USA > Texas > Harrison County > History of Harrison County, Texas 1839 to 1880 > Part 2
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the least factor in our acquisition of Louisiana was the desire of the West to open the Mississippi River at its mouth so that its products could pass safely through to market. The West always clamored for aid in the building of roads, canals, and railroads, and when the federal government was slow at responding, this region built them itself. That the pioneer of Harrison County was keenly alive as to the need of markets is indicated by the following article:
The county of Harrison contains eleven hundred and ninety square miles, or 761, 600 acres of land. Of this amount we will set apart 61, 600 as unfit for tillage. The amount of 700, 000 acres will then be left for cultivation of good, medium quality. In 1847, the amount of cotton shipped from this county was 13, 029 bales. The census for that year shows the population to have been 6, 893. At that time, about one-tenth part of the county was settled, and one- twelfth of the territory in cultivation, allowing sufficient woodland for all necessary purposes. These propositions afford us a basis for ascertaining, by calculation, the probable population and resources of the county when it shall have become fully settled, and its agricultural interests fairly developed. It is capable of containing 68, 930 inhabitants, and of exporting 156, 348 bales of cotton, the proceeds of which will amount to the sum of $3, 517, 830 annually, at 5 cents per pound, supposing the average to be 450 pounds per bale. With this prospect before us, and the facility of navigation on either side, we are not at all surprised that some of our enter- prising citizens should already entertain a notion of propriety in commencing the work of improvement. We have navigation four months in the year. For the sum of this $10, 000 we can have it at all times. Would this not be desirable? Can our planters not epare $10, 000? It is only the one- fortieth part of what they now produce in
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one year. It will return to their pockets again shortly in the way of cheap freights, convenience, and facility. We think it is time to look seriously into this matter __ we mean the improvement of the lake. This done, we may properly consider the propriety of constructing a railroad from the lake to some convenient and healthy point -- say Marshall. 16
There were three main distributing centers for Harrison County. Goods were brought up the Red River to Shreveport, Port Caddo, on Caddo Lake, or up Cypress Bayou to Jefferson, then the head of navigation. Shreveport is about forty-two miles from Marshall; Port Caddo was twenty-one miles; and Jefferson is fourteen miles. From these places goods were freighted by the ox wagon, or by some other rather primitive means, to
Marshall. The above ports, especially Shreveport and Jefferson, served as distributing centers for other places after they were established, further west. Fort Worth, Dallas and other central Texas cities freighted their goods from these points. One wonders if Jefferson, instead of now "being a city of forty thousand dead and two thousand living" would not have been the Dallas or Fort Worth of Texas had not the railroad taken the place of the steamboat. A more lengthy discussion of trans- portation will be given in a later chapter.
16. The Texas Republican, May 26, 1849.
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Chapter II
SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CONDITIONS IN EARLY HARRISON COUNTY.
If a resident of Harrison County at the present time would picture the county during the earlier part of its history, he must close his eyes and think in terms of long ago. He must not think of Harrison County in terms of its cities and towns with their well built and beautiful houses; he must not think of the wonderful highways that wend their way in every direction from all of the main trade centers; he must not think of the great power lines and gas lines that furnish light and heat for the thousands of households of the country; he must not think of the numerous schools and churches dotted here and there at convenient locations all over the country; nor may he think in terms of the prize winning corn, cotton, peanuts, cattle and other live stock, nor of its great manufacturing plants.
He must think of a beautifully timbered country with frontier cabin here and there in the midst of a small clearing; of a country where the roads were mere trails, beaten out originally by Indians, or by animals on their way to food or water; of a country whose homes were lighted by tallow candles, or in true Abraham Lincoln style, by pine knots; of homes where cook stoves Were unknown and where the old-fashioned fire place was used both for cooking and for heating; of a country
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where the houses were built of logs, "snaked" from the surrounding woods by means of an oxen, or, perhaps of a horse; of a country where the spinning wheel played an important part in its development; of a country where schools and churches were the exception rather than the rule; of a country where agricultural methods were crude, the live stock of an inferior grade, and where there was little manufacturing, save that done in the home. In short, Harrison County was at the time of its earlier history, a county of great distances, made so equally by the crude methods of travel and by the poor excuse for roads; it was a country of Indians; a country of slaves.
