Marshall County, Indiana - The whole text, 1908 (part 7 of 12)

There were expert hunters and fishermen in those days, those who knew where the runways of the deer were, who knew all about their peculiarities and habits, and those who were familiar with the best fishing holes in the lake and river, and what sort of fishing tackle was the best to use to capture the various kinds of fish that were the most numerous at that time.

The guns used then in hunting deer and other wild animals were rifles loaded wi'th a single ball, instead of the double barrelled shot gun now in almost universal use, so that the hunter, if he missed his aim, or failed to hit his game the first time, before he could load and fire again the fleet footed skipper would be a mile or so away in the woods and underbrush. If the shot happened to strike the deer and wound him, not so severely, however, as to prevent him from running, sometimes a long chase would ensue before he was finally tired out and exhausted by the "hounds" that were sent after him. If it happened to be a big buck with horns like an elk, after his fright was over he would occasionally turn and fight his pursuers. The barking of the dogs would frequently hold him at bay until the hunter could overtake him and fire another shot which would almost always bring him to his knees and finally result in his capture.

The animal was usually skinned, and only the hide and saddles and tallow carried home, unless it was a small animal and there was more than one hunter, in that case the legs of the deer would be tied together, a pole passed between them, and it would be carried home on the men's shoulders.

There were pretty good marksmen among the old pioneer hunters, those who could pick a squirrel out of the tops of the highest trees, and had no trouble in hitting wild turkeys and other wild fowl, that couldn't hit a deer one time in a dozen. The sight of a deer within shooting distance would invariably give him what was called the "buck ager," that is, his nerves would become unstrung and he would shake and tremble like an aspen leaf, making it impossible for him to hold his gun steady enough to get a focus on the animal, and so, if he fired and happened to hit hini it was by accident. Those who were afflicted with this annoying disease seldom overcame it. It was a chronic ailment from which there seemed to be no relief.

Deer were very plenty in the region of Maxinkuckee lake. They went in families, or droves, and had regular runways from their feeding grounds to the lake and river where they went to drink. Near these watering places salt would sometimes be scattered, and these cunning animals soon cultivated a taste for this saline substance, and could be frequently found at these "licks" if the hunter could secrete himself so as not to be seen.

It was not an unusual sight to see eight or ten deer running through the prairies or woods, and the writer, when a small boy, remembers of having seen a drove of twenty, running tandem through an open stretch of ground about one-half mile from his father's house. They were running in a leisurely lope, with their short white tails erect. It was an exciting and beautiful sight, one that will never be forgotten.

Many hunting stories are still remembered, some of which, although strictly true in every way, will be hard to be believed by the present generation.

Sidney Williams, who settled in the territory now known as Walnut township, in the vicinity of Argos, was an expert rifleman, and if he had half a chance he was sure to bring down his game every time, and in many of his hunting tours he frequently brought in from one to half a dozen deer. On one occasion he saw a large buck feeding on an island in a marsh not far away. He told the hunter who was with him that he would have that animal, and perhaps three or four others that were grazing in the bushes near by. The buck on the island was a sentinel to give warning to those in the bushes of approaching danger, for, it should be known that these animals have a system of signals to enable them to flee from danger as have other noncombatants. Williams prepared himself for his trip across the marsh by cutting a willow bush and sticking the stem under his coat collar and letting the branches hang over his head while he crept on his hands and knees about forty rods until he got within shooting distance.

The deer looked in astonishment at the moving bush, but before he could make out what it was, Williams had leveled his gun, taken aim, pulled the trigger and the deer fell dead, the ball having passed through its heart. Two other fat sleek fellows came out of the bushes to see what the matter was. One of them was killed, but the gun failing to "go oft" the other escaped by running away as fast as his legs could carry him.

At another time he started after a gang of nine deer early in the morning. At first he commenced firing light charges. He followed them up, increasing the charges until they became used to it and did not appear to be disturbed by the sound of the gun. He succeeded in shooting the leader, after which the balance of the gang becam.e confused so that they did not know what to do or where to go. Williams continued to drop one every shot until at four o'clock in the afternoon he had the entire gang of nine deer scattered around so near together that in less than two hours he had secured a wagon and -a man to help him, and had them loaded and ready to start for home !

At another time, another hunter of the neighborhood, with a pack of dogs started up five deer which were chased to the bluff on Maxinkuckee lake. It was in the winter season of the year and the lake was frozen over with a coating of smooth ice. The deer went down the bank, struck the ice and fell perfectly helpless. An ax was secured and all five of the deer were knocked in the head and killed.

If the reader has any doubt about the truthfulness of this story, a blank affidavit will be secured, properly filled out and affirmed to, and filed as an evidence of good faith in the archives of the Ananias club.

There were fur traders all through this region at that time, who visited the various settlements periodically and paid good prices for all kinds of hides.

Raccoons were plenty all through the woods, and coon hunting by the light of the moon was a favorite amusement for the boys, and even the old men occasionally enjoyed the exciting sport. A good coon dog was a necessity. Without a dog that could scent the track of a coon, run him down, tree him and hold him there, and bark so you could follow him up and find "where he was at," it would be next to impossible to catch any of these night prowlers.

Sometimes two or three coons would be run up the same tree. They usually went as near the top as possible and hid in the forks. If the moon shone bright enough they could sometimes be brought down by a rifle shot, but this did not often happen. If some of the boys could climb the tree and had courage enough to do so, his coonship might be punched oft of his perch with a stick, and if he fell to the ground he was sure to be caught. If the dog understood his business. Usually, however, to secure the game the tree had to be chopped down. The dog watched which way it was falUng and by the time it was down he was at the top, among the Hmbs. ready to catch his victim if he had not been killed or crippled in the fall of the tree. Then a fight for life would ensue, for these raccoons were warriors from away back. If the dog could hold them until the hunters could get to his assistance the tragedy was ended and the defenseless animal was knocked in the head with an ax and killed. If there was more than one, the others would generally get away and climb the nearest tree, when, if they were captured, the same operation would be gone through with.

Sometimes in the race after coons, the dogs would scare up a polecat, and, pressed too close, he would open his perfume sack and the sickening stench he would emit was enough to knock a strong man down. There is probably no smell on earth so deathly nauseating as that of this spunky little animal, if you happen to be in close proximity to him when he decides to give you an illustration of the manner in which he defends himself. He is provided with a small sack in which the fluid is deposited. When closely pressed the fluid is emitted and "switched" into the face of the enemy from the end of his long bushy tail. It is an efficient weapon, for the odor is so exceedingly strong that even animals turn and run to get away from it. They are of the weazel family, and live mostly on fowls of various kinds. In the early days the woods were full of them, but of late years they have become almost extinct, for which - thanks !

There was another little animal, quite numerous about that time, that also had a peculiar but very effective way of defending himself - the porcupine. He was furnished with quills upon his body covered with sharp prickles, some of which were as much as twelve inches long, and capable of being erected at pleasure. When attacked he rolled his body into a round form, in which position the prickles were presented in every direction to the enemy. The ends of the quills were as hard and sharp as the points of steel darning needles, and no animal could touch him without being severely punished. He would remain rolled up in a round form until the danger had passed, when he would undo himself and go about his business.

At that time there were also panthers and catamounts lurking about through the woods, and an occasional black bear was seen between 1835-40, but these animals being dangerous to the inhabitants were soon killed and driven otit by the white hunters and Indians who were still in that region.

Indians Lived

The splendidly cultivated farms, the substantial brick and frame houses with their elegant and comfortable furnishings, the large and well filled bank barns, with sheds and buildings in which all kinds of farm machinery is housed ready. for use when wanted, are in striking contrast with the dwellings and general outfit of the pioneers who were here at the beginning of the settlement of the county and for many years afterwards.

Prior to 1850 there was probably not, outside of Plymouth, half a dozen houses built of any other material than logs. Up to that time, at least, there was no steam saw mills, and only two or three water mills where lumber was sawed. There was one of these mills at Wolf creek and one at Plymouth. This latter mill was located on Y'ellow river about half way between Zehner's flouring mill and the dam a short distance above. Evidences of the old dam and race are still visible. Alilburn Coe was the pioneer who had the courage to establish this early enterprise. Each of these mills was operated with a single upright saw, and the amount of lumber manufactured did not begin to supply the demand for doors, window frames, floors, etc., and was too expensive to put into houses.

