USA > Iowa > Marion County > Pioneers of Marion county, consisting of a general history of the county from its early settlement to the present date. Also, the geography and history of each township, including brief biographical sketches of some of the more prominent early settlers > Part 14
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of being swept beneath the ice and eaten up by mud-turtles and fish, was calculated to shake the resolution of any than a truly brave heart, the heart of Mr. Hiskey failed not. Find ing it impossible to frighten him into a compliance by threats alone, they concluded to reduce the quantity of whisky and sugar one-half, and try again. But in vain. The obstinate teetoteler said "not a drop." At last, after some time spent in fruitless efforts to bring him to something like a compromise, if not a full concession, his persecutors became fully convinced that his obstinacy was sustained by an unconquerable princi ple. He was released and continued his school unmolested thereafter.
As may be readily supposed, whether party spirit ran high or low in local politics, an election could hardly be conducted without more or less flowing of that other spirit called ardent. It was calculated to create an interest among those who were not much otherwise concerned about the civil government of the township, and induce them to attend the election and per form their duty as citizens endowed with the privilege of vot ing.
An amusing instance of this came off at the first election held at Red Rock in the spring of '44. The polls was at Robert D. Russell's, and he was the candidate for justice. Many people were present from all parts of the precinct, and the voting was pretty lively, not a few of the voters receiving a drink of whiskey apparently in exchange for their tickets, which they handed through the open window of the cabin. An Indian that happened to be present noticed this proceeding, and thought it would be a nice plan for him to get a drink. So he presented himself before one of the persons who distribu- ted the tickets, with the request delivered in his best English : " Me paper, me vote, get drink whis." His request was readily granted, and forthwith he proceeded to vote. Amused at his boldness in attempting to do so, and aware of his motive, those
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who had charge of the ballots took his ticket and handed him a small drink. Pleased with his success thus far, he thought the plan worth repeating, and applied for another paper. It was given him, either a ticket or some other paper that answered the same purpose with him, and again he voted with like suc- cess. Thus encouraged he continued to vote at intervals all day, till he got as much of the election as he could carry. Of course the tickets he handed in counted nothing for anybody but himself.
In those days petty lawsuits were of common occurrence, mostly connected with disputes about claims. Arbitration was the only means of settling these disputes previous to the elec- tion of any justice, and was sometimes resorted to afterwards ; but eventually judgment was put in the hands of men duly authorized by law to render it. We have upon record no instances of claim suits worth mentioning, in addition to what has already been related. 'Squire Russell's court was fre- quently resorted to for a just settlement of these disputes,- though his administrations were not always the result of a clear head and an intelligent, unbiased mind. It is said that he was sometimes quite at a loss how to decide some cases of a com- plicated character, and admitted the better judgment of his wife by applying to her for an opinion, which frequently settled the case. On one occasion Mrs. Russell displayed her ability to administer justice in a summary manner. A claim case was on hand, and one of the parties entered the court room drunk, and manifested some disposition to quarrel with the mistress of the house, when she settled his case by knocking him down with a chair. The justice now looked up from his docket, and seeing the prostrate disturber of the peace, uttered, in his pecu- liar, low, growling tone, this sage advice, "By -- , Dick, let the old woman alone."
Among the rougher class of settlers who frequented Red Rock during its early history, the most notorious were William
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Blankenship, (more familiarly called "Old Blank,") and the Williamses. Old Blank was a brother-in-law to the Wil- liamses. Of his history, previous to coming to Marion county, we know but little, except that he emigrated from Illinois to the present site of Burlington, at a very early day, and made a claim there. After getting into some difficulty with the settlers there, and fighting his way through, as was his custom, he came as far west as Fairfield and settled again. Here, in a claim quarrel, he met with rather more than his match. Having offered to fight his opponent a regular fisticuff pitched battle for the claim, stipulating that whichever should be the victor in the fight, should be the winner of the property, the challenge was accepted. Old Blank had been successful in so many contests that he scarcely expected to fail in this one. But there are few men of such superior calibre, men- tally or physically, that do not, at one time or another, meet with some one a little better than themselves. In this case our bully got to be the under dog in the fight, but would not surrender till he had reason to consider himself thoroughly whipped, when he cried enough. And enough it was, for when Blank got up, bleeding profusely, it was discovered that a considerable slice had been taken from the side of his sharp, thin nose. Instead of resenting the indignity he thus suffered in the disfiguration of his face, he merely said to his opponent, " the claim is yours, sir," and went his way.