The pioneer home .-- In the earlier period of the history of this county all of the houses were of logs. This was natural, as there were no saw mills, and the hillsides were all covered with timber waiting for just such use. The trees were first felled and then, after being trimmed up, were dragged by means of an oxen or horse to the place where the house was to be built. There were few skilled carpenters; so each man built his own house with such help as he might get from his neighbors. Since he had few tools besides the ax, the house was necessarily crude. The pioneer was not interested in building a fine home at this time. He realized that conditions made this impossible, so he tried to build a home that would keep out the cold of the winter and
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be fairly comfortable in the summer. In this he did not always succeed.
The art of building log houses has been lost in this county. The process was a rather interesting one. The logs, after being dragged up, were flattened some_ what on two sides by means of an ax and knotched at each end. They were then placed one upon the other, the knotched ends holding them in place. Mud was then placed between the logs to prevent wind and rain from coming into the house through the crevasses. There was no ceiling, and quite often there was no floor save the ground. The roof was of split boards made from the trees of the forest. Even today, one may see in this county a few houses covered with boards. There were no glass windows. The windows, if there were any, were made by cutting holes in the walls and making a frame in which was inserted one or more wide boards which could be slid over the opening from the inside when the occupant desired to close the window, and back when he desired to open it. The window worked horizontally in- stead of perpendicularly. According to present day standards, it had certain disadvantages __ when it was closed all ventilation and light were shut out. The latter was the worse of the two, as the huge chimney and the rather numerous crevasses between the logs usually let in enough air to take fairly good care of the ventilation problem. The floors, if there were
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any, were of split logs, hewn down to approximately the correct thickness. It is needless to say that there was a multiplicity of splinters in the feet of the children who ran barefooted over these floors. Nor were the elders always exempt, for when they retired at night, it was the custom to take off the shoes while sitting around the fireside so as to warm the feet in preparation for bed. These shoes were arranged in a more or less orderly circle about the fireplace, the position of each pair depending on where its owner was sitting when he removed his shoes. This being a day when bed room slippers were unknown, the journey from the fireside to the bed was made unshod over the cold and none too smooth board floor. It quite frequently happened that protruding splinters found their resting place in the foot of some unfortunate. "Old timers" can remember when "splinter pulling" formed a part of the daily occupation of the pioneer father and mother. Many times splinters could not be taken out so easily, but had to be dug out with a pen knife.
Perhaps the most appreciated feature about the house of a pioneer was the huge chimney that occupied nearly the whole of one end of a room. In those days a chimney three feet wide would have been considered small, and its owner shiftless and neglectful of the comfort and con- venience of his family. This chimney was built of stones and mud, the former of which could be found in great
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quantities near the house, while the latter could be made in a few minutes by mixing water with dirt. The stones were then placed, one upon the other with mud between them to hold them in position. A few feet above the fire place the chimney was tapered until it was much narrower at the top than at the base. This was to lessen the weight on its lower part. The chimney in those days was really considered as a piece of fur- niture. It was used both for heating and cooking purposes. In the latter capacity, it served in lieu of the cook stove, or the range which did not exist in the frontier cabin. Most of the cooking was, of course, done before the family gathered about the fire side. The three chief cooking vessels, and quite often the only ones, were the pot, kettle, and the oven. All Were likely to be rather large as the frontier family was by no means a small one. The pot was used for cooking meats and vegetables; the kettle for heating water, and for other similar purposes; and the oven for baking the bread. The first two were hung on hooks over the fire; the oven was usually put on that part of the hearth nearest the fire, and coals of fire and ashes were raked over and under it. In this manner bread and other foods that needed to be baked were prepared.
