The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1906-08-21

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raft allowing the pieces to drift with
the current They concealed all trac-
es of their landing. then entered the
thick forest. Here they lay down and
slept until nearly noon-save Karl,
who returned to the mouth of the
creek to see If Meyer had arrived.
The boy taking q roundabout course
to conceal his trail arrived after Mey-
er had left, he having given Bein-
hadt up as lost and decided to go back
and assist the troops at the fort in
following his captors or murderers, as
the case might be. Karl got back to
his father in time to secure some
sleep before the time came to resume
their journey.
when the sun was we'll down in
the west they started, having disposed
of everything eatable that Beinhart
had, being merely few scraps of
bear meat. S.
"There was game In plenty around
them, and fish in the stream; but they
dared not risk neither shot nor a
fire for cooking purposes.
"The following night they reached
their desolate home. Twenty years
after, Beinhart and, his two sons made
trip to the Tuscarawas. On a small
wooded hill overlooking the stream
and the site, of the Indian camp where
the father had rescued his boys, they
built two cabins: and few weeks
later, the boys, now fathers them
selves, returned with their wives and
children" One of the latter was the
old man who told Col. Vanburen the
story.
Mitchner in his history of the Tus
carawas and Muskingum valleys says
that it is well known that some of
the Indians called the Muskingum
ELK Eye" while others called it
"Moose-kingdom," from the fact that
the elk or moose inhabited these val
leys at an early day, and by reason
thereof they became the important
hunting grounds of the red men in
Ohio, and on that account were deem
ed of such value that the aborigines
fought a generation or longer before
surrendering their elk country to the
white man.
When Gist passed down the Tus-
carawas in 1850 he was fed on elk
steak, and in 1755 Smith speaks of
them as making excellent meat, the
Indians preferring it to venison. A
full-sized elk or moose was six feet
high and seven in length, and weigh
ed from 800 to 1000 pounds, the large
spreading horns often weighing 70
pounds, and protruding upward and
outward from the head several feet,
SO that when the animal was running
its nose was thrust forward, to have
the horns fall along the back, thus
protecting the body to a certain ex-
tent from thorns and briars, and pre-
venting the horns from catching in.
the limbs overhead. They were very
fleet, and it is said could travel 200
miles in day When suddenly arous-
ed or frightened the horns were kept
erect, as defensive weapon. and woe
to the hunter who came in contact
with an enraged animal. In the rut-
ting season the males became furious,
fighting each other, or even man as
they rushed with noisy roar through
the woods in pursuit of female, who
likewise became furious in defense
of her calves, two of which were born
yearly, in May. The elks fed on
grass, the bark of the maple, button
wood, and twigs, and lived to the age
of 20 years They were hunted in
March and September by the Indians,
and were most easily overtaken in
times of deep snow. They were some
times caught by slip-nooses attached
to saplings bent down in the path the
animal frequented in going to and
from the river.
I'm January, 1851, Major Robert
Rogers and his hunter, while visiting
the Seneca capital, near Boliver, went
out hunting on one of the streams
emptying into the Tuscarawas. They
were old hunters, and one moonlight
night stationed themselves by the
creek and began initiating the noise
of the bull elk or moose, knowing
that he would come rushing if in the
vicinity of the sound, to the spot, to
give battle to the intruding bull who
dared to venture near his females
(the elk being a remarkably jealous
animaD. In short time they heard
the twigs and limbs cracking on the
opposite side of the creek, and pre-
pared to get shot as he approached
Bounding down the declivity. and in
to the water came the male, female
and calves. The hunters fired, hit the
calves but missed the parents, who in
a moment were upon them, and the
rifles empty. There was no time to