Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1878-09-25
Hard Times,

compilation OF "Our Western Bor-
der" makes use of notes of Rev.
Joseph Doddridge, of West Virginia,
who was raised in the wilds of new
country. His experience, as related,
is but recital of the everyday life
of the people of whom he speaks,
and is but a recital of the everyday
life of the early settlers of this whole
country, Juniata county included:
COFFEE AND GAME.
"Some of the early settlers took
the precaution to come over the noun
tains in the spring, leaving their fam
lies behind, to raise crops of corn,
and then return and bring them out
in the fall This was the better way
Others, especially those whose fami-
lies were small, brought them with
them in the Spring. My father took
the latter course. His family was
but small, and he brought them all
with him. The Indian meal which he
transported over the mountains was
expended six weeks too soon. SO
that for that length of time we had
to live without bread The lean ven
ison and the breast of wild turkeys,
we were taught to call bread. The
flesh Of the bear was denominated
meat. This artitice did not succeed
very well; after living in this way for
some time, we became sickly; the
stomach seemed to be always empty
and tormented with sense of hun
ger. l remember how narrowly the
children watched the growth of the
potato tops, pumpkin and squash
vines, hoping from day to day to get
something to answer in the place of
bread. How delicious was the taste
of the young potatoes when we got
them! What a jubilee when we were
permitted to pull the young corn for
roasting-ear Still more so, when
it had acquired sufficient hardness to
be made into johnny cakes, by the aid
of tin CRATER We then became
healthy, vigorous and contented with
our situation, poor as it was.
The furniture of the table, for sew
eral years after the settlement of the
country, consisted of a few pewter
dishes, plates and spoons, but mostly
of wooden bowls, trenchers and nog-
gins. If these last We're scarce,
gourds and hard-shelled squashes
made up the deficiency. The iron
pots, knives and forks, were brought
from the east side of the mountains,
along with salt and iron, on pack
horses. These articles of furniture
corresponded very well with the ar
ticles of diet. Hog and hominy
was dish of proverbial celebrity.
Johnny-cake or 'pone was at the
outset of the settlements the only
form of bread IN use for breakfast
and dinner; at supper, milk and mush
was the standard dish. When milk
was scarce, hominy supplied its place,
and mush was frequently eaten with
sweetened water, molasses, bears oil,
or the gravy of fried meat.
In our display Of furniture, deli,
china and silver were unknown The
introduction of delf-ware was consid-
cred by many of the back-woods peo-
pie as wasteful innovation. 1t was
! too easily broken, and the plates
dulled their scalping and clasp knives
Tea and coffee, in the phrase of the
day, did not stick to the ribs. The
idea then prevalent was that they
were only designed for people of
quality, who did not labor, or for
the rich. A genuine backwoodsman
would have thought himself dis
graced by showing a fondness for
such fslops' Iwell recollect the first
time 1 ever saw teacup and saucer,
and tasted coffee.
My mother died when I was about
six or seven years of age. My father
then sent me to Maryland, with a
brother of my grand father, Mr. Alex
ander Wells, to go to school. At
Colonel Browns, in the mountains,
at Stony Greek glades, for the first
time saw tame geese, and by banter
ing pet gander, 1 got a severe
biting by his bill, and a beating by
his wings. 1 wondered very much
that birds so large and strong, should
be so much tanner than the wild tur-
key; at this place, however, all was
right, excepting the large birds which
they called geese. The cabin and
furniture were such as / had been
accustomed to see in the backwoods.
as my country was then called.
At Bedford everything was changed.
The tavern at which my uncle put up,
was a stone house, and to make the
changes still more complete, it was
plastered on the inside, both as to
the walls and ceiling On going into
the dining room, l was struck with
astonishment at the appearance of
the house. had no idea that there
was any house in the world that was
not built of logs, and above l could
see no joists; whether such thing
had been made by the hands of man,
or had grown so of itself, l could not
conjecture. l had not the Courage to
inquire anything about it When
supper came on, my confusion was
worse confounded.' A little cup
stood in a bigger one, with some
brownish-looking stuff in it, which
was neither milk, hominy, nor broth;
what to do with these little cups, and
the little spoons belonging to them,
l could not tell; but | was afraid to
ask anything concerning the use of
them.
1, therefore, watched attentively to
see what the big folks would do with
Al Al i n