her. The tan-vat was a huge tub which
was sunk into the ground. A quantity of bark was quickly gotten each
spring when the farmer cleared his land. This was first dried then
brought in and on rainy days, the bark was stripped, shaved and pounded
on a block of wood with an ax or mallet. Ashes were used in place of
lime for taking off the hair from the skins of animals. They did not
have fish-oil, so the settlers substituted bear's grease, or lard made
from boiling the fat of these animals. This oil was used to make the
leather soft and pliable. The leather was often very coarse, but it was
tough and wore well. They made their blacking or polish for their shoes
by mixing soot with lard. Not every man could make shoes, but everyone
could make shoepacks, an article similar to the moccasin.

Kercheval's father was a master weaver as well as a fine shoe maker. He
made all the shoes worn by his family and would not let anyone else make
his thread, as he thought no woman could spin it as well as he could. He
made all the woodenware called set work. He hand-carved some of them,
making grooves in which he fitted hoops to hold the staves in place.
During the days when every man had to serve in some military service,
the elder Kercheval was not strong enough to fight. The men brought all
their firearms to him and he repaired them. He could straighten a
crooked gun barrel with ease and file off any broken edges.

Kercheval's father had been to school for only six weeks, yet he read,
worked hard problems in mathematics and wrote letters, not only for
himself, but for many of his friends. He drew up bonds, deeds of
conveyance and wrote other articles for them. He taught his boy to use
his hands, for Samuel tells that as a boy, he wove garters, belts and
shot pouches. He, too, could make looms. He traded well, for he says he
would swap a belt for a man's labor for a day, or give one to a man for
making a hundred fence rails.

An amusing custom developed among the German settlers regarding their
weddings. Young men and women, termed "waiters," were selected to help
officiate at a wedding. The groomsmen were proud to wear highly
embroidered white aprons on such an occasion, for it was symbolic of
protection to the bride. Each waiter tried to keep the bride from having
her slippers stolen from her feet during the festivities. If she did
sustain the loss the young man had to pay for it with a bottle of wine,
since the bride's dancing dep