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MOCCASIN TRACKS AND OTHER IMPRINTS WILLIAM CHRISTIAN DODRILL
1 Webster county, W. Va. GD
ITB Webster co. ) Dodrill
Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2008 with funding from Microsoft Corporation
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MOCCASIN TRACKS and OTHER IMPRINTS
.
BY WILLIAM CHRISTIAN DODRILL ("RATTLESNAKE BILL")
[C1915] MML
THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIELANY
268006B
ASTOR, LENOX AND TILLA FOUNDATIONS R 1044 L
Copyright by W. C. DODRILL 1915.
LOVETT PRINTING CO., CHARLESTON.
WILLIAM CHRISTIAN DODRILL.
TRI BAW YORK PIONIP LIBRARY
To the memory of my dear mother, Rebecca (Ham- rick) Dodrill, to whom I owe so much, this volume is affectionately dedicated,
BY THE AUTHOR.
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
Page
Biographical Sketch 8
Introduction 13
Moccasin Tracks 15
English Settlements in America 12
The Indians of West Virginia 35
Exploration and Settlement of West Virginia. 43
Geography and Topography of Webster County.
Miscellaneous Sketches 61
The Hamrick Family.
An Imaginary Trip in 1849
Superstitions of Pioneer Days
80
Short Sketches
84
Formation and Organization of Webster County
87
Education 105
The Carpenter Family 119
Murder of the Stroud Family 122
Religion in Pioneer Days 125
The Dodrill Family. 130
The Killing of the Tunings 134
The Murder of Ferrell 135
The Lone Grave. 136
The Gregory Family 137
Geographical Names 140
The Woods Family 142
The Sawyers Family 143
The McElwain Family 145
The Morton Family. 148
Tracklets
151
Table of Contents (Continued).
Other Imprints. 157
The True Grandeur of Nations. 159
Echoes
165
The Cemetery
170
Chronicles of an Oak
173
Number One
175
Number Two 181
Number Three
188
Influence of the Christian Religion on Civilization 194
Government
199
Birds and Flowers
205
The Stork's Visit 212
Semi-Centennial of West Virginia
213
Business and Civit Honesty 219
An Oration Delivered at Richwood, July 4, 1909 230
School Room Smiles 238
Halley's Comet-A Burlesque 242
The Bachelor 247
From the Williams to Lake Erie 253
Winter Bird Friends 260
The Eagle
281
The Crisis of 1861 286
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH.
William Christian Dodrill, the author, was born on Birch river in Nicholas county, Virginia, (now West Virginia), September seventh, 1861. He is the third son of James Walton and Rebecca Hamrick Dodrill. At a time when a new state had recently been brought into being through the heroic surgery of war, he was receiving his first impressions amid surroundings that were necessarily forceful in directing the bent of his mind and shaping his future career.
Nicholas county, then larger than now, lay among the western spurs of the Alleghanies, where crude condi- tions of commerce and travel had sadly retarded social and intellectual intercourse among the people, but the region claimed unusual advantages in the beauty and majesty of its mountain scenery and the clean lives and high ideals of its inhabitants. War had scarcely disturbed these conditions, although it left not a few of its scars in close proximity to the author's boyhood home. The forests were virgin, full of game and res- onant with the music of a large and varied bird life. The rivers and creeks held in great abundance the varieties of fish common to the middle' temperate zone. Then, much more than now, the youth were in very truth, "children of the outdoors," living in all seasons very near to the heart of Nature.
Amid surroundings such as these, the boyhood of William Dodrill was spent, working on the farm as occasion demanded, but when opportunity afforded, wandering along the rivers or through the woods, learn- ing those nature-lessons, for which one may read all
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books in vain, and because of which he acquired the ability so valuable to him as a teacher and writer in the after years of his life. Nor did he neglect to read with avidity and understanding the few books at his command; and it may be possible that a few good books, read over and over again, thoroughly assimilated through long hours of study and contemplation, may be more valuable than hundreds lightly scanned and more lightly thrown away.
