WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO - 375 Larwill, April 16, 1815, but it never materialized to the extent of its sanguine proprietors' hopes. "Sonneberg Settlement" was so named for a settlement in Switzerland, its population being chiefly from the canton Berne, in Switzerland. The following was written of this peculiar people in 1878. "They enumerate ninety-eight families and have two hundred and fifty-eight members. The sect was founded by Menno, surnamed Simmons, in 1536, who commenced life as a Roman Catholic. The modern Mennonite as a rule does not pretend to know just what the history of his sect is, or just what he now believes. They know they are opposed to war and going to law. They follow farm life as a rule, and are very industrious. In this township they introduced the painting of dog-houses and the manufacture of apple-jack. The first of this stock, all from Berne, to come into Wayne county were Isaac Somer, Uhlrick and Peter Lehman and David Killhover, the latter bringing the regular John Rogers family. Their first place of rendezvous was in a school house four miles east of Wooster, when they moved to 'Switzerland No. 2,' and in 1820 organized a church." EAST UNION TOWNSHIP. This township was formed September 5, 1814, and was named by Simon Chaffin, Sr., who was a native of Union, Maine. It is the second township from the east and south line of the county and is six miles square. The following is a reminiscence on the early times by Simon Chaffin, Jr.: "The first white man who died in East Union township was Vesta Frary, who was buried on the John Ramsey farm with thirty or forty others. Mr. Chaffin cut musket balls out of trees, shot there by members of Beall's army. On Amos Walter's farm was erected one of the first churches, called the Ebenezer church. The Methodists soon after organized in the township. The presiding elder was Rev. Henry 0. Sheldon, who was a strong man and could carry a barrel of salt or cider with ease. Two drunken men on one occasion disturbed a camp meeting when he was present, and he choked them into silence. The Indians had a sugar camp on land later owned by John Lang, also there were two huts there. The first school house was upon land then owned by Anson Sillson, built in 1814. The teacher was a Mr. Pratt and he spelled door `dore.' The first justice of the peace was Andrew Lucky, who kept a tavern." The first permanent settler in this township was Simon Chaffin, Sr., a native of Lincoln county, Maine, who was born in 1765 and removed to 376 - WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO. Ohio in the fall of 1811, coming in a four-horse wagon, traveling a distance of more than a thousand miles, occupying fifty-seven days, never unloading the wagon until he arrived at Poland, Trumbull county, Ohio. He moved to East Union township, Wayne county, in the early spring of 1813. His wife and six children accompanied him ; his brother-in-law, Obediah Luce, came at the same time. He entered lands, but his regular occupation was that of a scythemaker and hoemaker. Frederick Brown, a native of Pennsylvania, moved to Wayne county, Ohio, in the spring of 1814, but had been in the county with his son, John J., in 1812 and improved a piece of land on a twelve-hundred-acre tract he had secured from the government. He was the first of the name Brown to locate in Wayne county. The subjoined reminiscence will tell the story of early-day Indian scares and narrate many other interesting points connected with the settlement of this township and Wayne county, in general : "This will narrate an incident that occurred in what was called Smith's settlement, near the present site of the county infirmary. One afternoon two of the Smith women heard what they supposed to be guns firing in the direction of Wooster, 'at the rate of five hundred a minute.' The neighborhood, numbering about forty persons, soon assembled, men, women and Children. There were but eight guns in the party. One of these belonged to John J. Brown, then a boy and small for his age. After consultation it was decided that James McIntire should approach Wooster cautiously to ascertain the exact state of affairs there, and that the balance of the company should set out for Steubenville, by way of the old Indian trail, the women and children on horseback and the men on foot with their guns. Young Brown's gun was transferred to an older man, and two children committed to his care, Waits Smith, a small boy whom he carried behind him, on a very spirited horse, and Jonathan, a younger boy, who was placed in his arms. "The party traveled in silence during the entire night, not a child giving the least sign of fretfulness. In the morning they were overtaken by McIntire, who brought the welcome news that Wooster was resting in quietude and that the noise heard by the two women was one made by men cutting straw with axes in a trough for feed. At this news the main company of fugitives returned, hungry and weary, to their cabin homes in the forest. A few, however, continued on in their flight to the old settlements in Pennsylvania. "Nevertheless, this stampede of the pioneers was not without thrilling incident. When the party in its flight was crossing the Big Sugar creek they discovered a campfire close to the trail. The Indian dogs barked and WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO - 377 immediately the Indians raised a whoop. At this the company took shelter in the brushwood as best they could. All became quiet in a short time, when those with guns began to scout around to learn the character of the Indians in the camp. They proved to be Chief Johnycake and his tribe. The story the whites told alarmed them and they said they would also flee the country, as they were friendly Indians and equally in danger of being hurt by the hostile tribes, but that they must first have their supper, then roasting on the campfire. Afterwards McIntire passed their encampment. He was blowing a large tin horn and riding at full gallop to overtake the flying settlers and apprise them of their groundless apprehension. Johnycake and his braves became greatly alarmed and fled supperless, as on the returning day the settlers who wended their way home found the camp entirely deserted. The deer was suspended over the smouldering embers, burned to a crisp. Johnycake and his people were never seen again in that settlement by the whites. They had before that time been very familiar and friendly." The following interesting notes were written on the recollections of pioneer Noah Brown : The first election was held in section 16, at Smith Orr's house. Andrew Lucky was elected first justice of the peace. The first school house was built on section 21, although a log house built before that for the Presbyterian church to hold services in was used for school purposes. The earliest teachers were George Hackett and George McConnell. The first burial was on the John Ramsey farm, and two were buried on the Smith Orr place, a Mr. Miller and a child that was scalded to death. Old Aaron Rambo had the first grist-mill in this township, near the residence of David Carr, and the bolt was turned by hand. After Rambo, Garret Albertson erected another mill. South of Cross Keys at a spring a Mr. Pratt had the first distillery. At the head of Apple creek there was an Indian camp. Mr. Brown had a grindstone which was bought at Canton, Ohio, as the family came to the country, and it is said that it was used by many neighbors from long distances away. Herr Driesbach, the famous lion tamer, lived and died in Wayne county. He was born in Sharon, Schoharie county, New York, November 2, 1807, his grandparents coming from Germany. His father died when eleven years of age and the boy soon drifted to New York city, where he worked in the Zoological Gardens, and soon, youth as he was, made a reputation