USA > Iowa > Cedar County > The history of Cedar County, Iowa : containing a history of the county, its cities, towns, &c. : a biographical directory of its citizens, war record of its volunteers in the late rebellion, general and local statistics, portraits of early settlers and prominent men > Part 52
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The first cause set for trial was " The State of Iowa vs. Mathews," for an assault with intent to inflict great bodily injury on a poor, old, decrepit Indian, whose name was unknown, sup- posed to be one of the principal chiefs and braves of the Sauk and Fox nation, sometimes called Musquakces.
The evidence was full and explicit, the defendant, Mathews, a tall, raw-boned specimen of the Hoosier genus, being most emphatically corned, " cut a hickory about as big as a broom handle" and laid it about the old Indian's head with an accompaniment of awful cursing and swearing, far surpassing that of Uncle Toby's army in Flanders.
For the defense, insanity was pleaded, but Bissell, the district Prosecutor, replied that the defendant was at Iowa City, in attendance as a lobby member from Rochester, during the whole of the last session of the Legislature, and consequently must have been in his right mind.
Cook, for the defendant, rejoined that even were he a veritable member of the august body itself, he had high authority to show that would not prevent his being considered a lunatic in the highest degree. " Why," said he, giving, at the same time, an oblique and knowing glance at his Honor on the bench, " it is well known that one of our most learned, influential and tal- ented Judges was at Iowa City, during the whole of the session, about one of his railroad projects, when one of the members who opposed the favorite hobby of the Judge, was somewhat irreverently said by him to be non compos mentis, to which, when exceptions were taken, the Judge (obliv- ious for the time of his position) exclaimed : 'Sir, could you produce any better evidence of insanity than being a member of the Legislative Assembly of Iowa?'"
The joke took with all but the jury, who could sce nothing in it, and found the defendant guilty-he was immediately removed to durance vile.
The next case was John Maury vs. Peter Dilts, an action for certain swine taken up as strays by the defendant and claimed by the plaintiff. After a long and tedious examination of witnesses to prove the genealogy, marks and macadamization of the porkers, and their identity and non- identity, the evidence becoming so entangled and mystified, that it would puzzle a Philadelphia lawyer to understand it, and the case had about drawn to a close, when Tuthill arose and said that on the part of the defendant he had a paper to submit, which would perhaps remove all doubts, and clear up the latent obscurities that seemed to envelope the cause. Leave being granted to read it, the following rich morceau was produced, which you now have verbatim et literatim, as he read it forth, with due emphasis and singular discretion :
Ceter county, Iowa Decem the 21 1850.
This da cum John Maury aud Pruved buy Edwud Sitinger a cording to law that dose hoks which Peter dils has takin up on the 7 day of November 1850 and had dam prast buy Tomas Wilkerson & Bill Dolan and John Maury him salve tuk oath before mi that the buv hoks war his and all so pays all cost be fore mi excep for the Kiping thar of
as to the Kiping thar of I have A pinded George Bare and Jacob Hardagar to prays the same providing yo cand A gree A pon such mount
JOHN DOLAN a Justis of the Pice
A visible sensation was manifested upon the reading of this document-all seemed to be taken with a shaking of the sides, and when it was concluded, one of the jurors came very near fainting.
Order being restored, counsel suggested that it was a Dutch document, and should be trans- lated, which being done, it proved to be a transcript from Justice Dolan's docket, and by " intendment" meant thus :
CEDAR COUNTY, IOWA, December 21, 1850.
This day came John Maury and proved by Edward Sietsinger, according to law, that those hogs which Peter Diltz has taken up on the 7th day of December, 1850, and had them appraised by Thomas Wilkinson and William Dolan.
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HISTORY OF CEDAR COUNTY.
And John Maury himself took oath before me that the above hogs were his ; and also pays all cost before me, except for the keeping of the same. As to the keeping thereof I liave appointed George Bair and Jacob Hardacre to appraise the same, providing the parties cannot agree upon the amount.
JOHN DOLAN, Justice of the Peace.
That case was soon disposed of, and next followed a slander suit between the same parties, on the same subject matter, i. e., Maury claiming damages because Dilts had said " he had stolen hogs, and he could prove it."
The defendant justified, and poor Maury had to take a general piling up of the agony-the whole neighborhood seemed to be cognizant of his porcine reputation.
Reuben Long, one of the jurors, was called upon by Whicher, who was the attorney for Maury, and was asked the question, " What is Mr. Maury's reputation in the neighborhood as to hog stealing ?"