The author remained at the home of his father and mother until he reached the age of twenty-one, and during that time, so meager were the educational ad- vantages in his community, he was enabled to attend school less than four months in each year. How well he overcame this serious and to so many, disastrous, obstacle, may be judged from the fact that from the time he began teaching in 1882 at the age of twenty- one, until the present, his success was immediate and so marked that his services were soon in wide demand in central West Virginia.
Mr. Dodrill taught in his native county of Nicholas until 1895, and since that date he has resided in Web- ster county, where he is acknowledged by common con- sent to be the leader of his profession. He was prin- cipal of the Camden public schools in 1910 and 1911; principal of the Webster Springs graded school for three terms, 1912, 1913 and 1914, and a teacher in the Normal department of the Webster Springs high school for the spring term of 1915. He has taught also, and made a specialty of training schools for teachers. In 1908 he became a member of the Amer- ican Historical Association and in 1910 he joined the
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Knights of Pythias and is a loyal member of Camden Lodge No. 137.
While the author justly enjoys this high reputation as a teacher and instructor and has kept in the van- guard of the progressive men and women of his profes- sion, he has rendered services to the people of Nicholas, Webster and the surrounding counties, indeed to the whole state, quite as enduring and permanent, in our judgment, as his valuable work in his chosen profession. Not only has he kept up the study of Nature as an adjunct to his work, but he has pursued that study with such zeal and success that he is everywhere recog- nized as a commanding authority on West Virginia animals, fish and bird life. His knowledge of the fish that inhabit West Virginia waters is not cursory or superficial but final and authoritative, acquired through years of study and contact. He is an expert angler; no one in the writer's knowledge will excel him. Be- cause of these facts we confidently assert that no West Virginian is more competent as a writer and critic upon these and kindred subjects.
The pioneer history of the mountain counties of West Virginia has been neglected to such an extent that it seriously interferes with the preparation of an orderly and sequential history of the state. The citizens of the elder counties, reclaimed from the Indians along the wide valleys of the great rivers and on the contiguous uplands, do not appreciate the dangers and well-nigh insurmountable difficulties that confronted those hardy fathers who builded homes in the narrow and canyon like valleys of the Elk, Holly and Birch rivers, and on the precipitous mountain sides surrounding them. In
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the ceaseless struggle for existence it was impossible to preserve history while it was current and many of the stirring traditions of the early days, if not wholly lost, have been very imperfectly.preserved by the only means possible, the relation of the story by the pioneer to his immediate descendants.
In the resurrection and preservation of this early history of Webster county and these splendid traditions, Mr. Dodrill has spent much of his time during many years. His close contact with the people as teacher of the various schools has enabled him to acquire at first hand from the older citizens, many of whom have since passed away, much valuable information which should be, and, thanks to his energy and perseverance will be, made accessible by his book to every student of the his- tory of his native state. The value of his work in this direction lies in the fact that soon, very soon, all the sources from which this history can be gleaned will be gone. No other West Virginian possesses it at first hand. For several years past he has been writing articles for the press that have attracted wide attention, in which he depicts the struggle of the early settlers and traces the gradual development of this difficult terri- tory.
The large families that are descended from the pioneers and are now widely scattered over the Union, with interests diversified and numerous, have gratefully paid him tribute for renewing the recollections of these heroic men and women. One of the chief criticisms directed by Europeans against America is the fact that we have no traditions ; that time, only, can create mighty memories ; be it so; but we can meet that criticism
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and multiply those mighty memories by appreciating men like William Dodrill who give years of pains- taking effort and patient study to the end that none of our traditions may be lost.
"Moccasin Tracks and Other Imprints," reflects the versatility and personality of its author. Mr. Dodrill is a facile and brilliant writer, an eloquent and force- ful public speaker. His powers of description can hardly be excelled, while as a narrator of events he commands the willing attention of his reader as he con- ducts him through the orderly, logical succession of events.
He is a controversialist of superior type, nor does he, in his writings, make the always fatal mistake of trans- forming learning into pedantry. He is a master of that directness of Anglo-Saxon speech which one may acquire only after long and diversified study of our language.
