for an aggravated assault, a man who was too much intoxicated fully to
realize the import of the proceedings or the dignity of the court. He
was continually interrupting witnesses, contradicting their testimony,
and swearing at the justice. It soon became evident that he must be
silenced or the trial adjourned. The justice's patience at length gave
way. He ordered the constable to take the obstreperous culprit to a
creek, which ran near the office, "and duck him until he was sober
enough to be quiet and respect the court!" This operation the constable
alone could not perform, but in due time he brought the defendant back
dripping from the creek and thoroughly sobered, reporting, at the same
time, that he had availed himself of the assistance of two men, Messrs.
B---- and L----, in the execution of his honor's commands. The trial
then went quietly on, the defendant was fined for a breach of the peace,
and ordered to pay _the costs_: one item of which was two dollars to
Messrs. B---- and L---- "for assisting the constable in ducking the
prisoner!" But, as the justice could find no form nor precedent for
hydropathic services, he entered the charge as "_witness fees_," and
required immediate payment! The shivering culprit, glad to escape on any
terms, paid the bill and vanished!
Whatever might have been the prevailing opinion, as to the legality of
such a proceeding, the ridicule attaching to it would effectually have
prevented any remedy--most men being willing to forgive a little
irregularity, for the sake of substantial justice and "a good joke." But
the summary course, adopted by these magistrates, sometimes worked even
greater injustice--as might have been expected; and of this, the
following is an example:--
About the year eighteen hundred and twenty-six, there lived, in a
certain part of the west, a man named Smedley, who, so far as the
collection of debts was concerned, was entirely "law-proof." He seemed
to have a constitutional indisposition to paying anything he owed: and,
though there were sundry executions in the hands of officers against
him--and though he even seemed thrifty enough in his pecuniary
affairs--no property could ever be found, upon which they could be
levied. There was, at the same time, a constable in the neighborhood, a
man named White, who was celebrated, in those days of difficult
collections, for the shrewdness and success of his official exploits;
and the justice upon whom he usually attended, was equally remarkable,
for the high hand with which he carried his authority. But, though two
executions were placed in the hands of the former, upon judgments on the
docket of the latter, months passed away, without anything being
realized from the impervious defendant, Smedley.
Whenever the constable found him in possession of property, and made a
levy, it was proven to belong to some one else; and the only result of
his indefatigable efforts, was the additions of heavy costs to the
already hopeless demand.
At length, however, White learned that Smedley had _traded horses_ with
a man named Wyatt, and he straightway posted off to consult the
magistrate. Between them, the plan of operations was agreed upon. White
levied first upon the horse then in the possession of Smedley, taking
him under _one_ of the two writs: he then levied _the other_ execution
upon the horse which Smedley had traded to Wyatt. The latter,
apprehending the loss of his property, claimed the first horse--that
which he had traded to Smedley. But, upon the "trial of the right of
property," the justice decided that the horse was found in the
possession of Smedley, and was, therefore, subject to levy and sale. He
was accordingly sold, and the first judgment was satisfied. Wyatt then
claimed the _second_ horse--that which he had received from Smedley.
But, upon a similar "trial"--after severely reprimanding Wyatt for
claiming _both_ horses, when, on his own showing, he never owned but
_one_--the justice decided that the property in dispute had been in the
possession of Smedley at the rendition of the judgment, and was
therefore, like the other, subject to a lien, and equally liable to levy
and sale! And accordingly, this horse, also, was sold, to satisfy the
second execution, and Wyatt was dismissed by the justice, with no gentle
admonition, "to be careful in future with whom he swapped horses!" A
piece of advice which he probably took, and for which he ought to have
been duly grateful! Fallen humanity, however, is very perverse; and it
is at least supposable, that, having lost his horse, he considered
himself hardly used--an opinion in which my legal readers will probably
concur.
