wolves, and he pounded them until they retreated to the edge
of the water and sat down on their haunches and looked at
him. He dared not go out of the water as he might not be
able to fight if they followed him. Soon Niswonger came on
the shore opposite the wolves and Warth crossed over to him
and told him "not to shoot-we will call it a draw game,
either party whipped." He would not let Niswonger shoot
lest they might be attacked. The hunters returned to their
homes on Oldtown creek, and next day increased their force
and went back to the place of the battle and found two dead
wolves but no live ones. (Sketch by Mr. Silas Jones.)
Black bears were numerous in these parts of southern Ohio
in the first years of the nineteenth century. Henry Roush, of
Letart township, related an incident of his encounter with
bears. He said: "I was going out to bring in the cows, and
contrary to my usual custom did not take my rifle with me,
and while passing along the rear of my neighbor's field of
corn I saw two young bears helping themselves to roasting
ears. I succeeded in capturing one of them, which began to
squall at a furious rate, which brought the mother bear rush-
ing upon me with great fury. I had to drop my prize and
run for a high fence which was near, with the angry bear at
my heels. After gaining the top of the fence, I seized a
stake and beat off my assailants."
Elk were seen, but not in great numbers. Wolves were
numerous and very troublesome. It was as common to hear
the howl of a wolf in the twilight of an evening as it was to
hear the crowing of a cock in the morning. They would
answer each other from hill to hill when gathering their pack
for the depredations upon the settler's sheep or young cattle.
In 1827 a party of road viewers were cutting out a road from
Chester, the county seat of Meigs county, to Sterling Bottom,
on the Ohio river, and at a certain point lay out a road from
this to Oldtown. The viewers were Nehemiah Bicknell,
Samuel Bowman and one or two other men. They had pro-
