Pen Pictures, of Eventful Scenes and Struggles of Life

by B. F. Craig

  SCENE THIRD--THE SEPARATED SISTERS.

  ```On the stream of human nature’s blood,

  ````Are ups and downs in every shape and form,

  ```Some sail gently on a rising flood,

  ````And some are wrecked in a tearful storm.=

  |Tom Fairfield was descended from one of the best families in Virginia.Yet he was animated by what we may call a _restless spirit_. He ran awayfrom home at twelve years of age, and came to Kentucky with a familyof emigrants, who settled near Boone Station, in 1791. Kentucky, untilafter Wayne’s treaty, in 1795, was continually exposed to incursionsfrom the Indians; yet, before Tom’s day of manhood, the bloody contestbetween the white and the red men had terminated on the virgin soil ofthe new-born State--Kentucky was admitted into the Union in 1792. Yetthe heroic struggles with the Indians by the early settlers were freshin the memories of all. Prior to the settlement of Kentucky by whitemen, the Southern and Northwestern tribes of Indians were in the habitof hunting here as upon neutral ground. No wigwam had been erected,but it was claimed by all as a hunting ground. The frequent and fierceconflicts that occurred upon the meeting of the Indian tribes, togetherwith conflicts with white men, caused the Indians first to call Kentucky“_The dark and bloody ground_.” At no point on the American Continenthad the hatred between the two races risen to a higher point. Longafter the peace between England and America, and the close of the warof American Independence, the conflict between the white and red men inKentucky was a war of extermination. The quiet cabin of the white manwas frequently entered, under cover of night, by some roving band ofIndians, and women and children tomahawked in cold blood. White men whentaken by them, whether in the field at work, or behind a tree, watchingtheir opportunity to shoot an Indian, were taken off to their townsin Ohio and burned at the stake, or tortured to death in a most cruelmanner. No wonder the early settler in Kentucky swore eternal vengeanceagainst the Indian who crossed his path, whether in peace or war. In aland where the white woman has cleaved the skull of the red warrior withan ax, who attempted to enter her cabin rifle in hand, from whence allbut her had fled--who shall refuse to remember the heroines of the earlysettlers, and the historic name of the _dark and bloody ground_.

  When Tom Fairfield arrived at manhood, the golden wing of peace wasspread over the new-born State, from the Cumberland Mountains to theOhio river.

  A tract of land embracing a beautiful undulating surface, with a blackand fertile soil, the forest growth of which is black walnut, cherry,honey locust, buckeye, pawpaw, sugar maple, elm, ash, hawthorn,coffee-tree and yellow poplar, entwined with grape vines of large size,which has been denominated the garden of Kentucky.

  Many of the phrases, familiar to our grandfathers, have become obsolete,such as latch-string, bee-crossing, hunting-shirt, log-rolling,hominy-block, pack-horse and pack-saddle.

  While many of their customs have been entirely forgotten, or neverknown, by the present generation, a history of some of the events of thetime cannot fail to be interesting.

  Tom had learned to read and write in Virginia, and this accomplishmentfrequently gave him employment, for many of the early settlers were gladto pay him for his assistance in this line of business, and it suitedTom to change his place of abode and character of employment. He wasindustrious, but never firm in his purpose, frequently commencing anenterprise, but always ready to abandon it in the middle.

  Socially he was a great favorite at all wedding-parties, and weddingswere of frequent occurrence about this time.

  For while Kentucky was over-run with Indians the female portion offamilies were slow to immigrate to the scene of such bloody strife,and many of the early planters were young men, who found themselvesbachelors for the want of female association. But with the influx ofpopulation now taking place, females largely predominated.

  A wedding in Kentucky at that time was a day of rejoicing, and the youngmen in hearing distance all considered themselves invited. A fine dinneror supper was always prepared; of wine they had none, but distilling_corn whisky_ was among the first industries of Kentucky, and at everywedding there was a custom called _running for the bottle_, which was ofcourse a bottle of whisky.

  The father of the bride, or some male acquaintance at the house ofthe bride--about one hour previous to the time announced for theceremony--would stand on the door-step with the bottle in his hand,ready to deliver it to the first young man that approached him. At theappointed time the young men of the neighborhood would rendezvous at apoint agreed upon, and when all were ready and the word _go_ given, therace for the bottle, on fine horses, to the number of fifteen or twenty,was amusing and highly exciting. Tom had the good fortune to be theowner of a fleet horse--to own a fine horse and saddle was ever thepride and ambition of the young Kentuckian--and he won many bottles;but the end proved that it was bad instead of good luck, for Tomsubsequently became too fond of the bottle.

