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 17
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Mr. Prunty relates an instance of wolf-killing that may serve to illustrate what we have already said of the great number and boldness of these animals. An ox belonging to James Harp died and the carcass was left within easy gun- shot of a claim pen belonging to one of the Harps. Mr. P. was then invited to participate in the sport of shooting the wolves that came in large numbers to feed upon it. A bee- tree had just been found, and the sportsmen sat up all night eating honey and firing upon the wolves, a large number of which they killed by partially random shooting by star light. The slaughter had been fearful, for morning light revealed the ground strewn with the dead and wounded, though the number of the living did not seem to have been diminished, as they continued to swarm about the bait night after night, heedless of the danger.
But we may not conclude this chapter before relating another Indian thanksgiving feast, as witnessed by Mr. Prunty. The event took place in the autumn of 1844, at a place near Red Rock village, and on the line between the United States and the Indian Territory, as designated- by an inscription on a board fastened to a post. Some fifty warriors had collected at the place, under the leadership of Kish-ke-kosh, and partici- pated in the ceremonies. A couple of long logs had been placed together and a fire was burning between them, over which was the carcass of a dog fastened to a stick by which it was rolled from one end of the fire to the other till it was well singed and roasted, and was swollen to a rotundity that made it rather an unpalatable looking object.
During the roasting process, the warriors sat in a circle around an upright pole midway up which were fastened bears' claws, birds' claws, dogs' feet, and bunches of tobacco; and on the top birds' wings and beaks; and all were slowly burning by the aid of some combustible material. They seemed to be engaged in a sort of conference meeting around this singular
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sacrificial altar, each brave rising, one at a time, and speaking a few words with the solemnity peculiar to a religious exercise. And their appearance was not less remarkable than their per- formances; each one wore a string of bear and eagle claws around their necks, and had polecat skins tied about their knees.
So soon as these exercises were finished, they partook of the dog, and then retired, probably for the purpose of holding a dance; for such gala days were usually closed with this per- formance, the braves alone participating in it. The dance was performed in a circle, each performer following the other in a half bent attitude, keeping step to the tap of some kind of instrument by one who occupied the centre, and singing a sort of chorus. The step was not rapid, nor intended to be musi- cal, but they were alternate as in walking, uniform as in military marching, and each foot was brought down with a force that sounded upon the beaten carth like the stroke of a sledge. The performance was not altogether unpleasant.
In addition to being a thanksgiving occasion, it was a prepa- ration day for a two or three months' hunt, and the sacrifices were to propitiate the favor of the Monatou, that he might give them success.
Several years later Mr. P'runty moved to near Vandalia, Jasper county, where he resides at this present writing.
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CHAPTER XIII.
Red Rock Township Continued-Joel B. Worth-A Criti- cal Situation-Sickness and Loss - A Tough Joke- David Worth-A Prairie Fire -- James A. Chestnut.
Joel A. Worth and Thomas Black were the the first persons who succeeded Mr. Prunty in the settlement of the northern part of the township. Mr. W. was born in Ky., Aug. 17, 1817, emigrated to Ill. in '29, and from thence to Fairfield, Iowa, in Nov. '43, in company with Thomas Black, and their families.
Here winter overtook them, and they were compelled to secure quarters for their families till spring. Having provided corn and fuel, they set out for the " New Purchase" in search of a permanent location. At the close of a cold day in Decem- ber they got as far as where Pella now is, and being unable to reach a more sheltered place, they put up a sort of cat-faced tent to windward of a scanty grove that grew near where the Central University now stands, and prepared to pass the night there. But a serious difficulty interfered with an important part of this preparation, which was to kindle a fire. Every- thing was damp, the wind was blowing a strong, cold blast, and our wayfarers were in imminent danger of perishing unless they could get something warm for the " inner man." They had one box of matches, but these seemed to have been either worthless at the start or had become damaged, and they were not aware of it till at this critical moment. One after another they refused to ignite, till nearly the entire box was exhausted, and all hope of obtaining the life sustaining heat was as nearly extinguished. At length only two matches remained, and upon these seemed to depend their weal or woe. Fortunately, or it may be providentially, to their great joy, these two matches
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happened to possess the vitality requisite for the crisis. With the utmost care a fire was started, and a warm supper restored the adventurers to comparative courage and comfort.
