HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. INTRODUCTION. Cheops, Cephrenes, and the mighty Sphynx, Obelisk of Cleopatra, and ruins of Xochicalco, stand forth as monuments upon which are engraven the mutations of time, the inevitable destroyer of all visible nature, and products of art: into whose Lethean gulf ancient Ilium, Nineveh, Thebes, and all the architecture of distant ages have been plunged in eternal slumber. Nay, the very stars shall cease to shine, the sun eclipsed in gloom, and all nature swallowed up in oblivion. Nothing is immortal, save the soul, which shall outlive the warfare of clashing elements and destruction of worlds. The flight of a single day is perceptibly impressed upon surrounding nature. The faded flower, the withered tree, both speak of something gone. Indeed, the flinty pyramids that so long have opposed the blasts of the desert sands ; the tower that for centuries has withstood the furies of old ocean's winds and waves, finally must yield to the universal destroyer—time—and, crumbling, moulder to earth, and " doting with age, forget their founder's name." Our lives are but an awakening, transition, sleep, and forgetting. Yet notwithstanding these numerous evidences of the general devastations of time, the soothing voice of resurrection whispers all is not lost; for "See dying vegetables, life sustain; See life dissolving, vegetate again; All forms that perish, other forms supply; By turns we catch the vital breath and die. Like bubbles on the sea of water borne, They rise, they break, and to that sea return." We are, therefore, to believe that throughout the economy of nature, by conservation and correlation, all things are preserved, 192 – HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. and what we call death is but transition ; for the book of nature plainly teaches the perpetuity of all created things. As the one grows old and dies, straightway in quick succession springs up the new, nourished by the moldering remains of its ancestor. We, ourselves, may pass away, but ere the eating canker begins its work, closely follows youth again, our second selves. All things new spring from and are nourished by things that have passed away. Not one beauty of nature takes its flight, but in untold centuries hence, by transition leaves behind the freshness of its distant genesis. We should, therefore, preserve and keep fresh, like flowers in water, the transitory fruits of the past, and bind them upon the same stock with the buds of the present. Through reminiscence we love to dwell upon pleasing objects of the past, and calling them up we seem to gaze upon them one by one as they in panorama pass before us ; meditate upon them, and in imagination, live over again the happy days that are forever gone. Our old and fond associates are once more mingling with us; we enjoy again the life we have left behind; but break the spell, the bubble bursts, and all melts into the past. So in our dreams, the untrammeled intelligence revels amidst the materialized spirits of departed friends. We breathe again the balmy air of youth, and through the endless chain of recollection, link to link, as wave succeeding wave, we hold enchanting communion with the past, and imbibe intoxicating draughts from the sparkling fountain of youth, until we are in fancy transported to the happy realms of the morning of life; and truly has it been said that the mind can make substances, and people planets of its own with beings brighter than have been, and give a breath to forms which can outlive all flesh. Decaying organisms are by process of petrefaction metamorphosed into everlasting forms, bearing exact identity with their prototypes, through whose interpretation we are enabled to unlock the profoundest mysteries of geognosy. If nature, therefore, has bequeathed to us the key to her created forms, so likewise should we receive, preserve, and keep fresh forever the history of those who suffered so long, endured so much, in order to secure for them-selves a resting place, and bequeath to us the beautiful homes we now enjoy, undisturbed by any of the dangers that surrounded our forefathers. Let us, therefore, see to it that from the green pages of memory INTRODUCTION - 193 they do not pass into tradition, and still fading, through lapse of time sink forever beneath the wave of oblivion. The labor and embarrassments attendant upon, and research, and patience necessary to the resurrection of moldy facts and ethereal traditions which have so long slumbered in the matrix of obscurity, is little realized save by those who undertake to write a history based upon facts and traditions, whose genesis springs from the aboriginal tribes that roamed at large throughout the winding labyrinths of their own primival forests, beneath whose sylvan shades the panting deer lay down in peace; amidst whose branches the winged choristers built their homes, and chirped their matin songs, caroling with angelic sweet and trembling voices, gently warbling with the murmuring brook and rustling leaves below. The forest patriarchs had not looked down frowning upon the white man's cabin. They stood sentinel above the fragile wigwam of the painted savage, nestled alone within their sequestered shades; within whose folds the forest maiden gave modest ear to the love song of the dusky warrior, as he displayed the gory insignia of his prowess which adorned his girdle, and sang the deeds of war and the chase, and with equal ardor woos the maid, or scalps the captive, and burns the victim at the stake. ORIGINAL POSSESSORS. While it would transcend our province to trace beyond prehistoric data the original owners of the territory now comprehended within the limits of Fayette County, yet we deem it essential to a perfect elucidation of its complete history that we utilize all the facts within our grasp, and trace them until the line fades out in myth. Therefore, so nearly as can with clearness be ascertained from chaotic masses of documents and traditions, we infer that the first inhabitants belonged to the Algonquin family, the most populous no doubt in the United States; whose language was comparatively uniform throughout all the tribes and subdivisions, very complex, yet capable of lofty flights of oratory, beautiful rhetorical figures, and ill-adapted to light and trifling speech. Inasmuch as there is a great deal of conflicting testimony in regard to the specific tribes comprehended in this great family, we shall, in this connection, state that the territory now called Fayette County, was originally 194 - HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. in the possession of the Twigtwees, called by the French Miamis, leaving its full discussion to another part of the work. Cursorily we may say, that at the time they were visited by Christopher Gist, the English agent for the Ohio Land Company, in 1751, they were superior in numbers to the Huron Iroquois, with whom they were at deadly enmity. Their country extended on the west as far as the watershed between the Wabash and Illinois. On the north were the Pottawatomies, who were slowly encroaching upon the Miamis, who in turn were gradually extending their western limits into Ohio, and absorbing the territory claimed by the Huron Iroquois; and according to the best of authority, they were the undisputed claimants of Ohio as far as the Scioto. It appears that the Piankeshaws, or Peanzichias-Miamis, a sub-division of the great Twigtwee confederacy, owned or occupied the southern part of Ohio, including the present territory of Fayette County. The Wyandots, long prior to the advent of the English and French, had resided in the territory now embraced in Ohio. In the beginning of the present century they numbered 2,300 persons. In 1841–2 they ceded their lands to the United States commissioner, Col. John Johnston, and removed beyond the Missouri. In about 1750 the Shawnees came from Florida, under Blackhoof, and as tenants at will of the Wyandots took possession, of the valleys of the Maumee, Scioto, Mad and Miami rivers. From the fact that the ownership and occupancy of the soil resided first in the Twigtwees, and subsequently in the Wyandots and Shawnees, it is difficult to ascertain the exact date or dates at which the Indian title became totally extinct (a full discussion of which will be given in the body of the work). Thus we have endeavored, in so far as possible, to disentangle from the hetrogeneous mass of uncertainty, the original owners, the extinction of the original title, and the final vesting of the same in such a shape as to lay it open for individual purchase and settlement. POLITICAL AND MILITARY HISTORY. This county, occupying a portion of the Virginia Military Reservation, reaches back in its political history into early colonial times, before the organization of the general government of the United States, and when all the territory northwest of the River Ohio, extending west to the Mississippi, was claimed by Virginia. In the years 1774 and 1775, before the Revolutionary War began, the thirteen colonies then existing, so far as their relations to one another were concerned, were separate, independent communities, having, to a considerable extent, different political organizations and different municipal laws; but their various population spoke, almost universally, the English language, and, as descendants from a common English stock, had a common interest and a common sympathy. In the year 1773, on the 7th day of July, Dr. Benjamin Franklin, then in England, wrote an official letter to the Massachusetts Assembly, strongly urging a general assembly of the representatives of the people of all the colonies, that they might make such a declaration and assertion of their rights as would be recognized by the king and parliament of Great Britain. Pursuant to this advice a congress, called the First Continental Congress, assembled at Carpenter's Hall, in Philadelphia, on the 5th day of September, 1774, and remained in session until the 26th day of October, following. A second Continental Congress met on the 10th day of May, 1775. This congress, styled also the revolutionary government, on the 4th day of July, 1776, published to the world the Declaration of Independence, and on the 15th day of November, 1777, agreed to articles of confederation and perpetual union between the states of New Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. 196 - HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. Article I. recited that "The style of this confederacy shall be The United States of America;" and Article II. that "Each state retains its sovereignty, 'freedom, and independence, and every power, jurisdiction, and right, which is not by this confederation expressly delegated to the United States in congress assembled." These articles of confederation, thirteen in number, which defined the powers and privileges of congress, and the rights of the several states, after their adoption by each state, constituted the supreme law until the adoption of the constitution in 1788. It was under this confederacy that the great discussions arose concerning the disposition of the public lands. VIRGINIA. The territory of Virginia, granted by the charters of King James I., was very extensive. The first charter authorized a company to plant a colony in America, anywhere between 34̊ and 41̊ north latitude, embracing about 100 miles of coast line, and extending back from the coast 100 miles, embracing also the islands opposite to the coast, and within 100 miles of it. The second charter granted to the Virginia Company a much larger territory, extending from Old Point Comfort (a point of land extending into Chesapeake Bay, a little to the north of the mouth of James River), 200 miles north and 200 miles south, along the coast, and thence with a breadth of 400 miles, to the west and northwest, through the continent to the Pacific Ocean. The third charter added to this immense territory all the islands in both the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans, within 300 leagues of either coast. By the treaty of peace between France and Great Britain, in 1763, the Mississippi River was made the western boundary of the British provinces. Thus restricted, the territory of Virginia included all that territory now occupied by Pennsylvania, North and South Carolina, Kentucky, and all the land northwest of the River Ohio. On the 29th day of June, 1776, just five clays before the Declaration of Independence by the United States in congress assembled, Virginia adopted her constitution or form of government, in Article XXI. of which she ceded the territories contained within the charters creating the colonies of Maryland, Pennsylvania, North and South Carolina, to those respective colonies, relinquishing all her rights to the same, except the right to the navigation of certain VIRGINIA - 197 rivers, and all improvements that had been or might be made along their shores. But this article affirms that "the western and northern extent of Virginia shall in other respects stand as fixed by the charter of King James I., in the year 1609, and by the published treaty of peace between the court of Great Britain and France, in the year 1763, unless, by act of legislature, one or more territories shall be laid off, and governments established west of the Allegheny Mountains." The charter of King James I., referred to in this article, was the second charter, so that now, on the sea coast, Virginia was restricted to her present limits, but her western boundaries were unchanged. She claimed Kentucky, and all the northwestern territory. Concerning this northwestern territory there were conflicting claims. New York claimed a portion of it. Massachusetts also asserted a separate claim, and Connecticut, by her grant from the council of Plymouth, in 1630, was to extend westward from the Atlantic Ocean to "the South Sea," or Pacific Ocean. This would take a large portion of the territory included under the Virginia charter. These conflicting claims were never adjusted between the states, but were finally settled, as will soon appear, by cession to the United States in congress assembled. In 1779 Virginia opened an office for the sale of her western lands. This attracted the attention of the other states, several of which regarded the vacant region in the west as a common fund for the future payment of the expenses of the war for independence, in which the colonies had been engaged. This claim in behalf of the United States was asserted on the ground that the western lands had been the property of the crown. By the treaty of 1763, France had ceded to Great Britain all her possessions in North America, east of the Mississippi, and naturally these lands would fall, on the declaration of independence, to the opponent of the crown, that is, to the United States in congress assembled, and not to individual states. It was contended, therefore, that it was manifestly unjust that a vast tract of unoccupied country, acquired by the common efforts and the common expenses of the whole union, should be appropriated for the exclusive benefit of particular states, while others would be left to bear the unmitigated burdens. of debt, contracted in securing that independence by which this. immense acquisition was wrested from Great Britain. These separate claims by the several states were opposed by those states that 198 - HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. made no pretentious to claims, and they served, in a great measure, for a time, to prevent the union under the articles of confederation. On the 25th day of June, 1778, nearly one year before the opening of the Virginia land office, New Jersey made objection to the confederation, on the ground that the public lands now claimed by Virginia and other states, under ancient charters, should belong to the United States in common, that each separate state might derive a proportionate benefit therefrom. Maryland instructed her delegates in congress not to sign the articles of confederation, unless an article or articles were added thereto, looking to a cession of the public lands. The council of the State of Delaware, on the 23d day of January, 1779, before passing a law instructing their delegates in congress to sign the articles of confederation, resolved, that the state was justly entitled to a right in common with the other members of the union to that extensive tract of country westward of the frontier of the United States, which was acquired by the blood and treasure of all, and that it ought to be a common estate, to be granted out on terms beneficial to the United States. Such were the vigorous protests against the union under the articles of confederation, while Virginia was left a vast empire within the confederacy, a power, as many supposed, dangerous to the liberties of the smaller states; and when Virginia opened her land office for the sale of her western lands, the excitement became more intense. Congress, in opposition to the pretensions of all the states claiming lands, as the common head of the United States, maintained its title to the western lands upon the solid ground that a vacant territory, wrested from the common enemy by the united arms, and at the joint expense of all the states, ought of right to belong to congress, in trust for the common use and benefit of the whole union; hence she earnestly recommended to Virginia, and to all the states claiming vacant lands, to adopt no measures that would obstruct the final cession of such lauds to congress. New York was the first to listen to the appeals of the complaining states and to congress. On the 29th of February, 1780, she authorized her delegates in congress to restrict her western border by such lines as they should deem expedient, and on the 20th day of December, 1783, Virginia passed an act authorizing her delegates in congress to convey to the United States in congress assembled, "all the right of this commonwealth to the territory VIRGINIA MILITARY SURVEY - 199 northwest of the River Ohio." In this act of cession she made the following reservation : VIRGINIA MILITARY SURVEY. "That a quantity not exceeding one hundred and fifty thousand acres of land, promised by this state, shall be allowed and granted to Gen. George Rodgers Clark, and to the officers and soldiers of his regiment to be laid off in such place on the northwest side of the Ohio as a majority of the officers shall choose, and to be afterwards divided among the said officers and soldiers in due proportion according to the laws of Virginia. That in case the quantity of good lands, on the south side of the Ohio, upon the waters of the Cumberland River, and between the Green River and the Tennessee, which have been reserved by law for the Virginia troops, upon continental establishment, should prove insufficient for their legal bounties, the deficiency should be made up to said troops in good lands, to be laid off between the rivers Scioto and Little Miami, on the northwest side of the River Ohio, in such, proportions as have been engaged to them by the laws of Virginia." The land embraced in this reservation, between the Scioto and Little Miami rivers, constitutes the Virginia Military District in Ohio. The district comprehends the entire counties of Adams, Brown, Clermont, Clinton, Highland, Fayette, Madison and Union; and a portion of the counties of Scioto, Pike, Ross, Pickaway, Franklin, Delaware, Marion, Hardin, Logan, Champaign, Clarke, Greene, Warren and Hamilton. Although this cession and reservation was made in 1783, its definite boundary was not determined until a decision of the Supreme Court was made in reference to it some time in 1824. The Scioto was the eastern line, and Virginia claimed the right to run the western line of the tract direct from the source of the Scioto to the mouth of the Little Miami. Such a line would run considerably west of some parts of the Little Miami. The source of the Scioto is in the western part of Auglaize County, and a straight line drawn from this point to the mouth of the Little Miami, would have run entirely west of Greene County, and would have included in the Military District, a portion of Auglaize, Shelby, Miami and Montgomery counties. The Indian line established by the treaty of Greenville, between 200 - HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. the United States and certain Indian tribes, being a part of the boundary of this military district, it is quite important that it be described here. It begins at the mouth of the Cuyahoga and runs south, up that river through the portage between it and the Tuscarawas, down the Tuscarawas to the northern line of Tuscarawas County at its middle point; thence west, bearing a little south, forming the northwestern line of this county to Holmes; passing through Holmes County, it forms the eastern part of the northern boundary of Knox. It then passes through the northwestern part of Knox, through the middle part of Morrow, the southern part of Marion, through Logan, forming the northern line of Lake and Harrison townships, through Shelby County, forming the northern boundary of Salem Township. From a point in the western part of Shelby County the line bears a little to the north of west., and extends through the southern part of Mercer County to Fort Recovery, in the western part of the county; thence it extends in a straight line south, bearing west through the southeastern part of Indiana, to the Ohio River, at a point in Indiana opposite the mouth of the Kentucky River. In May 1800, congress passed a law for the sale of lands in the western territory which were not included in the Virginia Military District, and in the execution of this law the surveyor general caused a line to be run from the source of the Little Miami toward what he supposed to be the mouth of the Scioto, which is denominated Ludlow's line, and surveyed the lands west of that line into sections as prescribed in the act of congress. In 1804, congress passed a law concerning the boundary of the Virginia Military District which enacted that Ludlow's line should be considered the western boundary line of the reserved territory north of the source of the Little Miami, provided the State of Virginia should within two years recognize it as the boundary of this territory. Virginia did not accept the proposition, and the rights of the parties remained as if nothing had been done. Again, in 1812, congress authorized the president to appoint three commissioners to meet three other commissioners, to be appointed by the State of Virginia, who were to agree upon the line of military reserve, and to cause the same to be surveyed. Should the commissioners from Virginia fail to meet them, they were to proceed alone, and make their report to the president. In the meantime, and until the line should be established by consent, Ludlow's line VIRGINIA MILITARY SURVEY - 201 should be considered the western boundary. The commissioners of the United States were met by those of Virginia, at Xenia, on the 26th clay of October, 1812, and proceeded to ascertain the sources of the two rivers and to run the line. They employed a Mr. Charles Roberts to survey and mark a line from the source of one river to that of the other. This line is called Roberts' line, and is drawn from the source of the Little Miami to the source of the Scioto. The Virginia commissioners refused to accede to this, and claimed, as has been stated before, that the line should be drawn from the source of the Scioto to the mouth of the Little Miami. On the 11th day of April, 1818, congress passed an act, declaring that from the Little Miami to the Indian boundary line, established by the Greenville treaty, Ludlow's line should be considered as the western boundary of the military reserve. This, however, was the act of only one party to the contract, and did not necessarily determine the boundary. But the subsequent decision of the Supreme Court of the United States, made in 1824, based upon the language in the act of cession defining the phrase, "good lands to be laid off between the Rivers Scioto and Little Miami," to mean the whole country from their sources to their mouths, bounded on either side by said rivers. It would be clear from this decision that the most direct line from the source of one to the source of the other would complete the boundary. This decision of the Supreme Court practically settled the question, and the Ludlow line to the Indian boundary, and the Roberts line from the Indian boundary, together with a portion of the Indian line