USA > Ohio > Auglaize County > History of western Ohio and Auglaize County, with illustrations and biographical sketches of pioneers and prominent public men > Part 34
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Uvularia grandiflora Smith
Large flowered bellwort.
Uvularia perfoliata L.
Small flowered bellwort.
Thalictrum anemoides Michx.
Rose anemone.
Dentara diphylla L.
Pepper-root.
Waldsteinia fragarioides Tratt.
Barren strawberry.
Fragaria vesca L
Wild strawberry.
Helianthus rigidus Desf.
Wild sunflower.
Imla helenium L
Elecampane.
Thalictrum cornuti L.
Meadow rue.
Cynoglossum Virginicum L.
Hound's tongue.
Aralia racemosa L
Spikenard.
Antennaria margaritacea Brown
Everlasting flower.
Ipmoea pandurata Meyer
Wild potato-vine.
Polemonium reptans L.
Jacob's ladder.
Heracleum lanatum Michx
Cow parsnip.
Primula officinalis L.
Cowslip.
Taraxacum dens-leonis Desf.
Dandelion.
Dicentra cucularia DC.
Dutchman's breeches.
Primula grandiflora Lam.
Wild primrose.
Solidago squarrosa Muhl.
Golden rod.
Hepatica triloba Chaix.
Liver-wort.
Monandra punctata L.
Horse-mint.
Vernonia noveboracensis Willd.
Iron-weed.
Arisaema triphyllum Torr.
Jack-in-the-pulpit.
Datura stramonium L.
Jamestown weed.
Jeffersonia diphylla Pers.
Twin-leaf.
24 HA C
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HISTORY OF WESTERN OHIO
Cypripedium pubescens Willd.
Convallaria majalis L
Silene Virginica L.
Lobelia cardinalis L.
Cardinal flower.
Lobelia ayphilitica L.
Great lobelia.
Podophyllum peltatum
May apple. Mandrake.
Oxalis stricta L.
Yellow wood sorrel.
Claytonia Virginica L.
Spring beauty.
Dicentra cucullaria DC.
White eår-drop.
Symplocarpus foetidus Salish.
Skunk cabbage.
Impatiens pallida Nutt.
Touch-me-not.
Trillium cernuum L
Wake-robin.
Trillium sessile L.
Trillium erectum L.
Birthroot.
Trillium grandiflora Salsb.
Large white trillium.
PESTIFEROUS WEEDS.
The following list includes nearly all of the worst weeds growing in the county, and the original home of each :
Ambrosia artemisiafolia L. Ragweed, United States.
Setaria glauca Beauv.
Foxtail, Europe.
Ambrosia trifida L.
Great ragweed, United States.
Vernonia fasciculata Mich.
Ironweed, United States.
Amaranthus retrofflexus L.
Pigweed, Tropical America.
Erigeron Canadense L.
Horseweed, United States.
Convolvulus sepium L.
Bracted bindweed, U. S.
Xanthium Canadensis Mill.
Cocklebur, United States.
Erigeron annus L.
White-top, United States.
Chenopodium album L.
Lamb's quarters, Europe.
Conicus lanceolatus Hoffm
Common. thistle, Europe.
Portulaca oleracea L.
Purslane, Europe.
Cenchrus tribuloides L
Burr-grass, United States.
Bidens fondosa L
Beggar's ticks, United States.
Panicum sanguinale L.
Crab-grass, Europe.
Polygonum persicaria L.
Smartweed, Europe.
Aretium lappa L.
Burdock, Europe.
Lactuca elongata Muhl.
Wild lettuce.
Lithospermum avense L.
Wheat-thief, Europe.
Aselepias Sullivantii Eng.
Milk-weed, United States.
FERNS.
The following catalogue, prepared by Prof. James E. Yarnell, principal of the Wapakoneta High School, contains the names of all the ferns discovered within the county :
Lady's slipper. Lily of the valley.
