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Clark County

 

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CLARK COUNTY was formed March 1, 1817, from Champaign, Madison and Greene, and named in honor of Gen. George Rogers CLARK. The first settlement was at Chribb’s Station, in the forks of Mad river, in the spring of 1796. The inhabitants of Moorefield Pleasant, Madison, German and Pike are principally of Virginia extraction; Mad river, of  New Jersey;  Harmony, of New England, and English; and Greene, of Pennsylvania origin. This county is very fertile and highly cultivated, and well watered by Mad river, Buck and Beaver creeks and their tributaries, which furnish a large amount of water power. Its area, is 300 square miles. In 1885 the acres cultivated were 108,953; in pasture, 38,601; woodland, 26,931; lying waste, 2,238; produced in wheat, 363,668; corn, 1,870,152; tobacco, 106,400 pounds; flax, 117,580; wool, 248,549. School census 1886, 15,050; teachers, 226. It has 113 miles of railroad.

 

 

Population in 1820 was 9,553; in 1840, 16,882; 1860, 25,300; 1880, 41,948, of whom 29,336 were Ohio-born.

The old Indian town of Piqua, the ancient Piqua of the Shawnees, and the birthplace of TECUMSEH, situated on the north side of Mad river, about five miles west of Springfield, and occupied the site on which a small town called West Boston was later built. The principal part of Piqua stood upon a plain, rising fifteen or twenty feet above the river. At the period of its destruction, it was quite populous. There was a rude lob hut within its limits, surrounded by pickets. The town was never after rebuilt. Its inhabitants removed to the Great Miami river, and erected another town, which they called Piqua. The account appended of its destruction by Gen. George Rogers Clark was published in Bradford’s “Notes on Kentucky:”

 

 

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march of the army, a general order was issued, that in the event of an attack in front, the front was to stand fast, and the two right lines to wheel to the right, and the two left hand lines to the left, and form a complete line, while the artillery was to advance forwards to the centre of the line. In case of an attack on either of the flanks or side lines, these lines were to stand fast, and likewise the artillery, while the opposite lines wheeled and formed on the two extremes of those lines. In the event of an attack being made on the rear, similar order was to be observed as in an attack in front.

 

In this manner the army moved on without encountering anything worthy of notice until they arrived at Chillicothe (situated on the little Miami river, in Greene county), about 2 o’clock in the afternoon, on the 6th day of August. They found the town not only abandoned, but most of the houses burnt down and burning, having been set on fire that morning. The army encamped on the ground that night, and on the following day cut down several hundred acres of corn; and about 4 o’clock in the evening took up their line of march for the Piqua towns, which were about twelve miles from Chillicothe (in Clark county). They had not marched more than a mile from Chillicothe, before there came on a very heavy rain, with thunder and lightning and considerable wind. Without tents or any other shelter from the rain, which fell in torrents, the men were as wet as if they had been plunged into the river, nor had they it in their power to keep their guns dry. It was nearly dark before the rain ceased, when they were ordered to encamp in a hollow square, with the baggage and horses in the centre, and as soon as fires could be made, to dry their clothes, etc. They were ordered to examine their guns, and, to be sure they were in good order, to discharge them in the following manner. One company was to fire, and time given to reload, when a company at the most remote part of the camp from that which had fired was to discharge theirs, and so on alternately, until all the guns were fired. On the morning of the 8th, the army marched by sunrise, and having a level, open way, arrived in sight of Piqua, situated on the west aide of the Mad river, about 2 o’clock P. M. The Indian road from Chillicothe to Piqua, which the army followed, crossed the Mad river about a quarter of a mile below the town, and as soon as the advanced guard crossed into a prairie of high weeds, they were attacked by the Indians, who had concealed themselves in the weeds. The ground on which this attack, as well as the manner in which it was done, left no doubt but that a general engagement was intended. Col. Logan was therefore ordered, with about four hundred men, to file off to the right, and march up the river on the east side, and to continue to the upper end of the town, so as to prevent the Indians from escaping in that direction, while the remainder of the men, under Cols. Lynn, Floyd and Harrod, were ordered to cross the river and encompass the town on the west side, while Gen. Clark, with the troops under Col. Slaughter, and such as were attached to the artillery, marched directly towards the town. The prairie in which the Indians were concealed, who commenced the attack, was only about two hundred yards across to the timbered land, and the division of the army destined to encompass the town on the west side found it necessary to cross the prairie, to avoid the fire of a concealed enemy. The Indians evinced great military skill and judgment, and to prevent the western division from executing the duties assigned them, they made a powerful effort to turn their left wing. This was discovered by Floyd and, Lynn, and to prevent being outflanked, extended the line of battle west, more than a mile from the town, and which continued warmly contested on both sides until about 5 o’clock, when the Indians disappeared everywhere unperceived, except a few m the town. The field piece, which had been entirely useless before, was now brought to bear upon the houses, when a few shots dislodged the Indians which were in them.

 

A nephew of Gen. Clark, who had been many years a prisoner among the Indians, and who attempted to come to the whites just before the close of the action, was supposed to be an Indian, and received a mortal wound; but be lived several hours after he arrive among them.

 

The morning after the battle a Frenchman, who had been taken to the Indians a short time before, on the Wabash, and who had stolen away from them during the action, was found in the loft of one of the Indian cabins. He gave the information, that the Indians did not expect that the Kentuckians would reach their town on that day, and if they did not, it was their intention to have attacked them in the night, in their camp, with the tomahawk and knife, and not to fire a gun. They had intended to have made an attack the night before but were prevented by the rain, and also the vigilance evinced by the Kentuckians, in firing off their guns and reloading them, the reasons for which they comprehended: when they heard the firing. Another circumstance showed that the Indians were disappointed in the time of their arriving; they had not dined. When the men got into the town, they found a considerable quantity of provisions ready cooked, in large kettles and other vessels, almost untouched. The loss on each side was about equal-each having about 20 killed.

 

 

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that Simon Girty, a white man, who had joined the Indians, and who was made a chief among the Mingoes, drew off three hundred of his men, declaring to them, it was folly in the extreme to continue the action against men who acted so much like madmen, as Gen. Clark’s men, for they rushed in the extreme of danger, with a seeming disregard of the consequences. This opinion of Girty, and the withdrawal of the three hundred Mingoes, so disconcerted the rest, that the whole body soon after dispersed.

 

It is a maxim among the Indians never to encounter a fool or a madman (in which terms they include a desperate man), for they say, with a man who has not sense enough to take a prudent care of his own life, the life of his antagonist is in much greater danger than with a prudent man.

 

It was estimated that at the two Indian towns, Chillicothe and Piqua, more than five hundred acres of corn were destroyed, as well as every species of eatable vegetables. In consequence of this, the Indians were obliged, for the support of their women and. children, to employ their whole time in hunting, which gave quiet to Kentucky for a considerable time. The day after the battle, the 9th, was occupied in cutting down the growing corn, and destroying the cabins and fort, etc., and collecting horses. On the 10th of August, the army began their march homeward, and encamped in Chillicothe that night, and on the 11th, cut a field of corn, which had been left for the benefit of the men and horses, on their return. At the mouth of the Licking, the army dispersed, and each individual made his best way home.

