USA > Ohio > Historical collections of Ohio in three volumes ; an encyclopedia of the state : with notes of a tour over it in 1886 contrasting the Ohio of 1846 with 1886-90, Vol. III > Part 38
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I have observed that when the prairies have only escaped fire for one year, near where a single tree stood, there was a young growth of timber supposed to be planted by squirrels. But when the prairies were again burned all this young growth was immediately consumed, as the fire rages in the grass to such a pitch that minbers of raccoons are thereby burned to death.
On the west side of the prairie, or betwixt that and the Scioto, there is a large body of
first rate land-the timber, walnut, ash, elm, loeust, sugar-tree, buckeye, cherry, mulberry, plum trees, spice-wood, black haw, red haw, oak and hickory.
After passing the winter on the Oleantangy. a tributary of the Scioto, the old Indian and his young companion returned and proceeded down Sandusky, killing in the passage four bears and a number of turkeys. We quote again :
When we came to the little lake at the mouth of Sandusky we called at a Wyandot town that was then there, called Sunyendeand (he speaks as if it was a first visit, whereas we have devoted a large space to his former sojourn there.) Here we diverted ourselves several days by catching rock-fish in a small creek, the name of which is also Sunyende- and, which signifies rock-fish. They fished in the night with lights and struck the fish with gigs or spears. The rock-fish there, when they begin first to run up the creek to spawn, are exceedingly fat, sufficiently so to fry themselves. The first night we scarcely caught fish enough for present use for all that was in the town.
A WHITE CAPTIVE SHOWS THE INDIANS A NEW WAY TO CATCH FISH.
The next morning I met with a prisoner at this place by the name of Thompson, who had been taken from Virginia. He told me if they would only omit disturbing the fish for one night he would catch more fish than the whole town could make use of. I told Mr. Thompson that if he knew he could do this I would use my influence with the Indians to let the fish alone for one night. I applied to the chief's, who agreed to my pro- posal, and said they were anxious to see what the Great Knife (as they called the Virgin- ian) could do. Mr. Thompson, with the assistance of some other prisoners, set to work, and made a hoop net of ehm bark, then they cut down a tree across the creek, and stuck in stakes at the lower side of it to pre- vent the fish from passing up, leaving only a gap at one side of the creek, here he sat with his net, and when he felt the fish touch the net he drew it up, and frequently would haul out two or three rock-fish that would weigh about five or six pounds each. He continued at this until he had hauled ont about a wagon load, and then left the gap open in order to let them pass up, for they could not go far on account of shallow water. Before day Mr. Thompson shut it up, to prevent them from passing down in order to let the Indians have some diversion in killing them in day- light.
When the news of the fish came to town, the Indians all collected and with surprise beheld the large heap of fish, and applauded the ingenuity of the Virginian. When they saw the number of them that were confined in the water above the tree, the young Indians ran back to the town and in a short time returned with their spears, gigs, bows and arrows, etc., and were the chief part of that
265
SENECA COUNTY.
day engaged in killing rock-fish, insomuch, that we had more than we could use or preserve. As we had no salt or any way to keep them they lay upon the banks, and after some time great numbers of turkey-buzzards and eagles collected together and devoured them.
But enough of our Ohio Crusoe. ITis remaining adventures, before his restoration to his friends in 1760, consisted of a trip to Detroit, another hunt up Sandusky and down Scioto, and a journey to Caughnewaga, "a very ancient Indian town about nine miles from Montreal," besides an imprisonment of about four months in Montreal itself. This
picture of northern Ohio, a century since, has the merit of novelty at least. That it is authentic, there can be no doubt, for in several historians of authority occur frequent and respectful reference to the narrative from whose pages we have drawn so copiously.
The geography of the last foregoing para- graphs is less difficult of explanation than in the first portion of the chapter.
The falls of Sandusky are doubtless the same as the rapids mentioned in the treaty of Greenville, near the site of Fremont, and the Sandusky plains which were burnt over by the ring hunt, are in Marion, Wyandot and Crawford counties.