Mr. B. then came to Marion county and settled a short dis- tance below Red Rock, where he lived till about '49 or '50, when he went to California.
As he was a somewhat noted person in his semi-desperado character, a few sketches of his transactions in the neighbor- hood of Red Rock, may be proper here.
Shortly after his settlement on the Des Moines, and during the period of hard times experienced by most of the early set- tlers, Old Blank's family were reduced to the extreme pinch-
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ings of poverty, being for some time without anything in the character of breadstuffs, or, indeed, of any other kind of food except slippery elm bark cut fine and fried with a little grease of some kind.
After he had secured his claim, and had acquired some prop- erty in the way of live stock, his hogs would stray away and get across the river during a low stage of water. When winter approached, and the owner needed to look after the wandering swine and get them home, if the river happened to be swollen he did not trouble himself to wait till it went down to a forda- ble depth, or even to get a boat to cross in, but deliberately stripped himself, tied his clothes on his head to keep them dry, and swam over. When over and dressed he would run bare- footed through the woods till he had found and collected all the hogs he claimed ownership of, and then, with much effort, would force them to swim.
Between Blank and a family named Johnson a feud existed, originating from, the latter suing the former on an account of about sixteen dollars. Blank refused to pay this sum, and his horse was levied upon, after which he "ponied" up and threat- ened revenge. So one morning Johnson found his bee hives robbed, his grindstone spoiled, and other property damaged. Naturally suspecting Blank to be the perpetrator of this mis- chief, he decided to have him arrested on suspicion. Accord- ingly John W. Mikesell, who was then a constable, was sent for him. Mr. M., in order to make sure of his intended prisoner, made his visitation before daylight next morning, and found, besides Blank himself, his brother-in-law, James M. Williams, (more frequently known as "Mat") in bed. The constable took an offered seat and entered into conversation upon topics for- eign to that of his visit, in order to elude suspicion of its object. At length he asked Blank what made the chair bottom so sticky, and remarked that it felt and tasted like honey. Blank, evidently thinking that the chair might have got smeared with
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some of the stolen sweetness, answered that he and Mat had cut a splendid bee tree only night before last. This was bring- ing matters to a crisis, and Mr. Miksell replied that it tasted very much like Johnson's honey; and also, inasmuch as he (Blank) was accused of having stolen it, he had come, duly armed by authority of law, to conduct him before a justice, to answer to the charge. The culprit agreed to this, and prom- ised to appear, as specified; but gave due notice that should Johnson appear against him he would kill him; and such was the fear inspired by his threats that Johnson let the matter go by default, and Blank was acquitted.
On the occasion of a claim quarrel between Blank and this same Mat they mutually agreed to fight it out in the same manner in which our hero had lost a part of his nose, Mat first giving the challenge. Like professed duelists, they appointed the time and place for the combat, and invited two disinterested persons to be present and see fair play. We have not the date at which this interesting event was to transpire, but the place designated was across the river, opposite Red Rock, and the persons invited to witness it were Tom and Sol Morgan, a couple of gentlemen belonging to the same class of roughs.
The day on which the fight was to come off happened to be very cold, and a fire was made in a log heap on the intended battle ground. The river was frozen over hard enough for the parties to cross on the ice. At the appointed time they met equipped for the fight, that is, stripped nearly naked, their hair shaved, their sides greased, and their long finger nails pep- pered. In this ridiculous plight they stood around the burning log heap that was scarcely sufficient to shield their bare bodies from the frosty breeze. Apparently one was afraid to begin, and the other dare not, and no amount of "sicking" on the part of their friends could elicit more than sundry growls from the naked bull dogs. At length the temperature of their blood went so far blow fighting heat that the whole affair was merged
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into a compromise in which Blank promised to pay a stipulated sum for the disputed property. Then, like the fools they were they put on their clothes and went home, having played a most amusing farce at their own expense for the entertainment of their friends.
