USA > Iowa > Marion County > History of Marion County, Iowa, and its people, Volume I > Part 7
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"Precisely at midnight there were heard loud reports of fire- arms, which announced that the empire of the red man had ended forever and that of his master race had begun. Answering reports rang sharply on the night air in quick succession, till the signal was conveyed for miles around, and all understood that civilization had commenced her reign in Central Iowa. The moon was slowly sink- ing in the west and its beams afforded a feeble and uncertain light for the measurement of claims, in which so many were engaged. Before long the landscape was shrouded in darkness, save for the wild and fitful glaring of torches carried by claim makers. By daylight the next morning the rough surveys were finished and the Indian lands had found new tenants. Throughout the country thou- sands of acres were laid off in claims before the dawn. Settlers rushed in by hundreds and the region lately so tranquil and silent felt the impulse of the change and became vocal with the sounds of industry and enterprise."
Before the year 1845 came to a close a large number of settlers had erected their cabins in the western half of the county. The country about the present town of Pleasantville seemed to offer the greatest attractions for the new comers and quite a number settled in that locality. Among them were William D. Halsey, John P., William S. and Samuel Glenn, Daniel Vansel, William and Larkin Young, John Lewis, Pleasant Prater, Richmond Miller, Samuel Tibbett, Lewis and Trainor Reynolds, David Shonkwiler and the Pitman, Logan and Spalti families. A few located claims north of the Des Moines River, in what is now Perry Township, and others settled in the vicinity of Red Rock. No settlements were made within the limits of the present townships of Franklin, Dallas and Washington until the year 1846.
CLAIMS AND CLAIM ASSOCIATIONS
The first business of the pioneer, upon reaching the place where he intended to settle, was to select the tract of land he wanted for his own and mark off its bounds. The legal area of a claim was 320 acres, and in the absence of skilled surveyors the settler himself
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would establish the lines. Taking the sun at noonday and evening as his guide, he would step off so many steps each way for his claim of 320 acres, "more or less," and either blaze the trees or drive stakes at intervals along the boundary lines. By this method of measuring land the man with long legs had an advantage. The lines as thus established were far from correct, but they answered the purpose until the official survey was made, and it "was understood among the settlers that when the lands came to be surveyed and entered, all inequalities should be righted. Thus, if a surveyed line happened to run between adjoining claims, cutting off more or less of the one or the other, the fraction was to be added to whichever lot required equalizing, yet without robbing the one from which it was taken, for an equal amount would be added to it in some other place."
To settle all disputes that might arise over boundaries and titles, almost every pioneer settlement had its "Claim Association," to which were referred all cases of this nature. The first claim association in Iowa was organized in Jefferson County in 1838, soon after the or- ganization of Iowa Territory, and it was legalized by the Territorial Legislature of 1839. True, the law made provisions as to how and by whom claims could be taken; that the claimant was required to build a house upon his claim and cultivate a certain amount of land yearly, and that if he absented himself from his claim for a period of six months it was subject to entry by some other person, etc. But the first settlers were not convenient to established courts, and the claim association was organized to secure justice until regular courts could be inaugurated. Each association had its own rules and regu- lations for the government and protection of its members. Even after the United States surveys were completed, but before the es- tablishment of local courts, these organizations were frequently called upon to settle some controversy over the possession of a given tract of land. In such cases a claim committee would be selected to hear the testimony of the contestants and their witnesses, which was given without the formality of an oath or affirmation. Then the com- mittee would decide the question, and from that decision there was no appeal. Nearly all the settlers were enrolled as members of such associations and their sense of right was such that they always kept faith and abided by the decisions, and only in very rare cases was any injustice done. Settlers who were not members of the associa- tion were not entitled to its protection and benefits, and any one who positively refused to join, or to comply with the rules and regula- tions as set forth in the by-laws, was subjected to a sort of social ostracism that generally brought the obstinate individual to terms.
WILLIAM H. GARRISON Marion County pioneer of 1845.
