Before the writer makes a business of exploiting Adams County
and of methodically dissecting its various institutions and developing
movements, there are certain fragmentary pictures which should be
etched as background. They are not only produced as meat to place
on the bones of necessary facts, but as really a feature of the history
which, in no wise, could be omitted with any pretense of completeness.
Modern history, especially that dealing with circumscribed areas, must
depict the people and their ways as keys to their actions and their
institutions. This chapter, therefore, expressly avoids method and
classification; it simply is written to introduce the pioneers of Adams
County as a people, with occasional mention of individuals to illustrate
a special phase of their life or a special trait of character, and if they
and their lives are brought to the clear comprehension of readers
whose lines have not crossed this human field of history, much of the
narrative covering the later periods will be more clearly comprehended
and the comforts and blessings of the present more fully appreciated.
 

                                        83

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84       ADAMS AND WELLS COUNTIES

                A COUNTRY HOME OF THE '40s

    The following description of a model country home in Adams
County was given to John F. Snow by an old resident, as representa-
tive of the '40s: "Our house was a single-room cabin of round logs
with puncheon floor and clapboard roof. At the front we had a porch.
The clapboard roof was held in place by weight poles. The puncheon
floor was hewed smooth on the upper side and was substantial and
solid. It had a stick chimney plastered with mud, with 'nigger head'

[photo]

LOG CABIN OF OUR ANCESTORS

hearth and fire-place. The door hung on wooden hinges and was
made of thick clapboards. Our loft had a clapboard floor, and we
went up stairs on a ladder made of iron-wood poles. The openings
between the logs were chinked with small pieces of wood and daubed
with clay mortar. We had plenty of fresh air from above, as the
clapboard floor was not very closely laid. We had two pole beds with
one post each. The two back corners of the room by means of an
auger hole in the logs at the side and end of the wall, made good
sides and end fastenings. Over these sides smaller poles were

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ADAMS AND WELLS COUNTIES       85
 

placed and held by linn bark tied at the ends, which made a very
comfortable bed. Now, to save light and fuel and for general con-
venience, we arranged to have our kitchen, dining room, sitting room
and parlor all in the same room, and, when the occasion demanded it,
we converted this room, which was about Sixteen by twenty feet in
size, into a shoe shop, a corn-grating shop, a spinning and weaving
room, and sometimes used it for a gun shop, spinning room and ax-
handle factory. So thus the years came and went, and we enjoyed
them in our simple cabin houses and were happier in our freedom
than a king on his throne. Then every settler knew every man, woman
and child in the neighborhood, and could count them without much
trouble or figuring."

                    BUILDING THE LOG HOUSE
 

    After arriving and selecting a suitable location, the next move on
the part of the forehanded Hoosier pioneer was to build such a log
house as fell within his means and his constructive abilities. Trees of
uniform size were chosen and cut into logs of the desired length, gen-
erally 12 to 15 feet, and hauled to the building site. On an appointed
day the few available neighbors would assemble and have a "house-
raising." Each end of every log was saddled and notched so that they
would fit as closely as possible, and on the following days the pro-
prietor would chink and daub the cabin to keep out the rain, wind and
cold. The cabin had to be re-daubed every fall, as the rains would wash
out much of the mortar. The usual height of the house was 7 or 8
feet. The gables were formed by shortening the logs gradually at
each end of the building near the top. The roof was made by laying
very straight small logs or stout poles about two and a half feet apart
from gable to gable, and on these poles were laid the clapboards after
the manner of shingles, showing about two and a half feet to the
weather. Weight poles fastened the clapboards, and the latter were
held in place by chunks of wood about 20 inches long fitted between
them near the ends and called runs or knees. Clapboards were made
from the best of oaks by chopping or sawing the logs into four-foot
blocks, and splitting these with a frow, or a broad blade fixed at right
angles to the handle.

                THE CHIMNEY AND FIREPLACE
 

    The chimney of the cabin was made by leaving in the building a
large open place in one of the walls, or by cutting one after the house

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ADAMS AND WELLS COUNTIES   86

was raised, and by building on the outside from the ground up, a
column of stones or sticks and mud. The fireplace thus made was
sometimes large enough to receive firewood 6 to 8 feet long; the back
log might be as large as a good-sized saw log. In those days the pio-
neer considered it a great advantage to burn up wood as rapidly as
possible, as the sooner he cleared the timber from his land the more
rapidly approached the day when he could cultivate his farm to ad-
vantage. So the old-time fireplace was usually a hot place even in
cold weather.

                THE DOOR AND THE LATCHSTRING
 

    For a window the old settler cut out a piece of one of the wall
logs about two feet long and closed the hole with greased paper,
greased deer-hide, or thick green glass. If a saw was among the
household belongings, a doorway was cut through one of the log walls;
otherwise it would be made by shortening the logs at the proper place.
The door itself was fashioned by pinning two or three wooden bars to
clapboards, and was hung on wooden hinges. A wooden latch, with
a catch, finished the door; the latch could be raised from the outside
by pulling a leather string. For security at night this latchstring
was drawn in; but for friends and neighbors, and even strangers, if
the householder was of a specially sociable or confiding disposition,
"the latchstring was always hanging out."

                          INTERIOR OF THE CABIN

    In the interior of the cabin over the fireplace would be a shelf
called a mantle, on which stood the candlestick or lamp, some cooking
and table-ware, possibly an old clock, and other articles. Well within
the fireplace would be the crane, of iron or wood, on which were hung
the cooking pots. Over the front door, in forked cleats, hung the
rifle and powder horn, as necessary a part of the pioneer furnishings
as the crane itself, as they stood for a vital item of the family pro-
visions.

                             COOKING UTENSILS

    To witness the various processes of cooking in those days would
alike surprise and amuse those who have grown up since cooking-
stoves and ranges came into use. Kettles were hung over the large
fire, suspended with pot-hooks, iron or wooden, on the crane, or on
poles, one end of which would rest upon a chair. The, long-handled

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ADAMS AND WELLS COUNTIES     87

frying-pan was used for cooking meat. It was either held over the
blaze by hand or set down upon coals drawn out upon the hearth.
This pan was also used for baking pan-cakes, also called "flap-jacks,"
"batter-cakes," etc. A better article for this, however, was the cast-
iron spider or Dutch skillet. The best thing for baking bread in those
days, and possibly even yet in these latter days, was the flat-bottomed

[photo]

OLD-TIME CHIMNEY CORNER

bake-kettle, of greater depth, with closely-fitting cast-iron cover, and
commonly known as the "Dutch oven." With coals over and under
it, bread and biscuit would quickly and nicely bake. Turkey and
spareribs were sometimes roasted before the fire, suspended by a
string, a dish being placed underneath to catch the drippings.

