USA > New York > Chautauqua County > History of Chautauqua County, New York > Part 33
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From the ashes of the burned timber the settler obtained the first return for his labor. From the manufacture and sale of black-salts of lye, he received the cash to pay for his land. From the products of one dairy for a year more now is undoubtedly realized than there was from the sale of all the black-salts made in a town in the same length of time. Yet settlement would have been postponed for many years had it not been for this com- modity. It was the chief staple of the hill-towns during the first 25 years of their history, was the only product that could be sold for cash, and it was sure to be received in exchange for goods and groceries. It was made from the ashes of the oak, maple, beech and other hard wood. The ashes were gathered in boxes in the fallows or slashings where the timber was burned, and carried by hand to rough leaches usually made of bark, erected at places
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1821-1822.
convenient to water. . The lye obtained was boiled in kettles until it became a semi-solid which was called black-salts. Each merchant besides his store owned an "ashery," where he received of his customers black-salts and ashes, which he paid for in goods and money, at the rate of $2.50 or $3 per hundred. At the asheries the black-salts were converted into potash by burning them in ovens and kettles.
Prominent among the carly merchants who bought black-salts and ashes in the northern part of the county were Herriott and MeGonagle of Mayville, William Holbrook, Holbrook & Camp, and Camp & Colville of Forestville, Guy Webster in Hanover, John R. Coney in Portland, Alvin Williams in Westfield, and Brockway in Ripley. Many ashes and much black-salts were sold at Jamestown and Fredonia. Abram Winsor and Walter Smith and George A. French had stores at Sinclairville, and Joy Handy, Walter Ches- ter and others in late. years. At this point 30,000 bushels of ashes were bought annually, besides black-salts manufactured by the settlers. Before the opening of the Erie canal in 1825, pot and pearl ashes were sent to mar- ket at Pittsburgh, and also to Montreal and thence to London, being hanled around the Falls to Lewiston. After the opening of the canal they were shipped to New York, the merchants receiving their pay in bills of exchange on New York and London. In early years the country store and its ashery was a public institution. The merchant was a public benefactor. No busi- ness enterprise could be carried out successfully without his advice and assistance. He not only furnished the material to build and complete their houses and barns, and supplies essential to their family support and comfort, but he was their banker and business adviser also.
The most prominent of the pioneer merchants was Walter Smith. In 1819, when but 19. years of age he engaged in the mercantile business at Fredonia. About 1826 he moved to Dunkirk, and soon became the most enterprising and influential business man in the northern part of the county. The early settlers of a large territory depended on him for business accomo- dations. Scarcely a farm was cleared, a building built or a highway opened, that he did not in some way give assistance. The early merchants of several of the villages bought goods of Mr. Smith, and he received pot and pearl ashes from their asheries. These he sold in Montreal, deducted the amount of the indebtedness, and paid to them the balance of the proceeds in cash. For many years three fourths of the pot and pearl ashes of the county were bought by him and shipped to the foreign market, and orders on his store, and due bills payable in goods over his signature, became the currency of a portion of the county.
By the new constitution the terms of office of all the civil officers expired December 31, 1822. This was the result, it was said, of the influence of the Bucktails in the constitutional convention, exerted in' order to cut short
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HISTORY OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY, N. Y.
Governor Clinton's terin of office. It therefore became necessary to fill all the elective offices of the state in the fall election of 1822. The Bucktail branch of the Republicans, which had complete control of the state, and which may now properly be called the Democratic party, put in nomination Judge Joseph C. Yates for governor. Governor Clinton declined being a candidate, and the Clintonians, being much the weaker branch of the Repub- licans, made no nomination. Vates was elected almost without opposition. In Chautauqua county he received 1,689 votes, Only 10 votes were polled against him. At this election Gilbert Douglas was chosen sheriff without opposition, John Dexter (Bucktail), was elected county clerk over Thomas B. Campbell (Clintonian) by 445 majority. Chautauqua county in April, 1822, was organized into an assembly district, and James Mullett, Jr., was chosen to represent the county in the assembly. At the same time Erie, Niagara and Chautauqua counties were erected into a congressional district. The state was divided into eight senatorial districts, each of which elected four senators. The nine western counties, including Chautauqua, constituted the eighth senatorial district. David Eason of Chautauqua was chosen senator. Elial T. Foote was appointed first judge, and held that important position for nearly twenty years.
