McCook weekly tribune. (McCook, Neb.) 188?-1886, 1883-11-29
FORTY YEARS AGO.

FORTY YEARS AGO.
Prentice Milford writes in the San
Francisco Chronicle: Forty years ago
gentlemen shaved themselves, and car.
ried their apparatus for this purpose
while travelling. Whiskers were worn
from the ear halfway down the face,
that being the military style of the
period. Full boards and mustaches
were deemed disreputable. I recollect
hearing a gentleman of the "old
school" argue seriously with a young
man from the city on the propriety of
shaving off his mustache, and another
full-bearded individual just arrived in
our village caused By his appearance a
howl of derision on the part of q small
group of negro boys.
Board was from $3.50 to $500 per
week. Silk umbrellas were unknown.
Overshoes were made in South America
of pure rubber, and in shape resembled
oval-bottomed soda-water bottles. The
shoe of 1912 contained enough rubber
to make half-dozen of the overshoes
of to-day.
Country farm wagons were unpaint-
ed, without springs, and on their sides
grew the dry yellow moss of genera
tons.
Saturday was maaket day in the
country towns. The rural wives and
daughters sat in the wagon on straight
backed, .fiag-bottomed chairs. Then,
after barterlng their egs and butter,
they drove off home. Tie head of the
the family sat bolt upright on the front
seat, his "lash-gad" shouldered like
musket on parade, and sometimes be-
traying an extra degree of stiffening in
his attitude through the influence Of
few drinks. Every country store-keeper
sold rum by the measure. The bucolic
rum Jug was an institution and came to
town regularly to be filled.
Gongs summoned the guests meals.
There was great parade, marshaling of
the negro walters, who, with military
precision, removed the covers from the
chaing dish, and, returning in line,
bore away the dishes also, while the
rural guests of the house were deeply
impressed with all this pomp and cir
cumstances of dinner.
Many householders had under their
roofs the family fiint-lock musket, bay
onet and cartrid ge-box ready for the
summons which once year required
them to appear ''armed and equipped
as the law Directs" to be reviewed and
inspected by a gorgeous military gen.
eral with glittering staff. A genera
ton exists to-day who never saw a
country general training" so replete
with awkwardness, rusty guns, muskets
that went off with last years charges
when the ssinspectOr" snapped their
locks, root beer, rum, negroes, rHna-
way horses unused to warlike sights
and sounds, gay plumes and ep auIets
attached to staff officers pitched over
equine he ads and describing in the air
graceful parsbolas with drawn swords.
But the present, with all its Boosting
and self-cong1atulation, has not 3 mo- |
nopoly of the good things of this life.
Cannon were then sstouched off, with
tsport fire. Percussion caps had just
made their appearance.
Every old man had seen General
Washington" or "came near it." Pa
triotism ran largely to an intense de-
sire to click the British"
Every murder made sensation, and
it was usually expected that some one
would hang for it. Carrying arms Sc
cretly about the person was deemed not
many degrees short of murder itself.
were unknown. The
revolver was curiosity. The derrin-
ger had never spoken. Nothing akin
to the present cheap, easy and expedi-
tious methods for stopping human exis-
tence had been devised.
Whale oil was much used for lighting.
It was the terror of housewives and
played havoc with table cloths and par
Tor carpets. Numerous recipes were
given, but none were infallible for re-
moving the stain. The candlestick and
shutters were in every house.
The s'district SCHOOL, of the period
was unwholesomely crowded in winter.
It commenced in the morning with a
long prayer, and generally ended at
night with succession of cow-hidings.
Most of the teachers were from Con-
necticut, and generally dyspeptic or
A ''box stove," burning
wo cd, heated the apartment, all aglOw
at one moment and cold the next.
W alter for drinking was brought in at
in tervals in pail, passed around, and
drunk out of tin dipper. The I'M
painted desks we're cut and hacked, and
from the arduOus efforts Of