Ashland City (part 7 of 57)

There are perhaps twenty or more smaller mounds in Ashland that the author has not had time to explore, but from the number given it is fairly shown that the county is rich in prehistoric history.

What connection, if any, existed between the Mound Builders and the Indians is yet unsettled. But it seems certain that many years before Columbus discovered America, the Mound Builders had settlements here in Richland county, as these ancient earthworks attest. That the people were not unacquainted with war is shown by their numerous fortified enclosures. These mounds and other antiquities give us some knowledge of a people that lived here when civilization was but in the dawn in Europe. The history of our own country is at least as interesting as that of the land of the Pharoahs, or of storied Greece, for here we see evidence of an ancient culture, as well as the footprints of a vanished people.

It is claimed by writers that the Mound Builders were of Asiatic origin and were, as a people, immense in numbers and well advanced in many of the arts. Similarity in certain things indicates that they were of Phoenician descent. Of the Mound Builders, we have speculated much, and know but little.

Some of our mounds were used as sepulchers for the dead, and should not be desecrated- even in the interest of historical research and investigation.

Some may say why attempt to roll back the flight of years to learn of a prehistoric people, for the searchlight of investigation makes but little impression on the night of time. We have no data on which to base an estimate as to the antiquity of man, but we can contemplate the great periods of geological times, and the infinite greatness of the works of creation, as disclosed by Astronomy, with man's primeval conditon, as made evident by archaeology, and exclaim, "What is man that Thou art mindful of him !"

The Indians As A Race

Scientific research indicates that the Indians followed the Mound Builders of this section of the country and it was long after the first white settler had penetrated into the region now known as Ohio that the Indians left for hunting grounds further west.

The Indians uniformly resisted all attempts to civilize them. They preferred to subsist themselves by the chase, and it has been estimated that it would take fifty thousand acres of forest land to furnish game enough to support one Indian. With almost all the tribes the men furnished the game (meat) as their share of provision for the family. It was considered beneath the dignity of a "brave" to do any manual labor. The squaws had to plant the corn and cultivate it, cut the wood, carry water, do the cooking, feed the horses and carry the luggage when on the march. The women did not murmur at this, but seemed to consider it a natural distribution of family duties.

Polygamy was quite general among the Indians. Every "brave" had as many wives as he could support. In marriages the bride-to-be was seldom consulted, for the suitor addressed himself directly to the parents of the young squaw he wished to marry, and her fate depended on the wish of her parents. The custom of dowry was the reverse from what it is today, for then the suitor made presents to the parents of the bride, instead of receiving a portion with her.

Divorces were frequent, and where there were children, the mother had to support them. With the Dakotas, when a "brave" wished to marry, he had to take the bride's sisters, also. The Indians looked upon women as inferior to them and made them their slaves. They were savages. With civilized, Christian people it is different. I have but little patience with a woman who says she is an infidel, for it is the religion of the Nazerene that has elevated her to the position of honor in which she is held today.

The Indians are fatalists. They never pray, but they sometimes return thanks to the Great Spirit. Whatever of good or of evil happens to them they receive with imperturable calmness, believing that the fates have so ordered. I use the present tense, for the Indian is about the same today that he was a century ago. The opinions, traditions and institutions of his tribe are endeared to him by habit, feeling and authority ; and from early childhood he has been taught that the Great Spirit would be offended by any change in the customs of his red children.

Indians believe in a Great Spirit and in the immortality of the soul. They look upon the future state as a material paradise - a happy hunting ground. They blend sorcery in their belief in the healing art and their priests are also physicians and jugglers. Their tribes seem to be held together by a kind of family ligament; by the ties of blood, which in the infancy of society were stronger as other associations were weaker.

Ohio was the battle ground where the Indians tried to stop the tide of civilization in its westward course across the American continent, and Ashland county was the battle field upon which some of the bloodiest tragedies of that terrible conflict were enacted. America has the unique distinction of being settled by pioneers. Other countries have been peopled by men moving in large bodies from one place to another. Whole tribes would move enmasse and over yun or exterminate the inhabitants and occupy their territory. But the pioneers came singly or in small groups and became settlers. When the white men came the Indians had to leave, because the conflict between the civilized people and the savages was irrepressible. The white men possessed the country on the theory of the eternal fitness of things.

It is an interesting study to trace a country 's history from its beginning and follow society in its formative state and note its material developments and scientific achievements. It took George Washington eight days to journey from Mt. Vernon to New York to be inaugurated first president of the United States. The same distance can now be traveled in less than eight hours.

The pioneer period is an epoch of the past. .The early settlers of Ashland county have passed away. It may have been difficult for some of them to accept and become reconciled to the changes that were brought about in their day and generation - at the change that had stamped its seal upon the wilderness whose winding paths they had known so well and had so often trodden. Many of them lived to see the country lay off its primeval wildness and beauty and grandeur of the forest, until the land bloomed like unto the gardens of gods. How beautiful has been the result of the labor of the pioneers and how much we owe to them. But that golden era passed away and bore upon its bosom the dear old men and women whose like we shall never see again. We rejoice to know that the glory of one age is not dimmed in the golden glory of the age succeeding it.

To give more fully the changes that have taken place, the spinning wheel of the pioneer days is now known only as a relic in a museum or an antique ornament in our parlor. The loom is no longer used in private houses; a except for ornamental purposes. Water runs into our houses through pipes by turning a faucet and is carried out again by gravity. With gas manufactured or natural as a fuel, with our houses heated from cellar to attic the labor of preparing for, making and keeping a fire is reduced to a very small matter. In cities and villages the baker relieves the housekeeper of the task of bread-making if she so desires, and thus at every point the burdens of life are made less strenuous and more bearable.

The pioneer times are frequently spoken of as "the good old days." An old gentleman sentimentally referring to those days had his remarks taken seriously by a bystander who understood him as wishing for a return of the things and conditions of the past. The bystander said: "Times change. Don't let us fall behind the procession, rather let us be thankful for the better conditions of our day and generation." He further said that the luxuries and comforts of today make us lack nothing. Would you go back to the years when the family surrounded the pot of mush and helped themselves from it a morsel at a time?

The pioneer period was but the preface to the fuller development of the country that followed. The settlers who cLared the land, founded homes and formulated the first laws, builded better than they knew, and as we look back at their work in the lime-light of today, we award them the plaudit of "well done."

Within four years after the first settlement' in Ashland county had been made, war was declared against Great Britain. This war is sometimes called our second war for independence. The question has been asked if that war advanced or retarded the settlement of the country. Those have read history to but little purpose if they have not learned that war advances civilization. The fighting instincts of human nature have brought about more important results than has any other one force.

Ilomer, the earliest of the great poets, began his Iliad by invoking the muse to sing of martial exploits and expressed his faith in war as a means of progress. The spirit then displayed was not materially different from that which the patriots of colonial times manifested, which culminated in the war of the Revolution. The same impelling tendency was seen in the heroic events of the war of 1812, and also in our war with Mexico, as well as in our recent civil strife. The records of the "dull, piping times of peace" do not show the advance of civilization, as do the annals of war.

An Indian Feast

In the fall of 1811, there was a great Indian feast at Green town, which was attended by Rev. James Copus and Captain James Cunningham, two white settlers of the vicinity. Captain Cunningham was the grandfather of the author of this work. The refreshments at this feast consisted of boiled venison and bear meat, somewhat tainted, and not very palatable to the white guests. The ceremonies took place in the council house, a building composed of clapboards and poles, some thirty feet wide, and perhaps fifty feet long. When the Indians entered the council house, the squaws seated themselves on one side and the men on the other. There was a small elevation of earth in the center, eight or ten feet in diameter, which seemed to be a sort of sacrificial mound. The ceremonies were opened by a rude sort of music, made by beating upon a small copper kettle, and pots, over the mouths of which dried skins had been stretched. This was accompanied by a sort of song, which, as near as could be understood, ran: "Tinny, tinny, tinny, ho, ha, ho, ha, ho '' - accenting the last sylables. Then a tall chief arose and addressed them. During the delivery of his speech, a profound silence prevailed. The whole audience observed the speaker, and seemed to be deeply moved by the oration. The speaker seemed to be about seventy years of age. He was tall and graceful. 1 1 is eyes had the fire of youth, and blazed with emotion while he was speaking. The audience frequently sobbed, and seemed deeply affected. Mr. Copus could not understand the language of the address, but presumed the speaker was giving a summary history of the Delawares, two tribes of which, the "Wolf" and the "Turtle" were represented at the feast. Mr. Copus learned that the distinguished chief who had addressed the meeting, was "Old Captain Pipe," of Mohican Johnstown, the executioner of the lamented Colonel Crawford. At the close of the address dancing commenced. The Indians were neatly clothed in deer skin and English blankets. Deer hoofs and bear claws were strung along the seams of their leggins, and when the dance commenced, the jingling of the hoofs and claws gave a rude sort of harmony to the wild music made upon the pots and kettles. The men danced in files or lines, by themselves around the central mound, and the squaws followed in a company by themselves. In the dance there seemed to be a proper sense of modesty between the sexes. In fact, the Green town Indians were always noted for being extremely scrupulous and modest in the presence of each other. After the dance, the refreshments were handed around. Not relishing the appearance of the food, Mr. Copus and the other whites present, carefully concealed the portions handed them until they left the wigwam, and then threw them away. No greater insult could be offered an Indian, than to refuse to accept the food proffered by him. So those present had to use a little deception to evade the censure of the Indians.

