USA > Iowa > O'Brien County > Past and present of O'Brien and Osceola counties, Iowa, Vol. I > Part 48
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67
This gives it to Alta by one foot, Sibley being next. It all, however, simply means that northwestern Iowa is at the head waters of the streams in the state and hence, as a truism, northwestern Iowa is the highest point in the state. It also means that we are "up on high," with good dry land, and not in the gulf marsh. Our land is all real land. We have in actual acres in the county 363.860, and of these acres 327,800 are in actual cultivation, with the rest good pasture. This would place Primghar as the highest point in the county, but not in the state.
O'BRIEN COUNTY AND ITS DISTRICTS AND CONGRESSMEN.
O'Brien county was in the second congressional district from 1860, the date of its organization, until 1863. From 1863 to 1873 in the sixth. from 1873 to 1883 in the ninth, and from 1883 until the present time in the ele- phantine eleventh district, so called because it was the largest. In fact, the northwest part of the state being the last to settle up, the district in which O'Brien has been has always been the largest district at the times named in the state. It will be observed that O'Brien's first representative in Congress resided at Dubuque. The following is the list with their addresses at time : William Vandever, Dubuque, 1860-63; Asahel W. Hubbard, Sioux City, 1863-69: Charles Pomeroy, Fort Dodge, 1869-71; Jackson Orr, Boone, 1871- 75 ; Addison Oliver, Onawa, 1875-79: Cyrus C. Carpenter, Fort Dodge, 1879- 83 ; Isaac S. Struble, Lemars, 1883-91 ; George D. Perkins, Sioux City, 1891-
48+
O BRIEN AND OSCEOLA COUNTIES, IOWA.
99; Lot Thomas, Storm Lake, 1899-05; Elbert H. Hubbard, Sioux City, 1905-12; George C. Scott, Sioux City, 1912-14. Elbert Hubbard died June 4, 1912, and George C. Scott was appointed by the governor of Iowa to fill the vacancy until election. On November 5, 1912, he was elected both for the unexpired term, and also for the present full term. The present eleventh congressional district is composed of Buena Vista, Cherokee, Clay, Dickin- son, Ida, Lyon, Monona, O'Brien, Osceola. Plymouth, Sac, Sioux and Wood- bury counties.
PREHISTORIC FORTIFICATIONS AND BURIAL MOUNDS.
It may not be generally known that there are definite evidences of pre- historic burial mounds and fortifications in O'Brien county. They are to be found in Grant and Waterman townships. The old homesteaders years ago were aware of them. Indeed, an atlas issued in 1911, and now in many homes in the county, show them up in part. However, they are more exten- sive and found in more places in the county than there set out. Frank W. Martin and Curtis L. Rockwell, ex-member of the board of supervisors, and each of Highland township, have made more specific study perhaps of the question than any other citizens in the county. Mr. Rockwell has even gone into it so far as to make considerable of a collection of relics gathered from the fortifications and burial mounds, made up of specimens of pottery, speci- inens of stone implements and other articles on which the handiwork of man had left its impress, which collection he presented to and is on exhibition in the Quaker school building on section 31 in Highland township. We gather these items mainly from Frank W. Martin, now residing in Highland and who homesteaded in 1871. He points out five different and definite pre- historic fortifications and three different burial mounds or ranges of mounds. The fortifications are found, one near the east line of section 22, in Grant, on Waterman creek, and while not as plain as the others, yet shows distinct evi- dences of excavations and pits, with pottery and other items. A second fortification is found right at the west end of the Cleghorn bridge, in that township, the road running right through the fort or fortifications. The third and most important of the fortifications is to be found on the northwest quarter of section II, in Waterman township, on the farm of Jacob Wagoner, covering about an acre, in the form of a square, with an open entrance way on each of the four sides, the earthworks forming a very plain and distinct four square. The fourth is found on section 23, in Waterman, not far from
485
O'BRIEN AND OSCEOLA COUNTIES, IOWA.
the Waterman Siding, on the farm of Henry Braunschweig. The last and fifth of the forts is found about a stone's throw east of the iron bridge on Mr. Innes' farm in Waterman township. This fifth is nearly equal to the third above named, and shows very plain embankments or earth works for defense.
