Chapter 9 cont. EARLY HISTORY Having raised a crop of sod corn, in 1834, the manufacture of breadstuff became a vital subject.  Wheaten flour was out of the question for daily use.  Some means had to be provided for the making of corn meal, and this is the way we did it.  We sawed off from a log thirty inches in diameter a piece three and one-half feet long, setting it on one end.  With our crude tools we cut and burned out a hollow mortar to hold a peck or more of corn; then with two poles and a prop against a tree (not unlike the old well sweep) we rigged our mill.  The end coming straight down had a hole bored in it, a pin driven through leaving an end on each side long enough for a man to take hold of.  The lower end forming a pestle had a ring around it an iron wedge driven in.  Two men would then take hold and soon pound sufficient meal for the day.  These articles were in use in the year 1834.  Two years later, 1835-6, Messrs. Davis and Haskel built a little mill on Crow creek, and J. H. Sullivan and H. C. Morehead built a steam mill at Rockingham, which did away with the pestle and mortar and supplied not only the residents of the community but furnished breadstuffs to ship away. Debbie Clough G-erischer G-erischer Family Web Site http://gerischer.rootsweb.com/ Assistant CC, Iowa Gen Web, Scott County http://www.celticcousins.net/scott/ List Manager for: IASCOTT-L * G-erischer-L * D-encker-L Fitzpatirck-L * V-lerebome-L * Huntington-L * Otis-L * Algar-L EIGS-L * Pickens-L * McNab-L * Patris-L - Rankin-L