Historical collections of Ohio in two volumes, an encyclopedia of the state, Volume I, Part 44

Author: Howe, Henry, 1816-1893
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: Cincinnati : Published by the state of Ohio
Number of Pages: 1006

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Indian before, and two behind him. As they approached the prairies frequent halts were made to search for honey, the wild bee being found in every hollow tree, and often in the ground beneath decayed roots, in astonishing numbers. This afforded them many luscious repasts, of which the prisoner was allowed to partake. The naturalization of the honey bee to the forests of North America, since its colonization by the whites, is, in fact, the only real addition to its comforts that the red man has ever received from the destroyer of his race ; and this industrious insect, so fond of the society of man, seems also destined to destruction by the bee-moth, and like the buf- falo and the deer, will soon vanish from the woods and prairies of the West.

Escape and Pursuit .- While the Indians were occupied in these searches, Hewit closely watched an opportunity for escape, but his captors were equally vigilant. As they re- ceded from the danger of pursuit, they be- came less hurried in their march, and often stopped to hunt and amuse themselves. The level prairie afforded fine ground for one of their favorite sports, the foot-race. In this Hewit was invited to join and soon found that he could easily outrun two of them, but the other was more than his match, which dis- couraged him from trying to escape, until a more favorable opportunity. They treated him familiarly, and were much pleased with his lively, cheerful manners. After they had reached within one or two days march of their village they made a halt to hunt and left their prisoner at their camp, although they had usually taken him with them, as he com- plained of being sick. To make all safe, they placed him on his back, confining his wrists with stout thongs of raw-hides to sap- lings, and his legs raised at a considerable elevation, to a small tree. After they had been gone a short time, he began to put in operation the plan he had been meditating for escape, trusting that the thickness of his wrists, in comparison with the smallness of his hands, would enable him to withdraw them from the ligatures. After long and violent exertions, he succeeded in liberating his hands, but not without severely lacerating the skin and covering them with blood. His legs were next freed by untying them, but not without a great effort, from their elevation.

Once fairly at liberty, the first object was to secure some food for the long journey which was before him. But as the Indians' larder is seldom well stocked, with all his search he could only find two small pieces of jerked venison, not more than sufficient for a single meal. With this light stock of provision, his body nearly naked, and without even a knife or a tomahawk, to assist in procuring more, lie started for the settlements on the Mus- kingum, as the nearest point where he could meet with friends. It seems that the Indians returned to the camp soon after his escape, for that night while cautiously traversing a wood he heard the cracking of a breaking twig not far from him. Dropping silently on to the ground where he stood, he beheld his

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three enemies in pursuit. To say that he was not agitated would not be true; his senses were wide awake and his heart beat quick, but it was a heart that never knew fear. It so happened that they passed a few yards to one side of him, and he remained unseen. As soon as they were at a sufficient distance he altered his course and saw no more of them.

Suffering everything but death from the exhausting effects of hunger and fatigue, he after nine days struck the waters of the Big Muskingum, and came in to the garrison at Wolf creek mills. During this time he had no food but roots and the bark of the slippery- elm, after the two bits of venison were ex- pended. When he came in sight of the sta- tion, he was so completely exhausted that he could not stand or halloo. His body was en- tirely naked, excepting a small strip of cloth round the loins, and so torn, bloody and dis-

figured by the briers and brush that he thought it imprudent to show himself, lest he should be taken for an Indian and shot by the sen- tries. It is a curious physiological fact, that famine and hunger will actually darken the skin in the manner mentioned by the prophet Jeremiah, when foretelling the fate of the Israelites ; and may be accounted for by the absorption of the bile into the blood, when not used up in the process of digesting the food. In this forlorn state Hewit remained until evening, when he crawled silently to the gateway, which was open, and crept in before any one was aware of his being near. As they all had heard of his capture, and some personally knew him, he was instantly recog- nized by a young man, as the light of the fire fell on his face, who exclaimed, "Here is Hewit." They soon clothed and fed him, and his fine constitution directly restored his health.

Pioneer Hardships .- After the war was closed, by the masterly campaign of General Wayne, the sturdy settlers on the shores of the Ohio sallied out from their garrisons, where they had been more or less closely confined for five years, and took possession of the various farms, which had fallen to their lots either as " donation lands," or as proprietors in the Ohio Company, some of which had been partially cleared and cultivated before the commencement of hostilities. During this period they had suffered from famine, sickness and death, in addition to the depredations of the Indians. The small-pox and putrid sore throat had visited them in their garrisons, destroying, in some instances, whole families of children in a few days. The murderous savage without, with sickness and famine within, had made their castles wearisome dwelling places, although they protected them from the tomahawk, and saved the settlements from being entirely broken up.

