USA > Iowa > Humboldt County > History of Kossuth and Humbolt counties, Iowa : together with sketches of their cities, villages, and townships, educational, civil, military, and political history, portraits of prominent persons, and biographies of representative citizens > Part 70
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For several years prior to the advent of any white settlers, it is quite probable that trappers and hunters pursued their calling upon the banks of the streams and in the groves of Humboldt county, but if
this is so, tradition fails to preserve the record of it, and the dead ashes of ob- livion cover it from sight.
The first to make this county a habita- tion and a home was a man by the name of Henry Lott. In 1852, he, in company with his stepson, came up from Webster county and located upon section 16, in what is now Humboldt township. Here he built a log cabin on the same section on which the late Eber Stone so long lived. This was the first habitation built by white man in this territory. He cleared a small piece of ground for a gar- den, and girdled about two acres of the trees of the grove, to make a commence- ment towards opening up a farm, totally ignoring the thousands of acres of prairie that lay but a few rods from his dwelling. This was the first land broken in the county. Lott was, according to the most authentic accounts, a representative type of that hybrid race that often precedes the permanent settler, half aborigine, half civilized, and wholly rude and unculti- vated. He could not, or would not, live among people of his own race and color, and even among the red men his influence was debasing to them. He was by nature rough and brutal, and can not be regarded as a settler, as his role business seems to have been to sell whiskey of the poorest quality to the savages. This commodity he purchased at Oskaloosa, and hauled one or two barrels at a time by team from that point. He owned a horse and plow, with which he cultivated his little garden, but his efforts towards making a farm seemed to go no farther. The "noble red man" under the influence of the "fire water" often became unruly and unman-
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ageable, or nearly so, but Lott held them well in hand.
Previous to this he had lived at the mouth of the Boone river, engaged in the same nefarious business of selling whisky to the savagea. In his absence they had come to his cabin and demanded drink of his wife, and on her refusing to let them have it until Lott returned, they became furious. Milton, his son, under- took to go and find his father, to subdue the wrath of the Indians, but in doing so was lost in the snow and froze to death. The infuriated savages burned his cabin and contents, and drove off he and his family. This was in December, 1846.
In the winter of 1853-4, while most of the Indians had withdrawn to winter quarters, Si-dom-i-na-do-tah, the brother of the notorious Ink-pa-du-tah, and who had been the chief who had driven Lott from the Boone river, was encamped on section 4, of what is now Grove township, on the east bank of the Des Moines river. He had in his family his wife and two chil- dren, and a younger squaw who had two children also. Although pretending to be friendly, Lott still held the grudge against the Indian, and although they hunted together, deep thoughts of revenge were nourished in a bosom that never felt a gentle emotion. Loading up his valua- bles on to his wagon, he called his step- son to him and instructed him to proceed with them toward the settlements south, and then struck off across the river. On arriving at the tepee of the Indians, he informed the aged chief that buffalo were grazing on the high ground beyond, and proposed that they go and shoot them. Accordingly they started off, when taking
advantage of the ignorance of the chief, as to any treachery, he stepped be- hind him and shot him dead. He then, with the deliberate fiendishness of the Father of evil, returned to the camp and and slew all the women and children, with the exception of a boy about twelve years old, who hid from him, and thus es- caped. Lott then followed in the track of his boy, and soon joined him, stopping that night with Simon Hinton. While there he betrayed much anxiety and nervousness, and with the morning light left the country. He, report saith, was afterwards killed on the plains, while trying to mislead and murder a party of emigrants or prospectors, who trusted him as their guide. The Indian boy, Jos-pa-do-tah, who had escaped the mur- derous hands of Lott, lingered among the settlers for several years while his un- cle, Ink-pa-du-tah, tried to have justice done by the authorities and have the mur- derer delivered up to them. But Lott was not forthcoming and the savages growing tired of waiting, took revenge in their own hands in what is donominated the Spirit Lake Massacre. About that time Jos-pa-do-talı, disappeared from these parts and has never been seen here since.
