Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1890-06-18
STORY OF A BELL.
The Origin and vIcissItudes OF . Relic OF
ByROnO Period.

The Origin and vIcissItudes OF Relic Of
BygOnO Period.
On top of the little hotel at Elmore,
small village north of this city, is
bell with a peculiar and interesting his
tory, writes st. Louis Globe Democrat
correspondent from Findlay, o. 1t Is
the property of D. B. Day, the pro-
prietor of the house, who takes pride In
reciting the origin and subsequent trib-
ulations of this relic of bygone period.
In 1882 Jarvis Spafford built tavern In
PerrysbLrg, once the site of old Fort
Meigs, of the war Of 1919 fame. In those
days q hotel was not complete without
bell swung on the top to call the
guests to their meals. Bell foundrtes
were not 80 plentiful In those times, but
after considerable inquiry Mr.. Spaford
heard of man in Detroit who cast
bells.
Detroit, then in the Territory of Mich
igan, was quite remote point, IS dis
tance was then calculated, but Spafiord
had to have bell, and he finally made
his way thither 10 have 1t cast. The
bell-man was found and the Job under
taken, but when the foundry endeav-
ored to make the cast it was discovered
that there was not enough metal for the
purpose. Here was q dilemma, but
Spaford was equal to the emergency.
He threw thirty-six Spanish dollars into
the molten mass, and the bell was cast.
With his treasure, almost worth It's
weight in gold, spafford returned to
Perrysburg and hung the bell up In q
tree In his yard so that IL might be in
vestigated by the curious. The Indians,
who were then quite plentiful In and
about Perrysburg, were caught by the
novel attraction. They went crasy over
the bell, and climbed the tree to keep It
ringing all the time.
At all hours of the day and night the
bell was ringing until it became an in
tolerable nuisance, and Spafford had
about concluded to take 1t down, when
the Indians relieved him by stealing it
and carrying it away.
This act made Spafford furious, and
he determined to recover the bell If 1t
cost him his life. Securing the services
Of Sam Brady, an old scout who had
killed q score or more of Indians, and
Frank McCallister, the first white man
who had settled at Perrysburg, they
started toward Upper Sandusky. They
travelled three days and nights, and on
the morning of the fourth day, while
they were eating their breakfast, they
heard he bell in the distance. Hastily
finishing their meal, they hurried in
the direction whence the sound came,
and soon beheld a sight that was laugh
able. The Indians had tied the bell
around the neck of pony, and the
whole tribe, bucks, squaws and young
sters, armed with hickory switches,
were running the poor animal around
an open space at the very top of its
speed and yelling like demons, as an
accompaniment to the furious ringing
of the bell.
Spafford and his companions made q
charge on the crowd, and succeeded in
driving the pony away from the village
where they could secure the bell with.
out trouble, which they did, and got
safely home without being pursued OIL
molested. The bell was taken back tc
Perrysburg, whore it remained fol
many years, performing the mission fol
which it was cast, When Mr.. Spafford
died, his daughter, now Mrs. Day
claimed the treasure, and 1t is still
doing duty as hotel bell on her hus
bands house in Gilmore.