Centennial history of Summit County, Ohio and representative citizens, Part 4

Author: Doyle, William B., b. 1868
Publication date: 1908
Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : Biographical Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1150

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"A year or two after we arrived," writes one of the earlier pioneers, "a visiting party was arranged by the ladies in order to call on a neighboring family who lived a little out of the common way. The hostess was much pleased to see us, and immediately commenced preparing the usual treat on such occasions --

a cup of tea with its accompaniments. She had only one fire-proof vessel in the house- an old, broken bake-kettle-and it was some time before tea was ready. In the first place, some pork was fried in the kettle to obtain lard; secondly, some cakes were made and fried in it; thirdly, some short cakes were prepared in it; fourthly, it was used as a bucket to draw water; fifthly, the water was boiled in it; finally, the tea was put in, and a very excellent and sociable dish of tea we had."

The seats in the log house were generally three-legged stools, for, owing to the uneven- ness of the puncheon floor a chair with four legs could not readily be made to stand even- ly upon its surface. Some of the wealthier families might have a few split-bottomed chairs, but more frequently stools and benches occupied the place of chairs and sofas.

After the pioneer had completed his log house, the next thing to be done was to effect a "clearing" around it for a "corn-patch." When the trees were cut down the ground was usually ploughed with a shovel-plough. this being the best instrument with which to force a way among the roots. As the clear- ing expanded, many were the farinaceous delicacies which covered the settler's puncheon table. The johnny-cake, made of corn-meal, hominy, or pounded maize, thoroughly boiled, and other savoury preparations of flour and milk. The forest furnished him with an abundance of venison and wild turkeys, while eorn "pone" supplied the place of every va- riety of pastry. Hogs and sheep were, how- ever, seldom raised, on account of the wolves and bears which infested the woods.

The corn of the first settlers was either pounded in a "hominy block," which was made by burning a hole into the end of a block of wood, or ground in a hand-mill. After the corn was sufficiently pounded it was passed through a sieve, and the finer por- tion of the meal having been made into bread and mush, the coarse remainder was boiled for hominy. The supper of the pioneer usu- ally consisted of mush and milk. A capacious pot containing this preparation was sometimes

AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS

placed on the table, and all the guests invited to help themselves. More commonly, how- ever, each person was furnished with a pew- ter spoon, and a tin cup containing milk, into which he infused the pure mush in propor- tions most agreeable to his taste.

The pioneers had frequently great diffi- culties to surmount before they could get their corn ground. Notwithstanding, the rich harvests of maize yielded by their clear- ings, meal was a very scarce article in their cabins. To procure it they had to choose between the hominy mortar or a toilsome journey of upward of thirty miles, over an Indian trail, to the nearest mill. In 1791 flour was so scarce and dear, that the little which could be afforded in families was laid by to be used only in sickness or for the en- tertainment of friends, for, although corn was then abundant, there was but one float- ing mill on the Little Miami. It was built in a small flat-boat tied to the bank, its wheel being slowly turned by the force of the cur- rent. It was barely sufficient to supply the inhabitants of Columbia (the second settle- ment in Ohio) with meal; and, sometimes, from low water and other unfavorable cir- cumstances, was of little or no service. At such times the deficiency in flour had to be supplied by hand mills, a most laborious mode of grinding.

About this time each house in Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, had its own hand grist- mill in the chimney corner, which has been thus described: "The stones were of the com- mon grindstone grit, about four inches thick and twenty inches in diameter. The runner was turned by hand, with a pole set in the top of it near the verge. The upper end of the pole went into another hole inserted into a board and nailed on the underside of the joist, immediately over the hole in the verge of the runner. One person turned the stone, and another fed the corn into the eye with his hands. It was very hard work to grind, and the operators alternately changed places." It took the hard labor of two hours to supply enough for one person for a single day.

About the year 1800 one or two grist-mills,

operating by water, were erected. One of these was built at Newbury, in Cuyahoga County. In Miami County the most popular millers were Patterson, below Dayton, and Owen Davis, on Beaver Creek. But the dis- tance of many of the settlements from these inills, and the want of proper roads, often made the expense of grinding a single bushel equal the value of two or three.

