USA > Iowa > Harrison County > History of Harrison County, Iowa. Containing full-page portraits and biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens of the county. Together with portraits and biographies of all the governors of Iowa, and of the presidents of the United States > Part 9
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midnight and exhumed the corpse of the deceased woman. They took from it the stomach and sent it to a chemist at Omaha, who found large amounts of stry- clinia. The husband was arrested and held until the May term of court in 1864. The first jury not having been properly chosen were discharged and July 18 an- other jury took the case. After a long, hotly contested trial the jury brought in a "not guilty" verdict, believing the poison had been given through a mistake. How- ever, subsequent developments proved to most minds that he was guilty, as another wife went from earth the same way. Triplett finally died a most miserable death.
During the days of the Civil War, an- other crime was committed, a brief men- tion of which will here be made. It was the case of the State rs. John W. Mec- ham who was charged with the murder of George W. Mefferd who was shot directly through the heart. The trouble arose of a custom which always prevails in new prairie countries, where one person goes out and cuts a swath around a large tract of hay-land, for the purpose of claiming it as his own.
Mefferd had thus surrounded a tract of
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grass and Mecham disputed this time honored custom, and claimed the hay which he had cut on such land subsequent to Mefferd having cnt around it. Mec- ham repaired to his home and procured a No. 2 Colts Navy fire-arm, cleaned it up and went over to the scene of the murder and there committed the bloody deed, the first example of which Cain set for man- kind in the killing of Abel. Mefferd was a promising young man, aged twenty- three. Mecham was a dare-devil; had en- listed in the Twenty-ninth Iowa Infantry, but became frightened at the thought of going South and shot two fingers off to avoid going-but he was pressed into ser- vice and remained six months. His trial for murder consumed ten days. The Jury was out twelve hours and found a verdict of "Not Guilty." The only circumstances which could cause the jury to so find was the fact of there being several of the Mefferd family-men grown, engaged in the scene of the quarrel, whereas the defendant was alone.
The first case of bigamy came up in 1872, at the March term of court. The defendant was Henry Ackerman, who came to Magnolia in 1871, resided with wife number two, for a year, when wife the first put in an appearance. He was tried and convicted, but only sentenced for one year.
1
ing in a hay loft at Logan and Ide won a dollar worth of meat from Weirich and over the weight of said meat, a quarrel arose. Ide being a powerful man seized little Weirich and severely choked him on the meat-block at three different times. They were parted by bystanders, but soon Ide came in again to have revenge, whereupon Weirich grasped a butcher knife and thrust the same into Ide's heart. The men both fell-Ide still clinching Weirich by the throat and fell upon him, full weight. There upon the floor of the meat market flowed the crim- son blood of Ide, which spurted into the nostril and mouth of Weirich, almost strangling him, until death had palsied the firm grip of Ide.
The case was tried in one day and the Jury was only out an hour and returned with the verdict of "Guilty." He was at once sent to State Prison at Ft. Madi- son for life. He left a wife and one child to battle on in life alone. The scene of their final parting was indeed one well suited for the drama. After having served ten years, the same man who had with all the powers of an able attorney succeeded in convicting the culprit, was the instru- ment in the hands of the law, (aided by the plea of common humanity and the fact that Weirich's health had failed and he longed to die cutside the prison walls) of securing a pardon for the unfortunate man-more on account of his wife and child than upon any other ground. He only lived a few months and soon followed his wife who died a noble type of true, self-sacrificing womanhood - althoughi broken hearted. The long years of toil at the wash-tub, by which to earn money and buy things for the health and comfort
In this connection must be recorded the bloodiest page in the criminal chapter of Harrison County history. It is the case wherein Stephen Ide was killed by Louis W. Weirich, in the summer of 1872, at the village of Logan. Stephen Ide was a large, rough, brutal and over- bearing man and looked upon as an out- law in the vicinity. Weirich was running a butcher shop and upon the fatal day, he | of her husband, in prison, together with and Ide had been engaged at poker play- , the long drives, against a fierce winter
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storm, with but little clothing on to shield her from the elements against which few men would dare expose themselves, should ever remain as a monument to the true, never-dying faithfulness of this poor woman. But few such cases can be pointed to.
The first person murdered in Harrison County, was one of the wives of a French- man named Charles La Ponteur, who at the date referred! to-1850, lived near the village of Little Sioux. This Frenchman was an Indian trader and had previous to this time married two Omaha squaws, and both were living with him at the time mentioned.
