The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1889-02-14
IN A Loo CABIN,
0kpsfisnes Of Night In ths House oe Z
, True Pioneer. a

experience Of . NlGhs In the House of .
/ True Pioneer.
! Ny first meal IN cabin was not at.
tractive. Il consisted Of corn dodgers
fried pork, and something they callea
tea, which l should never have sup.
posed to be tea by It's taste; but was
full Of health and hungry, and rather
enjoyed the fare, coarse as It was. Aft.
er supper had talk with the head OF
the household on q bench outside the
cabin, in the course Of which, among
other things, I learned that he was
native Of North Carolina, and that aft
er marrying he had started with his
wife for Western Pennsylvania. He
was not inclined to stop in Virginia.
He had, he said, enough Of a slave
State, where poor white man was not
considered as good as black one., He
remained in Pennsylvania five or six
years, until the people became too
thick for game, when he moved to
Ohio, spent some years in the eastern
part Of the State; as many more In the
western, and thence he came to Indi-
ana. II have been, said he, "a
kinder rolling stone, but I am q
good deal better of than ! was when I
started. I own eighty acres Of good
land, twenty acres cleared; yoke Of
oxen, mule, a cart and some farming
tools, and besides as good a rife as
you ever laid eyes on. "And them"
continued he, 1--WE have all the time
been peopling the earth, as the Bible
says we ought to. We have eight
children; two Of the boys have gone to
work in the city. It has been pretty hard
for her, but l." said he, strengthening
himself up, lam as hearty as Q
buck. I sha'n't stay here long II I find
any body to buy me out You see,
stranger, am what they call q pier
neer, and pierneers oughtn't to stay
long in the same place." Here our
talk was interrupted by an announce
ment from one Of the girls that it was
bedtime. On going in I perceived
that trundle beds had been rolled out
from under the large beds, and that
the floor was pretty we'll covered by
the sleeping arrangements. Pointing
to the small cot in the corner, my host
merely said: Stranger. that's yourn,"
and blew out the candle so that I could
not see, II had been inquisitive, how
the women disposed Of themselves. I
recollect only that in an incredibly
short time the room was as still as II
nobody was in it. My bed was a hard
one--I could not see whether it was
clean or dirty-but novel as the cir
cumstances were, slept soundly. In
the morning, just as the light began
to stream through the windows, I was
awakened by the moving back Of the
trundle beds, and I was soon left to
dress myself. Upon the bench on
which sat IN the evening there was
tin basin, by it bucket Of pure spring
water "a true pioneer never drives his
stakes where there is not q spring.,
and hanging upon nail in one Of the
logs coarse but clean towel. Hav-
ing washed, paid my bill (fifty cents),
shaken hands with my host, who
wished me we'll, I mounted my horse,
which had been brought to the door,
and made my best bow to the girls,
who camo to see me of. Such was
my first experience in log cabin. !
relate it because it was type Of SUBJ
sequent ones. Hugh McCulLoch, IN
Century.