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Copyright, 1S97, by
N. E. JONES.

PREFACE.

It required long trains of complex circum
stances, and peculiar conditions for each, to gi-ye
to the world a Moses, an Alexander, a Napoleon,
a "Washington. Still greater were the pre-arrange-
ments and preparations for the development of
the coming man of the Nineteenth Century, that
he might stand pre-eminently upon the summit
of American manhood. The habitation selected
was the most elaborate and lovely of all the gifts
of nature : A domain dedicated to freedom for
ever, bountifully supplied with animals, vege
tables, and minerals ; with lakes, rivers, and
running brooks, grassy lawns and fields of flow
ers ; making a fitting place for the best blood left
of the American Revolution ; descendants of
Anglo-Saxon kings ; knights of Norman titles
and heroic deeds ; supporters of William the Con
queror, whose ancestral names appear in the
Doomsday Book, but more imperishably written
in the law of descent and transmission. "With
such the new environment brought forth an im-
(iii)

IV PREFACE.
proved species, christened by a sovereign state,
"T/te Squirrel Hunters of Ohio; or, Glim.pses of
Pioneer Life,'''' and to whom this volume is most
resi^ectfuUy dedicated. N. E. Jones, M. D.

INTRODUCTION.

As an actor and interested witness of the mar
velous changes Avliich have occurred in the settle
ment and civilization of the "North-west Terri
tory," the author places before the reader this
book, entitled, "T/ie Squirrel Hunters of Ohio ; or.
Glimpses of Pioneer Life . ' '
Others have faithfully recorded the -wars, blood
shed, victories, defeats, dangers and deaths it
cost to subjugate the savage and establish the
civilized. And it is as the gleaner follows the
reapers and gathers in the wayward straws, that
the author hopes to interest and entertain, by
picking up some of the fragments, that nothing
may be lost which contributed to the elevation,
pleasure, subsistence and safety of the pioneer,
or added attractiveness to his home during the
rise of the first state in the great empire of the
North-west. It is often the little things that become the most
important — things the immigrant in old age de
lights to recall — things that bring up associations (v)

VI INTRODUCTION.
and pleasures of former days — "the good old
times," when with dog and gun the pioneer
walked the unbroken forest and made himself fa
miliar with the alphabet of beasts, birds and
trees. At the close of the Revolution, the Eastern
States were old and prematurely gray, and
poverty, bankruptcy and starvation induced the
patriotic soldiers to accept pay for their services
in unsurveyed wild land in the "North-west Ter
ritory." The new acquisition was lauded as a
country flowing with equivalents to "milk and
honey," and would sustain a large population,
make delightful homes, and furnish an easily-ac
quired subsistence.
As soon as the Indian dangers were no longer
detrimental, the homeless poor, with guns, am
munition and land certificates, flocked in from
all quarters of the world, took possession of the
country, and became the progenitors of a great
and pre-eminent people — "TOc Squirrel Hunters of
Ohio.''

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

Chap. I. Ohio — Early Settlement, . . 1
II. Ohio — Educational, Social, and Po
litical, ... .51
III. Ohio — Peofessions: Medical, Minis
terial, AND Legal, . . . 107
IV. Ohio — Hek Beasts, Birds, and Trees :
Aids to Higher C'iviliz4tion, . 166
V. Ohio — Her Coach, Canal, and
Steamboat Era, . . . 267
VI. Ohio — Her R.vii.road and Tele
graph Era, . . . .310
(vii)

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

Frontispiece.Home of the Pioneer ... .7
This is Freedom ! . . . 9
The Gum Tree, . ... ... 12
Stray Pup, . ... ... 30
Gamer, . .  33
Our Cabin, 1821, . . . ... 37
Ground Hog Club — Certificate of Membership, . . 58
Ohio School-house from 179() to 1840, . 64
School-house of 1851 , in which President Garfield Taught, 92
The Olive Branch, . .  95
Hunter and Dog, . ... 118
Man of Special Providences, . ... 128
Church, Residence, and Court-house, . . . 131
Public School Building, Pickaway County, O., 1851, . 148
A Squirrel Hunter, . . . . 171
A Herd of Bison, . . . . . 174
Carap Red River Hunters,
Turkey River, Iowa, 1845,
Sequoia Park, ' . . . .
Conflict in Pre-emption Claims,
Chillicothe Elm, . . . .
Logan Elm,
Map — Lord Dunmore's Campaign,
Monument, Boggs Family,
Indian Raid, . 
Spinning Wheel,
Canal Era, 1825,
Log Cabin Luminary,  . 292
Ohio Stage Coach, .... 301
Prairie Schooner,  3Qg
New Passenger Car on the Toledo and Adrian R'y, 1837, 320
Pontoon Bridge over the Ohio River, . . . 337
Governor's Certificate of Honorable Membership, 343
The Squirrel Hunter's Discharge, ;344
Draft Wheel, .... . 349

176221235
250 252
253 2.36263264275 290

THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS OF OHIO;
OR,
GLIMPSES OF PIONEER LIFE.

CHAPTER I.
OHIO— EARLY SETTLEMENTS.

From the time the Mayflower landed at Fort
Harmar (Marietta) in 1788 until 1795, emigration
had not materially increased the population of the
North-west, o-wing to the unstable and dissatisfled
condition of the Indians.
All this time, the soldier, who had served his
time in the cause of independence and been hon
orably discharged without pay : — the poverty-
stricken patriot, unable to procure subsistence for
himself and family in the bankrupt colonies, had
been listening to accounts of a land "flowing with
milk and honey," and was anxious to get there.
It Avas described as a country "fertile as heart
could wish:" — "fair to look upon, and fragrant
with the thousand fresh odors of the woods in
early spring." The long cool aisles leading
away into mazes of vernal green where the swift
deer bounded by unmolested and as yet unscared (1)

2 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
by the sound of the woodman's ax or the sharp
ring of the rifle. "He could imagine the wooded
slopes and the tall grass of the plain jeweled with
strange and brilliant flowers;" but there the
redman had his field of corn, and would defend
his rights.
The success of General "Wayne in procuring
terms of peace with the warlike tribes of Indians
in the spring of 1795, caused such an influx of
emigration into the Ohio division of the North
west Territory, that in 1798 the population en
abled the election of an Assembly which met the
following year, and sent William Henry Harrison
as a delegate to Congress. So rapidly did the
country flll up with new settlements that the
prospective state at the beginning of the nine
teenth century was knocking at the door for ad
mission, with all the pathways crowded by pe
destrians — men, women, and children — dogs and
guns ; crossing the perilous mountains to reach a
country where a home was a matter of choice,
and subsistence furnished without money or
price. "Where all these lovers of freedom and free soil
came from, and how they got here, will ever re
main a mystery next in obscurity to that of the
Ancient Mound Builders. They brought with
them the peculiarities of every civilized nation,
and continued to come until Ohio became the
beaten road to western homes beyond. They
were God's homeless poor — the file of a success-

early SETTLEMENTS. 6
ful revolution — the founders of a republic. As
such they accepted pay and bounty in wild
lands — established homes of civilization, culti
vated the arts and sciences, and soon increased
in numbers, until they became a people powerful
in war and influential in peace.
Men and women, the chosen best, of the entire
world, by causes foreordained, were made the ex
ponents of the axioms contained in the charter
founding the great empire of freedom. They
were strangers to luxury — unknown to the cor
roding influences of avarice, and unfamiliar with
national vices. Their lives were surrounded with
happiness, and they lived to a good old age, en
joying the pleasures of large families of children
in a land of peace and plenty. These and their
descendants are the "Squirrel Hunters" of his
tory. Kentucky had received her baptism into the
Union in 1791, but afterward felt slighted and
dissatisfied, looking toward secession, if the five
proposed states, outlined by the act of 1787 as
the North-west Territory, should constitute an
independent confederacy. The opinion seemed
to exist to no small extent, that the North-west
was by necessity bound to become separated from
the Atlantic States ; and Kentucky was lending
her influence to this end. Josiah Espy, in his
"Tour in Ohio and Indiana in 1805," says : "In
traveling through this immense and beautiful
country, one idea, mingled with melancholy emo-

4 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
tions, almost continually presented itself to my
mind, which was this : that before many years
the people of that great tract of country would
separate themselves from the Atlantic States, and
establish an independent empire. The peculiar
situation of the country, and the nature of the
men, will gradually lead to this crisis ; but what
will be the proximate cause producing this great
effect is yet in the womb of time. Perhaps some
of us may live to see it. When the inhabitants
of that immense territory will themselves inde
pendent, force from the Atlantic States to re
strain them would be madness and folly. It can
not be prevented."
But the inhabitants of this immense territory
had a better and clearer vision of the mission of
this "vast empire;" it was to be the heart and
controlling center of a great nation of freemen.
And when Ohio, in 1803, entered the Union un
der the enabling act, binding the Government to
construct a national highway from Cumberland
to the Ohio river, and through the State of Ohio,
as a bond of union between the East and West,
no more was heard of secession until the rebel
lion of the sixties.
In 1821, a member of the "Virginia legislature
(Mr. Blackburn) , in discussing the question of
secession, claimed there ought to be an eleventh
commandment, and taking a political view of it,
said it should be in these words: "Thou shalt
not, nor shall thy wife, thy son or thy daughter,

early settlements. 5
thy man-servant or thy maid-servant, the stranger
or sojourner within thy gates, dare in any wise
to mention or hint at dissolution of the Union."
Mr. Blackburn did not live to see it, but the
words of the commandment came sealed in blood
and "were graven with an iron pen and lead in
the rock forever."
Many persons at the very dawn of indepen
dence felt the weakness of a union of such con
flicting sentiments and interests as those of free
dom and slavery, and were free in the expression
that either slavery or freedom must rule and con
trol the destinies of the nation — that the two
could not, nor would not, co-operate peaceably in
the same field.
Francis A. Walker, in "Making of the Nation,"
says: "No one can rightly read the history of
the United States who does not recognize the
prodigious influence exerted in the direction of
unreserving nationality by the growth of great
communities beyond the mountains and their
successive admission as states of the Union."
And the author apprehends "great danger" from
the aversion of Western people to "measures pro
posed in the interests of flnancial integrity, com
mercial credit and national honor. 'Having a
predilection for loose laws regarding bankrupt
cies and cheap money has been a constant men
ace and a frequent cause of mischief.' This,
however, we may regard as due to the stage of
settlement and civilization reached."

6 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
No one, if he reads at all, can read otherwise
titan the "prodigious influence" of the Western
States. To these the nation owes its freedom.
Through this prodigious influence, slaves and
slavery have been wiped out, national finance es
tablished with enlarged commercial credit, integ
rity and national honor. And if the history of
the United States is correctly read, the country
need fear no danger from any stage in the settle
ment and civilization of the North-west. The
early pioneers of this lovely country brought -^vith
them from the South and East large stocks of
j)atriotism perfumed with the firearms of a suc
cessful revolution ; and it was prized more highly
as it was chiefly all they had in a home where
poverty was no disgrace, and a "poor-house" un
known in nature's great empire. Their descend
ants inherited much, and increased their talents,
and have under all circumstances been ready to
render a favorable account and go up higher.
The residence of the immigrant was exceed
ingly primitive ; still, it could not be said the log
cabin of the pioneer made a cheerless home, by
any means. Man retains too much of the un-
evolutionized not to find and enjoy the most
pleasure in things nearest the heart of nature.
Many pointers and pen pictures originating in
these humble domiciles exist in e-s-idence of the
pleasure and satisfaction enjoyed l\y the earlv in
habitants, regardless of apparent privations,
previous conditions or existing numbers.

early SETTLEMENTS. /
Late in the fall of 1798 a revolutionary soldier
wrote on the fiy-leaf of his Bible that the "North
west Territory" made a delightful home, saying :
"My, footsteps always gladly hasten homeward;
and when I pull the string and open the door,
the delicious odor of roasting game and corn-
bread meets -with smiles of hungry approbation.
And Avith kisses for the children and blessings

Home of the Pioneer.
for a good wife, who could ask for more or a bet
ter home."
Another in 1799 — "We often talk of fathers
and mothers, brothers and sisters and friends left
behind, and "wish them here. And as the holi
days draw near we send them our wishes and
prayers, for it is all we can do. There is no mail
or carrier pigeon to cross the wilderness that
takes any thing else."
The pioneer believed in the declaration of the

8 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
Ordinance of 1787, that "Religion, Morality, and
Knowledge" were necessary to good government
and happiness of mankind. Thanksgiving and
Christmas were days of universal observation.
The Star of Bethlehem was the Star of Eni-
pire, and rested as brightly over the North-west
Territory as when shining on the little town in
Judea. During the first few years of pioneer life, new
and interesting as it must have been, few per
sons, comparatively, kept a diary of social life
and times ; and of such accounts fewer still re
main to the present. Yet the number is suffi
cient to show corroborating testimony or agree
ment Avith the following in substance taken from
a family history of a father and mother who,
with three small children, a dog and gun, and
all their worldly goods, crossed the mountains on
foot, by following the Indian trail — -reaching the
Ohio river, floated to the mouth of the Scioto on
a temporary raft, and from the confluence pushed
up its winding course over fifty miles in a "dug
out" to the "High Bank Prairie," near where
Chillicothe now stands — making the trip from
Eastern Pennsylvania in sixty-three days ; arriv
ing at the place of destination April 25, 1798 —
a day of thanksgiving ever after.
The first Christmas seen or enjoyed in the new
home of this family would in the present era be
considered out of date, but doubtless at the time

EARLY SETTLEMENTS. 9
was the duplicate of hundreds of others. The
day, before the event, was set aside for procur
ing extra supplies from nature's store-house, re
gardless of any signal service. A coon-skin cap
and gloves — deer-skin breeches and leggins, and
a wolf-skin "huuting shirt" made the weather
right at all times with the hunter.

^r

'^

•'V

" Ay, this is freedom ! — these pure skies
Were never stained with village smoke :
The fragrant wind that through them flies,
As breathed from wastes by plough unbroke.
" Here with myrtle and my steed,
And her who left the world for me,
I plant me where the red deer feed
In the green desert — and am free."
Early in the morning on the 24th of Decem'-
ber, 1798, this pioneer started out with dog and
gun in pursuit of Christmas supplies. It was
no small game day — a deer, moose, bear, or wild

10 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
turkey must adorn the bill of fare for the Christ
mas dinner.
Before the sun had reached the meridian mark
in the door-way, he returned loaded down with
three turkeys and two grouse. The country
made such a favorable impression, as soon as
time and chance offered an opportunity, the hus
band sent a letter to a friend at Redstone, Penn.,
who had never seen Ohio, in which he recalls
this hunt and the first Christmas he enjoyed in
this lovely country, and which is here given in
his own language :
"After dressing the game and making a pres
ent of a turkey and two grouse to a widow and
two children across the river, I told Grace (my
wife) that the man who got injured by the falling
tree must have a turkey, and with her approba
tion I shouldered a dressed gobbler and delivered
the kind remembrances of my wife to the unfor
tunate . ' '
" When I returned, it was quite dark, but my
mind was ill at ease, and I told Grace I thought
we had better take the other turkey down to
Rev. Dixon as he hunted but seldom, and a bird
of the kind would appear quite becoming, in the
presence of a large family of small children at a
Christmas dinner. These suggestions met with
hearty approval, and I started off to walk a half
mile or more with a great dressed gobbler in one
hand, a gun in the other, and dog in front.
"On arrival I found the latch-string drawn in,

EARLY SETTLEMENTS. 11
but a knock on the door soon caused an opening
large enough to admit the procession. The pre
sentation was made with an Irish speech, dilat
ing and describing the virtues of the deceased ;
and wishing the minister, his Quaker Mission and
his family a merry Christmas, I turned my steps
homewards." "On my return, Grace wished to know what I
expected for our own dinner ; — reminding me of
the guests, — Samuel Wilkins and Benjamin
James, who were looked for by invitation, I told
her I had been thinking while on the way home
from Mr. Dixon's, that Dr. Hamberger and wife
up at the ferry were nice folks, and the Dr. had
been pretty busy in his 'clearing' lately, and that
Jack and I would go, early in the morning, up
to the beech bottom, and get a turkey for the
Doctor, and one for us — I said ' Won't ive Jack'' —
and Jack's assent was at once made known by
the wag of his tail."
"Christmas morning, before the breakfast hour.
Jack and I returned with two gobblers, and
throwing them down at the cabin door I ex
claimed 'they are heavy.' As I did so 'a merry
Christmas'' from Grace rang out on the bare and
frosty forest for the first time ever heard in that
vicinity. 'Oh! the poor birds' (said Grace),
'how nicely bronzed they are — who is it that
paints those iridescent colors? I never saw a
happier pair than you and Jack make.' I re
plied, 'they are beautiful birds, but if I'd had

12 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
my wits about me, I could have shown the best
woman west of the Alleghanies the nicest fat
fawn - she ever looked at. But I was hunting
for turkeys, and did not see it quite soon enough,
and let it go without a shot. Never mind,' I
said, 'I'll be there in a day or two' — and I was."
The hunter states that he dressed the game,

left a turkey in the doctor's cabin, and then as
sisted Grace in placing a twenty pound bird on a
wooden spit to roast for dinner.
Before noon the invited guests came and after
pleasantly reviewing army scenes and political,
social and literary prospects of the people com
ing to the unbroken wilderness of the North
west, dinner was announced from the kitchen

EARLY SETTLEMENTS. 13
dining-room and parlor ; and a more intellectual
and jolly company has probably not assembled at
a Christmas dinner since 1798. The guests had
filled important positions in the general govern
ment, and were both natives of New York ; while
the host was from Dublin, and hostess an Eng
lish lady, a former resident of London — all edu
cated people, and knew how to entertain and
partake of social and mental enjoyments.
The good pioneer became schooled to a quiet,
but heroic submission to the unavoidable ; and
in this virtue Grace was recognized a model
throughout the settlement. Still she manifested
the greatest sorrow one could well express in the
loss of the souvenir she had so carefully preserved
and protected from damage during the long and
perilous journey to Ohio. A large English Bible,
printed in the infancy of the art, containing the
family coat of arms and record for over four hun
dred years, with a chart of unbroken line of de
scent for near one thousand years. All was lost
in the burning of their cabin in 1812.
The pioneer and his good wife lived to enjoy
with these three children and grandchildren,
forty-six returns of the Star of Bethlehem, near
where the first Christmas day was seen in Ohio ;
and the writer has often heard the aged couple
recite with feelings of delightful remembrance
the first Christmas in Ohio as the dearest and most
enchanting of all others.
-A country by nature so lovely exerted no little

14 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
influence on the civilization and character of its
early, but mixed inhabitants. They all were, or
soon became, genial, warm-hearted, kind, neigh
borly and obliging, in a sense unknown to phases
of civilization connected with affluent circum
stances. They generally settled at short distances
from each other, to better enable them to render
mutual assistance, and also protection in times
of danger. Much of the labor necessary to open
up a new country of this character could not be
performed "weak-handed" as "rolling logs,"
building cabins, opening roads, etc. ; and when
a new arrival appeared in the settlement and an
nounced his desire to remain, all the neighborhood
would cheerfully turn out, and Avith shovels, axes
and augurs assemble at some designated spot in
the forest, and work from day to day until a
domicile was completed. Although entirely gra
tuitous, the construction of these log-houses was
a business of experience. First, trees were cut
down sufficiently to make an opening for sunlight,
and site to place the cabin ; then logs of deter
mined diameter and length were cut and placed
in position, one above another, and by notching
the corners in a manner calculated to make them
lie closely together, the whole became very sub
stantial and binding. Cross-logs made sleepers
and joists, and similar logs of different lengths
formed the gables, and which wei'o held together
by supports for the roof in a way truly primitive
and ingenious. It was covered with clap-boards

EARLY SETTLEMENTS. 15
four or five feet long, split from oak timber,
placing them in the usual Avay to turn rain,
and securing their position by a sufficient num
ber of heavy poles or split pieces of timber reach
ing the length of the roof at right angles to the
boards. The weight pole at the eaves was made
stationery by the projecting ends of the top logs
at the corners of the building, and the others Avere
prevented from rolling down and off the building
by intervening blocks of Avood placed parallel
Avith the clap-boards, one end resting against the
pole at the eaves and the other end acting as a
stop to the pole next above ; and so on to the
comb of the roof. The floor, if not of earth, Avas
made of puncheons or long clap-boards. The
door Avas constructed of heavy pieces of split
timber, joined to the cross-sections, or battens
AvithAvooclen pins. One end of the lower and up
per battens AA^as made to project far enough beyond
the side of the door, and large enough to admit an
auger hole of an inch and a half to form part of
the hinge for the door. The battens and hinges
Avere placed on the inside, also the latch, tOAvhich
a strong string was attached, and passed through
a small hole a short distance above, terminating
on the outside. By pulling the string the latch
Avas raised and the door opened by persons AA'ith-
out. At night, the string was pulled in, which
made a very secure and convenient fastening, in
connection with the tAVO great wooden pins that
projected on the line of the top of the door to

K; THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
prevent it from being raised off the hinges when
closed. It is quite probable, as has often been
suggested, this primitive latch and lock combina
tion gave rise to the saying "you will find the
latch-string ahvays out."
There Avere no AvindoAvs ; but, if one was at
tempted, it consisted of a small opening Asdthout
frame, sash, or glass, and AA^as covered with a
piece of an old garment or greased paper. The
chimney formed the most important, as well as
singular, part of the structure. It Avas built
upon the outside, and joined to the cabin some
five or six feet in height at the base, and then
contracted, forming a stem detached from the
building and terminating short of its height.
The materials used in its construction consisted
of sticks and mud, and when completed resem
bled somewhat in shape an immense bay window,
or an overgrown parasite. The logs of the build
ing Avere cut away at the chimney so as to giA'e a
great opening into this mud pen for a fireplace,
and which sometimes had a back-Avall made of
clay, shale, or stone. The crevices betAveen the
logs were filled with small pieces of split wood
and clay mortar, both on the inside and outside.
Numerous augur holes Avere bored in the logs,
and pins driven in to hang articles of apparel
and cooking utensils on. Tavo pins in particular
Avere ahvays so arranged as to receive the gun,
and perhaps under which might be seen a pair

EARLY SETTLEMENTS. 17
of deer antlers to honor the poAvder-horn and
bullet pouch.
To erect a rude cabin of this kind Avould fre
quently occupy all the persons in a neighborhood
three or four days ; and, when finished, made a
very humble appearance in the midst of the nat
ural grandeur of its surroundings. Even after
the occupants Avere domiciliated, the addition of
their worldly goods added but little to the unos
tentatious show of comfort. In the absence of
facilities for transportation, the pioneer was
obliged to leave most CA^ery thing behind ; or,
Avorse perhaps, had nothing but family, dog, and
gun to bring with him ; so the furniture of his
new home consisted of a bedstead made of poles —
a table from a split log ; — a chair in the shape
of a three-legged stool ; — a bench, and a short
shelf or two. The utensils for cooking were
quite as limited and simple, and corresponded in
usefulness and decoration most admirably with
tlie furniture ; generally consisting of a kettle,
"skillet," stew-pan, a few pcAvter dishes, and
gourds. These Avith an occasional souvenir, or
simple article that could be easily carried from
the "Old Home," made up the invoice of the in
side of the cabin of the pioneer.
Notwithstanding the apparent scanty comforts
in the house, they were more imaginary than
real. It required but little exertion to keep the
larder supplied Avith the choicest beasts, birds,
9

18 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
and fish, which with hominy, or, still better, the
corn dodger, shortened Avith turkey fat or bear's
oil, and baked in the ashes — or that climax, the
"johnny-cake" Avell browned and piping hot on
the board in front of a grand open fire — consti
tuted a substantial diet that might be envied by
those of the present day. In addition to these,
there Avas no lack of pumpkins, potatoes, turnips,
beans, berries,* honey, and maple sugar, and the
early settler had little reason to sigh for the deli
cacies of a more advanced civilization.
Sugar making was an attractive calling and
one of the pioneers' money-making industries,
although sugar groves were scattered over the
entire state. The trees, by nature, AA-ere grega
rious, growing in clusters from hundreds to thou
sands so thickly set over the ground that few if
any other varieties could find room to maintain
a standing. There are a fcAA^ of the older crop
of sugar trees still remaining ; but the great
' ' camps ' ' that furnished SAveets in abundance
haA^e, Avith other varieties of timber, fallen at-C-
tims to the Avoodman's ax.
It has been suggested that the j^early " tapping "
might injure the groAvth and shorten the lon
gevity of the trees ; but both experiment and
observation tend to sustain the opposite opinion.
A tree that has been under the notice of the AA'riter

-¦" Native fruit: cranberries, huckleberries, blackberries, rasp
berries, service berries, paw-paws (custard apples), persim
mons, plums, grapes, cherries, haws, crab apples.

EARLY SETTLEMENTS. 19
for more than seventy years, and has been tapped
in three to four places every year for the period
named, is still a beautiful, healthy, groAving tree.
It may be corcret, that "it takes more than
one SAvallow to make a summer ; ' ' but the evi
dence shoAvn in the wood made into lumber after
many years "tapping" for "sugar water" (not sap) ,
is not significant of injury or decay. The cut
made by the auger is soon closed over, Avhich, no
doubt, Avould be different if the sugar Avas ob
tained from "the sap" or Avood-producing fluid.
The fluid AA'hich contains the sugar is no nearer
the "sap" (or blood of the tree) than is the milk,
or other cellular secretion of a gland, near or
identical Avith the blood or life sustaining and
constructive element of animal existence.
A pioneer who OAvned a small cluster of sugar
trees made his own sugar and some to spare,
while those working camps of several thousand
trees made it a "profitable calling and supplied
others at reasonable rates of exchange," so no
one had occasion to stint or reason to complain.
It required some labor and expense to equip a
camp for making sugar ; but once furnished, the
material lasted many years. During the time
unoccupied, the furnace and kettles under the
shed would be surrounded Avith a temporary
fence — the sugar-troughs, spiles, sled, water-
barrel, funnel-buckets, etc., at the ending of the
sugar season would be safely housed to remain
until the next year. As soon as the icy earth

20 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
began giving Avay to mild sunshining days in the
latter part of winter, it was considered by the
"sugar-maker" as the announcement of the near
approach of "sugar weather.''' At such times, on
like indications, the "sugar-troughs" would be
taken from the place of deposit and distributed
to the trees ; the better ones getting the larger
troughs. The water-barrel underwent inspec
tion — the funnel refitted — sled repaired — the
pile of dry wood increased — store-room or annex
renovated — tubs and buckets soaked — shortage
of "spiles" and "sugar-trorighs" made good —
furnace and kettles cleaned, and every thing
made ready for the Avork.
After this, the first clear frosty morning AAdth
the prospect of a thawing day, a man would be
seen Avith an auger passing rapidly from tree to
tree, closely followed by another, Avith a basket
and hatchet, Avho "drove the spiles" and set the
troughs as fast as the one Avitli the auger made
the holes.
It would have astonished a Havemeyer * to Avit-
ness the rapidity Avith Avliich the "tapping" was
accomplished. In a fcAV moments tlie surround
ing forest seemed sparkling Avith the beauties of
the rainboAV, and echoing the music of falling

-® Mr. Havemeyer is the autocrat of the Sugar Trust of
America after the fashion of Mr. Arbuckle, the Coffee Baron.
Under the chairmanship of a committee the New York legis
lature, Senator Luxow investigateil the Sugar Trust and found
Mr. Havemeyer controlled four-fifths of the entire output of
sugar in America.

EARLY SETTLEMENTS. 21
waters, each tree dripping, dripping Avith a
rapidity suggestive of a race and Avager held by
Nature for the one that first filled the assigned
trough with sparkling gems.
A "run" of sugar-Avater Avas not dependent
upon a special act of Congress, nor Avas the pro
duct a subject for public revenue. It Avas limited,
hoAvever, to frosty nights and Avarmer days ; and
when a number of consecutive days and nights
remained above or below freezing, the "sugar-
water'^ would cease to flow, often making it
necessary to remove the "spiles''' and freshen the
auger-hole at the next run to insure the natural
ability of the tree.
Sugar manufactured in those days Avas made
from the black maple or sugar tree. This tree
Avas very productive — in an ordinary season
would run ten or twelve gallons each in tAventy-
four hours, and during the season average enough
for ten to flfteen pounds of sugar — the better
trees have been knoAvn to produce over fifty
pounds each in an ordinary season. This, how
ever, was before Congress suspected a trust and
combine would be a good thing for the common
people or got up the Luxoav investigation and
whitewash of the sugar business by New York.
The sugar maker knows quite Avell the kind of
days he could obtain a run of "sugar- Avater,"
and for that purpose one or more holes Avere
bored into the tree three to five inches deep, and

22 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
"spiles" driven in to conduct the fluid into the
sugar-trough. The "spiles" that conducted the Avater from
the tree to the trough Avere made from sections
of elder or sumac, eight or ten inches in length,
shaved doAvn to the pith from three inches of one
end, Avhich formed the shoulder, made tapering to
close the auger hole of the usual size, three-
fourths of an inch. The pith in the shoulder
and body of the spile was removed so as to form
a channel for the sugar-AA^ater to escape. The
sugar-trough AA'as a short trough Iavo to four feet
long made of some light Avood, as the AA'hite wal
nut, and were carefully charred on the inside or
concavity to prevent the injury of the delicate
flaA'or of the sugar. Many persons, familiar
Avith higher mathematics and languages named
in the curriculum of Yale or Harvard, as well as
AVords and phrases used in athletic games, and
manly arts of self-defense, Avould be turned doAvn
if asked to describe or name the uses of many,
very simple things to an Ohio "squirrel hunter"
of three score and ten years.
No doubt there are many more persons that
have seen and felt the great Congressional Sugar
Trust and Combine than are noAv living Avho have
seen the headquarters of one of those primitiA'e
"sugar camps," Avith its roAV of kettles placed over
a furnace — under an open shed — parallel Avith
and near the kettles under this shed, a reservoir
made from a section of a large tulip tree, to hold

EARLY SETTLEMENTS. 23
the excess of gathered water during the day for
night boiling — the sled and mounted barrel Avitli
a sugar-trough funnel — the annex near the fur
nace to obtain light and heat, with other prim
itive articles or things connected Avith and used
in the manufacture of sugar.
The annex or temporary residence of those
running the camp was generally a strong Avell-
built cabin with one door, but no window. The
door occasionally shoAved a want of confidence
by being ornamented AA'ith a heavy padlock and
chain. This little building entertained many a
jolly crowd. It was the manufacturer's office,
storeroom, parlor, bedroom and restaurant. It
Avas ahvays a pleasant place to spend an evening,
and, still more, a delightfully-sweet place on "stir-
ring-off' ' days — to Avatch the golden bubbles burst
in air and with noisy efforts rising to escape,
driven back by their master with the enchant
ment of a fat-meat pill and made to dance to
the tune of Yankee Doodle Dandy ; for then
was the time to dip and cool the wooden "paddle,"
and taste again and again the charming sweet
ness of maple sugar in its native purity.
But in less than a century sugar-trees, sugar-
troughs, and pioneer sugar making have been
classed with things of the past, scarcely known
by the many, and remembered but by a few ;
and shows how soon time makes abandoned
words and many simple expressions of facts
obsolete and unknown. When it is said, "In

24 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
infancy he was rocked in a sugar-trough," the
language to many is as figurative, hypothetical
or meaningless as the "lullaby upon the tree
tops." The younger generations never saw the
pioneer cradle, and Noah Webster did not get
far enough West to incorporate the Avord in his
"Revised Dictionary."
The ordinary use of sugar-troughs Avas to catch
and hold the sweet Avater as it dripped from the
"spile" placed in the sugar-tree. But under
certain circumstances good specimens were de
voted to other purposes, and not a few eminent
laAvyers, doctors, statesmen and divines have
proudly referred to their cradling days as those
having been Avell spent in the pioneer environ
ment of a "sugar-trough."
The sugar made from trees was graduallj'
su23erseded by cane and beet productions ; and
the supply has ahvaA's remained equal to the
demand at moderate prices ; and not until 1887
did the country discover the necessity of a
"Sugar Trust" to control and regulate the trade
of the United States. This combine started
AA'ith a capital of seven million dollars, capital
ized at fifty millions, and again Avas Avatered up
to seventy-five millions. This trust controlled
four-fifths to ninety-eiglit per cent of all the
refined sugar in the United States.
The president of tliis trust lias been receiA-ino-
an annual salary of one hundred thousand dol
lars and the secretary seventA'-fivc thousand.

EARLY SETTLEMENTS. 25
The stockholders have absorbed as dividends
nearly four hundred million dollars in the eleven
years of its existence, while thousands of its
employes obtain but six dollars a week, working
twelve hours each day in rooms at a temperature
not much beloAV two hundred degrees. The scales
of justice are not often evenly balanced in trust
monopolies that yield a net income of five hun
dred per cent profit on the capital invested.
The pioneer, however, had no use for "com
bines" to keep him poor, for like many facts not
admitted or recognized at the time, good subsist
ence was so easily obtained from nature that it
frequently contributed much toward creating an
indifference for labor, which remained through
life and kept the man of destiny no better off
than Avhen he arrived at his new home. It was
no easy task to clear the land and prepare the
soil for agricultural purposes. As a rule the
timber was large and thickly set upon the
ground ; usually the best soil was covered with
the greatest trees, and the labor required for their
removal Avas not inviting to those who could
subsist well Avithout it. The white oak, burr
oak, black oak, black Avalnut, sycamore, poplar,
and other varieties, had for centuries been add
ing size and strength to their immense pro
portions. These giants, and the smaller timber
and undergroAvth, required great energy, per
severance and protracted labor to remove and
8

26 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
clear the ground ready for a crop. The usual
plan for their removal was by "girdling," or
cutting a circle around the trunk of each suffi
ciently deep to kill the tree, and then to burn by
piece-meals as the branches and trunks came
down by reason of time and decay. Conse
quently the patch of sunshine around these
primitive homes, as a rule, did not enlarge very
rapidly, and the pioneer too often became a man
of procrastination and promise ; and for all the
time he had (the present) preferred the dog and
gun to the maul and wedge as a means of sub
sistence. Some, however, opened up small fields
and farms by disposing of the timber in this slow
way. In the meantime, while the process of
decay was going on, grain and vegetables were
grown in the openings among the dead timber.
The crops were generally divided pretty equally
betAveen the wild animals and the landlord. This
loss, however, was of no great importance as
there was no money, market, or mill ; nor
domestic animals to take a surplus. At a later
day, and after the introduction of "movable
mills," * there still existed no market for the pro
ducts of the soil, and to groAV enough for food
seemed all that could be required of the most
'' Mills erected on two boats, separated at an angle, with
water wheel near the bow. The natural current of the stream
passing between the boats turned the wheel that moved the
machinery of the mill, which would grind twenty to forty
bushels of corn in twenty-four hours, according to the current
of the stream.

EARLA' SETTLEMENTS. 27
ambitious pioneer ; and if at any time the re
turns exceeded the estimates and insured a sur
plus, such overabundance seldom Avent to AA'aste,
as there were always enough who yearly came
short in this respect, and AA'ere ready to share
Avith the more prosperous neighbor.
The time and labor expended upon clearing
the ground and raising grain met Avith little or
no reward. The products could not be sold nor
exchanged for necessaries of life. Consequently
the forests remained quite undisturbed for many
years and agriculture neglected, excepting for the
necessary consumption of the family. The early
settler, however, Avas not all the time free from
discouragements. His domestic animals fre
quently became lost, or destroyed by ravenous
beasts ; and diseases of the country occasionally
Avere protracted ; and to the Avife and children, he
sometimes felt, it Avas not so much a paradise.
But he came to stay, and this, for better or for
Avorse, Avas his home, and submitted philosoph
ically to circumstances and events he could not
control. The Avife and mother endured Avith patience
and heroism all privations and afflictions equally
with the husband and father, and performed the
arduous household duties ; and, like the model
woman of old, "sought avooI and flax and AVorked
willingly Avith her hands," and the Avhirring
spinning-wheel and thudding loom Avere heard in
most every houseliold. The Avelfare of the fam-

28 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
ily depended upon the success of home industries,
and consequently the wife had much less leisure
than the husband. She superintended the manu
facture of all the fabrics for the house and for
the clothing of the family, and cut and made up
the same without protection, tariff, rebate, or
combine. And it is singular so little has been
recorded of the good women who unlocked the
resources of the new territory and gave their aid
in founding a civilization that has surpassed all
precedents in the history of nations.
Natives of every country and of every grade of
intelligence in the new en-vironment became alike
distinguished for liberality and hospitality — ever
desirous to forget the past, willing to admit the
future, and ready to enjoy the present, the life of
the pioneer was seldom darkened or overburdened
with toil or care, and had times of good cheer,
and Avas not without his social amusements. The
violin and Monongahela AvMsky found way to
the settlements and Avere accepted by many,
young and old ; and thc dance after a quilting,
shooting-match, fox-chase, bear-hunt, log-rolling,
or house-raising gave all the pleasure and excite
ment desired.
As the population became more numerous,
leisure and the desire for amusements increased ;
and among the many Avays devised to entertain
and interest, no one, perhaps, ever received more
attention, higher cultivation, and obtained more
general favor than the chase. Most descendants

EARLY SETTLEMENTS. 29
of Virginia, however destitute in other respect,
had their packs of "hounds," and the good people
and the better, the poor and the poorer, some on
horse and some on foot, mingled alike in the ex
citing sport.
The pedigrees, qualities, and performances of
"lead dogs" of different owners Avere knoAvn over
the country, and their comparative merits Avere
frequently subjects that called forth the AA'armest
discussions, the disputants generally ending the
controversy Avith knock-down arguments on both
sides. The OAvners of the dogs ahvays manifested
great pride and satisfaction in public praises and
good Avill toward their animals, and no offense
received a greater condemnation than the theft or
injury of one of tliese "noblemen's pets."
Whenever a "pack" failed in having a good
"leader" and "poked," they lost their reputation
at once and forever. And many trips were made
on horseback through the wilderness over the
mountains to Soutli Branch, or other points in
Virginia, on pretext of other business, Avhen the
real purpose proved to be "fresh blood," or per
haps a pack of dogs that could take the front.
They Avere brouglit through on foot, chained one
behind another in double file, Avith a chain be
tween, and horse in front, resembling the trans
portation of surplus of the "divine" institution
in the days of John Brown. Ncav importations,
however, did not often give satisfaction. As a
rule, the dogs of the finest scent and greatest

30 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
endurance and speed were bred in Ohio. Such
AA^ere McNeal's "Nick," Jordan's "Sam," Ander
son's "Magnet," Renick's "Pluto the Swift,"
McDowell's "Yelp," Colonel Vause's "Clynch,"
and a host of others that never saw a "bench-
shoAV, ' ' but Avere awarded the highest praises by
men who filled their places as well in the chase, as
many of them did, important public positions in
after life. And in the Avritten history of these
notable contests for superiority is the circum
stance, if not the day, when Colonel Vause's
little blue hound, his lead dog, "Clynch," out-
Avinded and distanced all the other "packs" as
well as his OAvn companions, and pursued the
deer alone so inveterately, the poor animal, con
fused or to confuse, ran to the town of Chillicothe
and into the open, empty jail, and was there
captured. But of all the dogs known to have taken part
in amusing the people of des-
^>^' .^ finy ; or aided the advancing
!>¦'*' '' / strides of civilization, none
'j ever attracted such uniA'ersal
"¦^ ' ' "^ attention, and enjoyed that
stray Pup Avide-spread fame as that given
to "Gihbs' Stray Pup."
Quite eai-ly in the fall, AA'hen as yet the frosts
had but slightly tinted the woodland foliage,
some hunters Avliile after turkeys, saAv a doo- in hot
pursuit of a deer, and so close Avas the chase that
the fatigued animal leaped from a high bank into

EARLY SETTLEMENTS. 31
deep Avater in Paint Creek and expired immedi
ately. This dog proved to be a little half-starved,
lemon, black and AA-hite pup, not more than seven
months old, and having around his neck a section
of dilapidated bed cord. Such a performance by
a strange pup so very. young and alone, attracted
no little attention and talk, especially among the
sporting gentlemen, Avho kept first-class dogs, and
doted more upon their hounds than upon their
lands and houses. Mr. James Gibbs was one of
these, and by right of discovery, took the pup in
charge and named him "Gamer." The dog
proved a stray in the settlement, and no OAvner
could be found, and mere supposition gave a
satisfactory explanation. "The pup had broken
aAvay from an emigrant Avagon to get after the
deer." At maturity, true to instinct, Gamer refused to
foUoAV deer, but became the embodiment of all
the A'irtues and qualifications of a thoroughbred
fox-hound. His fleetness, his extraordinary "coM
nose," or ability to carry a "cold trail ;" his in
dustry, perseverance, and sagacity, made him the
model and marvel of all who kncAV him. He
always led the pack far in advance, and so exact
was he to hound nature, that in case the fox
doubled short and came back near enough to be
seen and turned upon by all the other dogs, he
would continue around the course and unravel
every Avinding step . His voice Avas quite as marked
and remarkable as any of his other qualities : so

:j2 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
much so, that for many yearsit lingered in the ears
of surviving friends like the far-off echo of an Al
pine horn. He could be distinctly heard across the
great valley, bounded east by the Rattlesnake and
Avest by Patton and Stone Monument Hills, a dis
tance of more than five miles in an air line. His
cry was musical, prolonged and varied, opening
Avith a deep loud bass, and closing with a high,
clear note, itAvould come to the listener sharp and
distinct, solitary and alone, when the united cry
of all the pack would be dead in the distance.
An accurate likeness AA'ith minute discription of
this dog has been preserved — height, above the
average fox-hound ; length, medium ; head, long
and narroAV and Avell elevated Avhen running ;
under jaw, three-fourths of an inch short, which
gaA'e a pointed appearance to the face ; eye, in
tellectual and gamy, but of a most singular
yellow color ; ears, long and thin, but not Avide ;
neck, slim and clean ; shoulders, firm ; chest,
deep, the breast-bone projecting so as to make a
perpendicular offset of tAA'O inches ; back, quite
straight ; loins, not AA'ide ; hind legs, unusually
straight ; hams, thin, flat and tapering ; tail,
slim, medium length, little cuiwed, and hair short
toAvards the tip ; color, Avhite, excepting a large
black spot on each side of the chest, tipped AA'ith
lemon ; a small black spot joined to a lemon spot
on each hip or root of the tail, lemon head and ears,
with small black spot behind each ear. Alto
gether a fine appearing dog, especially Avhen en-

E.VRLY SETTLEMENTS. 33
gaged in the chase : and before two years old, Avas
held in high esteem by the OAvner.
The popularity of Gamer was uoav fast gaining
ground, as his performances were casting shad
ows over dogs of '*!,-
high repute, and \,
many things Avere
attempted to si
lence the repeated
huzzahs that came
in at the end of
every chase for
"Gibb's Stray
Pux^." Years
rolled on, pack ^^'""'¦¦
after pack, pick after pick were pitted against the
"pup" to no purpose excepting to widen the
difference by comparison.
A single incident taken from many that might
be given, Avill sufficiently illustrate the superior
qualities of this remarkable dog, as well as the
usual success attendant upon the efforts to de
tract from his merited superiority by running
picked hounds with him in the chase. A num
ber of persons in every neighborhood kept hounds,
and each OAvner considered himself the possessor
of a small fortune, consisting at least of one
animal that was considered faster and truer than
any one belonging to a neighbor ; and it was an
easy matter at any time to summon on short no
tice fifteen to thirty of these favorites surrounded

34 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
by a conflict of good opinions. On the 11th of No
vember, 18 — , twenty gentlemen, some of whom
afterAvards rose to high political and judicial
eminence in the history of the state and nation,
met by agreement and entered the forest at four
o'clock in the morning AA'ith tAvelve dogs, the pick
of the best packs known in the state. The at
mosphere was still, Avhite frost hung on the trees
all day ; the ground was but little frozen, and
other things perhaps conspired to make it favor
able, as hunters say, "for scent to lay."
The dogs soon struck a cold trail, perhaps
Avhere the fox had been the previous evening, and
Avhich could be followed but slowly. Before mid
day, it became too cold for all the dogs excepting
Gamer and Iavo old hounds, one of which was fa
mous for his "cold nose." The latter dogs, how
ever, Avere unable to get scent excepting in fa
vorable places ; and, by three o'clock in the
afternoon, they too were out, and no longer able
to render assistance. Gamer still kept at work
trailing Reynard's footsteps so closely, that on his
Avayhe entered an old vacant cabin, declaring most
emphatically that Reynard had been there, show
ing that even on the dry ground and probably
more than ten hours after the presence of the
animal, there Avas enough found to call forth a
most vigorous cry.
When more than half a mile from this cabin,
the trail Avas lost, and half anhourAvas consumed,
Avith all the dogs in circuits, to no purpose.

EARLY SETTLEMENTS. 35
While engaged in these efforts to strike the track ,
the wonderful "pup" raised his voice most sig
nificantly at the very spot Avhere he had ceased
his cry. He had discovered the track and com
menced a rapid backAA'ard march in the precise
line over the same ground he had passed but a
short time before . When Avithin fifteen or tAventy
rods of the old vacant cabin, he turned off
through a "deadning" in the direction of Mount
Logan, shoAA'ing that, notAvithstanding the fox
had retraced his steps for a long distance, the sa
gacious hound detected the fact after going over
the ground, and that, too, Avhen the trail Avas so
very cold that no other dog in the chase could
take the scent.
From Mount Logan the trail Avas leading
through thicker timber, and Reynard had been
zig-zagging here and there, in search, perhaps,
of birds and rodents for his supper the night be
fore, Avalking on logs and limbs of trees AA'hen-
ever near his intended line of march. Here, the
dog quite knoAvingly changed his tactics, and for
tAvo hours ran at more than half speed from log
to log, right to left, Avith nose close to the bark
and decayed wood, as he rapidly passed, would
let out his encouraging cry.
In this Avay he followed the crooked course
until the close of the day, carrying a trail for
thirteen hours, Avhich the fox had passed at no
point less than ten hours before, following it,
too, more than three hours after the best and

3G THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
most renoAvned dogs ever in Ohio Avere silent.
It Avas noAV dusk, the timber sparse and logs fcAV,
making the chances seemingly more unfavorable.
So, the hunters who had been on the go for fifteen
hours, and Avithout the substantials of life for
tAventy-four hours, concluded to quit, and, calling
the dogs to foUoAv, turned in the direction of the
by-path leading toward home. All the dogs were
very ready to obey, excepting Gamer, who only
stopped for a moment to gaze at his retreating
masters, and then resumed his Avork, in which
he became more and more interested as the day
passed on. It was thought, however, he would
soon quit and overtake his companions ; but, be
fore the hunters had gone a mile. Gamer's start
ing cry was heard ; he had AA'inded Reynard
where he had stopped to sijend the day high
up the mountain side. Every hound knew it
Avas no cry on a cold trail, and turned and went
off at the top of tlieir sjjeed. Soon Gamer could
be heard over ridges and hills far aAvay ; and the
hunters, thinking the run AA'ould be made in the
broken mountains, Avent home. A squirrel hunter
in that vicinity, avIio obtained Reynard's "brush, ' '
reported the fox so closely pressed, that he soon
doubled, came back, and entered a hoUoAV log
near his cabin, and Avas captured. The time
given shoAved the run Avas finished in less than
an hour after the hunters left.
The sense called "poAver of scent" is exceed
ingly delicate in the dog, enabling him to follow

EARLY SKT ri.KMKNIS. ot
the course of one animal amid a multitude of
"tracks" made l.iy others of tlie same sjieries.
This poAver of disci'imination is frequently mani
fest CA'en in the common house-d(.)g as lie traces
the fuotstei)s of his master or those i)f his mas
ter's horse througli croAvded thuroughfarcs and
Avinding Avays, although hundreds of similar feet
have passed over the ground after tlie Avalk of the

Our Cabin, 1821.
one lio seeks Avas made. But, to tell any one but
an old foxhunter that it Avas possible to find jk.t-
fection in a dog suflicien-tly, under the most fuA'^r-
able circumstances, to run all day on a trail ten
hours' rold, Avould be deemed purely chimei'ical. —
Gamer is no more. — .James Gibbs lias long been
numbered Avitli the dead. — And of those avIio par
ticipated in and enjoyed the pleasures of that day's
chase but one remains a liA'ingAvitness of the facts

38 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
herein stated — the old Roman — the Hon. Allen
G. Thurman. — It is a notable fact, that in after
years, Avlien those Ohio boys no longer resembled
the fesliAai hunter, they ahvays gaA'e a smile of
pleasure at the mention of those merry times ;
and, even in old age, AA'hen oppressed AA'ith the
heavy hand of time, nothing aAvakened the flush
of youthful pride and satisfaction like the re
hearsal of the deeds of the hound that had no
equal in the history of the country — "Gibbs' Stray
Pup." The exterior beauties of an animal are ahvays
attractiA'e. But more than these do Ave admire
those qualities termed intelligence, instinct, and
reason in their beneficent relations to man and
the external world. The dog possesses a most
AVonderful harmony in form and faculties. He
is the type and embodiment of beauty, strength,
and freedom of motion combined AA'ith endurance,
courage, zeal, fidelity, constancy, and uncompro
mising affection. For these reasons he is of all
man's friends, the most valuable, the truest, and
the best. So devoted and unchangeable is his
love, that he is ever ready to sacrifice his life to
save his master from threatened injurA'. He
long remembers a kindness, and soon foi-giA'es ill
usage. At an early age he obtains a knoAvledge
of the meaning of words in the language of his
master, and understands and obeys commands ;
and with that retentive memory Avhich animals
possess, he never falters or forgets. The storA^ of

EARLY SETTLEMENTS. 39
Ulysses and his favorite is but the citation of the
tenacity of memory AA'hich belongs to the species.
After tAventy years —
" Near to the gates, conferring as they drew
Argus, the dog his ancient master knew.
And not unconscious of the voice and tread,
He knew his lord, be knew, and strove to meet;
In vain he strove to crawl and kiss his feet ;
Yet, all he could, his tail, his ears, his eyes
Salute his master and confess his joys."
From prince to beggar, all the same — the only
friend neither misfortune nor poverty can drive
away. He is Avatchful and bold, and Avith de
light guards his master's house and herds from
thieves and rapacious animals, and by his A'arious
services has accomplished for man's happiness
and advancement in civilization more than all
other agencies combined. Without this aid, man
would scarcely have maintained his existence on
earth. "When he had 'evolved' to the ape,"*
and "for safety lived in tree-tops Avitli monkeys
and squirrels," his security and advancement
AA'as not so probably due to the suggestive "club"
as to training of dogs, Avhich is giA'en by the great
naturalist, Buffon, as the first art invented by
man. By means of dogs, the rapacious animals com
mon to ncAV or uninhabited countries are cap
tured or driven to the rear of advancing popula
tion. Almost every emigrant in the earlier set-
¦* Prof. Drummond.

