What was on the pioneers table?

The pioneers were not lacking for meat or fish.  Our area abounded in wild life. At first vegetables had to be grown.
Tables were well supplied Beavers tails, wild ducks, turkeys, partridges, quails, bear-steaks, venison, whitefish, hulled corn, succotash, baked French pears. (Farmer p 338)  However for the first few years all cooking was done outside. The first settlers had few utensils.  Fires had to be lighted without matches or lighters and kept going around the clock.

Fences had to be erected and crops for animal food planted. Later domesticated animals were brought in.
Silas states “The Gazette for July 25, 1817, announced that ‘during the proceeding two weeks 1,700 head of cattle were brought from Ohio.’”  Prior to 1830 maple sugar was the only sugar in common use.  Early American settlers daily drink was wintergreen tea sweetened with maple sugar. ( Farmer p389)  And of course there was the full range of fresh vegetables from the gardens.  Everything was organic.  There were no pollutants in the water.  And the air was absolutely clean.  There were no chemicals being dumped into the air.