The deplorable condition of the press of Ohio at the time is so graphically and candidly set forth by the editors of the Olive Branch—the only paper published in the county—in their last appeal for support, is better illustrated by reproducing the article entire:
“PROSPECTS
“For Continuing the Publication of
THE OLIVE BRANCH.“The publishers now call upon the citizens of —— county, and the country adjacent, to determine if they shall continue publishing The Olive Branch. They have fully and firmly determined to discontinue its publication, unless the number of their subscribers is considerably increased. They apprehend their present number will not pay the expense of the establishment; and they do not think themselves able, nor are they under obligations, to lose more by it than they have lost already.
“If, therefore, the citizens of the county are desirous that a paper should be published at this place, and if any think this worthy of their patronage, let them declare it by adding their names to the list of our subscribers. By this declaration, yea or nay, when fully and explicitly made known, we shall positively abide.
“Some persons ask, ‘What is to be the character of our paper?’ And what inducements we offer them to become subscribers? In a few words we will tell them: Its character shall be truly American and Republican. Americans by birth and education, we have no partiality for European institutions or policy. Republicans in principle, we will never disseminate aristocratical or monarchical doctrines. We will ever oppose, with our utmost endeavors, their progress. We do fearlessly declare perpetual war against them. Believing our forms of government infinitely superior to any ever before witnessed, we will rather perish in their defense than sit silent spectators of their destruction.
“We will ever respect and inculcate virtue, both public and private, and deprecate vice in all its dazzling forms. Nothing shall ever appear in our columns to disturb the present public tranquillity, unless we see danger lurking therein, which duty requires us to expose to public view. We hold the Christian religion in sacred veneration, and shall never, therefore, suffer an aspersion to be cast upon it through our columns.
“As the happiness of most of mankind lies in their social domestic circles, we shall hold them sacred. We will never designedly cast into them the apple of discord; nor will we knowingly cause a pang to the honest heart or a blush upon ‘the modest cheek.’
“The inducements we offer are:
“First—A weekly account of the most important events and transactions occurring in our own country.
“Secondly—An account of such as transpire in other parts of the globe affecting us; and among these, every thing important relative to our Mexican and South American neighbors will have a preference.
“Thirdly—The most important state papers and documents relating to or coming from our government.
“Fourthly—Well-written essays, either original or extracted, on political, moral and scientific subjects, and relating to the topography and geography of our country.
“Fifthly—A view of the proceedings of our state and national legislatures, and a strict examination of the laws passed by them.
“Sixthly—Literary articles which convey instruction with amusement will find a niche in our paper. We shall not, however, seek to amuse unless we can at the same time instruct. To excite or gratify the public taste for amusement alone we consider dangerous to our freedom. By such means Pericles destroyed the liberties of Athens, and Cæsar of Rome. Modern France, too, had her Pericles and her Cæsar; she followed them, and she is now ruing her folly. Similar must be our fate when we follow after the siren song of amusement. We will never be the willing instruments of thus sapping our free institutions. If our paper can not find a sufficient support without this, let it go ‘to the tomb of the Capulets.’ For we will sooner breast the torrent of public feeling on this subject, though we are swept by it into the deep bosom of destruction, than glide upon its surface and trim our barques to its course.
“Renick, Doan & Co.”
Although ably edited—containing interesting, well-written and well-selected articles, the verdict was “perpetual suspension.” The inhabitants of neither town nor country cared to become “readers of newspapers.” The agrarian element of society had not extended to business transactions. The contracted condition of the “circulating medium” was such that it became absolutely necessary to ignore every luxury that required “spot cash;” while state laws made the credit system so dangerous, honest people kept as free as possible from financial obligations. They did not wish to take the risk of seeing their names posted in public places, stating the time the indebtedness would be sold by the sheriff at public outcry to the highest bidder.
