USA > Iowa > Fayette County > Past and present of Fayette County, Iowa, Volume I > Part 50
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which has become a permanent fixture on the grounds of the agricultural society at West Union. The "scheme," as well as the building of the cabin, and the care of its contents, are due to the personal interest of George W. Gilbert, through whose energy and self-sacrifice this "place of rest and recrea- tion" became a fixture at the annual fairs. The structure is a typical log cabin of large dimensions, built of round logs, chinked and daubed with sticks and clay, having the shake roof held on by weight poles, earth floor, big fire- place with crane, hooks and andirons, a stick-and-mud chimney, joists of round poles flattened on the upper side, and rough boards laid down for a "chamber floor." The building is filled with all manner of pioneer relics, tools, spinning wheels, grain cradles, and also a baby cradle and rocking chair, which have the honor of being the lullaby-home of two families, the youngest of whom are now well beyond the meridian of life. But it would be impossible to enumerate all the unique and curious things to be found there, and it is all as free as air to the interested observer, and well worth an examination at any time. An old cord bedstead, and all its environments, is not the least among early-time attractions. Mr. Gilbert is entitled to the thanks of the agricul- tural society for his zeal in adding this interesting novelty, and for his untir- ing energy and unpaid labors in connection therewith.
MARKETING HOGS AND THE CONSEQUENCES.
The fall and winter of 1842-43 were unusually severe. Snow fell early in November, and remained until late in April, and the hardships and suffer- ings of the settlers during that terrible winter are almost incredible. One or two incidents of that time will serve to illustrate the severity of the winter and the sufferings it induced, as well as to give some idea of frontier customs at that time.
In the fall of 1842, Rev. David Lowry, in charge of the Winnebago mis- sion school, in the southern part of Winneshiek county, near the north line of Fayette county, advertised for proposals to furnish the mission with fifteen thousand pounds of pork. Joel Bailey and John Keeler, at Bailey's Ford, Delaware county, had hogs enough to supply that amount, and they were anxious to sell them. Keeler went to the mission to bid for the contract. He found several other competitors, who had hogs to sell, already on the ground. Keeler put in a bid of two dollars and twenty-five cents per hundredweight; the others gave the same figures. Keeler reduced his bid to two dollars, and started for home, discouraged. That night he stopped at Joe Hewitt's trading post, five or six miles northwest of Strawberry Point. He told Hewitt his
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business, and that he did not expect to get the contract. Hewitt, who had some grudge against the other bidders, after hearing his story, told him that of course he would not get it, unless he put in a lower bid, and proposed that if he would make another bid at one dollar and seventy-five cents, he (Hewitt) would carry it to Lowry himself, and he felt almost sure that Keeler could secure the contract at that price. Keeler was in a quandary. One dollar and seventy-five cents per hundredweight was ruinously low, but he and Bailey had the hogs, and hardly knew how they were to winter them. At last, he concluded to adopt Hewitt's suggestion, sent in his bid and went home.
About a week afterward, Mr. Babbitt, who lived on the Wapsipinicon near Marion, went to Bailey and Keeler, bearing a notice from Lowry that Keeler's bid had been accepted, and that the pork must be delivered on or be- fore Christmas day. They hesitated about filling the contract, but while dis- cussing the question, Babbitt, who also had a lot of hogs he didn't know what to do with, offered to give them five dollars and fill the contract himself, and they concluded if he could afford to do that, they had better keep their contract themselves.
Accordingly, on the 17th day of December, 1842, Joel Bailey, John Keeler, James Kibbe, William R. Padelford and Lucius Vandever, with three ox teams (seven yokes), loaded with corn and supplies, started with their drove of hogs for the mission. It was a slow, toilsome journey, the weather was cold, the snow knee-deep, and they were eight days on the road, camping every night, save one, when they stopped with Beatty and Orrear, and reached the mission on the 25th of December. The party was joyfully welcomed by the mission people, who began to fear that, owing to the inclement weather, their expected supplies might not reach them, and they might be forced to live without meat during the winter.