The water power by which these mills were operated was very uncertain. The dams were constructed of brush, limbs and logs, dirt and stone, and for many years, every time there was a freshet these dams would generally go out with a rush and a roar. In 1850 a heavy rain and sudden rise of water in Wolf creek carried away the dam. Robert C. Bliven, who happened to be out about the center of the dam, was caught in the break, carried ofi" in the great rush of water and drowned. It took a long time to repair broken dams, and in the meantime the mills stood idle, often for many months, and so the supply of lumber was at no time for many years equal to the demand.

Before these mills were built there was some lumber sawed with what was called "whip saws," and the first sawed boards the writer ever remembers to have seen were manufactured in this way. It was a very slow process, this cutting lumber with a whip saw, but it supplied boards for doors, sash, casings, etc., and therefore was a step in advance of the broad axe. A platform ten or twelve feet high was erected, on to which small poplar logs were "skidded" up poles placed in a slanting position. The saw was about six feet in length, with long handles, and was operated by two men, one on top of the platform, and the other underneath, on the ground. The top man pulled the saw up and the man on the ground, with a bandanna tied over his eyes to keep the sawdust out pulled it down. It was very slow and very hard work, and beyond the actual w^ants for the purposes named, no lumber was sawed. The size of the boards was very irregular. If, when the saw started in, the board was an inch and a quarter, or an inch and a half, there was no telling what it would be in the middle, or at the end when it came out. When the saw got a start in one direction it was hard to get it turned back, and then it was likely to go as far the other way before it could be checked and brought into the line marked out for it to follow. If any of these boards are still in existence they ought to be preserved as relics of the beginning of our civilization. They would be a great curiosity to the present generation.

There being no lumber, brick, or other materials out of which houses could be built, the next best thing was to construct them out of logs. But before attempting a description of these early cabins, it will be interesting to many to give a brief pen picture of the Indians found here, their wigwams, and the mode of living at the time the first white settlement was made.

made out of poles set in the ground some distance apart, and coming together five or six feet at the lop where they were securely tied together with strings made of rawhide, hickory or other bark. They were enclosed with limbs and brush, outside of which was a covering of hides of deer, fox, and other animals to shed the rain and snow, and to keep out the cold in winter. In front of the wigwam was an opening for passage in and out, which had for a door skins of animals fastened together, and tied to the poles at the top, from which it hung loose to the bottom.

The furnishings of these primitive dwellings were very few, plain, and simple. They had no chairs, stands, bedsteads, tables, cupboards or bureaus. The beds were of grass, leaves and mosses spread out on the ground and covered with the skins of animals dressed with the hair on. These hides were also sometimes used for covering, but the principal article of covering, however, was coarse woolen, or partly woolen colored blankets, furnished by the government, or purchased of traders who early found their way among the Indians in this part of the country.

These wigwams were generally located near the lakes and water courses, so that those who lived in them could easily supply themselves with water for drinking and cooking purposes, and fish, frogs and water fowl for food. They were supplied with very few cooking utensils, and, as a consequence, the provisions on which they lived were mostly eaten without cooking. Venison, fowl and fish were broiled over fires made of logs and limbs. They were cut into convenient pieces and held over the fire on the end of short sticks. They had no salt or pepper and their food was prepared without seasoning.

During the spring and summer the squaws cultivated small patches of ground with sharp sticks, stone shovels, and sinall iron hoes and picks, on which they raised Indian corn, potatoes, and other vegetables in small quantities. The male Indians supplied the wigwams with wild meats and fish, and this constituted the food supply of these early inhabitants.

Except in the winter season, when the weather was very cold, they wore a very scanty supply of clothing. Their footgear was moccasins made of soft tanned deer skin, and some of them were ornamented with a variety of colored beads worked into them in fantastic shapes, and they were otherwise adorned with colored ribbons, etc. Their shirts and trousers, as we call them, were made of tanned buckskin sewed together with strings made of hides, and were ornamented in various ways with fringes, beads, shells and other things to attract the eye of the beholder. All were provided with blankets which they wore over their shoulders, folded in their arms tightly around their bodies.

Very few of them wore any sort of head dress. They had no use for hats and caps. Their heads were covered with a heavy mass of coarse black hair, which, as they never had it cut, was all the protection they needed. The big Indians, the chiefs, and High-muck-a-mucks, of course, wore feathered headgear to distinguish themselves from the common everyday Indian. It is somewhat remarkable that the oldest inhabitant does not remember ever having seen an Indian with a bald head, or one with a full beard. As a race, they seem to have had an aversion to the beard, and occupied their leisure time, of which they had more than they knew what to do with, pulling out by the roots the thinly scattered hairs that showed themselves on their copper colored physiognomies.

Xxxl Primitive Brick Making

But there were other things than those which imply the drudgery of farming connected with farm life. Those who tell of the pioneer days are too apt to present the dark side of the picture - the toils and privations and sufferings that all the early settlers were compelled, by force of circumstances, to endure.

As years went by, other industries than chopping down trees and plowing up and planting the ground, and cultivating and harvesting the crops occupied the time of the people, and so it came to pass in the course of time that many diversified occupations sprang up that furnished less laborious and more congenial employment to many who were unable to do the work required in clearing and preparing the thick timbered lands for cultivation.

Brick making was a necessary industry that was early established in two or three places in the county. The first one that is remembered was located on what is now the Berlin farm, a short distance north of the present village of Rutland. All that region was settled as far back as 1836, and among the first inhabitants were Piatt B. Dickson, and his sons, John, Bayless, Elias and Hugh; William Thompson, and his sons, Lewis, John, Eleazer and Ed : Thomas and Samuel McDonald ; Daniel Hults and his sons. Joseph and Uriah ; Tivis Porter, Vincent Brownlee, David Voreis, Hiram Lish and several others. The brick yard referred to was on the farm of Piatt Dickson, to the west, in front of and across the road from the present residence of Thomas Berlin. A clay bank had been opened a mile west on the farm of John Dickson, out of which it was found fairly good bricks could be made. In excavating in this clay bank, when at a depth of ten or twelve feet from the surface, in breaking off a large lump of firmly cemented clay, a tree toad was found solidly embedded therein. It was removed from its imprisonment and placed on a board in the warm sun. In less than half an hour it came to life and hopped off as lively as if nothing had happened. How it came to be there and how it could retain the life principle, possibly for ages, and then again come to active life, is a conundrum which is respectfully referred to those who know more about it than the writer.

The writer has a very vivid recollection of that primitive brick yard. He was quite young, only having just entered into his teens, and his employment there - off-bearing bricks - was the first labor, other than doing "chores" around the house, he had ever performed. About an eighth of an acre of ground was scraped off until the soil was removed, and leveled down to the smoothness of a floor, when it was given a light coating of fine dry sand. The hollow trunk of a large size beech tree, about ten feet in length, sawed square off at each end, was procured. A shaft was placed in the center, fastened at the top in a hole made in two cross-bars, and at the bottom in a wooden socket. At the bottom of this shaft were four iron paddles shaped something like the screw paddles of a steam propeller, for the purpose of grinding the clay into mortar. On the top was fastened a crooked beam, which projected out and down a sufficient distance so that a horse could be handily hitched to the lower end. Into this beech gum hopper the dry clay was thrown until it was partly full when water was thrown upon it to give it the proper consistency, when the horse was started to grinding. A square hole and a pit was made at the bottom, into which the mud was forced, and from here it was taken on wheelbarrows up a gang plank, and dumped on a large square table, where it was worked up by the molder into bricks and carried off in molds by the "off-bearer" and laid down on the yard in rows to dry.

