the Prophet of the Lord, the successor of him who bore his cross among the jeers and sneers of Mount Calvary?"

Rising in great anger with flushed cheeks and glistening eyes she shook her fist in the very face of the district attorney and screamed out, “Yes, you impudent district attorney, and were you not a darned old fool you would know it too!" whereupon the Mormons greeted her with cheers, and the judge, marshal and crowd laughed immoderately at the poor district attorney, who for the first time seemed utterly abashed at the energy of this accomplished and beautiful Mormon termagant.

Another witness was then called; a very heavy, soggy-looking man, whose cross-examination was substantially in these words:

Q.-"Mr. Adams, where were you living before you became a Mormon?" A. "In Boston, sir."

Q.-"What was your business in Boston, Mr. Adams?". A.—“I decline to answer that question, sir; it has nothing to do with this case."

The court-"Mr. Adams, you must answer, sir."

"Well, sir, I am an actor. I did act in the theater in Boston." Q.-"What part did you enact, sir?" A.-"Well, sir, if I must answer, I acted the heavy parts in the theater."

Q.-"Well, sir, what position do you hold in this Mormon church?" A. "I am one of the apostles, sir. I represent in this church the Apostle Paul, sir."

Q.-"Well, do you represent that character in costume when you meet with the other officers of Strang's church?" A.--"I decline to answer, sir."

Being admonished by the court to answer, with great vehemence he blurted out: "Yes, sir, when I enact the part of the Apostle Paul in our church I do so in my old theatrical costume of Richard III.”

"You may retire, Mr. Adams," quietly responds the district attorney, and he retired.

On such testimony the trial commenced on or near the 20th of June, 1851, before the Hon. Ross Wilkins, district judge, and ended on the 10th of July, during all which time the court-room was crowded with admiring spectators, and the jury acquitted Strang and his confederates on the indictment for delaying the mail, burning the mail, cutting the mail bags, etc., although the evidence was quite clear against them. But the charge of the judge was very strong against prosecutions for any religion, no matter how absurd, and the jury seemed to have imbibed the idea that these men were on trial for religion's sake. Strang's speech to the jury was very strong, full of bitterness and dramatic points. He compared himself to Christ, his prosecutors to the lawyers and Pharisees who perse

cuted him, and really seemed to feel as he made the jury feel, "that there was a divinity that did hedge him as a king," and that he was persecuted for righteousness' sake. But the end soon came. In 1856, after he had served two terms in the Legislature of Michigan, he was waylaid at Beaver Island and shot to death by some of his men, whom he had caused to be whipped, and the Mormon people soon broke up and deserted that beautiful island. They ceased to become voters for the Whig or Democratic ticket, and so faded away out of history, as the Mormons in Utah will do when they are subdued by the lawful power of the United States tribunals. Strang sleeps his last sleep. Col. McReynolds still lives in martial glory. Willie Wilkins wanders amidst the ruins of almighty Rome, and the United States district attorney still lives and grows fat among the bigamists and polygamists of Utah, the real Simon pure Mormons.

PIONEER LIFE IN SOUTHERN MICHIGAN IN THE THIRTIES.

BY W. J. BEAL.*

*

[Wirtten for his grandchildren.]

I was born near Adrian, Lenawee county, and my earliest recollections were of scenes in western Lenawee, in the township of Rollin. With the exception of a very few small clearings, the county consisted of a virgin forest of mixed broad-leaved trees, or else of oak openings, where occasional fires had destroyed much of the timber. On these openings a wagon could be driven for long distances without cutting a tree.

Wild animals had pretty nearly everything their own way, excepting some of them were now and then killed by a few remaining Indians. Black bear occasionally devoured pigs as they were allowed to run among oaks and beeches to fatten on the nuts, known as shack or mast. They did not kill the pig before beginning their feast, but pounced on his back and began eating.. Wolves were thick enough, often making night hideous by their howling, which much resembled the howling of a lonesome dog. In one instance a wolf stole a small pig, and after eating it came back for another when he was met by the farmer, who was successful with his loaded gun. Occasionally the screams of a wild-cat terrified some belated footman. Foxes were numerous and cunning. Deer, badgers, porcupines, minks, and muskrats were plentiful. Deer ate the young wheat of the fields. Wild turkeys were often seen in flocks and sometimes wintered on corn left in the shock in the field. Partridges and quail were abundant; wild pigeons so numerous that, at times of wheat seeding, the farmer had to watch his fields to save the seeding. Coon, mink, otter, and muskrats were hunted and trapped for their fur. Opossums, turkey buzzards, and eagles were occasionally seen, but no crows had arrived. The re

