Samuel Lewis Auxier II
1791 - 1883

During the early settlement days of the Block House Bottom, life was of the utmost simplicity. They cultivated flax and hemp from which they made their clothing. When Samuel was a small boy, sometimes, his only garment was a tow shirt that reached almost to his ankles. In the winter when the older boys were out working, he would follow them, hunt for a place where the snow had melted, sit down and pull his tow shirt over his bare feet. He often accompanied his brothers on their hunting expeditions. Clad only in his tow shirt, he suffered from the cold. On one occasion the weather was so bitterly cold that his feet became frost bitten. To save his feet the older boys killed a deer, cut it open and thrust their little brother's feet into the opening.

Another time Samuel went with his older brothers on a bear hunt. They "treed a bear." The older boys gave him a stick and sent him to knock on the tree to make the bear jump out. Lest he should become frightened when the bear started down the tree they told him not to look up. Samuel continued knocking until the bear rushed down and jumped out just above his head. The dogs were waiting nearby and in a few minutes captured the bear. This incident gave name to the creek called "Bear Hollow." Agnes Auxier, circa 1908

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