USA > Iowa > Calhoun County > Past and present of Calhoun County, Iowa, a record of settlement, organization, progress, and achievement, Volume I > Part 1
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BEAUMONT E. STONEBRAKER
PAST AND PRESENT
OF
CALHOUN COUNTY IOWA
A Record of Settlement, Organization, Progress and Achievement
BEAUMONT E. STONEBRAKER 1 SUPERVISING EDITOR
ILLUSTRATED
VOLUME I
CHICAGO THE PIONEER PUBLISHING COMPANY 1915
100353B
.1
CONTENTS
CHAPTER I GEOGRAPHY AND GEOLOGY
LOCATION-LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE-BOUNDARIES-RIVERS AND CREEKS-GENERAL SURFACE-TWIN LAKES-THE PRAIRIES-GEOL- OGY-AGE OF AMERICA-WHITE'S SURVEY OF CALHOUN COUNTY -- THE GLACIAL EPOCH-CHARACTER OF THE GLACIAL DRIFT-THE WATER SUPPLY-GEOLOGICAL STRUCTURE AS SHOWN BY DEEP 1 WELL RECORDS
CHAPTER II ABORIGINAL INHABITANTS
THE MOUND BUILDERS-PROBABLE USE OF THE MOUNDS-THEIR ARCHI- TECTURE-RELICS FOUND IN THEM-WORK OF THE UNITED STATES BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY-THE UNITED STATES DIVIDED INTO DIS- TRICTS-THEORIES REGARDING THE MOUNDS AND THEIR BUILDERS- MOUNDS AND RELICS FOUND IN IOWA-THE INDIANS-GREAT GROUPS OF FAMILIES-DISTRIBUTION AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY-THE SACS AND FOXES-THEIR GREAT CHIEFS-THE IOWAS AND THEIR MIGRATIONS-MAHASKA-THE POTTAWATOMI- THE WINNEBAGO-THE SIOUX-INDIANS IN CAL- HOUN COUNTY 12 .
CHAPTER III THE PERIOD OF PREPARATION
EARLY EXPLORATIONS IN AMERICA-CLAIMS OF ENGLAND, FRANCE AND SPAIN-TIIE JESUITS-DISCOVERY OF THE MISSISSIPPI BY MAR- QUETTE AND JOLIET-LA SALLE-LOUISIANA-CONFLICTING INTER- ESTS-FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR-FUR COMPANIES-CLARK'S CON- QUEST OF THE NORTHWEST-NAVIGATION OF THE MISSISSIPPI-THE
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CONTENTS
LOUISIANA PURCHASE-UNITED STATES JURISDICTION-TERRITORY OF IOWA-ACQUIRING THE INDIAN LANDS-POLICIES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS IN DEALING WITH THE INDIANS-TREATY OF 1804-BLACK HAWK WAR-THE NEUTRAL GROUND-TREATY OF 1830-TREATY OF 1832 - TREATY OF 1842 - FORT DES MOINES - THE LAST 32 TREATIES
CHAPTER IV SETTLEMENT AND ORGANIZATION