Reuben was extremely nice and particular iu giving his testimony, beating around the bush most extensively, considering, doubtless, that as a juror he might have to chalk down in the box.
" Well, Mr. Whicher, there is considerable talk in the neighborhood, among the neighbors, about Maury-a good many talk kind a hard about him- they say Maury is a-rather suspected of being inclined to take a little too much bacon-and I think if I expressed an opinion it would be, that his character in that respect is a little tainted-in fact, Mr. Whicher, salt would not save it."
Et tu brute, was faintly murmured by the plaintiff's attorney, who sat down in despair, aban- doning the case to the tender mercies of the jury, who mulcted Mr. Maury in the sum of fifty dollars costs.
John Kelso vs. Harvey Hatton, an appeal case, was then called, but Harvey having neglected to notify the plaintiff of his taking the appeal, the cause was continued at the cost of the appellant.
This same Harvey Hatton is an erratic being ; he never fails to have a law suit at every term, and scarcely fails in getting beat. In fact, he has been beaten so often, and so used up by law suits and whisky, that his habiliments, a la frontis et posteriori, are literally stove up. Harvey, several years ago, became apparently quite penitent (he was under indictment for assaulting an officer, and professed tetotal reformation). He joined the Mormons, or rather the Hinckleite branch of Mormons located at Moscow, at that time, and was by Hinckle appointed an elder of the Church. Harvey felt called upon to preach, and on the Sunday evening before his trial come on he preached by his own appointment at the Court House.
Now, as Harvey can neither read nor write, the announcement of his preaching brought a crowded auditory, and Harvey done it up brown. He possesses a most retentive memory, and actually delivered a sermon that Hinckle had preached about a month before, almost word for word, with only, as the Methodist Class Leader said, "a little variation." One laughable one was when speaking of Paul's (as he called him) conversion, he undertook to recite one passage, which he rendered thus : " Paul ! Paul ! it is hard for thee to kick agin natur."
Of Judge Grant, mentioned above, the following " stories " are told :
The first one is told of the encounter between Judge Grant and the bully at Tiptou, that is somewhat characteristic.
The Judge, it is well known. is a small mau, and, to a casual observer, would not appear to possess much bodily strength ; but appearances are often deceptive, for, with a constitution of iron, muscles and nerves like steel and whipcord, and active aud agile in his unovements, he would have been found an antagonist exceedingly difficult to be handled.
The Tipton bully, a quack doctor, named Harvey Whitlock, a renegade Mormon, from some fancied injustice manifested to him by the Judge in a case tried before him, threatened to whip him as soon as the Court adjourned.
Now, as Whitlock was a much larger man than the Judge, and had shown his prowess by a ferocious assault upon a neighboring 'Squire, it was supposed that in all probability there would be a little unpleasantness between them.
The Court adjourned in due course, the Judge paid his bill at the tavern, ordered out his buggy from the stable and was on the sidewalk in front of the house preparing to leave, when Whitlock, who had been hanging round the bar room, muttering imprecations and threats against Grant, stepped hastily up and accosted him in an insulting and violent manner, evidently with the intentiou of provoking a conflict.
The result was anxiously looked for by a number of the citizens, who, having heard the threats made by the bully, anticipated a knock down at least, if not a free fight.
But the expectant bystauders were doomed to be disappointed. Grant seemed to be coolness personified-simply turning to the hostler who held the horses, said he had changed his mind about leaving, and the team could be taken back to the stable, and then deliberately walked back into the tavern without apparently taking any notice of his would-be assailant.
This conduct seemed to infuriate Whitlock, who followed him, continuing liis abuse, until Grant, having entered the building, turned round quickly and faced his antagonist, and in an instant, as if by magic, off came his heavy cloth cloak, and the sonorous, emphatic declaration
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HISTORY OF CEDAR COUNTY.
came ringing out : "You cursed scoundrel, I will lay aside the Judge for a few moments for your especial benefit," and he went for his opponent.
But the bully, believing in the time-honored maxim that discretion is the better part of valor, or that it was not a good day for fighting, ingloriously fled from the battle field in hot haste and was laughed at and derided for his cowardice.