A. I JK TILDEN
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HISTORY OF MARION COUNTY
There was at least one of these claim associations in Marion County that has left something of its history. It was organized at a meeting held at the house of Jesse Johnson, in Perry Township, on Saturday, August 19, 1848, with Peter Brans presiding and James MI. Brans acting as secretary. After the object of the meeting was stated and some miscellaneous discussion, the following preamble and resolutions were adopted as the by-laws:
"Whereas, It has become a custom in the western states, as soon as the Indian title to the public lands has been extinguished by the General Government, for the citizens of the United States to settle upon and improve said lands, and heretofore the improvement and claim of the settler, to the extent of 320 acres, has been respected by both the citizens and laws of Iowa.
"Resolved, That we will protect all citizens upon the public lands in the peaceable possession of their claims, to the extent of 320 acres, for two years after the land sales, and longer, if necessary.
"Resolved, That if any person or persons shall enter the claim of any settler, he or they shall immediately deed it back again to said settler and wait three years without interest.
"Resolved, That if he refuses to comply with the above requisi- tions, he shall be subject to such punishment as the settlers shall choose to inflict.
"Resolved, That we will remove any person or persons who may enter the claim of any settler and settle upon it, peaceably if we can, forcibly if we must, even if their removal should lead to bloodshed, being compelled to do so for our own common safety, that we may not be driven by ruthless speculators from our firesides and our homes.
"Resolved, That a committee of five be appointed to settle all differences that may arise."
It is to be regretted that the names of the members of that com- mittee have been lost. A captain was also appointed, and at the close of the meeting the secretary was ordered to have the proceed- ings published in certain newspapers known to be friendly to the movement.
At another meeting, held at the same place on September 9, 1848, a lieutenant and an ensign were elected and the following additional resolutions were adopted :
"1. That each settler that applies first shall have his or her name registered, and if any two claims should conflict, then it shall be the duty of the second settler for the same piece of land to call the com-
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mittee together and have the matter settled; and each settler that expects the benefit of these resolutions must have his or her claim registered by the 20th of the present month.
"2. That it shall be the duty of each settler to sign these by- laws, and he that refuses to do so cannot, and shall not, be protected by us.
"3. That any settler who may have signed these by-laws, and refuses to render service when called upon by the proper officers, without a reasonable excuse, shall be fined the sum of ten dollars, to be divided among those who may have rendered the service necessary."
Thirty-five settlers signed these resolutions, and two others-a justice of the peace and a constable-were considered members, but did not sign the roll because they held commissions as civil officers.
After a lapse of more than three-score years, this method of pro- tecting settlers' rights may seem somewhat arbitrary and high- handed. Perhaps it was, but it must be remembered that most of the early settlers were poor men, who sought the new country for the purpose of establishing homes and bettering their financial con- dition. When the lands came into the market and speculators made their appearance, the settlers naturally looked upon them with sus- picion and banded themselves together for mutual protection. Although the claim association, in a few instances, adopted the methods of a mob, there is no question that through its operation the country was populated more rapidly than it would have been had the land speculators been permitted to buy up large tracts and hold them for an advance in prices.
PIONEER LIFE AND CUSTOMS
After the claim was staked out, the next thing necessary to the pioneer was to provide shelter for himself and family. Until a dwelling of some sort could be erected the covered wagon would be occupied as a sleeping place, while the meals were prepared "out of doors." The first houses in Marion County were of the most primitive character, constructed of small poles, with the roof of bark sloping in one direction, and sometimes the entire front would be left open. They were called "wickiups," the Indian name for a house or tent. A little later, when enough men had located in the neighborhood to assist in raising a cabin, the wickiup was supplanted by a cabin of round logs. And what an event was the "house-raising" in a new settlement!