PROGRESS OF WHITE SETTLEMENTS IN IOWA-FORT DES MOINES-FIRST COUNTIES-CALHOUN ORIGINALLY A PART OF DUBUQUE COUNTY- THE ORGANIC ACT-CHANGING THE NAME-FIRST SETTLERS-FIRST LAND ENTRIES-BRIEF MENTION OF LEADING PIONEERS-THE FIRST MILL-PIONEER LIFE AND CUSTOMS-AMUSEMENTS AND
PAS- TIMES-THE FIRST ELECTION-LOCATING THE COUNTY SEAT- REMOVAL OF THE COUNTY SEAT TO ROCKWELL CITY. .54
CHAPTER V PUBLIC BUILDINGS
NECESSITY FOR PUBLIC BUILDINGS-FIRST COURTHOUSE AT LAKE CITY-SECOND COURTHOUSE-DESTROYED BY FIRE-THIRD COURT- HOUSE-HOW IT WAS BUILT-PRESENT COURTHOUSE-COST AND DESCRIPTION-COUNTY JAIL-CONTRACT WITH AMERICAN EMI- GRANT COMPANY-PRISONERS KEPT IN OTHER COUNTIES-JAIL BUILT AT ROCKWELL CITY-THE COUNTY HOME-FIRST POOR FARM-PRESENT POOR FARM-A SELF-SUSTAINING INSTITUTION . . 72
CHAPTER VI THE SWAMP LANDS
ORIGIN OF SWAMPS-SWAMP LAND GRANT OF 1850-ACCEPTED BY IOWA LEGISLATURE AND LANDS GIVEN TO COUNTIES-CALIIOUN COUNTY SELLS HIER LANDS TO THE AMERICAN EMIGRANT COMPANY- CHANGES IN THE CONTRACT-TRUST DEED-ILOW LANDS ARE ENTERED-LITIGATION IN THE UNITED STATES COURTS-LANDS SOLD TO CALLANAN & SAVERY-INDIGNATION MEETING AND A TEST CASE-THE QUESTION FINALLY SETTLED. 85
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CONTENTS
CHAPTER VII TOWNSHIP HISTORY
CONGRESSIONAL AND CIVIL TOWNSILIPS-ORIGIN OF THE TOWNSIHIP- FIRST TOWNSHIPS IN IOWA-CALHOUN COUNTY A PART OF JULIEN TOWNSHIP-THIE SIXTEEN TOWNSILIPS OF CALHOUN COUNTY- BUTLER-CALHOUN-CEDAR-CENTER-ELM GROVE - GARFIELD- GREENFIELD-JACKSON-INCIDENTS CONNECTED WITH THE EARLY SETTLEMENT-ORGANIZATION - BRIEF SKETCHES OF PIONEERS - PRESENT DAY CONDITIONS-RAILROADS -- POPULATION AND WEALTH -SCHOOLS, ETC. 93
CHAPTER VIII TOWNSHIP HISTORY, CONTINUED
LAKE CREEK TOWNSHIP-THE GREGG SETTLEMENT-LINCOLN-YATES- VILLE-LOGAN-READING - SHERMAN-TWIN LAKES - UNION - WILLIAMS-HISTORICAL SKETCH OF EACH-SOME OF THE PIO- NEERS-TRANSPORTATION AND EDUCATIONAL FACILITIES-STATIS- TICS OF POPULATION AND WEALTH-TOWNSHIP OFFICIALS-MIS- CELLANEOUS EVENTS, ETC. 113
CHAPTER IX LAKE CITY AND ROCKWELL CITY
BEGINNING OF LAKE CITY-ADDITIONS TO THE ORIGINAL PLAT-EARLY BUSINESS CONCERNS-POSTOFFICE-THE TOWN INCORPORATED- LIST OF MAYORS-WATERWORKS-PUBLIC LIGHTING-PUBLIC PARK-GENERAL CONDITIONS-POPULATION, ETC.
