USA > Iowa > Chickasaw County > Historical and reminiscences of Chickasaw County, Iowa > Part 8
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In North Washington we found S. W. Byers, James Rumbaugh, Jonas Rice, J. H. Vantassel and two or three others. Byers
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was engaged in burning a kiln of brick and was running several lines of business, including a store. He had invented a brick machine that he represented was to revo- lutionize the brick making business, and expatiated upon the advantages of North Washington as a place for a town. It seemed to me then, and time has not changed the impression, that in his enthusiasm he was lia- ble to undertake more than he could accom- plish. Jonas Rice was the castle builder of the place, and could talk up a line. of business so as to convince himself that want of success was an impossibility. but in prac- tice his plans never materialized, and his life has been a chase after the unattainable. Vantassel was the more practical, and his quiet, persistent business habits have made him one of the successes of the county.
During the spring of 1S5S partisanship run high, owing to the pendency of the county seat question, and pervaded all lines of action, and the contending forces, as to north and south, were as much a part of every suit in court, as were the facts in the case.
Among the early suits that brought in contact the contending forces, was a case of
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replevin. the writ having been issued by C. Arnold, a Justice of the Peace at New Hamp- ton, the writ being in the hands of B. E. Morton, a Constable of New Hampton, for service. He served the same by giving notice to Carter and taking possession of a yoke of cattle, and had started for home, when he was overtaken by a large company of Carter's friends, and the cattle forcibly taken from him. To give color to this pro- ceeding, a counter replevin was at once sued out before J. Q. A Quackinbush, a Justice of the Peace of Fredericksburg, against the New Hampton constable. This trial pro- ceeded before Quackinbush, in the meantime the cattle disappeared. During the second day of this trial. the Constable prolonging the trial while his men were out looking for the cattle, an altercation occurred in the court room between Ozro Hill and Charles Snow. A fight ensued, and Hill got Snow "in chancery," and the blood was spattering the bystanders, when Case, a one-legged man, jumped up in high glee, and as he brought his wooden leg down with a thud, yelled "Give him h-ll." In a few minutes the position of the combatants was changed and the other fellow was "in chancery;"
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then came the same cheerful words from the same party, and the gleeful jumping was resumed. Outsiders interfered, and among the number was D. B. Hanan.
In the melee Hanan was struck by one of the parties and was taken out bleeding. Under the directions of the court, there was an information filed against each of the par- ties to the assault, charging them with assault and battery, and the cases taken up for trial at once, the court holding that criminal business took precedence over civil cases. On the trial, Hanan was employed for the defense, and was put on the stand as a witness for the state. As he sat giving liis testimony, and wiping the blood from his wounds, he became facetious and playful, and testified that he did not think they intended to hit him, but that it was a little fun the boys were having, and that was all. As he came off the stand he turned to the accused and remarked, "I will defend you now, but as true as there is a God in Israel, I will get even with you for this." On the second night after the trial began, the New Hampton Constable learned that the oxen had been run into the edge of Bremer county, beyond his jurisdiction, but nothing daunted,
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he took a basket of corn, saying. "There is no law against oxen following a man." and they followed him across the county line, when he immediately took possession of them, and before morning he had them secreted in North Washington, beyond the reach of the Fredericksburg forces.
A little after noon the following day, a boy came and reported the cattle gone. this Carter ordered the suit stopped, and it was dismissed.
The two Justices of the Peace in Freder- icksburg, were J. Q. A. Quackinbush and O. H. P. Searles. Quackinbush was a very pre- cise and dignified man, never allowing him- self to be inveigled into any hilarity, and his position as Justice of the Peace intensified this dignity.
