USA > Iowa > Warren County > The history of Warren 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 &c > Part 15
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gathering of feathered tenants, but after we left, they doubtless returned to their revelry.
We continued our journey up the lake a mile further to the "inlet." Here a small stream makes its way in from the east, and, having high steep banks, all we had to do was to go round its mouth through the lake, the water being very clear, with a fine gravel bottom, and sufficiently shallow for good ford- ing. Just above this, a sand-beach extends for some distance, portions of which are covered with clumps of willows and other small trees. "No heavy groves of timber border on the east side of the lake, but scattered trees and
small groves extend all the way along. The adjoining prairie land is gener- ally dry, rolling and well adapted to farming purposes. Several farms are in cultivation along the banks of this part of the lake.
Nearly east of the north end of the lake, we crossed the Iowa and Minne- sota line. Our road led us about a mile further north, where it diverged westerly to the south bank of a pleasant little sheet of water, known as Loon Lake. This has an ontlet connecting it with other small lakes, which lie near the head of Spirit Lake, and which were doubtless once a part of the same. In a pretty little grove on the shore of Loon Lake, in the sovereign State of Minnesota, we paused for our nooning.
From Loon Lake the road turns southward, passing several miles through groves of timber that border the west shore of Spirit Lake. A number of clear and quiet little lakes are nestled romantically in the groves west of Spirit Lake with only sufficient room in many places for a roadway between them and the latter. Of these charming little lakes, the three principal ones are Lake Augusta, Plum Lake, and Round Lake. In the formation of the last named, nature has indulged in one of her most singular and interesting freaks. It is something over a quarter of a mile in diameter, and so nearly round that the eye can detect no irregularity. The bank, all around, rises to the uniform height of about thirty feet, sloping at an angle of forty-five degrees, and giving the lake the appearance of a huge basin. A dense forest approaches on all sides, with large trees bending over the water, which is so deep down in its reservoir that the wind rarely ruffles its surface. There is no visible inlet or outlet, but the water is always deep and clear. It is indeed worth a day's journey to see this charming little gem of a lake, reposing so quietly in the midst of its wild surroundings of lofty trees, tangled vines and wild flowers.
Plum Lake is so called from the fact that there are many groves of wild plums around it. It lies between Lake Angusta and Round Lake. Near the north end of Plum Lake is a commanding elevation called "Grandview Mound." From the summit of this mound there is a fine view of Spirit Lake, and a portion of the surrounding country. There is every appearance that these little lakes were once a portion of the greater one that lies east of them, and they are now separated from it by a strip of land only wide enough in many places for a good wagon road, but it is gradually increasing in width from year to year. It is covered with a growth of cottonwood, soft maple, elm, wild plum, and other trees, with a dense profusion of wild grape vines clinging among the branches. The beach along the edge of Spirit Lake here is composed of gravel, sand and shells, with a ridge of boulders, rising and extending up to the timber, through which the road passes.
Round Lake, above mentioned, is situated in what is known as "Marble Grove," one of the finest bodies of timber to be found about the lakes, and is so named from its early occupant, who was killed by the Indians. It was in
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this grove, after the massacre, that the Indians peeled the bark from a tree, and with a dark paint, made a picture-record of what they had done. The killed were represented by rude drawings of persons in a prostrate position, corresponding with the number of victims. Pictures of cabins, with smoke issuing from their roofs, represented the number of houses burned. In the murder of Marble and his child, and the capture of Mrs. Marble, the Indians completed the annihilation of the settlement at the lakes, and thus left a record of their fiendish work. "Marble Grove" at that time was doubtless a scene of savage rejoicing over the perpetration of deeds which cast a gloom over all Northwestern Iowa, and which the lapse of years only could remove.
From the south end of " Marble Grove " to the village of Spirit Lake, the road passes over undulating prairies for some three or four miles, with several new farms now being improved on either side. The principal groves of timber about this lake are at the west side and the north end, while a narrow belt extends around the other portions. The water is deep, and the wind often dashes the waves against the banks with great violence. At other times the surface is smooth and placid.
