USA > Iowa > Osceola County > History of Osceola county, Iowa, from its organization to the present time > Part 8
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At half past one o'clock the meeting was called to order by J. McCaffery, of the firm of McCaffery & Harmon. On motion W. A. Spencer was elected chairman and M. J. Camp- bell secretary.
At the request of J. McCaffery, J. F. Glover made a state- ment of the amount of warrants issued in excess of the amount allowed by law in 1872 and 1873, as follows: In 1872, $14,696.24, and in 1873, up to March Ist, $432.19.
J. McCaffery opened the meeting by a speech in favor of repudiation, and was replied to by J. T. Barclay, H. Jordan, et al.
The following resolution was passed:
" Resolved, That a committee of one be appointed to wait upon the Board of Supervisors at their next session, to request them not to issue any warrants for attorney's fees, in any case whatever except in criminal cases or to an attorney employed by the year."
Motion was made by D. M. Shuck that the vote of the house be taken on the question of repudiation; and the vote was unanimous against repudiation.
On motion of J. F. Glover, J. McCaffery was allowed ten minutes more in which to present his case more fully.
The following resolution was then adopted, viz:
J. L. MCLAURY.
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HISTORY OF OSCEOLA COUNT}, IOWA.
" Resolved, That a committee of three be elected by the house to confer with the attorneys of this place in reference to making a contract with one or more of them to become the people's attorney for the year, and that we authorize them to make such contract, in case it can be done upon satisfactory terms. O. Dunton, D. M. Shuck and D. F. Curtis were then elected as said committee.
On motion of J. F. Glover, J. McCaffery received a vote of thanks for calling this meeting.
W. A. SPENCER, Chairman. M. J. CAMPBELL, Secretary.
In July, 1873, the postoffice was established at the house of L. G. Ireland, with Mr. Ireland as postmaster. This was long before Ocheyedan was thought of. At the same time a postoffice* was established at Silver Lake, Dickinson County, at the house of C. B. Knox, with Mr. Knox as postmaster. These were on the Sibley and Spirit Lake route, with Orren Jones as mail carrier.
D. D. MCCALLUM.
.
CHAPTER XVII.
Horton township's first settler came in 1871. In 1870 Seymour Coyour, then under age, came to Minnesota with his father, and lived just over the line of Horton in Minnesota. When Seymour came of age he made contest of the north- west quarter of Section 24 and succeeded in obtaining the land, which he filed upon and still lives on the same place. The first settler in Horton Township was L. G. Ireland, who is elsewhere mentioned as coming from Clayton County, Iowa, with A. B. Elmore and E. N. Moore. Mr. Elmore was also one of Horton's first settlers, on Section 34, but he did not long remain in Horton, as he soon after took a claim in Ocheyedan. Mr. Ireland took the southeast quarter of Section 34, and turned the first furrow of the soil of that township. He was also a lawyer, but he was not a distinguished member of that profession and did not claim to be. He was politically ambitious, and was once a candidate for the Legislature on an independent ticket. He has since died. His claim is now owned by Dick Wassmann. So far as we can learn there were no other settlers in Horton Township in 1871 except Mr. Elmore and Mr. Ireland.
In 1872 there were many who settled in this township. N. W. Emery, who is elsewhere mentioned, came that year. W. R. Boling, mentioned also in another chapter, came in 1872. Mr. Boling had two brothers, J. T. and E. W., who lived in Horton, but have since moved away. E. W. moved from the township into Ocheyedan and resided there until about two years ago, when he moved to Powshiek County, Iowa, where he now resides. J. T. was justice in that town- ship several years, and is now an evangelist and lives in Illinois. In 1872 also C. M. Richards, W. Bisby, W. W. Herron, Henry and Dan Gibson and Jacob Brooks settled in Horton, coming from Butler County, Iowa. Richards left about eight years ago, and now resides in Pipestone, Minnesota. Bisby went to Butler County. Herron is in California. Mr. Brooks is now a merchant at Sibley. Also H. B. Clemens came that year to the township, and a few years ago went to Washington. During the residence of these Butler County people Richards was one of the township trustees, and in the fall went to Butler
....
1890
DENTIST
BROWN & CHAMBERS BLOCK, SIBLEY.
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HISTORY OF OSCEOLA COUNTY, IOWA.
