USA > Iowa > Cass County > History of Cass County, Iowa; together with sketches of its towns, villages, and townships; educational, civil, military, and political history; portraits of prominent persons, and biographies of old settlers and representative citizens. History of Iowa, embracing accounts of the pre-historic races, and a brief review of its civil, political, and military history > Part 38
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I was disappointed in not going to Ore- gon that season, but I looked around for a location. I went down the east Nish- nabotna river, and found Joseph Pearson building a log house, which was the go in those days. I returned to camp that night, and next morning went with Jere- miah Bradshaw. He told me that he would show me a good claim, good timber, and smooth prairie adjoining, which was on sections 29 and 32, township 77, range 37. We found one settler that had erected
a little log hut, with clap-board roof and puncheon floor, the latter split ont of logs' The only inhabitants within three miles of the place were Isam Pucket and John Porter, who had log cabins. Mr. Brad- shaw and I went around the claim; he gave me some numbers and I got a town- ship plat, by which I saw that there were only eight "forties" entered in the town- ship. These were some of what they called the choice locations, good timber lands-as all struck for the groves of tim- ber. I, next day, went to Council Bluffs, on what was called in those days the two- horse jurkey, which was the only public conveyance throughout this part of the country, except their own ox or horse teams. When I got to Council Bluffs, after walk- ing up the hills, I found some English- men, who said they were "Latter Day Saints," as the Mormons were called. I found that Council Bluffs and vicinity was inhabited by Latter Day Saints from Nauvoo, Illinois. They were moving off to Salt Lake, and many were anxious to sell their claims. One owned a "forty" of entered land, about where the Court House now stands, or a little south. I believe it is now called Bayliss' first addi- tion to Council Bluffs. I think he asked me eight hundred dollars for the forty acres, which had a log cabin upon it. I inquired around, as I did not know what was best to do. One old man told me to go over the river from Council Bluffs, and I might find the surveyors that were coming to survey a little in Ne- braska. The old man told me to buy A. D. Jones' claim of half a section, as it could be got for about one thousand dol- lars. I offered eight hundred dollars for
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it, but as the sun was about going down I had to go back over the river, as the old flat boat or scow stopped crossing about sundown. There was a sod shanty built some way north of the Union Pacific de- pot, as far as I remember. Jones' claim was three hundred and twenty acres, tak- ing in a part of the heart of where Omaha stands to-day. If I had given the one thousand dollars, (which was abont my pile at that day), some fellow would have come along and offered me two or three thousand dollars, and I should have been very apt to let it go. I returned over the river to Kanesville, now called Council Bluffs, and next day entered a few tracts of land in Cass county, and built my hut. That summer I broke up about sixty acres of land on section 32, 77, 37, where John Berry's farm is to-day. The next spring I sowed about thirty acres of wheat, and had a good crop, about twenty-five bush- els per acre. I tramped out some in the fall, and took some of the wheat to West Nishnabotna, to what was called Stuts- man's mill, and brought the flour home and sold it at seven dollars per hundred pounds. Corn was then a dollar per bushel, but within a few years corn was only worth fifteen cents and wheat twenty-five cents per bushel. As soon as we broke up the virgin soil and it brought forth abundantly we overstocked the market, and as we had no outlet, except by team to Council Bluffs or Des Moines, prices fell. I have hauled wheat to each of these markets. The next settler that came into Brighton township was Thomas Leadly. He bought ont John Porter, where Wm. Altig lives to-day, on section 33. Samuel Shields came in, and built a log house.
