The Saline County journal. [volume] (Salina, Kan.) 1871-1893, 1877-01-18
The Rnf's nfEiY Dol hood.


;ngs," meaning the erection OF the tim
Der frames of houses or barns, to which
the boards were TO be afterward ralef
Here the minister made point OF beiae
present, and hlther the able-bodied men
of the neighborhood, the young men cs
pecially, were summoned, and took par
in the work with great alacrity. 1t wa;
"a spectacle for US next 10 that OF per
former on the tightrope, TO see tho
yourg men walk steadily on the marrow
footing of the beams at a great height
from the ground, or as they stood to
catch in their hands the wooden pins and
the braces flung to them from below
They We'd with each other in the dexter
Ity and daring with which they went
through with the work, and when the
skeleton of the building was put togeth
or, some one among them generally cap
ped the climax of fearless activity by
standing on the ridgepolc with his head
downward and his heels in the air. Al
that tine even the presence of the min
lister was no restraint upon the flow Of
milk punch and grog, which in some
cases was taken to excess. The practice
of calling the neighbors to these "rais
ings" is now discontinued in the rural
neighborhoods the carpenters provide
their own work men for the business OF
adjusting the timbers of new building to
each other, and there is no consumption
of grog.
Another Of the entertainments of rus.
&c life in the region of which am speak
ing was the making of maple sugar.
This was favcrite frolicl.of the boys.
The apparatus for the sugar camp was
OF a much ruder kind than is now used.
The sap was brought in buckets from
the wounded trees and poured into a
great caldron, which hung over Il hot
fire from stout horizontal pole, sup
ported at each end by an upright stake
planted in the ground. Since that time
they have built in every maple grove n
sugar house, little building in which
the process of making sugar is carried
on with several ingenious contrivances
unknown at the time, when everything
was done in the open air.
From my fathers door, in the latter
part of March and the early part OF April,
we could see perhaps dozen columns Of
places whore The work was going on.
After the sap had been collected and
boiled for three or four days, the time
came when the thickening liquid was
made to pass into the form OF sugar.
This was when the syrup had become OF
such "a consistency that it would "teath-
er"-that is TO say, when beechen twig,
formed at the smaller end into little
loop, dipped into the hot syrup, and
blown upon by the breath, sen; into the
air a light, tcathery film. Tho huge
caldron was then lifted from the fire, and
its contents were either dipped out and
poured into moulds or stird briskly until
the syrup cooled and took the form of
ordinary brown sugar in loose grains.
This process was exceeding interesting
to the boys who came TO watch its differ
cnt stages and to try from time to time
the syrup as 1t thickenod.
In autumn, the task Of stripping the
husks from the ears Of Indian corn was
made occasion of social meetings, in
which the boys took special part. a
farmer would appoint what was called "a
husking," to which he invited his neigh
bors. The ears of maize in the husk,
sometimes along with part of the stalk,
were heaped on the barn floor. In the
evening lanterns were bought, and seat
cd on piles of dry husks, the men and
boys stripped the ears of their covering,
and breaking them from the stem with
a sudden jerk, threw them into baskets
placed for the purpose. 1t was often a
merry time the gossip Of the neighbor-
hood was talked over, stories were told,
iests went round, and at the proper hour
tho assembly adjourned TO the dwelling
house, and were treated to pumpkin Pie /.
and cider, which in that season had not
been so long from the press as 10 have
parted with its sweetness.
Quite as cheerful were the "apple. par
ings," which on autumn evenings
brought together the young people of
both sexes in little circles. Tho fruit of
the orchard was pared and quartered 1
and the core extracted, and a supply of
apples IN tins state provided for making
what was called apple sauce.
The cidermaklng season in autumn
was at the time CT which am speaking,
somewhat correspondent to the vintage
in the wine countries of Europe. Large
tracts of land in New England were
overshadowcd by rows of apple trees,
and in the month of May journey
through that region was a journey
through q wilderness of bloom. In the
month of October the whole population !,
was then gathering apples under the
trees, from which they tell in heavy
showers as the branches were shaken by
the strong arms of the farmers. The
creek of the cider-mili, turned by horse
moving in circle, was heard in every ,
as one of the most COM
mon ofrural sounds. The icshly press
Cd juice of the apples was most agreea {
bic to boyish tastes, and the whole pro- {
cess Of gathering the fruit aud making !
the cider came in among the more labo- :
rioas rural occupations in a way which {
diversified them pleasantly, rnd which
made it seem pas,ime. The time that /;
was given TO making cider, and the 1
mum Der of barrels made and stored in {
he cellars Of the arm-houses, wcnld d
DOW seem incredible. A hundred bar (
els 10 "A single farm was no uncommon u
,ronortiop and tho ouanfitv swallow