The Superior times. [volume] (Superior, Wis.) 1870-1912, 1895-05-25
"reminiscences of Ye Olden Time

Review, at Mankato, Mimi, was, il the
early DAYS of which he speaks, editor
of the Superior ChroDical, from which
has come down to us the TINES OF to-
dav. The letter will be interesting to
all Of our readers but especially SO to
those Of long standing:
THE invitation to contribute some
thing to the special edition Of the Morn
ing Leader, to be issued by the ladies of
] Superior, was forwarded to me at this
/ place, and while | have no data at hand
/ to refresh my recollectiOns Of early days
| will endeavor to contribute my mite
to the praise worthy undertaking.
1.-The era of prosperity which charac-
/ terized Superior's early history may be
1 dated from the spring of 1850 The first
canal around the 800" rapids had been
completed but not opened at that time,
/ but still there were steamboat facilities
+ by means of which Superior's early cltl-
zens could reach their destination, and
it was my good fortune to be among
those who came at that period.
THE census enumeration made that
| spring, including the first arrivals,
/ showed population of about 800, mix
! ed bIoods and all. The buildings com
! prising the town were proportionately
unpretentious, the most important be-
/ ing the Superior House, conducted by
! Mr.. o. X. Hall, an enterprisng and &C
| commodating gentleman, strongly i'm
/ bued with the prevailing spirit of UNI
| faltering devotion to and faith in the
| future greatness of the new city, sincere
| " glad to welcome new corners, and
willing and anxious to make them as
comfortable as the existing circumstan
ces would permit.
1.-The facilities which the present adj
mirable railway system afford of gather
ing quickly and cheaply the choicest
products of the most favored chimes,
and which now daily grace the tables
and appease the appetites of the pat
rons Of your leading hotels, did not fav
or the host of the old Superior, but he
did the very best he could, and while
his efforts may not have been up to the
expectations of his guests, they were
substantial, invigorating and proof
against indigestion and dyspepsia.
"As was the custom of the country
provisions for this winters need had
been laid in the previous fall to cover
six months or more, and the outer linn
its of that period had not expired, and
the new supplies received, when the
first arrivals of that spring reached their
destination. We had plenty of pork
and beans, varied to beans and pork, to
mark the distinction between breakfast,
dinner and supper, without butter for
bread, and supplemented with few
other substantias.
''The settlement did not then include
house-furnishing establishment, but
most of the articles necessary to the or
binary comforts of life-bedsteads, tab
les, benches, etc.,-were largely home
made. | well remember the first night
spent in the hotel, then unfinished and
some of it's bed chambers partitioned
with cotton cloth, when six or eight
men slept upon blankets on the uncar-
peted floor of the sitting room, and
when we had retired the kind host
brought US additional blankets for COW
ering.
Mr.. and Mrs. Ashton set up house
keeping in the Col. Robertson pre-emp-
ton cabin, on the banks of the beauti-
full Nemadji, subsequently made historic
by being reproduced in Autograph as
the first printing office at the head of
the lake, and | was their boarder. Com
ing as we did direct from Washington,
and inexperienced as to western pio-
neer life, We knew nothing of the then
existing conditions, had not provided
ourselves with any of the articles nee
essary to home, and our articles of fur
niture were all homemade. They were
substansial if not ornamental. Fortu-
nately, on leaving home, Mrs. A. had
been supplied by friends with lunch
basket, including knife, fork, spoon and
a glass. These constituted our table
equipment at the beginning and were
passed around at meals We too,
adopted the prevailing bill of fare, re-
lieved by occasional messes of fish and
such dishes as woman's ingenuity and
the limited resources of the market
would allow.
Il recall with marked vividness
favor received from the generous heart
ed Capt. Wilson, of the steamer Illinois,
| believe. On one of his visits he pre-
scented our household with a liberal
roast of fresh beef, then very great
rariety. 1t was served in many differ
ent wsYs-rOast, stew, meat pie and
hash-and furnished our sustenance for
the greater part of a week.
The trouble was not for means to buy,
but in our distant ami isolated situation
even the substantials of life were diff
cult to obtain.
Many and novel were the expedi-
ents, hotels, boarding houses and even
private families were compelled to en-
ploy in those days. At a prominent
boarding house presided over by
i'AAN -hiNl't ldNi VI iilSlI pIltl Oh
some of these occasions, she would place
before the boarders bottle of whisky,
as she said, ito excuse the table" By
way of explanation. for the reader of
today, | will remark thot this beverage
then was different from the article now
designated by that name. We were liv-
ing in an era before the war, there was
no government tag upon it, it was I'M
adulterated except by water, much less
harmful than the poisonous article Of
today and of more general use.
ION another occasion l recall fash
ionable reception. attended with dane
ing, upon one of the large steamers then
coming to the head of the lake, when
our ingenious hostess in the absence of