were of the most primitive type; pewter plates, wooden bowls, crocks and clay utensils graced the shelves of grandmother's great-grandmother's cupboard. In her collection there may have been a few choice pieces of china, such as Thomas and Anna Fleming had, which were used only on the Sabbath day and when company came. When coffee, or a substitute for coffee, was served it was always poured into a saucer to cool, sometimes small plates being placed on the table in which to set the cups. When our many times great-grandmother first went to housekeeping she did not strike a match, turn on the gas and have a blaze ready at a moment's notice. If her wood fire went out she had to strike sparks from a flint or go to a neighbor's house and borrow hickory embers, bringing them home on a shovel, and oftentimes this entailed a journey of one or two miles. Jacob Bunner, who had to go two miles for fire one morning, accidentally dropped it into the creek in front of his home on his return and had to go back to the neighbor's for more. These two trips entailed a journey of eight miles before a fire could be had to get breakfast. Matches were not used extensively in Marion County before 1852. Miss Ellen Prickett tells us that She she was more afraid to light a match in her early days than people were to light gas when it first came into use. One day the fire went out while Ellen's father and mother were away from home, but although there were matches in the house she had never struck one. knew that her father made a fire by placing tow and powder on a metal lid which he struck with a sickle, so she did the same, using a match instead of a sickle. The tow blazed up, burning her severely. At this time the settlers did not know that coal was inflammable, and the mineral wealth which has made this section one of the foremost industrial regions in the whole world was lying untouched in practically inexhaustible quantities at their very doors. In 1775 the Nuzum family migrated from the great anthracite regions of Pennsylvania to Marion County, in order to have the wood necessary for cooking and heating purposes. Grandmother's great-grandmother's meals were devoured with voracious appetites. The men were engaged in clearing the timber from the land, tending the crops and hunting game -work which required an abundance of energy. Animals furnished the greater part of the food, and if game was scarce the family was threat CORNER IN PRICKETT HOME SHOWING TABLE. CUP AND SAUCER USED IN EIGHTEENTH CENTURY. BUREAU BROUGHT TO MARION COUNTY BY JOHN AND HANNAH PRICKETT IN 1832. ened with starvation. Not all the animals killed were used as food, however; the ones chiefly hunted for that purpose were buffaloes, which at one time ranged this section, elk, deer and bear; and the smaller animals, such as squirrels, raccoons and rabbits. Deer licks were made by putting salt in hollow trees or suspending bags of it in bushes. The rains dissolved it, saturating the ground underneath, thereby attracting the animals. Wild fowlturkey, pheasant, quail, woodcock, grouse, duck and pigeon-were brought down by the unerring aim of the hunter, and used to vary the monotonous bill of fare, for vegetables, with the exception of the coarser varieties, were scarce. In the forest was another food much esteemed as a delicacy. Swarms of wild bees made their homes in the cavities of forest trees and were spied out by ever watchful eyes. The cutting of a bee tree, which occurred at night, was an event of importance. Often when the settlers cut the timber for their houses they discovered the hidden hollows where for many years the little busybodies had lived, storing pounds of honey. This the farmer took for his own use, and the bees, if he could secure them, he placed in hives at home. One summer |