History of Hardin county, Iowa, together with sketches of its towns, villages and townships, educational, civil, military and political history; portraits of prominent persons, and biographies of representative citizens, Part 34

Author:
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Springfield IL : Union Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 1002

USA > Iowa > Hardin County > History of Hardin county, Iowa, together with sketches of its towns, villages and townships, educational, civil, military and political history; portraits of prominent persons, and biographies of representative citizens > Part 34

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

CHARACTER OF THE PIONEERS.

The character of the pioneers of Hardin county falls properly within the range of the historian. They lived in a re- gion of exuberance and fertility, where Nature had scattered her blessings with a liberal hand. The inexhaustible forest supply, the fertile prairie, and the many improvements constantly going for- ward, with the bright prospect for a glori- ous 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, languages, 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,

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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 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 Hardin 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.

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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. Hardin county to- day has no better men than the immediate decendants of those who built their cabins in the forest, and by patient endu- rance 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 ticket 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 escapes, 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.

"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 loitercd 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 screaming, 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'cr the vision, like a miracle, falls The old log cabin with its dingy walls, And crippled chimney, with the crutch-like prop Beneath, a sagging shoulder at the top,

The 'coon-skin, battened fast on either sidc, The wisps of leaf tobacco, cut and dried; The yellow strands of quartered apples hung In rich festoons that tangle in among The morning-glory vincs that clamber o'er The little clapboard roof above the door; Again, thro' mists of memory arise The simple scencs of homc before the eyes; The happy mother, humming with her whccl; 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 drcam, 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 check, and limb, and linscy dress. The bough-filled firc-placc and the mantle wide, Its fire-scorched ankles stretched on either side,

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HISTORY OF HARDIN COUNTY.

Where, perchance upon its shoulders 'neath the joist,

The old clock hiccoughed, harsh and husky- voiced;

Tomatoes, red and yellow, in a row,

Preserved not them 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. On 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 masse 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 ceremony 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,

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 apartment, 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; 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

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HISTORY OF HARDIN COUNTY.

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 Hardin connty. 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, or 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 ravelled out. Your back was out of

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 exist- ence. You imagined even the dogs looked at you with a sort of self-complacency. 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 yonr traps, and go back "yander" to "Old Vir- ginny," the "Jarseys," Maryland, or "Pennsylvany."

"And to-day, the swallows flitting Round my cabin see me sitting, Moodily within the sunshine, Just inside 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;

For I am too thin and sallow To make shadows on the floor -- Nary shadow any more!"

The foregoing is not a mere picture of imagination. It is simply recounting in quaint phrase of what actually occurred in hundreds of cases. Whole families would sometimes be sick at one time, and not one member scarcely able to wait upon an- other. Labor or exercise always aggra-

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vated the malady, and it took General Laziness a long time to thrash the enemy out. These were the days for swallowing all sorts of roots and "yarbs" and whisky straight, with some faint hope of relief. Finally, when the case wore out, the last remedy got the credit of the cure.

WOLF HUNTING.

In early days more mischief was done by wolves than by any other wild animal, and no small part of their mischief con- sisted in their almost constant barking at night which always seemed menancing and frightful to the settlers. Like mosquitos, the noise they made appeared to be about as dreadful as the real depredations they committed. The most effectual, as well as the most exciting, method of ridding the country of these hateful pests, was that known as the circular wolf hunt, by which all the men and boys would turn out on an appointed day, in a kind of circle com- prising many square miles of territory, with horses and dogs, and then close up toward the center field of operation, gathering, not only wolves, but also deer and many smaller "varmint.", Five, ten or more wolves, by this means, would be killed in a single day. The men would be organized with as much system as a small army, every one being posted in the meaning of every signal and the application of every rule. Guns were scarcely ever allowed to be brought on such occasions, as their use would be unavoidably dangerous. The dogs were depended upon for the final slaughter. The dogs, by the way, had all to be held in check by a cord in the hands of their keepers until the final signal was given to let them loose, when away

they would all go to the center of battle, and a more exciting scene would follow than can easily be described.

BEE HUNTING.

This wild recreation was a peculiar one, and many sturdy backwooodsmen gloried in excelling in this art. He would care- fully watch a bee as it filled itself with the product of some sweet flower or leaf bud, and notice particularly the direction taken by it as it struck a "bee-line" for its home, which, when found, would generally be high up in the hollow of some tree. The tree would be marked, and in the fall a party would go and cut down the tree and capture the honey as quick as they could before it wasted away through the broken walls in which it had been so care- fully stowed by the busy little bee. Several gallons would often be taken from a single tree, and by a very little work, and pleasant at that, the early settlers could keep themselves in honey the year round. By the time the honey was a year old it would turn white and granulate, yet be as good and healthful as when fresh. This was called by some "can-died" honey.

SNAKES.

In pioneer times snakes were numerous, such as the rattlesnake, viper, adder, blood- snake, and many varieties of large blue and green snakes, milksnake, garter and watersnakes, and others. If, on meeting one of these, you would retreat, they would chase you very fiercly; but if you would turn and give them battle, they would immediately turn and crawl away with all possible speed, hide in the grass and weeds and wait for a "greener" custo-

Samuel Smith

J. N. Hauser

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HISTORY OF HARDIN COUNTY.

mer. These really harmless snakes served to put people on their guard against the more dangerous and venomous kind. It was a common practice, in order to exter- minate them, for the men to turn out in companies, with spades, mattocks and crow- bars, attack the principal snake dens, and slay large numbers of them. In early spring the snakes were somewhat torpid, and easily captured. Scores of rattle- snakes were sometimes frightened out of a single den, which, as soon as they showed their heads through the crevices of the rocks, were dispatched, and left to be de- voured by the numerous wild hogs of that day. Some of the fattest of these snakes were taken to the house and oil extracted from them, and their glittering skins were saved as a specific for rheumatism. Another method for their destruction was to fix a heavy stick over the door of their dens, with a long grapevine attached, so that one at a distance could plug the entrance to the den when the snakes were all out sunning themselves. Then a large com- pany of citizens, on hand by appointment, could kill scores of the reptiles in a few minutes.