                     TRUE HOMINY AND SAMP

    Hominy and samp were very much used. The hominy, however,
was generally hulled corn-boiled corn from which the hull, or bran,
 
 

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88       ADAMS AND WELLS COUNTIES

had been taken by hot lye; hence sometimes called "lye hominy."
True hominy and samp were made of pounded corn. A popular
method of making this, as well as real meal for bread, was to cut out
or burn a large hole in the top of a huge stump, in the shape of a
mortar, and pound the corn in this by a maul or beetle suspended on
the end of a swing pole, like a well-sweep. When the samp was suf-
ficiently pounded it was taken out, the bran floated off, and the de-
licious grain boiled like rice.
    The chief articles of diet in early days were corn bread, hominy,
or samp, venison, pork, honey, beans, pumpkin (dried pumpkin for
more than half the year), turkey, prairie chicken, squirrel and some
other game, with a few additional vegetable. a portion of the year.
Wheat bread, tea, coffee and fruit were luxuries not to be indulged
in except on special occasions, as when visitors were present.

            OLD-STYLE STRING INSTRUMENTS

    Besides cooking in the manner described, the women had many
other arduous duties to perform, one of the chief of which was spin-
ning. The "big wheel" was used for spinning yarn, and the "little
wheel" for spinning flax. These stringed instruments furnished the
principal music of the family, and were operated by our mothers and
grandmothers with great skill attained without pecuniary expense
and with far less practice than is necessary for the girls of our period
to acquire a skilful use of their costly and elegant instruments.
    The loom was not less necessary than the wheel, though they were
not needed in such great numbers. Not every house had a loom; one
loom had a capacity for the needs of several families. Settlers hav-
ing succeeded in spite of the wolves in raising sheep, commenced the
manufacture of woolen cloth; wool was carded and made into rolls
by hand cards, and the rolls were spun on the "big wheel." We still
occasionally find in the houses of old settlers a wheel of this kind,
sometimes used for spinning and twisting stocking yarn. They are
turned with the hand, and with such velocity that it will run itself
while the nimble worker, by her backward step, draws out and twists
her thread nearly the whole length of the cabin.

            SUSPICIOUS "BOUGHTEN" CLOTHES

    A common article woven on the loom was linsey, or linsey-woolsey,
the chain being linen and the filling woolen. This cloth was used for
dresses for the women and girls. Nearly all the cloths, worn by the

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ADAMS AND WELLS COUNTIES    89

men were also homemade; rarely was a farmer or his son seen in a
coat made of any other. If, occasionally, a young man appeared in
a suit of "boughten" clothes, he was suspected of having gotten it for
a particular occasion, which occurs in the life of nearly every young
man.

                VARIETY IN DRESS, THEN AND NOW

    Linsey, neat and fine, manufactured at home, composed generally
the outside garments of the females as well as the males. The ladies
had linsey colored and woven to suit their fancy. A bonnet, com-
posed of calico, or some gay goods, was worn on the head when they
were in the open air. Jewelry on the pioneer ladies was uncommon;
a gold ring was an ornament not often seen.
    The chronicler of to-day, looking back to the days of 1830 to 1840,
and comparing them with the present, must be struck with the tendency
of an almost monotonous uniformity in dress and manners that comes
from the easy intercommunication afforded by steamer, railway, tele-
graph and newspaper. Home manufactures have been driven from
the household by the lower-priced fabrics of distant mills. The
Kentucky jeans, and the copperas-colored clothing of home manufac-
ture, so familiar in the long ago, having given place to the cassimeres
and cloths of noted factories. The ready-made clothing stores, like
a touch of nature, made the whole world kin, and may drape the char-
coal man in a dress-coat and a stovepipe hat. The prints and silks
of England and France tended to give a variety of choice and an as-
sortment of colors and shades such as the pioneer women could hardly
have dreamed of.

            HOSPITALITY OF THE OLDEN TIME

    The traveler always found a welcome at the pioneer's cabin. It
was never full. Although there might be already a guest for every
puncheon, there was still "room for one more," and a wider circle
would be made for the new-coiner at the log fire. If the stranger 'was
in search of land, he was doubly welcome, and his host would volun-
teer to show him all the "first-rate claims in this neck of the woods,"
going with him for days, showing the corners and advantages of every
"Congress tracts," within a dozen miles of his own cabin.
    To his neighbors the pioneer was equally liberal. If a deer was
killed, the choicest bits were sent to his nearest neighbor, a half-dozen
miles away, perhaps. When a "shoat" was butchered the same cus-

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90       ADAMS AND WELLS COUNTIES

tom prevailed. If the new-corner came in too late for "cropping" the
neighbors would supply his table with just the same luxuries they
themselves enjoyed, and in as liberal quantity, until a crop could be
raised. When a new-coiner had located his claim, the neighbors for
miles around would assemble at the site of the new-corner's proposed
cabin and aid him in "bittin'" it up. One party with axes would
cut down the trees and hew the logs; another with teams would haul
the logs to the ground; another party would "raise" the cabin; while
several of the old men would "rive the clapboards" for the roof. By
night the little forest domicil would be up and ready for a "house-
warming," which was the dedicatory occupation of the house, when
music and dancing and festivity would be enjoyed at full height. The
next day the new-coiner would be as well situated as his neighbors.
    An instance of primitive hospitable manners will be in place here.
A traveling Methodist preacher arrived in a distant neighborhood .to
fill an appointment. The house where services were to be held did not
belong to a church member, but no matter for that. Boards were
raked up from all quarters with which to make temporary seats, one
of the neighbors volunteering to lead off in the work, while the man
of the house, with the faithful rifle on his shoulder, sallied forth in
quest of meat, for this truly was a "ground-hog" case-the preacher
coming and no meat in the house! The host ceased not to chase until
he found the meat, in the shape of a deer; returning he sent a boy out
after it, with directions on what "pint" to find it. After services,
which had been listened to with rapt attention by all the audience,
mine host said to his wife, "Old woman, I reckon this 'ere preacher is
pretty hungry and you must get him a bite to eat." "What shall I git
him?" asked the wife, who had not seen the deer; "thar's nuthin'
in the house to eat." "Why, look thar," returned he; "thar's a deer,
and thar's plenty of corn in the field; you git some corn and grate
it while I skin the deer, and we'll have a good supper for him." It
is needless to add that venison and corn bread made a supper fit for
any pioneer preacher, and was thankfully eaten.

