332 - CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF COLUMBUS CHAPTER XI. (RETURN TO THE TITLE PAGE) RISE AND GROWTH OF MANUFACTURING AND MERCANTILE INTERESTS, ETC. By a brief review of the manufacturing and mercantile interests as they presented themselves in 1858, and then by an even briefer comparison of the present number and extent of like enterprises, the correct idea of the extent of the growth of the two during the half century is seen, freed from the confusing details of their annual progress. Herewith is the condensation presenting to the present reader and citizen the manufacturing and mercantile enterprises of 1858; and in word and thought as they presented themselves in 1858 and as the subject would naturally have been written about at that date. The Ridgway Foundry. This was the first successful manufacturing establishment in Columbus. It was commenced in the spring of 1822, by Joseph Ridgway, then from the state of New York. For some years he used horse-power instead of steam, and the principal article of the manufacture was Jethro Wood's patent plow, of which he had made and sold an immense number. It was then considered the best plow in use. About the first of January, 1830, he having associated with him his nephew Joseph Ridgway, Jr., they introduced into their factory steam instead of horse-power and extended their business to the manufacturing of machinery, steam engines, stoves, etc. For many years, they did an extensive business, giving employment to about fifty or sixty hands, generally. Joseph Ridgway, Jr., having died in 1850, the business was continued successfully by the surviving partner and administrator until the spring of 1854, when he sold out and transferred the whole establishment to Peter Hayden, Esq., since which it has been owned and conducted by Mr. Hayden. The Franklin Foundry, Generally known by the name of "Gill's Foundry," was commenced in 1838, by John L. Gill, William A. Gill and Henry Glover. In 1839, John McCune took the place of Mr. Glover, and the firm of Gills &, McCune continued till May, 1848. From that time the business was continued by J. L. &. W. A. Gill till July, 1852, since which time it was conducted solely by John L. Gill until July, 1857, when he associated with him his son, J. L. Gill, Jr. This establishment commenced business with about twenty-five hands and was principally engaged in the manufacture of stoves, plows and mill irons, and did a successful business. For the last few years, the establishment gave employment generally to from sixty to seventy-five persons. In 1855, Mr. Gill commenced the manufacture of his celebrated combination steel plow and is now manufacturing nearly four thousand per year. The amount of capital invested in the establishment is estimated at about fifty thousand dollars. CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF COLUMBUS - 333 Columbus Machine Manufacturing Company. This manufacturing establishment was commenced by Charles Ambos and James Lennox in 1849, with a capital of some eight or ten thousand dollars. It was designated by the name of "Eagle Foundry" and the firm by that of Ambos & Lennox. After continuing the business until the spring of 1854, they sold out for upwards of sixty-eight thousand dollars; and it was converted into a joint stock company, by its present name. The present company commenced with about thirty stockholders, and a capital of eighty thousand dollars. They subsequently increased their capital to one hundred thousand dollars. The company employ about one hundred and twenty-five men on an average the year round and pay to their officers and hands about four thousand dollars on the first day of each month; and turn out in machinery and castings, from one hundred and forty thousand to one hundred and fifty thousand dollars a year. This company put up the iron frame work for the roofing of the state house, all the iron ceilings, galleries and railings in the .same. The ground occupied by the company is three hundred and twenty by one hundred and eighty-five feet. Charles Ambos is, and has been, the superintendent from the commencement. Samuel Galloway was the first president, but being elected to congress in 1854, he was succeeded by that experienced manufacturer, John S. Hall, , Esq. H. Crary was treasurer and secretary until January, 1857, when he was succeeded by P. Ambos as treasurer, and F. G. Jones as secretary. Joseph Coffin has been chief foreman ever since the commencement. The present directors are John S. Hall, P. Ambos, W. E. Ide, E. J. Matthews, Amos McNary, B. S. Brown, J. P. Bruck. Peter Hayden's Extensive Works. Commenced some twenty years since, consist principally in the manufacturing of iron into various useful forms, partly from pig metal and partly from scrap iron, of which they procure immense quantities, and manufacture it into bar iron and all sizes of wires. The establishment is very extensive and gives employment generally to over a hundred hands. The manufacture of saddlery, stirrups, buckles, etc., by Mr. Harden, is principally done in the prison by convict labor. The writer regrets that he is not able to give a fuller history and description of this large establishment, but it seems the proprietor did not desire it, and it is therefore thus briefly noticed. Ohio Tool