Hudson Township (part 2 of 2)

The next year Mr. Spawr began to raise a crop of corn, but sold out and went with Jonathan Cheney to the lead mines to make a fortune, but returned the next fall without the fortune. Then he started with Isaac Funk, who was taking a drove of cattle to Ohio, but the cattle were stampeded by wolves, and the trip to Ohio was spoiled. He then helped to take care of the Cheneys, who were sick with the measles, and became sick himself and lived on milk-punch. (Who wouldn't have the measles !) Mr. Spawr married, March 19, 1831, Rhoda Walden. In the spring of 1832 occurred the Black Hawk war. Mr. Spawr enlisted in a company of rangers commanded by Merrit Covel, after the fight at Stillman's Bun. It was the business of the rangers to guard the country from the Mackinaw to Ottawa. The people were much disturbed by false alarms and regular frights. At one time two men, Isaac T and Mat F , went to Bloomington, the former mounted on his fleet horse and the latter on an Indian pony, which he found hoppled near by. On their return they passed where the town of Kormal now stands. There they saw some blood on the ground. It was where Isaac Funk had bled his horse on account of some sickness, which the animal had contracted. But Isaac and Mat knew nothing of the real cause, but supposed immediately that some one had there been murdered by Indians, and that the savages had already commenced the work of slaughter and destruction. The men whipped up their horses and went across the prairie, and saw the tall rosin weeds waving: in the wind and thought each one was an Indian after them. Isaac, being better mounted, ran far ahead, and Mat, who was behind, called out, "Wait for me, Isaac!" and the reply came back, "Whip the pony, Mat!" At last they arrived home, and Mat mounted one of his own fleet horses and said : " Father and mother, I respect you, I respect you above everybody else, but I must leave you, I must go to Ohio, and must be at Cheney's Grove to. night!" When he arrived at Cheney's Grove, he was laughed out of his fright. At one time the neighborhood took a great scare ; some thought they saw Indian signs, and others imagined that they saw in the distance the smoke arising from Indian camps. The rangers were called out, and they hunted through the timber, displaying the most excellent training, and at last found the track of a pig ! During that evening the settlers collected at the house of John Henline near the head of Mackinaw timber. The rangers also came there, and during the night George Spawr and Henry Davis were instructed to raise a false alarm in order to test the pluck of the men. Spawr and Davis were placed on picket. Spawr says : "Just before we were relieved, I called out, 'Who's there, who's there, who's there ?' and tired my gun and ran to the house, yelling 'Injins' at every jump !" The men at the house turned out, some with guns and some not, and all were in disorder. Captain Covel was swearing and the women were making a great ado. A squad of men were placed in charge of the guard and they went out, and the wicked Spawr slipped off his shoe and made a track, which was pronounced "Injin sign," and the panic was greater than ever. One of the men at the house was so stricken with fear that he gave up his gun and jumped into bed behind his wife. The guards who were posted were relieved, and one of them was found trying to catch his horse to get away, another was found lying flat on his face, hoping that in the darkness of The night he would escape the general massacre ! The next morning a voice was heard calling : "Who jumped in bed behind indeed true that the frightened man had run to the house, and old Mrs. Henline had kept him out. At last old Joseph Brumhead said : "I wish I had a gun, I wish I had a gun \" "Here, uncle Joe," said the frightened man, "here's a gun." Mr. Brumhead, who was a verv religious man, took it, savins; : "I am not afraid to fight, and die, if need be, so help me Lord, for Christ's sake !" The man, having given up his gun. was allowed to come into the house where he jumped into bed behind his wife.

A fort was built at the house of the Henlines, and another at the Little Vermilion. ]STot long afterwards, while some of the rangers were picking strawberries, George Spawr and William Dimmitt fired off their guns to give the men a scare. The joke was successful, for the frightened rangers ran plashing through the Vermilion, and on three miles to the fort. The neighborhood was again alarmed, men were hurrying to and fro, and women were riding with their infants in their arms, in every direction. The rangers continned reconnoiterinir until the Black Hawk war was ended.

In the summer of 1837 George Spawr went to Franklin County, Illinois, where he lived until the fall of 1863. Franklin County had been settled by men from the south : and during the rebellion they were so much in favor of the rebel cause, and made so many threats against Union men, that in the fall of 1863 George Spawr went back to his old home in Mackinaw timber, and now lives in Lexington.

Charles Wesley Spawr, who lives about two miles from Belleflower. He was in the 110th Illinois Volunteers during the war and served under Sherman.

Mr. Spawr is about five feet and ten inches in height, and weighs one hundred and eighty-four pounds. He has a round, healthy face, and his eyes have an honest, open expression, but one can see the love of practical jokes in them. His hair stands up decidedly on his head. He has been a mechanic for thirty years, and still works at his trade. He gets up early in the morning and goes to work on time. He is very jovial and loves to talk over the adventures of other days. It does him good to laugh at the funny scenes which happened when the people in Mackinaw timber took their periodical frights.

Joseph Brumhead came to the West with the Haner family, in 1828. Before comino; to the West he married Catherine Haner in Ohio. He settled, on his arrival from Ohio, in Mackinaw timber, near old John Haner's place, a little west of where John Haner, jr., now lives. Mr. Brumhead was a very religious man, and was, for many years, a member of the Methodist Church. He belonged to this denomination when he came to Mackinaw timber, and was one of the eight members who organized the first Methodist Church in McLean County north of Bloomington. This was in 1830. He was a class-leader for nearly a year after its organization. He was then made a licensed exhorter, and went to the different groves and held meetings. He was not an educated man, but was possessed of great natural ability.

The Indians were quite numerous before the winter of the deep snow. At one time Mr. Brumhead had a horse, which was bitten by an Indian pony, and was much annoyed. Mr. Brumhead tied the pony to a tree with a log chain. After a while its Indian owner came for it, and when he found it fastened with the log chain he walked around it carefully, and at last came to the conclusion that " he no get loose." Mr. Brumhead at last gave the Indian the pom'.

