History » 1915 History of Iowa County

CHAPTER IV
SPECIAL ARTICLES

IOWA COUNTY IN PREHISTORIC TIMES

By Dr. Charles T. Noe

The story of the prehistoric inhabitants of Iowa County can only be written after the thorough study of the traces, imprints and relics left by them which have withstood the ravages of time for centuries, remains of constructive works which are scattered over hills and valleys, and of those imperishable objects of their handicraft which occasionally fall into our hands.

Unfortunately no data on the prehistoric remains of Iowa County are at hand which could lay claim to completeness, and as far as known to the writer no careful and scientific study of such remains by the national Government, stat or private individual has ever been made, and the time most favorable for such a study is rapidly passing away. The stone implements which are found in our fields are bought up and scattered into collections in the entire world, the remains of earthworks are leveled by the plow and the graves of the ancient inhabitants are obscured and destroyed.

Before the coming of the white man our county was the home of the Indian who roamed at will over the broad prairies and wooded hills. Of his life history we know considerable through records kept by the early settlers and explorers, through the traditions and legends handed down through many generations of the Indians themselves. We know of their nomadic life, of their limited agriculture, their dependence on the chase, their customs of home life, of marriage and of death. Their stories picture to us their simple tepees, their villages and their councils; they tell us of their bloody feuds, of the extermination of their enemies, their wanderings in search of new hunting grounds, and finally we learn their side of the story of the coming of the white man.

But when did the Indian come, whence did he come, and who was here before him? These are questions to which we may never hear an answer, but much can yet be learned by careful study, and we may some day be able to form much more definite conclusions than we can at the present time.

Gathering the meager data on the subject, the records of the work done by the archeologists and ethnologists, we come to the conclusion that Iowa County can be included in the territory formerly occupied by the so-called mound builders, a prehistoric race to which the earlier writers were inclined to attribute a higher culture than was possessed by the Indian found by the white man on his arrival in the New World. This contention has, however, been disproved by the

58 59

exhaustive researches carried on by the Bureau of American Ethnology, showing that there were certain tribes of Indians who practiced mound-building even as late as the time of De Soto, and it is reasonable to infer that these tribes had in the distant past occupied the various regions where mounds are now found, but who had finally been displaced by the Indians, whose few remaining descendants we can see at the present day wandering about the county and who know nothing about the so-called Indian mounds.

These prehistoric structures are scattered here and there over the hilltops along the Iowa River throughout its entire course through the county, and perhaps along some of the minor creeks and rivers. Arranged in groups or rows they usually occupy some prominent hill, which forms a natural vantage-ground and look-out over the broad valley of the Iowa. They are low elevations from two to four feet in height and twenty to forty feet in diameter, circular or sometimes oval in outline, and often overgrown with tall timber or brush, so that the casual observer may readily overlook them. That these mounds required a large amount of labor for their construction becomes evident when we consider that the seasons of centuries have passed over them and worn them down from a size which must have been much greater than now. What object their construction had is difficult to say; they may have been elevations that bore the lodges of their builders; they may have had a ceremonial purpose, or they may have been built as last resting places for the distinguished dead. that the latter is doubtless true of some of them is evidenced by the fact that in nearly every group one or more can be found to contain the remains of skeletons, usually in a sitting posture and sometimes in close proximity to rude vessels of unglazed pottery which crumble into dust when excavated. Others contain only charred stones and ashes, and some nothing at all.

That the people who built these strange structures were numerous we can gather from the number of mounds which can be found. The writer knows of several dozens in Amana Township alone, and doubtless as many can be found in the other townships along the river.

Besides the mounds the other remains left by our predecessors are the various types of implements and weapons which were made of imperishable material. Living entirely in the Stone Age previous to the advent of the white man these primitive people knew nothing of the working or utilization of metals, and therefore no metallic implements of any kind are found. Doubtless many of the things in daily use by them have completely disappeared on account of the fact that they were made of perishable material. Their houses, tents, household goods and most kitchen utensils were of this class. On the other hand, articles made of stone, shell, pottery and bone have been found in abundance. In Iowa County we find these relics in fields and along hillsides, where they are washed out by the rains, particularly along the water courses. The type most frequently encountered is the arrow-head, usually made of flint of various colors. Arrows form the bulk of the collections in the county; out of 1,500 local specimens comprising the writer's collection over one thousand are of this type. Next in frequency is the spear head, only arbitrarily differentiated from the preceding type by its size, which is from 2 1/2 to 6 inches in length. Besides these there are grooved and ungrooved axes made of various kinds of granite, greenstone, flint, etc. We find rude hoes made of flint, also scrappers, knives, drills and per-

60

forators. In a class by themselves are various objects about the use of which we know very little and which are distinguished by superior workmanship, peculiar shape and often showy material from which they are made. These are the gorgets, bannerstones, plummets, stone rings, birdstones and various other types. They are classed together as ceremonials on the supposition that they were worn or used on ceremonial occasions, which were frequent among the aborigines.

Altogether the study of these remains of people long since vanished is one of deepest interest, and it is only to be hoped that conscientious preservation of what little remains, careful study of the artifacts in collections, comparison of the facts known about different races, and especially a liberal support on part of our state and federal Government of the researches in this direction, will bring us an understanding of the extinct races of our country which will equal our present knowledge of the ancients of the Old World.

THE SCOTCH SETTLEMENT IN HILTON TOWNSHIP

By John Cownie

Among the early settlements of Iowa County was what was known as the Scotch settlement in Hilton Township.