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Asplenium acrostichoides Michx.
Silvery spleenwort.
Cystopteris fragilis Bernhardi.
Bladder fern.
Adiantum pedatum Linn.
Maiden-hair fern.
Asplenium augustifolium Michx
Narrow-leaved spleenwort.
Asplenium Felix-foemina Bernh
Lady fern.
· Cystopteris fragilis Bernh.
Bladder fern.
Pteris aquilina Linn.
Brake.
Osmunda cinnamomea Linn.
Cinnamon fern.
Onoelea sensibilis Linn
Sensitive fern.
Osmunda regalis Linn.
Royal fern.
Phegopteris polypodioides Fee.
Beech fern.
Phegopteris hexagonoptera Fee.
Long beech fern.
Dryopterus thelypteris Fee.
Marsh fern.
Dryopteris novaboracensis Fee.
New York fern.
Dryopteris critata Fee.
Crested fern.
Dryopteris goldieana Fee
Goldie's fern.
Dryopteris spinulosa Fee.
Spinulosa Shield fern.
Dryopteris achrostichoides Swartz
Christmas fern.
Botrychium ternatum Milde.
Moonwort fern.
Botrychium ternatum Swartz.
Ternate grape fern.
Botrychium Virginianum Swartz
Rattlesnake fern.
Ophioglossum vulgatum Linn.
Adder's tongue.
ZOOLOGY.
The dense wilderness of Auglaize county, like the other counties of northern Ohio, was stocked with all the animals, reptiles and birds peculiar to the western wilderness. So numer- ous were the deer, elk, bear, turkey and ducks, that they consti- tuted the main part of the sustenance of the Indians. Up to the time of the departure of the Shawnee Indians, the larger animals were so numerous that deer, bear and wolves were killed within half a mile of Wapakoneta.
The principal animals, reptiles, and birds of the county will be described under the orders to which they belong.
ORDER OF CARNIVORA.
Ursus Americanus, Linn. The American black bear was an inhabitant of the county as late as 1850. No other species is known to have inhabited this section of the state. The black bear under ordinary circumstances is not very ferocious, seldom attacking man, unless wounded or much excited by hunger. The female, however, is fierce and aggressive when accompanied by her young.
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HISTORY OF WESTERN OHIO
The size of the black bear is small, as compared with other species of the order.
"The fur of the black bear is not so rough and shaggy as that of other species, but is smooth and glossy in its appearance, so that it presents a very handsome aspect to the eye, while its. texture is thick and warm as that of its rougher-furred relatives." The skin of the animal was highly prized by the Indians and pioneers for robes and wearing apparel. We have stated that the animal is small as compared with other species of the order, yet his average weight is about two hundred pounds. His flesh was considered a great delicacy by the pioneers and Indians. When cooked it has the flavor of fresh pork.
Wood, in his Natural History, states that "The number of cubs which the female bear produces is from one to four, and that they are very small during the first few days of their exist- ence. They make their appearance at the end of January or beginning of February.
CANDIDAE.
The Genus Canis-Wolf-was very common in Auglaize and adjoining counties at an early day. So annoying were they that a bounty was paid by the State for their scalps. The bounty paid and the desire of the early settlers to rid themselves of the depredations of the animal, led to its extermination. The bounty at different times varied from three to six dollars. Until the bears and wolves were exterminated, the pioneers found it very difficult to raise either sheep or hogs.
So far as known, but one variety of wolf infested Auglaize county. The animal disappeared from Shelby and Auglaize counties about the year 1854.
VULPES-FOXES.
Two varieties of the fox still inhabit the county. The com- mon American Red Fox, Vulpus fulvus, Desm., is notorious for his nocturnal depredations upon farm-yards, carrying away chickens, geese and turkeys to dense thickets, where he spends most of the daytime. His color is a reddish-yellow, with black and white hairs. The hair is long and thick, being doubly thick during the colder months of the year, so that the fur of the fox which is killed in the winter is more valuable than if the animal had been slain in the hot months. The tail, which is technically
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termed the "brush," is remarkably bushy, and partakes of the tints which predominate over the body, except at the tip, which is white. The height of the animal is about a foot, and its length about two feet and a half, exclusive of the tail.