There is a legend which we give briefly, for the benefit of those who may be curious to know the origin of the name of Spirit Lake. Many moons before the white man took up his abode or built his cabin on the shores of the lake, a band of Dakota warriors brought a pale-faced maiden here, a captive taken in one of their expeditions against the whites who had ven- tured near their hunting grounds. Among the warriors was a tall young brave, fairer than the rest, who had been stolen from the whites in infancy by the wife of Um-pa-sho-ta, the chief. The pale-faced brave never knew his parentage or origin, but the chief's wife called him Star of Day, and he knew not but that she was his own mother. All the tribe expected that he would sometime become their chief, as no warrior had proved so brave and daring as he. Star of Day, only, had performed deeds which entitled him to succeed to the honors of the aged Um-pa-sho-ta. But all the distinctions or titles that his nation might bestow, possessed no attraction for him while he heheld the grief of the beautiful pale-faced captive. He therefore deter- mined to rescue her, and also made up liis mind to flee with her from the tribe and make her his wife. The maiden had recognized in the blue eyes and fair face of her lover, something which told her that he, like herself, was a captive. One night, while all the warriors were asleep in their lodges, Star of Day and the maiden sluinbered not. He silently unbound the thongs which fastened her to the lodge frame. Only a few paces through the thick forest brought them to the lake shore, where, under the willows,
his light canoe was in readiness. Soon the lovers were midway across the lake, but the Great Spirit who ruled in the wind and the water, as well as in the forest, willed that their home should be together beneath the waters where no Dakota should henceforth ever disturb them. And so a breath of the Great Spirit in the wind dashed a wave over the little canoe, and it went down with the lovers. Since that time no Indian's canoe Iras ever dared to venture upon the lake. Only the white man's canoe is always safe, for the spirits of Star of Day and the maiden still abide under the water, in a beautiful cave of shells, guarding only the white man's canoe from danger, as spirits ever know their own. From that time the Dakotas called the lake Minne- Waukon, or Spirit-Water.
Okoboji .- Okoboji is the most beautiful of all the lakes of Northwestern Iowa. Walter Scott could not invest the historic lakes of Scotia with more
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of the wild beauty of scenery suggestive of poetry and romance, than we here find around this loveliest of Iowa lakes.
Okoboji lies immediately south of Spirit Lake, and is of very irregular shape. Its whole length is at least fourteen miles, but it is nearly separated into two parts. The two parts are called, respectively, East and West Okoboji. A wooden bridge has been erected across the straits, on the road from the village of Spirit Lake to that of Okoboji, the water here being ordinarily not over a couple of hundred feet wide and about fifteen feet deep. West Okoboji is much the larger body of water, stretching west and northwest of the straits some eight miles, and varying in width from one to two miles. As you pass around this lake, the scene constantly changes, and from many different points the observer obtains new views, many of which might furnish inspira- tion to the pencil of the artist. The water has a deep sky-blue appearance, and the surface is either placid or boisterous, as the weather may happen to be. The dry land slopes down to the margin on all sides.
Huge boulders are piled up around the shores several feet above the water, forming a complete protection against the action of the waves. These rocks embrace the different kinds of granite which are found scat- tered over the prairies, with also a large proportion of limestone, from which good quick-lime is manufactured. This rock protection seems to be charac- teristic of all that portion of the lake-shore most subject to the violent beat- ing of the waves. But there are several fine gravel beaches, and one on the north side is especially resorted to as being the most extensive and beautiful. Here are immense wind-rows of pebbles, rounded and polished by the vari- ous processes that nature employs, and in such variety that a single handful taken up at random would constitute a miniature cabinet for the geologist. Agates, cornelians, and other specimens of exquisite tint and beauty, are found in great profusion, being constantly washed up by the water. The east end of West Okoboji, at the straits, is some five miles south of Spirit Lake, but the extreme west portion extends up to a point west of Spirit Lake. East Okoboji is not so wide or deep as the other part, but is nearly as long. It extends up to within a quarter of a mile, or less, of Spirit Lake, and is now connected with it by a mill-race, being some four or five feet lower than that lake. At a narrow place near the upper end of this lake, a bridge some three hundred feet long has been erected on the road leading to Estherville. The Okoboji outlet heads at the south end of East Okoboji, and in its passage flows through three lakes called Upper, Middle and Lower Gar Lakes. These little lakes are so named because large quantities of the peculiar long-billed fish designated by that name, are found therein. This outlet has a rapid fall all the way to its junction with the Little Sionx river, some five miles below, and is about being turned to good account by the erection of machinery on it. This outlet is also the greatest of the fishing resorts about the lakes
The groves around Lake Okoboji embrace over one thousand acres of good timber. The larger groves are found on the south side, where the principal settlement was at the time of the Indian massacre. There are two or three fine bodies of timber on the north side of West Okoboji, and a narrow fringe of timber borders nearly all the lake shore between the larger groves. Òn the north side of West Okoboji, near the west end, is a splendid grove of hard maple, of large size, while none of this kind of timber is found else- where about the lake. On the same side in another grove, we observed many red cedars of large growth. We noticed one nearly three feet in
1
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diameter, and a fine crop of young cedars, from three to ten inches high, have taken root along the shore. Burr oak seems to predominate among the various kinds of timber, and the groves on the south side are mainly composed of this kind, with considerable ash, elm and walnut. In many places the ground is covered with a dense growth of wild gooseberry and wild currant bushes, all now giving promise of a fine yield of fruit. Many plum groves are scattered about the lake, and grapes also grow in profusion. We noticed, however, that the wild crab-apple, so plentiful in other parts of the State, was wanting.
