Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Kane County, Part 125

Author:
Publication date: 1904
Publisher: Chicago: Munsell Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 950

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A number of lakes or ponds, covering from fifteen to eighty or more acres each, formerly existed along its western water-shed. Nelson's Lake on the line between the townships of Batavia and Blackberry, and Lily Lake, just east of the Campton and Virgil line, were prob- ably the largest and deepest of them. Quite a body of deep water covered a portion of the northwest quarter of Section 8, and another larger, but shallower, lay on the east line of the southeast quarter of Section 16, both in Elgin Township. The latter was the source of the north branch of . Ferson's Creek, and Lily Lake was the source of the south branch. There were many other smaller ponds in the county.

The greater absorption of the rainfall by the

earth under cultivation, and a thorough sys- tem of open ditches and covered tiling, have completely drained these reservoirs, and the former sloughs; and today these low-lying lands are among the most productive in the county. Each township has one or more clear running spring brooks, and yet so well defined and straight is the summit between the Fox and Rock Rivers, that the dividing line of the two western tiers of townships of the county does not cross a single stream.

The banks of the river and of its principal tributaries were usually bordered with a fine growth of forest trees, the white, black, red and burr-oaks being most numerous; but there were also shag-bark and bitter hickories, white and black ash, sugar maples, black walnut and butternut, several varieties of elms, basswood, poplar, sycamore trees, and a few cedars. On the east bank of the river there was a body of magnificent timber, extending from the south line of the county northward to Batavia, called the "Big Woods," and a similar growth, reach- ing from Geneva to the north line of St. Charles Township, was called the "Little Woods." These tracts were covered with a growth of hardwood trees, standing so thickly and of such stately proportions as to fully justify their designation as "timber lands." There were many splendid oaks, maples and black walnuts, whose massive boles would square over two feet, which rose straight as arrows, with a height of thirty or forty feet to the first spreading branches which formed their lofty crowns, and whose huge limbs often pro- duced logs sixteen feet in length that could be split into rails. For many years these timber lands produced large quantities of hewed and sawed timber, ties, planks and boards, for building dams, mills, bridges, plank-roads, rail- ways and various other structures; while also supplying rails, stakes and posts for fencing, and fuel for the communities located along the river.

On the northeast quarter of Section 1, in Elgin Township, there was a small tract of very remarkable forest and plant growth known as the "Cedar Swamp." Each va- riety of the forest trees above mentioned reached their perfection here; and, in ad- dition, there were great red and white cedars, not tall but with low immense trunks, and very large branches. From single points of view more than a dozen varieties of splendid

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forest trees could be seen in close proximity, besides very many species of rare and beautiful swamp and woodland shrubs, plants, ferns, flowers and grasses. Copious springs of clear, cold water bubbled up from the depths of boggy hillsides, over which you could pick your cautious way on slimy, moss-covered logs, and into whose oozy depths one could easily thrust a pole amid submerged decaying logs ten or fifteen feet. Mr. Burgess Truesdell, an edu- cated gentleman and student, and a close ob- server of nature, declared that, on no other so restricted space, had he ever seen or read of an equal variety and beauty of plant life. A half-dozen sparkling streams hurried to the near-by river, and in their pure, cold water the fastidious brook trout were successfully propa- gated in later years. Until despoiled by the greedy hand of man, it was indeed a scene of rare forest beauty.

Each of the townships lying away from the river had woodland amply sufficient for the buildings and fences of the early days, and for domestic use as fuel. It is doubtful if a fertile area equal to Kane County could be found in which prairie, woodland and water were more equally and favorably distributed.

Beside these trees of larger growth, were found the smaller varieties- ironwoods, wil- lows, wild cherries, crab-apples, thorn-apples, wild plums and the like, in great abundance. Hazel, blackberry, raspberry, gooseberry and black currant bushes grew in great profusion; and wild grape vines made luxuriant growth along the borders of the streams. The nuts and mast, and the wild fruits of the forest furnished, in early times, quite abundant, and always palatable and wholesome, food for man, beast and bird. The open prairies were thickly covered with rich verdure from the nu- tritious upland grass to the coarse wire and the rank broad-leaved grasses, and the rushes and lilies of the sloughs and ponds. Over both woodland and prairie, from early spring until the sharp frosts of near-by winter, there passed a constant procession of bloom and beauty. How delightful to recall, even in fleeting visions and happy memories of those early days, the lovely panorama of the spring, sum- mer and autumn time. First, the springing grasses, the pussy willows and hazel tassels, the opening buds of the young hickories and the shy blooming of the wind flower;' then the snowy white of the fragrant hawthorn and