The Indians Were The Allies Op The British

In the war of 1812 the Indians acted as the allies of the British. History states that Lord Dorchester, then governor general of Canada, industriously instigated the Indians to hostilities on our northern frontier, and that he had agents throughout Ohio and elsewhere distributing blankets, food, ammunition and arms among the Indians, and at Malden a reward was paid for every white man's scalp brought in by the Indians.

The Indians at Greentown and Jeromeville had received supplies from the British. This fact, coupled with their suspicious action and warlike demonstrations, gave the white settlers reasonable cause for believing that their savage neighbors contemplated a murderous assault upon them.

At the time of which I write Colonel Kratzer, who was in command of the troops at Mansfield, received orders to remove the Indians from both Greentown and Jeromeville, as a precautionary measure against an outbreak, and for that purpose sent Captain Douglas to enforce the order. There were about eighty Indian " braves" at Greentown, and it has been doubted whether Captain Douglas could have successfully coped with them. But such questions are only discussed in " piping times of peace," for in times of war American soldiers whip the enemy first and discuss the matter afterward.

Armstrong was the Greentown chief, and at first refused to consent to be removed. Captain Douglas then sought James Copus, who lived a few miles further up the valley, and requested him to persuade the Indians to comply peacefully with the order. Copus was a local preacher in whom the Indians had confidence. He refused to interfere against them. After entreaty had failed Captain Douglas is reported to have said, "Mr. Copus, my business is to carry out the instructions of m.y superior officers, and if I can't persuade you to comply with my request I shall arrest you as a traitor to the government of the United States." Mr. Copus then consented to go, the officer assuring him that the Indians should be protected in both person and property.

When the officers returned to the Indian village, accompanied by Mr. Copus, another conference was held with the chief, at which Mr. Copus repeated the assurances that had been given him.

Captain Douglas again explained that his order was mandatory and that the Indians had to comply with its mandate or take the alternative. After conferring with his counselors, the old chief reluctantly announced that they would go, and Judge Peter Kinney and Captain James Cunningham took an inventory of their effects, and the Indians were formed into line and marched away under guard from the village that had for thirty years been the home of that part of their tribe. They had not proceeded far when looking back, they saw a cloud of smoke ascending from their burning village.

The burning of Greentown has been criticised and censured by sentimentalists, who regarded it as a breach of faith with the "noble red man," who was cruelly driven from his "happy hunting grounds" into a forced exile. But the burning of that village was not a breach of faith, for the officers did not sanction the act. It was done without warrant by five or six stragglers who had dropped out of the ranks for that purpose. They were militiamen who had suffered wrongs too grievous to be borne from the bloody hands of the Indians, and it was but human nature for them to retaliate. It seems like maudlin sentimentalism to dilate upon the wrongs which the white settlers committed against the Indians, for the few misdeeds that may have been done by the pioneers were too insignificant to be given prominence in history. In the early history of France we read of the dark and bloody acts of the Druids and how they immolated human life in their forest temples, but it was as a religious rite, as an atoning or propitiating sacrifice, and while we stand appalled at the bloody spectacle our condemnation is somewhat molified when we consider the motive that prompted the act. But with the Indians it was cruelty for cruelty's sake. They were savages, and through all the civilizing influences of a century they are savages still. Even those who have been educated at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, at the expense of the general government, drift back into barbarism, as a rule, after they return to the west. Let those who have tears to shed over the burning of Greentown read the accounts of the Wyoming massacre and its aftermath of butcherier . and then consider the Indians' bloody deeds in our own state and county - of cruelty, torture, death, - these three, and then tell us where is their claim for charity! Settlers have returned from the hunt and chase and found their cabins burnt and their families murdered. The bloody tomahawk and gory scalping knife had done their work, and mutilation had been added to murder. Notwithstanding the beautifully drawn and charmingly colored word-pictures given us by novelists, history teaches us that the Indian is cruel, deceitful a.' C bloodthirsty by nature and devoid of the redeeming traits of humanity.

Greentown was founded in 1782, and was destroyed by fire in 1812, after an existence of thirty years. The number of cabins it contained has been variously stated at from sixty to one hundred. The number of the dead buried there is not known, but as about three hundred Indians, on an average, lived there for three decades, the number is no doubt quite large.

The writer recently visited the site of old Greentown in mid- winter, - an appropriate season to view in its dearth and desolation the former location of a town that is now no more. The Blackfork had overflowed its banks in a recent freshet, and, ere the waters could recede from the lowlands, had frozen into sheets of ice that reflected sparkling gems of crystal purity in the gladsome sunshine, and the hills glistened with a white covering of snow, forming a scene of beauty to be remembered in many a future dream.

To appreciate places of historic note, one must enter into the feelings created by reading its history and learning its traditions. Standing upon that village site, we realized that the valley whose broad and fertile acres spread out before us was the place where the civilization of this part of the West was first planted and from which it extended even to the golden shores of the Pacific. The events which stirred the souls and tried the courage of the pioneers seemed to come out of the dim past and glide as panoramic views before us. A number of the actors in those thrilling scenes were of our "kith and kin," who have long since crossed over the river. But little change has taken place at the old site of Greentown in the past fifty years, except that the old time Indian burial ground, that has withstood the innovations of a century, is being despoiled of its timber, and one feels like exclaiming:

But sentiment, it seems, must give way to utility. The burial ground is at the west end of the knoll upon which Greentown was situated and is somewhat triangular in shape. Heretofore, the ground has been held in superstitious, if not sacred, veneration. But it will soon be turned over to the plowshare and the agriculturist.

Greentown was built upon an oblong knoll, of about half a mile in length and a quarter of a mile in width, running nearly east and west, with an elevation of fifty feet, and of irregular topography. The Black Fork, after straightening from its tortuous course and running south for a short distance, makes a graceful curve to the east at the southwest limits of the grounds, courses along the base of the south side of the ridge, then turns again to the south and resumes its zigzag wanderings until its waters unite with those of other forks and form the Mohican. The cabins comprising the village stood principally upon the rolling plateau-like summit of the hill, each Indian selecting a site to suit himself, with but little regard for streets or regularity. A sycamore tree, which in the olden times cast its shade over the council-house of the tribe, still stands like a monument from the past, grim and white, stretching its branches like skeleton arms in the attitude of benediction. A wild cherry-tree stands several rods northeast, around which there was formerly a circular mound, evidently made by the Indians, and still discernable; but whether it was used as a circus ring for athletic sports, or as a receptacle, is a matter of conjecture. Many think it was for the latter, as trinkets, if not valuable, have been taken from it; but no general exhumation was ever made.

The Blackfork Valley

The settlers of 1808-09-10 found in the Blackfork valley a village of Delaware Indians, the remnant of a Turtle tribe. Their chief was Captain,

Armstrong. The village was called Greentown. As a war measure the Indians were removed from Greentown in- the early autumn of 1812, after which the village was burnt. The site of their old burial ground is almost obliterated. It is located a few rods north of the Black Fork, upon a gentle eminence, in the southwest part of northeast quarter section 18, Green township. The southern portion of the site is still in woods, and the depressions that mark the graves are quite distinct. Henry Ilarkell and the author exhumed several of the skeletons in the summer of 1876. In some cases the remains were inclosed in a stone cist; in others, small rounded drift-boulders were placed in order around the skeletons. The long bones were mostly well preserved. No perfect skull was obtained, nor were there any stone implements found in the graves. At the foot of one a clam shell was found. The graves are from two and one-half to three feet deep and the remains repose horizontally. A few relics, such as stone axes, arrow heads and a few bits of copper, have been picked up in the immediate vicinity. They are in the hands of the author. On the opposite side of the stream and some distance below, near the south line of southeast quarter-section 18, Green township, there are ancient fireplaces. They are about fifteen inches below the present surface, and are formed of boulders, regularly laid. The earth is burned red. Great numbers of stones have fallen into the stream during its incursions upon the west bank. Some three or four of these fireplaces are yet plainly visible, but in a few years they will be swept away by the current. About half a mile east of the graves is a small circular earthwork almost razed. It contains between one and two acres and had a gateway looking to the river, which is westward. It is situated upon nearly the level bottom land of the beautiful valley.

Captain Pipe

Captain Pipe- was a chief of the Wolf branch of the Delaware tribe and ruled at Mohican Johnstown. There was a Captain Pipe at Greentown at one time, who was supposed to be a son of the old chieftain. TTe later became a half chief with Silas Armstrong, on the reservation at Pipestown, six miles from Upper Sandusky. This younger Captain Pipe died in 1829, in the Indian Territory.

