200 - HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY. wilderness through which they moved. In about two weeks they reached Pittsburgh, without any accident by the way. There they embarked in "broad horns" on a full river, and floated peacefully and swiftly on its broad bosom, swaying from shore, amidst all the strangeness, and granduer and deep silence of the wilderness. They landed at the mouth of the Scioto, where Portsmouth now stands, and thence took their slow and tedious march through the unbroken and thick forest of the valley of the Scioto, guided only by the blazed path of earlier pioneers. On the 27th day of April, 1798, they at last reached their destination, having been more than thirty days on the way. The whole community came out to welcome them, and to assist in,the unloading of their train and the care of their wonderful stores. Such a cavalcade had never before been seen ; so much refinement, intelligence and abundant possessions of useful and ornamental household goods had never before been found on the frontier. Worthington and Tiffin were both elected to territorial legislature that met in Cincinnati in 1799. The country was a vast foirest, roamed over by savages and wild beasts. The settlements were few but rapidly increasing. "Upon the banks of the Scioto there was a small hamlet of log houses, beautifully situated, which was called Chillicothe," says another writer. Edward Tiffin would have made an accession of value to any settlement in the west. Here he selected his residence. He was a man of well cultivated mind, gentlemanly manners, a friendly spirit, and his conduct was guided, not only by high Morality, but by true christian principles. He immediately identified himself with his new home and its enterprising people. He rapidly aequired a reputation, not only as a physician, but also for his virtues as a man. An old friend says of him that "In his medical career he answered day and night, to the utmost of his ability, all professional calls, often enduring severe suffering from the inclemency of the weather, in long and fatiguing rides over wretched roads or by blazed paths, crossing swollen streams at dangerous fords, and with the full knowledge, often, that the patient was too poor to make him any remuneration." As a surgeon and physician he stood in the front rank of the men of his time, and several instances are remembered that show how ready he was to employ the highest resources of the profession under sudden emergencies. On one occasion, while distant from home, a terrible accident made it necessary that an amputation of the leg should be BIOGRAPHY OF GOVERNOR TIFFIN - 201 made. The Doctor was without instrument's, yet he quickly contrived all that was necessary, performed the operation and saved the man's life. Thus he was busily engaged until the fall of 1799. But it is very evident that his adive mind was taking a wide range in public affairs; for the people, recognizing in him abilities other than professional, called upon him to serve them as a representative in the territorial legislature, which started him on his career in the political world. That body met in Cincinnati on the ath day of September, t799, when that great city was but a collection of log cabins and a few small frame houses, "basking in the sun," under the protection of the guns of Fort Washington. Judge Burnet, in his letters to the Ohio Historical Society, says of the Ross county delegation, that "They were not excelled in talent and energy by any other in the territory. She selected her strongest men ; Worthington, Tiffin, Findley and Langham were qualified to exert an influence in any deliberate body, and they did not fail to employ it. They were natives of Virginia, except Tiffin, who was born in England and, it was said, came to this country as surgeon's mate in the army of Burgoyne." This latter statement, though generally believed, is not true, however. Tiffin was but eleven years old when Burgoyne surrendered. The best proof of Dr. Tiffin's appreciation, is shown in.the fact that he was unanimously elected speaker of 'that important and august body, and retained that position to the end of the territorial government. He frequently took part in the debates, and more especially encountered Judge Sibley, of Detroit, whom Judge Burnet describes as a well educated and able lawyer, and possessed of large powers of mind. Tiffin was an impassioned debater, while Sibley was very cool and deliberate in his arguinents. Many years afterwards Mr. Sibley visited Gov. Tiffin, and Mr. Samuel Williams, who was often present while they talked over the exciting scenes of their legislative career, says that Dr. Tiffin remarked at one time, "In our debates, Mr. Sibley, I wished. a thousand times,that I could have the same calm, philosophic and imperturbable spirit which you possessed; I saw and felt the advantage it gave you in debate." "And I," laughingly replied the Judge, "well remember, Doctor, how often I wished that I could infuse into my remarks the same ardor of feeling which you displayed in your speeches." . In the autumn of 1802, at the election of delegates to a convention to 202 - HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY. form a constitution for the new state to be called Ohio, Tiffin, Worthington and. Massie were elected from Ross county. The convention met in Chillicothe in November following, and Edward Tiffin was chosen president. Here his intelligence, fairness and readiness in decision, united to most courteous mariners, elevate'd him so much in the estimation of that body of able men, that he was brought forward, at the conclusion of the business before the conven-tion, as the candidate for governor. He was elected in January, 18o3, without opposition, receiving 4565 votes. In October, 18o5, he was re-elected unanimously, receiving 4783 votes. He declined to be a candidate for a third term. His state papers are brief, but clear in their suggestions for the enactment of all those measures that would open roads, develop agri-cultural and mineral resources, advance education, protect the frontier and favor irnmigration. The highest proof of his qualifications and executive abilities, are his repeated unanimous elections. The most notable feature of his gubernatorial career was the arrest of the Burr-Blennerhasset expedition. In the latter part of 1806, Aaron Burr collected numerous boats arid quantities of stores in the neighborhood of Blennerhasset Island, below Marietta. Governor Tiffin, learning that the expedition was ready to sail, dispatched a . courier to the commandant at Marietta, and directed him to occupy a position below the island, where with a field battery they could command the channel. Burr, seeing that his plans were discovered and knowing the impossibility of running the blockade, abandoned the expedition and fled. The press of the eastern states lauded Gov. Tiffin for his prompt and successful destruction of the nefarious scheme, and President Jef-ferson, in his letter to the Ohio legislature, February 2, 1807, commends the Governor for his promptness and energy destroying the expedition. [SEE APPENDIX.] At the expiration of his. term of office, in 18o7, Governor Tiffin was elected United States Senator and took his seat in December, his credentials being presented by John Adams. The annals of Congress show that he was constantly in his place, and a member of iniportant cornmittees; indeed, by a special vote of the Senate he was added to the cornmittee on fortifications and public defences. The war feeling was rising every day, stimulated by the aggressions of England, whose men-of-war lay in Hampton Roads, and in fact patrolled the lower Chesapeake, searching our merchantmen for their seamen. BIOGRAPHY OF GOVERNOR TIFFIN - 203 His career as governor of Ohio was characterized by wise statesmanship and great efforts in developing the vast resources, of the young . state. So were his efforts in the Senate of the .United States marked by his tireless energy and wonderful perseverance. In this enlarged sphere of power he did very much to promote the interests of Ohio. Public lands were surveyed, new measures for the transportation of the mails were organized, and the navigation of the Ohio river was much improved. The death of his wife, in 1808, so overwhelmed Gov. Tiffin that he determined to abandon public life, and therefore, at the close of the session in March, 1809, he resigned.  