Vulpes Virginianus, Rich. The gray fox, a near relative of the red fox, is still quite numerous in the county. Like the red fox, it is also nocturnal, springing upon its prey as it passes by, or stealing upon it while asleep. Its dentition is calculated · for a mixed diet, so that mammals, birds, molluscs, and even grapes, furnish a dainty meal. Its characteristic is craftiness. For many years past fox-hunting has been a favorite sport with huntsmen.
GENUS FELIS.
Felis concolor, Linn., variously called puma, catamount, cougar, American lion, mountain lion, and panther or painter, was an inhabitant of Auglaize county as late as 1850. It was the largest of the American cats except the jaguar, being larger than the largest dog, and weighing in some cases a hundred and fifty pounds. The color along the back is of a uniform pale brownish-yellow, finely mottled by dark tips to all the hairs. Beneath, it is of a dingy white. In its general outline, it resem- bles an African lioness, from which it has probably been named American lion. It was greatly feared by the Indians and pioneers. Unlike the roar of the lion at night, its cry resembled the tones of a human being in distress.
Such creatures as are unfortunate enough to please the taste of the panther are nearly always taken by surprise, and stricken down before they are even aware of the vicinity of their tawny foe. It loves to hide upon the branches of trees, and from that eminence to launch itself upon the doomed animal that may pass within reach of its active leap and its death-dealing paw.
The panther or puma was never so numerous as other wild animals, and when known to have its haunt in any portion of the . county, was pursued by hunters until it was slain. Two panthers were killed in Pusheta township in 1833; one in Wayne township in 1833, and one in Salem township in 1835.
CANADA LYNX.
Lynx Canadensis, Raf., was numerous in the county up to 1845. The animal is about forty inches in length,. of a grayish
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HISTORY OF WESTERN OHIO
color, having ears with a narrow black margin on the convexity, and tipped with a black pencil, and the end of the tail terminating in a black brush.
The limbs of the lynx are very powerful, and the thick. heavily made feet are furnished with strong, white claws that are not seen unless the fur be put aside. It is not a dangerous animal except when attacked, when it is a match for more than half a dozen dogs.
While running at speed it presents a singular appearance, owing to its peculiar mode of leaping in successive bounds, with its back slightly arched, and all the feet coming to the ground nearly at the same time.
The fur of the lynx is valuable for the purposes to which the feline skin is usually destined, and commands a high price in the market. Those who hunt the lynx for the purpose of obtaining its fur choose the winter months for the time of their operations, as during the cold season it possesses a richer and a warmer fur than is found upon it during the warm summer months.
The last Canada lynx was killed by some coon-hunters in Washington township near the Shelby county line in 1867. After it had whipped all the dogs, it was shot by Meridith Hardin. The writer saw the stuffed skin on exhibition in Wapakoneta in 1868.
WILD CAT.
Lynx Rufus, Raf., was an inhabitant of Auglaize and adjoin- ing counties until within a few years past. The animal is about thirty inches long to the tail, which is about five inches in length. The fur is thick and soft, and the color on the back and sides is a pale yellow overlaid with gray; beneath it is spotted with white. The tail has a small black patch above at the end, and the inner surface of the ear is black, with a white patch. It is more slender in build than the Canada lynx, lighter in color, and. does not have the long pencil tips possessed by its relative. Large numbers of the wild cat were killed from 1832 to 1850.
MUSTALIDAE OR WEASEL FAMILY.
This family comprises elongated and slender-bodied animals, with five-toed plantigrade or digitigrade feet, and with a single
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tubercular molar tooth on either side of each jaw. Of this family, the weasel and mink continue to be represented in the county.
