Page:History of Southeast Missouri 1912 Volume 1.djvu/505

 HISTORY OF SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 445 varied in character. Corn and wheat were the staples, and connected with these was the cattle growing industry. The range had not disappeared as yet, and it was still possible to raise stock profitably at very little cost. It was during this period that cotton made its appearance in the eoimties in the extreme southeast. One handicap under which farmers labored was the lack of transportation facilities. Ex- cept for those situated on the river, it was a matter of the very greatest difficulty to trans- port their surplus products to market, and we may not be surprised that the growth of the country away from the river, in spite of all its natural advantages, was slow until the era of railroad construction began. A study of the statistics of population set out in the table accompanying another chapter, shows very conclusively the influence of river trans- portation in the development of the country. If these figures are compared with similar figures publi-shed in another chapter the in- fluence of railroads in the develojament of the interior is very plainly seen. Farming, however, was not the only, though it was the most important, industry followed by the people of the section. There were considerable numbers of men engaged in buying and selling. ]Iore and more the people came to depend upon the imported goods, especially clothing and dry goods. During the earlier jDart of this period, the home was the factory where there was manu- factured all that was needed for the comfort of its members. This, however, was changed by the close of the period which we are con- sidering. The development of steamboat transportation and the consequent ease and cheapness with which goods might be trans- ported, enabled those who lived in the eoim- ties bordering the river, to secure manufac- tured goods at a fraction of their former cost, and they came more and more to be dependent upon articles so secured. This habit, or fash- ion, of using things imported from other parts of the country spread slowly but surely, to those settlements and towns lying away from the river. To supply the wants of these people there was a considerable number of persons engaged in merchandising. In con- trast to the settlements made prior to this period we find that one of the first houses in every town w'as occupied by one enterprising tiader with a considerable stock of goods. The wheat raised on these farms was cut by hand. It was before the day of farming machinery. The first implement used in wheat cutting was the sickle. This was a curved blade with handle, which wfas held in the right hand while the left hand grasped the heads of the wheat. These were then cut oS at the top of the stalk and carried from the field. Sometimes the scythe was used, and later the cradle was invented. The cradle consisted of a long, heavy scythe blade, to which was attached a number of wooden fingers, each as long as the blade, and project- ing above it. "When the wheat was cut, the cradle caught the stalks, and these were then removed by the person using the implement. The handfuls of grain thus gathered were placed together to form a bundle or sheaf. The instrument appears awkward and of little use, judging by the standards of today, but it was used for many years and harvested great crops of wheat. The scythe was also used to cut whatever hay was growTi on the farm. This, too, was work requiring time, and seems today to have been inadequate for the purpose for which it was used. Other farming machinery and implements were of like character. The wooden plow was