USA > Tennessee > The Annals of Tennessee to the End of the Eighteenth Century: Comprising Its Settlement, as the. > Part 70
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The dignity of history is not lowered by this enumeration of the pre-eminent qualities of Indian corn. The rifle and the
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720
SPORTS OF THE FRONTIER PROPLE
axe have had their influence in subduing the wilderness to the purposes of civilization, and they deserve their eulogists and trumpeters. Let pæans be sung all over the mighty West, to Indian corn- without it, the West would have still been a wilderness. Was the frontier suddenly invaded? Without commissary or quartermaster, or other sources of supply, each soldier parched a peck of corn ; a portion of it was put into his pockets, the remainder in his wallet, and, throwing it upon his saddle, with his rifle on his shoulder, he was ready, in half an hour, for the campaiga. Did a flood of emigration inundate the frontier, with an amount of consumers disproportioned to the supply of grain? The facility of raising the Indian corn, and its early maturity, gave promise and guaranty that the scarcity would be tem- porary and tolerable. Did the safety of the frontier demand the services of every adult militiaman ? The boys and wo- men could, themselves, raise corn and furnish ample supplies ' of bread. The crop could be gathered next year. Did an autumnal intermittent confine the whole family or the entire population, to the sick bed? This certain concomitant of the clearing, and cultivating the new soil, mercifully with- holds its paroxysms, till the crop of corn is made. It ro- quires no further labour or care afterwards. Pæans, say we, and a temple and worshippers, to the Creator of Indian corn. The frontier man could gratefully say : " He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. He leadeth me beside the still waters. Thou preparest a table before me in pre- sence of mine enemies."
The sports of the frontier men were manly, athletic or warlike-the chase, the bear hunt, the deer drive, shooting at the target, throwing the tomahawk, jumping, boxing and wrestling, foot and horse racing. Playing marbles and pitch- ing dollars-cards and backgammon-were little known, and were considered base or effeminate. The bugle, the violin, the fife and drum, furnished all the musical entertainments. These were much used and passionately admired. Weddings, military trainings, house-raisings, chopping frolics, were often followed with the fiddle, and dancing, and rural sports.
Another custom prevailed extensively on the frontier. An
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721
A FRONTIER CUSTOM.
account of it furnished many years since to " The Knoxville Argus," is here copied. Its style is scarcely in consonance with the gravity of history, but descriptive as itis of a usage not yet wholly unknown, and once general in Tennessee, it is deemed not unworthy of an insertion here. It was written late in December.
Mr. Editor-Christmas is just upon us again, and its re- turn will awaken in the recollection of many an old settler a melancholy reminiscence, of the way it was kept in auld lang syne. What would you give, Mr. Editor, to see a real old-fashioned backwoods Christmas frolic ? or a Christmas country dance ? or a Christmas quilting ? or best of all, a genuine Christmas wedding ? I mistake you much, if, with all your known appreciation of modern improvement, the bare mention of it has not excited your enthusiasm : and he must have little veneration, indeed, who can think of it without emotion. Why, your town parties, and balls, and soirees, and all that, are nothing in comparison. There is no heart about them-there is still less of nature. But the contrast makes me sad, and I leave it. Who, in these times of modern degeneracy, ever hears of school-boys barring out the master ? That in my early days, on the frontier, was one of the regular observances of the Christmas holiday. Perhaps you don't understand even this custom of early times in Tennessee, and need to have it described. Well, then if either you or your readers have so far wandered from the old paths trodden by our venerated fathers, as to require it to be explained, let me do so by first saying, that in the nomenclature of early times out here, school-boy was synony- mous with your present pupil, scholar, student, academian, or collegian. The different grades of freshman, sophomore, junior, senior, graduate and under graduate, bachelor and master of arts, were as little known as the secrets of as- trology or the Metamorphoses of Ovid. A country school had but two classes in it, viz : the big boys and the little boys, and sometimes a third-the girls. Again, in the back- woods vocabulary, master was a synonyme with your present teacher, preceptor, tutor, professor, principal, superintendent, rector or president. Academy, Institute, College and Uni- 46
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722
A COUNTRY SCHOOL-MASTER
versity, were words not adapted to these parallels of lati- tude at all : and if you had spoken of a matriculation ticket, the employers and employees, parents, master and boys, would all have been astounded. They expressed the same idea by a simpler form : "John Smith has signed the school article, and Jim will be here to-morrow." The school-house was, in that day, a genuine bona fide log cabin, built of unhewn logs, cut from the forest in which it stood, near a spring, and was erected by the joint assistance of the "neighbours." The building was sexangular, the extreme points of the longest diameter, subserving the double purpose of ends to the house and convenient appendages for commodious fire-places, as chimneys were most significantly and appropriately called in those days of simple convenience and comfort in architec- ture. What did it matter if appertures at each end, as large as a barn door, did allow a rather free ingress to Boreas and the snows of winter ? A neighbouring wood furnished sup- plies of fuel without stint. Oh! who can forget the luxury of one of those old-fashioned school-house fires ! I shiver this cold night to think I shall not again sit by and enjoy them.