Mr. Brumhead was a very courageous man. During the Black Hawk war, while the settlers were collected at the house of John Henline, for fear of trouble with the Indians, Mr. Brumhead was one of the coolest and most collected among them. His religious feeling bore him up always, and during the Indian troubles he seemed to feel no fear, for he trusted his life to the keeping of Divine Providence. He died in the year 1838, and his wife died a week after him. Their death resulted from eating unhealthy meat. Two of their children are living. The eldest son, John Wesley Brumhead, was the first white child born on the Mackinaw. His birth was in 1829. He now lives on the north of the Mackinaw, and is an incorrigible bachelor. The second son, Anderson S. Brumhead, lives in Blue Mound township. He does not believe in a bachelor's life, and has married a very amiable and attractive lady.

Henson B. Downey was born August 26, 1817, in Frederick County, Maryland. His father was Alexander Downey, and his mother's name before her marriage was Mary Tucker. He was partly of Scotch and Welch descent. In about the year 1828 he came with the family to Illinois. He grew up in the West, and Patrick Hopkins says of him during his youth and early manhood : " He was about as high a chicken as you could scare up."

On the 7th of April, 1830, he married Phebe Brumhead, youngest daughter of Joseph Brumhead. She died March 16, 1852. The children by this marriage were James X. Downey, who lives in the northern part of Blue Mound township ; Emily, wife of Henry Walden, lives in the northern part of Blue Mound ; J. Henson Downey also lives in Blue Mound, and his brother, Allen T. Downey, lives with him.

< >n the 24th of July, 1852, Mr. Downey married Lowisa Ellen Hand. The children by this marriage are Merritt R., William A., Mary, Ann Elizabeth, John W., Frank E., Lu Elle, Henry Benjamin and Harvey E. Downey. Of these, William A., Mary and John W. Downey, are dead. Tlie living children are with their mother on the homestead place, in Lexington township, on the south of the Mackinaw.

Henson B. Downey died June 29, 1871. He was a member of the Methodist Church for fifteen or twenty years previous to his death, and held the positions of steward, class-leader, exhorter and all the stations on the official board. He was a very highspirited man, and had a quick temper, which frequently was the cause of difficulty with his friends. But he would always apologize for his anger and try to make amends.

John Haner was born July 3, 1819, in Fayette County, Ohio. His father's name was "William Haner, and his mother's name was Jane Steel. His father was of Dutch descent and his mother of Irish. John Haner lived in Fayette County, Ohio, until he was eight years of age, when the family came to Sangamon County, Illinois. After living here one year they came to Mackinaw timber, in the present township of Lexington, in the present county of McLean. This was in the fall of 1828. They went to farming immediately, and had the usual hard times, which the old settlers experienced. In December, 1830, the day before the deep snow, they obtained a large quantity of corn-meal and flour from Cunningham's mill, and it was supposed to be sufficient to last all winter ; but it was only enough for a short time, as they supplied the neighbors, who could not go to mill. After it was gone they pounded corn, and sometimes took it over to old John Patton's hand-mill and ground it there. Many of the families in the neighborhood vsuffered severely during the deep snow. ISTot long before the deep. snow, Mr. Harrison Foster sold his claim, went to a new piece of ground and built a cabin. The clapboard roof was put on, but the cabin was only partly chinked, and the chimney was built no higher than the mantle-piece. When the deep snow came it nearly covered the cabin on the outside, and nearly filled it on the inside. The bed in which Foster slept had upon it a foot of snow. He arose in the morning and could not put on his moccasins, but drew on his socks and walked nearly a mile and a half down the Mackinaw, on the ice, to his brother's house. The two brothers then went back to bring away the family. Sarah Foster was carried on the back of her Uncle William. She clutched hold of his coat, and when they arrived at the latter's house she could not loosen her hold, as her fingers were frozen stiff, and had to be pulled open. The skin on the ends of her finders and the nails afterwards came off.

During the fall before the deep snow, Charles and John Cox came to Mackinaw timber and put up a log cabin, but as they had no out-buildings, they kept their pigs in one part of the cabin during the winter, while the family lived in the other, a slab partition separating them. William Haner, quite as careful, kept his chickens and sheep in the cellar. During that severe winter the Haners had a six-acre patch of shocked corn, and the wind whistled around the shocks, sometimes leaving bare places. When the snow came, a calf was caught in it near one of these shocks, and lived there all winter, the Haners bringing it water ; but its ears were frozen off. During that winter the deer came up among the stock and ate with them. The wolves became saucy, impudent and troublesome, and often came to the house and snatched and ran off with what they could find. One of these animals made its home in a shock of corn, but Haner's dog brought it out of those quarters and killed it. At one time a rather awkward mistake occurred. A wolf came up to Joseph Brumhead's house, and he chased it with a shoe-hammer along a path leading to William Haner's, and called to the latter to come out. Haner did so, and hissed on his dog; but the dog mistook the object of the excitement and grabbed an ox by the nose, and the astonished animal whirled around and sent the dog against Haner, and the two went rolling into the snow. But Haner recovered himself in a moment and pointed out the wolf, which was soon brought down. In the fall of 1831, William Haner built a horse-mill on the Mackinaw. A few years later, John Haner, sr., the father of the former, built a water-mill, and for many years Haner's mills ground the wheat and corn for a large section of country around.

John Haner, jr., of whom we are writing, tells some interesting matters concerning the Black Hawk Avar. During that exciting time the settlers collected at the house of John Henline. While there a great scare occurred, and it was thought that the Indians had come. The people in the house were ordered away from the walls to let the soldiers have a chance to shoot, and the children were pitched into the middle of the floor. John Haner, then a child, was one of the 3-oungsters who were so roughly handled. But at last the men with their ffuns took the outside of the house. The excitement lasted until nearly morning. The Haner family remained at the Henllne house for nearly a week, then came home, remained two weeks, then took another alarm and went to Bloomington, and stayed at the house of Mr. Goodheart.