  Tom was young and hopeful, far away from his kindred, and he alsomarried the daughter of an Englishman, who was not so fortunate as to bethe owner of any portion of the virgin soil, but distinguished himselfas a fine gardener, and all the inheritance Tom received with his wifewas a _cart-load of gourds_.

  You laugh, but you must remember that a few pewter plates and cob-handleknives was all that adorned the cupboards of some of our fathers, andgourds of different size made useful vessels. Coffee was not much inuse, and in the dawn of the Revolution a party of brave Americans hadthrown a ship-load of tea into the sea.

  Tom, like many of the young planters, built a cabin upon a tract ofland, under the Henderson claim, as purchased from the Cherokee Indians,which claim was subsequently set aside by the State of Virginia.

  Tom, as we have said, was of a restless disposition, and from a planterhe turned to be a boatman. Leaving his family at home in their cabin, heengaged to make a trip to Fort Washington (Cincinnati, then a village)on a keel-boat, descending the Kentucky and ascending the Ohio rivers.On this trip he first beheld the stupendous precipices on the Kentuckyriver, where the banks in many places are three hundred feet high, ofsolid limestone, and the beautiful country at he mouth of the Kentucky,on the Ohio river.

  He was absent from home three months, for prior to steam navigation, theOhio had been navigated by keel and flat-bottom boats for a quarter of acentury, and many of the old boatmen were men of dissipated habits--_badschool for Tom_. When he returned home it was too late in the seasonto raise a crop. The next winter was long and cold. Tom and his littlefamily keenly felt the grasp of poverty, and many times, in the deadhour of night, when the cold wind made the only audible sound on theoutside, the latch-string of the cabin door had been pulled in, and thefire burned down to a bed of coals, Tom and his wife sat quietly andsadly by the dim light of a tallow candle, and told the stories of theirfamilies. Tom intended at some future time to return to Virginia andclaim an inheritance, although, as he said, he was not the eldest sonof his father, and by the laws of Virginia the eldest son is entitled toall of the estate in land, which, as he said, caused him to leave home;but from other sources he hoped in the future to reap the benefit of aninheritance.

  Tom’s wife, in her turn, told the story of her ancestors in the oldcountry, and how she lived in hope of some revival of family fortune,which by the discovery of the necessary papers, would give her the meansof rising above the cold grasp of poverty, so keenly felt by them; andmany times through the long nights of winter, in that secret chamberwhere no intruder comes, Tom and his wife, whom he always called by theendearing name of _mother_, with a heart-felt desire to honor his infantchildren, had many long and interesting interviews upon the subject ofthe _ups_ and _downs_ of family fortune.

  The joyous days of spring dawned upon the little household, and with itnew ideas in the mind of Tom Fairfield; it was to become a _preacher_;why not? He could read--and must according to the philosophy of thepeople understand the Scriptures. Whatever may have been the delinquencyof the early settlers in Kentucky, they were devotedly a religiouspeople.
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  Ministers of the gospel were not required to study Theology; to be ableto _read_ was the only accomplishment, except the _call_; it was thoughtindispensable that a _preacher_ should have _a divine call_.

  Whatever may be said of ignorant worship, many of the early _preachers_in Kentucky were men of sterling piety, and did much to elevate andimprove the rude society of the backwoodsmen. What they lacked inlearning they made up in earnestness and a strict devotion to the_Masters cause_; what they lacked in eloquence they made up in force.Some extracts from the sermons of these old men have been preserved. Iquote from one handed me by a friend:

  “As Mo-ses lif-ted up the ser-pent in the wil-der-ness--ah! e-v-e-n somust the Son of M-a-n be lif-ted up--ah! That who so-e-v-e-r lookup-on him--ah! m-a-y not p-e-r-i-s-h--ah! but h-a-ve e-v-e-r-l-a-stingl-i-f-e--ah!”

  Notwithstanding this halting delivery, these old men laid the foundationof the refined and elegant society now enjoyed in Kentucky.

  Tom Fairfield wished to improve his fortune and position in society--payfor preaching was small--but the many little needs of a familyfrequently fell to the lot of a preacher’s wife. With this object inview, and waiting for the _call_, Tom and his wife attended all themeetings. A _wonderful phenomenon_ occurred about this time, that upsetall of Tom’s calculations--it was called the _jerks_. It was principallyconfined to the females--but men sometimes were victims of it.

  During the church service, and generally about the time the preacher’searnestness had warmed the congregation, the _jerks_ would set in. Someone in the congregation would commence throwing the head and upper partof the body backward and forward, the motion would gradually increase,assuming a spasmodic appearance, until all discretion would leave theperson attacked, and they would continue to _jerk_ regardless of allmodesty, until they _jerked_ themselves upon the floor.