                    IN THE TIMES OF BARTER

    In pioneer times the transactions of commerce were generally
carried on by neighborhood exchanges. Now and then a farmer
would load a flat-boat with beeswax, honey, tallow and peltries, with
perhaps a few bushels of wheat or corn or a few' hundred clapboards,
and float down the rivers into the Ohio and thence to New Orleans,
where he would exchange his produce for substantials in the shape of

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ADAMS AND WELLS COUNTIES    91

groceries and a little ready money, with which he would return by some
one of the two or three steamboats then running. Betimes there ap-
peared at the best steamboat landings a number of "middle men"
engaged in the "commission and forwarding" business, buying up
the farmers' produce and the trophies of the chase and the trap, and
sending them to the various distant markets. Their winter's accum-
 

[photo]

JOSIAH CRAWFORD, SETTLER OF 1839

ulations would be shipped in the spring, and the manufactured goods
of the far East or distant South would come back in return; and in
all these transactions scarcely any money was seen or used. Goods
were sold on a year's time to the farmers, and payment made from the
proceeds of the ensuing crops. When the crops were sold and the
merchant satisfied, the surplus was paid out in orders on the store to
laboring men and to satisfy other creditors. When a day's work was
done by a working man, his employer would ask, "Well, what store
 

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92       ADAMS AND WELLS COUNTIES

do you want your order on?" The answer being given, the order
was written and always cheerfully accepted.
    Money was an article little known and seldom seen among the
earlier settlers. Indeed, they had but little use for it, as they could
transact all their business about as well without it, on the "barter"
system, wherein great ingenuity was sometimes displayed. When it
failed in any instance, long credits contributed to the convenience of
the citizens. But for taxes and postage neither the barter nor the
credit system would answer, and often letters were suffered to remain
a long time in the postoffice for the want of the twenty-five cents de-
manded by the Government. With all this high price on postage, by
the way, the letter had not been brought 500 miles in a day or two, as
is the case nowadays, but had probably been weeks on the route, and
the mail was delivered at the pioneer's postoffice, several miles dis-
tant from his residence, only once in a week or two. All the mail
would be carried by a lone horseman. Instances are related illustrat-
ing how misrepresentation would be resorted to in order to elicit the
sympathies of some one who was known to have "two bits" (25 cents)
of money with him, and procure the required governmental fee for a
letter.

                    PELTRIES NEAR-MONEY

    Peltries came nearer being money than anything else, as it cams
to be custom to estimate the value of everything in that commodity.
Such an article was worth so many peltries. Even some tax collectors
and postmasters were known to take peltries and exchange them for
money required by the Government.

            STUFF THE STAYERS WERE MADE OF

    When the first settlers came into the wilderness they generally
supposed that their hard struggle would be principally over after the
first year; but alas! they often looked for "easier times next year"
for many years before realizing them, and then they came in so grad-
ually as to be almost imperceptible. The sturdy pioneer thus learned
to bear hardships, privation and hard living, as good soldiers do. As
the facilities for making money were not great, they lived pretty well
satisfied in an atmosphere of good, social, friendly feeling, and thought
themselves as good as those they had left behind in the East. But
among the early settlers who came to this state were many who, ac-
customed to the advantages of an older civilization, to churches, schools

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ADAMS AND WELLS COUNTIES    93
 

and society, became speedily home-sick and dissatisfied. They would
remain perhaps one summer, or at most two, then, selling whatever
claim with its improvements they had made, would return to the older
states, spreading reports of the hardships endured by the settlers
here and the disadvantages which they had found, or imagined they
had found in the country. These weaklings were not an unmitigated
curse. The slight improvements they had made were sold to men of
sterner stuff, who were the sooner able to surround themselves with
the necessities of life, while their unfavorable report deterred other
weaklings from coming. The men who stayed, who were willing to
endure privations, belonged to a different guild; they were heroes
every one,-men to whom hardships were things to be overcome, and
present privations things to be endured for the sake of posterity, and
they never shrank from this duty. It is to these hardy pioneers who
could endure that is mainly credited the wonderful developments that
have brought every section of Indiana from a wilderness to a finely
developed American product.
 

                GRINDING CORN BY HAND
 

    Not the least of the hardships of the pioneers was the procuring
of bread. The first settlers must be supplied at least once a year
from other sources than their own lands; but the first crops, however
abundant, gave only partial relief, there being no mills to grind the
grain. Hence the necessity of grinding by hand-power, and many
families were poorly provided with means for doing this. Another
way was to grate the corn. A grater was made from a piece of tin,
sometimes taken from an old, worn-out tin bucket or other vessel. It
was thickly perforated, bent into a semi-circular form, rough side up-
ward, on a board. The corn was taken in the ear, and grated before
it got dry and hard. Corn, however, was eaten in various ways.

            MILLS AND AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS
 

    Soon after the country became more generally settled, enterprise-
in men were ready to embark in the milling business. Sites along
the streams were selected for water-power. A person looking for a
mill-site would follow up and down the stream for a desired location,
and when found he would go before the authorities and secure a writ of
ad quad damnum. This would enable the miller to have the adjoining
land officially examined, and the amount of damage by making a dam
was named. Mills being so great a public necessity, they were per-
 

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94       ADAMS AND WELLS COUNTIES

mitted to be located upon any person's land where the miller thought
the site desirable.
    The agricultural implements used by the first farmers of Adams
County would in this age of improvement be great curiosities. The
plow used was called the "bar-share" plow; the iron point consisted
of a bar of iron about two feet long, and a broad share of iron welded
to it. At the extreme point was a coulter that passed through a beam
6 or 7 feet long, to which were attached handles of corresponding
length. The mold-board was a wooden one split out of winding tim-
ber, or hewed into a winding shape, in order to turn the soil over.

[photo]

RUSTIC WATER MILL

Sown seed was brushed in by dragging over the ground a sapling
with a bushy top. In harvesting the change is most striking. Instead
of the reapers and mowers of today, the sickle and cradle were used.
The grain was threshed with a flail, or trodden out by horses or oxen.

            HOG SHOOTING AND STICKING

    Hogs were always dressed before they were taken to market. The
farmer, if fore-handed, would call in his neighbors some bright fall
or winter morning to help "kill hogs." Immense kettles of water
were heated; a sled or two, covered with loose boards or plank, con-
stituted the platform on which the hog was cleaned, and was placed
near an inclined hogshead in which the scalding was done; a quilt

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ADAMS AND WELLS COUNTIES    95

was thrown over the top of the latter to retain the heat; from a crotch
of some convenient tree a projecting pole was rigged to hold the ani-
mals for disemboweling and thorough cleaning. When everything
was arranged, the best shot of the neighborhood loaded his rifle, and
the work of killing was commenced. It was considered a disgrace to
make a hog "squeal" by bad shooting or by a "shoulder-stick"; that
is, running the point of the butcher-knife into the shoulder instead of
the cavity of the breast. As each hog fell, the "sticker" mounted him
and plunged the butcher-knife, long and well sharpened, into his
throat; two persons would then catch him by the hind legs, draw him
up to the scalding tub, which had just been filled with boiling-hot
water with a shovelful of good green wood ashes thrown in; in this
the carcass was plunged and moved around a minute or so, that is,
until the hair would slip off easily, then placed on the platform, where
the cleaners would pitch into him with all their might and clean him
as quickly as possible, with knives and other sharp-edged implements;
then two stout fellows would take him up between them, and a third
man to manage the "gambrel" (which was a stout stick about two
feet long, sharpened at both ends, to be inserted between the muscles
of the hind legs at or near the hock joint), the animal would be ele-
vated to the pole, where the work of cleaning was finished.

