USA > West Virginia > Monongalia County > History of Monongalia County, West Virginia, from its first settlements to the present time; with numerous biographical and family sketches > Part 18
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4. Sandstone .- Thickness, four feet. For the most part very light gray, fine grained and compact. The light col- ored portions split readily into flags, which are good for furnace hearths.
4. Coal No. I. B .- Thickness, one foot eight inches. Four thin seams, separated by thin bands of shale.
5. Shales .- Thickness, about twenty-five feet. Brown colored and argillaceous and contains nodules of iron ore which are of little value.
6. Sandstone .- Thickness, from twenty-five to thirty feet. This is the Tionesta sandstone of Pennsylvania. Coarse, silicious, gray, passing from a conglomerate to a compara- tively fine sandstone. A thin seam of coal, three or four inches thick, was struck in this stratum.
7. Shales .- Thickness, fifteen feet.
8. Coal No. II .- Brookville coal, of H. D. Rogers. Thickness, rarely exceeding two feet. It is friable and well adapted to smiths' use. The coal is frequently of the irised or peacock variety.
9. Flaggy Sandstones and Shales .- Thickness, not far from thirty feet.
10. Coal No. III .- Clarion Coal, of Rogers. Thickness as given, three and one-half to four feet. Old miners say that the coal bears a strong resemblance to cannel. It disap- pears under the creek, about two miles below the furnace.
11. Shales .- Thickness between thirty and forty feet. The upper part contains nodules of iron ore. The lower 15
226
HISTORY OF MONONGALIA COUNTY.
portion burns with great ease, and has been mistaken for cannel coal.
12. Ferriferous Limestone .- Thickness, from four to five and one-half feet. Is blue, gray or yellow, of fine grain and very compact. Useful as a flux as well as a source of lime for ordinary building purposes. The top is frequently a cal- careous ore, which was worked at the neighboring furnace. The stratum is easily accessible for agricultural purposes.
13. Shales .- Thickness, five to ten feet; argillaceous.
14. Sandstone .- Thickness, five feet.
15. Shales .- Thickness, eight to ten feet. Argillaceous. of dark color and fine grain, and contains a seam of fine iron ore one foot thick.
16. Coal No. IV .- Kittanning Coal. Thickness, from four to five feet. This coal is in high repute as a smiths' coal. One mile above Morgantown it is seen in the river bed. Openings may be examined on Decker's Creek, Tibb's Run, Booth's and Aaron's Creek, and on Cheat River. It may, however, prove to be the Lower Freeport.
17. Shales .- Thickness, ten feet. Black, very bituminous, and likely to be mistaken for cannel.
18. Shales .- Thickness, fifteen feet.
19. Coal No. V .- Upper Freeport Coal. Thickness, fifteen inches. This vein is persistent.
20. Shales .- Thickness, twelve feet. Dark; fine grain.
21. Sandstone-Mahoning Sandstone .- Coarse grained, micaceous, quite compact. This important stratum as exposed at Morgantown and along Decker's Creek, fifty feet thick, affords most excellent building material. On Booth's Creek, four miles above Morgantown, it is about seventy- five feet thick, and weathering so as to show deep cavities, whence its local name, "Raven Rocks."
227
PHYSICAL HISTORY.
22. Shales .- Thickness, ten to fifteen feet, red or olive brown, includes iron ore about six inches thick.
23. Sandstone .- Thickness, ten to twenty feet.
24. Shales .- Thickness, twenty feet. Argillaceous, varie- gated with deposits of iron ore.
25. Limestone .- Thickness, five to six feet. Dark blue, fine grain, and furnishes cement of a fair quality.
26. Shales .- Thickness, forty feet. Argillaceous, varie- gated.
27. Limestone .- Thickness three and one-half to four feet, as disclosed in Mrs. Purinton's ravine, near Morgantown.
28. Shales .- This stratum is rather a small group of five sub-divisions over twenty feet thick, containing a three-inch vein of fire-clay.
29. Shales .- Thickness two to four feet. . Blue, gray or black, and a persistent stratum.
30. Sandstones .- Thickness, one to four feet ; dark colored.
31. Shales .- Thickness, ten feet. Gray to blue, with seam of iron ore six to twelve inches.
32. Sandstone .- Thickness, ten feet. Micaceous; iron ore.
33. Shales .- Thickness, ten feet; color, blue.
34. Shales .- Thickness, three and one-half feet; iron ore.
35. Coal No. VI .- Thickness two and one half to three feet ; is persistent, hard and brilliant. It sinks under the river near Granville. Openings, two hundred feet on Decker's Creek above the stream, and on the hill opposite the University.
