94 MEADOWS AND PASTURES 



herd had its bell-cow which signalled constantly the 

 whereabouts of the herd to the boy whose mission it was 

 to bring them home to be milked. Sometimes the boy 

 got lost in the woods while hunting cows. One nearly 

 grown young man who lacked woodcraft was lost several 

 times and finally his father gave him a compass with in- 

 structions that if he found the cows they would surely 

 lead him home ; if he did not find them the compass would 

 tell him the direction. Yet he was again lost. Search- 

 ing parties found the trail of the boy and cows, going 

 the wrong direction, then of the boy alone, he having 

 abandoned the cows. When they overtook him he was 

 miles in the wilderness. He explained that "the dumb 

 cows would not go in the right direction without being 

 driven," then he got tired of driving them and they were 

 contrary and he left them. "Later the compass itself 

 got contrary and pointed east when it should point north." 

 Those cows did not find much grass. There was some 

 woods grass, for the trees had little undergrowth beneath 

 them. There were old clearings made by fire and Indians 

 along the streams and here was wild grass. It seems 

 there was no bluegrass. This first sprung up about the 

 camp-fires of emigrants from Kentucky and Virginia. It 

 spread slowly at first, then rapidly and occupied the 

 roadsides, the settlers' dooryards, the fence corners, grow- 

 ing in the woods wherever the sun shone. It grew espe- 

 cially strong in southwestern Ohio, in the land west of 

 the Scioto and as far north as Hardin county. It even- 

 tually overspread nearly the whole state. Pickaway, Ross. 

 Fayette, Madison, Butler, Warren," Montgomery, Miami, 