In the summer of 1854, Charles Bergk, Christian Hackman, August Zahlten, Ed- ward Mcknight, Newton Dowling, Thom; as Scurlock, Michael and John Johnson, Solomon Hand and I. B. McCormick, came into the county, and made claims. Bergk, Hackman and Zahlten, three Ger- mans, stayed in the county all the winter of 1854-5, while all the others went to Fort Dodge to stay until spring. These three lived in a cave in the ravine below where
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the town of Dakota now stands, leading a free and easy life, taking the inconven- iences and hardships of frontier life as a seasoning to their hearty meals of cracked corn and wild game. Their morning cup of coffee, was guiltless of the Arabian berry, being made from the primitive acorn. Their venison steak was cooked on a sharp stick and brought to a fine relish by several miles of walk, run, wade and swim, over hill and valley, creek and river, in pursuit of the said venison when it was upon legs and on the run. Their cake, ash or otherwise, was rolled in the fat of the game, and rested placidly upon stomachs to which bread would have been a strange visitor.
A sketch of both Mr. Zahlten and Mr. Ilackman appears in the history of Kos- suth county. in this volume, they having moved to that county shortly after their settlement here. Charles Bergk was af- terwards quite prominent in official circles, and was for years the treasurer of Hum- boldt county.
McKnight and Dowling built a cabin on section 24, where they lived until cold weather, when, as before mentioned, they went away to Fort Dodge to spend the winter, but returned in the spring.
Scurlock and the Johnsons came into Humboldt county and made claims near the mouth of Lott's creek, but upon the opposite side of the river, and put up some hay, but went back to Jackson county for the winter. They returned in the spring, bringing back with them Harlow Miner and David H. Niver, and made a settle- ment which was permanent.
Solomon Hand located on section 4, in what is now Grove township. He was a
native of Illinois, and was born on Salt creek, in March, 1820. He lived in the place of his birth until about 1828, when his father moved his family to Blooming- ton, Ill., where Solomon grew to manhood. In 1849 he went to California, of which State he is known as one of the Argonauts. Iu 1852 he returned to Bloomington. He was one of those men of a restless, driv- ing disposition, that at times do heroic deeds. In 1854 he came to Humboldt county as above mentioned. His partic- ular forte seems to have been hunting and trapping, rather than cultivating the soil. His wife was Mary Pearson, and they had eight children, of whom seven are living- Elizabeth, Amanda, Alfred,Kate, Barbara, George and Charles. During the winter of 1856-7 Mr. Hand,in company with another man by the name of Trumbull, were trap- ping ou the river, and had a tent, or hut, well banked up with snow and which was warm and comfortable. His companion, growing discontented, or discouraged, felt he must go home,but Hand essayed to per- suade him of the folly of it at present, as everything was covered with snow. But no, a willful man must have his way, and in spite of the remonstrances and entreat- ies of Mr. Hand, the other determined to start out. After showing him the danger of the enterprise, and doing all he could to discourage the attempt, then the heroic side of the man showed itself. Rising from the ground he prepared himself to go with his companions. This man was not of a robust nature, being rather of a consumptive tendency, so Mr. Hand gave him the most of the blankets as a protection, and started out, himself ahead, to break the road. They struck the river
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as soon as possible, to get the shelter of the banks. Mr. Hand took the lead here, as before. The snow covered the ice, and as that treacherous material was not very solid, he occasionally went through and got thoroughly wetted. Thus toiling on, through the snow, the other man going round those spots where Mr. Hand fell through, they at last managed to reach shelter, after suffering intense agony. Mr. Hand was so badly frozen as to necessi- tate the amputation of both hands and feet. For years he was partially indebted to the county for medicine, opium, which he was compelled to use, to deaden pain; and be it spoken to the credit of the lon- orable boards of supervisors, an applica- tion from him, for aid in this line, never met with a rebuff or refusal. Solomon Hand was of that class of men who make hunting, trapping and fishing a life's work, and was an adept in all means of procur- ing the game he was in search of. It is told of him, that one day, his boys, who were then young, seeing a large fish in the river, hastened to get a gun to shoot it, but the father declaring that they could not aim it right, told one boy to place the butt to his, the father's shoulder, while he held up his stumps to level it, and an- other to stand behind to pull the trigger, at the word. The old hunter instinct, although embarrassed by this complex mode of holding the gun, was true to its old habit, the gun was sighted, the word given, and the fish secured. Ile, also, has been known to kill the wild geese in the same way. Several years ago Mr. Hand went to Nebraska, on a visit, and while there died.