On his return to Ohio he settled on his farm and devoted himself to agriculture. But he was not allowed by his fellow citizens to give up his public career entirely, for at the fall election he was elected to the legislature; he was unanimously chosen speaker of the House, and so he continued to act for several sessions following. A former citizen of Chillicothe writes of him, that he gave great satisfaction as speaker, by his perfect familiarity with its duties, and the promptness and correctness of his decisions. In the meanwhile Gov. Tiffin had resurried his practice and married again; his second wife being Miss Mary Porter, from Delaware, whose family had recently settled in Ross county. She was a lady of rare personal beauty, quiet manners and exemplary piety. During the first term of Mr. Madison's administration, Congress passed the act creating the office of Commissioner of the General Land Office, and Mr. Madison selected Gov. Tiffin to take charge of ithis important department. The appointment was wholly unsolicited and unexpected by him or any of his friends. The first intimation of , his appointment was the receipt by mail of his commission, with a friendly letter from the President, and letters from Mr. Worthington and several old colleagues, urging him to accept the position. The gratifying manner in which it was tendered determined him to do so, and in 'a few days he started on horseback for Washington, a journey that then required two weeks. The land affairs of the na,tion were in much confusion; the books, documents, maps, etc., were scattered in various bureaus of the State War and Treasury departments, and it required a great amount of perplexing labor to organize, methodically, the new department. But by the next ,meeting of congress all was arranged, and Commissioner 'Tiffin made the .first comprehensive and statistical report to congress on the public lands---their quantity, location, and probable future value 204 - HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY. to the government. His labors, in part, are exhibited in the state papers. When the British army approached Washington, in 1814, and orders were given to hurry off the public papers, Mr. Tiffin was the only one who, by prompt action, carried all his department to a place of safety. The other departments lost many valuable papers in the conflagration ordered by the British general. Nothing could wean Governor Tiffin from his Ohio home, and Mr. Madison gratified the wish of his heart by ordering an exchange of office with Josiah Meigs, who was then surveyor-general ef the west, with his office in Cincinnati. Mr. Meigs was appointed commissioner of the general land office, and Gov. Tiffin was made surveyor-general, with the privilege of locating the office in Chillicothe. There he located, and continued at the head of this office of surveyor-general, during the remainder of the term of Mr. Madison, and through the succeeding administrations of Mr. Monroe and Mr. J. Q. Adams, and into that. of Geirral Jackson, up to within a few weeks of his death, when General Jackson appointed General Lytle, of Cincinnati, to supercede him. He received his successor on his death-bed, transferred to him his office, and died a few days thereafter. There were several thousand dollars in his hands belonging to the United States, which were promptly handed over; and so were his books and papers, in the best of condition. This office had control over the vast realm known as the northwest, and the beautiful arrangement of the surveys of the public lands is greatly due to the sagacity and order that marked Gov. Tiffin's life. Gov. Tiffin was reared in the pale of the Chu'rch of England, and after his removal to this country, he continued his relations to the same organization, which still existed almost as the state church of Virginia —for the American hierarchy had not yet been established. Rut the Tory character of many ministers during the revolution, and the almost abandoned state of so many churches, before the establishment of the Protestant Episcopal church, had so alienated the people from its communion, that a greater opportunity was offered for the propagation of the Methodist doctrines and usages. The unusual zeal and fervid manner of the new preachers, excited universal attention, and great relig-ious excitement and inquiry prevailed. The great Missionary Bishop, Francis Asbury, traveled far and wide in the states and territories, to the remotest settlements, preaching with great eloquence and power—organizing societies and consecrating ministers. Dr. Tiffin and his wife united with the society that was organized at Charlestown, Virginia, in 179o. There the Doctor was consecrated by BIOGRAPHY OF GOVERNOR TIFFIN - 205 Asbury as a lay preacher, and during all his subsequent political life, he continued to some extent, to exercise the functions of that office. Upon his removal to Ohio, he regularly performed ministerial duties in the new settlements. He did this intelligently, and without ostentation, and his catholic sentiments won for him the respect of all parties. Whenever the Episcopal church in Chillicothe was without a rector, he was called to read the service and a sermon from some established collection. In the infancy of society, men of ability have often been called upon to perform very varied functions in civil and moral affairs. The statesman, the warrior, the philosopher, have all acted the part of priests to the edification of communities and states. In the wild state of the frontier at the beginning of this century, the preservation of the religious sentiments of the people was as much the duty of the leading men of the day, as any other work they could perform, whilst laying the foundations of the state, and this man, so distinguished in position and place in those times, was not ashamed to celebrate high religious services. The last years of the Governor's life were but little diversified by incidents. He withdrew from the regular practice of medicine upon his appointment as commissioner in 1812; but after his return to Chillicothe, in 1814, he dispensed advice and medicine from his residence, gratuitously to the poor, and to many of his former patients, who still insisted upon consulting him. But his own health began to give way about 1826, and he suffered from a most distressing complaint. On Sabbath evening, August 9, 1829, in his old home in Chillicothe, tie died. His faithful. old friend, Williams, says that: "He had long been sensible of his approaching end, and contemplated the solemn event, not only with calm cornplacency, but with a joyful anticipation of heavenly rest. He retained his full reason to the last, and gently sank away." In stature, Doctor Tiffin was about five feet six inches high. His head was large; his face., English in type, was full and florid, with regular, prominent features. His countenance was expressive, especially , when in animated conversation. He was particularly remarkable for the activity an.d quickness of his movements, and the prompt manner in which he discharged his duties. Dr., Monnet used to say. that what Dr. Tiffin could not do quickly, he could not do at all. Nothing was put off for tomorrow that Could be done to-day. As a public officer, his accounts were always kept ready for settlement. Every dollar that came to his hands was promptly accounted 206 - HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY. for. His integrity was never questioned. 