THE WEASEL.
Putorius fuscus, Aud. and Bach., or small brown weasel, continues to inhabit the streams and marshes of the county. In its destructive habits and its thirst for blood it is unsurpassed by any of the smaller animals. It conceals itself in barns and outhouses for the purpose of gaining access to poultry.
It is a terrible foe to many of the smaller rodents, such as rats and mice, and is specially dreaded by them, because there is no hole through which either of these animals can pass which will not quite as readily suffer the passage of the weasel. Like the polecat and mink, the weasel is very destructive in its nature, killing more animals or birds than it can devour.
THE MINK.
Putorius vison, Rich., is about seventeen inches long to the tail, which is about half the length of the body; the general color, dark brownish-chestnut. The tail is nearly black, and the end of the chin is white.
On account of its water-loving propensities, the mink is called by various names. By some persons it is called the smaller otter, or sometimes the musk otter, while it is known to others as the water polecat.
It frequents the banks of ponds, rivers, and marshes, seem- ing to prefer still water in the autumn, and the rapidly flowing currents in spring. Its food consists almost wholly of fish, frogs, crawfish, aquatic insects, and other creatures that are to be found either in the waters or in close proximity to it. Its fur is of excellent quality, and is valued very highly. As it bears a great resemblance to the sable, it is often fraudulently substituted for that article.
THE OTTER.
Leutra Canadensis, Sab., or American otter, ceased to in- habit the county about 1870. In 1872 Gilbert Kennedy killed an otter near the Auglaize River, two miles below Wapakoneta. The otter is about four and a half feet long, including the tail, which is eighteen inches in length. The color is liver-brown
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HISTORY OF WESTERN OHIO
above, slightly lighter beneath. The sides of the head and neck are of a dirty whitish color.
The fur of the otter is so warm and handsome that it is in great demand in cold climates for wearing apparel. Its webbed feet exhibit an approach to the amphibious mammals. The peculiar position of its eye enables it, with a slight motion of the head, to see fish on which it preys, whether swimming above, below, beside, behind, or before. It burrows in the banks of streams, making the entrance under water, and providing numer- ous cells to occupy, according to the height of the stream.
THE SKUNK.
Mephites Chinga, Tied., or skunk, is still an inhabitant of certain localities of the country. It has obtained the unenviable reputation of being literally in worse odor than any other known animal. All the weasels and minks are notable for a certain odor emanating from their bodies, but the skunk is pre-eminent in the noisomeness of the stench which it exhales when annoyed or alarmed. The scent proceeds from a liquid secretion which is formed in some glands near the insertion of the tail.
There is nothing in nature that is wholly evil; even this terrible fluid is proved to be possessed of medicinal virtues, being sometimes used for the purpose of giving relief to asthmatic patients.
In its fur, the skunk is extremely variable, but the general markings of its coat are as follows: The fur is of. a brown tint, washed with black, and variegated by white streaks and spots along its back. The tail is long and extremely bushy, being covered with long hairs of a creamy-white hue. Its habitation is commonly in burrows, which it scratches in the ground by means of its powerful claws. The creature is about the size of a cat, being about fifteen inches in length from the nose to the root of the tail, which measures twelve or fourteen inches. The legs are short, and the animal is not endowed with any great activity.
ORDER RODENTIA - THE BEAVER.
Castoroides Canadensis, Kuhl., or beaver, became extinct in the county about 1833. Remains of their dams and houses are found at the present day in excavating ditches.
The social character of the beaver renders it one of the
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most interesting of animals. They live in communities and dis- play a singular mixture of reason and intellect. Their societies vary considerably in number. They prefer to make their habita- tions by small, clear rivers and creeks, or close to large springs, although they sometimes take up their abode on the banks of lakes and ponds.
