USA > Illinois > Macoupin County > History of Macoupin County, Illinois : biographical and pictorial, Volume I > Part 9
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"The following summary is given which will show the contents of the tables .
"Number of shipping mines 17, as follows: Superior Coal Company, No. 3, Gillespie; Superior Coal Company No. 2, Gillespie ; Superior Coal Company No.
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I, Gillespie; Consolidated Coal Company No. 15, Staunton; Consolidated Coal Company No. 14, Staunton; Royal Colliery Company, Virden; Girard Collieries Company, Girard; Madison Coal Corporation No. 5, Mt. Olive; Vivan Colliery Company, Green ridge; Consolidated Coal Company No. 8, Mt. Olive; Carlinville Coal Company, Carlinville; Lukins & Andrews, Virden; Glenridge Coal Com- pany, Virden; Consolidated Coal Company, Gillespie; Consolidated Coal Com- pany No. 6, Staunton ; Consolidated Coal Company No. 7, Staunton; Nilwood Coal Company, Nilwood.
"Number of local mines, as follows: William Neil & Company, Bunker Hill; Bauser & Truesdale, Bunker Hill; John J. Harbaugh, Chesterfield; G. B. Loper, Chesterfield; Fritz T. Jardin, Bunker Hill.
"Total number of mines, 22; tons shipped on railroads, 3,753,550; tons sup- plied to locomotives, 34,242 ; tons sold to local trade, 112,564; tons used at mine for steam purposes, 140,080; total number of tons, 4,040,436; tons mined by hand, 794,292 ; tons mined by machines, 3,246,144; average working days for shipping mines, 152; mining price for hand mining to June 1, 1910, 55 cents ; mining price for hand mining after June 1, 1910, 58 cents; price for machine mining to June 1, 1910, 48 cents ; mining price for machine mining after June I, 1910, 51 cents; number of mining machines, 278; number of miners, 3,117; others employed underground, 1,043; boys employed underground, 150; employes above ground, 371 ; total number of employes, 4,681 ; number of kegs of powder for blasting coal, 66,552; number of kegs used for other purposes, 71 ; number of compressed air locomotives, 4; number of electric locomotives, 17; number of cable rope used, I; aggregate value of coal sold at mine, $3,508,565; number of fatal accidents, 4; number of non-fatal accidents of those who have lost thirty days, 23 ; number of tons produced to each fatal accident, 1,010,109; num- ber of tons produced to each non-fatal accident, 183,656.
"The output of the county shows a falling off of 322,494 tons from last year. This is owing to the suspension of work at all the shipping mines in the county from April 1, 1910, to June 1, 1910. A number of the mines in the county have signed a scale with United Mine Workers and. went to work June I, 1910, namely : Girard Collieries Company, Glenridge Coal Company, Carlin- ville Coal Company, Nilwood Coal Company and Superior Coal Company.
"Improvements-There have not been many improvements in the mines of the county during the last year, except putting in fire protection at the bottom of the shafts and stables in accordance with the amendments to the mining law passed by the late special session of the legislature. The shipping mines are all finished. Some of the local mines have not been able to secure all material to finish their mines but they will be finished in the near future.
"Abandoned Mines-The Consolidated Coal Company of St. Louis, Missouri, has abandoned its mine No. 10 at Mt. Olive.
"Change of Name-The No. I mine of the Illinois Collieries Company, being the north shaft at Virden, will be known from this time on as the Glenridge Coal Company."
FAUNA OF THE COUNTY.