The Omahas and Sioux were at war with each other, at that time, and in the spring of 1850, while these squaw wives of La Ponteur were planting corn, the Sioux Indians numbering about twenty warriors, secretly stole upon them. One of the wives had a daughter, not quite fourteen years of age, and while the bloodthirsty Sioux were advancing the mother told her daughter as soon as any shots were fired to fall to the ground and feign death, and to remain in that condition until an op- portunity arose for her escape. The mo- ther saying that she would run for the river and possibly might escape, "for" said she, "the Indians will shoot at me aud I may be wounded, and if you fall they will think they missed me and shot you." Scarcely had this strategy been plamned before the shots were fired, and the girl true to orders, fell prone to the earth, but the mother wounded as she knew she would be, ran to attract the at- tention of her invader and thus save the young girl; but by the time she had reached the Little Sioux River, was cap- tured, tomahawked and scalped, the girl in the meantime making good her escape.
The next Indian murdered was in Clay Township in 1864. A band of Omahas and Pawnees, were at work in the timber cutting cord-wood and saw-logs and one of their number, a young man, was chop- ping, whereupon a young, vicious, dare- devil named William Brown, took aim with his rifle and deliberately shot and killed the young Indian. It is supposed the stories then being told regarding the Indian massacre in Minnesota liad created a inorbid thirst for Indian blood, upon the part of the heedless young man. But as this was in the midst of the Civil War and very exciting times, no action was ever taken in the matter.
In 1869, an old Omaha Chief, named Yellow Smoke, was murdered in cold blood, by white men at Dunlap. He was a common beggar and frequently visited country school houses and made teacher and pupils give him their dinners upon- which he might gorge himself. He was also an expert gambler and one night, while at Dunlap, taking part in a game of gambling cards, he was quite successful and over it a quarrel arose and finally culminated in murder, as the following morning Yellow Smoke was found dead near the depot, with his skull broken in several places "by hands unknown." Thus the life of an uncivilized and aged Indian was taken by the hand of christi- anized, educated white men, whose crime must be accounted for in the world to come, as no bill could be found by a Har- rison County court !
The first case to be taken to the Su- preme court from Harrison County was that of Robert Hall vs. John Mathers. This invalued the title to an eighty-acre tract of land in Allen Creek Valley. Hall hav- ing obtained a decree quieting the title thereto in him, gave the defendant the
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thought that the court had erred in judgment, and therefore the case was appealed, but was affirmed and stood as before.
STATE OF IOWA, VS.
S. HOPKINS.
This case was tried in 1885. It came by change of venue from Le Mars, Iowa, and proved to be a very interesting case. The defendant was charged with burning the extensive roller mills at Le Mars. One Murphy, an alleged accomplice, and who had been previously convicted, was, by order of the court, brought from the pen- itentiary to testify against the man Hop- kins. His testimony was of the most positive character and very strong. He testified that he and Hopkins fired the mills and gave the circumstances in detail. After a long and wearisome trial, the de- fendant was acquitted. S. M. Marsh, the District Attorney, and an attorney from Dubuque, appeared for the prosecution, while George W. Argo, L. R. Bolter, and C. C. Cole defended.
STATE OF IOWA, VS.
ARTEMUS BAKER.
This case came up for hearing in 1875. The defendant was charged with murder, having killed a young man named Frank Crow, near Woodbine. The defendant relied on a plea of self-defense, and was acquitted. The District Attorney and L. R. Bolter with W. S. Shoemaker appeared for the State, and B. F. Montgomery for the defense.
STATE OF IOWA, VS. JOHN RICHARDSON.
Mr. Richardson was, in 1888, charged with murder in the first degree, for the killing of Lemuel Harker of Missouri Val-
ley. The trial consumed seven days' time, and resulted in acquittal, on the plea of self - defense. The attorneys who had charge of the case for the State were J. S. Dewell, J. H. Smith and L. R. Bol- ter & Sons. The attorneys for the defense were L. Brown and S. H. Cochran.
P. C. SPOONER, VS.
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF HARRISON COUNTY.
This was a case tried in 1879, where, by injunction, the plaintiff sought to restrain from the collection of heavy taxes, for the construction of the "Spooner Ditch" in the western part of the county. S. H. Cochran appeared for the plaintiff, and W. S. Shoemaker for the defense. The plaintiff succeeded in defeating the collec- tion of about four thousand dollars in taxes.