In 1854 David Fleming, john Cownie, Sr., David Walker and William McLeod, all born in Scotland, entered eighty acres each in section 12 of what is now Hilton Township. at the time of making the entry at the general land office at Iowa City all were residents of Scott County, Iowa, having rented a farm near Davenport. Prairie was broken in the summer of 1856, and in the fall of that year John Cownie, Sr., and David Walker, with their families, moved to Iowa County from Scott County, William McLeod following in 1857. David Fleming preceded them in the spring of 1856. three dwelling houses had been erected, each 12 by 14 feet, from native lumber cut from their own land north of what is now Homestead of the Amana Society, and sawed at a mill then located near the original Village of Homestead, which at that time consisted of several dwelling houses and a postoffice, also a station of a stage company operating a line of coaches from Iowa City to Des Moines, the capital of the state having been shortly before removed from Iowa City to Des Moines.

The winter of 1856-57 proved one of the coldest ever known in Iowa, the cold weather beginning early and continuing late into the following spring. The new settlers, with only an inch oak board and some sod piled around the cabins, suffered greatly from the cold. the only fuel was green oak, hauled over six miles by oxen, and with only a small cooking stove, few people can now realize the suffering experienced by these early settlers who were determined to make for themselves a home in what was then a wilderness covered with snow drifts.

David Fleming, being then unmarried, had sent to Scotland for his father and mother to come over and keep house for him. Accompanied by Alexander Welsh and his wife, a sister of David Fleming, with their three young children, the small cabin soon became well filled.

How little the early settlers realized the possibilities of our young state and its rapid growth was well illustrated by an incident that occurred in the spring

61

of 1857. On a Sunday afternoon in April of that year Robert Fleming, father of David, and I took a stroll over the bleak prairie to the south of the little settlement. Looking towards the south, east and west not a house could be seen so far as the eye could reach, and on the north only three little cabins, with stovepipes projecting through the roofs. There were no fences and a prairie fire had recently swept along, leaving the surface of the ground black with the ashes of the grass, which added to the desolate appearance of the landscape. As we viewed the surrounding country with no sign of life, but bleak and to all appearances a barren waste, the old man laid his hand upon my shoulder and gave vent to his feelings as he exclaimed, "Johnnie lad, Dave and your father keep saying that people will yet come and settle and improve this land, but let me tell you God Almighty himself will never live to be old enough to see this country settled, for none but fools would ever try to live here." The land on which we stood was later purchased and improved by Angus McLennan and sold in the winter of 1914-15 for $245 per acre.

The old man was, of course, very much discouraged; he and his estimable wife had left a comfortable home in Scotland to be with their son David, and the span of life was drawing too near its close for any hope of seeing much improvement in conditions during their lives.

THE FIRST CROP

The first crop was raised in 1857 and the yield of wheat was quite good, about twenty-five bushels an acre. Some of it was sold to the flour mill at Amana, but the main market was Iowa City. The price of wheat ranged from thirty-five to fifty cents per bushel in trade, money being almost impossible to secure.

In the following year corn and oats were hauled to Iowa City, the corn shelled and cleaned by a fanning mill, a hand sheller; the fanning mill was owned in partnership by these early settlers. The price then paid for corn was 12 cents and for oats 10 cents per bushel. It required three days to make the round trip, and as there was a large slough north of the little settlement that had to be covered before reaching the state road, it was necessary to have all of the grain in bags and to start by 3 o'clock in the morning.

On reaching the slough the oxen would go in as far as possible, until they had mired and were unable to go farther. They were then unhitched from the wagon and driven to solid ground. The driver then removed his somewhat scanty clothing, with the exception of a single garment, and bag after bag was shouldered and carried to solid ground after a great deal of stumbling among bogs, mud and water often knee deep.

When the entire load had thus been carried to dry land, the oxen were hitched to the point of the wagon tongue, and after much tugging the empty wagon was extricated, brought to solid ground, reloaded, and the journey to Iowa City resumed. The stopping place for the night was about two miles east of Iowa City. The oxen were allowed to graze until dark, when they were tied up, to be allowed to graze again at daylight, the driver spending the night wrapped in a quilt and reclining under the wagon bed.

62

The second day from home found the grain on the market at Iowa City. A few groceries and other articles were purchased, and the second night was spent at the same place as the first; the journey home occupying the third day.
A public road was petitioned for and established, and after weeks of gratuitous labor by these pioneers the slough was at length made passable. But it required loads of straw and brush, a culvert of oak rails, two ditches and an outlet for the water, with scores of loads of earth for the high land, before a solid foundation was secured. And there was no mention of taxes or complaint made, all giving the time and hard labor cheerfully to secure a road which was passable at any season of the year.

I have thus referred to those early days in Iowa County for the reason that the present generation have little conception of the trials and hardships of the early settlers, and take it for granted that conditions were always as they find them, little realizing that those who have made Iowa the greatest agricultural state in the Union were as grand and noble men and women as ever settled in a new county.

These early settlers to whom I have referred were all trained as farmers in Scotland, where agriculture is a science and where an apprenticeship has to be served in order to become a competent farm hand as much as to learn the trade of the carpenter or blacksmith.

The plowing done in those early days on the Scotch settlement would have been a revelation to our farmers today. Every furrow could be drawn as straight as a line and measured by rule as to depth and width. The small grain was sown by hand, no grain seeder then being available, but no streaks or laps were ever seen, in striking contrast to the present conditions with the great majority of fields of small grain, with their thick stripes and their evident effort to imitate the American flag, which is certainly carrying patriotism to the limit.

All the men named were expert stackers, all grain being stacked as soon as possible after harvesting and allowed to pass through the sweating process before threshing. I well remember of an extremely wet fall when thousands of bushels of grain were lost by farmers who had not learned to stack grain in the proper manner, and yet on the Scotch settlement not a single bushel of grain was lost, the stacks being the wonder of the men who owned the threshing machine and who had most serious trouble with wet grain, it being almost impossible to thresh.

