Stories of Pioneer Life

Front matter

Stories of _ PIONEER | : LIFE y

____ FLORENCE BASS poh

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Contents

The second Mayflower. Mounds in Ohio. The new home. Story of Isaac Williams. Story of Lockhart. Story of Josiah Hunt. Story of Captain Wells. Peace with the Indians.

Srory OF FRANCES SLOCUM

The lost girl. Her life among the Indians. Her discovery.

II

These hunters were brave, strong men. They had to protect themselves from wild animals and Indians, and to provide their own food and clothing.

They knew well how to use their rifles. They could load very quickly and fire very accurately. They thought it was a disgrace to waste a shot. Their aim was so sure that one man would even hold a board between his knees as a mark at which another might fire.

A hunter stood with his back against a tree when loading, that he might not be surprised by an enemy.

Once a hunter, who was able to load while

HUNTERS 33 running, was pursued by Indians. He fired his gun, killing one of them. The rest thought he could not shoot again, so they dropped their guns that they might run faster. But the hunter loaded as he ran. Soon he turned and fired again. He did this two or three times. At last the Indians gave up the chase, saying, ‘‘ No catch dat man; he gun always loaded.’’

I. FIRST VISIT TO KENTUCKY

10 wee BoonE was a great hunter. He had heard of the beautiful country of Kentucky, which was beyond the mountains west of his old home.

Boone and five other hunters came over the mountains into this beautiful land. It was a fine hunting ground with many deer, bears, wolves, panthers, buffaloes, and other animals.

For six months the hunters roamed through the forests. One day in the winter Boone and another man were captured by the Indians.

For a long time they saw no chance of escape. In order that the Indians might not watch them so closely, they acted as if they were satisfied to stay.

One night they found a chance to slip away without being seen. How glad they were to be free from the Indians again! They went back to the camp where they had been with the other hunters, but alas! no one was to be seen! Boone and his friend did not know what had become of their companions.

One day Boone’s brother and another man came over the mountains to join them. Boone must have been delighted to hear from his home! There were now four white men in the forest together. But the cruel Indians were watching them; and it was not long before they killed two of the hunters, and only Boone and his brother were left.

Soon the brother went home for more powder and lead, leaving Boone alone in the great forest. He must have felt strange with no friend near. He had not even a horse or a dog for company. His only food was the game that he killed; he had no bread, salt, nor sugar.

To hide from the Indians he often slept in the cane brakes, where all night he could hear the howling of wolves. There were about him many kinds of fierce, wild animals, and at all times he was in danger from the Indians.

But Boone was not afraid, for he loved the beautiful forest in spite of all its dangers. After three months his brother came back with powder, lead, and other supplies.

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Il. ATTEMPT TO REMOVE HIS FAMILY

Boone wandered through the forests of Kentucky for nearly two years; then he went to bring his family to live in the forest.

It was some time before they were ready to go. Several other families started with them to make their home in the new country.

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At night they camped out in rude tents which were made of poles and covered with bedding. Day and night the people were on the watch for Indians.

One day the men who drove the cattle had dropped somewhat behind the others, as the eattle could not go as fast as the people did. Suddenly a report was heard from the guns of the Indians who had been hiding behind trees. Six men who drove the cattle were killed. One of them was Boone’s son, slain by a shot from an Indian.

How sad all the people were then! They would go no farther into the new country so full of Indians. They went back to their old homes beyond the mountains.

III. BUILDING THE FORT

You may be sure that Boone was not willing to leave this beautiful land to the Indians. He wished to make a home here himself.

Some time after this he and several other men came again. They cut down trees and built a strong fort.

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There was a two-story log house at each corner of the fort. There were loopholes in the upper part through which the men might shoot. Such houses were called blockhouses.

DANIEL BOONE’S FORT

There were also several smaller cabins. The spaces between the cabins were filled by a high log fence, which was sometimes called a stockade. The logs were sharpened at the top and set deep in the ground, close enough to touch each other. Heavy wooden gates were made, to let the people in and out of the fort.

When this fort was done, Boone went back for his wife and children. This time they reached their new home in safety. The horses and cattle were driven into a large open space in the centre of the fort. Before long several families were living here.