They were all from Napierville, Illinois. The first school in the township was kept in the house of Samuel Shields. Adelia Page was the first school teacher; she was the sister-in-law of Shields. Joseph Everly married the girl some time after the death of his first wife, and I do not know what has become of her-whether she is dead or alive. Joseph Everly, her husband, was a clever man and good neighbor, but was a fool when he got drunk, as he would do when he went to Iranistan. He and Jake Watson went home together on a sled, as they lived at that time on the river, a few miles north of Lewis. Everly was killed on the way home, and his body found next day. Jake, fearing trou- ble, went away for awhile, and then came back, and there were nothing done about it. It was a drunken freak and the peo- ple thought, if, he got drunk and wanted to whip everybody, he ought to be killed. I went to Council Bluffs in the fall of 1856, to enter some land. They were entering by ranges, and as it would not come my turn for several days, I went to where they were building opposite the Pacific Ilouse, and as I had laid some brick, in England, and did not want to be idle, the contractor lent me his trowel, and I laid a few bricks. He agreed to give me $4 per day. I worked for Jesse Winn, about a week when I told him what I had come there for, to enter land. He said he would like to enter some good land, as he had some money on hand. I agreed to give him the numbers of a section for $25, and he entered land on section 5-76-37. I was in Council Bluffs the winter follow ing, and I told Jesse I wanted him to buy a tract of one hundred and twenty acres
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of timber, as it could be got for $6.25 per acre, and it was three of the best forties of timber in Cass county. I met Jesse coming down the street, "Well, I have bought the timber," taking off his hat and taking the deed out of it. He was a pe- culiar man, raised down in Virginia, and was no scholar and he wanted to know if the numbers were all right. I told him they were. He said he would come out with me to see his property, and I re- marked "I have an ox team and it will take me three days to go home." "Oh pshaw, I thought you were in with a pair of horses and cutter." "Well," said he, "I want to go and see my claim on the Elkhorn, Nebraska, and I will be out as soon as you." The four horse coach was running hy that time. I waited and was expecting Jesse every day, but one day I received the Council Bluffs Bugle, and saw in it the sad announcement that Jesse Winn had gone to see his claim on the Elkhorn and had found a man had jumped his claim. Jesse ordered him out of the house, but the man, in cold blood, had shot Jesse. Snow, the man that did the dastardly crime, was lodged in the old cotton wood jail, at Council Bluffs, but he broke ont, and escaped from justice, and was not found. So, if I had had a horse team in place of oxen, I would have saved the man's life. But poor Jesse never saw the land. It was afterwards sold at a referee's sale at from $20 to $40 per acre. One cold winter, about 1858, the elk were forced down south from Minnesota and Dakota, upon us; there were thousands around us in every direction. John Les- lie, Joseph Leslie, Charles IIebing, Ge- hart Hebing, and myself, went, one bitter,
cold morning, to get some elk. We went with a pair of horses, and sled, and plenty of blankets, and one saddle horse, we had three rifles, and went up the ridge north, between Indian and Camp creek. We saw droves of elk, and would get as close to them as we could and fire. We would scare them and they would run. We shot more times than any experienced hunters, but got "nary" elk. We followed them ten miles, north. I got off and took out on foot, through what is now called Elk- horn grove. I saw the sun was about setting in the western horizon, and I was three miles from the sled, and when I got back to the south side of the grove, where I had left my overcoat, I found my horse had hobbled off down to the creek. I had left him tied down head and foot. I got my overcoat on and waded through the snow, as best I could. The snow was badly drifted and I had not gone far until I went down in a washout, over head and ears. I scrambled out the best I could, to get out, and finally made it, and caught my horse in a snow drift, and by the time I got back to the ridge the sun was down. I followed on the ridge, or back bone, south between Indian creek and Camp creek, and I came to where the snow tramped down, but the sled had been turned round and gone back for home. It became dark and I tried, in vain, to get on my horse, I had run my rifle between the surcingle and the saddle in trying to get on, and the saddle turned. This scared the horse, and he got away from me. I reached home at one o'clock at night, and found the folks up, waiting for me. Leslie, who drove the team, said he followed the tracks of the sled back and
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something had scared the horses, when he had gone a few miles, and he had to go ahead of the horses. Here he found that Charles Ilebing had given out, and got under a snow pile to keep from freezing. Leslie and John got him on the sled and drove as fast as possible to save his life. We had no more elk hunting that winter, although there were many elk killed dur- ing that time, with clubs, in snow drifts, but they had become very poor in flesh.
.WIND, RAIN AND HAIL STORM.
Probably one of the most destructive and severe wind, rain and hail storms in the history of Atlantic and surrounding country, was that which occurred Tues- day evening, about half past seven, July 28, 1871. The rain was preceded by a terrible wind, and after a few minutes of the drenching elements, hail of enormous proportions fell, and being driven by the high wind, property and crops suffered greatly. The storm came from the north- west, lasting about three-quarters of an hour, and made barren its route, wherever that happened to be. During the storm the aspect withont was the most gloomy and nerve-distracting character. The rain and hail were so dense, and the air so full of flying Inmber and small movable arti- cles of all kinds, that it was utterly im- possible to see ten feet and was like look- ing into the darkness of night. As a cri- terion to the number of window panes destroyed, in about a week after the storm Atlantic firms alone bad disposed of over 10,000 lights.
