274 The Winning of the West 



to combine. Huskings and house-raisings were 

 times when all joined freely to work for the man 

 whose corn was to be shucked or whose log cabin 

 was to be built, and ttirned their labor into a frolic 

 and merry-making, where the men drank much 

 whiskey and the young people danced vigorously 

 to the sound of the fiddle. Such merry-makings 

 were attended from far and near, offering a most 

 welcome break to the dreariness of life on the lonely 

 clearings in the midst of the forest. Ordinarily the 

 frontiersman at his home only drank milk or water; 

 but at the taverns and social gatherings there was 

 much drunkenness, for the men craved whiskey, 

 drinking the fiery liquor in huge draughts. Often 

 the orgies ended with brutal brawls. To outsiders 

 the craving of the backwoodsman for whiskey was 

 one of his least attractive traits. 38 It must always 

 be remembered, however, that even the most friendly 

 outsider is apt to apply to others his own standards 

 in matters of judgment. The average traveler over- 

 stated the drunkenness of the backwoodsman, ex- 

 actly as he overstated his misery. 



The frontiersman was very poor. He worked 

 hard and lived roughly, and he and his family had 

 little beyond coarse food, coarse clothing, and a rude 

 shelter. In the severe winters they suffered both 

 from cold and hunger. In the summers there was 

 sickness everywhere, fevers of various kinds scourg- 

 ing all the new settlements. The difficulty of com- 

 munication was so great that it took three months 



38 Perrin Du Lac, p. 131 ; Michaux, 95, etc. 



