Johanny Appleseed comes to the rescue: the war of 1812, the hogs find their own way home. History of

In October, 1811, a little company, consisting of Erastus Smith and family, of wife and three chil- dren; Samuel C. Spencer, a brother of Mrs. Smith, Cyrus W. Marsh, and Buel Ensign started from Vernon, Trumbull county, Ohio, for the Fire-lands, arriving in Greenfield about the first of November. They brought with them two wagons, four yoke of oxen, three cows, and twenty-three hogs. After cross- ing the Cuyahoga they were strictly pioneers. The country was a vast wilderness, not a house to l)e seen on their route west of the Cuyahoga river, until tlie lonely cabin of Hanson Read, in Greenfield, was reached. Mrs. Smith and her children remained at the house of Mr. Read until the men could roll up a house, which was built on the place now occupied by Hiram Smith. The house was indeed a primitive dwelling place when the family moved into it. being HISTORY OF HURON AND ERIE COUNTIES, OHIO. without a door or window, and had only a few feet square of puncheon floor. A door aud window were soon provided, however, made also of puncheons, and the family lived in comparative comfort through the winter which was a very severe one. It was with dif- ficulty that the cattle were wintered through. They subsisted largely on shrubs, and twigs of trees which were cut down for them to browse on. The hogs ran in the woods, and fed on the abundant mast, or "shack" which the forest yielded. The next spring these hogs all went back to Vernon, in Trumbull county, where they were subsequently found by Mr. Smith, on his return, during the excitement of the war of 1812. 

Mr. Smith was born in Hartland, Con- necticut, January 7, 1784, and migrated with his parents to Trumbull county, Ohio, in 1799. Decem- ber, 19, 1805, he married Miss Fanny Spencer, daugh- ter of Samuel and Lydia Spencer, also of Hartland, Connecticut, who moved with their family to Trum- bull county, in 1803. Mr. aud Mrs. Smith resided in the township of Vernon, in said county, until their removal to Greenfield, as previously stated. Erastus Smith was a man of much force of character and in- telligence, and was for years one of the leading men of the settlement. He was foremost in favoring and promoting everything pertaining to the general im- provement of the infant settlement. His death oc- curred July 16, 1820. Mrs. Smith is yet living and will have reached the advanced age of ninety-four years, if she lives until December 7, 1879. She was in the truest sense, a helpmeet of her husband, shar- ing with him the many privations of that eai-ly time with a remarkal)le courage. She retains a wonderful memory of early events, and has been our main reli- ance in the collection of facts embraced in the history of this township. There were seven children, viz. : Martin, (deceased), Lydia, now Mrs. Dennison Bas- com, living in the township of Norwich: Truman and Erastus, (deceased); Lester, residing in Bronson; Hiram, residing in Greenfield, on the old homestead; and Henrietta, (Mrs. Thomas Cone, deceased.) Mrs. Smith has living, three children, twenty nine grand- children, and forty great-grand ciiildren, the oldest child being seventy years of age, and the oldest grand- child twenty-three. The following is one of niiuiy incidents in the life of Mrs. Smith, which are -worthy of record, as illus- trating the perils which surrounded the homes of the pioneers: One day while her husband was in the har- vest-field, Mrs. Smith left the house for a few moments and on her return saw a huge black snake crawling across the head-hoard of the Ijcd on which her young- est child lay sleejung. The reptile disappeared under the floor of the iionse. Mrs. Smith raised one of the puncheons, and with the tongs, threw the snake out on the heartli, where it was seized and killed by tlie dog. The two families previously mentioned, with their hired men, Jacob Rush and Cyrus W. Marsh, were the only inhabitants of the township at the time of Hull's surrender, in August, 1812. A short time after that event, another transpired which occasioned feelings of great apprehension and alarm, not only to the pioneers of Greenfield, but to the inhabitants of the entire Reserve. Information came, and spread rapidly, that the British and Indians were approach- ing the settlements, with intent to massa'jre the inhabitants.

A large party had been seen landing at Huron, which was supposed to be the forces of the enemy. Johnny Appleseed brought the dreadful intelligence to Greenfield. After the surrender of Detroit, he was engaged by the settlers of this town- ship and New Haven to go to Huron for the news once a week. One morning, about nine o'clock, he returned, riding rapidly, and shouting, "Run for your lives ! The Indians are killing everybody and burning their property ! "' 

Intense excitement ensued, and preparations for flight were immediately begun. Clothing, bedding and some other household goods, were packed up, the cattle collected, and at evening, with teams and wagons, a start was made for New Haven. The progress of the travelers was slow, and it was late in the night when they reached the house of Caleb Palmer. Besides the family of Mr. Palmer, there were then living in New Haven a family by the name of Woodcock, Alvan Coe and wife, Luther Coe and James M cintyrc. The next day (Saturday) the whole company started south, with four teams and wagons. For a distance of fifteen miles, a road had to be cut every rod of the way. It was an exceedingly wet time, too, and the streams were much swollen, ren- dering them difiicuit of passage, the teams and stock being compelled to swim across some of them. The company reached the Black Fork, a branch of the Muskingum river, by evening of the first day, and pitched their tent on the bank for the night. Hun- gry and worn with fatigue, their clothing and bedding drenched with rain, which had been almost continuous during the Journey, and haunted with visions of the red coat and scalping-knife, the situation of the fugitives was indeed a deplorable one. They slept upon the wet ground as best they could, and the next morning pushed on. In the evening of the second day, while making preparations for a night's rest, a report reached them that they were being pursued by Indians, who were only a short distance behind them. The wagons with their stores were left in care of two of the men and the rest of the I'-rty pressed on. the women and children riding upon the horses. Af- ter proceeding a short distance it was decided to bring up the wagons, and the teams with two men returned for them. Fredericktown, Knox county, was finally reached, when they learned of the falsity of the last alarm, which arose from the fact of a fleeing party frantically shouting for heli). who had lost their way in the woods. After a week's rest in Firdoricktown the families of r. Read and Mr. Sniiih. and Mis. Alvnn Coe .Mre- turned to Mansfield and >l:irted for Ti-uinlmll county bv wav of Wooster.