36. Flaggy Sandstones .- Thickness, fifteen feet.
37. Conglomerate .- Curious stratum of fragments of lime- stone, sandstone and iron ore, in size from fine sand to that of a man's head. Thickness unknown.
38. Shale .- Thickness, ten feet. Argillaceous.
228
HISTORY OF MONONGALIA COUNTY.
39. Sandstone .- Thickness about forty feet. The lower portion affords a handsome and durable building stone, which was used in constructing the foundation and base- ment story of University Hall at Morgantown. It disap- pears under the river near the mouth of Scott's Run.
40. Shale .- Thickness, twelve to fifteen feet. Argillaceous.
41. Limestone .- Thickness, three feet. Ferruginous.
42. Shales .- Thickness, perhaps ten feet.
43. Limestone .- Thickness, eight feet. Three layers, separated by layers of shale. Lime is burned from it for building purposes.
44. Coal No. VII .- Thickness, eight to fifteen inches; . along the Scott's Run road near the river.
45. Sandstone .- Thickness, ten feet.
46. Coal No. VIII .- Thickness, from fifteen inches to two feet. It is best exposed a little above the mouth of Scott's Run, and nearly the whole outcrop is covered with copperas. . 47. Shales and Shaly Sandstone .- Thickness, from fifteen to eighteen feet.
48. Limestone .- Thickness, eighteen inches.
49. Sandstone and Shale .- Thickness, twenty-two feet, composed of five layers.
50. Limestone .- Thickness, eighteen inches.
51. Shales .- Thickness, four and one-half feet.
52. Limestone .- Thickness, three feet. Brownish yellow, compact, with irregular fracture, contains some mica. It is highly probable that this would yield hydraulic lime.
53. Shales .- Thickness, eight feet. Arenaceous.
54. Sandstone .- Thickness, twenty-five feet. It is gray, micaceous, and contains some feldspathic sand. The com- , pact portions, when struck with a hammer, yield a very fetid odor, whence the local name, "Polecat Rock."
229
PHYSICAL HISTORY.
55. Shale .- Thickness, three feet. Disintegrates rapidly on exposure.
56. Coal No. IX .- Thickness, one to two feet. Good quality.
57. Limestone .- Thickness, two to four feet. Black from admixture with carbonaceous matter. The compact por- tions burn into quick lime of good quaility.
58. Shale or Sandstone or both .- Thickness, fourteen feet. This stratum is subject to very considerable variation. The iron ore it contains is evidently the "Oliphant Blue Lump " of Pennsylvania. In Marion County, but twenty miles south, this ore is not visible.
UPPER COAL MEASURES .- 1. Coal No. X .- This is the most important bed on the line of section. It has long been identified with the Pittsburgh coal, which underlies an area of at least twenty-two thousand miles. This bed is usually double, the lower bed consisting of pure coal, and the upper of alternate layers of coal and shale. The beds are generally together, though sometimes distinctly separated. The double character is well displayed on Scott's Run, where the following section was obtained near Haigh's Mill :
1. Coal. 10 feet, 0 inches. 1 3. Coal. 1 foot, 3 inches.
2. Shale 1 " 5 " 5. Coal. 0 foot, 3 inches.
4. Shale 1 9
East of the Monongahela the coal as opened, about a mile east of Morgantown, differs in its character, for only the lower bed, No. 1 of the section, is present, with possibly a part of No. 2. I have been informed by the Hon. F. H. Pierpont that at Fairmont the upper bed is wanting.
The strata adjoining this coal offer an equally clear illus- tration of the rapid changes to be noted in carboniferous
1
230 HISTORY OF MONONGALIA COUNTY.
rocks. At Morgantown, as also at Fairmont, the bed is overlaid by a thin shale, on which rests a heavy stratum of sandstone, coarse grained, with feldspathic sand and some pebbles of quartz. Its stratification is irregular and the material is not compact, so that it frequently weathers into rounded holes. This is a valuable guide to one seeking the coal east of the river, and probably all along the line of strike from Morgantown to Fairmont, but it disappears somewhere between Morgantown and Scott's Run. It is impossible to trace this sandstone east of the river in the direction of dip, as between its outcrop and the river it has been stripped off by denudation, and the hills are too low to catch it.
