USA > Iowa > Clinton County > The history of Clinton County, Iowa, containing a history of the county, its cities, towns &c., biographical sketches of citizens > Part 44
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Nor were many popular amusements of the sections whence those came who first located in Clinton County thoroughly naturalized with them beyond the Mississippi. Many of the conditions of life were too completely changed. The fertile acres, with soil inviting the plow, prevented there being in any occasions for neighborly clearing-bees or log-rollings, as well as permitting settlers to improve larger claims. However, in the very earliest days, "raisings " were frequent and jolly occasions. Corn was so plenty that it would have been absurd to stack or house the stalks, so that the husking or " shucking " bec was rarely transplanted to Clinton County. But. in the winter time, social gather- ings were frequent and merry. Though inany of the elders disapproved of dan- cing, the frolicsome juniors managed to console themselves with lively kissing games. so that, as the night wore on, the romping and the fun grew fast and furious, the evolutions of youthful feet more rhythmical. keeping time to vocal music in the absence of orchestral strains, till it became impossible for the most watchful observer to tell where " carrying-on " ended and dancing began. Dis- tance was nothing when a frolic was on hand. Spirited young men, and gay young ladies as well, thought nothing of riding a dozen miles to a sportive gathering. With it all there was a freedom from care. an absolute equality and freedom from snobbishness and hearty enjoyment of the hour's merriment, that those who participated regretfully aver are now absent from such gather- ings. And that idea is not an illusion. due entirely to the glamour of by-gone days, but is a fact due to the changed conditions of social life and the differen- tiation of even rural communities into classes.
To sketch the social development of a community requires the consideration of so many complex elements that any historian less brilliant than Macau- lay, Green or Taine may well pause before undertaking it. Especially must it be difficult to portray the changes in a peaceful community like Clinton County, where they have been almost imperceptible in their stages, like the growth of a tree or animal. There has been a visible development, not by leaps, but by a steady upward and forward movement. Without attempting an elaborate and full analysis of all the factors that have made Clinton County what it is, it is not unprofitable to examine some of the causes that have not
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only made the county what it is, but have also given the family of Iowa com- monwealths to which it belongs, their distinguishing characteristics.
While the vast distances of the flat and rolling Western prairies cannot help affecting the human mind, the development of the American inhabiting them has been materially modified by other circumstances. The Spanish European who settled on South America's grassy oceans, the pampas or llanos of La Plata, has degenerated into the Guacho scarcely less savage than the Indian he has dispossessed, but whose habits he has acquired. A matchless horseman and master of wild cattle, he is incapable of progress. The wildness of nature and the isolated and roaming condition of his life have been too strong not to quench the desire for the habits and conditions of civilization ; so that the Argen- tine Republic is still a comparative wilderness, while the prairies of Iowa and the Northwest present the highest average civilization to be observed on the globe. Part of this is due to race, but, if such close observers and able philos- ophers as Prof. John W. Draper and H. A. Taine are to be trusted, man is as helplessly molded by nature and surroundings as metal by the die.
Had the tide of emigration been turned elsewhere, or cut off so that Clin- ton County for many years would have remained sparsely settled, and with an exclusively agricultural population, without markets for their surplus, or to supply their wants being accessible, residents could not well have helped suffer- ing the fate of other isolated and bucolic peoples to a certain extent, even though not sinking to the level of the South American, Boer or French Cana- dian. Happily, however, everything conspired to make the transition period of Clinton County from frontier to a fully-developed commonwealth as short as possible.
Had Iowa been settled many years before the introduction of railroads, so that several generations could have had time to grow up comparatively isolated, it is evident that in the sections remote from water communications would have grown up communities not unlike those who inhabit the inaccessible mountain districts of the South. But before the children of the pioneers had time to grow up, they were awakened by the tread of the locomotive, rattle of the printing press and the click of the telegraph, to take their position in the advance guard of progress. Iowa, and especially Clinton County, could not have been settled at a time more auspicious for being peopled not only by a prosperous and contented but an aspiring and cultivated people.
