USA > Iowa > Kossuth County > History of Kossuth County, Iowa > Part 10
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been posted in 1855. It was painted with tar on the hind'end gate of a wagon box which was nailed to an oak tree in front of the spot where the residence of the Mann brothers and sisters is located. It read, "I, Malachi Clark, claim this grove and all the prairie joining." That was a modest claim, since the prairie on the east extended for forty miles to Clear Lake. The sign was still there in 1858 and 1859, and was read by all who passed along that way.
It is easy to see that if the land in the county had been on the market for private sale in the latter '50s, men with plenty of funds would have come and purchased in large tracts all the groves and the most valuable prairie tracts, thus retarding settlement and doing much damage to the prosperity of the county. The government to prevent this condition did not at first throw the land open to private sale, but allowed only a single quarter-section to a pre- emptor or later to a homesteader. Each quarter was designed to become the home of a bona fide resident. The theory of the administration was a good one for this new country, but men found ways of defeating. the aim of the government to enrich themselves. Had there been no preemption or home- stead laws the number of residents of the county during the war would have" been small. The legal right to preempt 160 acres of choice land brought many of the first settlers here, and the opportunity for finding some way to acquire a larger amount of the fertile soil than a single quarter-section induced many more to come. The real pioneers found a way of each receiving the benefits from the possession of an extra quarter-section, and some of them much more. In taking exclusive control of land in which they had no lawful interest they, of course, became trespassers from a legal standpoint, and in a measure law- less. They were men of intelligence, courage and daring who were combat- ing frontier conditions. They were of that hardy class of frontiersmen always to be found on the outskirts of civilization, braving every danger, enduring consequent hardships, and frequently out-running the government surveyors to be the first in a "kingdom called home." They were the advance guard, blazing the trail and opening the way for the development of the country. No class of pioneers deserves more credit in the settlement of this county than do those who for the first few years penciled their names on blazed trees and lived in their little cabin homes in the forest.
In order to hold more land than the preemption law allowed, the first set- tlers organized Claim Clubs to protect themselves against those who came later and who might endeavor to preempt the spurious claims of those who held them. The members of these clubs were pledged to oust by force, if neces- sary, all "jumpers" of the claims held by any of them. The by-laws specified the number of acres each could hold and be protected, how the claims must be made and recorded with the secretary, and what must be done in order to keep their claims valid by the rules and regulations. The first formal meet- ing of any kind ever held in the county was during the summer of 1855, in the cabin of J. W. Moore, in Algona, when the Claim Club was organized by the election of Dr. Robert Cogley, president, and Corydon Craw, secretary. The by-laws required that officers must be elected every quarter, meetings to be held monthly and a membership fee of two dollars to be paid. No member was to be protected in holding more than a half-section as a claim. One- quarter section of this tract he could preempt and his right to the other he might
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dispose of on the best terms he could. There were those, however, who took claims elsewhere while still holding on to their original half-section. These claims, last referred to, in which they had not the least legitimate interest, they sold whenever they could inveigle strangers into purchasing them. Some made considerable easy money by constantly taking claims and then selling their rights to them. These rights were in no way recognized by the laws of the land. Men were sometimes employed to hold down claims and even to pre- empt them for others in violation of law. Occasionally those holding down claims for others got wise and preempted the tracts themselves. Christian Hackman was holding down the claim, on which he afterwards made his home for many years, for the benefit of Judge Call. Someone explained to him how he could own that grove if he chose to do so. He went to Fort Dodge and entered the claim in his name. On his way back he met the Judge on his way to the land office, but he was too late for the Prussian had already been there and fixed matters to suit himself.
"Straw men" some times held down claims whose residences could not be discovered. The name Peter Funk could be written on a blazed tree and the claim would hold good "for a reasonable time in which to make settlement ;" but during that reasonable time the man who wrote the name could generally find someone to pay him, as agent for Peter, the amount of the latter's claim. There were other similar tactics used by some to make money out of timber lands to which they had no valid claim whatever, but the account of the sharp practices employed by a few as given above will suffice. It must not be under- stood that the Claim Club countenanced any of the questionable methods to which some resorted as a .means of acquiring wealth. It gave no protection except to those members who were claiming only one-quarter section, besides the one intended as a preemption.