County and remained during the winter. While thus away on a visit, the other trustees declared his office vacant, and made an appointment. Richards returned in the spring and was present at the annual meeting, when he was informed that during his absence the office had dropped from under him, and that another had been appointed to fill the vacant place. Richards was not of that kind to surrender so easily -- using a common expression-he was not built that way. He first gave vent to his feelings, spoke his mind, and this, with the talking back, culminated in an open fight, in which the other fellows got the worst of it, and the affair finally drifted into court. Richards, however, held the office until the expira- tion of his term. Samuel Collett settled in Horton in 1872; he proved up on his claim and moved to Montana, where he now resides. Jacob Brooks owned the original quarter upon which he settled until recently, and it is now occupied by Mr. H. Keith.
Since the earlier settlements in Horton Township quite a a number of German families have moved into the township, and these Germans are considered as some of its most sub- stantial and industrious citizens. In 1882 Henry Wassmann with his son Dick, Charles Griep and several others of their neighbors left Indiana and bought tickets to Chicago, from there to Glendive, Montana. They were simply going west as men do go, without knowing exactly where until they looked it over. They got to Bismarck in North Dakota, when the elder Wassmann thought that any more west was too much for him, and told the rest of the party they could go on, but as for himself he should look over a part of Iowa. This caused the three parties above named to return to St. Paul, where they bought tickets to Sheldon. They drove from Sheldon to Bigelow, Minn., and not desiring to settle there. were returning, when, by parties at Sibley, they were induced to settle in Osceola County, which they did. The Wass- mann's bought several pieces of land, among which was the L. G. Ireland place on Section 34, where Dick Wassmann now lives. His correct name is Diedrich Wassmann, but is commonly called Dick. There is no better farm in the county than Dick Wassmann's, and no better place for a home than right there among the large variety of forest trees, set out by the lamented Ireland and later by Dick himself. About one hundred different kinds of trees stand there in the gorgeous grandeur of their green foliage and as the leaves rustle in the breeze, they seem to whisper a voice of contentment, of thrift
0
W. F. ALDRED.
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HISTORY OF OSCEOLA COUNTY, IOWA.
and independence which mark the surroundings, and are ex- pressed in the hospitality of the occupant, for Dick Wass- mann is no more diminutive in heart and soul than he is in statue. There are kinds of trees on this farm that probably couldn't be found anywhere else in the state, and fruit trees in abundance. Henry Wassmann returned to Indiana where he still resides. Charles Griep bought the northeast quarter Section 27 where he still lives and is a successful farmer.
The coming of these parties here was the means of other Germans following them and buying land in Horton.
Henry Pinkenburg took a part of Section 25, also did Conrad Hattendorf; Henry Rusche the northwest quarter of Section 14; Fred Glade a part of Section 23; William Lick a part of Section 21, and Conrad Oldendorf a part of Sections 23 and 25. W. H. Noehren bought the northeast quarter of Section 22, and still lives there. Mr. Noehren has been prominent in township matters, and at present is a member of the Board of County Commissioners. This township has a good class of people, and among its other substantial farmers not otherwise mentioned are the three Piscators, father and two sons, who we believe are on Section 8, Gustav Johnson on Section 10, William Rehborg on Section II, and August Polinski on Section 13.
On Section 14, besides Henry Rusche, lives August Bremer on the northeast quarter, and John Estabrook on the southwest quarter. Conrad Bremer is on Section 15, William Filk and John Farragher on Section IS, and Peter Wickland on Section 19. On Section 20 is Vaclave Sixty, also John Maske, Joseph Rhomatko and Joseph Cload. On Section 22 we find Chris Bremer and Henry Redeker.
John Robertson has the southeast quarter of Section 24, and John Gielow and William Grave are on Section 26. On Section 27, besides Mr. Griep, are Charles Schmidt and William Sehr. Mr. John Thompson lives on a quarter of Section 28, and Mr. I. B. Titus owns a part of Section 30, and is the only resident on that section. Frank Engle is on Sec- tion 31, and William Maske on Section 32. Chris Wassman is on Section 35 and has recently built there a house and barn. On Section 36 William Carney has a quarter, also A. V. Randall, and on the same section Mr. Elmore has a tree claim. Mr. Randall formerly lived on his quarter, but is now in business in Ocheyedan. J. T. Boling's place is now owned by Herman Bauermeister, who lives in Worthington, Minn.