By some who had the best of reasons for it, Blank was believed to be a dangerous man. One or two performances of his were sufficient to prove such an opinion well founded, and we will relate them : A claim dispute arose between him and Elihu Alley, when the latter owned the saw mill on the river above Red Rock. One day Alley was alone at the mill making some repairs on the dam, when some noise on the bank attracted his attention, at which he looked up and saw Blank taking deliberate aim at him with his rifle. At that moment a third person came in sight when the assassin postponed the shooting and walked away without speaking. On being spoken to about this affair soon afterwards he boldly stated that if Mr. Alley had not looked up when he did, an instant later would have been his last.
At another time, when Mr. Alley with his son Cyrus, and a man named Evelyne, with whom he was in partnership, were at work in the mill at night, they were several times fired upon from the opposite side of the river, some of the bullets striking so near them as to render it unsafe to remain.
It was well known that Blank was the perpetrator of this deed, yet such was the fear of him by those most interested in securing his arrest that he was not molested. And when he took his departure for California the county deemed itself happily rid of a troublesome fellow.
But whilst on the way across the plains Blank's propensity for shooting was exercised to an extent that came very near ridding the world of him altogether. Getting into a quarrel with a man about some cattle, Blank used his revolver with deadly effect, killing the man instantly. He was immediately
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arrested, tried, and sentenced to be hung, and even a wagon tongue was elevated on which to execute the sentence. Here, however, it was unfortunately thought proper to put him into the hands of the Utah authorities for trial. This was accord- ingly done, and he escaped justice altogether, aided, it is sup- posed, by the power of money. He is now reported to be the wealthy owner of real estate in California.
An amusing anecdote is still occasionally related of an indi- vidual named Charley Hamlin, who, though not a settler, was a frequent lounger about Red Rock, drawn there as many others were, by the social intercourse inspired by the love of liquor. Charley had formerly been a candidate for the terri- torial legislature, and had come very nearly being elected. This to him was a matter worth boasting of, and when under the influence of whisky he was disposed to make a show of his vanity by bragging over his narrow defeat. But one day he was made the subject of a joke, by which his vanity was considerably mortified for the time being. Having imbibed pretty freely, he laid down to sleep, when some one smeared the palms of his hands and his fingers with blacking -- then tickled his face with a straw. This would bring the blackened palms in contact with the face with a slap and a rub that imparted to it a portion of the coloring. The operation was continued till the whole physiognomy of the sleeper was changed from the ruddiness imparted by strong drink to a beautiful glossy black. On waking his attention was called to the change, and he repaired to a looking-glass to see for him- self. Here, utterly ignorant of the cause, the surprised old toper thus addressed himself: "Why, Charley Hamlin, you came within two votes of going to the legislature, and now here you are in Red Rock, a nigger."
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CHAPTER IX.
Red Rock Township continued-Names of some of the Early Settlers-John H. Mikesell's Indian Dress, Decora- tions, &c-Kish-ke-kosh-His partiality for Clean Vic- tuals-His Politeness-Feeding the Indians-Scooti!
Besides those already mentioned in connection with the his- tory of Red Rock village, we note the names of John H. Mikesell, Joel and David B. Worth, James Scott, Israel Nich- ols, William Williams with his sons, John, George, Joshua and James M .; John W. and Elihu Alley, Claiborn Hall, S. B. Matthews, Nathan Tallman and Druillard Shoemaker, as a few of the early settlers in the township. Only a few of them are still residents of the county, and we shall give such notice of them, individually, as we have been able to obtain.
John H. Mikesell was born in Franklin county, Va., June 27th, 1802. In 1804 his parents moved to Montgomery county, Ohio, and in '25 to Franklin county, Ind., where they resided three years, and then returned to Montgomery county, Ohio. From thence Mr. M. moved to St. Joe county, Ind., in '35, and from thence to Iowa in '42, landing in the territory on the 18th of October, and took a winter lease at the forks of Skunk river, about ten miles from Brighton, Van Buren county, paying for it by building a cabin on the land.
