Pioneers of Bean Creek Country, Lenawee Co, Michigan; James J. Hagaoam; published by Jas. M. Scarritt, Hudson, MI, 1876 Contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by Mary Teeter ************************************************************************ USGENWEB ARCHIVES NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by any 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. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access. http://www.usgenwebarchives.org *********************************************************************** Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm Pages 21 Through 30 On the l6th day of June, Hiram Kidder entered the east half of the southeast quarter, and the west half of the north part of the northwest fractional quarter of section eight, town seven south, range one east (Hudson), in the name of his brother, Nathan B. Kidder, and on the 27th day of July entered the west half of the northeast quarter of section seven, same town, in the names of Hudson, Kidder and Young. In the month of May, 1833, Ebenezer Gay, of the State of New Hampshire, an old man and a widower, came to Michigan and stopped at the house of Cornelius Millspaw, on the Chicago road near the northwest corner of town five south, of range one east (now Woodstock) .According to Father Gay there was only one other house near, and that was the house of James D. Van Houvenburgh, also on the Chicago road, and within the limits of the present township of Somerset. He busied himself in the month of May looking land. While thus engaged, a man named Richard L. Lewis came there and joined him in his journeying through the wilderness. They passed quite through town five south, one west, into town six south now called Wheatland. They came to a piece of land having a large spring on it. Gay said "I will enter that," and took its description. They both reached the land office in Monroe the' same day, but Lewis just enough in advance to enter Gay's spring lot. That day was the seventh day of June, and it is quite remarkable that the first land purchased in Wheatland and the first in Pittsford were entered at the land office the same day. Gay entered land in both towns five and six south (Somerset and Wheatland), but Lewis in only the latter. Mr. Gay having secured his land, immediately wrote his son Timothy, who was then living in Albany, to come on and make himself a home in the wilderness. On the first day of June, 1833, Stephen Lapham bought land on section four, in town six south, one east (Rollin), and immediately built a shanty and moved a man into it. The man's name was Levi Thompson, and to him must be accorded the fame of being the first settler in the Valley of the Bean. Erastus Aldrich settled, in August, on section nine, and in the month of October Joseph Beal and his son Porter settled on section ten. Samuel Gregg, then of Adrian, piloted a party of mill men into the Bean creek country in search of water power. They left Adrian July 4th, 1833, going by the way of Mudge's Corners and Samuel Jordan's, this last near the south bend of the Raisin, which was, Gregg says, the "very verge of civilization in that direction." They followed an old Indian trail, until they reached the creek on what is now the site of the village of Canandaigua. It was dark when they arrived. They passed the night in an old Indian wigwam. In the morning they took their bearings and found they were at the southeast corner of section one, town eight south, range one east. They resumed their journey, and followed Bean creek to a little stream just below where the village of Morenci now. stands, since called Silver creek. They did not find water power to suit, and returned to Adrian. Gregg was so pleased with the country he wrote his brother-in-law, William Cavender a glowing description. Cavender visited Michigan in August of that year, and selected lands on section six in town eight south, range two east, and on section one town eight south, range one east, comprising the site of the village of Canandaigua and lands adjoining. The land was entered at the office the second day of September, the Seneca lands in his own name, the Medina land in the name of Samuel Jordan. But this latter was afterwards deeded to Cavender, according, no doubt, to an agreement entered into at the time the land was taken up. On the 14th day of August, 1833, Mr. Hiram Kidder took with him from the Valley, George Lester and Henry C. Western, proceeded to his Bean creek purchase, and rolled up the body of a log house and put a roof on it. This, the first log house within the limits of Hudson, was twenty-five feet square, and in the fall was finished off in the heighth of style, with chinked and mudded cracks, stick chimney, and puncheon floor. Yielding to the solicitations of his father, on the last day of August, 1833, Timothy Gay, wife and three children, left Albany, in the State of New York, and arrived at the house of James Van Houvenburgh, in Somerset, on the night of the 18th day