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hair, or dry leaves, so as to keep the feet comfortably warm, but in wet weather it was usually said the wearing them was a decent way of going barefooted ; ' and such was the fact, owing to the spongy texture of the leather of which they were made.

"Owing to the defective covering of the feet, more than to any other circumstance, the greater number of hunters were afflicted with rheumatism in their limbs. Of this disease they were all apprehensive in cold or wet weather, and therefore always slept with their feet to the fire, to prevent or cure it, as well as they could. This practice unquestionably had a very salutary effect, and prevented many of them from becoming confirmed cripples in early life." This description, while of interest as revealing the shifts of the times, also brings that period near to us, and so dispels, by evident accompanying discomforts, the glamour gathered about the buckskin garments of the forest dwellers of the early day.

Rude covering of deerskin gradually gave way to suits of linen and woolen. Sheep required much care to protect them from wolves, and the cash price of the coarsest wool was half a dollar per pound. One or two acres of land were sown to flax, expressly for lint. When ripe, the young people were invited, as to a frolic, and the flax was speedily pulled, and then such as had no religious scruples against dancing, remained after supper, to enjoy an hour or so in the pleasures of the dance.

Months of hard labor were required to earn a suit of clothes, and the use of boots and shoes was dispensed with by men now affluent, until long after the first falls of snow. The price for an ordinary pair of cowhide boots was $7, and this was paid in produce, at low rates.

The flax prepared for the wheel, now rarely seen, and the loom, was spun and woven by the mothers and the daughters, and with the woolen yarn were made up into warm, serviceable garments. The buzz of the spinning-wheel and the double shake of the loom were pleasant sounds, and their operation was a favorite avocation. The long web, unfurled upon a grassy spot, was left to bleach in the sun, under care and supervision, and when of snowy whiteness, were made up into shirts, sheets and summer wear. Sabbath and holiday suits were worn with laudable pride, as the skillful handiwork of mother, wife or daughter.

In the larger Eastern towns, British goods were worn, but in the West they were unknown. The love of dress was not here wanting, but the means of gratifying it. Fashion had its votaries, but changes were infrequent and exactions not severe. A calico dress, made up by the wearer, served not only for the reception of company at home, but also for the party at the neighbor's. The wearer looked in nowise less attractive than do those clad in the richer fabrics of to-day, and few excused themselves from social gatherings upon the plea of "nothing to wear." It was not until 1836, that Levi Spayd, the first tailor in Greenville, and still a resident, opened a shop for the making of mens' apparel. The women, as has been said, made up the cloth and garments worn by them. Carding-mills came later than the period of which we speak, and it was rare to see a person dressed in store clothes..

Girls spun cheerily with lightsome tread and quick movement, under the prospect of receiving 75 cents a week, and, in 1823, you might have gone in Greenville to the stores of John S. Douglass, Nicholas Greenham or of the House brothers, Isaac and Henry, and pricing calico, found it held at 40 to 50 cents a yard. Society in that early day knew little factional distinction, and the love of liberty and the maintenance of lofty sentiments were cherished by industry. and no dignity of character was held more precious than that derived from conscious and acknowledged worth. The opinion of the public and the sentiments of the aged were estimated at full value. True manhood was exampled in principle, integrity and independence, fitly expressed in the saying of an eminent old writer: The inbred loyalty unto virtue which can serve her without a livery." The amusements of young and old were enjoyed with zest. There were huskings and

quiltings, woodchoppings, loggings and raisings, celebrations and musters, and each was a glad occasion. There was a double sense of enjoyment, the consciousness of profitable and necessary employment and familiar intercourse. Visits were made without formality, and were received with genuine satisfaction. Horseback riding for business or pleasure was common to both sexes, since horses could pass where tree and stump forbade the use of wheeled vehicles.

To-day, society, labor, dress and mode of travel are all changed. There is more formality and less happiness. There are fictitious distinctions of clans, but the records of the past honor the pioneer as the people of the present are doing noble work in the continuation of past labors.