ROCKWELL CITY-LOCATION AND ORIGIN-ADDITIONS-FIRST ENTER- PRISES-POSTOFFICE-SCHOOLS-INCORPORATION-LIST OF MAY- ORS-WATERWORKS-ELECTRIC LIGHT-FIRE COMPANY-SEWERS- MISCELLANEOUS 129
CHAPTER X TOWNS AND VILLAGES
EARLY DAY SPECULATION IN TOWNSITES-FATE OF THE EARLY TOWNS -LIST OF TOWNS AND VILLAGES IN CALHOUN COUNTY-HISTORICAL SKETCH OF EACH - POSTOFFICES AND RURAL MAIL ROUTES IN 1915 145
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CONTENTS CHAPTER XI MILITARY HISTORY
CAUSES LEADING UP TO THE CIVIL WAR-THE SLAVERY QUESTION -- THE MISSOURI COMPROMISE-THE OMNIBUS BILL-THE KANSAS-NE- BRASKA BILL-POLITICAL CAMPAIGN OF 1860-SECESSION OF SEVEN STATES BEFORE LINCOLN'S INAUGURATION-FORMATION OF THE SOUTHERN CONFEDERACY-FALL OF FORT SUMTER-PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S PROCLAMATION CALLING FOR VOLUNTEERS-IOWA READY -GOVERNOR KIRKWOOD'S CALL FOR TROOPS-SPECIAL SESSION OF THE LEGISLATURE-IN CALHOUN COUNTY-TENTHI AND THIRTY- NINTH IOWA INFANTRY-MISCELLANEOUS ENLISTMENTS-THIE WORK AT HOME-SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR-UPRISINGS IN CUBA AGAINST SPANISH RULE-THIE OSTEND MANIFESTO-THE TEN YEARS" WAR-REVOLT OF 1895-WEYLER'S CRUELTY-SENTIMENT IN THE UNITED STATES-DESTRUCTION OF THE MAINE-WAR DECLARED- FIFTY-FIRST AND FIFTY-SECOND IOWA INFANTRY . 164
CHAPTER XII FINANCE AND INDUSTRY
PUBLIC FINANCES-BONDED DEBT OF THE COUNTY-PROPERTY VALUA- TION-DRAINAGE BONDS- EVOLUTION OF MODERN BANKING SYS- TEMS-HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY BANKS-AGGREGATE DEPOS- ITS-AGRICULTURE-CROP AND LIVE STOCK STATISTICS-FARMERS' INSTITUTES-MANUFACTURING-TELEPHONE COMPANY 186
CHAPTER XIII INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS
CONDITIONS NOW AND SIXTY YEARS AGO-INDIAN TRAILS-TRAVEL IN EARLY DAYS-PUBLIC HIGHWAYS-NORTHWESTERN STAGE COM- PANY-COUNTY ROADS UNDER THE LAW OF 1913-ROAD TAXES- THE RAILROAD ERA-EARLY OPPOSITION-ILLINOIS CENTRAL-IOWA & PACIFIC-CHICAGO & NORTHWESTERN-CHICAGO, MILWAUKEE & ST. PAUL-CHICAGO, ROCK ISLAND & PACIFIC-CHICAGO GREAT WESTERN-FORT DODGE, DES MOINES & SOUTHERN-RAILROAD PRO- JECTS THAT FAILED-DRAINAGE-HELL AND SHIPMAN SLOUGHS- BONDS-EFFECTS OF THE DRAINAGE SYSTEM ON THE WEALTH OF THE COUNTY 204
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CONTENTS CHAPTER XIV EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
CHARACTER OF THE EARLY SCHOOLS-THE FRONTIER SCHOOLHOUSE- TEXT BOOKS OF EARLY DAYS-SPELLING SCHOOLS-THE THREE R'S- EVOLUTION OF IOWA'S SCHOOLS-THE PERMANENT SCHOOL FUND -SCHOOL FUNDS OF CALHOUN COUNTY-TOWN SCHOOLS-RURAL SCHOOLS-VALUE OF SCHOOL. PROPERTY-COUNTY IHIGH SCHOOL- PUBLIC LIBRARIES-THE PRESS-BRIEF SKETCHES OF THE CALHOUN COUNTY NEWSPAPERS 223
CHAPTER XV CHURCH HISTORY
CHURCH HISTORY DIFFICULT TO WRITE - METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH-CHRISTIAN CHURCH-CITURCH OF CHRIST-CATHOLIC CHURCH-CONGREGATIONALISTS-THE LUTHERANS- EVANGELICAL CHURCH - PRESBYTERIANS - THE BAPTISTS - BRIEF SKETCHES OF EACH SOCIETY - MISCELLANEOUS CHURCHES - GENERAL COM- MENT 238
CHAPTER XVI THE BENCH AND BAR
PROVINCE OF CIVIL GOVERNMENT-PURPOSE OF THE COURTS-THE LAWYER AS A CITIZEN- EARLY JUDGES IN CALHOUN COUNTY-THE FIRST JURY-HISTORY OF THE DISTRICT COURT-CIRCUIT COURT- THE BAR-PIONEER LAWYERS-RESIDENT ATTORNEYS IN 1915- NOTED TRIALS-THE WILCOX HOMICIDE-THE PRATT CASE-STATE VS. BROWN 255