And the citizen continued on his even way, enjoying the chase—catching wolves and foxes; and hunting the deer, turkey and squirrel; and in summer tilling a few acres of corn—a small “patch” of flax—enough potatoes, beans, pumpkins, and gourds for the use of the family. The soil produced well, and with but little labor enough corn could be raised for family meal and to winter the small amount of stock—the fire-wood was secured from wind-falls in the “deadening,” and with a horse and cow, a few sheep, and a good dog, the “squirrel hunter” became wonderfully well satisfied with his environment, and had no desire for change. The amount he knew of things transpiring in the outside world was obtained by the word of mouth in the regular line of communication.
The women carded the wool and hackled the flax, and spun and wove the same; and from year to year there were no changes in household appearances or landed possessions. The “deadening,” however, was a little larger in area, in order to keep up the easily-obtained supply of fire-wood, and to increase the amount of the natural grasses and green things in summer for the benefit of the stock.
All domestic animals subsisted on what nature furnished in the woods during spring and summer, and each individual owner had an ear-mark for hogs and cattle recorded at the county-seat, which gave security against mistakes, and when animals became lost furnished information of ownership and acted as a substitute for a square in the “lost” column of some newspaper. It must be remembered that Ohio was not settled all over at once. It came into the Union an immense wilderness, and much of it remained unoccupied for long periods. The first tree cut, in Hardin county, was cut for bees in 1837—a dead black-walnut, seventy-two feet to the first limb. And as the counties became organized and settled the inhabitants all commenced at the same point—the same style of cabin and like simplicity—benches were used for chairs, earth for flooring and carpet, forked sticks driven into the ground with cross poles for bedsteads, clap-boards for bed-cords, and pond-grass for feathers, a single pot and frying-pan, with a few pewter dishes, constituted the primitive outfit, sooner or later, for every county in the state.
The immigrants who pushed forward into the interior counties suffered most for want of mills and from the high price of freight, and merchandise, as salt, flour, and other necessaries of life, all came from Chillicothe or Zanesville. Salt was ten and twelve cents a pound, calico one dollar a yard, coffee seventy-five cents, and whisky two dollars a gallon.
High prices ruled in all new settlements long after they had been reduced in and at the vicinity of Chillicothe and Zanesville; and which, too, was only partly owing to exorbitant rates for transportation. So little and so few were articles purchased, that pioneer merchants did not enter the interior counties of the state for many years, and orders for flour, and salt, and other necessaries, accompanied by the silver, would be forwarded generally by the bearer of the order, as no regular mail or line of transportation was run from one settlement to another. For want of roads the inconvenience was tolerated, as it did not detract much from the power of the inhabitants in every part of the state from living well and living easy. Still there were a few from isolation or improvidence suffered hardships and unpleasant conditions, especially in the interior counties.
In the fall of 1803, Henry Berry, a Welshman, came to this country to establish a home, and leaving his wife and smaller children in Philadelphia, Pa., took his two boys, one nine and the other eleven years old, and put up a small cabin in the interior of Delaware county, fifteen miles from the nearest one of the three families that constituted the white inhabitants. At this time the country was full of Indians and wild animals, and was distant from sources of supplies seventy-five to one hundred miles. The father was so infatuated with the country, he hurriedly erected a small cabin of such timber as he and his boys could handle; and when covered, but without floor, chimney, or fire-place, and without daubing or chinking, he fixed the children a place to sleep, started back for Philadelphia, hoping to get the rest of his family West before the cold weather set in. When he reached Philadelphia he found his wife dangerously sick with a protracted fever, and before she was able to travel Mr. Berry became sick, and winter came on, and he was unable to return until the June following.
The boys had not been heard from; the winter had been unusually severe, and they had been left with but a short amount of provisions, without a gun, surrounded by Indians and wild beasts, and were compelled to live upon such animals as they could capture; and with no fireplace or chimney they passed a cold winter in that open cabin. And when the father returned with the family, he found the boys had cleared enough ground for a large garden and had vegetables growing from the seeds they had brought with them from Wales. Of course the boys suffered much, but like the one on the burning deck, they heroically stood their ground regardless of consequence.