364 FORTY-FOUR YEARS OF 



quences than before ; and it has resulted in the almost 

 entire destruction of all the grass and game in the coun- 

 try, and the loss of many cattle, which have been driven 

 off with the foreign stock. Nobody was benefited by the 

 operation but the owners of the herded cattle, and great 

 injury has been done to the settlers in the glade country. 



The early settlers, being but few in number, had a hard 

 time to maintain themselves ; and had they not used the 

 greatest economy, they could not have lived in the wilder- 

 ness at all. But they all made their own clothes : they 

 raised flax and wool, which the women spun and wove into 

 linen and linsey for the men, and flannel for their own wear. 

 This was certainly better for females in winter, and not 

 liable to half the danger from fire that cotton is at this 

 time. 



If any man wished to hire help, the parties would have 

 an understanding as to what the wages were to be paid in. 

 Sometimes linsey, pork, beef, honey, or corn, and at others, 

 a calf, pig, sheep, deer-skin, bear-skin, coon-skin, or a 

 wolf's scalp, together with many other articles, were used 

 as substitutes for money. But if any man was so lucky 

 as to have money, the wages he paid would surely be lower ; 

 and a day's work ranged from thirty-three to fifty cents — 

 differing according to the length of the day. No differ- 

 ence, however, was made between harvesting and digging 

 potatoes. If a man wore a pair of boots, he was consi- 

 dered a gentleman ; and if a single lady had on a pair of 

 calfskin shoes, or, by chance, a pair made of morocco, she 

 wfts at once declared a belle. 



All the settlers lived in cabins, and fed their children on 

 bread, meat, butter, honey, and milk ; coffee and tea were 

 almost out of the question, being only used by a very few 

 old ladies who had been raised in other parts of the coun- 

 try. Meat was generally plenty ; for if the farmers could 

 only keep the wild animals away from their hogs, the nuts 



