Woodville Republican. (Woodville, Miss.) 185?-current, 1889-10-05
KENTUCKY PIONEERS.
People Whose Sole Relaxation
Was Hard Work.
Their Solemn Joys Were Few, Simple and
Far Between-sOmethIng of the
First Fair Held West OF
the Allegha-
nfaa.

nIes.
The nineteenth century opened
gravely for the Kentuckians. Little
akin as was the spirit of the people to
that Of Puritans, life among them had
been almost as granite in its hardness
and ruggedness and desolate unrelief.
Perhaps the one creature in the county
that had been perfectly free to dance
when it chose was the bowing and re-
firing buffalo. The only thing in the
log cabin that had sung from morning
till night was the spinning-wheel. Not
much behind those women but danger,
anxiety, vigils, devastation, mournful
tragedies; scarcely one of them but
might fifty have gone to her loom and
woven herself garment of sorrow.
Not much behind those men but telling
OF trees, clearing of land, raising of
houses, opening Of roads, distressing
problems OF State, desolating wars Of
the repl bic. Most of them, perhaps,
could remember the time when it was
SO common fate among them for
man to be killed that for one to lio
down and die natural death seemed
almost an unnatural occurrence Many
must have had in their faces the sad
ness that was in the face OF Lincoln.
Nevertheless, almost from the first,
there had stood out among the Ken
tuckians some broad, out-speaking, out
acting exhibitions of exuberant animal
vigor, of unbridled animal spirits.
Some OF these were singularly and
faithfully enough in the ancestral vein
OF English sports and relaxations-
dog-fghting and cock-fghting. rifle
target shooting, wrestling matches,
foot-racing for the men, and quarter
racing for the horses. Without any
sense of making spectacles or of be-
coming themselves a spectacle in his
tory, they were always read to form an
impromptu arena and institute ath-
letic games. They had even their glad
iators. Other rude pleasure were more
truly characteristic of their local envi-
ronments-the log-rolling and the
quilting, the social frolic OF the har-
vesting, the merry parties of fax-pull-
ers. and the corn-husking at nightfall,
when tho men divided into sides, and
the green glass whisky bottle, stopped
with corn-cob, was filled and re-
filled and passed from mouth to
mouth, until out of those lusty
throats rose and swelled rhythmic
choral song that could be heard in
the deep woods a mile or moro away;
at midnight those who were sober took
home those who were drunk. But of
course none of these were organized
amusements. They are not instances of
their taking their pleasures sadly, but
OF attempts to do much hard, rough
work with gladness. Other occasions,
also. which have the semblance of pop
ular joys, and which certainly we're not
passed over without merriment and
turbulent, disorderly fun, in reality
were set apart for the gravest of civic
and political reasons; militia musters.
stump-speakings, county court day as
sembages, and the yearly July cele-
brations. Still other pleasures were Of
an economic Or utilitarian nature Thus
the novel and exciting contests by par
ties OF men at squirrel-shooting looked
to the taking of that destructive ami
mails scalp, to say nothing of the skin;
the hunting OF the beehives in the
woods had some regard to the scarcity
OF sugar; and the nut gatherings and
wild-grape gatherings by younger folks
in the gorgeous autumnal days were
partly in memory of scant, unvaried
larder, which might profitably draw
upon natures rich and salutary hoard.
Perhaps the dearest pleasures among
them were those that lay closest to
their dangers. They loved the pursuit
OF marauding parties, the solitary chase;
were always ready to throw away the
axe and the mattocS for the rifle and the
knife. Among all pleasures, at the
very extreme of peacefulness, were the
weddings. For plain reasons they were
commonly held in the daytime. And
as it was, the men often rode to them
armed, and before leaving, too often
made them scenes of carousal and un-
chaste jocularities. After the wedding
came the 'infare," with the going from
home of the bride to the home of the
groom. Above every thing else that
seems to strike the chord OF common
happiness in the society of the time,
stands out to the Imagination the
picture Of one OF these professions
long bridal cavalcade winding slowly
along narrow road through the silent
primeval forest. now in the sunlight,
now in the shadow of mighty trees
meeting over the way at the head OF
the young lovers, so rudely mounted.
60 simply dressed, and following in
their happy wake, as though they
were the augary OF peaceful era soon
TO come, q struggling, broken line Of