128 Musings by Camp-Fire and Wayside 



the former especially desirable, which are species 

 of apples. The wild cherry was sought for a pur- 

 pose now considered off color. When the whisky 

 barrel was rolled into the cellar, enough of it was 

 drawn off to allow room for a couple of gallons of 

 wild cherries, which were religiously put through 

 the bung-hole. 



And this reminds me that I heard a Presbyterian 

 divine say that pure wines were not, properly speak- 

 ing, an intoxicating liquor. I never heard the sug- 

 gestion before, and did not believe it. He said 

 there was a chemical combination of the various 

 elements constituting the grape which neutralized 

 the alcoholic elements, and left it harmless, just as 

 prussic acid, the deadliest of poisons, is one of the 

 essential elements of a good beefsteak. But when 

 I remember the quantities of cherry-bounce drunk 

 by men of those days, who lived to their four-score, 

 some of them adding the ten to it, I have wondered 

 if there were not something in the Doctor of Divin- 

 ity's theory, which is so soothing to the conscience 

 of the wine-drinker. For the present I must hold 

 on to the old theory that "wine is a mocker." 



The best bread-food growing spontaneously is 

 the wild rice, which is superior for soups to the 

 cultivated variety. I have not enumerated all the 

 wild nuts and fruits which were so abundant in 

 the American wilderness, and which supported a 

 teeming population of animal life, and which made 

 the living of the red men so easy to obtain. There 



