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[Illustration: Map to illustrate the Story of
Benjamin of Ohio]
BENJAMIN OF OHIO
A Story of the Settlement of Marietta
by
JAMES OTIS
[Illustration: logo]
New York -:- Cincinnati -:- Chicago
American Book Company
Copyright, 1912, by
James Otis Kaler.
BENJAMIN OF OHIO.
W. P. I
FOREWORD
The author of this series of stories for children has endeavored simply
to show why and how the descendants of the early colonists fought
their way through the wilderness in search of new homes. The several
narratives deal with the struggles of those adventurous people who
forced their way westward, ever westward, whether in hope of gain or
in answer to "the call of the wild," and who, in so doing, wrote their
names with their blood across this country of ours from the Ohio to the
Columbia.
To excite in the hearts of the young people of this land a desire to
know more regarding the building up of this great nation, and at the
same time to entertain in such a manner as may stimulate to noble
deeds, is the real aim of these stories. In them there is nothing of
romance, but only a careful, truthful record of the part played by
children in the great battles with those forces, human as well as
natural, which, for so long a time, held a vast portion of this broad
land against the advance of home seekers.
With the knowledge of what has been done by our own people in our own
land, surely there is no reason why one should resort to fiction in
order to depict scenes of heroism, daring, and sublime disregard of
suffering in nearly every form.
JAMES OTIS.
CONTENTS
PAGE
BENJAMIN'S STORY 9
THE OHIO COMPANY 10
RUFUS PUTNAM 13
COLONEL PUTNAM, THE ENGINEER 15
THE FIRST EMIGRANTS 16
BUILDING A FLEET 18
CAMPUS MARTIUS 19
THE ARRIVAL OF GENERAL PUTNAM 21
THE WORK OF THE FIRST EMIGRANTS 23
CLEARING THE LAND 25
HOW OUR COMPANY WAS FORMED 27
MAKING READY FOR THE JOURNEY 28
CONCERNING MYSELF 31
SETTING OUT 32
MISTRESS DEVOLL'S OUTFIT 34
AT PROVIDENCE 37
ON THE ROAD TO BLOOMING GROVE 39
PLANS FOR THE FUTURE 40
ON THE WATER ONCE MORE 42
FEASTING ON HONEY 43
AMONG THE MORAVIANS 45
THE ROPE FERRY 47
THE WAY THROUGH PENNSYLVANIA 49
THE SHAME OF THE GIRLS 50
MEETING WITH PARSON CUTLER 51
OHIO CORNFIELDS 53
THE GOVERNOR AND JUDGES 54
THE NAME OF THE TOWN 56
CAMPUS MARTIUS 58
INDEPENDENCE DAY 59
MASTER DEVOLL'S HOUSE 62
THE INDIAN MOUNDS 63
AT HARRISBURG 64
ISAAC BARKER'S SPORT 66
UNCLE DANIEL CARTER 67
UNCLE DANIEL JOINS OUR COMPANY 69
HARD TRAVELING 71
MUD AND WATER 72
A STORM OF SNOW 74
ACROSS THE MOUNTAINS 76
A FRIENDLY DUNKARD 78
MASTER HIPLES'S KINDNESS 80
A SURLY LANDLORD 82
ISAAC FLOGS THE LANDLORD 83
A MUCH NEEDED LESSON 85
A TIME OF REST 87
PACK TRAINS 89
A NIGHT ADVENTURE 90
FEARS ABOUT THE WOMEN AND CHILDREN 92
DESCENDING THE MOUNTAINS 95
AT THE FOOT OF THE HILLS 96
NEARING THE END OF THE JOURNEY 98
AT SUMRILL'S FERRY 100
PARTING WITH UNCLE DANIEL 101
OUR FLATBOAT 102
THE CATTLE ARE SENT AWAY 104
AT PITTSBURGH 106
TOO MUCH WATER 108
ESCAPE OF THE WOMEN AND CHILDREN 110
REPAIRING DAMAGES 112
OUR PILOT 114
A CHANGE OF WEATHER 116
NOISY FEAR 117
A REAL FEAST 119
FINDING THE CANOE 120
BUFFALO CREEK 122
THE MARCH ACROSS THE COUNTRY 124
AT MARIETTA 126
PLANS FOR THE FUTURE 128
INSPECTING THE TOWN OF MARIETTA 130
A TEMPORARY HOME 132
BUYING LAND 134
VISITING THE SAVAGES 137
CAPTAIN HASKELL'S ADVICE 140
A NEW FRIEND 141
FISHING THROUGH THE ICE 142
THE SABBATH IN MARIETTA 144
A REGULAR BUSINESS 146
A VISIT FROM THE SAVAGES 147
BUILDING A HOME 149
A GREAT PROJECT 150
THE TWO MILLERS 152
THE SAVAGES ON THE WARPATH 153
BENJAMIN OF OHIO
BENJAMIN'S STORY
[Illustration: Benjamin leaning on the letter I.]
It seems a very long while since I promised to tell you of what I did
after coming into this Ohio country, and yet even now I cannot well
begin the tale without telling something about the Ohio Company, which
was formed, as you know, by General Rufus Putnam.
Twice I have begun the story, and twice I have stopped, understanding
that you would not be able to make out why we did this or that, unless
you first knew how it chanced that we came to make our homes here.