That winter was one of considerable severity, on account of the great depth of snow, and the family lived mostly on " hog and hominy," together with the milk of one cow that, with her calf, shared the little cabin with them during the coldest weather.
On the 28th of April, '43, Mr. Mikesell and two of his old est boys, set out for the "New Purchase," intending to make
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a claim and prepare a place for the family, previous to moving. But their progress was interrupted by high waters, so that they did not reach their destination till about the 7th or 8th of May. This was in section 25, about a mile north-east of the present site of Red Rock village. Here he selected a claim, and then returned for the remainder of the family, leaving the boys and a man named Thomas Martin, who had come with them, to hold the claim and build a house.
No great amount of labor was required to build such a house. It consisted of light logs or poles put up in the shape of a shed, with an open front and a bark roof sloped but one way. By some this temporary sort of structure was called a cat-faced or half-faced camp, or by the Indian term, wickeup. This house stood at the foot of the hill on which stands the more commo- dious brick dwelling erected by Mr. M. many years after.
On the 29th of the month he arrived with the family and took possession of their new home, and occupied the shanty most of the summer, or till another log cabin containing two rooms, was built on the site of the present house.
During the first two years of Mr. Mikesell's pioneer life he was engaged principally in trading with the Indians. Since then he has resided constantly on his farm, or till soon after the death of his wife, which occured very suddenly on the night of the 23d of March, 1869, after which he went to the village.
Through the intercourse of trade Mr. Mikesell became quite intimate with the Indians, and from him we have a number of incidents illustrating the character of this peculiar people, their manners, customs, etc.
The rude life led by these savages is, perhaps, already so well known that any additional description of it might be con- sidered superfluous in a local history; yet we venture to insert a few items that seem sufficiently interesting for preservation even here.
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The dress of these people-particularly of the men-was about as scant during summer as decency would admit of, con- sisting of a breech cloth about the middle and a pair of mocca- sins on their feet. In cold weather they added leggings, a shirt and a blanket. Ornaments, consisting of beads and rings, were quite popular with the men, and especially with the chiefs and others who could afford them. Some of the chiefs had their ears quite covered with rings, and sometimes are suspended to the nose. Profuse quantities of. various colored beads were strung about their necks, some strans descending quite low on the breast. Their moccasins were also frequently decorated with these gewgaws. They were supposed to denote the rank of the wearer-the more rings and beads the bigger Indian. They had also a feminine fancy for feathers and paint, and would -- though only on special occasions -- decorate their top- knots with long feathers plucked from the tail or wing of fowls, and smear their faces with lines of red and black paint, giving them at once a most hideous and comical aspect. From this brief description the reader may draw, in his imagination, a full fledged warrior chief.
Unlike their white sisters, the squaws were not so much given to those decorations; but their bodies were at all times better covered than those of their masters. But even this was scant enough for female apparel, consisting mostly of a piece of blue cloth bound about the waist, descending to a little below the knees, and something like a sacque or shirt to cover the chest. They seldom had any covering for their heads. And even of this cheap and simple wardrobe they did not often have a change, unless they happened to be the wives or daugh- ters of a chief or other wealthy brave.
As for their children, both sexes were permitted to go totally naked, with the exception of moccasins and leggins to protect them from snakes, till they were old enough for decency to arric dema: ke bilne kind of covering for them.
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The boys were each supplied with a bow and arrow so soon as they were old enough to learn the use of it, and that became the principal part of his education. They were apt scholars, and young as they were, their expertness in marksmanship was a matter of wonder to those unskilled in the art. On one occa- sion a party of Indians were camped near Red Rock, and it was amusing to witness those naked young ones, bow and arrow in hand, wading about in the river, searching for fisli and turtles. On discovering the game they were almost sure to put an arrow into it, notwithstanding the well known diffi- culty of hitting a mark under water.