for control of wild animals, he being the first person to make a performing animal of the leopard. In 1830 he connected himself .with the traveling menagerie of Raymond & Co., and soon went to Europe with Raymond, meeting 378 - WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO. with much success as a tamer of wild beasts. He traveled through England, Scotland and Ireland, then in France, Germany, Holland and Russia, exhibiting before all the crowned heads, of Europe. About 1840 he returned to the United States, having established a world-wide reputation, and was of the states of the Union until 1854, when he was united in marriage to the foremost man in his profession in the world. He made his annual tours Sarah Walter, daughter of John Walter, of Wooster township, and settled down to the peaceful life of a farmer. In 1875 he opened a hotel at Apple-creek Station. Here, after but two days' illness, on December 5, 1877, he died, leaving a widow and one son. His was a very interesting life, full of events which after his death were compiled in book form and sold extensively. The Cheyney family was one of striking prominence in Wayne county, and descended from the Revolutionary stock of the same name, of which Thomas, the father of John, who settled in Wayne county, was famous by reason of his first discovering, for General Washington, that the British forces were on the same side of the stream as the American army at Chad's Ford, near Brandywine, Chester county, Pennsylvania, and through this intelligence the American army was saved a defeat, as is recorded in the history of our country. Old Squire Cheyney was a most useful and powerful man in the settlement of Wayne county. He built the first mill in East Union township, and within the space of thirteen years built six grist-mills and nine sawmills in Wayne county, Ohio. His early neighbors were John Knight, Jacob Tracey, George Basil and others. He occasionally received visits from old Johnny Appleseed, whom Richard Cheyney frequently saw. His remains were buried in the Edinburg cemetery. TOWNS OF EAST UNION TOWNSHIP. Edinburg was laid out by William Thomas and John L. Cheyney, August 16, 1832. Ira Pratt started the first store and was the postmaster in Edinburg. Prior to the appointment of Cornelius Smith the postoffice was kept at the old town, and after that at Applecreek Station. Applecreek Station, which is of more recent origin, was caused by the building of the Cleveland, Mt. Vernon & Columbus railway. Andrew Woodruff, a blacksmith, erected the first house in Applecreek Station. John Hindman owned the land on which this village was platted. David Clark, later of Wooster, started the first hotel. A new school building was built in 1874. Messrs. Eberly, Holcomb and Caldwell were the first three teachers. WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO -379 In 1909 the village of East Union was but a mere hamlet with one firm—Carver & Eshleman—handling drygoods, groceries, notions, hardware, boots and shoes, cigars and tobacco. They also operate a grain elevator and warehouse. WOOSTER TOWNSHIP. This sub-division of Wayne county was named in honor of Gen. David Wooster, and was organized April I I, 1812, along with Sugarcreek, Mohican and Prairie townships. It had a population of one thousand one hundred and forty-five in 1870 and by 1900 had increased to seven thousand one hundred and sixty. This is the township in which the city of Wooster is situated, and as now divided contains only twenty-one sections. Franklin township is on its south while Plain is to its west, with Wayne township north and East Union on the east. Being situated as it is (surrounding the city of Wooster), its history is largely found in the city history given elsewhere in this volume. Benjamin Jones was one of the first settlers, and the following are some of his recollections concerning early times here : In 1814 Mr. Jones went on horseback to Coshocton, accompanied by William Totten, to buy flour, bacon, salt, dried fruits, ets., for the early settlement, which commodities he placed on a pirogue and with the help of a few stout men paddled the rude boat to the waters of the Killbuck and up through the drift of that sluggish stream to the mouth of Applecreek, and thence up that creek to where the old Robison's Mill stood, within the incorporation of Wooster. This exploit of inland navigation was heralded with acclamation by the inhabitants of Wooster, who rushed to the boat to obtain their supplies. He built the first bridge that was ever laid across the Muddy Fork, and constructed the road extending from Reedsburg across the quagmire to what was known as the "French Miller" property. He had sixteen men employed on the contract, and at night one-half of the number guarded the others while they slept. During this work one of his laborers was killed and literally mangled by the Indians. There were at this time but three houses between Wooster and Jeromeville. Several weeks were employed on this contract, Mr. Jones doing the cooking for his men in the woods and performing his duties with true early-day skill. Mr. Jones constructed the first bridge on the Killbuck, on what was known as the Columbus Avenue road. He aided in securing the charter for the turnpike running from Wooster to Cleveland, and was a director and stockholder in the same. He exerted himself both in and outside the State 380 - WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO. Legislature in behalf of the choice of the Killbuck route for the Ohio canal. In 1816-17 he built the first jail in Wayne county, constructing it cheaply from the old logs of the block house erected by George Stidger in 1812. On July 4, 1824, Mr. Jones and wife, then keeping the Wooster Hotel, roasted an ox and prepared a grand dinner for the occasion. The tickets to this banquet sold at fifty cents and there were over three hundred sold. The ox was roasted among the elders and brush in the rear of Lindell  Sprague's residence. Many distinguished men were present, including Congressman John Sloan, Brigadier-General Beall, Judge Ezra Dean and others. After the dinner was over, Mr. Jones invited the children of the town to a free entertainment. On one occasion Mr. Jones went to Morgan's, down the Killbuck, to get provisions, and among other things Mrs. Morgan gave him some fresh meat which she put in a large gourd of the capacity of a half bushel. The wolves, scenting the meat, pursued him with fierceness and angry demonstrations, when several times he thought he would have to throw everything away and try to save himself. While traveling on horseback up the Killbuck bottoms, south of Wooster, Mr. Jones captured three black bear cubs and put them in a sack over the saddle. They proved, however, to he heavier than he had calculated, and, hearing the mother of the cubs approaching, he considered it wise to throw one out of the sack, and gave the others away. He carried the mail from Canton to Mansfield on horseback. He aided in the organization of the first agricultural society, and he owned a colt that took the premium at the first county fair. After an eventful career, both in public and private life, Mr. Jones died, honored by all who knew him. It was such characters as his that fashioned the foundation stones of the good government of his state and county. PLAIN TOWNSHIP. Plain township, the second from the south line of the county and on the western line of Wayne county, contains about forty-two sections of land, being seven miles east and west by six north and south. It was organized in 1817. It derives its name from the plains, or grades, that to so large an extent constituted its timber growths at the date of its settlement. The population of this township in 1900 was one thousand six hundred and sixty-six. The first settler in the township was John Collier, locating on the WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO - 381 James Childs farm. William Meeks, a native of Virginia, was the second settler in this township. The first justice of the peace in the township was Cyrus Baird. George and David Lozier settled upon the prairies in 1814, south of Blachleyville. They came from Pennsylvania and owned good farms. Benjamin White, a shoemaker and preacher, was another of the sturdy pioneer characters. Daniel Miller built a sawmill in 1815. 