Old Captain Pipe has been described as a typical Indian, uniting with the blandness and oily address of the cringing courtier, the malignity of the savage and the blood-thirsty ferocity of the skul king panther. With his own hand he painted Colonel Crawford black and by his order the Colonel was burnt at the stake. While painting the gallant Colonel, the treacherous Pipe feigned friendship and joked about him making a good looking Indian, but the black paint belied his words, for it portended death. It has been stated that Captain Pipe refused to join the British against the white settlers in 1812, but as he was a consummate dissembler, the statement should be received in accordance with the character of the man. After Hull's surrender, Captain Pipe was never seen in this part of the state and his fate is unknown.

A captive among the Indians before the settlement of Ashland county, was Christian Fast, Sr. He often narrated the incidents of his capture and captivity, which were published years ago. In after years he became a resident of Orange township, Ashland county, where a number of his descendants yet

When a boy of sixteen, Mr. Fast was captured by the Delaware Indians near the Falls of Ohio. He had enlisted in Fayette county, Pennsylvania, in a company of two hundred men, organized for the purpose of chastising the Indians for depredations committed upon the frontier settlement. This force descended the Ohio in boats, and some distance above the falls, separated into two parties, young Fast being among those in the rear. The forward party were attacked a short distance above the falls, by parties of Indians on both sides of the river. The largest boat in the fleet, in which was Mr. Fast, had landed, and the others were making preparations to do so, when the attack commenced. The smaller boats immediately put up steam but the larger one was hard aground and could not be got off. Of the one hundred on that boat all were killed except some thirty. Young Fast jumped into the water, receiving, at the same instant, a flesh wound in the hip, and swam to the opposite shore, where he was met by three Indans, who demanded that he should surrender, assuring him of friendly treatment. He declined their request and again plunged into the stream, the three Indians firing on him as he swam, one of the balls grazing his cheek, momentarily stunning him. Reaching the middle of the stream, he took observations to determine the course of safety, and concluded to strike the shore several rods below where the large boat was grounded; but on approaching he again encountered the bullets of the Indians, and again made for the middle of the river. Some distance below he discovered a horse-boat belonging to his party, and at once resolved to reach and board it. Just as he had succeeded in getting aboard, the captain received a wound in the arm, and waved his hand to the Indians in token of surrender. The boat was immediately boarded by the Indians, and the whites were all made prisoners.

An old Indian took charge of Fast, by whom he was taken to Upper Sandusky. The prisoners were divested of their clothing, and, as their march led through a rank growth of nettleweeds, the journey was indescribably painful. Fast, becoming maddened with pain, at length refused to go forward, and, baring his head to his captor, demanded that he should tomahawk him, and thus put an end to his sufferings. The Indian took compassion on him and restored his clothing. During the remainder of the journey he was treated with great kindness. At Upper Sandusky he was adopted into a distinguished family of the tribe. He visited the lamented Colonel Crawford after the failure of the expedition, and during his imprisonment, and was within hearing of his cries during the horrid cruelties he suffered at the stake.

About eighteen months after Fast's capture, an expedition left Upper Sandusky for the purpose of attacking the white settlements and fortifications at Wheeling. Connected with this expedition was the notorious James Girty. Fast, who now possessed the full confidence of the Indians, was also of the party. The expedition reached its destination and besieged the fort at Wheeling three days and two nights. On the third night Fast determined upon an attempt to effect his escape. Approaching his adopted brother at a late hour of the night, he awoke him, complaining of thirst, and urged his brother to accompany him to a place where they could procure a drink of water. The Indian pleaded weari- ness, and urged him to go alone, insisting that no harm would befall him. Fast, taking his camp-kettle, started directly for his father's house in Fayette county, Pennsylvania, about thirty miles distant. The night being excessively dark, he made slow progress, and at daylight was yet within hearing of the guns at Wheeling. As soon as daylight appeared, he pushed forward, and soon discovered, by a fresh trail, that about thirty Indians were in advance of him, making for the white settlements in Washintgon county, Pennsylvania. On reaching a spur of a ridge he discovered that the trails separated, and that the Indians had formed two parties, each pursuing parallel lines through the valleys. He hoped, by vigorously pursuing the middle and straight course, to get in advance of the Indians, and in this effort he was successful. Before night he reached the margin of the settlement in Washington county, the Indians being a short distance in the rear. A few rods in advance of him and advancing on his own trail, Fast discovered a white man, with a couple of bridles on his arm, evidently in search of horses. Placing himself behind a tree Fast waited until the white man was within a few feet of him, when he suddenly placed himself in his path, and gave a hurried explanation of his name, object, and the immediate danger that threatened the white settlement. The man was paralyzed with fear, he could not believe that the savage looking man before him, with his painted face, his ears and nose filled with broaches, his hair (all except a tuft in front, which was passed through a silver tube) nearly plucked from his skull, was anything else than a veritable Indian. Mechanically, however, the man obeyed his directions, and each, seizing and mounting horses, which were near at hand, made for the settlements with all practicable speed. They gave the alarm to all the families in the neighborhood, and succeeded in securing all the settlers in the fort except one boy who was killed at the instant he reached the gate which was thrown open for his ingress.

After the beleaguered fort was relieved by the retirement of the Indians, he sought his father's house; but so completely was he metamorphosed by his Indian costume that his parents could not, for a considerable length of time, recognize hm. At length his mother, recalling some peculiar spots near the pupils of his eyes, gave a scrutinizing look, and at once identified her son. She sprang forward to embrace him, and would have fainted in his qtrms, but he repulsed her, explaining that his person, as was the case with all Indians, was covered with vermin. He retired from the house, committed his Indian clothes to the fire he had made, purified his body as best he could, and then clothed himself in garments furnished by his father.

On the very day of his return to Orange township, Ashland county, in 1815, he met Tom Lyons, a chief, and one of his original captors, and a party of Indians, by whom he was recognized. The Indians had no suspicion that he had deserted, but believed he had been drowned in the river. They evinced much joy at the discovery of their lost "brother," and ever afterward offered him numerous tokens of their friendship.

In the summer of 1819, a party of Indians were encamped at the foot of Vermillion lake. Tom Lyons invited his "brother," Christian Fast, Sr., and his children, to partake of a feast which they had proposed. The only members of the family who found it convenient to accept the invitation were Nicholas and

Francis. Lyons, after painting himself for the occasion, insisted that the boys should also be painted - to which proposition, "for the fun of the thing," they readily assented. Old Tom put the paint on the face of Frank, who was a mischievous lad, "so thick," that it remained indelible for a period of more than a year.

At the feast one of the dishes was a bear's head boiled with the hair precisely as it was cut from the body of the animal. The entrails of the bear formed a distinct dish, and the other pieces made separate dishes. Venison, also, formed part of the repast.

Valleys furnish favorite themes for both story and song. But here we do not deal with the mythical valleys of poets' fancies nor romanciers' tales' wherein vine-covered cottages are said to nestle in lovely valleys, whose occupants live in the bliss of love's young dream.

Our Ashland county valleys are of the material kind, where flowers not only bloom, but where wheat ripens; where birds sing and where cattle fatten, where the artistic, the aesthetic, and the practical unite and blend and where the fanciful goes side by side with the prosaic and the useful things of life.

The valleys of Ashland county are usually interspersed with ravines through which flow tributaries of the larger streams, the latter occupying ancient valleys of erosion, bordered by alluvial bottom lands of various widths. The pre-glacial waterways can be quite accurately defined and traced. After the valleys had been filled up by the "drift," streams in some places found other channels.

The greater part of Ashland county is covered with a deposit of unmodified bouldered clay, which in some of the northern townships conceals from view the underlying rocks. Except along the banks of the streams, this bouldered clay which is quite thick at places is unstratified. On the margins of the streams there is frequently at the bottom a deposit of laminated clay, with rudely stratified gravel and boulders above. The fragments of the local rocks are rounded and globular, except in places where they have been ground into gravel by the "drift." The bottom of streams are more or less gravelly or rocky, according to the locality through which they pass.

The valley of the Blackfork is about forty-five miles in length in Richland county, extending from Shafer's Hollow in Springfield tOAvnship to the place in Monroe township where it leaves Richland and enters Ashland, county. The width of this valley varies, but on the average is of considerable area, and the land is generally of unusual richness although at places somewhat swampy, as the stream has but little fall and the waters are sluggish. There is, however, but little of the Blackfork valley that is not now cultivated. The clearing of the country and the demolition of the mill dams have worked wonders in reclaiming the lands of the Blackfork valley for cultivation. One of the first settlements in Ashland county was made in the Blackfork valley, and in the same valley occurred some of the most tragic and bloody scenes of pioneer history. In that valley was situated the Indian village of Greentown, where for thirty years from three hundred to five hundred Indians made tlieir homes and where hundreds of their dead are buried. Farther up the valley are the Petersburg lakes, much frequented by fishing parties.

The Blackfork valley in the olden time was grandly beautiful in the summer season. In the morning as the rays of the sun glinted the distant hills, flecked the tree tops with touches of light and tinted fleecy clouds with brilliant rays, making touches of gorgeous hues the scene, was entrancing. And at night the moon was wont to peer atwixt the leafy branches of the trees, casting its pale glimmers of light through the languorous atmosphere, ere it sailed forth into the open space, as though to keep watch and ward over the pioneers while they slept.