40 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
tlements of Ohio, from necessity, became more
or less a hunter Avith dogs, not only to provide
for the family, but as a profit in ridding the
locality of thieving varments with which the
forests Avere overrun. The pelts of fur animals
were a legal tender, and were received as con
tributions and payment of debts. And the bark
of the industrious dog was in this Avay trans
formed into literary and religious institutions of
the country. And if not for his dogship, the
"North-west" would be a wilderness still, in
habited by AA'ild animals. The great naturalist
says: "To determine the importance of the
species in the order of nature, let us suppose it
never had existed. Without the assistance of the
dog, how could man be able to tame and reduce
other animals into slavery? How could he dis
cover, hunt, and destroy noxious and savage
beasts? To preserve his own safety, and to ren
der himself master of the animated Avorld, it was
necessary to make friends among those animals
whom he found capable of attachment to oppose
them to others ; therefore, the training of dogs
seems to have been the first art iiiA'ented by man,
and the first fruit of that art Avas the conquest
and peaceable possession of the earth.
Many species of animals have greater agility,
swiftness, and strength, as Avell as greater cour
age than man. Nature has furnished them
better. And the dog not only excels in these,
but also in the senses — hearing, seeing, and

EARLY SETTLEMENTS. 41
smelling ; and to haA'e gained possession over a
tractable and couragious species like the dog,
Avas acquiring new or additional agility, SAAdft-
ness, strength, and courage Avith a mysterious
increase of poAver and usefulness of the more im
portant senses. And by the friendship and su
perior faculties of the dog, man became per
manently sovereign and master of all.
"The dog is the only animal whose talents are
evident, and whose education is always success
ful." *
No better picture, portraying the noble quali
ties of the dog could be given than that by
Buffon. And why this close observer of nature
should say — "Without having like man the fac
ulty of thought," has always seemed strange. It
sounds like a misprint, or an error in. translation.
Thought is the exercise of the mind — refiection,
meditation, consideration, conception, conclusion,
judgment, design, purpose, intention, solicitude,
anxious care, concern, etc.
Who is there, even with ordinary acquaint
ance with the animal, that has not witnessed
some if not all these attributes of "thought?" Most
writers on the subject have shown a desire to
give the human animal some distinguishing
quality or faculty above all others, but their line
of demarcation between man and the rest of

-» Bufl'on. 4

42 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
animal creation has not been altogether success
ful, as man can not claim by the high author
ity that he is the only species that has the
something called "spirit," which is necessary in
order "to think;" for the sacred book teaches
that man and beast are alike in this, but the
¦spirit of man goeth upward, while the spirit of
the beast goeth downward to the earth, and
which in anti-bellum days constituted a knotty
text for Southern theologians aa'Iio taught that
"niggers and dogs" have no souls.
An eminent Scotch clergyman, who has
made a study of natural history believes that
dogs are possessed of the same faculties as man,
differing only in degrees. He asserts that con
science in man and conscience in the dog are es
sentially the same things. And Charles Dickens
declares that dogs have a moral nature — an un
mistakable ability to distinguish between right
and Avrong, Avhich led him to believe the differ-
erence in the dog nature and the so-called spir
itual nature in man Avas imperceptible, and that
future existence rested upon like natural founda
tions. It Avould be holding conclusions in opposition to
all rules of obserA'ation to say that dogs and other
animals are destitute of the faculty of "thought."
When the aAvful torrents came SAveeping down
uj^on JohnstoAvn the terrible AvaA'es and debris
dashed over liousetops and Mrs. Kress Avas car
ried away by tlie wild current in an instant be-

EARLY SETTLEMENTS. 43
yond human help, her faithful dog, unmindful
of himself, jumped after her, and Avhen he saAV
her dress come to the surface, seized and carried
her to another housetop. Soon this house Avas
demolished, but Romeo kept the head of Mrs.
Kress out of Avater and battled Avith the raging
current and floating timber for more than half
an hour before he reached the roof of another
house, where she Avas taken up unconscious Avith
fright and exhaustion. When the dog saAv the
motionless condition of his mistress he barked
and hoAvled and made pitiful demonstrations of
grief, for he "thought" she was dead; but Avhen
she breathed he became delighted and manifested
his joy in a Avay that could not be mistaken.
For eight summers a little cocker spaniel
(Archos) was daily AA'ith the Avriter in field and
forest, and to his industry and sagacity is due no
small part of the success in obtaining fresh
specimens for the life size, hand-colored Avork by
Mrs. N. E. Jones, entitled, "The Illustrations of
the Nests and Eggs of Birds of Ohio." Many
of the rare small birds build on or near the
ground in thick cover, and among those he Avas
credited Avith finding may be mentioned the ob
scure nest and eggs of the Helminthophaga
pinus — Blue-winged yelloAV Avarbler, and the
nest of the Geothlypistrichas — Maryland yelloAV-
throat. He knew the object of pursuit as Avell
as his master, and delighted in finding these lit
tle homes, and would stand firmly on a point, as

44 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
it was understood between us that the bird must
be shot Avhen flushed for positive identification.
He kncAV what his master was doing, for he un
derstood the meaning of almost all words used in
ordinary conversation, and could transact busi
ness on orders with admirable accuracy.
While out with a friend quail shooting, the
sun Avas Avarm and Ave sat doAvn on the cool grass
in a fence corner shaded by the dead leaves on
an oak bush. The little cocker Avas panting Avith
heat and enjoyed the shade quite as much as his
master. Soon a voice was heard from my friend,
on the opposite border of a large field, calling :
"Send Archos over here. I have a dead bird
my dog can't find. ' ' The cocker paid no attention
to the call, and no reply AA'as made by the Avriter.
And to shoAV how much a dog may acquire
of the meaning of words in a few years, I said
to Archos in a conA^ersational tone, as he ceased
panting and fixed his great dark CA'es on the
speaker: "Ed has lost a dead bird — he can not
find it; you go over and get it.'' No sooner
said than the little felloAV started off in the tall
ragweed AA'hich coA'ered the field, and unknoAvn
to my friend scented the dead bird and brought
it and laid it at my feet, all the time smiling and
-wagging the tail, as much as to say, "I would
like to tell you hoAv nicely that Avas done, but I
can't talk — dare not."
Bab says : "AAvay back in some old book there
is a story how dogs used to talk, and Avei-e men's

EARLY SETTLEMENTS. 45
ad-visers. One day a great prince met a beauti
ful woman, and despite of the adAdce of the dog
AA'ho was his counselor, he married her, and he
made her cousin, a beggar, his i)rime minister.
Amid the festivities, the dog warned the piince
to watch the woman, told the prince that she was
unfaithful, that her cousin Avas her lover, and
that between them they would rob the kingdom
and drive him from the throne. He turned on
the dog and cursed him — cursed him so that this
good friend, looking at the prince, said : 'Until
men are grateful and Avomen are faithful, I and
my kind Avill never speak again.' "
The Avoiid has groAvn older and better, but for
the peace of society and quiet of social relations,
it's Avell he still holds his tongue. Professor
Garner, Avho has devoted much time to the study
of animals in this country and in Africa, has con
firmed the general observation of those familiar
AA'ith rural life to be true : that cattle — as horses,
sheep, hogs and other animals — talk among their
kind. What there is to be detected in the man
ner of delivery of the same sound, giving out
entirely different sensations, is yet to be discov
ered. The squeal of the hungry pig, repeated
by the phonograph, only increases the hunger
and squeal of the pig that hears it ; while to re
peat the similar squeal of a pig in pain, at once
causes manifest fear, anger and distress in all
the pigs that hear it.' And it must be so — all do
mestic animals do think and reason, and not un-

4G THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
often are enabled to make their thoughts known
by signs and sounds to tliose to whom they look
for help and comfort other than their kind.
Dogs are utilized extensively in Germany and
other parts of Europe as draft animals. The
United States consul says, in the large, wealthy
and industrial city of Leige, and throughout Bel
gium, dogs are used for delivery of goods by all
the trades of the city. While they are used as
hewers of Avood and drawers of AA'ater, the species
is the most versatile in talents of the animal
creation — and the dog makes the most accurate
critic, the most successful detective, most reliable
AAdtness, best sentinel and most trustworthy
friend. Persons do not stop to think there is a Avorld
of intelligence, love and aff'ection outside the
human head and heart, and innocently ask,
"What makes the dog heed every Avord when
his master says 'you can not go Avitli me this
time?' What makes him place himself at the
most obserA'ing point and look AA'istfully after his
departing fiiends until they disappear in the
distance? Why does he sta}', perchance all
day, at a favorable point to hear or see a return
ing approach, anxiously Avaiting and Avatching,
and at tlie Avell-knoAvn and accurately distin
guished sounds of the footsteps of his master's
liorse from all others, runs to meet his master,
and barks and laughs and" cries Avith joy and

EARLY SETTLEMENTS. 47
gladness?" The beneficence of creation gives
the answer in a world of unselfish love.
Dogs know nothing of hypocracy — are always
sincere — never lie — dislike ridicule — and never ac
cept nor offer a joke.
The dog has been recognized as A'aluable prop
erty by his owner in every age, nation and people
on the face of the earth ; but Avith no staple
market price any more than there is for that of
the horse. The consideration is determined by
amount of education, usefulness or purposes
which he is capable of fulfilling.
Colonel D. D. Harris, of Mendon, Michigan,
refused more than once ten thousand dollars for
his famous sable Scoth Collie. He Avas a dog
of such note, AA'ith the refined people of the
Avorld, that he was privileged to Avalk through
the Vatican, and was entertained by the President
of France — the Czar of the Russias — the King
of Norway and SAveden, and other nobility of
the old world. President Cleveland stroked his
glossy coat, and he received the most grateful
attention among all the courts visited in this and
in otlier countries.
This Collie was never on public exhibition,
but was the traveling companion of his OAvner.
He could select any card called for in the deck —
if not there, would say so by giA'ing a Avhine —
could distinguish colors as Avell as any human
being ; . and could count money and make change
with the rapidity and accuracy of an expert, bank

48 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
accountant. If told to make change of $31.31,
or any other amounts from coins of various de
nominations, he could do so rapidly and Avithout
mistake. This intelligent dog lived out his al
lotted brief existence, dying at the age of four
teen years ; but Avas better known than thous
ands of men Avho have lived much longer,
thinking themselves quite eminent.
If dogs are not valuable iDroperty Avhy are they
exchanged at high rates in dollars and cents?
Why did Mr. E. R. Sears, of Melrose, Mass.,
part Avith his tAvelve thousand five hundred dol
lars in "greenbacks" for the dog Bedivere? It
may be said the one Avho purchased a dog at that
price was "green" — if said, it would be a mis
take, for Green was the gentleman Avho sold
him .
The greater part of the early population of
Ohio associated AA'ith dogs much of their time,
and with good results. But the laAV-makers of
the state, or a majority, had a penchant for self-
elevation by legislating against those they feared
as rivals — "dogs and niggers." Consequently,
"Black laAvs" and dog laws engrossed the time
and talents of law-makers, aa'Iio felt measurably
unsafe unless the former Avere excluded as prop
erty and the latter deprived of citizenship.
The sensitive, if not infallible. Supreme Court
has recently given the property rights and pro-
t(^ctiou of the dog a bad set-back in the decision
that '.'dogs are not property," and outside of

EARLY SETTLEMENTS. 49
property it would seem there can be no owner
ship. But as decisions of the learned court are
not required to be accepted in silence by the
canine species, tJii-'i one affecting tlieir rights is
enough to make every dog of high and low de
gree, from Maine to California, rise up with a
prodigious hoAvl of contempt.
The logic by Avhich the high court was en
abled to enunciate its decision is quite as remark
able as the decision itself. It Avould seem the
learned court divided the animal creation into
tAVO parts — "useful and useless," and subdivided
these into "Avild and domestic beasts ;" and then
states: "Dogs belong to the non-useful, wild
animal division." Ergo : "Wild animals, as dogs
Avhich have been domesticated, are therefore
jiroperty only wJtile in actual cu,sf(idii"—vf\\\c\\
means in arms, cages, or confinement. An able
critic, and a very well-informed laAvyer, says :
"Any respectable court would laugh at the prop
osition tliat it is not tlieft to appropriate a dia
mond which has escaped from tlie owner's cus
tody." But that is another kind of coav — the
poor have dogs, not diamonds. Still the learned
man is to l)e adinii-ed Avho said :
"I like dogs because I know so many men and
Avomen. "I like dogs liecaust^ they ahvays see my vir
tues and ignore my vices.
"I like dogs because they are fiiends through

50 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
good report and evil report — through poverty and
through riches.
"I like dogs because they are faithful and gen
erous. "I like dogs because they are full of simplicity
and find pleasure in very little things."
The population of the early settlements of Ohio
bought and sold dogs, and considered them as
much property as horses, cattle, or other person
alty. They Avere not purchased by the pound ;
neither were hogs nor cattle. Among traders of
the rural districts, every thing weighing over five
hundred pounds was bought and sold upon aj)-
pearance and opinion, by the piece.
Where the price caused a disagreement be
tAveen buyer and seller, some mutual friend, who
had obtained a good reputation as guesser, AA'ould
be called as an arbiter. Fattened cattle to go east,
purchased by "drovers," were never weighed, but
were taken, like horses, at a given sum per head.
Fattened hogs, however, Avere generally weighed,
by request of the purchaser. Each hog would be
suspended, and weight determined by the "steel
yard," and then branded Avitli a redhot iron on
the left ham. This done, the squealing prisoner
would surrender his place and attentions of the
audience to the next, and so on, until the whole
drove became duly registered. But farmers trad
ing among themselves, buying and selling stock,
depended entirely upon their sight and judgment
as to the valuation.

EnUCATIONAL, SOCIAL, AND POLITICAL. 51

CHAPTER II.
OHIO— EDUCATIONAL, SOCIAL, AND POLITICAL.

Ohio is the first of the contemplated states un
der the Ordinance of 1787, and is the most im
portant if not the largest state in the Union. Al
though geographers say there are some tAventy-
five states larger, yet no one has ventured to
determine beyond dispute or contradiction just
hoAV large Ohio is. When the lights of educa
tion were limited to the "three R's," the bound
ary was supposed to contain about thirty-nine
thousand square miles. In a short time after,
the size increased to forty thousand. The area
is described as the space between Lake Erie and
the Ohio river ; and is usually estimated to con
tain tAventy-five million six hundred thousand
acres. But some advanced information has
changed these figures to forty-one thousand
square miles, and has shoAvn by the state auditor's
reports tliat nearly twenty-seven million acres of
farm lands AA'ere returned for taxation in 1833,
and the question still remains undetermined hoAV
large the state is.
The state is greatly favored in regard to water
navigation, having Lake Erie on the north for

52 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
two hundred and thirty miles, and the Ohio river
on the eastei-n and southern border for four hun
dred and thirty-five miles, giving a natural Avater-
wa.y around three sides of its boundary amount
ing to six hundred and sixty-five miles, AA'hich is
more naA'igable Avater than is possessed by any
other state in the Union, except California and
Michigan. The A'ast territor}' east of the Mississippi river,
of Avhich Ohio formed a part, Avas claimed and
controlled by France, and Avas knoAA'ii as the
"North-AA'estern Territory," or "Louisiana", by
French traders aud missionaries as early as 1658.
In 1679, La Salle established a sailing vessel on
Lake Erie, and trading posts Avere designated at
favoral)le points, and missionary work found its
Avay among the rc^sident Indian tribes that occu
pied the portion of territory now called Ohio.
France Avas made aAvare of the beauty of the
meager possession on this continent, and en
deavored by means of the natives and their mis
sionaries to keep the pre-emption Avarm until a
title could be better recognized. In 1794, Major
De Celoran, an officer of the French army, AA'ith
a force of several hundred men (French and In
dian) landed at a favorable point on Lake Erie,
and cari-ied their boats overland to Chautauqua
Lake ; from thence into the Alleghany and Ohio
rivers. And on the Avay doAvn the Ohio river, it
is said this officer buried at numerous faA'orable
points lead plat(>s 1)earing the proclamation of

EDUCATIONAL, SOCIAL, AND POLITICAL. 53
Louis XI \', asserting the dominion of France
OA^er the territory on both sides of the Ohio river.
The titles of France AA^ere but little better than
the faA'oiite grants and charters of James I, and
the American colonies soon began the establish
ment of claims, AA'hich, in conflict, Avere settled
only by the dcjfeat of the French by the British
at (iuel)ec, and the treaty of Paris in 1763, by
Avhich this tei-ritory was all ceded to Great
Britain ; and the present good state Avas annexed
to Canada, and by proclamation amenable to the
goA^ernment located at Quebec.
After the close of the War of Revolution, the
United States f(jund the rights to the territory of
the great North-AA^est in dispute between the In
dians and the colonies ; and congress attempted
to settle the disputes by having the colonies
abandon all claims by ceding the same to the
United States as the common property of all.
New York set the patriotic example, and gave up
all her rights to a common cause and general
good, and Avas soon foUoAved by other colonies
until tlie entii'c domain becajiie A'ested in the
United States, excepting an unsui-rendered claim
of Connecticut, in the northern part of the state
knoAvn as the AVestei-n Reserve, about fifty miles
Avide and one hundred and tAventy miles long.
The great North-Avest Territory, under the
su])ei-vision of the government, Avas divided up
and knoAvn luider the following heads :
1. The Seven Ranges and Congress Lands.

54 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
2. United States Military Lands.
3. The Ohio Company's Pui'chase.
4. The Connecticut Reserve and Fire: Lands.

p.

The Military Bounty Lands.

6. The Virginia Military Bounty Lands.
7. Symmes's Purchase.
8. Special Grants, Donation Tract, Refugees'
Tract, French Grant, Dorhman's Grant, Mora
vian and Lane's Grants, ImproA'ement Grants.
9. Canal, Turnpike, and Road Lands.
10. School, College and Ministerial Grants.
The Congress lands are those sold by officers
of the Government. The Connecticut Reserve,
consisting of about 3,800,000 acres, was a claim
or grant made to tlie colony by Charles II in
1662. The "Fire Lands" Avere part of the grant,
and Avere donated by the colony to reimburse
losses sustained in x^roperty by the raids of Bene
dict Arnold during the RcA'clutionary War. The
Fire Lands consisted of 500,000 acres, and Avere
located chiefiy in Erie county-
Connecticut sold her Ohio lands to a "land
company for $1,200,000," and placed it securely
as an endoAvment fund for common schools ; and
the income from this source is still educating the
children of that highly intelligent state.
The United States Military Lands, made such
by act of Congress in 1796 to satisfy claims of
officers and soldiers of the War of the ReA'olu-
tion. This ti-act embraced an area of 4,000
square mil(>s in the counties of Morgan, Noble,

EDUCATIONAL, SOCIAL, AND POLITICAL. 55
Guernsey, PickaAvay, Coshocton, Muskingum,
Perrj', Fairfield and Franklin. Donation Tract
is 100,000 acres in the north part of Washington
county, granted to the Ohio Company by Con
gress. The Symmes Tract of 311,682 acres Avas
granted to John Cleves Symmes, of New Jersey,
in 1794, for sixty-seven cents an acre. The land
lies between the tAvo Miami rivers. Mr. Symmes's
daughter married General Wm. Henry Harrison,
and was the grandmother of ex-President Har
rison the II.
The Refugee Lands is a grant of 100,000 acres.
It lies along the Scioto river, and the city of Co
lumbus stands upon this land, granted by Con
gress to be given to persons driven out of the
British provinces during the Revolutionary War.
The French Grant consists of 24,000 acres in
Scioto county, and given by Congress after the
fashion of hush money.
The Dorhman Grant is a tract of 23,000 acres
in Tuscarawas county, given by Congress to a
Portuguese merchant.
The Virginia Military Lands were located on
the west of the Scioto river. The amount of the
grant in acres has never been known. There are
fifteen counties in the tract and much of it has
never been surveyed. This body of land was re
served by Virginia to pay her soldiers who were
in the Revolution without compensation or pay.
When it Avas determined by Congress to pay the
soldiers in land, each original settler marked his

56 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
OAvn boundaries with a hatchet, and made a good
liberal guess that the area Avithin his lines would
cover the acres given in his warrant.
The MoraAdan Grant Avas 4,000 acres in Tus-
caraAvas county. Besides, many other donations
were made for roads and other iiurposes, making
a total of over eight million acres, the greater
part of which Avent to creditors of the Govern
ment. Land Avas the only thing the United
States had available to cancel the Avar obliga
tions, and soldiers and others gladly accepted
land certificates in lieu of those of silver or
gold. Land in body was more desirable than toAvn
lots. When Chillicothe was made capital of the
territory it had about twenty cabins promiscu
ously located among the timber, Avhicli had not
yet been cut doAAm to designate the streets. The
State House Avas constructed in 1800 by an old
revolutionary soldier, Wm. Rutledge, and re
mained the capitol until 1816, AA'hen it Avas per
manently located at Columbus, Franklin county.
The remoA'al of the capital injured greatly the
l^rospects and business of Chillicothe for many
ycars, and secured leisure to its citizens, Avho en
gaged in various innocent amusements for killing
time — in fact, lingered Avith scarcely a symptom
of lysis until after the "Literary, Astronomical
and Natural History Societ}"" commenced the
publication and distribution of that illustrated
periodical (yearly), knoAvn and remembered to

EDUCATIONAL, SOCIAL, AND POLITICAL. 57
the last days of the older citizens, entitled "The
Ground Hog Almanac.''' Since then the town has
grown in population, wealth and beauty, and is
now the center jewel of the cities in the rich
Scioto valley.
Provisions for the education of the generations
that were to inhabit the North-west were made
and ratified by Congress, in 1787, giAdng one-
thirty-sixth part of the entire public domain to
be reserved from sale for the maintenance of
schools, declaring "That schools and means of
education shall forever be encouraged."
When Ohio was set off and became a state, the
reserve school lands were placed under the man
agement of the legislature, the constitution of
1802 making it the duty of that body to carry
out the educational clause of the ordinance, and
that the schools supported by the land grants
should be open for the reception of pupils. But
it turned out like many public trusts ; with this
splendid endowment of near a million acres of
good land, the children of Ohio received no bene
fit from that source, nor from any legislative
equivalent, for near half a century after settle
ment. The majority of the people, it must be
confessed, were indifferent to the subject of edu
cation, and Avere used to keep in poAA'cr enough
imbecile legislators, who in defiance of Ephraim
Cutler, the wording of the constitution and acts
of Congress, spent the sessions for more than

58

THE SCiUlRREL HUNTERS.

THE HISTORIC GROUND HOG CLUB.
Organized Februara' 2, 1800.

^...

^^

SSXA3I33XSI an. laie o. sit asts.
TTUms D3 IT© CBiBTUI, G^/ia/ Clip &<t^e^nea i^om=
^zo/6Cte?icu tT^ate^Ae^ ¦mu'jfeueif co^mec^ea /AmeziM^n,
wan, «/ a Js^caj»&^ G/Ceeif'na c/ /uc/ ^luO, ucuz
/&, .. I S^. - Jay / _JWxOAcfo.__ ^^ S^
^C fisk, t/'eclcJ a G^tm&P o/^<u'c/ '^^if, an,/
t4 enfUtea ie au tii oenf^/4, ana /c ^e ucs^ntzca as
•A cn/ any f^^zi 0/ in£^ Wcnt/etl Q/ia^Ea.

D

 C/af^tf

Certificate of Membership.
The ground hog goes into his hole in the ground early in
the fall, and stays there until the 2d day of Februar}', when,
regardless of the weather, he comes out; but, if he sees his
shadow, winter is not over, and he goes back to stay six weeks.

EDUCATIONAL, SOCIAL, AND POLITICAL. 59
twenty years in perverse legislation of the public
school lands.
It Avas stated by a member of the senate, at
the time, that every year things Avere made
worse — "That members of the legislature got
acts passed, under pretexts of granting leases to
themselves, relatives and political partisans,
giving the lands aAvay until there was little or
nothing left." One senator got acts passed giv
ing him and his children seven entire sections.
And legislation through ignorance, inability and
design subverted the intention in regard to the
school-land grant — squandered the proceeds, and
then pledged the state to pay the interest. And
for this pledge the citizen is annually taxed on a
fund of over four million dollars, which exists
nowhere excepting in name on the musty books of
the state.
But the young Buckeye Squirrel Hunter could
not be repressed ; and fathers and mothers
labored hard and economized to help sustain
subscription schools to the full extent of their
financial ability ; AA'hile the State of Connecticut
was supporting an expensive system of common
school education from a fund arising from the
sale of her lands in Ohio.*

¦* History United States, by C. A. Goodrich, 1823: "This
fund, in May 1821, amounted to one million seven hundred
thousand dollars — the yearly income of which, together with
twelve thousand dollars of the public taxes, is annually de
voted to the maintenance of common school masters in every

60 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
The teachers of Ohio subscription schools Avere
not examined, nor did their patrons require a
very high standard of qualification. Still some
Avere highly educated wanderers over the earth,
as the literary Avorks of H. D. Flood, John
Robinson and James Kelsey show ; and who were
teachers in Southern Ohio from 1810 to 1825.
The greater number of instructors were well-
informed citizens, who accepted the opportunity
in order to pursue studies that would qualify
them for a more lucrative calling.
It was not customary to close the school on
holidays ; nor even on Saturdays. They were
all hired by the month and were required to
perform the duties of teaching the full number
of working days in each calendar month —
neither Christmas, New Year nor Fourth of
July could close the door. The patrons were
the sole managers of these schools, and were
solicitous to obtain full consideration for the
amount paid. But young America AA'as alive,
and the incentive a holiday by nature gaA'e, could
not, under the most staid rules of conduct and
economy, be entirely suppressed ; and it became
more contagious than measles or Avhooping-
cough, and every school in the country Avas soon

town in the state. The amount paid to the towns from this
fund, in 1818, was more tlian seventy thousand dollars — a
greater sura by twenty-two thousand dollars than the whole
state tax amounted to in the year preceding."

EDUCATIONAL, SOCIAL, AND POLITICAL. 61
broken out with the idea of a holiday — in parts
of two days — Christmas and Ncav Year.
There seemed to be no way to treat it other
than to let it have its regular course. It al
ways came Avith a specific demand upon the
teacher, of Avhich the following well-preserved
pattern specimen embraces the material points
of others, varying only in quantity and quality,
with locality and circumstances :
"December 23, 1817.
Mr. John Robinson (Teacher) —
Sir: — We the undersigned committee, in behalf
of the unanimous voice of the scholars of your
school, demand that you treat, according to
custom, to the following articles in amount
herein named, to wit :
200 ginger cakes,
2 bushels of hickory nuts,
1 peck hazle nuts,
10 pounds of candy,
10 pounds raisins,
delivered at the school house, noon hour, Decem
ber 25, for the enjoyment and pleasant remem
brance of this school. If this meets your
approbation you Avill please sign and return the
paper to John Kelley to-morrow, December 24,
at noon, saying, over your signature, "I agree
to the above," John Kelley, ^
James Broavn, > Committee.
William Smallwood, )

62 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
Occasionally a teacher not fond of fun or fear
ful of exposure, Avould at once sign these modest
demands, and Avould join in AA'ith the children at
noon on Christmas, and again on Ncav Year's
day, and have a long to be remembered pleasant
jollification. But by far the greater number of
teachers preferred a little preliminary skirmish
ing before acceding to the peremptory demand.
When the above bill of fare was handed the
teacher just before dismissal on the evening of
the 23d, he glanced over the contents and com
menced tearing the paper into small fragments.
And it was said this meant defiance.
The next morning Avas cold, Avith deep fall of
snow during the night ; but all the larger boys
Avere inside of the school house Avith a hot fire and
armed Avith ropes and strings, and plenty of wood
and provisions to Avithstand a siege, before itAvas
yet light. All the openings Avere barricaded AA'ith
the benches, Avhicli consisted of lieaA'y "pun
cheons," with wooden pins driven in on the convex
side for legs. One after another of the children
came and Avere admitted, and AA'hen the teacher
ai-rived, he found the house (cabin) full of jolly
boys and girls, but could not himself enter.
After many ineffectual efforts to obtain admis
sion, he star-ted homcAvard. This Avas the signal
for the boys, and the yelping, Avhooping croAvd of
all sizes and ages of minors, broke camp and gave
chase. Robinson is described as an athletic
specimen of vigorous manhood, and delighted

educational, social, and political. 63
in sports, and concluded to give the boys a
fox chase through the forest and unbroken
snow. He led the gang quite easily for a short
time, but after several miles' running the boys
caf)tured and OA'erpoAvered the fleeing despot.
Finding resistance useless he submitted to be
tied and roped down securely to pieces of tim
ber on either side with face in the direction of
the clouds. The burial ceremony Avas performed
by asking compliance, and inarching around his
body, singing funeral dirges, and piling snow
upon his person.
A monument of snow was soon erected Avith an
opening for breathing and conversation. He did
not hold out long, and by pledging his honor the
bill of fare should be on hand, and no punishment
or ill-Avill entertained for the usage received, the
prisoner Avas released, and all returned to the
school-house, spelled for head, and were regu
larly dismissed for home.
The next day at noon a cart-load of good things
arrived AA'ith those specified ; and children and
parents enjoyed the feast, after Avhich there was
an old-fashioned spelling-match, and all went
home to remember with pleasure the Christmas
of 1817. And at this Avriting (1895) only one of
that jolly crowd is knoAvn to be living, and from
Avhom the above reminiscences have been ob
tained. The country was so thinly settled it Avas often
difficult to make up a school (fifteen) , OAving to

64 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
distance from the school cabin, and it was the
common practice for those most interested, usu
ally tAvo or three neighbors, to "sign" for their
OAvn children and enough more out of the range
to make up the required number. And often, in
order to secure them, agreeing to pay the tuition
and to board them during attendance. And so
far as the advantages of these schools were to be
obtained, the boys and girls shared alike. But if
unable to afford the expense for both, the boys
generally got the schooling.

I,

I

I '

Ohio School-house from 1796 to 1840.
The school-house was usually located in the
woods. The building Avas of round logs, and
presented the appearance of very little comfort,
either Avithout or Avithin, The floor Avas of mother
earth ; the ceiling above, the underside of the
roof ; a number of rude benches ; a fcAV puncheon
shelves, and a huge fire-place, constituted the

educational, SOCIAL, AND POLITICAL. 65
necessary arrangement of the interior. It Avas
knoAA'ii as the school-house, although used as
a place to hold elections, lectures, debating so
cieties, and singing-schools.
But notAvithstanding the loss of an endoAvment
much needed in primitive times, and the restric
tion of subscription schools from existing pov
erty, and that the log-cabin school-houses stood
empty for long periods, there Avas no effeminacy
in the desire for knOAA'ledge, for AA^here there is a
Avill there is a Avay, and A^olumes might be filled
with learned and illustrious names Avho Avere
once rocked in a "sugar-trough," and took their
first lessons in "Brush College."
It Avas in this environment the scientist, states
man, and diAdne obtained that self-confidence and
industry AAdiich leads to high and honored sta
tions and has made the North-Avest a perjietual
eclipsing shadoAV upon all other parts of the
United States.
In CA'cry department, the chosen citizen of this
magnificent empire has shoAvn himself master of
the situation. In art, literature, and sciences ; in
Avar and times of peace, he has giA'en strength to
the Union and credit to a centr-al poAver that Avill
surround itself AA'ith national infiuences the most
impregnaljle of any government in the Avoi-ld.
And under all the disadvantages — the al)sence of
public schools, and the opening up of a ucav
Avoild isolated from ciA'ilization, he came forth
like a vision of beauty and glory from a chrysa-

66 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
lis on Avhich Avas Avritten the destiny of future
greatness. A short time before execution, John BrOAvn
said — "I knoAV the very errors by Avhich my
scheme Avas marred Avere decreed before the Avorld
Avas made. And I had no more to do Avith the
course I pursued than a shot leaving a can
non has to do Avith the spot Avhere it shall fall."
That hunger and thirst for knoAvledge Avhich pre
vailed in the North-Avest seemed to contradict all
theories of man's proneness under favorable cir
cumstances to degenerate, and favors the theory
adA'anced by the hero of OssaAA'atomie in regard
to power and purpose. Some of the first genera
tion of boys of Ohio (those that lived in the ter-
litoi-y) previous to 1796 Avere born elscAA'here to
disappoint the Indians, but Avere all the same
shareholders of the great estate. And at the
early daAvn of the present century many of these
young men found their Avay to Eastern institu
tions of learning, taking the front in physical
and mental culture, as they did afterAvard in po
sitions of national honor.
As boys, squirrel hunters, men, scholars, laAv-
yers, soldiers, ciAdlians, and statesmen, history
shows they filled their places Avell as American
models of superior manhood. Poor as the iso
lated inhabitants Avere in rt-gard to AA'orldly goods,
they had an abundance of that AAdiich gave vi
tality, ener-gy, and poAver of Avill to do. It Avas
no uncommon thing for boys in this vast forest

EDUCATIONAL, SOCIAL, AND POLITICAL. 67
to obtain by their own efforts full preparation
to enter college, and with a knapsack of luncheon,
tinder-box, and scantily-filled purse, Avalk hundreds
of miles to a seat of learning, and therel remain
four years Avithout seeing home or friends until
they obtained the high honors of the institution.
Ex-Governor Seaberry Ford is but the sample
of many. When it came time to go to college,
the family of the young squirrel hunter was liv
ing in a log cabin in the backAvoods of Ohio.
His ambition, however, was for Yale, and so ex
pressed it. His father replied, "How are you to
get there!" The answer was, "I can Avalk,"
and did walk — reached Yale, where he remained
the "boss" young man of the toAA'u and institu
tion for four years, and returned to Ohio AA'ith the
first diploma issued by that college to an Ohio
boy. Many years AA'ithout public schools papers or
libraries did not dampen the ardor of the young
for knoAA'ledge. The inhabitants Avere destitute
of a circulating medium, but managed to keep
apace Avith all the world in that synonym for
poAver. The means employed, as given in the
autobiography of one of the first tAvo college
graduates in the North-Avest, illustrates Avell the
thousands of that and later dates who managed
to obtain books, and worked their way to the
highest standard of education.
The Hon. Thomas EAving says — "About this
time" (1803) "the neighbors in our and the sur
rounding settlements met and agreed to purchase

68 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
books and make a common library. They Avere
all poor and subscriptions small, but they raised
in all about one hundred dollars.
"All my accumulated wealth, ten coon-skins,
Avent into the fund, and Squire Sam Brown, of
Sunday Creek, who was going to Boston, was
charged Avith the purchase. After the absence of
many weeks he brought' the books to Captain
Ben BroAvn's in a sack on a pack-horse. I AA'as
present at the untjdng of the sack and pouring
out the treasure. There were about sixty vol
umes, I think, and Avell selected ; the library of
the Vatican Avas nothing to it, and there never
Avas a library better read. This Avith occasional
additions furnished me with reading Avhile I re
mained at home."
"Dec. 17, 1804, the library Avas fully estab
lished and christened, 'The Coon-skin Library,'
and a librarian duly elected by shareholders."
FiA'e years later, at the age of nineteen, Avith
consent of his father, young EAving left home to
procure means to obtain a collegiate education.
He set out on foot and found his Avay through the
Avoods from his home in Athens county to the
Ohio river, and from thence to the Kanawha
Salt Works, where he engaged as a day laborer,
and in three months saA'ed enough money to pay
his way at school through the Avinter at Athens
College. He became Avell satisfied Avitli the suc
cess so far, and in the spring returned to the Salt
Works and made money enough to pay off some

EDUCATIONAL, SOCIAL, AND POLITICAL. 69
indebtedness thatAvas troubling his father, devot
ing the Avinter to the study of some ncAV books
obtained by the "Coon-skin Libraiy."
The third year he returned Avith enough to in
duce him to enter college as a regular student,
where he remained until 1815 ; and, after taking
the degree of A. M., returned to the Salt Works,
and earned enough to aid in the study of laAv.
Thus, ten years Avere spent as a necessary ap
prenticeship — performing the arduous and mo
notonous labors of boiling salt, that he might be
enabled to cultivate the various talents nature
had so bounteously l)estoAved upon him, and at
the same time avoid financial embarrassments.
Many thousands of s(iuirrel hunters since have
imitated the example of this great man, and have
arisen to high eminence, but none — not one — to
the height of "The Ohio Salt-boiler" — the great
est man America ever produced. In statur-e Mr.
E\\'ing Avas six feet Iavo inches tall — avcU propor
tioned, with remarkable physical ability. It is
related — that many year's after athletical exer
cises had been lain aside for laAV, on passing near
the old court-house in Lancaster, Ohio, he found
a croAvd of able-bodied men ^\]n) had been trying
to throAV an ax, handle and all, over the building,
but it could not be done. Mr. EAving halted, and
took the ax by the handle and sent it sailing five
feet or more above the building and passed on.
Mr. EAving Avas great from the fact he Avas fa
miliar Avitli the little things of life, as Avell as

70 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
the greater matters in the supreme court, where
he chiefly practiced. Daniel Webster acknoAvl-
edged Mr. EAving's superior abilities in seeking
his aid in his difficult and Aveighty cases.
In the Senate of the United States, he intro
duced many important bills — and opposed Clay's
Compromise — the amendatory fugitive slaA^e law
of 1850 — and advocated the abolition of slavery
in the District of Columbia. As a statesman and
educated in a free state, he had none of that dif
fidence, timidity, and submission to slave-holding
dictation so commonly AA'itnessed among northern
legislators in Congress, and before their con
stituents. The influence of slavery AA^as felt in the educa
tion and lives of the people of the North-Avest.
As race hatred Avas transplanted into Ohio in the
early settlements, it soon became a political ele
ment that caused many odious and unchristian
laAvs to be placed on the statute books, and en
forced as A'igorously against color as if made in
the interests of slavery and bonded ignorance of
the state.
The first State Constitution of Ohio, adopted
in 1802, in article 8, "That the general, great,
and essential principles of liberty and free gov
ernment may be recognized, and forever unalter
ably established, Ave declare" —
Sec 1. "That all men are born equally free
and independent, and have certain natural, in
herent, and unalienable rights, among Avhich are

EDUCATIONAL, SOCIAL, AND POLITICAL. 71
the enjoying and defending life and liberty ; ac
quiring, possessing, and protecting property, and
pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety."
Sec 2. "There shall be neither slaA'eiy nor in-
A'oluntary servitude in this state, otheiAvise than
for the punishment of crimes, Avhereof the party
shall have been duly coiiA'icted."
Sec 3. . . . "That schools, and the means
of instruction, shall forcA'er be encouraged by
legislative provision, not inconsistent Avith the
rights of conscience."
Sec 25. "That no laAv shall be passed to pre
vent the poor in the several counties and toAvn-
ships AA'ithin this state from an equal participa
tion in the schools, academies, colleges, and uni
versities AA'ithin this state, Avhicli are endoAved, in
whole or in part, from the reA'enue arising from
the donations made by the United States for the
support of schools and colleges ; and the doors of
the said schools, academies, and universities shall
be open for the reception of scholars, students,
and teachers of every grade, luithout any distinc
tion or preference whatever contrary to the in
tent for which the said donations were made."
Still the colored man, under no circumstances,
excepting taxation, Avas recognized as a citizen.
He Avas by Article IV of the Constitution of Ohio
disfranchised by the AA'ord "Avhite" — no other
color could enjoy the rights of an elector. He
Avas by law deprived of schools and means of
instruction contrary to the spiiit of the endoAV-

72 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
ment as AV(dl as expr-essions of the constitution;
and for more than forty years the colored popu-
liition sojourned in a AA'ilderness of freedom before
it Avas discovered that manhood has rights all ai'c
bound to respect — one of AA'hich is the right of
suffrage. The greater portion of the population forming
the neAV state Avei-e faA'orable to freedom, and
many Avere knoAVii to have emancipated tlieir
slaves and settlcMl in Ohio that they might Avipe
out the stains of an institution Avhich had so
traithfully been denominated the "sum of all A'il-
lianies." There Avere, hoAvever, other's, in almost
every neighborhood, Avho by nature Avere the pa
trons of the slaA'e-hunter and looked upon a
colored man as unAvor-thy of an existence <>n
on earth, and delighted in tor-menting, kill
ing, or dr'iA'ing him fr-orn liis home and neighbor
hood. This race hatred in some parts of the state re
ceived so much attention and cultivation, that
many well-meaning people encouraged the preju
dice, in view of the peace of the neighborhood.
Cincinnati did mm-e than all the r-est of the
border toAvns in keeping up and disseminating a
violent r-ace hatred. Fi'ee respectable colored peo
ple wer-e looked upon, denounced, and treated as
a nuisance, "liaA'ing no rights a Avhite man Avas
bound to r-espect." The city harbor-ed if not en
couraged a lot of miscreants, Avho made it a
business to hunt and capture runaway slave's for

EDUCATIONAL, SOCIAL, AND POLITICAL. 73
the rcAvard ; and also to carry on the money mak
ing business of kidnaping fi-ee blacks, carrying
them across the river, and selling them into slav
ery. Any and every unlaAvful treatment they re
ceived Avas AA'inked at by citizens and city authoi--
ities. The courts Avere open, but until S. P. Chase
Avent to Cincinnati in 1830 the black man could
procure no counsel, as a Avhite man could easily
ruin his character and standing by manifesting
the least sympathy for the persecuted. When the
Hon. Salmon P. Chase defended one of these
doAvn-trodden creatures in the courts of Cincin
nati, after the hearing of the case, a prominent
man of the city said, pointing to Mr. Chase,
"There goes a promising young laAvyer Avho has
ruined himself."
But the state outside of Cincinnati had enough
of the right element to enforce, if necessary, at
all times, the fifth paragraph of the eighth arti
cle of the state constitution, which affirmed,
"That the people shall be secure in their persons,
houses, papers, and possessions, from all unwar
rantable searches and seizures ; and that the gen
eral warrants whereby an officer may be com
manded to search suspected places, Avithout proba
ble evidence of the fact committed, or to seize
any person or persons not named whose offenses
are not particularly described, and Avithout oath
or affirmation, are dangerous to liberty, and shall
7

74 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
not be granted." Still in matters of legislation
Cincinnati managed to secure her influence
against the negro.
NotAvithstanding the plain Avording of the Con
stitution of the State, laws were enacted to keep
the black and mulatto people out of Ohio. These
were the much discussed "black laws" —
First. A black or mulatto person was prohib
ited settlement unless he could shoAv a certificate
of freedom and the names of two freeholders as
security for his good behavior and maintenance,
in the event of becoming a public charge ; and
unless the certificate of freedom Avas duly re
corded and produced, it was a penal offense to give
employment to a black or mulatto.
Second. Colored and mulattoes were excluded
from the schools ; and.
Third. No black or mulatto could testify in court
in any case Avhere a Avhite person Avas concerned.
In 1848, Dr. N. S. ToAA-nshend, of Lorain
county, and Dr. John F. Morse, of Lake county,
Avere elected members of the legislature as ' ' abo
litionists." To these Iavo members, fortunately,
holding the balance of poAver betAveen the Whigs
and Democrats, are due the repeal of the odious
"black laws," and the election of an "abolition"
United States Senator — S. P. Chase.
To these men, in combination Avith the Demo
crats, is not only due the repeal of existing laAvs,
but, also, provisions for schools for black and

EDUCATIONAL, SOCIAL, AND POLITICAL. 76
mulatto children. And Ohio became reclaimed
in favor of freedom, and all Avas bright and lovely
and prosperous — but not all happy ; for there still
remained a black, disgraceful, disfiguring spot on
the face of the Goddess of Liberty — a spot that
Avas causing millions to mourn.
Early in the Union of the States, slavery caste
began to isolate itself from every thing denom
inated "Yankee North," and, at the same time,
disseminated a race hatred against the "nigger"
among the ignorant Avhite and poor people of the
South. And, in the line of emigration, Ohio re
ceived a larger share of imigrants Avho had been
taught to despise the "nigger," and honestly be
lieved a colored man Avas an inferior animal,
"destitute of a soul;" and lecturers Avere often
traveling over the state entertaining large audi
ences Avith such crude material as that — "A nig
ger is not human — the bones in the hands and
feet are entirely different ; and he is nothing more
or less than an improved Orang-outang, and
made to be a slave to the human race as much
as a horse or coav." By loAA'cring the natural
status of the colored man, such audiences became
elevated and the space betAveen man and the
monkey Avidened by comparison making room
for increased hatred. At all times, but most es-
liecially so, previous to the odious amendments
of the "Fugitive Slave Law," in 1850, it was no
uncommon thing to see calls signed by numerous
citizens inserted in popular newspapers, asking

76 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
all persons in favor of "laAV and order" to assem
ble at the time and place specified to put doAvn
abolitionism, and to let their "saiitliem brethren"
knoAV the people of Ohio Avere in favor of the
constitution and preservation of the Union of the
States. A call for a meeting of this kind in a central
county of the state, and announced in the official
political paper of the time, dated October 3, 1835,
is headed in large type —
' ' A n t i-A bolition Meeting .
"A meeting of those opposed to the wild pro
jects of abolitionists is proposed to be held at
the court-house in Circleville, on Saturday, the
lOtli day of October next, at 1 o'clock p. m.
All those who love their country and are will
ing to maintain her constitution —
All who are friends to order and would avert
the horrors of a servile Avar —
All who know slavery to be an evil, but believe
a dissolution of our National Union a greater
evil —
All who deprecate ecclesiastical influence in
political affairs, are respectfully and earnestly in
vited to attend the proposed meeting, when a
number of addresses Avill be delivered."
This call is signed by four hundred and seventA'-
three names, citizens of a tOAvn having less than
two thousand inhabitants. The next issue of the
paper publishing the call, and previous to the

EDUCATIONAL, SOCIAL, AND POLITICAL. 77
time of meeting, contained an anonymous, but
scathing criticism of such movements, in Avhich
the author of the article says: "It has been
slioAvn Avhat is the real state of the anti-slavery
question, and the unreasonableness and utter
groundlessness of the outcry against Abolition
ists." "Further we would state for the serious
consideration of our opponents that Ave are per
suaded that the 'Union AA'ill be dissolved,' not if
this subject be discussed, but if it be not. If it
be true that the social compact was formed on
the condition of slavery being tolerated by the
free states, then it is such an Union as must
sooner or later be dissolved." . . . "Admit
ting the existence of a God, and that God is a
being of perfect equity, can it be believed that
He Avill suffer such a combination against the
happiness of man to exist forever? And has it
not already existed too long for that unity of
counsel in this great republic which should ever
mark the doings of a nation? And can Ave cal
culate on a much longer forbearance?" The edi
tors of the paper, after offering an apology for
publishing the article, of Avhich the above quota
tions are but a small part, say: "Will some
Abolitionist be so kind as to refer us to the pas
sage in our Constitutien or Declaration of Inde
pendence Avliich asserts that all men are created
free and equally ; we have not seen it."
The meeting came off as advertised, and the
chairman said: "Deeply sympathizing Avith our

78 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
'Southern brethren,' we have assembled to express
our most unqualified opposition to emancipation
and disapprobation of the course pursued by its
advocates ; and to aesuro our fellow-citizens in
the Southern States that we regard their consti
tutional rights as our own, and that we will tc
the utmost aid them in the defense of those
rights." "Therefore, Resolved," was foUoAved
by ten long resolutions in praise of fidelity to the
South and opposition to emancipation, winding
up with the foUoAving :
"Resolved, That were the slave-holders now
willing to abolish slavery, in our opinion the im
mediate and unconditionaJ emancipation of all
the slaves in the United States, without provid
ing for their colonization, would render the con
dition of both the whites and blacks infinitely
worse than it uoav is, and would be an act of pal
pable and unpardonable inhumanity to the
slaves." Signed : Valentine Kieffer, President ; Nathan
Perrill, John Entrekin, Wm. Renick, Sr,, Vice-
Presidents ; Elias Bentley, W. N. Foresman, A.
Huston, Secretaries.
All the officers Avere Avell-knoAvn and promi
nent people, and it is not strange that persons of
such note and intelligence should have giA'en
their approbation and signatures of approval to
such a meeting, Avhen Ave reflect that most pro-
slavery men in the free states had been taught to
believe or say : If the slaves Aver-e liberated, they

EDUCATIONAL, SOCIAL, AND POLITICAL. 79
would come north in swarms and "steal our chick
ens, ' ' and destroy the peace of society ' 'by mar
rying every good-looking white woman in the
country." But there existed no occasion for alarm ; the
slave-holding states South never had an inclina
tion to emancipate their slaves. They were the
Avealth of that country, and its growing great
ness fostered the desire to found an aristocratic
empire on slave labor. The number in bondage
Avas rapidly increasing and their labor Avas be
coming more and more remunerative. They had
but to see the increase of this wealth and its .
products in fifty years, to stimulate the desire to
found a government on the aristocracy of the in
stitution. In 1810, there were in all the states but 1,191,-
360 slaves ; and notwithstanding New England,
New York, Ncav Jersey and Pennsylvania had in
the meantime liberated theirs — and the African
slave trade had previously been abolished — the
underground railroad had been doing a lively
business — and the manumissions and coloniza
tions that were going on in the "breeding states"
— in 1860 the number had increased to Avithin a
small fraction less than four millions.
Slave labor Avas exceedingly profitable in the
cotton states, as the increase of the cotton pro
duct shows. In 1801, these states only produced
48,000,000 pounds, Avhile 1860 returned 2,054,
698,800 pounds. There were, however, two

80 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
things inserted in the government plat that were
unsatisfactory : "That all men are created equal"
in natural rights, and the Missouri Compromise
— the thirty-six degrees thirty minutes north
latitude. Mason and Dixon's line. It Avas not so
clear as they Avished it might be, that "unalien
able rights," "life, liberty and the pursuit of
happiness," belonged only to masters ; and Avhen
the failure to rescind the "Compromise" in 1853
occurred through democratic influence, of such
men as Albert P. Edgerton, the possibility of
peacefully enlarging the area of slavery became
as hopeless as it was manifestly evident that
bondage and freedom could not much longer
remain peaceably in the same government. And
Avith amendments to the fugitive slave laAV the
Southern political bosses, Avho had usurped the
control of the national government, kncAV the
constitution found slavery in the states, and as a
state institution left its local existence to the
chances of state laAVS. They kncAV full Avell it
was not made a national institution and that the
time AA^as close at hand when they must go to the
rear or abandon their northern allies and set up
a slavocracy for themselves. They had obtained
sufficient to know Lloyd Garrison, Wendell
Phillips, Arthur Tappan and the Boston Liber
ator Avere actual facts ; and the large meetings
of the "dough faces" and their expressions of
sympathy Avas not the kind of " Soothing

EDUCATIONAL, SOCIAL, AND POLITICAL. 81
Syrup" the South desired, although giving great
encouragement to secession.
The division of sentiment existing in the free
states in regard to the rights of slavery and its
extension became more and more expressive,
especially along the border lines of the opposing
institutions. Consequently Ohio felt a full share
of the evils due to political and social disturb
ances arising from this cause. But the inter
communications given by railroads and the
light emanating from a free and fearless press —
cheap postage and speedy transportation — infused
ncAV life ; and mankind began thinking — think
ing differently from that of past times when
the postage on a letter was twenty-five cents and
required four days for an individual to travel one
hundred miles and return.
Slave hunting in the land of the free did not
prove an agreeable or profitable occupation.
The oppressed fugitive generally found friends
enough in the North to secure the boon he sought.
In almost every community could be found the
spirit contained in the lines by Whittier, ex
pressed for George W. Lattimer, who with his
Avife escaped from Norfolk, Va., in 1841, and
Avas found in Boston. He was the first slave
hunted in the North, and Avas arrested and pro
ceedings began to have him returned to slavery.
His cause Avas championed by such men as
William Lloyd Garrison, Wendell Phillips and
Frederick Douglass. The court ruled against

82 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
the fugitive and his liberty Avas purchased by the
good people of Boston. Lattimer gained great
notoriety, and after a long and eventful life died
at his home in Lynn, Mass., May 30, 1896,
aged seventy-five years. And it can not well be
disputed that much of the after changes in public
sentiment in regard to the status of the colored
man, and his rights in a free state, was brought
about by the object lessons in the enforcement
of the odious fugitive slave hiAv. "All that Avas
necessary to prove the detestable character of
this iniquity and its dangers to liberty was
simply to enforce it."* Still the corrupting in
fluences of trade made the CA'ils of slavery felt in
the social, moral and educational interests of the
entire state ; and consequently citizens, AA'ho had
in their hearts the logical idea that all men are
born free and equal, saAV the hand of tyranny
quite as much on either shore of the river, that
constituted geographically the diA'iding line.
This Avas more especially true of Cincinnati,
where large interests in trade enabled the senti
ments of the few to dominate and regulate public
acts and opinions parallel AA'ith steamboat mo
nopoly, and the creed of the "DiA'ine Institu
tion," as much as if the city had been located
considerably south of "Mason and Dixon's line ;"
and as late as 1836 a free soil ncAvspaper, " The
Philanthropist," Avas destroyed by a mob of lead-

¦¦¦¦¦ Mathews.

EDUCATIONAL, SOCIAL, AND POLITICAL. 83
ing citizens of Cincinnati, and which will ever
remain a historical record of loyalty to the insti
tution on the opposite side of the river, and as
penance for some manifestation in favor of
freedom .
The Philanthropist Avas a ncAvspaper ably edited
by James G. Birney. After being published
some three months, at night, July 14, 1836, the
press-room was broken open by well-known citi
zens of Cincinnati, and the press materials all
destroyed. No attempt Avas made to punish the
perpetrators. But rather to sanction the act.
A call for a meeting of the citizens was made for
July 23d, stating the purpose to be, "to decide
whether the people of Cincinnati will permit the pub
lication or distribution of 'abolition' papers in the
city." The decision of this mass meeting, composed
of the business men of the city, Avas afterAvards
published in a leading local paper, and makes
very good reading, although derived from a pro-
slavery source, to wit: "On Saturday night,
July 30th, very soon after dark, a concourse of
citizens assembled at the corner of Main and
Seventh streets, in this city, and, upon a short
consultation, broke open the printing office of the
Philanthropist, the abolition paper, scattered the
type into the street, tore down the presses, and
completely dismantled the office. It was owned
by A. Pugh, a peaceable and orderly printer, who

84 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
printed the Philanthropist for the Anti-Slavery
Society of Ohio."
" From the printing office the crowd went to
the house of A. Pugh, Avhere they supposed there
Avere other printing materials, but found none,
nor offered aiiy violence. Then to Messrs. Donald
sons, Avhere only ladies Avere at home. The resi
dence of Mr. Birney, the editor, Avas then visited ;
no person was at home but a youth, upon whose
explanations the house Avas left undisturbed. . . .
And proceeded to the 'Exchange' and took re
freshments." . . . "An attack Avas then rnade
upon the residences of some blacks in Church
alley ; tAvo guns were fired upon the assailants
and they recoiled. ... It Avas some time
before the rally could again be made, several
voices declaring they did not Avish to endanger
themselves. A second attack was made, the
houses found empty, and their interior contents
destroyed." Although all this kind of proceeding looked
very much like an unlaAvful assemblage, it met
.with no opposition from the city authorities, and
all that Avas ever done in a matter of this kind
was to call a meeting of citizens, and " regret the
cause of the recent occurrences," and the next day
would drive a Wendell Phillips from Pike's
Opera House, and seek him Avith a hoAvling mob
that he might be hung to a lamp-post, "the
mayor refusing to alloAV the police to interfere."
Cincinnati reaped a rich haiwest for the exam-

EDUCATIONAL, SOCIAL, AND POLITICAL. 85
pies given in "citizen" mobs. Still, at any time
previous to the "salvation." of the city, it Avas im
politic if not dangerous for a minister of the gos
pel, a public speaker, press or private citizen, to
mention the subject of slavery in a manner that
might be construed unfavorable to its sanctity ;
for a black line had been draAAm over the tAventy-
sixth verse of the seventeenth chapter of the Acts
of the Apostles ; the tenth verse of the second
chapter of Malachi, and the spirit of the gospel
dispensation, as effectually in their practical
theology as was ever manifest in DauAdlle or in
any Southern translation of the ten command
ments. So determined were the pro-slavery elements
to hold the fort in Cincinnati and aid the South
in making it dangerous for a colored man in a
"free state," that they continued to supply the
South Avith stores until the last moment ; and
only a Aveek before the bombardment of Sumter,
the city permitted cannon to pass through on Avay
from Baltimore marked
"For the Southern Confederacy,
Jackson, Mis.sissippI . "
And the same day, or the day before, returned
a fugitive slave through the commissioner, and
all Avent Avell Avith the city, reaping the fruits of
the Avar, until General Wallace placed it under
martial law, and, suspending business, demanded
the citizens to enroll themselves for defense.

