USA > Iowa > Jackson County > The history of Jackson County, Iowa, containing a history of the county, its cities, towns, &c., biographical sketches of citizens, war record of its volunteers in the late rebellion history of the Northwest, history of Iowa miscellaneous matters, &c > Part 42
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About this time, Thompson returned to Wells and, upon inquiring for his wife, was much enraged on finding she had left there, and sought for herself another home in the family of Mr. Moss; but, learning of her newly acquired wealth, resolved to fulfill his promise of marrying her with the purpose of secur- ing her property. But on repairing to the house of Mr. Moss, the girl refused to see him, and said she would have nothing more to do with him. Thompson's fury then broke forth, and he denounced not only Moss but Wells, as being in a conspiracy against him for the purpose of defrauding him of his wife, and, to many, his story had the showing of truth in his favor. Finding his threats and coaxing alike unheeded, he commenced to circulate the most infamous stories about the young girl, who had already excited the jealousy of many of the other women of the place by her evident superiority in education and man- ners, and the gossips forthwith decided to make it quite uncomfortable for her. Moss, finding that his protege was becoming anything but popular, and that he was incurring much censure by the part he had taken in the matter, told the persecuted girl that she must find a home elsewhere. Mrs. Moss remonstrated with her husband, but as the latter was at that time a candidate for the Legis- lature, he considered it a part of his duty to be popular, and would not listen to the pleadings of his wife. Mrs. Moss determined, at least, that she should have a comfortable home, and arranged for her to go to Mrs. Sublett's, who, with her husband and two sons, John T. and Thomas, were quite independent of the good will of the bandits, and who, indeed, formed quite a decided oppo- sition to them. Mrs. Sublett cared for and sympathized with her as a mother. and rebuked, with scathing effect and earnestness, the gossips of the village, who persecuted the outcast with a bitterness which jealousy alone can incite. She remained with the Subletts about six weeks, when she was put on board the steamboat Knickerbocker, under the care of Mr. John McCune, who was acquainted with her friends in Missouri. Letters were received from her after
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she returned expressing her thanks to those who had been friendly to her in her time of need while in Bellevue.
Of her subsequent history, Capt. Warren writes as follows :
"In 1870, I took the train at Clinton and found the cars crowded with passengers. I was shown to a seat occupied by an elderly lady with her band- box and other traps, which were removed to make place for me. We were not long in forming a traveling acquaintance, and whiled away the time in discuss- ing commonplace topics, when Henry O'Connor, who occupied a seat to the rear of us, approached and shook hands with the old lady, inquiring after her family, and then turned to me, asking for the news in Jackson. After he returned to his seat, the lady remained in silence for some time, and then turn- ing her eyes upon me remarked : ' You say your name is Warren, and that you are from Jackson County ?' I answered in the affirmative. She regarded me closely for a moment, then asked: 'Were you not formerly Sheriff of Jackson ?' I assured her that such was the fact; when she said : 'I thought so.' I scrutinized her features closely, but could see no traces that reminded me of ever having seen her before, and I questioned her as to her knowledge of me, and her reply was that she once knew me, but to state where and when would only call to mind a portion of her life that she wished blotted out forever. I was still unable to identify her, and pressed her to know more, when she said : " You have heard Mr. O'Connor call my name. We are well acquainted, and he can tell you all about us.' I asked her if I was acquainted with her hus- band, and she answered that she had often heard him speak of me, and pre- sumed that I had met him. I told her that I was acqainted with a gentleman living at a certain point, and after giving his occupation, she said Mr. O'Con- nor would inform me that the gentleman described was her husband. Without appearing to be impertinent I could elicit no further information, and the con- versation turned to other topics. However, she would occasionally refer to some of the citizens of Bellevue, and when she mentioned old Mrs. Sublett's name, I saw traces in her countenance that revealed to me who she was. I looked at her sharply and said : . I know who you are,' and called her by her former name. She cast down her eyes and remarked : 'I am the same. I was then a miserable outcast. But, now, I am a happy wife with a comfortable home, and have raised four children that are ornaments to society.' A few stations further on, she left the car requesting that what had passed between ns be kept secret, and that I would try to forget what she once was, and only remember her, as I now found her, in better and happier circumstances."
A ROMANCE.