CHAPTER XXXI.
1823-1824.
Bold forest tamers ! they have scared The wild beast from his savage den ; Our uplands to the sunshine bared, And clothed with beauty hill and glen. -Hosmer.
S HERMAN was the last town of the county to be settled. It remained an unbroken wilderness for nearly a quarter of a century after James McMahan had purchased the land at the Cross Roads and made his first clearing. Dearing Dorman from near Batavia, Genesce county, was the first to let in the sunlight. He selected land on lot 32 in the north part of the town near Sherman village, where in 1823 he " erected a shanty, covered it with bark, laid a floor of split logs, kindled a fire at the end and introduced his youthtul bride to her new house." Harvey W. Goff came a short time afterwards. Alanson Weed came in from Ellery in the spring of 1824. January 24, 1823, Villenova was formed from Hanover and Ezra Peffer was elected its first supervisor. He was a native of Sudbury, Mass., and came
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1823-1824.
to Villenova in 1812. He died in Indiana, April 16, 1823. Busti was organized from Ellicott and Harmony, and named from Paul Busti, the general agent of the Holland Land Company. Daniel Sherman was elected its first supervisor. He was afterwards sheriff of the county. James Mullett was again elected to the assembly and David Eason to the senate from Chau- tauqna county.
With the near approach to completion of the Erie Canal, came increasing signs of prosperity. People came flocking into the county, and there was a large accession of men of means to its population. In June, 1824, 70 persons arrived by stage at Fredonia in one day. In 1820, there was no such con- veyance as a stage between Buffalo and Erie. The mail was then carried once a week on horseback. In 1823 the line of stages that had been estab- lished commenced running three times a week, and arrangements were made to carry the mails as often.
Notwithstanding the marked progress in improvements along the lake, the county south of the ridge still remained the haunt of the wild beast.
The Cassadaga Valley was once called the Cassadaga Swamp. For miles in extent it was untraversed by roads, unbroken by clearings, and covered by a dense forest of evergreens, filled with thick underbrush. Although the wolf had been proscribed by man, and a reward offered for his head, and obliged to fly from the hills, he still lurked among the dark thickets of the Cassadaga Swamp, where he and the bear and wildcat securely made their lair. Often would he sally forth to make a midnight banquet at the neighboring sheep folds to return at the break of day and hide himself among the alders and tamaracks of the swamp. For a long time great havoc was made with the sheep of the towns adjacent ; sometimes a whole flock would be destroyed in a single night. The annoyance at length became so intolerable that measures were resolved upon to exterminate them, resulting in the years, commencing with 1824 and ending in 1828, in a series of four wolf hunts which were participated in by a large portion of the inhabitants of the northern and interior towns of the county. A notice of the first of these hunts in the New York Censor published at Fredonia, Oct. 6, 1824, states that 268 men encircled a piece of woods eight or ten miles from Fre- donia, and that three wolves and other wild animals were caught; and three wolves escaped for want of men to make the ring closer. The interest that was taken in these wolf hunts by the people of the county at that time authorizes a full description. The following account is from the pen of Judge L. Bugbee :
" Perhaps no town in the county suffered so severely as Stockton. The deep recesses of the Cassadaga swamp in this town formed for the wolf a secure retreat, where, during the day time, he could quietly digest his mut- ton obtained the night before. At length, the inhabitants became deeply
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HISTORY OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY, N. Y.
exasperated, and resolved on the extermination of the wolf. Meetings were held and a plan devised. The battle ground was selected nearly east of the fork of the Cassadaga and Bear creeks. The plan of battle was a simultaneous attack npon all sides of the swamp at once. On the east the line was formed on the town line, between Stockton and Charlotte ; on the north by the line of lots near Cooper's mill ; on the west by the Cassadaga creek, and on the south by another line of lots near the swamp road, east of the residence of Abel Brunson. The ground was prepared under the supervision of Col. Charles Hayward, of Ellery, assisted by Return Tabor, Bela Todd, and Royal Putnam. These lines were rendered very plain by blazing trees and lopping brush.
