And if a
fiddler could be found, the day was sure to end with a
"hoe-down"--a dance that "made even the log-walled house
tremble." No corn-husking or wedding was complete without
dancing, although members of certain of the more straitlaced
religious sects already frowned upon the diversion.
Rough conditions of living made rough men, and we need not be
surprised by the testimony of English and American travelers,
that the frontier had more than its share of boisterous fun,
rowdyism, lawlessness, and crime. The taste for whiskey was
universal, and large quantities were manufactured in rude stills,
not only for shipment down the Mississippi, but for local
consumption. Frequenters of the river-town taverns called for
their favorite brands--"Race Horse," "Moral Suasion," "Vox
Populi," "Pig and Whistle," or "Split Ticket," as the case might
be. But the average frontiersman cared little for the niceties of
color or flavor so long as his liquor was cheap and produced the
desired effect. Hard work and a monotonous diet made him
continually thirsty; and while ordinarily he drank only water and
milk at home, at the taverns and at social gatherings he often
succumbed to potations which left him in happy drunken
forgetfulness of daily hardships.
Pages:
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150