In the plain regions of the Old World and in South America, man has been dwarfed and depressed by the illimitable and monotonous expanse. Hence many of the characteristics of the peoples that inhabit the steppes of Asia, the bound- less southern plains of Russia. Indolence, sloth, conservatism there contrast with the reverse qualities in the counties of the Northwest. The railroad enabling man to scorn distance, is one of the principal reasons that the energy of the immigrant to the Northwest has been augmented rather than diminished. The general introduction of horse-power and steam farming implements has likewise contributed to the mental emancipation of the farmers of Clinton County, by releasing them from the thralldom of exhausting and excessive phys- ical labor to which their fathers were subjected, and made it possible for them to till an amount of land that would have been impossible for them to handle with hand labor. Few inventions have been more opportune than the reaper, threshing machine and improved plows. Had any of these elements been lack- ing, a plentiful food supply, a healthy and reasonably regular climate, cheap water and swift railway communication, abundant and cheap building material, labor-saving implements, abundant books and newspapers. the civilization of
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this county would have been less complete. Or had these benefits not been realized and utilized by faithful, courageous and industrious men and women, undisturbed by foreign or domestic enemies, Clinton County would not in one generation have made such rapid advance toward the golden goal toward which enlightened humanity is ever pressing.
DOMESTIC LIFE.
Compared with the pioneers in the forest regions of the East, or with those who have of late years occupied the treeless plains beyond the Missouri, the early settlers of Clinton County were exceptionally favored in their facilities for sheltering themselves. The abundant timber-belts along the numerous water-courses, referred to elsewhere, furnished material for many substantial log houses that sufficed till more commodious structures could be erected. These picturesque log houses were more numerous in the western than in the eastern part of the county, for the reason that, in the latter sections, pine lumber was much sooner and easier obtained from the'yards and mills on the river, and wrought into the earlier habitations. But much quicker than in most other sections of the United States, these primitive structures have been replaced often by stately mansions. in some cases as comfortably appointed as English manor-houses, and nearly everywhere by elegant and cheerful homes. In many cases, the old houses have been allowed to remain in mute and eloquent contrast with the new homes. To the older members of the family, those unpretending old homes are full of sacred memories and tender reminiscences. Every nook and corner about them is filled with shadows and lights of the past wherewith " all houses in which men have lived and died are haunted." Inconvenient, cramped and rugged as they were, about them rests the halo of the fireside, the family altar, the cradle, and possibly the deathbed of dear ones. In verses of equal poetic inspiration and truth has one of America's most recent and popu- lar poets commemorated the associations that inevitably cluster about a dwelling which a passing stranger might not think as worthy of attention as a new cattle shed.
Probably there are few old settlers who did not echo the sentiments in Carle- ton's charming poem :
" Things looked rather new, though, when this old house was built, And things that blossomed you would've made some women wilt ; And every day, then. as sure as day would break, Our neighbor ' Ager' come this way, invitin' me to ' shake.'
" Look at our old log-house, how little it now appears, But it's never gone back on us for nineteen or twenty years ; And I won't go back on it now, or go to pokin' fun ; There's such a thing as praising a thing for the good that it has done. * * **
" Never a handsomer house was seen beneath the sun ; Kitchen and parlor and bedroom we had 'em all in one ; And the fat old wooden clock, that we bought when we came West, Was tickin' away in the corner, and doin' its level best.
" Trees was all around us. a-whisperin' cheering words, Loud was the squirrel's chatter, and sweet the songs of birds ; And home grew sweeter and brighter, our courage began to mount, And things looked hearty and happy then, and work appeared to count. * * *
" Yes, a deal has happened to make the old house dear : Christenings, funerals, weddin's-what hav'nt we had here ? Not a log in this building but its memories has got, And not a nail in this old floor but touches a tender spot.
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HISTORY OF CLINTON COUNTY.
" Out of the old house, Nancy, moved up into the new ; All the hurry and worry is just as good as through ; But I tell you a thing right here I ain't ashamed to say : There's precious things in this old house we never can take away.