Among those who appeared amidst Brown's party was a man named Will- iam Bennett, who would occasionally come to Bellevue and remain a week or two at Brown's hotel, and disappear. During the year 1839, three strangers appeared-Col. William Johnson and two others, Johnson being accompanied by a girl he claimed as his daughter. These all claimed to have been engaged in the Canadian revolt of the previous year, and, as one of the parties, whose name we did not learn, appeared to be wealthy, and all gentlemen of education and culture, they attracted considerable attention. They remained about Belle- vue some weeks, and Johnson afterward revisited the place. It is evident, from the following sketch, that Johnson and Bennett were a part of this regularly organized band of thieves, and it will be interesting to learn something of their subsequent history. These facts came to the knowledge of the writer about a year ago, and have since been published :
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" During the winter of 1842-43, there came to Iowa City a stranger, who gave his name as Col. William Johnson, and was accompanied by a young woman whom he represented as his daughter, and whom he called Catharine, or usually Kit. Both were of more than ordinary strength of character, and well educated. Johnson claimed to have been the hero of the Canadian revolt, which took place in 1838, and was the occasion of considerable diplomatic correspondence, and came so near causing war between Great Britain and the United States. The girl, he stated, was the ' Queen of a Thousand Isles,' and authentic history so far corroborates his story as to mention the fact that on the St. Lawrence there was a certain young woman who gave aid and assistance to the patriots in this border tronble.
"Col. Johnson succeeded in cutting-quite a figure in Iowa City during the session of the Legislature. He was honored by a seat on the floor of the House, and was toasted and banqueted by some of the law-makers of the then State Capital. Col. Johnson located in the geographical center of Buchanan County, where he proposed laying out a town, and expected, by his fame and prowess, to draw around him a band of followers and secure the county seat. This excited the jealonsy of the first settler of that region, William Bennett, a notorious character, who had laid out a village where Quasqueton now stands, and where he hoped to enrich himself by securing the county seat of the new county. Bennett gathered a few congenial spirits about him, went over to John- son's, loaded np his effects for him, then tied him to a tree and flogged him, though with what severity is unknown, as accounts differ. Johnson went to Marion, where he lodged complaints against his persecutors, and the Sheriff of Linn County rode up to Quasqneton to arrest Bennett. The latter awaited him at his cabin door, armed with his rifle and a pair of pistols. The Sheriff modestly retired and went back for a posse. Bennett and his companions became convinced that they had better leave Quasqueton for awhile. On their way to a place of escape they suffered terribly from intense cold. Some of the party perished, and others were frozen so as to be mutilated for life. This of course aggravated Bennett still more and he and Johnson became deadly foes.
" Soon after, Johnson, losing his popularity, left Buchanan County, got in with a gang of horse-thieves, and fled to Mahaska County, to escape the law, bringing with him the girl Kit, and another man and woman. Johnson seemed to have this girl entirely under his control, and in his fits of passion it is said threatened to kill her, in consequence of which she was in mortal fear of him. Johnson located on Middle Creek, about eight miles northeast of Oskaloosa, in a grove now owned by James K. Woods. He there built a shanty. In the spring of 1843, a family of the name of Peck came to a point on Skunk River, about four miles from Oskaloosa, where Russell Peck with his son-in-law, George N. Duncan, built a grist-mill. Johnson and his daughter, so called, lived for some time with the Pecks and Duncans. Several times, it is related, during the time he stayed with them, strangers from the north came there and asked to stay over night. They were kindly treated. lodged and nothing charged them. This made Johnson very angry, the reason for which being, as was afterward learned, that these were of Johnson's enemies in Buchanan County, who, for some reason, did not get an opportunity to accom- plish their purposes, i. e., revenge on Johnson. During this time, an attach- ment sprung up between Kit and Job Peck, son of Russell Peck, a young man of abont twenty-one years. Johnson was greatly enraged on discovering this, and removed to his own cabin above mentioned, taking the girl with him. William D. Neeley was engaged to Peck's sister, Sarah. An elopement was planned.
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While Johnson was away one evening, about dusk, Kit was stolen away, and the two couples started in an easterly direction. The following day, they reached the house of a relative of Peck's, about four miles from Fairfield, where they were married and lodged for the night. Upon his return home, Johnson set out in search for them, came to the house where the fugitives were, near 1 o'clock at night, entered the house, and, with drawn revolver, dragged Kit from the bed, compelled her to dress herself and mount behind him and ride thus to his home.
