"I know that humanity must and will be indulged in its keenest griefs; but there is no advantage in too deeply anticipating our inevitable sorrows. If I did not persuade myself that you would conduct yourself with becoming prudence and fortitude, upon this occasion, my own unhappiness would be greatly increased, and perhaps my disorder too; but I have so much confidence in your discretion as to unbosom my inmost soul.

"You must not expect to hear from me again, until the coming Spring, as the river will soon be shut up with ice, and there will be no communication from below, and if in a situation for the purpose, I will return as soon as practicable. Give my sincerest love to all those whom you hold dear. I hope to see them again, and love them more than ever.

"Adieu, my dearest friend, and while I fervently devote, in one undivided prayer, our immortal souls to the care, forgiveness, mercy, and all-prevailing grace of Heaven, in time and through eternity, I must bid you a long, long, long farewell,

"JAMES M. VARNUM."

Such were the thoughts and the utterances of a dweller in a log cabin, on the forest-covered banks of the Muskingum three-fourths of a century ago. There were many such men, in that band of pioneers of whom Ohio may justly feel proud. The disease of General Varnum made such rapid progress, that he was unable to leave Marietta. He died on the 8th of January, 1789, and was buried with all the marks of respect and affection which his noble character had elicited. His wife, Martha Childe, was a highly educated and accomplished woman, from one of the distinguished families of Rhode Island. She survived her husband forty-eight years.

In searching the annals of those ancient days we, now and then, catch a very vivid glimpse of the physical hardships which the settlers were called to endure. William Dana, from Worcester, Massachusetts, was captain of an artillery company in the Revoution. His means were limited, and he found it difficult to support a growing family from a New England farm. Accounts which he received from military associates who had emigrated to the Ohio, led him to follow them.

Leaving behind him at Amherst, New Hampshire, his wife and younger children, until he could make preparation to receive them, he took with him his two older boys, and reached Marietta the last

of June, 1789. It was too late to plant corn. He however built a small log cabin, and with his boys, commenced making bricks, the first which were made in the territory. These were in great demand for chimneys, and thus he supplied his immediate wants.

The next year he brought out his family, and joined the little colony of Belprè, which was situated on very beautiful meadowland, just above the head of what has since been called Blennerhassett's Island. The first labor of these pioneers was to clear the land of the gigantic growth of forest trees which encumbered it. This left but little time to build a comfortable cabin, and the family were lodged in a mere shed, so small that all could not be accommodated in it at night. The two oldest boys slept in a covered shed.

Such were the humble beginnings of real prosperity. The climate was delightful. The land was fertile. Crops were abundant, and with the rapidly increasing emigration, brought good prices. We soon find Captain Dana in a well-built and wellfurnished frame house, surrounded with fertile fields and a thrifty forest. Eight sons and three daughters in health and happiness surrounded his amply-provided table.

Colonel Battelle was another of these marked men whose virtues still live in the institutions which they established and maintained. He was born in Dedham, Massachusetts; the son of Christian parents, and was educated at Cambridge University, designing to enter the ministry. The Revolutionary struggle called him to the field of battle, where he attained the rank of colonel. At the close of the war he became partner in a book-store with Isaiah Thomas, of Worcester, and married Anna Durant, daughter of a rich merchant of Boston.

On the formation of the Ohio Company, he became an associate, and was appointed one of their agents. It took him six weeks to effect the passage of the rugged defiles of the Alleghany mounHe reached Marietta the latter part of May, 1788, and spent the Summer in erecting a comfortable dwelling for his family, who remained in Boston. The latter part of October, he recrossed the mountains to meet his wife and children at Baltimore, and conduct them in their long and toilsome journey over the Alleghanies. Mrs. Battelle, who had been nurtured amid all the luxuries of one of the most opulent families in Boston, found the journey excessively fatiguing. Having reached the Alleghany

River, they abandoned their wagons, and, with several other families from New England, embarked in a large flatboat, to float down to Marietta. They reached their destination in December. The Winter passed very pleasantly away. There were then many gentlemen and ladies of high worth and culture occupying the log cabins at the mouth of the Muskingum. Governor St. Clair was there, with Judges Varnum, Parsons and Symmes. Many of the officers who garrisoned the Forts Harmar and Campus Martius, were men of science and refinement. The weather chanced to be unusually mild and salubrious. The Indians were all friendly, and the remarkable assemblage of chieftains and warriors from many tribes added much to the novel attractions of the place. Game was abundant, and there was no peril in pursuing it at any distance from the forts. The river was unincumbered with ice, and boats with provisions and all needful articles were continually floating down from Pittsburgh. Such are the blessings of peace.