But barring out the master was effected thus : A school is a larger community in miniature, and a schoolmaster a mo- march upon a small scale. Boys sometimes claim the right of self-government as inherent and divine, and, like older politicians, declare themselves, and, especially, about Christ- mas, to be free and equal ; and if that declaration is not sanc- tioned by others, they claim the right of maintaining. it even by revolution. The master, on the other hand, is as tena- cious of his short-lived authority, as the Autocrat of Russia, or any European legitimist ; and resists, at its inception, the first invasion of his prerogative. A short time before the usual outbreak, a spirit of insubordination and greater fa- miliarity is manifested in the school. To repress this in the bud, the master assumes a sterner demeanour, becomes cap- tious, arbitrary and tyrannical. His subjects become, of course, less patient of restraint, and call a convention. Some one " born to command," proposes the bold measure of rebellion, and the dethronement of the despot. The propo- sition meets the general concurrence of the school, and Fri-
723
BARRED OUT OF THE SCHOOL-HOUSE.
day morning preceding Christmas, is appointed as the time for carrying the purpose into execution. The plan is com- municated to some congenial spirits in the neighbourhood, who, sympathizing with the feelings of the youthful confede- rates, become their allies. At an early hour, they take pos- session of the school-house, kindle large fires in the chim- neys, barricade the door; and wait, with shouts of defiance, for the approach of the master. He arrives, and is denied en- trance. He commands submission, asserts his authority, at- tempts to enter by force, but is repulsed. Sometimes he calls others to assist in re-establishing his authority ; but the be- sieged refuse to surrender, unless upon terms of honourable capitulation-a treat and a week of holidays. Conferrees of both parties are appointed, to negotiate the treaty ; the terms are arranged, and the belligerents are at peace. If . the terms are not assented to by the master, negotiation is at an end, and the ultima ratio regum decides the contest. The benches are removed from the barricaded door; the besieged party sallies forth, and captures the unaccommoda- ting master. A prisoner in their hands, if he still continues obstinate, a gentle kind of violence is threatened. His cap- tors, though unacquainted with the laws of nations, feel that inter arma silent leges, take their prisoner to the nearest wa- ter, and plunge him under it. The argument of the cold bath in December succeeds ; he yields to their demands; a messenger is started off for apples and cider, and, sometimes for refreshments of a more stimulating kind. A general merriment and exhilaration follow, in which the victors and the vanquished unite in reciting with cordial glee, both the tra- gic and comic of the siege. The holidays are spent in rural sports and manly amusements. The good wishes of the season obliterate all recollection of past differences between master and boys ; and when, on the next Monday, "books" is called, each one quietly and cheerfully resumes his proper position in the school-house. The master's authority is re- cognized as legitimate-his instructions duly valued ; the boys, late successful insurgents, have voluntarily returned to their allegiance, and after a pleasant relaxation from their studies, are again prosecuting them with profit and diligence.
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724
OTHER CHARACTERISTICS
They continue studious and obedient until the approach of the next Christmas."
