USA > New York > Jefferson County > A history of Jefferson County in the state of New York, from the earliest period to the present time > Part 29
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Well, after a while he found himself sufficiently provided with gum, and started off at a kind of Indian lope for the place where he had left the dollar, passing in his way a spring of water, up- on the surface of which was a thick yellow scum, resembling iron rust. On, on, on he traveled, sweating under his load, and with the lurking suspicion that something was wrong, he didn't know what. After a good while, however, and when he knew he must have traveled more than any distance that could possi- bly have been between the last gum tree and the one containing his dollar, he made a full halt for the purpose of a reckoning. One thing was very certain-that he had traveled faster coming back than when going, and had been longer about it. That had a bad look ! then he thought it curious there should have been three of those iron ore springs, looking so nearly alike ! And finally, the more he soliloquized the more he satisfied himself that he was lost.
What added not a little to his perplexity was, that twilight was already spreading her mantle upon the forest. It would therefore be necessary for him to select where he would spend the night, so far as there was any choice of a sheltered place in the woods. He was not long in finding a large standing tree that afforded just the nook he wanted, between two roots that stood well out on either side, and having ensconced himself in a sitting posture, with his back against the tree, and the axe be- tween his knees, he prepared to face any danger that might offer, and to sleep away the long hours of night. He would have telegraphed the folks at home that he was safe, if he could. He hoped they would not be much alarmed. But they were though, and after sunset the old gentleman got uneasy and started out the way that he should come, just to meet him-if he was safe -but with a kind of presentiment, to succor him if in trouble. He kept on, occasionally stopping to listen, and sweating with apprehension, and imagining a whole catalogue of mishaps that might have befallen him-whether he had lost his way-or had
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maimed himself with the axe-or a tree had fallen upon him- or, what was certainly possible, some ravenous wild beast had devoured him-all was a matter of painful doubt, fear, and un- certainty.
It was not, however, until after he had reached the village, and found by enquiry that his boy had not been there, that his fearful forebodings of some horrid evil were confirmed.
Giving the alarm here, and begging of the good people to ral- ly quick and meet such persons as he should succeed in obtain- ing from Brownville, he hastened home in such a state of mind as can be better imagined than described.
Until his arrival home, the family had not partaken very much of his own alarm, but now, what a sad and sorrowful company are they, as hurriedly they make the necessary preparation, with pine knots and birch bark for torches, horns and guns for sig- nals, and refreshments for the missing boy if he should be found, and for the kind neighbors who were in all probability to be in the woods all night.
In due time, a large company of men and boys were assembled, and having organized into bands, with preconcerted signals, they struck off into the forest, while the mother and sisters of the missing boy sat in the open door of their lonely tenement to await the slow and tedious result, and so as to be in a situa- tion to catch the first sound of any signal guns announcing the fate of him they loved.
Thus passed the first half of the night. The hunt proceeded with great fidelity, so that every rod of the ground was inspect- ed, the horns sounding at regular intervals of time, so as to pre- serve the line of march, or to catch the ear of the boy if perad- venture he was alive.
The party had proceeded on carefully, until within a few rods of where the hero of the play kept his night vigil, before his dreams were disturbed and he sufficiently awake to know that it was for his benefit that the horns were sounded ; but when fairly awake, he was not long in vacating his quiet retreat, and arresting the further progress of the search, by presenting him- self in propria persona, with his axe on his shoulder and gum bag under his arm, before the satisfied cavalcade.
Bang ! bang! BANG ! rung out in quick succession upon the night air, reverberating to each extremity of the long line of weary hunters, the preconcerted signal, which notified the quick ear of the listening mother and sisters that Ellick was safe. There was more joy manifested that night over the boy that was found than over all them that went not astray.
A Link in the Chain.
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A Man shot by his Friend .- In the fall of 1801, there was a man, whose name was Dayton, who obtained a contract for a piece of land, lying south of the road to Brownville, as you climb the Folts Hill. He built a small log house in the woods, near the present road, and was keeping bachelor's hall, through the months of September and October of that year, with no other companion than a young man who was brother to his wife. He was intending to remove his family here in the spring, but, as it turned out, he lacked the fortitude and courage which were requisite for pioneer life.