Searles was as different as well could be, and was a rollicking, joyous boy among the boys, as full of anecdote as an egg of meat, and a veritable Munchausen. The mythical stories he told, of which he was the hero, were many and amusing. As a sample of one of his mildest and most modest, he declared that he had a neighbor who had a drove of fifty hogs that had grown so large that there was no cask or kettle in the whole
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country large enough to scald them in, and he offered a dollar a head to any one who would take the bristles off those hogs. He then declared he took the job, and added:
"There was a little lake close at hand and a pile of stones by the side of it, and I built a fire on the pile of stones and when they were hot, threw them into the lake. This made the water boiling hot, and while it was boiling, I rushed the hogs through the lake and they came out on the other side and running through a patch of hazel brush, in five minutes they had scraped every bristle off. The owner had to catch and dress them. as my contract with the owner was only to take the bristles off."
During the county seat disturbance, an altercation arose between the sheriff and a little lawyer by the name of Fox, who lived in Chickasaw, and as Fox turned to go, the sheriff accelerated his motion by a well directed kick. This gave rise to an action for damages, and the case was brought before G. R. Rowley, a Justice of the Peace. A jury was demanded, and after being impaneled, the trial began. During the progress of the trial, Fox took the stand to give evidence as to the manner of the assault. D. A. Babcock and A. J. Felt were the attor- neys for the defendant, and when they took
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the witness for cross examination, they by cross questions, located the place of the hat- tery, and then demanded that the witness be required to exhibit the injured part to the jury, so that the jury could judge for them- selves the extent of the injury. This was stoutly resisted by Fox, who was acting as his own attorney, and hours were spent in arguing the question, the court being in doubt as to his duty in making the order, until a juror interposed and threatened to go home if they did not stop fooling. The exhi- bition was overruled, and on submission to the jury a verdict was rendered for the plaint- iff. The case was appealed and died between the courts, as the plaintiff did not desire further action.
On the fourth of July, 1857, I walked over to Jacksonville to attend the only celebra- tion in the county. The speaker of the day was J. H. Dickens, supplemented by remarks by E. W. Beach. There were toasts and songs, and the song that appeared to give the most satisfaction was one which run, "The cars are coming through this town, I know," and I had the honor of responding to the toast, "No north, no south, but all citi- zens of one county." Being a supposed rep-
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resentative of the south half of the county, this gave me an opportunity to show my cosmopolitan views, and as I was posing as a young attorney looking after the main chance, this was no time for excessive mod- esty, and if platitudes and soaring, with a strong spice of taffy, was filling the bill, then I was a blooming success, and I closed with the sentiment, "Green, the founder of Jack- sonville, may his enterprise be successful and his memory as green as his name." This thought brought out a speech from Hazard Green, and he glowingly pictured the cars running through the town, and exulted in the prospect of hearing the steam whistle in a few months. This called for the repetition of the song:
"The cars are coming through this town, I know."
Among the number in attendance at this celebration, was George Arnold, an old Ohio acquaintance, and as I came off the platform, he greeted me and wanted to know if I "was that little white headed cuss that attended the Academy in Mesopotamia?"
The gathering of the sparsely settled pop- ulation could not help but make a joyous time. for it was not often that these old set- tlers met and broke the loneliness of their
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hard lives as they were struggling to make homes. Jacob Clason led the music, and he had brought a little wheezy melodeon, and the pride with which he displayed it was equal to that of any modern miss when she receives her first piano.
After the vote had been taken upon the removal of the County Seat from New Hamp- ton to Forest City, there was much interest in the canvass. as New Hampton had once lost their rights when it was between Brad- ford and New Hampton, by the canvassers throwing out Washington Township, and many from all parts of the county were present to witness the proceedings. At this time, the Returns were required to be depos- ited with the County Clerk, as they were delivered by the Messengers from the several Townships. J. H. Powers was acting as County Clerk, and on the day before the law required the votes to be canvassed, and when all the returns were in the safe, with the exception of those from Deerfield and Wash- ington Townships, the County Judge demanded the key to the safe, and the Clerk surrendered it to him. At this time the Washington Returns were in the hands of the Messenger, and had been in town several
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hours, but for reasons best known to him- self, he had failed to deposit them with the Clerk. The Returns of Deerfield were offered to the Clerk by the Messenger, but as he had no safe place in which to keep them, he refused to take them into his possession, but referred the Messenger to the County Judge, and they were delivered to him sometime in the afternoon of the day before the canvass.
