142 The Winning of the West 



thither on horseback behind her father, and after 

 the service her pillion was shifted to the bride- 

 groom's steed. 37 If, as generally happened, there 

 was no church, the groom and his friends, all armed, 

 rode to the house of the bride's father, plenty of 

 whiskey being drunk, and the men racing recklessly 

 along the narrow bridle-paths, for there were few 

 roads or wheeled vehicles in the backwoods. At 

 the bride's house the ceremony was performed, and 

 then a huge dinner was eaten; after which the fid- 

 dling and dancing began, and were continued all the 

 afternoon, and most of the night as well. A party 

 of girls stole off the bride and put her to bed in the 

 loft above; and a party of young men then per- 

 formed the like service for the groom. The fun 

 was hearty and coarse, and the toasts always in- 

 cluded one to the young couple, with the wish that 

 they might have many big children; for as long as 

 they could remember the backwoodsmen had lived 

 at war, while looking ahead they saw no chance of 

 its ever stopping, and so each son was regarded as 

 a future warrior, a help to the whole community. 38 

 The neighbors all joined again in chopping and roll- 

 ing the logs for the young couple's future house, 

 then in raising the house itself, and finally in feast- 

 ing and dancing at the house-warming. 



Funerals were simple, the dead body being carried 

 to the grave in a coffin slung on poles and borne by 

 four men. 



There was not much schooling, and few boys or 

 31 Watson. Doddridge. 