IV. CAPTURE OF THE CHILDREN

As long as the people stayed in the fort, they were not in much danger. The Indians could not get in, and their bullets could not go through the thick walls. But the men needed to go outside to fish and hunt.

The women, too, knew how to use rifles, and they would shoot an Indian if he tried to harm them when the men were away. They could kill a deer if one happened to come near.

The men must go outside the fort to plant and tend their little crops of corn, beans, and potatoes. The Indians did not trouble this fort very much for some time, so perhaps the people grew a little careless.

One day three girls went outside the fort. One of them was Boone’s daughter Jemima, who was about fourteen years old. The other two were Betsey and Frances Calloway, fourteen and sixteen years old. They started out for a good time.

They saw a boat on the river and said, ‘‘ Let’s have a little row.’’ So they got into the boat and splashed merrily about for some time.

At last they turned to go home, when suddenly two fierce-looking Indians sprang out of the woods and seized the boat. Three more appeared, ready to shoot the girls if they tried to get away. They screamed loudly, and Betsey fought with her oar, but it did no good: the Indians carried them off through the woods.

Betsey reached up and broke the bushes as she passed along. She knew that her father would look for her, and she hoped he might follow her by seeing the broken bushes. The Indians soon made her stop this. Then she tore off little bits of her dress, and dropped them by the way.

The girls were much frightened to be carried thus away from home! They did not know how the Indians might treat them.

V. FINDING THE CHILDREN

You may believe there was trouble in the fort that night. When the hunters came home, they were told that their daughters had been carried away by the Indians.

Boone with several others started out at once to hunt for them. They went very carefully, for they thought, ‘‘ If the Indians see us coming for the girls, they will kill us and escape.”’

All the next day they kept up their search. Often they were guided by a broken bush or a bit of Betsey’s dress. At last they saw a light smoke curling up through the woods. They peered through the bushes, and there with the Indians were their daughters, nearly worn out with terror and fatigue.

Just as the hunters were ready to fire, the Indians saw them and ran, but not without losing four of their number.

The girls were now safe from their terrible danger. They had feared that they should never see their homes nor parents again. They had been taken thirty miles from the fort. The journey back seemed much shorter. No words can tell how great was their joy at being free from the Indians.

VI. BOONE’S CAPTURE

One thing that the people needed very much in the fort was salt. Not far away were some springs where the water that came up was very salty. Such places were called salt-licks, because many animals used to come here to lick the ground about the spring, for animals, too, need salt.

A salt-lick was a good place to go hunting. The men could hide in the bushes near it, and when the animals came it was easy to shoot them.

Men also came here to get salt for themselves. They boiled the salt water a long time. At last the water would disappear, and leave the salt.

One day Boone and some other hunters went to a salt-lick to make salt. Suddenly a number of Indians rushed out, captured Boone, and carried him away many miles, a great hardship for him.

The Indians watched him very closely. They did not intend to let him escape this time. As before, he acted as if he were willing to stay with them.

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ANIMALS AT A SALT-LICK

They soon grew very fond of him. An Indian adopted him in place of a son that he had lost. His head was shaved like an Indian’s, and his face was painted until he looked like one.

Sometimes they let him go out to hunt.

They made him show game for every bullet they gave him.

But he was sharper than they were. He cut the bullets in two, and saved half for himself. He was getting ready to run away.

VII. HIS ESCAPE

Boone stayed with the Indians a long time, for he found no chance to escape. The people at the fort thought that he was dead, and his wife went back to her old home.

One day he heard the Indians planning to go to his home, break down the fort, and kill the settlers. He knew then that he must escape to save his people.

The next morning he started out to hunt. He managed to slip away without being seen. He knew that the Indians would surely kill him if they found him again.

He dared not fire a gun, fearing that the Indians might hear it and find him. He could not light a fire, for fear they might see the tell-tale smoke.

For four days he travelled almost without stopping. During that time he had but one meal, which was a little dried meat he had carried with him.

On the fifth day he came in sight of the fort. He seemed more nearly dead than alive, having travelled one hundred sixty miles almost without food or rest. How surprised his friends were to see him!