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CHAPTER VIII THE RIVER SETTLEMENTS
ARRIVALS IN 1854
On the night of July 9, 1854, when Asa C. Call, W. T. Smith and Ambrose A. Call were spending the lonesome hours amid the underbrush on section twelve on King's creek, the nearest neighbors to them on the north were at Mankato, the nearest on the east at Clear Lake, the nearest on the south at Fort Dodge and the nearest on the west probably on the Pacific coast. It was two months and a half before Anson Avery built his primitive home at Upper Grove in Hancock county, eight months before Thomas Bearse erected his pioneer cabin in Winnebago, ten months before William Carter constructed his modest home near West Bend in Palo Alto and a few months before settlements began to form in Humboldt. It was at a time when there was not a railroad station in Iowa, and at a time sixteen years in advance of the coming of a passenger train into the county. There the future founders of Algona rested until daylight, apparently unconcerned about the band of savages that had been roaming through the big woods and frightening away the surveyors. "Over there, a few rods, is where Asa, W. T. Smith and I stayed the first night we were in the county." These words were addressed to Wil- liam K. Ferguson and the writer by Ambrose A. Call while out auto riding about a year before his death. The party at that time was in the road, a little east of the King farm residence in Irvington township. When uttering that sentence he pointed northward toward the edge of the grove.
The Calls selected their claims July 10th, and Ambrose A., with the assistance of one W. T. Smith, raised their cabin, in the absence of Asa C., on the 8th day of August. This first cabin in the county was located on section 14, in what is now Cresco township, and stood about twenty rods northwest of the Chubb farm home. It was about 14 by 16 feet and stood in the edge of the timber not far from the spot on section 15 where the Indians had robbed the surveyor's camp seven days before the Calls arrived. The only occupants of this cabin when first built were the jun- ior brother and his hired man, for the senior brother had gone to Iowa City where his wife had been for several weeks. This man, Smith, getting tired of baching soon left the country and did not return. Ambrose A. Call was then left the only white man in the whole county. If he ever had courage it certainly must have been at that time. But few men would have taken their chances as he did, even if they had thought they could have secured the title to the whole county by so doing.
August 27, 1854, is an important date in the history of the county, for it was
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then that the first women and children arrived. It was a day of joy and gladness to that one solitary settler, Ambrose Call, when up from the south came six teams, on the west side of the river, drawing household goods and people desiring to locate. Horses were drawing one wagon and oxen the others. The horse team was draw- ing Levi Maxwell, his wife, Eliza, baby daughter, Leodica, and son, Henry. An- other team drew Solomon Hand, Ben Hensley and Frank Swangum, but they had no women along. In the third load were Malachi Clark, his wife Rachel, daughter Elizabeth, and son Thomas. In the fourth load were William G. Clark, wife and son. The other two wagons contained the Hill crowd and plenty of whiskey. With that outfit were some whose morals were no better than they ought to have been. That crowd consisted of Old Billy Hill, a widower, his invalid brother Daniel, his son young Daniel, his daughter Martha, his nephew Elisha Hill, Mrs. Samantha Persons, who did their cooking, her son Thomas, and her two daughters, Emily and Abigail. All these people left Fort Dodge at the same time, bound for Call's Grove in Kossuth. This party presented an interesting mixture of manhood and womanhood. The two Clark families were church people and good citizens, but were poor; Maxwell and wife had experienced pioneer life before and were going to try it again; Hand and Hensley were claim speculators ; Swangum a tender- foot, and the Billy Hill crowd decidedly on the bum order.