 

Thus ended a campaign, in which most of the men had no other provisions for twenty-five days, than six quarts of Indian corn each, except the green corn and vegetables found at the Indian towns, and one gill of salt; and yet not a single complaint was heard to escape the lips of a solitary individual. All appeared to be impressed with the belief, that if this army should be defeated, that few would be able to escape, and that the Indians then would fall on the defenceless women and children in Kentucky, and destroy the whole. From this view of the subject, every man was determined to conquer or die.

 

The late Abraham Thomas, of Miami county, was in this campaign against Piqua. His reminiscences, published in 1839, in the Troy Times, give some interesting facts omitted in the preceding. It also differs in some respects from the other, and is probably the most accurate:

 

 

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three hundred Indian warriors that had collected at the town, with the view of surprising and attacking us the next morning. At this place a stockade fort had been reared near the village on the side we were approaching it, but the Indians feared to enter it and took post in their houses.

 

The village was situated on a low prairie bottom of Mad river, between the second bank and a bushy swamp piece of ground on the margin of the river; it could be approached only from three points—the one our troops occupied, and from up and down the river. Gen. Clark detached two divisions to secure the two last named points, while he extended his line to cover the first. By this arrangement the whole body of Indians would have been surrounded and captured, but Col. Logan, who had charge of the lower division, became entangled m the swamp, and did not reach his assigned position before the attack commenced. The party I had joined was about entering the town with great impetuosity, when Gen. Clark sent orders for us to stop, as the Indians were making port holes in their cabins and we should be in great danger, but added he would soon make port holes for us both; on that he brought his six-pounder to bear on the village, and a discharge of frail shot scattered the materials of their frail dwellings in every direction. The Indians poured out of their cabins in great consternation, while our party, and those on the bank, rushed into the village, took possession of all the squaws and pappooses, and killed a great many warriors, but most of them at the lower part of the bottom. In this skirmish, a nephew of Gen. Clark, who had some time before run away from the Monongahela settlements and joined the Indians, was severely wounded. He was a great reprobate, and, as said, was to have led the Indians in the next morning’s attack; before he expired he asked forgiveness of his uncle and countrymen. During the day the village was burned, the corn cut down; and the next morning took up the line of march for the Ohio. It was a bloodless victory to our expedition, and the return march was attended with no unpleasant occurrence, save a great scarcity of provisions. On reaching the fort, on the Ohio, a party of us immediately crossed the river for our homes, for which we felt an extreme anxiety. We depended chiefly on rifles for sustenance; but game not being within reach, without giving to it more time than our anxiety and rapid progress permitted, we tried every expedient to hasten our journey without hunting, even to boiling green plums and nettles. These at first under sharp appetites, were quite palatable, but soon became bitter and offensive. At last, in traversing the head waters of Licking, we espied several buffaloes directly in our track. We killed one, which supplied us bountifully with meat until we reached our homes.

 

Drawn by Henry Howe in 1846.

VIEW AT PIQUA, THE BIRTH-PLACE OF TECUMSEH.

 

 

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many years since by the Bostonians for fuel. There is a tradition here, that during the action the Indians secreted their squaws and children in “the cliffs” about a mile up the stream from the fort. The village of Boston, we will observe in digression, was once the competitor with Springfield for the county-seat; it never had but a few houses, and now has three or four only: one of them is shown on the right of the view, beyond which, a few rods only, is Mad river.

 

We subjoin a sketch of the life of TECUMSEH, derived from Drake’s memoir of this celebrated chief.(The name TECUMSEH signifies “Shooting Star.”)

Puckeshinwa, the father of TECUMSEH, was a member of the Kiscopoke, and Methoataske, the mother, of the Turtle tribe of the Shawanoe nation; they removed from Florida to Ohio about the middle of last century. The father rose to the rank of a chief, and fell at the battle of Point Pleasant, in 1774. After his death his wife returned to the south, where she died at an advanced age. TECUMSEH was born at Piqua about the year 1768, and like Napoleon, in his boyish pastimes, showed a passion for war; he was the acknowledged leader among his companions by whom he was loved and respected, and over whom he exercised an unbounded influence; it is stated that the first battle in which he was occurred on the site of Dayton, between a party of Kentuckians under Col. Benjamin Logan and some Shawanoes. When about seventeen years of age he manifested signal prowess, in an attack on some boats on the Ohio near Limestone, Ky. The boats were all captured, and all in them killed, except one person, who was burnt alive. TECUMSEH was a silent spectator, never having before witnessed the burning of a prisoner; after it was over he expressed his strong abhorrence of the act, and by his eloquence persuaded his party never to burn any more prisoners.

 

From this time his reputation as a brave, and his influence over other minds, increased, and he rose rapidly in popularity among his tribe; he was in several actions with the whites prior to Wayne’s treaty, among which was the attack on Fort Recovery and the battle of the Fallen Timbers. In the summer of 1795 Tecumseh became a chief; from the spring of this year until that of 1796 he resided on Deer creek, near the site of Urbana, and from whence he removed to the vicinity of Piqua on the Great Miami. In 1798 he accepted the invitation of the Delawares, then residing in part on White river, Indiana, to remove to that neighborhood with his followers. He continued in that vicinity a number of years, and gradually extended his influence among the Indians.

 

In 1805, through the influence of LAULEWASIKAW, the brother of TECUMSEH, a large number of Shawnees established themselves at Greenville. Very soon after LAULEWASIKAW, assumed the office of a prophet and forthwith commenced that career of cunning and pretended sorcery, which enabled him to sway the Indian mind in a wonderful degree.

 

Throughout the year 1806 the brothers remained at Greenville, and were visited by many Indians from different tribes, not a few of whom became their followers. The prophet dreamed many wonderful dreams, and claimed to have had many supernatural revelations made to him; the great eclipse of the sun which occurred in the summer of this year, a knowledge of which by some means he attained, enabled him to carry conviction to the minds of many of his ignorant followers, that he was really the earthly agent of the Great Spirit. He boldly announced to the unbelievers that on a certain day he would give them proof of his supernatural power by bringing darkness over the sun; when the day and hour of the eclipse arrived, and the earth, even at mid-day, was shrouded in the gloom of twilight, the prophet, standing in the midst of his party, significantly pointed to the heavens and cried out, “Did I not prophecy truly? Behold ! darkness has shrouded the sun! “It may readily be supposed that this striking phenomenon, thus adroitly used, produced a strong impression on the Indians, and greatly increased their belief in the sacred character of their prophet.

 

 

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of this artful man, nor did it arrest the spread of fanaticism among the Indians, which his incantations had produced.

 

In the spring of 1808 TECUMSEH and the prophet removed to a tract of land on the Tippecanoe, a tributary of the Wabash, where the latter continued his efforts to induce the Indians to forsake their vicious habits, while TECUMSEH was visiting the neighboring tribes and quietly strengthening his own and the prophet’s influence over them. The events of the early part of the year 1810 were such as to leave but little doubt of the hostile intentions of the brothers; the prophet was apparently the most prominent actor, while TECUMSEH was in reality the main spring of all the movements, backed, it is supposed, by the insidious influence of British agents, who supplied the Indians gratis with powder and ball, in anticipation, perhaps, of hostilities between the two countries, in which event a union of all the tribes against the Americans was desirable. By various acts the feelings of TECUMSEH became more and more evident; in August, he having visited Vincennes to see the governor, a council was held, at which, and a subsequent interview the real position of affairs was ascertained.