Company. This is an extensive manufacturing company, incorporated in 1851, under a general law authorizing the formation and organization of such companies. Capital stock one hundred and ninety thousand dollars. The chief article of manufacture is carpenter's planes, hence it is frequently called the "Plane Factory." The average number of hands employed in 334 - CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF COLUMBUS the various departments of the business is about two hundred. The concerns of the company are said to be in a prosperous condition and the stock in good demand. It is controlled by a. board of seven directors. Present Officers: George Gere; president; A. Thomas, secretary and treasurer: C. H. Clark, superintendent. Directors: O. Allen, N. A. Platt, A. McNairy, J. R. Swan, George Gere. P. Hayden, J. M. McCune. Ridgway Car Factory. In 1849, Joseph Ridgway, Sr., and Joseph Ridgway, Jr., who had for many years been doing a heavy business in their own foundry, associated with them in their new enterprise of car manufacturing, Mr. Pearl Kimball, from Massachusetts, a. gentleman of experience in that line of business. They made extensive and costly buildings and preparations west of the river, by the side of the railroad, and went very extensively into the business under the firm name of Ridgways & Kimball. Their cars were of the first quality and in extensive demand. In 1850, Mr. Ridgway, Jr., died, but the business was continued by the other two partners successfully until the spring of 1856, when their main buildings and its contents were entirely destroyed by fire. They never rebuilt it but continued business on a smaller scale until about the first of January, 1857, when Mr. Ridgway sold out his interest to Mr. Kimball, who has since continued the business alone. Before the destruction by fire, they generally gave employment to about eighty men. The Columbus Woolen Factory. This company organized in 1851, under the general act authorizing such corporations. In 1851 and 1852, they erected their buildnigs, procured their machinery and commenced manufacturing in the summer or fall of 1852. The first board of directors were A. P. Stone, F. C. Kelton, Theodore Comstock, John Butler and James Lennox. The principal business officer of the company is the superintendent, who, subject to the order of the directors, manages and controls the business of the establishment. The successive superintendents have been J. L. Haughton, John H. Stage, A. P. Mason The dividends to stockholders have generally been made in certificates of additional stock or manufactured goods, and in this way the capital stock has been increased until it now amounts to about fifty-six thousand dollars. The present officers and agents of the company are, A. P. Stone, president; J. F. Bartlett. Peter Ambos. J. P. Bruck, L. Hoster, directors; A. P. Mason, superintendent: C. E. Batterson, bookkeeper. Brotherlin & Halm's Chair and Cabinet Ware Factory. This is owned by a. private firm, composed of the two gentlemen whose names it bears. who associated together for the purpose of manufacturing all kinds of chairs and cabinet furniture by steam power and machinery. In PAGE 335 - THE FAMOUS SPRING, OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY GROUNDS AND OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY CAMPUS PAGE 336 CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF COLUMBUS - 337 the spring of 1853, they commenced their building in the southwest corner of the city near the canal, and in July of the same year commenced manufacturing. In February, 1856, their building was totally destroyed by fire, but with the energy of real business men, they without delay commenced rebuilding and by the first of July following, their manufacturing again commenced. The number of hands they employ is generally about forty. Their furniture store, for the sale of their manufactured articles, is kept on High street. Tub & Pail Manufactory. This establishment is the property of an incorporated joint stock company, formed for the purpose of manufacturing hollow wooden ware by steam power and machinery. They organized and erected their buildings on the west bank of the Scioto in 1855, and in July, 1856, commenced manufacturing. The capital stock subscribed and paid in is nearly twenty-eight thousand dollars, which was not a sufficient amount to pay for the improvements and start the business to advantage, but the company persevered and they were said to be mastering their difficulties and doing a pretty fair business with the prospect of a bright future. But on the 10th of May, 1858, their factory was struck by lightning, and the building and all its contents consumed by fire. It is said that they will rebuild. The affairs of the company are controlled by a board of five directors. Present officers-George Kanemacher, president; W. L. Hughes, secretary; H. Crary, treasurer; J. H. Beebe, superintendent. City Mills. The City Mills are owned by a private firm composed of Messrs. Comstock. Harrison and Decker, doing business under the firm name of A. S. Decker & Company. The mill was originally erected by Mr. Comstock west of the canal, and there known by the name of Novelty Mills. In 1856 the present firm was formed and the steam-power and mill machinery