USA > Iowa > Buchanan County > History of Buchanan County, Iowa, and its people, Volume I > Part 5
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And in spite of all sorts of destructive agents, such as traps and guns and deadly poisons being employed, and even with the assistance of other hostile species such as cats, ferrets and terriers, they manifest no symptoms of approach- ing extermination. These pernicious rodents multiply and multiply and follow man to the ends of the earth, whether on sea or land and methinks a more dar- ing breed will e'en venture an aeroplane flight.
As someone has said, they seem to repeat with ironical emphasis the affection- ate words of Ruth to Naomi-"Whither thou goest, I will go, and where thou lodgest, I will lodge. Where thon diest will I die, and there will I be buried."
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HISTORY OF BUCHANAN COUNTY
The first and most prominent rat ever in Independence was said to have jumped off a freight car, but as the railroad did not come through until 1859 and three years later, according to the editor of the Guardian, who devotes almost half a column to the pernicious, vexations rodent, they were literally overrunning the town, so we conclude not to lay this too. against the railroad, but are inclined to believe that the original ancestral Mr. and Mrs. Rat came through in some- body's trunk, box or barrel, long before the days of rails and freight cars, when the means of transportation was horse power instead of steam. Nowadays, in building corn-eribs and granaries, every possible precaution is used to pre- vent the awful destruction of these troublesome pests, such as cement floors and the building elevated upon posts with inverted bowls or eups to keep out the intruders.
Another vicions habit of rats and mice, so authorities claim, is to carry dis- ease. llog cholera has often been spread this way. Just as now the common housefly is considered one of man's worst enemies in scattering disease germs, and we light that inseet as we would a poisonons snake. There was a time when they were considered rather a harmless and unpreventable, though most disagreeable and annoying adjunct to households, especially on the farm where they breed so prolifically, but nowadays every place we look, in all the papers and magazines, and even on placards printed especially, are we warned to "swat the fly, " and we are led to believe they are a menace both to health and cleanliness and our lack of intelligence and refinement are rather estimated according to the number of flies we accommodate on our premises, though this is a most unjust method.
Mosquitoes and ants come in for their share of the maledietions which we visit upon these other pests, especially the mosquito which we have in this locality, quite as pestiferous and rapacious though possibly not as large as the far-famed Jersey breed. Along the river banks and sloughs they breed most pro- lifically.
But these we can and do evade to a great extent, the mosquitoes by avoid- ing their habitats, and the ants with certain simple preventatives or annihilators. But the inseets and pests that come periodically and ravage the grain and veg- etable crops and those that ruin not only the fruit, but also the trees and shrubs and do such incalculable damage, seem to be beyond human annihilation.
Man with all his boasted intelligence, inventive genius and scientific research, seems utterly incapable of exterminating any of these pests. Thousands and thousands of dollars are spent every year by the Government and private con- cerns with this object in view, but as far as being successful, the money might as well go up in blue smoke, except that they are making other wonderful dis- coveries and probably checking the evil to some extent, besides some day they may hit upon the right thing.
One of the most disagreeable features with which the early settlers of this county had to contend was the snakes which infested the swamps and prairies in great abundance. Some of the old settlers' stories of their companionable visits to the families newly installed in the log houses would raise one's hair. They were everywhere and the settlers would encounter them in the most unusual and unheard of places. In the flour barrel, under and in the bed, erawling down the chimney and one old settler told upon opening her oven door in the morning,
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HISTORY OF BUCHANAN COUNTY
there lay a big snake coiled up enjoying the warmth retained in the stove from the fire the night before. They were not only in great abundance, but great variety, among them, blaeksnakes, rattlers, bull snakes, water moccasins, blue racers, adders, and the multitudinous garter snakes.
Most of these kinds are only seen occasionally nowadays but the garter, moccasin, and bull snakes are still numerons. But to return to the beantiful and interesting flora.
