SETTLEMENT OF THE COUNTY.
   The original settlement of Des Moines County and the settlement of Burlington are synonymous expressions. The first efforts to improve the lands of the Black Hawk Purchase were made on the site or in the vicinity of the metropolis of Southern Iowa. It is a matter for congratulation, by both the writer and the reader, that the events attending the pioneer movement in this region are so well preserved, in authentic written form, and also in the minds of the survivors of the days when Iowa was but a wilderness. The prosperity of Burlington was foreshadowed by the class of men who formed the advance army which invaded this section of the West. It is usually the case that the original locaters of new lands are from the “floating population” of the nation-a class indispensable in the social economy of a Republic, but, nevertheless, an element noted rather for its attempts than for its accomplishments. It is not expected that the more refined and cultured people of the older regions will relinquish the comforts of society and voluntarily enter upon the laborious task of building up new centers of civilization. The vanguard of progress is ordinarily in harmony with the variety of work it is expected to perform. The operations of a natural social law govern this, nor does it detract one iota from the merit of the deed. That the work may be well done, it is necessary to place laborers in the field who are able to endure the heat and burden of the day.
   But Burlington’s history offers a striking exception to the general rule. The first small colony which made the primal stroke in this region was composed of men of moral and intellectual strength, and no weightier argument need be used in support of this statement than the Scriptural test, “by their fruits shall ye know them.”
   Burlington has furnished to the State and nation a most liberal quota of distinguished men. In fact, we may include the region west of this county in the vindication of the theory herein advanced; for from the germs planted on the western shores of the great river, has grown up a powerful community of men, wise as legislators, brave as warriors and vigorous as thinkers and doers in the many vocations of life.
   Less than half a century has elapsed since the first cabin was erected in Des Moines County, and many of the settlers who came during the first decade of its existence still live to tell of the events of those days. But even now, at this comparatively early period, some conflicts of statement occur. It is a recognized fact, that witnesses of the same scene will not relate the occurrence exactly alike, if called upon to do so. Like the blind men of the East, in the fable who attempted to describe the elephant by feeling of him, each tells part of the story aright, while each differs from the others through some mistaken sense of the whole subject. Besides, memory at best is treacherous, and incidents are oftentimes confused with more recent matters, until men are willing to state positively as truth what others are equally ready to pronounce erroneous. It is, therefore, impossible for a writer to satisfy all who contribute to his fund of information. In the preparation of these pages one rule, above all others, has been adhered to, and that is to give authorities for statements in dispute, and to express opinions only on the side of the preponderance of evidence. Facts are given as such, when substantiated by unquestionable records; reminiscences are related on the strength of reliable recitals, and mooted questions are presented with the differing opinions of those who raise the doubt.
   As becomes the character of this work, which will hereafter form the standard of historic fact in this county, more care has been given to the obtaining and compilation of data than in any previous work. Several brief sketches have been published, which were more or less accurate, but none of them agree fully with the information gathered by the writer and given in order here, all possible sources of knowledge bearing upon the history of the county have been sought after, and liberal use, with ample credit, has been made of them.
   No effort has been made to please all, for such as attempt would prove futile; but a decided effort has been put forth to make this an accurate work of future reference; a readable work for present enjoyment, and a standard work of the history of Des Moines County.
   “Had we realized, in those early days,” remarked one of the pioneers to the writer, “that we were making history, a detailed record of events would have been transcripted from week to week. But what incentive had we for such a task? There were no startling incidents in our daily lives, many of us came here supposing this would prove to be but a temporary abiding-place. It was a struggle for existence. For one of us to have predicted the development of Des Moines County to its present condition within the life-time of our little company would have been ample ground for writing him down as either a silly dreamer or a positive lunatic. We began on so small a scale that the idea of preserving our movements in the form of a record never entered our minds. Had we the same experience to go through with again, we would profit by our mistakes of the past, and be able to produce reliable data for the historians who should come after us.”
   Fortunately for the purposes of history, there still live within accessible range of the writer many of the first settlers, and from them the unwritten part of the history of Des Moines County is gathered.
   The history of a county is usually little more than the compilation of imperfect records, partial traditions and vague legends. Very few of the counties have preserved with proper care the archives of the earliest days of their existence. Society was crude, and men were unsuited by experience to places of official responsibility. No one thought that the careless transcripts of primary meetings would one day form the staple of history. The duty of scribe was irksome to the pioneers, when necessity compelled some written evidence of organizing transactions; and brief, indeed, were the minutes of almost every public assembly.