We bespeak for this book a gracious reception, not only by the people of West Virginia, interested as they are in the traditions of our beloved Commonwealth and the minutest details of its splendid history, but by the people everywhere who want to know and to treasure all that may be known of the history and the tradi- tions of the Republic.
W. S. WYSONG.
INTRODUCTORY.
Many school boys and school girls decide to write a book when they become men and women. I was not accustomed to building literary air castles in Spain during my school days.
My teachers did not require me to write on any subject. Neither did they require or encourage original thought. Lessons were assigned on certain pages of the text, and the pupil who could recite in the language of the book was commended for proficiency. These two facts indicate the deplorable condition of the free schools thirty-five years ago.
The material of which this volume is composed has been of slow growth. A number of the sketches were published in the local papers a few years ago under the pen name of "Rattlesnake Bill." . These waifs have been revised or entirely rewritten. They have been living precarious lives in newspaper files, scrap books, and other out of the way places. It was thought by the author that these almost nameless, and unowned chil- dren of his brain, were entitled to more congenial sur- roundings, and if properly dressed they could appear in more genteel company.
I have been impressed for years with the fact that the young people of Webster, Nicholas, Braxton and other nearby counties know so little of the history of their immediate ancestors. Boys and girls of sixteen do not know the names of their great-grandfathers or great- grandmothers. If this information be delayed much longer, it will be too late to start an inquiry. "Moccasin Tracks" was begun to arouse an interest in pioneer history before all the sources of information have been
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closed. No attempt has been made to give a consistent, connected narration of the pioneer history of Webster county. Material available at this time is too meager or too chaotic for such an undertaking.
Some of the "Other Imprints" contained in this volume have been written in connection with my school work or to amuse a friend in an idle moment. Others are public addresses delivered at divers places and under various circumstances. Many were written expressly for this volume and are here published for the first time, The author places this volume before the public with some misgivings as to the manner of its reception, but he hopes that it will be received in the spirit in which it is given. It is offered as a small contribution to the great stream of literature flowing from the pen of American writers, by an author who has neither fame nor literary merit to commend his work to the public.
W. C. DODRILL.
Webster Springs, West Virginia.
June 15, 1915.
Moccasin Tracks
I. ENGLISH SETTLEMENTS IN AMERICA.
In order to get a correct understanding of the early history of Webster county, it is necessary to take a hasty view of the first English settlement in North America as to time and place. Webster, because of its geographical position and its isolation from navigable rivers, was one of the last West Virginia counties to be occupied by white men. It will also be necessary to take a more extended notice of the first settlements in the state which occurred many years previous to the occupation of the Elk and the Gauley valleys.
Transportation of necessity was made by pack horses over rough mountain trails, and this not being a very desirable mode of travel, greatly retarded the settle- ment of localities remote from more populous com- munities.
The real settlement of Webster county did not begin until after the close of the Revolution, although the territory had been repeatedly visited and some cabins had been built previous to that time.
Virginia.
In 1606 James I, King of Great Britain, granted a patent for territory in America to a corporation of men known as the London Company, whose main object was to establish an English colony somewhere between the thirty-fourth and forty-fifth degrees of north latitude. The company sent out a colony consisting of 105 ad- venturous gentlemen in three small vessels which em- barked from London, in December, 1606. After a
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most tempestuous and dangerous voyage, they entered Chesapeake Bay and after some delay sailed up a dis- tance of fifty miles. Here they landed on May 13, 1602, and began a settlement which they called James- town in honor of the English sovereign. The site chosen was low and marshy: it was infested with mosquitoes and malaria ; it was not easy for the settlers to defend themselves against the Indians, who attacked them within two weeks after their arrival. This border warfare begun, in 1607, between the Virginians and the Indians, lasted for one hundred and eighty-eight years. The early history of Virginia was a history of famine, disease. desperation and death : of 630 early colonists 570 died within the first two and a half years. In later years two terrible Indian massacres occurred, one in 1622 and the other in 1644, in which more than five hundred persons were slain. These English peo- ple had left their home and friends, and had braved the dangers of a long sea voyage to face an unknown fate in the wilderness that they might establish homes for themselves and erect a state on the continent of North America. This is the oldest English colony es- tablished within the present limits of the United States, although for some time it seemed as if it would prove a failure like the one begun in the state of Maine in May. 1607. The colony was saved through the untiring efforts of Captain John Smith. who procured corn from the Indians. and taught the colonists the necessity of labor.