In presenting a list of the animals of the county that existed here prior to and after the advent of the white man, while the list may not be complete, it will,
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however, be of interest to the student and scientist. Of the ruminating animals that were indigenous to this territory we had the American elk, and still have the deer of two kinds, the more common, the well known American deer and the white-tailed deer. The latter still affords amusement and sport for the hunter in the more timbered portions of the county, and at a period not very remote, the American buffalo must have found pastures near the alluvial and shaded banks of the Macoupin and plains and prairies of this portion of the state. The heads, horns and bones of the slain animals were still numerous in 1830. The black bear was quite numerous even in the memory of the old settlers. The gray wolf and prairie wolf are not unfrequently found, as is also the gray fox, which still exists by its superior cunning. The panther was occasionally met with in the earlier times, and still later and more common, the wild cat. There were also found the weasel, one or more species ; the mink and American otter, which were quite numerous on Otter creek, in the northern part of the county ; the skunk, the badger, the raccoon and the opossum. The two latter species of animals are met with in every portion of the United States and the greater part of North America. The coon skin among the earlier settlers was regarded as a legal tender. The bear and otter are probably now extinct in the county and were valuable for their furs. Of the squirrel family we have the fox, gray, flying, ground and prairie squirrel. The woodchuck and the beaver were common prior to the settlement, as was also the common musk rat. The bats, shrews and moles are common. Of the Murida we have the introduced species of rats and mice, as well as the meadow mouse and the long-tailed jumping mouse, frequently met with in the clearings. Of the hares, the so-called rabbit is very plentiful. . Several species of the native animals have perished, being unable to endure the presence of civilization, or finding the food congenial to their tastes appropriated by stronger races. Many of the pleasures, dangers and excitements of the chase are only known and enjoyed by most of us at the present day through the talk and traditions of the past. The buffalo and the elk have passed the borders of the Mississippi to the westward, never more to return.
Of the fish, the most common are the cat, bass and the sun-fish. The perch, pike and buffalo are also occasionally seen. The common carp chub is numerous. The bass is a game fish and affords fine sport.
The game birds most sought are the wild turkey and prairie hen, which afford excellent sport for the hunter and are quite plentiful. The gray eagle is also occasionally seen. We also have pinnated grouse, ruffled grouse, ortyx vir- ginianus quail, woodcock, English snipe, red-breasted snipe, telltale snipe, yellow legs, marbled godwit, long-billed curlew, short-billed curlew, Virginia rail, Amer- ican swan, trumpeter swan, snow goose, Canada goose brant, mallard, black duck, pintail duck, green-winged teel, blue-winged teel, shoveler, American widgeon, summer, or wood duck, red-head duck, canvas-back duck, butter ball, rough- billed pelican, loon killdee, plover, bald head, yellow legged and upland plover, wild ibis, white heron, great blue heron, bittern, sand hill crane, wild pigeon, com- mon dove, American raven, common crow, blue jay, bobolink, red winged black, meadow lark, golden oriole, yellow bird, snow bird, chirping sparrow, field spar- row, swamp sparrow, indigo bird, cardinal red bird, cheewink, white bellied nut-
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hatch, mocking bird, cat bird, brown thrush, house wren, barn swallow, bank swallow, blue martin, cedar bird, scarlet tanager, summer red bird, robin, blue bird, king bird, pewee, belted kingfisher, whippoorwill, night hawk, chimney swallow, ruby throated humming bird, hairy woodpecker, downy woodpecker, red headed woodpecker, golden winged woodpecker, Carolina parrot, great horned owl, barred owl, snowy owl, turkey buzzard, pigeon hawk, swallow tailed hawk, Mississippi kite, red tailed hawk, bald eagle, ring tailed eagle.
We give the following classification of birds in three divisions :
I. Those of the greatest value to the fruit growers in destroying noxious insects, and which should be encouraged and fostered in every way: blue birds, tit mice or chickadees, warblers, swallows and all birds known as woodpeckers except sapsuckers. The latter is entirely injurious, as it is not insectivorous but feeds on the inner bark of many species of tree and may be known from other woodpeckers by its belly being yellowish, a large black patch on its breast and the top of its head a dark bright red. The males have also a patch of the same on their throats and with the minor margins of the two central tail feathers white. This bird should not be mistaken for the two other most valuable birds which it nearly resembles,-the hairy woodpecker and the downy woodpecker. These two species have the two outer tail feathers white and have only a small patch of red on the back of the head of the males. The yellow hammer or flecker is somewhat colored with yellow and should not be mistaken for the sap- sucker. It is a much larger bird. The red headed woodpecker sometimes pecks into apples and devours cherries and should be placed in the next division (2). The wren, ground robin, meadow lark, all the fly catchers, the king bird or bee catcher, whippoorwill, night hawk or goat sucker, nuthatcher, pewee or pewit, all the blackbirds, bobolinks, white and brown creepers, Maryland warblers, indigo birds, chirping sparrow, black throated bunting and thrushes, except those named in the next class, and all domestic fowls except geese.
