Brown County, Ohio - Chapter 4, 1883 (part 2 of 2)

Countless numbers of squirrels were to be found in the woods, and unceasing vigilance was required on the part of the settler to protect his cornfields from their ravages. They sometimes passed over the country in droves, traveling in the same direction. These animals were a nuisance, and were too common to be regarded as valuable for food. The Legislature, in 1809, passed a singular act, having the double object in view of destroying squirrels and providing the people with a currency. It was entitled 1 ' An Act to Encourage the Killing of Squirrels," passed and bearing date December 24, 1807. Its first section provided "that each and every person within this State, who is subject to a county tax, shall, in addition thereto, produce to the Clerk of the township in which he may reside such number of squirrels' scalps as the Trustees, at their annual meeting, apportion to the currency levies, provided that it does not exceed one hundred nor less than ten. Each taxpayer, at the time his property was listed for taxation, was to be furnished with a list oE the scalps he would be required to furnish. On failure or neglect to furnish the required scalps, the taxpayer was required to pay into the treasury of the township 3 cents for every scalp he was in default; and every person producing to the Township Clerk an excess of scalps over and above the number apportioned to him was to receive from the Township Clerk a certificate of the number of scalps, which certificate was a warrant on the Township Treasurer, each scalp being valued at 2 cents. These certificates were for the purpose of furnishing the people with a currency. They were secured by the faith of the township, and were received by the merchant for goods and the mechanic for work.

Other kinds of game were abundant. For some years, the red deer were as numerous as cattle to-day. Wild turkeys could be shot or entrapped in great numbers. When mast was abundant, a drove of more than one hundred wild turkeys, all large and fat, might be found in the near vicinity of the settlements, and when mast was scarce large numbers would sometimes come to the barn -yards for grain.