It was considerable of a trick to fill the molds properly and expeditiously. An expert could usually fill up the molds as rapidly as three or four men or boys could carry them away and deposit them on the yard. Each mold was made to hold three bricks, the weight of which would probably be six or eight pounds. The molder stood at the table, mud before him, and a pile of sand near by. Before laying his mold on the table the oft'- bearer sanded it by dipping it into water and then into a box containing dry sand, so that the mud would not stick to the molds. The molder cut off with his right hand a chunk of mud which he supposed was sufficiently large to fill one apartment of the mold, rolled it in the sand to the shape of an old-fashioned "corn dodger," and slammed it into the mold with sufficient force to fill the apartment and make a perfect brick. The other apartments were filled in the same way. The surplus mud on top was cut off with a sharp, smooth wooden knife, and the mold was ready to be carried oft" by the oft"-bearer. The first were carried to the farthest part of the yard, the mold laid down on the lower edge and, with a quick motion, turned over and the mold removed, leaving the bricks to their fate. And so the process was continued until the yard was full of green bricks laid out in the sun to dry.

It was a very easy thing for one who couldn't get the hang of offbearing to spoil more bricks in a day than his wages would come to. If he laid his mold down too close, he was sure to spoil the bricks in front by turning his mold over on them, and mashing them out of shape. In that event they had to be removed, and that took time in addition to spoiling them.

If the weather was warm and dry, a yard full of bricks could be made and taken care of in two or three days. After drying the first day, all hands had to help turn them bottomside up to the sun to dry. Sometimes a gathering cloud would indicate a sudden rain and then every one went to work carrying in the dry or partly dry bricks and piling them up in ricks under sheds built for that purpose. Frequently the rain would come up so suddenly that a whole yard full of green bricks would be drenched and entirely spoiled. Then the mud would have to be shoveled up and carted away to the dump, the yard scraped off and resanded, and work commenced again as before.

The most difficult task in connection with brickmaking in the olden times, and even yet, was placing them in a kiln in such a way as to permit the heat to penetrate all parts of the structure so that the bricks would be burned evenly throughout. Arches every three or four feet, extending through the kiln from one side to the other, into which it was necessary that fire should be kept constantly burning, had to be carefully constructed, and after the whole was completed it was tightly incased with bricks, and plastered over with soft mud all around. Air holes, and smoke holes were made in the top to regulate the smoke and heat, and when all was ready, fire was started in the arclics, and the burning process was begun. The heating was gradual at first, until the bricks were sufficiently hot to prevent breaking or cracking. Then the poplar rails and kindlings of various kinds were shoved into" the arches the full length and everything was kept red hot for a fortnight when the fires were allowed to go gradually out. and the burning process was at an end.

It was necessary to keep the fires up night and day, and so the brick yard hands were divided oft into two gangs, one to work in the day time, and the other to worry through the night. If the fires were allowed to go down, the effect was to injure the quality of the bricks : or, if they were made too hot. it was liable to result in making clinkers of those near the arches, twist them out of shape, and thus render them unfit for use.

The writer was left in charge of the red hot kiln one night, and directed to keep the fires going steadily. Between two and three o'clock in the morning, overcome by exhaustion and many nights of broken rest, he sat down by a post near one of the arches, and in spite of every eft'ort to keep awake he dropped over, sound asleep. As good luck would have it. one of the proprietors, living near by, happening to awaken earlier than usual, came on the scene in time to prevent the fires from going out. When the sleeper awoke about seven o'clock in the morning, he found himself lying flat on the ground, his trousers legs full of straw, and a bouquet of dogfennel adorning his manly bosom. To say that he was frightened on account of the probability that, by his failure to keep awake, he had more than likely ruined the whole summer's work, and that he was ashamed of the sorry plight in which he found himself, would not half express the utter ridiculousness of the situation. After ascertaining, however, that no serious damage had been done, he gradually regained his equilibrium and all went well thereafter.

Those who composed the night forces during the burning of kilns were generally reinforced during the evenings by some of the neighboring boys, and a detail was usually designated to forage the chicken roosts, apple and peach orchards, corn fields and melon patches in the neighborhood, for provender for the night's meal. If the family dog did not make too much noise and arouse the lord of the household, but little trouble was ever encountered in securing everything necessary to provide a banquet fit for a king.

It sometimes happened, however, that old bowser, a little more wakeful than usual, kept up such a yelping as to arouse the man of the house, and in that event the foragers took to their heels and ran away as fast as ever they could go. They didn't always get away without the discovery being made as to who they were, and in that event it didn't require much of an effort to effect a compromise, it being generally understood in all the country round about that the brick burners were privileged characters. On one occasion the dog caught the forager by the coat tail just as he was climbing the fence. The struggle was sharp, short and decisive. The forager tore himself loose and made his escape, but left a large section of his coat tail on the other side of the fence.

The chickens were killed, dressed and roasted by holding them on sharp sticks before the red hot arches, and those who were detailed to do the cooking soon learned the art of roasting them to perfection, and, with the other articles which went to make up the bill of fare, a supper was spread such as is seldom provided in these days of advanced civihzation. One that is remembered consisted of roast chicken, roast squirrel, baked sweet and Irish potatoes, old-fashioned corn pone, baked green apples, "roastin' ears," new cucumbers and onions, sweet milk, new sweet cider, hot coffee, cherry pie and fried cakes. After that came the soothing corncob pipe and the delicious chew of pigtail tobacco. More relishable banquets at $50 a plate may have been partaken of at Delmonico's, but it wouldn't be believed by any of those who sat down to that midnight banquet nearly fifty years ago. It was while here that the typhoid fever prostrated the writer to such an extent as to come near sending him to the sweet by and by. The summer was hot, the surface water full of malaria, and medicines and medical aid v/as almost impossible to be had. Dr. White, a long, lean, lank, cadaverous looking specimen of the genus homo, who had but recently located in Plymouth, was sent for. Of course he felt the pulse, looked at the tongue, and the first thing he did was to administer a dose of "calomel and jollup," strong enough to have killed an elephant. He said it was intended to do divers and sundry mysterious and marvelous things. It was to act as a purgative, and by producing salivation, would break up the disease and cure the patient. It did pretty much everything he said it would do, and a good man\ more, except cure him. It salivated him beautifully. His gums became a canker sore; his teeth loosened, and some of them fell out ; he was parched and burning up with fever, but not a drop of water would they give him to drink. For several days his life hung on a very slender thread, and the doctor, looking wise and dignified, said he didn't believe he would ever recover. One night, however, after he had gained a little strength in spite of the doctor, when the watcher had dropped to sleep from exhaustion, he managed, in some way, to get out of bed and crawl to the water pail where he drank three or four tin cup fulls of water as fast as he could pour them down. When the watcher awoke and found what had happened, he aroused the household and immediately sent for the man of the saddle-bags, supposing, of course, that the patient would die within a short time. But he didn't. From that very minute the fever was broken, and in less than a week he was up and around, and in a short time had fully recovered.

Xxxii. Fish And Fishing Stories

The old time disciples of Izaak Walton were not provided with silver and nickle-plated reels, silk lines and silver jointed poles as the fishermen are in these flubdub days of fine things. Those who fished with hook and line had to put up with a hickory pole, a line half as big as your little finger, and hooks - if big fish were to be caught, large enough to pull in a small raft.

On Maxinkuckee lake, boats or canoes made of sawed boards were not known. The water craft in use then were made out of medium sized poplar trees. They were made much the shape of the modern fancy canoes so numerous on that beautiful lake at the present time. They were rounded off at the ends to a sharp point, dressed at the sides and bottom, and dug out with an ax and adz so as to leave the sides and bottom the proper thickness. We have seen many of these "dug outs" that were, really, "a thing of beauty and a joy forever." Oar locks and oars were not known here then. A long pole was used to propel the boat, especially in the rivers, and also in the lakes until deep water was reached, when a single paddle was substituted.

Spearing, or "gigging," as everybody then called it, was the favorite mode of fishing for many years. This kind of fishing had to be mostly done at night with a light made of shell bark from hickory trees carried in an iron holder on the front of the boat, or in hand by an assistant. The glare of the light seemed to blind the fish, and also enable the fishermen to see large fish at a considerable distance. It required a good deal of practice and excellent judgment as to how far away he was to hit a fish, even if he happened to be only a short distance from the boat. An inexperienced "gigger" was a good deal more apt to strike under or over, than to hit where he intended. An expert with the spear, however, seldom missed his aim, and before morning generally went to shore with as many fish as could be carried safely in the boat.