   History is but a record of the present when time has made it the past. Each act in one’s life may be a topic of importance in the pages yet to be written. Nothing is too trivial or uninteresting in the routine affairs of those who mingle with public men, to be unworthy of a place in the diary of the local recorder of events. Some minor matter may serve to corroborate and affirm the time and method of a far mightier occurrence.
   The history of Des Moines County, however, differs from the general rule in this important particular. Instead of being dependent upon crippled records or unstable traditions, the story is composed of original statements, gathered expressly for this work, from those principal participants in the thrilling scenes of the past who still live within the county, in the enjoyment of the blessings which accrue from lives of enterprising industry.
   Des Moines County is yet in its infancy so far as years are concerned; but by its prosperity it holds a commanding place among the counties of the State. The brevity of its political life is not only favorable to the historian, affording him ample opportunities for communion with the original pioneers, but it is also significant in a material sense, inasmuch as it foreshadows a grander development of its inexhaustible resources within the life-time of those who are now partaking of the fruits of their labors here. If but a generation, estimated by the popular standard, is required to redeem the wilderness from a primeval state, clothe the prairies with richest crops and dot them with modern dwelling-houses, may we not reasonably anticipate a far more rapid advancement toward wealth during the quarter of a century yet to come?
   Those who entered upon the work of converting the wild lands into civilized abodes, began with no other assistance than strong hands and stout hearts. The patient ox, the sharp ax, the primative hoe, the cradle and the scythe were man’s only dependence. Mechanic art was then in its swaddling-clothes. Cumbersome mechanism had been applied to the planting and harvesting of crops, but those who favored the innovation on time-honored customs were tabooed and looked upon with pitiful astonishment.
   But more than all else, the pioneers who made the first bold strokes for homes in the lovely land of Iowa were poor, almost without exception. Had there been unlimited numbers of improved appliances for agriculture at their very doors, they could not have availed themselves of the opportunities from lack of means. And therein lies the pith and marrow of the credit due the noble vanguards of the West. From nothing but that which nature lavishly supplied, they builded strong and well. They labored with the energy of heroes, and deserve the reward of veterans.
   But half a century has passed since the Indians exercised high dominion over these broad prairies and shady groves. Here their feasts were celebrated, their lodges established, their councils held, their dead buried, and, within that time, also, the painted bans of warriors have disappeared on their forced march westward, while the setting sun-typical of the waning glory of their race-threw grotesque shadows of their trains on the crude farms of the venturesome white man.
   Brief indeed, have been the days between the era of savagery and the era of civilization. But, short as that intervening space has been, it was ample for the sowing of seed which will, beyond peradventure, bear marvelous fruitage. The hand of intelligent man was laid upon this region, as it were, but yesterday. To-day, one beholds the finest farms, the best tilled acres, the richest orchards, the most substantial buildings and the newest implements of husbandry that can be met with throughout the length and breadth of “Beautiful Iowa.”
   Where once the fierce blasts of winter howled with increasing monotony over unobstructed plains, the dense grove now stands a barrier between man and the elements, in silent protest against the forces of the air. Where once the single camp-fire of the lonely hunter wreathed its slender spire of smoke as he reposed, solitary and silent, near the beaten path of the deer, there now ascend the choking fumes of many furnaces, as they glow and roar in the busy centers of manufacture. Churches and schoolhouses-those edifices which proclaim the moral development of a country and represent the two greatest factors in the problem of civilization-dot the prairie on every hand. At the centers of trade these institutions stand, eloquent evidences of the intelligence of the populace, and point to a still grander outcome.
   Wealth has succeeded poverty, and privation has given way to comfort. The children of the pioneers have grown up, surrounded by refining influences, and bear the stamp of training in a broader school than their parents were privileged to attend. Books and music have their appropriate places in the farmhouses, and social intercourse is no longer restricted to the range of ox-cart communication. The finest horses, the choicest animals, the largest herds graze in rich pasture-lands. It is no longer necessary to “turn the cattle into the big lot,” as a pioneer expressed his early method of caring for his patient oxen. Fences mark the boundaries of farms and subdivisions of farms. As year succeds year, the flocks increase the numbers and condition, and the markets of the East find profit in choosing the cattle from a thousand hillocks.
   Railroads stretch across the county, affording the facilities for transportation so much desired a quarter of a century ago. Villages have sprung up along these lines of traffic and added to the market value of lands in their vicinity. Timber, which was so highly prized when first the region was sought out, now ranks far below the open prairie lands in point of value. Modern inventive genius has found a way to meet the requirements of the day for fences, and coal is rapidly becoming an article of general use as fuel, hence. It is found that groves are prized more for the sake of their protective qualities than for the intrinsic worth of their products.