        PORK PACKING AND MARKETING

    After the slaughter was over and the hogs had had time to cool,
such as were intended for domestic use were cut up, the lard "tried"
out by the women of the household, and the surplus hogs taken to
market, while the weather was cold, if possible. In those days almost
every merchant had, at the rear end of his place of business, or at
some convenient building, a "pork-house," and would buy the pork
of his customers and of such others as would sell to him, and cut it
for the market. This gave employment to a large number of hands
in every village, who would cut and pack pork all winter. The hauling
of all this to the river would also give employment to a large number
of teams, and the manufacture of pork barrels would keep many
coopers employed.
    There was one feature in the method of marketing pork that made
the country a paradise for the poor man in the winter time. Spare-
ribs, tenderloins, pigs' heads and pigs' feet were not considered of any
value, and were freely given to all who could use them. If a barrel
was taken to any pork-house and salt furnished, the barrel would be
filled and salted down with tenderloins and spare-ribs gratuitously.

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ADAMS AND WELLS COUNTIES            96
 

So great in many cases was the quantity of spare-ribs, etc., to be dis-
posed of, that they would be hauled away in wagon-loads and dumped
in the woods out of town.
    In those early times much wheat was marketed at 25 to 50 cents
a bushel, oats the same or less, and corn 10 cents a bushel. A good
young milch cow could be bought for $5 to $10, and that payable in
work.
    Those might truly be called "close times," yet the citizens of the
country were accommodating, and but very little suffering for the
actual necessities of life was ever known to exist.

                    FIGHTING FIRE WITH FIRE

    Fires, set by Indians or settlers, sometimes purposely and some-
times permitted through carelessness, would visit the prairies every
autumn, and sometimes the forests, either in autumn or spring, and
settlers could not always succeed in defending themselves against
them. Many interesting incidents are related. Often a fire was
started to bewilder game, or to bare a piece of ground for the early
grazing of stock the ensuing spring, and it would get away under a
wind, and moon be beyond control. Violent winds would often arise
and drive the flames with such rapidity that riders on the fleetest
steeds could scarcely escape. On the approach of a prairie fire the
farmer would immediately set about "cutting off supplies" for the
flames by a "beck fire." Thus, 'by starting a small fire near the bare
ground about his premises and keeping it under control next- to his
property, he would burn off a strip around him and prevent the at-
tack of the on-coming flames. A few furrows or a ditch around the
farm constituted a help in the work of protection.
    An original prairie of tall and exuberant grass on fire, especially
at night, was a magnificent spectacle, enjoyed only by the pioneer.
Here is an instance where the frontiersman, proverbially deprived of
the sights and pleasures of an old community, is privileged far be-
yond the people of the present day in this country. One could
scarcely tire of beholding the scene, as its awe-inspiring features
seemed constantly to increase, and the whole panorama unceasingly
changed like the dissolving views of a magic lantern, or like the aurora
borealis. Language cannot convey the splendor and grandeur of such
a conflagration at night.
    The following graphic description of prairie fires was written by
a traveler through this region in 1849: "Soon the fires began to kindle
wider and rise higher from the long grass; the gentle breeze increased
 

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ADAMS AND WELLS COUNTIES    97

to stronger currents, and soon fanned the small, flickering blaze into
fierce torrent flames, which curled up and leaped along in resistless
splendor; and like quickly raising the dark curtain from the luminous
stage, the scenes before me were suddenly changed, as if by the ma-
gician's wand, into one boundless amphitheatre blazing from the earth
to heaven and sweeping the horizon round,-columns of lurid flames
sportively mounting up to the zenith, and dark clouds of crimson
smoke curling away and aloft till they nearly obscured stars and moon,
while the rushing, crashing sounds, like roaring cataracts mingled
with distant thunders, were almost deafening; danger, death, glared
all around; it screamed for victims; yet, notwithstanding the imminent
peril of prairie fires, one is loth, irresolute, almost unable to withdraw
or seek refuge."

                ERADICATING THE WILD HOGS

    When the earliest pioneer reached this western wilderness, game
was his principal food until he had conquered a farm from the forest
or prairie-rarely, then, from the latter. As the country settled game
grew scarce, and by 1850 he who would live by his rifle would have
had but a precarious subsistence had it not been for "wild hogs."
These animals left by home-sick immigrants whom the chills or fever
and ague had driven out, had strayed into the woods, and began to
multiply in a wild state. The woods each fall were full of acorns,
walnuts and hazelnuts, and on these hogs would grow fat and multi-
ply at a wonderful rate in the bottoms and along the bluffs. The
second and third immigration to the country found these wild hogs
an unfailing source of meat supply up to that period when they had
in the townships contiguous to the river became so numerous as to be
an evil, breaking in herds into the farmer's corn-fields or tolling their
domestic swine into their retreats, where they too became in a season
as wild as those in the woods. In 1838 or 1839, in a certain town-
ship, a meeting was called of citizens of the township to take steps to
get rid of wild hogs. At this meeting, which was held in the spring,
the people of the township were notified to turn out en masse on a
certain day and engage in the work of catching, trimming and brand-
ing wild hogs, which were to be turned loose, and the next winter
were to be hunted and killed by the people of the township, the meat
to be divided pro rata among the citizens of the township. This plan
was fully carried into effect, two or three days being spent in the ex-
citing work in the spring.
    In the early part of the ensuing winter the settlers again turned

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ADAMS AND WELLS COUNTIES    98

out, supplied at convenient points in the bottom with large kettles
and barrels for scalding, and while the hunters were engaged in kill-
ing, others with horses dragged the carcasses to the scalding plat-
forms where they were dressed; and when all that could be were
killed and dressed a division was made, every farmer getting more
meat than enough for his winter's supply. Like energetic measures
were resorted to in other townships, so that in two or three years the
breed of wild hogs became extinct.

                    EXTERMINATING THE WOLVES

    The principal wild animals found in the state by the early settlers
were the deer, wolf, bear, wild-cat, fox, otter, raccoon, generally called
"coon," woodchuck, or ground hog, skunk, mink, weasel muskrat,
opossum, rabbit and squirrel; and the principal feathered game
were the quail, prairie chicken and wild turkey. Hawks, turkey buz-
zards, crows, black-birds, were also very abundant. Several of these
animals furnished meat for the settlers; but their principal meat did
not long consist of game; pork and poultry were raised in abundance.
Wolves were the most troublesome of the wild animals, being the
common enemy of the sheep, and sometimes attacking other domestic
animals, and even human beings. But their hideous howlings at night
were so constant and terrifying that they almost seemed to do more
mischief by that annoyance than by direct attack. They would keep
everybody and every animal about the farmhouse awake and fright-
ened, and set all the dogs in the neighborhood to barking. As one
man described it: "Suppose six boys, having six dogs tied, whipped
them all at the same time, you would hear such music as two wolves
would make." To effect the destruction of these animals the county
authorities offered a bounty for their scalps, and, besides, big hunts
were common.
    In early days more mischief was done by wolves than by any
other wild animal, and no small part of their mischief consisted in
their almost constant barking at night, which always seemed so men-
acing and frightful to the settlers. Like mosquitoes, the noise they
made appeared to be about as dreadful as the real depredations they
committed. The most effectual, as well as the most exciting method
of ridding the country of these hateful pests was that known as the
"circular wolf hunt," by which all the men and boys would turn out
on an appointed day, in a kind of circle comprising many square miles
of territory, with horses and dogs, and then close up toward the cen-
ter of their field of operation, gathering not only wolves, but also deer

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ADAMS AND WELLS COUNTIES    99

and many smaller "varmint." Five, ten or more wolves by this means
would sometimes be killed in a single day. The men would be organ-
ized with as much system as a little army, every one being well posted
in the meaning of every signal and the application of every rule. Guns
were scarcely ever allowed to be brought on such occasions, as their
use would be unavoidably dangerous. The dogs were depended on for
the final slaughter. The dogs, by the way, had all to be held in check
by a cord in the hands of their keepers until the final signal was
given to let them loose, when away they would go to the center of
battle, and a more exciting scene would follow than can be easily de-
scribed.