Becomes a Useful Citizen .- In the year 1797 Mr. Hewit cast his lot in the valley of the Hockhocking river, near the town of Athens, and settled quietly down to clearing his farm. He was by nature endowed with a clear, discriminating and- vigorous mind ; and, although his education was very limited, extending only to reading and writing, yet his judgment was acute, and his reasoning powers highly matured by intercourse with his fellow-men. For some years before his death he was a member of the Methodist church, which has the praise of reclaiming more depraved men than perhaps any other sect, and became a valuable citizen and useful man in society. A short time previous to his decease, which took place in the year 1814, he was appointed a trustee of the Ohio University, at Athens. At that early time the duties of a trustee mainly consisted in leasing out and manag- ing the fiscal affairs of the college domain, embracing two townships of land. For this business he was well fitted, and his judgment and good sense were of real value to the institution, however little he might be qualified to act in literary matters.

A Little Philosophy .- The life of Mr. Hewit affords an interesting subject of con- templation. Hundreds of others, who were among the western borderers in early days, afford similar examples of reckless daring and outrageous acts, while sur- rounded with war, tumult and danger, who, when peace was restored and they re- turned to the quiet scenes of domestic and civil life, became some of the most useful, influential and distinguished men. It shows how much man is the creature of habit ; and that he is often governed more by the character, and the outward example of men around him, and the times in which he lives, than by any innate principle of good or evil, which may happen to predominate within him.

About four miles north of Athens are mounds and ancient fortifications with gateways. One of the mounds, which was composed of a kind of stone differing

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from any in the vicinity, was taken for the construction of a dam across the Hock- ing ; there were in it over a thousand perches, and some of the stones weighed two hundred pounds. In the mound were found copper rings and other relics. There are many mounds in some other parts of the county.

ATHENS IN 1846 .- Athens, the county-seat, is situated on a commanding site on the Hockhocking river, seventy-two miles southeast of Columbus. It contains 1 Presbyterian, 1 Cumberland Presbyterian, and a Methodist church, a classical academy, eleven mercantile stores, and by the census of 1840 had 710 inhabitants. It was made the county-seat in March, 1805. The Ohio University, the first estab- lished in all the territory northwest of the Ohio, is situated here, but has temporarily suspended its operations, for the purpose of recovering from pecuniary embarrass- ment. It was first chartered by the territorial government, and afterwards, in 1804, by the State legislature. It was early endowed by Congress with the two townships of Athens and Alexander, containing 46,000 acres of land, which, with the connecting resources, yield an annual income of about $5,000. The buildings are substantial and neat, and stand in a pleasant green. This institution has exerted a most beneficial influence upon the morals and intelligence of this region.

Drawn by Henry Howe, 1846. OHIO UNIVERSITY, AT ATHENS.

Among its graduates are many who do it honor, and it will, doubtless, when again in successful operation-as it soon will be-continue its good work .- Old Edition.

In 1886 the university had pupils twenty-six gentlemen and eleven ladies, Chas. W. Super, president. Up to that date it had 494 graduates and partially educated about 10,000 persons. The first degrees were conferred in 1815. Thomas Ewing and John Hunter received in that year the degree of Bachelor of Arts. Mr. Ewing was probably the first collegiate alumnus for the whole of Western America. Wm. Holmes McGuffey, D. D., born in Pennsylvania in 1800, was president of this institution from 1839 to 1843; from 1845 to 1873, the date of his death, was a professor in the University of Virginia. He was the author of the widely popular series of McGuffey's Readers and Spelling Books.

Athens, the county-seat, is about twenty-five miles from the Ohio river on the Hocking river, seventy-six miles southeast of Columbus, by the C. H. V. & T. R. R., also on the C. W. & B. and O. & C. Railroads ; is located amidst beautiful scenery ; its citizens ranking high in intelligence and the learned professions. County officers in 1888 : Probate Judge, William S. Wilson ; Clerk of Court, Silas E. Hedges ; Sheriff, Frederick Stalder ; Prosecuting Attorney, David L. Sleeper ;

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Auditor, Augustus J. Frame ; Treasurer, Hiram L. Baker; Recorder, Lafayette Hawk ; Surveyor, Wm. E. Peters ; Coroner, Waldo Baird ; Commissioners, Chas. I. Ham, Joseph S. Higgins, James A. Campbell.