JAMES McCOID, VS. JOHN NOYES.
This was an action brought to abate a coffer-dam, near what is now McCoid's flouring mill, at Logan; also claiming six thousand dollars in damages, by back- water. This was tried in 1879, and re- sulted in a verdict for the defendant. The counsels for the plaintiff were A. W. Clyde and L. R. Bolter, while J. H. Smith and S. H. Cochran appeared for the defense.
STATE OF IOWA,
VS. JONATHAN JONES.
This was a case, in 1879, wherein Jona- than Jones was brought to Harrison County from Council Bluffs, charged with murder. The attorney for the State was L. M. Marsh, and the defense employed C. R. Scott and Maj. Lyman. Jones was convicted, but subsequently the case was appealed and he was released.
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HARRISON COUNTY.
STATE OF IOWA, VS. P. & W. C. CADWELL. S
This was among the most exciting and much-talked-of cases ever tried within the county. It was a case wherein a banking firm, doing business at both Logan and Woodbine, was charged with fraud. The defense was beaten in the District Courts and appealed to the Supreme Court, which affirmed the former decision of conviction. For the State appeared J. S. Dewell, J. H. Smith and S. H. Cochran, and for the de- fense J. W. Barnhart and Hon. L. R. Bolter. This case was tried in 1888.
DR. F. M. COMFORT, VS.
L. D. KITTLE (Sheriff). )
This was a peculiar and very interest- ing as well as quite important case that came before the courts in 1889. It was a habeas corpus case. Dr. Comfort, of Lo- | gan was arrested by order of Judge Ladd, on the ground that he refused to give 1 bonds. to appear as a witness in the case of the State vs. Phineas Cadwell, The case was brought before Judge Ales- worth, of Council Bluffs, who, on hearing. discharged the plaintiff. The Sheriff thereupon appealed the case to the Su- preme Court of Iowa, where it was af- firmed -- Judge Beck alone dissenting. L. R. Bolter & Sons and J. W. Barnhart were the attorneys for the plaintiff, and S. H. Cochran and Joe H. Smith for the Sheriff-Mr. Kittle, of Monona County.
This case has suddenly and unexpect- edly changed what has been looked upon as good law for forty years in Iowa. It virtually asserts that a man cannot be im- prisoned. though he refuse to give bonds for his appearance at the court. Hundreds of men in Iowa, even thousands, have been from time to time placed in the county
jail because they could not, or would not, give such bonds. This decision shows that in Iowa, at least, a witness cannot be placed in jail for what knowledge he may or may not possess, bond or no bond. Hon. L. R. Bolter had held this to be law for a quarter of a century, but he never had a case by which to test it until this one came up.
LAUGHABLE LEGAL INCIDENTS.
Connected with the strong, severe arm of the law, there many times arise amus- ing incidents between couns : and clients. Especially was this true at an early day when the judges, justices of the peace and attorneys were not noted for superior ed- ucational qualifications themselves. We will not cumber the pages of this book with more of these matters than seems proper as illustrations of pioneer justice. Only the -gist, or " point," of a few cases of this character will be given-the reader must draw on his fancy for the remainder :
In 1857 there came up an attachment case for hearing before a Calhonn justice of the peace. The papers were not in legal form, consequently one attorney filed a motion to " quash the writ." The mo- tion was argned with great force, and when the justice came to pass on the mo- tion, he sustained the same; and in order to " gnash the writ, " he laid the document on the table in front of him and said: " By virtue of authority vested in me as Justice of the peace, I hereby squash ye." -then striking his hand, tore it to frag- ments. It was " squashed!"
In 1865 a case was being tried before Joel H. Patch. A jury was demanded, and the constable went out to select one, and happened to stumble on Joshua B. Acres, who had only a few moments before been united in marriage. The officer
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HARRISON COUNTY.
served the writ on him. When it was known to two of the jurymen, viz: Nor- man B. Hardy and George R. Brainard (who seemed for the time being possessed of the devil), they both wilfully and with premeditation " hung the jury" all night, and until 8 o'clock the next morning, so as to play a "goake " on the bride and bridegroom. Itis related that Acres agreed to pay the plaintiff's claim and costs, if the jury would only agree and let him go. But Hardy said the defendant should not have a cent, no matter who paid it. Brainard was not over anxious to "agree" either.
