The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1869-07-28

AOAs AnOnf1S 'EW1nS7S Early
Pioneer Life.
The. following are extracts from
autobiographical SKETCH by the
venerable Thomas Ewing:
"AIy father settled in what is now
Ames township, Athens county,
early in April, 1889. He removed
from the mouth of Olive Green
Creek, on the Muskingum River,
and the nearest neighbor with whom
we had association was in that direc-
ton, distant. about eighteen miles.
Ihere We're a few families settled
about the same time, on or near the
present site of the town. of Athens /:
but no road or even pathway led to
them the distance was about twelve
miles. There was alec a pioneer
hunter encamped at the mouth OF
Federal creek, distant about ten
miles. This, as far as L know COM
pRised the population statistics of
what IS now Athens county. I do
not know the date of the settlement
In what was called No. 5-Cooley's
settlement-It was early.
"Atthe time of my fathers re-
movab was with my aunt, Mrs.
Morgan, near West Liberty, Va,
going to school. I was a few months
IN my ninth year. Early in the
year 1873, 1 think in May, my uncle
brought me home. We descended
the Ohio river in a fiat boat to the
mouth OF the Little Hooking, and
crossed a bottom and pine hill,
along dim foot-path, some ten or
nfteen miles, and took quarters for
the night at Daitey's camp, L was
fIFGn L.
Ded which. the rough old dame
spread for me, and in the mornino1
my uncle engaged son of our host,
9 boy of eighteen, who had seen nv
fathers cabin, to pilot us. -,
II was now at home, and fairly an
tnceptiYe citizen of the future Athens
county. = The young savage. our pi-
top Was much struck with some of
tne rude implements OF civilization
Whlcn ne saw my brother using
especially the small augur, and ex-
pressed the opinion that with an ak
ana ~ an augur man can make every
tnlng ne wanted, except a gun and
DuIteE moutds. Ny brother was en-
gagged IN making some bedsteads,
he mad already finished a table, in
tne manufacture of which he had
also used an adj 10 smooth the plank,
which he sPlitfn good width from
straig ght-graiued tFess, 80
transportation was exceedingly
nltieHltI and our furniture, of the
rndest kind, composed of articles of
theO trst necessity. Our Kitchen
utensils were the big kettle,n @the
little kettle" the bake oven, frying
pan and pot. The latter had small
hole in the bottom, which was
mended with a button, keyed with
a nail through the eyeon the outside
OF the pot. We had no table furni-
lure that would break-littIe of any
klnd. Our. meat--bear meat or rae
coon, Yenison or turkey, cooked
albUgether and seasoned to the taste
"a most savOry dish) was cut up in
morsels and placed In the center of
the table, and the younger members
OF hefam1Iy. armed with sharpeued
SUCKS, helped themselves about as
well as with four tined forks; great
care was taken to select wholesome
sucks, as sassafras, spice-bush, hazel
or hickory. 80 F
Sometimes the children were al
lowed by way of picnic to cut with
the butcher knife from the freSh
Dear meat and Venison their slices,
ana stick them alternately on a
sharpened spit, and roast before a
nne hickory fire. This made a most
royal dish. Bears, deer and raccoons
in abundance, until replac-
ed by. swine. The great West would |
nave settled slowly without corn and |
hogs, "A bushel of seed wheat will |
Eroduee at the end of ten months.
n1teen or twenty: bushels; a buShel |
OF corn, at the end of five months.
four hundred bushels; and it is used |
to much advantage for the last two
months. Our horned cattle do not |
double In year; hogs in the same |
time, increase twenty fold. It was
deemed almost. sacrilege to kill. a !
sheep, and I remember we'll the first |
beef 1 tasted. L thought. it coarse |
and stringy, compared with Yenison.
't.We, had wild fruits OF several va
Fleties very abundant, and some of |
them exceedingly fine. There was
a sharp ridge quite near my fathers
house, on which I had selected four |
or i've service or June berry bushes,
that IIcould easily climb, and kept
an eye. on them until they should
get entirely right. At the proper
time went with one of my sisters |
TO gather them, but a bear had been
IN advance of me. The limbs of all |
the bushes were, blought down to
the trunk like folded UNI brella, and
the berries all gone. There were
plenty still in the woods for children
and bears, but few SO choice or easy
of access as there. We had a great
variety of Wild plums, some exceed
ingly Ane-better, to my taste, than
the best tame varieties. I have not
seen any choice. varieties within the
last thirty years" - ----. ----.---'-