allow the boat to remain where it was until spring, since he could do
no different because of the ice, and then it could be used by those who
proposed to make a settlement fourteen miles farther down the Ohio.
He also said that we were at liberty to use it as we saw fit during
the entire winter, providing, of course, that we did no damage to the
craft; but at the same time advising that, instead of trying to keep
house by ourselves, we live either with his family or Master Rouse's.
[Illustration]
He said we should find plenty of game in the woods, and proposed that
we borrow his gun whenever we were in need of meat, promising to
supply us with ammunition; but this last we agreed to only with the
understanding that he keep a strict account of what was used, so that
when we had earned sufficient money with which to cancel the debt, we
might pay him.
At this he laughed, declaring that we were indeed high and mighty for
lads who yet had their way to make through the world; but at the same
time clapping us heartily on the shoulders as he vowed he liked our
spirit and had no doubt but that we should succeed in making our way,
for there must be ample opportunity for willing lads to earn fair wages
when spring had come.
BUYING LAND
Another thing Master Devoll did for which both Ben and I have good
reason to bless him. He insisted that we make a bargain with Colonel
Putnam for one of the eight-acre lots, agreeing to pay for it within
a year's time, and inasmuch as the price fixed upon for those who had
come to settle was the same as that made by the government, meaning
one dollar an acre, it surely seemed as if we could contrive within
a twelve-month to earn that much money in addition to supporting
ourselves.
Without loss of time we went to the small building which Colonel Putnam
called the "Land Office," and there made application for one of the
lots as Master Devoll had advised. On the instant after Colonel Putnam
spoke, we understood that Master Devoll had not contented himself
simply with giving advice, but had been to the land office before us,
stating who we were and what were our intentions, therefore Colonel
Putnam not only was ready to receive us, but had much to say which
sounded to my ears like unwon praise.
"It is such lads as you that we want here in Marietta," he said
heartily. "Your records are good, so far as I have learned, and it
pleases me to set aside an eight-acre lot for you. Decide upon any one
of those which have not already been taken, and I will enter it in your
names."
[Illustration]
Then he put before us a plan of the town of Marietta, whereon each
piece of land was marked out, and we, instead of going out to look
for ourselves that we might decide which was the most valuable or
desirable, said to him that he should put our names down on whatever
lot he saw fit, whereupon he laughingly did so, and we afterward
learned that we had been, perhaps, wise in leaving to him the selection.
That night after we had become landowners, as you might say, we slept
on board the flatboat with no covering save such a shelter as could be
made with branches of trees, and because we were not disposed to ask
either Mistress Rouse or Mistress Devoll to lend us blankets, we made
a lively blaze in the fireplace, laying ourselves down with our feet
toward it.
The night was cold indeed and we suffered not a little before morning;
but, as Ben said, it was better to be a trifle chilly than to feel
ourselves beholden to any one, even for that with which we covered
ourselves.
[Illustration]
I insisted that our first duty should be to get together a supply of
fuel, and indeed there was no scarcity about. The trees grew so near
the water's edge that we could hew them into four-foot lengths, and
almost toss them into the flatboat.
It was my proposition that we fill the craft entirely with fuel
before doing anything else, but Ben was so set upon seeing the Indian
encampment, that he refused to do more than cut enough to last during
one night, and when I asked him what he intended to do about breakfast,
he quietly announced that he would rather go hungry one day, than miss
the chance of seeing those savages with whom we might, at some time in
the near future, find ourselves fighting for our lives.
I also was eager to see the Indians; but not to such an extent that I
would cross over to Fort Harmar with an empty stomach. I therefore told
him that I should first make it my duty to go into the woods in search
of game.
VISITING THE SAVAGES
He, however, was so insistent that we finally agreed that the forenoon
should be spent in looking at the savages, and after that he was to go
with me hunting.
It was odd, when we had come to Fort Harmar, to see so many of the
brown-skinned people dressed in fanciful garb, as if taking part in
some comical festival; but there was about them so much which was
disagreeable, that I could not really enjoy the visit.
