Our road led us near the river, though we seldom saw it, on account of the canes and rushes through which it flows; moreover, we kept to the heights as much as possible, for the sake of dry ground. The main course of the river is from west to east, with very good land on both banks, forming excellent winter pasture, while the hills, also running east and west, afford equally good summer pasture amongst the thick pine forests.
It was long since the road had been inspected. Large broken boughs and fallen trees lay across it, impeding our progress. According to Slowtrap, this was quite natural. He maintained that a tree never would fall any other way than across a road, if it could only reach it, just as a sweet gum tree always fell on a fence, if it stood near enough. We passed a school as we went along—one of the usual log-houses—but with a plank inserted between two of the logs to serve for a desk. The more distant scholars come on horseback, and tie up their horses to the fence during school hours. Of course they bring their dinners with them. These forest schools seldom pretend to teach more than reading, writing, and arithmetic; if they attempt geography, it is confined to that of the United States. In the swamps I once saw a teacher giving lessons in writing; some of his scholars were eighteen and twenty years old, yet could not read what they wrote, but copied the letters as we should copy hieroglyphics. It was just noon as we passed; at this hour master and scholars make it a rule to play at ball if the weather will allow, so that they may return with greater zeal to their spelling. The scholars whom we saw were nearly all grown up.
Hitherto the weather had been fine; but clouds gathered in the west, and soon turned to rain. As we were in no great hurry, and as Slowtrap said that one of his greatest friends lived about half a mile from the road, we turned to the left, and soon halted before a block-house, whose chimney smoke indicated a glorious fire within. Old Bahrens, to whom the house belonged, was not at home, but his two sons, lads fifteen and ten years of age, gave us a warm reception. We found the room occupied by three other men, who made room for us, and the fire soon restored warmth to our half-frozen limbs. Two of the strangers were talking earnestly about the races, which were shortly to be held in the neighborhood, while the third seemed to be very tired, for he was fast asleep in his chair.
As it grew later and later without any signs of supper, and there was no woman in the house, we all set to work, took maize out of the corn crib, and began to grind. But what a mill! It was above an hour before we had flour enough for a tolerable meal; we then moistened it with water, put it in a flat iron pan, covered it, and set it on the ashes to bake. Milk and smoked deer-hams formed the remainder of the spread. Having, with some difficulty, roused our sleeping companion, we commenced upon the viands, and even our sleepy friend seemed to have banished all other thoughts in his anxiety to make them disappear with the utmost possible despatch; but his last mouthful was hardly out of sight, when his eyes became for a moment fixed, the lids fell, and he was again in a deep sleep.
The whole party were rather tired, and as there were no spare beds in the house, S. and I spread our blankets; the boys gave us two more to cover us, and all five were soon peaceably extended, one beside the other, in waiting for the next day’s sun.
We were up at daybreak, and, to avoid another grind at the old mill, for which I had conceived the greatest respect, we started before breakfast. The horse, having had a good supply of food, was again saddled and bridled, the bag with salt, &c., laid across, my old comrade climbed up, I handed him his duck basket and old shooting iron, cast my blanket over my shoulder, and shaking hands with our two new acquaintances, the third being still asleep, we went off to the west for the abode of my companion. The weather had cleared up, and with light heart and light step we jogged along the well-beaten track; Bearsgrease snuffing the trails of the deer which had crossed the road in the course of the night. He stopped at every fresh trail, asking with entreating eyes for leave to follow it; but we had no notion of shooting just then, and kept straight on. As the day advanced, our stomachs began to reproach us for such unfriendly treatment, when, about 200 yards in front, we saw a gang of wild turkeys running along the road. One word of encouragement to Bearsgrease, and he seemed to fly rather than run after the long-legged turkeys, who soon finding that their legs would not save them, took to their wings, and flew heavily to the nearest trees.
As fast as I could I had followed up the dog, who had singled out a turkey-cock, and was bounding and barking round the tree in which he had taken refuge, and whence, with outstretched neck, he was turning his head first to one side then to the other, intently watching the motions of Bearsgrease; I was enabled to approach unperceived and knock him over. Meantime S. had lighted a jolly fire, and we sat rather too long over our meal, considering, or rather not considering, that we had a bad bit of road before us, and that the weather began to look threatening.
For half a mile the road led through the “mounds,”—small hills, which are very frequent in this part of Arkansas, principally on low ground. There can be no doubt but that they have been formed by the hand of man, as they are in regular rows, from twenty to forty yards apart, six or seven feet high, and about twelve feet in diameter. The one in the middle of a row is always of an oval form, while the others are round. There are sometimes from twelve to twenty rows, with from ten to twenty and twenty-five mounds in a row, all at regular distances. I have spoken with several Americans who had dug into them, in the hope of discovering treasures; but they only found broken pottery, burnt wood, and now and then a bone. They are situated in the most fertile soil of the State, and the Indians know nothing about them.
At length the swamps were behind us. We crossed a small prairie, passed an old buffalo salt-lick, and arrived at Slowtrap’s dwelling, planted on a spur of the hills which ran out into the plains. It was in no way different from the usual log-houses: sixteen feet square, from nine to ten high, with an enormous fireplace, no window, and a weighted roof; close by was a field of about seven acres, planted with maize. His wife and children stood at the door as we arrived, and although I knew that they were much attached to each other, and lived happily together, and he had been about three weeks absent, not the least word was exchanged that could be construed into a greeting. “Take my saddle in,” said S. to his eldest son, a boy of eight years old, who was leaning on the fence, looking at us as if we were perfect strangers, in whom he had no concern. At last, when the horse was cared for, and all things in their places, S. went into the house, took a seat, and lifted his youngest child into his lap;—and then he said, “How do you do, all of you?” This distant reserve of the Americans, so prevalent even in their own families, often struck cold on my heart, and made me regret my native land. Man and wife are often as reserved towards each other as two strangers who meet for the first time, and care not about meeting again. I have seen Americans leave home to be absent for months, without shaking hands with their wives, or saying “Good-by,” and it is the same on their return. I must believe, for the honor of the Americans, that this reserve is mere custom, and does not proceed from any real want of affection, as I have seen proofs of deep feeling amongst them, but it always made a disagreeable impression on me. But still worse was it to see Germans aping this fashion, as often happened to be my lot.
When quietly seated, I took a survey of the dwelling. In two corners stood two large beds, covered with good stout quilts of many colors; between the beds, about four feet from the ground, was a shelf holding a few more quilts, and the linen of the family, which was not over-abundant, comprising three or four articles for each person. Under this shelf were two “gums,” trunks of a hollow tree, about a foot in diameter, and two and a half or three feet high, with a piece of board nailed on the bottom. They are applied to all sorts of purposes: I have seen them used as beehives; these, I subsequently found, were one for flour and the other for salt. Two wooden hooks over the door supported my host’s long rifle, with its powder-horn and shot-pouch. A shelf held some shoemaker’s tools, leather, &c., Gun’s Domestic Medicine, a family Bible, the Life of Washington, the Life of Marion, Franklin’s Maxims, an almanac, and a well-worn map of the United States. Various files, awls, broken knives, and a bullet-mould, were stuck into the crevices of the logs near the fireplace. On the left of it were two short shelves, with four plates, two cups, three saucers, some tin pots, and a large coffee-pot, all as bright and clean as possible. In the corner of the fireplace was an iron pan with a cover, for baking bread, and two saucepans, one broken. Several joints of smoked meat hung from the roof, surrounded by strips of dried pumpkin suspended on poles.