Every household had a few chairs, but not necessarily enough for the whole family. Quite often the younger
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members of the family had to sit on boxes, the floor, or on their parent's laps. One of these chairs was usually a rocker, and a little more comfortable than the others. This always sat in a corner of the fire place and no one ever used it except "Grand Ma" or "Grand Pa". If both were living, there were usually two rockers. The other chairs were what are called today "straight_backed" chairs and were none too com- fortable. All of the chairs, whether rockers or the other kind, were made at home. The skins of animals Were used for the seat, or occasionally, the bark of some tree was pealed off and platted so as to form a chair bottom. In addition to chairs, there was usually a combination table, used as a cook table, dining table, library table, and as a place of deposit for all kinds of loose articles. Such a luxury as a mirror was not always found in the pioneer home. Often the means of looking at one's self was in a bucket of clear water. However, the ordinary household had some kind of mirror, the size depending upon the prosperity of the family. There was always one bedstead, and sometimes only one; but usually there was a sufficient number to accomodate the whole family if the members were not too particular as to how many slept together. Ordinarily, there were only two, thus necessitating, in view of the size of the usual family, a rather congested condition when all were in bed. Nearly every family had, as its prized
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possession, at least one feather bed- made from the feathers picked from a flock of geese or ducks. This or another, if acquired in time, became the chief wedding present of the first child to be married. As each member of the family was married, if the marriages did not happen at too frequent an interval, there was always a feather bed to be given as a wedding present. The other beds of the household were made of shucks, or less often of cotton. Both were uncomfortable, especially the former, which made so much noise when its occupant moved that the others in the room were often awakened. All slept in the same room for there was no other, save the kitchen which was usually several feet from the main house.
Among the other articles of importance in the pioneer household were the ever-present rifle or shot gun, a wooden water bucket, a wash pan of some description, & huge pot in which the clothes were boiled on wash day, one or two wooden tubs, a comb, a pair of pot hooks, a fire poker, a candle mould, a bullet mould, and occasional. ly one or two books.
The food supply .-- As was stated above, there was never a starving time in the history of Harrison County. Never was there a time when a Captain John Smith was forced to say to a settler "He that does not work, shall
1. Harrison County Probate Records, Court House, Marshall, Texas.
not eat". This was true for two reasons. In the first place, the pioneer of this county, as well as of other regions, came with a realization that to conquer the wilderness in which he had settled he must work. He knew this before he left home and so, as a rule, only industri. ous people undertook the task. It is true that luxuries had no place in such a setting and that food, raiment, and shelter were the prime prerequisites to a successful experiment in the wilderness where he had settled. Aside from being industrious, the pioneer found a land in which it was easy to make a living. The climate was adapted to the raising of nearly all kinds of food crops. Corn, wheat, barley, rye, syrup, both sorghum and sugar cane, fruits of nearly all kinds, except the tropical, and many kinds of vegetables were available as a part of the menu of the pioneer of this county. Aside from this, beef and mutton could be provided with ease. Then there was a profusion of wild berries and nuts growing in the woods. Likewise, the woods were full of part- ridges, squirrels, rabbits, deer, and occasionally a bear was found. To go hungry, when all one had to do was to go out and pluck from nature's ample store, would have been criminal negligence. However, the impression must not be left that there was always such a variety of food as has been named. Plants grow only in season, some mature at one time, and some another. The same is true of animals, for at certain seasons of the year they
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are not fit for eating purposes. However, the thrifty housewife was usually able to take care of this by drying beef venison and fruit when they were plentiful, and storing them for use in seasons when they were not so plentiful. Pork was cured by salting it down in a huge meat box.