'While he managed his own affairs with prudence, he did not accumulate great wealth, as he might have done, but yet he never suffered any worldly embarrassment. He lived well, and in harmony with his position. in society, but always , within his income. He was hospitable, and in the days of his health, many of the most distinguished personages of the country enjoyed the hospitality of his board. His beautiful home was embellished by his refined taste. His earnest piety was an important element in promoting the best interest of his adopted town and country.. Gov. Tiffin left his widow and children in independent circumstances. Mrs. Tiffin died in 1827. They left five children, already mentioned. Politically, Governor Tiffin was of the Jeffersonian school—the old Republican party; but for many years preceding his death, was not conspicuous as a politician. He was an intimate friend of Mr.,Madison, and named one of his daughters after him. Devoting all his time and his talents to the interest of the state, he very much neglected his own private affairs. But for this, he would unquestionably- have accumulated a large fortune. His patriotism, however, was of a kind with that of the great men and. statesmen of his day. "Everything for country—nothing for self." What a change has come over the minds of the leading men of these degenerate days! A reverse element seems to have set in upon the ebb and flow of American politics. "Everything for self, nothing for the. country," seems to be the watchword of the hour. The men who pledged their lives, their property', and their sacred honors for country and freedom, are dead, but their sons and grand-children are here, and have not these inherited a part of the\unselfish love of country that made their fathers great in the eyes of the world? Col. Allen Latham, of Ross county, an intimate friend of Gov. Tiffin, furnished Dr. Comegys with the following items about the Governor, which the Doctor was so kind as to place at my disposal: NINE MILE FARM, May 23, 1869. DEAR SIR :- At our last meeting you expressed a desire that I would write out my testimony in regard to that good oia gentleman, your wife's father. This I have done with pleasure, but very hastily, having very few papers to refer to and never seen any biographical notice of him. His life is so completely identified with the early history of our state, that by proper industry a very interesting book might be written of him. The old journals and newspapers of that date are very hard to obtain, and I know of no perfect set at Columbus or elsewttere. I have, perhaps, as many as any other individual, but they are in a great confusion. Yours, Truly, DR. C. G. COMEGYS, Cincinnati, O. ALLEN LATHAM. BIOGRAPHY OF GOVERNOR TIFFIN - 207 Doctor Edward Tiffin was Speaker of the House of Representatives of the first territorial Legislature northwest of the Ohio river, in the year 1801 and 1802. Robert Oliver was President of the Council, and General Arthur St. Clair was Governor of the Territory. Charles Willing Bird was Secretary of State. He was president of the state convention that formed the constitution of the state of Ohio, which was adopted at Chillicothe Nov. 29, 1802. Thomas Scott was secretary of the convention. He was elected the first Governor of Ohio, after the adoption of the constitution, and sworn in on the 3d day of March, 1803, and continued Governor until he was made Senator. He was Senator from Ohio, in the Senate of the United States, from 1807 to 1809. He was Speaker of the House of Representatives of Ohio in 1809-10, and in 1810-11. Thomas A. Hind and Ralph Osborn were Clerks. He was appointed Commissioner of the General Land Office of the United States about 1812. He was appointed Surveyor General of the United States public lands northwest of the Ohio river, when he returned to Chillicothe and held that office until 1829, in which year the office was removed to Cincinnati and General William Lytle was appointed by General Jackson, the Doctor being a friend of Mr. Adams. Samuel Williams, Esq., a native of Pennsylvania, was the Doctor's chief clerk, and continued in that position to Robert C. Lytle and to Gen. Ezekiel S. Haynes, who are now all dead. Mr. Williams was an able clerk and an accomplished gentleman. Joseph Tiffin, the Doctor's brother, Peter Patterson, Esq., Eleazer P. Kendrick, Esq., and W. Reynolds, the Doctor's son-in-law, were also clerks in the Doctor's office. Mr. Kendrick is still living in Chillicothe, aged seventy-eight years on the 17th day of September last. The Doctor was of medium height, say five fett eight or nine inches, rather portly, full faced, light hair, florid complexion and mild expression. of coun-tenance. His gestures were graceful, and he had a very musical voice. The then young ladies and gentlemen on Sundays went to hear laim read his selected sermons and the Episcopal service at the Masonic hall, after he had become quite infirm, and all regarded him as one of the best of men. He was one of the most accomplished gentlemen I had ever seen. Notwithstanding his great suffering from a local complaint, which finally caused his death, he was very attentive to his public duties ; and when ro.ost of our public men and early settlers were ruined by the revulsions conse-quent upon the War with England, he had the sagacity to convert his bank stock into real estate, although then at the highest prices, and thus saved an independence to his surviving family—a wife, a son and several daughters. If he had an enemy, I never knew him. He was a man of great learning, and an honor to his profession. CHAPTER XIV. SPENCER vs. HEDGES—THE BRUSH-DAM CASE—THE FIRST JURY TRIALBROUSE— THE SUGAR CAMP— INDIAN WAY OF COOKING COON - FOREST CULTURE— SCARCIT OF MONEY—WORK ON THE CANAL—JIGGERS AND CHICHA—THE MIAMI, DAYTON AND MICHIGAN, AND WABASH AND ERIE CANALS—CANAL TAX OF SENECA COUNTY. SPENCER'S brush-dam, across the river, mentioned heretofore, is deserving of notice here for several reasons, viz: It was the first dam ever erected by man across this river, and of course was very crude. The water raised by it ran the first saw-mill on this river; it was located within the limits and near the center of the present city of Tiffin. It caused numerous contentions between Mr. Hedges and Mr. Spencer, the two rival proprietors of the two adjoining towns, that resulted in several knock-downs; its destruction became the cause of action in the first law-suit and the occasion for the first jury trial in the court of common pleas of this county, and finally it brought about the purchase of Fort Ball by Mr. Hedges, and the union of the two towns, forming the present young city of Tiffin. "Great oaks from little acorns grow." Since the adoption of the present constitution of Ohio, and the consequent new code of practice, nearly thirty years ago, the young lawyers, as a general thing, have paid but little attention to the old common law pleadings and practice in vogue in former times, and old lawyers are gradually forgetting the old way." The present age is the age of the "almighty dollar," and of "the reason why;" and the bar now seems to care as little about the former differences between debt, assumpsit, detinue, case, trespass, trespass on the case, trover, replevin, ejectment, etc., as does Young America generally about the times gone by. Extracts from the pleadings in this "brush dam case" are here added to refresh the memory of the reader concerning the mode of procedure at that time in like cases. Jesse Spencer, the plaintiff, filed his præcipe for a summons to be issued against Josiah Hedges on the 22d day of September A. D. 1824.   