The new-comer, on his arrival in the settlements, was everywhere, and at all times, greeted with a cordial wel- come. Was he without a family ? he was at once taken in as a cropper or a farming hand, and found a home in the kind family of some settler. Had he a wife and children ? they were all asked, in backwoods phrase, "to camp with us till the neighbours can put up a cabin for you." The invitation accepted, the family where he stops is duplicated, but this inconvenience is of short duration. The host goes around the neighbourhood, mentions the arrival of the stran- gers, appoints a day, close at hand, for the neighbours to meet and provide them a home.
After the cabin is raised, and the new-comers are in it, every family, near at hand, bring in something to give them a sturt. A pair of pigs, a cow and calf, a pair of all the domestic fowls-any supplies of the necessaries of life which they have-all are brought and presented to the beginners. If they have come into the settlement in the spring, the neigh- bours make another frolic, and clear and fence a field for them.
All these acts of kindness and beneficence are not only gratuitous, but are performed without ostentation, and cor- dially. The strangers so appreciate them, and the first oc- casion that presents, they are ready, with a like spirit, to extend similar kind offices to emigrants who come next. The performance of them thus becomes a usage and a char- acteristic of the frontier stage of society.
Of other stamina in the character of the Tennessee pio- neer, a stern independence in thought, feeling and action, attracts the notice and secures the respect of all who are pleased with simplicity, truth and nature. To these may be . added frankness, candour, sincerity, cordiality, and the invi- olability of a private friendship. He that could be false or faithless to a friend, was frowned out of backwoods society, and could never again enter it. No perfidy was considered so base, so belittling, and was so seldom excused or forgiven, as the desertion of a friend or ingratitude to a benefactor.
"Ingratum me si dixeris omnia dixeris."
725
OF FRONTIER SOCIETY.
To say of an individual that he was not true, carried with it a stigma which, on the frontier, could never be wiped out. On the contrary, to say his heart was in its right place, se- cured to him fraternal regard and public confidence.
Being in the simplest stage of society, wealth, station, office, family, were, of course, not essential to distinction or esteem. His own personal merits, in which the physique had its weight-his good feelings, his capacity to amuse and instruct, and his innate civility, gave the possessor a pass- port to the consideration and regard of the frontier man and his family. Indeed, without them, an emigrant was friend- less and a stranger. To have it said of one : He cares for nobody, was, itself, to exclude and drive him off .*
To say of one-he has no neighbours, was sufficient, in those times of mutual wants and mutual benefactions, to make the churl infamous and execrable. A failure to ask a neighbour to a raising, a clearing, a chopping frolic, or his fa- mily to a quilting, was considered a high indignity; such an one, too, as required to be explained or atoned for at the next muster or county court. Each settler was not only willing, but desirous to contribute his share to the general comfort and public improvement, and felt aggrieved and insulted if the opportunity to do so were withheld. " It is a poor dog that is not worth whistling for," replied the indignant neigh- bour who was allowed to remain at home, at his own work, while a house raising was going on in the neighbourhood. " What injury have I done that I am slighted so ?"
This beneficent and unselfish feeling is the charm of a new community, and has not yet forsaken the more rural districts of Tennessee. Long may it be retained and vene- rated amongst the descendants of the pioneers !
At the termination of the Territorial Government, the tocsin of war had ceased, and on the long line of the Ten- nessee frontier a general peace prevailed-"the sword was beaten into a ploughshare and the spear into a pruning hook." The soldier rested from his martial toils, and no longer thought of the campaign, the rendezvous, the march, the bivouac, the night assault, the desperate charge, the
* Butler.
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726
DEARTH OF THE MEANS OF
deadly conflict in arms, the deathful carnage, the fierce pur- suit, nor the triumphs of victory. The conquest achieved, the enemy driven out, the country settled, after a struggle of twenty years the soldier reposed upon his laurels, doffed the warrior, and in the quiet repose of domestic life, devoted himself to the calmer pursuits of the citizen and the patriot at home. Order and law had taken the place of discontent and turbulence. Civil government was firmly established, and each citizen became still prouder of his country, and more interested in its prosperity and improvement.