I fancied that more than one of them looked in an unfriendly manner at
us, as if taking offense because of our curiosity, and I was willing
to postpone any further acquaintance with them until we were somewhat
familiar with their habits and customs.
Ben was not so eager as he had been, and when noon came was ready to
accompany me on a hunting trip, as had been agreed upon.
[Illustration]
I wish I had the time to tell you all we did during that first
afternoon, for indeed it was most interesting.
Roaming through a dirty Indian encampment was not for a single moment
to be compared with the pleasure of making one's way among the huge
trees, where game was so abundant that a fellow might pick and choose.
Before we had gone half a mile from the fortification, we came upon
pigeons and rabbits in what seemed countless numbers, and more than
once did we get a glimpse of wild turkeys; but as yet we were not
sufficiently versed in hunting to be able to kill them.
[Illustration]
Within two hours we had enough meat for the coming week, and, hastening
back to our flatboat home, were able before sunset to cut so much wood
that Ben declared we might live like gentlemen of leisure during the
next few days.
"If we are to make for ourselves names of worth in this country, there
must be no idleness," I said half laughingly. "You and I have decided
that we will strike out for ourselves, therefore it stands us in hand
to earn money, and that without loss of time."
"We will begin bright and early to-morrow morning," Ben replied
cheerily. "You shall go one way and I another, each seeking to find
some way by which we can earn an honest dollar, and each seeing to it
that whatever business is engaged upon, shall be for two, because, as I
understand it, you and I are to work in one yoke while we remain here
in this town of Marietta."
CAPTAIN HASKELL'S ADVICE
We did not do exactly as Ben proposed when another day had come, and it
was none other than Captain Haskell who prevented us from carrying out
our plans.
We met the captain just as we were coming out from beneath our shelter,
he having strolled that way in order to learn how we might be getting
on. Seeing that we were blue and shivering with the cold as we strove
to kindle a fire in the stern of the flatboat, he said to us that it
would be a good idea if we made of the craft a comfortable home during
the winter months.
[Illustration]
Then he showed us how, with a little labor, we could build in the
stern of the flatboat a shelter which would be quite as good as any
hut on shore, save that we might be lodged in one of the best rooms in
Campus Martius, and advised that we set about the work before striving
to find employment. At the same time he assured us there was no doubt
whatsoever in his mind but that two lads who were willing to work, and
who would work, might make for themselves a home and a name.
Having given this advice, he turned squarely about, never waiting to
see whether we might be willing to follow it, and walked rapidly toward
the fortification.
We pondered over his suggestion no longer than it might take a man to
count twenty, and then began to discuss how we had best begin the work,
in the meanwhile warming up what remained of the roasted pigeons we had
cooked for supper.
A NEW FRIEND
While we were thus engaged, the lad Jeremy Salter, of whom I have
already spoken, came down to the shore, curious to see who might be
remaining on board a flatboat when there was shelter to be had in the
town, and without waiting for an invitation, joined us at breakfast,
eating considerably more than his share. He told us exactly how we
ought to set about making the shelter, and what it might be possible
for us to do in the way of gaining employment.
At first it nettled me that this boy should presume to advise us, for
he was considerably younger than I; but before he had done with his
suggestions, both Ben and I saw that they were not without merit.
He was the son of one of the Salters who had come out from Danvers, and
considered himself an old resident of the country because of having
been here two months or more. It appeared that he was not very eager to
gain employment for himself, claiming that his father was one of those
who expected to go farther down the river in the spring to make there
another settlement.
However, I must say in his favor that he took hold with us heartily,
borrowing two axes, and advising which trees might be felled the
easiest, performing himself a due share of the labor, with the result
that before two days had passed, thanks to his assistance and advice,
we had as good a hut built over the fireplace in the stern of the
flatboat as one could desire.
FISHING THROUGH THE ICE
Then Jeremy Salter told us how we might lay in a store of provisions
without spending powder and ball. His scheme was to go a short distance
from the point, and there fish through the ice.
He not only gave this advice but went so far as to provide us with
fishing tackle, and seemed to enjoy himself hugely while aiding in
laying up a store of food.