itself, became the established boundary line of the Virginia Military District between the sources of the Scioto and Little Miami rivers. The Ludlow line begins at the source of the Little Miami River, in the northeast corner of Madison Township, Clarke County, a little more than three miles east by north from South Charleston, at a point on the Columbus and Xenia Railroad, about a half a mile southwest of the point where the road crosses the county line, and extends north by west through Champaign County, passing about five miles east of Urbana. In Logan County, it runs through the eastern part of Bellefontaine, and strikes the Indian boundary line in the northeast corner of Harrison Township, about three and a half miles north by west from Bellefontaine. From this terminus of the Ludlow line, the Indian boundary line extends west by south along the northern border of Harrison Township, about four miles, to the Roberts line. 202 - HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. This Roberts line begins about one and a half miles east of the northwest corner of Harrison Township, and extends north by west, through the middle of Lewiston Reservoir, to a point in a swampy or marshy region, about a 'mile and three-fourths south by east from the center of 'Wayne Township, in the southeastern part. of Auglaize County. Here time line makes very nearly a right angle, and extends in a direction east by north about two miles and a half to the eastern limit of Goshen Township, where it terminates in the Scioto River. The original Roberts line must have begun at, or very near, the beginning of the Ludlow line, but its bearing was so far to the west that it ran a little to the west of the Scioto's source. The Ludlow line, on the other hand, did not bear enough to the west. It ran a little to the east of the source. It was proper, therefore, that a part of both lines, in the absence of a third survey, should have been made the real boundary. EARLY SETTLEMENT OF THE OHIO VALLEY. The spirit of adventure with which nature has endowed the human species, nowhere manifests itself so conspicuously as in those men of iron muscle, resolute will and indomitable energy, who left forever the abode of peace and plenty, and encountered all the dangers and endured the privations incident to the opening of new homes in the solitudes of the untrodden wilderness. A strange infatuation seems to impel man to seek new fields of adventure, and the greater the danger the stronger the impulse seems to be to meet and conquer it. This, in conjunction with seductive hope, though so often realizing the words of Pope, "that man. never is but always to be blessed," conduces very materially to the advancement of civilization, and when we take into consideration the cosmopolitan nature of man, we need not wonder that no part of the world, how wild and uninviting soever, remains inviolate. It was this, coupled with cupidity, that led the cruel Pizarro to the subjugation of the Incas of Peru, Cortez to the bloody struggles with the Aztecs, the conquest of Mexico and the extinction of the Montezumas. The beautiful scenery, fertility of soil and many other advantages with which nature had unsparingly endowed this charming locality, early attracted the eye of the speculator; in addition to which the country had been previously traversed by the soldiers in VIRGINIA MILITARY SURVEY - 203 the early Indian campaigns, who, observing the luxuriant growth of vegetation and many natural advantages here presented, related fabulous accounts of the picturesque features of the Indian possessions. All kinds of fish abounded in the streams, along whose banks many, fur bearing animals made their homes, while the forests teemed with deer, and the gobble of the wild turkey blending inharmoniously with the drum of the pheasant. and the shrill whistle of the partridge might be heard in the woods from morning till night. Here the hunter and trapper found a paradise. Here he built his cabin and set his traps, and fished in the streams, and hunted in the forests. Here he roasted his venison, broiled his fish and baked his Johnny-cake. For all his pelts and furs, he found a ready market at the English trading house on the Great Miami, and after its destruction in 1752, at Laramie's Store on the creek of the same name, which was the emporium of trade throughout the surrounding country until its destruction in 1782, by General G. R. Clarke. From the records of history it appears that in the settlement of almost all countries the order seems to be : First, the soldier; second, the hunter and trapper, the squatter, surveyor, and finally the permanent settler. The marks of edged tools on the trees in the Ohio Valley, give evidence that this region, calculating from the subsequent growth of rings, was visited by white men as early as 1660, nine years prior to the supposed discovery of the Ohio by LaSalle. Tradition also informs us that in the year 1742, one John Howard sailed clown the Ohio in a canoe made of a buffalo skin, and was captured on the Mississippi by the French. The French, however, as early as 1749, controlled the trade of this country and sought to establish their title by planting plates of metal at the mouth of every principal stream emptying into the Ohio; one of which was found at the mouth of the Muskingum, bearing date August 16, 1749, a particular account of which, by DeWitt Clinton, may be found in Am. Ant. Soc., 535. But this puerile attempt utterly failed ; and in the same year the English built a trading house on the Great Miami at the mouth of Laramie's Creek, called Pickawillany. The French, jealous of English intrusion, erected a line of fortifications along the Ohio and towards the lakes, and in 1752 demanded of the Twigtwees the surrender of the trading post mentioned above, which being refused, they, in conjunction with the Ottawas and 204 - HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. Chippewas, captured and destroyed it, killed fourteen Indians and carried the English to Canada. and even burned some at the stake. These traders were supposed to have been from Pennsylvania, from the fact that in Dr. Franklin's history of the same he mentions that this State sent the Twigtwees a gift of condolence for those slain in defense of Pickawillany. Although this battle was participated in by two nationalities, no more serious results flowed from it than a series of diplomatic maneuverings with a view to securing the permanent possession of the debatable lands. EARLY SURVEYING. As a matter of special interest, we shall give a. brief description of the manner of obtaining, locating, and surveying the territory which we now occupy. The military warrant upon which the entries were made, were issued by Virginia as bounties to her officers and soldiers of the continental line, as well as to General George R. Clarke and his army, and which entitled the holder to the number of acres named therein. These were filed with the principal surveyor, who was paid for receiving them. The first step towards obtaining land by warrant is by entry, or the appropriation of a specified quantity of land by the owner of the warrant. The next step is the survey, which designates the land by metes and bounds. Surveys were returned to the chief surveyor, with a plat of the land and boundary lines, signed by the deputy surveyor, who executed it, as well as by the chainmen and markers, which was recorded, and together with the sealed certificate of the surveyor and the warrant, were delivered to the owner, who could then obtain a patent from the President of the United States. The plan of Massie in securing himself against surprises from savages during his labors, is described by Colonel McDonald thus : Three assistant surveyors, with himself making the fourth, were generally engaged at the same time in making surveys. To each surveyor was detailed six men, which made a mess of seven. Every man had his prescribed duty to perform. Their plan of operations was somewhat thus: In front went the hunter, who kept in advance of the surveyor two or three hundred yards, looking for game, and prepared to give notice should any danger from Indians EARLY SURVEYING - 205 threaten. Then followed, after the surveyor, the two chainmen, marker, and pack-horse men with the baggage, who always kept near each other, prepared for defence in case of an attack. Lastly, two or three hundred yards in the rear came a man called the spy, whose duty it was to keep on the back track, and look out lest the party in advance might be pursued or attacked by surprise. Each man, the surveyor included, carried his rifle, blanket, and such other articles as were necessary on such an occasion. On the pack-horse was carried the cooking utensils and provisions that could be conveniently taken. Nothing like bread was thought of. Some salt was taken, to be used sparingly. For subsistence they depended solely on the game which the woods afforded, procured by their own rifles. Thus was the larger number of the surveys made in the Virginia district, and thus was the territory of Fayette surveyed. EARLY SURVEYORS. In the winter and spring of 1787, Major John O'Bannon and Arthur Fox, two enterprising surveyors of Kentucky, explored the Virginia reservation with a view to making entries so soon as the law would permit. They traversed along the Ohio, Scioto and Miami rivers, as well as many of their tributaries. August 1, 1787, Col. R. C. Anderson, chief surveyor, opened a land office, and shortly after large portions of the bottom lands of the Ohio, Scioto and Little Miami were entered. These entries were in violation of the deed of cession by which it was provided that the deficiencies of lands southwest of the Ohio should be ascertained and stated to congress. This prohibition was removed in 1790, and entries became valid. This region was now greatly coveted, yet many difficulties were in the way—Indian wars, high price of lands, and exorbitant prices required by surveyors. The pioneer surveyor in this district was Nathaniel Massie, then twenty-seven years old. He had been in Colonel Anderson's office, and was familiar with the details of the business. He had also been in the West for six years. In 1790 he entered into an agreement with certain parties for the settlement of Manchester. Col. R. C. Anderson, the principal surveyor of the .Virginia military lands, had control of the land warrants placed in his hands for entry by his companions in arms. A large number of these he gave 206 - HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. to Massie to survey and enter upon such terms as he could arrange with holders. The dangers to be encountered and the desire to locate the best lands enhanced the value of his services, and he therefore was enabled to retain one-third or one-half of the lands located, for his fees. In 1793 he made an expedition to the Scioto, an enterprise beset with dangers appalling to any other save the intrepid man who determined to face them. Employing about thirty men, and choosing John Beasley, Nathaniel Beasley and Peter Lee as assistant surveyors, and Duncan McArthur as chainman, he, in the month of October, procured canoes, set out on the perilous undertaking, and proceeded up the Ohio to the mouth of the Scioto, up that river to the mouth of Paint Creek, where they began operations; and surveys were made along the Scioto as far as Westfall, on the main and north branches of Paint Creek, and Ross and Pickaway were explored and iaitia1ly surveyed. In 1793–4 he resumed his work, and explored Paint and Clear creeks to their sources. It seems that no surveys were made at this time, the sole object being to obtain a correct knowledge of the geography and topography of the country. Having thus made himself acquainted with the country, in the winter of 1794–5 he organized a strong body to prosecute the surveying enterprise on an extensive scale. The same assistants were again employed, and fully armed and equipped to contend with the Indians if need be, the party set out from Manchester, taking the route of Logan's trace, halting at a spot on Todd's fork of the Little Miami, called the "Deserted Camp," where they began surveying, moving along the Miami to Oldtown, in Greene County, from which they surveyed along Massie's and Caesar's creeks nearly to the present line of Fayette. It is said that (luring this expedition, which was in the winter, the party were without bread for thirty days. A pint of flour was each day given to the mess to thicken the broth in which meat had been boiled. The snow fell to the depth of eight or ten inches. When no immediate danger threatened, these men assembled around the camp fire at night. When night approached, four fires—one for each mess—were made for cooking, around which, till sleeping time arrived, the company passed the hours in social glee, singing songs and telling stories. When danger was not imminent or apparent, they were as merry a set of men as ever assembled. Resting time arriving, Massie always gave the signal and the whole party would then leave their FIRST SURVEYS - 207 comfortable fires, carrying their blankets, firearms and baggage, and walk in perfect silence two or three hundred yards from the old camp, serape away the snow and huddle down for the night. Each mess formed one bed, spreading on the ground one-half of the blankets, reserving the other half for covering, which were fastened together by skewers to prevent them from slipping oft Thus prepared, the whole party, with their rifles in their arms and their pouches for pillows, crouched down, spoon fashion, with three heads one way and four the other, their feet extending to about the middle of their bodies, one nearly solid mass, so that when one turned all turned, or the close range would be broken and the cold let in. In this way they lay till broad daylight, no noise nor scarce a whisper being uttered during the night. When it was perfectly light, Massie would call up two of the men in whom he had the most confidence, and send them on a reconnoitering circuit around the fires, lest an ambuscade might have been formed by the Indians to destroy the party as they returned to them. Thus were made the original, surveys, thus were the dangers met and overcome, thus was the country wrested from the hand of nature and the initial steps taken toward the perfect development of the present. FIRST SURVEY IN FAYETTE COUNTY. The first portion of land entered within the territory of what is now Fayette County, was a part of survey Nos. 243 and 772 in one tract, lying partly in Clinton, extending a triangle into Fayette, southwest of No. 6,623, in the southwestern part of Concord. The next is a part of No. 428, extending into the extreme southeastern part of the county, and the first survey lying wholly within the county is No. 463, in the northern and eastern part of what is now Madison Township, surveyed for Thomas Overton by John O'Bannon, June 30, 1796; John Hamilton and Joshua Dodson, chain carriers, and Edward Mosby, marker. This tract contained 1,3331 acres, and was a part of military warrant No. 44. It was located northwest of the Ohio on Deer Creek, a branch of the Scioto, "Beginning at three white oaks and an elm, southwest corner to James Currie's survey (471) running east 320 poles, crossing Deer Creek at 148 poles to a hickory and two black oaks, southeast corner to Currie, thence south 8, west 597 poles, crossing the creek at 174 poles to a stake, thence north 16, east 615 to the beginning." 208 - HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. NUMBERING OF SURVEYS. In examining a map of the Virginia Military District, the irregularity of the surveys will be observed, while on the west side of the Little Miami they are regular. All the public lands outside the military district were surveyed regularly, according to act of congress passed May 18, 1796. By this act a surveyor general was appointed, whose duty it was, by himself and through deputies, to survey the unreserved and un-patented public lands, by running north and south lines according to the true meridian, and east and west, crossing the former at. right angles, so as to form townships each six miles square, and sections each one mile square. On the other hand, lands within the military district were not surveyed pursuant to any order of government at any particular time, nor iii accordance with any definite plan. The land was entered by persons holding land warrants, issued by the State of Virginia to her soldiers in the continental army, and in the army of General George Rodgers Clarke. In the majority of cases the original owners of these warrants did not themselves enter the lands, but other parties purchasing them, in many instances one person purchasing a number of them, located the aggregate amount in one or more tracts in whatever part of the territory he chose, provided it had not been previously entered. It was necessary only that it should be surveyed by a surveyor regularly and legally authorized to perform this work. These surveys were numbered in the order in which the tracts of land surveyed were entered, the survey taking its number from the entry. It frequently occurs that a survey having a higher number was made at a much earlier date than that having a lower number; but in every case the tract having the lower number was entered first. Thus, survey No. 463 was surveyed June 30, 1796, while survey No. 932 was surveyed March 18, 1794, nearly two years prior to No. 463. By examining a map of this district, it will be observed, also, that some surveys have several numbers. Thus: John Nichols, Nos. 6281 and 6332, in Concord; Nos. 7267, 7657, and 7890, for Wallace; Nos. 6058, 6059, and 7250, for J. Hays, in the northern part of Paint. In these, we observe in the first, two, and in the two latter, three different entries, all surveyed into one tract. FIRST SETTLEMENT UPON THE VIRGINIA RESERVATION - 209 Conversely, we also observe in many cases, the same number of entry surveyed into two tracts. Thus, entry No. 669, of 1,000 acres, was surveyed into two tracts, one of 600, for Daniel Clark, and the other of 400 acres, for James Dougherty, found in the southern part of Wayne Township. These were surveyed by Nathaniel Massie, both on the same day, March 13, 1795 ; returned to the land office, examined and recorded, the former July 3, the latter July 4, 1795. In looking over the old records of these surveys, two dates will be noticed; for instance, in No. 463, June 30, 1796, July 8, 1796. The survey when made was dated, then returned to the land office, examined, and recorded at the time of. the second date. FIRST SETTLEMENT UPON THE VIRGINIA RESERVATION. In the winter of 1790, Nathaniel Massie, in order to be in the center of his surveying operations, determined to make a settlement within the reservation. Accordingly, he offered each of the first twenty-five families in Kentucky, one in and one out lot, and one hundred acres of land, provided they would settle in a town he intended laying off. To this proposition more than thirty families acceded. After some consultation, the bottom on the Ohio, opposite the lower of the Three Islands, was chosen, the station fixed and laid off into lots, which is now known as Manchester, in Adams County, about twelve miles above Maysville, Kentucky. The only neighboring settlements at this time were Columbia, below the month of the Little Miami, eight miles from Cincinnati, and the French settlement of Gallipolis, near the mouth of the Great Kanawha. In the spring of 1795 an abortive attempt to locate a town in this valley, was made by Nathaniel Massie. In March, 1796, another party, under the same leader—some going by way of the Ohio, and up the Scioto in boats, while others went by land—met at what is since known as Dutch Station, at the mouth of Paint Creek, and, and on the first of April they began to erect cabins and plant their crops. In the meantime, Massie had selected a location for the town on a large tract of land owned by himself, and containing two hundred and eighty-seven in and one hundred and sixty-nine out lots. After the boundaries of the lots, streets, and alleys were defined by blazing the trees, the embryo city was named Chillicothe. 210 - HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. CAPTURE OF ANDREW ELLISON. One beautiful spring morning a thrilling incident occurred in the little station of Manchester, which threw the settlement into consternation; and as the parties concerned belonged to and passed through this region of country, and likely from the route taken through this county, we insert it here : One morning Ellison went out from the fort to throw some logs together in his little clearing, which he had been burning. When he had about finished, and the heaps began to blaze, he observed, while passing from one to the other, three men approaching him. Supposing them to be some of his neighbors he paid no attention to them, although, said he, "they were dark-skinned fellows, I thought they were the Wades, who were dark skinned, going out early to hunt." He continued his work until one of them seized him by the arms and said in broken English, "How do; how do, broder ?" He immediately whirled, and on facing them to his horror found himself in the clutches of three stalwart Indians. Resistance was both useless and dangerous. He therefore quietly submitted to his fate. They hurridly moved off with him in the direction of Paint Creek. In the meantime his breakfast was ready at his cabin, and his wife sent one of the children to summons him. The little fellow searched for his father, but came back without finding him. Supposing he had gone out to kill a deer, no immediate alarm was caused by his absence. Dinner time arrived, and his continued absence caused uneasiness to his now anxious wife. His rifle was found hanging in its accustomed place. The alarm increasing, a search was instituted, and the tracks of four men, one of whom wore shoes, was found, leading away from the station, and the awful truth burst upon the poor wife and mother that her husband was a prisoner iii the hands of the savages. It was nearly night when this discovery was made, and the party returned to the station. Early the next morning Massie and his party started in pursuit, which, owing to the scarcity of vegetation, and the precaution of the wily savages to keep on high, hard lands, where their feet would leave little or no impression, was slow and laborious. But Massie and his men were as unerring as well-trained blood-hounds, and followed the trail to Paint Creek, when finding the Indians gaining on them so rapidly that further LIFE IN THE WOODS - 211 pursuit was useless, they returned to the station. The Indians took their prisoner directly to Upper Sandusky—evidently passing through the territory of this county—where he was compelled to run the gauntlet, and being large and clumsy he received a severe flogging as he passed through the lines. After this he was taken to Lower Sandusky, where he ran the gauntlet again ; then to Detroit, where he was generously ransomed by a British officer, who sent him to Montreal, whence he came home during the summer of the same year. LIFE IN THE WOODS. The following is from John S. Williams, in the American Pioneer: "Immigrants poured in from different parts, cabins were put up in every direction, and women, children, and goods, tumbled into them. The tide of immigration flowed like water through a breach in a mill-dam. Everything was bustle and confusion, and all at work that could work. In the midst of all this the mumps, and perhaps one or two other diseases, prevailed, and gave us a seasoning. Our cabin had been raised, covered, part of the cracks chinked, and part of the floor laid, when we moved in on Christmas day. There had not been a stick cut, except in building the cabin. We had intended an inside chimney, for we thought the chimney ought to be in the house. We had a log put across the whole width of the cabin for a mantel; but when the floor was in we found it so low as not to answer, and removed it. Here was a great change for my mother and sister, as well as the rest, but particularly my mother. She was raised in the most delicate manner, in and near London, and lived most of her time in affluence, and always comfortable. She was now in the wilderness, surrounded by wild beasts, in a cabin with half a floor, no door, no ceiling overhead, not even a tolerable sign for a fire-place, the light of clay and the chilling winds of night passing between every two logs in