MRS. SALLY INGHAM - 125 When the dogs were ready to be sacrificed, they held them up by the legs and said a long ceremony over them; then they laid them on the burning log-heap. During this part of the performance, the Indians stood around in perfect silence, almost motionless, and looked as solemn as the grave. Good Hunter officiated as priest. After the dogs were laid on the fire, Good Hunter laid a sprig of dried herbs on the dog, and then every other Indian and squaw did the same, in rotation, and in perfect order, without saying a word. Each dog was put through this ceremony separately. After that, an Indian came running in and scattered fire and ashes all around the council house and over the people. In the burial of their dead, a hole was left in the box, near the head, to let the spirit come through, and the corpse was supplied with cakes of sugar and bread. After the box was let down into the grave, the Indians marched around it, and each dropped some green sprig upon it—very much like the burial ceremony of a member of some secret society in this respect, in these days. When the grave—was filled up, 'the squaws pulled their blankets forward over their heads and as far out as their elbows would reach, and cried with a sort of howling voice,- while the men stood motionless, and looked on without shedding a tear. The chief, Tuquania, had a twin sister who was a medicine-woman. The twins were born with one eye each. One time my mother was very sick, and for want of a. better doctor, we sent for this squaw. The snow was very deep, and yet she went out into the woods with a hoe and got some herbs. Then she came over to our house and made tea with these herbs and cured mother. We loved the old squaw very much after that, and always made her feel welcome at our hOuse. When father died, she attended his funeral, and seemed to be very much affected. This Benazah Parker, who was stabbed by Peter Pork, was a man about five feet six inches high, of dark complexion, dark hair and eyes, and was about thirty- seven years old. There was nothing prepossessing in his appearance. He was stabbed in October, 1829, and died some time in the month of January, 1881. Jaques Hulburt and Shepherd Patrick bought the land, with the old fort, at the sales. Father had charge of the Indians some ten years, and up to the time of his death, when Gen. Henry C. Brish took charge of the agency, and it was not long after that when the Indians were taken away. I think it required only three or four wagons to take all their things. Mr. Hulburt was one of the first associate-judges of the court of common pleas for Seneca county. He was about five feet eight inches high, lean of flesh, but well proportioned; had a dark complexion,' dark hair and eyes, a high forehead, pleasant and gentlemanly in his intercourse with people. He was a man of exemplary character, fair education and excellent judgment. He enjoyed the confidence and esteem of all who knew him. He taught the first grammar school in this county. My sister Maria, Mrs. Keen and myself attended his school. He was a member of the Presbyterian church. When be sold his Fort Seneca farm, lie bought the land. where Fort Stephenson stood, and built a house there. So he was the owner of both forts. The 126 - HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY. house he built at Fort Stephenson was a one-story frame house, with a porch on the east side. [At the first Celebration of the battle of Fort Stephenson, on the 2d day of August, 1839, Mr. Elutherus Cook delivered his oration from that porch to the aSsembled thousands, when Mrs. Ingharn gat by a Window, inside of. the house, and the writer stood near the porch, listening to the oration—more than forty-years ago. Mrs. Ingham was an old Whig, and therefore enjoyed the speech, which was more of a political than historic character, and therefore out of place, while the writer did not like the very many bitter remarks hurled at the Democratic party, which he then thought were ill-timed, and thinks so still.] Mr. Hulburt opened a store in Lower Sandusky. He was afterwards elected a member of the House of Representatives, in the legislature of' Ohio, from Sandusky county. He died of consumption, December 25, 1836. Caleb Rice was the nearest neighbor we had. He was a millwright by trade, an excellent mechanic, and a very intelligent man. He built the Mill for the Senecas at Green creek, about one-half mile below the springs. He was constantly involved in law-suits, occasioned by his general disposition to evade his promises. He was a bad financier,. and outside of his intelligence and mechanical skill, of very little account. Benjamin Culver, another neighbor, was a Canadian by birth, and possessed of considerable wealth. He bought the best farms on the river bottom. He was about forty-eight years old when he was married to Miss Harris, who was then a beautiful young girl. Miss Harris was the only white girl at my brother's funeral, who died at the fort in 1820. Mr. Culver was a man of excellent heart, a true. friend and a good neighbor. 'The only fault in his life was his love for strong drink. died in 1840, when he was about sixty years old. William Spicer was a white man, and was captured byjhe Indians when quite young. He spoke the language of the Cayugas and the Senecas. fluently. He had accumulated a good deal of money at the time he was robbed. A man by the name of Rollins was sent to the penitentiary for the robbery, but it was generally believed that others got the money. Spicer was very filthy in his personal appearance—perhaps never.washed himself; at least, he looked as if his face had never come in 'contact with the element Called water. His house was the dirtiest on the reserve. His voice was rough and extremely offensive. He was respected by nobody. Crow was a German boy, and was stolen by the Wyandots in Greenbriar county, Pennsylvania, when quite young. Hislather, Jacob Knisely, found. liim here fifty years after he was stolen. My father went with Mr. Knisely to look him up. Crow refused to go with his father. The, meeting and parting of father and son was very affecting on the part of Air. Knisely. Crow did not seem to care much. My father often spoke abOut this scene, with much feeling. The father of Mr. Isaac I. Dumond came here with his family shortly before the land sales, and. settled near the fort. He was a man about five fe,et eight inches high, compactly built, and slow of speech. He was kind and hospitable, and a good neighbor. His family consisted of wife and eight children—four sons and four daughters. Mr. Thimond was a member MRS. SALLY INGHAM - 127 of the old school Baptist church. Elder Kating often preached in Mr. Dumont's cabin. He lived here some twelve years after he came, and died in a small frame house he had built near theircabin, and close to the road. I heard the Reverend Robert Finley preach often, and afterwards his son, James B. Finley, and still later the nephew of the latter. They were all great preachers; and men of high standing in the estimation of the people. James B. Finley was. about fifty years of age when I saw him, a man of striking personal appearance, about five feet ten inches high, heavy built, very straight, with light complexion, light brown hair, and gray eyes ; his features were regular and prominent, his countenance was expressive and earliest, and his manners were naturally kind and iitrinning, yet there was, great force and decision of character about his general make-up. His sermons were in conformity with his appearance and temperament—forcible and convincing. His voice was loud and. clear ; he was a good singer, and a great revival preacher. He belonged to the Urbana circuit, where his father preached before him, but his services were extended throughout north-western Ohio. It is scarcely necessary to add that there were neither melodeons nor organs to assist in the singing, and churches that cost from thirty to fifty thousand dollars, with organs that cost one thousand dollars or more, were not thought of in those days, in this region. Seneca John used to get drunk occasionally, and it troubled my father very inuch to ascertain