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After the settler had cut his logs and dragged them to the site of the proposed cabin, he invited his neighbors to the "raising." Some of these neighbors might live several miles distant, but it seldom occurred that any one declined the invitation. When the men were gathered at the place four of their number skilled in the use of the ax were selected to "carry up the corners." These men took their stations at the four corners of the cabin and as the logs were hoisted up to them they cut a notch in the under side of cach log to rest upon a "saddle" shaped upon the top of the cross log below. It was necessary for the man who received the "butt end" of the log to cut his notch a little deeper than the one having the top end, in order that the walls might be carried up approximately on a level, and this was further accomplished by alternating the butt and top ends of the logs on each side and end of the cabin. After the walls were up, openings for the door, window and fireplace were sawed out. Out- side the opening for the fireplace would be constructed a chimney of some sort to conduct the smoke upward. If stone was convenient, that material would be used for the chimney; sometimes sod was used, in which case the chimney would be plastered on the inside with clay, but in a majority of instances the chimney consisted of sticks and clay. The roof was made of clapboards, split or rived out with an implement called a frow; and the floor, if there was one, was made of puncheons-that is, slabs of timber split as nearly the same thickness as possible and smoothed off on the upper surface with an adz after being placed in position. The door was also made of thin puncheons, hung on wooden hinges and provided with a wooden latch. This latch could be lifted from the outside by a thong of deerskin passing through a small hole in the door. At night the thong was pulled inside and the door was locked. This custom gave rise to the expression, "The latch string is always out," indicating that a visitor would be welcome at any time. Nails were scarce and the cabin would often be finished without a single article of hardware being used in its construction. The wooden hinges of the door would be fastened to the walls and the shutter with small pins, and the clapboards of the roof would be held in place by a pole running the full length of the cabin and fastened to the end logs with wooden pins.
To transport factory-made furniture a long distance was a task not to be considered for a moment, so that the furniture of the frontier home was generally of the "home-made" variety. Holes were bored in the wall and fitted with pins, upon which were laid
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HISTORY OF MARION COUNTY
clapboards to form a "china closet," the front of which was usually a curtain of calico or some cheap cotton fabric, though the curtain was often dispensed with and the china stood in plain view. A pair of trestles served as table legs and the door would often be taken from the hinges at meal time and used as a table top. When the weather was too cold for this, the settler would make a top that could be leaned against the wall when the table was not in use, in order to make more room. The "prairie bedstead" was constructed by tak- ing a small sapling of the proper length and boring large auger holes in it at right angles some two feet from the lower end. Into these holes were driven poles representing the length and width of the bed, the other ends of these poles resting in the cracks between the logs of the cabin wall or in holes bored in the logs. Upon the poles were laid clapboards, or tough bark would sometimes be used to form a substitute for the "springs" of modern times, and upon this the housewife could arrange her bedding in such a way as to conceal the rudeness of the contrivance. Stools and benches took the place of chairs, and somewhere in the cabin would be two hooks, from the forks of small trees or branches, pinned against the wall to form a "gun rack." Here rested the long, heavy rifle of the frontiersman, and suspended from its muzzle, or from one of the hooks, hung the leathern bullet pouch and the powder-horn.
The cooking stove or the steel range had not yet come into general use and the meals for the family were prepared at the fireplace, a long handled skillet, an iron teakettle and an iron pot of goodly propor- tions being the principal cooking utensils. The skillet was used for frying meat or baking bread, coals being heaped upon the lid so that the bread would bake on the top as well as on the bottom. Boiled dinners were cooked in the large kettle. Few fancy dishes were pre- pared, the food generally being of the kind that "stuck to the ribs." Deer and other game animals were plentiful and the trusty rifle was depended upon to furnish the family with a supply of meat.