There was always cornbread, quite often made up with water, for the cows of that day were far from being developed to the stage of the prize herds of the county today. Syrup was always on the table, although it was usually sorghum syrup, since sugar cane had not yet become common. After being stripped of its fodder, the sorghum cane was run between two huge wooden rollers which crushed out the juice, which was then put into a copper pan and cooked until it became syrup. The rollers were turned by having an oxen or a mule hitched to a beam which was so fixed as to turn the wheels toward each other as the animal moved around in a circle.
In addition to cornbread and sorghum syrup, there was usually a plentiful supply of bacon. Hogs could be raised cheaply, because the thousands of oak trees grow- ing near the pioneer cabin furnished acorns in the fall. The animals ran wild in the woods until the end of the acorn season, early in November. They were then rounded up, each owner recognizing his hogs by a mark of iden- tification which had been cut in their ears. There was, also, nearly always a plentiful supply of peas and beans
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for all seasons of the year. During the season in which these Vegetables matured, they were eaten green; but the housewife was responsible for seeing that a store of dried beans and peas was provided for use in the winter months. Sweet potatoes completed the list of the chief articles of food.
It is evident that there was enough food at all times to keep the early settler and his family in health. It must be remembered, however, that not all of these foods were available at all times. The pioneer was making an experiment and the amount and variety of his food supply could be increased only as he learned the possibilities of this new country in which he had settled, and as he improved his methods of culture. Such commodities as coffee and sugar were scarce, and although it was possible to raise wheat in the country, little attention was given to it with the result, there- fore, that flour bread was at this time on the list of luxuries. Perhaps once a day there was milk and butter, while eggs were eaten only on rare occasions.
Clothing. . Just as the food of the early settler was simple and produced on the farm itself, or in the woods, so was his clothing simple and home made. Aa has been mentioned, no household was complete without the spinning wheel. In searching through the Harrison County Estate Records it was found that, almost without an exception, one of the dispositions mentioned in wills
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was this useful article. These spinning wheels were valued at sums varying from one dollar to ten, depending, probably, upon the skill of the one making the article and the material of which it was made. Practically all of the clothes worn by the early settlers of this county were homespun. One of the most important of the many duties of the mother was that of seeing that the family always had a supply of clothes on hand. In this task she had the help of the oldest girls. The usual time for doing this work was in the long winter evenings after the evening meal. When the pots, pans, and dishes had been washed, and the table cleaned up, the mother would pull out her spinning wheel or her loom. Neighbors or strangers when knocking upon the door of a pioneer cabin would be greeted with the hum of the spinning wheel or the whir of the loom. Nor did this work stop because there was a caller. It must go on, for the mother of a large family was always behind in this task. After the thread had been spun and the cloth woven, it was cut out and sewed by hand. There was no sewing machine in the county before 1850. Both woolen and cotton garments were thus made. Some of these old spin- ning wheels are still in existence and a few are still used occasionally. 2 The ordinary person could make five
2. Most of the above information came from Mrs. Ben Hope, one of the few remaining pioneer housewives of the county. She still spins the thread for her husband's socks. The machine was brought out and a demonstration given during their interview. Mrs Hope lives in the 1 old Fort Crawford settlement, near Hallsville.
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or six yards of cloth a day.
Only once in a great while was a member of the family allowed "store bought" clothes. This rarely happened before a child was sixteen years of age, and even then such clothes were used only on special occasions. It is generally a revelation to this modern generation to be told that many of the dresses of that day were considered pretty. The current opinion seems to be that all dresses were of the same dull gray color. This was far from the truth. The pioneer girl had her dresses in colors just as the modern girl does. Almost all of the colors and shades used in modern dressmaking could be produced by the pioneer housewife. Of course, this all required a certain amount of knowledge and skill, and then, just as today, some mothers knew how to dress their daughters better than others. The colors were obtained from the bark of trees, berries, and from indigo plants raised for that purpose.