The Clearfork valley extends from Kings Corners and Johnsville down past Bellville, Butler and Newville, and through the Darling settlement at the foot of which the Clearfork leaves Richland county and enters Ashland, and after making a graceful turn at Professor Sample's, it flows through the defiles of a hilly country, until it joins the Blackfork three miles belowr Loudonville, where the two streams unite in forming the Mohican river.

From the earliest settlement the white population of Ohio gradually grew in numbers and the desire for new counties finally reached this part of Ohio and resulted in the erection of Ashland county, by an act of the legislature passed on the 24th day of February, 1846. In the schemes and discussions for the new county several propositions were made, one being for the county of Ellsworth, with the seat of justice at Sullivan; another for the county of Mohican, with the seat of justice at Loudonville; another for the county of Vermillion, with the seat of justice at Ilayesville; also applications from Jeromeville, Orange and Savannah, with the seats of justice at their several towns ; named at a later date for a new county to be called Ashland, the success of which was assured by the passage by the legislature of the act creating the county of Ashland, which was formed of the territory of Richland, Huron, Lorain and Wayne counties. The fractional townships of Mifflin, Milton and Clearcreek, and the full townships of Hanover, Green, Vermillion, Montgomery and Orange, were from Richland county, while Ruggles was from Huron and Troy and Sullivan

On the first Monday of April, 1846, the county seat was located at Ashland by a vote of the electors, the citizens of Ashland agreeing to donate suitable grounds, and five thousand dollars to erect county buildings thereon. The site has an altitude of one thousand seventy-nine feet.

In 1847-48 a jail was erected, by Ozias S. Kinney, architect, and cost the county about fourteen thousand dollars. An old stone church, purchased on the site of the grounds selected for the erection of county buildings, was occupied some seven years as a courthouse. It stood about midway between the present courthouse and jail, and had been erected by the Methodist denomination. The new courthouse' was commenced by Ozias S. Kinney, architect, in 1851, and com pleted in 1853; and cost the county about twenty thousand dollars. Tlit infirmary was erected by Sylvester Alger and George W. Urie, architects and builders, in 1849, and cost about four thousand dollars.

By the terms of the law erecting the county, the officers elected in April only continued until their successors, who were to be elected on the second Tuesday of October, 1846, were elected and qualified.

Second Election, Held Octobs1R 13, 1846 School Examiners

The first school examiners for Ashland county were John McCormick, Nicholas M. Donaldson, Loren Andrews. The first meeting of the examiners was held at Jeromeville, March 28, 1846.

In pursuance of an act of the general assembly of the state of Ohio, entitled, "An act to erect the county of Ashland," passed February 24, 1856,' the associate judges of said county met at the house of G. II. Cake, in the town of Jeromeville, county of Ashland, on the day above written, and in obedience to the sixth section of the aforesaid act, and the poll books from the several townships having all been returned agreeably to said act, the clerk of the court of common pleas, in the presence and by the assistance of the associate judges aforesaid, proceeded to canvass said votes in regard to the location of the county seat as specified in said sixth section of the act aforesaid. Whereupon it appeared that there had been polled in said county of Ashland for seat of justice at Ashland, two thousand six hundred and eighty-two votes; for seat of justice at Ilayesville, two thousand and two votes.

An abstract of said votes was forthwith made out and certified by said associate judges and clerk, to be returned to the next court of common pleas agreeably to the eighth section of the act aforesaid.

At a meeting of the associate judges of Ashland county, Ohio, convened at the house of Elias Slocum, in the town of Ashland, Matthew Clugston was appointed by the sheriff his principal deputy; which appointment was approved by the associate judges.

At a court of common pleas begun and held at the courthouse in the town of Ashland in the county of Ashland, in the eleventh judicial circuit of the state of Ohio, on the 7th day of May, A. D. 1846, there were present the Honorable Jacob Parker, President Judge of said court; and the TIonorables John P. Reznor, Edmund Ingmand and George II. Stewart, associate judges; James Doty, sheriff; and Daniel W. Brown, clerk pro tern.

Nicholas M. Donaldson, prosecuting attorney elect of the county of Ashland, appeared in open court and presented his bond in the penal sum of two thousand dollars, conditioned, as the law directs, with Thomas J. Bull, George W. Bull, and Thomas McMahan, his bail ; which bond was accepted and approved by the court, and ordered to be recorded.

A member of the bar furnishes the following list of attorneys in attendance at the first term of court, namely: From Ashland - Messrs. Maffett, Hunter,

Gates, McCombs, Kellogg, Fulton, Taggart, Sloan, Rankin, Osborn, Slocum, Kenyon, Donaldson, Geddis, Smith, Broombeek, Scott and Clark. From Wooster - Messrs. Dean, Cox, Hemphill, Rex, Flattery, Bonewitz, Carter, and II. C. Curtis. From Mansfield - Messrs. C. T. Sherman, John Sherman, Brinkerhoff, Purdy, Hull, Smith, I. J. Allen, Bryan, Bartley, Kirkwood and Stewart.

The following named gentlemen were impaneled as grand jurors for the May term, 1846 : Hugh McGuire, Daniel Carter, Sr., George Buchanan, Christopher Mykrantz, Christian Miller, Thomas Smith, Samuel Burns, Daniel Campbell, Andrew Mason, Michael Myers, John Smurr, George McConnell, James Boots, Michael Riddle, and John Naylor; of whom Daniel Campbell was appointed foreman. Having been impaneled and sworn, and received their charge, they retired to their room to consider their duties.

By an act of the general assembly of the state of Ohio, entitled "An act to erect the county of Ashland," passed the 24th day of February, A. D. 1846, certain territory therein described taken from the counties of Richland, Wayne, Lorain, and Huron, in said state of Ohio, was set off and erected into a new county to be and remain a separate and distinct county by the name of Ashland, and by said act is attached and made a part of the eleventh judicial circuit of the court of common pleas.

After the passage of said act, to wit: On the 25th day of February, one thousand eight hundred and forty-six, the said general assembly duly elected Edmund Ingmand, John P. Reznor, and George II. Stewart, associate judges for the county of Ashland aforesaid for the constitutional term of seven years from and after the day of said election.

On the 3rd day of March, 1846, the said Edmund Ingmand, John P. Reznor, and George II. Stewart, having received their several commissions as associate judges for said county of Ashland, dated at Columbus, February 25, 1846, assembled at the house of James McNulty, in the town of Ashland, in said county of Ashland, and the oath of office required by law was administered to each of said associate judges, by E. N. Gates, Esquire, a justice of the peace in and for said county of Ashland, as appears by the certificates indorsed on said commissions.

Appointment Of Clerk Pro Tem

On the said 3rd day of March, 1846, and after said associate judges had been qualified by taking the oath as aforesaid, they all sat together as a special court of common pleas of said county of Ashland at the same place at which they were sworn as aforesaid, and made the following order, to-wit :

Ordered, That Daniel W. Brown be and he is hereby appointed clerk pro tempore of the court of common pleas of said county of Ashland, and that said Daniel W. Brown be required to give bond in the sum of ten thousand dollars with three good sureties, conditioned for the faithful paying over all moneys which may come into his hands as clerk of said court, and for the faithful and impartial discharge of all the duties of his said office as clerk of the court of common pleas of said county of Ashland as required by law; which bond was forthwith made out and signed by said D. AY. Brown as principal, and C. R. Deming, H. Luther, and John L. Lang, as sureties, which sureties were accepted by said court, and the court retained said bond until the proper county officer should be elected and qualified to receive the same.

At a meeting of the associate judges of the county of Ashland, began and held in the town of Jeromeville, in said county of Ashland on Monday, the 16th day of March, A. D., 1846 - present E. Ingmand, G. H. Stewart, associates; D. W. Brown, clerk pro tern.

First Courthouse

The first court of Ashland county was held in the village of Jeromeville, and the building is still standing, notwithstanding the fact that sixty-three years have come and gone since that time, and the building is well nigh a century old. It is now occupied as a postoffice and dwelling. There is but one person now living who was present at that first session of the court. His name is J. 0. Jennings, and he was clerk of the court at that time. He is now aged ninety-one years and is a resident of Ashland town. The first session of the court was held March 3, 1846. After Ashland town had been selected as a county seat, the first court held there was May 7, 1846.

By an act of the general assembly of the state of Ohio, entitled 4 'An act to erect the county of Ashland," passed the 24th day of February, 1846, certain territory therein described and taken from the counties of Richland, Huron, Lorain and Wayne "in said state of Ohio" was set off and erected into a new county to be and remain a separate and distinct county by the name of Ashland, which by said act was attached and made a part of the eleventh judicial circuit of the court of common pleas.