NOTES OF THE STORM.
By glancing over the files of the week- ly Telegraph, the following items of in-
terest in this connection are found, which we append:
The new brick store room being built by Stafford & Hawks, dry goods dealers, on the burnt district, which was just ready for shelving and being shelved, was level- ed to the earth, a perfect wreck. It was two stories in height and stood 23x80 feet on the ground. About $500 worth of new goods had been stored in the build- ing but a few days previous, which were also ruined.
The new Presbyterian Church, which had been completed, on Maple street, at a cost of $2,500, was moved three feet. to the south, the plastering ruined and the foundation in a crumbling condition and almost ready to giveaway.
Into a house on Walnut street a board was driven endways by the wind
The frame for a new steam flouring mill stood firm and unmoved.
The office of the weekly Telegraph was completely flooded. At one time the water was four inches deep on the floor.
The Reynold's House suffered the loss of all of its front windows and the num- ber of windows was large.'
The loss to the country was severe, but the track of the storm was so narrow that the effect of the ruined crops was not felt by the community at large.
Private residences, everywhere, in the course of the storm, were riddled with- out number. The number was too great to particularize.
BURNED TO DEATHI.
On the morning of September 18, 1872, a man by the name of Jackson was burn- ed to death in the town calaboose, at Atlantic. He was arrested and locked
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therein the night before for entering a private residence on Maple street and creating excitement among the ladies of the household hy his queer actions. The following morning the jail was discover- ed to be on fire. As the prisoner had previously threatened to burn the jail if he was not released before nine o'clock, it was undoubtedly set fire by him, as the flames originated from a pile of straw upon which prisoners were in the habit of sleeping. The fire was extin- guished as soon as possible and the charred form of the man was rescued from the smoking debris. The arms were burned off to the elbows, and the legs off to the knees. The flesh was all off his head and face, but enough was left on the neck to hold the head to the body. The remains were interred in the At- lantic cemetery. The jail was a small building about 16x20 feet, divided into two rooms, the rooms being connected by a door. It was constructed of broad pine lumber, the boards being piled and spiked together something on the plan of modern grain elevators. Twenty-three kegs of nails were used in its construction and it was very secure and strong. The cost was about $500 and it was the property of the city.
A MYSTERIOUS MURDER.
On the 21st of July, 1876, the body of a man, which was identified as Theodore A. Sloanaker, was discovered floating in Turkey river, about a hundred yards be- low the bridge which spans that stream, on the Lewis and Atlantic road, about two and a half miles north of the former place. The body was tied by a leather halter to a large floating log, and had the
appearance of having been dead some four or five days. An examination dis- closed the fact that a bullet had been put through the man's head, and that he had been struck several blows with a club, or something of that nature, across the face. The body was taken to Lewis, an inquest was held before Jeremiah Bradshaw, then justice of the peace, and the body was buried without an attempt having been made to identify it. When the news was received at Atlantic, J. F. Needham," Charles Radley and William Rahm drove to Lewis, dug up the body, and immedi- ately recognized it to be that of Theodore A. Sloanaker. The murdered man was formerly Adjutant of the Tenth Iowa In- fantry, and at the time of his murder a resident of Primghar, the county seat of O'Brien county, where he conducted an abstract office. He was forty-one years of age and unmarried. He enlisted in Company K, Tenth Iowa Infantry, at Davenport, in 1862, and served during the war, being promoted gradually until he became Adjutant of the regiment. For more than a year during the war he was detailed on recruiting service, with head- quarters at Davenport. Ile was well known to General Baker and others at Des Moines. He came to Atlantic about three weeks previous to his murder, and called on Mr. Rahm, with whom he served during the war. He remained in Atlantic about two weeks, when he started to Pleasant township on a visit to H. A. Barton, whose acquaintance he had form- ed while teaching school in the neighbor- hood four years previous. Nothing further than the above particulars has ever been developed, and the murderer of Theodore
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A. Sloanaker still remains enshrouded in mystery.
PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF THE DISBROW
FAMILY. [By H. A. Disbrow ]
Like all other men I have some history -that is, I was born. My parents were both natives of Jefferson county, New York State. My father's family are of Welch, and mother's of French origin. My mother's grandfather was a French Huguenot who fled from France to Arca- dia and was driven from there by the British, when they wrested that country from the French. Grandfather Disbrow moved his family with an ox team to Lorain county, Ohio in the summer of 1825, grandfather Langdon, my mother's father, moved his family to the same county in Ohio, in the spring or summer of 1833. Then, that part of the county was a dense forest of timber. The mill and market place was Cleveland, about thirty miles away and grandfather Disbrow used to make the trip to mill with his oxen, leav- ing two weeks provisions at home, allow- ing himself that time in which to make the trip. They had the usual experience of early settlers in those days who opened the way for a more enlightened civiliza- tion. On one occasion my grandfather encountered and wrestled with a black bear and came near being disemboweled but was saved by the timely appearance of his large black mastiff. On another occa- sion he and grandmother started on foot to church, some two and a half or three miles distant, through the forest. A large tree had fallen across their path; they sep- arated, one went on one side of the tree, and the other on the other side, neither
spoke but each went his own way, getting lost but not knowing it until suddenly they came upon their own house. The children of those early settlers grew to man and womanhood, learned the double rule of three, how to cook, spin and weave linen and woolen cloth, loved, got mar- ried and settled down in the immediate neighborhood of their fathers. The nat- ural situation made every man sober, and necessity made him industrious. These things combined to produce a strong, hardy and prolific race. The families of the second generation were as a rule large and by this time the country was thickly settled and land very dear. The question of "what to do with the boys" was cussed and discussed by anxious parents who saw enough of mental and physical force being spent and wasted, that if rightly applied would civilize a continent or sub- due a kingdom. My parents were mar- ried September 4, 1836. I being the fifth child, was born March 11, 1844, in the log house which father built and in which they commenced life in that heavily tim- bered country. For mental training I had such advantages as could be derived from a subscription school, which was sustained by lean purses. I was thirteen years old, when my father sold his farm and moved bis family to Cass county, Iowa. The breaking up of the old home in Ohio was a sore trial, but a mother's love for her chil- dren wanted to see them own land and be settled in business close to her. So her counsel prevailed, and in April, 1857, two covered wagons loaded with household goods, each wagon being drawn by a span horses, attracted the attention of a large neighborhood. My father and mother
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had grown from early childhood with their neighbors to mature man and womanhood, and it was the breaking up of a large family bound together by strong ties of friendship, when. our wagons slowly and heavily moved away. We went to Cleveland and loaded on the cars for Chicago. From the latter place we moved on with the teams and wagons. It was in early spring-the last of April, and all Illinois was a sea of mud and water. To get mired, unload and double teams and pull ont was the regular daily exercise until we get as far west as Rock Island. There was less of mud and water on the more undulating prairies of Iowa. The weather had become settled and the warmth of spring was bringing into life every form of vegetation. As we drew toward the west part of the State the set- tlements grew more sparse. There were scarcely any houses or farms along the stage road except the stage stations. There were no such groves as you now see plant- ed all over the prairies. Nor were there school houses, light houses on the coast of a higher intelligence, now scattered all over this land, but every where was a broad expanse of the beautiful, unbroken prairie. We arrived in Lewis about eleven o'clock A. M., the 19th day of May, 1857. The first object to attract the at- tention of people coming in from the east was the sign of Keyes, Peck & Co., on the front end of their store building, the same house which is now occupied by Uncle Jerre Bradshaw as a residence in Lewis. There was one other store in the place kept by Bartlett Bros'. But the most prominent place in the county, that which was most widely known and most talked
about was the IIenderson House. That was the stage station. Now and then would come along an official of the stage Company, a kind of God-send to break the monotony, and his presence and general bearing was noted with utmost precision.
Here, too, assembled the chivalrous knights of the rein; who, like Robinson Crusoe, were monarchs of all they sur- veyed. For these were days in which- "the fellows that could out-run, out- jump, chew more tobacco, drink more whisky and stand up the longest, was the best. man in the crowd." The early set- tler looks back with some feclings of pride to the time when his neighbor was a neighbor, when generosity and kindness of heart made it easy for a resident to share his chimney corner and last roast potato with one who needed it. Nor was there such universal looseness of morals as the above would seem to indicate. The soil was thin, but father Hitchcock would, each Lord's day, stand up in his place in the court room, and instruct his people from the parables and beatitudes.