As only a few claims had been taken before they came, it becomes interesting to learn where they made their choice selections. Billy Hill located his claim on sec- tion 15 and built his cabin near the spot where the surveyors had their camp when it was robbed by the Indians on July 2d of that year. His brother, Daniel, chose that fine grove which for more than a half century has been on the home farm of Alexander Brown, but he built no cabin as he lived with his brother. Levi Maxwell claimed the north half of section 24, but did not put up a cabin on the premises that year. This claim is generally known as the Huntley place, and is the property of Mrs. A. D. Clarke. Malachi Clark claimed the south half of that section which con- tained the grove now belonging to the home premises of M. D. I .. Parsons. His son, William G., chose the grove adjoining on the south. Both erected comfort- able cabins at once, the Maxwell family living with them during the winter. Sol Hand and Ben Hensley crossed the river over on to the east side and found beau- tiful groves awaiting to be claimed. After investigating the timber tracts south- west of and near to the present Irvington town site, Mr. Hand claimed the grove and farm which later for many years included the home premises of Jacob C. Wright. Still later the farm was owned by his son, Robert Wright, but at present is the property of Max Herbst. At the time Mr. Hand made this selection Ben Hensley chose for his claim the grove a little farther west, which was afterwards the well-known farm home of Elijah Lane. Neither Hand nor Hensley put up cabins on their claims. Swangum thought it too risky to live in such a wild coun- try and consequently left the county without taking a claim. During the latter part of the year, that strange specimen of humanity, Charles Easton, made his appearance on the west side and claimed the present home of William Galbraith where S. A. Thompson lived for a long time. Here Badger Easton lived in his dug-out, sold whiskey on the sly, and chummed with the Billy Hill crowd. This cave with the cabins of Billy Hill, the Calls and the two Clarks, made the five places of abode that winter at "Call's Grove."
A few days after these twenty-three settlers arrived there came into the com-
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munity a Frenchman by the name of Archambyses Benson, looking for a desirable grove to which he could make claim. He too crossed the river over to the east side and took possession of the grove north of Irvington, a portion of which is now owned by John Gaffney. A short time after Benson came, a Campbellite minister came up from the south part of the state, by the name of Mahuren, and took lodg- ing at the Call cabin. He was not feeling well when he came and soon was taken with a fever from which he died September 26th. There was no woman at the cabin to tenderly care for him, no physician in the county to administer to his wants, and no preacher to conduct the funeral services. His grave was dug not far from the cabin, and Malachi Clark came up from the Parson's grove and with his ax made a coffin of puncheons split from a butternut tree. The little pioneer community assembled-about twenty in all-Malachi Clark offered up a prayer, a hymn was sung, the body lowered into the primitive grave and then covered over with the sods that a few hours before had been thrown out to make the resting place for the unfortunate minister. Such were the simple services at the first burial in the county.
Joy came to the Call cabin on the 4th day of November when Judge Asa C. arrived with his young and beautiful wife to give cheer to that little log home on the edge of the grove. The Malachi Clark family saw them as they passed by their cabin and were delighted that another woman had come into the community. On the evening of the 24th of November, Mrs. Call, looking from her cabin home towards the south, saw two strangers coming on horseback. Running to the edge of the timber where her husband happened to be at the time, she called "Asa ! Asa ! come quick two men are coming on horses." The strangers arrived at the cabin door. They were W. H. Ingham and D. E. Stine, the former looking for a hunter's paradise, and the latter for choice location for a home. It is no wonder that Mrs. Call was elated, for she had not seen a person beyond the little settle- ment since she took up her abode in the woods. A few days before this event two claim-seekers had passed through the settlement and located a few miles north of the Algona town site, on the east side of the river. Richard Parrot blazed his claim, strung out in 40's up and down the river, so that it included the best part of the old Carey grove, now the property of H. C. Adams, in Plum Creek township. About forty rods north of where the house on that farm stands Dick Parrot built his cabin. Lyman Craw chose for his claim what is now the Rice grove, and was baching with Parrot when Asa C. Call, Mr. Ingham and Mr. Stine called on the morning of November 25, 1854. It was on that day that the latter made claim to the Black Cat grove on section 24, by marking his name and date on a prominent tree. A little later Henry Lindner came up from the south and took for his claim that body of timber in Plum Creek long known as Paine's grove. These parties are all who took claims and became members of the "River Settlement" during the year 1854. Winter came on and the excitement over the coming of new set- tlers ceased. The only ones to come during the winter were W. H. Ingham, who had become the owner of Stine's Black Cat claim, and A. L. Seeley, who was also looking for a future home. They arrived January 15, 1855, and made their tem- porary headquarters with the bachelor boys at the Parrot cabin while getting their own cabin ready for occupancy. This cabin was completed February 17th, and to celebrate the event Ingham and Seeley had a special dinner at which Dick Parrot was the favored guest. The cabin was about 16 by 20 feet, a door on the east side,
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a window on the east and on the west sides and a chimney on the south end. It was the same old log cabin that stood for many years on the C. Byson farm on the Black Cat.