After the passage of said act, viz : February 25, 1846, the general assembly duly elected Edmund Ingmand, of Mohican, John P. Reznor, of Montgomery, and George II. Stewart, of Hanover, associate judges for the county of Ashland, for the constitutional term of seven years from and after that date. March 3, 1846, they, havng received their commissions, dated at Columbus, February 26, 1846, assembled at the house of James McNulty, in Ashland, and the oath of office required by law was administered to them by E. N. Gates, Esq., "A justice of the peace in and for the said county of Ashland. ' '

At a meeting of the associate judges held in Jeromeville March lfr, 1846, there were present Judges Ingmand and Stewart and D. W. Brown, of Ruggles, clerk pro tern. The meeting was held in pursuance of an act passed for the levying of taxes on all property in the state "according to its true value." Said act was passed March 2, 1846, at which time Ashland county was divided into three districts. The first district was composed of the townships of Lake, Mohican, Perry, Jackson, and Montgomery. John Allison, of Perry, was appointed assessor for this district. The second district was composed of the townships of Orange, Ruggles, Clear Creek, Troy and Sullivan. George Me-

Connell, of Orange township, was appointed assessor for this district. The third district was composed of the townships of Vermillion, Green, Hanover, Mifflin, and Monroe. (Monroe was later made a part of Richland county.) Jesse Ilayes of Hanover, was appointed assessor of this district. The meeting adjourned to convene as a court at Jeromeville, March 28, 1846, Edmund Ingmand, judge.

Under date, Jeromeville, Ohio, April 10, 1846, appears the following court entry. In pursuance of an act of the general assembly of the state of Ohio entitled "An act to erect the county of Ashland" passed February 24, 1846, the associate judges of Ashland county, Ohio, met in George H. Cake's hotel in the town of Jeromeville, Ohio, in said county of Ashland, on the^date above named, and in obedience to the sixth section of the aforesaid act, the poll books from the several townships having been returned agreeably to said act, the clerk of the court of common pleas, in the presence and by the assistance of the associate judges aforesaid, proceeded to canvass said votes in regard to the location of the county seat as specified in said sixth section of the aforesaid act. Whereupon it appeared that there has been polled in the said county of Ashland for seat of justice at Ashland, two thousand six hundred and eighty-two votes; and for the seat of justice at Ilayesville two thousand and two votes.

The first term of the court of the common pleas in the court house at Ashland was held May 7, 1846, there being present the Honorable Jacob Parker, presiding judge, associate judges John P. Reznor, Edmund Ingmand, and George IT. Stewart, Sheriff James Doty, and clerk pro tern, Daniel W. Brown.

The next term of court held in Ashland was the March term, 1847. One of the orders of the court at this session was that by which Jacob 0. Jennings, of Jeromeville, was appointed clerk of said court for the term of seven years.

The simple tastes, habits and wants of the first settlers of Ashland county may excite the patronizing sympathy of the residents of |Ue present day, who perhaps may ignore our obligations to the pioneers and congratulate ourselves that our lot has been cast in a more advanced era of mental and moral culture. We may pride ourselves upon the developments and advancements which have been made in science and in the arts, and that the utilities of the present age are far more advanced than had been conceived of when Ashland county was first settled. If the people of the olden time cared less for costly apparel and ostentatious display, they cared more for their fellowmen and had that broader charity and fraternal love which make life seem to be more worth the living. The type of the Christianity of that period will not suffer by comparison with that of our own day. The vain and thoughtless may jeer at the unpretending manner, customs and costumes of the pioneers and they doubtless had their faults, but they were men of strong minds, in strong bodies made so, albeit, by their compulsory self-denial and their very privations and toil. It was the mission of many of them to aid in the formation of our noble commonwealth, and wisely and well was that mission performed. Had their descendants been faithful to their teachings, there would have been harmony now where violence and discord reign. In those days our mountains and our valleys could say, "We nurse a race who ne'er hath bowed the knee to aught but God." They were the men to found and maintain an empire. They realized the beau ideal of the poet: -

The Town Of Ashland

Ashland was originally known as Uniontown, and was laid out July 28, 1815, by William Montgomery. It retained the name of Uniontown until the establishment of a postoffice in 1822. There was another Uniontown in the state and the name given the postoffice was Ashland, and the town was changed to the same name.

The following were among the first families which located there: William Montgomery, Jacob Shaffer, Elias Slocum, George W. Palmer, Alanson Andrews, Samuel Urie, Joseph Sheets, David Markley, Amos Antibus, Joel Luther, and Mr. Nightingale. Jacob Shaffer, above named, was a shoemaker and a revolutionary soldier, and lived in a small dwelling upon the lot later occupied by the store of Judge Wick.

Daniel Carter, from Butler county, Pennsylvania, raised the first cabin in the place about the year 1811, which stood where the store of William Granger was later in Ashland. Robert Newell, three miles east, and Mr. Fry, one and one-half miles north of the village, raised cabins about the same time. In 1817 the first store was opened by Joseph Sheets.

The first tinner was John Croft, who was secured by the late George Swineford, on the lot where the agricultural works of Whitney & Company now are. The next, the late Hugh Davis, at the east end of town.

First carding-machine, stood where Smith's mill now is in Vermillion township, built by Andrew Newman; the next by the late Andrew and Uriah Drumb, in Ashland.

The first tannery stood where Whiting's agricultural works now stand, built by John Croft, and subsequently owned by the late George Swineford.

Ashland will go steadily forward in the increase of her population, in wealth, and number of valuable improvements. It is surrounded by a fine, productive country, and can sustain a much greater population.

"Ashland - A 20th Century Inland City," a chapter on the Ashland of today, will be found elsewhere in this work, written by William A. Duff, a promising young writer who was born and reared in Ashland.

Francis Graham, who was for many years a prominent citizen of Ashland county, came to Uniontown (now Ashland) in 1821, and brought with him from Sandusky City a small stock of dry-goods and groceries. Uniontown at that time was a small village, containing about fourteen or fifteen families; a small tannery, two distilleries, a sawmill, a wheelwright shop, a blacksmith shop, and there was one physician there at that time - Dr. Joel Luther. Mr. Graham stated that previous to this, David Murphy, in 1818, had brought to Uniontown a small stock of goods, but did not replenish his stock. Mr. Graham upon his arrival, found Uniontown without a store, without a church, without a tavern and without a postoffice. Mr. Graham said: "Upon my arrival with my stock I rented a room for my goods from Mr. Sheets, and engaged board with him at one dollar a week. Said Sheets entertained travelers when they called, there being no tavern in the place. In 1822, John Hull, the wheelwright, opened a tavern in a small building, which was some years after moved back to give place for what was afterward the Slocum House. I found goods in demand, but no money in the country to buy them. They would go off like hot cakes if I would sell on credit, but that would be a dangerous course for me to pursue, as my means were quite limited, and if my goods were sold without getting in exchange for them something that would buy more, it would place me in a critical situation; but I saw no alternative, and trust I must; at the same time I would take in exchange for my goods anything I could turn into money, or considered better than goods, and in pursuing that course, I found some hard bargains on my hands before the year came round.

The products of the country brought low prices at any time, from the fact that there was no market or demand for them beyond home consumption. It was very difficult for people to raise money to pay their taxes. Wheat might have been had for twenty-five cents a bushel, cash, but no one wanted it only for family use; consequently there were no large quantities of that article raised. Oats traded off at twelve to fifteen cents a bushel; corn was in better demand, and brought in store goods from fifteen to twenty cents per bushel, and became almost a lawful tender, because it could be converted into whiskey.

The farmers sold their corn to the merchant for goods or to the distiller for whiskey, and sometimes took it west myself. Horses, cattle, and hogs were sought for to some extent by trading men.

Market Prices From 1817 To 1824

Salt - at lake, per barrel, twenty-five dollars; Coffee - fifty cents per pound; Calico - fifty to seventy-five cents per yard; Powder - per pound, two dollars; Lead - per pound, fifty cents.

Cows - four dollars to six dollars ;Wheat - per bushel, average twenty cents ; Corn - per bushel, average five to eight cents; Oats - per bushel, average six cents; Ginseng, (dried) - per pound, twenty-five cents; Deerskin, (dried) - per pound, twelve and one-half cents. No money, but "trade."

Hunting at that time was more profitable than cultivating the soil - the products of the forest being of more value than those of the fields.

The article of maple sugar was an important item of trade in Ashland county, and gave material aid to the community, not from the high prices it commanded, for it was worth but from five to six and a fourth cents per pound, according to quality; but from the large quantity made. It was not unusual in good seasons for sugar, for many of the farmers who had large crops, or sugar orchards, to make in one season from eighteen hundred to twenty-five hundred pounds of sugar. I wTill here name a few of the most noted sugar makers of those days in the vicinity of Uniontown, viz., Jonas Crouse, Andrew Proudfit, Abraham Huffman, and Elisha Chileote, as some of the individuals who made for several years after I came to Uniontown about the quantities of sugar above named ; even the poor man who had but a small crop, if he made but three or four hundred pounds, it enabled him to get many necessaries that he could not have otherwise paid for. During the spring and summer months, I took at my store large quanties of maple sugar; I generally put it into new flour barrels, which would contain, when filled, from two hundred and twenty to two hundred and fifty pounds; very dry sugar being lighter than damp. I took of that article one year forty-two barrels. Sugar could not readily be sold for cash, but could be bartered for salt, white fish, iron nails, windowglass, and castings at the furnace, in Licking county, or at Vermillion, now in Erie county, Ohio. I have already said there was no market in Uniontown for wheat, nor for some years after, beyond home consumption. About the year 1825, John Stewart, an early settler of Richland county, and a very worthy man, and for many years surveyor of Richland county, built a flouring mill on the Rockyfork, say three miles southeast of Mansfield. When his mill was completed, he put a notice in James Purdy's seven by nine paper, then published in Mansfield, saying his mill is now in running order, and he wished to purchase wheat, and would pay thirty-one and a fourth cents, cash, for good merchantable wheat delivered at his mill. The farmers about Uniontown were much elated with the idea of getting cash for wheat, and a number of them loaded their wagons with wheat, and carried it to Stewart's market for thirtyone and a fourth cents a bushel. I well recollect one of them who sold Stewart wheat was my neighbor Henry Gamble, who is yet living and can speak for himself."