of September, 1833. The old gentlemen wrote them to stop at Cornelius Millspaw's, where he boarded, but the house was passed in the night without being observed. The same vessel that brought the family across Lake Erie, brought also several stage coaches to be put on a line in the State of Illinois. At Detroit, the agent proposed to Timothy Gay and the other men westward bound that if they would lend a hand in putting the coaches together he would give them a free passage to their destination. The proposition was acceded to, and very soon the company were wallowing in the mud of the Chicago road. The journey was a tedious one. Every house on the road was a tavern, and it was well it was so, for the progress was so slow that many houses of entertainment were necessary. Mrs. Gay and her children had lived in the city, and to them the emigrant's fare seemed poor enough, and on the journey out they nearly starved. At Osborn's they inquired how far it was to Millspaw's. "Two miles," was the answer. It was nearly dark, but the company pushed on, the Gays proposing to end their journey that night. Mrs. Gay called out to the man in charge of the extra horses to go ahead and have the chickens cooked, and away he went. At the foot of 8 steep hill they were told they could save the ascent by taking a woods road around. The horses were reined into the by-road, but when the woods were fairly entered, the darkness was so great that the men had to lead the horses to keep them in the road. When they emerged from the woods, night had set in, in earnest, and they floundered on in the mud and darkness, the two miles seeming interminable. At last they were encouraged by the sight of a light, and soon were at the door of a log house. A man ran out, looked into the coach, and asked, "Is this Mr. Gay and family?" "Yes." "Come right in." It was the good Mr. Van Houvenburgh making his future neighbors welcome. In the darkness they had passed Millspaw's unwittingly, and traveled three instead of two miles. But here, too, they found their messenger. He stopped at Millspaw's, but finding the house full, without revealing who the passengers were, had pushed on and ordered supper at Van Houvenburg's. And a royal good supper it was, too. In the morning old Mr. Gay came over to see who the strangers were, and to his surprise and delight found his son and family. "Well, Nancy," said the old man, "you have got along at last. I don't know but we will all starve to death." The old man had ague-bleached until he seemed to have no blood in his veins, and it was no wonder he felt gloomy. The old man had porcured a little piece chopped, and very soon a log house was ready for occupancy, although for years it had but one window, with a single six-lighted seven-by-nine sash. Until winter there was no chimney in the house. Mrs. Gay did the cooking for her family of eight to ten persons over an out-door fire. She had neither oven or bake-kettle, but in lieu thereof baked her bread in a deep spider, that had a can-topped cover fitted to it. Late in the fall, a stone hearth and a stick chimney were built. The house was not large, and had two outside doors on opposite sides. When building the stone hearth they had to use large rocks, as flat stones could not be procured in sufficient quantities. They loaded the stones on a stone-boat, drew it near the door, and then taking the oxen around, passed the chains through the house and drew the rocks in. This occasioned Mrs. Gay to write her Alband friends: "We have our house nearly done. They are now drawing the stones into the house with two yoke of oxen." It was twenty years before her friends solved the mystery. The Gays cleared a small piece of land and sowed it to wheat. Several families had moved into the township between the arrival of Ebenezer Gay and the arrival of Timothy and family. Heman Pratt, Horace White and David Harrington came in June 8th, Elias Branch, June 1st, and Elias Alley came in December 8th. In October Hiram Kidder moved his family from the Valley of Bean creek. They arrived on the evening of Tuesday, the 29th. The family consisted of Mr. and Mrs. Kidder, their children, Harriet, Calista, Addison, Maria and Nathan, and two men who assisted them in moving. The house was yet unfinished, and indeed it had no floors, doors nor windows. To the eastward it was twelve miles to the nearest abode of civilized man. Near the shores of Devil's Lake there was a solitary cabin, and there were a few houses along the Chicago road from fifteen to twenty miles distant, but all to the westward and southward was one vast wilderness. At about sunset on the first day of November, 1833, the Ames family arrived at the Kidder habitation. The party consisted of Charles Ames and wife, Miss Ball, a sister of Mrs. Ames, Elizabeth Ames, since Mrs. James Sprague, Henry, William, and Exra Ames, and Alpheus Pratt. Mr. Pratt had left his wife and child at the house of Mr. Lyman Pease, about one mile west of Adrian, where they remained about one week, resting from