Next day they reached their destination and took up their quarters with Mr. Prunty till claims could be selected and houses built. The claim selected by Mr. W. proved to be in section 1, town. 77, range 20, on which, on the 14th of Feb., he put up a cabin, and on the 19th of March had the pleasure of introducing his family to their new home.
That spring, by joining teams with Black and Prunty, Mr. Worth got fifteen acres of his land broken. From this, not- withstanding the lateness of the growing season, he succeeded in raising a pretty fair crop of sod corn, and that without any fencing, there being then little or no stock in the country to trespass upon the crops.
During his early pioneer life here Mr. Worth suffered some adversities that may be worth relating. Soon after returning from the milling trip related in the preceding chapter, he fell sick of a fever, brought on by severe exposure, from which he did not fully recover for four months. Then early in the spring following ('45) one of his oxen died, leaving him without any kind of a team by the aid of which to replenish his store of provisions, that threatened soon to be exhausted. Being entirely without means he could neither purchase another ox nor the necessary supply of food. This was a trying situation, and the only way to get out of it was to sell the remaining ox for what he could get, and invest the money in provisions. This he did, getting eleven dollars for the animal, and with Allen Tice, to whom he had sold it, went to Illinois and returned with three barrels of flour and one of salt. This sup- plied them till the corn became fit for use; and Mr. W. was enabled to get another team in time for another season's crop- ping.
An anecdote may not be out of place here. It occurred at a
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time when provisions were very scarce, especially meat, as most of the game had been killed or driven away. by the Indians. Mr. Worth had been out hunting, and returned with what appeared to be the hind quarter of a small deer. The meat looked tempting to Mrs. W., who had a genuine fondness for venison, and she was eager to have a mess of it so soon as it could be cooked; so she took immediate charge of it, and owing to the want of grease to fry it with, put the whole into a large pot to boil, and hastened the process with a good hot fire.
After blubbering away at a lively rate for about an hour or more, the good lady thought it about time the tender young deer was done, and proceeded to test it by prodding it with a fork. But, to her surprise, the meat seemed about as tough, if not a little tougher, than when it was put there. Impatient at this, she rushed the fire, and kept the pot in a foaming temperature for some time longer. Then again she prodded the ham, and was not only surprised but puzzled to find it even tougher than ever, so tough, indeed, that it fairly resisted the sharp points of the fork. She declared she had never seen nor heard of the like before, but was determined to boil it down if such a thing could be done. But it was evident that the longer it was boiled the further it was from being done, till finally it became as black and hard as a piece of old sole-leather. It was truly a curious kind of venison, and Mrs. W. was at her wit's end as to what further disposition to make of it. At this her husband could no longer restrain his merriment. What was the matter? Why, her young venison was a piece of a big old catamount, all muscle, that contracted and became harder by contact with heat. It was a tough joke, and it may be supposed that the cook appreciated it no more than she did the venison.
During the year following, (1845), Mr. Worth moved into Jasper county, just across the line, where he still lives in the enjoyment of a comfortable competence as the reward of his early trials in pioneer experience.
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During the autumn of the same year that Joel Worth settled in this township, he was followed by his brother David, who had been to the country on a prospecting tour in the month of August previous.
On his way up the last time, Mr. W. had an opportunity to witness one of those grand, and sometimes fearful conflagra- tions that were so common before the prairies were sufficiently settled to interpose any obstruction to the sweeping march of the devouring element. He had camped, with his family, a short distance from a house in the vicinity of Black Oak Grove, Mahaska county. Sometime during the night they were awakened by a suffocating cloud of smoke, and an alarm of fire; and had barely time to get the wagons moved to a bare spot of ground adjoining the house, and secure the tent, before the whole prairie was swept by a long column of fire, producing a night scene at once grand and terrific. Stables and fences were with difficulty saved, and fighting fire was the order for the remainder of the night.