were removed into the new building on Fourth street in the early part of 1857 and was then named City Mills. Mr. Decker is the acting agent. Beside the foregoing manufactories, there are various others in successful operation in the city, among which are the saw factory at the corner of Water and Spring streets; propelled by steam, proprietors, Messrs. Ohlen and Drake; several planing machines, propelled by steam, at which are also manufactured doors, sash, blinds, etc. ; Messrs. Swan and Davie's foundry and machine shop, on the west side of the river, established a few years since, and giving employment to from twenty-five to thirty men; the new steam paper mill of Messrs. Hines and Miller, erected in the fall of 1857, and which commenced manufacturing paper in January, 1858; the coffee and spice grinding mill, established by the Messrs. Rose and now owned by C. P. L. Butler, Esq., worked by steam power; Messrs. Schoedinger and Brown's furniture manufactory; and two extensive breweries at the south end of the city. one owned by Messrs. Hoster and Silbernagle and the other by Mr. John Blenkner. 338 - CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF COLUMBUS Some Comparative Figures. In 1858 there were, all told, thirty-eight manufacturing establishments, great and small, in Columbus, and as nearly as may now be ascertained represented approximately an invested capital of four hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars, with an annual output of manufactured goods and articles of all kinds not exceeding one million two hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars in value. In 1908 there are, including the establishments in all lines of manufacturing, many of them singly representing a greater investment, ten times over, than all of the manufacturing establishments in 1858 (and the output increasing proportionally), no less than three hundred and eighty-one establishments. Here, as in other matters of growth and progress, the increase during the half century has been approximately one thousand per cent. Mercantile Advancement There were in 1858 what may be termed mercantile establishments and stores. The first consisted of those establishments that carried single lines of goods, dry goods, jewelry, hardware and one or two other lines, and were, perhaps, of controlling importance in the mercantile sense, and in addition mixed or general stores, carrying several lines and of less importance, including restaurants (or eating houses), saloons and taverns. All told, they numbered a little short of three hundred. There is no authentic data upon which to estimate the annual amount of business done by these establishments, but the best information available puts it at one million five hundred thousand dollars a year. If we include the same lines of business today along with new ones that have grown up, we find the number to be two thousand one hundred and ninety-three the average per cent of increase. Another suggestive comparison is the investment of three leading wholesale houses today, which is one million five hundred thousand dollars, equal to the whole volume of mercantile business, wholesale and retail, in 1858. Their sales, also, when considered apart, confirm the fixed percentage of the city's growth along all channels; while one of the great establishments in the manufacturing line has an annual output of five million dollars, or approximately twice as great as all business investments and sales of half a century ago. A Mortuary Record. Mr. F. C. Maxwell, a. prominent real-estate dealer, has compiled, or rather constructed, a remarkable mortuary record from the daily and weekly press of the city, covering something like a third of a century, coming up to the present. To his friends and immediate acquaintances, it already possesses much interest. To some gatherer-up of personal history and reminiscence a generation hence, it will prove a bonanza. of information. In a large and substantial scrap book, he has collected nearly all the local newspaper clipping. relating to the demise of citizens of local CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF COLUMBUS - 339 prominence and accompanying comment; proceedings of public and fraternal meetings, commemorating the deceased, and in many cases quite complete biographical accounts of the deceased which go with the announcement of the passing off the stage of well known citizens. To future writers, it will be especially valuable, because the personality of the actors in notable public events are so fully depicted concurrently with the transpiring of the same. The Directory as an Indicator. Some interesting historical facts are disclosed by summarizing the history of directory making in Columbus, for which credit is due Mr. Joseph Wiggins, of R. L. Polk & Company. The summary is self-explanatory, save as to the fact that in several of the earlier directories, there was an apparent falling off in population, which is apparent but not real, owing to the changes as to ages and classes of persons to be named in the work, before that question was finally disposed of. There lies convenient to the writer a file of Columbus directories, embracing all the publications from the year 1843 till the present time for which we are indebted to the state