the way john got his whisky. He filially hit upon a plan to catch a man by the name of Broughton, whom he had suspected for some time. He took Mr. Isaac I. Dumond, Shane and John with him to Broughton's one evening. Father had dressed himself in. Indian costume, and when the party were seated around on benches in Broughton's house, John called for whisky, and after drinking some, handed the glass over to father, who tasted it to be sure that it was whisky. Then father threw back his feathers-and blanket, and when Broughton recognized him he almost sank into the ground. After a severe reprimand from father, Broughton pronlised to sell no more whisky to Indians, and he was let go without punishment for the time being. Steel and Gostick looked nearly alike, and both were abolit one quarter white. Comstock was a full blood Cayuga, well dressed, cutting great swells, a dashing, fine looking and sober Indian. He was not as large as the other chiefs, rather small on the contrary, but squarely built. With all his gayety he was modest and reserved, and highly esteemed by Indians and whites. Tuquania, a half bfother to head chief Tuquania, was at one time a cap-tain in the French service. He and his sister were both of French mixture. While in the service of the French, Tuquania had acquired many French ways and manners. He was also converted by a. French priest and had braced the catholic religion ; and he often .said that he was sure of being a christian, because he TAras baptized "Joseph." Yet, for some reason or other, he would join in the dog dance. He was about sixty years of age in 1819, and lived to go west with his tribe. He was die most intelligent Indian on the reservation. He wore a red vest, buckskin leggings with a white ruffled shirt over the leggings, and a nice shawl over his head on Sunday. His hair 128 - HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY. was nicely braided. Very proud of his education and French training, he often put on great airs, and said, " This is the way the French officers do." His overbearing disposition often got him into trouble with other Indians. all of whom he regarded as vastly his inferiors, and very frequently father was called upon to settle his troubles for hith. A man by the name of Keeler lived near the river bank. He had a family of six children; he came from the state of New York, and bought forty acres of land. The family suffered greatly with sickness. I don't remember what became of them. Alexander McNutt and his brother, Daniel McNutt, were also here in 1819. Daniel had a family, and Alexander married a sister of Isaac T. Dumond. My fatherSolemnized their marriage. William Montgomery Started a store in 1833, in a log cabin, in the village that is now called Fort Seneca. Eliphalet Rogers bought a farm near Wolf creek. He married Hannah Jackson, who had lived. at Mr. Bowe's a long time. Rogers was.an honest, home-spun sort of a man. His farm became afterwards known as the Snook farm. Almon Rollins married Mary Sherwood, and Lorenzo Abbott married her sister Jeanette. The two couple were married at the same time. Jeanette was then only fourteen years old. Old Mr. Sherwood was captain of a militia company, and very proud of his station. He was a great talker; and somewhat boastful. He did not live to be very old. Mr. William Harris, the gunsmith, was a man about five feet ten inches high, stout and well built. He was poor, but a man of considerable refinement,.and strictly honest. He drank some, but not to excess. He came here with his family after the Barneys, but before the Dumonds, and was amongst the first that settled near the fort. The Pikes and the Chaneys lived on the Spicer place when we came to the fort. There were three of these Tuguanias. One was the head chief, another was the Joseph, and the third was the Armstrong Tuguania, the son of the one eyed medicine Woman. MRS. SALLY INGHAM. The subject of this sketch was, born in Champaign county, Ohio, on the 4th day of February, 181x. She is, the fifth chiltl, of the Rev. James Montgomery, and was but eight years old when the family moved into the blockhouse. at Fort, Seneca. She grew up from .childhood into a blooming maiden, on the banks of the old Sandusky, among a few white settlers on one side, and the Senecas on the other side, of the river. In these wild and rural scenes of her childhood, she lived under the droppings of the sanctuary, blessed with the love of christian parents, and a cheerful disposition that lets the owner look upon the sunny side MRS. SALLY INGHAM - 129 of life —a blessing that never forsook her in all her life-long pathway For want of other schools she received her primary education in the household, and afterwards took lessons in English grammar from Judge Hulburt. She also attended a grammar school taught by Edson B. Goit, Esq., in Lower Sandusky, Ohio. With this training she was enabled to teach school herself, and kept her. first school near John Crum's, on the state road, three miles north of Tiffin; and after the death of her father, she taught two years longer. When she was about getting ready to attend the grammar school at Fremont, she went to McNeil's store at Fort Ball, to buy a pair of shoes. Mr. Sardis Birchard sold them to her. He was then clerk.in the store, and afterwards became familiarly known in Lower Sandusky by the name of Judge Birchard, the uncle of President Hayes. On the 25th day of March, 1832, Mrs. Ingham was married to Milton Frary, a young farmer in Pleasant township, in this county, who died in 1852. After living in widowhood seventeen years, she married a Mr. Alexander Ingham,.from Cleveland, Ohio, who also died in April, 1870. Mrs. Ingham is still in the enjoyment of good health, and the same old ha,ppy disposition. She has a most retharkable rnemory of past events. The names of persons, places and incidents are at her tongue's end, and her ready delineation is easily discernible by reading her narrative. She has her father's temperament and appearance, strongly marked. Her conversation is both instructive and amusing, couched in splendid English, and sweetened. by her christian training, which , unconsciously crops out on every occasion. If she. ever had an enemy, he inust have .died long ago. She is beloved by all who know her, and welcome at every door. For more than fifty-two years she has been a faithful member of the Chuich, in good. standing; and while she enjoys her trust and confidence in God, she is not bowed down by the weight of the cross, but seems rather to bear her faith and increasing weight of years' as an enjoyment. She has now lived in Seneca county longer than any other person in it, and is the last and only remaining member of a once very large Mrs. Ingham had four children: James R. Frary, who was married to Hattie F., daughter of the Rev. Andrews. Re died in Tiffin, in March, 1862, well known among the merchants and. business men of 'Tiffin; Emily, now the wife of Jacob Baker; Sarah, who was married - 9 - 130 - HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY. to Ralph Gates, and died in 1877; Justin, who died in 1863, as a prisoner of war in a rebel hospital in Danville, Virginia. The writer, in gratitude for her inany narratives of men and things pertaining to early life in Seneca county, can only wish her many more years of life in the enjoyment of her happy nature, in health, comfort and contentment. CHAPTER VIII. DEATH OF COMSTOCK-SENECA STEEL-DEATH OF SENECA JOHN-COONSTICK -TRIAL AND DISCHARGE OF COONSTICK - JUDGE HIGGINS' DECISION-JUDGE BIRCHARD'S STATEMENT-BENJAMIN F. WARNER-HARD HICKORY AND HIS DEATH-IMMIGRATION OF THE SENECAS TO THE NEOSHO AND COWSKIN RIVERS -CHARLIEU-THE GIRTYS-THE DEATH OF DRAKE. GENERAL Henry C. Brish, who succeeded Mr. Montgomery in the agency of the Senecas, relates the following incident as illustrative of the superstition of the Seneca Indians, and of the composure with which their warriors would meet death. The tribe had dwindled down to about four hundred souls: About the year 1825, three of the prominent chiefs—Coonstick, Steel and Cracked Hoof, went on an excursion to seek a new home and fresh hunting grounds for their people. They