USA > Iowa > Story County > Biographical and historical memoirs of Story County, Iowa > Part 17
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It was therefore but a matter of course that in every thing which concerned the public each one should have equal voice. If one were in distress all would give sympathy and aid, with- out special demand. Invitations to many social gatherings were not more formal than to the raising of the log cabin, where all were ex- pected to lend a hand if within hail. Aside from thoughts and manners that came out of
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the surroundings, the western pioneer differed not a whit from his brother that was left be- hind when he turned his face to the west. What he absorbed became a part of his own broader nature-was communicated in part to his children through inheritance and associa- tion-and when he or they returned to the old homestead, this was seen by those who had in long years worn more deeply the ruts in which they still moved. The early settler on the prairie at once became a husbandman and a live-stock man. He began immediately to care for his family and the dumb beasts, his friends, by which he was surrounded. He never donned the linsey hunting-shirt, buckskin leggins, bullet-pouch, powder-horn, rifle and knife in belt of the pioneer in the heavy forests farther east. His beef was not had from the cane- brake, nor his pork fatted on the mast, and only to be taken by the hunter's craft. He did not need to study the arts of the wild Indian that he might secure a living in a land that nature had prepared for civilized husbandry. On the contrary, he carried with him to his new home his love of order, decency and com- fort, and one of his early efforts was to join his neighbors in the erection of the pioneer church and school-house. He had few "pioneer " customs.
If he came to the land of promise with a family carriage, it might be a long time before he would give it other shelter than a straw- covered shed. One of his "customs" was to leave his farm implements in the field where last used, or in the open yard near his primitive barn, to rust and rot in rain and sun. This expensive custom was one of the pioneer's most burdensome taxes. His faith in the possibili- ties of his soil and climate were such that he soon became wasteful in his customs of careless feeding and failure to shelter his live stock. Some of the early winters were mild and open.
He had too much respect for the institutions of his chosen land to imply by his conduct that he had no confidence in the weather. He there- fore paid the fickle maiden the compliment of expecting mild winters. It goes without saying that he was at times greatly surprised as well as disappointed. This would indicate that it is the custom of the pioneer to be hopeful be- yond any reasonable warrant.
It was the custom of the pioneer's wife and daughters to bring with them their best habits, and to wear and practice them as they had done in the old home. The prospector or home-seeker was therefore often surprised at the resources of the thrifty mistress of the humble prairie shanty or the village cabin. If she had been long away from the old orchards and fruit gardens, and the first sup- ply were exhausted, she supplemented the more substantial fare by portions of that which came from the forest, the wild prairie and her garden; plums, crabapples, raspber- ries, strawberries, melons, made great variety of excellent dishes, and dainties grew and mul- tiplied under skillful manipulation with hos- pitable intent. So, also, the old silks and satins were saved with care and worn with pardonable pride. They might not be pos- sessed by all, but for that reason they were all the more to be prized. And thus when the pioneers met for worship, public discussion, or in the social circle, they came together in form as did those of a less primitive civilization. It was the custom of the country. Incon- gruous and absurd incidents, connected with pardonable display of finery, might occur. Time and wear may have borne heavily upon some articles of apparel which could not readily be supplied; and though native taste and ingenuity were in many cases to be im- plicitly trusted, there were occasionally seen those of whom it might be truly said that
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"Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these."
An unfortunate accident occurred at one time to a most estimable lady in Nevada, which illustrates so aptly the spirit of the times that it may be mentioned. The first smith shop was built on the west side of Main street, just north of the Murrie Hotel. It was a low building, of rough logs, and with a wide and heavy door, on huge wooden hinges, which opened outward. The demands of rap- idly increasing population caused the place to be temporarily occupied as a residence. The excellent lady before mentioned, in silks, kids and feathers, made, as in duty bound, a formal call upon the more lately arrived mistress of the erstwhile smithy. As she daintily ap- proached the great door and was about to in- dicate her presence by a knock, it was hur- riedly thrown open by the lady inside, and the visitor felled by the blow from the door, with a broken nose and a bruised countenance.