AGRICULTURE.

In the earlier settlements of this section, ponds, marshes and swamps abounded where to-day are found cultivated and fer- tile fields. The low and flat places were avoided for the higher grounds, not only on account of the wetness, but for sanitary reasons. Agricultural implements were necessarily rude, and the agriculture of a corresponding character. The plow used was called a "bar-share" plow, the iron point of which consisted of a bar of iron about two feet long, and a broad share of

iron welded to it. At the extreme point was a coulter that passed through a beam six or seven feet long, to which was at- tached handles of corresponding length. The mould-board was a wooden one split out of winding timber, or hewed into a winding shape, in order to turn the soil over. In the spring time, when the ground was to be prepared for the seed, the father would take his post at the plow, and the daughter possession of the reins. This is . a grand scene -- one full of grace and beauty. The pioneer girl thinks but little of fine dress; knows less of the fashions; has probably heard of the opera, but does not understand its meaning; has been told of the piano, but has never seen one; wears a dress "buttoned up behind;" has on "leather boots," and "drives plow" for father. In the planting of corn, which was always done by hand, the girls always took a part, usually dropping the corn, but many of them covering it with the hand- hoe.

In the cultivation of wheat, the land was plowed the same as for corn, and harrowed with a wooden-toothed harrow, or smoothed by dragging over the ground a heavy brush, weighed down, if necessary, with a stick of timber. It was then sown broadcast by hand at the rate of about a bushel and a quarter to the acre, and harrowed in with the brush. The implement used to cut the wheat was neither the sickle or the cradle. The sickle was almost identical with the "grass hook" in use, and the cradle was a scythe fastened to a frame of wood with long, bending teeth or strips of wood, for cutting and laying the grain in swaths. There were few farmers who did not know how to swing the scythe or

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HISTORY OF HARDIN COUNTY.

cradle, and there was no more pleasant picture on a farm than a gang of workmen in the harvest field, nor a more hilarious crowd. Three cradles would cut about ten acres a day. One binder was expected to keep up with the cradle. Barns for the storage of the unthreshed grain are com- paratively a "modern invention," and as soon as the shock was supposed to be sufficiently cured, it was hauled to some place on the farm convenient for thresh- ing, and there put in stack. The thresh- ing was performed in one of two ways, by flail or tramping with horses, generally the latter. The flail was used in stormy weather, on the sheltered floor, or when the farm work was not pressing; the threshing by tramping commonly in clear weather, on a level and well tramped clay floor. The bundles were piled in a circle of about fifteen to twenty feet in diameter, and four to six horses ridden over the straw. One or two hands turned over and kept the straw in place. When sufficiently tramped, the straw was thrown into a rick or stack, and the wheat cleared by a "fan- ning-mill," or sometimes, before fanning-

mills were introduced, by letting it fall from the height of ten or twelve feet, sub- jected to the action of the wind, when it was supposed to be ready for the mill or market.

RELIGION.

The religious element in the life of the pioneer was such as to attract the attention of those living in more favored places. The pioneer was no hypocrite. If he believed in horse-racing, whisky-drinking, card-playing, or anything of like character, he practiced them openly and above board. If he was of a religious turn of mind, he was not ashamed to own it. He could truthfully sing

"I'm not ashamed to own my Lord,

Or blush to speak His name."

But the pioneer clung to the faith of his fathers, for a time, at least. If he was a Presbyterian he was not ashamed of it, but rather prided himself on being one of the elect. If a Methodist, he was one to the fullest extent. He prayed long and loud if the spirit moved him, and cared i nothing for the empty form of religion.

CHAPTER V.

COURTS OF HARDIN COUNTY.

Man is an imperfect being, and, as such, requires that laws shall be enacted for his government. When the Almighty placed Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden, He gave laws for their observance, with pen-

alties attached for their violation. The children of Israel, after leaving the Egyp- tian land, were given the "ten command- ments," the principles underlying which have probably been the basis of all laws

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HISTORY OF HARDIN COUNTY.

from that time to the present. The exist- ence of laws necessarily implies the exist- ence of courts wherein all questions of law shall be determined. This fact being determined, the framers of the State con- stitution instituted certain courts of justice with well defined powers. Changes have been made in the jurisdiction of these courts from time to time, but the rights of every citizen of high or low degree have ever been maintained.

DISTRICT COURT.

Hardin county on its formation was attached to the Fifth Judicial District: Phineas M. Casady, of Polk count, being at that time Judge of the district. There is no record of Judge Casady ever holding a term of court in this county.

The first term of court, as shown by the record, was held in September, 1854, Hon." C. J. McFarland, Judge of the Fifth Judi- cial District, presiding. There were present, besides his honor, Thomas Ben- nett, Sheriff; James Gourlay, Clerk, and J. D. Thompson, Prosecuting Attorney. No business was transacted the first day, and court was adjourned till Thursday, September 26.

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History of Hardin county, Iowa, together with sketches of its towns, villages and townships, educational, civil, military and political history; portraits of prominent persons, and biographies of representative citizens, Part 34

Author: Publication date: 1883 Publisher: Springfield IL : Union Publishing Co. Number of Pages: 1002

Author:
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Springfield IL : Union Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 1002