[Transcriber's Note: Bold text is surrounded by =equal signs= and italic text is surrounded by _underscores_.] THE PIONEER BOYS OF THE OHIO [Illustration] OR: CLEARING THE WILDERNESS THE YOUNG PIONEER SERIES BY HARRISON ADAMS ILLUSTRATED [Illustration] =THE PIONEER BOYS OF THE OHIO=, Or: Clearing the Wilderness $1.25 =THE PIONEER BOYS ON THE GREAT LAKES=, Or: On the Trail of the Iroquois 1.25 =THE PIONEER BOYS OF THE MISSISSIPPI=, Or: The Homestead in the Wilderness 1.25 =THE PIONEER BOYS OF THE MISSOURI=, Or: In the Country of the Sioux 1.25 =THE PIONEER BOYS OF THE YELLOWSTONE=, Or: Lost in the Land of Wonders 1.25 =THE PIONEER BOYS OF THE COLUMBIA=, Or: In the Wilderness of the Great Northwest 1.25 [Illustration] THE PAGE COMPANY 53 Beacon Street Boston, Mass. [Illustration: "'HERE WE ARE AT THE SPOT I PICKED OUT FOR YOUR SETTLEMENT.'" (_See page 119._)] The Young Pioneer Series THE PIONEER BOYS OF THE OHIO OR: CLEARING THE WILDERNESS By HARRISON ADAMS Author of "The Pioneer Boys on the Great Lakes," etc. [Illustration] Illustrated and Decorated by CHARLES LIVINGSTON BULL BOSTON [Illustration] THE PAGE COMPANY [Illustration] PUBLISHERS [Illustration] _Copyright, 1912, by_ THE PAGE COMPANY _All rights reserved_ First Impression, July, 1912 Second Impression, October, 1913 Third Impression, May, 1916 THE COLONIAL PRESS C. H. SIMONDS & CO. BOSTON, U. S. A. PREFACE MY DEAR BOYS:--As doubtless you well know, the early pioneer days were times that tried men's souls. And boys, hardly in their teens, were taught, in the bitter school of experience, that they must always live up to the old Puritan motto, "Trust in the Lord; but _keep your powder dry_." These same lads early learned to be self-dependent, and to fight their own battles. Steeped in this atmosphere, the names of many heroic early settlers have come down to us through the pages of history. We all delight to read of their bold achievements, for they were men of whom the country must ever be proud. But those stirring times before the Revolution also gave birth to many a valiant soul whose daring and sacrifices have never been recorded on the scroll of Fame. Some of these heroes were mere striplings in point of years, yet capable, in times of great stress, of proving themselves "chips of the old block." It is to record the intensely interesting adventures of several of these young pioneers, whose axes helped to blaze the way of civilization in the then unknown region beyond the Alleghanies, that I have started to write this series of books. I sincerely trust that if you enjoy reading the present and first volume, you will welcome the story to follow, to be called: "The Pioneer Boys on the Great Lakes; or, On the Trail of the Iroquois."