It is plain from the above that these mounds are at least prehistoric to O'Brien county recorded history. We see that the authorities in other states and counties differ as to the dates of origin of these earthworks, and even as to their purpose. Some authorities limit them to the Indian, other au- thorities date them back into the thousands of years and even into the stone age. Also some good authorities conclude that these earthwork squares were but places of worship for ceremonies of a religious nature and not as a means of defense. We will leave that question for the archaelogist to settle. If for defense. then certain it would be they were inade by a people who had enemies, and who probably in their methods of fighting went further than the poor Indian, in merely in a sly manner getting to his enemy. These evidences of pottery and stone implements and relics are to be found in the earth below the top soil in places. They are, of course, much like similar earth works found in many places in the country, and perhaps not so pro- nounced or on so large a scale as have been found in other places and other states. It is probable they are not to be found in any other townships than Grant and Waterman. This is the only part of the county where may be found timbered streams and rugged hills in the county, the natural places to make a stand in fighting, as would be expected of such people.
BURIAL MOUNDS.
As stated, we find three distinct evidences and all in these townships. One series or ridge of these mounds may be found on the north half of the southeast quarter of section 23, just a little to the northeast of the junction of the Waterman and Little Sioux in Waterman township, on Loui Hill's farm. In one of these mounds in 1882 Frank W. Martin dug up a skeleton, evidently buried in a sitting posture. It bore evidence of being a young person. as the jaw bone had one new tooth pushing up an older one. The second and most extensive mounds, however, may be found just north of this on the same section on the farm of Charles J. Webb. Here are found mounds from six feet in height down to quite small ones, the ridge of same running somewhat irregular and extending fifty rods or more. A third
486
O'BRIEN AND OSCEOLA COUNTIES, IOWA.
series of like mounds may be found on section 18, in Brooks township, Buena Vista county, on the farm of William Brooks.
In this township is found what Mr. Martin terms the sort of capital of these people, a high elevation. Here was found a stone cooking stone, twelve inches in diameter, finely polished in the upper parts. This stone is in the hands of J. F. Hate, the brother-in-law of Mr. Martin, and residing in Brooks township. Several smaller burial mounds are also found in Brooks township.
Some have disputed the fact that buffaloes ever roamed in northwestern Iowa. Mr. Martin states that he has found numerous buffalo bones and wallows. Especially is he certain of this in the fact of the wide skull and the fact that the horns were black clear through and yielded to a fine black polish He found one horn in particular in an early day on the present site of Hartley where street excavations were being made.
THREE BRICK SCHOOL HOUSES IN GRANT TOWNSHIP.
It was singular that three brick school buildings were erected in Grant township in the very earliest days, when most of the school buildings in the county were but sort of shacks, like the homestead shanties. Before the people quite got on their feet, or quite knew what was going on, the school board of Grant township, about 1868. actually built three brick school build- ings, each about twenty by thirty feet in size, of soft brick. On the east line of section 34 one of the three buildings was located, and known as the Wiard school house. A second one was built about eighty rods north of the present Jordan school house on section 30. A third brick was built on section 24 and known as the Rowland school house. Still a fourth brick school house was built in the same way at Old O'Brien. It was said that these school houses in fact cost the townships and boards four thousand dollars each, or quite out of proportion to the cost ideas of the early settlers, and caused more or less politics. They were voted into school bonds and, like the old county debt, finally paid off.
SCHOOL CEREMONY OVER COTTONWOOD TREES.
It was at the Wiard school house in 1871 that Frank W. Martin was the teacher and Ralph C. Jordan, the present member of the board of supervisors, and his brother, Clay P. Jordan, cashier of Jordan's Bank in Sutherland, and
487
O'BRIEN AND OSCEOLA COUNTIES, IOWA.
Byram Higbee and a son of Mr. Titus were pupils, that a cottonwood tree was planted by these boys and the teacher, as a part of school study and doings. Later on in years the cattle all but destroyed it. Four sprouts sprung up from the roots and grew some years, and were again nearly de- stroyed, leaving two sprouts or trees growing together, and which are still living.
CURIOUS INDIAN INCIDENT.