When you and I, while we were both in Massachusetts, talked about my
journeying into this country, I may have spoken in such a way as to
give you the idea that I believed it would be possible for me to do
much toward the making of a new town.
In fact, I did really then believe that my services would be of great
value to those men who expected to build a village here on the
Muskingum River; but, although only two years have passed, I already
understand that a boy of my age is not of much worth in such an
enterprise, more particularly when men like Parson Cutler and General
Putnam are at the head of affairs.
Do you remember how old I am? Well, there is here in this town of
Marietta a fellow by the name of Jeremy Salter, who has become quite a
friend of mine, and the other day he asked my age.
I told him that I was born in December of the year of the capture of
Ticonderoga and Crown Point, the election of General Washington to be
commander in chief of the armies, and the battle of Bunker Hill, yet,
if you will believe me, the dolt was not able to fix the date.
However, my age has nothing to do with our coming from Mattapoisett
into Ohio, and now let me try to make it plain how it happened that we
of Massachusetts could come so far away and take up land simply because
of having bought shares in the Ohio Company.
THE OHIO COMPANY
This is the story as I have heard it from General Putnam himself. It
seems that when our war for independence came to an end, the government
did not have money enough with which to pay the soldiers for their
services, or, as Parson Cutler says, the country was much the same
as bankrupt; General Washington himself declared that a wagonload of
Continental money would be hardly sufficient to purchase a wagonload of
provisions.
Now of course these soldiers must have their wages, and some men in the
Congress proposed that the government sell land in the western country
in order to raise enough money.
[Illustration: Rufus Putnam surveying land with Ben Tupper.]
While this matter was being talked about, Congress ordered that a
survey be made of the western lands, and Rufus Putnam himself received
an appointment as one of the surveyors; but, not being able to attend
to the work personally, he induced an old comrade, by the name of
Benjamin Tupper, to take his place.
[Illustration: Meeting of the citizens of Massachusetts.]
When Master Tupper came back to the eastern colonies, after having
been over the land, he told General Putnam what a great, grand country
it was; and it is said that the two old comrades sat up all night
talking over plans for buying land enough to form a colony, and that
by daybreak they had decided to call a meeting of the citizens of
Massachusetts and the near-by states, to be held at the Bunch of Grapes
tavern in Boston, early in the month of March, 1786. This meeting was
held, and a company was organized, to be known as the Ohio Associates.
The government had decided to use this land, as I have said, to pay
off the soldiers, and this company, formed by General Putnam, employed
Parson Manasseh Cutler and Master Winthrop Sargent to make a bargain
with Congress. These two men offered to buy one million, five hundred
thousand acres of land at one dollar an acre, paying down five hundred
thousand dollars when the contract was signed, with the debts due the
soldiers reckoned as so much ready money.
Those who had banded themselves together could not raise the remaining
million dollars, and the result was that the government cut down the
agreement so that our Ohio Company had at its disposal a little more
than a million acres of land, instead of a million and a half.
RUFUS PUTNAM
You surely remember what General Putnam has done for his country,
or, I should say, what he did, even before he came to Ohio. In 1757,
when only nineteen years old, he enlisted as a common soldier in
the Provincial army,--for there was then war between England and
France,--and served faithfully four years, until the surrender of
Montreal, when the army was disbanded. Then he went to his home in New
Braintree and worked at the trade of millwright; but he soon discovered
that his education was not sufficient to enable him to continue the
business to the best advantage, therefore he devoted every moment of
his spare time to the study of mathematics.
[Illustration: Rufus Putnam Studying Mathematics.]
Seven or eight years afterward, when it was believed the British
government would give to those soldiers who had served in the French
war certain lands somewhere in the wild western country, Rufus Putnam
was selected as one of a party to find out where it would be well for
the people to settle.
No sooner had the battle of Lexington been fought than Rufus Putnam was
among the first to enlist; and it shows that he gained a good military
reputation, for he was made lieutenant colonel of the first regiment
raised in Massachusetts.
COLONEL PUTNAM, THE ENGINEER
Because of his knowledge of mathematics he was chosen by the leaders of
the American army to lay out the line of defenses round about Boston,
and did more than a full share in forcing the British to evacuate that
city, because of the skill with which he established the fortifications
on Dorchester Heights.
[Illustration: Colonel Putnam, the Engineer.]
Later he was sent to New York, where he took charge of the defenses on
Long Island at Fort Lee, and King's Bridge; and during the year when
our people made their formal declaration of independence, Rufus Putnam
was appointed engineer, with the rank of colonel and pay at sixty
dollars a month.
The next year Colonel Putnam went back to Massachusetts, where he
raised and took command of a regiment which he afterward led in the
battle of Stillwater and again at Saratoga, covering himself with
glory, so I have heard Parson Cutler say.
After the surprise at Stony Point, Colonel Putnam was appointed to the
command of a regiment in General Wayne's brigade, continuing to serve
with credit to himself, and to the best interests of his country, until
1783, when Congress promoted him to the rank of brigadier general; he
remained in the service of the people, filling one position or another,
until this Ohio Company was formed, as I have told you.