86 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
"Some were at once taken very sick, others were
hunted up by detailed soldiers, Avho turned them
out of barns, kitchens, garrets, cellars, closets,
from under beds, and in the disguise of women's
clothing." For the seed sown was now ripe and
mid air Avas resounding — "The harvest is here.'^
At a time, in 1858, when public sentiment Avas
beginning to be felt, and official prosecutions for
the return of fugitive slaves became more or less
unsatisfactory to the OAvners, James Buchanan,
President of the United States, gave a surprise
to every one by appointing Judge Stanley Mat-
thcAvs — an eminent laAvyer, ex-editor of an abo
lition paper, and leader in the anti-slavery move
ments in Ohio, as United States District Attorney
for the Southern District of Ohio.
To politicians, this seemed not only a deviation
from all known precedents, but, politically, an
unfathomable mystery, But, no more remarka
ble Avas the appointment than that, a lawyer at
the summit of professional ability and large in
come — a noted abolitionist — opposed to the fugi-
gitive slave acts, should liaAre accepted the posi
tion. But those who kncAV Judge MattheAvs and
his patriotism best, could discern in it logical
conclusions — the interests of freedom could be
subserved and the public mind attained by a
shorter method than by arguing, speaking, or
publishing — "the enforcement of tlie iniquitous fu
gitive slave law.'^ And for three years he prose
cuted "offenders" Avithout just fault or faA'or — •

EDUCATIONAL, SOCIAL, AND POLITICAL. 87
giving such lessons in its application, that made
loyalty to freedom, and magnified the blessings
of the free.
Judge MattheAvs resigned the office in 1861,
and took the commission of Lieutenant-Colonel
in the TAventy-third — afterAvard Colonel of the
Fifty-first Ohio, and aAvaited the "proclamation."
During Judge MattheAvs' entire service as
United States District Attorney, the slaA^e states
were secluded as pertaining to things and persons
of the "North" — papers, books, teachers, preach
ers, and citizens Avere effectually ostracized ;
northern colleges and seminaries had their south
ern patronage AvithdraAA'u ; and, finall}', Avlien,
by the aid of the Secretary of War, they secured
large quantities of United States arms and mili
tary supplies, and felt thoroughly prepared and
equipped, the states stepped out of the Union
with defiance, leaving poor Kentucky with a
governor that threatened to chastise either of the
belligerents if they dared to interfere Avith her
"neutrality." And it is not knoAvn to history
that either the cotton states or neutral Kentucky
ever gave Judge MatthcAVS a vote of thanks for
his vigorous enforcement of the fugitive laAv.
But this is not all. In 1876, Judge Matthews ran
for Congress in the Second District of Cincinnati,
and his defeat, says the biographer,* Avas in con
sequence of an act of his Avhile United States

' The Builders of the Nation."

88 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
District Attorney — that while he had the office he
prosecuted W. B. Connelly, a white resident of
Cincinnati, and reporter of the Gazette, for giving
to a young runaAvay slave and his wife "a glass
of water and piece of bread" — a crime under the
fugitive slave law. It was shoAvn that the ne
groes Avere captured and A'fcre shut up in Con
nelly's room, and while there they were furnished
"bread and water." It was further shown, that
a letter Avas written by Connelly, as a Master
Mason, to Judge Matthews, as a brother Mason,
in which he confessed that he had "furnished the
negroes with food."
But, with all these influential relations, the
offense was prosecuted — Connelly found guilty
and Avas sentenced to serve time of imprisonment.
"The publication of these facts destroyed Judge
MattheAvs' chance for Congress," and that his
brother Masons obtained full credit for his defeat
can not well be doubted.
It is not stated that any promise had been made
by Judge Matthews — none violated; aud differed
materially from ordinary cases, like that of 0.
A. Gardner, a Master Mason, arrested for rob
bing the mails at Minneapolis, Avho said in court
that his confession was made to Postal Inspector
Gould, a brother Mason, on the promise that
Gould, as a fellow Mason, would see that he Avas
acquitted — "that his acquittal was assured — that
the judge, the laAvyers on both sides, and most
of the jury Avere Masons."

EDUCATIONAL, SOCIAL, AND POLITICAL. 89
Judge Matthews had taken the oath of office
as district attorney, Avliich to him Avas above all
other oaths, and Avas not the man to play the
Marshal Ney performance. And it Avould seem
the "defeat for congress" Avas not "the conse
quence of an act of his" as much as it was his
declining to "act" crooked for the benefit of a
brother Mason.
If any one now thinks it impossible that a free
people in the North could be so influenced, cowed,
and blinded to the atrocities of slavery upon the
free, let them read the biography of Southern
prisons. It was a day of jubilee for the aboli
tionists (who had survived the horrid cruelties
that made "Libby" a paradise) Avhen the federal
forces took possession of the South. The Rev.
Calvin Fairbanks, after being kidnaped and
serving horrible time for seventeen years and
four months for being an abolitionist, Avas re
leased from the state prison of Kentucky, at
Frankfort, by a special order of President Lin
coln. During the last tAvo wardens of the prison —
Zeb Ward and that of J. W. South — this man re
ceived thirty-five thousand stripes on his bare
body with a strap of half-tanned leather a foot
and a half long, often dipped in Avater to increase
the pain. He AA''as often Avhipped four times a
day, receiving seventy stripes at each Avhipping ;
one time the number of lashes Avas increased to
one hundred and seven.

90 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
All this punishment Avas pretended to be in
flicted on the grounds of failure to perform the
daily task Avhich had been fixed beyond possi
bility — requiring the prisoner to Aveave Iavo hun
dred and eight yards of hemp cloth daily.
Early in 1864, Mr. Lincoln learned through
Miss Tileston of the cruelties practiced upon Mr.
Fairbanks, and sent General Fry to Kentucky
with orders to make it "Fairbanks Day'' at
Frankfort prison.
"When released, Mr. Fairbanks says he crossed
the river and kissed the free soil in Ohio," Avhere
he met the girl who, on hearing of his misfortune
in Massachusetts, came to Ohio and engaged as
teacher at Hamilton, and then at Oxford, supply-
"mg him with such comforts as Avas within her
poAver — Avorked and petitioned and Avatched over
the border for many long years Avith the love of
a true Avoman.
Slavery is no more — the dark blotch to freedom
has been Aviped out Avith the best blood of the
nation. It was a contentious, political evil as
Avell. But slavery of the colored race is not the
only evil, the only danger, that can arise to over
throw a Republican form of government.
The fir-st thirty-five vears of the existence of
Ohio as a stat(> may be recognized, in an edu
cational point of AucAV, as the period of the
"Three R's" — "rcailen, 'ritcn, anil 'ritinnitie" —
for state legislation made it so. There Avere no
public schools, no acatlemy, but one higher in-

EDUCATIONAL, SOCIAL, ANr> POLITICAL. 91
stitution in operation, called an "Ohio Uni
versity," located at Athens, in Athens county.
This Avas opened for students, in 1809, Avith the
classic course ; and the first class, numbering
tAVO, graduated in 1815, receiA'ing the first col
legiate degrees ever conferred under the endoAV-
ment for education by the act of 1787 — John
Hunter, A. M., and Thomas Ewing, A. M.
This university was in financial straits all this
time Avitli an incomplete corps of professors, for the
reason the legislature had manipulated the land
endoAvments (46,000 acres) from time to time
until little or nothing AA'as receiA'ed, Avhere lar-ge
incomes should have been realized. And the
good intent of land grants for educational pur--
poses in Ohio proved a signal failure in common
schools, academies, and colleges.
After ineffectual efforts of mongrel state uni
versities to supply the pressing Avants of rising
generations, sectarian institutions multiplied
rapidly, and the state soon became honored Avith
numerous chartered seats of learning representing
all religions from Roman Catholic (down, or up,
Avhich ever it may seem) to the Free AVill Bap
tist. Of these, Oberlin has taken the lead. It
was chartered, in 1834, undei- the direction of
the Congregational Church, Avith a theological
seminary attached as part of the institution.
Both sexes and all colors have been admitted to
its classes.
During the struggle in Ohio to establish a

92

THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.

satisfactory system of education, the good people
of Kentucky claimed to be greatly in advance in
regard to facilities, and sold large numbers of
scholarships to those Avho desired to embrace
better opportunities to obtain an education, be
fore it Avas discovered that young men from a free
state, or states, attending those seats of learning
had little or no spare time for mental culture,
after giving the physical enough attention to
keep all its members in tact ; as free-state stu
dents Avere obliged to fight or "eat dirt."

School-house of 1851, in which President Garfield taught.

Tlie Avritei- still liolds the lar-ger end of an
uncanceled scholarship in one of the then lead
ing, but noAV defunct, college institutions.
As late as 1837, tlier-e Avas no public school system
operating in Ohio. But the year- folloAving a laAv
Avas passed for the purpose of adopting a sA'stem
on a uniform footing. Still it required that

EDUCATIONAL, SOCIAL, AND POLITICAL. 93
teachers should be qualified only in reading,
Avriting and arithmetic. Amendments and im
provements, liOAvever, Avent on, and in 1847 the |
"State Teachers' Association" Avas organized,
and deserves great credit for the good Avoi-k done
and still doing in obtaining beneficial legislation
and raising the standard of teachers and the
curriculum of "High Schools." And at the
present time Ohio compares favorably Avith other
states in regard to her system for general and
liberal education, regardless of color or previous
condition. Information derived from ncAA'spapers Avas
measurably lost — the inefficient postal service
prevented the circulation of metropolitan papers ;
and those published in Ohio for half a century
were under the ban of slavery. And AA'ith the
censorship of Kentucky and the cotton states it
is not surprising they were short-lived and un
attended Avith prosperity. The first paper pub
lished in the North-west was printed in Cincin
nati, November 9, 1793, under the name of
"The Sentinel of the North-western Territory."
The journal was owned and edited by William
Maxwell. Newspapers in those days were com
paratively small and poorly executed in press-
work ; and changed names, OAvnership or ceased
to exist so frequently that not a few attempts at
journalism became lost to history.
During the territorial days, and while the
seat of government tarried at Chillicothe, Mr,

94 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
Willis, the father of N. P., the poet, author
and artist, published a literary paper for a short
time. After the capital became permanently
located at Columbus, Philo H. Olmstead, from
1813 to 1818, published "The Western Intel
ligencer" — then changed the name to "Columbus
Gazette" and in due time to "Columbus Jour
nal." Small as these and other beginnings Avere over
the settled portions of the state, the press and
its influence became of more and more impor
tance, and kept pace if not in advance of many
other leading departments connected with an ad
vanced civilization. As ideas beget ideas, so in
ventions beget inventions, until time and space
are no more, and the Avild elements meekly boAA'
in submission to the Avill and Avorks of man. If
John Guttenberg, Fust, Mentel or Koster, with
their little inventions, could see the automatic
Avorking of one of those mammoth printing ma
chines, AAdiich noiselessly move with such rapid
ity, exactness and intelligence — even putting hu
man volition and precision to shame — any one or
all of the once contesting discoverers would stop
disputing in astonished Avonderment long enough
to set up and strike off on their OAvn inventions
a single line, in quotations, "Large trees from
small acorns groAV," and abandon further conten
tion. NeAvspaper educators at an early day, like the
schoolmaster-, had a limited showing in a coun-

EDUCATIONAL, SOCIAL, AND POLITICAL. 95
try so financially short. Editors and publishers
could not conduct the business without a given
amount of support. But this needful require
ment Avas too manifestly uncertain to justify an
expensiA'e venture ; for there Avas little or no
money in the country, nor means to procure it
by exchanges. Still, the experiment Avas oc
casionally made, but most generally failed even
in the hands of the most economical manage
ment and moderate expectations.
The folloAving is a brief of a four-paged paper,
ten by fifteen inches in size — "No. 33, Vol. I" —
dated June 5, 1818. This paper Avas started at
the county seat of one of the early settled locali
ties, and in agriculture one of the leading counties
in the state. This number treats of the foUoAV-
ing subjects :

Volume L] June 6, 1818. [Number 33.
1. Light reading. Traits in Washington City
Drawins-Room. Mrs. Monroe. The President.
Virginians. The Belles. Foreigners. Etiquette.
Foreign Ministers. The Seci'etaiies of Govern-

96 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
ment Departments. Western Opposition. Amer
ican Manufacturers. Essex Junto. Two Differ
ent Descriptions of Men that Inhabit Virginia,
Contrasted. 2. Foreign News — Spain. Major-General Jack
son's Letter to Gov. Rubute, BoAvleg ToAvn, Su-
Avanny, April 20, 1818. Late from the Army —
Milledgeville and Indians. Patriots victorious —
Marching on to Carraccas. The President of the
United States. _ Moi-e Specks of War at Detroit.
The Belt had passed through the Winnebago,
Sack, Fox and Hickapoo Nations. Mercury at
Green Bay through the Winter, 25° Letter from
"Savannaa," April 30, 1818. Letter from Porto
Rico. Letter from Upper Canada. Extract from
a Vermont Paper. Expensiveness of the Ground
purchased for the Bank of the United States at
Philadelphia, being One Thousand Dollars per
Front Foot.
3. Obituaries. Advertisements. Court Pro
ceedings. Expulsion of Masons from the Order.
Patent Pumps. Paris Papers. One Hundred
and Forty Vessels perished in the late Tremen
dous Gale along the English Coast. Injurious
Effects of Flannel. Masonic Notice. Pr-ospects
for continuing the Publication of "The Olive
Branch." AdA'-ertisements.
4. Poetry — "Absent Friends. Defense of
¦Putnam. Improvement of the Loom for Weav
ing. Sheriff Sale of Accounts." His oaa'u In
cluded.

EDUCATIONAL, SOCIAL, AND POLITICAL. 97
The deplorable condition of the press of Ohio
at the time is so graphically and candidly set
forth by the editors of the OliA'e Branch — the
only paper published in the county — in their
last appeal for support, is better illustrated by
reproducing the article entire :
'PROSPECTS
"For Continuing the Publication of
"THE OLIVE BRANCH.
"The publishers noAV call upon the citizens of
county, and the country adjacent, to deter

mine if they shall continue publishing The Olive
Branch. They have fully and firmly determined
to discontinue its publication, unless the number
of their subscribers is considerably increased.
They apprehend their present number will not
pay the expense of the establishment ; and they
do not think themselves able, nor are they under
obligations, to lose more by it than they have lost
already. "If, therefore, the citizens of the county are
desirous that a paper should be published at this
place, and if any think this worthy of their
patronage, let them declare it by adding their
names to the list of our subscribers. By this
declaration, yea or nay, when fully and explicitly
made known, Ave shall positively abide.
"Some persons ask, 'What is to be the charac
ter of our paper?' And what inducements Ave
7

98 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
offer them to become subscribers? In a few
Avords Ave will tell them : Its character- shall be
truly American and Republican. Americans by
birth and education, Ave have no partiality for
European institutions or policy. Republicans in
principle, Ave Avill never disseminate aristocratical
or monarchical doctrines. We Avill ever oppose,
Avith our utmost endeavors, their progress. We
do fearlessly declare perpetual Avar against them.
Believing our forms of government infinitely
superior to any CA'er before Avitnessed, Ave Avill
rather perish in their defense than sit silent spec
tators of their destruction.
"We Avill ever respect and inculcate A'irtue,
both public and private, and deprecate A'ice in all
its dazzling forms. Nothing shall ever appear in
our columns to disturb the present public tran
quillity, unless Ave see danger lurking therein,
Avhich duty requires us to expose to public a'Icav.
We hold the Christian religion in sacred venera
tion, and shall ncA^^r, therefore, suffer an asper
sion to be cast upon it througli our columns.
"As the happiness of most of mankind lies in
their social domestic circles, Ave shall hold them
sacred. We Avill nevcn- designedly cast into them
the apple of discord ; nor aa'IU avc knoAvingh'
cause a pang to the Itonest Jieart or a blush upon
' the modest cheek.'
" Th(5 indneements Ave oll'er- ar'e :
"First — A Aveekly account of the most iinpor-

EDUCATIONAL, SOCIAL, AND POLITICAL. 99
tant events and transactions occurring in our own
country. " Secondly — An account of such as transpire in
other parts of the globe afl'ecting us ; and among
these, every thing important relative to our Mex
ican and South American neighbors Avill have a
preference .
" Thirdly — The most important state papers
and documents relating to or coming from our
government. " Fonrthlij — Well-Avritten essays, either original
or extracted, on political, moral and scientific
subjects, and relating to the topography and
geography of our country.
"Fifthly — A A'icAV of the proceedings of our
state and national legislatures, and a strict exam
ination of the laAvs passed by them.
' ' Sixthly — Literary articles AA'hich convey in
struction Avith amusemeyit Avill find a niche in our
paper. We shall not, hoAvever, seek to amuse
unless Ave can at the same time instruct. To ex
cite or gratify the public taste for amusement
alone Ave consider dangerous to our freedom. By
such means Pericles destroyed the liberties of
Athens, and Caesar of Rome. Modern France,
too, had her. Pericles and her Caesar; she fol
lowed them, and she is noAV ruing her folly.
Similar must be our fate when Ave follow after the
sir-en song of amusement. We Avill never be the
Avilling instruments of thus sapping our free insti
tutions. If our paper can not find a sufficient
suf)port Avithout this, let it go ' to the tomb of

100 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
the Capulets.' For we will sooner breast the
torrent of public feeling on this subject, though
Ave are sAvept by it into the deep bosom of de
struction, than glide upon its surface and trim
our barques to its course. "Renick, Doan & Co."
Although ably edited — containing interesting,
well-written and Avell-selected articles, the ver
dict was "perpetual suspension." The inhabitants
of neither toAvn nor country cared to become
"readers of ncAVspapers." The agrarian element
of society had not extended to business transac
tions. The contracted condition of the "circu
lating medium" was such that it became abso
lutely necessary to ignore every luxury that re
quired "spot cash;" while state hiAA's made the
credit system so dangerous, honest people kept
as free as possible from financial obligations.
They did not wish to take the risk of seeing their
names posted in public places, stating the time
the indebtedness would be sold by the sheriff at
public outcry to the higliest bidder.
And the citizen continued on his even Avav,
enjoying the chase — catching Avolves and foxes ;
and hunting the deer, turkey and squirrel ; and
in summer tilling a fcAV acres of corn — a small
"patch" of flax — enough potatoes, beans, pump
kins, and gourds for the use of the family.
The soil produced Avell, and Avith but little labor
enough corn could be raised for family meal and

EDUCATIONAL, SOCIAL, AND POLITICAL. 101
to Avinter the small amount of stock — the fire-
Avood was secured from wind-falls in the "dead
ning," and AA'ith ahorse and coav, a few sheep,
and a good dog, the "squirrel hunter" became
Avonderfully Avell satisfied Avitli his envii'onment,
and had no desire for change. The amount he
kncAV of things transpiring in the outside Avorld
Avas obtained by the word of mouth in the regu
lar line of communication.
The Avomen carded the avooI and hackled the
flax, and spun and Avove the same ; and from
year to year there Avere no changes in household
appearances or landed possessions. The "dead
ning," hoAvever, Avas a little larger in area, in
order to keep up the easily-obtained supply of
flre-Avood, and to increase the amount of the
natural grasses and green things in summer for
the benefit of the stock.
All domestic animals subsisted on what nature
furnished in the woods during spring and sum
mer, and each indiAddual OAvner had an ear-mark
for hogs and cattle recorded at the county-seat,
Avhich gave security against mistakes, and
when animals became lost furnished information
of OAvnership and acted as a substitute for a
square in the "lost" column of some ncAvspaper.
It must be remembered that Ohio was not settled
all over at once. It came into the Union an im
mense wilderness, and much of it remained unoccu
pied for long periods. The first tree cut, in Har
din county, was cut for bees in 1837 — a dead

102 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
black-Avalnut, seventy-tAvo feet to the first limb.
And as the counties became organized and set
tled the inhabitants all commenced at the same
point — the same style of cabin and like simplic
ity — benches Avere used for chairs, earth for floor
ing and carpet, forked sticks driven into the
ground Avith cross poles for bedsteads, clap-boards
for bed-cords, and pond-grass for feathers, a
single pot and frying-pan, Avith a fcAV pcAvter
dishes, constituted the primitive outfit, sooner or
later, for every county in the state.
The immigrants aa'Iio pushed forward into the
interior counties suffered most for want of mills
and from the high price of freight, and merchan
dise, as salt, flour, and other necessaries of life,
all came from Chillicothe or Zanesville. Salt
was ten and twelve cents a jDOund, calico one dol
lar a yard, coffee seventy-five cents, and whisky
two dollars a gallon.
High prices ruled in all ncAV settlements long
after they had been reduced in and at the vicinity
of Chillicothe and Zanesville ; and which, too, Avas
only partly owing to exorbitant rates for trans
portation. So little and so fcAv Avere articles pur
chased, that pioneer merchants did not enter the
interior counties of the state for many years, and
orders for flour, and salt, and other necessaries,
accompanied by the silver, Avould be forAvarded
generally by the bearer of the order, as no regu
lar mail or line of transportation Avas run from
one settlement to another. For Avant of roads

EDUCATIONAL, SOCIAL, AND POLITICAL. 103
the inconvenience was tolerated, as it did not de
tract much from the poAver of the inhabitants in
every part of the state from liA'ing Avell and Ha^-
ing easy. Still there Avere a few from isolation
or improvidence suffered hardships and unpleas
ant conditions, especially in the interior counties.
In the fall of 1803, Henry Berry, a Welshman,
came to this country to establish a home, and
leaA'ing his Avife and smaller children in Phila
delphia, Pa., took his two boys, one nine and the
other eleven years old, and put up a small cabin
in the interior of DelaAvare county, flfteen miles
from the nearest one of the three families that
constituted the white inhabitants. At this time
the country was full of Indians and wild animals,
and Avas distant from sources of supplies seventy-
flA'e to one hundred miles. The father Avas so in
fatuated Avith the country, he hurriedly er-ected
a small cabin of such timber as he and his boys
could handle ; and when covered, but Avithout
floor, chimney, or flre-place, and without daub
ing or chinking, he fixed the children a place to
sleep, started back for Philadelphia, hoping to
get the rest of his family West before the cold
weather set in. When he reached Philadelphia
he found his Avife dangerously sick Avith a pro
tracted fever, and before she was able to travel
Mr. Berr-y became sick, and Avinter came on, and
he was unable to return until the June fol
lowing. The bovs had not been heard from ; the Avinter

104 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
had been unusually severe, and they had been
left Avith but a short amount of provisions, Avith
out a gun, surrounded by Indians and AA'ild beasts,
and Avere compelled to live upon such animals as
they could capture ; and with no fireplace or
chimney they passed a cold winter in that open
cabin. And Avhen the father returned Avith the
family, he found the boys had cleared enough
ground for a large garden and had vegetables
groAving from the seeds they had brought with
them from Wales. Of course the boys suffered
much, but like the one on the burning deck, they
heroically stood their ground regardless of con
sequence. But the man aa'Iio Avould refuse cornbread and
carry a bushel of A\dieat seventy-five miles on his
shoulder, to get it ground, is not properly a sub
ject of pity or sympathy.
Before the state had reached its fortieth anni
versary, almost all parental heads establishing
homes in this country, prior to the opening of
the Erie Canal (1825), could, at the sound of a
dinner liorn, call in a large family of AA'ell-groAvn
childi-en, numbering a "baker's dozen," more or
less ; and oftener than otherAvise, Avithout the
loss of a single addition.
The ratio of natui-al increase of population
was satisfactory, and death i-ate Avas small. The
climate was healthful ; living sirnj-jle and easA' ;
house-keeping uncomplicated and destitute of
style. Rural homes Avere all alike unostenta-

EDUCATIONAL, SOCIAL, AND POLITICAL. 105
tious, and early marriages Avere seldom, if ever,
deferred on account of immaturity or financial
circumstances ; and large families became fash
ionable. Seldom less than ten, and only occasion
ally more than tAventy children, Avere added to
the household.
People may have been poor in accumulated
wealth, but it was not felt or despised. A father
Avith eight or ten robust sons had a sure founda
tion for a hope to see the destruction of the sur
rounding forest, cultivation of the soil, and the
transformation of a portion of the wilderness
into fields of waving grain, fruits and flowers.
It is possible, and has been no uncommon
thing for heads of large families to live to see
their great-great-grand-children ; for it would
seem true, as in history, longevity and children
are very nearly related. As a rule, large families
are healthy, having inherited a full measure of
vital resistance. Records of centenarians show
that both males and females of those who have
gone into the second century have been nearly all
parents of large families ; and read quite similar
to the folloAving : "Alexander Hockaday has just
celebrated his one hundred and tAvelfth birthday.
His Avife, a few years younger, is still liAdng.
They were blessed with tAvelve children, eleven
of Avhom are living near the aged couple with their
numerous posterity."
No doubt the existing conditions of a desirable
new country, and the exemption from avarice,

106 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
penury or speculation, with the enjoyment of
that hapi^y state unknown to wealth, want or
war, were favorable to longevity and natural in
crease. States of the mind and existing impres
sions, like acquired habits, are transmissible as
certainly as that of the resemblance of physical
and moral qualities. And with the pioneer pos
terity, much of that strong manifestation of
character and mental endowment Avas due to the
multiplicity and salutary combinations of causes.
Blood will tell, but in addition to descent, pos
terity had all the winning influences of a quiet,
simple and easy mode of liAdng — pure air, earth
and water, flUed with inspiration to greatness
and dispensed by nature to those Avho delight to
worship AAdthin her temple and partake Avisdom
from beasts, birds and floAvers.

PROFESSIONS, ETC. 107

CHAPTER III.
OHIO— PROFESSIONS: MEDICAL, MINISTERIAL,
AND LEGAL.

"The subject of practical education has occu
pied the attention of every enlightened nation,
and has ever been one of intense interest to the
reflecting portion of this country. It has been a
universally-received axiom, that the foundations
of a republic must be in the information of its
people."* In the general desire for knoAvledge and a
steady advancement in the things pertaining to
civilization the professions were in harmony with
that honesty, simplicity and zeal Avhich consti
tuted the foundation structures of pioneer soci
ety. The doctor, the clergyman and the lawyer
occupied respectively their inviting fields, and
each became alike interested in the ever new
book of nature, and read aloud the AA^onders of
the NeAV World. The calling of the physician
Avas not very remunerative. He seldom refused
to obey a call for reason of the inability to pay.
Still, he had but little to do. It Avas not fash
ionable to send for a doctor and have the temper-
¦*Dr. R. Dunglison.

108 THE S()UIRREL HUNTERS.
ature taken for every little indisposition. The
people, from instinct or circumstances, had great
faith in Nature as a Iteedcr. They discovered that
persons recovered from most all diseases ; and
that cool spring Avater and a little catnip or bone-
set tea served to amuse the patient to a satisfac
tory termination quite as Avell as the Adsits of
the physician.
And, it Avould appear, the doctors Avere gener
ally honest enough to encourage this reasonable
confidence to so great an extent that the good
physical inheritance required very little medica
tion ; and many pioneer fathers and mothers
reared large families of children without the loss
of a single member, as avcU as without having a
doctor called for any occasion whatcA'er. And
the rate of mortality remained astonishingly Ioav
until the innovation of "cross-roads" medical
colleges, and proprietary nostrums received the
patronage of the public.
The great danger in a free country of the
learned professions being made up of CA'il, igno
rance and corruption, gave timely Avarning to the
medical men of Ohio, avIio, AA'ith the aid of the
legislature, endeavored to protect the groAving
community against quacks and mountebanks.
The state Avas divided into districts of several
counties each, in Avhich censors Avere appointed
and duly qualified "to faithfully perform and im-
jiartially discharge their duties as censors" in the
examination of the qualification of applicants to

PROFESSIONS, ETC!. 109
practice medicine and surgery. A certificate of
qualification from the Board of Censors Avas in
sufficient of itself to entitle the holder to prac
tice, and required a license from the court of
common pleas, certified by the secretary of the
medical district, and placed on record in the
county in Avhich the applicant proposed to prac
tice medicine and surgery.
The foUoAving forms were used :
"CERTIFICATE OF QUALIFICATION.
"State of Ohio,

' "Medical District No. 3.
' ' To Whom It May Concern .
"These presents certify. That Giles S. B. Hemp
stead, of Portsmouth, in the county of Scioto,
appeared for examination, and is found to be
duly qualified to practice physic and surgery.
"In testimony whereof, I, President of said
Board, have hereunto set my hand and affixed
the seal of said Board at Marietta, this, the fifth
day of November, 1818. "E. Perkins, President.
"Columbus Bierce, Secretary.''
"LICENSE.
"Know all men by these presents. That I, 
 , President of the Second Circuit Court of

Common Pleas in the State of Ohio, by the au
thority in me vested, do license Giles S. B. Hemp-

110 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
stead to practice physic and surgery Avithin this
state. "In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my
hand and official seal of the County of Scioto
this, the twenty-third day of November, a. d.
1818.

tf^

"President Court Common Pleas.

"I do hereby certify the above to be a true
copy of the license granted to Giles S. B. Hemp
stead. "Columbus Bierce,
"Secretary Third Medical District."
Each medical district kept a record of all cer
tificates and licenses issued Avithin the area des
ignated for public inspection, that all might
knoAV Avho Avere qualified to assume the respon
sibility. The censors and members licensed composed a
list of the learned and able men of Ohio, Almost
every one licensed brought AA'ith him a certificate
of qualification from state censors of some state
east, Avhich Avas copied into the records kept by
the censors in Ohio.
These "Diplomas" AA'er-e quite similar in char
acter and expression, the following being a fair
sample : "DIPLOMA.
"We, the President and other officers of the
Incorporated Medical Society of Dutchess County,
in the State of Ncav York, having received from

PROFESSIONS, ETC 111
our censors full assurance of the competent
knowledge of Columbus Bierce in the theory and
practice of medicine, and from Doctor John
Cooper and others, his former preceptors, the
like assurance of his standing and moral deport
ment, do by the poAvers vested in us confer upon
him, the said Columbus Bierce, license to prac
tice physic and surgery and midAvifery in any
part of this state, and recommend him to the
confidence of our fellow-citizens, and the friendly
attention of our bi'ethren, as a person of good
morals and liberal attainments.
"In testimony Avhereof we have sub
scribed these f)i"esents Avith our

fSEAl.)

on AW ' names and caused our seal of in
corporation to be annexed.
"Done at Poughkeepsie, this, the 15th May,
a. I). 1816. "John Thomas, President.
"Attest: John Barnes, Secretary.
"I certify the above to be a ti'ue copy from the
original. "C. Bierce,
"Secretary Third Medical District, Ohio.

-'to'

The censors and society of the third district
met semi-annually, alternately at Athens and Ma
rietta, and the place of meeting Avas generally at
the residence of some citizen, Avho volunteered in
advance to entertain the doctors. An applicant
for a certificate or license to practice medicine
Avas required by laAv, to file with the Board of

112 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
Censors a certificate of good moral character and
a fee of ten dollars.
A diploma from the censors, approved by the
court in the county Avliere the practitioner re
sided, entitled the holder to a membership of the
medical society in his district, auxiliary to the
state society. Any member failing to attend a
semi-annual meeting subjected himself to a fine,
notwithstanding many Avere obliged to ride horse
back more than two hundred miles to make the
round trip. The attendance of these meetings,
as the records shoAV, was good, and the proceed
ings compare favorably with those of the present
day. Among the standing resolutions, members were
"requested to exhibit specimens of indigenous
medicinal plants for inspection," and "Dr. S. B.
Hildreth to procure and keep on hand at all
times genuine vaccine matter, and to furnish the
same to members of the society on their applica
tion and payment therefor."
At one of these semi-annual meetings the fol-
loAving met unanimous favor, A'iz :
"licsolred, That each individual member of this
society, at the next meeting, furnish in Avriting
an account of such remedies as are knoAA'ii and
used by the people in their several Adcinities,
not hitherto generally employed by the faculty."
The import of this resolution Avas of much
more significance than it would seem at the pres
ent time. Then, domestic medicine, or use of

PROFESSIONS, ETC. 113
indigenoas plants, by a poor and sparsely inhab
ited country, Avas general for diseases incident to
locality. And to receive Avritten statements on
the subject from various parts, covering a large
portion of a great state, by men of science, con
stituted an instructiA'e record in diseases, reme
dies and results.
Another resolution seems to have been adopted
as the rule of the society, "to report all accidents
requiring surgical interference." This may have
been from the fact there has ahvays remained a
suspicion of the dual character of things coming
under the hiAV of accidents, and from which
probably originated the saying that "trouble
never comes singly." This dual character of odd
occurrences has been noticed, and noted more
frequently by physicians and surgeons, perhaps,
than by those of any other calling.
This may not haA'e been uppermost in the mind
of the Doctor when he announced to the society that
he wished to report two unusual cases of "stuck
balls" that came under his notice at the same
time, happening to two squirrel hunters in the
same neighborhood. A young man after squir
rels, became confused in regard to the order in
which the loading materials should be used, and
put the ball down first. The ramrod, however,
Avas provided with a remedy for such loss of
memory, and the scrcAV in the end of the rod
Avas firmly fixed in the body of the ball ; but
10

114 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
no adequate force seemed at hand to Avithdraw
the ramrod, as the end projecting beyond the
muzzle Avas so short the operator Avas obliged to
apply force by means of the teeth. After mak
ing many unsuccessful efforts a happy thought
seemed born Avith the necessity, and he felt as
sured if he had the ball once started it could
be AvithdraAvn. On this theory he Avorked just
enough poAvder in at the "touch-hole" of the
"priming-pan," as he judged, to give the ball
a slight impetus in the right direction. And
Avitli the end of the ramrod betAveen the teeth,
and great toe upon the trigger, applied full
force, adding that of the poAvder by means of
the toe, Avhich, to his surprise, lost the ramrod
and left an ugly looking hole in the neck at
the base of the skull. Treatment for gunshot
Avound — I'ecovered .
The other "stuck ball" AA'as caused by a lad
of German extraction failing to close the "prim
ing pan" to his flint-lock before loading, and con
sequently the poAvder nearly all Avent out at the
"touch hole" as the -ball Avas pushed doAA'n the
barrel. Enough, hoAVCA^er, remained AA'ith the
"priming" to drive the ball about half Avay out.
At this point it remained fixed, and the amateur
gunner could neither get it out nor push it doAvn.
Like a dutiful son, r-everencing j-iarental Avis-
dom, returned to the house Avith the gun, and gave
a statement of the facts. After being equally un
successful in the removal of the obstruction, the

PROFESSIONS, ETC 115
father looked carefully over the make of the gun,
and said, in bad English : "Shon, oh, Shon ! did
you cshoot de gunne mid a zingle drigger ur
mid de double drigger?" John replied that it
was shot with a single trigger, Avhich so enraged
the father that he disremembered the command
ments, and Avith irreligious prefixes declared
any fool might knoAV, to shoot a double-triggered
gun "mid a zingle drigger, the ball would go
only half AA'ay out." The case Avas considered
hopeless. These short reports bear the only appearances
of matter for levity that the writer has found in
looking over volumes of manuscript proceedings
of the biennial meetings.
At a subsequent meeting of the Medical So
ciety, in 1819, an accident is given, as stated,
"not for the surgery there Avas in it, a simple
fracture of the left clavicle, but on account of
the odd manner in AA'hich it occurred and the in
structive sequel. "The patient was but recently
from New York City, an estimable young man,
but not versed in the ways of the Western
world," . . . "A squirrel he killed lodged
in another tree on its way to the ground. The
branch that held the unfortunate animal Avas an
offshoot of an ancient sycamore AA'hich had in
some past age of the world been broken off
about thirty feet from the ground ; but, like
most sycamores, it was not willing to give up
the ghost, and threw out incipient branches

116 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
along the remaining section of the trunk ; and
at the top or point of fracture a croAvn of short
limbs adorned the mammoth stump. It Avas one
of these top branches that held the squirrel.
"After failing to dislodge the animal by the
usual methods, he Avent up the tree, and on
the top of the stump he found a good place to
stand and bring the game in reach above his
head. In the act, the decayed Avood on which
his feet Avere jolaced gave AA'ay and let the hunter
doAvn to the base, in a dark tube, six feet in di
ameter, Avithout door or AA'indoAV, and no possi
bility of returning by the opening he entered."
"As soon as he recovered from the shock, and
took in the situation, he began making voice
signals of distress ; but the caliber of the horn
of his dilemma Avas too large and long to be
bloAvn effectually by an excited and injured asth
matic. He did, hoAvever, the best he could,
thinking if those on earth could not answer his
prayers, ample facilities had been obtained for
being lieavd from above.-
"Fortunately a fisherman had not proceeded
far up the riA^er before he heard groans of dis
tress, that seemed to come from the Avater beneath
his boat, and badly frightened, pulled ashore.
Still the muffled cries of human distress were
unceasing, and apparently in all directions among
the trees — soon a man Avas located imprisoned in
the interior of a scycamore. Friends Avere noti
fied, axes pr-ocured and the hunter relieved, Avho

PROFESSIONS, ETC 117
gave many thanks, requesting that nothing be
said about it."
"He soon recovered from the injury and to
shoAV there is no disposition in the human mind
so universal as that Avhich 'locks the stable door
after the horse is stolen,' long after, his friends
smiled but said nothing, as they looked upon
a hatchet suspended to his hunting belt." And
circumstances make it highly probable that no
one connected Avith those meeting AA'ith the acci
dents named, Avere in any Avay related to the en
rolled men of renoAvn, knoAvn in history as the
' ' Squirrel Hunters of Ohio ; " all are not Jews
that dAvell in Jerusalem.
Doctors Avere mostly hunters, consequently the
hunter Avas not necessarily an ignorant man,
still, in a population of many thousands, the excep
tions might have appeared quite numerous. As
a rule he became a man of extensive information,
and hunted, not as a primitive DarAvin-tailed
quadruped "making a struggle for life with a
club," yet it Avas to supply the necessities of ex
istence all the same. Subsistence was, however,
easily obtained, and did not tax much of his
time, and he had abundance of leisure to devote
to experiment and observation. He was a Avorker
in the A'ineyard, Avith the naturalist, geologist,
botanist, biologist, archaeologist, etc., and the
aggregate co-operative labor accomplished be
came manifestly incalculably great. With object
lessons daily before him, in due time he became

118 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
familiar with the habits, instincts, intelligence
and peculiarities of beasts, birds and insects, as well
as acquainted Avith the geology, mineralogy and
botany of the district in Avhich he resided. Nothing
escaped observation, from a spear of anemone to
the spreading oaks of the forest. The names
of all beasts, birds, plants and minerals AA'ith
characters, habits and qualities could be given
by the accurate and extensive observers and in
vestigators who AA'ere found among resident
squirrel hunters .

Hunter and Dog.
The man with dog and gun could ansAver
all questions ; Avas the only encyclopedia the
collector had to consult ; the formulator of
scientific facts desired no other, could ask for no
better. The Doctor in early days, Avas a man of
science and literaiy attainments. And his avo-

PROFESSIONS, ETC 119
cation brought him in contact with the hunter
and his valuable collections, observations and in
vestigations, and in this way became the safety
deposit of facts relating to natural history and
collateral branches ; in fact, the medical profes
sion constituted a small army of zealous collect
ors and investigators — such men as Doctor Ezekiel
Porter, president of the first medical society in
Ohio ; Doctors Eliphas Perkins, John Cotton and
Samuel P. Hildreth, of Washington County ;
Doctors Ebenezer BoAven, Chancy F. Perkins and
Columbus Bierce, of Athens County ; Doctors
Robinson and James S. Hibbard, of Meigs ; Doc
tors Felix Reignier and J. G. Hamlin, of Gallia ;
Doctor Giles S. B. Hempstead, of Scioto ; Doc
tor Alexander M. Millan, of Morgan ; Doctor
Joseph Whipple, of Hocking ; Doctor Joseph
Scott, of Madison ; Doctor Ezra Chandler, of
Muskingkum ; Doctor Jared P. Kirtland, of
Cuyahoga, and others equally Avell knoAvn and
respected in other parts of the country and Avho
Avere equally identified with the history of the
state. To Dr. Samuel P. Hildreth Ave oavc the fir-st
extended and connected account of the geology
of the Ohio Valley. His published notes on the
salt springs and interesting observations on the
coal deposits, AA'ith descriptions of the rocks, fos
sils, organic remains, illustrated by draAvings of
plants and shells, constitutes one of the most
comprehensiA'c documents that has ever been

120 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
made of the geology of the state. And it was
through his influence the legislature took steps
for a geological survey, which Avas ordered March
27, 1837, with a corps composed of doctors
chiefly— Professor W. W. Mather, Dr. S. P. Hih
dreth. Dr. Jared P. Kirtland, Dr. John Locke,
Dr. C. Briggs, Col. T. W. Foster, and Col. Charles
Wittlesey. Dr. Kirtland was a model specimen of those
noble men with great hearts, clear heads and dil
ligent hands. He was no closet naturalist, but a
student of nature in its full degree. In 1829,
while studying the unios or fresh-Avater mussels,
he discovered that authors and teachers of con-
chology had made nearly double the number of
species which are Avarrantable. Names had been
given to species in which Avas only a difference of
form due to males and females of the same spe
cies. The fraternity of naturalists in the United
States and Europe were astonished because of
the value of the discovery and the source whence it
came. There Avere hundreds and probably thou
sands of professors aa'Iio had observed the unios
and enjoyed the pleasure of inventing ucav names
for the varieties. "A practicing pliA'sician in the
backwoods of Ohio had shattered the entire no
menclature of the naiads . " *
At the Cincinnati meeting of the Amer-ican
Association in 1852, Professor Kirtland produced

'¦'Charles Whittlesey.

PROFESSIONS, ETC. 121
specimens of unios .of both sexes, from their
conception through all stages to the perfect ani
mal and its shell. Agassiz was present and sus
tained his vicAvs, and said they were likewise
sustained by the most eminent naturalists of
Europe.* And it is Avorthy of remembrance that
it is only those Avho base their conclusions on ob
served nature that make permanent reputations,
and show that theory and discussion do not settle
any thing Avorthy a place in science.
The field Avas long and Avide as it Avas inviting
to the man of science. And the large corps of
medical men dispersed over the state, Avoi-king in
concert AA'ith each other, and in daily contact Avith
the observing hunter, constituted an academy of
science that Avill not likely ever find its parallel
in enthusiasm character and efficiency. The
country Avas so healthy that the practice of medi
cine was limited and unremunerative, and the
doctor who carried a gun and Avhistle for a dog
often had much of his time and attention taken
up with things other than squirrels. He conversed
Avith intelligent hunters, and listened attentively
to all they had to say, and then investigated their
statements of every thing in turn, from the habits
and life of the black ant, that relieves the beasts
and birds from annoying ticks, up to the most
perplexing questions in natural history. His
shelves were loaded with mineral and archaeolog
ical specimens ; his cases glistened with the
^Charles Whittlesey. 11

122 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
bright plumage of rare taxidermic birds ; his
draAver-s filled Avith oological information ; and
every rar-e plant, ti-ee and shrub accurately
draAvn and classified, Avith the fr-uits and fioAvers
indigenous to different parts of the state, received
attention and preservation.
And the question may be suggested. Where did
all this Avealth of thought and investigation,
scattei-ed OA^er the state, go to?
The ansAver is found in the collections of
nearly every natural history society in the United
States — in the geological survevs of the state,
and in the everlasting records made by Thomas
Nuttall, John J. Audubon and Alexander Wilson.
These noted authors Avitli pens, pencils and
brushes Avere in the ucav Avorld collecting facts —
each independent of the other. Nuttall, to make
a compendious and scientific treatise on ornithol
ogy, hoping to produce it at a price so reason
able as to permit it to find a place in the hands
of general readers. Audubon marked out his
designs on a much lai'gcr and more expensivt'
scale — to give the exat-t size, coloring, etc., of
the birds and botairy indigenous to the countr\'.
This required double elephantine sheets, three
feet three inches long, by tAvo feet tAvo inches
wide, to accommodate figures of the large birds.
Exactness Avas a prominent featur-e in making this
desciiptive history. The eye Avas never trusted
for size ; every portion of each object — the bill,
the feet, the legs, the claws, the ver-v feathers as

PROFESSIONS, ETC 123
they projected beyond each other, Avere accurately
measured. These full-size drawings Avere en
graved and artistically colored by hand, accord
ing to the pattern draAvings and colorings made
by the author's pencil and brush. Collecting
and formulating the material for the four hun
dred plates, required six year's labor in the un
broken forests, and the publication handicraft
twenty more in a foreign country. It was never
theless completed and Avill forever reiuain as pro
nounced, by the immortal Cuvier, "The greatest
monument ever erected by Art to Nature."
Alexander Wilson also contemplated nature,
as nature is, and communed with her in her
sanctuaries. In the forests, mountains and
shores, he sought knowledge at the fountain
head. The observations and records made by these
collectors are the corner stones of natural history
of the United States, and their Avri tings and il
lustrations AA'ill be consulted Avhen other books
on the subject have passed to oblivion. Still
it can not be claimed that all valuable ob
servations have been or ever Avill be registered ;
nor that collectors did not obtain much of their
vast stores of information from pioneer residents,
as the acknowledgment of this fact is so often
met with in their works. These authors compli
ment the medical profession, AA^ho in turn refer
to the pioneers, students and professors in natu
ral history — the "Squirrel Hunters."

124 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
Dr. Cones, the standard authority on ornithol
ogy of the present time, was told incidentally by
a reputable Avoodsman, that the "Avild goose" often
nested in trees along large water-courses. The
Doctor could scarcely believe it, and Avas led to
investigate, and found the circumstance to be a
matter of common information among the resi
dents of localities where the bird rears its young.
Captain Bindere, of the army, stationed in Ore
gon, states that one year it was dry and the
geese all nested on the ground ; and the next
year proved wet with high AA'aters, and many
nested in the trees, and asks if this is instinct or
reason. Other birds that usually nest on the
ground, for some reason during the AA'et season,
occasionally build in trees, shoAAdng an architec
tural ability entirely different from nests con
structed on the ground. The Avriter has known
the chcAA'ink, or ground-robin to build fiA'e feet
from the ground a Avell-constructed nest, during
Avet seasons only.
It is the observing man aa'Iio resides for many
years among beasts and birds that obtains full
knoAvledge of their habits under various circum
stances. It is the patient man to AA'hom nature
reveals her secrets ; and the half-clad hunter is
often a man versed in these hidden things, and
can even tell hoAV to "feed tadpoles to make them
all females" as correctly as a Professor Drum
mond,

PROFESSIONS, ETC 125
Through the knowledge of such men have come
the great educators — the natural history socie
ties and associations of the north-west. Is there
one of these institutions of civilization that OAves
not its origin to the collections, accomplishments,
observations and will of the Squirrel Hunter?
Not one. He not only collected scientific matter,
but Avas also the man the future looked upon as
the one to open up farms, build school-houses,
churches, highAvays, Avater-courses, mills, manu
factures — to carry on commerce, make laAvs and
to enforce them. He kept his gun clean, his
powder dry and bullet pouch full, ready to put
down rebellion or subdue invasion, or perform
any other duty assigned him.
All this is no fancy sketch nor pen-picture —
history written and unwritten will forever stand
with his honorable mention. In the war of
1812, Ohio sent out more of these men as volun
teers than she had voters ; and in addition to
this — when it was known General Hull had dis
gracefully surrendered the fort at Detroit, the
Squirrel Hunters in the northern counties of the
state did not aAvait an invitation, but AA'ith their
own guns, ammunition, blankets and rations
marched to Cleveland, and made General Brock
and his Indians feel satisfied to have the big
pond of water between them and these deter
mined men.
The following year (1813) , at the time Fort
Meigs was under hot fire and siege by General

120 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
Procter and his mixed army of British and In
dians, the besieging general, it is said, Avas in
formed "ten thousand 'squirrel hunters,' called
'Hardy Buckeyes,' * Avere on their Avay and near
at hand to tell his army to get out of the coun
try AA'ithout delay!" On receipt of this, "not
another gun Avas fired," and the general with
his army took the nearest and most expeditious
route to Canada.
In the absence of the love of gain that comes
Avith higher civilization, the pioneers Avere in
favorable condition to receive literaiy and re
ligious instructions. And the teachers found the
people alAA'ays as ready and anxious to hear the
Avords of inspiration and eternal life as are those
of the xiresent time to learn the last quotations
of the market.
The strictly moral and religious elements sel
dom, if ever, took part in such amusements as
"shooting-matches," "horse-racing," ball-danc
ing, card-playing, or drinking AA'hisky. And for
the first forty years of the Nineteenth Century,
the social condition, in regard to leading A'ices,
had perhaps less evil than at any period since.
The majority of resident citizens Avere a Sun
day-observing, church-going people. Although
the inhabitants Avere sparse, the congi'egations
Aver-e generally ver-y large — Avhol(> families Avould

" Ohio A'alley," hy Samuel AVilliams, p. 40.

PROFESSIONS, ETC 127
Avalk six, eight, and ten miles or more to hear a Lo
renzo DoAv, Jacob Young, or Bishop McKendree.
Sectarian influences were but little felt. The
people encouraged all denominations, though dif
fering in confessions of faith and church dis
cipline ; each had in view the making mankind
better here, and happier hereafter. "And for
forms of faith, let graceless zealots fight, holding
that his 'can't be wrong' whose life is right."
And Avitli a people Avho had many reasons to be-
licA^e in special providences it Avas but consistent
they should cultivate a submissive sincerity and
desire to follow the paths of rectitude, Avitli
faith and assurance — "to such all ends well."
In looking back upon the records made by
Squirrel Hunters in early days there may be seen
a most wonderful faith in the providences of prac
tical religion — that religion Avhich stays with the
individual throughout his daily occupations of
life. A simple instance of this old-fashioned
piety is sufficient to illustrate its meaning and
spirit of the times, taken from the biography of
one born in the Quaker Church, Avritten by him
self :
"I OAvned two hundred acres of choice land,
heavily timbered and Avell Avatered Avith springs
and brooks. Of this, only five acres Avere cleared
for cultivation. My family consisted of AA'ife and
tAVO small children. Of domestic animals, I had
tAVO horses, a cow and a clog. One evening, in the
spring of 1813, the coav failed to come home.

128

THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.

Her pasture Avas an unfenced wilderness. The
bell could not be heard, and search beyond
its sounds was impractical after night. Three
days were ineffectually spent without obtaining
the least clue to her location ; and bodings of bad
luck seemed standing in the high way to pros
perity. ' '

Man of Special Providences.

"I gave the coav up for lost and resumed the
work of grubbing and burning brush to enlarge
the five acres a little In the afternoon, AA'hile
busily engaged Avitli my thoughts in smoke
and brush, my Avife and tAVO children appeared
on the ground. She came to tell me there Avas
a man at the house AA'ith a sad story. He had
been burned out, and lost cA'cry thing, andAA^anted

I'ROFESSIONS, ETC 129
help to start again. I told her Ave Avere too poor
to help any body ; that the half dollar in the
house Avas all the money Ave had, and I did not
think it best to part with the last cent ; that he
should go to Avork and earn something and not
spend his time begging of people who have noth
ing. My good nature had got around on the
north side."
"As my wife turned toAvard the cabin, she ob
served, 'The man looks much distressed.' And
either her AA'ords, spirit, or soniething else, brought
before my eyes in large capital letters the creed
or motto of my life, 'Do right and all Avill come
right.' And I called her, saying, 'Give the un
fortunate man the half dollar, and tell him Ave
feel for him.' The begger left rejoicing. And
Avhile at supper the sound of the coAV-bell was at
the door — the lost had returned, and Ave were all
happy again."
Pioneer preaching Avas most satisfactory and
successful, and piety appeared quite as lasting
in members of the Methodist Church as those in
churches holding "once in grace, ahvays in
grace." It was remarkable, as stated, that in a
sparsely settled country congregations Avould
assemble in numbers so great no house could
accommodate more than a small fraction of the
multitude. And out-door preaching became a
necessity; and camp-meetings held in "God's
first temples" were inaugurated in the very com
mencement of the settlements, and a meeting of

130 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
the kind in the pleasant season of the year Avould
bring together the inhabitants from a large area
of country. And under the supervision of such
eminently spiritual divines as Bishop Asbury,
McKendree, and others, it Avas not strange the
old lady entertained the opinion that "dog-
fennel and Methodism were bound to take the
country." Methodism and its methods Avere better adapted
to the religious wants of the people than any of
the many sects that found missionary encourage
ment in the North-west, and it Avas well said by
Warren Miller, of Ncav York, recently, at the
Methodist Social Union, held in Chicago in
honor of John Wesley — "that Methodism has
exercised a greater influence for good over the
institutions of our government, from its origin,
and over the Ha'cs and character of the masses of
our people than any other branch of the Chris
tian Church, can not be questioned by any one
Avho has carefully studied the inner history of
our government and of our people."
Religious and educational interests were not
neglected, and AA'here the population Avas too
sparse and poor to afford a Aveek-day school,
children Avere taught to read and write in Sun
day-schools, AA'hich Avere open in summer in most
e vety neighborhood . Church buildings Avere f cav ,
but preaching and religious services Avere seldom
overlooked, and in Avarm Aveather Avere held in
the groves, and in Avinter in private houses, bar-

PROFESSIONS, ETC 131
rooms, country taverns, school-houses, court
rooms, and other places obtained for the occa
sion. Protracted, tented, or camp-meetings in
creased, foUoAving the settlements, and becoming
very popular AA'ith preachers and people — usually
lasting over a week — attended by large congrega
tions and great revivals.
Stated preaching places Avere free to all denom
inations. Of the numerous log-cabins used for this pur
pose, only a few haA^e been preserved as familiar
objects in the history of early settlements. A
house that served as a family residence, hotel,
church, court-house, and school-house — an humble

Church, Residence, and Court-house.
log cabin, of Avliich the above drawing is a
faithful likeness — is still standing.
DAvellings, school-houses, churches, "meeting
houses," hotels, and court-houses, resembled each
other so closely, it required a knoAvledge of the
-purpose to apply the correct name. And quite
frequently cabins were dedicated for general pur
poses, liut A\dthout change of pattern.

132 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
The Methodist Western Conference comprised
in 1802, Ohio, Kentucky, Virginia, Tennessee,
Mississippi, and missionary fields in Indiana,
Illinois and Michigan. The ministry traveled on
horseback, and after conference each member
Avould have his field of labor designated on a
map or draAAdng. On arrival at point of duty
the minister arranged his OAvn circuit and en
gaged his OAvn preaching places, so he might
traA'el and preach each day in the AA'cek.
Bishop Asbury deA'oted all his time and talents
to this large field of religious instruction ; trav
eled and preached, and Avas so dcA'oted to the
religious or spiritual Avelfare of the people that
he often remar'ked to Mr. Kendree that his Avork
Avas so arduous that he "never had time to
marry a A\dfe, buy a farm or build a house."
And it can not be said that he or those in his
charge had either an easy or lucratiA'e calling —
the bishop's salary being sixteen dollars per quar
ter-, or sixty-four dollars per annum. But he
lived to see that for Avhich he and other Christian
denominations labored — ten years of the most
remarkable rcAUA'als of religion that CA'er oc
curred in the United States, and of Avhich Ohio
and the North-west receiA'ed a full share of the
good and lasting results.
In the period from 1800 to 1810, or during the
height of the great religious revival that sAA'ept
over the Avestern and southern states, there ex
isted a singular manifestation, called the "'jerks."