This change both in the coal and the adjoining strata, has led some of our local geologists to doubt the identity of the seams east and west of the river. There is also a greater distance, by perhaps twenty-five feet, between No. 39 of the lower coal, and this coal west of the river, than between the same strata east of it. The angle of dip is somewhat in- creased west of the river. It is impossible to obtain two sections, one hunderd yards apart, which will be identical. There is, however, no coal west of the river that can be equivalent to that on the east, except it be the Pittsburgh, and the angle of dip would continue the latter until it made its connection with the former. East of the river there are no exposures of the superior limestones.
In localities where pyrites are abundant, exposure causes the formation of copperas, beautiful crystals of which may frequently be found in the shales. In some cases the heat produced during this chemical change may induce combus- tion. Just beyond Haigh's Mill the strata give such abundant evidence of having been at some time subjected
1
231
PHYSICAL HISTORY.
.
to the action of fire that the locality is known as " Burned Hill."
2. Sandstone .- Thickness, from nothing to thirty-five feet.
3. Shale .- Thickness, five to twelve feet.
4. Limestone .- Thickness, ten to twelve feet. This is the first of a series of limestone that attain an ernormous devel- opment. On Scott's Run the thickness is about ninety feet.
5. Coal No. XI .- Redstone Coal .- Thickness, between four and five feet. It is best exposed at Stumptown, where it may be seen in the bed of the run.
6. Limestone .- Thickness, eight feet. Two layers.
7. Limestone .- Thickness, fourteen feet. Irregular.
8. Sandstone .- Thickness, four to ten feet.
9. Limestone .- Thickness, seven to nine feet.
10. Shale .- Thickness, five to eight feet.
11. Coal No. XII .- Sewickley Coal .- Thickness, four feet eight inches to five and one-half feet. In some respects this is as important as the Pittsburgh coal. It is usually separated into two parts by a thin layer of splint coal. It is a good coal for smith's use, and would doubtless make good coke. Like the Redstone coal, this thins out toward the west. Openings numerous along Scott's Run.
12. Shale .- Thickness, from six inches to twenty feet.
13. Sandstone .- Thickness, eleven feet.
14. Shale .- Thickness, twelve feet.
15. Limestone with Shale .- Thickness, eight feet.
16. Sandstone and Arenaceous Shales .- Thickness, ten feet.
17. Limestone .- Thickness, seven feet.
18. Sandstone .- Thickness, fifteen feet.
19. Limestone .- Thickness, about six feet.
20. Shales .- Thickness, ten feet.
21. Sandstone .- Thickness, perhaps twenty-five feet.
232
HISTORY OF MONONGALIA COUNTY.
22. Limestones .- Thickness, not far from thirty feet.
23. Shales and Sandstone .- Thickness, about fifteen feet.
24. Shales .- Thickness, four feet.
25. Limestone .- Thickness, five feet. It contains numer- ous specks of calcspar, and probably would take a fine polish. In this case it would be a rather handsome marble.
26. Shales .- Thickness; about eight feet.
27. Sandstone .- Thickness, probably fifteen feet.
28. Coal No. XIII .- In respect to size this seam ranks second only to the Pittsburgh coal, and appears to attain much greater development along the line of our section than at any other point of which I am aware. If it be the Waynesburg coal, as is probably the case, its rapid increase in thickness is somewhat extraordinary. At the most easterly point where it is worked the section is as follows- ascending :
1. Coal, quite good. 4 feet 10 inches.
2. Bituminous shale. 0 8 66
3. Coal, full of iron pyrites 1 10 66
4. Shales 1 2 66 66
At Cassville No. 2 is known as the "eleven-foot vein," having increased to a thickness of upwards of ten feet. This seam sinks under the run about three-fourths of a mile beyond Cassville. At Tucker's opening the shale No. 2 frequently disappears and leaves full nine feet of coal. The coal is usually of very fair quality, though always contain- ing a large proportion of iron pyrites, which sometimes occurs in large nodules.
29. Sandstone .- Thickness, thirty to forty feet.
30. Shale .- No measurement. About ninety feet above Coal No. XIII. lies Coal No. XIV., a thin seam, one foot thick, struck by Mr. Lemley, about two miles south of a point on the run, two miles east of Cassville, at Ramp's
-
233
PHYSICAL HISTORY.
Hollow. Four miles beyond Cassville, on a small run, and perhaps two hundred and fifty feet, possibly more, above Coal No. XIII. lies Coal No. XV., about four feet thick. This seam is worked, but the coal is of poor quality. There are two strata of limestone, but are of inferior quality.
