Bradford reporter. [volume] (Towanda, Pa.) 1844-1884, 1856-08-21
The Early Pioneers Of the West

Mr. Ferris, in his book on the Great West
thus sketches tile character Of the pioneers
who began to spread themselves throughout
the West, between the close of the Poutilc'S
war and the commencement of the American
Revolution
The pioneers, living in constant contact with
the Indians, necessarily became more than
half savages in appearance, habit aud manners
and frequently the whole savage character was
assumed. Their ordinary dress was too unique
to he forgotten. A coonskn cap, with the
tail dangling ar the back of the neck, and the
snout dropping upon the forehead long buck
'skin leggings, sowed with wide fringed welt
down the outside of the leg o long, narrow
strip of coarse cloth, passing around the hips
and between the thighs, was brought up, be-
fore and behind under the belt, and hung down,
tapping as they walked loose dccrskiu
frock, open i'll 'front.' and tapping once and
half round the body, was belted at the middle,
forming convenient wallets on each side for
chunks of hoe-cake, tow, jerked venson, screw
drivers and other fXings, and Indian mocca-
sins completed the hunters apparel Over
the whole were slung bullet-pOuch and pow
der horn From behind the left hip dangled
scalping knife from the right protruded
the handle of a hatchet, both weapons stuck
in leather cases Every hunter carried an awl,
roll of buckskiu, and strings of hide called
whangs," for thread In the winter, loose
deer-bair was stuffed into the moccasns 10
keep the feet warm.
The pioneers lived in rude log houses, cover
ed, generally with pieces of timber, about 3
feet in length, and six inches in width called
shakes" and laid over the roof instead OF
shingles. They had neither nails, glass, saws
nor brick The houses had huge slab doors.
pinned together. The light came down the
chimney, or through hole in the logs cover
ed with creased cloth. A scraggy hcmlock
Sapliug, the knots left a foot long, served for
stairs to the upper story. Their furniture con
sisted of tamarack bedsteads framed into the
walls, few shelves supported on long wood
en- pins a chair or two, but more often piece
split off tree and SO trimmed that the branch
es served for legs Their utensils were very
simple generally nothing but a skillet, which
served for baking, boiling, roasting. washing
dishes, making mush scalding turkeys, cook
ing SasSafras tea, and making soap 4 j ohn-
ny-cake board, instead of dripping-pan, hung
on peg in every house The corn was crack
ed into coarse meal. bypounding it in wood
en- mortar. AS soon swine could be kept
away from the bears, or rather, the bears away
from them, the pioneers indulged in a dish of
pork and corn boiled together, and known
among them as hog and hominy" Fried
pork they called "Oh Ned"
Unlike the French, who clustered in villa
ges, and had their common fields. our Yankee
settlers went the whole length for individual
property Each settler claimed for himself
four hundred acres of land, and the privilege
of taking a thousand acres more, contiguous
to his clearing. Each one run ont his own
lines for himself, chipping the bark off the
trees, and cutting his name in the wood These
claims, so loosely asserted, were called " toma-
hawk rights and were respected by all the
emigrantS. Each settler went to telling the
timber and chopping house-logs, stepping,
meanwhile, under bark cover raised on crotch
es, or under tree 1t is said Of one of them
that he could hardly stomach his house, after
it was done The door way was open, the logs
unchinked, and the chimney gapcd wide above
him but the air was too cluSS,"- had
to sleep outside for night or two to get us
ed to it.