one of his stories tells of the attitude of the times concerning
drinking of whiskey, a practice not held in disrepute then, as it later
came to be, unless the drinker abused this privilege.
Most general stores kept a barrel of whiskey in the back room for
everyone's convenience. The barrel was cradled on its side in the
manner molasses was kept so that drawing a quantity was the simple act
of turning the spiggot.
An old gentleman who had once been a fine school teacher got in the
habit of imbibing too freely and had became something of a problem for
the townspeople. Mr. Lloyd's store was in the center of Wheelock. On one
occasion "old man" Crittenden came to the store and told Mr. Lloyd he
had a cold and wished to get a dose of caster oil. The storekeeper
poured out several ounces into a glass. Mr. Crittenden took the glass
and remarked that he thought he would get a drop of whiskey to kill the
taste of the oil. He disappeared into the gloom of the backroom, drew
his drink carefully, drained it off down to the oil and set the glass,
still containing his dose of medicine, down on top of the whiskey
barrel.
The day grew warmer and Mr. Lloyd realized he needed a drink. Going into
the dark warehouse room he took the glass off the top of the barrel and
drew himself a good mount of whiskey, draining it off in one draught.
The oil having got warm was on top of the drink and Mr. Lloyd was not
only physicked(sic)..but very angry!
xxx
Freighting business was one of the hardest and most perilous of the
times. Henry Caufield knew it well from every angle and told of some of
the hardships endured by freighters. Finished lumber and most store
stocks had to be brought overland from Galveston, Houston, and
Huntsville. Cotton was hauled to Galveston. Ox or mule teams were used.
The time of year decided how many yokes were needed for the drive.
As blacksmith shops were few and the country sparsely settled, each
teamster had to carry on his wagon a set of emergency tools. This
included the chopping axe, standard size augers, drawing knives, hammer,
and saws. These were used to replace broken ox-bows, wagon tongues,
coupling poles, axles, wagon bolsters and standards...and occasionnlly a
temporary set of spokes and felloes for his wagon wheels when a
breakdown occurred. For these temporary repairs green lumber was used
and had to be replaced once he teamster had come to a populated area.
Under each wagon, suspended by a rawhide bail to the far end of the
coupling pole, hung the bucket of tar used as lubricant in place of axle
grease. A great loss of time was occassioned when continuous rains had
mired the prairie trails into sloggy ruts from which the heavily loaded
wagons could not extricate themselves without unloadings and reloadings
done by the weary teamster and his helper. Many times the progress was
so slow that the man could return to the campsite of the previous night
for coals to start is fire at the new camp. There were no matches to be
had in the new territory and flint and steel were carried to kindle
fires with a fungus (from some tree) called punk or spunk.
Freighters generally tied a lead pony to their wagon, staked it out at
night and used it to round up the oxen the next morning. Oxen were
belled and hobbled out at night to graze wearing what was called a
necking stick. The hobbles were made of rawhide. During the daytime the
bells' clappers were covered or tied to silence them during working
hours.
Henry Caufield stated that cattle usually grouped themselves with their
heads turned toward the wind and rain while horses turned their tails to
wind and rain. This habit facilitated searchers in finding their stock
in the dark of dawn in bad weather. Old experienced oxen grew smart to
the ways of men and often would graze the first part of the night and as
dawn greyed the sky would lie down in a gulley or wash in the prairie,
--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The most beautiful things in the world cannot be
seen or touched. It must be felt with the heart.
Helen Keller
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wishes, Wants, and Dreams....a few poetic illusions
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Parthenon/7068
ICQ# 1280761
For Links to all my Sites
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Parthenon/7068/mylinks.htm
...It is in silence where music lies...
Yanni
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
One ought, everyday, to hear a song, read a fine poem,
and, if possible, to speak a few reasonable words.
Goethe
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~