Immediately after their arrival, preparations were made for slaughtering the hogs, which was done on the open prairie. The weather was bitterly cold, and it was neither an easy nor comfortable task for five men, even with such assistance as the lazy Indians were disposed to render, to kill twenty-five hogs a day. Before they completed their work, however, the weather began to moderate, and about noon on the Ist day of January, 1843, having settled with Mr. Lowry, with only provisions enough to last one day, Bailey and his party started on their return to Delaware, encamped on the south bank of the Little Turkey river, five miles from the mission, on section 29, township 95, range 9. that night, and intended to make Beatty's cabin, south of the Volga, the next day. During the night, a furious southeast snow storm commenced. The next morning, nothing daunted, they started on their journey across the tree-
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less prairie, but the storm was so severe and the snow became so deep that about noon they lost the track, became bewildered, and were compelled to turn back, arriving at the camping ground they left in the morning, about dark, cold, wet, weary and dispirited.
The storm continued during the night with unabated fury, and the next morning it was still snowing as hard as ever; but our little band did not like the idea of going back to the mission, concluding that the storm could not last much longer, and believing that they could reach the Volga timber before dark, again broke camp and started. The snow was now from two and one-half to four feet deep. The men were forced to wallow ahead to break tracks for the oxen, and their progress was slow and wearisome, especially as both men and animals had been without food for more than twelve hours. The weather was moderate, and their clothes were wet, until about ten o'clock, when the storm ceased, the wind, shifting suddenly into the northwest, blew a heavy, biting, freezing gale, and the little party were forced to face the new danger of freezing to death.
A little after noon, the Volga timber was discovered. The party were then probably three or four miles south of west from Round Grove, where West Union now stands. When the sun went down, however, they were still far away from the timber they hoped to reach. They kept on traveling as long as they could see the timber, but at last the increasing darkness completely hid it from view; and there, on the open prairie, exposed to the full fury of the biting January blast, with the icy air filled with fine frozen snow driven by the wind, without food, exhausted and freezing, the little party was forced to stop, in the northeast part of township 93, range 9, west of and within about half a mile of the present site of Donnan. Their largest sled was about ten feet long. On it was a box, two boards high, the length of the sled. Turning the sled broadside to the wind, as it sat well up to the top of the snow, by shoveling the snow from a little spot beside it to the frozen ground beneath, the top of the sled box was about as high as their heads, they were partially sheltered from the piercing wind, and had a hard surface on which to stamp their feet.
They whittled up the box on another sled and endeavored to kindle a fire, but every lucifer match they had was used without success; their ammunition had become damp; their fingers were too much benumbed with cold to use the flint and steel-they could have no fire. It was a critical situation; without fire, without food, and exhausted by a long day's march through the deep snow. It was wonderful that they were not discouraged. Death not only stared them in the face, but was feeling with icy fingers for their hearts. Their
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lives depended upon keeping awake and moving. To remain still was to sleep, and sleep was death. The poor fellows wrapped their blankets about their heads and here they stood stamping, talking, yelling, to keep each other awake. "The fearful horrors of that terrible night," says Judge Bailey, from whose lips this narrative was taken, "are as vividly impressed upon my mem- ory as if they occurred but yesterday. We had to watch for each others' voices. If we failed to hear one, we hunted about in the dark until we found him leaning against the sled, and started him to going again. It was the longest night I ever experienced ; it seemed as if daylight would never come."
Day dawned at last, and they resumed their wearisome way; but it was noon when they reached the Volga, and obtained some water for themselves and their teams. It was still three miles to the hospitable cabin of Beatty and Orrear. Would the exhausted party ever reach it? They would try. On they staggered, famishing, freezing, and hardly caring whether they lived or died. Near night-fall they struck a track about half a mile from the cabin, which gave them new courage, and they struggled on, and at last, about dark, badly frozen, famished and utterly exhausted, they reached Beatty and Or- rear's cabin, having been since daylight in the morning traveling three miles.