After the "house-raising" came the "house-warming." A new cabin was hardly considered fit to live in until it had been properly dedicated. In almost every pioneer settlement there was at least one man who could play the violin. His services were called into requisi- tion and the new dwelling would become the "sound of revelry by night." The puncheon floor was hardly suitable for the tango, the two-step or the hesitation waltz, but in fact such dances were un- known. Instead there were the Virginia reel, the stately minuet or the old-fashioned cotillion, in which some one called the figures in a
LOG CABIN OF THE EARLY DAYS
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HISTORY OF MARION COUNTY
stentorian voice. Perhaps the dancing was more vigorous than grace- ful as the one man orchestra brought forth from his fiddle such tunes as "Money Musk," "Turkey in the Straw," the "Devil's Dream" or the "Wind that Shakes the Barley Fields." But it is quite probable that the guests at a presidential inaugural ball never derived more pleasure from the event than did these people of the frontier, clad in homespun clothing and calling each other by their first names, at a house-warming. If the settler who owned the cabin had scruples against dancing, the house would be warmed by a frolic of some other nature, but it had to be "warmed" in some way before the family took possession.
After the cabin was ready for occupancy, the next thing for the settler to do was to make preparations for raising a crop. Most of the early settlers located upon the edge of a prairie, where they would be convenient to a supply of timber and where the sod was more easily broken than on the open prairie. The first year's farming generally consisted of a small field of corn, a few potatoes and some other vege- tables, and the entire crop was often insufficient to provide for the wants of the family until another could be raised. Many of the pioneers brought with them a supply of such things as flour, bacon, salt, coffee, etc., but even with the most frugal use of these articles the supply gave out in time and long trips to Burlington or some other distant point would have to be made to replenish the larder.
It is an easy matter for persons of the present generation to step to the telephone and order the grocer to send up a sack of flour, or the other necessary things for the household, but in the early days of Marion County's history both the grocer and the telephone were miss- ing. When the first corn crop was raised and harvested the work of converting it into corn meal-the principal breadstuff of the first settlers-was no light affair. Mills were few and far between, the nearest ones being located at Brighton, Washington County, or at Keosauqua and Bonaparte, in Van Buren County. Sometimes a week would be required to make the trip. There were no roads, the streams were not bridged, there were but few ferries, and the ox team was a slow mode of travel. To overcome the necessity for these long jour- neys various methods were invented for making corn meal at home. Before the corn became dry enough to shell off easily the grater was used. This was made by punching holes through a sheet of tin and then fastening it upon a board with the rough side of the tin outward, the sheet being bent so as to be somewhat convex on the outer surface. Over this rough surface the car of corn would be rubbed, the meal Vol. 1 -- 5
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passing through the holes in the tin and sliding down the board into a vessel placed to receive it. Manufacturing meal with a grater was a slow and tedious process, but the result well repaid for the labor. A bowl of mush made from grated corn meal and accompanied by a generous supply of milk, formed a repast that was not to be criticized in those days, and one which no pioneer blushed to set before a visitor.
Another way of reducing the corn to meal was by means of the mortar, or "hominy block." To make a mortar a section of some hard- wood tree-maple or hickory preferred-from three to four feet in length and about two feet in diameter was selected. In one end of this block a slight hollow or depression was made with a common chop- ping ax and a fire was then built in it to burn away the rough places. Then the charcoal was carefully cleaned out and the mortar was ready for use. Into this crude mill the corn was poured in small quantities and beaten into a coarse meal with a "pestle" of hard wood or an iron wedge attached to a handle. Sometimes the mortar would be burned in the top of a suitable stump near the cabin, and quite often one hominy block would be used by several families.
The work of obtaining wheat bread was beset by even more diffi- culties. But little wheat was raised by the early settlers, and that little was of inferior quality. There were no threshing machines and to clean the wheat a spot of ground was cleaned off for a threshing floor. Upon this floor the sheaves were spread in a circle, after being un- bound, and then all the oxen and horses upon the place were made to walk round upon the wheat to tramp out the grain. In the center stood a man whose business it was to stir the straw, while probably two or three others kept the animals moving around the circle. After all the grain was tramped out, the straw was carefully raked off and the wheat piled up ready for cleaning. Sometimes this was done by waving a sheet up and down to fan out the chaff as the wheat was dropped in a small stream before it, but in a majority of cases a day was selected when there was a good breeze blowing, the wheat was cast into the air, the chaff carried away by the breeze and the grain fell upon a sheet spread to receive it. By this imperfect method some of the black soil remained with the wheat and ultimately got into the bread, but it was the best to be had and the pioneers ate it and thrived on it until better ways of cleaning and milling the wheat were introduced.