library. This, perhaps, is the only complete list of Columbus directories in the city. The first volume was published by John R.. Armstrong, in the year 1843, and printed by Samuel Medary and contains two hundred and one pages. One hundred and seven of these pages are devoted to historical matter, relating to the rise and progress of the city and descriptive of the state institutions. The Business Directory as it is styled, or that portion containing the `names of the citizens, and appears elsewhere in this work was embraced in forty-three pages of the original. The number of names contained therein by actual count, is 1,005. The remaining pages, about fifty, are devoted to advertisements. In this department almost every branch of business conducted in the town is represented. The boos: is printed in small pica type and the workmanship would be considered at that date as very well executed. Many of the representative men in our commercial, manufacturing, professional and public enterprises were registered in this quaint volume as clerks, student, etc., and those who have survived the ravages of time and were then men in middle age, are now retired from active life. Our next volume is for the year 1848, compiled by John Siebert and printed by S. Medary. The book contains two hundred and sixty-four octavo pages, the greater portion of which is devoted to advertising and historical matter. The printing is neat and artistically executed. H. Glover and William Henderson are the publishers of a directory for 1850-51 and S. Glover is the printer. Like their predecessor, these publishers furnish an elaborate history of the rise and progress of the city. The directory contains 2,151 names and a. large number of business cards. A neat and attractive little volume, for 1855, was published and printed by the Ohio State Journal Company. containing 2,810 names and no historical matter, but a goodly number of advertisements. Messrs. Williams & Company, of Cincinnati, published the directory for two years-1856-7 and 1858-9. The first volume contains 340 - CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF COLUMBUS 4,530 names and the second volume 6,550 names. These directories were printed in Cincinnati. In 1859 M. D. Lathrop compiled a directory, which was printed by Richard Nevins, of Columbus. The number of names in this book is 5,884. The directory for 1862 was published and printed by Williams, of Cincinnati, and contains 1,088 names. C. A. Poland compiled a volume for 1864, and Richard Nevins is the printer. There are but 5,984 names in this book, a loss of over two thousand names from the directory of 1862. The next two directories are published by Williams, the first volume of which (1866-7) contains 7,748 names, and the second volume (1867-8) 8,222. The directory for the years-1869-10 was published by Greer & Company, printed by Nevins & Myers of Columbus, and contains 7,215 names. Columbus is now a city of over 20,000 population and the publication of a directory becomes an annual affair. A. Bailey is the publisher of an annual directory for three years 1871-2-3. There are 9,267 names in the first volume. 10,503 in the second, and 13,000 in the third. Hellrigle & Talcott are the publishers for 1873. This firm, in their preface, modestly claim that the directory contains over 16,000 names, while an actual count shows less than 13,000. The directory for 1874 is published by R. C. Hellrigle & Company. who claim, in their preface, 15,075 names. The names of females that do not properly require to be registered in a directory account for the increase for this year. For the year 1875 two firms published directories-Wiggins & McKillop and R. C. Hellrigle & Company. The volume published by Wiggins & McKillop contains 13,997 names. This directory was compiled under many difficulties. There being two sets of canvassers in the field, the citizens were at a loss to know to whom their information should be given, and when given to one party were loth to furnish it to the other. The publishers endeavored to make their new directory for the centennial year, 1876, superior as a book of reference to any of the former publications. This volume contains 15,192 names.. Estimating the population of Columbus as three and one-half to each name. in the directory, we now have a population of 50,632. In 1877 both Hellrigle & Company and Wiggins & Company published directories, the population as shown by the directory of the latter firm was 55,000; in 1878 the number of names was 16,297. In 1879 Mr. McKillop died and G. J. Brand & Company issued the directory names 15,809; population 55,000. In 1880, the same firm issued the directory showing 18,706 names and 60,000 population. The same firm reported 21,700 names and 65.000 population in 1881; and 22.219 names and 66,000 population in 1882. Williams & Company succeeding in 1883 and reported 30,651 names. Same firm reported 33,675 names in 1884, and Wiggins 35,375 in the same year. No estimates in 1885. Wiggins & Company in 1886 reported 34,810 names and 80,000 population; in 1887-38,887 and 88;000 : in 1888-42.450 and 106,125 population. In 1889 the firm of R. L. Polk & Co. was formed and has since published the directory. The figures showing the names and estimates of publication are as follows: In 1889, names 