Mr. Graham further stated: "I have said there was no postoffice in Uniontown, when I came to it in 1821. In 1822, I got up a petition to the Postmaster- General for a postoffice at Uniontown, Richland county, Ohio, by the name of Uniontown, praying that Francis Graham be made postmaster, and forwarded it to the Hon. John Sloan, then our Representative in Congress from the Richland and Wayne county district, asking him to do me the favor to present the petition to the Postmaster-General, and use his influence for the establishment of the office and my appointment as postmaster. Mr. Sloan in due time responded to my call, saying he had presented my petition, that the Postmaster-General declined granting us a postoffice at Uniontown, by that name, as there were already two Uniontown postoffices in the state, and there should be but one. Mr. Sloan then made choice of the name of Ashland, their being no postoffice in Ohio by that name. The papers came in due time, and Francis Graham was postmaster.

"I have already related how we obtained a postoffice at Uniontown. Well, the postoffice was Ashland, and the village Uniontown, and continued so for two or three years after the postoffice was established, when the citizens petitioned the legislature, praying that the name of Uniontown be changed to that of Ashland, and Uniontown became extinct.

"I have said in the fore part of this epistle there was no church in Uniontown. When I came to it in 1821, the good people of Uniontown and vicinity who possessed morality enough to appreciate the preaching of the gospel, had built a log meetinghouse in the country, one mile west of the village, on the road to New Haven. Here, I must say, the location of said meetinghouse did not comport with my views of church matters; but directly vice versa - for I say build your chuch where there are people. It is more natural and more convenient for the country people to go to town than it is for the citizens of the town to go to the country to meeting. But the wise heads who had the responsible duty to discharge of locating said meetinghouse, had said that was the place for it, and the citizens of the village could go out there to meeting. The Rev. William Matthews, a Presbyterian divine, and a very worthy man, preached in said house, every third Sabbath, and some of the citizens did go to hear him; but not near as many as should have gone.

"Mr. Matthews preached in said house for a few years after my arrival at Uniontown, and was then succeeded by the Rev. Robert Lee, from Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, who purchased and lived on the farm for mauy years, now owned by Peter Vantilburg, on the Olivesburg road. Mr. Lee preached in said meetinghouse for a number of years and then removed to Leesville, in Crawford county. Mr. Lee was succeeded by the Rev. William Robinson, an elderly gentleman, who resided for a time in Ashland, and removed from there to Orange, then in Richland county. I think I am not mistaken in saying the old man was killed in Wayne or Stark county, while riding in his carriage by the fall of a tree. In the year 1834, the Presbyterians purchased a lot of John Smith, who owned a farm and lived when1 Christopher Mykrant's brick house now stands, on Cottage street, and erected thereon the Hopewell church. From that time the country meeting-house place* was vacated as a place of public worship, and the trustees sold the building to the widow Haggerty for a dwelling house a few years after. About the year 1824 or 1825, the Methodist. Episcopals of Uniontown and vicinity organized a society, and for some time held their meetings in a log building, occupied as a schoolhouse, which stood on Main street.

Features Of Pioneer Life

Young men did not go far away from home to get wives then. They courted and married girls of their own neighborhood. The marriage usually took place at the home of the bride and the wedding festivities continued for two days. After the marriage service, congratulations were extended, followed by a dance or "hoedown" in the evening. The first day was called the bride's day, the day following was the groom's day or in-fair, upon which the company of the previous day would re-assemble and ride on horseback in procession to the? home of the groom's parents. The post of honor was to race for the bottle, for which two persons were selected. Generally men were chosen for this office, but sometimes the honor was conferred upon a gentleman and a lady, as many women were expert riders in those days. The racers rode at the head of the procession and when the cavalcade got within a mile of the groom's home, a signal was given and off the racers went at Pegasean speed, often taking short cuts through fields, the horses vaulting logs and fences, if any were in their way. The groom's father would be standing at the door with the bottle in his outstretched hand, the winner would catch the same and hold it proudly aloft as he returned to meet the company, and then a halt would be called, the bottle passed around and the health of the bride and groom drank. They would then proceed to the house where the in-fair dinner would be served.

As April was moving time, the spring was the favorite season in which to marry, and apple blossoms were the favorite flowers used for bridal wreaths and their beauty for that purpose has never been excelled.

In contrasting the morals of the past and present, speakers and writers frequently refer to the fact that there were distillers in the early days, trying thereby to create the impression that the pioneers were a dissipated people, but such was not the case, for early settlers were at least as moral and temperate as are the people of today. The conditions of the country were different then. There was no market for grain, except for local consumption. Distilleries were erected, whiskey made, hauled to the lake and shipped to Detroit and other markets, and money was thus obtained to pay taxes, etc. Corn was converted into whiskey, because that product was a more marketable commodity, and sold for cash. A certain quantity of whiskey was drunk by the pioneers, perhaps, but whiskey was their only beverage, beer being a later production. The "still-house" of the past was an important factor in commercial circles, in the early years of our country history, as whiskey, maple sugar, ginseng, beeswax and potash were the only exportable commodities of that period. Then, too, the whiskey of those days was not adulterated and could be drank by the hardworking pioneers with apparent immunity from deleterious results.

The pioneers were a people of heroic virtues. The situation forbade much devotion to literature. The actual life of the men who made civilization possible had no time for the literary pursuits. They made history, but did not write it. The flourishing condition of our country today is the result of the labors of the pioneers - the men who toiled for our betterment, not knowing whether succeeding generations would even be informed of the names of those who had hewn down the forests and cultivated the land.

In The Early Settlement

In the early settlement of Ashland county it required from fifteen to fifty days to make the journey from the east to this part of Ohio, as the early settlers made the trip with ox teams and pack horses, sometimes on foot. Where vehicles were used, aged persons and young children were permitted to ride, others frequently had to walk. Many of these early settlers were poor and came to the "Garden Spot of the World" as Ohio was then called, to seek their fortunes amid new environments. In making the journey, streams had fre- quently to be forded. It was Dot unusual for horses to give out on the long journey, which would cause delay of weeks or even months. The roads then were little more than blazed trails and the axe had frequently to be used to cut away timber that teams might pass.

It would require a volume to tell of the habits and customs of the pioneers ; of their trapping and hunting; of their solitary lives in the great woods, surrounded by wild animals and savage Indians ; of their cabins and furniture, and of the long winter evenings by the log-heap fires.

When the pioneer had erected his cabin home, it was not only a home and shelter for the pioneer and his family, but for every stranger who passed that way, "without money and without price." The latch string was always out, for these pioneers were great hearted people, and no man was turned away empty. Their cabins, often not more than fifteen or twenty feet square, made of rough beech logs, with the bark still adhering to them, were frequently occupied by a dozen, or even a score, of people for the night, and no complaints made for want of room ; genuine hospitality always finds room enough, and never apologizes for lack of more.

The cabins which the pioneers built and in which they lived have been often described; their form and proportions, and general appearance have been repeatedly impressed upon the mind of the student of history. They were built of round logs with the bark on, and side chimneys of mud and sticks, puncheon floors, clapboard roof, with and without a loft or second floor, and all put together without a nail or particle of iron from top to bottom. These buildings stood many a year after the original inhabitants moved into better quarters. They served for stables, sheep-pens, hay-houses, pig-pens, smith-shops, henhouses, loom-shops, sehoolhouses, etc. Some of them are yet standing in this county, and occupied, to some extent, in some portions of the county as dwellings.

