_West House_, SANDUSKY, OHIO, _July Thirteenth_.
I was fortunate in having a comparatively short distance to travel between Huron and this city. It is only nine miles, and I did not start until two o"clock, allowing myself a two hour"s easy gallop with the lake on my right all the way.
Along this sh.o.r.e more than a century ago, General Bradstreet, with three thousand men, sailed to the relief of Fort Junandat, while Pontiac, the great Ottawa warrior, was besieging Detroit. Reaching Fort Sandusky he burned the Indian villages there and destroyed the cornfields; pa.s.sed on up to Detroit to scatter the threatening savages, and returning went into the Wyandot country through Sandusky Bay. To have attempted to ride alone on horseback in those days would have been a foolhardy, if not a fatal undertaking. Now the screech of an engine-whistle announced the approach of a train on the Lake Sh.o.r.e Road, the great wheels thundered by, and _Paul_, alert and trembling, was ready to dash away. How different it would have been in those old pioneer times! The horseman would have been the one to tremble then, his hand reach for his rifle, his eyes strained towards the thicket from whence the expected yell of the savage was to come.
Among the first proprietors of this section were the Eries. These were followed by the resistless Iroquois, and after them the Wyandots and Ottawas, who seem to have left the strongest impress upon the hills and valleys of Ohio. One of these tribes, the Wyandots, called the bay near which they built their wigwams Sae-san-don-ske, meaning "Lake of the Cold Water," and from this the present name of the city comes. In the early days it was called Ogontz, after a big chief of that name who lived there before the year 1812. All about were rich hunting-grounds, which accounts for its having been chosen by the Indians in times of peace; and even now Sandusky is held to be one of the greatest fish-markets in America.
The place was bound to be attractive to the white man, and any one might have safely prophesied that a city would rise here. The ground slopes gradually down to the lake, the bay forms an ideal harbor, and looking off upon the boats and water, the eye rests upon a scene picturesque and striking.
My attention was called to Johnson"s Island, which was used for the confinement of Confederate officers during the late war. I learned that they were allowed the luxury of an occasional bath in the lake, under guard, of course, and in squads of a hundred men--a luxury which the boys in Libby and Charleston and Columbia would have thought "too good to be true."
Under the city are the limestone quarries, which furnish an inexhaustible supply of building-material and which give an added distinction to this bright little city of the lakes.
On the evening of my arrival I spoke in Union Hall and was introduced by Captain Culver, who referred to my military record and the object of my lectures. Captain Culver is a comrade in the G. A. R. and was a fellow-prisoner at Libby and other prisons. He did much towards making my stay at Sandusky most agreeable.
Sixty-fourth Day.
_Fountain House_, CASTALIA, OHIO, _July Fourteenth_.
My Sandusky friend, Captain Culver, called at the West House for me soon after breakfast, and we spent the forenoon strolling about the city. I was shown the newly completed Court House, of which Sanduskians are very proud; met several of the officials and found much to admire. Left at five o"clock in the afternoon and by six had reached Castalia, five miles distant, which I soon found had something to boast of back of its cla.s.sic name. As a stranger I was of course immediately told of the wonders of the "waters," which I learned form quite an attraction in summer and keep the little place in a flutter of excitement.
Marshall Burton came in 1836 and laid out this prairie town at the head of Coal Creek. Finding the source of the stream in a cool, clear spring, now known to be two hundred feet in diameter and sixty feet deep, named the place "Castalia," from the famed Greek fountain at the foot of Parna.s.sus. The waters of this spring are so pure that objects are plainly seen through the sixty liquid feet, and they say that when the sun reaches meridian, these objects reflect the colors of the rainbow, which might suggest to Castalians that the ancient sun-G.o.d, Apollo, favored the western namesake of his Delphian fount. I met no poets here, but possibly inspiration is not one of the powers guaranteed. Indeed if it should treat devotees of the Divine Art, as it does everything else that is plunged into it, we should have petrified poets.
These petrifying qualities of the water, caused by the combined action of lime, soda, magnesia and iron have made the mill-wheels which turn in Coal Creek incapable of decay.
At a little distance from the town is a cave of quite large dimensions, which was discovered accidentally through a dog running into the opening in pursuit of a rabbit. This cave I believe makes up the complement of natural attractions about the village. The chief attraction, the social life of the people, cannot be guessed at by the rapid glance of the traveller. But even a short sojourn here is apt to be remembered long and pleasantly. Ohioans are notably hospitable.
Sixty-fifth Day.