The County Offices, at this time, were all held in the upper room over Gurley's store. The room was plastered with a thin coat of morter, but none of the other rooms were plastered. J. H. Powers slept in the adjoin- ing room on the south, and was awakened in the night by a murmer of voices. His curi- osity was at once aroused, and soon he heard a man say, "Hand it to me, I'll do it, I am not afraid." and then there was silence for a short time, when the same speaker said. "There, that will fix it, and possession is nine points in the law." Then some one uttered a warning s-h-h, and asked if any one slept in the adjoining room. Then some one said, "It don't make any difference, for we can prove an allibi by each other, and we can swear any one to the devil that da"e peep."
The next morning, while the Clerk was at
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the hotel for breakfast, the canvass com- meneed. and when he returned they were on the second township. Complaint was made by the Clerk, as it was his duty to keep a tally list, and the canvass was delayed until the entry of the two townships which had been canvassed could be made in the Clerk's record. Then the canvass pro- ceeded, the Judge taking the envelopes containing the returns and pinching off little bits at a time, until the end was opened, and then withdrawing the returns, passed them over to the canvassers. These envelopes were carefully preserved by the Clerk, and the little pieces that had been torn off where first fitted on so as to identify where they came from, and then placed in the envelope from which they were torn.
These envelopes (January 20, 1892) are in the possession of J. H. Powers.
On examination it was found that Deer- field's returns had been opened by cutting along the end of the envelope, in the fold, and had been stuck together with mucilage. In opening, the judge had opened the end that had not been tampered with. Next came Washington Township., and when the envelope was opened, there was no accom-
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panying Poll List enclosed. These returns were in the hands of the County Judge the night before, and of course could not have been disturbed by any one without his knowledge, after they came into his hands.
In the subsequent trial of the County Scat question, the Township Clerk swore that the list was made, and that it was not left with him, or in his office. The whole returns of Washington Township were promptly thrown out and not counted. It was found that Deerfield returns had been tampered with, and the vote for New Hampton reduced ten votes.
The rejection of the vote of Washington, or the reduction of the ten from Deerfield, either of them, would change the result, and give Forest City the majority. Without waiting to accertain the results of the elec- tion on any thing but the County Seat, and as soon as the columns were added showing a majority for Forest City, after excluding Washington and the ten from Deerfield, the County Judge declared Forest City the County Seat, and immediately adjourned court and the Board of Canvassers to meet at Forest City at 2 o'clock p. M.
Within a few minutes the books, papers
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and furniture of the county offices were being carried down and loaded into wagons which the Forest City people had in readi- uess, and the safe was pitched out of the window, and in falling, one of its legs were broken off, and the safe was placed upon a wooden "drag" that had been prepared for the purpose, to which was attached a long string of cattle, being the oxen from several breaking teams. When loaded, the proces- sion started for Forest City, E. P. Greeley and D. A. Babcock acting as drivers of the oxen, swinging their whips and each trying to outdo the other with their yells of " who haw buck."
During this time, and while all was activity in the removal of the books and papers, a meeting of citizens claiming that their rights had been invaded, was being held in the old log school house, to take into con- sideration the course to be pursued.
This meeting was addressed by some who were in a perfect frenzy of excitement, who were in favor of forcible resistance and the reclaiming of the county records, and their return to where they belonged. Others, more discreet, counseled milder measures, and the cooler ones finally triumphed, and a
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committee was appointed to commence legal proceedings to reclaim rights that were wrongfully taken from them by those hold- ing official positions.
In accordance with instructions, a suit was commenced at the next term of the District Court, and on the third day of June, 1S5S. an information was filed in the Clerk's office, asking that a Writ of Mandamus compelling the Board of Canvassers to count the votes that had been cast, including those of Wash- ington Township, together with the ten that had been taken off from Deerfield. A special term of court was held in August to hear the case, and an Alternate Writ was issued, and on final hearing, a Peremptory Writ was issued, and respondents appealed.
