USA > Iowa > Sac County > History of Sac County, Iowa > Part 31
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Long-billed curlew and marbled godwits were common and until 1877 nested. They were rare after 1875. Upland plover were common and nested until about fifteen years ago; there were countless thousands of golden plover in the spring of 1876.
As one settler said, "There was no end to ducks." They were of many species. Every pond was covered with ducks in the fall. One person re- ported having seen the entire east end of Wall lake, east of a line drawn from Lakewood to Provost's, covered with ducks so thickly that the water looked black, during the spring migration. Contrast this with the conditions of today and the great difference in the abundance of ducks can be readily seen. The species were the same as now, but their numbers have been greatly re- duced. Spring shooting has been stopped none too soon. Mallard, pintail and teal were the most common ducks, mallard and teal nesting here, as did wood ducks along the Coon river. Redheads were much more common than canvas-backs, seven only out of one hundred and thirty-six of the two species killed from 1875 to 1890 being canvas-hacks. The rarest of ducks was the old squaw and the hooded mergarser next.
Of upland game birds, the wild turkey was the largest in size, three being killed at Grant City in 1854. Ruffed grouse were reported rare by Hugh Cory. the last ones he saw were killed in the sixties. Orville Lee saw one in the woods near Sac City in 1886 and heard of others being seen before. The passenger, or wild, pigeon was always rather scarce, five hundred in one flock being the largest number reported. One was seen in the "Goosepond" near Wall lake in the summer of 1875. One was killed near Sac City in 1879, and a flock of twenty seen near Wall lake between 1880 and 1885.
The sharp-tailed grouse, or prairie grouse, was tolerably common in very early times. Hugh Cory reported trapping about one hundred in the winter of 1855-56. The last one was seen in 1858.
A bird called the woodcock, but really the pileated woodpecker, was rare and was soon exterminated because considered good eating ; the last one was seen in 1865. Magpies were found in the timber only along the Coon river in the sixties and turkey vultures much later than this.
Bob-whites, or quail, were most plentiful in 1866, but only stayed in the brush and timber at that time. There was a small flock in a patch of brush on Indian creek, near Lake View, in 1878. They are very rare now owing to a combination of hunters and hard winters. The largest flock I have ever seen was twenty-four about fifteen years ago.
Prairie chickens were the most important upland game bird, because the
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most abundant. They nested all over the prairies. They were most abundant at first settlement, but at that time migrated during the winter. Fifteen tried to winter in 1855-56 and only seven survived, but prairie chickens were very abundant next summer and fall, having come back from the South. Later, when the prairies were planted to corn to a large extent, many wintered as well as nested here. Their nests were very common in 1875. During the eighties nearly every farmer had a line of chicken traps out during the winter. There was one white or albino prairie chicken reported. Now no prairie chickens nest in Sac county that I have been able to locate, the last being about 1900, but they migrate in from the northwest and winter here, sometimes being common around shocked corn.
PARTIAL LIST OF BIRDS OF SAC COUNTY.
This is a list of birds I have seen and made a note of in Sac county, mostly in the vicinity of the towns of Wall Lake, with brief notes on some of them. It is by no means complete, but most of the land birds are included in it. Five species were seen by my sister.
The yellow-billed cuckoo, or "rain crow," is common in the groves and lives on the hairy caterpillars and other enemies of tree foliage. The black- billed cuckoo is rare. I have seen only one.
The belted kingfisher is a common migrant along the Coon river and on Wall lake.
The hairy and downy woodpeckers are tolerably common in winter and sometimes nests in the timber.
The yellow-billed sap-sucker is rare. fortunately, because this is the woodpecker that makes the rows of neat punctures in the bark of trees, to eat the inner bark. All other woodpeckers live mostly on insects injurious to trees.
The flicker (yellow-hammer ) or "high hole" and the red-headed wood- peckers are common.
I have seen the whippoorwill only once at Wall lake, May 14, 1910.
The nighthawk, or "bull bat." is a common migrant and nests along the Coon river.
The chimney swift, or swallow, sometimes nests in unused chimneys, especially in towns of this county. It formerly nested in hollow trees. These three birds live entirely on insects taken on the wing. Over one thousand mosquitoes have been taken from a night hawk's stomach.