FOSTORIA is 12 miles northwest of Tiffin, the largest part of it lies in Seneca, a considerable portion in Hancock and a small part in Wood county. It is a considerable railroad and manufacturing center. Its railroads are the B. & O., N. Y. C. & St. L., C. H. V. & T., T. & O. C. and L. E. & W. Natural gas is abundant and is used for manufacturing and domestic purposes.
City Officers : J. M. Bever, Mayor; J. M. Shatzel, Clerk ; Charles Olmsted, Treasurer ; J. B. Fox, Marshal ; J. A. Stackhouse, Solicitor; L. D. Mussetter, Street Commissioner. Newspapers : Dispatch, Independent, A. J. De Wolf, editor ; Democrat, Democratic, Charles L. Zahm, editor and publisher ; Review, Republican, J. P. De Wolfe, editor and publisher ; Half Hours in Science and Art, Science, George M. Gray, editor. Churches : 1 Methodist Protestant, 1 Methodist Episcopal, 1 Presbyterian, 1 United Baptist, 1 Lutheran, 1 Catholic, 1 German Reformed. Banks : First National, Andrew Emerine, president ; Alonzo Emerine, cashier ; Foster & Co.
Manufactures and Employees .- Fostoria Stave and Barrel Co., 50; The Isaac Harter Co., flour, etc., 51 ; Fostoria Glass Co., 150 ; Koss, Mohler & Co., plan- ing mill, 16 ; Walter S. Payne & Co., brass and iron foundry, etc., 55 ; Cunning- ham & Co., spokes and bent work, 32 ; Eureka Planing Mill and Lumber Co., 9 ; Nickel Plate Glass Co., 215 ; J. P. Warner, flour and feed, 4 ; G. W. & J. II. Campbell, planing mill, 17 ; American Food Evaporating and Preserving Co., 70 ; The Mambourg Glass Co., 60 ; The Butler Art Glass Co., 141 ; The Bevington Signal Co., 18 .- State Report, 1888. Population, 1880, 3,569 ; School census, 1888, 1,439 ; William T. Jackson, superintendent of schools. Capital invested in manufacturing establishments, $310,000. Value of annual product, $271,000 .- Ohio Labor Statistics, 1888. Census, 1890, 7,070.
We annex the main points in the history of Fostoria, as given to us in a com- minication from its most widely known citizen, Hon. Charles Foster.
The lands in the neighborhood of this city were thrown open to market in 1831. My grandfather, John Crocker, who came to Seneca county and settled near Tiffin in 1824, entered the land upon which most of the city now stands. The town of Rome was laid out in the spring of 1832 by Roswell Crocker, son of John Crocker. . About the same time, a mile north, the town of Risdon was laid ont. These towns were located at'the county line between Seneca and Hancock counties, part in each county, the town of Risdon being laid out to the corner of Wood county. The City of Fostoria now covers much more than all the terri- tory of the two original villages and includes a portion of Wood county also.
My father built his double log cabin in the summer of 1832 and moved into it in November of that year, living with his family in one end and having his little store in the other.
The country filled up with actual settlers quite rapidly ; but few had anything more than a yoke of oxen and few household effects. Being a heavily wooded country the progress of the settlement was subject to all the discomforts, priva- tions and sacrifices incident to such settlements elsewhere.
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SECRETARY FOSTER.
S HAYS
DRUGS
DILET GOODS
COL CICA
PERA HOUSE
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Chas, A. Griddle, Photo,
FOSTORIA.
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SENECA COUNTY.
Among the staples sold at the store for the first ten or fifteen years was quinine. I think I have seen nine out of ten of all the people in the neighborhood sick with fever and ague at one time. The store started in 1832 grew to be perhaps the largest country store in Ohio, and in my father's hands and my own continued in existence until 1888, fifty-six years.
Being in the midst of the Black Swamp the roads of the country were horrible. The first attempt at improvement of roads occurred in 1850, when a plank road was built from Fremont to Fostoria ; Fremont, at that time, being at the head of navigation on the Sandusky river.
The first railroad was built in '1859, it is now known as the Lake Erie and Western. Since then four other railroads have been built through the city and it has now reached a population of about 8,000, having large manufacturing industries with natural gas for fuel.
