Abraham Lincoln: The True Story of a Great Life, Volume 1 (of 2) — John Shaqi
Abraham Lincoln: The True Story of a Great Life, Volume 1 (of 2)Herndon, William Henry
History
Abraham Lincoln: The True Story of a Great Life, Volume 1 (of 2)
Herndon, William Henry
Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865
The old men starting from the fields and out of the woods would carry
their guns on their shoulders and go also. They dressed in deer-skin
pants, moccasins, and coarse hunting shirts--the latter usually fastened
with a rope or leather strap. Arriving at the house where services were
to be held they would recite to each other thrilling stories of their
hunting exploits, and smoke their pipes with the old ladies. They were
treated, and treated each other, with the utmost kindness. A bottle of
liquor, a pitcher of water, sugar, and glasses were set out for them;
also a basket of apples or turnips, with, now and then, a pie or cakes.
Thus they regaled themselves till the preacher found himself in a
condition to begin. The latter, having also partaken freely of the
refreshments provided, would "take his stand, draw his coat, open
his shirt collar, read his text, and preach and pound till the sweat,
produced alike by his exertions and the exhilarating effects of the
toddy, rolled from his face in great drops. Shaking hands and singing
ended the service."
The houses were scattered far apart, but the people travelled great
distances to participate in the frolic and coarse fun of a log-rolling
and sometimes a wedding. Unless in mid-winter the young ladies carried
their shoes in their hands, and only put them on when the scene of
the festivities was reached. The ladies of maturer years drank whiskey
toddy, while the men took the whiskey straight. They all danced merrily,
many of them barefooted, to the tune of a cracked fiddle the night
through. We can imagine the gleeful and more hilarious swaggering home
at daybreak to the tune of Dennis Hanks' festive lines:
"Hail Columbia, happy land,
If you ain't drunk then I'll be damned."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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