wild plum, the immense bouquet of the crab- apple in bloom, the wild rose and eglantine, the beautiful beds of phlox, the great swaying lilies, the brilliant cardinal flower ("green knight with a scarlet plume," the children called it); the wonderfully delicate tinted lady-slipper, and all the bright and lovely pro- cession of wild flower and fruit that swept on through the glowing summer, until the chill winds of autumn ushered in the golden Indian summer, with its soft air and mellow haze. Upon the broad canvas of green verdure, nature painted pictures of exquisite color and charm- ing loveliness.

Though now nearing life's radiant sunset, what man or woman is there who lived in this favored land in the pioneer days, who does not still recall, with a thrill of pleasure, the delicious wild-strawberries and the yellow ground-cherries, that bloomed and ripened on the sunny slope of some familiar hillside; the deep blue of the indigo plant ("horse-fiddle") ; the tall sunflower-like rosin weed, whose broken stems exuded such delicious white gum; the swaying golden-rod and innumerable daisies and asters; the wood anemones and mandrakes or "May apples;" and, with greater or less dis- tinctness, dear memories of his or her chosen favorites among the countless varieties of lovely wild flowers that, in rich profusion, decked with beauty and fragrance this home of their childhood? Many, very many, of these are lost and gone; yet J. H. Becker, Esq., an ardent lover of nature, furnishes this list of blossoming shrubs and plants that still may be found in quiet nooks undisturbed by cultiva- tion: Blood-root; rue; wood anemone; star- flower; mandrake; spring beanty; Dutchman's breeches; white trillium; wild sarsaparilla; Solomon's seal; false Solomon's seal; dog- wood; red-berried elder; white and yellow wood-sorrel; poison ivy; Virginia creeper; ox- eyed daisy; Indian pipe; field chickweed; white and yellow water-lily; poke -weed; wild carrot; yarrow; water-parsnip; arrow-head; jimson weed; white, blue and purple asters; boneset; marsh marigold; dog-tooth; yellow, white and purple violets; celandine; yellow and white lady-slipper; small yellow and white lady-slip- per; meadow lily; wood lily; pond lily; yel- low star-grass; butter and eggs; St. John's wort; mullen; jewel weed; evening primrose; black-eyed Susan; golden-rod; elecampane; wild and swamp sunflower; stick tight; tansy;

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HISTORY OF KANE COUNTY.

milk-weed; bouncing Bet; fire-weed; colum- bine; wake robin; painted cup; cardinal flower; honey-suckle; liverwort; phlox (many varieties) ; geranium; blue-eyed grass; blue flag; spider wort; Indian tobacco; white and blue gentian; fringed gentian; skunk cabbage; Jack in the pulpit; wild hyacinth; pussy wil- lows; buttercups; wild roses; leeks; rosin weed; ground cherry; strawberry; cat tail; red root, and many varieties of ferns.

CHAPTER III.

WILD ANIMALS, BIRDS AND REPTILES.

INDIAN TRADITION OF A COLD WINTER-ILLINOIS THE EARLY HABITAT OF THE BISON AND THE ELK-INDIAN LEGEND ABOUT BUFFALO ROUND- UPS AT BUFFALO ROCK-MYSTERIOUS DIS- APPEARANCE OF THE LARGER ANIMALS FROM ILLINOIS SOIL-PRINCIPAL REPTILES-BIRD LIFE IN ILLINOIS.

The Indians told the early settlers a tradi- tion related by their fathers of a very long and very cold winter, many years ago, when the snow covered the tops of the young trees and remained very late in the spring. As the story goes, the cold was so bitter and so steady that many Indians and all the game perished, being starved and frozen; that very late in the spring there was a sudden change to summer- like weather, accompanied by a warm, heavy rain; that it rained for many days, melting the snow so fast that the land was deluged with water, when many more of the Indians were drowned; also that the savage beasts which had lived through the cold upon the carcasses of the starved and frozen animals, were all drowned in the flood. They showed marks and scars, high upon the trees, which they declared had been made by the drift and ice upon the rushing torrents.