In the early settlement there was great rivalry between the two hamlets of Rome and Risdon, a rivalry amounting to a hatred of each other. Many incidents might be related of the furious and bloody combats that took place when the boys of the two villages met.
GREEN SPRING is part in Seneca and part in Sandusky county. It is 12 miles northeast of Tiffin on the I. B. & W. R. R. The Green Spring Sanitarium and Water Cure is located here. City Officers, 1888 : B. M. Reed, Mayor; Dell McConnel, Clerk ; J. C. Kanney, Treasurer ; J. C. Tarris, Marshal. News- papers : Times, Independent, M. F. Van Buskirk, editor and publisher ; Mutual Underwriter, Insurance, Underwriter Co., editors and publishers. Churches : 1 Methodist Episcopal, 1 Presbyterian, 1 United Baptist. Bank : L. W. Roys & Co. Population, 1880, 720. School census, 1888, 259. George M. Hoke, superin- tendent of schools.
The Green Spring Academy was founded here in 1881 by the Synod of Toledo. It prepares students for college and for teaching. R. B. Hayes is president of its board of trustees.
ATTICA is 16 miles southeast of Tiffin and one and a-half miles from Attica Station on the B. & O. R. R. Newspapers : Current Wave, Independent, V. Jay Hills, editor and publishers ; Journal, Independent, E. A. Kelly, editor ; Medical Compend, Medical, HI. G. Blaine, M. D., editor and publisher. Bank : Lester Sutton. Population, 1880, 663. School census, 1888, 220. R. B. Drake, superintendent of schools.
NEW RIEGEL is 9 miles southwest of Tiffin on the T. & O. C. R. R. The Catholic Orphans' Home is located here. Population, 1880, 367. School census, 1888, 109.
REPUBLIC is 9 miles west of Tiffin on the B. & O. R. R. Population, 1880, 715. School census, 1888, 170. Ezra C. Palmer, superintendent of schools. It is a neat appearing village and was largely settled from Western New York.
FORT SENECA is 9 miles north of Tiffin on the Sandusky river and N. Y. C. & St. L. R. R. School census, 1888, 57.
BLOOMVILLE is 12 miles southeast of Tiffin on the N. W. O. R. R. News- paper : Seneca County Record, Independent, I. N. Richardson, editor and publisher. Population, 1880, 689. School census, 1888, 243. W. E. Bowman, superintendent of schools.
BETTSVILLE is 10 miles northwest of Tiffin on the N. W. O. R. R. News- paper : Enterprise, Independent, B. B. Krammes, editor and publisher. Popula- tion, 800 (estimated.)
ADRIAN is 11 miles southwest of Tiffin on the I. B. & W. R. R. Population, 1880, 211. School census, 1888, 66.
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SHELBY COUNTY.
SHELBY.
SHELBY COUNTY was formed from Miami in 1819, and named from Gen. Isaac Shelby, an officer of the Revolution, who, in 1792, when Kentucky was ad- mitted into the Union, was ahnost unanimously elected its first governor. The southern half is undulating, rising in places along the Miami into hills. The northern portion is flat table land, forming part of Loramic's summit, 378 feet above Lake Erie-being the highest elevation in this part of the State. The soil is based on clay, with some fine bottom land along the streams. The southern part is best for grain and the northern for grass. Area about 420 square miles. In 1887 the acres cultivated were 176,014 ; in pasture, 35,334; woodland, 37,949 ; lying waste, 4,192 ; produced in wheat, 550,866 bushels ; rye, 1,548 ; buckwheat, 1,134; oats, 512,138 ; barley, 27,355 ; corn, 1,356,795 ; broom corn, 17,000 lbs. brush ; meadow hay, 9,056 tons ; clover hay, 6,063; flax, 354,700 lbs. fibre ; po- tatoes, 36,845 bushels ; tobacco, 11,730 lbs. ; butter, 419,199 ; sorghum, 11,364 gallons ; maple syrup, 2,816 ; honey, 8,594 lbs. ; eggs, 523,658 dozen ; grapes, 18,590 lbs. ; sweet potatoes, 95 bushels ; apples, 2,286 ; peaches, 21; pears, 283; wool, 28,125 lbs. ; milch cows, 6,506. School census, 1888, 8,025 ; teachers, 189. Miles of railroad track, 51.
