USA > Iowa > Kossuth County > History of Kossuth County, Iowa > Part 54
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"I made a good many trips with my father in those early days. At first I expected that we would break camp in the morning when we struck camp at night, but the nights were too long for him. He would pick me up with the bedding and put me in the back end of the wagon without waking me and when I awoke it was usually when we had gone into camp the second time to get break- fast.
"We reached Goldfield at the end of the third day without accident, and I
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well remember that the men of that village gathered around that load of salt and commented on its value. I have no idea what those five barrels of salt were worth delivered at Goldfield in that day, but I expect they were worth a farm. My father got it into his head that he could make just as good a town of Goldfield as he could of Waterloo and he moved the family there in the spring of 1860, but moved back in the fall. That was where I was educated, and while in pursuit of knowledge I was bitten by a rattlesnake. I will guarantee that I sent up a more terrifying yell and ran faster to reach home, that day than any Sioux Indian that had ever inhabited that country. There was no doctor, but Mrs. Dean, a neighbor, ran over to see what the war whoop was about and she said, 'Give him whiskey, and back she ran after her bottle of alcohol. And oh! the drink they gave me. They measured it out in a tea cup. Three-fourths full of alcohol and one-fourth water, and then in about three minutes they doubled the dose. I don't think Goldfield has ever had such a drunk as I pulled off in that town in 1860.
"In the early days of Iowa our log cabin was on the main thoroughfare from the east to the west. Everyone was invited to get down without asking his politics or to what church he belonged. That old cabin served every purpose in that community from a church to a court room. Pioneer life is a pleasant memory to me. I had the good fortune to know in my father's cabin many of the pio- neers of Iowa. They were more than ordinary men. They were strong physically and strong mentally. I am impressed that they were honest, fearless and decidedly a high type of manhood.
"To the pioneers of Kossuth county I desire to say: You fought the good fight and you kept the faith. You had great faith never doubting that the pos- sibilities of this great commonwealth of Kossuth county would astonish posterity. You have lived to more than realize your golden dream and the unanimous desire of this prosperous community is that when peaceful old age forces you to cross the dark river it will be your good fortune to discover another country equal in possibilities to the one you so faithfully fostered on this side."
ADDRESS OF A. F. CALL, ESQ.
"It was exceedingly kind of your program committee to remember an old friend, by inviting me to address you.
"Although fifteen years have passed away since I said good-bye to my friends here to cast my lot in another city, it seems but yesterday, and as I meet you all again in friendly greeting, I feel more than ever before that Algona is my dearest home.
"As my thoughts wander backward to the beginnings of the old pioneers, and to my own childhood days, my memory is thronged with the tender recol- lections of the past.
"There are no friends so dear as those of early days, no country so good to look upon as the landscapes of fair Kossuth, no grove so restful as the old sugar camp, no waters so exhilarating as the deep, cool swimming places in the old Des Moines, no birds ever sing so sweetly as they sang in the days of childhood, no food has ever been so tempting as the jonnycakes my mother used to bake over the kitchen fireplace in the old log cabin where I was born. Wherever my wander-
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ing steps may take me, my heart will always cling to my old friends and my old home.
"We are met together in this semi-centennial celebration to pay tribute to the early pioneers-our own local heroes-to commemorate their achievements, and to draw fresh inspiration from contemplation of what they accomplished.
"In this midway step across the passing century it is well to take this pause, to gather wisdom and purpose from the past, to meet the problems of the future, to make authentic record of the deeds and accomplishments of those who blazed out the trail which we are endeavoring to follow, and to create for ourselves a new ideal of what may be done for this beautiful land in the upbuilding of its people, knowing that only in this way can we fulfill the hopes and purposes of its founders.
"No words of mine can aid the little band of early settlers, who have so largely passed to their long silent sleep, but a tribute to their memory may further the cause for which they labored by guiding the footsteps of those who have taken up the work where they were compelled to leave it, and, by recalling the diffi- culties which they overcame, give new hope and courage to those who now bear the responsibilities and burdens of the work they sought to do.