PROFESSIONS, ETC, 133
It appeared to foUoAV and to Ije in some Avay re
lated to religious excitement ; to be no respecter
of persons, and made victims of all classes
and conditions of society. A noted divine in
his autobiography says: "I have often seen
the ladies take it at the breakfast table, as they
were pouring out tea or coffee. They Avould
throAV the AA'hole up toAvard the ceiling, and
sometimes break both cup and saucer. They
would then leaA'e the table in great haste, their
long suits of braided hair hanging doAA'ii their
backs, at times cracking like a Avhip. For .a
time it Avas the topic of conversation, public and
private, both in and out of the church. Various
opinions prevailed. Some said it Avas the Avork
of the dcAdl, and strove against it. Sometimes
it almost took their Ha'cs."*
The Methodist and Pr-esbyterian ministers Avere
AA'orking together in the revival A'ci-y harmoni
ously. But in due time it became Avhispered
around that the Methodists Aver-e making more
noise than necessary ; that shouting Avas a mat
ter under the control of the Avill, and sliould be
moderated. All this reached the t'ars of a young
minister, avIio, at a camp-meeting in 1804, and be
fore an audience of more than ten thousand peo
ple, concluded it a fitting moment to set matters
right and explain or give the philosophy of the
"jerks,''' and that of shouting, and of Avhich he
says :
¦¦•¦'"Autobiography of a Pioneer," by Rev. Jacob Young.

134 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
"On Monday morning I preached. I was pre
ceded by the venerable Van Pelt, Avho, having
preached a short and pithy sermon, sat doAvn,
with the congregation bathed in teai-s. There
Avas no appearance of jerks. I took the stand
like most of men Avho know but little and fear
nothing, and undertook to account for the
jerks. The preachers behind me looked as if
they Avere alarmed, the audience seemed aston
ished at the young man. I vicAved it as a judg
ment on that Avicked community. This led me to
take a compendious vicAV of nations, to show
that God's providence Avas just, as Avell as merci
ful. Though He bore long. His judgments were
sure to come. ... I took occasion to dAvell
on the rise and progress of Methodism in this
country, and the cruel persecutions its professors
had met from their neighbors. I quoted their
taunting language : 'Hoav, the Methodists are a
pack of hypocrites, and could refrain from shout
ing if they Avould.' I made a pause, then ex
claimed, at the top of my voice : 'Do you leave off
jerking if you canf It Avas thought more than
five hundred commenced jumping, shouting, and
jerking. There Avas no more preaching that daA'.
One good old mother in Israel admonished me,
and said I had just done it in order to set them
to jerking."
The "jerks" have never been satisfactorily ac
counted for. Some persons haA'e attributed the
manifestations to the influence of AA'itchcraft.

I'ROFESSIONS, ET(!. 135
But this superstition failed to fasten itself upon
Western ciA'ilization as it unfortunately did on
the Eastern States ; and the Avitches imported
into the North-west Avere so fcAv and insignificant
in character that none of the tribe CA'cr reached
recognition to an extent sufficient to obtain more ,
than a mere mention in the statute books of/
Ohio. They made but little public history.
In 1828, there Avas a court case in Lawrence
county, involving the individuality of those
operating the "black art," growing out of an ac- '
tion to recover on a warranty given in a bill of sale
of a horse. The horse proved unsatisfactory, if not
unsound. And it AA'as claimed the liorse Avas
docile and all right, excepting for frequent pe
riodical "spells," in Avhich he would stop in the
midst of routine Avork, and, after a short pause,
Avould rear, kick, plunge, and strike out right
and left, uttering unearthly cries, foaming at the
mouth, and trembling, shoAving great fatigue and
fear. All these alarming symptoms would pass
off in a short time, and the animal would again
resume its normal condition and in all respects
a docile and Avell educated beast.
It Avas during one of the animal's normal periods
that the defendant sold it to the plaintiff, making
the usual warranty. Soon after, while the ani
mal Avas quietly drawing the family to a country
church, he commenced kicking and screaming,
until he demolished a ncAV wagon and tore down
the "worm fences" in the vicinity of the trans-

136 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
action, and suit Avas brought upon the Avarranty
to recover the money.
The Avitnesses for plaintiff shoAved conclusively
that there Avas something Avrong Avith the horse ;
and defendant frankly admitted all that had
been testified as to the singular "spells" or Avay-
Avardness of the animal, and related others more
startling, but declared that this was not because
of any unsoundness, but OAving to the horse be
ing bcAA'itched from time to time by a gang of
AAdtches under control of an old lady aa'Iio lived
in seclusion of the mountains and fastnesses for
Avhich LaAvrence county is noted.
The defendant stated to the court that this
gang Avere in the habit of taking possession of
horses and cattle, and sometimes of men and
Avomen, riding and AA'orrying them almost to
death in the night-time. That the horse he
had sold (and causing this suit) AA'as one of
the victims of this Avitcheiy, and that he sold
the horse to his neighbor hoping the CA'il spirit
Avould not pursue it AA'hen it had passed into other
hands — adding, "If Avitches could be driA'en out
of the neighborhood the liorse would be all right,
and the people would be better off."
Upon mature deliberation, the court AA'ent far
enough in the direction of the vicAvs of the de
fendant to render a conditional judgment, to Avit,
"that the defendant should either repaA' the
plaintiff the price of the h(.)rse, or relicA'e the ani
mal of the Avitches." Upon r-eceipt of this op-

PROFESSIONS, ETC 137
tional decree, the defendant Avent up to the head'
Avaters of Little Beaver, in Pike county, and con
sulted a noted witch doctor who resided in that
neighborhood. After obtaining a statement of the case, the
doctor concluded it Avas necessary to visit the lo
cality and make a careful and mysterious study
of the situation. On arrival in the affected dis
trict the doctor soon discovered that the old
Avoman on the hill Avas at the head of a gang of
Avitches, and prescribed an old-time remedy — that
she be at once seized and burned at the stake.
It is reported that even the victims of the
Avitches thought this to be rather heroic, and in-,
sisted that some milder remedy should be adopted.
After several days study of the case, the doctor
so far modified the prescription as to substitute
the first animal that fell into the clutches of the
witches as a vicarious offering at the stake.
"It was only a fcAV days until one of the de
fendants' coAvs was taken possession of by a bat-
tallion of witches, which apparently showed
indications of complete recovery. Defendant
lost no time, but called his neighbors together to
assist him in tying the cow with ropes and lead
ing her into a neighboring clearing, where there
Ave re plenty of dry logs and brush."
' ' These were piled around and over the
bellowing animal and fired. Then began a
supernatural battle. The coav refused to be
12

138 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
burned to death and gave vent to the most piteous
and unearthly moans. More brush and logs
Avere piled on her, and blue flames leaped high
in the air, assuming grotesque shapes and utter
ing guttural laughing sounds."
"As sunset approached, the struggles and
moans of the animal began to subside and the
flesh and bones began to yield to the consuming
fangs of the flame ; the doctor and the defendant
in the laAV-suit, stood by Avatching for the denoue
ment Avith absorbing interest, AAdiile the awe-
stricken neighbors stood farther back in the
gathering folds of the approaching night."
"There Avas a lurid outburst of flames, de
moniac cries and gibbering as a cloud of sparks
rose upAvard, on the crest of AAdiich were a score
of AAdtches, each Avith a firebrand in its hand.
Up and up they rose, then sailed aAvay OA'er the
hill and past the hut of the old lady, and finally
disappeared from sight."
The beAvitched horse recovered his wonted
docility, and the purchaser never again had any
complaint to make. The old lady ceased to
commune A\'ith Avitches, joined the church, and
A\dien she passed aAvay Avas mourned by the entire
community, and so far as knoAvn, the AA'itch
doctor never had another case, and the court
records officially attest that there once Avere
AA'itches in this part of Ohio, but Avere most ef
fectually expelled by fire and the doctor, and
fied shrieking acr'oss the Ohio RiA^er, into Ken-

PROFESSIONS, ETC 139
tucky, where they still exist among white
politicians and the aged colored population, who
once served under the previous condition. All
of Avhich is a pointer as to variety, or that Ohio
can shoAv enough merely to make up a fair as
sortment and pattern of most every kind of
people, Avith room for improvement by further
advances in civilization that will end the least
barbarous act in the attempt to diminish crime by
the horrors of electrocution, the rope, or the
stake and fagots.
But the "jerks," as Avell as witchcraft, soon
gave way before the ministers of the gospel, Avho
AA''ere a social body of men, welcomed ahvays at
pioneer homes : although many stories have been
cii'culated in regard to their love for barn-yard
poultiy. In early days Avild game was common,
and when a preacher called, something extra Avas
sought in honor of the guest, and generally a
chicken Avas sacrificed for the occasion. At one
time, the minister who said "a turkey was an
unhandy bird — rather too much for one, and not
quite enough for two," called to dine Avith a
AA'idoAA' AVoman and sister in the church, Avho AA'as
noted for her Avillingness to put the "best foot
foremost. ' ' After a short time the clergyman AA'ent
out to look after his horse, and heard a boy cry
ing, and soon located him back of the corn-crib,
AA'ith a chicken under his arm. "What is the
matter, sonny?" said the divine in his most
soothing manner. The boy baAvled out "Matter 1

140 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
between the hawks and circuit-riders, this is the
the only chicken left on the place."
Early in the nineteenth century a citizen and
observing author* says: "There is a prejudice
against all preachers in this (Ohio) and all other
states is certainly true ; but, so far as Ave are
acquainted Avith them, and we know them Avell,
Ave are compelled to say that our clergymen in
Ohio, especially those Avho haA'e lived here ever
since our first settlement, deserve unqualified
praise for their zeal and good Avorks. No men in
this state have been so useful in building up society,
in making us a moral and truly religious people.
"Their disinterestedness and benevolence ; their
kindness, forbearance and charity, zeal, industry
and perseverance in AA'ell-doing, merit and receive
the respect, gratitude and affection of all good
men. They have labored zealously and faith
fully and long, and their pay has been but
trifiing. We name them not, though Ave knoAV
them all. They haA'e ahvays been the true
friends of liberty, and they Avould be the A'ery
last men in the nation to Avisli to overturn our
free institutions."
The work of the clergy, though differing from
that of the doctor, often caused them to meet on
common ground, and they AA'ere alike fast friends
of humanity and of each other. As a financial
success neither could boast the superior ; but in
the good Avorks in Avhich they Avere engaged the
*Atwater, "History of Ohio."

PROFESSIONS, ETC 141
minister of the gospel held the longer and
stronger lever. With the doctor "death ended
all ; " but the lessons of the man of inspira
tion established a faith in a higher and ever
lasting existence, Avliich shed its influence from
the departed to the living, and placed in view
another and higher kingdom.
For many years the learned profession of law
was a mere form, and practically remained on
the statute books. Fcav indeed were the causes
justifying legal investigation. Parties having
grievances preferred to settle them in the primi
tive Avay.
A single recorded instance so fully represents
the infant scales of justice in Ohio that Ave quote
the proceedings of the first court held in Greene
county, in a public "tavern" Avith all the accom
modations for man and beast.
The first court-house in this county was not lo
cated within the area of the present city of
Xenia, and it was by no means as pretentious as
the present structure. A primitive log cabin
Avith a single room, in a "clearing" of a few
acres, some fiA'e miles Avest of the present county
seat, a little off the road which leads from Xenia
to Dayton, Avith Oavcu DaA'is's mill on one side
and a block-house on the other side of the stream,
Avas the place where the blind goddess first set up
her balances.
The building Avas constructed by General Benj .
Whiteman more than a century ago, and shortly

142 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
after became the property of Peter Borders, and
Avas selected by the "court" as the seat of justice
in 1803, AA'hen the first session was held to com
plete the county organization. The first term of
court Avas synonymous Avith a meeting of the
county commissioners of the present day. The
presiding, or law, judge, Hon. Francis Dunlavy,
Avas not present, and the associate judges, Will
iam Maxwell, Benjamin Whitman and James
Barrett, Avith John Paul, clerk, met at the Bor
ders cabin on the 10th of May, 1803, and duly
dedicated it. The session lasted but a single day,
and the business dispatched Avas the organization
of the toAvnships. This done, the court adjourned
until the next regular session, Avhich convened
some tAVO months later-.
This Avas a more imposing court and Avas con
vened for trying such causes, civil and criminal,
as might come up for consideration. The court
opened Avitli a perfect, clean docket, and for a
short time it looked as though there Avould be
nothing to do. Judge Francis DunlaA'y, then
one of the most distinguished citizens of the ucav
state, and who had sei'ved in the territorial legis
lature, from Hamilton county, presided, AA'ith
associate justices MaxAvell, Whiteman and Bar
rett on the bench, and Daniel Symmes, of Hamil
ton, performing the duties of prosecuting attorney.
The grand jury Avas composed of William J.
StcAvart, foreman, John Wilson, Wm. Buckles,
Abram Van Eaton, James Snodgrass, John Judy,

PROFESSIONS, ETC 143
Evan Morgan, Robert Marshall, Alex. C. Arm
strong, Joseph Wilson, Joseph C. Vance, John
Buckingham, Martin Mindenhall and Henry
Martin, who were duly sworn and impaneled.
Chief Justice Dunlavy (as recorded) delivered
a forcible charge to the grand jury, directing it
to diligently inquire into and make a true pre
sentment of all infractions of the law within its
bailiAvick. Duly impressed Avith the solemnity
of the charge to Avhich they had listened, the
jury retired a fcAV yards distant from the cabin,
Avhere they began the first grand inquest, but
the most diligent inquiry failed to discover a
single case requiring their attention and action.
The court, as it seems, Avould have proved an
absolute and inglorious failure had not Owen
Davis, the miller, come to its rescue. People far
away as the Dutch settlement in Miami, had
taken advantage of court day to come to the mill
Avith their grists. Among the number from a
distance Avas a Mr. Smith from Warren county.
Mr. Smith had the reputation of helping himself
to pork AvhercA'cr he could find Avild hogs in the
Avoods, and Mr. Davis, after having turned out
the grist for his Warren county friend, concluded to
administer a little "pioneer laAv" on his own ac
count, AA^hile the court was proceeding in a more
conventional manner. Accordingly he gave the
unfortunate Smith a good drubbing, and as he
Avas an expert Indian fighter, the job, no doubt,
was Avell done. Having finished it, he burst

144 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
into the primitive courtroom AA'here the judges
sat around the deal table in solemn state and
awful dignity, with the exclamation —
"Well, I'll be blanked if I haven't done it !"
"Done Avhat, sir?" inquired associate justice
Whiteman. "I've whipped that blanked hog thief from
down the country, Ben, and I've made a good
job of it. What's the damage, anyhow? What's
to pay?"
Whereupon he pulled out his purse and counted
doAA'n a handful of silver coins, while the court
looked on with horrified surprise, but said noth
ing. "Oh, it's a fact," he went on, "I've AA'hipped
him, Ben, and blank you if you'd steal a hog,
I'd Avhip you, too !"
This Avas altogether too much for the court,
and the sheriff was ordered to go out and get the
witnesses to the affray and take them before the
grand jury. The miller's pugilistic performance,
hoAvever, had proved contagious, and when the
sheriff got outside, he found a free fight going on
in all directions, and the grand jurors watching
it through the openings in the little out-house.
Everybody aa'Iio had a grievance Avas settling,
or trying to settle it in the regular way, in back-
AA^oods fashion, and the grand jury and prosecu
tor Symmes at once had their hands more than
full of business. A score or more of Avitnesses
were examined and by the middle of the after-

PROFESSIONS, ETC 145
noon, nine indictments for affray and assault and
battery were presented in court, and the offend
ers, including the OAvner of the court-house, were
arraigned. All plead guilty, beginning with DaAds,
the first offender, who was assessed a fine eight
dollars, and the rest four dollars each. All paid
their fines upon the nail, so that the court, owing
to the fortunate visit of the Warren county man,
found itself in funds to the amount of forty dol
lars before early candle lighting.
The rest of the business of the court, includ
ing a license to Peter Borders, to conduct a
"tavern" in the court-house, with all the word
implied, for Avhich he was taxed eight dollars,
was finished before bed time, and the court was
ready to adjourn at an early hour next morning.
Daniel Symmes, the prosecuting attorney, had
come from Cincinnati, making the fifty miles'
journey on horseback along the Indian trails, and
the court awarded twenty dollars out of the pro
ceeds of the fines as compensation. But when it
reassembled in December foUoAving, it decided
that the payment had been illegally made, and
Mr. Symmes was required to refund it. This
so discouraged the prosecuting attorney, he de
cided that thereafter he would not appear in that
court as prosecutor. He AA'as partially remune
rated, however, AA'hen, a few years later, he Avas
promoted to the supreme bench.
The first session of the Supreme Court Avas
13

146 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
held in this old log-cabin, on the 25th of October,
1803,. the judges present being Samuel Hunting
ton and William Sprigg. The third judge, Jon
athan Meigs, Avas unable to be present, but Ar
thur St. Clair, of Hamilton county, attended the
sitting in all the glory of a cocked hat and other
military paraphernalia. The only business trans
acted by the court Avas to admit Richard Thomas
to the practice of laAv.
The descendants of pioneers cling AA'ith tenacity
to the memories of olden times, and are proud
of the historic struggles made by their ancestors
to establish schools, churches, and good govern
ment in a wilderness knoAvn only to savage life
for untold ages. Although there Avas little cause
for litigation, it Avas necessary to hold the courts
of justice open, as it Avas to encourage schools
and churches that directed society in the enlight
ened paths of A'irtue and higher plane of civiliza
tion. Workers in religious denominations met AA'ith
more or less encouragement, and mapped out
their fields upon a large scale for future opera
tions. And fathers and mothers, doctors, min
isters, and laAvyers Avorked harmoniously together
to instruct, educate, and elcA'ate coming genera
tions, and many lived to Avitness the fruits of
those exertions Avith pride and satisfaction.
Colonel Charles Whittlesey, in an address be
fore the "Northern Ohio Historical Society," No
vember, 1881, says: "If our representative men

PROFESSIONS, ETC 147
are prominent, it may be a source of honorable
state pride, for, AA'hile great men do not make
a great people, they are signs of a solid constitu
ency. Native genius is about equally distributed
in all nations, even in barbarous ones ; but it
goes to Avaste Avherever the surroundings are not
propitious. "CromAvell Avas endowed with a mental ca
pacity equal to the greatest of men ; but he
would not have appeared in history if there had
not been a constituency of Round-heads, full of
strength, determined upon the overthrow of a
licentious king and his nobility.
"Washington would not have been known in
history if the people of the American Colonics
had not been stahvarts in every sense, Avho se
lected him as their representative. In these
colonies the process of cross-breeding among races
had then been carried further than in England,
and is now a prime factor in the strength of the
United States.
"I propose to apply the same rule to the first
settler's of Ohio, and to show that if she now
holds a high place in the nation, it is not an acci
dent, but can be traced to manifest natural causes,
and those not alone climate, soil, and geograph
ical position."
No doubt, the admixture of races has in some
cases added something favorable to the physical
and mental powers of manhood ; but, perhaps,
in regard to the superiority of the men of the

148

THE SQriR]'J-;L HUNTERS.

Nortli-Avest, nior'e must be attributed to the
natur'al condi ti(.ins and sui'r'oundings AA'hich se
cured freedom from all cor'roding influences of
avarice, added to the alert outdoor life among
Indians and savage beasts, with the rifle and
attendant athletic exereises, that gaA'c mental
stimulation Avithout suhseijuent exhaustion of
mind or body. The rising S(|uirrel Hunter is no
drone ; he represents a bundle of actiA'ities that
scorns a leisure that breed.s an indolent stupidity.

I i pi I ill
.... 1 1 H 1 1

First School-lieiiise in Circleville, Ohio. Cost $10,000 in IS.'-il.
In 187:) was remodeled by the School Loard at a cost of
S:!!),300.
The facilities for the physical cultui'e Avere
gi-eatly in advance of those for the developmerit
of the mental; and it is remarkable Avhat the
k(y to education has in its tui'u accomplish(>d —
th(! Bible, "Buckley's Apology" and "Pilgrim's
li'oiji'ess. "

PROFESSIONS, ETC 149
Most of the present educational influences were
unknoAvn to the generation that has given to the
United States so many great men. In their
youthful days libraries were exceedingly fcAv, and
books Avere expensive and not easily obtained ;
and little reason had any one to anticipate that
the boys living in the backwoods of Ohio, shoot
ing squirrels and hoeing corn, spring and sum
mer ; catching rabbits, foxes and coons in the
fall and winter, and occasionally attending a
"subscription school" in some abandoned log
cabin tAvo or three months, Avould ever become
stars of the first magnitude in the literary canopy
of the United States.
From the Atlantic to the Pacific — in every city,
in every tOAA'n — boys of the rural districts of
Ohio have marched to the front. Even in the
National Metropolis it need not be asked :
"Whence came Murat Halstead, WhitelaAv Reid,
John A. Cockerill, Charles J. Chambers, William
H. Smith, Bernard Peters, William L. BroAA'n,
and others. The New York Tribune, Herald,
World, Associated Press, Times and Daily News,
and the evidences of success resulting from abil
ity, integrity and business capacity, give the an
swer, "Ohio."*
'¦¦Note — 1895. — " Out of eight new Republican United States
Senators just sworn in, four were born in Ohio. There are
now eleven Ohio-born Senators. Ohio does a good business
in 'raising men,' to say nothing about the good women." —
Chicago Inter- Ocean.
" True. It might be added that the managing editor and

150 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
Whatever the cause may uoav be attributable
to, there can be no question of the inherited ca
pacity and natural and acquired ability Avhich
has enabled the "Scpiirrel Hunters" of Ohio to
give to the nation greater and more useful men
during the present century than all the other
states combined.
In every channel of advancing civilization the
Ohio man is found over the entire Avorld, and is
knoAvn by the stamp he bears — "none other
genuine" — "O.I.O." It may be excusable to
name a fcAV of the many national characters
Avhicli an Ohio man is ever proud to recall with
an admiration unknowa to egotism — of such —
Thomas EAving, Rufus P. Ranney, George H,
Pendleton, Joseph Medell, Richard Smith, Doiin
Piatt, Ed. Cowles, Samuel Medary, W McLean,
E. D. Mansfield, James G. Birney, SAA'ayne,
Springer, Scoville, Chase, Simpson, Mcllvaine,
Thomas Cole, Hiram Powers, Wm. H. Beard,
Quincy Ward ; the great iiiA'entor, Edison ; the
arctic explorer. Dr. Hall ; the Siberian traveler,
George Kennon ; the astronomer, Mitchell ; ge
ologists, Hildreth, NcAvberry, and Orton ; humor
ists, Artemus Ward and Petroleum V Nasby ; as
popular Avriter, A. W. Tourgee and William Dean
LCoAvells. The latter found "Siptirreh" in the
spring, Avhere they resorted for "the sAveetness in
chief political writer of the Inter-Ocean are Ohio men. And,
according to Mr. Dana aud Mr. McCullagh, to be an editor is
'greater than a king.' " — E.n-liinujc.

PROFESSIONS, ETC. 151
the cups of the tulip-tree blossoms ;" and in boy
hood made "impressiem.s" Avith his bare feet in
the snoAv on the cabin floor, and in after life more
lasting ones AA'ith his pen on the hearts of those
Avho have been favored AA'ith his literary produc
tions. Why was it said on the 4th of March, 1881,
the nation Avas enabled to see " three men of flne
presence advanced on the platform at the east
portico of the Federal Capitol? On the right, a
solid, square-built man, of impressive appearance,
the Chief-Justice of the United States (Morrison
R. Waite) . On his left stood a tall, well-rounded,
large, self-possessed personage, with a head large
even in proportion to the body, who is President
of the United States (James A. Garfield) . At
his left hand Avas an eciually tall, robust, and
graceful gentleman, the retiring President (R. B.
Hayes) . Near by Avas a tall, not especially
graceful figure, Avith the eye of an eagle, Avho is
the general commanding the ai*my (Wm. Tecum
seh Sherman) . A short, square, active officer,
the Marshal Ney of America, Lieutenant-General
(Phil. Sheridan). Another tall, slender, aa'cII-
poised man, of not ungraceful presence, was the
focus of many thousand eyes. He had carried
the finances of the nation in his mind and in his
heart, four years as the Secretary of the Treas
ury, the peer of Hamilton and Chase (John Sher
man). Of these six five were natives of Ohio,
and the other a life-long resident. Did this group

152 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
of national characters from our state stand there
by accident? Was it not the result of a long train
of agencies, which, by force of natural selection,
brought them to the front on that occasion?" *
While this painting from life Avill ever stand
as a most Avorthy compliment to Ohio, it must be
looked upon as but a detached part of the great
picture of the North-west, in the center of Avhich
may be seen the full measure of a AA'ise man
crowned Avith six stars untarnished Avith slaverj^ —
Nathan Dane, of Massachusetts, 1787.
The Ohio State Journal says of the 4th of-
March, 1897, that, "This is a great time for Ohio
at the National Capital. The Buckeye State is
very much in CA'idence. The President is from
Ohio ; the Secretary of State is from Ohio ; Mark
Hanna is an Ohio man ; Secretary Alger Avas born
and bred in Ohio ; . . . Senator Foraker,
who is expected to be one of the leaders in the
senate, is an Ohio man ; the First Assistant Sec
retary of State . . . is an Ohio man. In
short, Ohio politicians AAdll be in the saddle as far
as national affairs go, and, compared AAdth them,
the Republicans of the other states are small po
tatoes, so to speak.
"Ohio has for the last quarter of a century been
a great state for presidents. But it never occu
pied a more conspicuous position in the sisterhood

* Howe's Hist. Coll.

PROFESSIONS, ETC 153
of states than to-day. The Ohio man comes very
near being the Avhole thing."
Ohio has made her mark politically high, and
still manifests a modest willingness, to furnish the
nation Avith presidents and other high officials,
although the New York World thinks the kissing
of the words of Holy Writ by the last favorite
son assumed a rather extravagant and monarch
ical appearance ; that it cost only five thousand
dollars to seat Thomas Jefferson, while the cere
monial bill for William McKinley and the tenth
verse of the first chapter of the Second Chronicles
footed tAVO million five hundred and fifty-five
thousand five hundred dollars ; and bannered the
fifteenth verse of the same chapter, for the time
being at least. For with that "wisdom and knowl
edge,''' — "the king made sih'er and gold at Jeru
salem (Washington) as plenteous as stones."
And in this line, not of boasting, but of great
ness, it is not thought strange, after supply
ing the nation with a large ratio of leading
statesmen, artisans, scientists and men of letters,
the state should have had in readiness for the oc
casion — one general, U. S. Grant ; one lieuten
ant-general, Mr. Tecumseh Sherman ; twenty
major and thirty-six brigadier generals ; with
twenty seven brevet major-generals and one hun
dred and fifty brigadier generals ; a secretary of
war, EdAvin M. Stanton ; a secretary of the treas
ury, S. P. Chase; a banker, J. Cooke, with a
contribution of three hundred and forty thous-

154 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
and armed men and tAventy-six independent bat
teries of artillery, and five independent companies
of cavalry.
Ohio had the men — had the Avill — and Avlien
the call came, Avent into the war to fight, and of
Avhicli she did her share, as the eleven thousand
tAVO hundred and ten killed and mortally Avounded
on the battle-fields, attest.
The finances Avere so ably managed by the
secretary and his advisor. Jay Cooke, that a
rebel leader declared the treasury, and not the
war department, had conquered the South. To
take an empty and bankrupt treasury and agree
to find, equip and pay the immense federal army
was the portion assigned to secretary Chase.
And when Mr. Cooke asked the amount required
daily to meet demands — the rej)ly AA^as "two
millions, five hundred thousand dollars. Can
you raise the money?" "I can," AA'as the
reply. Mr. Cooke organized a plan for popularizing
the loan, and soon had receipts coming into the
treasury, averaging over four millions per day.
It must be admitted that brains, as Avell as bul
lets, gave strength and success to the federal
forces, and it can be truthfully as Avell as modestly
assumed, that Ohio furnished her share of both,
with honest scripture measure.
Ohio people are not given much to foolish
pride, although considered sensitive ; and those
familiar AAuth the resources, industries, Avealth

PROFESSIONS, ETC. 155
and learning, Avere surprised that the glorious
first-born of the family of the "North-west Tei--
ritory," should come so far short of expec
tations at the World's Columbian Centennial
Exposition, at Chicago. The state Avas all right,
hoAvever, and deeply interested. But political
favoritism and incompetency often supplants meri
torious ability, and determines adversely AA'hat
otherAvise Avould claim admiration and give gen
eral satisfaction.
Ex-Governor Campbell, in an address recently,
Avould mislead a stranger, when he says, "The State
of Ohio Avas at Atlanta in 1864, under Sherman,
but is not noAV at Atlanta as part of the great ex
hibit of industrial products held there, because,
under, and by virtue of the last general assembly,
the state credit was reduced so Ioav, and its coffers
so depleted, that not money enough could be found
for this purpose. The only official representation
from our state at Atlanta, in the year 1895, is on
the part of a fcAV lady commissioners, Avho have
the freemen's privilege of paying their OAvn ex
penses." Does anyone believe Ohio is poverty stricken?
Has anyone knoAvn the state or people to be so
since the squirrel hunters traded coon-skins for
books, that it could not turn Lake Erie into the
Ohio River — the army of the "Southern Confeder
acy" face about — or make a first-class exhibit
in any competitive exposition? As a statement, it
is true, "Ohio is not at Atlanta." But the ab-

156 THE SCJUIRREL HUNTERS.
sence is not due to the causes assigned, and the
wonder is, she is as rich and poAverful as she is,
after being forced so frequently to play the part
of the individual that journeyed from Jerusalem
doAvn to Jericho.
Ohio is an agricultur'al state, populated Avith
those Avho hold the handles of the plough and
fear not poverty, discontent and strikes. The
native inhabitants inherited a love of liberty and
independence from an ancestry AA'ho came to a
Avilderness to secure homes for themseh'es and
posterity. And it Avas in these homes a permanent
foundation for a superior civilization Avas laid ;
and through the providences of a people with
homes and families, supported by natural and
cultiA^ated resources, that has transformed un
broken forests into fertile fields and dcA'cloped an
intelligent, hapjiy and prosperous people.
It is an old and Avell-founded belief that the
earth AA^as not made in vain, but is capable of
fulfilling all the purposes for AA'hich it Avas cre
ated — noAV as at any other period in its histoi-y.
It is also worthy of thought that the interest in
the Avel]-l)cing of man by creative and governing
intelligence is not less than that extended to the
beasts of the fields, and that his title to a share
of subsistence on the earth is quite as good as
that of the cattle that graze upon a thousand
hills. Every one can, and every one should, secure a
share in this inheritance Avliile liA'ing. His heir-

PROFESSIONS, ETC. J57
ship is indisputable, and on Avhicli no mor'tgage
ever found a right, room or reason to rest. If
every cast-off from the seductive trusts, com
bines and monopolies — every one of the millions
begging bread — had a definite home upon the soil
of the earth, there would be room for millions
more, and bread riots and starvation would be
unknoAvn in all the land.
Natural civilization — that made in accordance
Avitli the laAvs of nature — does not consist in ag
gregating the products of labor into the hands of
a few and distributing poverty broadcast to the
many, but in cultivating intelligence, securing
homes, families, subsistence, comfort and happi
ness, by every man OAA'uing and controlling the
products of his OAvn labor.
During the first half century of the settlement
in the Buckeye State, the equality and advance
ment of true civilization of the people have never
been surpassed in the history of the world. Al
though their land estates were small, and AA'ith
that prohibition nature had throAvn around the
state against all foreign imports, it might readily
be imagined the liAdng and populating a great
empire on its OAvn developed resources would
naturally entail much want and distress. But
such was not the fact. They all had enough and
to spare, and vagrants were as unknoAvn to pub
lic provision as were paupers or want among the
sparroAvs, or the innumerable millions of buffalo
that were provided for on the western plains.

158 THE S(JUIRREL HUNTERS.
Those Avho had homes they could call their
OAvn, AAdth families and friends, plenty to sup
ply the necessities of life, Avere singularly ex
empt from avarice, or that AA'hich since the world
began has been denounced "the root of all evil."
The first organized money poAver of serious im
port, endangering a republican form of govern
ment, was the monopoly termed "The Bank of
the United States," incorporated by act of Con
gress in 1816, for the term of tAventy years. And
Avith its millions of easily earned profits, it soon
controlled legislation in the interests of wealth
and the corporation, causing suffering and disas
ter to the business of the nation by making
prices unstable through contractions and expan
sions of the mediums of exchange, so that the
State of Ohio raised objections to the contem
plated establishment of branches of the monop
oly Avithin her borders.
After much political discussion of the matter,
a legislature Avas elected largely opiDOsed to the
money poAver, and the state in 1818 passed an act
in the nature of a high protective tariff, "taxing
each br'anch of the United States Bank located
in the State of Ohio fifty thousand dollars."
The bank refused to pay the assessments AA'hen
due under the act, and, like most monopolies in
sight of a supr'eme court, disregarded the act of
legislation and defied the authorities.
The laAV-makers in Ohio, CA'en in that early
day, had seen enough to understand the defiant

PROFESSIONS, ETC 159
insubordination of Avealth, and in the act for col
lecting the tax from the branch banks due the
state, authorized the collector to employ an armed
force, if necessary, and to enter the bank and
seize money sufficient to cover the claim and costs
of collection.
This was done by the collector for the "Chilli
cothe branch," and the state became defendant,
returning Avitli interest the money taken at the
end of the usual course of litigation, by an order
of the supreme court. It has often been related
by those avIio took part in the great struggle for
supremacy of laiv, or ivill of the majority of a pro
ducing population, as against the tyrannical
usurpations of a money power, Avith its revolv
ing satellites, that the contest threatened the
peace, prosperity and safety of the Avhole nation.
As stated by Hon. Brisben Walker, the institu
tion "quickly became a political power; estab
lished branches and agencies throughout the
country to control votes; spent money freely for
political corruption ;" and Avhen it Avent doAvn, Avas
reported in 1839, by a committee of its OAvn
stockholders, to have giA'en "snch an exhibition of
waste and destruction, and drnvnright plundering anel
criminal misconduct, as zvas never seen before in the
annals of banking."
"Thirty millions of its loans Avere not of a mer
cantile character, but made to members of Con
gress, editors of netvspapcrs, politicians, brokers, fa
vorites, and connections." And it continued to

160 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
rule until the Avill and wisdom of President Jack
son put an end to the great monopoly. He
removed the government deposits, prevented a
re-charter, and in 1833 made a statement to Con
gress, giving the grounds on Avliich his action
was based toward the bank, saying "itivas for
attempting to control the elections, producing a con
traction of the currency, and causing general distress.' '
The funeral went off quietly, with but few
mourners, and the American people were liber
ated from the bondage of aggregated wealth, and
Ohio obtained a lease for a number of prosperous
decades. But the war of the Sixties came, and
moneyed combines grew in power and audacity,
until many persons expressed fears for the laAvs,
labor and liberties of the common people.
Taking into consideration the small number of
wealthy persons among the great mass of the
people, it is rather remarkable that so many pa
triotic men in this country, from the days of
Washington up to the present time, have ex
pressed emphatically their fears for the welfare
of the republic should it fall under the destruc
tive power of concentrated and organized Avealth.
President Jackson declared it Avas "better to
incur any inconvenience that may be reasonably
expected than to concentrate thc whole money power
of the republic in any form Avhatsoever, or under
any restrictions." He had seen the arrogant in
fiuences under all the restrictions law could give,
and gave the warning statement that Avhat he

PROFESSIONS, ETC 161
saw Avere but premonitions of the fate that awaits
the American people should they be deluded into
sustaining institutions of "organized wealth."
President Lincoln said, at the close of the san
guinary struggle : "It has cost a vast amount of
treasure and blood ; . . . but I see in the
near future a crisis approaching that unnerves
me and causes me to tremble for the safety of
the country. As the result of Avar corporations
have been enthroned, and an era of corruption in
high places will follow, and the money poAver of
the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by
working upon the prejudices of the people, until
all wealth is aggregated into a fcAv hands, and
the republic is destroyed. I feel at this moment
more anxiety for the safety of my country than
ever before, even in the midst of war. God
grant that my suspicion may prove groundless."
These and other prophetic warnings carry Avith
them a vast degree of thoughtful solemnity, due
to our knowledge of man and the signs of
the times. When the successful candidate for
office is made to depend upon the size of the
campaign fund, and party success more or less
assured in proportion to the length of figures be
yond a dollar mark, the liberties of the common
people are fraught with danger, if not already
destroyed. Wherever the corrupting influence of money
has been permitted to enter politics, it has be-
14

162 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
come more successful than just and salutary an
nouncements, and has been used aggregatingly
by the Avealthy in amounts sufficient to secure
their OAvn interests, regardless of party lines or
the AA'clfare of the public. This may appear se
vere in statement, but it is nevertheless true to
the experience of one Avho has seen nearly four
score years of our republican form of government.
The writer Avould gladly soften the roughness
Avith charity, had he ever AA'itnessed a compensat
ing Adrtue or redeeming excuse for permitting the
money poAver to run the government, make the
laAvs and rule the people.
So great is the apparent fear, too, by the
money poAver that the government may pass into
the hands of the common people, and those less
than multi-millionaires may aspire to political
preferment, that organized leagues are spread
over the entire Northern states, like political fiy-
traps, AA'ith plenty of the "sticky stuff," in order
to hold the ignorant and indifferent to the sup
port of the rich and their party alliances. The
organization of Avealth for increasing its influ
ence on legislation, or otlier purposes, under the
title of "The National Business Men's League,"
is not looked upon in any very commendable
light by the average American, and has been
pronounced "unsavory" by many honest men.
"The promoters of this league," says Senator
Quay, "invokes a class against the masses and
all other classes. No league of business men,

PROFESSIONS, ETC 163
based upon Avealth, can erect a government class
in this country. In the United States Senate we
have millionaires and business men enough to
serve all legitimate purposes. Senators are
needed Avho haA'e no specialties, bvt ivho will act
for the interests of the country in gross, Avithout spe
cial affinities.
"The people most deserving of a representation,
and most in need of legislative protection, are the
farmers, the small store-keepers, the artisans, and
the day-laborers, and I stand by them, and against
this 'league.' I go into the barricades with the
bourgeoisie and the men in blouses.
"There must be less business and more people
in our politics, else the republican party and the
country Avill go to Avreck. The business issues are
making our politics sordid and corrupt. The tre-
mendejus sums of money furnished by Imsiness men,
reluctantly in most instances, are polluting the well-
spmngs of our national being."
It is unpleasant to look upon the dark side of
any question, and especially that of our lovely
country, and still go on ignoring the lessons given
us by the fathers of the nation. When Ave com
pare the administrations of Washington, Adams,
and others, Avith the present ravening greed for
place by those Avho look upon official position as
the gatcAvay to sudden wealth, the inquiry sug
gests itself, and the desire to knoAV the points of
compass the nation is dr'ifting, and at what port

1(34 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
the ship of state is expected to enter if continued
on the dark lines of the present chart?
History is full of object-lessons — storms, wrecks
and disasters that have ended all attempts to per
petuate a republican form of government by the
poAver of organized Avealth. Money is poAverful,
and may govern for a season. But legislation
that concentrates the wealth of the nation into
the hands of a privileged fcAV causes the govern
ment to rest upon a sandy foundation. The com
mon people Avill eventually tire, become restless
and revengeful.
The money interests of the United States and
those of Europe are the same. And AA'hen the
accumulation becomes so great it can not satisfy
personal greed for gain, it finds its Avay into
landed investments, chiefly in the United States.
At the present rate of concentration and transfer
into realty, the period can not be far in the
future when all the valuable lands in the United
States Avill be owned and controlled by a fcAv im
mensely Avealthy families in this country and in
Europe. The ' 'money poAver, ' ' Avith its ' 'trusts, ' '
"combines," high fences, barb-AAured, armed po
lice on the outside and bulldogs Avithin, may
smile at the success giving financial control of
the profits of all kinds of labor necessar'y in the
development and manufacture of the resources of
nature. Still, the aristocratic pyramid is incom
plete until the soil and pi'ofits from cultivation

PROFESSIONS, ETC. 165
are OAvned and controlled by the "systematic and
satisfactory management of a 'land trust.' "
It is manifest uoav that AA'ealth is seeking un
usual investments in farming lands by the money
kings of Europe and America, when a single lord
of England can OAvn three million acres in the
heart of the most fertile section of the United
States, and have his rack-rents sent to Viscount
Scully, in Europe. Sir EdAvard Reid OAvns tAVO
million aci'es ; the Marquis of TAveeddale, one
million sca'cu hundred thousand acres, and sev
eral others of the titled aristocracy of Europe
OAvn farms ranging from forty thousand to three
million acres each, making in the aggregate an
ai'ea of scA'cral states. And quite recently fifty
million acres more have passed into the hands of
the English stockholders in thc distribution of
the land grants to the Northern Pacific Railroad.
Thefee large bodies of land OAvned by aliens —
lords of Europe, Avitli the syndicates and Amer
ican monopolies and railroad grants,* and special
gifts by Congress of one hundr'ed and ninety-
scA'en million six hundred and ninety-nine thou
sand acres to the rich monopolies in this country
and Europe, amount to an area greater than the
sum of eleven states of aA'crage size, and Avhich
may ere long be considered sufficient to constitute
a respectable nucleus for an "American Land
Trust."
».AIinnesota, with an area of 46.000,000 acres, gave 20,000,000
acres to 3,200 miles of railroads.

166 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.

CHAPTER IV.
OHIO— HER BEASTS, BIRDS, AND TREES: AIDS
TO HIGHER CIVILIZATION.

beasts.
In the absence of native beasts, birds, and
trees, a country is unfitted for the habitation of
man. Nature had given to Ohio tliese supports
to life and aids to civilization in great abun
dance. The Indian was not inclined to improve his
"talents," still he was exceedingly kind, through
instinct or wisdom, in preserving in nature's
superlative beauty things necessary for the com
ing man.
Of the various Avild animals in Ohio, no one
species has ever shoAvn greater numerical strength
than the gray squirrel. In the early settlements,
he often annoyed his ucav neighbors AAdth his mis
chievous habits and petty larcenies ; neverthe
less, the pioneer Avas generally pleased to see
him, as at all seasons he Avas good for a savory
meal. At times these little animals became so numer
ous and destructive to crops they Avere more to
be feared than is the rabbit in California or

beasts, birds, and trees, etc 167
grasshopper in Kansas. For many years, settlers
were obliged to guard their fields Avhen planted
with corn, or droves of foraging bands aa'ouIcI dig
up the hills and eat the growing grains ; Avhen
the crops matured, they Avere still more de
structive, and boys when quite young were
taught to handle the rifie, and when employed
as guards became expert marksmen. Most
CA'cry one old enough to use a gun could put a
ball through the head of a squirrel three times
in fiA'e or better on the topmost boughs of the
lofty liardAvood timber Avhich covered the face of
the country.
The amount of forest Avas so extensive and un
disturbed that the squirrel at times increased to
a degree Avhich made him disastrous to crops in
spite of guards, guns, traps, and "deadfalls,"
and caused him to become a subject for legisla
tion, encouraging his destruction by obligations
and rcAvards. When becoming too numerous,
and subsistence scarce, they migrate to other
parts, and often in numbers so great it Avould re
quire many days for the marching column of
scA'eral miles in width to pass any giA'en point.
The Ohio liA'cr AA'as a faA'orable place to capture
and kill them, as they arrived on shore Aveak and
Avet. Many Aver-e drowned in the attempt to
SAvim. The inhabitants along the riA'cr at such
times made it a business to kill them by Avagon
loads to feed and fatten hogs.
The country through which an army of this

168 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
kind marched left nothing out doors in the Avay
of subsistence. The flrst migration of this kind
causing serious alarm occurred in 1807 directly
after corn-planting ; and in all the southern coun
ties of the state, it became impossible to guard
the fields, and continued so long that the corn
crop Avas a failure over a large extent of coun-
ti'A', and farmers Avere obliged to buy grain for
bread. The legislature Avas appealed to, and a statute
enacted the same year, making it imperative for
every person Avithin the state, subject to the pay
ment of tax, to furnish a specified number of
squirrel scalps, to be determined by the trustees
of the township, whose duty it Avas to give the
lister the number required from each individual.
This Avas intended as a tax in addition to other
taxes, making the penalty for refusal or neglect
the same as that of a delinquent tax-payer. And
a non-tax-payer, and tax-payers furnishing scalps
in excess of the required number, were entitled
to tAA^o cents per scalp, to be paid from the funds
of the county. But, Avitli all the boys and guns
and other devices for destruction to keep the
number doAvn to a minimum, the usual amount
seemed but little changed, and squirrel raids con
tinued, occasionally, all the same.
A good story is told by an old lumberman,
Avho, in the early days of steamboating on the
Ohio river, contracted to deliver on board of
steamboat one hundred thousand shingles at a

BEASTS, BIRDS, AND TREES, ETC. 169
"wood-landing" of one of the river counties in
Ohio. The shingles were stacked on the bank of
the river ready for shipment. A fcAV days after,
the lumberman heard most of his "stuff" had
been stolen, and that it was probable it had gone
to Pittsburg. On receiAdng this unAvelcome
news, he drove down to the river to look after
the condition of things. Before he reached the
place he found the woods alive with squirrels
marching toAvard the river.
On his return the workmen asked Avhat dis
coveries were made. The reply was, "The
shingles never went to Pittsburg;" "they all
went down the river, and it is useless to look
in Pittsburg or any other place for them." . . .
"I got to the river just in time to know all
about it. You see, the squirrels are marching
and crossing the river at that point ; and the
commanding general is not much on a SAvim,
and he carried one of my shingles doAvn to the
water and rode over on it, and every colonel, cap
tain, lieutenant and commissioned and non-com
missioned officer did Avhat they saw their general
do, and finally the rank and file made a raid, and
I got there just as an old squirrel came doAvn to
the water dragging a shingle, which he shoved
into the river, jumped upon it, raised his brush
for a sail and Avent over high and dry ; and
when near enough the other shore leaped off and
let his boat fioat down the stream. As soon as
16

170 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
these observations Avere taken in, I went up on
the high bank AA'here the shingles had been
stored, and found there Avas not a shingle left —
they are doAvn the river, gentlemen — doAvn the
river, sure."
This story receives a shadoAV of support from
the learned and cautious Buffon, aa'Iio observes :
"Although the navigations of the grey squirrels
seem almost incredible, they are attested by so
many witnesses that aa'C can not deny the fact."
And in a note on the subject says: "The grey
squirrels frequently remove their place of resi
dence, and it not unoften happens that not one
can be seen one Avinter AA'here they were in multi
tudes the year before ; they go in large bodies,
and AA'hen they Avant to cross a lake or river they
seize a piece of the bark of a birch or lime, and
draiving it to the edge of the watcr, get upon it, and
trust themselves to the hazard of the tcind and waves,
erecting their tails to seiA'e the purpose of sails;
they sometimes form a fieet of three or four
thousand, and if the wind proves too strong, a
general shipAvreck ensues . . . but if the
AA'inds are favorable they are certain to make
their desired port."*
The squirrel is an industrious and sagacious
animal. He lays up stores of proAdsions for
future use, and conceals them where others of
his kind are unable to find them. And his

¦"' Barr's Puffon, A'ol. A' II, page 17

BEASTS, BIRDS, AND TREES, ETC. 171
memory is so perfect, and location of place so
unerring, that in dead of winter, and short of a
meal, he Avill quit his warm nest in the hollow
limb of some tree, plunge into deep snoAv and go
direct a long distance to the exact spot where
months before he had buried a Avalnut or an acorn,
and dig down and get the treasure and return
Avith it to his home.

if- ¦,v..-y -r^--^^

The Squirrel Hunter.
It was once said, "To number the Bison would
be like counting the leaves of the forest" — so,
too, the myriads of squirrels that inhabited the
unbroken forests of Ohio evidently approached in
number the incalculable hosts of buffalo that in
the grandeur of their numerical strength SAvept
over the western plains.
The rabbit multiplies six times as fast as the

172 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
squirrel, yet he has never appeared in such mul
titudes as that of his bushy-tailed cousin. Hap
pen Avhat may he is, hoAvever, ahvays on hand.
He loves civilization and prefers the grassy fields,
standing corn and sunny hillsides to the wilds of
the forests, and is always as ready to care for the
Avaste apples in the orchard as he is to bark
around the young trees. He is an annojdng
tenant — timid by nature and easily captured.
Millions are sold in the markets CA'cry year, but
can not come up in numbers Avith the squirrel in
his palmy days. The "one day's rabbit shoot
ing" at Lamar, Colo., by two hundred guns,
December 31, 1894, resulted in the capture of
five thousand one hundred and forty-two (5,142) ;
but compared with a squirrel hunt in Franklin
county, Ohio, August 20, 1822, it does not appear
so large ; when a less number of guns killed nine
teen thousand six hundred and sixty ; and evi
dently not a ' 'very good day for squirrels to be
out either."
No part of the North-Avest, in a state of nature,
was so Avell adapted to the propagation and pre
servation of game beasts and birds as that
AA'ithin the geographical limits of Ohio. To
show thc immense amount of large game which
also existed long after settlements had been
made, it is but necessary to giA'c the results
of a single day's hunt, confined to one toAvnship
of five miles square, in the county of Medina
December 24, 1818, and Avhich is authentically

BEASTS, BIRDS, AND TREES, ETC. 173
described by Henry HoAve in his "Historical
Collections of Ohio," Vol. II, pages 463 to 467,
inclusive: "The accurate enumeration of the
game killed at the center (of the drive) resulted
as follows : Seventeen Avolves, twenty-one bears,
three hundred deer, besides turkeys, coons and foxes
not counted." The wolf-scalps AA'ere good for fif
teen dollars each, making a draAV on the treasury
for tAVO hundred and fifty-five dollars. Many
counties in Ohio were not formed nor settled
for nearly a quarter of a century after becom
ing part of the state, and a few much later,
the last being that of Noble, in 1851, making in
all eighty-eight counties.
Consequently, game of all kinds remained in
abundance in Henry, Hancock, Plardin, Lucas,
Marion, Noble, Williams, and some others. As
late as 1845 tAvo men in Williams county made
an effort to see who could kill the greater number
of deer, each confining his operations to a single
tOAvnship of his oaa'u election. One selected Su
perior and the other Center toAvnship ; the hunt
to last sixty days.
At the expiration of the time, one had killed
ninety -nine and the other sixty-fiA'c. The suc
cess of neither caused remarks of admiration
among the "squirrel hunters," a fcAV of AA'hom
boastingly declared they could sIioav a much
greater list in the given time if they AA^ere in
clined to hunt for quantity.
When the "Reports, Explorations and Sur-

174

THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.

A^eys" were made to ascertaiij the most prac
ticable and economical route for a railroad from
the Mississippi river to the Pacific ocean, un
der the direction of the Secretary of War,
in 1853 to 1856, the vast public domain was
shoAvn to be rich in herds of buffalo, elk, deer,
and smaller game of both beasts and birds. It
AA'as at this time the bison swarmed over all the
Western plains and hills, from the great rivers to
the ocean and from Canada to the Gulf in num
bers beyond the poAA'er of computation.

A Herd of Bison.
Of all the quadrupeds knoAvn to inhabit the
earth, no one species CA^er marshaled such in
numerable armies as that of the American bison.
As late as 1871, it Avas estimated that south of
the Union Pacific Railroad line there Avere be
tween three and four million head. As soon as

BEASTS, BIRDS, AND TREES, ETC 175
the road entered the territory the destruction be
gan, and by the reports of the Smithsonian In
stitution, the miserable "pot-hunters" in 1872
killed over a million and a quarter ; and during
the first three years after the road was completed
this band 'of thieves and murderers slaughtered
over three millions of these valuable animals,
taking the hides of some and tongues of others,
but leaving untouched AA'here they fell more than
half of this immense number. As American
game the bison exists no more. The only fcAV
remaining out of captivity are at YelloAvstone
Park. It is to be regretted that the policy of the gov
ernment in regard to the natural wealth of the
"public domain" has ever shown such a lack of
AA'isdom, forethought, and poAver as to permit the
immediate exhaustion leaving nothing for the
legitimate heirs And it seems singular that
such a Avell known and immense storehouse of
national wealth, as that of the buffalo, the an
nuity of which supported more than thirty thou
sand natives of the country, should have been
left unprotected against those Avho have destroyed
the forests and killed the cattle on a thousand
hills. Governor Isaac I. Stevens, in his report of esti
mates of the Pacific Railroad in 1854 to Jeffer
son Davis, Secretary of War, says: "The sup
plies of meat for all the laborers on this line east
of the mountains . . . Avill be furnished

176 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
from the plains. The inexhaustible herds of
buffalo will supply amply the whole force till the
road is completed."

^. ' ' ' ' i'

"Hi.

j:-^iV

' / '4 . ,'

'A, .

/ *'¦

>- ^ X -r^
^
^-"
y^*^^'^hM
Camp Red River Hunters.
There Avere at that time tAventy-seven known
tribes of Indians west of the Missouri river, of
which the greater part subsisted by hunting the
buffalo ; and he says of the hunters from Mouse
river valley to the Red river of the North :
"They make tAA'O hunts each year, leaAdng a por
tion of their numbers at home to take care of
their houses and farms : One from the middle
of June to the middle of August, Avhen thcA' make
'pern ican' and dry meat, and prepare the skins of
buffalo for lodges and moccasins ; and again from
the middle of September to the middle of NoA'em-
ber, Avhen, besides the pemican and dried meat,
the skin is dried into robes."
"I estimate that four months each A'ear tAA'o
BEASTS, BIRDS, AND TREES, ETC 177
thousand hunters, three thousand women and
children, and eighteen hundred carts are on the
plains ; and estimating the load of a cart at eight
hundred pounds, and alloAving three hundred
carts for luggage, that tAvelve hundred tons of
meat, skins, and furs is their product of the
chase."* "These people are simple-hearted, honest, and
industrious, and would make good citizens.
Each year they carry off to the settlements at
Pembina at least two million five hundred thou
sand pounds of buffalo meat, dried, or in the
shape of pemican." Large tribes, as the Gros
Ventres, Bloods, Piegans, and others, had hunted
and feasted for ages without diminishing the
number or strength of "the inexhaustible herds
of buffalo," described by Governor Stevens in
1854. This source of subsistence to a numerous and
poor people, and immense wealth to the nation,
was wantonly destroyed by the "pot-hunter," who
is in no Avay related to the "squirrel hunter,"
but stands in about the same relation to the
sportsman as does the "missing link" to the
species he disgraces. He is a destructive animal,
and it is as useless to hope any species of game,
beast or bird, will ever exist in numbers too great
for this Avily loafer to destroy, as it is to expect
legal enactments and penalties Avill ever prevent
him doing evil.
* Stevens's Report.