" The following evening, about 7 o'clock, Johnson was shot dead, through a crevice in his cabin, while standing in front of the fire. Job Peck was arrested on charge of the murder, taken to Washington County and lodged in jail. His lawyers were J.C. Hall, of Mount Pleasant. and Col. Thompson. These gentlemen, learning that a warrant was ont, from the northern part of the State, for the arrest of 'Kit,' as being an accomplice of Johnson's, it was arranged that the girl should be secreted until she could be provided for. This was done, and a young law stu- dent of Hall's, named Wamsley, was sent with a buggy to Mahaska County, to the girl's hiding place. This Wamsley, while fording the Skunk River, a short dis- tance from Oskaloosa, met a man on horseback in the midst of the stream. The stranger stated to Wamsley that he was in search of a girl, giving her descrip- tion, being the same one that Wamsley was after. The latter, to throw the officer off the track, told him that he had seen such a girl in a certain house in the direction in which he had come. The officer started in pursuit, and Wams- ley proceeded about three miles and a half to 'Kit's' hiding-place. She was taken to Burlington. put on a steamboat and sent, by Hall, to Pittsburgh, Penn. Job Peck was acquitted, having proved an alibi. Some time after the murder, and during Peck's imprisonment, a stranger stopped at Duncan's and informed them that his name was Bennett; that he was one of the men who had stopped with them, and whom they had so kindly treated ; that he and Johnson had been deadly foes. He told the Duncans that they need not be alarmed in regard to Job's acquittal, as he (Bennett) knew Peck was not guilty, and gave the Duncans to understand that he knew who was.
" If we are correctly informed, and we have good authority, the most romantic part of this story is yet to come. During the time that he was imprisoned Peck knew nothing of his wife's whereabouts, nor was he informed by his lawyer until some months after his release. Finally her address was given him and he set out for Pittsburgh. There he found her living with people of the highest respectability, in most elegant style. Peck himself stated to our informant that the honse was furnished with a grandeur that he had not dreamed of ; that his wife was a fine musician ; that she had played for him on a piano in that house, and that he had these evidences of her accomplishments which he had not before conjectured. She was ready to come away with him, did come, and for several years lived near Oskaloosa with him. Parties now living remember her well; say that she was a woman .of fine education, of refinement and unblemished character, wrote a beautiful letter, and gave every evidence of a good 'bringing-up.' No one believes-she herself denies-that Johnson was her father ; but who she was, or who Johnson was, possibly her husband, certainly her husband's family never knew. She lived happily with Peck in California, until the latter's death. She has a noble family, and is again married to a devoted husband. Her portrait of late years has nothing of the romantic in it, but every lineament marks her intelligence and happiness. To-day this 'Queen of a Thousand Isles' is queen of a happy household in a far western home.
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" Since writing the above, we have been cited to an article in Scribner's Monthly for April, 1878, entitled ' Among the Thousand Islands.' From this article we make the following extracts :
' Of late years, perhaps, no event cansed such a stir of excitement in this region as the so-called Patriot war in 1838, a revolt of certain Canadians dissatisfied with the government of Sir Francis Bond Head, then Governor-General of Canada, which was joined by a number of American agitators, ever ripe for any disturbance. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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' It was a wild, insane affair altogether, and after some time consumed in petty threats of attack. finally reached a climax in the burning of the Canadian steamer Sir Robert Peel, one of the finest vessels upon the St. Lawrence. The most prominent actor in this affair was Bill Johnson-a name familiar to every one around this region-whose career forms a series of romantic adventures, deeds and escapes, followed by his final capture, which would fill a novel. Indeed, we understand that a novel has been written by a Canadian Frenchman on this theme. though we have not had the good fortune to find any one who has read it.
