406     HISTORY OF JACKSON COUNTY.
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the father of John R. Hamilton. He was at one time a member
of the lower branch of the State Legislature, and was in many ways
prominently connected with the county affairs. In area it is one
of the largest townships of the county. The surface is hilly and
broken in the western portion, but the greater part of the town-
ship is level. The soil is quite fertile, and no section of Indiana
yields larger crops of corn and wheat. It is, by far, the best
agricultural township of the county. The farms are in a high
state of cultivation. Where once stood the log-cabin, with its
mud and stick chimney, its puncheon floor and big fire place
now stands the elegant brick or frame residence, with its carpeted
floors and frescoed walls. The methods of farming are changed.
The first little crop consisted of a "patch" of corn, potatoes,
beans, pumpkins, and a few other "eatables." Flax was also
grown, from the lint of which the family clothing for summer
wear was manufactured. This brought into use the spinning-
wheel and the loom, which had been brought by the pioneer, and
which constituted the most important articles of housekeeping, as
all the women and girls could spin and weave - accomplishments
of which they were as proud as the modern girl is of playing
the piano. The wolves prevented the farmer from keeping sheep
for the first few years, so it became necessary for them to dress
in the skins of wild animals. The boys and men wore buckskin
hunting shirts, pants, and moccasins, and caps made from the
skin of some furred animal. Afterward sheep were raised, and
the wool carded into rolls, spun, and wove into cloth, from which
the garments were made. In those days everybody worked - 
idleness was almost unknown.
 
  
                  EARLY SETTLEMENTS.
 
No sooner was peace declared with the Indians in 1814 than
Indiana applied for admission to the sisterhood of State. Con-
gress heard her appeals, and in 1816, out of the old Territory of