 

Governor Harrison had made arrangements for holding the council on the portico of his own house, which had been fitted up with seats for the occasion. Here, on the morning of the fifteenth, he awaited the arrival of the chief, being attended by the Judges of the Supreme Court, some officers of the army, a sergeant and twelve men from. Fort Knox, and a large number of citizens. At the appointed hour TECUMSEH, supported by forty of his principal warriors, made his appearance, the remainder of his followers being encamped in the village and its environs. When the chief had approached within thirty or forty yards of the house he suddenly stopped, as if awaiting some advances from the governor. An interpreter was sent, requesting him and his followers to take seats on the portico. To this TECUMSEH objected—he did not think the place a suitable one for holding the conference, but preferred that it should take place in a grove of trees, to which he pointed, standing a short distance from the house. The governor said he had no objection to the grove, except that there were no seats in it for their accommodation. TECUMSEH replied that constituted no objection to the grove, the earth being the most suitable place for the Indians, who loved to repose upon the bosom of their mother. The governor yielded the point, and the benches and chairs having been removed to the spot, the conference was begun, the Indians being seated on the grass.

 

TECUMSEH opened the meeting by stating at length his objections to the treaty of Fort Wayne, made by Governor Harrison in the previous year, and in the course of his speech boldly avowed the principle of his party to be that of resistance to every cession of land, unless made by all the tribes, who, he contended, formed but one nation. He admitted that he had threatened to kill the chiefs who signed the treaty of Fort Wayne, and that it was his fixed determination not to permit the village chiefs in future to manage their affairs, but to place the power with which they had been heretofore invested in the hands of the war chiefs. The Americans, he said, had driven the Indians from the seacoast, and would soon push them into the lakes; and, while he disclaimed all intention of making war upon the United States, he declared it to be his unalterable resolution to take a stand and resolutely oppose the further intrusion of the whites upon the Indian lands. He concluded by making a brief but impassioned recital of the various wrongs and aggressions inflicted by the white men upon the Indians, from the commencement of the Revolutionary war down to the period of that council, all of which was calculated to arouse and inflame the minds of such of his followers as were present.

 

The governor rose in reply, and in examining the right of TECUMSEH and his party to make objections to the treaty of Fort Wayne took occasion to say that the Indians were not one nation, having a common property in  the lands. The Miamis, he contended, were the real owners of the tract on the Wabash, ceded by the late treaty, and the Shawanoes had no right to interfere in the case; that upon the arrival of the whites on this continent they had found the Miamis in possession of this land, the Shawanoes being then residents of Georgia, from which they had been driven by the Creeks, and that it was ridiculous to assert that the red men constituted but one nation; for, if such had been the intention of the Great Spirit, he would not have put different tongues in their heads, but have taught them all to speak the same language.

 

The governor having taken his seat, the interpreter commenced explaining the speech to TECUMSEH, who, after listening to a portion of it, sprung to his feet and began to speak with great vehemence of manner.

 

 

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view of the governor. His attention, however, was again directed towards TECUMSEH by bearing General Gibson, who was intimately acquainted with the Shawanoe language, say to Lieutenant Jennings: “Those fellows intend mischief; you had better bring up the guard.” At that moment the followers of TECUMSEH seized their tomahawks and war clubs and sprang upon their feet, their eyes turned upon the governor. As soon as he could disengage himself from the arm-chair in which he sat, he rose, drew a small sword which he had by his side and stood on the defensive. Captain G. R. Floyd, of the army, who stood near him, drew a dirk, and the chief WINNEMAC cocked his pistol. The citizens present were more numerous than the Indians, but were unarmed. Some of them procured clubs and brickbats and also stood on the defensive. The Rev. Mr. Winans, of the Methodist Church, ran to the governor’s house, got a gun, and posted himself at the door to defend the family. During this singular scene no one spoke, until the guard came running up, and, appearing to be in the act of firing, the governor ordered them not to do so. He then demanded of the interpreter an explanation of what had happened, who replied that TECUMSEH had interrupted him, declaring that all the governor had said was false, and that he and the Seventeen Fires had cheated and imposed on the Indians. The governor then told TECUMSEH that he was a bad man and that he would hold no further communication with him; that as he had come to Vincennes under the protection of a council-fire, he might return in safety, but that he must immediately leave the village. Here the council terminated.

 

The undoubted purpose of the brothers now being known, Gov. Harrison proceeded to prepare for the contest he knew must ensue. In June of the year following (1811) he sent a message to the Sbawanoes, bidding them beware of hostilities, to which TECUMSEH gave a brief reply, promising to visit the governor. This visit he paid in July, accompanied by 300 followers, but as the Americans were prepared and determined, nothing resulted, and Tecumseh proceeded to the south, as it was supposed, to enlist the Creeks in the cause.

 

In the meanwhile Harrison took measures to increase his regular force. His plan was to again warn the Indians to obey the treaty of Greenville, but at the same time to prepare to break up the prophet’s establishment if necessary. On the 5th of October, having received his reinforcements, he was on the Wabash, about sixty miles above Vincennes, where he built Fort Harrison. On the 7th of November following he was attacked by the Indians at Tippecanoe and defeated them. Peace on the frontiers was one of the happy results of this severe and brilliant action.

 

With the battle of Tippecanoe the prophet lost his popularity and power among the Indians, he having previously to the battle promised them certain victory.

 

On the first commencement of the war of 1812 Tecumseh was in the field prepared for the conflict. In July there was an assemblage at Brownstown of those Indians who were inclined to neutrality. A deputation was sent to Malden to TECUMSEH to attend this council. “No,” said he, indignantly, “I have taken sides with the king, my father, and I will suffer my bones to bleach upon this shore before I will recross that stream to join in any council of neutrality.” He participated in the battle of Brownstown and commanded the Indians in the action near Magnaga. In the last he was wounded, and it is supposed that his bravery and good conduct led to his being shortly after appointed brigadier-general in the service of the British king. In the siege of Fort Meigs Tecumseh behaved with great bravery and humanity. (See Wood County.)

Immediately after the signal defeat of Proctor, at Fort Stephenson, he returned with the British troops to Malden by water, while TECUMSEH with his followers passed over by laud, round the head of Lake Erie, and joined him at that point. Discouraged by the want of success, and having lost all confidence in General Proctor, TECUMSEH seriously meditated a withdrawal from the contest, but was induced to remain.

 

 

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indications of a retreat from Malden, and he promptly inquired into the matter. General Proctor informed him that he was only going to send their valuable property up the Thames, where it would meet a reinforcement and be safe. Tecumseh, however, was not to be deceived by this shallow device and remonstrated most urgently against a retreat. He finally demanded, in the name of all the Indians under his command, to be heard by the general, and on the 18th of September delivered to him, as the representative of their great father, the king, the following speech:

 

“Father, listen to your children ! you have them now all before you.

 

“The war before this our British father gave the hatchet to his red children, when our old chiefs were alive. They are now dead. In that war our father was thrown upon his back by the Americans, and our father took them by the hand without our knowledge, and we are afraid that our father will do so again at this time.

 

“Summer before last, when I came forward with my red brethren and was ready to take up the hatchet in favor of our British father, we were told not to be in a hurry, that he had not yet determined to fight the Americans.

 

“Listen ! when war was declared our father stood up and gave us the tomahawk and told us that he was then ready to strike the Americans: that he wanted our assist­ance, and that we would certainly get our lands back which the Americans had taken from us.