the fatigues of the journey. The night before the most of the party had lodged at the house of Stephen Perkins, about four miles west of Adrian, and all that day had wended their way through the wilderness intervening between there and Bean creek. There was about four inches of snow on the ground. A wagon way had been underbrushed among the trees, but covered with smow, it could only be followed by the "blazed" trees which marked its course. Mrs. Charles Ames had a seven-weeks old babe and was compelled to ride, but the girls, Miss Ball and Elizabeth Ames, walked nearly all the way, sitting down occasionally on a log by the roadside, they wrung the water from their stockings, and then proceeded on their journey until it became necessary to repeat the operation. They found Mr. Kidder's house yet unfinished; it lacked doors, windows and chimney. The new comers were welcomed and treated to the best the house afforded, a supper and a bed upon the floor. The next morning, one of the party relates, it was necessary to unload a barrel of pork before breakfast could be prepared. The barrel slipped from their hands and rolled away, about six rods down the hill. Charles, worn out by the journey, and worried because of the illness of his wife and babe, sat down on the barrel at the foot of the hill, and wished himself and family back to Buffalo. Vain wish! Buffalo was more than a thousand miles to the eastward, over the frozen lake. No railways, or even wagon roads, for many a mile between the actual and longed-for place of location. Sitting on and around that pork barrel, the prospects of the new colony were discussed, and an agreement reached to remain together five years, and then if the prospects were no better, they should be at liberty to divide and separately try their fortunes elsewhere. Indeed it was a time to try men's souls--in a wilderness, at the beginning of winter, twelve miles from the nearest house, dependant on their present store for subsistence through a long winter, without any means of securing help from friends without. It needed stout hearts and firm resolves to master the situation. After breakfast it was determined to first finish the house they had. Henry was a carpenter, and he proceeded to make the windows and doors; the others prepared the chinks and the sticks for the chimney, Hiram Kidder taking the general supervision of the whole matter. In a few days the house was made quite comfortable, but the party was so large a part of the cooking had to be done out of doors, which, on account of the cold weather, proved disagreeable business for the ladies of the colony. While the Ames party were at Clinton, on their way in, they were accosted by a trapper and hunter with the query where they were going. They told him of the Bean Creek Country, whither they were traveling, and enlarged upon the quality of land and quantity of game. Jesse Smith, for that was the hunter's name, said that he was land-looking, and if there was any good country out there he would see it. He threw his traps into one of the wagons, shouldered his gun, and marched on. He skirmished around the party, frequently making them calls, until they reached the house of Stephen Perkins, on the last day of October. From there he went on a hunting excursion, and a few days after the arrival of the party at the creek he came in, and believing he had found the country for which he had been looking, he started for Monroe. As was usual with him, he took a free course through the woods and the first night encamped alone in the woods in the vicinity of Devil's Lake. The next morning he visited a temporary Indian camp near by, and after that visited the house of Mr. Thompson, who had settled near the lake, where he breakfasted. The next night he lodged at the house of a Mr. Taylor, on the east side of Round Lake. The morning after, Smith sent his baggage on to Adrian by a teamster and proceeded on foot toward the same place. In the vicinity of the Raisin he met a party of land-lookers, who were on their way to the lakes. He described to them the advantages of the Bean Creek Country. They were inclined to turn that way, and asked Mr. Smith to pilot them in. Two of the party were Oliver Purchase (a bachelor brother of the late William Purchase) and Samuel Vangauder. In two or three days Mr. Purchase had made his se1ection, and leaving Vangauder to take and keep possession, Messrs. Smith and Purchase started for the land office at Monroe. There they arrived on the sixth of November. Mr. Purchase entered his land on the same day, but for some as yet unexplained reason Mr. Smith's was not entered until the 15th of that month--about the time he thinks he arrived home at Albion, New York. Mr. Purchase returned to his land and immediately bui1t a cabin, in which he and Vangauder wintered. But to return. As soon as Mr. Kidder's house had been made comfortable, the Ames family looked out a site for a house of their own. A spot on the bank of Hillsda1e creek was selected, and the clearing of the