The most striking feature of this western prairie country is the great variety and abundance of its wild flowers and different kinds of grasses. Much of the original prairie and slough grasses have entirely disappeared since the cultiva- tion of the soil. Although the scenery of lowa is monotonous compared with other states, the flora ranks among the very first. From early in the spring, almost as soon as snow leaves the ground, the first spring flowers appear, the soft, pretty pussy willow, the beautiful erocus, the delicate anemone, the dainty wind flower, the shy, sweet violet, the modest little butter-eup and the bold, saucy, dandelion, all vie with each other as to who shall be first to bear the tidings that "Spring has come." Usually pussy willow and wind flowers are the first mes- sengers. Then from June on through all the summer there is a perfeet riot of bloom ; and autumn, too, is one blaze of glory with the gorgeous yellows and purples of golden-rod, daisies, and wild asters until snow comes again and "pale, concluding winter comes at last and shuts the scene."
To be sure, we do not have the lavish profusion of wild flowers that once be- decked the prairie, it is only along the railroad tracks and river banks and where the land seems almost untillable, that we see them in any great abundance, but even now we have more than most states. The strenuous cultivation of the fields has completely routed the original flora from their native haunts and many of them have become entirely extinct.
It is to be deeply regretted that this is the ease; if only there could be some precautionary measure taken to prevent such extermination as in the case of our native game. Why not have elosed seasons and flower preserves for this purpose ? We cannot leave this chapter without naming some of the beanties of our wild estate.
Besides the flowers which we have previously named, as early spring comers, are the blossoms of many of our shade and fruit trees which sometimes appear very early, if the season is advanced. The hard and soft maple, the elm, oak. basswood, boxelder, walumt, scarcely worthy of notice compared with the beauty and gorgeousness of the fruit trees, such as the plum, choke-cherry, and most beautiful of all, the wild erab-apple, whose exquisite blossoms bear such a won- derful promise of luseiousness, but "beauty is only skin deep" according to ancient lore, and this beauty is not even skin deep. One would scarcely believe it possible that such a fragrant, beautiful blossom could develop into such an ugly, sonr, gnarly apple, called cow-erab.
Other spring flowers are the hepatiea, or liverwort, blood-root, whose dark red juice stains indelibly and was used by the Indians for painting their faces,- dogtooth violet, May-apple, Dutchman's breeches, so appropriately named, but sometimes called squirrel's corn because of the cluster of small yellow bulbs which resemble corn, true and false, Solomon's seal, so named because of the scars on the root which suggested the seal of Israel's wise king, the false Solo-
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HISTORY OF BUCHANAN COUNTY
mon's seal is commonly called wild lily of the valley, the jack in the pulpit, a freakish flower and said to be a poor relation to the beautiful and stately calla lily. Harebells, those dear little flowers that grow in the crevices of rocks where there seems to be really no soil to support them, the March marigold or cow-slips, wild ginger, wild geranium or eraneshill, bluet, Indian tobacco, bell-wort and lonse-wort, blue-eyed and star grass, Jacob's ladder, or wild blue-bells, bulbous Press, shooting star. Creeping Charley or ground ivy, wild strawberry, bird-foot violet, wood sorrel, five finger, Columbine or wild honey-suckle, wild oats, hairy puecoon or Indian paint, purple Hlebane or pink daisies, yellow vetch, wild pea, golden Alexander. sheep sorrel, and the rare and exquisite lady slipper which is first cousin to the orchids, and probably dozens more are all spring flowers and every year some twenty-five or thirty of these lovely blossoms are classified, pressed. and mounted as specimens for botany herbarims.
Then, the summer bloom is really too numerous to mention, but first of all and commanding most attention on account of its wonderful beanty and fra- grance is the wild rose, our own state flower, the wild phloxes or Sweet Williams, wild sun-flowers, and so called wild daisies or Black-eyed Susans of which there are many varieties, bouncing Bet, white or red elover, wild primrose, Indian plantain, wild snapdragon, or butter and eggs as the children call it, wild eneum- ber, horse balm, catmint, bears grass, Spanish bayonet, and the yellow and white pond lilies, the iris and flag and other water plants, and all the many different species of ferns which grow in rank profusion along the river banks are all a part of summer's loveliness. And in the fall there is still no dearth of variety and beauty. The fall flowers are the most gorgeous and showy of all. The fields and roadsides are one splash of rich and gaudy color, yellows and purples predominating.
At this season of the year the beautiful, feathery golden-rod flourishes, there are about forty different varieties of this flower and it grows in nearly all, if not every state in the Union, hence was selected as our national emblem and many varieties grow in this state. It certainly is one of the most satisfactory flowers for it blooms for so long a season and its flowers last so long, even when picked.