Newspapers : Herald, W. G. Junod, editor ; Journal, Democrat, C. I. Barker, editor ; Messenger, Republican, C. E. M. Jennings, editor. Churches : 1 Metho- dist, 1 Presbyterian, 1 Catholic, 1 Disciple, 1 Colored Baptist and 1 Colored Metho- dist. Banks : First National, A. Norton, president ; D. H. Moore, cashier ; Bank of Athens, J. D. Brown, cashier. .

Population in 1880, 2,457. School census 1886, 725; Lewis D. Boneb:ake, superintendent.

TRAVELLING NOTES.

Athens, Muy 5 .- The valley of the Hock- hocking here is about half a mile wide. The town is on the north side of the stream on a somewhat hilly site and about sixty feet above it. The college grounds occupy about ten acres. They are level in front, slightly slop-

J. C. Brannon, Photo., Athens, 1886.

THE BEAUTIFUL BEECH.

ing in the rear and afford an expansive view up the valley, on the opposite side of the slope of which, at a distance of half a mile, stands the asylum for the insane, under the charge of A. B. Richardson, M. D., and said to be managed with superior skill.

The Beautiful Beech .- My astonishment was great on going to the spot where I made my drawing of the university buildings in 1846 to find them to-day still standing as they were then, but hidden from view by a dense forest that had grown where not a tree had stood before; another building had been added and this was all the structural change. What especially gratified me was the discovery of a beautiful beech, standing on the green

sward, some sixty or seventy feet in height, about one hundred feet from the front door of the central building ; it seemed as the per- fection of symmetry. I had a fancy that, guided by some good spirit just after my original visit, the nut from which that no- ble beech grew was dropped by some friendly gray squirrel, in view of giving me a surprising welcome on my second coming ; and having done this he gleefully raised his American flag over his back and then scampered away. I think ere this that squir- rel is gathered to his fathers ; I wish I could learn his history. The leaves of the beech could not even whisper it to me; didn't know.

A Veteran Law-Giver .- Facing the College Campus, in a mansion that looks like a genuine home, I found a venerable old gentleman, now an octogenarian, whose acquaintance I had made when he was a member of the State senate, session of 1846-47. At that time the State legislature had out of 107 members but 23 natives to the soil and he was one of the 23. This was John Welch, one of Ohio's strong men. He was born in 1805 in Harrison county. Ohio-born men of his advanced years are rare; its popula -. tion in 1805 was small. His history illus- trates the pluck of that sturdy race which started in life when Ohio was a wilderness. Beginning with battling with the trees, and conquering them so as to give the ground a fair chance for the sunbeams, they went forth into the battle of life among their fel- low-men regarding them somewhat as " trees walking." Success was of course assured. When a young man he was at work in a flour mill fourteen miles from these Athenians down among the Romans, dwellers in Rome township ! and there he studied law, and once or twice a week brushed the flour from his clothes, came up to Athens and recited to Prof. Jos. Dana. Admitted to the bar his course was onward; became prosecuting attorney for the county, a member of the State legislature, went to Congress, became judge of the common pleas court and finally judge of the supreme court of Ohio, which office he held for many years. In person the judge is a large and strong man and when young very agile, so that when about twenty years of age, while teaching school in Harri- son county, in a single running jump in a brick yard he managed to cover twenty feet and four inches.

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A second Enoch- Arden-like case occurred in the early history of this county. One day in 1829 Timothy Wilkins, an honest, enter- prising man, living opposite the town, came over to Athens, transacted some business, and was supposed to have returned home, but did not. Next morning the boat in which he usually crossed the river was found floating down the stream and his hat with it. The river was dragged and cannon fired over the water to recover the body, but it was not found. He was a very popular man, and his wife and family were in great distress. Time passed ; Timothy Wilkins went out of peo- ple's minds, and Mrs. Wilkins married a Mr. Goodrich. In 1834 a vague rumor came that Mr. Wilkins was alive, and finally a letter from him to a neighbor announcing his ap- proach. Fearing to shock his wife by a sud- den appearance, he had himself originated the rumors of his safety, and now announced that he would soon be in Athens. He knew of his wife's second marriage, and in friendly

spirit proposed to meet her and Mr. Good. rich. Much excitement ensued. The con- ference was held, and Messrs. Wilkins and Goodrich left to the choice of the wife of their rivalship to decide between them. She turned to the husband of her first love. Mr. Goodrich acquiesced sadly but kindly, took up his hat and walked.