41,698, population, 125,094; in 1890, CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF COLUMBUS - 341 names 43,612, population 130,836; in 1895, the names had increased to 53.540, and the population to 133,350; in 1900, names 58,639, population 146,625; in 1905,. names 71,786, population 179,207; in 1908, names 79,696, population 199,250. The estimates based on the ratio of 3 1/2 has been almost exactly the population given by the Federal census in the years 1850-60-70-80-90 and 1900, the discrepancies being that the official census showed a somewhat greater population, than was claimed in the directory estimates. Captain Samuel Davis. In one of his brilliant addresses before the Benjamin Franklin Chapter, Ohio Society Sons of the American Revolution, Colonel William L. Curry gave a deeply interesting sketch of Captain Samuel Davis, a prominent figure of the streets of Columbus in its early years, from which the following is extracted. In point of local historical interest, it is scarcely excelled in our local annals of the early part of the last century. Not Hero Worshipers Merely. It is sometimes charged that the members of our society are hero worshipers, and I presume it is proper for us to plead guilty to the indictment. We believe that a prophet or hero is entitled to some honor in his own country, and we have some heroes of our own "kith and kin" worthy of our worship. It is not necessary to delve in the pages of ancient history, as many people are wont to do, to find a hero worthy of admiration and adoration, as the founders of our great republic were not only men of chivalric deeds but as "true of heart and as prompt of arm as any men who have been on earth." To lay a slight chaplet of praise to one of those heroes of two wars and an honored citizen of Franklin county, is the object of this sketch. As introductory and explanatory to the source of my information on which the facts related in this sketch are based, it is proper to state that my grandfather, Colonel James Curry, settled in the southern part of Union county, twenty miles distant from Columbus, in the year 1811, where he laid a warrant for one thousand acres of land, which had been ceded by the state of Virginia to the United States; with the stipulation that these lands should be given to the soldiers who enlisted. from that state, as part payment for their services during the war of the Revolution. At that date nearly the entire territory now embraced within the limits of Union county was an unbroken wilderness, teeming with all kinds of wild animals and many friendly Indians. Even as late as June 1, 1810, the Indians held their councils in that vicinity and executed the noted Indian Chief Leatherlips just across the southern border of Union county and in the county of Franklin. "Shrill through the forest aisles the savage war cry rung; Swift to the work of strife the border huntsman sprung, Red ran the blood of foeman on countless fields of woe From Scioto's shimmering stream to Ohio, broad and slow." 342 - CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF COLUMBUS Among the earliest of my recollections were the thrilling stories related by my father and other old pioneers of adventures in hunting bear, wolves, panthers, deer and other wild game. I was raised up in that kind of atmosphere and many a. winter evening as we sat around the blazing fires in the old cabins, listening to the thrilling tales of Indian warfare, of massacre and scalping, I could feel my hair rising and imagine I could see the Indians bedecked with war paint and feathers peering through the windows. While some of those stories were related of Boone, Kenton and other famous Indian fighters, the exploits of Captain Samuel Davis, whose body is buried near the banks of the Scioto river, only ten miles distant from Columbus, are more clearly remembered. From Manuscripts of Otway Curry. The facts set forth in this sketch of that noted pioneer are from my recollections of the incidents which I heard related in my boyhood days and from manuscripts left by my uncle, Otway Curry. As my grandfather lived only ten miles from the farm of Captain Davis, they were considered neighbors in those early days and were frequent neighborly visitors, and talked much of their exploits and adventures, as my grandfather had also been an Indian fighter and was severely wounded during Lord Dunmore's campaign in the battle of Point Pleasant, Virginia, October 10, 1774. Samuel Davis was born at Litchfield, Connecticut, January 1, 1762. Although only twelve years of age at the breaking out of the war of the Revolution, he served two years in the Continental army before the close of the war. The first engagement in which he participated and received his "baptism of fire" was in a night skirmish with the British army at the time of their attack on West Haven, when they attempted a landing from an armed vessel in their boats. He was in a number of other engagements, and at the close of the war was a boy twenty years of age, strong of body, lithe of limb; well inured to the hardships and trials of a soldier in the Continental Army. He learned the goldsmith's trade, and at the age of twenty-one he decided to seek his fortune in the west, and crossed the mountains with the intention of seeking a location where he