somewhere down in Hartville, Ohio

somewhere down in Hartville, Ohio

fiction
edward w pritchard

Somewhere down in Hartville Ohio there's a spot where an entire wagon, mules or oxen, and a couple of people disappeared by sinking into quicksand back in the early 1800's. Once an up and coming suburb, Hartville is now a comfortable little town with a lot of amateur horse farms and riding mowers.

Were the entire family riding on that wagon that sunk into the quicksand. Were they new to the area or experienced pioneers and farmers. Did the Father frantically try to save the family? Was the Mother able to escape with the Father's sacrifice with one of the Children. Do their relatives still live in the area and still talk about the occurrence?

210 years ago is not all that long ago. 2 million years ago our ancestors grouped together. 500,000 our ancestors made fires for comfort and protection. Thirty thousand years ago our ancestors mourned for their dead and drew pictures on cave walls. Twelve thousand years ago our ancestors traveled from one end of the earth to the other. Six thousand years ago our ancestors founded cities and began to organize for production and war. Six hundred years the first "modern" thinking and emoting men were living.

How long would it take a wagon to sink in quicksand and why did it have to happen. How many of the towns people went to the funeral and was there a write up in the newspaper? How would the world have changed if those people and animals did not sunk in the quicksand?