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CABINS
The settlers homes were log cabins. There were two standard
sizes for these structures - 12x14 feet or 14x16feet. Nails were scarce and many
log cabins were built entirely without them. The shingles were kept in
place by poles laid across them. The beds, chairs, and tables were made of
puncheons.
Woven elm bark or hickory slats made the bottoms of the pioneers beds. Where
wooden wedges would not tighten the crevices in the walls, the chinks in the
walls of the cabin were filled with clay. The fireplaces were centered affairs,
often occupying one whole side of the cabin. They were made of stone and held
together by mortar or stiff clay. The chimneys were made the same way or by
laying iron-wood sticks cross-wise and plastering them with mud. Logs six to ten
feet in length were burned in these fireplaces. The front log would be the
largest and toughest. Back of it was the smaller log. Between them was
piled the smaller wood. Over the fire hung an iron kettle, in which
everything by way of boiling, roasting, frying and baking was done. The heat
from these fireplaces was great, but it was not evenly distributed. The old
settlers used to tell of freezing on one side and roasting on the
other. The fire was banked at night, and the settlers would head for bed.
Furs and quilts kept them warm but it was an ordeal to rise in the morning. In
some of the cabins there were lofts and in order to get to them pins were driven
into the wall. The floor of the loft would be puncheons laid loose on the beams.
LIGHT
Candles were used for light. Candle dipping was one of the main household
chores. A kettle of tallow would be melted. Into this tallow would be dipped a
wick. As soon as it was withdrawn, the tallow would harden, and it would be
dipped again and again and again, until it reached the desired thickness. Later
came candle molds and less laboriousness to candle making.
FOOD
The pioneers depended on their guns
as well as the spade in order to eat. Agriculture
was difficult in spite of the good soil. After
clearing land and tilling there was still stumps and
boulders and roots that made cultivation difficult.
Venison was the most prized of the larger game
meats. "Deer Shining" was one of the favorite ways
of hunting. The pioneer would paddle slowly along
the river after dark, carrying a burning torch in
his canoe. The deer, seeing the light, would stand
still for safety's sake. Their eyes glowed out of
the darkness and the pioneer would raise his muzzle
loading rifle and shoot between the eyes.
Hogs and sheep were precious animals. They were
brought to this vicinity at great expense. The sheep
furnished meat for the table and wool for clothing.
The hogs furnished a welcome relief to the diet, and
supplied the cupboard with lard and hides for shoe
soles.
It was hard to keep sheep and hogs because the
wolves were fond of sheep and the bear was the
natural enemy of hogs. Whenever a pig squealed, the
pioneer took his rifle from the antlers above the
fireplace, and went out to kill the bear. Bear do
not die easily. There is one story of a bear killed
in these parts after a hand to hand combat with a
hunter who used a knife, and when cleaning the bear
they found eleven bullets each from a different
settler. Rifles varied greatly in bore, and everyone
knew the bore of every rifle in the vicinity.
Although there are no records of any human being
having fallen victim to the wolves in this vicinity,
there were several instances where women going from
one cabin to another on horseback were chased by the
ravenous animals and were saved by the courage of
their horses.
Wolves and snakes were the greatest fears of the
women. The rocky parts of the neighborhood were full
of rattlesnakes. The hogs helped in exterminating
these. In several communities, clubs were formed for
killing snakes, and there is a tale of how the
blacksmith of Stow, finding a den of rattlers in a
pit at the Gorge one Sunday morning in early spring,
plugged up the crevice which was their only way out
with a limb torn from a tree, and lowered himself
among them and killed several dozen of them single
handedly with a club. This was a highly noble thing
to do for the blacksmith due to the fact that
blacksmiths were not allowed by town law to kill
snakes because they were so valuable. But this did
not stop this settler.
There is also a story of a sow belonging to one
Western Reserve pioneer which was attacked by a
bear. The bear had eaten the flesh of the pig from
its neck to its tail. Instead of killing the hog the
settler smeared the wound with pitch and it
continued to survive, having many more litters.
The hog, brought here as a domestic animal, soon
became part of wildlife when escaped swine ran wild
in the woods. One pioneer saw a drove of them kill a
wolf when the wolf tried to steal a young hog.
Johnnycakes
First, beat one egg, and stir in 2 cups cornmeal,
3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1 1/2 cups milk. This is your
batter. Drop spoonfuls of this batter on a
well-greased pan, and fry until they're brown on
both sides. Serve them hot, with butter or sugar.
Yield: 10 - 12 cakes.
Appleade
Core and cut 2 large apples (don't peel them), and
put them in a pan. Meanwhile, bring to a boil 1
quart (1 liter) of water, and pour over the apples.
Let the mixture sit for 30 minutes or so. Strain it,
and sweeten the drink with sugar. Serve chilled.
The "poor" meal
Barley bread is made by grinding up barley into
flour and putting that into a porridge to make
dough. Cook in sun or stone oven until done. Add
onions for special occasions.