At the same time of the filing of the Peti- tion for a Writ of Mandamus, a Petition was filed asking for a Writ of Certiorari. At the special session of the District Court to try these cases, these papers could not be found, and leave was granted to file new ones at the next term of court. The Man- damus case was reversed by the Supreme Court as being an improper remedy for correcting the vote of Deerfield, while it was all right to compel the counting of the
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Washington returns, and in the opinion given by the Supreme Court it was intimated that Injunction would be a proper remedy. I immediately started on horseback for Gar- navillo, where Judge Murdock resided, and on the 12th day of April, 1859, an applica- tion was made to the District Judge for an Injunction restraining the county officers from holding their offices at any other place in Chickasaw County other than at New Hampton.
At the following spring term of court. the Writ had been granted for temporary relief, the case was brought on for final hearing, and that, with the Certiorari. were decided in favor of New Hamp- ton. Thus New Hampton had restored to her by the courts, what had been taken from her by fraud and the misguided acts of the Canvassing Board. After the Injunction was served on the county officers, they were loth to obey, and not until C. O. Case, who was a New Hampton man, did any of them obey. In the fall when District Court con- vened, E. H. Williams having been elected District Judge, his attention was called to their contempt of the writ, and he very peremptorily told them that it would be to
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their interest to obey the writ, and they immediately responded by returning to New Hampton.
There was a crude panorama of the County Seat scenes painted at Chickasaw, and " Bro." Whitmore delivered an impassioned address upon the same. The first scene represented Powers delivering the safe key to Judge Bailey. The key, as represented, was about three feet long, and was being passed to the Judge, and had passed about six inches beyond the point of the Judge's nose before he could reach it. As this scene came in sight Whitmore would bellow out, "Powers, give me that safe key!" and it never failed to bring down the house. Another scene was a long string of oxen drawing the safe, with Greeley and Dave Babcock as drivers, and as it passed along Greeley was heard to yell, "Dave, lick up those head bulls!" The climax of the exhibition was reached when Judge Bailey was represented as making a speech when the county books arrived at Forest City, and Whitmore impersonated the Judge in making his speech, and it could hardly help entertaining anyone who had a taste for comedy. These paintings were subsequently arranged as transparencies and
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exhibited during court at New Hampton, but the carrying of them was not very pop- ular after the Bradford boys got a habit of deluging them from upper windows. and they were retired from public exhibition and were used as kitchen curtains for sev- eral years by Runion. The personal feeling engendered by the County Seat disturbance remained for several years, and woe be to any aspirant for office who had been one of the actors. Party affiliations were ignored, personal obligations disregarded, and the question of locality was paramount.
During the fall of 1S5S I made my first visit to Deerfield. As it was an electioneer- ing trip, I met most of the prominent set- tlers. Stopping at Heman Culver's, I found him surrounded by a large family, consist- ing of two boys and a whole troop of girls. He proved to be one of the most genial of- hosts, and his wife met the full requirements of an ideal hostess. Their hospitality was abounding in all that makes a guest com- fortable and contented. Although they were living in a log house that was taxed to its utmost capacity to hold their large family, and although, when retiring, I was notified that I should have to sleep in the- shed,
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where they had erected a bed, with my host as a bed fellow, it was done in such a genial and hospitable manner that there was no feeling that I was an intruder taxing their hospitality, but a feeling that it was a mutual pleasure. What would not many a person walking in what is called the "higher cir- cles," give for this tact?
