The Vancouver independent. (Vancouver, W.T. [Wash.]) 1875-1910, 1880-02-26
NV Grandfather's Story.

while he looked down upon the waters
of the Ohio and watched the passage up
and down the stream of steamboats, and
vessels whose broad sails were filled by
the soft winds that came from the dlrec-
ton of Lake Erie, sweeping across the
State in ftful currents.
John Harvey was a man verging
upon three score and ten. His hair was
white and his face somewhat wrinkled,
but he was yet erect of carriage-a stall
wart looking man, who, in his youth
and in his prime, must have been active
and powerful very Hercules in form
and strength.
John boosted being one of the early
pioneers Of Ohio. He early entered
that wild country and commenced in
the woods clearing home for himself
and his young wife-a very attractive
girl she must have been when she first
became Mary Harvey, for even at the
time of which l am writing, when she
was we'll past her sixtieth birthday, she
still presented the appearance of having
been beautiful. Her eyes were yet
bright, large and black, and when at all
excited she looked ike what she had
proved herself, daring woman-.just
such a one as pioneer would wisely Sc
lect to accompany him into strange
land, into the wilderness, to be his
friend and hel pmeet in more ways than
one.
"When Mary and l first came into
this Wilderness said John, as he re
moved his tobacco pipe from between
his lips and looked up toward his wife,
who was standing near him, partly RESI-
ing her body by placing it against the
side of his great homemade arm chair,
"it was full of Indians reacherous
fellows they were, too-but they've all
gone they've just died out-melted
away as srow disappears before the
heat of the sun, and as silently They
came very near settling me" he added,
after short pause. 1t was when L
built my cabin and commenced to fix up
bit. And but for Mary here, | guess
they'd have finished me"
"Tell me the story, grandfather" l
said l had heard something of it be-
fore, but never in detail from bis or
grandmother's lips.
well, it happened in this wise, he
began. When | entered the wilde
ness | thought I'd act Justly toward the
red men, and see if | couldn't buy q
hundred or two acres Of the land they
owned. By doing this 1 hoped to Sc
cure their friendship and thus save my
self from future trouble or danger. At
l. 49, .l.o ,iii",o vr el.~ I..j:-.,s ---s.s
placed at the mouth of the Licking
river, in Kentucky, just opposite where
Cincinnati now is. Well, | saw the
head men of the Ohio tribe, and for
a dozen blankets, few iron tools, a lot of
cured tobacco, powder, shot, some old
hats and clothes-they wanted whisky,
but | wouldn't give it to them-thev
sold me nearly thousand acres 1t
was Just the land | wanted. Every
thing was done in good faith. l re-
turned to my cabin. Mary was with
me, and | went to work to make things
homelike and comfortable; for, you see,
we expected there'd soon be an addition
to our family.
"Well, things went nicely for nearly
two months the Indians didn't come
near US, and we supposed from that
they considered our land sacred where
they had no right to enter. But at the
end Of the second month trouble came
upon US in heap. 1t grew out of an
accident. | was in the woods hunting,
and perceivng an object moving cautious
" at a distance, having a cover
ing on it that looked like the skin of
black bear, | thought I'd have shot at
it. Covering the animal, as | supposed
it to be, pulled the trigger, and when
I'd lowered my rifle, tie smoke clearing
away, | saw 1t lying on the ground mo-
tionless. | hurried up to it and to my
surprise found | had killed an Indian of
considerable reputation as brave or
sub-chief He had, supposed, put on
bears skin the better to hunt. 1t was
a common practice among the red men.
| carried the body of the dead man to
my cabin and fastened to notify his
friends. When Id related how the &C
cident happened, own that there were
groaning and sullen looks turned upon
me. However, | returned unharmed to
my house. and shortly after number of