Let us now take a survey of the settlement and see how these settlers were dis- tributed during the winter of 1854-5. Stine having sold to Ingham, and Swangum having refused to locate, both left never to return. Lindner, Hand and Hensley wintered elsewhere and returned in the spring. No cabins had been built on the east side of the river except Parrot's and Craw's in Plum Creek. No buildings or people were on the Algona town site. The only cabin on the west side of the river north of the site that winter was the Ingham-Seeley cabin. The three cabins north of the future town had a total of four men, with neither women nor children. In the Call-Clark-Maxwell-Hill settlement over in what is now Cresco there wintered all told twenty-five people. This was the only settlement in the county then that contained any women and children. There were then twenty-nine persons who remained in the River settlement during that winter. Most of the cabins had not a board or a nail in their construction. All had puncheon doors and where there were floors they were made of the same kind of material. The cracks between the logs were chinked and daubed with clay. The roofs were covered with shakes rived from timber which had been cut the right length for that purpose. The base of the chimney was usually made of "nigger heads" and the top made of sticks plastered with mud.
The winter of 1854-5, according to the reports of all who were in the county at that time, was mild and enjoyable. It was much in contrast with most of those which followed during the succeeding ten years. Ambrose A. Call kept a record of the coldest days which reads : "January 13, 18 degrees below zero; January 22, 12 below ; January 26, 9 below, and February 24, 10 below, with but little snow." The mildness of the weather proved a blessing to the settlers who were frequently compelled to make long trips with ox teams to the more settled portions of the state for provisions.
THE UPPER COUNTRY-1855
The spring of 1855 came and found but little change in the settlement of the "upper country" since the beginning of the year. That term applied to the vicinity of what is now Algona and all the region north to the Minnesota line, for as yet there had been no town site surveyed. As before stated, W. H. Ingham and A. L. Seeley had built their cabin on the Black Cat claim of the former and moved in on the 17th day of February. There they bached during the winter, as did also Parrot and Craw in the claim cabin of the former on the northwest quarter of sec- tion 30 in Plum Creek. In February, Christian Hackman came up from Humboldt where he and August Zahlten had been living in a cave near the present Dakota City, feasting on wild game and drinking coffee made by boiling acorns. He came to cast his lot with the frontiersmen in Kossuth, and began working for Judge Call. While holding down a claim for the judge he quietly entered it himself and lived upon it until his death. This was the well-known Hackman grove south of Algona, now owned by U. G. Arnfelt. Judge Call late in the winter came across the river from Cresco where he had been living in the Ambrose A. Call cabin and proceeded to erect the first building on the site of the future Algona. This was a hewed double log cabin, the main part being about 16 by 32 feet, one story and a
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half, and covered with shakes. In the rear was a one-story log kitchen with a tall Kentucky chimney, having a wide fireplace where all the cooking was done for many years. This primitive cabin stood a couple of rods north of W. C. Danson's home. The leaning pine tree at that spot is over the old cellar, where the ground settling caused the tree to incline to one side. When the log structure was built, almost every man in the county was present helping to erect the first cabin on the site of the future county seat. The entire north settlement attended, that is Ing- ham, Seeley, Parrot and Craw. The latter before coming down wondered if the judge would have any dinner for those at the raising. Desiring to be on the safe side he rolled up his dinner and put it in his coat pocket. On arriving at the scene of the building, he pulled off his coat and joined with the others in the work. A big dog in search of food scented the lunch, extracted it from the pocket and soon made away with it to the amusement of those who noticed the incident. But Lyman Craw, the claimant of the Rice grove in Plum Creek, had no reasons for regret when dinner time came, because his pocket luncheon had disappeared. Mrs. Call was on hand with an excellent spread for the occasion. She gave the assembled neighbors a feast that was a credit to her in that day of limited conveniences and with markets many miles away.