returned after an absence of nearly three years. Coonstick and Steel were brothers. They had left behind them an older brother, Comstock, who was chief of the tribe, and a younger brother, John—Seneca John. The two brothers who had gone. west, finding on their return that their elder brother, Comstock, was dead, and that their younger brother, John, was chief in his stead, charged John with having caused the death of Comstock by witchcraft. He denied the charge, and said: "I loved my brother Comstock more than I love the green earth I stand upon. would give myself up, limb by limb, piecemeal by piecemeal—I would shed my blood, drop by drop, to restore him to life." But all this protestation of innocence, and love for his brother, was of no avail. His brothers told him that he must die', an.d that it was their duty to be his executioners. John calthly replied: "I am willing to die. I ask only that you will allow me to live until to-morrow morning, that I may see the sun rise once more. I will sleep tonight on the porch of Hard Hickory's lodge, which fronts the east. There you will find me at sunrise." They acceded to his request. Coonstick and Steel., awaiting the morning, when they were to kill their brother, passed the night in a lodge near by. In the morning, they proceeded to the hut of Hard Hickory, (who himself told this story to Gen. Brish). He said that just as the sun Was rising, he heard the approaching footsteps of the brothers, and opened the door of his hut to peep out. There he saw John asleep, wrapped in his blanket. His brothers awoke him. He arose and took frora his head a large handkerchief, which was wonnd around it. His hair, which was very long, fell upon his 132 - HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY. shoulders. The doomed chief looked calmly around for the last time upon, the landscape, and upon the rising sun, taking, evidently, a farewell view, then said to his brothers that he was ready to die. The brothers had brought with them another Indian warrior by the name of Shane. Coonstick and Shane each took John by the, arm, and led him along towards the place of his execution: Steel followed behind with his gleaming tomahawk in his hand. They had adVanced about ten steps from the porch when Steel struck his brother a heavy blow with his tomahawk, upon the back of his head. He fell to the ground, as the blood gushed from the dreadful wound. Supposing him to be dead, they dragged him beneath a tree near by. There, perceiving signs of life, Steel drew his knife and cut h is brother's throat from ear to ear. The next day the corpse was buried with the customary Indian ceremonies. This horrible scene. occurred in Seneca county in the year 1828. Steel was arrested and tried in Sandusky county, and was acquitted. So far, Abb. Butterfield has this in addition, viz: Supposing this blow sufficient to kill him, they dragged him under a peach tree near by. In a short time, however, he revived, the blow having been broken by the great mass of his hair. Knowing that it was Steel who had struck the blow, John, as he lay, turned his head towards Coonstick and said : "Now, brother, do you take your revenge." This so operated upon the feelings of Coonstick, that he interfered to save him; but it enraged Steel to such an extent, that he drew his knife and cut John's throat from ear to ear. Gen. Brish also said: Three years thereafter, when I was preparing to remove them to the west, I saw Coonstick and Steel remove the fence and level the ground, so that no vestige of the grave remained. John chose the place for his execution near Hard Hickory's lodge because he did not wish to be killed. in the presence of his wife, and because, also, he wanted Hard Hickory to witness that he. "died like a man." Judge Higgins, in a communication to Knapp's History of the Maumee Valley, says: Upon the extinguishment of the Indian titles, there were several tribes that continued to occupy their former homes, and retained their titles to small reservations of land. Among these Indians was the tribe of Senecas, Who held a reserve of ten miles square, on the Sandusky river, a few miles above Fremont. The political relations between these Indians and the United States government were peculiar.. The United States claimed, and exercised, an ultimate sovereignty over all Indian reserves, and they conceded complete personal jurisdiction and independence to the Indians within the boundaries of their reservations. Questions requiring decision upon this relation were frequently occurring in the course of my judicial experience. Among others, was a case occurring in the Seneca tribe, of peculiar interest. DEATH OF SENECA JOHN - 133 During the session of the Supreme Court in Fremont, in 1822, (It must have been in 1829 or 1830.—AUTH.) some person in Lower Sandusky entered a complaint before a justice of the peace against a -head chief of the Senecas for murder, and he was arrested and brought before the justice, accompanied by a number of the principal men of his tribe. The incidents upon which this proceeding was founded' are very interesting, as illustrating the Indian life and character. With this head chief—Coonstick—I was somewhat acquainted. He was a noble specimen of a man; of fine form, dignified in manner, and evincing much good sense in conversation and conduct. The Judge then goes on to relate the killing of Seneca John, concerning which he differed some as to the facts, and proceeds: These facts being presented to the Supreme Court, they decided that the execution of the criminal was an act completely within the jurisdiction of the chief, and that Coonstick was justified in the execution of a judicial sentence, which he was the proper person to carry it into effect. The case was ,dismissed, and Coonstick discharged. Judge Sardis Birchard, of Fremont, the uncle of President Hayes, had a store in Lower Sandusky during the time.: the Senecas were on their reservation. He was called "Judge" from the fact that during the existence of the old constitution of Ohio, it required three associate Judges to sit with the Circuit Judge to hold what is now known as "Common Pleas Court." Mr. Birchard was one of them. Tall Chief, Hard Hickory, Seneca John, Curly Eye, Good Hunter and others, traded with him. Mr. Birchard often attended, their dances, and said that Rudolphus 'Dickinson, Judge Justice and. Mr. Fifield often danced with the Indians. The Indians called Mr. .Birchard "Ansequago," and they told him' that it meant "the man who owns the most of the land." Mr. Birchard, in his communication to Knapp's History, says: I remember well the death of Seneca John. He was a tall, noble looking man, and was said' to have looked very much like Henry Clay. He was always pleasant and cheerful. He was called the most eloquent speaker on the reserve. He could always restore harmony in their council when there was any ill-feeling. In the evening before the morning of his death, he was at my store. The whole. tribe seemed to be in town. Steel and Coonstick were jealous of John, on account of his power and influence. John was a great favorite among the squaws. John bade me "good-bye," and stood by me on the porch before the store as. the other Indians rode away. He looked at them as they moved off, with so much sadness in his face, that it attracted my attention, and I wondered at John's letting them go off without him. John inquired the amount of his indebtedness at my store. We then went behind the counter to the desk. The amount was figured up and stated to John, who said something about paying it, and then went away without relating any of his trouble. 