1-:e also built the first house in Blachleyville, where Swain's hotel later stood. He kept a tavern and sold whisky ; went to Indiana and began the practice of medicine. Augustus Case settled as early as 1814. John Cassiday was the first to teach school within this township. The first minister of the gospel was Elder French, a Baptist. Another early settler was Philip Arnold, of Lehigh county, Pennsylvania, who came in 1812 ; for many months after their arrival they had no bread in the house and were compelled to live on venison, honey and potatoes. Dr. William B. Blachley, born in New Jersey, lived in Washington county, Pennsylvania, until 1816, when he emigrated to Wayne county, Ohio, settling in Plain township. He practiced his profession in Blachleyville for nineteen years, then moved to Valparaiso, Indiana, where he died, aged seventy-four years. The town of Blachleyville was named for him. Benedict Mellinger, Sr., Aaron Baird, Cyrus Baird, John Tyron, Robert Eason, John Folgate (who reached the age of one hundred and eleven years, the oldest of any man in the county), William and Henry Rouch were all settlers of a very early date in Plain township, and had much to do with laying the foundation stories of the township's government and helped to make its first pioneer improvements. TOWNS AND VILLAGES OF PLAIN TOWNSHIP. The town plattings of this township are indeed quite numerous. Millbrook received its title from General Thomas McMillan, who named and surveyed it. It was laid out by Elijah Yocum August 10, 1829. A gristmill was built by McMillan to the east of the town site in 1816 for John Nimmon; later this was turned into a carding-mill. Blachleyville was platted by William B. and William Blachley, December 16, 1833. Jefferson was platted June 30, 1829, by Stephen Williams and Alexander Hutchinson. This place is four miles west of Wooster and came to be a place of much business importance. It was on the Wooster and Ashland stage route, making it a desirable quarter in which to live. 382 - WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO. Reedsburg was laid out by William Reed in December, 1835, and its first settlers were Matthias Starn, Joseph Mowery, John Peters and William Hagerman. Springville was platted by David Brown, December 16, 1844, and was originally called Buffalo, or Heath's Corners. REMAINS OF BUFFALOES AND CEDAR TREES. Land owners in plowing and ditching on the way between Springville and Millbrook, many years ago, unearthed the remains of large cedar trees, and about 183o immense logs were taken out three feet from the surface that had probably lain there for ages. Trees were found from three to four feet in diameter. South of Millbrook, while cutting a ditch, more of these large cedar trees were found. What is strange about all this is the fact that there are no cedar forests in this section, nor is there any knowledge of any having been here in the centuries past. In about the same locality were also found numerous buffalo skulls and horns and the remains of human bodies of great size. Who they were and what their history can only be conjectured at this late day. CLINTON TOWNSHIP. Clinton township is the extreme southwestern township in Wayne county and contains twenty-eight sections, its domain being four miles north and south by seven east and west. Ashland county is on its west and Holmes county to its south. It was organized June 7, 1825, and in 1870 had reached a population of one thousand five hundred and two, but according to the United States census of 1900 the township had a population of two thousand and twenty-eight. It derived its name from Governor DeWitt Clinton. The first white men to invade the wilds of this township for the purpose of effecting a permanent settlement were as follows : Nathan G. Odell, John Newkirk, Joshua and Thomas Oram, Thomas Odell, Abner Lake, Jacob Funk, Abner Eddy, Thomas McConkey, John Jones, Stephen Morgan, Asa Griffith, William and J. Wells, Reuben and Philip Aylesworth, Noah Whitford, Lorenzo D. Odell. Mr. Brewer built a cabin on the east bank of the Newkirk spring, about twenty feet from its source. The first election in the township was held in the cabin of John Jones. Nathan G. Odell was chosen first justice of the peace, but he declined to serve, 383 - WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO when James Priest was elected and served the remainder of his life. The first public road opened was the one running from Wooster to Loudonville. An Indian trail extended from the head of Odell's lake to Millersburg, and one to Jeromeville from the same point. The Indian town was located on the north side of the lake and contained about three hundred Indians, under Mohican John. What was known as the Big Prairie was at first looked upon as an impassable swamp ; it was soggy, wet, full of ponds, dangerous to stock and counted of no value. The first man known to have died within Clinton township was Thompson, an emigrant who took sick while stopping with John Newkirk. He was sick but a short time. The first physician in the township was Dr. Henry Peters, who located at the intersection of the roads at the Newkirk graveyard. The first woman to die in the township was the wife of Thomas Oram. In 1814 Reuben Newkirk and Thomas Odell, two young men, went to Wooster to procure a coffin, carrying it home on the backs of their horses. Each bore one end of it, though at times the end would strike the trees, when they would singly, time about, have to carry it on their shoulders. The first resident of the township to marry was Thomas, son of Nathan G. Odell, who was united to Nancy Drake, of Holmes county, in 1813. The first school house in this township was called the Newkirk school. It was located on Henry Newkirk's land. It was a small log affair, the neighbors having met, cut trees and converted them into a school house. It was covered with shingles, and contained three long benches for the children, and a fireplace running the whole length of it. The first teacher was a lady from Holmes county who received seventy-five cents per week for teaching. The first church was erected by the Disciples, about a mile and a half northeast of Shreve. The first work of Methodism in the township was near Newkirk Spring, where a church was built in 1843. See chapter on church history. At an early day, in this township were the following named persons engaged in the distillery business : Almond Aylesworth, Henry Shreve, Thomas McConkey, Thomas A. Brown, Mahaley McConkey and John Comer. Cornelius Quick built the first mill at the outlet of the lake, in 1825 ; his dam backwatered the region and raised the lake about fifteen inches. Nathan G. Odell sold the land, not wishing to litigate over the matter. Cotner, however, later had a law suit over it and, after long years of lawing, both men were financially ruined. 