Year: 1874

| MOUNTAIN LIFE


Sample of a Scott COunty-Tennessee
| Home.


Correspondence of the Cincinnati Commercial


1t was after dark when we halted
our weary steeds in front of the
home of Moses Lay, near the foot of
the mountains, having accomplished
fifteen miles of rough road.


The appearance of things at Mr..
Lays was not progressing. Like a
true native of Scott county, he lvied
in log cabin of one room, without
windows and with in different doors.
In cabin live a family of eight
parents and six children. Three of
the children are pretty well grown,
and taken all in all it is a good sized
family to spend their existence in
one room.


Upon applying for permission to
remain for the night, Mr.. Lay told
us he never turned off a man in his
life, and that he could stay, but that
he had no place for the horses. "My
mare is SICK" he said, "and takes up
all the stable room"


1t being an unknown distance to
the next house, the night dark and
threatening, we determined to camp
with him. Happily his wife thought
of the "cow pens" where two COWS
were penned up. We turned the
cows out and put the horses in.


In the house matters were not
very conveniently arranged. There
was but one room. This was the
eating, sleeping and living room for
a family of eight and two travellers.
At one end of the room was a large
fire place, in front and at the cor
ners the family were huddled upon
homemade chairs and stools. Up
on the right of the fireplace was
small bin and upon the left a small
kitchen table. Under this table
were the cooking utensils, consisting
of bake-ovens and skillets. At the
back part of the room were three
small beds in row, so close togeth-
er that a person with very thin legs
could squeeze between. These and
small cupboard for dishes, were
the only furniture.


There was no candle, no lamp, nor
light, exceps that made by the fire.
Our saddles we put under the bed,
and we were given place in the
''family group" One of the chill
dren was young lady grown, fieshy,
shy and rather pretty. She busted
herself knitting by the fire light,
straining her pretty eyesoften to pick
up the stitches, but saying not a
word, except now and then sudden
CALCULATIONS addressed to a younger
brother, such as "You Tom, stir up
that fire." and Tom stirred it up.


The good woman of the house set
about getting us some supper. She
wiped out "bake-oven'' with a rag,
and hoisted it on to the fire. She
called to Martha to go and get
chips to make the fire blaze, 'for
we haden't got nary candle" The
chips came but the fire was very in
different about burning, and the
light miserable. 81 told the chill
dren to go to the woods for pine,
but they never done it, and now we
havn't gotn dry stuff to make a
blaze"


She ground some coffee and set
the pot on the Goals, she dipped some
meal into wooden bowl, poured on
some cold water, and "made bread''
from these simple ingredients. She
started to the smoke house for meat,
Tom leading the way, coal between
two sticks for light, but, as the
hour was late, we told her we did
not want any meat, and she gave us
a supper of bread, coffee, and fried
eggs. The "bread" they make in the
mountains is nothing but meal and
water we'll mixed; simply that and
nothing more. The coffee was
strong, but there was no sugar fol
it, and but a meager supply of milk.
We ate our frugal repast by the un-
certain light of the fire and prepared
for bed. "You may take that
middle bed," the good woman said,
and we rolled in, being as hasty as
possible in the performance of the
feat, lest the tickle fire would
suddenly give forth more hight than
the case demanded. The bed and
clothing were homemade, and clean
ly, warm and comfortable--much
more SO, in fact, than the surround
ings would seem to indicate.


After We were tucked away, in
our little bed, the rest of the family
retired. Some of them must have oc-
cupied crowded quarters, for heard
Martha commanded to "get furdeI
to you eend," and Tom requested
to move shat thar knee" As fOr
myself, l fell into sound sleep
being pretty well used up by the
violent exercise of the day-and al
though a savage storm arose and
shook the cabin to its foundation,
did not know it. The first sound
heard was the voice of the good wo
man of the house trying to rouse
her hopeful son Thomas. "Yor
Tommy! the chickens is a CROWN
for day!" After repeated calls o
the sort Thomas grunted aud kick
ed some of the other children, WHIT
squalled, and after a while the fam
lily were pretty much aroused
There was no clock nor timepiece il
Al.a hlnn1an - tl,.,A AI,.nEn,lr, rs,aAo g.