to Ohio, married and brought his wife back with him.

Now we had neighbors on the east of us, and Mr. Henry Travis (a
brother-in-law of Mr. Pardee) came, bought land joining Mr. Pardee on
the west, built and settled with a large family. About the same time
many families from the East came and settled along the creek, for miles
west of us.

Now we were on the border of civilization. Our next clearing of any
importance was the little ridge. Father commenced around the edge, cut
the brush and threw them from the ridge all around it to form a brush
fence; then all the trees that would fall into the line of the fence were
next felled, also, all that would fall over it, then those which would
reach the fence were felled toward it. Then we trimmed them, cut the logs
and piled the brush on the fence. I felt very much interested in clearing
this piece. When father took his ax and started for work I took mine and
was immediately at his side or a little behind him. In this manner we
returned and we soon had the two acres cut off and surrounded by an
immense log, tree-top and brush fence; at least, I thought it was a great
fence. Now came the logging and burning, father worked with his oxen and
handspike, I with my handspike. Some of the large logs near the fence he
swung round with the oxen and left them by it. Others we drew together
and when we piled them up, father took his handspike and rolled the log,
I held it with mine until he got a new hold. In that way I helped him
roll hundreds and thousands of logs. We soon had them all in heaps but
they were green and burned slowly, some of them would not burn at all
then. We scratched round them and put some seeds in every spot. We could
do but very little with a plow. Father made a drag out of the crotch of a
tree and put iron teeth in it; this did us some service as the land was
exceedingly rooty.