Mrs. Lottie Butler, now a lady about seventy years of age, and still re- siding at Peterson, and the widow of the late Dr. M. S. Butler, one of the early-day physicians of Cherokee, and who made many scores of trips to O'Brien county as a physician, and well remembered by all the early home- steaders, in 1856 was Miss Lottie Kirchner and then a little girl twelve years of age. She was the sister of Jacob, August and John Kirchner, and a daughter of the elder Christian Kirchner, one of the very oldest of Clay county residents. Mr. Waterman lived on the O'Brien county side of the line.
The little colony at Peterson consisted of but a few families. The awful massacre of 1857 at Spirit Lake was enough to rouse up all sorts of feel- ings. Indeed, the Indians who perpetrated that awful outrage passed by and stopped at the home of Mr. Waterman, as stated in his narrative, and also stopped at Peterson on their trail up from Smithland to Spirit Lake at that time. The people of Peterson were rather disposed to treat the Indian from the hostile standpoint. Mr. Waterman was rather the opposite and disposed to open up communication with him and parley at times. An Indian was seen near Mr. Waterman's and Mr. Waterman, using the sign language, talked with him. The Peterson people heard of it. Miss Lottie was over to Waterman's and expressed surprise that he would even speak to one, and said, "Why, Mr. Waterman, didn't you shoot him with your gun ?" "Why," said Mr. Waterman, "I wouldn't kill an Indian any quicker than I would kill your two brothers." Lottie went back home and, in a child way, reversed the statement, and said that Mr. Waterman said that "he would kill her two brothers just as quick as he would kill an Indian." The idea some way got quite set that Mr. Waterman was in cahoots or in sympathy with the Indians, and all hands were construing how much child truth she was telling in her innocence. Indeed, the real explanation was not put together for many years. At all events at the time it roused up some real sentiment at Peterson against Mr. Waterman.
488
O'BRIEN AND OSCEOLA COUNTIES, IOWA.
AN EARLY CANDIDATE TAKEN UNAWARES.
On one occasion, in an early day, at a county convention of the Green- back party, to which many old homesteaders belonged, Huse Woods, one of the earliest settlers in Waterman township, was a delegate. A candidate for the Legislature on the Republican ticket unwittingly allowed himself to be present, not dreaming of being called upon. Mr. Woods was much of a wit and politician, though he never sought office himself. Mr. Woods saw his point. He rose very seriously in the convention and stated that there was a candidate of the opposition party present, a candidate for the Legislature. That he believed in fair play, and that the voters of the county should hear from all the candidates from all sides. He moved the convention to call upon this candidate and give him an opportunity to state all those many questions he would urge and advocate in the Legislature, that would be of special interest to the people of O'Brien county, if he was elected to that body. The candi- date was taken unawares. He managed to timidly get onto his feet, the con- vention cheering loudly, and began to stammer that "he did not know of any particular question that would specially interest O'Brien county." "That's all we want of you," shouted Mr. Woods. "Can it be possible that a citizen of even all this northwest Iowa would confess to such ignorance ?" "Do you think, sir," Mr. Woods continued, "that the people and citizenship of O'Brien county, and of the other counties in this district, desire to send down to Des Moines to the greatest parliamentary body in the state, a man who has no opinions of his own, and who confesses that he has no knowledge of any question to urge before the legislature that would interest his fellow citi- zens?" It was a climax. The candidate perhaps could have made a speech and reply a week later, but it was too late. It was fatal. Another O'Brien county candidate took the county delegation and a candidate from one of the other counties was elected.
PRAIRIE CHICKENS.
The prairie chickens were untamed and untamable. They were not sim- ply in scores, but in thousands in O'Brien county. The county was not noted for wild game, but the prairies were peculiarly adapted to this one fowl or bird. He absolutely would not be domesticated. Every flutter of nerve or wing or body said "Let me escape." Like the prairie grass which was his only shelter, he lost out. He was the earliest settler in the county, but lost his homestead. He could not stand civilization. But few remain. They were
489
O'BRIEN AND OSCEOLA COUNTIES, IOWA.