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The ruby-throated humming bird is usually rare, but sometimes common as a migrant, and sometimes nests here.
"The king-bird is common and the Arkansas king-bird, which has a yellow color where the common king-bird has white, is rare.
The crested fly-catcher nests along the Coon river and is a rare migrant in other parts of the county.
The phoebe nests under bridges near woods, and the wood pewee nests in nearly every grove.
The prairie horned lark is common, nesting in meadows early in the spring and later in the corn fields, where many nests are destroyed by the corn plows. It lives on weed seeds, waste grain and insects.
Blue jays and crows are common, but many of them move farther south for the winter.
Bobolinks are common, nesting in wild hay lands. Cow birds are common ; and red-winged blackbirds nest in every swampy place. Yellow headed blackbirds nest only in reeds over fairly deep water. The rusty black- bird and Brewer's blackbirds are common migrants and the bronze gracke, ordinarily called blackbird, nests commonly in groves.
The foregoing birds damage grain to some extent, but also do much good by eating white grubs and other insects.
The meadow lark commonly nests in pastures and meadows, where it does much good by living on grasshoppers, etc.
Baltimore orioles are common migrants and frequently nest in groves, while orchard orioles are somewhat rarer.
The redpoll, a northern bird, was tolerably common in the winter of 1910- II, and I have seen pine siskins once, in September, 1908. I have also seen snowflakes once during a blizzard, February 14, 1909. The Lapland long- spur is an abundant migrant, and is tolerably common as a winter resident It flies in huge flocks which stay out in the fields, never alighting in trees.
Vesper sparrows are rare migrants and Savanna sparrows common migrants, while the grasshopper sparrow commonly nests in pastures and meadows. These sparrows all stay out in the fields. The lark sparrow is a rare migrant. The Harris and white-throated sparrows are abundant migrants and the white-crowned song fox and chipping sparrows are tolerably common migrants and are found along hedges and in the groves. The slate colored junco is an abundant migrant, as is the tree sparrow, which also winter's here. The swamp sparrow is common in marshes. All the native sparrows feed their young upon insects and live upon weed seeds themselves
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and are gifted with sweet songs, while the English sparrow or European house sparrow, which abounds in our towns and sometimes on the farms, lives on grain, drives away more valuable native birds by taking their nesting places and makes a nuisance of itself generally.
The towhee is a rare migrant at Wall lake, and nests in the timber at Sac City.
The rose-breasted grosbeak is common, nesting in groves and orchards.
The Indigo bunting is rare at Wall lake and I have seen it at Sac City.
The dickcissel is common, nesting in hay fields, where many nests are destroyed by the mowers.
The lark bunting, a western bird, is rare. I have seen it only once, in May, 1908.
The scarlet tanager is a rare migrant at Wall lake.
The purple martin is common in the larger towns of this county. I lives on insects, which it catches flying, including enormous numbers of mosquitoes and flies. Its numbers could be greatly increased by putting up more martin houses for it. The cliff and barn swallows nest about barns and sheds, and are abundant migrants, as is the tree swallow, which nests only rarely. The bank swallow nests most commonly about Wall lake, and the rough winged swallow nests in banks along Coon river. All the swallows are useful birds, living on flying insects exclusively. The cedar wax-wings are rare migrants.
The white rumped sheike, or butcher bird, is only tolerably common, nesting in hedges or isolated trees. The warbling vireo is common and the blue-headed rare.
The warblers are a group of small birds of almost tropical brilliancy of colors, which frequent groves and hedges during migration and vary much in numbers from year to year. The yellow warbler is abundant and nests here. The myrtle, magnolia, black-poll, redstart, Wilson and northern yel- low-throat warblers are all common. The latter nests in sloughs. The black and white, Nashville, parula, chestnut-sided and palm warblers, water thrush and Louisiana water thrush are all tolerably common. The bay-breasted blackburrian, Canadian, Cape May, black-throated green and mourning warblers are rare. All the warblers live on insects which live on tree foliage.
The pitpit or titlark is tolerably common as a migrant, being found on plowed fields only.
The cat bird and brown thrasher are common, nesting in groves and thickets.