178 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
The selfishness that exterminated the buffalo —
")night makes rigid" — runs through the veins of
the Avhite man. In the same report to the Secre-
tai-y of War, in Avhich Mr. Stevens calls attention
of settlers to "many pleasant valleys" that are
occupied by "friendly Indians — in some instances
described Avith log houses, cultivated fields,
barns, fiocks and herds, mills and churches, with
good morals and observance of the Sabbath day —
that many tribes live in a rich and inviting coun
try, and are AA'calthy in horses, cattle, and hogs."
He closes by saying : ' ' LaAvs should be passed for
the extinguishment of the Indian title. Posts
are recommended AAdth half regiments of mounted
men, Avitli a battery of horse artillery, and one
of mountain hoAAdtzers ; that all the Indians
Avest of the mountains 'should be placed in
reservation,' and the country opened to settle
ment." It is stated that Avith a small distribution
of presents and " prudence, judgment, and dis
play of a small military force, no difficulty AAdll be
experienced in accomplishing these arrangements
so essential to the construction of the road."
And it does not appear that tlie government pro
tected the riglrts of those in possession of the
"fertile valleys" any more than it did the game
it knew gave support to the people inhabiting the
country. If the same careless indifference and
love of greed that Avantonly destroj^ed the game
beasts Avhich existed upon the vast unoccupied

BEASTS, BIRDS, AND TREES, ETC. 179
domain Avest of the Mississippi had in like man
ner forestalled the settlement of the "North-Avest
Territory" by killing all the game, population
and ciA'ilization Avould have been suspended if
not made improbable Avithin the past century.
The area of Ohio Avas Avell supplied Avith a
variety of the most attractive game, fed and
marked by Nature as her own, free for all— Avhich
made the early settlements contented, independ
ent, and observing. No means of education
gives the mind so much satisfaction and confi
dence in truth and reality as the study of the ob
ject lessons received AA'hile living in a garden of
Natur'e, an invited guest.
"All self-educated persons," says Doctor New
man, "are likely to have more thought, more
mind, more philosophy, than those who are
forced' to load their minds Avith a score of sub
jects against an examination — Avho have too
much on their hands to indulge in thinking or in
vestigation. . . . Much better is it for the
active and thoughtful intellect ... to eschcAV
the college and uniA'ersity altogether than to sub
mit to a drudgery so ignoble, a mockery so con
tumelious. "Hoav much more profitable for the independ
ent mind after the rudiments of education to pur
sue the train of thought which his mother-Avit
suggests ! How much healthier to wander in the
fields, and there with the exiled prince to find
' Tongues in trees, books in running brooks.'

180 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
Hoav much more genuine an education is that of
the poor boy in the poem —
'As the village school and books a few supplied,'
contrived from the beach, and the cjuay, and
fisher's boat, and the inn's fireside, and the
tradesman's shop, and shepherd's walk, and
smuggler's hut, and the mossy moor, and the
screaming gulls, and restless Avaves, to fashion
for himself a philosophy and poetry of his OAvn."
Sir Walter Scott long ago declared: "The best
part of every man's education is that which he
gives himself."
This Avas the nature of the school system in
Ohio. The young population grcAV up among
the beasts and birds and trees ; each of which in
turn served as teacher. Not only the hurley bear
and nimble deer, but even the pestiferous A'ermin,
Avere aiders and abettors in education and the
rise of the ucav civilization. The coons, the
foxes, the beavers, the otters, minks, muskrats,
and skunk, carried legal tenders AA'ith them and
furnished the chief circulating medium known to
the country for many years.
With the tr'ained dog, the boys in the Avilder
ness Avere enabled to secui-e pelts to send to Bos
ton for books, Avhicli erected the superstructure
of more great men than can be found as the pro
duction of any other state or countr'y in a single
centur-y. And to-day the intelligent squirrel
hunter makes a respt'ctful hvw to the little ani-

BEASTS, BIRDS, AND TREES, ETC 181
mals for the honorable part they so successfully
performed in creating the new species and plac
ing Ohio permanently in the lead of a nation of
the best informed people in the Avorld.
BIRDS.
" For wheresoe'er your murmuring tremors thrill
The woody twilight, there man's heart hath still
Conferred a spirit breath, and heard a ceaseless hymn."
The number of species of birds found at various
times in Ohio amount to Iavo hundred and ninety-
tAvo ; AA'hile the number breeding in the state is
placed at one hundred and tAventy-nine ; and if
the probable summer residents are counted the
number would be increased to one hundred and
seventy-one. An eminent ornithologist says in a
recent work : "To cast the horoscope of the bird-
life of the future is uncertain work, and perhaps
AA'ithout profit ; but the stars certainly i^redict
utter extermination of the finest of all game
birds — the Avild turkey — and the diminution to
the point of extermination of the ruffed grouse,
the quail, the wood duck and Avild pigeon."*
Game birds as Avell as song birds would from
natural causes alone diminish in number, as their
selected homes or breeding places become de
stroyed by clearing up the country. But in
addition to this, the unseasonable and inhuman
destruction by means of firearms has become so

182 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
alarmingly great as to foretell that at no distant
day most of the desirable species of birds that
are permanent residents AA'ill have been destroyed.
It is generally knoAvn by the older "Squirrel
Hunters" that from their first knoAvledge of the
North-Avest to beginning of the railroad era, 1855,
Ohio Avas a paradise for the sportsman Avitli dog
and gun. The fields abounded AAdth covies of
quail; the forests Avitli AA'ild turkeys, grouse,
pigeons and squirrels ; and the streams with
ducks and geese. Up to the period named the
conditions of the country underAvent but fcAV
changes detrimental to the propagation and pre
servation of game, and the abundant supplies
afforded amusement and subsistence equaled at
present nowhere AA'ithin the limits of the United
States. The settlements as yet contained many reser
vations of continuous tracts of undisturbed forest,
Avild ranges, islands along the larger Avater-
courses, overfioAA'ing lands, unmolested parts of
lar'ge estates, military and school reservations,
etc., often embracing sections of rich soil heaAdly
timbered and densely covered AAdth an under-
groAvth of bushes, and in topograph}' Avell adapted
for resorts and homes of game birds and beasts.
FeAV, if any, of those timbered reservations
failed to be occupied by cver'y species and A'ariety
of nature's household. Some locations from time
imm(>morial had been the faA'oiite and undis-
puti'd habitation of that most Avonder-ful Ameri-

BEASTS, BIRDS, AND TREES, ETC. 183
can bird, the Avild turkey. For he is not migra
tory, nor an aimless wanderer of the forest. His
instincts and attachments to place, the home of
his ancestors, are so great that generations after
generations liA'e and die in the same selected site
of AA'ild territory. No persecution can induce
him to abandon his accustomed haunts. Nothing
but death or the removal of his forest ends his
family. The area of his home requires several square
miles, and includes a nursery, feeding grounds,
ranches, roosts and places of refuge in times of
danger. And if by pursuit he is obliged to flee
beyond the limit of his range, he returns to his
associates, to his familiar trees, rocks and mount
ain streams.
The turkey is indigenous to America, and not
found AA'ild in any other part of the Avor'ld. He
resides in unsettled sections of timbered coun
tries, from Mexico to the forests of Canada, and
is the Avildest, most intelligent and untamable of
all the birds. When taken directly from the
shell, and reared either by hand or Avith domesti
cated turkeys, he will, AA'hen groAvn, separate
from friends and accustomed comrades, and in-
stinctiA'cly seek the more attractive life of the
forest. No care and kindness can in one or two
generations overcome the fear of man and love
for the Avilds, and it requires many generations
of skilled schooling to extinguish the desire for
roving and give to him that contented and con-

1S4 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
fiding disposition Avhicli characterizes the domes
ticated bird. The Avriter does not believe it
possible for a bird that has been reared in a state
of nature, and felt the charms of the Avilderness,
to ever become reconciled to any other conditions
of life. He once brought down a young full-
groAvn female bird and captured her. When she
found resistance useless, she cried most pitifully.
She had suffered no injury excepting a broken
tip of one AA'ing, AAdiich Avas amputated and
dressed. The bird was kept in a large cage in
the back yard for tAA^o years, remaining concealed
during the day and partaking of food and water
late in the evening, and then in the absence of
every object of fear. In due time she Avas re
moved to a garden overgroAvn with bushes of cur
rants, gooseberries, raspberries, etc., interspersed
Avitli straAA'berry plants, and Avitli her a pair of
tame turkeys. Here she remained over Iavo
years Avithout manifesting the least indication of
making the acquaintance of her civilized rela
tions. A misplaced board on the fence gave her
the boon so much desired — freedom. It was the
beginning of summer Avhen she escaped and Avas
searched for, but seen no more until the foUoAV-
ing spring, Avhen she Avas noticed scA'eral times
near the tame turkeys, and this ahvays A'ery early
in the mor'uing.
That she could get tliere at that hour, or get
there at all from the timbered land near a mile
distant, through farms and fences, seemed re-

BEASTS, BIRDS, AND TREES, ETC 185
markable, as she could not fly. After harvest of
that year she frequented the stubble fields near
the timber, AA'ith four Avell-groAvn half-breeds,
as AA'ild as herself. The next spring she com
menced visiting her old acquaintances again,
but, unfortunately, fell in sight of a pot-hunter,
and was brought in as a great prize. But those
who had kindly cared for the misfortunes of the
bird, and now looked upon her lifeless form, had
feelings which the AVord indignation failed to
express. The turkey propagated in foreign countries
soon becomes degenerated, and in every way
much inferior to the American type, the high
standard of which in this country is kept up by
infusion of wild blood and liberal forest ranges
adapted to the nature of the bird.
The wild turkey has many peculiarities not
found in any other species. Other birds elect
certain localities to spend their nights, while the
wild turkey puts up wherever night overtakes
him ; for his range is his home, and he is at
home any- where in his range. When roosting in
considerable numbers, the flock is dispersed over
an extensive area of forest. He seldom, if ever,
roosts tAVO consecutive nights in or near the same
place. When the leaves are on the trees he goes
to the topmost tAvigs of the highest trees, and
lets his heavy body down upon the foliage and
small branches, and fixes himself for the night
16

186 THE SQtaRREL HUNTERS.
SO he can not be seen by enemies from above nor
from beloAV. When the forest is bare he is still
more careful to AvithdraAV from observation, and
for this purpose selects large, rough and broken
trees — trees Avith ugly, crooked limbs, Avith knots
and deformities — and places himself near some
bump, crook, or place AA'here the addition of his
body Avill be readily overlooked ; for Avell does he
understand that the ordinary pot-hunter expects
to see him perched upon a small limb far out
from the body of the tree, standing on his legs,
with outstretched neck and elevated head. But,
instead of making a shoAV, he ahA'ays does the
best he can to conceal himself, and if nothing
better appears at hand, he Avill take to a large
horizontal limb, and near the trunk of the tree
flatten his body doAA'n on the njDper part and
stretch out the neck and legs on line Avitli the
limb, so to resemble closely a slight enlargement
on that part of the groAvth.
He knows so well hoAV to conceal himself when
roosting that he laughs at the possibility of being
seen and captured by the marvelous hunters who
have killed so many by moonlight! The arrival of
man and gun in his forest is scented and signaled
at once. The birds most exposed fly far in ad
vance of the hunter, and those that feel safe
keep still and are safe from observation.
The Avriter admits, after testing this mode of
hunting after night, many times, many seasons,
and Avith many persons, that lie has ncA'er been

BEASTS, BIRDS, AND TREES, ETC 187
able to find a turkey on a tree while roosting.
He has seen, hoAvever, and measured the credi
bility of the individual aa'Iio insists that he has
captured a great many snipe in cold, dark Avinter
nights, by holding a light at the open mouth of
a bag while other persons drive them in, but has
never been able to find the individual who shot a
AA'ild turkey Avhile sitting on the roost.
A friend Avho had become infatuated Avith the
idea of night-hunting, insisted that turkeys could
be seen on bare trees Avheii the moon Avas as light
and bright as then ; and the reason he had not
been heretofore successful was OAving entirely to
the "if." As soon as the moon was declared all
right Ave Avere on the grounds ; could hear birds
fljdng off the trees in advance of us as soon as
Ave entered the border. Every tree in our path
way AA'as scanned, AA'ithout seeing an object resem
bling a turkey. The writer soon tired of the
amusement and retraced his steps some distance,
and sat cIoaa'u upon an old log Ijdng on the sand
in the deep-cut bed of a creek.
After waiting a reasonable time and hearing
nothing from the friend, the writer called —
Availed and called a number of times ; but all re
mained silent. Thinking the hunter had become
bewildered and AA'andered beyond the range of
vocal sounds, fired one barrel of the gun off,
pointing it in the direction of the moon, Avhich
Avas partially obscured by some of the small

188 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
branches of a large sycamore tree, standing on
the bank of the opposite side of the creek
The gun made a loud report, and so did a large
gobbler as he came flapping doAvn through the
branches into the creek, having received a mortal
charge of shot. The signal gun soon brought in
the absent member of the expedition, who, on
feeling a twenty-pound bird and hearing the ex
planation, moved it be made unanimous, as the
only successful way to shoot Avild turkeys by
moonlight. Another peculiarity of this bird may be men
tioned. In the spring of the year the female
birds straggle long distances from the flock, and
seek temporary separation in the more open but
unfrequented parts of the forest, where the male
birds seldom, if ever, resort. Here they nest and
rear their young. When the offspring is well
grown the mother birds, Avith young, return to
the flock, after which old and young, male and
female, remain together as one family during fall
and winter.
In-door naturalists and authors have given to
the world many singular and absurd statements
respecting the habits, sagacity and instincts of
the Avild , turkey, since the truthful descriptions
penned by John James Audubon, F.R.S., S.L.
and E. And it is singular that the eminent natur
alist, Thomas Nuttall, A.M.T., L.S. and C,
should say he is not gregarious.
Charles Hallock, the able editor of "Forest and

BEASTS, BIRDS, AND TREES, ETC. 189
Stream," author of "Camp Life," "Sportsman's
Gazatteer," etc., states that in the spring AA'ild
turkeys "pair off" (like blue-birds), "and after
the young are hatched both parents take great
interest in the groAvth and progress of the young
family;" that they are "easily tamed; are
slaughtered by moonlight Avliile roosting ; that it
is rarely a AAdng-shot can be procured ; that they
are killed by sportsmen in various Avays," most of
Avliich is not much less at variance Avith facts in
nature than the statement of Mr. Burrell Symmes,
Avho claimed that he had outAvitted the sagacity
of the bird, and killed at one shot, with a rifle,
a large fiock that infested a wheat-stack near
their range. "The turkeys would gather around
the stack, every fcAV days, as close as they could
crowd their bodies, pulling out Avheat-heads
to eat;" and, taking in the situation, says he
bent the barrel of his gun to the segment of a
circle corresponding to the diameter of the area
of the base of the stack. And Avell loaded AA'ith
powder and leaden ball, concealed the Aveapon at
the proper adjustment, placing himself in vicAV
of the situation, AA'ith a cord attached to the
trigger. The turkeys came, and unsuspectingly
crowded around the stack, and began their ac
customed repast. Noav Avas the moment for ac
tion — "the cord Avas pulled, and the gun fired,
which sent the ball round and round the stack,
until it moAved doAvn every last turkey in the
flock."

190 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
Respecting the habits and peculiarities of the
Avild turkey, the author turned up a slip from the
lips of an old North Carolina negro, Avho gives
the best pen-picture of the home-life of the bird
that has fallen to the notice of ornithologists.
The authography is somcAvhat objectionable, but
the Avhole story is Avell told. Among other things
he says the Avild turkey is a "mighty peert
foAvl ;" that he can sometimes teach a fox Iioav to
be smart, while at other times a sucking calf is not
half so big a fool as he makes of himself ; that he
had knoAvn gobblers to outAA'it all the hunters in the
country, and then Avalk into some ordinary colored
man's "pen" and stay there, "a cranin he neck,
an' tryen to get out at de top Av'at been all roof
over, Avile de hole in de groun' Av'at he came in
at stans AA'ide open."
The "pen'' Avas a fatal device, capturing an
nually thousands of those birds during early set
tlements. Before the extensive forests disap
peared turkeys lived Avell in the fall and AAdnter-
and fattened on the mast. But OAving to the
love for Indian corn they Avere by a moderate dis
play of this food easily enticed into traps, called
"pens," Avhen placed in secluded sections of for
est Avliere the bir-ds Avere knoAvn to seek sub
sistence Pens Avei'e usually constructed of AA'indfalls —
old limbs of various sizes — making an inclosure
of ten or tAvelve feet square, four feet in height,
and covered Avith similar' limbs Aveighted doAvu

BEASTS, BIRDS, AND TREES, ETC. 191
with Other limbs placed across the covering. A
trench, eighteen or tAventy inches deep and about
the same width, cut to enter the pen tAvo feet,
terminating abruptly slanting upAvard. Over the
part of the trench next to the Avail Avere secured a
number of small poles forming a bridge a foot
Avide. Outside of the pen the tr-ench extended,
rising gradually, until it reached the level of the
surrounding ground.
When flnished, the tr'ap Avould be Avell-baited
AA'ith corn in the center and in the trench. Small
quantities were scattered off in different direc
tions from the pen, and a fcAv grains here and
there for a mile or more. After the birds Avould
find a fcAV grains, the entire flock would engage
in search for more, and soon the trail of corn
leading to the pen would be discovered, and rush
ing along in haste Avould enter the trench im-
aAvares, and forcing the front birds in the trench
under the bridge and up into the pen before
danger Avas suspected. As soon as those in the
inclosure discovered the situation, they Avould
try to force their Avay through the openings in
the pen, passing and repassing around and OA'er
the bridge AA'ith heads erect, never observing the
opening by which they entered — their comrades
would soon disappear, leaving the unfortunate
birds to be taken out by the trapper.
In a good location a single pen Avould furnish
one hundred or more turkeys during a AA'inter.
One year, J.J. Audubon kept an account of the

192 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
produce of a pen which he visited daily and
found that seventy-six had been caught in it, in
about tAVO months. Seven Avas the highest num
ber he had ever succeeded in taking from a pen
at one time, but knew of as many as eighteen
being captured by others. The average success
of a pen, per capture, ranged from four to five.
The writer has knoAvn fifteen to be the fruits of
the first A'isit, and no more caught that season.
To make the pen a success, required great care
and attention. The timber necessary for the con
struction was gathered from windfalls shoAving
AA'oodland decay ; any marks of the axe, or civili
zation were considered objectionable. The earth
taken out to make the trench, leading to and into
the pen, Avas carefully removed to other parts ;
old leaves AA'ere throAvn into the trench and about
the pen, making every thing in the A'icinity look
ancient and accidental.
In many settlements the success of trapping
pens was of short duration. As the country
soon, furnished easy access of the birds to large
fields of their favorite food, they no longer could
be induced to enter the baited pens. NotAA'ith-
standing the number captured by means of pens
— "slaughtered by moonlight" — "by baiting" —
"by treeing with dogs," turkeys remained quite
plentiful for more than sixty years after the
settlement of Ohio. They Avere to be found in
the woodlands all over the state, and for half a
century remained the king-bird of the sports-

BEASTS, BIRDS AND TREES, ETC. 193
man. When frightened, he seeks cover and lies
Avell to a point. Early in the morning is the
most propitious time to find him. When a fiock
is fiushed and frightened by the rapid motions of
a dog, some AA'ill fly and others r'un in the di
rection of security and cover ; it may be a mile
or more distant, and if so the sportsman Avill
most surely pick up a straggler or two on his way,
if he and his dog understand their business.
If any have taken to the trees, it Avill be lost
time to look after them — they have made another
fly in the direction taken by the leaders, who
prefer the use of feet to wings. The dog must
now keep close to his master, who moves so
cautiously and quietly, that he talks to his com
panion by signs and motions altogether. The
birds are so wonderfully fearful of a dog, and
are uoav so frightened that some, while on the
way to the place of refuge, Avill drop down in
a secure looking spot to regain composure or to
aAvait till all is quiet. It is these the sportsman
is after. Old logs, fallen tree-tops, piles of old
brush, blackened limbs, tufts of Aveeds and spots
of dead prairie grass groAvn in small openings
among timber, afford attractive points for con
cealment, and are all remembered Avith reverence
and respect as monuments of departed birds, at
the death and obsequies of Avhich the Aviiter had
been present.
The hunter must be prepared to flnd a bird
17

194 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
anywhere on the line of march. The dog carries
the scent and his every movement determines the
distance the birds are off. Now he moves with
catdike stealth — he stops with tetantic muscular
tension, quivering in every fiber, stands elongated
— a fixed immovable figure — his marvelous nose
has caught the image and measured the dis
tance, which in silence says, stop ! — move not,
as ej^es and nose direct to the place some
twenty or thirty yards distant. The bird is
there, and the canine head knoAvs the result
of another step in that direction — the hunter
summoning all his skill and coolness, takes a
step or tAVO forAvard, and the bird is flushed, and
starts off with the velocity of a grouse, testing
sporting ability and rapidity of motion that re
wards in hearing the monster fall ; and a second
later the quiet salute by the faithful and well-trained
dog, showing he is elated equally AAdth his master.
Quite often a turkey Avill carry a mortal charge
a long distance and drop dead. Remains of dead
birds are so frequently found during the Jiun ting
season, that there can be but little doubt many
shot at and get away, die from their Avounds.
And the hunter should not dispair of success if
his shot on the wing does not come to the ground
immediately. Instances in great numbers are
before the writer, some of Avhicli are marked
by more than ordinai'y singularity, Avhere the
recovery of the bird has taken place, quite un
expectedly, after a pronounced miss. One bitter

BEASTS, BIRDS, AND TREES, ETC 195
cold afternoon, while out AA'ith a friend, Avho
shot at a bird as it was flying through the timber ;
it continued on its course and Avas observed for a
long distance to fly naturally but to go doAvn
too abruptly. The locality Avhere observation
ended was hunted closely and easily, as there
was a crusted snow on the ground, but without
finding as much as a feather. As Ave were re
turning, and Avithin a few rods of the spot where
the bird Ave had been searching for was shot at,
another turkey came sailing over with tremendous
velocity, going in the direction taken by the first
one . It Avas giA'en a barrel loaded with Ely's Green
Cartridge, No. 5 shot. The bird went on and
doAvn, but this time we marked the locality more
accurately and Avere soon at the place and found
tAVO turkeys, dead and warm, within a few feet
of each other. Some years before this, Avhile
standing in a little opening, early in the morning,
listening for turkey sounds, the report of a gun
Avas heard near half a mile distant, and in a mo
ment a large gobbler fell dead at the writer's
feet. While out Avith two young dogs, a bird was
flushed on the bank of the Scioto river, and re
ceived a shot when near the opposite side, which
so injured and confused him that he came back
and fell ujion the side of the stream from Avhicli
lie started. The heavy body came doAvn Avith a
thug, close to the shore, among some Aveeds and
bushes near a large pile of drift-Avood. The

196 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
dogs Avere at the place in quick time, but could
find no turkey. Thinking it had crawled into
the drift, we tried to have the dogs hunt the drift.
But they knew better and took no heart in spend
ing time at that point, and required constant re
straint to prevent them from taking the forest.
After an ineffectual examination of the cover af
forded by the drift, the superior judgment of
the dogs was taken, and with management, their
noses kept the course of this wounded bird and
followed his meanderings one and a half miles in
an air line from the drift to the point AA'here they
came to the bird on a stand. Walking up, expect
ing a flush, I Avas surprised to find a dead turkey,
Avarm, muddy, and wet AA'ith the dew of the
morning. While it is quite common for a turkey, when
mortally Avounded, to continue his fiiglit consid
erable distances before falling, and equally, if not
more so, to fall dead at once from the shot, it is'
not often one Avill, while on the Aving making his
escape, change his course of conduct and come
doAvn and give himself up Avithout being touched
by shell or shot. Still, it is not impossible, for
he has been known to do so, but not, perhaps, for
the reason said to be entertained by Captain
Scott's coon.
One still, warm afternoon in December, 1860,
Avith dog, the Avriter visited the "Fenced-in Wil
derness." On arrival in the Avoods a concealed
position Avas selected and the dog sent out to look

BEASTS, BIRDS, AND TREES, ETC 197
up the birds. Soon a large male bird came so
near, on foot and unseen, that he scented the
hunter, and rose Avithin less than tAventy yards
of the Avriter, who fired after him one of
Ely's green wire cartridges, one and a half
ounces No. 5 shot, driven by three drachms
of Hazard's electric poAvder. The bird Avas up
in the air about thirty feet, going off directly in
line with the shot. When the gun reported the
turkey did not limber nor tumble like a bird shot,
but came down precisely like a paper kite — full
spread of Avings and tail, with outstretched neck
and legs. When the writer came up he was lying
upon the ground, spread' out like a bat, and the
captor placed one foot and weight of the body
on his neck, and commenced reloading the empty
barrel. Before this was half accomplished it be
came necessary to suspend reloading and attend
to the customer by changing his neck from the
foot to the hand, in order to keep him long
enough to cut his throat. During the time re
quired to open the knife and perform this little
surgical operation he used his legs and toe
nails most vigorously and effectively, and the
operator came out of the fray bleeding and lacer
ated, with loss of the greater portion of coat,
A'-est, shirt and pants. The Avounds, however se
vere, Avere as nothing compared AA'ith the knOAvl-
edge demonstration revealed — that this turkey
AA'as knocked doAvn by the generation of some
force, Avithout making a scar, mark, or sign of

198 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
traumatism, external or internal. A critical ex
amination revealed no injury whatever, except
the cut made by the knife. The explanation is
for the scientist.
It requires a good gun, a good load and a good
shot to bring down a full-grown, Avell-feathered
turkey. Seldom they rise short of thirty yards
distant ; then, by the powerful motor assistance
of the legs at the start, the next thirty yards are
made Avitli such velocity that by the time the gun
ner has "spoken his piece," the bird is off so far
that loose No. 5 shot and a fair charge of powder
will not be effective unless by mere accident. This
became manifest at the beginning of the Fifties.
Having flushed a very large flock of turkeys near
toAvn by means of a little cocker, that made a
terrible ado after them in the standing cornstalks,
near the Scioto river — after hunting them un
successfully in the timber, a strip of praire grass
Avas entered, full of "nigger-heads," extending
parallel with the river for a full half-mile. The
grass Avas tall, and the freezing Aveather had
stiffened the ground and frozen OA'er the pools, so
it could be Avalked OA'er AA'ith safety. As the
grass was entered the little dog became invisible ;
but it Avas soon discoA'ered Avhere he was by the
flight of a turkey out of range, and before the
cocker could be brought under control he flushed
several more. It Avas not long, hoAA'ever', before
a good Aving shot Avas obtained, and the Avriter
started home Avith a load. This success and the

BE.ASTS, BIRDS, AND TREES, ETC 199
close proximity to toAvn induced a number of ama
teur gunners to try their luck, and they were di
rected to the locality ; for it Avas certain, if the tur
keys Avere concealed in the grass, they would re
main there if undisturbed until their time for mov
ing — the dusk of evening.
From Avhat Avas subsequently known, it would
appear that the Avhole flock, consisting of forty
or flfty birds, still frightened, had found their
Avay back to this place of security and conceal
ment, and, without the aid of dogs, Avere Avalked
up and shot at by the party, but without captur
ing a single bird.
The hunters returned with sorrow and disap
pointment. One of their number, a prominent
lawyer and ex-member of Congress, came in with
the loss of one eye and otherAvise disflgured for
life by the explosion of his gun.
At the close of the War of the Rebellion a
large amount of uncultivated, wild land, owned
by non-residents, was sold in small farms to set
tlers ; and a general disposition prevailed, from
high prices of produce, to improve much of the
better class of timber lands evei'y-Avhere, under-
brushing for pasture, or deadening the large tim
ber for corn, and this had some influence in de
cimating game. Still the game resorts, unin
habitable in this way, amounted to little compared
Avith influence and facilities increased railroads
gave the pot-hunter to go on with his Avork of
extermination in those mammoth parks of forests

200 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
in the eastern and southern borders of the state,
Avhere the deer, turkey, grouse, and Avild-pigeon
should have found protection and a home to the
end of time.
And Avith a diversified and Avild section of coun
try large enough to accommodate and furnish an
nually thousands of game, beasts, and birds, some
are entii-ely extinct, and others scarcely known
Avithin the limits of the state. Such destruction is
truly an injustice to a beneficent creator that fed the
hungry, clothed the naked, made pioneer homes
happy and a savage AA'ilderness a desirable habi
tation for the pilgrims of a better ciA'ilization.
It is more to be regretted that in the general
destruction the grandest bird in the Avorld — in-
diginous alone to America — and Avhose love for
"liberty" exceeds all other species, should be
denied room enough among a liberty-loving
people for a home. It seems a pity Benjamin
Franklin had not been more than "half in earn
est" when he suggested this bird as the emblem
of our national independence. But as it is, in
other Avays he has adA'anced ciA'ilization and
been a benefactor to the human race. His sur
passing size, tender, juicy, and gamey-flavored
fiesh, places him far above all other gallinaceous
birds ; and his goodness and greatness are kiiOAvn
over the Avordd, and those aa'Iio occupy his native
countr'y have secured for his name a place among
the saints, to be chanted annually on a day set
apar't for thanksgiving ami praise.

BEASTS, BIRDS, AND TREES, ETC 201
Railroad facilities enabled pot-hunters to flood
the countiy, to shoot for eastern saloons and
cold-storage houses, until the rapid decimation
of valuable game gave reasons for serious appre
hension that both birds and beasts will become
exterminated or taken from the sources of food
supply. An annual depletion of the quantity of
game in a giA'en locality is generally borne well,
and is, to a limited extent, beneflcial. They
usually stand assessments of numbers much bet
ter than encroachments upon their borders. And
it is sometimes singular where they all go to,
Avhen the Avoods in Avhich they have always lived
become cleared up, so they are obliged to trans
fer their possessions . An estate in the Military Dis
trict, consisting of two thousand acres, remained
AAdld until 1862. The agent at this date had the
land cleared of the young growth of trees and
bushes and put in grass.
Two years after, while riding along a road
that led through this piece of timber, the writer
saw a stately wild turkey, Avith head erect and
measured steps, marching through the open tim
ber, occasionally stopping, as though looking
and listening for former companions. On the
same road, after several hours, we again saw the
disappointed bird on his way back to tell the sad
story. The Avild turkey is now exterminated in Ohio,
and the indications are he will soon be as little
known as the Dodo. During his stay in the

202 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
aid and interests of civilization, thousands of
Squirrel Hunters Avere made happy, and for
near'ly three hundred years he has been placed
at the head of the feast Avith all the compliments
bestoAA'ed upon him in 1621 by Priscilla Holmes :
"The foremost of all delicacies — roast turkey —
dressed Avith beech-nuts."
The quail, another valuable game bird, has,
until Avithin a fcAV years, been an abundant, per
manent resident of the state. It is scarcely nec
essary to say a Avord in his praise, for Bob White
is a smart little felloAV, an early riser, and worth
millions to agricultural interests while liAdng, and
unequaled on toast AA'hen dead.
At the date of the first settlements in the terri
tory the bird Avas undoubtedly very retired, as
Avell as fcAV in number. The extensiA'C and dense
forests, covering almost the entire countr'y, made
it ill adapted to his nature ; and those Avliich were
enabled to perpetuate existence occupied some of
the limited open tracts of land found here and
there over the country. Bob White is really a
bird of civilization. He fiourishes most near the
abodes of man. The cultivation of the soil and
settlement of the country increases his numbers.
In support of these conclusions Ave will here refer
to the fact contained in a statement made by a
gentleman AA'ho, Avith family, settled in Ohio in
the spring of 1798, and located on the border of
a small pr-aiiie — seemingly a faA'orable situation
for the bird. He resided several A'car's in that

BEASTS, BIRDS. AND TREES, ETC 203
locality, raising AAdieat, corn, and other kinds of
produce, Avithout hearing the A^oice of the quail.
He had about abandoned the anticipation of quail
shooting, and questioned if it AA'Ould ever be rec
ognized as a sport in Ohio.
One day in early summer of 1802 he thought
he heard the recognized though suppressed sound,
"Bob White." Somewhat doubting the sense of
hearing, he . immediately made observations and
procured additional CAddence — that of sight.
Yes, he actually heard and saw the bird for the
first time in Ohio. Elated AA'ith the good iieAVS,
he proceeded to the cabin and told his discovery
Avith so much excitement and enthusiasm that it
created a laugh at his expense. He excused his
manner, hoAvever, by saying, "It Avas sufficient
to excite any one to knoAV that a highly-esteemed
and familiar friend had found the Avay through
such an interminable Avilderness, and announced
his arrival in that modest and meaning Avay,
'Bob White.' " Since then he has been knoAvn as
a permanent resident.
The greater portion of the year the old birds,
Avith the family increase, remain in coveys. In
early spring this general attachment is broken
up by pairing, each pair selecting a locality,
Avhere they remain during the breeding season.
When mating and selection of locality has taken
place, it is knoAvn by the demonstration of the
male, Avho gives the AA'hole neighborhood due no
tice of his domestic intentions by frequent repe-

2(14 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
titions of his cheerful and Avell-knoAvn notes,
"Bob White ! Bob White !"
When paired the tAvo are constant companions,
ever Avatchful and devoted to the Avelfare of each
other, sharing equally the duties and responsi
bilities of Avedded life ; and from the appearance
of the first offspring to their settlement in the
Avorld, as faithful father and mother, remain un
ceasing protectors and proAdders for the familv.
This extraordinary strength of attachment and
exhibition of natural affection has attracted the
attention of all their friends.
While living on a farm the Avriter discovered a
nest, nicely concealed by tufts of grass after be
ing constructed, under the projecting end of a
fence rail. At the time there Avere in it five eggs.
This number increased daily until tAventy-three
eggs filled the nest, and incubation began. All
Avent on happily, until one morning there was
evTilently great distress in that little household.
The male bird Avas sounding his anxious alarm —
going hurriedly from one part of the farm to that
of CA'cr'v other — sometimes flying, sometimes run
ning ; stopping a moment here, a moment there ;
calling at the top of his voice for his mate, in his
peculiar tone of distress. His unansAvered cry
soon told the tale — some accident, some ruthless
liaAvk, some sneaking cat, or some other enemy,
Irad captur'ed and destroyed his faithful com
panion. He kei)t up his calling for several hours, some-

BEASTS, BIRDS, AND TREES, ETC 205
times coming quite near, making a lowchittering
noise, as if suspicious something could be told —
that the Avriter could tell him where his love had
gone. Far from it, he too was in search of any
thing that could giA'e a clue to the whereabouts
of the unfeeling Avretch that had done the bloody
deed — he too Avas excited, and would have exe
cuted the severest penalty known on the guilty
one, if found.
The nest was occasionally observed during the
forenoon, with merely the thought she might be
testing the affection of her lord, or playing him
a practical joke ; but no, the eggs were, at each
visit uncovered. About noon-day, his lamenta
tions ceased, and hoping his mate had returned,
the nest was again visited, and was surprised to
find Bob on the nest, keeping life in the pros
pective family.
For scA'cral days he left the nest frequently to
make further search for his missing SAveetheart.
One morning, as usual, I called to see how the
little widoAver was getting along, and found
nothing but a bundle of shells — every egg had
been hatched. Not far from the nest was heard
a crickety sound — "chit, chit, chit" — and soon
discovered Bob with his brood. He continued to
care for the motherless young, as the writer can
testify from frequent meetings, and reared a fine,
large covey, which received protection and sym
pathy during the following fall and winter, of

206 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
all the farm hands and sportsmen, avIio knew
him and his Avell-behaving family.
Quail are not strictly granivorous . In autumn
and Avinter they subsist chiefly on grain, berries
and AA'eed seeds. But in the spring and summer
their food is almost exclusively composed of
Avorms and insects. While Henry William Her
bert extols the benefits the agriculturist deriA'Cs
from the consumption of weed seeds by these
birds, he does not seem to have been aAvare the
quail is the greatest worm and insect enemy of
all the birds of North America, and are of more
A^aluable service to crops and trees than all other
birds combined. A few coveys carefully pre-
serAJ-ed Avould protect the farmer against the
ravages of many destructive insects, Avliich are
more to be feared than the "rag-Aveed, the dock,
or the brier." The AA'iiter examined one acci
dentally killed, several years ago, in the month
of June, and its crop contained seventy-five
"potatoe-bugs," besides numerous smaller insects.
And, if for no other reason, the farmer should
protect the bird as his best and most reliable ex
terminator of Avorms and insects, AA'hich, if un
disturbed, accumulate to the great detriment of
groAving grain and grass, and to orchards and
gardens. The quail regai'ds man as his friend,
though a stranger to his sympathy and protec
tion. If not for ill-treatment and general mani
festation to exterminate his species by those
Avhose friendship he courts, he Avould soon be-

BEASTS, BIRDS, AND TREES, ETC 207
come quite as domestic as the barnyard poultry.
In fact, he frequently presses his claims perse-
veringly in this line by establishing partnership
and social relations Avitli domestic foAvls. It is
not uncommon to find a hen and quail occupying
the same nest, until the complement of eggs are
deposited by each, at the end of Avhich time the
quail usually submits the incubation to her
partner. Quail are pursued by man, beast, bird, and rep
tile ; but AA'ith a fair opportunity and timely
Avarning they manifest a Avonperful faculty for
CA^ading their foes; and, excepting the "pot
hunter," they are provided AA'ith ample means
for self-preservation. He aa'Iio steals upon a
covey Avliile enjoying the sunshine by some
stump, log, or fence-corner, seated in a space less
than the circumference of a half-bushel meas
ure, and betrays a confidence by firing upon
them in this unsuspecting attitude, filling his
bag AA'ith the dead, and marching off Avitli the
brand of "sneak-thief" upon his broAV, is a "pot
hunter." He, too, AA'ho, with a shoAv of indif
ference, rides about, pretending to be overseeing
his OAA'U affairs, Avhistling around until the poor
unsuspecting birds, in order to get out of his
Avay, unconsciously walk into a net prepared for
them, and as a rcAvard for this confiding friend-
shiji triumphantly mashes their heads, is a pot
hunter'. Against such the bird has no pro
tection.

208 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
When coA'eys have Avarning of danger, and
AA'ish to eA'ade detection, they Avill conceal them
selves from their enemies, in a most magical
manner, by a singular concerted action, seem
ingly, Avithholding their "scent," so it is often
impossible for the best dogs to detect them, even
in the most favorable cover. It is quite amusing
to AA'itness the changes that come over the ama
teur sportsman AA'hen he fails to put up his birds.
He knoAvs Avhere they are, at least he thinks he
does, for he "marked them down" in the meadow
of short grass Avithin a fcAV yards of a stump or
tree. Then, it is such a commentary on his
dogs, for he knOAVs they are all right — never bet
ter, truer noses ; still they go over and OA'cr, round
and round, without AA'inding a bird, or coming to
a point. There ! that dog has flushed a bird !
NoAV he is assured the Avhole covey are AA'ithin
tAventy feet of that spot ; and he rencAvs his
search, and keeps his dogs going over and OA'cr
the same locality, until both dogs and gunner,
disgusted, quit the place.
Hoav they got away, and Avhere they all Avent
to, and Avhy that single bird remained Avliere the
covey went doAvn, andAvhy the dogs did not point
that bird, all passed through the mind of the
hunter, as he marched on in search of better
luck. The amateur perhaps meets his experienced
friend, to Avliom he relates his disappointment,
and Avho in reply proposes to return to the

BEASTS, BIRDS, AND TREES, ETC 209
meadow of the "marked clown" covey. After
a time they do so, and every dog at once Avinds
his bird ; and each come to point — these are
flushed and shot at. The dogs are made to move
cautiously, and again the trio stand, each having
a bird under point. This is repeated until every
bird has gone the gauntlet.
Quail shooting has been, but is no longer, an
interesting field sport in Ohio. Wing shooting,
while diminishing the aggregate number, by
subtracting from each covey, does not often de
stroy the entire family, and under proper legis
lation, has its benefits and advantages, and
generally insures the preservation of an abund
ance to propagate another season. The sport,
also, to some exteni, draws from the destructive
spoils of the pot-hunter and trajjper, making the
birds coy, suspicious and not easily seen. True,
there is a possibility that the sportsman with dog
and gun may destroy a whole family by shooting
on the wing. A chapter of this kind occurred
to the writer. While riding along the road in a
buggy with a friend, our pointer companion came
to a stand some distance in front, with nose and
tail paralleled to the line of fence. The birds rose
by concert in line along the fence, while the rear
bird, or first to rise was covered and fired at.
The atmosphere was so the smoke obscured re
sults, excepting that of a wounded bird crossing
the road for a sorghum field. An effort was made
18

210 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
to intercept and capture it, but failed. The
friend Avho sat in the buggy and had. a good view
of the situation, declared every bird fell. A
walk OA'er the ground proved it true, as from the
first to the last in the distance of about tAventy
yards or more, eleven dead birds were picked up.
The next day on passing the spot, the dog came
to a point on a AA'ounded bird, which was cap
tured and killed as a kindness. Here the whole
covey was exterminated ; but as the perpetrator
felt "sorry" for the act, and did not intend it,
and Avould never do it again, it should not be
considered unpardonable.
The quail is a bird favorable to the happiness
of man and advancement of ciAdlization, is of in
estimable value as a permanent resident, for the
reason he is independent of forests for the main
tenance of existence and perpetuation. He
is the bird of field and farm and the only
one from Avhich a single pair can produce and
rear to maturity more than half a hundred young
in one season, to present as choice morsels of food
for the weary farmer and protector.
It is comforting to the sportsman to feel as
sured there is one resident game bird the iniquity
of the pot-hunter can not exterminate. So long
as forests and mountains last, the Ruffed Grouse
Avill be able to maintain an abiding place. And
many are the pleasant reminiscences of the
hunter connected Avith the pursuit of this Avary
bird ; it is a sport once enjoyed can never be lost

BEASTS, BIRDS, AND TREES, ETC 211
from among the sunny associations of the past.
Even the name brings to view the ragged moun
tains, rocky ravines, shady dells, babbling brooks
and quiet streams in forests, ripe AA'ith every
shade and tint of autumn colors, quiet secluded
places where nature reveals her SAveetest charms
in inimitable splendor that mocks the artist's
pencil and poet's pen — the home and haunts of
this beautifal bird.
It does not seem reasonable that the indiffer
ence of the people should permit the depopula
tion of the earth of all its birds I It is sorrow
ful to contemplate a place where no bird exists
excepting the "English sparroAV. " Of the knOAAm
species, amounting to over five thousand, that
once glorified the life and beauty of the earth,
more than one-half the number has already dis
appeared forever.
The Chicago Tribune, of August 11, 1895, on
the "Destruction of Birds," tells the truth, a
horrible truth, when it says: "If masculine
greed and cruelty, and feminine vanity and
thoughtlessness, are not in some manner re
strained or punished, it is only a question of time,
and very short time at that, how soon the earth
will lose its birds." That the Seattle Argus
called attention to the danger of the utter ex
termination af game birds by the destruction of
their eggs on the Alaska breeding grounds —
ducks, geese, swans, and other migratory birds,
seek the Ioav lands along the Yukon river for

212 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
their nesting places. The egg-hunters gather
their eggs by millions in these as Avell as other
localities in South-Avestern Alaska, Avhere the
birds resor't, and sell them for the purpose of
manufacturing egg albumen, a commercial arti
cle. The destruction of these millions of eggs
every spring and summer is rapidly reducing
the number of game birds, and the flocks
every year groAV smaller and smaller. Sen
ator Mitchell, of Oregon, introduced a bill at the
last session of Congress for the protection of these
game birds, but of course it did not come to vote,
and it probably never Avill. The game birds
will share the fate of the four-footed game ; groAV
fcAver CA^ery year, and finally disappear alto
gether. ' ' When one remembers that thirty years ago
the skies were almost darkened by flights of
pigeons across Indiana and Illinois, and that
branches of trees were broken by their weight
and numbers, and that the other day a Avild-
pigeon shot in Southern Indiana Avas regarded
as rare a curiosity as a Avhite blackbird, it can
be realized Iioav rapidly game birds are disappear
ing. The game birds Avhich are not migratory
are also hunted doAvn in spite of game laAvs, and
every year groAV scarcer and dearer in the mar
kets. If nothing is done to protect (more effect-
uall}-) there will soon be an end of game birds.
The greed of gain Avill end their existence."

BEASTS, BIRDS, AND TREES, ETC. 213
Of all the birds in Ohio and the North-west,
the AAdld pigeon was by far the most numerous.
Those who have witnessed their flight, from early
morn until approaching night, all going in one
direction, Avithout cessation for a number of con
secutive days, were ready to believe pigeons Avere
as the sands of the sea, innumerable, and could
never be exhausted. But, alas! inventions came,
the foes of bird-life : railroads and telegraphs.
And for many years, winter and summer, the
pigeon Avas traced, pursued, netted and trapped,
at feeding places, by gangs of pot-hunters, keep
ing tons of dead birds all the time in transit to
the large cities. Year after year, from coast to
coast, this bird was followed, invading the breed
ing places and destroying the young and old,
until the wild pigeon noAV exists in history, and
may be seen mounted by the taxidermist.
The birds that are not game, the women in
their vanity and thoughtlessness are rapidly de
stroying those having an attractive plumage, and
millions of humming-birds, orioles, bluebirds,
starlings, indigo-birds, redstarts, redbirds, and
many others, are annually slaughtered to gratify
an inhuman and uncivilized fashion. For more
than ten years this destruction has been increas
ing, and birds are diminishing in this and other
countries until extermination is near at hand.
Jules Forest says of the bird of paradise : "They
are so industriously hunted that the males are
not permitted to reach full maturity, and the

214 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
birds which now flood the market are for the
most part young ones, still clothed in their flrst
plumage, Avhich lacks the brilliancy displayed in
the older bird, and are consequently of small
commercial value." As to the tuft of delicate
plumes Avhich are so much in demand by milli
ners, and sold by them as real, are often mixed
with ospray tips, which, to the shame of woman
hood, have so long been in fashion and are still
used. I may state on trustAVorthy authority, that
"during the last season one warehouse alone has
disposed of no less than sixty thousand dozen of
these mixed sprays." And the question comes :
Is there no way to stop it? Must bird-slaughter
go on to gratify a Aveak and cruel vanity, that
should be met not only Avith public scorn, but
also by the strong arm of the laAv, to reach the
possessor or the hat, as it does the fisherman and
his net or the hunter and his gun."
As the country became partially settled and
the larger game supply diminished by unseason
able killing, clubs of squirrel hunters organized
and laws were enacted protecting beasts and
birds AA'ith a close season. The good, the social
and intelligent, became members for AA'hat there
Avas in it. These clubs entertained no secrets,
and did not pattern after any of the ancient or
ders with AA'hich the United States appear over-
blessed, nor were they given to boasting of their
pedigrees. No one ever claimed King Solomon
was "the father and founder," although he

BEASTS, BIRDS, AND TREES, ETC 215
might have been ; and members were satisfied
and sanguine that Mr. Nimrod, the mighty
hunter, for a saint, was in morals as good as any
of them.
These clubs had also many improvements over
ordinary societies. A candidate for membership
was not obliged to ride a goat to get in, nor Avith
bandaged eyes go doAvn into a dangerous pit to
search for the tables of stone that Moses brought
home the ten commandments on. Neither had
the clubs any use for a catechism of secret signs
to let the brethren know when a member had
been guilty of something unAA'elcome to society,
and needed assistance. They were all Squirrel
Hunters, and members recognized each other by
the absence of society pins and want of super
lative adjectives at the front end of their names.
The only thing recorded in Avhich these clubs re
sembled any other order or society Avas in having
a great many glorious banquets. They culti
vated the social and democratic principles, owing
allegiance nowhere, to no one or any thing, but
the government and countr'y covered by the
American flag.
The objects of these clubs were the study of
natural history and to secure and enforce all
laws for the preservation of game beasts and
birds, as well as the summer songsters that give
life and happiness to forest and field.
These clubs labored hard to enforce legislative
enactments against pot-hunting and thoughtless

216 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
destruction of birds, but found it more difficult
to capture the violator and public opinion than
to subdue British and Indians or frighten an
army. People generally had embraced the idea
that birds, beasts and trees could never become
seriously decimated, and it was useless to offer
them protection, Avhich made it troublesome to
obtain a verdict against offenders by either judge
or jury. The motives of such prosecutions were
generally misconstrued, or plaintiffs made sub
jects of sport or ridicule.
The foUoAving is taken from the records and
proceedings of one of the earliest organized and
most Avorthy game clubs in Ohio. It appears
the offender Avas a hiAvyer, who enjoyed fine
grounds and an elegant garden, and amused him
self shooting little birds that came to share his
bounty, or obtain a pittance by AA'ay of interest
for the good they had by nature rendered. The
club gave the lavA'yer notice and request to desist
such ci'uelty, or it might become necessar-y to call
the attention of the officers of the hiAV to the
matter. To this the club received the folloAving reply,
worthy of preservation for its Avit, humor, and
literar'y ability :
"To N  E  , Secretary of Branch No. 3, Ohio
(lame Club :
"My Dear Sir — Your esteemed favor of yes
terday has been received, and at an early date I

BEASTS, BIRDS, AND TREES, ETC. 217
liasten to reply, not knowing just AA'hat punish
ment Avould aAvait me should I fail to be prompt
in my responses. As to the 'birds of various
kinds' of which you speak, I move to amend in
order to make more specific and certain, by stat
ing what kind of birds,, what number, when
killed, and by Avhat means. If required to plead
to the general charge, I would enter a plea of
'not guilty.' Permit me to say that I only killed
birds of prey, and I only pray that I may kill
more of them. I always bury all I kill ; I berry
them before I kill them, and bury them after
wards. I am exceedingly sorry that my fancied mis
deeds have rendered necessary a special meeting
of the 'club,' or to have been the innocent occa
sion of the least trouble to either the officers or
members of that useful and ornamental body.
Be kind enough to say, with my compliments, to
the association of which you have the honor to
be secretary, that the doors of the Temple of
Justice, like 'the glorious gates of the gospel of
grace,' stand open night and day, and the 'club'
Avill please consider itself invited to enter and
become 'involved in the intricate meshes of the
laAV.' ' 'Allow me further to say that I expect tomor-
roAV morning to be on my premises, near the city,
engaged in my usual and ordinary amusement of
destroying birds of prey ; and as it is the 'early
19

218 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
bird that catches the Avorm,' I Avould suggest to
members of your valuable association, through
their secretary, that they meet at an early hour,
say half-past five in the morning, either at Dod-
son's store or at the Avell-knoAvn grocery stand of
John L. King, and proceed in a body, in full uni
form, to the premises alluded to in your corre
spondence. It might be well to have music, and
march to the tune of 'Listen to the Mocking
bird,' or such other appropriate music as your
orchestra may select.
"One other suggestion : I am constitutionally
and proverbially careless in the handling of fire
arms, and it may be well to make that statement
to the members of your organization, so that
should a stray shot fall AA'ide of the mark at
Avliich it AA'as aimed, they may feel a sense of
security behind such intrenchments as nature or
art shall have provided. Ice-Avater and sponges
will be furnished free to each and every member
who attends, but no gin cocktails AA'ill be given.
"Very truly yours, H  ."
It seems an unansAvered question, how the na
tives preserved the forests from fires, and main
tained the numerical strength of the species of
animals on which they subsisted. The count.ries
in which Indians have been found subsisting by
hunting, are knoAvn to have forests undisturbed
by fires for thousands of years, and containing a
full complement of all kinds of game indigenous

BEASTS, BIRDS, AND TREES, ETC 219
to the locality. This country, at the time sur
rendered, was fully endoAved AAdth all the gifts of
nature. Lo had preserved the forests from fii'es,
protected the game beasts and birds, and shown
natural Avisdom enough not to kill the goose to
obtain the golden egg.
Hoav these Avise results AA^ere accomplished are
unknown to civilization. But it can be stated as
a fact, UCAV countries have never suffered from
forest fires or the destruction of their game at
the hands of the Indian hunter. Ea^cii in limited
and croAA'ded reservations he manages to preserve
the forests, and in some way to keep on hand a
supply of animals to the full extent the condi
tions of nature Avill admit. The instinct to kill
no more than enough for present use, though he
may suffer from hunger the next day, probably
has had a favorable influence on game and its
preservation. While practically a resident of an unsettled
Indian country (the northern portion of loAA'a Ter
ritory) , in 1845, it Avas noticeable that there ex
isted no lack of game, nor variety, although
pretty densely populated Avitli Winnebagoes,
Sioux and Fox Indian, Avho derived their meat
chiefly from the yeai'ly increase of game fur
nished Avithin a limited territory.
Soon after the close of the trea.ty AA'ith those
tribes, made by General Dodge in the summer of
1845, at Fort Atkinson, the writer, AA'ith a friend,
passed through the hunting grounds for more

220 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
than one hundred miles, and saAv a number of
large flocks of wild turkey and larger game in
abundance. We followed the deep-cut channel
of the romantic Turkey river for sixty miles in
the Indian country, and during this ride the
young birds Avere seen flying from bluff to bluff,
crossing the river on their daily round in seach
of food.
And we believe it is true : No game laAvs en
acted by Avhite man can prove as effective in the
protection of game as those enforced by Indian
hunters. The red man never scares game from
the region in which he hunts. He steals upon the
deer or Avild turkeys Avith the soft tread of moc-
casined feet, and dressed in accord AA'ith the tints
and tones of plain and forest, the animals are
satisfied Avith trying to avoid his presence with
out quitting the region selected as their home.
An old-time hunter in the West makes the
statement that ever since the general adoption by
Indians of firearms for hunting, it has not been
found that game has diminished in regions Avliere
the white man is an infrequent A'isitor. It is
when AA'hite hunters invade their haunts, AA'ith
the tread of booted feet, their clothes alien to sur
rounding nature and AA'ith dogs and bluster, that
all kinds of game are bound to be killed or driven
away. And as Sir Samuel Baker, the explorer,
asserts of African game and predatory cr'eatures :
"Animals can endure traps, pitfalls, fire, and
every savage method of hunting, but firearms

BEASTS, BIRDS, AND TREES, ETC 221

" -f/

's ' ?'/ -'-««*-» 'i -
ISl^ (? 1^

^'^ 'If Vs.^'

A^

}''fiWiM'^

i^'

y

Turkey Kiver, Iowa, 1845.