2. Birds of doubtful utility are those which have beneficial qualities in the way of destroying fruits and whose habits are not fully determined. The robin, brown thrush and cat bird are very valuable as cut worm eaters but also very obnoxious to the small fruit growers. The blue jay is not only destructive to grain and fruits but very noxious in the way of destroying the nest eggs and young of smaller and better birds, robin, brown thrush, cat bird, shrike or butcher bird, red headed woodpecker, jay bird or blue jay, crow and the small owls, pigeons and mocking bird.
3. Birds that should be exterminated are sapsucker, or yellow bellied wood- pecker, Baltimore oriole, or hanging bird, cedar bird, or wax wings, hawks and the larger owls.
FLORA.
When we gaze out over the landscape the eye is pleased with its chequered beauty and loveliness. Here and there are bright flowers, clinging vines, green verdured hill and dale, majestic forest trees, whose towering heads have with- stood the blasts and storms of many winters,-these were created not only to please the eye and beautify the world, but the cereals and grasses were made to furnish food for man and beast. This article will treat particularly of the more
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valuable woods utilized in the mechanic arts, and the grasses, plants, vegetables and flowers most beneficial to man, and particularly those which are natives of the county. Many species of the native vegetable kingdom have fled. The buffalo grass, which only grew on parts of the prairies, and almost wholly the large pampas grass, have become extinct and given place to blue grass, which, in places where domestic cattle feed, is rapidly and quietly displacing all others. The plants are many and rare, some for beauty and some for medicine. The pink root, the columbo, the ginseng, boneset, pennyroyal and others are used as herbs for medicine. Plants of beauty are the phlox, lily, asclepias, mints, golden rod, eye bright gerardia and hundreds more which adorn the meadows and brook- sides. Besides these there are the climbing vines, trumpet creeper, bitter sweet, woodbine, clematis and the grape, which fill the woods with gay festoons and add grace to many a decaying monarch of the forest. The trees and grasses, one so lordly and permanent, the other, so humble and transient, are the true glories of the county. The oak, with at least its twenty varieties; the hickory, . with as many more species; the thirty kinds of elm, from the soft, which bear leaves as large as a 'man's hand, to the kind which bear a leaf scarcely larger than a man's thumb nail; the black walnut, so tall and straight; the hackberry ; gum tree, black and sweet; the tulip and the giant cottonwoods and hundreds more, attest the fertility of the soil and mildness of the climate, while the blue grass, in its ten varieties, the timothy and red top, with clover so abundant in succulence, affords excellent pasturage and opens a fine field for the dairyman or stock raiser.
The following is a partial list of the trees and plants of the county: Cot- tonwood, willow, alder, birch, hazel nut, red oak, water oak, black oak, black jack, laurel oak, chestnut white oak, yellow oak, white oak, post oak, pig nut, hickory, overcup oak, white heart hickory, shellbark hickory, pecan, black walnut, butternut, sycamore, red elm, red mulberry, stinging nettle, white elm, spear grass, blue grass, bulrush, Indian turnip, cat tail, arrow head, yellow lady's slipper, white' lady's slipper, hemp, hop, Jamestown weed, milk weed, white ash, black ash, poke weed, pig weed, sour dock, sassafras, fever bush, hoarhound, night shade, ground cherry, horsemint, catnip, pennyroyal, persimmon, plantain, mullein, common thistle, burdock, dandelion, fire weed, rag weed, cockle bur, Spanish needle, beggar ticks, May weed, ox eye daisy, thoroughwort, dogwood, elder, wild gooseberry, wild crab, climbing rose, dwarf wild rose, blackberry, paw-paw, May apple, blood root, wild pepper grass, linden, prickly ash, sumach, poison oak, summer grape, frost grape, Virginia creeper, buckeye, sugar maple, white maple, box elder, indigo weed, red bud, coffee tree, honey locust, red plum, Chickasaw plum, wild cherry, wild strawberry, black cap raspberry, dewberry.
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CHAPTER III.
ORGANIZATION.
MACOUPIN COUNTY ORGANIZED IN 1829-COMMISSIONERS NAMED TO SELECT A COUNTY SEAT-PROVISIONS MADE FOR THE FIRST ELECTION-FIRST COUNTY OFFICIALS-FIRST GRAND AND PETIT JURORS-FIRST AND ONLY LEGAL EX- ECUTION.