 

“Listen ! you told us at that time to bring forward our families to this place, and we did so, and you promised to take care of them, and they should want for nothing, while the men would go and fight the enemy; that we need not trouble ourselves about the enemy’s garrisons; that we knew nothing about. then, and that our father would attend to that part of the business. You also told your red children that you would take good care of your garrison here, which made our hearts glad.

 

“Listen! when we were last here in the Rapids it is true we gave you little assistance. It is hard to fight people who live like ground hogs.

 

“Father, listen ! our fleet has gone out; we know they have fought; we have heard the great guns; but we know nothing of what has happened to our father with one arm. Our ships have gone one way, and we are much astonished to see our father tying up everything and preparing to run away the other without letting his red children know what his intentions are. You always told us to remain here and take care of our lands; it made our hearts glad to hear that was your wish. Our great father, the king, is the head_’ and you represent him. You always told us you would never draw your foot off British ground but now, father, we see that you are drawing back, and we are sorry to see our father doing so without seeing the enemy. We must compare our father’s conduct to a fat dog, that carries his tail on its back, and, when affrighted, drops it between its legs and runs off.

 

“Father, listen ! the Americans have not yet defeated us by land; neither are we sure that they have done so by water; we, therefore, wish to remain here and fight our enemy, should they make their appearance If they defeat us, we will then retreat with our father.

 

“At the battle of the Rapids, last war, the Americans certainly defeated us, and when we returned to our father’s fort at that place the gates were shut against us. We were afraid that it would now be the case.; but instead of that we now see our British father preparing to march out of his garrison.

 

“Father, yon have got the arms and ammunition which our great father sent for his red children. If you have an idea of going away, give them to us and you may go and welcome, for us. Our lives are in the hands of the Great Spirit. We are determined to defend our lands, and if it be his will we wish to leave our bones upon them.”

 

TECUMSEH entered the battle of the Thames with a strong conviction that he should not survive it. Further flight he deemed disgraceful, while the hope of victory in the impending action was feeble and distant. He, however, heroically resolved to achieve the latter or die in the effort. With this determination he took his stand among his followers, raised the war-cry and boldly met the enemy. From the commencement of the attack on the Indian line his voice was distinctly heard by his followers, animating them to deeds worthy of the race to which they belonged. When that well-known voice was heard no longer above the din of arms the battle ceased. The British troops having already surrendered, and the gallant leader of the Indians having fallen, they gave up the contest and fled. A short distance from where TECUMSEH fell the body of his friend and brother- in-law, WASEGOBOAH, was found. They had often fought side by side, and now, in front of their men, bravely battling the enemy, they side by side closed their mortal career.

 

 

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torial questions, the ablest diplomatists of the United States are sent to negotiate with the Indians, will readily appreciate the loss sustained by the latter in the death of their champion. . . Such a man was the unlettered savage, TECUMSEH, and such a man have the Indians lost forever. He has left a son, who, when his father fell, was about seventeen years old, and fought by his side. The prince regent, in 1814, out of respect to the memory of the old, sent out as a present to the young TECUMSEH, a handsome sword. Unfortunately, however, for the Indian cause and country, faint are the prospects that TECUMSEH the son will ever equal, in wisdom or prowess, TECUMSHE the father.”

 

It is stated by Mr. James, a British historian, that TECUMSEH, after he fell, was not only scalped, but that his body was actually flayed, and the skin converted into razor-straps by the Kentuckians. Amid the great amount of conflicting testimony relating to the circumstances of TECUMSEH’S death, it is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to ascertain the precise facts. It is, however, generally believed that he fell by a pistol-shot, fired by Col. Richard M. Johnson, of Kentucky, who acted a most prominent part in this battle.

 

Springfield was the scene of an interesting incident in the life of TECUMSEH, which is given at length by his biographer.

 

In the autumn of this year [1807] a white man, by the name of MYERS was killed a few miles west of where the town of Urbana now stands, by some straggling Indians. This murder, taken in connection with the assemblage of the Indians under TECUMSEH and the prophet, created a great alarm on the frontier, and actually induced many families to remove back to Kentucky, from whence they had emigrated. A demand was made by the whites upon these two brothers for the Indians who had committed the murder. They denied that it was done by their party, or with their knowledge, and declared that they did not even know who the murderers were. The alarm continued, and some companies of militia were called out. It was finally agreed that a council should be held on the subject in Springfield, for the purpose of quieting the settlements. Gen. WHITMAN, Maj. MOORE, Capt. WARD, and one or two others, acted as commissioners on the part of the whites. Two parties of Indians attended the council; one from the north, in charge of McPHERSON; the other, consisting of sixty or seventy, came from the neighborhood of Fort Wayne, under the charge of TECUMSEH, ROUNDHEAD, BLACKFISH and several other chiefs were also present. There was no friendly feeling between these two parties, and each was willing that the blame of the murder should be fixed upon the other. The party under McPHERSON, in compliance with the wishes of the commissioners, left their arms a few miles from Springfield. TECUMSEH and his party refused to attend the council unless permitted to retain their arms. After the conference was opened, it being held in a maple grove a little north of where WERDEN’S hotel now stands, the commissioners, fearing some violence, made another effort to induce TECUMSEH to lay aside his arms. This he again refused, saying, in reply, that his tomahawk was also his pipe, and that he might wish to use it in that capacity before their business was closed. At this moment a tall, lank-sided Pennsylvanian, who was standing among the spectators, and who, perhaps, had no love for the shining tomahawk of the self-willed chief, cautiously approached, and handed him an old, long-stemmed, dirty-looking earthen pipe, intimating that, if TECUMSEH would deliver up the fearful tomahawk, he might smoke the aforesaid pipe. The chief took it between his thumb and finger, held it up, looked at it for a moment, then at the owner, who was gradually receding from the point of danger, and immediately threw it, with an indignant sneer, over his head into the bushes. The commissioners yielded the point, and proceeded to business.

 

After a full and patient inquiry into the facts of the case, it appeared that the murder of MYERS was the act of an individual, and not justly chargeable upon either party of the Indians. Several speeches were made by the chiefs, but TECUMSEH was the principal speaker. He gave a full explanation of the views of the prophet and himself, in calling around them a band of Indians—disavowed all hostile intentions towards the United States, and denied that he or those under his control had committed any aggressions upon the whites. His manner, when speaking, was animated, fluent and rapid, and made a strong impression upon those present. The council terminated. In the course of it, the two hostile parties became reconciled to each other, and quiet was restored to the frontier.

 

The Indians remained in Springfield for three days, and on several occasions amused themselves by engaging in various games and other athletic exercises, in which TECUMSEH generally proved himself victorious. His strength and power of muscular action were remarkably great, and in the opinion of those who attended the council, corresponded with the high order of his moral and intellectual character.

 

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for the first edition by a gentleman of Springfield, who just after our visit called Messrs. HUMPHRIES, Lowry and FOOS into his office and took these notes. He is spoken of in a near succeeding page.

 

“There are three old men now living in this county, viz., John HUMPHRIES, David LOWRY and Griffith FOOS, from whom we have gathered the following particulars respecting the early history of Springfield, and also some incidents connected with the first settlements made in the vicinity. Messrs. Humphries, LOWRY and FOOS are all men of great respectability, and are well known to all the early settlers of this region of Ohio.

 

John HUMPHRIES is now eighty-three years of age, David LOWRY about seventy-seven, and Griffith FOOS about seventy-five.