The land rises from the lake nearly all the way round, with a gradually sloping bank, to the height of some thirty feet, and then stretches away in undulating prairie or woodland, as the case may be. In some places, the unbroken prairie extends to the beach without a tree or shrub. A splendid body of prairie, embracing several thousand acres, lies in the peninsula formed by Lake Okoboji with its outlet and the Little Sioux river. Between .Okoboji and Spirit Lakes, there is also a good body of prairie with some well improved farms. A lake of considerable size, called Center Lake, with a fine body of timber surrounding it, lies between Okoboji and Spirit Lakes.
In point of health, as well as in the beauty of its natural scenery, this locality far surpasses many others that have become fashionable and famous resorts. A month or two in the summer season might be spent here with constant change, and a pleasing variety of attractions. The invalid or pleasure seeker might divide the time between hunting, fishing, driving, bathing, rowing, sailing, rambling, and in various other ways adapted to his taste or fancy. He could pay homage to Nature in her playful or her milder moods; for sometimes she causes these little lakes to play the role of miniature seas by the wild dashing of their surges against their rocky shores, and then again causes them to become as calm and placid as slumbering infancy.
Clear Lake .- Clear Lake, in Cerro Gordo county, is among the better known lakes of the State, on account of its easy accessibility by rail, as well as its many and varied attractions. It is a beautiful little sheet of water, and as a pleasure resort has for several years been constantly growing in favor. This, and Storm Lake, in Buena Vista county, as well as some others, are deserving of special description, but what is already given will afford some idea of the lakes of Northern Iowa.
Timber .- One of the peculiar features of the topography of the north- west, is the predominance of prairies, a name of French origin, which sig- nifies grass-land. It has been estimated that about nine-tenths of the sur- face of Iowa is prairie. The timber is generally found in heavy bodies skirt- ing the streams, but there are also many isolated groves standing, like islands in the sea, far out on the prairies. The eastern half of the State contains a larger proportion of timber than the western. The following are the leading varieties of timber: White, black and burr oak, black walnut, butternut, hickory, hard and soft maple, cherry, red and white elm, ash, linn, hackberry, birch, honey locust, cottonwood and quaking asp. A few sycamore trees are found in certain localities along the streams. Groves of red cedar also pre- vail, especially along Iowa and Cedar rivers, and a few isolated pine trees are scattered along the bluffs of some of the streams in the northern part of the State.
Nearly all kinds of timber common to Iowa have been found to grow rap-
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idly when transplanted upon the prairies, or when propagated from the plant- ing of seeds. Only a few years and a little expense are required for the settler to raise a grove sufficient to afford him a supply of fuel. The kinds most easily propagated, and of rapid growth, are cottonwood, maple and wal- nut. All our prairie soils are adapted to their growthi.
Prof. C. E. Bessey, of the State Agricultural College, who supervised the collection of the different woods of Iowa for exhibition at the Centennial Exposition, in 1876, has given a most complete list of the native woody plants of the State. Below we present his list. When not otherwise stated, they are trees. The average diameters are given in inches, and when the species is a rare one, its locality is given:
Papaw-shrub; 2 to 3 inches.
Moonseed-climbing shrub; 12 inch. Basswood, Lynn or Linden-20 inches.
Prickly Ash-shrub; 2 inches. Smooth Sumach-shrub; 2 inches.
Poison Ivy-climbing shrub; 1 inch. Fragrant Sumach-shrub; 2 inches. Frost Grape vine; 2 inches.
River Bank Grape-vine; 2 inches.
Buckthorn-shrub; river bluffs; 2 to 3 inches.
New Jersey Tea-low shrub; 12 inch.
Red Root-low shrub; 12 inch.
Bitter-sweet-climbing shrub; 1 inch.
Wahoo-shrub; 2 inches.
Bladder Nut-shrub; 2 inches. Buckeye-20 to 30 inches.
Sugar Maple -- 20 to 24 inches.
Black Maple -- 12 to 18 inches.
Silver or Soft Maple-20 to 30 inches.
Box Elder-3 to 12 inches.
False Indigo-shrub; 12 inch. Lead Plant-low shrub; 12 inch. Red Bud-6 to 8 inches.
