Page Preface 11 Introduction 12 Cares 13 Occupations 14 Eighty Years Ago 15 Sixty Years Ago 17 Traveling in Illinois 20 Names of the Early Settlers 21 Going Back 22 The Drill 24 No Divorce 26 Billy and the Wolves 28 Disadvantages 29 The Bear Chase 31 The Wolf Chase 33 The Coon 36 The Beauties of Nature 38 Men’s or Women’s Work 40 Pioneers Making Lumber 41 Hunting Day 42 Peter Huffman 44 Deer Driving 46 Pioneer Boy 47 The Third Boy 48 Where Pana Stands 49 The Snake 50 The Wild Cats 51 The Winters 52 How the Pioneers Made Meal 53 Our Native State 54 Pioneer Work 55 Morals 57 The Changes 58 The School in the Cabin 60 Shelbyville in Early Days 62 Wild Animals 63 The Muley Steer 64 Chimney Construction 66 Where Things Grow 67 Hospitality 68 Religion 69 Making Hay 70 The Deer on the Ice 71 Ben Overton 73 The Spelling Match 74 The Prices 76 The Eggs 77 Good Friends 78 Love 79 When I and Betsey Married 80 Discontent 82 Three Powers 84 The Effect of Influence 86 Jesus Cares for Me 88 Greed for Wealth 89 Christ will Wipe 91 The Family Altar 93 Self Sacrifice 94 Party Prejudice 96 Intemperance 98 A Sad Sight 101 The Bright Side 103 Good-Bye 104 Cares. IN early days we had a great deal of hard work to clear the land and then to make and keep up the rail fences; and it took four times the work to raise a corn crop as it does now; and it took four times the work to cut the firewood as it does now; and it took so much work to prepare the material and make the clothing. So the pioneers had to keep pretty busy; and when the corn was in roasting-ear we had to watch it pretty closely for the squirrels in the day-time, and the coons in the night would destroy a great deal of it, and later on if it was not gathered early the deer and the turkeys and prairie-chickens would eat it up. Occupations.