History of Buchanan County, Iowa, with illustrations and biographical sketches, Part 8

Author: Williams bros., Cleveland, pub. [from old catalog]; Riddle, A. G. (Albert Gallatin), 1816-1902
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Cleveland, Williams brothers
Number of Pages: 574

USA > Iowa > Buchanan County > History of Buchanan County, Iowa, with illustrations and biographical sketches > Part 8

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But the new species, both animal and vegetable, which were brought in by the settlers, and which have done most toward changing the physical features of the coun- ty, are, of course, those which they brought by design, for their own sustenance, convenience, or pleasure. They brought grains and grasses, esculent roots and vegetables, and that sweet little conqueror, white clover, which not only displaces most native weeds, but even

HISTORY OF BUCHANAN COUNTY, IOWA.

exterminates that odious usurper, May weed; and these are now cultivated on the prairies and are fast usurping the places of the wild species that once flour- ished there. They brought many new species of flowers, and these now decorate the grounds about their dwell- ings, which are also adorned and shaded by ornamental trees and shrubs, the descendants of those which once adorned their ancestral homes in the east. Many of the native groves have disappeared, to furnish fuel or timber: but a still greater number, composed partly of native and partly of foreign trees, have been planted here and there for shade and protection from winds, and these now di- versify and decorate the landscape, which but a few years ago presented only an unbroken and monotonous ex- panse of herbage in summer, and of snow in winter.

The settlers also brought with them their domestic fowls-the common hen, the turkey, and (more sparing- ly) the Guinea fowl-and these are taking the place of the wild turkey (once so abundant in the timber, but now seldom found there), and are fast taking the place of the prairie hen, which for many years was the delight of our sportsmen, but is now becoming comparatively rare within the limits of the county, and may soon cease to be considered game any longer. And they also brought with them their domesticated quadrupeds, their horses, mules, cattle, hogs, and sheep-as also their dogs and cats-and these have usurped the places of the buffaloes, elks, deer, and bears, once so numer- ous, quite as completely as the white men have usurped the places of the Indians. If any of the last mentioned quadrupeds are now seen in this county, they have been tamed and brought here as curiosities, just as any of the Indian race that may now chance to stray across these prairies, once the hunting grounds of their sires, are tame enough in comparison with those wild and warlike progenitors.

It is sad to contemplate the extinction of a species, whether animal or vegetable. The death of an individ- ual, except one of our own race to whom we have borne some intimate relation, affects us slightly. We look upon it as a necessity, and have become reconciled to it. But the death of an entire species, when once we grasp the idea of it, seems something almost appalling. And the nearer such an event comes to our own times, the more sensibly we are affected by it. Thus we take a much deeper interest in the remains of the mastodon, whose era must have come very near, if, indeed, it did not over- lap that of man, than we do in those which belong to the earlier geological eras. And that interest measures the regret we feel at the loss of a species. Much greater, therefore, is our regret at the prospective extinction of any species with which we have been familiar, or which has lived during our own times. We suspect that even the total extinction of rats would give us a pang of re- gret, however much we might be glad to get rid of their annoyance. However this may be, there is certainly no man of sensibility who does not experience a genuine sorrow at the almost certain prospect of the ultimate ex- termination of the buffaloes, those shaggy lords of the plains, who, with the Indians, for countless centuries held

joint empire in this western world. As they do not seem to possess the qualities that would render them service- able in a state of domestication, and as they cannot (or will not) live in the midst of civilized surroundings, their total extinction seems to be only a question of time.

