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<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=200 BGCOLOR="#CCCC99" TEXT="#080000" background="044c8982esnpes.jpg"> <div> The life and times of </div> <bR> <div> <B>James Jackson Fulton</B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#006600" FACE="Arial" > </FONT></div> <bR> <div> <B>1780-1869</B></div> </td> <td valign="top" BGCOLOR="#CCCC66" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#003300" FACE="Arial" ><B>James Jackson Fulton</B></FONT><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#006633" FACE="Arial" > </FONT> <B> </B><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#003300" FACE="Arial" ><B> |    </B></FONT><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#006600" FACE="Arial" ><B> </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="James Jackson Fulton"><U><B>home</B></U></A></FONT></div> <div> <A HREF="id17.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Page 2"><U>Page 2</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id18.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Page 3"><U>Page 3</U></A>   |   <B>Page 4</B>   |   <A HREF="id20.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Page 5"><U>Page 5</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id21.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Page 6"><U>Page 6</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id22.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Page 7"><U>Page 7</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id23.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Page 8"><U>Page 8</U></A></div> <div> <IMG SRC="045f0030.gif" border=0 width="496" height="3" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Page 4</div> <div> An incident here in Fulton's history is worthy of narratives and will serve to show some of the dangers, hardships and sufferings through which they at times were called to pass.  Business called him to the eastern part of the state.  This home at this time was about two miles west of where Clarion town has since been built, (what is known as the Gourly Farm). <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#003300" FACE="Arial" > </FONT>The settlements between his home and to where he was going was few and far between.  <IMG SRC="06de0680.jpg" border=0 width="480" height="360" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">He had to make the trip on foot and also during the winter, when all was bleak and dreary and when such a trip was attended with more dangers and with much more anxiety on the parts of the dear ones at home as to the welfare of the absent one, he reached his place of business in safety.  </div> <bR> <div> On his return he left Bloom's tavern near where Curwensville now stands on the Sasquhanna River and by the old state road, it was 33 miles to Port Barnett.  In this entire distance there was not an inhabited house.  Doctor Kithkart, at this time an extensive land owner and 21 miles west of the above named river, some time previous to this and near to Sandy Lick Creek, had built a house and had a small improvement made.  Thinking thereby to induce settlers to go in, buy and improve his land, but at this time his house was unoccupied, soon after starting in the morning it began to snow and continued throughout the day, which made the traveling very fatiguing.  It was his intention from starting in the morning to stay over night at the Kithkart House in the wilderness.  </div> <bR> <div> During the day it had moderated and when arriving there he found no occupants, and having streams to cross on his way he feared that if he should stop here for the night, again morning he might not be able to cross on the ice of Sandy Lick Creek.  The hour of the day was between two and three o'clock in the afternoon.  Taking in his situation with the possibilities of the coming night and morning, he concluded to make his way onward as fast as his strength would permit.  He yet had 12 miles of his journey to make and by far the most perilous part of it, as well as the most fatiguing part, for by this time the snow had become fatiguingly deep in which to travel, yet he pushed on as fast as his failing strength would permit.  The shades of the evening were beginning to appear, night with its gloom and horrors ( in the wilderness and no hut into which to crawl to get out of the snow) was now upon him.  He had become very tired wading the deep snow.  He saw a short distance from the road a large dead tree.  He made his way to it with the intentions of collecting dry wood and with his steel and flint, start a fire, and if not remain for the night, he would rest awhile for he had indeed become weary and foot sore.  He reached the tree, produced dry wood then with his flint and steel undertook to strike fire.  In his he utterly failed, his hands refused to fill their office from their long exposure to the cold.  Numbness so effected them that he was unable to hold the flint and steel.  </div> <bR> <div> By this time the last rays of day had faded from the horizon.  Night with its gloom and horrors was now upon him, in this vast wilderness inhabited only by ferocious and wild beasts and now as his hearing went out, the heart sickening cries and howls of hungry wolves which were now on his track, ready to devour him to satisfy their voracious appetities.  There were no tracks on the road save one, a man on horse back had gone along during the day, but constant snowing had almost filled those tracks, and the only way he could keep on the road after darkness set in was to stoop down and feel for the horse's tracks with his hands.  In this way he wearily plodded on his journey, urging himself forward to the full extent of his bodily strength.  <IMG SRC="069fabb0.jpg" border=0 width="250" height="187" ALIGN="LEFT" HSPACE="10" VSPACE="0">Let the present generation imagine the hardships attending such a long and tedious and perilous journey, the danger of being set upon and devoured at any moment by those hungry wolves.  Faint and weary and almost exhausted, most gladly would he have stopped and rested his weary and aching limbs, but this under the present circumstances was impossible.  This progress was slow and the position in which he had to travel made it terrible tiresome.  At last a faint glimmer of light was caught by his eye.  This gave him fresh courage and calling forth more energy, by and by "the light in the window" was reached.  He dragged himself up the steps to the door, made a noise.  The proprietor, Mr. Joseph Barnett said, "My God, Jimmy Fulton, is this you?" and helped him in, for by this time he was completely exhausted and overcome and fatigued by his long and perilous journey.  </div> <div>  </div> <div> <A HREF="id18.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Page 3"><U>Page 3</U></A><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#003300" FACE="Arial Black" >       </FONT><A HREF="id20.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Page 5"><U>Page 5</U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>