134 - HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY. The principal head men or chiefs of the Senecas, were Good Hunter. Hard Hickory and Tall Chief; there were also some half-chiefs. Among those most naed was Benjamin F. Warner, a white man, who had previously been a fireman on a steamboat. He had eloped with an Indian woman and settled down among the Senecas. Hard Hickory was the leading mind among them. He was a leader of no ordinary grade. He was possessed of polished manners, seldom seen in an Indian. He spoke the French language fluently, and the English intelligibly. Scrupulously adhering to the costume of his. people, and retaining many of their habits, this chief was much endeared to. them. His urbanity, his intelligence and ardent attachment to the whites, and, above all, his strict integrity in business transactions, o.btained for him — and deservedly the respect and confidence of all with whom he traded. The merchants of Lower Sandusky reposed such trust in him, that when some poor Indian came to ask for goods on credit, if Hard Hickory would say that he would see them paid for, no more was required. Thus his word passed current with, and for, the whole tribe. Mr. Obed Dickinson was a particular friend of Hard Hickory. Hard Hickory fell from his high station as an honest man. Tempted by money, he became first a thief and then a liar. How many of our own people—some, even, in our own town of. Tiffin—who, for a long time in their business life, were. regarded and esteemed as men of profound integrity and honesty, who had stood aloof for a long time from all manner of crime, and had enjoyed the confidence and esteem of all who knew them, and while at the height of their glory, became dizzy and weak; and as they fell, took down with them, not only the money of the men whose confidence they had secured, but the general condemnation of all honest men in the community! How often we are deceived in our fellows! We often let men of tried. and acknowledged honesty stand aside, and take obscure men who had no record for unflinching honor, put them in places of honor and trust, and about the time we begin to think they are fire-proof, they fall down deep and take our money with them. After the fall we compromise with some agent of the thief, and secure as much of the money that was stolen from us as we can, and let the gentlemanly thief go—perhaps ,to run for some office. The Indians don't understand etiquette in that way, it seems. An annuity of $1,600 was due from the state of New York, for a limited number of years, to certain families of Cayugas, of one of which Hard Hickory was a member. This annuity .was regularly paid,"up to HARD HICKORY MUST DIE - 135 their removal, at their old home on the Sandusky. By an arrangement with the general government in their treaty at Washington, that annuity was to be forwarded to them at their new home on the Neosho, through the hands of the government agents. In the year 1834, a draft for the sum due them from New York, was forwarded and received by them; and in order to make a distribution of the money among those entitled to receive it, it was necessary to have the draft cashed, for which purpose Hard Hickory, with George Herrin, the interpreter, were delegated to go to Fort Gibson. They went, sold the draft, and received the money. Hard Hickory then proposed to Herrin a trip to Washington City to see after the business of the tribe, relative to their land sales in Ohio. Said he: "Let us go while we have this money; it will make no difference to our people, as our Great Father, the President, will pay ust back all the money we spend in going there and returning home, as he did when we went to our treaty." So off they started to Washington. For more than a month they reveled in all the luxury and dissipation of the city, until they were tired of them. Now they determined to go home, and requested the Commissioner of Indian Affairs to reimburse them, and furnish means to return with. This, of course, was refused. On arriving home, their money was nearly gone. Hickory was then called before his people to give an account of himself. He stated that there was something wrong about the draft, and he had to go to Washington to arrange it; that the President said it should all be made right, and they would get the money soon, all in silver. Doubting this statement, they sent a messenger to, Fort Gibson to ascertain the truth. He reported, on his return, that Hickory had drawn the money on the draft, and consequently the chief's statement to the contrary was false. A solemn council was called, before which he was summoned to appear. He appeared; he plead guilty to the charge of falsehood, and made no attempt 'to palliate or justify the offense, but threw himself upon the mercy of his people, offering, at the same time, to surrender all his horses and other property as an indemnity for the money spent, which would have been sufficient, ,or nearly so, to have satisfied the amount. The council lasted several days. In the debate as to the punishment of Hickory, some of the chiefs made efforts to save his life. A majority, however, were against him. He had betrayed. his trnst, and dishonored his high station as a chief. At length the verdict came that Hara' Hickory must die. If Hickory had stood forth before his people and asserted at once 136 - HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY. the truth of the matter—in other words—had not lied about it, be would have saved his life and honor. "And from my knowledge of the tribe," says Gen. Brish, "that 'would have been the result." . In hopes that he would yet be.spared, and that no one would attempt to kill him in the presence of his wife, who was much respected, he confined himself to his house, heavily armed. For several days and nights his house was surrounded. At length, the notorious Shane, who helped to murder Seneca john, volunteered to kill him in his house. Shane, having just returned from the Cherokee country, went to the house in the night and rapped at the door. Hickory recognized his voice, and naturally supposed that he had at least One friend who would try to save him. Hard Hickory was the uncle of Shane. On being assured that Shane was alone, Hickory directed his wife to unbar the door and let him in, which she did.. Shane wore a blanket, and appcoached Hickory in the middle of the room, holding out.his left hand, while his right was under the blanket, holding the handle of a long kriife. Hickory held out his right hand to Shane, and as soon as their hands were grasped, Shane drew his knife and stabbed Hickory through the body; and, then dragged him out of doors,. where several Indians stabbed and tomahawked him. Thus perished the renowned chief Hard Hickory, with the seal of falsehObd stamped upon his hitherto fair character. This Benjamin F, Warner had become entirely Indian in his habits, and associated with Hard Hickory, and. other chiefs.. Those who described him as part Indian, were simply migtaken. He was a Yankee by birth, but became an Indian by choice. His wife's name was Kon-ke-pot; she was. from Green Bay, and a Mohican. The Senecas adopted the family. Warner became a sort of major-domo of the tribe, arid in common with them, drew a portion, of their annuities from the government. He transacted a great deal of business for the Senecas. If a horse was missing, Warner would be sure to track and find him:. He could stock a gun or a plow, build a house,. tan a skin, and was always ready for either work, or sport, but sober. He emigrated with the Senecas to the west. His wife died on the journey, soon after crossing the Mississippi, and Ben, with his child, accompanied the tribe to the new reserve on the'Neosho. Warner had a cow, which he gave to a poor family who.had buried their father and husband near the door of their cabin, near the west line of Missouri. "The family were in utter destitution, and we gave them all we could spare. On leaving them, the woman cried out: You have left a cow behind. On looking back, I saw :Warner's cow in a small picket enclosure, near the CHARLIEU-IMMIGRATION OF THE SENECAS - 137 house, and called his attention to the fact. Ms reply was: put her there myself; guess the womanlii want' her worse than I shall.' Benjamin Franklin Warner proved that he carried a noble heart tinder a rough exterior." There was an old Indian living on the Vanmeter tract, in this county —a Mohawk—whose name was Charlieu, and who Was famous for his animosity to the Americans. At the age of about twenty-five, he fought, with the rest of the Canadian Indians, under Montcalm, upon the heights of Abraham, where the brave and generous Wolf was. killed. At that time he was