ground and the cutting of logs commenced. The work had progressed but little when the provisions gave out, and Alpheus Pratt and Ezra Ames were sent to Adrian for a supply, distance eighteen miles. They accomplished the round trip in five days, having slept one night under their wagon in the "twelve mile woods." The wolves all night long howled for their entertainment a soul-stirring chorus, that, to use the words of one of the party, made their hair stand on end. They reached home in safety, however, bringing with them eight hundred pounds of provisions. By the time the party returned from Adrian the logs were prepared for the house, and the work of drawing them in and laying them up commenced; but it was a new kind of work and moved slowly. In about five weeks, however, the house was so far completed that the Ames people moved into it. As soon as the Ames mansion was completed, Alpheus Pratt and Henry Ames looked about for p1aces to build houses for themselves. Pratt selected 1and on section thirteen, town seven south, one west (Pittsford), since known as the Bush farm, and Ames selected the west sub-division of the northwest fractional quarter of section eighteen, town seven south, range one east (Hudson), the farm on which the venerable Clark Ames now lives. They entered their land at the Monroe land office December 5th, 1833, and before the first day of January following, Pratt had a house far enough advanced to be inhabited. On the ninth day of November, 1833, Francis H. Hagaman and Gershom Bennett purchased of the United States lands on section 31, in Dover, and section 6, in Seneca, and the same month erected a log house near the northwest corner of the township of Seneca. Samuel Gregg, desirous of openilng a road to his brother-in-law's new purchase, induced the Highway Commissioners of the township of Blissfield to layout the angling road leading northeasterly from Canandaigua. The surveying party went to Cavender's purchase, in the month of November, to commence the survey of the road. Mr. Gregg says they found Hagaman and Bennett there, having arrived the day previous and commenced building a house. The surveying party encamped on the ground at night. The next morning there was several inches of snow on the ground, and the survey was postponed for a while, but was executed and the road established during the winter of 1833 and '34. Late in the fall or in the early part of the winter, Silas Moore came to the house of Timothy Gay, on the Chicago road, and desired to be piloted to some land of his in town seven south, range one west (Wheatland). He had purchased the land of Lewis and was moving on it. Timothy Gay underbrushed a road for him to his land and helped him cut logs and roll up the body of a log house. They succeeded in getting the upper floor beams in position, but had not help enough to roll up the logs above the beams. They heard, a little way off, the sound of Indians chopping. Mr. Gay said he would go and get the Indians to help roll the logs. The others laughed at the idea of an Indian rolling logs; but away went Gay to find the Indians, They were chopping a bee tree after the usual Indian style of hacking around and around. Mr. Gay made known his wants as well as he could, and they showed him the tree was about to fall, and promised to help him as soon as it should fall. He waited patiently until the tree fell, and then, after a brief examination to see that the honey was not wasting, they accompanied Mr. Gay and afforded valuable assistance in rolling the logs on to the building. This done, Mr. Moore brought out his jug and treated the Indians to a drink of whiskey. The Indians went away, but soon returned with a large quantity of very nice honey and in turn treated the white men. The jug again went around, and the white men and Indians parted very good friends. The precise date of the coming of Mr. Moore into the Valley cannot now be ascertained. He entered some land in his own name November 23d, but whether that occurred before, at the time, or subsequent to his settlement does not appear. Beside those already named, the following persons purchased land in the Valley during 1833: In town five south, one east (Woodstock)--John T. Comstock, William Western, George F. Comstock, George Barnum, Philip Kennedy and George W. Clark. In town six south, one east (Rollin)--John Skane, George F. Comstock, Richard Robinson, Jonathan Birdsall, Sands Brownell, James Hathaway, Hiram Beal, Gamaliel Beal, Joseph C. Beal, Patience Comstock and Isaiah C. Miller. In town seven south, one east (Hudson)--Charles Van Court, Henry Hayward, Oliver Purchase, Simeon Van Akin, Caleb N. Ormsby and Addison J. Comstock. In town five south, one west (Somerset)--Heman Pratt, June 8th; Horace White, June 8th; Elias Branch, June 1st; Elias Branch, June 1st; Elias Alley, December 3d; and David Herrington, June 8th. In town six south, one west (Wheatland)--Ebenezer Gay, June 7th; Mahlon Brown, Jacob Brown and Edmund B. Brown, June 6th. In town seven south, one