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The house wren is common, nesting in holes or bird boxes that the English sparrows cannot occupy. The wren can go through a hole one inch in diameter, while the sparrow cannot. The winter wren is rare. I have seen only one. The short-billed marsh wren is common in sloughs, or wet wild grass lands. The long-billed marsh wren is found only in sloughs where there is permanent water.
The brown creeper and white breasted nuthatch are tolerably common. being found creeping around tree trunks in winter. The red-headed nuthatch is rare, only one being seen.
The black-capped chickadee is common in groves in winter and some- times nests.
The ruby-crowned kinglet is a common migrant and the golden crowned kinglet a rare one.
The wood thrush or "bell bird" is tolerably common, nesting in groves.
The well-known robin is an abundant migrant, and nests almost every- where.
The bluebird is only tolerably common as a migrant at Wall Lake, and rarely nests, but is more abundant in the woods along the Coon river.
Of water birds, game birds and birds of prey, my list is not as complete as it is of land birds, but the following are those I have noted :
Pied-billed grebe is common on the lakes and larger ponds. It is com- monly called "hell-diver" by hunters and must patter along over the surface of the water before it can take flight.
The Franklin gull, a white bird with black head and wing tips and about the size of a pigeon, is very abundant, migrates in the spring and fall, flying in large flocks, often following the plow to pick up grubs and worms, and even white-footed mice. It is a harmless and beneficial bird and should not be wantonly killed, as it often is by hunters.
I have picked up one specimen dead, of the least tern, on Wall lake. ] think it is a rather rare migrant. The black tern or "slough gull." a slate and black colored bird about the size of a killdeer, is a common migrant and nests on Wall lake and in ponds south of Sac City. It is also harmless and beneficial and protected by law, as is the Franklin gull.
I have found mallard, pintail or "black-headed" ducks common: also blue-winged teal: and Shoveller, gad wall and redheads, only tolerably
The Canada goose is rare now, but two smaller subspecies of it are some what more common.
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The bittern, "shypoke," or "thunder pumper," is an abundant migrant and common summer resident in marshy places. I have seen the least bittern once on Wall lake; it is rather rare, I think.
The great blue heron, or "blue crane," is a common migrant and is more often found along the larger streams. I have seen the little green heron along the Coon river at Sac City, where it is common in the fall.
The whooping or white crane is a very rare migrant : I have seen none for at least five years. The sandhill crane is a tolerably common migrant. but I have seen only one Hock alight, which was in a pasture a long ways from any farm buildings, in October. 190".
The king rail and the sora rail are common in the dense rushes of marshy land and on the borders of lakes. The king rail nests in the "Goosepond" in wet seasons. I have seen the Virginia rail at Wall lake. The expression "thin as a rail" comes from the slimness of these birds.
Mud hens, or coots, are common migrants on lakes and ponds and some nest in secluded places. I have found one brood of the Florida gallirule, or "red billed mud hen," on a pond near Carnarvon.
The Wilson phalarope, the most beautiful of the shore birds, is a rare migrant. I have seen it in the "Goosepond" and the inlet of Wall lake.
The Wilson snipe, or jack snipe, is an abundant migrant. being found in marshes and wet ground.
Pectoral sandpiper or "grass snipes." are common migrants, sometimes being found on pasture lands far from their usual haunts of wet lands, marshes and streams. The Baird sandpiper is a rare migrant, and the least and the semi-palmated sandpipers are common migrants. These are all known as "peeps" and are found along lake and stream shores. The lesser yellow legs is a common migrant and inhabits marshes, streams and lake shores.
The upland plover is a rather rare migrant and is often found in meadows and pastures far from water. It sometimes nests in pastures.
The spotted sandpiper, or "teeter." is found along lake shores and wooded streams. and is a tolerably common migrant and summer resident.
The killdeer is a common migrant and often nests in corn fields a half mile or more from water. The semi-palmated plover is tolerably common. It is found around ponds and along streams. All the shore birds live mostly on insects, and any of them on mosquito's larvae, especially the killdeer. The Wilson or Jack snipe is the only one common enough to be fairly con-
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sidered a game bird. The others should be spared, as all are more useful alive than dead.
