Source: HISTORY OF DEKALB COUNTY, INDIANA. B.F. Bowen & Company, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana, 1914, pp. 124-128. FROM THE MANUSCRIPT OF W. H. DILLS. "We can very well remember seeing these early settlers and their families with their white-covered wagons, the wife or daughter driving, the father and boys following and driving, with the aid of a dog, a cow or two, sometimes a few sheep, all wending their way toward the setting sun, or plunging into the forest, and hauling up or stopping upon a tract of land, upon which not a tree had been cut, and where for ages the rays of the orb of day had not penetrated, amidst the chorus of the feathered songsters of the grove and the silence of the night, disturbed only by the hootings of the owl, or the indescribable howlings of hungry wolves. There you, or the fathers of you, who came in early times, halted their wagons, which contained all they had on earth; and there today you will find comfort, luxury and ease. "Before reaching that final resting place weeks and months had passed in reaching the goal, following Indian trails scarcely wide enough to admit of the passage of a wagon, no bridges, dangers to be encompassed on every side, the early settler was of necessity his own sentinel, and upon himself relied for protection and safety. The trails would sometimes seem to run out--come to an end. Sometimes they would divide and create doubt as to the course that should be pursued. He had no compass and could not tell the cardinal points, but by an examination of trees he could tell the north side of them by the heaviest growth of moss or bark, and thereby determine his course. When night came ere he reached his destination, by the side of the trail, where water and grass were sufficient, he would build a fire, without the aid of matches, by the side of some huge log, and there prepare their meal, his wife and little ones retiring to sleep in the wagon, and he, wrapped in a blanket, on the leaves under it, with his faithful dog on one side and his trusty rifle on the other, there seek repose and rest, with as much confidence of safety and exemption from injury as you upon your downy couches, within bolted doors. "After reaching his land. purchased of the government at $1.25 per acre, or from some speculator for $2.00, $3.00 or $4.00 per acre, the pioneer finds for a time that his neighbors are few and far between. With difficulty he at last succeeds in building his rude little cabin and in clearing off a few acres, by cutting down all the trees eighteen inches or less in diameter, and girdling all the others, which will give him a short supply of corn and vegetables. "The privations of the early settler were great, but often their perils were still greater. Diseases, indigenous to a new country, of which he had previously no knowledge or experience, and generally malarial in their character, were certain to overtake him and his family. The massive foliage of the giant trees through which the sun scarcely penetrated, and the black soil vegetation, and the decayed vegetable matter everywhere abounding, generated vast columns of miasma. No physician or drug store was probably within twenty miles, and himself and family were racked almost to death with the shakes, or scorched with raging fevers. Until acclimated by a residence of from two to five years, and sometimes longer, the early settler was yearly visited with attacks of fever and ague, and felt thankful, indeed, if in the fall seasons he did not have an attack of bilious or intermittent fever. Snake bites, broken or cut limbs, and rheumatism from his frequent exposure were of frequent occurrence, and no medical aid at hand. "Even in health their privations seem almost incredible to us. Lumber was not to be had at any price; mills were distant, and what roads there were, were almost impassable. A journey of weeks, sometimes, leaving the wife and children, was necessary to obtain the necessities of life. Families were almost driven to the verge of starvation, living for weeks on potatoes, wheat bran, and I have heard, on beach-bark and milk. The private history of the sufferings, privations and heroic endurance of many families in early times in this county has not been, nor will it ever be, written. "In early days we asked not whether the new comer was a Whig or a Democrat, Jew or Gentile, Methodist or Baptist, rich or poor; all we wanted to know was that he was a neighbor and a man. Was he a good fellow, truthful, honest and charitable? If he had not these qualities, he did not stay long enough in our midst to become an old settler. * * * "At the risk of wearying you, I will name a few of those veterans who were the foremost men of the county in 1845, but who have gone to their long homes. Let us speak reverently of them. Their faults were human, but their good qualities and many virtues will commend them to our consideration. I will give them by townships in the usual order, leaving out Keyser, which was not then formed: "Butler--The Brooks, Henry Clark and sons, George Delong, the Embrys, Abraham and Charles Fair, Nathaniel Fitch, the Greggs, the Bells, the Hoffmans, Hogues, Holbrooks, Jacksons, Lungs, Millers, Rodenbaughs, Reeves, Shulls, Simons, Surfaces, Natts and Wellers. "Jackson--The Bishops, Cools, Cobblers, Komeskys, Daves, Draggoos, Essigs, Georges, Hurshes, Hendersons, Hartles, Johnsons, Lawheads, Means, Moores, Mowries, Osburns, Sugars, Staffords, Squiers, Stewards, Tarneys, Watsons, Wyatts, Williams and Zimmermans. "Concord--The