Life of the French Inhabitants of Kaskaskia

Everyday life was much the same as it had been in France, with the people content to live as his father had lived, to hunt and trap as they had in the north, to cultivate the fields, to work the mines, and at the end of the day to gossip on the porch, to dance or have a mug of rum at the local tavern.

Class distinctions were mostly theoretical, with any line drawn being done by the military officers, some of which were of noble birth. Kaskaskia was a community of merchants and traders who supplied lower Louisiana with flour, meat and bear oil, which could be had in abundance in Illinois.

Their houses varied little in style of architecture, and until the latter days of the French regime, the home of the wealthiest merchant looked no different than that of the poorest voyageur. Inside there was hardly a greater difference, and what there was came from the quantity of the furnishings, rather than the quality.

The kitchen was the center of family life, as it was generally the only room that was heated, unless the chimney was a double one in the middle of the house. On the hearth under the huge mantle of the fireplace stood the iron firedogs with their curved heads, the indispensable pothook, and the spit. Nearby were the iron grill, the frying pans and pipkins, the copper and iron boilers and cauldrons.

Life for the inhabitants of French Kaskaskia began at sunup, with breakfast being served between 7 and 8 o'clock. Dinner at noon was the principal meal of the day, at which time there were fresh meats- boiled, roasted, fricasseed or stewed- soup with bread swimming in it, fruit preserves, tiny round cheeses and sweetened milk.

Meat pies were the favorites, but on Friday and Saturday, and other fasting days, fish or milk dishes took the place of the meat. Stew was served in a large bowl, a la gamelle, and set in the center of the table where everyone dipped in with spoon and fork and a sturdy slice of bread.

Vegetables of all kinds were raised in the kitchen garden and served daily-- cabbages, peas, beans, carrots, turnips and parsnips. Cucumbers were sliced and eaten with salt, served raw in cream or cooked in milk. Radishes were creamed, onions were sliced raw on bread and eaten at all meals. Pumpkins were roasted in the fireplace and served with sugar, or boiled and the pulp made into pies or crusty yellow bread.

Bread-making was one of the households biggest tasks, for although there were bakers in town, their main business came from supplying biscuit to the troops and the voyageurs. Most of the bread in Kaskaskia was home-made. While the huge stone oven heated, the cook kneaded the dough that had been mixed the night before, and shaped it into long oval loaves. When the fire had burned to coals and the oven floor mopped with cold water, the bread was laid in on long wooden paddles, and the two doors tightly closed. Small loaves baked in about 2 hours, larger ones took as long as four hours.

Butter was made by beating sour cream with a fork, as churns were unknown in the Illinois country then. Sugar was made from maple syrup, and they made salt by evaporating water from the salt springs southwest of the village, on the far bank of the Mississippi.

On the mantle, to use when the fire was low and there was need for more light, stood crude iron lamps. There were copper and wood candlesticks for holding the long tallow candles, and sometimes a pair of snuffers. On special occasions they would burn slender tapers made from the fine wax of the candleberry myrtle of Louisiana. There were also iron lanterns with pointed caps, for use outside of a night. On pegs above the mantel were the residents best guns, the powder horn hanging close by. The warmth of the fireplace kept the powder dry and ready to use at a moments notice.

In the middle of the room stood the long table made of walnut or oak from the forests. Ranged along the wall near the hearth were the chairs, most of them straight-backed, and without arms, but usually there was one with arms for the head of the family. The children sat on benches or heavy chests, that were dragged across the floor to the table at mealtime.

There were all fashions of chests, some elaborately carved, some with feet, some without, some with locks, some without, some bound, some not. Ranging in size from 3 to 6 feet long, they held the persons most valuable items...his fine clothes, his trade goods, his money, his marriage contract, the title to his land, hit notes and his account books, and what jewels they had.

Displayed proudly on a high sideboard or buffet, were the housewife's pewter and crockery. The earthenware plates were boldly colored flowers and figures, giving a gay aspect to the room. Glass tableware was rare, yet some owned crystal and silver, and even golden goblets. An honored guest might be served with silver cups and bowls. Spoons were occasionally of silver, more often of pewter, while forks were usually of steel or iron. Table knives were not common, but the hunting knife served very well.

The most cherished piece of furniture in the house was the bed. Often it was the dowry of the bride, and the marriage contract assured its ownership to the survivor of the union. Six feet or more square, the bed was furnished with a straw mattress and a thick feather bed, and curtained with hangings of green or red serge. When there were sheets, they were of linen or cotton, and before retiring at night, the wife might run a large wooden roller over them, in order to make the bed perfectly smooth. Buffalo hides and coarse wool blankets served for covers, counterpanes were of calico and sometimes of finer flowered materials. The children of the household slept on cots, or 3-4 or more in a large bed. Many times they slept on the floor as the household only had one bed, and it was reserved for the parents.

Wash-day in Kaskaskia was the same as it had been for thousands of years in riverside villages the world over. Clothes were dipped in the shallow water of the stream, scrubbed on the beach, and pounded with short-handled paddles. The soap, naturally, was homemade. Whatever fine, perfumed French soap the habitant might have was a luxury and not to be wasted on the laundry. Some women and widows took in washing to earn their living.

The one task the French women of the Illinois country did not share with their pioneer sisters of the eastern colonies, was that of weaving. Weaving was prohibited by the government, and all cloth had to be purchased, either from the kings storehouse or from the merchants who brought it up the river from the sea. For that reason, the dress of those who could afford it, was frequently much finer than one would expect in a wilderness trading post.

A chest or so in the bedrooms, and an armoire (wardrobe), complete the furnishings of the house. The wardrobe was a good sized affair, often eight or ten feet wide and with as many as 36 shelves. It had two long hinged doors and was used for storing clothing and other household goods.

Mirrors were rather scare, though most families owned small mirrors. In a few more affluent homes, you would find larger, framed mirrors.

Some individuals, mainly officers and priests, owned watches or pocket sundials, but the ordinary habitant relied on the sun and the church bell to tell him the time of day.
Excerpts from Kaskaskia under the French Regime

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