USA > Pennsylvania > Wayne County > Mount Pleasant in Wayne County > History of the township of Mount Pleasant, Wayne County, Pennsylvania : a discourse delivered on Thanksgiving Day, November 22, 1855 > Part 5
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him. When they came up, he saw him with his enormous body stretched from limb to limb. His fierce eyes glared wildly down upon his foes. But our hunter with great deliberation levelled his rifle. Instantly the panther jumped upon a large hemlock limb, which being a little rotten, broke, and he fell in a place surrounded with fallen trees. Here the dogs closed in for a battle. At the first blow the panther struck one of the dogs, and tore the entire flesh from one side of his jaw, which sent him howl- ing through the woods. The other, of "better pluck," grabbed the panther by the neck for a death- struggle. Our hunter saw his favorite dog dread- fully torn. Blood flowed from both combatants in a
fearful manner. He called for his comrade's ax with which to end the fierce battle. But, alas ! his companion stood with ghastly countenance, terror- stricken, and seemed not to know what he said. He, therefore, went to him, and seized his loaded rifle, and rushed to the scene of conflict. Watching his opportunity amid their writhing struggles, he put the muzzle of the rifle at the heart of the panther so as not to injure his dog, and thus ended the battle. After the death of the panther, so deeply and firmly were his claws imbedded in the neck of the dog, he was obliged to cut the cords of his paw to extract them. )
But this is not the only conflict he has had with this kind of animal. On another occasion he was out alone in one of his favorite hunts. His attention was caught by a heavy rustling and crackling of
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limbs, mingled with a deep growl. He hastened to the place, and found an enormous panther fighting with a bear. Unobserved, he watched their attacks. He saw the panther rush upon the bear, grab her by the neck, when she would fall and hold the pan- ther by the fore-paws, and tear him with her hind-feet, so that the skin and blood flew out at every stroke. He would soon let go his hold, yet exasperated to the highest degree, he would clinch the bear again. At the third onset our hunter thought he would have a share in the fight. He very deliberately discharged his rifle at the panther, when instantly he left the bear and came bounding at him, enraged to frenzy. He declares that the eyes of the panther were like balls of fire, and his teeth of the bigness of his thumb. As the maddened animal was about to spring upon him, he, eying him sharply, swung his rifle, and gave one of his terrific yet characteristic howls which brought the panther to a stand about a rod from him. He continued to swing his rifle, and eye him fiercely, with such a growl as George McMullen only can make. The panther made round him ready to spring, yet cowered by fear, until the bear, who had been defending her whelps from the panther, came and again fell upon him. At this in- stant he attempted to re-load, but in his hurry he unconsciously put the ball in first. IIe declares it is the only time he ever lost self-possession in all his conflicts and adventures with wild beasts. But the bear having worsted the panther and drove him off, came back fiercely upon him. He snapped his
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rifle, but to his astonishment it missed fire. There was no alternative but a close fight. He began to swing his rifle as the bear approached, and raise one of his inimitable howls. He had always a knife ready for such emergencies; but before called to use it, the bear heard her whelps, which the pan- ther had treed, coming down and made off for them. But he would not give it up so. He was determined to carry home the bear with her whelps. He repeat- edly primed his rifle, but to his utter astonishment it missed fire. There was no other way but to go home in disappointment. Not until he had taken his rifle to pieces did he discover his unconscious mistake.
