Among the early settlers on the prairies where wood was scarce, twisting hay was a common practice. Clearly, throwing loose hay into the fire would have no benefit except wasting hay so settlers had to get innovative. By twisting the hay into tight sticks, they created more concentrated fuel than loose hay, which caused it to burn longer and more effectively. It still burned much quicker than wood, of course, which necessitated a continual and constant effort at the twisting, but if the early pioneers were anything, they were resilient.
Most settlers, like Pa and Laura, twisted the hay into sticks by hand. Others used a pitchfork to twist the hay around and roll it into a tight ball. In 1876, in Dakota Territory a machine was invented and patented to twist hay into fuel. The machine twisted the stems and cut them to length. Even special stoves were designed for burning hay more efficiently with patents issued for at least 5 hay burners between 1877 and 1882. The first of these, the 1878 vintage hay burner used removable, spring-operated, cylinders to feed hay into the stove. A supply of packed cylinders would be kept on hand to be quickly inserted as needed. Another design was the wash boiler stove. A metal container stuffed with grass was turned upside down over the firebox and connected to the stove. Supposedly, it could maintain a fire for up to two hours if packed tightly enough. These stoves could also be used as cooktops and ovens, though most folks couldn’t acquire or afford such inventive resources.
The Nebraska Historical Society exhibits a letter from a man named Daniel Oaks to his brother written in 1877. “Now D.B. I would like to tell you about how we get along without wood for fuel. Instead of working my team to death hauling wood from 20 miles away, I just take my mower and horses and go down to the Sioux bottom. In two days I can cut and put up enough hay to last me one year.”
Another settler described the hay twisting process: "Grasp one end of a hand full of hay and if you are right handed, place the other end of the hay under your left arm and proceed to twist the hay over and over. When it is about as tight as you can get it, let the loose end double back so it will twist itself together with the main part into a rope. Some folk dipped the finished sticks into a kettle of water to make them burn a bit longer."
Needless to say, Pa Ingalls did not invent the process, but likely learned it from someone else in the area. It is believed that the Russian Mennonites first introduced the practice of using hay for fuel, and it became widespread among prairie settlers. In fact, the town of Hayti, South Dakota, was named after the hay ties that settlers used for fuel.
What about you? Would you like to learn to twist hay? I believe I’ll wait until the power goes out to try that.
Scribbling in notebooks has been a habit of Cindy Regnier since she was old enough to hold a pencil. Born and raised in Kansas, she writes stories of historical Kansas, especially the Flint Hills area where she spent much of her childhood.
Her experiences with the Flint Hills setting, her natural love for history, farming and animals, along with her interest in genealogical research give her the background and passion to write heart-fluttering historical romance.
My thoughts turned to how to stay warm without power during our recent northeast Kansas snowstorm and cold spell too! It was interesting to read your post about hay twisting. Talk about renewable resources!
ReplyDeleteYou're right Heather - except nowadays even hay is expensive!
DeleteThank you for posting and Happy New Year to you and your family. Hay twisting seems kind of futile to me for the effort, but I suppose if you don't have trees available you would resort to anything. I wonder if they burned dry manure....obviously I haven't read or don't remember that book.
ReplyDeleteThey did burn manure. It was scarce too, though. Im so glad I dont have to twist hay but I admire the people who did it. Resourceful!
ReplyDelete