He told them of the Indians’ plans against them. They made ready for the attack, and when the Indians came some time later, they were not able to break down the fort. It was saved because Boone had been so strong and brave.

VIII. HIS LATER DAYS

As the years went by, many more white people came to live in the new country. They were able to do some farming. Boone himself became a farmer as well as a hunter. He raised much tobacco.

One day he was at work in his drying shed, hanging up tobacco to dry. Four strong Indians slipped quietly in at the door before Boone saw them. Pointing their guns at him they said: ‘‘ Now, Boone, we got you; you no get away any more. We carry you off this time, sure. You no cheat us any more, Boone.’’

Boone looked down in surprise. He soon saw that they were the Indians whom he

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BOONE’S TOBACCO-DRYING SHED knew when he was a captive before. It seemed as if he would have no chance to get away this time.

He must have thought pretty fast as to how he could escape. He did not seem to be at all alarmed, but spoke to the Indians as friends. He kept talking to them pleasantly while he went on with his work.

He gathered up a few handfuls of very dry tobacco and suddenly threw the dust into their faces and eyes. Then he jumped down, pushed them aside, and ran past them very quickly.

They could not see him, for they were blinded by the fine tobacco dust. They stamped and raged with pain and anger at the trick he had played them. Boone was soon in his cabin and able to defend himself.

He lived to be a very old man, but he was never again captured by the Indians. He remained a good hunter to the end of his life. When he was eighty-four years old it is said he returned home with sixty beaver skins.

Flat-boats i ye remember that Boone and his friends journeyed across the mountains into the new country.

Many other people came down the Ohio River — not in steamers of course, for there were no such things in those days.

A FLAT-BOAT

They came in a flat-boat or house-boat. Sometimes it was called a “* Kentucky Ark.’’ It was a large flat raft, with a tent or little house upon it.

FLAT-BOATS 49

Here one or two families lived as they floated down the river. Would it not seem strange to camp out on a boat?

Such a boat could not go very fast, for it simply drifted down the river. The oars were used only to guide the boat. It was not always easy to make it go where the men wished. Sometimes it stuck fast upon a sand bar, and then it was hard work to push it into the water again.

Of course people did not travel very fast in flat-boats; but they were not in a hurry in those days. Sometimes it took several weeks to make the trip down the river.

In the early times such a journey was full of danger. The Indians were always watching for white people, and they were ready to capture and kill all they could.

Hundreds of these boats drifted down the river in the early times, and hundreds of people were killed by the Indians. Do you not think travellers must have been very brave to face such danger ?

II. AN OLD MAN’S STORY

Here is a story, told by an old man, of what happened when he was a little boy.

‘When I was ten years old, I came with my father’s family down the Ohio River in a flat-boat. Several families were in one boat, and our cattle were in another.

‘We were gliding down the river very safely, we thought. About ten o’clock at night we heard the terrible yells of the Indians who had a number of fires along the shores. We thought perhaps they had captured some white men and were killing them.

‘* We fastened our two boats together, and floated on as quietly as possible, hoping that the Indians would not see us.

‘‘ Just as we came opposite their fires, they commanded us to ‘ come to.’

‘‘ We were perfectly silent, for father had given strict orders that not a sound should be made, except from a gun. About a hundred Indians with a fearful cry jumped into their canoes and followed us. On we floated in dead silence; not an oar was touched,

FLAT-BOATS 51

‘* They came within a few yards of us. My mother quietly put an axe by the side of each man, keeping a hatchet for herself. The Indians kept on yelling and following us for three miles; still not a sound from us!

‘* At last the Indians became awed by this strange stillness. Perhaps they thought us a boat full of dead men floating down the river. They ceased to follow us, and we were safe once more.”’

III. ANOTHER INDIAN STORY

People who were attacked by the Indians did not often escape unharmed. Once a party of men, women, and children were coming down the river in a flat-boat.

Just at daylight, one foggy morning, some one called to them from the shore, asking to be taken on the boat. They knew that this was only a trick of the Indians to get them near the shore.

The men at once left their oars and went to their guns. The women and children were told to lie flat on their faces on the cabin floor and to keep as still as death.

