The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, March 22, 1917, Page 13

L bd s e About a Little Old Sod House H, MAMA, mama, I've had my pitcher took, and Mrs. Wil- liams is going to give me #l one!” So said the little tot sitting on the steps of the sod house in the picture. In memory’s realms are many visions of the happy, whaolesome times spent there in my childhood days, days when there was no chance of going farther because that part of Nebraska at that time was sparsely settled. Neighbors were few and far between, but the lack of num- bers was made up by the spirit of real hbelpfulness and friendship. Our neighbors of the sod house were real pioneers and their house was “put up” in the early 80’s, being their origi- nal homestead. We were “tender-feet” and our feelings were queer enough the first time we entered a “soddy.” The walls of nearly all the houses were usually three feet thick, although I have been in a few that were four feet and more. The houses were cool in the summer and warm in winter. I particularly remember one sod house which was built square, had four-foot walls, wide window frames, pancled doors and a shingle roof. PUTTING UP A “SODDY” It may be of interest to know how & “‘soddy is put up.” People soon learn- ed that blue-joint sod was much more durable than the buffalo grass sod. Many a race has been run to the blue- Joint flelds to begin breaking sod. Rules of etiquette were rigidly observ- ed and a person had to be pretty sure he was not trespassing on another’s claim. The turning over of the sod for a house was usually the occasion of a neighborhood gathering, even though some of them would come 15 or more miles. The first one I saw was when & neighbor was moving to his pre- emption. The few neighboring teams were on hand to turn over the sod. This was a blue-joint field and how they all worked to pile up the sod! The spot selected for this house was a level one with the canyons not far off. Of course doors and windows had to be considered and frequently the door frames were made of lumber two in- ches thick, likewise the window frames. ffhe lumber strengthened the walls. Sometimes to give more window space the windows were placed length- 'wise and quite close to the outside wall Nearly everybody had house-plants and all sorts of exchanges were made for slips and seeds. When the walls of the house were high enough, the ridge pole and main supports of the roof were put up, the brush and straw piled on, and lastly the sod which com- pleted the roof. Nearly always when the house was Just in the “skeleton age” a house- warming would be given by the neigh- bors as a welcome to the newcomers if such they be, or if only moving from the homestead to a pre-emption con- gratulations on the owner's prosperity. Little it mattered if the/ walls were raggedy and grassy, the ieaves over- head falling often, the partitions still out, the floor nature provided, we were g0 glad for our friends that little things " like that never bothered us. The first house-warming was oae of rollicking fun, especially if in early fall and all kinds of games were played indoors and out. How we did eat when supper was served and how good everything tasted! THE FINISHING TOUCHES The finishing touches for the house meant plastering the walls of “adobe mud” putting in the floors and the partitions, and covering the ceiling with muslin. The very last touch was whitewashing the walls, By that time the family would be pretty well set- tled and in due course gof time the whole neighborhood would “surprise” the occupants. This “surprise” was al- ways much more sedate than the house~warming. 3 To my childish mind the house- warmings were fraught with more or less timidity because of the “tender- foot” ideas and fears of the cowboys. Some were still loitering about al- though the last “roundup” had occurr- ed some two or three winters before. The country was quite rapidly filling up with settlers who were going to make their fortunes because they could re-empt, file for a tree-claim and ZOmestead if their right had not been ~ Some Recollections of Pioneer Days in Southwestern Nebraska used elsewhere. This meant three whole quarter sections of land for a mere song, (so many imagined). THE “BLACK HAYSTACKS” Sod houses were to be seen on near- ly every quarter as far as the eye could reach. As one of our neighbors put it, she could not see how in the world there could be so many black hay- stacks with just buffalo grass! A “tender-foot” who had not been out there long enough to recognize the sod houses! One vast expanse of sunshine, buffalo grass and sod houses were not conducive to prosperity and many a would-be pioneer gave+up in despair and sought better fields of labor—a story common to the early pioneering days of any community. The risk of losing their all in a bliz- zard when the stock roamed at will, the occasional Indian raid, the great distance to neighbors and to the mar- kets, the possibility of sickness and the rattlesnake bites were some of the things to be considered in the sod- house days of pioneering. BRAVERY OF THE PIONEERS The brave, noble men and women who had the tenacity of purpose to stick it out are deserving and worthy of all the honor and respect that we of today are capable of giving them. Many of them are living today. and their quaint stories of by-gone days Pioneering days in southwesisrn Nebrasl;a. This house was built in the early 80‘s. All “soddies” are warm in winter and vo.. i For the Boys and Girls—The Days of the Week (Continued from last week) And now we must peep into the room of Mr. and Mrs. Day’s eldest son, Master Tues Day. We must tell you that he has only one hand, and the story of how he lost his other hand is the story of how he came by his name. The Norsemen had a god of war named Tyr and when the terrible wolf- spirit Fenris had, to be captured Tyr undertook the dangerous venture. A chain made of a number of strange things could not be broken and Fenris was to be bound with it. - Fenris would not allow this- soft- looking chain to be put around his neck unless the gods would promise to take it off again, and would send a god to put his hand in the wolf’s mouth. Tyr was the only god brave enough to volunteer. When Fenris found he was bound he was so angry he bit off the hand of the god Tyr. It is curious that the French name for Tuesday is Mardi—that is the day of Mars who was also a war god like the Norsemen’s Tyr who gives us Tyr’s Day or Tuesday. The second son~of Mr. and Mrs. Day is named after Woden or Odin, the greatest god of the Scandinavians. ‘Woden lived in a palace built entirely of gold and silver, which was called Valhalla. Two ravens stood on his