west (Pittsford)--Thomas Hurdsman, Oct. 3Oth; Jesse Smith, Nov. 15th; William and Elizabeth Ames, Dec. 5th; Curren White, Sept. 24th; Stephen Wilcox, Nov. 2Oth; John Gustin, Dec. 5th and 6th; William Flowers, Oct. 3Oth; Isaac French, Dec. lOth. In town five south, two west (Moscow), a settlement had already been commenced. Peter Benson had settled on the Chicago road, within the limits of that township, some time during the year 1831, but he remained only a short time. Land was also entered that year by, or for, the following named persons: Samuel Aiken, July 23d; Osmond B. Blackmar, July 23d; and Pontius Hooper, July 2d. In 1832 Samuel Aiken settled on his land, and Lyman Blackmar, father of Osmond B. Blackmar, settled on the land entered in his son's name the year previous. At first he had only eighty acres of land, but by frequent purchases he became the owner of more than one thousand acres of choice land. He had one of the handsomest farms in the country. Judge Blackmar lived on his farm until his decease, which occurred in the spring of 1874, forty-two years after his advent to the I peninsula of Michigan. Benjamin Fowle entered land in the township July 3d. In 1833 Charles Fowle settled on his land, and the following named persons entered lands: David Hiller, Jan. 25th; Thomas Watts, July 15th; John Simmons, June 1st; Tompkins C. Dellivan, Charles T. Dellivan, Lucius Lyon, Alonzo Kies and Charles Stock, June 1st. Winter had now fairly settled down upon the settlements in the Valley; but the settlers were not idle. Aiding land-lookers, hunting the deer and wolf, and felling the forests, they were a busy set of men. Mrs. C. R. Beach, a daughter of Mr. Hiram Kidder, thus writes of the scenes of that winter: "The excitement of this first winter was an ever changing drama; the land lookers, the wolf trappers and deer hunters. I remember a manner of sleeping in those days that would hardly do in these modern times. It was a sort of general bed that covered the entire floor of the house. I have seen Mrs. Kidder picking her way over the heads and toes of this pavement of sleeping men, women, and children, early in the morning, to get things started for breakfast that she might be able to supply the demands of all for breakfast. And every night brought a new set of lodgers." And now, reader, let us imagine ourselves ensconsed beside one of those old fireplaces, filled with burning logs, and listen to some of the tales of those days. "An adventurer (one of the kid gloved kind), dressed in broadcloth, with beaver hat and calf boots, anxious to become a land speculator, started on foot from Adrian to the Bean Creek Country. In the evening one of the children reported to Mrs. Kidder that something white out in the bushes kept flopping its wings. Observing it for a moment, the object left the brush and came to the door. Mrs. Kidder was much surprised to find it a man. Our would-be speculator had been trown down so many times by his long-toed boots that, fearing his fine clothes would be spoiled, he had changed his habit by putting his white cotton-flannel under-clothes on over his broadcloth, and thus became the white fowl that flopped its wings to the terror of the children." "Mr. Kidder was awakened one night by the squealing of some hogs in an enclosure near by. A bear had entered the enclosure, killed one hog, and, seating himself on the carcass, proceeded to hold the other hog in fond embrace until it, too, was dead." "One night Mr. Kidder was absent, having gone out that morning with some land-lookers. Mrs. Kidder put the children in bed, and laid down too, hoping at least to get a little rest. She thought of wolves, bears and Indians until she fell asleep. Soon after she was awakened by a noise like the gnawing and crunching of bones. She arose in terror to see which of her darlings had become a prey to the beasts. She went quickly to the fire-place, and taking a fire brand, turned toward the door. She found a horse in the doorway; the blanket which had served as a door now served as a head-dress for the horse. The horse was neither in the house nor out of doors. There was no floor on that side of the house, and as he rested across the log that served as a door-sill his feet could not reach the ground. He could neither advance or retreat. In this dilemma he had seized a tin pan and was biting it, which made the peculiar noise that had alarmed Mrs. Kidder." One morning a stranger appeared at Mr. Kidder's door and introduced himself as Francis H. Hagaman, Mr. Kidder's nearest neighbor, living only twelve miles away. But few remain of those who called the Kidder settlement home in 1833-34. Mrs. Kidder, the first white woman settler in the Valley of the Bean south of Devil's Lake, still lingers among us. Then she was in the vigor of early womanhood. The following description of that young wife and mother as she appeared amidst the scenes of the October evening when she first gazed on a sunset from her pioneer cabin door, is quoted from a paper prepared by