ECONOMICAL GEOLOGY.
Coal .- The section just given shows a thickness in work- able veins of forty-three feet, between Hagedorn's Mill and Cassville. The low coals have been little worked along Decker's Creek. They are, however, of very considerable value, three of them being of workable thickness, and so situated as to be opened with little expense, while one, the Brookville, is so pure that it may perhaps be used raw in smelting iron. The upper coals are of such magnitude and of such easy access, that they have all been worked to a greater or less extent. At all these points, along Scott's Run, the several seams can be opened so as to drain themselves, and the coal conveyed on a tramway to the river.
Several thousand acres of the Connellsville coking coal lie in Union District, extending from Pennsylvania across Cheat River by Stewarttown and towards the neigh- borhood of Easton. A test of the coke made from it at Fairchance Furnace is said to have revealed a fair quality.
The coals of West Virginia are divided into three great classes-Bituminous, Splint and Cannel. Bituminous veins in Monongalia have been analyzed, as follows :
Fixed Carbon.
Volatile
comb'le
matter.
Moist're
Ash.
Per ct.
sulphur in coal.
Per ct.
sulphur
in coke.l
. Redstone
54.36 37.88
.37
7.39
2.87
2.85
Sewickley
54.31 35.78
.44
9.47
3.10
2.78
Waynesburg
56.36 35.36
.74|
7.55
.70
.55
234
HISTORY OF MONONGALIA COUNTY.
Mr. C. E. Dwight, who made these, analyses, as given in the "Resources of West Virginia," says : "The color of the ash from the Redstone is dark gray, and the sulphur in the coal seems to be in combination with the lime or magnesia, not as sulphide of iron ; consequently it will not be injurious for iron-making. The coke is hard and bright. The ash from the Sewickley is gray and the sulphur seems to be in the same form as the last. The coke is medium hard. From the Waynesburg the ash is light buff, and the coke moder- ately hard." Mr. Dwight also gives the following analysis of the Pittsburgh seam from coal near Morgantown : "Thick- ness of seam, ten feet; coke, 60.98; volatile matter, 39.02; water, .38; ash, 6.20; sulphur in coal, 2.54; sulphur in coke, 2.19."
Cannel coal varies from zero to 52 feet. The oil distilled from this coal would play an important part to-day as an illuminating agent had not the cheaper petroleum taken its place. Prof. M. F. Maury, in "Resources of West Virginia," says of this coal that "in Monongalia County on Tibb's Run, Prof. Stevenson reports that 'the shale above it [Upper. Freeport Coal] for several feet, is very bituminous, with a conchoidal fracture, and is undoubtedly a cannel coal of inferior quality.'"
Monongalia County constitutes what is known as the Monongalia (Coal) Basin.
Iron .- Prof. Stevenson says : "Iron ore is plentifully distributed throughout the lower coal measures, and val- uable beds practically inexhaustible underlie the con- glomerate." Samples of nine distinct veins were gotten and sent to the Centennial International Exhibition at Philadelphia in 1876. Mr. C. E. Dwight's analysis of them is as follows :
-
235
PHYSICAL HISTORY.
CONTENTS.
Martin Seam, 18 in.
England Ore, 18 in.
Stratford Ore, 18 in.
Spring Hill Ore, 30 in.
Swisher Ore.
Haines Ore, 2 ft.
Scott Ore, 18 in.
Hastings Ore, 18 in.
Clippart Vein, 2 ft.
Carbonate of Iron.
61.01
69.61 31.19
59.69
49.81 51.67 62.60
Sesquioxide of Iron
3.44
1.79 11.89 70.49 18.76 57.71:23.80
7.55
2.54
Protoxide of Iron ...
0.71
1.22
Oxide of Manganese
0.01
trace tr'ce
1.07
1.41
3.34
2.43
0.23
0.02
Carbonate of Lime. do Magnesia
2.10
0.21
2.45
1.01
0.31
2.10
3.11
1.35
0.31
Silica ...
15.14
20.75 15.55 14.41
13.04 18.19
4.06 15.98 21.62
Alumina
4.48
1.23
2.12
2.10
0.31
2.10
1.48
1.25
3.21
Phosphoric Acid.
0.53
0.71
0.89
0.44
0.37
1.99
0.63
0.69
0.41
Sulphuric Acid.