Lest they should not have a sufficient depth of water at all seasons, they are in the habit of building dams, for the purpose of raising the water to the required level. These dams are com- posed of tree-branches, mud, and stones, and to effectually resist the water, are about ten or twelve feet thick at the bottom. Near the dams are built the beaver-houses, or "lodges." The writer saw beaver-houses in northern Michigan in 1880, that were six feet square, having an upper story or lodging-room. The walls were thick, and the whole building was covered with poles, sticks, moss and mud. The logs of which 'the dams and houses are constructed are generally six or seven inches in diameter.
The castoreum, from which the animal receives its name, is produced by a secretion which is found in two membranous fol- licles located near the tail. Castoreum was formerly used by phy- sicians as a stimulant and antispasmodic.
In order to secure a store of winter food, the beavers take a vast number of small logs, and carefully fasten them under water in the vicinity of their lodges. When a beaver feels hungry he dives to the store heap, drags out a suitable log, carries it to a sheltered and dry spot, nibbles the bark away, and then either permits the stripped log to float down the stream or applies it to the dam.
The color of the long, shining hairs which cover the back of the beaver is a light chestnut, and the fine wool that lies next to the skin is a soft grayish-brown. The total length of the animal is about three feet and a half; the flat, paddle-shaped, scale-covered tail being about one foot in length. The flesh of the beaver is eaten by the trappers, who compare it to flabby pork. The tail is something like beef marrow, when properly cooked, but it is too rich and oily to suit the taste of most persons.
The female beaver produces about three or four young at a litter, and the little creatures are born with open eyes.
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HISTORY OF WESTERN OHIO
THE PORCUPINE.
Hystricidae, or American porcupine, has its sides, back and tail covered with spines three to five inches long. The spines, or quills, vary considerably in length, the longest being flexible, and not capable of doing much harm to an opponent. Beneath these there is a plentiful supply of shorter spines, from five to ten inches in length, which are the effective weapons of the animal. The quill is so constructed that it gradually bores its way into the flesh, burrowing deeper at every movement, and sometimes even causing the death of the wounded creature. The quills were used by the Indians for ornamenting their moccasins, blankets and wearing apparel.
Its food consists of living bark, which it strips from the branches of trees as cleanly as if it had been provided with a sharp knife.
The total length of the common porcupine is about three feet six inches, the tail being about six inches long. Its gait is slow and clumsy, and as it walks its long quills shake and rattle in a very curious manner. Its muzzle is thick and heavy, and its eyes small and. pig-like.
This animal, formerly very numerous in the county, has, of late years, become extinct.
THE GROUND HOG.
Arctomy's monax, Linn. The length of the ground hog or woodchuck to the base of the tail varies from thirteen to fifteen inches ; the tail to the end of the hairs is about seven inches. The color along the back is a brownish-black, mixed with gray ; below, the color is yellowish-rufus, varying to brownish-rufus.
The fur is of no value; the hide is tough, and used for lashes, pouches and thongs among woodmen.
The woodchuck is a strictly herbiverous animal. It is par- ticularly fond of peas and clover, sometimes making its burrow in a clover field. Although burrowing at times in open fields, its favorite resort is in wooded rocky bluffs along the banks of streams. It produces from four to six young in the early part of summer ; these leave the mother before fall, dig burrows, and shift for themselves.
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The ground hog is still an inhabitant of Auglaize county. Its burrows may be seen along the banks of most of our streams.
THE WOOD HARE, OR GRAY RABBIT.
Lepus sylvatieus, Linn., or wood hare, improperly called rabbit, is common in every county of the State. "In its wild state, the rabbit is an intelligent and amusing creature, full of odd little tricks, and given to playing the most ludicrous antics as it gambols about the warren in all the unrestrained joyousness of habitual freedom. To see rabbits at their best it is necessary to be closely concealed in their immediate vicinity, and to watch them in the early morning or at the fall of evening. No one can form any true conception of the rabbit nature until he has observed the little creatures in their native home; and when he has once done so, he will seize the earliest opportunity of resum- ing his acquaintance with the droll little creatures."