                                HUNTING BEES

    This recreation was a peculiar one, and many a sturdy backwoods-
man gloried in excelling in this art. He would carefully watch a bee
as it filled itself with the sweet product of some flower or leaf-bud, and
notice particularly the direction taken by it as it struck a "bee-line"
for its home, which when found would be generally high up in the
hollow of a tree. The tree would be marked, and in September a
party would go and cut down the tree and capture the honey as
quickly as they could before it wasted away through the broken walls
in which it had been so carefully stowed away by the little busy bee.
Several gallons would often be thus taken from a single tree, and by
a very little work, and pleasant at that, the early settlers could keep
themselves in honey the year round. By the time the honey was a
year old, or before, it would turn white and granulate, yet be as good
and healthful as when fresh. This was by some called "candied"
honey.
    In some districts, the resorts of bees would be so plentiful that all
the available hollow trees would be occupied and many colonies of
bees would be found at work in crevices in the rock and holes in the
ground. A considerable quantity of honey has even been taken from
such places.

                                  AFTER THE SNAKES

    In pioneer times snakes were numerous, such as the rattlesnake
viper, adder, blood snake and many varieties of large blue and green
snakes, milk snake, garter and water snakes, black snakes, etc., etc.
If, on meeting one of these, you would retreat, they would chase you
very fiercely; but if you would turn and give them battle, they would
 

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100      ADAMS AND WELLS COUNTIES

immediately crawl away with all possible speed, hide in the grass and
weeds, and wait for a "greener" customer. These really harmless
snakes served to put people on their guard against the more danger-
ous and venomous kinds.
    It was the practice of some sections of the country to turn out in
companies, with spades, mattocks and crow-bars, attack the princi-
pal snake dens and slay large numbers of them. In early spring the
snakes were somewhat torpid and easily captured. Scores of rattle-
snakes were sometimes frightened out of a single den, which, as soon
as they showed their heads through the crevices of the rocks, were
dispatched, and left to be devoured by the numerous wild hogs of that
day. Some of the fattest of these snakes were taken to the house and
oil extracted from them, and their glittering skins were saved as spe-
cifics for rheumatism.
    Another method was to so fix a heavy stick over the door of their
dens, with a long grape-vine attached, that one at a distance could
plug the entrance to the den when the snakes were all out sunning
themselves. Then a large company of the citizens, on hand by ap-
pointment, could kill scores of the reptiles in a few minutes.

         HOW YOU FEEL WITH CHILLS AND FEVER

    One of the greatest obstacles in the early settlement and prosperity
of this state was the "chills and fever," "fever and ague," or
"shakes," as it was variously called. It was a terror to new-comers;
in the fall of the year almost everybody was afflicted with it. It was
no respecter of persons; everybody looked pale and sallow as though
he were frost-bitten. It was not contagious, but derived from impure
water and air, which are always developed In the opening of a new
country of rank soil like that of old Indiana. The impurities continue
to be absorbed from day to day, and from week to week, until the
whole body became saturated with them as with electricity, and then
the shock came; and the shock was a regular shake, with a fixed be-
ginning and ending, coming on in some cases each day, but generally
on alternate days, with a regularity that was surprising. After the
shake came the fever, and this "last estate was worse than the first."
It was a burning hot fever and lasted for hours. When you had the
chill you couldn't get warm, and when you had the fever you couldn't
get cool. It was exceedingly awkward in this respect; indeed it was.
Nor would it stop for any sort of contingency; not even a wedding in
the family would stop it. It was imperative and tyrannical. When
the appointed time came around, everything else had to be stopped

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ADAMS AND WELLS COUNTIES  101
 

to attend to its demands. It didn't even have any Sundays or holi-
days; after the fever went down you still didn't feel much better.
You felt as though you had gone through some sort of collision,
threshing-machine or jarring-machine, and came out not killed, but
next thing to it. You felt weak, as though you had run too far after
something, and then didn't catch it. You felt languid, stupid and
sore, and were down in the mouth and heel and partially raveled out.
Your back was out of fix, your head ached and your appetite was
crazy. Your eyes had too much white in them, your ears, especially
after taking quinine, had too much roar in them, and your whole body
and soul were woe-begone, disconsolate, sad, poor and good for noth-
ing. You didn't think much of yourself, and didn't care. You didn't.
quite make up your mind to commit suicide, but sometimes wished
some accident would happen to knock either the malady or yourself
out of existence. You imagined that even the dogs looked at you with
a kind of self-complacency. You thought the sun had a kind of sickly
shine about it.
    About this time you came to the conclusion that you would not ac-
cept the whole State of Indiana as a gift; and if you had the strength
and means, you picked up Hannah and the baby, and your traps, and
went back "yander" to "Old Virginny," the "Jarseys," Maryland or
"Pennsylvany."

                THE SPELLING-SCHOOL THRILLS
 

    The chief public evening entertainment for the first twenty years
of the Adams County pioneer was the celebrated "spelling-school."
Both young people and old look forward to the next spelling-school
with as much anticipation and anxiety as they afterward anticipated
a general Fourth of July celebration; and when the time arrived the
whole neighborhood, yea, and sometimes several neighborhoods, would
flock together to the scene of the academical combat, where the ex-
citement was often more intense than had been expected. It was
far better, of course, when there was good sleighing; then the young
folks would turn out in high glee and be fairly beside themselves.
    When the appointed hour arrived, the usual plan of com-
mencing battle was for two of the young people who might agree to
play against each other, or who might be selected to do so by the
school-teacher of the neighborhood, to "choose sides;" that is. each
contestant, or "captain," as he was generally called, would choose the
best speller from the assembled crowd. Each one choosing alternately,
the ultimate strength of the respective parties would be about equal.