0.37
0.30
0.42
0.32
0.49
0.74
0.54
0.82
0.22
Moisture
0.64
0.48
1.02
6.90
0.38
6.80
0.68
0.76
0.48
99.69 100.00
99.59
99.69
99.97
99.80
99.80
99.56
99.78
Metallic Iron
31.86
34.69 27.24 49.69
41.35
40.71
30.24
32.00
Phosphorus.
0.23
0.31
0.39|
0.19
0.16
0.87
0.27
0.30
0.18
Sulphur
0.15
0.12
0.17
0.13
0.20| 0.30| 0.22 0.33| 0.09
Lead .- There are traditions to the effect that the Indians worked a mine in the county, but it must be remembered that lead was an article of exchange among them. Prof. Stevenson says: "Though not by any means impossible, the existence of large quantities of galena in this county is not sufficiently attested to warrant belief." Prof. Maury says: "Nowhere within our borders is, or will this metal be, found in workable quantities."
Gold and Silver .- These precious metals have been anxiously sought after. Says Prof. Maury: "The geolog- ical structure of West Virginia does not in a single locality, north to south, or east to west, admit of their profitable presence."
Limestone .- Is abundant in the county, fit for coarse work and agricultural use. The following is an analysis of
11.95
4.91 26.05
2.28
5.22
5.60
13.25
19.26
8.37
41.94
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236 HISTORY OF MONONGALIA COUNTY.
Hydraulic Limestone, obtained near Morgantown, by Prof. W. B. Rogers: "Carbonate of lime, 52.04; carbonate of magnesia, 17.12; alumina and oxide of iron, 8.60; insoluble siliceous matter, 19.36; water and loss, 1.40."
Clays and Sands .- Brick-clay of fair quality is easily obtainable in all sections of the county. Fire-clay of a superior quality to the Mt. Savage, is found at Ice's Ferry, where it has been successfully worked. Near Morgantown, a bed four feet thick occurs, which was analysed as follows by Mr. Dwight : "Silica, 54.27; alumina, 33.83; oxide "of iron, 0.01 ; lime, trace ; magnesia, 0.02; potash and soda, trace; moisture, hydroscopic, 1.00; moisture combined, 10.86 ; organic matter, 0.15; total, 100.14."
Potter's clay results from the decomposition of granites and shales. This clay is found in the county, and worked at Thompson's pottery in Morgantown. Of glass-sands, Prof. Stevenson says : "Several layers of the more friable sandstones of the conglomerate are white enough for the manufacture of ordinary glassware."
Salt .- " In nearly every instance," says Prof. Stevenson, "where the conglomerate has been bored, brine has been obtained." These borings were made for oil, and no attention was paid to the salt brine, which, it is said, was strong and of good quality. Salt-works were erected on Scott's Run, and salt of an excellent quality was manufac- tured for a short time. The well is now chocked up.
Petroleum .- Again we quote from Stevenson: "Efforts have been made frequently to find oil, but not always with judgement. Those on the west side of the Monongahela had to sink six hundred and fifty or seven hundred feet before reaching the conglomerate. Oil was obtained in non-paying quantities from the wells on Decker's Creek and
237
PHYSICAL HISTORY.
Cheat River. There is no doubt that borings made in the gap of either Cheat River or Decker's Creek would be as likely to find oil as those made anywhere, for these are the lowest points in the county."
Building Stone .- In the hills above the conglomerate coal measures is a light buff and dove-colored sandstone fifteen feet thick, which "dresses well" and one day "will be a source of revenue to the county." Col. Merrill has said that "it could well bear the expense of transportation to New York."
PALÆONTOLOGY.
The Palæontology of the county remains a rich field yet for research. Prof. Stevenson in working his geological section had not the time to make a careful search for fossil remains. The species he obtained were from the extreme top and from the red shales of the Lower Carboniferous Limestone. These were forwarded to F. B. Meek, of Washington City, who made out the following list of Car- boniferous fossils :
A. LOWER CARBONIFEROUS (CHESTER GROUP) SPECIES- (obtained on Cheat River) .- 1. Monticulipora. 2. Crinoi- dal Columns. 3. Hemipronites Crassus. 4. Productus Fasciculatus. 5. Productus Pileiformis. 6. Athyris Sub- quadrata. 7. Spirifer Keokuck. 8. Pinna. 9. Modiola. 10. Allorisma Clavata. 11. Allorisma. 12. Macrocheilus. 13. Naticopsis. 14. Bellerophon. 15. Pleurotomaria. 16. Straparollus Planidorsotus. 17. Cyrtoceras. 18. Phillipsia Stevesoni.