A Cass township justice-in early days -- opened his court on one occasion by go- ing to his door, climbing a seven-rail fence, and at the top of his voice yelled, "Hear ye, hear ye, the Honorable court of the Hon. John -, will begin business in mighty short meter; come ifyou want to." During the case his little son kept scrambling about on his father's lap and became fretful, whereupon the Justice said to the offender, "Sonny, stand away ; keep off; you greatly retard the adminis- tration of justice, besides you are bother-
ing his Honor, this ere court." The evi- dence being heard the court entered the following judgment; "It is hereby found that plaintiff git of the defendant the sums of ten dollars and six bits and my costs, and the next case for trial in my court is the " 'dog case.'"
In the trial of a case before Samuel Sharpnack, of Clay Township, Capt. William Hill appeared for the defendant and Joe H. Smith. When Smith un- dertook to testify himself by presenting a certain account book, he was objected to by Capt. Hill, on the ground that section 2388, of the 1851 code, read: "But an In- dian, negro, mulatto or black person shall not be allowed to give evidence in any case wherein a white person is a party." "Now," remarked Capt. Hill, "look at Smith and determine if my objection is not well taken." The court sustained the objection, whereupon a scene occurred in which books flew in the air and all was not tranquil, for the complexion of Attorney Joe Smith is like that of Gen. Logan, dark and swarthy, though a full-blooded Caucasian and an honored attorney of the county to-day.
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HARRISON COUNTY.
REMINISCENCES.
BEFORE AND AFTER THE RAILROAD.
Then and Now.
(BY MRS. W. T. PRESTON, OF HARRISON TOWNSHIP.)
CHAPTER X.
LL of the following reminiscences of "ye olden time" are of an earlier date than my personal knowledge, because I came after the railroad. But if one would realize the contrasts in Harrison Township, it is necessary to go back to the commencement of the thirty- five years of its inhabitancy.
Conversations with some of the old- timers have resulted in giving clues to their manner of living, the struggles and hardships of pioneer life. They came here from New England, with no railroad facil- ties this side of Iowa City, a distance of two hundred miles, as the crow flies, and farther by wagon trail, through bridgeless streams and ahnost trackless forests; through muddy valleys and over treeless prairies. They brought no luxuries and few necessities with them. Their nearest trading point was Council Bluffs, more than fifty miles away, with traveling sin- ilar to that east of them. Three days were consumed in going there and back. Time
was precious and money was scarce. Ex- change of articles and labor was the order of the day. Anything was legal tender. The "coin of the realm" was as scarce as the new spring bonnets of the ladies. Furniture was home-made, and lucky the woman whose husband had an axe, ham- mer and saw with skill to use them. Un- planed black walnut made rude chairs, tables, bedsteads and stands, and time and wear polished them. A sawmill in Shelby County with primitive machinery furnished rongh boards for their cabins. Nonicely matched edges made close joints in walls and floors, but frequently the green lumber shrunk until the cracks were wide enough to render doors and windows almost unnecessary. No "ten cent conter" supplied them with culinary tools, and no china store furnished them with its gilt-edge ware. Thin pieces of board supplied any lack of plates and whittled out wooden forks sometimes took the places of their steel or silver
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HARRISON COUNTY.
sisters. No chenille or madras curtains draped their windows, but perchance an old Hartford, Conn., Courant, with fanci- fully notched edge, added an air of refine- ment and hinted of the comforts and lux- uries left behind. Unplaned boards with generous cracks between, did not call for Brussels carpets and so they did not have them. A Shelby County brick kiln sup- plied them with material for chimneys and sometimes fire-places were used in- stead of stoves. One lady told me that when she was coming across the State she stopped for the night where there was an old lady and gentleman sitting in front of a huge fire-place, in which was a back-log and two other logs with one end on the fire and the other in the middle of the room. As fast as they burned off they were given a shove and thus time and labor was saved in preparing fuel, but this did not happen in Harrison Township. The settlers from New England, who came here were too thrifty and tidy to burn fuel in any such shiftless way as that. One room, or at most two, contained and sheltered the whole family and may be two of them. Yet there was always room for one more. They were like street cars in State Fair time-never full. No stranger wasturned away and the strangers knew it. They would put their horses in the shed unasked and walk into the house with the air of proprietors, well-knowing that the floor occupants could lie a little closer and the loft made of loose boards reached by a ladder, would accommodate those who might come later. No matter if the larder was empty and the flour bin scraped; no matter if the cows were dry and the chickens were roosting high, they knew that Yankee ingenuity, combined with Yankee hospitality, would see that they had something to eat.