" By previous arrangement, the forces met on the second day of October, 1824. The north line of attack was commanded by Gen. Leverett Barker, of Fredonia, assisted by Elijah Risley and Walter Smith as lieutenants. Col. Obed Edson, of Sinclairville, with Judge J. M. Edson and Joy Handy, commanded the east division ; Major Asael Lyon and Gen. George T. Camp on the west, and Col. Charles Hayward on the south, with Elias Clark, of Ellery, as his lieutenant. These commanders all wore pistols in their belts to designate their office, and were assisted by the four men as guides, who had prepared the lines a short time before. Before going into the swamp, each division had chosen its place of rendezvous ; the east at Sinclairville, the north at Cassadaga village, the west at Delanti, and the south at the residence of Newell Putnam, Esq., in the south part of Stockton. Dr. Water- man Ellsworth, of Delanti, was the captain of the men from Stockton, and very active in getting up the 'hunt.'
" Early in the forenoon the men were all upon the ground, forming a continuous line and encircling a goodly portion of the swamp. Mr. Royal Putman, who assisted in marking the lines on all sides, thinks the square was full one mile and a half npon each side. The number of men on the lines were sufficient to be within easy speaking distance from each other. The signal for advance was 'Boaz,' being given by General Barker, and as it returned, the lines moved forward in splendid order, growing more compact until they arrived on the battle grounds, forming a square about one mile in circumference, or eighty rods on a side. No man was to fire his gun until he received his pass-word from the general, and it was known that the lines were closed up. The men now stood shoulder to shoulder. 'Jachin,' the pass-word, quickly made its rounds, and the signal gun was discharged, and in a moment the firing became general. After the first discharge of fire-arms the deer and rabbits within the lines became frantic with fright, making the rounds and seeking an opening through which to escape. One stately buck making the rounds, gallantly charged the line, by foreing his head between the legs of Charles P. Young, from Ellery, and carrying him several rods astride his neck, then bounding away, unharmed, into the free wilderness, save perhaps a few sore ribs, from the numerous punches received by the muskets in the hands of the men, before they had time to reload their pieces. After all the game had been dispatched that could be seen, a committee of three or more was sent within the inclosure, to search under old logs and fallen trees to ascertain if any game had fled to any of those places for safety. Dr. Ellsworth is the only man remembered as being upon that committee.
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1823-1824.
" After the return of the committee, the men, by orders, moved towards the center of the inclosure, bringing in the game, consisting of two large wolves, one bear, several deer and a large number of rabbits. The men were evidently disappointed in the number of wolves captured, but after speeches from a number of the officers, the woods rang with their hearty cheers, and they resolved for another lint, which took place in about three weeks, kill- ing one wolf and several deer and other small game. The third hunt was in May, 1825, but no wolves were found, and only a few deer. The fourth and last hunt under this organization was in June, 1828, but caught 110 wolves.
" The county had offered a large bounty for the scalp of the wolf, $50 or upward, and by resolution, General Barker, Elijah Risley and Walter Smith were elected a committee to forward the scalps, and obtain the money, and expend it in ammunition, provision and whisky to assist the men in future hunts. From this date, wolves ceased to be troublesome in this part of the county, and very soon left our borders for more secure quarters."
The towns chiefly represented were Stockton, Charlotte, Gerry, Ellery, Arkwright, Pomfret, Portland, Chautauqua, Cherry Creek and Ellington. It was estimated that there was no less than 2,500 hunters in the field dur- ing those wolf hunts.