 

John HUMPHIRIES came to what is now Clark county with Gen. Simon KENTON, in 1799; with them emigrated six families from Kentucky, and made the first settlement in the neighborhood of what is now Springfield, north of the ground on which was afterwards located the town. At this time, he is the only survivor of those of his companions and associates who were at the time heads of families. Mr. HUMPHRIES speaks of a fort which was erected on Mad river, two miles from the site of Springfield; this fort contained within its pickets fourteen cabins, and was erected for the purpose of common security against the Indians.

 

David LOWRY came into Ohio in the spring of 1795. He built the first flat boat, to use his own language, “that ever navigated the Great Miami river from Dayton down, which was in the year 1800.” He took the same boat to New Orleans, laden with pickled pork, 500 venison hams, and bacon LOWRY, with one Jonathan DONNELL, made the second settlement within what is now the limits of Clark county; DEMINT’S was the third settlement. The first corn crop raised in the neighborhood of Springfield was in 1796. Two men, whose names were KREBS and BROWN, cultivated the crop. LOWRY hunted for the party while they were engaged in tending the crop; the ground occupied was about three miles west of the site of Springfield. He raised a crop of corn the ensuing year, and also accompanied the party that surveyed and laid out the first road from Dayton to Springfield. He and Jonathan DONNELL killed, in one season, in their settlement, seventeen bears, and in the course of his life, he states he has killed 1,000 deer; and that he once shot a she-bear and two cubs in less than three minutes.

 

Griffith FOOS, with several other persons, came into what is now Springfield, in the month of March, 1801. They were in search of a healthy region, having become wearied with the sickly condition of the Scioto valley. The laying off what is now called the old town of Springfield was commenced March 17, 1801. Mr. FOOS commenced the first public house ever kept in the place; it was a log-house, situated on the lot directly opposite to the National hotel, now kept by William WERDEN. He opened his house in June, 1801, and continued it without intermission until the 10th of May, 1814. He states that he and his party were four and a half days getting from Franklinton, on the Scioto, to Springfield, a distance of forty-two miles. In crossing Big Darby they were obliged to carry all their goods on horseback, and then to drag their wagon across with ropes, while some of the party swam by the side of the wagon to prevent it from upsetting. In 1807, in consequence of the alarm which the neighborhood felt on account of the Indians, Mr. FOOS’ house was turned into a fort. This was the first building erected in the place. Saml. SIMONTON erected the first frame house in the county in 1807. Wm. ROSS built the first brick house, which is still standing on the southeast corner of South and Market streets.

 

 

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at his house in 1810, who stated that he was in this neighborhood fifty years previously with the Indians, and that up the prairie, northeast of the town of Springfield, they started some buffalo and elk.

 

The first house of worship built in Springfield was in 1811: one man gave the ground—FOOS gave a handsome young horse ($10) towards hewing the logs and preparing the shingles. It was a place of worship free to all denominations, and was built right south of a public house which stands directly west of Mill run, on the south side of the national road. The early settlers were unequalled for their kindness, honesty and hospitality. Mr. FOOS says that, at his raising, there were present forty men before breakfast, and from a distance of from seven to ten miles and LOWRY says, that at Isaac ZANE’S raising, there were persons from forty miles distance.”

 

Drawn by Henry Howe in 1846.

EAST VIEW OF SPRINGFIELD.

 

SPRINGFIELD IN 1846.—Springfield, the county-seat, is forty-three miles west of Columbus on the National road, and on the line of the railroads connecting Cincinnati with Sandusky city. It was laid out in 1803 by James DEMINT. It is surrounded by a handsome and fertile country, is noted for the morality and intelligence of its inhabitants, and, by many, is considered the most beautiful village within the limits of Ohio. The eastern fork of Mad river washes it on the north, a stream described “as unequalled for fine mill seats, its current very rapid, and the water never so low in the driest season as to interfere with the mills now upon it.” Through the place runs the Lagonoa, or Buck creek, a swift and unfailing mill stream. Within a range of three miles of the town are upwards of twenty mill seats. Springfield suffered much during the era of speculation, but is now prospering, and from its natural advantages is destined to hold a prominent place among the manufacturing towns of the State. The engraving shows its appearance as viewed from the National road, a quarter of a mile east; the main street appears in front, on the left the academy, and on the right the court-house and one of the churches. The view is from a familliar position, but the village, like many other beautiful towns, is so situated that no drawing from any one point, can show it to advantage.

 

Several of the first settlers of Springfield still remain in and around it; among them may be mentioned the names of John HUMPHREYS, David LOWRY and Griffith FOOS, the last of whom occupied the first house built in the town as a tavern.

 

 

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4,000 volumes. Wittenberg College, under the auspices of the Lutheran Church, was chartered in 1845 with both a theological and collegiate department; it has been in operation for one year; Rev. Ezra KELLER, D. D., President Springfield contains 1 Presbyterian, 1 Methodist Episcopal, 1 Methodist Protestant, 1 Episcopal, 1 Associate Reformed Presbyterian, 1 Baptist, 1 Lutheran, 1 Universalist, and 1 African Methodist church; 2 or 3 printing offices; 3 drug, 1 book, 1 hardware, and 15 dry-goods stores; 1 paper, 1 oil, and 3 flouring mills; 1 cotton, 1 woolen, and 1 sash factory; 1 foundry and machine shop; and in 1830 had a population of 1,080; in 1840, 2,094; in 1846, 2,952; and in 1847 about 3,500. -Old Edition.

 

Springfield is forty-three miles west from Columbus, eighty-one miles northeast of Cincinnati, on the C. C. C. & I. R. R.; and on the P. C & St. L., I. B. & W., N. Y. P. & O., and O. S. Railroads. It is distinguished for its immense agricultural implement manufactures. County officers in 1888: Probate Judge, John C. MILLER; Clerk of Court, Jas H. RABBITTS; Sheriff, W. B. BAKER; Prosecuting Attorney, Walter L. WEAVER; Auditor, Orlando F. SERVISS; Treasurer, John W. PARSONS; Recorder, Samuel A. TODD; Surveyor, W. SHARON; Coroner

 

Drawn by Henry Howe in 1840

WITTENBERG COLLECE

[Another, a large noble building, now stands beside the above, and the location of the institution is

in the midst of some of the most charming of river and forest scenery.]

 

James L. BENNETT; Commissioners, Wm. H. STERRITT, Douglass W. RAWLINGS, Charles E. GILLEN. It has about forty churches, the most numerous of which are Methodist Episcopal, Lutheran, Presbyterian, and Roman Catholic. Newspapers: Champion City Times, Republican, daily; Gazette, Independent, daily and weekly; Globe Republic, Republican, daily and weekly; New Era, prohibitionist; Springfielder, German; Sunday News; Transcript, Democrat; Farm and Fireside, semi-monthly; Ladies’ Home Companion, semi-monthly, Beacon, temperance monthly; Wittenberger, the college monthly. Banks : First National, B. H. WARDEN, president C. A. PHELPS, cashier; Lagonda National, John HOWELL, president, D. P. JEFFERIES, cashier; Mad River National, James S. GOODE, president, Thos. F. McGREW, cashier; Second National, Amos WHITELY, president, J. G. BENALLACK, cashier; Springfield National, P. P. MAST, president, F. S. PENFIELD, cashier; Springfield Savings, W. S. FIELD, president, Edw. HARTFORD, treasurer. Wittenberg College, President, S. A. ORT; students, 88.