It was not an uncommon thing for the pioneer to leave his family in the wilderness with a stinted supply of food, and with his team or pack-horse travel twenty or thirty miles for provisions. The necessary ap- pendages of his journey were an axe, a pocket- compass, a blanket and bells. He had to cut a road through the woods with the axe, wide enough for his team, ford .almost impassable streams, and, as the day drew to its close, look out for a suitable place for a night's encamp- ment. Having decided on the spot, he then, by means of flint, steel, and a charge of pow- der, kindled a fire to dissipate the gloom and damps of night. to drive off the mosquitoes, and to prevent the approach of wild animals. The harness being removed from the cattle. the bells were attached to their necks, and they were driven forth to find such pasturage as the forest afforded. After having par- taken of his solitary meal, the blanket was spread on the ground in the neighborhood of the camp-fire, and the wearied backwoodsman, wrapped in its warm folds, slept soundly be- neath the trees. In the morning, or more frequently, long before the break of day. he listened to catch the sound of bells, to him sweet music, for not unfrequently hours were consumed in tedious wanderings before he could recover his stray cattle, harness them to his team, and resume his journey. On reaching his place of destination, if he could only get his grinding done by waiting no longer than a day and a night at the mill. he esteemed himself fortunate. The corn hav- ing been ground, the pioneer retraced his steps to his Tonely and secluded family, and not unfrequently had scarcely time to rest and refresh himself, before the same journey had to be repeated.

HISTORY OF SUMMIT COUNTY

Jacob Foust, one of the Ohio backwoods- men, when his wife was siek, and he could obtain nothing to eat that she relished, pro- cured a bushel of wheat, and, throwing it on his shoulders, carried it to Zanesville to get it ground, a distance of more than seventy- five miles from his dwelling, by the tortuous path he had to traverse. Ilis object accom- plished, he once more resumed his load, and returned home, fording the streams and camp- ing out at nights.

The animal food which covered the table of the settler was chiefly obtained from the woods. Hunters, the better to elude the ever- watchful eye of the deer and turkey, wore hunting-skirts of a color suited to the season of the year. In spring and summer their dress was green; in the fall of the year it resembled the fallen leaves, and in winter, as nearly as possible, the bark of trees. If there was any snow on the ground, the hunters put on a white hunting-shirt. As soon as the leaves had fallen, and the weather became rainy, the hunter began to feel uneasy at home. "Everything about him became dis- agreeable. The house was too warm, the bed too soft, and even the good wife for the time was not thought to be a good companion." A party was soon formed, and on the appointed day the little cavalcade, with horses carrying flour. meal, blankets, and other requisites, were on their way to the hunting-camp. This was always formed in some sheltered and se- questered spot, and consisted of a rude camp. with a log fire in the open air in front of it, the interior of the hut being well lined with skins and moss, the only bedding on which these hunters were accustomed to sleep.

It was to the spoils of the chase that the pioneers and Indians trusted for the skins and furs to barter for the few necessaries they re- quired from the Eastern States. An Indian trail from Sandusky to the Tusearawas, passed by the residence of Mr. Harris, who formed the first regular settlement at Harrisville, in Medina County. It was a narrow, hard- trodden bridlepath. In the fall the Indians traversed it from the west to this region, re- mained through the winter to hunt, and re-

turned in the spring; their horses laden with furs, jerked venison, and bear's oil, the last an extensive article of commerce. Their horses were loose, and followed each other in single hunter's file, and it was by no means remarkable to see a single hunter returning with as many as twenty horses laden with his winter's work, and usually accompanied by his squaw.

INDIAN TRADING.

The mode in which business was con- ducted with the Indians by the fur traders, was as follows: The Indians walked into the merchant's store, and deliberately seated themselves, upon which the latter presented each of his visitors with a small piece of tobacco. Having lighted their pipes, they smoked and talked together awhile. One of the Indians then went to the counter of the merchant, and, taking up the yard-stick, pointed to the first article he desired to pos- sess, and inquired its price. A muskrat skin was equal in value to a quarter of a dollar; a raccoon skin, a third of a dollar; a doeskin, half a dollar, and a buckskin. a dollar. The questions were asked after this manner: "How many buckskins for a shirt pattern?" The Indian, learning the price of the first article, paid for it by selecting the required number of skins, and handing them to the trader, be- fore proceeding to purchase the second, when he repeated the same process, paying for everything as he went along. While the first Indian was trading the others looked on in silence, and when he was through, another took his place, until all were satisfied. No one desired to trade before his turn, but all observed a proper decorum, and never offered a lower price, but, if dissatisfied, passed on to the next article. They were careful not to trade when intoxicated; but usually re- served some of their skins with which to buy liquor, and close their business transactions with a frolic.

