ing the Ohio it continued its way almost in a direct line to the westward.21

How the Kirkwood party fared on the journey, whether they put up at night in taverns or in less pretentious road-houses which lined the way or slept in the open in the shelter of their wagon, how long they were on the road — all these and other details which would be of interest must be left to the imagination. Only one incident of the long trip apparently remained firmly fixed in the memory of the youngest member of the party. All the money belonging to the family had been put in a common purse and entrusted to the care of John, the oldest son. One morning upon arising and preparing for another day's travel it was discovered to their great consternation that the bag of money was missing. Here, indeed, was a pretty situation! Not only had they lost their small accumulations with which they had planned to buy land and the things necessary to set up a new home, but even on the Cumberland Road they could not travel far without at least a little money. There were tolls to pay and they must have food for themselves and their horses. Robbery of course was feared, but nevertheless a diligent search was made. The contents of the wagon were feverishly ransacked, but to no avail. At length the precious bag was found in the very bottom of the wagon, where it had fallen through the

chinks between the articles which made up the load.22 It is needless to say that thereafter the purse was guarded with even more jealous

care.

Doubtless Jabez Kirkwood and his sons had already definitely determined upon the region where they would seek for land. In 1835 the country in north-central Ohio, somewhat back from the lake and away from the principal lines of travel, still offered better opportunities to settlers than were to be found in the more developed portions of the State. To reach this region the Kirkwoods would have the choice of at least two well-defined courses after crossing the Ohio River at Wheeling. From Bridgeport, across the river from Wheeling, there was a road running to the northwest through Cadiz and New Philadelphia to Wooster; and thence another road led westward to Mansfield in the heart of the region toward which the travelers were wending their way. Or they might proceed along the National Road across the State of Ohio until they reached a point about midway between Zanesville and Columbus, where they would strike a road running north through Newark and Mt. Vernon to Mansfield.23

Although there is no way of telling which of these two routes the Kirkwoods adopted, they found themselves in Richland County, where the father was to spend the remainder of his days,

and where Samuel was to live for twenty years

years which gave to him the maturity and wide experience which fitted him later to assume a position of leadership in another western Commonwealth.

III

FIRST YEARS IN RICHLAND COUNTY

RICHLAND COUNTY, Ohio, had long ceased to be a frontier region before the Kirkwoods arrived: it was a well settled community in which nearly all the public land had been taken up and covered with prosperous farm homes. Indeed, the population of the county in 1835 must have been upwards of thirty thousand, for this was the period of the flood tide of emigration to Ohio.24 Along the forks of the Mohican there were settlements as early as the year 1809, and during the following years there poured in a stream of pioneers, chiefly from Pennsylvania. Of these early settlers some were of German origin, while large numbers were Scotch-Irish Presbyterians;25 and thus it goes without saying that they were a thrifty lot. At the same time it was remarked that the inhabitants were somewhat "behind the age in enterprise and public spirit", the assigned reason being that they lived so far "distant from any of the public improvements of the day". But in 1837 it was predicted that this handicap would soon be removed by the building of railroads and

canals, several of which were even then projected.26

The character of the soil was indicated by the name of the county. Its surface was gently rolling, though in the southern part it might be called hilly; and throughout its length and breadth there was scarcely any waste land. Wheat, at that time the principal agricultural product, was manufactured into flour within the county and hauled overland to Lake Erie or to the Erie and Ohio Canal, whence it was shipped by boat to eastern markets. During the grainhauling season "the highway was often blocked with long trains of wagons that would not give way for other vehicles. At night the wagons would be parked on the roadside near a creek, and the farmers and their boys would have a regular joyous picnic on provisions brought from home." The county was "also famed for its fine horses and neat cattle."'27

It was in the hilly region in the southern part of the county, sixteen or seventeen miles by road southeast from Mansfield, the county seat and principal town, that the Kirkwoods halted. The father soon afterward filed on eighty acres of wild government land which was covered with a dense growth of timber; while John bought an adjoining quarter section scarcely less in readiness for cultivation. On John's land there was a log cabin in the midst of a