Some years after the close of our national " unpleasantness," Judge Grant made a tour of Arkansas. While lounging about a hotel at which he was stopping in one of the interior towns or villages of that State, he noticed a countryman-coonskin cap, butternut clothes, and all- trying to sell a cow that he had driven in from his farm. The vender was recommending the milking qualities of the animal, and, among other things, remarked to the bystanders that she would give four quarts of milk per day, if well fed. The cattle of Arkansas are not noted for either size or beauty, and, used to a better breed of cattle, Judge Grant was attracted to a closer exam- ination of the animal, and succeeded in getting the Arkansan to repeat his recommendation- this time that she would give five quarts of milk per day, if well fed.
" Why," said Judge Grant, with his characteristic sanvity of manner and speech, " I have a cow on my farm that gives twenty-five quarts of milk per day, and we don't think she is much of a milker, either ! ""
It was the Arkansan's turn now, and he asked :
" Whar mought you be from, Mister ?"
" Iowa," replied Judge Grant.
" Wa'll, thar was a right smart sprinklin' of Iowa soldiers down here durin' the war, and they war reckoned the biggest liars in the world, and may be you was a Colonel in one of them Iowa regiments !"
The laugh was at Judge Grant's expense, and it followed him home to Iowa.
FIRST POST OFFICES.
In 1858, Nelson C. Swank, the projector of the first newspaper (the Cedar County News Letter, at Rochester, in 1852), commeneed to gather up sundry items of interest connected with the early settlement and development of the county, which have been almost invaluable in the preparation of these pages. Among other investigations, Mr. Swank wrote to (then) United States Senator James Harlan, to inquire through him when and where the first post office in Cedar County was established, to which the following reply was received :
POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT, APPOINTMENT OFFICE, February 24, 1859. ,
SIR-In reply to your note endorsed on the letter of Mr. Swank, herewith returned, I have the honor to inform you, on examination of the records of the Department, that " Rock Creek " was the name of the first post office established in Cedar County, Iowa, under date of the 19th of July, 1837, and Stephen Toney was the first Postmaster. The office was made a special one, and received its mail supply from Iowa City once a week. On the 20th of March, 1854, the name of this office was changed to " Rochester," and has been continued under this namne ever since.
The next office established was "Tipton," the present county seat, under date of July 23, 1840, and ('harles M. Jennings was the first Postmaster. This office was placed on a mail route, numbered 293, and received a weekly supply.
The next was " Cedar River," established on the 24th of June, 1841, and James H. Gower was the first Postinaster. The office was made special, and received a mail supply from Tipton. On the 3d of July, 1849, this office was changed to "Gower's Ferry," and still remains under this name.
As the foregoing embraces the period of time alluded to in Mr. Swank's letter, no subse- quent offices are therefore given, but I may add that up to the present time there are twenty offices in the county.
I am, Sir, respectfully, your obedient servant, HORATIO KING, First Ass't P. M. General.
FIRST MARRIAGE.
The first wedding from Cedar County occurred in the Spring of 1837. The parties to the contract were Washington A. Rigby and Miss Lydia Barr. Cedar County was not fully organized at the time, and the nearest license station was Muscatine, whither on the day appointed went Mr. Rigby and his intended wife, accompanied by John Barr and Miss Mary Setford (now Mrs. James Foy, of Cedar Rapids), James Stone and Elenor Knott (who died unmarried in 1844).
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HISTORY OF CEDAR COUNTY.
Their conveyance was by Harvey Burnap's two-horse spring wagon. There was but one hotel in Muscatine at that time, and that was a rude log concern, with but few rooms, and all of them were occupied. The hotel was kept by a man named Kinney, who received the wedding company with courtly consideration, and regretted his inability to provide better accommodations than his log hotel afforded. The Clerk and some one authorized to solemnize marriages were inquired for and pointed out. The license was issued by John S. Abbott, the first Clerk of Muscatine County. John G. Coleman was a Justice of the Peace, and he was called to tie the silken knot-to legally unite "two hearts that beat as one." In the meantime, the young men boarders got wind of the occasion that called so many of the Cedar County young folks to Muscatine, and, in a body kindly tendercd them their sleeping quarters-one room-in the upper part of Kinney's log hotel. The offer was accepted, the ceremony was pro- nounced, congratulations were tendered, and the evening passed right merrily. But bed time came, the bride and groom were shown to their nuptial couch-a shake down on the floor above, which was reached by rude stairs, but little bet- ter than a common step ladder. Then the other parties followed to the same room, the girls going first and " doubling " in the bed or shake down assigned to them. Then went the boys, three of them, and " thiribbled " in the bed set apart for them. Such was the bridal chamber occupied by Washington A. Rigby and his wife on the night of their marriage-but a happier, merrier, honester wed- ding party never went from Cedar County to Muscatine or any other city. The story, however, is not all told. In descending the bluffs that overlook Musca- tine, one of the hind wheels of Burnap's buggy broke down, and left the party in a "fix," apparently. But Burnap was equal to the occasion. There were no carriage or wagon shops in Muscatine thien, but the adjacent groves furnished the means of remedying the difficulty. A pole was cut from a suitably sized sapling. The large end of the sapling was fastened on the forward axletrce, and the other end so adjusted that the broken axletree rested upon it. The tempo- rary repair completed, and an early breakfast eaten, the weddingers piled into the crippled buggy and came home on a slide.