THE BRUSH-DAM CASE -209 The summons was served by A. Ingraham, sheriff, on the same day, by reading. Rudolphus Dickinson, the first lawyer that settled in this county, and who had located. in Fort Ball, was the attorney for Mr. Spencer, and for want of any other lawyer here, Mr. Hedges was defended by Messrs. Parish, Parker and Coffinberry. Upon this summons there was a declaration filed by the plaintiff. The caption was in the usual form, and after stating that the said Hedges had been duly summoned to answer unto the said Jesse Spencer, in a plea of trespass, went on to charge as follows; That the said Hedges, on the 1st day of May, A. D. 1823, and at divers other days and times between that day" and before the commencement of this action, with force and arms, etc., broke and entered a certain close of the said Jesse Spencer, situate, bring and being in the township Of Seneca, in the county of Seneca, aforesaid, and then and there pulled down, prosecuted and destroyed a great part; to-wit: forty perches of a certain mill-dam of the said Jesse Spencer, of great value, to-wit: of the value of two hundred dollars; and, also, then and there, tore down and dug up great quantities, to-wit: one thousand wagon loads of stone, from off the said close and dam of the said Jesse Spencer, to-wit: to the further value of three hundred dollars, and then and there took and carried away, and converted the same to his, the said Josiah Hedges', own use. The second count ran thus, and is of interest to show where the darn was once Located:  And, also, that the said Josiah Hedges, on the day and year last aforesaid, and on divers other days and times, etc., broke and entered another close of the said plaintiff, etc., situate and being, etc., abutting towards the west on that part of the Armstrong Reservation, so-called, which lies between a place forty poles north of the place called Camp Ball, and the south line of the said Armstrong Reservation, and abutting towards the east on the eastern bank of the Sandusky river, opposite the saw mill on said reservation, and then and there broke down, tore up, etc: In the fourth count, the darn is located in these words: Abutting on the western bank of the Sandusky river that lies between the southern section line of the said Armstrong Reservation and a place commonly called Camp Ball, and abutting towards the east, etc. The fifth count charges the taking away of the stones, and the converting of them to Hedges' own use, and concludes by saying: And other wrongs to the Said Jesse Spencer then and there done, to the great damage of the said Jesse Spencer, and against the peace and dignity of the state of Ohio; whereupon the said Jesse Spencer says that he is injured, and has sustained damage to the amount of five hundred dollars, Ana :thereupon he brings this suit. 210 - HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY. Mr. Hedges in his answer denied "all and s'ingular the premises,'' and defended the "wrongs and injuries," etc., and said that he was not guilty of the supPosed trespass laid to his charge, etc., "and of this he puts himself upon the country, and the ,said plaintiff doth the like;" which means simply that he will submit this case to a jury. To this answer a written notice was attached "that the close in question was the property of the said Hedges, and that he had a legal right to do what he did." The case was continued until the April term, 1825, when it was tried to the following jury, viz: James Mathers, Jesse Gale, John C. Donnel, William Foncannon, Smith Kentfield, Peter Yeaky, Ezekiel Sampson, Samuel Scothorn, James Cutright, Ezra Brown, Jacob S. Jennings, Elisha Clark, "who upon their oaths do say that the said defendant is guilty in manner and form, etc., and we do assess the plaintiff's damages by reason thereof, at $8.00. The court entered up judgment for that sum. The costs were $26.75. This ended the first law-suit and jury trial in Seneca common pleas. The point upon which Mr. Fledges was found guilty, was the fact that, at the time the dam was erected, the land along the right bank of the river belonged to the United States; had not then been surveyed nor offered for sale, and Mr. Hedges was not then the owner of the same. Mr. Ingraham, who had been appointed sheriff, gave bond in the sum of $5,000, and Rollin Moler, Michael Schaul, Joseph Pool and John A Rosenberger were his sureties. At this court, William Doyle, from Ireland, was the first person naturalized in this county. Mr. Spencer became so badly involved in numerous lawsuits that the executions against him seem to have swallowed up all his means. Whenever the weather in winter would permit of out-door work. there was always enough of it to do. Great trouble was often expe-rienced by those that had cattle to take care of. When the winters were open and mild, as was very usual then, the cattle could find grass in the woods and along the banks of the streams; but in very cold winters, with much snow, and no hay on hand, the poor animals suffered very much, and were compelled to subsist on "browse," which was the tender ends of tree-tops. The trees had to be cut down for that purpose, and while this labor had to be repeated every day during.the frozen season, it was still very hard living for the cattle. Many died from exhaustion before spring. Now was also the time to prepare for "sugar making." For want of SUGAR-MAKING - 211 buckets, or other vessels to catch the sugar-water, troughs were made of various lengths and widths, from poplar, ash, sugar, elm, or Other wood, by chopping the blocks of the required length, and splitting them once in two. A dish was then chopped into the flat side. Some of the largest of these troughs would hold from one to two gallons. A hole was bored into the sugar-tree some.three feet above the ground. and a "spile," made of a one-year's growth from an elder bush, and with the pith taken out, was driven into the hole, in the tree, to'conduct the sap into the trough. The sap was boiled down in big iron kettles suspended on a pole, held up by two forks fixed in the ground at a convenient place in the sugar-camp. The time for this work generally commenced in February, when the, frost began to come out of the ground and the sap to ascend. It often.lasted away towards the latter part of March, when the ground froze hard during the night and thawed out the following day. This freezing and thawing time was considered good sugar weather. As the sap was boiling down, the impurities were nicely skimmed off, and when the sirup became so, thick as to commence granulating, it was stirred with a paddle while the fire was allowed to go down. Those that preferred the sugar in cake form poured the thick sirup into tin pans, when it became hard in a short time. The first few weeks of the sugar season made the best sugar. Towards the last of the run the sirup refused to granulate, and was. preserved in that form and answered the purpose of molasses. It is decidedly the richest sreet that nature produces. Reader! Did you ever eat corn-porie with maple molasses? If you did, there is no use in saying anything further to you about it. Pone could only be baked in a Dutch oven,. which was an iron kettle, flat at the bottom, with a flat, heavy iron lid. The oven was placed on coals and the lid covered with coals. It was of great use, and never had an equal. The Indians learned the art of making sugar from the white people,. but how to be cleanly about it, they never would learn. It required a very strong appetite to eat their sugar. Those who never saw them, rnake it got along with it much easier. Whenever their.sirup was about ready to granulate they would have a raccoon ready to cook, which they would. put into the sirup, hair, skin, entrails and The coon would get "done" in a,short time, when he was taken out and allowed to cool off enough to be handled. A crust of sugar came away with the hair and skin. The flesh seemed nicely done, but the sugar—well! Settlers that had large sugar-camps built little cabins. in the wood 212 - HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY. to put their troughs into in order to preserve them. Others set up the troughs on end and leaned them against the tree, dish side inward. The writer has seen good use made of some of the sugar-troughs in seasons of the year when sugar-water did not run. They were rocked in the cabin of the settler with a sugar lump, in the shape of a young "Buckeye," in them. The little fellow was thus not , "rocked in the cradle of the deep," but in a substitute much safer. Many noble men and women, now living in Ohio, were raised and rocked in these sugar-trough cradles; and the mother's lullaby, in the cabin, sounded as sweet as it ever did in the palatial mansion, with plate-glass windows and gilded door-knobs. It was among the "rural felicities" to see a whole family employed in the sugar-camp,on a pleasant day, some carrying sugar-water, some skimming the sirup, others preparing wood, each employed. at some thing; and when night came on, the work was .so reGluced as to require but little, if any, attention before the next morning. Some of the neighbors would visit the camp, spend the evening and have a, good chat. Neighbors seemed to think more of each other then than they do riow; at least they visited each other oftener when the distance, the