 

 

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37; Springfield Malleable Iron Co., malleable castings, 238; J. H. Thomas & Sons, hay rakes, lawn mowers, 1,52; The P. P. Mast Co., agricultural implements, 330; Warner and Barnett, flour, 12; Springfield Engine & Thresher Co., 253; The Standard Manufacturing Co., extension tables, 68; Jas. Driscol Sons & Co., carriages, 64; The Rogers Fence Co., 20; Champion Malleable Iron Works, malleable iron for Champion machines, 500; Springfield Coffin and Casket Co., coffins and caskets, 50; E. W. Ross & Co., Argricultural implements, 106; The Champion Machine Co., harvesting machines, 404; Jas. Leffel & Co., water wheels and engines, 66; Warder, Bushnell & Glessner, Champion reapers and mowers, 683; Robinson & Meyers, iron castings, 115; The Superior Drill Co., grain drills, hay tools, etc., 105; J. W. Bookwalter & Co., grain drills, hay tools, etc., 60; T. L. Arthur, sash, doors, blinds, etc., 11; The Springfield Brass Co., brass goods, 29; St. John Sewing Machine Co., sewing machine tables, 41; Globe Printing and Publishing Co., publications, 135; Armstrong- Bros., foundry and machine shops, 92; Fehl, Johnson & Co., carriages, 30; L. Patrie & Co., furnaces, 12; Ohio Southern Railroad Shops, car and locomotive repairing, 54; The Foos’ Manufacturing Co., cider mills, etc;., 51; The Champion Bar and Knife Co., mower and reaper knives and bars, 350; Whitely, Fassler & Kelly, Champion mowers and binders, 2,123; Schneider Bros., lager beer, 24; Common Sense Engine Co., engines and boilers, 42; T. E. Harwood, the Gazette newspaper, 24; Springfield Publishing Co., Globe Republican, 22; Champion City Times, daily newspaper, 28.—State Report 1886.

 

Population in 1880, 20,730.School census in 1886, 8,922; W. J. WHITE, superintendent.

 

For the following historical sketch of the origin and growth of the manufactures of Springfield up to 1887 we are indebted to Clifton M. NICHOLS, of the Springfield Republic

The first productive concern in Springfield, Ohio, now a famous manufacturing city of 35,000 to 40,000 people was a “grist-mill,” built simultaneously with Springfield’s first school-house and church in 1804; in 1805 the second productive concern, and the first which might be called a factory, was a tannery built by Cooper LUDLOW. Much use was made of powder in these primitive pioneer days, and by way of supplying a home demand by a home supply, a powder-mill was built and worked in 1809. Springfield’s first newspaper, then known as the Farmer, and now as the Republic, made its appearance in 1817. In this same year, as another means of meeting a home demand for material for men’s and women’s clothing, Maddox FISHER put up and worked a factory for the production of cotton fabrics, and in that year also Jacob WOODWARD, Ira PAIGE, and James TAYLOR commenced the manufacture of woollen cloth, to meet a want that had certainly not been very long felt. The building then erected for this mill was afterward used by Jacob W. and William A. KILLS, for the manufacture of printing-papers. A few years since it was reconstructed and enlarged by Marsfield STEELE, and it is now occupied by the Standard Manufacturing Company for the manufacture of dining-tables. It stands on north Center street, between Columbia and North streets.

 

At this same time flax was largely cultivated, to provide the fibre for “tow” and linen cloth generally worn by the men, women, and children of the period, in warm weather; and that the seed might be utilized, Griffith FOOS who built, the first tavern in Springfield in 1803, erected and worked an oil-mill on a spot now covered by the system of workshops owned by the Champion Machine Company.

 

 

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manufactured by the firm of James LEFFEL & Co. in this city, and sent to all points of the globe.

 

In 1841 Samuel and James BARNETT built a large flouring-mill on the BARNETT hydraulic, on what is now known as Warder street, in Springfield, and this concern having recently been changed into a roller-mill, is now run and managed by the heirs of the late William WARDER and Mr. William A. BARNETT, son of the late Samuel BARNETT, one of the builders of the mill.

 

In 1848 John A. PITTS came here from Buffalo, N. Y., and laid the foundation of the extensive engine and thresher works now standing on the south side of Warder street.

 

In 1852 was born the great Champion industry, William N. WHITELEY having in that year invented the Champion reaper and mower, which by 1887 has come to be much the largest and most important single harvester industry in the world. The firms of WHITELEY, FASSLER, & KELLY, the Champion Machine Company, the Champion Bar and Knife Company, the Champion Malleable Iron Company, the. Champion steel-mills, and the Warder, BUSHNELL, & GLESSNER Company, are all employed in manufacturing, in part or as a whole, the Champion harvesters, and employ 4,000 men in the various manufacturing processes required in producing these machines.

 

In 1850 the Lagonda Agricultural Works were organized. They now form an important part of the system of Champion harvester-shops, and with machine-shops, wood-shops, malleable-iron-foundries, bar- and knife-shops, warehouses, etc., form in themselves one of the largest factories in America. B. H. WARDER and A. S. BUSHNELL, of Springfield, and John J. GLEASSNER, of Chicago, are the owners.

 

In 1855 P. M. MAST, John H. THOMAS, and John M. DEARDORFF organized on Warder street a factory for the production of the Buckeye grain-drill. Out of this concern ultimately grew the manufacturing concerns of I. P. MAST & Co., Mast, Foos & Co., Superior Drill Company, Thomas & Sons Rake Works, and the tricycle factory, all now large and prosperous concerns. In addition to these concerns mentioned there are sixty to seventy large factories in the city, and all in a prosperous condition. The products of these factories are, besides grain- and grass-harvesters, grain-drills, water-wheels, and the parts of these implements, cultivators, cider-mills, wind-engines, feed-cutters, pumps, lawn-mowers, plows, sewing-machines, iron fencing, horse hay-rakes, hay-tedders, corn-drills and harrows, bench and tub clothes-wringers, burial-cases of various kinds, grave-vaults, malleable and gray iron, steam-engines and steam-pumps, linseed-oil, oil-cake, paints, buggy- and dash-mouldings, steam-boilers and sheet-iron products, heating-furnaces, wrapping-paper, books and periodicals, wheelbarrows, bicycles, tricycles, willow-wagons, coaches, buggies, and carriages, ale, beer, whisky, soap, crackers, galvanized iron products, leather, etc., etc. From 7,000 to 8,000 men are em­ployed in these factories.

 

 

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Top Picture

Frank Henry Howe, Photo., 1887

SHOPS OF THE CHAMPION MOWERS AND BINDERS, SPRINGFIELD.

 

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TRAVELLING NOTES.

A Genuine Patriarch.—The gentleman who supplied me with the preceding notes upon the history of Clark county was a lawyer, then forty-three years of age—E. H. CUMMING, Esq. On this tour I had the pleasure of again meeting him; a venerable octogenarian, the Rev. E. H. CUMMING, of the Episcopal Church, and in his physique the very ideal of a patriarch. He is somewhat tall, wears a long surtout, walks with a cane, his head-covering a tall, soft, white hat, tipper part cylindrical, beard and hair long, white, and flowing down his shoulders, eyes blue, with drooping lids, nose thin, aquiline, and prominent, and general expression grave and thoughtful. His portrait is here given as he.            

