Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1897-03-06
WOOD WAS SCARCE.
HOW THE FRElGHTERS ON THE
PLAINS DID THEIR COOKING.

1t was in the days before the rail.
roads had been pushed out through
northwest Nebraska, and supplies were
freighted into the forts and trading
posts in big wagons, pulled sometimes
by eight or ten yoke Of oxen and some
times by one span Of great mules.
1t 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 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 a small oil
stove, with tin oven and big can OF
kerosene. When 1 had watered our
horses and staked them out for the
night, I wandered over 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 plainsman and staid
to watch him.
He was an old hand at freighting,
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 6 by pine timber about
eight inches long. Each piece represent
ed the fire for one meal. He was split
ting up one of them when I struck his
camp.
ODD evenin," he said, without look
ing up from his work, "prospectin fer
landf'
"No, hunting" replied.
"Oh," he said, with an information
that seemed to convey his feeling that
he knew all about us.
He had split the piece of pine into
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
pllCL ClShu VI tO11 1lltIO ou1Sho VI Piho'
1t was ready for the match. From a box
at the end of his wagon he brought out
a long handled steel frying pan, coffee
pot and tin can that looked as if it
had once held two pounds of tomatoes
or pie apples. Then he brought out a
wooden box and set it on the ground. 1t
held part of his supplies and served as a
table. Out of it he took some flour 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 a
reflector.
He put the coffee in the pot, poured
in some water from the bucketful he
had brought from the river, and set it
down beside the pile of sticks. Then he
arranged 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 min
ute it was blazing up merrily, and the
bacon was sizzling in the pan. He pour
ed some flour 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
emily the bacon was done. He fished 1t
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 to be "bull-
whacker's Bread" or "scrugene.
AS soon as he took the frying pan off
the fire he put the coffeepot on, and
when the thick, stiff dough was nicely
smoothed out in the frying pan he prop
ped it up in front Of the fire, where the
reflector would do it's best work. Then
out Of the wagon he hauled a jug Of
sorghum. Three or four more little
sticks Of pine were deftly arranged I'M
der the coffeepot, 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 quick sidewise
twist and little forward jerk. The
mass Of half baked dough slid out of the
pan and flew up into the air. 1t turned
bottom side up, and he caught it as
deftly as any French cook catching pan
cakes. and propped the unbaked side up
against the fire. BY the time it had
baked the coffee was boiling, and the
meal was ready. He drank the coffee,
strong and black, out of tin cup and
used sorghum for sweetening. Butter
and lard he despised Hi sorghum took
the place of the one and the bacon
grease served as substitute for the other.
When he took the coffeepot off the
fire, he put on little can of water that
stewed and simmered and presently
boiled over the embers. That was his
dishwater. He had to have it hot to take
the bacon grease out of his pans And
when it was all done, there were three
or four Of the little pine sticks still left.
asked him if he did not want pota-
toes Yes, he said, and he had them,
but only when firewood was plenty. 1t
took too long and too much wood to
cook potatoes, and he couldn't do it
when he had to depend on one pine
stick to cook his meal.
In the morning, before we had water
ed the horses, he had cooked his break
fast and was off up the trail. New
York Sun.
On the Bluff.
did you read that story about The
NM