Portage sentinel. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1845-1854, 1852-02-23

| HIS course ior tNeW Lng rama, on Inc Iholo
path from the Reserve along the lax
shore to Buffalo. - ....s,z,...,-. ,s..-..-
| On 24.h October, 1901, church wa
constituted in Auslnburg with six,ee
members This was the first church CO.
lec,ed ON the Reserve. The missionar
arrived al Buffalo on The 1st Of Novenber
was confined there with fever eieye
days, then rode TO Bloomfield aud was de
tanned by sickness three weeks. Havin
recovered pretty good degree Of health
he proceeded moderately, and reached hi
iamily residence in BlantoEd about the frs
of January, 1902, having been absent from
his family more than year.
At a meeting Of the missionary society
he agreed 10 move to the west: made prep
ara:ions and began his journey in Febru
ary. Alter a long and wearisome jour
ney, he arrived at buffalo the last of April
with his wife and six children. Wher,
that large city now stands there was only
four or SIX log cabins. Here was the EN-
| Of all but Indian residences for nearly
eighty miles and only an Indian path
He had man to go before the team ant
| chop out all that was necessary TO open ths
passage. His team, q wagon and fou
horses, was the first that ever crossed
Buffalo creek. He was four days passing
through the wilderness to the first house il
Pennsylvania. They slept safely in tht
woods under the wutchful care of Hin
who never slumbers nor sleeps. They ar.
rived al Aus.inburg the forepart OF May
very weary, and worn out with the jour.
ney, butin pretty good health. They are
now in the midst oil on unbroken forest, OF
nearly SO, abounding with the savage men
and beasts OF prey. A cabin Of logs is
erected and covered, so as to form a shell.
ter from the rain, but wiihou. door. chink,
or floor; and having collected some pro-
vision Tor The family, he entered the mis-
sionary field again, and began visiting and
preaching in the scattered settlements, as
he had done the year before; frequently
forcing or swimming through streams of
water, without any regular road, and some.
times without marked tree or bride path.
Between those settlements, where there
was considerable passing, the mud began
10 tread up and become almos, impossible.
After the winter set in, he had consider
able stream TO pass-came to the ford-it
was all filled with ice from bank to bank,
about ten rods wide; he went up the stream
about two miles, found an open place on
rapid and rode across--made his horse
jump two large trees that lay in The water,
and got to a house, cold and hungry,
about setting Of the sun.
In the month of March, the missionary
walked about eight miles to preach to
small settlement. In his way he had to
cross the Cuyahoga on the ice, hoping to
have the same bridge on his return: but
when he came back the next day, the ice
was all gone. He had no alternative but
to ford the stream: he walked through,
water about three feet in depth, strong
current, and exceeding cold-width about
six rods. 4e=.5, 2 ..sy. ,.--. ...
At another time, sabbath morning, hav.
ing been prevented by heavy rains from
reaching his appointment, he rode few
miles, swan his horse through a stream
swollen by the rain, and got very wet;
had 10 perform service in his wet clothes.
Several times in passing from one selt!e>
ment to another, fifteen or twenty miles,
he was overtaken in the night and lay in
the woods. III -.
In February, 1903, man by the name
of q. Beckwith, in passing from one set.
Element 10 another, was overlaken by the
night and froze to death, leaving q wife
and two small children. A Mr.. Fowler,
who came on with goods from Connecticut,
,here being no passable road for teamlng,
having collected quantity of stone and
lumber, in making the experiment to raft
down the Beaver falls, was drowned. 1t
would be almost On endless task, even for
a man in good health, to name the many
incidental and unexpected difficulties that
fell in the way Of the pioneers in their set
Element of this almost unlimited vest
But il was so ordered that men of enter..
prising spirit, with a. determination 10 go
ahead, began the great work. One fami.
ly came on from Connecticut iE the spring
Of 1900, with a large OK team and team
of stout horses. In passing through the
wood from Warren TO Aurora, where they
settled, a distance of about twenty miles
without house, they were overtaken by a
frigh,ful tornado that threw down the tim.
Der all around them; they had to send oack
to Warren for q help TO cut out a wny for
them 10 pass. After this providentia; pro-
lection, and sleeging in the woods, they ar
rived safely nexfday at their home, where
they lived six years before another settler
came into the place. 1t is now one of the
best settled townships, with q large brick
church and good Presbyterian minister.
| approve Of your Pioneer plan, and
should be glad to take and encourage the
work; bu. am an old man, 81 years oI
age, and in a very low state Of health
among the poor OF this world; | shall soon
go to the grave. 1t has been three days
painful work to write this letter.
Yours, respectfully.
.f. JOSEPH BADGER.
Too Much WoRK,-Every man ough
to have period in each day to which he
can look forward as his time of relaxation