While thus living, an event occurred, which, for the time be- ing, quickened the pulses of the entire community, and which seemed more like tragedy than any previous occurrence in our brief history.
There was a project for a squirrel hunt, among the scattered inhabitants of the several neighborhoods, and Dayton and his brother-in-law were expecting to participate in the general war against the squirrels and other vermin, who were likely to get more than a fair proportion of the first corn crop ever cultivated in these wilds-though they themselves had no cornfields. And here we remark by the way, how unselfish men become, as soon as they get beyond the old settlements. Mutual dependence soon exerts a softening influence upon the human heart, and the sym- pathies flow out without stint as often as the sufferings present themselves for aid or sympathy. This, probably, is the clue to that proverbial happiness, which in all ages and in all countries, dates back to the pioneer settlements in a new country.
With the purpose of having his gun in readiness for the ap- proaching hunt, Mr. Dayton took it down one evening, from its place over-head, and sitting down before the blazing fire, laid it across his knees, preparatory to taking off the lock and oiling its pinions, so as to insure a smart motion of the hammer spring. He was not aware that it contained a full charge of powder and shot, or that it was loaded at all; but carelessly held the muzzle towards his friend, who was sitting in the other corner of the fire-place, keeping up a cheerful light, by timely contributions of light, dry combustibles, to the open fire. It is probable that he pulled the trigger without thought or motive; but what was his horror and amazement, when his piece discharged, with a report that was almost deafening, filling the room with smoke, and when he heard his companion fall to the floor, exclaiming "I am shot ! I am shot !"
They had no light but the open fire, and the smoke was so thick and suffocating that no examination could be made. It was all uncertain, what the extent of the injury might be; but knowing that Doctor Isaiah Massey had recently arrived from
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Vermont to share our fortunes with us, and that he was boarding at our village tavern, it was agreed that Dayton should find his way through the dark pine woods which intervened, and bring the doctor.
My father had some corn collected from his field, and with the male members of his family-kind men and boarders-doctor included, was in the house (log barn), husking; and my mother was keeping her night vigils alone in the house, when her ear detected the quick, hurried step of Mr. Dayton, as he rushed into the door, exclaiming, " I have killed my brother, and want the doctor !" As soon as he was sufficiently composed to state his case understandingly, he was directed to the husking party, for the doctor, while my mother, as if by instinct, set herself about preparing some clean linen rags, for bandages and lint, and some tallow candles for lights, with which our young Esculapius was soon on his way, on horseback and alone, to answer to the first case of surgery and gun shot wounds which had presented itself in his pioneer practice.
He was evidently a good deal flurried, as he struck into the woods in advance of his guide, to endeavor to thread his dubi- ous way; and he was frequently heard to say, afterwards, that it was the greatest trial his nerves had ever endured.
. For aught he knew (and in the circumstances of the case, as narrated by the affrighted Dayton, a thing quite probable), his patient was already dead, and stiffened in his gore, an object frightful enough, to be visited alone, by broad day light; how much more, in the dim light of any embers which might be left in that lonely house in the woods.
His near approach to the house, which he after a while suc- ceeded in finding, did not alleviate his feelings much; for now, the case must be met, whatever may be its developments. The idea of stumbling over a dead man, in his efforts to strike a light, or of groping about the room in search of a mutilated hu- man being, was all his nerves would bear, and he trembled in his stirrups.
He however grew ashamed of his fear, and, after listening a moment at the door, tapped gently for admittance : there was no answer. He lifted the latch and pressed his weight against the door, but it was fastened on the inside. He knocked again. " Who is there ?" said the young man. "The doctor." " Wait a minute and I will open the door," said he, as he crawled off his couch and proceeded to take away the barricade with which he had fastened the door. He apologized for the delay, by say- ing that he had heard that wolves were attracted by the smell of blood, and that finding himself bleeding pretty profusely, he had thought it prudent to fasten himself in.
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It proved to be a case of no imminent danger, after all. The charge of shot from the gun had penetrated the fleshy part of the thigh of the young man, and after a proper dressing, for which the forethought of my mother had amply provided them, the young doctor mounted his horse and returned to the village, where he soon succeeded in allaying the fears of the community, by his professional opinion that he would recover, with proper care.