Before leaving this part of my subject, I will relate another anecdote,
which, though it refers more particularly to constables, serves to
illustrate the characteristics of the early officers of the
law--justices, as well as others:--
The constable who figured so advantageously in the anecdote last
related, had an execution against a man named Corson, who was almost as
nearly "law proof" as Smedley. He had been a long time endeavoring to
realize something, but without success. At length, he was informed, that
Corson had sued another man, upon an account, before a justice in a
distant part of the same county. This, the delinquent officer at once
saw, gave him a chance to secure something; and, on the day of trial,
away he posted to the justice's office. Here, he quietly seated himself,
and watched the course of the proceeding. The trial went on, and, in due
time, the justice decided the cause in favor of Corson. At this
juncture, White arose, and, while the justice was entering up judgment,
approached the table. When the docket was about to be laid aside, he
interposed:--
"Stop!" said he, placing his hand upon the docket, "_I levels on this
judgment_!" And, giving no attention to remonstrances, he demanded and
obtained the execution. On this he collected the money, and at once
applied it to that, which he had been so long carrying--thus settling
two controversies, by diligence and force of will. He was certainly a
valuable officer!
Thus irregular and informal were many of the proceedings of the
primitive legal functionaries; but a liberal view of their characters
must bring us to the conclusion, that their influence upon the progress
of civilization of the country, was, on the whole, decidedly
beneficial.
VII.
THE PEDDLER.
"This is a traveller, sir; knows men and
Manners."--
BEAUMONT AND FLETCHER.
Previous to the organization of civil government, and "the form and
pressure" given to the times by this and its attendant circumstances,
the primitive tastes and habits of the western people, excluded many of
those artificial wants which are gratified by commerce, and afforded no
room for traders, excepting those who sold the absolute necessaries of
life.
In those days, housekeeping was a very simple matter. Neither
steam-engines nor patent cook-stoves were yet known, as necessary
adjuncts to a kitchen; the housewife would have "turned up her nose" in
contempt of a bake-oven: would have thrown a "Yankee reflector" over the
fence, and branded the innovator with the old-fashioned gridiron. Tin
was then supposed to be made only for cups and coffee-pots: pie-pans
had not yet even entered "the land of dreams;" and the tea-kettle, which
then "sang songs of family glee," was a quaint, squat figure, resembling
nothing so much as an over-fed duck, and poured forth its music from a
crooked, quizzical spout, with a notch in its iron nozzle. If its
shut-iron lid was ornamented with a brass button, for a handle, it was
thought to be manufactured in superior style. Iron spoons were good
enough for the daintiest mouth; and a full set of pewter was a household
treasure. China dishes and silver plate had been heard of, but belonged
to the same class of marvellous things, with Aladdin's lamp and
Fortunatus's purse. Cooking was not yet reduced to a science, and eating
was like sleep--a necessity, not a mere amusement. The only luxuries
known, were coffee and sugar; and these, with domestics and other cotton
fabrics, were the chief articles for which the products of the earth
were bartered.
French cloths and Parisian fashions were still less known than silver
spoons and "rotary stoves." The men wore homemade jeans, cut after the
_mode_ of the forest: its dye a favorite "Tennessean" brownish-yellow;
and the women were not ashamed to be seen in linsey-wolsey, woven in the
same domestic loom. Knitting was then not only an accomplishment, but a
useful art; and the size which a "yarn" stocking gave to a pretty ankle,
was not suffered to overbalance the consideration of its comfort. The
verge of nakedness was not then the region of modesty: the neck and its
adjacent parts were covered in preference to the hands; and, in their
barbarous ignorance, the women thought it more shame to appear in public
half-dressed, than to wear a comfortable shoe.
They were certainly a very primitive people--unrefined, unfashionable,
"coarse"--and many of their sons and daughters are even now ashamed to
think what "savages" their parents were! In their mode of life, they
sought comfort, not "appearances;" and many things which their more
sophisticated descendants deem necessaries, they contemned as luxuries.