  Tom and his wife one day attended the meeting of a _sect_, then calledthe “_New Lights._” During the service Tom’s wife was attacked withthe _jerks_; the motion slow at first became very rapid, her combs flewamong the congregation, and her long black hair cracked like a wagonwhip. Tom was very much frightened, but with the assistance of somefriends the poor woman was taken home, and soon became quiet. Tom neverattended meeting again.

  The old adage that _bad luck_ never comes single-handed, was now settingin with Tom. Soon after this event, Tom returned from his labor onecold, wet evening. _Mother_, as he always called his wife, was very dulland stupid. Tom had attended to all the duties of the little household,pulled in the latch-string of the cabin door, covered the coals on thehearth with ashes--as the old people used to say, to keep the _seed_ offire.

  In the morning when he awakened, his faithful wife, dear mother, as hecalled her, was by his side, _cold and dead_.

  With three little daughters in the cabin and nothing else in the wideworld, for the title to his land had been set aside. Disheartened withhis misfortunes, Tom, with his little daughters, moved to the Ohioriver.

  Port William was the name given to the first settlement ever made at themouth of the Kentucky river.

  Seventy miles above Louisville the Kentucky mingles its water with theOhio river, the land on the east side of the Kentucky and on the southside of the Ohio, narrows into a sharp point--the water is deep up tothe shore. When navigation first commenced this point was the keel-boatlanding, and subsequently the steamboat landing.

  Here, Dave Deminish kept a saloon, (then called a grocery). One roomsixteen feet square, filled with _cheap John merchandise_, the principalarticle for sale was _corn whisky_, distilled in the upper counties,and shipped to Port William on keel boats,--this article was afterwardscalled _old Bourbon_.

  Port William was blessed with the O!-be-joyful. Redhead Sam Sims run awhisky shop in connection with, his tavern, but the point, or landingwas the great place of attraction, here idle boatmen were always readyto entertain idle citizens. Old Brother Demitt owned large tracts ofland, and a number of slaves, and of course he was a leader in society,why not? he was a member of the church if he did stand on the streetcorners, tell low anecdotes, and drink whisky all-day-long. And old ArchWheataker owned slaves to work for him, and he, of course, could ridehis old ball-face sorrel horse to Port William, drink whisky all day andrun old Ball home at night. Late in December one dark night, the Angelof observation was looking into the room of Dave Deminish. A tall manwith silver gray hair was pleading with Dave for one more dram. Theystood by the counter alone, and it was late, the customers had all gonesave Tom Fairfield. Tom offered to pledge his coat as a guarantee forpayment, Dave was anxious to close the store (as he called it), and hesaid mildly as he laid his hand softly on Tom’s shoulder, “Keep yourcoat on, Tom,” and handing him a glass of spoiled beer, affectedfriendship. In attempting to drink the beer Tom _heaved_. Dave wasinsulted, and kicked him out, and closed the door. On reeling feet,alone, and in the dark, Tom departed. In the middle of the nightcommenced a wonderful snow storm, and the dawn of morning found theearth covered with a white mantle twenty-four inches deep.

  The ever diligent eye of the Angel of observation was peering into thecabin of Tom Fairfield, two miles distant from the _Point_, and one milenorth of Brother Demitts. Roxie, the eldest daughter, found a few sticksof wood, which happened to be in doors, made up a little fire and wascooking some corn cakes. Rose had covered Suza with a tattered blanket,and was rocking her in a trough. The cold wind upon the outside carriedaway the inaudible murmurs of the little sisters.

  At one o’clock in the evening the little fire had burned out. Rose wasstill engaged with the baby, and Roxie passed the time between childishconversations with Rose about the deep snow, and their absent father,who she said would get the snow out of his way and come, home aftera while, then peeping out the crack of the door to watch for some onepassing. Old Father Tearful had passed the cabin, his face and headwrapped up with a strap of sheepskin to ward-off the cold, and he didnot hear the cries of Roxie Fairfield. One hour later Suza was cryingpiteously and shivering with the cold.

  Roxie said firmly to Rose, you pet and coax the poor; thing and I willgo to Aunt-Katy’s and get some one to come and, and get us some wood,making a great effort to conceal a half suppressed sob; and a startingtear. Then patting’ Rose on the head with her little hand saidcoaxingly, “Be good to-to-the baby, and I’ll soon be back.” Leaving bothlittle sisters in tears, and pulling her little bonnet close ‘round herears, she left the cabin, and struggled bravely through the deep snow;fortunately when she gained the track of Father Tearful’s horse she hadless difficulty. The old man was riding a Conestoga horse whose feet andlegs, from their large size, made quite an opening in the snow.

