A Little piece of Paradise… College Hill, Ohio - SELFCRAFT

kept in good order. A maul, a few iron wedges, which were supplemented with others made of dogwood,were in constant use in making rails. A wooden mold-board plow, a harrow with wooden or iron teeth,log chains, a ‘bob-sled,’ a wagon, a cross-cut saw, a few augers of different sizes, a gimlet, a hammer, ahoe and grubbing hoe, a rake, a flax-break, a swingling-board, a couple of threshing machines, whichconsisted of two sticks fastened together with a piece of raw hide, called a flail, constituted the principaloutfit. Two or three neighbors joined in the purchase of a winnowing mill to clean grain.Our Domestic AnimalsIn addition to a small flock of sheep, every farmer had a team of horses, and, if from New England,he was supplied with at least one yoke of oxen. For piling logs in a clearing or breaking up new groundoxen were preferred to horses. A cow or two was indispensable, and droves of hogs of all ages, gatheringthe mast, filled the woods. Their ownership was determined by marks or slits in the ear. Geese were keptprincipally for their feathers. A feather bed in an open cabin was a luxury in a winter’s night. We had agreat variety of dogs, and sometimes a half dozen claimed the same master, and found their kennel underthe same cabin floor. To protect our sheep and cows from the wolves that prowled and howled about atnight, we often were compelled to ‘corral’ them in a rail pen about the house. These stealthy and vagrantpests were afraid to venture near the light of the cabin fire. Our fowls were often captured by the minx,the opossum or raccoon. Our sheep folds were sometimes invaded by hungry dogs, and many a poor curhad to suffer the extreme penalty of the law for crimes of which he was not guilty, by an exasperatedsufferer from canine cruelty. The half starved yellow dog and the ravening wolf alike played havoc withthe farmers’ flocks.Our AmusementsThose who suppose that pioneer life was one of continual hardship -‘all work and no play’- are verygreatly mistaken. We had our amusements, which, if not as refined as those of more modern times, wereas exciting and enjoyable. The pursuit of game with the faithful dog and trusty gun relieved the monotonyof daily toil. The forests abounded with squirrel, wild turkey and deer. We trapped the rabbits and quailsand other small game. ‘Coon and ‘possum hunting at night furnished much amusement.Pleasure was often combined with business. House-raising, log-rolling and husking frolics werefrequent and were attended by old and young. Corn-huskings in the fall were universal. The ears weretorn from the stalk unhusked and deposited in a long row upon a table. We were assembled in theevening, captains were chosen, who divided the heap as near the middle as possible. They selected theirmen alternately, and being arranged under their respective leaders the contest began. The husks werethrown backward and the ears of corn forward. The company that finished first was the winner and hadthe first swig at the bottle and the chief seats at the royal feast which followed. Often times daylightrevealed the fact that the unhusked corn was found both among the shucks and the corn heap.Young people in the fall and winter evenings were often assembled at a quilting or apple-cuttingparty. When the quilt was finished, or the apples peeled, quartered and cored, and a sumptuous feast wasdisposed of, all united in a dance or in some play. The old pioneers will remember with what spirit andenthusiasm they marched with their partners and sang:Oh, sister Phebe, how merry were weThe night we sat under the juniper tree,The juniper tree, the juniper tree,Hei oh! &c., &c.Or -We are marching forward to Quebec!The drums are loudly beating,America has gained the day,The British are retreating...Seldom were these joyful occasions marred by an unpleasant incident, or by excesses in eating ordrinking; but at an early hour in the morning each young man went home with his girl, only to repeat theenjoyment at some other cabin on the next moonlight night.18