TOWNSHIPS AND CENSUS.
1840.
1880.
TOWNSHIPS AND CENSUS.
1840.
1880.
Clinton,
1,496
4,618
MeLean,
513
1,545
Cynthian,
1,022
1,835
Orange,
783
984
Dinsmore,
500
2,257
Perry,
861
1,242
Franklin,
647
999
Salem,
1,158
1,576
Greene,
762
1,447
Turtle Creek,
746
1,359
Jackson,
478
1,852
Van Buren,
596
1,647
Loramie,
904
1,730
Washington,
1,688
1,046
Population of Shelby in 1820 was 2,142; 1830, 3,671; 1840, 12,153; 1860, 17,493 ; 1880, 24,137 : of whom 19,988 were born in Ohio; 573, Pennsylvania; 331, Virginia ; 234, Indiana; 134, New York ; 123, Kentucky ; 1,272, German Empire; 353, Ireland ; 262, France; 53, England and Wales ; 30, British America, and 14 Scotland. Census, 1890, 24,707.
The first white man whose name is lastingly identified with the geography of this county was PETER LORAMIE, or Laramie, inasuch as his name is perma- nently affixed to an important stream. He was a Canadian French trader who in 1769, seventeen years after the destruction of Pickawillany, at the mouth of the Loramie, established a trading post upon it. The site of Loramie's store, or station, as it was called, was up that stream about fifteen miles, within a mile of the village of Berlin and near the west end of the Loramie reservoir. Col. John Johnston wrote to me thus of him :
At the time of the first settlement of Kentucky a Canadian Frenchman, named Loramie, established there a store or trading station among the Indians. This man was a bitter enemy of the Americans, and it was for a long time the head- quarters of mischief towards the settlers.
The French had the faculty of endearing themselves to the Indians, and no doubt Loramie was, in this respect, fully equal to any of his countrymen, and gained great influence over them. They formed with the natives attachments of the most tender and abiding kind. "I have," says Col. Johnston, "seen the In- dians burst into tears when speaking of the time when their French father had dominion over them, and their attachment to this day remains unabated."
So much influence had Loramie with the Indians, that when Gen. Clarke, from Kentucky, invaded the Miami valley in the autumn of 1782, his attention was
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SHELBY COUNTY.
attracted to the spot. He came on and burned the Indian settlement here [at Upper Piqua], and phindered and burned the store of the Frenchman [about six- teen miles further north].
The store contained a large quantity of goods and peltry, which were sold by auction afterwards among the men by the general's orders. Among the soldiers was an Irishman named Burke, considered a half-witted fellow, and the general butt of the whole army .. While searching the store he found, done up in a rag, twenty-five half-joes, worth about $200, which he seereted in a hole he cut in
an old saddle. At the auction no one bid for the saddle, it being judged worthless, except Burke, to whom it was struck off for a tri- fling sum, amid roars of laughter for his folly. But a moment elapsed before Burke commenced a search, and found and drew forth the money, as if by accident ; then shaking it in the eyes of the men, exclaimed, "An' it's not so bad a bargain after all !"
Soon after this Loramie, with a colony of the Shawanese, emigrated to the Spanish territories, west of the Mississippi, and settled in a spot assigned them at the junction of the Kansas and Missouri, where the remaining part of the nation from Ohio have at different times joined them.
In 1794 a fort was built at the place occupied by Loramie's store by Wayne,. and named Fort Loramie. The last officer who had command here was Col. Butler, a nephew of Gen. Richard Butler, who fell at St. Clair's defeat. Says Col. John Johnston
His wife and children were with him during his command. A very interesting son of his, about 8 years old, died at the post. The agonized father and mother were inconsola- ble. The grave was inelosed with a very handsome and painted railing, at the foot of which honeysuckles were planted, grew lux- uriantly, entwined the paling, and finally en- veloped the whole grave. Nothing could appear more beautiful than this arbor when in full bloom.