Mrs. C. R. Beach, once before quoted in these pages. It is a daughter's fond recollection of her mother's early loveliness, but it will be none the less interesting on that account: "A log cabin on the brow of a hill; at its base a little stream whose ripple could be heard at its summit. It was sunset. From the aperture left for a doorway the view is obstructed by dense forests. Before us, on the right hand, on the left hand, all around us on every side, were deep, dark forests. The departing sun gilded for awhile the beautiful canopy of brown, crimson and yellow leaves, and then the shades of night drew on and all were wrapped in inpenetrable gloom. At this moment another home, with its vacant places beside the cheerful fireside, the school and college days, with well remembered classmates, all came back on memory's wings to add intensely to home-sick feelings, which, despite strong endeavor, came over the spirit of that young wife and mother as, standing there with head uncovered but wreathed in golden curls, she views her future home. Those golden locks are silvered now; those strong arms are palsied by the lapse of years; but her heart seems as young and blithe as ever." Yes, the kind-hearted pioneer woman is in the sere and yellow leaf of life, but some of her associates of 1833 remain to call her blessed. Alpheus Pratt, Henry, William and Ezra Ames and Jesse Smith remain, all, too, save Ezra, in the autumn of life, waiting to be summoned over the river. Old Uncle Simeon Van Akin, himself more feeble than Mrs. Kidder, exclaimed, not long since: "Why, there's Mrs. Kidder; she kept us from starving!" The following story is told as illustrative of Mrs. Kidder's kindness of heart: "She had one child- a daughter -in delicate health. One day a party of twenty-six persons arrived at her house. They had been lost in the woods and were very hungry. The last provisions had been cooked, Mr. Kidder had gone for a supply, and it was hoped these would last the family until his return. It took several days to go to market then, and the day of return was by no means certain; but Mrs. Kidder could not resist the appeals of hungry fellow-beings. Her entire store was placed before the hungry crowd. Still they were not satisfied, and one woman bemoaned her fate in bitter terms. Soon one of the boys came in and said: 'Mamma, is there not something Maria can eat?' 'No' said Mrs. Kidder. Soon he came again. 'Ain't there some potatoes that Maria can have? Was not some dropped around the hole whence they were taken?' 'No, my son; there are none.' Soon after, Maria fainted. 'Why! how long is it since that child has had anything to eat? asked the lady who was making such a fuss. 'None since morning,' said Mrs. Kidder. 'God bless the child!' went up in chorus from twenty-six voices. 'Why!' said the lady, I have just had something to eat, and I am repining while the child is starving.' Just then the signal gun announced the arrival of Mr. Kidder on the hill, east of the creek, and summoning aid to descend the dangerous declivity. It was ten o'clock when the wagon reached the door that night, but supper had to be prepared for the family and the guests before sleep was thought of." Besides the exciting scenes incident to land explorations, it became necessary for our settlers to become acquainted with their Indian neighbors. The Indians here were the Potawatomies, who had been crowded by the settlement of the eastern portion of the State into this then unbroken forest. They had a village or camping ground in the southwest part of the township known as Somerset, and another in the southwestern part of Pittsford. Of these villages Meteau and Bawbeese were the chiefs. The principal Indian trail extended from Detroit to Chicago, nearly where the Chicago road now is. A trail left this in the northeastern part of the county, and lead off, through the townships of Dover and Midine, to Defiance. Another left the main trail near Silver Lake, skirted Devil's Lake, passed near the Kidder settlement, to Squawfield, in southwestern Pittsford. Another connected the Indian villages; and still another, leaving the main trail at Jonesville, passed through Squawfield, Medina dnd Morenci, and terminated at the rapids of the Maumee. These were the Indian throughfares, and into them came, and from them went many lesser trails, all as well known to an Indian as our roads are to the present denizens of the land. It was desirable they should be friends; it was quite possible they might on acquaintance develop into enemies. Mrs. Gay relates that at first a single native visited her house. He stayed all day, but not a word would he speak, and the family concluded he could neither speak nor understand English. Mr. Timothy Gay was from home. Old Mr. Gay, a hired man and the children composed the family that day. Mrs. Gay resolved that no hindrance should be placed in the way of amicable relation, so when dinner was ready she, by signs, asked the Indian to sit at the table and eat dinner with the family. He