USA > Iowa > Marion County > The History of Marion County, Iowa: Containing a History of the County, Its Cities, Towns, & C. > Part 40
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 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105
It is said that a certain landlord " up the river " used to charge five cents more for biscuit than when corn-bread was placed before his guests.
During the second year of the settlement of the county there was a par- tial failure of the crops, and the people who lived in the scattered settle- ments, and who during the first seasons had raised scarcely enough of corn- to winter themselves and cattle, had not even a sufficient supply of corn bread; they were compelled to rely on the generosity of the older settlers farther east.
AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS.
An interesting comparison might be drawn between the conveniences which now make the life of the farmer a comparatively easy one, and the almost total lack of such conveniences in early days. A brief description of the accommodations possessed by the first tillers of this soil will be now given. Let the children of such illustrious sires draw their own compari- sons, and may the result of these comparisons silence the voice of complaint which so often is heard in the land.
The only plows they had at first were what they styled " bull plows." The monld-boards were generally of wood, but in some cases they were half wood and half iron. The man who had one of the latter description was looked upon as something of an aristocrat. But these old " bull plows" did good service, and they must be awarded the honor of first stirring the soil of Marion county as well as that of all the first counties in the State.
The amount of money which some farmers annually invest in agricul- tural implements, would have kept the pioneer farmer in farming utensils during a whole lifetime.
MILLS AND TRADING-POINTS.
Notwithstanding the fact that some of the early settlers were energetic mill- wrights, who employed all their energy and what means they possessed in erecting mills at a few of the many favorable mill-sites which abound in the county, yet going to mill in those days, when there were no roads, no bridges, no ferry-boats, and scarcely any conveniences for traveling, was no small task, where so many rivers and treacherous streams were to be crossed, and such a trip was often attended with great danger to the trav- eler when these streams were swollen beyond their banks. But even un- der these circumstances somne of the more adventursome and ingenuous ones, in cases of emergency, found the way and means by which to cross the swollen streams and succeed in making the trip. At other times, again, all attempts failed them, and they were compelled to remain at home until
815
HISTORY OF MARION COUNTY.
the waters subsided, and depend on the generosity of their fortunate neigh- bors.
Some stories are related of the dangers, perils and hardships of forced travel to mills, and for provisions, which remind one of forced marches in military campaigns, and when we hear of the heroic and daring conduct of the hardy pioneer in procuring bread for his loved ones, we think that here were heroes more valiant than any of the renowned soldiers of ancient or modern times.
During the first three years, and perhaps not until sometime afterward, there was not a public highway established and worked on which they could travel; and as the settlers were generally far apart, and mills and trading-points were at great distances, going from place to place was not only very tedions but attended sometimes with great danger. Not a rail- road had yet entered the State and there was scarcely a thought in the minds of the people here of such a thing ever reaching the wild West; and if thought of, people had no conception of what a revolution a railroad and telegraph through here would canse in the progress of the country. Then there were less than 5,000 miles of railroad in the United States, and not a mile of track laid this side of Ohio, while now there there are over 100,000 miles of railroads extending their trunks and branches in every direction over our land, and as many miles in the State of Iowa as there then were in the whole country.
Supplies in those days came into this Western country entirely by river and wagon transportation. Mail was carried to and fro in the same way, and telegraph dispatches were transmitted by the memory and lips of emi- grants coming in or strangers passing through.
For a number of years after the first settlement of the county, supplies of all kinds had to be procured from the towns on the Mississippi. To pro- care supplies of any kind required a journey of from seventy-five to one hundred miles, and that too through a country but partially settled, and where there were no roads and bridges. There were no miils nearer than at Brighton in Washington county, and at Bonaparte and Keosanqna, in Van Buren county; even the mills at these places were frequently so crowded with work that the grists had to be taken to Burlington, Keokuk, and sometimes into the State of Missouri. Instances are by no means rare of persons who had to journey with their slow ox-teams over a month at & time before they returned with the much needed meal.
