Page:The life and letters of John Brown (Sanborn).djvu/28

8 "We arrived in Hudson on the 27th of July, and were received with many tokens of kindness. We did not come to a land of idleness; neither did I expect it. Our ways were as prosperous as we had reason to expect. I came with a determination to help build up, and be a help in the support of religion and civil order. We had some hardships to undergo, but they appear greater in history than they were in reality. I was often called to go into the woods to make division of lands, sometimes sixty or seventy miles from home, and be gone some weeks, sleeping on the ground, and that without serious injury.

"When we came to Ohio the Indians were more numerous than the white people, but were very friendly, and I believe were a benefit rather than an injury. In those days there were some that seemed disposed to quarrel with the Indians, but I never had those feelings. They brought us venison, turkeys, fish, and the like; sometimes they wanted bread or meal more than they could pay for at the time, but were always faithful to pay their debts. In September, 1806, there was a difficulty between two tribes; the tribe on the Cuyahoga River came to Hudson, and asked for assistance to build them a log-house that would be a kind of fort to shelter their women and children from the firearms of their enemy. Most of our men went with teams, and chopped, drew, and carried logs, and put up a house in one day, for which they appeared very grateful. They were our neighbors until 1812, but when the war commenced with the British, the Indians left these parts mostly, and rather against my wishes.

"In Hudson my business went on very well, and we were somewhat prosperous in most of our affairs. The company that we received being of the best kind, the missionaries of the gospel and leading men travelling through the country called on us, and I became acquainted with the business people and ministers in all parts of the Western Reserve, and some in Pennsylvania. In 1807 (Feb. 13) Frederick, my sixth child, was born. I do not think of anything else to notice but the common blessings of health, peace, and prosperity, for which I would ever acknowledge the goodness of God with thanksgiving. I had a very pleasant, orderly family, until Dec. 9, 1808, when all my earthly prospects seemed to be blasted. My beloved wife gave birth to an infant daughter who died in a few hours; as my wife expressed it, 'She had a short passage through time.' My wife followed a few hours after. These were days of affliction. I was left with five small children (six, including Levi Blakesly, my adopted son), the eldest but about ten and a half years old. The remembrance of this scene makes my heart bleed now. These were the first that were buried in the ground now occupied as a cemetery at the centre of Hudson. I kept my children mostly around me,