During the month of March, J. W. Moore, the teamster who had driven Mr. Ingham and Mr. Seeley up from Cedar Rapids in January to take possession of the former's Black Cat claim, came himself to become a resident of the new county. Having received such favorable impressions of Kossuth when he came in the winter, he could not rest until he had sold his farm at the Rapids. He brought with him considerable means and bought Dick Parrot's claim. The former owner then moved away. It is not now remembered that Mr. Moore ever lived on his claim purchase, for a short time later he bought an interest on the Algona town site and in the south part of town put up the second cabin in the future county seat. Along with Mr. Moore came J. C. Cummins, a peculiar character who was soon familiarly known as Pap Cummins. He took a claim adjoining the northeast part of the town site, his claim shanty being where the old Joe Phillips house in the third ward stands. A. L. Seeley claimed on the east of the site, comprising the Stacy nursery and also including the quarter where the Northwestern depot is located. This claim he sold for $450 and then took a half section on the Black Cat on sec- tions 15 and 16 so as to include the grove. This claim he also sold to advantage.
On the 9th day of May, D. W. King drove into the settlement on the Cresco side and was greeted on his arrival at the Call cabin. During the winter he had taught school in a little building seven miles west of Des Moines. In April he and William Preston started for the north on foot, and while at Sailorville met Judge Call who was in that vicinity purchasing oxen for breaking teams. These two footmen gladly accepted an offer to pay for their passage by each driving a couple of the ox teams. After their arrival Mr. King drove the teams which broke up the eastern part of the judge's claim. The sod he turned over covers a space now included between McGregor street and the cemetery east of Minnesota street and west of the Northwestern depot. He liked the looks of the grove where the Calls slept the first night, and proceeded to claim it, but found a man by the name of Getchell there ahead of him. By handing over $100 of his school money, Mr. King became the owner of the claim. A man by the name of Smock came about that time but took no claim.
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Edward Putnam came up from Cedar Rapids in June and joined company at the Ingham-Seeley cabin, officiating as chief cook. From all accounts he per- formed his duties well. He selected for his claim the farm now owned by F. M. Taylor on the Black Cat. This he sold some time after to Rev. D. S. McComb for the sum of $100. James L. Paine and Frank C. Rist arrived and perfected their claims on section 12, just southeast of the town site. Having made their homes on these tracts for many years the locations of their claims are well known. They arrived from Massachusetts on the Ist of May. August Zahlten refused to re- main all alone in his Humboldt cave, so he sold out his claim and put in an appear- ance on the Algona town site on the 20th day of May. He too began working for Judge Call. In looking around for a claim he took a fancy to the grove now on the Zahlten and Dickinson farms. A man by the name of Gage, Getch or Gates was hanging on to it as a claim. The owner of the claim had traded some of the Billy Hill crowd an old horse for their interest, and Mr. Zahlten by paying him $125 for his rights became the owner. He later sold the north quarter to James Roan. On the south quarter Mr. Zahlten lived until his death in March, 1912, being ninety-five years old.
James Hall took his claim on the northwest quarter of section 4 in Cresco. He too was from Cedar Rapids. During the following year, after the mill had started, he did considerable carpenter work on the site and worked around the mill. Later he went to Des Moines and engaged in cabinet making. The date of his coming here was June, 1855. Thomas Covel was another man from the Rapids who couldn't stay away. He too came in June, and finally became one of the Ingham- Seeley-Putnam family at the former's cabin. He expressed a desire to claim the south end of the grove on the H. C. Adams Plum Creek farm. That part for some reason had not been claimed by Parrot, or at least had not been transferred by him to Moore. He wanted his claim there but did no positive act by which to perfect his claim. He kept fooling along until W. B. Carey came into the county, a year later, and jumped the claim and this gave him a start for a fine home. Later Covel procured the title to an eighty in section 16. Doc Williamson, of course, had to come from the Rapids. He also arrived in June, but didn't have the nerve to take a claim, so he soon disappeared.
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