Another matter which you should bear in mind while thinking of us so
far away, is that when Parson Cutler made the trade with the government
for land in the Ohio country, he induced the Congress to set aside two
entire townships, of thirty-six square miles each, for the support of
a university, and in each of the other townships one square mile to be
used solely for the support of schools and churches. Therefore, even
before any man had begun the building of a home here on the Muskingum
River, schools and churches were provided for, which is more, I
believe, than can be said regarding most new settlements.
THE FIRST EMIGRANTS
You remember all the talk and excitement in Massachusetts at this
time, when so much was being told regarding the beauties of the Ohio
country, and you know how eager I was to set out with that first party
which left Danvers under the leadership of Major Haffield White on the
first day of December, in the year 1787.
[Illustration: The First Emigrants in a Conestoga Wagon.]
As you also know, these men were to halt somewhere on the Youghiogheny
River to build boats, in order to continue the journey by water, and
a second party, under the command of General Putnam himself, was to
leave Hartford in Connecticut shortly afterward, to join those from
Massachusetts.
This second company was really led by Colonel Ebenezer Sproat because
General Putnam was forced to go to New York on some business of his
own, and did not succeed in overtaking the people until they had come
to Swatara Creek in Pennsylvania.
BUILDING A FLEET
Major Haffield White's party arrived at Sumrill's Ferry, after a long
and tedious journey over the old Military Road, on the twenty-third day
of January, in the year 1788, and immediately began building boats.
[Illustration: Campus Martius.]
On the fourteenth of February, General Putnam's party, by which I mean
those who set out from Hartford, joined those who were already at the
ferry, and the two companies landed here on the bank of the Muskingum
River the seventh day of April, in the year 1788.
All this is an old and familiar story; but it is well for me to remind
you of it, so that you can the better understand how I, who had
believed and hoped I was coming into a new country to do my full share
in building up a town, found everything, as one might say, ready to
hand.
Instead of cutting through the wilderness in order to build houses, we
found the land so far cleared that we might get about the home making
at once, and during the time the work was being carried on, the people
lived in the fort, which General Putnam calls Campus Martius. It is
situated near Fort Harmar, a fortification standing on the west bank
of the Muskingum River near its mouth, and not far from this town of
Marietta. It was built in 1785, and Colonel Josiah Harmar is now in
command.
CAMPUS MARTIUS
What do I mean by Campus Martius, when I claim to be living in the
town of Marietta? When General Putnam and his company arrived here,
the first thing they did was to build a fort for the protection, not
only of themselves, but of those who might come after; concerning this
fort I will tell you later, but first you may be, and probably are, as
curious as I was regarding the name.
I asked General Putnam, and he told me it was named after a certain lot
of land in the city of Rome, which was used for popular assemblies and
military exercises. However, the town itself is called Marietta, after
Marie Antoinette of France, who was so brutally killed by her subjects
during the Reign of Terror.
[Illustration: Men building the Campus Martius fort.]
Perhaps it would be better if I begin this story by telling you how we
got here, for the journey was not only long, but tiresome, and made at
the cost of much labor. But yet it seems best to set down all within
my knowledge concerning those men who first came out, meaning the
party which left Danvers in Massachusetts, and that which started from
Hartford in Connecticut.
All that I know about Major White's company during the march is
that they came over what is called the old Military Road, across
Pennsylvania, until they arrived at the Youghiogheny River, which they
crossed, and then went into winter quarters at Sumrill's Ferry.
There they set about building a flatboat, which they called the
_Mayflower_, making her forty-six feet long and twelve feet wide, with
a roof deck and a sharp bow, to be propelled by either sails or oars;
they built also a smaller flatboat and several canoes.
[Illustration: Men Building a Flatboat.]
THE ARRIVAL OF GENERAL PUTNAM
It was while they were building this fleet that General Putnam's
party joined them, and on the first day of April the new _Mayflower_,
together with the smaller craft, began the voyage down the Ohio,
arriving opposite Fort Harmar on the seventh day of April. There were
forty-eight men on board the vessels: four surveyors with twenty-two
others to attend them, six boat builders, four carpenters, one
blacksmith, and eleven so-called common hands.
I myself have heard General Putnam say that when his company arrived
at Swatara Creek it was frozen over, but not sufficiently hard to
bear the weight of the wagon, and they spent one entire day cutting a
passage through the ice. Then, later, he says so great was the quantity
of snow as to block up the roads, and when they got as far as Cooper's,
at the foot of the Tuscarora mountains, they found old snow twelve
inches deep. Nothing save pack horses had passed over it, therefore it
was necessary to build sleds and harness the animals one before the
other, with the men marching in front to break out the roads, and thus
they continued until arriving at the Youghiogheny, as I have already
said.
[Illustration: The New Mayflower (Flatboat) Going Downriver.]
As you know, our town of Marietta is on the Muskingum River at its
mouth where it empties into the Ohio, and I am sending you such a
drawing as I have been able to make, so that you may know just where we
are located.
THE WORK OF THE FIRST EMIGRANTS
Most likely General Putnam decided upon this particular place in which
to build a town because Fort Harmar, erected here in the year 1785,
would afford a very timely place of refuge in case the Indians made
an attack upon our people before they were in condition to defend
themselves.
[Illustration: Hand Drawn Map of Marietta.]