It was during this Winter that the plan was formed for establishing a new settlement, at Belprè or Beautiful Prairie. On the first of May, Colonel Battelle, with two of his sons, and another very distinguished emigrant, Griffin Greene, embarked at Marietta in a large canoe, with tools and provisions, to commence opera tions there. Others very soon joined them. Two strong blockhouses were built, sufficiently capacious to accommodate them all. Not long after this, before any families had moved to the place, a party of officers from Fort Harmar, with quite a number of ladies from Marietta, took a very splendid barge, propelled by twelve rowers, and descended the river to pay their friends a visit. These were the first white females who had ever set foot on the soil of Belprè. They had a very merry time, nothing occurring to mar their enjoyment.

As the party set out on its return to the barge, Colonel Battelle, with a few of his friends, followed in a light birch canoe. While on the way, a huge bear was seen swimming across the river. Rapidly plying their paddles in the canoe, they soon overtook him. He was a very formidable animal, with teeth and claws which warned all to keep at a distance. One blow from his paws might have overturned the boat, or rent open its side. would seem that there was no rifle in the canoe. It was neceseary to approach the creature with extreme caution. Colonel Battelle seized him by the tail, and by raising his haunches, threw

It

his head under water. patched with an ax. and his savory flesh captors.

The half-suffocated animal was soon disHe weighed over three hundred pounds, afforded several very dainty feasts to the

The colony of Belprè rapidly increased, and the celebrated fort called "Farmer's Castle," was built. The block-house, which Colonel Battelle had built for his family, occupied the northeast corner of the fort. A lower room of the building was fitted up for divine worship, and these religiously-disposed men had services there every Sabbath. The colonel's son, Ebenezer, a lad of fourteen years, who was drummer to the garrison, every Sabbath marched through the little settlement, summoning the inhabitants to the church. The colonel himself often officiated as chaplain. He frequently preached from the fullness of his own heart. Sometimes he read a sermon of some standard divine. Thus the Sabbath was honored, and the community ennobled. But as Satan entered Eden, so war came, eventually, to mar all this happiness.

Major Nathan Goodale was born in Brookfield, Massachusetts. In July, 1788, he arrived at the mouth of the Muskingum, with his family and several others from Massachusetts. It is worthy of notice, as illustrative of the foresight of the man, that when he left his native state in one of the strong, canvas-covered Ohio wagons, so well known in those days, instead of taking a team of horses or of oxen, as all others did, he selected three of the best cows and one of the finest bulls, and trained them to work together in a team. With these he drew his wagon, with his family and household goods, the whole distance across the mountains, to Wheeling. Here he took a boat, and with cattle, wagon and family, floated down the Ohio. The journey was accomplished with as much ease, and in as short a time, as could have been the case with the best oxen. He had also the advantage of a supply of milk for his family while on the road. The stock from this breed has been widely spread. The cattle are held in high estimation, for their graceful forms, gentle dispositions, and great abundance of milk.

Major Goodale united with the Belprè colony. He was esteemed as one of the most valuable members of the community. When the war with the Indians broke out in 1791, he was one of the most active in planning and erecting Farmer's Castle, and was

unanimously elected commandant of the garrison. Notwithstanding the war which mainly raged far away on the banks of the Maumee, and the Miamis, the colony at Belprè so increased that in the Winter of 1793 more families were assembled there than could be conveniently congregated within the walls of the fort in case of an assault. It was therefore decided to build two additional stockades; one a mile and a half below Farmers' Castle, on Major Goodale's farm, and another a little distance above, on Colonel Stone's land, nearly opposite the little Kanawha.

Major Goodale removed his family to his new garrison. It was not known that there were any hostile Indians around, and there was no special occasion for watchfulness. But he had been but one week in his new home, when, on the morning of the first day of March, 1793, he went out to work, clearing his farm. A hired laborer, an Irishman by the name of John McGee, accompanied him. They were at work but about forty rods from the house. While John was grubbing up the bushes and small trees, Major Goodale with a yoke of oxen was at a little distance, hauling timber for rails. Suddenly he seemed to vanish, nobody knew how