With ample range on the prairie for cattle, cows were kept and butter and eggs were staple products cared for by the women, but prices were low in those early days, there being but little local demand and practically no shipments, as there was no railroad west of Iowa City.

I can well remember carrying a basket of eggs on one arm and a basket of butter on the other for a distance of eight miles to Marengo, and selling the eggs for 3 cents a dozen and the butter for 5 cents a pound in a store, and taking groceries in trade. Potatoes sold for 15 cents a bushel, but they had to be carefully selected, all small and imperfect tubers being rejected in order to command that price. Fat steers sold at 1 1/2 cents to 2 cents a pound, and the first hogs brought $1.75 per hundred-weight. The highest price was $2, when the weight was 200 pounds or over and dressed, but mine were young shoats, the $1.75 kind.

At an early date a schoolhouse was erected in the settlement, and in addition

63

to being used for the education of the children, also served for a meeting house on Sundays. A Presbyterian Church was organized, and ministers of that denomination held regular services every two weeks, many of the ministers coming long distances to preach.

In after years the schoolhouse that had been erected in the center of section 12 was moved to the center of the school district when the district was created, and still was used for church purposes. A minister from Williamsburg occupied the pulpit for a number of years and later the pastor of the Presbyterian Church at Marengo.

The only addition to the Scotch settlement on the land adjoining was made by Angus McLennan, Roderick McLennan and Donald McLennan, all natives of Scotland, and of course they became identified with the church, materially strengthening the little organization by their aid and support.

This addition to the little group of early settlers was cordially welcomed, as they at once joined with their countrymen in exchanging work of various kinds. Their help was needed, for the reputation of the Scotch settlement for excellent farm work was recognized and commented on by everyone who had an eye for scientific agriculture. Live stock, also, in due time assumed large proportions and the quality was of the best.

Much more might be written of this early settlement on the bleak and treeless prairie, the hardships and privations encountered, but the hard work, long hours, painstaking application, and above all, thorough and efficient work in every part of farm labor, brought its reward.

This account of the Scotch settlement would not be complete without a reference to Alexander Welsh, who had married a sister of David Fleming, and who, while employed in a large cut of grading west of Homestead, was caught by a fall of frozen ground and made a lifelong cripple. The physician who was called pronounced the leg broken, while in fact the hip was dislocated. William Welsh, a son of Alexander Welsh, is now the only one of the early settlers still engaged on the farm, which his mother purchased, and the size of which has been doubled in recent years.

The first of the men to be called by the angel of death from the Scotch settlement was William McLeod, who died at his home on the farm. David Fleming and John Cownie, Sr., both sold their farms and returned to their native Scotland, there to die and be buried. Alexander Welsh died at his farm home, and David Walker, having rented his farm, moved to Marengo, where death claimed him at a ripe old age. Donald McLennan has also been called to his long home, and Angus and Roderick McLennan at this writing are living in Marengo, enjoying the fruits of well-spent lives.

While the Scotch settlement in Hilton Township has now ceased to exist, and strangers occupy the old homes, the well-cultivated farms where scientific agriculture was at its best, the excellent crops produced, and the fine horses, cattle and hogs bred and raised, will stand as a monument to the energy, ability and painstaking application of those who gave so much to the development of the best in agriculture in Iowa County.

And not only in the material advancement of the county, but also in the support of the public school and furtherance of religion in the church and home, has this little settlement of faithful, devoted and earnest Christians done their

64

part well in laying the foundations of the great state of which we are all so justly proud—Iowa, our own Iowa.

SIDELIGHTS ON IOWA COUNTY HISTORY

By Dr. M. Etta Coxe

George Catlin, while pursuing his calling as an artist among the Indians, found time to examine this portion of the new Northwest with great care. His observations convinced him that the spot later Iowa City had every natural advantage combined for a fit location for the capital of the state that a few years later would have no equal. He had gathered from Indians information in regard to streams and forests; he had made particular investigation of the quality and the capacity of the soil for the purpose of agriculture, and while he claimed all was good, that "every acre of the Black Hawk Purchase is good for tillage," he gave to our portion the highest rank. Lieut. Albert Lee was stationed at old Fort Des Moines. He was a civil engineer. In 1835 he was placed in charge of an exploring expedition of the Des Moines and our other rivers. In the same year he published a map and book description of what he named the Iowa District. He was the first to apply the name of Iowa to the county now included in the State of Iowa. His descriptive work was well done and left the impression with his readers that he was a scholar and deep thinker, striving to aid his fellow men in obtaining a correct knowledge of a country that was but little known.

Schoolcraft, in 1823 and later, made himself familiar with this portion of the Valley of the Mississippi and its inhabitants. He described the beauties of our landscapes, the grandeur of our forests, the great commercial value of our sparkling streams, and with the vision of a seer he pointed out the vast importance of our prairies as an everlasting mine of agricultural wealth. Having been the chief agent for procuring the United States by treaty with the Indians 16,000,000 acres of forest and plain, he urged his pencil and tongue to guide his fellow men to homes of plenty and pleasure in this great West.

Hon. Phillip Clark and Elil Myers were Johnson County's first white settlers. With the help of the Indians they cut and hauled material with which to build homes upon their prospective farms. The fourth day after their arrival from Indiana, Johnson County, Wis., had within its borders two farms and the same number of dwelling houses. The description as given to my father a few years later was as follows: They were eight feet wide, ten feet long and four feet in height, roofed with coarse grass and constructed with quaking-asp and willow poles. The entrance was over the side logs, and no provision was made for heating the interior, and light was admitted through the cracks. There you have the first two farm houses in this part of the country. Their owners estimated their joint value as $4.50. This was in the fall of 1836. In 1837 Dr. Isaac N. Leesh, Jacob Earhart, John and Henry Earhart, William Devaul, Tom Bradley, Sam and James Walker, Henry Falkner, S. C. Trowbridge, William Sturgee, George Hawkins, John Cane, S. B. Mulholl and James Messey all arrived from Indiana. Mrs. Messey was the mother of the only child in the settlement; Mrs. Hawkins gave birth to a son, the first to be born in the settle-

[64a]

[PHOTO]
MRS. SYBIL TILL, MRS. CHARLES CARTWRIGHT, MRS. S. J.
THOMPSON, EVERETT COUCH, MRS. WINIFRED COUCH
Taken Thirty Years Ago

65

ment. I can truthfully say that I knew him, also the first girl born; her name was Fannie White.