Before long several canoes full of painted savages came swiftly toward them. Tables, boxes, and chairs were thrown from the flat-boat, that there might be more room to fight. The Indians were soon at hand, and a close, hot fight followed.

Three of the white men were killed and others were badly hurt. Several Indians lost their lives, and at last the rest pushed off for the shore, fairly beaten.

None of the women or children was hurt, except one little boy. When the fight was over, he asked to have a bullet taken from his sealp.

‘* That is not all, captain,’’ said the brave little fellow, as he held up his arm, showing where it had been shot at the elbow.

‘“ Why did you not tell us of this before? ’’ asked his mother.

‘* Because the captain told us to be still,”’ said the little boy. He was surely a brave little lad to bear so much pain in silence!

Blockhouses and Forts

HAVE told you about the fort in which Boone and his friends lived, and how it was made to protect them from the Indians. In those days all new settlers had to live in or near a fort. If there were only a few families, they sometimes had only one blockhouse. Their own little farms and cabins were not far away. Here they lived except in times of danger.

Sometimes they would hear that Indians were near, or a report would come that some one had been killed by them. Then every white person would hurry in great fright to the blockhouse.

One pioneer tells us what he remembers of such times: —

‘¢ When I was a little boy, the fort to which my father belonged was three-quarters of a mile away from our farm. Sometimes we were waked up in the dead of night, on account of danger from the Indians.

‘‘Once a messenger came softly to the house and gently tapped on the door, telling us that the Indians were near. Every one of us was up and wide awake at once. Father

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A BLOCKHOUSE seized his gun, while mother dressed the children as quickly as she could.

‘* T was the oldest of the children, so I was able to help carry things to the fort. There

BLOCKHOUSES AND FORTS 55 was no chance to get a horse to take us there, so we walked and carried what clothing and food we could find in the dark. We dared not light a candle or even stir a fire, fearing that the Indians might see us.

‘* We were as quiet as possible, as we made ready to leave our home. We took great care not to wake the youngest child, lest he might make a noise. The one word ‘ Indians’ was enough to keep the rest of us still. In a short time we were all safe inside the fort.”’

Often a number of families would be in their own homes in the evening, and before morning they would all be in the fort. The next day men with loaded guns would go back to the cabins and bring such needed things as they had not been able to take the night before.

The families stayed in the fort until the danger seemed past. Then they went back to their little cabins again.

I. THE SECOND MAYFLOWER yer have heard of a great war in this country which made us free from English rule. You have been told what a hard time our soldiers had and how bravely they fought.

When the war was over, there was not money enough to pay the soldiers, so our government offered to give them land in the new country, north of the Ohio River. There they could make new homes for themselves.

A number of them decided to go, and they began at once to make ready for the long journey. One cold day in December they left their homes in the Kast, starting out for the ‘“ Far West,’ as they called it.

They followed the Indian path over the mountains. After eight weeks they reached a small river. They expected to go the rest of the way to their new homes by water.

It was now so cold that they could go no farther till spring. While here, they built a large, strong boat which they named the Mayflower. Probably they were thinking of the little ship, Mayflower, that brought the Pilgrims to America many years before this.

This boat was not much like the ship for which it was named. It had a roof and strong sides that could stand against the bullets of the Indians.

In April all the little company entered this rude boat and floated down the river. On and on they went, down into the beautiful Ohio.

They landed opposite Fort Harmar, which was held by a number of soldiers. This fort made the people feel somewhat safer from the Indians.

How pleased they were with the new country that they had reached! Such big, fine trees they had never seen. Such rich, black soil and such fine weather were very promising. They began at once to build their houses. While building, they lived in the Mayflower.

There were fewer than fifty people in this first company. In about three months they were joined by nearly a hundred others, who had travelled nine weeks to reach this new home. —

II. MOUNDS IN OHIO

In this new country there were some queer earth mounds which were a great wonder to the new settlers. They were somewhat like little hills; but they were perfect in shape, smooth and regular. You know real hills are seldom like that.

ELEPHANT MOUND

Some of these mounds were built in the shape of animals. One was like an elephant, and another was like a serpent. The mounds were made so long ago that great trees have had time to grow upon them.

The Indians who lived there could not tell who built the mounds. Men have never found out surely who made them.