The wolf was now driven from his lair, yet there came occasional remind- ers that the settlers were not entirely freed from forest dangers in pathetic incidents of children lost in the woods which still covered a greater part of the county. To leave the beaten path while traveling through the unbroken forest in order to find a better route, or even for a little distance for any cause, was sure to be disastrous to one not thoroughly experienced in traveling in the woods. It often happened that under such circumstances the wanderer would go miles away from home. On these occasions the settlers would rally from far and near, organize themselves into parties, choose leaders, and sconr the woods until the lost one was found. A few of the many instances of this kind will serve to show the lively sympathy that existed among the carly settlers.
Baluma Shurtleff was lost in the woods near Sinclairville. The aların was spread in every direction. There was a general gathering and a thorough search. For three days she subsisted on berries, and was finally found in the eastern part of the town of Charlotte. Mrs. Underhill, while picking blackberries in the western part of the town, wandered to the edge of the Cassadaga swamp and lost her way. She remained in the woods three nights. A regular search was instituted by many people. She was found on the fourth day by Wilson Camp. In April, 1826, Prescott French, aged five years, and his brother Frank aged three, started to go through the woods in the town of French Creek, a distance of one and one-half miles, to Nathanial Thompson's. "Coming to a clearing and seeing no house they turned about and strayed from the path and were lost in the woods. Night came on and
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HISTORY OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY, N. Y.
they laid down by the roots of a large tree. In the meantime a search was commenced, the neighbors were rallied, and with torches and lanterns the hunt was continued until midnight, when the search was for the time aban- doned. The hunters were themselves lost in the dense forest, and found themselves always returning to the point from which they started. The next morning the search was resumed with an additional number of the inhabitants, and continued until night without success. A cold rain had come on, and the howling of the wolves was heard in the direction the children were supposed to have taken, their tracks having been seen in the ashes of a sugar camp near Mr. Thompson's clearing. On Sunday morning about 200 persons having assembled, a captain and a lieutenant were chosen, whose orders the company agreed to obey, and a line was formed along the highway from Clymer west ; the east end of the line to be on the town line, and the men to keep about 4 rods apart. They were to march north across the valley ; then to move westward the length of the line, and march south to the road from which they started. Thus they were to march and seour the woods by course, and not to speak a word nor fire a gun until the children were found. After crossing and recrossing the valley till they had reached the north side on lot 20, a council was called; and it was agreed, that, as the next time across would take them as far west as it was possible for the children to go, if they did not find them before reaching the other side another council should be held. When they had gone about half way across the alder bottom, the man at the west end of the line, stooping to tie his shoe, looking backward under his right arm, saw the head of one of the boys, who stood trying to pull the bark from a moose-wood twig. He raised his head, and shouted :. " I have found them !" The shout was carried along the whole line, and guns and horns announced to the anxious waiters the joyful tidings. The younger boy was lying, insensible, at the roots of a small pine which they had reached the night before. They had tasted noth- ing, except some leek leaves, which were too strong to be eaten. John Heath and Wm. Tyler now started to see which of them should first carry the news to the anxious mother. Heath reached the door a few steps ahead, crying : "Found them both alive !" and fell exhausted on the floor. The boys lived to become men."
Not always were the searchers so fortunate as to find the lost one alive. It was even less distressing to find him dead than not to know his fate, for then long years of fruitless search would sometimes follow. Stories of a wild person seen in some distant wilderness or a captive among the Indians would revive the hopes of the parents only to find the cruel rumor false.
A pitiful story is told of two children of James Roe who resided in Han- over which were lost while they were wandering in the forest. One of them was afterwards found in a mill pond and the clothes of the other in the woods.
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1823-1824.
In the town of Cherry Creek in April of 1822, on a clear Sabbath morn- ing, a little daughter of Joshua Bentley then in her fourth year strayed into the woods and was never seen afterwards. "Mrs. Bentley, with two of the older children, started out to pick some cowslips, leaving her husband asleep on the floor, and the little girl at play in the door-way. She was not missed until Mrs. Bentley's return, about an hour afterwards. "A search was com- menced, and continued by the inhabitants of the surrounding country, but without discovering the least trace of the child. That she had been taken by the Indians, or that she had wandered away into the woods and been devoured by wild beasts, was among the conjectures concerning her fate."