As they neared their destination, they were met by Thomas Black, who had been on the alert for their appearance, and had seen the wagons five or six miles distant on the prairie, where there were then no groves or improvements to obstruct the view. They were gladly welcomed. To those who were citizens of the country at that early date, having been a year, or at least a few months, separated from the society they had been all their lives accustomed to, the arrival of a new comer, especially if he happened to be a relation or acquaintance, was an event of no no small importance, and the greeting was comparatively joy- ful. Mr. W. located on section two, which was bounded on the west by the United Sates boundary line. He has been nearly ever since a citizen of the county, and now lives on section eight.
Among other early citizens of Red Rock, still well remem- bered by most of the old settlers, was James A. Chestnut
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whose name, it may be remembered, appears in the list of first grand jurors. He was born in Ireland, February 1, 1803; came to America with his parents at the age of two years, landing at New York. From thence he came to Indiana ; from thence to Iowa in '41, and settled in Van Buren county, where he remained for a short time; then moved to Mahaska county and took a claim precisely where Oskaloosa now is. But, not foreseeing the value this land would ultimately attain to, and, like many others, thinking the lands along the river would always be worth much more than the high prairie, he sold this claim, and settled at the head of White Breast Prairie, where the old Ewing farm now is.
After a short residence here he went to Lee county, where he remained a year; then returned and settled in Red Rock village in '48. In the spring following he went to California where he remained nearly two years. On his way home he contracted the cholera at New Orleans, and died at Natchez.
Mr. Chestnut was known as a worthy citizen, and for some time a class leader in the M. E. Church. His widow remained at Red Rock till very recently, when she went to Missouri with one of her sons.
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CHAPTER XIV.
Red Rock Township Continued-Stealing on Indian Credit -A Search Warrant-Mock Trial of a Horse Thief -- Lynchiny Horse Thieves.
We have spoken of the thieving propensity of the Indians; but truth will not permit us to say that they were the only class of people given to this vice during the early settlement of the country. We are informed that much of it was done by the whites on Indian credit. In those days the settlers along the river permitted their hogs to run at large, much as they do now, each owner depending upon a certain ear mark whereby to distinguish his own from his neighbor's swine. But these marks did not always prove the ownership of the animal, par- ticularly after it had "fallen among thieves." All that was needed to destroy this evidence was to cut off the ears, or even the head, and secrete them. Not unfrequently these ears were found in possession of the Indians, un oubtedly furnished them by the real thieves in order to direct suspicion from themselves and fix it upon the "reds." Or, as the latter were in the habit of buying their meat of the whites, they would sometimes thus come into possession of a dressed hog, minus the ears; and , on being asked about it, any answer they might give was no certain proof, pro or con. Thus it was a difficult matter either to prove the property or convict the thief.
At one time two brothers named Bell, living in the nighbor- hood of Red Rock village, were strongly suspected of being the perpetrators of numerous thefis of live stock and other kinds of property. Yet, thus far, no proof sufficient to convict them could be found, and they were permitted to go unmolested by law.
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Among such articles as disappeared so mysteriously as to lead to the belief that they had been stolen, were two or three fat hogs belonging to 'Squire Russell, that he had in a pen, near his house, intending them for his own use. Of course the 'Squire was justly enraged at being thus robbed of such val- uable property, and determined to make an immediate effort to recover it. To this end he issued a search warrant, put it in the hands of the constable, and then, in company with another person, making a party of three, went to help serve it.
