The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1876-07-06

died in Dixon township some years
ago, aged about one huuedred and
three years.
The oldest man now living in the
county is William Castor, of Eaton,
now in his ninety third year, and the
oldest woman now living in the coun-
'ty is Mrs. Mary Hubbard of the same
place, now passing into her ninety
eighth year, having been born in
Philadelphia, in February, IT'S,
when the British held possession OF
that city. The county appears to be
congenial to longevity.
Nj. Castor perhaps is the only man
living in the State who saw General
Washington. He remembers him
well, having seen him on two differ
ent occasions in early life, and can
yet describe his person and appear
ance very infinitely. There are sew
eral other old persons within the
county. who from present appearan-
ces bid fair to reach one hundred
years.
RETROSPECTIVE AND PRESENT VIEW OF
THE COUNTY.
1t is now less than seventy eight
years since the first settlement in
the conntv. The whole territory. as
we have seen, was then a native
wilderness. and the wild man of the
forest held undisputed occupancy,
for.the purposes of limiting. When
the settlers began to encroach upon
him. he looked upon it as an inva-
sion of his rights, not only guaran-
teed to him by long occupancy but
conferred upon his race by the Great
Spirit. AS the sound of the settlers
axe was heard and the timber fell,
the wild game began to retire, and
the savages at once comprehended
their final doom. AS they could not
understand how a living could be
made by tilling the earth, they
looked upon the destruction of the
forest, and the consequent driving
away of the game, as a species Of
wanton vandalism BY the settlers.
They deliberated upon the matter
in their lodges, and their aged chiefs
combined their tribes, and deter
mined that the settlements should
'stop. but the pioneers boldly persis-
ted. This antagonism produced
strife. and the line between the two
races was distinctly marked, and
thereafter a kind of border warfare
ensued and was more or less kept
up on the frontier settlements with
mutual aggressions on each side,
until the Indian race in its weakness
disappeared
The county has been cleared up
and the lands by skillful culture have
been highly developed. The log cab
in which once stood in the woods has
passed away before the onward march
OF Identification, and in its stead mag
nifcent farm houses have been erect
ed and beautiful homes developed
throughout the county. The print.
tive school house has also disappear
ed, and with it, tie old Subscription
list of scholars, and given place to
large and well built houses, for edu-
cational purposes, in each school dis
trict, where free schools are taught
under the wise and magnificent free
school system of the State The old
wooden mould board pillow, as the
stumps and roots disappeared, pass
ed entirely out of use, and is now
supplemented by a steel implement
of far. less draft, and capable Of
doing the work much better and with
more despatch. The sickle is nc
longer in use as an agricultural i'm,
plement, and as harvesters, the era
die and reaper have taken its place
Flax is ne longer raised except FOL
the seed, and its lint, for clothing
has been exchanged for cotton. The
hum Of the little and big wheels il
no longer heard in the county, fol