Bogalusa enterprise. [volume] (Bogalusa, La.) 1914-1918, 1915-05-13
HOW WE DID
DURING THE WAR
By MRS. C. GR!FFING WILCOX

The troublous days Of the Civil
War, have become only a memory,
but the lessons Of econotmy and
self-denial then learned, can never
be forgotten by those suffered and
endured
Possibly it may be OF interest to
learn something along the line of
substitutes and make shifts which
we had recourse to, during those
strenuous days.
For coffee, we tried many different
substitutes; first, among these were
Okra Seed, which when thoroughly
dried, were parched to golden
brown and ground, glazed with the
white of an egg, then prepared as
real coffee is usually made, either by
dripping Or boiling; this substitute
for coffee was found to be a DELICIOUS
beverage, when served with rich
sweet cream.
For sWee+ potato coffee, the pota-
toes were peeled, cut in diced shaped
pieces, dried in the sum- then parch-
ed to dark brown, ground, and
prepared as the okra coffee. Hominy
coffee was made in this wise:
the hominy was carefully Drowned,
brushed with the white of an egg,
and made ordinary coffee. OF course
it was impossible to procure either
green or black tea during the war;
in lieu Of these drinks, we made
teas of different herbs, as sage, mint,
and balm, also the leaves and bark
OF the sassafras tree; we found all
of these made healthful and pleasant
beverages. For flour, sugar, salt
and soda, we were also Obliged to
find substitutes with which we man
aged very we'll.
For flour we substituted corn-meal
dust, this We obtained by placing a
convenient quantity of plain corn
meal in a cloth of moderate thick
ness, and then striking it against the
inside OF some large vessel. The
dust thus procured made the most .
delicious pound-cake, sponge cake, |
mullins and griddle cakes that could
be imagined. For sugar we used
sorghum molasseS, and honey. The
former was homemade, and is very
palatable when properly prepared;
the latter was found in vast quanti-
ties, in a wild state, in the forests
surrounding our plantation, many
hollow trees containing gallons Of the
rich golden syrup. The honey comb
was gathered, after feeling the trees;
the liquid pressed from this waxen
comb, was strained, and set away
in vessels covered with a thin cloth
only, in order that it might turn to
sugar: this sugar we used in our home
made coffee and tea, and in every
way that ordinary sugar is used
There was no substitute for salt,
of course; so we over-hauled the
smoke house and cellar securing all
the rock salt that could be found in
pork-barrels and mackerel kits, this
we washed, dried, and pounded as
fine as possible.
When this supply was exhausted,
we had the dirt floor of the smoke
house dug up to a depth of a foot or
more, this salty earth was washed,
and the water placed in large shallow
troughs and and allowed to evapoE-
ate
For our Xmas and New Years
dinners we really needed no substi-
tutes, as we had everything that was
actually necessary to make feast
fit for a king, We had roast turkey,
baked pig, chicken salad, sausage
and "souse" in the way of meats.
The turkey was not stuffed with
oysters as of wore, but was equally
as palatable dressed with a stuffine
made of bread crumbs, hard-boiled
e6os hufter Sada and m0dicum