accepted the invitation and behaved in a very orderly manner. During the meal conversation, among the circle, turned upon the Indians, --their character and doings,-- and the Indians were fully discussed. Mrs. Gay had recently come from the State of New York, and had heretofore lived at a great distance from the Indians. Her ideas of Indian character had been formed by reading the opinions of philanthropic minds, and she was in full sympathy with poor "Lo." The other members of the family did not agree with her notions and instanced the many acts of cruelty committed by them as arguments against the Indian character, but Mrs. Gay defended them on the ground that they had first been ill treated by the whites. Notwithstanding the discussion was very free, the harshest expression against the Indians was made by Mr. Gay in summing up his case: "Well, they are cruel cusses anyway!" The Indian carried himself as stoically as if he really did not understand a word of what was said. At evening the Indian went away. But Mrs. Gay was very much surprised the next day when another Indian made his appearance at her house unannounced. He was a tall man of noble bearing, and was dressed as for a State occasion, in blue frock coat, pants and vest, and had three gold medals on his breast. He was evidently a man of some distinction among his people. He seated himself without speaking a word, and soon after the Indian visitor of the previous day made his appearance. There the two sat, close observers of all that passed, but speechless. Once during the forenoon Mrs. Gay went to the hearth to look at her yeast, which was being prepared for her baking. As she uncovered the yeast vessel she was surprised to hear the ejaculation, "Turnpike!" She looked up and found bogh the Indians peering over her head at the yeast. Smiling, to reassure the natives and to draw them out, she asked, "What you call him?" but not a word could she get out of either of them. Their presence at the dinner table again this day brought up the subject of yesterday's conversation, and again Mrs. Gay assumed the task of defending the Indians, and, as some excuse for their conduct, instanced the fact that Michigan land had been purchased of them at two and a-half cents an acre, "and now," said Mrs. Gay, "the Government is selling to settlers for one dollar and a quarter an acre." The Indians ate as though they heard not, and resumed their waiting and watching attitude of the forenoon and day previous. Along towards night the babe became restless and' cried a considerable. Mrs. Gay tried in vain to quiet him, and at last she said, "If you don't be still I will have this Indian carry you off." The child continuing to cry, she said, "Here, Indian, carry this baby off." "Where to, man?" said the Indian, in pretty good English. Mrs. Gay was startled, but she determined not to appear alarmed, so she said, "0, anywhere." "I don't know," said the Indian. At night the two Indians withdrew, but on their next visit, and ever after, were talkative enough, and seemed to have no difficulty in speaking or understanding English; and the tribe ever after were the fast friends of Mr. Gay's family. One of Mrs. Gay's two visitors was named She-gau-ken and the other Kesus. We shall have occasion to refer to two other Indians frequently--Mag-in-a-swot and Me-mag-in-a-swot. Mag-in-a-swot was the brother-in-law of Meteau. He was a noble man and so peaceful in his disposition that he had received the 'sobriquet' of the Peace Chief. Me-mag-ina-swot was a good-for-nothing, drunken Indian, possessing a wonderful faculty for getting into difficulty and making himself disagreeable generally. The reader has already, perhaps, guessed what the Indians meant by the ejaculation, "Turnpike." They had sean the builders of the Chicago road heap up the dirt in oval form, and had been told it was a turnpike, and when they saw the light yeast in the same form they named it turnpike. She-gau-ken was young, good-looking, and very playful. One day, being at the house and in one of his playful moods, he turned the yeast over, and Mrs. Gay took up a stick and chased him out of doors. He stuck his head in at the door and said: "Squaw Nancy plenty mad?" He went to the shop and told William (the Indians always called Timothy, William) "Squaw Nancy plenty mad." Mr. Gay asked: "What did you do?" "Me spill turnpike." Indians like fair dealing, and will not trade with those who prove to be dishonest, either with them or with other white people. A story in point is told by Mrs. Gay. One day a trade was pending between one of the Indians and herself, but she had not the right change. The neighbors were unable to change her money, and she had applied to the shopkeeper, but was told he had no change. The Indian visited the store and came back in a great rage. me said, "Him plenty cheat; he have heap of shuniah." The shopman had offered to purchase his stuff, and to induce him to trade had shown him a handful of coin. One day She-gau-ken brought a lot of their wares