History of Coshocton County, Ohio, its past and present, 1740-1881, Part 48

Author: Hill, Norman Newell, jr., [from old catalog] comp; Graham, A. A. (Albert Adams), 1848-; Graham, A. A., & co., Newark, O., pub. [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Newark, Ohio, A. A. Graham & co.
Number of Pages: 854

USA > Ohio > Coshocton County > History of Coshocton County, Ohio, its past and present, 1740-1881 > Part 48

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dred acres of land, and no more, as a "settlement right;" and as the first settlers of this and ad- joining counties were largely from those States, they were, of course, governed largely by the habits, customs and laws of those States in the ab- sence of any of these on this side of the river ; therefore many of the first settlers seemed to re- gard this amount of the surface of the earth as al- lotted by Divine Providence for one family, and believed that any attempt to get more would be sinful. Most of them, therefore, contented them-

A PIONEER HOME.

Where venison hams in plenty hung; Two rifles were placed above the door, Three dogs lay stretched upon the floor- In short, the domicil was rife With specimens of Hoosier life. The host, who centered his affections On game, and range and quarter sections, Diseoursed his weary guest for hours, Till Somnus' ever potent powers Of subluuary cares bereft 'em.

No matter how the story ended- The application I intended Is from the famous Scottish poet, Who seemed to feel as well as know it, That " buirdly chiels and clever hizzies Are bred in sie n way as this is."

The early land laws of Western Pennsylvania and Virginia allowed to each settler four hun-

selves with that amount-although they might have evaded the law, which allowed but one set- tlement right to any one individual, by taking out title papers in other than their own names, to be afterward transferred to them as if by pur- chase. Some few indeed, pursued this course, but it was generally held in detestation.

Owing to the equal distribution of real prop- erty divided by the land laws, and the sterling integrity of the forefathers in the observance of them, there were few, if any, districts of "sold land," as it was called, that is large tracts of land in the hands of individuals or companies, who neither sold nor improved them, as was the case in Lower Canada and some parts of Pennsyl-

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vania. True, large tracts of land were purchased by companies, but this was done almost always for the purpose of establishing a settlement.

The earliest settlers had become so accustomed to " getting land for taking it up," that for a long time it was believed that the lands on the west side of the Ohio would ultimately be disposed of in this way; hence almost the whole traet of country between the Ohio and Muskingum rivers was parcelled out in what was familiarly known as " tomahawk rights;" that is, the pioneer, upon finding a suitable location, would cut his name with his hatchet or knife upon the trunk of a large tree, and thus lay claim to four hundred acres of land about that spot. Some of them were not satisfied with a single four hundred- acre tract, but laid claim in this way to a number of tracts of the best land, and thus, in imagina- tion, were as "wealthy as a South Sea dream.". Some of these land jobbers did not content them- selves with marking trees at the usual height, but climbed the large beech trees and cut their names in the bark from twenty to forty feet from the ground. To enable them to identify those trees at a future period, they made marks on other trees around for references

Nor was it an easy matter to dispossess these squatters; their claim was generally respected by the settlers, and these rights were often bought and sold, those who subsequently desired these lands for permanent settlement preferred to pur- chase the " tomahawk right" rather than enter into quarrels with those who made them.

Hunting occupied a large portion of the time of the pioneers. Nearly all were good hunters, and not a few lived almost entirely for many years on the results of the chase. The woods supplied them with the greater amount of their subsistence, and often the whole of it; it was no uncommon thing for families to live several months without a mouthful of bread of any kind. It frequently happened that the family went with- but breakfast until it could be obtained from the woods.

The fall and early part of winter was the sea- son for hunting deer, and the whole of the winter, including part of the spring, for bears and fur- bearing animals. It was a customary saying that

fur was good during every month in the name of which the letter r occurred.