A PATRIARCH

 

was in 1870, eighteen years ago, and without his knowledge. I hope it will prove a pleasing surprise to him if he be living when this is printed. This I do from a sentiment of gratitude to a gentleman, the only one I know of now living of the many who aided me on my original edition. He lives in the old Warder mansion under the hill with a fine view of the distant spires of Springfield, and upon the margin of the valley of the Lagonda, which stream flows in quiet beauty through grassy meadows around the town.

 

Mr. CUMMINGS was born in New Jersey in 1804. He studied law at the famous school of Judge GOULD on Litchfield hill, when the BEECHERS were living there, and in their budding days; was admitted to the bar of Clark county in 1831, which he left for the ministry in 1849. There is not in practice a single member of the bar save one in the wide range of Darke, Preble, Montgomery, Miami, Shelby, Champaign, and Clark counties who was in practice when he was admitted.

 

Chat About Interesting People.—Mr. CUMMING’S acquaintance with interesting people has been unusual, and he abounds in anecdotes. Old gentlemen who lived in the time of Tom CORWIN love to talk of him, and he is not an exception. CORWIN’S father (said Mr. CUMMING) came from Morris county, N. J.; his mother was a native of Long Island, and daughter of a sea-captain. Thomas was born in Bourbon county, Ky., was quite a lad when his father moved into Warren county, and settled on Turtle creek. It was a common thing for eastern emigrants to Kentucky, in moderate circumstances, through disgust of slavery to feel as though it was no place to raise a family, and so they moved to the north side of the Ohio. Such was the case with Mathias CORWIN.

 

Anecdotes of Corwin.—Mr. CORWIN was a farmer, and the services of his young son Thomas were at this time especially important. He told me that his older brother was clerk of court. and that he was extremely desirous of obtaining an education, and importuned his father to that end. He replied that in the condition of the family he could not spare his services; that he must remain with him and work on the farm. “A little while after this,” continued CORWIN, “I broke my leg. Competent surgical assistance was difficult to procure. Time passed very tediously and life irksome, when one day I got hold of a Latin grammar, and I became so deeply interested that I committed it entirely by heart. This awakened in me with renewed vigor the desire for an education. I again importuned my father and he again denied me, whereupon I again, and purposely, broke my leg to get the leisure for study. Upon this, my father seeing the folly of opposing me, gave in, and I pursued my education with my brother.”

 

His brother, Mr. CUMMING said, was a good English scholar, and had a fair knowledge of Latin. All the teaching CORWIN had was through him; he never was a college man. Mr. CORWIN acquired quickly and retained tenaciously. He was very proud of his Hungarian descent, and regarded whatever talent he possessed as of that lineage.

 

 

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consecutive terms in Congress from this district. John Q. Adams in his “Diary” frequently in his writings speaks of him and in high regard. He had but a common-school education; was born in 1793 in New Jersey, and came here in 1818 a poor young man. He had tarried for a short time at Chillicothe, made friends, and some noble spirit there had become interested in the young man and given him a horse, and he journeyed on his back to Springfield. He became distinguished in all the relations of life, and in 1841 united with the Presbyterian Church, and was an active Christian, his heart all alive for doing good. In Fillmore’s administration he was United States district-attorney for Ohio.

 

Charles Anthony, or General Anthony, as he was called (continued Mr. CUMMING), was a prominent member of the bar here from 1824 to 1862. His parents were members of the Society of Friends, of Richmond, Va. In the Harrison campaign of 1840 he acquired a great reputation as a stump speaker. He was United States Attorney for Ohio in the Harrison-Tyler administration. He died in 1862 and was buried with Masonic honors. Hon. Samuel SHELLABARGER studied law here under Samson Mason and represented this district for several terms in Congress during the war era. His reputation for legal capacity and integrity is national. He has resided for many years in Washington. He is one of those characters that when spoken of the word “honest” is often coupled with the name.

 

The Frankensteins—A very talented family in the way of art is the FRANKENSTEIN family. The parents emigrated from Germany in 1831 bringing with them four sons and two daughters. They lived in Cincinnati for many years, and since 1849 made their home in Springfield or rather what is left of them through the changes of time.

 

Godfrey N., the second son, born in 1820, died in 1873, was the most noted of the family. The great work of his life was his panorama of Niagara. He spent the greater part of the time between 1844 and 1866, twenty-two years, in depicting, the scenery of the falls on canvas in all seasons of the year, in the coldest wintry weather, and alike in summer, by day and night, and from every conceivable point.

 

In 1867 he visited Europe, sojourning a while in England, painting some English scenes, and spent a season in company with his younger brother, Gustavus FRANKENSTEIN, among the Alps. On their return to London it was acknowledged that Mont Blanc and Chamouni valley had never before been painted with such power and beauty.

 

After an absence of two years he returned to America, in April, 1869, and in the following autumn he went to one of his cherished streams, Little Miami river, near Foster’s Crossings, twenty-two miles from Cincinnati, and painted Governor Morrow’s old mill, two views of it, one looking up the stream, the other down the stream.

 

The loveliness of these two scenes is indescribable. The following season 1870 finds him again in the same vicinity, fairly throwing the sunshine on the canvas. In the month of January, 1871, the artist met with a severe loss in the death of his mother, from the effects of which he never fully recovered.

 

In the autumn of the same year he went to the White Mountains, accompanied by his sister Eliza, where they both painted from nature. In November, 1872, he painted his last scene from nature, Mad River, Fern Cliffs, three miles from Springfield, Ohio. He contracted a cold, which culminated in a very brief, severe illness in the following February, lasting ten days, and on the morning of February 24, 1873, he breathed his last. His industry was wonderful, and he possessed one of the largest collections of landscape paintings in, the world, never having parted with but one of his original pictures.

 

THE FRANKENSTEIN HOMESTEAD

 

 

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Godfrey FRANKENSTEIN was simple-hearted, guileless as a child, and modesty itself. In his dying moments he was heard to utter a few low words in German. It was a prayer to the God of love to receive his spirit. knew Godfrey FRANKENSTEIN. Once in a call at my fireside among other things he told me this anecdote of a child. “Tommy Watkins,” said he (the name is hypothetical), “is a very comical five-year-old boy in our neighborhood. In their front yard was a noble peony in bloom, and, missing it, his mother inquired if he knew what had become of it. ‘Mother,’ he replied, looking up honestly in her face, ‘I picked it; I can’t tell a lie. Now, ain’t I like Georgie Washington?’ His mother, in a spirit of pride, mentioned it to one of the neighbors, where-upon the latter burst into a laugh, saying:  ‘It is no such thing; I saw Jimmy WILLIAMS pick it as he was coming home from school.’

 

Worthington Whittridqe, artist, was born in Springfield in 1820. Francis C. Sessions, in his paper on “Art and Artists in Ohio,” says of him:

 

“As soon as he was of age he went to Cincinnati to go into business. He failed in almost everything he engaged in, and finally determined to become an artist. Putting himself under instructions, he soon began to paint portraits. At that time there were a number of artists residing there, and there were a number of citizens who were interested in art and artists. Among them were Mr. Nicholas Longworth, Mr. John Foote, Mr. Charles Stetson. Hon. Judge Burnet and Griffin Taylor. To these gentlemen much credit is due fur so many artists springing up in Cincinnati and for the lead Cincinnati has taken as an art centre in the West.

 

WHITTRIDGE soon left Ohio and went to Europe, studying in the galleries of Diisseldorf, Belgium, Holland, Rome, London and Paris, and finally settled in New York in 1859. We remember to have seen in the Paris Exposition, in 1878, two of his paintings, ‘A Trout Brook’ and `The Platte River,’ which attracted much attention and were among the best in the American exhibit. He is a great lover of nature.