It was no labor, but rather sport, to catch fish in this fashion. We
caught them as fast as it was possible to haul in the lines, until when
night came and we had made a sort of sled with branches of trees, we
had as much of a load as we cared to drag over the ice.
By this time they were all frozen, therefore we stacked them up like
fuel in the bow of the flatboat, and I dare say that had we lived on
fish alone, we had in the ten hours' fishing enough food for a month.
During all this time that we were building our hut and fishing, Ben
Cushing was eager to pay another visit to the Indian encampment; but
Jeremy declared that the savages were not in the most friendly mood,
even though they had come to make a treaty, and his father had told him
plainly that he must not venture near the lodges, lest harm might come.
[Illustration]
Such talk as this served to take away Ben's desire to see the wild
savages in their own camps, and I was glad because of it, for instead
of spending half a day when time was precious, we, with Jeremy's aid,
set about laying up a greater store of fuel, until the flatboat had a
full cargo of wood and fish, therefore we need not fear hunger or cold
during the winter.
THE SABBATH IN MARIETTA
I was glad indeed when the Sabbath came, for I had worked hard and the
time of rest was what all of us, including Jeremy, who was living with
us rather than in Campus Martius with his parents, most needed.
The greater number of the people assembled in one of the rooms of
Campus Martius during the forenoon, where prayers were read and some of
the older men talked to us in serious fashion.
[Illustration]
The words at that time took even more hold on me than those which I had
heard from Parson Cutler's lips at home, for we were indeed needing the
protection of God, since there were none of this world who could aid
if the savages attacked us suddenly. I believe that both Ben and I came
away from that meeting better in heart and with better resolutions for
the future, than we had ever had before.
Bright and early on Monday morning Captain Haskell made us another
visit and commented favorably upon the shelter we had built, at the
same time that he looked curiously at our stack of fish.
[Illustration]
"I see no reason why you lads should not sell me half a dozen of
these," he said, picking out some of the finest, and Ben Cushing
replied promptly that he might have all he wanted for the carrying away.
The captain refused any such offer, saying that he would buy them,
otherwise he would go without, and declaring that if we wished, we
might sell to the people inside the fortification no small amount of
fish during the winter season, for there were plenty who did not feel
disposed to spend their time on the river while the weather was so
cold.
A REGULAR BUSINESS
He gave us a shilling for as many as he could carry, and bade us follow
him to Campus Martius, where within an hour we took orders for as many
as we had in the flatboat, at prices much the same as that paid by the
captain, and straightway without our seeking it, there came to us a
means of earning money sufficient to provide ourselves with ammunition
for hunting.
You would not have the patience to read all I could write about our
work during that winter.
[Illustration]
There was never man nor woman in Campus Martius who could come out and
beckon us, but that we were ready to furnish him or her with as much
fish as was wanted, until we had gathered in no less than seven dollars
and three shillings, by working in a way which was much like sport. Of
this amount we spent a little more than one half to purchase a store
of powder and lead, for it was our intention to add the business of
hunting to that of fishing.
Thanks to Jeremy Salter, we borrowed from a kind man who had come out
with Colonel Sproat two muskets, with the understanding that if at any
time before spring we were ready to pay twelve dollars for each, they
might become our property.
From this time on we fished when the weather was too stormy for
successful hunting, and roamed the woods during pleasant days, coming
back to our flatboat home each night literally laden with game or fish;
and although any man in Marietta could have done the same, we had no
difficulty in selling it all.
Of the ceremony of making the treaty with the Indians we saw nothing,
and for the very good reason that we could not afford to spend the time.
A VISIT FROM THE SAVAGES
Just then it seemed as if every man in the settlement was eager to know
what might be going on around Fort Harmar, and therefore the demands
upon us hunters increased to such an extent that we could hardly supply
the food which was desired.
In addition to the fact that we were unable to be present during
the treaty making, save at the price of losing the chance to earn
considerable money, Ben Cushing had lost all desire to see the savages
at close quarters.