" Here the old house will stand, but not as it stood before ; Winds will whistle through it, and rains will flood the floor ; And over the hearth, once blazing, the snow drifts oft will pile, And the old thing seem to be a-mournin' all the while.
" Fare you well, old house ! You're naught that can feel or see, But you seem like a human being, a dear old friend to me ; And we never will have a better home, if my opinion stands,
Until we commence a-keepin' house in ' the House not made with hands.'"
To the housewife of these days, who, in her admirably equipped kitchen, re-enforced with all the helps presented to her by modern invention, and even where aided by a corps of domestics, is still "cumbered with much serving," it must always be a great marvel how the now venerable matrons of by-gone days accomplished their tasks, and still live, sprightly and vivacious. It may well be a wonder to the ladies of this generation how, without cooking-ranges or refrigerators, or the multifarious conveniences few kitchens or dairies are now without, they managed not only to feed their large families, with often a large force of hired men in addition, but also to rear and assist in making clothing for goodly numbers of sturdy children. However, the lot of the first citizens of Clinton County was fortunate in comparison with many in the coun- ties and States further westward. There was no positive suffering except of an accidental or unusual nature. Privation, except in possibly some rare and unreported cases, was unknown. The first crops were visited by neither drought, blight, or hail. Aided by the spontaneous products of the prairie, grove, and waters, even if they did not fare sumptuously every day, old and young throve apace, and waxed fat on the fruit of their own labors. For many years after the settlement of the county, such an object as a pauper was not known within its boundaries. As far as the average condition of its inhabitants, in regard to material comfort, was concerned, Clinton County, while still sparsely settled, was about as near a Utopia as the boldest social reformer would dare to hope for. It is a common remark among the older residents that they never lived better in their lives than they did in the early days of the county, before the dawn of railroad communication and the influence of travel and transient population. The river furnished a reasonably accessible market, and fish, flesh and fowl were supplied in abundance by the rivers, lakelets, prairie and timber ; prairie chickens, ducks, wild turkeys and deer replenished the larder, and strengthened the frames of the pioneers for their labors. There was never any lack of whole- some, if sometimes a rude, plenty. Blackberries, wild plums and crab-apples grew in spontaneous profusion, and furnished welcome luxuries till fruit-orchards and gardens could be planted and brought to maturity. With abundance of these, many of which would now be esteemed as the rarest delicacies, supple- mented by corn, milk, and home-fed pork, and appetites sharpened, digestions strengthened, and lungs expanded by the keen prairie air, it was small wonder that both elders and children were robust, families prolific, and there was much less sickness than is usual in a country where the original soil containing a mass of vegetable humus is being, after ages of repose, exposed to the decomposing influences of sunlight and air.
It is almost impossible to now comprehend the difficulty, at an early day, of procuring even the most necessary household utensils. Of course, for the first few years, fire-places were almost universally used; but, with the help of
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HISTORY OF CLINTON COUNTY.
tin or brick ovens, from their capacious recesses came forth the most appetizing roasts of which epicure ever dreamed, flanked by pies, bread and cake never excelled by the most famous metropolitan caterers. A broken dish could not then be replaced within a few minutes, and, accordingly, earthen and tin ware was cared for as if it had been china or silver. Culinary skill and " elbow-grease " atoned for the lack of the elaborate appurtenances that have since become so common as to be scarcely regarded. Washing machines, clothes-wringers and sewing machines were undreamed of, and their absence was supplied by increased strength and energy on the part of the female portion of the household. Too frequently was their task rendered unnecessarily arduous by the indifference of the "men folks " to providing proper facilities for lightening domestic cares. Water fre- quently had to be brought from too great a distance. In some cases, consider- ate husbands hauled it on sleds, in hogsheads, from limpid springs at some distance. The supply of firewood was too often in unmanageable shape, and brought in from the piles exposed to the weather by the women, heated by exercise and fires during cold and raw weather, a practice that indirectly laid many a blooming maid and useful matron prematurely in their graves. The spinning-wheel and loom were for years found in many houses, and the house- hold kept warm and dry by the industry of the mothers, wives and sisters.