B. LOWER COAL MEASURES SPECIES .- Forty-six species were obtained from Strata Nos. 20, 28 and 29 of the section made by Stevenson. From the Upper Coal Measure but one species was obtained, viz .: "Solenomya." No. 18 A.
238
HISTORY OF MONONGALIA COUNTY.
was a new species named in honor of Professor Stevenson ; also No. 27 B., "Yoldia Stevesonia," was named for him. No. 26 B., " Yoldia Carbonari," and No. 24," Nucula An- odontoides," with No. 31, "Macrodon Obsoletus," were new species discovered for the first time.
BOTANY.
Monongalia in her botanical wealth or plant-life will com- pare favorably with any of the northern counties of West Virginia. Her trees,* shrubs, medicinal plants, flowers and grasses make a very respectable list. In the unsettled por- tions of the county are heavy forests of large timber, chiefly oak, beech, maple, walnut and chestnut. Oak and chestnut are the most abundant. In 1876, it was estimated that $50,000 worth of timber in logs was floated down the Monongahela River from Monongalia and Harrison counties. The flowers or flora of the county seem to be divided into two sections: first, those peculiar to the streams and hills; and, second, those peculiar to the mountain sides. As yet, no collection has ever been made sufficient to warrant a complete classification.
ZOOLOGY, CLIMATE.
The Zoology of the county is an interesting field. The animals of Monongalia may be considered as of two classes -Wild and Domesticated. The wild animals extinct are the bison, panther, bear, wolf and elk, while those remaining are the wild cat, deer and fox in small numbers. In their
* Among the trees growing in Monongalia are the Ash (Fraxinus), Beech (Fagus Fermginea), Birch (Betula), Buckeye (Aesculus), Cedar (Juniperus Virginiana), Cherry, Wild (Prunus Serotina), Chestnut (Castania Vesca), Cucumber Tree (Magnolia Acuminate), Dogwood (Cornus Florida), Elm (Ulmus), Fir (Abies), Gum, Hemlock, Hickory (Carya), Locust, Linn, Sugar Maple, Oak (Quercus), [white, post, burr, chest- nut, black jack, spanish, red and black oak], Pine (Pinus), Poplar, Sassafras, Sycamore and Walnut.
239
PHYSICAL HISTORY.
place the white man has introduced the domestic animals of to-day. Of birds of prey, the eagle has gone, and the hawk and owl are lessening in numbers, while the deadly serpents, the rattle-snake and copperhead, are only to be found in the mountains. Birds of song and beauty are decreasing in numbers with the clearing of the forests.
The climate will be fully considered in the district chap- ters, and will be dismissed here with but the single remark that Monongalia has been noted for being a healthy section of country, to which every year during the heated term large numbers from the cities resort for rest, pleasure and health.
CHAPTER XVI.
AGRICULTURAL HISTORY.
-
Early Farming-Tools Used-Early Mills-"Old Monongahela Rye Whiskey "-Reaping, Cleaning and Threshing Grain-Thresh- ing Machines-Home-made Goods-Early Clothing -First Stores -Present Farming-Fertilizers-Improved Stock- County Fairs-Market Gardening-Fish Culture-Prices of Farm Products, 1821 to 1883-Statistical.
"Good farming consists in taking large crops from the soil, while at the same . time you leave it better than you found it."-Stockhardt.
THE PIONEERS who came into the county from 1766 to 1772, erected any kind of a pole- or log-cabin, near a good spring of water, in order to hold their 400 acres on a settlement- right. In the former year, a small number of settlers were in the present limits of the county, and emigrants from the East were slowly swelling their numbers. The first thing to be done by the settler, after choosing his location, was to clear a spot of ground on which to put up the cabin. Then another piece of ground would be cleared for a garden. This accomplished, a clearing for corn and flax was made. The underbrush was grubbed, and the larger timber mostly felled by the ax, some, however, being girdled and left for fire-wood. The trees felled were cut into logs and rolled into heaps, and fired. At first, when neighbors were few and far apart, this work was all done by the settler himself. But whenever possible, he would have a "log-rolling," and all the men within six or seven miles would come with the oxen and the horses and assist him to roll the logs and pile the brush into heaps ready to be burnt. After the "clear- ing" was burnt over and the field made ready, the principal
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