over it, and her movement is the
gentle stream which drains it; but the laugh of the log-cabin is the
gush of nature's fountain, and its movement, its leaping water.'"[51]

"On the frontier the diet was necessarily plain and homely, but
exceedingly abundant and nutritive. The Goshen of America[52] furnished
the richest milk, the finest butter, and the most savory and delicious
meats. In their rude cabins, with their scanty and inartificial
furniture, no people ever enjoyed in wholesome food a greater variety,
or a superior quality of the necessaries of life. For bread, the Indian
corn was exclusively used. It was not till 1790 that the settlers on the
rich bottoms of Cumberland and Nollichucky discovered the remarkable
adaptation of the soil and climate of Tennessee to the production of
this grain. Emigrants from James River, the Catawba, and the Santee,
were surprised at the amount and quality of the corn crops, surpassing
greatly the best results of agricultural labor and care in the Atlantic
States. This superiority still exists, and Tennessee, by the census of
1850, was _the_ corn State. Of all the farinacea, corn is best adapted
to the condition of a pioneer people; and if idolatry is at all
justifiable, Ceres, or certainly the Goddess of Indian corn, should have
had a temple and a worshipers among the pioneers of Tennessee. Without
that grain, the frontier settlements could not have been formed and
maintained. It is the most certain crop--requires the least preparation
of the ground--is most congenial to a virgin soil--needs not only the
least amount of labor in its culture, but comes to maturity in the
shortest time. The pith of the matured stalk of the corn is esculent
and nutritious; and the stalk itself, compressed between rollers,
furnishes what is known as corn-stalk molasses."

"This grain requires, also, the least care and trouble in preserving
it. It may safely stand all winter upon the stalk without injury from
the weather or apprehension of damage by disease, or the accidents to
which other grains are subject. Neither smut nor rust, nor weavil nor
snow-storm, will hurt it. After its maturity, it is also prepared for
use or the granary with little labor. The husking is a short process,
and is even advantageously delayed till the moment arrives for using
the corn. The machinery for converting it into food is also exceedingly
simple and cheap. As soon as the ear is fully formed, it may be roasted
or boile