History of Butler and Bremer counties, Iowa, Part 90

Author: Union publishing company, Springfield, Ill
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Springfield, Ill., Union publishing company
Number of Pages: 1316

USA > Iowa > Butler County > History of Butler and Bremer counties, Iowa > Part 90
USA > Iowa > Bremer County > History of Butler and Bremer counties, Iowa > Part 90

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political, literary and otherwise. In Sep- tember, 1869, however, the board of super- visors directed the Sheriff to exclude from the building "all parties except political and county societies."

The fire-proof building constructed of brick and iron, 32x48 feet in size, and one story in heighth, is located upon the south side of the large square which incloses the. court house, to which it is conveniently adjacent. It was erected at a cost of about $5,000, in the summer of 1870, for the bet- ter accommodation of county officers, and to ensure the safe preservation of the pub- lic records. Though unpretentious in style, it is a neat and commodious structure, and contains the offices of the county auditor, recorder, clerk of courts, and treasurer.

THE COUNTY'S NAME.

The territory comprising Bremer county was originally a part of the Winnebago reservation. It subsequently became a part of the "Neutral Land." On the pass- age of the act creating the counties in the northern part of the State, the name Bre- mer was bestowed upon this territory, at the suggestion of Governor Hempstead, in honor of Frederika Bremer, a noted Sweed- ish authoress.

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HISTORY OF BREMER COUNTY.

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CHAPTER III.

PIONEER LIFE.

One of the most interesting phases of national or local history, is that of the set- tlement of a new country. What was the original state in which the pioneer found the country, and how was it made to blos- som as the rose?

Pioneer life in Bremer county finds its parallel in almost every county in the State, and throughout the entire West. While some of the customs here given may not be entirely applicable to pioneer life in Bremer, they are a truthful repre- sentation of pioneer life in general, and are thus worthy a place in this volume. When Charles McCaffree, Jacob Beelah, and others of that noble band of pioneers settled here, they found an unbroken wilderness. Wild beasts, and but little less wild savages, roamed at will over the prairie, through the forests, and along the waters of the Iowa river and its numerous tributaries. Forests were to be felled, cabins erected, mills built, and the river and creeks made to labor for the benefit of mankind. The beautiful prairies were to be robbed of their natural orna- ments, and the hand of art was to assist in their decoration. Who was to undertake this work? Are they qualified for the task? What will be the effect of their labors upon future generations?

The Bremer county pioneers had many difficulties to contend with, not the least of which was the journey from civilization

to the forest homes. The route lay for the most part through a rough country; swamps and marshes were crossed with great exertion and fatigue; rivers were forded with difficulty and danger; nights were passed on open prairies, with the sod for a couch and the heavens for a shelter; long, weary days and weeks of travel were endured, but finally the "promised land" was reached.

EARLY MANNERS AND CUSTOMS.

The young men and women of to-day have little conception of the mode of life among the early settlers of the country. One can hardly conceive how so great a change could take place in so short a time. The clothing, the dwellings, the diet, the social customs have undergone a total revolution, as though a new race had taken possession of the land.

In a new country far removed from the conveniences of civilization, where all are compelled to build their own houses, make their own clothing and procure for them- selves the means of subsistence, it is to be expected that their dwellings and garments will be rude. These were matters con- trolled by surrounding circumstances and the means at their disposal. The earliest settlers constructed what were termed "three-faced camps," or, in other words, three walls, leaving one side open. They are described as follows: The walls were

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HISTORY OF BREMER COUNTY.

built seven feet high, when poles were laid across at a distance of about three feet apart, and on these a roof of clapboards was laid, which were kept in place by weight poles placed on them. The clap- boards were about four feet in length and from eight inches to twelve inches in width, split out of white oak timber. No floor was laid in the "camp." The structure required neither door, window or chimney. The one side left out of the cabin answered all these purposes. In front of the open side was built a large log heap, which served for warmth in cold weather and for cooking purposes in all seasons. Of course there was an abundance of light, and, on either side of the fire, space to enter in and out. These "three-faced camps" were probably more easily con- structed than the ordinary cabin, and was not the usual style of dwelling houses.