At the time of the creation of Macoupin county that portion of the state within the confines of the county was a part of Madison; but when part of Madison county was organized and designated as Greene county, the territory comprising the future county of Macoupin was then part and parcel of Greene and was known as the "attached part of Greene county."
In 1829 the legislature, in session at the capital, Vandalia, passed an act entitled "an act creating the county of Macoupin" and appointing five com- missioners to select a seat of justice, whose names appear in the bill which is appended. The county was named Macoupin in the act. This word is of In- dian origin and is abbreviated from "Macoupina," which signifies in their tongue "white potato," for that is the name they gave to the wild artichoke which grew abundantly along the water courses. The name was given to the principal stream of the county long before its organization, and when the new county was created, was conferred upon it.
Thomas Carlin, afterwards governor of the state, was at that time a senator from this district, and it was largely through his instrumentality that the passage of the bill was secured. The celebrated and eccentric pioneer preacher, Peter Cartwright, was also a member of the general assembly, and opposed the bill, saying, among other things, that "God had set apart this region as a reservation for the geese and ducks." But the demands of the citizens of the attached part of Greene county were acceded to and the legislature passed the following bill, entitled
AN ACT CREATING THE COUNTY OF MACOUPIN.
"Be it enacted by the people of the state of Illinois represented in the gen- eral assembly, That all that tract of country within the boundaries, to-wit: Be- ginning at the southwest corner of township seven, north of range nine, west of the west principal meridian; thence east on the line dividing townships six and seven to the southwest corner of Montgomery county; thence due north to the southern boundary of Sangamon county; thence west . on the southern
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line of Sangamon and Morgan counties, to the range line dividing ranges nine and ten; thence south on said range line to the place of beginning, shall form and constitute a county to be called Macoupin.
"Section 2. For the purpose of fixing the permanent seat of justice of said county, the following persons are appointed commissioners, to-wit : Seth Hodges, Joseph Borough, John Harris, Shadrach Reddick and Ephraim Powers, who, or a majority of them being first sworn before some justice of the peace of this state, faithfully to take into consideration the convenience of the people with an eye to the future population and eligibility of the place, shall meet at the house of Joseph Borough, in said county of Macoupin, on the third day of March next, or within six days thereafter, and proceed to examine and determine on a place for the permanent seat of justice of said county; Provided the com- missioners aforesaid shall locate the seat of Justice on public land, they shall designate the same, and certify to the county commissioners of said county, as soon as they shall be qualified to office, the half quarter or quarter section of . land so selected for said county seat; and it shall be the duty of said county commissioners as soon thereafter as they may be enabled, to enter the same in the land office of the district in which the same may be situated, and they shall immediately thereafter lay off the same, or any part thereof, into town lots, and sell the same on such terms and conditions as may be most advantageous to the interests of said county ; and the proceeds of the sale shall be appropriated to the erection of a sufficient court house and jail. But if the said commissioners, appointed to locate said seat of justice, should locate the same on the lands of any person, or persons, and such proprietor, or proprietors, should refuse or neglect to give to the county, for the purpose of erecting public buildings for the use of said county, a quantity of land not less than twenty acres, situated and lying in a square form, to be selected by said commissioners, then, and in that case, the said commissioners shall proceed to select some other situation, as convenient as may be to the place first selected; Provided, the like quantity, and for the purpose above mentioned. And the said commissioners, after hav- ing made such location, shall designate the same, and certify as aforesaid, to the next county commissioners court, to be held in and for said county; and it shall be the duty of said county commissioners to demand and receive a title in fee simple, for the use of said county, for the donation of land as above stated, and to lay out the same into town lots, and sell the same, and appropriate the pro- ceeds thereof as before mentioned; which place, when so fixed upon, shall be the permanent seat of justice of said county ; all of which proceedings shall be en- tered of record on the books of the county court.
"Section 3. Until public buildings shall be erected for the purpose, the courts shall be held at the house of Joseph Borough, in said county, or at such other places as the county commissioners may appoint.
"Section 4. An election shall be held at the house of Joseph Borough, in said county, on the second Monday of April next, for one sheriff, one coroner, and three county commissioners, for said county, who shall hold their offices until the next general election, and until their successors are qualified; which said election shall be conducted in all respects, agreeably to the provisions of the law regulating elections; Provided that the qualified voters present may select
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among themselves three qualified voters to act as judges of said election, who shall appoint two qualified voters to act as clerks.