The wild asters and white and yellow daisies, wild sun-flowers, yellow cone- flower, milk weed, fringed gentian, rosin plant, purple thistles, and prairie plumes lend their beauty to enhance autumn's glory.
In speaking of flora that are extinet, or rather fast becoming so, we would mention the lady slipper, which is rarely found now, and the exquisite white pond lilies which used to grow so profusely in all the sloughs and bayous, north of Independence, are growing more and more scarce; the maiden-hair fern now only grows in the most secluded spots-and many more will soon be exterminated.
Nothing could be more interesting than the study of birds and flowers but we must not entirely neglect the forest trees which are indigenous to this country -there are many, although this is not what is known as a timber country.
At the time of settlement, the only timber was along the streams and this was ruthlessly eut for fuel and building purposes as that was the only available sub- stance thay had to burn, or with which to build. Huge trees were hewn for log houses, it was several years before stone was utilized, and even more before lumber was hauled in for building, but even though the early settlers ravished the native timber they began immediately to replenish it by planting about their
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HISTORY OF BUCHANAN COUNTY
houses trees of the quick growing species, and whole groves were planted on the prairies for wind breaks and for shade and shelter for stock. The soft maple. cottonwood and poplar, mostly the latter, were the first trees planted. Although the sandy, alluvial soils of the river valleys have the most congenial conditions for the cottonwood and white or soft maple, they grow with astonishing rapidity upon all varieties of soil found in the state, and flourish as well on the prairies as in the valleys as does also the willow which we see planted along the line fences for borders but which was not mentioned in connection with the early growth. The box-elder is also a quick grower and much used. The Osage orange also was planted to some extent for hedge purposes but did not prove satisfactory. They become a perfect tangle and spread so that they have been destroyed more or less and grow but few places in the county. The catalpa is now the most popular, quick growing tree used for posts, and we believe is more extensively planted than any other.
From the previous Buchanan history, we quote, "although the use of coal, both hard and soft, has greatly increased throughout our state, in the past ten years. yet it is doubtless true, now, as it always has been, that wood is the prin- cipal and preferred fuel of our people generally, and that if it were everywhere found in sufficiently large quantities, they would probably never care to change their established habits in the use of fuel, by discarding it for any other." And it further goes on to state, "that it was feared by many, that the amount of fuel which lowa could be made to produce would not be sufficient to meet the wants of the prospective inhabitants that her fertile soil is capable of supporting in plenty," but that authority considered those fears were utterly groundless, in view of the fact that there had been recent extensive discoveries of coal and peat in the state, and that alone would be sufficient supply, but in addition to this there would be a great plenty, at least, for domestic purposes, for all the present and prospective inhabitants, produced from the soil alone, by the growth of forest trees.
The preceding paragraphs but demonstrate the shortsightedness of humans, who with their little finite minds cannot estimate a future, and if perchance some wizard makes bold to prophesy some wonderful, startling thing that will transpire, his generation scoff and ridicule and judge him to be unbalaneed. But with all the wonderful discoveries and inventions and fulfillments of aneient prophecies in the past twenty-five years we are no less prone to seoff.
The idea that lowa could produce enough wood or even coal for fuel for all prospective inhabitants, was demonstrated years ago, to be utterly inadequate for all their needs and this is further proved by the continued high price of wood in spite of its abundance, the thousands of earloads of coal, both hard and soft, which is shipped in from other states, besides the extensive mining in our own state, and also the great amount of manufactured fuels, such as gas of sev- eral kinds, gasoline, kerosene, and electricity. To be sure, wood is on the market for fuel nowadays but it is the rarest exception to find anyone burning it, and it is considered next to electricity, the most extravagant of all fuels. Even for building purposes, cement and cement blocks, stueco, brick, and stone are fast taking the place of lumber in many parts of the country. Stucco and cement are particularly popular other places. Either climatic conditions or a lack of knowledge about these materials seem to be unfavorable to an extensive use
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HISTORY OF BUCHANAN COUNTY
of them for building. in this immediate vicinity. Probably in the future they will constitute the chief building material.