could manufacture and sell cheap jewelry to the Indians. He stopped at Fort Pitt, but for some reason gave up the enterprise and started on a hunting expedition. On the Guyandotte river, this being about the year 1785, he fell in with two other hunters, whose names were Freehart and McCullough. He had some thrilling adventures in this region in hunting bear. Arriving at the mouth of the Guyandotte, he joined two hunters named Kendall and Whitsel. They purchased a flat boat and decided to make a trip down the Ohio and Mississippi rivers to New Orleans with a cargo of buffalo meat and venison, which they intended to kill on the passage. They had a rough trip down the Ohio and had several encounter, with the Indians. Just below the falls of Ohio, one of the party was taken captive and a fight was only prevented by paying a large ransom in powder and lead for his release. The next day the Indians followed them up in six large canoes crowded with savages. On the boat Davis and his companions PAGE 343 - THE HOTEL, HARTMAN, MAIN AND FOURTH AND THE HOTEL CHITTENDEN, HIGH AND SPRING STREETS. PAGE 344 - BLANK CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF COLUMBUS - 345 had a large blunderbuss mounted like a cannon and loaded with thirty-six rifle balls. They fired one volley from the gun, which completely demoralized their pursuers, and they pulled for the shore in great haste. Davis was wont to relate this incident with much gusto, as he said the old gun was of no account, excepting to make a loud noise, which seemed to frighten the savages. A Disastrous Buffalo Hunt. At another time Davis and another companion left the boat for the purpose of hunting buffalo, and having killed several, returned to the river to find that the boat had left them, as an alarm had coma to the men manning the boat from one of the hunters that a large body of Indians was approaching. Davis and his companion constructed a raft and started to float down the river, but as the river was at high flood the raft was unmanageable and floated off over the country. As they passed a high bluff Davis' companion becoming frightened sprang from the raft and climbed up the bluff, shouting to Davis to follow him, but Davis stuck to the raft and was finally wrecked on an island, where he remained three days without food or shelter. His companion never was heard of again, and he was, no doubt, either drowned or killed by the Indians. Davis finally overtook the flatboat, in an Indian canoe which he confiscated, in a very exhausted condition, but during all this time had retained his gun. After enduring many hardships on the voyage down the river, Davis with about twenty companions made a trip up the Cumberland in boats and up Green river to Limestone, Kentucky, now Maysville. This was about the year 1786, and for several years thereafter Davis made his headquarters at Limestone, going out on trapping and hunting expeditions up the Big Sandy and along the Wabash in Indiana. After St. Clair's Defeat. Soon after St. Clair's defeat, Davis and a man by the name of William Campbell embarked on a hunting and trapping expedition in a canoe and proceeded up the Big Sandy river. On this trip Davis related that they found a boiling spring on a fork of that river which emitted gas, and by applying a. torch it burned with a strong flame. It therefore seems that they may have been the discoverers of natural gas, so we will just credit that discovery to one of our patriotic sires. They were now near Harmar's Station, on which the Indians had just made an unsuccessful attack, but had captured one prisoner by the name of Donald with a number of horses. A party of these Indians with their prisoner and some of their wounded were floating down the river and seeing the camp fire of Davis and Campbell, who were fast asleep, the Indians surrounded them; they were then awakened to find themselves prisoners of the Indians, who stood with uplifted tomahawks. Campbell was severely cut on one hand with a tomahawk, but Davis was not injured. The Indians then tied them with thongs of dried buffalo hides and compelled them to push the canoes down stream with poles, the Indians frequently beating them with 346 - CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF COLUMBUS sticks. They went down the Ohio river to Hanging Rock, where they went into camp, and Davis made an attempt to escape but was recaptured. When at this point one of the Indian scouts reported that several flatboats were coming down the river and Davis was ordered to decoy them to the shore on pain of instant death. But the boats failed to come within hailing distance to his great joy. They then traveled some distance up the Little Scioto and one day went into camp, where the Indians held a council and then proceeded to gather up a large quantity of brush and dry wood, which they set on fire. around which they performed a. war dance with murderous gestures and fiendish yells. The Indians were composed of Delawares, Pottawattames. Piankshaws and Shawnees. Davis was then informed by his guide that he and Donald were to be turned over to the Pottawattamies to be burned. The next day they moved on, the prisoners heavily loaded with packs, were driven along with kicks and blows; compelled to wade all the streams, while the Indians rode