IMMIGRATION INTO THE COUNTY

In 1837 twenty single men came into the county. Of these one returned and one died. Eight married men with their wives came in, also with their children. On New Year's Day, 1838, there wee nine white children in the county and eleven log cabins, seven yoke of oxen and three two-horse teams. It was a time of general desire among men for a wider scope for trade, broader fields to till and better homes in which to dwell. With the sale by the Indians of the land known as the Black Hawk Purchase, the Mississippi ceased to be the western limit of civilization, and before the Indians had vacated their bartered wigwams the white man was here, ready to scatter the ashes of their council fires and convert their hunting grounds and burial places into fields of waving grain. During the summer and fall of 1838 the axe and braking plow of the whites made many changes in this long-time home of the red man. As the original glory of the country in its natural state is now only known in story or song, a description of the face of Nature as first it smiled upon the pioneers is worthy of place here, as told by my father, a pioneer of 1842. The settlers found what Thomas H. Benton had described in his paper, the St. Louis Enquirer, as a waterless, treeless and barren plain; a gently rolling country, covered from hilltop to valley with many grapes, wild oats and rye. Along the water courses was to be found wild rice in abundance and the stately pampas grass. From early spring to the frost of autumn the eyes of the pioneer drank in the beauty of a natural flower garden, extending in every direction to the horizon. The wild phlox, the rose and the modest penstemon waved their splendid colors from the midst of a sea of lilies, orchids, Indian pinks, stately blue delphernum, perennial larkspur and the delicate blue lobelias and trailing gentian flowers. Along the lines of the water courses were lines of blue and yellow flag, overtopped by the waving blaze of the cardinal flowers. In the timber portion along the streams the columbine, honeysuckle and sweetbrier, covered by the clinging wild clematis, added their perfume to the sweet breath of the forest. In the beautiful groves which dotted the landscape the smilax, ground nuts, wild pea, hop and woodbine climbed upward, while deep in the forest shade the spikeard, ginseng, may apple and prickly ash grew in profusion. In the forest, black, white, red burr and pin oak grew in profusion. Shellbark and white hickory, walnut, butternut, hard and soft maple, the coffee tree, red and white elms, birch, sycamore, ash, cottonwood, all were growing unmarred by axe or saw. Of fruit, wild plums in endless variety and quality were in season three months, early and late varieties, gooseberries in spring and blackberries were plentiful, nuts and acorns were abundant. The white and burr oak acorns supplied nearly all the food required for growing and fattening hogs and in pioneer days furnished a part of the fall and winter food for cattle and horses. Then coffee made from parched acorns was not an uncommon drink among the settlers. Hay was growing everywhere.

Water was plentiful and so well distributed that in any direction which one wished to travel running water could be found. There were also many small ponds and lakes scattered over the country.

Vol. I—5 66

METHODS OF LIVING AND PROTECTION

To some of the problems that were presented for solution an answer to one would have been an answer to all. The first great want was houses. The first work done in the new country was the construction of cabins. These were of course built of logs, some having floors and doors of slabs, more often with no floor at all. A square hole, cut high in the south wall of the cabin, answered for a window. The usual length of the cabin was sixteen feet. I remember seeing, while a child, many of these pioneer buildings. Until recently there were two of these cabins in Iowa County at Hinkletown and one near North English and were being used by renters of the land upon which they stood as dwellings. The roof of the pioneer cabin was made of the various material at hand. The furniture consisted of slab benches and bedsteads made of round poles stuck in the cabin walls. The furniture of the kitchen was very scanty. A cast-iron bake oven, a few iron pots, a bucket, some tin cups, a coffee pot and brooms. The latter were made of hickory slits and were heavy enough to develop all the muscle a pioneer woman found use for many times in defending herself from the dangers which surrounded her pioneer home. Too little has been said of the pioneer mother whose assistance, courage and sacrifice has laid the foundations of the modern home. Giving birth to her children with no skilled assistance, bearing the labor of weaving their clothing, teaching them truths of life and many other duties which fell to her lot, is it any wonder that her sons grew up noble, thoughtful and brave?

It was not an uncommon thing for a man to be sent out to borrow a bake oven, and would probably call at several places before he could find one which was not in use. He often waited until some neighbor finished baking her own corn pone. Corn meal was the one breadstuff and very hard to get, the nearest point being Monmouth, Ill. Money was just as scarce as meal. Corn was the first staple food grown by the settlers on their own clearings. Probably no crop ever grown in Iowa County was so closely watched as that first crop of corn. I have been told that when the roasting ears developed sufficiently the tables of the county were first supplied with vegetable food in plenty. So the first season of succotash, corn fritters and corn pudding passed. As the corn matured, sheet iron graters came into demand with which to convert the hardened corn into coarse, soft meal. Anyone who possessed a joint of stovepipe and a sharpened nail could easily manufacture a grater. When the corn was dry enough to grind each neighborhood would load a wagon with corn, with two yoke of oxen hitched securely to it. Some of the single men would go to Illinois to mill, returning in ten or twelve days with a load of unbolted meal and with plenty of wild game. The following fall there were harvested in the county about fifty acres of corn, some buckwheat, potatoes, corn beans and pumpkins. The next improvement the settlers undertook was to fence their breaking to prevent, in part, the deer from making paths across their grain fields. Many of the deer became so tame that it was a common occurrence to see them feeding with the stock. These fences were called warm or stake-and-rider fences. It required 1,600 cords of rails to fence ten acres. The farms were called clearings if in the timbered district, and the most of them were so situated as to have fair protection against the severe winters. The Indians said that the white men wasted more trees in

67

building a cabin, fence and stockade than all the Black Hawk tribe would destroy in a thousand moons. It has been said that the Indian women were often called to assist in caring for the pioneer mothers. At such times they proved to be very skillful, with a self-reliance which rendered them immune to fright or excitement. Thus civilization began in the new Northwest.