At another time his spirit was roused by some wolves which had made depredations upon the flocks in this town. He tracked them over the Lackawanna into Susquehanna County, and found their den far away from any human habitations. Not being able to draw them out, he prepared to have a battle with them in their own den. So, setting down his rifle at the mouth of the den, and grasping his knife, he, down upon his hands and knees, made his way in through the narrow passes of projecting rocks. He
found on his arrival that, contrary to his expecta- tion, the old wolves were not at home. But per- ceiving in that dark abode a nest of half-grown cubs, he grabbed one, drew him out, and killed him. En - couraged by his success, he went in again, grabbed another, who, not so willing to be dragged out in this manner, bit his wrist badly ; but finding that this
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did not relieve him from the death grasp around his heels, he made a most pitiable and deafening outcry which roused the old wolves. No sooner had he reached the mouth of the den with the crying cub and ended his troubles, than, they were seen coming with all possible vengeance. He immediately grasp- ed his rifle and took his stand. Not being able to make his rifle bear upon them as they came up, they snapped at him and passed by. Again they wheeled and came at him, "but he defended their attack. They then parted, one to attack him on one side and the other on the other side. As the enraged mother came snarling with her bare teeth, he deliberately discharged a ball into her jaws. Then instantly turning upon the other and yelling in defiance at. him, he was so intimidated aş to make good his re- treat. He then plunged into the den again and brought out every cub, and when he had counted the dead he found nine cubs and their mother, re- gretting most of all that one should have escaped. What becomes of the lauded adventure of General Putnam into the wolf's den when compared with that of George McMullen ? But we must not dwell longer upon these fearless encounters. His life is full of them. He has often traversed this county in this his favorite sport. At one time he was in the wilderness in the north part of it thirteen successive nights, without seeing a human person during the time. It was his custom, when young, to teach school during the winter. Before going to his school he would have a hunt. One autumn he killed sixty-
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five deer, eleven bears, six red foxes, and nine mar- tens. He then went down to the Susquehanna river, near the Wyoming valley, and taught school during the winter. .
Mr. John Wrighter settled in this town in 1812. He is of German descent. His father was a native of Bavaria. He has a tall, heavy-built frame. His features are all well developed. His movements are slow, but firm and forcible. His mind, partaking of his bodily characteristics, is well balanced-acts with great deliberation and perseverance, and is not moved by difficulties or dangers. He has culti- vated a farm, and devoted but a part of his time to hunting. His success is owing more to his calm and fearless manner of meeting wild animals, than from any dexterity.
On one occasion, while hunting, he saw the head of a large buck peering up from behind an obstacle. He shot, and the deer fell. Dropping his gun, he ran up to make sure of him; but, when within a step or two, the wounded buck rose upon his enemy. An enraged buck is a most dangerous animal to meet. His remarkable strength and agility combined, make him a formidable foe. Throwing forward his horns, with every bristle erect, he made a pass at him. But, with great coolness, he evaded his blow, and grabbed his horn. Then came " the tug of war." For some time they fought in close combat. The buck, bran- dishing his antlers, would have been glad to have plunged them into his foe and tossed him into the air. But he found the iron sinews of the old German too
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strong for him. His cool, deliberate mode of warfare was more than a match for the sprightly buck. His strength was soon exhausted, and our hunter, who had long aimed to throw his combatant with his feet from him-for he had no thought of being raked with his sharp hoofs-now succeeded. He laid him across a.log, which gave him an opportunity to draw his knife and end the conflict.
On another occasion he tracked a bear and some whelps far into the wilderness. While in pursuit he came suddenly upon the old bear at the mouth of her den. He had no sooner lodged his rifle ball in her body than she wheeled, and the dog made after her. But the commotion without alarmed the cubs within. They came rushing to the mouth of the den, when they were met by the old German, who grabbed one by the neck. He thought he could hug as hard as a young bear. But he soon found that he had "caught a Tartar." The little fellow proved to be as long- winded as his antagonist. But the stalwart hunter had been accustomed to these close fights. He had no thought of making compromises with young Bruin. A few more struggles brought this " fast youth" up against a log, where our hunter, releasing one hand, drew his knife and ended the battle. The young cub weighed fifty pounds.
It would seem that such a victory would have satis- fied German ambition for that day. But, on his way home, he fell upon another track, which soon brought him to a cave or den among the rocks. He entered the mouth of it, and saw, about twenty feet before
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him, the glaring eye-balls of old Bruin, who had re- tired to her dark lair. Aiming at the space between the glaring eye-balls, hoping there might be brains there, he sent his leaden bullet on its message of death. After the smoke had passed away he crawled in, knife in hand, to reconnoitre the field and bring off the tro- phies of victory, if there should be any. As he ad- vanced, he discovered that the enemy were not all dead, and that it might be safer for him to retreat to a place where he could have a fairer field. According- ly, having returned, he took his rifle, and, re-entering, he again saw two eye-balls in that dark retreat rolling wildly at him. Seeing nothing very agreeable in their motion, he soon treated them to the same material he had before done. The smoke having removed, he re- entered, to count and recover the dead. . Creeping cautiously, with knife in hand, he discovered now no fiery eye-balls-no movement-no signs of life. He atlength laid his hand firmly on his prey ; but life was extinct. He dragged out an old bear with her cub.