And that other species, both animal and vegetable, that once flourished on the prairies, are doomed to fol- low the buffaloes into a state of annihilation, seems only too probable. The prairie hen is as incapable as the buffalo of being domesticated, and may linger a little longer than he on the borders of civilization. And doubtless many of the prairie flowers and grasses will also disappear before the plow and the cultivator and in- truding species that accompany them. The legislature seeks to protect certain animals, ard prolong the duration of their species, by the enactment of game laws. And it seems almost a pity that the law could not accomplish something in the same direction for wild plants-perhaps by setting apart small tracts of land in favorable locali- ties, as a sort of "preserves" or "reservations," in which our aboriginal flora might find an unmolested home, and there perpetuate itself through all coming time. But as this idea would probably be thought "too sentimental for anything," we have often looked with an eye of hope (if not of faith) to the railroads, now so rapidly multiplying, as a possible means for accomplishing this desirable end. As we have been whirled along one of the earlier of these tracks, through some of the cultivated portions of our State, and have looked ont upon the well-tilled fields, smiling in the verdure of grains and cultivated grasses which had completely usurped the place of the original flora ; it has been with a feeling of actual delight that we have observed on each side of the track, within the rail- road fences, the strips of ground which have been kept uncultivated and free from the inroads of cattle, still covered with the native grasses and flowers, in all their wild luxuriance and beauty. And it has seemed to us a most interesting thought, that these steam ways, the type and representative of modern progress, and prophecy of still greater achievements in the future, should prove, at the same time, the most efficient conservator of those touching mementoes of a vanishing age. And when we have seen a cabin set up on one of these strips of ground, with its thread of a garden patch extending for rods in each direction; with all our sympathy for the poor, we have not been able to repress a sort of indignation ; and we have almost been led to think that if a man cannot make a living, in a country like this, without invading such a reservation as that, his continued existence in this sublunary state, is a matter of less importance than that of the aboriginal flowers which he thus lends himself as a tool to exterminate.

The two railroads which now pass through this county, contain about two hundred acres of ground in the strips (as above described) along the sides of their tracks. If all this ground could be reserved for the purpose we have briefly hinted at, it would be sufficient to preserve from extermination all the herbaceous plants which belong to the original flora of the county. And the native trees and shrubs, growing, as they do, in localities which will

HISTORY OF BUCHANAN COUNTY, IOWA.

be brought latest into cultivation (and some of which will never be cultivated at all) require less care for their preservation. Most of them, in fact, will be able to fight their way unaided.

CHARACTERISTIC PRAIRIE FLOWERS.

To one coming to this State from the east, the first sight of a prairie, with its most characteristic plants in blossom, is a pleasure long to be remembered. Their most attractive season is in early June ; but midsummer and autumn have also their peculiar blossoms, so that, from early spring till "pale, concluding winter comes at last and shuts the scene," the prairies are never devoid of interest. If the newcomer is at all scientifically in- clined, the sight of so many new floral faces will be likely to stimulate his botanical curiosity to such an extent, that he will not be able to rest contented till he has learned their names and been formally introduced. This was pre- cisely our case, and the most of the little we know about botany, was learned from the prairies of Iowa-a part of it from the prairies and groves of Buchanan county.

As appropriate to this part of our history, we will give here the names of a few of the plants which are most characteristic of the Buchanan prairies, and whose blos- soms, in the different seasons of bloom, do most to di- versify and adorn them. Some of these are found only on the prairies, while others are also found in forest regions. To a professional botanist, the list we give would seem very meagre. But we are not writing for professional botanists.

The following are the most conspicuous flowers in May and the first part of June :

Lithospermum canescens, with the common name of Hoary Puccoon or Alkanet. A low plant, from six to fifteen inches high, with large flowers of a deep orange color.

Astragalus caryocarpus, or ground plum. Flower vio- let purple.

Dodecatheon maedia, or shooting star.

Baptisia lencophoea, or false indigo. Flowers cream color and very showy.

Ranunculus rhomboideus, a species of crawfoot.

Delphiniun azureum, or blue larkspur.

Froximon cuspidatum, a low plant with large yellow flowers.

Rosa blanda, the early wild rose-more attractive to the botanist, in its simple beauty, than the finest double rose of the gardens.

Mertensia virginica, or lungwort, a low plant with fine purplish blue flowers, often cultivated.

Two or three species of wild phlox, equal in beauty to the cultivated varieties.

During the summer months the following characteris- tic plants are in blossom :

Cacalia tuberosa, the tuberous Indian plantain, grow- ing from two to six feet in height, and bearing large heads of composite flowers, of a whitish color.

Cirsium altissimum, a showy thistle, sometimes ten feet high.

Hieracium longipilum, or longbearded hawkweed-a tall plant with yellow flowers.

Lilium philadelphicum, the wild orange-red lily-a very conspicuous and beautiful flower.