A Link in the Chain.
A Wolf Story of Early Times .- In the brief history that I wrote out for your paper two or three weeks ago, from the early traditions of our town, describing a scene, which was almost a tragedy, between a Mr. Dayton and his brother-in-law, at the foot of the Folts Hill, on the Brownville road, I stated, that the wounded man had taken the precaution to fasten his door on the inside, so as to prevent the ingress of wolves who might be attracted by the smell of blood, while Mr. Dayton was after the doctor.
I know it is somewhat difficult for the present generation to comprehend the situation of peril in which scattering families were placed at that early day, or that there was any real and positive danger of molestation by the wolves; and, therefore, I shall transcribe another incident, in the traditions of early men and early times, which will tend to correct any doubts upon that subject.
The late Hon. Jotham Ives was among the early emigrants into this town. He arrived here in 1801, and located his home, where he lived to amass a large landed property, and where he died, recently, near the place called Field Settlement.
In the fall of 1802, he had a number of hogs fattened, and at killing time he employed a Mr. Knowlton, an old, white-haired man of sixty years or more, who was somewhat skilled in butch- ering, to assist him. Knowlton lived about three-fourths of a mile from Mr. Ives, in the near neighborhood of the present residence of Mr. James Brintnall, where he had a little clearing, or what was perhaps more appropriately called, in backwoods phrase, a chopping, and which was surrounded by a temporary brush fence. Between himself and Mr. Ives there was no road; and nothing but a line of marked trees to designate the little footpath which meandered through the deep, dark, and in many places tangled forest, which stretched off almost interminably on either hand.
The butchering over, and supper disposed of, it was agreed that there was time to cut up the pork, and Mr. Knowlton con- sented to stay and assist in doing so. At a late hour, the whole work was finally completed, and Mr. Knowlton was generously
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compensated for his valued services, in addition to which he was made welcome to a couple of the hogs' plucks, to carry home to his family.
But as he was about to leave for home, Mrs. Ives suggested the hazard of passing through the woods, at that late hour, with the smell of blood upon his clothes, and invited him to stay all night; to which Knowlton answered, that he could not think of being away from his family all night, as they would be alarmed for his safety, being unable to account for his absence; that, as for the wolves, though they might prowl around his path, they would not dare to molest him.
Now Mr. Ives was a man of great muscular power, and would not fear a regiment of wolves himself, and though he assured Mr. Knowlton that he might stay in welcome, yet he scouted the idea of danger from the sneaking cowardly wolves; he advised him, however, that in case he should be followed by them, to leave the plucks for them to quarrel over, while he should hurry on home.
The colloquy being ended, Knowlton finally took his leave with a pluck in each hand, and struck into the woods, to endea- vor to follow out his little foot path. He had not proceeded far, however, before a sharp and startling sound, a fearful howl, rang out upon the night air, evidently betokening the near neighbor- hood of a prowling wolf on his right, which was answered from another quarter, and then another, in quick succession, until the path, that he had traveled but a moment before, seemed to be alive with hungry seekers after blood.
He had yet no fears for his personal safety, and had no thought of cowardice; but yet he confessed that there was something dismal in the thought of being alone and entirely unarmed, at such a time, and in such a place, groping and feeling his dubi- ous way in such close proximity to a pack of ravenous wild beasts; and he soon found himself quickening his pace, while ever and anon he instinctively cast a wistful eye over his shoulder, and into the recesses of the thick woods on either hand.
It was not long, however, that any doubt remained about his being the object of their pursuit, as his quick ear detected the galloping movement of a troop of pattering feet on his track, and it was becoming more and more a question of interest with him how the chase would terminate.
He hoped, when he reflected that he was nearing his own habitation every moment, and his path was becoming plainer, and he was able to make better progress. But the odds was with them, for they were lighter of foot, and could see a great deal better than he could in the gloom of the forest; but, more than all, they were so many, and were mad with hunger, and
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were becoming more and more desperate every moment. On, on, on, the old man strode, resolutely, and with a strength and speed which would have surprised him at any other time, even by daylight, but which seemed slow enough, now in the time of his extremity.