To such of the pioneers, however, as did not hunt, the long winter evenings were rather tedious. They had no candles, and cared but little about them, except at such

GEN. GEORGE ROGERS CLARK

GEN. ANTHONY WAYNE

GEN. WM. HENRY HARRISON

GEN. ARTHUR ST. CLAIR

GEN. JOSIAH HARMAR

AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS

seasons. The deficiency in light was, how- ever, partially remedied by torches made of pine-knots, or the bark of the shelly hickory. To relieve the tedium, the pioneer would read aloud to his family from such books as his cabin afforded, or engage in the usual opera- tions of the season, such as shelling corn, scraping turnips, stemming and twisting to- bacco, plaiting straw for hats, or cracking walnuts and hickory nuts, of which the in- mates of every cabin usually laid in a good winter's supply.

WILD GAME.

The wolf for a considerable time caused much trouble to the pioneers, and prevented the profitable raising of sheep and hogs in the neighborhood of the "clearing." In or- der to preserve the hogs from the attacks of these animals, it was necessary to build the walls of the hog-pen so high that the wolf could neither jump nor climb them. Their depredations were so great that the state of- fered a bounty of from four to six dollars apiece on their scalps. This made wolf hunt- ing rather a lucrative business, and called into action all the talent of the country. Some- times these ferocious animals were taken in traps. The wolf-trap resembled a box in ap- pearance, formed of logs, and floored with puncheons. It was usually made about six feet in length, four feet in width, and three feet in depth. A very heavy puncheon lid was moved by an axle at one end, the trap being set by a figure four, and baited. On one occasion, a hunter went into a wolf-trap to adjust the spring, when the lid suddenly fell and hurled him into the pit. Unable to raise the cover, and several miles from the nearest house, he was imprisoned for a day and night in his own trap, and would have perished but for a passing hunter, who heard his groans and instantly relieved him.

Bears and panthers were at one time com- mon in the northwestern territory, but their depredations on the hog-pen were not so fre- quent as those of the wolf and the wild-cat, and they were usually more shy in their habits.

HOME-MADE GARMENTS.

Most of the articles of dress worn by the first settlers were of domestic manufacture. Wool was not yet introduced into the country, and all their home-spun garments were made from flax or hemp, or from the skins of the deer, which, when nicely dressed, afforded warm and comfortable clothing. Such was the settler's everyday and holiday garb. . 1 common American check was considered a superb article for a bridal-dress, and such a thing as silk or satin was never dreamt of. A yard of cotton check, which can now be ob- tained for twelve and a half cents. then cost one dollar, and five yards was deemed an ample dress pattern. The coarser calicoes were one dollar per yard, while whiskey was from one to two dollars per gallon, and as much of this article was sold as of anything else. The country merchants, however, found it advantageous to their business to place a bottle of liquor on each end of the counter for the gratuitous use of their customers.

In the fall of 1800, Ebenezer Zane laid out a town in Fairfield County, and in compli- ment to a number of emigrants from Lan- caster County, Pennsylvania, who had pur- chased lots, called it New Lancaster. It re- tained that name until 1805, when, by an act of the legislature, the word "New" was dropped. Shortly after the settlement was made, and while the stumps were yet in the streets, the cheapness of whiskey occasionally led some of the settlers to indulge in drunken frolics, which not unfrequently ended in a fight.

In the absence of law, the better disposed part of the population held a meeting, at which it was resolved that any person in the settlement found intoxicated should for every such offense either dig a stump out of the street, of which there were many, or suffer personal chastisement. The result was, that, after several of the offenders had expiated their offenses, dram-drinking ceased. and so- briety and good eonduet marked the char- acter of the people.