work and the weather would permit. The time is fast approaching when sugar-making will be considered as a thing of the past, and the coming generation will not know what a sugar trough looked like. Our forests are passing away rapidly, and soon there will not be timber enough left to fence the fields or supply the demand for building and manufacturing purposes. On many farms in Seneca county, the little patches of woodland, that are left, are already more valuable than the cleared land. Nobody makes calculations when there will not be wood enough in this county to answer the purposes of the family for cooking and heating, to say nothing about the timber with which to build houses and barns. Why not commence now to start a young forest? Take, say five or ten acres at a time. well fenced to keep out stock, on that part of a farm where thewood lot may be wanted, and plant with acorns, beech nuts, maple seed, or such other variety as may be desired. It will require no further care, and in a few years a young forest will gladden the heart of the owner. The one that plants the patch will not live to see large trees grow there himself, but, ere long the purchaser will pay more for a farm that has a young wood lot growing up on it, than he will for one without it. No attempt will be made to picture to the mind of anybody, the vexations and tr.oubles inflicted upon the frontier by the then great scarcity of money. There was very little to be had for any purpose. SCARCITY OF MONEY - 213 Barter and trade was the order of the day, and while this exchange was all right in some respects, it would not answer for others. Taxes could not be paid in that way, and the merchant, after waitifig a long time, had to have cash with which to meet his bills in New York or Philadelphia. When some pioneer merchant brought on articles that were indispensable for the household, or for farming purposes, there was no money to buy them with. Often, long, credits furnished no relief. When a man had anything to sell, it found no market for money: He could trade it away for something he wanted from his neighbor. If a man wanted an article from another, and had nothing to exchange for it, he paid in work by the day, or agreed to clear so many acres of land for the article. Men bought their cows, their horses or hogs, in that way. Corn and wheat were hauled by ox teams, generally to Mansfield or Portland, now Sandusky City, to be sold for money. Wheat raised under the difficulties described in a former chapter, hauled to a market, from forty to sixty miles away, where it could be sold for only thirty cents a bushel in cash, or for three shillings in trade, was not an article on .which farmers became rich very fast. Portland was the principal market for wheat, and many a load of wheat was exchanged there, at three shillings a bushel, for salt at five dollars a barrel, when it took about one week to make the trip. Getting grinding done at the few mills there were then in the country, was attended with equally great hardship. After the City 1VIill, now in the first ward of Tiffin, was put up, farmers from Crawford, HancOck and Marion counties came here to get their grists ground, and at times, fifteen, twenty, or more teamst.waited their turn and camped out a, whole week, with the. family at home on small allowance, or probably with no bread at all. To relate all, the troubles and inconveniences that pioneer life was subject to, would require volumes, and some of them, only, are here alluded to. gine rest must be left to inference, which to most any mind should be'easy. The hardest of all the hardships that the frontier settler had to contend with, was the malarious diseases everybody was subject to. The ground was covered with water and decaying vegetable matter; the river and the creeks were clogged with drift-wood and fallen timbers; beaver dams set the water back, thereby covering large tracts of land, while cat-swamps (as they were then called) were very numerous. There were terrible thickets and jungles of brush-bushes of various kinds growing on rich, boggy soil. The forest held the moist air with a wonderful tenacity, and the 214 - HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY. miasma, produced by the heat of a suknmer's sun, and thus held in the humid air and breathed constantly, tended to corrupt the blood and derange the functions Of the liver. Fever and ague, and bilious fevers were very common, and men were often seen standing on the street on a hot summer day, pale as death, with overcoats on, buttoned up to the chin, their hands in their pockets and shaking so that their voices trembled. The chill was always followed by a fever, and when that was passed, the patient was all right again until next day, or day after. The chills returned again at regular intervals, either next day, or every other day. People seemed to get used to them, and some were not reduced much by the chills, while others, and especially people from Europe, suffered very much more from these diseases. In general, those Of European suffered more than those of American birth. Many a stout, robust naan was reduced to a walking skeleton in a short time. Yet this fever and ague was not considered dangerous to life. It was exceedingly troublesome, nevertheless, especially when whole families were taken with it at the same time. It was a sad scene to come, or be called, into a house and see a large family, young and old, in their beds, smite shaking, and others burning. with fever,Ind not one of them able to help the other to a cup of water. The only case where death ensued from these chills that ever came to the notice of the writer, was that of an old German who lived on South Jefferson street, in Tiffin, and who died shaking in his chair. The most serious aspect of these malarious diseases, however, was the various bilious fevers that often defied the skill and care of the physicians, and frequently proved fatal. The terrible heat in fever, the parched tongue, the delirium, followed by extreme prostration; and then the remedies, such as calomel, ipecac, jalap, Peruvian bark, .quinine, castor oil, etc., etc., all—diseases and remedies—were simply horrible. Some summers were more sickly than others, but for many years, and until the cotintry became partially cleared up, there was no .surnmer without this terrible visitation. Oh! how the people waited and prayed for the coming of fall, and for the first sharp frost. A good black frost, that killed the leaves and made the grass crash under your feet, generally put a stop to this monster phantom. The air became purer and more bracing, and it was very encouraging to see, in the faces of all, returning hope and cheer. Whether the practice of medicine, as a science, has made the progress that its devotees .claim for it, will not be argued here; but one thing must certainly be admitted, viz: that a g,reat change has come over the dreams of the practitioner. The poor patient is now allowed the free THE PIONEER DOCTOR NOT FORGOTTEN - 215 use of water. This the practice, forty or fifty years ago, absolutely refused. It was simply cruel to let the poor sufferer burn up with fever, calling for water to relieve him, and have it refused because the doctor would not allow it. It would not do; it might hurt him, might salivate him, and all that sort of nonsense. But they would blister, bleed-and cup him, while his physical powers gradually broke down. What a change a few years have brought about! By the art of preserving ice for use in summer, the article has found its way into the sick chamber, where it has proven both a luxury and a blessing. Patients are now allowed all the fresh water they want, and fresh air, also, without fear of being salivated. One feature in cases of shaking ague, which was not very common, however, and which seems now like a strange phenomenon, should be mentioned here. It was called the "hungry shakes" by some. As soon as the chills began to creep down the back, the bones to ache and the shivering to commence, the patient was taken with a ravenous appetite, and could eat with a wonderful rapacity, while he often shook so hard that the victuals fell from his knife, fork or spoon as he tried to pass them to his mouth. It