   Where formerly the settlers were compelled to traverse the country for flour and provisions-consuming days in the tedious journey-are now busy mills, which supply the local needs of the communities. Nor is it longer necessary to rely upon the uncertain visits of friends to a distant post office for unfrequent mails; for the system of postal delivery reaches to the farthest limits of the country, and the rapid transit of news matter is an established affair, accepted without surprise, or even a second thought. Thirty years ago, there were few papers received by the settlers, and these few came from other and older localities while now the press of Des Moines ranks high among the hosts of publications in the State and nation. Daily and weekly issues are scattered broadcast over the region, carrying news from the earth’s four quarters, and enabling the pioneers, even, to read the transactions of Church and State simultaneously with the denizens of the great cities of the land. The telegraphic wires bring to their doors tidings from commercial marts, and tell them when and how to dispose of the enormous products of factory and farm. Banking institutions of solid worth exist, and monetary matters are conducted on as large a scale as in many an Eastern city. Social clubs and amusement societies relieve the routine of business after the approved methods of cosmopolitans. Secret societies flourish and celebrate their mystic rites in richly-appointed lodge-rooms, and hold honored rank among the general bodies of their respective crafts.
   The social world is as brilliant in its state and as cultured in its character as that which graces the salons of the capitals of the East. Wealth and refinement are evidenced in the bearing of the people. The honest housewife of the olden time may look with distrust upon the grander display at civil ceremonies, but cannot stay the tide as it sets toward the obliteration of simple habits. There may be much truth in the often-repeated assurance, that “girls were worth more in the early days,” if the estimate of excellence be based upon physical prowess and domestic “faculty;” but it must be remembered that each generation plays its separate part in the drama of life, as the poet writes of individuals,
* * * “All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have they exits the their entrances,
And one man, in his time, plays many parts,”
    so is society constructed upon a plan that places each succeeding division in a role different from that which preceded it. The standard by which to measure woman’s might to-day is not that which tests her qualities as a pioneer, but rather that which proves the use she has made of the advantages of the present. It would be as just to condemn the young man of to-day because he is not drilled in woodcraft and able to read the marks of Nature like the red man. The fathers who paved the way for the introduction of modern ideas needed, perforce, to know the signs by which the Indian chief governed the warriors of his band; but those symbols are obsolete now, and would lumber the mind with useless information.
   The man whose genius introduced the principles of mechanics into the working of farms, signed the last pages of the first volume of the history of the pioneers, and inaugurated a new era from which the present power of man must be calculated. The farmer who tills a thousand acres now is surely no weaker than he whose limits were a hundred in the “good old days.” Yet the muscular development has not increased during the half-century past. It is mind, not matter, which governs, and the tendency of this age, which is truly termed the mechanical is to produce maximum results from minimum forces. The laborious method of planting and harvesting by hand has given way to the more admirable plan of employing mechanical devices in the work.
   Des Moines County ranks her neighboring counties in just the degree that her intelligence has progressed. The end is far away, for the improvements over the original settlement are insignificant compared with the capabilities of her men and the possibilities of her resources. Nature has lavished abundant wealth upon her, and it remains for man to extract it from the earth. The farms are inexhaustible in productive qualities, if rightly cultivated. The future promises much more marked changes in every branch of trade and commerce, and there remains for her inhabitants an enviable harvest of results.
   Pleasant for situation, rich in material wealth, peopled by intelligent men and abounding in an atmosphere of mental health, the county of Des Moines is destined to become a leading one in the Northwest, as it is to-day a leading one in the State. The responsibility of developing it is intrusted to good men and true, and the dawn of the twentieth century will behold in the fair region a source of constant pride.

THE ORIGINAL SETTLERS’ CLAIMS.
   The entire county of Des Moines was within the limits of the Black Hawk Purchase, the nature and cause of which cession is fully treated elsewhere in this work. The Indian title to the lands did not expire until June 1, 1833, and the United States troops stationed at Rock Island, were instructed to expel all white men who made an attempt to secure claims prior to that date.
   The region was, of course, unsurveyed and no private purchases could be made from the Government for several years after the formal occupancy of the domain by the United States. The only method of securing lands was by actual residence thereon, and the “blazing,” or marking with blows of an ax, of timber, and the setting of stakes, with name and marks of claimant written upon them, as an indication of the boundary of the claim. An unenacted code existed among early settlers defining the rights of priority to such claims, and woe to the man who violated them, or became a “claim-jumper.”