These people made the mistake that is ever the case in all pioneer settlements: they thought that sudden wealth could be obtained from mineral products. and
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they neglected their gardens and their farms-the only things they could rely upon for their support, for the alluring hope of finding gold. In a few years many desirable families came to Virginia. The forest was cleared by them and they gradually pushed their way to the foot of the Blue Ridge.
A very notable event occurred in 1619. This was the election of twenty-two ."burgesses," who met in the church at Jamestown and framed laws to govern the colony. This was the first free, representative govern- ment in America, and was far-reaching in its effect upon the establishment of a republican form of govern- ment in the Western Hemisphere.
Another event of great moment occurred in the same year. A Dutch man-of-war exchanged twenty negro slaves with the planters of Jamestown for provisions. This was the beginning of Negro slavery in the United States, which proved a great source of trouble until its abolition in 1863. It made the cultivation of tobacco a very lucrative employment in Virginia and in a very short time it became the leading industry of the colony.
Virginia became a royal province in 1624, and the rights of the people were taken from them. Arbitrary rule was substituted. Navigation laws were passed that had a direct bearing on the great American Revolution : the King gave the entire province to two court favorites for a period of thirty-one years. Governor Berkeley. he- longing to a company having a very profitable trade with the Indians, failed to protect the settlers from these savages : the colonists had no homes they could call their own, and their taxes were burdensome. When the Indians began ravaging the frontier, in 1676. Gov-
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ernor Berkeley refused to send aid to the endangered colonists. They chose Nathaniel Bacon, a young planter, for their leader, and marched against the In- dians and defeated them. Berkeley declared Bacon a rebel; civil war ensued and Jamestown was burned. Bacon soon afterwards died of a fever contracted while camping in the swamps and about twenty of his ad- herents were executed by order of the governor. One hundred years after that time, the descendants of these men met at Williamsburg almost in sight of the ruins of Jamestown, and declared that Virginia was a free and independent state, and no longer an integral part of the British Empire.
THE NEW ENGLAND COLONIES.
Massachusetts.
The English King, in the same year that the grant to the London Company was made, gave to the Ply- mouth Company the territory extending from the Hud- son river northward to Newfoundland. This em- braced the country between the thirty-fourth and thirty- eighth degrees of north latitude.
As previously mentioned the first attempt at settle- ment within the limits of North Virginia was made in the State of Maine, in May 1607, but proved a fail- ure and no further attempt to establish a colony was made for thirteen years.
At the beginning of the seventeenth century relig- ious toleration was not recognized by the English Constitution. All classes were required to pay a tax to support the clergy of the established church. Those
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who refused to do this were fined or imprisoned. A body of persons calling themselves Puritans came into existence during Queen Elizabeth's reign. Out of this movement, the Separatists came into existence, who would not remain in the established Church of England. Many Puritan ministers were refused the right to hold religious services. When their congregations were broken up, about three hundred of these Separatists, now called Pilgrims, emigrated to Holland.
These God-fearing and industrious people found themselves exiles in a strange land where they greatly feared that their children would not adhere to their religious beliefs, and the manners and customs of their English ancestors. Acting under the advice of their pastor, John Robinson, they decided to seek a place of settlement in America. They borrowed a large sum of money from their friends in England, and also secured a patent to settle on the land of the London Company.