The cabin was considered a material advance for comfort and home life .. This was, in almost every case, built of logs, the spaces between the logs being filled in with split sticks of wood, called "chinks," and then daubed over, both inside and outside, with mortar made of clay. The floor, sometimes, was nothing more than earth tramped hard and smooth, but com- monly made of "puncheons," or split logs; with the split side turned upward. The roof was made by gradually drawing in the top to the ridgepole, and, on cross pieces, laying the "clapboards," which, being several feet in length, instead of being nailed, were held in place by poles laid on them, called "weight poles," reach- ing the length of the cabin. For a fire- place, a space was cut out of the logs on one side of the room, usually about six feet

in length, and three sides were built up of logs, making an offset in the wall. This was lined with stone, if convenient; if not, then earth. The flue, or upper part of the chimney, was built of small split sticks, two and a half or three fect in length, car- ried a little space above the roof, and plastered over with clay, and when finished was called a "cat-and-clay" chimney. The door space was also made by cutting an aperture in one side of the room of the required size, the door itself being made of clapboards secured by wooden pins to two crosspieces. The hinges were also of wood, while the fastenings consisted of a wooden latch catching on a hook of the same material. To open the door from the outside, a strip of buckskin was tied to the latch and drawn through a hole a few inches above the latch-bar, so that on pull- ing the string the latch was lifted from the catch or hook, and the door was opened without further trouble. To lock the door, it was only necessary to pull the string through the hole to the inside. Here the family lived, and here the guest and wayfarer were made welcome. The living room was of good size, but to a large extent it was all-kitchen, bed-room, parlor and arsenal, with flitches of bacon and rings of dried pumpkin suspended from the rafters. In one corner were the loom and other implements used in the manufacture of clothing, and around the ample fireplace were collected the kitchen furniture. The clothing lined one side of the sleeping apartment, suspended from pegs driven in the logs. Hemp and flax were generally raised, and a few sheep kept. Out of these the clothing for the family and the sheets and coverlets were

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HISTORY OF BREMER COUNTY.

made by the females of the house. Over the door was placed the trusty rifle, and just back of it hung the powder horn and hunting pouch. In the well-to-do families, or when crowded on the ground floor, a loft was sometimes made to the cabin for a sleeping place and the storage of "traps" and articles not in common use. The loft was reached by a ladder secured to the. wall. Generally the bedrooms were sep- arated from the living-room by sheets and coverlets suspended from the rafters, but until the means of making these partition walls were ample, they lived and slept in the same room.

Familiarity with this mode of living did away with much of the discomfort, but as soon as the improvement could be made, there was added to the cabin an additional room, or a "double log cabin" being sub- stantially a "three-faced camp," with a log room on each end and containing a loft. The furniture in the cabin corre- sponded with the house itself. The arti- cles used in the kitchen were as few and simple as can be imagined. A "Dutch oven,"-or skillet, a long-handled frying pan, an iron pot or kettle, and sometimes a coffee pot, constituted the utensils of the best furnished kitchen. A little later, when a stone wall formed the base of the chimney, a long iron "crane" swung in the chimney place, which on its "pot-hook" carried the boiling kettle or heavy iron pot. The cooking was all done on the fire-place and at the fire, and the style of cooking was as simple as the utensils. Indian, or corn meal, was the common flour, which was made into "pone " or " corn-dodger," or " hoe-cake," as the occasion or variety demanded. The "pone" and the "dodger"

were baked in the Dutch oven, which was first set on a bed of glowing coals. When the oven was filled with the dough, the lid, already heated on the fire, was placed on the oven and covered with hot embers and ashes. When the bread was done it was taken from the oven and placed near the fire to keep warm while some other food was being prepared in the same oven for the forthcoming meal. The "hoe-cake" was prepared in the same way as the dodger-that is, a stiff dough was made of the meal and water, and, taking as much as could conveniently be held in both hands, it was moulded into the desired shape by being tossed from hand to hand, then laid on a board or flat stone placed at an angle before the fire and patted down to the required thickness. In the fall and early winter, cooked pumpkin was added to the meal dough, giving a flavor and richness in the bread not attained by the modern methods. In the oven from which the bread was taken, the venison or ham was then fried, and, in winter, lye hominy, made from the unbroken grains of corn, added to the frugal meal. The woods abounded of honey, and of this the early settlers had an abundance the year round. For some years after settlements were made, the corn meal formed the staple commodity for bread.