Oxybaphus nyctagines, the only member of the Nycta- ginaceæ, or four-o'clock family, found in the north- ern United States. It is represented in our gardens by the common four-o'clock, or marvel of Peru.

Spiraea lobata, the "queen of the prairie."

One or two species of tradescantia, or spiderwort

Verbena stricta, or wild vervain, and perhaps one or two other species of the same genus.

Petalostemon, or prairie clover. Two species, rose- purple and white.

Amorpha canescens, or dead plant-the common name having been given to it, from the early notion that it indicated the presence of lead ore.

Calystegia, a plant resembling the morning glory.

Silphium laciniatum, commonly called rosin weed from its copious resinous juice-also compass plant, from being said to present the edges of its stalk (which is of an eliptical shape) in a north and south direction.

Echinacea, or purple coneflower. Two species, tall and showy.

Coreopsis palmata, a near relative of the showy species commonly cultivated in gardens.

Liatris pychnostachia, commonly called button snake- root, or blazing star. It is a tall plant, crowned with a long spike of purple blossoms. It flowers, for the most part in August, but frequently continues in blossom dur- ing the following month.

The autumn prairie flowers are mostly yellow; and though this color is not a favorite with the florists, it seems most in harmony with the glorious sunshine of our western autumns. The following are a few of the more conspicuous flowers that adorn our prairies, just before "the growing year is over:"

Rudbeckid, or yellow cone-flower-two or three species belonging to the order of compositae (as do the most of the late summer and autumn flowers) with very graceful long and drooping rays.

Solidago, or golden rod, also of several species. A showy, plum-like flower, common at the east; where "we boys" were accustomed to use it in the olden time, in "playing trooper."

Vernonia fasciculata, or iron weed.

Aster sericeus, which Professor Gray describes as "an elegant silvery species; the large heads with twenty to thirty rays, of a half inch or more in length." The last named flower is blue-the one next previous, purple.

Boltonia glastifolia. The rays white or purplish, and the disk yellow- resembling some of the asters.

Helianthus, or sun flower, several species, tall and conspicuous-near relatives of the mammoth plant of the same name, cultivated in gardens.

Nabalus, or rattlesnake root, several species .- Fowers. greenish-white or cream-color, often tinged with purple.

Gentiana, or gentian-also several species-among which are the celebrated gentiana crinitia, or fringed gentian ; and gentiana andrewsii, or closed gentian.

HISTORY OF BUCHANAN COUNTY, IOWA.

Monarda punctata, or horse mint; "corolla nearly smooth, yellowish, the upper lip spotted with purple- very odorous and pungent." This plant is also common at the east.

As every way appropriate to the subject now under con- sideration, we present here some reflections upon the

ORIGIN OF THE PRAIRIES.

These reflections are taken from the "Report of the Geological Survey of the State of Iowa," published in 1870, by Charles A. White, M. D., State geologist,-with a very few modifications to adapt them to our use.

The question of the origin of the prairies, has become more hackneyed, perhaps, than any other of the specula- tive questions which North America geology affords; and yet it seems to be no nearer a solution, satisfactory to all, than when it first began to be discussed. It is not proposed to discuss this question at length, nor to even to present the different views that have been published by different authors; but only to state a few facts, offer a few suggestions, and perhaps leave the subject as un- settled in the minds of others, as it was before.

By the word prairie we mean any considerable surface of land that is free from forest trees and shrubbery, and covered, more or less thickly with grasses and other plants which, if not annual, survive the winter only in their roots. This is also the popular understanding of the term. It is estimated that about seven-eighths of the surface of Iowa is prairie, or was so, when the State was first settled. And that is about the ratio of prairie to timber land in Buchanan county. The prairies are not confined to the level surface, but are sometimes even quite hilly and broken; and it is well known that they are not confined to any particular variety of soil, for they prevail equally upon alluvial, drift and lacustral soils. Indeed, we sometimes find a single prairie whose surface includes all these varieties, portions of which may be respectively sandy, gravelly, clayey, or loamy. Neither are they confined to the region of any particular geological forma- tions which may underlie them, nor does their character seem at all dependent upon any such formations; for within the State af Iowa they rest upon all formations, from those of the azoic to those of cretaceous age inclusive, which embrace almost all kinds of rock-such as quartzite, friable sandstone, magnesian limestone, common limestone, impure chalk, clay, clayey and sandy shales, etc. Southwestern Minnesota is almost one continuous prairie upon the drift, which rests directly upon, not only the hard Sioux quartzite, but also directly upon the granite.