made, bad worse, however, for the fever that followed such a shake, after eating, seemed to be more severe and the headache more distressing. Thompson township, on account of the openings and, purer atmosphere, suffered less with this plague than any other township in the county. In all the other portions of Seneca county the situation in this regard was about the same. It was in these trying tibrnes that thousands of men were compelled, not by avarice, but by absolute, stern necessity, to find employment on the canals, the only public works then in the state, and the only places where money could be had for labor. It was a sad parting, when the father left his little ones in the care and charge of the pioneer mother, to go sixty miles or more from home and be gone for months at a time, to work on the canal and himself become subject to these mala-rious diseases. They were even more prevalent along the canals tham. elsewhere, because they were constructed through dense forests, along :he most sluggish streams, and on the most level ground, in order to avoid the expenditure which locks would require and the delay they would naturally cause in the moving of traffic. Log huts were built on the highest ground near the line of the survey, which were occupied as a headquarters for lodging, cooking, etc. They were as rough as they were temporary, and the contractor or the sub-contractor would spend no more money for the comfort of his men 216 - HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY than was absolutely necessary. Beds and bedding were of the same character. With a ternporary change of clothing, the men brought their blankets with them. A woolen blanket was a better protection against the mosquitoes at night than any other covering. These pests in warm weather formed into a sort of a cloud around their victims, day and night.' It is scarcely possible to find a place anywhere in the world better fitted to produce malarious diseases, than was the country at that time As 1ong the line of the Dayton and Michigan canal, and especially along the Auglaize, the Maumee and the Wabash in Indiana. As the work progressed and the distance to and from the cabins increased, they were abandoned and new ones constructed near the works, in the same crude way. Whisky was cheap in those days, and in very common use. They had no temperance societies then, and every man was constituted a committee of one to mind his own business; nor had chemistry discovered the art of stretching or adulterating the article with poisonous drugs. Men who could afford the expense kept whisky by the barrel in their houses, and it was simply in con-' formity with the general idea of hospitality, then in vogue, to have the bottle and glass set before. one when visiting a neighbor. There were then.less drunkards, in proportion to the number of inhabitants, than there are now, and the pimpled cheek bones and rum-blossomed nose, so prevalent now among those who drink whisky habitually, were not seen then. Very often men had to work standing in water all day. There were no rubber boots to be had then, and to avoid getting sick and to keep away the "shakes," it was thought necessary, by both .employer and employes, that men should drink whisky so many times a day. In conformity with this generally conceded necessity, it was made. a part of the contract with the laborer that, in addition to his pay, he should receive his glass of whisky so many times a day—three times, generally. The "boss" kept a barrel of it on hand, and if a man wanted more than his usual allowance he could have it by paying for it—twenty cents a gallon. These whisky rations were called "jiggers," a very familiar term along the canals. I am not aWare, however, that the whisky secured the object intended; I doubt it very much, for those that drank whisky became sick as well as those that did not. At times there were so many of the workmen sick in their cabins that less than half of them answered at roll-call. It is a most wonderful fact, that at all times, among all races of men, CHICHA-HOW MADE - 217 and in all countries, since the time of Noah, who "planted the first vine," people have had their beverages of some sort, liquors or other things that stupefied or intoxicated. For want of liquors they resorted to gums, opium or hasheesh, a gum produced from the exudations of the leaves and stocks of hemp, the smoking of which. not ohly creates a deadly stupor, but fills the bewildered mind with visions of brilliant and supernatural scenes, while it breaks down and prostrates the nervous system of the poor victim, and gradually destroys life. [See Bayard Taylor's Travels in India.] Along the river systems of Soulth America, along the Orinoco, the Rio Negro, the Itehez, the Madeira,, the Rio Beni,. the Magdalena, the Matre de Dios and, other tributaries of the Amazon; and up the moun-tains from Parma, through Ayacucho, Cazco, Cochabamba,. along the lakes Titticaca and Ohuro, throughout the districts of Yungas, Yuracares and Magos, along the foot of the and Sorata, the Indians inhabiting these regions, nearly all in abject poverty and ignorance, and so degraded that their type is scarcely traceable, yet. all claiming to have been descended from the Once noble Incas, make a beverage of their own that beats them all. Of late years, the mongrel whites —Peruvians, Brazillians, Spaniards and Portuguese—that mingled and inter-married with them, have also adopted this revolting South American vice. Along these rivers a,nd mountains, to a certain degree of altitude, is found a bush with very thick, fleshy leaves, resembling in size and color the laurel. These leaves are gathered when they are most juicy and carried to the hut, where the family, young and old, chew them fine and spit them into some vat or vessel fixed for ,that purpose; when it is full another is filled in like mantier, and go on, until the crop runs out or the requisite quantity is secured. These vats are allowed to stand undisturbed for several weeks, for the fermentation to proceed, and when that ceases and some of the elements have been precipitated and others have accumulated on top, the liquor becomes clear and is then drawn off into jugs of earthen ware. In addition to the home consumption of this liquor, a certain quantity is required for tithe in.kind, or for taxes from the sale of it, so that each family will know how,much to produce. This liquor is called ?chicha," (pronounced "chicka,") and the bush that furnishes the leaf is, called the "chicha bush." Whether the bush gives the name to the liquor, or the liquor to the bush, does not appear, nor is it very material. When chicha making is over, the Indians of certain tribes are not allowed to touch a drop of it until the chief has his drink of it first. 218 - HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY. On a certain day each family brings a certain quantity of the liquor to the council-house, where, after a short ceremony over it, the chief takes his fill; then the next in authority, then the next, and so on, until the officers are all supplied. Then the common rabble fall in, and a general drunk ends the festivities. Of late years, since maize came into use in South America, a chicha is made by masticating the grains in the same way as the leaf, but the liquor made from corn is said to be inferior to that made from the chicha bush; both, however, make people most beastly drunk. Think of it—a lot of old squaws, with decayed teeth, chewing leaves or' corn and spitting them into a tub to make liquor of! The saliva produces the sugar that foments into alcohol and assists the work of fermentation. [See Humboldt's Travels in South America, and Herndon and Gibbons' Explorations of the Sources of the Amazon. The writer's mind recurred to this circumstance when he thought as to the probable origin of the word "jiggers," and reflected whether or not the word "chicha" might possibly have become vulgarized or Americanized into this "jigger."] The work on the canals commenced as early in the spring as the weather would permit and the frost, was out of the ground, and was prosecuted with a will until along in July, when the laborers broke down with bilious diseases, and the work