384 - WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO. The towns and villages of this township are Shreve, Craghton, Big Prairie and Centerville. FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP. Franklin is one of the two irregular-shaped townships in Wayne county, the other being Wooster township. Franklin was named from old Benjamin Franklin of Philadelphia, the statesman and scientist. The township was organized for civil purposes June 7, 1820. Its population is now about one thousand two hundred and one. The first settlement made by any one in Wayne county, outside of Wooster, was made in this township on lands later owned by Thomas Dowty. James Morgan and Thomas Butler were the two white settlers who first wandered into the territory now embraced in this township. They came in 1808 and soon after came in John Boyd, Robert Buckley, John and James Cisna, Tommy Lock, Samuel Mitchell, Jacob Nixon, William Nolan, Jacob Miller, Moses Lockhart and John Hughes. The first land entered in the township, in the regular way, was by James Morgan. The first justice of the peace was Samuel Mitchell. One of the early school houses was the Polecat school house on the farm of Daniel Daringer. The pioneer distillery of the township was conducted by old Johnny Boyd, who sold it in quantities, "Yes, sir, just as little as you want, sir." The first grist mill was erected by a Mr. Mitchell on land later owned by Andrew Bucher. The first lime in Wayne county was burned in a log heap to test its quality, and later a kiln was made and lime successfully burned in the same by Henry Munson, Sr., in 1816 or 1817. It was he who furnished the lime employed in the building of the old Wiler house of Mansfield, hauling it there by ox teams at about fifty cents a bushel. At nights he slept under his wagon, while he turned his oxen out to graze. Among the recollections of Pioneer John Harrison, the following was, many years since, made a matter of record : "Salt was worth six cents a pound when I came here. Bought a two-horse wagon from old Billy Poulson in 1826 and paid for it in salt; went to Cleveland for it ; obtained one ,barrel there and one barrel ten miles out of the city. These two barrels of salt paid for the wagon—price thirty dollars. A bushel of wheat would then pay for a pound of coffee, the former being of little cash account until the canal was opened. There were some Indians about when we came here. Old WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO -385 Chief Dan Lyon remained after the other Indians had all left. He was used to making wooden ladles and trade them to the whites for bacon." INDIANS BURN THE BUTLER CABIN. From a reminiscence dictated by John Butler, a pioneer justice of the peace of Franklin township, we take the liberty to extract the following. Mr. Butler being absent at his father-in-law's, the Indians burned his cabin. The cause was presumed to be as follows: Butler had raised, considerable corn in the bottoms and had a good many hogs. A gang of Indians passed one day and shot one of them. Mr. Butler followed after and found them encamped in the locality of the present site of Shreve. He went to the chief and told him the circumstances, and that he must pay him, the chief going to the thief and telling him he must pay for the hog lie killed. He asked him what he killed it for, whereupon the Indian replied, "I wanted grease." The chief made him pay for the animal, Mr. Butler receiving in. pay therefor two deer skins, which the Indian indignantly kicked toward him. It was soon- after this Mr. Butler's cabin was burned, and he claimed the gang of Indians .did it. He then erected a hewed log house on the exact spot where had stood the rude cabin that they had burned. In this Mr. Butler died March 17, 1837. THE MORGAN BLOCKHOUSE. This fort stood on the Thomas Dowty farm, and but a few rods from his house, and was quite a large. structure and a source of protection to the pioneers. During the summer of Hull's surrender a company of soldiers' were stationed here from Tuscarawas county. A would-be brave soldier of this company was ever. boasting of his courage and ached for an opportunity to have a fight with the Indians. The boys concluded they would accommodate him. They caused to be painted and decked in true Indian style of costume one of their number, and had him secrete himself in a swamp close by. The company proceeded on one of its scouts and passed by this swamp, when the mythical Indian sprang out, yelling and pointing his gun, took after Sir Valiant Soldier, 'who rushed at the top of his speed and concealed himself in a marsh. The company and the painted man rapidly returned to the blockhouse. Soon thereafter the would-be Indian fighter, who had lost his shoes in the swamp, returned. Some of the boys went in search of his shoes and brought them into camp. (25) 386 - WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO. DEATH OF OLD CHIEF LYON. Alexander Bell, of Holmesville, once informed 'Squire Butler that when he was a boy he went to old Lyon's camp, near the mouth of Butler Spring run, and found him in a sick condition in his rude hut. Lyon asked Bell to take his camp kettle and bring him some fresh water, which he did, when Lyon asked him to look at his tongue. Bell told him how it looked, when the old chief said, "Me dead Indian." Bell said, "I will go and tell Jess Morgan if you wish me to," to which Lyon' consented. Jess came, accompanied by Bell, and they found the old chief very sick, whereupon he repaired to Sandusky and communicated the facts to his Indian friends, when several of them came along back with Jess. They took the old Indian upon one of their ponies, but in a few days word came back that his spirit had gone to the happy hunting ground. Throughout the county there used to be many reports concerning this old chief. The early settlers all knew him, as he visited their cabins and frequently was a source of terror to women and children. MORELAND VILLAGE. Moreland is the only village ever platted within Franklin township. It was laid out by Jonathan Butler and George Morr January 17, 1829. The first building in the place was erected by a blacksmith for a shop: his name was Loux. SALT CREEK TOWNSHIP. Salt Creek township is on the south line of Wayne county and the second township from the eastern line of the county, with Holmes county on the south, Paint township on the east, Franklin on the west and East Union township on the north. It contains twenty-four sections, is four miles from north to south and six from east to west. It was formed March 5, 1816. Of the first settler in this township and his family, the following may be narrated : William Searight was born October 17, 1779, in Cumberland county, Pennsylvania. His father was a native of Ireland, who came to America about 1760, settling at Carlisle, Pennsylvania. He served seven years in the Revolutionary war. William, the son, who came to Wayne county, Ohio, selected lands here in 1810 and built a small log cabin on WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO - 387 the banks of Salt Creek, facing the Pine Hill." He was then the only man and his family the only family within Salt Creek township, as now bounded —indeed he was "monarch of all he surveyed." fie entered four hundred and sixty acres. His nearest neighbors lived in Prairie township, Holmes county. The next to effect a settlement in Salt Creek township was Henry Barnes, just after the close of the war of 1812-14. After the news of Hull's surrender, Mr. Searight and family fled for safety to the blockhouse, four and a half miles distant, built in Prairie township, Holmes county. The Indians there were friendly. About this time old Chief Lyon visited Searights and told Mrs. Searight that he had cut the tongues from out of ninety-nine women and wanted hers to make an even hundred. Mr. Searight died July 16, 1846, and his good wife followed him in February, 1848. They had ten children. From the memory of Pioneer Joseph Miller the following facts concerning this township are given to enrich its history : William Searight built the first saw mill erected on Salt creek, the date being 1813. Judge Frederick built the next mill in 1816. The Sea-right mill burned and John Cheyney and Samuel Miller rebuilt another in 1820 for saw mill purposes only. Frederick's second mill was built in 1836, and had a capacity of two