Historical Wyoming County October 1958 - Old Fulton History

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DECADES AT THE MAPLES (contj
small clearing where Walter Ackerman lives (1 mile from village),
all else in the Spencer Street section was an unbroken wilderness,,
Later Abel helped cut the trees for a road to Cold Creek (Hume)0
Previous to this time, those having business at the county court
house in Angelica had to follow the dean Trail to Rushford before
heading for the river road.
"With robust health and iron constitutions and a determination
to overcome all obstacles they went to work.," '^hey cut down trees
and burned what they could and planted corn, potatoes, apple seeds
and garden truck. The year 1816 was called the "'cold season" 1 or
"Eighteen hundred and Starve to Death." With frosts every month of
the year but little was raised and it was difficult at times to get
plenty for a large family to eat for a year or two- The next spring
found the Spencers, father and sons, sustained. mainly by the milk of
their one cow and the maple sugar, they were able to make, sturdily
attacking the mighty trees around their home.
They hewed out basswood and pine troughs, to catch maple sap in,
and hung all kettles they could muster on a-pole out doors and
boiled down the sap and made large quantities of. sugar which was a
great help for them during- these "hard years." As maple trees were
plenty, the early settlers tapped them with gouges and axes and
sometimes used long wooden spiles.
Menace of Wild Animals
Wolves were quite troublesome. Settlers sometimes made a pen
next to the house to keep their sheep in nights so the wolves would
not get them, but the animals would come "howling around." The town
gave a bounty on wolves 1 heads to encourage their exterminations
Even by day, the wolves were bold as evidenced by family lore which
related the following: In the winter one of the Spencers had to go
down stream two or three miles to a neighbor to help him butcher.
This accomplished, Spencer was given a hunk of meat in lieu of nonexistant
cash for his labors. The meat he placed on a sled. Hasten
as he might over the trail, the wolves scented the meat and gave
chase, nipping at every opportunity, so that on arriving home the
luckless Spencer had little meat to show for the afternoon's work.
Indians were almost daily seen as they came bv from their
reservation homes on the river near Caneadea. They brought
baskets and beadwork, etc0 to sell and were friendly. Sometimes several
would come along and want to stay all night* The kitchen with
its broad fireplace would be given them. They would sleep on the
flooi and before the "proprietor" was up perhaps, they would all be
gone. They were strong, dusky fellows and the younger and feebler
portion of the community were somewhat afraid of them, but they
never did any harm. Occasionally deer came into the pasture to
graze with the cattle and the early settler frequently had venison
on his table. \
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