The labors of the settlers in procuring a food-supply did not end with the harvesting of the ripened cars. The problem was how to get them ground to flour. Though the pioneers did not have to submit to the privations and make- shifts of those in the interior counties, where they for many tedious months had to prepare grain for baking by pounding it in rude mortar-mills, they many times and oft underwent great inconvenience and labor to procure flour. The first mills were located where the streams, descended from the upper levels to the river valleys, and though they did not grind as close as the improved structures, there are few old residents who will not affirm that the flour therefrom made sweeter and more wholesome bread than any new patent process whatever. Corn fixings, of course, figured largely in the domestic bill of fare, and no one thought himself poisoned by a few atoms of golden meal being mixed with wheaten flour. Many heavy boat-loads of grain were pro- pelled by oars, handled by muscular pioneers, against the swift Mississippi current from Lyons up to Sabula, there to be ground at the custom-mill that for a long time supplied the settlers along the river margin of Clinton County.
SECURITY.
During the county's early days, people dwelt in a security of person, and, except horses, of property that is now (the historian regretfully records) prac- tically too much of the past. Unlike many counties on the south and west, Clinton County was not long or seriously infested by local desperadoes or wander- ing marauders. Highway robberies and burglaries were for many years so rare as to scarcely be dreaded. This was partly due, not only to the fact that sus- picious characters could, where people were so well acquainted, be readily noted and watched, but to there being so little money and so few valuables to tempt rascals. Accordingly, when the men of the scattered pioneer households were at work in distant fields, or gone many miles to market, leaving women and children, guarded only by perhaps a faithful dog, the former suffered no anxiety, and the latter no apprehension. People slept with unfastened doors, without fearing that among the wayfarers might be desperate ruffians, ready for a trifle to become murderers, robbers or incendiaries. Then women alone in houses felt safer, and actually were more secure from insults or violence in the most
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HISTORY OF CLINTON COUNTY.
solitary farm-houses, than they now are, even in the suburbs of cities, since the highways have been thronged by the horde of lawless vagrants, furnished by the criminal classes of Europe, and developed by the license of civil war, like the wandering Thugs of Hindostan, to swarm over the country, wherever led by the instincts of rapine or plunder. The short shrift and long rope, or ready bullet, that would then so quickly have avenged any of the crimes that now fill the criminal bulletins, were also a salutary deterrent to desperadoes, who might have otherwise sought to spoil the farmers of Clinton of their val- uables. To this day, burglars give a wide berth to portions of this county. The risk is too great. A little booty would be small compensation for the chance of falling into the strong, and, to criminals, merciless grasp of the yeo- manry, who have what Bret Harte so happily terms " a strict attention to detail, likely to prove unpleasant in a difficulty. Of course, in regard to horses, absolute security could not be hoped for in a new, open, and, in many places, trackless country. But, as elsewhere noted, the evil was as far as possible erad- icated with a summary vigor that proved a most salutary example to not only horse-thieves, but other evil-doers as well. Hence, though a river county, and therefore on the line of travel for the worst possible characters, ever since its settlement, the criminal record of Clinton County has been so comparatively clear. as to bear the strongest testimony, not only to the high character of her citizens, but their energy in preserving order.
ROADS AND TRAVELING.
Before the country began to fill up, the roads were better than they after- ward became. At first, when a farmer started to market with a heavy load, he had the option of the entire prairie for a turnpike of nature's paving. Swampy places could be avoided, and dry and level ridges followed for long distances. The firm sod prevented the wheels from sinking in many places where the soil was saturated with water, and after the heaviest rains there was no mud to impede journeying. But as section after section was occupied, and the roads were crowded into straight lines surveyed for them, they frequently became, especially in the spring, almost impassable quagmires, that have in many places required an amount of work for ditching and grading sufficient to construct an equal length of railroad embankment through similar country.