A second grade of log cabin, built later, was quite an improvement on the first, being made of hewn logs with sawed lumber for doors and window frames and floors. Glass also took the place of paper windows of the old cabin; nails were also sparingly used in these better cabins. It was sometimes built near the old one and connected with it by a covered porch. When nails were first used, for a few years a pound of them was exchanged for a bushel of wheat. They were a precious article, and were made by hand on a blacksmith's anvil, out of odds and ends of old wornout sickles, scythes, broken clevis-pins, links of chains, broken horseshoes, etc., all welded together to eke out the nail-rods from which they were forged. The first cabins were often erected, ready for occupation, in a single day. In an emergency, the pioneers collected together, often going eight or ten miles to a cabin-raising, and, in the great woods where not a tree had been felled or a stone turned, began with dawn the erection of a cabin. Three or four wise builders would set the cornerstones, lay with the square and level the first round of logs ; two men with axes would cut the trees and logs ; one with his team of oxen, a "lizzard" and a log-chain would "snake" them in; two more, with axes, cross-cut saw and frow, would make the clapboards; two more, with axes, cross-cut saw and broad-axe would hew out the puncheons and flatten the upper side of the sleepers and joists. Four skillful axemen would carry up the corners, and the remainder, with skids and forks or handspikes, would roll up the logs. As soon as the joists were laid on, the cross-cut saw was brought from the woods, and the two men went to work cutting out the door and chimney place; and while the corner men were building up the attic and putting on the roof, the carpenters and masons of the day were putting down the puncheons, laying the hearth and building the chimney, high enough to keep out the beasts, wild or tame. In one corner, at a distance of six feet from one wall and four from the other, the bedpost was placed - only one being needed. A hole was bored in the puncheon floor for the purpose of setting this post in, which was usually a stick with a crotch or fork in the upper end; or, if an augur is not at hand, a hole is cut in the puncheon floor, and the fork sharpened and driven into the ground beneath ; rails were laid from this fork to the wall, and, usually, nice, straight, hickory poles formed the bottom, upon which straw or leaves were placed and the blanket put on. This made a comfortable spring bed, and was putting in windows and hanging the door were left until fall or some leisure time after the corn crop and the contents of the truck patch were secured. Often the pioneers did not erect a cabin at all until a crop was secured - living, meanwhile, in their covered wagons, and cooking beside a log in the open air, or erecting a "pole cabin,'' or "brush cabin," mere temporary affairs, to shelter the family until time could be had for erecting a permanent one. The saving of the crop was of more importance during the summer season than shelter; but when the first frost came, a sure indication of approaching winter, active preparations were made for the permanent cabin, and the work was pushed forward until a snug cabin stood in the midst of the forest, with a clearing around it, made principally by cutting down trees for the building. Every crack was chinked and daubed, and when completed, and a fire of hickory logs in the great fireplace, the cold did not seriously disturb the inmates. The heavy door was hung on wooden hinges, and all that was necessary to lock it at night was to pull the latcli-string inside, and the strong wooden latch against wild animals and storms. But the latcli-string was seldom pulled in, for it was a serious offense for the Indians to not find the string out. The writer's mother frequently told of awakening at night and seeing Indians sitting before the blazing fire, or at the cupboard eating a lunch, and that she could not sleep again until after they had taken their leave. Many of these pioneer cabins had no loft or second floor, but when this was added it was used as a sleeping room for the younger members of the family.

What to eat, drink and wear, were questions not, perhaps, difficult of solution in those days. The forest was full of game, the streams full of fish, and wild fruits were abundant. To get bread required both patience and labor; the staff of life was one the articles that must be earned "by the sweat of the brow;" it could not be gathered from the bushes, fished from the streams, or brought down with the rifle. Every backwoodsman once a year added to his clearing, at least, a "truck patch." This was the hope and stay of the family; the receptacle of corn, beans, melons, potatoes, squashes, pumpkins, turnips, etc., each variety more perfectly developed and delicious, because it grew in virgin soil. The corn and beans planted in May brought roasting ears and succotash in August. Potatoes came with corn, and the cellar, built in the side of a con- venient hill, and filled with the contents of the truck patch, secured the family against want. When the corn grew too hard for roasting ears, and was yet too soft to grind in the mill, it was reduced to meal by a grater, and whether stirred into mush or baked into johnnycake, it made, for people with keen appetites and good stomachs, excellent food. Place before one of those brawny backwoodsmen a square foot of johnnycake and a venison steak broiled on hickory coals, and no art of civilization could produce a more satisfactory meal.

Next to the grater comes the hominy block, an article in common use among the pioneers. It consisted simply of a block of wood - a section of a tree, perhaps - with a hole burned, or dug, into it a foot deep, in which corn was pulveried with a pestle. Sometimes this block was inside the cabin, where, it served as a seat ; sometimes a convenient stump in front of the cabin door was prepared for, and made one of the best of hominy blocks.

Hominy blocks did not last long, for mills came quite early and superseded them, yet these mills were often so far apart that in stormy weather, or for want of transportation, the pioneer was compelled to resort to his hominy block, or go without bread. In winter, the mills were frozen up nearly all the time, and when a thaw came and the ice broke, if the mill was not swept away entirely by the floods, it was so thronged with pioneers, each with his sack of corn, that some of them were often compelled to camp out near the mill and wait several days for their turn. When the grist was ground, if they were so fortunate as to possess an ox, a horse, or mule, for the purpose of transportation, they were happy. It was not unusual to go from ten to twenty miles to mill, through the pathless, unbroken forest, and to be benighted on the journey, and chased, or treed by wolves. A majority of the pioneers, however, settled in the vicinity of a stream, upon which mills were rapidly erected. These mills were very primitive affairs - mere "corn crackers'' - but they were an improvement on the hominy block. They merely ground the corn, the pioneer must do his own bolting. A wire sieve was then one of the most important articles of household furniture. It always hung in its place, on a wooden peg, just under the ladder that reached to the loft. The meal was sifted and the finest used for bread. Ilow delicious was that "Indian pone," baked in a large deep skillet, which was placed upon coals raked from the fireplace to the hearth. Fresh coals were continually placed under it and upon the iron lid until the loaf, five or six inches thick, was done through. This was a different thing from johnnycake ; it was better, and could not always be had, for to make it good, a little wheat flour was needed, and wheat flour was a precious thing in those very early days.

A road cut through the forest to the mill, and a wagon for hauling the grist, were great advantages, the latter especially was often a seven day's wonder to the children of a neighborhood, and the happy owner of one often did, for years, the milling for a whole neighborhood. About once a month this good neighbor, who was in exceptionally good circumstances, because able to own a wagon, would go about through the neighborhood, gather up the grists and take them to mill, often spending several days in the operation, and never thinking of charging for his time and trouble.

Cooking, in pioneer times, was an interesting operation. The trammel and hooks were found among the well-to-do families, as time progressed. Previous to this, the lug-pole, across the inside of the chimney, about even with the' chamber floor, answered for a trammel. A chain was suspended from it, and hooks were attached, and from this hung the mush-pot or teakettle. If a chain was not available, a wooden hook was in reach of the humblest and poorest. When a meal was not in preparation, and the hook was endangered by fire, it was shoved aside to one end of the lug-pole for safety. Iron ware was very scarce in those days. Instances are related where the one pot served at a meal to boil water for mint tea or crust coffee, to bake the bread, boil the potatoes, and fry the meat. By fine management this was accomplished. Frequently the kettle had no lid, and a flat stone, heated, and handled with the tongs, was used instead of one, when a loaf or pone or pumpkin pie was baked. A shortcake could be baked by heating the kettle moderately, putting in the cake, and tipping it up sidewise before the glowing fire. Bannock, or boardcake, was made by mixing the cornmeal up with warm water, a pinch of salt and a trifle of lard, into a thick dough, spreading it on a clean, sweet-smelling clapboard, patting it with the cleanest of hands, and standing it slanting before the fire, propped into the right position by a flatiron behind it. Baked hastily, this made a delicious cake, sweet and nutty and fresh, and the pretty stamp of the mother's dear, unselfish, loving fingers was plainly detected in the crisp crust.

"Kicking frolics" were in vogue in those early times. This was after wool was more plenty, and it was carded, spun and wove into cloth. Half a dozen young men, and an equal number of young women (for the "fun of the thing" it was always necessary to preserve a balance of this kind), were invited to the kicking frolic. The cabin floor was cleared for action and a half dozen chairs, or stools, placed in a circle in the center and connected by a cord to prevent recoil. On these the six young men seated themselves with boots and stockings off, and pjints rolled up to the knee. Just think of making love in that shape ! The cloth was placed in the center, wet with soap suds, and then the kicking commenced by measured steps, driving the bundle of cloth round and round, the elderly lady with gourd in hand pouring on more soap suds, and every now and then, with spectacles on nose and yard stick in hand, measuring the goods until they were shrunk to the desired width, and then calling the lads to a dead halt. Then, while the lads put on hose and boots, the lasses, with sleeves rolled up above the elbow, rung out the cloth and put it on the garden fence to dry. When this was done, the cabin floor was again cleared and the supper spread, after which, with their numbers increased somewhat, perhaps, they danced the happy hours of the night away until midnight, to the music of a violin and the commands of some amateur cotillion caller, and were ready to attend another such frolic the following night.

The costume of the woman deserves a passing notice. The pioneers proper, of course, brought with them something to wear like that in use where they came from ; but this could not last always, and new apparel, such as the new country afforded, had to be provided. Besides, the little girls sprang up into womanhood with the rapidity of the native butterweed, and they must be made both decent and attractive, and what is more, they were willing to aid in making themselves so. The flax patch, therefore, became a thing of as prime necessity as the truck patch.