Many practical jokes were played hy the settlers during the Black Hawk troubles. George Spawr played a wicked trick upon his father, Valentine Spawr. Whhile the old gentleman was absent, George tied strings around his feet and walked around the house, leaving tracks resembling those made by Indian moccasins ; then he shot a few bullet-holes through the door and left. The old gentleman came home, saw the bullet-holes and tracks, and the more he looked at them the more his hair began to rise. At last he started on the run for the Henline fort, and as he was rather fleshy his movements were by no means graceful. While he was crossing a creek near by on a high log, the wicked George fired a gun. This caused the old gentleman to make a misstep, and he fell into the water. But he scrambled out and went to the fort. Notwithstanding his scare, the cheery old gentleman did not lose heart, but congratulated himself that, though in his fall he had " got his lower body wet, he had kept his upper body dry."

The youthful sons and daughters of the early settlers of course had their affairs of the heart; but as they worked very hard they had little time to think of such matters, and did not attend to them in the way their sons and daughters have learned to do since. It is said that Moses Patton once traveled twelve miles to visit the daughter of Mr. Allen, in Old Town timber. He sat up with her until midnight, but could scarcely master courage to say a word. At last he turned to her and said in a scarey way ; " I s'pose you think I'm a long time a com-men-cin !" She made some evasive answer, and after a while he retired for the nisrht. The next morning he asked if he might call again, and she replied, that " if he had no more to say the next time, she hardly thought it would be worth while for him to come twelve miles to tell it !"

John Haner married, May 28, 1839, Miss Caroline Bull, who was born in Indiana, and came to Illinois in the fall of 1837. They have had eight children, of whom seven are living, and three are married. They are :

John Haner is six feet in height, has rather a broad face and bluish-gray eyes. He seems a very modest man, has a peaceable disposition, and is, no doubt, on the best terms with his neighbors. The humorous stories which he has related show that the love of fun is strong within him, and his amiable and accomplished lady is not far behind him in this respect. He is a man of good development of muscle, and has never been afraid to work. He has been very successful in life and manages his property well.

Benjamin Patton was born June 18, 1817, in Kentucky, in Garret County (he thinks). His father's name was John Patton, and his mother's maiden name was Margaret Wiley. John Patton was of Irish descent, and his wife was probably of English and Welch. He was quite a genius, and master of a number of trades and professions. He was a farmer, mechanic, gunsmith and blacksmith. He made ploughs, both the iron work and the wood work, and made household furniture, all that was necessary for the family. He was a professor of religion and a member of the Methodist Church, and his house at Mackinaw timber was a preaching place for many years.

When Benjamin Patton was less than a year old, his parents left Kentucky, where he was born, and came to Switzerland County, Indiana, andathere remained until they came to Illinois, which was in the fall of 1828. They came with two teams (two yoke of oxen and four horses). Benjamin was obliged to walk and drive the cattle, and as he wore light shoes, the exercise chafed his feet so severely that his two great toe-nails came off. The family arrived at Old Town timber in November, and went into an old round log house, without chinking or chimney, and there remained during the winter. Mr. Patton, sr., cut logs to build a house at Buckles' Grove, but changed his mind as to his location, and went to Mackinaw timber. There the Patton family lived for a while in a deserted wigwam of the old Indian town. It was a queer structure, built up on all sides, with a hole in the top for the smoke of a fire inside to pass out.

Benjamin Patton has experienced the hardships common to the old settlers. He married, October 13, 1839, Mary Ann Conover. He has had no children. He is full six feet in height, is rather spare in build. He appears to have succeeded very well in life.

Patrick Hopkins was born June 11, 1799, in Sussex County, Delaware. His father's name was Robert Hopkins, and his mother's maiden name was Nancy Spence. His father was of "Welch descent and his mother of Scotch. His father was a farmer, plain and unassuming in his manner, though rather imposing in appearance, as he weighed about two hundred and twenty pounds. Mrs. Hopkins, the mother of Patrick, was a smart, energetic, little woman. So far as her person was concerned, she would hardly bear down the scales against her husband, as she only weighed ninety-four pounds. But what she lacked in size she made up in spirit and energy. She was a good deal of a theologian and would discuss religious matters with airy one who chose to test her argumentative powers. She and her husband were both members of the Methodist Church. There were nine children of the Hopkins family, five boys and four girls ; they all lived to be grown and, like their parents, have led an unassuming and retired life.

Patrick Hopkins had few opportunities of obtaining an education, and he has been obliged to make his way in the world with the benefit of only forty days schooling.

In the fall of 1814, the Hopkins family moved to Clark County, Indiana, among the deer, bear and Indians. In 1817, Patrick went to Georgetown, Kentucky, to learn the bricklaying: trade. In 1820, lie came hack to Clark county and married Mary Bartholomew. During; the following year, he moved to Owen County, where he laid brick and worked a small farm. In 1830, raised a cabin and in the following year broke prairie for a farm. He lived very quietly until 1832, when the Black Hawk war broke out. In those days, the settlers were liable to take a scare at any moment, as it was very hard to obtain correct news from the seat of war. One of the neighbors, named Bartholomew, an old Indian fighter and formerly a soldier in Wayne's army, advised the settlers to build a fort, which they did on the place where John B. Dawson now lives. On the day before the settlers collected in the fort, Mr. Hopkins was alarmed by the barking of dogs and thought the Indians had certainly come, but concluded to fisrlit not onlv for his family but also for his horses, and took his gun and went to the barn ; but the alarm was false. On the following day, the families of the settlers went to the fort, and Mr. Hopkins went with a company collected by Mr. Bartholomew to Indian Grove, where the Kickapoos were encamped, to see whether the latter were disposed to be hostile. The Indians had just returned from their winter quarters and were very friendly. They were, when the whites arrived, collecting food, and in the evening came to camp with all kinds of game, from a snipe to a raccoon. They treated the whites with great courtesy, took charge of their horses, put strong halters on them, and set two men to guard them through the night. The party that evening witnessed some religious ceremonies, which were carried on by Indians who were converted to Christianity. All were seated on the ground, except the leader, and they sang and exhorted for a long time. At last the leader took his seat, and then occurred a singular ceremony. An Indian stepped forward and asked to be whipped for the sins he had committed during the week, and drew his garment over his head, exposing his bare back. Fourteen stripes were given him by three Indians nearby, with smooth hickory rods about three feet long. The stripes were received