Among the most expert "giggers" was Charley Logan. If he got sight of a fish he seldom ever failed to take him in out of the wet. It was a common saying among the people in those days that, when he took his boat and "gig," and started out on the river or lake, the fish were so sure their last days had come that they actually jumped into the boat and gave up.

The lake and river was, at that period, as the saying was, full and running over with all kinds of the finest fish imaginable, such as grass pike, black, yellow and rock bass, river salmon, cat fish, besides all the different varieties still making these waters their home.

Seining was followed to considerable extent for many years. A company was formed and a seine over one hundred feet long was made, for use, mostly, in Maxinkuckee. It was a good deal of work to draw the seine, but the labor was generally rewarded with a bairel or two of fish at each drawing. It was more difficult to catch fish with a seine in the rivers than in the lakes, on account of the roots, logs and limbs. But fish were very plentiful in the deep holes, and it required but a short time to catch all that were needed for food, and that was all they were caught for, there being no sale for them. A great many fished with hook and line, generally using frogs for bait.

Another way of catching fish in the rivers was by building a fish. trap from one bank to the other. One that is remembered was built across Yellow river below what was then called the "Shirley Ford." Several fishermen went up stream half or three-quarters of a mile, and with sticks and clubs drove the fish down into the trap. Among the lot caught the first drive were about forty pike, not one of which weighed less than five pounds, many of them would weigh as much as ten pounds, and a few of them even more than that.

Among the numerous varieties of fish that were caught at that time were fresh water eels. They were all the way from one to two and a half feet in length, and resembled a very large black snake. They had no fins or scales and propelled themselves through the water by a "wiggling" motion, something like the movement of tadpoles. In dressing them the skin was peeled off, and they have been known to show signs of life for some time after that operation was performed, and it has been declared by those who professed to know, that pieces of eels placed in a frying pan to cook have been known to jump out into the fire, and this, it is believed, is how originated the expression, "out of the frying pan into the fire." The writer does not vouch for the truth of this statement, but if old Bill Jones was alive he would swear to it. This species of fish has become almost extinct. Only now and then one is caught, and a few years more and all will be gone.

The gar was another fish quite numerous then. There are still some left, but they have greatly decreased in numbers during the past half century. They are said to be the oldest species of fish now in existence, having come on down through the ages from the earliest times to the present. They are from one to five feet in length, and the body is covered with smooth enameled scales, arranged in oblique rows, and they are so hard that it is impossible to pierce them with a spear. This enamel is like that of teeth, and the scales contain the ordinary properties of bone structure. It has a long mouth or snout, the upper and lower jaw being provided with numerous fine teeth. They are beautiful fish, but are not fit to eat. They frequent shallow, reedy places, basking in the sun like the pike and devouring living prey with great voracity. They are often seen apparently sleeping on the surface of the water, and some have been picked up with dip nets and other fishing tackle on Maxinkuckee lake by fishermen passing near by in boats. In this way the writer caught one with a troll line a number of years ago that measured exactly four feet. A string was tied around his gills and fastened to the boat, and while still fishing without being anchored, the fish began to pull, and having succeeded in getting the boat in motion actually pulled it more than half a mile to the shore, as "witness my hand and seal this day of 189. .."

Xxxiii. Hunting Bee Trees

Wild honey was one of the table comforts in the early days. Bee trees were numerous everywhere through the thick woods, and it was no trick at all for an expert bee hunter to find enough bee trees to keep the neighborhood in honey the year round.

Wild bees made their home in the hollow limbs of trees, or in the hollow places in the trunks of trees, if they were not too large and were properly protected from the sun and the inclemency of the weather.

By watching the direction of the working bee, after he had secured his load of honey extracted from the flowers, it was not much trouble to find the tree, as the bee, after arising from the flower beds a short distance in the air, circled around a time or two as if to find his bearing, when he would fly away in a straight direction as if he had been shot out of a gun. After starting he never varied in the least from his course, and this is how originated the saying, "as straight as a bee line." If the bee hunter could follow a straight line he could usually find the tree. If he lost his course all he had to do was to go back and try it over again. If he was careful he could keep i^i the direction by getting two or three trees some distance apart in line and continuing in this way until the tree was found, or until he had given up the hunt.

Often bee trees could be found by walking through the woods on bright sunny days and looking into the tops of the trees and watching for the bees coming and going.

When a bee tree was found it was marked and the way to it blazed so that it might be found when the time came to cut it down. When the tree was felled it wasn't quite safe to go near where the bees were until they recovered from their fright and settled down to business again.

Securing the honey was, so far as the innocent, industrious bees were concerned, a cruel piece of business. About sunset, after the bees had all returned from their daily labor, the entrance to the hive, generally a small knot hole, was fastened securely except a small space into which the stem of a common clay or cob pipe was inserted. The bowl of the pipe was generally filled with pulverized home-grown tobacco leaves and lighted. A thin piece of cloth was fastened over the bowl and the "robber" blew the smoke in among the bees, which, within a short time, had the effect of making them deathly sick so that they were unable to offer resistance. The limb was then chopped into and the honey comb removed, deposited in wooden buckets and carried home.

Sometimes most of the bees would die from the efifects of the smoke, but many of them, after the effects passed ofif, would recover, and if there was a sufficient number with the necessary officers, a king, queen, etc., they would congregate, hold a consultation, and generally fly away in search of another home to begin life over again.

Sometimes the bees would get after the robbers with their "business end" and sting them severely. To some the sting of a bee was rank poison, and if inflicted on the face, frequently the eyes would be swollen shut in a few minutes. It was also, in most cases, the death of the bee.

The sting which is found at the end of the abdomen, is a very formidable weapon. It consists of a sheath enclosing two needle shaped darts of exceeding fineness, placed side by side. Toward the end they are armed with minute teeth like those of a saw, whence it happens that it is frequently unable to withdraw the sting from the enemy it has pierced, causing its own death. When the sting enters the flesh the poison is squeezed into the wound from a bag near its base by a powerful muscular action. It is of so active a character that, it is said by those who profess to know, a single sting will kill a bee or other insect within a very short time. Animals have been known to be killed, and men nearly so by enraged swarms of bees whose hives had been accidentally knocked over.

With the possible exception of the ant, no other insect shows such wonderful knowledge and skill in the orderly manner in which they prepare their hives with honeycomb cells, fill them with honey extracted from flowers, and hermetically seal them for use when wanted.

The bee has been a prolific subject for poets and authors time out of mind, and has been pointed to as an example of industry for the young to follow. You remember, of course, when you first began going to school "in yander," when you didn't get your lessons, how the teacher told you that you were lazy and good for nothing, like the drone in the bee hive that couldn't be made to work, and how he complimented the busy bees by repeating for your edification these well remembered lines :

"Bees, by a law of nature, teach the art of order to a peopled kingdom. They have a king and officers of sorts ; where some, like magistrates ccyrect at home ; others, like merchants, venture trade abroad ; others, like soldiers, armed in their stings, make boot upon the summer's velvet buds ; which pillage they, with merry march, bring home to the tent royal of their superior ; who, buried in his majesty, surveys the singing masons building roofs of gold ; the civil citizens kneading up the honey ; the poor mechanic porters crowding in their heavy burdens at his narrow gate; the sad-eyed justice with his surly hum, delivering o'er to executor's pale the lazy yawning drone."

Those who have made a study of the habits of bees have ascertained that a hive consists of three kinds, females, males and workers. The females are called queens, not more than one of which can live in the same hive, the presence of one being necessary for its establishment and maintenance. The males are called drones and may exist by hundreds in a hive. The workers, or neuters, as they have been called, from the supposition that they belonged to neither sex, are the most numerous. The queen lays the eggs from which the bees are perpetuated. After impregnation takes place, she is capable of laying eggs within thirty-six hours. Before depositing an egg she examines whether the cell is prepared to receive it and adapted for its future condition, for queens, males and workers have cells specially constructed for them. When the cells are ready, the queen goes from one to another, with scarcely any repose, laying about 200 eggs daily. The eggs first laid are said to be workers for ten or twelve days, then follows the laying of male eggs from ten to twenty days, less numerous than the workers in the proportion of about one to thirty. When the cells for queens are constructed she deposits a single egg in each, and her work is done. When the bees are hatched the queen departs with a swarm, and a new queen is liberated to take her place. The males do not work and are of no use except in the performance of their duties in procreation, after which they soon die, or are killed. The workers collect the honey, secrete the wax, build the cells, and feed and protect the young.

