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182 HISTORY Of CHAPTEE VIII. Adventures and final settlement of Timothy Beach in Sidney — Remi- niscences of John Wickham, an early settler of Harpersfield — Names of early settlers — Privations to which they were subjected — Adven- ture of James Gordon with a bear, while crossing the Charlotte River — First Church in Harpersfield — Manner of its erection — Church-raising — Whipping-posts and stocks erected in Harpersfield — Other whipping-posts in the county — How Harper caught his wife — Persons punished by this ordeal — First settled minister in Harpersfield — Maple-sugar-making — Scotchman's idea of making maple-sugar — Information derived from Stephen Halt of Stamford — Settlements made in 1789 — Information derived from David Squires — Discovery of and first settlement in Roxbury — Interesting information in relation to— Anecdotes — Information derived prin- cipally from Cyrus Burr — Early settlements in Middletown and Andes — Hall's adventure with Mr. Earl — His discovery that he had neighbors — Catamount-killing in Andes. Among the early pioneers to this county after the close and succcessful termination of the Revolutionary struggle, was • Timothy Beach and family, of whose toil and suffering, Priest, in his narrative, gives a life-like picture from the heroes own lips. Speaking of their removal, he says, Mr. Beach partook of the general impulse which at that period pervaded the sev- eral New England States, sold his farm which he had acquired after abandoning a sea-faring life, and prepared to remove to the wild banks of the Susquehanna — the hunting-grounds of the Delawares. But before he actually removed his family, he took the precaution to go and explore the lands of that river. On this journey, his eldest son, a lad of twelve years, accom- panied him. After crossing the broken and wild region of country lying