"We may imagine, but words cannot paint, the emotions of the old pioneers when they first looked out upon a boundless wilderness, far beyond the limits of settlement and civilization-the old world behind them, a new world before them, to meet, to dare, to conquer-beautiful to look upon, with its rolling prairies of waving green, all fashioned for the plows of men, the clear flowing streams winding through many grand old forests of oak, walnut and maple, a beautiful land, replete in itself, with boundless possibilities for all that civilization brings to man; but with no railroads nearer than two hundred miles, no bridges to cross the fre- quently swollen streams, no wagon roads-not even a footpath-to guide their wandering steps; no mills, no schools, no churches and no government, a virgin wilderness, with everything to do and nothing to do it with but the inherent power God has given to man and that indomitable pluck and energy of which pioneers are made.
"When Indian massacres came, instead of abandoning their settlements, as others did, they built their fort and stood their ground. Not only this, but they sent an armed company to the frontier outposts to drive the savage from the land.
"When the Civil war came, it found a band of patriots ready for their coun- try's call; they gave the strongest support to the state, in proportion to the popula- tion, of any county, and yet preserve the honored flag, the emblem presented for that self-sacrificing contribution.
"When the grasshoppers came and destroyed their fields, instead of giving up the contest, they went back to the diet of corn bread of earlier days, and in- vented means of exterminating them,
"In this spirit they met all the trials and difficulties that came to test the courage and perseverance of the early settlers.
"With all this was charity. From their scant stores the settlers made liberal donations to those who labored under still greater burdens, and no call for charity from any part of the world has ever been made upon the people of Kossuth without meeting a ready and warm-hearted response.
"What better tribute can we pay to the lives and labors of our pioneers than to point to the character and worth of the people who inhabit Kossuth county
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today, for like begets like, and the old adage, 'birds of a feather flock together,' is never more true than in the formation of a new community. The atmosphere of the first settlement determines the character of the accretion, for only con- genial spirits find lodgment there. The drone finds no peace in the hive of work- ers; the brawler, no comfort in a band of determined, law-abiding people.
"When we realize what the people of Kossuth have accomplished, we find the proof of the worth of its pioneers. Remembering the beginnings, a glance around us will show what they have done. The wilderness of fifty years ago has, as if by fairy wand, been changed to a blooming garden. The six hundred and forty thousand broad acres of fertile land within the boundaries of big Kos- suth are now practically one farm, every acre of which will, within another fifty years, be worth its two hundred golden dollars, now supporting a population of twenty-six thousand wideawake, educated, progressive people, with all the insti- tutions of learning and facilities for business the most modern civilization calls to the use of men.
"The old fort on the hill gave way to the town hall, where dear old Father Taylor held religious services, taught Sunday school, day school, singing school, spelling school, and led the debating society, planting the good seed of refinement and morality from which your high standing for character has grown.
"The town hall gave way to the modern business blocks of today. And so, the old landmarks, like the old pioneers, quietly slip away,-at one time in- portant milestones in our progress, now but pleasant recollections of the days gone by.
"During its fifty years of life Kossuth county has done nothing to bring to our faces the blush of shame. It has never had a riot, nor a train robbery, nor a bank robbery, nor many serious crimes. It has never had a defaulter in public office, nor a public debt. except of a temporary character. These things indicate the character of our people, for usually the officer is no better and no worse than the constituency which made him. He approaches the ideal of those who vote for him.
"In this record we find evidence of a peace-loving, law-abiding, God-fearing people. yet of the stuff of which patriots and warriors are made, for its men have never hid their heads when duty or country called.