EARLY FARM METHODS

The following description was written by one who understood the early farm methods in Iowa County:

My father erected his home in Greene Township, near Old Man's Creek, and before long, with a good team of horses and an old-fashioned sod plow, began to cut and turn the virgin soil preparatory to raising a crop. Other men in the county at that time used oxen for motive power, not having horses. the plowman's necessary equipment for success were as follows: Plenty of patience, a whip, a plow file, a heavy hammer and a hunk of iron, to use as an anvil to cold hammer the plow share occasionally; the file with which to put the finishing touch on; and the patience came into good play when he encountered a stone, a root, or some other obstacle that jerked the plow, plowman and all clear out of the furrow. There were also numerous snakes to contend with--the rattlesnake, the bullsnake, the hissing viper, the blue racer, the housesnake, the gartersnake, the hornsnake, the yellow joint snake, the green joint snake, the blue black joint snake, the lizards, which could be seen by the hundreds.

Now as the virgin soil had been turned bottom side up and time had arrived for corn planting, we proceeded to plant corn by one of the following methods: By axing it in, by hoeing it in, heeling it in or dropping by hand, following the plow every third round and dropping the grain on top of the furrow, at such a place that the next furrow would barely cover it with its upper edge. This would produce what we called a crop of sod corn, either good or bad, according to the season and the condition of the sod. Plenty of rain was essential to a good crop. It was also essential for the sod to be well rotted. The early settlers did not have implement stores to which they could go and purchase farming tools, but were compelled of necessity to make them. When the ground was in condition for harrowing we set to work with three sticks of timber some four or five inches square, and perhaps six feet in length, and framed or bolted them together, which, when joined, would be a good representation of the letter A. Next, with an inch and a half augur, we bored holes in the ends and cross-pieces, into which we inserted huge pegs made from oak or hickory, then sharpened the lower ends of the pegs and our harrow was completed. A few years later the sod tearer was invented.

Much of the virgin soil contained so many tough roots that it was not uncommon to see a furrow of sod one-half mile long without a break in it. Some of the toughest roots were the wild indigo, shoestring, blue stem, rosin weed and sometimes a patch of hazel or buck brush. The rosin weed produced a white gum which was used as chewing gum by the lads of the early day.

After a few months spent in the little cabin in the brush we decided to venture out on to the broad, bleak prairie and erect another log cabin. A well was dug, which supplied water for the house, but for years our stock had to be taken

68

across the prairie to some creek or spring to quench their thirst, and as for ourselves, when working in the fields or on the prairie making hay, we have many times drank from a puddle containing many angle worms, crawfish and bugs, and the water would often be warm enough for dish water. Time rolled on and it became necessary to fence our farm. Father proceeded to the timber some eleven miles distant and split rails and hauled them, and a worm fence was built, which, when completed, was from seven to ten rails in height. Soon a new difficulty arose. More settlers were coming in, fires were started in the prairie grass, some were started by accident, some purposely, and on quite a few occasions campers had left fire where they had stopped for the night; the wind would arise and the fire would be scattered. Such a conflagration would rage across the prairies and perhaps hundreds or even thousands of acres would be seared before the fire went out. In many cases the fires would burn all night.

When the soil had become well rotted and the corn big enough to need attention, we plowed it with a cultivator having but one shovel, which was made from a triangular-shaped piece of iron, with which it was necessary to plow two rounds to each row of corn. The cultivator was used in the field more or less until the silk made its appearance on the young ears of corn. The worst weed we had to contend with in the corn field in those days was a species of smart weed, rarely seen except on new land. It grew down close to the ground and had a firm grip on the earth. Hoes were extensively used in the fields in those days.

Another advanced step was taken in the method of planting corn. The cultivator referred to was used to draw a shallow furrow for each row of corn, the corn was then dropped into the furrow, about every three feet, then covered over with a hoe or by cross harrowing, three of us dropping and one furrowing off. We planted as much as seven acres in one day.

The time came when we were raising a little spring wheat, oats and flax. The method of threshing grain, after it had been harvested with the craddling scythe and was well cured, was to prepare a circular piece of ground, usually from sixteen to twenty feet in diameter, by taking a sharp spade and shaving off the surface until it was quite smooth and level; after this was done a pole some eight or ten feet high was set upright in a hole dug in the center of the circular patch of ground. To this pole two horses were usually tied with long ropes, and a lad mounted on one of the horses with a small gad. The grain had been evenly spread upon the prepared ground and then the horses were started on a long tramp, tramping out the grain on the ground, a process which was very monotonous to the horses and, speaking from experience, the rider was very glad when the noon hour and nightfall arrived. The grain, during the tramping process, was turned over with a forked stick, and as soon as it was tramped out the straw was removed and the grain gathered up and winnowed out. A fresh supply was spread upon the floor and the tramping process was continued.