Xxxiv. Pigeons And Pigeon Roosts

As long ago in the mystic mazes of the past as the writer can remember there was what was called a pigeon roost in a tamarac swamp not far from Wolf creek mills. There were thousands of pigeons then where there are only dozens now.

The history of the bird now called pigeon is ven.- interesting, and in many of its details is quite wonderful. The pigeon is very gentle and peaceable, entirely harmless and even timid by nature.

Accurate and experienced "birdologists" who have made the history of the pigeon usually found on this continent a careful study, give accounts of vast flocks covering many square miles of territory in various places in the United States which occurred about this time. During the mating season they describe vast breeding places in western and southern forests, many miles in extent, where as many as ninety nests were counted on one tree.' In these breeding places, which were different from the roosting places, thousands and hundreds of thousands of nests were built on the limbs of the trees wherever one could be fastened. The nests were carelessly made of sticks and grass and twigs ; sometimes some of them were so porous that, when empty, one could see through them from the bottom.

Only one egg is usually hatched at a time, never more than two, but they make up any deficiency in that respect by repeating the operation several times during the season. The male and female take turns in covering the eggs until they are hatched. At first, and until they are ready to leave the nest and- take care of themselves, they are fed on a sort of milk from the old birds which they "belch up" and feed to the young by inserting their bills into their open mouths. They grow rapidly and soon fly away, leaving the old birds to raise another and probably several more during the season.

The pigeon roost in question was in a dense growth of tamarac trees, and for some distance away from the swamp, oak and other trees were nightly full of these birds. They moved in immense droves or swarms, and looking in the direction from which they came they had the appearance of a heavy dark cloud coming up. As they flew through the air they made a great noise, reminding one of a hard gale passing through the limbs of the trees.

After the roost had been established, and its location had become generally known, the people for miles around turned out in great numbers to see the almost miraculous wonder and secure what birds they needed for food. They were provided with torches, poles, sticks and guns, and sacks and baskets in which to carry them home, and camp fires were built at different places around the roost which embraced several acres of ground. The birds began to arrive about sundown, and all did not get in until several hours later. As darkness came on many of them flew against the trees and limbs and were knocked down, crippled and killed. As they passed over where our camp was located they produced, with the motion of their wings in their flight, a very strong current of air that was remarkable. The birds came in by thousands and alighted everywhere, side by side, one above another until solid masses were formed on every tree in all directions. Here and there the limbs gave way under the heavy weight with a crash, and falling to the ground, destroyed hundreds of the birds beneath, forcing down the dense groups with which every limb was loaded.

It was a scene of the utmost uproar and confusion. Talking was out of the question, and only the sound of the gims could be heard above the great noise. Men and boys with long poles knocked the birds from the lower limbs and struck and killed many as they came flying in low down in great numbers to the roost.

Our party remained until well on towards morning. After midnight the noise subsided to some extent, but in the early morning long before objects were at all distinguishable, the pigeons began to move off, in a different direction from that in which they had come the evening before. By sunrise all that was able to fly had disappeared. Hundreds were unable to get away, from having been hurt flying against trees, by the falling of trees and limbs, from exhaustion and other causes. A circuit was made by our party around and through this wonderful roost, and everywhere, from the lowest limbs to the highest, the view through the timber presented a perpetual tumult of crowding and fluttering multitudes of pigeons, their wings roaring like thunder, mingled with the frequent crash of falling timber. It was dangerous to walk under these flying and fluttering millions from the frequent fall of large branches broken down by the weight of the multitudes above, and which in their descent often destroyed large numbers of the birds themselves, while the clothes of those who made the excursion were completely covered with the excrement of the pigeons falling like snow flakes upon them.

A week or so after the roost had been established, the pigeons had broken camp and gone, no one knew whither. During the time they remained, where they went for food during the day no one could tell. They may have gone ten or twenty miles away, or even one or two hundred, as it is thought by those who have investigated the matter that they canfly for many hours at the rate of a mile a minute. Their power of flight enables them to survey and pass over an astonishing extent of country in a very short time. An instance is recorded of pigeons having been killed in New York with their crops full of rice which they must have collected in the fields of Georgia or Carolina, these states being the nearest in which they could possibly have procured that kind of food. As their power of digestion is so great that they will decompose food entirely in twelve hours, they must, in this case, have traveled between 300 and 400 miles in six hours.

After they left the roost it presented a scene of desolation and destruction hard to picture. Many of the limbs on all the trees were broken, hundreds of trees had been felled by the weight of the pigeons roosting on them, and the ground was covered completely with the excrement of the birds, as were also the trees and limbs. Vegetation was killed, and even to this day evidences of the destruction of the multitudes of pigeons that roosted there at that time are still visible.

Xxxv. Courting And Marrying

Of course, in order to keep up the population, it was necessary to marry and be given in marriage that the earth might be multiplied and replenished, and therefore there was "courting" among the young folks, and when a wedding was announced, until it finally came off the country for miles around was on the tip-toe of expectation, for everybody of respectability knew that they would be invited to the wedding and "infair."

important feature in connection with the interesting event was - getting ready, or in other words, "courting," or "sparking," as it was generally called in those days. Spelling schools, singing schools, corn huskings, quilting bees and the like through the week furnished opportunities for meetings when the expectant groom would accompany his best girl home through the woods along the Indian trail.

Don't you remember those evening strolls with her who was to be your partner for life leaning gently on your arm, her face upturned, wreathed in smiles of perfect satisfaction, her pouting cherry red lips ready for the osculatory greeting that was sure to be forthcoming? Of course you do. On one of these occasions, after the first part of the night had been nearly spent in arranging the details for the wedding, if our information is correct, about the time the roosters were crowing for the midnight hour, the expectant groom bade his fiancee good night at the gate and started home alone through the woods. After leaving the cabin and getting into the dark forest he was not long in becoming convinced that he had made one of the greatest mistakes of his life. The night was in the darkest hours, and soon the angry, howling wolves were collecting in large numbers. He knew his life was in danger, but he took his chances and went along blundering and stumbling over brush, stumps and logs, until he came in sight of a cabin a half mile or so in the distance, and on arriving there he climbed up on the shed for horses and cattle. The pack of wolves were but a few rods behind him. Finding they were unable to capture the fugitive, they gave up the chase and apparently retreated back into the woods. He climbed down and resumed his journey through the woods with all possible speed. He had not gone far, however, until he heard the wolves coming again. They were a considerable distance away, and he hurried on as fast as his legs would carry him until he reached another cabin. Here a new trouble confronted him. Two or three savage dogs came out of their kennels and seemed to be determined to tear him to pieces, but the wolves coming within hearing distance they started after them, leaving our hero to make the remainder of his way home unmolested.

One Sunday morning he had occasion to visit some friends on the other side of Yellow river. He was the owner of a dugout canoe in which he paddled himself across to the other shore, where he tied it to the limb of a projecting tree. That evening he had an engagement to visit his girl, and having been detained longer than he expected, it was nearly dark when he started back. When he reached the river he found his canoe had been untied and was nowhere to be found. What to do he did not know. The river was pretty well up, and quite deep, and he was not sure whether he could wade across or not. He walked up and down the bank for some distance and finally found a place where the water appeared not to be so deep as at the ford where he had crossed with his boat. Here he made up his mind he would make an attempt to cross. He, therefore, removed his shoes and clothing, and, rolling them up into a convenient bundle, started in to wade across. The further he went the deeper he found the water until he was into it up to his armpits. He held his clothing above his head and felt his way carefully, the water getting deeper every step. Finally, when he was sure he had reached the deepest place, he unfortunately stumbled against a rock and fell headlong over into the water. When lie came to the surface, his bundle of clothing was gently floating off down stream. Being a good swimmer he started after his bundle, and, overtaking it a few rods distant, with it swam to shore. When he landed on the bank he was thoroughly exhausted; his clothes were dripping wet, and what to do he didn't know. Finally he wrung the water out as well as he could, and began the task of putting them on. How he ever succeeded in this undertaking will never be known. It was an hour before the task was ended, and as he started on his way home through the woods two or three miles distant, he was the most miserable, forlorn individual it is possible to imagine. He found his way home all right, but too late to re-dress and fulfill his engagement with his best girl.