"Over and above all this, Kossuth county has brought forth men. Man is greater than all his works. The greatest test of the worth and value of a com- munity is in the character of the men it has produced, for the greatest thing in all the world is a great and progressive man. Of these, Kossuth county has pro- duced a notable band. We have furnished many men to other states and cities, for Algona was not large enough to satisfy the energies of all. With but few exceptions, they have been useful, honored and influential citizens in their new homes, while many more and equally able men have remained at home to pro- tect the interests and guide the progress of old Kossuth, making themselves felt in the field of industrial progress and the cause of good government, as they always have done whenever the county or state had need of their brains, courage and brawn.
"The very dissensions which for so many years prevented the men of Algona from taking their true place in the state and nation, were evidence of superior ambition and ability. No inferior minds conld have conducted the mighty strug-
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gles for supremacy that were waged in fighting Kossuth. For all these things we gladly render honor to the founders of this county, loving the living and kindly remembering the dead. The generations yet to come will join in our praise.
"But the labors our pioneers have accomplished are only the beginnings com- pared with what is yet to do. From a scant settlement on the outskirts of civiliza- tion, this community has grown to be an important factor in state and national progress. Its added importance brings with it duties and responsibilities, which our fathers, with all their foresight and wisdom, never expected us to encounter. These fifty years of life have marked an epoch, and an important epoch, in the growth of the people; but it is only the childhood of the country. The work of manhood is yet to be done.
"The productions of this county, under the highest cultivation would sup- port hali a million people. Another fifty years will, probably, give this county one hundred thousand inhabitants. At least one-fourth of these will live in your towns which will then be prosperous cities. Interurban lines of railway will then connect Algona with all parts of this great and populous county. Factories will spring up to manufacture the products of the soil into food for that great people. Algona will then be a manufacturing town, with all the animation and progress which comes to those who strive and work. Your boys will take part in this,- see that they are ready for the task." * *
The character of Colonel Ormsby's address throughout was as lofty in senti- ment as were his closing words: "I saw this morning one of the grandest sights of my life-2,000 school children in line, bearing flags with which they kept time to the music of our national hymn, America. There is no object lesson which so forcibly typifies American principles and achievements as the flag which blazens forth the progress and dignity of the United States. Then let the American flag float over every schoolhouse; let the constitution of the United States be taught in every public school; let loyalty to American institutions be the test of American citizenship; set the star of the Union in the hearts of our children, and the glory of the republic will remain forever."
SENATOR CHUBB'S "RECOLLECTIONS"
Senator Charles C. Chubb's contribution to the semi-centennial program was the following "Recollections" of his experience after arriving in 1865:
"About four o'clock in the afternoon of a lovely day in July, 1865, the stage coach on the route from Fort Dodge to Algona, driven by Frank Rist, stopped to exchange the mail at the postoffice in Irvington. The town at that time, con- sisted of a store, in which the postoffice was kept, and a single dwelling house. At one time it had aspired to be the metropolis of the county. While the mail was being assorted, the three passengers who came on the stage were very agreeably entertained by some of the old settlers, who were evidently waiting for the semi-weekly event-the coming of the mail-which at that time was their only means of communication with the outside world, the nearest rail- road being Boonesboro on the south, and Ackley on the east. They seemed pleased to see strangers and endeavored to convince us that this was a very desirable country in which to locate. As a final and conclusive argument. one of the gentlemen put his hand into his pocket and brought out a great hand-
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ful of greenbacks which he displayed, at the same time saying, 'Say, God! boys, that's what we grow in this country.'
"This was my introduction to Kossuth county. Up to this time I did not have the most remote idea of settling in Jowa, but was on my way to Minne- sota or Northern Wisconsin. It occurred to me at once, that possibly this was the very country I was looking for. Here was a man, ostensibly a farmer-the vocation I expected to follow-who had certainly been accumulating what we were all looking for; and if he could do it why not others? I concluded from that time, that I would go no further until I had looked this country over.