Fort Harmar is on the lower bank of the river, while our town of
Marietta is on the opposite side, or what might be called the upper
point of land between the Muskingum and the Ohio.
Allen, who is a son of Captain Jonathan Devoll, and came with the first
party from Danvers, told me that as soon as our people landed they
set about making huts of boards which had been brought with them from
Sumrill's Ferry, and at the same time put up a canvas tent for the
use of General Putnam, wherein he could transact the business of the
new colony, and in such shelters they lived until the fort had been
completed.
[Illustration: Men Reading the Laws Nailed to Tree by River.]
The surveyors immediately began laying out the town lots and the farms
for those people who had bought shares in the company, and many laws
or regulations were made by General Putnam and his friends, which were
nailed to the trunk of a large tree on the river bank where all might
see them.
The place was then, and is now, as beautiful a spot as one could well
imagine. There are fish in the rivers in abundance, and game of every
kind to be found in greatest plenty. Just fancy herds of buffaloes and
deer roaming through the forest and over the plains, while wild turkeys
are found in such numbers as would do your heart good, especially after
a good plump one has been cooked on a spit in front of a roaring fire.
There was very little hunting done for sport, however, so Allen Devoll
told me. Those people who went out in search of game did so only that
they might provide themselves and their companions with food; for the
work on every hand was abundant.
CLEARING THE LAND
Enormous trees in the forest were to be girdled and thus killed
that they might the more easily be hewn down, and the soil had to
be prepared for planting. That these newcomers were not idle may be
understood when I tell you that, during the first spring they were
here, one hundred and thirty acres of corn were planted.
Of course there were no cleared fields, such as one might see about
Mattapoisett. The seed was put in among stumps, where only the
underbrush had been cleared away; therefore a plow could not be run to
make a straight furrow.
The greater portion of the work was done with hoes and spades; and
already I have had disagreeable experience in that kind of labor,
which causes one's back to ache woefully and blisters the hands even of
those who are accustomed to such toil.
[Illustration: Man Using a Hoe in a Cornfield.]
And now after all this, which is what you might call the beginning
of my story, I will tell you of our leaving home, and of that long,
wearisome journey across the mountains, when we forded creeks and, if
you please, might be said to have walked from one side of the state of
Pennsylvania to the other.
I have sometimes regretted that I was not with the company led by Major
White, or under the leadership of Colonel Sproat, so that I could say
that I was one of the first to step foot in this Ohio country with the
idea of making a home; but those voyagers were only men who could
perform such work as boat building or surveying, and boys were neither
wanted nor allowed.
HOW OUR COMPANY WAS FORMED
First you should know that Captain Jonathan Devoll was a member of the
company that came here under the leadership of Major White, setting out
from Danvers. He had left his family behind in Providence, and because
of that fact perhaps, I was given an opportunity to come.
Having neither father nor mother, and being dependent upon those who
were willing to provide me with work whereby I might gain a livelihood,
there was no one to push forward my claim to become one of the
emigrants, save only Mistress Devoll herself, who needed some one to
aid her in caring for the children during the journey, for she is not a
very strong woman.
Master John Rouse had bought a share in the company and was making
ready to start with his family, when he received word that he should
bring with him all Captain Devoll's family. Then there was Captain
Haskell in our town of Mattapoisett, an old sailor who owned a large
covered wagon and two horses.
Master Rouse had only one team of horses; therefore he proposed to
Captain Haskell that they join forces, and surely it was a good trade
for Master Rouse, since he had a large family to take with him, while
the old captain was alone in the world.
Because of the labor involved in driving four horses during so long a
time as would be required for the journey, it was decided that young
Ben Cushing should be hired as driver, and thus the party was made up,
until Mistress Devoll so kindly interfered in my behalf, claiming that
she had a right to take with her at least one more lad.
MAKING READY FOR THE JOURNEY
I wish I could describe to you the excitement under which we all
labored while making ready for the long journey!
Do you remember the Rouse family? First there is Michael, twenty-two
years old; then Bathsheba, who is nineteen or thereabouts; and
Elizabeth, two years younger. Cynthia is two years younger than
Elizabeth; Ruth is only eleven years old; Stephen, six, and the twins,
Robert and Barker, only four.
Now if Mistress Devoll had not needed my services, I should have found
ample opportunity of earning my way across to the Ohio country by
taking care of the Rouse children.
The most important matter was the preparing of the wagon, where the
women would sleep during such nights as we failed to find lodgings in
taverns or farmhouses, and it was with infinite care that Master Rouse
and Captain Haskell almost rebuilt this cart, which was what I believe
is generally called a Conestoga wagon, although why it should be given
such a name I do not understand, unless it may have been made in some
town by the name of Conestoga.
[Illustration: Men Packing the Conestoga Wagon.]
With so many in the company, you can fancy that it was a difficult
matter to decide just what should be taken and what left behind, for
it was of the utmost importance that the baggage be reduced to the
smallest possible amount, and in order that it might be packed with the
greatest economy, boxes were made to fit exactly into the bottom of
the wagon, so that no space would be left unoccupied. On top of these
were stowed the beds and bedding, while cooking utensils hung around
on the inside, where we might get at them handily at mealtime, for,
as it proved, very many days we were forced to do our cooking by the
roadside, with such fireplaces as could be built up with rocks which we
lads gathered.