Thus, whatever the origin of the prairies may have been, we have the positive assurance that their present existence, in Iowa and its immediate vicinity, is not due to the influence of climate, to the character or composi- tion of the soil, nor to the character of any of the un- derlying formations. It now remains to say, without the least hesitation, that the real cause of the present exist- ence of the prairies in Iowa, is the prevalence of the an- nual fires. If these had been prevented sixty years ago, Iowa would now be a timbered instead of a prairie State.

Thus far we have stated facts and what are deemed to be legitimate deductions from them. The following statements are offered only as suggestions: We have no evidence to show or intimate that any of the prairies ever had a growth of trees upon them-notwithstanding the fact that those, at least, of the eastern part of the great prairie region, will support an abundance of timber, after it is once introduced, if protected from the fires. There seems to be no good reason why we should regard forests, any nore than prairies. as the natural or normal condition of the surface. Indeed, it seems the more natural inference that the occupation of the surface by the forests has taken place by dispersion from original centres; and that they encroached upon the original sur- face until met and checked by the destructive power of the fires.

Then arise questions like the following, which are not easily answered, and for which no answers are at present proposed: When was fire first introduced upon the prair- ies, and how? Could any but human agency have in- troduced annual fires upon them? If they could have been introduced only by the agency of man, why did the forests not occupy the prairies before man came to intro- duce his fires; since we see the great tendency of forests to encroach upon the prairies, as soon as the fires are made to cease? The prairies, doubtless, existed as such almost immediately after the close of the glacial epoch. Did man then exist and possess the use of fire, that he might annually have burnt the prairies of so large a part of the continent, and thus constantly have prevented the encroachment of the forests? As the ice of the glacial epoch extended across the continent, why was the east covered with forests and the west with prairies ?

It may be that these questions will never be satisfac- torily answered; but nothing is more evident than that the forests would soon occupy a large proportion of the prairie region of North America, if the prairie fires were made to cease, and no artificial efforts were made to pre- vent the growth and spread of trees.

We will bring to a close our chapter on the physical features of the county by inserting here the article on

FOREST TREES,

taken from the work mentioned above, with still more changes and additions than were found necessary in the previous article, to adapt it to our use.

Although the use of coal, both hard and soft, has greatly increased throughout our State, in the past ten ycars, yet it is doubtless true now, as it always has been, that wood is the principal and preferred fuel of our peo- ple 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. It has been feared by many that the amount of fuel which Iowa 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 it is believed that the discoveries already made of coal and peat have demonstrated the groundlessness of such fears, even if

HISTORY OF BUCHANAN COUNTY, IOWA.

no other sources of supply were considered. In addi- tion to these, however, it is proposed to show in this place that a sufficient amount of fuel, at least for domestic use, for all the present and prospective inhabit- ants of the State, may be produced from the soil alone, by the growth of forest trees.

It has been shown that the growth of forest trees can be cultivated as successfully as a crop of corn, upon all the varieties of our soil; and, this question being settled in the minds of those interested in the subject, it be- comes necessary to consider the time within which the result may be practically accomplished ; because, to meet the wants of the rapidly increasing population, it is necessary that some almost immediate supply be provided in the case of the broad prairie districts. Some such districts are upon, or adjacent to the coal fields. Some are adjacent to considerable bodies of woodland, and others have important deposits of peat; from all of which sources immediate supplies of fuel may be obtained. But besides these, there are other broad and fertile tracts that have none of the advantages just named, and those who occupy them must rely for their supply of fuel upon distant sources or upon its production from the soil. Railroads are being rapidly constructed which will carry coal from distant coal fields to a large part of these prairie regions ; but a large proportion of the inhabitants of Iowa must depend mostly for their ordinary fuel upon the growth of trees.