He was the owner of a fine young horse which his father had given him as a birthday present on the occasion of his becoming "his own man." He was neatly caparisoned with saddle, bridle and martingales, and the rider provided with spurs and a rawhide whip. One Sunday afternoon he dressed in his best suit of clothes, which included a pair of white linen trousers, and started on his famous charger to see his girl. It was late when he got to his destination, and he unbridled and unsaddled his horse and turned him loose in a convenient clover field. It was after midnight when he bade his girl good night and started to go home. A heavy dew had fallen, and the clover, about two feet high, was thoroughly wet, which meant ruin to his white linen pants. So he concluded to take them off and hang them on the fence until he could go and catch his horse and saddle and bridle him ready for riding home. As he approached, the horse saw him coming. It was in ine gray of the morning, and the animal took fright at the ghostly appearance of his master and ran away as fast as his legs could carry him. Our hero took after him and tried to head him off. Round and round the field they went, but he couldn't overtake the thoroughly frightened horse. Daylight was now approaching, and what to do was the all important question uppermost in his mind. There seemed to be no hope of catching him, and so he concluded to let down the bars and permit the horse to escape and go home. The poor horse, worse frightened than ever, jumped over the bars and away he went, head and tail erect, as though the old scratch was after him. The bars were put up, but when our hero went to get his pants he found a calf had got hold of them and chewed them so badly, tearing them into shreds, as to completely spoil them. The horse was gone, his pants were torn to pieces and spoiled. What was to be done under the circumstances? As it was then daylight, after mature deliberation he concluded to take to the woods and await results. The horse arriving home in such a sorry plight naturally alarmed the family, and they immediately started in search of the unfortunate young man. The neighborhood was aroused and on examination of the field they found pieces of his white pants, and supposing he had been foully murdered or eaten up by some ravenous wild beast, armed parties were sent in every direction through the woods to see if any trace of him could be found. The women of the neighborhood, including his heartbroken best girl, followed at a distance and the most intense excitement prevailed. Finally the lost young man was found concealed in a brush heap awaiting the coming of night so he could reach home without exposing his nakedness.

After the courting was done, and the all important "question" had been "popped," and the party of the second part had said "yes" and vowed eternal fidelity to the party of the first part; and the old man and old woman had been consulted in regard to the all important matter, and had willingly given their consent to the union, and the day had been fixed, then arranging the details for the interesting event was begun.

The marriage was generally celebrated at the house of the bride, and she was always accorded the privilege of choosing the officiating clergyman, or preacher, as the case might be. A wedding, however, engaged the attention of the whole neighborhood. It was anticipated with the liveliest interest by both old and young. Everybody, great and small, in the whole neighborhood knew all about it long before it was to come off.

In those days they didn't have any printed invitations to send around. Whenever there was to be any inviting done a small boy would be put on a bareback horse and he would ride all around the neighborhood delivering as loud as he could speak it, a message like this :

That was all there was to it, and then he rode off on a canter to the house. And everybody went, too. There was no holding back for fear of not having been invited the right way.

Marrying wasn't done then as it is now. Everybody had to be married by a preacher. They were generally itinerants, or circuit riders, and they were few and far between; didn't get around sometimes oftener than once in two or three months, and so the boys and girls had to make calculations about popping the question and winding up their courting so as to be ready, as it might be a long time between chances.

On the morning of the wedding day the groom and his intimate friends assembled at the house of his parents and after due preparation departed en masse for the house of his bride. The journey was sometimes made on horseback, sometimes on foot, and sometimes in farm wagons and carts. It was always a merry journey, and to insure merriment the "little brown jug" was occasionally one of the invited guests. On reaching the house of the bride the ceremony took place. The young folks stood up and the preacher required them to join their right hands, and after making them promise to love, honor and obey each other until death parted them they were pronounced duly and truly married, and thus were tied up into a double-bow knot, thus to remain forever and a day. Then came the kissing of the bride by the preacher and invited guests.

The young folks didn't wear the fine clothes they do now, because there were no such fine clothes to be had. But they were as good looking and better than the average young people nowadays. Tall and straight, and healthy and happy they were, and they loved each other and no mistake.

After the ceremony was over they all sat down to dinner, as many as could find places, and the table, which was a big one, just groaned with wild turkey, and venison, and bear meat, roasted and stewed, and honey, and potatoes, and beans, and the Lord knows what all. Those that couldn't find room at the table sat around out of doors and told jokes and nursed their appetites till the guests at the first table got through, when they had a chance to go and do likewise.

After dinner there were some presents to be given to the newly married couple. There were no stoves in the settlement then, and there was no finery to be bought, and so the people gave of just what they had, and it was generally something good to eat or useful to wear, or that would come handy when they set up housekeeping.

When dinner was over the dancing commenced. There was only one fiddle within a dozen miles, and it was there, and its owner was the biggest man in the house as soon as he began to tune up.

The figures of the dances were three and four-handed reels, "down outside and up the middle," or square sets and jigs. The commencement was always a square four, which was followed by what was called in those days "jigging ;" that is, two of the four would single out for a jig and were followed by the remaining couple. The jigs were often accompanied with what was called "cutting out," that is, when either of the parties became tired of the dance, on intimation the place was supplied by someone of the company without interruption of the dance. In this way the reel was often continued until the fiddler was exhausted.

About 9 or lo o'clock in the evening a bevy of young girls stole ofiF the bride and put her to bed. In doing this they had to ascend a ladder from the kitchen to the upper floor, which was made of loose boards. Here, in this pioneer bridal chamber, the young, simple-hearted girl was put to bed by her enthusiastic friends. This done, a deputation of young men escorted the groom to the same apartment and placed him snugly by the side of his bride. The dance still continued, and if seats were scarce, which was generally conveniently the case, every young man when not engaged in the dance was obliged to ofl^er his lap as a seat for one of the girls.

The "infair," which was held at the home of the groom's parents, took place on the following afternoon and evening, and generally the same program was substantially carried out. The young married folks soon settled down to the stern realities of life in a log cabin in the woods, provided with a few articles of home-made furniture, and many who have grown old since then look back upon those early scenes as the happiest days of their lives.

Xxxvi. Pioneer Mill

Not long ago the writer visited the site of an early saw mill which few of the residents of Marshall county at this time know anything about and fewer still ever heard of. It was what was known as the "Hupp Saw Mill" and was located on Yellow river about three or four miles southwest of Plymouth and about two miles east of the old Menominee Indian village on the north of the middle Twin lake. The mill was built by Jacob K. Hupp, about 1840. for the purpose of sawing lumber for the floors and doors of the settlers who were building log cabins in the country round about at that time. Later a corn-cracker was added and cornmeal ground out from the grists carried there on horseback. The dam across the river is yet much of it plainly visible, about loo feet of it on the east side of the river having been washed out, leaving a deep channel through which all the water that flows down the river easily passes. The mill race, which is probably eighty rods in length, is still there, at least the greater portion of it, much as it was when the mill was abandoned just before the beginning of the Civil war, except that the sides and bottom have grown up with vines and weeds and bushes. The mill, which was a very primitive affair, stood at the foot of the race near the river. Not a trace of it is left, the timbers having doubtless been carried away and used in building a bridge across the river not far below, which in turn has given away to a modern iron structure. Jacob K. Hupp, who settled there about the time of the organization of the county and who erected the mill, was an enterprising, dashing, go-ahead man of considerable ability. In politics he was a democrat, always taking an active part in the hotly contested political campaigns that were' the rule even in those early days. He was elected sherifi" on the democratic ticket in August, 1846, and reelected in 1848, serving two terms, ending in August, 1850. He died in 1856, and like the old mill, nothing remains of him or his family except old time memories.