What timber is cut off is mostly used for fuel by those fortunate enough to own it, and some of the better kind is sawed into humber. Undoubtedly there will come a time when it will be impossible to buy any of native growth. Almost the only timber being eut at the present time is to thin out the undergrowth, and for the purpose of cultivating the land which Farmers deem too high prieed to lay idle as timber land and just used for pasture purposes.
In reading some old county papers, we found where corn had been used for fuel because it was so much cheaper and easier to get. The writer of this article referred to had burned several loads of it in the City of Independence in the winter of 1872-3 and found it both pleasant and much more economical, even in a county as well wooded as Buchanan. The editor said some conscientious people objected to the use of a food product for fuel, but he maintained that corn was eaten to produce the warmth of the body (a body fuel) and that when it was consumed in a stove the result was analogous, if not identical; and he believed that when it was so cheap, it was more economical for fuel than any other, and that was proof sufficient, it was not needed for food, and it was better to burn it in stoves For the comfort and enjoyment of humans, rather than turn it into "liquid fire" for the destruction of human happiness and virtue and even life itself.
We can scarcely imagine a time when corn was of so little value that it was used as fuel, when now, even though we are known as the corn growing state and produce more bushels than any other state in the Union, and Buchanan County has almost one-half of her entire cultivated acreage in the production of this cereal-the demand elsewhere would not allow of its being used for such a purpose.
In those early days, even though the supply of corn might be great and the market demand just as great, the lack of any. or poor shipping facilities would govern the prices, and there being so little stock in the country the production far exceeded any demand for home consumption, so necessarily it must be utilized in other ways.
Now, some people are thankful to have even the cobs to burn. In the country where the corn is shelled, the farmers burn them lavishly while in the town the Houring mill is the only accessible place to get them, so they are used more sparingly.
For fuel woods of course the hard woods are far preferable because of slower growth and hence more compact ; the several species of oak, elm, walnut, and hickory are fine, hoth for the heat they contain and because they are consumed slowly. The cottonwood, poplar, basswood, maple, ete., are popular for summer use, making a quick fire and one that burns out soon. Hickory is considered the very best, making a fine fire and very little ash. while cottonwood is the poorest. a quick burner and much ash. The names of trees following appear in the order of their estimated rapidity of growth, cottonwood, white maple, catalpa, willow, elm, oak. It is a noticeable and alarming fact that much of the native timber is dying out from some unaccountable cause. Everywhere this is evident along the banks of the Wapsie, especially above the first bridge the banks are lined with dead trees, mostly willows and els, but this is owing
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HISTORY OF BUCHANAN COUNTY
to the dam at Independence maintaining a higher stage of water than formerly and actually drowning them out. Even the willows which are purposely de- stroyed along the roads, added much to the beauty of the river and their dying is much to be regretted. Ants and other insects destroy many trees. Just now many residents of Independence are employing a scientific forester to "doctor" their diseased trees and it is truly wonderful what methods are employed to save their "patients."
But to diseuss all the different woods for fuels is rather a waste of time, considering that we are burning less and less of it each year. In giving the reasons for this, one of the most important was omitted and that is the high price of labor. Even those who own timber land and would be glad to burn the wood, cannot afford to pay the extreme prices for both the cutting and the hauling.
Oak wood sells for $6.00 a cord and at least $2.00 for sawing, preparing it for the stove and piling, making it a high priced fuel in comparison to coal, some varieties of soft coal being sold for $3.50 per ton, which we think extremely high. On consulting the records of 1862 to 1864, we find the regular selling price was $6.00 to $8.00 per cord for oak. One year the county contracted for wood at $9.00 per cord. This seems almost improbable considering the comparative abundance of it then and its value a short time previous, but even at that price it was next to impossible to get it, no teamster could be hired and no farmer could spare the time, labor was too scarce and too high priced ($2.00 per day) to pay for cutting wood. For months this condition existed and the town people would surround a load of wood as though it were gold nuggets and the bidding waxed fast and furious till prices became exorbitant. One cold day in January, 1862, a load brought into Independence was bid up and sold for $14.00, which was equivalent to $18.00 a cord but this was an exceptional case and only reached this extreme price on account of the improvidence of those early settlers. The editor's plea for a jag of wood "claiming he had been burning one old gnarly knot for weeks and weeks" is rather amusing reading now. In 1865 a wood market and measure was established by the city and D. S. Deering was appointed wood "surveyor." this being a new office created because of the difficulties and disagreements over the size "of a cord of wood."