The snowfall during some of the winters was very heavy. I believe that it was in the winter of 1866 that we arose and discovered that the snow had drifted to the eaves of the little cabin. Our fences were all snowed under and our stock scattered hither and thither. Our inclosures for stock were all under snow. After the snow fell the weather turned colder and the snow froze hard. We could drive in any direction across the prairie over high fences. We had just put

69

out a washing before the snow and it was six weeks before we were enabled to find all of it. Heavy snows were common, but this was one of the heaviest I ever saw. Our cabin was covered with clapboards, as was the custom in those days, and the snow would blow between them and sift down through the loft into our faces as we lay in bed. The last thing the good mother would do before retiring was to see if the five children were in bed, covered up head and all so that the snow would not lodge in their faces. It was a common occurrence after a snowstorm had subsided for some one of the family to ascend to the loft and scoop the snow out before it melted.

As we pass along it might be well to describe the bedsteads installed in some of the cabins. One method of constructing a bedstead was to place along in the walls, angling across the corner of the cabin at a convenient height, into which pegs were set about six inches apart. A small rope was then procured and strung back and forth between the pegs in the logs to corresponding pegs in the cabin. A later method of construction was to procure two round poles to serve as side rails, set the pegs into them, fasten them to corner posts, nail on end rails, then string the pegs with the rope and the bedstead was completed.

Not a cabin was complete without the fireplace. The hearth was laid with brick or stone and the chimney usually built with the same materials, or wooden slats built up with mud or lime mortar. In our cabin the hearth was made of flat limestone, under which the rats burrowed and made nests and reared their young, and as their disgusting habits are nocturnal, the soucy little rodents would emerge from under the hearth every night, especially in the winter, and skip about the fire, evidently warming themselves and eating such things as suited their tastes. They would sometimes bite some of the family or anyone who chanced to be there during the night. My brother was bitten on the great tow while asleep. A servant girl who was employed to assist in the household duties was also bitten, whereupon she cried, "Murder!" But as that was a common expression with some people in those days when they were frightened, hurt or alarmed, the family thought nothing, but someone proceeded to make a light to ascertain how badly she was bitten.

The various kinds of lights used in those days were, first, the grease light, then the grease lamp, and then the tallow candle.

When the sod had become well rotted, watermelons, pumpkins and potatoes did quite well. Among the various kinds of potatoes grown were: The calico, white mechanic, California peach blow, long red, lady finger, the long red being the post prolific.

For several years after Iowa became a state, apples were hauled in from other states.

After the chaff piling threshing machine was introduced the threshing of grain was not so great a task as it was formerly. But as the straw carrier had not yet been invented, it became necessary to remove the straw and chaff from the rear end of the machine, either with horses or by some other method, any of which were very disagreeable, as the chaff and dust would fill the eyes, nose, ears and mouth. It was nevertheless an improvement.

One other advance had been made in the corn cultivator, which then had two shovels instead of one. A row of corn was planted every round of the horse and plowman, which was gratifying to the farmers. But while this was

70

true, new and additional weeds were added to the farmer's list of pests, among them being the milkweed, the black-eyed swan, both of which are with us unto the present day; the latter was introduced into this country as a garden flower by some English people.

Other improvements had been made to facilitate corn planting. A Farmer a few miles distant had purchased a two-horse plant for about seventy-five dollars and we could hire it for about fifteen cents per acre. The ground when ready to plant was first marked off with a kind of sled; the first one to appear made two marks at once and in a few years some one made an improvement upon the market and it made three marks. About this time we thought we would cap the climax. We made two wooden axles which would fit our wagon wheels, one short and one long one, coupled them together, and made four marks at a time, which was easy on the team, and by this improvement forty acres could be marked off in a few hours. The ground being marked, two persons, a driver and a dropper, a team of horses, and the new corn planter, would plant from ten to fifteen acres per day. The most common variety of corn planted during those days was the "bloody butcher," although more or less white corn was grown.

A threshing machine had been introduced with a short straw carrier attachment known as the "buffalo pitts", which was quite an improvement over the old chaff piler. In connection with this thresher was introduced a system of tallying the number of bushels of grain threshed.

THE IRISH PIONEERS

Outline of the Part Played in the Development of Iowa County By the Sons
and Daughters of Erin

By J. P. Gallagher

The person who, today, looks over the list of names of Iowa County's residents, cannot but notice the strikingly large number of names that unmistakably denote a Celtic origin. The bearers of these names are generally natives of Iowa County and an inquiry will reveal the fact that their parents came from Ireland and were among the very first to locate in this part of the state.

It was away back in the days between 1843 and 1854 that the first of the wandering Celts formed that Irish settlement known as Old Man's Creek. Michael Duffy came in 1843; Charles Gillin came in 1844; John Furlong came in the early '40s and Thomas, John, Stephen and Edward Hanson were in Troy Township at an early date. Thomas and Stephen came in 1845 and their brothers soon followed, giving the locality the name of Hanson Settlement. Thomas Boyle came to Greene Township in 1849. He was fresh from the Mexican war and his land warrant covered the old Boyle homestead near the present site of Holbrook. Edward Pratt moved into Greene Township almost as soon as the Indians moved out; this was in the early '40s.

From 1850 to 1860 the Old Man's Creek Settlement was increased by many: Thomas Hannon, James Donohoe, John Cash, Andrew Black, Admund and William Butler, Thomas and Matt Gray, John Smith, Mrs. Quinn and her sons

71

Hugh and John, Patrick Byrne, Martin Maher, Hugh McDonald, James O'Donell, James McShane and others, whose names are not now recalled, were the pioneers of the Irish settlement of Old Man's Creek. Old St. Michael's Church was built to afford the sons of Erin an opportunity to worship in the faith of St. Patrick. Here on Sundays and Holy-days the scattered settlers gathered and by 1867 the splendid brick church was built under the direction of Father P. J. Sullivan. The congregation became the second largest Catholic congregation in Iowa, Dubuque alone exceeding it in number.