222 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
may be used to clear them out from extensive
districts." Still, under prudent use knoAvn to
Indians only, game of our forests and plains may
be preserved indefinitely and in abundance of aU
kinds. TREES.
" Half the mighty forest
Tells no tale of all it does."
"IndiAddual avarice and corporate greed will
soon cause all the mineral lands to be stripped of
their forests. . . . Wealthy companies have
been organized, mills erected, and the most valu
able timber accesible is being rapidly cut off.
That Avhich is every one's property is no one's care,
and extravagance and waste are the natural con
sequence of negligent legislation."*
The increasing destruction of the timber belts
of this country is certainly enough to alarm the
nation. The Census Office prepared for distribu
tion a bulletin bearing upon this subject for the
consideration of the people of the United States.
The lumber production — AA'hich means tree de
struction — in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michi
gan in the last decade increased tAA'enty-nine per
cent in quantity and scA'cnty-five per cent in
A'alue, and according to the elcA'cnth (last) census,
the capital invested in the milling business in the
three states named shows an increase of one hun
dred and fifty-seven million fiA'e hundred and
thirty-one thousand dollars.
* Hon. J. M. Rusk, Secretary Agriculture Report, 1889.

BEASTS, BIRDS, AND TREES, ETC. 223
United States Senator Henry M. Rice, who
spent considerable time in Northern Minnesota
treating AA'ith the Indians, says : "This timber
cutting is going on for fifty miles up the Baudette,
North and South Fork rivers, and that the In
dians declare that it has been going on for more
than a dozen years by Canadian lumbermen."
It is stated on good authority that more than two
hundred million feet were floated through the
Lake of the Woods in 1894. And Senator Rice
says : "So bold have these timber robbers be
come that they have built dams in the tributary
streams for the purpose of backing up the water
and floating out their logs."
When these extensive thieving operations were
conveyed to the authorities, one lone "timber in
spector" was sent up in this vast district and
made his headquarters in the wilderness one hun
dred and flfty miles from the nearest point from
AA'hich he could obtain any assistance, and it is
generally believed, in Minnesota, that the "tim
ber inspector" failed to "holdup" several thou
sand Canadian robbers, who Avere engaged in
floating American timber across the line and
filling their pockets Avitli gold.
The Minneapolis Journal has done much to
call the attention of the people of that state,
and the Nation, to the unparalleled destruction of
this greatest gift of nature, and quite recently
says : 20

224 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
"The reservations Avhich have been ceded by
the ChippcAvas in this state to the government
embrace the heaviest Avhite pine forests hoav
available as a source of lumber supply. These
forests are largely contributory to the retention
of the moisture AA'hich feeds the streams and
lakes that make the sources of the Mississippi
river. "Already there is much said about the great
commercial value of these pine lands, and there
is not the slightest doubt that as soon as the
region is opened by the government the work
of destruction Avill commence, Avliich Avill speedily
l:iy bare the soil and subject it to the drjdng in
fluences of the sun and wind, or to the forest
fires, which AA'ill kill every young groAA'th which
appears, and destroy even tree seed, aa'McIi has
been borne there by the AAdnds. The result
of this Avill be the diminution of the sources of
the supply of the Mississippi, Avhich Avill be felt
by every Avater power company from Itasca to
Fort Snelling.
"These are grave consequences, and the ques
tion is : Shall the denudation of this new region
be alloAved to go on Avithout some regula
tions as to cutting and forest rencAval? There
Avould seem to be a good opportunity to bring to
bear the Avorld's experience in forestrv. This
reckless cutting and selling the forests Avill bring
temporary gain to the lumbermen, but AAdll ulti
mately destroy agriculture and Avater-power in-

BEASTS, BIRDS, AND TREES, ETC. .225
terests as well as the healthful conditions of the
country. "In France, whole communities were ruined by
the denudation of their lands ; and obliged the
government to enter upon the work of re
stocking this ruined section of country -with
young trees at a cost of many millions of dol
lars ; all to regain what had been lost through
indifference. But hoAV is it now? The region of
the Landes, which fifty years ago was the aban
doned country of little value, inhabited by a few
sickly shepherds, Avho wandered over the country
Avith their meager flocks, is now the most pros
perous part of France. It has been made so
by the planting of forests, and has now saw
mills, charcoal kilns, turpentine works, thriving
towns, and fertile agriculural lands, and a grow
ing and increasing valuation, and the net gain
to the government by the expenditure amounts
to over two hundred million dollars.
"Not until the sheltering influence of trees has
disappeared, the climate made variable with
sharp and sudden changes of temperature, suc
cessions of thaws and freezings ; not until springs
and brooks become dry in summer, and a
failure of all kinds of crops and plants, does the
improvident ask or even Avonder what the mat
ter is.
"Every reserve of timber in this country ought to be
sacredly guarded by the government, and timber
cutting be put under stringent regulations, look-

226 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
ing to the continued protection of the streams.
Unless this is done the Missipippi river will surely
change its character. It will become a shallow,
sluggish stream, unable to carry off impurities,
and useless for navigation or water-power. It
will not take very long to effect this change, if
the forests are destroyed in the northern part of
its source. A present gain in lumber will mean
very great injury to all other material in
terests."* A special from St. Paul says — "From Rainy
Lake to the Lake of the Woods, a distance of one
hundred and flfty miles, the entire country is
covered AA'ith a heavy groAvth of timber and is
mostly pine, and is totally uninhabited save by
scattering bands of Chippewa Indians. That
these two great lakes are connected by Rainy
Lake river, one of the finest navigable streams
in North America ; and on AA'hich its branches
and the Lake of the Woods, no less than tAventy
steamers and tugs ply from early spring to late
in the fall, conveying stolen timber from the
United States to Rat Portage, Keewatin, and even
to Winnipeg, AA^here it is manufactured and sent
Avherever a market can be found."
"KecAvatin and Rat Portage are the centers of
the timber depreciations and act as a base of sup
plies for the depredators. Nearly all the numer
ous fieets of steamers plying on the lake find

'••¦ Minneapolis Journal.

BEASTS, BIRDS, AND TREES, ETC. 227
their home in these two towns. The Dominion
Government considers its side of the line import
ant enough to demand a station at Hungry Hall,
on the Canadian side of the mouth of Rainy Lake
river, as well as at several other points betAveen
the Red river of the North and the head of Lake
Superior, but the United States Government,
though knowing the amount of valuable timber
in the district desirable, has no port between St.
Vincent and Lake Superior."
"When it is realized that all this timber be
longs to the wards of the United States, the
Indians, or to the Government itself, it is hard to
see on what principle the states can so neglect
this great timber belt. Not a foot of this timber
can be sold or in any way disposed of until it has
been appraised and surveyed. And it was asked
that the Minnesota delegation in Congress take
steps at once to have Congress pass a measure
authorizing the placing of a revenue cutter on the
Lake of the Woods, and equipping two posts,
one near Rainy Lake, and the other directly
across from Hungry Hall, where one lone timber
inspector is supposed to be. But has any thing
been done? The State Senatorial Committee of
Minnesota, in an investigation of frauds against
the state, found the timber pirates responsible for
most all the calamities from fire which have be
fallen the timber lands of the state. After steal
ing millions of dollars worth of timber belonging
to the state, in order to cover the theft, have

228 THE Si;l-IRREL HUNTERS.
started fires Avhicli have resulted in those terrible
losses of life and property. Firing the lands they
had fraudulently cleared in order to render the
measurement of stumpage impossible, and there
by shut off any suits a commission might attempt to
bring against them. In putting the torch to the
¦'toppings," evei'y thing is destroyed — stumps,
young trees and frequently valuable timber, to
the amount of many million dollars."
In all the pine belts in the AA'estern country
there is a loud demand by honest citizens, that
the manner of cutting timber be severely regu
lated. It has been clearly shown from time to
time that this forest destruction in the United
States AA'ithout r'estitution, is still going on at the
enormous rate of OA'cr ten million acres annually,
and must soon land the country in all the ills due
to forest famine.
Senator Paddock, of the Committee on Agri
culture and Forestrj^, reports that the United
States Government retains somcAvhat less than
seventy million acres of public domain, which
is designated as timber or Avoodland, mostly
situated on the slopes and crests of the Avestern
mountain ranges. The aboA'C estimate may be
too loAV, but if not, the entir-e forests of tlie Govern
ment are scarcely sufficient of themselyes to sup-
])1a' the vast demands of the countr'y another de
cade. In 18S9, it Avas estimatinl that Idaho, Montana,
and Wyoming contained fifty-three thousand

BEASTS, BIRDS, AND TREES, ETC 229
square miles of forest — Colorado and New Mexico,
thirty thousand ; and that other portions of the
public domain were covered with large and valu
able belts, and of Avhich the Hon. Secretary of
Agriculture says in his reports : "We are wasting
our forests, by axe, by fire, by pasturage, by
neglect. They are rapidly falling below the
amount required by industrial needs, by our
Avater supply, by our rivers, by our climate, by
our navigation and agriculture. It is high time
to call a halt. The devastation of the axe will
probably go on in the forests OAvned by private
parties. Other forms of devastation ca?i and should
be stopped by vigorous measures on the part of the
Government." "Our only hope," says Secretary Rusk, "is to
save tvhat forests we have still in public possession,
not allowing them to be cut except under
such conditions as ivill insure ample reproduction."
Six years have passed since the above import
ant declarations Avere made, still nothing has
been done to deter the thieves or ward off a
pending calamity.
For future forest supplies the people of the
United States must look to the general govern
ment Avhich controls the national domain, holds
the keys of the public treasury, and is responsible
for this source of national wealth.
From various authentic sources, it is stated of
the once-timbered countries in Southern Europe,
Northern Africa and from the Russian Empire to

230 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
South India, Avhicli are iioav uninhabited barren
wastes, has been due to changes of climate, soil
and Avater-fall, from the loss of forests. The
once fertile valleys of Syria, with springs and
brooks, and fields of grain and grass, are as
jiarched and dry, and water as scarce as it is on
the desert or staked plains — summer suns haA'e
scorched the unprotected soil — hot AA'inds absorbed
the last vestige of moisture — the air is filled with
clouds of loose dust, and the naked mountains
stand as monuments of departed glory, of the
Roman provinces from the Caucasus to the
archipelago. Look at the Avasted peninsulas of Southern
Europe. What has reduced to skeletons the in
habitants of the garden lands of the nations of
classic antiquity? Greece has become a barren
rock, and Sicily, "the pearl of the Mediterra
nean," a hospital of famine, typhus and puru
lent ophthalmia I
Has not the desolation in each been due to
one and the same cause? — the destruction of
forests .
Why then should history repeat itself on this
subject in America?
As early as 1832, the AAusdom of Mehemet Ali
saAv the cause of the poverty and distress, and ap
plied the only remedy that ever' has or ever Avill
r'estore life-sustaining conditions, and commenced
r'e-establishing for'csts on the sand plains of upper
Egypt — Abyssinia, arid the slopes of the mount-

BEASTS, BIRDS AND TREES, ETC 231
ains — at the rate of one hundred thousand acres
annually. Trees, like beasts and birds, at one time ex
isted in such vast and apparently incalculable
numbers that it seemed improbable their pres
ence could be diminished sufficiently to give them
importance or value. To have trees removed by
any means Avas looked upon by the OAvner of the
soil as a favor ; and those having charge of the
public domain felt pretty much the same 'way.
But to the man of three-score and ten years it is
astonishing Iioav soon the great forests have dis
appeared, or become so valuable and inviting as
to tempt the mercenary to steal and the rcAvarded
public official to permit. Trees have a value to
every form of life — a value above the lumber
they may produce or the moneyed wealth they
may bring the possessor. It has for thousands
of years undergone practical demonstration that
forests determine the climatic conditions of any
given country, and for this reason forests form
an indispensable basis for agriculture, manufact
ure and commercial industry. They also bear a
near relation to the health, Avealth and prosperity
of a nation.
These facts being so universally admitted, it
may seem strange that a gOA'crnment Avhich has
from its inception been so interested in the Avel
fare of its subjects, and Avhich has assisted and
encouraged in A'arious AA'aj's so many sources of
wealth and industr'y, should haA'e overlooked the

232 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
forests, from Avhich the nation is drawing larger
amounts than from all other natural sources
combined. The government has ever been devoted to the
interests of agriculture and manufacturing ; and
by premiums, by exemptions, by protections, by
model farms, by grants, by bounties, by patent
rights, by technical schools, and by introduction
of superior animals and improved machinery, has
fostered aa'cU these industries. It has not been at
fault, either, in donating large sums in the con
struction of canals and railroads and for the im
provement of rivers and harbors. It has even
taken an interest in the clam and oyster, and has
stocked the rivers and lakes AAdth young fish, that
the devastation of these natural sources of wealth
may be compensated thereby, and perpetuated as
a national trust ; while the springs and brooks and
streams, the climatic causes of disease, the nec
essary conditions for national Avealth and na
tional health — in a Avord, the importance of for
ests for the nation, for the land, for agriculture,
for the perpetuation of rivers — has received lit
tle or no official recognition. Fcav persons are
so destitute of foresight as not to see that the
fires and thieves, and increasing consumption, if
continued at the present rate, can not fail to
make this a treeless Avaste, a desolate, uninhabit
able country, at no very distant date. Is there
no Avay by AA'hich the remaining beasts and birds
and trees can be preserved? Must the ciAdliza-

BEASTS, BIRDS, AND TREES, ETC. 233
tion of the North-west permit the pirates of de
struction to take and hold possession of all its
natural endowments? The clubs haA'e been after
the pot-hunter with legal enactments, and have
crippled, but never as yet have they succeeded in
exterminating him. He is still destroying the
remnants of game, and is at large in the public
domain, seeking something to devour.
The general government should no longer post-
pon^e a definition of its policy regarding forests,
rivers, and its millions of acres of arid lands. The
American people have been sIoav to realize the
drifting of this country toward a forest famine
and its destructive results. On the subject of
forestry, until recently, representatives have been
politically dumb, and, no doubt, would have re
mained so much longer had it not been for the
inspiration of a fcAV men. In January, 1872, ex-
Secretary Morton presented a resolution before
the Agricultural Society of Nebraska to set apart
one day in each year and consecrate it to plant
ing trees. This day was christened "Arbor Day,"
and is now observed by law and proclamation in
thirty-one states ; has entered our schools and
colleges, and forestry forms part of the cur
riculum. Wherever Arbor-Day has been observed it has
aAvakened a sense of inquiry ; has taught the
children the names, nature, and usefulness of
trees, Avith a lasting admiration and love for,
20

234 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
them. From the influences of Arbor-Day, Ne
braska has more than a million acres of planted
forests, and Minnesota, Kansas, Iowa, Wiscon
sin, and other Western States fast foUoAA'ing the
good example. With laAvs, plantings, and pre-
niiums ; Avith books, schools, and colleges ; AAdth
the hearts of Avorkers in it, forestry has built up
a healthy public sentiment that must be felt.
The Eastern States are also aAvake and glistening
with laAV officers to protect their Avoods from fires
and thieves ; and by large premiums and exemp
tions from taxation, have greatly promoted the
interest of forestry in their respective states.
Ea^cu the state that sold her birth-right — one
hundred and fifty billion feet of standing forest
for nine hundred million dollars — is not AA'ithout
influence for good. All these noble acts of the
states and of the people AA'ill be heard in time ;
for the government of the nation is not given to
disregard the Avill of the people, and has ever
shown a readiness to take the front and co
operate Avith the states in every good Avork. But
there is something more required of a govern-
ei'iiment — the representatives of the people must
do more than simply I'espond to petitions. In a
free republican goA'crnment the people are both
sovereigns and Avards, and they expect those aa'Iio
assume legislative and executive poAvers of the
nation to understand political economy sufficiently
to manage correctly the finances and the natural
Avealth of the nation Avith intelligence and su-

BEASTS, BIRDS, AND TREES, ETC

235

'r

Sequoia Park.

236 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
perior wisdom. And in this direction it would
certainly prove a most laudable act to withdraw
from sale or entry for a long period, if not per
petually, all remaining forests and all arid lands
Avhere the rain-fall is beloAv tAventy inches, and
place the same under the management of the
Secretary of Agriculture, AA'ith ample poAvers and
appropriations to build up a grand system of
forestry, surpassing in extent and Avealth all simi
lar institutions belonging to the monarchies of
rope combined.
GoA^ernor J. J. Stevens, in his final report of
surveys for a railroad across the Rocky Mountains,
called the attention of the government, in 1855,
to the arid lands Avest of the Missouri river, be
tAveen parallels forty degrees and forty-nine north
latitude. He compared it in extent, climate,
rain-fall, and other features, to the Steppes, which
occupies about one-fifth of the Russian Empire,
and quotes the "Commentaries of the Produc
tive Sources of Russia" to sustain his state
ments :
"Among other peculiarities of the Steppes a
very prominent and distinctive one is the absence
of timber, . . . and opinions differ greatly
as to the possibility of Avoocling it ancAV."
Since 1855, the Russian Government has ar
rived at one conclusion, and adopted a policy of
reforesting this Iavo hundred and forty thousand
square miles Avorthy of imitation.
Let the GoA'ei'nmeut of the United States do

BEASTS, BIRDS, AND TREES, ETC 237
as Russia has been doing, and the steppes from
the Missouri river to the mountains Avill be
reclaimed and made to "blossom as the rose."
According to geological surveys there are seven
hundred and fifty million acres of arid, treeless
lands, incapable of successful cultivation without
irrigation — but where trees can be groAvn — for ex
periments have shoAvn that trees Avill groAV Avhere
the rain-fall is insufficient for grain or grass.
According to J. W. Powell, director of the
United States Geological Survey, on the water
supply in the arid regions, it would seem if all the
water run off could be impounded and appropri
ated to irrigation it would be insufficient to sup
ply one-tenth of the arid districts. And it might
be asked if the arid land in the Dakotas, Mon
tana, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Utah, Nevada,
California, New Mexico, Texas, Kansas, Colo
rado, Wyoming, Nebraska, and Indian Territory,
only about "one hundred million acres" can be
irrigated and made productive, Avhat is to be
done Avith the remaining six hundred and fifty
million acres?
Could the area entire, or any part of the arid
lands be made productive on the most economic
plan yet devised by irrigation enterprise in this
country, the cost of such lands and their products
could never become profitably utilized in com
merce so long as the vast area of cheap productive
soil of the United States, or even that of the

238 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
North-Avest lies out doors, ready to receiA'e the
shoAvers of Heaven.
When Ave recount the misei'ies and misfortunes
of the eight liundi-ed million jjcople that meager'ly
subsist on the products of irrigated, treeless
lands, it makes an irresistible hope that the
government of this nation may ncA'cr he induced by
ingenious descriptions of co-operative systems of
economics, nor less perceptible but more poAverful
influences of speculatnrs in western nnter-ivnys^ to
adopt a policy that Avill make any part of this
country and nation, a Spain, a China, an India,
or an Egypt, for AA'ant of forests.
Every country should have a just proportion of
the total area in timber to make it healthful and
productive. It is far better to haA'e a portion in
timber than to have all the .countr'y clothed Avith
herds or covered AAdth corn. It is the order of
nature, the necessity of civilization, and the only
true basis for a happy, poAA'crful and independent
population. As the source for national revenue, it is an in
terest ranking fii'st in importance, even in dollars
and cents ; and certainly, if for no other reason
than for the Avealth there is in it, the subject de
mands the attention of the gOA^ernment suffi
ciently to enforce protection and pei'petuation.
Ever-y year it comes — "Once more the forests of
the far Avest are aflame," and it is not orilv the
loss ill money, but such sections of countr'v are

BEASTS, BIRDS, AND TREES, ETC 239
ruined for all purposes beyond the power of
generations to repair.
It may seem expensive to maintain an ai'my of
officers and emploj-es to protect and perpetuate
the forests of the public domain. But notwith
standing it Avould require large appropriations,
it Avould repay the outlay many thousand times
in national Avealth, for this great army Avould not
be idlers. Nothing short of an organized depart
ment of forestry can protect and maintain this
source of national wealth. The appropriation
for this department in France has been five mil
lion dollars, and is returned Avitli good interest.
Austria, not larger in extent of territory than the
States of Illinois and loAA'a combined, maintains
thirty-tAvo thousand forestry officers or employees
and receives a large net income from this source ;
and reports shoAvthat Germany has an annual in
come of fifty-seven million dollars from an area of
thirty-three million acres of timber, and it is esti
mated that no more is harvested each year than is
compensated by growth and reoccupation of wasted
ground. For, forest preservation does not mean
that trees shall not be cut down, but that they
shall be used, while all the conditions for their
reproduction are steadily maintained from year
to year, using if necessary, an amount equal to
the production by growth. This requires plant
ing, and tree-planting and forestry mean labor in
this country as it does in Europe. The United
States without Alaska, is, I believe, about nine-

240 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
teen times larger in area than Germany, and to be
proportionately equal AA'ith this foreign poAver,
the United States should have under control
of the government an area of six himdred million
acres as a reservation for timber to snppAy the piMic
necessities of the near future. And it should be
done Avithout delay ; the arid lands and forests
along the streams and lakes that make the
sources of the Mississij)pi and other navigable
streams, should be dedicated forcA'er to the culti
vation of timber.
And here the labor question is solved. Every
government that is able to sustain itself, must
have something for idle hands to do. The in
creasing supply of labor has alarmed many think
ing people. Labor is wealth, but how can all find
employment? Which means bread. And various
suggestions have been made simply to furnish
subsistence. But in forestry there is something
better — a necessity, a demand for labor, giving
profitable employment to a A'astly greater num
ber than any other public necessity ; for the la
bors of a department or bureau of this kind
Avould be as immense as indispensable ; and could
end only AAdth the end of the race.
A forest of six hundred million acres, thor
oughly organized and officered under the Secre-
tai'y of Agriculture, Avould sink tlie post-office
department and its patronage into insignificance,
and Avould be the brightest star in the civil seiA'-
ice solar svstem to those Avho elect a life in the

BEASTS, BIRDS, AND TREES, ETC 241
service of the country. But this is not all — it
Avould make the climate more healthful, the rain
fall more regular and abundant, the soil more
productiA'c, and in due time Avould exceed all
other sources of revenue combined.
The immensity of the consumption of forest
supplies can not be measured accurately ; but
some idea can be formed of its vastness, when it
is knoAvn that the one hundred and eighty-seven
thousand miles of railroads and one hundred and
thirty-seven thousand miles of telegraph lines in
this country consume each year the annual growth
or a forest equal to one hundred and fifty million acres.
And nothing short of a large area of well-man
aged forest Avill prove adequate to fidure de
mands. What else can the nation expect when
at present statistics show the annual consump
tion, or crop, exceeds in value seven hundred
million dollars?
This is more than the yield of all the gold
mines and silver-mines, coal, iron, copper, lead,
and zinc combined ; and if these are added to the
value of all the steamboats, sailing vessels, ca
nal-boats, flat-boats, and barges in American
Avaters, the sumAvould be still less than the value
of the forest crop by an amount sufficient to pur
chase at cost of construction all the canals, all the
telegraph and telephone lines in the United States.
The .value of the forest income exceeds the gross
income of all the railroads and transportation
21

242 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
lines, and is an interest ranking in importance
far above all other's in the United States.
If this countiy ever becomes a Dalmatia —
changed from a healthful, fruitful and salubrious
habitation to a sterile, sickly Avaste, Avith decayed
cities and crumbling greatness, history will not
say "the Romans did it."
Man should ever remember prevention is bet
ter than cure. The Avorst of CAdls is prevented
by the removal of the cause. And when the
apathy and improA'idence Avhich now threaten
the destiny of a rich and prosperous nation are re
moved, then, and not till then, can it truly be
said that the lost Paradise of the Eastern Con
tinent has been regained in the New World of
the West. The people should understand, also,
the inspired infiuences of living forests — trees —
those musical mutes, upon those who breathe their
sweet ennobling infiuence.
The finest agricultural climate, perhaps, in the
world, fell to the lot of Ohio. But this state will
soon be obliged to do something to offset the de
struction that is still going on Avith the little groves.
When it came into the Union, it presented the
grandest unbroken forest of forty-one thousand
square miles that Avas ever beheld on this conti
nent. A forest interspersed AA'ith hills and val
leys, springs, brooks, and rivers ; Avith a soil most
inviting to the aspirations of agriculture.
The natural conditions of things Avere such
that the possessors of this inheritance soon de-

BEASTS, BIRDS, AND TREES, ETC. 24S
sired occupation of the soil, and looked upon its
trees with less favor than they did upon those
who disputed their titles Avith. the tomahaAA'k.
Indians could be induced to move out of the way,
but trees Avere all disposed to stand their ground
and take the consequences. Both were consid
ered too numerous for easy advancement of
civilization, and in the contest both got the worst
of it.
Forests may flourish independent of agricul
ture, but the latter can not prosper Avithout the
former. This Avas not so evident, hoAVCA'er, to
the early inhabitant, who felt he had thrust upon
him more than his share of perpetual shade, and
every OAvner and occupant of the soil combined
Avith his neighbor in a warfare of destruction upon
trees, and millions, the best of their kind ever
produced AA^ere killed by cutting a circle around
the trunk and left to decay. These deadenings
were to be seen all over the country, as fast and
as far as settlements were made or contem j)lated.
And noAV, in less than a hundred years, more
than eighty per cent, of this great forest has dis
appeared, and only small clumps in agricultural
sections can be seen in any part of the state.
The older trees that occupied their places in
these remnants of woods have nearly all fallen
by the hand of the axman, and the younger
growths are being appropriated for various pur
poses, greatly in excess of possible reproduction
to the remaining stock ; and the time is not far

244 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
distant, if things continue Avithout change for the
better, Avhen the salubrious climate, with sum
mer shoAvers and productive soil, Avill become
changed to one of uncertainty. The entire North
Avest is noAV on the very border of forest limit.
Still thousands of portable saAv-mills are moving
over the states, destroying the remaining needful
trees, and the rural districts Avill discover, Avlien
too late, that priA'ate interest is insufficient to
protect forest lands in quantity enough to main
tain climatic and sanitary influences AA'ithout the
aid of state government.
Some years ago the legislature of Ohio passed
a laAV, noAV in force, Avhicli lost the state many
millions of groAving forest trees that stood on the
public grounds. The act reads: "Supervisers
shall cut doAAm all bushes groAAdng within any
county or tOAvnship higliAvay, the same to be done
Avithin the months of July and August of each
year." Thus a clean SAA^eep AA'as made of every
tree, bush and plant, as the Avord "bushes" Avas
legally deflned to mean places "abounding in
ti-ees and shrubs." Trees of all kinds, sizes and
ages, bordering and Avithin the legal limits of the
higliAvays, met their doom under this act. And
every groAAung scion that dared since to raise its
head along the border lines of Ohio roads has
met a similar fate in the months of July and
August of each year.
If laws can be enforced to desti-ov trees alons
the borders of public highAvays, it is reasonable

BEASTS, BIRDS, AND TREES, ETC 245
to suppose laws may be made and enforced to re
store and protect them in such locations. Ohio
has approximately forty thousand miles of good
public higliAvays and Avays that could avcU sub
serve the use of trees along their borders, at suf
ficient distances to give them room and oppor
tunity to grow. A tree on either side at thirty
feet distant would make in the aggregate a forest
of ordinary distribution of several million trees,
that could be OAvned, cultivated and protected by
laAV. At the same time, an act of this kind
would maintain the lawful width of roads and
prevent encroachments by adjoining land-OAvners,
and make all highways and byways avenues of
beauty, health and pleasure.
A fraction of a mill added to the tax assess
ment as a "forestry fund," and expended in
planting and protecting trees, AVOuld soon accom
plish the work. Trees similarly arranged along
railroads, canals and Avater-courses, and around
district school-houses, AA'ith a hxAV exempting from
taxation all lands devoted exclusively to woods,
Avould, in the combination, for'm an important
factor in preserving the true ratio of timber to
farming lands, the humidity of the atmosphere,
and the healthful condition of the country.
Trees are to be prized for many reasons, and
admired for their longevity. There is, perhaps,
no limit to the life of a tree. No inquest has
CA'er rendered a verdict "caused by old age."
They are not dependent upon the heart for their

246 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
systemic vitality. The potency of the living
principle lies near the laeripher-y and most distant
roots and branches from the surface of the
ground ; and groAV on and on, subject only to
accidents that may end life. The expression may
have seemed extravagant for even an enthusiast,
AA'hen that slip from a cypress tree of Ceylon
Avas planted, to sayit Avould "flourish and be green
forever." It is noAV the historical and sacred
Bo-tree of Iavo thousand one hundred and eighty-
three years, and still green and groAving.
While the Bo-tree is perhaps the oldest tree
found in human records, it is not likely by any
means, that it stands at the head in longevity.
For trees keep their oavu books, and Avrite their
OAvri history, in Avhicli may be found an account
of passing years, from the beginning to the end
ing of life — a true autobiography — the eucalyp
tus of Senegal, the chestnuts at Mount ^tna,
the oaks of Windsor, the j'cavs at Fountain
Abbey, the olives in the Garden of Gethsemane,
or the mammoth trees in California are much
older, making it quite probable that some of the
first seedlings that gr-cAV after the last remodeling
of the earth took place, are still green and
groAving. It is stated on good authority that one of those
ancient Jumbos blown cloAvn at Sequoia Park,
California, Avas forty-one feet in diameter and
showed six thousand, one hundred and tAventy-
six annual rings, or yeai-ly groAvths.

BEASTS, BIRDS, AND TREES, ETC 247
In the explorations and surveys, under act of
Congress, 1853 and 1854, Dr. J. M. BigeloAv, in
his report says: "It required five men tAventy-
tAvo days," with pump augers, to get one of these
Sequoia Gigantea down — costing for labor at Cali
fornia prices, $550. "A short distance from this
tree Avas another of larger dimensions, which,
apparently, had been overthroAvn by an accident
some forty or fifty years ago. . . . The
trunk was three hundred feet in length ; the top
broken off, and by some agency (probably fire)
Avas destroyed. At the distance of three hundred
feet from the butt, the trunk was forty feet in
circumference, or more than twelve feet in di
ameter, . . . proving to a degree of moral
certainty that the tree, when standing alive,
must have attained the height- of four hundred
and fifty or five hundred feet ! ' '
' 'At the butt it is one hundred and ten feet in cir
cumference, or about thirty-six feet in diameter.
On the bark, quite a soil had accumulated, on
Avliich considerable-sized shrubs Avere growing.
Of these I collected specimens of currants and
gooseberries on its body, from bushes elevated
twenty-tAvo feet from the ground."
Ohio abounded in large forest trees of many
varieties — the sycamore, oak, poplars, chestnut,
black walnut, etc. The Avriter made partial notes
at the time, of a large yelloAV poplar that Avas
cut doAAai in 1844, and taken to a saw mill, re
ceiving from it over eleven thousand feet of

248 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
lumber, which Avas sold at the mill for one hun
dred and tAVO dollars. The tree Avas large at the
base, measuring thr-ee feet above the ground,
forty feet in circumference. The axemen built
a scaffold tAvelve feet in height to stand upon,
and by means of the axe and saAV, they made a
stump fifteen feet in height. Some distance
above this point the center Avas decayed and
Avlien doAvn, ten feetAvas discovered as unsuitable
for boards. Four sound logs of ten feet each
were cut beloAV the two branches, and each
branch made also a good saw-log. The four logs
cut from the trunk of the tree Avere, on the
average over seven feet in diameter, and Avere
obliged to be quartered in order to handle them,
and consequently there Avas more than ordinary
Avaste at the mill, as avcU as AA'here the tree
stood. The outside appearance of the tree bore
no evidence of decay and those aa'Iio had taken
the contract to cut it doAA'ii AA'ere greatly rejoiced
to find over four feet of the diameter useless as
support. Many coon-hunters had foUoAved tracks in suoav
for miles to bring up at this tree, AA'hich Avas se
lected for safety or other instinctive reason ;
probably from its long standing it became a
favorite resort or stopping place for traveling
raccoons. A por'tion of both main branches of
the tree Avas hoUoAv. One Avas occupied by
coons and the other by "the little busy bee."
But neither the bee-hunters nor hunter for coons

BEASTS, BIRDS, AND TREES, ETC 249
could be induced to cut the tree for what it con
tained, and for forty years it defied the axemen
of the surrounding settlement.
Another of the first crop of trees that has
passed aAvay Avithout mention is a sycamore
that stood on the banks of the Scioto, in Picka-
Avay county. It became quite noted and famil
iar to generations of hunters, who used the in
terior for camping purposes on hunting excursions
for nearly half a century. It Avas also knoAvn
and visited by others, from the fact, in 1872, a
iicAvly married couple commenced housekeeping
in its spacious quarters, and enjoyed the seclusion
amidst a forest of other mammoth trees. July
4, 1855, the dimensions of this sycamore were
taken, which shoAved — Circumference three feet
aboA'c ground, forty-five feet, and diameter of the
holloAV chamber, fourteen feet ; door-Avay, three
feet AA'ide at base, terminating in a point seven
feet above.
The large trees existed in abundance in many
portions of the state, shoAving ages of four to
five hundred years. Trees sometimes are found
in such close proximity as to be termed "wedded,"
as those shoAvn in the foUoAving page, which are.
near the line of the toAA'ing path of the canal in
Miami county — an elm and sycamore — girt six
feet from the ground measures twenty-four feet.
One of the surveys of the Military District, in
Pickaway county, is known as the "Seven Oaks."
In 1793, AA'hile Nathaniel Massie was making sur-

250

THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.

veying tours in the country yet covered by hostile
Indians, his assistant, Duncan McArthui', ran
around a tract located in PickaAvay county, cov-

Conflict in Pre-Emption Claims.
ered it Avitli warrants, and named it, "The Seven
Oaks." The trees aa'ci-c said to be large one hun
dred years ago and still growing. From meas
urements made June 21, 1895, the circumference

BEASTS, BIRDS, AND TREES, ETC. 251
of the main undivided trunk, three feet from the
ground measured tAA'enty-five feet ten inches ;
height of common trunk, three feet six inches. At
the top of the common trunk is an opening eight
een inches wide into a circular inclosure, with a
floor thirty-six inches in diameter, formed by
main trunk and surrounding trees. The four trees,
forming thcAvest and north portions of the circle,
remain united for ten feet, while those forming
the south and eastern portion separate at six feet
from the ground. Each of the seven trees
is one hundred feet in height, and measures a
little over eight feet in circumference at bi
sections. " Grandeur, strength, and grace,
Are to speak of thee. This mighty oak —
By whose immovable stem I stand and seem
Almost annihilated — not a prince,
In all that proud old world beyond the deep,
E'er wore his crown as loftily as he
Wears the green coronal of leaves with which
Thy hand has graced him."
Great trees and great men and women are too
numerous to obtain more than a mention. Every
thing in Ohio has shown a tendency to superior
ity. It may seem almost fabulous, though true,
a grape-vine near Frankfort, in Ross county, was
cut doAvn in 1853 that measured sixteen feet in
circumference, ten feet from the ground; tAA^enty
feet up it divided into three branches, each meas
uring eight feet in circumference ; height, sev-

252

THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.

enty-five feet, and spread one hundred and fifty
feet ; and Avhen cut up made eight cords of fire
wood. It has been shoAvn by actual measurements
that the "big elm" of Walnut street, Chillicothe,

Chillicothe Elm.

Ohio, is much larger than the famous Boston
elm, or any one at Cambridge, Ncav Haven, or
the great tree at Wethersfield. The Chillicothe
elm measures tAventy-cight feet six inches in cir
cumference three feet above ground, Avitli boughs
covering an area of fifty-five square rods. As
late as 1840 the remnants of this olden forest

BEASTS, BIRDS AND TREES, ETC

253

crop could be numbered by the dozen on an area
of almost any square mile of Avoods. They were
left because it meant Avork to get them off their
pre-emption claim. But an advance in lumber
and improvements soon diminished the number
haA'ing a lumber A'alue, leaving those unfitted for
boards to the destruction of campfires and girdling,
or to be utilized as houses of various kinds and
purposes. A large, hoUoAV sycamore in Pike
county, near Waverly, made a commodious
blacksmith shop and horse-shoeing establishment
for many years.
"The Logan Elm" is the most interesting his-

>«

.^•,^«»^ , -^w', ^"

^f.^' ^^^iZ J^.t"* ^.'Z^^ \

The Logan Elm.

254 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
toiic tree in Ohio, testifying of thrilling inci
dents in colonial times — military achievements of
Lord Dunmore, unsurpassed ability of the red
man, and the tr-ying period of the earliest pio
neer's — each giving great interest to the spot
Avliere stands this living monument.
During the fall of 1774 Lord Dunmore fitted
out an expedition of three thousand men, hoping
to destr-oy the Indians and their numerous towns
along the Scioto valley. His army moved Avest-
Avard in Iavo sections. The larger diA'ision, com
manded by Dunmore in person, crossed the
mountains by Avay of the Cumberland Gap, and
arrived at the Ohio river near where Wheeling
noAV stands, and the smaller corps, under com
mand of Colonel AndrcAV LcAAds, foUoAved the
KanaAvha to its confiuence. Before reaching the
villages of the plains and along the borders of the
Scioto river, in PickaAvay county, the diAdsions
had planned to form a junction.
Colonel LeAvis arriA'cd on the Ohio river at the
point designated October 6tli, and encamped on
the grounds iioav occupied by the town of Point
Pleasant, awaiting dispatches from Lord Dun
more. After remaining three days AA'ithout in
trenchments or other Avorks of defense, he Avas,
on the 10th, attacked eai'ly in the morning by
one thousand chosen braves of the tribes belong
ing to the confederacy, under the great chieftain,
"Cornstalk," hoping to destroy his enemies be
fore they should have an opportunity to unite

BEASTS, BIRDS, AND TREES, ETC 255
their forces. The battle lasted all day and ended
with the cover of night. The Indians felt they
received the greater disaster, having Iavo hundred
and thirty-three killed and severely Avounded.
Here Colonel Charles LcAvis lost his life, Avith
the lives of half of the commissioned officers.
Chief Cornstalk felt the failure, and to save
the toAvns and people of the Scioto valley, some
thing must be done immediately, and hurried to
Lord Dunmore Avith petitions for peace. Previous
to this, and in ignorance of the bloody battle,
Dunmore had transmitted or'ders to LcAvis to
move on and enter the borders of the enemy's
country on the Scioto.
Elated with the idea of slaughtering the "red
skins'-' in their camps and country, the enraged
Virginians marched eighty miles through a rough,
trackless AA'ilderness, AA'ithout bread or tents, and
on the 24th day of October encamped on the
banks of Congo, under the spreading boughs
of the historic tree, and within less than four
miles of the great toAvn of the ShaAvnees, located
on the west bank of the Scioto river-, iioav knoAvn
as "Westfall." Chief Constalk had been scout
ing Colonel Lewis's movements, and he, Avith the
chiefs of other tribes, Avere beseeching Lord
Dunmore to stop Colonel LcAvis and save their
tOAvns and Avomen and children.
Thrice had LcAvis received orders to halt, but
on he went ; and when near the Indian town, he
was intercepted by Dunmore, who drcAV his sword

256

THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.

WEST FALL
lOfaAN'i HOMI

LOPP DUNMORE'S CAMPAIGN.

BEASTS, BIRDS, AND TREES, ETC. 257
upon Lewis and threatened him Avith instant
death if he persisted in any further disobedience,
and marched the army back to Camp Lewis,
Avhere the treaty AA'ent on to a satisfactory con
clusion, in the presence of two thousand five
hundred troops and all the confederate chiefs and
their Avarriors.
There Avas one chief absent Avhom Dunmore
much desired present — Logan, the great Avarrior
of the Mingoes — who felt his people had been
very unfortunate in their attempts at peaceful
relations AA'ith the Avhites ; and in order to secure
his presence, John Gibson, an interpreter and
friend of Logan's, AA'as detailed as messenger
with dispatches to the chief, who resided at Old
Chillicothe (Westfall) , about four miles distant
from Camp LcAvis.
Of this matter Captain Gibson says, under
oath, he found Logan at his home, but refused
to attend the council, and that at the chief's re
quest they Avalked out some distance into the
woods and sat down. Logan appeared much
affected, and after shedding many tears and
shoAving other manifestations of sorroAV, told his
pathetic story in reply to the request from Lord
Dunmore, and Avhich Gibson translated into En
glish and delivered to Dunmore in the council
assembled under the boughs of this noble tree on
the banks of the Congo — and Avas read as folloAVS,
to AA'it : 22

258 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
"I appeal to any Avliite ma.n to say if ever he
entered Logan's cabin hungry and I gave him
not meat ; if ever he came cold or naked and I
gaA^e him not clothing.
"During the course of the last long and bloody
Avar Logan remained in his tent, an advocate for
peace. Nay, such Avas my love for the whites
that those of my countrymen pointed at me as
they passed by and said, 'Logan is the friend of
the Avhite man.' I had even thought to have
lived among them, but for the injuries of one
man — Colonel Cresap — who last spring, in cold
blood and unprovoked, cut off all the relations of
Logan, not sparing even my Avomen and chil
dren. There runs not a drop of my blood in the
veins of any human creature. This called on
me for revenge — I have sought it. I have killed
many. I have fully glutted my vengeance. For
my country I rejoice at the beams of peace. Yet
do not harbor the thought that mine is the joy
of fear. Logan never felt fear. He AA'ill not
turn on his heel to save his life. Who is there
to mourn for Logan? Not one."
The authorship of this message has been
doubted and disputed by reason o| its greatness.
But it is Avell knoAvn that many of the native
men of America have shoAvn an ability for ex
pression of thoughts surpassed by no people or
nation in the Avorld. Who could have thought
it — Avho could have said it so effectivelj^, by every
gesture and living fiber — as it Avas expressed by

BEASTS, BIRDS, AND TREES, ETC 259
Tecumseh, after finishing a speech at Vincennes
holding, contrary to the United States Govern
ment, that no one or tAvo tribes could make
treaties conveying aAvay lands Avithout the con
sent of others equally interested? When done
speaking, an aid of Governor Harrison, pointing
to a vacant chair, said to Tecumseh, "Your
father requests you to take a seat by his side."
DraAA'ing his mantle around him, the chief
proudly exclaimed : "My father ! The sun (point
ing upward) is my father, and the earth my
mother ; on her bosom I Avill repose," and seated
himself on the ground AA'here he had been stand
ing. And it is unusual, at least, that one Avith
learning and general acquaintance Avith the high
standard of natural ability of the Indian, and
after so many years, should enter into a volumi
nous correspondence to proA'e that he (Jefferson)
did not write "Logan's reply."
Some years since, a partial investigation of the
papers of Lord Dunmore Avas made. While the
original Gibson translation Avas not discovered,
there Avas much to confirm the statements her-e
given. The expedition of Dunmore Avith an army of
three thousand men into the heart of an Indian
country, with mountains and wilderness hun
dreds of miles betAveen him and supplies, at
that early date, with that existing animosity be-
tAA^een the Indians and his Virginia soldiery,
makes it appear uoav, as it did at the time to

260 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
many of his soldiers, of singular significance.
When the military expedition reached the point
of destination it found the enemy praying for
peace. And Avhile the chiefs Avere entertained in
council, and the braA'es and soldiers Ave re listen
ing to Virginia oratory, small bands of mad
dened and A'icious troops stole aAvay and mur
dered Indian women and children, fir'cd their
tOAvns, and Avith stolen horses discharged them
selves from the army and fied the countr'y.
The Indians Avere helpless, and the treaty fix
ing the Ohio liA'er the boundary line Avent on,
Avhile the soldier's put in the time making speeches
and passing resolutions. The foUoAA'ing should
be CA'er preserved as the thoughts of men in a far
country, by a captain :
"Gentlemen— -Having noAV concluded the cam
paign, by the assistance of ProA'idence, AA'ith
honor and adA'antage to the colony and ourselves,
it only remains that aa'c should give our country
the stronger assurance that avc are ready at all
times, to the utmost of our poAver, to maintain
and defend her just rights and priA'ileges.
"We have lived about three months in the
AVOods, Avithout any intelligence from Boston, or
from the delegates at Philadelphia. It is possi
ble, from the groundless reports of designing
men, that our countr'ymen may be jealous of the
use such a body Avould make of arms in their
hands at this critical junctur'c. That Ave are a

BEASTS, BIRDS, AND TREES, ETC 261
respectable body is certain, Avhen it is considered
that Ave can live Aveeks Avithout bread or salt ;
that we can sleep in the open air Avithout any
covering but that of the canopy of heaven ; and
that Ave can march and shoot Avith any in the
known world. Blessed with these talents, let us
solemnly engage to one another, and our country
in particular, that Ave Avill use them for no pur
pose but for the honor and advantage of America,
and of Virginia in particular. It behooves us,
then, for the satisfaction of our country, that we
should give them our real sentiments by Avay of
resolves at this A'ery alarming crisis."
Thereupon the committee presented the follow
ing resolutions, Avhich carried, and ordered
printed in the Virginia Gazette :
"Resolved, That Ave Avill bear the most faithful
allegiance to His Majesty, King George the Third,
AA'hile His Majesty delights to reign over a brave
and free people ; that Ave Avill, at the expense of
life and every thing dear and valuable, exert our
selves in the support of the honor of his croAvn
and the dignity of the British Empire. But as
the love of liberty and attachment to the real in
terests and just rights of America outweigh every
other consideration, Ave resolve we will exert
every poAver Avithin us for the defense of Amer
ican liberty, and for the support of her just
rights and priAdleges — not in any precipitous,
riotous or tumultuous manner, but Avhen regu-

262 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
larly called forth by the unanimous voice of our
countrymen. "Resolved, That we entertain the greatest re
spect for his excellency, the Rt. Plon. Lord Dun
more, who commanded the expedition against the
Shawanese, and Avho we are confident underwent
the great fatigue of this singular campaign from
no other motive than the true interests of the
country. "Signed by order and in behalf of the Avhole
corps. Benjamin Ashba', Clerk."
All of AA'hich shows political and personal reso
lutions have maintained a due degree of hypoc
risy to the present, Avithout material change.
Captain John Boggs and familj' located on this
place in 1798, before the lands Avere surveyed or
iu market. And from Captain Williamson, an
officer under Lord Dunmore, Captain Boggs pro
cured many important facts in regard to Camp
Lewis, Logan, and the noted tree. This large
and valuable -tract of land on Avhich the tree
stands passed from the United States into the
hands of Captain John Boggs, and is still OAvned
by his descendants.
In memory of the family settlement and his
toric events of the spot, John Boggs the third
erected a handsome monument Avhere stood the
cabin in Avhich three generations Avere born. The
monument is Avithin one hundred and fifty feet
of the Logan Elm, is of pur-e granite, tAvelve

BEASTS, BIRDS, AND TREES, ETC

268

feet square, base six feet, shaft fifteen feet,
tapering. On each side are cut letters in com
memoration of events connected Avitli that spot.
On one side is firmly set in the granite a bronze

jiSiii,,;

¦>«;!iW/

Monument of the Boggs Family.
tablet, thirty by fifteen inches, bearing the pic
ture of the capture of Captain Boggs' son, Will
iam, in bas-relief. The figures depicted repre-

264

THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.

sent a thrilling and vivid scene Avhich on that
spot actually once occurred in vieAV of the agonized
familj'. The landscape is an exact representation of the
s'arroundings. In the left-hand corner is a log
cabin, at the corner of which is the figure of an
Indian Avith a gun to his shoulder ; to the left,
and fronting the cabin door stands an Indian.

W

-''^ ,

Indian Raid.
At the right of this is a field of Avheat surrounded
by a raihfence. Several panels have been throAvn
doAvn in the night, and the cattle are in the field
eating the grain. Near the fence is seen a boy
running up a slight ascent, making liis Avay to "a
palisade on the elevation beyond — after him are
tAVO Indians in hot pursuit.
The Indians, under cover of darkness, had
torn doAvn the fence and turned the cattle upon
BEASTS, BIRDS, AND TREES, ETC. 265
the growing grain ; then secreted themselves for
events that might occur in the morning. The
decoy Avas successful. The boy, aAvakening early,
found the destructive scene, and, unsuspecting
the authors of the mischief, proceeded at once to
drive out the herd and to restore the fence. Sud
denly an apparition of a hostile foe rises before
him. He at once retreats toAvard the cabin, but
there too he sees a redskin aAvaiting his approach.
He turns, and, AA'ith the speed of dying fright,
vainly endeavors to make the palisade on the
elevation ; but his course is beset Avith increasing
pursuers on all sides, and at length, exhausted,
is overcome and made captive to Indian cunning.
All this time, Captain Boggs stood sentinel at
the cabin's corner, guarding the family, while
the son is relentlessly pursued by the hostile
enemy. The Avhole is depicted and for the time
preserved in bronze and granite ; and as genera
tions of the future stand before this consecrated
record, it Avill extort thoughts of the pioneer — his
pleasures and his sufferings — Avitli venerated ad
miration for those whose lives marked out the
patliAA'ay of our civilization.
Every nation, every country, and every tOAvn
has historic trees. They are not without infiu
ence on the destiny of individuals, societies, and
nations. They are objects of reverence — Avorks
of time — homes of generations — and the manifest
Avisdom of creation. In the tree is beheld in per-
23

266 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
fection an enduring living principle, exceeding
all other forms of life — beginning in the morning
of creation and ending onlyAvith the end of time.
When moth and rust have corroded memorial in
bronze, and years of the unseen future have crum
bled the granite to dust, there will still be standing
noble, historic trees, with all their lessons fresh
and green.

COACH, CANAL, AND STEAMBOAT ERA. 267

CHAPTER V.
OHIO— PIER COACH, CANAL, AND STEAMBOAT ERA.

At the close of the Revolution, a majority of
the people cheerfully trusted to the Avisdom and
integrity of those Avho led the Avay to a country
and conditions on Avhich to found a republic.
The patriots Avho unfurled the Declaration of In
dependence Avere glorified in the name of "United
States of America." And with thirteen stars,
the red, Avhite, and blue came forth a govern
ment strong and Adgorous, honored and respected,
amidst an epidemic of European Avars. In the
formation of the republican gOA'crnment,- so fcAA'
precedents Avere at hand that could be used as
guides to the organization, the Avork was ren
dered herculean in character. But with General
Washington, John Adams, Jonathan Dayton,
Alexander Hamilton, and other patriotic Feder
alists, at the head, the people had no fears for
the accepted Constitution. Still, the first Presi
dent and his advisers were not blind to the clan
gers that surrounded the ncAV republic. The
First Congress (1789-90) assembled AA'ith but a
small and uncertain majority faA'orable to the
Constitution as adopted ; and the combination of

268 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
disaffected and opposing elements Avere loud in
their denunciations of the President and "thcd
instrument;" and it required great Avisdom, mod
eration, and concession to obtain the necessary
contemplated amendments * and acts of Congress
necessary to carry on and regulate the Avorking
operations of the several departments of the ncAV
government. The citizens of the South, and those of the
North Avere equally jealous of their interests.
NeAV England demanded a isrotective tariff, and
the South "free-trade." That which suited one
locality Avas the policy not desired in another.
Consequently, some states felt they AA'ere treated
unfairly in this, and others in that, and a Con
gress failing to legislate special benefits to all
found denunciations common AA'ith a disregard for
laAA' and order, occasionally amounting to open
rebellion.! At the very commencement of President Wash
ington's second term, things became stormy and
taxed the AA'isdom of the man avIio had croAvned
a successful revolution, to manipulate the ucav
machiiKn'A' of a complex government into satis
factory running order. The cabinet and both
¦•¦¦' Sixteen articles of amendment to the adopted Constitution
were approved by Congress, September, 1789, ten of which
were approved by the states.
t Excise act in Pennsylvania in 1794. This revolt required
fifteen thousand armed men to quell, and cost the United
States $1,000,000.