Allens, Altons, Burleys, Blairs, Balls, Carrs, Culbertsons, Coburns, Catlins, Draggoos, Dawsons, Fales, Headleys, Johnsons, Knights, McNabbs, Nichols, Owens, Robinsons, Rhodes, Sechlers, Widneys, Woodcoxes, Williams and Whites. "Newville--The Bartletts, Dodges, Delongs, Ellises, Lewises, Lawrences, Murphys, Rogers, Platters, Strongs, Steeles, Thomases, and Waldons. "Stafford--The Barbers, Coats, Christoffels, De Forrests, Deihls, Headleys, McDaniels, Roses, Strohls, Shoubs, Schofields, Websters and Wanemakers. "Wilmington--The Armstrongs, Babcocks, Coes, Crooks, Eakrights, Egnews, Fosdicks, Finneys, Helwigs, Hackleys, Handys, Imhofs, Jackmans, Kreutzes, Maxwells, Mullenixes, Meeses, Morrises, Nelsons, Nodines, Packers, Rutledges, Roberts, Robes, Sawyers, Tremans, Tomlinsons, Tottens, Veeleys, Widneys, Woods and Weeks. "Union---The Ashelmans, Altenburgs, Abbotts, Bidlers, Baughmans, Browns, Cospers, Clays, Fishers, Fulks, Gingriches, Husselmans, Krums, Lutzes, Latsons, McEndefers, Misers, Summers, Strohs, Weavers, Weeks, Walworths, Whetsels, Parks and Ingmans. "Richland--The Bangs, Cowleys, Clays, Calkins, Daileys, Dewitts, Feaglers, Greens, Hardys, Moodys, McMillens, Pennells, Rogers, Shulls, Showers, Treshes and Weirocks. "Fairfeld--The Chaffees, McNabbs, Powells, Storys, Gushwas and Wells. "Smithfield--The Baxters, Boyers, Blakers, Corwins, Danks, Daniels, Hemstreets, Holmes, Krums, Kelleys, McCoshes, Smiths and Walkers. "Franklin--The Aldriches, Balls, Bowmans, Bucks, Beards, Crains, Dirrims, Ducks, Firestones, Houltons, Holmes, Hammonds, Jones, Jackmans, Jeffords, Keeps, Lewes, Manns, McQueens, McCurdys, McAllisters, Myers, Nidigs, Nelsons, Olds, Porters, Packers, Rudes, Stambaughs, Shulls, Snooks, Thurstons, Watermans and Wilsons. "Troy--The Burdicks, Cathers, Casebeers, Colls, Emersons, Eddys, Helwigs, Jennings, Kniselys, Larneds, McClures, McClellans, McDaniels, Stearns, Willards, Waydleichs and Zimmermans. "The men whom I have named, who came here prior to January 1, 1846, came before the period of railroads, before canals were dug, and many of them before the roads were cut and bridges built. Just think of it, that thirty-five years ago the residents of our county had never seen a railroad car, and we have over a hundred miles of railroad track in the county today, and two hundred trains daily through it. There was not then in the county a steam engine; there was not one cook stove in a dozen families. "I recollect very distinctly the first threshing machine. It indeed was a beauty. It did not even separate the grain from the chaff and straw. It was brought into the county by John Zimmerman, who then resided on the Houk farm, in Jackson township. In fact, it would now be a novelty, and, as it did then, would now draw crowds when set to work; and, to use a homely expression, it was the 'biggest thing out.' Instead of being several weeks in flailing, tramping and winnowing out a hundred bushels of wheat, the farmer, with that threshing machine, could thresh out that quantity in a day, and then take his time to run it through the fanning mill. And when he had the wheat ready for market, then he would have to take about three days to carry a load of twenty-five or thirty bushels to Fort Wayne and sell it for fifty or sixty cents a bushel. Corn had a value then proportioned to wheat, the same as now. Pork then ranged at one dollar and a half to two dollars per hundred pounds. "Even in early days, when the pioneers were undergoing the privations I have spoken of, they had a very large amount of the real pleasures of life; and when an opportunity afforded, it was enjoyed with a relish equally as well as now. It certainly was true enjoyment to help a neighbor raise a house or a barn, do his logging, have quilting and sewing bees, dance on the puncheons in the cabins, take your girl up behind you on horseback and carry her through the woods, six, eight or ten miles to some gathering; and she would have to hold on awfully tight or she would be brushed off the horse by the limbs or trunks of the trees. Think of the making of sugar, hunting bee trees, gathering cranberries, wild plums, cherries, grapes, crab-apples, all kinds of nuts and ginseng. Think of the excellent hunting and fishing there was here then; all kinds and in large quantities were the fish, wild fowls and wild animals." A COSTLY TRIP. Cyrus Smith, the hero of travels, in search of unentered land, although ill at the time, set out in December, 1837, with a yoke of oxen, for Gilead, Michigan. Rains had swollen the streams and he was obliged to lay over every other day from sickness, yet he reached his goal, got eight bushels of corn, and started for the Vermont mills or Orland. A cold spell set in, snow fell fast, the winds rose, and a tree falling before him, he narrowly escaped its limbs, turned aside to go around it, became bewildered, and for hours drove on through the openings. The clouds cleared to the west, and he saw the sun setting, and struck out in that direction. He found the road he had left in the morning three miles in advance of his unfortunate diversion, and passed the night and the next day at Deacon Stocker's. Leaving his corn at the mill, he went to Tull's mill, near White Pigeon prairie and returned with fifteen bushels of smutty wheat. He remained here three days sick, a third waiting for the grist. Finally, starting home, he had to leave his wagon when half a mile from home, turn the oxen loose and foot it in. The eleventh day since leaving home he got back his wagon. His grist, not pricing the corn, cost him in cash, forty-five dollars. Submitted by Cheryl Milukas