A very common substitute for bread was lye hominy, which was made by boiling the corn in wood ashes or weak lye until the bran or hull peeled off. It was then carefully washed, to remove the ashes or
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lye, and then boiled in pure water to soften it, when it could be fried and seasoned to suit the taste.
About a year after the first settlers came into the county, a man named Duncan built a flour mill on the Skunk River, above Oskaloosa, which was the most convenient place for getting wheat milled for sev- eral years. In 1844 Andrew Foster built a saw mill on English Creek, not far from the present Town of Harvey, and a little later added a small mill for grinding corn. Babcock's Mill, in what is now Polk Township; Burch's Mill, on the White Breast Creek in the northern part of Knoxville Township; and Haymaker's Mill, on Cedar Creek near where the town of Bussey now stands, were all in operation by 1846 and the labor of going to mill was materially lessened.
Matches were a luxury and difficult to obtain. A little fire was therefore always kept about the premises "for seed." During the fall, winter and early spring the fire was kept in the fireplace, but when summer came a fire was built against some old log near the cabin. If a heavy rain, or some other mishap, extinguished the fire, one of the family would be sent to the nearest neighbor's to "borrow" a new supply.
How easy it is now for one to enter a room after dark, turn a switch and flood the whole place with electric light! It was not so during the early days in Marion County. Here indeed necessity was the mother of invention. The thrifty housewife constructed a lamp consisting of a shallow dish partially filled with lard or some other kind of grease, in which was immersed a loosely twisted rag for a wick. One end of the rag wick was allowed to project slightly over one side of the dish and this projecting end was lighted. The lamp emitted an unpleasant odor, a good deal of smoke, and light enough for distinguishing articles about the cabin. Next came the tallow candle. The candle moulds were cylinders of tin, the size and shape of a candle, usually fastened together in groups of six or eight. Through each cylinder would be drawn a wick and then the moulds would be filled with melted tallow and set in a cool place. One set of candle moulds often supplied a whole neighborhood, passing from house to house until all had enough candles laid away in a cool, dry place to last for many weeks. Through the winter the family would often spend the evening with no light except that which came from the great fireplace.
In those days no one wore "store clothes." The housewife would card her wool by hand with a pair of hand cards-broad-backed wire brushes with the teeth all slightly bent in one direction. After the "rolls" were carded they would be spun into yarn upon an old-
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fashioned spinning wheel, and then woven into cloth upon the old hand loom. The sewing machine had not yet been invented and the garments worn by the family were sewed by hand with the needle. The girl sixteen years of age who could not spin her "six cuts" a day or make her own dresses was exceedingly rare in the frontier settle- ments. How many girls of that age now can make their own gowns, or how many of them know what "six cuts" means?
People were generally too busy to pay much attention to social calls on each other, but one family would often go over to a neigh- bor's to "sit till bed time." On such occasions the men could talk politics or crop prospects, while the women would knit or sew and indulge in the neighborhood gossip, and the children could pop corn or crack nuts. About nine o'clock the lantern would be lighted and the visitors return to their home, for bed time then did not mean a late hour, as all must rise early the next morning for a new day's work.
Life on the frontier had its hardships, but it also had its amuse- ments. Many of the old settlers can yet recall the shooting matches, when men met to try their skill with the rifle, the prize for the best marksman being a turkey, a haunch of venison, or a quarter of beef. The scores at some of these shooting matches were such as would render a squad of sharpshooters on a government target range envious. The old hand made rifle, with the wooden stock running the full length of the barrel, the hickory ramrod and hair trigger, in the hands of the pioneer was a "dangerous and deadly weapon."
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