There are few indications that Story County was ever the home of known Indian tribes, or of prehistoric races. As shown elsewhere, it is a part of the comparatively recent forma - tions, and seems to have been used by roving tribes as hunting and fishing grounds. The great Sioux nations claimed the Missouri River . and the Northwest, while the Iowas and more recent tribes were conceded the same rights on the Mississippi and the lower Des Moines. There were also Indian villages on the Iowa River near the present location of the Mus- quawkies, in Tama County, and there were occa- sional wars and predatory incursions on Iowa soil between various tribes, but there are no traditions of battles on Story County soil be- tween warring tribes, nor between Indians and whites. There was, however, one veritable In- dian scare. One memorable morning in the spring of 1857, before break of day, a man
stopped at the door of the Mclain House, in Nevada, his horses covered with foam. His wagon contained his family and such valuables as could be hastily gathered. He came from the northwest, and was escaping from murder- ous savages. He evidently regarded his flight thus far as little short of a miracle, and did not believe that he had yet reached a place of security. The Indians were on the war path, and had already murdered all whites in his neighborhood. His honest excitement was con- tagious. Men took measures for defense, and women in dire fear and confusion ran to and fro. In the absence of stockades it was serious- ly proposed to occupy the frame court-house. Its walls would have afforded little more pro- tection from fire and bullets than if they had been made of paper. Within a few hours it was learned that the enemy was some miles distant, and had probably not ventured nearer than Spirit Lake, where they had committed great destruc- tion of life and property, and had taken some prisoners, entirely destroying that frontier set- tlement. But the panic was wide-spread and serious, and some families in this county fled from their homes. In one instance a physician on a visit to a patient discovered that the fami- ily, patient included, had songht a place of greater safety by flight.
Small bands of friendly Indians some times camped in the groves, or on the borders of the streams, fishing and hunting, and occasion- ally startled the lone housekeeper by peering into the window, with nose flat against the pane, instead of giving an alarm by rapping on the door. Mrs. Dr. Kellogg had such a visit at the old Barndollar House, in Nevada. The Indian had killed a deer, and with a broken and bloody knife in his hand wished to borrow another. The Doctor had gone in the direc- tion of the slain deer, and was an object of much solicitude till he put in an appearance. S.
Y
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S. Statler, when quite new to the country, got lost from his hunting party, on the open prai- rie in Howard township. He was approached by an Indian on horseback armed, and of seri- ous and formidable aspect. There was neither tree nor habitation in sight, and the Pennsyl- vania "tender-foot" was greatly relieved when he learned that old Johnny Green preferred his tobacco to his scalp.
In the summer of 1855 the town of Nevada was visited by a windstorm, which tossed things about and made quite a commotion in the straggling village. It came in the night. The only house that was wrecked was that of Dr. Kellogg. The roof was blown off, some of the upper tiers of logs were displaced, and the family escaped in dishabille to the neigh- boring hotel. The building was that known as the old Barndollar House, on Block 4. It had no protection toward the northwest, and was yet unfinished. Though not destructive, the scare served to make many persons nervous for a time.
