The Highland weekly news. [volume] (Hillsborough [Hillsboro], Highland County, Ohio) 1853-1886, 1867-02-21
Historical Sketches of
Highland County.
By THE EDITOR.
By THE EDITOR
NUMBER XII.

'''1'''''1t t"utuHi on FOOt-LOpe beats tht
Indian and Kills the Bear-"AU Ouiet'
at Men Market Mccoy Settles nca,
Belfast IN lsOl-TRe Fiat Rt,,, Settlement
q The Finieys Settle on Wyhiteoak in 1900
Interesting account Of James B. Fi4,le,
and His WVe-LoUe in Log Cabin
Farming under DiGiculties-W Winter i,
the Hunting Bears and Trr-
hey8-Pioneer Hospitality, Conteatnpent
and Happiness.
"John Walters, who, with his family.
accompanied Nathaniel Pope to the Lees
Creek settlement, as already stated. set
tied and built his cabin on what is now
known as the old Pavey place, across the
creek from Leesburg The same fall.
James Howard moved in and built his
cabin on the hill near the trace to Chilli.
cothe, OH what Is now the site Of Loesburg.
Ills constituted the entire settlement. ex-
cept their Indian tieighbUrs, who were en-.
camped in large numbers ali along Rattle.
snake, as far down as the mouth of Fail
Creek They were almost daily visitors at
the little settlement and frequently Joined
the whites In huntng,
"Many Of the indians became uHi,s so,
cial, and as they acquired little English.
or the settlers learned some words of their
language, grow quite communicative
They POINTED out, wien on hunting ex-
petitions on the banks of Lees Creek.
Rattlesnuke, Hardin's and Fail Creeks
trees where they had secured prisoners in
former times. One day late in the fall. as
the Popes were hunting on the waters ol
Hardin's Creek, the dogs started a bear
which ran within hearing of an Indian
camp. The dogs of the Indian Joined in
the chase. The Popes were on horseback.
following the dogs The Indian met them
on foot, gun in hand, and intimated, half
by gestures, half by words, that he would
like to join in the sport if one ofthe whites
would dismOunt and thus place himself on
an equal footing with the Indian. Will
liam Pope readily accepted the banter. and
he and the Shawnee started on foot Tbay
soon got ahead of the horsemen, and pass
ing down the hill since occupied bv tbe
residence of Beverly Miner, Pope gained
on the Indian, but when they came TO the
creek the Indian ran straight tbroupb
while Pope made a slight curve to a rifle
after which the Indian gradually gained
ground, and finally reached the place
where the dogs had the bear treed about
the same time as Pope; but as Indians
like to save powder by getting close to the
mark, while he was creeping up to get a
shot, Pope took rest against a tree and
fired. The bear came down badly wound
ed, and desperate fight with the dogs en-
sued at the foot Of the tree. At length the
bear caught a favorite dog and was kill
ing him, Pope signed to the Indian, who
was nearest, to rush in and tomahawk the
bear, but he refused, simply saving.
"white man I" So Pope rushed into the
fight to save his dog, and by bravery and
good luck. succeeded in tomahawkiug and
knitting the bear until he was dead, Thev
then skinned him, and giving the Indian
as much of the meat as he chose to take.
they parted, often to meet again as friends
and enjoy the sport which the widespread
and unbroked forest of Hardin's Creek
then furnished in the greatest abundance.
ain the fall of 1900, Thomas Mccoy en-
igrated, with his wife and child on pack
horse and he on foot, rifle on shoulder
from Bourbon county, KY, to the Cherry
Fors Of Brush Creek. Early the next
spring he moved to the West Fork of Brush
Creek, built a cabin and settled down on
the land which is now the farm of John
Haigh, near the present town of Belfast,
then in Adams county. There were at that
time no white inhabitants i'm that vicinity.
nearer than the settlement on Flat Run,
which consisted of George Campbell.
stephen Clark, Philip Noland, Levin
and William Paris, and their
This settlement had been made
two or three years. Stephen Clark was
the first settler on Flat Run. Mr.. Mccoy,
lwho communicated these particulars to
Mr. Scott for his History,) says:
ain those days, in order to build a log
cabin, we had to collect help from four or
six miles around and could get but few
hands at that. Often our women would
turn out and assist us in rolling logs and
raising the cabins. But can say that we
enjoyed ourselves, with the hard labor and
humble fare, although deprived of many
of the necessariGs of1ife.. had TO 90 twen-
ty-seEen mikes for two bushels Of corn, and
pay three shillings and sixpence per bush
ell. This was the spring after settled on
the West Fork of Brush Creek. The wolves
were so bad that neither sheep nor hogs
could be raised Came was, however,
abundant, and the settler could ALWAYS
rely upon that for meat"
Nothing of note occurred at the New
Market settlement during the fall and win
ter of 1899. No newcomers arrived, and
hose who were there had an abundance of
5he substantial necessaries of life and some
Of the superhuiues. So they enjoyed
themselves as backwoodsmen, free from all
ofpolished society, usually do.
ain the early part Of the spring Of 1901,
lanes b. Finley moved up from Chilli
,othe and settled on a tract Of land recent
y purchased by his father, on the banks of
Whiteoak Creek. He built his cabin near
.he present residence Of Judge johnson,