There was a still earlier settlement made in Galland's Grove, four miles to the south- east of Dunlap, by Mormons from Nauvoo, Ill. Harrison Township's first settlers, obtained some corn from them the first year and paid $2 a bushel. When they had raised a crop of corn and wheat they hauled it to the Bluffs and got ten cents a bushel for the corn and thirty cents .a bushel for wheat. It hardly paid ex- penses. One year they had no wheat on account of blight so they learned to use corn-meal for everything. They sprinkled a tin with meal and filled it with pumpkin or other material and so made pies. Browned corn made nutritious coffee that was not enervating. Sugar cane made sorghum that served all pur- poses for sweetening. Invigorating air and the aroma from newly turned sod, with plenty of exercise, created an appe- tite that gave flavor and relish to food, that the pampered sons of luxury never enjoy.
In war times $1 dollar would buy three pounds of loaf sugar and that would last a year, as it was never used only in sick ness or for some distinguished guest. Dame Nature furnished the children shoes and stockings in the summer and moth- erly fingers knit the winter hose, while a load of wheat would buy the winter shoes. Out of doors all sorts of appliances were used. Ingenuity was taxed to the utter- most to find ways and means to do work and supply deficiences. One man at least had a saddle and bridle made of the bark of a tree. Snow-storms sometimes overtook them on their freighting tours that were bewildering and when the sun came the glistening snow was literally blinding to man and beast. Darkness sometimes came before they could find shelter. One gentleman told me that he
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HARRISON . COUNTY.
was out with another man and lost the trail, but listening intently they heard a dog bark. It was their only clew to a hu- man habitation and so they made a bee line for the sound. The dog continued to bark, and it became more and more dis- tinct until they finally reached a friendly shelter. It was customary among the settlers to place candles in the window after nightfall for the guidance of belated travelers.
One wagon trail from the end of the railroad to the Missouri River lay through the Boyer Valley and sometimes the wagon trains would be a mile and a quar- ter long. This was in 1859 and 1860, when "Pike's Peak or bust" was the motto of thousands of fortune-seekers. We can scarcely realizenow what a dreary vast expanse of prairie stretched out be- fore the gaze of the early settlers, with scarce a tree and hardly a fence to break the monotony. As one lady remarked, "girls and dogs were used for fences be- cause they were cheaper than posts or rails," and her husband replied, that while now he could haul posts and wire for a half mile of fence in half a day, then it would take him all winter to cut and haul material enough for the same. Sometimes the tall prairie grass caught fire and the flames would sweep with relentless fury for miles through the valley and over the hills, licking np any precious bit of fence or pile of hard-earned rails or anything else that stood in its way.
Previous to 1860, probably there were not a dozen houses in Harrison Town- ship. The nearest neighbors were out of hearing and almost out of sight.
Sometime previous to 1860 a mail route was established, running from Magnolia to Adel, in Dallas County, connecting
Magnolia with Council Bluffs, and from Adel to Des Moines and Iowa City.
James Billings, of Dunlap, told me he carried the mail for quite awhile, some- times on horseback and sometimes in a two-wheeled cart, similarto the road-carts of to-day. He did not carry passengers, ' unless some chance stranger wanted to go his way, but one time he brought three "school ma'ams" from Harlan to Man- teno. They made themselves as comfort- able as possible on the one seat, while he mounted the horse. The people of Har- rison Township then received the mail twice a week; this was a wonderful ad- vance on previous accommodations. There were some risks in carrying the mail dur- ing all sorts of weather and traveling through a lonely country, with never one bridge over any stream on the road. One time Mr. Billings broke through the crust of snow and ice that covered the Musquito Creek; he suceeded in extricating him- self and mail bag but could not get the horse out. He ran five miles to the near- est house for help and returning they found the horse yet alive and saved it. Another time he was capsized in Indian Creek and hunted all day in cold wet clothing for his mail bag. At last just at night when he was almost frozen, he found it and putting it on his horse he made all possible speed to the nearest house, twelve miles away. Arriving at his destination he was carried into the house almost dead. Upon recovering a little he sent for the postmaster to examine the mail and see if anything was ruined. Only one letter was injured and in that they were enabled to learn the name of the writer, which was A. N. War- ren, who yet resides near Dunlap. Mr. Billings returned him the letter with the request that he rewrite it.
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