As soon as the leaves were pretty well down, and the weather became rainy, accompanied with light snow, the pioneer hunter, who had probably worked pretty faithfully on his clearing during "the summer, began to feel uneasy about his cabin home ; he longed to be off hunting in the great woods. His cabin was too warm ; his feather-bed too soft ; his mind was wholly occupied with the camp and the chase. Hunting was not a mere ramble in pursuit of game, in which there was nothing of skill and calculation ; on the contrary, the hunter, before setting out in the morning, was informed by the state of the weather in what situation he might reasonably expect to find his game; whether on the bottoms, on the hillsides or hilltops. In stormy weather the deer always seek the most sheltered places, and the leeward sides of the hills; in rainy weather, when there was not much wind, they kept in the open woods, on high ground. In the early morning, if pleas- ant, they were abroad, feeding in edges of the prairie or swamp; at noon they were hiding in the thickets. In every situation, it was requisite for the hunter to ascertain the course of the wind, so as to get to leeward of the game; this he often ascertained by placing his finger in his mouth, holding it there until it became warm, then hold- ing it above his head, and the side that first cooled indicated the direction of the wind.

These hunters needed no compass; the trees, the sun and stars took its place. The bark of an aged tree is much thicker and rougher on the north side than on the south; and the same may be said of the moss; it is much thicker and stronger on the north than the south side of the tree ; hence he could walk freely and carelessly through the woods and always strike the exact point intended, while any but a woodsman would become bewildered and lost.

The whole business of the hunter consisted of a succession of intrigues. From morning till night he was on the alert to gain the wind of his game and make his approach without being dis- covered. If he succeeded in killing a deer, he skinned it, hung it up out of reach of wolves, and immediately resumed the chase until evening, when he bent his course toward the camp, where

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he cooked and ate his supper with a keen relish with his fellow-hunters, after which came the pipe and the rehearsal of the adventures of the day. The spike buck, the two and three pronged buck, the doc and barren doe, figured through their ancedotes with great advantage.

A wedding among the pioneers was a most wonderful event, not only to the parties immedi- ately interested, but to the whole neighborhood. People generally married young in those days. There was no distinction of rank and very little of fortune. A family establishment cost little labor and nothing else. A wedding was about the only gathering at which the guest was not required to assist in reaping, log-rolling, building a cabin or some other manual labor.

On the morning of the wedding day the groom and his attendants assembled at the house of his father, for the purpose of reaching the house of his bride by noon, the usual time for celebrating the nuptuals, and which, for certain reasons, must take place before dinner. The people assembled from great distances, on foot and on horseback, and all dressed in the somewhat fantastic toggery of the backwoods. The dinner was generally a substantial one of beef, pork, fowl, venison and bear meat, roasted and boiled, with plenty of potatoes, cabbage and other vegetables.

After dinner the dancing commenced and gen- erally lasted until the next morning. The figures of the dances were three or four-handed reels, or square sets and jigs. The commencement was always a square four, followed by what was called " jigging it off;" that is, two of the four would begin a jig, followed by the other couple. The jig was often accompanied by what was called "cutting out;" that is, when either of the par- ties became tired of the dance, on intimation the place was supplied by some one of the company without any interruption to the dance; in this way the dance was often continued until the mu- sician was heartily tired of the situation. Toward the latter part of the night, if any of the con- pany, through weariness, attempted to conceal themselves for the purpose of sleeping, they were brought out, paraded on the floor, and the fiddler ordered to play, " We'll all hang out till morning."

About nine o'clock a deputation of young ladies stole off the bride, and put her to bed, after

which a deputation of young men, in like man- ner, stole off the groom and placed him snugly beside his bride. If the couple were not subse- quently disturbed during the night it was a mira- ele. Generally, in the small hours of the night, " Black Betty" (the bottle) was sent up to them, or carried up by an interested delegation, to- gether with as much bread, beef, pork, cabbage, etc., as would suffice a dozen hungry men, and they were compelled to cat and drink until they would hold no more.

In later years, if there was an older unmarried brother of the bride present, he was certain to be compelled " to dance in the hog-trough." This somewhat humiliating operation was inflicted upon him as a lesson to bachelors. Sometimes he would submit quietly, cheerfully, and grace- fully, marching to the pig-pen and dancing his jig in the trough from which the swine devoured the off-fallings of the cabin table; at other times he would escape from his assailants and seek safety in flight, and if fleet on foot, sometimes escaped; but if overtaken, he would not unfre- quently fight with great desperation, and it often required considerable force to accomplish the desired object.

The feasting and dancing often lasted several days, during which there was much drinking, ca- rousing, and not unfrequently, fighting.

