58 INDIANA HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS 



of '35 the "Bryant Settlement" was made, and a Mr. 

 Agnew, who married a sister of Elias Bryant, perished 

 with cold in the month of April, on the prairie East of 

 pleasant Grove, having been night overtaken in coming 

 from Morgan prairie with a load of stuff preparatory to 

 moving his family on to his new claim. Not detered by 

 this sad misfortune, his widow afterwards moved into 

 her new home, the making of which had proved so dis- 

 astrious to her husband. On the 4th of April of this year 

 there was a most terrible snow storm; the weather pre- 

 vious having been mild as summer. 



But in the spring of '35 families began to come in so 

 fast that I can only particularise a few of them. Judge 

 Wilkinson, is one of them — he settled where he lives now ; 

 having moved from the Wabash, and from whence, like a 

 great many of the early settlers, all his grain and pro- 

 visions had to be hauled more than 100 miles, over such 

 roads as none but those who toiled through them in those 

 early times can have any idea of. Messrs. Stringham, 

 Foley, Fansher, also moved from the Wabash region this 

 spring. There were quite a number of other families 

 who also settled this spring, but few of whom remain 

 with us now. Mr. Pelton is one of the "old Settlers, for 

 he came here in June of this year & found me building 

 fence around the first corn field ever enclosed on "Robin- 

 son's prairie" ; unless we except the little patches planted 

 by the Indians; one of which partly enclosed by a very 

 rude pole fence, I found on the spot now occupied by my 

 house & garden. 



In the fall of '35 we had grown into so much impor- 

 tance that the tax collector from La Porte come to pay 

 us a visit which was about as welcome as such visits gen- 

 eraly are. 



Considerable quantities of corn, oats, buckwheat & tur- 

 nips & potatoes were raised this summer & plenty of hay 

 put up for the use of those then here, but the new comers 

 came so thick in the fall and winter, that there was a 

 great scarcity before spring, and numbers of cattle 