The severity of the cyclone which nearly de- stroyed the village of Camanche thirty years ago, and whose track extended from Fort Dodge to a considerable distance beyond the Missis- sippi River, and was everywhere marked by devastation, widely advertised the State as a land of storms. Many people in other States came to look upon a residence for themselves and friends in Iowa with dread on this account. The records show that this is not well founded, and that violent and abnormal atmospheric dis- turbances have occurred through a long series of years no more frequently in Iowa than in other States. It must surely be within the memory of all that for the past three years the State has been to such an extent exempt from storms, floods, cloudbursts, tornadoes, cyclones and similar phenomena as to attract much at- tention, and to cause comparison to be made
with other sections, in nearly every direction. This seems but a proper explanation to make in narrating the conditions in 1882. On Sat- urday evening, April 8, of that year, in the western part of the county, a terrible wind swept a narrow strip from south to north. It might rather be called a violent gale than a storm. Its duration at any one point was quite brief, but in those moments its violence was such as to do considerable damage over a lim- ited area. Its force seemed to culminate in the vicinity of the Agricultural College. It wrecked the house of Sim Keltner, near Worrell's Grove. It partially struck the house of Dan McCarthy as it passed northward, shaking it up so as to break the plastering and otherwise damage it. Just across the road to the west, was the smaller residence of Willard F. McCarthy. The young man had recently married, had taken posses- sion of his house on Monday, and was about to have his Saturday evening supper. The gale had so little respect for the circumstances, or any sentiment that might cling around them, as to at once take possession. The house was completely demolished, the material removed and the young man and his bride were picked out of the mud and water 300 feet farther north. Neither of them had any marks of con- tact with a barb-wire fence over which they must have been carried. On the college grounds the building known as "The Presi- dent's House," then occupied by Prof. Bessey, was somewhat damaged, and the North Hall, then in course of erection, had parts of the wall blown down. A small bridge on the farm was wrecked, the college 'bus was overturned, and a student named Connell was painfully in- jured. The wind soon after lifted and skipped some thirty miles, coming to the earth again near Gowrie, doing some damage there, also at Lake City.
The circular windstorm which so greatly
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damaged the town of Grinnell, on Saturday evening, June 17, 1882, and which is for that reason commonly called the Grinnell cyclone, performed its first feats of destruction in Story County. Its worst work in this county was on the high prairie between Skunk River and In- dian Creek, in the south part of Grant Town- ship. Its approach was observed in two ter- rific columns of cloud and dust from the west and southwest, both of which crossed Skunk River within a distance of 100 rods, near the southwest corner of the township. Passing eastwardly, the two parts united near B. F. Everett's place, The family was not at home. The buildings were razed to the foundations; the live stock was destroyed, and here, as else- where, trees were torn from the earth, or twisted as though they had been but twigs, stripped of their leaves, and even of the bark, and everything carried off even with the sur- face. In its track it took up the plowed soil, and in some cases a foot or more of the solid earth. It played most fantastic tricks, such as carrying off great bowlders and iron ma- chinery, and leaving, perhaps, a sack of feathers undisturbed. Moving east at a rate of some forty miles an hour, it struck the house of H. E. Mathews, moved it thirty feet west, tore off part of the roof, carried away beds and furniture, and did not break a single pane of glass. The children had previously, for amusement, formed a small cave. The family skurried into that and escaped injury.
In its zigzag movements it took in its track the places of Ira Baker, Tooker, B. F. Chap- man, E. G. Pierce, George Hemstock, L. D. Thompson, Benton Carrington and M. N. Whitney. A child of Mr. Thompson was torn from its mother's arms and dashed to death. Mrs. Thompson and another child were badly hurt. Hemstock, his wife, child, and a man named Ryan were all badly hurt at his place.
Everywhere the wreck of property was com- plete. In a few instances domestic animals were lifted, carried some distance, and set down with little injury, but in its fury the rule was to break and kill. At nearly all these places houses, barns, cribs, fences, everything was destroyed. From Whitney's the storm crossed West Indian Creek, tearing timber to shreds and demolishing the "wilderness " school-house. Two miles east it took the Hal- ley school-house; it swept off the places of Silas Alderman and James Henry, in Nevada Township, presented its compliments to C. V. Norris, after crossing East Indian, and then skipped to Jasper County. Here it touched occasionally, sometimes separating, again unit- ing, and then poured all its vials of wrath on the goodly and godly city of Grinnell and her famous college. From thence it crossed the Mississippi River south of Burlington, badly shaking up Malcom, Brooklyn and points in Keokuk and Henry Counties, marking its path of a few hundred feet, or several miles, as the case might be, with death and destruction. It traversed 185 miles in five hours.
As compared with the great cyclone, all other and previous storms were tame. It sometimes happened in the early days of the settlement, however, that after weeks of delightful weather in the fall, winter would set in on a sharp turn. Such a storm occurred December 1, 1856. It lasted five days. Snow fell in quantity, and the wind blew so that one could not travel against it in safety for even a few rods. Those who happened to be caught away from home could do nothing but wait till the storm ceased. Such an event was a matter of much discomfort, anxiety, and not a little danger. On this occasion there was some loss of life on the trackless prairies north and west. In a bound- less expanse of snow, no visible sky, no land- mark, no token of direction except the shifting
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wind, the mind becomes confused, conrage de- parts, and then comes death on the wild waste. Few if any such casualties ever occurred in this county.
