Page:History of Richland County, Ohio.djvu/553

 HISTORY OF RICHLAND COUNTY.

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��tance, until dogs, man and bear were nearly ex- hausted. At length, Mr. Applegate came up with a gun, but was too tired and worried to shoot, and handed the gun to Gladden, who placed the muzzle against the bear and fired, killing it and putting an end to the chase.

Mr. Gladden brought a pack of hounds from Jefferson County at one time for the purpose of hunting wild-cats, and killed about thirty of these animals altogether. During the time these wild-cats were so plenty, Mr. David Craw- ford, who was troubled a great deal with them, secured a 3'oung dog, which he was anxious should be trained to hunt them, and desired to try him on a live cat, which he was unable to do. But Solomon Gladden thought he could secure one. Taking his hounds one bright September morning, he entered the woods, and had not proceeded far before the hounds struck a trail and soon treed a cat. The tree was a small one, and Gladden determined, if possible, to take it alive. He succeeded in clubbing the cat from the tree, and, after the dogs had wor- ried it sufficiently, he seized it b}- the hind legs, drove off the dogs, placed his foot on its neck and attempted to manage it alone, but found he had caught a tartar. He could neither let go nor hold on with safety. After much maneuvering, he succeeded in getting off his suspenders, with which he tied the " var- mint," and in this way carried it to Crawford's house. Mr. Gladden was full of stories like these, that picture these woods as the paradise of hunters.

^Y\\d turkeys were also ver}- plenty, and were ti'apped as well as shot. A pen for this purpose was made in different shapes, according to the fanc}' of the builder. It was generally made in the woods, of small logs, about eight or ten feet square, and covered over with bark or brush. The logs were far enough apart to admit light to the pen, but not allow the escape of a turke}-. In two or more places under the sides of the pen, the earth was removed suf-

��ficiently to allow the turkey to creep under into the pen. Considerable corn was scattered about these places of ingress, and the turkey in picking up the corn kept his head down until inside the pen. It was then caught, for it did not have sense enough to creep out the way it came. It alwaj-s looks up, instead of down, for a place of exit.

William Chew, the father of the boy who was treed by the bear, came to Monroe in 1821, and settled on Rocky Fork. He was the father of seventeen children, man}- of whom are now citizens of the township. The Mr. Applegate mentioned settled on Rocky Fork in 1822, and cleared a farm, which is now one of the finest in the township.

In 1819, the following names appear on the tax duplicate of Monroe Township, which aflfords positive evidence regarding its early settlements. It is presumed the list comprises nearly all the heads of the families in the township at that date.

"James and George Archer, Abraham Baugh- man, Stephen Brady, Jacob Baughman, George Baughman, Frederick Boneberger, James Church, Frederick Cramer, John Douglas, David Ellis, William Furgeson, Benjamin Forbey, Benjamin Gatton, Christian Good, Solomon Gladden, Henry Huffman, Rebecca Hensel. James Irwin, John Her, Peter Kinne}'. Lawrence King, John Lambright, William McLaughlin, Amerine Marshall, Thomas and Alexander McBride, Alexander McBride, Jr., Jacob Oler, John G. Peterson, Vv^illiam Ray, Andrew Richey, Jacob Sweitzer, Frederick Sweitzer, William Slater, Thomas Summerman, Samuel Stewart David Shrack, Ebenezer Smith. M. Shinnebarger. Jeremiah Smart, Jacob and Mordecai Williams, William Wilson, Adams Wininger, Samuel White, Adam and Robert Wolfe, and Peter Zerby."

The total number of horses in the township was seventy-eight, total number of cattle one hundred and fourteen ; the total tax on these

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