   The fame of the newly purchased territory spread rapidly throughout the East, and men who felt a desire to improve their condition by beginning life in a new country, were persuaded to venture over the imaginary boundary into the forbidden land of promise. Of the large number who undoubtedly risked personal comfort and safety in such an expedition, pending the expiration of the limit of Indian occupancy, no reliable list can be given. A portion of the hardy band can be named, however, on the authority of Dr. William R. Ross, whose name figures conspicuously in these pages further on. At the present time (January, 1879), Mr. Ross is still living, having just passed his seventy-fifth birthday. His home is in Hamilton, Marion Co., Iowa. To him the writer is indebted for much valuable information. From his numerous letter, the following extracts are made apropos to the year 1832.
   “It may not be uninteresting,” observes the Doctor, “to give some of the names of those who first explored Southern Iowa, in 1832, prior to making a permanent settlement in 1833. First, among others, were Maj. Joseph B. Teas and Joseph Morgan, afterward citizens of Albia; William Morgan, William Stewart, John Ward, Isaac Canterberry, Lewis Walters, Isaac Crenshaw, Benjamin Tucker, Ezekial Smith and sons Paris and Lineas, John Bullard, Richard Land, Thomas Dovrell, David Tothero, S. S. White, M. M. McCarver, Berryman Jenkins, William Wright, John Harris and Charles Teas, with others that were in Iowa when I came in July, 1833. Mrs. Sarah Hilleary, wife of Alexander Hilleary, near Burlington came with her father, William Morgan, in February, 1832, to do the domestic work, while her father was improving his claim, and building a house preparatory to moving his family, and was one of the families driven on the Big Island just below Burlington, by soldiers from Rock Island, as the Indian title had not been extinguished.”
   While this statement is, in the main, correct, we are able to show in the chapter on Burlington, further on in this volume, that the first claim, although illegal-as were all those made prior to June 1, 1833-was selected in 1829.
   In the fall of 1829, Simpson S. White and Amzi Doolittle laid claim to the lands upon which Burlington stands, in anticipation of some day being able the enter them. Their hopes were realized in the fall of 1832. In the fall of 1832, David Tothero also made claim to the lands subsequently known as the “Judge Morgan farm,” about three miles further on. These men were, beyond doubt, the original settlers of Des Moines County. It will be noticed that their names appear in the foregoing list of prospectors, and every item of information now obtainable, tends to the substantiation of this statement.
   The residence of these families was not an undisturbed reign of peace and plenty, for to the natural privations of pioneer live was added the constant peril of expulsion from house and home by the troops. The families were invaders of the Indian tract, and therefore, beyond the pale of lawful protection. Their claims were made in defiance of the treaty signed by the Sacs and Foxes and the Government. Their only hope of escape from injury to themselves and destruction of property, rested upon the slight possibility of their presence not being discovered. The hope was, indeed, a meager one, since the unusual spectacale of a farm-cabin on the shores of the river, or upon the broad prairie, was sufficient to attract a less skillful eye than that of a native denizen of the region.
   As might have been expected, during the winter of 1832-33, a detachment of troops came down from Rock Island and burned the settlers’ cabins. The families were driven across the Mississippi.
   Mr. Ross says: “In February, 1833, before the Indian title was extinguished, William Morgan, son and daughter, Isaac Canterberry and family, Lewis Walters and family, Charles Teas, Joseph B. Teas, Benjamin Tucker, John Ward, son and daughter, Isaac Crenshaw and family, Morton M. McCarver and family, Simpson S. White and family, with, perhaps, two or three other parties, whose names are not remembered now, made a venture on the Indian tract, within Des Moines County. The little company made claims, erected cabins, built rail fences, and, as soon as the season (which appears to have been an ‘early’ one) would permit, planted corn and sowed some grain. The troopers, under orders from Col. Davenport, rushed down upon the colony, destroying cabins, laying waste the just-sprouting grain fields, and driving the settlers from the claims they had made. The families took refuge in flatboats, and hastily conveyed what of their household goods and live-stock they could secure across the river to Big Island.
   “The title remained in the Indians until June 1, 1833. At this time, Richard Chaney resided at Fort Madison, and Dr. Garland and Mr. Campbell, and, perhaps, a few others on the half-breed tract. After June 1, 1833, the country was settled very rapidly; as every one then had the liberty of taking to themselves a claim of half a section of land, one-quarter of timber and one of prairie, and the right to purchase as many claims as he had the money for. This rule occasioned much disturbance by new emigrants coming into the country and finding one man holding more than one claim. It drove them back into the new region against their will.”