-without a movement to indicate pain. This example was followed by fifty others, who received fourteen or twenty-eight stripes laid on with such force that any one of them left a mark. The stripes were administered by three Indians. When fourteen stripes were called for, the first Indian gave seven, the second four and the last three. When twenty-eight stripes were called for, the first Indian gave fourteen, the second seven and the last seven. When each applicant for stripes had been whipped, he turned around and shook hands with the men who bore the rods. The interpreter told the whites, who were looking on, that these stripes were given because of disobedienee to the commands of the Great Spirit during the week.

In the spring of 1833 he put up a log cabin in Lexington township, on the farm now known as the Lemuel Biggs place. When he first moved into it, his chickens roosted on the partly built wooden chimney. One evening, while he was holding family worship, an owl took a chicken from the chimney ; but as the fowl was heavy, both birds came down in the yard. Mr. Hopkins says : "I won't say how long I continued the prayer, but it was short. I reached for my gun, glanced along the sights, shot the owl by good luck and released the chicken."

The settlers went sometimes long distances to get their milling done, and were frequently gone eight or ten days. Mr. Hopkins went to Cheney's Grove, and afterwards to Fox River above Ottawa. At one time he went to mill at Ottawa with William Popejoy. The latter was a very fair-minded man, but it stirred up his anger if he was imposed on in any way. Mr. Hopkins, on the contrary, would "rather suffer evil than do evil." They were obliged to stay over night at the mill, while waiting for their grist. During the night Mr. Popejoy waked up Mr. Hopkins, saying : "Hopkins, Hopkins, get up, get up, that other man has given the miller fifty cents to grind Iris grist before ours, and we will miss our connections to-morrow if that is done." Mr. Hopkins aroused himself reluctantly, and Popejoy brought up their corn to put into the hopper as soon as it became empty. "You can't put in that corn," said the miller. "Yes I will." "ISTo you won't, unless you are a better man than I am." When Popejoy heard this, his coat dropped from his shoulders as he stepped up, saying: "I never yet failed to whip a mean man." The miller

Mr. Hopkins' wife died August 29, 1839. She Avas a very kind lady and their marriage was a happy one. They had rive children, one of whom was born in Illinois. They are two sons and three daughters, and are all married. Mr. Hopkins married, November 15, 1847, near Pleasant Hill, Matilda Smith, daughter of William and Obedience Smith. They have had no children. They have lived together very happily. In 1867 Mr. Hopkins moved to Lexington, where he has resided ever since.

Patrick Hopkins is five feet and eleven and a half inches in height. He has a full head of hair, which is now nearly white. He wears glasses while reading, though the sight of his right eye is very good. He lost the use of his left eye in 1842, when it was struck by a branch of a tree while he was going through the timber. His health is now pretty good, though he has suffered a great deal from the bilious fevers common to the western country in early days. He has not had extraordinary success financially, as the goodness of his heart has too often induced him to become security for men whose obligations he has been obliged to pay. Nevertheless he has plenty to make him comfortable, and is in the happy condition of the man who has neither poverty nor riches.

Peter Hefner, known as "Uncle Peter," was born April 20, 1813, in what was called Pendleton County, Virginia, but is now called Highland County. His father's name was Michael Hefner and his mother's name before her marriage was Barbara Flesher. The Hefner family moved to Payette County, Ohio, when Peter was between two and three years of age. As soon as the latter became five or six years of age he showed a disposition for raising stock, and attended to the feeding of the animals, and took notice of all the transactions in stock. This little five-year old infant knew of every cow, pig or sheep bought or sold in the neighborhood and the prices paid. In 1830 the Hefner family moved to Mackinaw timber, Illinois.

When the family came to this country Mr. Hefner received a fine colt as a present from his father. It was carefully raised and trained, and became the celebrated Tiger Whip, one of the fastest horses in the country. This horse once ran a race, in which were a number of fine racers, and among them was Bald Hornet, ridden by E. E. Greenman, now of Leroy. Tiger Whip won the race triumphantly. Greenman thought that if fair play could have been had, the Bald Hornet would have come out first best ; but the trouble was that Tiger Whip ran faster. Mr. Hefner once rode Tiger Whip on a queer race. While coming home from Bloomington he chased a prairie chicken, and notwithstanding its long flights he tired it out and caught it. After Mr. Hefner had won some money by the speed of his horse, his uncle Flesher said he considered it a misfortune, for the money obtained in that way would never do any good, and Providence would be sure to bring some misfortune upon Peter, and the latter would learn to drink whisky and to gamble, and would fall into evil ways generally. But nothing of the kind occurred ; the latter never drank the intoxicating fluid nor gambled nor fell into evil ways.

Mr. Hefner went to mill occasionally. He once went to Cheney's Grove with a load of twenty-five bushels of wheat. There he succeeded in getting two or three bushels ground, but no more for want of water. Then he went to a new steam mill, which was then just in operation in Bloomington, and there two or three bushels more were ground. Then he went to a mill on the Mackinaw, but could get nothing ground at all. Then he went to Ottawa with a full load, and after waiting a week or more, his wheat was ground.