Living in houses that are clapboarded, painted, blinded, and comfortably warmed and supplied with every essential and luxury of the age, we may look upon the old-fashioned implements as indispensable to the time, and present relics. They are seen as curiosities, guide-marks of progress in scientific and mechanical skill, while contemplated by the pioneer whose brawny arm had heaped and burned the log-heap, he muses as if his senses were steeped in shadowy dream. He sees again "the sleepless wilderness, a scene of wild expanse and nameless grandeur comes before his mind,

"The voice of Nature's very self drops low,

As tho' she whispered of the long ago,

When down the wandering stream the rude canoe

Of some lone trapper glided into view,

And loitered down the watery path that led
Thro' forest depths that only knew the tread
Of savage beasts, and wild barbarians
That skulked about with blood upon their hands
And murder in their hearts. The light of day
Might barely pierce the gloominess that lay
Like some dark pall across the water's face,
And folded all the land in its embrace;
The panther's screaming, and the bear's low growl,
The snake's sharp rattle, and the wolf's wild howl;
The owl's grim chuckle, as it rose and fell

In alternation with the Indian's yell,
Made fitting prelude for the gory plays
That were enacted in the early days.

"Now, o'er the vision, like a mirage, falls
The old log cabin with its dingy walls,

And crippled chimney, with the crutch-like prop
Beneath a sagging shoulder at the top.
The coonskin battened fast on either side,
The wisps of leaf tobacco, cut and dried;
The yellow strands of quartered apples hung
In rich festoons that tangle in among
The morning-glory vines that clamber o'er
The little clapboard roof above the door;
Again, thro' mists of memory arise
The simple scenes of home, before the eyes;
The happy mother humming with her wheel,
The dear old melodies that used to steal
So drowsily upon the summer air,
The house dog hid his bone, forgot his care,
And nestled at her feet, to dream, perchance,
Some cooling dream of winter-time romance.
The square of sunshine through the open door
That notched its edge across the puncheon floor,
And made a golden coverlet whereon
The god of slumber had a picture drawn
Of babyhood, in all the loveliness

Of dimpled cheek and limb and linsey dress.
The bough-filled fireplace and the mantle wide,
Its fire scorched ankles stretched on either side,

Where, perched upon its shoulders 'neath the joist,
The old clock hiccoughed, harsh and husky-voiced;
Tomatoes, red and yellow, in a row,

Preserved not then for diet but for show;
The jars of jelly, with their dainty tops;
Bunches of pennyroyal and cordial drops,
The flask of camphor and the vial of squills,
The box of buttons, garden-seeds and pills.
And thus the pioneer and helpsome aged wife
Reflectively reviews the scenes of early life."

REMINISCENCES-LAND PRICES AND PAYMENTS-FARMING IMPLEMENTS-CONDITION OF COUNTY IN 1824.

"Each of us is only the footing-up of a double column of figures that goes back to the first pair" asserts a great truth, since each generation inherits not alone the features, but much of the moral, mental and physical constitution, of that preceding. The sayings of our predecessors, perhaps reduplicated, are worthy of record since they speak knowingly of those who lived and toiled with them. W. S. Harper has written regarding the habits and manners of early settlers, as follows: "Darke County was first settled by an industrious, hardy race of pioneers, poor men who had been renters in other parts of the State. As soon as they were able to raise $100 or upward, they came here and invested it in land in order that they might have a home of their own, and not be compelled to work one-third of their time for an exacting landlord. As about all the means of the settlers were laid out in land, and as there was a heavy growth of timber all over the county to be cleared away before there could be anything raised to live upon, and as every man was solely dependent on his own labor and that of his family for the improvement of his farm, with this scanty help, he had many hindrances to combat. Three months of the year, sickness prevailed to such an extent that there were scarcely well persons enough to take care of the sick. To procure breadstuff, milling had to be done many miles from home. A single trip occupied from two to five days. Salt and leather must be had once a year by a journey to Cincinnati, which required from seven to ten days. If, as was sometimes the case, some products were in excess of the family need, and it was desired to sell, there was no market nearer than Piqua or Dayton, and the roads were so intolerably bad that it required a good span of horses in the most favorable season of the year to haul twenty-five bushels of wheat. There were many other hindrances of less magnitude, such as visiting the sick, administering to the needy, assisting to raise buildings, roll logs, keeping the vermin' from the growing crop, and hunting to supply the table with meat.