hundred barrels a day—a very large flouring-mill for then or even later years in the history of milling. This mill was burned in 1876. James Russell, a blacksmith, built the first house in the town. Samuel Miller built and conducted the first hotel. Jacob Frederick had the first distillery in the township and it is related that in the days when the old Ohio canal was being constructed that there were no less than eight distilleries within two miles of Fredericksburg village. The first doctor was James Clarkson, who came in 1827 and died in 1846. John Taylor was the first lawyer. Samuel Goodwin said that buffalo, deer and elk would haunt the salt licks. FREDERICKSBURG VILLAGE. Fredericksburg was platted by Jacob Frederick November 27, 1824, and named in honor of its founder. He served as one of the associate judges of Wayne county as early as 1826. The Fredericksburg Cemetery Association was organized in 1872. The population of this village in 1900 was five hundred and eleven. Its business interests consisted of : The Bank, by E. Z. Aylsworth ; undertakers, J. H. Hunter and B. S. Bontrager ; general stores, S. M. Warner, 388 - WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO. Charles Sterling and J. B. McCormick ; hardware, Stucker & Leeper ; baker, C. W. Smith; butcher, J. B. Shultz Fredericksburg Pottery Company, planing mills, flouring mills and Ohio Terra Cotta Company. The present postmaster is C. R. Kilgore. Churches, Presbyterian, Congregational, United Presbyterian, Methodist Episcopal and Christian. The town and country is well cared for in the way of a first-class banking house, known as the Citizens Bank, with a capital of one hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars individual responsibility. Its officers are : H. W. Cary, president ; A. T. Stultz, vice-president ; E. Z. Aylsworth, cashier. PAINT TOWNSHIP. This is the extreme southeastern sub-division of Wayne county and was organized March 5, 1816. It derives its name from the fact that a spring existed in its territory, the water of which resembled red paint and imparted its peculiar color to the earth and other objects it chanced to touch. According to the 1900 United States census, the township contained a population of one thousand two hundred and six. There are now two town plats within Paint township, Mount Eaton and West Lebanon. The first person to settle within the limits of Paint township was Michael Waxier, who emigrated from Harrison county in 1810. He was a true backwoods character, dressed in buckskin breeches, hunting shirt and moccasins, and usually armed with his scalping knife, tomahawk and rifle. As the brave are generally generous, even so was he who had the honor of first breaking soil in this goodly part of Wayne county. He frequently hunted with old Chief Lyon and Bill Harrison. It is told of Mr. Waxier that he encamped one night where Winesburg is now located and barely escaped destruction from a gang of angry wolves which attacked him, and to which he offered a stout, resistance until morning, having, in the meantime, killed several, and in true Indian style, scalped them. The next settlers in Paint township were James Sullivan, John Sprague, David Endsley, Nathan Peticord, James Galbraith, William Vaughan, Elijah Carr, Samuel Shull, Frederick Shull and Jacob Beals. The first election held in the township was in 1816, and Frederick Shull and Jacob Beals were the candidates for the office of justice of the peace. Not many votes were cast and the result was a tie, whereupon the aspirants cast lots, and Beals was the winner, hence became the first justice of his township. He held the position twelve years. Another character of the early days in this township was David WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO - 389 Houmard, a native of Switzerland, and was among the very first emigrants to pass through the locks on the great Erie canal at Lockport. The family passed through Cleveland, Ohio, when there were but about fifty houses there, arriving in Sugarcreek township September 2, 1825. He was seventeen weeks in coming from Switzerland. At Cleveland he bought a yoke of oxen for thirty-six dollars which he hitched to a wagon and in that way came to Wayne county. He remained at the Sonneberg colony a month and settled in Paint township in May, 1826. He was a cutler by trade, and made many curious firearms and tools. His house has been thus described : "The original dimensions of it were twenty by thirty feet, and it was constructed of logs, not hewed until after the house was erected. It was composed of two rooms, the second one on the east side being nearly square, and without being filled or mudded. Here his family, consisting of wife and child, passed the winter of 1826 and '27. This cabin was without a floor, the fireplace was in the center of the room, and as companions of his family, the cow and calf were wintered in the same room, the cabin being house and stable both. The milk was kept in white walnut troughs, strained through old garments and cloths and the churn was made of a hollow cherry tree, with a board nailed on at the bottom." Joseph Perrott was the second Frenchman to locate in Paint township, coming in 1829, and Emanuel Nicolet came in 1830. In 1834 immigration set in in earnest. MOUNT EATON. Mount Eaton, formerly styled Paintville, was platted as early as 1813 by William Vaughn and James Galbraith. Elijah Carr is supposed to have erected the first building in the place, and Samuel Shull kept the first tavern. The earliest minister to proclaim the gospel at this point was Archibald Hanna, a Presbyterian, who conducted religious services for a number of years in a tent in the big woods. In 1829 the name Mount Eaton took the place of former Paintville. The first incorporation election of Mount Eaton was held April 4, 1870, when three trustees were elected as follows : J. B. Westcott, James Huston and John Schlafly. There were forty-two votes cast at this election. Mount Eaton had a fire company organized as early as 1861. In 1823 James Morrow operated a carding mill by horse power in Paintville. In 1827 an iron foundry was in operation there, the same being run by Weed & Jones. In 1827-8 Joseph H. White published the Anti-Masonic Mirror, a weekly newspaper, which soon languished for lack of support. In 1831 the first steam grist mill at Mount Eaton was placed in running order by 390 - WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO. Col. William Goudy ; five years later it was burned, but in 1838 was rebuilt, and again destroyed in 1839 by the explosion of the boilers. In this accident John Murphy was suddenly killed by being scalded, John McDonald was mangled, and Jeremiah Nelson and James Bradley were injured and only survived a few days. One of the boilers was hurled fifty yards up the hillside, splitting a sawlog in its course. Cholera made its dread appearance at Mt. Eaton in 1833, the disease having been brought there by a Frenchman named Benedict Brownstine, who, with his family, were emigrants who had a dead child—a cholera victim—with them when they arrived. The disorder soon became malignant in its form. David Boyd, an intoxicated man, strutted up to the wagon to see how a cholera victim looked, and, being attacked, died the same day before sundown. In .a month twenty-six persons died of the scourge. It made its appearance about the middle of August. Doctors Hall and Barber did all in their power to stay its spread, but for all that every one in ten of the population died. The last victim was James Galbraith. Many of the citizens fled from the village during the epidemic. The church and school history of Paint township is given in another chapter. The factors going toward making up the present business of Mount Eaton are as follows, the same having been furnished in October, 1909. General