From whatever cause arising, there
certainly was, in the days of my early memory, more scrupulous truth,
open frankness, and pure, blunt honesty pervading the whole land than
seem to characterize its present population. It was said by Nathaniel
Macon, of North Carolina, that bad roads and fist-fights made the best
militia on earth; and these may have been, in some degree, the means
of moulding into fearless honesty the character of these people. They
encountered all the hardships of opening and subduing the country,
creating highways, bridges, churches, and towns with their public
buildings. These they met cheerfully, and working with a will,
triumphed. After months of labor, a few acres were cleared and the
trees cut into convenient lengths for handling, and then the neighbors
were invited to assist in what was called a log-rolling. This aid was
cheerfully given, and an offer to pay for it would have been an
insult. It was returned in kind, however, when a neighbor's
necessities required. These log-rollings were generally accompanied
with a quilting, which brought together the youth of the neighborhood;
and the winding up of the day's work was a frolic, as the dance and
other amusements of the time were termed.
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