the building; the cabin so high from the ground that a bear, wolf; panther, or any other animal less in size than a cow, could enter without even a squeeze. Such was our situation on Thursday and Thursday night, December 25, 1800, and which was bettered but by very slow degrees. We got the rest of the floor laid in a very few days; the chinking of the cracks went on slowly, but the daubing 212 - HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. could not proceed till weather more suitable, which happened in a few days; doorways were sawed out, and steps made of the logs, and the back of the chimney was raised up to the mantel, but the funnel of sticks and clay was delayed until spring. Our family consisted of my mother, a sister of twenty-two, my brother, near twenty-one and very weakly, and myself, in my eleventh year. Two years afterward black Jenny followed us, in company with my half-brother Richard and his family. She lived two years with us in Ohio, and died in the winter of 1803-4. In building our cabin, it was set to front the north and south, my brother using my father's pocket compass on the occasion. We had no idea of living in a house that did not stand square with the earth itself. This argued our ignorance of the comforts and conveniences of a pioneer life. The position of the house, end to the hill, necessarily elevated the lower end, and the determination of having a north and south door added much to the airiness of the domicil, particularly after the green ash puncheons shrunk so as to have cracks in the floor and doors from one to two inches wide. At both the doors we had high, unsteady, and sometimes icy step made by piling up the logs cut out of the wall. We had, as the reader will see, a window (if it could be called a window, when, perhaps, it was the largest spot in the top, bottom, or side of the cabin at which the wind could not enter). It was made by sawing out a log, placing sticks across, and then, by pasting an old news-paper over the hole; and applying some hog's lard, we had a kind of glazing which shed a most beautiful and mellow light across the cabin when the sun shone on it. All other light entered at the doors, cracks, and chimney. Our cabin was 24x18. The west end was occupied by two beds, the center of each side by a door, and here our symmetry had to stop; for on the opposite side of the window, made of clapboards, supported on pins driven into the logs, were our shelves. Upon these shelves my sister displayed, in ample order, a host of pewter plates, basins, dishes, and spoons, scoured and bright. It was none of your new-fangled pewter, made of lead, but the best London pewter, on which you could hold your meat so as to cut it without slipping, and without dulling your knife. But, alas! the days of pewter plates and sharp dinner knives have passed, never to return. "To return to our internal arrangements. A ladder of five rounds occupied the corner near the window. By this, when we got a 214 - HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. above the eave bearers, which form the gable ends, and upon which the ribs rest. The weight-poles are those small logs laid on the roof. The knees are pieces of heart timber, placed above the butting-poles successively, to prevent the weight-poles from rolling off. "The evenings of the first winter did not pass off as pleasantly as evenings afterward. We had raised no tobacco to stem and twist, no corn to shell, no turnips to scrape; we had no tow to spill into rope yarn, nor straw to plait for hats, and we had come so late we could get but few walnuts to crack. We had, however, the Bible, George Fox's Journal, Berkeley's Apology, and a number of books, all better than much of the fashionable reading of today, from which, after perusing, the reader finds he has gained nothing, while his understanding has been made the dupe of the writer's fancy that while reading he had given himself up to be led in mazes of fictitious imaginations, and losing his taste for solid reading, as frothy luxuries destroy the appetite for wholesome food. To our stock of books were soon afterward added a borrowed copy of the Pilgrim's Progress, which we read twice through without stopping. The first winter our living was truly scanty and hard; but even this winter had its felicities. We had part of a barrel of flour which we had brought from Fredericktown.. Besides this, we had part of a jar of hog's lard brought from old Carolina ; not the tasteless stuff which now goes by that name, but pure leaf lard, taken from hogs raised on pine roots and fattened on sweet potatoes, and into which, while rendering, were immersed the boughs of the fragrant bay tree, which imparted to the lard a rich flavor. Of that flour, shortened with this lard, my sister, every Sunday morning, and at no other time, made short biscuit for breakfast; not those greasy, gum-elastic biscuit we mostly meet with now, rolled out with a pin, or cut out with a cutter, or those that are, perhaps, speckled with or puffed up with refined lye called salaratus, but made out, one by one, in her fair hands, placed in neat juxtaposition in a skillet or spider, pricked with a fork to prevent blistering and baked before an open fire—not half baked and half stewed in a cooking stove. " In the ordering of a good Providence the winter was open, but windy. While the wind was of great use in driving the smoke and ashes out of our cabin, it shook terribly the timber standing almost over us. We had never seen a dangerous looking tree near a dwelling, but here we were surrounded by the tall giants of the LIFE IN THE WOODS - 215 forest, waving their boughs and uniting their brows over us, as if in defiance of our disturbing their repose and usurping their long and uncontended pre-emption rights. The beech on the left often shook his bushy head over us as if in absolute disapprobation of our settling there, threatening to crush us if we did not pack up and start. The walnut over the spring branch stood high and straight; no one could tell which way it inclined, but all concluded that if it had a preference, it was in favor of quartering on our cabin. We got assistance to cut it down. The axeman doubted his ability to control its direction, by reason that he must necessarily cut it almost off before it would fall. He thought by felling the tree in the direction of the reader, along near the chimney, and thus favor the little lean it seemed to have, would be the means of saving the cabin. He was successful. Part of the stump still stands. These, and all other dangerous trees, were got down without other damage than many frights and frequent desertions of the premises by the family while the trees were being cut. The ash beyond the house crossed the scorf and fell upon the cabin, but without damage. "The monotony of the time for several of the first years was broken and enlivened by the howl of wild beasts. The wolves howling around us seemed to mourn their inability to drive us from their long and undisputed domain. The bears, panthers and deer seemingly got miffed at our approach, or the partiality of the hunters, and but seldom troubled us. One bag of meal would make a whole family rejoicingly happy and thankful then, when a loaded East Indiaman will fail to do it now, and is passed off as a common business transaction without ever once thinking of the Giver, so independent have we become in the short space of forty years ! Having got out of the wilderness in less time than the children of Israel, we seem to be even more forgetful and unthankful than they. When spring was fully come, and our little patch of corn, three acres, put in among the beech roots, which at every step contended with the shovel-plow for the right of soil, and held it, too, we enlarged our stock of conveniences. As soon as bark would run (peel off) we could make ropes and bark boxes. These we stood in great need of, as such things as bureaus, stands, wardrobes or even barrels, were not to be had. The manner of making rope of linn bark, was to cut the bark into strips of convenient length, and water-rot it in the same manner as rotting flax or hemp. 216 - HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. When this was done the inside bark would peel off and split up so fine as to make a considerably rough and good-for-but-little kind of a rope. Of this, however, we were very glad, and let no ship owner with his grass ropes laugh at us. We made two kinds of boxes for furniture. One kind was of hickory bark with the outside shaved off. This we would take off all around the tree, the size of which would determine the calibre of our box. Into one end we would place a flat piece or puncheon, cut round to fit in the bark, which stood on end the same as when on the tree. There was little need of hooping, as the strength of the bark would keep that all right enough. Its shrinkage would make the top unsightly in a parlor now-a-days, but then they were considered quite an addition to the furniture. A much finer article was of slippery elm bark, shaved smooth, and with the inside out, bent round and sewed together where the ends of the hoop or main bark lapped over. The length of the bark was around the box, and inside out. A bottom was made of a piece of the same bark, dried flat, and a lid like that of a common band-box, made in the same way. This was the finest furniture in the ladies' dressing-room, and then, as now, with the finest. furniture, the lapped or sewed side was turned to the wall, and the prettiest part to the spectator. They were usually made oval, and while the bark was green were easily ornamented with drawings of birds, trees, etc., agreeable to the taste and skill of the fair manufacturer. As we belonged to the Society of Friends, it may be fairly presumed that our band-boxes were not thus ornamented. " We settled on beech land, which took much labor to clear. We could do no better than to clear out the smaller stuff, and burn the brush, etc., around the beeches, which, in spite of the girdling and burning which we could do to them, would leaf out the first year, and often a little the second. The land, however, was very rich, and would bring better corn than might be expected. We had to tend it with the hoe; that. is, to chop down the nettles, the water-weed, and the touch-me-not. Grass, coreless, lambs-quarter, and Spanish needles, were reserved to pester the better prepared farmer. " We cleared a small turnip-patch, which we got in about the 10th of August. We sowed in timothy seed, which took well, and the next year we had a little hay besides. The tops and blades were also carefully saved for our horse, cow, and two sheep. The turnips were, sweet and good; and in the fall we took care to LIFE IN THE WOODS - 217 gather walnuts and hickory--nuts, which were abundant. These, with the turnips, which we scraped, supplied the place of fruit. I have always been partial to scraped turnips, and could now beat any three dandies scraping them. Johnny-cake, also, when we had meal to make it of, helped to make up our evening's repast. The Sunday morning biscuit had all evaporated, but. the loss was partialy supplied by the nuts and turnips. Our regular supper was mush and milk, and by the time we had shelled our corn, stemmed tobacco, and plaited straw to make hats, etc., the mush and milk had seemingly decamped from the neighborhood of our ribs. To relieve this difficulty, my brother and I would bake a thin Johnny-cake, part of which we would eat, and leave the rest. till morning. At daylight we would eat the balance as we walked from the house to work. " The methods of eating mush and milk were various. Some would sit around the pot, and every one take therefrom for himself. Some would set a table, and each have his tin cup of milk, and with a pewter spoon take just as much mush from the dish or pot, if it were on the table, as he thought would fill his mouth or throat, then lowering it into the milk would take some to wash it down. This method kept the milk cool, and by frequent. repetitions the pioneer would contract a faculty of correctly estimating the proper amount of each. Others would mix mush and milk together. "To get grinding done was often a great "difficulty, by reason of the scarcity of mills, the freezes in winter, and drouths in summer. We bad often to manufacture meal (when we had corn) in any way we could get the corn to pieces. We soaked and pounded it; we shaved it; we planed it; and, at the proper season, we grated it. When one of' our neighbors got a hand-mill, it was thought quite an acquisition to the neighborhood. In after years, when in time of freezing or drouth we could get grinding by waiting for our turn no more than one day and a night at a horse-mill, we thought ourselves happy. To save meal, we often made pumpkin bread, in which, when meal was scarce, the pumpkin would so predominate as to render it next to impossible to tell our bread from that article, either by taste, looks, or the amount of nutriment it contained. Salt was five dollars per bushel, and we used none in our corn bread, which we soon liked as well without it. Often has the sweat run into my mouth, which tasted as fresh and flat as distilled 218 - HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. water. What meat we had at first was fresh, and but little of that, for had we been hunters we had no time to practice it. " We had no candles, and' cared but little about them, except for summer use. In Carolina we had the real fat light wood—not merely pine knots, but the fat, straight pine. This, from the brilliancy of our parlor, of winter evenings, might be supposed to put, not only candles, lamps, camphene, Greenough's chemical oil, but even gas itself, to blush. In the West we had not this, but my business was to ramble in the woods every morning for seasoned sticks, or the bark of the shelly hickory, for light. 'Tis true that our light was not as good as even candles, but we got along without fretting, for we depended more upon the goodness of our eyes than we did upon the brilliancy of the light." INDIAN WARS. In the country northwest of the Ohio, many tribes of Indians roamed at. large through the primitive forests, imbued, by the incursions of the white man, with feelings of bitter hostility towards any further progress of his hated enemy, among whom were the Delawares on Beaver Creek, Cuyahoga and Muskingum, whose towns contained about 300 individuals; about 300 Shawnees who dwelt on the Scioto, Muskingum and adjoining country, the Twigtwees, Piankeshaws and Miamis, dwelling along the Miami river and its tributaries, all of whom looked with a jealous eye upon the advancing tide of immigration, which was so soon to convert his hunting grounds into waving fields of grain, and replace his wigwam by the more imposing structures of civilization. We need not wonder therefore, that upon every provocation, how slight soever, his ever ready tomahawk sought its victim, his knife leaping from its sheath to circle round the head of his enemy. The rival claims of England and France for the possession of the country, gradually led to a long and bloody war, involving the colonies and Indian tribes, who espoused the cause of the nation offering the strongest. inducement. As early as 1749, the whole Miami valley became the arena of sanguinary contention between the two nations and their Indian allies, on both sides. The French rested their claims upon the explorations of Marquette and La Salle, actual occupation, and the construction of the treaties of Ryswick, Utrecht, and Aix La Chapelle ; while on the other hand, the English claimed prior occupation, a construction of the same treaties favorable to them, and direct cession by the Aboriginal owners. Their discovery conveyed no equitable ownership, however, and was disregarded by both powers. The Indian title being totally ignored, led them to inquire: "Where are the Indian lands, since the French claim all on the north side of the Ohio, and the English all on the south side of it?" 220 - HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. The English colonies were agriculturalists, and of a permanent nature ; while the French were mostly traders, soldiers, and missionaries. Thus it followed, that. the French became, through miscegenation, more thoroughly incorporated with the Indian tribes, and wielded a greater influence over them than the English ; giving rise to the old proverb, that the "French knew how to give gifts to the Indians." Through her traders and missionaries, therefore, France was familiar with all the Indian tribes before the English explored beyond the mountains. The French, perfectly cognizant of the vast wealth of the new country, and the lucrative traffic to be carried on with the Indians, were induced at an early period to establish a line of quasi military trading posts among the Indians on the Ohio and its tributaries, and to preserve the possession so obtained, they began the erection of forts extending from Canada to Louisiana. To counteract this bold step of the French to possess themselves of the country and its rich resultant emoluments. England gave to an association of gentlemen in Great Britain and Virginia, (under the title of the "Ohio Land Company") the privilege of locating and holding in their own right and title, 600,000 acres of land within the country then under contention between England and France. In pursuance of this arrangement., according to Western Annals, in the fall of 1720, the Ohio Company sent out Christopher Gist with instructions to examine the passes, trace the courses of the rivers, mark the falls, seek for the most valuable lands, observe the strength, and conciliate the Indian tribes. Accordingly he visited Logstown. Received with jealousy, he proceeded to the Muskingum, found a village of Ottawas friendly to the French, and a. village of Wyandots divided in sentiment. Next he passed to the Shawnees towns on the Scioto, was assured of their friendship, then crossed the Miami Valley, reporting that "nothing was wanting but cultivation to make it a. most delightful country." The land was secretly surveyed,' locations made in the most valuable sections, the Indians were conciliated, and trading posts were established. The true motives of the company were soon revealed through cupidity and jealousy, and the French actually seized and imprisoned the English traders, and established a line of' military posts from Presque Isle to the Ohio river. Following this, at the suggestion of' Washington, the Ohio Company erected a stockade at the confluence of the Monongahela and Alleghany; before the work was complete however, they were dispersed by the French, who took possession of the place, and erected Fort du Quesne. These hostile movements were follow- INDIAN WARS - 221 ed by what is known as Braddock's war, which for a time checked the settlement from both countries. The defeat of Braddock opened the flood-gates for the inroads of the savages along the borders of the northwest, who murdered and scalped the colonists in the valleys by the scores during the years 1755, 1756, and 1757. In 1758, expeditions were sent out to capture Fort Du Quesne. On approaching it, the French set fire to it and retired. The English took possession, rebuilt it, and named it Fort Pitt, now Pittsburgh. This rendered feasible the scheme of Pitt for the reduction of Canada. Predeaux was to attack Niagara, Amherst, Ticonderoga and Crown Point, and Wolf, Quebec, which latter surrendered September 18, 1759, and gave Canada to the English. During this, the tide of emigration was slowly pushing further into the frontiers of Pennsylvania and Virginia, and traders once again entered the wigwams of the Indians, who anxiously watched the movements of the two nations. With the surrender of Fort Du Quesne and Niagara, open hostilities between England and France ceased in the west. On the 8th of September, 1760, Canada was surrendered to the English. On the failure of peace negotiations, France and Spain united to cheek the advance of English power, which proving futile, a treaty of peace was signed November 3, 1762, and ratified at Paris, February, 1763, at which, to retain Havana, Spain ceded Florida to England, and to reinstate Spain, France secretly ceded all of Louisiana west of the Mississippi to Spain. While the casus belli between the two nations was settled, the Indians, who had generally espoused the cause of France, were by no means satisfied. In the breast of the Indian, the seeds of hatred for the English, early sown by the French, took ready root, and, nurtured by the same, grew into implacable animosity; therefore the task of spreading her authority over the savage hordes of the west, and securing peace to the colonies, was both difficult and dangerous. Foreseeing the inevitable destruction of his people unless the French were victorious, and the English driven from the soil, in 1762 the great Ottawa chief, Pontiac, sent messengers, with black wampum and red tomahawk, to all the surrounding tribes, notifying them that on a certain clay a simultaneous attack would be made on all the English posts, followed by a general onslaught upon the whole border. Pursuant to this, a grand council was held April 27, 1763, at the river Ecorces, at which Pontiac delivered a 222 - HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. fiery speech, appealing to their superstition, their manhood, and their bravery, and portrayed the wrongs they had suffered. The chiefs listened, and burned for revenge; the day was set, and each tribe eagerly awaited the bloody moment. The history of Detroit, Major Gladwin, the beautiful Ojibaway girl through her love revealing the plans of the Indians, the shortened guns, the entrance of Pontiac and his chiefs, their apprehensious at the bristling appearance of. the garrison, the signal of the wampum, the click of the revolvers, rattle of swords, and consternation of the baffled Indians, are well known to every school-boy, who has laughed in his sleeve to see the Indians, who came in with so much pomp, go out with so much humiliation. The mask was thrown off; and a furious attack began, but unavailing. Not so with the other posts. At Fort Sandusky, St. Joseph, Oniatenon, Miami, Presque Isle, and Mackinaw, they gained access under pretext of game of ball, called baggataway. Only one escaped from Green Bay, Lieutenant Garell. Meanwhile war raged along the borders with savage cruelty. Colonel Bouquet was sent to the relief of Fort Pitt, then closely beseiged. Reaching Carlisle July 1, 1763, he found the people in a panic, huddled together, and without provisions. After eighteen days spent in relieving them, he resumed his march toward Bushy Run, where he was suddenly attacked by an overwhelming force of Indians. In vain did he charge, and drive them back. From behind trees and rocks they poured in an invisible yet destructive fire, until defeat seemed inevitable. The genius of Bouquet saved them. Two companies were ordered to fall back, as if retreating. Two others were to lie in ambush. The Indians rushed upon the retreating column, when they received a heavy fire in flank, followed by a bayonet charge, which totally routed them. This closed the war during this year. The next spring Pontiac again laid seige to Detroit. Bradstreet and Bouquet were sent against him. The former was duped by a pretended treaty. The same ruse was attempted upon Bouquet, but he treated their delegates as spies, and informed them that if they delivered all their prisoners in ten days, they might hope for peace, otherwise he would show no mercy. His terms were instantly complied with, and a permanent peace was established. The appearance of security and immunity from danger which succeeded this treaty of 1765, contributed to the advancement of prosperity all over the northwestern frontiers. The necessity of con- INDIAN WARS - 223 gregating in forts and block-houses no longer existing, each family enjoyed the pleasures of its own fireside, undisturbed by apprehensions of danger from the bloodthirsty savage. No longer did they cultivate their little patches in common, with tomahawks in their belts, and rifles attached to their plow-beams. They could sow, expecting to reap; and this feeling of safety increased their prosperity, and encouraged others to join them. As a consequence, immigration flowed in, and settlements sprang up- in the forests. This peaceful condition of things, however, received a check in 1774, caused, in the main, by the gradual encroachment of the whites upon Indian territory. This (Lord Dunmore's war), after much bloodshed, was brought to a close, principally through the agency of the celebrated chief; Cornstalk, after the decisive battle of Point Pleasant, October 10, 1774. This leads us up to the Revolution, when again the Indians, or, as Lord Chatham truly said, the " horrible hounds of war, torturing, murdering, devouring, drinking the blood of their mangled victims," were let loose upon the defenseless frontiers. Inasmuch as the principal depredations in this war were committed in this region by the Shawnees Indians, then located upon the Scioto, Mad, and Little Miami rivers, a brief resume of their history may not be uninteresting. The Shawnees were known as the most warlike nation of the great Algonquin family. This family seemed to have possessed a language almost uniform throughout all the tribes. The Algonquins are supposed to have numbered at one time not less than 90,000. It is said that the language was very complex, yet capable of lofty flights of oratory, beautiful rhetorical figures, and ill-adapted to light and trifling speech. The Shawnees were very nomadic, therefore their history is somewhat obscure. We hear of them as early as the advent of John Smith, 1607. They were then on the Susquehanna. In 1632 they were on the Delaware. The Swanee, or Suawanee River, in Florida, derives its name from them. From these many conflicting accounts, we are to suppose that originally they were one great tribe, but, by war, became separated into subdivisions, which, after many years wandering, were again reunited. We have an authentic account from their noted chief, Blackhoof, who told Colonel John Johnston, of Piqua, that he well remembered having bathed on the Florida beach. It is evident that they came from the south, under the leadership of Blackhoof, to the Miami Valley, and established themselves, about 1770, in the neighborhood of the Little Miami, 224 - HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. Scioto, and Mad River valleys. In Lord Dunmore's war, the Shawanoes took an active part, under the great and noble chief, Cornstalk. After his defeat by General Lewis, he sued for peace, and ever after was the firm friend of the whites, and by them was cruelly murdered, even while under their protection on a mission of peace It appears that about 1770 the Shawnees made their headquarter. at Old Chillicothe (now Oldtown, on the Little Miami, in this county). It was here that Captain Bullitt visited them, in 1773. It was here that Simon Kenton ran the gauntlet, in 1776. (Vid. Xenia Township.) It was here that Daniel Boone was taken, with twenty-seven others, in 1778. (See, also, Xenia Township.) Having now narrowed the horizon of our observations to that portion of territory circumscribed by the boundaries of Greene County, we shall proceed more specifically to narrate the events that transpired within her borders. In the autumn of 1779, a number of keel-boats were ascending the Ohio, commanded by Major Rogers. When they had advanced as fir s the Licking, they observed a few Indians upon a sand-har, while a canoe, with three savages, was in the act of putting off from the Kentucky shore, evidently to bring them over. Instantly making his boats fast to the Kentucky shore, and cautiously landing his men, he sought to attack them unawares, but was discovered, furiously attacked, and his whole force almost totally destroyed, only two or three escaping to convey the doleful tidings to the settlements. As their capital, Chillicothe (now Oldtown), was within reach of retaliation, an expedition, in 1779, under Colonel Bowman, with Colonel Benjamin Logan second in command, was fitted out against the Shawanoes, to strike a blow at Chillicothe. They left Harrodsburg in July, and took their preliminary measure; so well, that they arrived within a mile of Chillicothe without giving the slightest alarm to the enemy. Here the detachment halted at an early hour in the night., and, as usual, sent out spies to examine the condition of the village. Before midnight they returned with the intelligence that the enemy remained unapprised of their presence in the vicinity, and were resting in a state of unmilitary security. Upon the receipt of this, the army was instantly put in motion. It was determined that Logan, with one half the command, should march around the town on the left, while Bowman, with the remaining forces, was to make a corresponding movement on the right. Both should grope their way through the woods with profound silence until they met INDIAN WARS - 225 on the opposite sides, when the attack was to commence. Logan having completed his part of the maneuver, stationed his men be-hind trees, logs, and stones, and awaited in silence and extreme anxiety the preconcerted signal of attack. Hour after hour stole away, and Bowman did not appear. At length the rays of the sun began to peep over the hills and shoot across the valley. Logan, still expecting the arrival of his colonel, more securely secreted his men in the high grass and awaited the signal. No orders arrived. In the meantime, while changing positions through the grass they chanced to alarm a dog which was prowling around the village. He instantly set up a vociferous baying, spasmodically advancing toward the men who had attracted his attention. Presently a solitary Indian left his cabin, advanced cautiously toward the dog, frequently halting and raising upon his tiptoes, and furtively gazing around him. Logan's party lay close, scarcely breathing, anxiously hoping to take him alive without giving the alarm. But at that instant a gun was fired in an opposite quarter of the town, as was afterwards ascertained, by one of Bowman's men, and the Indian, giving one shrill whoop, ran swiftly back to the council house. Believing this to be the signal for attack, and concealment now being impossible, Logan's party sprang from the grass and rushed upon the village. As they advanced they perceived a motley crowd of all ages, and both sexes, yelling, leaping and running toward the council house, where they collected in full force, determined upon a stubborn resistance. Logan instantly threw his men into the cabins, deserted by the Indians, and rapidly advancing from hut to hut, at last established himself within rifle-shot of the Indian stronghold. Now listening impatiently for sounds of the conflict which should have taken place on the other side in co-operation with him, his anxious ears detected no sound. All was silent in that quarter. The Indians having recovered from their temporary panic, poured in a heavy and deadly fire upon the cabins that protected his men. His position grew each moment more critical. He had pushed his detachment so close to the redoubt that advance or retreat was equally dangerous. The enemy outnumbered him, and indications soon revealed a disposition to turn both his flanks and cut off his retreat. Under these circumstances, ignorant of the movements of his commander, and cut off from all communication with him, he resolved upon the bold and judicious plan of forming a movable breastwork of the materials furnished by the cabins, and uncle] 226 - HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. cover of it rush upon the stronghold of the savages and carry it by assault. Had this bold plan been consummated, with the co-operation of Bowman, the victory would no doubt have been complete, and many subsequent outrages have been averted. But in its very initiation a messenger arrived from Bowman with orders to retreat. Astonished at such an order, when honor and safety required an offensive movement, Logan hastily asked if " Bowman had been overpowered by the enemy?" "No." "Had he ever beheld an enemy ?" " No." " What then was the cause of this extraordinary abandonment of a design so prosperously begun ?" He did not know. The colonel had ordered a retreat! Logan was reluctantly compelled to obey. With militia, in the face of an enemy superior in force, a retreat is almost certain to terminate in a demoralized rout, and this was no exception. As soon as the order was made known, a most tumultuous scene began. Not being sustained by that mutual confidence—offspring of discipline—which buoys up regular soldiers under all circumstances, they no longer acted in concert. Each man selected the time, manner, and route of his individual retreat. Here a solitary Kentuckian would start up from behind a stump and scud away through the grass, dodging and turning to avoid the balls that whistled around him. There a dozen men would run from a cabin and scatter in every direction, each anxious to save himself, and none having leisure to attend to his neighbor. The [Indians, astonished at seeing men fleeing apparently from them-selves, sallied out, pursued and cut them up as a sportsman would a flock of geese. They soon joined Bowman's party, who, from some unaccountable panic in their commander, or fault in them-selves, had not stirred from the spot where Logan had left them the night before. All was confusion. Some cursed their colonel; some reproached other officers; one shouted one thing; one bellowed another; but all seemed to agree that they ought to make the best of their way home without a moment's delay. By great exertions on the part of Logan, ably assisted by Harrod, Bulger, and Major Bedinger, of the Blue Licks, some degree of order was restored, and a tolerably respectable retreat commenced. The Indians, however, soon surrounded them on all sides, and kept up a hot fire, which soon grew fatal. Colonel Bowman appeared totally demented, and sat upon his horse like a pillar of stone, neither giving an order or taking any measures to repel the enemy. The INDIAN WARS - 227 sound of the rifle shots had, however, restored the men to their senses, and they readily formed in a large hollow square, took to the trees and returned the fire with great spirit. The enemy were quickly repelled, and the troops resumed their march. But scarcely had they advanced half a mile when the Indians reappeared, and again opened fire on the front, rear, and both flanks. Again a square was formed, and the savages repelled ; but they had not fairly resumed their march when the same galling fire was again poured in upon them, from every tree, bush, and stone capable of concealing an Indian. Matters began to look serious. The enemy were evidently endeavoring to detain them until fresh Indians should arrive, cut off their retreat, and take them all prisoners. The troops began to waver, and a panic was rapidly spreading from colonel to privates. At this crisis, Logan, Harrod, and Bedinger, selected the boldest and best mounted men, and dashing into the bushes on horseback scoured the woods in every direction, forcing the Indians from their coverts, and cutting them down as they ran from tree to tree. This decisive step completely dispersed the enemy, and the weary and dispirited troops continued their retreat unmolested, with the loss of nine killed and several wounded. The Indians in this action were led by Black-fish, the adopted father of Daniel Boone while he was their captive. The Indians; in retaliation for this, resolved upon the invasion of Kentucky. In 1780, aided by their English allies, who supplied them with men and artillery, they formed an army at Old Chillicothe, and under the command of Colonel Byrd marched for the settlements of Kentucky. Huddles' Station was attacked, and the garrison murdered. Colonel Byrd, being unable to restrain his savage allies, refused to go further unless all prisoners were de-livered to him; which being promised, he led them along the valley of the Licking five miles further, to Martin's Fort, where, despite their solemn promise, the same atrocities were committed, and, he, to his credit, refused to go any further. The Indians loaded their victims with the plunder of their own dwellings, and started for their towns, and as the unfortunate prisoner sunk under the weight the tomahawk was buried in his brains. After the outrages committed by Colonel Byrd and his Indians, it was determined to punish them by carrying the war into their own stronghold, which was then Old Chillicothe, on the Little Miami, in this county. We can give no better account than from Bradford's notes: 228 - HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. "On the 2d of August, 1780, General Clarke took up the line of march from where Cincinnati now stands for the Indian towns. The line of march was as follows : The first division, commanded by Clarke, took the front position; the center was occupied by artillery, military stores, and baggage; the second, commanded by Colonel Logan, was placed in the rear. The men were ordered to march in four lines, at about forty yards distant from each other, and a line of flankers on each side, about the same distance from the right and left line. There was also a front and rear guard, who kept only in sight of the main army. In order to prevent confusion, in case of an attack of the enemy during the march, a general order was issued, that in the event of an attack in front, the front was to stand fast, and the two right lines wheel to the right, and the two left lines to the left hand, and thus form a complete line, while the artillery was to advance to the center of the line. In case of an attack upon either of the flanks, or side lines, these were to stand fast, and likewise the artillery, while the opposite lines wheeled and formed on the two extremes of those lines. In the event of an attack upon the rear, similar order was to be observed as in an attack in front. In this manner the army moved on without encountering anything worthy of notice. "About 2 o'clock on the afternoon of the 6th of August, they arrived at the village. They found the town not only abandoned, but most of the houses burned down, and burning, having been set oil fire that morning. The army encamped on the ground that' night, and on the following day cut down several hundred (probably two hundred) acres of corn (and every tree which bore any kind of fruit was destroyed), and about 4 o'clock in the evening took up their line of march for the Piqua towns, which were about twelve miles from Chillicothe (in Clarke County). "They had not marched more than a mile from Chillicothe, before there came on a very heavy rain, with thunder and lightning, accompanied by considerable wind. Without tents, or, any other shelter from the rain, which fell in torrents, the men were as wet as though they had been plunged into the river; nor had they power to keep their guns dry. It was nearly dark before the rain ceased, when they were ordered to encamp in a hollow square, with the baggage and horses in the center, and as soon as fires could be made, dry their clothes, etc. They were ordered to examine their guns, and see that they were in good condition ; to discharge them in the following manner: One company was to fire, and time given to reload, INDIAN WARS - 229 when a company at the most remote part of the camp from that which had fired, was to discharge theirs, and so on, alternately, until all the guns were fired. "On the morning of the 8th, the army marched by sunrise, and having a level, open way, arrived in sight of Piqua, on the west side of Mad River, about 2 P. M. The Indian road from Chillicothe to Piqua, which the army followed, crossed Mad River about a quarter of a mile below the town, and as soon as the advanced guard crossed into a prairie of high weeds, they were attacked by the Indians, who had been concealed there, awaiting their approach. "The ground on which this attack was made, as well as the manner in which it was done, left no doubt but that a general engagement was intended. Colonel Logan was therefore ordered, with about four hundred men, to file off to the right and march up the river on the east side, and continue to the upper end of the town, so as to prevent the Indians from escaping in that direction, while the remainder of the men, under Colonels Flynn, Lloyed, and Harrod, were ordered to cross the river and encompass the town on the west side, while General Clarke, with the troops under Colonel Slaughter, and such as were attached to, the artillery, marched directly toward the town. " The prairie in which the Indians who commenced the attack were concealed, was only about two hundred yards across to the timbered land, and the division of the army destined to encompass the town on the west side, found it necessary to cross the prairie to avoid the fire of a concealed enemy. The Indians evinced great military skill and judgment, and to prevent the western division from executing the duties assigned them, they made a powerful effort to turn their left wing. This was discovered by Lloyed and Flynn, who, to prevent being outflanked, extended the line of battle west, more than a mile from the town, which continued, warmly contested on both sides, until about 5 o'clock, when the Indians disappeared, everywhere unperceived, except a few in the town. " The field-piece, which had been entirely useless before, was now brought to bear upon the houses, when a few well-directed shots dislodged the Indians which were in them. From a French prisoner among them, General Clarke learned that the savages did not expect the army to reach their town so soon ; and that it was their intention, had it not rained, to attack the whites with the knife and tomahawk the previous night. The firing of the guns also deterred them. It seems that the alarm was universal, and every village 230 - HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. was deserted. Occasionally, it is said, a solitary Indian would crawl through the grass within shooting distance, deliver his fire, and sink out of sight. The town was stretched along the banks of the river for a long distance, and in order to surround it on the east, Logan was compelled to march over three miles. In the meantime the Indians concentrated their whole force on the troops under General Clarke, and Logan never saw an Indian ; hence, the great loss to the whites, and severity of the battle, which led to the remark of Girty, who drew off his three hundred Mingo warriors, saying it was folly to fight madmen. And true; the Kentuckians fought with desperation, well knowing that if they were defeated none would escape; and the Indians, elated with success and thirsting for blood, would fall upon the defenseless settlements of Kentucky, and murder their wives, their daughters, mothers, and children. The next day was spent in cutting down the growing corn, destroying the cabins and food, and collecting horses. On the 10th, the army began their homeward march, remaining in Chillicothe over night, and destroying a field of corn that had been left standing for their horses on their return. "It is supposed that about five hundred acres of corn were destroyed on this expedition, besides every other vegetable, and food of any kind, to afford nourishment to the foe. Killing a few Indians only served to exasperate them, but destroying their sustenance struck at their vitals, and compelled them to hunt for support, and thus the settlements were left in repose." This state of immunity from Indian outrage lasted but two years. In August, 1782, there was a grand council held at Chillicothe (now Oldtown), composed of the Wyandots, Shawanoes, Mingoes, Tawas, Pottowatomies, Delawares, and numerous other tribes. In their deliberations they were aided by those two fiends in human shape, Girty and McKee. The Revolutionary War was virtually over, and these disgraceful traitors and renegades feared the avenging arm of Virginia, and had thus sought, for their own safety, to instigate the Indians to murder the settlers of the surrounding country. In pursuance of their plans, two armies, one of six hundred, the other of three hundred and fifty, prepared to march to their assigned stations. Toward the last of August, the army of redskins who were destined for Kentucky, marched toward Bryant's Station, placing themselves iii ambush. But in their eagerness for blood, they foiled their own scheme by prematurely firing upon a few stragglers around the fort. INDIAN WARS - 231 The Indians were repulsed by the garrison; and receiving reinforcements from Lexington, Harrodsburg, and Boonesborough, pursuit was immediately commenced, and at the Lower Blue Licks they first caught sight of the foe. From the signs on the trail, the practiced eye of Boone detected evidences of a large force of Indians, and these, he concluded, were in ambush on the opposite bank, and he advised a separation of the forces, and extreme caution. But the impetuous McGary, exclaiming, " Let all who are not cowards follow me," spurred his horse into the river, and was followed by all into the ambush, and the terrible result of his rashness was the slaughter-pen of the Blue Licks. As soon as Gen. G. R. Clarke heard of the disaster at Blue Licks, he determined to chastise the Indians, and, if possible, destroy them. To this end, he called for one thousand men, to be raised from Kentucky, making their headquarters at Cincinnati, where he was to meet them, at the head of a part of an Illinois regiment, of which he then had command, bringing with him one brass field-piece. " The exultant savages had returned to Old Chillicothe, and had divided their spoil and their captives. Colonel Boone was immediately sent for to take part in this expedition. Clarke's army crossed the Ohio, and marching very rapidly up the banks of the Little Miami, arrived within two miles of Chillicothe before they were observed. Here they discovered a solitary straggler, who instantly fled to the village, yelling like a demon at every jump. The troops pressed on with all possible speed, but upon entering the town found it deserted. So precipitate had been their retreat, however, that the enemy left the fires burning, pots boiling, and meat roasting on sticks. This was a treat to the almost famished Kentuckians, who, after full indulgence, proceeded to destroy the 'town, corn, and everything tending to support the savage foe. It is said that on the approach of the army, men, women, and children fled to the forest; leaving everything behind them. Five towns, during this expedition, were left in ashes, and the work of destruction was complete. This campaign so thoroughly crushed the Indians, that no more organized raids were made against the surrounding settlements, and the termination of the Revolutionary War left them to their own resources." Numerous expeditions took place from this till the general out-break in May, 1790. The militia, under General Harmer, attack the Miami villages. Colonel Hardin is defeated October 19th, and 232 - HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. again on the 22d. May 15, 1791, St. Clair organizes his army at Fort Washington, September 17th begins his march, and on November 4th is defeated. From 1780 to 1791, the armies of' Clarke, Harmer, and St. Clair had marched through this section of the country. Here was the favorite home of the Indians; their cornfields, their stronghold, their capital. Here were their councils held, their war dances performed. From here they radiated on their missions of' murder and rapine. Here was the hot-bed of Indian hostility. The triumphs over Harmer and St. Clair incited the savages to renewed barbarities. The frontiers were in continual apprehension of danger. They would retire at night, expecting to awake in flames, by the lurid glare of which the savages would be seen, waving the wreaking tomahawk, bathed in the blood of' their wives and their children. General Wayne meets and conquers the Indians, after a severe battle, August 20, 1794. This decisive battle virtually ended the Indian trouble in the northwestern frontiers, and prepared the way for settlement. Eleven years prior to this battle of General Wayne, Washington, seeing the difficulties that would necessarily grow out of individual settlements in the Indian country, on the 7th day of September, 1783, in a letter to James Duane, a member of congress, urged the necessity of making the settlements more compact, and prohibiting individual purchase of the Indians, even punishing all such purchases, not made by congress or the state legislatures, as felonies. To this end, congress did, on the 18th day of April, 1783, urge the necessity of a cession of the western lands, and on the 13th day of September following, stated the terms upon which it would receive a deed from Virginia, to which she acceded, as we have seen, on the 20th of December of the same year; and on the 1st day of March, 