COACH, CANAL, AND STEAMBOAT ERA. 269
branches of the legislative department Avere
pretty evenly diA'ided on the distracting ques
tions of the times. France and England Avere at
Avar — the French Republic expected reciprocal
help from the United States. The Secretary
of State (Mr. Jefferson) and Mr. Randolph, At
torney-General, contrary to the views of the
President, espoused the cause of France, and
AA'ere suspected of aiding Genet, the French
minister, in issuing commissions to vessels of
Avar to sail from American ports and cruise
against the enemies of France.
NotAvithstanding this, and the violent opposi
tion of -both houses of Congress, the President
remained firm, that the people of the United
States, under the circumstances, should not be
come invoh'cd in a Avar with Great Britain, and
issued his neutrality proclamation, had the French
minister recalled and accepted the resignation of
the Secretary of State. Congress, hoAvever, per
sisted in doing all it could to strengthen the op
position to the President and bring on a Avar Avitli
England. When foiled in this, attempted by
resolution to adopt the substance of Mr. Jeffer
son's final report — "to cut off all intercourse Avitli
Great Britain, and as good republicans or democrats,
either Avear the "national cockade" as evidence
of opposition to. neutrality and friendship for
France. The resolution passed the House but was de
feated in the Senate, by the casting vote of Vice-

270 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
President John Adams, and saved the nation
from disgrace. The common people had been
partially persuaded by the doctrines of Jefferson
that federalism meant the establishment of a
limited monarchy, and Avant of confidence in the
people. This was giving the position of Wash
ington and his foUoAvers a coloring much below
their patriotic conceptions. They held a govern
ment of laws must haA'e principle of energy and
coercion ; and it Avas the concentration of this
energy in a federal government which the con
vention gave, and which, to carry out into per
fection, induced the Washington policy.
Had it been otherwise, had Mr. Jefferson's
ideas of government been placed in his oaati
hands for orginazation, Avith his unlimited con
fidence in the virtue of the people, and their
capacity for self government in the final experi
ment, the Constitution would have crumbled to
pieces in his OAvn hands. At the end of eight
years of Washington's administration, 1797, the
nation Avas at peace at home and abroad — all
disputes had been settled amicably excepting that
of France — the credit of the government Avas
never better — ample provision had been made
for the payment of the public debt — "commerce
had experienced unexampled prosperity — Ameri
can tonnage had nearly doubled — the products of
agriculture had found a ready market — the ex
ports had increased from nineteen millions to
more than fifty-six million dollars — and the

coach, canal, and STEAMBOAT ERA. 271
amount of i'evenues from imports exceeded the
most sanguine expectations, and the prosperity
of the country Avas unparalleled, uotAA'ithstanding
great losses from belligerant depredations. ' ' Hoav
different the story Avhen Mr. Jefferson turned the
high office over to Mr. Madison, March 4, 1809,
as given in the report of a committee of the
legislature of Massachusetts, January previous
to the close of Mr. Jefferson's administration.
"Our agriculture is discouraged, the fisheries
abandoned, uaA'igation forbidden ; our commerce
at home and abroad restrained, if not annihilated ;
our navy sold, dismantled, or degraded to the
service of cutters or gunboats ; the revenue ex
tinguished ; the course of justice interrupted,
and the nation weakened by internal animosities
and divisions, at the moment when it is unneces
sarily and improvidently exposed to war Avith
Great Britain, France and Spain."
The most peculiar and damaging political vicAV
held by Mr. Jefferson was that appropriations by
the government for national internal improve
ments Avere unconstitutional. This Avas enforced
as a cardinal principle of his "Republican-Demo
cratic" party, and so influenced his party succes
sors, Madison and Monroe, that during their ad
ministrations, appropriations and surveys were
refused on constitutional grounds. However
good, influential and honest the actors may have
been, it is quite evident the political influences
of those in xiower, from the commencement of

272 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
the administration of Thomas Jefferson in 1801
to the end of Monroe's in 1825, blocked the
AAdieels of progress in civilization under the pre
text of reverence for the Constitution.
It Avas generally rumored in Ohio politics that
the Jeffersonian party Avere opposed to expendi
tures for national internal improvements, and
before entering the Union the state presented her
influence Avith the Eighth Congress for a national
higliAvay, from Cumberland, Mai'yland, to the
Ohio river at Wheeling, Virginia, and from
Wheeling AvestAvard across the proposed State of
Ohio. The measure passed Congress and was
approved by President Jefferson as "a war meas
ure and bond of union," instead of an "unconsti-
tutioned improvement."
This, lioAveA'er, Avas not considered, by Mr.
Jeff'erson nor his party, binding in policy as a
precedent ; but Ohio politicians thought differ
ently, and from necessity and importance of the
subject kept it agitated in and out of Congress.
And in 1816, after an able and full discussion of
the constitutionality and expediency of a system
of internal improA'cments by the general govern
ment, both houses of the Fourteenth Congress
passed a bill appropriating the bonus Avliich the
United States Bank Avas to pay the Government
for the charter, to purposes of internal improve-
men ; but the bill Avas returned to Congress by
the President (Mr. Madison) Avith his veto in-

COACH, CANAL, AND STEAMBOAT ERA. 273
voh'ing constitutional scruples, and the measure
failed to become a laAV.
NotAAdtlistanding both houses of Congress Avere
at times favorable to improA'cments, the majority
Avas not often found conservative, and in 1822
killed a small appropriation to repair the Cum
berland road, built and controlled by the Govern
ment. A small majority of the Eighteenth Congress,
in 1823 and 1824, came around i^artially to the
grounds occupied by the Ohio people on the sub
ject of improvements, and made an appropria
tion of thirty thousand dollars, authorizing the
expenditure on surveys, plans and estimates of
such roads and canals as the President might
deem of national importance.
President Monroe, after mature deliberation,
gave the bill his approval. At that date, a por
tion of the Ncav York and Erie Canal Avas in op
eration, and as an orator Avas very convincing and
converting. This could not justly be called a
"Avar measure," nor a "bond of union;" and
Avas universally accepted as a second precedent
in favor of "internal improvements," and ended
the Jeffersonial dynasty as far south as the City
of Washington ; and in 1829 AndrcAV Jackson, in
direct opposition t(.i his supporters in the South,
Ncav England, and in Ncav York, followed the
precedent of Ex-President J. Q. Adams, indors
ing the action of the Twentieth Congress, which

274 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
declared the constitutionality and exped'iency of such
improvements. This flxed the policy of the Government for
all future time, Ohio, feeling proud in the active
part she had taken, having the honor of bring
ing about the flrst national internal improvement
in the United States.
Although the Government had changed its
policy, the political education of the people had
been such that many good citizens had little or
no desire for changes or improvements that might
destroy or disregard the sanctity of the constitu
tion ; nor could it be claimed they were much in
favor of improvements of any kind — things were
good enough. They did not expect to have every
thing in the world, and were satisfled if things
AA'Ould remain as they were ; they did not Avant
any thing better than the easy routine in Avliich
they had spent much of their lives. The Ncav
York Canal Avas talked of as a private enter
prise ; but for what purpose above the cost of
labor could not be stated, as there Avere no sur
plus productions in the country calling for a mar
ket, and so far Ohio people Avere "high protection
ists of home indui<tries," and did not favor the in
troduction of "cheap foreign goods, nor imported
labor." They raised flax and avooI, and, Avitli the
spinning- Avheel and loom, manufactured theAvear-
ing apparel and household goods, and so sure as
" Man wants but little here below,
Nor wants that little long,"

COACH, CANAL, AND STEAMBOAT ERA. 275
the average citizen felt amply supplied with the
necessaries of life, and could not well ask for
more. He plowed his little piece of cleared
ground Avith a "bull-plow," having a wooden
mold-board and cast-iron share ; harrowed in his
wheat, rye, oats, and turnips with a wooden-
toothed harroAv ; dropped his corn by hand, and
covered it with the hoe. Every spring he made

Spinning-Wheel.
enough maple-sugar for home consumption, and
to exchange for tea, coffee, and salt ; and if he had
a few spare bushels of grain, they were taken to
some one of the many copper-stills scattered over
the country. And to him there was no encour
agement for the improvement in wealth of state
by establishing a commerce or trade that would
sap the foundations of its home industries. And
he feared for the future prospects of the North
west should the existing prohibitory tariff be re-

276 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
moved betAveen the East and West by cheap
transportation, believing it Avould destroy home
manufactures, diminish the price of labor, and
produce "panics and paupers" beyond state abil
ity and charity to maintain. The "flax-break
er's" occupation Avould be gone ; carding-ma-
chines, spinning-Avheels, and looms, Avould no
longer be manufactured or used, and the vast
multitude of laborers carrying on these "infant
industries" would be throAvn out of employment
and be "obliged to steal or starve." Even the
young Avoman, who makes an honest living by
spinning sixteen "cuts" daily, at fifty cents a
week and boarded, would be throAvn upon the
cold embraces of the Avorld, and thousands
of other honest poor Avould be ruined for
want of protection against such an influx of
"pauper labor and foreign manufacture." And
the man of one idea considered the condition of
"home industries," under contemplated internal
improvements, as discouraging, as a "prospective
repeal of a protective tariff. ' '
As early as 1807, Jesse HaAvley conceived the
idea of a canal from the Hudson river to Lake
Erie — a distance of three hundred and fifty
miles — believing it Avould be a profitable invest
ment for the state and nation, that it AA'Ould ijopti-
late the North-Avest and establish important com
mercial relations Avith Avestern states. But the
ncAvspapers pronounced Jesse "a crank," and re
fused to make public his thoughts upon the sub-

COACH, CANAL, AND STEAMBOAT ERA. 277
ject. But this did not change the opinions of
practical business men, Avliose talk of canals and
intersecting canals did not meet with much favor
among legislators, Avhich, perhaps, represented
the sentiments of their constituents. And it took
nearly half as long as it did the people of Ncav
York to build the Erie canal, for those of Ohio
to understand that a canal, commerce and free
trade, Avould increase labor and enrich a state.
And for the timely commencement of the great
work the people of Ohio are much indebted to
W. Steele, of Cincinnati, for his trial suiweys
and intelligent letters upon the subject at an
early day, Avhen few persons entertained the
practicability of such an undertaking.
The following extracts from a letter published
in the Olive Branch, February 27, 1821, on the
"Project of a Canal," is but a fair specimen of
the philanthropy of the times, and says : "Noth
ing can be of more importance to the State of
Ohio than the making of a navigable canal from
Lake Erie to the Ohio riA'er. That it is practica
ble to make such canal admits not of a doubt.
Were it made, and the Hudson and Erie canal
finished, Ave should have an easy and cheap high
way on which to transport our surplus produce
to the Ncav York market. I have had the level
between the Scioto and the Sandusky bay at
LoAver Sandusky. From the summit level on the
most favorable route for a canal that I am ac
quainted Avith,. to LoAver Sandusky, the descent.

278 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
agreeable to the report of Mr. Farrer, whom I
employed for the purpose of taking the levels, is
318 feet. . . . And by the report of the en
gineers employed by the State of Virginia, they
make the Ohio river at the mouth of the Great
KanaAAdia river 83 feet lower than Lake Erie. If
those levels are to be relied on, and aa'c ascertain
what is the amount of descent in the Ohio river
from the mouth of the Great KanaAvha to the
point where the canal is intended to communicate
Avith the Ohio, we AAdll then knoAV what will be
the whole amount of lockage required. If we
allow 50 feet for the descent, the lockage Avill be
as folloAvs : From Lake Erie to the summit level,
318 feet ; and from summit level to Ohio river,
433 feet ; making the Avhole amount, 751 feet. I
do not knoAv Iioav near this estimate is to the
truth, but I am satisfied in my oavu mind the
lockage would be between seven and eight hun
dred feet.
"The estimate of the commissioners for making
the New York canal is $13,800 per mile. OAving
to the reduction in the price of labor it is found
it can be made for much less money. The ground
for making a canal across the State of Ohio is
much more favorable than that over Avhicli the
New York canal is iioav making. Although there
Avould be more lockage on the Ohio canal than
on the Ncav York, yet it is believed it can be
made at less expense than an equal distance of
the Ncav York canal. When Ave take into con-

COACH, CANAL, AND STEAMBOAT ERA. 279
sideration the Ioav price at Avliich labor can be
had, and the advantage to be gained by the em
ployment of experienced engineers noAV employed
on the Ncav York canal, I think I hazard but
little in saying that a canal can be made across
this state for $12,000 a mile." ... "I am
aware that some Avill say that 'the State of Ohio
is too young and too poor to undertake this
mighty project.' But I deny that the State of
Ohio is either young or poor. She contains at
this time more than 500,000 souls, and ranks
fourth or fifth state in the Union. Can a state
Avith such a population (of industrious people,
too) be poor? It has been justly remarked,
'That population is poiuer ; and industry is wealth,''
so I contend that we are both poiuer ful and rich.
"The inquiry of some will be, how is the
money to be raised to dig this 'mighty ditch?'
Raise it in the same way Ncav York does — bor
row it on the credit of the state. Many there
are, I have no doubt, Avho will doubt whether
money can be borrowed on the credit of the state.
To such I would say, go and try. If Ave stand
at the base of a hill and look up, without mak
ing an effort to ascend, we AA'ill never reach its
summit. "Although it cost $2,400,000 (to make 200
miles) , it might not be necessary to borrow any
thing like that sum. The distribution of the
sum required would go to the people of the state,
and give more relief from their present pecuniary

280 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
embarrassments than can be had from any hiAvs
enacted for that purpose. As the lands in the
A'icinity of the canal belonging to the general
government Avould be greatlj' enhanced in value,
I think it not improbable that Congress Avill
make a donation to the state of a body of land
in the A'icinity, so far as it passes through their
territory ; if so, it Avould aid very much in mak
ing it.
"A member of the House of Commons once
asked an eminent engineer for Avhat purjDose he
apprehended 'rivers AA'ere made.' His ansAver
Avas 'to feed navigable canals.' Such Avas the
opinion of a great man, and such indeed must
have been the opinion of many others, for we
find canals in Great Britain in many places run
ning parallel Avitli navigable rivers. Persons un
acquainted Avith the cheapness at Avhich goods
are transported on canals, are surprised Avhen
they learn that a ton Aveight can be tr'ansported
at the rate of one cent a mile. The illustrious
Fulton, but a short time previous to his death,
gaA'e it as his opinion that goods could be trans
ported on the Ncav York canal, Avheri completed',
at the rate of one cent a ton per mile. We find
him supported in this by Col. C. G. Haines, cor
responding secretary to the Ncav York association
for the proi-notion of internal improA'ement.
"Mr-. Phillips, in the preface of his history of
'Inland NaA'igation,' says: 'All canals may be
considered as so mariA' roads of a cer'tain kind on

COACH, CANAL, AND STEAMBOAT ERA. 281
which one horse Avill draAV as much as thirty
horses do on ordinary turnpike roads, . .
and the public Avould be great gainers Avere they
to lay out upon making every mile of canal
twenty times as much as they expend upon
making a mile of turnpike road. ' And Sutcliff, in
his treatise on canals, says : 'That within the
last tAventy-five years there has been expended on
canals in England more than one hundred and
thirty million dollars.' A country is never
made poor by making internal improvements,
even if the people are taxed to make them. If
money be taken from the people, it is again paid
out among them, and kept in circulation.
"When the canals through Ohio and Ncav York
are finished, I have no doubt but that tAvo-
thirds of the surplus produce of all the country
Avatered by the Ohio and its tributary streams
above the falls, Avould pass through them to the-
Ncav York market. That it Avould be to the in
terest of every shipper to give the preference to New
York is obvious. . . . The amount of produce
that perishes on the Avay and at New Orleans
every fifteen years, would itself more than pay
for building a canal across the State of Ohio.
During the spring tides, Avhen the principal part
of the produce of the western country is carried
to Ncav Orleans, that market is glutted, and the
shipper is very often pleased at being able to
24

282 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
return home Avith half the money his cargo cost
him. "If Mr. Fulton's estimates as to the expenses at
which goods can be transported on canals be cor
rect, the expenses of transporting a barrel of
flour to the City of New York (alloAving ten
barrels for a ton) , will be as follows :
From Ohio river to Lake Erie, 200 m. . 20c
DoAA'u the lake, 260 m  20c
New York canal, 353 m  35c
Down the Hudson, 160 m  15c
"Total nine hundred and seventy-three miles for
ninety cents. To this must be added the toUage
of both canals. The lowest rate at which flour
at present is freighted to New Orleans from the
falls is $1.25 per barrel. Nor is it probable that
the price will be reduced, as the boat which cost
$100 to $150 is generally throAvn aAvay at New
Orleans, or sold for .a sum not exceeding the
tenth part of their cost.
"It Avill be recollected, that while our produce
is carried to New York at the cheap rate quoted
above, that our foreign goods can be brought
through the same channel at the same rates, from
sixty-seven cents to one dollar and twelve cents
per ton. More or less of these goods the people
will have, and the cheaper the rates at which
they can be furnished, the better for the country.
And besides, it must be recollected if they are
brought across the mountains, by way of Pitts-

COACH, CANAL, AND STEAMBOAT ERA. 283
burg, or from Ncav Orleans by Avay of the Miss
issippi and Ohio, that the expense of tr'anspor-
tation is paid to citizens of other states ; if brought
over the Ohio canal, the money saA'ed in the state
thereby, Avould, in twenty five years, amount to
more than the AAdiole cost of the canal.
"It must be admitted that the risk on the canal
and lake is much less than on the Ohio and Miss
issippi, and the time required to carry the pro
duce that Avay much less. By turning the trade
from New Orleans to Ncaa' York, Ave would saA'e
thereby the lives of many of our most enterprising
and useful citizens, who Avould otherAvise fall
victims to the diseases of the loAver Mississippi.
The State of Kentucky has lost more of her citizens
by the Ncav Orleans trade within the last fifteen
years than she lost by the late Avar, and it is
knoAvn she bled at every pore.
"Lateral canals may be made from the main
canals in many places, Avhich Avill serA'e to collect
to the main canal the rich products of the soil
through which they pass, and at the same time
afford means of fur'nishing the country with many
of the necessities of life at prices greatly beloAv
what they now cost Avithout the canal. I Avill
only name the article of salt, which by means of
the canal may be furnished to people in the inte
rior of the state from the salines of Ncav York at
a price but little, if any thing, exceeding fifty
cents per bushel. It is impossible to calculate
th'e benefits that may be derived to the people of

284 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
this state by the making of the canal. In its
progress it Avill, no doubt, lay open rich beds of
minerals. It Avill lay us, as it Avere, alongside
the Atlantic. It Avill, in short, elevate the charac
ter of the state, and pmt it half a ceiitury in advance
of her present situation. .....
"It only remains for the legislature of Ohio to
apply -the means Avithin their reach to accomplish
this desirable object. When accomplished, there
can be no doubt but that it Avill produce a suffi
cient rcA'enue to defray the expenses of the state
government. "W. Steele.
"Cincinnati, Ohio, 18W."
The arguments made for internal improve
ments Avere good ; but to the child of nature such
talk became a source of alarm. To destroy the
forests Avould diminish the game supply, and he
soon began to feel the country Avas becoming too
highly ciAdlized for good and easy living ; that
buckskin breeches and toAv troAvsers Avere alreadA'
being discai'ded for imported geiods. And Avhen
the spiiit of advancing ciA'ilization came AA'ithin
sight, he Avho had no fence around his cabin, or
little else besides sunfloAA'ers or a peach tree to
indicate manual labor near the unbounded x:)rem-
ises, sold his land at a small adA'ance, and, AA'ith
family and dogs, moved out to "Ingianny."
Previous to 1820 thc inhabitants of the North
Avest had ver'y little prospect that agriculture
would ever be the "road to affluence." The

COACH, CANAL, AND STEAM ROAT ERA. 285
natural barriers to transportation Avere vicAved as
permanent obstacles. A Avater-Avay Avas ridi
culed by high authority, AA'hich pronounced it
little short of madness, and the ncAvspapers in
the East had shoAvn the impracticability ; and
the Western land-owner manifested but little dis
satisfaction. He found his Avay to this country
in order to live, and Avas happy in finding enough
to make it easy. He anticipated but little from
agriculture as a source of profit. In the Eastern
states it had not given satisfaction. But Avith the
population increasing and for'cign demand im-
proA'ing, and facilities for transportation better,
things shoAved they were undergoing a change in
the older states ; and the markets Avere becoming
better, AA'ith better management of farms and
farming, than at any period since colonial times.
In 1823 Charles A. Goodrich, of Hartford,
Conn., Avrote : "Until AA'ithin a fcAV years agi'i-
culture, both as a science and art, is receiving
much of that attention Avhich its acknoAvledged
importance demands. It is beginning to be re
garded, as it should be, not only as the basis of
subsistence and population, but as the parent of
individual and national opulence . ' '
At this date corn Avas selling to feeders at six
cents per bushel in Ohio, and Avheat at twenty-
five cents. But a fcAV years later agriculture in
the North-Avest Avas beginning to be regarded as
the "basis of subsistence and parent of individ
ual and national opulence," also.

286 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
The idea of a prospective mai'ket for the pro
ducts of the soil, that Avould well remunerate
the labor of production, Avas already being felt,
and creating an enthusiasm and preparation for
farming on a larger scale. Labor was plenty and
Avages fair, and the work of destruction of tim
ber and increasing the acreage for cultivation
Avent on rapidly. Large areas were deadened
to facilitate the removal, and the sunshine in
many places found its Avay to earth, where it had
been excluded for ages. And the common squir
rel hunter soon underAvent an expansion of char
acter that led on to eminence in agriculture, art,
science, commerce, courts, congress, and cabinet.
The things said and done caused the legislature,
in 1822, to pass an act authorizing the employment
of engineers to examine and report the "practica
bility of making a canal from Lake Erie to the Ohio
river ; and in 1825, after four years of the most
arduous labor and discussion, the work Avas de
termined upon, and Governor De Witt Clinton
and others, among Avhom Avere Solomon A^an
Renssalaer, of Albany, and United States Judge
Conkling and Mr. Lord, of Ncav York, Avere in
vited to be present at the commencement of the
great AVork, AA'hich Avas to have its beginning
three miles west of NcAvar-k, July 4, 1825.
The people of the entire state Avere under
high exciteruent at the ucav era AA'hich seemed ap-
pr'oaching so rapidly, and acted quite differently
from what they likely Avould at the present day

COACH, CANAL, AND STEAMBOAT ERA. 287
on the commencement of a public enterprise.
Then many thousands assembled to see ''The
Father of Internal Improvements," and to hear
what "the best-looking man the nation had ever
produced" had to say on the subject of which
he was the reputed father.
The time AA'as near at hand, and on the arrival of
the great Governor of New York at Cleveland, the
ovation Avas grand ; he Avas Avelcomed by Governor
MorroAA', state legislature, officials, military or
ganizations, and by the people. And fiags, and
guns, and noisy display Avere beyond the poAver
of description. And before the sun had risen,
July 4, 1825, every thoroughfare to Newark Avas
croAvded Avith all kinds of loaded vehicles ; men
and Avomen on horseback, and men, women, and
children on foot — many of AA'hom had traveled
all night in order to reach the appointment on
time. And the wonder Avas, where all the im
mense, uncounted, and unaccountable mass of
human-beings came from.
The day Avas fair and the air cool and balmy,
as Ohio atmosphere is after recent July shoAvers.
Newark at this time had less than one thousand
inhabitants, but the country surrounding Avas
amply large to accommodate the croAvd Avliich
desired to pay their respects to the man whose
influence, energy, ability, and perseverance Avere
able to advance civilization, at once, half a cen
tury, by the magic wand of public improvements.
And Avlien Governor Clinton's carriage appeared

288 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS,
on the public square at NcAvark, thousands of
A'oices rent the air Avitli loud and long huzzas of
Avelcome ; and to Avliich Avas added, the firing of
one hundred guns. And the immense procession
at once began moving for the spot prepai'ed for the
ceremony of the ".spade and barroiv," three miles
in the country. Governor Clinton took the first
spadeful amid the enthusiastic shouts of thou
sands. The Ohio Govenior, squirrel hunter,
statesman, and farmer, next sunk the implement
its full depth. And so from one to another the
spade passed, until the wheel-barroAV could hold
no more, and AA'as taken to the designated dump
by Captain Ned King, of Chillicothe, amid one
Avild, indescribable, and continuous cheering.
Hon. Thomas EAA'ing Avas orator of the day,
and Avlien the Governor of Ncav York attempted
his reply, the bursts of applause Avere so great
he Avas obliged to pause, "and being unaccustomed
to such demonstrations and tokens of respect, shed
tears in the presence of his AA'orshipers." After
the addresses the entire audience, estimated at
not less than ten thousand, dined in the shade of
the Avide-spreading beech trees, the underbrush
having been cleared off from several acres for
the purpose, and seats arranged and tables spread
AA'ith a sumptuous dinner for all, furnished by the
liberality of one man, Goetleib Steinman, of
Lancaster, Ohio.
The regular toasts Avere limited to thirteen,
but the volunteers Avere still going on Avhen the

COACH, CANAL, AND STEAMBOAT ERA. 289
editor of the Olive Branch retired late in the
evening. 1. General George Washington.
2. The President of the United States.
3. The Governor of Ohio.
4. The man who guided by the unerring light
of science with vigorous and firm mind, has led
and now leads his countrymen in the splendid
career of "internal improvements" — our honored
guest. 5. The great State of Ohio.
6. Legislature.
7. The Canal Commissioners.
8. Ohio Canal — The great artery of America,
which will carry vitality to all the extremities of
the Union.
9. State of New York — She has given to the'
world a practical lesson what freemen can do
when determined to secure their own happiness.
10. Henry Clay — the able supporter of "in
ternal improvements."
11 . General Bolivar — The Washington of South
America. 12. The power of free government.
13. The fair sex of our country — In prosperity
the partners of our joys, and in adversity our
greatest solace.
Volunteer —
By De Witt Clinton— The Ohio Canal— A fount-
25

290 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
ain of Avealth, a chain of union, a dispenser of
glory. By General Van Rensalaer — The memory of
General Wayne — By his SAVord, the way Avas
cleared for the settlement of the country.
By I. Johnston — National Improvements — A
fit subject for national pride.
By Wm. Lord — Thomas Jefferson — A man with
one mistake.

Canal Era. 1825.
The 4th of July, 1825, only a fcAV months
prior to the completion of the Ncav York Canal,
machinery Avas put in motion to revolve until the
end of time. On this day the policy of the state
government in favor of internal improvements
was permanently inaugurated. Even the fcAV
opposing minds of those Avho had never seen the
walls of China, but wished to maintain the state
secluded from the commercial Avorld by means of
the high tariff (the barriers nature had vouch-

COACH, CANAL, AND STEAMBOAT ERA. 291
safed to the inhabitants) , weakened in their ideas
of "home protection," or at once became favor
able to the doctrine of reciprocity, Avliich at that
early date was the "soft" or synonym for free
trade. And when it became satisfactorily demon
strated that improvements would increase the
amount and price of labor, as well as the values
of its products, such individuals changed to vo
ciferous advocates of a canal, saying: "If the
canal can secure such prices for the products of
the soil, and in return furnish foreign cheap sup
plies, we can afford to abandon looms and spin
ning-wheels, and let supply and demand take
care of themselves." And the energetic boards
of construction were unanimously supported by
the people, and soon completed eight hundred
miles of canals and one thousand miles of toll-
roads, with a disbursement of over fifteen million
dollars, borrowed money. The state, however,
suffered no inconvenience on this account ; its
credit was good, and all that was necessary to
obtain funds as fast as needed was to call upon
the Lord Avho came to Ohio with Governor Clin
ton at the opening.
Among the multitude of great men assembled
on this occasion, no one did more or Avas nearer
and dearer in the hearts of the people than the
man AA'ho mastered mathematics, Greek, Latin,
and law,- while a "hireling" at the Kanawha Salt
Works ; the man avIio did his reading at night by

292 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
the light of the furnace or a "log-cabin lumin
ary, ' ' a lard lamp ; the man who received the
first collegiate degree of
A.M. ever issued in the
North-Avest ; the orator
of the day, Hon. Thomas
Ewing. No such univer
sal and intense enthusi
asm was ever before, or
again AA'ill be, so over
whelmingly manifested
in Ohio as that of the

Log-Cabin Luminary.

opening of the canals ; no other object for public
demonstration is likely AA'ill ever approach it in
importance. Governor Clinton and jjarty were escorted from
Newark to Columbus by the state militia, legisla-
lature, county and state officers and eminent
citizens. And in reply to Governor MorroAv's re
ception. Governor Clinton said :
"I find myself at a loss for language to express
my profound sense of the distinguished notice
taken of me by the excellent chief magistrate of
this poAA'crful and flourishing state, and bA' our
numerous and respected felloAA' citizens assembled
in this place, I feel that my sei'A'ices haA'e been
greatly overrated, but I can assure j'on that
your kindness has not fallen on an ungrateful
heart — that I most cordially and sincerely recip
rocate your friendly sentiments, and that anv
agency I may have had in promoting the cardinal

COACH, CANAL, AND STEAMBOAT ERA. 293
interests to Avhich you have been pleased to refer,
has been as sincere as it has been disinterested.
"When Ohio Avas an applicant for admission
into the Union, it Avas my good fortune to have it
in my power, in co-operation Avith several distin
guished friends, most of Avliom are now no more, to
promote her vicAvs and to assist in elevating her
from a territorial position to the rank of an in
dependent state. This was an act of justice to
her and duty of high obligation on our part. At
that early period I predicted, and indeed it re
quired no extraordinary sagacity to foresee, that
Ohio would in due time be a star of the first
magnitude in the federal constellation ; that
she contains Avithin her bosom the elements of
greatness and prosperity , and that her population
AA'Ould be the second, if not the first, in the con
federacy. "The number of your inhabitants at the next
census will probably exceed a million. Cultiva
tion of the soil has advanced Avith gigantic strides
— your fruitful country is teeming Avitli plenty,
and has a vast surplus beyond your consumption
of all the productions of agriculture. Villages,
toAvns and settlements are springing up and ex
tending in all directions, and the very ground on
Avhicli Ave stand, but a fcAV years ago a dreary Avil
derness, is now a political metropolis of the state,
and the residence of knowledge, elegance and
hospitality. "I have considered it my solemn duty in concur-

294 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
rence AA'ith your worthy chief magistrate, your A'ery
able canal board of finance and superintendence,
and other patriotic and enlightened citizens of
this state, to furnish all the resources in my
power in aid of the great system of internal
navigation so auspiciously commenced on the
fifteenth anniversary of our national indepen
dence. "This is a cause in Avhich every citizen and
every state in our country is deeply interested ;
for the Avork Avill be a great centripetal poAver
that will keep the states within their federal
orbits — and an adamantine chain that Avill bind
the Union together in the most intimate connec
tion of interests and communication. It there
fore secures, not only the prosperity of Ohio,
but the union of the states and the consequent
blessings of free government ; and now I think
it my duty to declare that I have the utmost con
fidence in the practicability of the undertaking,
and the economy and ability Avitli AA'hich it Avill
be executed. In five years it may, and will be
completed, in all probability, and I am clearly of
the opinion, that in two years after the construc
tion of this Avork, it aa'IU produce an annual
revenue of at least a million dollars, and hope
this remark may uoav be noted, if any thing I say
shall be deemed Avorthy of particular notice, in or
der that its accuracy may he tested by experience -
"I beg you, sir, to accept the assurance of my
high respect for your private and public services,

COACH, CANAL, AND STEAMBOAT ERA. 295
and to feel persuaded that I consider your appro
bation and the approbation of patriotic men an
ample rcAvard for my ser A'ice, that a benevolent
Providence may have enabled me to render to our
common country." *
From Columbus the party Avas escorted to
Springfield, Dayton, Hamilton, and Cincinnati,
receiving public dinners and the most extraA'agant
and enthusiastic demonstrations of appreciation
and respect by thousands of citizens. At Cin
cinnati the party Avere invited guests to an enter
tainment given in honor of Henry Clay.
While Governor Clinton Avas in Cincinnati,
he yielded to the pressing invitation to go to
Louisville and render an opinion on the question
then in dispute between Kentucky and Indiana,
as to which side of the river was the better
adapted for a canal around the falls. His de
cided opinion was in favor of Kentucky, to which
all parties assented, and the canal was constructd
accordingly. On returning home, the Governor passed
through Portsmouth, Piketon, Chillicothe, Circle-
A'ille, Lancaster, Summit, and ZanesA'ille, via
Pittsburgh , receiving every-Avhere the most distin
guished attention.
All business for the time was suspended. He
and his party were every-AA'here treated as Ohio's
invited guests ; and the Governor was attended

' Editor " Olive Branch " (No. 2).

296 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
by all the county officers, eminent- citizens, and
multitudes to the next county line, where a like
escort Avas in waiting Avith the best livery the
country could produce ; halting at each county
toAvri, for a grand reception, ornamented Avith
speeches, toasts, flags, and flrearms.
Thus the benefactor of the nation passed from
one county to another, across a great state, and
as soon as the advance-guard came in sight of
any tOAvn, the bells of all the churches, public
buildings, and hotels, gaA'e their long and merry
peels of Avelcome — the cannon roared and a vast
croAvd of Availing citizens of town and couutry
marched forAvard Avitli huzzas and banners of
"Welcome — Avelcome — to the Father of Internal
ImproA'ements. "
The folloAving extract, written at the time by
a cool-headed representative of the state, is ex
pressive Avithout coloring or exaggeration :
"The grave and the gay, the man of gray
hairs and the ruddy-faced youth ; matrons and
maidens, and even lisping children, joined to tell
his worth, and on his virtues dAA'cU ; to hail his
approach and Avelcome his aniA'al. Every street,
where he passed, Avas thronged Avitli multitudes,
and the Avinclows Avere filled Avith the beautiful
ladies of Ohio, AA'aving their siioava' Avhite hand-
kei'chiefs, and casting floAvers on the paA'ement
AA'her-e he Avas to pass on it."
No king, emperor, president, or statesman ; no
manufacturer of personal or political enthusiasm,

BOATS, CANAL, AND STEAMBOAT ERA. 297
even of palace-car order, ever obtained that in
tensity and spontaneous manifestation as was
shown "The Father of Internal Improvements,"
on his passage through the state.
And it is yet a sorrowful refiection to memory,
that such magnetism, ability, and influence for
good did not IIa'C to see the Lake Erie and Ohio
Canal completed ; that his life's sacrifices, in
physical and mental efforts for the advancement
of civilization in the North-west, have been so
soon almost forgotten. But more ; that his good
Avorks should have been so cheaply recognized at
his death by a state he had enriched by making
himself so poor. But it is never too late to be
just, nor too long to right a wrong.
About this time, an era of "prosperity" had al
ready dawned in the East, and was heralded from
mouth to mouth — from the Ohio river to Lake
Michigan — that the "Erie Canal" Avas completed,
and the first fleet of boats left the Hudson, Octo
ber 26, 1825, laden with emigrants for the North
Avest. On the banners this fleet carried Avere the sig-
niflcant words, "The Star of Empire Westward
Takes its Way," and the cannons Avere heard
and ansAA'ered from Buffalo to Ncav York City.
This canal proved a success even beyond the
expectations of the most sanguine ; and a line of
commerce AA'as at once established from tide-water
to the western chain of lakes, and soon flUed the
ncAV states Avith population and their ports Avith

298 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
merchandise. And the Ohio protectionist, Avho
had been so fearful of an influx of ' 'pauper la
bor" and the products of "foreign industries,"
found his OAvn state, AA'hile discussing it, ready
to disburse flfteen million dollars for day labor in
the construction of internal improvements. And
the Squirrel Hunter, whose life Avas one of edu
cation, development, poAver, and progress, hailed
Avith delight the opportunity to Avork on the Lake
Erie canal, twenty-six dry days of tAvelve hours
each, for the sum of eight dollars. It was the
first privilege ever offered in Ohio to obtain so
much money in so short time, AA'ithout encroach
ment upon his store of squirrel and coon skins.
In 1824, the year before the completion of the
Erie canal, prices of jiroduce still ranged Ioav :
tAA'enty-five cents for AA'heat and six cents for
corn, AA'ith no market or demand excepting for
making whisky AA'ith copper stills. But when
the Erie canal AA'as finished and the Ohio and
Lake Erie under Avay, prices on all kinds of
produce advanced more than Iaa'o hundred per
cent, Avith such an unlimited demand that the
improvements couA'crted eA'ery body into favor
with public Avorks. And times became better in
Ohio than ever before — corn advanced to forty
and fifty cents and Avheat to seventy-fiA'e and
one dollar per bushel ; and Avith the state distri
bution of millions of money, and her rich and
productiA'c soil, she AA'as lifted out of the groove

COACH, CANAL, AND STEAMBOAT ERA. 299
of idle content into the bright sunshine of pros
perity and improvenn'ut.
It soon became manifest that internal improve
ments increased the demand and prices of the
products of the soil, Avith a diminution in value
of most all kinds of manufactured articles used in
exchange. The salines of Ncav York killed the
salt manufacture in Ohio as effectually as free
trade did the business of the wheelwright, the
reehvright, the manufacturer of looms, reeds,
flyers, hackles, ploAvs, nails, and other "infant
industries." All were ended by the canal; and
a man or boy Avho desired a new hat had, no
longer than 1825, to go to a "hat shop" and have
his head measured AA'ith a tape-line, and diagram
registered, with full directions of minor matters —
material, color, and price — and then wait the
making. By means of the New York canal, peddlers
Avere offering for sale almost every thing enjoyed
in the East, "at unprecedented Ioav prices ;" and
even the meridian mark in the south dooi'Avay
was of no use any longer, except to regulate a
Yankee clock. These Connecticut time-pieces
wer'c distributed to nearly every resident land
holder- in the state at sixty dollars or less, on a
year's credit, in the form of a note Avith six per
cent interest — a clock that cost the peddler two
dollars and fifty cents at a Ncaa' England factory.
Traveling merchants of all kinds fiocked into
the North-AA'est like squirrels at moving time,

300 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
and the epidemic struck Pennsylvania so disas
trously that the Hon. John Andre av Schultz, at
the time governor of that state, is reported as
having memorialized the legislature for a law
preventing this class of non-residents from per
ambulating the country, selling articles of no
value, and often base counterfeits of things of
domestic use, saying that in his neighborhood,
"They Avere palming off counterfeit basswood
nutmegs, when CA'cry body knows the genuine
are made of sassafrac."
The opening of the canal trade gave interest
and amusement to thousands of persons. On the
day appointed citizens came long distances to
Avitness the filling of the ditch Avith water, and
the floating of boats as they came along in the
pride of the names they bore in honor of favor
ite citizens living along the line, as "The James
Rowe," "The Dr. Coats," "The James Emmitt,"
"The Sam Campbell," "The General Worthing-
ton," etc., lettered in gold, all of AA'hich was
purely complimentar'y to the individual, and not
thought of as an advertising dodge, although it
may haA'e suggested afterAvards its advantages in
this line to members of the Board of Public
Works. The remar'kable advancement in the prosperity
of the state resulting fr-om the canals exceeded
the expectations of their best friends so far that
it will probably ever remain as the most notable
era in the history of the state. Increased pros-

COACH, CANAL, .AND STEAAIBO.AT ERA. 301
perity and rising civilization advanced step by
step. From the pack-saddle to the freight-Avagon,
stage-eoach, canal-boat, steamboat and railroad,
each served or is serving a good purpose in the
elevation of the social, intellectual and moral
faculties of American citizens.
From the organization of the state until the in
troduction of canals and railroads, inland trans
portation of merchandise and travel was done by

Ohio Stage Coach.
means of stage-coaches and freight-Avagons. The
coaches were stoutly constructed, with leather
suspensions for springs, with inside dimensions
for nine persons, and somewhat like a Chicago
street-car — enough room outside for all who Avere
able to flnd a place to "hang on." At the rear
each coach Avas provided with a capacious boot
for the accommodation of Saratoga trunks and
U. S. mail-bags. The driver had an elevated
outside seat in front, and proudly pulled the
strings, on four spirited horses, which were driven
in relays of ten miles, and under favorable cir'-

302 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
cumstances would, in this way, make eight miles
an hour, including stops for changes, and times
of arrival and departure at the stations were
very puntually made on good roads.
Often it became amusing to see hoAV easy a
good-hearted driver who loved his team, as many
drivers did, could favor it by letting the horses
Avalk up each little ascent, but when in sight of
the change AA'ould bloAV the horn and crack the
Avhip, and go in flying, Avith a mark "behind
time" for the next driver and relay to make up.
But the "make up" seldom came, and it Avas
nothing unusual in a distance of Iavo hundred
miles to find the coaches fifteen to tAventy hours
behind the schedule time.
There were no improved roads north of Colum
bus for nearly fifty years, and during the Avet
season, or thaAving of the frozen road-bed, stag
ing became slow and laborious. If not mixed
Avith pleasure, it Avas the only means of inland
intercourse of a public character the inhabitants
could look to.
Charles Dickens, on his Avay from Columbus,
Ohio, to Buffalo, N. Y., via Sandusky City, in
1842, accurately describes the roughness of trav
eling by stage-coach and the jolting of the cordu-
ro}' roads over bogs and SAvamps, and says : "At
length, betAveen ten and elcA'en o'clock at night,
a fcAv feeble lights appeared in the distance, and
Upper Sandusky, an Indian village, Avhei'e Ave
were to stay till morning, lay before us. They

COACH, CANAL, AND STEAMBOAT ERA. 303
were gone to bed at the log inn, which was
the only house of entertainment in the place, but
soon answered our knocking, and got some tea
for us in a sort of kitchen or common room,
tapestried with old newspapers pasted against
the wall.
"The bed-chamber to which my wife and I were
sliOAvn Avas a large, Ioav, ghostly room, Avith a
quantity of Avithered branches on the hearth,
and tAVO doors Avithout any fastening, opposite
to each other, both opening upon the black night
and AA'ild country, and so contrived that one of
them ahvays blcAV the other open, a novelty in
domestic architecture Avhich I do not remember
to have seen before, and AA'hich I Avas somcAvhat
disconcerted to have forced on my attention after
getting into bed, as I had a considerable sum in
gold for our traveling expenses in my dressing
case. Some of the luggage, hoAvever, piled
against the panels, soon settled this difficulty,
and my sleep would not haA'e been very much
affected that night, I believe, though it had
failed to do so.
"My Boston friend climbed up to bed somewhere
in the roof, AA'here another guest Avas already
snoring hugely. But being bitten beyond his
poAver of endurance, he turned out again, and
fied for shelter to the coach, Avhich Avas airing
itself in front of the house. This Avas not a very
politic step as it turned out, for the pigs scenting
him, and looking upon the coach as a kind of pie

304 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
with some manner of meat inside, grunted around it
so hideously that he Avas afraid to come out again,
and lay there shivering till morning. Nor was it
possible to warm him, Avhen he did come out,
by means of a glass of brandy, for in Indian
villages the legislature, Avith- a very good and
AA'ise intention, forbids the sale of spirits by
tavern-keepers." For Avant of roads, traveling by coach was
sloAV and laborious, in all the north-Avestern
states. In 1846, the writer Avas treated to a five
cents per mile ride across the State of Michigan,
from Detroit to Ncav Buffalo, uoav Benton Har
bor, on Lake Michigan, a distauce of Iavo hund
red miles. It Avas mid-Avinter, but not frozen
hard, and required neaidy three days and Iavo
nights of joltings and fatiguing monotony. The
joys felt on arriving in sight of steamboat navi
gation are still fresh in the recollections of the
past. Stage coaches had their center's for distribution
in Columbus, ClcA'cland and Cincinnati, and Avere
used in the principal mail lines over the state.
Her-e too, the African skin became a per-plexing
cjfuestion. The dictum of slaA'er'y had to be re
spected. If a colored per-son desired to be car
ried to a. giA'en point, he could prepay to such —
his money Avas never refused on any account :
bid' for his color thei'c Avas no time-table of de
parture or arrival. If no objections AA'ere raised
by a passenger, he Avould at once be started on

COACH, CANAL, AND STEAMBOAT ERA. 305
his way as an outside incumbrance. But if at any
time Avhile on the route, at a station or "change,"
a passenger should be added Avho objected to
riding in the same coach Avith a "free nigger,"
as was no unusual thing, the colored passenger
Avould be obliged to stop off and wait for a coach
containing more liberal sentiments, or take the
road on foot. This treatment on all the coach
lines was Avitnessed so frequently that it ceased
to call forth marks of disapproval. The prin
ciple in a milder form appears to haA'e been
transferred from the old stage-coach to the great
railroad Cincinnati built South, by ignoring the
constitution of the state, and as some thought at
the time, subsidizing the Supreme Court. On
this road the American born citizen with African
blood, however remote the descent, or great the
admixture, is refused admittance to coaches ac
corded to all other nationalities. Why? it is
not necessary to state.
The Avagons for freight were large and strong,
and, having a cover of white canvas, gave them
the name of "Prairie Schooners." They were
usually draAvn by six horses, and on long routes
traveled in companies ; and trains could be seen
moving slowly along in line, all laden with mer-
chand-ise of the East, or on their way East, car
rying the products of Ohio industry to an east
ern market. The style of the "schooner" and
the Avagons themselves have "been out of print"
26

306

THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.

SO long, not one appeared on exhibition at the
Centennial'World's Fair. They Avere all of the
same pattern, and as "near alike as peas ;" dif
fering in every respect from the emigrant wagon
of later date.
The bed or body of the "schooner" was formed
by a stout frame-work of the best seasoned
bent-AA'ood, and put together as immovable and
durable as any railroad coach body of the pres
ent day. The shape, covering, etc., is shoAvn by

I' /

Prairie Schooner.
annexed illustration. The teams Avere composed
of large draft-horses. The "near" AA'heel-horse
carried a saddle, in addition to his harness, for
the accommodation of the driver. This saddle-
horse, Avith the near front animal, or "leader,"
constituted the managing horses of the whole
team. All orders Avere given, as required, to
these ; they Avere ahvays Avakeful, watchful, and
obedient. A good leader and a reliable near
Avheel-horse were boastful prizes of their owners ;
and most teamsters in those days owned their en-

COACH, CANAL, AND STEAMBOAT ERA. 307
tire outfits, and were exceedingly kind to their
animals. What may seem peculiar, Avhether having four
or six animals in the team, the driver used only
a single line — one string attached to the "leader,"
and to him, AA'ith the aid of the " saddle-horse,"
safety and correct actions of all the members of
the team Avere assured.
Many Avere the thousands of tons these lines
carried over the mountains. But the tread of the
caravan and the crack of the "black-snake" *
Avere no longer heard on the Alleghanies after
the completion of the Erie Canal (in 1825) ; and
ceased entirely as a sj'stem of transportation on
the operation of the Ohio Canal (in 1832) . The
"schooners" and "Branches of the United
States Bank" AVOund up and quit business in
Ohio about the same time. It Avas an off year
for political speculators. President Jackson
vetoed the bill to rencAV the charter of that mon
ster monopoly entitled "The United States
Bank," an institution owned and controlled by
a few wealthy foreign and American citizens,
Avho were receiving exclusive privileges, favors,
and support from the government.
Ohio did not feel the suspension of this great
monopoly AA'ith its thirty-five millions so severely.
Millions of money had just been distributed OA'er
the state for labor in the construction of internal
¦ AVhip.

308 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
improvements, and Avith canals, coaches, and
steamboats, and agriculture in a fiourishing con
dition, the prosperity that seemed lost in the
ruins of speculation and bankruptcy, proved a
small impediment in line of progress or march
of empire.
The people did not become idle or discouraged ;
farming interests were increasing all the time,
and more attention Avas directed to schools and
education than ever before ; and civilization was
manifestly and permanently on the advance.
Still the conditions of trade suffered serious em
barrassments connected Avith the unstable condi
tion of the currency or money of the country.
Bank-notes of one state Avere at a heavy discount
in every other. This, AA'ith bank and individual
failures, caused much inconvenience for a time,
but things soon grcAv better. Population and
aggregate Avealth of the state increased, and in 1847
gave the greatest yield of produce ever prcA'iously
harvested, and which, OAving to the "Irish fam
ine," Avas di-sposed of at speculation prices, and
the state Avent on to prosperity and comparative
exc(dlence and influence.
The mass of descendants of iiioneers in Ohio
looked foi'Avard to agriculture as the source of
subsistence and independent competency. "Mil
lionaire," in early days, Avas a Avord seldom
used, and entirely unknoAvn in biographv. The
pioneer saAv the necessity for the promotion and
advancement of true civilization, that ever'v citi-

COACH, CANAL, AND STEAMBOAT ERA. 309
'zen should own a home — a place he might call
his own — a place to live and labor for the good
of himself and others. And not until the intro
duction of the railroad president, private palace
cars, trusts, combines, and transformation of the
public service into party machines for becoming
suddenly rich, did the more observing recognize
the true estimate and sound brotherhood existing
AA'ith the gold bags of the nation. Nor did the
poor 'suspect that combined wealth Avould ever
dream as did the thirsting Turk at midnight
hour — "that Liberty, her knee in suppliance
bent, should tremble at its poAver."

310 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.

CHAPTER VI.
OHIO— HER RAILROAD AND TELEGRAPH ERA.

The canal era proA'ed so satisfactor'A' that people
took their steps more r'apidly than CA'er before,
and began measur-ing the hours by dollars and
cents, and the value of life by the amount of
labor performed. The feeling that something
should be done to increase time and diminish
space became uniA'ersal, and not a fcAV pros-
pecters had their eyes open for the "old stone"
that turned all it touched to gold.
The application of steam as the coming motor
pOAA'er for transportation and traA'el Avas pictured
in the minds of many iiiA'cntors in this country and
in Europe ; and trials of engines and their Avork
ing abilities became the all-absoi'bing subject of
the timers, and as ear'ly as 1835 it could be seen
that provincialism Avas passing aAvay and that the
citizens of Ohio felt that coaches, AA'asons and
canal -boats AA'er'e too sIoav and insufficient for ad
A'anced civilization.
The opening of a road betAveen Manchester
and Liverpool, September 15, 1830, and one in
South Carolina the foUoAving Januar'v, gave the

RAILROAD AND TELEGRAPH ERA. 311
subject increased interest, although the efforts
were exceedingly crude, and often bordering on
the ridiculous. It was, hoAA'ever, a problem that
had to be AA'orked out, and every one having a
mind for construction became a model maker of
locomotives and railroad tracks. Even Peter
Cooper built an engine and named it "Tom
Thumb," and in his attempt to test its superior
ity over horse-poAver was beaten OAving to that
"if" AA'hich ahvays catches the rear contestant.
It appears that in 1830 the Baltimore & Ohio
road had a double track finished from Baltimore
to Ellicott's Mills, a distance of fifteen miles, and
was utilized by means of horse-power. Mr.
Cooper, who had built a small locomotive after
his own mind to demonstrate to his OAvn satisfac
tion the possibilities of steam as a motor poAver
on roads, after making a number of successful
trips to the mills and return, a race was proposed
between "Tom Thumb" and its light open car,
and a car and one horse of those run by the com
pany occupying the road. The race Avas to start
at the Relay House and end in Baltimore, a
distance of nine miles.
On the 28th day of August, 1830, just seven
teen days before the Manchester and Liverpool
Exhibition, the start was made, and, as reported
at the time :
"At first the gray had the best of it, for his
steam would be applied to the greatest advantage
on the instant, Avhile the engine had to wait until

312 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
the rotation of the AA'heels set the blower to work.
The horse Avas perhaps a quarter of a mile ahead
when the safety valve of the engine lifted, and
the thin blue vapor issuing from it showed an ex
cess of steam. The bloAver Avhistled, the steam
blcAv off in vapory clouds, the pace increased ;
the passengers shouted, the engine gained on the
horse ; soon it lapped him ; the silk Avas plied ;
the race was 'neck-and-neck, nose-and-nose ;' then
the engine passed the horse, and a great hurrah
hailed the victory. But it Avas not repeated, for
just at this time, Avhen the gray's master Avas
about giving up, the band Avhich draAA's the pul
ley which moved the bloAver slipped from the
drum, the safety-valve ceased to scream, and the
engine, for Avant of breath, began to AA'heeze and
pant. While Mr. Cooper, avIio was his oavu engineer
and fireman, lacerated his hands in vain attempts
to replace the band upon the Avheel, the horse
gained on the machine and passed it, and although
the band was presently replaced and steam again
did its best, the horse Avas too far ahead to be
overtaken, and came in the winner of the race."
The numerous excursions, trial trips of en
gines, and public demonstrations made in the in
terests of improvements, from 1830 to 1840, on
roads chartered in 1825-26-27-28, did not inspire
confldence as good investments. They AA'ere
looked upon chiefly as curiosities, mixed AA'ith
great discomfort and danger, and received huz
zahs and new patrons at each juncture, those

RAILROAD AND TELEGRAPH ERA. 313
making the trip one day surrendering their places
Avitli admiration to others, much after the plan of
those who took in the curiosity show of the
horse "having his tail where his head ought to
be." A railroad excursion of governors, sen
ators, judges, laAvyers, di-yines, doctors, and other
good people — special guests of several hundred —
to ride on strap-iron rails, housed in old coach
bodies or on open platform boxes, with the bump
ing and jerking of trucks attached to each other
by abundance of slack chain, a beer-bottle engine
and pine knots to make steam, enables the imag
ination to see the likeness of the unfortunate col
ored fireman Avitli respect, though a slave, for the
exhibition of a sense of comfort before, if not
after, he "punched up the fire and closed down
the lever to the safety-valve and sat upon it to
keep the steam and smoke out of his eyes."
While great enthusiasm existed in favor of
railroads every-where during the thirties, the
moneyed man and the man Avho desired to travel
with comfort regardless of time did not take
much stock in the enterprise. And the gentle
man who wrote the following in his diary was
one of a large class who vicAved the present as
complete, and that they could not endure pleas
antly any discomfort that might repay to others
in the future great pleasure :
"Jidy '22, 1835. — This morning at nine o'clock
I took passage in a railroad car (from Boston)
27

314 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
for Providence. Five or six other cars were at
tached to the locomotive, and uglier boxes I do
not Avish to traA'el in. They Avere made to stOAV
aAvay some thirty human beings Avho sit, cheek
by jowl, as best they can. The poor felloAvs who
were not much in the habit of making their
toilet squeezed me into a corner, Avhile the hot
sun drcAV from their garments a villainous com
pound of smells made up of salt fish, tar and
molasses. By and by, just tAvelve — only twelve
— bouncing factory girls were introduced, Avho
Avere going on a party of pleasure to Newport.
'Make room for the ladies !' baAvled out the super
intendent. 'Come, gentlemen, jump up on the
top, plenty of room there.' 'I'm afraid the
bridge knocking my brains out,' said a passenger.
Some made one excuse and some another. For
my part, I flatly told him that since I belonged
to the Corps of Silver Grays, I had lost my gal
lantry, and did not intend to move. The AA'hole
twelve Avere, hoAvever, introduced, and soon made
themselves at home, sucking lemons and eating
green apples. The rich and the poor, the edu
cated and the ignorant, the polite and the vulgar,
all herd together in this modern improvement in
traveling. The consequence is a complete amal
gamation. Master and servant sleep heads and
points on the cabin floor of the steamer, feed at
the same table, sit in each other's laps as it Avere
in the cars ; and all this for the sake of doing
very uncomfortably in Iavo days AA'hat Avould be

RAILROAD AND TELEGRAPH ERA. 315
done delightfully in eight or ten. Shall Ave be
much longer kept by this toilsome fashion of
hurr'ying, hurrying, from starting (those Avho
can afford it) on a journey Avith our oaa'ii horses,
and moving sloAvly, surely and profltably through
the country, with the power of enjoying its
beauty, and be the means of creating good inns?
Undoubtedly a line of post-horses and post-
chaises Avould long ago have been established
along our great roads had not steam monopolized
every thing.
"Talk of ladies on board a steamboat or in a
railroad car — there are none. I never feel like a
gentlemen there, and I can not perceiA'C a sem
blance of gentility in any one Avho makes part of
the traveling mob. When I see women AA'hom,
in their draAving-rooms or elscAvhere, I have been
accustomed to respect and treat Avith every
suitable deference — Avhen I see them, I say, el
bowing their way through a croAvd of dirty emi
grants, or low-bred homespun felloAvs in petti
coats or breeches in our country, in order to
reach a table spread for a hundred or more, I
lose sight of their pretentions to gentility, and
A'iew them as belonging to the plebeian herd. To
restore herself to her caste, let a lady move in
select company at Aa'C miles an hour, and take
her meals in comfort at a good inn, where she
may dine decently. After all the old-fashioned
Avay of Aa'c or six miles, with liberty to cline
decently in a decent inn, and be master of one's

316 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
movements, Avitli the delight of seeing the
country and getting along rationally, is the mode to
Avhicli I cling, and which Avill be adopted again
by the generations of after times." *
Information in regard to railroading in its true
sense, Avas circumscribed to experiment, Avhich
retarded the progress of improvement. The be
lief in lasting solidity, making the exjiense of
building the road-bed more than necessary, so
much so that it was estimated in the Eastern
States, that about ten miles a year were all one
company could properly construct.
Most engineers at first fell into the same error —
making heavy stone walls for the road-bed. The
blocks into AA'hich the AVOoden plugs AA'ere driven
for the spikes to hold the rails Avere frequently
resting upon solid masonry, four feet high and two
and a half feet Avide. After done, it was discov
ered a mistake ; that an inelastic road-bed and
speed Avere incompatible and disastrous to the
machinery, and the intelligent State of Massa
chusetts, from the time the first locomotive Avas
put upon the track (March, 1834) until 1841,
had shoAvn little advancement in the proper ap
plication of steam, as Avell as construction of
road-beds and rails.
Robert Fulton expected his discovery Avould
find its highest usefulness as a motive-poAver on
railroads, as it has done ; but his brother-in-laAv

Recollections of Samuel Breck, pp. 275-7.