CHAPTER XVII THIE MEDICAL PROFESSION
MEDICINE IN ANCIENT TIMES-THE HIPPOCRATIC OATH-EVOLUTION OF THE PROFESSION-HOME REMEDIES IN NEW SETTLEMENTS-THE PIO- NEER DOCTOR-HIS CHARACTER AND STANDING AS A CITIZEN-IIIS METHODS OF TREATMENT- FIRST PHYSICIANS IN CALHOUN COUNTY -MENTION OF EARLY DOCTORS-LIST OF PHYSICIANS OF 1886-CEN- TRAL DISTRICT MEDICAL ASSOCIATION - COUNTY MEDICAL SOCI- ETIES 267
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CONTENTS
CHAPTER XVIII SOCIETIES AND FRATERNITIES
OLD SETTLERS' ASSOCIATION-THE COMSTOCK CANE-DECREE OF COURT-AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES-ROCKWELL CITY FAIR ASSOCIA- TION-MANSON FAIR AND RACING ASSOCIATION-CALHOUN COUNTY FAIR ASSOCIATION-MASONIC FRATERNITY-SKETCHES OF MASONIC LODGES-ORDER OF THE EASTERN - STAR-INDEPENDENT ORDER OF ODD FELLOWS-LODGES IN CALHOUN COUNTY- DAUGHTERS OF RE- BEKAH-KNIGHTS OF PYTIHAS-GRAND ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC - WOMEN'S RELIEF CORPS-MISCELLANEOUS SOCIETIES-WOMEN'S CLUBS-THE P. E. O. 276
CHAPTER XIX MISCELLANEOUS HISTORY
PRAIRIE FIRES-HISTORIC STORMS-BLIZZARD OF 1869-TORNADO OF 1878-SEVERE WINTERS-THE POMEROY TORNADO-STORM OF JUNE, 1899-A PECULIAR HAIL STORM-TWIN LAKES CYCLONE-THE LAST LYNX HUNT-A BANK ROBBERY-MYSTERIOUS MURDER-A QUAINT CHARACTER 301
CHAPTER XX STATISTICAL REVIEW
POPULATION AS SHOWN BY THE UNITED STATES CENSUS-WEALTH AND PROGRESS-LIST OF COUNTY OFFICERS SINCE 1855-CHRONOLOGY- SUMMARY OF PRINCIPAL EVENTS CONNECTED WITH THE HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY-POSTSCRIPT 315
Past and Present of Calhoun County
CHAPTER I
GEOGRAPHY AND GEOLOGY
LOCATION-LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE-BOUNDARIES-RIVERS AND CREEKS- GENERAL SURFACE-TWIN LAKES-THE PRAIRIES-GEOL- OGY-AGE OF AMERICA-WHITE'S SURVEY OF CALHOUN COUNTY- THIE GLACIAL EPOCH-CHARACTER OF THE GLACIAL DRIFT-THE WATER SUPPLY-GEOLOGICAL STRUCTURE AS SHOWN BY DEEP WELL, RECORDS.
Calhoun County is situated northwest of the center of the state, in the fourth tier of counties east from the Missouri River and the fourth tier south from the north line of the state. It is about mid- . way between the forty-second and forty-third parallels of north lati- tude, and the ninety-fourth and ninety-fifth meridians of longitude west from Greenwich. The county includes townships 86, 87, 88 and 89 north in ranges 31, 32, 33 and 34 west. It is therefore twenty- four miles square and has an area of 576 square miles, or 368,640 acres, nearly all of which is well adapted to agriculture. The line between townships 88 and 89 is what is known in the survey as a "cor- rection line," so that the northern tier of townships extends a little more than two and a half miles farther west than the main body of the county lying south of that line. Calhoun is bounded on the north by Pocahontas County: on the east by Webster; on the south by Greene and Carroll, and on the west by the County of Sae. Webster County also forms a little of the northern boundary of Greenfield 'Township and Sae County a little of the southern boundary of Wil- liams Township, owing to the jog caused by the correction line.