The bob-white, or quail, the cheerful inhabitant of the road sides and bush-covered tracts, is very rare now. I have seen only one (June 22, 1913) near Wall lake, in the last six years, in Sac county. It feeds mostly on weed seeds and injurious insects, the potato bug and grasshoppers being among its favorites.
The prairie chicken is now only a winter resident, being fairly common at times, and finding shocked corn a great help in surviving the winter. It migrates from the north in the fall and departs in the spring ; none nest here now. as almost all the prairie grass lands are gone.
The mourning, or turtle, dove is a common summer resident and should be protected at all times, as its entire food-ninety per cent. or more-is weed seeds, fox-tail being its favorite food. I have never known of but two doves wintering here.
The marsh hawk is tolerably common, a pair usually nesting in each large sized slough, the nest being placed on the ground. I have known them to winter here.
The sharp-shinned hawk is a tolerably common migrant and the Cooper hawk a rare migrant at Wall lake. Probably both are more common and nest in'the timber along the Coon river. These hawks have the same build. but the sharp-shinned is twelve inches long and about the size of a pigeon, and the Cooper is sixteen inches long. They are brown or gray on the back, but white underneath, streaked with reddish brown. They have long, narrow wings and a long tail, and fly very swiftly. They live on birds and game and chickens, when they are handy, ninety-five per cent. of the time and five per cent. of the time on other things. They are responsible for nearly all hawks being called "chicken hawks," while in fact the other hawks eat meadow mice, grasshoppers. etc., in summer time. They rarely, if indeed ever, take chickens, hence are beneficial because they kill the meadow mice.
The red-tailed hawk is a big, broad-winged slow-flying hawk, which spends much of its time flying in large circles, high in the air. It is a toler- ably common migrant in spring. a common migrant in the fall, and some- times winters here. It is mostly known as chicken hawk, but is not the com- mon chicken thief among hawks. which is the Cooper.
The sparrow-hawk is a tolerably common migrant and sometimes nests in hollow trees.
The long-eared owl is rare at Wall lake, but is probably more common in
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the timber. The short-eared owl, or "slough owl," is common in winter and a pair usually build their nest on the ground in the tall grass, of each large slough. They live principally upon meadow mice.
The screech owl is common, living mostly on mice and English sparrows.
The burrowing owl is rather rare, but I have seen it several times, and it sometimes nests in the hills south and west of Wall lake. It has extended its range into this county only in the last few years, the first one I saw being September 16, 1907. The owl that lives on game and other birds and is not averse to taking full-grown chickens is the great horned owl, which I have never seen in Sac county, and I think it is extinct here. It lives only in heavy native timber. The snowy owl, a large white owl that comes from the north in severe winters, has been taken in Sac county.
Piel Schaller
BIOGRAPHICAL
HON. PHIL SCHALLER.
Human life is like the waves of the sea, which flash for a few brief moments in the sunlight, marvels of power and beauty, and then are dashed upon the remorseless shores of death and disappear forever. As the mighty deep has rolled for ages past and chanted its sublime requiem and will con- tinue to roll during the coming ages until time shall be no more, so will the waves of human life follow each other in countless succession until they mingle at last with eternity's boundless sea. The passing of any human life, however humble and unknown, is sure to give rise to a pang of anguish which will wring some heart, but when the fell destroyer knocks audibly at the door of the useful and great and removes from earthly scenes the man of honor and influence and the benefactor of his kind, it not only means be- reavement to kindred and friends, but a public calamity as well. In the largest and best sense of the term, the late Phil Schaller, of Sac City, Sac county, was distinctly one of the notable men of his time and generation in the vicinity of which this history treats, and as such is entitled to a conspicu- ous place in the annals of western lowa-in fact, he was one of the great men of the state.
