Miami County, Indiana - Chapter 8: Pioneers and Cabins, 1896

H! tell me a tale of the airly days - 0 Of the times as they ust to be; '* Pillar O' Fire, " and '* Shakespear's Plays, " Is a' most too deep for me! I want plain facts and I want plain words, Of the good old-fashioned ways, When speech run free as the song of birds - 'Way back in the airiy days. Tell me a tale of the timber lands, And the old-time pioneers - Somepin' 4 pore man understands eWith his feelins; as well as ears: Tell of the old log house, - about The loft and the puncheon fioor - The old fire-place, with the crane swung out, And the latch-string through the door. - James Whitcomb Riley.

The pioneers of any country or of any movement or organization must be men and women of purpose, of hope,.of couruge, and above all of a strong will. They must sow and their descendants will reap. They must undergo great sacrifice. They must hope and toil and toil.and hope. The lessons of their lives is faith, hope and charity. No encomium too great can be placed upon the lives of the piomers of this county.

A great majority of the early settlers of this county emigrated' from Ohio. Not a few of them were of the German Baptist faith, who came from the vicinity of Dayton, and located in the fertile valley of Eel river and on the higher lands south of the Wabash. Here and there was a Pennsylvanian, | who inveariably sqatted on the highest piece of ground he could find and built his cabin on the highest knoll. .Not a few from across the briny deep, here too found a home in the deep woods.

The story of their emigration is full of interest. It was in the days be-. fore the railway, the steam boats and the great, public highways. A trip of a few hundred miles was made with great toil and sacrifice, over mountains, across streams, over corduroy reads, through swamps, and through great forests with ax and gun. Often a large family came with all the household goods packed in one covered wagon, drawn by a team of oxen or horses

The children that were strong enough trudged by the wagon, driving the stock, and when they forded a pond or stream, the little ones were chucked into the wagon and the larger would climb the horses' backs.

When the pioneer arrived at his destination, he would clear a small spot in the forest, summon his few neighbors and all joined in 'raising a cabin." he arrival of the new comer was heralded far and near and all vied with each other in helping him through.

The rearing of the cabin afforded a great deal of jollity and many a joke was played and many a story told. One of the essentials on such occassions was a jug or two of '- good old rye." More than one pioneer, who was opposed to strong drink had the same experience as William Cool, who was one of the first Baptist preachers of this county Mr. Cool was building a large hewed, double-log house on his claim in Union township. He had vowed that one house would be built without the use of whiskey. But the workmen were constantly complaining and finally they all agreed to quit at a certain time, unless the necessary article was produced and a committee of one was appvinted to so inform Mr. Cool. He saw the situation and secretly dispatched a messenger. with two jugs, on horse-backin hot haste to Perrysburg. When the all essential was produced to the workmen, who had been hemming their throats considerably, many a toast was presented to the reverned gentleman-

They hewed the cabins down inside - Unlike the hasty booth - The rough uneven knots to hide, And make the walls more smooth, The upper joists were merely poles, The wall were chinked and daubed; Sometimes the windows were but holes, Yet they were seldom robbed.

Withstood the storms and floods, And from its hearth of native ground, And floor so thick and stout, Sent forth its blessings far around, With latch-string always out.

That dear, old cabin in the forest shade stood in bold contrast to the Astor residence in New York City, but the plain old-fashioned fathers and mothers were no doubt far happier than the money kings.

The furniture in the forest home was in harmony with the building. The bed was made stationary in the corner. The ends of two round, straight sticks were fastened, one in the side and the other in the end wall, and the other ends of the sticks rested in a forked stick that stood upright. The boys slept in the loft on the floor and the girls in a trundle bed. The baby lay ina trough near the mother's head. But the most curious thing about the cabin, was the old fire-place. It usually occupied one whole ead of thehouse. It took a pioneer to build a tire in one of these. The modern youth would hardly keep warm if he built his own fire. They rolled the heavy back-log in and laid the fore-stick on, then dropped the kindling in between and threw the top-log on. Half a wagon load of sticks were then piled criss-cross. he flint and steel were struck, the flames broke forth, the coals fell below, heating backwall, hearth and jambs. Some ofthe ''high-toned " had tongs and shovel and castiron dogs, on to which to lay the fore-stick. The fire was seldom left die out, and if it did, the flint and steel were asain used or some of the children were sent to a neighbor for some coals. When the friction matches were first made, they thought it very well, but the old man would shake his head and use his flint and steel. Just above the door or over the mantel-piece, hung the trusty rifle, always loaded, ready for the chase. The shot pouch, made of panther's pelt, and horn hung at its breech. When the orchard bore its fruit, strings of apples were suspended from side to side of the cabin, and there too hung the herbs and roots.

When springtime came, there was no end of music by the frogs. A special orchestra serenaded the inmates of the cabin all night long. Inthe fall mosquitos were of especial interest and every evening a smoke was made outside to drive away the pesky things. Beginning with the month of July and continuing until late in the fall, nearly every one shook with the ague. This was a sickness caused by breathing the noxious air that hung about the swamps, where vegetation was decaying. When the swamps were drained and cultivated, the ague disappeared.

We can only imagine what the pioneers endured in battling against the difficulties which surrounded them. After building the cabin, next came the heavy toil of clearing the ground. Very often the first crop did not exceed over five or six acres of corn, planted among the deadened trees, and the stumps and logs were so thick that they could cultivate it only with a hoe. It took four or five years to get a piece of ground under a fair state of cultivation. Thousands and thousands of as fine trees as ever grew were cut into logs. rolled in great heaps and burned. Great, large, walnut trees, which would now bring a handsome price, were consigned to the flames. Each farmer cut his own trees, trimmed them and piled the brush and burned them.

George Nichelson, a pioneer of Erie township, now a retired citizen of Peru tells of a big log rolling which he had in his early days. Heannounced to his neighbors that on a certain day he was going to roll logs and they came from miles around. It was in the fall of the:year, in thé midst of:a heated campaign. The whigs and democrats were about equally divided and were jesting each other and telling rough jokes on the favorite candidates. It was suggested by some one that when the logs were all rolled, that they divide and have a ''rush," clinch and wrestle and see which party of the log rollers was the stronger. It was agreed to by all. The whigs drew up on one line and the democrats on the other, about thirty feet apart and at a word they rushed together, clinched and began to wrestle. Someone was hurt and a genera) fight was about to take place. A number of the cooler headed ones saw what the rough fun was leading to and stopped the fight. The 'rush, " or wrestling match, was pronounced a draw and all went home in the greatest of good feeling.

Corn was the principal crop tnat stood among the deadened trees and blackened stumps and logs, but many had patches of flax and hemp. The flax straw was made into clothing and the hemp into halters, traces and ropes. The spinning wheel was looked upon as a great invention and the young lady was considered a ''catch" who was a good spinster. The linen was bleached by spreading it over the grass and dampening it. It was colored drab with white ash bark, and brown with butternut. A tint more rich and dark was made with oak bark and black was made with walnut root. The home grown madder colored red.