After the wedding the next duty of the neigh- bors was to erect a cabin for the young conple, and dedicate it by a " house warming" before they were allowed to move into it. This house warming consisted of a twenty-four hours' dance and carousal in the new cabin. This ended the ceremony, except that not half of it has been told, and thereafter the couple were considered married, according to the laws and usages of society.

At a little later time, say from 1820 to 1840, the the pioneers were living a little easier. Their farms were partially cleared, many of them were living in hewed log houses and many in frame, and even brick houses. Most of them had barns and innumerable out-houses. They generally had cattle, horses, sheep, hogs and poultry, and were living in comparative comfort. Their neighbors were near, and always dear. Their schools and churches had improved some-

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what, yet even at this late day there were hun- dreds of log school-houses and churches. About three months in a year was all the schooling a farmer's boy could get. He was sadly needed at home from the age of five years, to do all sorts of chores and work on the farm. He was wanted to drive the cows to water and to pasture ; to feed the pigs and chickens and gather the eggs. His duties in the summer were multifarious; the men were at work in the field harvesting, and generally worked from early morning until late at night, and the boys were depended on to "do the chores;" hence it was impossible to spare them to attend school in summer. There was no school in spring and fall. In winter they were given three months' schooling-a very poor article of schooling, too, generally. Their books were generally anything they hapened to have about the house, and even as late as 1850, there was no system in the purchase of school books. Mr. Smucker, of Newark, Ohio, says his first read- ing books at school were Patrick Gass' Journal of the Lewis and Clark expedition to the mouth of the Columbia river in 1801 5-6; and Weem's Life of Washington. Parents purchased for their chil- dren whatever book pleased their fancy, or what- ever the children desired them to purchase. A geography was a geography, and a grammar a grammar, regardless of who was the author. This great confusion in school books made trouble for the teacher, but that was of small moment. He was hired and paid to teach whatever branches, out of whatever books the parents thought were best. The branches generally taught in the early schools, however, were read- ing, writing, spelling and arithmetic, and, later, geography and grammar. Boys attending school but three months in a year made but little pro- gress. They began at the beginning of their books every winter, and went as far as they could in three months; then forgot it all during the nine months out of school, commencing again the next winter just where they commenced the previous one. In this way they went over and over the same lessons every year under differ- ent teachers (for many of the teachers only taught one term in a place), often getting no further in arithmetic than "vulgar fractions " or the "rule of three," and in their old Webster's spelling

books the first class probably got as far as " anti- scorbutic" and may be through; while the sec- ond class would get as far as " cessation," and the the third class probably not through " baker," certainly not beyond "amity." There were al- ways three or four classes in spelling, and this ex- ercise was the last before school was dismissed in the evening. Their old books were conned over year after year, until they were worn out and the children grew up to manhood and womanhood, and never knew, and perhaps do not know to this day, what was in the back part of them. This was the kind of a start many a great man had. These scdools can not be despised when it is re- membered that the greatest and best of the nation, including such men as Abraham Lincoln, Edwin M. Stanton and Stephen A. Douglass, were among the boys who attended them.

There was always much competition in the spelling classes as to who should get the " head mark." In the later schools it was the custom that the best speller might stand at the head until he missed, when the one who spelled the word correctly should take his place, and he then stood next to the head ; but they did things differently in the earlier schools; the head of the class once gained and held until the last spelling at night, the head mark was received and the lucky scholar then took his place at the foot of the class, to again work his way gradually to the head. These classes sometimes contained thirty or forty scholars, and it was something of an undertaking to get from the foot to the head. Spelling-schools were the beauty and glory of school-days. The scholars were always coaxing the teacher to ap- point a night for a spelling-school, and were usually gratified one or two nights in a month or oftener. A night was chosen when the moon shone, and the sleighing was good, and then the entire neighborhood and perhaps the adjoining neighborhood would turn out to the spelling- school; whole families came on the great two- horse sled, including the old lady and gentleman, all the children, little and big ; even the baby and the dogs came. Schools in adjoining districts sent their best spellers to try and carry off the honors. The old log school house was crowded, and the great box stove, cast at the Mary Ann furnace, in Mary Ann township, Licking county, and

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which stood in the center of the room on a box of bricks, was red hot, and kept so during the en- "tire evening. Two gool spellers were designated by the teacher to choose sides, and everybody was chosen in one class or the other; then the spelling began, the words being given out by the teacher. first to one class and then to the other, beginning at the head. A tally sheet was care- fully kept to see who missed the most words. After recess the "spelling down " was indulged in ; the two classes stood up, and whenever a word was missed the speller sat down, and the one who stood up after all had been spelled down, was the hero or heroine of the hour, and always chosen first in future contests.