The year 1855 was marked by the ad- dition of a considerable number to the
pioneers of Humboldt county. So far nearly all had settled around and about the timber on the two forks of the Des Moinesriver, and these new arrivals sought the companionship of their race. Among the arrivals of that year, the following can be recalled without any regard to the order in which they came: Samuel Church, George and William Basam, Abel and Reuben Bond, George and Thomas Stew- ard, Henry McLean, Hugh Johnson, Har- low Miner, David H. Niver, William Hamilton, Pat Burns, Martin G. Williams, George Ellis, G. Washington and Fletcher Hand, J. C., Elias and H. C. Cusey, Eber Stone, William Miiler, Washington Clarke and Albert Clarke.
In 1856, the arrivals were more numer- ous still and we merely mention some of them. Among them were: Phocion Weeks, George Hart, John Hart, Dr. Dearman Williams, William Tucker, H. A. Knowles, James A. Hunt, Samuel Stone, Herman Munson, William Hill, John Hewitt, John McKitrick, John Means, Alexander McLean, M. Sherman, John Johnston, John Hutchinson, H. A. Cramer, Thomas Reed, Ambrose Booth, Leander Chase, Martin Maxwell, Hamson McHenry, William Burkholder and sons.
After this the settlemant became more rapid. These names are given here sim- ply as an index of what will be finished in the township histories, there will be found the accounts of the settlement of these and many other parties in full de- tail, which is not given here, to avoid useless repetition, which space and judg- ment forbids.
FIRST THINGS.
The first child born in the county was a child of B. W. Trellinger, who married
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the daughter of William Miller. This child, a daughter, was born at what is now the Glen farm, during the year 1854. Her parents removed from this county in 1858, and her present whereabouts is in- accessable.
The first marriage was that of Mahlon D. Collins to Kate Williams, the latter the daughter of Dr. Dearman Williams. The ceremony, which was conducted according to the rites and usages of the Society of Friends, was solemnized on the 25th of September, 1857. It is but proper to say, however, in this connection, that several residents of the county were married before this, going elsewhere to have the knot tied.
It is generally conceded that the first death in the county was that of the wife of Henry McLean, who died in the fall of 1855,at the Lott's Creek settlement, and whose remains were buried on the farm of Asa Stone, in Humboldt township.
The first postoffice was established at Dakota City, in 1856, with Charles Bergk as postmaster. For a year or two he car- ried the postoffice in his pocket, and de- livered the mail personally.
The first persons naturalized in the county were: Patrick Lyons, Patrick Kelly, Batiste and Francois Sibille, Patrick Cos- grove, Jonas and Peter Peterson, who re- nounced all allegiances to the several monarchs of the country of their birthis,on the 19th of September, 1859, before Judge Hutchinson, and took upon them- selves the dignity of American citizenship.
The first religious services were held by the Friends,at Lott's Creek settlement, in July, 1856, but very shortly afterward
the Methodists held meetings at the Hand settlement.
The first log house was built, and the first land was broken by Henry Lott, in 1852, near the mouth of Lott's creek, in Humboldt township.
The first religious services held by the Roman Catholics in the county was at the house of Edward Sherman, in 1862. Rev Father Marsh was the celebrant.
The first deed upon record was dated Nov. 22, 1855, and was given by William Hodges, to Daniel McCauley. The acknowledgment was taken by Sewall Gower, and filed for record the same day, with the recorder of Webster county.
The total amount of the first tax, levied in 1857, was 8537.03.
The first store opened in the county was by Mahlon D. Collins, at the village of Summer, in 1857. This was in a frame house he had just erected.
'The first probate proceedings of record in the county related to the appointment of Charles Bergk, as administrator of the estate of John Farney, deceased, and is dated Dec. 12, 1859, and is signed by A. W. Marsh, the county judge.
Sumner was the first town laid out in Humboldt county, and the plat thereof was the first filed for record, upon the 19th of September, 1857.
The first school was taught by Eliza Knowles, at Lott's Creek, in the winter of 1857-58.
The first physician in the county was Dr. Dearman Williams, one of the set- thers of 1856.
The first lawyer was A. W. McFarland, now of Dakota City.
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The first steam saw mill was set up by Edward Mcknight at Dakota, in 1855, and was the pioneer mill of any kind in the county.