1784, the deed was made, and signed by Thomas Jefferson, Samuel Hardy, Arthur Lee, and James Monroe, delegates in congress from Virginia. It was not deemed advisable to await the settlement of all questions of cession before taking steps to conciliate the Indians and extinguish their title. On the 22d of September all purchases of, or settlements upon, Indian lands were forbidden by congress, and on the 15th of October the commissioners to treat with the Indians were instructed "To require the delivery of all prisoners; to inform the Indians of the boundaries between the British possessions and the United INDIAN WARS - 233 States; and to negotiate for all the land east of the line proposed by Washington, namely: from the mouth of the Great Miami to Mad River (Dayton) ; thence to Fort Miami, on the Maumee ; and thence down the Maumee to the lake, etc." It is believed the first treaty with the Indians extinguishing their title to the lands comprising the present territory of our county, was held at Fort McIntosh, January 21, 1785, at which the United States were represented by George R. Clarke, Richard-Butler, and Arthur Lee, and the chiefs of the Wyandots, Delawares, Chippewas, and Ottawa Indians. The conditions of this treaty were, that three chiefs, one from the Wyandots, and two from the Delaware nations, should be delivered to the commissioners, to be held until all prisoners then in possession of the nations represented should be given up. The boundary line between the United States and the said Indians, was to begin at the river Cuyahoga, and run up that river to the portage between that and the Tuscarawas branch of the Muskingum; then down the said branch to the forks at the crossing place above Fort Lawrence ; thence westwardly to the portage of the Big Miami which runs into the Ohio, at the mouth of which branch (Laramie's Creek) the fort stood, (Fort Laramie) which was taken by the French in 1752 ; then along the said portage to the Great Miami or Ome (Maumee) river; and down the southeast side of the same to its mouth; thence along the south shore of Lake Erie to the mouth of the Cuyahoga, where it began. At the treaty of Fort Harmer, January 9, 1789, between Arthur St. Clair, Governor of the Northwest Territory, and the Wyandots, Delawares, Ottawas, and others, the treaty of Fort McIntosh was confirmed; and in consideration of peace then granted, and the presents they then received, as well as a quantity of goods amounting to $6,000, which were delivered to them, they released and quit claimed, and ceded to the United States all the land east, south, and west of the lines above described. Subsequently, by the treaty of Greenville, August 3, 1795, the boundary lines of the two former treaties were confirmed, so far as from the mouth of the Cuyahoga to the crossing place above Fort Lawrence. "Thence," says this treaty, "westwardly to a fork of that branch of the Great Miami River running into the Ohio, at or near which stood Laramie's store." (Laramie's store, or Pickawillany, was at the mouth of Laramie Creek, in Miami County, but Fort Laramie was sixteen miles up the creek, in Shelby County, 234 - HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. evidently the spot mentioned.) Instead of running up the Maumee, which was formerly called the Miami of the Lake,—and along the southern shore of Lake Erie to the place of beginning, the Greenville treaty line runs to Fort Recovery, thence south in a direct line to the Ohio, intersecting it opposite the mouth of the Kentucky river. (See preceding pages.) By this last treaty all other treaties were confirmed and ratified; and all the territory northwest of the river Ohio, east and south of the above boundary lines, was ceded and relinquished forever by the Indians, " And these lands, or any part of them, shall never hereafter be made a cause or pretense, on the part of the said tribes, or any of them, of war or injury to the United States, or any other people thereof. In consideration of the peace now established, and of the cessions and relinquishment of lands made in the preceding article by the said tribes of Indians, and to manifest the liberality of the United States, as the great means of rendering this peace strong and perpetual, the United States now deliver to the said Indian tribes a quantity of goods to the value of twenty thousand dollars, the receipt whereof they do hereby acknowledge; and henceforward, every year, forever, the United States will deliver, at some convenient place northward of the river Ohio, like useful goods, suited to the circumstances of the Indians, of the value of nine thousand five hundred dollars; reckoning that value at the first cost of the goods in the city or place in the United States where they shall be procured. The tribes to which these goods are to be annually delivered, and the proportions iii which they are to be delivered, are the following: " To the Wyandots, the amount of one thousand dollars. " To the Delawares, the amount of one thousand dollars. "To the Shawanoes, the amount of one thousand dollars. " To the Miamis, the amount of one thousand dollars. "To the Ottawas, the amount of one thousand dollars. "To the Chippewas, the amount of one thousand dollars. " To the Pottawatamies, the amount of one thousand dollars. " And to the Kickapoo, Wea, Eel River, Piankeshaw, and Kaskaskia tribes, the amount of five hundred dollars each. " To prevent any misunderstanding about the Indian lands relinquished by the United States, in the fourth article, it is now explicitly declared that the meaning of that relinquishment is this: The Indian tribes who have a right to these lands are quietly to INDIAN WARS - 235 enjoy them, hunting, planting and dwelling thereon, so long as they please, without any molestation from the United States. But ,when those tribes, or any of them, shall be disposed to sell their lands, or any part of them, they are to be sold only to the United States; and until such sale, the United States will protect all the said Indian tribes in the quiet enjoyment of their lands against all citizens of the United States; and against all other white persons who intrude upon the same. And the said Indians again acknowledge themselves to be under the protection of the United States, and no other power whatever. "The Indians, or the United States, may remove and punish intruders on Indian lands. "Indians may hunt within ceded lands. "Trade shall be opened in substance, as by provisions in treaty of Fort Harmer. "All injuries shall be referred to law, not privately avenged; and all hostile plans known to either, shall be revealed to the other party. "All previous treaties annulled." This great and abiding peace document was signed by the various nations named in the fourth article, and dated August 3d, 1795. It was laid before the Senate, December 9th, and ratified December 22d. So closed the old Indian wars of the West. Thus have we endeavored to trace the history of our county, from the original grant of King James I, April 10, 1606, to Sir Thomas Gates, Sir George Sommers, Richard Hackluit, and Ed-ward Maria Wingfield, " adventurers of and for our city of London," with various additions, May 23, 1609, and March, 1611, (vide sup.) to its cession to the United States by Virginia, March 1, 1784; and on till its final conveyance by the Indians, under the treaties above mentioned, which freed it from savage depredation, prepared it for individual purchase and settlement, and cleared the way for the advancing tide of immigration, which was rapidly moving along the banks' of every stream emptying into that great artery of the northwest, the Ohio River, appropriately called by the French " La Belle Rivier." During the consummation of these various treaties, ranging from the year 1785 to 1795, a portion of the country began to be surveyed, (vide ante pages,) which was followed by purchase and actual occupation. A company, composed of officers and soldiers of the Revolution, was formed in Boston, March, 1786, with Gen. 236 - HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. Rufus Putnam as agent, who, in the spring of 1788, with forty-seven others from Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut, erected a stockade, and formed a permanent settlement known as Marietta. In the winter of 1786, a Mr. Stites, of Redstone, visited congress, then at New York, with a view to settling a tract of country between the two Miamis. John Cleves Symmes, then a member from New Jersey, becoming interested in the scheme, and with an eye to speculation, determined to make a personal investigation; the result of which was the purchase of one million acres between the Miamis, in his name. Soon after, he sold to Mathias Denman, and others, that portion which now forms the site of Cincinnati, and in the fall of 1789 several families from New York, New Jersey, and Redstone, descended the Ohio River in flat-boats, as far as the mouth of the Little Miami. As the Indians manifested hostile intentions, forty soldiers, under Lieutenant Kersey, joined them as an escort and guard. They erected at first a single block house; soon adding to it, however, three others. Subsequently a stockade fort was built on a spot now included within the town of Columbia. In June, 1789, Major Doughty, with one hundred and forty regulars, put up four block houses opposite the mouth of the Licking, on the purchase by Denham of Symmes, and about the same time built Fort Washington. Soon after, General Harmer arrived with three hundred more troops, and occupied the fort. Assured now of protection, Israel Ludlow, Denham, and Patterson, began the erection of cabins along the river, and within range of the fort. During the following winter Ludlow surveyed and laid out the town of Losantiville. (A quadroon production of the Latin os, Greek anti, and French ville, and L unknown.) When General St. Clair came there to reside as Governor of the Northwest Territory, he changed the name to Cincinnati. In 1787 the reserved lands of Virginia were examined, and entries made. In the following year congress protested the validity of these claims, which, however, was withdrawn in 1790. In this year Nathanial Massie entered into an agreement with certain persons to survey these lands, and lay them open for individual purchase; establishing a town above Maysville, called Manchester, from which they made surveying expeditions during the years from 1791 to 1796. Symmes having originally contracted for two million acres of land, and under this contract having disposed of portions of it to settlers along the Little Miami, and vicinity of the present site of INDIAN WARS - 237 Dayton, his failure to pay for but two hundred and forty-eight thousand five hundred and forty acres threw these purchasers to the mercy of the federal rulers, until preemption rights were secured to them by the act of 1799. A few days after Wayne's treaty, St. Clair, Wilkinson, Jonathan Dayton, and Israel Ludlow, purchased the seventh and eighth ranges of Symmes, between Mad River and the Little Miami. On the 21st of September, 1795, Daniel C. Cooper undertook to mark out and survey a road on these lands, which was completed by John Dunlap, October 4th, the same year. November 4th, Israel Ludlow laid off Dayton, and the lots were disposed of by raffle. As the Indians receded, the bold and adventurous pioneers followed closely in their wake. Radiating from their stronghold, they assembled in groups, and put out their little patches of corn ; and shooting out in different directions, the little settlements spread toward all points of the compass, until in passing through the dense forest, the lonely cabin was frequently to be met with, and the smoke might be seen curling up through the closely intertwining branches of the patriarchal oaks. ORGANIZATION AND BOUNDARY. Thoroughly to comprehend the institution and boundary of Fayette, it will be necessary to trace the territory from which it was taken. July 27, 1788, Washington County was formed under the territorial government, and included all that part of Ohio east of a line drawn from Cleveland, up the Cuyahoga, down the Tuscarawas; thence west to the road from the Shawanoes town on the Scioto to Sandusky; thence south to and down the Scioto to its mouth. January 2, 1790, Hamilton was organized, embracing the territory between the two Miamis, as far north from the Ohio as the "standing stone forks " of the Big Miami. June 22, 1798, it was changed so as to include all that part of Indiana lying between the Greenville treaty line, and the western line of Ohio, and all that part of Ohio west of the Little Miami, to the lower Shawanoes towns on the Scioto, and extending north to the outhern line of Wayne. The county of Wayne originally began at the Cuyahoga, ran up that river and down the Tuscarawas to the portage above Ft. Lawrence ; thence west to the east line of Hamilton; thence west, northerly, to the portage of the Miami and St. Marys; thence west, northerly, to the portage of the Wabash and Maumee, where Ft. Wayne now is, extending to the southern point of Lake Michigan; thence along its western shore to the northwest part; thence north to the territorial boundary in Lake Superior, and with the said boundary through lakes Huron, Sinclair, and Erie, to the place of beginning. Ross County was established August 20, 1792. " Beginning at the forty-second mile tree, on the line of the original grant of land by the United States to the Ohio Company, which line was run by Israel Ludlow." This " forty-second mile tree" was forty miles almost due north from Pomeroy, on the Ohio River, and a little distance southwest from Athens, in Athens County. From this ORGANIZATION AND BOUNDARY - 239 point it extended west into the western part of what is now Highland County, about ten miles southwest from Hillsboro; thence north to the southern boundary line of Wayne County, described above ; thence east on said line, to a point on the present southern boundary line of Wayne County, almost due south from Wooster, and a very little east of the eighty-second meridian west longitude; thence south to the place of beginning. The eighty-second meridian west from Greenwich is perhaps not more than a mile west of the original eastern line of Ross County. It will be observed that the original east line of Hamilton was the Little Miami. Yet in the description of Wayne we find the words : "thence by a west line to the eastern boundary of Hamilton " (" which is a due north line from the lower Shawanoes towns on the Scioto "). Also, that a portion of Hamilton, beginning at the mouth of Eagle Creek, was attached to Adams. Highland County originally began at the twenty mile tree, 'due north from the mouth of Elk Creek, on the Ohio; ran east twelve miles; then northeastwardly to the eighteen mile tree from the Scioto, at the intersection of Ross, Clermont, and Adams lines; "thence to the mouth of the rocky fork of Paint Creek; thence up main Paint to the south line of Franklin County (now Pickaway) ; thence with said line west to the east line of Greene County; thence with said line south to the southeast corner of the same; thence with the south line west, to the northeast corner of Clermont (certainly Warren) ; and from the beginning west to the north fork of White Oak Creek; thence north to the line of Warren County ; thence with said line east to corner of Clermont and Warren." (This description is vague.) Fayette was formed January 19, 1810, took effect March 1st, from Ross and Highland. Beginning at the southwest corner of Pickaway, running north " with the line of said county to the corner of Madison ; thence west with said line to the line of Greene County ; thence south with Greene County to the southeast corner thereof; thence east five miles; thence south to the line of High-land County; thence east with said line to Paint Creek; thence in a straight line to place of beginning." All the lower portion was taken from Highland, and the upper from Ross. THE PIONEER. The pioneers were limited in learning, but instructed in their experiences, stern in their virtues, sturdy in their independence, marked in their individuality, frank in their intercourse, hospitable in their homes, fearless in danger. Hospitality was a leading feature of the pioneer. The sick and needy were as well cared for as they have been since. Faith, Hope and Charity were organized. Indeed, these Christian graces did exist at that early day, and were made manifest in the good deeds of the people towards one another, but the process of combination came at a later period. There was a community of social feeling, and nothing like aristocracy or assumed superiority on account of the possession of a few more acres or higher birth showed itself. Nothing of caste to mar the free intercourse of all on the common platform of equality. It can not be disguised, however, that there were persons who gained precedence on account of superior intelligence, and who were looked upon as a kind of oracle in the management of the social, moral and financial affairs of the community in which they resided. The social intercourse among the young people as of the most pleasing nature. Though they met " on the level and parted on the square," there were some of the young men more than others cavaliers, and some of the ladies aspired to reign as belles of society, yet there was no feeling of envy or jealousy ever engendered. Modern balls and parties had not been introduced : indeed the time was all too nearly occupied, both in the field and in the house, to indulge in amusements. There was meeting on Sunday, and the young people would always attend, either walking or going on horseback. The young man would take his sweetheart up behind him on his horse, and all parties would enjoy this mode of travel exceedingly. Young gentlemen were then called boys, and the young ladies were called girls. THE PIONEER - 241 The means of transportation within the reach of the pioneer were most simple and laborious. The ox-wagon, or possibly four horses, when able to have them, conveyed the effects, while the long journey from Virginia, Pennsylvania, or Kentucky, was performed on foot; sleeping by the campfire or the wagon at night; depending on the rifle oftimes for food; burying themselves in a dense forest; cleaving by slow and laborious degrees a little spot for a rude log cabin ; surrounded by wild beasts and still wilder Indians. Emerging from his cabin with his ax on his shoulder, the sturdy woodsman might be seen. With keen eye he surveys the forest round about in search of lurking danger, then "Loud sounds the ax, redoubling strokes on strokes; On all sides round the forest hurls her oaks; Headlong, deep-echoing groan the thickets brown, Then rustling, crackling, crashing thunder down." The trunks were trimmed, the brush piled, and with the help of neighbors the log-rolling took place ; and night was turned into day when the surrounding forests were lit up by the leaping blaze of the huge brush heap and the piles of log's. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF EARLY SETTLERS, JOHN POPEJOY Was one of the first residents of Washington; came in 1811, purchased a lot and erected a log cabin thereon. Shortly after his arrival he was elected justice of the peace. He was considered rather eccentric ; made his legal decisions in accordance with his own ideas of justice, regardless of the laws or testimony bearing on the case. He kept no docket, but made a memorandum of all legal transactions ou a piece of paper which was placed in a crevice in his cabin. He was a native of Virginia, and died in 1816 or 1817. Ile had two sons, John and Edward. Both were extensive dealers in stock. Edward subsequently removed to the far west; John died in this county. JACOB JAMISON Came to this county several years before its organization. Several years after his arrival he purchased laud situated about two miles southwest of the village of Washington, at which place he resided until his death. Iie was a good citizen, a kind neighbor, but unfortunately had an ungovernable temper. Shortly after locating in the county, while living in its northeastern part, he got into a serious difficulty with a neighbor, and was thrice stabbed in the breast with a dirk in the hands of his antagonist. The wound inflicted was a severe one and it was at first supposed that it was mortal, but after being confined to his couch two months he recovered. Ilse was elected successively to the offices of justice of the peace, collector, commissioner and associate judge, serving faithfully and satisfactorily. SAMUEL WADDLE, Judge Daniel McLean's step-father, was a Kentuckian by birth ; removing to Ross County, Ohio, from whence he came to Fayette, in SKETCHES OF EARLY SETTLERS - 243 March, 1810, locating on a piece of ground four or five miles south of Washington. During the Indian troubles of 1812, he engaged in the defense of his country, being chosen major. In 1814 he removed to Washington and two years later engaged in the mercantile business, continuing in the same till his death, which occurred in 1828. In 1814 he purchased seven lots in the town of Washington, for which he paid in cash $10,000. After his death the property did not realize $1,000 outside of the dower set aside for his widow. This instance is cited to illustrate the terrible depreciation of property during that period. JOHN DEWITT, Who was one of the first settlers, was born in Clark County, Kentucky. Accompanied by his uncle, Fredrick Bray, and his brothers, Henry and Gabriel, he left his native soil and came to this state, settling in Ross County ; this was in the year 1806. The party traveled the entire distance on foot ; all Kentuckians were great hunters and therefore good travelers. It is said that Henry Dewitt frequently walked seventy-five miles in a single day. Dewitt remained in Ross County two years and while there entered into the bonds of matrimony with Miss Polly Barker. Soon after the marriage the young couple removed to Fayette County, settling on land located four miles southeast of Washington. Jesse, the youngest son, is at present living on the original homestead. Ile purchased a small farm at first but added to the same and finally owned several thousand acres. This land was originally owned by Baron Steuben, McKay, Duncan McArthur and others, and is situated in Wayne Township. In 1812 Mr. Dewitt volunteered to assist in defending the Americans against the British and their allies, the Indians, and was stationed at Upper Sandusky, where he remained until peace was declared. He was one of the first constables, was then elected justice of the peace and held the position for many years. Ile was considered one of the best hunters, hunting being a favorite pastime with him. When the first court was established in this county, the legal talent of Chillicothe were in the habit of leaving their homes on the day preceding the opening of court, travel to the house of Dewitt and remain over night; there they were always accorded a warm reception. Governors McArthur, Allen and Thurman, were frequent guests at his house. Ministers 244 - HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. of all denominations made his house their headquarters, meetings being held there. He was a member of the Baptist church, always voted the Democratic ticket, and enjoyed good health until a short time prior to his death. His union with Miss Barker was blessed with eleven children : Eveline, intermarried with William Orr (now dead); Jane, wife of James Allen, at present residing in Missouri; Anderson, living at Washington, C. H., in this county; Darlington, now a resident of Iowa ; Decatur, died at the age of 30; Rachel, married Wesley Prior, now living in Missouri ; Peter G., on part of the homestead ; John, occupies a portion of the homestead; Jesse, residing in the old house; Candice, intermarried with Dr. Goldsberry, of Washington, this county; one child died in infancy. JESSE ROWE Left his home in Louisa County, Virginia, at the age of forty, accompanied by his family of eight children—four boys and four girls—most of whom were married: he came to this state locating temporarily at Frankfort, in Ross County. In the year 1808 he removed to this county, settling on Wabash Creek, seven miles south of Washington, where he purchased about fifteen hundred acres of land which was divided amongst his children. It is said of him that he was a very stout, hale and hearty man, being blessed with good lungs and a loud voice. On one occasion several horses strayed from a