RIVERS AND CREEKS
The principal stream of Calhoun County is the Coon River, which erosses the western boundary about three-fourths of a mile south of Vol. I-1
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CALHOUN COUNTY
the northwest corner of Jackson Township, flows thence in a south- easterly direction into Calhoun Township about one and one-fourth miles north of the Carroll County line. Here it turns southward and crosses the southern boundary of the county in section 31, near the southwest corner of Calhoun Township. Along the river the sur- i face is somewhat broken, the banks of the stream rising in places into picturesque bluffs. It was along this stream that the first white settlers located their claims, chiefly on account of the growth of native timber.
Lake Creek, the principal tributary of the Coon River in Calhoun County, derives its name from the fact that it is the outlet of South Twin Lake. Its upper course is along the boundary between Twin Lakes and Center townships. It next flows through the southwestern part of Center and the northwestern part of Logan Township and enters Lake Creek Township in section 24. From this point its course is more toward the southwest, erossing the northwest corner of Cal- houn Township and emptying into the Coon River about three miles southwest of Lake City.
Cedar Creek, the next stream of importance, has its source in Lincoln Township, a short distance south of the Town of Manson. At first it follows a southeasterly direction to the southeast corner of Lincoln Township, where it turns more to the southward and meanders through Greenfield, Cedar, Reading and Union townships until it enters Greene County.
There is also a Cedar Creek which flows south and southwest across Williams Township. It has two small tributaries-one from the east and the other from the west.
Purgatory Creek rises in Pocahontas County and erosses the northern boundary of Calhoun about two miles east of the Town of Pomeroy. After entering the county it flows by a rather sinuous course through Sherman and Center townships until it discharges its waters into Lake Creek, about a mile and a half northeast of Rock- well City.
Another ercek bearing the same name rises in the western part of Greenfield Township and follows a general southwesterly direction through Center, Logan, Union and Calhoun townships until it enters Carroll County. It is said these two ereeks were so named because of the great difficulty in crossing them in early days. The banks were muddy and if a man started to cross with a team and wagon he never knew whether he would get to the other bank or mire down in the attempt to reach it.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CALHOUN COUNTY
Camp Creek has its source in the northern part of Twin Lakes Township, whenee it flows southwest across the southeast corner of Garfield Township and into Elm Grove. There it turns more south- ward and finally empties into the Coon River in the northwestern part of Jackson Township. Its principal tributary, or West Fork, rises in the southwest corner of Butler Township. After just touch- ing the southeast corner of Williams Township, it flows southward through Garfield and joins the main stream in section 8, Elm Grove Township. In the early days elk were plentiful along Camp Creek and its valley was a favorite hunting ground for the pioneers.
Prairie Creek has its beginning in the southern part of Twin Lakes Township and follows a southwesterly course, almost parallel to Lake Creek, until its waters mingle with those of the Coon River near the center of Jackson Township.
Hardin Creek rises in Webster County. It crosses the east line of Calhoun near the middle of Cedar Township, flows in a south- westerly direction until it enters Reading Township about two miles from the northeast corner, and from that point southward into Greene County.
South Lizard Creek flows aeross the northeast corner of Lincoln Township and enters Webster County about a mile and a half south of the northeast corner of Calhoun. There are a few smaller streams in the county, but the above are the principal water courses. Every civil township in the county is fairly well watered, with the possible exception of Butler, which has no creek of importance.