"To make money was out of the question, and no one fretted over it. If there could be enough money procured by selling wheat at 3 shillings 11 pence per bushel, or by disposing of deerskins and hams, or coonskins, or hoop-poles, to procure salt and leather, coffee for Sunday mornings, and to pay taxes, it was all that was expected; and the recipients of these means of defraying expenses were more than thankful and better contented therewith than the frugal farmer of the present day with his abundance. Under these and other disadvantages, the county improved slowly. When a spot of ground was cleared and fenced, the ground being dotted over with green stumps and roots, the farmer entered the field to prepare a crop with his team, bar-shear or bull-plow, and after whooping, hallooing, fretting, scolding and often getting heavy blows upon his ribs, and abrasions of skin, and working on in this way for a week, he had gone over the field, which then presented the appearance of having been rooted over by a drove of swine in search of edible roots.

"Little of the land was fenced, and roads were made in every direction according to individual fancy, and without regard to land lines, the one object being to shun wet land and the larger logs. When any part of the road became almost

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impassable, improvement was made by laying poles or rails across the track and throwing upon them dirt to keep them down; to repair one rod of such road was considered a day's work. As poor a makeshift as this was, it was the best that could be done in those days. It is doubtful whether as late as 1820, there was money enough in the country to pay for the building of ten miles of turnpike. Under the impulse of making, having, living at and enjoying a home, the people in their poverty labored diligently, lived frugally, and contentedly cleared up their farms, minded their own business, helped their neighbors, and were accorded the favor and blessing of their God. As the country was improved, houses of worship were erected, and the settlers in plainness and simplicity of speech met in them and at their own homes to worship the Giver of all good. There was more love for neighbors, more sympathy for suffering humanity, more benevolence, more of every grace that adorns the Christian character, than can be found in our country at the present day. Those plain, frugal and industrious pioneers have laid the foundation of one of the finest counties in the State of Ohio. With over eight hundred miles of turnpike, 2,000 miles of open ditches, and 10,000 miles of tile ditches; with broad acres, fertile fields and manifest natural and acquired advantages, the people are greatly blessed."

This statement, made by one familiar with this subject after years of observ ation and experience, seems fully warranted in the essential facts. Increase of population has bestowed strength, divide burdens and restricted intercourse. The channel of feeling flows, perhaps not as deep, although the depth is not discoverable, and the people in the main have greatly improved upon the past.

The early conditions of society made it necessary that men, while seeking such opportunities as were presented to pursue their trade or profession, should base their means of subsistence upon the ownership and cultivation of land. It was not unusual to find the blacksmith-shop near the house, to which he came when wanted from his field, the preacher toiled during the week, and exhorted upon the Sabbath, the teacher shared in this condition, and was by no means exempt from the law of necessity governing the settlements, as is demonstrated by the following reminiscence of Dennis Hart. This person came in November, 1817, to Darke County, and entered a tract of Government land at what was known as "Yankee Town in the township of Harrison. He found the land heavily timbered and sparsely inhabited, and therefore abandoned this tract in the fall of 1819, and located on Bridge Creek, on the lands of George W. N. Night. As winter approached, the settlers desiring a school, he opened a rate school in an old log cabin, the property of Joseph Townsend, and taught a satisfactory term. The next year, the citizens in that neighborhood built a log schoolhouse on the Greenville and Eaton road, just east of where now stands the house of A. H. Van Dyck, and he was called to serve as the teacher during the winters of 1820-21. His wife died in the former year, and two years later he married Jane McClure, then a resident on Whitewater, near the McClure and Provines settlement. Miss McClure had come to Darke from Kentucky with her father in 1812, when ten years of age, and had grown familiar with a life in the forest, and with its vicissitudes, as several of her father's best horses had been stolen by Indians shortly after his settlement in Darke County. Teachers of the present complain of low wages, but Mr. Hart, as teacher in that day-sixty years ago-agreed to take his wages in corn, meat, potatoes, in short, anything he could use and the settlers could spare. Money payment was out of the question, and his necessity was great. He says: "I was poor and scarce of money, and my clothing was not of the kind suitable for a cold winter, for I had to go many times to Adam's mill, which was some five miles distant, for a grist of corn-meal, after dismissing my school at night.