There were at that time some four or five schools taught in the county, but there was but one school house, and that at Grove City. The other schools were taught in such places as could be provided at the time. Upon our arrival in Lewis, the only place of shelter for us was an old log cabin situated on the east bank of the Nishnabotana river, on the road to Council Bluffs, but west of Lewis.
Father rented ground in different places in the neighborhood, and we raised our first crop of corn, but I don't believe there were five bushels of sound corn in the
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whole crop, as the early frosts made it all soft.
Fortunately we lived on the State road, so that all the great western emigration passed by our door. From two to four times a day the ponderons stage coach, loaded inside and out, and drawn by four good horses, passed by. In that summer of 1857, five hundred Mormon emigrants passed through Lewis en-route to Salt Lake. They took up their line of march at Iowa City and expected to make the whole journey to Salt Lake City on foot, and draw all their worldly effects on a small hand cart. Men, women and chil- dren plodded along in their bare feet, and being otherwise miserably clad, they en- dured hunger, and fatigne, and want, in an hundred different forms, for what is com- monly called conscience sake.
During the summer, by the assistance of a friend, Mr. T. B. Johnson, father pre-empted one hundred and sixty acres in sections 8 and 17, township 76, range 36, being situated immediately south of At- lantic. In the spring of 1862, father built a cabin on his land and moved his family into it and commenced to open up a farm. My oldest brother was married and off for himself; my two brothers next old- er than myself, were in the gold regions in Colorado, having gone there the pre- vions year in company with father and brother William. During their absence, I managed the rented farm upon which we were then living, and succeeded reason- ably well, as farming was done in those days.
The war came on, when young and old were being solicited to enlist in the army and go south to fight for the Union. I
bad hired out to Judge L. L. Alexander to work on liis farm for one month. I was working in the field alone hoeing corn, when John Keyes, the sheriff of the county and J. H. Coe, afterwards my captain, rode in and urged me to enlist. I was at that time my father's only help. Like thousands of other boys the con- sciousness of my obligations to father was smothered by feelings of patriotism, car- ried by youthful ardor and the glory of battles fought and won. But the other side of the terrible picture was hidden from my view. I enlisted on the 23d of July, 1862; was mustered into the service as a member of company I, 23d regiment, Iowa Infantry Volunteers. We. were moved south in the fall, I think in October, to St. Louis, Missouri. After remaining there a few days in barracks, we were sent ont for active service. Up to this time to be a soldier was a nice thing-new clothes, new acconterments, dress parade, good pro- visions, with rides on steamboats and cars, made the service a perpetual holiday. But the darkest days were drawing nigh. We were organized with the thirteenth army corps commanded by McClernand. Wespent the winter of 1862 among the Ozark mountains of Missouri, and moved down to Milliken's Bend opposite Vicks- burg in the early spring. We witnessed the magnificent sight of a fight between the Union gunboats and the Confederate batteries at Grand Gulf. The battle last- ed all day. We marched across the pen- insula and crossed the Mississippi river the next morning just below Grand Gulf, at Bruin's Landing. Our regiment was the van guard of that great army of sev- enty-five thousand men commanded by
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that greatest general, U. S. Grant. We set out on a line of march from Bruin's Land- ing at about noon. Our regiment certain- ly did not look like an army so soon to be engaged in battle. We thought we were going only a short distance back from the river and then camp. We were ordered to take three days rations, which were issued; but instead of issuing to each man his share on the spot, the commissary sergeants with some help, shouldered the cracker boxes and carried the sides of bacon on their bayonets over their shoul- ders. But the march continued, and the rations were distributed to each man bis share. At midnight we came upon the enemy in force. We were soon subjected to the fire of grape and cannister from the enemies batteries, who had anticipa- ted our approach. We marched off to the left and lay under cover of a hill, on our arms till morning. All night the heavy roll of the artillery, the clicking of the cavalry sabers and the silent tread of the infantry, told us that an army was in motion, and what else no one but our great commander knew. The following morning was the first of May, and the sun shone large and red, as if to foretell the work to be done upon that field that day.
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