had to be abandoned in consequence, until after the few first early frosts in the fall, when it was again resumed and pushed forward into the winter. During the time the father was at work on the canal and the mother with her little ones alone in the cabin, miles away from neighbors, no doctor to call to assistance in case of sickness, no one to counsel or help in time of heed, the trials and incidents of such a life lead The contemplative mind to sad and serious meditation. Let us try to forget scenes like these, for they will never occur again. A short history of the Ohio canal system might be made interesting here, would space only permit; but to give the reader a bird's-eye view of it, its origin, rise and progress, its final triumph, the excitement it produced in the political world, the success and defeat of men aspiring to office depending upon the way they stood on the canal question, the railroads finally driving the canals into the back ground, etc., would make a small volume by itself. A short synopsis, and extracts from reports and papers pertaining to the history of the Ohio canals, must here suffice. "In any true history of the early settlements and material progress of the Maumee valley, the two important canals—the Wabash and Erie; and the CANAL SYSTEM - 219 Miami and Erie— which unite near Defiance, and thence reach the Maumee bay by a common trunk, must fill an important page," says Knapp. "However valuable may be the railroads built long afterwards, it is still true that the canals have prepared the way, settled the country, and laid the foundation of its cities, of which Toledo at the mouth, and Fort. Wayne at the source of the river, are the chief." In 1816, Hon. Ethan Allen Brown, of Cincinnati, had a correspondence with DeWitt Clinton, who was then the head of the board of canal commissioners of the state of New York, upon the subject of the proposed canal to connect the waters of lake Erie with those of the Hudson river. The legislature of Ohio; in February, 1820, passed an act under which three commissioners were appointed to locate a route for a navigable canal between lake Erie and the Ohio river. The act also proposed to ask of Congress a grant of one or two millions of acres of land for the purpose, but nothing was accomplished under this act. In his inaugural address, December 14, 1818, Gov. Brown says : If we would raise the character of our state by increasing industry, and our resources, it seems necessary to ,improve the internal communications and open a cheaper Way to market for the surplus produce of a large portion of our fertile country. During the next three succeeding sessions attention was called to the subject of canals. In 1822, Micajah T. Williams, of Cincinnati, a representative from Hamilton county, in his report as chairman of a committee, to Whom the matter had been referred, discussed elaborately the propriety of connecting lake Erie with. the Ohio river. A short extract from that report will show the condition of thee state and its industries at that period. It is a well established fact, that man has not yet devised a mode of ,conveyance so safe, easy and cheap, as canal navigation ; and although the advantage of easy and expeditious transportation is not likely to be perceived when prices are high and trade most profitable, yet the truth, is familiar to every person of observation, that the enormous expense of land carriage has frequently consumed nearly, and sometimes quite, the whole price of provisions at the place of embarkation for a distant market. This is essentially the case in relation to all commodities of a cheap and bulky nature, most, of which will not bear a land, transportation many miles and consequently are rendered of no value to the farmer, and are suffered to waste on his hands. The merchant who engages in the exportation of the produce of the country, finding it a losing commerce, abandons it or is ruined; and crops in the finest and most productive part of the state are left to waste on the fields that produced them, or to be distilled to poison and brutalize society. 220 - HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY. On the 31st day of January, 1822, a bill was passed appointing Benj. Tappan, Alfred Kelley, Thomas Worthington, Jeremiah Morrow, Isaac Miner and Ebenezer Buckingham, Jr. commissioners, "Whose duty it shall be to cause such examinations, surveys and estimates to be made by engineers, etc., to ascertain the practicability of connecting lake Erie with the Ohio river, from the Ohio river to the Maumee river by a canal through the following routes, viz :—from Sandusky bay to the Ohio river, from the Ohio river to the Maumee river, from the lake to the river aforesaid by the sources of the Cuyahoga and Black rivers and the Muskingum river, and from the lake to the sources of Grand and Mahoning rivers to the Ohio river." On the 27th day of January, 1823, a supplementary act was passed with a view of connecting the lake with the Ohio river, and also of ascertaining whether a 'loan could be secured for that purpose, thus making in fact the canal commissioners also the fund commissioners.• DeWitt Clinton, in a letter to Williams, says : The state of Ohio, from the fertility of its soil, the benignity of its climate and its geographical position, must always contain a dense population, and the products and consumptions of its inhabitants must forever form a lucrative and extensive inland trade, exciting the powers of productive industry and communicating aliment and energy to extend commerce. But when we consider that this canal will open a way to the great rivers that fall into the Mississippi; that it will be felt, not only in the immense valley of that river, but as far west as the Rocky mountains and the borders of Mexico ; and that it will communicate with our great inland seas, and their tributary rivers ; with the ocean in various routes ; and with the most productive regions of America, there can be no question respecting the blessings that it will produce, the riches it will create, and the energies it will call into activity. In 1824, a survey was made for a canal from Cincinnati along the Miami valley to the Maumee river at Defiance, thence along the left bank of the same to the bay, and an estimate thereof reported to the legislature. Mr. Williams directed the survey and for ten years thereafter was the leading spirit of the enterprise. Samuel Forrer was the head of the corps of engineers. More than one-half of this route was through a dense forest ; there was not one house between St. Marys and the mouth of the Auglaize. On the 28th day of May, 1828, the President of the United States approved an act of Congress, granting to Ohio a quantity of land equal to one-half of five sections in width on each side of the canal, from Dayton to the Maumee river at the mouth of the Auglaize, reserving each alternate section to the United States, and the lands thus CANAL SYSTEM - 221 reserved were not to be sold for less than two dollars and fifty cents per acre. The summit division was put under contract in 1831-2, and a loan of $200,000 authorized on the credit of the state. Jeremiah Sullivan, Nicholas McCarty and William C. Linton were appointed the first board of fund commissioners of the state. Just in time to save the land grant from dying under the limitation by Congress, the first ground was broken with great ceremonies on the 1st day of March, 1832, at Fort Wayne, then a little town of about four hundred inhabitants. At the close of that year only $4,180.00 worth of work had been done.. The division uniting the waters of the Wabash with those of lake Erie was completed in 1835, and on the 4th day of July in that year the first boat passed through it.. This was the beginning of canal navigation in all that vast region lying north of Dayton and west of Cleveland. Its cost was $7,177 per, mile. Canals in other parts of the state were agitated and prosecuted during this time, but ,all these works suffered from the same two great causes, viz: sickness and want of funds. The Ohio portion of the Wabash and Erie canal was finally finished in 1843, and at the celebration of the event, on the Fouth of July of that year, at Fort Wayne, Lewis