This tradition was, doubtless, highly ex- aggerated; yet there is great probability of a modicum of truth in the substance of the tale; for unquestionably this was once the habitat of the bison and elk. Pere Marquette

and other of the early explorers mentioned them in their reports of the country, and the early settlers found indubitable proofs of their former presence in the decaying skulls, horns and bones of these animals which remained; and also in the numerous paths and "wallows" which were said to have been. made by the buffalo. Each of these evidences indicated that the living animals had vanished many years before. The Indians also told of the time when their fathers would encircle; on three sides, great numbers of buffalo and quietly stalk and drive them toward the high bluff of the Illinois River, a little below Ottawa-still known as "Buffalo Rock"-and, at the proper time, by suddenly rushing, leaping and shout- ing at the herd, throw it into a wild stampede, and plunge it in a mad frenzy over the precipice upon the rocks below, thus killing hundreds of them at a single drive. The en- tire absence of these animals in a land pe- culiarly adapted to their production, and fur- nishing, in bounteous profusion, the food necessary for their support, indicates their extermination in some sudden and unusual manner. And the meager number of Indians themselves gives strong color of probability to the substance of the tradition.

The tradition tends also to explain the ab- sence of the larger beasts of prey. Occasionally a bear, a panther or a timber wolf was seen, but these were only individual instances, and so rare as to give no trouble to the pioneers. Prairie wolves were very numerous, but they should not be confounded with the coyotes of the western plains. They were much larger and bolder than the latter. In size they were midway between the timber wolf and coyote. Many a good dog would hesitate to give battle to a full-grown one, and a pair were more than a match for any dog. They fought with quick rapid snaps, and their powerful jaws made their sharp teeth cut like knives. They were sneaking and cowardly enough; yet they were crafty and persistent, and, when hungry and emboldened by numbers, or when cornered and desperate, they were formidable fighters.

The common red deer were very abundant, and were often seen in herds of ten or a dozen. From 1840 to 1850 many men made the winters profitable by hunting them for sale upon the market. Rabbits swarmed in the timber and openings, and raccoons and fox-squirrels were abundant. Foxes were not numerous; neither

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were there many wild-cats of any kind. Oc- casionally a Canadian lynx was found. None of the water-courses bore indication of the pres- ence of beaver at any time, but now and then an otter was taken. These animals were observed upon the river as late as in the '50s. Muskrats were very numerous, and their houses may still be occasionally seen along the water-courses. Minks, weasels and skunks seem appurtenant to civilization, and are about as numerous and about as destructive of do- mestic fowls now as they ever were. A large gray gopher and innumerable little striped gophers were found in the country, and are still here, each quite destructive of the newly planted grain. There were, and still are, plenty of chipmunks, also of fox-squirrels, and a few black and gray squirrels in the woods. Wood- chucks and house-rats and mice came with civilization, but moles and field-mice were here when the first settlers came. The soil had never been turned by the plow and their snug burrows thus destroyed, and the collective broods of all sorts, varieties and species of creeping, crawling, jumping creatures that find shelter on and under the surface of the earth, had multiplied and increased without measure, and incredible numbers of insects-some very beautiful and others exceedingly repulsive- swarmed on every side during the whole warm season.

Many varieties of small, innocuous snakes were found in great abundance-the common milk-snake, water-snake, striped (or "garter") and green snakes being most numerous. Scores of the mottled water-snakes could be seen on any quiet bright summer day about the log, brush and dirt dams at the saw-mills, sunning themselves in the warm light, and slipping quickly and silently out of sight upon the ap- proach of an intruder. There were at least a dozen varieties of harmless snakes that, in the early days, abounded in great numbers. The rattlesnakes, called by the Indians "Massasau- gas," were also very numerous. The children at play in the door-yard found them, and the men in the fields pitched them upon the loads in the bundles of grain and forkfuls of hay. They were a very poisonous reptile and, unless their bite were quickly attended to, it was liable to result seriously. To man, or to the faithful dog, it might prove fatal. Horses and cattle avoided it with terror; yet upon them its virus rarely, if ever, produced death. Hogs

manifested no fear of it whatever, and sought it for food. The hog utterly indifferent to its strike, would greedily seize it with his teeth, put his front feet upon it, and tear it to pieces and devour it. A courageous dog would some- times seize one near its head and shake its life out so quickly as to escape its fangs; but usually he received a venomous stroke that seemed to produce intense agony for several days, yet rarely proved fatal. The massasauga was a dull, slow-moving, stupid creature, ap- parently incapable of fear. It had but two quick movements. Its dull filmy eyes seemed nearly blind, and its motions purposeless and clumsy;