1.3
GEO. RUPNER.
138
HISTORY OF OSCEOLA COUNTY, IOWA.
GRASSHOPPER PERIOD.
The history of the great world itself recognizes certain distinct periods which have marked the ages with their differ- ent characteristics. Osceola County is but a small part of this mighty universe, but its brief history has it periods which are readily recognized by those of its citizens whose residence here reaches back even for only a decade.
The first was its filing period, when settlers made record in the government office, that they claimed certain pieces of land for residence and occupation. The next was the grass- hopper period, and the last a period of general contentment and prosperity. This part of the history is devoted to the grasshopper period, and following this, the relief campaign which followed in the wake of destroyed crops and destitution. The writer himself went through this " reign of terror " and knows all about it by personal contact and experience. The grasshopper itself was a curiosity; we call it grasshopper be- cause then among settlers it bore no other name, while the books designate the pest as the "Rocky Mountain locust."
The natural home of these insects was on the barren table lands along the eastern base of the Rocky Mountains. There they deposited their eggs every year. In Wyoming Territory, Western Nebraska, Texas, the Indian Territory and New Mexico, the broods were annually hatched. In their native haunts they attained an enormous size, many specimens being three inches in length. Scientific men, who have studied the habits of the grasshoppers state that each succeeding brood degenerates in size, and after three or four generations the weaker are obliged to swarm and seek other quarters, being driven out by the larger and stronger insects.
These exiles rise and go with the wind, keeping the direction in which they first start, stopping in their flight for subsistence and depositing eggs in a prolific manner during the incubating season, which lasted from the middle of June to the middle of September.
This region had been visited by grasshoppers before, but did not excite a great deal of attention for the reasons that the county was sparsely settled and but a small area of land under cultivation, and they came so late in the season that small grains were generally out of their reach, but extreme North- western Iowa then was not settled, so that their ravages were further east. Their first appearance at Sibley was on the 5th day of June, 1873. The first seen of them was a huge black
Q. E. CLEAVELAND.
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HISTORY OF OSCEOLA COUNTY, IOWA.
cloud, which was none other than a swarm of grasshoppers, and which sent out a roaring sound that terrified the ears. Where there was any grain to cut even before its maturity, the settlers went at it to save what they could, but the grass- hoppers were not bad reapers themselves, and the modern and latest improved of agricultural machinery cut but little figure in the race, when that swarm of grasshoppers came down and went to work. They were possessed of great vitality and enormous appetites; their first appearance was alarming and their devastations were appalling. It introduced to the settlers a serious problem; they were new to the country, or rather the country was new to them, and this strange visitation raised the question as to whether or not this grasshopper business was a part of the country itself, and that the pests would re- main off and on indefinitely in the future. This thought, aside from their coming and the destruction they did in 1873, caused much concern and consternation.
These grasshoppers had crossed the Missouri River and commenced foraging in the bordering Iowa counties, and devoured the crops as they went to a greater or less extent. In this season of 1873 some of the Osceola County settlers lost what crop they had by the grasshoppers, and others their crops were partially destroyed. Some saved a small garden patch by means of " shooing " them off and keeping the patch free from them, although the task was tedious and difficult.
The early part of the season was extremely dry. No rain fell from the first of May to the middle of June. Grain did not grow much, but the grasshoppers did, and before the drouth ended, the crops were eaten and parched beyond all hope of recovery. About the middle of June, however, con- siderable rain fell, and outside of the before mentioned counties the prospect was generally favorable for good crops. The young grasshoppers commenced to get wings about the middle of June, and in a few days they began to rise and fly. The prospect seemed good for a speedy riddance from the pests. The perverse insects were waiting for an easterly wind, but the wind blew from the southwest for nearly three weeks, so they staid and visited, and eat and continued their ravages.
Early in the spring of 1874 the eggs deposited the season before, commenced hatching, and the soil looked literally alive with insignificant looking insects, a quarter of an inch in length but of enormous eating qualities. As if by instinct, their first movements were toward the fields where tender shoots of grain were making their modest appearance. Sometimes the .
JMANZ ×60 CHICAGO
CHRIS W. HOLLE.
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HISTORY OF OSCEOLA COUNTY, IOWA.
first intimation a farmer would have of what was going on would be from noticing along one side of his grain-field a nar- row strip where the grain was missing. At first, perhaps, he would attribute it to a "balk" in sowing, but each day it grew wider and a closer examination would reveal the presence of young grasshoppers.