RAILROAD AND TELEGRAPH ERA. 317
and partner did not deem the thing practicable
as long as the insuperable objections named ex
isted, and all attempts Avere passed to others, as
the foUoAA'ing letter shoAvs, Avitli day and date :
"Albany, March 1st, 1811,
"Dear Sir : I did not until yesterday receive
yours of February 25th ; Avhere it has been loit
ering on the road I am at a loss to say. I had be
fore read of your very ingenious proposition as
to the raihvay communications. I fear, hoAvever,
on mature reflection, that they will be liable to
serious objection, and ultimately more expensive
than a canal. They must be double, so as to
prevent the danger of Iaa'o such bodies meeting.
The AA'alls on Avhich they are to be placed should
at least be four feet below the surface and three
feet above, and must be clamped with iron, and
even then Avould hardly sustain so heavy a Aveight
as you propose moving at the rate of four miles
an hour on Avheels. As to Avood, it Avotild not
last a week. They must be covered Avitli iron, and
that, too, very thick and strong. The means of
stopping these heavy carriages without great
shock, and of preventing them from running on
each other — for there would be many running on
the road at once — would be very difficult. In
cases of accidental stops to take wood and water,
etc., many accidents would happen. The car
riage of condensing water would be very trouble
some. Upon the whole, I fear the expense would

318 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
be much greater than that of canals, without
being so convenient. R. R. Livingston."
Ordinary business men, and even accomplished
engineers, manifested as little knoAA'ledge in re
gard to the principles of science in railroading as
they did in regard to the telegraph. Both were
new fields for experiment, and both operators
made many ridiculous mistakes.
When William D. Wesson announced he would
demonstrate the practicability of sending and re
ceiA'ing messages over his Avires stretched on
poles from Chillicothe to Columbus, and vice
versa, many persons had business into the city on
that day, but ostensibly to AA'itness the Avouderful
performance. Early in the morning advertised for free mes
sages, an honest patron of science living on the
line a short distance out of toAvn AA'ent up one of
the poles and hung a letter on the AA'ire, and se
creted himself in view of the missive and in vain
Avatched it all day, that he might obtain the se
cret of the process.
Another individual of inquiring mind on his
Avay to the city boasted he intended to knoAV
before he returned how the tiling Avas done.
On his way home he AA'as accosted by a neighbor,
Avho Avished to know Iioav it Avas possible to send
a message to Columbus Avith safety on one of
those little Avires. The Squire said to himself it
was no longer a mystery — he Avas a justice of the

RAILROAD AND TELEGRAPH ERA. 319
peace, and above the average as a lawyer — say
ing : "You see, they have a machine that rolls
and compresses a letter into a little bit of an
oblong roll, Avhich just fits into a little brass cyl
inder, and when ready to send it is pushed up to
a kind of machine all full of cog-wheels and
ticking clock-Avork, and the man at the head
says, 'All ready — go' — and he touches a button,
and the electricity runs out on the wire, and
strikes the head of the cylinder in Avhicli the let
ter is placed, and it goes, chebang, to the other
end of the wire, and drops into a basket."
All this was worked out by the mental process
of the Squire, who actually believed he had solved
the process of telegraphing, as much as the en
gineers did that of railroading when they con
structed the track of solid masonry.
In 1837, the horse-car running from Toledo to
Adrian, Michigan, on oak rails Avas remodeled,
road-bed improved in grades, rails strapped, an
engine to take the place of horses, "and a beau
tiful ncAV passenger coach to supply that of the
old coach bodies." It AA'as also advertised the
road Avould be "running regularly on and after
October 1, 1837," and that the "speed Avould be
greatly increased, and would be able to carry
passengers and the United States mail at the
rate of fifteen miles an hour, making the entire
distance, thirty miles, in tAvo hours."
A fair likeness of the neAv passenger coach is
here given, Avhich, in days of primitive railroad-

320

THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.

ing, Avas looked upon as a step in the right direc
tion. But this road Avas soon obliged to again
suspend operations, temporarily, for other
changes — many discouragements stood in the
patliAvay to prosperity. Strap-iron rails on par
allel timbers and stonemasonry and solidity
proved failures, and the locomotive added no ad
vantage over the horse, as existing conditions

-«4.;^-

New Passenger Car on the Toledo & Adrian Ry. 1837.
would not tolerate great velocity, the very thing
in chief that Avould insure supremacy over a
canal. And England was twenty years in search of an
adjustment of road and machinery by AA'hich ve
locity could be increased Avithout an increase of
danger. But the discouragements AA'ere so nu
merous, many hopeful Avorkers abandoned the
field. Only six years previous to George Stephen
son's locomotive, "Rocket," making tAventy-nine
and a half miles in an hour, a book Avas published
on "Railways," in AA'hich the author saj's :

RAILROAD AND TELEGRAPH ERA. 321
"That nothing could do more harm toward the
adoption of railways than the promulgation of
such nonsense, as that we shall see locomotive
engines traveling at the rate of twelve, sixteen,
eighteen, and tAventy miles an hour." *
This may have been intended for Americans
as well as Mr. Stephenson, for the "promulgation
of such nonsense" did not cease, and power and
speed increased with the increase in size of the
parts of the machinery insured. So rapidly
was this increase, that strong attempts were
made from time to time to fix a legal limit at
some point below tAA'enty miles^in England.
In the United States, however, the faster the
better, and from five rose to fifty, and then be
gan looking around for rails and road-bed that
would withstand the racket.
All the expense and experiments were not
thrown away ; true, investments and results
failed for many years to inspire that confidence
which opens the money vaults of the capitalists,
but, not in the least discouraged, artisans, scien
tists, and genius, under any and every name,
Avorked on and on, and Avhen asked gave the coal-
miner's answer to the House of Commons: "I
can't tell you hoiu I'll do it, but I can tell you I
will do it." The engineers, machinists, and
model-makers kept at AVork, and so many im
provements had been suggested to Peter Cooper's

-* Wood's book on Railroads, 1825.

.>22 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
locomotive that the first thing of the kind that
had ever been made in the United States became
transformed from a little competitor of the horse
into a mammoth institution breathing impatiently
for a track on AA'hich might be tested its speed
and Avondrous power.
The locomotive came — the heavy iron rails
Avere in sight — but no one had yet suggested a
satisfactory road-bed and rests for the rails . It had
baffled the attempts of engineers. At this critical
juncture a voice Avas heard from the AA'ilderness —
an axman, an Ohio "Squirrel Hunter" — one who
had constructed many miles of substantial Avagoii
roads through ucav sections of marshy country
by means of "corduroys" — placing pieces of split
timber, or sections of a younger growth, sixteen
feet long, in close contact at right angles to the line
of intended road-bed, then pinning long pieces of
split saplings on the upper surface near the ends
of the cross-ties on either side, and filling the in-
sterstices Avith earth, gravel, rotten wood, or
other material, making a substantial and elastic
track. At a meeting of the president and directors of a
section of unsatisfactory strap-iron road, this man
appeared before the board Avith a model shoAving
the relations of road-bed, cross-ties, and rails as
now in use, claiming the plans proposed Avould in
sure the desirable essentials to safety, speed, cheap
ness, and durability, by giving elasticity and se
curing an absolute gauge at high rates of speed.

RAILROAD AND TELEGRAPH ERA. 323
Seeing the model, and hearing the common-
sense arguments and practicable philosophy of
the "Squirrel Hunter," all present clapped their
hands and cried — "Eureka!"
Before the close of the session, a resolution
Avas adopted in favor of "cross-ties and heavy
iron rails." With the correct idea for con-
' struction, it required but little time to satisfy
the most credulous that velocity and power could
be obtained Avith safety, and time saved ; for time
was fast becoming an important factor in the
prosperity of the state. Charters Avere granted
for roads in every direction, and each important
village had aspirations for "a railroad center;"
and capital, by millions, fioAA'ed into the state,
and in a short period Ohio found herself Avitli
eight thousand fiA'e hundred miles of railroad,
representing a capital of more than fiA'e hundred
and fifty million dollars.
The officers of the first railroads felt or seemed
to feel and act like ordinary people. This, hoAA'
ever, was long before the procuration of a pro
hibitory tax on foreign steel rails. On one occa
sion, in 1849, the passengers on the line of
coaches from the South, bound for Cleveland,
Ohio, found on arrival at Columbus that "a new
and expeditious route" had just been opened to
Sandusky City, and thence to Cleveland, Buffalo,
and other points east and Avest.
This "new and expeditious line" consisted of
stage-coaches from Columbus to Mansfield, from

324 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
Mansfield to Sandusky by the new railroad, and
thence by boat to all other points. The railroad
Avas part of the incomplete first through line
from the lakes to the Ohio river, and Avas com
pleted from Sandusky to Mansfield, flfty miles.
The Avriter Avas one of the second installment of
passengers sent over the ucav route. Four coaches
left Columbus at an early hour, loaded Avitli.
passengers and baggage, to make the connection
at Mansfield, nearly seventy miles, over rough
mad roads.
All Avent well until the DelaAvare county cordu
roys Avere reached. Here the leading coach got
off the track and Avas doAvn, Avith one wheel in the
mud up to the hub. Getting out of this diffi
culty caused the time-table to be broken, and on
reaching Mansfield in the evening Ave found the
train to Sandusky had just left' — so recently that
the smoke of the motor was still visible in the
direction of the lake.
The arrival of this caravan created no little ex
citement in the small toAvn of Mansfield (Sec-
retar'y Sherman's home). Thirty angry passen
gers to be detained until the next day at a fifth-
class hotel, destitute of accommodations, Avas not
considered in the stor'm of invectives that Avere
hurled in every direction, after taking in the sit
uation. Accusations Avere publicly made that the
landlord and the directors of the railroad Avere
in partnership to rob the public by assertions en
ticing them into this trap.

RAILROAD AND TELEGRAPH ERA. 325
The party Avas in no mood to remain idle, and
at once took possession of the large room called
"the parlor," elected a chairman, adopted reso
lutions, and made a report and placed it in the
hands of the printer, headed AA'ith familiar En
glish epithets, warning the public to shun this
impious SAvindle — making the most imposing
specimen of literature, on large sheets, ever
printed in that highly-intelligent toAvn.
Before elcA'cn o'clock that night the bill-posters
had flnished their work, as no more space could
be found on AA'hich to spread the attractive sheets.
About this time four good-looking, elderly gen
tlemen appeared and announced that they repre
sented the president and directors of the road ;
that they Avere sorry the break of connection had
occurred ; that such a thing Avould not occur
again, and asked, if they should reimburse all
the fares paid at Columbus and give each a
through ticket to place of destination, and pay
the hotel expenses while detained in Mansfield,
Avould the party surrender all the posters in their
possession and call it even?
This Avas agreed to — posters surrendered and
fares adjusted, and the whole party invited to a
well-prepared but unexpected supper, Avhicli
wound up with a jolly good time, and the dissat
isfied were sent on their Avay next morning in
full i^raise of the "ucav arrangement," which be
came the most popular and best-patronized

326 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
through fare route of any previous combination
of the kind ever made in Ohio.
Railroads developed their importance rapidly,
as did also the officers and employes. The sys
tematic training and experimental management
of roads have accomplished wonders in national
izing the people of the United States. And by
the reports of the Commissioner of "Railroads
and Telegraph," no necessity exists any longer
for Ohio roads to compromise or giA'e drawbacks to
patrons in order to hold their infiuence and busi
ness. At least it Avoiild seem so, Avhen the roads
Avithin the state, in 1894, carried twenty-seven
million, Iavo hundred and thirty-one thousand
passengers, and fifty-nine millions, six hundred
and thirty-nine tons of freight — earning sixty
million, one hundred and forty thousand, eight
hundred and thirty-one dollars ; giA'ing employ
ment to fifty-four thousand, seven hundred per
sons, Avliose salaries amounted to a fraction less
than thirty million, six hundred thousand dollars
in aggregate. All this great Avealth and industr'y
has arisen from exceedingly small and crude
beginnings. Profitable private enterprises resulting from
railroad iuA'cstments in the states, at the com
mencement of the fifties, aAvakened a dozing
Congress to the national importance of the sub
ject, and in 1853, the Government commenced a
road at an estimated cost that Avould have made
the head of a Thomas Jefferson SAvim Avith con-

RAILROAD AND TELEGRAPH ERA. 327
stitutional objections — involving an expenditure
of one hundred and thirty millions, Avith an
additional five millions for engineering It
proved a success ; the expenditure of labor en
riched the people, and the road helped save the
United States as a nation.
With canals, railroads, turnpikes, large crops,
quick and cheap transportation, groAving cities
and increasing knowledge, Avealth and happiness,
to Ohio the sky was clear overhead, and every
thing prosperous, West, East and North, until
1860. Something Avas transpiring South — North
ern men were returning from the slave states
with the belief the country Avas on the verge of
a civil AA'ar — a gigantic insurrection. Some, to
AA'hom such opinions were rendered, believed,
but most Northern men made light of the idea
of the South seceding, as there appeared no justi
fiable cause for secession or rebellion.
But there was that quarrel about the black
spot on the face of the Goddess of Liberty, which
had groAvn large and Avas giving pain and mortifi
cation to all her Northern friends. It was evident
the disease was destroying the life as it had the
beauty, unless something Avas done to remoA'e or
check its growth.
Consultation after consultation had from time to
time been made by the wise men of the nation,
ending in disagreement in regard to the etiology,
pathology and treatment. Still it Avas evident,
to both North and South, that something must

328 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
be done. And the South, claiming the patient,
assured the country the affection and disaffection
could be removed by the law of nature Samuel
Hahnemann made — "similia similibus curantur,"
and retired AA'ith the intention to capture Wash
ington before the North could make resistance,
and then proclaim the slave-poAver, the true and
laAvful friend of Liberty, and insist upon a hasty
recognition of the Government of the United
States, by the foreign ministers at the federal
capital and the leading j^oAvers of Europe; But
the Southern blood could not be restrained, and
the premature OA'crt acts defeated the scheme,
saved Washington, and led to the recoA'ery of
universal freedom in the United States through a
prolonged and bloody law.
General Sherman says in regard to the cause
of the War of the Rebellion, that "The Southern
statesmen, accustomed to rule, began to perceive
that the country would not ahvays submit to be
ruled by them ;* and they believed slavery could
not thrive in contact Avith freedom ; and they had
come to regard slavery as essential to their po
litical and social existence. Without a slave caste
they could have no aristocratic caste.
That the northern politicians, accustomed to follow
the lead of their southern associates generall)', be
lieved that the defeat of Fremont, in 1856, as the
Republican candidate for the presidency, had in-

¦ Sherman and His Campaigns.

RAILROAD AND TELEGRAPH ERA. 329
sured the perpetuity of the Union ; the southern
politicians, generally, believed that the date of
its dissolution was postponed during the next
presidential term, and that four years and a fa
cile President Avere given them to prepare for it.
And they began to do so.
"Accordingly, during Mr. Buchanan's admin
istration, there was set on foot throughout the
Southern States a movement embodying the re
organization of the militia, the establishment
and enlargement of state military academies, and
the collection of arms, ammunition, and warlike
materials of all kinds.
The Federal Secretary of War, Mr. Floyd,
thoroughly in the interests of the pro-slavery
conspirators, aided them by sending to the
arsenals in the slave states large quantities of
the national arms and military supplies ; the
quotas of the Southern States under the militia
laws were anticipated in some cases by several
years ; and he caused large sales of arms to be
secretly made, at Ioav prices, to the agents of
those states.*
"The pro-slavery leaders then began, quietly,
to select and gather around them the men whom
they needed and upon whom they thought they
could rely.
"Among the men they fixed upon was Cap-

AV. T. Sherman.
28

330 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
tain Sherman. ... It Avas explained to him
that the object of establishing the State Military
Academy at Alexandria, Avas to aid in suppressing
negro insurrections, to enable the state to protect
her borders, . . . and to foriu a nucleus for
defense in case of an attack by a foreign enemy."
Captain Sherman did not remain long in his
high salaried office before he saAV enough to con
vince an intelligent mind war Avas near at hand,
and on January 18, 1861, he sent in his resigna-
nation to the Governor, as follows :
"Sir: As I occupy a quasi-military position
under this state, I deem it proper to acquaint you
that I accepted such position Avhen Louisiana Avas
a state in the Union, and when the motto of the
seminary, inserted in marble over the main door,
Avas : 'By the liberality of the general Govern
ment of the United States — the Union — Esto
Perpetua.' Recent events foreshadow a great
change, and it becomes all men to choose. If
Louisiana withdraAvs from the Federal Union, I
prefer to maintain my allegiance to the old Con
stitution as long as a fragment of it survives, and
my longer stay here Avould be Avrong in evei'}'
sense of the AA'ord. In that event, I beg you Avill
send or appoint some authorized agent to take
charge of the arms and munitions of Avar here,
belonging to the state, or direct me Avhat disposi
tion should be made of them.
"And furthermore, as president of the board

RAILROAD AND TELEGRAPH ERA. 331
of supervisors, I beg you to take immediate steps
to relieve me as superintendent the moment the
state determines to secede, for on no earthly ac
count will I do an act, or think any thought,
hostile to or in defiance of the old Government
of the United States."
Up to this date, Captain Sherman Avas not much
knoAvn as a lawyer or statesman, and as a military
genius, the South found they had mis-measured
his patriotism and that which constituted his
make-up. Few, if any, had heard the reply of
the little fatherless boy to the minister avIio
hesitated to give him the name of "a heathen,"
[Tecumseh,) in baptism.
"My father called me Tecumseh, and Tecumseh
I'll be called — If you won't, I'll not have any of
your baptism."
This Avas the character of General Sherman,
whose talents Avere as bright as Avas his life, pure
and courageous. At the commencement of the
Avar he was assailed on all sides, by the petty jeal
ousies indigenous to public life ; but nothing
could retard his progress to the front, any more
than it could his march to the sea — one of Ohio's
legitimate "Squirrel Hunters" born Avith his
hand on Esau's heel."
The war came, and On the 12th day of April,
1861, the first gun Avas fired. The Government
Avas not alarmed, but Avas firm in the determina
tion to preserve the Union at all cost, and looked
upon the prospects of final success of secession

332 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
as impossible against the Avill of the vast popu
lation and resources of the North-western States,
and held to the truth of General Jackson's
ansAA'er to Calhoun: ''Secession is treason, and
the penalty for treason is death."
At the outbreak of the Rebellion, the State of
Kentucky had a governor named Beriali Magoffin.
He had by some unknoAvn means escaped the
familiar Kentucky military title, and Avas known
simply as "Beriah Magoffin, the Secessionist."
Beriah concocted a brilliant scheme, and gave out
a manifesto that "Kentucky Avill not sever con
nection from the National Government, nor take
up arms for either belligerant party, but arm
herself for the preservation of peace within her
borders, and a mediator to effect a just and honor
able peace."
But when the President of the United States
called on Kentucky for volunteers to defend the
Union, he received the reply: "I say emphati
cally that Kentucky Avill furnish no troops for the
wicked purpose of subduing her sister Southern
States." On hearing of the reply of Governor
Beriah Magoffin, the G(.ivernor of Ohio immedi
ately telegraphed the War Department, "If Ken
tucky AA'ill not fill her quota, Ohio Avill fill it for
her." And AA'ithin Iavo days, Iavo regiments Avere
on the road to the credit of Kentucky, and other
regiments came in so rapidly, that AA'ithin a fcAV
days after tho announcement of quotas, the Ad
jutant-General stated the offers of troops from

RAILROAD AND TELEGRAPH ERA. 333
Ohio were enough to fill the full quota of
seventy-five thousand men allotted to the en
tire country.
The people of Ohio, and especially some in Cin
cinnati, became indignant at the muddle in which
Kentucky had placed herself, causing Cincinnati
to occupy an extra-hazardous position. The
Governors of Ohio, Indiana and Illinois foresaAV
the tempting prize Cincinnati Avould be to the
Confederates, and early urged the policy of seiz
ing Louisville, Paducah, Columbus, Covington,
Newport and the railroads. But this AA'ise sug
gestion was postponed in its execution for Avant
of troops, until the opportunity became lost.
Columbus was strongly garrisoned, Buckner had
commited his treason. Bowling Green Avas forti
fied, Tennessee Avas gone, and Kentucky held
back all the armies of the West until March,
1862."* Still, for the kindness, Kentucky came near
getting Ohio into trouble during the second
year of the Avar. And this, too, at a time Avhen
the Union forces AA'ere scattered and deciminated
by disasters, disease, and desertions until the
War Department shoAved an inability to main
tain many important positions, especially in the
border states. Rebel raids were moving in
several directions. John Morgan, with his cav
alry, found the City of Cincinnati defenseless

' Ohio in the War." Reed.

334 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
and virtually besieged. Rough secession citizens
Avere rioting, mobbing, and destroying property
of peaceable persons of African descent, requir
ing "one thousand" extra policemen to saA'e
enough of the boodle to make an inducement
for rebel raiders to call that way.
The cultivated hatred and unlaAvful acts
toward the colored race prevailed to such a large
extent by Cincinnati rebels and sympathizers,
that the sentiments of officials Avere so uncertain
that, AA'hen danger was in sight and the city
came under the management of men Avho had
actually taken side Avith the Federal Govern
ment, the i^olice were required to take the oath
of allegiance in a body as their official certificate
of loyalty.
The rebel element Avas disappointed that John
Morgan and cavalry did not attempt to take the
city, Avhich Avas joy and gladness to the Union
portion of the inhabitants. But ncAV and more
alarming trouble to the loyal citizen AA'as ap
proaching. The Union forces had just met
Avith disaster at Richmond, and General Kirby
Smith had entered Lexington Avith Morgan and
started an army for Cincinnati.
Bragg. Avas just crossing the Kentucky line for
Louisville, and no time could be lost. Cincinnati
Avas AA'ithout pr'eparation or means of defense,
a-nd all Avas literally blue around recruiting offices ;
governmeilt troops Avere poAverless, for Avant of

RAILROAD AND TELEGRAPH ERA. 335
time, and the emergency AA'as great, for the rebels
AA'ere near at hand.
If the Federal forces Avere ever at any time
subject to despondency and discouragements it
Avould have been excusable during July and Au
gust of 1862. General McClellan had been re
called from the Peninsula, Pope driven back
and forced to seek refuge in the defenses of Wash
ington, raids Avere menacing the borders of the
free states, and many AA'ere claiming the war "a
failure." General Wallace had been placed in command
for the protection of the cities of Cincinnati,
Covington, and Newport, and arrived in Cincin
nati at nine o'clock at night, September 1st.
And after consultation with Governor Tod and
the mayors of the above-named cities, Avrote his
proclamation of martial law, and after midnight
sent it to the city papers.
While this was going on, the Governor was
busily engaged at the telegraph station. He
knew the power and the loyalty of the "Squirrel
Hunters." As one of their number, he asked
them to come — to come Avithout delay, and to come
armed — and then telegraphed to the Secretary
of War, that a large rebel force Avas moving
against Cincinnati, "but it would be successfully
met." He had faith in the expected troops.
Though fresh from the rural districts, they all
knew how to shoot; all fellow "Squirrel Hunt^

336 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
ers," never knoAvn to turn their backs to the
enemy Avith the trusty rifle in hand.
History tells the result. Whitelaw Reid says
of the next morning :
"Before daybreak the advance of the men that
were thenceforward to be known in the history
of the state as the 'Squirrel Hunters' were filing
through the streets."
The citizens knew little or nothing of what
had been transpiring throughout the night, and
when aroused by the tramp, tramp, tramp, and
as they gazed out upon the dimly-lighted streets,
the greater their wonderment grcAV. Armed
men, Avith all shades, colors, and kinds of uni-.
forms ! No one, awakening from sweet slumber,
could say from AA'hat country, place, or planet,
such a vast multitude could have dropped during
the night. It could be seen the army Avas not
blue enough for federals, nor gray enough for
rebels; and "good Lord, good devil," was about
all that could be said.
In due time the morning papers came, an
nouncing the city under martial law and pro
tected by the "Squirrel Hunters" of Ohio, and
the excitement became so great that many ex
pressed themselves much after the fashion of
"the little Avomaii Avho Avent to market all on a
market day."
For patriotism, executive ability, and business
talents, Governor Tod had few equals. With him
the line of duty Avas ahvays clear. Before Gen-

RAILROAD AND TELEGRAPH ERA.

337

eral Wallace had Avritten his proclamation of
martial hiAv the Governor Avas on his Avay to Cin
cinnati. From this point he at once telegraphed
to the people, press, and military committees,
saying : "Our southern border is threatened with
invasion. . . . Gather up all the arms and
furnish yourselves Avitli ammunition for the same.
. The soil of Ohio must not be invaded
by the enemies of our glorious government. Do
not AA'ait. None but armed men will be received."
"From morning till night the streets resounded
Avith the tramp of armed men, marching to the
defense of the city. From every quarter of the
state they came, in every form of organization,
Avith various species of arms. The 'Squirrel

Pontoon Bridge, Ohio Eiver.

29

338 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
Hunters,' in their homespun, Avith poAvder-horn
and buckskin pouch, ... all poured out
from the railroad depots and doAvn tOAvard the
pontoon bridge. The ladies of the city furnished
provisions by the Avagon load ; the Fifth-street
market-house was converted into a vast free eat
ing saloon for the 'Squirrel Hunters.' Halls and
AA'arehouses were used as barracks."
As soon as it Avas known the city was under
martial laAV, the sounds of hammers and saAvs
came up from the river, and in a few hours a
pontoon bridge was stretched across to Coving
ton, and streams of Avagons loaded with lumber
and other materials for fortifications Avere passing
over ; and on the 4tli of September Governor Tod
telegraphed to General Wright, commander of
the department : "I have now sent you for Ken
tucky twenty regiments. I have tAventy-one
more in process of organization," and the next
day said to the press :
"The response to my proclamation asking
volunteers for the protection of Cincinnati Avas
most noble and generous. All may feel proud of
the gallantry of the people of Ohio. No more
volunteers are required for the protection of Cin
cinnati." The exertions of the city were, hoAvever, not
abated. Judge Dickson organized a colored
brigade for labor on the fortifications. This Avith
the daily details of three thousand Avhite citizens,

RAILROAD AND TELEGRAPH ERA. 339
composed of judges, lawyers, merchant princes,
clerks, day-laborers, artists, ministers, editors,
side by side, kept at Avork Avith the ax, spade,
pick, and shovel, and all promised the same
wages — a dollar per day — Avent on most enthusi
astically. The engineers had given shape to the fortifica
tions. General Wallace was vigilant night and
day, as the rebel forces gradually moved up as if
intending an attack. The Squirrel Hunters were
drilled during the day and manned the trenches
every night, and it was no longer a possibility
that the forces under General Kirby Smith could
take the city. But, OAving to a few skirmishes,
Major-General Wright, commander of the de
partment, thought it prudent to call for more
"Squirrel Hunters," as it Avas believed a general
engagement was near at hand. The papers of
the city, September lltli, announced that before
they were distributed the sound of artillery might
be heard on the heights of Covington, and ad
vised their readers to keep cool, as the city Avas
safe beyond question.
It was under these circumstances Governor Tod
sent the following telegram to "The Press of
Cleveland" — "To the several Military Commit
tees of Northern Ohio : ' '
"Columbus, Sept. 10, 1862.
"By telegram from Major-General Wright,
commander-in-chief of Western forces, received

340 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
at two o'clock this morning, I am directed to send
all armed men that can be raised immediately
to Cincinnati. You will at once exert your
selves to execute this order. The men should be
armed, each furnished Avith a blanket and at least
tAA'O days' rations. Railroad companies are re
quested to furnish transportation of troops to the
exclusion of all other business."
The expected attack did not come. "General
Wallace gradually pushed out his advance a
little, and the Rebel pickets fell back. By the
11th, all felt that the danger Avas over. On the
12th, General Smith's hasty retreat Avas discovered.
On the 13th, Governor Tod checked the move
ments of the Squirrel Hunters, announced the
safety of Cincinnati, and expressed his congratu
lations." "Columbus, September 13, 1862.
"Eight o'clock A. M.
"To the Press of Cleveland:
"Copy of dispatch this moment received from
Major-General Wright, at Cincinnati : 'The
enemy is retreating. Until Ave knoAV more of
his intention and position, do not send any more
citizen-troops to this cit}'.' " And the Governor's
dispatch to the Cleveland Press, accompanjdng
the good ncAvs from Major-General Wright, says :
"The generous response from all pai'ts of the
state to the recent call, has Avon additional re-

RAILROAD AND TELEGRAPH ERA. 341
nown for the people of Ohio. The news Avliich
reached Cincinnati, that the patriotic men all
over the state were rushing to its defense, saved
our soil from invasion, and hence all good citi
zens Avill feel grateful to the patriotic men who
promptly offered their assistance."
The clear-minded Governor Tod, without
troops, guns or Avorks of defense, telegraphed
the Secretary of War that a large Rebel force
Avas moving on Cincinnati, "bid it would be
successfully met;" thirteen days after AA'ired the
following • "Columbus, September 13, 1862.
"To Hon. E. M. Stanton, Secretary of War,
"Washington, D. C.
"The Squirrel Hunters responded gloriously to
the call for the defense of Cincinnati — thousands
reached the city, and thousands more were en
route for it. The enemy having retreated, all
have been ordered back. This uprising of the
people is the cause of the retreat. You should
acknowledge pM6Zir-/y this gallant conduct."
The entire North-Avest resounded Avith praises
for Governor Tod and his thoughtful and success
ful expedient. To the "Squirrel Hunters," it
Avas not an entirely ucav thing ; they had often
heard of the times Avhen their fathers were the
actors at Cleveland, Fort Meigs and the Miamies,
and bore their honors Avith a degree of modesty

342 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
becoming their military equipments. When
Lewis Wallace, Major-General commanding, bid
these gallant men farcAvell, he said : "In coming
time, strangers viewing the Avorks on the hills of
Newport and Covington, will ask, 'Who built
these intrenchments?'* You can answer — 'We
built them.' If they ask 'Who guarded them?'
You can reply — 'We helped in thousands.' If
they inquire the result, your answer will be — 'The
enemy came and looked at them, and stole aAvay
in the night.' You have Avon much honor ; keep
your organizations ready to Avin more. The
people of Ohio appreciated this noble act of the
'Squirrel Hunters,' in saving the City of Cincin
nati, -by turning back the Rebel army and pre
vented the destruction of property by a dissolute
and desperate army."
And the Ohio Legislature, at its next session
adopted the following resolution :
"Resolved, By the Senate and House of Repre
sentatives of the State of Ohio, That the Gov
ernor be and he is hereby authorized and directed
to appropriate out of his contingent fund a suffi
cient sum to pay for printing and lithographing
discharges for the patriotic men of the state who
responded to the call of the governor and AA'ent
to the southern border to repel the invader, aa'Iio

* Ten miles in length.

RAILROAD AND TELEGRAPH ERA. 343
will be knoAvn in history as ' The Squirrel
Hunters.'" "James R. Huebell,
"Speaker of the House of Tlcpresentatives .
"P. Hitchcock,
"President pro tem. of the Senate.
"Columbus, March 11, 1863."

. -I:

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y.'.  '/¦ ^ /,.,.,/,..  ,., ,,„/./,.„/.„„,, A. „,//. ,.:, , /. .. .
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/¦ / / ¦ -^ . /

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y-'-'V'

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Governor's Certificate of Honorable Membership.

344 the squirrel hunters.
To this joint resolution of the legislature the
governor responded with a handsome souvenir
entitledTHE SQUIRREL HUNTER'S DISCHARGE.

03

oao
W

RAILROAD AND TELEGRAPH ERA. 345
A year after the services Avere performed, flf
teen thousand seven hundred and sixty-six were
issued to Squirrel Hunters, which, however, did
not embrace more than one-third of the number
that responded to the call and took part in the
defense of Cincinnati and the Kentucky cities.
Those Avith certiflcates and those having none,
but Avho responded to the call, are no less
"Squirrel Hunters," descendants of the Spirit of
'76 — a chosen people to maintain and perpetuate
the model government of the world.
From the Declaration of Independence to the
present time the poAver of this free people has
been as manifestly directed by unseen forces as
ever was that of the favorite nation which came
out from Egypt under a cloud ; and the influ
ences Avhich dictated the dedication of the North-
AA'est to freedom will not likely permit the pur
pose to be compromised or changed.
That which was considered a long duration
of the war, Avith frequent calls for troops, became
exceedingly discouraging. And it was evident,
after two years, that the strength of the federal
army was inadequate for successful offensive
operations. At the beginning of 1863, it required
nearly four hundred thousand recruits to flll the
companies and regiments then in service up to
the standard enumeration. Death, disaster, and
desertion begat inactivity, Avith an apparent ex
haustion of former volunteer supplies ; and se
cession was becoming more noisy and deflant in

346 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
all the loyal states. This condition of things
brought out the conscript act, and under it the
Provost-Marshal General's Bureau Avas organized
June 1, 1863, by James B. Fry, and early in 1864,
this efficient officer and his assistants had the
loyal states Avell canvassed, and thoroughly organ
ized, to obtain all the men necessary to put doAvn
the Rebellion. Each state was divided into dis
tricts ; each district was placed under the man
agement of commissioned officers, termed a Board
of Enrollment, con.sistiiig of a provost-marshal,
commissioner, and surgeon, whose business it was
to make a full and exact enrollment of all per
sons liable to conscription under the laAV of March
3, 1863, and its amendments, showing a com
plete exhibit of the military resources in men
over tAventy and under forty-five years of age,
with the names alphabetically arranged, Avith de
scription of person and occupation in each sub-
district. The enrollment being cleared of persons hav
ing manifest disability of a permanent character,
each sub-district (tOAvnship or Avard) Avas required
to furnish its assigned quota under calls for men,
AA'hether the able-bodied individuals enrolled con
tinued to reside in that sub-district or not. Unless it
could be shown such person or persons Avere cor
rectly enrolled in another sub-district, Avere in the
service uncredited or credited to another sub-dis
trict, the removal of residence could not relieve the

RAILROAD AND TELEGRAPH ERA. 347
obligation of the sub-district where such person
or persons Avere enrolled.
This UCAV arrangement at first was exceedingly
unpopular Avith rebel sympathisers in the loyal
states, but the bureau soon established a business
that impressed a belief in secession circles that
it was an energetic Avar measure that would soon
end the unpleasantness. This system of furnish
ing soldiers shoAved many advantages over that
of voluntary enlistments. Large demands for
men could be met immediately, and at the same
time it made every citizen, whether loyal or dis
loyal, equally interested in having the quotas
filled by means of bounties in order to avoid sub-
district drafts.
And from an enrollment of tAvo million tAvo
hundred and fifty-four thousand persons liable to
do military service, the bureau, in a brief period,
foTAvarded under calls of the government one mill
ion one hundred and twenty thousand six hun
dred and twenty-one able-bodied soldiers, and
with these, and those already in the field, the
would-be Southern Confederacy crumbled before
the federal power.
It cost the goA'crnment for raising troops from
the commencement of the war until May 1, 1863,
the date the recruiting service was turned over
to the Provost-Marshal General's Bureau, forty-
six million one hundred and tAventy-four thousand
one hundred and sixty-tAvo dollars, or thirty -four
dollars for each man, exclusive of pay or bounty,

348 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
Avhile putting soldiers in the service under the
conscript act cost the government nothing. The
Provost-Marshal General neither asked nor re
ceived an appropriation, but under the laAV he
made the bureau pay all attendant expenses, and
after paying out sixteen million nine hundred
and seventy-six thousand two hundred and eleven
dollars for recruiting over one million men and
capturing and forwarding seventy-six thousand
five hundred and tAventy-six deserters (now
Avards) , General Fry turned into the Treasury
of the United States, to the credit of the bureau,
nine million three hundred and ninety thousand
one hundred and five dollars, all of Avhicli proved
a matter of great economy to the government,
Avhile the recruiting of the army cost less than
one third as much as that adopted pre-vious to
the organization of the bureau, and that Avithout
cost to the government.
The draft- Avheel and its uses Avere not the most
pleasant things to contemplate, and to soften doAvn
the enactment Congress authorized recruiting iu
Southern states, regardless of color or previous
condition, that by means of agents and liberal
bounties yerj little drafting would likely be nec
essary. And it Avas soon discovered that blue
suits and muskets Avere quite becoming to the col
ored man. "The shape of the cranium, the
length of the forearm, thinness of the gastro
cnemius muscles, and flatness of the feet," all
disappeared at the War Office, and for Avhich Avas

RAILROAD AND TELEGRAPH ERA.

349

substituted, "He can be made a mechanical sol
dier to great perfection, skilled in the use of
arms, and the machinery of tactics ; and, by rea-

Draft AV heel— Twelfth District, Ohio.
Bo.\Ri) OF enrollment:
CAPT. GEO. W. liOBY, Provost Marshal.
A. KAGY, Commissioner of Enrollment.
DR. N. E. JONES, Surgeon Board of Enrollment.
son of the obstinacy of his disposition and the
depth of his passions, may become most poAver-

350 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
ful in a charge or in resisting the onset of an
enemy." The race Avas tried and shoAved the better pre
dictions true. Slavei'y had Avoven prejudices
around the name and color, until the govern
ment, under Lincoln, Stanton, Chase, and a Con
gress of loyal states, could find no place or mus
tering officer (previous to the operation of the
Provost Marshal General's Bureau), short of
Massachusetts, that could make the man of color
ready to obey orders and use a gun. Nothing in
history gives a clearer vicAV of the height and
depth of the degr'ading influences of the institu
tion upon those who Avere free than the treatment
of the loyal colored man and citizen during the
efforts of the gOA'ernment to save the Union.
Through fear or coAA'ardice his proffered aid Avas
rejected at government recruiting offices, AA'hile
Massachusetts Avas procuring colored credit from
the loyal states at unusually small bounties.
It may haA'e been so ordered ; the diet may
have contained enough meat to offend. Still, the
colored troops got to the front before the Avar AA'as
OA'er, and did much in reinforcing the wasting
armies and lifting anxious sub-districts out of the
draft, as aa'cU as coA'eiing their race AA'ith glory
by their bravery and efficiency.
Persons placed in the ser'vice by means of the
draft-Avheel generally prociir-ed substitutes — per
sons not liable to draft — aliens and under-age in
dividuals, Avho, for three years' seiA'ice or dur'ing

RAILROAD AND TELEGRAPH ERA, 351
the Avar, commanded one thousand dollars, Avhile
the bounty for enlistments of those liable to draft
varied from three to five hundred dollars. Dur
ing the war much of the territory of Ohio was
unimproved Avoods, though thickly settled Avitli
cabin civilization. These ucav settlements AA'ere
made by the descendants of original Squirrel
Hunters — persons born in the state, and Avith
this legacy generally established homes in ucav
counties, in the woods, Avith like primitive be
ginnings to those of their ancestors. At the an
nouncement of secession they AA'ere ready to serve
their country, and it Avas from these ncAver and
poorer sections that Ohio obtained her volun
teers — from a hardy and efficient class of young
men, accustomed to active life and the use of the
gun. The recruits from Ohio were chiefly volunteer
enlistments. This was manifestly so in the
Twelfth district, in Avhicli the author was person
ally and officially interested. The district Avas
composed of Ross, PickaAvay, Fairfield, Hocking,
Perry, and Pike counties, embracing sixty miles
in length of the fertile Scioto valley, containing
in 1860 one hundred and thirty-nine thousand
four hundred and fifty-six inhabitants, Avitli a
corrected enrollment of eighteen thousand three
hundred and seventy-one persons liable to mili
tary service. Of this enrollment, thirteen thou
sand six hundred and tAventy-eight Avere farmers,
and the remaining four thousand seven hundred

3;)2 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
and forty-three comprised persons of other occu
pations. Taking this district as an average of the other
districts in the state, it shoAvs the volunteers sent
to the front from Ohio Avere chiefiy young men
born in the state — hardy and Avell-developed
Squirrel Hunters. Of seventeen hundred and
fifty-fiA'e volunteers forAvarded by this district,
from July 4, 1864, to April 30, 1865, one thous
and, tAVO hundred and tAventy-nine Avere Ohio
boys, Avith an avei-age of 23.77 years — the re
maining five hundred and tAventy-six were from
tAventy-four states and fifteen foreign countries,
AA'ith an average of 27.13 years. Notwithstand
ing the more favorable age of the latter group
for physical development, the measurements stand
decidedly in favor of the Ohio born, and if adding
to the latter the nine hundred and eighty-seven
drafted men, natives of Ohio, the favorable differ
ence becomes still more apparent.
The Provost-Marshal General, in his report to
the War Department, states there AA'as not a
single district in all the loyal states in Avliich the
board of enrollment was free from the annoyance
of evil disposed persons hostile to the Govern
ment, Avho were ever ready and Avilling to em
barrass its operation by stimulating resistance to
the draft or discouraging enlistments. It AA'as
Avlien the disloyal element experienced the firm
ness and earnestness of the boards, and felt
the power behind them for the enforcement of

RAlLROAr) AND TELEciRAPH ERA. 353
the laAV, that they became co-laborers and most
successful recruiting agents. This Avas exceed
ingly gratifying to the Government, and caused
the Provost-AIarshal General to say to the Sec
retary of AVar : ' 'J am confident there is no class
of public servants to luhoni the country is more
indebted for valuable services rendered than the
District Provost-Marshals and their associates, com
prising the Boards of Enrollment, by ivhose efforts tlie
army of the Union, which suppressed the Rebellion,
rcas mainly recruited." Still, Hon. Hoke Smith,
ex-Rebel and Secretary of the Interior, published
the information that these recruiting officers are
not pensionable under the disability act of Con
gress, June 27, 1890, for the reason "these officers
were not in the ivar," and so says the present
Commissioner of Pensions, Hon. Henry Clay Ev
ens. Autocratic decisions are sometimes quite at
variance AA'ith sound sense as Avdl as suggestiA'e
of one of ex-President Lincoln's best stories.
It can not be said that the Ohio Squirrel
Hunters Avere not in the Avar, for not a fcAV of
them AA'ere pensioned long before the ex-secretar'y
surrendered his arms of rebellion against the
Government he noAV fosters. The oppressors of
slavery in their AA'icked attempts to destroy the
Union, induced a Avar that brought AA'ith it incal
culable sorroAV and suffering — a Avar that AAfords
and figures fail to give an approximate realiza
tion of its magnitude. Dollars can be measured
by millions, but the tears, heart aches and loss

354 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
of two hundred and eighty-seven thousand, seven
hundred and eighty-nine loyal men aa'Iio gaA'e their
lives for liberty, and are historically represented
by head-stones that whiten the national ceme-
taries, can no more be estimated than can the
good that must forever flow to the United States
in Aviping out the iniquitous chattel slavery.
Some persons are inclined to look upon the
evils folloAving the Avar — dissolute legislation,
moral turpitude, and political party profligacy,
as neutralizing much if not the entire national
benefits acquired at the enormous cost of the
Rebellion. While it is pos.sible, the corruption
foUoAving in the Avake of protracted wars Avith
large armies may more than counterbalance the
good accomplished by successful military achieve
ments, it is to be hoped that the subjugation of
southern rebels, giving freedom to millions of
slaves, and shoAving to credulous monarchs the
ability of a republic to coerce obedience to the
constitution and laAvs, may ever for good out-
Aveigli the evils foUoAving the war that accom
plished such everlasting benefits. That the lax
ity complained of has greatly increased AA'ithin
the last three decades can scar'cely be questioned.
Every department of the goA'ernment has been
more or less criticised for Avant of faithful per
formance. No department has perhaps suffered
more in the confidence of the people than that
political plum styled "The Interior."
The just and honorable cause for pensioning

RAILROAD AND TELEGRAPH ERA. 355
disabled soldiers soon became merged into poli
tics, and from head to foot the distance was
made short from fact to fraud. Noah's Ark did
not exceed in variety AA'ith all the species of
beasts, birds, and creeping things, that of the
contents of the Pension Building Avith a single
species of ex parte creation. Applications of all
kinds, shapes, and forms. This has never ap
peared unsatisfactory to that unscrupulous, un
mentionable, Avho is paid per head .by the bureau
for the art of filing claims. He knows by ex
perience the AVonderful ability of the institution
and its consulting politicians to overcome objec
tion and get the most angular cases through the
hole that leads to the public treasury.
If stated, it would scarcely be believed that
absolute fraud could find unrequited favor in an
office devoted to the most deserving of the na
tion — cases as groundless as the following : After
enlisting, a soldier changed his mind, and when
called upon to report forwarded a joint affidavit of
himself and physician, in Avliich was stated said
soldier had before and at the date of enlistment
permanent disabilities (naming them) , Avhich dis
qualified him for military service, and that he
should have been rejected. (Soldiers at that
date were sent forward Avithout regulation ex
amination) . Soldier received a discharge on the
affidaAdt and was happy.
In due time an application Avas made under
the arrears act, giving the diseases named in the

356 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
joint affidavit as having "occurred in the service
m line of duty." In days of honest administra
tion, in looking up the history of the applicant in
the War Office, the affidavit Avas found and
placed Avith the file in the Pension Office.
This ended the case, and under several admin
istrations it slept with attempts at fraud. Per
severance is said to be the road to success, and
by the stimulant of contingent fees intercession
Avas secured, and by management of good legal
advice the case Avas placed in the hands of a
"special examiner," and AA'ent through AA'ithout
the loss of a dollar, securing a small fortune in
arrears, but claiming the rating too Ioav, and
making immediate application for increase.
It Avould seem improbable for the heads of the
bureau not to knoAV and -fully understand some
of the many instances of perjury and fraud that
passed current through the office. It is the old
rejected or suspended cases Avith large arrears
that are attractive and are thoroughly investigated
for ncAV evidence. In this attempt parties gener
ally receive the courteous assistance of those
officially connected Avith the office. Even a med
ical referee has been knoAvn to shoAV great inter
est in barefaced fraud, and give tips to aid in
getting such through the bureau successfully.
General Phil Sheridan, Avho AvasAvell informed in
regard to the contents of the great Pension Office,
was told the contents Avere safe, as the building

RAILROAD AND TELEGRAPH ERA. 357
Avas fire-proof, and could never burn down, re
plied : ' 'That Avould be my serious objection to it. ' '
NotAvithstanding reports of corruption, fraud,
avarice, and greed for public plunder, which may
sloAV the advancing pace of ciA'ilization, there are
enough common people to preserve the nation —
people AA'ho Avorship not at the feet of the God of
Aaron ; poor people ; people who pay legal trib
ute to the gOA'ernment ; honest, stahvart stand
ard-bearers of morality, intelligence, and patriot
ism ; supporters of common-schools and churches ;
people who are ever Avatchful of the interests of
the nation, protect the sanctity of the ballot-box,
and direct the legal machinery for the protection
of virtue and suppression of vice, possessing salt
Avith the saA'or of moral honesty that passes cur
rent in business and social life.
The expressed Avill of the people is the laAV of
the land. It has made and amended constitu
tions ; by it black has become Avhite ; the bond
free ; slaves, citizens. It has erected monuments ;
built towns and cities ; and in Avar and times of
peace has accomplished much for the good of all.
It has muzzled many of the national vices, and
given civilization long strides in the right direc
tion. And the spirit of the age should by hiAV
hasten the end of groAAdng political struggles for
place regardless of qualification.
It has become a matter of common report, and
one that is generally believed, that successful ap
plicants for office by the suffrage of the people

358 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
are but seldom as much interested in the welfare
of their constituents as they are in their own
sycophantic obedience to selfish bosses, aa'Iio, un
der party cover, Avillingly contribute of their
wealth to perpetuate a party poAver that assures
the gratification of their OAvn greed for ill-gotten
gain. Qualification is recognized as essential by laAv,
and lies at the foundation of civil and military
service. State hiAvs require that teachers of com
mon schools furnish legal CA'idence of qualifica
tion for the pcsition. The commander of an
army must have a military education and quali
fication ; so, too, every appointment made through
the civil departments of the government, for a
short distance up the base, requires of the applicant
a certificate from a qualified board of censors, stat
ing that said applicant is in all respects fitted to
per'form the duties of the position applied for.
This is termed Civil atid Military Service, and has
been declared constitutional.
If so, Avhy may not the people demand more?
If a little ciA'il service meted out to those filling
subordinate positions is a benefit, Avhy may not
the like treatment be accorded to all candidates
seeking national positions, by appointment or di
rectly from the people? It is admitted that civil
KM'vice is a matter of safety and efficiency in sub
ordinate ciA'il positions. If so, it is not unrea
sonable to suppose the salutary effects Avould be
infinitely greater if applied to the more responsi-

RAILROAD AND TELEGRAPH ERA. 359
ble positions. Education and qualification for
all positions is the laAV of military government ;
and most certainly similar requirements might
be made equally advantageous to the ciA'il gov
ernment. Military government could not long
sustain existence without the service of pre
scribed regulations. The commanding general
of the army obtains the high honor of the posi
tion from his education and certified ability, and
efficiency as master of the science of Avar. The
President of the United States, being OA'er all as
commander-in-chief, should be thoroughly versed
in the ciA'il and military, as blaster of the Science
of Government, not only of our own, but that of
every nation on earth.
There does not appear to be any sufficient rea
son Avhy a government ciA'il service should not
exist and be as open to the election of coming
generations as that of laAV, medicine, literary or
other pursuits ; and it is not saying a Avord too
much to urge the necessity for an institution
adapted to the civil as West Point is to the mili-
itary poAver, Avhere persons haA'ing taken the de
gree of A.M. may matriculate and qualify them
selves for the ciA'il seiwice, and obtain a certificate
of such qualification from the institution, having
a prescribed -curriculum, requiring four years of
study to entitle one to examination for the honors
of graduation.
IndiA'iduals highly educated in the science
of government and the art of governing, fitted

360 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
for a field exclusively their own, would promote
an agreement upon the complex questions that
noAv agitate and endanger the peace of society by
keeping at fever heat party differences that are
magnified by designing politicians.
The high authority of the teachings of the
court of instructions, Avould define the policy and
giA'e stability to the Government, and would re
move party press for office by incompetency. It
Avould also determine the exact relations betAveen
the several departments of the Government, es
pecially hoAV far the President has power to in
volve the country in war against the will of
Congress by recognizing belligerency or inde
pendence in cases in Avhicli Congress refused such
recognition. As the nation increases in population and
number of states, it requires increased Avisdom
and knoAvledge to rule and make the people
prosperous and happy. The great central region
lying between the Ohio river, Lakes and Missis
sippi Avill ever be the heart of the Republic.
Within it are the life springs of three-fourths of
our country's Avhole area. NoAvhere in the United
States is there a basin of such vast extent, ca
pable of feeding so great a population. "Hence
its destiny is to hold the balance of pmver between East
and West, hence it is truly regal."*
When the first-born of the states of this creat

* "The flaking of the Ohio Vallev State

RAILROAD AND TELEGRAPH ERA. 361
basin came into the Union (Ohio) , it brought
Avith its baptism the inauguration of National
Internal Improvements — a policy that has enriched
the nation by liberality of expenditures, improving
harbors, water-Avays and roads, in building cus
tom-houses, post-offices, and in assisting the
states in many laudable undertakings, Avhile like
the miser, in all its vast Avealth has been Avearing
old, unbecoming, unfashionable clothes and doing
the business of the nation in rented and other
ill-begotten shops, located here and there, as best
suited real-estate sharks and speculators in a
sickly city.* But the daAvn of day is coming by
AA'hich the people of the North-west novf see it is
high time the Government should make for itself
a permanent home — a place of security for all the
valuable records of the nation. A spot for the
Government alone, called "The Capitol of the
United States," near the center of population con
trolling representation, free from private prop
erty. A capital with capacious senatorial, rep
resentative and judicial halls, contiguous to the
several departments, AA'ith state dAvellings for sena
tors and representatives of the several states,
and other necessary buildings, all to be owned

* The death rate per 1000 of the inhabitants of the present
capital is nearly double ordinary mortuary statistics of other
cities. A single fatal disease — consumption — shows a death
ratio per 1000, seven times greater than any city west of the
Alleghanv Mountains. — Hess.
31

362 THE SQUIRREL HUNTERS.
and controled by the Government, each con
structed with reference to the intended uses,
large enough to accommodate an ordinary peace
able assemblage of American citizens, AA'ith room
to spare.
The most celebrated speaker now living in
America, on reciting a visit to the present capi
tal during the sitting of Congress, states : "An
other thing that impressed me was, that the hall
of the House of Representatives Avas built in de
fiance of all laws of acoustics. There are more
echoes than can be counted to play havoc AA'ith a
speech, and turn the finest oratory into a sense
less gabble." A capital situated on the border
of an inland sea, with large grounds, parks,
lakes, lagoons, gardens, and fountains, in beauty
all that art and nature is able to make one
place on this continent fitly dedicated to the
keeping of the charter of the best government on
earth. And, then, if the croAvned heads of the
world have a desire to see the majesty of a Re
public, OAvned and preserved by the people, let
them come and look upon "The Capital of the
United States" — AA'here just laAvs are made and
interpreted alike for all the people.
A capital with the architectural requirements of
so great a nation, bristling AAdth "peacemakers"
and a floating mixj in sight, Avould increase
American pride and attachment, and do more to
advance the arts, sciences, and sound ciA'ilization
than all other national improvements combined.

RAILROAD AND TELEGRAPH ERA. 363
It Avould "copy the Monroe Doctrine into inter
national laAV," and secure peace over the entire
world. The Squirrel Hunters
of
Ohio and North-west will do it.
Good Night.

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