   A “Citizen of Burlington” wrote to the Patriot, in June, 1839, the following brief statement concerning the pioneer settlement of the country. After telling of the original claims made by M. M. McCarver and S. S. White, on the present site of Burlington (which are spoken of more particularly in the chapter on Burlington), prior to the extinguishment of the Indian title, the correspondent said:
   “In October, 1832, there were some twelve or fifteen individuals who crossed the river in canoes, at the head of the Big Island, and landed at the claim of Smith, which extended two miles south of Burlington as it now is. The company made an excursion of a few miles around the edge of the timber, in the town prairie, laying claims for future settlement. But little was done by them until February, 1833. At that time, they brought over their stock, and commenced building and cultivating the soil; but, to their great detriment, they were driven by the Government soldiers, from Rock Island, across the river to the Big Island, taking with them their implements of husbandry and their stock. Their cabins and fences were set on fire and entirely destroyed. Notwithstanding all this, they held a council, and pretty unanimously agreed to hold on to their new homes. They built a flatboat, and resolved to watch for an opportunity to cross over the stream, and continue the cultivation of their claims. Many of these worthy individuals, after returning and making a small improvement, sold out, at a trifling advance, to such as were more able to carry on the work and preferred buying claims to going back and taking up wild lands, some of the original settlers remained and placed their farms under a high state of improvement.
   “After a close, hard winter (1833-34), the river remaining blocked with ice until late in the spring, the prospects of the little settlement began to brighten, especially when boats began to arrive. During the winter, however, we enjoyed ourselves with the Indians, in smoking the pipe and telling stories of war-skirmishes. Almost every day, we gave chase with our dogs after the wolves which appeared opposite our little village on the river. One morning, there were no less than half a dozen in a pack, and we started out. One of our dogs overhauled and killed three of the brutes before we could reach him, and then started after the others; but he was so exhausted when we overtook him, about two miles above the islands, that he could not keep his hold, and the wolf disappeared, after the loss of much blood. The dog belonged to Isaac Crenshaw, who [subsequently] rented the Barret farm, and was one of the sufferers by the soldiers from Rock Island.
   “In regard to the improvements of 1834, we had some accessions to our village, of very good citizens, and several frame and log buildings were erected. But our farmers went far ahead, in improvement, of any people I ever saw who were laboring under such disadvantages. Every one was trying to excel in making the largest improvement and planting the most grain. I can scarcely remember one who broke less than thirty acres, and some broke even sixty and eighty. Those who had the largest improvements and who had to stand the brunt of hardships in the new settlement were William Stewart, Richard Land, W. R. Ross, William Morgan, Lewis Walters, Isaac Canterberry, E, Smith, Paris Smith, P. D. Smith, Isaac Crenshaw, B. B. Tucker, E. Wade and father, and some few others who sold out and went further west, or left the country. A few of the pioneers died early; among them were John Harris and William Wright, with, possibly, a few whose names I have forgotten.”
   There was a settlement near the mouth of Long Creek, northeast of Augusta made by six or seven families from Indiana, in July, 1833, eight miles west of Burlington.
   In July, 1833, William R. Ross crossed the Mississippi River and landed on the Iowa side one-half mile below the mouth of Flint River. Morton M. McCarver and Simpson S. White were the only residents in that immediate vicinity at that time. When Mr. Ross arrived, he saw corn growing, but no fences were standing. Col. Morgan had fifty acres of corn on his farm, three miles southwest of Burlington, which was the first claim he made. These evidences of improvement were the remains of the attempts at settlement in the preceding spring.
   The claims made by Morton and White extended from the mouth of Hawk-Eye Creek to the mouth of Flint River, and were a half-mile in width. This territory included the site of the original trading-post with the Indians.
   William Morgan arrived the second time, with his family, September 10, 1833, from Sangamon County, Ill. Among his children was Miss Matilda. He made a claim below Hawk-Eye Creek, called Lower Burlington, at a later date, where he built a cabin in September.
   The first death which occurred in the settlement was that of William Ross, father of William R. Ross. This death took place in October, 1833.
   The first marriage solemnized in this region was that of William R. Ross and Matilda Morgan, which was observed on the 3rd day of December, 1833. The ceremony took place under a sycamore-tree, on the east bank of the Mississippi, and was performed by Judge Allen, of Monmouth. This wedding is referred to in the chapter on Burlington.
   Prior to the formal attachment of Iowa to Michigan Territory, which was accomplished in the winter of 1833-34, but was not enforced until some time in 1834, this region was governed by a primitive system of “claim laws,” adopted by the settlers, and supervised by certain officers chosen for the purpose. This state of affairs lasted but a little more than one year.

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