"Of course I did not know at that time, that Kinsey Carlon was the bonanza farmer of the county and absolutely controlled the market, having the whole surplus grain of the county in his cribs. But let it be said to his credit that he never oppressed the people like our later day trusts. I remember going to him for corn in the latter part of the week. He said, "you can have all you want this week at seventy-five cents, but next week it will be a dollar a bushel." And next week it was a dollar and could not be bought for less.
"The stage arrived at Algona on time, and while there were a few more houses than at Irvington, they were by no means crowded. Where the main part of town now is would have made a fine field with no obstructions to pre- vent its cultivation. And if you did not like the Harrison Hotel, you could go to the next one, forty miles away, as he told a man who had asked him how far it was to the next hotel.
"Immediately upon arrival, I hunted up my friend Henry Durant, who, with his father and sister, had come out in the spring. and were domiciled in the house of Asa C. Call, with whom Henry had formed a sort of partnership in the land business. And under the influence of Call and Durant, there was little probability of my being discouraged from locating in Kossuth. It is true, that among the old settlers there were few who seemed to take delight in telling of the terrible experiences of the early settlers in the winter of 56-57, when the snow was up to the limbs of the trees and the deer and elk froze to death in the timber. The roads were impassable for months, and there was no com- munication with the outside world.
"After a time these stories failed to terrorize us tenderfeet. My first week in Kossuth was spent largely in the company of Asa C. Call, than whom a more entertaining and agreeable gentlemen it has never been my good fortune to meet ; and the friendship was then formed that lasted until his death. But I have often thought he must have enjoyed considerable fun at my expense. Everybody was taking a homestead and I ought to take one. He knew where there was an eighty on section 4, 94-28. He went down to look it over; on the east side was a patch of land containing several acres, on which there was not a sign of vegetation and the soil seemed to be the richest I had ever seen. I suggested to the Judge, that it would make a good garden; he agreed with me, that anything ought to grow in such soil. I took the homestead and the next spring when I went down to do some breaking I found my garden under water, and I have never seen it since when it was dry. It had been a very dry season the year before, and the prairie fires had done the business. There were no sloughs in the fall of 1865. It is possible the Judge thought the dry seasons
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had come to stay and it was not necessary to say anything about what had been. It is needless to say I never lived on that homestead.
"The area of land under cultivation at that time was quite small, but what crops there were looked very much better than they did in Wisconsin where I came from. The gardens were very much like they were this year. The grass on the prairies was abundant; and so far everything looked favorable, but the numerous abandoned shanties on the prairies looked suspicious. The city of Cresco that had been extensively advertised as a prosperous town at the head of navigation on the Des Moines river, had totally disappeared except one cotton- wood tree which remains there to this day, to mark the place where the town was. Ashuelot, up on the Buffalo, had also gone, though it is but few years since some of the deluded buyers of lots ceased to pay taxes on them. Both of these towns are fine farms, and the cussedness of their promoters is un- doubtedly forgotten. The Judge insisted that the Indian massacre had scared them out, but my opinion was then, as it is now, that the settlement was too far in advance of the facilities for transportation, and after the settlers ceased coming there was no market for what the people produced, and except the few settlers who raised stock, there was nothing to bring in much money.
"The more I saw of the county, the better I became satisfied with it, and the more I became convinced that any man of industrious and economical habits could make for himself a competence. Before the end of the first week, I had bargained for the land south of town, on which we lived for more than thirty years. After buying the farm, it would have been a very difficult matter for me to have gotten away. But I am pleased to say, from the first day I landed in Kossuth county until today, I have never felt the least inclination to make a change.
"The years from '65 to '70 saw a number of settlements established in the county and the population doubled. In the winter of 1864, the Paines and Coffins wintered in a dugout in the Paine grove on the river. The fall of 1865, Jay Grover, the Manns, Fairbanks and Smiths, settled in Sod town in Port- land, and there was another Sod town started in Lotts Creek township. The Dorweilers came in 1866 and settled in Garfield township, Haggard, Starks, Johnson and Parsons in Irvington township, and many others in other parts of the county. While some few of these people became discouraged and left the county, most of the settlers of the sixties, or their descendants, are with us today and are among our most respected citizens, and have never disgraced the old settlers."