A year means a hundred-fold more now than formerly. History is made rapidly in these days. The red men's trail across the valley, and over the hills, and along the river's bank, could be traced by the fewest number in this day ; their favorite haunts and play grounds are shorn of their primal charms in the sweeping aside of the grand old woodland. The cattle upon a thou- sand hills roam over the land that they loved, and quench their thirst in the brooks and pools, that long time ago mirrored their dusky features. The plowman with stolid face upturns in the brown furrow the relie that their fingers deftly fashioned, and the mattoek and scraper bring forth to the glare of day and the gaze of the cu- rious, the crumbling brown bones of the chief- tain and his squaw; and the contents of the In- dian's grave, the moldering clay, will live anew in a pavement to be trodden under the foot of men.

"Trough the land where we for ages Laid our bravest, dearest dead, Grinds the savage white man's plowshare, Grinding sire's bones for bread."

Ah, these old Indian graves on breezy knolls and reedy river banks-who knows but the site was selected by the sleepers therein; who knows but they dreamed in their moody moments that the tide of civilization was slowly coming nearer and nearer, to crowd aside their people and in- trude upon, and finally possess their vast and beautiful hunting grounds ?

It is hard to be reconciled to this natural order of things; to see the pioneers passing away ; to

see them stand leaning on their staves, dim-eyed, and with white locks tossed in the winds, dazed at the change that has stamped its seal upon the wilderness whose winding paths they once knew so. well. They behell it slowly laying off' its primeval wiklness and beauty, and grandeur of woods and waters, until now it blooms like unto the garden of the gods. How beautiful the labors of their hands! How much we owe them! But the olden time is passing away and bearing on its bosom the dear old men and women whose "like we ne'er shall see again." The glory of one age is not dimmed in the golden glory of the age suc- ceeding it; and none more than the pioneers of Coshoction county can comprehend its growth and its change, or more fully appreciate the sad words of the poet when he sang in mournful strain-

And eity lots are staked for sale, Above okl Indian graves.

CHAPTER XXVIII,

TIIE CANALS.

A Great Work-Celebration of the Opening of the Ohio Canal at Licking Summit-Work on the Canal-First Boat-Wal- honding Canal-Length, Capacity and Business of the Ca- nals,

"We make of Nature's giant powers The slaves of human art."

- WHITTIER.

A LARGE majority of the people of Ohio know but little at present about the great Ohio canal, and the interest taken in it at the commencement of the work. It was considered one of the greatest undertakings of the age, and, indeed, was the beginning of that grand series of internal improvements which has greatly as- sisted in placing Ohio among the foremost States of the Union. The following history of this great work is taken mostly from the writings of Col. John Noble, one of the contractors in the work, and from those of William Wing, Esq., deceased. Mr. Wing was also a contractor on the canal, and died in Columbus, Ohio, February 13, 1878, in in his seventy-ninth year. He was well versed in the pioneer history of Central Ohio, and has left behind him writings of much historical value.

Before the building of the canal this county had no outlet for produce, except by wagons to

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the lake, or by boat down the Muskingum river, ! and thence to New Orleans. The country was full of produce for which there was no market. Ham was worth three cents per pound; eggs, four eents per dozen ; flour, one dollar per hun- dred; whisky, twelve and a half eents per gal- lon, and other things proportionately cheap.

The commissioners appointed by the legisla- ture to carry on the work appointed Judge D. S. Bates, an experienced engineer of the State of New York, and in their wisdom, made "Licking Summit," in Licking county, the place of begin- ning. They then gave notice to all concerned throughout Ohio and the adjoining States, that a commencement of the excavation would be made on the fourth of July, 1825.

Samuel Forrer, of Dayton, was appointed prin- cipal acting engineer ; John Forrer, local engi- neer on the Summit, and the latter immediately prepared a few rods of ground, where the line of the canal would pass through a field, for the public demonstration.

