USA > Arkansas > A history of southern Missouri and northern Arkansas : being an account of the early settlements, the civil war, the Ku-Klux, and times of peace > Part 3
USA > Missouri > A history of southern Missouri and northern Arkansas : being an account of the early settlements, the civil war, the Ku-Klux, and times of peace > Part 3
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I have seen peddlers with one horse still loaded with goods and the other covered with fur skins, and I have seen them again after they had disposed of all their goods with all three horses completely covered with fur skins and sometimes so heavily loaded that the peddler would either be walking and leading or driving.
Money was scarce but the people spent very little money, were not in debt and lived much better and easier than they do now. Their counties were out debt and the county warrants were always at par.
When my father first located here, there were about four or five settlers in all of the territory that now belongs to Howell County ; there were but three men that res ded upon what is known as the middle bayou, William McCarty and his sons, Green and Willis.
In about three years after my father settled here, Mc- Carties sold out and located on the bayou above Bakers- field. In 1844 there was a man by the name of Thomas Hall who resided about 10 miles southwest of West Plains, a man by the name of Cyrus Newberry resided about 10 miles from where West Plains now is, and a man by the name of Braudwaters resided near where Moody is now lo- cated.
There was not a settlement in all the territory that now includes Howell valley. There had been a settlement, by a man who was a hunter, made at what is now termed the town spring at West Plains who had cleared five or six acres, but had left it. All the valleys in Howell coun -
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ty were considered worthless on account of there being 110 water.
When the country commenced settling, there was no attention paid to congressional lines. As they settled on the streams, they would make conditional lines-blaze across the bottom until they would strike the table-lands; and the next men who might come in and settle would blaze his conditional line across, and for years there was but little land entered. Men only sold their improvements, and there was a fixed law, or custom, that prevailed among them-that no man should enter the land and take another man's improvements without paying him for them. A few such instances occurred to my knowledge. The man was at once waited upon, and informed of the rules and cus- toms of the country; and besides the rules and customs, it was not right nor honest to take a man's labor without paying him for it; and that it was the intention and pur- pose of the people to see that justice was done every man ; and he was therefore notified to proceed to the late owner of the improvements and pay him the value of the improve- ments; and if they couldn't agree upon the value, sub - mit it to two disinterested neighbors; and if they couldn't agree let the third man be brought in, which finding would be final. In every instance if the man who had made the entry failed to comply with the terms, he was at once noti - fied that his absence from the settlement and a speedy de- parture from the country would be satisfactory to the set- tlement; and that if he failed to comply, he would have to submit to the punishments that would be inflicted upon him. If the improvements, which were always reasonable, were paid for, the party would move off, blaze out another claim, and go to work to improve it; but if he didn't re- ceive pay for his improvements, he remained on the land and the other fellow's whereabouts would soon be ull -
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known; and when the land was sold for taxes, the inan owning the improvements would buy it in by paying the amount of taxes and costs without an opposing bid.
When my father first located in this country, a large portion of the territory had never been sectionized. What was known as the old survey, including range seven and a part of range eight (now in this county) formed a part of the old survey. Congress passed a law graduating the price of land according to the length of time it had been upon the market. The government price was $1.25 per acre. The first reduction was twenty-five cents upon the acre; then they reduced the purchase price every few years until all the land included in the old survey went down to a bit an acre. The graduation law allowed each man to take up 320 acres by making actual settlement and cultivating it. But the land speculators took advantage of the law and hired men to go upon the land and make a few brush-heaps, and in the name of some man apply for the entry, until all of the graduated lands were taken up, and there was not a bone fide settler who had complied with the law in one out of every hundred.
Most of the land in Howell, Gunters, Peace, and Hutton valleys, and the land where West Plains is now situated, were entered at a bit per acre. After the entries, the valley lands commenced settling rapidly. When the time came to procure a patent to the land, speculators went to Washington and engineered a bill through Congress to allow the parties to prove up without making proof of act- ual settlement, and in that way fraudulently obtained pat - ents to two-thirds of all the land above referred to. The next thing, the speculators went East, sold their lands (or mortgaged them) by representing that all of the table lands were bottom lands and covered with walnut, hackberry,
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box elder, and other bottom growths. They let the mort- gages all be foreclosed.
The merchants, who procured title to the lands, sent out agents to examine the land, who went back and report- ed that the lands were valueless and were not worth the tax - es and refused to pay taxes on them. With some few ex - ceptions the lands were offered time and again for taxes, would not sell for the amount of the taxes and thousands of acres remained in that condition until a short time be- fore the building of the Kansas City & Memphis railroad. All of the table lands were looked upon by the people as being entirely worthless and fit for nothing but range.
