Delaware gazette. [volume] (Delaware, Ohio) 1855-1886, 1870-03-25
Written for the Delaware Gazette.
PIONEER SKETCHES OF DELLA
WARE COUNTY.
- INCIDENTS. ~
'weview the same sights and see the same
And-F1n the sanne. race our FATHERS have
Number Three.


AndFG1n1l the same race our fathers hav
Els Fue.T -gU F ;H s1Ef sCCi
The BlOekeHouse, heretofore ddescrib
ed, stood one mile west of the village o
Cheshire, and on the eminence, a few
steps south of Sanders formerly Hoad
ley's Corners, on the state road leading
from Eden to Columbus, and in an en-
closure known as the '.Old. Block House
Burying Ground. 7" The locality is his
toric. Here the pioneers of Levi.
Settlement" erected the first rude cabin
here they built the stoclzade, in which
they shared a common defence here
their children, many of them since dis
tinguished, received a liberal training
here they met in solemn worship, and
here they lie buried.
This spot is FIVE miles from Liberty
FIVE from Berkshire. eight from Della
ware, and eleven from Worthington, the
then nearest neighbors.
The route of the settlers to their new
abodes was via Granville, Licking CO.,
between which and their destination
there was not a single house, and nc
road except that marked by the 'blazes
on the trees. They came the entire
journey with ox-teanls, were Pforty days
and forty nights ye1z rOzfte, and camped
IN the wilderness.
The great thoroughfares between this
and other settlements was by horse
paths 'blazed, or by Indian trails. WO
to the hapless traveller around whom
the shades of night gathered while his
journey was unended For the follow
ing incident we are indebted to Mrs.
Julia Caull1ins Ripley's "Reminiscences
of Life in the West" published in the
Boys Journal" Ogdensburgh, N. Y,
1855, and corroborated by other pion-
eers still living in this settlement
early one morning a young woman
came on horseback to our door, with
disheYeled- hair and torn dress, looking
like the very personi6cation of despair
'fOf, my God!" said she, "I have been
lost all night in the woods Riding
alone the preceding day, she accidental
ly lost the path, and rode on without
knowing in what direction, until she saw
the dark shadows Of night approaching.
She found a tree which she could climb,
and tying her horse to another tree, as
cended almost to the top. Fearing she
might fall, she took off her bonnet and
tied that and her long hair. to a limb,
dAlA F5EALllAE clAOLiAEI gLd4ALA Will. .fDQAAA
hands, she awaited, in this condition,
the dawn Of day. During the night, the
lightnings flashed, the thunder roared
and drenched with rain, she imagined
she could see the glaring eyes of wild
beasts. The continued paving and
snorting of her steed but increased her
fears. The shipwrecked mariner never
beheld with more joy the approach of
day, but she found her limbs SO swollen
that she could hardly walk, and. she was
obliged to lead her horse some distance
before she could place herself on his
back. Finding the track, she followed
it and came out of the forest ten miles
from home. After taking rest and re-
Teshment she was escorted to her home
and friends.
The writer Of the above incident went
with another girl, on a cloudy day, to
pay a visit to friends in neighboring
settlement. On their return, darkness
yelled the sky while they were in the
depths of the forest. Unable to discern
their path, their horses proceeded un-
guided until they came to a fence en-
closing a small clearing. They alighted,
and ike 'fbabes in the woods, sought
some human habitaton. At length,
rising to an eminence, they discovered
sparks ascending above the trees in the
and fastened to this. faint
light as their only star of hope. They
found a man piling and burning brush.
Amazed at their appearance, he listened
% their story, and then making torch
IF hickory bark, and leaving the girls
sitting on a log, he went in search Of
heir horses. Soon returning, he lighted
another handful of barks, and offered to
pilot them home. As they passed along
through the forest, the glare of the light
through the trees formed a scene more
vivid than often appears even to the
youthful imagination. They crossed
stream on the way, and, as the horses
dashed through, the woOdmaniSs rude
hickory hambeau shone brightly iath-
Wart the dark water. Their gratitude to
heir kind deliverer from a night of hor-
Tor, was only equalled by their joy in
safely reaching home. 4Ie Z. na
A man and his wife attempted their
Journey home after nightfall, from Wis
t to a neighbor's. Losing their way,
hey groped around until they reached a
with which they were familiar,
4 long distance in the opposite direction
from their destination. They were now
enabled to rerace their steps, crawled
across the fallen tree which served as a
bridge for Alum Creek, and made the
best of their return.
To the danger Of being lost in the in
extricable labyrinths of the forest, the
dreadful fear of attack by savages, the
lack of social privileges, was added the
want, frequently, of the necessaries of
life. Although the settlers possessed
in abundance game, maple sugar, and
honey from the bee-tree,
and other articles which are now regard
ed as luxuries, they were Strengthened
for anything in the shape Of fruit, for
groceries, and particularly for SAIL
David Lewis, Jr., dug out canoe, IN
which he made an expedition for that
savory commodity. The women and
children greatly opposed the adventure,
from the exposure and peril which he
must undergo. He had no means Of
cooked rations until he
reached home, and his only chance Of
making fire, the flint of the musket-
lock and punk" which he carried. In
spite of seeming obstacles, and all ef-
forts to deter, he loaded his craft with
deer and raceoon skins, and other furs,
launched on Alum Greek, and with the
current, toolc,his "new line of
departure" The first night he stopped
at Worthington He continued his
journey to Chillicothe Here he sold
his cargo, and purchased a bushel Of
salt, paying. Jf5,e dollars tE .SfI0'ey. Not
being able to ascend the current, he left
his canoe, shouldered his treasure, and
started alone, by Indian trails and bride
paths, for home. He continued his
journey by day, and when convenient
stopped with the settlers on the route by
night. The weight of his burden wore
the skin from his shoulders. AS if to
crown an eventful tour with final failure,
in crossing a stream on a log near home,
his feet slipped, and with his precious
load. he fell into the water below. To
the loss Of salt was added the excrucia-
ting pain of the brine on his lacerated
back.
Says another, Resolving to find some
salt, ! took my horse and bag, and fol-
lowing the course of the stream, made
my way through the wilderness, a dis
tance of sixty miles. to Chillicothe'
purchased my bag full, and returning
led my horse. Sometimes my bag was