In 1844 a flouring-mill was put in operation in Mahaska county. It was located on Skunk River, north of Oskaloosa, and was known as Duncan's Mill. Sometime after Warren's Mill, northeast of Pella, was completed, these two mills appearing in the light of an almost special interposition of Providence to the settlers of this whole region of country. Going to mill was a comparatively easy task when the distance was but twenty or twenty- five miles, and when the journey could be made in two days.
About the same time saw-mills were erected in the county. One of these was on English Creek in the present bounds of Clay township. This was known as Foster's Mill, and afterward had an attachment for cracking corn. A corn-mill was also erected in 1844 or 1845 near where Bussing's Mill was afterward erected; about the same time there was a mill erected for the purpose of manufacturing corn-meal, on Cedar Creek, and one on Whitebreast. As soon as the settlers could have their corn made into meal within the boundaries of their own county they felt that they were independ-
316
HISTORY OF MARION COUNTY.
ont. They could sit in their cabins on a cold winter day and laugh at the snow-drifts which piled against their dwellings. They could likewise defy the raging waters of the Des Moines, for they were no longer dependent on the luxuries of the older settled countries toward the east.
With the establishment of mills, although of rude pattern and capable of doing work only during certain seasons of the year, came the era of permanent prosperity for the pioneers of Marion county.
In pioneer times the question of accessible trading-points was nearly as important as was that of mills. Saw-mills were first necessary in order to procure lumber for the construction of dwellings; grist-mills were needed, for without them the early settler would have been driven to the verge of star- vation; but after the pioneer was snugly quartered in his newly built cabin and he had enough wheat and corn ground for the winter it was then his bus- iness to dispose of his surplus farm products, whereby he alone could hope to purchase the necessary clothing and groceries, and begin to lay up a little money to enter the laud he had preempted. Trading-points where the farmer could dispose of his farin products were far off and difficult of access.
At first there was a home demand for all the products of the farm. A heavy emigration was moving west and these emigrants gladly purchased all that the settlers of Marion county had for sale. But as the country be- came more densely settled the supply increased so that there was no longer a home deinand for the surplus products of the farm. There were stores in the county where goods of all kinds were kept, but the merchant wanted cash for his goods, not corn and pork. Aside from a very uncertain navi- gation of the Des Moines River, and that only for a brief time during one season of the year, these merchants were compelled to convey their goods from Keokuk by wagon. In these days the Marion county merchants were not at all anxious to trade their goods for country produce, and if some of them did so, the cost of transporting the goods to the store and the pros- pective cost of carrying the produce to Keokuk was so large in both cases that the producer, if he did dispose of it at the home stores, got no money and if he got goods he got them at runious rates; every yard of calico, every pound of sugar, every ax, hoe or knife by the time he got it into his cabin represented days of hard labor. Even those who had brought with them from the East horses, cattle, hogs and sheep for the purpose of enter- ing into the business of stock-raising soon found that while the country was exceedingly well adapted to that kind of industry they could not succeed in the business on account of the great distance to market. In this day of traffic and bargaining, where there are stock-buyers and grain-dealers at nearly every cross-roads, we can scarcely realize the difficulty and uncer- tainty of getting anything for farm produce in early days. This trouble originated in the fact of there being no means of transportation. It was true then even as now that consumers in the older settled parts of the country were anxious to buy Iowa corn, hogs and cattle; it was true then as now that hundreds of men with money and of a speculative turn of mind were ready to trade and traffic; it was the one hundred miles of comparative wilderness and impassable roads which deprived the farmer of the just rewards of his labor.
