The Tupelo journal., 1905-06-16
PEN-pICTURES OF THE OLDEN Time

Before | write what have to say
in this article, | wish to state that 3
wee tiny bird, less than any bird except
the humming bird, has come to oul
home since began writing these Per
Pictures, hopping from limb to limb
and fitting from tree to tree, trilline
her beautiful music, as if to say, %
give you this for the songs of the bird.
of long ago which you have lost ant
mourned for in these articles. Receive
me for the new and mourn no more fol
the old "
In those early times it was
somewhat difficult to start a fire
if we should let the seed" &c
out. The rekindling was done by
means of a piece of cotton, OF
more usually dry punk, placed on
a flint, and striking it with the
back of a pocket knife until the
sparks should set the cotton or
punk on fire, and then carefully
applying some easily combustible
substance till a fire should be
/ kindled. Sometimes it would take
almost or quite half an hour thus
to start up a fire.
Lights were quite primitive.
Sometimes lights for the kitch-
en-, and even the dining table,
were made by dipping a piece of
cloth cut into a string into an
earthern vessel with a kind of
small lip to it, where the end of
the thread-made wick rested,
the vessel being filled with lard,
or some kind of oil, and setting
the lip end on fire. It made a
dim, poor light, but better than
none. Then we had the home
made tallow candles, which were
made four to six at a time by
pouring melted tallow into tin
molds, into which had been
placed threads for wicks, con-
nected together atthe top by a
small rod of wood, the points of
the wicks having been carefully
drawn through the small holes
at the ends tapered to a point in
the shape of the ordinary candle
you now see. After the molds
had stood till the candles were
thoroughly hard, by a little warm
ing up, they could be readily lif-
ted out, looking slick and geeasy.
This candle made a very fair
light, and such as | have read by
often. But in the winter time the
Punitive light was the pine knot
blazing on the broad hearth. In
the early days the pine knots ly-
ing on the pine hills seemed to
be common property, and he who
wished went and hauled for fam
lily use.
In the early forties wheat was
cut with a reap hook, being a
crooked blade instrument, with
rough edge, sharpened with a
rough or coarse rock, and the
handle of the hook was about
ten inches long, and the cutting
was done with one hand, while
the swath of wheat to be cut was
held with the other hand. And
as little as you may think Of it,
an expert with the hook claimed
that he would not be much be-
hind the man with the scythe.
Houses were generally built of
logs and hewn down with the
broad axe after being raised.
Sometimes the logs We're lined
and heWn on the ground, if the
party wished to make an extra
nice log house. Poplar is the best
tree with which to make this kind
of house, and in the early for
ties they were plentiful. The
floors were made Of puncheons,
being logs split the whole width
of the tree, and then dressed off
with the adze. The covering was
generally of four-feet boards,
either oak or cypress. The cabins
for the negroes were generally
in the rear of the main dwelling,
of one room each, and set in
rows. 1t wasn't safe for dar-
key to be found out from home
without a pass, and if so found,
the patrols, those self-appointed
regulators for the neighborhood,
would be very apt to give him
a regulation whipping.
| Kindness toward the slaves
in the olden time was the rule,
but occasional cases of cruelty
could be found. Slaves would
run away, as it was called,
once in awhile, and have to be
hunted by dogs. | remember one
instance in the forties when some
run away" cr1ne to our kitchen
and smokehouse one night, and
cooked and carried off enough to
do him several weeks. Some ne
groes were fierce and determined,
and would fight the dogs until
Ioverpowered, ard then generally
receive a thrashing for their re-
|'sistance. Col. Dabbs, who lived
some miles southeast Of old Rich
|mond had a pack of niger
hounds" that were extra fine,
land he claimed that il he could