We know only that these mounds were made by men far back in the past, so it will hardly do to call this a new country. Indeed, it must be a very old country, though it was new to the people who came here more than a hundred years ago.

MOUNDS NEAR MARIETTA

The new settlers wished to preserve these old mounds. They built a fort upon one of them, thinking they could not find a better place. They took such good care that the mounds should not be destroyed that very many of them are still to be seen.

Ill. THE NEW HOME

The fort which the settlers built was whitewashed and looked very fine as the sun shone on it. They dug a well inside the fort, then began to clear the land and plant corn.

They laid out a little town, which was called Marietta. Then they made laws for their town, which were written out and nailed

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CAMPUS MARTIUS to a tree where everybody might learn them. All the people seemed glad to obey them. They had no other laws except these.

Before long a preacher came to live among these pioneers. He preached to them on Sundays, and taught the children during the week. ‘They had their school and their church in one of the blockhouses.

At first they were very happy in their new home. The soldiers at the fort said they had never seen such happy people.

The soil was so rich that the corn grew fast and tall. One man said to his friends in the East: ‘‘ Why do you waste your time trying to raise corn there? Here we have to stand on tip-toe to break off the ears. There you have to stoop down to get it.’’ Another man said, ‘* It would be as easy to be lost in a cornfield as in a cedar swamp.’’

Though the settlers enjoyed their beautiful, rich country, they had their troubles, too. They could not work outside the fort without danger from the savages. They must always be protected by armed men. The Indians could not bear to see the white man’s corn growing on their hunting ground.

As hundreds of white people began to settle in this new country, the Indians grew more enraged. At last they said in anger, ‘‘ No white man shall plant corn north of the Ohio River.”’

They did all they could to drive the white men out, killing many and carrying others away as prisoners. The Indians burned the crops and destroyed as much game as possible so that the settlers could not find food.

This soon led to war with the Indians. There were many cruel and bloody battles. At last, after a long time, the Indian was compelled to let the white man make his home in the new country. Then many of the Indians went farther west. Those who did not go were friendly to the white people.

IV. STORY OF ISAAC WILLIAMS

Fear of the Indians was not the only trouble the early settlers had. Sometimes it was hardly possible to get food.

At one time people had to eat nettles and potato tops. Once, food was so searce that little children had to live on half a potato a day.

At another time the people had nothing fit for use in making bread. It happened in this way. They had planted their corn as usual, but before it was ripe there was a heavy frost. After the corn was gathered it became mouldy, and when it was ground and made into bread, it made many people ill.

Yet even this poor corn sold at such a high price that the settlers could hardly afford to buy it.

I fear many of them would have starved, had it not been for a kind man, whose name was Isaac Williams. He had planted his corn early, and had gathered a fine harvest before the frost.

Some men who wanted to make money tried to buy his whole crop, offering him a dollar and a quarter a bushel for it.

Isaac Williams would not sell it to them. Instead, seeing how badly the settlers needed it, he let them have it for fifty cents a bushel. If they had not the money, he gave them the corn, taking only their promise to pay when they were able.

He was willing to help his neighbors, though he lost money by it. Such men make the world better.

V. STORY OF LOCKHART Some time after this one of the settlers was ill. When he began to get well, he wanted some deer meat. He asked a man, named

Lockhart, to go into the woods and kill a deer for him.

It was a dangerous thing to do, because there was an Indian war at the time, but Lockhart said at once that he would go. He went out into the forest and soon killed two fine deer. Then he started back for the fort.

Suddenly he met two Indians in the path. They were as much surprised as he was. Seeing his rifle, they at once sprang behind trees.

One of them happened to choose a tree too small to cover him. So Lockhart fired and wounded him.

Then the other Indian rushed out, thinking that the gun could not be fired again at once. but Lockhart had reloaded instantly and was ready for him.

The Indian, seeing that he was ready to shoot, ran back to the tree again. Lockhart, too, hid behind a tree. There both men stayed until it was nearly dark. Each was afraid to come out, because that would give the other a chance for the first shot.

At last Lockhart thought of a plan to get the Indian to leave his tree. Putting his hat on the end of his ramrod, the hunter pushed it very carefully around the tree.