During the days before railroads, many men followed transportation as a business, using ox, horse or mule teams. It is amusing to hear, as it must have been vexatious to undergo, how loads of hay, corn or wheat would often " bog," and then wait, sinking deeper and deeper into the mire, until assist- ance arrived in another teamster's cattle, and the doubled force successively hauled the wagons to firmer ground. Old settlers agree that during the " early fifties " the roads were most horrible, but at no time were they much, if at all, worse than during the detestable open winter of 1877-78. As the country has been more thoroughly settled, the rivulets wash both fields and roads much worse, bringing down much debris from the cultivated acres, to the great detri- ment both of them and of the highways.
How difficult and sometimes dangerous it was to travel, even short distances, across the prairies, when they were whitened with snow to dismal monotony, scarcely less depressing and bewildering than the Siberian steppes, it is scarcely possible to now comprehend. Especially as snow-laden blizzards,
" When the long dun wolds are ribbed with snow,
And loud the Norland whirlwinds blow,"
obliterated familiar outlines and landmarks, even the experienced resident was
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HISTORY OF CLINTON COUNTY.
likely to miss his way and drive miles out of the proper route. Until when, in the sixties, fences became general, such misadventures were not at all uncom- mon. As the direction of the wind was often a guide, people were not seldom disgustingly led astray by its varying several points during their journey. Once a prominent lawyer, E. S. Hart. started during a storm to drive from De Witt to Clinton, and brought up at Camanche, having made lee-way very much as if sailing.
In the severe winter of 1856-57, an adventure, of which H. V. Morrill, of the Lyons and Elvira firm of Gates & Morrill, was the hero, furnished " the boys " at the time with considerable fun at his expense. Having left his wife at a friend's house, near Mill Creek, about four miles west of Lyons, he started about 8 o'clock in the evening, to drive homeward during a severe wind and snow storm. His turn-out was a crockery-crate rigged upon runners, suitable to the irregular track the ground afforded, and, as he was well muffled in buf- falo and bear robes, and the team was good, he expected to very speedily arrive in town. But as he drove busily on, no sign appeared through the driving tempest of city lights or of any of the familiar surroundings. Still he drove on, expecting every moment to be able to take his bearings. Finally it seemed that he must be north of Lyons, and nearing the precipitous bluffs which were then open. clear through to the wide prairies. Fearful of driving over some treacherous precipice, Morrill concluded that it would be wise to bivouac. Accordingly, he bound blankets on his horses and turned them loose. Then he tipped his sledge on its side as a barricade against the icy wind, and rolled himself up under its Ice in many folds of warm fur. But the intense cold pierced through them all, so that he was often fain to rise and anticipate the long-distance pedestrians of future years, by walking in a circle to keep his circulation awake. After, as may be imagined, a long and dreary night, morn- ing slowly dawned, and a barn became dimly visible through the snow. Going there, he found that he had passed the night within twenty-five rods of the house whence he had started on the previous evening, having, as may be readily supposed, actually driven in a circle. He was naturally invited to stay to breakfast, and, also, on the story leaking out among his acquaintances, the propriety of treating was delicately but forcibly hinted at.
The best road in the old times was the one which the ice afforded; an unbroken stretch for scores of miles over the congcaled Mississippi, sheltered by the high bluff's from the west and northwest winds. A sharp lookout for air-holes was the price of safety, or at least, of comfort, though an adventurous citizen somewhat exalted by potations, once refused to go round half a mile, and, "accoutered as he was, plunged in," succeeding in crossing the dangerous icy pitfall. Caution was also exercised when the ice in spring began to rot and wear away underneath by the action of the swift current.
MAIL ROUTES.
It is probable that the arrival of the mail was, from the first, looked for with just about the same eagerness as now. Human hopes, desires and affec- tions are unchanged from one generation to another, and while, on one hand, tidings then came more seldom, and might, therefore, presumably be more highly prized, the greater intensity of modern business life, and wider spread of interest in the world's affairs, due to the telegraph, has made the morning and evening mail almost as much of a necessity as was once the tri-weekly, or even less frequent one. The first news of importance, of foreign or domestic events, usually arrived in New York papers during the era before
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