XIII. MRS. SARAH BENJAMIN.
There is a woman in this town who, on account of her extreme age, claims a notice in this discourse. Her name is Sarah Benjamin. Her maiden name was Sarah Mathews. She was born in Goshen, Orange County, New York, on the 17th of November, 1745. She was, therefore, 110 years old on Saturday.last. She has had three husbands. The first was Mr. Wil- liam Read. He served in the Revolutionary war, and was in the army in the early part of the struggle. He
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died of a wound received while in Virginia. Her second husband was Mr. Aaron Osborne, of Goshen, Orange County, New York. He also was in the army of the Revolution, and survived the war. She was with him during a part of the time he was in the army, as will presently appear. She has had five children. Her youngest is now sixty-seven years old. She settled in this town with her last husband, Mr. John Benja- min, about the year 1822. He died in the year 1826. She has now in this place her great-great-grandchild, which has descended from her youngest daughter. Including herself, this child belongs to the fifth genera- tion. These generations, still unbroken by death, have often met in this town. But what is still more re- markable is, that none of them have the vivacity which she, even now, has in conversation. Few persons in the prime of life, can throw so much animation into a brief interview, as this relic of a past age. She has naturally great energy of mind and body. She is bold, fearless, very cheerful, and ready for a joke with any one. She has enjoyed remarkably good health all her life. She says she was never sick but once. She then sent for the physician of this place, who left her some medicine. But, after he was gone, she, not liking the smell of it, says she " threw the dirty stuff into the fire; and then had to pay for it." The doctor never loses a good joke from her, on account of it, to the present day.
Her parents moved into this State when she was quite young. They resided at Minisink. She has a distinct recollection of crossing the Delaware, and of
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being lifted up in the arms of one of the men as they approached the shore, to pick some beautiful clusters of ripe strawberries.
From her youth, until over forty years of age, she was in the midst of the rough and stirring scenes of the border warfare and Revolutionary struggle. Her temperament was such, that she could be no idle spectator. She entered very deeply into those trying events. She distinctly recollects the family of Mr. Broadhead, whose sons, in 1755, boldly resisted a party of 200 Indians, making their house a fort. She has often been in this house, and says it was built of stone. She was acquainted with Nicholas Depuis and his family, and will now repeat a piece of poetry, of about twenty lines, written concerning an unhappy, though somewhat romantic marriage of his son. She was in the vicinity of Minisink when Brant, the In- dian chief, led a party of Indians and Tories through that settlement, scalping the inhabitants and burning their houses. She entered very deeply into the spirit of the Revolutionary war. She was confident of its success, and had no fears of danger. After her sec- ond marriage, in the latter part of the war, she accom- panied her husband in the army. During their marches, she made herself useful in preparing food, and when not thus employed, engaged in sewing for the officers and men. She was, however, ready for any service which circumstances seemed to require. When the army were engaged in embarking some heavy ordnance at Kingsbridge on the Hudson, osten- sibly to attack New York, then in the hands of the
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enemy, it was necessary to do it in the night, and to place sentries around, lest they should be observed, or taken by surprise. Her husband having been placed . as a sentinel, she came and took his place, with over- coat and gun, that he might help load the heavy ar- tillery. Soon, however, General Washington came round to examine the outposts, and seeing something in her appearance a little unusual, said : " Who placed you here ?" She promptly replied, in her character- istic way, "Them that had a right to, Sir !" He, apparently pleased with her independent and patri- otic spirit, passed on.
She accompanied the army with her husband to the South, and was present at the siege of Yorktown and surrender of Cornwallis. During the battle, she was busy in carrying water to the thirsty and relieving the wants of the suffering. When passing where the bullets of the enemy were flying, she met General Washington, who said : " Young woman, are you not afraid of the bullets ?" She promptly and pleasantly replied : " The bullets will never cheat the gallows." She says the General smiled, and passed on.