For many years the pioneers lived together

HISTORY OF SUMMIT COUNTY.

on the footing of social equality. The rich and the poor dressed nearly alike. What lit- tle aristocratic feeling any new settler might bring with him, was soon dissipated, for all soon found themselves equally dependent. The pioneers knew who were sick for many miles around, and would very cheerfully tender their assistance to each other under such circumstances. All sympathized on these occasions, and the log cabin of the in- valid would be visited, not only by those in his own immediate neighborhood, but by set- tlers from a distance, who would keep him well supplied with the best of everything their primitive habits could afford.

PIONEER HOSPITALITY.

The stranger ever received at the log cabin of these pioneers a generous welcome. The rough fare on the puncheon table was most cheerfully shared, and any offer of remunera- tion would offend them. Even the Indian, in times of peace, was no exception, and would be received and kindly entertained with such fare as the cabin afforded. The pioneer hos- pitality, together with its happy effects on one occasion, is well exemplified in the fol- lowing confession of converted Wyandot chief, named Rohn-yen-ness. He had been chosen by his tribe to murder Andrew Poe, a woods- man, celebrated in border warfare, who had slain, among others, one of the bravest war- riors in the Wyandot nation. This Indian proceeded to Poe's house, where he was re- ceived with utmost kindness and hospitality. Poe, having no suspicion whatever of his de- sign, furnished him with the very best which his cabin afforded. When bedtime came, a pal- let was carefully prepared for their Indian guest by the hospitable couple in their own chamber. The unsuspicious hunter and his family having fallen into a deep sleep, the Indian had now a fair opportunity to accom- plish their destruction. Ile thought of the duty he owed to his nation, of the death of its most valiant warrior, and of the anger of his. tribe ; but Poe had received him with so much

kindness, had treated him so much like a brother, that he could not summon a suffi- cient amount of resolution to kill him, and in this unsettled state of mind he lay till about midnight. Once more he arose from his pal- let, and approached his sleeping host. His sinewy arm was uplifted, and the murderous weapon glittered in his hand. Again the kindness of the sleeping pioneer overcame the resolution of the Indian, who, feeling it to be unworthy the character of a warrior to kill even an enemy who had reposed in him such generous confidence, returned to his pal- let and slept till morning. During the war, however, it was necessary to be more guarded in entertaining Indians, and, although the following incident is more romantic than tragic, it affords a good general illustration of the danger to which the settlers were ex- posed.

One night, just before retiring to rest, a backwoodsman of the name of Minor Spicer, residing near Akron, in Summit County, heard; some one call in front of his log cabin. He went out and saw a large Indian with two rifles in his hand and a deer quar- tered and hung across his horse. Spicer asked him what he wanted. The Indian replied in his own dialect, when the other told him he must speak English or he would unhorse him. He finally gave Spicer to understand that he wanted to stay all night, a request which was reluctantly granted. The rifles of the Indian were laid in a corner, his venison hung up, his horse stabled in an out-house, and the Indian invited to enter the dwelling of the settler.

The savage now cut a piece of venison for Mrs. Spicer to cook for him, which she did in the usual way, with a liberal supply of pepper and salt. He drew near the table and ate only sparingly. The family being ready to retire, he placed his scalping-knife and tomahawk in the corner with his rifles, and, stretching himself upon the hearth before the fire, was soon apparently asleep. After a while he was observed to raise himself slowly from his recumbent position and sit

AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS

upright on the hearth, looking stealthily over his shoulder, to see if all was still. Having satisfied himself that the family slept, the savage rose to his feet, and stepped lightly across the floor to the corner where lay his implements of death. At this juncture the feelings of Spicer and his wife may be imag- ined, for they were only feigning sleep, and were intently watching. The Indian stood half a minute to see if he had awakened any- one, and then slowly drew forth from its scabbard the glittering scalping-knife. At the moment when Spicer was about to lay his hand upon his rifle, which stood near his bed the Indian crossed quietly to the venison, cut several steaks from it. and was soon after busily engaged in broiling a supply for him- self. freed from the pepper, which had pre- viously offended his unsophisticated taste.

SOCIAL AMUSEMENTS.