If he could but keep them at bay a little longer, and until he could clear the dark woods and get the benefit of the compara- tively open light of his chopping, or lay his hand upon some strong hand spike, or sled stake, or billet of wood, he might still hope to defend himself successfully, or escape from their hungry jaws. Straining every nerve, he bounded onward with such agility as only desperation and love of life afford; but the distance between him and his pursuers was not lessened by all his efforts; and before he reached the brush fence that surrounded his peaceful home, he felt that his time had nearly come, when he bethought himself of the parting advice of his friend Ives.
He acted upon the suggestion, and immediately hurled one of the plucks into their midst; in the next moment he was on the home side of his brush fence, and they were fighting over the paltry price with which he had purchased his own safety. It may be safely assumed that he did not wait to witness the result of the civil war which he had occasioned, but that as soon as possible he found himself on the inside of his rude domicil, with the door fastened on the inside.
Mr. Knowlton lived many years after the event which I have narrated, and died a natural death; and the woods which were the scene of our story have long since been cleared away, and the wolves are only known as figuring in the history of the olden time. Jl Link in the Chain.
In 1803, a bridge was built below the village near the court house, by Henry Coffeen and Andrew Edmunds, over which the state road afterwards passed, and in 1805 the dam was built below the bridge, at which, the same year, a saw mill was built on the north side, and in 1806 a grist mill by Seth Bailey and Gershom Tuttle. A saw mill was built on the Watertown side by R. & T. Potter, a little below, and a saw and grist mill soon after by H. H. Coffeen, since which time many mills have been erected along the river.
It is a singular fact that the village of Watertown, in common with the whole county of Jefferson, while it vies in wealth and enterprise with the most favored portions of the state, owes very little if any thing to imported capital. In most instances the wealth now existing has been acquired on the spot, by those who at an early period were thrown upon their own immediate exertions for support, and from the ashes of the timber that
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covered the land, and the first crops which the virgin soil yielded in kind profusion, they received that first impulse which, second- ed by industry, prudence, and sagacity, has not failed in bringing its reward. With a strong conviction that the place would at a future time become an important village, Jonathan Cowen, Henry Coffeen, Zechariah Butterfield, Jesse Doolittle, Medad Canfield, Aaron Keyes, Hart Massey and Isaiah Massey, who owned property adjoining the present public square and Wash- ington street in Watertown, held, early in 1805, an informal meeting, and agreed to give forever to the public for a public mall a piece of land twelve rods wide, and twenty-eight long, and another running south at right angles to this, nine rods wide, and about thirty-two long. They then directed to be made by John Simons, a surveyor, a map of the premises, which was done, and deposited in the town clerk's office, but this was after- wards lost. An attempt was subsequently made to resume the title, and sell portions of the public square, but the question having come into the courts, was decided by Judge Nathan Williams in favor of the public, as Mr. Cowen, the claimant, although he had never deeded land on the public square, yet he had acknowledged its existence, by bounding certain convey- ances upon it .* In the same year, the site of the court house was determined by the commissioners appointed by the governor for that purpose, not without the most active influences being used at Brownville, and it is said to have been located in its present site, at some distance below the business portion of the village, by way of compromise.
Burrville, on a branch of Sandy Creek, derives its name from John Burr, and several sons,+ who first settled here about 1802. The place was considered very valuable for its water power, and here the first mills in Watertown were erected in accordance with an agreement between Silas Stow, agent for Low, the proprietor, and Hart Massey, dated June 1st, 1801, by which they were to build during that season, a saw mill, and corn mill, to be owned equally between them. The latter was to furnish three acres of land and erect the mills, and the former to furnish provisions, irons, mill stones, and expenses generally, the expenses to be equalized at the end of building. They were accordingly built that summer, and soon sold to Mr. Burr. They proved highly useful to the surrounding country, whose settlement they greatly promoted. The frame of the grist mill is still used.
Field's Settlement, in the west part of the town, adjoining Houndsfield, derives its name from Elijah Fields, from Woodstock, Vermont, who with a family of nine sons and three daughters,
* See Paige's Chancery Reports, iv, p. 510.
t Theodore Burr, a celebrated bridge builder, was a son of John Burr.
