REMINISCENCES OF WABASH COUNTY INDIANA. (after 1839, by Mrs. Allen Harter.) This article is in The History of Wabash County, Indiana, 1884 page 427."Wabash had only a few dwellings. The wolves howled around the cabin, and the tree branches hung over it. There was a little store at Wabash. The nearest mill of importance was twelve miles distant, at Libert Mills, on Eal River, below Manchester. We had only corn bread, and were thankful to get that. The nearest corn-cracker was Coppick's, west of Bachelor Run. There was one also on Squirral's Creek, owned by Musselman. We lived a long time on corn bread and sage tea. One year we had only fifty pounds of wheat flour, and as to meat we had one hog that netted perhaps 100 pounds, and twenty pounds of lard, and that meat and lard lasted us a year. My husband began to have fits not very long after we were married, and he had them, off and on, for thirty-six years. He would have one every two or three weeks perhaps, falling helpless, often in the night, and I would have to lift him to the bed, where he would lie for some days, and I had to care for and feed the stock and take care of him too. The wolves would howl close around the door, and there we were all alone in the woods. Our cabin was of the common sort, clapboard roof with weight-poles puncheon floors and clapboard loft. We used to 'spancel' our horses and turn them loose. I have taken straw from the bed to feed them when the snow was so deep that they could not browse. We had fodder, but it was five miles away and we could not get it. We stayed nine weeks at Jacob Brower's and planted and tended ten acres of corn, and built our cabin, and then moved into it. In the fall we gathered the corn and pulled and shocked the fodder. He hauled his share of the corn home and stored it in the cabin loft, leaving the fodder to be hauled in the winter; but the weather was so open and the roads so bad that it was very hard work to get the fodder home, and sometimes we had none, and the horses had to go without. The Indians used sometimes to pass by the cabin. I have seen six in a bank, all walking Indian file. Abel Harter, Allen's brother, hauled us out with a four-horse team to Wabash from Preble County, Ohio. The roads were bad enough. There came a heavy rain; he got his wagon fast and could not get it free. We had to stop over night. Abel slept in the wagon and Allen and I went back to a cabin and lodged there. Allen fed his horses at the wagon, and tied our three cattle near the wagon. In the morning we came on (from Treaty Creek) to Wabash Town, but though they professed to 'keep tavern', there was nothing to eat for either man or beast. Our land was paid for before we left Preble County, Ohio."Our three cattle which we took so much pains to bring into the wilderness all died with the bloody murrain". I spun flax and wool to pay for a sow and pigs, and they all died too. Many a pound of flax and tow on shares, and moreover have woven the yarn for garments both for others and myself. (Allen and Abel Harter were two children of Daniel and Susanna Landis Harter. Daniel in turn was the son of George and Mary Kitterman Harter. Allen and Abel were great grandchildren of Christopher and Christina Kitterman) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- USGENWEB NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by other organization or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the contributor, or the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by Virginia Perry (© 1998 Virginia Perry)