Mr. Wilkins' disappearance was a ruse to escape his creditors. In that day to fail was an awful thing. A man could be imprisoned for a debt of ten dollars. Wilkins was hon- est, but almost insane from his misfortunes. He had gone to New Orleans to resuscitate his broken fortunes, made money in boating, and now on his return paid his debts, and then with his reunited wife left those scenes forever, going South.

A Long Dive .- To abscond for fear of creditors was common in the early part of this century. A gentleman whom I knew in youth was about the year 1800 a merchant in Middletown, Conn. His affairs became des-

J. C. Brannon, Photo., Athens, 1886.

THE ASYLUM FOR THE INSANE.

perate, and one day he disappeared. His hat and clothes being found on the banks of the Connecticut, it was supposed he had com- mitted suicide. A year or more passed, when some person who knew him and had been to the far-away settlement of Marietta, reported that he had seen him in that place, where- upon a wag remarked : "Jeremiah, then, did not drown himself; he simply took a long dive-went down in the Connecticut and came up in the Ohio." This underground swimmer eventually returned to the East, and became mayor of my native city.

THE COON-SKIN LIBRARY.

The settlement of Ames township was about a year after that of Athens. The county was at that time divided into four townships, and it comprised more than double its present area, and Ames that of ten townships now in Athens, Morgan, and Hocking counties. The settlers were an intellectual body of men. Entirely isolated and remote from schools

and libraries, they felt keenly the absence of means for mental improvement. At a public meeting ir 1803 the subject of a library was discussed, but the scarcity of money was a stumbling-block. There was next to none in the county. The little transactions between the settlers were almost wholly by barter. Very little more was raised than each family could produce, and there was no market for any surplus.

"So scarce was money," said Judge A. G. Brown, "that I can hardly remember ever seeing a piece of coin till I was a well-grown boy. It was with great difficulty we obtained enough to pay our taxes with and buy tea for mother."

However, by scrimping and ingenious de- vices a little money was saved for this object. As cash could be obtained by selling skins and furs at the East, some of the settlers who were good hunters made forays upon the wild animals. Esquire Samuel Brown, going on a business trip to Boston, took their skins

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with him-bears, wolves, and coons-and sold them to agents of John Jacob Astor.

The Rev. Dr. Cutler, who accompanied him, selected from a part of the avails a valu- able collection of books. In the original record it is called the "Western Library Association," founded at Ames, February 2, 1804. In common parlance it went under the name of "Coon-Skin Library."

At a meeting of the shareholders, held at the house of Silvanus Ames, December 17, 1804, Ephraim Cutler was elected librarian ; it was also voted "to accept fifty-one books, purchased by Samuel Brown." In his auto- biography, Thomas Ewing makes acknowl-

edgment of benefit of the library to him per- sonally. "All his accumulated wealth," says he, "ten coon-skins, went into it."

"This," says Walker, "was the first pub- lic library formed in the Northwestern Terri- tory, though not the first incorporated." This statement is erroneous. On March 6, 1802, a public library went into operation in Cincinnati, with L. Kerr, librarian, $340 had been raised by subscription ; thirty-four shares, at $10 each. Arthur St. Clair, Jacob Burnet, Martin Baum, and Griffin Yeatman were among the subscribers. Its final fate is unknown. Earlier still, "Belpre Farmers' Library" was established at Belpre in 1796.

. George Ewing, commonly called Lieut. Ewing, was the father of Hon. Thomas Ewing. He was, it is claimed, the first settler in Ames township. He was born in Salem, N. J., was an officer in the Jersey line, and after the Revolution lived a few years on the frontier near Wheeling, W. Va .; in 1793 moved to the Water- ford settlement on the Muskingum, and thenee in 1798 to Ames township in this county. In 1802 he was elected township clerk. He was a reading, intellectual man, noted for sterling good sense, wit, and humor. His eminent son, Thomas Ewing, contributed to Walker's most excellent "History of Athens County " this sketch of his early life and living.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF THOMAS EWING.