The settlers of Osceola County in the spring of 1874 did their sowing and planting under a feeling of apprehension. They were here and the work must go, even with the grass- hopper difficulty staring them in the face. Many got out of the country, owing to the grasshoppers of 1873, but they who remained had nought else to do but to work on. The grass- hopper ravages were the worst in 1874 and 1875, and from then on the pests degenerated in size and did less mischief each year, but were still here until 1879 when they did but little damage and in 1880 the county felt itself well rid of them.
All sorts of suggestions and devices were made with ref- erence to the destruction of grasshoppers during these years, and it was much of a topic of discussion how to get rid of them. Judge Oliver, in a communication to the Sioux City Journal, said: "Farmers should not be discouraged. Crops, especially wheat and corn, should be put in as early as possi- ble, so as to get a start while the hoppers are small. Late potatoes and beans may be planted as late as is safe, so as not to get up until the hoppers are gone. Young trees and shrubs may be protected by a sack of thin cloth drawn over them and tied at the bottom. I desire to impress on farmers, where the eggs are unhatched, the absolute necessity of early seeding. One week's difference in the time of seeding may make all the differences between a good crop and a failure."
The Sioux City fournal said: "The grasshopper de- posits its eggs at the roots of the grass in the latter part of summer or early autumn. The eggs hatch out early in spring, and during the months of April, May and June, according as the season is early or late; they are wingless, their sole power of locomotion being the hop.
"To destroy them, all that is needed is for each county, town or district to organize itself into a fire brigade, through- out the district where their eggs are known to be deposited.
"This fire brigade shall see that the prairies are not burned over in the fall, and thus they will have the grass for the next spring and to be employed upon the pests while they are yet hoppers, the means of sure death. To apply it, let all
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HISTORY OF OSCEOLA COUNTY, IOWA.
agree upon a certain day, say in April or May or at any time when they are sure all the hoppers are hatched and none are yet winged. All being ready let every person, man, woman and boy, turn out with torches and simultaneously fire the whole prairie, and the work, if well done, will destroy the whole crop of grasshoppers for that year, and none will be left to "soar their gossamer wings" or lay eggs for another year."
The Gazette of July 10, 1874, had the following:
" Grasshoppers are being successfully chased by many people in this county. There is usually a slight wind blowing, and people take ropes one or two hundred feet in length, and, stretching them out, walk or ride across the fields, the trailing rope disturbing the grain, which causes the 'hoppers' to fly up, and then the friendly wind carries them off the field.
"Mr. Dunton, who has been saving his wheat by the use of ropes, finds it useful to tie rags, newspapers, etc., to them on account of the greater rustle the rope makes as it trails over the grain with these attached."
As the grasshopper years went on, the people themselves, scientific men and even the halls of legislation were discussing the important question of how to drive the "hoppers " from the country. Many and varied were the experiments. They tried smudging, burning the prairie, burning tar, digging ditches and every conceivable thing that the ingenuity of man could suggest, even to a huge trap in which to snare and catch them. Minnesota offered a bounty of a certain amount per bushel for them, and actually paid out quite a sum, which helped the people along, but the idea of delivering a crop of grasshoppers for a consideration, strikes us now as bordering on the ridiculous. These pests lasted about seven years, and the latter years of the seven they were much less troublesome than the first. The grasshopper business, too, had its humor- ous side, and there was much wit grew out of it, and the tastern papers made much fun of us, and not only that, but seriously charged us with being a country liable to such things, and hence unfit to live in. The county papers around in Northwestern Iowa would each claim that the other county was the worst. The Gazette said in one issue they were mostly in Dickinson County, and the Beacon gives this assertion the lie and says they are on the border of Osceola " peeking" over. Some agricultural house printed a card bearing the picture of a grasshopper sitting on a board fence gazing at a wheat field, and underneath the words: "In this s(wheat) by
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HISTORY OF OSCEOLA COUNTY, IOWA.
and bye." The poet was also at work, and the following one of the numerous productions :
CHARGE OF THE GRASSHOPPER BRIGADE.
Half a league, half a league,
Half a league onward, Right from the West they came, More than six hundred- Out from forest and glade ; "Charge for the corn!" they said
Then for the fields they made-
More than six hundred.