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102      ADAMS AND WELLS COUNTIES
 

When all were chosen that could be made to serve, each side would
"number," so as to ascertain whether amid the confusion one cap-
tain had more speller. than the other. In came he had, some com-
promise would be made by the aid of the teacher, the master of cere-
monies, and then the plan of conducting the campaign, or counting
the misspelled words, would be canvassed for a moment by the cap-
tains, sometimes by the aid of the teacher and others. There were
many ways of conducting the contest and keeping tally. Every sec-
tion of the country had several favorite methods, and all or most of
these were different from what other communities had. At one time

[photo]

RING IN THE SPELLING SCHOOL

they would commence spelling at the head, at another time at the
foot; at one time they would "spell across," that is, the first on one
side would spell the first word, then the first on the other side;
next the second in the line on each side, alternately, down to the other
end of each line. The question who would spell the first word was
determined by the captains guessing what page the teacher would
have before him in partially opened book at a distance; the captain
guessing the nearest would spell the first word pronounced. When
a word was missed, it would be repronounced, or passed along with-
out re-pronouncing (as some teachers strictly followed the rule never
to re-pronounce a word), until it was spelled correctly. If a speller
on the opposite side finally spelled the missed word correctly, it was
counted a gain of one to that side; if the word was finally corrected

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ADAMS AND WELLS COUNTIES   103
 

by some speller on the same side on which it was originated as a
missed word, it was "saved," and no tally mark was made.
    Another popular method was to commence at one end of the line
of spellers and go directly around, and the missed words caught up
quickly and corrected by "word-catchers," appointed by the cap-
tains from among their best spellers. These word-catchers would at-
tempt to correct all the words missed on his opponent's side, and
failing to do this, the catcher on the other side would catch him up
with a peculiar zest, and then there was fun.
    Still another very interesting, though somewhat disorderly, method
was this: Each word-catcher would go to the foot of the adversary's
line, and every time he "catched" a word he would go up one, thus
"turning them down" in regular spelling-class style. When one
catcher in this way turned all down in the opposing side, his own
party was victorious by as many as the opposing catcher was behind.
This method required no slate or blackboard tally to be kept.
    One turn, by either of the foregoing or other methods, would oc-
cupy forty minutes to an hour, and by this time an intermission or
recess was had, when the buzzing, crackling and hurrahing that en-
sued for ten or fifteen minutes were beyond description.
    Coming to order again, the next style of battle to be illustrated
was to "spell down," by which process it was ascertained who were
the best spellers and could continue standing as a soldier the longest.
But very often good spellers would inadvertently miss a word in an
early stage of the contest and would have to sit down humiliated, while
a comparatively poor speller would often stand till nearly or quite
the last, amid the cheers of the assemblage. Sometimes the two par-
ties first "chosen up" in the evening would re-take their places after
recess, so that by the "spelling-down" process there would virtually
be another race, in another form; sometimes there would be a new
 "choosing-up" for the "spelling-down" contest; and sometimes the
spelling-down would be conducted without any party lines being made.
It would occasionally happen that two or three very good spellers
would retain the floor so long that the exercise would become mo-
notonous, when a few outlandish words like "chevaux-de-frise," "om-
pompanoosuc" or "baugh-naugh-claughber," as they used to spell
it sometimes, would create a little ripple of excitement to close with.
Sometimes these words would decide the contest, but generally when
two or three good spellers kept the floor until the exercise became
monotonous, the teacher would declare the race closed and the stand-
ing spellers acquitted with a "drawn game."
    The audience dismissed, the next thing was to "go home," very
 

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104      ADAMS AND WELLS COUNTIES

often by a round-about way, "a-sleighing with the girls," which, of
course, was with many the most interesting part of the evening's per-
formances; sometimes, however, too rough to be commended, as the
boys were often inclined to be somewhat rowdyish.

                    MORE FOR FUN THAN MUSIC
    Next to the night spelling-school the singing-school was an occa-
sion of much jollity, wherein it was difficult for the average singing-
master to preserve order, as many went more for fun than for music.
This species of evening entertainment, in its introduction to the
West, was later than the spelling-school, and served, as it were, as the
second step toward the more modern civilization. Good sleighing
weather was, of course, almost a necessity for the success of these
schools, but how many of them have been prevented by mud and
rain! Perhaps a greater part of the time from November to April
the roads would be muddy and often half-frozen, which would have
a very dampening and freezing effect upon the souls, as well as the
bodies of the young people who longed for a good time on such
occasions.
    The old-time method of conducting singing-school was also some-
what different from that of modern times. It was more plodding and
heavy, the attention being kept upon the simplest rudiments, as the
names of the notes on the staff, and their pitch, and besting time,
while comparatively little attention was given to expression and
light, gleeful music. The very earliest scale introduced in the West
was from the South, and the notes, from their peculiar shape, were
denominated "patent" or "buckwheat" notes. They were four, of
which the round one was called sol, the square one la, the triangular
one fa, and the "diamond-shaped" one mi, pronounced me, and the
diatonic scale or "gamut" as it was called then, ran thus: fa, sol, la,
fa, sol, la, mi, fa. The part of a tune nowadays called "treble," or
"soprano," was then called "tenor"; the part now called "tenor"
was called "treble," and what is now "alto" was then "counter,"
and when sung according to the oldest rule, was sung by a female
an octave higher than marked, and still on the "chest register." The
"old" "Missouri Harmony" and Mason's "Sacred Harp" were the
principal books used with this style of musical notation.
    In 1850 the "round-note" system began to "come around," be-
ing introduced by the Yankee singing-master. The scale was do, re,
mi, fa, sol, la, si, do; and for many years thereafter there was much
more do-re-mi-ing than is practiced at the present day, when a mu-

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[p.105]

[photo]

JOHNNY APPLESEED

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106          ADAMS AND WELLS COUNTIES

sical instrument is always under the hand. The "Carmina Sacra" was
the pioneer round-note book, in which the tunes partook more of
German or Puritan character, and was generally regarded by the old
folks as being far more spiritless than the old "Pisgah," "Fiducia,"
''Tender Thought,'' ''New Durham,'' ''Mount Zion,"
"Devotion," etc., of the old "Missouri Harmony" and tradition.
 

                 INDUSTRIOUS AMUSEMENTS

    The history of pioneer life generally presents the dark side of the
picture; but the toils and privations of the early settlers were not
a series of unmitigated sufferings. No; for while the fathers and
mothers toiled hard, they were not averse to a little relaxation, and
had their seasons of fun and enjoyment. They contrived to do some-
thing to break the monotony of their daily life and furnish them a
good, hearty laugh. Among the more general forms of amusements
were the "quilting bee," "corn-husking," "apple-paring," "log-roll-
ing," and "house-raising." Young readers will doubtless be inter-
ested in a description of these forms of amusement, when labor was
made to afford fun and enjoyment to all participating. The "quilt-
ing-bee," as its name implies, was when the industrious qualities of
the busy little insect that "improves each shining hour" were ex-
emplified in the manufacture of quilts for the household. In the
afternoon ladies for miles around gathered at an appointed place,
and while their tongues would not cease to play, the hands were as
busily engaged in making the quilt; and desire was always manifested
to get it out as quickly as possible, for then the fun would begin. In
the evening the gentlemen came, and the hours would then pm swiftly
in playing games or dancing. "Corn-huskings" were when both sexes
united in the work. They usually assembled in a large barn, which
was arranged for the occasion; and when each gentleman had se-
lected a lady partner the husking began. When a lady found a red
ear she was' entitled to a kiss from every gentleman present; when a
gentleman found one he was allowed to kiss every lady present. After
the corn was all husked a good supper was served; then the "old
folks" would leave, and the remainder of the evening was spent in
the dancing and in having a general good time. The recreation af-
forded to the young people on the annual recurrence of these festive
occasions was as highly enjoyed, and quite as innocent, as the amuse-
ments of the present boasted age of refinement and culture.
 