As has already been stated there were at the time spoken of no railroads in the State and less than five thousand miles of railroad in the United States; not a single track had yet entered Chicago and not a mile of track west of Ohio. Under these circumstances the people could only hope for
317
HISTORY OF MARION COUNTY.
tlet by the way of the Des Moines River to Keokuk ; this they did lently expect at no far distant time and meanwhile they could but nt themselves in disposing of their produce as best they could at such s as Fort Des Moines, Eddyville, Oskaloosa or by continuing their ey still farther, at Burlington or Keokuk. By depending on these s, all of which afforded at best a very uncertain or a very distant mar- hey could by industry and economy lay by a little money, and by the onement of the land-sal es finally be able to procure a good title to homesteads. The inducements, however, for people to locate here there was so much available land nearer the great natural commer- atlet, the Mississippi River. were so small, and the objections to this try on account of its distance from market were so great that its de- ment was materially retarded.
e settlers who had already located here, however, managed to get along well and there were persons who gave their whole attention to the bus- of purchasing and driving stock. Hogs and cattle were usually driven eokuk or Burlington until the railroad was completed to Ottumwa,
- that place became the great shipping point, and afterward Eddy-
In early days, however, Keokuk was the favorite stock-market for section of country. The stock-dealer of pioneer times was not at all a person as his successor of to-day; the disposition, equipment and shing of the pioneer stock-dealer and the present one form a marked ast. The basis upon which operations of this kind were carried on in days forms also a marked contrast with the basis of such operations is day of quick returns and small profits. The dealer bonght the and gave his note for the purchase-price. After he had accumulated ve sufficiently large he started for the market, and this, owing to the distance and the slow movements of the fattened stock, often required s for the round trip. There was, indeed, one circumstance which ex- ed business. In the language of one who knows, "the hogs were travelers." After disposing of his drove and returning, the stock- r again made the round of his circuit and paid for the stock. If his ire proved a fortunate one, he could pay all his bills and have some ; left as a compensation for his trouble; if not, some of the stock- 's had to wait until the drover made another trip. The money which Irover thus circulated through the country was principally bank bills e State banks of Ohio and Indiana.
incident peculiar to these times, illustrating the status of commercial tions, is related of a gentleman who kept a store in this region of conn- ind as an adjunct more of necessity than of choice, founded in the ity of cash among his customers, he likewise was accustomed to bar- a farm products, of which the frisky swine formed a leading factor. . M. was his name and he carried on quite an extensive trade with the irs of that section, and was doing a flourishing business. However, as nerally the case with establishments of that kind, there accumulated a large amount of old goods, out of style and out of date. Under these nstances, some merchants would have offered the old goods at "less cost," or employed a loquacious anctioneer to dispose of them to the st bidder-but not so with Mr. M. He proceeded as follows: It be- prosperous year with farmers, he entered the field early as a hog-buyer, ig hogs of all sizes and descriptions; bonght late and early and bought nously for a number of weeks, giving his note for the purchase-
318
HISTORY OF MARION COUNTY.
money, as was customary in those days. After he had bought all the hogs in the county which were for sale, and which were old enough to travel, the word was passed around that all hogs thus purchased should be delivered at the county-seat on a given day. The hogs came, filling the town and the region round about. Mr. M., in the meantime, had employed quite a force of medium-sized boys and vocal men, who. on the given day, were to take charge of the hogs and drive them to Keokuk, Mr. M. accompanying them.
Upon arriving at Keokuk Mr. M. concluded that the St. Louis market was preferable to that of Keokuk, so he chartered a boat, after dismissing all his employes except a few of the more trusted ones who were in his secret, put the hogs on board and having given final instructions to the remaining em- ployes dismissed them, and himself set out for St. Louis. Upon the re- turn of the first delegation of drovers there was some considerable uneasi- ness manifested by Mr. M's note-holders; the former persons could give no satisfactory account of Mr. M., and it soon became whispered about that the latter had lost heavily by the transaction.