The author is sorry to relate that Mr. Hefner has been occasionally "up to his capers." John Messer was once going to mill and was asleep in his wagon, as his slowly moving oxen were plodding along. Peter Hefner and a few other sports made motions at the oxen and gradually turned them around and started them in the opposite direction. They went a mile or more on the back track before Messer discovered the error. He never forgave Peter for this prank.

they obtained the half of a wild hog by active hunting, but they had no salt for cooking it, and Peter started for some. He went to Dry Grove, failed there, went to John Benson's at "White Oak Grove, and there found salt and came home, and the Hefner family had a few "square meals."

The pigs that were raised by the early settlers were " prairie rooters." They could root up anything with their long noses, climb anything and run anywhere. The Hefner family were once short of meat in harvest time, and the old gentleman decided to kill the only pig they possessed. He said : "Boys ,you shall have some meat for supper," and sharpened his knife for the bloody work, and started for the pen. The intelligent pig saw what was coming, and as the old gentleman climbed into the pen on one side the pig climbed out on the other and ran off switching defiance with its tail ! The old gentleman was left to meditate on the uncertainties of life, and the pig was not found for six months.

Mr. Hefner had his experience in the deep snow. When the heavy snow fell in December of the celebrated winter of 1830-1 he was coming with two others from the house of Louis Sowards on Money Creek, with a load of corn and a hog on a sled, drawn by four horses. They were so blinded by the falling snow that they could not 'see the lead horses, and they unhitched and rode back to Sowards! There they kept warm during the night by building a great fire, though the weather was intensely cold, and the cabin was unchinked. In the morning they returned home safely.

Traveling in the early days was not always safe, as may be supposed. Mr. Hefner tells of a trip to Danville, to show the difference between the old days and the new. He went first to Newcom's Ford, where he was followed by a pack of wolves. There he staved over night, and the wolves were so ferocious and bold that they drove the dogs into the house. The next day he crossed two sloughs, and in each case was obliged to wade waist deep in freezing water and break the ice for his horse. On his return he swam the Sangamon at Newcom's Ford, and as the weather was bitterly cold and a west wind was blowing, he thought he had a good chance of freezing to death; but he reached a settler's cabin, thawed himself out and ^*ent home.

At one place where Mr. Hefner stopped, about sixteen miles this side of Danville, was a clever, good-natured gentlemen, old General Bartholomew. Peter Hefner, being an active lad, brought up the general's horse, and the latter was so pleased by the little favor that he paid Hefner's bill. When Hefner inquired the bill the landlord said nothing. The old general, who was looking on, said : "Well, sir, now I learn the custom of this road ; the man who eats thirteen buckwheat cakes for breakfast, has his bill free !"

Mr. Hefner is about six feet in height, weighs two hundred and thirty-five or forty pounds, has black hair and dark eyes, is plain spoken and fond of humor and practical jokes. In January, 1870, he moved from Money Creek to Lexington. He was always a hospitable man and never charged travelers anything. But afterwards he varied a little from this rule and made peddlers "come down with their stamps." Mr. Hefner is a man of great strength and nerve, and the exposure of a frontier life has not injured his constitution in the least. He is a straightforward man in his dealings and prompt to meet his engagements.

There are two John Dawsons in McLean County; the one lives inBloomington and the other in Lexington. They are not related to each other, because they happen to be John Dawsons, any more than if they happened to be John Smiths; though the relationship of either would be an honor, for they are both gentlemen. John Dawson was born December 4, 1820, in Madison Countv, Ohio. His father's name was James R. Dawson and was of English and Welch descent. The great, great grandfather of John Dawson was one James Dawson, who came from Wales, and settled on the north fork of the Potomac in Virginia. This gentleman was married twice and had sixteen children by each marriage, making thirty-two in all. At the time of his death, his youngest child was twenty-four years of age, and the old gentleman was himself one hundred and twenty-eight years old. His thirty-two children were all living at the time of his death. His death occurred while he was moving about, carrying corn to his horses, in which he took great pride. This liking for horses has ever been a characteristic of the Dawson family.

The father of John Dawson was James R. Dawson, who was born October 10, 1794, in Bourbon County, Kentucky. At the age of fifteen he left Kentucky and went to Ohio, and there married Mary Ogden in the year 1816. She was a lady of English and Irish descent. On the 26th of September, 1832, the Dawson family came to Mackinaw timber, McLean County, Illinois. There the old gentleman bought three eighties of land and began farming. During the fall after their arrival the Dawsons, senior and junior, made a visit to Chicago and there saw General Scott and the troops and cannon brought on account of the Black Hawk war.

John Dawson was particularly skillful in killing wolves, and pretty sure to finish one at a single stroke of his club. He describes the manner in which a dog catches a wolf in the chase. The dog takes the wolf by the hind legs, while both are running at full speed; this throws the wolf from its feet, and the dog catches it by the throat before it can recover from the fall. Sometimes dog and wolf will turn a complete somersault in the air. The vicious wolves were put to death in the most convenient way. Mr. Dawson killed one by thrashing it on the ground. John Ogden once came up to a wolf, which was whipping his dog, threw a blanket over the wolf and pounded it to death with his fist.

John Dawson married, February 25, 1844, Araminta Adams. He has had eight children, four boys and four girls, but only two are living. These are: >.

John Dawson is six feet and an inch and a-half in height and weighs one hundred and ninety-five pounds. He is very muscular and is good natured and kind in his manner. He is a man of steady nerve and understands what he is doing, no matter how much excitement is raised. He is a most conscientious man, both in his religious opinions and in his dealings with his fellow men.

Croghan Dawson, son of James R. Dawson, was born October 10, 1822. When he was ten years of age, the family started for the West, and arrived at Money Creek timber, September 26, 1832. They went to Mackinaw timber about the first of December, 1832. He there worked for his father until the age of twenty, when he began the work of farming and catching wolves. In the latter occupation he went into partnership with his brother John. They had great sport and were pretty sure to bring down their game. If a dozen men were after a wolf, either John or Croghan was pretty sure to get the scalp. He has killed wolves with steel traps and with strychnine. The latter was most effectual. In one winter he killed twenty-six wolves with this poison.