married, and had one child. He fought-during the late war on the side of the British, and had a large number of scalps in his possession, which he had taken during the war. He joined the Senecas, with the rest of his tribe, in 1829, and with them, started for the distant.west. At St. Louis he was' taken sick, and died on the 26th day of April, 1832. As he wore several crosses suspended from his long hair, he was claimed by the Roman Catholics, and received a christian burial in the Catholic church-yard in that city. He was,supposed to be over one hundred years old when he died. He spoke French fluently, and was well known to the first settlers of this. county. The removal of the Senecas to the west was agreed upon at Washington City., on the 28th day of February, 1831. This treaty was made between James Gardiner, Commissioner on the part of the United States, and Comstock, Seneca Steel, Captain Good Hunter, Hard Hickory and Small-Cloud Spicer, chiefs of the Seneca tribe. George Herrin acted as interpreter, and Gen. Henry C. Brish as sub-agent. The proceeds of the sale of .the Seneca reservation were to be put into funded stock at five per cent interest, which was to be paid to the Indians as an annuity, after deducting the cost of building for the Senecas a blacksmith shop and grist mill. The United States gave them seventy-six thousand acres of land, lying along the Neosho and Cowskin rivers, northwest of the state of Arkansas, and ninety Miles above Fort Gibson. (See chapter 29.) In the fall of the year 1831, the Senecas started for their horrie in the west, when there were, just 5 to of them, all told, the most mixed-up-mess of humanity imaginable. A portion of them traveled overland, and after experiencing numerous hardships and many accidents, finally succeeded in reaching Missouri in the following spring. The division in charge of Gen. Brish traveled by water, encountering but little difficulty. They reached the Ohio river at Cincinnati, where they took a boat. 138 - HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY. Their new home is a beautiful country, and at this time probably owned by the whites. On the 26th day of April, they all met above St. Louis, and arrived on the Neosho on the 4th day of July, following. On the 26th day of August, 1845, they had been reduced down to. the number of one :hundred and forty-three. It is to be presumed that. at this time there is nothing left of that once. powerful tribe of savages but their. name. So. Mote it be; Simon Girty, the most infarnous of all the white savages amongst the redskins was. adopted by the Senecas, and became not only a great scout, but also. An expert hunter. He was from Pennsylvania; to which state his father had emigrated from Ireland. The old man was:beastly intemperate:, and' whisky was his great delight. "Grog was his song, and grog he would have." His sottishness turned his wife's affection. Her paramour knocked the old man on the head and won the price. This couple left, four sons; - Thomas, Simon, George and James. The three latter were taken prisoners, in Braddock's war, by the Indians. George Was adopted ..by the Delawares, became a ferocious monster, and died in a drunken fit James, was adapted by Shawnees, and became as depraved as his brother. It is said that he often visited Kentucky, at the time of its first settlement, and inflicted most barbarous tortures upon all captive women who came within his reach, Very many acts of cruelty are charged to him and yet Proctor and Elliott .petted him. In Kentucky and Ohio, Simon sustained the character of a most brutal. barbarian; everything cruel and fiend-like was associated with his name. Indian life and brutality suited his nature, and with all his cruelties, that stamped him as a hyena more than any other beast, it was said of him that he saved many prisoners from death...: His influence was great, and Whenever he chose to do so could save many poor captives. In September, 1777, be led the attack on Fort Henry, on the site of Wheeling, and demanded the surrender of the fort in the name of hiS Brittanic majesty. He read the proclamation of Governor Hamilton, and promised, the protection of the crown, if the garrison would lay down their. arms and swear allegiance to the: king. He warned them to submit peaceably, and said that he could not restrain his warriors, then very. much excited. Col. Shepherd, the commander, rejected his propositions, and a shot from a thoughtless youth made Girty retire: He opened the siege, and failed. He was also repulsed from Baker's station.  In 1782 he led a powerful body of savages upon Bryant's station, in THE GIRTYS - 139 Kentucky, about five miles from Lexington. The Kentuckians mock such a gallant resistance that the Indians were anxious to retire, when Girty, thinking he could frighten the garrison into a surrender, mounted a stump and made a speech to them. He told them who he was, made 'all manner of promises of protection, etc. A young man by the name of Reynolds, fearing the officers would believe. Girty,. volunteered his remarks, and said to Girty : "You need not be so particular to tell us your name ; we know your name, and you too. I've had a Villainous dog. He was an untrustworthy cuss. I, named him Simon Girty, in compliment to you, he is so like you : just, as ugly and just as wicked. As to the cannon ; let them come on.: The country is aroused, and the scalps of your red cut-throats, and your own, too, will be drying on our cabins in twenty-four hours. We've a big score of rods laid, in to scourge you out again." This response of Reynolds was effectual. The Indians withdrew, and were pursued to the Blue-licks, where they lay in ambush and defeated the Kentuckians With great slaughter. Girty also led the attack on Colerain, in St. Clair's defeat. He died at Malden in 1815, blind and poor: There seems to be something in a name, after all. Whether names give to the possessor certain, traits of character, or whether beings of certain dispositions. will naturally. assume names, nobody can tell but while these Monster brothers 'became the terror from the Ohio to the lake, away out in the northwestern part of Illinois .another monster by the same name—Michael Girty—became the terror of the prairies. For similarity of name and character, let a few words suffice, which we take from Matson's History of Bureau County, Illinois. It may be true that Mike was a son of Simon; but nobody will: care' to know. I extract :—   Mike is said to have been a son of Simon Girty, a well known, notorious outlaw, who in 1780 escaped from justice in western Pennsylvania; and found refuge amongst the Indians of where he exercised great influence. Mike Girty was born of a squaw, and spent his early life among the Indians of Ohio. He came to this country soon after 1821, and was employed as interpreter by the fur company. Here he married a squaw and raised a number of sons. Mike tried hard to gain the confidence of the Indians, but they .did not trust the treacherous half breed. On the 21st of June, 1827, Gen. Cass, as Indian agent, held a council in Bureau county, with the Indians. Girty acted as interpreter. Cass gave him a silver medal, as a token of friendship, which he carried to the day of his death. After the close of the Black Hawk war; a numer of Indians returned to Bureau county. Among them were the squaw and pappooses. of Girty ; but Girty himself was not among them. His fate at that time was unknown, 140 - HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY. but it was generally believed that he had been killed in battle. Some time after that, on a clear, bright day in the Month of June, 1836, when the prairies Were covered with wild flowers and the farmers busy with their Avork Girty passed along the road to Princeton. Here he found a group of buildings, where a few years before not a. house could be seen. He carried on his back all his camp equipage—blankets, gun, kettle and provision, IIis once straight, manly form was now bent, not from age, but from disease and great fatigue. His head was without a covering, and coarse, black hair was hanging down to his shoulders in confused masses. They said that "he