Party Frontier Style

Life on the frontier was filled with hard work, danger and troubles, and many thought that there was little fun to be had, but the pioneers found more pleasure in everyday pursuits and enjoyed sports more than anyone realized.  Few settlers were cut off from community so there were many opportunities that brought families together.

Log-rolling was one such common opportunity.  Once a woods had been cleared and prepared and the logs were cut, word went out that on a given day there would be a log rolling.  On that day, a dozen or so sturdy men with teams of oxen and horses would show up.  By chains and hand spikes the timber was pushed, rolled and dragged out of the area.  By nightfall, the field was open and ready for plowing.

Heavy work called for refreshment and the host and hostess provided an abundance of food and drink for the families who attended.  "Pot-pies" of turkey, geese, grouse, venison, or chicken, along with cornbread was the principal dishes served.  The taste for whiskey was satisfied, and on special occasions even rum was available.  Favorite brands of whiskey were Race Horse, Split Ticket and Pig and Whistle.

Autumn was corn-husking time, especially for young people.  Spring was maple sugar time. 
Weddings were important events which lasted two or three days.  During this time, a "house-building bee" was held in which a cabin was constructed for the newlyweds with the finishing touches left for the husband himself to finish. 

After a long day of log-rolling or cabin building, the young enjoyed foot races, wrestling matches, shooting matches and such skill contests.  If a fiddler was present, the day ended with a "hoe-down" - a dance that made the cabin walls shake.  Dancing accompanied most social gatherings.

Whether social gatherings or in river taverns, pioneer men often succumbed to drink that left them in happy forgetfulness of the hard work and hardships of frontier life.  House raisings and weddings very often became marked by drunken fighting and quarreling, many times ending in bloody brawls. 
The frontier wasn't easy and the pioneer family worked hard, played hard and drank hard.  It's how they coped and survived.

Next time...Religion in the Wilderness
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Today in Pioneer History:  "On April 23, 1859,  William Byers distributes the first newspaper in the frontier boomtown of Denver, Colorado,  The Pioneer, beating the Cherry Creek Pioneer by 20 minutes.