 

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ADAMS AND WELLS COUNTIES                  107

                               SATURDAY A HALF-HOLIDAY

     The amusements of the pioneers were peculiar to themeslves [sic]-
Saturday afternoon was a holiday in which no man was expected to
work. A load of produce might be taken to "town" for sale or traffic
without violence to custom, but no more serious labor could be tolerated.
When on Saturday afternoon the town was reached, "fun com-
menced." Had two neighbors business to transact, here it was done.
Horses were "swapped," difficulties settled, and free fights indulged
in.  Blue and red ribbons were not worn in those days, and whisky
was as free as water; 121/2 cents would buy a quart, and 35 or 40
cents a gallon, and at such prices enormous quantities were consumed.
Go to any town in the county and ask the first pioneer you meet, and
he would tell you of notable Saturday afternoon fights, either of
which to-day would fill a column of the Police News, with elaborate
engravings to match.

                            A MILITANT CAPTAIN

    In the days of muster and military drill (say 1846) the following
scene is said to have been laid not a hundred miles from Adams Coun-
ty: The Captain was a stout-built, muscular man, who stood six feet
four in his boots, and weighed over 200 pounds; when dressed in
his uniform, a blue hunting-shirt fastened with a wide red sash,
with epaulettes on each shoulder, his large sword fastened by his side,
and tall plume waving in the wind, he looked like another William
Wallace, or Roderick Dhu, unsheathing his claymore in defense of
his country. His company consisted of about seventy men, who had
reluctantly turned out to muster to avoid paying a fine; some with
guns, some with sticks, and others carrying corn-stalks. The Captain,
who had but recently been elected, understood his business better
than his men supposed he did. He intended to give them a thorough
drilling and show them that he understood the maneuvers of the
military art as well as he did farming and hog hunting, the latter of
which was one of his favorite amusements. After forming a hollow
square, marching and counter-marching, and putting them through
several other evolutions, according to Scott's tactics, he commanded his
men to "form a line." They partially complied, but the line was
crooked. He took his sword and passed it along in front of his men,
straightening the line. By the time he passed from one end of the
line to the other, on casting his eye back, he discovered that the line
presented a zig-zag and unmilitary appearance. Some of the men

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108      ADAMS AND WELLS COUNTIES

were leaning on their guns, some on their sticks a yard in advance
of the line, and others as far in the rear. The Captain's dander arose;
he threw his cocked hat, feather and all, on the ground, took off his
red sash and hunting-shirt and threw them, with his sword, upon his
hat; he then rolled up his sleeves and shouted with the voice of a sten-
tor, "Gentlemen, form a line and keep it, or I'll thrash the whole
company." Instantly the whole line was straight as an arrow. The
Captain was satisfied, put on his clothes again, and never had any
more trouble in drilling his company.

                    WOLF AND BEAR STORIES

    The early residents of this part of the country tell us that the
wolves gave them more trouble and were more dangerous than any
other wild animals in the country. Abraham Studabaker related an
incident in which he was an actor that shows how nearly he was killed
when a child of about fourteen years of age. He was sent up to "Dis-
mal" creek to hunt the cows one day in June and was returning home
somewhere to the east of the present residence of Christian Burg-
halter, when he heard the leaves rattling a few rods away from him,
and upon looking in that direction he saw a large gray wolf, going
seemingly in the same direction that he was traveling. The wolf was
evidently following him and was hungry, as he could see its tongue
occasionally passed out over the end of its nose. He sprung to the
nearest sapling, which was nearly too small to keep him out of the
wolf's reach. He climbed up as far as he could but the tree began
to bend over with his weight. As soon as he started for the tree the
wolf started after him, and he barely got out of its reach. It would
go back from the tree, run and jump up and snap at him. But he
was just beyond its reach. He said if ever a boy yelled it was he,
hut his yelling did him no good, as no one came to his assistance.
After numerous efforts to reach him by jumping, the wolf ran rap-
idly away, a hundred yards or more, and got behind a large elm tree
and would put its head just past the tree to watch him. This ordeal
lasted for about two hours or more, when it returned and again tried
to reach him by jumping. This time it became discouraged and ran
away out of sight to the southwest. When clear beyond his view he
got down and ran home. His story was related to his father, who at
once returned with him to see the place where the wolf had treed
him. When nearing the spot they saw the wolf trailing around in a
circle about the tree, but upon their approach it soon ran away.
    Another incident is related in which Mrs. Jacob Close was lost

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ADAMS AND WELLS COUNTIES   109
 

and was attacked by the wolves. She was the mother of Mrs. Jesse
Niblick, of Decatur. Her husband was at work southeast of Decatur
and one afternoon she went out to see him. She expected to soon re-
turn home and left her little babe in charge of one of the older chil-
dren. Along in the middle of the afternoon she started home, but
missed her way. Instead of going north, she went west, and when
night overtook her the wolves began to howl in all directions. They
came nearer and nearer and she could easily hear the running in
the leaves. She selected a young tree or sapling with some good-
sized limbs that she could hold on to and climbed up beyond the
reach of the wolves. They closed in upon her and sat upon the ground
and howled. She heard some men chopping and hallooed as loud as
she could. The men stopped and she hallooed again. They then
came to her relief with hickory bark torches. They helped her to
find her way home. They were coon hunters that chanced to be in that
part of the country. When she was found she was near Grim's prairie,
just the other side of where the present Town of Peterson is located.
On her return home she found that her neighbors were out hunting
for her and her little babe was using its utmost energy to find its
mother.
    Robert Simison relates an incident of an easterner who came with
a hunting party to Fort Recovery when he was at home with his
father. North of Fort Recovery there was some fallen timber on some
low lands. This was a favorable haunt for bear. It is the custom of
the bear to make their winter quarters in a thicket as near some fallen
tree as convenient. They would build on the ground and carry dry
grass, leaves and small branches of trees and make a covering over the
nest, leaving it hollow inside. Those nests were frequently a fair-
sized brush heap, but always built in about the same manner and
readily recognized by the experienced hunter. When completed the
bear would crawl into the nest under the heap of brush and remain
there throughout the winter. A certain "tenderfoot" hunter walked
up along the trunk of a fallen tree and jumped over onto the top of
one of these brush piles, as he supposed it to be. The bear had not yet
started in for his winter's nap and sprang out and ran off at full
speed. When asked why he did not shoot the bear, in much excite-
ment he said: "Why, I didn't know that I had a gun."
    Another incident in which Mr. Simison was a prominent factor
is thus related: The location was on Three Mile Creek, just south-
west of Buena Vista, about the year 1840. He was returning home
one afternoon and saw some young hogs running almost directly
toward him. On looking again, he saw that a bear was after them.
 