Kentucky Coffee Tree-3 to 12 inches.
Honey Locust-12 to 20 inches.
Wild Plum-shrub or tree; 2 to 5 inches.
Wild Red Cherry-shrub or tree; 2 to 6 inches.
Choke Cherry-shrub; 2 to 3 inches.
Wild Black Cherry-12 to 18 inches.
Wine Bark-shrub; 12 inch.
Meadow Sweet-shrub; 12 inch.
Wild Red Raspberry-shrub; 12 inch.
Wild Black Raspberry-shrub: 12 inch.
Wild Blackberry-shrub; 12 inch.
Dwarf Wild Rose-low shrub; 12 inch.
Early Wild Rose-low shrub; 12 inch.
Black Thorn-3 to 5 inches.
White Thern-3 to 5 inches. Downy-leaved Thorn-2 to 3 inches. Wild Crab Apple-3 to 5 inches. Service Berry or June Berry-3 to 5 inches. Small June Berry-shrub; 2 to 3 inches. Prickly Wild Gooseberry-shrub; 12 inch. Smooth Wild Gooseberry-shrub; 12 inch. Wild Black Currant-shrub; 12 inch. Witch Hazel-shrub; 1 to 2 inches; said to grow in N. E. Iowa. Kinnikinnik-shrub; 2 inches.
Rough-leaved Dogwood-shrub; 1 to 3 inches. Panicled Cornel-shrub; 2 inches.
Alternate-leaved Cornel-shrub; 2 inches. Wolfberry-low shrub; 12 inch.
Coral Berry-low shrub; 12 inch.
Small Wild Honeysuckle-climbing shrub; 12 inch.
Blackberried Elder-shrub; 1 to 2 inches.
Red-berried Elder-shrub; 1 to 2 inches. This one I have not seen, but feel quite sure that it is in the State.
Sheep Berry-shrub; 2 inches. Downy Arrow-wood-shrub 2 inches.
High Cranberry Bush-shrub; 1 inch.
Button Bush-shrub; 1 inch.
Black Huckleberry-low shrub; 12 inch; near Davenport, according to Dr. Parry. White Ash-12 to 18 inches.
Green Ash-8 to 12 inches. There is some doubt as to the identity of this species. Black Ash-12 to 16 inches.
Sassafras-3 to 18 inches. Said to grow in the extreme southeastern part of the State.
Spice Bush-shrub; 1 inch. Said to grow in Northeastern Iowa.
Leatherwood or Moosewood-shrub; 1 to 2 inches. In Northeastern Iowa.
Buffalo Berry-shrub; 1 to 2 inches. Possi- bly this may be found on our western borders, as it occurs in Nebraska.
Red Elm-12 to 14 inches.
White Elm-18 to 30 inches.
Corky Elm-10 to 15 inches. I have seen no specimens which could certainly be re- ferred to this species, and yet 1 think there is little doubt of its being a native of this State.
Hackberry-10 to 16 inches,
Red Mulberry-6 to 10 inches.
Sycamore, or Buttonwood-10 to 30 inches.
Black Walnut-24 to 48 inches.
Butternut-12 to 20 inches.
Shell-bark Hickory-12 to 24 inches.
Pecan Nut-12 to 20 inches.
Large Hickory Nut-18 to 24 inches. Pig Nut Hickory-12 to 20 inches.
These three last species I have not seen in the State, but from their known dis- tribution, I have no doubt that they are to be found in the southern portions of the State.
Butternut Hickory-12 to 18 inches.
White Oak-20 to 30 inches.
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Burr Oak-24 to 36 inches.
Petioled Willow-shrub; 2 inches.
Heart-leaved Willow-small tree; 3 to 4 in- ches.
Black Willow-3 to 12 inches.
Almond Willow-3 to 8 inches.
Long-leaved Willow-shrub; 2 to 3 inches.
Aspen-6 to 12 inches.
Blue Beech-3 to 4 inches.
Cottonwood-24 to 36 inches.
White Birch-3 to 6 inches. Said to grow in Northeastern Iowa.
White Pine-a few small trees grow in North- eastern Iowa.
Speckled Alder-shrub or small tree; 2 to 3 inches. Northeastern Iowa.
Red Cedar-6 to 8 inches.
Ground Hemlock-trailing shrub; 1 inch.
Prairie Willows-low shrub; 13 inch.
Green Briar-climbing shrub; 12 inch.
Glaucous Willow-small tree; 2 to 3 inches.
Total number of species, 104; of these, fifty-one species are trees, while the remaining ones are shrubs. The wood of all the former is used for economic purposes, while some of the latter furnish more or less valuable fuel.