But, in the course of time, these things began to change, for simplicity
is always "primitive," and the progress of refinement is only the
multiplication of wants. As the country was reduced to cultivation, and
peace settled upon its borders, new classes of emigrants began to take
possession of the soil; and, for the immediate purposes of rapid
advancement, and especially of social improvement, they were better
classes than their predecessors: for, as the original pioneers had
always lived a little beyond the influences of regular civilization,
these had remained within its limits until the pressure of legal
organization began to grow irksome to their partially untamed spirits.
There was, indeed, an unbroken gradation of character, from the nearly
savage hunter, who visited the country only because it was uninhabited,
except by wild beasts, to the genuine _citizen_, who brought with him
order, and industry, and legal supremacy.
The emigrants, of whom we are now writing, constituted the third step in
this progression; and they imported along with them, or drew after them,
the peculiarities belonging to their own degree of advancement. Their
notions of comfort and modes of living, though still quite crude,
indicated an appreciable stage of refinement. They were better supplied,
for example, with cooking utensils--their household furniture was not so
primitive--and in wearing apparel, they manifested some regard to
elegance as well as comfort. Social intercourse disseminated these ideas
among those to whom they were novel; where, previously, the highest
motive to improvement had been a desire for convenience, the idea of
gentility began to claim an influence; and some of the more moderate
embellishments of life assumed the place of the mere necessaries.
The transition was not rapid nor violent, like all permanent changes, it
was the work of years, marked by comparatively slow gradations. First,
tin-ware, of various descriptions, became necessary to the operations of
the kitchen; and that which had been confined to one or two articles,
was now multiplied into many forms. A housewife could no more bake a pie
without a "scalloped" pie-pan, than without a fire: a tin-bucket was
much more easily handled than one of cedar or oak; and a pepper-box, of
the same material, was as indispensable as a salt-cellar. A little tea
was occasionally added to the ancient regimen of coffee, and thus a
tin-canister became necessary for the preservation of the precious drug.
With tea came queensware: and half-a-dozen cups and saucers, usually of
a dingy white, with a raised blue edge, were needful for the pranking of
the little cupboard.
But it was not only in the victualing department that the progress of
refinement could be traced; for the thrifty housewife, who thought it
proper to adorn her table, and equip her kitchen with all the late
improvements, could not, of course, entirely overlook "the fashions:"
the decoration of her person has been, in all ages, the just and honest
pride of woman. Linsey-wolsey began to give place to calicoes and
many-colored prints; calf-skin shoes were antiquated by the use of kid;
and ribands fluttered gracefully upon new-fashioned bonnets. Progress of
this kind never takes a step backward: once possessed of an improvement
in personal comfort, convenience, or adornment, man--or woman--seldom
gives it up. Thus, these things, once used, thenceforth became wants,
whose gratification was not to be foregone: and it is one of the
principles governing commerce, that the demand draws to it the supply.
There were few "country stores," in those days, and the settlements were
so scattered as to make it sometimes very inconvenient to visit them.
From ten to twenty miles was a moderate distance to the depot of
supplies; and a whole day was usually consumed in going and returning.
The visits were, therefore, not very frequent--the purchases for many
weeks--perhaps months--being made on each occasion. This was a very
inconvenient mode of "shopping," even for the energetic women of that
day; and, since the population would not justify more numerous
"stores," it was desirable that some new system should be introduced,
capable of supplying the demand at the cost of less trouble, and fewer
miles of travel. To answer this necessity there was but one way--the
"storekeeper" must carry his wares to the doors of his customers. And
thus arose the occupation of the _Peddler_, or, as he called himself,
the "travelling merchant."
The population of the country was then almost exclusively
agricultural--the mechanic arts belong to a more advanced period. The
consequence was, that the first articles carried about from house to
house, were such as are manufactured by artisans--and the chief of these
was tin-ware.
The tinkers of the rural districts in older countries, were, however,
not known in this--they were not adapted to the genius of the people.