[Illustration: Boys Preparing a Cooking Fire.]
Two trunks were placed at one end of the wagon, where they served as
a barrier to prevent the twins from falling out when they played on
the bedding, and upon the axles were hung buckets and such tools as
might be needed during the journey, thus giving the outfit a decidedly
comical, but perhaps homelike, appearance.
We took with us only a small amount of grain for the horses, trusting
to buy all that might be needed until we had journeyed as far as
Carlisle in Pennsylvania. After that there would be less chance of
coming upon farms where such things could be purchased, and then the
animals would be forced to subsist only on grass.
CONCERNING MYSELF
My part of the outfit consisted of the clothes I wore, for I am
ashamed to say that I did not own a second coat which would have been
presentable in any company. Therefore I did not allow myself to be
troubled when the women complained long and bitterly because they had
so little with which to work or make themselves comfortable, and for
the only time in my life it did seem as if my poverty was really a
blessing.
I lived in a perfect fever of excitement during the three weeks we were
making ready for the voyage, and on the evening before the eventful day
I was so wrought up in my mind that to sleep was an impossibility. From
the time I laid myself down on my bed in Master Rouse's stable, until
the sun rose, I did not close my eyes in slumber; then I acted as if I
had never seen a horse or harness before, for when Ben Cushing called
on me to aid him in putting the animals to the pole, my hands trembled
so that I could not fasten a buckle, let alone arrange the straps to
his liking.
Ben is a careful driver and one who ever looks after the welfare of his
beasts. To him a strap too long or too short, a buckle out of place or
liable to break, is almost the same as a sin.
I need not have allowed myself to be worked up to such an extent,
however, for the first part of our journey was nothing more nor less
than pleasure. Half a dozen young girls, on horseback, set off with
us, expecting to ride as far as the Long Plain, which is six miles out
from Mattapoisett, and the entire population, as it appeared to me,
had turned out to see us get under way with that long Conestoga wagon
covered with canvas, on the sides of which had been painted, "To the
Ohio Country."
[Illustration: Group Setting Out on the Trail.]
SETTING OUT
What a cheering and shaking of hands, and what a showering of good
wishes upon us took place in that Mattapoisett street!
If we could have had Parson Cutler with us to give what you might call
an official sanction to the start, as was done when Major White's
party set off from Danvers, then I would have been more content.
Surely, however, there was no need for me to make complaint, because
never before had I witnessed such a scene of excitement as when Ben
Cushing gathered up the reins, and the townspeople stood around the
heavy wagon until Mistress Rouse cried out in alarm lest some of them
be run over. The twins, insisting on going the first mile or more
afoot, ran here and there until it seemed to me at times that they were
under the very feet of the horses during three minutes of every four.
[Illustration: Children in the Conestoga Wagon.]
It was really a relief, when we had drawn out of the town so far
that the more excited ones could no longer call out to say once more
"good-by" or "God bless you." I ought not to have been so impatient,
for many a long day was to pass before I again saw faces on which I
could read expressions of good will and friendliness toward me.
This first portion of our journey was quite like a merrymaking. The
young women rode either side the wagon; the Rouse girls walked, or sat
beside their mother in the big cart, as pleased them best, and the
twins, soon tiring of striving to entangle themselves with the horses'
legs, were ready to come in under the shelter of the canvas.
We drove only six miles, and indeed this was quite a journey for
the first day, because the animals were not accustomed to traveling
together and gave Ben Cushing no little trouble. Besides, our departure
had been delayed so long, owing to the townspeople, that it was nearly
noon before we had left Mattapoisett behind us, and the day was nearly
done when we had come to the Long Plain, and there stopped at the home
of Mistress Devoll's cousin.
MISTRESS DEVOLL'S OUTFIT
We had but one wagon for all our party from the time we left
Mattapoisett until coming to Providence. Mistress Devoll and Mistress
Rouse are sisters and were much together at Mattapoisett after Captain
Devoll set off for the Ohio country. It was while the captain's wife
was in our village that she made me the offer to pay my passage to the
Muskingum River by looking after her belongings.
Mistress Devoll expected to join Master Rouse's company at her home in
Providence, where she was to have ready a wagon in which would be all
her household goods that could be transported over the mountains. She
was to have a team of four horses, and her brother, Isaac Barker, was
to act as driver, while I played the part of helper.
[Illustration: Ben Cushing Driving a Wagon with Benjamin Beside Him.]
Therefore on leaving Mattapoisett I ran ahead or behind Master Rouse's
wagon, or clambered up by the side of Ben Cushing when the seat next
to him was not occupied, for he was a good friend of mine and could be
counted on to give me a hint now and then, if I overstepped my bounds.
The stay at the Long Plain overnight was what you might call a friendly
visit for all the members of the company save Ben Cushing and me;
but we two were not lonely, for we laid ourselves down to sleep in
the wagon, after having had a bountiful meal at the home of Mistress
Devoll's cousin, and it is safe to say that during the first night
after starting for the Ohio country we slept more comfortably, if not
more soundly, than on any other during the journey.
[Illustration: Ben Cushing and Benjamin Sleeping in the Wagon.]
We were up at break of day, however, for the horses were to be groomed
and fed, and Master Rouse had decided that we must travel as far as
Providence before nightfall.