The first general and public celebration of the 4th of July was held at Dakota, in 1857. A local writer thus speaks of the events of that historic day: "If they, (the papers of the county), had been alive at that time we would doubtless be able to read to-day a very pretty little story of that time-a story abounding in touching allusions to the patriotism of the fathers and their sacrifices made for us, garnished by a comparison of advantages enjoyed by the present company, happy references to the British lion, the star spangled banner, and the glorious fourth. But I apprehend that the local chronicler would havedwelt with particular fondness upon the charac- ter and costumes of the assembled settlers, the orator, and the surroundings.
"He would have traced, with a racy pen, the picture of William Cragg sewing a large white patch-there being no other available material at hand-on the seat of Cal. Beer's only pair of black panta- loons, as a preliminary step toward fitting that gentleman for a proper and creditable appearance before the assembled patriots, as orator of the day; he would have touched with a feeling and a loving hand upon the brilliant humor, glowing eloquence and winning ways of that popular young man, and, I think, would have caricatured in brief but salient lines the very earnest, but futile efforta of that very long orator to make a two foot and a half coat tail cover the large white patch on the black breeches, at the lower extremity of a four foot body-he would have told how the
patriotic settlers massed in the town hall sweltered and perspired in the hot atmos- phere and fought the musquitoes with a persistent bravery, which alone went far to prove them worthy descendants of the fathers of our country-how the boys gallantly brushed the musquitoes from the feet of the girls, and how the girls re- ceived the attention with a modesty cred- itable to the primitive ages; how the silk dresses that fluttered from numerous ox wagons loaded with fine ladies, the year previous, on the road to a celebration on the Boone, and barely hid kid slippers were now hardly able to hide much coarser shoes, and how it was all fun and freedom and patriotism, in the old clothes of the old home or cheaper garments bought in the new.
"Bowers of branches of trees were erected about the town hall and a sub- stantial dinner spread. Dancing followed the exercises and dinner; the county was organized, and the officers nominated, who were elected at the ensuing August election, and Dakota fixed as the county seat.
"At this celebration Rev. John Sheridan, of New York city, brother of Patrick Sheridan, of Rutland, was chaplain, and opened the exercises in a very feeling and appropriate prayer."
THE COUNTY'S NAME.
This county was named after the cele- brated traveler and naturalist, a short sketch of whose life is here inserted for the benefit of the young readers of this volume, that they may be saved the trouble of hunting up the same.
Friedrich Heinrich Alexander Baron von Humboldt, was born at Berlin, Prus-
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sia, on the 14th of September, 1769. His father, who died when Alexander was but ten years old, was chamberlain to the king of Prussia. He studied at the Uni- versities of Frankfort-on-the-Oder, Berlin and Gottingen. His love of natural his- tory was very manifest at this period ; and during his residence at the last named place, during the years 1789 and 1790 he made visits of scientific exploration to the Hartz mountains and the banks of the river Rhine, the first of which was his first publication "on the Basalts of the Rhine." In the spring and summer of 1790, he accompanied George Foster in a tour through Belgium, Holland, England and France. In June, 1791, he entered the Mining Academy at Freibarg, where he enjoyed the private instruction of Werner. He was afterwards appointed to a position in the mining department, and spent some years in that capacity, chiefly at Fichtelgebirge, in Upper Franconia. His researches here resulted in the publica- tion of a work "On the irritability of the muscular and nervous fibres, etc." The desire of visiting tropical countries, how- ever, led him to resign his office, and de- vote himself entirely to the study of Na- ture. He now was led by circumstances to Paris, where he contracted a friendship with a distinguished young botanist, Aime Bonpland, afterwards his compan- ton in many lands. Sometime afterwards he obtained permission from the Spanish government to visit all the Spanish settle- ments in America and the Indian ocean, with every additional favor which could promote his researches in natural science. In company with Bonpland, he sailed from Corunna, on June 5, 1799, and visited
Teneriffe, ascended the peak, and made many scientific observations. On the 18th of July, they arrived at Cumana, in South America,and in the course of five years, ex- plored a vast extent of territory in Vene- zuela, Grenada, Ecquador, and Peru, whence they sailed for Mexico, which they crossed from west to east. On the 7th of March, 1804, he sailed from Vera Cruz to Havana, where he spent two months. From there he went to Philadelphia, and from thence to Bordeaux, France; where he arrived after a course of travels unpar- alleled for variety and ,importance, to all the departments of science.
