grooves, and was so
small that seventy bullets were required to weigh a pound. In loading,
a greased linen "patch" was wrapped around the bullet; and only a small
charge of powder was needed. The grin was heavy to carry and difficult
to hold steadily upon a target; but it was economical of ammunition, and
in the hands of the strong-muscled, keen-eyed, iron-nerved frontiersman
it was an exceedingly accurate weapon, at all events within the ordinary
limits of forest ranges. He was a poor marksman who could not shoot
running deer or elk at a distance of one hundred and fifty yards, and
kill ducks and geese on the wing; and "boys of twelve hung their heads
in shame if detected in hitting a squirrel in any other part of the body
than its head."

Life on the frontier was filled with hard work, danger, and anxiety. Yet
it had its lighter side, and, indeed, it may be doubted whether people
anywhere relished sport more keenly or found more pleasure in their
everyday pursuits. The occasional family without neighbors was likely to
suffer from loneliness. But few of the settlers were thus cut off, and
as a rule community life was not only physically possible but highly
developed. Many were the opportunities that served to bring together the
frontiersmen, with their families, throughout a settlement or county.
Foremost among such occasions were the log-rollings.

After a settler had felled the thick-growing trees on a plot which he
desired to prepare for cultivation, he cut them, either by sawing or by
burning, into logs twelve or fifteen feet in length. Frequently these
were three, four, or even five feet in diameter, so that they could not
be moved by one man, even with a team of horses. In such a situation,
the settler would send word to his neighbors for miles around that on
a given day there would be a log-rolling at his place; and when the day
arrived six, or a dozen, or perhaps a score, of sturdy men, with teams
of horses and yokes of oxen, and very likely accompanied by members
of their families, would arrive on the scene with merry shouts of
anticipation. By means of handspikes and chains drawn by horses or oxen,
the great timbers were pushed, rolled, and dragged into heaps, and by
nightfall the field lay open and ready for the plough--requiring, at the
most, only the burning of the huge piles that had been gathered.

Without loss of time the fires were started; and as darkness came on,
the countryside glowed as with the