Such is her extraordinary energy-even in her ex- treme age-that she will now relate the events of those days with all the vivacity of youth. Though she receives a pension from Government for her sup- port, she can never sit down without having some work in her hands. She tenaciously holds to the old practice of carding and spinning wool. She says she " is no friend to machines that save labor and make people lazy." At this extreme age, she takes the
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wool in the fleece, cards, spins, doubles, often with three threads, and knits it. The fineness and beauty of the yarn is a wonder and admiration to all. Not a young lady can be found able to compete with her in the beauty and value of her work. Until quite recently, she has had all the ambition of youth to spin every day her " day's work." Not long since, in calling upon her, we found her spinning wool at a " little wheel." he is not now able to spin at the
" large wheel." Without stopping her wheel, she says, pleasantly : "I must finish my day's work." We sat down by her side, to witness with astonish- ment, in the motions of that aged form, what we never expect to see in another. Having finished the roll in her hand, she arose as usual, and welcomed us. That wheel she has used sixty years, and, after having been somewhat repaired, now turns out under her hand good work Her work has also been ex- hibited in the American Institute, and received very flattering notices. Her yarn and stockings are in great demand. Persons from a distance, visiting this town, do not fail to call on her for a specimen of her yarn or stockings. She sent a beautiful specimen of fine woollen stockings to the World's Fair in New York. The wool for them was taken in the fleece, and the entire work was done by herself. We also notice that, at our county fair, last month, she took the premium on linen cloth.
She still keeps up the practice of making yearly visits to her old friends in town. These visits are usually made on foot. If at a distance, she is willing
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to ride, but disdains the effeminate etiquette of being helped into a carriage. Your speaker was permitted to welcome her to the parsonage, at a donation visit, one year ago last January. It will not be a breach of propriety here, to say that he received from her a beautiful pair of stockings, made from the fleece with her own hands. The yarn, though fine, is composed of three threads. He has never seen the occasion which could justify him in treading upon the memen- to of such an aged friend, without committing a sac- rilegious act. At this visit, two other aged females were present : one seventy-three, and the other sixty- nine. All seemed to enjoy the interview. But the oldest seemed to be the youngest, and the youngest the oldest.
Ten days from that visit the youngest died. At the close of this interview, being about to have a - season of worship, our aged friend, then one hundred and eight years old, sang, with a clear, distinct voice, the following verse :
"The day is past and gone, The evening shades appear- Oh, may we all remember well The night of death draws near."
And then knelt with us during prayer.
But, most of all, am I happy to say here, she ap- pears to have the consolations and hopes of the Saviour's love. She has often said : " This is all my comfort." She is ready and waiting to depart. The infirmities of age seem to be growing upon her. May the kind
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and gracious Saviour bear her aged form gently down- wards to the tomb, and gather her redeemed spirit into the bosom of his love.
I have now finished my plan for writing the history of this township. I have carried you through the lights and shades of life as here developed. This may be very imperfectly done. But I am reminded that there is another history, written by an unerring hand. It is a history of thought, of conduct, and of charac- ter. The leaves of that history are on high. Our fathers have many of them gone to meet it. A few of them yet stand waiting at the river of death.
. Soon, fellow-citizens, shall we all appear where a different history of life will be read from that which I have written. There, mere earthly names and dis- tinctions are nothing. Character and the awards of · that life are tried by a different standard from that found in human records. When we meet in that world, and those books shall be opened, may we all find our names written in the Lamb's book of life.
APPENDIX.
NO. I.
MILITARY EVENTS.
UNTIL after the war of 1812, military honors were sought for and highly prized. To be a captain even was an enviable distinction. There was no military organization north of the Shoholy Creek until after Wayne County was constituted. This organization took place at Willsonville, in 179S. Mr. Samuel Stanton was, at this time and place, elected Major of the battalion. He held this office two years, when he resigned, and Mr. Joseph Tanner succeeded him. Mr. Tanner was succeeded by Mr. Jason Torrey. This office was held during the latter part of the war of 1812 by Mr. Luther Starks.
The following persons held the office of Captain until after this war, and in the following .order : John Tiffany-Elijah Peck-Thomas Mumford- Chandler Tiffany-Luther Starks, and Harry Mum- ford. The first battalion-training in this town was in 1813. The first regimental training was in 1804, under Colonel Asa Stanton. There was also another
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here, under Colonel Harry Mumford, who received his commission in 1828. There have been various military elections here for battalion and regimental officers. The battalion covered this county, and the regiment covered this and Susquehanna Counties.