In diet the Indians were about as crude as they were in dress, and by no means fastidious as to cleanliness, except in rare cases where intercourse with the whites had begotten in them some regard in this respect. An anecdote of the noted chief George Washington Kish-ke-kosh, will illustrate this state- ment :
Kish was a sub chief, and had accompanied Black Hawk as one of his suit of braves during the tour of that renowned chief through the east as prisoner of war. With his leader he had been hospitably entertained at hotels and other places, and had conceived a high appreciation for the sumptuous and cleanly looking fare that was set before them. How he was enabled, after such an experience, to return with a good stom- ache to the frugal diet and indifferent cooking of his own peo- ple, we are left to conjecture. At all events he retained his partiality for clean victuals, and was even over fastidious in this respect, as the following instance will show :
One night he, with his company of three or four braves, slept at the house of a white man with whom he was on very friendly terms, and were to remain for breakfast. Kish had an eye on the preparations for this meal, and observed one neglect that his tender stomach rebelled against. The lady of the house-perhaps she did it intentionally, for she they not a
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willing entertainer of her savage guests-neglected to wash her hands before making up the bread. Kish thought he would rather do without his breakfast than eat after such cook- ing, and privately signified as much to his followers, where- upon they mounted their ponies and left, much to the relief of their hostess. Arriving at Joel Worth's, almost a mile and a half from where they had lodged, they got breakfast and related the circumstance.
Yet these people, though generally accustomed to the poorest fare, were not averse to the best that could be provided, and made themselves gluttons whenever they could get enough of it. Like the wolf, they seemed capable of enduring a long fast, and then of gorging themselves to very stupidity at a sumptuous feast.
On one occasion this same George Washington Kish-ke-kosh and his suit, consisting of several prominent personages of the tribe, being then encamped on Skunk river, came over to Mr. Mikesell on a friendly visit, and he treated them to a feast.
Besides Kish and his wife, this party consisted of his mother; Wykoma, son of Wappelo, and his two wives ;* Masha Wapetine and his wife, and all their children. The old woman, on being asked by Mrs. M., how old she was, replied: "Mack- ware-renaak-we-kank," (maybe a hundred); and indeed, her bowed form and hidiously shriveled features would justify the belief that she was even that old. Kish's wife was a person of ladylike appearance, and so were the two pretty young wives of Wykoma, though they were somewhat under medium size, and were also sisters. They were all dressed in a rather more than usually becoming style, perhaps out of respect for their host and his family.
*Poligamy was not an uncommon practice among these people. It is related that the chief, Pasishamone, during the encampment of his tribe near Red Rock, meruLed a second wife to supply the place of the other, who was disabled by a sna- ke bilp.
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Mr. Mikesell, knowing something of the voracious appetite of his visitors, had made ample preparations for them.
When the table was surrounded, Kish, who had learned some good manners as well as acquired a taste for cleanliness, essayed to perform the etiquette of the occasion before eating anything himself. With an amusingly awkward imitation of what he had seen done among the whites, he passed the various dishes to the others, showing the ladies special attention, and helped them to a part of everything on the table with much apparent disinterested consideration.
But when Kish came to help himself his politeness assumed the Indian phase altogether. He ate like a hungry person with a bottomless stomach, taking in everything in his reach, with- out regard to what should come first or last in the course of dessert, so he liked the taste of it. At length, after having drank five or six cups of coffee, and eaten a proportionate amount of solid foods, his energy in the gastilary exercise began to slacken. Seeing this, Mr. Mikesell approached ·him and, with apparent concern for his want of appetite, said, ' Why, Kish, do eat your dinner ! Have another cup of coffee and eat something." In his reply to this urgent appeal, Kish's Indian politeness was again dominant. Leaning back on his seat, he lazily shook his head, drew his finger across his throat under his chin, to indicate how full he was; and then, in further explanation of his satisfied condition, he opened his capacious mouth and thrust his finger down his throat as far as he dared, as much as to say he could almost touch the victuals. Of course the others had each eaten a like proportion, making the most of what they did not get every day.
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