The young women who had come out from Mattapoisett with us, went back
some time late in the evening after Cushing and I were asleep, and when
breakfast had been eaten we set off once more, just as the sun was
rising. It seemed as if this was really the beginning of the journey,
for we were alone, plodding over the dusty road which, to look into
the future, seemed as if it would have no end.
AT PROVIDENCE
An hour after sunset we halted in front of Mistress Devoll's house.
The horses were unhitched and taken to a stable, where Ben and I were
speedily joined by Isaac Barker, whom we had seen more than once in
Mattapoisett, and we three, while caring for the animals, discussed at
great length the undertaking which lay all before us.
[Illustration: Boys Pushing the Wagon up a Mountain Road.]
A rare hand at making sport was Isaac Barker, and many a time after
leaving Providence it did seem to me that but for his quips and jokes
we might have given up in despair at trying to gain this country, for
the way was hard over the best of the roads we found, and there were
many moments, after we got into Pennsylvania, when all the members
of the company were forced to lay hold of ropes tied to the tops of
the carts to prevent them from oversetting. Then it was that Isaac's
nonsense really served to hearten us.
You can well fancy that when we were once among the mountains the way
was exceedingly hard to travel, and again and again I have laid my
shoulder against the hind end of one of the wagons, straining every
muscle to help the horses on, while every other man and boy was doing
the same, and doing it to the utmost of his power.
We lost no time in leaving Providence next morning. Mistress Devoll's
wagon was packed and ready, and after eating a breakfast which had been
prepared by some of the neighbors, we set off, I walking with the men
either ahead or behind the teams, for there was not sufficient room in
both wagons for all our company to ride. There are five of the Devoll
children: Sally, twelve years old; Henry, two years younger; Charles,
aged eight; Barker, five; and Francis, a baby not much more than a year
old.
Isaac Barker cracked jokes as he swung the whip over the backs of
the horses; the Rouse girls sang until they were hoarse; the smaller
children screamed with delight because we were finally on our way to
the wilderness; and everything went on as if we were still simply bent
upon pleasure during this third day of the journey.
ON THE ROAD TO BLOOMING GROVE
Now it is not in my mind to set down an account of every day's journey
while we were in what you might call civilized country, for we simply
drove the horses as far as we could each day, with due care to a
resting place at night, passing through Farmington, Litchfield, and
Ballsbridge, to the Hudson River.
Of course it was necessary to cross the water, and to do this, Master
Rouse and Captain Haskell hired two large boats into which we could
stow the wagons as well as the horses. By the aid of both sails and
oars the clumsy craft were navigated from Fishkill to Newburgh, where
we took to the road again, traveling ten miles to a village called
Blooming Grove. There we stopped at a tavern kept by a man named
Goldsmith.
[Illustration: Benjamin Cleaning Horses Hooves and Talking to Goldsmith.]
There is no particular reason why I should have remembered that man's
name so long, had it not been that seeing me rubbing the legs of
Mistress Devoll's horses, on that evening, he took me kindly by the ear
and said that I was a likely looking lad such as he stood in need of
to help him about the tavern, proposing, if I would remain with him,
to give me my board and clothes during the first year, allowing me to
attend school meanwhile, at the same time promising that when such term
of service had expired he would make another bargain, which should
include a certain sum of money as wages.
PLANS FOR THE FUTURE
Perhaps it might have been better for me had I accepted the good man's
offer, and yet there was in my mind such a desire to go out into that
Ohio country where even the poorest lad, if he was willing to work to
the best of his ability, could make a home for himself, that I could
not bring myself to think of remaining at the tavern doing chores for
this farmer or that, and getting no farther ahead in the world.
All of which I told him, and when I had come to an end of my talk, he
replied that he could not blame me for holding to the choice I had
made, and said he hoped it might be possible for me to do all that was
in my mind. At the same time he assured me that if I found this part of
the country different from what I had fancied, and was ready to come
back into civilization, where I might have the comforts of home, I
should present myself to him.
[Illustration: The Ferryman and Captain Haskell.]
Although I have not advanced so far in the world as I had hoped might
have been possible, I have not fallen in the race of life. I am no
worse off than when I landed here at Marietta, and have laid up for
myself some few dollars, in addition to the knowledge that I am of
service in the settlement; therefore I cannot regret the choice I made
at Blooming Grove.
After leaving that village we journeyed over good roads through the
towns of Chester and Warwick, finally crossing the state line into New
Jersey, and coming to the town of Newton.
We had neither adventure nor mishap during this portion of our
travels, for the roads were good, the horses inclined to move at a
reasonably rapid pace, and those who would have walked from choice
found themselves speedily distanced. More than once were Master Rouse,
Captain Haskell, and I so far behind the wagons that the drivers
believed it necessary to halt in order that we might join the company.
From Newton we went past Sussex Court House, or the Log Jail as it is
called, through the towns of Hope and Oxford, to the village of Easton,
which is situated at the forks of the Delaware River.
ON THE WATER ONCE MORE
Here we were forced to take to the water once more, in order that we
might cross over into the state of Pennsylvania, and because there was
but one flatboat to be hired at this place, no little time was spent in
making the passage.
It was near nightfall when we were safely landed on the Pennsylvania
shore, and then came the question as to where we might spend the night.