 

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110      ADAMS AND WELLS COUNTIES
 

He at once climbed upon the trunk of a fallen tree near him. The
hogs ran on past him, the bear following to within about twenty feet
from him, when it stopped and stood on its hind feet and seemed to be
looking directly at him. He knew that he had no gun, but felt badly
in need of one. Somehow bruin did not like his looks and started off
on a canter toward the river and was soon out of sight.

               RUNNING DOWN INDIAN HORSE THIEVES

    In the early times of Adams County the stealing of horses, as it
always has been in new countries, was a very serious offense. Indians,
as well as white men, were adept. in that line of crime, and many of
the pioneers were called upon to pit their wits against those of their
dusky kind. Along this line, Snow says, in his history of Adams
County: "There is an incident related by Robert Simison, who fol-
lowed some Indian horse-thieves and secured the stolen property.
The horse belonged to his brother, who lived near Fort Recovery
when the horse was taken. Robert and his brother were near Fort
Jefferson working in the harvest. His brother became sick and they
both returned home and found that the horse had been gone for two
days. Arrangements were at once made to follow the trail of the
thieves and recover the horse. An ample supply of ammunition, bul-
lets, etc., was provided and a supply of rations for several days. The
brother being sick, Robert started alone. The first day's travel took
him in west of where Portland is situated. A campfire showed that
the Indians had stopped there. The next stop was southwest of Penn-
ville, or Camden. The next camp was nearly a day's travel to the
northwest and was on a small stream, perhaps the Mississinewa river.
Here he overtook the Indians in- the afternoon, perhaps about three
o'clock. He could hear them talking and see some of their horses
that were tied to trees in the distance. He considered it dangerous
to attempt a rescue of his property alone in the daytime, so he cast
about for a suitable hiding place till the darkness should shroud his
movements. Such a place was found in the top of a leafy elm tree
that had recently been blown down. He had hardly secreted himself
among the leafy boughs when he saw his horse coming into camp rid-
den by an Indian, who was carrying a deer on before him. At that
time there was an unwritten law that permitted the killing of the
thief if found with the stolen property, especially so if it was slaves,
horses or cattle. Mr. Simison says he could easily have shot the In-
dian off the horse, but chose to resort to other means of securing the
stolen animal. Said he: 'I lay in concealment until away after dark,

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ADAMS AND WELLS COUNTIES   111
 

then crept up cautiously near their camp. They had some dogs with
them and one came within a rod of me, but I was unobserved. They
put a bell on my horse and tied his front legs, or feet, together with
bark so he could not travel. I had no trouble in reaching him, gave
him some salt and cut the bark from his feet. I then took some dry
leaves and stuffed them into the bell and put it on the neck of an
old pony near by. I then unstopped the bell that it might jingle
as the pony moved, and in this way not arouse any suspicion should
they awake at any time within the night. I led my horse a little way
off and got on him and rode away as fast as I could through the woods.
After a while, in the after part of the night, the moon went down
and it was too dark for me to see which way to go. So I got off of
the horse and waited-it seemed hours to me-until daylight came
and the birds began to sing. I then started on and got home that
evening. In the morning I took the horse, and went with him to
Greenville and left him there. The next day I walked back to my
brother's. I got there about noon and found the Indian who had
been riding the horse and another Indian there, and my brother's
wife getting dinner for them. As soon as I came up I noticed them
looking at my feet. I had changed the moccasins that I wore when
I went after the horse for the shoes I had on. This perhaps removed
their suspicions from me and may have saved my life. These were
Miami Indians whose reservation was near Peru, Indiana.'"

            OVERLOOKING THE VITAL POINT

    The most successful of detectives have come to agree upon one
point; that is, the invariable custom of the criminal to overlook some
vital point in his efforts to perpetrate his misdeed, or to cover it when
committed. A good story is told of a gang of Decatur robbers which
illustrates the former statement. Sometime in the '40s, when J. D.
Nutman & Company were operating a bank and drygoods store in
the little village of Decatur, also lived a wealthy farmer across the
river by the name of Eli Zimmerman. At that period a certain state
law required a banker to always have on hand an amount of actual
cash proportionate to the capital stock of the institution. As cash
was scarce, that legal requirement was sometimes quite a hardship.
Not so while Mr. Zimmerman lived in the neighborhood; for he was
a large land owner, very thrifty, did not believe in long-time deposits
in a bank, and his stock of cash could always be temporarily drawn
upon when required to fulfil [sic] the letter of the law. Mr. Zimmerman
kept his money in his old log house; in a crack of the wall, in a
 

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ADAMS AND WELLS COUNTIES  112

coffee pot, an old stocking, or any other handy place or article. So it
came to pass that during the years when this law was in effect Mr.
Nutman frequently had occasion to call upon his neighbor across the
river for a large amount of cash. The banker would deposit securities
with Mr. Zimmerman and have the cash on hand to satisfy the bank
examiner, and upon the departure of that official the money would be
returned and the securities taken up.
    But it happened upon one occasion that Mr. Zimmerman had pur-
chased a large tract of land and made other investments. Therefore,
when the banker called upon him for the ready cash it was not forth-
coming, and it became necessary to go to Fort Wayne for it. In those
days a stage coach ran between Decatur and Fort Wayne twice a
week. The road between the two towns was lined on both sides by
dense forests, broken only here and there by a few clear fields cul-
tivated by early settlers. The northern part of the state was almost
covered by a swampy wilderness known as the Haw Patch, not unlike
the Limberlost region. These wilds were infested by a bend of horse-
thieves and other outlaws. They were supposed to follow various
routes from Southern Ohio to Northern Indiana, with stations along
the ways where horses and other plunder were secreted until the
stolen property could be safely moved and disposed of. Decatur was
said to be the headquarters of several of this gang.
    Word is believed to have passed to these outlaws that Mr. Nutman
had gone to Fort Wayne to obtain quite an amount of cash in an-
ticipation of a visit from the bank examiner. At all events the coach
started from Fort Wayne at about 9 o'clock in the morning and at
a gloomy portion of the road about two miles north of Monmouth, as
the driver was floundering through the mud of the St. Mary's bottom
lands and just as he pulled up on a corduroy bridge crossing the creek,
a light was flashed in his face and he was ordered to hold up his
hands. At the same time a long-barreled rifle was thrust into his face
and the coach was surrounded by five or six outlaws. The four or
five passengers besides Mr. Nutman were ordered to climb out, hold
up their hands and be searched. To the evident surprise of the rob-
bers the only booty secured were two or three silver watches, a few
dollars in silver and a little currency of small denominations. The
search of Banker Nutman had been especially thorough, but he yielded
no richer results than the others, although every one of his pockets
had been turned inside out, the lining of his coat ripped open and
his shoes taken from his feet and carefully examined. On the fol-
lowing day it was learned through an intimate friend that Mr. Nut-

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ADAMS AND WELLS COUNTIES   113
 

man had placed his big bank roll in perhaps the most conspicuous
article of his apparel-his elegant lofty silk tile. The obvious was
so plain that the robbers entirely overlooked it. Residents freely ex-
pressed their belief as to the identity of the criminals, but they were
never identified or brought to trial.

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