  The Angel eye of observation peering into the east room of BrotherDemitt’s house, (he lived in a double cabin of hewn logs,) saw Aunt Katysitting on one corner of the hearth-stone, busily plying her fingersupon a half finished stocking; upon the other corner lay a largedog; stretched at full length; half way between the two sat the oldhouse-cat, eying the mastiff and the mistress, and ready to retreat fromthe first invader. The hickory logs in the fire-place were wrapping eachother with the red flames of heat, and the cold wind rushing ‘round thecorner of the-house was the only sound that disturbed the stillness ofthe hour.

  With a sudden push the door swung upon its hinges, and Roxie Fairfield,shivering with the cold, appeared upon the stage. Aunt Katy threw herhead back, and looking under her specs, straight down her nose at thelittle intruder, said, in a voice half mingled with astonishment,“Roxie Fairfield, where in the name of heaven did you come from?” Roxie,nothing abashed by the question, replied in a plaintive tone, “Daddydidn’t come home all night nor all day--and--and we’re ‘fraid’thebaby’ll freeze.” The simple narrative of the child told Aunt Katy the_whole story_. She knew Tom Fairfield, and although a drunkard, he wouldnot thus desert his children. “Come to the fire, child,” said Aunt Katyin a milder tone, and as she turned to the back door she said, mentally,“_dead, and covered with snow_.” She continued,
“Joe, I say, Joe, getold Ned and hitch him to the wood slide, and go after the Fairfieldchildren--_quick_--call Dick to help hitch up.” Dick was an old negrowho had the gout so bad in his left foot that he could not wear a shoe,and that foot wrapped up in a saddle blanket, made an impression in thesnow about the size of an elephant’s track.

  Roxie made a start to return as she came, and while Aunt Katy wascoaxing and persuading her to wait for the slide, Joe, a colored boy,and old Ned were gotten ready for the venture. Dick, by Aunt Katy’sdirections, had thrown a straw bed upon the slide, and bearing hisweight upon his right foot, he caught Roxie by the arms and carefullyplaced her upon it.

  Joe, as he held the rope-reins in one hand and a long switch in theother, turned his eyes upon the face of the little heroine, all mingledwith doubt and fear, saying in a harsh tone, “keep yourself in themiddle of the slide, puss, for I’m gwine to drive like litenin’.”

  Aunt Katy stood in the cold door gazing at the running horse and slideuntil they were out of sight, and then turning to Dick who, standing bythe chimney, was holding his left foot close to the coals, said, “TomFairfield is dead and under the snow, poor soul! and them children willhave to be raised, and I’ll bet the nittin’ of five pair of stockinsthat old Demitt will try to poke one of ‘em on me.”

  Joe soon returned with the precious charge. He had Suza, the baby, inher rocking trough, well wrapped up in the old blanket and placed inthe middle of the slide, with Roxie seated on one side and Rose on theother. The slide had no shafts by which the old horse could hold itback; it was Dick’s office to hold back with a rope when drawing wood,but he was too slow for this trip, and Joe’s long switch served to keepold Ned ahead of the slide when traveling down hill.

  A large fire and a warm room, with Aunt Katy’s pacifying tones ofvoice, soon made the little sisters comparatively happy; she promisedthem that daddy would soon return.

  The news soon spread through the neighborhood, and every one who knewTom Fairfield solemnly testified that he would not desert his children;the irresistible conclusion was that while intoxicated he was frozen,and that he lay dead under the snow.

  A council of the settlers, (for all were considered neighbors for tenmiles ‘round,) was called, over which Brother Demitt presided. AuntKaty, as the nearest neighbor and first benefactress, claimed thepreemption right to the first choice, which was of course granted.Roxie, the eldest, was large enough to perform some service in a family,and Rose would soon be; Suza, the baby, was the trouble. Aunt Katywas called upon to take her choice before other preliminaries could besettled.

  Suza, the baby, with her bright little eyes, red cheeks and proudefforts, to stand alone, had won Aunt Katy’s affections, and she,without any persuasion on the part of old Demitt, emphatically declaredthat Suza should never leave her house until she left it as a freewoman.

  Mrs. Evaline Estep and Aunt Fillis Foster were the contending candidatesfor Rose and Roxie.

  Brother Demitt decided that Aunt Fillis should take Roxie, and Mrs.Estep should be foster mother to Rose, with all the effects left in theFairfield cabin.

  These ladies lived four miles from the Demitt house, in differentdirections. With much persuasion and kind treatment they bundled up theprecious little charges and departed.

  While the Angel of sorrow hovered round the little hearts of thedeparted sisters.