To the Bells they went; but no signs of the pork, alive or dead, could be found around the premises ; so it was determined to search the inside of the cabin, though much against the pro- testations of the occupants. Still nothing of the article was visible till, at the suggestion of the anxious 'Squire, a pile of corn in a corner of the room was pulled down, disclosing the hairless, headless, and disemboweled corpses of three hogs. Of course the 'Squire was sure they were his; but in the absence of all proof marks, he could not identify them sufficiently to take lawful possession of them. It was necessary to find the heads and ears first, and, though the prospect of doing so must have been rather slender, the party proceeded to make a thorough examination of the grounds within a reasonable dis- tance from the house. Presently their attention was attracked by a number of crows, a short distance in the grove, that appeared to be discussing some subject of peculiar interest to themselves, flying up and down and caw-caw-cawing in an excited manner. Thither the searchers went, hoping to find the heads to be the subjects of this crow demonstration, but in this they were disappointed. Instead of the heads they found the hide of an ox, the marks of which proved it to have been once worn by an animal belonging to a Mr. Flanders, and that had been mysteriously missing for some time.
After some further search all hope of finding the heads was abandoned, and the 'Squire was compelled to leave his pork
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where he found it. The ox hide was taken to town and hung upon a shed at the 'Squire's, till it could be claimed by the owner. But that night it disappeared again, and was never more found.
An occasional instance of horse-stealing also occurred, the country then being so thinly settled as to render the chances of escape much better than in older and more populated dis- tricts. But, once captured, the thief had a fair chance of being subjected to punishment under the rulings of Judge Lynch.
On one occasion an individual who was suspected of being engaged in this business, was captured and conveyed to 'Squire Russell's for trial. The trial was to come off at night, and it was known to all parties, except the prisoner, that it would be a sham, merely intended to frighten him and run him out of the country.
So, when the case was called, a Mr. Martin appeared for the prosecution and John Cameron for the defense. But, during the progress of the trial, Cameron assumed to have little hope of clearing his client, and privately advised him to get away if he possibly could. But the prospect of doing so seemed extremely hazardous, for several of the spectators were armed with rifles, and appeared to be watching the prisoner closely. His counsel, however, kindly interfered in his behalf, and he was permitted, on some pretense, to leave the court room for a few minutes, attended by Cameron himself and several of the guard. No sooner were they out than Cameron whispered to him to run for his life and never be seen in the country again. The poor fellow, whether guilty or innocent, took his lawyer's advice, and, without stopping to say goodbye to any one, made off toward the brush with all the speed that the darkness would admit of. And to hasten him, several shots were fired after him, accompanied by the yells of the guard apparently in hot pursuit.
Agreeable to the advice of his lawyer, he was never more
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seen in the country. A day or two after, an Indian exhibited a wallet he had found in the timber, that proved to have belonged to the fugitive. It contained a letter addressed to him by some enamored damsel who was, perhaps, blissfully ignorant of his character and calling. Unfortunately for a more romantic conclusion of this story, the letter was lost, and both its contents and the name of the writer have been for- gotten.
Another of these rascals did not fare quite so well. He was captured by Ray Alfrey, on the stolen horse, taken to town, tried, severely whipped and driven from the country. And another instance was that of a fellow named Sutton, who, after being tried, convicted and whipped, had the audacity to return and steal another horse. He was taken a second time and lynched; but even this failed to cure him. He stole yet another horse and was making off with it when overtaken and shot dead.
Mention has been made of the Williams family, who were early settlers in the neighborhood of Red Rock village, and were frequenters of the place, "hale friends well met" with those who were fond of liquor and the diversions common to a semi-desperado sort of life. Particularly was this the case with Mat, whose fisticuff duel with "Old Blank" is related in another place. We close this chapter with another little inci- dent in which Mat took an active part.
A man named Henry Lott, living near town, lost a bell, which was afterwards found by the elder Williams. Whether truly or not, some of the younger Williamses were informed that Lott had accused their father of stealing the bell. This enraged the boys desperately, and they immediately resolved to have revenge. Being well fired up with bad whisky, Mat and John made a night raid upon Red Rock and the surrounding coun. try in search of Lott, determined to give him a summary " cleaning out." One of the actors in the drama stated that
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they did not wait for a quiet admittance into any house, but kicked upon every door they came to.