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mostly of mature years, and some of them with families, settled here in 1805. Jotham, Titus,* and Joel Ives, three brothers, had located in the vicinity four years previous. Near the centre of the town, Major Allen, Aaron Brown, Corlis Hinds, Tilley Richardson, Reuben Scott, James and Eli Rogers, Benjamin Green, and others, and near Burrville, the Hungerford families, Caleb and Nathaniel Burnham and many more.
An act of 1808, directed 500 stand of arms to be deposited at Champion, the destination of which was by an act of March 27th, 1809, changed to Watertown, and an arsenal erected in that year. The arsenal was built under the direction of Hart Massey, Esq., collector of the district of Sackets Harbor, at an expense of $1,940.99. It has given its name to the street on which it stands, which was previously called Columbia Street, and was maintained by the state as an arsenal, until sold under the act of April 9th, 1850. The brick of which it was built were furnished by Abraham Jewett, at a cost of $339.63; the stone were cut by Thaddeus Smith and Joseph Cook, at a cost of $110-80, and the lime by David Stafford and Benjamin Goodale, at 22 cents per bushel.
In Watertown as in other sections, the manufacture of potash formed the first means of realizing cash, and many paid in whole or in part for their lands by this means. In 1806, $3,500; in 1807, $6000; and in 1808, $9000 worth of this staple was ex- changed, the market being at that time in Montreal. In 1810, the firm of Paddock and Smith purchased 2800 barrels, averaging $40 per barrel, making for that period the enormous aggregate of $112,000. The embargo which preceded the war did not prevent but rather increased the trade, by the high prices that it created, but the declaration of war entirely prostrated that, and every other energy of the country, except that the military operations of that period required large supplies of provisions and forage for the armies on this frontier. At Water- town, bodies of troops were stationed for short periods, and the sick were often sent thither for that attendance which could not be secured at Sackets Harbor. In 1811, the citizens had adopted measures for securing the benefits of an academy, and erected on the site of the First Presbyterian Church, a brick building for that purpose, which will be again mentioned in our account of academies. This building was used as a hospital for a consider- able time.
Soon after the war, there occurred in this village an event which excited extraordinary interest throughout the country, and of which many accounts have been published, more or less ap-
* Dr. Titus Ives died February 12th, 1847 of apoplexy, aged 69. Jotham Ives settled in 1800, and is said to have raised the first crop of wheat in town.
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proximating to the truth, but none to our knowledge giving the full and correct details. Had the subject depended upon us alone, to give it publicity, it might have been properly passed over, as one of those events that should be forgotten, in charity to the memory of the dead, and feelings of surviving relatives, but as it has been so often repeated that we do not imagine it in our power to give it wider notoriety, and knowing that the public would expect a notice of the event, we have labored to procure a correct ver- sion. The narrative may effect a useful purpose, by exhibiting the extent to which one error leading to another will betray one, at the same time serving as an instructive lesson to warn against any deviation from the path of honor, or the listening to suggestions that compromise principle.
Samuel Whittlesey, originally from Tolland, Ct., had removed, about 1807, to Watertown, and engaged in business as a lawyer. On the 12th of February, 1811, he received the appointment of district-attorney for the territory comprised in Lewis, Jefferson and St. Lawrence counties, and on the 9th of February, 1813, he was superseded by the appointment of Amos Benedict, who had preceded him. Events connected with this, led to some sympathy for him, and the office of brigade-paymaster, which had been tendered to Mr. Jason Fairbanks, was by him declined in favor of Whittlesey, and he, with Perley Keyes, became secu- rity for the honest discharge of the duties of the office. At the close of the war, a large amount of money being due to the drafted militia, for services on the frontier, Whittlesey went to New York, accompanied by his wife, to obtain the money, and received at the Mechanics' Bank in that city, $30,000, in one, two, three, five and ten dollar bills, with which he started to re- turn. At Schenectady, as was afterwards learned, his wife* re- ported themselved robbed of $8,700, an occurrence which great- ly distressed and alarmed him, but she advised him not to make it public at that moment, as they might otherwise better take steps that might lead to its recovery, and on the way home, she in an artful and gradual manner persuaded him, that if they
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