These simple cabins were inhabited by a kind and true-hearted people. They were strangers to mock-modesty, and the traveler seeking lodgings for the night, or desirious of spending a few days in the community, if willing to accept the rude offerings, was always welcome, although how they were disposed of at night the reader may not easily imagine; for, as de-

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HISTORY OF BREMER COUNTY.

scribed, often a single room would be made to serve the purpose of a kitchen, dining-room, sitting-room and parlor, and many families consisted of six or eight persons.

CHARACTER OF THE PIONEERS.

The character of the pioneers of Bremer county falls properly within the range of the historian. They lived in a region of exuberance and fertility, where na- ture had scattered her blessings with a liberal hand. The inexhaustible forest supply, the fertile prairies, and the many improvements constantly going forward, with the bright prospect for a glorious future in everything that renders life pleasant, combined to deeply impress their character, to give them a spirit of enter- prise, an independence of feeling, and a joyousness of hope. They were a thorough admixture of many nations, characters, lauguages, conditions and opinions. There was scarcely a State in the Union that was not represented among the early settlers. All the various religious sects had their advocates. All now form one society. Says an early writer: "Men must cleave to their kind, and must be dependent upon each other. Pride and jealousy give way to the natural yearnings of the human heart for society. They begin to rub off the neutral prejudices ; one takes a step and then the other; they meet half way and embrace; and the society thus newly organized and constituted, is more liberal, enlarged, unprejudiced, and, of course, more affectionate, than a society of peo- ple of like birth and character, who bring all their early prejudices as a common

stock, to be transmitted as an inheritance to posterity."

CLOTHING.

The clothing of the early pioneers was as plain and simple as their houses. Neces- sity compelled it to be in conformity to the strictest economy. The clothing taken to the new country was made to render a vast deal of service until a crop of flax or hemp could be grown, out of which to make the household apparel. The prairie wolves made it difficult to take sheep into the set- tlements, but after the sheep had been in- troduced, and flax and hemp raised in suffi- cient quantities, it still remained an arduous task to spin, weave and make the wearing apparel for an entire family. In summer, nearly all persons, both male and female, went barefooted. Buckskin moccasins were much worn. Boys of twelve and fifteen years of age never thought of wearing any- thing on their feet, except during three or four months of the coldest weather in winter. Boots were unknown until a later generation. After flax was raised in suf- ficient quantities, and sheep could be pro- tected from the wolves, a better and more comfortable style of clothing prevailed. Flannel and linsey were woven and made into garments for the women and children, and jeans for the men. The wool for the jeans was colored from the bark of the wal- nut, and from this came the term "butter- nut," still common throughout the West. The black and white wool mixed, varied the color, and gave the name "pepper-and- salt." As a matter of course every family did its own spinning, weaving and sewing, and for years all the wool had to be carded by hand on cards from four inches broad to

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HISTORY OF BREMER COUNTY.

eight and ten inches long. The picking of the wool and carding was work to which the little folks could help, and at the proper season all the little hands were enlisted in the business. Every household had its big and little spinning wheels, winding-blades, reel, warping-bars and loom. The articles were indispensible in every family. In many of the house- holds of Bremer county, stowed away · in empty garrets and out-of-the-way places, may still be found some of these almost forgotten relics.

The preparations for the family clothing usually began in the early fall, and the work was continued on into the winter months, when the whirr of the wheels and the reg- ular stroke of the loom could be heard un- til a late hour of the night. No scene can well be imagined so abounding in content- ment and domestic happiness. Strips of bark, of the shell-bark hickory, thrown from time to time in the ample fire place, cast a ruddy, flickering light over the room. In one corner, within range of the reflected · light, the father is cobbling a well-worn pair of shoes, or trying his skill at making new ones. Hard by, the young ones are shelling corn for the next grist. The oldest daughter whirls the large spinning wheel, and with its hum and whirr trips to the far side of the room, drawing out the thread, while the mother, with the click of the shuttle and the measured thump of the loom, fills up the hours-the whole a scene of domestic industry and happiness rarely elsewhere to be found.