The most of the wood is used for fence posts and some little lumber is sawed, although it is of an inferior grade. Wood sawing machines that can saw many cords of wood a day. now are operated in the country and saw up enough fuel in one day for an entire winter's burning.
In the original natural growth of trees indigenous to this county, the prin- cipal kinds. in order of their abundance were, the oaks, several species, cotton- wood, elm. white maple, linden, hickory, sugar maple, and black walnut, cherry, butternut, ash, and others but in recent years the relative abundanee in the nat- ural growth has somewhat changed the black oak, hickory, elm, white maple, box-elder, cherry, black walnut, oak, sugar maple, and others.
For artificial groves and wood lands undoubtedly the white maple is the most used, with black walnut almost as popular, while for general use especially in the towns, the elm is the greatest favorite exceeding the oaks in use because they are of quicker growth, although the oaks are considered the tree of all trees.
The following catalogne is of the principal indigenous trees of this county : Acer dasyearpum, white or soft maple ; acer saccharinum, sugar or hard maple ;
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IHISTORY OF BUCHANAN COUNTY
earya alba, hickory ; carya amara, pignut hickory ; celtis occidentalis, hackberry ; rerasus serotina, black wild cherry ; -, choke cherry ; fraxinis Americana, white ash : gleditschia triacanthus, honey locust ; juglans cinerea, butternut or white waht ; juglans nigra, black walnut ; negindo aceroidea, box- elder; platanus occidentalis, button-ball or sycamore ; populas monilifera, cot-
tonwood ; , poplar ; populas tremuloids, aspen ; quercus alba, white oak ; quercus imbricaria, laurel oak ; quereus macrocarpa, bur oak ;
, red oak ; quercus tinctorial, black oak ; Americans, linden or basswood ; ulinus Americana, common or white elm ; ulmus fulva, slippery or red el ; prunis strobus, white pine, which formerly grew along Pine Creek ; shagbark hickory, bitternut hickory, water birch, juniperus Virginiana, red cedar, in scattered localities on the Wapsie; prunus Americana, wild yellow or red phim, and the pryus Coronaria, American crabapple, both of which grow in great profusion and in almost every thicket and natural timber, the hawthorn, blackhaw, willow and bittersweet, and the Virginia ereeper or common woodbine, wild grape and other vines, also grow in profusion in the native woods.
GAME QUADRUPEDS
In connection with this chapter of flora and fauna, we must devote some space and time to the game which was so plentiful here in the early days that it was known as "Hunter's Paradise," but that title has long since become obsolete. Of the game quadrupeds, the elk, buffalo, bear, deer, rabbit, and squirrel were found here in more or less abundance, but all have disappeared except the last two named, which on account of their small size and habits of concealment have successfully eluded the hunter's gun and every other extermin- ating device.
Both buffaloes and elks were rather searce when the county was first settled, although in some of the surrounding counties they were quite numerous. About the early '60s marked the entire disappearance of the buffalo in lowa and the elk followed but a little later. Asa Blood, Jr., one of the earliest pioneers shot a fine elk on what is now Oakwood Cemetery, in Independence, on the 2nd of December, 1848. Mr. Blood was the only male adult left in the settlement, all the others having gone off on an elk hunt, which he was prevented from joining by an attack of fever and ague, the prevalent disease of new countries. It would almost seem as if the animal out of compassion for the young hunter's privation had come of its own accord to give him a chance for a little sport, in spite of "Old Shaky's" interdiet. He seized his gun and after a few minutes pursuit came upon the animal and succeeded in killing it. It was a doe and when dressed weighed 600 pounds, which he distributed among the few families of the settlement. That same fall his father, Asa Blood, Sr., purchased a herd of seven buffalo and seven elk of the Quasqueton hunter, Rufus B. Clark, for about five hundred dollars. Clark had captured them when calves, two or three years before, twenty or thirty miles west of there, sometimes as far as Ackley. One such trip was made by Rufus Clark, JJames Biddinger, and two others who took with them a team, one cow and horses to ride and returned with three young elks. Then in the spring of 1844, Clark, Kessler and several others started out on a buffalo and elk hunt, taking several cows, tents, fast horses, ox teams,
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