SUBTERRANEAN DISCOVERIES.
In sinking wells, many of the farmers and others have found pieces of tim- ber, deer horns, etc., at a depth ranging from ten to sixty feet below the surface of the ground. About 1860, George Safley, living near Red Oak Grove, was sinking a well, and at a depth of sixty feet, found a piece of what was believed by many, to be red cedar timber. It was about the thickness of a man's arm. and a part of it was in a very fair state of preservation. About the same time, William M. Knott was also engaged in sinking a well on the farm now owned by John Miller, one-half mile west of Tipton, and at the depth of forty feet, found several pieces of timber of from six to eight inches in length, and about as thick as a man's wrist. Most of the pieces were well preserved and quite solid, and, as far as could be discovered, were either pine or cedar knots. A number of other well-diggers made similar discoveries of timber at various depths from the surface of the ground, which, for a time, were subjects of wonder to the curi- ously inclined.
Almost simultaneously with the finding of the pieces of timber in the Safley and Knott wells, Charles Ford was sinking a well on the farm now owned by his son, Rolla Ford, in Virginia Grove, three and a half miles southeast of Tipton, and at a depth of twenty-six feet found a buck horn almost as perfect and solid as when it fell from the head upon which it had grown. How long
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HISTORY OF CEDAR COUNTY.
these things had been buried so deep down in the earth no one knows. Where they came from, or what changes the earth had gone through after they lodged where they were found, are questions that can be better answered by the researches of the antiquarian than by the geologist or county historian.
May 11 and 12, 1878, Messrs. Dr. G. L. Stemple, Sewall, Gower and others, at Cedar Bluff, opened what was called an ancient mound, on the Gower place, on tlic west side of Cedar River. A Springdale correspondent of the Advertiser (Tipton), writing under date of May 13, in speaking of the opening of this mound and its hitherto hidden relics, said :
This primeval graveyard is located on the summit of one of the highest bluffs in that vicinity, situated on the Gower farm, about a half a mile below the bridge that spans the Cedar River at this point (Cedar Bluff). The mound was noticed by some of the early settlers, but did not excite any particular interest until of late.
The Doctor being quite an enthusiastic worker in scientific matters, concluded he would dis- turb the long quietude of the ancient burial place. Accordingly they proceeded to open five elevations of earth, and in each one they found prints of decomposed forms, in three of them nothing but particles of dust marked the pre-existence of any material body, but in the other two they found quite a number of remaining bones.
Dr. Stemple gives the following as his opinion of this early type of man : First, from the size of the bones, when compared with a medium skeleton of the present day, that they were much larger, very muscular and of portly form, standing eight feet in height. It is estimated from the portion of the skull found-a portion of the frontal, the right parietal and a portion of the occipital bones-that the capacity of the brain in cubic inches was as large, if not larger, than the average capacity of the intellectual brain of the present day. According to an indefi- nite measurement made by the Doctor and myself (the correspondent), the horizontal circumfer- ence, just above the ears, would equal twenty four inches, while that of an average sized head of to-day, according to the leading physiologists, measures but twenty-two.
Dr. Stemple concludes that they belong to a distinct race that existed prior to the Indian. From the charred particles found near the surface of the excavation, he supposes them to have been a fire-worshiping people, and from the posture occupied in the sepulcher, that they regarded the sun as the great center of omnipotent power. From the implements found beside the remain- ing parts and the care that had been taken for the preservation of the body, lie considered the race allied to the manners and customs of the Egyptians who believed that the body was not entirely unconscious, while an inhabitant of the tomb, but that at some future period the soul and body would again unite
These bones are in the possession of Dr. Stemple, at Cedar Bluff, where they may be seen and examined by the curious and speculative.
A MOCK WEDDING AND WHAT CAME OF IT.