shoulders, so when he wanted the news of the warld he sent these ravens to fly round the earth to tell him of everything they saw and heard. Round about him stood the maidens, called Valkyries, who were sent down to earth to bring the souls of heroes glain in battle to feast with Woden in Valhalla. While they feasted, Woden listened to their stories and drank mead, but he never ate anything him- self. Our friend Wednes Day is a good_ fellow and everybody likes him. Now we are in the fifth room, occu- pied by Master Thurs Day. If you have a bit of hard work to do start it on Thursday, the day of strength and power. Thurs Day gets his name from Thor the strongest of all the Norse gods. Thor had a hammer which no man could lift, a pair of iron gloves, and a belt. Once the mighty hammer was lost and the giant Thrym hid it. Thrym said he would give it up if the goddess Freya would marry him. Thor disguised himself in Freya’s dress and went to visit the giant. Thor received the hammer and slew Thrym and all the other giants. The sixth room belongs to Mr. and Mrs. Day’s only daughter, Fri Day, named after the goddess Freya who re- fused to marry Thrym. Woden was Freya’s husband, Thor her son. Just because she might be jealous our an- cestors named a day after her when they had given one to Woden and one to Thor. Friday is a very sacred day, although some foolish people think it is a day of ill luck. ‘We have reached the last room that of Satur Day, who gets his name from the Roman god Saturn. Saturn was a god who ate his own children and behaved in a very bad manner. Satur- day is one of the most pleasant days of the week for millions of children and the working people. Some of the games and feastings crowds remind us of those terrible Sat- urnalia or wild and lawless festivals which disgraced Rome. Now that we have told you so much about the days, you may wonder why we do not tell you so much about the week, A week however, is not a real thing. You may think so because every day in the week comes back every seven days. Long ago men agreed to call seven days a week, although. a week is an artificial thing. We say a week is an artificial thing because nothing in nature makes it. A day is a natural thing because a great fact in nature makes it—the spinning of the earth or turning around once every twenty-four hours. : The spinning of the earth which glves us night and day is not the only movement of. the earth. Just watch a top spin and see how it moves about. The earth is like the top. All the time the earth is spinning upon itself, it is also moving as a _whole. We do not feel this, but it is the most important movement. A year is also a natural thing because the journey of the earth around the sun gives us the seasons of the year. The month as we know it is artificial, but there are very good rea- sons why it is so. We will tell you about the months next week for their stories are matters of much interest and importance. 3 THIRTEEN of unruly Saturday would read like a fairy tale. Their exploits with the government scouts, the gatherimg of the cowboys for their semi-annual “roundup,” the occasion- al visit of a ranchman and family per- haps 35 or 40 miles away (this was generally done by traveling in a prairie schooner and included a sleeping place in the wagon), the tale of how some ranchman had a lot of trouble about his brands for stock—all would come in as subjects to be discussed. The vast expanse of sky and sun- shine gave us children of the prairies vim and vigor of body and mind and all we knew was to make the most of what we had. We were a happy care- free lot and our neighbor of the sod house comes in for a share of our joy- ousness. Dear “Uncle John” and “Aunt Sally” Williams recall many games of croquet played with the two sets of twins, numerous horseback rides, our little birthday dinners, particularly mine and “Ben’s” for they were just a day apart, the “surprise” fried chicken dinner for mother's birthday, our ex- change of little Christmas gifts, the “borrowing” of the baby sister to be “sewed” up from things of the twins and many other beautiful memories of their earnest endeavor. These are some of the things which the old “soddy” could tell if walls could talk. Ideas of Country Women As I read Mrs. Francis’ letter in the Leader I couldn’t help but write a few words. I surely agree with her. It is a pity to stay by such rules. I know you can’t drive any good into a child by whipping. One can talk common sense to any child and gain a whole lot more than you could by whipping. I think the Nonpartisan League is a great thing. .1 only hope that all of us farmers can stick until we win. I am a farmer's wife and like to see the farmers get a square deal. If any one works for what they get, I think they do more than many. Yours for the Nonpartisan League. MRS. HENRY W. When you build your new house, why not give the “children’s playroom a lit- tle thought? Give them one room for their very own—even the garret if it has sufficient light and air in it. But it is much better on the first floor where, if the children are very small, mother can keep an eye on them with- out running up stairs. Have the room plain with lots of windows, screened on the inside, so when the boys play ball they will not break them. Have either one or two small tables, or one big; long one. Big rafters across the ceiling are very good for swings and gym trapeze for the boys. Such a room may cost a little more time and money, but I think you’ll find yourself well repaid when you can sit down in peace and quiet to do your evening reading. Mother will not need to work in the kitchen with one or two little folks under her feet making her cross and nervous. Did you ever go into a home where there were a number of small children —sometimes eight or nine—and find them all in the kitchen with the mother trying to work? I have. I can’t tell <you just how I felt, but the first thing I thought was, isn’t it too bad they have no playroom? Play to a child is as necessary as rest or sleep. DPuring the long winter evenings when they can’t be out of doors they must have some place in which to play and romp. We all want to keep our boys and girls on the farm and one way is to keep them content- ed and happy when young. So give them a play-room of their own and when they grow up and go out into the world by themselves, they will still find other children playing in the kitchen. Then they will come back and thank you. MRS. H. E. O, Kempton, N. D * HINTS To keep cheese from molding, place in a crock and cover well with salt. A piece of raw potato dropped into fat when frying oysters or doughnuts will keep it from spattering and burn=- ing. i i