■Rural School Leaflet. 939 



to lock the door the string was pulled in. The hospitable expression, 

 " the latch is out " originated at this time. 



The beds in the house were fastened to the wall, and on the outside 

 edge had two strong posts to support them. In the daytime, these 

 were hooked to the side of the wall . The beds were not as soft as they 

 are now and many people had only hemlock boughs on which to sleep. 

 The few nails they had were very expensive and when people moved, 

 they sometimes burned the houses in order to get the nails. This did 

 not promote house-building, so the government of Virginia gave to the 

 owner of the house, if he left it standing, as many nails as he was sup- 

 posed to have used in building. Oiled paper was used for the windows 

 for it was a long time before glass could be had. 



We often hear of the great fireplaces in those early homes. The logs 

 burned were so large that often horses were used to draw them into the 

 house and always a sled was kept for this purpose. The fireplace had a 

 great chimney of stone, on which rested a " lug pole " or back bar. This 

 was of green wood first but afterwards of iron, for the wood finally dried 

 and often fell, emptying the kettles into the fire. On the lug pole hung 

 iron hooks called pot hooks and kettles in which was cooked the family 

 dinner. These kettles were larger and more valuable than those of our 

 day and lasted longer. The Indians had huge brass kettles which were 

 considered so highly that they often had them buried with them. When 

 a roast of beef or a fowl hung in the fireplace it was necessary to be basted 

 the same as now when it is placed in the oven. So they hung it by a 

 strong hempen string from the ceiling while someone occasionally turned 

 the roast around. Of course, if there was a child in the family, he was 

 selected for this task. Usually a good twist was given to the rope and 

 it was left to untwist and twist again and so on until it stopped, when 

 someone gave it another twist. From these early days the fireplace has 

 been a source of comfort. Poets have given us beautiful verses about 

 the fireplace, but perhaps no one any better than Whittier in Snowbound: 



" We piled with care our nightly stack 

 Of wood against the chimney back — 

 The oaken log, green, huge and thick, 

 And on its top the stout back-stick; 

 The knotty fore-stick laid apart. 

 And filled between with curious art 

 The ragged brush ; then hovering near. 

 We watched the first red blaze appear, 

 We heard the sharp crackle, caught the gleam 

 On whitewashed wall and sagging beam. 

 Until the old, rude-furnished room 

 Burst, flower-like, into rosy bloom." 



Read the rest of Snowbound to get the poet's idea of the great fireplace. 