The pioneer physician of Story County was Alexander Favre, who located about one mile east of Ontario, and was among the first set- tlers in Franklin township. He was a man of ability in his profession, a native of France, and had the culture and manners of a Parisian. He lived among the pioneers, and was one of them until his death. The pioneer physician in the eastern half of the county was V. V. Adamson. He was a young man, scarcely hav- ing attained his majority, small of stature, weighing no more than the average boy of fifteen years, but bright and genial, and at- tained a good position and practice. He re- moved to Holton, Kas., where he is recog- nized as a leading citizen.
The pioneer lawyer was Isaac Romane, who was then, 1854, abont forty years old. He had a healthy brain and plenty of determination. He was not an educated man, nor a thoroughly well-read lawyer, but held his own in the local practice for a number of years, appearing mostly in the courts of the justice of the peace. He afterward retired from practice, and re- moved to Missouri. The second attorney was George A. Kellogg, a young man in 1855, the year of his arrival, who was afterward county judge, and who is now an influential citizen of Fairhaven, on Puget Sound.
The pioneer preacher can hardly be named. Jeremiah Cory, Jr., of Iowa Center, conducted religious services as a member of the Baptist persuasion. He was called a " preacher," but may not have been regularly ordained. Prob- ably the first services ever conducted in the county by an ordained minister were led by Thompson Bird, the pioneer Presbyterian of Fort Des Moines.
The pioneer hotel of the county was that opened by John H. McClain, in the summer of 1854. Before and after that time all citizens "entertained man and beast," as occasion de- manded and necessity required, but Mr. Mc- Clain extended hospitality as a matter of busi- ness.
The first Independence Day celebration was at Iowa Center, in 1854. John G. Wood was president of the day, Rev. W. B. Hand was the orator, and Peter Gordy read the Declaration. The salute was fired from the anvil of the blacksmith, and the national colors were extem- porized by Thomas C. Davis, the material used being white muslin and lampblack. A bounti- ful dinner was spread, which was as free as air to all in attendance.
The first church was built at Iowa Center in 1857. It was of brick; was owned by the Bap- tists.
The first white willow trees, the forerunners of the many miles of fence-row and numerous groves, were planted near the northwest corner of the farm now owned by Mrs. Dinsmore, in Section 17, Nevada Township. The cuttings were set in 1857.
The first county fair was held in 1859. The court-honse was used as a fine art and vege- table hall, and the live stock was exhibited on open ground not distant, but farther north and west.
The first suicide was that of Martin Batzner, a young man who acted as village barber in Nevada and also kept a small grocery and candy store. He shot himself through the body with a rifle, in a vacant log house then standing in Wood's addition.
Nevada, the seat of justice of this county, had its inception in the thought of providing for the necessities of a future not remote, and its authority in the statutes of the State. By an act of the General Assembly three commis-
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sioners were appointed to locate a seat of jus- tice for Story County. They were Thomas Mitchell, of Mitchellville, in Polk County, Jo- seph M. Thrift, of Boonsboro, and Johnson Ed- gar, of Jasper County. Because of sickness in his family, Mr. Mitchell could not be pres- ent. Messrs. Thrift and Edgar met by ap- pointment at the house of Joseph P. Robinson, in Section 29, Nevada Township. They came with a surveyor from Polk County, and made selection of the east half of the southwest quarter and the west half of the southeast quarter of Section 7, of Town 83 north, of Range 22 west of the fifth principal meridian, the same being then Government land.