Hon. Phil Schaller rose from being a poor emigrant boy to become a man of substance and great influence and power in his adopted land where opportunities are everywhere awaiting the energetic and deserving. He was born in Worth. Alsace, Germany, January 6, 1838, and there obtained his primary education in the common schools. At the age of sixteen years he came to America, tarrying for a short time in the Eastern states, but finally arrived in Iowa in 1854. He had little more than the clothing on his back when he arrived in America and did not locate in Iowa until sixteen years after his arrival. He established his first residence in Clayton county and enlisted in the Union army npon the outbreak of the Rebellion. On August 8. 1862, he enlisted in Company E. Twenty-seventh Iowa Infantry Regiment, and participated in all the engagements of his regiment, including Steele's
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Arkansas expedition, the Meridian campaign, the Red River campaign ( where he won distinction in the capture of Fort De Russy), Smith's expedition to Tupelo and Oxford, the pursuit of General Price through Arkansas and Mis- souri, the battle of Nashville and campaigns about Mobile and its defenses. He was mustered out with his regiment August 8, 1865, and at once returned to Clayton county, Iowa, where he engaged in the wagon-making trade, in which he was a successful operator for a number of years.
In the spring of 1872 Mr. Schaller had a vision of the broad and fertile prairies of western Iowa and of what the newer lands might have in store for him. He came to Sac county and located in Eden township on a beauti- ful quarter section of wild land and set about improving the same, intending to follow farming for a livelihood. But it was not long before he was entrusted with the agency of the Iowa Railroad Land Company, which corporation then owned large tracts of land in Sac and adjoining counties. In this position Mr. Schaller obtained a wide and favorable acquaintance among all the hardy pioneers of northwestern Iowa. The wise policy of the company and its big-hearted agent saved to many a settler, in the time of distress, the home he would have lost had those he had been dealing with been less kindly disposed. Recounting the days and experiences of that try- ing period, many a pioneer shed tears and truly grieved when he heard that bluff, kind-hearted Phil Schaller was no more for this earth. His memory will long be revered and forever and ever in the history of Sac county and western Iowa Phil Schaller will be remembered as the "Friend of the Farmer."
It is not to be supposed that an individual possessing his native ability and rich experience in business and with his fellow men would long stay out of politics in a new and rapidly growing country, in which he settled not long after the close of the civil conflict. The events of that war, the strong ad- ministration developed by the party of Lincoln and the policies of the Re- publican party naturally found the deceased a stalwart supporter of the same, though he was independent enough in his action to scratch a ticket when names of candidates appeared there whom he believed not worthy the office they sought at the hands of the people. His first office was that of member of the board of county supervisors in Sac county, which position he held with great courage and credit to himself and the people whose interests he had been entrusted with. He held this office until, in 1877, he was elected treasurer of Sac county, and it was at a time when county warrants were nowhere near par and he was elected upon his pledge that he would make all
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warrants good as gold. which promise he carried out to the letter. This necessitated his removal from his farm to Sac City, where he continued to reside for a third of a century and up to the time of his death. In 1885 he was elected to a seat in the twenty-first General Assembly of Iowa, where he, by the force of his courage and ability, made Sac county known far and near. Among the measures he espoused was that of trying to secure the location of the Iowa State Soldiers' Home at Sac City, but it finally went to Marshall- town and became an institution in which he was greatly interested, and he was appointed as one of its inspectors for the state, doing good service, both for the commonwealth and for his old comrades-at-arms. He also aided, as a party measure, the introduction of the prohibitory liquor laws as well as other important state legislation. He was a delegate to the Republican national convention at St. Louis, in 1896, which nominated President Will- iam Mckinley the first time. He was twice elected mayor of Sac City and through his ability and fearlessness secured the enactment of wholesome ordinances and rules for the government of his home town. During his administration there were less arrests and better order prevailed than at any other time before that period. He was also state commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, and held numerous positions in several banking con- cerns of Sac county, in which he was also a heavy stockholder. He was a liberal contributor in various public enterprises and for many years a trustee of the Buena Vista College, the Sac City Institute and the local Presbyterian church of Sac City, of which he was a member. He also held membership in the various branches of the Masonic order, all the way from the blue lodge up to the consistory. He was once grand treasurer for the grand lodge of Iowa, and belonged to numerous other fraternal societies at Sac City, but doubtless esteemed most of all his connection with Gen. W. T. Sherman Post No. 284, Grand Army of the Republic. The surviving members of this post will not soon forget comrade Schaller's loyalty and helpfulness in its maintenance and many a soldier has reason to remember with deepest gratitude some one or more acts of kindness coming from him in a time when it was most needed.
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