Juniata sentinel. [volume] (Mifflintown, Pa.) 1846-1873, 1873-02-05
bYA CITIZEN OF rAYsTrE TOWNSHIP.

Sixty years ago the greater part of the
territory of Juuiata county, east of the
Jun;ata river, for twenty miles or more
from MiffIin, was what the Scots in an
cient time. termed a caledonia-meaning
wooded country-though the lands
were taken up and settlements and con-
siderable improvements made III nearly
every tract. These land tracts were
large, and usually consisted CT three to
four hundred acres.
The first improvement was & log cabin,
which was usually built of round logs.
They could not wait to dub and hew, as
neig;.bors were far between, and few at
hat. Small trees were taken. Heavy
round saplings were used for joists and
light saplings for rafters, split saplings
for lath and c.aphoards for shingles The
clapboards were made by cross cutting
tie batt-end Of large tree three to eight
feet long, and then split out ike cooper
wood 4 layer was put on the caves of
the house. and then another layer, cover
ing about half of the length. No nails
were used, for the reason that there were
none to use, but instead Of nails heavy
sapling was laid on the second layer and
pinned down to the rafter. Thus layer
after layer of the clapboards were put on
and fastened down until the roof was
finished The next desirable thing wss
chimney. Some cabins had their chin
neys inside, sonie outside. This smoke
atack was usually six to eight feet wide,
built of stone three or faur feet high, and
thence built above the cabin with sticks
of wood and thickly plastercd with clay
mortar in the inside, to secure it against
Ere. A sapling long enough to reach
across the chimney was used as ''cook
stick" to hang the kettles and pots on.
Boards that had neither been planed Or
grooved were laid down on roughly
hewed sleepers for a floor. The loft
floor was laid in the same manner, and a
wooden ladder was set mp in one corner
as the means to reach it. Rough boards
were used for making doors. Stats were
fastened across them with wooden pins.
The hinges, the latch and the bolt were
all of wood. Thus the people lived in
wooden houses, in a wooden country, and
warmed themselves in winter by fine
large wood-fres and were happy. Their
habits were rough, their food coarse,
their apparel domestic, their friendship
genuine. Their work was hard, but they
had willing minds. They cut trees,
made rails, burned brush, made fence
built barns, with threshing space in the
middle and thatched the whole with
straw. These buildings were low. l
remember case that the old folks talked
about. Jimmy - said to his boys
when hauling in their little crop of grain,
"Boys. DO crowd them ere sheaves, and
try to get our crop all under roof" The
father was pitching off the load, the boys
moving and showing sheaves under until
they pushed the roof off, and it leaned
so hard on the boys that they had to cut
the tbatch and come out above
In those days hard work was plenty.
Children were brought up to it they
had nothing to do but work. There
were NO newspapers then, to tell of home
affairs, and the affairs of the outside
world. There was only nan here and
there that could read. Books were scarce,
and people could not have read them if
they had had them.
The nearest store was at Carlisle, forty
miles distant. / often heard an old man
aay that when he was boy he wanted a
ball covered so one day he slipped
away his mothers needle and went on
the hav.mow To sew the coyer on