Fields to the right of them,
Fields to the left of them;
Fields in front of them,
Pillaged and plundered ;
Naught could their numbers tell,
Down on the crop they fell,
Nor left a stalk or shell --
More than six hundred.
Flashed all their red legs bare,
Flashed as they turned in air,
Robbing the farmers there, Charging an orchard, while All the world wondered!
Plunged in the smudge and smoke,
Right through the corn they broke,
Hopper and locust ; Peeled they the stalks all bare,
Shattered and sundered ; Then they went onward-but More than six hundred.
Since these grasshopper days the old settlers can see what they missed by the following, recently published :
"Some very important uses for grasshoppers have recently been discovered. There would seem to be no reason why they should not be applied to commercial advantage in the event of a plague this year. Not long ago four quarts of liquid, expressed from half a bushel of "hoppers" under a cheese press, were shipped in a glass from Spirit Lake, Iowa, to Professor William K. Kedzie, of the Kansas State Agri- cultural College. He made a complete analysis, and by distilling the juice with sulphuric acid obtained a colorless, limpid solution of formic acid. Now, this acid is very valua- ble, having a present market quotation of sixty cents an ounce. It is not only employed in medicine to a considerable extent, but it is also utilized in the laboratory to reduce salts of the noble metals, gold, silver and platinum. Hitherto it has always been extracted from red ants, but the possibility of getting it in large quantities from grasshoppers suggests a
RESIDENCE OF ASA BOWERSOCK, OCHEYEDAN.
9
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HISTORY OF OSCEOLA COUNTY, IOWA.
method for employing these insects to an unlooked-for advan- tage. An interesting feature of the analysis was the discovery of a certain amount of copper in the liquid. This metal has been found in the blood of other animals, particularly in that of the horseshoe crab, which always furnishes a trace of it. It is not suggested, however, that grasshoppers would assay a sufficient amount of copper to the ton to make it worth while to smelt them.
"A while ago, Professor C. V. Ripley, United States entomologist, sent a bushel of grasshoppers, freshly caught and scalded, to Mr. Bonnet, a St. Louis caterer. The latter made a soup of them, which was pronounced perfectly deli- cious by many people who were afforded an opportunity of tasting it. It closely resembled bisque. Mr. Bonnet declared that he would gladly have it on his bill of fare every day if he could only obtain the insects. His method of preparing the dish, as described by himself, was to boil the hoppers over a brisk fire, seasoning them with salt, pepper and grated nut- meg, and occasionally stirring them. When sufficiently done they were pounded in a mortar with bread fried brown; then they were replaced in the saucepan and thickened to a broth, which was passed through a strainer before being served. Professor Riley treated some friends of his on one occasion to curry of grasshoppers and grasshopper croquettes without informing them as to the nature of the banquet, but an unlucky hind leg, discovered in one of the croquettes, revealed the secret."
RELIEF.
In January, 1873, there was organized at Sibley what they called the "Citizen Farmers' Club." This was before the "Grange" swept over the state, but both of these had the usual conditions of existence. They had their birth, maturity and death. The Citizen Farmers' Club was organized December 7, 1872, and its object as declared by a resolution was for the purpose of mutual protection, assistance, encouragement, in- struction and social intercourse generally. Meetings were heid every Friday afternoon at one o'clock, and no doubt many an ambitious orator, after the fame of Cicero, electrified and delighted the audience. This organization had quite a num- ber of meetings, but soon as the Grange was introduced into Osceola County, the Citizen Farmers' Club began to de- cline and last, in the language of the illustrious Cleveland, went into "Innocuous desuetude." Following these and really as a
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HISTORY OF OSCEOLA COUNTY, IOWA.
basis upon which to secure relief for the people by reason of grasshoppers, the following announcement appeared in a Sep- tember number of the Gazette:
" HOMESTEADER'S PROTECTIVE ASSOCIATION .- There will be a meeting of the citizens of Osceola County, on the fair grounds, near Sibley, at I o'clock p. m., September 25, 1873, for the purpose of organizing a Homesteader's Protective As- sociation, the object and aim of which, will be to look after the interests of all true homesteaders. It is hoped that there will be a general turnout, that the organization may be made per- manent as long as it may be needed in this locality. In union there is strength. MANY HOMESTEADERS."
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