was undonbtedly the last of the Mohigans." He was not inclined to answer any questions, but passing up the street and looking at a painted building, he said : "That big wigwam ; great chief live there, I speck." When he was told that it was a church he passed on, not knowing what that was. He said as he started on, "Big wanior ; great brave." Ile directed his steps towards Indiantown. Here he found everything hail changed. At the foot of the hill, near a spring outside of town, Girty camped for the night, being overeome by sickness and fatigue: Here he gave himself up to feelings of despair. The smoke of his camp fire, and his loud coughing, attracted the attention of Dr. Langworthy, who visited the camp and offered his assistance ; but Girty appeared sullen, and would only shake his head. On the third day atter his arrival at Indiantown, he started west. About one week. thereafter, a man traveling on the old Sac and Fox trail, saw on the prairie north of Barren Grove, two wolves eating a carcass. Out of curiosity, he rode up to see what it was they were eating, and found it to be the carcass of an Indian partly devoured. Near the remains lay a gun, knife, tomahawk, blankets, a copper kettle and pot. Around the neck was a buckskin cord, to which was attached a silver medal. with this inscription : "A Token of Friendship. Lewis Cass. U. S. I. A." Thus ended that out-law. Oakley was the first post-office in Seneca county. At the time this was established there was but one mail route in the county, and, this led through the county, from Lower Sandusky to Columbus. Soon after the time the Senecas settled upon their reservation, or about that time, the mail was c.arried on horsebaCk by a young man named Urich Drake, who was a son of Judge Drake, of Marion county. Young Drake was killed by an Indian, as it was supposed at that time. He was found, torn by the wolves, and marks of a knife were also discovered on his body. In 1830 judge Drake came to this county to find out, if possible, who it was that murdered his son; and if it should be ascertained that the murderer was an Indian, then also to find the tribe he beidnged to. He called up.on Mr. Brish, then agent of the Senecas, and in company with him proceeded to the residence of "The Crow." Martin Lane acted as interpreter. Crow said that. the son of Jfidge Drake was killed by an Indian whose name was "Big Kitties." and that be had fled to Canada soon after the murder. The Judge returned home, fully satis- THE DEATH OF DRAKE - 141 fied that his son was murdered by a Canadian Indian. But such was not the fact. Mr. Brish, sometime subsequently, asked George Herrin what Indian was called Big Kitties.. The reply was that it was Spice'', the white man who lived upon tlie banks o'f the Sandusky. It appears that the young man had passed over to the east side of the river, and when near Spicer's house was, met by him and accompanied to the place where he was to cross back to the. west side of the river. Spicer mounted the horse behind Drake, and as soon as they had reached the opposite bank he drew his knife, and reaching around the. young man, with one effort cut him nearly in twain. He then dragged him behind a log. near the spring just below thc dam of John Riteller on the Sandusky river, (about three Miles north of Tiffin.) As soon a,s this was done he went to Crow's house, who, observing that he (Spicer) was covered with blood, inquired whether he had killed a deer. Spicer replied that he had killed a white man; whereupon Crow ordered him to be gone, as all probability he would be pursued, and if traced to his (Crow's) residence, they might suspect him of being. accessory. to the Murder. Spicer fled to Canada, but after awhile returned."These particulars were kept'a profound secret until related to Mr. Brish. The foregoing is takeil from Butterfield's History of Seneca County, and is given here, lor whatever it is worth. The two stories don't agree, and the latter, upon which the greatest stress seems to be laid, is the least likely to be true. The reader will remember that Crow's wife was the daughter of Spicer, and that Crow and Spicer were on intimate terms. There is no evidence that Spicer had ever left the reserve. Herrin, the interpreter, probably lied to Mr. Brish. This much of the story, however, is true; viz: That the young man was killed about that time, while carrying the mail to Lower Sandusky, and near Fort Seneca. The writer. saw and conversed. with a brother of the murdered mail carrier on this subject, a few years ago in Marion. The family were not satisfied as to the manner of the death. It is also true that in front and on the east side of the residence of the Reverend Henry Lang, in Fremont, and about three rods from his door, up on the hill opposite and north of Fort Stephenson, an hiimble little slab marks the grave of poor Drake. The inscription, which is still legible, is, "U. Drake. 1811." CHAPTER IX. ROCKY CREEK—FORT BALL—COL. BALL Aq'TACKED BY INDIANS,_ERASTUS BOWE—OAKLEY— NEW FORT BALL—FIRST POST OFFICE —.MILLS—ARM= STRONG AND McCULLOCH SECTIONS—EARLY SETTLERS IN FORT BALL— LOCATION OF THE COUNTY SEAT—HUNTER'S MILL—EARLY SETTLERS IN THOMPSON, ON HONEY CREEK AND ROCKY CREEK—MELMORE—COL. KILBOURNE—HARRY BLACKMAN'S CORNERS—ANCIENT FORTIFICATIONS— COL. RICHARD JAQUA. ROCKY CREEK has its source near the south line in section 33, Reed township. Running riorth about three miles, it takes a westerly direction through the center of Scipio township, entering Eden near the north-east corner, and sweeping through several sections, turns in a north-westerly direction and enters the Sandusky river at its right bank, in the city of Tiffin. Nearly opposite,Nand west of the mouth of this stream, on the left bank of the river, where.Lafayette street now strikessthe same, is a large spring of excellent, cold water. This spring attracted the attention of Col. Jas. V. Ball, when in 1813 he was about to build a stockade near the army road on the bank of the river, under instructions from General Harrison. A detachment of men, under the command of the Colonel, built the stockade, and called it "Fort Ball.," In September, 1833, a company muster was held near the place wherethe old fort used to be. There was an open space between this point and where the stove works now are. The trees were cut, but very many stumps still remaining, interfered very much with the evolutions of the "army." My lamented friend, Christopher Snyder, (a sketch of whose life will be found elsewhere herein,) and myself attended this company muster. It was the first display of American military either of us ever 'saw. The sun shone very hot, and to get into some kind of shade we both sat down under a small sycamore bush that-grew out from under an old log, bedded half way into the ground. This log was a part of the old fort, and the little sycamore bush grew up into a tree that stands close by the residence of Dr. Hovey at this writing. This camp was built as a temporary place of security in case of necessity, and as a magazine for supplies. It consisted of stakes a foot in thickness fixed in the ground, with. old bayonets driven through FORT BALL - 143 them horizontally, near the tops. Against these logs were piled upon the outside, and over the logs dirt was thrown, from a ditch, which surrounded the whole. There was room in the interior for five hundred men. After the battle of Tippecanoe, and while General Harrison was at Fort Seneca, he sent a detachment of men up the river to strengthen this damp. The soldiers were quartered here several days, during. which time they were very short of provisions, and, being compelled to, subsist on fish, a part stood guard while the rest were fishing, to protect them, if necessary, from the• lurking savages. Before the battle of Fort Stephenson this detachment left for the..Mdumee, but the-post was occupied occasionally until Genetal Harrison left the country. The remains of several soldiers that had been buried near the fort were afterwards found in digging in the vicinity. One was exhumed last summer when laying pipes for the water works in the street, about half way between the river and the stove