The clothes of the men, like those of the women, were generally made by the mother on the spinning wheel and the loom. It was not unusual to see a man dressed in buckskins, especially if he led a rough life in the open. Shoes, as well as dresses, shirts, coats and other articles were also made at home. The hide of a cow that had died or had been killed for beef was always saved for this purpose. After being taken off the animal, it was hung up in the barn to dry. An oak tree was then
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cut down, hollowed out, and made into a vat, which was buried in the ground. The dried skin was then put into this vat, and covered with ashes. A sufficient amount of water to fill the remaining space was added and the vat closed. By this process the hair was removed, and the next step was to dye the leather. For this purpose another vat was built in the shape of a wagon bed and placed in a specially prepared hole in the ground. The dyeing agent was bark from a red oak tree, taken off while the sap was "up." A skin was placed in the vat with a layer of bark on it, then another skin and another layer of bark, and so on until the vat was almost full. Water was then poured in and the vat closed. The hides Were allowed to stay in this condition for several days. When they were finally taken out, they were ready to be made into shoes. This part of shoemaking was usually done by someone in the neighborhood who was especially talented at that work. Just such a person was "Uncle" Lot Hays, one of the first settlers in the old Fort Crawford settlement. Sometimes "Uncle" Lot was paid a small sum of money for making the shoes, but more often he did this for his neighbors in return for corn, peas, eggs, milk, butter, or some other farm produce, or in an exchange of labor. Shoes made from leather thus prepared were not ornamental and were rather uncomfort- able, for the leather was stiff, but they did not appear out of place in those days for nearly everything was
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crude. Although they creaked at every step, it is ' doubtful whether the pioneer lad would have worn a pair of shoes that did not announce his approach.
Social intercourse .-- One unacquainted with pioneer conditions is apt to feel that the early settler lived a sordid existence; that his life was a mere grind from the beginning to the end. It is true that there was always plenty of work to do -- too much in fact for the health of the pioneer and his family. Yet he usually found some time for recreation. Quite often work and recreation were combined, as in the case of quilting bees, husking bees, and log rollings. On the other hand, such social gatherings as singings and dancing were planned solely for the purpose of satisfying the desire to get together.
The quilting bee was an ordinary occurrence in the pioneer community. The purpose, of course, was two-fold, utilitarian and social. The pioneer mother, together with her daughters, could do the necessary quilting for the family at her odd moments, but in doing it this way she would have been deprived of the company of her sex while it was being done. She, therefore, adopted the plan of inviting a number of her nearest neighbors to a quilting bee. The ladies invited always came. In fact, they would have felt slighted had they not been invited. Soon work on the quilts was in full swing. Gossip was then in order. At twelve
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o'clock, the housewife, who had made preparations the day before, called them to a good dinner, the best the neighborhood afforded. It was on such occasions that the "extras" were served. Even cakes, pies, fried chicken and other such delicacies were unstintedly served. The women present judged the housewife by the kind of food she set before them, and how well it was prepared. If it was poor, or if it was too good, she would be criticized by other housewives who were proud of their own culinary art. After the kitchen was cleaned up, the quilting went on again and did not halt until either all of the quilts were finished, or the approach of dark drove the visitors home. Some few days later, the same thing would be repeated only at some one else's house this time.
For the men, there were husking bees and log roll- ings. The former was not resorted to greatly in Harrison County, due to the fact that farmers found it was best to leave the shuck on the corn as a protection against both rodents and the weather. However, husking bees were not unusual. These usually took place on some rainy day on which little else could be done. The farmer invited a number of his neighbors to his home on a certain day and all retired to the barn where corn husking contests became the order of the day. This spirit of rivalry made the task more play than work. Professional corn huskers were developed in a neighbor-
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hood who were quite as proud of their prowess as Jack Dempsey was when he was the holder of the world's heavyweight boxing crown. Quite often a champion from some other community was invited to compete with the local champion. Bets were frequent in such cases. It happened, therefore, that the owner of the corn was able to get it shucked in one day's time. The shucks were put in a separate compartment of the barn and later fed to the cows.
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