Year: 1865

fashioned flaming Mlls-IHe First


Yankee Threshing Maehine-Mdr.


relcus &0r.eS about our Canal-Iq-


n0rdace Of People on Canal Affairs


Hoc one man saved his Black Wal.


nat TimJer-Erst Canal Boat-The


Boatmdn's BagLe-Big Bake Ocen,


dc.


When / was boy we bad none of
the modern improvements Of husband
ry-no threshing machines or sepa-
ra:ors as We have them now. Many
a day the boys had 10 ride the hvrses
on the threshing floor when they
should have been at school. Some
times the faa was used, at which We
boys could not keep time with our
fathers and graDdfathers. ! remem-
Der, too, we bad very imperfect and
cheap tanning mills, one of which had
a place in our barn, and was made of
two upright posts about four feet
high, framed into two short cross silIs
to keep it from falling over. At the
top was cross shaft with crank at
one end Four arms at each end were
framed into the shaft inside of the up =
right posts. To these arms were fas.
tened four fans made of tow linen, Is
inches by feet with light sticks fa--
tened to the long sides 10 keep the
fan straight. Then grandfather would
turn the crank, while father would
stand one side facing the revolving
fans with sieve filed with wheat
and chatf sitting away, while the wind
created by the fan would drive the
chatt away and the wheat would fall
at fathers feet.


The old proprietor OF Basil, one ot
the early settlers, had a still much
cheaper apparatus to clean wheat.
lie called 1t :" WdrtSchdufeL." Mention
is made of this instrument in Matthew
3, II, Luke 2, II. Soon, h,wever the
Keller tanning mills were introduced.
which was quite an improvement on
the old mode. After some time a
great Yankee threshing machine came
into our neighborhood for people to
look at. This machine, it was said.
would thresh out a sheaf of wheat
quicker than you could count three.
remember instead of having teeth
or spikes in the cylinder this one had
iron bars TO knock out the wheat
Such a threshing instrument would
not find barn room ON any of our
plantations unless to keep as a relic.
Since that time, however, important
improvements have been made in
threshing machines. 90 that the grain
is not only thrashed out of the straw
but at the same time separated from
the straw and chaff Clover-seed
threshing was always considered big
job before "clover hullers" were in
troduced. The old way of tramping
out would last for weeks, especially il
a farmer had large crop.


remember the first talk of build
ing a canal. Much ignorance and
wild speculation seized many OF the
peoples minds. Strange as it may
seem, it is nevertheless true, the very
thing which was calculated to make
and benefit our county was hooted at
as wild undertaking. Some said
this work will never be finished We
nor our children will ever see any ben
eft Of this canal, bat the people will
be overburtlened with taxes. 1t is
only y speculation Of otiicers-a scheme
to ruin the people. And many other
similar objections were brought in
Our farmers when they wonld meet
would say: "Well Jake, what do you
think Of this canal?" His neighbor
would reply: "WeIl, think we shall
be terribly (or awfulIy) taxed, and
canals do us no good"


One day when father and / were in
our bottom corn field ploughing corn,
old Mr.. S, u neighbor, came to the
fence. He and father began to talk
about this new proposed canal. "What
great foolishness /! Just think, Sebas-
tian-(my fathers name) how do
these men ever expect to dig ditch
through these bottoms along Walnut
creek that will hold water? They can
never make bank to stand" Then
he illustrated his argument by the fol-
lowing: "Now just go and take a
bucket of water'and pour it in one of
these burrows, and you will soon see
what will become of it; this ground
won't hold water. Just think Of the
cost and the tax wo will have to pay,
And then it will never be finished"
Then there was another class who said
the worst Of it was, after it was finish
ed and boats running, no farmer liv-
ing on che canal could keep pig or a
chicken, for the boatman would steal.
As for geese, it was told how boatman
would catch these, Every boats crew
would carry hook and line, and fasten
q grain Of corn on the hook, and then
throw out the line into the water and
in this way catch every goose in the
canal. Another story was, that while
the canal hands would be at work, no
butter nor milk would be safe. Even
smoke houses would be broken open
in short, farmers would be robbed Of
everything. One man said that if a
woman would have piece to weavej
and the canal hands found out when
she would have enough wove for a
shirt vr pair ofpants, they would come
and cut it out.


AS there were quite number Of
locks to be built in the neighborhood
of Basil and Baltimore, and it was
said that great deal of timber would
be used in the construction of these
locks, and that the lock-builders