Beer was made by grinding up barley into flour and
putting it into a container (clay). Add water. Let
it ferment in the sun until well fermented. Sift out
all of the solids that are unnecessary to drink.
SETTLERS BARTERED FOR VENISON
By Eric Thompson
A tribe of Seneca Indians lived along the
southwest end of Stow Pond (Silver Lake today) and along the Cuyahoga River,
north bank, from Goose Egg Island down to where the Bailey Road Bridge is today.
The village contained upwards to 500 Indians living in
wigwams
and lean-to huts.
This location was ideal for their village and the
river and pond supplied their many needs along with a good supply of fish and
rich hunting areas. Thus, they were very reluctant to give up this area although
they had lost title to the land under the Greenville Treaty of August 3, 1795.
The treaty did, however allow them to live in
their village until the district was settled by the whites, subject to their
good behavior.
The Seneca tribe's chief was Wagmong, a very fine
upright man and with the arrival of Judge Wetmore and his party, the chief
became a very frequent visitor at the Wetmore cabin.
Wagmong's hut was on Goose Egg Island in the
Cuyahoga River, south of Stow Pond.
Judge Wetmore being a very just and honorable
man, treated Chief Wagmong and his Indians very well, thus, the judge and chief
became very close and real good friends. Judge Wetmore also implored all
pioneers coming into this area to buy land to treat the Indians fairly in all
dealings and at all times. This paid off many times in the early life of this
settlement.
The Indians were amazed at the turnips and
cucumbers raised by the settlers. A barter rate was set whereby the Indians
could have six turnips or six cucumbers for a quarter of venison. This rate
elated both sides.
In the fall, Judge Wetmore harvested a goodly
supply of summer wheat. He flailed it out and cleaned it by pouring it into the
wind. His problem then was to have it ground into flour.
The nearest flour mill to anyone's recollection
was at Newburg, about five miles south of Cleveland on the Cuyahoga River,
Newburg was a bigger town then Cleveland due mainly to its water power and mill.
The only known route from Stow to the mill was
the old Indian trail north to near Painesville, then following the shore line of
Lake Erie to the mouth of the Cuyahoga River, then following the river south to
the mill. To cover this route was a distance of 83 miles one way.
Judge Wetmore found in Hudson an old hunter who
now was a part-time farmer who had a pack horse. He was Bill Lappin and agreed
to make the trip for one half of the finished products.
Lappin picked up three bags of wheat on Monday
and Wednesday morning he arrived at the mill and got his wheat ground and
started back. The miller kept one-eighth of the flour for his service. Lappin
got back to Wetmore's Thursday night having dropped off at his home in Hudson
his share of half the flour, bran and middlings.
The arrangement suited Judge Wetmore just fine
but Lappin would not make another trip until he used up all of his flour. Being
a bachelor, this took some time and the Wetmores ran out of flour long before
Lappin made another trip.
Aaron Norton who had run a distillery in Hudson
which was burned out in 1803, and moved to Northampton Township. He built a dam
in Mud Brook at what today is State Road and then built a mill that he put into
operation late in 1806. That ended Lappin's service.
In building the grist mill, Norton found that
he needed help, so, he employed Seth Webster, and expert millwright from
Blanford, Mass. This Webster was a heavy drinker, but he solemnly promised
Norton that he would keep stone sober until the mill was finished if Norton
would give him three gallons of whiskey in addition to his wages when the job
was done, Norton agreed.
Webster kept his promise and got the three
gallons. Then he departed. He went down along the creek until he found a shady
spot where he would be comfortable while he did some serious thinking and
drinking.
He drank and thought and drank and thought.
Soon, he stopped thinking and just drank. That was the end of Webster. Days
later, his body was found and buried.
The first year was a very tough year for the
transplanted easterners in Stow. In the winter, many settlers took sick and it
was a very cold and snow-covered winter.
Other hardship conditions that first year were:
Judge Wetmore lost his horse and a hunting dog to rattlesnake bites.
Chief Wagmong became so fond of Judge Wetmore
that he was always a ready helper in any emergency and without him, the settlers
would have suffered badly that first winter. The meat the Indians furnished -
bear, deer, etc., no doubt, saved the settlers from starving during that cold
and snowy winter when it was too bad for the white settlers to go hunting.
Chief Wagmong continued his fondness for Judge
Wetmore and in the spring of 1806, he finally induced the judge to sell his Stow
cabin and build a new home of the southeast corner of Stow Pond overlooking the
whole pond, the Indian village and Chief Wagmongs hut on Goose Egg Island.
The pond's name was changed from Stow to Wetmore
Pond.
Tomas Rice also sold his Stow cabin and built
beside the judge on the east bank.
John Cochran and his bride arrived in the spring
of 1806 and boarded with the Wetmore family while he built his new home on his
land at the north end of the pond where it also overlooked today's Crystal Lake.
On June 16, 1806, while Cochran was working on
his new cabin, it started to get dark at 9:32 a.m. and by 11:16 it was pitch
dark. The owls started hooting in the trees and the chickens went to roost.
Everyone including the Indians [were] scared and was
sure the world was coming to an end.
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