all of the same speckled gray color, no comb, nervy, would literally exhaust themselves when caught, and were very rapid in flight. Unlike wild geese and ducks, the prairie chicken did have a habitat. But that habitation was the broad expanse of a township without a boundary. They were all about the same size, with never a variation of color or mark, weight about three to four pounds. This bird seemed in utter abandon and careless with its nest and eggs and even the chicks but a few days old started out at once as wild, going everywhere. Its nesting and hatching period was May and June. The nest was a meager few dozen blades of grass, beaten down on the ground in the midst of the growing grass, ten to sixteen eggs in a nest. Even on the native prairie these eggs were at the mercy of their neighbors, the wolves and gophers. The breaking plow on prairie sod turned up and destroyed many. The roosters all had large, yellow throats, which, when extended or stretched, did the crowing stunt. It was not a crow, however, but rather a sort of sound no one could spell or pronounce, a little like the vowel sound "Oo," prolonged. These roosters during nesting time in spring stood in scores along a prairie ridge, all Oo-ing, and were quite military and grand. They were easily caught by a figure-four trap, or one of lath, six feet square, with drop doors that would swing in but not out, one of these traps often corralling a dozen at a time, with corn for inducement. They seemed to have no cunning, but fear intense. The writer on one occasion, during a month in winter, thus caught sufficient in number, by cutting simply the breast meat from each side, salted them, then hung on little hooks, and dried them like dried beef, and filled a four-gallon jar. They were fine. They helped out the homesteader much, as he could trap them without cost of ammunition. The shooting of them on the wing was fine recreation for the sportsmen, with setter or pointer dog to stir them from the tall grass. Many sports from the cities east made much in early times in a three days or weeks outing on these jungles of O'Brien county, as they were then called. During the days of court, the judge and nearly every attorney had his gun. He was a noble little bird. game, alert, ready for action, but, like the prairie sod, he went with it. He had the nobility of an Indian in proportion to his size. The sportsman admired his gamey movements and flight.
OTHER GAME.
As we have remarked, O'Brien county can not be said to be or have been noted for its game. What little there was was, as set out by John McCor- mack, confined to a small territory down on the Little Sioux and Waterman,
490
O'BRIEN AND OSCEOLA COUNTIES, IOWA.
where were found small fringes of timber, but, like the prairie chicken and prairie grass, now extinguished. The county now has practically no game. The migratory ducks and geese and other birds can hardly be said to belong to O'Brien county. The quails have immigrated in and settled, as the groves grew for their protection. They did not belong to the wild prairie. Com- panies of "sports" have at times organized in some towns, or as against other towns, choosing sides for the suppers, to test the killing of the largest num- ber of gray squirrels injuring the corn. At one bout between Primghar and Hartley about 1884 they jointly killed thirty-five hundred. However, they can hardly be called game, but rather classed as pests. The county in the years 1872-76 offered a bounty of five, then seven, then ten cents. for gopher scalps. It reached, however, a sort of scandal stage. The argument made was to protect the fields of the homesteader, but so many brought them in, and whatever the truth may have been, it became the joke that the whole gopher hide was often cut up unto scalps, and by the time they got officially in all its gopher solemnity before County .Auditor A. J. Edwards, they smelled so bad and in such condition, as to bring out his "dod blame it, boys," that he couldn't scientifically determine scalp from sliced hide, and all had to be counted. It soon smacked so loud of graft, to divvy up on county war- rants, that it had to be shut off. It lasted four years, but those years were long referred to as jointly the "gopher scalp" and "grasshopper" years. The gopher scalp bounty sort of evened up the grasshopper ravages. But all this is perhaps aside from the game of the real sportsman. Migratory birds have followed in the years, but not many game birds or animals are found at this date, except the jack rabbit or an occasional wolf, mink, lynx. beaver or perhaps a few other animals. The streams being few, and not a single lake of any size, fishing is but a lost art in the county. We will make note of the few earlier large game in the note below on the one noted hunter of the county, John McCormack.
JOHN M'CORMACK, A NOTED HUNTER.