pasturefield, and two of the boys were directed to go in search of then. When they were about three miles from the house the horses returned. The old gentleman proclaimed this information to the boys, and though nearly three miles distant they heard him and returned to the parental roof. He died in 1845. The following sketch of his life was contributed to the Western Christian Advocate, February 20, 1846, by John W. Keely, Esq.: " Departed this life, at his residence in Fayette County, Ohio, September 15, 1845, Jesse Rowe, senior, in the ninety-first year of his age. He emigrated to Ohio in 1808, from Virginia, and for the last sixty-three years was an acceptable and zealous member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. His house was long, a preaching place and a home for the wayfaring itinerant. The first Methodist class formed in the county was at his house. " He gave evidence of his love for religion and the church of his choice, by his untiring efforts in promoting the cause of Christ, and SKETCHES OF EARLY SETTLERS - 245 sustaining the peculiar institutions of the church. At his own expense he erected a very neat and comfortable meeting-house in his neighborhood, and directed in his will that it should be deeded to the Methodist Episcopal Church, by his executor, for the use of the society worshiping in it. At the same time he willed to the stewards of Washington Circuit, fifty dollars in trust to be invested in some safe way at six per cent interest to be applied as follows : Two dollars to be paid as quarterage, and one dollar as table expenses annually. "This old and much loved veteran of the cross lived to see the fourth generation. He had nine children, forty-eight grandchildren, sixty-three great grand children and one great great grand child. Many of these are following in his footsteps and imitating his example. 'Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.' " THOMAS GREEN Was born in Hampshire County, Virginia, in the year 1784. In 1807 he was married to Margaret Jobe, and in the following year the young couple, accompanied by a man named Jury and his wife, removed to this state. They came in a four-horse wagon ; the country was scarcely traversable, and frequently were they obliged to cut their way through the almost impenetrable forests; at other times they constructed rafts that they might cross the many streams. The party settled near Hillsboro, in Highland County, where they remained until 1810, at which time the Greens removed to this county, locating four miles southeast of Washington, on Buckskin. Green was a member of the jury that was empaneled by the first court ever held in the town of Washington. He hired a substitute to go out in the war of 1812, but volunteered as teamster and hauled supplies for the American army. In 1816 he removed to Greene County, thence to Clarke; in 1826 he returned to this county. He frequently hauled pork and produce to Zanesville and Cincinnati, exchanging them for family supplies; being usually accompanied by Philip Moore. Green was captain of a home militia company for a number of years, and also justice of the peace of Paint Township. He at one time owned about fourteen hundred acres of land and was an extensive trader in cattle and hogs. His wife died in 1840 ; he in 1871, aged eighty-seven. His son, Hamilton, who was born in 1811, yet resides on the farm formerly owned by Adam Funk. 246 - HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. COLONEL JAMES STEWART. Perhaps none of the early settlers labored with more zeal in the interest of the new county, or enjoyed a greater influence than Colonel James Stewart. With his father he came from Maryland, his native state, in 1807. They purchased land in Ross County—five hundred acres—in Marion Township, where George Fullerton now resides ; two hundred and fifty acres on the waters of Compton's Creek, and two hundred and fifty acres adjoining the latter tract. They then returned to Maryland, and in 1800 came with the family and settled in Ross County, near Frankfort. In 1810 James came to this county and located on land adjoining Bloomingburg, where his son George now resides. In 1812 he was appointed colonel of a regiment which was made up of Fayette County men. They were ordered to the frontier and participated in several engagements. After the war lie was appointed surveyor and was kept very busy by purchasers of lands. His brother Robert was the original director of the town of Washington, and upon his resignation the colonel was appointed to fill the vacancy. HUGH STEWARD Was born in 1805 and at the age of five he came to Bloomingburg to "carry chips" for his sister, who kept house for James. In a few years he went back to Ross County, but in 1828 settled in Bloomingburg, where he still resides. PHILIP MOOR Was a native of Clark County, Kentucky, where he lived until 1811, when he removed with his family, consisting of his wife and nine children, to this state. The journey was made by teams, the Ohio being crossed on rafts at Maysville, and was of four weeks' duration. Adam Funk, who was a neighbor of Moor's before he left Kentucky, purchased for the latter a part of the Hoof survey, in Paint Township, containing three hundred acres, and paid nine hundred dollars for the same. The family took possession on the 1st of April, 1811, about one year after the first court bad been held in the same cabin they now occupied, then owned by Devault. SKETCHES OF EARLY SETTLERS - 247 JAMES KIRKPATRICK Left Virginia in the year 1810, accompanied by his wife and two children (one child was left behind), and William Young, his brother-in-law. While yet on the other side of the Ohio River, they fell in company with the Ray and Fifer families, who accompanied them as far as Madison County. The remaining members of the party came to Fayette, and on Christmas Eve of the same year arrived at the cabin of Solomon Soward, in Jefferson Township, where they remained during the winter. Upon arriving in this county, they stopped at the cabin of Captain Joseph Parrett, and upon inquiring for Soward's cabin, were informed that it was located about two miles further on, on Paint Creek. No road but a bridle path led to the place, and they were compelled to leave the wagons behind them. The next morning they returned for the same, and found the goods (among which was a tin box containing eight hundred dollars) unmolested. Indians frequently came to Soward's, bringing deer barns, and exchanging them for corn meal. The Virginians were exceedingly anxious to see the camp of the savages, and on the Sunday following their arrival, followed a squaw, who had been at the house, to the encampment, which was located on the high bank of Paint Creek, on the Reuben Vesay farm. The redskins, about thirty in number, were peaceable, but did not appear well pleased with the visit, and left the neighborhood a few days after, and never returned. In 1811, Kirkpatrick and Jacob Dunkle purchased of Mr. Gatch, of Chillicothe, the Mosley survey in Jefferson Township, containing one thousand acres, a portion of which is now owned by his son Henry Kirk. He engaged in the war of 1812, served as county commissioner, and was one of Fayette's prominent citizens. He died January 1, 1840; his wife, April 16, 1863. The union was blessed with thirteen children, of whom five are living. For the sake of convenience the family name has been changed from Kirkpatrick to Kirk. JAMES HAYS, A native of Virginia, came to Kentucky in an early day, where he was wedded to Letta Rankins. In the first days of this century, the family came to the mouth of Big Belly, Pickaway County, and 248 - HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. presumably in 1805 to this county. They settled on a two hundred acre tract in Paint Township. The sight is now owned by Charles Hays. Three of his sons were in the war of 1812. When the family first effected a settlement, there was no habitation between their humble cabin and Frankfort (then called Oldtown). Hays died in 1850. The family consisted of twelve children, of which Benjamin, the youngest, alone is now living. Mr. Hays was township trustee for a number of years. GEORGE CREAMER Came to Fayette, in 1810, from Berkeley County, Virginia, in company with four sons, Michael, Joseph, David, and George. George and Michael had families. The others were married soon after their arrival; Joseph to Margaret Miller, and David to Elizabeth Smith. They settled in Jefferson Township, on Sugar Creek, in which their posterity now reside. At the surrender of Hull, Joseph, Michael, and David responded to the call for volunteers to aid in suppressing the anticipated invasion by the British. The Creamers have frequently held offices of public trust. David was long surveyor, and also justice of the peace. George, sen., died about 1825; his son George in 1861, Michael in 1840, David in 1860, and Joseph in 1872. J. B. Creamer, son of George, jr., was married in April, 1833, and settled on his present place, about. half a mile south of Jeffersonville. He was county commissioner from 1844 to 1850, and also served as justice of the peace and trustee, and was elected land appraiser in 1870. His son Andrew R. is the present state senator from this district. The late M. S. Creamer was a son of Wesley Creamer, and grandson of Michael Creamer. He represented Fayette in the legislature, but died before his term expired. PHILIP FENT Came to this county from Green County, Tennessee, about the year 1814, accompanied by his wife and five children. A native of Virginia, he married Catharine Parrett, also born in that state; thence removed to Tennessee, and at the breaking out of the revolutionary war enlisted in the American army, serving faithfully for a period of seven years. At the close of the war he received a military warrant for a tract of land situated in this county, and determined to SKETCHES OF EARLY SETTLERS - 249 settle thereon. Accordingly a party of about thirty people, consisting of the Fents, Parretts, and Fancheers, started for Ohio in four wagons, and at the expiration of three weeks, found themselves within the limits of Fayette County. Fent was entitled to two hundred acres of land, and before leaving his native state, entrusted an uncle, who was a resident of Fayette, with the selection, etc., of his property. The latter procured the land, but lost. it through bad management, in consequence of which his nephew was forced to look for a new tract. He settled in what is now known as Jefferson Township, on two hundred acres of land, now occupied by Eli Parrett, purchasing but fifty acres at first, and exchanging his wagon for the same. Fent's wife died about the year 1816, and he survived until 1835. His son James, born in 1801, resides at Jeffersonville; a daughter in Illinois. The descendants are thrifty farmers of this county. WILLIAM ROBINSON, SEN., A native North Carolinian, removed to Virginia with his family in the closing years of the eighteenth century. In 1801 he came to Ohio with his sons, now grown to manhood, and settled in Greene County, about five miles southeast of Xenia, where they remained several years, then removed to this county. Desiring to explore this locality before leaving, they went to Martin Mendenhall's, then the only person living iii the vicinity of what is now known as Jamestown, who put them on an old trace leading to Chillicothe, which they followed until it struck Sugar Creek, near where Jeffersonville now stands. The party camped in a white oak grove, about one hundred yards from the Isaac Parrett farm. Their sleep was disturbed by the buzzing of bees overhead, and on the following morning they discovered a considerable amount of honey, on which they feasted to their heart's content. They decided to settle here; William, sen., on the present site of Jeffersonville, where Richard Fox now lives ; his son William on the " Wright farm," just across the creek from .Jeffersonville; Thomas and Abner removed to the land now owned by Louis James; the other son, Nicholas, on Rattlesnake Creek. William, jr., was a teamster in the war of 1812 ; Thomas was captain of a company organized in this county. Grandfather Robinson died in 1840; his son William in 1874; the others moved to the West. Thomas settled at Fort 250 - HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. Wayne, Indiana; Nicholas in Cohoes County, Illinois; Abner at Vincennes, Indiana. There was one daughter, who married Joseph Hosier, and lived in Greene County. ADAM ALLEN, Was a native of Pennsylvania, but ran away from home at the age of sixteen, and enlisted in the revolutionary war, where he remained till its close, when he went to Kentucky and engaged in running the Upper and Lower Blue Lick Salt Works. He was passionately fond of hunting, and found a paradise in this state, where game abounded. Ile was married, it is thought, while in Kentucky, to Miss Kyger. The couple came to near Springfield, Clarke County, Ohio, which at that time consisted of a few scattering cabins. During the war of 1812, he started to Fort Wayne to join the American army. However, the war had closed before he arrived at his destination. He next came to this county with his family, and "squatted" on the site of Allentown, now the junction of the P. & S. E. and C. M. & C. railroads. Ile retained his hunting propensities, killed much game, and provided venison for the family table and buckskin for the wearing apparel of the young men. Allen afterward removed to the immediate vicinity of the hamlet of Allentown, in which he resided till his death, which occurred in 1851, at the age of ninety-four years. He was a patriotic citizen, and often predicted the war of the rebellion. He had eight children, four of whom survive: Elijah, William, and Ethan, who reside near the old home, and Adam, who resides in Madison County. JAMES SANDERSON, A Kentuckian, removed to Ohio with his family in 1812, settling on the Hite survey, No. 1,223, consisting of one thousand acres, in this county. Two of his sons, James and Aleck, were active participants of the war of 1812, at the close of which they returned to their home, and assisted in tilling the soil. One of the sons, Harvey, whose son now resides on the old homestead, assisted in cutting out the first roads of this vicinity. The family followed an old Indian trace when removing from Kentucky. The elder Sandersons have long since gone to that country from whose bourne no traveler returns. Harvey, sen., died in 1876. His wife is still living at the advanced age of eighty-six. SKETCHES OF EARLY SETTLERS - 251 JACOB A. RANKIN Was born in Ross County, Ohio, in the year 1800, and at the age of twelve or thirteen left the parental roof, because of the dissipation of his father, came to Bloomingburgh, in this county, and was employed by Judge Gillespie as a farm hand. His mother, who accompanied him, (lied soon after. His father came here also, and died in September, 1828. Rankin was a poor lad, but managed to save enough from his scanty earnings in the course of a few years, to enable him to rent a farm. He was married to Elizabeth Kerr, a daughter of Jacob Kerr. They removed to a farm south of Plymouth, in the David Persinger neighborhood. He was for many years a justice of the peace, and held other offices of trust. In 1834, he settled on a portion of the land now owned by his son Smith, at Milledgeville, where he lived till February, 1876, when death called him to a country where pioneer struggles are unknown. His wife died in December, 1879. RAFE DURHAM, Though not an early resident of this county, has lived in its immediate vicinity for more than sixty years. A native of Berkshire County, Virginia, he immigrated to this state with his family and aged father in 1816, locating at New Holland, in Pickaway County. He removed to his present place (survey No. 8119, Marion Township) in 1835-6. The vicinity was then but thinly settled, every one living in peace and quietude. Property was considered safe, and locks and keys were comparatively unknown. He was well acquainted with the participants in the great Funk fight, being a member of the rifle company commanded by Captain James Mills, and pressed into service on that occasion. Prior to his departure from Virginia, he entered the bonds of matrimony with Elizabeth Elliott, with whom he lived happily for sixty-seven years. The pair were not separated from each other for more than ten days at any one time, until death parted them for the time being. She was aged eighty-seven at the time of her death (August, 1880), being several months older than her husband, who lives quietly in the old home, realizing that his days are numbered, and that he will soon be reunited to the companion of his youth. 252 - HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. THOMAS FULLERTON Was a native of Greencastle, Pennsylvania. At a suitable age he attended Yale College, in which he graduated with high honors. He then engaged in business in the city of Baltimore, and continued until the year 1812, when he failed. Together with others, who had been alike unfortunate, he conceived the idea of going to the northwest, and came to Fayette in 1814, settling near Bloomingburgh. Being a fine penman, he was visited by many of the pioneers, and requested to draw up various instruments for them. A fast friend of Batter Harrison, he was often consulted by him on matters of importance. A few years later he began teaching school, continuing in this profession for upward of thirty years. A great many peaches were grown in this locality, peach brandy being the favorite beverage of the inhabitants. At one time, five distilleries in and about Bloomingburgh were engaged in the manufacture of' this drink. Rye was taken to Chillicothe, and exchanged for whisky. Fullerton died many years ago. His son George S. is an old and respected citizen of Marion Township. HENRY STROPE. July 7, 1812, witnessed the departure of Henry Strope, a native of Pennsylvania, who, accompanied by his family, consisting of his wife and nine children, crossed the Alleghanies in the "old-fashioned wagon," and arrived at Chillicothe on the 15th of September, remaining there until 1814, at which time they removed to this county, settling on a farm in the present limits of Marion Town-ship, now owned by Burnett Mooney, consisting of twelve hundred acres, which was rented of Adam Turner. During the war of' 1812 he drove cattle to Fort Meigs, for the use of the American army. He lived a quiet life, raised a large family, but accumulated little property, and died in 1848. His son, 'Squire Strope, has lived on the farm he now owns sixty-five years, was the first justice of the peace of Marion Township, and still continues in that office. GENERAL BATTEAL HARRISON Was born in Warfield, Virginia, in 1780. His father's name was Benjamin, a cousin to the father of W. H. Harrison, whose name SKETCHES OF EARLY SETTLERS - 253 was also Benjamin. Batteal's father was a soldier in the Revolution, fought under Washington ; was a descendant of the illustrious Benjamin Harrison, who led the army of Cromwell in his long and bloody struggle. When quite a child Batteal and his parents started for the wilds of Kentucky. While waiting at his aunt's, in Wheeling, where they were to take the boat, she prevailed upon his parents, on account of the great danger from Indians, to leave the boy with her until the family were located and the danger had subsided. Two years after they returned for him, but he had become so attached to her that he refused to leave her ; they even undertook to force him to accompany them, but she persuaded them to let him stay and they returned without him, and he remained with her until he was grown to be a man. Wishing to see his parents he started, first going to St. Clairsville, Ohio, then to Chillicothe, where, learning that his mother was dead, he abandoned the idea of going to Kentucky, recruited a company and entered the war of 1812, during which, in 1812 or 1813, he married Miss Elizabeth Scott, daughter of Dr. Joseph Scott, of Chillicothe, and after the war, in 1815, removed to the north fork of Paint Creek and settled on a tract of land located by John A. Fulton on a warrant obtained by the services of his father in the revolutionary war, and which during his (Batteal's) services in 1812, he employed Fulton to enter on the best vacant land, and by reason of his failure to do so, he sued him for breach of contract and recovered heavy damages. This tract of land was situated in Madison Township, on the north fork of Paint Creek near the center of the township on the Columbus pike, now occupied in part by Sheffelbarker. There were one thousand and forty acres in this body. He also owned six hundred acres not far from it and other pieces amounting in the aggregate to about two thousand two hundred acres. He was one of the most prominent men in the county ; served gloriously in the war of 1812 (which see), was elected one of the earliest associate justices of the court, at first a colonel, then commissioned a brigadier general of the home militia, and served several terms in the legislature, during which the following anecdote is related of him : Harrison had one failing ; honest and upright in all things, he had a strong liking for whisky. While he was a member of the legislature, and during a session of the same, Judge Green, then of Chillicothe but now a resident of Columbus, and also a member of 254 - HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. the legislative body, introduced a bill which provided for the employment of a corps of men who were to make a geological survey of the state. Harrison opposed the measure, giving as his reasons that the general condition of the state and her inhabitants did not justify the commencement of the work at that time. It was discovered by the friends of the bill that it could not be passed unless Harrison was induced to alter his opinion regarding it. Green proposed that five or six of them meet in his room on a certain evening, Harrison was to be invited and liquor was to be furnished in abundance. On the appointed evening all the parties, including Harrison, met at Judge Green's rooms. After the guests had imbibed pretty freely of the liquor, the possibility of passing the "geological survey bill" was discussed and Harrison was importuned to use his influence in its support. The latter when driven to the wall would say : "Let's have another round of Judge Green's good whisky." His request was complied with several times in quick succession. Finally all the occupants of the room became very drunk, Harrison being more sober than his companions. Again they requested him earnestly to come over to their side of the question, to which he replied : "Well, General Green, let's have a little more of your whisky and then I'll talk about the 'geological survey.'" The bottle was passed; he took another drink and said : "Gentlemen, this is excellent whisky, and it is certainly very kind in General Green in supplying us with such a good article, but I will see you all eternally d—d before I will vote for that bill." General Harrison lost his wife in 1851, he following in 1857. Three sons and one daughter are still living. William lives in Washington, this county ; Benjamin, in Madison, Ohio, and David in Missouri. Their sister married Thomas Vance, still survives as his widow, and lives on a portion of the original tract owned by her father. John J., the youngest son, participated in the rebellion and died at Augusta, Georgia. Scott, captain of a regiment in the One Hundred and Fourteenth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, died in S ____ County, Missouri, October, 1878. OLD SETTLERS. The Aliens, Ananias and his sons, came from Pennsylvania, about 1809 or 1810. and settled near Bloomingburg, on what was then called the "New Purchase," which was so called because it was the first purchase on the east fork of Paint Creek. The Aliens all took part in the war of 1812. Enoch Harvey, with his father, Samuel, and brother, James, came from Virginia, and settled on Deer Creek, near Yankeetown, about 1810. The Coons also came from Virginia, and in about 1800 located near the site of the Harveys, putting up four or five little cabins for their accommodation. Albert Ogden was a Virginian; came to this county in 1803 or 1804, and settled north of Yankeetown. Isaac Dickinson came from Virginia, and located near Yankeetown, on the farm now occupied by Tom Jones. John Page was a settler of 1804, and a Virginian; was one of the first justices of the peace of the county. Settled near the Dickinsons. James McCafferty and his brothers were Virginians, and came here about 1804, and settled northwest of Yankeetown. William Morgan came also from the Old Dominion, in about 1808, and settled first in Ross County; then located adjoining Samuel Myers, on Duff's Fork of Deer Creek. Charles White came from Maryland, about 1809 or 1810; settled west of Myers' on Long Branch of Deer Creek. Thomas Barton, son of Stephen Barton, came from Virginia, about 1804 or 1805, and settled just across Deer Creek from Yankeetown. Jesse Stretch came from Pennsylvania in 1804, and located south of Yankeetown. William Sawyer came from the " Emerald Isle" in 1810, and put up a cabin near Stretch. 