The Pioneer Recollections of J. B. Heatley - Points in his Indian Experience

 

An Early Settler - James B. Heatley 

James B. Heatley came to Ohio from Virginia in 1821 with his father, Moses, mother, Mary (Polly) and sister, Elizabeth, settling first in the Dayton area and arriving in Defiance in the fall of 1824. The family spent their first night here with the Robert Shirley family at the blockhouse cabin they inhabited. The choices for a habitat were slim as there were only three houses here at the time, all former blockhouses. The story of their early years here can be found in the Defiance County 1883 history. 

James had little early education just because there was none available. He was the oldest son and helped his father clear the land and do whatever work was necessary. Later, Mr. William A. Brown taught him to read and write, and he served his new community as township treasurer, assessor, recorder, and over thirty years as township constable.

He married Rebecca Garman and the family grew to four children: Lorenzo, born in 1851 who died at the age of 30; George A. born in 1853; Millie, born in 1855, and Rebecca, born in 1857. 

In the Defiance Democrat of December 19, 1878, he was interviewed about his early pioneer experiences for a column called Pioneer Times. Heatley recounted:

"In 1827 we lived on Abraham Hudson's place, which is known by almost everyone in this country. Our residence was in a small cabin on the bank of the Auglaize, on the upper part of the farm, and stood on the southwest corner of the old orchard, east of what is called Hudson's Island. It was a very lonely spot.
Members of the red-face tribe exchanged civilities with us nearly every day, and, at times, four or five times a day would call to see us. They would ask mother for food; though frequently would walk in and silently go to the cupboard and help themselves to what they would find and then pass out. Their wigwams were in sight of our cabin. South and southeast of us were their broad hunting grounds.

Abram Hudson went to their camp one day and told them that they were upon HIS hunting ground, and they must leave within a few days or he would make them. They paid little heed to him.

He took down his old rifle one day: 'I am a sure shot, and I will never forget them. I hunted them in the War of 1812. They massacred my grandfather's whole family, and I will have a bit of revenge now,' and saying this, he went away into the woods. He was not long before we heard several reports of his rifle. When he returned, we asked him, 'Where is your game?" and he said he had left it in the woods.

Father asked him if he was not afraid they would catch him out someday, to which he replied, 'When I hunt, I am hunting Indians; I can see them as quick as they can see me.' The result was that they became afraid of him - there being so many of their tribe missing, and they suspecting what had become of them, they all left the country, and he was never bothered more with red faces."

Forest Sporting

"Mr. Hudson was a good hunter - always a dead shot and scarcely ever missed a deer. He would go out in the morning before breakfast and kill from two to four before returning. Uncle Abram was an industrious man. When engaged in cleaning his land, he could not spend time to hunt in daylight hours; so he made a bark canoe that would hold two men, and father or myself would accompany him. That was what we called 'fire hunting.' The mosquitoes were very numerous - the whole country being wilderness and swamp. When we started on a fire hunt, we always went early in the evening, and in the dark of the moon."

The man who sat in the back would do the steering, while the one in front would handle the blind they built. They used a beeswax candle that would last all night.

 "This blind keeps the persons in the canoe all in the dark. One can hunt but not as well as two. There should be a steersman and he should hold the paddle in the water all the time and skull his boat and not let it touch a rock, keep his thumbs between the paddle and canoe...If your light should strike a deer and you should touch your paddle on the bottom of the canoe, it's gone without a shot.

It is the most fun I've ever had; two of us have killed as high as four or five in a night. It was no trouble to kill a deer. That time is past and gone forever in this country now."

(To be continued...)

Dianne Kline, Researxher