112 



RURAL ARTS IN THE VALLEY OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 



Stone or brick chimneys take the place of 

 mud and staves ; the happy proprietor treats 

 liimself to two, three or four apartments, 

 and to an area or open space through the 

 centre, with doors opening into the apart- 

 ments on the right and left, and perhaps lie 

 allows the roof to extend over one or both the 

 sides, furnishing the luxury of external um- 

 brage or a " gallery." He now begins to 

 regret that, at the commencement of his 

 " improvement," he had not left here and 

 there a tree for shade or ornament. But as 

 he had injudiciously caused every vestige o^ 

 the primitive forest to disappear from the 

 immediate vicinity of his door, he now be- 

 gins to transplant trees. He encloses a yard 

 and garden plat with a new fence of palings 

 split from oak of the straightest grain, trans- 

 fers to the borders a few plants of the Wild 

 Rose, the Wild Gooseberry, the Buffalo 

 Berry, and the Service, all from the native 

 forest; and his rising family, rejoicing in 

 the spirit and means of improvement, look 

 smarter, brighter, prouder, and happier than 

 ever. This, with perhaps the future addi- 

 tion of a wing, is often the height of improve- 

 ment, in respect to the dwelling house, even 

 among the prosperous, for a generation or 

 more. In the vicinity of cities and towns, 

 however,the old log house often becomes the 

 frame of a new and more ornamental re- 

 sidence, as happened to be the case, in part, 

 with Gen. Harrison's house at North Bend, 

 and as is the case with many of the existing 

 old French dwellings of St. Louis. 



The earliest settlers of Missouri and Illi- 

 nois were French. The love of country 

 life is not general among the French ; no 

 race of people being more social and grega- 

 rious than the\^ They settled here in small 

 villages, and their style of building, as well 

 as other habits, were peculiar, and still ad- 

 here to most of their descendants now re- 

 maining. They gave some little attention 



to gardening and the cultivation of fruits. 

 Scarcely any examples, however, remain, 

 and their fruits are nearly or quite extinct 

 here. Their style of building was humble, 

 but well adapted to the climate, and to vil- 

 lage sociality. Their houses were built of 

 wood, excepting a few in the neighborhood 

 of stone quarries, and generally but one 

 story high, and invariably surrounded, whol- 

 ly or partly, by verandas or piazzas. Near- 

 ly all the houses now standing in the older 

 towns, such as Cahokia, Vide Poche, &c., 

 are of this description, and they have exhi- 

 bited scarcely a sign of improvement in a 

 century. Their piazzas, affording an agree- 

 able protection from the hot sun of this cli- 

 mate, were favorable to the social as well 

 as indolent habits of the villagers, and could 

 they speak, would no doubt tell us of many 

 mirthful and hospitable scenes. The ac- 

 counts of the pursuits and domestic manners 

 of these French pioneers are interesting, 

 but I have no place for them here. They 

 were traders, voyageurs and trappers. 



In respect to Horticulture, the people 

 of the West have but little to boast of with 

 reference to the style with which that art is 

 prosecuted ; but as to abundance, variety, 

 and magnitude of product, they will com- 

 pare notes with any other people with plea- 

 sure and confidence. What you teach as the 

 " Art of Gardening," is generally known in 

 the West by the singular synonym of " tend- 

 ing a truck patch." This we all understand, 

 and the main effect studied is the daily plen- 

 tiful supply of " garden truck " in the kitchen 

 pot. There are some exceptions, even west 

 of the Mississippi. The field crop, however, 

 is the main reliance, and receives the most 

 attention ; and I have known instances of 

 very good farms being destitute of any sort 

 of garden whatever. Generally, weeds and 

 vegetables teem from the fertile soil in as- 

 tonishing luxuriance, wherever gardens 