Col. William Polke was one of the most distinguished men in northern Indiana and was the first to blaze the way to civilization in this part of the state. He was one of the original proprietors of the town of Plymouth, and was appointed by the governor to take charge of the Pottawattomie Indians at Danville, Illinois, whemthey were removed from Twin Lakes in 1838 by Gen. John Tipton. He was buried three and one-half miles north of the south Marshall county line and one-half mile east of the Michigan road. Before he died he requested that his remains be buried at a place he designated on his farm, and his wishes were carried out by those who had the burial in charge. Other interments occasionally followed, and the place is still in use as a burial ground and is known as "Polke's Cemetery."

Plymouth was undoubtedly given its name by Col. Polke, who seems to have been the moving spirit in securing the location of the county seat. Why the town was called "Plymouth" the writer has never been able to learn.

Xxxvii. Early Amusements

In the early days, before the completion of the railroads and telegraph lines, when only the primitive stagecoach attracted the attention of the people three times a week, and when merchants and business men generally had but a few hours' work to do each day, games of all kinds suited to the different turns of mind and the physical capacity of the individual were improvised, and many were the amusing scenes and incidents that occurred in all the towns and villages in the county.

When Plymouth was a village of three or four hundred inhabitants, the complicated and entertaining game of marbles was the one mostly indulged in. Ministers, lawyers and doctors, merchants and others, all had their pockets full of "white alleys," and it was not an uncommon occurrence

The mania for playing any game of chance is generally contagious, and. if it is not too difficult to learn, it is only a question of time as to the whole population becoming infected. Enthusiasts have been known to become so much interested in the game of marbles that lamps and lanterns had to be provided for the accommodation of the players in the street as the shades of evening drew on.

"Town Ball" was also a favorite amusement for those who delighted in -violent exercise of that kind. And there were many who became exceedingly expert players. They could throw a ball as straight as a bullet and almost as swift, and there were others who could catch them if they were thrown in catching distance. And woe be to the runner who was found between the "by's" when one of these balls was thrown at him ! If he escaped being hit the surgeon might have lost a job setting a broken limb. "Bull Pen" was another favorite game much the same as town ball, and many remember even to this day the hard knocks they received in trying to escape the tortures of that classically named enclosure.

Pitching horseshoes was also one of the favorite outdoor games, and he who could oftenest "ring the peg" was considered the champion pitchist. This was a great Sunday game, and there are some yet living who became experts by practicing on the holy Sabbath day. They have probably forgotten it by this time and have turned their attention to higher and holier things as the day of rest weekly rolls around, and these early indiscretions shall not be laid up against them.

And there were foot races in those days and they sometimes occurred in the middle of the street, and there were occasions when great preparations were made for these feats of rapid pedestrianism. And to vary the monotony there was an occasional horse race, and when these occurred there was generally betting and drinking and an occasional knockdown to wind up with. And there were jumping matches, too. Run and jump, stand and jump, hop, step and jump, and a jump backward and forward. There were wheelbarrow races in which the contestants were blindfolded, and bag races, and every other conceivable kind of races the mind of man could think of. And there was "snipe hunting" with greenies to hold the bag; mock trials, and debating societies, and country dances, and social parties and the like, enough to make one's head swim to relate them all.

And as the years went on and society became more cultured, most of these amusements were abandoned, and then came the more refined games of checkers and backgammon, and euchre, and all sorts of games with cards, and chess, and the like ; and all kinds of puzzles and problems and curious contrivances to test the ingenuity and capacity of those who delight to spend their time in working out abstruse and difficult problems.

These things take hold of the people like any other epidemic, and, having spent their fury, the patient recovers much in the same way as do people who have had the smallpox, whooping cough, measles, or any other disease that suddenly takes hold and subsides when the fever "goes down !" Among the most remarkable instances of this kind was what was known as the 13-15-14 craze. Nothing like it was ever known before and probably never will be again. It originated in Boston and within a few weeks spread like wildfire all over the L'nited States and probably found its way across the sea. The people of Marshall county had a very bad case of it. It was so simple and looked so easy of solution that everyone who looked at it a minute made up his mind that he could do it in a short time without much difficulty. The solution of the puzzle consisted simply in getting the 15 on the place where the 14 stood, and the 14 where the 15 stood, by moving the blocks without taking them from the board so that the numbers would all stand in regular order, the last row reading 13-14-15. The little joker was simply fifteen square blocks made to fit a box holding sixteen blocks, the last a blank, so that the blocks could be moved to suit the fancy of the mover.

Large rewards were offered to anyone who would furnish the correct solution, and as it had the appearance of being so easy of accomplishment, almost everybody went at it - lawyers, doctors, merchants, clerks, laboring men, preachers, women and children, "old men and maidens and them that stooped for age," all joined in the general panic, and so intense became the excitement that for a week or two business was almost entirely suspended. In the course of a short time, however, it was ascertained that the thing "couldn't be did," and one by one the little boards and blocks were laid aside, and the monomaniacs, who had almost gone crazy on the subject, resumed their regular occupations, and the excitement in the community generally disappeared as rapidly as it came.

Xxxviii. Raising Tobacco

In the early days of Marshall county every farmer who used tobacco, and some who did not, raised a small patch every year as regularly as they did lettuce and onions and beets and cabbage and other garden truck. At that time there was very little of what was called "boughten tobacco" to be had, and what there was, was known as "Kentucky pig-tail." It was soaked in licorice, was as black as tar, and was altogether villainous stuff. Some of the tobacco raised here then was of fairly good quality, and after having the habit of using it firmly fixed it answered the purpose, and was as good - or more properly, bad - as much of the imported stuff' in use nowadays.

It was a dreadful ordeal one had to go through with to accustom himself to the use of tobacco, and it was equally as hard to rid himself of the habit after it had been acquired.

The writer remembers as vividly as if it were only yesterday his first effort at learning to chew tobacco. It was the home grown weed. Nearly every boy in those days deemed it necessary to use tobacco. The boy who couldn't chew the stuff and squirt the "ambier" - to use a word coined for the purpose - didn't amount to a !

It was on a summer day. He was resting from the day's labor in a fence corner in the shade of a tree when the man who was with him asked him to take a chew of tobacco. He concluded that was as good a time as any to begin and bit off a large mouthful and went at it. For a time all went well, but presently a sickly feeling came over him and it was not long until he heaved up Jonah to beat the band ! Sick ! Well ! Don't talk ! A sicker child you never saw ! He parted with everything from the top of his head to the soles of his feet ! He saw all the stars in the heavens above ; the aurora borealis quivering in the northern hemisphere, and felt several distinct shocks of earthquake! Finally he managed to get to the house, where his mother almost went beside herself, being sure he had the cholera ! The true state of aiTairs was divulged, and after sassafras and sage tea had been administered and the proper antidotes applied, life began to return, and by the next morning he had fully recovered.

The reader may think that this experience ended his efforts to learn to use the filthy stuiT ! Not so ! The neighboring boys had mastered the art and were squirting the tobacco juice with as much gusto as the biggest man in the neighborhood ! So he determined to learn to chew tobacco or die in the attempt. And he did, and after a while the habit became so firmly fixed on his system that when he wanted to quit it he found it was almost impossible to do so. He determined, however, not to be a slave to tobacco or anything else, and long ago quit it entirely, forever and a day.

Xxxix. The Blooaier Costume

The bloomer costume for ladies, which created much excitement throughout America during the year 185 1, was just then being introduced in the then backwoods town of Plymouth. On this topic the editor of the Pilot delivered himself as follows :

"New Dress. - ^The bloomer costume is decidedly an improvement upon the dress of the female portion of the community. It is light, graceful and seraphic, well suited to the female figure. It will be welcomed by all the lovers of taste and refinement in the fashionable world. The orientals have long been celebrated for their beauty, polished manners and splendid attire. Our rivers will now be the 'Golden Horn' ; our valleys the 'Valley of Sweet Waters,' and our seas the Bosphorus of the Turkish capitol. A voyage to Constantinople will be useless. We may now take our siesta in the gay kiosq, and glide over the moonlit waters in the light caique ! Come, ladies, step forth in your gorgeous apparel, decked with rose of gold and leaves of silver, and gladden our hearts with sweet smiles !"