One afternoon just before sunset, when we had come in from fishing,
two Delaware braves came over to our flatboat and made themselves very
much at home, without any invitation. In fact, they carried matters
with a high hand, as if having the right to do as they pleased, and
when Ben made a stout protest against their eating the food intended
for our own supper, one of them behaved in such a threatening manner
that for a moment I thoroughly believed he was about to strike the lad
down, therefore I hastily caught up one of the axes, believing I should
be called upon to fight for my life.
[Illustration]
When the Indians had eaten until it was impossible to eat more, they
having literally forced us to cook for them, the two stalked away, and
from that time forth Ben never said anything regarding a desire to
visit the encampment.
We hunted or fished during every moment of daylight while the treaty
making was going on, and when it had come to an end we had so many
dollars in our possession as satisfied us fully for having failed to
witness the ceremony.
BUILDING A HOME
It was at this time, when we were so prosperous, that Jeremy Salter
declared we ought to set aside a certain day in each week for the work
of building a house for ourselves on the eight-acre lot, which we now
knew could be paid for at any time, since we had more than sufficient
money in our possession.
[Illustration]
Thus, thanks to Jeremy, we set about building our home, working
whenever the demand for game or fish was light, or when it stormed so
furiously that we could not well go on the river or in the woods. When
spring came and the snow had disappeared, we had as solidly built a
cabin as could be found anywhere in Marietta outside Campus Martius.
Thus far we had accomplished a portion of our purpose. The people had
come to understand that if we promised to provide them with a certain
kind of game or fish, the promise would be kept to the letter. I am
saying this not to praise myself, but simply to show we were making a
name for ourselves as lads who told the truth, and kept strictly to
their bargain.
As I looked at the matter, this was of greatest value to us. We had set
about gaining a good reputation, and verily we had begun aright, though
only in small matters. It remained to show whether we were of such
stuff as settlers in a wild country should be made.
Before the first day of March we had paid for our eight-acre lot, had
built a cabin of two rooms, in which was stored as much frozen game and
fish as would keep sweet until warm weather came, and, in addition, had
nineteen dollars which we could call our own.
A GREAT PROJECT
One day, when the rain came down in torrents, and we were not inclined
either to fish or hunt, Captain Haskell came to make a friendly call,
and, in no spirit of curiosity, but rather because of the interest
which he had evidently taken in us, asked how we were progressing.
Without hesitation I told him exactly how we stood in the world,
whereupon he praised us highly, and then proposed a scheme which fairly
caused me to hold my breath in amazement, for it did not seem possible
we could venture so far as his plan led.
[Illustration]
His idea was that we build a water mill by buying from himself and
Master Rouse the flatboat in which we were still living and by putting
alongside of it a second one, the two to be fastened side by side in
such a manner that a water wheel could be worked between them, and the
double craft anchored in the current, where sufficient power could be
had to drive the mill.
As to the stones for grinding and such small pieces of machinery as we
might need, he figured that we could buy them either in Pittsburgh or
from some craft which came up the river, and when I asked him how far
he thought our store of money would go in such a project, he laughingly
replied that Uncle Daniel and he would lend us a sufficient amount to
pay for all we might need, and take from us in return three-quarters of
the entire earnings until the debt, with interest, had been canceled.
When Ben Cushing asked if he believed we should find business enough to
warrant the undertaking, he replied:--
"There are about two hundred people here now and twice as many coming
from Massachusetts during the summer. Now, since there is no mill here
and all the corn must be ground by hand, I am asking whether you do not
believe that by harvest time a single mill such as Uncle Daniel and
I propose you shall build, will be kept running during every hour of
daylight?"
THE TWO MILLERS
We discussed the matter earnestly, as you may well suppose, and Uncle
Daniel, coming aboard before we had finished the conversation, did his
share of arguing. Before nightfall it was settled that on the following
morning we should begin work on a second flatboat, and also repair the
old craft in which we had come down from Sumrill's Ferry.
And all this we did, working with a hearty will far into each night,
because it was possible to see before us a way of getting on in the
world faster than we had ever dared to dream, and you may be sure we
wasted no minute of daylight.