My father in the year 1849 sold out and removed from Bennett's river, Fulton county, to the North Fork of White river, in Fulton County but two miles from the State line, dividing Missouri and Arkansas. In the year 1852 father took the winter fever, died and was buried in the ceme - tery, three miles above the State line, known as the Tever- bauch cemetery.
In the year 1854 my mother and one brother died with the bloody flux, leaving three sons of the family, William, the oldest one living, F. M. and James I. Monks. The author was married on the 10th day of April 1853 to Mar- tha A. Rice, a daughter of Thomas and Nancy Rice. He continued to reside upon the old homestead and was a far- mer by occupation. The country commenced settling up rapidly. All the land on the streams was settled, with very few exceptions, with a frugal and intelligent class of peo- ple, mostly from the middle states. In the year 1856 How- ell county was created by taking a part of the territory of Ozark and a part of the territory of Oregon, to-wit: Ran - ges 7 and 8 ard a small part of 9 were taken from Oregon county and the remainder of 9 and 10 was taken from Ozark county. Andrew V. Taber, -- Johnson (and the
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name of the other commissioner we have forgotten at the present time) procecded to locate the county seat and pur - chased 40 acres near the West Plains spring and laid it out into lots, got the county seat near the center, as a suffi- cient amount of water was necessary,taking into considera- tion the town spring and then what was known as the Bingi- man spring. The lots sold rapidly and the town grew be- yond any expectation and the country was improving and settling up with the town1.
In 1858 the author sold out on the North Fork of White river and moved into Howell county and located 11 miles southwest of West Plains upon sections 2 and 11, range 9, was appointed constable of Benton township and in the year 1860 was elected constable of Benton township, commenced reading law in the year 1858. In the year 1860 West Plains was said to be the best, neatest, prettiest town in South Missouri and contained about 200 inhab- itants; had a neat frame court house in the center of the square, a first-class hewed log jail, had four first- class stores (for the country at that time) which kept con- tinually on hand a general assortment of merchandise, had two saloons, tan yard and the county was out of debt, with money in the treasury ; a county warrant then was good for its face value in gold, and the country was prosperous in every respect. The people generally were fast friends and their chief interest was to develop the resources of the country and aid and help each other.
How a Mob Was Prevented
In 1860, a man resided about three iniles below West Plains by the name of Collins Coffey on the farm recently owned by Thomas Bolin and some men by the name of Griffiths and Boles-(some of them resided in West Plains and some of them resided in Thomasville, Oregon county)
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and they and Coffey had a falling out with each other and the enmity between them became very great. So the Grif- fiths, who lived at West Plains went down to Thomasville and they and the Boles with a few other friends declared that they would come up to Coffey's and mob him.
They went to work and made for themselves a uniform, procured a bugle, fife and snare drum, procured a hack, made them a place for a candle and aimed to come up in the night.
Coffey owned considerable stock among which was a bull about four years old. The range then was luxuriant and there was a pond near the side of the road that led from Thomasville and West Plains and the bull with other cattle had lain down on the edge of the road about one mile from Coffey's residence. They armed themselves, procured their musicians, got into their hack, drawn by two horses and started off to the scene of action with a bright light, with a flag flying and the music play- ing. When they reached the place near where the male was laying, he rose to his feet, squared himself and fetch - ed a keen bellow as though (although he was animal) he might have some information as to their mission. They paid no attention to the action of the bull and on their driv- ing within about ten feet of him he made a desperate lunge forward ; they supposed that he intended to gore the horses, but missed his aim, struck the hack near the coupling, broke the coupling pole and turned head over heels, and fell right between the horses. The horses became frightened, inade a desperate lunge to extricate themselves, and the bull at the same time 'was scuffling to extricate himself. Both horses fell, the bull and horses were all piled into a heap, grunting and scuffling. The occupants of the hack were all piled out in a heap, almost in an instant, and be- fore they could extricate themselves and get onto their feet
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the bull had gotten up and was moving in the direction of his master's house bellowing every step as if to say, "I dare you to come any further." As soon as the posse got to their feet, having prepared, before they started, with plenty of whiskey, and being pretty well filled at the time of the occurence, Boles got to his feet, drew his pistol, cocked it and swore he could whip any bull he ever saw, especially a one horned Coffey bull.
The hack was almost demolished and the occupants considerably bruised, both horses crippled, and after con - sultation, they concluded that as the Coffey bull had proved so successful they had better abandon their trip and retreat "in good order" to Thomasville, leaving their horses hitched by the roadside and the shattered hack piled up at one side of the road.
The next morning they sent out a team and brought the horses and hack back to Thomasville, and they were wiser and perhaps better men, as they never again attempt - ed to mob Coffey.
The strange feature about this matter is that the bull was never known to be cross before this occasion, when his master was to be mobbed.
The society of the country had increased with the population, and school houses and churches were erected all over the country, nice farms were opened up, the dwel- lings changed from round log to hewed log and frame, the people all manifested a great deal of interest in schools and churches and the general development of the country.
