ingle Indian trail
was the only entrance to the Eastern border of it, and for many years
admitted only the hunter and the pack-horse. It was not till the year
1776 that a wagon was seen in Tennessee. In consequence of the want of
roads--as well as of the great distance from the sources of supply--the
first inhabitants were without tools, and of course without
mechanics--much more without the conveniences of living and the comforts
of housekeeping.

"Luxuries were absolutely unknown. Salt was brought on pack-horses from
Augusta and Richmond and readily commanded ten dollars a bushel. The
salt gourd in every cabin was considered as a treasure. The sugar maple
furnished the only article of luxury on the frontier; coffee and tea
being unknown or beyond the reach of the settlers. Sugar was seldom made
and was used only for the sick, or in the preparation of a sweetened
dram at a wedding, or on the arrival of a new comer.

"The appendages of the kitchen, the cupboard and the table, were scanty
and simple. Iron was brought at great expense from the forges east of
the mountains, on pack-horses, and was sold at an enormous price. Its
use was, for this reason, confined to the construction and repair of
ploughs and other farming utensils. Hinges, nails and fastenings of that
material were seldom seen. The costume of the first settlers
corresponded well with the style of their buildings and the quality of
their furniture: the hunting shirt of the militia man and the hunter was
in general use. The rest of their apparel was in keeping with
it,--plain, substantial and well adapted for comfort, use and economy.
The apparel of the pioneer's family was all home-made; and in a whole
neighborhood there would not be seen, at the first settlement of the
country, a single article of dress of foreign manufacture. Half the
year, in many families, shoes were not worn. Boots, a fur hat and a
coat, with buttons on each side, attracted the gaze of the beholder and
sometimes received censure or rebuke. A stranger from the old States
chose to doff his ruffles, his broad-cloth and his cue rather than
endure the scoff and ridicule of the backwoodsman.

"The dwelling house on every frontier in Tennessee was the log-cabin. A
carpenter and a mason were not needed to build them--much less the
painter, the glazier and the upholsterer. Every settler had, besides his
rifle, no other instrument but an axe or hatchet and a butcher-knife. A
saw, an auger, a f