_Ball House,_ FREMONT, OHIO, _July Fifteenth._
I was awakened at twelve P. M. the previous night at Castalia by two villainous imps, who seemed determined to make an impression. Their evident object was "more rum," which to the credit of the landlord was not furnished them. Exasperated by this temperance measure, they attempted to enter the house, and finding the doors locked began a bombardment with fists and feet. This novel performance was kept up until the object of their wrath and his shot-gun appeared. Owing to this my ride of nineteen miles to Fremont was not as refreshing as it might have been.
As I approached the town I thought of President Hayes, who is so closely identified with it. Here he began the practice of law, and won such popularity, not only among his townsmen, but throughout the State, that in 1864, after a succession of honors, his friends were pushing him for Congress. In answer to a letter written from Cincinnati, suggesting that his presence there would secure his election, he said, "An officer fit for duty, who at this crisis would abandon his post to electioneer for Congress, ought to be scalped. You may feel perfectly sure that I shall do no such thing," and in a letter to his wife, written after he had heard of Lincoln"s a.s.sa.s.sination, he expressed another sentiment quite as strong when he said: "Lincoln"s success in his great office, his hold upon the confidence and affection of his countrymen, we shall all _say_ are only second to Washington"s. We shall probably _feel_ and _think_ that they are not second even to his."
Fremont of course is justly proud of the name and fame of Rutherford B.
Hayes. Two years before he returned to his home, after refusing Grant"s offer of an a.s.sistant Secretaryship, but the people of Ohio were not satisfied with this. Their feelings were probably voiced by the words of a personal friend of Hayes, who said: "With your energies, talents, education, and address, you are green--verdant as gra.s.s--to stay in a country village." Soon afterwards, at the urgent and repeated requests of the people, he gave up his quiet life and once more entered the political arena, with results which the election of 1876 shows.
There were apparently many who were dissatisfied with the Nation"s choice, but in Ohio, and especially where he was known personally, he was much beloved and admired. His uncle, Sardis Birchard, who died some years ago, leaving his property and fortune to his namesake, has given a park and a fine library to Fremont.
The town is on the Sandusky River, at the head of navigation, and has quite a brisk trade for a place claiming only a little over five thousand inhabitants.
Sixty-sixth Day.
_Elmore House,_ ELMORE, OHIO, _July Sixteenth._
My accommodations at the Ball House, Fremont, were quite in contrast with those placed at my disposal at Castalia. I heard no stories of "mineral springs" or wonderful freaks of Nature, but shall remember Fremont as the delightful little city where I had two nights" sleep in one.
I began my day"s journey at eight o"clock with Elmore as the evening objective. Halted a few moments at a hotel known in that locality as the Four-Mile House. Took dinner at Hessville, where I remained until four o"clock in the afternoon and then rode on to Elmore.
[Ill.u.s.tration: COUNTRY STORE AND POST OFFICE.]
CHAPTER XV.
FIVE DAYS AT TOLEDO.
Ordered _Paul_ and saddled him myself at Elmore, on the morning of July seventeenth. In fact it was my usual custom, while riding through the rural districts, to personally groom, feed and care for my horse, as I learned soon after leaving Boston that, unless I attended to his wants myself, he was most likely to be neglected by those in whose hands he was placed, and from a selfish standpoint, knowing also the importance of keeping him in the best possible condition, I never overlooked anything which was likely to add to his comfort.
On my way from Elmore, I stopped for lunch at a country grocery, hotel and saloon, four miles from this city. A small piece of bread, a bowl of milk, and a few crackers covered my refreshment at the "Jack of All Trades," as upon asking for a second piece of bread I was informed that I had just eaten the last in the house. There being no further appeal, I remounted and rode off in the direction of Toledo, where I lectured in the evening at Lyceum Hall, under the auspices of Forsyth Post, being introduced by Doctor J. T. Woods, a surgeon of our Volunteer Army during the late war, and now an active comrade in the G. A. R.
Doctor Woods and I had a long and animated talk at the Boody House over old times, and especially of Custer, who was greatly admired by both of us, as he was by every one who knew anything of him. Doctor Woods had collected a number of articles referring to the General which he thought of especial interest, among others the following lines which seem to bear the very impress of Custer"s martial spirit:
"The neighing troop, the flashing blade, The bugle"s stirring blast.
The charge, the dreadful cannonade, The din and shout are past.
No war"s wild notes nor glory"s peal Shall thrill with fierce delight The breast that nevermore may feel The raptures of the fight."
When our conversation turned upon Toledo, it became more cheerful. The city, after having survived many reverses of fortune, is now on the eve of rapid development, and can hardly be said to have a rival in Northern Ohio. The long and hard battle fought for the soil on which it now stands is almost forgotten, and instead of arousing the interest of the stranger with thrilling tales of ma.s.sacre and war, the Toledoan now points to the emblems of peace.
