The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1874-07-31
Hard Times in the Smith Family.

1t has been hard year in the mountains
of East Tennessee, not that work las been
particularly scarce, for work Is worse than
starvation with many Of them in that he
nighted region; but whisky regulates the
market, and that has been high and brought
many a proud family low.
Now the Smiths were one of the proud
families Of that region. They lived on
ten-acre patch at the foot of the mountain;
They had an old, poor horse that wouldn't
make a shadow in the sunshine, and
knock-kneed COW, with horn broken of.
while the rest Of the family consisted Of
Caleb Smith, his wife, and nine red-headed,
trecklc-iaccd girls and boys, after the pat
tern Of the mother, beside seven DOGS and
five cats.
The Smiths would scratch in &. little corn
each season to carry to thestill and the mill,
and make up the rest Of the living by fish
inS' hunting, and Iounging round the
tavern, while the smaller children would
play ''mumhley peg" and it kept Mrs.
Smith busy cooking, smoking her pipe,
spanking the children, and laying 1t down
to Smith, Washing was such laborious
task that it was only done once a month.
at the creek, and then it was only done in
sections, so that one waShday the l1oys
would 90 without their pants, and on the
next without their shirts, and the girls like
wise. The Smith mansion was not a pre-
tentious affair, nor We're they particularly
stuck uH over it, although it was not to be
sneczed at. Ii consisted of an elaborate loy
structure Of one .oom, and a loft Goorcd
with roofing boards, with ladder, up
which the young smiths would 20 to roost
1t night, when they didn t sleep in the corn
crib to keep old Bill Robinson from making
off with their corn. The monotony Of this
upstairs life was occasionally relieved, when
they had company down stairs, by one of the
boards fitting up and dropping one Of tho
girls partially through the iJJr.
This was the status of the Smiths when
the hard times began. Their corn had not
turned out well, and the di~tillery increased
the toll, 50 it did not leave much to 20 to
mill, and the stone that they balanced the
com with in the other end of the sack was
too heavy, and pulled the Smith boy, corn
and all, off into the creek and you see,
such things as this played smash with the
Smith family. They had to eat Just ike
folks who worked for their living, and. to
make matters worse, Smith didn't kill any
wildcat that season TO get the hountv on its
scalp, and it didn't take long to bring them
down to their last hoe-cake, and Smith
couldn't sing that soul-inspiring song any
more: "Oh, Sally, get your hoe-cake done. "
Smith had an offer to chop cord-wood, but
never liked chopping no ho,o.
Now Smith started out one evening about
sundown with his rife, and there was deter
mination in his eyes-any one could tell he
meant business. Was he going to pop the
Old djsJiiler over, and run the whisky mill
himself? or was he going 10 lay for some
traveller with saddlc-bag foil Of lunch?
Smith, however, relieved all anxiety on this
point by returning after dark with an old,
poor hog across his shoulder that bore deacon
Snoggle's ear-marbi and, as Smith was out
OF salt, the next morning found the hams,
shoulders and sides hanging up in his smoke
house with q cob-fire round them. There
was JOY in the Smith family, but, of course.
with so many mouths u feed one hog
wOulin' last long and when Smith returned
next time with his ride, and couldn' find
single porkerat large, matters began to look
desperate; there was only one little slice Of
fat bacon left, and that bad to 90 as far as
possible, 50 Smith studied all night, and had
the problem solved 10y breakfast time next
morning. He just got Mrs. Smith and the
nine children all in row, and he took that
slice Of bacon and tied it or to a string. and
he went through from the old womSn down
to the youngest child, and let them swallow
that piece Of fat bacon, and then he'd pull
it back with the string for the next one IS
breakfast; and, poor, sclE-sacrifcing man,
when they had all breakfasted OF it, he then
took the string of, and it went down his
own throat never to return That day he
killed n wildcat and got the bounty, and
the fish began to bite, and the Smiths again
revelled in plenty.