Humboldt resided in Paris until March, 1805, occupied in the arrangement of his collections and his manuscripts, and joined with that eminent chemist, Gay-Lussac, in some experiments in that department. Having returned to Berlin, after a visit to Italy, he accompanied Prince Wilhelm, of Prussia, to Paris, on a political errand to that city, in 1807, and continued to reside in the capital city of France until 1827, for the publication of the endless amount of the books on scientific subjects that flowed from his pen. In 1827, in obedi- ence to the wishes of his king, he re- turned to Berlin, where, in the winter of 1827-28, he gave lectures on the "Cos- mos," or physical universe. In 1829 he again became a traveler, this time travers- ing the Ural and Altai mountains, the Chinese Osangarei and the Caspian sea. In 1830, the political field again claimed his attention, and he was sent by his mon- arch to the newly-seated Louis Philippe as an envoy extraordinary.
He spent the latter days of his long life at Berlin, where he held a high posi-
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tion at court. His last great work, "Cos- ! to each other. It has been translated in- mos," has been unanimously regarded as to almostevery civilized language. After one of the greatest scientific works ever ' a long and useful life, this great traveler, published, exhibiting in the most lucid naturalist, seientist and writer, passed away to his great reward upon the 9th of May, 1859, almost ninety years of age. arrangement many of the principal facts of the physical science, and their relation
CHAPTER IV.
COUNTY GOVERNMENT.
Long prior to the presence of any white men in the territory that now constitutes Humboldt county, it had a recognition and a name. History records that it was established by act of Legislature in 1851, and was to contain all of townships 90, 91, 92 and 93, ranges 27, 28, 29 and 30. It was temporarily attached to Boone county Jan. 22, 1853, but was transferred to Web- ster county by an act approved Jan. 24, 1855, but by another act of the same date it was partitioned between the coun- ties of Webster and Kossuth. Each of these two taking one-half, Kossuth that of the two north tiers of townships, which was organized with that county in April, 1856, as Humboldt township, Kossuth county. The sonthern tiers were attached to Webster, and were known as a town- ship of the same name of that county. In February, 1858, a bill was brought before the Assembly re-creating the county of Humboldt, with the evident intention to make the new connty have the same ter- ritory as the old one, and as such the bill
was passed. But by the omission or neg- ligence of the enrolling clerk, when the bill was sent to the governor, the pro- posed county lacked township 90, which formed a part of the original county, and in this shape the bill was approved and signed by the executive in February, 1857. At the next session a movement was made in the Assembly to correct this error, and township 90 was included in this county. But in the meantime the constitution had been adopted, which instrument forbids the change of county boundaries, without the consent of all the counties affeeted, and Webster refused to give her sanetion to the restoration of the tier of townships in question. The constitutionality of the act making the correction was therefore tested, and the district court of Webster county held it invalid. The matter was then appealed to the supreme court, but the decision of the lower court was sus- tained by this final tribunal, Dec. 1, 1860. The county remains as re-created in 1857.
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COUNTY SEAT.
By the same act that re-created the county of Humboldt,in 1857, the General Assembly appointed three commissioners to locate a county seat. These were Ezekial Clark, of Johnson county; W. C. Stafford, of Webster, and Axa C. Call, of Kossuth. They were instructed by the act that appointed them to "meet on the second day of March, 1857, or within six months thereafter, at the house of Edward McKnight and proceed to locate the seat of justice as near the geographical center of the county as a convenient site could be found." This bill was approved by the Governor Jan. 28, 1857, and at the time appointed, two of the three commissioners, W. C. Stafford and Asa C. Call, assem- bled and decided that the town of Da- kota, or Dakota City, as it was then called, should be the future capital of the county. At that time it was supposed that the range of township 90 would be restored to Humboldt county, and under those circumstances this rising town would have occupied the central location nomi- nated in the act.
The first election was held on the first Monday in April, 1857, but for some rea- son the officers elected failed to qualify, and a second election took place in the following August. At that time there were chosen to fill the various offices the following well known gentlemen: Jona- than Hutchinson, county judge; John F. Williams, clerk of the courts; Alexander McLane, treasurer and recorder; D. H. Nivers, sheriff; G. S. Ellis, prosecuting attorney; W. J. Bradford, surveyor. At this election William Tucker, M. D. Col- lins, Robert McColley and Eber Stone
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