Religion and Politics.
The prominent religious denominations from 1849 to 1860 consisted chiefly of Methodists, Baptists and the Christian order; but all appeared to recognize each other
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as Christians and would very often work together, as they had in the early pioneer days.
Everything had the appearance of pointing to the day when Howell county would become the garden spot of South Missouri.
Politically, the country was largely Democratic. In political campaigns the Whig and Democratic candi- dates would canvass the country together, and while on the stump speaking they would assail each other's platforms in most bitter terms. After the speaking was over they would go to the same hotel or boarding place and laugh and talk together as though they belonged to the same political par - ty, and after the election was over the successful party would be recognized by the people as the officers of the whole people. You would see no partisan line drawn by the different courts between political parties, but the ap- pointments of all local officers were made according to the qualifications of the man and not as to what party he be- longed. The author, having been born and raised by Democratic parents, was a Democrat and acted with the Democratic party, his first vote for president having been cast for James Buchanan. In 1860 a great political ques- tion of the nation began to be agitated and a very bitter feeling was manifested from the stump between the Repub- lican and Democratic parties.
After the Democratic party divided and the bolters nominated Breckenridge for president, the attthor took part in the canvas and was a strong advocate of Stephen A. Douglas, the regular nominee of the Democratic party, and at the election cast his vote for Stephen A. Douglas for president.
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MISSOURI AND THE CIVIL WAR.
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Abraham Lincoln was elected President of the United States. Soon after the election they began to discuss the question of seceding from the Government. The author again took the field in opposition to secession, and delivered a number of speeches.
In a short time the people that had been the closest of friends and trusted a neighbor with the most sacred thing they possessed became bitter enemies and arrayed them- selves against one another and as the discussion of the great question of war continued to grow more bitter the people appeared to allign themselves for and against secession. 'The people soon grew so bitter that they often talked of fighting each other.
Before the firing on Ft. Sumpter and after several of the states had actually seceded the Union sentiment pre- vailed so strongly in the state of Missouri that Clabourn Jackson, the then acting Governor, was compelled to order an election in the state of Missouri to settle the matter by a vote of the people as to whether Missouri should secede or remain in the Union. The author then took the stump and advocated that the state remain in the Union and manifest her loyalty to the preservation of the Union. In this cam- paign the feeling of the war grew more bitter. The result, however, of the election was that the state remained in the Union. In the mean time, Ft. Sumpter had been fired up- on by the rebels.
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Clabe Jackson, the Governor, appeared to be deter- mined upon the state seceding either by fair or foul means. Without regarding a majority vote of the people of the state, Clabe Jackson, the then acting Governor, issued his proclamation convening the Legislature in extra session for the purpose of passing ordinances of secession.
At that time Gen. Frost was in the command of the militia and some state troops stationed in St. Louis Barracks but he was in heart and sympathy a rebel. Everything ap- peared to have been greased and prepared for the occasion.
As the Governor had the whole machinery of the state completely under his control he believed that it would be an easy matter for the legislature to pass ordinances of se- cession and carry the state out of the Union, but the Gov- ernment authorities at Washington learned of the critical condition and deep laid scheme of the Governor to carry the state out of the Union and at once ordered Capt. Lyons of the Regular Army, (who afterward became General of the volunteer forces and fought the battle at Wilson Creek, Missouri) to come to St. Louis; he, being a captain in the Regular Army, outranked Gen. Frost, took possession of the troops, arms and amunitions, etc., reorganized and rap- idly increased the army by volunteers,
On information reaching Gen. Lyons that the legisla - ture had been convened in extra session he at once took his available troops and left St. Louis with the intention of surrounding the Capitol and taking the members of both houses, the Governor, with all his state officers, prisoners; when the Governor learned that the Government troops were enroute for Jefferson City and their purpose, he ordered the bridge to be burned across the Gasconade river near its mouth, on what was then known as the North Pacific R. R. This delayed the troops for several hours. On their ap- proach to Jefferson City the Governor and state officers and
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the members of both houses of the legislature and all the troops that had been ordered to the Capital by the Governor retreated to Boonville, Missouri.
I heard our representative in a speech delivered a short time afterwards, say they came so near getting him while he he was getting out of Jefferson City that he lost his umbrella. Lyons pursued them and at Boonville they made a stand and on Lyon's arrival with his troops he attacked thein and they fought for a short time. They again retreated, went into the extreme west part of the state to a place known as Lone Jack. There they made a stand again, Lyons still pursuing. He again attacked then at Lone Jack and after a short fight they retreated again into the State of Arkansas. and there Governor Jackson convened the legislature and they passed ordi- nances of secession declaring the State of Missouri out of the Union and that she was attached to the compact form - ing the Confederate States.