works. Col. Ball with his troops on their way to the Maumee, about a half mile south-west of Baliville in Sandusky county, and a day or two. previous to the assault upon Fort Stephenson, had a skirmish with a number of Indians. The squadron was moving towards the fort, when suddenly they were fired upon by the Indians frorn the west side of the road, whereupon Col. Ball ordered a charge. He, with his suit and the right flank, came into the action immediately. The Colonel struck the first blow. He. dashed in between two savages and cut down the one on the right; the other, being slightly in the rear, made a blow with a tomahawk at his back, when a spring of his horse to. one side let the tomahawk cut deep into the cantel and pad of his saddle. Before the savage could repeat the blow he was shot, by Corp,oral Ryan. Lieutenant—afterwards General James Hedges, of Mansfield, Ohio—the surveyor of Tiffin, and brother of Mr. Josiah Hedges, the proprietor of Tiffin, following in the rear mounted on a small horse, pursued a large Indian, and just as he caime up to. him his stirrup broke and Hedges fell from his horse, head first, knocking the Indian down. Both sprang to their feet, when Hedges striick the Indian across the head,. dnd as he fell ran him through with his sword. It is said that many years thereaftet, the stirrup was found and sent to the gallant Hedge,. at Mansfield. At this time Captain Hopkins.was pursuing a powerful savage on the left. The savage turned and struck a blow at the captain with a toma-hawk; the captain's horse sprang to one side, and the blow failed of execution, Cornet Hays and Sergeant Anderson ran up and soon dis- 144 - HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY. patched the savage. The Indians were twenty in number, of whom seventeen were left dead on the ground. On the 18th of November, 1817, Mr. Erastus Bowe, the first settler in Seneca county, arrived at Camp Ball, where some hired men had erected for hirii a domble log house within the limits of the camp. Many of the stakes were then still standing. This was the first settlement in the county. Here Mr. Bowe kept tavern, which was the. first in Seneca. Hotel bills must have been high in those days, because butter cost two shillings a pound, pork six dollars per hundred, and flour twelve dollars a barrel. The house of Mr. Bowe was the only one on the left bank of the riiver .within the present lirnits of Tiffin, when the town of Oakley was surveyed and platted. In 1819 Mr. Joseph Vanse surveyed a town upon land granted to one Robert Armstrong, known as the Armstrong section, and called it Oakley. This was the first town surveyed and platted in the county. Bowe's tavern was in that survey. Mr. David Risdon, who, took a very active part in opening up the county to civilization, and who became very popularly known as a surveyor and citizen, was appointed the first postmaster in the county, the office being located here at Oakley. There was then but one mail route in or through the county, and that extended from Columbus to Lower Sandusky, along the army road. It was said of Mr. Risdon, that while he was post-master he used to go fishing occasionally, and carry the mail matter with him in his hat. People that were anxious to get their mail, and could not wait for his return, would follow him up, along the river. Mr. Risdon would then take the post office from his head, and look for papers and letters. In 1821 two brothers, Ezra and Case Brown, erected the first grist-mill in the county, upon Honey creek, near Melmore. A Mr. Free, from Bloom township had the first grist ground there. The event was hailed With great joy amongst the early settlers, who.had hitherto been compelled to go to Monroeville, Cold Creek, Upper Sandusky or Mount Vernon, to get their grinding done. John Knitzer, an early settler from the state of Pennsylvania, also erected a grist-mill a short distance down the creek from Melmore, in 1827. Knitzer was esteemed by those Who knew him, for his intelligence and manly qualities. In 1819 Abner Pike settled in Oakley, and afterwards located on the farm of the late Ezra Baker, near where the mill by that name still stands on the Sandusky. In 1824 the town of FOrt Ball was surveyed by David Risdon. This included the whole of Oakley. Some people,.who knew but little of ARMSTRONG RESERVATION - 145 the sagacity of Josiah Hedges, were of the cipinion that if the lands on the west bank of the river had not belonged to Robert Armstrong, the county seat of Seneca would have been located there. At the treaty of the Miami of lake Erie, the United States granted this tract to Robert Armstrong. It was a section of six hundred and forty acres, and known as the "Armstrong reservation." Armstrong was taken captive by the Wyandots when a child three years old, in Pennsylvania. He married a half-blood, and was much respected. He spoke excellent English, and one could scarcely discover that he was raised amongst the savages. This land was granted to him by the United States for his services as interpreter. He died in 1825, in the Wyandot reserve, about two miles from Upper Sandusky. At the same treaty the United States also granted to the children of William McCulloch a section of six hundred and forty acres, lying just north of and adjoining the Armstrong reserve. McCulloch was killed by a cannon ball at the siege of Fort Meigs, while sitting in General Harrison's tent, and was at that time' employed by the United States as interpreter. Ely Dresbach, from Circleville, a graduate of the Ohio Medical Col-lege, also settled in Fort Ball, on the i7th of February, 1823. Rodolphus Dickinson, from New York, the first lawyer in Seneca county, also settled in Fort Ball in 1824. Abel Rawson, from Massachusetts, arrived on the isth of February, 1826, and settled in Fort Ball. A Mr. Jesse Spencer, the proprietor of Fort Ball, and Mr. Josiah Hedges, the proprietor of Tiffin, two towns adjoining on the river, were each striving to secure the location of the county seat in their respective towns. Other people became interested, and for a long time there was a very bitter conflict between these rival parties for success. They sometimes came to blows about it. The brush dam was also a bone of contention, and one time, even after the county seat was located in Tiffin and Mr. Hedges had the two story frame building put up, (which will be further described,) for a court house, he knocked Mr. Spencer down, for ,which Hedges was arrested and for a short time imprisoned in this court house. Finally Mr. Hedges bought, out Jesse Spencer, and became the owner of Fort Ball. Thereupon Mr. Hedges had additions surveyed and platted by James Durbin, re-num-bering the lots and extending the limits of Fort Ball, which from that time forward was known by the name of New Fort Ball, until it was finally merged into, and became a part of, the city of Tiffin. The open square across the street, south of and opposite McNeal's - 10 - 146 - HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY. store, was the place intended for the location of the court house. New Fort Ball was surveyed and platted in 1837. It is situated upon the eastern portion of the Armstrong section, and contained six hundred and twenty in-lots, together with several additions that had then already been made. to Tiffin, "Pan Van" among them, which was situated between the iron bridge and the tunnel. In 1821 Josiah Hedges entered the land where the old town of Tiffin was afterwards located, at the Delaware land office. The town was surveyed and platted by the brother of the proprietor, General James Hedges, of Mansfield. The first stick was cut upon the town plat in March, 1822, and soon thereafter Henry Welch, of Eden township, John Mim and two other men, Wetz and Drennon, had each a lot given to them, with the condition that each should build a cabin on his lot and move into it with his family, which was done accordingly. James Spink, of Wooster, came here in the same month, and brought with him a stock of goods' In the following winter his store was broken open and robbed of nearly all its contents. This so discouraged Mr. Spink that he left in disgust. Simeon