The history of this congregation is a history of trials and sacrifices and in all these the congregation of St. Michael's was never found wanting. In the early days of the settlement the spiritual wants of the members was supplied by priests from outside missions. Mass was celebrated in the home of one of the settlers and it is of record that Thomas Hanson frequently brought the priest from Iowa City in a lumber wagon drawn by a yoke of oxen. Bishop Loras, of Dubuque, once made the trip in this manner.

THE SCATTERED CELTS

Outside what was known as Old Man's Settlement there were numbers of Irish pioneers in Iowa County. Fillmore Township had John, Martin, Andrew and P. W. Rock, four brothers who located here in 1854. Thomas Shuell, father of T. J. Shuell, M. Newcomb, Dennis and Michael Callan, Edward Carroll, Martin Tierman, James Tierman, Henry Masterson, John Dowes, Edward Raher, Anthony Carney, Michael Giblin, John Naughton, ---- Mullin and John Jennings were also among the pioneers of Fillmore. These names yet abound in the old precinct.

English Township invited many a son of Erin and in the list we find Edward Berry, a native of Cork, locating here in 1853. He had four sons, John, James, Stephen, and Edward. Loughlin Murrin located in the township in 1855; Matt Rush, from County Mayo in 1856; John Kelly, from Dublin in 1856; Michael O'Hara, from Galway in 1855; John Brammon from Galway in 1857 and Michael Riley, from Cork, in 1860. The offspring of these pioneers are still in English Township and enjoy the respect and esteem of all.

In Dayton Township we find Michael Cunningham founding his home in 1857, Martin Hughes in 1858, and Frank Gribbin in 1857. Luke Fitzgerald was also in Dayton at an early date.

Iowa township was also visited by the Irishman at an early period: Kinney Grove takes its name from its first settler who located here in the early '50s, but remained only for a year, returning to Connecticut. Patrick Dalton located in Kinney Grove in 1856, and his good name is remembered in his three sons, James, John and Alfred, all resident of the old neighborhood.

In Hilton Township we find James Conroy, almost direct from the banks of the Shannon, locating near the present town of Conroy in 1856. Peter White soon followed and Mrs. White and a portion of her family still occupy the old homestead. Here son, James A., is now a state senator from this district. John Mulherin, now of Williamsburg, located in Hilton in 1857. His family consists of eight sons and one daughter and are well known in the county, although

72

several of the sons reside near Cedar Rapids. Michael Dolphin was also in Hilton in 1857. Other early Celts in Hilton were Stephen Glenn and William McSwiggin. Mr. Glenn resides in Marengo and is the father of J. J. Glenn, publisher of the Marengo Democrat and postmaster of Marengo.

Sumner Township in its real early days did not receive many of the Irish pioneers, but in 1853 we find John Aiken establishing his home. Between 1860 and 1870 we see the first real influx of Irish into Sumner Township. It was this period that bought Michael Sullivan, John McDonald, father of county supervisor McDonald, Michael Crane, Bernard Flanagan, William Harrigan, one of the California "forty-niners," making two trips across the Isthmus of Panama and two around the Horn. During this period also we find John Martin, John Konich, Peter Shaughnessy, Patrick Dowd, John Stone, Michael Rohan, Joseph Murtha, Patrick Murtha, Francis McNally, Peter McGiverin, Patrick Kirby, father of Atty. J. F. Kirby, now of Williamsburg, and John Scandridge, father of William, James, Joseph, Robert and Thomas Scandridge, all of Iowa County. Besides these there are six daughters, Mrs. Walter Davis of Williamsburg being one of them.

During the period from 1860-1870 Troy township became richer by the moving in of William Welsh, Edward Boland, afterwards representative in the Legislature, Charles Boland and John and S. R. Blythe. With the exception of William Welsh this list of Troy Celts is still with us and their sons and daughters are a credit to their parents as well as the race from which they spring.

Not many Irishmen were Pilot pioneers, but Terrence Donohoe was among the early ones in that township. A typical son of the sod was Terrence and he died but a few years ago at an advanced age, his wife soon following. They left a splendid family of four sons and three daughters: Patrick, Timothy, John and Thomas, Bridget, Hannah and Mrs. W. H. Neal.

In the list of the sons of these old Celts of Iowa County the race has nothing for which to be ashamed. Their sires came here with practically empty hands and but scant educational advantages. But they were thrifty, frugal, ambitious and none showed more readiness or more willingness to bestow upon their children the advantages afforded by good schools. In the list of their sons we find prominent churchmen, well-known schoolmen, lawyers, doctors, skilled mechanics, bankers, public officials and farmers and stockbreeders whose names are known in many states. As citizens they are as good as the best and on all public questions they betray an insight and intellect as keen as the keenest. Americans, every one of them, and Iowa County is richer for their presence.

RECOLLECTIONS OF AN OLD SETTLER*

When I came to Iowa County, on June 11, 1852, I found a county newly settled and with very few improvements, abounding in large stretches of prairie and considerable bodies of timber, the latter mostly along the Iowa River and its tributaries. The timber consisted of oak, ash, elm, black walnut, butternut, basswood, hard and soft maple, hickory and cottonwood. The houses were mostly

———
* The old settler referred to in the above is G. Tanner, now of Cedar Rapids, Ia. [72a]

    

73

one story log cabins, generally about 18 by 20 feet in dimensions. The inhabitants consisted mostly of hard-working people from several states--Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, a few from the eastern states, and likewise a few from the European countries, England, Ireland, Wales, Scotland and Germany. These pioneers were hustlers, for it was invariably a case of "root hog or die." Money was very scarce. Consequently, everything was very cheap. Dressed pork sold from $1.75 to $2 per hundred and cut corn was 10 cents per bushel. The farmers would load their wheat on wagons and haul it to Muscatine, sell it for 35 or 40 cents, and take the pay in merchandise. Milk cows could be bought for $10; horses from $40 to $50. Wages were low. There were no mills in the county and the nearest one outside was at Iowa City. Sometimes the pioneers would have to wait ten days or two weeks to get their grist; and again the water would come up in the rivers and compel them to wait at home until fording was possible. I have heard pioneers say that for weeks they had no bread but that made of corn meal, the meal ground by scraping upon a piece of tin, upon which many holes had been punched with a nail. One man said that for six weeks he and his family had nothing to eat but baked squash and game he killed in the forest, also a few fish he caught in the streams. He told of his eldest son who got fearfully tired of a steady diet of squash, and every time they would sit down to the table the son would hold up his plate and say, "Pap, give me a little of that damn squash."

