Page:History of Southeast Missouri 1912 Volume 1.djvu/251

 HISTORY OP SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 191 opposite Herculaneum. Browne was instantly killed, while Smith escaped. There are but a few instances of the use of these barbarous methods of settling disputes. They came from false ideas of honor; there had grown up in the minds of men a notion that a man was in some way sullied if he did not resent an in- sult of any kind, even to the point of killing his antagonist. It required long years of con- stant agitation to displace this false notion that caused so many deaths. One of the virtues which distinguished the early settlers was hospitality. Any traveler was sure to be received with kindness in any part of the countr.y. The reason for this is to be foimd, in part, in the character of the people themselves and. in part, in the fact that there were no other provisions for trav- elers. It was not until after the transfer to the United States that public taverns, as the places of entertainment were called, were to be found except in a very few of the towns. The traveler, even up to the admission of the state to the Union, must depend either upon his own resources and sleep in the open and prepare his own food, or else be received into the homes of the people ; it was usually the latter that happened. It was regarded as a duty and also a pleasure to care for the traveler, a duty because they were unwilling to turn those away in need of shelter and food, and a pleasure largel.y because of the fact that the inhabitants depended for news upon the traveler. Newspapers were very scarce and, as we have seen, postage was so high and mail so irregular as practically to forbid any but the most necessary correspond- ence and for these reasons such news as was received was brought by persons traveling. It has been said that a traveler was rarely ever turned away from any door. His reception was not the most cordial in manner, the usual response to a request for accommodation be- ing the laconic reply: "Well, I guess we could keep you ; ' ' but though the welcome was not as cordial as might have been expected it was, nevertheless, a welcome and ample pro- vision was made for the unexpected guest. The best the house afforded was his. The mis- tress of the house, dressed in the garb which was made in the house itself, quiet and re- pressed in manner, without many of the graces of refined society, was yet kindly atten- tive to all the wants of the traveler. Any at- tempt at pay for these accommodations was repulsed and often looked iipon as something in the nature of an insult. The head of the house disclaimed any idea of keeping tavern. Flint and Peck, both of them famous min- isters in the early days, recount their ex- periences as travelers and the almost uniform kindness and hospitality with which they were treated. Flmt records as the most remark- able and unusual circumstance that at one place he was refused accommodation. The people, while not religious for the most part and in many settlements rude and bois- terous in their behavior, had a respect for re- ligion that prompted them to treat with con- sideration the ministers who came to hold services; this was true even of the roughest classes. The tavern-keepers, themselves, were frequently kindly disposed toward preachers. Both Flint and Peck were received in taverns and eared for. These taverns, or places of public enter- tainment, combined a hovise for the care of travelers with a place for the sale of liquor. A place where liquor was sold apart from the inn was called a grocery. Taverns were not numerous in the early days. They were licensed by the Spanish officials and careful instructions were given as to the number of