As several years must elapse before even those trees which grow most rapidly could become serviceable for fuel, the question arises: "What could be done, in the meantime, by those districts which should essay to de- pend for their fuel upon the products of the soil?" To this it may be answered that, even in as well wooded a county as Buchanan, corn has more than once been found to be cheaper fuel than wood. The writer of this burnt several loads of corn in the city of Independence in the winter of 1872-3, and found it both pleasant and economical. Many conscientious people object to the use of corn for fuel on the alleged ground that it is wrong to burn up anything produced for food. But corn is eaten to maintain the warmth (inseparate from life) of the body; and when it is consumed in a stove, the ob- ject is closely analogous if not identical. When it is so abundant and so cheap that it can be economically used for fuel, there is the best reason to believe that it is not needed for food; and, in any case, it cannot be so bad to burn it up for the advancement of human comfort as it is to turn it into a "liquid fire" for the destruction of human happiness and virtue and life itself, in this world and the next. And, besides, wood is as much a vege- table product as corn. Sugar is a necessary article of food; and hard maple, one of the most approved trees for fuel, produces an excellent sugar. If, therefore, it is wrong to burn corn because it may be used for food, it must be wrong, for a similar reason, to burn the sugar maple. And so the argument against the use of corn falls to the ground.

It is also said that the mammoth sunflower can profit- ably be cultivated for fuel; and we see no reason to doubt

the truth of the statement. Of this, however, we cannot speak from observation, and therefore proceed to consider the subject already introduced, namely, the production of fuel by the cultivation of trees.

By first planting those trees which have the most rapid growth, to be followed immediately by those of the slower growth and greater density of wood, one not acquainted with the subject would be surprised to see how quickly a supply of fuel may be obtained, and how a future supply of the best kinds of wood can be established. The principal kinds of trees indigenous to the State, which are or may be used as fuel, are the following, given in the order of their estimated relative abundance by natural growth at present in the State at large: oaks-several species-cottonwood, elm, white maple, linden, hickory, sugar maple, black walnut.

The oaks form the greater part of the firewood now used throughout the State. In some parts cottonwood is scarcely used at all for fuel; but in others, better wood being scarce, it constitutes the greater part of the fuel used by the inhabitants. Other trees, such as hackberry, ash, honey-locust, slippery elm, butternut, etc., are occa- sionally used as fuel; but they are comparatively so few in number that they hardly deserve mention as varieties of fuel. In the new natural growth of these trees the relative abundance is somewhat changed, the black oak, hickory and black walnut increasing. The trees named as follows are those which will probably be most used for cultivation-the names being given in the order of their estimated rapidity of growth: cottonwood, white maple, black walnut, oaks, sugar maple, and hickory.

The relative value of these kinds of wood for fuel is estimated to be in the same order, cottonwood being the poorest and hickory the best; or in other words, the slower the growth of the tree, the more valuable it is for fuel. But taking into account the necessity that exists for immediate supplies of fuel in many parts of Iowa, the cottonwood becomes one of our most valuable trees, because of its rapid growth. As soon as it has performed this valuable pioneer service it should be laid aside to give place to more solid and useful varieties.

The most congenial habitat of the cottonwood is upon the sandy alluvial soils of the river valleys : but it grows' with astonishing rapidity upon all varieties of soil in the State, and flourishes as well upon the prairies as in the valleys. Instances are numerous of the growth of this tree from the seed, or from a riding stick stuck into the prairie soil, to the size of from twelve to fifteen inches in diameter, a foot above the ground, within the space of ten or twelve years. So rapid is its growth that those well acquainted with it, estimate that ten acres planted with the seeds or young shoots will, at the end of five years, supply a large family continually with all necessary fuel-the wood being allowed to grow up again as fast as it is cut away. Indeed a large number of persons have practically proved the correctness of these estimates.

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History of Buchanan County, Iowa, with illustrations and biographical sketches, Part 8

Author: Williams bros., Cleveland, pub. [from old catalog]; Riddle, A. G. (Albert Gallatin), 1816-1902 Publication date: 1881 Publisher: Cleveland, Williams brothers Number of Pages: 574

Author: Williams bros., Cleveland, pub. [from old catalog]; Riddle, A. G. (Albert Gallatin), 1816-1902
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Cleveland, Williams brothers
Number of Pages: 574