From the existing peace, sprang up new and important du- ties. The war which had occupied the pioneers of Tennes- see so long and so constantly, had forced upon them the un- welcome necessity of neglecting, in some degree, the intel- lectual and moral training of the young. While physical education had absorbed fully the attention of the first set- tlers, surrounding circumstances had not permitted them to give suitable culture to the minds and hearts of their child- ren. In some of the forts and stations, some one in them best qualified for the duty, was selected to teach the children to read and write. Books were scarce on the frontier, and those suited to the age and capacity of the young, were not to be had." Paper, ink, slates and pencils, were of difficult procurement. An important letter, or despatch, was often written with ink, made of gunpowder, upon the blank leaf of a Bible, or other book-was sealed with rosin and for- warded by a runner to another post. School-houses on the border settlements were unknown-teacher and pupils would alike have there become victims of Indian cruelty and re- venge. In the older neighbourhoods the children were bet- ter instructed.
Moral culture was, for like reasons, seldom afforded to the first inhabitants. Here and there was forted, with the rest of the settlers, the minister of truth, who conducted public worship, and expounded the word, and administered the sa- craments. In the absence of such a functionary, a part of these services was performed by some pious layman, who in the older country had known the Sabbath and appreciated its sacredness-had hallowed the sanctuary and valued its
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727
MORAL AND INTELLECTUAL EDUCATION.
privileges-had bowed in prayer and felt its power-had heard the preached word and was impressed with its influ- ences-had listened to the songs of the people of God, and had his heart melted by the inspirations of sacred music. Such an one, with no license but the consent of his hearers, no authority but the law of necessity, no order but the com- mand of conscience and duty, became the leader of public worship in a fort, perhaps an exhorter and a minister. It cannot be doubted that this assumption of the sacerdotal of- fice was, for the time being, productive of great good, and exerted a happy moral influence in restraining vice and pro- moting virtue upon the frontier.
Now, however, when peace was restored, the fort disman- tled, and every inhabitant could set under his own vine and fig tree, " with none to molest or make him afraid," school- houses and churches became the first care of the inhabitants. A minister and a school-master was sought for in every neighbourhood. Many of the inhabitants had themselves enjoyed in the Fatherland the advantages of learning and of religious training. Yielding to the promptings of a spirit of enterprise and adventure, they forsook the altar and the fire- side, where parental care and vigilance had furnished the means of moral and intellectual culture. Thrown suddenly upon a distant frontier, surrounded by thoughtless, if not pro- fligate and vicious associates, they may at first have ceased to be shocked at the habitual desecration of the Sabbath, or the use of profane language. "Evil communications" may have corrupted their purity, and led them to deride the in- junctions impressed upon the youthful conscience by mater- nal solicitude. Engaged in business, they become identified with all the interests of the society of which they now form a part, the heads of a family and the principal citizens of their neighbourhood. Their children are growing up, it may be, in carelessness and ignorance, untutored and vicious. It is now that the lessons of their youth, in all their force and freshness, come home to their heart and conscience, reminding them that their Father's house was a house of prayer. They recollect the sacred quiet of the day of rest, the catechism and the school-house. They think of their old minister and
728
NASHVILLE, THE GREAT SOURCE
the school-master. A teacher arrives in the neighbourhood, or a pioneer herald of the cross passes through the country. They are sought after. The one is invited to preach, a nu- cleus of a christian congregation is formed, and the regular ordinances of a christian church are established. The other is employed to teach ; the school-house is erected ; instruction, cheap, solid and useful, is imparted to the young. The whole face of society undergoes a perceptible amelioration. Good morals, thrift, taste, progress and improvement succeed.
Besides these sources of improvement, there were others worthy of notice. Roads and other channels of communi- cation were now opened up to the several parts of the fron- tier, which admitted to them emigrants from older commu- nities, who brought with them wealth, comfort, books, fash- fon and refinement. Commerce began to exert its wonted influence in modifying and refining society. Philadelphia and Baltimore merchants furnished capable young men of the West with a small stock of goods ; and though subjected to the delay and expense of a long and tedious land trans- portation of seven or eight hundred miles, over bad roads, from these cities to Holston and Cumberland, the traffic became mutually advantageous to buyer and seller. Heavy articles of export reached the foreign markets by the flat- bottomed boats of the country, down the Mississippi. A few goods and groceries, from the West Indies, were received in keel boats, by the same channel. Money became more abundant. More attention was given by the inhabitants to the style and convenience of their buildings, the neatness and taste of their costume, and the embellishment and im- provement of their farms and villages. Knoxville had begun to wear the aspect of a town, and Nashville gave, even then, certain indications of her future importance, wealth and commerce. The streets were extended; stores were multi- plied and workshops were established. The future proud Metropolis of Tennessee-now adorned with the most mag- nificent Capitol in the Union-began to be visited by stran- gers in search of a theatre for the exercise of commercial enterprise and skill. No city has been more fortunate in having, as the artificers of its fortunes, skilful, enlightened,
729
OF IMPROVEMENT TO THE COUNTRY.
