injured — Causes her Death — Distress and despondency — Time assuages grief — After months, goes to the Hunting-Grounds as a relief, and to procure Meat — Kills a large Bear, hand to hand, with the Knife — Kills two Deer — Is appointed Assessor for Allegany County — Meets with Mrs. Smith, a Widow — After long delay, and great opposition, marries her — She proves a good and affectionate Wife — Watches a Deer-Lick with his Son — Kills two Deer — Hunts Wolves— Kills six — Scalps worth $105— Watches another Lick with his Son, M. A. Browning — Buck-Ague — Kills a Deer — Last Deer killed by the Author — Wife stricken with Palsy — Survives until September, 1857 ……………….
CHAPTER XV.
Describes the Glades — Herding, and bad effects on Grass and Game — Early Settlers — Mode of living — Hospitality of the Hunters — Voting — Story of Mr. Steward- Describes the wild Animals of the Mountains — Bears, Wolves, and Panthers — Rattlesnakes — Can charm Birds — Horse bitten by one — Dies in great agony — Are killed by their own Bite — Experiment with one — One skinned alive — Attacks a Rattlesnake on Yough. River — It fights on Water as well as on Land — Hangs one — Kills eighty-four at a Den — Their Fangs and Poison — Remedies for the Bite — Mode of training Hunting-Dogs — Trout-Fishing, Baits, etc……………………...…..
CHAPTER XVI.
Mode of trapping Bears, Wolves, Panthers, and Otters — Describes a Bear-trap, or Pen — Shooting Deer by Fire-Light — Shooting Deer at a lick — Making an artificial Lick — Natural History of the Deer — A general Description of Alle- gany County— The Mountains—Rivers—Soil— Productions— Climate- Timber— Coal — Iron-ore —-Water-power……………………………………………………………….
FORTY-FOUR YEARS
OF
A H U N T E R'S L I F E
————————
CHAPTER I.
Birth and Parentage — Difficulties of his widowed Mother — Moves to the West — Accident on the Road — Settles on the Flintstone — Induced by an aunt, John Spurgin's wife, to leave the maternal roof — Removes to Alleghany County, and settles in a small Cabin— Great abundance of Game — Again removes with his uncle to Monongahela County, Va.— Then again back to the Blooming Rose — Becomes acquainted with Mary McMullen, his future wife — Goes one quarter to School, being all his Education — Falls in love with Mary — Goes to see her at night, and the old man, her father, sets the dog on him, supposing him to be a prowling Wolf — Ludicrous scene in escaping — Aunt has an Heir, after twenty years' Marriage, and treats the Author unkindly — First success in Deer Hunting — Aunt in an ill-humor strikes him with a heavy wooden shovel — Leaves his Uncle and Aunt — Goes hunting again, and kills a fine Buck, but his feet nearly frozen — Takes leave of his Betrothed — Both much affected.
I WAS born in Frederick County, in the State of Mary- land, in the year of our Lord 1781. My father's name was Joshua Browning, and my mother's name was Nancy. He was a farmer with limited means, and, with his wife, resided on a small farm; having little to recommend them in this world but an unsullied name, and known only as being strictly honest, industrious, and truthful.
They lived a happy life together until they had four children—one daughter named Dorcas, and three sons, Joshua, Jeremiah, and myself, called Meshach. My mother became a widow when I was an infant of two weeks old; and, after the business of the estate was settled,
2 (13)
14 FORTY-FOUR YEARS OF
there was but a trifle left for the support of the little family; and she was obliged to maintain herself and chil- dren as best she could.
But it does seem to me, that when persons are left in such distress, that kind Providence has always something in store to supply their necessities, as was the case in this instance.
My mother's friends had all gone to the West, then so called,—I mean to the western part of Washington County, and had settled on the Flintstone and on Hurley's Branch, now in Alleghany County. But to follow them she had not the means. The next thing was, her neigh- bors advised her to put out her children to good places, and then she could see and attend to them. But this she refused to do, until she should try to keep them herself. But before she had rented a house and garden, she did consent to let a Mr. Aaron Lee have Jeremiah, to keep him until he was twenty-one years old.
Often and long did she rue that unthoughtful transaction. And it turned out that she never could, nor ever did gel him home; he lived with that family until he was 16 or 17 years old, when he quit his place to shift for himself; but not before mother and the other three children left that country, and had gone to the West.
Mother managed by dint of industry and economy, with what my sister and Joshua could help, to keep us as well as other poor children; and sent sister to school one quarter, in which time she learned to spell and read a little in her primer. They worked together in the gar- den, and raised plenty of vegetables; and by spinning, sewing, and knitting, in which sister began to be helpful, they got along through three or four years. My mother was a woman of a medium height, strong and determined, but of very tender heart—rash when angry, out soon over, and kind again.
She continued in this situation until she found we were
A HUNTER'S LIFE 15
making nothing, and my sister was 16 or 17 years old, when a young man by the name of James Harvey then addressed her, and they were married, much against my mother's will. Then it was that she determined to leave Frederick county, and go out to the backwoods. Shortly after, she wrote to her friends in the West that she wished to move out to them; and a brother-in-law of hers ar- ranged to get a Mr. Jacobs, who lived in Oldtown, as he was coming from Baltimore with goods, to take our things in his wagon and help us as far as Oldtown, within a few miles of his house; and in a few days Mr. Jacobs's wagoner, a large negro, called on us to go to the backwoods, then so called. We hurried and bustled into the wagon, while Joshua was sent to Mr. Lee's for Jeremiah to accompany us; but, to our great disappoint- ment and grief, he was not to be found. Having our property all in the wagon, off went the horses, with whip cracking, mother crying, negro cursing and swearing, until we were in the main road to Frederick—then the insolent negro became quiet; and an old man met us with another horse, to help out with our too heavy load.
We went on in good order until we reached Sideling Hill, where the road was very rough and rocky : by and by we arrived at a very sideling place, with a considerable precipice on our left—the wheels struck a rock on the other side, and away went wagon, horses, and all down the hill, rolling and smashing barrels of rum, hogsheads of sugar, sacks of salt, boxes of dry-goods, all tumbling through one another, smashing the bed of the wagon, and spilling rum, molasses, sugar, and all.
My frightened mother called out, "Where is Meshach?" —knowing that I was riding in the wagon when it turned the dreadful somerset. All was bustle and alarm, until at length I was found under some straw and rubbish, stunned, breathless, mangled, and black with suffocation.
16 FORTY-FOUR YEARS OF
Here was despair and weeping from a mother, in a dense wood, with no help but her little Joshua, the old man, and that hateful negro. The
