Sharp eyes and ears must tell him where to look for his game, and
his aim must be swift and sure.
But most important of all, he must be able to endure hardship and
exposure. Sometimes he lives for months in the woods with no food but meat
and no shelter but a lean-to of brush or even the trunk of a hollow tree
into which he may crawl.
Deer and bear are the most plentiful game; but now and then there is an
exciting combat with wolves, panthers, or cougars, while prowling Indians
keep him ever on his guard. The pioneer must be strong, alert, and brave.
Each family depends upon itself for most of the necessaries of life. Each
member has his own work. The father is the protector and provider; the
mother is the housekeeper, the cook, the weaver, and the tailor. Father
and sons work out-of-doors with axe, hoe, and sickle; while indoors the
hum of the spinning-wheel or the clatter of the loom shows that mother and
daughters are busily doing their part.
There are some articles, however, like salt and iron, which the settlers
cannot always get in the backwoods. These they must obtain by barter. So
each family collects all the furs it can, and once a year, after the
harvest is gathered, loads them on pack-horses, which are driven across
the mountains to some large trading town on the seacoast.
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