The peace withdrew Capt. Butler and his troops to other scenes on the Mississippi. I never passed the fort without a melancholy thought about the lovely boy who rested there, and his parents far away never to be- hold that cherished spot again. Long after the posts had decayed in the ground, the vines sustained the palings, and the whole remained perfect until the war of 1812, when all was destroyed, and now a barn stands over the spot.
The site of Loramie's store was a prominent point in the Greenville Treaty boundary line. The farm of the heirs of the late JJames Furrows now [1846] covers the spot. Col. John Hardin was murdered in this county in 1792, while on a mission of peace to the Indians. The town of Hardin has since been laid out on the spot.
Sidney in 1846 .- Sidney, the county-scat, is sixty-eight miles north of west from Columbia, eighty-eight from Cincinnati, and named from Sir Philip Sidney, " the great light of chivalry." It was laid ont as the county-seat in the fall of 1819, on the farm of Charles Starrett, under the direction of the court.
The site is beautiful, being on an elevated table-ground on the west bank of the Miami. The only part of the plot then cleared was a cornfield, the first crop having been raised there in 1809 by William Stewart. The court removed to Sidney in April, 1820, and held its meetings in the log cabin of Abraham Cannon, on the south side of the field, on the site of Matthew Gillespie's store. During the same year the first court-house, a frame building, now Judge Walker's store, was built, and also the log jail. The first frame house was built in 1820, by John Blake, now forming the front of the National Hotel. The first post-office in the county was established at Hardin in 1819, Col. James Wells post-master ; but was removed the next year to Sidney, where the colonel has continued since to hold the office, except during Tyler's administration. The first brick house was erected on the site of J. F. Frazer's drug store by Dr. William Fielding. The Methodists erected the first church on the ground now ocenpied by them. Mr. T. Truder had a little store when the town was laid out, on the east side of the river, near the lower crossing. The Herald, the first paper in the county, was
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SHELBY COUNTY.
established in 1836, and published by Thomas Smith. A block house at one time stood near the spring.
In the centre of Sidney is a beautiful public square on which stands the court- house. A short distance in a westerly direction passes the Sidney feeder, a navi- gable branch of the Miami canal. The town and suburbs contain 1 Methodist, 1 Presbyterian, 1 Associate Reformed, 1 Christian and 1 Catholic church ; 1 drug, 2 iron, 5 hardware and 10 dry goods stores ; 2 printing offices, 1 oil, 2 carding and fulling, 3 flouring and 4 saw mills, and in 1840 Sidney had 713 inhabitants, since which it has increased .- Old Edition.
In Van Buren township is a settlement of COLORED people, numbering about 400. They constitute half the population of the township, and are as prosperous as their white neighbors. Neither are they behind them in religion, morals and intelligence, having churches and schools of their own. Their location, however, is not a good one, the land being too flat and wet. An attempt was made in July, 1846, to colonize with them 385 of the emancipated slaves of the celebrated John Randolph, of Virginia, after they were driven from Mercer county ; but a considerable party of whites would not willingly permit it, and they were scat- tered by families among the people of Shelby and Miami, who were willing to take them .- Old Edition.
The first white family who settled in this county was that of James Thatcher, in 1804, who settled in the west part on Painter's run ; Samnel Marshall, John Wilson and John Kennard-the last now living-came soon after. The first court was held in a cabin at Hardin, May 13 and 14, 1819. Hon. Joseph HI. Crane, of Dayton, was the president judge; Samuel Marshall, Robert Houston and William Cecil, associates ; Harvey B. Foot, clerk ; Daniel V. Dingman, sheriff, and Harvey Brown, of Dayton, prosecutor. The first mill was a saw mill, erceted in 1808 by Daniel MeMullen and Bilderbach, on the site of Walker's mill .- Old Edition.