but, upon the slightest disturbance, it slid into a coil-its head at the center and raised two or three inches above the ground-its rattle- equipped tail on the outer periphery of the coil, sounded its warning with a quivering move- ment so rapid as to be almost invisible. Upon near attack it struck with widely extended jaws in a quick strong action of the head, pro- jecting its stroke about one-third the length of its body, and it was not rapid in recovering its position for another stroke. These reptiles were usually equipped with three to eight rattles, yet occasionally one was killed having fifteen or more "buttons",-even up to twenty. Each rattle or button was said to represent a year of life, and, as we never killed one having less than three, the young fellows must have kept closely concealed. It was held a religious duty to destroy every rattler that was dis- covered, and the duty has been so fully ob- served that they are now practically extinct.

The resourcefulness of the children in the early times is illustrated by the story of the barefoot boy of ten years, who, while riding bareback on a big horse, discovered one of those venomous reptiles upon the prairie where there was neither a stick nor a stone, or clod of earth in sight. Yet he hears the rattle and must kill the snake. Without a moment's hesi- tation he slides from the horse's back, pulls off the bridle, and, holding the animal with one hand by the "foretop," he swings the bridle and brings the iron bit with crushing force upon the reptile, again and again, until it is dead. Some of the boys would handle the striped and the little green snakes as pets, carrying them in their pockets. They were really as harmless as grasshoppers. Many tales were told in the pioneer times of "vipers," "adders," "Mocca- sins," and "blow snakes," as venomous reptiles

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that should be carefully avoided; but it is ex- ceedingly doubtful if any such serpents were ever actually found here. There were many vicious "snapping turtles," and the common land and water tortoise was abundant. Frogs and toads were, of course, numerous. Along the borders of the low lands, very many little circular embankments of clay two or three inches high, would be noticed surrounding the entrance to the perpendicular smooth round well of the little crab, or crawfish, that, it was said, always went down until it found water.

Innumerable land and water-fowl made this their permanent or their migratory home. With the melting of the snow in early spring, the brant, goose and duck made their appear- ance. The geese, especially, flew in great wedge- shaped flocks, steadily following their tireless leader, and their honk was heard in the sky at all hours of the day and night during the migratory season. Ever northward in the spring, and southward in the fall, they passed in countless numbers. The few we see now are as nothing compared to the thousands of the early days. They nested and reared their nu- merous broods along the river, creeks, and reedy ponds. Their flesh and their eggs were common food, and the settlers' children used to place their eggs in the nest of the setting hen and raise young wild ducks and geese. They were easily domesticated, yet frequently one that had matured in apparently contented captivity, would listen to the call of an over- flying flock and, taking wing, disappear with the wild ones forever. Their numbers may be inferred from the fact that, after a heavy sum- mer rain, in a little temporary pool of water formed in a depression of the prairie, now part of the cultivated field of one of our dairy farms, as they took wing from the pond, seven ducks were brought down by the discharge of a single-barreled shot-gun. Prairie chickens literally swarmed over the prairies, and num- berless coveys of quail whistled in prairie and woodland. The children caught them by dozens in "figure-four" and other traps. The drum of the partridge was heard in the heavy timber, and in startled flight, they whirred from copse to copse through the groves.

During the summer time there were many sand-hill cranes. They came in spring at about the same time as the geese, or a little later, but flying much higher and without order. First was heard their call far up in