The settlers observed that a singular circumstance often interfered with, and sometimes prevented the success of their efforts. The tendency of per- sons, particularly young children, who had for many hours been lost in the woods to revert to the primitive wildness of the race. An undefined fear would come over the wanderer at the sight of a human being, and he would strangely shun and seek to hide from friends who were seeking to find him.
The political events of the year 1824, were of great importance and excited much interest in Chautauqua county. It was the year of the presi- dential election, and at the time when a new party was being formed.
Notwithstanding all the opposition to the Bucktails or Democrats seemed to have been wiped out as the result of the election in the spring of 1822, and they appeared to have acquired absolute and permanent political control of the state, such appearance proved to have been delusive. A presidential election was approaching. The Federal party being defunct, the Republicans were without opposition. In their choice for a candidate for president they were naturally divided between the distinguished members of their party. John Quincy Adams, William H. Crawford, Andrew Jackson, Henry Clay and John C. Calhoun, all Republicans and ardent supporters of Madison's admin- istration, were put forward by their followers as presidential candidates.
Up to this time it had been the practice of the political parties of the county to make their nominations for president in congressional caucuses and not by a convention of the people as at the present time, but now the congressional caucus system was growing unpopular. Crawford had the largest following among the members of congress, which led the friends of . the other candidates to unite in opposition to him. Crawford was the choice of Martin Van Buren and those influential members of the Bucktail party that had come to be known as the Albany Regency. Through their influence, a legislative caucus had been held on the 22d of April, 1823, of which James Mullett, Jr., of Chautauqua was chosen secretary. At this meeting it was resolved that the congressional caucus nomination ought to be supported. At length a meeting was called of Democratic members of congress for the purpose of nominating a president. The opponents of Crawford refused to
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HISTORY OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY, N. Y.
attend this caucus, and his nomination was made by but a small minority and of the Republican members. Their action was held by the opposition as not binding upon the party. Crawford's opponents, however, feared that the great influence of Van Buren and the Albany Regency with the legisla- ture would secure Crawford the electoral vote of the state. The legislature under the law as it then stood had the sole power of choosing the presidential electors. The opponents of Crawford to provide against this apprehended danger advocated the choice of electors by the people.
In the legislature that convened in 1824, Chautauqua county was ably represented by James Mullett, Jr. The "Electoral question " was the leading subject during the season. Mr. Flagg offered a resolution that the question be referred to a committee of nine. A long and exciting debate ensued. Mr. Mullett, who was opposed to Crawford and favored Mr. Clay as president, in this debate supported Flagg's resolution, which was adopted, and Mr. Mullett was appointed one of the committee. The committee reported a bill giving the power of choosing electors to the people. This was called the " Electoral Bill." Although the assembly was Republican, a large portion of its members were pledged to support it, and it was passed almost unanimously, only five members voting against it. The bill was sent to the senate for concurrence and was defeated by a vote of 17 to 14. Great popular excitement was created by the defeat of the bill. The opposi- tion attempted to cast odimm upon the 17 senators who voted against it. They were called the " Infamous 17 " and their names were posted in bar rooms, and public places in black letter type, and in the newspapers sur- rounded by heavy black lines.
In Chautauqua county, the electoral law was popular and meetings were held in its support. The Censor, although a Bucktail organ, strongly favored that law. Its defeat had the effect to seem to make the party in power unpopular. The Clintonians and all Democrats opposed to Mr. Van Buren, the Albany Regency, and a congressional caucus, now took upon themselves the name of the " People's party," while they denominated the supporters of Crawford 'in the state as the " Regency party."
The last act of the party in power in the legislature was to remove De Witt Clinton from the office of canal commissioner, a position which he had filled for years to the great advantage of the state and honor to himself. This act was even more unpopular than the defeat of the electoral bill. It excited a storm of indignation in the state which extended to Chantauqua county.
The effect of the removal of Clinton was to make him the candidate for governor of the People's party. James Talmadge was made their candidate for lieutenant governor. The Regency party nominated Samuel Young for governor and Erastus Root for lieutenant governor. Clinton was elected
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GENERAL LAFAYETTE.
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