256 - HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. James Rozzell, from Pennsylvania, and Amos Hawkins, from Virginia, came in 1810, and stopped near Yankeetown. Amstead Carder, from Virginia, settled on the Springfield road, south of Bloomingburg. He was a son of Sanford Carder, an old revolutionary soldier, who drew a pension for his services in the same. John McGowen was cook in the war of 1812, in S. Myers' company. Two bachelors, by the name of George Kyle and Alexander Riley, lived together in a cabin near Bloomingburg, but finally quarrelled and parted, because one accused the other of being intolorably filthy. Riley subsequently moved to Compton's Creek, but cut hay and fed cattle on his farm. He would go in the evening to feed his cattle, crawl into the hay stack and remain till morning, feed again, and return home. These old bachelors came to the county some time previous to 1810. Daniel Hinkle, a tall swarthy Virginian, was a powerful man, and noted fisticuffer. John and Samuel Herrod, were sons-in-law of Sanford Corder; both came from Virginia, and in, about, 1808, settled on the west side of Madison Township. Thomas Cook came from Maryland in 1808. James Thompson, son-in-law of James Hayes, came from Kentucky, and settled on a fork of the north fork of Paint Creek, which afterwards took his name. George Busic, in 1806, settled on Deer Creek, hailing from the Old Dominion." Sol. Parker, also a Virginian, settled on the Springfield road in 1808. George Jamison, froth Kentucky, settled on Deer Creek, near the old trace leading to Chillicothe. James Kerr, from Virginia, settled on the Springfield road. John McIntire, a very early settler, located south of Yankee-town. Gideon Veezey settled on the farm now owned by Nathaniel Veezey, on Paint Creek. Salmon settled on a part of the old Veezey farm. He came from Delaware in about 1805 or 1806. In the spring of 1811, Joel Wood, Adam Harper, and Michael Kerr, settled on a tract of land embracing 1,035 acres, survey Nos. OLD SETTLERS - 257 5780, 7043, and 6879, lying partly in Paint and partly in Jefferson townships, with Paint Creek running through the center. Mr. Wood moved from Pendleton County, Virginia, and being a man of intelligence was- created one of the first justices of the peace of the county. Mr. Harper came from Ross County and remained about a year, when he returned, and his son Benjamin took charge of the farm. Mr. Kerr came from Pendleton County, Virginia, and first settled in Jefferson Township. Ile was a farmer, and the father of Col. S. F. Kerr, of Washington. Thomas McDonald came from Kentucky to Ross County in 1794, with Nathaniel Massie, and in about 1811 removed to Fayette and settled. In 1810, or 1811, there was a large family of Aliens left Pennsylvania, and settled in this county. Many of their descendants are still living: Elijah lived near the old Myers place, on the Bloomingburg and Danville pike, about four miles from the former; James and John lived near the present site of Bloomingburg. There were also George, David, and Ananias. PROMINENT PHYSICIANS. THOMAS M'GARA. Dr. Thomas McGara was a native of Pennsylvania, where his boyhood days were spent. In the fall of 1812 he left the land of his fathers', came to this county and settled in Washington, engaging in the practice of medicine, being the first practicing physician in the county. His family consisted of a wife and two children, Joseph and Jane—the latter never married. Joseph married a lady named Smith, and engaged in the medical profession in Greenfield and Ross County. The elder McGara was a great favorite of the people ; was elected to the state legislature, serving his constituents faithfully for a period of six years. e died at the age of eighty-eight, retaining his faculties to the last, having continued in his medical pursuits until one year prior to his death. e was an uncle of Judge Daniel McLean—his mother's brother. e was a very popular man, of a slow, deliberate disposition and somewhat singular in his habits. DR. BALDRIDGE. The second physician (according to some the first) was Dr. Baldridge, who came here in about the year 1811. With his medical duties he combined those of a minister of the gospel. He was a member of the Presbyterian Church ; had a wife and one child. BENJAMIN HINTON. The next physician of more than ordinary ability was Benjamin Hinton, who came from Highland County in 1818. A few years after his settlement in this county he was united in marriage with Rachel Stimpson. He was an energetic and upright citizen and noted for his great kindness to patients. Mr. Hinton was a mem- PROMINENT PHYSICIANS - 259 ber of the legislature, and county treasurer (collector) for many years. In 1838 he removed to Peru, Indiana, where he died some years ago. JAMES HINTON. James Hinton, a brother of Benjamin, was a member of the pioneer medical fraternity of this county. Unlike his brother, who died in comparative poverty, he rapidly accumulated a fortune. He finally left for the west, settling in McLean County, Illinois, where he purchased a tract of land containing fourteen hundred acres. He is now seventy-seven years of age, but still continues in the practice of his chosen profession. HABITS AND CUSTOMS OF THE PIONEERS. DRESS AND FURNITURE. In these days of primitive simplicity the women were not afraid to work. They milked, cooked, spun, wove, and made garments for themselves and the other members of the household. The men raised their little crops, brought in meat, generally from the woods, ground the corn, fought the Indians, built the cabins, and protected the women. Dress did not then require so much labor and trigonometry as it does now. Then six yards of linsey would envelop the natural form of the pioneer woman ; now twenty-six scarce will suffice, besides other accessories, too numerous and intricate to mention. Then buckskin breeches, linsey hunting-shirt, coon-skin cap, and moccasins encased the stalwart form of' the hunter; now the perfumed fop, dressed in broadcloth, beaver, kid, and patent leather, is redolent with musk and night-blooming cereus. Tin cups were not aspired to except by the wealthy. The table consisted of a hewed slab, with four legs, and for chairs, a stool of the same material, with three legs. For bureaus and wardrobes (they didn't know what a dressing-case meant), a hickory tree was girdled all around in two places, a line cut through from one to the other, and the bark taken off and sewed together, with a bottom and cover of the same material, which, when smoothed, made a very good article. We take a description of the hunting-shirt from Western Annals: This was a kind of loose frock, reaching half way down the thighs, with large sleeves, open before, and so wide as to lap over a foot or more when belted. The cape was large, and sometimes handsomely fringed with a raveled piece of cloth of' a different color. The bosom of his dress served as a wallet, to hold a chunk of bread, calve's jerk, tow for wiping the barrel of' his rifle, or any thing necessary for the hunter or warrior. The belt, which was al-ways tied behind, answered various purposes. In cold weather the PIONEER HABITS AND CUSTOMS - 261 mittens, and sometimes the bullet-bag, the tomahawk, and knife, were attached to it. The hunting-shirt was generally made of linsey, sometimes of coarse linen, and frequently of deerskin, which latter was very disagreeable when wet. "The thighs were protected by breeches and leggins, and the feet by moccasins, made generally out of a single piece of buckskin, with a gathering seam along the top of the foot, and another from the bottom of the heel as high as the ankle joint. Flaps were left on each side to fasten tightly around the ankle and leg by means of deerskin thongs. In cold weather they were stuffed with dry leaves or hair, which kept the feet warm, but in wet weather they were useless, and it is said, ‘only a decent way of going bare-footed.' " DEFENSES. The means of defense consisted of cabins, block-houses, and stockades. A range of cabins built about six feet apart, joined together by logs on the outside, generally formed one side of the fort. On the exposed side the walls were from ten to twelve feet high, from which the roof sloped inward. But few of these cabins had a puncheon floor, mostly being earthen. After the ancient custom of castles, the block-houses were built at each angle of the fort or stockade. They projected about two feet beyond the outer walls of the cabins. Their upper stories were nearly two feet every way larger than the lower, leaving an opening at the commencement of the second story, to prevent the enemy from making a lodgment under their walls. A large folding gate, made of thick slabs, nearest the spring, closed the fort. These rude structures were furnished with port-holes at proper heights and distances. It will be remembered that all of these were made without a nail, spike, or iron fastening of any description. HEALTH. Owing to the defective covering of the feet, more than to any other circumstance, the greater number of our hunters and warriors were afflicted with the rheumatism in their limbs. Of this disease they were all apprehensive in cold or wet weather, and 262 - HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. therefore always slept with their feet to the fire to prevent or cure it as well as they could. This practice unquestionably had a very salutary effect, and prevented many of them from becoming confirmed cripples in early life. WEDDINGS. For a long time after the first settlement of this country the inhabitants in general married young. There was no distinction of rank and very little of fortune. On these accounts the first impression of love resulted in marriage, and a family establishment cost but little labor and nothing else. In the first years of the settlement of this country a wedding engaged the attention of a whole neighborhood, and the frolic was anticipated by old and young with eager anticipation. This is not. to be wondered at, when it is told that a wedding was almost the only gathering which was not accompanied with the labor of reaping, log rolling, building a cabin, or planning some scout or campaign. In the morning of the wedding day the groom and attendants assembled at the house of his father for the purpose of reaching the mansion of his bride by noon, which was the usual time for celebrating the nuptials, which, for certain reasons, must take place before dinner. Let the reader imagine an assemblage of people, without a store, tailor or mantua-maker within a hundred miles; and an assemblage of horses, without a blacksmith or saddler within an equal distance. The gentlemen dressed in shoe-packs, moccasins, leather breeches, leggins, linsey hunting shirts, all homemade. The ladies dressed in linsey petticoats and linsey or linen bed-gowns, coarse shoes, stockings, handkerchiefs, and buckskin gloves, if any. If there were any buckles, rings, buttons or ruffles, they were the relics of old times—family pieces from parents or grandparents. The horses were caparisoned with old saddles, old bridles or halters, and pack-saddles, with a bag or blanket thrown over then : a rope or string as often constituted the girth as a piece of leather. The march, in double file, was often interrupted by the narrowness and obstructions of our horse-paths, as they were called, for we had no roads ; and these difficulties were often increased, sometimes by the good and sometimes by the ill-will of neighbors, by PIONEER HABITS AND CUSTOMS - 263 falling trees and tying grape vines across the way. Sometimes an ambuscade was formed by the wayside, and an unexpected discharge of several guns took place, so as to cover the wedding company with smoke. Let the reader imagine the scene which followed this discharge : the sudden spring of the horses, the shrieks of the girls, and the chivalric bustle of their partners to save them from falling. Sometimes, in spite of all that could be done to prevent it, some were thrown to the ground. If a wrist, elbow, or ankle happened to be sprained, it was tied with a handkerchief and little more was thought or said about it. Another ceremony took place before the party reached the house of the bride, after the practice of making whisky began, which was at an early period : when the party were about one mile from the place of their destination, two young men would single out to run for the bottle; the worse the path, the more logs, brush and deep hollows the better, as these obstacles afforded an opportunity for the greater display of intrepidity and horsemanship. The English fox chase in point of danger to the riders and their horses, is nothing to this race for the bottle. The start was announced by an Indian yell ; logs, brush, muddy hollows, hill and glen were speedily passed by the rival ponies. The bottle was always filled for the occasion, so that there was no use for judges ; for the first who reached the door was presented with the prize, with which he returned in triumph to the company. On approaching them, he announced his victory over his rival by a shrill whoop. At the head of the troop, he gave the bottle first to the groom and his attendants, and then to each pair in succession to the rear of the line, giving each a dram and then putting the bottle in the bosom of his hunting-shirt, took his station in the company. The ceremony of the marriage preceded the dinner, which was a substantial backwoods feast of beef; pork, fowls, and sometimes venison and bear meat, roasted and boiled, with plenty of potatoes, cabbage and other vegetables. During the dinner the greatest hilarity always prevailed; although the table might be a large slab of timber, hewed out with a broad ax, supported by four sticks set in augur holes, and the furniture some old pewter dishes, the rest wooden bowls and trenches; a few pewter spoons, much battered about the edges, were to be seen at some tables. The rest were made of horns. If knives were scarce, the deficiency was made up by scalping knives which were carried in sheaths suspended to the belt of the hunting shirt. 264 - HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. After dinner the dancing commenced and generally lasted until the next morning. The figures of the dances were three and four handed reels, or square sets, and jigs. The commencement was always a square four, which was followed by what was called jigging it off: that is, two of the four would single out for a jig and were followed by the remaining couple. The jigs were often accompanied by what was called cutting: that is, when either of the parties became tired of the dance, on intimation the place was supplied by some one of the company without any interruption of the (lance. In this way a dance was often continued till the musician was heartily tired of his situation. Toward the latter part of the night, if any of the company, through weariness, attempted to conceal themselves for the purpose of sleeping, they were hunted up, paraded on the floor, and the fiddler ordered to play "Hang on till tomorrow morning." About nine or ten o'clock, a deputation of young ladies stole off the bride and put her to bed. In doing this it frequently happened that they had to ascend a ladder, instead of a pair of stairs, leading from the dining and ball room to the loft, the floor of which was made of clapboards lying loose and without nails. This ascent, one might think, would put the bride and her attendants to the blush ; but as the foot of the ladder was commonly behind the door, which was purposely opened for the occasion, and its rounds at the inner ends were well hung with hunting shirts, petticoats and other articles of clothing, the candles being on the opposite side of the house, the exit of the bride was noticed by but few. This done, a deputation of young men in like manner stole oft' the groom and placed him snugly by the side of his bride. The dance still continued, and if seats happened to be scarce, which was very often the case, every young man, when not engaged in the dance, was obliged to offer his lap as a seat for one of the girls, and the offer was sure to be accepted. In the midst of this hilarity the bride and groom were not forgotten. Pretty late in the night, some one would remind the company that the new couple must stand in need of some refreshment: "Black Betty," which was the name of the bottle, was called for, and sent up the ladder; but some times " Black Betty" did not go alone, many times as much bread, beef and cabbage as would afford a good meal for half a dozen hungry men were sent along with her. The young couple were compelled to eat and drink, more or less, of whatever was offered them. PIONEER HABITS AND CUSTOMS - 265 It often happened that some neighbors, or relations, not being asked to the wedding took offense, and the mode of revenge adopted by them, on such occasions, was that of . cutting off the manes, foretops, and tails of the horses of the wedding company. SETTLING A YOUNG COUPLE. We will next state the usual manner of settling a young couple in the world : A spot was selected on a piece of laud, of one of the parents, for their habitation. A day was appointed shortly after their marriage, for commencing the work of building their cabin. The fatigue party consisted of choppers, whose business it was to fell the trees, and cut them off at proper lengths ; a man with a team for hauling them to the place, and arranging them, properly assorted, at the sides and ends of the building; a carpenter, if such he might be called, whose business it was to search the woods for a proper tree for making clapboards for the roof. The tree for this purpose must be straight grained, and from three to four feet in diameter. The boards were split four feet long, with a large f row, and as wide as the timber would allow. They were used without planing or shaving. Another division was employed in getting puncheons for the floor of the cabin ; this was done by splitting trees, about eighteen inches in diameter, and hewing the faces of them with a broad-ax. They were half the length of the floor, they were intended to make. The materials for the cabin were mostly prepared on the first day, and sometimes the foundation laid in the evening. The second day was alloted for the raising. PUTTING UP THE HOUSE. In the morning of the next day, the neighbors collected for the raising. The first thing to be done was. the election of four corner men, whose business it was to notch and place the logs. The rest of the company furnished them with the timbers. • In the mean-time, the boards and puncheons were collected for the floor and roof, so that by the time the cabin was a few rounds high, the sleepers and floors began to be laid. The door was made by sawing, or cutting, the logs in one side, so as to make an opening about 266 - HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. three feet wide. This opening was secured by upright pieces of timber, about three inches thick, through which holes were bored into the ends of the logs for the purpose of pinning them fast. A similar opening, but wider, was made at the end for the chimney. This was built of logs, and made large to admit of a back and jambs of stone. At the square, two end logs projected a foot or eighteen inches beyond the wall to receive the butting-poles, as they were called, against which the ends of the first row of clap-boards was supported. The roof was formed by making the end logs shorter, until a single log formed the comb of the roof; on these logs the clapboards were placed, the ranges of them laping some distance over those next below them, and kept in their places by logs placed at proper distances upon them. The roof, and sometimes the floor, were finished on the same day of the raising. . A third day was commonly spent by a few carpenters in leveling off the floor, making a clapboard door, and a table. This last was made of a split slab, and supported by four round logs set in auger holes. A few three legged stools were made in the same manner. A few pins stuck in the logs, at the back of the house, supported some clapboards which served for shelves for the table furniture. A single fork, placed with its lower end in a hole in the floor, and the upper end fastened to a joist served for a bedstead, by placing a pole in the fork with one end through a crack between the logs of the wall. This front pole was crossed by a shorter one within the fork, with its outer end through another crack. From the front pole, through a crack between the logs of the end of the house; the boards were put on which formed the bottom of the bed. Sometimes other poles, were pinned to the fork a little above these, for the purpose of supporting the front and foot of the bed, while the walls were the supports of its back and head. A few pegs around the walls for a display of the coats of the women, and hunting shirts of the men, and two small forks, or buck's horns, to a joist for the rifle and shot pouch, completed the carpenters work. In the mean time, masons were at work. With the heart pieces of the timber, of which the clapboards were made, they made billets for chucking up the cracks between the logs of the cabin and chimney; a large bed of mortar was made for daubing up those cracks. A few stones formed the back and jambs of the chimney. PIONEER HABITS AND CUSTOMS - 267 HOUSE WARMING. The cabin being finished, the ceremony of house-warming took place, before the young couple were permitted to move into it. The house-warming was a dance of a whole night's continuance, made up of the relations of the bride and groom, and their neighbors. On the day following the young couple took possession of their new mansion. At house-raisings, log-rollings, and harvest parties, every one was expected to do his duty faithfully. A person who did not perform his share of the labor on these occasions, was designated by the epithet of "Lawrence," or some other title still more opprobrious; and when it came his turn to require the like aid from his neighbors, the idler soon felt his punishment in their refusal to at-tend his calls. MILITARY. Although there was no legal compulsion to the performance of military duty, yet every man of full age and size was expected to do his full share of public service. If he did not do so he was "hated out as a coward." Even the want of any article of war equipment, such as ammunition, a sharp flint, a priming-wire, a scalping knife, or tomahawk, was thought highly disgraceful. A man who, without reasonable cause, failed to go on a scout or campaign, when it came his turn, met with an expression of indignation in the countenances of his neighbors, and epithets of dishonor were fastened upon him without mercy. DEBTS. Debts, which make such an uproar in civilized life, were but little known among our forefathers, at the early settlement of this country. After the depreciation of the continental paper they had no money of any kind; everything purchased was paid for in produce or labor. A good cow and calf was often the price of a bushel of alum salt. If a contract was not punctually fulfilled, the credit of the delinquent was at an end. 268 - HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. THEFTS. Any petty theft was punished with all the infamy that could be heaped upon the offender. A man on a campaign stole from his comrade a cake out of the ashes, in which it was baking. He was immediately named "the bread rounds." This epithet of reproach was bandied about in this way: When he came in sight of a group of men, one of them would call, "Who goes there?" Another would answer, " The bread rounds." If any one meant to be more serious about the matter, he would call out, " Who stole a cake out of the ashes?" Another replied by giving the name of the man in full. To