Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1891-06-11
Old Times.

Ed. Register
As iE rains so [ can't get out, and
have nothing to read of interest, | wi
amnse myself for while writing to th
boys and girls of to-day about way bac
a half hundred years aSo-and that is
good while; don't you think so? My oil
tutor taught me to hunt; he was an oil
man who had but one child, daughter
and she was married and had family G
her own and lived miles away. He
father and mother were left very lonely
After awhile they found child-a girl
whose parents were dead; so they adopt
ell the little girl to be their own. After
few years this girl had grown to be :
young woman, and, as all boys and girl
| get to think, she wanted a home of he
! own. a young man who was just start
| ing out in life became acquainted with
her, and thought .hey were just made for
each other, concluded to get married
So one pleasant morning in the early
| spring my old tutor sent for me to come
and see him. When | reached his place
he said that ''Ihar young feller want Ell
get married, and l am goin' to give ZEN
regular old Virginny wedding. I'm
goin' to AK the hui kintrv to dinner.
| want Nat, that was his son, in tow, to
kill the deer and you to kill about hall
dozen old gobblers for the dinner. I'm
going to make the biggest thing ever got
up in these ere diggins.''
L took my gun and started out. Old
gObblers were very abundant any where
in those days. The woods and noun
tains were full of them. Some pleasant
mornings you could hear dozens of them
gObbling in every direction. 1t seemed
as though there were hundreds of them &.
| remember had been out all one night
in the mountains. As it had turned quite
cold in the night 1 built up good fire :,
beside an old fallen tree, and scraped up
a good bed of leaves and crawled into
them. AS the hot fire shone on the leaves
and warmed them up, | was soon sound
asleep ana such sweet refreshing sleep.
Just as the morning light began to appear
in the east [ awOke refreshed and hungry,
and the old saying. a hungry day to hunt
well. | gave a howl like a wolf, and
such racket, The mountain right above
me was just alive with old gobblers. Be-
fore | could get half way up the mountain
side, it seemed as though the mountain
was alive with them. OF all the rackets,
gobbling, cackling and calling, | never
heard. When | come up so | could take
in the whole scene [ saw hundreds and
hundreds of old gobblers struting and
Gobbling. Great tlOcks of hens calling
and strutting abouG and some fighting.
| never saw such sight before or since.
Just stood and gaZed and gaZed at them.
They did not seem to know that wa,
there, and they kept up such a racket
and powwow. | don't think they knew
was there. At last drew down on an
old strutter and killed him. l killed three
before they seemed to understand what
was going on. At last they found me
out and the warning cry went through
the crowd. The whole mass. with Il noise
like thunder, flew to the other mountain.
and then the noise commenced again.
But rs Lad three and | was getting very
hungry | did not care to climb those steep
mountain sides with three great big old
gObblers on my back. Yes, sir, | got
my old tutor all the turkeys he wanted,
and Nate got all the deer he wanted.
For Il week the women folk S were cook
ing and getting ready for the feast.
10 no
for miles were on the move. l was asked
to come and wait or the table. The house
was a large hewed log house, should
say about thirty by twenty feet, with a
replace in one end, with windows on
each side and doors about midway of the
house. opposite each other. That morn
inc we took the beds and all the furniture
out and made a long table down the
whole length of the house. As near as |
can recollect the tables would seat twenty
On each side. Bv ten O'Clock the house
and yald were full of folks and still they |
came. just at twelve the bride and groom |
made their appearance. | have since
seen couples dressed mole richly and |
wen more gorgeously than they were,
)ut do not suppose the crowd that was
here to witness the marriage cared a |
straw about that. They We're there to
lave a good, old-fa~hioned shake. About
Wo we cleared the house Sc we could set |
he table. | got one of my younger
brothers to help and pass the different
kinds of food. While the table was being
made ready the crowd went outside to
muse themselves. The young were run
ling foot races, some hop, skip and
ump, some shooting at target, the old
people sitting out under the trees talking
If good old times that they had seen in
heir younger days. AS soon as the table
vas ready the older persons and those
hat lived the furthest away were called,
nd as fast as one tabletull were satisfied
he dishes were removed and washed, the
able cloth brushed and the table reset.
hose that had to go home and lived
niles away left, so that the crowd grew
ass and less until night. There still re-
1ained soma forty or fifty to spend the
light for the dance. Did you ever hear
.afieur Lachance and Paul Polite play i
he violin? They could fairly make it |
ak. After all had had a good dinner, Il |
id not have room to tell you of all the 6
ood things we had tor that great crowd /
or dinner, but it was, as the old man I
aid. the biggest spread this country had 9
yer seen.) such sights of food of such a /