 

“His most successful pictures have been `Rocky Mountains from the Plains,’ 1870, owned by the Century Club; ‘Trout Brook in the Catskills,’ in the Corcoran gallery; ‘Old House by the Sea,’ and ‘Lake in the Catskills.’

 

“Mr. WHITTRIDGE retains a warm interest in Ohio. He says that the general judgement of artists is that Quincy Ward’s ‘Washington,’ on the sub treasury steps, is a noble and imposing work.

 

“He thinks that Ward a half century after his death will be classed with Canova and Thorwaldsen. Whittridge is a gray-bearded, dignified-looking artist, who seems scholarly and broadly cultured. He ranks in the first class of landscape painters, but there is nothing sensational about him. His social standing is high.”

 

A Veteran of “the Black Watch.”—Now living in Springfield in the person of a retired army officer is a gentleman who had in his youth the singular honor of being a soldier in the very first regiment of regular troops that ever trod upon the soil of Ohio. This gentleman is Col. Robert L. KILPATRICK, and he looks, as he is, every inch a soldier, tall, strongly made, erect, dark complexion, with one of the strongest of Scotch faces. He was born in April, 1825, in Paisley, Scotland. At the age of sixteen he enlisted in the Forty-second Highlanders, the famous “Black Watch” regiment, the most famous in the British army. The regiment is most honorably identified with American annals. In the attack on Fort Ticonderoga, July 8, 1758, the Forty-second lost 600 out of 1,000 men. It was on Boquet’s expedition and comprised nearly all the fighting force at the battle of Bushy Run in what is now Westmoreland county, Pa., in August, 1763. The Indians attacked them in ambush, but by excellent generalship the Highlanders successfully charged them with the bayonet, giving the savages the severest defeat they had ever experienced. The next year, 1764, Boquet crossed over the river with this regiment into what is now known as Coshocton county, which thus became the first regiment of regular troops that ever trod the soil of Ohio.

 

For ten years Col. KILPATRICK was on foreign service at Malta and the Bermudas, half the time as a non-commissioned officer.

 

The Famous Fifth Ohio—In 1858, being then a resident of Cincinnati, he or organized the Highland Guards, a company of Scotchmen, who adopted the Highland costume. This formed the nucleus for the famous Fifth Ohio, which he commanded in several engagements. He lost his arm at Chancellorsville. In 1870 he was retired from the re regular army with the full rank of colonel. His regiment was in six pitched battles and twenty-eight hard-fought engagements. There is a story told of an incident which occurred at the first battle of Winchester, The standard-bearer of this regiment was shot down, but before the stars and stripes trailed in the dust a soldier sprang forward and caught them, bearing them aloft again. He, too, was shot down, but a third hand grasped the flag and waved it in front of the battle. Once more the fatal bullet pierced the faithful heart of the color-bearer, and as he fell he cried to those who sprang to his assistance: “Boys, keep the colors up!” and these words ever after remained the motto of the regiment.

 

 

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father, a farmer near by, to point out to me the various objects of historic interest, and among them the hill called Tecumseh. Not, until on this second tour and in a lawyer's office (his own) in Springfield did I again meet my once little guide to the birthplace and battle-field. Lo, what a change ! He had evidently fed well. The rich bottom lands of Mad river had not grown their vast crops in vain. In the interim he had attained to ponderous proportions and to great honors.

 

AN EARLY ACQUAINTANCE

 

 

In his youth the advent of my book to his father's house had been a marked event. It was fuel for the fires of patriotism, and when a young man the flag he loved so well was shot at, trailed in the dust and spit upon, he was among the first of the indignant spirits that sprang to its rescue. The war ended. He had been in many battles, was wounded several times and peace found him a major-general. And the old flag, too, now for the first time waving over a land entirely unsullied, waving in the stiff, strong breezes of its perfect liberty, flapped its folds in joy. More honors. His neighbors sent him to Congress, and he became Speaker of the House of Representatives, the only man from Ohio upon whom had ever been bestowed that great honor, and on every law that was passed for the uses of this American people was placed his extraordinarily bold signature, given as with the pen of a giant, generous in ink.

 

Still another honor! Gladstone, in the House of Commons, cited and adopted one of his decisions, a compliment never before paid to an American parliamentarian in all of Old England. This rule has since been called by the general name of Cloture, which is the right of a Speaker to close debate and cut off purposely obstructive motions and questions and bring the house to an immediate vote upon the main question.

 

Signature of J. Warren Keifer

 

Leffel, the Inventor.—An old citizen here has given me some interesting items upon James LEFFEL, the great pioneer inventor of Springfield. He says, "Ho brought into his office his model of the first turbine water-wheel. He wore a plug hat and he carried it under a handkerchief in its crown. LEFFEL was a small man, with a rugged expression, always absorbed and could talk of nothing but his inventions. He invented, forty years ago, the first cook-stove, 'the Buckeye,' ever made in the State, and no better has succeeded it. His machine for crushing gold-bearing quartz was a great success, while his water-wheel made the fortune of all who manufactured it. His oldest son Wright had the inventive talent of his father and in one of his trips to California with the quartz crusher was drowned. Mr. LEFFEL doted on him, and the blow almost broke his heart.

 

In Fern Cliff Cemetery Springfield has one of the most beautiful of burial places. It is just north of the town on the forest-covered, varied surface hill that rises from the Lagonda on the north. The stream there is about six rods wide and gently curves around its base. The winding walk by its margin, the bold, limestone cliffs, the heavy growth of fern that grows so fondly at their base and in their crevices, the shadowing trees and placid waters render it one of the most picturesque, charming of spots, and then withal comes the reflection, this so near a busy city and yet so calm and secluded. Nature is thereto woo the spirit with her sweet delights, and that nothing may seem wanting two or three bridges hard by hang over the waters, while the spires of the college peer above the trees to show that human learning has come there for its most holy aspirations. I know of no other spot near a city so gem-like and exquisite.

 

 

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eighteen years and was a local elder in the Methodist Episcopal Church. He was noted for his sunny disposition and his humorous versification. An epitaph, written by himself for himself many years before his death, is a most original production; it shows that highest of all qualities, viz., genius; but he lived and_. died probably without knowing it.

 

 

NEW CARLISLE, twelve miles west of Springfield, on the I. B. & W. R. R., is located in a fine farming district. Newspapers: Saw, Republican, J. M. HUFFA, editor and publisher; Buckeye Farmer, agriculture, J. M. HUFFA editor and publisher; Farm and Fireside Friend, agricultural, .I. L. RUST, publisher. Churches: 1 Christian, 1 Dunkard, 1 Presbyterian, l Methodist Bank: New Carlisle Bank, Jonathan V. FORGY, president, C. H. NEFF cashier.

 

Industries—Fruit tree nurseries, bee supply manufactory, force and lift pump manufactory, creamery, and planing mill. Population in 1880, 818. School census In 1886, 359; J. B. MOHLER, superintendent.

 

SOUTH CHARLESTON, twelve miles southeast of Springfield, on two railroads, O. S. and I. C. & St. L., is a fine village in a rich level country; has several churches, two banks--South Charleston, John RANKIN, president, Stacy B. RANKIN, cashier; Farmers' National, A. D. PANCAKE, president, Milton CLARK, cashier; and in 1880, 932 inhabitants.