Flatboats were usually about thirty to forty feet long and twelve feet wide and were frequently manned by the settlers themselves who often came in groups, unless their family was large and old enough to assist in the arduous and dangerous journey which would require weeks to complete. Later a class of men called keelmen built a larger boat with a cabin for passengers and a space set apart for freight and stock. These keel boats were steered by means of a long oar, sometimes thirty feet in length, while four large oars at the bow usually furnished the propelling power. A speed of five or six miles an hour was obtained going downstream, but it was a trying task for such a boat to stem the current of a river such as the Mississippi.

Often crews walked many weary miles along the shore and pulled the boat with a long rope or cordelle. When storms threatened the boat's safety, it was tied in some cove until it could proceed. In fair weather the cooking was usually done on the forward deck, as was the laundry which was hung on the decks to dry. The tubs were then hung on the outer wall of the cabin. If they were fortunate enough to have them, hams were hung on the shady side of the boat.

After 1850, most land buyers had to settle the land claim of some veteran of the War of 1812, who had been given a warrant establishing his prior right to it. All buyers had to go to the nearest land office, pay $1.25 to $2.00 an acre, and enter the land for taxes. In this area, it usually meant a trip to Danville, usually on horseback but sometimes on foot. Although the government established the survey system in the townships and sections, for smaller holdings an old system of metes and bounds was used, familiar to those from the mountain states. A description would give so many links and chains or rods from a place of beginning, usually a stone or large boulder or the so called "witness trees" established as markers for the surveys. Two hugh oaks on the John M. Bonar farm in Panola Township were used for ears by surveyors as "witness trees." Charles C. Bonar had one of these cut down only a few years ago, and Mr. Davison, a long time surveyor of Woodford County, once pointed out the site of the second such guide tree. This method of survey often caused confusion and litigation if stones or trees were moved or destroyed.

After a pioneer had obtained land, building a cabin or a shelter was the first consideration. Several days of chopping trees of nearly the same height and size followed, the time involved depending on the number of men in the family or group. The logs were notched, a trench dug to correspond with the size of the cabin and to carry off rain, the notched logs fit in place, doors hung on leather hinges made of the skin of animals and dried perhaps on the pioneer journey, a large chimney and fireplace constructed, shingles were handmade for the roof, larger logs split for a puncheon floor, beds, benches, a table and shelves were made for furnishing the cabin. Bed ropes were stretched across the frames, and the bedticks were filled with corn husks or dried leaves. Their philosophy was that plenty of hard work

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