It is well for "Young America" to look back on those early days. It involved a life of toil, hardship, and the lack of many

comforts, but it was the life that made men of character. Bremer county to- day has no better men than the immediate descendants of those who built their cabins in the forest, and by patient endur- ance wrought out of the wilderness the landmarks for a prosperous commonwealth. One of these writes that "the boys were required to do their share of the hard labor of clearing up the farm, for much of the country now under the plow was at one time heavily timbered, or was covered with a dense thicket of hazel and young timber. Our visits were made with ox teams, and we walked or rode on horse- back, or in wagons, to 'meeting.' The boys 'pulled,' 'broke' and 'hackled' flax, wore tow shirts, and indulged aristocratic feelings in fringed 'hunting-shirts' and 'coon-skin caps, 'picked' and 'carded' wool by hand, and 'spooled' and 'quilled' yarn for the weaving till the back ached."

Industry such as this, supported by an economy and frugality from which there was then no escape, necessarily brought its own reward. The hard toil made men old before their time, but beneath their sturdy blows they saw not only the forest pass away, but the fields white with the grain. Change and alterations were to be expected, but the reality has distanced the wildest conjecture, and, stranger still, multitudes are still living who witnessed not only the face of nature undergoing a change about them, but the manners, cus- toms and industries of a whole people almost wholly changed. Many an old pioneer sits by his fireside in his easy chair, with closed eyes, and dreams of the scenes of the long ago.

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HISTORY OF BREMER COUNTY.

"The voice of Nature's very self drops low, As though she whispered of the long ago, When down the wandering stream the rude canoe Of some lone trapper glided into view, And loitered down the watery path that led Thro' forest depths, that only knew the tread Of savage beasts and wild barbarians,

That skulked about with blood upon their hands And murder in their hearts. The light of day Might barely pierce the gloominess that lay Like some dark pall across the water's face, And folded all the land in its embrace;

The panther's sereaming, and the bear's low growl,

The snake's sharp rattle, and the wolf's wild howl,

The owl's grim chuckle, as it rose and fell In alternation with the Indian's yell,

Made fitting prelude for the gory plays That were enacted in the early days.

"Now, o'er the vision, like a miracle, falls The old log cabin with its dingy walls, And crippled chimney, with the cruteh-like prop Beneath, a sagging shoulder at the top, The 'eoon-skin, battened fast on either side, The whisps of leaf tobacco, eut and dried; The yellow strands of quartered apples hung In rich festoons that tangled in among The morning-glory vines that clambered o'er The little elapboard roof above the door; Again, thro' mists of memory arise

The simple seenes of home before the eyes; 'The happy mother humming with her wheel The dear old melodies that used to steal So drowsily upon the summer air, The house dog hid his bone, forgot his care, And nestled at her feet, to dream, perchance, Some cooling dream of winter time romance. The square of sunshine through the open door That notched its edge across the puncheon floor, And made a golden coverlet whereon The god of slumber had a picture drawn Of babyhood, in all the lovliness

Of dimpled cheek, and limb, and linsey dress. The bough-filled fireplace and the mantle wide, Its fire-scorehed ankles stretched on either side,

Where, perchance upon its shoulders 'neath the joists,

The old clock hiccoughed, harsh and husky- voieed:

Tomatoes, red and yellow, in a 10w,

Preserved not then for diet, but for show: The jars of jelly, with their dainty tops; Bunches of pennyroyal and cordial drops, The flask of camphor and vial of squills. The box of buttons, garden seeds and pills. And thus the pioneer and helpsome aged wife, Reflectively reviews the scenes of early life.

WEDDINGS.