GENERAL SURFACE
Taken as a whole. Calhoun County is a level or gently undulating prairie. with some elevations along the larger ereeks that in a few places rise to the dignity of hills or bluff's. When the first white men came to the county they found a large part of the surface com- V posed of marshes drained by sluggish sloughs. In the marshes numer- ous ponds were formed, a few of the largest of which were designated lakes. The largest of these are the Twin Lakes, a few miles north of Rockwell City. North Lake lies nearly all in Sherman Township and South Lake in Twin Lakes Township. In the eastern part of Williams Township is another pond of considerable size known as Brushy Lake. Pond Grove Lake. about two miles east of Lake City, has been drained and is no longer in existence. A small lake south of Manson, originally drained by the west fork of Cedar Creek, has also
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CALHOUN COUNTY
been obliterated by the excellent system of drainage inaugurated about twenty-five years ago, and a small lake a little northeast of the center of Cedar Township, about two miles from Somers, has also disappeared. An account of the artificial drainage and reclamation of swamp lands will be found in another chapter. According to statistics compiled some years ago by the State of Iowa, Calhoun County had but 765 acres of native timber within its borders when the first settlements were founded. The absence of timber has caused considerable speculation among geologists and botanists as to the cause of the vast, treeless plains called prairies, none of which existed east of the State of Ohio. Professor Whitney, who made some early scientific observations in Iowa, says:
"The cause of the absence of trees on the prairies is, due to the physical character of the soil, and especially its exceeding fineness, which is prejudicial to the growth of anything but a superficial vege- tation, the smallness of the particles of the soil being an insuperable barrier to the necessary access of air to the roots of deeply-rooted vegetation, such as trees. Wherever, in the midst of the extraordinary fine soil of the prairies, coarse and gravelly patches exist, there dense forests occur."
Prof. James Ilall, another early lowa geologist, agrees in the main with Whitney's theory, but not so with Dr. Charles A. White, who was Iowa's state geologist in the early '70s. After calling atten- tion to the fact that prairies are found resting upon all sorts of bed rock, from the Azoie to the Cretaceous ages, and that all kinds of soil-alluvial, drift and lacrustral, including sand, gravel, clay and loam-are frequently found upon the same prairie, he says:
"Thus, whatever the origin of the prairies might have been, we have positive assurance that their present existence in lowa is not due to the influence of the climate, the character or composition of the soil, nor to the character of any underlying formations. There seems to be no good reason why we should regard the forests as any more natural or normal condition than are the prairies. Indeed. it seems the more natural inference that the occupation of the surface has taken place by dispersion from original centers, and that they encroached upon the unoccupied surface until they were met and checked by the destructive power of fires. The prairies doubt- less existed as such almost immediately after the close of the glacial epoch."
White's statement that the prairies are not due to the character or composition of the soil is borne out by the fact that in the towns
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CALHOUN COUNTY
that have been built up on the prairies and around the farm houses where trees have been planted, they have grown with as much vigor as though the surface had once been covered with a growth of native timber. But, no matter how the prairies originated, the people who live in a prairie region, such as Calhoun County, have found, after the swamps have been drained, that it is the equal of any part of the country in health and productiveness.
GEOLOGY
Although America is called the New World, geologists believe that it is older than any of the continents of the Eastern Hemisphere. Says Agassiz: "IIere was the first dry land lifted out of the waters: here the first shores were washed by the ocean that enveloped all the earth besides; and while Europe was represented only by islands ris- ing here and there above the sea, America already stretched in one unbroken line of land from Nova Scotia to the far West."
It is not within the province of a work of this nature to enter into a discussion as to how the geologists reached this view, but other authorities, equally as eminent as Agassiz, are inclined to the same opinion regarding the age of the continent upon which we live. If their hypothesis be true, Calhoun County may have been inhabited by the ereatures of the reptilian type, during the Jura-Trias and Cre- taceous eras, while the so-called Old World was still under water.
The only published report of an official geological survey in Cal- houn County is that of Dr. Charles A. White, which was issued in 1870. A more detailed survey has recently been made by Professor MeBride, but the results had not been made public at the beginning of the year 1915. Owing to the limited time allotted for the work, White's observations in the county were necessarily somewhat super- ficial, and his remarks on the subject are of the most general character. From his report it is learned that there are but few rock exposures in the county; that these exposures are small and the roeks of doubt- ful age.
