John Tice, a German, and an uncle of the celebrated Prof. Tice, of St. Louis, settled in Warren County about 1809, and was the first settler on Pinckney Bottom. When the over flow of 1824 came he refused to leave his house, but moved his family upstairs and waited patiently for the water to subside. But in order to be prepared for escape in case of an emergency, he tied two meat troughs together to be used as a canoe. Some of his neighbors who had fled to the hills, became alarmed at the absence of Tice and his family, and went to their house on a raft, to see what had become of them. They found them safe, but unwilling to abandon their home; so they left-them. Fortunately the water did not sweep the house away or reach the second story, and they remained in safety until the river receded into its banks. When Mr. Tice first settled on Pinckney Bottom, the country was infested by hostile Indians, and they had to be always on the lookout for them. One day Tice went into the woods near the river, for some purpose, and came close upon a white man who was making an ax helve, without perceiving him. The man, thinking he would have a little fun, rapped upon the ax helve with the blade of his knife, making it sound like the snapping of a gun, which frightened Tice so badly that he sprang into the river and swam to the other side. The names of Mr. Tice’s children were John, Joseph, Mary, and Sally. The latter was a splendid ball player, and played with the boys at school, who always chose her first, because she could beat any of them.