merchandise, A. N. Roth, E. F. Graber; hardware, S. A. Schlafly ; boots, shoes and rubbers, William Willard ; C. N. Clark, physician and surgeon. WEST LEBANON. West Lebanon is situated in the extreme northeast part of the township, three miles northeast from Mount Eaton. It was platted in 1833 by Philip Groff and Rev. William S. Butt. Frederick Bysell, it is believed,' built the first house, run the first hotel and was postmaster. Another theory is that Isaac Stine built the first cabin and that the first postmaster was Adam Zaring. One of the founders of this place, Philip Groff, was a native of West Lebanon, Lebanon county, Pennsylvania, and in memory of his native town called this village by that name. Michael Hawn, a Revolutionary soldier, born in 1741, died in 1844, aged one hundred and three years, and is buried in the Lutheran graveyard at West Lebanon. CHAPTER XX. MISCELLANEOUS SUBJECTS. EARLY-DAY MARKET PRICES-1818. From the diaries and memory of John Larwill, a pioneer merchant of Wooster, the following table of market prices is given the reader : Coffee, per pound, sixty-two and a half cents; tea, per pound, three dollars; common keg tobacco, per pound, fifty cents; coarse muslin, per yard, fifty cents; nails ( forged), eighteen to twenty cents per pound; iron, per pound, sixteen cents; salt, per bushel, four dollars; indigo, per ounce, one dollar; powder, per pound. one dollar. Other commodities were in proportion. Transportation was ten dollars per hundred weight from Philadelphia, and three dollars and fifty cents from Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, brought in freighting wagons. It took thirty-five days to make a trip to Wooster to Philadelphia. A teamster received one-half of his pay before he left here and the remainder in that city. To that city he carried furs and skins of beaver, bears, otters, coons, deer, together with dried venison-hams, and such other commodities as were staples of exchange, and then brought back with him goods and wares for the Wooster merchants. At that time a saddle of mutton could be purchased from the Indians for a quarter of a pound of gunpowder. MARKET QUOTATIONS FOR 1909. The following prices prevailed in this county in 1909: Coffee, twenty-five cents; tea, fifty to seventy-five cents; tobacco, sixty cents; muslin, per yard, ten cents for best ; nails, per pound, four cents (common) ; iron, per pound, four cents ; salt, per bushel, eighty cents ; indigo, per ounce, fifteen cents ; gunpowder, fifty cents; hogs (live weight), six to seven dollars ; cattle (beef), six to eight dollars per hundred. This will show the great contrast in many household articles with the passing of years, but it should be understood that during the Civil war period prices of most all the articles herein named were much in advance of those of today. 392 - WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO. FIRST WHITE MAN TO DIE 1N WAYNE COUNTY. The following is an account of the first white man to die in Wayne county, as chronicled by Ben Douglas, in 1878 : The first white man to die in this county was Alexander Crawford, a brother of Josiah Crawford, who later in the county's history owned the Bahl's Mill. Shortly after his arrival in Wooster his horse was stolen by an Indian. He immediately started in pursuit of the savage thieves, going on foot, which was at that time a popular method to travel. He persevered in his search as far as Upper Sandusky, but failing to overtake or capture them, he abandoned his pursuit. On his return he could obtain' no water to drink, save what lay in the pools in the woods and by the roots of fallen timber, and being very dry, was compelled to slake his thirst with this green-scummed and poisoned water. This was in 1808, and his pathway was amid the solitudes and stolid gloom of dense and dreary woods. On his return to Wooster, he was burning with a violent fever, when he found a stopping place under the protecting roof of William Larwill, which proved to be his last abode on earth. He was sick but a few days, and died in the small office of Mr. Larwill's store, which was situated on the grounds known now as No. 4, Emporium block. Mr. Larwill described his sufferings as being terrible. He had no medical aid. Near the present First Methodist Episcopal church the town site proprietors had laid out a cemetery and donated it to the town. It was called the "public graveyard." Here Crawford's remains were interred. John Larwill, Benjamin Miller, William Larwill, Abraham Miller and one or two more dug his grave and buried him. His coffin was made of rough boards by Benjamin Miller and his son Abraham, and he was carried to his final resting place upon spikes of wood on which his coffin rested. Later his grave could not be identified by anyone. The sombre years have swept over it and it casts no shadow unless upon some stricken heart. The deathground holds him and his sleep is as sweet as if under the granite shaft. TWO NOTED CHARACTERS, DRISKEL AND BRAWDY. Among the noted characters who caused much trouble at a very early time in Wayne and adjoining counties may be cited the names of the Driskels and Brawdys. The Driskels were settlers of Wayne county prior to 1812, but how much earlier than this they came to Wooster and its vicinity is not known. John WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO - 393 Driskel was one of the first supervisors of Wooster we have any record of, and was acting in that capacity in the last named year. He had three brothers, Dennis, William and Phenix, and a sister Sally, who married Bill Gibson. His family consisted of four children, Bill, Pearce, Dave. and Reasin. They emigrated from Columbiana county to Wayne county and for a time lived on Apple creek, near the old Sibbs mill. For a number of years after their settlement in Wayne county, old John Driskel was regarded as an honorable old man, though much addicted to intemperance and inclined when drunk to be quarrelsome. Dennis, his brother, was a temperate, enterprising 'citizen, and bore that name wherever known in this county. He was one of the trustees of Plain township, in company with John McBride and Abraham Runyon, and in 1829 owned and conducted the old grist mill at Springville, in Plain township, which he sold in 1832. For some years after he came to Wooster, John Driskel owned farms and made realty exchanges. The first suspicion of crookedness upon him occurred when Horace Howard was keeping the hotel called Eagle House, on West Liberty street. A party had gathered in the bar-room one evening, among whom was John Driskel, and the excitement becoming too boisterous, the proprietor ejected the inmates from the premises. As Driskel went out of the bar-room, he picked up a candlestick and carried it out of doors with him, but it seems he immediately threw it over into Mr. Howard's garden, who, not knowing this, caused Driskel to be arrested next morning. Michael Totten was one of the jurors in the case. The evidence was not of that character to evince an act of theft on the part of Driskel, and he was acquitted. This was about eleven years after Driskel came to Wayne county, and this was the first suspicion upon him and the first arrest. Steve Brawdy, a brother-in-law of William, a brother of John brisket was sentenced to the penitentiary from. Wooster for stealing a heifer from Jacob Shellbarger, at Naftzger's mill. The warrant for his arrest was issued by Squire Bristow, and Jacob Crawford, constable of Congress township, assisted by Michael Totten and Moses Loudon, arrested him. Brawdy was a strong and powerful man and in the melee a knife was plunged into Loudon's thigh the full length of its blade, but which only made Loudon the more determined and Mr. Totten and the constable the more resolute. He was taken before Squire Bristow, had a hearing, was bound over, received his trial at Wooster, and was sentenced