In the southwest part of the county, along the Coon River and the lower portion of Lake Creek, may be seen small exposures of a soft iron-bearing sandstone, which White thinks is a continnation of a similar stone which outerops on the North Raccoon in Greene and Carroll counties and on the Middle Raccoon in the counties of Greene and Sac. If so, the rocks exposed in Calhoun belong to the Lower Cretaceous era.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CALHOUN COUNTY
In Webster County, on Lizard Creek and the Des Moines River, are outeroppings of the lower coal measures, and some geologists are inelined to think that this formation extends westward into Cal- hou, but no indieations have yet been found to sustain such a theory. It is known, however, that a narrow strip of the glacial drift in the eastern part of the county rests upon the Carboniferous limestones, but by far the greater portion has for a foundation the Cretaceous rocks of a later geologieal period.
Along some of the streams, White noticed terraeed formations, or second bottoms, with gravel in some places affording underground drainage, but the greater part of the surface is composed of glacial drift, in which ponds, bogs and marshes occur at frequent intervals. One distinguishing feature observed by him is thus described in his report :
"Peaty deposits are not infrequent, though none of any consider- able importanee has as yet been discovered. Those that have been examined were found to be of limited extent and largely mixed with sand and other foreign matter, in consequence of which their value as fuel is greatly lessened. However, it is not improbable that a thorough examination might bring to light important deposits of this material. On David IIaines' place, seetion 7, township 86, range 34, a peaty aeeumulation several feet in thickness is found in the brow of the bluff overlooking the west side of the valley. It is formed along the line at which springs issue from the gravel beds: is gradually inereasing by crowding down the slope, or following the course of the moisture, and terminating abruptly at the point where the spring waters again sink into the loose deposits forming the terraces or high bottom lands."
That was written forty-five years ago, but no important deposits of peat have as yet been "brought to light," as White thought might be probable as the result of a thorough examination. In fact, no mineral deposits of economic value have been developed in the county, aside from certain beds of elay that have been utilized in the manu- facture of brick and drain tile.
THE GLACIAL EPOCH
Far back in the geologic past, about the close of the Tertiary era, came the Pleistocene or "Ice Age." during which the entire pres- ent State of Iowa was covered with one vast sheet of iee called a glacier. This glacier extended from the country about the Great
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PAST AND PRESENT OF CALHOUN COUNTY
Lakes westward to the Rocky Mountains and southward to about the latitude of St. Louis. It was formed in the northern part of the continent by successive falls of snow. The weight added by each snowfall had a tendency to compress the great mass below into a solid body of ice. After many years of this formative process, the entire glaeier began to move slowly southward, carrying with it great boul- ders, clays, soils, ete., to be deposited upon the bedrocks of a region far distant from which they were taken. As the huge mass moved slowly along. the boulders and other hard substanees at the bottom of the glacier left scratches (called strix by geologists) upon the bedroeks, and from these seorings the course of the glacier may be readily determined. Examination of these stria at various places in Iowa, where the bedrock is exposed, indicates that the direction followed by the great central glacier was in general toward the south- east.
As the ice melted, the materials earried by the glaeier were deposited upon the bedrocks in the form of drift, composed of alln- vium, loess and till. At the close of the ice age the earth's surface over which the glacier had passed was void of either animal or vege- table life. The action of the rain and winds gradually leveled the surface, the heat from the sun warmed the earth and life in its most primitive forms made its appearance. Everywhere, the soil is the product of rock disintegration. Prof. Samnel Calvin, at one time lowa's state geologist, in commenting upon the fertility of the soil of the state, says:
"And for this rich heritage of soils we are indebted to the great rivers of iee that overflowed Iowa from the north and northwest. The glaeiers. in their long journey. ground up the rocks over which they moved, mingled the fresh roek flour from granites of British America and Northern Minnesota with pulverized limestone and shales of more southern latitudes, and used these rich materials in covering up the bald rocks and leveling the irregular surface of preglacial Iowa. The materials in places are hundreds of feet in depth."
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