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' Johnson was originally a British subject, but turned renegade, serving as a spy in the war of 1812, in which capacity he is said to have robbed the mails to gain intelligence. He hated his native country with all the bitterness which a renegade alone is capable of feeling. He was one of the earliest agitators upon the American side of the border, and was the one who insti- gated the destruction of the Peel. A reward was offered by the Governments of each country for his apprehension, so he was compelled to take to the islands for safety. Here he continued for several months, though with numbers of hair-breadth escapes, in which he was assisted by his daughter, who seems to have been a noble girl. Many stories are told of remarkable acts performed by him, of his choking up the inlet of the Lake of the Isle with rocks, so as to pre- vent vessels of any size entering that sheet of water; of his having a skiff in which he could outspeed any ordinary sailing craft, and which he carried bodily across necks of land when his enemies were in pursuit of him, and of his hiding in all manner of out-of-the-way spots, once especially in the Devil's Oven, previously described, to which his daughter, who alone was in his confidence, disguised as a boy, carried provisions. He was finally captured and sent to Albany, where, after suffering a slight penalty for his offense, he was subsequently released, although he was always very careful to keep out of the clutch of the indignant canadians.'"
There is something of a similarity between the history of this girl and that of the supposed wife of " One-Thumbed Thompson." Thompson was quite prominent among Brown's men in an early day, and has been elsewhere men- tioned in these pages.
CITIZENS' ASSOCIATION.
The people of Cedar and Linn Counties had been so afflicted by the depre- dations of an organized band of horse thieves and counterfeiters, whom they believed to be in league with those at Bellevue, that they resolved upon some organized effort to rid themselves of the desperadoes. They accordingly extended an invitation to certain citizens of Bellevue to unite with them in the formation of a society to oppose the raids of the thieves, and, if possible, to bring them to justice. In answer to this call, Capt. W. A. Warren, Col. Thomas Cox and J. K. Moss, left Bellevue for Linn County to assist in the organization of this protective society. They stopped on their way at the house of one Joshua Bear, whom they invited to accompany them. Mr. Bear exhibited to them eight $10 counterfeit bills that he had received from One-Thumbed Thompson, a member of the gang, in payment for a fine horse, and assured the gentlemen that he would accompany them upon their expedition with an enthusiasm con- mensurate with the wrongs he had suffered.
They left Mr. Bear's provided with provisions and horse-feed sufficient to last them twenty-four hours. It was in the winter time, and traveling through the unbroken forest or prairie was anything but pleasant. The party reached the Wapsipinicon just before sunset, where, at a place called " Nigger's Point," they found a cabin unoccupied, which had been built by a negro, who had mys- teriously disappeared. It was thought best to camp there for the night, and
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the horses were placed in a temporary shed covered with hay. As Capt. War- ren and Mr. Bear were going to the river for water, they found the carcass of a horse partly consumed by wolves. The poor animal had broken through the ice, been dragged ashore, and probably perished with the cold. This bait for wolves was a happy discovery to Mr. Bear, whose propensity for hunting was unparalleled in the county. Soon after night-fall, he went out with his rifle to where the wolves were congregated about the carrion and shot one, when the rest scampered off over the hill. This put rest out of the mind of the trapper for that night. Taking his rifle and buffalo robe, Mr. Bear left the cabin to spend the night near the dead horse shooting wolves. He succeeded in pre- paring ten wolves to have their scalps taken, and declared that in all his hunt- ing, he had never seen so many of the animals before. This incident drove from him, for the time, all enmity toward the horse thieves and all enthusiasm on the subject of a "Citizens' Association." He declared he would not go a step farther, but would remain there shooting wolves the following night, and taking care of the skins of his present booty during the day.
Moss, Cox and Warren took their departure up the Wapsipinicon to the point where Fairview is now located, and from thence, with two settlers, Messrs. Russell and Crow, they proceeded to Linn Grove where the meeting was to be held. At noon, the house was crowded with delegates from Cedar, Jones and Linn Counties. `Among those from Cedar was Mr. Roberts, who, as mem- ber of the Territorial Legislature, upon the introduction of any bill would address the chair with : " Mr. Speaker, ar Cedar in that ar bill ? If not. I cannot vote for it." A discussion of the problem of getting rid of the horse thieves was held for some time, and a speech was made by Col. Cox advocating violent measures, if necessary. He thought moral suasion was wasted upon banditti, and prescribed hemp as being, in his opinion, the best cure for the evil. An association was formed and the meeting adjourned.
The next day, when the Bellevue party returned to where they had left Mr. Bear they learned that he had not enjoyed as good success the second night as the first, having only killed three wolves. Four straggling Winnebago Indians were in the camp jerking wolf meat, and seemed to think it would make a very palatable living. Mr. Bear had sold his wolf-skins for $15 in gold, to some stranger, and felt quite well repaid for the time spent in hunting.