In the settled country, the hare takes shelter about fences and stacks. In open lands it is preyed upon by rapacious birds ; large snakes often get the young. Among mammals the weasel is the worst of its enemies; the weasel and mink follow them under logs, into trees and burrows, and often into cultivated regions, and drive them from under barns and stacks. The hare is very prolific, producing four to six young at a birth, and having three to four litters each year. They sometimes girdle young trees, although no doubt much of the injury to trees charged to the hares is the work of field mice. As the flesh is good in winter, the most natural method of exterminating them is to- encourage hunting them for market.
As to the common name, rabbit, so often given to the species, it is not properly applicable to any of the American hares. Lepus cuniculus, the burrowing rabbit of Europe, is the rabbit proper, differing from other Old World, and from American, forms in the shortness of its hind legs.
THE MUSKRAT.
Ondatra Musquash, Linn., or musk rat, an animal as large as a rabbit, is still quite numerous along the Auglaize River and around the St. Mary's reservoir. Its fur is a reddish gray, resembling that of the beaver. The body is thick and clumsy, and the tail flattened vertically, a form useful to the animal in
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HISTORY OF WESTERN OHIO
sculling. Its home is constructed of reeds, with one entrance above and another below. In summer they dig burrows of great extent along the banks of streams, in which they bring forth their young.
MICE.
Arvicola riparia, Linn., or meadow mouse, dwells in the woods and meadows during summer, and in barns and granaries in winter. A detailed description of so familiar an animal would be quite unnecessary.
Mus musculus, Linn., or house mouse, originally from Europe and Asia, but now found all over the world, is grayish- brown, finely lined with darker, passing into ashy plumbeous, with reddish tinge on the belly. The feet are ashy brown.
RATS.
Mus rattus, Linn., or black rat, at an early date was numer- ous in the county, but has almost entirely disappeared before its more formidable rival, the brown rat.
THE NORWAY OR BROWN RAT.
Mus decumanus, Pallas. Few animals are so well known or so thoroughly detested as the common brown rat, or Norway rat. It has spread itself over almost every portion of the globe, taking passage in almost every ship that traverses the ocean, and landing on almost every shore which the vessel may touch. Wherever they set their feet, they take up their abode ; and, being singularly prolific animals, soon establish themselves in perpetu- ity. They are marvelous exterminators of other "vermin," and permit none but themselves to be in the domain which they have chosen. Some of these animals were purposely introduced into Jamaica, in order to extirpate the plantation rats, which did such damage to the growing crops. They soon drove away the origi- nal "vermin," but, like the Saxons when invited to help the Britons, were found to be more dangerous foes than the enemy whom they had overcome.
THE COMMON MOLE.
Scalops aquaticus, Cuv., or common mole, is common in Auglaize county, and is in some instances destructive to lawns
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and vegetable gardens. The most notable feature of the animal is its fore feet, short legs, and robust shoulders, adapting it to plough through the soil.
In motion the fore feet are thrust forward at the sides, with the edges answering to the thumb of a man's hand, placed down- ward, and the nails taking hold in the earth; the body is drawn along with ease and rapidity, as a row-boat is propelled by oars, the hind legs carrying the posterior parts.
The mole constantly burrows the ground in search of insects, which it usually finds within two or three inches of the surface.
THE OPOSSUM.
Didelphys Virgianus, Shaw, or oppossum, is the only mem- ber of the order of Marsupalia found in North America. The animal .was formerly very numerous, and is still to be found in the woodland districts of the county. It is twenty inches long to the tail, which is about fifteen inches. The hair is whitish, with brown tips, imparting a dusky shade. It lives upon trees. and feeds upon fruits, eggs, and small animals. In its omniver- ous character, the opossum may be compared to the raccoon. In the summer and autumn it breaks down the corn, especially sweet corn, of which, like the raccoon, it is very fond.
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