Croghan Dawson has also bad his sport in chasing deer, and particularly the fawns which run faster than full grown deer. He remembers a particularly lively chase after a fawn, near Patton's Creek. The parties to the sport chased it far and fast enough to catch a deer. At last it hid in the high grass, and two of the hunters, Isaac Haner and Valentine Spawr, were thrown from their horses in the slough, while trying to catch it. Mr. Dawson at last caught it with his hands, holding its fore and hind legs, stretching it out helpless. He has caught quite a number of fawns, by springing from his horse and holding them in this way. Mr. Dawson has occasionally chased wild hogs, and they have occasionally chased him. He once went after two of his father's hogs which by neglect had become wild, and they turned on him savagely. He tried to climb a tree, but the tree was simply a little bush and broke down, and his situation seemed a bad one; but his dogs came to his rescue and occupied the attention of the ferocious hogs.

The Dawson family are great lovers of stock, and it seems natural for them to manage cattle and horses well ; but Mr. Dawson once had great difficulty with an ox belonging to his father. Good management and kind treatment had no effect upon it. It would not be broken or trained, but would hook and kick and even bite. If it had lived in the days of the Jews, it would have been supposed that the evil spirits, which were then so numerous, had entered into it.

Mr. Dawson is about five feet and ten inches in height, and nearly all that is said of his brother John's disposition and character will apply equally well to Croghan. He is a kind man and talks in a homelike manner, and he is blessed with a family of very intelligent children.

James Adams was born February 3, 1826, in "Boone County, Kentucky. His father's name was Matthew Adams, and his mother's maiden name was Jane Black. His father's descent was Irish, and his mother's was English. Matthew Adams was raised in Pennsylvania, and was a soldier in the Avar of 1812, just after Hull's surrender at Detroit. He was a man somewhat peculiar in his ideas. If he had money he would sometimes lend it, but would never charge a cent of interest. He raised corn, but would never sell it for less than twenty-five cents per bushel, as he thought that a fair price, and if he could not get this price immediately, he kept his corn until it rose in the market. On the other hand, he never charged more than twenty-five cents per bushel, no matter how high it rose in the market, as he thought the acceptance of a larger price would be extortion. During the year 1844, the year of the great flood, when all the crops failed, Matthew Adams had on hand about a thousand bushels of old corn. He could have sold it for a very large price, but would accept only twenty-five cents per bushel, and would never sell to anyone more than that person needed for his family. No speculator was allowed to buy his corn. People came from Old Town, Cheney's Grove, Buckles' Grove, and from all over the country, to get some of Adams' corn. James Adams lived in Kentucky until October, 1834, when the family came to Illinois. The journey was pleasant until the}' came to the black swamps of Indiana. There it rained four days, and they traveled over the corduroy roads slowly, going fifteen miles in two days. After twenty-six days of travel they arrived at the house of John B. Thompson, who then lived in what is now Lexington township, on the north of the Mackinaw. There Matthew Adams bought a claim of Harrison Foster, entered it two years afterwards, and it still belongs to the family.

When James Adams arrived at the age of fifteen, he took great interest in hunting, and made a specialty of shooting turkeys. At one time he killed fifteen in a single day. He also hunted deer. The first he killed was a little spike-horn buek, which he creased on the neck, so that it was stunned and fell, and he killed it with his knife before it could recover. He was a tireless hunter, and once chased a deer all day after breaking into the Mackinaw and having his wet clothes frozen. He experienced some of the dangers as well as the excitements of the chase. At one time while chasing a deer his horse stepped into a badger's hole, turned a somersault, and sent the rider rolling. At one time James Adams and his brother Thomas were chasing deer on horseback. The horse which the former rode was shod as to its fore feet, but the horse ridden by the latter had no shoes at all. Unexpectedly they came to a slough overflowed and covered with ice. The horses were on the keen run and could not be reined up, and they crossed the slough of ice without slipping.

James Adams speaks of a strange circumstance which happened while one of his neighbors, John Spawr, was chasing a wolf. The horse which Mr. Spawr rode had been accustomed to step on the wolves, when it overtook them, but was once bitten and refused to step on them afterwards. While Spawr was chasing the wolf, he became so anxious that he shouted, and at last eagerly pitched headlong from his horse on the wolf, crushed it to the ground, tied its mouth with a suspender and brought the wild creature home.

The early settlers were toughened and made hardy by their exposures. Mr. Adams speaks of the Foster family particularly. During the winter of the deep snow the famih* of Harrison Foster had their cabin nearly covered with snow on the outside, and nearly filled on the inside, and they were obliged to leave it and go to the cabin of William Foster, a mile and a half distant, and were all more or less frost-bitten. But the Fosters became very tough and could endure much cold. Mr. Adams has seen the children sliding barefooted on the ice. Little Aaron Foster often ran about in the snow, with no garment to protect him but a shirt. He was once lost and was found curled up in a snow-drift fast asleep, with nothing but his shirt and the snow to keep him warm.

Mackinaw Creek, where Mr. Adams lives, is nearly always difficult and dangerous to cross in the spring of the year or during a thaw in the winter. The following incident shows what risks 3'oung men will sometimes take under peculiar circumstances. In January, 1846, Mr. Adams had an engagement with a young lady, who afterwards became Mrs. Adams. The Macki- naw was full of water and ice from bank to bank ; nevertheless, lie crossed it by stepping on a cake of ice, then pushing it over to another and stepping upon that. On his return, at four o'clock in the morning, he re-crossed it in the same wa}<. Mr. Adams says that the Mackinaw was never so high as to prevent him from crossing, though he was once stopped for a short time. He attempted to cross it on horseback, and his horse begun plunging and kept it up for half an hour. He was obliged at last to build a raft. He sometimes took passengers over on it, and at one time ferried over a certain Mr. Samuel ShurtlefT. The logs rolled a little and Mr. Shurtleff was much frightened, and sat in the middle, calling out, " Oh, Lord ! Oh, Lord !" but was safely landed. About six years ago, while the Mackinaw was high, in February, Mr. Adams had a raft with which he ferried people over. He made several successful trips, but once came veiy near being carried under the ice, for it was piled up six feet high along the banks.