SIDNEY, county-scat of Shelby, is on the Miami river, about sixty-five miles northwest of Columbus, forty miles north of Dayton, at the crossing of the C. C. C. & I. and D & M. Railroads. County officers, 1888 : Auditor, J. K. Cummins ; Clerk, John C. Hussey; Commissioners, Jacob Paul, Thomas Hickey, Jeremiah Miller ; Coroner, Park Beeman ; Infirmary Directors, James Caldwell, C. Ed. Bush, Samnel M. Wagoner; Probate Judge, Adolphus J. Rebstock ; Prosecuting Attorney, James E. Way; Recorder, Lewis Pfaadt ; Sheriff, G. E. Allinger ; Surveyor, Charles Counts; Treasurer, William M. Kingsced. City officers, 1888 : Mayor, M. C. Hale : Clerk, John W. Knox ; Treasurer, Samuel MeCullongh ; Solicitor, James E. Way; Surveyor, W. A. Ginn; Marshal, W. II. Fristo. Newspapers : Journal, Republican, Trego & Binkley, editors and publishers ; Shelby County Democrat, James O. Amos (adjutant-general of Ohio 1874-6), editor and publisher. Churches : 1 Baptist, 1 Colored Baptist, 1 Pres- byterian, 1 German Lutheran, 1 Methodist Episcopal, 1 Colored Methodist Epis- copal, 1 Catholic, 1 United Presbyterian, 1 Christian, 1 German Methodist. Banks : Citizens', J. A. Lamb, president, W. A. Graham, cashier ; German- American, Hugh Thompson, president, John H. Wagner, cashier.
Manufactures and Employees .-- J. Dann, wheels, spokes, etc., 3 hands ; Jolin Loughlin, school furniture, 147 ; Slusser & McLean Seraper Co., road serapers, 18 ; Sidney Manufacturing Co., stoves, etc., 36 ; Philip Smith, corn shellers, etc., 31 ; Wyman Spoke Co., spokes and bent wood, 20; JJ. M. Blue & Nutt, lumber, 6; R. Given & Son, leather, 10; B. W. Maxwell & Son, flour, etc., 4 ; Ander- son, Frazier & Co., carriage wheels, 80; James O. Amos, weekly paper, 10; Valley City Milling Co., corn meal, 6; J. S. Crozier & Son, carriages, 7; J. M. Seitter & W. H. C. Monroe, builders' wood work, 32 ; Goode & Kilborn, road scrapers, 23; Sidney Steel Seraper Co., road scrapers, 22; J. F. Black, builders' wood work, 10 ; MeKinnie & Richardson, brooms, 10 .- State Report, 1887.
Population, 1880, 3,823. School census, 1888, 1,497; P. W. Search, school
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MATIONAL HOTEL
Drawn by Henry Howe in 1846.
PUBLIC SQUARE, SIDNEY.
MOSSENGENY
E. P. Robinson, Photo., 1887.
PUBLIC SQUARE, SIDNEY.
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275
SHELBY COUNTY.
superintendent. Capital invested in industrial establishments, $616,150. Value of annual product, $1,216,100 .- Ohio Labor Statistics, 1887.
Census, 1890, 4,850.
The engraving given shows on the right the court-house, and in the distance the MONUMENTAL BUILDING, a very beautiful memorial to the fallen soldiers of the civil war. The corner-stone was laid Jime 24, 1875. On the second floor is the Library Hall, containing the public library, and where are preserved military ' relies, and on marble tablets inseribed the names of the departed heroes. On the third floor is the opera hall and town hall. The entire building is dedicated to public uses, and is a credit to the public spirit of the citizens, who, in the very starting of their pleasant little city, began to mark time in the name of a hero. .
The carly Indian history of this region makes it an especially interesting point. About a mile south of the Shelby county line as early as 1749 was -a trading house, called by the English PICKAWILLANY, which was attacked and destroyed by the French and Indians in June of 1752. This trading post has been regarded as the first point of English occupation in what is now Ohio, inasmuch as it was a great place of gathering of English traders. Its exact location was " on the northwest side of the Great Miami, just below the mouth of what is now Loramie creek, in Jolinston prairie," or as at present named, in Washington town- ship, Miami county, and about nine miles southwest of Sidney.
" There was," writes Butterfield, "a tribe of Miamis known to the French as ' Picqualinees,' which word was changed by the English to Pickawillanies, and as these (many of them) had settled here, it was called as above 'Piekawillany,' or simply 'Picks-town,' sometimes ' Pictstown ;' the inhabitants as well as the tribe being known as 'Piets.' These 'Pickqualines' were the Miami proper."
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