I saw that word from a novel 'Baker's blue-jay yarn' by Mark Twain. And here is the sentence.
"He never stopped to take a look anymore - he just hove 'em in and went for more. Well, at last he could hardly flop his wings, he was so tuckered out. He comes a-dropping down, once more, sweating like an ice pitcher, drops his acorn in and says."
Is the author saying 'ice pitcher' to describe how sweaty the bird is? Because I searched 'pitcher' and the dictionary said it is a kind of kitchen utensils.