If the West has been troubled with wet seasons, so it has also been troubled with dry. Mr. Adams speaks of a dry fall when he went to Chicago, and his oxen gave out on the prairie on account of thirst and refused to travel for some time. At last went forward to the Mazon River, but found it dry, with the exception of a puddle of water, in which about two hundred of Isaac Funk's cattle had been wallowing.

Church-going was, in early days, cmite a journey. The Adams family went to church to Indian Grove, twelve miles distant, and to Money Creek, nine miles distant, They were obliged to be at church by nine o'clock in the morning for love-feast, and found the congregation more punctual than at the present time.

Mr. Adams married, February 9, 1847, Margaret Foster, a woman who bore the trials of a pioneer life bravely. She died in 1855. Three children were born of this marriage. They are :

Mr. Adams married, February 28, 1856, Miss Annie Ransom, one of the most agreeable and accomplished of women. She is a lady who commands the respect and admiration of all who are so fortunate as to be numbered among her acquaintances.

is somewhat slim, has clear, blue eyes, and a rather prominent nose. He is a very companionable gentleman, and loves to talk of the good old days. He is very courteous to all with whom he converses, and is widely known and respected.

Shelton Smith was born February 27, 1825, in Switzerland County, Indiana. His father's name was John Smith, and his mother's name was Cassandra Wiley. John Smith was of Scotch descent, and his wife Cassandra was of English, and, perhaps, partly of Welch. In 1834 the Smith family came to the Henline settlement in Mackinaw timber, Illinois. They made their journey in the fall of the year, and had a pleasant time. When they came to the prairie they followed the Indian trail ; but at one time lost it and wandered out of sight of timber. They returned on their own track for some distance, and employed a guide to take them through. When they came to Mackinaw timber they bought a claim of George Henline and commenced farming.

During the winter of 1830 Shelton Smith commenced going to school. His first teacher was an Irishman, who made the scholars study at the top of their voices. As they shouted their lessons he stood in the middle of the floor slapping his hands and saying : "Whoop ! boys, I'll take ye through the avitkmathic in four weeks !" This Irishman taught school until the day after Christmas, and then suddenly disappeared and was never seen again. It was supposed that he left because the scholars gave him to understand that they would bar him out and make him treat, between Christmas and Xew Year's. The last day of school that season was in December, 183(3, on the day of the great "sudden change.'' When school was dismissed, the water and snow had just commenced freezing. AVhile he and some larger boys were on their way home, they came to low ground covered with running water a foot or more in depth, and fifty or sixty yards wide. The tall boys started across it while a thin scale of ice was freezing. When they were coming out of the water on the opposite side, they had some difficulty in breaking the ice, as it partially bore their weight. Shelton stood watching them and they hallooed to him to come across, and if he could not wade through they would pull him out. lie started, and the ice bore him up all the way over.

In the winter of 1834-5, when the Smiths came to this country, Shelton Smith and his younger brother John set traps for the prairie chickens. These traps were set near the house, where some flax, belonging to George Ilenline, was rotting. The chickens came there in great flocks to eat the flaxseed, and the little Smith boys watched them as they filled up the traps. The chickens were taken out, and the traps were filled again and again. During that winter these boys caught seven hundred and fifty chickens. The breasts of the chickens were salted away in barrels, and the other parts were eaten. The family obtained enough meat from these chickens to last during the followingsummer.

When Shelton Smith was fourteen years of age he often took his father's gun and went out to hunt. On his first hunt he discovered a deer, which came close to him, but instead of shooting, he climbed a tree from fear, and the deer ran off. Little Shelton determined to be more brave the next time, and not long afterwards, on another hunt, he saw a deer and laid his gun on a log, took deliberate aim and fired. The deer fell, and with boyish excitement little Smith dropped his gun and ran up. But when he approached the deer it rose to its feet, threw its hair forward and sprang towards him. He went up a tree in a moment, and the deer came near and laid down. Little Shelton remained in the tree for several hours, shivering with fear and cold, and throwing down branches to frighten away the animal below. At last, being fearful of freezing to death, he descended and found the deer cold and stiff. The deer were very plenty. At another time little Smith shot a very large buck on the side of a hill, and was much excited and jumped on it with his knife to cut its throat. But as he caught hold of the large antler he thought he would first count the prongs, and he counted seven ; just then the deer doubled up and gave little Smith a kick, which sent him rolling down the hill, and as he looked up, the deer was running away. It was never seen again by little Smith.

When Shelton Smith became large enough to chase wolves on horseback he had great sport. He once tired out a wolf after a long chase, and his horse stumbled over it, and Smith was thrown. In the struggle he succeeded in getting hold of the wolf, choked it down, tied its mouth with a suspender and brought it home alive. Mr. Smith tells a story on Samuel Ogden, which has often been related by political speakers to illustrate their points. Samuel Ogden had a fine greyhound, called Sharp, which was fleet after deer. Once, while Sharp was coming up to a buck, which was running with all its might, the latter became frightened and confused and ran in a zigzag course. Then Samuel Ogden exclaimed : "Oh, you may gee and you may haw, but Sharp will take you at last." This incident has often been told by political speakers to illustrate the zigzag courses of their adversaries, and that justice will overtake them at last.

Mr. Smith is five feet and ten inches in height. He is straight in build, and pleasant in his manner. He loves fun, though he is somewhat slow of speech. He appears to have succeeded well in life, and has an interesting family. He is a very reliable man and much respected in the community where he resides. He likes to play croquet, which is a favorite game in Lexington.