Cass delivered the oration. The Miami canal extension, now called "Miami, and Erie," was 'opened for, business in 1845. This completed the continuous line between Maumee bay and the Ohio river at Cincinnati. For the history of other canals the curious reader is referred to the proceedings pertaining to the Hocking canal, the Walhonding canal, the Muskingum improvement, the Ohio and Pennsylvania canal, the Mohickon branch, etc. Seneca county commenced paying taxes in 1826, and among her first assessments was a canal tax, which was continued and increased for many years. This chapter will close with a statement of the amount of taxes Seneca county paid to the treasurer of the state, as canal tax, from 1826 to 1835, both inclusive: In 1826, $14.97.7; 1827, $147.49.6; 1828, $191.65.2; 1829, $310.88.1; 1830, $400.83.6; 1831, $470.92.3 ; 1832, $553.64.6 ; 1833, $466.14.0; 1834, $282.88.7; 1835, $167.77.8. CHAPTER XV SANDUSKY RIVER-THE WOLF CREEKS-SILVER CREEK- HONEY CREEK-ROCKY CREEK-SPICER CREEK-MORRISON CREEK-SUGAR CREEK-GEN-ERAL DRAINAGE- TOPOGRAPHY AND GEOLOGY OF THE COUNTY. A HISTORY of Seneca county would be an utter failure without a record of the nature of its soils, its sub-stratum, its drainage, etc. It requires a mind learned in the science of geology to enable a person to speak intelligently on the subject. Fully conscious of his inability in that respect, the writer has drawn largely upon. the "Report of the Geological Survey of Ohio," made under a law passed by the General Assembly of Ohio, in March, 1869, by which the Governor of Ohio-was authorized, by and with the advice of the Senate, to appoint a chief geologist, and one or more assistants, not exceeding three in. number, who were to constitute a geological corps, and whose duty was to make a complete and thorough geological, agricultural and mineralogical survey of each and every county in the, state. The second section of said act defines the object of said survey, viz: To ascertain the geological structure of the state, including the dip, magnitude, . number, order and relative position of the several strata, their richness in coals, clays, ores, mineral waters and manures, building stone and other useful material. To secure accurate chemical analyses of the soils, etc. To ascertain the local causes that produce variations of climate in the different sections of the state. To collect specimens of:rocks, ores, soils, fossils, organic remains, etc., and to make report 'of same, etc. . The expenses were paid by the state, and considerable sums must yet be appropriated to finish the work, and to pay for the printing and binding of the unfinished reports. . The survey was to commence about the first of June, following. J. S. Newberry was appointed chief geologist, and E. B. Andrews, Edward Orton, and J. H. Klippart assistant geologists. Some ten other persons. were appointed as local assistants. . . These reports are, and will be, published in limited numbers only, and but few of the readers of these pages will be the owners of them. They will be very large and bulky, and require a considerable research to find the material desired for Our ,purpose. The friendly reader will long since have been called to his fathers, before the state of Ohio will again appoint a corps of geological engineers to make .a survey of Ohio at an expense of hundreds of thousands of dollars. That part of these reports referring to the agricultural department, has not been distributed as yet. In view of all these facts, the larger portion of this chapter is devoted to this interesting subject. Let us look at Seneca county from this standpoint. It is stated in a former chapter (Chap. X.) that the base line forming the south line of Seneca county is the forty-first degree north latitude. Find on the map section thirty-on.e in Eden township, and run your finger up to section nineteen in .Clinton, due north, which is seven miles from the base line, and you have the latitude of Tiffin, 4o̊, 7' N. of the equator, and longitude 6̊, 8' W. of Washington. Tiffin is therefore 86 miles north of Columbus, and 34 miles southwest of Sandusky. There are just twelve, ranges between the west line of Seneca and the State of Indiana, being 6x12=72 miles. Seneca county is bounded on the south by the counties of Crawford and Wyandot; on the west by Hancock and Wood; on the north by Sandusky, and on the east by Huron. 'Its length and width are. described in Chap. X. Its shape is a rectangular parallelogram, containing fifteen townships. NATURAL DRAINAGE. The Sandusky river, running through the county from the south to the north, divides it into two nearly equal parts, and is the principal stream in the county. The left bank of the river, in its general bearing, is higher ground than the east, or right bank, and the country west of the river descends almost immediately as it recedes from the river, shedding the waters from near the river bank into the east branch of Wolf creek. The result is, that there is not a single stream or creek that enters the left bank of the Sandusky river in Seneca county. A little brooklet that runs a short time after a rain, called Bell's run, enters at the Spooner.farm, a short distance south of Lugenbeel's dam. (formerly so called). Tymochtee and Wolf creeks are tributaries of the Sandusky at its left bank, but the former enters the river in Wyandot, and the latter in Sandusky county. The river, in its northward course, enters section 36 in Seneca township, and immediately turns into section 31 in Eden, and returns again 224 - HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY. into Seneca, where it keeps on its course Along the eastern tier of sections in Seneca township, and enters section 36 in Hopewell; taking a straight northward direction, it turns northeastwardly and enters section 19 in Clinton, passes through Tiffin, runs through. sections 17, 9 and 5 in Clinton, enters section 32 in Pleasant, where it.makes many turns in all directions, and. finally leaves the county in the northeast corner. of section 5 in Pleasant. The various branches of Wolf creek start near the southern line of the county, west of the river, the eastern branch running almost paralel with the river throughout the county. A short distance north of the north line of Seneca county the several branches of Wolf creek unite, and, taking a short turn eastwardly, immediately enter the river. There seems to be a water shed all along the east line of the county of Seneca that sends its waters westward into the Sandusky. Honey creek and Rocky creek both run in a westerly direction about twelve miles, without taking into account their meanderings, when they run southwest about 'six miles, then turn northwest, .and in that direction enter the river. Honey creek takes up Silver creek near the northeast corner of section 24 in Eden, from' an easterly direction, and enters the Sandusky in section 36 in Hopewell. Rocky creek enters the river at Tiffin in section 19, in Clinton; Willow creek and Morrison creek flow. into the. Sandusky in section 17, in Clinton, Spicer creek mouthsinto the Sandusky, in section 28 in Pleasant, and Sugar creek in section 22 of the same township. In this township two small brooks—rain water creeks—each about one mile long, enter the river from the left bank. Six creeks enter the river from the east, within fifteen miles from the base line. Thus it is seen that Seneca county is well watered. This peculiarity in the southern bends of both Honey creek and Rocky creek is not confined to this county, and may be due to the halting retreat of the glacier, when throwing down the unmodified drift with which that portion of the country is covered. The divides between these creeks, along their upper waters, would in that case be the moraine accumulations, which further west and at lower levels, were not sufficient to divert the drainage from the general course of the main valley. They may be compared to the extended moraine which shut off the St. Marys and the Wabash rivers from their most direct course to lake. Erie, along their upper waters. SURFACE FEATURES. The county presents more diversity of surface than Sandusky. The northwestern part, including the townships of Jackson, Liberty and