to trade with Mrs. Gay. She told him she would give him so mich 'napinah' (flour) and so much 'shuniah' (money) ."Good squaw Nancy, give whisky?" "No; Indian must not drink whisky." "Ah, good squaw Nancy, give little whisky." "No, She-gau-ken, no whisky." A woman happening to be there said, "Take them to my house; I'll give whisky." "No," said She-gau-ken; "plenty cheat." Mr. Branch, who lived some three miles west on the Chicago road, was in the other part of the house, used as a store. He called to the Indian, "Take them to my house; I give whisky." "No; me no take to Branch house; plenty water whisky. Good Squaw Nancy, give whisky." After teasing Mrs. Gay awhile, She-gau-ken said, "Good Squaw Nancy, take 'em." 1834 THE KIDDER SETTLEMENT. Charles and William Ames were absent from the settlement during the winter, working at their trade (shoemaking) in Detroit. On the 23rd day of January, Charles, the six-year-old son of Alpheus Pratt, was lost in the woods. Mr. Pratt was chopping not very far from his house. The little boy had gone to his father to call him to supper. Mr. Pratt coming in soon after, was asked where Charley was. He had not seen Charley, and fears were at once entertained that he was lost. Mr. Pratt at once returned to the woods and searched until dark, but could not find the child. He returned to the house for his lantern, to continue the search. Mrs. Pratt went alone, on foot, nearly a mile through the woods, to the house of Charles Ames, and informed Henry and Ezra Ames of the affair, and they, immediately procuring the assistance of Kidder and Tabor, joined in the search. The father had found the boy's track. This they attempted to follow, but as there was a crust on the snow, they found it a difficult task. They continued the search for a long time, until they became tired, cold and discouraged, and concluding the boy could not be found, the assistants gave up the search and built a fire to warm themselves, also to serve as a protection against wild beasts. The father, intent on finding his child, paid no attention to their proceedings, but went forward, calling, "Charley! Charley!" and soon heard the answering voice of little Charley. Clasped in the arms of a grateful father, the boy was taken to the fire. He was benumbed and his feet were frozen. The child told of having seen dogs in the woods, and no doubt was entertained but that the boy had been visited in his wilderness wanderings by wolves, which, for some unexplained reason, did not harm him. Who will say he was not providentially preserved? To reach home was the object next to be attained, but their whereabouts was only a matter of conjecture. They supposed themselves to be west and south of the settlement, and accordingly they directed their course towards the northeast as well as they could, having only the north star for a guide. After some hours' traveling, they struck the well-known Indian trail about three miles west of Charles Ames' house. They arrived home about sunrise, and restored the boy to the arms of an almost despairing mother. The party were unable to tell where they found the boy, but suppose it to have been a little south of the village of Pittsford. In the month of February, Thomas Pennock, being at Jackson, undertook to make the Kidder settlement. He reached the settlement on the Chicago road since called Gambleville all right, and hired a man to pilot him through the woods to the Kidder settlement. But shortly after starting it commenced snowing, and the driving snow so blinded and confused the guide that he became lost, and our travelers, after wandering about all day, were obliged to stay in the woods all night, and that, too, without any fire, for they were without the means of kindling one. They were wet and thoroughly chilled, and soon after night set in, the guide, saying he could stand it no longer, laid down in the snow to die. Pennock cut a switch and by frequently switching him briskly kept him up on his feet and saved his life During the night the storm abated, and the next morning was bright. The cheerful rays of the sun revived courage in their hearts, and taking the track, they followed it as best they could, and reached Gambleville about three o'clock in the afternoon, tired, faint and hungry. Pennock staid there that night, and the next morning found an Indian who said he knew where the white 'Chemkeman' or white black-haired man--Kidder--lived on the 'Nebish', where there were two wigwams all alone. Committing himself to the guidance of the red man, they followed an Indian trail to Devil's Lake, and thence on a trail leading to Squaw-field, in Pittsford, the camping ground of the tribe of which Meteau was chief. They crossed the Kidder road a little east of Kidder's house. Here the Indian stopped and said to Pennock, "Go on this road and you will find two wigwams on the Nebish." This tribe called water 'nebish', but here used the term to signify the creek. Pennock gave his guide a silver dollar, and he turned back towards the lake, while