The invited guests ineluded many of the nota- bles of the State and nation, among whom were Governor De Witt Clinton, of New York; Messrs. Rathburn and Lord; General Edward King, of Chillicothe; General Sanderson, of Lancaster; Governor Morrow, of this State; Ex-Governor Worthington ; Hon. Thomas Ewing, who was the orator of the day, and many others. Governor Clinton was expected to throw out the first spade- ful of earth. This gentleman had proven himself the great friend of internal improvements, having been the principal promoter in the building of the Erie eanal in his own State.

A correspondence between the leading friends of the enterprise resulted in the appointment of a committee to carry out the wishes of the eom- missioners. This committee consisted of Judge Wilson and Alexander Holmes, of Lieking, and Judge Elanthan Schofield, one of the earliest sur- veyors in this section, and John Noble, of Fair- field county. This committee, at their first mect- ing, engaged Gottleib Steinman, a hotel keeper of Lancaster, to furnish a dinner, upon the ground, for the invited guests ; and as many more as would pay for a dinner tieket, at one dollar and fifty cents a ticket. This proved to be a losing busi- ness for Steinman. It happened to be wet two or

three days before the fourth, and as there were no houses near the site of the entertainment,. rough booths were constructed in the woods; tables and seats were made of plank, hanled from saw-mills at a considerable distance from the place. All the faney part of the dinner, inehiding pastry, ete., was prepared at Lancaster, eighteen miles south. The entire preparation was made under the most unfavorable circumstances. The roasts and broils were prepared on the ground. The fourth opened fine and clear; the din- ner was good, and enjoyed by all that partook; but of the thousands who attended, many pre- pared for the emergency by bringing a hamper of provisions with them.

The ceremonies began according to pro- gramme. Governor Clinton received the spade, thrust it into the soil, and raised the first spade- ful of earth, amid the most enthusiastic cheers of the assembled thousands.

This earth was placed in what they called a canal wheelbarrow, and the spade was passed to Governor Morrow, a statesman and a farmer. He sank it to its full depth, and raised the second spadeful. Then commeneed a strife as to who should raise the next. Captain Ned King, com- manding the infantry company present from Chillicothe, raised the third; then some of the guests of Governor Clinton's company threw in some dirt, and the wheelbarrow being full, Cap- tain King wheeled it to the bank. It is impossi- ble to describe the scene of excitement and con- fusion that accompanied this ceremony. The people shouted themselves hoarse. The feeling was so great that tears fell from many eyes.

The stand for the speaking was in the woods. The crowd was so great that one company of cavalry was formed in a hollow square around the back and sides of the stand. The flies, after three days' rain, were so troublesome that the horses kept up a constant stamping, much to the annoyance of the crowd. Caleb Atwater, the noted geologist, was present, and made the fol- lowing remark afterward at Lancaster: "I sup- pose it was all right to have the horses in front of the speaker's stand, for they can not read, and we can."

Governor Clinton and friends, Governor Mor- row, Messrs. Rathburn and Lord, with many

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others, were invited to Lancaster, where they were handsomely entertained by the citizens. Rathburn and Lord were the men who negoti- ated the loan of four hundred thousand dollars for Ohio; and the Lancaster bank was the first to make terms with the fund commissioners to re- ceive and disburse the money.

The wages for work on the canal were eight dollars for twenty-six working days, or thirty and three-fourth cents per day, from sunrise to sun- set. The hands were fed well, lodged in shanties, and received their regular " jiggers" of whisky the first four months.

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History of Coshocton County, Ohio, its past and present, 1740-1881, Part 48

Author: Hill, Norman Newell, jr., [from old catalog] comp; Graham, A. A. (Albert Adams), 1848-; Graham, A. A., & co., Newark, O., pub. [from old catalog] Publication date: 1881 Publisher: Newark, Ohio, A. A. Graham & co. Number of Pages: 854

Author: Hill, Norman Newell, jr., [from old catalog] comp; Graham, A. A. (Albert Adams), 1848-; Graham, A. A., & co., Newark, O., pub. [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Newark, Ohio, A. A. Graham & co.
Number of Pages: 854