On September 6. 1620, the Mayflower, carrying one hundred and one of the exiles, left the harbor of Ply- mouth bound for the Hudson river country. After a stormy voyage of three months, they landed off Cape Cod, hundreds of miles north-east of their destination. This was on land belonging to the Plymouth Company. Having no patent to settle on that Company's land, they drew up a compact on board the Mayflower in which it was agreed to form themselves.into a civil body politic for the purpose of government, and John Carver was elected governor. This little band of exiles landed on December 21, 1620, near a large bowlder, now called Plymouth Rock. The winter was unusually severe and the food unwholesome. Before spring one-half the
MOCCASIN TRACKS
number had died. Fortunately for this brave little band, Indians were few and not very hostile. Miles Standish, the doughty little captain, defended the colony from those who were disposed to be troublesome.
The Mayflower pilgrims were men and women who had known hardships and privation in their native land, and the hostile climate and the scarcity of food did not discourage them. Deeply imbued with a relig- ious feeling, they went to work with a will that pre- saged success.
"What sought they thus afar ? Bright jewels of the mine?
The wealth of seas, the spoils of war? They sought a faith's pure shrine. Ay, call it holy ground,
The soil where first they trod,
They left unstained what there they found, Freedom to worship God."
Massachusetts Bay Colony was settled at Salem, in 1628, by John Endicott, who was a Puritan of the strictest kind. He wished to establish a place of refuge for those of his own faith only.
By the year 1630 a great tide of emigration flowed into the Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay Colonies. John Winthrop, a wealthy Puritan, with a fleet of eleven vessels brought over a colony of seven hundred persons with horses, cattle and all other things neces- sary for the establishment of a colony in the wilderness. This colony was established on a peninsula called by the Indians Shawmut but the English called it Tri- mountain. This was afterwards called Boston. With-
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in the next ten years, twenty thousand emigrants came to New England. Among this number were men of wealth and education-"the very flower of the English Puritans."
For the first two years the colony was governed by a council called the Court of Assistants. In 1634 the towns sent representatives to the legislature, or General Court, which made the laws, and the right of suffrage was restricted to church members. In a few years the Puritans became as intolerant as the English Church had been toward them. Roger Williams, Mrs. Anne Hutchinson, and others were banished from the colony.
Education very early in the history of Massachusetts received the attention of the people. Provisions were made as early as 1635 for the establishment of a pub- lic school in Boston. A law was enacted in 1647 which provided instruction for every white child in the colony. The colony of Massachusetts laid the founda- tion for the free school system of the United States. The first college was established in 1636 and was named in honor of Rev. John Harvard.
An event occurred in 1643 that was destined to wield a decided influence on the political history of the United States. This was the union of Massachusetts Bay Colony, Plymouth Colony, Connecticut. and New Haven colonies for mutual defense against the Indians, the Dutch. and the French. This new England Con- federacy was maintained for nearly half a century, and was a presage of the union of the thirteen colonies against British aggression and tyranny which occurred about one hundred years after its dissolution. The colonies of Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay united
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in 1692 and formed the present State of Massachusetts.
Other New England Colonies.
The English government in 1623 granted to Sir Ferdinand Gorges and Captain John Mason a large tract of land between the Merrimac and Pisquatiqua rivers. This region was called Maine, or the Mainland. The first permanent settlement was made by English emigrants at Dover about 1627. The land was divided between the proprietors; Gorges took the country east of the Pisquatiqua which was organized as a separate government and admitted into the Union as the State of Maine in 1820.
Mason took that portion of the grant lying west of the Pisquatiqua which he called New Hampshire. Religious exiles from Massachusetts settled at Exeter in 1638 under the leadership of Rev. John Wheel- wright. Scotch Irish emigrants settled at Londonderry and introduced the manufacture of linen. Daniel Webster. the noted statesman and orator, was a descend- ent of one of these industrious Scotch settlers.
New Hampshire became subject to Massachusetts upon petition from the people of the first named col- ony because of its inability to protect the outposts from Indian depredations. The colony became a royal province in 1679 and remained so until the Revolution.
Both the Dutch and the English made an attempt to get possession of the Connecticut Valley. A number of settlements were made by emigrants from Massachusetts. Wethersfield and Windsor were founded by people from the vicinity of Boston in 1635. In the same year a
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