The ferryman had told Captain Haskell that five miles down the
road was a farm owned by an old German who was disposed to care for
travelers who were well-behaved and willing to pay a certain small sum
for the service he rendered. We therefore hastened our pace, moving as
rapidly as possible, until, half an hour after the sun had set, we came
to a farm, the buildings of which would have delighted the eyes of any
man who had a care for such things.
[Illustration: Eating Buckwheat Cakes at the German Farmer's House.]
Surely no one could have been more hospitable than were the old German
and his wife, to say nothing of the four sons and three daughters, all
of whom made us welcome and insisted that we come into their kitchen
to eat supper with them, rather than make any attempt at providing
our own meals, as we had been doing nearly all the time since leaving
Mattapoisett.
FEASTING ON HONEY
How Ben Cushing and I did eat that night! The owner of the farm had
given especial attention to the raising of bees and had a large store
of honey on hand. The farmer's wife and daughters baked such cakes of
buckwheat as I never before tasted, and these, plentifully covered with
the golden honey, made up a meal which still lingers in my memory.
[Illustration: Among the Moravians in Bethlehem.]
We passed the night there, all the company except Ben Cushing, Isaac
Barker, and me, sleeping on the floor of the kitchen and living room,
where beds had been spread for their comfort.
Captain Haskell showed how a sailor could take advantage of every inch
of space, for when the women claimed that there was not room in which
to make up beds for all and dispose of their clothing properly during
the hours of the night, the captain turned down the chairs so that the
backs of them would serve as heads for the beds, thus making pillows,
and pointed out that the spaces underneath could be filled with the
clothing where it might be found readily in the morning.
Ben, Isaac, and I found snug resting places for ourselves in the
sweet-smelling hay on the mow, and slept, I dare say, quite as soundly
and sweetly as did those who were sheltered in the house.
When morning came, that is to say, when there was the first evidence of
the dawning of a new day, we three set about making ready the horses
for the journey, and were no sooner come to an end of our labors than
we were summoned by one of the girls to the kitchen, where, the beds
having been removed from the floor, a table was spread most bountifully.
AMONG THE MORAVIANS
[Illustration: Girls Coming Home from School.]
The next day of our journey was most entertaining, at least so it
seemed to me, for we came to the town of Bethlehem, which is settled
almost entirely by those ardent Christian men and women who are known
as Moravians and who have already sent out missionaries among the
Indians, doing no small amount of good.
Those Moravian people were exceedingly hospitable, urging us to partake
of food in their houses, insisting on feeding our horses, and allowing
us to wander wheresoever we would.
Indeed there was much to be seen in their town, for at one of the
houses was a pet bear which was most amusing, and the smaller children,
as well as Ben Cushing and I, spent more than an hour watching the
little fellow's clumsy, and at the same time comical, antics. There
were also a number of pet deer wandering about the streets, and when we
had fed them with clover, to our heart's content, we were delighted at
seeing a large throng of little girls coming from school, dressed in
what was to me a most singular fashion, although not unbecoming.
[Illustration: Rope Ferry.]
They all wore short gowns with gayly-colored petticoats, which came
an inch or two below the frock itself, and had small, white linen
caps which caused them to look much like old ladies. Prim and demure
they were while marching in an orderly manner through the streets,
and yet I saw more than one cast a sidelong glance toward our company
of children, with a twinkle in their eyes as token that, were they so
permitted, they could show us that they had in their natures quite as
much love for fun as any other boy or girl.
THE ROPE FERRY
We stayed longer in Bethlehem than we were warranted in doing, when
one takes into consideration the length of the journey before us; but
it was all so entertaining, so peaceful, and there was such an air
of friendliness among the people, that I was sorry when we drove out
of the town, hoping to find lodgings for the night at the house of a
German, eight miles beyond.
And so we journeyed on without adventure until we came to the Lehigh
River, and there I saw what I dare say no fellow in Massachusetts has
laid eyes upon. It was called a rope ferry, by means of which we were
to cross the river.
Ben Cushing claims that there is nothing wonderful about this ferry,
for it consists simply of a rope stretched from one bank of the river
to the other; to this, attached by a noose, or, in other words, a
hawser which will readily slip, the ferryboat is made fast in such a
manner that the stern is lower downstream than the bow, and the current
catching this, forces the boat along.
[Illustration: Buying Needed Item from Farmers.]
Perhaps I haven't made this very plain to you, but it is operated on
the principle of force applied to what might be called an inclined
plane; therefore, since the craft cannot be shoved downstream by the
current, it must be urged toward the opposite shore.
At all events to me it was a great curiosity, whether Ben Cushing
thought it so or not, and I studied the general arrangement so
carefully that if we should need anything of the kind in this country,
I am quite certain I could build one.
THE WAY THROUGH PENNSYLVANIA
Now our way lay through Allentown and Kutztown to Reading; the roads
over which we traveled were so good, and the horses so willing, that
every member of our company enjoyed himself to the utmost.
[Illustration: German Women Swingling Flax.]
Cynthia Rouse and Sally Devoll visited back and forth from wagon to
wagon during each day, their favorite seat being with the driver, where
they could see what was going on and sing to their heart's content.