My father settled in what is now Ames township, Athens county, early in April, 1798. He removed from the mouth of Olive Green creek, on the Muskingum river, and the nearest neighbor with whom he had asso- ciation was in that direction, distant about eighteen miles. There were a few families settled about the same time on or near the present site of the town of Athens, but no road or even pathway led to them ; the dis- tance was about twelve miles. There was an old pioneer hunter camped at the mouth of Federal creek, distant about ten miles. This, as far as I know, comprised the population statistics of what is now Athens county. I do not know the date of the settlement in what was called No. 5-Cooley's settlement- it was early.

Journey to Ohio .- At the time of my father's removal I was with my aunt, Mrs. Morgan, near West Liberty, Va., going to school. I was a few months in my ninth year. Early in the year 1798, I think in May, my uncle brought me home. We de- scended the Ohio river in a flat-boat to the mouth of the Little Hocking, and crossed a bottom and a pine hill, along a dim footpath, some ten or fifteen miles, and took quarters for the night at Daily's camp. I was tired, and slept well on the bear-skin bed which the rough old dame spread for me, and in the morning my uncle engaged a son of our host, a boy of eighteen, who had seen my father's cabin, to pilot us.

Pioneer Living .- I was now at home, and fairly an inceptive citizen of the future Athens county. The young savage, our pilot, was much struck with some of the rude im- plements of civilization which he saw my

brother using, especially the auger, and ex- pressed the opinion that with an axe and auger a man could make everything he wanted except a gun and bullet-molds. My brother was engaged in making some bedsteads. He had already finished a table, in the manu- facture of which he had also used an adze to smooth the plank, which he split in good width from straight-grained trees. Trans- portation was exceedingly difficult, and our furniture of the rudest kind, composed of articles of the first necessity. Our kitchen utensils were "the big kettle," "the little kettle," the bake-oven, frying-pan, and pot ; the latter had a small hole in the bottom, which was mended with a button, keyed with a nail through the eye on the outside of the pot. We had no table furniture that would break-little of any kind. Our meat -bear meat, or raccoon, with venison or turkey, cooked together and seasoned to the taste (a most savory dish)-was cut up in morsels and placed in the centre of the table, and the younger members of the family, armed with sharpened sticks, helped them- selves about as well as with four-tined forks ; great care was taken in selecting wholesome sticks-as sassafras, spice-bush, hazel, or hickory. Sometimes the children were al- lowed by way of picnic to cut with the butcher-knife from the fresh bear-meat and venison their slices, and stick them, alter- nately, on a sharpened spit, and roast before a fine hickory fire. This made a royal dish. Bears, deer, and raccoons remained in abun- dance until replaced by swine. The great West would have settled slowly without corn and hogs. A bushel of seed wheat will pro- duce at the end of ten months fifteen or twenty bushels ; a bushel of corn at the end of five months 400 bushels, and it is used to

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much advantage the last two months. Our horned cattle do not double in a year ; hogs in the same time increase twenty-fold. It was deemed almost a sacrilege to kill a sheep, and I remember well the first beef I tasted. I thought it coarse and stringy compared with venison. We had wild fruits of several varieties, very abundant, and some of them exceedingly fine. There was a sharp ridge quite near my father's house on which I had selected four or five service or juneberry bushes that I could easily climh, and kept an eye on them until they should get fully ripe. At the proper time I went with one of my sisters to gather them, but a bear had heen in advance of me. The limbs of all of the bushes were brought down to the trunk like a folded umbrella, and the berries all gone : there were plenty still in the woods for chil- dren and bears, but few so choice or easy of access as these. We had a great variety of wild plums, some exceedingly fine ; better, to my taste, than the tame varieties. I have not seen any of the choice varieties within the last thirty years.

We, of course, had no mills. The nearest was on Wolf creek, about fourteen miles dis- tant ; from this we brought our first summer's supply of breadstuffs. After we gathered our first crop of corn my father instituted a hand mill, which as a kind of common prop- erty supplied the neighborhood, after we had neighbors, for several years, until Christopher Herrold set up a horse mill on the ridge, and Henry Barrows a water mill near the mouth of Federal creek.

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Historical collections of Ohio in two volumes, an encyclopedia of the state, Volume I, Part 44

Author: Howe, Henry, 1816-1893 Publication date: 1907 Publisher: Cincinnati : Published by the state of Ohio Number of Pages: 1006

Author: Howe, Henry, 1816-1893
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: Cincinnati : Published by the state of Ohio
Number of Pages: 1006