this a third would give confirmation by exclaiming, " That is true, and no lie." This kind of "tongue lashing" he was doomed to bear for the rest of the campaign, as well as for years after his return home. If a theft was detected in any of the frontier settlements, a summary mode of punishment was always resorted to. The first settlers had a kind of innate or hereditary detestation of the crime of theft in any shape or degree, and their maxim was that a "thief must be whipped." If the theft was of something of some value, a kind of jury of the neighborhood, after hearing the testimony, would condemn the culprit to Moses' law, that is, to forty stripes, save one. If the theft was of some small article, the offender was (loomed to carry on his back a flag of the United States, which then consisted of thirteen stripes. In either ease, some able hands were selected to execute the sentence, so that the stripes were sure to be well laid on. This punishment was followed by a sentence of exile. Ile was then informed that he must decamp in so many days, and be seen there no more, on penalty of having his stripes doubled. CHARACTERISTICS. With all their rudeness, these people were given to hospitality, and freely divided their rough fare with a neighbor or stranger, and would have been offended at the offer of pay. In their settlements and forts they lived, they worked, they fought and feasted, or suffered together, in cordial harmony. They were warm and constant in their friendships. On the other hand, they were re- PIONEER HABITS AND CUSTOMS - 269 vengeful in their resentments, and the point of honor sometimes led to personal combats. If one man called another a liar, he was considered as having given a challenge, which the person who received it must accept or be deemed a coward, and the charge was generally answered on the spot with a blow. If the injured person was decidedly unable to fight the aggressor, he might get a friend to do it for him. The same thing took place on a charge of cowardice, or any other dishonorable action. A battle must follow, and the person who made the charge must fight either the person against whom he made the charge, or any champion who chose to espouse his cause. Thus circumstanced, our people in early times were much more cautious of speaking evil of their neighbors than they are at present. DISPUTES. Sometimes pitched battles occurred, in which time, place, and seconds were appointed beforehand. A writer remembers having seen one of those pitched battles in his father's fort, when a boy. One of the young men knew very well beforehand that he should get the worst of the battle, and no doubt repented the engagement to fight, but there was no getting over it. The point of honor demanded the risk of battle. He got his whipping. They then shook hands, and were good friends afterward. The mode of single combat in those days was dangerous in the extreme. Although no weapons were used, fists, teeth, and feet were employed at will, but above all, the detestable practice of gouging, by which eyes were sometimes put out, rendered this mode of fighting frightful indeed. It was not, however, so destructive as the stiletto of an Italian, the knife of a Spaniard, the small-sword of a Frenchman, or the pistol of the American or English duelist. MORALITY. Instances of seduction and bastardy did not frequently happen in our early times. An instance of the former is remembered, in which the life of the man was put in jeopardy by the resentment of the family to which the girl belonged. Indeed, considering the chivalrous temper of our people, this crime could not then take 270 - HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. place without great personal danger from the brothers or other relations of the victims of seduction, family honor being then estimated at a high rate. Profane language was not more prevalent in early times than at present. There was no other vestige of the Christian religion than a faint observation of Sunday, and that merely as a day of rest for the aged, and a play day for the young. TATTLING. If a woman was given to tattling and slandering her neighbors, she was furnished, by common consent, with a kind of patent-right to say whatever she pleased without being believed. Her tongue was then said to be harmless, or to be no scandal. ORIGINAL TOWNSHIPS. The county was originally divided into six townships : Jefferson, Green, Wayne, Madison, Paint and Union. JEFFERSON Began at the north part of survey number 1093 on Paint Creek, and followed its present boundary to the northwest corner of Jasper; thence south along the present western boundary of Jasper to the southwest corner of the same; thence east five miles to the northeast corner of Clinton County; thence northwest to the north part of survey 899, to Sugar Creek; thence with its present boundary to the beginning, including, as will be seen, the principal part of the present territory of Jasper. GREEN. Beginning at Henry Snyder's mill on Sugar Creek; thence up said creek with its meanderings to the line of Jefferson, northern part survey 899; thence southwest with said line to the northeast corner of Clinton County; thence south with the county line to the southwest corner of Fayette County ; thence east with county line to Lemuel Hand's. Thence to Alexander Beatty's survey 3713 ; thence north, bearing west to Samuel Edward's, northern part survey 660 ; thence to beginning, including about three-fourths of the present territory of Perry, all of Concord, and about a quarter of Jasper. It appears that about 1818, Green was reduced in territory by the formation of Concord, whose boundaries we have no means of knowing until March 3, 1828, when its lines are given. Green at that time was limited on the north and west by a line beginning at the mouth of Hankin's Run, on Sugar Creek, at the lower bend, eastern part survey 626, and running southwest to Samuel Stook- 272 - HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. ey's, a little north and east of Staunton; thence following very nearly its present limits to the county line. When Perry was first formed, it further reduced Green to its present limits, save that portion north of a line extending from near Buena Vista, to the mouth of Sugar Creek, thence up Sugar Creek to Hankin's Run, the western portion of which was subsequently—March 3, 1849 joined to Concord, and the eastern to Perry, thus leaving it in its present shape in 1849. WAYNE. Wayne originally included on the west, all that territory not taken from Green in the fi)rmation of Perry, and with her other lines nearly as they are now, except on the southeast corner of Union at the mouth of Sugar, where we infer from the language used, the line followed the creek (Paint). MADISON. Madison originally included all the territory now embraced in Madison and Marion until June, 1840, when it was divided, and the southern portion called Marion, and the northern retained the original name. PAINT. This also was one of the original townships and has not been altered in its boundaries. UNION. This has preserved its original lines with the exception of a few slight changes near the old Snyder mill, on Sugar, and extending a little farther into Wayne so as to touch the corner of Bernard survey 739, and following the meanderings of Paint Creek above the Brannon farm. PRESENT TOWNSHIPS. JASPER. March 5, 1845, William Rankin presented a petition to the commissioners for a new township to be taken from Jefferson and Concord, beginning in the northwest corner of R. Claborn's survey 889, and following the present boundaries of Jasper until it strikes the southwest corner of Jefferson on Sugar Creek; thence northeast following the present line of Jefferson and Union to Paint Creek ; thence up Paint Creek to the dividing line of the Trent and White surveys, numbers respectively 942 and 1205 ; thence west to beginning, including, as will be seen, the southern point of Jefferson. On the second day of December, 1845, by petition of Joseph J. Parrott, Jasper was reduced to her present limits, and electors assembled April 7th, at the house of John Andrews,. to elect officers. CONCORD. The following record gives the date of the organization of Concord : Friday, May 1, 1818. It appearing to the court that a new township has been set off by the commissioners, called Concord, it is ordered that there be one justice of the peace elected in this township, the electors to meet at the house of Edward Figgins, on the third Monday of the present month for this purpose. The boundaries at this date are not given. In 1828, its bounds were defined as beginning on the east, at Hankins' Run, (vid. seq.) and following the line of Green to the northeast corner of Clinton County ; thence northwest to Sugar Creek, and down Sugar to beginning. In 1848, the line was run between Concord and Green, beginning at Hankins' Run, thence south 36̊, 26' west, 3 miles and 120 poles, crossing said run to a stake one-half pole on northwest side of a pile of clay, the remains of the chimney of John Draper's 274 - HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. house; thence south 63̊, 4' west, 3 miles and 160 poles to a road near Jerry McFlay's house, crossing Rattlesnake at 40 poles, Lee's Creek at 2 miles and 52 poles; thence continuing same course, south 3̊ 4', west I mile and 48 poles to line of Clinton and Fayette counties, which distance, 8 miles and 14 poles, is well marked with a hand ax, with three hacks on a side. March 3, 1849, this line was so altered as to run from the banks of Sugar Creek where the lines of Concord and Green join, thence with said line to the state road running from Washington to Leesburg ; thence north 85̊, east to Perry Township line; thence north with Perry and Green to Sugar Creek ; thence up the creek to beginning, which portion was added to Concord for the convenience of schools and working the roads. MARION. In June, 1840, a petition, signed by the householders of Madison Township, praying for a division of the same, so as to form two separate townships, was presented to the county commissioners, in pursuance of which the board appointed Jacob Creamer, county surveyor, to ascertain whether there was territory sufficient to warrant a division, and if so, to run a line through the center of the same, so as to make an equal division. The surveyor, upon-finding sufficient territory, proceeded to divide the township as per instructions. The board being satisfied that the interest of the citizens of the aforesaid township required a division, ordered the report of the surveyor to be placed on record, and said townships established as laid down in said plat. The northern part of the division shall be known as the original township of Madison, and the southern part shall be known by the name of Marion. That the electors of Marion Township assemble, on July 18, 1840, at the house of John McArthur, on the Circleville road, to elect township officials, who shall continue in office until the next annual spring election. PERRY. On the 4th of June, 1844, a petition was presented to the commissioners by N. Rush, as attorney, praying for a new township to be taken from Green and Wayne, which was refused on account of a remonstrance by L. V. Willard. PRESENT TOWNSHIP BOUNDARIES - 275 June 4th, 1845, a petition was presented by Robert Eyre, and the new township was granted, called Perry. Beginning at a point where the state road leading from Washington to Leesburg crosses Rattlesnake Creek; thence on a straight line to Samuel Brigg's mill (near the mouth of Sugar Creek); thence down Paint Creek to the Highland County line; thence west with said line to Rattlesnake ; thence up said creek to beginning, thus including a part of Wayne and Green. These limits, as will be observed, left out that portion north of the line extending from near Buena Vista to the mouth of Sugar. June 14, 1845, a petition was presented signed by Wayman Stafford and a number of others, protesting against the decision of the commissioners in forming a new township, and finally an appeal bond was filed, in the sum of five hundred dollars, with James Larkins and Anderson Rowe securities, and notice given of an appeal to the court of common pleas. Subsequently a decision was rendered favorable to its organization, and that portion annexed north of the line from Buena Vista to Briggs' mill. PRESENT BOUNDARIES. JEFFERSON. Beginning at the north part, survey number 1093, on Paint Creek; thence west, with the county line, to the Greene County line, northwest corner, survey number 5993; thence south, with said line, to east part, survey number 1079; thence east, bearing south, to northwest part, survey number 1253; thence east, crossing Rattlesnake Creek, to the northwest corner, survey number 1379; thence south to the southeast corner of survey number 1379; thence east to Sugar Creek; thence down said creek, to the Union Township line, in southwest part, survey number 5866; thence northeast, with said line, to Paint Creek, near crossing of Jeffersonville pike; thence up Paint to beginning. JASPER. Beginning at the northeast corner of survey number 1342, running west to the northwest part, survey number 1253 ; thence west, 276 - HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. bearing north, to the county east part survey number 1079 ; thence south with said, to the line of Clinton County, west part of survey number 841; thence east five miles, with said line, crossing Rattlesnake; thence south, with said line, to Concord Township line, west part survey number 907; thence northeast, with said line, to Rattlesnake Creek ; thence northeast, with the road, to Sugar Creek, southwest part survey number 8408; thence up said creek to the northeast corner, survey number 1411; thence west to south-west corner, survey number 1379; thence north to the beginning. CONCORD. Beginning at Sugar Creek, south part survey number 8408; thence southwest, with pike, crossing Rattlesnake, to the county line, west part survey 907; thence south, with the county line, to west part survey 1039 ; thence northeast, with Green Township line, to the old Draper house, north part survey 5348 ; thence northeast, with said line, to south part survey 802; thence east to Perry Township line, survey 896 ; thence north to Sugar Creek, north part survey 896; thence along Sugar Creek to beginning. UNION. Beginning at south part of survey number 8357; thence southwest, through surveys 3702, 6377, 7850, 7052, 7053, and 6003, to Paint Creek, northeast part survey 3020; thence southwest, through survey 2069, to Sugar Creek ; thence down said creek to its mouth ; thence north, with road, one mile; thence east, bearing north, to Paint Creek, east part survey 663, crossing same about a mile north of Pone Creek; thence northeast, through survey 870, to road, southeast part survey 1852; thence east, bearing north, to C. & M. V. R. R.; thence northwest, one mile; thence west one-half mile; thence, with road, northwest to central part survey number 8493; thence north to beginning. GREEN. Beginning at a point near the old Draper house, north part survey number 5348, near Rattlesnake Creek; thence northeastwardly to the southern part survey number 802, near the Leesburg road ; PRESENT TOWNSHIP BOUNDARIES - 277 thence east to the southern part survey number 896; thence south to the southern part of survey number 5431; thence southwest, crossing survey number 3434, to Rattlesnake Creek; thence, with the meanders of said creek, to the county line, southern part survey number 1840; thence west, with county line, to southern part survey number 1089; thence, with the line of Fayette and Clinton, to western survey number 1039; thence northeast, crossing surveys 2717, 3991, 5849, and 5880, to the beginning. PERRY. Beginning at Sugar Creek, northwest corner survey 896; thence east, with the meanders of said creek, to its mouth; thence southeast, with the meanders of Paint Creek, to the county line; thence west, with the county line, to Rattlesnake Creek; thence north, with Rattlesnake, to western part survey number 3434; thence northeast, with the Green Township line, to the southern part survey number 5431 ; thence north, with said township line, to the beginning. WAYNE. Beginning at a point in the northern part of survey number 9074, near the C. & M. V. R. R.; thence southwesterly, along the line of Union Township, to Paint Creek; the ncedown Paint to the mouth of Sugar Creek ; thence down Paint to the county line, survey 4132 ; thence northwest to road, survey number 628; thence, with said road, to the beginning. MARION. Beginning at the Pickaway County line, southeastern part survey number 470; thence west to center of survey 8190; thence south to survey number 8493, on the Federal road; thence southeast, along said road, to the west part survey number 5537; thence southeast, with the Wayne Township line, to the county line, east part survey number 4132 ; thence north, with the county line, to the beginning. MADISON. Beginning at the northeast corner of Fayette County, northern 278 - HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. part survey number 471; thence west, with the county line, to the northern part survey number 6908; thence southeast to the Marion Township line, center of survey number 8190; thence east, with said line to the Pickaway County line, east part survey number 470; thence north, with said line, to place of beginning. PAINT. Beginning at the northeast corner of survey number 6908; thence west, with the county line, to Paint Creek, northwest part survey number 1093; thence south, down said creek, with the meanders there-of; to the Union Township line, west part survey number 6003; thence northeast, with said line, to Marion Township line, east part survey number 8357; thence north, with said line, to the corner of Madison Township, east part survey number 8190; thence north, bearing west, to beginning. MILLS AND MILLING - 279. To the pioneer in the wilderness, remote from civilization, with all its attendant mechanical appliances, the conversion of the product of the soil was one of the most serious difficulties to be met. While the forest supplied abundance of game, with which his larder could with but little exertion be kept well filled ; this, however, without the accompaniment of bread, was not in the highest degree palatable, especially when fatigued by the constant exertion which the pioneer was compelled to undergo, from morning till night, in clearing out the forests which surrounded him on all sides. To meet this want machines were constructed, though extremely rude and simple, yet fully accomplishing the purposes for which. they were intended. The first step in this direction was THE BLOCK AND PESTLE. A block of hard wood was selected, and by means of boring, hacking, and burning, a depression was made capable of holding sometimes nearly a peck of corn. To work in this, an instrument having a large end nearly the size of the depression in the block, and whose convexity corresponded roughly to its concavity, the upper part of which was shaven down to a diameter of one or two inches, so as to be grasped by the hand, was made. To facilitate the operation of this, a hole was fixed in the ground, a rope, piece of bark, or grape vine attached to the upper end bent down and connected to the pestle so as to assist in lifting it up. In this manner, and by this rude machine, our forefathers ground their corn. The next step in the way of improvement, was a stone-mill worked by hand. From a specimen stone, now in the possession of Judge D. Mc- 280 - HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. Lean, said to be the base-stone of the first mill in the county which we examined, we give the following description : Diameter twenty inches, thickness about five, and rudely cut in grooves with a hole in the center, into which a small shaft was introduced, having attached to it another stone working upon the lower, which was operated by a crank turned by hand. CORN-CRACKERS. The first mill of this kind built in the county, was erected by Jacob Coile, in 1809, in Union Township on Sugar Creek. The Yeargon horse-mill was put up a little later, and perhaps the second corn-cracker in this county, was put up in 1810, by Isaiah Pancoast, on Deer Creek, about a mile from Waterloo, close to the county line, between Fayette and Pickaway. It was made out of solid boulders with a hole drilled through. This primitive machine was subsequently converted into a mill for grinding wheat, then into a fulling mill, next into a woolen factory, and now is a flouring mill. This unique structure consisted of an upright beam, or shaft, running on pivots at both ends; passing through this, below at right angles was another shaft, about twenty feet long, at the end of which was attached a team of horses, who walked in a circle as in our modern horse powers. At the top of the upright shaft was attached a large wheel, which communicated its motion by means of a rawhide belt to another wheel, which in turn worked in a cog-wheel attached to the stones. These burrs, or stones, were made generally out of the native boulders with holes drilled through them, roughly dressed, and running upon each other which ground the corn very coarse, and left it with all the refuse materials accompaning it, which were removed by means of a sieve, made by taking the green' hide of a deer, removing the hair, stretching it tightly over a hoop and piercing it full of holes. When the pioneers were educated to the luxury—if luxury it may be called—of wheat bread, mills for grinding and bolting this grain were invented. Bolting was done by hand, or rather the apparatus, which was a cloth cylinder turned with a crank, which it was expected the man or boy bringing the grist to operate. MILLS AND MILLING - 281 Before these mills were erected by the early settlers, according to the county atlas, Springfield, Clifton, and Chillicothe were localities to which they resorted for flour and meal. Several neighbors would unite to make up a four-horse load, take along forage for the teams and provisions for themselves, and make the journey in seven to ten days, during which time their families lived on bacon, hominy, and potatoes, when they had them. Horse-mills were soon established at various points, and hand-mills were constructed, so that most families were able to obtain bread by working for it. The hominy-block was an invention of the times ; it was made by burning a hole into the end of a block of wood. They pounded the corn in these mortars with a pestle, made by inserting an iron wedge in a suitable stick. When the corn was fine enough it was sieved, and the finer portion used for bread and for mush, and the coarser boiled as hominy. Corn-dodgers were in general use, and the children of that day, now grown old, can speedily recall the circumstances connected with their first meal of wheat bread. The mills of early days ground very slowly. The settler went to mill early, and remained late to get his sack of meal. The flour made in the horse-mills was like the brown, unbolted flour of the present. That it should be large in quantity was more to be desired than fine in quality. Thomas Moon, sr., erected the first flour and sawmill, and the first distillery in the county during the year 1810, upon a good site ten miles south of Washington. The mill is still running. A third mill was built during the war of 1812, by Asa Davis, on Main Paint, two miles south of the county seat. Many years have passed since its removal. One McDonald built a water-mill two miles north of town, in 1850, and sold to Stafford. An effort was made to establish a mill on Main Paint, ten miles northwest of town; by Solomon Salmon; but the dam being established on a bed of quicksand, continually broke away and prevented its success. Still another water-mill was erected in Washington Court House by Jesse Millikan. The sawmill was in operation in 1817, and a year later, 1818, he had a grist-mill running. Millikan died in 1836, and, about 1840, his son Curren Millikan applied steam-power. A water-mill was built on Sugar Creek, four miles south of town, 282 - HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY. with which a distillery was connected. This mill dates its erection to 1820, at the hands of Adam Caylor. There was a horse-mill put up by Dughan, about three miles northwest of Washington, near Big Run, prior to 1814. These were soon superseded by steam and water-power, and now the old horse-mill has faded into a thing of the past.