the mountain sides were the remains of the primitive forest visible. Spacious fields and elegant farm houses were to be seen on the extended landscape, and the tall spire of a church pointed skyward from among the houses of a village near. A gray haired man was busy with the cattle in the barnyard, and a portly woman sat by the stove knitting, while some of the grand-children were playing on the floor and others were engaged in various kinds of work.

These aged people were the ones who left their New England homes in their youth and came to this spot. They had deeded their farm to their youngest son and taken the usual life lease. Another of their children had been added to the group in the cemetery; one had set- tled in an adjoining town, and two were in the far west.

Another interval of half a century has passed, and brought its inevitable changes. The old pioneer couple long since passed to their rest; the son who was the solace and support of their declining years is now an octogena- rian, and his grandchildren are one by one assuming their positions as citizens and members of society. The an- cestral mansion, which still stands on the site of the orig- inal pioneer cabin, has from time to time changed in appearance, as changing fashion has dictated and increas- ing prosperity permitted, till it is among the most tasteful in the valley. The original farm, which extended back and included a portion of the mountain, received addi- tions by purchase from time to time; and its value has been greatly enhanced by the discovery and development of the mineral resources which lie beneath the surface. The landscape in the valley has greatly changed. Along the base of either mountain range at short intervals rise coal breakers, with their immense hills of culm and the adjacent miners' villages. Populous cities and thriving boroughs have come into existence. Along the margins of the river railroad tracks with branches to the collieries extend through the valley and climb the mountain sides, and the panting and screaming of the engines that draw the long, snake-like trains of cars may be almost constantly heard. Along these tracks extend telegraph lines, and stretching from place to place may be seen the thread- like wires of the telephone. Here and there the sides of the mountain are dotted with clearings, where with great labor farms have been developed among the rocks. How different the landscape of to-day from that of a century since!

CHAPTER V.

THE CONDITION OF THE PIONEERS-THEIR WAYS AND MEANS OF LIVING.

VER a century has passed since the first settle -- ment of this region, and changing circum- stances have brought with them such changes in many of the customs of the people that one of the present generation can form only an imperfect conception of what some of those customis were.

People are usually slow to adopt those modifications in their customs which changes in their environments render desirable, or even almost necessitate. Like the Welshman who persisted in balancing the wheat in one end of his bag by a stone in the other "because her's father did so," they follow the beaten track which their ancestors pursued, and often only turn from it when changed circumstances actually compel theni to do so.

The march of improvement and the progress of inven- tion make slow advances, except in those cases where necessity compels people to follow the one, or loudly calls for the other.

The rude implements and appliances that were in use "when the country was new" were inventions which grew out of the necessities of the times, and were adapted to the circumstances in which people found themselves. Time wore .on, and those circumstances gave place to others. Inventions followed these changes; but in many cases, as in those of the cast iron plow, the grain-cradle and the horse rake, the inventors only lived to see their improved implements scoffed at and derided. Thus have people always done, and thus they will to a greater or less extent continue to do. As in the physical world, however, one condition is evolved from another by the slow process of natural selection, so in these cases the fittest are in the end the survivors.

The first settlers in this region came when the primi- tive forest was growing not only here but in the country through which they had passed for many miles. The first roads, which were simply widened Indian trails, were then barely passable. Of course they could bring with them only those articles of household furniture or those agricultural implements that were indispensable.

The first work of the pioneer was to prepare a house, or dwelling place for his family. There were no mills for the manufacture of lumber, and the first houses were necessarily built of logs fastened by notching at the corners. They were usually from fifteen to eighteen feet square, and about seven feet in height, or high enough to just clear the head of a tall man. Often no floor was at first laid. A fire place was prepared at one end by erecting a back of stones, laid in mud instead of mortar, and a hole was left in the bark or slab roof for the escape of the smoke. A chimney of sticks plastered with mud was afterward erected in this aperture. A space of a width suitable for a door was cut on one side, and this was closed first by hanging in it a blanket, and afterward by a door made with split plank and hung on wooden hinges. This door was fastened by a wooden latch that could be raised from the outside by a string, which was passed through a hole above it. When the latch string was "pulled in " the door was effectually fastened. The expression used of a hospitable man- " his latch string is always out "-had its origin from this primitive method of fastening a log house door. A hole was usually cut in each side of this house to let in light, and when glazed sash could not be procured greased paper was used to keep out the blasts and snows of autumn and winter.

HISTORY OF LUZERNE COUNTY.

Holes were bored at the proper height in the logs at one corner of the room, and into these the ends of poles were fitted, the opposite ends where they crossed being supported by a crotch, or a block of the proper height. Across these poles others were laid, and these were covered by a thick mattress of hemlock or other boughs, over which blankets were spread. Thus were pioneer bedsteads constructed; and on such a bed many a pioneer couple reposed as sweetly as though " sunk in beds of down." In the absence of chairs rude seats were made with an ax and auger by boring holes in "puncheons," or planks split from basswood logs and hewn smooth on one side. Tables were often made in the same way, and after a time a floor was constructed of these "puncheons," with a bare space in lieu of a hearth about the fire place. A few necessary pieces of crockery, or sometimes wooden trenchers, were kept on rude shelves till, after a few years, lumber could be procured of which to make a cup- board.