through on horses. How He Was Guarded. The next night Davis was placed on the bare ground between two Indians to whom he was tied by thongs as usual. His limbs and arms were tied so tight that they became much swollen and very painful, and every time he would move by reason of his great suffering he was beaten severely. The Indians were sleeping in one rank, with their guns standing immediately in the rear, supported by poles near their heads. Davis determined to make another effort to escape at all hazards, as he decided that he would take the chances of being shot rather than burned at the stake. About daybreak the Indians unloosed the thongs and Davis immediately sprang forward, ran across a little creek, on the banks of which the camp was located, and into a thicket of brush and briars, with the Indians in pursuit yelling like demons, and strange to say was not hit by any of their shots. He escaped and made his way toward the Ohio, which was reached in two days, and succeeded in pushing over a decayed buckeye tree, out of which he constructed a raft and finally reached the Kentucky shore. From there he proceeded to a place where he had secreted a. bark canoe on a hunting trip and in this he floated down the river to Massies Station. When he made his escape he had no clothing on but his shirt and trousers and when he arrived at the Station, after five days without food excepting roots and raw fish, he was entirely naked, as his clothing bad been literally torn off by the briars and brush in his rapid flight. A half breed of French and Indian blood, who gave his name as Montour, was with the band of Indians, and informed Davis that the Indian Chief in command was a Shawnee named "Charley Wilkie." Of the other two prisoners, Campbell escaped after being sold by the Delawares, and Donald was burned at the stake by the Pottawattamies. Montour boasted to Davis that he had taken sixteen scalps at St. Clair's defeat, and showed him the handle of his tomahawk on which sixteen notches were cut. Davis inquired of Montour what the British did with the cannon captured from St. Clair, and Montour informed him that four of the pieces were sunk CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF COLUMBUS - 347 in a deep stream near the battleground. Davis, after his escape, went to Cincinnati and gave the information to the commandant at Fort Washington and the cannon were rescued. Davis went on many hunting and scouting expeditions in eastern Kentucky and often trailed marauding bands of Indians who had stolen horses from the whites, and at one time recaptured ten horses and returned them safely to the white settler. Simon Kenton lived near Washington, Kentucky, and Davis was in his employ as a spy for three years. His principal duties were to patrol the Ohio river and to report to Kenton when Indians crossed from Ohio into Kentucky for the purpose of pillage and murder. In this service he had many encounters with the Indians. During a part of the time when a spy he was accompanied by Colonel Duncan McArthur. At one time he related that he shot and killed an Indian belonging to a pillaging band and made a miraculous escape, as he was chased for many miles through the forest by the Indians, but finally reached the river, where he had a canoe secreted and pulled out into the stream just ahead of his pursuers. Campbell, who was captured by the Indians with Davis and was his companion on many of his hunting expeditions, was afterward killed by the Indians on the Ohio side of the river. Soon after Wayne's treaty, 1795, Davis moved to Ohio and settled on the Scioto below Chillicothe. He afterwards lived in Chillicothe and for some years west of the town. Davis related that when living in that vicinity a party of Indians came to his house and among their number were some of the Indians who had taken him a prisoner, and on seeing him, exclaimed, "waugh Shinneh wanneh," i. e., "Captain." Comes to Columbus. In the year 1814 he removed to Franklin county when he was about fifty-one years of age. During the war of 1812 he served on two expeditions in the northwest, and on one of them as a captain of volunteers. Captain Davis had a most remarkable career as a backwoodsman, hunter, Indian fighter and soldier, including his service in the war of the Revolution until the close of the war of 1812, a period of a third of a century of almost continuous warfare with the British and Indians. The history of the service of this brave frontiersman is scarcely second to that of Daniel Boone and Simon Kenton. He was an intelligent, highly respected citizen, and lived quietly on his farm in Franklin county until his death, which occurred in Norwich township in 1849, at the age of eighty-six. Many of the descendants of Captain Davis, the Davis and Sells, reside in Dublin and vicinity; others in the city of Columbus at this time. A Columbus Squirrel Hunt. In view of the present restrictive game laws, the following quotations from the early history of Columbus look strange, indeed, even with the subjoined explanation. For the first twenty years or more after the settlement of this country, fishing and hunting were favorite amusements; and the fish 348 - CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF COLUMBUS and game being plenty, a person did not tire in the pursuit. Fishing was sometimes with a net seine but more frequently with a brush drag, which required from a dozen to twenty men, and was a kind of frolic. Hunting was for the double or treble purpose of amusement, the obtaining of fresh game for the table, and the protection of the crops against devouring animals. The subjoined account of a general squirrel hunt, from the Columbus Gazette of August 29, 1822, is illustrative of the above fact, and at the same time it brings to view the names and the memory of a number of respectable citizens of that day, most of them have now passed away "Grand Squirrel Hunt.