John McCormack was the most noted hunter of wild game ever in the county. He was born in Rush county, Indiana, February 15. 1834. He first came west to Waverly when a young man, and to O'Brien county in 1873. Though he came during the years of the homesteader influx, he bought his land of the Iowa Falls & Sioux City Railroad, which was, in fact. part of the real Illinois Central grant. He bought at five dollars per acre. He first opened up a hotel in Old O'Brien, but the doings going on there soon
491
O'BRIEN AND OSCEOLA COUNTIES, LOW ..
disgusted him and he settled on his farm in Waterman township, and con- tinued there in all its period of pioneer life, until, but a few years ago, in his old age, he retired and now (1913) is still alive at the grand old age of seventy-nine, a hale, well-preserved man. He belongs to the school of the simple life, of baked beans and venison. He is perhaps the one and only man in the county who for a long series of years actually farmed, and at same time in real earnest shot and captured his own wild meat. The county being almost entirely prairie, around and near Old O'Brien and his farmi was the only natural place in the county for the large game. Mr. McCormack in his time, and within the limits of that part of the county, killed and dressed over two hundred deer. In fact, as he states, he actually made a good living, while everybody else was being eaten up by grasshoppers, by selling the venison at Cherokee, Sioux City and Fort Dodge and shipping the hides. He also captured and trapped his full share of beaver and other animals for the fur. Wolves were plentiful, and a wolf scalp called for a bounty from the county. It is probable that not a single deer could now be found in the county even by so expert a hunter as Mr. McCormack. Game of the larger variety, like the Indian or the prairie grass, is a thing of the past. There never has been but one John McCormack in the county. He only had a small territory. and he practically got all there was. His experience in such a county as O'Brien can never be repeated, therefore this item specially ap- plies to him, as a county incident. He was a brother of B. F. and F. M. McCormack.
REMINISCENT INTERVIEW OF B. F. M'CORMACK.
Benjamin Franklin McCormack, in my judgment, was one of the most unique and original characters of whom I had a personal acquaintance in the whole forty years in the county. I had one really memorable interview with him about one year prior to his death, when he grew reminiscent and confidential, but still in his usual style, which impressed me. He was even then suffering from the malady which caused his death, and even spoke of this feature of his serious trouble, which brought on the interview. I shall try to give it as nearly in his exact words as I can from memory. I can not put in his punctuation and emphasis. I believe that any one who ever knew him would pick him out as the author of what I give below. I give it place for the reason that it covers so much of the inner county matters in those early days, and expresses the truth so well, and from so original a source,
492
O'BRIEN AND OSCEOLA COUNTIES, IOWA.
and explains many shortcomings of those early men, and even gives some partial excuses for conditions, as we in other words have attempted to portray.
It must be remembered that Mr. McCormack did not arrive in the county until 1870, ten years after the Bosler-Cofer crowd commenced their bad work. As they contracted all the bad debt, or the body of it, in the five years from 1860 to 1865, it can be seen that Mr. McCormack should not be con- founded with that bunch of worthies, even though he does himself boast of being the "successor in trust" to that crowd. Mr. McCormack strictly be- longed to the crowd of actual settlers of 1870 and on. The most that can be struck at him, perhaps, is that as an official, with others, he allowed the old debt to be sued and put into judgment, when perhaps it might have been defeated in large part. Also that he participated too freely in those specula- tions with Pumphrey and others at Des Moines and Sioux City, in the de- preciated county warrants and bonds to be in harmony with healthy official action. However, his comments on the surroundings of things will throw more or less light on the partial contributions of himself and others amid the hard grasshopper and other troublous situations.
Mr. McCormack was an educated man. He had a pronounced personal- ity. He was a keen observer of men. He understood the street and the cor- ner grocery crowds of men. He was long a member of the board of super- visors front 1871 to 1878, and chairman much of the time. He was grandilo- quent instead of eloquent. He was a grand entertainer for a half day, sit- ting in a room with a small crowd, but could not talk to an assemblage. He had read poetry and the classics. He had a flow of language. He was trivial and sound in streaks. He was a politician somewhat on the "star chamber" order. On the board he was the whole "it." It was practically a one-man board on all questions that he desired to hit. He was a powerfully built man, six feet in height, weighed two hundred pounds, lived, as he said, as well as he could live in grasshopper times, clean in family life. He punctuated his conversation with good wholesome profanity. He had a full round face, heavy gray hair and light blue eyes. I shall make somewhat of an item of this interview, because he was linked with so much of all public affairs from 1870 to 1880, when the "old regime." as he proudly called it, went down in politics. It was, however, the "old regime" of the second decade.
In my mind I have termed this "McCormack's Soliloquy," for such it is. He in three hours covered many questions not here given. I have condensed that which relates strictly to county matters. In some of his phrases some readers will not exactly understand his significant meanings. One would have to understand the vernacular of the early times to fully appreciate them. This
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.