The men who sold the ware were, scarcely ever, the same who made it;
and, though the manual dexterity of most of these ready men, might
enable them to mend a broken pan, or a leaky coffeepot, their skill was
seldom put in requisition. Besides, since the mending of an old article
might interfere with the sale of a new one, inability to perform the
office was more frequently assumed than felt.
In the course of time--as the people of the country began to acquire new
ideas, and discover new wants--other articles were added to the
peddler's stock. Calicoes were often carried in the same box with tin
pans--cotton checks and ginghams were stowed away beneath tin-cups and
iron-spoons--shining coffee-pots were crammed with spools of thread,
papers of pins, cards of horn-buttons, and cakes of shaving-soap--and
bolts of gaudy riband could be drawn from pepper-boxes and
sausage-stuffers. Table-cloths, of cotton or brown linen, were displayed
before admiring eyes, which had turned away from all the brightness of
new tin plates; and knives and forks, all "warranted pure steel,"
appealed to tastes, which nothing else could excite. New razors touched
the men "in tender places," while shining scissors clipped the purses of
the women. Silk handkerchiefs and "fancy" neckcloths--things till then
unknown--could occupy the former, while the latter covetously turned
over and examined bright ribands and fresh cotton hose. The peddler was
a master of the art of pleasing all tastes: even the children were not
forgotten; for there were whips and jew's-harps for the boys, and nice
check aprons for the girls. (The taste for "playing mother" was as much
an instinct, with the female children of that day, as it is in times
more modern; but life was yet too earnest to display it in the dressing
and nursing of waxen babies.) To suit the people from whom the peddler's
income was derived, he must consult at least the appearance of utility,
in every article he offered; for, though no man could do more, to coax
the money out of one's pocket, without leaving an equivalent, even _he_
could not succeed in such an enterprise, against the matter-of-fact
pioneer.
The "travelling merchants" of this country were generally what their
customers called "Yankees"--that is, New-Englanders, or descendants of
the puritans, whether born east of the Hudson or not. And, certainly, no
class of men were ever better fitted for an occupation, than were those
for "peddling." The majority of them were young men, too; for the
"Yankee" who lives beyond middle age, without providing snug quarters
for the decline of life, is usually not even fit for a peddler. But,
though often not advanced in years, they often exhibited qualities,
which one would have expected to find only in men of age and experience.
They could "calculate," with the most absolute certainty, what precise
stage of advancement and cultivation, was necessary to the introduction
of every article of merchandise their stock comprised. Up to a certain
limit, they offered, for example, linen table-cloths: beyond that,
cotton was better and more saleable; in certain settlements, they could
sell numbers of the finer articles, which, in others, hung on their
hands like lead; and they seemed to know, the moment they breathed the
air of a neighborhood, what precise character of goods was most likely
to pay.
Thus--by way of illustration--it might seem, to one not experienced in
reading the signs of progress, a matter of nice speculation and subtle
inquiry, to determine what exact degree of cultivation was necessary, to
make profitable the trade in _clocks_. But I believe there is no
instance of an unsuccessful clock-peddler on record; and, though this
fact may be accounted for, superficially, by asserting that time is
alike important to all men, and a measure of its course, therefore,
always a want, a little reflection will convince us, that this
explanation is more plausible than sound.
It is, perhaps, beyond the capacity of any man, to judge unerringly, by
observation, of the usual signs of progress, the exact point at which a
community, or a man, has arrived in the scale of cultivation; and it may
seem especially difficult, to determine commercially, what precise
articles, of use or ornament, are adapted to the state indicated by
those signs. But that there are such indications, which, if properly
attended to, will be unfailing guides, is not to be denied. Thus, the
quick observation of a clock-peddler would detect among a community of
primitive habits, the growing tendency to regularity of life; for, as
refinement advances, the common affairs of everyday existence, feeling
the influence first, assume a degree of order and arrangement; and from
the display of this improvement, the trader might draw inferences
favorable to his traffic. Eating, for example, as he would perceive, is
done at certain hours of the day--sleep is taken between fixed periods
of the night and morning--especially, public worship--which is one of
the best and surest signs of social advancement--must be held at a time
generally understood.