Not so far away but that the patriotic citizen may become familiar with the place is the old battle-field of "Fallen Timbers," where "mad Anthony Wayne" brought the Indians to bay, and having conquered, pursued them for ten miles along the Maumee, until he reached Swan Creek, now in the centre of the town.
This battle is one of the most dramatic in the records of Indian warfare. It was at a time when the Wabash and Miami tribes had refused to accept any overtures from the Americans, and when they were determined to fight out their cause with the help of the British.
Knowing that pacific measures were then superfluous, and that the matter must be decided by war, Wayne at the head of a splendid support, marched to the Maumee, erected Fort Defiance at the junction of the Au Glaize, and then proceeded to a point where he knew the forces of the enemy were concentrated. The place was in every way favorable to the party in possession--the river on the left, heavy thickets on the right, and in front natural breastworks formed by fallen timbers, the result of a tornado. Into this trap it was necessary to march in order to meet the foe. Wayne"s simple plan of attack was this: to rouse the savages from their lair with an irresistible bayonet charge, "and when up, to deliver a close and well-directed fire on their backs."
The result was a victory for the Americans. The Indians and their white allies, completely routed, made a precipitous retreat, leaving the battle-field covered with their dead. Hotly pursued, their cornfields and wigwams destroyed on the way, they were finally ready to acknowledge that peace was better than war. So ended the great battle of the Maumee, one of the most fatal in its effect upon the destiny of the red race.
It was after this, when actual contest was over, and the Indians had been provided for west of the Mississippi, that the Cincinnati Company laid out a town on the present site and called it Port Lawrence, after the famous flag-ship in which Perry met the British on Lake Erie. Later, Major Stickney, a historic pioneer, whose sons, "One" and "Two" Stickney are equally immortal, laid out Vistula, which afterwards joined Port Lawrence, under a name destined to become a power in the State--Toledo.
The fortunes of the new town were fluctuating as April weather, and the faith of property-holders must have grown weak through wavering. Most of these hard times were due to malaria, which was bred in the neighboring swamps and forests, and which was an ever-present menace; yet when the cloud of contention lowered over the tract of land lying between the territory of Michigan and the State of Ohio, Toledo, the very centre of the trouble, being claimed by both, was animated enough, although her neighbor, Monroe, was wont to vex her with such taunts as this:
"The potatoes they grow small, on Maumee, And they eat them, tops and all, on Maumee."
Potato-tops must have possessed singular virtue, for there was no want of spirit when the test came "On Maumee."
The "Toledo War," much talked of and laughed over in its day, is pa.s.sing slowly into oblivion, and now only an occasional grey-beard brings its scenes back with amusing reminiscence. The cause of the trouble lay in a mistake of Congress, which established an impossible boundary line between Michigan and Ohio, so that the "bone of contention" was a tract of land eight miles wide at the western end, and five at the eastern, which both claimed. The people living in this tract were therefore between two fires, some preferring to be governed by the laws of the territory, and the others giving their allegiance to Ohio. The respective governors were the princ.i.p.als in the quarrel, and showed a strong disposition to fight, while the chief executive at Washington, being unable to interfere, was obliged to a.s.sume the role of a spectator, advising, however, that the interested parties defer action until the convening of Congress.
The advantages were pretty evenly divided, except that Michigan, as a territory, in attempting to prevent the State from enforcing her supposed right, aroused a strong State pride among the "Buckeyes." The militia was called out on both sides and Michigan threatened with arrest those who should attempt to re-mark the boundary line--the compliment being generously returned by Ohio.
In the midst of these hostilities the Legislature of Ohio created a new county, calling it Lucas, after the Governor, which included a portion of the contested territory, and had for its seat the town of Toledo. To hold court at this county-seat without the intervention of the authorities of Michigan would virtually decide the case in Ohio"s favor, but how this bold _coup d"etat_ was to be accomplished, and on the date appointed--the seventh of September--was a question that puzzled the Governor himself. General Brown, in charge of the Michigan militia, was reported to be in Toledo at the time, with a force twelve hundred strong; while Colonel Vanfleet, the Ohio warrior, was to rely upon the stout hearts of a hundred men, who were to act as _posse_ for the protection of the court.
When the judges, sheriff and attendants met at Miami to perfect their plans, on Sunday the sixth of September, they were somewhat fearful of the issue, and finally left the decision of the matter in the hands of Colonel Vanfleet. This intrepid Leonidas immediately a.s.sumed the championship of his State with admirable skill, and, walking up and down, sword in hand, in front of his hundred followers, for a moment"s meditation, turned at last to the judges with these impressive words: