Medical practices throughout the frontier were primitive, to say the least, and the West Branch Valley was no exception. A diary of a minister in the Susquehanna Valley around Lancaster provides specific examples of the purges, blood-letting, and herb concoctions which the frontier settler endured in order to survive.[53] In spite of the liberal use of spirited stimulants, ailing frontiersmen often suffered violent reactions both from their illnesses and their cures. Although the Fair Play settlers of the West Branch Valley doubtless had their own mythology and folklore, most of it was passed on by word of mouth; as a result, little of record remains. The Revolutionary pension claims are filled with tales of the courage and patriotism of the stouthearted men and women of this frontier. A frequent claim is that the measures taken to defend Fort Augusta, after the Great Runaway, urged by Fair Play settlers who had fled to that point, saved the frontier and made independence a reality. Perhaps the best-known story is that of the "independence elm" on Pine Creek. However, as a recent writer suggests, the story of the "Pine Creek Declaration" may refer merely to the reading of a copy of the national declaration rather than to a separate document drawn up by the inhabitants of this frontier.[54] Mrs. Hamilton's testimony to the event notwithstanding, no copy of the declaration has ever been found. Another tale concerns the frequent reference to the upper Pine Creek area as "Beulah Land."[55] It seems that a circuit rider singing hymns approached a camp up Pine Creek in the Black Forest. Later, asked to sing, he offered the familiar "Beulah Land." Still later, he met with an accident between Blackwell and Cammal resulting in his death. The entertained were his mourners. Subsequently, they kept his name alive by singing the old hymn to such an extent that the name "Beulah Land" became attached to this region on Pine Creek. Frontier life afforded little leisure time so that recreation was generally economically oriented or related to some household task. In addition, wrestling, foot-racing, jumping, throwing the tomahawk, and shooting at marks were popular sports.[56] But drinking was probably the most common frontier recreation. It has been said that the Scotch-Irish made more whiskey and drank more of it than any other group.[57] Everyone drank it, even the ministers. In fact, the tavern preceded the church as a social center in the West Branch Valley.[58] Moderation, however, was the rule; excessive drinking was frowned upon.[59]