MRS. FLORENCE CALL COWLES' ADDRESS
No address at the evening session at the opera house was better received or more charmingly delivered, than the one by Mrs. Florence Call Cowles, telling of the recollections of her girlhood days. In part it was as follows :
"My birth place and the first home I remember was a frame house, painted white, with green blinds, just a few yards from where my father's present home stands. This house was burned when I was six years old, and the conflagration naturally stands out prominently in my memory as an important and exciting event. It was early one raw March morning, while the family were at break-
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fast, that the fire was discovered in the garret and roof. The celerity with which my father climbed the porch pillar and swung himself upon the roof convinces me that we might have had an athlete in the family had it been desirable. How- ever, the fire was too well started to be quenched by a few buckets full of water. I remember my delight in joining in the cry of 'Fire! Fire!' for our lungs were our best fire alarms in those days.
"My next recollection is of seeing our entire population running towards our home and ahead of the rest, swinging down the little hill which was between us and town, came Henry Durant, who rushed into the house, seized the sew- ing machine which was then rather a rare article of furniture, and bore it to a place of safety. Afterwards there was some discussion as to who had the honor of rescuing the sewing machine, but I myself saw how it was done and knew who performed the deed, althought my testimony was thrown out on account of the extreme youth of the witness.
"I also remember my mother taking our bouncing baby girl, now Mrs. Ferguson, up from the family cradle, where she was sleeping, and a moment later, seeing a portion of the ceiling fall into the cradle, burning a part of the bedding before it could be removed. About this time one of our legal lights, Mr. Marcus Robbins, seized me and in the temporary absence of my conven- tional wraps, rolled me in a bed quilt and carried me through the snow to the home of Mr. Lewis H. Smith, the identical house now occupied by the Howard Robinson family, a house where I spent many happy hours during my child- hood. Here Mr. John G. Smith soon came bearing another queer looking bundle, which, when it was unwrapped and stood upright, turned out to be she who is now Mrs. Archie Hutchison.
"The seriousness of this conflagration, in which our house was burned to the ground, failed to make a proper impression upon me, partly because I was excused from attending school until my wardrobe could be replenished. Then, too, I was invited to stay with my aunt, Mary Blackford, during the building of the new home, and her stewed chicken and ginger bread always appealed to my appetite with a force which was irresistible. During the same winter of 1868, there were two other conflagrations which were much more serious than ours, one in which Mr. Henderson's home was totally destroyed by fire and the other in which Mr. Schenck lost his home and two children.
"Most of our first furniture was turned out by our own cabinet maker. Mr. John Heckart. I well remember our first family high chair of black walnut, and the family cradle which has rocked two generations but tho' like, it is still unlike the "one hoss shay" in that it is still extant. Being the first infant to arrive and that during straightened "war times," I managed to struggle along without the luxuries of high chair and crib, but as the family grew they be- came imperative necessities. The baby cab in which I took my little sisters, or deposited them unexpectedly upon the sod, as the case might be, would amuse our children today. It was a two-wheeled vehicle with a tongue in front, by which to pull it, and a top much like a buggy top, made of black oil cloth.
"One of my favorite excursions while caring for the babies, and one in which I was usually accompanied by some of the little Smiths, Inghams or Stacys, was to the river at 'Call's Ford,' for this was before the day of bridges.
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There we older children removed our shoes and stockings, if we were so for- tunate as to be wearing any, put the smaller ones in the baby cabs and forded the river, babies and all. Our mothers never knew this, and it was only a kind Providence which has preserved some of our prominent citizens to help cele- brate our golden anniversary.
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