We were treated kindly by the people, who sold us bread and butter,
milk or meat, and now and then we came to a store or tavern where we
could lay in additional supplies of provisions, but, as a rule, thus
far we had found it possible to buy from farmers all that we might need.
At night, when we were stopping at a farmhouse, and after the small
children had been put to bed, the older girls would set about
preparing provisions for the next day, perhaps borrowing cooking
utensils, for our own were few in number and fitted rather for use on a
rough fireplace out of doors than in a well-ordered kitchen.
It had become the rule that Isaac Barker, Ben Cushing, and I were to
sleep in the wagons during the night to guard against the possibility
of evil-disposed persons. Up to this time, however, we had had no
trouble of the kind; but Captain Haskell insisted that we remain
constantly on our guard, claiming that the day might come when we would
fall in with people not so friendly as those who had thus far cheered
us on our way.
THE SHAME OF THE GIRLS
On the day when we went into Reading, Cynthia Rouse and Sally Devoll
were on the front seat of Isaac's wagon, and as they rode along the
girls saw two old German women swingling, or as they called it,
"scutchelling" flax.
The old ladies presented a most comical appearance, and the girls
laughed loudly, never thinking for a moment that they were being rude;
but when the flax swinglers looked up angrily and saw the legend on our
wagon cover, one of them shouted to the girls that if they were going
into the Ohio country, the day would soon come when they also would be
swingling flax, if they did their duty.
[Illustration]
As may be supposed, this caused the girls no little shame, for being
thus reproved by their elders was not pleasant, more particularly when
they knew they had been guilty of rudeness.
This town of Reading was the most considerable place we had seen
since leaving Massachusetts, and Master Rouse decided that we should
remain there at least one day because of the number of shops where we
could buy such articles as were needed, or otherwise put ourselves in
readiness for the rougher journey which we knew lay before us.
MEETING WITH PARSON CUTLER
It was owing to this decision that we got late and trustworthy news
concerning the land where we counted on making our homes, for there we
met Parson Cutler himself.
I despair of making you understand how surprised and delighted we were
at meeting the parson midway in our journey.
[Illustration: Parson Cutler in His Sulky.]
We all knew that during the summer he had set out in his sulky
intending to drive from Ipswich to Marietta; but since we did not leave
until October, we supposed, if indeed we gave very much heed to the
matter, that Master Cutler must have returned long ere this.
The parson appeared quite as well pleased to see us as we were to see
him, and straightway commended Master Rouse and Captain Haskell upon
their spirit in thus going out into the Ohio country, where he assured
them they would find such farming lands as had never been seen in
Massachusetts. In addition to this, he set Mistress Devoll's mind at
rest regarding her husband and spent no little time explaining to her
what the captain had done in the way of building the _Mayflower_ and
the other boats which carried the first settlers down the river.
OHIO CORNFIELDS
Among other things, he told us of the enormous fields of corn which
had been planted, described to us the cabins our people had built,
which were little more than low huts covered in with walnut bark, and
declared that the houses and the corn seemed to grow at the same time,
although the corn speedily overshadowed the small dwellings, for it
grew so tall that one had to stand on tiptoes to break off an ear,
while in Massachusetts it was often necessary for a farmer to stoop.
[Illustration: Ohio Cornfields.]
"One could as easily be lost in a cornfield on a cloudy day as in a
cedar swamp," Parson Cutler said, and then went on to tell how much
like a forest were these fields, where the green grain grew above one's
head with leaves so huge as to shut out all rays of light from one
furrow to another.
He rather dampened the ardor of some of the women when he said that the
surveyors were forced to do their work under the protection of a guard
of armed men, for fear of prowling Indians, and the children looked
at each other in alarm as he told of one of the settlers who had been
bitten, when asleep, by a copperhead snake.
THE GOVERNOR AND JUDGES
We heard also from Parson Cutler that General Arthur St. Clair had
been appointed governor of the Ohio district. He was a citizen of
Pennsylvania, had been a distinguished officer in the Revolutionary
army, and president of Congress, in addition to which he stood high
in the confidence of Washington. Samuel H. Parsons of Connecticut,
and James M. Varnum of Massachusetts, both of whom were directors in
the Ohio Company, and John Cleves Symmes of New Jersey had been made
judges, with Winthrop Sargent of New Hampshire as secretary of the
territory.
The judges arrived at Marietta in June, and on the 9th of July,
Governor St. Clair joined them. He was escorted by a detachment of
troops under Major Doughty, who had gone up to Pittsburgh from Fort
Harmar some days before to meet him, and was received with military
honors and a salute.
[Illustration: Governor greeted with rounds from fieldpiece.]
One of the soldiers afterward told me that when the governor landed he
was greeted with thirteen rounds from a fieldpiece. When he approached
the garrison, the music played a salute, the troops paraded and
presented their arms, and he was also welcomed by a clap of thunder
and a heavy shower of rain as he entered the fort. It seemed to
this soldier a very pleasant way of receiving the governor of a new
territory.
As might have been expected, Parson Cutler was enthusiastic in his
praise of our town of Marietta, and he read to us that which General
Washington himself had written, which was this:--
"No colony in America was ever settled under such favorable auspices as
that which has just commenced at the Muskingum. Information, property,
and strength will be its characteristics. I know many of the settlers
personally, and there never were men better calculated to promote the
welfare of such a community."