the sky, and presently in small numbers and in pairs, they were seen descending upon the prairies, in localities from which they rarely wandered far during the summer. They were exceedingly wary and shy, and they seemed to prefer the gravelly knolls and dry summits of the prairie. Standing erect from three to five feet high, their alert vision caught sight of the most cautious foe. At the warning cry of any member of the flock, all took flight at once, and rarely returned to the place of alarm for many hours. They were exceedingly timid, yet, when wounded and unable to escape, they were a dangerous quarry; for the vicious stroke of a long powerful beak would inflict a painful wound. Their preparations for migration southward in the fall were very peculiar and full of interest. In the late autumn they could be heard uttering a loud call, differing from their ordinary cries, and soon they began to assemble in pairs and groups at some chosen spot, where for several days their antics were most astonishing. In an apparent frenzy of excitement they joined in a sort of pow-wow, leaping, dancing and screaming in the most ceaseless and curious manner. In the mean- time their numbers were constantly increasing by new arrivals. At length when all appeared to have come, the leader took wing, and utter- ing that loud call, began his circling upward flight. He was quickly followed by one and another, and others in more rapid succession, until soon the entire assembly was in air sail- ing in a sweeping, enlarging circle, ever up- ward-upward-frequently uttering that singu- lar cry. At length, as they became mere specks in the sky or disappeared wholly beyond vision, that far call still came down to earth, but passing southward and receding steadily until it, too, was lost in the distance and every crane had disappeared until the following spring. There were many blue herons along the streams and ponds, and quite frequently most beautiful snow-white herons were seen. A species of bittern, the children called "thunder pumps," inhabited the marshy places, and snipes of dif- ferent kinds, and plover and woodcock were numerous on the prairies and lowlands. Rarely, but now and then, stately snow-white swans, were observed floating majestically upon the still water places or sailing in the quiet air.

Immense flocks of wild pigeons, in their sea- son, actually darkened the sky, and they passed

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like the sound of a mighty rushing wind. Myriads moved on northward, while other myriads tarried here. In some favorite grove or clump of trees, which they chose for their nesting or roosting places, they broke down the branches with the weight of their numbers. If permitted to settle upon a field of late sown spring wheat or oats, they would devour the seed or young grain, in a few minutes destroy- ing the whole seeding. The women and chil- dren guarded the crop, and "scare-crows" were rigged to frighten them away. Thousands and thousands of them were netted and shot. It is said that the species is now utterly extinct.

The "brown thresher," robin, lark, bobolink, cat-bird, whip-poor-will and many other song birds in great numbers filled the air with their delightful notes. Birds of brilliant plumage . were not wanting. The Baltimore oriole and scarlet tanager flashed amid the foliage; the red-headed, golden-winged and spotted wood- peckers clung to the trunks and branches of the trees and winged their rapid flight from cover to cover, while the gaudy, jaunty blue- jay followed one with his impudent scolding, and the beautiful little blue-bird delighted you with its soft color and modest song. In the quiet evening from the loneliest depths of the woods was heard the plaintive cry of the whip-poor-will. In the long twilight of the sum- mer evenings how many night hawks there were sailing on tireless wing through the sky, ever and anon plunging downward in rapid flight almost to earth, and then, with graceful curve, sweeping away and upward to the heights again!

This was a favorite abode of the carnivorous hirds. Our historic bald eagle and the great gray eagle were frequently seen, and their wild, fierce scream was familiar to the early settler. No person who has brought down one of these terrible creatures with but a broken wing or less than a mortal wound, will ever forget its appearance of malignant savagery. Its flat head and low protruding hrow, its burn- ing eyes flashing defiant hate, its vaporous breathing and raucous cries, together with its wicked, powerful beak and talons, produce an impression too deep and vivid for time to efface. The smaller varieties of raptores were very abundant and, from the large hen-hawks down to the bee-eating king-bird, and unconquerable little shrike or soldier bird, they waged re- lentless warfare upon each other and upon the

smaller birds, reptiles and insects. There were four or five varieties of owls; the great horned, the equally large gray owl and the little barn screech-owl-the latter being most numerous. Crows were scarce in the early days, and if there were any of them here when the white man came, they have largely in- creased in numbers, notwithstanding the mis- taken and cruel warfare incessantly waged against them; but the large black-bird, with his rich plumage, and the brilliant red-winged starlings were then, as now, very abundant. The singular little tame brown "cow black- birds" were also very numerous; and their habit of familiar attendance upon the cattle was pleasant and interesting. They would follow the grazing or working animals closely and constantly, almost alighting upon them, and when the tired creatures lay down to rest, their little attendants never left them. The companionship seemed mutually agreeable, and children used to think the birds protected the cattle from the tormenting flies, and that they also pulled out the irritating murrain or grub that, far too often, burrowed in the thick skin along the backs of the poor animals. The assembling in the fall of the clouds of black birds, preparatory to southern migration, was interesting to observe.

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Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Kane County, Part 125

Author: Publication date: 1904 Publisher: Chicago: Munsell Publishing Co. Number of Pages: 950

Author:
Publication date: 1904
Publisher: Chicago: Munsell Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 950