Evidently that was a facetious way the editor had of poking fun at the "costume" and killing it before the fad got a fair start. At any rate, that was the result of it. Only one or two Plymouth ladies had the courage to procure bloomer suits and attempt to introduce them by wearing them as they would other female apparel. When they appeared on the streets they were objects of as much curiosity as if they had been the untamed animal from Borneo. There is no easier way to kill anything the people do not take very kindly to than to make fun of it just as the editor of the Pilot did in his hifalutin' article above quoted. At least that was what happened the bloomer costume. It disappeared from the social horizon like the morning mist before the rays of the rising sun.

A grand celebration of the Fourth of July was indulged in on that day, 1851, and that was probably the first public celebration that had occurred in Plymouth or in the county. Those taking part in the celebration were as follows: Rev. George H. Thayer, chaplain; C. H. Reeve, orator; Thomas Sumner, reader; J. S. Dodridge, standard bearer; Joseph McElrath, marshal; John C. How, assistant marshal.

I, military music; 2, standard bearer; 3, soldiers of the Revolution and last war; 4, military companies; 5, thirty-one ladies in uniform; 6, chaplain, reader and orator; 7, committee of arrangements; 8, Daughters of Temperance; 9, Odd Fellows; 10, Sons of Temperance; 11, Cadets of Temperance; 12, Sundayschools ; 13, Washingtonians and citizens generally.

All that took part in that, the first celebration of Independence Day, are long since dead. From the order of procession it seems that there were at that time still some Revolutionary soldiers living, as well as some Mexican war soldiers. Now there are no Revolutionary soldiers living and only one Mexican war soldier still living in Plymouth - Nelson McLaughlin - and probably not more than one or two others in the entire county. The thirty-one ladies in uniform - what kind of uniform is not stated - were to represent the number of states then composing the United States. The Dunham House, where the procession was to start from, was the old Plymouth hotel on the corner of Michigan and La Porte streets, kept at that time by Wni. M. Dunham.

The patriotic editor of the Pilot introduced a lengthy article on the celebration of the Fourth of July in the following grandiloquent style:

"Fottrth of July. - Glorious day. The bright-winged bird of liberty ushers in the moon with songs of triumph. Shades of our forefathers appear and guide us on the true spirit of love and praise in freedom's cause. What sweet, hallowed associations cluster around the brow of this sacred day! Myriads of joyous hearts are gathering around the altar of liberty to lay their offerings upon her shrine. Clarion note and trumpet blast echo through the vales, greeting the rising sun as - he mounts the eastern wave."

That settled the whole matter. The celebration was reported to have been a grand affair, and, from the ability of those having charge of it, there is no doubt that it was. An editorial item in connection with the celebration said: "A melancholy accident occurred at Rochester on the Fourth. A Mr. Perry, while in the act of loading a cannon, had both of his hands blown off by a tender-fingered knight of the touch-hole."

Xl. Two Of The Earliest Pioneers

Amzi L. Wheeler was born and spent his early boyhood in New York state, and in the early '30's settled in La Porte county, where he taught a country school two or three winters. In 1835 he came to Marshall county, and determining to locate permanently, purchased lot No. i in

Plymouth, upon which he erected a small frame building for a storeroom. Early in the spring of 1836 he brought his family and a small stock of dry goods and groceries and became a permanent resident of Plymouth. Thomas McDonald also came from southern Indiana in the fall of 1835 and bought a piece of land near Maxinkuckee lake, upon which he built a log cabin, and in the spring of 1836 brought his family and began the labor of a pioneer in a new country. These men soon became acquainted and in time became warmly attached to each other. They were both democrats in politics and worked together in making the new county democratic. Not only in politics did they work together, but in furthering the organization of the county on lines that would make it one of the best in the state. Mr. Wheeler was very fond of the game of politics, and as he had in W. G. Pomeroy and others representing the Whig party antagonists worthy of his "steel," the game was more fascinating than it otherwise would have been. In the beginning of the organization of the county ]\Ir. Wheeler was accorded the leadership of the democratic party without a dissenting voice. Naturally he was made the candidate of his party for representative in the state legislature in the early days, was elected several terms, and when a constitutional convention was called in 1850 he was chosen as the democratic delegate to represent Marshall county and was elected. During his services in the constitutional convention frequent correspondence was kept up between these two pioneers, among which the following, found among the papers of Mr. McDonald after his death, is worthy of reproduction here as containing much of historical interest :

Dear Mac: 1 have tiioiight it my duty for some time to advise you of the doings of this grave body. You have doubtless kept yourself posted up to the present time by reading the newspapers, but to realize it fully you must be present; for I assure you in

We are novp six weeks in the session, and if vre make a calculation by the rule of three, we mil not be able to complete the labor for which we were sent here before the Fourth of July, 1851. Indeed, I think that would be too early.

The following section is now under consideration, and, judging from the feeling manifested, it can be carried through without much, if any, alteration:

' ' The general assembly, at its first session under the amended constitution, shall pass laws prohibiting negroes and mulattos from coming into or settling in this state; and prohibit any negro or mulatto from purchasing, or otherwise acquiring, real estate hereafter. ' '

This section has only been under debate half a day, yet during that short debate we have had a foretaste of what may be expected before it is closed. It may become necessary, and I shall be very much mistaken if it does not become necessary, to read the riot act every morning, instead of calling in a minister of the gospel to pray for us!

The section above I look upon as an outrage, because the negro would never have been here if we had not stolen his father and brought him here, but the words "otherwise acquiring" I regard as the climax of this outrage and unworthy of its distinguished author, Robert Dale Owen. If that is ingrafted in our constitution, you will observe that negro children could not hold the real estate their father died possessed of.

A portion" of this convention (respectable in point of numbers as well as talent) do certainly entertain sentiments on this subject that would make a South Carolinian blush. I hope it will be made more acceptable, but I doubt it.

The state bank i)arty are more numerous than I expected to find them ; only about twenty-five or thirty who will vote the true democratic doctrine - no bank at all.

house, and one of our members - Vanbenthusen, from Shelby - is not expected to live another day. The citizens generally deny that it is cholera, but physicians who are not interested in the prosperity of this wooden-legged city declare that it is.

I am homesick as a dog, and I am not certain but I may take it into my head to leave this mob and go home. From thirty to fifty are gone all the time, and I am not certain that we would not be just as well off if they would stay away until we adjourn. If I could be certain that the vote would not be taken on any very important measure, such as the bank or grand jury, I would certainly go home.

I have had the pleasure of listening to two sermons of the distinguished divine Alexander Campbell. He is certainly a great man and understands his trade, possessing as much vigor but not qpite as much fire as I expected. He disappointed a great many, however, because most people in such cases anticipate too much.

Since the above letter was written, the writer of it and the one to whom it was written, have both died and their bodies have turned to the dust from whence they came. J\lr. McDonald was taken with gangrene of the foot in 1875 and after lingering in great pain about six months died in that year. About 1883 Mr. Wheeler was stricken with paralysis of his entire right side, rendering him almost entirely helpless and affecting his vocal organs so he was unable to speak. After lying in this condition three years he suffered another stroke of paralysis, from which he died almost instantly.

Xli. Plymouth'S First Business Failure

The first business failure of consequence that occurred in Plymouth was in 1852-53. The firm of Pomeroy, Houghton & Barber were extensively engaged in the dry goods, grocery and general mercantile business, and also conducted for a time a slaughterhouse at the bend of the river opposite where the Novelty Works are now located. They did an extensive business, but the country was new at that time, and the collapse of the free banks so numerous in Indiana in that day carried them down with many others, and they were forced to make an assignment. They carried the largest stock of any firm doing business here then and their failure had the effect of unsettling local trade for some time.

The firm of Barber, Hutchinson & Co., hardware merchants, being composed of two members of the firm of Pomeroy, Houghton & Barber, was also compelled to suspend, and it also went into the hands of a receiver. An incident in connection with this last assignment, personal to the writer of this history, has never been told, and it is known to but few, if any, of those living here now, and as it is of general application it may not be considered out of place to speak of it in this connection.

The Plymouth Banner of December 21, 1854, in speaking of the new advertisers in that issue of the paper, among other things said : "Daniel McDonald, in this county known from childhood, has commenced business. Encourage him."

The advertisement to which this referred was partly as follows : "Sevastopol is in Russia, but here are cook stoves, tinware, sheet iron and