The wedding was an attractive feature of pioneer life. There was no distinction of. life and very little of fortune. On these accounts the first impressions of love generally resulted in marriage. The fam- ily establishment cost but little labor --- nothing more. The marriage was always celebrated at the house of the bride, and she was generally left to choose the offi- ciating clergyman. A wedding, however, engaged the attention of the whole neigh- borhood. It was anticipated by both old and young with eager expectation. In the morning of the wedding day, the groom and his intimate friends assembled at the house of his father, and, after due prepara- tion, departed en massee for the "mansion" of his bride. The journey was sometimes made on horseback, sometimes on foot, and sometimes in farm wagons and carts. It was always a merry journey; and to insure merriment, the bottle was always taken along. On reaching the house of the bride, the marriage cermony took place, and then dinner or supper was served. After the meal the dancing com- menced, and generally lasted until the fol- lowing morning. The figures of the dances were three and four-handed reels,

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or square sets and jigs. The commence- ment was always a square four, which was followed by what the pioneers called "jig- ging"-that is, two of the four would single out for a jig, and were followed by the remaining couple. The jigs were often accompanied with what was called "cut- ting out"-that is, when either of the par- ties became tired of the dance, on intima- tion, the place was supplied by some one . of the company, without interruption of the dance. In this way the reel was often continued until the musician was ex- hausted. About 9 or 10 o'clock in the evening a deputation of young ladies stole off the bride and put her to bed. In doing this, they had to ascend a ladder from the kitchen to the upper floor, which was composed of loose boards. Here, in the pioneer bridal chamber, the young, simple-hearted girl was put to bed by her enthusiastic friends, This done, a depu- tation of young men escorted the groom to the same department, and placed him snugly by the side of his bride. The dance still continued, and if the seats were scarce, which was generally the case, says a local witness, every young man, when not engaged in the dance, was obliged to offer his lap as a seat for one of the girls; 1 and the offer was sure to be accepted. During the night's festivities spirits were freely used, but seldom to excess. The infair was held on the following evening, where the same order of exercises was ob- served.

SHAKES.

Another feature of pioneer life, which every old settler will vividly recall, was the "chills and fever," "fever and ague," or "shakes," as it was variously called. It

was a terror to new-comers, for in the fall of the year almost everybody was afflicted with it. It was no respecter of persons; everybody looked pale and sallow, as though frost-bitten. It was not contagious, but derived from impure water and air, which was always developed in the open- ing up of a new country of rank soil like that of Bremer county. The impurities continued to absorb from day to day, and from week to week, until the whole corpo- rate body becomes saturated with it as with electricity, and then the shock came; and the shock was a regular shake, with a fixed beginning and ending, coming on, in some cases, each day, but generally on alternate days, with a regularity that was surprising. After the shakes came the fever, and this "last estate was worse than the first ; " it was a burning hot fever, and lasted for hours. When you had the chill you couldn't get warm, and when you had the fever you couldn't get cool. It was exceedingly awkward in this respect- indeed it was. Nor would it stop for any contingency-not even a wedding in the family would stop it. It was imperative and tyranical. When the appointed time came around, everything else had to be stopped to attend to its demands. It didn't even have any Sundays or holidays. After the fever went down you still didn't feel much better, you felt as though you had gone through some sort of a collision, threshing machine, jarring machine, and came out not killed, but next thing to it. You felt weak, as though you had run too far after something, and then didn't catch it. You felt languid, stupid and sore, and was down in the mouth and heel and par- tially raveled out. Your back was out of

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fix, your head ached and your appetite crazy. Your eyes had too much white in them; your ears, especially after taking quinine, had too much roar in them, and your whole body and soul were entirely woe-begone, disconsolate, sad, poor and good for nothing. You didn't think much of yourself and didn't believe that other people did either, and you didn't care. You didn't quite make up your mind to commit suicide, but sometimes wished some accident would happen to knock either the malady or yourself out of exis- tence. You imagined even the dogs looked at you with a sort of self-compla- cency. You thought the sun had a sort of sickly shine about it. About this time you came to the conclusion that you would not take the whole State as a gift; and if you had the strength and means you would pick up Hannah and the baby, and your traps, and go back "yander" to "Old Vir- ginny," the "Jarseys," Maryland or Penn- sylvania.

"And to-day, the swallows flitting Round my cabin, see me sitting Moodily within the sunshine, Just within my silent door, Waiting for the "ager," seeming Like a man forever dreaming; - And the sunlight on me streaming Throws no shadow on the floor;

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History of Butler and Bremer counties, Iowa, Part 90

Author: Union publishing company, Springfield, Ill Publication date: 1883 Publisher: Springfield, Ill., Union publishing company Number of Pages: 1316

Author: Union publishing company, Springfield, Ill
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Springfield, Ill., Union publishing company
Number of Pages: 1316