In the early days of Tipton, there were a number of men-Wells Spicer, Charles Swetland, William Fraseur, Eli and Levi Durbin, John Culbertson, " Bob " Long, Christian Holderman, John P. Cook, Frank Smith and others- who were as full of "old Nick," as an "egg is of meat." They were up to all sorts of tricks, and it didn't matter much to them who their victims were, so they had a joke and a laugh. They were nearly all boarders at the Fleming House, and when they were all together they carried things with a high hand.
At the time of which we write, there was a "school marm" boarding at the Hotel de Fleming, who was just about as full of mischief as the male guests of the house, and was always ready to aid them in any of their pranky under- takings. Culbertson had been County Clerk, and by virtue of law, entitled to issuc marriage licenses, and, as a consequence, knew the "form like a book." "Bob" Long was a Justice of the Peace, and consequently clothed with authority to solemnize marriages.
One day, there came to Tipton a man named Cross. a widower, from Round Grove. He stopped at the Fleming House, and it was not many days, if indeed it were many hours, before he let the "boys" know that he was very anxious to find a wife. They comprehended the situation at once-saw the chance for
HENRY HECHT SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP
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HISTORY OF CEDAR COUNTY.
a joke, and, taking the school marm into their confidence, they laid a plan to " have some fun" at the old widower's expense. They told their intended vic- tim that there was a school marm boarding in the house, who wanted to marry just as bad as he did, and, if he desired, they would take pleasure in bringing about an introduction, when, if he liked her appearance, he could introduce the subject of marriage-in other words, that he could "pop the question," and they felt assured there would be no difficulty in fixing up a match. The "bait" took. The school marm, of course, was "posted," and was prepared for the introduction. Shy and coy at first, her reserve finally gave way, and it was not long until, with her head upon the victim's shoulder, she softly mur- mured, "I'll be thine." "Enough said; but when ?" "Now, this very night."
The preliminaries thus arranged, the old man at once went out to find the " boys " and get the license. A blank page of an old magazine served the pur- pose, and, with a lead pencil, ex-Clerk Culbertson wrote out the document, duly signed it, and turned it over to be "served" by Justice "Bob" Long. All things being in readiness, the parties were called np, and, in the presence of the entire company, 'Squire Long proceeded to " tie the knot," little think- ing that what he and the others intended as a joke was, in fact, a legal mar- riage. But the words were said, the parties were "pronounced man and wife," the bride was saluted, and congratulations offered. But the end was not yet.
After the marriage, the "joke" was to be further carried out by Wells Spicer, who was to retire to the bridal chamber, throw off his male habiliments, secrete thiem within handy reach, and thien don the long, flowing night dress of the school marin, which she had agreed to lend for the occasion. When bed time came, this part of the programme was carried out to tiniest frill, and it is said that Spicer made a pretty good looking bride. Spicer retired to the bridal bed, and in due time the groom was shown to the room where the bride was "in expectation waiting." With maidenly modesty, the bride of the occasion covered his head as soon as the groom of an hour came into the room, in which condition he remained until the happy groom had disrobed and "snuffed out the candle." Gently the bed clothes were turned down, and gently did the old man lay himself down by the side of his supposed "rib." Spicer was shy and coy as any modest bride need be, and quietly lay with his face turned unto the wall. Quietly, easily, in words softly spoken, the old man sought to win the confidence and trust of his (supposed) bride. "Come, rest upon this bosom," he earnestly whispered, and essayed to reach one arm under Spicer's neck, while at the same time he threw the other over his "heaving" bosom. Spicer could stand no more. and, with the agility of a cat, he threw himself upon his other side, and bracing his back and shoulders against the wall, his feet against the groom's stomach, and, with all the strength he could command, kicked the old man out of the bed and to the other side of the room, where he fell, stunned and almost senseless. Before the poor old victim could gather himself up, Spicer sprang from the bed, gathered his skirts around his nicely turned ankles, and fled from the room with the swiftness of an affrighted fawn. Down stairs he went, and quietly assumed his own attire. Soon the old man came down, hunting his wife. The " boys" were all there, in the parlor, but the bride-the school marin-was non est. She had been spirited away as soon as convenient after the conclusion of the ceremony; and while she was non est, the boys all wore honest faces, of course. To his inquiry, "Where is my wife ?" they replied that when she came down stairs she had said she was going over to Rev. Mr. Ray's-Mr. Ray being a Presbyterian minister. The night
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