There were several religious denominations in the county: Methodists, Presbyterians and a few Catholics. The Methodists were the most numerous, with the Presbyterians a close second. The Methodists, who were of the old "shouting" kind, were in the habit of holding camp meetings, generally in the vicinity of a grove and running water. Tents would be arranged in a hollow square, each tent sheltering several people. Many people would come from a distance, totally unprepared for self-accommodation: they would expect the tenters to shelter them and provide them with food. At every afternoon service the owners of the tents could be seen going through the congregation, inviting everyone they met to lodge at their tent and refresh the "inner man" at their expense. How different is this from the present time!

When I came to Iowa County there were no places that could be called a town, without stretching the imagination considerably. Marengo was a small place, consisting of but fourteen dwellings, two stores, a blacksmith shop,, one hotel, one 1 1/2-story loghouse. There were but three dwellings built of anything but logs. There was a small postoffice, a stage station and a saloon.

In early settlement times there was considerable trouble over the acquiring of land. A great many people came out here without enough money to buy land; they would lay claim to pieces of land and make improvements, hoping that some time they would be able to pay for it. Then came the speculator, knowing that a rich harvest awaited him. He would buy up a vast amount of land and then wait until it became valuable. Very seldom the poor settler would receive a cent for his improvements. After a short time the settlers became so exasperated that they formed an organization known as the "claim gang." They had no legal recourse, so they resorted to acts of violence. In case a speculator would jump a claim he would be annoyed in many ways. If it was a timber claim the timber would be stolen or the trees girdled. If it was a settler who

74

jumped the claim and he had any improvements, they would be destroyed. One case of a man near Marengo who jumped a neighbor's claim resulted in the destruction of the former's barn, corn crib, grainary, straw stacks, a fine span of horses and a set of harness by fire. Another man had claim to forty acres of timber on Bear Creek about five miles from Marengo. On the Fourth of July, while he was at the celebration in town, the whole forty acres was girdled and ruined. In these times there were many men in the county who were criminals and outlaws, who would resort to any means to gain a living. Horses, cattle and chickens were stolen, and highway robbery was a frequent occurrence. There was a settlement on Bear Creek which was supposed to have been an organized band, or part of a gang of criminals extending from Iowa City to Des Moines, but they could not be convicted on account of lack of direct evidence. Finally, the people decided that patience ceased to be a virtue, and a number of men assembled in Marengo, proceeded to the settlement of the "thugs" and told them in vigorous terms that their presence in the community was no longer desirable. They were given ten days to move, and they obeyed well under that time limit.

Some of the early settlers of Marengo and vicinity were: William Wallace, J. C. Beem of Indiana, B. F. Crenshaw, R. B. Groff, William Dillin, William Downard, J. W. Grant, Joseph Ralliff, Jonathan Sowder, Legrand Brannan, James Slocum, Thomas Dillin, W. C. Morrison, John Hollowell, S. J. Murphy, John A. Wilson, Lewis Wilson, J. A. Richardson, Samuel Nicholson, Benjamin Nicholson, William Middlesworth, A. J. Morrison, Sam Howard, William Hench, Sr., William Hench, Jr., J. M. Sullenberger, Hibbard Richardson, Abner Richardson.

Early in the settlement of the state the Government had established a reservation, with a trading house, for the Indians, located one mile from the present Village of South Amana, on the Iowa River. It was managed by John Hutchinson. He was a veritable giant, 6 feet 9 inches in height, and his heart was as large as he was tall. He was a very popular man, especially among the Indians. Some time before I came to the county the Government had changed the location of the Indian farm to a place in Tama County, on the south side of the Iowa River, opposite Tama City, but early in the spring of 1852 the Indians became dissatisfied with that location and returned to Iowa County, refusing to stay in Tama. In the latter part of June, 1852, a company of Uncle Sam's soldiers came to Iowa County--and shortly afterward Iowa County had seen the last red man.

Just a word more of the old Methodist camp meetings on Honey Creek. At an early date the Methodists established a camp on the banks of Honey Creek, in Honey Creek Township, and meetings were held there annually, each lasting from one to two weeks. Immense crowds assembling from all over the surrounding country: the hospitality and method of caring for them has been described in the forepart of this article. There would be ministers here from all over the country, and after several days' preaching, exhorting and shouting--each taking turns, never giving the people a chance to breathe--they would arouse their audience to a frenzy of religious enthusiasm. Scenes of wild disorder resulted; the young men would jump to their feet and see which one could yell the loudest and jump the highest. Women would scream at the top of their

[74a]

CAMP MEETING DAYS IN IOWA COUNTY

75

voices and scores of people would rush pell-mell to the altar, fall on their hands and knees, and offer up prayers and supplications. Some would fall as if in a fit, some would become limp as a rope and some would become rigid as a gun barrel, some would become unconscious for hours, then arouse themselves and shoutingly proclaim that they had seen visions of the kingdom of heaven.

 

 

 

< PREVIOUS NEXT >