The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1912-08-17

best debaters were Eli Overman, Isaac
Julian, Henry Hoover. Joseph Hole
man, William Holman and Asa Prevo,
a man possessed of an excellent tai
lent for augmentation.
The principal business carried on in
those days was clearing of ground,
making rails, building fence, etc;
such as hired their land cleared would
pay by the acre, a foot and under, or
eighteen inches and under, as the
case might be ready to roll, and he
that could clear an acre of ground the
quickest, or cut and split the most
rails in a day was accounted the most
honorable fellow. There was another
test by which a mans standing in the
esteemation of his fellow men was
made known, that was the choice
made at logrollings. 1t was common
to choose two for captains who would
divide the ground, containing the
logs to be rolled, one take choice of
hands, the other the ground, thus di-
vided, and TO be rolled; hands would
then stand in a ring fair to be seen,
when the captains would proceed to
choose turn about, first choice most
honorable, last choice the reverse.
In pretty early times there was a
county road petitioned for and granted,
running in a north and south direction.
My father was appointed supervisor.
He started out to warm in his hands
to cut out the road. He was told il
would be just as the hands pleased
about working, as it was not known
that there was a legally appointed SUI
pervisor. In this Emergency he hir-
ed Andrew Kenneday TO ride to Law
renceburgh, our county seat. for a GER
titled copy of his appointment, with a
legal order to open the road, after
which l believe nearly all agreed to
do their portion of work. Immediately
north Of fathers land where the New
port Pike now runs, was a swamp of
80 or 40 rods which had to be bridged
las We called it,, and in order to &C
commodate the hands, father divided
the ground to be bridged, into equal
portions believe one rod to each
hand, designating each mans piece by
number so that he could easily find
his lot. But a few hands living at
some distance, neglected to make
their portion of bridge in time so
had to make more than my share.
When l settled on the hill where I
now live, there was but two families
on the creek above me, Isaac Com
mons, who still lives there, and Rob-
ert Morrison, the banker, of Richmond,
who was then a wolf trapper. And at
one time Uncle John Turner and l met
at Uncle Morrison's, when there was a
tracking snow on the ground. 1t was
proposed to go to the woods in search
of raccoon tracks, but after wadeing
through the snow until we were tired,
and finding no tracks, we turned home
ward by way of Uncle Morrison's wolf
traps, which were on the Ohio side
of the state line, in one of which there
was large black wolf Uncle Nor
rison began to propose ways and
means by which we might confine it,
tie it's mouth, ham string it, and take
it home for to fight with the dogs for
sport. Blood" says Uncle Turner,
cit us kill the ratched vermin." At
this instant striking the wolf in the
back with the edge of his axe, through
a crask in the lid of the trap, which
bled the wolf to death in a minute or
two, thus putting an end to Uncle Nor
rison's anticipated sport in short or
der. Though he caught one after that
| which he served in that way, and had
his sport, but 1 was not there to see
it, but understood that it was an over.