"One day I went to Greenville to try to get some warmer clothes, especially a pair of pantaloons, but had no money. I called at the store of Abram Scribner, and told him what was wanted and that I wished to pay him in trade from the articles received for services as teacher. He replied that he was not in need of

corn, potatoes or produce of any kind, and such an exchange would not suit him, but that he would let me have the clothing and receive the pay in whisky. I then went to William and Robert Rood, who were operating a little distillery and horse, mill on the bottom land between Greenville and Mina, on the north side of Greenville Creek, sold them my corn at somewhat less than the market price, and received in exchange whisky at a higher rate than the Greenville merchant would allow, but succeeded in settling the account "—the last one for which Mr. Hart ever ran in debt.

Times have changed since then, in truth. Teachers no longer need to patronize distilleries to clothe themselves, and salaries are promptly paid in money. Judson Jaqua's experience and information form an interesting relation in connection with the foregoing, since, in addition to information of points of settlement, there is a statement of the disposition of the section set apart for schools and of a stimulus given to educational interests. He moved into Darke County in the spring of 1819, and "settled in the woods where there was not a tree amiss, except such as had been felled by hunters of bees and raccoons. A small opening had been made by Hart prior to his removal toward Greenville, and a settlement was soon formed by the arrival and settlement here of a number of families. Among the earliest on the ground were two or three New Englanders, and from that circumstance the settlement derived its name of Yankee Town. No schools were known at this time to be in session. Our Section 16, had been rented some years on a lease for ninetynine years, forever renewable, with interest at 6 per cent on its appraised value, but there had been no payment of rent, as there were no schools. At an election held in 1821, Mr. Jaqua was chosen Justice of the Peace, and thereby came into possession of a law-book, which being examined, there was found an act defining the method whereby school districts could be laid off, and acting on this information, the people defined the boundaries of a district which they entitled No. 1. They now began to inquire about the rent due on Section 16. This drew the attention of other settlements, and more districts were duly formed. New Madison was then Fort Black, and the block-house was still standing, its day of service past. Zadoc Smith had staked off some lots, and then sold out to E. Putnam, who had secured the services of Henry D. Williams, by whom the place was duly laid out. At this time there was, also, a semi-military station called Fort Nesbit on Section 29, but no town, and a good settlement on Whitewater Creek, extending from the south county line as far up as McClure's, lately C. C. Walker's place.

While alluding to the general privations of the early settler, we may dwell upon one embarrassment which bore heavily upon his energies, and which to this generation is measurably unknown. Poor as he usually was, the settler, alone or with his family, had entered upon his westward journey with sufficient means to enter a tract of Government land. He knew that from the soil must come supplies of food; but a noble growth of timber-sure token of fertility-encumbered the ground, and must first be removed before grain or vegetable could grow. Hard labor as it was, many found actual enjoyment therein, and, had no obstacles existed beyond the actual clearing, the woodsmen could have done their work without great difficulty. It is a pleasure, at this late day, to listen to the narrations of those who, when children, came upon their farms in this now favored section, and thereon have grown old in all but the evergreen memories of those first impressions. Differing in names, dates and locality of the settlement, the history of one of Darke County's pioneers is like to that of all. As units of the number in the force engaged in rendering subservient to the man the wild luxuriance of nature, the greatest troubles were met by those who led the van. When land had been chosen and improved somewhat, when lapse of time brought the day of payment and there was no money, nor the means to procure any, and when, suffering sickness and enduring hunger, default of payment or foreclosure of a claim drove the family from such home as had been made, then, in truth, was hardship known; yet such was the reward of many who cleared land in Darke. As the law then

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