Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1896-12-01
WOOD WAS SCARCE.
TOW THE FRElGHTERS ON THE
PLAINS DID THEIR COOKING,


PLAINS DID THEIR COOKING.
Gentleman Out Hunting Had an Oppor.
tunity 70 See How Plainsman Prepared
Meal WITH Fuel Which He Carried
With Him In Small Chunks.
1t was in the days before the rail.
roads had been pushed out through
northwest Nebraska, and supplies were
freighted into the forts and tradina
posts in big wagons, pulled sometimel
BY eight or ten yoke of oxen and some
times by one span of great mules.
It was evening when we overlook the
freighter. We went into camp within
100 yards Of where he stopped. 1t was
almost at the head of the Elkhorn river,
and the stream, where it flowed q few
rods from our camp. was hardly more
than yard wide. The guide had told
us at the start that we should strike
country where We could find NO wood,
and we had brought along q small oil
stove, with tin oven and q big can of
kerosene. When had watered our
horses and staked them out for the
night, / wandered ever to see the
freighter. He had an enormous wagon,
pulled by two giant mules. He had
staked them out and was getting sup
per. 1t was the first time I had ever
seen it done by q plainsman and 1 staid
to watch him.
He was an old hand at freightinR,
and he knew just how many stops he
would have to make where he could get
no firewood. For each one he carried in
his wagon, when he started out of Nor.
folk. piece of by 6 pine timber about
eight inches long. Each piece represent
ed the fire for one meal. He was split
ting up one Of them when struck his
camp.
"'D evenin. he said, without look
ing up from his work, "prospectin fer
land;"
''No. hunting" replied.
"Oh," he said, with an information
that seemed to convey his feeling that
he knew all about us.
AAo Aesu Spiio eAo pleCo VI pms lUCO
little sticks. He gathered handful Of
dry grass and wadded it up into ball.
Then he beat down the tall grass and
cleared a little spot where he could
make his fire. In the middle Of it he
put the ball of grass, and over it he
piled eight or ten little sticks of pine.
1t was ready for the match. From a box
at the end Of his wagon ne brought out
a long handled steel frying pan, coffee
pot and Q tin can that looked rs if it
had once held two pounds of tomatoes
or pie apples. Then he brought out q
wooden box and set it on the ground. It
held part of his supplies and served as a
table. Out of it he took some -four and
bacon and little tin can of coffee. He
got mill out of the box and ground his
coffee. He was very particular about his
coffee, he said to me, half alphabetically.
He couldn't endure the ready ground
stuff. When he had got that done, he
sliced his bacon. Then he got sheet Of
tin out of the wagon and stood it up be-
hind the little pile of sticks. 1t helped
to concentrate the heat by acting as q
reflector.
He put the coffee in the pot, poured
in some water from the bucketful he
bad brought from the river, and set it
down beside the pile of sticks. Then he
the slices of bacon in the fry,
ing pan and settled it on top of the pile
Of sticks. Then he Lit his fire. In O min
ute it was blazing up merrily, and the
bacon was sizzling in the pan. Hell pour
ed some -four into the tomato can,
dumped in pinch Of salt and some bak-
ing powder and stirred it all up vigor-
ously with q spoon. Occasionally he
stopped stirring to turn the bacon. Pres
entity the bacon was done. He fshed it
out into tin pie pan with fork, and
into the hot grease he poured the mix
ture OF -four and other things from the
tomato can. That was going 20 be "bull-
bread" or "scrmgene.
As soon as he took the frying pan of
the fire he put the coffeepot ON, and
when the thick, stiff dough was nicely
out in the frying pan he prop
ped it up in front of the fire. where the
reflector would do its best work. Then
out OF the wagon he hauled o jug of
sorghum. Three or four more little
sticks Of pine were deity arranged un-
der the cofeepot, and by that time the
bread had begun to brown in the pan.
He took the pan by the end of the long
handle and gave it a quick sidewise
twist and q little forward jerk. The
mass Of half baked dough slid out of the
pan and few up into the air. 1t turned
bottom side up. and he caught it as
leftly as any French cook catching pam
lakes. and propped the unbaked side up
against the fire. BY the time it had
baked the coffee was boiling, and the
neal was ready. He drank the coffee,
strong and black, out of q tin Gun and
1sed sorghum for sweetening. Butter
and lard he despised. His sorghum took
The place Of the one and the bacon
grease served as substitute for the other.
When he took the cofTeepot off the
ire. he put on a little can of water that
'tewed and simmered and presently
boiled over the embers. That was his
1ishwater. He had to have it hot to take
The bacon grease out of his pans. And
when it was all done, there were three
1r four Of the little pine sticks still left