At length they found the object of their search in bed at Colonel Alley's; and, without waiting for parley or explana- tion, they pulled him out of bed and out of the house, where they subjected him to some rough treatment for a short time, Lott all the time pleading not guilty, and offering to go with them to town and satisfy them as to the truth of his plea.
R. R. Watts, a justice of the peace, who happened to be Lott's bed fellow at the time, being unable to command the peace, determined to secure the arrest of the Williamses, went to Knoxville next day, where he obtained a warrant and sent the sheriff to arrest them. At the June session of the District Court, 1846, John and Mat were brought up for trial on a charge of assault. In John's case the evidence against him did not prove sufficient, and he was discharged, and Mat was remanded for trial before Landon J. Burch, justice of the peace, where he was found guilty and fined.
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CHAPTER XV.
Red Rock Township Continued-The History of a Couple of Claim Battles.
Prominent among the numerous claim troubles that arose between the settlers of Red Rock, was one in which the noted Col. Alley and a person named Shoemake, were the principal actors. This difficulty assumed almost the preparations of a riot, and came very near resulting in bloodshed.
The claim that become the subject of dispute, is the land now owned by Mr. Talbot, one of the proprietors of the Otley mill, and the claim cabin stood on the knoll, about where Mr. T.'s house now stands, a short distance northeast of town. Each of the contestants claimed to have a just title to the property and both were so determined to maintain their rights that for a time nothing like a compromise could be even hoped for. And, as if to aggravate the difficulty, and bring matters to a crisis, the Colonel, on the alert for an opportunity to take advantage of his enemy, one day found Shoemake absent, took a team and wagon, moved his household goods to another place and took possession of the house. But, knowing that he could not retain it alone, he called to his aid a number of his friends, armed for an emergency and supplied with whisky. Thus equipped, they turned the cabin into a fortress and awaited an attack from Shoemake, who they knew would come well sup- ported. For this they had not long to wait, for Shoemake, on . discovering what had taken place, was greatly enraged, and lost no time in collecting a squad of his friends with the avowed intention of ousting the usurper. They readily came to his aid to the number of about fifty. In the meantime the Colonel's
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forces were swelled by reinforcements to about the same num- ber, though they did not all take shelter in the fort.
A regular battle was now imminent. The opposing forces were near enough to each other to make a lively and interest- ing thing of it, and each was apparently determined to carry his point at all hazards. But the time was principally occu- pied with a combat of words, at times so hot that, apparently, any overt act would have been the signal for an appeal to arms. Yet, happily, not a gun was fired, and at length a better state of things triumphed. A compromise was offered by some of the more peacably disposed of the Shoemake party, and the Colonel sent for to consult. The result was that, rather than risk the hazardous plan of fighting it out, he gave Shoemake $175.00 for the claim, and retained possession of it. Thus ended what, to all appearances, came very near being a bloody affair.
One more instance of the kind may here he related, though we have been informed since the above was written that it occurred some time previously thereto, and should have so appeared in this history. We find it difficult, if not quite impossible, to arrange every incident in the exact order of its date, and therefore ask the reader's indulgence.
In 1845 a claim on the north bank of the river, a short dist- ance below town, was owned by two brothers by the name of Wilson, who had put a house on it, and cleared and fenced a few acres of ground. But, as their residence was distant from the claim, (see history of Summit,) they were not constantly there, and were some times absent for several days; and this led some persons to regard the claim as justly forfeited, and subject to be "jumped." Thereupon a man named Sigler, newly arrived, and on the lookout for a place, pounced upon it. The Wilsons, not wishing to eject him in the summary manner usually done in such cases, concluded to try the civil process of law, and applied to Colonel Alley for help. But this wily limb of the law refused to undertake the case without a retain-
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ing fee of ten dollars, saying that Sigler would undoubtedly apply to him on the same business, and he would not consider himself bound to any one without a fee in advance. So the Wilson brothers paid him the ten dollars, and suit was entered.
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