Clothes for Sunday wear were made of linen copperas and white checked or striped and when bleached was very pretty. Very few could afford to wear it made all of flax ; for every day wear, the warp was of flax and the filling tow. What was known as linsey-woolsey was wool and cotton mixed in the weaving, the chain being cotton and the filling wool. The dye stuff in those days was within the reach of all - butternut or walnut hulls colored brown; oak bark and copperas dyed black; hickory bark or the blossoms of golden rod colored yellow ; madder, red ; indigo, blue ; green was obtained by first coloring yellow, and then dipping it into the blue dye. Stocking yarn was dyed black, brown or blue. If the clothes of the pioneers were poor, they made up in brain and heart.

Hunting occupied a portion of the time of the pioneers. Nearly all were good hunters, and not a few lived almost entirely for a few years on the results of the chase. The woods supplied them with the greater amount of their subsistence, and often the whole of it; it was no uncommon thing for families to live several months without a mouthful of bread of any kind. It frequently happened that the family went without breakfast until it could be obtained from the woods.

The fall and early part of winter was the season for hunting deer, and the whole of the winter, including part of the spring, for bears and furbearing animals. It was a customary saying that fur was good during every month in the name of which the letter r occurred.

As soon as the leaves were pretty well down, and the weather became rainy, accompanied with light snow, the pioneer hunter, who had probably worked pretty faithfully on his clearing during the summer, began to feel uneasy about his cabin home ; he longed to be off hunting in the great woods. His cabin was too warm ; his feather-bed too soft ; his mind was wholly occupied with the camp and the chase. Hunting was not a mere ramble in pursuit of game, in which there was nothing of skill and calculation ; on the contrary, the hunter, before setting out in the morning, was informed by the state of the weather in what situation he might reasonably expect to find his game; whether on the bottoms, on the hillsides or hilltops. In stormy weather the deer always seek the most sheltered places, and the leeward sides of the hills; in rainy weather, when there was not much wind, they kept in the open woods, on high ground. In the early morning, if pleasant, they were abroad, feeding in edges of the prairie swamp ; at noon they were hiding in the thickets. In every situation, it was requisite for the hunter to ascertain the course of the wind, so as to get to leeward of the game; this he often ascertained by placing his finger in his mouth, holding it there until it became warm, then holding it above his head, and the side that first cooled indicated the direction of the wind.

These hunters needed no compass ; the trees, the sun and stars took its place. The bark of an aged tree is much thicker and rougher on the north side than on the south; and the same may be said of the moss; it is much thicker and- stronger on the north than the south side of the tree ; hence he could walk freely and carelessly through the woods and always strike the exact point intended, while any but a woodsman would become bewildered and lost.

The Early Settlers

The early settlers of this region were largely from Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, with quite a "sprinkling" from the New England states. They were generally revolutionary stock, and this may be the reason why Ohio has taken such a prominent position in the nation, politically and socially. The sub-stratum of its population was composed of Revolutionary heroes, whose seven years of struggle and privation had made them men - giants they might be called. From such stock and from veterans of the War of 1812, the' people of this county largely trace their ancestry. It was fortunate for Ohio that her territory was upon the frontier at the close of the Revolution. The old soldiers, without money, but with land warrants in their pockets, sought the wilderness beyond the Ohio for their future homes. This state caught the larger share of these most desirable emigrants, for the reason that it was the most promising territory then open to settlement in the west. A treaty with the Indians had been made by the government which opened the larger part of the state to white settlement and a considerable portion of the state was especially reserved for the soldiers, and was known as United States military lands. These lands amounted to two million six hundred and fifty thousand acres.

The War of 1812 checked immigration somewhat, but after it ended the tide began to flow in greater volume than ever. The passage of troops during the war had served to make new roads and widen the old ones, and the war also introduced to the new country hundreds of men who would not otherwise have known its beauty and advantages, and who when at libetry to do so, returned and settled in it. The country no doubt settled far more rapidly than it would have done had there been no War of 1812.

Where no roads existed numerous "blazed" trails led off through the woods in every direction to the cabin of the solitary settler. The most important of the early roads in this section was the one leading north to the lake. This was the great outlet for grain and other produce. Freight wagons did most of the carrying trade for the country. The merchant who wished to purchase goods in the east sent his order and received his goods by these wagons, and in order to pay for the same often intrusted large sums of money to the teamsters. The products of the country, received by the merchant in exchange for goods, consisting mostly of wheat, whiskey, furs, etc., were also shipped by these wagons, going, generally, to the lake, where they were sold or shipped on a vessel for some point east, and months would often elapse before returns could be received.

Another source of outlet for the produce of the country was by the watercourses, which were then untrammelled by mills or bridges; and, by reason of the swampy condition of the country and consequent abundance of water, were navigable for small boats to points which would seem incredible at this time. Flat-boats were built, carrying from twenty to fifty tons. These were loaded with pork, flour, whiskey, the products of the chase, etc., and taken down the Mohican to the Muskingum to the Ohio and Mississippi river to New Orleans, where the cargoes were disposed of, after which the shippers returned home by way of New York city.

The fact that Perrysville was on the old surrey maps as Freeport was owing to the fact that flatboats were built there, loaded and floated for the markets at New Orleans. The Blackfork was a larger stream then than it is uow making the town of Perrysville quite a town for flatboats. Larger boats however, were built at Loudonville, one of which left there with a cargo of sixty tons. The tonnage of the flatboats differed, usually ranging from twenty tons upward.

About forty years elapsed from the time of the first settlement of Ashlam. county before these means of transportation were superseded by that great civilizer - -the railroad.

The products of the country, for want of a market brought very low prices, the average for wheat being thirty-five cents per bushel ; oats twelve cents ; corn twenty cents ; whiskey fifteen cents per gallon ; pork one dollar and fifty cents per hundred weight; cows eight to ten dollars each, and horses from thirty to forty dollars each. Coffee brought from seventy-five cents to one dollar per pound; salt from four to six dollars per barrel; calicoes from fifty cents to one dollar per yard, etc. Money was the exception, traffic and trade the rule. The great wagons carried the produce to Portland (now Sandusky city) and returned with salt, fish, etc.

Cabins for the purpose of trade and traffic sprang up all along the new roads, and were occupied by some pioneer family, who procured a living partly by hunting, partly by working the "truck patch," partly by trading whiskey, tobacco, knives, blankets, tomahawks and trinkets with the Indians and settlers, and as travel on the roads increased, by keeping travellers over night, finally converted the cabin into a tavern. Frequently these taverns were the means of starting a town, which grew and prospered, or became extinct, according to circumstances. Establishing a town was like investing in a lottery ticket, which might draw a prize or a blank.

Settlements And Improvements

The spring of 1812 saw the tide of emigration on the increase. At that period a war was impending between Great Britain and the United States. This checked the influx of the pioneers, for it was evident the Indians of the northwest would be invited to assist the enemy. In fact, it had been observed for nearly two years, that the Greentown and Jerometown or Mohican Johnstown Indians had been in the habit of making frequent visits to Upper Sandusky, and always returned with new blankets, tomahawks and ammunition in abundance. Indeed, it was suspected that British agents were busily at work sowing the seeds of disaffection among the northern Ohio Indians.

These settlers commenced improvements along the Black fork, the Clear fork, and the Rocky fork of the Mohican, each erecting a small cabin, and clearing a few acres of ground for corn. The majority of these settlers were of German descent, and had come directly from the western counties of Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maryland and the eastern part of Ohio; and had found the way to their new homes up the branches of the Mohican, and by Indian trails.

These settlers erected new homes along the Blackfork; Alexander Finley and Thomas Eagle, James Loudon Priest, Nathan Odell, Joshua Oram, Benjamin Emmons, John Baptiste Jerome, Ezra Warner, Elisha Chilcoat, Benjamin Bunn, James Conley, Amos Norris, William Metcalf, John Newell, Westel Ridgely, Yatchell Metcalf, Josiali Crawford, and John Shinnabarger. The Odells, Orams, Priests and Metcalfs, settled in the present limits of Lake township. Mr. Emmons settled in Perry, and Mr. Warner in the lower part of Vermillion. These settlers were mostly from the border states, and from Jefferson county, Ohio. They had found their way to their new homes like the settlers on the Blackfork, and commenced the erection of cabins, and clearings, in the same way. Corn was generally purchased and ground, the first year, in Knox county; and the new settlers either packed it on horses, or descended the Mohican in canoes, and transported it in that way. The hominy block was in universal requisition among the early settlers ; and jonacake, or journey-cake, pork, and wild game.

Surrounded by dangers and enured to hardships, the pioneer learned to think for themselves, and acquired courage to accomplish the task they had undertaken. It was no place for faint hearts or irresolution. Their limited means, dangers, and dependence upon each other, had the effect, to cement the friendship.

At that time two shillings a day, and twenty-five cents a hundred for cutting and splitting twelve foot rails, in trade, was the customary price. He often traveled five miles on foot, to help roll logs or raise a cabin, and was really glad to assist in this manner all new settlers. There were no improved roads; all was new, and no road fund to repair highways. The willing hands and stout arms of the resolute pioneer had it all to do, and right cheerfully did they perform the task.