Here they found Gilbert D. Dillon, Franklin Culver and Johnson, of Rockville, snow-bound on their way to the fort, with two loads of butter, eggs and poultry ; Beatty, Orrear, and their guests, at once provided for the wants of Mr. Bailey and his party. One of them, making a requisition upon Dillon's load, prepared supper, and the others prepared tubs and buckets, filled with cold water, into which the frozen feet and limbs of the sufferers were plunged. While thus drawing the frost from their frozen feet, a good warm supper was served them, and they broke their protracted fast of forty-eight hours; "but," remarks Judge Bailey, "we didn't eat much-we were not much hungry."
Bailey, Keeler and Vandever were so badly frost-bitten that they were compelled to remain at the cabin of Beatty and Orrear for several days. As soon as they were able to be moved, beds were arranged for them on the sleds, and they started for home, accompanied by Mr. Johnson. The noble-hearted Beatty went with them to Major Mumford's, on Brush creek. It was only seven or eight miles, but they were all day making the journey. Beatty helped to break the track. The next day they reached Joe Hewitt's cabin, and in the evening of the third day arrived at Eads' Grove. Here they found William Bennett, who was on his way to Hewitt's to keep out of the way of the Linn county sheriff, who was anxious to find him, as he was charged with being a party to flogging one Johnson, a settler in Buchanan county.
Mr. Bailey was unable to walk for three months after this terrible ex-
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posure. Both his feet ulcerated, the flesh sloughed off of one of his toes, and the dead and naked bone was cut off by Keeler with a "dog-knife." Keeler was also laid up for several weeks, but Vandever fared the worst. The flesh fell off of all his toes on one foot, and of three on the other, exposing the bones to their articulation with the bones of the feet. There was no surgeon nearer than Dubuque, and Mr. Kibbe removed the naked bones, using an old bullet mould for forceps. After this novel surgical operation was performed, his mutilated feet finally healed, but poor Vandever was a cripple for life.
During this severe winter, comparatively many persons were lost and frozen to death, on these then almost trackless prairies. One might as well be in mid ovean in a storm, without compass or rudder, as to be out of sight of timber on these prairies in one of those fearful winter storms. All through the month of March, 1843, says Judge Bailey, of Delaware, the cold was as intense as it had been during the entire winter.
KINDNESS TO THE INDIANS.
During this severe winter, George Culver, on the Volga, cared for a large number of Winnebago Indians, who were prevented from hunting on account of the extreme cold. Joseph Hewitt, who was just across the line, in Clayton county, did the same, and, doubtless, saved many of the "nation's wards" from starvation. Failing to obtain remuneration for their outlay from the agent of the Winnebagoes, at the mission, Culver and Hewitt went to Washington in 1846, as many an Indian trader had done before and since, and established and collected their claims. Other Indian traders didn't fare so well.
In January, 1843, very soon after Bailey and his party were so hospitably received and cared for by Beatty and Orrear, William Bennett, mentioned above, found it convenient to not only spend a few days with his friend Hewitt, but to be concealed by him in a cavern near by, from the officers of the law, who were on his track. He arrived at Hewitt's about January 10th. The sheriff of Linn county, with a posse of several men, having traced him to this point, arrived soon after ; but the party had divided before reaching the trading post. In his search for Bennett, the sheriff entered one of the Winnebago tepees, or wigwams, and, while here, accidentally shot an Indian. It seems that previous to this time the Linn county sheriff, with a small party, had been caught by some Indians and robbed while hunting buffalo calves in the terri- tory now covered by Chickasaw county. One insolent Indian had compelled him to take off his coat, and he had suffered severely from cold. He then and
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there "spotted" that Indian and resolved to shoot him on sight wherever he should find him. On entering the tepee, as above stated, the sheriff saw and recognized the individual who had taken his coat. He sat down and pre- tended to be fixing his gun, which he had across his knees, pointed at the Indian ; it exploded, and the savage tumbled over, dead. Hewitt was anxious, on Bennett's account, to get rid of the Sheriff and his posse, and urged them to get away as soon as possible, declaring that the Indians would kill them if they remained. The Sheriff, however, was not to be frightened off, declaring the shooting to have been accidental, and that there were not Winnebagoes enough on the reserve to compel him to leave until he was ready to go. He called his men together, and after continuing his fruitless search for Bennett, leisurely took his departure. Mr. Hensley says that when he arrived at Eads' Grove, he declared that the Indian was not shot accidentally, but that he had sent him to the happy hunting ground for the reason above stated.