*William James Beal. A. M., Sc. M., Ph. D, professor of botany and forestry at the Michigan Agricultural College, was born at Adrian, Mich., March 11, 1833. His father, William Beal, was a farmer, carpenter and miller, residing in Rollin (now Quaker), Lenawee county, Michigan. His mother was Rachel S. Comstock of N. Y. Professor Beal's boyhood was spent on the farm, and when 17 years old he began preparation for the University of Michigan, from which he graduated in 1859, with the degree of A. B. He became a teacher of natural science in Friend's Academy, Union Springs, N. Y., until 1861, when he entered the Lawrence Scientific School of Harvard University. In 1863 he taught natural science in Howland School at Union Springs, N. Y. He received the degree of Sc. B. from Harvard in 1865. He was professor of natural history at the University of Chicago for two years. From 1871 to 1881 he was professor of botany and horticulture in the Michigan Agricultural College, and has since held his present position. He is the author of many reports, papers, lectures and accounts of agricultural experiments in Michigan. He has prepared several reports and edited two volumes for the American Pomological Society. His two books, "Grasses of North America" and "Plant Dispersal, or How Plants Travel," are extensively used and quoted. Dr. Beal was born a Quaker, but has never joined any religious society. In 1863 he married Hannah A., daughter of John and Ann Proud, of Rollin, Mich., and they have one daughter, Mrs Ray Stannard Baker.

mains of numerous beaver dams were to be found, but their ponds were usually deserted or the dams broken away. Porcupines annoyed coon-dogs by leaving barbed quills in the mouth. Opossums were soon killed off because they could not defend themselves to advantage. When pursued they were often found suspended by the tail from a limb of a small tree. Rabbits, skunks, squirrels, gray, black, and red were abundant, and troublesome to corn while standing, or in the shock. Coon helped themselves to green ears. There were no fox squirrels, which later came from On dry openings and plains gophers were to be found, instead

of chipmunks, which abounded in beech and maple timber. Snakes were numerous enough, but all harmless to people, excepting massasaugas, which were frequent on marshes and margins of marshes. Every stream and lake abounded in fish in enormous numbers, including some gar-pikes or bill-fishies, which were worthless for food. Indians roamed about living on fish and game and by stealing or by helping themselves to whatever they wanted, provided it was to be found. They were not warlike to the white man. They entered the door without knocking, and usually talked but little.

From one of the reports of this society I read that, in 1835, Indians (Pottawattomies) had cabins made of bark with pole frames, and canoes on Devil's Lake, in the township of Rollin. Two chiefs were known as Mitteau and Bawbese. Mitteau, I remember to have seen, with some squaws. He was a bold, active brave, who roamed about in Lenawee and Hillsdale. He liked whisky, and would give his last blanket for it. He was tall, well-formed, with clear, sharp, black eyes. He was then about 50 years old. Indians had ponies. In 1840 these Indians were hunted and taken to the west by the United States government. Indians hilled up corn and planted each succeeding crop in the same old hills. They made primitive grist-mills in this way: A long pole or sapling was pinned to a tree, like a well-sweep; a small pole was suspended from the elevated end of the sweep, the lower part of which was pestle-shaped; the top of a stump was hollowed out, to hold the corn. The sweep was then worked up and down by one of the squaws, while another steadied and directed the pestle, which smashed the corn as it came down.

acre.

Land was to be had of the United States for a dollar and a quarter per In numerous instances people spent most of their money for land and had not enough left with which to buy an outfit for farming. Then they were said to be land poor. Everything was to be done in a new country. There were no houses, no fences, no roads. Most people had little money.

At first small unhewed logs were laid up cob-house style, excepting that notches were cut near the ends of the logs, so the cracks between would not be large. The cracks were chinked with strips of wood and made tight each fall by plastering with wet clay. The roof consisted of "shakes" split from oak. They were about two and one-half feet long and not shaved or smoothed. They were held in place by horizontal poles, one coming over the laps of each two rows of shakes. These poles on the sloping roof were kept in place by numerous short props, the lower ones of which were near the eaves of the house. Sometimes bark of elm or basswood was used for a roof. No nails were used, as none were to be had. Floors were at first made of puncheons, which consisted of plank split from softwood and hewed, but saw-mills soon made it possible to secure boards. The door was hung on home-made wooden strap hinges. The catch and latch were of wood. To lift the latch from the outside a string went through a gimlet hole a little above. To lock the house at night, the latch-string was pulled in by those inside, but the latch-string was usually left outside at all times, as tramps and thieves were almost unknown. To permit the cat to go in and out at all times of day or night, a small notch was cut near one of the lower corners of the door and the piece of board was hung over the opening so it would swing in either direction. This was known as the cat hole. One window containing four lights of glass, six by eight or eight by ten, was considered generous.

At one end of the house was a huge fire-place five to six feet across. the back consisting of flat stone, the sides or jambs of curved beams, above which rested a square stick chimney, the slender sticks piled up cobhouse fashion often on the outside of the house. The inside of these sticks were well plastered with clay-mud, in which was mixed a little chopped hay or straw. As this clay was washed off by rain, it was replaced. Sometimes the sticks would get bare and catch on fire. To use in case of such emergencies, a squirt gun was kept handy with which to shoot water up the chimney and put out the fire. Stones or rough andirons kept large sticks of wood three and four feet long up out of the ashes. Over the fire-place swung a great iron crane or bar, on which were hung half a dozen more or less of S-shaped pot-hooks and short pieces of chain. These hooks the housewife used supporting kettles, pots, tea-pots, and griddles. The crane was swung out, the kettles hung on the hooks, and back again went the crane with pots over the fire. Pigs, chickens, and spare ribs were roasted splendidly by suspending them by a wire before the fire. In some places baking was mostly done in the old-fashioned brick oven. Johnny-cake (corn