The location was made June 27, 1853. The county judge lived near the site of the proposed town of Bloomington, already laid off by former citizens of McLean County, Ill., and named for the thriving county seat of that county. He took no interest in favor of what must have seemed to him a removal of the county archives, and the necessity of changing his own resi- dence. If he had possessed the veto power, no doubt he would have exercised it with some pleasure. In this frame of mind he neglected to make an entry of the town site, for the ben- efit of the county, as was plainly what should have been done. But the chance to buy a county seat from the Federal Government for $1.25 per acre did not last very long. Jenkin W. Morris, of Des Moines, made the entry for himself.
The chance to secure the land having passed, Judge Evans entered into negotiations with Morris for a transfer, and secured the title by deeding back one-third of the lots and blocks after the survey had been made. This being settled, there was due notice given of the pub- lic offering of lots for sale, on the 8th of Sep- tember, 1853. Meantime, T. E. Alderman had engaged J. P. Robinson ( who, though a justice
of the peace, was not above earning an honest penny by hard labor) to deliver on the ground the necessary logs for a cabin 16x20 feet. With the help of those who had gathered at the sale of lots, the heavy work of house-raising was done on the day of sale, and the first building was erected. It was on the lot immediately south of the enclosed grounds west of the court-house. The logs in the body of the building had been roughly faced. It was covered with split boards. The floors were made of rough lumber, hauled from a mill on Clear Creek, in Jasper County. The doors, sash and necessary hardware and finishing lumber were brought from Keokuk. When completed, which was on the 11th of October, it served as business house and dwelling. There was shelter for the family and space for the "pioneer store," and contained, besides, tlie post-office. It soon became the seat of county administration, as noted elsewhere. It was, of necessity, office and hotel, also, until additional room could be had. This was accomplished in a few weeks by the erection of another build- ing of the same size and construction, joining it on the west, with a door between, which was then appropriated for family and hotel pur- poses.
It is well remembered by the landlady, as well as guests, that the extending of hospital- ity to the traveling public was no small task. Moneyed men were spying out the land, seek- ing the choice spots for investment. The home- seeker sought a location for his family. The professional man, the mechanic, the laborer, the merchant, wanted to examine the new coun- ty seat. If he resolved to remain, he must have shelter until he could build. The land- lord could not shake him off if he had wished to do so. It is told that it was not an uncom- mon thing for the beds of this popular house to be crowded with women and children, and
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the floor to be covered with men as "close as sardines in a box," so that when turning out in the morning those near the door first gath- ered boots and wraps and donned them outside, followed in turn by others, thus making cooking and eating possible within. Many of the old- est inhabitants found their earliest shelter for themselves and families under the hospitable roof of Mr. Alderman.
On the second day of her home-life in the coming town, Mrs. Alderman tells that the "good man of the house " went down under a chill, followed by a raging fever. Tall grass was on every side. Water must be had for the parched throat and for domestic uses. No prospecting had yet been done for that neces- sary article. Pail in hand she took the trail made by hauling the logs for the house and found water at the crossing of the creek. At the first practicable hour the low ground south- east of the house was investigated with the spade. At a moderate depth the under-flow was found, probably the reservoir which sup- plies the public well, and pure water was had in sufficient quantity to satisfy all the needs of the town.
It was not till the summer of the following year that another house was built. During the long winter the first one afforded shelter to the entire population, both permanent and transient, of the city. As dwelling, store- house, hotel, offices, parlor, kitchen, chambers, it was destined to be the scene of numerous pioneer events. Here the first child was born. Here occurred the first death. It was a house of feasting under a reign of hospitality that knew no limit except its capacity. Anon it was a hospital, in which at one time were no less than four patients prostrated with typhoid fever. Again it was the scene of marrying and giving in marriage. During these years it was the center of no small amount of traffic in
things both great and small, and for two years it represented every postal facility which was afforded to the entire county.
The second house in Nevada was built by John H. McLain, who arrived on the 7th of August, 1854. It stood on the northeast corner of Block 10, corner of Chestnut and Sixth Streets. The body was of logs, and it was finished in native lumber. An addition was attached on the west side. This made quite a commodious hotel, to which subsequent additions were also made, and it was kept in good form. Mrs. McLain was a woman of energy, a good cook, and is kindly remem- bered for her patient discharge of hospitable duties.
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