This was the first time that I had met J. A. Sawin "on his native heath," and at that time there was no indication that he had any ambition to enter the responsible positions he subsequently occupied. In 1862 he was elected County Superintendent of common schools, and did much towards straightening out the schools so they would comply with the new school law. He moved to New Hampton and became the editor of the New Hampton Courier, having leased the interest of W. E. Beach, leaving the publishers, Sawin & Young. He left the county in 1862, returning to Wisconsin. While in Deerfield, he was a fair disciple of Isaac Walton, and many a string of fish has he landed on the banks of the classic Wapsie. Mason Harris and W. H. Larrabee were among the leading men of the township, and M. P. Choat met me on the square, and ever proved to be a ยท
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reliable and consistent friend. The main object of my visit was to consolidate the northern part of the county on E. H. Wil- liams as District Judge, and Elijah Odell as District Attorney, and I had no reason to regret the effort, for every vote in the town- ship was cast for them.
On leaving the county, J. A. Sawin having sold his interest in the Courier to G. M. Reynolds, the office of County Superintend- ent became vacant, and the Board of Super- visors appointed the Rev. Thomas N. Skinner to fill the unexpired term. He was at that time preaching for the Congregational church at New Hampton. He was a fine scholar, and entered the work with vim, but was too plain spoken in his criticisms of teachers and their work, and in calling attention to the insufficiency of the school houses and want of proper books. to become popular.
There was much dissatisfaction with the school law, forming, as it did, one district of each organized township, with sub-districts, all governed by the one township board. The law had been reported by the quasi legislative body. the State School Board, as provided by the new constition, and their work had been reviewed and amended by
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the General Assembly, but many thought the change too radical and mourned for the old individual independence of the one-man power. This feeling was so widespread that . the Board of Supervisors, at their meeting in 1S63,
Resolved, That the Board of Supervisors of Chickasaw County, Iowa, deem after long experi- ence and mature reflection, the present school system of Iowa a nuisance-a conglomerate of misunderstandings and inconsistencies, having a direct tendency to squander the school fund and benefiting the youth of our State but very little; and that we would recommend and use our influence to have the present school law remodeled. and each sub-district of the township to have the exclusive control and management of their own school matters, and that the County Superintend- ent be instructed to forward a copy of this resolu- tion to the Secretary of the Board of Education.
This is an indication that they had been hurt and had lost the individual control of their school, and probably did not recall the old adage that "The pride of the school dis- trict is the fool of the town." The law has stood the test of three decades, and the schools of the State have become the pride of every well balanced citizen.
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It is with a smile that we look back at the resolves of these wise county solons, as they sat in judgment on this law that at that time bad only been in force two years. and declare that "after long experience and mature reflection." I think they could all read, and I never had much trouble in deciphering their writing, but they bought a twelve-dollar dictionary to decide whether it was "spile-driver" or "pile-driver." The board were about to purchase such an arti- cle, and L. H. Weller called it " pile-driver," and Frank Dane called it "spile-driver." Dane was at once corrected by the erudite gentleman from Bradford. Dane at once asserted the correctness of his way of call- ing it, and ridiculed the idea of it being called "pile-driver." Earnest and eloquent speeches were made, pro and con. and to settle the matter the Sheriff was ordered to get a dictionary. A. E. Bigelow was acting as Sheriff, and he went out and bought a twelve-dollar dictionary and presented it to the board, together with the bill. The cause for which it was ordered was lost sight of in the reflection upon the light in which these representatives of the people would be looked upon in buying such a book for their educa-
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tion. G. A. Hamilton was County Auditor, and had made application to have his salary increased one hundred dollars per year, and seeing the obligation he would place the board under to him if he helped them out of this unfortunate dilemma, he proposed to take the book off their hands and not have the account of the same appear in the record. They promptly accepted the offer. and as promptly raised his salary one hun- dred dollars a year, thus making the tax- payers pay, in fact, one hundred dollars for this dictionary.
Among the first settlers of Richland township was John D. Hawse, who was loan- ing money at a high rate of interest, gener- ally forty per cent. It was reported that he was the representative of William Picket, who lived east. L. H. Weller had become the son-in-law of Picket, marrying his only daughter and prospective heiress. There was a little antagonism existing between Weller and Hawse, and it was rumored that after Hawse came west there was another exemplification of the old adage, "While the cat is away the mice are at play," and that Hawse had been supplanted in a way that entirely changed his prospective relations to
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