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In this chapter it is the design to present some of the interesting and peculiar phases of frontier life. It is not the purpose to here portray conditions and circumstances that apply to every case, but to pick out from the mass of material some of the most extreme cases, and belonging properly to the extreme frontier. While as a means of variety here and there are stated occurrences and conditions which have existed up to within a very recent day. It is impossible to single out Cass county as an isolated case in the description of pioneer life, for it finds its parallel in almost every county in the State and throughout the entire west. And it is, on the other hand, just as impossible to limit the portrayed so as to just precisely fit and cover given cases and territory. Pioneer life must be taken as a whole, and as it existed a third of a century ago in the west. Some of the illustrations may not apply to the exact manner in which this or that particular settler got along, nor is it the intention that it should, but it is attempted to show what has been done in the early development of the Great West.

But a little more than a third of a century ago Cass county was not in existence, the territory comprising it was as wild and desolate as the Indians who inhabited it; and there was not a white settler within its boundaries. When the Mormons, and others of the determined pioneers of Cass county settled here, they found an unbroken, uncultivated and uninhabited prairie. Wild beasts, and but little less wild savages roamed at will over the prairie, through the groves and forests and along the waters of the Botna river, their domain knowing no bounds. The miniature forests skirting the prairies were to be felled, cabins erected, homes prepared, mills built, and the river and creeks made to labor for the benefit of mankind. The beautiful prairies were to be robbed of their natural ornaments, and the hand of art was to assist in their decoration. Who was to undertake this work? What will be the effect of their labors upon future generations?

Cass county pioneers had many difficulties to contend with, not the least of which was the journey from civilization to their prairie homes. The route lay for the most part through a rough country; swamps and marshes were crossed with great exertion and fatigue; rivers were forded with difficulty and danger; nights were passed on open prairies, with the sod for a couch and the heavens for a shelter; long, weary days and weeks of travel were endured, but finally the "promised land" was reached.

Transcribed by Cheryl Siebrass, January, 2025 from: "History of Cass County, Together with Sketches of Its Towns, Villages and Townships, Educational, Civil, Military and Political History: Portraits of Prominent Persons, and Biographies of Old Settlers and Representative Citizens", published in 1884, Springfield, Ill: Continental Historical Co., pp. 261-262.