Page:History of Richland County, Ohio.djvu/470

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��HISTORY OF RICHLAND COUNTY

��plenty in Ashland County, and the New Haven marshes, as they still continue to be. The In- dians usually came in companies, and when in liquor, as was usually the case before leaving, were very noisy and troublesome. Their cus- tom, however, was to appoint two or three of their number to keep sober while the others were drunk. The squaws, too, would take away and secrete the knives and tomahawks of those who appeared to be getting dangerous. In these drunken frolics their yells could be heard for miles. The yell of an Indian is pe- culiar to itself, and cannot be exactly imitated by a white man. It has a shrill and metallic ring aV)0ut it, that is wholly unlike any other sound, and could be recognized anywhere, and at any time. The amusements common among the settlers were feats of strength, running, jumping, wrestling, pitching quoits, pla^'ing l)all, and fist fighting. The crowning daj^ was muster day, as '' fun " would be plenty. A great deal of whisk}' would be drank, and the " more fights the more fun." Different sections of the county seemed to be arrayed against each other, as is the case in all early settlements. The Black Forkers were alwaj's boasting their su- periority- over the Clear Forkers, and whenever these two factions met there was sure to be a fight, especially when whisk}- was plenty. The Clear Forkers were happy whenever they were fortunate enough to " clean out ' the Black Forkers, and clcr versa.

On one occasion, when Joseph Cairns kept a small store on the McFall corner, an old Indian chief by the name of Mooney, threw his toma- hawk, from Miller's corner, at Cairns. It stuck fast in the door frame, within a few inches of Cairns' head.

The first brick house in Mansfield was built on the site of the Opera House Block. It was first occupied by Clem. Pollock, a wheelwright by trade, and a son-in-law of Judge McCluer.

Rev. James Rowland writes thus of Mans field when he came in 1820 : " Mansfield, in

��1820, numbered about two or three hundred inhabitants. The houses were few and far between. There were a few tolerably good frame buildings, and one brick house on the lot where H. R. Smith's store yet remains. - H. R. Smith's Opera Block now occupies the site of that brick house, or nearl}- so. It did not stand on the street, but back some distance. The second brick house was the Hedges dwelling, on the northeast corner of the square, still standing, and the third Avas down on East Market street — it is also standing. There was no building bordering on the east side of the public square, except a round-log cabin used as a butcher's shop, and standing where now stands the brick building of E. Hedges, Esq. The greatest number of houses and shanties were on West Diamond street, and the next greatest number on I]ast Diamond street. There was a log house on part of the present site of the Wiler House, kept by the jovial and enterpris- ing John Wiler, for his own benefit and that of the emigrants, to this county and further west. There were two dry-goods stores ; one on the northeast corner of the square, kept by Sturges & Sherwood, and one a little further north, by Robert McComb. In 1821, there was but one physician. A. O. Miller, until, I think, about the close of that year, when his brother, G. B. Miller, came to this place. They were associated in practice, and were highly es- teemed as citizens and physicians."

He thus descriljes the old court house : " In 1820, about the center of the public square, a little south from where the present court house stands, there was an edifice about 30x20 feet, and two stories in height. The lower story was constructed of hewed logs, that had been originally used in another part of the town for a block-house. The second, or upper stor}-, was frame work, and the house was weather-boarded on all sides, both above and l^elow. The stairway leading to the entrance of the second stoiy, was outside the buildino-. on the north side, and the building

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