NO. II.
GRAVE - YARDS.
There are three public grave-yards in this town. All of them are well protected by substantial stone walls, and are held as town property. These are lo- cated in the southern, central, and northern parts of the township. The land for the central yard was given, one-half by Mr. Benjamin King, and the other half was designed as a donation to the town by Mr. Silas Kellogg, but, by an oversight, he did not reserve it in the sale of the adjoining land, and the town re- ceived it as a gift from the purchaser, Mr. Benjamin Wheeler.
The first burial in this ground took place in June, 1802. The individual was a daughter of Mr. Abram Cramer, who had recently been married to Mr. Joseph Reeder. She was well known and highly cs- teemed by all. The funeral was held in a grove on the east side of the grave-yard. A large number of people were present, who listened to a discourse by the Rev. Epaphras Thompson, from Revelation xiv. 13 : " Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord," &c.
The grave-yard situated in the south part of the
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town, was first occupied for this purpose in 1826. The individual first buried was Mr. Gilbert Horton. The land was given by Mr. David Horton, and con- sists of about one-half of an acre.
The third public grave-yard is in the north part of the town. The land was given by Mr. Samuel Brook- ing, and consists of about one acre. The first burial was on Nov. 14, 1850. Several graves, located on private property, were opened, and the bodies interred in the yard. Prayer was offered on the occasion, and an address, appropriate to the opening of this ground, was delivered by the Rev. Samuel Whaley.
NO. III.
MORTALITY.
The following notice of the deaths in this town for the thirteen years past, may be of some service, as well as interest, in the history of this town. The author is indebted for it to Mr. William R. Stone :
In 1843 there were
20 deaths.
" 1844, 66
19
" 1845.
14 66
" 1846,
6 66
" 1847,
9
***** 1848,
46
" 1849,
19
" 1850,
11
" 1851,
8
·
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In 1852 there were
13 deaths.
" 1853, 66
1
20
" 1854,
20
60
" 1855, 66
:
10
It will be seen from this table that the year 1848 was remarkable for its number of deaths. The cause of this will be seen by giving an extract from the annual discourse of the pastor of the Presbyterian Church in this town, delivered Jan. 7, 1849 :
" During the last year there were forty-six deaths in this town. This is a very unusual number. For the five years preceding this last, the average num- ber of deaths in this town was thirteen and six-tenths for each year. This certainly is a small number for
the population. Placing the population at 1700, and the deaths in this town, for the five years past, have been one for every one hundred and twenty-five persons. This surely is a small number. There are few places that can be said to be as healthful."
The deaths in this State, according to the census of 1850, are in the proportion of one to every eighty-one of the population. "The ratio of deaths in the city of New York, which is called a healthful city, is one to every 36 or 37 of its population. Whereas, in this town, for five years past we have had only one death to every one hundred and twenty-five of the popula- tion. Last year, however, which proved to be a very sickly season, there has been one death to every thirty-seven of our population. This large increase of deaths in this town was caused by the epidemic
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which prevailed here during the months of August and September. This will be seen from the number of deaths in each month. In January, one ; in Feb- ruary, two; in March, one ; in April, two ; in May, one ; in June, one ; in July, three ; in August, seven- teen ; in September, twelve; in October, two; in November, three, and in December, one. Thus it will be seen that the epidemic was mostly confined to August and September. With the exception of these months, we have but seventeen deaths in town during the year. This epidemic-the dysentery-has never before been known to prevail in this town. The same thing may be seen from the various causes which have produced it, and their relative number. They are as follows : Four infants, whose disease was unknown ; croup, two ; pleurisy, one ; parturition, one ; inflam- mation of bowels, one; chronic rheumatism, two ; consumption, one ; fever, two; worms, one ; lung- fever, one ; old age, one ; asthma, one ; cholera-mor- bus, two ; dysentery, twenty-six. Thus it will be seen that the greatest number of deaths has been caused by this disease, and that, aside from this, no one disease has prevailed-two being the highest number from any other disease. It will also be seen, from the following statement, that this disease has proved most fatal among children. Died, during the past year, at the age of five, and younger, nineteen ; between five and twenty, seven ; between twenty and forty, nine ; between forty and sixty, four ; and from sixty and older, seven. There have been nearly as many deaths among children of five years old and
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