After a few days the rest of the drovers returned and upon being ques- tioned appeared to know as little of Mr. M as those who had preceded them. Soon it was whispered around that Mr. M. had failed, and most likely would not return. One by one came the persons of whom Mr. M. had bought hogs, and turned in their notes for goods at the store, and soon the crowd became so numerons that they could not be waited on by the force of clerks then employed; more clerks were employed, and Mr. M's estab- lishment was so thronged that it resembled a rush at a savings-bank in time of a panic. All styles of dry-goods and clothing, which had lain on the shelves for years, were bought up with avidity, boxes, containing groceries which had not been opened for months, were soon emptied and were heaped up in the rear of the building; all kinds of cutlery, hardware, agricultural implements, jewelry, musical instruments and toys were carried off by the wagon-load. In short, there was a pressing demand for everything and anything which farmers could eat, drink or wear, both useful and ornamental, and at the end of a week Mr. M's entire stock, including all the old goods which had long been a drug on the market, was disposed of, and the shelves bare.
At this supreme moment Mr. M. returned with a large stock of new goods and a pocket-full of money. He pretended to be greatly surprised when he found his store-room empty and manifested great indignation when apprised of the reports which were afloat; he even threatened to in- stitute suit for damages against the persons who originated the libel. Mr. M., however, took no steps to prosecnte his traducers, nor so much as to discover who they were. It was not many days till his new goods were on the shelves, a good healthy trade had set in and the propriotor regained his wonted cheerfulness and urbanity. He continued to sell goods and buy hogs for many years, but his customers never again made a run on his store.
Another incident is related by a gentleman who first drove hogs to Bur- lington. He says that arriving at that great center of trade and traffic he sold his hogs for $1.50 per cwt. and was compelled to weigh them on an old- fashioned steel-yard scales; in order to do this he took the breeching off of one of his horses and from this constructed a sort of cage in which the hogs, one at a time, were suspended while being weighed.
310
HISTORY OF MARION COUNTY,
In these pioneer days, the merchants at the different local trading-points would prepare a list of the banks whose bills they would accept in payment for goods at par, what bille they would accept at a certain discount and what bills they would not receive at all. These lists were posted up in a conspicuous place in the store-room and were revised each mail-day.
By consulting these lists the farmers conld tell, before trading, just what stores would receive whatever " wild-cat " they had on hand and what dis- count would be made on each bill.
There were persons in every neighborhood who made it their particular business to go on regular trips to Keokuk, Burlington and other trading- points on the Mississippi River for the purpose of conveying farm produce to those markets and bringing back a supply of dry-goods and groceries. In the absence of bridges and improved roads these trips were attended by great difficulties and sometimes dangers. Such trips would sometimes require weeks. There was one thing which favored that kind of freight- ing: but little of the land was fenced and the teamster had consider- able latitude, and longitnde for that matter, in the selection of his route.
TRAPPING AND HUNTING.
The sports and means of recreation were not so numerons and varied among the early settlers as at present, but they were even more enjoyable and invigorating than now.
Hunters now-a-days would be only too glad to be able to find and enjoy their favorable opportunities for hunting and fishing; and even travel hun- dreds of miles sometimes, counting it rare pleasure to spend a few weeks among the lakes and on the wild prairies and woodlands in hunt and chase and fishing frolics, where not half so good hunting and fishing sport are furnished as was in this vicinity twenty-five or thirty years ago. There were a good many excellent hunters here at an early day, too, who enjoyed the sport as well as any can at the present.
Wild animals of every species known in the wilds of the West were found in great abundance. The prairies, and woods, and streams, and vari- ous bodies of water were all thickly inhabited before the white man came and for some time afterward. Although the Indians slew many of them, yet the natural law prevailed here as elsewhere: " Wild man and wild beast thrive together."
Serpents were to be found in such large numbers and of such immense size that some stories told by the early settlers would be incredible were it not for the large array of concurrent testimony which is to be had from the most authentic sources.
Deer, turkeys, ducks, geese and various other kinds of choice game were plentiful, affording freely, and at the expense of killing, what are now con- sidered the choice and costly dishes in the restaurants. The fur animals were also abundant: such as the otter, beaver, mink, muskrat, raccoon, panther, fox, wolf, wild-cat and bear.