-The squirrels are becoming so numerous in the county as to threaten serious injury, if not destruction, to the crops of the farmer during the ensuing fall. Much good might be done by a general turn out of all citizens whose convenience will permit, for two or three days, in order to prevent the alarming ravages of those mischievous neighbors. It is, therefore, respectfully submitted to the different townships each, to meet and choose two or three of their citizens to meet in a. hunting caucus, at the house of Christian Heyl, on Saturday, the 31st inst., at 2 o'clock P. M. Should the time above stated prove too short for the townships to hold meetings, as above recommended, the following persons are respectfully nominated and invited to attend the meeting at Columbus: Montgomery, Jeremiah McLene and Edward Livingston; Hamilton, George W. Williams and Andrew Dill; Madison, Nicholas Goetschius and W. H. Richardson ; Truro, Abiather V. Taylor and John Hanson ; Jefferson, John Edgar and Elias Ogden ; Plain, Thomas B. Patterson and Jonathan Whitehead; Harrison, F. C. Olmsted and Captain Bishop; Sharon, Matthew Matthews and Buckley Comstock; Perry, Griffith Thomas and William Mickey; Washington, Peter Sells and Uriah Clark; Norwich, Robert Elliott and Alanson Perry; Clinton, Colonel Cook and Samuel Henderson; Franklin, John McElvain and Lewis Williams; Prairie, John Hunter and Jacob Neff; Pleasant, James Gardiner and Reuben Golliday; Jackson, Woollery Conrad and Nicholas Hoover; Mifflin, Adam Reid and William Dalzell. "In case any township should be unrepresented in the meeting, those present will take the liberty of nominating suitable persons for said absent townships. Ralph Osborn, Gustavus Swan, Christian Heyl, Lucas Sullivant, Samuel G. Flenniken, John A. McDowell." A subsequent paper says: "The hunt was conducted agreeable to the instructions in our last paper. On counting the scalps, it appeared that nineteen thousand six hundred and sixty scalps were produced. It is impossible to say what number in all were killed, as a great many of the hunters did not come in." The hunting or killing of deer was successfully practiced by candle or torch light, at night, on the river. The deer in warm weather would come CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF COLUMBUS - 349 into the river after night to eat a kind of water-grass that grew in the stream, and the hunters, by taking a canoe, and a bright light in it, could let it float down stream, and the light appeared to blind the deer until they could float near to them and shoot them with ease. An Honored Pioneer. A writer in the Ohio Statesman of Tuesday morning, February 22, 1870, apropos to the death of a prominent Columbus pioneer referring to the families of 1805-7-8; the Miners, the Whites, the Stewarts, the Johnsons, the Worthingtons, the Shannons, the Stambaughs, the Ramseys, the Moohreys, the Sharps, the Deckers, the Rareys and the Olmsteds, recalls old memories. The occasion of the publication was the demise, on the Sunday preceding, of Colonel Philo H. Olmsted, the then oldest, as well as the pioneer representative of the Olmsted family. Colonel Olmsted had long been one of the leading figures in early Columbus, both in civic and military affairs. He was a non-com. of the celebrated Franklin Dragoons, which escorted President James Monroe from Worthing ton to Columbus in 1817 and later was its commander. The Dragoons were organized during the war of 1812 and continued as an organized body until 1832. The paper referring to a then noteworthy event says: "On Saturday, August 31, 1822, Colonel Olmsted participated in the grand squirrel hunt, which resulted in the capture of nineteen thousand six hundred and sixty scalps," a. fuller account of which event is given elsewhere in this work. Colonel Olmsted had filled the office of mayor and many other public offices, had been identified with the Columbus newspaper press, was foremost in all public affairs, and his death naturally effected the entire community with sorrow and sincere regret. On the evening of February 21, the editors and printers of the city assembled in the office of Governor Edward F. Noyes, and organized by electing Colonel Charles B. Flood, president, and Hon. John Greiner. secretary. On motion of Grafton Pearce, the following persons were chosen to report resolutions expressive of both public and private sentiment: Judge W. B. Thrall, Colonel C. B. Flood, Grafton Pearce, A. B. Laurens and William H. Bushey. In their report the committee referred to Colonel Olmsted's long and valuable services in pushing forward the city of Columbus and eulogized his many good qualities. (RETURN TO THE TITLE PAGE)