B. Howard, from the eastern part of Ohio, also located in Tiffin about that time. Finally the day arrived when the great trouble about locating the county seat was to come to an end. The legislature, during the winter session of 1822, had appointed three commissioners to locate the county seat for Seneca county, viz : Messrs. Herford, Miner and Cyrus Spink. These gentlemen arrived here on the 25th of March, 1822, and located the seat of justice for Seneca county at Tiffin, where it has ever since remained. The Fort Ballites were very much chagrined and put out about it, but finally came down. Very soon thereafter Mr. Hedges built 'a mill on the right bank of the river, immediately north of Tiffin, where the present brick mill now stands, the dam of which is still flowing back the water of the river throughout the whole extent of the city along the river. The mill was known by the name of the "Hunter mill," because Mr. Samuel Hunter, the oldest son-in-law of Mr. Hedges, had charge of it. To show how great a spite the principal inhabitants on the Fort Ball side of the river entertained against Mr. Hedges, they influenced Mr. Spencer to bring an action against Mr. Hedges, for flowing Spencer's land by the dam. They also decried the mill, and said all the hard things of Mr. Hedges and his mill they could. Soon the patronage of the mill fell off, and the enterprise seemed to fail, however necessary and scarce the mills were. HEDGES' MILL—TIFFIN - 147 Then Mr. Hedges resorted to a stratagem, which soon proved to have the desired effect. Hedges sent out word to all his customers and the people far and near, that he would likely be. compelled to take his mill away, and that if they wished their grinding done they must hurry up, etc. This notice raised such general indignation in the country against the enemies of Mr. Hedges that it turned the tide in his favor, and Hunter's mill became the most popular mill on the river. Mr. Hedges bought Spencer's Fort Ball, and peace was restored to the border. At the time the commissioners located the county seat at Tiffin, there were but six cabins in it. The greater number of the early settlers were on the Fort Ball side, and the lawyers, doctors, merchants and all, were in unison in their fight upon Mr. Hedges, but he outgeneraled them all. Tiffin was named after Governor Edward Tiffin, the first governor of Ohio, who was a particular friend of Mr. Hedges. At this writing three daughters of Governor Tiffin are still living—two in the town of Chillicothe, Ross county, and Mrs. Dr. Comegys, in Cincinnati—the only surviving members of the governor's family: The location of the county seat took place two years before Seneca county was really organized and clothed with judicial or municipal powers. During the latter part of the year 1819, and during 1820, the beauty of the "oak openings" and the richness of the soil attracted quite a number of people to Thompson, and the Whitneys, Underhills, Purdys, Clarks, Demicks, Twisses and others became squatters, awaiting the land sales. About the same time the towering oaks, soil and scenery along the banks of Honey creek and Rocky creek, made the immigrants say, with the disciples of old: " It is good for us to be here ; let us make here three tabernacles : one for thee, one for Moses, and one for Elias."— Here came the Welches, the Clarks, the Sponables, the Browns, the Bakers, the Searleses, the Pratts, the Craws, the Knapps, the Cornells, the Houghs, the Bretses, the Downses, the Jaquas, the Gibsons, the Bundages, the Kagys, the Penningtons, the Fleets, the Watsons, the Kollers, the Eastmans, the Omsteds, etc. With the exception of a few early settlers in Fort Ball and near Fort Seneca, all the early settlements were made on the east side of the river, especially along Honey creek and Rocky creek. West of the river was nearly all forest and water, sometimes badly mixed, and there were no settlements at all. 148 - HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY. Col. Kilbourn, also a pioneer surveyor in Seneca county, took a very active part in its organization. He surveyed the state road already described and known by his name; also the towns of Melmore and Caroline in this county. Among my first acquaintances in America, was my friend James M. Stevens, of Melmore. He 'and I were apprentices and learned our trades at the same time, in the same shop, in Tiffin. James is a great singer—was at that time—and among the many songs he sang was the poem composed by Col. Kilbourn on Melmore. James used to sing it to the tune of "How tedious and tasteless the hours." Friend Stevens—well, I don't like to say much of the living—but James is a very clever man. He lost an arm in the war of the rebellion, and is now familiarly known as Colonel Stevens. The poetry on Melmore is recorded here, not so much for its poetic excellence, but because James used to sing it. MELMORE. Where honey-dews from the mild heaven, Distil on the foliage below— Where Honey Creek's waters are given T' enrich the sweet vales as they flow;— Where playful the heart-cheering breeze Sweeps o'er the sweet bosom of flowers— There Melmore is seen through the trees, With fragrance and health in her bowers. This country and village to prove, Of pleasure and health the abode, Kind Nature has found in her, love, And on her good children bestowed. The fees to her agents are small, For titles in form which they give ; Then come, men of enterprise--all Accept, and in happiness live. Merchants and laborers come, A fortune is offered you near ; Here make it your permanent home, The country will cherish you. here. Come taste the Melmorian springs, Possess the Melmorian lands, Wealth, honor and pleasure they'll bring, To strengthen your hearts and your hands. EARLY SETTLERS - 49 So healthy the country is, 'round. That doctors have little to do ; So moral the people are found, They live without ministers, too ; So honest our neighbors we call, So peaceful and happy at home, They've need of no lawyers at all, And none are desired to come. On the 5th of April, 1822, Noah Seits, from Fairfield county, settled upon the north-east quarter of section twenty, in what is now Bloom township. This was the first settlement within its limits. Thomas. Boyd came with his sister, Mrs. Mary Donnel, in the spring of the same year, and also settled here. Mr. Boyd was native of Pennsylvania, much esteemed among his neighbors. In the same year, Joseph McClelland and James Boyd settled upon Honey Creek, in Blqom, and were soon followed by Abraham Kagg, Lowell Robinson and Nehemiah Hadley. The following year John Seitz, George Free and Jacob Bretz became citizens of this township. John Seitz passed through this county during the late war, in company with twenty others, with wagons loaded with clothing for the soldiers at Fort Stephenson, where they arrived three weeks after the battle. Harry Blackman, from Genesee county, New York, settled here in Bloom, on a farm that became afterwards very familiarly known as "Blackman's Corners." After residing here sixteen years, he removed into Eden township, where his place was again called "Blackman's Corners." The town that was afterwards laid out here by Dr. James Fisher, and surveyed by James Durbin, in 1830, called Elizabethtown, (after the name of the doctor's wife, Elizabeth, who was a daughter of Dr. Boyer, of Tiffin), never flourished, and at this time there is no trace of it left. At one. time it had a blacksmith shop, a wagon shop, some dwellings and a tavern. William Anway, soon after the land sales at Delaware, in 1821, came from the town of Scipio, in Cayuga county, New York, and settled in what now constitutes Scipio township. This township was so named at the request of Mr. Anway. He was the first settler in this neighborhood. Mr. Timothy P.,Roberts came in 1824, and erected the first frame dwelling house in the county, in which he resided to the time of his death. William Anway built a log house at the corners where the South Tiffin road and the Marion State road cross each other. The spot where the house stood is now covered with a circle of evergreens that were planted there in memory of the Anway family.