A gentleman who in early days lived near Skunk River says that the grass and weeds along the river were so tall and dense and the wolves and rattlesnakes so plenty that it was necessary to proceed with great care and it was not prudent to start out to hunt the cattle without being provided with a large club or some other weapon of defense. A gentleman who was traveling through an adjoining county, stopped over night at a.cabin where
390
HISTORY OF MARION COUNTY.
abode two lonesome and disconsolate old bachelors. They prepared supper for their guest, but themselves ate none; upon inquiry the guest learned that during the afternoon the two men had killed two hundred and twenty- five rattlesnakes and the remembrance of the slimy reptiles so recently slaughtered had taken away their appetite temporarily.
Deer and elk were quite numerous on these prairies for some time after the first settlements were made. These various kinds of game afforded not only pleasure but profit for those among the early settlers who were lovers of hunt and chase; and skillful hunters were not scarce in those days in proportion to the number of inhabitants. Many interesting incidents and daring adventures occurred in connection with these hunting excursions, which the old settlers who still remain seem never tired of relating.
A gentleman writing to friends in the East at an early day says:
" I am in the region of furs here. Mink, otter and beaver are plenty in their season. Possibly I may be able to bring some home with me. I wish you would give me the prices that I may rely upon getting for mink, otter and beaver. I know too little of furs to venture much in that line. I was talking with an old trapper here, who said he sold a silver-gray fox skin last year for $1. but that he had heard they were worth $3 now; hadn't trapped much the last winter, as furs didn't sell well; that otter and beaver didn't sell, etc."
Again in a letter written some time later was the following, showing that there was quite a trade in furs and pelts, and that the business of hunting and trapping must have been very remunerative. In speaking 80 frequently of deer-skins, we conclude that the supply of venison was abun: dant:
"Of furs, I have not been able to do anything worth speaking of. The winter has been so excessively severe in this region, that the trappers could do nothing, and no furs of any importance have, so far as I can learn, been taken anywhere here. The stores here have had none brought in. The winter held on until the middle of March, and the spring rains came on, and the roads have been in an almost impassable state ever since, and the streams, from the melting of snows north, and rains, have been so high that crossing any otherwise than by swimming was out of the question, and we had here only about six inches of snow this winter, and that was blown into piles. The ground froze to the depth of four feet, and when the spring rains came on, the mud was of the tallest kind. Traveling with loads was out of the question. Mails have much of the time been carried on horseback, the carrier riding one and leading another with the mail-bags on.
"The operation here in deer-skins was a grand one, had I known when I came what I do now. I bought of one of the stores here a lot of about one hundred and sixty ponnds to send home as a sample at fifteen cents s pound, and took them home; it was during the coldest weather. I found, on their thawing out, that they would have to be trimmed and dried more before they would do to pack and send home. Soon after, a man who had been accustomed to come from below to buy the skins from the store wanted them. I was satisfied at twenty-five cents a pound at weights. I purchased them quite as good as I could expect to do with thein, taking into consideration the loss in weight by drying and trimming and expense of sending home. I offered them to him at that price, and he finally took them. My profits on them were $15.
321
HISTORY OF MARION COUNTY.
" I have a young merchant who just came to this town and opened a store, now boarding with me. He has been two years in Iowa City in trade there. He told me he made $150 there last winter buying deer-skins there, as they were brought into the city, at eighteen cents per pound, and selling at thirty-one cents. Most of the deer-skins here were bought up by steamers going to Keokuk at twelve and a half cents, and sold in Keo- kuk for eighteen cents. I now know what I can do in the fall."
But it was not only valuable animals which were hunted; there were many noxious animals whose incursions to the barn-yard or cultivated fields of the settler played havoc generally.
Wolves were very numerous and troublesome. It was impossible to raise sheep, and hogs as well as larger animals were not safe from the at- tacks of these gaunt and ferocious wild beasts. On account of their many and persistent depredations, as well as the fact that the State offered a pre- mium on their scalps, systematic and continued efforts were made by cer- tain individuals to capture them. In some instances poison was used, in other cases steel traps, and others had resort to their dogs and guns.
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.