Climate .- Prof. Parvin, who has devoted great attention to the climatol- ogy of Iowa, in a series of observations made by him at Muscatine, from 1839 to 1859, inclusive, and at Iowa City, from 1860 to 1870, inclusive, deduces the following general results : That the months of November and March are essentially winter months, their average temperatures rising but a few degrees above the freezing point. Much of the former month is indeed mild and pleasant, but in it usually comes the first cold spell, followed generally by mild weather, while in March the farmer is often enabled to commence his spring plowing. September has usually a summer temperature, and proves a ripening season for the fall crops, upon which the farmer may rely with safety if the spring has been at all backward. May has much more the character of a spring month than that of summer, and "May day" is not often greeted with a profusion of flowers. The average temperature of May during thirty-two years was 59.06 degrees, while that of September was 63.37 degrees. Prof. Parvin states that during thirty-five years the ' mercury rose to 100 degrees only once within the region of his observations in Iowa, and that was during the summer of 1870. It seldom rises above ninety-five degrees, or falls lower than fifteen degrees below zero. The highest temperature, with very few exceptions, occurs in the month of Au- gust, while July is the hottest month as indicated by the mean temperature of the summer months. January is the coldest month, and in this, only once in thirty-two years did the mercury fall to thirty degrees below zero. The prevailing winds are those of a westerly direction, not for the year alone, but for the several months of the year, except June, July, August and Sep- tember. August is the month in which the greatest amount of rain falls, and in January the least. The greatest fall of rain in any one year, was in 1851-74.49 inches, and the least in 1854-23.35 inches. The greatest fall of snow for any one year, was in 1868-61.97 inches. The least was in 1850-7.90 inches. The earliest fall of snow during twenty-two years, from 1848 to 1869, inclusive, was October 17th, 1859, and the latest, April 29th, 1851. The greatest fall was December 21st, 1848-20.50 inches." During that time no snow fell during the months of May, June, July, August and September, but rain usually occurs in each of the winter months.
The clear days during the time embraced in Prof. Parvin's observations, were thirty-two per cent; the cloudy twenty-two per cent, and the variable forty-six per cent.
Chestnut, Oak-5 to 10 inches. Laurel Oak-5 to 10 inches. Scarlet Oak-12 to 16 inches.
Red Oak-15 to 20 inches.
Hazel Nut-shrub; 1 inch.
Iron Wood-4 to 7 inches.
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The year 1863 was very cold, not only in Iowa, but throughout the coun- try, and there was frost in every month of the year, but it only once or twice during thirty years seriously injured the corn crop. When the spring is late the fall is generally lengthened, so that the crop has time to mature. The mean time for late spring frosts is May 4th; that of early fall frost is September 24th. The latest frost in the spring during thirty-one years, from 1839 to 1869, inclusive, was May 26th, 1847; and the earliest, August 29th, 1863.
Prairies .- The character of surface understood by the term prairie, is not a feature peculiar to Iowa, but is a characteristic of the greater portion of the Northwest. Dr. C. A. White, late State Geologist of Iowa, in his re- port says :
" By the word prairie we mean any considerable surface that is free from forest trees and shrubbery, and which is covered more or less thickly with grass and annual plants. This is also the popular understanding of the term. It is estimated that about seven-eighths of the surface of Iowa is prairie, or was so when the State was first settled. They are not confined to the level surface, but are sometimes even quite hilly and broken; and it has just been shown that they are not confined to any particular variety of soil, for they prevail equally upon Alluvial, Drift, and Lacustral soils. Indeed, we sometimes find a single prairie whose surface includes all these varieties, portions of which may be respectively sandy, gravelly, clayey or loamy. Neither are they confined to the region of, nor does their character seem at all dependent upon, the formations which underlie them, for within the State of Iowa they rest upon all formations, from those of Azoic to those of Cre- taceous age inclusive, which embraces almost all kinds of rocks, such as quartzites, friable sandstone, magnesian limestone, common limestone, im- pure chalk, clay, clayey and sandy shales, etc. Southwestern Minnesota is almost one continuous prairie upon the drift which rests directly upon, not only the hard Sioux quartzite, but also directly upon the granite.
"Thus, whatever the origin of the prairies might have been, we have the positive assurance that their present existence in Iowa and immediate vicin- ity is not due to the influence of climate, the character or composition of the soil, nor to the character of any of the underlying formations. It now remains to say without the least hesitation, that the real cause of the pres- ent existence of prairies in Iowa, is the prevalence of the annual fires. If these had been prevented fifty years ago Iowa would now be a timbered instead of a prairie State.
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