Daily tobacco leaf-chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1890-1895, 1890-04-22
4 srLL WITH A HISTORY.
The Indians liked IL 80 Much That They
Carried II on TO Ring.


The Indians liked IL so Much That They
Carried 1t on 10 Ring.
On the top of the little hotel at Elmore, o.,
a small village north Of Hndlay, is bell
with peculiar and interesting history. 1t
ia the property of D. b. Day, the proprietor
OF the house, who takes pride in reciting the
origin and subsequent tribulations Of this
relic Of bygone period. In 1882 Jarvis Spaf-
ford built tavern in Perrysburg once the
site of old Fort Meigs, Of the war OF 1877
fame In those days hotel was not com
plete without bell swung on the top to call
the guests to their meals. Bell foundries
were not plentiful in those times, but after
considerable inquiry Mr.. Spalford heard OF
man in Detroit who cast bells.
Detroit, then in the territory of Michigan,
was qnite remote point, as distance was
calculated, but Spafford had to have bell,
and he finally made his way thither to have
t cast. The bell man was found and the job
undertaken, but when the foundry endeav'
ored to make the cast, it was discovered that
there was not enough metal for the purpose.
Here was dilemma, but Spafford 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 its weight
in gold, Spatford returned to Perrysburg
and hung the bell up in a tree in his yard, so
that it might be Investigated by the curious
The Indians, who were then quite plentiful
in and about Perrysburg, were caught by the
novel attraction. They went crazy over the
bell and climbed the tree to keep 1t ringing
all the time. At all hours of the day and
night the bell was ringing until it became an
intolerable nuisance, and Spaiford had about
concluded to take it down, when the Indians
relieved him by stealing it and carrying 1t
away.
This act made Spafford furious, and he de-
termined to recover the bell if it cost him
his life. Securing the services of Sam Brady,
/ an old scout who had killed a score or more
of Indians, and Frank McCallister, the first
white man who had settled at Perrysburg,
shAy 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 the bell In
the distance Hastily finishing their meal
they hurried in the direction whence the
sound came, and soon beheld sight that was
laugbable. The Indians had tied the bell
around the neck of pony, and the whole
tribe, bucks, squaws and youngsters, armed
with hickory switches, were running the
poor animal around an open space at Che
very top of its speed, and yelling like demons
as an accompaniment to the furious ringing
of the bell.
| Spafford and his companions made charg'
on the crowd and succeeded in driving the
pony away from the village, where they
could secure the bell without trouble, which
they did, and got safely home without being
pursued or molested. The bell was taker
back to Perrysburg, where it remained fol
many years, performing the mission fol
which it was cast. When Mr.. Spafford die
his daughter, now Mrs. Day, claimed th'
treasure, and it is still doing duty as hote
bell on her husbands house in ElmOre st
I,ouis Republic.