liberal and public spirited merchants. Nashville may well be proud of the soldiers who have gone out from her midst, and the Commanders she has furnished, in every period of her history, when the condition of the State or the Union made a call upon her chivalry, her patriotism, or her devotion to liberty. She may be proud of the fame of her civilians and statesmen, whose remains repose in her precincts, or of those who, in after times, adorned, dignified and still serve her at home or in the national councils. She may boast of her science, her arts and her learning ; but, earlier in her his- tory, it was the spirit of the Nashville merchants, that made her what she is destined to be-and, indeed, already is-the great focus of wealth, of commerce and manufactures. At the end of the last century, radiating from that centre, went forth, to the surrounding settlements, industry, thrift, improve- ment and taste. Here and there, at irregular intervals, ap- peared the well-cultivated farm, in the woods of Cumber- land, and the stately mansion in the place of the frontier cabin.
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In those purer days of the republic, patriotism was not an echo merely. With the pioneers of Tennessee, it was a principle, deep, strong, active, full of vitality and vigour. " Their glowing love of country, their lofty independence, their devoted courage, their high religious trust, their zeal for education, as the consequence of their deep regard for the welfare of their descendants, all challenge our applause ; all demand our emulation. In those days, professions of esteem, pro bono publico, were sealed with active efforts, not suffered to evaporate in air."*
The principles held by the men of that day were their convictions, the convictions of a deliberate judgment and of a pure and unselfish patriotism. In these, they were persis- tent and conscientious. An ebullition of disappointment, a factious paroxysm, an unhealthy ambition, a newspaper paragraph, were powerless in degrading a faithful public officer, or in elevating an incompetent or an unworthy aspi- rant. The tactics of the partizan and the factionist were
* Mr. Hume's Address.
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780
GREAT REVIVAL OF RELIGION.
unknown, and the manufactories of public sentiment, were confined to the good common sense of the people themselves rather than their passions, their interests and their preju- dices. In the selection of public officers, the inquiry wa not-does the office suit the candidate ? but, is he qualifier for the office ? Identity of interest with the constituency, a public service, and an honest, if not enlightened love o country, secured the confidence, and with it the patronagı and suffrages of the masses.
This account of the progress and improvement attaina by Tennessee, would be incomplete, without a notice of the GREAT RELIGIOUS REVIVAL, which occurred about the end o the last century. Their frequent conflict with the Indian the war of the Revolution, and the exciting scenes through which the pioneers of Tennessee had passed, during the for mation at several periods of their civil Government, had been accompanied with a necessary relaxation of morals. Re ligious instruction and worship, were necessarily neglected and the forms even of religion were most imperfectly main tained. The march of armies, and the excitement of a sol dier's life, are little favourable to the culture of the mora sense. Vice and immorality follow in their train. Thx same may be said of the clamour and tumult attending upor political antagonism and faction. They have little tendency to make men better. The standard of morality is lowered, and the sacred fire of conscience burns less purely, both in the congregation and the family. Scenes of bloodshed and par- tizan animosity, steel the heart against the commands of God.
But now, war and its influences had ceased, and the quiet of a stable government had given repose to the excited masses. This condition was favourable to the needed reformation, and happily the instruments by whom it was to be effected, were at hand. "Men of burning zeal, inspired by the lofty theme, and imbued with the power of a boisterous but natural eloquence, carne amongst the people, and declared their mission. To most of them it was novel, and, therefore, at- tractive. Large audiences of sensitive and enthusiastic hearers, were assembled, the fame of the preachers is ex-
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