"Section 5. It shall be the duty of the clerk of the circuit court of said county, to give notice, in writing, at least ten days previous to said election, to be held on the second Monday of April next, and in case there shall be no clerk in said county, it shall be the duty of any Justice of the Peace, residing in said county, and commissioned a Justice of the Peace, for the county of Greene, to give notice of the time and place of holding said election.
"Section 6. The citizens of said county of Macoupin are entitled, in all respects, to the same rights and privileges as are allowed to other citizens of other counties of this state.
"Section 7. The commissioners appointed to locate the seat of justice of said county, shall receive one dollar and fifty cents per day, for each day neces- sarily spent in discharging the duties imposed on them by this act, to be paid out of the county treasury of said county, and the said commissioners shall give to the said seat of justice some appropriate name.
"Section 8. The inhabitants of said county shall vote in all elections for members of the General Assembly, in the same manner as they were authorized to do, before the passage of this act. NINIAN EDWARDS, Governor. "Approved, January 17, 1829."
RECORD OF THE MEETING OF THE FIRST BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS.
At a special term of court held on the 12th of April, 1829, it was "Ordered that until public buildings shall be erected for the purpose, the courts in future shall be held at the house of John L. Davis, in Macoupin county.
"April 18, 1829. Ordered, that Macoupin county be divided into three elec- tion precincts, for the election of justices of the peace and constables for county.
"April 18, 1829. Ordered, that all that tract of country lying within the following boundaries, to-wit: beginning at the southwest corner of Macoupin county, and running thence east with the line of said county, to the Bond county line, thence north with said line twelve miles, thence due west to the line of Greene county, thence due south with said line to the place of beginning, shall constitute an election district for justices of the peace, and constables, and be called Cahokia district.
"April 18, 1829. Ordered, that all that tract of country lying within the following boundaries, to-wit: beginning at the southwest corner of township nine north, in range nine west, thence due east to the Bond county line, thence due north with said line twelve miles to the southeast corner of township eleven north, range six west, thence due west to Greene county line, thence south with said line to the place of beginning, shall constitute an election district for justices of the peace and constables, and be called Macoupin district.
"April 18, 1829. Ordered, that all that tract of country lying within the following boundaries, to-wit: beginning at the southwest corner of township eleven north, range nine west, thence east to the line of Sangamon county, thence due west with the said lines of Sangamon and Morgan counties to Greene county line, thence due south with said line of Greene county to the place of beginning,
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shall constitute an election district for justices of the peace and constables, and be called Apple Creek district.
"April 18, 1829. Ordered, that elections shall be held in each of the districts in this county for the election of two justices of the peace and two constables for each district, except the district in which the county seat is, in which district there shall be three justices of the peace and three constables elected, on Satur- day, the sixteenth day of May next.
"It is ordered that Ephraim Powers, John Chapman and Lewis Cormack be appointed judges of election, for justices of the peace and constables in Cahokia district.
"Also, that Theodorus Davis, Samuel M. Harris and Samuel Lear be ap- pointed judges of election, for justices of the peace and constables in Macoupin district.
"Also, that Hugh Gibson, John Nevins and James Mabrey be appointed judges of election for justices of the peace and constables in Apple Creek district.
"Also, that the elections for justices and constables in Cahokia district shall be held at the house of Ephraim Powers in said district.
"Ordered, that the elections for justices of the peace and constables in Macoupin district shall be held at the house of Joseph Borough.
"Also, that the elections for justices of the peace and constables in Apple Creek district shall be held at the house of Felix Hoover.
"It is ordered by the court that William G. Coop be appointed county treas- urer and assessor of this county."
SECOND SESSION.
"At a County Commissioners' Court, begun and held at the house of John L. Davis, in and for said county of Macoupin, on Thursday, the seventh day of May, 1829.
"President Theodorus Davis, William Wilcox, Commissioners.
"On motion of several citizens of Apple Creek district, the line dividing said Apple Creek district and Macoupin district, is changed thus fourteen miles di- rectly east from the western line of said county, the line shall commence and run diagonally across the townships, so as to strike the eastern line of said county, two miles south of the northwest corner of the county aforesaid.
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