He accompanied the party to Bellevue with the view of making some pur- chases. When he was about to pay for the goods he bought, he discovered the gold was not gold, in short, that " all is not gold that glitters." He was sold again, and the three counterfeit pieces were not worth their weight in brass. Inquiry discovered the fact that Brown had just purchased a lot of wolf-hides which proved to be the same ones. He agreed to give up the hides ; said he knew the men who purchased them, that they were above suspicion, and would at once replace the coin with good money when informed of its character. He asked Mr. Bear to go through the formality of swearing that the coin was the same he had received for the hides, and the exchange was made. Mr. Moss took the pelts in exchange for goods purchased of him, and had the skins man- ufactured into a robe, which, subsequently, passed into the hands of Dr. Maughs, and from him into the possession of T. H. Davis.
THE BANDITTI'S DEN.
During the month of May following the formation of this Association, some four horses were stolen near Freeport,. Ill., and tracked most of the way to Bellevue. Sheriff Warren and the owner of two of these horses, got word that
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they were making for the timber at the forks of the Wapsipinicon and Buffalo. They left Bellevue about 10 o'clock A. M., and reached Canton in the evening. Here they found the thieves had that morning disposed of one span of the hor es to Mr. Rankin, one of the proprietors of the Canton Mills. Mr. Rankin had paid $100, and given his note for $100 more. They had left Canton in a westerly direction. Mr. Rankin joined Sheriff Warren in the pursuit, leaving the owner of the horses at Canton until their return. On reaching what was called the Scotch Settlement, Mr. Rankin found his note had been sold to a Mr. Brendel for one-half its face. The pursuers continned their course west- ward. Moving forward with difficulty through a strange cont.try, they reached the Buffalo at the point where Anamosa now stands. Here they found " Indian Jim." of whom we have elsewhere made mention, and a camp of other Indians. Jim told the Sheriff all about the thieves crossing the river, and that they had a cabin about four miles distant in a hollow in the " Big Timber," and prob- ably were there to the number of four or five men. The pursuing party remained here all night, as the river was not fordable, and, in the morning, got the Indians to ferry them across in a canoe, leaving their horses behind, and securing from the Indians the use of two of their ponies which were upon the opposite bank.
Following the trail, which they discovered about four miles, they found it leading into a small ravine which led down toward the "Wapsie." Arriving almost in sight of the stream, they discovered smoke issuing from a small cabin almost completely hid from view by the undergrowth and timber .. It was then a question with Rankin and Warren whether they might not be so completely outnumbered by the men in the cabin as to find it impossible to recover the horses, and, perhaps, meet with violence. After a hurried consultation, it was decided that Mr. Rankin should remain among the brush with the ponies while Warren would go to the house and discover the strength of the party. He found the horses hitched near the cabin, and, entering, found one man prepar- ing breakfast. The table was set with four plates indicating that number of men. The Sheriff inquired where his friends were, pretending himself a hunter. The response was that they had gone out on a hunt, and were expected back any moment. Warren noticed a small forge in one part of the room, and a pair of bellows standing in the corner, indicating this to be a counterfeiter's mint. He next inquired whose were the horses standing without the cabin, and was told they had been left there by a couple of. travelers who had stopped a few days to look at the country, and pointing to a double-barreled shot-gun, which Warren was examining, remarked that was theirs, too. Warren informed him the horses were stolen, as also the gun, and putting it over his shoulder started out the cabin, and mounting one of the horses led the other up the ravine to the point where he had left Rankin. Warren counseled an immediate retreat, but Rankin was not willing to go until he had seen the men and secured the money which he had paid for the span of horses purchased by him. It was, however, decided to be best to proceed to the river for re-enforcements before doing anything further. On their way back they discovered one of the horses they were leading was not the one they were after, but resolved to take it as a substitute. When they reached the river, they found the Indians had ferried three men to the east bank, leaving their horses on the west. One of these horses proved to be the missing animal, and the inference was that these were the three men who were expected at the cabin for break- fast. Warren shouted to Indian Jim to come over for them, which he did, bringing one of the white men, who proved to be none other than
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