Hewitt's cabin was about four miles east of Brush creek, and although he was not a resident of Fayette county, he was familiarly known to the early settlers. After the removal of the Indians, he went West, in 1851, leasing his place, to a Mr. Morley, who had an accomplished niece. Hewitt returned and, although then nearly sixty years old, and considerably married, he in- duced the Morley girl to elope with him. This was probably about 1857, for the records of Fayette county show that a marriage license was issued to Joseph Hewitt and Harriet K. Morley, by County Judge Rogers, in 1857.
A STORY OF PIONEER LIFE.
The following unique story of pioneer life is appropriated, bodily (with permission of Rev. J. L. Paine) from the Fayette Reporter. Some correc- tions have been made in the spelling of proper names, though we are not en- tirely sure that we should have done even that much, since the very imperfec- tions in language used by the pioneers in describing their experiences seem to add "lustre" and interest to their recitals. With the further explanation that much of the history embraced in these articles has been presented in connec- tion with the township history of the locality where the events occurred, but not in a "Peter and Polly" story, we submit it to the reader without further apology.
A gentleman who has, perhaps, been quoted more often than any other by writers upon early history of Fayette county, has prepared the following unique articles, in which, with more or less fanciful language and fanciful names in the earlier part, he deals with historical facts, some of which have
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never before been published. The articles contain a partial biography of the first white couple that settled in this county together with that of the immedi- ate families from which they descended. The date of settlement is placed somewhat earlier than that usually accepted, but the author states that in case these dates are questioned he stands ready to reveal his identity and show the correctness of his conclusions.
In an early time in one of the eastern states, probably in western New York, there lived two families near together. Each had a boy near the same age, fifteen years. It was usual in those times for boys to hire out to some tradesman to learn a trade. The fathers of these boys made contracts with two tradesmen, one a carpenter and one a blacksmith. The contracts were generally until the boy was twenty-one years of age. The tradesmen were to teach them the trade, send them to school a certain length of time and give them a certain amount when they were twenty-one. Sometimes it was a horse, sometimes a yoke of oxen and often a stipulated amount of money.
These boys worked at their trades until their time was out. One day as they were talking the matter over one said to the other :
"John, have you any plans for the future? You know our time will be 11p in the spring and we should be thinking what we are going to do."
"I have not been thinking much about it; have you?" John replied.
"Yes, I have, some lately."
"What is it, Jim?"
"I have been thinking of going west and I want you to go with me."
"All right, Jim, I would like such a trip, as I do not see any chance for a young man to get a start here."
So they talked the matter over with their parents and their girls, and when they had finished they were nearly ready to take Horace Greeley's advice to "Go west and grow up with the country."
In the spring the boys were ready, packed their carpet bags, bid their parents and sweethearts good bye, and started on their long journey, promising to write when they got located.
They traveled until they reached the big woods in western Indiana. Thinking that would be a good place to locate, as the Indians had been moved away and a few whites were coming in, they selected eighty acres of land with a creek running near the west line which would furnish plenty of good water near by. They divided the eighty acres, forty acres being all that one man could use in a heavy timber. They immediately set about building a log house for each near the little creek. Meantime they sent word to their girls that they had located, giving a fine description of the country and their location,
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and saying that they were building a house for each near together ; that they could guess what they meant, and promising to be at home as soon as they could get ready to go back in the fall before cold weather. Of course the girls were delighted to hear from them and set about to give them a good reception.