Milton Smith was born Februaiy 19, 1808, in Franklin County, Kentucky. His father's name was William Smith, and his mother's name was Obedience Brown. He thinks he is of Irish, Welch and English descent. The father of Milton Smith died when the latter was eight years of age. Milton grew up in Franklin County, where he was born. He had many lively experiences, as he was a lively boy. There was a species of insect called the yellow jacket, which was quite common in Kentucky. This insect was long, with yellow stripes or bars running around its body, and was something between the bee and the wasp. It had a fearful sting in its tail ; and when it was angry this insect would take hold, with its bill, of the object of its wrath, curl up its body and sting again and again. It was dangerous business to disturb a yellow jacket's nest. But the troublesome insects often made their nests in the pastures and the cattle were sometimes made crazy by their stings. It was often an interesting problem how to destroy these nests of yellow jackets ; but Milton Smith was a bright boy and his ingenuity never failed him. He would shell a few quarts of corn, come up slyly to the nest, and pour the corn into it and around it. Then he would call the pigs ! The swine would come running up, giving satisfactory grunts, and would at once begin eating the corn and tearing up the nest to get more. The yellow jackets would come out, of course, and sting the pigs, and the latter would flap their ears, shake their tails and squeal ; but they were pretty sure to eat up the corn and tear up the nest until they found the last kernel.

In the fall of 1835 Milton Smith came to where Pleasant Hill now stands, in the township of Lexington, McLean County, Illinois, and he has lived there ever since. He helped to build the first house in Lexington, which was put up by Gridley & Covel. Thomas Fell had the building contract. Mr. Smith succeeded well in the new country, as his motto was "keep striking." He bought land, exercised good judgment, and has become very well to do in life. He bought some land after the Illinois Central Railroad was built, when the last unentered land was taken up. He would have bought more, but he had a lively recollection of the unfortunate speculations of men who entered land, and after holding it for many years, sold it for less than the gov ernment price.

Mr. Smith married, November 23, 1837, Lydia Ann Goddard. She is a woman of ready wit, and is a good judge of character. They have had eleven children, of whom nine are living. Mr. and Mrs. Smith both appreciate practical jokes, and their children are not far behind them in this respect, and occasionally put their love of fun into practice. It is said that during one morning, when Mr. Smith called his children to the house to attend devotional exercises, they all came except Fletcher. This young man had an idea which he wished to develop. He waited until the exercises commenced, when he took his father's dog by the neck and pitched the unfortunate animal between two bee hives, which were standing close together. The bees were enraged and swarmed out everywhere, and the poor dog ran off howling. Fletcher took good care to keep out of the way. The devotional exercises were carried on under difficulties, and it is said were suspended for the time being.

Mr. Smith is about five feet and eight inches in height, is strongly and squarely built. His hair and whiskers are white and his eyes are gray. His mouth has a firm expression, and his eyes twinkle when he sees anything funny. He is a very religious man and belongs to the Presbyterian church. He is very conscientious in his dealings, and is widely known and respected. He is always anxious to speak well of his neighbors, and charitably conceals their faults.

Thomas McMackin was born March 15, 1823, in Green County, Tennessee. His father, Thomas McMackin, was a native American, and his mother, whose maiden name was Rachel Monteith, was partly Irish and partly American.

In the fall of 1838, Thomas McMackin and his widowed mother came to McLean County, Illinois. They came with another family and two young men; and during a part of the journey they had with them an old Quaker as a guide. This old gentleman was exceedingly honest, and was pained at sight of any immoral act. When the young men stole a couple of gourds, the old gentleman was so shocked and so angry that he broke the gourds over the young men's heads. The journey was, on the whole, a pleasant one, but a few incidents occurred which are perhaps worth relating. Mr. McMackin says that just before the party came to the Kentucky shore he saw the meanest man he ever knew. He was a Baptist preacher, named Rush. This man compelled his slaves to work until ten o'clock at night and made them go four miles after dark for potatoes, and sent them off to work the next morning by sunrise. This preacher had two large orchards, but forbade any of the party to go near them. Nevertheless, this order was not obeyed, and the party went through the orchards, but found no apples tit for eating. Mr. McMackin does not wish it thought that he has any feeling of disrespect for preachers as a general thing, but he certainly did have a lively sense of the meanness of this Baptist preacher, Mr. Rush.

During the latter part of November, the party arrived at Cheney's Grove. There the McMackin family lived for two years on the place belonging to the heirs of Benjamin Thomas. In 1843, Thomas McMackin was a boatman on the Illinois and Wabash Rivers. He also flatboated for awhile on the Vermilion River. He had evil fortune, as people sometimes do, and lost his health and used up all his earnings in regaining it.

Mr. McMackin married, February 13, 1848, Elizabeth Downey, eldest daughter of Benjamin Downey. He has lived since that time in Lexington township, with the exception of one year.

He made the usual trips to Chicago, when prices seemed little or nothing compared with the present, and. went long distances to mill. For some unexplained reason he seemed to live easier and better then than at the present time, and took more pleasure in life. He has carried his axe fifteen miles to help a neighbor raise a log cabin, going one day and returning the next.

Mr. McMackin thought the land in the West would never be settled, and neglected to buy land until it was all taken up and could not be had, except at high prices. lie now lives on twenty-five acres of land, which he has bought with hard earned money. He was offered a square of land in Bloomington, near the Wesleyan University, for eight}* dollars, and it is now worth twenty thousand.

Mr. McMackin is five feet and eight inches high, has brown hair and whiskers and gray eyes. He is a good man and has a kind expression in his face. His nose is good natured and Roman. He is very peaceable and quiet, but sensible in conversation. He seems very conscientious and honorable in his dealings. He has been pathmaster for some time, but insists that he shall not be compelled to serve again. Notwithstanding the quietness of his manner, Mr. McMackin is bold when boldness is required, and has great presence of mind during an exciting moment. He once rescued a lady, who had fallen into the Sangamon river, after she had sunk for the third time. He was on horseback at the time, and when apprised of her danger rode into the water, jumped from his horse and succeeded in bringing her out. She was insensible, but was revived after some exertion.