The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1875-04-01

berger's Mills" in Burton. One day
the boat touched at the Burton wharf,
and the captain learning the girls sto-
ry, generously offered to take them to
Mantua tho next day. So accordingly
they were taken to the boat by Mr..
Brooks, who offered them every kind
ness in his power, and under. the
guidance of the two beatmen, Elias
Harmon and Baswell Ninsor, they
towards night, reached Edwards g land
ing in Mantua. Mr.. Edwards lived
near the top of the big hill Oh the
present Hiram road. There the girls
were taken, and at the house they
found Samuel Furguson, of Aurora,
who informed them that word had
been received the day before, of the
death of their father in Buffalo, and
that their brother had started to meet
their mother. The next day, James
Henry "a brother-in-law-cam for
them, and two days later the family
all arrived in Aurora, Laura, of course
was the heroine of the hour, and
Rhoda,with bursting heart would say !:
"Te think that Laura did it all for
new
Hardly had Laura become settled in
her pioneer home, before she began TO
"work cut" six shillings per week,
''store pay" being the established
price. Being good looking, lively and
humorous, and withal q good singer,
she was the life and soul of the merry
makings, and no gathering was COM
plete without Laura Cochran. In jan
uary, 1910, she was married to Stephen
Cannon. The wedding was an event
of the time, and Squire Henry tied
one Of the best knots. Two years
later came the war and she saw her
husband depart, but providentially he
came again, and for forty-seven years
they lived the happiest of married
lives. One day just after the war her
brother was taken sick, and it became
necessary for some one to go to Ran
dolph, distance of twenty-six miles,
so she volunteered, and early one
morning she mounted her horse and
set ont. Streetsbero was an unbre-
ken wilderness and there were but
two houses on the road to Ravenna.
Stopping at the latter place, then con-
sisting OF store kept by one Hazen,
and three houses, she made few pur-
chases, and then pushed on to her des-
tination, and returning reached Ra-
VIENNA Just at sundewn. Taking her
purchases into her lap she set out
hoping to ford the Cuyahoga river be-
fore dark, which she did. On the op-
pssite bank was house, but her horse
not inclining to stop,shc boldly plung-
ed into the forest at Twin Lakes, in
Franklin, for nine mile ride through
the woods. There was not sign of q
moon, even the sky was overcast with
clouds. Shortly after entering the
woods, a pack of wolves joined with
her in her lonely journey. She could
hear them running along at her side,
and occasionally as they ran across the
trail in front of her, she could see the
CLEAN of their eye-balls in the dark
ness. Sometimes they would gather
on top Of knoll and air their lungs
with a terrific howl, and then resume
their places beside the horse. Finally
she reached the cleared lands in Au-
rora, and her attentive companions left
for the swamps. She reached home
by ten O'Clock, having ridden fifty-two
miles that day, and visited store be-
side.
In those early days physicians were
few, and not very we'll read at that.
and it was almost sure death-so re-
xarded-for enc of them to visit
sick person, SO "Aunt Laura" easily
turned her attention to narsing the
sick, and fixing them up" with her
simple remedies of roots and herbs,
and soon she had achieved an enviable
SO skillful was she. From
far and near she was sought, and her
opinion was regarded as almost in
fallible. Many a night after a hard
days work, she would think of some
poor sick one, and wonder if they had
watchers, and going to the lot, catch
and saddle her riding horse and visit
them, remaining all night. 1t is pos
sible that half thousand boys and
girls in Ohio have been arrayed in
their ''first suit" by her; and to many
she has been the tenderest of step
mothers" for days and even weeks.
Aunt Laura's skill as weaver was
none the less lauded, and te possess
an .:all WOOL carpet from her loom
was the special ambition of house
wives. Her linen was of the softest,
her "full cloth" the most substantial,
and her "kersey" blankets unap-
proachable. In the winter of 1914,
then being in her fifty-fifth year, she,
in seven months, besides doing her
own housework, wove six hundred
yards of wooden cloth, five kersey
blankets, nearly one hundred yards o!
all wool carpets. five plaid fancy
shawls, and some other smaller jobs.
and did all her own coloring, warping
and spooling.
By change OF fortune she and her
husband in 1855 again went through
all the privations and discomforts of
pioneer life. Iowa was then a vast
prairie, and there they went to build
them a new home. A hundred and
fifty miles west of Dubuque they To-
Gated their claim, and erected their
second log house, on the very dividing
line between civilization and barbar-
ism. A year and half later her hus-
bank died, and following the fortunes