The boys worked hard clearing away brush and timber and building their cabins. They had very few tools to work with. They split out their shakes for the roof, weighted them down with poles, hewed out their lumber for the floor with the broad ax and split out lumber for the doors, as there was not a sawed board within fifty miles of them. They used wooden pins for nails and made wooden hinges. It was a hard task to build a house in those days, but they finally finished the cabins the best they could for the present, thinking they could put on the finishing touches when they came back with more tools.
They started on their long journey for home, reaching there ail right, tired, ragged and dirty, with beards long and shaggy, as they had not shaved since they left home. Their people hardly knew them, but they gave them a grand reception. The boys and the girls, too, went to work with a vim getting ready to return before cold weather. Their parents fitted them out with a voke of oxen and a cow each, covered their wagons with heavy oil cloth to turn rain, and gave one a set of blacksmith's tools and the other a set of car- penter's tools. The old ladies fitted the girls out with the best cooking utensils they had in those days.
One evening when they were all ready they called in the old Baptist min- ister and had a double wedding. The boys traded sisters and the girls traded brothers.
So, with good byes and sobs and tears, they left their parental homes for their new homes in the far west, their parents thinking they would never see them again.
The double honeymoon was spent on the road. It was a great journey. Every night they would turn their oxen and cows out to feed while supper was being prepared over a fire and the cooking done for the next day. They would milk their cows, put the milk into churns and the motion of the wagons would churn it so that they could have fresh butter every day. After supper they would tie their cattle up for fear they would stray off, and would sleep in the wagons. It was a wonderful experience for the girls, for they had never been away from home before. They sent back word as often as possible to let the old people know that they were all right and having a good time.
Reaching their new homes safely, the girls found everything to their liking and all went to work to prepare for winter.
The winters were not as cold in that country as in the east. There was
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some snow, but it would soon go off. There was plenty of game, wild hogs, wild turkeys and deer. These furnished an abundance of meat if they could only learn to catch it. Hunting is a trade. Few men make good hunters. It requires both courage and caution, especially in hunting wild hogs. They are different from most wild animals ; will hunt for their food all day, but go back to a certain place to sleep if they are not disturbed. About the only way you can get one is to creep up to them when they are in their nest and shoot one as they start out in the morning. But you must be sure to kill him dead. If you don't, you had better have a good place to climb, for if you make one squeal, you had better face a den of lions. There were plenty of them in Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana and Missouri in an early day. They lived on acorns, chest- nuts and beech nuts, and made fine pork if you could get one a year old in the early fall.
The two families lived well through the winter on Johnny cake, milk and butter. But it was hard on their cattle as there was no hay in the country. They had to live on browse and a little corn. The boys went to work clearing a piece of ground ready to plant early in the spring. They would cut down the large basswood and maple trees and the cattle would eat off the buds. The boys would then cut up the logs, roll them in piles, pile the brush on top and burn them.
It was a big job to make a farm in the timber. If a man cleared an acre every winter ready for the plow in the spring he did well. A man would be getting old by the time he would get forty acres cleared. They saved the best logs from their clearing and built a large blacksmith shop and carpenter shop together so that they could work at their trades in bad weather. They made chair frames and wove hickory bark in for bottoms, also a spinning wheel and loom so the girls could work at their trade of spinning and weaving as well as keeping house.
They soon got a few sheep and geese, ducks, chickens and turkeys. Wild turkey eggs were hatched under hens. They were easily tamed and made very fine birds, both large and hardy. The place was well calculated for raising geese for their feathers. These supplied new beds as their needs in- creased. They spun and wove the cloth for new clothes and lived an inde- pendent and happy life.
In due time there came a little boy to stay with the blacksmith. He was a fine little fellow, weighed ten pounds and was named Peter. He was the pet of both families until two years later when a little girl came to the car- penter's house and was called Polly. Peter thought Polly was the nicest dolly he ever saw and wanted to stay with her all the time. 'When she was a little
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older he would lead her, teaching her to walk and talk. She soon became large enough to take part in all his plays. Their mothers took great pride in them, clothed them in their best home spun garments and sent them to school together.
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