The peddler might conclude, also, when he saw a glazed window in a
house, that the owner was already possessed of a clock--which, perhaps,
needed repairing--or, at least, was in great need of one, if he had not
yet made the purchase. One of these shrewd "calculators" once told me,
that, when he saw a man with four panes of glass in his house, and no
clock, he either sold him one straightway, or "set him down crazy, or a
screw."
"Have you no other 'signs of promise'"? I asked.
"O yes," he replied, "many! For instance: When I am riding past a
house--(I always ride slowly)--I take a general and particular survey of
the premises--or, as the military men say, I make a _reconnaissance_;
and it must be a very bare place, indeed, if I can not see some 'sign,'
by which to determine, whether the owner needs a clock. If I see the
man, himself, I look at his extremities; and by the appearance of hat
and boot, I make up my opinion as to whether he knows the value of time:
if he wears anything but a cap, I can pretty fairly calculate upon
selling him a clock; and if, to the hat, he has added _boots_, I halt at
once, and, without ceremony, carry a good one in.
"When I see the wife, instead of the husband, I have no difficulty in
making up my mind--though the signs about the women are so numerous and
minute, that it would be hard to explain them. If one wears a
check-apron and sports a calico dress, I know that a 'travelling
merchant' has been in the neighborhood; and if he has succeeded in
making a reasonable number of sales, I am certain that he has given her
such a taste for buying, that I can sell her anything at all: for
purchasing cheap goods, to a woman, is like sipping good liquor, to a
man--she soon acquires the appetite, and thenceforward it is insatiable.
"I have some customers who have a _passion_ for clocks. There is a man
on this road, who has one for every room in his house; and I have
another with me now--with a portrait of General Jackson in the
front--which I expect to add to his stock. There is a farmer not far
from here, with whom I have 'traded' clocks every year since I first
entered the neighborhood--always receiving about half the value of the
article I sell, in money, 'to boot.' There are clock-fanciers, as well
as fanciers of dogs and birds; and I have known cases, in which a man
would have two or three time-pieces in his house, and not a pair of
shoes in the family! But such customers are rare--as they ought to be;
and the larger part of our trade is carried on, with people who begin to
feel the necessity of regularity--to whom the sun has ceased to be a
sufficient guide--and who have acquired some notions of elegance and
comfort. And we seldom encounter the least trouble in determining, by
the general appearance of the place, whether the occupant has arrived at
that stage of refinement."
We perceive that the principal study of the peddler is human nature; and
though he classifies the principles of his experience, more especially
with reference to the profits of his trade, his rapid observation of
minor traits and indications, is a talent which might be useful in many
pursuits, besides clock-peddling. And, accordingly, we discover that,
even after he has abandoned the occupation, and ceased to be a bird of
passage, he never fails to turn his learning to a good account.
He was distinguished by energy as well as shrewdness, and an
enterprising spirit was the first element of his prosperity. There was
no corner--no secluded settlement--no out-of-the way place--where he was
not seen. Bad roads never deterred him: he could drive his horses and
wagon where a four-wheeled vehicle never went before. He understood
bearings and distances as well as a topographical engineer, and would
go, whistling contentedly, across a prairie or through a forest, where
he had not even a "trail" to guide him. He could find fords and
crossings where none were previously known to exist; and his pair of
lean horses, by the skilful management of their driver, would carry him
and his wares across sloughs and swamps, where a steam-engine would have
been clogged by the weight of a baby-wagon. If he broke his harness or
his vehicle in the wilderness, he could repair it without assistance,
for his mechanical accomplishments extended from the shoeing of a horse
to the repair of a watch, and embraced everything between. He was never
taken by surprise--accidents never came unexpected, and strange events
never disconcerted him. He would whistle "Yankee Doodle" while his
horses were floundering in a quagmire, and sing "Hail Columbia" while
plunging into an unknown river!