The social amusements of the pioneers originated in the peculiarities of their habit -. and were especially characteristic. On the ar- rival of a new settler, every one was expected to perform a certain amount of gratuitous labor at the "log-rolling," or the raising of the new cabin. Some felled the trees and cut them the proper length: others prepared puncheons for the floor, and clap-boards for the roof. while another neighbor with his team hauled these materials to the site on which the cabin was to be erected. 1 large num- ber of persons usually assembled at this place on the day appointed for the raising. by whom the walls of the house were speedily con- structed. The labors of the day having ended, the evening was spent in dancing and other innocent amusements. If the company had no fiddler, which was not unfrequently the case. some of the party would supply the deficiency by singing.

Marriages among the pioneers were gen- erally contracted in early life, and on these truly festive occasions the youth of both sexes in the immediate neighborhoods, and for fif- teen or twenty miles around. would be gath-

ered together. On the morning of the wed- ding day the bridegroom and his friends, with their numerous visitors, assembled at the house of the bride, and, after the ceremony was performed, the company were enter- tained with a most substantial backwoods feast of beef, pork, fowls, with plenty of po- tatoes, cabbages and other vegetables. After dinner the young people engaged in various rural sports until dancing commenced, which was kept up for the remainder of the day, and not unfrequently through the whole of the night. The dances most in vogue being ordinarily three and four-hand reels. or square sets and jigs.

The next day the whole party were accus- tomed to return to the house of the "groom" to partake of the "infair." On arriving within a mile of the dwelling, two young men would volunteer to race for the bottle. Mounted on ponies (the rougher the road the better) both started with an Indian yell, and away they went over logs, brush, muddy hol- lows, hills and glens, the obstacles on the road only serving for a better display of rival in- trepidity and horsemanship. The bottle was always filled and ready to be presented to the first who reached the door. The successful competitor having drank the health of the bride and groom. then returned in triumph to distribute potations among the company.

Although among the pioneers disputes would occasionally arise, but few ever thought of settling them by legal proceedings. There were other modes of adjudication. Some- times a duel would decide all difficulties. At others the pugilistic ring was formed, and. after a fight, which often afforded an oppor- tunity of displaying great courage and im- mense powers of endurance, the conqueror would shake hands with the vanquished, and a perfect good feeling would usually be re- stored between the contending parties. It is true there were some justices of the peace. men generally chosen by the pioneers on ac- count of their strong, natural sense, who ad- mirably answered all the purposes of their selections.

IIISTORY OF SUMMIT COUNTY

THE FIRST PUBLISHED DESCRIPTION OF SUMMIT COUNTY.

In the spring of 1755, James Smith, a youth of 18 years, was taken captive by three Indians, about five miles above Bedford, Pennsylvania. He was taken by them to the banks of the Allegheny River, opposite Fort Duquesne, where he was compelled to run the gauntlet, consisting of two long ranks of Indians, two or three rods apart. He es- eaped with a slight tomahawk injury, and his fleetness and skill awakened such an admira- tion among the Indians that they spared his life and adopted him into the tribe, the name of which was Canghnewaga. Several years later, upon the conclusion of a treaty with the whites, he was released and returned to civilization. In 1799 there was published in Lexington, Kentucky, by John Bradford, a book entitled "Narrative of the Captivity of Colonel James Smith Among the Ohio In- dians, Between May, 1755, and April, 1759." It is a most thrilling story of James Smith's experience during his Indian life, and its authenticity is unimpeached. In his Indian hunting trips he traversed our portage path and has left us the first de-eription of the adjacent country which has been published. It is given in Colonel Smith's own words and is as follows:

"Sometime in October another adopted brother, older than Tontileango, came to pay us a visit at Sunyendeand and asked me t) take a hunt with him on Cuyahaga. As they always used me as a freeman, and gave me the liberty of choosing. I told him that I was at- tached to Tontileango, had never seen hin before. and, therefore, asked some time to consider this. He told me that the party he was going with would not be along, or at the mouth of this little lake, in less than six days. and I could in this time be acquainted with him, and judge for myself. I consulted with Tontileango on this occasion, and he told me that our old brother, Tecaughretanego (which was his name) was a chief and a bet- ter man than he was, and if I went with him I might expect to be well used, but he said I

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Centennial history of Summit County, Ohio and representative citizens, Part 4

Author: Doyle, William B., b. 1868 Publication date: 1908 Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : Biographical Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 1150

Author: Doyle, William B., b. 1868
Publication date: 1908
Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : Biographical Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1150