General Lyon returned to St. Louis, increasing his force considerably, several regiments being attached to his command from other states. The government ordered hin to prepare his troops and move west to Springfield. The terminus of the South Missouri Pacific R. R., at that time was at Rolla, Missouri. While Lyon was mass- ing his troops and preparing to march to Springfield the most intense excitement prevailed in the entire State of Missouri.
A Big Confederate Meeting at West Plains.
The Confederate authorities at once commenced re- cruiting for the Confederate service and the Confederate recruiting officers published a public meeting at West Plains about the first or tenth of July and while the Con - federate authorities were moving, the union or loyal ele-
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ment of the country was not idle, but was watching every move, openly and secretly preparing for the conflict.
A few days before the meeting was to be held at West Plains the Confederates sent to the pinery and procured a long pine pole, hoisted it at the corner of Durham's store at the northwest corner of the public square and swung to the breeze the stars and bars. . At the same time, or near the same time, the Union men sent to the pinery and procured a pole. They hoisted it on the northeast corner of East Main street by the corner of McGinty's store where the S. J. Langston Mercantile Co., building now stands and swung to the breeze the stars and stripes.
It was freely published throughout the county by the Rebels that if any Union man attempted to open his mouth on that day he would be shot as fill of holes as a sifter bottom. There was a beautiful grove then growing just east of the branch on East Main street running from the town spring. Large preparations were made by the Rebels for the occasion. It was published that there would be leading Confederates from all over the state and different other states to speak on that day and one of the main features of the day would be recruiting for Confederate service. A big speaker's stand was erected with hundreds of seats. When the day arrived the town was crowded with people and the friends of both parties were armed and appeared to be ready for the conflict. The stars and bars attracted a great deal of attention, being the first flag that had ever been seen by the people that antagoniz- ed the stars and stripes and threatened to destroy the United States Government.
There was soon a number of determined men gathered under each flag. A number of their prominent speakers were on hand, among them Judge Price, of Springfield, known as "Wild Bill" Price. They readily took in the
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situation and saw that a conflict was imminent, and as they were not ready for it they met together in council and agreed that their men should not bring on the conflict on that day. Quite a number of the parties prepared themselves at the speaker's stand. When differ- ent speakers were introduced to address the people, many of the men would sit,.either with their guns in their hands or with their guns near to them, and the most firey and extreme speeches were made that I ever heard.
The author well remembers the speech of Judge Wil- liam Price. He told them that the lopeared Dutch had reached Rolla, Missouri, the terminus of the railroad, and that they were complete heathens; that Abraham Lincoln had given the state of Missouri to them, if they would send enough lopeared Dutch to conquer the state, and that to his knowledge they had gone out into the country and taken men's wives and daughters and brought them into the camps, and that he saw them, in the presence of the mothers, run bayonets through their infant children and hoist them up and carry them around on their bayonets; that Abraham Lincoln had offered a reward for all of the preachers that were in favor of the South. He bursted into tears and asked the question, "I want to know who the man is, and the color of his hair, that won't enlist in the interest of his home, his wife, his children and every - thing that is sacred and good, to drive out lopeared Dutch, a certain class of Hessians, from our land." He urged them to come forward and place their names upon the rolls. Nearly all the preachers present placed their names on the recruiting list first.
The excitement grew still more bitter. In the after- 10011 they began to threaten openly that the stars and stripes should be hauled down; that no flag should be al- lowed to float in West Plains that countenances and toler -
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ates heathen in our land. The Union men declared that the stars and stripes should not be lowered unless it was done over their dead bodies. Quite a number of Union men had assembled under the flag. The Union men were led by a man named Captain Lyle. He had been warned and cautioned by his friends not to open his mouth, for the reason that he would be shot full of holes. Late in the evening there was a lull in the speaking. The author walked up into the speaker's stand, called the attention of the people, saw a number of rifles grasped in their hands, and announced to them that they had been sitting all day listening to Confederate speeches, but on the next Satur- day, if they would meet him at Black's store, about ten miles west of West Plains, they could hear Union speeches and the constitution of the United States would be read ; thanked the crowd and stepped down. Quite a number of guns were raised in the hands of parties and a shower of groans and hisses, and remarks openly from a number that "We ought to shoot his black heart out now."
It appeared for a while that it would be impossible to evade a conflict of arms. A number of orders being sent to the Union men to draw down their flag or they would fire on it and the men who supported it, an answer was re- turned that the rebels were requested to draw down their flag as it was a stranger in the land and unless they lower- ed their flag the stars and stripes wouldn't be lowered an inch, unless it was done over their dead bodies. At last a proposition came that they would agree for the sake of averting bloodshed to commence lowering both flags at the same time which proposition was accepted; so wound up that day's proceedings.
On the Saturday following, the author, with several other Union speakers, met at Black's store where there were several rebel captains and lieutenants. The author
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