to three years' confinement in the Ohio penitentiary. The fact of Brawdy's relationship to the Driskels induced many 394 - WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO. suspicions and the vigilance of the citizens and the officers soon led to the discovery of a gang in which. John Driskel was the central actor. About this time General Beall had a yoke of oxen stolen and taken to Cleveland and sold. A young man, Ben Worthington, was arrested and tried for this offense and sent to the penitentiary. The revelations of this trial established the complicity of Driskel and Brawdy with the Worthington theft. John Driskel was finally arrested for stealing horses in Columbiana county, Ohio, and brought back from Beaver county, Pennsylvania, where he was caught, and was tried and found guilty and sentenced from New Lisbon to the penitentiary. This was along about 1829-30. He, however, managed to make his escape, the particulars of the same being as follows : Convicts were at that date permitted to labor, under guard, on the public works at Columbus. Driskel, with a chain and a fifty-six pound weight fastened to his leg, had charge of a wheelbarrow and was conveying dirt on the Ohio canal. He concluded he would make an effort to escape, and, picking up the ball in his hand, started to run and was immediately fired upon by six guards, who unfortunately missed him. He had shrewdly selected a period well on toward night for his escape. Arriving at a farm residence, he sought the wood pile and there finding an ax, severed the ball from the chain. Having dispensed with the ball and chain, he leisurely made his way back to Wayne county, to where his family lived, near Burbank, where he filed the clasp of the chain from his leg. Mr. Totten afterward said he frequently heard him relate how he effected his escape, The cutting off of the iron ball by the farmer's ax, and the filing of the chain, etc., Driskel would tell of it and laugh over it until his voice might be heard a half mile. The authorities hearing of his appearance in Wayne county, an effort was made to recapture him, when, to elude his pursuers, he led for a time a roving life, stealing horses, concealing them in thickets, burning barns, houses and other things, finally leaving the county. Shortly after this he was captured in Mohican township, Ashland county, and committed to the charge of two men, named Peterson, to take him back to the Columbus penitentiary to serve out his sentence, but when stopping over night at Sunbury, Delaware county, the old man by shrewdness and force effected his escape and never again appeared in Ohio. He was next heard of in the West, where his family and confederates joined him and continued their criminal pursuits for some years. In. time, the "Regulators" of northern Illinois rose upon them, WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO - 395 captured old John, his son William and others of the gang. These were immediately shot and his youngest son David was soon afterward caught and hanged to a tree by judge "Lynch." It is the opinion of Mr. Totten that this band of outlaws composed of the Driskels, Brawdys and others originated in Wayne county and this is likewise corroborated by the statement of Hon. L. O'Dell, of Clinton township, one of the most intelligent of the early settlers of Wayne county. They had no long or settled residence at any point in the county, living at different times in Wooster, Wayne, Chester, Congress and Plain townships. They were a gang of bad, bold and dangerous men and desperadoes, a terror to peaceful and law-abiding citizens, whom even-handed justice pursued slowly, but finally visited with most fearful retribution. They were men of invincible courage, of powerful physical strength, and enjoyed nothing so well as a carouse and a knock-down. Their leading crimes consisted in burglaries, incendiarisms and horse stealing. They concealed their stolen horses in the dense thickets of the woods, stole corn from the farmers to feed them, and at a suitable opportunity run them out of the county. Old John Driskel was a blustering, swaggering, bullying character, and when drunk was constantly provoking disturbances and putting society into a ferment of alarm and apprehension. Few men whom he encountered were his equals in the brutal conflicts which he induced. On the occasion of a public muster in Lisbon, Columbiana county, he became terribly boisterous and flung his banter to the assembled crowd. Like Caleb Quoten in the "Wags of Windsor," he was bound to have a place in the reviews. Timid men feared him and stouter desired to avoid collision with him. Driskel's rule was if he could not provoke a quarrel by general boasting and threats, to select a large musclar man and challenge him to a fight. And if he refused to accept, to hit him at the time or watch for another chance and deliver a blow upon him. On this occasion, Driskel selected Isaac Pew, a large, bony specimen of a man, and after offering him sundry indignities, and without any warning, hit him a terrible blow. Springing instantly upon him, he bit off Pew's ear. This occurred at the tavern at Lisbon, then kept by Christian Smith, one of the associate judges of Wayne county at one time. Pew was a man who kept his own secrets and felt amply able to defend himself against Driskel, or anybody else, if he had a fair showing. When next general muster came around, Driskel was present, as was also Pew, the latter having remarked, "He has my ear and now I will have his nose." Seeing Driskel, he approached him, 396 - WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO. but suspecting his intentions, Driskel retreated and Pew followed him closely. He was interrupted by Bill Driskel, John's brother, but rushing past Bill and John, seeing he was about to be caught, turned about, when Pew instantly sprang at old John and bit his nose off. On a certain occasion, old John was parading the streets of Wooster, talking boisterously and bragging that he weighed two hundred and eight pounds and that no man could whip him. Smith McIntire, who was clearing off some land on the Robison farm, south of Wooster, came to town in his shirt sleeves to procure tobacco. Being a very muscular looking man, General Spink and Mr. McComb approached him and asked him if the thought he could v, hip that man, pointing to Driskel. McIntire said, "I can whip anybody, but I don't know that man and I am a stranger here and, more than that, I am a peaceful man." Whereupon he started back to his work, when Spink and McComb called to him to return. He obeyed and after some entreaty consented to whip Driskey, upon the consideration of preserving quiet and establishing order. Spink remarked to Driskel pointing to McIntire, that he had not yet whipped him, when Driskel rapidly advanced toward him and said, "You think you can handle me," to which McIntire responded,. "I do." Driskel said, "Well, let us take a drink and then to business." McIntire responded, "I want nothing to drink." Driskel took his drink and faced McIntire and when the word "Ready" was given, McIntire hit one blow that knocked him insensible and so serious was the result that Doctor Bissell had to be called and it was several hours before he rallied from the prostration. Not satisfied with this encounter, in a short time afterwards he challenged McIntire to a second test, which the latter accepted, having General Spink and Col. James Hindman for his seconds, Driskel choosing for his backers one of his sons and his son-in-law, Brawdy. The contestants met and with a similar result. McIntire, after his adversary was on the floor, picked him up like a toy and started with him toward the fireplace, exclaiming, "I will make a burnt offering of him," but his rash purpose was prevented. This fight occurred in the bar room of Nailor's tavern. WEATHER AND CROPS YEARS AGO. In 1816 the pioneers of Wayne county gathered their wheat in July, the weather being exceedingly cool for summer. 