A dinner pot, a dish kettle, a tea kettle, a frying pan and a bake kettle constituted the entire stock of iron ware. The bake kettle-a utensil that is now never seen-was a shallow vessel with legs some six inches in length, so that it could be set over coals on the hearth. It had a cover with the edges turned up so that coals could be heaped.on it. This was used at first for all the baking of many a pioneer family. The fire place had, instead of the iron crane with which it was afterward furnished, a transverse pole, called a lug pole, laid across two others so that it could be moved backwards and for- wards at a sufficient height to prevent burning. On this at first hooks cut from beech saplings, or limbs, were fastened by withes, but after blacksmiths' shops were established these were replaced by "trammels," or hooks so constructed that their length could be adjusted.

This room, thus furnished, served all the purposes of kitchen, drawing-room, sitting-room, parlor and bed- room; and not unfrequently workshop also, for temporary benches were erected, and sleds, ox yokes, and many other farming utensils were made and repaired there during stormy days or evenings. The light for such evening work was furnished by the blazing fire of pine knots which had been gathered and stored away for the purpose, or sometimes by a "slut," which was made by placing a rag for a wick in a dish of "coon's oil," or the fat of some other wild animal.

Here also, as time went on, were heard the raking of the hand cards and the whir of the spinning wheel ; for in those days the cloth for both the summer and winter clothing of the family was homemade, and all the techni- calities of the process, from picking the wool to "taking out the piece," were as familiar to every member of the family as any household word.

At first, before the establishment of cloth dressing mills, the dyeing or coloring, even of all the woolen cloth, was done by the pioneer wives ; and after cloth- ieries made their appearance everything except "fulled cloth " was colored at home. The properties and the proper method for compounding for different colors of

Nicaraugua or Nic. wood, logwood, fustic, indigo, mad- der, copperas, alum, vitriol, etc., as well as all the various indigenous barks and plants, were known to every house- wife. The old dye tub, which is still remembered by the older inhabitants, had its place at the side of every hearth, where it was frequently used as a seat for children in cases of emergency, or when the increase of the family was more rapid than that of chairs. Peter Parley (Mr. Goodrich) calls it " the institution of the dye tub, which, when the night had waned and the family had retired, frequently became the anxious seat of the lover, who was permitted to carry on his courtship, the object of his addresses sitting demurely in the opposite corner."

The flax brake, swingling knife and board, and hatchel are never seen now ; and one of the present generation would be utterly unable to guess their uses were they shown to him. Then the pulling and rotting and all the details of dressing flax were known to every child ; and the process of spinning the flax and tow, weaving and bleaching the different qualities of cloth, and making the thread for all the family sewing, was a part of the educa- tion of every girl. Wild nettles were at first used instead of the flax that was afterwards cultivated. The process of rotting, dressing, etc., was the same as in the case of the flax. Then cotton cloth was not manufactured in this country, and it was practically beyond the reach of most farmers. Woolen goods, other than those of domes- tic manufacture, were seldom seen. A " broadcloth coat " was an evidence either of unpardonable vanity or of unusual prosperity. Even the skins of animals were thus utilized for clothing; fawn skin vests, doeskin coats and buckskin breeches were not uncommon .. .

It is hardly necessary to speak of the ordinary food of the first settlers, such as hasty pudding, johnny cake, or corn pones, the meal for which was ground in a pioneer mill or wooden mortar ; or of the dainties, such as short- cakes, mixed with the lye of cob ashes and baked in ashes on the hearth, that were set before company. The simple and substantial diet of the people then was adopted be- cause circumstances would permit no other. They were too poor to pamper their children with sweetmeats, or to stimulate them with tea and coffee; and the incidental result was a degree of robust health such as the children in later times do not acquire.

It must not be inferred that all the settlers in this re- gion were subjected to severe privations. The kind of fare spoken of was not looked upon as hard, for it was the best the country then afforded. There were instances where people were compelled to resort to wild roots or greens for a dinner, but these were perhaps as rare as are cases of extreme destitution now. The condition of the country was such that these habits and methods of liv- ing were necessary, and they were not regarded as hard- ships.

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History of Luzerne, Lackawanna, and Wyoming counties, Pa.; with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of their prominent men and pioneers, Part 10

Author: Munsell, W.W., & Co., New York Publication date: 1880 Publisher: New York, W.W. Munsell & co. Number of Pages: 900

Author: Munsell, W.W., & Co., New York
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: New York, W.W. Munsell & co.
Number of Pages: 900