Last time we wrote about grave witching, the technique of finding a grave (or water, or anything else where the ground had been disturbed). Several people have commented about the article, but suddenly interest in grave witching seems to have popped up all over. August 27 an article appeared in the QC Times, taken from the Muscatine Journal, and written by Connie Street. It seems the Louisa County Home (or poor farm) had a burial ground. It was known that a number of people had been buried there with no permanent markers. These would have been residents with no relatives, or none that cared. In any case, the Louisa County Genealogical Society had received requests for information, pictures of grave marker, and other things. The site of the grave yard was not known, but older people remembered there was a spot on the property that was never farmed, but always mowed. One elderly man remembered seeing grave markers many years ago. With these clues, an experienced “witcher” was asked to demonstrate and if possible, pinpoint where the graves were. Several graves were found. There is no place that lists the burials, but they have turned up records of 6. Burials occurred from the 1850s through the 1930s. It is unlikely that many will be identified and virtually impossible to know who is buried in which grave. Still it represents a remembrance of a group of people who have basically dropped out of history,
The above interested me but one day I received an email from a gentleman named Doug Gent. He said he had read my column and he, coincidentally, had heard from his brother, mayor of a small town in Canada, concerning the finding of an old cemetery with 240 graves. They had been finding graves using essentially the same methods we have been writing about. I thought Doug Gent was a local man, since he must receive the Crier, so I emailed him and asked where he lived. He replied. Would you believe, he was a resident of British Columbia, Canada! He had seen the column, not in the Crier, but on the Historical Society web site. Hamptonhistory.org. He went to the google search engine and searched for grave witching sites. My daughter, Martha, tends the site and puts my column in every month. Talk about small world!
PIONEER FOOD—YUM, YUM
Elsewhre in this issue of the Crier, you’ll find the notice of the Burgoo Festival in Utica, Illinois, sponsored by the LaSalle County Historical Society. Utica is on the Illinois river and the Illinois Michigan Canal, built in the 1840s runs through the middle of town. On the banks of the canal stands a restored building, once a station on the canal. It is headquarters of the LaSalle County Historical Society. They have a blacksmith shop and other restorations close by. It is well worth your time to stop by the picturesque little town if you are interested in the old times. Their Burgoo Festival is comparable to Hampton’s Apple Festival. We celebrate Hampton’s connection with apples. They celebrate a kind of food eaten by the early pioneers. If you attend their Festival you can taste it. Utica is about 85 miles East of here, just off I-80. Take the Starved Rock turn-off.
The obvious question is: what is burgoo? In pioneer times, for special events involving large numbers of people, such as political rallies or church get-to-gethers, they would have a burgoo. The name denoted the event as well as what was served. Very large kettles would be set up and filled with water. The water was brought to a boil and then the ingredients would be added, starting with the meat. The meat included beef, pork, mutton, veal, chicken, raccoon, possum, beaver, muskrat, squirrel, and in the deep south, armadillo. Any other meat was acceptable. Next came the vegetables. Again, virtually any were acceptable, finally, the seasoning. Whatever you had. It was all boiled with frequent stirring. The time varied. One site recommended 30 hours but most said 10 or 12. When it was done you had a thick stew/soup with any single ingredient unrecognizable. Your spoon should stand up in it. One site of the over 2500 dealing with burgoo admonished makers not to include squirrel brains. Squirrel brains contain a substance which is toxic, and if to much is consumed could cause illness and even death. Any readers planning on making burgoo should beware of using squirrel brains. There are countless recipes for burgoo. Some are as closely guarded as a military secret. There are some on the internet that call for hamburger and only call for an hour or two to prepare. I say this is sissy burgoo. Incidentally, I believe the Utica burgoo contains only beef. It must come under the heading of a sissy burgoo.
It is believed the word burgoo originated in the 17th century on the high seas. The sailors used to subsist on an oatmeal like porridge made from Middle-eastern grain, bulgher wheat It was cooked until it was a thick gruel. How things changed from bulgher to burgoo is unknown. Also, the sequence of events that brought a sailor’s chow to the US has never been traced. Burgoo is most popular in Kentucky, but exists everywhere, especially in the South, but also in the Midwest.
By this time your mouth must be watering, so I refer you to the Jammin’ With Jane column for some recipes, not for burgoo but for raccoon and muskrat. That’s about the best you can do on short notice.