We had expected to cultivate our eight acres, and, in fact, when
spring came we did put in a crop of corn; but the making of the mill
and providing ourselves with food occupied so much of our time that we
could not well afford to spend many hours as farmers, more particularly
since both Uncle Daniel and Captain Haskell insisted that as soon as
the mill was in working order we could earn double or treble as much as
it would be possible to get from the ground.
And it all came about as these two good friends of ours predicted. The
mill was a success from the first day we were ready to turn the wheel,
and has continued so until now, when we are in sorest trouble.
THE SAVAGES ON THE WARPATH
From the time of our coming into this Ohio country, Marietta had
steadily increased in size, the people coming, as it seemed to me,
from every part of the eastern colonies, and just when Ben and I were
congratulating each other that our lines had been cast in peaceful,
pleasant places, even though we were settled in the wilderness, the
Indians began their bloody work which we now fear may result in wiping
out this settlement.
The treaty which had been made by the savages just after we arrived was
kept only by the white men. Hardly more than two weeks ago news came
that Captain King had been killed at that settlement to which Uncle
Daniel went in the spring, while four others were slain in the forest,
and one taken prisoner.
[Illustration]
The savages are in arms against us. We have been forced to come into
Campus Martius for safety; work of all kinds has been abandoned; our
mill is moored far up the Muskingum River, where we have a faint hope
it may escape destruction.
Although it may be that within the next four and twenty hours both Ben
and I will have fallen beneath the tomahawk, yet must I bear witness
that God has been good to us indeed. He has permitted two lads so to
make their way in the world with nothing save their own hands as stock
in trade, that now, as I have good reason for believing, we are counted
among the responsible citizens of the town.
And of this it seems to me I had good proof no longer ago than
yesterday, when I heard General Putnam say while he and some other of
the men were discussing the possibilities of an Indian war:--
"If evidence were needed that it is well for young, willing workers to
come into the wilderness, then I would point out to you that lad who
journeyed with Mistress Devoll, and who, with his comrade, has laid
up more than a fair share of this world's goods by unceasing work and
unswerving honesty. He has done no more than many another might have
done; but it has pleased me to watch the lad, and when I think of him
it is always as our cheery-faced, upright miller, Benjamin of Ohio."
BOOKS CONSULTED IN WRITING BENJAMIN OF OHIO
BALDWIN, JAMES: Conquest of the Old Northwest. American Book
Company.
BUEL, MISS ROWENA: Memoirs of Rufus Putnam. Houghton Mifflin
Company.
DRAKE, SAMUEL ADAMS: Making of the Ohio Valley States.
Charles Scribner's Sons.
EARLE, ALICE MORSE: Home Life in Colonial Days. The Macmillan
Company.
ELLET, Mrs.: Pioneer Women of the West. John C. Winston
Company.
ELSON, HENRY WILLIAM: History of the United States. The
Macmillan Company.
HARPER'S MAGAZINE: Vol. 71, p. 552.
HILDRETH, S. P.: Pioneer History. H. W. Derby & Co.
HINSDALE, B. A.: The Old Northwest. Silver, Burdett & Co.
HOWELLS, WILLIAM DEAN: Stories of Ohio. American Book Company.
JONES, N. E.: Squirrel Hunters of Ohio. Robert Clarke Company.
MOWRY, WILLIAM A.: American Pioneers. Silver, Burdett & Co.
POWELL, LYMAN P.: Historic Towns of Western States. G. P.
Putnam's Sons.
ROOSEVELT, THEODORE: Winning of the West. G. P. Putnam's Sons.
THWAITE, REUBEN GOLD: Early Western Travels (Buttrick).
Arthur H. Clarke Company.
WALKER, CHARLES M.: History of Athens County, Ohio. Robert
Clarke Company.
* * * * * *
Transcriber's note:
Page 9, Benjamin illustration was a dropped capital I illustration in
the original book.
Page 68, uncle changed to Uncle (Uncle Daniel's household goods).
Punctuation silently corrected.