1817.—A frost visited Ohio June 1st, completely destroying the fruit and killing the verdure of the orchards and forest trees. WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO - 397 1825.--May 18th the terrific "Burlington storm" swept over Delaware,. Licking, Knox and Coshocton counties, the most violent tornado that ever visited Ohio. 1833.—November 13th of this year, the "stars fell." It was a copious shower and meteoric tramps tumbled through the heavens and popped earthward in prodigal confusion. 1834.—A frost occurred on May 11th, materially injuring the wheat crop. 1835.—Heavy rains fell during the summer, submerging the bottoms and rendering tillage impossible. Hay crops were seriously damaged and cattle died from eating it. A comet was observed this year. 1841.—An unusually violent snow storm May 2d. 1843.—July 2 I st, severe frosts. 1845.—Frosts appeared May 7th and 25th, destroying the wheat crop of that year. 1854-55—The winter of these years will long be remembered. Snow covered the ground thirteen weeks in succession. The month of May, 1855, was remarkably dry, but from the loth to the 17th of June of this year will not be forgotten in history for its remarkable floods. 1855.—On December 24th it began to snow and from this date until the last of March the sleighing remained excellent, the snow covering the earth until about the l0th of April. Forest and fruit trees were killed, and since the first settlement of the country no winter presented so grim wrinkled a front. 1859.—What is known as the "June frost" of this year was a sad visitation upon northern Ohio. June 5, 1859, on Sunday morning, the face of the earth looked as though a sheet of living flame had smitten the vegetation that covered its hills and valleys. 1873-74.—The winter of these years is worthy of special mention. On January 6 and 7, 1874, occurred the "great ice storm," which must be distinguished for its destructive effects upon the forests of the country. 1877.—The mercury stood at Christmas time eighty to one hundred degrees in the sun. The nights were balmy and frostless. ADAM POE, THE INDIAN FIGHTER. The terrible encounter of the Poe brothers—Andrew and Adam—with the stalwart chief, Bigfoot, occupies a conspicuous page in the annals of our border strifes. It should contribute a most interesting feature to the history 398 - WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO. of Wayne county, that we are able to furnish with accuracy the brief sketch of the brother Adam, who for over twelve years was a citizen of this county. His sons were among the earliest of the pioneer band in Congress township and made the first improvements in that section, as well as having been a pioneer of 1813 in the town of Wooster. The following narrative of this incident was written up and published many years since by that most accurate historian, Ben Douglas, and he gained his knowledge from Mrs. Kuffel, who was the daughter of Adam Poe, who was in the encounter with Bigfoot, and reads as follows : A body of seven Wyandots made a raid upon the settlement of whites on the Ohio river, near Fort Pitt, and, finding an old man in a cabin, killed him, stole all they could and withdrew. The news of the murder spread rapidly and my father, Adam Poe, and Uncle Andrew, together with half a dozen neighbors, began pursuit of them, determined to visit sudden death upon them. They followed the Indians all night, but not until morning did they get close upon them, when they discovered a path or trail leading to the river. My uncle Andrew, who, like my father, was a strong man and always on the lookout, did not directly advance to the river, but left his comrades and stealthily crept through the thicket, to avoid any ruse of the Indians and if possible surprise them. He at once detected evidences of their presence at the river, but not seeing them he crept quietly down to its bank, with his gun fixed to fire. He had not far descended when he espied Bigfoot and a little Indian with him, both of whom had guns and stood watching along the river in the direction whence the remainder of the party were. He (Andrew) now concluded to shoot Bigfoot, and fired at him, but his gun did not discharge its contents. The situation instantly became terrific. The snapping of the gun alarmed the Indians, who, looking around, discovered Andrew. It was too late for him to run and I doubt if he would have retreated if he could, for he was a great wrestler and coveted conflict with the Indians. So he dropped his gun and bounded from where he stood and caught both the Indians and thrust them upon the ground. Though he fell uppermost in the struggle, he found the grip of Bigfoot to be of iron, and as a consequence the little Indian soon extricated himself and instantly seized his tomahawk and advanced with fatal purpose toward Andrew. To better assist the little Indian, who had the tomahawk aimed at the head of Andrew, Bigfoot hugged and held him with a giant's grasp, but Andrew threw up his foot and kicked the. tomahawk out of the Indian's hand. This WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO - 399 made Bigfoot indignant at the little savage, who soon repeated his experiment with the tomahawk, indulging in numerous feints, before he delivered the main blow, which Andrew parried from his head and received upon his wrist. Andrew now, by a desperate endeavor, wrenched himself from the clutches of Bigfoot and, seizing the gun from one of the savages, shot the little Indian. Bigfoot, regaining his upright position, got Andrew in his grasp and hurled him down upon the bank, but instantly he arose, when the second encounter occurred, the issue of which threw them both into the water and the struggle now was for the one to drown the other. Andrew finally caught Bigfoot by the hair and plunged him in the water, holding him there until he imagined he was drowned, a conclusion in which he was sadly mistaken. Bigfoot was only playing off and soon recovered and was ready for a second encounter. The current of the river had by this time borne them into the deeper water, when it became necessary to disengage themselves and seek to escape immediate destruction. A mutual effort was at once made to reach the shore and get possession of a gun and close the struggle with powder and lead. Bigfoot was a glib swimmer and was first to reach the bank. In this contingency, Andrew wheeled about and swam farther out into the river to avoid if possible being shot, by diving strategies. The big chief, lucklessly to him, seized the unloaded gun with which Andrew had shot the little Indian. Meantime Adam Poe, having missed his brother and hearing his shot, inferred he was either killed or in a fight with the Indians and hastened toward him. Adam now being discovered by Andrew, the latter called to the former to shoot Bigfoot. Unfortunately Adam's gun was empty, as was the big Indian's. The strife was now between the two as to who could load the quickest, but Bigfoot, in his haste, drew his ramrod too violently from his gun thimbles, when it was thrown from his hands and was sent some distance. He rapidly recovered, but the accident gave Adam the advantage, when he shot Bigfoot as he was in the act of drawing his gun upon him. Having disposed of Bigfoot and seeing his brother, who was wounded, floating in the river, he instantly sprang into the water to assist him, but Andrew, desiring the scalp of the great chief, called to Adam to scalp him, that he could save himself and reach the shore. Adam's anxiety for his brother was too intense to obey the mandate and Bigfoot, determined not to let his scalp be counted among the trophies of his antagonist, in the horrid pangs of death, rolled into the river and his carcass was swept from the eye